Hih; What Went Wrong free essay sample

Corporate Governance HIH; What Went Wrong? During 2000 at the Institute of Actuaries annual seminar on general insurance, two senior actuaries, Peter McCarthy and Geoff Trahair, presented a paper that rang alarm bells for HIH Insurance. Even though HIH was not mentioned in the paper [entitled â€Å"Lack of industry profitability and other stories†] the insurance industry was accused of under pricing policies, pressuring actuaries to reduce the projected level of outstanding claims liabilities and of having poor quality staff and senior management. This was a forewarning of what seems to have gone wrong at Australia’s second largest insurance company. According to McCarthy and Trahair the main problem was bad management. They outlined â€Å"poorly trained and low-skilled staff, with inadequate or non-existent pricing models, combined with poor underwriting controls. † They also suggested that poor claims management, careless data management and imprecise monitoring led to incomplete analysis of portfolio performance, if done at all. We will write a custom essay sample on Hih; What Went Wrong or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Senior management did not escape criticism either. The management progression path seems dominated by those who have risen through the ranks, starting out either as underwriters or case officers. Whilst this gave a good grasp of the micro picture, it fails to deliver the broader macro picture that is required to make the transition from managing individual policies and claims to managing whole portfolios or companies. † Former HIH director, Rodney Adler, confirmed these views when he wrote to the managing director of HIH, Ray Williams, in September 1999. He claimed the long serving management team had fallen into a rut. Another HIH insider described the culture of the organisation as macho in which senior management knew about their own area only and nothing about the rest of the business. In their paper, McCarthy and Trahair recommended greater actuarial influence on the pricing of policies and argued that any actuarial â€Å"suggestions† need to have some authority. Their paper included a light-hearted supplement the top ten tips for running a general insurer. The ninth tip was â€Å"when the actuary says the rates need to go up by 50% ignore them. After all, those actuaries are so uncommercial they just don’t live in the real world. Insolvency specialist David Lombe, prepared a report showing HIH continued to lose millions even though a revival package showed they were making a profit. They failed to take into account future insurance claims and they also declared they had net assets of $939 million which was not a true picture. The collapse of HIH forced a NSW judge to freeze the assets of the three key figures – Ray Williams [CEO], Domenic Fodera [CFO] and Rodney Adler [former director. ] The mismanagement of investments and acquisitions by these management executives had a downward-spiral effect on many people’s lives. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission [ASIC] claimed that the three men â€Å"breached their duties by showing lack of good faith, care and diligence for HIH assets. † ASIC cited that an HIH payment of $10 million was made to a company wholly owned by Adler, without following policies and procedures of the company. Adler’s lawyer stated this transaction was not a matter of public interest. â€Å"This is a discrete little dispute about a particular investment that involved a modest sum of money. † Evidence given in court also showed Williams owned real estate worth $6. 5 million in addition to â€Å"a lot of boats. The lack of understanding of company policies and procedures added to the downfall of HIH Insurance. ASIC believes that the three men had breached the Corporations Law and â€Å"asked the court to order them to pay compensation, fines of $200,000 and that they be banned from management positions. † The impact of these monetary dec isions at director level forced federal Government to announce a Royal Commission into the downfall of HIH. The influence of the collapse of HIH casts a shadow over other issues such as the recovery of the housing industry which in turn can affect the Australian economy. Katie Lahey, chief executive of the Business Council of Australia has said â€Å"a leader today has to be well read and know about what is going on in the environment as a whole. You can’t imagine a leader of any significant company not knowing the fundamentals of the economy, or what is happening to the economies of our trading partners. Big issues for the whole country. A leader has to be tuned to those. † The collapse of such a large insurance organisation also had a major impact on the existence of smaller companies, as well as individuals in terms of their ability to absorb levies for future insurance services. A leading management consultant said that â€Å"an organisation can be using the latest technologies and be highly people-focused, but if the methods and approaches used to structure and organize the work are weak, performance will suffer badly. † This seems to sum up what happened at HIH Insurance. Subsequently, criminal proceedings were brought against Rodney Adler and Ray Williams who were subsequently sentenced to up to four years in prison with a non-parole period of 2 ? ears for Adler and two years and nine months for Williams. Adler was also disqualified from holding the position of Director for twenty years and fined $900,000 and Williams for ten years and fined $250,000. Domenic Fodera was sentenced to three years in prison with a non-parole period of two years. However, he was subsequently sentenced to another year in prison for further misdemeanours in HIH.. Discussion Point Discuss issues of corporate governance in the context of the above case

Profile Dolores Huerta, Co-Founder of the United Farm Workers

Profile Dolores Huerta, Co-Founder of the United Farm Workers Known for:  co-founder and a leader of the United Farm Workers Dates: April 10, 1930 - Occupation: labor leader and organizer, social activist Also known as: Dolores  Fernndez Huerta About Dolores Huerta Dolores Huerta was born in 1930 in Dawson, New Mexico. Her parents,  Juan and Alicia Chavez Fernandez, divorced when she was very young, and she was raised by her mother in Stockton, California, with the active help of her grandfather, Herculano Chavez. Her mother worked two jobs when Dolores was very young. Her father watched the grandchildren. During World War II, Alicia Fernandez Richards, who had remarried, ran a restaurant and then a hotel, where Dolores Huerta helped out as she grew older. Alicia divorced her second husband, who had not related well to Dolores, and married Juan Silva. Huerta has credited her maternal grandfather and her mother as the primary influences on her life. Dolores also was inspired by her father, whom she saw infrequently until she was an adult, and by his struggles to make a living as a migrant laborer and coal miner. His union activity helped inspire her own activist work with a Hispanic self-help association. She married in college, divorcing her first husband after having two daughters with him. Later she married Ventura Huerta, with whom she had five children. But they disagreed over many issues including her community involvements, and first separated and then divorced.  Her mother helped her support her continuing work as an activist after the divorce. Dolores Huerta became involved in a community group supporting farm workers which merged with the AFL-CIOs Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC). Dolores Huerta served as secretary-treasurer of the AWOC. It was during this time that she met Cesar Chavez, and after theyd worked together for some time, formed with him the National Farm Workers Association, which eventually became the United Farm Workers (UFW). Dolores Huerta served a key role in the early years of farmworker organizing, though she has only recently been given full credit for this. Among other contributions was her work as the coordinator for East Coast efforts in the table grape boycott, 1968-69, which helped to win recognition for the farm workers union. It was during this time that she also became connected with the growing feminist movement including connecting with Gloria Steinem, who helped influence her to integrate feminism into her human rights analysis. In the 1970s Huerta continued her work directing the grape boycott, and expanding to a lettuce boycott and a boycott of Gallo wine.  In 1975, the national pressure brought results in California, with the passage of legislation recognizing the right of collective bargaining for farmworkers, the Agricultural Labor Relations Act. During this period she had a relationship with Richard Chavez, a brother of Cesar Chavez, and they had four children together.   She also headed up the farm workers unions political arm and helped lobby for legislative protections, including maintaining the ALRA. She helped found a radio station for the union, Radio Campesina, and spoke widely, including lectures and testifying for protections for farm workers. Dolores Huerta had a total of eleven children.  Her work took her away from her children and family frequently, something she expressed regret for later. In 1988, while demonstrating peacefully against the policies of candidate George Bush, she was severely injured when police clubbed the demonstrators. She suffered broken ribs and her spleen had to be removed. She eventually won a considerable financial settlement from the police, as well as changes in police policy on handling demonstrations. After her recovery from this life-threatening attack, Dolores Huerta returned to working for the farm workers union.  Shes credited with holding the union together after the sudden death of Cesar Chavez in 1993. Sources Susan Ferriss, Ricardo Sandoval, Diana Hembree (editor). The Fight in the Fields: Cesar Chavez and the Farmworkers Movement. Paperback, 1998.

Mart -to- Market Accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Mart -to- Market Accounting - Essay Example Thus all the assets and liabilities recorded on the balance sheet of the firm are recorded at their cost value and are further adjusted by the value of the depreciation or any impairment. However, as the overall complexity of the assets and liabilities increased, it became evident that that the values of these assets and liabilities can also vary due to the changes in their market values. A substantial decline in the value of the asset can actually erode the profitability of the firm and as such if their values are not recorded properly, they may give a different picture to the investor than the actual. It is in this perspective that the role of mark to market accounting emerges wherein the values of the assets are periodically recorded at their market value and all gains or losses are subsequently adjusted in the profit and loss account of the firm. (Schuetze and Wolnizer). During current financial crisis, mark to market accounting played critical role because due to reduction in the values of the assets, firms were forced to record them at lower level thus they booked substantial losses. 3) It may be prudent to relax this idea during the time of crisis because if the overall risk return characteristics of the assets remain same during the crisis, they should not be written down to their market

Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 7500 words

Report - Essay Example This difference is important to understand as it impacts not only businesses and investors but also governments in their policy formulation. This paper, therefore, aims to study whether different economic indicators influence large and small cap stocks by looking to answer the question: The key research question explored the relationship between economic indicators and stock prices small cap and as large cap companies in the US using available data for the last 10 years (from Jan 2001 to June 2011) based on 9 leading economic indicators and on two stock indices (one each for large and small cap stocks). The economic indicators were the independent variables while the stock price was the dependent variable in the multiple regression models developed for the two stock indices. Using public records, data were collected from publicly available financial statements of corporations. The proposed relationships were tested through regression analyses. Results indicated that the two stock cat egories are influenced by a different set of economic indicators except the Consumer Price Index, the Industrial Production Index (IPI), and the Consumer Confidence Index. The implication for economic change includes governments’ awareness of the need to monitor these factors as their Key Performance Indicators for measuring the impact and success of their past and future economic policy decisions on businesses. Table of Content Chapter 1Introduction 6 1.1Background and Context 6 1.2Objectives 6 1.3Achievements 7 1.4Overview of Dissertation 8 1.5Problem Description 8 Chapter 2Literature Review 10 Chapter 3Research Method 19 Chapter 4Data Analysis and Results 26 4.1Test of Variables 26 4.2Regression Analyses for the stock indices 26 4.2.1Regression analysis: S&P 500 27 4.2.2Regression analysis: S&P SmallCap 600 34 4.2.3Check for the predictability of regression models 43 Chapter 5Discussion, Conclusions, and Recommendations 46 5.1Summary 46 5.2Evaluation 49 5.3Future Work 51 R eferences 52 Appendix A: Normal distribution of dependent variables 55 Appendix B: Linearity of relation between economic indicators & S&P 500 56 Appendix C: Linearity of relation between economic indicators & S&P SmallCap 600 57 Appendix D: Clarification of concepts and terms 58 Qualifications & Experience 62 Abstract 1 Table of Contents 2 Chapter 1 Introduction 5 Chapter 2 Literature Review 9 Chapter 3 Research Method 18 Chapter 4 Data Analysis and Results 25 Chapter 5 Discussion, Conclusions, and Recommendations 43 References 49 Appendix A: Normal distribution of dependent variables 51 Appendix B: Linearity of relation between economic indicators & S&P 500 52 Appendix C: Linearity of relation between economic indicators & S&P SmallCap 600 53 Appendix D: Clarification of concepts and terms 54 Qualifications & Experience 58 List of Tables Table 1 9 Table 2 27 Table 3 28 Table 4 29 Table 5 29 Table 6 30 Table 7 34 Table 8 36 Table 9 36 Table 10 37 Table 11 38 Table 12 39 Table 13 39 Table 14 46 List of Figures Figure 1: Histogram of regression model residuals for S&P 500 32 Figure 2: Variance of residuals for S&P 500 regression model 32 Figure 3: Scatter plot of residuals for regression model for S&P

Assimilation of US Snipers back to the Society Research Paper

Assimilation of US Snipers back to the Society - Research Paper Example As the paper stresses it is important to undertake critical analysis of the psychological realignment that these people undergo when they are in this work and the complications associated with their transition from service back to the society. The nature of any job creates a new person in somebody and the military snipers are not exceptional. It therefore tend to take some process and time to get them assimilated back to the society after they retire or get their jobs terminated under some condition. Due to the type of the training they go through, their mentality gets altered towards some code of conduct and this significantly affects their interpersonal skills. Appropriate approaches of rehabilitating this special group of people who has served the nation to conform to the ordinary society system need to be investigated. This report declares that it is important to explore the personal attributes of a sniper which are partly acquired through training and partly by birth. One of the conditions to be a sniper is having worked as a government security agent or a military officer with in-depth prior knowledge of handling different types of guns and rifles. The concept of knowing the various concepts about the arms is not limited to use but should cover even the ability to understand their structural components. The training of a sniper is costly and requires perseverance of the highest degree with maximum self-discipline. This explains why a single sniper is worth more that several untrained rifle users. These people go through a series of thorough physical and mental training that steadily realign their perception about various issues within the confines of social order (Austin, 1992). Due to their critical role in the military operations, snipers are people with high intelligence that goes beyond shoot ing .They also have internal psychological understanding of any social environment and that is the reason they are able to camouflage and single out the target from a crowd without interfering with non-target (Perline & Goldschmidt, 2004). Their ability to take any angle and take into consideration the physical factors like wind and other environmental impediments that

Kevin Mitnick Ethical Issues And Computer Hacking History Philosophy Essay

Kevin Mitnick Ethical Issues And Computer Hacking History Philosophy Essay This report deals in identifying the ethical issues of Kevin Mitnick and his computer hacking history and weather the accusations and they way FBI prosecuted his case were correct or not .Each of the issue raised would further be discussed by using the three ethical theories of Consequence-Based, Duty-Based and Character-Based. Apart from that the general role of a computer professional will also be described later on in this report in terms of using their knowledge and expertise in terms of hacking. Hence this report will be divided into two parts the first part focusing on highlighting the ethical issues and his prosecution and second would deal with the computer professional part. A detail description of his history of hacking is mentioned in the case scenario which will be described later on in the report. Firstly a brief introduction of ethics and its three theories would be discussed which will make it easy to understand and to implement it on the Kevin Mitnick case. Ethics has been described in many ways by different people over the history including same great Greek philosophers such as Socrates, Aristotle, and so on. Greeks mostly defined ethics as the study of what was good for the infidel and the society. The easiest way to describe ethics would be differing and reflecting a human being character in terms of what is good or bad, right or wrong, fair and unfair, responsible or irresponsible. It will lead a human being moral character to be in good conduct. Ethics can also be referred as to what humans are suppose to do if they follow the prescribe standards of right and wrong, which normally would lead him in terms of rights, his benefit to society, his obligations etc. Also ethics and can be referred as studying of moral character of human being and developing it to an ethical standard.[1] Ethics begins when elements within a moral system conflict.[1]  ¿Ã‚ ½Ethics exists in many forms in branches, literatures, eras, traditions. All of them following the root hub of ethics but the form of ethics which is highlighted and followed in our case study for this report are what is called Cyberethics. Cyberethics To understand the meaning of cyberethics a person should be aware of the term Cybertechnology. All the devices used in modern era in the field of cyber space such as hand held devices, personal computers, mainframes, networks and mainly the Internet can be termed as a part of Cybertechnology.  ¿Ã‚ ½Cybertechnology in terms refers to a broad spectrum of technologies that ranges from stand alone computers to the clustered of networked computing, information and communication technologies ¿Ã‚ ½ [2] Different definitions of cyberethics exists mostly dealing with ethical issues with certain type of online activities for e.g. pornography, gambling etc. It can be referred as certain types of laws which are not monitored by the judicial or law governing bodies but from and individual himself which go beyond his moral values which would be something different from cyber law which has to governed and monitored by a governing body.  ¿Ã‚ ½Cyberethics can be defined as the field of applied ethics that examines moral, legal and social issues in the development and use of Cybertechnology ¿Ã‚ ½ [2] Ethical Theories Since this report has to follow certain type of ethical theories in order to identify the ethical issues a brief description of each one of them has been mentioned below. Consequence-Based As the name suggest consequence based theories produces the most desirable outcomes for it member morally. The providing of ultimate standards for consequence of actions against which the moral decisions were evaluated is highlighted in this theory. The goodness or right identified by consequence would be something regarded as Consequence-Based ethical theory which gives some outcome for someone. But whose outcome would be the question here that who should benefit from this outcome? This argument has mostly been provided by some big Utilitarian thinkers such as Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, and Henry Sedgwick etc. The argument provided by them normally follows the theory that an act of some individual or a whole social policy would be acceptable if it ¿Ã‚ ½s providing great benefits for a majority of individuals which would be affected with the given policy or from the provided act by the certain individual. ¿Ã‚ ½Jeremy Bentham states that  ¿Ã‚ ½ People are driven by their interests and their fears, but their interests take precedence over their fears, and their interests are carried out in accordance with how people view the consequences that might be involved with their interests. Happiness on this account is defined as the maximization of pleasure and the minimization of pain ¿Ã‚ ½. [3] This form of ethics mainly explains that whatever happen sand outcome or result is achieved should be in a favor of large number of population rather than that of a certain minority. They should provide happiness to everyone rather than just one person who would be satisfied when a certain kind of act is performed. Duty-Based Duty based Ethical theory is something which gives the concept of Deontology derived from the Greek word Deon which means Duty. The concept of Deontology is the approach in which goodness and right would be achieved by studying the act of an individual or social policy rather than the consequence which its leads too. Immanuel Kant was one of the Deontological thinkers who always criticized Utilitarian thinkers saying that morality must be defined as the duty of an individual to one another rather than consequence which are produced when a certain individual performs a certain type of action. He said happiness is not the concern in terms of morality. He said that it was the motives and goals of a human being which made him to choose right or wrong rather than the consequences. W.D Ross another deontological thinker argument is  ¿Ã‚ ½Utilitarianism seems to simplify unduly our relations to our fellows. It says, in effect, that the only morally significant relation in whom my neighbors stand to me is that of being possible beneficiaries of my action. They do stand in this relation to me, and this relation is morally significant. But they may also stand to me in the relation of promise to promisor, of creditor to debtor, of wife to husband, of fellow countryman to fellow countryman, and the like; and each of these relations is the foundation of aduty ¿Ã‚ ½[4] So in short a Duty-based approach leads us to a conclusion that morality of a human being would be carried out by the acts he perform which would justify if he ¿Ã‚ ½s right or wrong. His Duty toward honesty, Justice, violence etc is what will be regarded his moral duty rather than himself being happy if he tells a lie. Character-Based Character Based theory reject the first two theories which focus on consequence or an act, instead this theory focuses on an individual character and is also mostly known as Virtue Ethics. Its main concerns are with individual ¿Ã‚ ½s moral character and don ¿Ã‚ ½t rely on duties and consequences. It has a very old history which rages back to great Greek philosophers like Aristotle and Plato who argued that each person has to obtain a right virtue since each of us will have a certain virtue in him which will be his strength or excellences which will lead towards a good or bad moral character. Virtue ethics is somewhat which can be called as agent oriented rather the first two which are action oriented or rule oriented. The main question of what a virtue ethics would be follow in a certain type of situation in which he or she has to perform an action and weather the individual has to do it or not instead it would go the other way around seeking the information of what kind of person I should be?.  ¿Ã‚ ½It is only by means of this idea [of virtue] that any judgment as to moral worth or its opposite is possibleEverything good that is not based on a morally good disposition ¿Ã‚ ½is nothing but pretence and glittering misery ¿Ã‚ ½ [5] Background Our case study focuses on a person named Kevin Mitnick who was the first hacker in computer to reach the FBI most wanted listed. He was arrested on Feb 15 1995 by FBI in which he was accused of number of acts which included breaking into computer systems and networks all over the world and altering information which lead the company to invest into new security measures and also for the charge of violations of his terms and conditions on the period of probation for his previous computer crimes. He was caught by the help of a Japanese computer security expert Tsutomo Shimomura whose system is said was hacked by Kevin Mitnick in San Diego Supercomputer Center which made him furious in tracking and helping the FBI. His hacking started in his school days where he got fascinated with computers in a computer class. His passion of technology made him learn quickly and he soon managed to Hack LA public school districts computer. At age of 17 he Hacked into Pacific Bell and altered phone bills. Same year he gain access to information valued at $200,000 for a San Francisco Company. Caught and prosecuted earned him a probation of 6 months. During that period he again hacked into the judge and probation officers and judge phone disconnected and bills accredited. Interestingly the police caught the system has been accessed from outside but nothing showed up in their database. He also hacked into NORAD a missile monitoring company in states. Obviously this one could have had catastrophic effects .In 1988 he was accused of two crimes one of them was of accessing a MCI network for long distance call and second stealing a computer system which caused damaged of up to $4 million for a company. For this reason the judge decided to put him on jail without bail. During his bail attempts prosecutors presented evidence of him breaking into National Security Agency computers and also that a false story being printed that a bank lost $400 million in first quarter of that year. This happened just after 4 days when Mitnick was denied a job in that bank. Finally Mitnick pleaded guilty and was sentenced to jail for 18 months and 3 years of probation. In 1992 FBI suspected him of hacking into Pacific Bell of which evidence was found later on which made Mitnick flee from FBI. Evidence of altering driving license record to set up a false identity was retrieved. In this period the police came up to very close encounters of arresting him but Kevin always managed to move on. Finally being found and arrested in 1995 was charged with various new crimes and violation of his parole. He was Denied bail and it was ensured that there was no equipment of computers handed to him in jail so he could commit more crime. Phone calls were closely monitored and in 1997 Mitnick pleaded guilty and was sentenced to jail for 22 months for charges of accessing phone system in order to get free long distance calls and then a 3 years probation period in which he would stay away from anything  ¿Ã‚ ½Hi-tech ¿Ã‚ ½ Most of his crimes still remain unsolved and he was released in January 2000 and expiration of probation in 2003. [6][7][8] Ethical Issues The ethical issues for the given case study and their discussion from the above discussed theory are highlighted and discussed below. * Hacking into a number of companies and accessing their computer networks and gaining access to unauthorized files or data. Was it ethical to gain access of such files or data or merely breaking into a computer network? Applying the consequence based approached breaking into a computer network or gaining access to secure files only benefited Mitnick and no one else. According to utilitarianism the majority must gain happiness on the base of a consequence but in this case it Kevin himself who gained happiness and not the majority hence this act would be regarded as wrong for Kevin that it was not ethical for him to gain or break into a computer network The duty based approach and deontology theory would easily say it ¿Ã‚ ½s wrong. By his acts it can concluded that is not right to gain access to another computer networks. That is stated in the ten commandments of ethics as well which was defined in 1992.All Company would have secure files and data and would not be wanted to breached by an outsider. Hence it was completely wrong by Mitnick to do so. Character Based approach in Kevin ¿Ã‚ ½s case would want him to break into computer networks for his passion of technology and the sake of fun. His thirst for knowledge still exists and breaking into these computers made him gain more knowledge which was more fun for him. But morally this was wrong. By virtue ethics he should have chosen the right path rather then this wrong path. Hence it was still unethical for him to break into computers. * In his hacking history Kevin never gained any financial outcome but instead he did it for the sake of challenge or sometimes to extract revenge on people .So was it ethical to do so and to take such challenges or seek revenge from people? Consequence based theory would again say  ¿Ã‚ ½No ¿Ã‚ ½ in this case merely of the fact that extracting revenge from some people or winning a challenge to prove your ability would just be beneficial for Kevin himself which in this case would be a minor individual and will be happy himself only. The majority of people would not be happy from this outcome. Duty based approach would say seeking revenge or damaging or doing unauthorized things of which you ¿Ã‚ ½re not authorized to do would again lead to  ¿Ã‚ ½NO ¿Ã‚ ½. Mitnick was not supposed to do it since it not an act which an individual is suppose to do. Character-based or virtue ethics justifies to pick good habits of your moral character and leave the odd one behind to be a good human being and in this case doing good for yourself by causing harm to others isn ¿Ã‚ ½t something good for and individual characters and in this case Kevin Mitnick. * Hacking into his school district computer system and Pacific Bell for altering Phone Bills. Was it ethically right for him at age 17 to break into a computer of his school and in pacific bell to alter phone bills? Consequence approach would again say NO since he did it for himself again in this case .The Benefit of this hack was for his own good and not for anyone else. Especially the alteration of phone bills is going to create losses for the phone company which might turn up into large numbers as well. So it was completely wrong in doing so. Duty Based approach applied on this issue would again lead to the conclusion of  ¿Ã‚ ½No ¿Ã‚ ½ since there is no act or policy which would suggest Kevin to break into school system or into phone company to alter his phone bills. Based on the outcome of his acts he was totally wrong in do so again. Character Based approach would again lead to the fact that morally as an individual he knew it was wrong in doing so but again he preferred to adopt his bad habit in this case which was again wrong and lead to such an outcome hence it ¿Ã‚ ½s a  ¿Ã‚ ½No ¿Ã‚ ½ again. * Being on probation for his conviction Mitnick got his parole officers phone disconnected and altered the computer record of the judge of his case in a credit service computer .Was it ethical for Kevin to do such an act ? Applying Consequence based approach it ¿Ã‚ ½s again going to lead to the fact of  ¿Ã‚ ½No ¿Ã‚ ½ because the result of this act was something bad for his parole officer and the judge. It was an act done by Kevin for his own satisfaction that was the minority in this issue and being in probation he should have avoided such consequences which he didn ¿Ã‚ ½t. Duty Based again would not support Kevin in this issue. His act was defiantly wrong in this case because the judge could have had bad impacts and the parole officer must have been unhappy to and misguided due to Kevin acts. And being on probation one shouldn ¿Ã‚ ½t go against the law but Kevin did for his personal vendetta. Character based theory wouldn ¿Ã‚ ½t allow someone ¿Ã‚ ½s moral character to take revenge and hurt someone else which in this case again leads to  ¿Ã‚ ½No ¿Ã‚ ½. Hurting someone for the sake of revenge is what would be considered a bad habit or an act leading to something which would not be regarded as morally good and if u knows that the law is restricting you from something a good moral character wouldn ¿Ã‚ ½t want someone to go against the law to seek his own happiness. * Convicted Stealing software from a company in Santa Cruz, California and no conviction record was on FBI database. Was it Ethical to steal and alter records? Consequence based theory wouldn ¿Ã‚ ½t allow stealing or altering to be me permissible. Stealing is something which would not be allowed in any circumstances and even if we assume it does it wouldn ¿Ã‚ ½t be something beneficial for majority in this case the California Company and the alteration of record of FBI. This time as well it ¿Ã‚ ½s  ¿Ã‚ ½No ¿Ã‚ ½. Duty based will not support an act of stealing or altering which won ¿Ã‚ ½t be regarded something as good so this time even in comparisons of acts it ¿Ã‚ ½s a NO from this point. Character Based would say that stealing to be considered as one of the bad habit of a human being and alteration of record can be considered of something as manipulation of record and in this case of a bad deed which Kevin was convicted so it ¿Ã‚ ½s a  ¿Ã‚ ½No ¿Ã‚ ½ this time as well. * Breaking into North American Air Defense Command (NORAD) missile defense system. Was it ethical for him to break into a defense system of a country? The first approach of Consequence Based would hugely argue because gaining access to such delicate system could have catastrophic affects on millions of people. Harming or altering of those files would have been really dangerous. So it ¿Ã‚ ½s a  ¿Ã‚ ½No ¿Ã‚ ½ again. Second approach of duty based wouldn ¿Ã‚ ½t allow any such policy or rule for an individual to again access to such delicate system cause of the dangerous outcomes it can lead it into hence its  ¿Ã‚ ½No ¿Ã‚ ½ again. Third approach of Character based would not consider it to be a good habit of one moral character in doing so because it would harm so many people so it ¿Ã‚ ½s a  ¿Ã‚ ½No ¿Ã‚ ½ from this point of view as well. * Charge of two new crimes: Accessing MCI network for long distance calls and causing $ 4 million damage to Digital Equipment Corporation. Was it ethical to illegally access MCI and cause damage of worth $ 4 million to a company? Consequence would say  ¿Ã‚ ½No ¿Ã‚ ½ cause again the minority gets benefit from this case that is Kevin and not the majority Both of them MCI and Digital Cop lost lots of money because of this act performed by Kevin who were the majority in this issue . Duty Based wouldn ¿Ã‚ ½t support Kevin as well cause because of this both those companies had to face huge losses from the act that Kevin had performed. No such policy or act would be permissible for any individual in the world to do so. Hence  ¿Ã‚ ½No ¿Ã‚ ½ is the answer Character based would again regard this as  ¿Ã‚ ½No ¿Ã‚ ½ cause as stated above again and again alteration of records and damaging files and causing harm to others would be regarded as a good deed or good habit so it ¿Ã‚ ½s a  ¿Ã‚ ½No ¿Ã‚ ½ again. * Judge denied him bail and ordered him to be held in jail? Was he ethical in doing so? This period lasted for eight months in solitary consignment for Kevin. Consequence based might support this act of judge because Kevin was causing harm to large majority of people but putting him on solitary consignment for 8 months without bail and from the fact that it was not proven at that time that Kevin had committed those acts was a bit harsh on Kevin. So it ¿Ã‚ ½s a split decision I guess. Duty based would support the judge too cause he was causing harm to major companies and people but still the decision was too harsh for Kevin cause he deserved a trial at least .Everyone does. Character based would not support the judge since it was a fact the Kevin was notorious but he deserved a trial and even if the judge thought he didn ¿Ã‚ ½t, putting him in solitary consignment prison was totally wrong. A normal jail would have been alright to stop Kevin from his notorious activities but solitary consignment was something very wrong and very harsh. * Kevin fleeing from the authorities on a number of occasions for two years and using fake identities to hide himself from the authorities during his probation. Was it ethical for him to do so? Kevin did for his own good and during this period he caused damaged to majority with his notorious activities so consequence Based would support him on this issue. Duty based would also not support him since it ¿Ã‚ ½s not right to take misguide law by using fake identities and stay on a run for two years. Character based wouldn ¿Ã‚ ½t support him to since it ¿Ã‚ ½s not right for someone to take law in his own hands and using fake identities by damaging other people identities to keep yourself. It ¿Ã‚ ½s a definite  ¿Ã‚ ½No ¿Ã‚ ½ since it ¿Ã‚ ½s not a good deed * Was it ethically right for Shimomura to help FBI in catching Kevin? All the three theories of character duty and consequence based would support Shimomura in this issue its ethically right for anyone to help the law to catch someone who has been causing harm to the community. And it was morally right for every individual to help to catch Kevin. * After being caught Kevin was held in Federal prison from 1995 to 1997 without bail and without trial by the FBI. Was it ethically right to do so.? Consequence would again support the FBI since Kevin was harm to many firms companies and people but only if Kevin was charged after trial to stay in prison. Duty Base shouldn ¿Ã‚ ½t support this act of FBI since they were laws by now to convict Kevin but FBI didn ¿Ã‚ ½t even allow a fair trial to run which is not supported so YES| they were ethically wrong in doing so. Character Based wouldn ¿Ã‚ ½t support the FBI too since it ¿Ã‚ ½s not right for anyone to stay in prison for a period of 2 years without bail or trial. At least a trial should have been offered to Kevin and then if found guilty he should have faced what he deserved. Role of a professional A professional is someone who holds a degree in a particular field in terms of education and then uses his expertise in his relative field and makes sure that his professionalism follows the code of ethics which will include terms such as Behavior, sociality, confidentiality etc. When a professional is hired somewhere a contract and a bond is created between the two to follow certain acts and rules or policy within the organization and one of them is the security concern of misusing the data of an organization Organizations related to Information Technology or having the IT dept within them also maintain a policy between their engineers and themselves. In our particular case the role of a software engineer, hardware engineer or an application engineer they should follow those rules and policies but also IEEE CODE OF ETHICS which is the main source of ethics code for any IT professional which should be followed by any professional related to the field of information and technology and in our case being software, application and hardware engineers [9] Usage of knowledge for Hacking by a professional In regards to using their knowledge for hacking can be something quite disastrous. If we take each of them individually and start with the hardware engineer obviously he can use it the right way or the wrong way since hardware devices manually build are quite useful in hacking mainly portable devices something like which Kevin Mitnick used for hacking into McDonalds drive through system. But is it right for them to do so and the answer is obviously no cause it ¿Ã‚ ½s against the code of ethics which exists in many forms related to cyber technology Same goes to a software engineer and application engineer cause software and application level technical support is quite useful to build or modify codes of a program and make it useful for something negative which is obviously something which would not be appreciated in our society because it ¿Ã‚ ½s going to be harmful to many . . But can all this knowledge be used in a positive way? Can hacking be positive? The answer to this question is yes and is something what is called ethical hacker. Ethical Hacker vs. Hacker: Hacker being the one using his knowledge on the darker side tries to break into systems. While a Ethical hacker is someone who does what is called penetration testing and hacks into systems just to identify security flaws and then inform companies to secure those flaws and sometimes providing them with solutions to those flaws as well but he has normally doing it for a security firm who is licensed to do so and has the right or permission of doing so .An individual if doing it all alone by himself would be considered to have committed a crime..To stop or catch a hacker is what can be called ethical hacker as well. In our case study Tsutomu Shimomura is an ethical hacker who used his knowledge to catch a hacker Kevin Mitnick. Kevin Mitnick also nowadays is an ethical hacker who runs his security company and does penetration testing for various organizations but this time having his rights to do it in a legal way and gets paid off well for doing so. Conclusion Information technology has had good and bad impacts as any other technology in the world. In the world of Cybertechnology hacking is the negative side. Kevin Mitnick curiosity for technology lead him in Hacking but what started out as the sake of fun did turn up to be quite disrupting when converted into major form. However being a bit realistic the Decision of FBI holding him solitary confinement for 8 months without bail and trial would be something regarded as unfair for a guy of Kevin caliber since it ¿Ã‚ ½s quite clear that he was a genius. And if a genius is treated this way his bound to go on the run when FBI suspects him later to be committing that crime again even though if he ¿Ã‚ ½s not committed the crime he would be afraid of facing the same thing without bail and would want to run away from it. Psychologist has stated in the documentary movie  ¿Ã‚ ½Freedom Downtime  ¿Ã‚ ½Life of Kevin Mitnick ¿Ã‚ ½ that it was an event which will want each individual to run awa y and that ¿Ã‚ ½s what made him run. And then obviously his bad part took over him of which he evaded FBI for two years. Then again being caught Kevin did not get bail or a trial for 2 years since 1995 and 1997 was again wrong. If Kevin did something wrong he should have been punished after a fair trial which he wasn ¿Ã‚ ½t granted. Besides Lawyer stated in that movie that even murder ¿Ã‚ ½s get bail and trial why not Kevin? Kevin did deserve to be punished for his acts since they were totally unethical at the time but if FBI had use the law in a sincere way maybe Kevin wouldn ¿Ã‚ ½t end up that way and Kevin would have only been sentenced for the time period he deserved. An interesting part of American judiciary is that Kevin is the longest held person in history without trial or bail which can be figured out as to be totally unfair for him. After his sentence and probation of 3 years ending in 2003 Kevin has started a security consulting company and is now offering a role of ethical hacker and using penetration testing to check his clients security flaws and using the code of ethics quite well. His professional approach towards his clients and himself leads us to the fact that he has been using his knowledge now in a positive way to secure his reputation and prove to the entire world that he ¿Ã‚ ½s genius.

Free Essay: The Odor of Chrysanthemums :: Chrysanthemums Essays

The Odor of Chrysanthemums The locomotive engine may be symbolic of Walter. It is an overwhelming thing, strong and powerful, the way that Walter is a huge part of her life. However, it is also impersonable and cold, just as her relationship to her husband is. Her moments with her husband, like "the winding engine" are hurried "with brief pauses" (2113). Lawrence describes their intimacy as an "exchanging of nakedness," but without any real connection for long periods of time. The color red seems to symbolize death. The beginning of the story presents the pit bank with "flames like red sores like its ashy sides" (2111). However, death is not presented as a dreadful thing in this story. In the end, death is freedom for Elizabeth. Even John says, " I do think its beautiful to look in the fire . . . . It's so red, and full of little caves-- and it feels so nice" (2114). In a way, he is commenting on the mystery and beauty of passing on to the afterlife. When Elizabeth goes to look for her husband, there, again, is "The red smear of the burning pit bank on the night (2117). Finally, she lays her dead husband on "the old red tablecloth" (2121). D. H. Lawrence's parents did not have a good marriage. They probably did not know each other well before their marriage, as they were ill-suited for each other. The Bates do not really know one another; they are married but strangers. Lawrence's father was an abusive alcoholic. Walter Bates frequents the public house. Characters: Elizabeth Bates: stifled, long-suffering, distant but caring with her family. John Bates: curious, headstrong. Walter Bates: Insensitive, absent. "Was this what it all meant--utter, intact separateness, obscured by the heat of living?" Elizabeth is questioning the reason for living. Particularly, she is wondering at her own existence. Her life seems to have no meaning and she does not connect with any one, especially her husband. "I have been fighting a husband who did not exist . . .and her soul died in her for fear." Walter did exist, but not as a true husband to her, nor she a true wife to him.

Economic Levels vs. Food Choices

Overtime the ability to make healthy food choices while living in a community of low class Americans has become difficult to do. Poor communities are forced to make unhealthy decisions because they are not offered affordable, organic foods at their neighborhood markets. This causes drastic increases in obesity cases across the country and also sets boundaries between low class and high class.In order to change this, the government needs to construct more markets with broad choices of healthy meals and also offer help to low class citizens with cheaper alternatives of ood of better quality. Income If a single-parent household of six depends on a minimum wage budget, their food choices are affected. With the goal of stretching their budget in order to feed many mouths, they turn to Junk food as an alternative. Although they can buy an excessive amount of cheap food, that cheap food is often high caloric and unhealthy for young children.Many parents disregard the quality of the foods be cause they Just see it as an alimentation they can afford. In other words to many low class families food is scarce and regardless of whether is healthy or not, it keeps they from starvation. Overall, less income leads to more quantities of unhealthy foods and since high class households can afford more pricey organic foods, their food choices increase in quality. Food Availability People start to learn to like foods that are appropriate to their class while they are children. Children's habits are based are what they are taught to eat. †¦ many poor neighborhoods are, indeed, food deserts (as cited in Miller, 2010 pg. 117) and that causes these families to have Junk food and fattening meals at their reach. As opposed to wealthier communities that have many Safeways and Wholefoods vailable in their neighborhoods where they have access to healthy food. This causes obesity to rise mostly in these low income communities because they are so used to driving five minutes to a McDonald s rather than a market that is half an hour away that has foods they cannot even afford.They save themselves the time and humiliation they are put through when they see that the money they spend on a healthy meal that will last two days can be switched for unhealthier food that will fill them faster and last longer. Supermarkets have tried to build markets with organic ood but it comes obvious to investors that if they build one of their properties in a neighborhood that will not be able to buy have their products, they are in for a loss. â€Å"Without access to healthy foods, a nutritious diet and good health are out of reach.And without grocery stores and other fresh food retailers, communities are missing the commercial nubs that make neighborhoods livable, and help local economies thrive. † (The Food Trust Organization, 1992) Expensive Healthy Foods In 2010 CBSNews brought forth an update that explained to Americans the importance of eating healthier for the sake of setti ng an example for younger enerations and the Journal Health Affairs said that â€Å"†¦ if they did that, they would add hundreds more dollars to their annual grocery bill. When informed about this, many low class families dreaded the idea that they would have to do the impossible Just to provide their family with healthier meals. Two children attending the same public school, for example, would differ in the kinds of foods they would be eating for lunch since the child coming from a high class family can afford healthier foods and is used to eating those foods. Some children are exposed to different varieties of meals rowing up and those children mostly grow up in small high class families that have no problem spending more on higher quality meals.Low Class vs. High Class This separation between low class and high class has become more obvious as a decrease in income around the world has come forth. Healthy foods have become a luxury only wealthy families can afford to enjoy.

Essay on Final Complaint and Boys

Essay on Final Complaint and Boys Essay on Final: Complaint and Boys Kaley Aurichio Professor Feig Writing 101 Week 10 Essay 5 They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky is the stories of three boys Benson, Alepho, and Benjamin. As all three of the boys go on the same journey for safety and the hope to be reunited with their family though they share the same journey they have different views and stories. The boys are all different ages and go through different experiences on the journey. Each boy is very different though sometimes it’s hard to tell which boys story you are reading. I found it easier to tell the boys apart in the beginning when they were not together but separate. Though the boys tell very similar stories they also differ in certain accepts because of their different personality. In the beginning of the book you’re introduced to each of the boys Benson, Alepho, and Benjamin where you find out about the boys and their personalities. The voices of the boys while telling their stories differ in the beginning of the book because they all start off with a different life and your learning more about each of the boys then their personalities. As the book goes on their stories become more and more alike and it beings to be hard to tell whose story is whose. Each boy is on a very similar journey and at sometimes they are together experiencing the same things. During those time I found it very difficult to tell each boy apart I normally found myself looking back to see which boys story I was reading. The boys do have some distinguishing characteristics like for example Alehpo complained a lot â€Å"My mother always asked â€Å" if I was not here, who you going to complain to?† I’d say, â€Å"Well I’m going to be complaining to the air yo u know.† (Alepho 12) So when I would hear complaining I normally would assume it was Alepho’s story. While Alepho describe Benson as â€Å"he was quite, always a good boy. He didn’t do silly things.† (Alepho 11) Benson was more serious and was a hard worker that how I could tell it was Benson

Free Essays on Beethoven #3 Symphony

Ludwig Van Beethoven Symphony #3 in E flat Major Eroica# 55 â€Å"It is fitting that this piece had such a powerful impact on the public, for it was inspired by one of the most powerful of men of the day. Beethoven had been a great admirer of Napoleon Bonaparte, whose vanquishing of royalty the composer viewed as heroic. Furthermore, with a concert tour to Paris in the works, the composer may have been considering how to smooth his reception with notoriously capricious Parisian audiences. Whatever the initial inspiration, in 1803 Beethoven complied with a suggestion from the French ambassador to Vienna that he begin a symphony honoring the "First Consul.† He described the piece as his "Bonaparte Symphony," and might have published it under that title, had not events taken a different turn. â€Å" 1 â€Å"In 1804, Napoleon crowned himself Emperor of France, and Beethoven, in a tremendous fury, ripped the title page from the score. According to his friend and student Ferdinand Ries, he stormed that now even his hero had become a tyrant, and that he would not dedicate a symphony to such a person. The symphony's new sub-title, "Eroica," implied more of a general heroism than specific deeds, and its inscription, "composed to celebrate the memory of a great man," seems to refer to the earlier Napoleon, the idealistic young hero who now lived only in memory. When the work was published in 1806, it was dedicated not to Bonaparte, but to Prince Franz Joseph von Lobkowitz, one of Beethoven's most loyal patrons† 1 This turn of events relating to the commission of this symphony just shows how dedicated Beethoven was to his music. He did not want any part in his association with Bonaparte after hearing his election to Emperor of France. â€Å"This must be my favorite symphony. I have over a dozen recordings, more than any other piece of music I own. The first two movements are the most intense, inspirational gauntlets I know. The only ... Free Essays on Beethoven #3 Symphony Free Essays on Beethoven #3 Symphony Ludwig Van Beethoven Symphony #3 in E flat Major Eroica# 55 â€Å"It is fitting that this piece had such a powerful impact on the public, for it was inspired by one of the most powerful of men of the day. Beethoven had been a great admirer of Napoleon Bonaparte, whose vanquishing of royalty the composer viewed as heroic. Furthermore, with a concert tour to Paris in the works, the composer may have been considering how to smooth his reception with notoriously capricious Parisian audiences. Whatever the initial inspiration, in 1803 Beethoven complied with a suggestion from the French ambassador to Vienna that he begin a symphony honoring the "First Consul.† He described the piece as his "Bonaparte Symphony," and might have published it under that title, had not events taken a different turn. â€Å" 1 â€Å"In 1804, Napoleon crowned himself Emperor of France, and Beethoven, in a tremendous fury, ripped the title page from the score. According to his friend and student Ferdinand Ries, he stormed that now even his hero had become a tyrant, and that he would not dedicate a symphony to such a person. The symphony's new sub-title, "Eroica," implied more of a general heroism than specific deeds, and its inscription, "composed to celebrate the memory of a great man," seems to refer to the earlier Napoleon, the idealistic young hero who now lived only in memory. When the work was published in 1806, it was dedicated not to Bonaparte, but to Prince Franz Joseph von Lobkowitz, one of Beethoven's most loyal patrons† 1 This turn of events relating to the commission of this symphony just shows how dedicated Beethoven was to his music. He did not want any part in his association with Bonaparte after hearing his election to Emperor of France. â€Å"This must be my favorite symphony. I have over a dozen recordings, more than any other piece of music I own. The first two movements are the most intense, inspirational gauntlets I know. The only ...

Drugs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Drugs - Essay Example In addition, there is the focus on the population and trends of drug use. The trend is commonly established from students as the vulnerable population. The data gained is said to help in determining the prevalence and associated risk. The chapter also highlights various surveys done on trends in drug use. One credible source is shown to be National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). The chapter also highlights factors related to drug use. These factors are shown as gender, race and ethnicity, level of education, personality, and genetics. Moreover, the chapter highlights factors that may motivate an individual to use the drug. Chapter 2 largely focuses on problems related to drug use and few issue of law in relation to drugs. The section shows how laws have changed in the United States concerning issues related to drugs. The main concerns for law were the danger posed by drugs, habit from drug use, and increasing levels of crime in the country. The chapter also highlights toxicity related to drugs. There is also focus on networks involved in collecting information on drug related emergency. One of such network is said to be Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN). The chapter also highlights problems related to drugs. Such problems are listed as addiction, disorders, dependence, and involvement in crime. There is also justification on reasons for drugs

Insight into the Stagnant Performance of Textile Industry in Pakistan Literature review

Insight into the Stagnant Performance of Textile Industry in Pakistan - Literature review Example Pakistan is a major player globally in the textile industry. The textile industry in Pakistan can be traced back to its origins in 1947. In 1947, the country produced approximately 1.1 million bales of cotton (Iqbal 2010). Over the years, the production of cotton has increased to reach over twelve million bales in 2010. The country has also diversified its cotton products to increase the quality and quantity of products that are exported. For instance, Pakistan textile industry has increased the quantity of ready made garments that are exported. However, the textile industry in Pakistan has been faced with numerous challenges. One of the issues that have affected the textile industry in the country is the stagnation in the amount of textile products that are exported (Channar & Nannik 2010). Also, other Asian countries such as Bangladesh and China have become fierce competitors in the textile industry. Due to these challenges, it is necessary for the Pakistan textile industry to reinvent itself in order to improve the quantity and quality of cotton products so as to stay competitive. The study would evaluate the current status of the Pakistan textile industry and globally. The research will examine the global market and production of cotton and cotton related products in to contextualize the situation in Pakistan. The rapid globalization of the world economies has made all countries to be intertwined such as that international issues significantly affect national economies. The research will also look at the amount of investment that Pakistan has dedicated to the development of the textile industry in the country. The research aims to evaluate the factors that have led to the stagnation of the Pakistan textile industry with a view of answering the research objectives. A critical understanding of the issues affecting the growth of the textile industry will help the