Monday, April 27, 2020

Security On Internet Essays - Misconduct, Spamming, Crime, Economy

Security On Internet Internet has become an essential tool for daily tasks. The options people have nowadays are limitless: banking, shopping, booking reservations, chatting, and so on. However, several drawbacks have arisen that are of concern to all of the internet users. Unfortunately, incidents of auction fraud, the sale of illegal items, and criminal trespassing are booming in the e-commerce market. The nature of the Internet and the ease of gaining anonymity on it, has made crime easy and catching criminals much more difficult. Many cases of fraud have occurred: people who collect payments from buyers and never ship the goods to them. "Earlier in the summer, for example, former eBay seller Robert Guest pleaded guilty to mail fraud. Prosecutors had accused Guest of collecting approximately $37,000 from bidders for items he never shipped." 1 Cases like these are a real drawback for e-commerce. The lack of tangibility has been a major obstacle in doing transactions online and these cases only serve to destroy the little confidence that consumers have gained so far. Many people are hesitant to shop online, for example, and when they hear of fraud cases it only serves to confirm their initial fears. That is why organizations such as The Better Business Bureau (BBB) and The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) are educating consumers to protect themselves. These agencies know that thousands of consumers are taking advantage of the opportunity to shop from the comfort of their homes via personal computers. A person can buy anything and avoid crowded malls, long lines and busy parking lots. Furthermore, the Internet is always open: 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. In order to actually benefit from online shopping, certain things must be taken into consideration. The BBB's Web site contains a section that offers tips on "What You Need to Know About Cybershopping." 2 The tips are the following: ? When dealing with a new merchant, ask for its physical location in order to check its reliability with consumer agencies (i.e. The BBB). ? Determine the company's refund and return policy before you place an order. ? Never give out your Internet password. When creating a password avoid using established numbers, such as your house number, birth date, telephone number or Social Security number. If you are asked to create a new account, never use the same password you use for other accounts. ? Be cautious if you are asked to provide personal information (i.e. Social Security number or bank account information). ? Look at the "address" of the site, the URL ensures that you are dealing with the right company. It is good to print out a copy of your order and confirmation number for your records. ? Know your rights. The same laws that protect you when you shop by phone or mail apply when you shop online. Under the law, a company must ship your order within the time stated in its ads. If no time is promised, the company should ship your order within 30 days after receiving it, or give you an "option notice." ? If you decide to pay by credit card or charge card, your transaction will be protected by the Fair Credit Billing Act. "Under this law, consumers have the right to dispute charges under certain circumstances and temporarily withhold payment while the creditor is investigating them. In the case of unauthorized use of a consumer's credit card or charge card, consumers are generally held liable only for the first $50 in charges." 3 If you are not comfortable entering your credit card or charge account number online, call it in to the company's 800 number or fax it. The FTC also contains a section which offers consumers tips on online safety. In addition to the ones made by the BBB, The FTC also suggests that: ? Use a secure browser. This is the software that you use to navigate the Internet. Your browser should comply with industry security standards, such as Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) or Secure Electronic Transaction (SET). These standards scramble the purchase information you send over the Internet, ensuring the security of your transactions. Most computers come with a browser already installed or you can download one over the Internet for free. ? Before signing up for any service or buying any product, evaluate how the company is securing your financial and personal information. Many companies explain their security procedures on their Web site. Other companies give you options on their Web site as to whether and how your personal information is used. Trespassing

Thursday, March 19, 2020

Manets A Bar at the Folies Bergere essays

Manets A Bar at the Folies Bergere essays Manet's A Bar at the Folies-Bergre Manet's painting, A Bar at the Folies-Bergre, was an integral factor in the rise of a new era in art; through the emergence of a contemporary Parisian city, Modern art began to flourish during the late 1800's. Being a painting of extreme complexity and ambiguity, many art critics have commented on the formal aspects of the painting, as well as the social reactions to this specific, and novel form of art. The purpose and meaning of the mirror behind the lady and the disparity of reality versus reflections, pose immense controversy and are discussed in Robert Herbert's essay, Impressionism: Art, Leisure, re", and T.J. Clark's, The Painting of Modern Life. Moreover, these authors's united their interpretations of this painting with the idea of a new Parisian lifestyle and conduct. Presented in this painting is the scene of a young, engaging barmaid at the Folies-Bergre music hall. She is standing behind a marble counter, which is covered with wine bottles, fruits, and flowers. Behind her are the essential element of the painting; the mirror that reflects the setting in which she is serving, as well as a peculiar man with a moustache. The barmaid, is confined to the narrow space behind the bar, however in the reflection, Manet introduces the new recreational activities of the elite, and sophisticated Parisians. Despite her lack of expression, Herbert clearly states that Manet has given the barmaid facing the audience a feeling of dignity and self-worth, contrary to the Parisian customs. It was thought that women were hired to increase the sales of drinks, and were made as vehicles for sexual favors, and other kinds of business. Herbert also says that barmaids at the time were known for "loose morals." He s...

Tuesday, March 3, 2020

Presidential Election Campaign Fund Details

Presidential Election Campaign Fund Details The Presidential Election Campaign Fund is a government-run program whose mission is to help candidates for the highest elected office in the United States pay for their campaigns. The Presidential Election Campaign Fund is financed by taxpayers who voluntarily contribute $3 of their federal taxes to publicly financing presidential campaigns. Donors to the fund contribute by checking the yes box on their U.S. income tax return forms in answer to the question: Do you want $3 of your federal tax to go to the Presidential Election Campaign Fund? Purpose of the Presidential Election Campaign Fund The Presidential Election Campaign Fund was implemented by Congress in 1973 following the the Watergate scandal, which in addition to the now-infamous break-in at Democratic Party headquarters involved large, secret contributions to President Richard Nixons re-election campaign. Congress intended to limit the influence of big money and donors on campaigns and level the playing field between presidential candidates. The two national political parties, at one time, also received money from the Presidential Election Campaign Fund to pay for their national conventions, which are held to nominate presidential and vice presidential candidates; in 2012, $18.3 million went to the Republican and Democratic national conventions. Before the 2016 presidential conventions, however, President Barack Obama signed legislation to end the public funding of nomination conventions. By accepting Presidential Election Campaign Fund money, a candidate is limited in how much money can be raised in large contributions from individuals and organizations in the primary run. In the general election race, after the conventions, candidates accepting public financing can raise funds only for general election legal and accounting compliance. The Presidential Election Campaign Fund is administered by the Federal Election Commission. Few Taxpayers Are Willing to Give $3 The portion of the American public who contribute to the fund has shrunk dramatically since Congress created it in the post-Watergate era. In fact, in 1976 more than a quarter of taxpayers- 27.5 percent - answered yes to that question. Support for public financing reached its peak in 1980, when 28.7 percent of taxpayers contributed. In 1995, the fund raised nearly $68 million from the $3 tax checkoff. But the 2012 presidential election it had drawn less than $40 million, according to Federal Election Commission records. Fewer than one in ten taxpayers supported the fund in the presidential elections of 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016, according to Federal Election Commission records. Candidates who claim their share of financial support must agree to limit the amount of money they raise and spend on their campaigns, restrictions that have made public financing unpopular in modern history. In the 2016 presidential election, neither of the major-party candidates, Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton, accepted public funding. And only two primary candidates, Democrat  Martin O’Malley of Maryland and the Green Partys Jill Stein, accepted money from the  Presidential Election Campaign Fund. Use of  Presidential Election Campaign Fund has been declining for decades. The program cant compete with wealthy contributors and super PACs, which can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money to influence the race. In the 2012 and 2016 elections, the two major-party candidates and the super PACs supporting them  raised and spent $2 billion, far more than the publicly run Presidential Election Campaign Fund offered. The last major-party candidate to accept financial support from the Presidential Election Campaign Fund was John McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee who lost his bid for the White House against Democrat Barack Obama. McCains campaign accepted more than $84 million in taxpayer support for his campaign that year. The public-funding mechanism has outlived its usefulness in its current form and needs to be either overhauled or abandoned altogether, critics say. In fact, no serious presidential aspirant take public financing seriously anymore. â€Å"Taking matching funds has really been seen as the scarlet letter. It says you’re not viable and you’re not going to be nominated by your party,† former Federal Election Commission Chairman Michael Toner told Bloomberg Business. Candidates who agree to accept money from the fund must agree to limit spending to the amount of the grant and may not accept private contributions for the campaign. In 2016, the Federal Election Commission offered $96 million to the presidential campaigns, meaning the candidates - Trump and Clinton - would have been limited to spending the same amount. Both campaigns, which declined to participate in public funding, raised far more than that in private contributions. Clintons campaign brought in $564 million, and Trumps campaign raised $333 million. Why Public Financing Is Flawed The idea of financing presidential campaigns with public money stems from the effort limit the influence of influential, wealthy individuals. So to make public financing work candidates must adhere to restrictions on the amount of money they can raise in a campaign. But agreeing to such limits puts them at a signification disadvantage. Many modern presidential candidates are likely to be unwilling to agree to such limits on how much they can raise and spend. In the 2008 presidential election, Obama became the first major party candidate to reject public financing in a  general presidential election. Eight years earlier, in 2000, Republican Gov. George W. Bush of Texas shunned public financed in the GOP primaries. Both candidates found the public money unnecessary. Both candidates found the spending restrictions associated with it too cumbersome. And in the end both candidates made the right move. They won the race. Presidential Nominees Who Took the Money Here are all the major-party presidential nominees who elected to fund their general-election campaigns with money from the Presidential Election Campaign Fund. 2016: None2012: None2008: Republican John McCain, $84 million.2004: Republican George W. Bush and Democrat John Kerry, $75 million each.2000: Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore, $68 million each.1996: Republican Bob Dole and Democrat Bill Clinton, $62 million each, and third-party candidate Ross Perot, $29 million.1992: Republican George H.W. Bush and Democrat Bill Clinton, $55 million each.1988: Republican George H.W. Bush and Democrat Michael Dukakis, $46 million each.1984: Republican Ronald Reagan and Democrat Walter Mondale, $40 million each.1980: Republican Ronald Reagan and Democrat Jimmy Carter, $29 million each, and independent John Anderson, $4 million.1976: Republican Gerald Ford and Democrat Jimmy Carter, $22 million each.

Saturday, February 15, 2020

Implications of body communication or non-verbal messages In Assignment

Implications of body communication or non-verbal messages In communicating with the Koreans - Assignment Example Non-verbal way of communication is a way of sending and receiving a message to and from someone through the reading of the gestures, expressions, and signs made by the body. This communication is the most effective way of communication especially when the two people are not of the same culture or language. It prevents one from experiencing any embarrassment because of not delivering the best when communicating verbally. Therefore, most of the Koreans communicate non-verbally with people from different cultures in order to succeed socially and achieve success in a reproductive manner1. Globally, many and different groups of people exist, with each one of then having their own culture. When using non-verbal communication, it becomes easy to socialize with different people from cultures. Different people with different cultures universally know most body signs2. However, culture of a certain group of people influences how they communicate using body signs and gestures. However, several implications will arise when communicating non-verbally with a Korean3. Culture of the Korean influences how they communicate non-verbally. They majorly emphasize the values of Confucian while communicating non-verbally. This applies in that they avoid shame, comparing socially and in terms of conformity. According to the culture of the Koreans, it is extremely vital for one to keep a distance from the person one is communicating with. Therefore, this is a positive attitude because they are in a position to accept any authorities given. They are very strong when it comes to keeping a distance. Therefore, they are very obedient to their superiors. In management, power distance should apply all through to ensure that there is respect between the seniors in a certain company and the juniors of the company. According to scholars, Koreans do not like involvement in declaring ones social identity because this leads to differentiation between two people. When this differentiation comes in, it creates an unusually big distance amongst different people. From this, we ca conclude that, to maintain a health society in a working environment, it is crucial for one to be oriented in the main goal of being in the company rather than individualism because this causes so many differences amongst employees working together4. When handing something to someone, Koreans use the right hand or both hands. They believe using left hand is a rude way in offering something. This shows that one should always be soft and show respect to somebody else despite the status or position in the society. When communicating, Koreans focus greatly on the face of the person communicating with them. They rely greatly on the eyes communication of a person. However, Koreans avoid touching while communicating. Touching is an embarrassing display of behavior in the public5. They believe that any affection should not be displayed when outside. This behavior is very important in a company. It helps in ensu ring that no one learns about any affection between two people easily. From the restraint value of the Confucian, it is clear in Koreans that they take great control when impressing. In most cases, their facial expressions are the main way of communicating. However, in an arguement about a business, they always argue out a problem to reach a solution but in case of silence, this means that there exist no ideas of solving their problem. This is helpful because, they are always ready to give ideas that one has6. Koreans use expressions to soften the communication. In many cases, some things are very difficult to tell another person verbally because they make a person feel more hurt, but when shown through a certain facial expression, they person is not likely to feel a big effect. For effective communication with a Korean, it is important to ensure that he or she keeps a constant look on the face in order to understand more7. This mode of

Sunday, February 2, 2020

Direct Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Direct Marketing - Essay Example Segmentation allows Sports Gear Incorporated to divide up its market into customer groups or segments. Customers within a segment are similar to each other and dissimilar to other groups of customers in other segments (Evans, et al. 2004). Segmentation will be used to understand individual customers in the sports memorabilia market place and to group them together to form distinct segments which are identifiable, accessible and substantial. At its simplest, a consumer segmentation may be: In business markets, segmentation is often used to make selling more cost effective by prioritising the companies that require regular face-to-face salespeople and that can be served better by telesales and direct distribution. Market segmentation involves finding out the key drivers that distinguish one group of customers from another. The key drivers of consumer market segmentation in sports memorabilia will be: Statistical modelling techniques can be used to isolate the key drivers and to identify customer clusters or groups. Alternatively, Sports Gear Incorporated can use off-the-shelf segmentation classification systems. There are two types of data: primary and secondary data collection. Methods of primary data collection can be thought of as the means by which information is obtained from the selected subjects of an investigation (Robertson, 1992). A sampling technique will dictate which method is used and in other cases there will be a choice, depending on how much time and manpower (and inevitably money) is available. The following methods can be used by Sports Gear Incorporated in order to collect primary data: Individual interview of sport club members and fans. This method is probably the most expensive, but has the advantage of completeness and accuracy. Normally questionnaires will be used. Street (informal) interview. This method of data collection is normally used in conjunction with quota sampling, where the interviewer is often just one of a team. Some factors involved are: possible differences in interviewer approach to the respondents and the way replies are recorded, non-response is not a problem normally, since refusals are ignored and another subject selected; convenient and cheap. Telephone interview. This method is sometimes used in conjunction with a systematic sample (from the telephone book). It would generally be used within a local area and is often connected with selling a product like sports memorabilia. It has an in-built bias if private homes are being telephoned (rather than businesses), since only those people with phones can be contacted and interviewed. It can cause aggravation and the interviewer needs to be very skilled (Dillman et al. 1996). Secondary data are generally used when: the time, manpower and resources necessary for its own survey are not available (and, of course, the relevant secondary data exists in a usable form), or it already exists and provides most, if not all, of the information required (Berry 1998). The

Saturday, January 25, 2020

Symbolism Of Illusion In The Glass Menagerie

Symbolism Of Illusion In The Glass Menagerie Illusion is the most important word in the thematic and symbolic organisation of the play, The Glass Menagerie. Williams wastes no time in pointing out the illusions that are important in the play. The stage directions tell us that transparent walls create the illusion of an apartment building, while music and coloured lights suggest a dance hall across the alley. The fire escape that leads into and out of the Wingfields apartment only seems to provide an escape from what Williams calls the slow and implacable fires of human desperation. Several times Tom comments directly to us that America in the 1930s believed that the worlds trouble were not important enough to worry about. The young people though that change and adventure were possible in their lives only through hot swing music and liquor, dance halls, bars, and movies, and sex. But, in truth, the world in the 1930s was not waiting for the sunrise, according to the popular song; it was waiting for the bombardments of the Second World War. As Williams takes us inside the Wingfields apartment and the lives to his characters, he reveals more illusions and he shows how his characters use them and respond to them. To avoid the unpleasant truth of her familys present and probable future condition, Toms mother, Amanda, cherishes several illusions. She believes that she still has the charm she once had as a young girl in Blue Mountain, and she treasures the memory of having received seventeen gentlemen callers one Sunday afternoon, any one of whom she could have married. She believes that her children are bound to succeed since they are just full of natural endowments. The fact is that Tom is close t losing his job at the warehouse, has decided to become a merchant seaman, yet really wants to be a writer. Toms sitter, Laura, suffers from acute shyness, is lame, and seems interested only in caring for her collection of glass animals and listening to old phonograph records. It is typical of Amandas desperate clinging to illusio n that she believes Laura can be happy and successful is she goes to business college and learns to type. It is almost painful for us to watch Amanda convince herself that the gentleman caller Tom has invited for supper is a remarkable young man who will be a fine suitor for Laura. She believes that if she makes Laura look pretty and attractive, if she alters one of her old dresses to wear herself, shines up the three remaining pieces of wedding silver, recovers the furniture, gets a new lamp, and if she herself plays the role of a charming, youthful Southern matron, Lauras gentleman caller will be so captivated that he will become a frequent caller and will eventually marry Laura. The fact is that Him OConnor is only an average fellow, whose moments of popularity and success are fading memories of high school days. He seems to feel sorry for Laura as a brother might rather than enamoured of her as a suitor. What is more, Jim is engaged and when he makes his announcement, Amandas il lusion is smashed. While Him OConnor temporarily becomes an illusion of Lauras salvation in Amandas mind, Jim also has illusions. He has created them in order to believe in a happy and successful future. Jim has faced the fact that he has not achieved the success everyone in high school expected of him, but he believes that he can still capture it. By taking a course in public speaking and thereby gaining social poise, he is certain that with his brains and ability he will be fitted for an executive position. He also believes that by taking a course in radio engineering he will be able to get in on the ground floor of the television industry and go right to the top of the ladder of success. Jims buoyant self-confidence, native sincerity, and boyish insensitivity to many of the things going on around him help him to create his illusions. The various generalizations that he proclaims about life, himself, and other people provide him with a protective cloak but the cloak may well turn out to be threadbare as time passes. Laura, shy and withdrawn as she is, also has illusions. She believes that, when she was in high school and wore a brace on her leg, everyone used to watch her when she was late for chorus practice and had to go clumping to her seat in the back row of the auditorium. In explaining her agonized self consciousness, she tells Jim that, to her, the clumping sounded like thunder. Of course, Jim never even noticed. When Laura talks to Jim about her favouite glass animal, a unicorn, she is really talking about herself. She develops her illusion by saying that the unicorn loves the light, may feel lonesome being different from the other animals, but does not complain about it and get along nicely with the horses that do not have horns. She also says that all of her glass animals like a change of scenery to the movies or to the Jewel-box, where they raise the tropical flowers, instead of going to her classes at business college. When the unicorn falls from the table and loses his horn, Laura s ays that she will imagine that the unicorn had an operation, that the horn was removed to make the unicorn feel less freakish. Similarly, in her brief time with Jim, during which they talk, dance, and kiss, Laura apparently feels less freakish. To explain why Jim has been beyond her reach, Laura has imagined that Jim married Emily Meisenbach. When she learns that he did not, Laura hopes that Jim will call on her again or ask her for a date. Her momentary hope is destroyed, however, when Jim announces that he is going steady with a girl named Betty and that they are in love. Although she has illusions, Laura, nevertheless, seems to have accepted what she is and what life has offered to her. She does not try to gloss over or deny the ways things are as Amanda does. She does not project a happy and successful future for herself, as Jim does for himself. Nor does she quarrel with the way things are, as Tom does. Like the animals in her glass menagerie, Laura remains delicate and vulnerable. In her own way she is hard, as glass is hard, and just as easily damaged if not protected, but she also possesses beauty as fine glass does and an inner light of varying shades of colour. With his apparently clear view of the facts around him. Tom seems, at first, to have not illusions. He believes that by joining the Union of Mrechant Seamen he will even escape the fanciful views and pretensions that others have. As a traveler, he will experience change and adventure first-hand and so dispel what he regards as the harmful illusions about life and the world that surround him in his family and in society. At the end of the play, however, Tom admits that he has been pursued by the memory of his sisters fragile existence. His escape itself was an illusion, and he discovers that he has been more faithful to Laura than he intended to be by continuing to remember and appreciate the fragile, the delicate, the beautiful things that Laura appreciates and comes to represent. Since the play itself and the characters are so obviously immersed in illusions, what is the truth that Tim Wingfield in his opening speech promises to reveal? What is Tennessee Williams theme in The Glass Menagerie? Illusions are deceptions, misinterpretations of the facts, and so would appear to be things to avoid, to be rid of; yet at the same time it is impossible for human beings to escape them. Williams shows us clearly that the various illusions the characters have are their means of coping with the facts of their lives. However foolish and silly their illusions may seem, all of the characters would suffer, perhaps even be broken, if they did not have them. Without pretense and self-deception, Amanda would have no self-confidence or hope for the future remaining after his failure to approach the success people had believed he would have. Laura would wither and die because she could not identify with anything, nor see beauty, delicacy, and truth in small, fragile, even commonpl ace things. Tom would nor escape because he could not hope to experience change and adventure. Unquestionably, illusions are potent things! But Williams does not say that illusions are necessarily better or more pleasant than facts. Just as facts can produce heartache and anguish knowing the clear truth about someone or something can sometimes be unbearable illusions, too, can bring sorrow and pain. Amandas are painful to Tom. Lauras and Toms are painful to Amanda, but perhaps the saddest illusion of all in the play is the one that prompts Tom to say good-bye to Laura. She is a reminder to Tom of an illusion-filled past that impeded his growth by obscuring his view of the way things truly are. To grow and to see things clearly, he had to leave. Moreover, when he says Nowadays the world is lit by lightning, Tim means that the world must be seen not in the soft, delicately flickering candle flame that is Laura but in the electric, dynamic illumination of a force beyond human influence. The force, manifest in lightning, is inexorable, and it blots out any candle flame. A glowing light, soft colour, or nostalgic sound or a shy, lame sister who appreciates such things has no place in the busy and insensitive world Tom sees around him. This belief, which is both Toms and the worlds, is, however, an illusion. That it is an illusion is shown by the very existence of the play. Tennessee Williams shows us that illusions, though hazardous, provide shelter from the hard facts of life. If we, like Tom, earnestly desire to escape the shelter and know these facts truly, we may have to give up out willingness to recognize and preserve the delicacy and beauty in life. This sacrifice may haunt us as it does Tom, but, according to Williams, the belief that we and the world must and will permanently say good-bye to all that Laura is and represents is itself an illusion-a sad deception.

Friday, January 17, 2020

American Revolution (DBQ) Essay

In the time period of 1860 and 1877, constitutional and social developments occurred in America that amounted to a revolution. Some constitutional developments were the Secession of 1860, the Emancipation Proclamation, and Amendments 14 and 15. Some social developments were the Freedmen’s Bureau, the Civil Rights Act of 1875, and Congressional Reconstruction. Put together, all these developments led to a revolution. Prior to 1860 the United States was already split into opposing sides fighting for power. Although these conflicts never reached the battlefield, the slave’s states and Free states were always competing for representation in congress. South Carolina felt that certain powers were restrained from them and it imperiled their continued existence as sovereign states (DOC A). So, as the leader, they declared secession with several states following shortly after. They were then called the Confederate states of America. This was so revolutionary because the Union destroyed everything in the South and it led to the strengthening of Federal Power over the states. The Emancipation Proclamation was intended to be the cure of slavery once and for all. In the early years of the Proclamation it could only be extended to Union controlled areas. It allowed blacks freedom of movement and religion. Shortly after, Amendments 14 and 15 were created that gave the freed men more rights. Amendment 14 gave freedmen citizenship and equal protection under the law. Amendment 15 gave them the right to vote and resulted in black legislators in the state and federal government.