A Dirty Job Chapter 15

15 THE CALL OF BOOTY Fuck puppets,† Ray said out of nowhere. He was on the stair-climbing machine next to Charlie and they were both sweating and staring at a row of six, perfectly tuned female bottoms aimed at them from the machines in front of them. â€Å"What was that?† Charlie said. â€Å"Fuck puppets,† Ray said. â€Å"That's what they are.† Ray had talked Charlie into coming to his health club with him under the pretense of getting him into the flow of being single. Actually, because Ray was an ex-cop, watched people more closely than really was healthy, had too much time on his hands, and didn't get out much himself, the real reason he asked Charlie to come work out with him was so he could get to know him outside of the shop. He'd noticed a strange pattern that had developed since Rachel's death, of Charlie showing up with people's property shortly after their obituary appeared in the paper. Because Charlie kept to himself socially and was secretive about what he did when he was out of the shop, not to mention all the little animals that ended up dead in Charlie's apartment, Ray suspected that he might be a serial killer. Ray decided to try to get close to his boss and find out for sure. â€Å"Keep your voice down, Ray,† Charlie said. â€Å"Jeez.† Since Ray couldn't turn his head, he was talking right at the women's butts. â€Å"They can't hear me; look, every single one has on a headset.† He was right, every one of them was talking on a cell phone. â€Å"You and I are invisible to them.† Having actually been invisible to people, or nearly so, Charlie did a double take. It was midmorning and the gym was full of lean spandex-clad women in their twenties with disproportionately large breasts, perfect skin, and expensive hair, who seemed to have the ability to look right through him the way that everyone did when he was in pursuit of a soul vessel. In fact, when he and Ray had first come into the gym, Charlie had actually looked around for some object, pulsing red, thinking that he might have missed a name on his date book that morning. â€Å"After I was shot I dated a physical therapist that worked here for a while,† Ray said. â€Å"She called them that: fuck puppets. Every one of them has an apartment that some older executive guy is paying for – just like he paid for the health-club membership and the fake tits. They spend their days getting facials and manicures, and their nights under some suit out of his suit.† Charlie was wildly uncomfortable with Ray's litany, talking about these women who were only a couple of feet away. Like any Beta Male, he would have been wildly uncomfortable in the presence of so many beautiful women anyway, but this made it worse. â€Å"So like they're like trophy wives?† Charlie said. â€Å"Nuh-uh, like wannabe trophy wives. They don't get the guy, the house, whatever. They just exist to be his perfect piece of ass.† â€Å"Fuck puppets?† Charlie said. â€Å"Fuck puppets,† said Ray. â€Å"But forget them, they're not why you're here.† Ray was right, of course. They weren't why Charlie was there. Five years had passed since Rachel's death, and everyone had been telling him he needed to get back in the game, but that's not why he agreed to accompany the ex-cop to the gym. Because Charlie spent too much time on his own, especially since Sophie had started school, and because he'd been hiding a secret identity and avocation, he'd started to suspect that everyone might have one. And since Ray kept to himself, talked a lot about people in the neighborhood who had died, and because he really didn't seem to have a social life beyond the Filipino women he contacted online, Charlie suspected Ray might be a serial killer. Charlie thought he'd try to get closer to Ray and find out. â€Å"So they're like mistresses?† Charlie said. â€Å"Like in Europe?† â€Å"I suppose,† Ray said. â€Å"But did you ever get the impression that mistresses worked this hard to look good? I think fuck puppet is more accurate, because when they get too old to hold the attention of their guy, they've got nothing more going. They'll be done, like marionettes with no one at the strings.† â€Å"Jeez, Ray, that's harsh.† Maybe Ray is stalking one of these women, Charlie thought. Ray shrugged. Charlie looked up and down the line of perfect derrieres, then felt the weight of his years alone or in the company of a child and two giant dogs, and said, â€Å"I want a fuck puppet.† Aha! thought Ray. He's picking a victim. â€Å"Me, too,† he said. â€Å"But guys like us don't get fuck puppets, Charlie. We just get ignored by them.† Aha! Charlie thought. The bitter sociopath comes out. â€Å"So that's why you brought me here, so I could show I was out of shape in front of gorgeous women who wouldn't notice?† â€Å"No, the fuck puppets are fun to look at, but there's some normal women who come here, too.† Who won't talk to me either, Ray thought. â€Å"Who won't talk to you either,† Charlie said. Because they can tell that you are a psychokiller. â€Å"We'll see in the juice bar after our workout,† Ray said. Where I'll sit at an angle so I can watch you pick your victim. You sick fuck, they thought. Charlie awoke to find not one, but three new names in his date book, and the last one, a Madison McKerny, had only three days for him to retrieve her soul vessel. Charlie kept a stack of newspapers in the house and, typically, would go back for a month looking for an obituary of his new client. More often, if the hellhounds would give him some peace, he would simply wait for the name to appear in the obituary section, then go find the soul vessel when it was easy to get into the house, with mourners or posing as an estate buyer. But this time he had only three days, and Madison McKerny hadn't appeared in the obituaries, so that meant she was probably still alive, and he couldn't find her in the phone book either, so he was going to need to get moving quickly. Mrs. Ling and Mrs. Korjev liked to do their marketing on Saturdays, so he called his sister, Jane, and asked her to come watch Sophie. â€Å"I want a baby brother,† Sophie announced to her Auntie Jane. â€Å"Oh, sweetie, I'm sorry, you can't have a baby brother, because that would mean that Daddy had sex, and that's never going to happen again.† â€Å"Jane, don't talk to her that way,† Charlie said. He was making sandwiches for them and wondering why he always got stuck making the sandwiches. To Sophie, he said, â€Å"Honey, why don't you go in your room and play with Alvin and Mohammed, Daddy needs to talk with Auntie Jane.† â€Å"Okay,† Sophie said, skipping off to her room. â€Å"And don't change clothes again, those are fine,† Charlie said. â€Å"That's the fourth outfit she's had on today,† he said to Jane. â€Å"She changes clothes like you change girlfriends.† â€Å"Ouch. Be gentle, Chuck, I'm sensitive and I can still kick your ass.† Charlie spanked some mayonnaise onto a whole wheat slice to show he was serious. â€Å"Jane, I'm not sure it's healthy for her to have all these different aunties around. She's already had a hard time losing her mother, and now you've moved away – I just don't think she should keep getting attached to these women only to have them yanked out of her life. She needs a consistent female influence.† â€Å"First, I have not moved away, I've moved across town, and I see her every bit as often as when I lived in the building. Second, it's not like I'm promiscuous, I'm just shitty at relationships. Third, Cassie and I have been together for three months, and we're doing fine so far, which is why I've moved out. And fourth, Sophie did not lose her mother, she never had her mother, she had you, and if you're going to be a decent human being, you need to get laid.† â€Å"That's what I mean, you can't talk like that in front of Sophie.† â€Å"Charlie, it's true! Even Sophie can see it. She doesn't even know what it is and she can tell that you're not getting any.† Charlie stopped constructing sandwiches and came over to the counter. â€Å"It's not sex, Jane. It's human contact. I was getting my hair cut the other day and the hairdresser's breast rubbed against my shoulder and I almost came. Then I almost cried.† â€Å"Sounds like sex to me, little brother. Have you been with anyone since Rachel died?† â€Å"You know I haven't.† â€Å"That's wrong. Rachel wouldn't want that for you. You have to know that. I mean she took pity on you and hooked up with you, and that couldn't have been easy for her, knowing she could do so much better.† â€Å"Took pity on me?† â€Å"That's what I'm saying. She was a sweet woman, and you're much more pitiful now than you were then. You had more hair then, and you didn't have a kid and two dogs the size of Volvos. Hell, there's probably some order of nuns that would do you now, just as a holy act of mercy. Or penance.† â€Å"Stop it, Jane.† â€Å"The Sisters of Perpetual Nookiless Suffering.† â€Å"I'm not that bad,† Charlie said. â€Å"The Holy Order of Saint Bonny of the BJ, patron saint of Web porn and incurable wankers.† â€Å"Okay, Jane, I'm sorry I said that about you changing girlfriends. I was out of line.† Jane leaned back on her bar stool and crossed her arms, looking satisfied but skeptical. â€Å"But the problem remains.† â€Å"I'm fine. I have Sophie and I have the business, I don't need a girlfriend.† â€Å"A girlfriend? A girlfriend is too ambitious for you. You just need someone to have sex with.† â€Å"I do not.† â€Å"Yes, you do.† â€Å"Yes, I do,† Charlie said, defeated. â€Å"But I have to go. Are you okay to watch Sophie?† â€Å"Sure, I'm going to take her to my place. I have an obnoxious neighbor up the street that I'd like to introduce to the puppies. Will they poop on command?† â€Å"They will if Sophie tells them.† â€Å"Perfect. We'll see you tonight. Promise me you'll ask someone out. Or at least look for someone to ask out.† â€Å"I promise.† â€Å"Good. Did you get that new blue pinstripe tailored yet?† â€Å"Stay out of my closet.† â€Å"Don't you need to get going?† Ray figured that it had probably started when Charlie murdered all those little animals he brought home for his daughter. Maybe buying the big black dogs was a cry for help – pets that someone would really notice being gone. According to the movies, they all started out that way – with the little animals, then before long they moved up to hitchhikers, hookers, and pretty soon they were mummifying a whole flock of counselors at some remote summer camp and posing the crusty remains around a card table in their mountain lair. The mountain lair didn't fit the profile for Charlie, since he had allergies, but that might just be an indication of his diabolical genius. (Ray had been a street cop, so it hadn't really been necessary for him to study criminal profiling, and his theories tended toward the colorful, a side effect of his Beta Male imagination and large DVD collection.) But Charlie had asked Ray to use his contacts on the force and at the DMV a half-dozen times to locate people, all of whom ended up dead a few weeks later. But not murders. And while a lot of items belonging to the recently deceased had turned up in the shop in the last few years (Ray had found antitheft numbers etched on a dozen items and called them in to a friend on the force who identified the owners), none of them had been murdered either. There were a few accidents, but mostly it was natural causes. Either Charlie was devious to an extraordinary degree, or Ray was out of his mind, a possibility that he didn't discount completely, if for no other reason than he had three ex-wives who would testify to it. Thus, he'd devised the workout ruse to draw Charlie out. Then again, Charlie had always treated him really well, and if it turned out he didn't have a mountain lair full of mummified camp counselors, Ray knew he'd feel bad about tricking him. What if there was nothing wrong with Charlie except that he needed to get laid? Ray was chatting with Eduardo, his new girlfriend at when Charlie came down the back steps. â€Å"Ray, I need you to find someone for me.† â€Å"Hang on a second, I have to sign off. Charlie, check out my new squeeze.† Ray pulled up a photo on the screen of a heavily made-up but attractive Asian woman. â€Å"She's pretty, Ray. I can't give you any time off right now to go to the Philippines, though. Not until we hire someone to take Lily's shifts.† Charlie leaned into the screen. â€Å"Dude, her name is Eduardo.† â€Å"I know. It's a Filipino thing, like Edwina.† â€Å"She has a five-o'clock shadow.† â€Å"You're just being a racist. Some races have more facial hair than others. I don't care about that, I just want someone who is honest and caring and attractive.† â€Å"She has an Adam's apple.† Ray squinted at the screen, then quickly clicked off the monitor and spun around on the stool. â€Å"So who do you need me to find?† â€Å"It's okay, Ray,† Charlie said. â€Å"An Adam's apple doesn't preclude someone from being honest, caring, and attractive, it just makes it less likely.† â€Å"Right. It was just bad lighting, I think. Anyway, who do you need to find?† â€Å"All I have is the name Madison McKerny. I know he or she lives in the city, but that's all I know.† â€Å"It's a she.† â€Å"Pardon me?† â€Å"Madison, it's a stripper's name.† Charlie shook his head. â€Å"You know this woman?† â€Å"I don't know her, although the name seems familiar. But Madison is a new-generation stripper name. Like Reagan and Morgan.† â€Å"Lost me, Ray.† â€Å"I've spent some time in strip joints, Charlie. I'm not proud of it, but it's sort of what you do when you're a cop. And you pick up on the pattern of stripper names.† â€Å"Didn't know that.† â€Å"Yeah, and there's sort of a progression going back to the fifties: Bubbles, Boom Boom, and Blaze begat Bambi, Candy, and Jewel, who begat Sunshine, Brandy, and Cinnamon, who begat Amber, Brittany, and Brie, who begat Reagan, Morgan, and Madison. Madison is a stripper name.† â€Å"Ray, you weren't even alive in the fifties.† â€Å"No, I wasn't alive during the forties either, but I know about World War Two and big-band music. I'm into history.† â€Å"Right. So, I need to look for a stripper? Doesn't help. I don't even know where to start.† â€Å"I'll go through the DMV and the tax records. If she's in town we'll have an address on her by this afternoon. Why do you need to find her?† There was a pause while Charlie pretended to find a smudge on the glass of the counter display case, wiped it away, then said, â€Å"Uh, it's an estate thing. One of the estates we got recently had some items that were left to her.† â€Å"Shouldn't the executor of the estate take care of that, or his lawyer?† â€Å"It's minutiae, not named in the will. The executor asked me to handle it. There's fifty bucks in it for you.† Ray grinned. â€Å"That's okay, I was going to help anyway, but if she turns out to be a stripper I get to go with you, okay?† â€Å"Deal,† Charlie said. Three hours later Ray gave the address to Charlie and watched as his boss bolted out of the shop and grabbed a cab. Why a cab? Why not take the van? Ray wanted to follow, needed to follow, but he had to find someone to cover the store. He should have anticipated this, but he'd been distracted. Ray had been distracted since talking to Charlie, not just by the search for Madison McKerny, but also because he was trying to figure out how to work â€Å"Do you have a penis?† casually into the conversation with his sweetheart, Eduardo. After a couple of teasing e-mails, he could stand it no longer and had just typed out, Eduardo, not that it makes any difference, but I'm thinking of sending you some sexy lingerie as a friendship present, and I wondered if I should make any special accommodations for the panties. Then he waited. And waited. And granted that it was five in the morning in Manila, he was second-guessing himself. Had he been too vague, or had he not been vague enough? And now he had to go. He knew where Charlie was going, but he had to get there before anything happened. He dialed Lily's cell phone, hoping that she wouldn't be working at her other job and would do him a favor. â€Å"Speak, ingrate,† Lily answered. â€Å"How did you know it was me?† Ray asked. â€Å"Ray?† â€Å"Yeah, how did you know it was me?† â€Å"I didn't,† Lily said. â€Å"What do you want?† â€Å"Can you come cover the store for me for a couple of hours?† Then, as he heard her take a deep breath that he was pretty sure would be propellant for verbal abuse, he added, â€Å"There's fifty bucks extra in it for you.† Ray heard her exhale. Yes! After graduating from the Culinary Institute, Lily had gotten a job as a sous chef at a bistro in North Beach, but she didn't make enough to move out of her mother's apartment yet, so she let Charlie talk her into keeping a couple of shifts at Asher's Secondhand, at least until he could find a replacement. â€Å"Okay, Ray, I'll come in for a couple of hours, but I have to be at the restaurant by five, so be back or I'm closing up early.† â€Å"Thanks, Lily.† Charlie sincerely hoped that Ray wasn't a serial killer, despite all the indications to the contrary. He would never have found this woman without Ray's police contacts, and what would he do in the future if he needed to find someone and Ray was in jail? Then again, Ray's experience as a cop could account for his never leaving any evidence. But why, then, would he continue to pursue the Filipino women over the Internet if he was just looking to kill people? Maybe that's what he did when he went to the Philippines to visit his paramours. Maybe he killed desperate Filipinas. Maybe Ray was a tourist serial killer. Deal with it later, Charlie thought. For now, there's a soul vessel to retrieve. Charlie got out of the cab outside of the Fontana, an apartment building just a block up from Ghirardelli Square, the waterfront chocolate factory turned tourist mall. The Fontana was a great, curved, concrete-and-glass building that commanded views of Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge, and that had drawn the disdain of San Franciscans since it had been built in the 1960s. It wasn't that it was an ugly building, although no one would argue that it wasn't, but with the Victorian and Edwardian structures all around it, it looked very much like a giant air conditioner from outer space attacking a nineteenth-century neighborhood. However, the views from the apartments were exquisite, there was a doorman, underground parking, and a pool on the roof, so if you could handle the stigma of residing in an architectural pariah, it was a great place to live. The address Ray had given him for Madison was on the twenty-second floor, and so, presumably, was her soul vessel. Charlie wasn't sure of the exact range of his unnoticeability (he refused to think of it as invisibility, because it wasn't), but he hoped that it reached twenty-two floors. He was going to have to get past the doorman and into an elevator, and posing as an estate buyer wasn't going to work. Ah, well, nothing ventured, nothing gained. If he got caught, he'd just have to find another way in. He waited by the door until a young woman in business attire went in, then followed her into the lobby. The doorman didn't even look at him. Ray saw Charlie get out of the cab and told his own driver to stop a block away, where he hopped out, threw the driver a five and told him to keep the change, then dug in his pocket for the rest of the fare while the driver pounded on the wheel impatiently and cursed under his breath in Urdu. â€Å"Sorry, it's been a while since I took a cab,† Ray said. Ray had a car, a nice little Toyota, but the only parking place he could find was eight blocks away from his apartment in the parking lot of a hotel managed by a friend of his, and when you got a parking place in San Francisco, you kept it, so Ray mostly used public transportation and only drove the car on his days off to keep the battery charged. He'd jumped in a taxi outside Charlie's shop and shouted, â€Å"Follow that cab!† thus completely terrifying the Japanese family in the back. â€Å"Sorry,† Ray said. â€Å"Konichiwa. It's been a while since I took a cab.† Then he jumped back out and caught a cab that didn't have a fare. He sneaked quickly up the street, going from light post, to newspaper machine, to ad kiosk, ducking behind each, staying in his stealth-crouch, and achieving nothing whatsoever except to look like a complete loon to the kid standing at the bus stop across the street. He reached the underground parking entrance of the Fontana just as Charlie was making for the door. Ray crouched behind the key-card pillar. He wasn't sure what he was going to do if Charlie went for the building. Fortunately, he'd memorized Madison McKerny's phone number, and he could warn her that Charlie was coming. In the cab on the way down here he'd remembered where he'd seen her name: on the register at his health club. Madison McKerny was one of the midmorning fuck puppets from the gym, and as Ray suspected, Charlie was stalking her. He watched Charlie fall in behind a young woman in business dress who was heading up the walk into the Fontana, then Charlie was gone. Just gone. Ray came out onto the sidewalk to get a better angle. The woman was still there, she'd gone only a couple of steps, but he couldn't see Charlie. There were no bushes, no walls, the whole damn lobby was glass, where the hell had he gone? Ray was sure he hadn't looked away, he didn't even think he had blinked, and he would have seen any sudden move Charlie might have made. Reverting to the Beta Male's tendency to blame himself, Ray wondered if maybe he'd had some kind of petit mal seizure that had made him black out for a second. Whether he did or not, he had to warn Madison McKerny. He reached to his belt and felt the empty cell-phone clip, then remembered putting his phone under the register when he'd gotten to work that morning. Charlie found the right apartment and rang the bell. If he could get Madison McKerny to come out into the hallway, he could slip in behind her and look through her apartment for her soul vessel. Just down the hall there was a table with an artificial flower arrangement. He'd tipped it over, hoping she was compulsive or curious enough to come out of her apartment to get a closer look. If she wasn't home, well, he'd have to break in. Odds were that with a doorman downstairs, she didn't have an alarm system. But what if she could see him? Sometimes they could, the clients. Not often, but it happened, and – She opened the door. Charlie was stunned. She was stunning. Charlie stopped breathing and stared at her breasts. It wasn't that she was a young and gorgeous brunette, with perfect hair and perfect skin. Nor was it that she was wearing a thin, white silk robe that just barely concealed her swimsuit-model figure. Nor was it because she had disproportionately large but alert breasts that were straining against the robe and peeking out of the plunging neckline as she leaned out the door, although that would have been enough to render the hapless Beta breathless under any circumstances. It was that her breasts were glowing red, right through the silk robe, glowing right out of the dcolletage like twin rising suns, pulsating like the lightbulb boobies of a kitschy Hawaiian hula girl lamp. Madison McKerny's soul was residing in her breast implants. â€Å"I've got to get my hands on those,† Charlie said, forgetting that he wasn't exactly alone and he wasn't exactly thinking to himself. Then Madison McKerny noticed that Charlie was there and the screaming started.

Monopoly and Oligopoly Essay

Monopoly and Oligopoly Essay The Main characteristics of an oligopoly are that the supply of a product or products is concentrated in the hands of a few large suppliers, there could be thousands of small suppliers but the market is mainly dominated by around 4 or 5 large firms. For example firms Tesco, Asda, Sainburys and Morrisons, these are the 4 main supermarkets in the UK but there are thousands of small corner shops who provide some of the same goods the supermarkets do. Another characteristics of an oligopoly is interdependence, this is when the actions of one large firm will directly affect another large firm of the same market. For example during the Christmas period Tesco lowered the price on certain alcoholic drinks to pull customer in to the stores to buy their Christmas food shopping, Asda then followed suit and did the exact same thing with the same products. On the other hand if firms raised their prices the other firm are very unlikely to copy, the other firm are more likely to advertise the fact they are now cheaper in the hope of gaining a bigger share of the market. However there is a tendency for firms to collude and agree to raise prices together, this maintains their abnormal profits and ensure no one loses. This behaviour is illegal in the UK and the EU and firm’s caught doing this will be heavily fined. {draw:frame} Oligopoly’s are a few firm dominating a market,a monopoly is a single firm dominating a market or being a sole supplier of a market, this is called a pure monopoly. An example of a pure monopoly would be Scottish water; they are the sole provider to every household in Scotland of running water. {draw:frame} {draw:frame} For any firm profit is a must for a business to survive, firms will look in to other parts of a market to gain potential profits. For a firm to move into a particular sector of a market there would have to be good roles of profit. A firm would have to get a good return on their investment, the higher the risk and longer a firmhas to wait to earn a potential return on their capital, the greater the minimum required return on their investment they will demand. For a firm to move in to a particular sector,firms would also have to consider if this would attract new investors. If the firm was going to make a quick return on its investment this would attract more investors as they would gain higher amount of dividends on their investment.

Big Brother Is Watching Essay Research Paper

Large Brother Is Watching Essay, Research Paper # 8220 ; Big Brother is Watching # 8221 ; Privacy in the Information Age. Vladimira Love May 13, 2001 Have you sat down to eat dinner, merely as you put that first seize with teeth into your oral cavity the phone rings. You know better than to reply it, but you do any manner. To your discouragement you find out that you were right Tele-marketers? As you hang up you inquire how did they acquire my figure? How do they cognize what are your involvements, likes, disfavors? You manus the teller a fictile card with a magnetic strip which contains your name and reference. All of your purchases are recorded and a few yearss subsequently you receive price reduction vouchers for a new merchandise you might wish in the mail. You think that targeted selling in the information age truly works! A adult female feels she may be anticipating, she goes to the pharmaceutics to buy a place gestation trial. Without thought, she hands her # 8220 ; bonus card # 8221 ; to the teller and a few yearss subsequently she receives mail from baby merchandise industries. She is believing that she is populating in an information age incubus. Information engineering, and peculiarly the cyberspace and the World Wide Web, can supply benefits that were merely dreamed of a decennary ago. These new chances, nevertheless, raise inquiries about possible menaces to personal privateness that are merely now get downing to be understood. Consumers, for illustration, like # 8220 ; one on one selling # 8221 ; at Miscellaneous Web sites which allows them to shop assorted choices recommended based on old purchases and their personal profile. They are much less certain about the site # 8217 ; s developing existent clip profiles of users based on demographics or psychographics. Similarly, workaholics are attracted to internet dating services that promise to happen high winners their ideal mate ; They lief spend 30 proceedingss finishing the extended introductory questionnaire. They are less thrilled when they subsequently find that # 8220 ; E-Mate # 8221 ; has been acquired by another company specifically for its extended informations base of personal information. Our concern is the privateness of personal information in a digitally networked universe where personal informations can be input, stored, sorted, analyzed, mined, transmitted and exchanged globally with increasing easiness and diminishing cost. There is turning concern about informations privateness, particularly on the Net which is accompanied by pronounced dissensions about what can, and should be done. These differences are exacerbated by really existent cross-cultural and cross-national differences in values, history and economic doctrines. Where national boundary lines are non even rush bumps on the information expressway. We argue that while the protection of personal informations in a networked universe requires multinational solutions, blunt differences exist in basic privateness values among states and civilizations. These differences, which flow from basic cultural traits such as individuality and changing political-economic doctrines, are really existent and can non be # 8220 ; papered over. # 8221 ; This circle must be squared: planetary solutions must cover with local differences. The information privateness issue serves as a metaphor for more general jobs of administration of the universe economic system given the world of basic, implicit in cross-border societal, cultural and political differences. Data privateness is a concern on the Net. A recent E-Trust study found that over 80 % of consumers are more concerned about privateness on the Net than with the telephone or mail. A widely cited Business Week/Harris canvass reported that 61 % of respondents who use the Net citation privateness as their primary concern. An OECD workshop concluded that unless consumers gained more assurance that their privateness would be protected, the growing of Electronic Commerce ( E-Commerce ) would be hindered. Consumers should be concerned. While the state of affairs may hold improved slightly in the meantime, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission reported that while over 85 % of Web sites collected personal information, merely 14 % provide any notice about their privateness patterns and merely 2 % provide a comprehensive privateness policy. Concern about privateness was about long before the Net and Web. The New York Police Department was tapping phones within a decennary or two of Bell # 8217 ; s first call. Party lines and operators were ill-famed for listen ining. More late the widespread usage of recognition cards and the development of recognition agencies have raised serious concerns about control over personal information. It is sensible to inquire is anything truly new? I believe the reply is # 8220 ; yes, # 8221 ; that the detonation of interrelated digital webs makes a important difference in the econo mics and feasibleness of utilizing â€Å"private† information. More of what we do is ( or can be ) input in to a computing machine system than of all time before: debit card purchases and ATM backdowns ; phone calls ; the location of your cell phone ; supermarket purchases ; where your Web browser is indicating ; where you are when you fill your auto with gas ; the toll booth you merely passed through ; and the extended information you provided when using for insurance, a new auto or a mortgage on the Web. As of import, the cost of geting, hive awaying, screening, analysing, excavation, conveying and interchanging information is falling dramatically. Most of import is the inter-operability or interconnectivity. We live in a universe of decentralized but interconnected computing machine webs. Once entered digitally, personal information potentially is available to anyone connected to the net, irrespective of where it resides. The differentiation between authorities or public and private informations is going meaningless in a universe of distributed webs. Newer informations excavation techniques allow a huge sum of information about any of us to be collected and analyzed by a broad assortment of terminal users. It is just to surmise that the Net is inherently invasive ; that the assemblage of personal information, profiling and targeted selling, which bring benefits every bit good as costs, are portion and package of E-Commerce. Internet does non map on geographic infinite. National and cultural boundary lines are irrelevant ; more of import, so is the really construct of geographic legal power. The EU recognizes that in prohibitions of informations transportations to 3rd universe states that do non run into the Directive # 8217 ; s criterions. Even go forthing aside the catastrophe that an EU-U.S. confrontation over this issue would imply, it is clear that the EU merely can non construct a wall around its boundary lines to implement its informations protection Torahs. What about American or Asiatic visitants who want to utilize thei r recognition cards in a Gallic caf? ; would every cheque with an external recognition informations base be a misdemeanor of the jurisprudence. Much more problematically, would every Web site, irrespective of where in the universe it is # 8220 ; located # 8221 ; that is accessed from Europe be capable to European jurisprudence? At least one authorization believes that to be the instance. Does that intend every Web site is capable to the Everyone # 8217 ; s jurisprudence? To no 1 # 8217 ; s jurisprudence? That every clip a European logs on to any American web site that does non run into the criterions of the EU Directive that the proprietor of that Web site is in misdemeanor? The protection of the privateness of personal information on the Web is non conformable to national or even regional solutions. The Web is a complex interconnected planetary web. At a lower limit, some grade of harmonisation of national attempts in the consequence of the jurisprudence is required. The quandary we face is the demand for planetary solutions in the face of a really existent, and really deep-rooted local differences in a political civilization, values and history. Any meaningful solution to the job of protection of personal privateness must square this circle. Absolutist places on both sides are counterproductive: Americans can non go on to reason that anything but a market based solution will drive us back into the technological dark ages and Europeans must travel beyond imitations of the American privateness environment as the # 8220 ; wild west. # 8221 ; Any effectual solution requires understanding other universe positions and more of import, credence of their cogency. We believe that and acceptable international informations privateness government will hold to concentrate on results instead than the engineering. On facts on the land instead than political orientation. On whether, at the terminal of the twenty-four hours, the net consequence is an acceptable degree of protection of privateness to the person instead than the specific agencies of achieving that aim. While this is non the topographic point for particular, elaborate recommendations, we believe that this will imply some combination of self-regulation and ordinance, possibly reinforced by privateness enabling engineerings. The privateness job is a metaphor for a more general set of jobs of administration in the age of a digital planetary economic system. Any figure of issues, including the demand for a new # 8220 ; fiscal architecture, # 8221 ; accomplishing a much needed many-sided understanding on investing, protecting the environment, human rights and worker rights require multinational solutions in the face of stark, and at times, diametrically opposed, local differences in values, belief systems and history. Again, this circle must be squared: # 8220 ; planetary # 8221 ; solutions must be found that accommodate and esteem local differences. Possibly even in this planetary age, Tip O # 8217 ; Neal, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, advice still holds: # 8220 ; all political relations is local. # 8221 ; 335

Politics of Screen Practise Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Politics of Screen Practise - Essay Example Both Sergei Eisenstein’s Battleship Potemkin that featured the USSR in 1952 and Gillo Pontecorvo’s The Battle of Algiers that focused on Algeria in 1966 are some of the renowned revolutionary films (Rosenstone, 2002). These films were produced after the occurrence of revolution in the countries. Goskino, the USSR State Committee for cinematography developed The Battleship Potemkin while Casbah Films managed by Saadi Yacef, produced The Battle of Algiers. The films entail of a stage that focuses on revolutionary struggle of battles that were lost. These were essential in the development of a new collective identity and also marked the historic activities that occurred during the period. However we note that despite propagandistic objectives, the films entail of a wide variety of interpretation. The revolutionary films have a fundamental characteristic that focuses on the anti-colonial liberation movements. This develops through a sense of self-assurance and definition of their culture after many years of colonial rule (Rosenstone, 2002). Revolution films are termed to be stocktaking; they have the ability of creating a clear perception of its reflection to the society. This is evident in the scenario where the people protesting in Cair Tahrir square identified themselves on the videos that were projected on large screens in their camps. According to Battleship Potemkin, Sergei Eisenstein depicts the prior revolution of the Russians that occurred in the year 1905. This was a film that was highly recommended by many individuals. The viewers were captured by the creativity of the film even with the occurrence of the Cold War since it entailed of a mutiny based in czar’s naval vessel. The film focused on a exhilarating description based on combined revolution and a virtual subject describing how the editing of the film executed excitement, sympathy and revolutionary anger. The themes of the film are

Managment of change Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Managment of change - Assignment Example Its main objectives are to collaborate with the South Australian Country Fire Service, the Commissioner of Police, and the South Australian Metropolitan Fire Service in cases of emergency. The South Australian State Emergency Service workers also work with State Coordinators to conduct preparedness and prevention exercises as well as recovery operations as stipulated in the Emergency Management Act of 2004. The South Australian State Emergency Service is also mandated to function as the main authority in cases where during emergencies such as floods, there are no other lawful authorities present to take over the rescue operations. Thesis: South Australia State Emergency Service must change its strategy in order to ensure high effectiveness. For any change to be successfully overseen in an emergency management agency there has to be an agreement among the establishment’s board members that there is a need for a more developed culture, strategy and structure. Any decision to implement change ought to be made after serious consultations so that the change process does not merely serve as a shortcut to experimenting with production processes for any reason. In most emergency agencies, such a decision is reached by the appointed change manager. It is also prioritised in terms of who to try first, second, third and so on. The emergency management sector in Australia is also populated by the workers of non-governmental organisations as well as volunteers. There are approximately 500,000 volunteers in the South Australian State Emergency Service; of whom 350,000 participate in recovery and response operations. In Western Australia, there are fourteen emergency management districts, with each having its own District Emer gency Management Committee (DEMC) (King 2004). The principal function of the DEMCs is to contribute towards the sustenance of efficient emergency

Porter's five forces analysis for UK's venture capital industry Essay

Porter's five forces analysis for UK's venture capital industry - Essay Example This industry emerged in 1945 following the adoption of the Macmillan committee report, the industry was founded by three banks and they include private bank of England, London clearing bank and the Scottish clearing bank. It was formed due to capital raising problems faced by small companies that were emerging. The following is a discussion of the industry using the Porter’s five force model. Porter identified five forces that influence and shape an industry and they include rivalry, barriers to entry, buyer power, supplier power and substitution threat, the following is a discussion of the five forces and the characteristics of the UK venture capital industry. This refers to the degree of competition. The degree of competition in markets is determined by the concentration ratio which is a measure of market share, as many firms enter an industry the profits of the firm decline. (Porter, 22) A firm will choose a number of strategies in order to increase its market share, a firm will reduce prices to increase market share, vertical integration which include integration with suppliers and buyers and differentiation of its products. Rivalry intensifies when many firms enter the industry, existence of substitutes, existence of exit barrier and when product differentiation of products is limited. (Porter, 22) Degree of competition in the venture capital market is high given that there are over 1,300 firms in the industry. Venture capital industry products also have close substitutes which include loans and equity, therefore the industry firm’s degree of rivalry is considerably high. Rivalry has intensified over the years with the entry of many firms into the industry, initially there were only 3 firms in the industry and over the years many firms have entered the market. (Lerner, 41) The existence of substitute products produced in an industry constrains a firm in the industry to increase prices.

Becoming a Father Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Becoming a Father - Essay Example Probably the greatest test of a man is his strength and power not on physical things but on his character, to be able to face the challenges and responsibilities of being the head of the family. Being a husband is one thing, pretty much easier than being a father, for the latter calls for a responsibility done on top of the former. The presence of a child or children in a home is commonly seen as that factor which completes a family and yes, it is probably true. All fathers experienced being a child and whatever knowledge and observation they had that molded their opinions of fatherhood is manifested when they exercise being a father as well. Thus, fatherhood calls for an opportunity for a man to prove himself like his father, be better or worse, depending on what principles his character has been founded on. The magic of a baby makes wonders in a man, though. No matter what one would have been through, would just be changed with the thought of becoming the best father one could be f or a sweet innocent child who drives the clouds away. Satisfaction of one’s self is completed when given the chance to give back the best things given him and impart more of the good things deprived from him.

International B Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

International B - Essay Example The specific Forum reflects the trends in globalisation as developed both in the literature and the empirical field – i.e. the daily activities and policies of governmental and non-governmental organizations. The concept of globalisation has been considered to include seven different forces: in this paper, emphasis is given on the globalisation of markets – one of the seven forces mentioned above. The trends on the globalisation of markets – as highlighted in relevant studies – could help to understand the importance of this concept for the increase of the effectiveness of governmental and commercial strategies. The globalisation of markets has affected the strategies and performance of governmental and non-governmental organizations – referring especially to the commercial firms – both positively and negatively. The specific issue is highlighted in the study of Perrone et al. (2010) who focus on the effects of globalisation on small and medium enterprises – a study which can be used also in order to evaluate the effects of globalisation on large and multinational firms. In accordance with Perrone et al. (2010) ‘globalisation represents a threat, since new emerging companies are entering their domestic market, but on the other hand, it represents the opportunity to enter new emerging and growing markets’ (Perrone et al., 2010, p.356). From another point of view, globalisation can highly affect a speficic part of commercial firms: the corporate governance (Berry, 2010, 234); the different principles and cultures of the global market and the national market c ould negatively affect the firms that try to enter the global market. The importance of culture, the social ethics and the political system – actually referring to the traditions, the social principles and the politics of a specific country - on the success of the efforts for entering the global market is also highlighted in the study of Standing et al. (2010, p. 56). The above

Five Concert Journals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Five Concert Journals - Essay Example Each year, a lot of people visit the Westminster Abbey seeking God’s blessings and healing. Many of them attend the sacrament of reconciliation and for anointing their sick. The atmosphere inside the Abbey was so peaceful and quiet and was conducive to prayer. Service began with the whole congregation joining in a hymn, as the priest took his place at the altar. I found that music played a major role in the activities of the Abbey and so did the Choral services rendered by the Choir of Westminster Abbey which is one of the best choirs that is renowned world wide. The choir comprised of twelve professional adults singers also called as Lay Vicars and 30 dedicated boys who belonged to the Residential Choir school. James O’Donnell, the Organist and Master of the Choristers directed the choir very meticulously. The singing by the soloists and the choir was of a very high standard showing that a lot of hard work had been done to achieve it. The chief instrument used was the organ. All the hymns were sung by the soloists and choir and alternated between slow and medium paced rhythms. I really enjoyed attending the service at Westminster Abbey and was really impressed with the singing. 2. The second journal is about my visit to the Royal Free Music Society on Saturday the 15th of October. I went for both the rehearsal and concert of Mozart’s Mass in C minor conducted by Benjamin Wolf. The conductor Benjamin Wolf was welcomed as the main vocalists took the stage in front of the orchestra. The piece began with the Kyrie, softly with the violins and then the choir joined in unison. The soprano was quite talented and used good vocal techniques. After the soprano had rendered her lines, the whole choir reciprocated, by joining flawlessly in unison. The singing by the soprano and the choir alternated with each other and was strongly backed by the orchestra. The tempo that was maintained throughout was medium paced with good rhythm and ended in a soft chorus. The Gloria that was performed by the orchestra was filled with energy and enthusiasm from the beginning to the end. The piece began with a loud chorus where everyone joined in. As the piece progressed it alte rnated between the sopranos and altos on one hand and the tenor and bass on the other. In between were spots of softly sung music backed by soft playing of the orchestra. The instruments used to play Mozart’s Mass in C Minor were violins, cellos, double bass, saxophones, drums, trumpet and the trombone. I liked Mozart’s Mass in C Minor for its brilliance in construction as well as execution by the singers and the orchestra. I really enjoyed witnessing the rehearsal as well as the concert. 3. On Thursday the 27th of October at 1pm, I visited St. Johns Smith’s Square to see Jonathan Vaughn playing on the organ. The lunchtime concert comprised of the J.S Bach Prelude in Eb BWV522. Three Chorale Preludes on Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland; Canonic Variations on Von Himmel Hoch, da komm ich her BWV769; Fugue in Eb BWV522, Liszt Prelude and Fugue on B-A-C-HÂ   The J.S Bach Prelude in Eb BWV522 began brightly by Jonathan Vaughn with an apt use of rubato alternated with s light tempo variances to make it more effective. It was a technically brilliant piece that needed a lot of skill and effort to make it sound pleasing and the organist did an excellent job which proved his skill and ability at the organ as well as his mastery over the piece. Three Chorale Preludes on Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland by Bach –Busoni was a soft organ recital that was so mellow and uplifting. The piece was very melodious and the rhythm alternated between slow and medium paced. Liszt Prelude and

American History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

American History - Essay Example Poe's comic short story where its main attribute interestingly opposes typical notion of mystery attached to it by superstition. It feels like adventure is going to come my way at any moment with this 'sagacious' creature and I find myself soaked in an imagination of an elegant, lovely black cat that looks after the welfare of its master wherever the latter may be. Edgar Allan Poe, being the author of 'The Black Cat' would fill in the second notch since I'm quite up to satisfying my curiosity of his childlike poetic stance though majority of his works are known to possess macabre themes. I suppose it would be amply wonderful to find out about the special reasons behind his equivalent measures of inclination in detective-fiction and poetry. Perhaps, I could make him lead me to an inspiration of discovering how precious the treasure in writing is and exchange a few intellectual yet delectable verses of romance to figure how rich the literature and intelligent minds were during his time . Though it is rather unusual for me to acquire diversion in operatic theaters and watch dramatic plays, I would still sit next to Werther for my third choice. I believe this unique experience can be a potential source in engaging a different mood of delight.

Software Engineering Essay Example for Free

Software Engineering Essay Like most of the things, quality attracts the person it signifies the performance and appearance of the product. It matters a lot of the standards in a business for the outcome of the products. Just like this, Software has also good quality requirements and better ways to ensure its outcome. The following are the measurement methods and acceptance criteria for assessing the characteristics of the software: 1. Software Engineering Culture and Ethics Ethics can play a significant role in software quality, the culture, and the attitudes of software engineers. 2. Value and Costs of Quality The notion of â€Å"quality† is not as simple as it may seem. The customer will have some maximum cost in mind, in return for which it is expected that the basic purpose of the software will be fulfilled. 3. Models and Quality Characteristics [Boe78; McC77] ISO/IEC has definedthree related models of software product quality (internal quality, external quality, and quality in use) (ISO9126-01) and a set of related parts (ISO14598-98). Software Quality Management Processes defines processes, process owners, and requirements for those processes, measurements of the process and its outputs, and feedback channels. It involves: (1) Defining the required product in terms of its quality characteristics. (2) Planning the processes to achieve the required product. Through this we can assure Software Quality, this means ensuring that the problem is clearly and adequately stated and that the solution’s requirements are properly defined and expressed. And then we can verify and validate for assessing the intermediate products. For purposes of brevity, reviews and audits are treated as a single topic in this Guide. Five types of reviews or audits are presented in the IEEE1028-97 standard: 1. Management reviews 2. Technical reviews 3. Inspections 4. Walk-throughs 5. Audits Of course the management also has to review the software, the purpose it is to monitor progress, determine the status of plans and schedules, confirm requirements and their system allocation, or evaluate the effectiveness of management approaches used to achieve fitness for purpose. After this is the technical review to evaluate a software product to determine its suitability for its intended use. During the technical review the management should also inspect to detect and identify software product anomalies. The audit is to provide an independent evaluation of the conformance of software and processes to applicable regulations, standards, guidelines, plans, and procedures. The definition of Software Engineering is broad, so it needs to discuss its disciplines which it shares common boundary. These are two Related Disciplines: 1. An informative definition (when feasible) 2. A list of knowledge areas Related Disciplines Areas: 1. Computer Engineering computer engineering embodies the science and technology of design, construction, implementation and maintenance of software and hardware components of modern computing systems and computer-controlled equipment. 2. Computer Science identifies the following list of knowledge areas (identified as areas in the report) for computer science. 3. Management 4. Mathematics 5. Project Management – is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements. 6. Quality Management is defined in ISO 9000-2000 as â€Å"coordinated activities to direct and control an organization with regard to quality.† 7. Software Ergonomics the field of ergonomics is defined by ISO Technical Committee 159 on Ergonomics as follows: â€Å"Ergonomics or (human factors) is the scientific discipline concerned with the understanding of the interactions  among human and other elements of a system, and the profession that applies theory, principles, data and methods to design in order to optimize human well-being and overall system performance. 8. Systems Engineering is an interdisciplinary approach and means to enable the realization of successful systems.

Of Mice and Men Compared to La Strada Essay Example for Free

Of Mice and Men Compared to La Strada Essay This is shown by often showing her by the playful sea as well as being followed by animals and children throughout the film. Then there is Zampano, a rather dull muscle man who doesn’t think much before he acts. Yet, Gelsomina follows him with unwavering commitment throughout the film. Only once does she appear to doubt her place with him and shortly after us seeing her doubt her place the Fool, an innocent playful man, puts her back in the mindset that that is her purpose. After all everything has a purpose, even a pebble. The Fool, or Il Mato, is always messing with Zampano and is constantly outsmarting him. Right from the first time we see these two characters it is clear that Zampano despises the fool and eventually chases after him with a knife. The knife represents Zampano’s physical approach to things and how he is viewed in terms of masculinity. The Fool continues messing with Zampano, until Zampano accidentally kills him. His immediate thought it that his career is over and this shows just how physical he is and how he sees everything as â€Å"what can it do for me? †. He bought Gelsomina from her family, certainly not for her benefit but for his own. This behavior also shows in the way he treats Rosa, he views women as things that are there to benefit him. He didn’t realize his own strength and later says in the movie â€Å"It was only two punches, two punches! †. Here hes clearly trying to justify the wrong he unknowingly committed. This isn’t the only wrong. Towards the end of the film Zampano leaves Gelsomina with some money and her trumpet and years later finds out that she died because he left her there. I believe that him leaving her was foreshadowing her death because there is no way she would know what to do, she didn’t know how to survive without him. In Steinbeck’s Of Mice And Men, the main characters are the innocent simple-minded Lenny and his friend George, both of whom are very strong workingmen who travel around looking for physical labor that can be done. Lenny is mentally retarded and follows George like a puppy. George is often around animals, from the little mouse he was carrying in his pocket to the puppy he loved so much. In the beginning of the book George used to mess with Lenny because of his unwavering devotion but once he realized how genuine it was he stopped it immediately. George is described as a relatively strong man who is very smart and does the thinking for both him and Lenny. He watches out for Lenny and feels responsible for him. Lenny feels that his place is always right next to George. However in the end of this book George abuses Lenny’s trust and murders him with the gun used to kill Candy’s dog around the time they arrived. He even killed him the same way that they killed the dog, one shot, right to the back of the head. I believe Steinbeck having the dog killed, foreshadows the death of Lenny. Not just that he will die, but that someone who loves him will be the one to kill him. I think it shows that Lenny will die because he is always around animals, you’re supposed to associate him with animals and pets, and that this dog isn’t like most other dogs just like Lenny isn’t like most other people. They both have things working against them. For Lenny it’s being mentally retarded and for the dog it is the way that age has affected him. Both of these stories have a lot in common as far as archetypal symbolism goes. They both have the child-like, innocent character represented by Gelsomina and Lenny. By having these characters in these pieces the audience is given someone to care about and feel attached to. These two both act and are treated very much like children which makes it easy for us to see them in an innocent, positive light giving us someone to be interested in, we want to make sure they are okay and that nothing bad happens to them. There are many ways you can tell how innocent these characters are, both are shown with small animals a lot and Gelsomina is also shown in the same shot as the ocean a lot. These stories also have the physical male characters that very much affect the lives of the innocent characters. These physical characters would be George and Zampano, while these two characters themselves have very little in common as far as the time they lived and their profession their personal tales draw a surprising amount of parallels. These two are both protectors of the innocent characters, given the task to watch over them and are responsible for Lenny and Gelsomina. Both George and Zampano end up killing their innocent companion in the end. The deaths of Lenny and Gelsomina are both heavily foreshadowed. Zampano is very obvious with the fact that he doesn’t care what happens to Gelsomina and like having to take care of her. So when he leaves her by the side of the road it’s hard to be surprised because this was something you could see him doing to Gelsomina because he always treated her like a burden. However when George ends up killing Lenny it comes as a huge shock to the reader because he had always loved and protected him. Even though he didn’t want to kill Lenny it was for the safety of the people that Lenny interacted with so George felt he had to kill him. Both George and Zampano are very effected by the deaths of Lenny and Gelsomina. When they both realize what they have done, they return to the place where the story started. For Zampano and Gelsomina that is the ocean whereas for George and Lenny it is their own personal Eden in the woods. This is part of a reoccurring theme of cycles throughout these stories that are very important to the story. La Strada starts off with a shot of Gelsomina by the ocean, something much like her. It goes with the flow and doesn’t put up much resistance and is innocent and beautiful. At the end of the film, when Zampano has realized he is responsible for the death of Gelsomina he returns to the sea. The same is true for the beginning of Of Mice And Men, George and Lenny had just set up camp by a little river in the woods, a place where others had clearly been before. At the end of the book, Lenny was killed in that very spot after he ran away from the farm. These stories are both great examples of classic character archetypes and clearly show the heroes journey. Lenny and Gelsomina both clearly have a call to adventure, for Lenny it is going to work at a new farm with George and for Gelsomina it is when Zampano buys her from her family. They have their awakenings, Gelsomina’s is when the fool gives her the pebble and teaches her that everything has a purpose, George’s is when he crushes Curly’s hand. They have their helpers, the Fool and all the other men on the farm. Their transformations are a little different, for George it would be when he kills Curly’s wife and realizes he needs to run, for Gelsomina, though we don’t see it, it is when she realizes that she is alone and that Zampano has left her. Last of all is the return, unfortunately for our innocent characters this is tied into their deaths, and the actual killing/realization of their deaths.

Acceptable Encryption Policy

Acceptable Encryption Policy Introduction The purpose of this policy is to supply with the general principles that limit the use of encryption to those algorithms that have received considerable public review and have been proven to work effectively. Scope This policy applies to all Staysure.co.uk employees and affiliates. Policy It is strongly recommended to use the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) for symmetric encryption. It is strongly recommended to use the RSA and Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) algorithms for asymmetric encryption. In general, Staysure company adheres to the NIST Policy on Hash Functions. Diffie-Hellman, IKE, or Elliptic curve Diffie-Hellman (ECDH) Key exchanges must be used. End points must be authenticated before exchanging the key or derivation of session keys. Public keys used to establish trust must be authenticated prior to use. All servers and applications using SSL or TLS must have the certificates signed by a known, trusted provider. Cryptographic keys must be generated and stored in a secure manner that prevents loss, theft, or compromise. This Policy must be verified and accepted by the Infosec team through different methods. Any employee found to have violeted this policy will be dealt with in accordance to Staysure disciplinary procedures. This may lead to a termination of employment for employees and termination of contract for service providers. Database Credentials Coding Policy Introduction For an application to connect to the internal database it is necessary to authorize through the database authentication credentials. But incorrect use, storage and transmission of such credentials will lead to compromise of very sensitive data. Scope This policy is for all system implementer and software engineers who work on coding applications that will access database server on the Staysure Network. Policy To maintain the security of Staysures internal databases, access by software programs must be granted only after authentication with credentials. The credentials used for this authentication must not reside in the main, executing body of the program. Database credentials must not be stored in a location that can be accessed through a web server. Database credentials may be stored as part of an authentication server (i.e., an entitlement directory), such as an LDAP server used for user authentication Database credentials may not reside in the documents tree of a web server. Passwords or pass phrases used to access a database must adhere to the Password Policy. Every program must have unique database credentials. Sharing of credentials between programs is not allowed. Developer groups must have a process in place to ensure that database passwords are controlled and changed in accordance with the Password Policy This Policy must be verified and accepted by the Infosec team through different methods. Any employee found to have violeted this policy will be dealt with in accordance to Staysure disciplinary procedures. This may lead to a termination of employment for employees and termination of contract for service providers. Any program code or application that violates this policy must be remediated within a 90 day period Web Application Security Policy Introduction The largest portion of attack vectors outside the malware is accounted by the Web applications. It is necessary that any web application prior to production deployment should be assessed for vulnerabilities. Scope This policy is for assessments of all web applications for maintaining the security posture, compliance, risk management, and change control of technologies in use at Staysure.co.uk Policy New Application Releasewill be subject to a full assessment prior to release into the live environment. Third Party Web Applicationwill be subject to full assessment after which it will be bound to policy requirements. Patch Releaseswill be subject to an appropriate assessment level based on the risk of the changes to the application functionality and architecture. Any high risk issue must be fixed immediately or other mitigation strategies must be put in place to limit exposure before deployment. A full assessment is comprised of tests for all known web application vulnerabilities using both automated and manual tools based on the OWASP Testing Guide A quick assessment will consist of a (typically) automated scan of an application for the OWASP Top Ten web application security risks at a minimum. A targeted assessment is performed to verify vulnerability remediation changes or new application functionality. This Policy must be verified and accepted by the Infosec team through different methods. Any employee found to have violeted this policy will be dealt with in accordance to Staysure disciplinary procedures. This may lead to a termination of employment for employees and termination of contract for service providers.

ESL Admissions Essay - My New Life in America :: ESL Admissions

ESL Admissions Essay - My New Life in America Unlike other people, I came to the US without any special reasons, except for the fact that my husband began working here. Before this, I had never been in the US. In my mind, the US purely was an abstract noun. I knew it from nothing but TV, newspapers, and movies. However, since I came here, the US for me has become absolutely concrete. A brand new life spreads out in front of me, which has affected me mainly in three aspects--language, behavior, and vision. The first effect on me was that I could not communicate in English. The language became the first and the biggest problem I encountered in the US, which happened to me the first day I stepped onto the land of the US. I found I became deaf and dumb--I couldn't speak and couldn't understand what other people were talking about. When one of the customs officials asked if I carried any agricultural products, I looked at her at a loss for what to do. In the following days, I found that many things that were extremely easy in China became the biggest problems to me. I couldn't understand the TV programmes and couldn't read newspapers and magazines, I didn't know how to check out after shopping, and I didn't even dare go out alone. All of these came from the language obstacle. In China, I had never had a problem like this. I had my family, a lot of close friends, and a stable job. Life was very easy and interesting for me. But living here, what should I do? Eventually, I chose to return to school to study English in order to adapt myself to the American life as soon as possible. Every day I would go to the college and spend a long day there listening, reading, and writing in English. I often read books until my eyes became blurry. At my age, studying a new language was indeed not easy. But months later, I surprisingly found that I was able to simply communicate with others, and I also could read and write some relatively complex articles, which gave me a lot of confidence. Now I believe that my new life will be beautiful as long as I do my best. The second effect on me was the change in my behavior.

Gun Control: Should the Second Amendment of the Constitution be Updated

According to the F.B.I., 14,369 murders involving firearms took place in the year 2013 within the United States. We as Americans have the right to â€Å"bear arms,† however there can be some changes to at least try to minimize these casualties. The 2nd Amendment states â€Å"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a Free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.† This may be outdated now that we have a strong military (that is our â€Å"well regulated Militia,†) to protect our security, but can a right be scratched off the Constitution because of someone’s interpretation?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Perhaps there can be some changes to the laws to determine who can own a firearm and what types of weapons can be sold. In Arizona and many other states there are no permits required to purchase any type of firearm. While other states have more laws to determine who can own a gun. New York requires you to have a permit to purchase and then register a handgun. The permit may be issued if the applicant is over 18 years of age, has not been convicted of a felony or spent more than one year in prison, and is not an addict, alcoholic or convicted of a narcotics offense. New York also requires the gun stores selling rifles, shotguns, or handguns, provide with the gun a locking device and a label on safe storage. As of March, 2001, any firearms dealer licensed in the state of New York must provide to the state police, along with the original receipt of sale, a sealed container enclosing a shell casing from the handgun sold within ten days of the transfer of a handgun.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gun control groups are requesting a bill that would create a national handgun licensing and registration system, and that would extend the Brady law to the secondary market of handgun purchases such as gun shows. Under the Brady II legislation it will be illegal to sell, deliver, or otherwise transfer a handgun to someone who does not have an FFL (Federal Firearms License), unless the dealer verifies that the buyer has a valid state handgun license. It will also make it a violation of the law for anyone who does not hold an FFL to obtain, either through purchase or as a gift, a handgun or handgun ammunition unless they possess a valid state handgun license. Brady II would require state officials to set up and manage a license sys... ...fense is not an acceptable reason. In the years 1996-1997, Australia destroyed almost 700,000 guns, which are about one-seventh the guns in Australia. In America that number would be around 30 million. By 1998, homicides by firearms were down thirty percent in Australia. In 1991 and 1995 Canada established new gun laws reducing the number of deaths caused by guns to a thirty year low. The UK banned handguns and destroyed the guns the government bought from the citizens. Within a year later, gun-related violations have decreased by thirteen percent in England and Wales. Some say that Americans are fifty times more likely than British citizens to be killed by a firearm. Many people in America do not want to see a ban on firearms, but if that is not the answer what is? Perhaps what we need is for the anti-gun groups and the pro-gun groups to come together and reach some sort of a compromise that could help reduce our nation’s homicide rates. References: National Center for Health Statistics Center for Disease Control and Prevention FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) NRA (National Rifle Association) John McCain @ mccain.senate.gov www.guncite.com www.converge.org

Life-cycle :: essays research papers

Amidst the â€Å"hot pies and potato-chips†, â€Å"innocent monsters† and â€Å"resurgent lions†, Dawe effectively illustrates Victorian popular culture in the poem â€Å"Life-cycle†. Generally speaking, the subject matter is associated with Victorian lifestyle, notwithstanding the prevalent reference specifically to AFL football. Humour and good intentions counterbalance sentiments of condescending ridicule. Dawe flippantly suggests that â€Å"the tides of life will be the tides of the home-team’s fortunes†. Whilst some may be inclined to assume that Dawe is merely mocking a preoccupied Victorian society, it is worth mentioning that his criticisms are far from hostile. In fact, it would be fair to say that they are detailed with an affectionate and benevolent disposition. Whimsically, Dawe depicts a solitary culture conditioned by an overwhelming fascination with AFL football. The insinuation that Victorians are born into football loyalty, similar to that of religion, suggests that Dawe possesses the unique ability to detect similarities in events that are generally opaque to the standard eye. Biblical references throughout the poem cast an additional dimension in the audience’s minds. The mention of the â€Å"empyrean† and the booming of the commentator from the stands could arguably be hypothesised as having a religious underpinning. In a biblical sense, â€Å"empyrean† means the highest heaven and the booming commentator could likewise be compared with a religious God – an Almighty all-seeing onlooker. Dawe further develops comparisons in the form of non-religious similes. For example, the comparison between â€Å"rippling minds† and â€Å"streamers†, and for descriptive purposes, children are defined as â €Å"little monsters who have been years swimming towards the daylight’s roaring empyrean†. The relationship fabricated between Dawe and his audience is far more personal than that achieved by similar poets. The language is seemingly colloquial, vernacular and familiar to everyday Australians, despite the occasional rise of cerebral biblical dialect. Dawe utilises are variety of poetic devices to convey a powerful sense of imagery. The deliberate exaggeration for dramatic effect (otherwise known as a hyperbole) is used in the phrase â€Å"the pure flood of sound†. In this instance, the obvious exaggeration encourages a greater sense of aural imagery. In terms of visual imagery, descriptions of â€Å"club-colours†, â€Å"beribboned cots† and hoisting children shoulder-high, enables the reader to gain a perceptive appreciation of what football loyalty entails. The symbolic application of the â€Å"litter Tiger†, â€Å"resurgent lions†, Demons and Saints, highlight the obvious significance of football mascots. Alliteration such as â€Å"passion persisting† emphasises the strong emotional attachment that football followers rightfully possess.

Determination of Dissolved Oxygen In a Water Essay

INTRODUCTION In an alkaline solution, dissolved oxygen will oxidize manganese(II) to the trivalent state. 8OH-(aq) + 4Mn2+(aq) + 2H2O(l) ï ¼ Ã¯ ¼ Ã¯ ¼Å¾ 4Mn(OH)3(s) The analysis is completed by titrating the iodine produced from potassium iodide by manganese(III) hydroxide. 2Mn(OH)3(s) + 2I-(aq) + 6 H+(aq) ï ¼ Ã¯ ¼ Ã¯ ¼Å¾ 2Mn2+(aq) + I2(aq) + 6H2O(l) Sodium thiosulphate is used as the titrant. Success of the method is critically dependent upon the manner in which the sample is manipulated. At all stages, every method must be made to assure that oxygen is neither introduced to nor lost from the sample. Furthermore, the sample must be free of any solutes that will oxidize iodide or reduce iodine. Chemicals: Manganese(II) sulphate solution – prepared by dissolving 48 g of MnSO4.4H2O in water to five 100 cm3 solution; alkaline potassium iodide solution—prepared by dissolving 15 g of KI in about 25 cm3 of water, adding 66 cm3 of 50% NaOH, and diluting to 100 cm3; concentrated sulphuriv(VI) acid; 0.0125 M sodium thiosulphate solution; starch solution (freshly prepared). Apparatus: 250 cm3 volumetric flask, 250 cm3 conical flask, measuring cylinders, titration apparatus, magnetic stirrer Procedure: 1.Use a 250 cm3 volumetric flask to collect water sample. Fill the flask completely with water without trapping any air bubbles. 2.Add 1 cm3 of manganese(II) sulphate solution to the sample using a pipette. Discharge the solution well below the surface (some overflow will occur). 3.Similarity introduce 1 cm3 of alkaline potassium iodide solution. Be sure that no air becomes entrapped. Invert the bottle to distribute the precipitate uniformly. [Hazard Warning: Care should be taken to avoid exposure to any overflow, as the solution is quite alkaline.] 4.When the precipitate has  settled at least 3 cm below the stopper, introduce 1 cm3 of concentrated sulphuric acid well below the surface. Replace the stopper and carefully mix until the precipitate disappears. A magnetic stirrer is helpful here. 5.Allow the mixture to stand for 5 minutes and then withdraw 100cm3 of the acidified sample into a 250 cm3 conical flask. 6.Titrate with 0.0125M sodium thiosulphate until the iodine colour bec omes faint. Then add 1 cm3 of starch solution and continue adding the thiosulphate solution until the blue colour disappears. 7.Record the volume of thiosulphate solution used and calculate the dissolved oxygen content in the sample in mg dm-3. Remarks 1.If the water sample has a low DO value, it is recommended to withdraw 200 cm3 of the acidified sample into a 500 cm3 flask for the titration describe in step 5. 2.This experiment can be further developed into a project to study the extent of water pollution. (a)The water sample under investigation is divided into two portions. One portion of the sample is immediately analysed for dissolving oxygen using the Winkler method. The other portion is stored in the dark for five days. (b)Repeat the analysis with the water sample that has been stored in the dark for five days. The difference between the two measurements is the five-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), measured in mg dm-3.

Judith Beveridge Essay

According to Judith Beveridge, nature is constantly abused and neglected, as a result of industrialisation, a process occurring under the direction of a patriarchal society. This idea is supported by the context of her poetry, a time where power was something that men were supposed to possess. She demonstrates her opinion to her readers through the use of poetic techniques in her poems Domesticity of Giraffes and Streets of Chippendale. Domesticity of Giraffes portrays themes of environmentalism, when assisted by a feminist reading. Nature is confined, closed off, and lost in a modern, industrialised society. Nature’s inhabitants therefore, are also closed off, and here a giraffe is called a ‘wire-cripple’ (line 16). This metaphor suggests that the wires are oppressing the giraffe and in turn, nature. At the same time, the wire is symbolic of industrialisation and the involvement of a patriarchal society in this process, through the application of Beveridge’s context, in which a male dominated society was seen as unfair and women began to develop and address their own political views. Thus, nature is portrayed as an innocent party, governed by the undeserved power of a patriarchal society. The poem also conveys nature as diminishing and being replaced by an industrialised society. The existing nature and its remaining inhabitants are lost, lonely and longing for companionship. Here, a giraffe looks ‘towards the tall buildings she mistakes for a herd’ (lines 6 – 7). Through the reapplication of Beveridge’s context, it is evident that the use of enjambment after ‘buildings’ is used, once again, to emphasise the recurring symbol of industrialisation due to a patriarchal society, which is represented by ‘tall buildings’. It also emphasises the longing and loneliness of the giraffe, as she is shown to look for anything that she shares a similarity with for companionship. Thus, nature is seen as helpless in an industrialised society. As a result, the techniques in Domesticity of Giraffes collaborate to convey that nature, with its innocence and helplessness, has unjustly become a slave to an industrialised patriarchal society. Additionally, Streets of Chippendale portrays themes of environmentalism when assisted by a feminist reading. Nature here is non-existent. It has been taken over by an industrialised society, and ‘Streets named Ivy, Rose and Myrtle – now lack a single tree’ (lines 1 – 2). Juxtaposition is used here to emphasise the contrast between ‘streets’ and ‘ivy, vine rose and myrtle’, which are all names of trees. The emphasis on ‘streets’ connotes the recurring representation of industrialisation due to a patriarchal society, when coupled with Beveridge’s context. Consequently, the use of enjambment after ‘Myrtle’ places emphasis on the irony, that streets named after trees, have no trees in them due to industrialisation. Thus, nature is seen as being mocked by a dominant, patriarchal society. The poem also conveys nature as a possession. Chippendale is seen as a place that tries to own nature, ‘where residents dressed in slacks and turtlenecks are walking pedigree dogs’ (lines 8 – 9). Here, a pun is used to bring out the meaning of the word ‘turtle’ in ‘turtleneck’, which along with a literal interpretation of ‘dog’, brings about connotations of the ownership of nature. Also, the resident, wearing a turtleneck and walking a pedigree dog, is seen as powerful and upper class, and therefore, through the application of Beveridge’s context, represents a patriarchal society. Thus, nature is seen as the possession of an ungrateful patriarchal society. As a result, the techniques in Streets of Chippendale collaborate to convey that nature is useless and unimportant in an industrialised patriarchal society. In conclusion, Judith Beveridge’s poems, Domesticity of Giraffes and Streets of Chippendale, give its readers the message that nature is constantly abused and neglected because of industrialisation, which is caused by a patriarchal society. This message is created through the application of feminist reading and her use of poetic techniques, while taking into account her context.

Own Philosophy on Education

My Philosophy on Education I admit that writing my own philosophy on education had me thinking tort quite some time. There has been a number of questions that emerged In my mind while pondering on coming up with my own philosophy. I asked myself why I want to teach, who I am going to teach and how I will become a future educator to these students. Hence, I first defined what an education theory meaner to me and Imagined a teacher I had that I look up to. Consequently, I hope can express my philosophy with the thoughts I have gathered.Personally, I consider the teaching profession as an honorable profession. It is through this profession that millions of learned men have become great professionals excelling on their own fields of expertise. With this, I can say that the teaching profession is a vital part of our system as it acts as the vehicle where one imparts knowledge to others. Furthermore, I see learning as acquiring knowledge or experience, This said acquisition is not only lim ited within the four corners of the room but is also experienced right outside the school – the environment.Students – believe that these are beings with Innate knowledge. They are not empty vessels, but are bodies that have this â€Å"natural knowledge†. Realizing that they have this what I call â€Å"natural knowledge†, it is l, the future educator, to come up with strategies and techniques that will trigger in awakening this knowledge and provide castles to have this developed Into something bigger, better, more productive and essential for the learner. When I was still a student, particularly In the university, was more motivated to teachers that were very friendly and approachable In and outside class.Moreover, was motivated with a classroom environment where I could feel a friendly intention among my classmates and cooperation and participation were both highly practiced and valued. Thus, can say that I am motivated with having a friendly teacher th at creates a competitive environment focused on cooperative learning in class. With regards to learning, I do not expect students to have a full understanding of a certain lesson within a forty-minute or an hour class. I expect that they understand, but the absorption of such information should be reinforced by giving short tests and quizzes on the following days to come.Running a class is a difficult task. When I run my own class, I will make it sure that there is a friendly environment between me and my students. However, I will not let respect and the importance of discipline be compromised with the environment I will be creating. Inside the class, will let students be exposed in learning environments where they can easily grasp the ideas by providing them meaningful and real elite accusable. As an educator, I believe that I have the responsibility In shaping the minds of the young, developing their cognitive and psychosomatic skills, and making them Into expansible individuals o f this country.My goal for my students Is to have them develop the â€Å"love for learning†. I strongly believe that when students love learning, they will learn to appreciate any lesson regardless to its TTY. For me to attain this goal, I will have them do activities that are connected and useful in their daily lives. I want to create a classroom environment where students have the equal chance to learn, be heard, and participate in any classroom undertaking. In a nutshell, as a future teacher, I am somebody who will see every potential Roth in students that they can be the best.I believe that every student has the responsibility over themselves that they can do their very best in surviving in the world. I see students as free beings; however, they have to be responsible enough to stand on their decisions because in anything that they do, it is their choice that they have made and they should know the pros and cons of it. I firmly believe that every individual can learn and one's knowledge is developed through the educator and the environment around him or her.

Crisis and Risk Management for Business Continuity: The Case of Northern Rock

a) Research problem The global economic crisis has topped the many discussions in the business world today. The current credit crunch is not only being felt in the United States where the actual problem started but in the United Kingdom as well, with more companies feeling the pinch by the day. It is a pity that many businesses have been declared bankrupt following the shock experienced from the crisis. It is however notable that the blame is partly on their side. The reason for this is that many businesses today have not bothered to come up with crisis and risk management plans to shield their businesses from such shocks. They operate based on the current situations and pay little attention to disasters that are likely to affect the business and how these effects can be minimized. Even where attempts have been made, crisis and risk management plans do not fully address all the potential risks that are likely to face the company. Another issue is that whenever the said crises occur, these plans are not properly set out so that they often end up doing little to save the situation. These characteristics perfectly fit the circumstances surrounding the liquidity crisis at Northern Rock between 2007 and 2008. Northern Rock is a British bank that is now under public ownership following a government bailout in 2008. The bank which started off as a building society became a bank in 1997 when its shares were offered in the London Stock Exchange. As of September 2008, the bank which is ranked as one of the top mortgage lenders in the UK employed 4500 employees. Until 2007, Northern Rock was doing well and was considered one of the fastest growing banks in the UK; at least based on its asset base. The ongoing economic crisis however sent the bank giant reeling as banks tightened their lending rates. As if this was not enough, funding from covered bonds and the securitisation model which made up 75 percent of Northern Rock's funds started deteriorating and eventually these markets closed simultaneously following the economic crisis. What followed was crisis after crisis as the bank threatened to go down. On September 2007, the Northern Rock approached the Bank of England to request for a liquidity support facility to contain some of the problems it was facing following the credit crunch. This caused a bank run as customers rushed to withdraw their savings. The bank was overwhelmed and intervention by the state was necessary to save the bank giant. The UK financial Investment Limited now manages the bank at â€Å"arms length† for the government which was taken into government ownership in February 2008. Northern Rock's inability to deal with the crisis has been blamed on poor risk and crisis management. b) Justification of the study The near collapse of Northern Rock is a wake up call to every business that intends to survive past any kind of crisis.Business Management Study Guide The misfortunes encountered by Northern Rock and the consequences of these should be a good lesson for other companies to learn from through the implementation of risk and crisis management. The challenge however still remains and unless the issue is addressed by giving managers a guide, another company could still go the Northern Rock way. This study will address this challenge effectively by revealing all that a manager needs to know about crisis and risk management for business continuity. Three issues are at hand with each of them carrying substantial weight. Firstly, only a few companies undertake crisis and risk management. Secondly, the few of those who have taken the initiative have not given it adequate attention. Thirdly, when the actual crisis occurs, implementation of the set plan is not normally adhered to so that the essence of the plan is in fact dissolved. Other companies just like Northern Rock are constantly at risk of disasters and hence the knowledge about how to deal with them is quite invaluable. The research which mainly aims at uncovering the dangers of not having a crisis management plan and how having one could save the company's future and form a useful guide to business managers. c) Objectives of the study. In order to ensure that this research addressed the above problems while maintaining the scope of the study, the following objectives were used to guide the research. †¢ To establish whether Northern Rock had any crisis and risk management plans in place. †¢ To identify the importance of crisis and risk management plans. †¢ To show how Northern Rock could have survived the crisis using crisis and risk management planning. Literature Review a) The Case of Northern Rock In the second half of the 2007, Northern Rock became the first bank in the UK to experience a bank run since 1866 (Shin, 2008: 2). World lenders' balance sheets were already shrinking so that banks had reduced their lending and interest rates were going up following the credit crunch (Llewellyn, 2008: 35-36). The credit crunch originated from the U. S sub-prime mortgages that led to a shortage in money available to banks for lending. The bank's over-reliance on securitisation and covered bonds is considered the major cause of the of Northern Rock's downfall (Tevin, 2008: 13). Securitisation is used to refer to the kind of funding where mortgages are used as security to obtain loans from other banks (Shin, 2008: 6). Being a prominent mortgage lender, the bank had quite a substantial amount of security. The mortgages were also used to secure covered bonds which were a constant source of finance for the bank. These two types of markets made up 75 percent of the bank's source of finance and therefore when they collapsed at the same time, the bank's finances were threatened (Victoria, 2006: 2). On the other hand, banks were shrinking their lending rates and therefore the bank could not afford to pay up its dues and sustain its mortgage lending. An innovation unique to the bank is also associated with the downfall. Northern used model that they referred to as â€Å"originate to distribute† in which they could take loans and then sell them to other investors before they matured such that they obtained additional funds and the liability of the loans was transferred to the investors (Tevin, 2008: 15). As a result of the credit crisis, the bank could not sustain its financial needs and consequently could not meet market demand. North Rock's method of funding is described by Shin (2008: 8) as an unusual business model. While banks are expected to have customer deposits as their major liabilities, Northern Rock operated on securitised loans which they offered as mortgages to their customers. Long-term loans which they repaid using the payments paid by mortgage beneficiaries were used to pay -up the loans (Llewellyn, 2008: 37-38). The mortgages were also used as security for additional loans. Deposits only accounted for 23 percent of the finances held by the bank (Tevin, 2008: 14). Given that banks heavily rely on deposits as their major assets and source of financing, the amount available was limited when loans could not provide for the required amounts. Attempts to sell off the bank were unsuccessful because no investor wanted to risk taking up an endangered bank (Adams, 2008: 1). The bank obtained the government bailout from the Bank of England in form of emergency funding (Adams, 2008: 1; Laughton, 2008: 1). This was done in the knowledge that collapse of Northern Rock could cause a major shake-up in the banking industry (Laughton, 2007: 1). The news on Northern Rock's bailout caused a bank run and depositors rushed to withdraw their money. At the same time, the share prices fell by 31 percent (Lastra, 168). b) Crisis and Risk Management. Crisis and risk management is a commonly ignored function of the management but which can play a significant role in determining the destiny of a company. Reliable studies reveal that most organisations do not take crisis and risk management seriously such that they do not put aside plans meant to counter unexpected crises (Robert and Lajtha, 2002: 184). According to McConnell and Drennan (2006: 62), the reason for this is that the probability of occurrence of crises is low within most business environments such that managers find no reason to use the company's resources to invest in countering risks that may never happen anyway. This notion is however wrong because no organisation is immune to crises and risks in the course of its operations. Yemen (2001: 65) notes that crises and disasters carry no warning and consequently always catch businesses unaware. Before they can react to the crisis by getting effective solutions, the damage is already done and chances of survival are highly minimized (McConnel and Dreannan, 2006: 60). For this reason, it is inevitable for every company to consider crisis and risk management in their strategic plan. Salter (1997: 60) defines crisis and risk management as the act of coming up with policies and procedures to be used to identify, analyse, treat and monitor risk. It is a guide on how to deal with crises and risks should they occur and how to recover from their effects (Pingeone, 2006: 37). The procedure of risk management involves the identification of areas where the company predicts that things may go wrong (Lee et al, 2007: 335). This could fall in any department of the organization. While some may be general, some risks are more likely to occur in one company than in another depending on their operations (Robert and Lajtha, 2002: 184) Crises and risks are always occurring in the business management and it is hard to predict what will happen the following day. While risks are used to represent threats or possibilities of an occurrence of misfortunes, the term crisis is used when the actual misfortune actually occurs (Lagadec 1997: 28; Shrivatsava, 1988: 284). Physical disasters such as fires, terrorist attacks, phishing attacks, floods among other disasters are among the major kinds of crises. These should however not form the sole focus of the company because they the business is bound to face many external and economic forces that could influence its performance. For example, relying on one source for supply of materials could lead to a crisis if this supplier can no longer make the supplies to the company (Pingeone, 2006: 100). It is therefore essential that a company makes such a consideration when determining the future of the business. This is actually what happened to Northern Rock who had relied on securitisation and long-term loans as their source of finance so that when banks could not lend as much as they demanded, they were left desperate with no other major source and hence had to turn to the government for help. ) Crisis and Risk Management Plan Crisis and risk management plans help to lay down the steps to be taken in the event of a crisis and in keeping the various risks that a company is exposed to at bay. In coming up with a crisis and risk management plan, the company ought to identify any possible risks that it is likely to suffer in the course of its operations (Alderman, 2008: 149; McMillan, 2006: 89). These risks are then assessed so as to come up with plausible ways of addressing them whenever they arise. This is known as making plans for post crisis actions (Alexander, 169-171). Crisis and risk management plans ensure that every employee participates in the company's safety precautions while ensuring that risks and crises are handled in the right manner. Designing the Crisis and Risk Management Plan It is notable that most companies have not yet put a risk and crisis management plan in place (Carmeli and Schaubroeck 2008: 182). This mostly stems from the fact that managers try to be optimistic; hoping that no disaster will occur. In other circumstances, they simply wish to eliminate the â€Å"unnecessary† expense on something that might never happen. There are however those who are simply ignorant and do not know how to go about implementing a plan. Further still, once the crisis and risk management plan is put in place, its implementation is often a challenge when the actual risk occurs. This is brought about by the panic that often characterises a crisis. Pingeone (2006: 99) notes that the management plan should be followed to the letter unless the situation calls for modification. He adds that the plan should act as a guide and it is for this reason that it is prepared. If properly followed while trying to adjust certain elements to fit the situation, it should be easy to solve the crisis than when there is no plan at all. The challenge of coming up with an effective plan is also cited as a problem given that response and recovery is largely influenced by the kind of crisis and risk management plan that the company has in place. To curb this problem, Smith (2001: 64-65), Fink (1986: 36-39), Gottschalk (2002:96) and Mitroff (2001: 29-35) give the following key elements that are desired for a risk and crisis management plan to be effective. Provision for continuous identification, evaluation and management of risk should be put in place. This is because the company is bound to face new challenges everyday and in the wake of globalisation, new economic and social risks and challenges keep cropping up (Mitroff, 2001: 33). ? Constant review of the effectiveness of the plan is necessary to ensure that all the desired aspects are addressed. Analysing the system of internal control which is part of the risk and crisis control annually can help the company to identify whether the plan is working as desired. For all crisis and risk management plans, the systems developed should rhyme with the organisational culture so that collisions do not occur. ? The crisis and risk management plan must be flexible and one that can effectively respond to evolving risks. A good crisis and risk management plan offers flexibility such that change in policy and new company strategy may be implemented in order to deal with the crisis at hand (Smi th, 2001: 65). ? The plan should set proper reporting procedures to be followed in the event of occurrence of an incident. On top of that, a procedure for reporting failures in the plan should be well laid out. ? The crisis and risk management plan should provide for training to all members of staff so that they are aware of the roles to take in the event of a disaster, the reporting procedures and any other relevant information contained in the plan. Research Design and Method Introduction This portion of the study establishes the ability of the company to satisfy the set objectives. It shows the design of procedures used in the study and outlines the major limitations involved during the study. Research scope The previously set objectives aim at establishing whether there was a crisis and risk management plan at Northern Rock and what could have been done better to further contain the crisis. The study is therefore limited to Northern Rock and to crisis and risk management as a management strategy. The liquidity crisis at Northern Rock forms the basis of the study. Data and data collection The data collection process was applied in such a way that its efficiency could be gauged by the results obtained from the study. In doing so, primary and secondary data were employed in the entire study process. a) Primary data This formed an important part of the research as it helped in obtaining factual information from direct respondents. The use of written questionnaires and oral interviews to obtain information from the respondents was used. The data obtained was assimilated during the analysis of the study. Respondents were notified prior to their interviews so as to ensure that the information was more accurate. b) Secondary data The use of secondary data was invaluable in the study. This is in recognition that any research must incorporate other people's work as a precedent to the study. The use of journals, books, articles and other scholarly works were highly used to obtain the theory surrounding the study. The literature review practically involved the reviewing other people's work so that secondary data was of great importance. Sample selection, technique, and size The study sample incorporated a few present and former company officials as well as economic analysts who studied the Northern Rock liquidity crisis. Strategic sampling system was used to identify the officials and individuals to be interviewed during the period of study. A total of twenty five respondents were sent questionnaires and eight agreed to perform an oral interview. Eighteen questionnaires were returned and observations and responses were assimilated for the purpose of the study. Ethics of the research methodology At the beginning of the study, the research set an objective of reducing respondents' compromise as far as possible. In order to satisfy this, respondents were not required to mention specific names within the company. For privacy purposes, respondents' names were not required in the questionnaires. This served to raise the confidentiality levels as a factor in conducting scholarly research. Limitations of the study Even though this methodology played a vital role in satisfying the set objectives, various limitations faced the researcher. Without these limitations, more information would have been obtained to further improve the study. Among the major constraints was the high level of expenses. These included questionnaire printing and posting costs as well as travelling costs to meet the respondents. The problem of incomplete questionnaires was prevalent mostly due to the highly complex human nature so that some of the staff members could have been worried about giving information they considered confidential due to fears of victimization. This could have contributed to errors in the information obtained. The time element was also limiting which did not enable maximum amount of data as would have been desired. Analysis and Findings Most of the respondents in the study ascertained that Northern Rock was lucky and were it not for the government bailout; the bank would have landed into bankruptcy. Unavailability of credit which was actually the bank's major source of finance was an unfathomable blow to the bank whose reputation had made it the fastest growing mortgage lender in the UK. The situation was made worse by the bank run which was in essence caused by the media portrayal of the crisis (Victoria, 2008: 117-119). Nelkin (1998: 347-348) notes that the media could highly influence how a crisis affects the company due to messages and speculations made. As soon as the bank sought help from the Bank of England, word went round through the media and the public went into panic following the collapse of the bank. The result was huge amounts of withdrawals which highly overwhelmed the bank's finances (Shin, 2008: 6). Northern Rock therefore sunk into losses and could barely afford to sustain the payment of loans. Analysts involved in the study suggested that the bank run could have been avoided had the bank's management taken Northern Rock's crisis management plan In an effort to keep focus on the research scope, only the section of the crisis and risk management plan associated with the liquidity crisis was analysed. For each point noted, a note on how the situation could have been handled better is provided. Northern Rock management had given a thought to the possibility of reduction of market at home and shortage of funds from local banks. To help reduce this possibility, the bank had diversified its operations to other countries like Canada, United States, Europe, Australia and Far East (Tevin, 2008: 21-22). This was considered to be a substantial backup for any eventualities in the domestic market. The company had also secured its liquidity through insurance to cover for any shortages. In their plan however, they had not anticipated a crisis that would cause the collapse of their major sources of funds at the same time. It would have been unimaginable that the source of finance that seemed so reliable would collapse leaving the bank destitute. Even Dr Ridley; the bank's chairman had noted that the bank had not though at one time that its sources of finance could collapse at the same time (Llewellyn, 2008: 49). This just goes on to show that crises are not easily predictable and that routine can be deceiving. The fact that Northern Rock's long-term sources of finances were always available to them due to the high amount of mortgage securities almost ruled out the possibility of running out of finances. The Northern Rock crisis management can be said to have been inadequate. The reasoning behind this is that should it have been adequate, the liquidity crisis may have been avoided or subsidised. As noted by Regester et al (2005: 196-198), a good plan must entail the guidelines to be followed in the event of a crisis. Further, Northern Rock's management failed to predict; which is one of the objectives of the bank's risk management plan. Varma (2008: 1) notes that banks should be able to use cash flow projections to anticipate future fluctuations in demand for their customers. Using these projections, they can easily determine whether a liquidity problem is likely to arise due to increased demand or whether inventory will pile up as a result of reduced demand. It is also possible to gauge from the rise in interest rates offered by banks and other security traders. Such information could have proved vital to the management and this could have been used to limit mortgage lending and hence reduce the impact of the crisis. As noted by Tevin (2008: 17), the bank did not even have adequate liquidity insurance, a lesson which the England Governor noted could have been learnt from Countrywide, a US bank that suffered the same crisis that Northern Rock was facing. Insurance cover serves in ensuring that the company's assets are protected. This ensures that whenever assets that the company has insured against are lost in the event of a crisis, compensation can protect it from committing more resources in replacing the asset (Alderman, 2008: 204). With such knowledge the bank could have obtained enough liquidity insurance as security for the future. They could also have provided for plans to cope with a credit crisis should they get into the same position with Countrywide. This way, it could have been ready and encountered the crisis more boldly without having to seek government bailout. Northern Rock over-relied on one source of finance so that when it collapsed the effect was quite staggering. The theory of crisis management warns against relying on one source of supply because its failure could have detrimental effects on the company (Coombs, 1999: 114-115). Northern Rock had been relying heavily on loans gained from mortgage securities to finance their clients' mortgage needs and when they could not afford to meet the demand following the reduced liquidity levels, they had nowhere to turn to (Congdon, 2009: 11). Banks which were willing to lend proved too expensive for the bank to afford and still continue to operate comfortably. The whole problem arose because once these sources of finance collapsed; there was no other source of finance leading to the liquidity crisis. It is a major observation that companies rarely think about the possibility of a time when a certain source of supply will not be available to them because as long as they are concerned they have always relied on the source (Wiley, 2006: 85). Northern Rock should have diversified more as a way to maintain the flow of funds. For example, they could have used more deposits instead of relying on loans only. Tevin (2008: 14) notes that only 23 percent of their liquidity was in the form of deposits which Victoria (2008: 119) notes to be the major sources of bank liabilities. By focusing on loans, they lost their major source of money supply when the credit crunch set in. The management did not act swiftly to respond to rumours about liquidity shortages. According to Tevin (2008: 24) the bank had received warning signs about a possible shortage in credit as a result of the ongoing economic crisis. The Financial Stability Report that the Bank of England released in April 2008 suggested that wholesale funding which was on the rise in the market could pose unforeseeable danger to liquidity (Llewellyn, 2008: 51). Analysts had also predicted the same. Instead of analysing the possible risk and taking measures, Northern Rock continued with the expansionary lending policy (Tevin, 2008: 24). Mortgages continued to be issued yet there was a possibility of being unable to sustain the demand following the credit shortage. If the management had acted wisely, it could have limited the mortgage lending so as to save the finances available until a favourable time came. Its ability to detect the possibility of such an occurrence was limited hence the reason why the company was caught unawares. The crisis and risk management plan was not also well utilized when the bank realized its plight. Referring to the liquidity crisis, Northern Rock CEO maintained that the prediction made by the bank about its source of finances had been wrong in assuming that the mortgage assets would maintain the bank's liquidity. The company has made an attempt to recover from the crisis using the government assistance issued and change in strategy. This is part of a crisis management plan which requires that a company take the necessary measures to correct a crisis. As noted by Smith (2000, 65), Northern Rock had to change strategy so as to better manage the crisis. Their â€Å"Together† loans for example were withdrawn. These loans were an incentive to first time buyers and involved combining a secured and unsecured loan to obtain finance (Tevin, 2008: 26). The bank however could not manage to offer these loans given their financial constraints and had to withdraw them. The bank is still recovering and depositors have started gaining trust in the bank again more so because the government ownership provides a substantial level of financial security. Conclusions and Recommendations After an analysis of the case of Northern Rock and the importance of crisis and risk management, it would be true to say that the company's crisis and risk management plan was not properly implemented during the liquidity crisis. The plan was also inadequate to address the seriousness of the problem given that the company had never anticipated a risk of such magnitude. It is also true that every company needs to have a crisis and risk management plan to help in coping with disasters and incidents if they occur. It can therefore be concluded that having a crisis and risk management plan cannot be useful if it is not well implemented. This is as in the case of Northern Rock which did not react to the warning signs of the impending danger of a liquidity crisis through finding alternative sources of funds or through reducing its lending capacity. Northern Rock suffered a great deal from the liquidity crisis due to poor implementation of crisis and risk management. The plan was also inadequate and insurance cover taken could not compensate for the loss incurred. What matters however is not what has been lost in the past; but what can be saved in future. As Lagadec 1997: 28; Shrivatsava (1988: 284) suggest, a crisis should act as a learning opportunity for a company to make changes and improvements. The bank needs to focus on building more solid and workable plans to contain such crises as they could happen again in the future. The plan should be made by incorporating all the various aspects of a good crisis and risk plan indicated in this study. This means that the plan to be implemented should focus on constant examination of possible risks and designing of proper measures to counter them. There should also be plans set to address crises in the event that they arise as well as plans to recover after a crisis. This does not mean that the bank should exhaust all its resources on liquidity problems alone. There are other crises and risks which could also face the company and there is need to incorporate them in their crisis and risk management plan as well. The Northern Rock saga is a vital lesson that every growing company must learn from. While risks and crises could be few and far between, the need to account for them in the company strategy is invaluable. This is because there is no way of predicting the future. This should avoid a situation in which the company has to close down because they do not have any finances to cater for the losses incurred during the crisis. Every company should maintain a crisis and risk management plan that helps to shield it from any eventualities that may occur in the course of its operations. There are several lessons that have been learnt from the Northern Rock case study and which other companies can benefit from through the following recommendations. Firstly, disaster may strike at any time hence the need to come up with a plan to deal with risks and crises. It is also notable that some disasters can be predicted so that precautionary measures taken to reduce the shock on the company. To enhance this, constant review of the risks that the company is susceptible to should be done. Secondly, reliance on a single supply could pose danger to the company hence the need to diversify operations or plan for alternatives in case the current sources fail. Finally, having no plan could lead to desperate actions on the side of the company. If the company is not lucky, it could end up closing down. In the case of Northern Rock, there were attempts to sell it and then the government bailout. The bailout means that the company is now under government control and no longer in private hands which could highly impact on the company decision processes and operations.