How To Make Violet or Purple Fire

Violet flames are very easy to make. All you do is sprinkle salt substitute on your fire. Salt substitute contains potassium chloride and potassium bitartrate. If you are familiar with the emission spectra from flame tests, youll recognize that potassium salts burn violet or purple. The color seems more of a blue-violet, but you can get a more reddish purple if you mix a little strontium from the red fire tutorial in with the salt substitute. Keep in mind that violet is not one of the colors your eyes see really well. The subtle glow of these flames can be completely overwhelmed by the colors from trace impurities. This means two things: Use as pure a fuel as you can. I used Heet fuel treatment, which is methanol. If you sprinkle the salt substitute on your wood-burning campfire, the flames will change color, but the color wont necessarily be violet.Use salt substitute and not lite salt. Lite salt is a mixture of normal table salt (sodium chloride) with potassium salts. The yellow from the sodium will overpower the violet from the potassium. Watch a video of this project.

Crime Is An Act Committed Or Omitted Within Violation Of...

Chapter Nine Summary â€Å"Crime is an act committed or omitted in violation of the law (Zastrow, 2014)†. Crime is a serious problem in the United States and the majority feel the criminal justice system is ineffective in slowing it down. Our laws are put into place according to the social norms and values of the time, therefore, they change according to societal changes. Everyone violates laws at different times of their lives, but most people aren’t caught or their violations are minimal. The people most likely to be arrested for crimes are young males, especially men of color, poor people and city residents. This isn’t because these people commit more crimes, they are just more likely to be profiled, stopped, arrested and have charges pursued against them. White collar and organized crime is just as common, but charges and convictions against these criminals is rare, or older, suburban white men would be the most common criminals. It is impossible to collect a ccurate crime statistics on the amount of crime that takes place since much of it goes unreported and many charges are pled down in court or not prosecuted at all. The police are focused on pursuing specific types of crime and courts spend more time enforcing those cases, making those crimes statistically higher. White collar crimes cause the most financial damage to society and have the largest number of victims, yet police and courts aren’t that interested in enforcing or convicting these criminals. Another

The significance of power relations in communication in social work Free Essays

string(65) " is forced into the position of powerlessness \(Askheim, 2003\)\." Introduction Effective communication is important in all spheres of human activity, in the interplay between human nature or individual agency and society or social structure. In this regard, the informal interactions form the basis of social work and effective communication helps coordinators relate better with subjects (Koprowska, 2008). Social work refers to multi-disciplinary endeavours that seek to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of individuals, groups or communities through interventions on behalf of those afflicted with poverty, real or perceived social injustices and violations on their human rights. We will write a custom essay sample on The significance of power relations in communication in social work or any similar topic only for you Order Now Interventions could be through such mechanisms as research, direct practice, education, policy and community organizing (Trevithick, 2010). Social influence and/or control are concepts that refer to the means through which people’s feelings, thoughts, behaviour and appearance are regulated in social systems. This is achieved mainly through socialization, the effect on one’s opinions, behaviour and emotions by others through conformity, peer pressure, socialization, leadership and persuasion (Trevithick, 2010). Through this, individuals identify with the social system’s values and norms and thereby acquire stake in the maintenance of these norms and values. This ability to influence the behaviour of people is defined as power (Bar-On, 2002). Disparities in power between a social worker and the service user often result in the entrenchment of discrimination, oppression and non-involvement in practice. This paper explores the significance of power relations in communication in social work and contribution to the discrimination and oppression and ways in which this can be challenged including enhanced pa rticipation and involvement, especially through effective communication. Power relations in social work Social work is inherently political and is therefore all about power and, thus, it is essential that social workers understand the effects of power within the structures in which they work and the society overall (Bar-On, 2002). The term power is often used interchangeably with authority which is perceived as legitimate by the social structure, the patterned social arrangements present in society that both emerge from and determine the actions of individuals (Bar-On, 2002). The sociological examination of power is concerned with the discovery and description of relative strengths, whether equal or unequal, stable or subject to change. Given that it is not innate, and that it can be granted to others, power can be acquired through the possession or control of a form of power currency which include: formal authority delegated to a holder of a position (legitimate power); authority derived from particular skills or expertise (expert power); capacity for the application of negative influences such as threats and punishment (coercive power); as well as the ability to offer rewards and therefore to wield power over subjects (reward power); and the ability of the power wielder to attract others and build loyalty (referent power) (Bar-On, 2002). Lukes (1974), in developing the three-dimensional model of power, argues that power is socially and culturally located with the culturally patterned and socially structured behaviour or practices of groups or institutions significantly sustaining the bias in the system far more than the series of individual actions. Thus, there is a latent contradiction of interests between those exercising power and those affected, whose real interests are excluded. This argument challenges the views based on the idea of collective consent fronted by Arendt’s communications theory and the Webarian view of legitimate power which dispel the view that there is potential for powerlessness in social interactions. This has implications for social work including the view that social workers exercise power though in many instances are unaware of the wielded power, and that it is essential to examine the position of social workers as it may affect what they see as their role (Bar-On, 2002). This scenario exacerbates powerlessness with a person (service user) agreeing to an action due to the social structure of power which places authority on the social position of the professional rather than on the agreement or consensus between the two parties. This is heightened in such instances as the use of coercive power inherent in the legitimate power of the social worker conferred by statutory legislation (Askheim, 2003). Experiments in psychology suggest that the more power wielded by an individual, the less they can take the perspective of others, implying that they have less empathy. It was also noted that decreased power is related to enhanced constraint and inhibition (Bar-On, 2002). Stereotypes and prejudices inherent in social structure and culture therefore remain unchallenged resulting in possible discrimination, oppression or exclusions of sections of society or individuals requiring service (Thompson, 1993; Trevithick, 2010). The post-modernist view of power fronted by Michael Foucault (1980) gives a central role to communication and knowledge in the understanding of power within society. The guiding principle of modernity reinforces existing power structures thereby increasing the status of professionals, placing value on professional knowledge and marginalising local or subjugated knowledge. This focus is what is referred to as professional discourse (Foucault, 1980). This exclusion is a reflection of the critical power imbalance within societal structure, and the legitimization of knowledge demonstrating the link between the exclusion for professional discourse and oppression (Pease, 2002). Users of services or clients often feel that social work endeavours are, in this regard, inappropriate or insensitive to their needs. Social workers occupy a unique position in society working for both the service user and the good of society overall. This often results in tensions between loyalties to service users and to service agencies or public authorities. Often, social workers acknowledge feeling powerless in their dealings with service providers, though their statutory powers make them believe they are overly powerful. Herein, an interesting paradox arises in the dichotomy of power in which social workers are often considered as either ineffective or extremely forceful (Pease, 2002). The dichotomous view of power is often exacerbated within social work as a result of the opposing structure between the worker and the client which forces the worker into the powerful position, controlling and directing the course of action often in a one-dimensional framework, while the client is forced into the position of powerlessness (Askheim, 2003). You read "The significance of power relations in communication in social work" in category "Essay examples" This is evident in the fact that despite the decade-long adoption of the anti-oppressive practice theme to guide teaching and practice of social work, recipients of such practice (clients) have not been significantly involved in discussions regarding the development of such anti-oppressive practice (Pease, 2002). Paradigm shift for greater effectiveness There is need for social workers to understand their position within the prevailing power structures, as well as to understand why they feel powerless in their work (Pease, 2002). This would enable the challenging of structures that perpetuate oppression and the development of solutions that aid the combat of negative effects of power differentials on the users of service (Askheim, 2003). Differences in power have to be taken into account and new procedures introduced so as to improve communication and, therefore, relations which can then foster the effective conduct of social work within communities. The key to taking account of the power by social workers in their work and relations with service users is empowerment. This entails the redistribution of knowledge and the uprising of other forms of knowledge which have been disregarded and subjugated as opposed to focus on professional knowledge as the only legitimate form (Pease, 2002). This would require the shift from such modernist focus towards a more critical approach to challenge the dominant discourse and to question the connection between knowledge and power enabling the enhancement of influence through social work approaches that aim to foster social transformation and change. Through this, the inclusion of service users in social processes, professional discourse and development of practice is legitimized (Askheim, 2003). This offers a more realistic approach to the challenge of prevailing power structures that tend to perpetuate and enhance discrimination or oppression of service users incorporating various dimensions including the oppressed, as well as the social workers. In order for social work to learn from its relations with service users and organizations (service providers), it is essential for their greater involvement to ensure true empowerment, balancing between gains from expertise and the empowerment of individuals involved in various aspects of social work (Askheim, 2003; Pease, 2002). Empowerment would reduce the inequalities in power relations in social work as well as challenging consequent oppression and discrimination. It would also enable the formation of meaningful professional partnerships with community organizations allowing for learning from both experiences and expertise. For significant change towards empowerment, there is need for focus and emphasis on social processes which encourage social workers to listen to the stories of service users, externalizing them and thereby enabling service users to retain greater control of the management and overcoming of the problems (Pease, 2002; Thompson, 1993). Focus is on the service user and the objective is their enablement to identify their own needs and solutions within the wider social context, rather than seeking to fit a pre-formed and set social model with its embedded ills (Askheim, 2003; Trevithick, 2010). Effective communication Emphasis on social process and the stories and experiences of service users requires the employment of effective communication to foster social work relations and essential partnerships. Communication is undoubtedly vital, an important part of human existence and is at the heart of all social work, in dealing with people and their problems (Thompson, 2011). Its skilful use by social workers can be hugely beneficial in empowering service users as it has the power to ensure the promotion of their well-being and equality. The basis of social work is informal interactions enabling better relations with service users, with the requirement for their trust and comfort essential to success of endeavour (Koprowska, 2008). This is only possible through effective communication. Effective communication skill does not just refer to verbal skills but also includes proficiency in non-verbal communication skills, especially in instances where service users may have difficulty communicating their problem verbally (Koprowska, 2008). There is need for such skill in communication which can enable the service user to build up confidence, incorporate friendship and good relations (reliability and compassion), as well as enabling them to feel that their problems are addressed in sincerity enabling them to open up in discussions which enhances overall understanding and formulation of solutions to problems (Thompson, 2011). Hindrances to effective communication With a number of complicating factors challenging communication, it is no justification to avoid making an effort to engage in social interaction. This would amount to the perpetration of discrimination and hindrance to the effectiveness of social work (Koprowska, 2008). There are various ways in which difficulties in communication tend to arise. First and most obvious is anxiety, the feeling of discomfort attendant to the lack of awareness of what is expected in a particular situation. This can lead to lower concentration and increased tension which hinders effective communication. The assumption of similarity is another hindrance and occurs often unintentionally, based on a lack of knowledge or awareness, when operations follow norms and rules of culture which are not universal and which may not be appropriate in other contexts (Thompson, 2011). Another hindrance to effective communication and similar to the assumption of similarity is ethnocentrism. This is based on distorted cultural assumptions and the belief that one’s culture supersedes all others. The power dynamic in this case is significant hindering relations and interactions. Stereotyping and prejudice is also a significant hindrance to effective communication with rigidly held views and prejudgment hindering interaction and connection (Thompson, 2011). Other impediments include variations in language, misinterpretation of non-verbal communication often due to variations in cultures, as well as disabilities which among other difficulties hinder effectiveness of communication and interaction. To tackle these challenges and impediments, it is essential that root causes are identified early and dealt with before they significantly affect social interactions and outcomes of social work endeavours (Koprowska, 2008). Knowledge and skill in communication are closely interrelated with skill dependent and drawing upon knowledge, while knowledge is broadened and deepened through practice, ideally the application of skills. Building of skills ought to be premised upon the building up of knowledge (Thompson, 2011; Trevithick, 2010). Among essential skills for effective communication is the ability to tune in to various communication situations in varied contexts; as well as, sensitivity to potential difficulties and hindrances so as to enhance capacity for response and their prevention. There is also need for a balance between anxiety and complacency, being able to recognize potential difficulties but also making sure that anxiety is checked (Trevithick, 2010; Thompson, 2011). Conclusion Herein, the complexity of power has been demonstrated especially in light of social relations inherent and essential in the conduct of social work. For social workers to take issues of power into account, it is essential that three factors be considered: They must be aware of their power both within the social service structure and with regard to the power balance between them and the service user. This benefits them in enhancing their empowerment and approaches to practice. Secondly, empowerment is essential with the service user central to the process of change, and social workers facilitating, not directing the change. Reasons for feelings and powerlessness need to be addressed rather than being overridden through legitimate power in authority or expert power in ‘knowing what’s best.’ Third, there is need for social workers to take responsibility for their power acknowledging and valuing power differentials rather than viewing them as barriers to empowerment. These need to be incorporated in practice so as to enhance and encourage inclusivity in the social service structure, allowing for continuous critique and analysis. The development of effective communication skills for employment in effective social work requires the development of appropriate skills but also necessitates knowledge of issues involved that can enable a social worker to deal with challenges attendant to interactions essential in social work. Knowledge, unlike the other sources of power which can be used positively and negatively, can, however, also be used in a transformative way. References Askheim, O., 2003. â€Å"Empowerment as guidance for professional social work: an act of balancing on a slack rope.† In: European Journal of Social Work, Vol. 6, No. 3, pp. 229-240 Bar-On, A., 2002. â€Å"Restoring Power to Social Work Practice.† In: British Journal of Social Work, Vol. 32, pp. 997-1014 Foucault, M., 1980. Power / Knowledge: Selected Interviews and other Writings:’ 1972-1977.’ London: Harvester Press Koprowska, J., 2008. Communication and interpersonal skills in social work (3rd ed.) University of York. Exeter: Learning Matters. Lukes, S., 1974. Power: a radical view. London: Macmillan Pease, B., 2002. â€Å"Rethinking Empowerment: A Postmodern Reappraisal for Emancipatory Practice.† In: British Journal of Social Work, Vol. 32, pp. 135-147 Thompson, N., 1993. Anti-Discriminatory Practice. The Macmillan Press Ltd.: London Thompson, N., 2011. Effective Communication: A guide for the people professions, p. 83. Palgrave: Hampshire Trevithick, P., 2010. Social work skills a practice handbook. Open University Press: Berkshire How to cite The significance of power relations in communication in social work, Essay examples

Tradition! free essay sample

Tradition plays an important role in the life of all cultures. Discuss a tradition your family, school, or community observes and explain its impact on you. We stand at our panels and anticipate the question. The lights dim. The mood is tense. Suddenly, she storms into the room, dressed in a black trench coat and wearing red glasses. Music plays in the background, intensifying the pressure. Her voice pierces the room as she announces, Lets play The Weakest Cousin.' It is show time. I look out over the audience and see a room filled with family. I think, This is my year. I am going to win! I am ready for any question. The game begins; I feel confident. The piercing voice hurls questions as my cousins, Caroline, Andrew and Josh are eliminated with the phrase, You are the Weakest Cousin Good-bye. The last round arrives, and Matt and I are the only cousins left. We will write a custom essay sample on Tradition! or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Quickly, the host flips to the next index card and reads the final question. The answer will crown a winner. That crown is rightfully mine, but I have never beaten Matt. Who wrecked Aunt Rhondas brand-new Volvo the day she got it? Matt yells, Aunt Glenda! The host turns to Matt and says, No. Your answer is incorrect. She then turns to me. If you can answer correctly, you win the game. My heart pounds. My palms sweat. This is my moment. Everyone sits on the edges of their seats as I concentrate on Aunt Rhondas Volvo, and who in the world wrecked it. At the last second, the answer comes to me and I yell, Aunt Donna! The host turns to Matt and says, You are the Weakest Cousin good-bye. She turns to me and proclaims, Congratulations! You are the strongest cousin. Maybe it is an infatuation with game shows, or maybe my mothers side of the family is just plain odd. Ever since I can remember, we have performed parodies of game shows. While most families express what they are thankful for and talk about the pilgrims on Thanksgiving, my cousins and I are busy creating the family entertainment for an after-dinner show. Over the years, we have produced versions of Family Feud and Jeopardy, Hollywood Squares, Who Wants to be a Millionaire? and Wheel of Fortune. The show changes each year, but the idea remains the same, as we adapt popular shows to our family. We all get a huge thrill from the hilarious comments we make about one another. Every year I stand at my contestants panel, looking out at my family, and am overcome with joy. Nana Ruth and Bruce look on with a smile. My mom and Aunt Glenda cannot stop laughing, and my dad usually just looks confused. Each face represents the love we share. There really is no Weakest Cousin here. I am so blessed to be a member of this slightly odd family.

The Farmers Movement free essay sample

As seen in The Farmers Grievances, a skillful farmer, compared to his physicist or tailor underpants would never terminate his financial troubles; and in contrast to other professions, advancements and pioneering in the farming field only dug the financial pit deeper (Document A). Many of the financial troubles faced by farmers portrayed them to be not the indispensable feeding hand of America, but perhaps just the opposite, as stated by Mary E. Lease: The great common people of this country are slaves, and monopoly is the master. The West and South are bound and prostrate before the manufacturing East. Document C) Lease provides a vital historical aspect of farming, comparing farmers to common people, rather than the agricultural giants that they are today. It thus becomes apparent why a worker putting so much effort into his business but getting so little out would wish to revolt. Railroad companies that charged four times as much as on the East gave farmers incentive to band together in order to combat outrages rates politically (Document D). We will write a custom essay sample on The Farmers Movement or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Freight rates especially hurt farmers, who were far from both buying and selling markets, a clever extortion trick by the railroad companies to force farmers into paying at every occasion (DocumentWith over a twenty percent decline in agriculture economy over fifty years, the farming community grew smaller and less organized by the day an easy target for abusive monopolies to pick on (Document G). The national political scene was impacted by the farmers movements; however the majority of changes came later. The Interstate Commerce Commission, formed due to unrest of the Granger movement, was formed somewhat early, with the goal of regulating astronomical rates (Document E). Another immediate change was that farming territories would take Republican votes from the RepublicanMidwest for the Populist Party (Document D). The Populist Party suggested many reforms in favor of the farmers, but only a fraction took effect fast. Eventually the Populists joined the Democratic Party when their candidate, Weaver, garnered over a million votes, but failed to gain election. Many of the populist ideas were embraced and set into motion by the Progressive party. Farmers had many valid reasons to only be discontent but to demand proper treatment, and after long periods of consolidation, they managed to have an impact on national politics.

Scotch Irish Immigration essays

Scotch Irish Immigration essays Immigration into America has shaped and molded us into who we are today. Without groups such as the Scotch-Irish, English, Dutch, etc. America would not be the great melting pot that it has now become. Each of these cultures brought with them a sense of religion, culture and spirit. They took a chance to better themselves, leaving everything that was remotely comfortable in their life behind, bringing with One such group is the Scotch-Irish. The Scotch-Irish history begins with the Scots in the 1600s. By the end of 1600, Europe was at the end of the Renaissance, but Scotland had not taken part in the resurgence of learning and culture. It was still a primitive, wild country, one of the poorest in Europe. Poor soil and backward farming methods, frequent border wars with England, and the wildness of the isolated Highlanders had all contributed to Scotlands slow The colonization of Ulster began in the 17th Century. British monarchs had been trying unsuccessfully for hundreds of years to subdue Ireland, but it was not until 1603 that the Ulster Irish finally surrendered to the Englishman, Lord Mountjoy. In 1609, James I informed the Scots that they could participate in this colonization of Ulster. Many Scotsmen felt they could overcome their poverty and the fact that the landlords in Ireland were more willing to extend longer leases to farmers than the landlords in Scotland were willing to do (Leyburn). In 1717, the Great Migration commenced. The term Scotch-Irish originated in the mid-eighteenth century in America to distinguish the Ulster Presbyterian emigrants of Scottish ancestry from other Irish settlers in the colonies. It has been asserted that during that time frame approximately one-third the Presbyterian population of Ireland migrated to British North America (Jackson 61-62). The Jacobite Rebellions of 1715 and 1745 saw a great number of pe...

Achieving Competitive Advantage In The Biotechnology Sector Commerce Essay

Achieving Competitive Advantage In The Biotechnology Sector Commerce Essay Biotechnology can be generally defined as the use of living things to create products or to do tasks for human beings. Biotechnology or biotech is used in industry, medicine and agriculture to produce foods, medicine, and test for diseases and remove wastes. (Biotechnologyonline, n.d) As such, there are different types of biotech such as green technology, red technology, and white technology and Bio fuels. In this report, we will have an insight into each of these branches of biotech and use various analytical tools to evaluate how knowledge management is playing a role in creating competitive advantage for companies in the sector. In so doing, we shall look at the Green biotech, Red biotech, White biotech and bio fuel respectively. Green Biotechnology Green technology, otherwise known as plant or agricultural technology is a branch of biotechnology (biotech) which â€Å"involves the introduction of foreign genes into economically important species, resulting in crop improvement an d the production of novel products in plants†. (123biotech, n.d.). To better understand the role of knowledge management in harnessing a competitive advantage in this branch of biotechnology, we will take Monsanto as case example. Monsanto is the world’s leading green technology company ahead of rival such as DuPont. (SmartMoney, 2009). The company specialises in breeding (improving the genetic base through technology of crops thus increase yield and genetic engineering (by enhancing generic traits in crops such as insect resistance, herbicide tolerance and drought-tolerance). (SmartMoney, 2009 and Monsanto, n.d.) As with its sister braches such as bioinformatics, white technology(industrial biotechnology), red technology(pharmaceuticals) as well as biofuels, green technology and companies associated with it like Monsanto, are not left unscathed by critics. For instance, Monsanto and its counterpatrs , through its use of plant technology has been criticised of endangeri ng human, the environment and socio-economic.( Friends of the earth, 2006). Significance of Green Technology However, the following advantages are beign celebrated by its supporters: Protection of Crops: for instance, the AT-DBF2 gene from Arabidopsis Thaliana crop injected into plants to enable them withstands Osmotic stress such as drought, salt and stress. (PNAS, n.d.) Increase Crop yield: during the teething years of biotechnology in term of Genetically Modified Food, there has been a widespread criticism of GMO claiming that GM Crops do not increase crop yield, that on the contrary it, reduces it. (Truth about Trade and Technology, 2009). These claims were dismissed by the then USA president Jimmy Carter who stated that, â€Å"responsible biotechnology is not the enemy; starvation is.† (Biotechnology Industry Organisation, n.d.)His favourable stance towards green biotechnology because of organisms like the Bacillus Thuringiensis used to produce the BT-corn. Introduces in 1996, the â€Å"Bt corn has the potential to simplify management and effectively control corn borers throughout the season† thus increasing its yield. (College of Agriculture, n.d.) Improved Food Quality: an example of this was the invention of the Golden Rice by Prof Potrykus and Prof. Beyer of ETH-Zurich and University of Freiburg respectively. The Golden rice is believed to alleviate Vitamin A deficiency in young people especially in the developing world. (Golden Rice, n.d.) Another example is the Maltogenic Amylase used for â€Å"Retardation of staling in baked food†, such as bread and cakes. (Food and Agriculture Organisation, 1997)

Ethical Dilemma Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Ethical Dilemma - Essay Example This process involved balancing the needs of the insurer, patients and hospital (Primeaux & Pava, 2009). The managers are expected to have the interests of the patients at heart. The process of resisting the conflict of interests and ensuring proper medical procedures are followed without affecting the morale of nurses is a tough balancing act. Nurses can easily feel offended, demoralized or ignored depending on the skills and effectiveness of a case manager (Ulrich et al, 2010). The increasing pressure in the nursing profession demands that healthcare professionals get acquainted to the growing pressure in the nursing field. Nurses are expected to act morally in difficult medical situations. Nurse Managers are faced with the dilemma of balancing patients’ care and supervisory roles. Management responsibilities and active attention on patients demands that nurses pay special care in multiple aspects within the medical field. The call to extra responsibility has proved to be a dilemma as the medical field continues to suffer from acute shortage of medical personnel (Icheku, 2011). Managing multidisciplinary teams requires specialized training (Toren & Wagner, 2010). ... The nurses are expected to co-work with doctors while delivering patient care. Ensuring ethical issues have been fulfilled demands that a team-approach be necessitated. Case managers are answerable to multiple parties (Munhall, 2012). This makes them face multiple dilemmas. Violation of treatment and other medical services can attract legal redress (Ulrich et al, 2010). The act of balancing the needs and requirements of stakeholders in the medical profession is delicate. Nurse Managers or case managers must have the skills to determine successful outcomes in different cases (Icheku, 2011). The multiple dimensions of outcomes should be noted. This means considering the impact they have on patients, nurses, the hospital and other parties (Primeaux & Pava, 2009). Successful outcomes have different implications to different people. The process involves weighing the advisedness of health services (Toren & Wagner, 2010). The managers are expected to have the capacity to weigh the probabili ty of each outcome. This is important in evaluation the course of action to take (Munhall, 2012). This can attract re-examination. Managers are expected to rise above medical needs to create an atmosphere that accommodates other non medical stakeholders. Practice dilemmas evoke distressing reactions from nurse managers. The dilemmas revolve around professional conflicts, inadequate resources and patient care concerns (Munhall, 2012). Moral stress is increasingly becoming common in the nursing profession. This is because of the struggle to make decisions that involve conflict multiple ethical principles. Nurse Managers are bothered by the need to balance patient autonomy to ensure the required results are achieved. Moral dilemmas in the nursing profession have

Social Deviance Within Popular Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Social Deviance Within Popular Culture - Essay Example They further emphasize that It would be biased to remain on this issue only and avoid many debating point for interested public since popular culture and the church issue both make impact on Public mind and catch their immediate attention. Camacho (2008) summarize the going on in the immensely popular television reality show "The girls Next Door" which is showing viewers some of the realities of the Playboy fantasy. It is a series created by Playboy magazine founder and Editor-in-chief Hugh Hefner and executive producer Kevin Burns. It is broadcast on the E! cable television network,. that offers viewers an elaborate inside look at the inner workings of the infamous yet curiosity generating Playboy mansion. The show tracks movements ofs Hefner's three live-in girlfriends -- Holly Madison, Bridget Marquardt, and Kendra Wilkinson -- as they live and travel with Hefner and help him host parties at the mansion. The ladies do everything from undressing and putting on S&M outfits and performing stripteases to wrapping Hef's birthday gifts with G-strings. In between are raunchy conversations that include discussing the desire to masturbate and questions about posing nude before bikini waxes became popular. The original eight -episode run of the series was expanded to fifteen episodes with the first season finale airing in early December 2005. The series' second season began on July 30, 2006. To celebrate the launch of the second season, a second nude pictorial of the trio was published in September 2006. The third season of the show began airing March 4, 2007. Their third Playboy appearance was in the March 2008 issue, celebrating them being voted fourth in Playboy's annual "Sexiest Celebrities" online poll (Wikipedia). The Girls Next Door http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Girls_Next_Door Camacho (2008) goes on, to feeling a little unhapy for the overdose of sex and glamour and says that like anything Playboy, the show is hedonistic and narcissistic and underscores Hefner's trademark of continuing love for beautiful women and sexual freedom. She feels somewhat apprehensive for the fact that even though these women are educated and have career goals, viz. Bridget is appearing for her second master's degree, while Holly is working to get her real estate license soon and Kendra is studying college courses online. Their choice to live in the mansion's polygamous environment and often-ditzy behavior make it hard to take them seriously. Unfortunately, they personify the stereotype of the empty-headed pinup girl whose mere presence serves to satisfy people's sexual fantasies. It is also a dilemma whether women attain educational qualification to prove themselves while at the same time they involve themselves in deeds of mere glamour and as sex object. As result, this series offers little more than an invitation to stop imagining and to actually look at real-life women as sexual objects to an ordinary spectator. However a sociologist may seek answer to some points of social deviance in the show such as: The rich playboy living with multiple girl friends or showing polygamy yet getting immense public popularity The girls using their sexual attractiveness to attain power, money and fame rather than giving due weight to

Effect of TV Personalities to the Mass of People Essay Example for Free

Effect of TV Personalities to the Mass of People Essay This is considered to provide learners or readers with mass media information needed to help them become knowledgeable individuals in the use of mass media. Every idea is presented as simple as possible suited for each other for better understanding of concepts and guidelines. 1Media is the various means of mass communications considered as a whole, including television, radio, magazine, and newspaper, together with the people involved in their mass of people. Artists or celebrities have a big portion in media, they are the one who have the connection to the mass of people, the television industry has been considered as a very strong influence on society. The largest television stations here in the Philippines are the ABS-CBN and GMA. They provide different formats of viewing such as music, news, animation, children programs, educational, soap operas or telenovelas, fantaseryes, game shows or reality shows and many more; that might help or worsen once lifestyles. 2These programs are monitored by MTRCB (Movie Television Review Classification Board). By rating it through G, PG and SPG. Rated G (General Patronage) is for all age and viewers. In Rated PG (Parental Guidance) monitored programs, children need a parents supervision. While in Rated SPG (Strict Parental Guidance) supervised shows, children or minor should be guided strictly since it might contain theme, language, harassment, sexual, horror, or drugs that are not appropriate to their stage of development. The generation nowadays have a lots of TV personalities that known for their extraordinary talents, appeals, and by attainting the peoples expectation in their shows. The most influential personalities in today’s generation are Vice Ganda, Daniel John Padilla, Kathyrn Bernardo, Anne Curtis, Julia Montes, Pokwang, Charice Pempengco, Raymond Gutierrez, Barbie Forteza and Jake Vargas. They are involved in different project and altered act of role, some might act as kontrabida or villain and basagulero or trouble maker that in the eyes of broods they thought that it is accurate nevertheless it is incorrect. Different person has different perspective in what they see and hear. It is their choice to follow it or not, through the custody of their parents I know everyone might choose the right path. 4Since celebrities are regularly seen on television, heard over the radio, and read about in the newspapers, it is not questionable that all their moves are followed by the general public. Being aware of the great regard that people give them, celebrities do their best in order to share a positive influence to the community. There are a lot of celebrities today that share their advocacies openly for the public to follow. For instance, there are plenty of TV stars who put up their own foundations in order to fund pressing problems in the country. In addition to that, there are also a lot of personalities who willingly participate in rescue operations in times of disasters like typhoons, floods, and earthquakes. By being good example to the community, celebrities today are definitely able to show that they help in making the Philippines a better place to live in. Each artist influence or affects the lifestyles of their viewers or fans in different and little ways. Their fans might affect the way they dress, the way they speak, the way they act, or might affect one’s life. Artist could influence in positively or negatively and these are the things that this thesis will going to provide you, piece by piece. This book allows you to experience the boundless power and importance of the fields of artist and its effect to the mass of people. Come then, and let us take a trip to the world of stars, together, let us make ourselves better individualities.

The Internet Promotes Cultural Diversity Essay -- Exploratory Essays

The Internet Promotes Cultural Diversity When one thinks of the internet, what sorts of worlds and images do you suppose come to his mind? First of all, the hardware such as a computer screen and keyboard come to mind, followed by letters and picture and maybe even a the web-like structure to portray the information super highway. Ideas of search engines and then internet mailing and messaging systems should then occur. In the end, the overall idea is one of mass communication and informational transferences. The abbreviation that is well known to most internet use, â€Å"www.† which denotes â€Å"World wide web,† shows the obvious international applications. With respect to this understanding of its global distribution, the question arises: Will these transcontinental interactions destroy the cultural and historical diversity of style in composition? The answer is no. Despite the convergences of cultures, students who manage to make it through high school should have a basic background in the formati on and styling of a composition. These more mechanical aspects of style are rarely altered unless a new style if promoted. Mixing these historically formal styles with the new wave of information broadcasting, offered by the web, entails an alteration of style which will only promote diversity. To attack the subject of changes in cultural style, we must ask the question: Will mass communication between diverse cultures destroy cultural diversity? Defining culture becomes the next priority: culture: 1) The totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought typical of a population or community at a given time. 2) A style of social and arti... ... ideas of one webpage. Referring back to the example sites listed above, and while making note of the randomness that was associated with the creation of the â€Å"clown porn† site, one can make note of the fact that even though the site was created almost as a gag, some weird people found it worth while or amusing. Practically no matter how weird something is, there is probably someone else out there that has similar beliefs. In the end, the internet cannot destroy diversity but can only promote it. The thought otherwise would imply that the entire world has access to the internet and that in some way, the internet has created a world of zombies that conform to its conquering cultural spell. In actuality, people have access to cultures and styles that they may never physically interact with; therefore, promoting a more worldly character in those people.

Huckleberry Finn’s Moral Compass

Nathan Walker Mr. Dickenson Period 3 1/7/12 Critic Keith Neilson writes, â€Å"And so Huckleberry Finn ends, one of the saddest happy endings in literature. Jim is free, after an awful initiation that nearly gets him lynched. Tom is almost killed, yet learns nothing from the experience. But Huck’s loss seems the greatest of all. After finally letting his heart overcome all of the prejudices and moral inhibitions that society has put into his head, having determined to defy society to ‘go whole hog’ to rescue his friend Jim, he meets Tom Sawyer and immediately crawls back under Tom’s Romantic Wing.Huck’s character and moral nature seem violated†¦One of the greatest characters in literature has been forced to go backwards and we feel cheated. † For years, critics have argued over the ending of Huckleberry Finn. Critics tear apart the  racial content, issues about gender and sexuality, and most interestingly the ongoing controversy over th e final chapters. The debate remains  regarding  whether or not Twain wrote the ending with a purpose, or if he just took an easy way out. For example, the ending comes abruptly.In addition, readers are upset about  how Huck disappears and Tom reemerges. On the other hand, others feel that the ending is a masterpiece. Personally, I can see both sides of the debate. On one hand, it seems that Twain created a masterpiece just to throw it away at the end. We see that Huck, who we were rooting for all along, has not changed and will continue to carry out Tom’s whims and fantasies. All the progress he has made with Jim has been destroyed. This is one of the many  aspects that make the novel picaresque. On the other hand however, I can see why Twain did what he did.In order to be honest with Huck’s character, Twain could not have allowed Huck to become the hero. Furthermore, in the time period of the Southern 1800? s, if Huck had changed his ways, society would have been shocked. If society hated the book, Twain’s message would not have been so wide spread as it was, as the book would have probably banned. Another possible idea is that Twain wanted to make his reader’s wonder, and leave them to make their own decisions. One thing is sure however, either way you translate the ending; Twain sure knows how to stir controversy.

Examining Cultural Elements Essay

The following paper will look at the ways a therapist may be able to look upon and treat a family keeping all the cultural and the social boundaries, also known as the ethnocentric barriers aside. When looking at the view of the therapist, it may be important to look at the context of the family theories which have been introduced by sociologists all over the world. This idea was particularly introduced by the GAP or the group for the advancement of psychiatry. The association explained that it may be important for the families to be ascribed roles which are not specified when looking at the family. thus, if in any family which has an increasing amount of conflict, it may be helpful if it is somehow possible for the therapist to ensure that there are not any such roles put forward and emphasized. Note that in such a case particularly in a country with the traditional societal rules, it may be unlikely that such informality and the absence of clear cut roles would be possible. In such a case the therapist must allow for a setting and an environment such that the rigidity formed by the society is minimized so as to ensure an effective functioning of the family. This way neither the societal norms will be completely challenged, nor would there be any difficulty associated with the societal stereotypes. Another aspect which needs to be taken into consideration is that of the process of mystification. This process of mystification has been described as a process by which there are attempts made by one party to keep the other party in an awe state by maximizing the distance that they have between each other. When applying to the family life it implies denying the child’s experience by relabelling it. in other words if there is going to a conflict in the family, it may be very likely for the parents to blame the children rather than excepting their own mistakes because they lie in a superior position in contrast to the child. When talking about it with relation to the therapist, making sure that this element of mystification does not occur in a strict family environment where there may be a great deal of respect for the elders may be problematic. However, the therapist, by looking upon at all the aspects of the problem should make sure that such biases are not essentially a part of the experience he encounters when treating the family. perhaps, the therapist can take the family to a different setting, perhaps away from the present place where they are in order to ensure that such a problem does not occur that much. Apart from this, the therapist may also be able to effectively provide for therapy by looking at how the family has and follows the system of double blinds. By this we imply a system in which there are two contractory points. It may thus be very likely for an individual to take up one and not both the points. For instance how boys are told to be tough and at the same time not be harsh with their mothers. These situations imply that an individual can follow only one and thus a family conflict may very likely occur. In such a case, the therapist should easily identify the double bind situation and then allow for a dialogue or a discussion to take place between the related parties. After looking and keeping all the things into consideration there can be a presentation of the values and norms of the societies and then there can be an agreement reached upon. No only this, but an important thing that should be done by the therapists is to carefully observe the way these discussions take place. This would be more and way better than a mere speculation because the therapists may make an increasing amount of assumptions which may otherwise not be made in case of a proper observation. not only this, but it may also be important to note that by observing, it may be possible that other possible forms pf conflicts that occur within the family and may not completely be realized or perhaps are otherwise hidden are highly likely to come up. It should be noted that the observations by the therapist must also be made first and fore mostly, perhaps even before one to one counseling of the families occur. This may be so that there is an absolute certainty that there are no previous biases left for evaluation. Therefore, one may say that there may be numerous ways through which the cultural and societal biases can be avoided by a therapist. First and for mostly can be a clear evaluation of the conflict that occurs in the family with a particular look at the element of mystification as well as double binds. Not only this, but also observing the family to look and obtain additional data may also be very helpful. Reference: How the students’ culture effect their behavior www. literacynet. org/lp/hperspectives/culteffect. html Lyman Stone, How much does culture and lifestyle affect behavior? http://www. helium. com/items/493732-how-much-does-culture-and-lifestyle-affect-behavior What makes lives, what influences Behavior?

Restaurant Emerging Trend Essays

Restaurant Emerging Trend Essays Restaurant Emerging Trend Essay Restaurant Emerging Trend Essay Restaurant Emerging Trend Name: Instructor: Restaurant Emerging Trend The restaurant industry has witnessed several transformations over the period it has been in existence. The shift in preference and focus on healthy and ethical food products have however emerged as a strong wave of change that has affected both small and large food establishments in the industry. This emergent trend concentrates on the nutritional value of the food products being presented to the consumer as opposed to concentrating on lowering food costs or producing new products that may have negative impacts on clients’ health. While healthy food products are the major aspect of this new trend, aspects of consideration for family requirements have also been attached to the health concerns. According to a study done by the National Restaurant Association, most modern food establishments have received increased demands from their clients for healthier options in their menus. Most clients at restaurants also proposed that increased information on the process, contents and types of food products should be provided to them (Kerr, 2009). The variety of necessary information ranged from the calorie counts in various foods to discovering fresher produce on the menu. The study also revealed that over 72% of adults were focused on changing their diets and food consumption to take in healthier options (Kerr, 2009). Most restaurants reported that this change was witnessed in the increased orders in healthful foods as compared to two years ago. Some of the most preferred diets included foods that were gluten-free, children-centered, whole grain items, vegetables and fruits (Bittman, 2011). This change in perception and behavior has been brought about by several aspects (Kerr, 2009) . Increased information on food options and consequences of healthy lifestyles has been a major causative factor responsible for the increased focus on healthy foods inn restaurants. Nearly all the avenues of information globally provide consumers with detailed information concerning what they consume on a daily basis. Health practitioners and professionals in the food sector are the most prominent actors in this regard. These two sets of experts have provided endless and influential information on calorie intake, physical and psychological effects as well as cost-cutting measures and other information that has greatly change the attitudes of most restaurant clients (Bittman, 2011). From features on the Internet to television shows, the message being sent by most health and culinary experts has greatly pushed many people to reconsider their consumption patterns. Television shows such as Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger and renowned publications such as The Best Life Diet and Younger You have inspired many people to drop the conventional famous fast foods and pick up healthier alternatives (Kerr, 2009). Within restaurants, the conversion to healthier foods has also been prompted by increased information that is listed on the menu that clarifies calorie content, fat and other ingredients (Kerr, 2009). Economic incentives have also been a major contributor towards changed perceptions of restaurant fast foods. Against the background of strained economic times, most citizens have a difficult time allocating enough money to cater for food needs. While the general perception among many people has been that healthier foods cost more, increased information on the food costs and comparison with different stores has revealed that healthier foods are quite affordable. With the increased awareness of this difference, people have started embracing healthier food options because of their cost saving benefits (Bittman, 2011). Fast food establishments previously only had the monopoly due to highly subsidized raw materials that allow them to sell most foods for a small price. Even among low-income households, the switch to healthier foods has been prompted by increased medical costs. While fast foods may be cheaper, it has been discovered that they contain grave nutritional implications such as o besity, cancers and other critical diseases. Therefore, high medical costs have also encouraged many people to take up healthier diets and this has changed the food products offered in most restaurants (Bittman, 2011). Promotion of healthier alternatives for restaurants The best approach towards realizing increased and affordable healthier alternatives within the food industry is to promote production of healthy and organic foods. The main challenge in realizing healthier diets in most menus is the availability of organic vegetables, fruits and other animal products. This can be traced back to the federal level. At this level, the government should be lobbied to subsidize further the research and development of organic produce. The government should also be lobbied to increase the import of organic foodstuffs into the country. When the availability of organic foods can seize to be a problem, most food establishments can comfortably include them in all their diets. Another approach that would greatly entrench the tradition of providing healthy products in restaurants is increased sensitization on the different ingredients, calorie levels and other elements used in everyday preparation of fast foods. Through a strong awareness campaign that can be sp earheaded by a joint effort comprising of the medical, media and food sector, consumers can be provided with relevant information on the best dietary choices. Conclusively, change in the restaurant sector can also be influenced by incorporating the contribution of the mainstream and support staff. This includes the chefs and their assistants, waiters and other professionals involved in food preparation. By providing them with the necessary knowledge on the consequences of offering clients fast foods, they can jointly cooperate toward preparing healthier foods while in the kitchen. References Bittman, M. (2011, September 24). Is Junk Food Really Cheaper? New York Times. Retrieved from nytimes.com/2011/09/25/opinion/sunday/is-junk-food-really-cheaper.html?pagewanted=1_r=3 Kerr, A. (2009). Celebrate dinner: Eating gourmet the frugal way. Springville, Utah: Bonneville Books.

Islam and Secularism in Turkey Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Islam and Secularism in Turkey - Essay Example The provision which declared that the religion of the state was Islam was removed through the constitutional amendment. A great percentage of the citizens in Turkey subscribe to Islam. However, the current constitution which came into effect in 1982 does not recognize or promote an official state religion, including Islam (Kuru 28). Secularism in Turkey did not strictly advocate that the state and religion be separated. It simply describes the stance of the state as one that supports dynamic neutrality. Turkish position on religion and its relationship with the European Union has caused some issues with how it relates to the West and the East. Turkey’s history of secularism can be traced back to the Ottoman Empire (Kuru 56). During this period, the toleration of diversity was a major issue for country’s the administration. The beginning of secularism in Turkey is said to have been very dramatic as it negated the Islamic system of the Ottoman Empire. Islamists spent the entire 20th century opposing

Stakeholders are Coming to Require the Goods and Services Essay

Stakeholders are Coming to Require the Goods and Services - Essay Example In such a way, the means by which the differential between the developed and the developing world is understood is lessened as a result of this increased level of integration. For purposes of this particular case study, the author will analyze the means by which Alpen Bank, a Romanian bank considering implementation of opening a new credit market within the nation of Romania, will be exposed to specific levels of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that arise out of such a level of integration. By targeting and analyzing each of these specific compliments, it is the hope of this author that a further level of understanding and market specific knowledge can be derived with regards to the best means by which Alpen Bank can seek to target the market and minimize overall risk while maximizing profit potential. Further, through such an analysis, the author will also hope to shed a level of understanding with regards to what key groups Alpen Bank should seek to target with re gards to this new credit availability, what marketing efforts would be best advised with regards to these groups, positioning strategies most suitable for the firm, as well as an elaboration upon the realities of the current market and the way in which Alpen Bank should seek to engage with these determinants. ... hat the firm is able to exhibit is necessarily with regards the fact that they had previously existed within this market and offered a range of consumer products and services that allow them not only to have brand recognition but also evoke a level of trust within the likely consumer bases that they will integrate. Moreover, the experience within credit markets and personal banking that Alpen Bank has specialized since 1983, provides them with a valuable knowledge base and key understanding of considerations with regards to how to integrate more effectively within new and devleping economies and nations. Finally, Alpen Bank has the additional benefit of already being represented within 14 different nations around the globe. Although most of these representations are in highly developed nations, such as Germany, England, Singapore, and Ireland, they also have a level of proficiency in providing consumer banking services in nations as diverse and developing as India and Poland. Weaknes ses: the first and most salient weakness which should be discussed is with regards to the fact that although Alpen Bank is a multinational consumer bank that has a presence in over 14 nations, it has yet to be represented within Eastern Europe (with the exception of Poland which dependent upon definition is oftentimes not considered as part of Eastern Europe). Necessarily, this is a weakness due to the fact that the firm will be integrating with clients and an economic/political system that they have little if any knowledge concerning. Another distinct weakness that the firm faces is with regards to the fact that as compared to the other countries in which they currently operate within, there is little broad-based nor historical evidence of consumer credit markets within Romania as such.

Sex in Advertising Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Sex in Advertising - Research Paper Example The advertisement industry prefers to portray females as objects of enjoyment and appeal. It seems that females in the last two decades have become well-used to the needs of the advertising industry and have decided to explore the possibility. The advertisers have been reminding the society that female body is valuable, and something that must be revealed. All beauty products in the market are accompanied by almost fully naked female bodies. Famous brands and celebrities also contribute to this sex-oriented marketing system and get benefits in return. In order to draw consumer attention, the performers in ads dress provocatively, exhibit incongruously seductive, and behave in a flirtatious manner. A look into such ads reveals that the definition of beauty has changed from time to time. It is easy to understand this difference if one compares a beautiful woman of the present day with the portrait of a beautiful woman of the 16th century. Undoubtedly, the concept of fashion is set and redefined by the advertising media from time to time. According to Aaslestad, fashion embodies new social values and emerges as the primary area of contradiction between tradition and change (283). This is very evident in the changes that took place in the dressing of celebrities, namely women, appeared in ads. There is a visible change in the styles of both men and women today, and this change is attributed to the new philosophical and social ideals cherished by the advertising industry namely women, appeared in ads.

The growth of Clostridium botulinum Essay Example for Free

The growth of Clostridium botulinum Essay 1. Give an account of the properties and uses of phenol. (1) Phenol is acidic and its conjugate base, phenoxide ion is stabilized by resonance. However, phenol is not acidic enough to liberate CO2 from phenol because an aqueous solution of carbon dioxide is a stronger acid than phenol. An aqueous solution of phenol has a pH value of 9. This means phenol reacts with NaOH but not NaHCO3. Phenol dissolves in NaOH(aq) to form sodium phenoxide, an ionic salt. (2) Phenol is corrosive and is a useful antiseptic. (3) Phenol is a colorless solid of low melting point. Its pink appearance is due to the presence of impurities. (4) When attached to a benzene ring, a hydroxyl group does not show the properties of an alcohol. The delocalization of electrons into the ring makes the -OH group inert towards replacement. On the other hand, the -OH group activates the ring toward electrophilic substitution at the ortho- and para-positions. Therefore, phenol reacts with (a) NO2+, (b) CH3+, (c) CH3CO+, (d) Br2(aq). Phenol is so reactive that it easily decolorizes bromine water in an electrophilic substitution as follows: C6H5OH + 3/2 Br2 C6H2Br3OH (2,4,6-tribromophenol). (5) In alkaline medium, phenol changes into phenoxide ion, a good nucleophile, C6H5O- easily undergoes reaction with i. Halogenoalkane to form an ether C6H5O- + Cl-CH3 C6H5OCH3 + Cl- ii. Ethanoyl chloride to form an ester C6H5O- + Cl-COCH3 C6H5OCOCH3 + Cl- (6) Phenol reacts with methanal to form a thermosetting plastic with high melting point. In the plastic, the phenol molecules are joined together by -CH2 units derived from methanal HCOH. (7) Phenol reacts with stable diazonium salt formed from aromatic amine, forming an azo dye via a -N=N- link at the ortho- or para-position. 2. The preservation technique must not have a detrimental effect on the nutritive value of the food nor be potentially harmful, either immediately or cumulatively, to health. (1) Food preservation techniques involve the killing of micro-organisms, inhibition of microbial growth, or the retardation of chemical changes leading to food spoilage. Principles of food preservation include i. Removal of moisture By making water unavailable for microbial growth and chemical processes, it is possible to preserve food. This technique includes drying and dehydration. , ii. Altering temperature Bacterial cells and spores are destroyed at high temperature, while at low temperatures, the growth of micro-organisms and the rate of reactions which cause food spoilage are retarded. These methods include heat treatment and freezing. iii. Changing pH The use of vinegar in pickling and the production of lactic acid in yoghurt which retards the growth of potential spoilage organisms. iv. Use of osmotic pressure Adding sugar or salt increases the solute concentration within the aqueous environment of the food. The microbial cell loses water to the surrounding concentrated sugar or salt solution by osmosis. The micro-organisms cannot reproduce and multiply, and therefore would not cause food spoilage. v. Use of chemical additives Nitrate and nitrite are used in meat curing for their antimicrobial properties. Anti-oxidants are added to certain food products such as potato crisps to reduce rancidity of fats and oils, thereby prolonging the shelf-life of these foods by chemical changes vi. Irradiation ? -rays prevent spoilage from inside fruit and vegetable and the unbroken skin prevents aerial oxidation. This method significantly increases the length of storage. (2) Food preservation technique i. Heat treatment Cooked food and milk sterilized by UHT. Heat kills micro-organisms, alters protein structure, destroys enzyme activity of micro-organisms in food. ii. Chilling and freezing at -20oC slow down microbial activities and chemical changes resulting in spoilage. Freezing promotes the retention of nutrients and does not destroy nutrients. iii. In canning, food is cooked under pressure in sealed containers. Cooking destroys enzymes and micro-organisms and most canned foods keep well for more than one year. iv. Sugaring and salting remove water essential for enzyme action and microbial growth. v. Pickling in vinegar reduces growth of micro-organisms. vi. Chemicals such as nitrate and nitrite prohibit the growth of micro-organisms. vii. Benzoate, sulphite and vitamin C retard chemical spoilage in fruit juice. 3. Give an account of the uses of food additive. Food additives include monosodium glutamate, benzoic acid, vitamins, butylated hydroxytoluene(BHT). Food additives prevent oxidation, add flavor, texture and color, kill bacteria, increase vitamin content, etc The chemical preservatives that are used as food additives are of two kinds: antimicrobial and antioxidant. Antimicrobial agents like the nitrates(III) and nitrates(V) of sodium and potassium have been added to cured meats like bacon, sausage, luncheon meat for a long time. Nitrates(III) are valuable in preventing the growth of Clostridium botulinum, the bacteria that produces deadly botulism poisoning in canned foods. Sulphur dioxide and sulphates(IV) are another group of antimicrobial preservatives that have been added to alcoholic beverages and dried fruits for centuries. They have been included in fruit juices, jellies and jams. They prevent the growth of yeast and are useful as bleaches and antioxidants to prevent browning in alcoholic beverages dried fruits, fruit juice and vegetables. Antioxidants are used to oppose the oxidative decay of food due to microbial activity. Atmospheric oxidation is the chief cause of destruction of fats and oils in food. Fats and oils deteriorate rapidly by air oxidation, producing carboxylic acids, aldehydes and ketones, which together give spoiled fats their characteristic rancid taste and odor. An antioxidant added to the food can hinder oxidation. BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole) and BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) are common antioxidants used in food to retard this development of oxidative rancidity in unsaturated fats and oils. These phenols appear to work by donating the H-atom of the -OH group to the free hydroperoxide radical (ROO. ) involved in the autoxidation of fats and oils, thereby stopping the chain reactions in oxidative spoilage: AH + ROO. ROOH + A. where AH represents the antioxidant, and A.is a radical derived from the antioxidant, e. g. An effective natural antioxidant is vitamin E, which, like BHT and BHA, is a phenol. Vitamin E, is more expensive than the synthetic antioxidants. Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) and sulphur dioxide. An acidic antioxidant like vitamin C can slow down the fast browning of a piece of apple exposed to air. Sulphur dioxide and sulphates(IV) also act as antioxidants (or reductants) which preferentially react with oxygen and prevent the oxidation of ethanol to ethanoic acid in wines.

Macro Environment Analysis: PEST

Macro Environment Analysis: PEST With the increasing of international business, there has been growing interest in how a successful organization to create a appropriate international strategy. This article provides an expanded approach to an organizations strategy and linkages that exist in international business operations. Geely Holding Group as an illustrative case to be evaluated by suing PEST analysis, Porters Five Force Model, SWOT analysis, and Integration-responsiveness Framework. By analyzing all internal and external elements and variables factors, this paper proposes a list of recommendations and solutions to promote Geelys international process. Key words: Internal Business Environment, External Business Environment, industry globalization and localization drivers, Critical Success Factors, competitors Integration-responsiveness framework. 1.0 Introduction 1.1 Background of Automotive Industry The automotive industry is growing with globalization since the first automobile was built in 1885. To the present day, more than 70 million motor vehicles were produced extending throughout the world. China , Russia , Brazil and India became the major markets rapidly. In 2008, the Figure 1 shows there were about 73.2 million new motor vehicles were sold worldwide (OICA, 2009). The production has continuously increased, whereas sales started decrease in late 2007. The whole industry was weakened by a substantial increase in the prices of raw materials and fuels cost. Furthermore, the recession began in 2008 had a profound influence on the auto industry. By 2008, a series of damaging blows drove the automobile manufacturers include American Big Three to the verge of miserable condition. Dugigg (2008) has referred to such a language as The automotive industry crisis occurred between 2008 and 2010 is a part of reflection of global financial downturn. The crisis primarily affected the American and European automobile manufacturing industry. Decline in productivity has resulted in less output, meanwhile, due to the economic crisis, oil price shock and environment expectations, more and more automobile buyers turned their attention on a higher quality and more fuel saving auto vehicles. This phenomenon of changing product demand gives many automobile manufacturers a heavily shock. Therefore, many famous automobile manufacturers have no choice to sell some of its famous brands in order to relieve financial pressure. Undoubtedly, it provides opportunities to other private enterprises entry the market. China became both the largest automobile producer and market in the world after experiencing massive growth in 2009. For example Ford, the one of The Big Three of American au tomobile manufacturer and the fourth-largest in the world based on cars sold number annually (OICA,2008), battled against the weak currency market and sold decline. Failing investments and an increasing unemployment rate has exacerbated the impact of the crisis. 1.2 Geely Holding Group Profile According to the company brief of Geely (2010), Geely Holding Group is one of Chinas top ten private automakers and also among the countrys top 500 organizations. Geely is founded in 1986 and is today a fully integrated independent auto firm with a complete auto eco-system from design and research and development to production, distribution and servicing (Li Shufu,2008,p 9). Although Geely has achieved great success in domestic automobile industry, it pays more attention to explore global market. About 40000 vehicles are exported for sales in 2008, ranking second place in automobile export in China. In March 28, 2010, Geely Group signed a contract to make an acquisition of Ford Motors Volvo automobiles brand for the cost of $1.8 billion (Nordstrom, 2010). Through acquisition, Geely can rapidly accelerate its international business in automobile industry and become a leader in this area. 2.0 Geely Business Environment Analyses 2.1 Conceptual Background on Business Environment John Kew and John Stredwick(2005) similarly argued that business environment is a situation largely outside the control and influence of an organization, and the factors in business environment car potentially have both benefit and passive impacts on an organizations present or future activities. It is useful to divide into two the micro-environment and the macro-environment. Middleton (2003) elaborated that the macro-environment involves factors such as the economy, government policy and social change, outside of the direct control of the business. These factors such as the economy, government policy and social change can have a significant effect on a firms success but the relationship is fairly one way. The PEST (or PESTLE) analysis appears to be by Francis J. Aguilar in 1967 can analyze the macro-environment efficiently. The individuals and firms belong to micro-environment and have direct activities of a business. The members of it include suppliers, distributors, competitors, c ustomers and employees. These factors will affect the performance of any organization. Thus, the micro-environment plays a critical role in the success and behavior of a business. Use the Five Forces analysis to gain insights into the competitiveness of the micro-environment (Cliff, 1990). 2.2 Macro-environment Analysis by use PEST Analysis PEST is an acronym for Political, Economic, Social and Technological. Organization can use this tool to reduce risks associated with operation. The Oxford University Press was strongly shaped and influenced by PEST analysis. As the relevant article published in 2007 shows A PEST analysis is helpful understanding the position, potential and direction for a business. PEST Analysis on Automotive Industry Political Political factors relate to government policy that firms have to operate, such as trade regulation, political stability and trading policies. Political decisions can impact on many vital aspects for organizations. Automotive industry has propelled by government incentives. For example, China government used stimulus measures to support vehicle sales, such as cuts in sales tax for engines smaller than 1.6 liters. Indeed, Geely as a famous independent privately owned firm in China, it has a strong support from the government. Moreover, America saved the American Big Three of the automobile manufacturers in 2009. Furthermore, governments make no difficultly with automobile merger of cross border or oversea purchase domestic brands. A great deal of mergers and acquisitions activity from auto manufacturers to parts suppliers (Gaughan, 2008). For instance, Geelys international acquisition is evident to that. Economic Economic factors include interest rates, taxation changes, economic growth, inflation and exchange rates. Above of these impact the profit of firm and customers purchasing power. Exchange rate fluctuation influences on vehicle international trade, a weak currency may make export easier. An economic slowdown in many parts of the world during the financial crisis. In this term, interest rate and inflation are unstable. In fact, recession let automotive industry has a huge problem. However, China has remained the only one of the worlds major economies that continued to show growth through the global recession of 2008-2009. Chinas strong economic boom of recent years continues to lift incomes and bring more of the population within financial reach of car ownership, vehicle sales arrived at 13.6million units in 2009 CAAM reported (Just-auto). Social Social factors include lifestyle trends, culture, buying access and trends. These factors affect consumers demand and the size of potential markets.Focus on social trends can improve on the firms reaction to customers need. Consider of fuel cost and environment pollution, increasing consumers need small cars. In other words, customers prefer to high quality, low price, complete service, and added value for an auto vehicle. Technological Technological factors involve new technologies create, rate of technological diffusion and change, replacement technology and so on. Individuals and governments are set up to promote new technology in renewable energy and create electric vehicles. Conclusion Above of these factors could be important macro-environment elements in an automobile manufacturer. It is vital to gain an insight into the macro-environment of the industry to guide strategic decision-making. In political aspects, although most governments propel development of auto industry, some of them take a system of tariffs or other measure of protecting domestic producers, especially compare with Chinas new stimulus measures. It doubtless impacted automobile international trade. If the firm choose a place with abnormal inflation rate, high taxation and may lead to production cost and operation fee, taxation and unstable exchange rate, the firm will have high risks associated with operation. Consider social and technological factors, companies in should focus on research and development to environmentally-friendly products like electric vehicles. 2.3 The Porters Five Forces Analysis on Micro-environment Porters Five Forces analysis is a simply tool to analyze the determinants of an organizations profit; it can be summarized through his Five Forces Model in figure 3. (Chris, Stewart and martin, 2008). This model attempts to explain relationship between competitors, new entrants, suppliers, customers and substitutes. Understand of critical issues is vital to establish what the best competitive position and gap is (Michael E. Porter, 1980). 2.3 The Porters Five Forces Analysis on Micro-environment Porters Five Forces analysis is a simply tool to analyze the determinants of an organizations profit; it can be summarized through his Five Forces Model in figure 3. (Chris, Stewart and martin, 2008). This model attempts to explain relationship between competitors, new entrants, suppliers, customers and substitutes. Understand of critical issues is vital to establish what the best competitive position and gap is (Michael E. Porter, 1980). Rivalry Among Existing competitors Rivalry competitors always have similar products or services in the same industry. Strong rivalry is likely to generate profits damage. The degree of rivalry is high when competitors have become more equal in market share and capability, tempted use price war or other competitive measures to boost sales, low barriers to entry, demand for the product is growing slowly, the costs of leaving the market is high and a little brand loyalty because of so similar that customers are easily switch products. According to automotive industry, rivalry can be intense and cut-throat due to more and more competitors undertook the vehicle manufacture. 2. Threats of New entry For other Chinese firm enter the automotive industry it is expensive to set up a nationwide network in marketing and equipment. Geely established in 5 strategy markets, such as CIS, Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia and Central and South America. The existing automobile manufacturers have gained high reputation in market and established excellent brand image. However, the existing firms have no control of the supplies; new entries have opportunities to development. In recent years, Chinese domestic auto companies that have experience in host country like Chery, Chana, Saic and Baw, have active performance in international market. Therefore industrys profitability was affected. Like Porters view, In a market with low barriers to entry, the threat of newly competing rivals is high only when the level of profitability in this industry is high as well. To illustrate, in March 2nd, 2006, Chery had exported its own products to American. Chery has gained a certain market share in Europe, Africa, South America and North America in 2009. 3. Threats of substitutes A substitute is something has similar function as existing product in the industry. According to Porter, the threat of substitutes also influences the bargaining power of companies. (Chris, Stewart and martin, 2008,p.37)If substitutes have lower price, good performance or both, then some customers will be tempted to move new products. Substitutes are not in direct competition but have nonetheless a massive impact on existing companies, for example decrease goods price and raising investment to improve products or services. However, there was no obvious evidence of substitutes in automotive industry. Although some countries have complete public transfer, but all of these 4. Bargaining Power of buyers Powerful buyers will be able to force down prices thus can bargain away profits of firms that sales goods or services. Porter argues that the profitability of an organization depends on the bargaining power it exercises in negotiating prices with suppliers and customers. Buyer power will be higher if they are scale important in this transaction. For example they purchase in large quantities or purchases represent a sizeable percentage of the industrys total sales. However, this kind of powerful buyer are difficult appear in global auto industry, it could be happen in a small area. Especially, there are a few buyer of the firm, big buyer is vital to them. Moreover, when the industry emerge large numbers of small sellers or customers can easily switch to other provides, consumers have powerful negotiation to extract a high quality service at a good price. In fact, international auto market has a great many vehicle brands not only in low-end car market but also in high-end auto market. Buyers have a very wide selection. 5. Bargaining power of suppliers The strong bargaining power of supplier is leading to a squeeze on profits through higher input costs. If there are relatively few suppliers within the industry or organizations are difficult or costly switch from one supplier to another, the suppliers of raw materials, power, skilled labors and components will have power of high prices negotiation. According to China Association of Automobile Manufactures research (Plunkett, 2007) shows cost, design, security and extra capability are decisive factors in a cars value. It requires suppliers to enhance the quality of their products and service. Global competition in auto industry: Along with the continuous impact of financial crisis, the international market is shrinking. Meanwhile, the profit of international auto market decrease along with the shrinking revenue. Consequently, the competition in international auto market is becoming fiercer and fiercer. The automobile market is at the maturity stage of the life cycle, locally and globally, due to an increased number of competitors from domestic and foreign markets. The automobile market is characterized by a low potential for market growth, but high sales and limited profit margins. Competitive forces are high in each segment of the overall market, Geely currently face fierce competition against Lifan, whos marketing strategy is price oriented, its model series LIFAN520 has gain a considerable proportion of the market due to its low price strategy. After the buy out of Volvo, it is expected that Geely will shift its current strategy to differentiation. Hunt (1972) proposed a strategic group analysis to identi fy and group strategic characteristics, following similar strategies or rivaling on common bases. Criticism offers that the study of strategic groups is merely from cognitive perspective, notwithstanding the framework have obtained prominence over the years (Hodgkinson 1997:623). Profit Margin High Low Sales Volume Low High High sales with average margin Toyota, Chrysler, Honda Low Sales Volume with high margin BMW, Mercedes, Jaguar High Sales Volume with low margin Lifan, Geely Low Sales and low margin Chery, Chana, Saic Baw Figure: Strategic Group Analysis To sum up, along with the recovery of international economy environment, and Chinese governments policy on private enterprises access to internationalization, it provides convenience and opportunity for Geelys international strategy. Nevertheless, due to deficient consumer confident on private enterprise and the restriction of consumption environment, Geely faces mighty competition pressure. Thus, what is needed is the improvement of Geelys ability to respond to external factors after acquisition. When we make an international strategic plan for a multinational enterprise, we have to take the corresponding relationship between local factors and global factors into account. The IR framework provides a visual diagram for us to demonstrate the diverse and conflicting pressures that firms confront. The two major concepts that will influence MNE are integration and responsiveness. By integration, Prahalad and Doz (1987) refer to the coordination of activities across countries aimed at building efficient operations networks and taking maximum advantage of similarities across locations. By responsiveness, they refer to the attempt of responding to specific needs of host countries, and note that businesses can choose to emphasize one dimension over another, or to stress both dimensions. Thus, firms have basically three strategic options at their disposal: the global integration strategy, the locally responsive strategy, and as sort of an in-between option, the multi-focal strategy. The choice between the three strategic options is governed by the perceived intensity of two forces in the firms operating environment: the pressure for global integration and the pressure for local responsiveness (Prahalad Doz, 1987, pp. 18-21). The global integration and local responsiveness pressure of Geely is listed in Figure 8 Integration Pressure(Globalization drivers) Responsiveness Pressure(Localization drivers) Economies of Scale. Geely needs to set a brand of subsidiaries to achieve economies of mass production. Consumer trends and universal needs. The word Consumers are God should be a basic principle of Geelys cultural. Uniform service to global customers. Services are essential to win global consumers enthusiasm. Global sourcing of raw materials, components, energy, and labor. Source from large-scale, centralized suppliers provides benefits from economies of scale and consistent performance. Global competitors. Global cooperation and coordination is necessary to resolve competitive threats in foreign and domestic markets. Availability of media that reaches customers in multiple markets. Geely should take advantage of the Internet and cross-national television to advertise their products in different countries simultaneously. Unique resources and capabilities available to the firm. Each country has its own abundant resources. Diversity of local customer needs. Different people in different region have different appetite and requirements on vehicles. Local competition. When competing against numerous local rivals, centrally-controlled MNEs will have difficulty gaining market share with global products that are not adapted to local needs. Geely should diversify its products. Cultural differences. MNES have to adapt to local history, language, custom, ways of dealing with people and culture. Local government requirements and regulations. Local governments usually impose trade barriers or complex business regulations to protect local trade. Apparently, Geely has great ambitions to become a top automobile manufacturer giants in a few years. However, due to the reason that Chinese automobile industry has started later than many developed countries, Geely has a huge gap between other large manufacturers. Although Geely has already acquired Volvo, it has numerous obstacles such as international humanresource integration and management, autonomous technology RD, and cross-cultural conflicts. According to the analysis of Figure8 and IR framwork, we can conclude that Geely has to seek to achieve both global effectiveness and local responsiveness. Geely must achieve simultaneously requirements for strong central control and coordination of subsidary companies and decentralization and empowement to local responsiveness. 3.3 Key Factors for Success in Automotive Industry The Critical success factors (CSF) is a notion which is applied to understand the elements necessary for an organization to archive its objectives, it is initially applied in the data analysis and business analysis (Rockart, 1979), later it extended its use in IT projects to enhance the user involvements (Boynlon, 1984). In the automotives industry, there are a set of critical success factors for firms to achieve in order to obtain unique competitive advantage. First, engineering and innovation in car designing, a firm can gain remarkable advantage via superior quality of engineering in automotive production, skilled labour force, fashionable design and luxury taste. Second, Brand image is of essence in todays auto mobile competition. E.g. BMW claims its brand as ultimate Driving Machine (BMW, 2004), excellent brand image can lead to fanatic loyalty towards the brand thus create advantage. Third, safety is guaranteed by the quality of vehicles, premium quality mobile, sophisticated testing methods and strong safety record will all contribute to competitiveness of a firm. Fourth, cost reduction, sophisticated techniques e.g. JIT system or host country advantage can have direct impact on the cost reduction of a firm. Fourth, if a firm can tightly control its distribution network, it can manage its bran d more efficiently and make more effective communication with its distributors. Fifth, a firm has an excellent grasp on supply chain management enables the firm to maintain a good relationship with suppliers in the long run, to ensure that the customer needs are satisfied. The strategic positioning model is widely applied to demonstrate how a firm shifts its strategy in a variety of ways (Boston, 2000). Chesbrough and Rosenbloom (2002) argued that the application of strategic position model enable the user to gain a clear picture of the competitive advantages of the chosen firm. In Geelys case, due to the host country advantage now Geely possess the cost advantage in the low end market from global scale. However the acquisition of Volvo may help Geely to gain the engineering expertise and a positive brand images, consequently create more competitive advantages for the firm. 4.0 International Strategy of Geely 4.1 Internal and External Factors Analysis by Using SWOT Analysis SWOT analysis is a simple and useful tool for strategic alternatives from a business environment analysis. SWOT formed from the initial letters of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. It through analyze the internal and external environment to help organizations understand current situation and make decision easily. The SWOT analysis was provided by Albert S. Humphrey in the 1960s, but now it development into an absolutely necessary part of the strategic planning process (An Soff, 1965). Indeed, it is considered the first step of forming a strategic picture. SWOT analysis divide into two aspects, one is external factors as opportunities and threats, the other aspect is internal factors include strengths and weaknesses. Strengths and weaknesses are essentially internal to an organization and relate to matters concerning resources, programs, and organization in key areas. Opportunities and threats tend to be external- from competing organizations, global trends, and other environmental factors. (Charney,p 170,2005) The SWOT analysis reduces the relevant information from internal and external environment to a manageable quantity of primary issues. Logically, it is helpful optimize the firms resources and capabilities, therefore a firm can better leverage its strengths, correct its weaknesses, capitalize on golden opportunities, and deter potentially devastating threats. (Menon,1999,p 30) Thus, a comprehensive SWOT analysis of Geely contributes to a better understanding of Geelys international business environment at internal and external. The figure below is the SWOT analysis on Geelys acquisition of Volvo. SWOT analysis on Geely Internal factors External factors Strengths Opportunities Owns many patents. The maturity of domestic market. Ranking 2nd place in automobile export in China. Supports from government policy. A mass of honest customers in the low-end car market. Geely got further research and developed new energy vehicles. Effective cost control of manufacturing and sale while has high performance price ratio. Increasing needs at abroad. Vehicles have gained high reputation in overseas market and established excellent brand image. Advanced production facilities and technology in low-end car. Local competitors have poor products. Geely can launch 4-5 brand new car models and engine models every year. RD is greatly improved to provide efficient guarantee for the overseas business development. Geely successfully acquired the worlds second largest automatic transmission company called DSI. Capital rising by entrust loans from reliance group. Product innovations ongoing. An increasing trend on global market shares. A billions credit limit from China Everbright Bank and the support from Goldman Sachs Investment Bank. Weaknesses Threats The scale gap with other large automobile manufacturer in the world. Brand appeal is low, oversea consumers have little confidence on new private brands. Marketing network is incomplete, oversea staff need training. Consume circumstance of automobile market is depressed since financial crisis. No takeover experience at automobile company abroad could be called up. It has risks in culture and operation. More and more domestic private brands emerge in automobile industry likely entry of new competitors. Management cover insufficient, Lack of management depth A high safety standard of international import and export motor vehicles Inadequate financing capabilities. Capital situation is unstable. Culture difference impact management style and sales product, oversea customers maybe refuse to adapt new products. It will invest huge number of money to operate in the further years. The market system is incomplete. Manufacturing technique is deficient, poor quality vehicles and less value. New regulations exposed to political problems in the countries that operate in, besides, taxation maybe introduced on product or service. 6.0 Current Situation and Recommendations Independent Research and Development There is no doubt that core technology is the essential of every company in every industry. Moreover, when Geely grasp the unique core technology in automobile industry, it will have the pricing power and cost control, which is the key factor of its globalization strategy. Therefore, Geely has to put more energy on research on its own patents. It is advisable for Geely to set up its own lab. Geely can attract scientists and technicians by offering well-paid position and reputation. 2. Pay attention to domestic market Chinese market is a huge cake which contains abundant human and raw material resources. More and more foreign have rushed into China in order to seize the new prosperous market. As a domestic enterprise, Geely has many unique advantages such as human network, government supports, and public patriotism. Domestic market is the solid back supports for Geelys international development. 3. Cross-cultural management After acquisition, Geely has to take over a series of overseas factories, which means Geely has recruited hundreds and thousands of foreign employees. How to manage them effectively will be the first challenge for Geely. Cultural shock, language barriers, miscommunications, and staff turnover will be the main obstacles in Geelys management. It is suggested that Geely should pay attention to leadership theories. Empowerment, motivation and teamwork are the key factors involved in Geelys management. 4. Government supports In order to expand international market, Geely has to face with different laws and regulations. Building a harmonious and cooperative relationship with governments is essential. Geelys investment and development can enhance local employment rate and increase local tax revenue. Simultaneously, government can provide unique supports for Geely. Cooperation with governments is a win-win strategy. 5. Building a talents training system Experts and technology are the core productivity for a MNE. Geely can set up its own talent base through establishing independent labs and donation to famous universities. Through collaboration with universities and labs, Geely can gain a reputation for thousands and hundreds of students, who have potential to contribute for Geely in the future. Unauthorized Intrusion Or Hacking Information? Unauthorized Intrusion Or Hacking Information? This survey paper will give us the brief overview of what cyber attacks are, what are their types and their causes and what steps should be taken in order to control or counter them with respect to information security management. With the current advancement in cyber technology and mass adaptation of this technology by most of the organizations and businesses cyber security becomes the key concern. Most of the operations like financial, industrial and commercial are interlinked and dependent on each other and ever more dependent on information technology. At the same time, the rapidly growing interconnectivity of IT systems, and the convergence of their technology towards industry-standard hardware and software components and sub-systems, renders these IT systems increasingly vulnerable to malicious attack. (Randel, etal,1998) Introduction: As technology progress and capabilities of information warfare have developed significantly in recent years, the probability of cyber attacks have increased as well. Computer-network attacks mainly known as cyber attacks can destroy adversary data, computer systems, and networks, and can have a major effect on an adversarys ability to wage war (Bayles, 2001). In the cyber arena, the situation is, in some ways, worse than simply paying too little heed to a potential new threat until it manifests itself. Threats in the cyber arena have manifested themselves. We are reminded constantly of our vulnerabilities to the threat, yet we still are not doing enough. Every hour of every day, some individual or group is writing or disseminating a new disruptive virus or worm or is breaking into a computer network or to harm a network by some other means (Vatis, 2004). It is usually said that it is very productive and simple to bring computer in our systems and to increase its usage but at the same time it is significantly difficult and far more expensive to develop technologies to make it secure mainly because of the internet, a network which is used to share information rather than hiding it. Most cyber attackers are attracted to high value targets such as networks, servers, or routers, whose disruption could yield financial or political consequences (Vatis 2001). Types of cyber Attacks: According to (Arnold and Pangi, 2003) Main objective of the cyber attacker is to steal, destroy, remove or change information or to block the functionality of the system which they want to target. We can divide these attacks typically into three main categories, Unauthorized Intrusion or Hacking Destructive Viruses or Worms Denial of Service attacks (DoS) Unauthorized Intrusion or Hacking: Unauthorized attacks are attacks in which attacker get access in to the system by the means of different hacking or cracking techniques. This type of activity will be performed by some outsider who wants to have access of the system in order to use it for some negative purpose. Second type of threat is from an insider who illegally wants to access the system which he or she is not authorized to in order to do harm the network or system. We can divide hacking further in to three more categories, system can be shut down by hacker after regular interval but this kind of hacking activity easily recognized by the administrator and can be easily fixed. Sometimes there are defacements which change the information on the computer system, this type of activity is also easily traceable as sometimes hackers place a note like you have been hacked à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦etc. Defacements are potentially more disruptive as they subtly change figures or alter information. Another common type of defacement is website defacement. Hackers regularly deface information on organizations or government websites in order to ridicule the entity that sponsors the site or to put hackers own message. Most of them are just nuisance not a serious threat. Semantic hacking is one fo rm of defacement which is potentially more harmful as it changes the content of a web page deviously so that the change could not be obvious which results in the dissemination of the false information. An example of possible semantic attack with significant impact would be change in the website of disease control and prevention system which could have a disastrous effect on research and analyses or treatment of the disease. Thirdly the possible threat is of Trojan horse programmes. These are the silent operations and aim to pass undetected by virus scanners. They get the information from the system and send it to the hacker. (*, 2007) Destructive Viruses or Worms: These types of attack usually spread through emails or some other source of data transfer between computer to computer and can cause the loss of functionality of parts of the network. Worm and viruses are malicious computer program example of famous virus is love mail which use to shut down the system and another example of this kind of virus is I love you email as soon as attachment is opened it start sending copies of the same email to all address in users address book. Denial of Service attacks (DoS) Denial of service attack is a sort of attack in which hacker bombard the system with number of messages with such a frequency that system cannot able to process anything else. It overload the computer system which results in effecting the functionality of the system. Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks is another useful mean of putting computers off network for some time. In Distributed Denial of service attacks hacker bombard the web and email server from great number of messages, by receiving such a high numbers of fake messages system functionality becomes slow or sometime system get crashed. Hackers can easily increase the effect of their distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks by using malicious codes to get control of other systems and using these Zombie machines to send more messages on to the servers(Arnold and Pangi, 2003). Domain Name server (DNS) Attack: According to (Arnold and Pangi, 2003) Communication between two computers on the internet is done by using internet protocol address of computers. To map the name of the website computer consult domain name servers and if DNS give wrong numerical address than user will connect to a wrong server without any information that he is on wrong server. This sort of attacks will be useful in spreading incorrect information and to divert a customer of e-commerce site from the original site or sometime block access. DNS is hierarchal there for the cascading effect on remote servers would result in traffic to selected site to be redirected or loss. (Cortes, 2004) Compound attacks: As the word compound itself describes these attacks are the combinations of 2 or 3 different attacks simultaneously. Purpose of these attacks is to increase the destructiveness of some sort of physical attack with the help of coordinated cyber attacks e.g. terrorist might place some boom in densely populated area at the same time with the help of cyber attacker they disable the communication setup of emergency services like ambulance, fire, police to impede there response. (Arnold and Pangi, 2003) Routing Vulnerabilities: Router controls all the traffic on the internet that is there they make it sure that the information in the form of packets, get from the source to destination. In general router is not a primary threat for disruption, but if the routing operation is not well diversified than it can lead to a massive routing attack. So it now a primary concern for the router manufactures to follow standards and regulation for maintaining the security on routers. (Cortes, 2004) Sources of Attacks: Cyber attacks can be launched from different sources depending upon their motives and the target they want to attack, generally we can group them in three categories terrorist groups, targeted nation-states and thrill seekers. Terrorist Groups Terrorist activities are the great threat for the whole world. Terrorist are not only targeting the physical infrastructure of the countries but now they are targeting the IT infrastructure as well. i.e. hacking the government websites and causing serious damage to vulnerable information (Cortes, 2004). Targeted Nation-States Most of the countries which dont have the friendly relation with one of the some countries use cyber attacks to sabotage the IT infrastructure of their potential enemy in order to safe guard their own national interests. e.g. India and Pakistan both are trying to attack government an defense resources in order to harm each other. Similarly China, America and Russia try to initiate attacks on each other national infrastructure primarily security network (Cortes, 2004). Thrill Seekers These sorts of attacker are not attacking the network for specific purpose rather they do it for fun and check their ability to break the secured networks. Because of the advancement in technology probability of these attacks are high (Cortes, 2004). Countering Cyber Attacks: Due to technology advancement and use of IT in almost every field of life and day by day increasing cyber attacks it is mandatory to counter all this cyber attacks and to secure the IT infrastructure as much as possible. Although countering these cyber attacks is not an easy job rather much complex and consist of several layer of defense. It take time to develop a mature program. The ratio of threat is changing day by day probability of risk is increasing and organizations should change their approach towards information security and take it as a primary concern. Establish threat intelligence gathering Capability Threat monitoring Risk analysis Security strategy validation Minimize delivery of malware Security awareness enhancements Continuous controls update Website protection Threat monitoring Application security testing Prevent execution of malware Application whitelisting Least access privileges Network restrictions/segmenting Identity and access management Protect the data Protect the data/data loss prevention Detect and respond Host and network anomaly detection Incident response program Forensics Source: insight of IT risk 2010 Established threat gathering capabilities: In order to understand the continuously changing threat landscape organization should develop an intelligence gathering capabilities to supervise and plan strategic and tactical responses to threats. This team should consist of qualified professionals who can keep an eye on the current threats and interpret how the organization can be effected by these potential threats and what necessary steps should be taken to modify the organizational security controls and overall security strategy. The prime objective of this time is to monitor the threat level than analyze it that how it can effect their organization and than to develop a strategy (Ernst Youngs, 2010). Minimize delivery of malware: By strictly implementing the traditional security measures in the organization the threat of malware can be greatly reduced below mentioned are the ways how we can reduce the threat level. Social engineering: It is one of the most common methods of reducing the threat or malware environment. There are number of ways by which this threat can be introduce like phishing or dropping USB in organization premises and hoping some one will use this USB in company computer, resulting employees unintentionally perform a harmful action. Regardless of implementing the entire advance technical controls human factor will remain the weakest link in spreading malware. So the solution of this problem is to aware the employees as much possible against these threats so that the employees protect them self to unintentionally become a source for spreading these malware. Research shows that companies are not doing well in promoting awareness to their employees. The organization should conduct the information security programmes on regular intervals. So that there effectiveness will be increase (Ernst Youngs, 2010). Security awareness: Mean to educate the employee about the common threats which are used by the cyber attackers. This awareness can be increase by including security awareness programs in the companies overall defense in depth strategy. These programs should include education about new threats different examples how employees contribute to the success of the attack and lesson learned what means are used by cyber attacker using social media etc. to target organizational networks and than take the feedback from the employees (Ernst Youngs, 2010). Malicious software: Another way which can reduce the threat of cyber attack is a use of registered softwares on all user computers. Corrupted or pirated softwares are also the main source of introducing malware in the network. Phishing and DNS redirection: Threat can be introduced in the company network by redirecting the DNS to a malware site while preventing the user from visiting the hack or fraudent site to begin with would be preferred but it would not happen most of the time. So it is preferred to block the sites but it is infective to block the sites on domain name bases because they can easily be change. So it is more effective to block the sites by IP address. Install the tools which can tell the users when they visit the site whether the site is safe or unsafe the network. At the end decision is again in the employees hand, so awareness to employees is really very important (Ernst Youngs, 2010). Protect the data: Data is the most important aspect in information system because at the end it all about the data. By implementing the Data Loss Prevention DLP solution can help stop malware collecting the sensitive data and from sanding data back to attacker home network. On the basis of predefined policies host based DLP can be implemented in order to control the information which user has access. In order to keep the check on the flow of data on the network, network DLP can be use which keep the record which data is going in and out of the network and block the specific data to going out of the network ( Ernst Youngs, 2010). Conclusion: After considering all the factors in mind which we have discussed above we came to conclusion that As technological advancement reaching at its peak, at the same time Cyber crime is also increasing day by day but different organization and agencies are working to overcome all such crimes. As cyber crime become a global issue so globally Governments are putting all their resources against these crimes by imposing legislation against these activities and most of the country have consensus to help each other against cyber attacks. Software companies are developing most sensitive tools and controls in order to protect organizational or government assets from these threats. The most important thing is to implement all those advance controls along with conventional security measures to safe guard all sort of assets from cyber attack.