The Background of Ingvar Kamprad

I’m gonna talk about Ingvar Kamprad. He was born 30th  Mars, 1926 in Kronobergs municipality. He’s a Swedish entrepreneur and founder of the furniture chain IKEA. Ingvar founded IKEA in 1943 and the name stands for his initials and address. – Ingvar Kamprad, Elmtaryd, Agunnaryd. (Write up on whiteboard. ) – Kamprad is currently ranked as one of the wealthiest people in the world. In July 2012, the time script Bloomberg estimated that his net worth was up to 42. 6 billion dollars, which makes him the 5th richest person in the world.Kamprad was born in Pjatteryd, Sweden. He was raised on a farm called Elmtaryd near the small village of Agunnaryd in Ljungby municipality in the province of Smaland. His grandfather was from Germany but moved to Sweden with his family. Kamprad is very well-known for his â€Å"cheapness. † He drives a 1993 Volvo 240, flies only economic class and encourages IKEA employees always to write on both sides of a piece of paper . Kamprad explains his social philosophy like this: â€Å"Testament of a Furniture Dealer†: â€Å"It is not only for cost reasons that we avoid the luxury hotels.We don’t need flashy cars, impressive titles, uniforms or other status symbols. We rely on our strength and our will! † Kamprad began to develop a business as a young boy, selling matches to neighbors from his bicycle. He found that he could buy matches in bulk very cheap from Stockholm, sell them himself and make a good profit. From matches, he started selling fish, Christmas tree decorations and seeds. And now I’m gonna talk about the history of IKEA.As I mentioned earlier, Kamprad started selling matches at the age of five and by the age of seven he started selling further from his home, using his bicycle. In the 1940s Kamprad started developing IKEA into a furniture retailer. In the 1960s IKEA started getting bigger and the big products such as POANG and BILLY started developing. In the 1980s IKEA expands into new markets in USA, Italy, France and the UK. In 1990s children’s IKEA is introduced, and in 2000’s IKEA expands into even more markets such as Japan and Russia.And now I’m going to talk about the qualities of Ingvar Kamprad as an entrepreneur. Well, one thing that I find very important is the fact that he actually shows that even though you’re extremely rich, you still don’t have to live a glamorous life. As I’ve mentioned, he drives an old Volvo and travels economic class. By this it encourages the employees to do the same thing, to live cheap. And this is why I think IKEA’s been such a huge success. You can of course argue that he’s been at the right place at the right time, but I think that’s his kind of spirit that moves the company forward. Thank you.

The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove Chapter 4~5

Four Estelle Boyet As September's promise wound down, a strange unrest came over the people of Pine Cove, due in no small part to the fact that many of them were going into withdrawal from their medications. It didn't happen all at once – the streets were not full of middle-class junkies rocking and sweating and begging for a fix – but slowly as the autumn days became shorter. And as far as they knew (because Val Riordan had called every one of them), they were experiencing the onset of a mild seasonal syndrome, sort of like spring fever. Call it autumn malaise. The nature of the medications kept the symptoms spread out over the next few weeks. Prozac and some of the older antidepressants took almost a month to leave the system, so those people slipped into the fray more slowly than those on Zoloft or Paxil or Wellbutrin, which was flushed from the system in only a day or two, leaving the deprived with symptoms re-sembling a low-grade flu, then a scattered disorientation akin to a temporary case of attention deficit disorder, and, in some, a rebound of depression that dropped on them like a smoky curtain. One of the first to feel the effects was Estelle Boyet, a local artist, successful and semifamous for her seascapes and idealized paintings of Pine Cove shore life. Her prescription had run out a day before Dr. Val had replaced the supply with sugar pills, so she was already in the midst of withdrawal when she took the first dose of the placebo. Estelle was sixty, a stout, vital woman who wore brightly colored caftans and let her long gray hair fly around her shoulders as she moved through life with an energy and determination that inspired envy from women half her age. For thirty years she had been a teacher in the decaying and increas-ingly dangerous Los Angeles Unified School District, teaching eighth graders the difference between acrylics and oils, a brush and a pallet knife, Dali and Degas, and using her job and her marriage as a justification for never producing any art herself. She had married right out of art school: Joe Boyet, a promising young businessman, the only man she had ever loved and only the third she had ever slept with. When Joe had died eight years ago, she had nearly lost her mind. She tried to throw herself into her teaching, hoping that by inspiring the children she might find some reason to go on herself. In the face of the escalating violence in her school, she resigned herself to wearing a bullet-proof vest under her artist smocks and even brought in some paintball guns to try to gain the pupils' interest, but the latter only backfired into several incidents of drive-by abstract expressionism, and soon she received death threats for not allowing students to fashion crack pipes in ceramics class. Her students – children living in a hyperadult world where play-ground disputes were settled with 9 mms – eventually drove her out of teaching. Estelle lost her last reason to go on. The school psychologist re-ferred her to a psych iatrist, who put her on antidepressants and recommen-ded immediate retirement and relocation. Estelle moved to Pine Cove, where she began to paint and where she fell under the wing of Dr. Valerie Riordan. No wonder then that Estelle's painting had taken a dark turn over the last few weeks. She painted the ocean. Every day. Waves and spray, rocks and serpentine strands of kelp on the beach, otters and seals and pelicans and gulls. Her canvases sold in the local gal-leries as fast as she could paint them. But lately the inner light at the heart of her waves, titanium white and aquamarine, had taken on a dark shadow. Every beach scene spoke of desolation and dead fish. She dreamed of le-viathan shadows stalking her under the waves and she woke shivering and afraid. It was getting more difficult to get her paints and easel to the shore each day. The open ocean and the blank canvas were just too fright-ening. Joe is gone, she thought. I have no career and no friends and I produce nothing but kitschy seascapes as flat and soulless as a velvet Elvis. I'm afraid of everything. Val Riordan had called her, insisting that she come to a group therapy session for widows, but Estelle had said no. Instead, one evening, after finishing a tormented painting of a beached dolphin, she left her brushes to harden with acrylic and headed downtown – anywhere where she didn't have to look at this shit she'd been calling art. She ended up at the Head of the Slug Saloon – the first bar she'd set foot in since college. The Slug was full of Blues and smoke and people chasing shots and running from sadness. If they'd been dogs, they would have all been in the yard eating grass and trying to yak up whatever was making them feel so lousy. Not a bone gnawed, not a ball chased – all tails went unwagged. Oh, life is a fast cat, a short leash, a flea in that place where you just can't scratch. It was dog sad in there, and Catfish Jefferson was the designated howler. The moon was in his eye and he was singing up the sum of human suffering in A-minor, while he worked that bottleneck slide on the National guitar until it sounded like a slow wind through heartstrings. He was grinning. Of the hundred or so people in the Slug, half were experiencing some sort of withdrawal from their medications. There was a self-pity contingent at the bar, staring into their drinks and rocking back and forth to the Delta rhythms. At the tables, the more social of the de-pressed were whining and slurring their problems into each other's ears and occasionally trading hugs or curses. Over by the pool table stood the agitated and the aggressive, the people looking for someone to blame. These were mostly men, and Theophilus Crowe was keeping an eye on them from his spot at the bar. Since the death of Bess Leander, there had been a fight in the Slug almost every night. In addition, there were more pukers, more screamers, more criers, and more unwanted advances stifled with slaps. Theo had been very busy. So had Mavis Sand. Mavis was happy about it. Estelle came through the doors in her paint-spattered overalls and Shetland sweater, her hair pulled back in a long gray braid. Just inside, she paused as the music and the smoke washed over her. Some Mexican laborers were standing there in a group, drinking Budweisers, and one of them whistled at her. â€Å"I'm an old lady,† Estelle said. â€Å"Shame on you.† She pushed her way through the crowd to the bar and ordered a white wine. Mavis served it in a plastic beer cup. (She was serving everything in plastic lately. Evidently, the Blues made people want to break glass – on each other.) â€Å"Busy?† Estelle said, although she had nothing to compare it to. â€Å"The Blues sure packs 'em in,† Mavis said. â€Å"I don't much care for the Blues,† said Estelle. â€Å"I enjoy Classical music.† â€Å"Three bucks,† said Mavis. She took Estelle's money and moved to the other end of the bar. Estelle felt as if she'd been slapped in the face. â€Å"Don't mind Mavis,† a man's voice said. â€Å"She's always cranky.† Estelle looked up, caught a shirt button, then looked up farther to find Theo's smile. She had never met the constable, but she knew who he was. â€Å"I don't even know why I came in here. I'm not a drinker.† â€Å"Something going around,† Theo said. â€Å"I think maybe we're going to have a stormy winter or something. People are coming out of the woodwork.† They exchanged introductions and Theo complimented Estelle on her paintings, which he'd seen in the local galleries. Estelle dismissed the compliment. â€Å"This seems like a strange place to find the constable,† Estelle said. Theo showed her the cell phone on his belt. â€Å"Base of operations,† he said. â€Å"Most of the trouble has been starting in here anyway. If I'm here already, I can stop it before it escalates.† â€Å"Very conscientious of you.† â€Å"No, I'm just lazy,† Theo said. â€Å"And tired. In the last three weeks I've been called to five domestic disputes, ten fights, two people who barricaded themselves in the bathroom and threatened suicide, a guy who was going house to house knocking the heads off garden gnomes with a sledgehammer, and a woman who tried to take her husband's eye out with a spoon.† â€Å"Oh my. Sounds like one day in the life of an L.A. cop.† â€Å"This isn't L.A.,† Theo said. â€Å"I don't mean to complain, but I'm not really prepared for a crime wave.† â€Å"And there's nowhere left to run,† Estelle said. â€Å"Pardon?† â€Å"People come here to run away from conflict, don't you think? Come to a small town to get out of the violence and the competition in the city. If you can't handle it here, there's nowhere else to go. You might as well give up.† â€Å"Well, that's a little cynical. I thought artists were supposed to be idealists.† â€Å"Scratch a cynic and you'll find a disappointed romantic,† Estelle said. â€Å"That's you?† Theo asked. â€Å"A disappointed romantic?† â€Å"The only man I ever loved died.† â€Å"I'm sorry,† Theo said. â€Å"Me too.† She drained her cup of wine. â€Å"Easy on that, Estelle. It doesn't help.† â€Å"I'm not a drinker. I just had to get out of the house.† There was some shouting over by the pool table. â€Å"My presence is required,† Theo said. â€Å"Excuse me.† He made his way through the crowd to where two men were squaring off to fight. Estelle signaled Mavis for a refill and turned to watch Theo try to make peace. Catfish Jefferson sang a sad song about a mean old woman doing him wrong. That's me, Estelle thought. A mean old worthless woman. Self-medication was working by midnight. Most of the customers at the Slug had given in and started clapping and wailing along with Catfish's Blues. Quite a few had given up and gone home. By closing time, there were only five people left in the Slug and Mavis was cackling over a drawer full of money. Catfish Jefferson put down his National steel guitar and picked up the two-gallon pickle jar that held his tips. Dollar bills spilled over the top, change skated in the bottom, and here and there in the middle fives and tens struggled for air. There was even a twenty down there, and Catfish dug in after it like a kid going for a Cracker Jack prize. He carried the jar to the bar and plopped down next to Estelle, who was gloriously, eloquently crocked. â€Å"Hey, baby,† Catfish said. â€Å"You like the Blues?† Estelle searched the air for the source of the question, as if it might have come from a moth spiraling around one of the lights behind the bar. Her gaze finally settled on the Bluesman and she said, â€Å"You're very good. I was going to leave, but I liked the music.† â€Å"Well, you done stayed now,† Catfish said. â€Å"Look at this.† He shook the money jar. â€Å"I got me upward o' two hundred dollar here, and that mean old woman owe me least that much too. What you say we take a pint and my guitar and go down to the beach, have us a party?† â€Å"I'd better get home,† Estelle said. â€Å"I have to paint in the morning.† â€Å"You a painter? I never knowed me a painter. What you say we go down to the beach and watch us a sunrise?† â€Å"Wrong coast,† Estelle said. â€Å"The sun comes up over the mountains.† Catfish laughed. â€Å"See, you done saved me a heap of waiting already. Let's you and me go down to the beach.† â€Å"No, I can't.† â€Å"It 'cause I'm Black, ain't it?† â€Å"No.† â€Å"‘Cause I'm old, right?† â€Å"No.† â€Å"‘Cause I'm bald. You don't like old bald men, right?† â€Å"No!† Estelle said. â€Å"‘Cause I'm a musician. You heard we irresponsible?† â€Å"No.† â€Å"‘Cause I'm hung like a bull, right?† â€Å"No!† Estelle said. Catfish laughed again. â€Å"Well, you wouldn't mind spreadin that one around town just the same, would you?† â€Å"How would I know how you're hung?† â€Å"Well,† Catfish said, pausing and grinning, â€Å"you could go to the beach with me.† â€Å"You are a nasty and persistent old man, aren't you, Mr. Jefferson?† Estelle asked. Catfish bowed his shining head, â€Å"I truly am, miss. I truly am nasty and persistent. And I am too old to be trouble. I admits it.† He held out a long, thin hand. â€Å"Let's have us a party on the beach.† Estelle felt like she'd just been bamboozled by the devil. Something smooth and vibrant under that gritty old down-home shuck. Was this the dark shadow her paintings kept finding in the surf? She took his hand. â€Å"Let's go to the beach.† â€Å"Ha!† Catfish said. Mavis pulled a Louisville Slugger from behind the bar and held it out to Estelle. â€Å"Here, you wanna borrow this?† They found a niche in the rocks that sheltered them from the wind. Catfish dumped sand from his wing tips and shook his socks out before laying them out to dry. â€Å"That was a sneaky old wave.† â€Å"I told you to take off your shoes,† Estelle said. She was more amused than she felt she had a right to be. A few sips from Catfish's pint had kept the cheap white wine from going sour in her stomach. She was warm, despite the chill wind. Catfish, on the other hand, looked miserable. â€Å"Never did like the ocean much,† Catfish said. â€Å"Too many sneaky things down there. Give a man the creeps, that's what it does.† â€Å"If you don't like the ocean, then why did you ask me to come to the beach?† â€Å"The tall man said you like to paint pictures of the beach.† â€Å"Lately, the ocean's been giving me a bit of the creeps too. My paintings have gone dark.† Catfish wiped sand from between his toes with a long finger. â€Å"You think you can paint the Blues?† â€Å"You ever seen Van Gogh?† Catfish looked out to sea. A three-quarter moon was pooling like mercury out there. â€Å"Van Gogh†¦Van Gogh†¦fiddle player outta St. Louis?† â€Å"That's him,† Estelle said. Catfish snatched the pint out of her hand and grinned. â€Å"Girl, you drink a man's liquor and lie to him too. I know who Vincent Van Gogh is.† Estelle couldn't remember the last time she'd been called a girl, but she was pretty sure she hadn't liked hearing it as much as she did now. She said, â€Å"Who's lying now? Girl?† â€Å"You know, under that big sweater and them overalls, they might be a girl. Then again, I could be wrong.† â€Å"You'll never know.† â€Å"I won't? Now that is some sad stuff there.† He picked up his guitar, which had been leaning on a rock, and began playing softly, using the surf as a backbeat. He sang about wet shoes, running low on liquor, and a wind that chilled right to the bone. Estelle closed her eyes and swayed to the music. She realized that this was the first time she'd felt good in weeks. He stopped abruptly. â€Å"I'll be damned. Look at that.† Estelle opened her eyes and looked toward the waterline where Catfish was pointing. Some fish had run up on the beach and were flopping around in the sand. â€Å"You ever see anything like that?† Estelle shook her head. More fish were coming out of the surf. Beyond the breakers, the water was boiling with fish jumping and thrashing. A wave rose up as if being pushed from underneath. â€Å"There's something moving out there.† Catfish picked up his shoes. â€Å"We gots to go.† Estelle didn't even think of protesting. â€Å"Yes. Now.† She thought about the huge shadows that kept appearing under the waves in her paintings. She grabbed Catfish's shoes, jumped off the rock, and started down the beach to the stairs that led up to a bluff where Catfish's station wagon waited. â€Å"Come on.† â€Å"I'm comin'.† Catfish spidered down the rock and stepped after her. At the car, both of them winded and leaning on the fenders, Catfish was digging in his pocket for the keys when they heard the roar. The roar of a thousand phlegmy lions – equal amounts of wetness, fury, and volume. Estelle felt her ribs vibrate with the noise. â€Å"Jesus! What was that?† â€Å"Get in the car, girl.† Estelle climbed into the station wagon. Catfish was already fumbling the key into the ignition. The car fired up and he threw it into drive, kicking up gravel as he pulled away. â€Å"Wait, your shoes are on the roof.† â€Å"He can have them,† Catfish said. â€Å"They better than the ones he ate last time.† â€Å"He? What the hell was that? You know what that was?† â€Å"I'll tell you soon as I'm done havin this heart attack.† Five The Sea Beast The great Sea Beast paused in his pursuit of the delicious radioactive aroma and sent a subsonic message out to a gray whale passing several miles ahead of him. Roughly translated, it said, â€Å"Hey, baby, how's about you and I eat a few plankton and do the wild thing.† The gray whale continued her relentless swim south and replied with a subsonic thrum that translated, â€Å"I know who you are. Stay away from me.† The Sea Beast swam on. During his journey he had eaten a basking shark, a few dolphins, and several hundred tuna. His focus had changed from food to sex. As he approached the California coast, the radioactive scent began to diminish to almost nothing. The leak at the power plant had been discovered and fixed. He found himself less than a mile offshore with a belly full of shark – and no memory of why he'd left his volcanic nest. But there was a buzz reaching his predator's senses from shore, the listless re-solve of prey that has given up: depression. Warm-blooded food, dolphins, and whales sent off the same signal sometimes. A large school of food was just asking to be eaten, right near the edge of the sea. He stopped out past the surf line and came to the surface in the middle of a kelp bed, his massive head breaking though strands of kelp like a zombie pickup truck breaking sod as it rises from the grave. Then he heard it. A hated sound. The sound of an enemy. It had been half a century since the Sea Beast had left the water, and land was not his natural domain, but his instinct to attack overwhelmed his sense of self-preservation. He threw back his head, shaking the great purple gills that stood out on his neck like trees, and blew the water from his vestigial lungs. Breath burned down his cavernous throat for the first time in fifty years and came out in a horrendous roar of pain and anger. Three of the protective ocular membranes slid back from his eyes like electric car windows. allow-ing him to see in the bitter air. He thrashed his tail, pumped his great webbed feet, and torpedoed toward the shore. Gabe It had been almost ten years since Gabe Fenton had dissected a dog, but now, at three o'clock in the morning, he was thinking seriously about taking a scalpel to Skinner, his three-year-old Labrador retriever, who was deep in the throes of a psychotic barking fit. Skinner had been banished to the porch that afternoon, after he had taken a roll in a dead seagull and refused to go into the surf or get near the hose to be washed off. To Skinner, dead bird was the smell of romance. Gabe crawled out of bed and padded to the door in his boxers, scooping up a hiking boot along the way. He was a biologist, held a Ph.D. in animal behavior from Stanford, so it was with great academic credibility that he opened the door and winged the boot at his dog, following it with the behavior-reinforcing command of: â€Å"Skinner, shut the fuck up!† Skinner paused in his barking fit long enough to duck under the flying L. L. Bean, then, true to his breeding, retrieved it from the washbasin that he used as a water dish and brought it back to the doorway where Gabe stood. Skinner set the soggy boot at the biologist's feet. Gabe closed the door in Skinner's face. Jealous, Skinner thought. No wonder he can't get any females, smelling like fabric softener and soap. The Food Guy wouldn't be so cranky if he'd get out and sniff some butts. (Skinner always thought of Gabe as â€Å"the Food Guy.†) Then, after a quick sniff to confirm that he was, indeed, the Don Juan of all dogs, Skinner resumed his barking fit. Doesn't he get it, Skinner thought, there's something dangerous coming. Danger, Food Guy, danger! Inside, Gabe Fenton glanced at the computer screen in his living room as he returned to bed. A thousand tiny green dots were working their way, en masse, across the map of the Pine Cove area. He stopped and rubbed his eyes. It wasn't possible. Gabe went to the computer and typed in a command. The map of the area reappeared in wider scale. Still, the dots were all moving in a line. He zoomed the map to only a few square miles, the dots were still on the move. Each green dot on the map represented a rat that Gabe had live-trapped, injected with a microchip, and released into the wild. Their location was tracked and plotted by satellite. Every rat in a ten-square-mile area was moving east, away from the coast. Rats did not behave that way. Gabe ran the data backward, looking at the rodents' movements over the last few hours. The exodus had started abruptly, only two hours ago, and already most of the rats had moved over a mile inland. They were running full-tilt and going far beyond their normal range. Rats are sprinters, not long-distance runners. Something was up. Gabe hit a key and a tiny green number appeared next to each of the dots. Each chip was unique, and each rat could be identified like airplanes on the screen of an air traffic controller. Rat 363 hadn't moved outside of a two-meter range for five days. Gabe had assumed that she had either given birth or was ill. Now 363 was half a mile from her normal territory. Anomalies are both the bane and bread of researchers. Gabe was excited by the data, but at the same time it made him anxious. An anomaly like this could lead to a discovery, or make him look like a total fool. He cross-checked the data three different ways, then tapped into the weather station on the roof. Nothing was happening in the way of weather, all changes in barometric pressure, humidity, wind, and temperature were well within normal ranges. He looked out the window: a low fog was settling on the shore, totally normal. He could just make out the lighthouse a hundred yards away. It had been shut down for twenty years, used only as a weather station and as a base for biological research. He grabbed a blanket off of his bed and wrapped it around his shoulders against the chill, then returned to his desk. The green dots were still moving. He dialed the number for JPL in Pasadena. Skinner was still barking outside. â€Å"Skinner, shut the fuck up!† Gabe shouted just as the automated answering service put him through to the seismology lab. A woman answered. She sounded young, probably an intern. â€Å"Excuse me?† she said. â€Å"Sorry, I was yelling at my dog. Yes, hello, this is Dr. Gabe Fenton at the research station in Pine Cove, just wondering if you have any seismic activity in my area.† â€Å"Pine Cove? Can I get a longitude and latitude?† Gabe gave it to her. â€Å"I think I'm looking for something offshore.† â€Å"Nothing. Minor tremor centered at Parkfield yesterday at 9 A.M. Point zero-five-three. You wouldn't even be able to feel it. Have you picked something up on your instruments?† â€Å"I don't have seismographic instruments. That's why I called you. This is a biological research and weather station.† â€Å"I'm sorry, Doctor, I didn't know. I'm new here. Did you feel something?† â€Å"No. My rats are moving.† As soon as he said it, he wished he hadn't. â€Å"Pardon me?† â€Å"Never mind, I was just checking. I'm having some anomalous behavior in some specimens. If you pick up anything in the next few days, could you call me?† He gave her his number. â€Å"You think your rats are predicting an earthquake, Doctor?† â€Å"I didn't say that.† â€Å"You should know that there's no concrete data on animals predicting seismic activity.† â€Å"I know that, but I'm trying to eliminate all the possibilities.† â€Å"Did it occur to you that your dog might be scaring them?† â€Å"I'll factor that in,† Gabe said. â€Å"Thank you for your time.† He hung up, feeling stupid. Nothing seismic or meteorological, and a call to the highway patrol confirmed that there were no chemical spills or fires. He had to confirm the data. Perhaps something was wrong with the satellite signal. The only way to find out was to take out his portable antenna and track the rats in the field. He dressed quickly and headed out to his truck. â€Å"Skinner, you want to go for a ride?† Skinner wagged his tail and made a beeline for the truck. About time, he thought. You need to get away from the shore, Food Guy, right now. Inside the house, ten green dots were moving away from the others toward the shore. The Sea Beast The Sea Beast crawled up the beach, roaring as his legs took the full weight of his body and the undertow sucked at his haunches. The urgency of killing his enemy had diminished now and hunger was upon him in re-sponse to the effort of moving out of the ocean. An organ at the base of his brain that had disappeared from other species when man's only living an-cestors were tree shrews produced an electric signal to call food. There were many prey here, that same organ sensed. The Sea Beast came to the fifty-foot cliff that bordered the beach, reared back on his tail, and pulled himself up with his forelegs. He was a hundred feet long, nose to tail, and stood twenty-five feet tall with his broad neck extended to its full height. His rear feet were wide and webbed, his front talonlike, with a thumb that opposed three curved claws for grasping and killing prey. On the dry grass above the beach, some of the prey he had called already waited. Raccoons, ground squirrels, a few skunks, a fox, and two cats ca-vorted on the grass – some copulated, others dug at fleas with blissful abandon, others just rolled on their backs as if overcome by a fit of joy. The Sea Beast swept them into his great maw with a flick of his tongue, crunching a few bones on the way down, but swallowing most whole. He belched and savored the skunky bouquet, his jaws smacking together like two wet mattresses, and a flash of neon color ran across his flanks with the pleasure. He moved over the bluff, across the Coast Highway, and into the sleeping town. The streets were deserted, lights off in all the businesses on Cypress Street. A low fog splashed against the pseudo-Tudor half-timbered buildings and formed green coronas around the streetlights. Above it all, the red Texaco sign shone like a beacon. The Sea Beast changed the color of his skin to the same smoky gray as the fog and moved down the center of the street looking like a serpentine cloud. He followed a low rumbling sound coming from under the red beacon, broke out of the fog, and there he saw her. She purred, taunting and teasing him from the front of the deserted Texaco station. That come-hither rumble. That low, sexy growl. Those silver flanks reflecting fog and the red Texaco sign called to him, begged him to mount her. The Sea Beast flashed a rainbow of color down his sides to display his magnificent maleness. He fanned the gill trees on his neck, sending bands of color and light into their branches. The Sea Beast sent her a signal, which roughly translated into: â€Å"Hey, baby, haven't seen you around before.† She sat there, purring, playing coy, but he knew she wanted him. She had short black legs, a stumpy tail, and smelled as if she may have recently eaten a trawler, but those magnificent silver flanks were too much to resist. The Sea Beast turned himself silver as well, to make her feel a little more comfortable, then reared up on his hind legs and displayed his aroused member. No response, just that shy purring. He took it as an invitation and moved across the parking lot to mount the fuel truck. Estelle Estelle placed a mug of tea in front of Catfish, then sat down across the table from him with her own. Catfish sipped the tea and grimaced, then pulled the pint from his back pocket and unscrewed the cap. Estelle caught his hand before he could pour. â€Å"You have some explaining to do first, Mr. Bluesman.† Estelle was more than a little rattled. When they were only half a mile away from the beach, she had been overtaken by a sudden urge to return and had fought Catfish for control of the car. It was crazy behavior. It frightened her as much as the thing at the beach had, and when they got to her house she immediately took a Zoloft, even though she'd already had her dose for the day. â€Å"Leave me be, woman. I said I'd tell you. I needs me some nerve medicine.† Estelle released his hand. â€Å"What was that at the beach?† Catfish splashed some whiskey into Estelle's tea first, then into his own. He grinned, â€Å"You see my name wasn't always Catfish. I was born with the name of Meriwether Jefferson. Catfish come on me sometime later.† â€Å"Christ, Catfish, I'm sixty years old. Am I going to live long enough to hear the end of this story? What in the hell was out in the water tonight?† She was definitely not herself, swearing like this. â€Å"You wanna know or not?† Estelle sipped her tea. â€Å"Sorry, go ahead.†

Art from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance

The transition from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance reflects a time of great change in the way of life at the time. During the Middle Ages life was in constant turmoil and bleak. After the Fall of the fall of the Roman Empire Europe suffered a multitude of tragedies, such as the black plague, Viking attacks and looting, and barbarian invasions. Throughout these hardships, the glimmer of hope that people clung to was the church. As dark times began to fade the people found a new hope â€Å"homo Faber est quisque fortunate Suae† This phrase is saying that each man is the creator of his own future. This is a juxtaposition to the common ideal in the Roman Catholic religion â€Å"God the Creator† and also exhibits the change in ideology between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. During the Middle Ages, there was a surplus in the faith of the Roman Catholic, this was in part because the primary unifying factor between the people happened to be religion. This allowed the Church to take more of an authoritative rule over society. Church officials kept records and acted as advisors to the monarchs. They were also the largest owners of land and even collected taxes, which greater added to their power and overall influence. There was also less of an emphasis on education during this era, and as a result, it leads to a majority of the population being illiterate. Surprisingly the illiteracy of the population, lead way for art to take a rather important role within society. Where there was such a heavy influence on the Church and religion the average person had no way of reading the bible, so paintings and other outlets of art helped get the churches ideas across through another platform. This is largely why the central topic seen within the art at the time revolves around the Roman Catholic Church. Another reason for the ideology seen within the art at the time is the use of art as a propaganda tool. Throughout time and in all societies you can see that art is one of the most useful forces in getting across ideas between all classes. Gothic and Byzantine art were the main inspirations for medieval architecture. The Byzantine influence can be seen in the Hagia Sophia, a cathedral commissioned by Emperor Justinian during the sixth century. This Humongous church was built in the city of Constantinople and became one of the largest cathedrals for years to come. The Cathedral has Large Granite columns, marble pillars, and beautiful religious mosaics, and possibly the most captivating its large dome. Although the original dome was too heavy and inevitably concaved, it was later rebuilt and improved in the late sixth century. One of the best examples of gothic influence on architecture at the time is the Notre Dame. The Notre Dame was built in Paris, France and initiated by the Bishop of Paris Maurice Sully. The Notre Dame is characterized by gorgeous stained glass windows, large flying buttresses (large arched external supports), and two towers one reaching 300 feet tall. The height and grandiose of these buildings were all just a symbol for the Catholic Church. â€Å"The Cathedral is an image of the City of God, the Celestial Jerusalem, an image of Paradise, as the liturgy for the consecration of churches affirms.† â€Å"The House of God must be illuminated by the rays of the sun, resplendent with a charity like Paradise itself because God is Light, the light who gives beauty to everything that exists†. â€Å"The stained-glass windows that separate us from the storms and let the light pour over us are the Doctors.† These are all but a few quotes that characterize the symbolism seen in the architecture at the time. At the end of the 11th Century, there was a campaign organized by the Western European Christians to reclaim the holy land, in particular, Jerusalem, from the Muslims who had conquered it at the time. The Crusades had a lot of positive effects on the western world as communication and supplies were reignited with the Middle East as it lead way for a lot of new technology and ideas in the west. Such as gunpowder, cotton, new spices, silk, and much more. The Crusades also began to use old Roman roadways to travel during the crusades and as trade routes as well. During the time of the Crusades feudalism also fell. The fall of feudalism gave way to more people becoming merchants because of the recent boom in commerce between the west and the Middle East. As the Merchant business boomed it also allowed for new career opportunities for prior serfs and peasants. It created jobs like bookkeepers, money exchangers, managers, and the making system. This newfound class mobility allowed the serfs to lead a better middle-class life as opposed to being at the bottom of the social pyramid within the feudal system. This change and exchange of new ideas and technology due to the crusades and also the Middle Ages as a whole was the catalyst for the renaissance. The Renaissance was a period in European history also known as the â€Å"rebirth† of European culture following the Roman Empire. This â€Å"rebirth† began in Italy of course. It began in Italy most obviously because of their geographic location. Italy being the boot of Europe was surrounded by water, which made it an excellent hub during the expansion of trade. Italy was the commerce capital between Europe and Eurasia, during this time period, from the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries. Painters, sculptors, and architects exhibited a similar sense of adventure and the desire for greater knowledge and new solutions. During the Renaissance, the artist was no longer regarded as mere artisans, as they had been to the medieval past, but for the first time emerged as independent personalities, compared to poets and writers. Many artisans merged mathematics with art, in order to become more precise in their measurements and to make sure an object was supported both rational ly and proportionally. However, Renaissance artists also placed human concerns and feelings at the center of their works. Such optimism combined with intellectual curiosity and increasing worldliness made it possible for art to be valued. Overall, the Renaissance art movement completely discredited the Middle Ages as being dead both intellectually and artistically, thus rendering the Byzantine, Romanesque, and Gothic style art as being without value. The Renaissance came from a revival of the Classical ideas, concepts, and knowledge. What had once been forgotten was once again the focus of society. It was also found that in Classical times artists enjoyed a much higher level of prestige than they did during the Middle Ages. Artists wanted to enjoy this status once again. The Renaissance took place over a long period of time. Maybe this is an indication of its immense popularity both then and now. However, the Italian Renaissance can be divided into three distinct periods known as Ea rly, High, and Late respectively. These stages were preceded by the Gothic art movement, which acted as a bridge between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, and was followed by Mannerism, which bridged the gap between the Renaissance and the Baroque. Mannerism hardly had an effect on the popular arts of the time and was not fit into the already neatly categorized art periods when historians looked back upon the era. Early Renaissance art took up most of the 15th century and was characterized by inspiration from antiquity. The movement was focused in Florence, Italy because this local had brought attention upon itself through various conflicts within the church and with its neighbors. The art form focused on the human body, space, and the laws of proportion when it came to architecture. The belief was that progress and development were the backbones of the evolution and survival of art. The primary painter of the time was Masaccio. His work was religious in nature and his inspiration came not from other painters but from the sculptor Donatello and the architect Brunelleschi. High Renaissance art was characterized by creating physical presence, drama, and balance than on the behavior and personality that were the focus of Early Renaissance art. The major painters of the time were numerous. There was Leonardo da Vinci, Donato, Bramante, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Titian. This period was short-lived, lasting from about 1495-1520 and served as a transitional period between early and late Renaissance. Howe ver, although brief, the art that flowed from this period was exceptional and some of the most famous artists ever produced work during this time. After all, these artists had such a command over their talents that they were able to produce any natural effect they desired and they had an intellect that allowed for balance and harmony along with fine detail, also was created a term for some of them, Renaissance man. The term Renaissance man has come to mean someone with exceptional skills in a wide range of fields. The description applies to many people during the Renaissance, but there are two outstanding candidates for the title. They are Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. The older man, Leonardo, is exceptional in that he excels in two entirely different disciplines, experimental science, and the visual arts. But on the artistic side alone, Michelangelo must be the man. He creates works, all of the highest quality, in the four distinct fields of sculpture, painting, architecture, and poetry. The late Renaissance began with the sack of Rome in 1527. Artists had to scramble to relocate throughout Italy, France, and Spain. This period led to what is now called Mannerism. Mannerism artists turned to produce paintings of people, often nudes, that were portrayed in strange poses and looking somewhat grotesque while odd themes were used and emotion looked horrifying. Michelangelo was the only painter from the High Renaissance to make into the late period. The growing emphasis on individualism during the Renaissance began a change of status for composers of music in society. Unlike their medieval predecessors, Renaissance composers were recognized more often during their lifetimes. The technology of printing permitted a much wider distribution of their works and enabled a larger public into the study of music. Even when spiritual music was still in a dominant position, secular music was becoming more common and its forms more cultivated than in the previous era. The repertoire of instrumental music became more varied, along with the i nvention of new instruments and many of the instruments of the period were improved. Humanism is considered to be the most significant intellectual movement of the Renaissance. As its name implies, humanism was a philosophy that was characterized by blending concern with the history and actions of all human beings, and their influences on the world with religious duty. Prior to Renaissance thinking, Medieval Europe considered life to be sinful that people should only be concerned about their duty to God and the afterlife. The humanists thought that every person has respect and worth and therefore should command the respect of every other person. The humanistic movement began during the early Italian Renaissance with the rediscovery of the writings of classical Greeks and Romans, which were not only models of literary style, but considered to be guided to the understanding of life. The Renaissance movement ushered in the use of oil paints. This was a boon to artists as, due to the sl ow drying time of oil paints, they could edit their paintings, making adjustments over a period of months. They could now focus more on the quality of light on their paintings and were also more in tune with the architectural accuracy of the buildings in the background of their work. Themes centered on Greek and Roman mythology as well as Biblical characters and the Madonna was a pre-eminent figure. When it came to depictions of the human body, the emphasis was often put on the nude form and the perfection of the body. Another important result of the Renaissance was that painters began to communicate more with poets, essayists, philosophers, and scientists. The boundaries between these disciplines began to blur and they began to share ideas with one another and recognized one another for the visionaries they truly were. What caused this rebirth of the visual arts is still unclear; the fourteenth century in Europe witnessed several catastrophic harvests, the Black Death (1346), and a continuing war between England and France. Hardly ideal conditions for an eruption of creativity let alone a sustained birth of paintings, drawings, sculptures and new buildings. Moreover, the Church, the biggest patron of the arts, was racked with disagreements about spiritual and secular issues. Prosperity was also coming to Northern Europe, as evidenced by the establishment in Germany of the Hanseatic League of cities. This increasing wealth provided the financial support for a growing number of commissions of large public and private art projects, while the trade routes upon which it was based greatly assisted the spread of ideas and thus contributed to the growth of the movement across the Continent. Allied to this spread of ideas, which incidentally speeded up significantly with the invention of printing, there was an undoubted sense of impatience at the slow progress of change. After a thousand years of cultural and intellectual starvation, Europe and especially Italy, was anxious for a re-birth. Overall, the Renaissance produced some of the most well-known art ever created in human history. It was a time of revival, of going back to something from the past that worked and bringing that past into new light. After more than five hundred years we still marvel at the works of artists such as Da Vinci and Michelangelo. Humanism downplayed religious and secular dogma and instead attached the greatest importance to the dignity and worth of the individual. This period was unique in its portrayal of the human body and in its enmeshment of art and science. It was proof that the old and the new can come together in harmony.

The Different accents across the UK Literature review

The Different accents across the UK - Literature review Example (Nikunen, 2011) says that The English language has more than one dialect, dialects affect the way pronunciation happens and is therefore a ground for accentuation. The United Kingdom has the most variety of English accents. Some of the accents of the English language include the received accent. The received accent has been popular in the United Kingdom since the eighteenth and nineteenth century. The characteristics of this accent are evident in common omission of the letter ‘r’ after vowels in words like father. The word is pronounced as fuhthuh while normally in the American dialects the ‘r’ is emphasized so that father is pronounced as fatherrrr. Another feature involves the trap a bath, it is evident when words like can’t are pronounced with a quick almost posed –a-. The received accent is clearly distinguishable from American and Irish accents and is especially taken for the Standard English of the people From the United Kingdom. The rece ived accent is also popular as the Queen’s English or BBC English. Moore (Nikunen, 2011). Other accents include: the southeast British accent this accent relates to American accents. It developed from London English and has spread to other regions like East Anglia and Southeast England. The northern England accents include the Midlands English that includes accentuation common in Manchester and Liverpool, the inner regions of Yorkshire and Leeds. Its features includes lengthened syllables where vowels in words as ride and play are persistent so that they are pronounced as raaaid, ra:id, and plie. The Geordie accent is popular in the northeast of the United Kingdom. It also describes a group of people and is distinct among the regions in the northern east of England. It is characterized by the presence of /au/ which makes words like gout sound like ‘goot’. It also involves the /ai/ which is heard when kite is pronounced as ‘kate.’ The kate pronunciati on renders the accent an American relation (Subedi, 2008). The Welsh accent involves pronunciation by people who especially originate from the Wales (Bishop, 2005). It is characterized by a certain musicality that stresses on all syllables of a word. The Received accent is a tapered version of the Welsh accent. The accent has remained very popular over modern times along with others like the Scottish English. The Scottish accent has a lot of /ei/ and /ou/ and is heard in the pronunciation of words goat which sounds like go:t or got while face is sounds as feis. Scottish English has been influenced by the Scots language even though the two are different languages all in all (Bishop, 2005). Cockney is another popular accent among the UK English variety of accents and is used in London. It is probably the most popular accent after the Received accent. It is however camouflaged amongst other English accents in the regions around that it is not easy to tell apart from the received accent . It is notable from pronunciation of words like cat, which sounds as ‘cet’. This is because the vowels are especially raised. Another feature in vowels include a shift so that words like day sound like die and words like better are pronounced as ‘be’uh’ from glottal involvement during pronunciation. A unique feature of the Cockney

Controlled Assessment B Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Controlled Assessment B - Coursework Example Data collection is one of the central challenges in any research project. It is the process through which the opinions of people are collected and categorised. There are many methods of collecting data such as interviews; questionnaires; documents and observations provide invaluable information that is used for policy decisions, marketing strategies, and academic studies etc (Dinlersoz & Emin, 2004). Interviewing is a data collection method in which the researcher asks for information verbally from the respondents. It is the way to access people’s perceptions, definitions, meaning, situation and construction of reality, where it involves discussing or questioning issues with people to collect data unlikely to be accessible using techniques such as questionnaires or observation. Interviews are suitable when in-depth information is desired and this type of information is required in order to fulfil the purpose of this research (Palma et al,1994). Therefore the interviewing resea rch method will be better. What Amy has already done is good but nevertheless it’s better for her to adopt a wider approach to gathering data. This is the most important part in the planning of a sample survey, because a poorly designed questionnaire may ruin an otherwise well conducted survey. At this stage it is always advantageous to think in advance what variables and tabulations would be required for later analysis (International Council of Shopping Centers, 2004). It is advisable that a dummy tabulation plan should have been prepared in advance, if possible. This would ensure the inclusion of the information, which would be needed for the questionnaire. While preparing the questionnaire the following points were kept in mind in order to overcome the related problems. In this case study the method of e-mail inquiry was used. This method was applicable because most of the

The importance and value of crossing of disciplinary and artistic Assignment

The importance and value of crossing of disciplinary and artistic borders - Assignment Example As seen in the interview, this is not anew strategy because it has been in use for a long time now. Its invention, as evidenced in the artist’s argument really revolutionized art. By combining the elements of traditional art to the new found media, the artist managed to produce amazing oil portraits, an aura that played a very significant role in making art to be perceived to be having a political influence in the society. However, for this kind of artwork to be properly made, a proper choice of the sturdy foundation should be made for all the layers included in the artwork. Indeed, mixed media art is a noble idea because it has lots of benefits to the artists and consumers of artwork. Its first advantage is that it is const-friendly. As compared to the traditional art, mixed media art is a very cheap initiative as it does not have many expenses. Since it is not restricted to the use of only one particular medium, the artist is free to choose to use a variety of objects including newspapers, oil paint, clothes, sculpture, textile, ink, pieces of wood, graphite or household glue. All of these do not necessarily need to be bought because a large number of them like newspapers and pieces of wood can be easily found and collected from the immediate environment. Besides, mixed media art can be used in expressing political views. Over the years, art has been used as a very powerful tool in politics. As indicated in the article, the use of oil portraits played a very significant role in the political scene. By combining randomly found objects and traditional media, the artist managed to create appealing portraits for Margaret Thatcher. This is a clear indication that a proper use of mixed media can greatly help in the political engagement of art. It makes it easier for art to go beyond political borders by creating a political content in them. Lastly, mixed art is more aesthetic and

Academic writing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Academic writing - Essay Example Its crystal that shock to the head from sports like boxing, rugby, American football and ice hockey have caused long term brain injuries to the associated players. The latest game coming into the light about brain injuries sustained from head collisions is soccer. According to the Legendary Pele, Ball heading resulting from play is supposed to be done using the forehead with clenched fists. It can also be done using the tensed neck muscle and failure to that resulted in misdirected play and a greater impact on the brain. This is because a header caused one’s mind to shake in the skull. When it came to children they either failed to follow the necessary steps while heading or are not strong enough. Considering that they are still growing, their neck muscles even though tensed are not adequately strong to protect their skulls from absorption of the elevated G-force. Since their heads are big and wobble in proportion to the whole body than adults, the brain is likely to shake ins ide the skull on impact. In comparison to a 6-year-old non-developmentally ready to pass the ball, 12-year-old should not be allowed to head. Studies have also established that children take longer to heal mental children as compared to adults. They are also more susceptible to injuries because their skull is not well developed to sustain external forces (Cantu and Hayman, 2014). Since children aren’t able to decide and prepare how appropriately to head the ball, they are more susceptible to head injuries. Such injuries may be attributed to the inadequacy in strength to head, awareness in the best heading way or not well-coordinated to head. Furthermore, the neck muscles are not well developed to hold the head steadily and deal with the impact from heading. While watching a children’s game, it won’t take long notice that heading is useless. It’s always a result of guesswork and done randomly with closed eyes and the ball non-directional. The ball in most cases makes contact

Latin American Cinema (mexico) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Latin American Cinema (mexico) - Essay Example The film focuses on the mansions and estates of the happy wealthy class and director casts his sarcastic and jaundiced eye on this class and targets the bourgeois with his scathing attack in order to point out the injustice and degradation that continuously checked the progress of the poor people and poverty and injustice that is relentlessly inflicted on them. The film, Los Olivadados, is uniquely Mexican in its tone, setting and theme. The society which Bunuel chooses is also exclusively Mexican. The plot of the film may speak that â€Å"behind every beautiful city (there) are poor children† but the plot of the film has close connection with Mexican perspective. The film speaks about its protagonist who is abandoned by his mother on the streets of the city, so Bunuel choose the streets as his location and non-actors to speak his mind because he wanted this film to be made for general mass of Latin America . The film is about common man and so it displays all that a common ma n may relate with it. The film Y tu Mama Tambien is a true national cinema that attended global audience and critics. But the film in texture, theme and tone is completely Mexican. The hostility of the government, the boom-to-bust-cycles, the period of cinematic famine are all displayed and in a very much Mexican context. The film celebrates local talents of Mexico before they migrate to Hollywood. The film is quite reminiscent to Los Olivadados as it also displays some issues that are social and have deep roots in politics. The film also equally speaks about the grim face of any nation, society or state that hides its face with glittering sophistry and snobbishness. Considering the theme of the movie, it can be said that the core idea and setting of the film is reminiscent of Los Olivadados. The stories are said in a didactic way and are related with each other at their central idea which somewhere pertains to the victory,

Television in the Modern Media System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Television in the Modern Media System - Essay Example As a matter of fact, in this rapidly-evolving world where media has spread across the globe, issues that come with media’s operations should be extensively documented. Here, the point of your argumentative claim becomes relevant. Your type of support includes reason and emotion. Hence, in order to raise the persuasive ability of your article, the intensity of emotion and the clarity of reasoning need to be maximized. In fact, the actual body of the article contains some points worth discussion. The first statement of paragraph 10 is perhaps the most vivid expression of your stance. I would like to appreciate this since you made a clear claim about your argument here; you mentioned how media has become an omnipresent activity and parents are helpless when it comes to monitoring sexual exposure towards children. The benefit of this is that most readers are not fully attentive throughout the whole reading process, so the writing must possess simple straightforward expressions of your principle idea. If one fails to do that, the reader might not be able to understand your point of view and your idea might be camouflaged by wordy expressions and complex structuring. Therefore, it is highly critical to organize and outline the viewpoint, especially in argumentative essays (Writing Position Papers). Often, you have used research statistics and figures to support your claim. You have mentioned research findings of the American population, which is reasonable since your audience is American; however, there feels a slight insufficiency of supporting statistics in your writing. This is because when one writes about an issue concerning the whole society and people, regardless of demographics, there needs to be a substantial amount of information to notify the scale of the issue and also to support one’s claims.  

Policies & Regulations of Social Media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 14500 words

Policies & Regulations of Social Media - Essay Example In social network, users (such as friends or acquaintances) with common interests often share hobbies, information and interests, depending on the privacy settings. Nowadays, Social Networking Sites (SNS) have become prevalent ways of communication. For instance, Government agencies are using SNS such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and Orkut, to execute their e-government functions (McNamara, 2011). Currently, E-governance is widely accepted around the world, especially because it provides different opportunities such as encouraging delivery of service at the government level, reducing the cost of government operations and improving the effectiveness of government functions. Therefore, many governments have adopted e-governance and its related technologies to their perceived benefits. In this view of this, this study will analyse and highlight Saudi Arabia’s social media regulations and policies. 1.1 Aim The aim of this research is to evaluate social media policies and regulat ions in government organizations in Saudi Arabia, which is essential in ensuring effective adoption and usage of social media. 1.2 Objectives These are the main objectives for undertaking this study. To identify the existing social media policies (if any) among government organizations in Saudi Arabia. To document policies and regulations that facilitates and enhances the successful adoption and usage of social media in government organizations. To encourage the government organization in Saudi Arabia to use social media tools because none exists at the moment. To come up with recommendations regarding relevant policies and to control the use of social media 1.3 Research Questions Particularly, through this research, the aim is to answer four major questions regarding the use of social media in Saudi Arabia’s government organizations. These include the following: How are Saudi government organizations using social media? What are some of the difficulties reported in the use o f social media by both the staff and organizational heads? Are there policies and regulations that govern the use of social media in these organizations? If not, why not? What are some of the regulations and policies that can be adopted to enhance effective use of social media in Saudi’s government organizations? 1.4 Research Background In the 1990s, the Internet transformed people’s lives and now social media come with new horizon of sharing information and collaboration. However, to enhance the effectiveness of social media usage for government organizations, social media policy is fundamental. According to Hrdinova et al., (2010), with the increasing demand of the social media, many organizations are trying to cope with the current social media atmosphere and its recent transformation by changing the design of the old policy and regulations of Internet use. However, in these organizations, the manner in which social media has been used, has led to the development of social media policies. Therefore, the study will demonstrate the procedure of implementation, technological application and efficient policy of social media. However, to execute all these, Jana Hrdinova and Natalie Helbig (2011) suggested three core points by which social media can be efficiently used by the government agencies. First, to support the

Communicate in a business environment Essay Example for Free

Communicate in a business environment Essay 3.1 Describe ways of verbally presenting information and ideas clearly 3.2 Explain ways of making contributions to discussion that help to move them forward 3.3 Describe methods of active listening 3.4 Explain the purpose of summarising verbal communications 4.1 Describe ways of getting feedback on communications 4.2 Explain the purpose of using feedback to develop communication skills Describe ways of verbally presenting information and ideas clearly to present any information or ideas I need clearly I often use simple language and short sentences this makes it easier for everybody to understand. Also I present the information is a variety of ways as some people understand things and concepts in different ways. For example; some people understand by hearing or seeing. Before I present any information or ideas I always plan out what I want to say, I often also take out any information that is not necessary. I also use active and personal language like ‘’you’ and ‘we’’. Explain ways of making contributions to discussion that help to move them forward To make conversation move forward, I often learn to listen to people and give importance for everybody’s ideas. This way I can make positive contributions that can lead to further discussion. I also often do not make a contribution to a subject who isn’t positive or may not affect me or my work. Describe methods of active listening In order to perform within LSG and to develop my skills listening is one the most important skills I should obtain. As it will portray the quality of my relationship with my team and clients. Listening is important as I need to often obtain information from others to learn new things. Methods of active listening include: Listening calmly without interrupting, so that I let the other person speak and show them that I care and respect them Asking others to repeat if I do not understand anything, in order to avoid mistakes Taking notes of important points, so that I do not forget or miss out on any important points Confirming what I have understood, so that there is no misunderstanding of information Explain the purpose of summarising verbal communications The purpose of summarising verbal communication is to identify major points, behaviours, thoughts and feelings that have been discussed. I then often collate all the information I have collected. By doing this is helps to have a clear precise outline of all communications. Describe ways of getting feedback on communications I believe that feedback completes the entire process of communication. Feedback helps us to decide if the communication was effects and useful. I often get feedback from my line manager Scott or I often get it from clients on the phone. If any feedback given is to improve on anything I often make note of the feedback and make a working progress for myself to include the suggestion in my work. Explain the purpose of using feedback to develop communication skills I use feedback for improve my work performance. It helps improve my work ethnic, team work and quality of my work. To help develop communication skills the feedback has to be received and acted upon. Once I have acted upon feedback I always let my line manager Scott know so that he can see I am willing to learn and enthusiastic and this may encourage people to offer me feedback in the future.

The Handmaid tale essay Essay Example for Free

The Handmaid tale essay Essay Everything except the wings around my face are red: the color of blood, which defines us. The skirt is ankle length, full, gathered to a flat yoke that extends over our breasts the sleeves are full, (9). Through this detailed imagery, the quote shows the restrictions on the handmaids and how they cant expose themselves to the men of Gilead, the color and appearance of the clothing is simple and boring, reflecting on their jobs as handmaids who just have one specific duty and that is to repopulate Gilead, their lack of freedom is shown as they have no choice, personality and individuality. The shoes flat-heeled shows that they cant present their sensuality, on the other hand, the wives that wear high heels shows power, control and a stimulant for sexual needs. The importance of the color red to the comparing of blood symbolizes fertility and womanhood; it also symbolizes danger for the people of Gilead to stay away from the handmaids. It also reminds the reader of a fairytale the little red riding hood hence, it is ironic because the life of a handmaid is nothing like a fairytale and they are represents political prostitutes. Moreover Gileads regime is extra strict on females, the violence towards is seen during the mass execution. Beneath the hems of the dresses the feet dangle, two pairs of red shoes, one pair of blue. If it werent for the ropes and the sacks it could be a kind of dance, a ballet, caught by flash-camera; mid-air. They look arranged. They look like showbiz. (346), through this visual imagery and simile, something brutal like death is presented as a performance of some sort. In this extract, Gilead is shown to have power and isnt afraid to take lives of females, and someones life has no value in Gilead, because everyone can be easily replaced. Furthermore, the men in Gilead are sexist; they enforced strict laws on the women of Gilead so they wouldnt be able to commit sinful acts like rape. Even though these laws were there to protect women, through the character of the Commander and the doctor the reader sees their sufferings and their manipulation of the law to get what they want, sex. The women in this novel, more specifically the handmaids symbolize sex because they are victims of this sexual thrust that the men of Gilead face. Through the Commander, the reader learns about his perspective on women of pre-Gilead and Gilead. Inability to feel. Men were turning off on sex. (263) The commander states that he had to make these laws so the men of pre-Gilead could feel, but the Commander didnt care for the females and their emotions, he had an anti-feminist perspective and decided to categorize females for his advantage. Likewise, it illustrates how men only want women to fulfill their sexual needs. In fact, they would not want to deal with elements of relationships such as love and emotions. Another example of sexism is at the night of the ceremony where the male figure, the commander is given the authority and power to begin the ceremony. Hes like a man toying with a steak, behind a restaurant window, pretending not to see the eyes watching him form hungry darkness. (110) The commanders character represents a figure of power and authority in this context, Atwood displays him as a leader of the household but him abusing his power to visit clubs like Jezebel proves that he has no respect for females and the laws that he enforced on the males and females of Gilead doesnt apply to him because he thinks of himself as a superior being, over the guardians and angels. In fact, they would not want to deal with elements of relationships such as love and emotions. Moreover, certain men in Gilead had the power to accuse women of acts that they didnt commit. The character of the Doctor is an example of this, who abused his power to victimizes a females and get sex. Upon seeing Offreds body, he trys to force Offred into having sex with him and he manipulates her by stating that he can get her pregnant and no one know. This is evident through the quote, He takes his hand away, lazily almost, lingeringly, this is not the last word as far as hes concerned. He could fake the tests, report me for cancer, for infertility, have me shipped off to the Colonies, with Unwomen. None of this has been said, but the knowledge of his power hangs nevertheless in the air as he pats my thighs (76). This illustrates how male could easily break the rules without getting in trouble while the females of Gilead have no rights or power. Even if the doctor was to be reported, the authorities would take his side instead of the woman. Therefore, such characters with power seem to get what they want and they misuse females for their sexual pleasures. Hence, females have always been victims of these sexual predations. In addition to this, there is sexism in the futuristic society after Gilead, where the speaker, Professor Piexioto, jokes about the Underground femaleroad, and refers to as a frailroad, meaning a weak or breakable road suggesting that females are weak and easy to repress upon. The professor seems more interested in the identity of the Commander but not the human sufferings of Offred who was victimized by the Commander and the regime of Gilead. It is ironic that during this conference the minority were females, only one female professor was present at the conference which proves that even though this society, the society of 2195, is still sexist, some female rights have been reclaimed. In conclusion, The Handmaids tale presents extreme forms of sexism and hatred towards females, and repetition of this sexism is present in cultures preceding and following Gilead which proves that sexism is widespread in societies, today. Usually females are targeted to physical and emotion abuse from men, this is not only wrong but something that scars one for life. Men are men and women are women. Both have some specialties. And in that particular area one should be respected by the opposite and should be assigned to lead. So leading an example and not becoming a bystander will contribute to the awareness of sexism and equality can be formed. And even though it is in human nature for men to manipulate and take advantage of females, females should take a step and fight for their rights. Therefore, the message is that females should not be contended within their society and should change for their benefits.

Literature Review of E-Banking

Literature Review of E-Banking CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter is the literature review; the purpose of this chapter is to investigate past publications by different authors. This will include textbooks, articles and online publications that could enlightened the readers more on the area of banking and internet security measures, the standard and policy used for internet banking security in the United Kingdom and more importantly, the synergistic impact of online banking and information security in the UK banking sector. Since the invention of information technology and the internet, people of different calibre are using it to improve the services efficiently and effectively. In the retail banking sector, most of the businesses have moved majority of their physical transaction processes to online transaction process. A good example of this, I own an account with the HSBC bank for over 4years now and I cannot remember the last time I went into my branch to transact business. Most of my bill payment and transfers are done through my online banking.) Irrespective of this, Lassar et al. (2005) also affirmed that financial institutions should be able to forecast and figure out how such technology will be applied by customers. Banks and Financial institutions rely upon mostly on Information Technology for their everyday activities; therefore the Information acquired by financial organisation is not used only by the organisation and their employees but also by their customers and stake holders and partners. The users who rely on these services anticipate constant possibility of direct access to organizational information (McAnally, et al 2000). Comment..Your idea is good but you are not using well structured sentences and paragraphing. We need to talk about this asap! DEFINITION OF E BANKING. The growing tendency of e banking transaction has really signalled issues on information security that are to be noted and stringently taken care of. To get this security managed, it must be a combined effort and relationship between the customers and the financial institutions. (Re-structure the above paragraph) In general, e-banking is defined as the automated delivery of new and traditional banking products and services directly to customers through electronic, interactive communication channels. E-banking includes the systems that enable financial institution customers, individuals or businesses, to access accounts, transact business, or obtain information on financial products and services through a public or private network, including the Internet which is an integral part of e-banking. (FFIEC handbook, 2006). This new development as drastically changed the phase of internet business in the United Kingdom and it is a welcome phenomenon. WHAT IS INTERNET BANKING. For quite some years now, internet banking levels have been executed to be more fficient approach through which the banking transactions are made without having o leave your place of abode or your place of work. Some of the customers have been ecognised to turn to internet banking as a result of frustrations with conventional tandard of operation and practices. Anand, (2008) said further that while some ustomers want human interaction in transaction, some of them turned to the internet acilities for security reasons. The reason is that the customer are given assurance that heir transactions are safe and secured and most of these transactions are made via the nternet explorer interface. In its report in 2009 (what report?.This is not Harvard standard of referencing), he said online bankinghas risen. 25% of all the people who responded as regards to the most preferred way to bank.Mobile bankinghas not started at all. Only 1% of the people make transaction via mobile. The figure below s hows how they stand: Online banking: 25% Branches: 21% ATM: 17% Mail: 9% Telephone: 4% Mobile: 1% Unknown: 23% Comment Can you represent this figures or percentage with a pie chart/graph or something more comprehensive? He went ahead and said more people visit the bank branch than using the online banking . The term internet banking can then be referred to as the use of internet as a secluded way of doing banking services. These services comprise the conventional ways such as account opening or funds transfer to different accounts and new banking services like payments online that is customers permission to receive and pay bills on their website. Having understood the significant importance of IT and e banking and amount of risks and threats involve in driving the business process, therefore there is need for consistent continuation of security in business, which brings about the understanding of Information security. It is a continuous process. Information security, is the process of protecting information and information system from unauthorised access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, destruction or bombardment, it involves confidentiality, integrity and availability of various data irrespective of the form the data takes. E.g. electronic, print, written verbal or in any other forms. (ISACA and CISA Review Manual, 2006). Comment You are not given your headings titles figures e.g. 2.0, 2.1, 2.2 etc You did not give your tables title and figures either. An Overview Of Online Banking Environment in UK An increasing competitions among the financial institutions have forced many of the competitors to offer similar prices on deposits and loans, the effort for gaining competitive advantage were shifted towards no priced-factors (Akinci et.al 2004). customers and financial institutes have noted the recent revolution in UK retail banking. The conversion from traditional banking to internet banking has been effective (kolodinsky and Hogarth, 2001). Although some researchers have bated that online banking has not lived up to expectation e.g Sarel and Marmorstein (2003) and Wang et al. (2003), a lots of studies still say that internet banking is still the most wealthiest and profitable means to transact business(Mos,1998;Sheshunoff, 2000).Online banking has come to stay no doubt about that and financial institutions are ready to move on with it. Luxman (1999) for example predicted that in the nearest future that the importance of internet banking will be felt most especially in the remote areas where some bans have closed their branches Going by the survey carried out for alliance and Leicester by (VOBS survey, 2004), 2,395 UK adults were interviewed, more that half of them now bank online. 61 percent now used it more than the previous couple of years. However, visiting the baking hall is very much popular with respondents preferring to go to banking and deal face to face with the banking staff for activities like paying cheques 73 percent, 20 percent withdraw cash over the counter and 20 percent will lodge on one complaints or the other. Mike Warriner (2008).said in a recent report from Forrester stated that only 31% of British adults bank online despite 75% regularly shopping online to quote Benjamin Ensor, principal analyst at Forrester Research, By international standards, the U.K. is an online banking laggard. He then goes on to say that The U.K. also has a relatively large number of quitters, with about two million people saying that they used to use online banking but have given up. WHAT IS WRONG WITH UK INTERNET BANKING According to a survey carried out by Darrell R. (2009) Medium size organizations all over the world are very much concerned about cyber threats. The number of incidents reported really justifies their doubts. At the close of mid 2009, McAfee discovered a new malware as they did in 2008 which could cause a lot of havoc in the internet world..Irrespective of this discovery; most organizations still cut their IT security budget instead of increasing it. A threat up budget down, McAfee called it security paradox. Ron C. (2009) reports that most companies in the UK are lagging behind the rest of the world in information security management practices, according to a new study from PriceWaterhouseCoopers. 7,000 security professionals all over the world was surveyed, mainly in large companies consisting of 455 in the U.K. The survey found out that British organisation emerges to be less prepared to fight the risks that tackle them in their information systems. The table below shows that U.K. lags in quite a few key areas of information security. Organisations have smaller amount CISOs in place; only 37% have a clear idea of where their data is stored. Then, nearly half (49%) do not know the number of security incidents they experienced in the preceding year. INTERNET TRANSACTION Transactions online help customers with the competence to conduct transactions via the website of the institution by introducing banking transactions or buying products and services. There are lots of transactions customers can engaged in on the internet which can be a small as basic retail account balance to a very big business funds transfer. Internet banking services, such as the ones carried out through some other means are categorised based on the type of customers they support. The following table shows some of the common retail and wholesale internet banking services offered by financial institutions. (FFIEC, 2006) Since transactional websites typically enable the electronic exchange of confidential. Customer information and the transfer of funds, services through online banking makes the financial institutions to be vulnerable to higher risk than basic. ADVANTAGES OF ONLINE BANKING. Convenience According to (Gerlach, 2000), internet banking services allow customers handle their habitual banking transaction without visiting the bank building or meeting any banks staff. No need to wait until 8 or 9 in the morning before you can get answer to your bank account request or details Customers can handle their transactions anywhere they like as long as they are connected to the internet or where there is availability of internet. However, since most banks offers 24 hours online banking services 7 days a week, internet banking can allow you to view and work with your account no matter what time or day it is. Thus, they can make payments, check balance, transfer money etc at the comfort zone of their homes or offices. Hence online banking has broken the limitations of the conventional way of banking thus provides customers swiftness and convenience. Time Saving and Money. When you visit banks, you will discover that most banks branches are always engaged with one activity and customers have to wait for a long time before attended to. This is a waste of time and energy. Luckily, some banking transactions can be handled at home or in office or anywhere that is convenient for the customers. In other words, customers do not need to wait for a long time in a long queue or go to their respective banks branch to carry out their banking business. Online banking therefore helps can help customers to save time and cost of travelling. Ease and Efficiency As long as they adhere to the simple steps to be followed by login in their information and clicking the right button, customers can able to check their accounts and know what their balance is, transfer funds and also carry out other valuable transactions. The timely check can help customers overdraft charges and also to know if the transactions they made was successful and completed. Hence, banking online helps customers to manage their account more easily and conveniently. On Time Gain and Update Information Online banking systems also provide the customers a timely updates about both their existing and new products and services, banking news and other vital information that the customers need to know or be updated with. Therefore customers can benefit some relative information at the appropriate time for them to make quick and right decisions. Profitability Fewer banking building will be maintained as a result of online banking and fewer employers will be involved there is a much lower over head with online banks. The saving they get as a result of this process allows them to give greater interest rates on savings account and lower lending rates and service charge. Cost Effective Internet banking cost less, this is because there are only few buildings to maintain and salaries paid to employees will be reduced as well. Since they have more to safe now and this allows them to increase their interest rate on savings account and lower lending rate and charges Easier To Catch Fraudulent Activities Since you have the opportunity of viewing your account details at anytime, it is easier to know if any fraudulent activities have gone through your account before much damage is done. Once you log into your account, you will see immediately whether there is anything wrong when you check your deposits and debits. If you do not make any transaction and you see any strange details in your account, you will see it write away and make necessary alarm to the financial institution While the internet offers miscellaneous advantages and opportunities, it also presents various security risks. Having this in mind, banks take wide measures to protect the information transmitted and processed when banking online. This comprises ensuring confidential data sent over the internet cannot be accessed on modified by unauthorised third party. But banks dont normally have influence of the systems used by the customers. The choice is entirely up to them. More over a system connected that is a pc connected to the internet for example will usually be used for a number of other applications as well. The systems used by the online banking customers are therefore exposed to risks beyond the banks control. For this reason, the bankers cannot be liable for them. Berlin, (2007). Some Dangers Faced When Using the Internet. Berlin, (2007) Third party gaining access to information transmitted or getting information under false pretences, this can be done with the aid of the following: Virus and warms: Programmes that are sent over the internet that can damage your pc when they replicate. Trojans: programmes that intercepts passwords that is not known to users that compromise computer security. Phishing: Using a fake name, website or address for fraudulent purposes. Pharming: Users being redirected to fraudulent server Root kits; An unauthorized administrative level access without the real administrator noticing through a malicious software. Their feature is almost as Trojans. Hacking: Having access to a PC via the internet when not authorised. Banks now have some numbers of measures in place that gives effective protection against attacks when information are processed by the bankers server or when information is sent over the internet. SOME SECURITY RULES WERE ALSO GIVEN Rule 1: Install security software including an up to date scanner. Additional security software has to be installed. your normal operating system standard tools alone cannot solve some security problems. F your security is not adequately in place, you run the risk of unauthorised persons gaining access to your data.e.g never save you PINs and TANs on your PC. A firewall can protect you from such attack Rule 2: Protect sensitive data when sending it over open network. Data sent over the internet may be intercepted or viewed by an unauthorised third party when the network is not secured. Banks have now taken some measure to ensure that data sent via the internet is encrypted before transmission. Rule 3: Be sure you know who you are dealing with. Not everyone on the internet are not who they claim they are. Check the URL you are in and make sure that your banks internet address is correctly spelled. Hackers impersonate someone in a position of trust to get the information they needed. This is called PHISHING. It is another technique to steal confidential code. This works by redirecting you to their own rogue server. Rule 4: Be careful with sensitive data and access media Your access code and media must be protected e.g. (PINs, chips) from unauthorised use. Do not save sensitive data such as Passwords PINs, access code, credit card numbers on your hard drive especially if the PC is not been used by you alone. This could allow third party to view your data. Rule 5: Choose a secure password. A combination of upper case and lower case letters , numbers and symbols is a typical example of a good password usually of six to eight characters. It will be difficult for anyone to guess your password. Rule 6: Only use a programme from a trustworthy source Dont download from the internet any programme into your hard drive unless you are sure of the source and that its reliable. Rule 7: Use up-to-date programme version Use your preferred internet browser and PC operating system version that is up-to-date. Rule 8: Run security checks on your PC Take a few moment to run a personal security checks before using your PC to bank online. Make sure the entire security feature that protects your computer are on. Rule 9: The security setting on your internet browser must be activated. Use Block ActiveX Control and let Java applet to run after confirmation. Do not make use of browser auto-completion function which is able to save your user name and passwords you enter and suggest matches. Rule 10: Do not make your current account available for fraudulent financial transaction. Any offers that is asking you to make your current account available for payment and other financial transaction for unknown firms and individual must be suspicious especially if they are located not within your country SOME ONLINE BANKING SCURITIES AVAILABLE Internet Security: Internet security refers to the methods used in protecting data and information in a computer from unauthorized persons. It is a serious issue in the world wide today. People who use internet should be using the internet should be well conscious of the trouble aroused as a result of it. A familiar methods used by people to guarantee information in internet are Encryption of the data Encryption of data deals with packaging up the original information into an unintelligible form that can be decoded using a certain technique. This is called cipher text. Usage of passwords -Passwords are used to avoid illegal entry of data so that the entire system is protected. Creation of passwords must be in a way that the other people do not simply guess it. Methods: There are some several methods that helps in internet security. They are listed below; Firewalls:This is software that filters unlawful access in a network. It must have a correct configuration and has to be combined with proxy firewall for a protected system. Taking Backup of Data: backup of the data from the system should be taken regularly. If the computer unexpectedly crashes down or the operating system failed to boot due to virus attack, by taking the backup data will reduce the penalty. Preventing Virus Attack: Viruses can affect computer, Trojan horse, worms etc as a result of some infected files downloaded from the internet. They are programs that are installed by itself and run at any time the host programs run and cause malicious attack. Baleful Links:Those who use the internet can avoid their system from getting affected by the virus by avoiding needless links and emails.Links may lead to download files suddenly. These cause a problem to the security of the computer and therefore must be avoided. File Sharing:Both original and pirated files are joined when files are shared on the internet thereby reduces the speed of the computer. This must be prevented. Routers:Some connections are prevented by certain routers from outside from the computer. NAT (Network Address Translation) is software that does this function and its of low cost and smallest amount complexity. Preventing Spy-Ware: Internet securities are threatened by several software. Without the permission of the user some software runs along with other application. Insider threat detection sill a challenge Threats detection from inside has always been a problem, but most investments in information security still tend to focus on keeping out viruses and intruders. The possible danger of a rascal employee can regularly be discounted, mistreated or just take the risk of doing business. A new survey conducted among 600 office workers in Canary Wharf, London and Wall Street, New York, revealed that many employees have no qualms about mishandling information. One-third of them said they would steal data to help a friend find a job, and 41% admitted they had already taken data, just in case they needed it in some future employment. Ron C. (2009) The study, which was commissioned by security company Cyber-Ark Software Inc., found that customers and their contact details were the favourite files to steal, followed by plans, proposals and product information. CUSTOMERS ATTITUDE Understanding of the impact of technology based transaction system on customers perceptions and behaviour is essential. (Moutinho et al. 2000).If banks are willing to integrate new technology into their existing relationship buildng activities Asher (1999) argued that cooperate customers seems to be willing to use internet as a key medium in banks dealings. He said the evidence suggest that coperate clints have shown a preference for online banking, due to the perception of being more cost effevtiv thah conventional channels Financial institutions use this technology in service delivery may often compromise bank business relation. (Keltner 1995) in terms of higher degree of convinience and accessability. (Devlin 1995) Therfore customers perception is very high in the delivery of the electronic banking. According to Nexhmi et al.(2003). Customers participate typically is the process of enabling customers to make their services, products. It can be diversified between the types of serv ices offered, even the services providers within the same market place for intance. Meuter et al.(2000) points out that self service technologies are increasing the way in which customers interact with their providers in the creation of service outcomes and are a typical example of a market place transaction that require no personal interaction FINANCIAL INSTITUTION AD MANAGERS ATTITUDE AND APPROACH Internet banking was still in a very young stage and its entire benefits has been realised.(Nath et. al 2001). In this case, managers of financial institutions attitude towards the perceptions of electronic channels were of significant importance.(Akinci et .al( 2004). Mols (2001) state that management support and future orientation were the two most important factors which driving the introduction and expectation of the new e-channel In another study, Mols (2000) grouped the bank managers according to their attitude towards internet banking: The sceptics the nervous, the positive and the reluctant groups. In Scotland, Moutinho et.al (2002) emphasized he scotish bank managers efficiency and enhancement of customer services as to perceive advantages of internet banking. Faster easier and more reliable service to customer and the improment of the competitive position were highlighted. (Aladwani ,2001). Based on the UK evidence,Li 2001 claimed that: the integrated banking model, aroun d which traditional banks have built their strategies in the past were showing sign of fragmentation In this sense, he sumerised four emerging internet model in the UK. The first was based on accepting internet banking as a new delivery channel that was integrated with existing model. The second model is called e-banking, was based on multibanking in which the internet was the integrative component. The third model consisted of creating baby e-banks with their own e brand name and product range. The last model was seen as entirely a new business model without a physical network. Laws, Directives, Regulations and Standards Shon Harris All in One Certified Information System Security Professional Exam Guide, Fourth Edition, 2008 Different laws, directives, regulations and standards were enacted for different reasons which include data protection, software copyright, data privacy, computer misuse as well as controls on cryptography. Health and safety, prevention of fraudulent activities, personal privacy, public order, intellectual property, environment protection and national security are reasons why the regulations can be implemented in governments and private sectors. The violation of these regulations has a severe punishment attached to them which may range from fine to jail term of up to ten years or more depending on the gravity of the crime committed. Examples of the regulations that governs information usage and protection are discussed briefly below The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) The SOX was enacted in 2002 as a result of the corporate scandals and fraud that threatened the economy of United States of America. This is also known as the Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act of 2002 that applied to companies that publicly trading on United States market. How organizations must track, manage and report on financial information was provided for in the SOX requirements. Processes and controls must be in place to protect data because of the organizations reliance on computer equipment and electronic storage for transacting and archiving data, the section 404 of SOX is directly applied to information technology. Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and others can be jailed if the law is violated. The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act This act is the primary U.S federal antihacking statute that was written in 1986 and amended in 1996.Prohibition was made on seven forms of activities and was made federal crimes: The knowing access of computers of the federal government to obtain classified information without authorization or in excess of authorization.. The intentional access of computer to obtain information from a financial institution, the federal government, or nay protected computer involved in interstate or foreign communications without authorization or through use of excess of authorization. The intentional and unauthorized access of computers of the federal government, or computers used by or for government when the .access affects the governments use of that computer. The knowing access of a protected computer without authorization or in excess of authorization with the intent to defraud. Knowingly causing the transmission of a program, information, code, or command and, as a result of such conduct, intentionally causing damage without authorization to a protected computer. The knowing trafficking of computer passwords with the intent to defraud. The transmission of communications containing threats to cause damage to a protected computer. The penalty for breaching this act ranges from felonies to misdemeanors with corresponding small to large fines and jail sentences. Employee Privacy Issues For a company to be adequately protected, various employee privacy issues must be considered within the organization. Organization must understand what it can and cannot monitor as a result of different state with different privacy laws. Organization must state it in its policy that monitoring in any form are done within the organization to prevent being sued by employee for invading their privacy. This is considered the best way in which organization can protect itself. Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) The advent of internet and computer technology led to the increase in identity theft and credit card fraud which gives opportunity to millions to be stolen at once. Stabilizing customer trust in credit card as a safe way of conducting transaction and to curb the problem, a proactive step was taking by the credit card industry. The standard affects any entity that processes, transmits, stores or accepts credit data. The PCI Data Security Standard is made up of 12 main requirements that are broken down into six major categories. They are A Secured Network must be built and maintained. Requirement 1: To protect cardholder data, a firewall configuration must be installed and maintained Requirement 2: Ensure that systems passwords and other security parameters are not in vendors supplied defaults. Data of Cardholder must be protected. Requirement 3: Stored data of cardholder must be protected. Requirement 4: Across open and public networks, cardholder data must be encrypted in transmission Vulnerability Management Program must be maintained. Requirement 5:Anti-virus software must be used and updated regularly. Requirement 6: Secured systems and applications must be developed and maintained. Access Control Measures must be strong in its implementation. Requirement 7: Based on Business need-to-know, cardholder data access must be restricted. Requirement 8: Every individual having access to computer must be given a unique ID. Requirement 9: Physical access to cardholder data must be adequately restricted. Monitoring and Testing of Networks must be carried out regularly Requirement 10: All access to network resources and cardholder data must be tracked and monitored. Requirement 11: Security systems and processes must be regularly tested. An Information Security Policy must be developed and maintained. Requirement 12: A policy that addresses information security must be maintained The violation of the standard does not lead to jail term but may result in financial penalties or revocation of merchant status within the credit card industry because PCI DSS is a private sector initiative. 2.5 Database Security, Compliance and Audit by Charles Le Grand and Dan Sarel. Information Systems Control Journal Vol 5, 2008. Grand and Sarel (2008), states what it takes to adequately protect the database to ensure that compliance is met. It also provides information for auditing purposes. The objectives for ensuring database access control were also exploded by the authors. On the conclusion note of the article the authors said that the simple goal of ensuring database security is to ensure that only authorized individuals have access and all access is monitored. To limit access to only people whose jobs require it, access protection must apply to identifying the sensitive data elements: the methods for managing user credentials and access rights: and the records of who accessed what, when and what they did with it. Insider