Standardization of Accounting Regulations Essay

Standardization of Accounting Regulations - Essay Example As a result of this, the effect of standardization of accounting must be regarded beyond capital market settings; therefore, these effects should also be examined on other areas, including flows of information, policies and people. Although the way standardization of accounting affects accounting information more especially on the internet is rather vague, these transfers are relatively unstructured and unregulated in current accounting practices. "However, technologies in accounting are legitimizing certain sets of information, and give attention to certain voices in the quest for global attention." (Graham & Neu, 2003) Such a body is the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), it assist the international governments handle tackle the economic, social, and governance challenges of a global economy. They scrutinize government and help examine such performance indicators as laundering, transportation, and pension. Also, they help to review process performance measurements both to observe and to direct government performance. The funding of internet information is provided largely by the U.S Department of Defense in the 1970s and 1980s, for the purpose of developing advance communications networks linking the U.S. militaries and universities, this is shaped by standardized accounting in the development of informational technical infrastructure. "Some other agencies that have helped fund Internet communication, like (The National Science Foundation and the Advanced Research Projects Agency) have also relied on accounting technologies to balance technical and economic goals." (Graham & Neu, 2003) Flow of policy Standardization of accounting has also helped to regulate foreign policies; accounting practices are most times imposed on distant sites. By and through the terms of lending conditionality, the receiving counties are coerced, albeit co-operatively, to adopt and accept mainstream neo-liberal financial policies. This scenario is evident in most third world where they are made to abide by the conditions of the lending countries. And I such cases financial assistance is given by IMF. Accounting technologies make visible certain problems, offer certain solutions, and make these solutions operational. In most cases, practices from international sources are thus mixed with resident financial practices of the country in concern so that the problem could be solved. Ultimately, this flow of policies will produced economic survival. Flow of people The standardization of Accounting has helped to keep track of people as they move from area to area. Movement of people are monitored and analyzed as they cross borders, and accounting is deemed to be a major player in the immigration policies and practices of many countries. For instance, an accounting system which manages loans to immigrants is in operation Canada. Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) makes loans to immigrants in order to assist them in various ways, and such includes transportation, proving admissibility, and general assistance (Government of Canada, 2003, as cited in Graham & Neu, 2003). Thus, the movement of people into Canada are enabled and enhanced by accounting technologies. More also, these people are monito

Defining the Nature of Happiness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Defining the Nature of Happiness - Essay Example The happier you are, the better your life is going for you. Yet the nature of happiness remains controversial. Some claim that happiness is fundamentally a matter of sensory pleasure and pain - if you are experiencing a favorable balance of pleasurable sensations over painful ones, you are happy. Others say that to be happy is to be getting your desires satisfied, whatever these desires may be. Still others say that to be happy is to be satisfied with your life as a whole."1 There are many ways which a person can do to himself to feel happy. Everybody is in the pursuit of happiness and in my view there is no way that person feel ultimate happiness. Some aspect of art and some of science are necessary for sense happiness for short time period. Nothing is forever neither happiness; it doesn't mean that the person feel guilty or sad because of that thing which made him happy. Everybody after sometime will have new aim to fulfill which they think will make them happy. Satisfaction leads to happiness, so in whatever condition we are we should do ignore our bigger aims and concentrate on little things which will make us happy on daily basis. We should count all our blessings and write it in a journal which will give you satisfaction. You should practice some acts of kindness like give charity or help someone genuinely. Relish joys of life, remember all the good moments of your life which will make you smile in less happy moments. If there is a mentor who has helped you in any way which had made things better in your life, thank him. Forgive a person who has hurt you by writing an email or giving him a phone call and it will help you a lot to move on. Personal relationship should be developed like visit family or spend time with friends; you will not feel lonely and sad. There is nobody who hasn't seen hardships of life, so religion will be your savior and believe in 'this shall too pass'. You have to take a lot of care of your body because healthy life is necessary to be happy, irregular timings of sleeps and meals will lead to sickness and you will be worried. Take plenty of sleep, practice smiling and exercise to feel better3. One of the greatest delusions related to happiness is that one need money to be happy. But if you study people around then you will feel there is not much truth in it, as rich people do not automatically become happy if they get money and poor people do not automatically unhappy if they don't get money4. Another big misconception about happiness is that one needs someone else to be happy. Happiness comes from within oneself and a person can himself control their happiness. The third big misconception about being happy is that one needs to be lucky to be happy. Happiness doesn't depend on luck. Happiness is to open oneself to happiness and to look for places where one can find happiness. So one should have a positive approach towards life; one should not wait for happiness to come to them but you have to open your life to be happy. There are many realistic benefits which can cultivate higher levels of personal importance, satisfaction and happiness, besides just "feeling

ICT Security Issues And Concerns

ICT Security Issues And Concerns ICT security issues and concerns are becoming more prevalent and increasingly complex as the pace of technology implementation continues to accelerate. How this phenomenon has affected the public sector and the private sector in our country. Discuss Each e-government project has its own version of the framework, where elements within the four components may differ according to the individuals agencys business or technical needs. List and explain the function of the components. 1.0 Introduction: ICT is the technology needed for information processing, in general, the use of electronic computers, software applications and communication devices to convert, retrieve, transmit, process, protect and store information from anytime, anywhere. Information and communications technology also known as (ICT) it is the sectors that process information which includes capturing, transmitting, and displaying information using electronic systems. Information communication technology sectors dont stop transforming our everyday life and economy. This sectors Core industries contain: Communications systems contain broadcasting, cable / broadband, telecommunications, and other program that distributes the systems. Computer systems including, network engineering, robotics, electronics, technical support and computer engineering. Software and digital media contains Internet security, web portals, web design, data management, computer animation, simulations, computer games, video games and computer programming. Information communication technology is the technology that needed for information processing such as for the creation, manipulation, storage, retrieval and communication of information. They are of immense value in a world in which there is an information explosion, and where knowledge is complex, ever-changing and cross-disciplinary in nature. Many of the skills of ICT are important aspects of Information Literacy, which relates to the ability to select, organise, analyse and use information effectively. Quick and effective access to information is regarded as essential for everyone in contemporary society; and the ability to construct knowledge from the information gathered has become crucial in Hong Kongs knowledge-based society. Citizens in the 21st century need to understand and be able to use ICT in order to function efficiently in modern society. To maintain the competitiveness of Hong Kong in the world economy, we need to develop interest and nurture talent in our students i n this area. The importance of ICT does not lie in the technology as such, but in its enabling function for access to knowledge and for communication with others. Rapid advances in ICT have continued to drive economic change, restructure businesses, affect education and employment, and contribute significantly to growth and wealth creation. (NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA) 2.0 Answer Question 1: Ways severely harm your businesss effect 2.1 Virus: Computer viruses may be benign and result only in amusement or slight annoyance. The best known examples of such a virus are some versions of the Stoned virus which simply write Your computer is stoned on the monitor. Other viruses are more malignant and malicious, destroying or altering data. Once a virus is active in a host computer, the infection can spread rapidly throughout a network to other systems. A virus may attach itself to other programs and hide in them. Or it may infiltrate the computers operating system. All computer operating systems, (for example, MS- and PCDOS, Unix and Macintosh OS) are vulnerable, some more than others. Viruses enter computer systems from an external software source. Just as flowers are attractive to the bees that pollinate them, virus host programs are deliberately made attractive to victims. Often the attraction will be a new game made available for downloading from a computer bulletin board. Or it may be disguised as an executable file attached to an electronic mail message from a friend or business associate. Aside from viruses, there are other threats to user systems, including: Worm and Logic Bombs. (McAFEE Network Security Management) 2.1.2 Worm: Viruses are far from the only maverick programs that can disrupt a computer system. Worms are constructed to infiltrate genuine data processing programs and destroy or alter the data. Often what people believe is a virus infection is, in fact, a worm program. This is not as serious because worms do not replicate themselves. But the damage caused by a worm attack can be just as serious as a virus, especially if not discovered in time. For example, suppose a worm program instructs a banks computer to transfer funds to an illicit account. The fund transfers may continue even after the worm is destroyed. However, once the worm invasion is discovered, recovery is much easier because there is only a single copy of the worm program to destroy since the replicating ability of the virus is absent. This capability may enable it to re-infect a system several times. A worm is similar to a benign tumour while a virus is like a malignant one. (NC STATE UNIVERSITY) 2.1.3 Logic Bombs: Writing a logic bomb program is similar to creating a Trojan Horse. Both also have about the same ability to damage data, too. Logic bombs include a timing device so it will go off at a particular date and time. The Michelangelo virus is embedded in a logic bomb, for example. Other virus programs often include coding similar to that used in logic bombs, but the bombs can be very destructive on their own, even if they lack the ability of the virus to reproduce. One logic bomb caused major problems in the Los Angeles water departments system. Logic bombs are usually timed to do maximum damage. That means the logic bomb is a favoured device for revenge by disgruntled former employees who can set it to activate after they have left the company. One common trigger occurs when the dismissed employees name is deleted from payroll records. On one occasion, a student left a logic bomb timed to explode and wipe out his universitys records well after he had collected his degree and was long gone. This example illustrates the pernicious nature of logic bombs which can be written literally decades before they explode. (Virus Removal Support) 2.1.4 Phishing: The phishing is a common term for the creation and utilize by criminals of websites and e-mails, created to show people they come from well-known, trusted businesses and legitimate, government agencies and financial institutions attempt to gather personal, sensitive information and financial information. These criminals scam Internet users into disclosing their financial and bank information or other personal data for example passwords and usernames, or into unwittingly downloading malicious computer code onto their computers that can allow the criminals subsequent access to those computers or the users financial accounts. Nowadays most people wont reveal their credit card number, password and bank account to just anyone, extra action need to be taken by the phishers to trick their victims into giving up this information. Most of people trust automatic processes nowadays, believing them to be free from human error. However, many messages claim that a computerized audit or other automated process has revealed that something is amiss with the victims account. The victim is more likely to believe that someone has been trying to break into his account than believe that the computer doing the audit made a mistake. (HowStuffWorks, Inc ) 2.1.5 Pharming Besides, there is another threat called Pharming. Pharming means using technical means to redirect of an individual to an illegitimate entity, typically is Web site. Pharming collects personal information via redirecting Internet domain name of people requested to false Web sites. The sites can collect the information and there may be used to commit fraud and identity theft. For instance, an Internet user wishes to log in to his personal online banking account via the banking website, he/she is not really accessing the banks Web site if he/she was redirected to an illegitimate Web . Static domain name spoofing: A person or entity, normally called Pharmer, who tricks Internet users into inadvertently visiting the pharming Web site with advantage of slight misspellings of the domain names. For instance, a pharmer may use maybnk.com instead of maybank.com to redirect user. (Websense, Inc.) 2.1.6 Hacker: A hacker is someone who experts using electronics or computer systems and professional in programming. Hackers like to learn and explore how computer systems function and finding method to make them do what they do better, or do things they werent intended to do. Hacker is separate in two types which is White Hat and Black Hat: White Hat: These are considered the good guys and computer security experts. White hat hackers do not use their hacking skills to hack other people computer or some illegal purposes. They normally help other users protect from the black hats. Black Hat: These are considered the bad guys and they like to hack into other people computer to steal information such as deface websites, steal credit cards or hack bank. Black hat hackers like to use their hacking skills to do bad things for illegal purposes. A hacker can easily hack in the computer to steal information and look into the private things. The benign hacker is the person who likes to get into his/her own computer and understand how it works. The malicious hacker is the person who likes getting into other peoples systems. The benign hackers wish that the media would stop bad-mouthing all hackers and use the term attacker instead. (Introduction to Ethical Hacking) 3.0 Answer Question 2: E-Government: Terms used in this research are defined in this section to facilitate smooth and clear reading for all categories of readers. Some of the terms defined are e-Government, e-Government value chain and stakeholders, effective e-Government, and efficient e-Government. A number of definitions for e-Government have been offered in existing literature. Many terms such as digital government, inter-networked government (Tapscott, 1995) and government online has been used. The researcher deems all these terms to be synonymous. E-Government in simplest terms can be described as the use of ICT within government to make operations more efficient, improve quality of service and offer an easy access for citizens to government information and services (Kraemer and King, 2003). Kraemer also cited that Senators Lieberman and Thompson defined e-Government as a wayto better use IT advances to achieve greater effectiveness and to provide citizens easy, electronic access to government programs, services and information. (Axelsson, Karin, Linkà ¶ping University) The term e-Government also refers to the planned and coordinated use of ICT to strengthen the core functions of public institutions. Not every computer in use in the public sector amounts to e-Government. When electronic data processing emerged on a more widespread basis, its initial focus was on isolated and targeted modernization efforts in a limited number of key sectors. Today, however, the focus is on the networking of workplaces, administrations, and political institutions as well as on Information and Communications Technology based communication with customers or citizens. This calls for concepts that are geared to integrating the modernization goals and investment planning of various institutions and based on a thorough examination and analysis of service portfolios and the demand for public services. The implementation of e-Government requires strong leadership and a vision. It also requires a comprehensive strategy that is not only benchmarked on global best practices, but also sensitive to existing political and economic conditions and realities. For E-Government to become a reality, governments, in consultation with stakeholders, should follow a common nationwide strategic framework, which articulates the governments vision, targets and milestones, technical approach and standards for e-Government systems. Such a framework should also address information privacy, security, maintenance, and interface standards. (Axelsson, Karin, Linkà ¶ping University) 3.1 Four main components of E-Government: An implementation framework is designed to guide and manage the execution of the E-Government strategy. This framework is an adaptation of Accentures Business Integration Framework and can be broken down into four main components which are Programme Management, Technology, Process, and Strategy. Each E-Government project has its own version of the framework, where elements within the four components may differ according to the individual agencys business or technical needs. 3.1.1 Programme Management: The Program manager of E-Government chooses an initiative to be implemented and establish the strategy and goals that is aimed at accomplishing through this initiative. Next, the government agency that would lead this initiative is identified and agreed upon. The agreement or commitment gained from the chosen agency and governing body, acts as the green-light to go ahead with the implementation. With this, the project committee can begin to assess the policies that are dependent on the initiative. Policy amendments that are possibly required are highlighted. The framework is where all the planning processes are placed. A project plan will be planned and documented by the Program managers. Functional areas that will be targeted are identified. Critical success factors for this initiative are identified in order to maintain a focus on the objective and goals. Policies that were identified to be amended will be planned for according to relevant standards and regulations. New infrastructure that will be required are identified, planned for and scoped. With the policies in place, the program managers would now need to assess whether in-house skills and staffing resources are sufficient. Otherwise, alternatives such as short-term contracting and outsourcing would have to be selected. This is where procurement planning comes into place. (Roslind Kaur) 3.1.2 Technology: Although e-Government is often defined as online government or Internet-based government, many non-Internet based e-Government technologies can be named in this context, including telephone, fax, personal digital assistants (PDA), short messaging service (SMS), multimedia messaging service (MMS), and third-generation technology (3G), general packet radio service (GPRS), WiFi, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) and Bluetooth. Other technologies can include closed-circuit television (CCTV), tracking systems, radio-frequency identification (RFID),road traffic management, biometric identification, and regulatory enforcement, smart cards, identity cards, and other communication applications, polling station technology (for non-online e-voting), television and radio-based delivery of government services, online chat, electronic mailing lists and newsgroup, online community facilities, email, and other messaging technologies. Other aspects of technology to be considered in the implementation of e-Government are enablement, interoperability such as the e-Government interoperability framework (e-GIF) and semantic web issues, legacy technology, and implications for software choices (open source or proprietary software, and suitable programming languages). (OOH KIM LEAN) 3.1.3 Process: In contrast to traditional government processes, e-Government is characterized by extensive use of communication technology, the impersonal nature of the online environment and the ease of information can be collected (data-mining), processed and used by multiple parties (Warkentin, Gefen, Pavlou Rose, 2002). However, e-Government has the implicit uncertainty of using an open technological infrastructure for transaction via the newness of the communication medium interact with a government website. This would indirectly increase the spatial and temporal separation between citizens and government; more uncertainty and concern about the reliability of the underlying Internet and related government infrastructure interfaces. As overall these unique differences increase uncertainty and reduce perception of citizen control, imposing a barrier to e-Government adoption. (OOH KIM LEAN) A number of research papers in e-Government were published in recent years to help practitioners to improve government service quality, responsiveness, convenience and accessibility to both citizens in urban and rural area. Their effort can be categorized into few issues: (i) The concept, theories, history, structure, initiatives, policy, key principles, impact, challenges, and development success factors of e-Government; (ii) The technology application, 13knowledge spillover, innovative efforts and approach to facilitate e-Government implementation and evaluation; (iii) Management support or implementation strategies such as framework for managing the lifecycle of transactional e-Government services to facilitating the e-Government services. To provide more intuitive and maintainable lifecycle for electronic tax submission (one of the e-government service to citizens), government must overcome shortcoming happen during the lifecycle such as implicit knowledge, user interaction, code reusability, communication with back-end system, business reengineering required to upgrade to workflow flexibility and resolve security issue (Vassilakis, Laskaridis, Lepouras, Rouvas Georgiadis 2003) (iv) the assessment, measurement of e-Government services provided to public sector and its effects on economic, social benefits of the implementation; (v) key factors affecting acceptance , expectation and usage intention of e-Government services. (OOH KIM LEAN) 3.1.4 Strategy: The process of adopting advanced ICT solutions for the transformation of e-government faces many challenges. Due to the complex nature of these projects and the sheer number of stakeholders involved, effective visualization and management of such initiatives is highly critical but needs to be simple in order to accelerate understanding off and buy in into the framework. However it is important that the framework represent all important aspects of the e-government strategy. That said, despite years of governmental efforts to implement e-government initiatives, there are no commonly established methods and frameworks for the visualization of an overarching e-government strategy. A comprehensive framework needs to account for how the different supporting and impeding forces impacting projects being implemented as a part of such a strategy. Given that such a framework will also have a long lifecycle and encompass a broad scope, the framework also needs to remain applicable regardless of changes in the environment. As most projects go through much iteration of technical and process changes, any changes within the ecosystem should not risk the validity of the strategy framework. Hence the framework needs to be adaptable to changing environments and should be defined in a technology neutral manner. Such an approach will also allow the framework to act as the bridge between decision makers and implementers, thus reducing the mismatch between the expected versus realized outcomes. (Roslind Kaur) 4.0 Conclusion and Recommendation: In my opinion, Information is the life wire of todays business organizations, institutions and industries. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) covers all advanced technologies in manipulating and communicating information. Information is an organized, meaningful and useful interpretation of data. However, Information and Communication Technologies is very important and much of benefit. Viruses are designed to proliferate and propagate. This means each and every contact between your system and any other system is an opportunity for infection. That can include floppy disks and contacts via modem (or other network connection). Be especially careful of users who frequently use a number of different systems outside your company. Hacker is also dangerous to all the computer users, a hacker can easily hack in the computer to steal information and look into the private thing. Governments around the world have pursed e-government programs seeking to electronically govern internal and external operations and to provide coherence between the various administrative government units so that they work to complement and complete each other. However, and despite the fact that many governments have injected substantial investments, most e-government initiatives in our view have not delivered the transformation environment sought from their implementation. This research study was developed to support the United Arab Emirates in pursuing its objective towards e-government transformation. It presented an innovative framework developed from a government practitioners viewpoint and in light of the existing literature in the field. The recommended approach is an amalgamation of learnings from various e-governments initiatives across the globe.

The Shifting of Pangea :: essays research papers

The Shifting of Pangea Have you ever noticed that a map of the world looks like a puzzle and the continents look like the pieces that would fit together to complete the puzzle.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1912, Alfred Wegener, a German scientist and an adventurer, came up with a theory that the continents had once been part of a â€Å"supercontinent†. Wegener proposed that, over 200 million years, what he called Pangea had separated and became individual pieces. Pangea means â€Å"all lands† in Greek, and that is what Pangea was, a very large landmass when all of the continents were connected. When Wegener first proposed this idea in 1912, people did not buy into this theory. One of the problems that Wegener faced was that he believed that the continents had drifted apart, but he couldn’t explain how they had drifted apart. Another problem was that there was a theory already in place called the â€Å"Contraction Theory†. This theory stated that the Earth was once a molten ball and in the process of cooling, the surface cracked and folded up on itself. One of the problems with this theory was that it suggests that all mountain ranges w ere the same age, and this could not be true. Wegner’s explanation was that continents shifted and these shifting plates would collide, encounter resistance from one another, compress, then fold upwards to form mountains near the edges of the plates.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Eons ago India and an ancient ocean called the Tethys Ocean sat on a tectonic plate. This place was shifting northward towards Asia at a rate of 10 centimeters per year. The ocean got progressively smaller unit about 55 million years ago when it collided with Asia. There was no more ocean left of lubricate the subduction and so the plates formed the High Plateau of Tibet and the Himalayan Mountains.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Evidence that Pangea may have existed can be found in land animals, vegetation, mountains, and the climate. Fossils and plants that are the same, can be found on different continents, across oceans. Assuming that the land was once connected, animals could have walked across the large land mass and not have to swim. For example, the mesosauras (a land animal) could not have traveled from South America to Africa because of the Atlantic Ocean. Yet, there are fossils of this animal on both continents. Another example is there are trees in South America, Africa, India, Australia, and Antarctica that are of the same origin.

Internet Marketing

1. What makes marketing on the Internet different from other forms of direct marketing media? The Internet is an interactive marketing medium for direct marketers offering information access and two-way communication with customers in real time via the computer. Interactivity is what makes marketing on the Internet different from other forms of direct marketing media. 2. What are some advantages of interactive media? i) Wide reach-The internet reaches a worldwide audience of millions of consumers and enables small companies and entrepreneurs to be transformed into global entities instantaneously. i) Convenience-The Internet is almost like a global trade show that is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and any time of the day or night. iii) Low cost- Direct marketers pay for the Internet based on local phone access, not on how widely they distribute their message. iv) Flexibility- he Internet offers great flexibility and permits changes in offers and direct response communications ins tantly, instead of waiting until the next printed catalog is published to change prices or other features. 3. Explain the evolution of e-business. Stage 1:Brochureware- In this stage, organizations began to use the Internet as a bulletin board for brochures, employee telephone directories, and over time for more critical documents such as catalogs and price lists. Stage 2:Customer Interactivity-This next phase is when companies created an interactive dialogue with their customers, encouraging them to inquire, request, register, and online. Stage 3:Transaction Enabler- In this stage, companies began using the Internet to expand transaction. selling products, procuring supplies , enabling internal processes) Stage 4:One-to-one Relationships- This is when the Internet began to be used to create customized silors of interactivity. Because web technology allows companies to deal with customers on a one-to-one basis, product pricing became fluid, dictated by individual customers, often in an auction process. Stage 5:Real-Time organizations-Zero latency organizations are able to plan, execute, a nd aggregate buyers and sellers in a virtual arena. These companies understand customer needs and deliver value in real-time. Stage 6: Communities of Interests( COINS)- The Internet helps companies create communities of common interests that closely link various partners in a value chain. Example, eBay where consumers who possess common needs or interests can competitively bid on a given product. 4. What are the requirements of interactive media? i) Consumers must be able to control when they view the products and which types of products they are viewing. i) Consumers must be able to control the pace at which they review products. iii) Consumers must able to place an order or request additional information directly via the medium rather than having to order through another method. 5. How has technology changed marketing research? Technology has made marketing information readily available, easy to access, current and relevant marketing activity. Much of the information available online, such as government reports, is free of charge, w hich enables marketers of any size to access and obtain this valuable market data. The main cost involved in conducting online market research is the human resource costs, because it requires manpower to surf the Web and identify and download relevant information. 6. What are four of the many strategies to maximize â€Å"click-through† rates? i) Ask for the click-through action- The easiest way to increase click-through is to simply ask for it. ii) Animate a banner advertisement- Animation increase the likelihood that the advertisement will draw the user’s attention and also generates more clicks than static banners, all else being equal. ii) Involve the audience- Engage the viewers to allow them to personalize advertising to their needs. Involving the viewer allows the advertiser to get to know them better, one of the primary goals of direct marketing. iv) Change creative messages frequently- The nature of the Internet means that responses occur quickly, on the first few impressions. 7. Discuss some of the strategies companies use to increase Web site traffic. i) Ask and you shall receive. Ask visitors to bookmark the web site. i) Offer a chat room or provide a bulletin board to open communication among consumers and give them a reason to come back. iii) Create an e-business card that accompanies each e-mail message. Be sure to include the URL in hyperlink format. 8. Identify and explain the three different types of search engine marketing. i) paid placement- Sometimes referred to as † pay-per-click† (PPC) or â€Å"cost-per-click† (CPC) paid placement advertising uses text ads targeted to keyword search results on search engines through programs such as Google AdWords and Yahoo. i) paid inclusion- paid inclusion entails the practice of paying a fee to search engine and similar types of sites such as directories or shopping comparison sites, so that a given web site or web pages may be included in the service's directory, although not necessaril y in exchange for a particular position in search engine listings. iii) Organic search engine optimization- This form of optimization includes the use of a variety of techniques to improve how well a site or page gets listed in search engines for particular search topics. 9. Name some of the characteristics that make a blog an effective tool for marketers. Provide an example of a blog that you think is especially creative. Characteristics that make a blog an effective tool for marketers i) Keep It Simple-Don't get caught up in the length of your posts. They don't have to be long. They can be random thoughts or tidbits of news regarding your industry. The key is to make them interesting. ii) Fast-loading pages: A page should load in 20 seconds or less via dial-up; at more than that, you'll lose more than half of your potential visitors. ii) Quality photography: A simple way to increase visual appeal is to use high quality photography. High quality product images are especially important for online retailers. An example, Twitter is the fastest growing network with more than a 40% increase in active users over the last 9 months , Facebook continues to grow with more than a 37% increase in active users from 2012 to 2013 and Google is not far behind in growth with 35% growth in 9 months. 10. What are some positive and negative characteristics of mobile marketing? Positive characteristics of mobile marketing : ) Personalization: Marketers can personalize text messages based on the consumers’ local time, location, and preferences e. g. , directions to the nearest vegetarian restaurant open at the time of request. ii) Location: Mobile phones amplify two key arguments for electronic commerce, location independence and ubiquity. Consumers increasingly expect tailored and location-based services, thereby underlining the importance of personalized mobile marketing. Negative characteristics of mobile marketing: i) Mobile is hot. Mobile’s high penetration and usage means there’s a lot of clutter and competition. Internet Marketing The effectiveness of social media advertising by means of using Facebook by Practical 2 presented to the Cape Peninsula University of Technology in Partial fulfilment of the requirements for the subject of Advertising and Sale Promotions of the National Diploma: Marketing in the Faculty of Business at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology Lecturer: Campus: Cape Town Due date: Declaration I, Tom Brown (210000007), declare that the contents of this assignment represent my own unaided work, and that the assignment has not previously been submitted for academic examination towards any qualification.Furthermore, it represents my own opinions and not necessarily those of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. SignedDate Table of Contents Declarationii 1. Social media advertising effectiveness†¦ (full title)1 1. 1Internet usage in SA 1 1. 2Social media 1 1. 3Instant messaging (social networks for Facebook) 1 1. 4Facebook 1 1. 5Advertising/marketing communications on Faceboo k 1 1. 6Current research on Facebook 1 1. 7Generation Z 1 1. 8Hierarchy response models 1 Reference list2 Appendices Appendix A: Safe Assign report 3Appendix B: Integrating multimedia semantic content analysis of MXit 4 Appendix C: The talk uploaded: MXit and the technicity of the body 5 Appendix D: Fat stigmatization on MXit: A content analysis 6 Appendix E: Flaming on MXit 7 Appendix F: MXit, Critical Pedagogy, and Media Activism 8 Appendix G: MXit as a source of information 9 Appendix H: MXit: an opportunity for consumer narrative analysis 10 Appendix: I: Advertising Effectiveness and marketing Potential on MXit 11 Appendix J: Predicting the Determinants of Users’ Intentions for using MXit 12 Appendix K: Social Interaction with MXit 13 1.The effectiveness of social media advertising by means of using Facebook 1. 1Internet usage in SA A resent study has shown 6. 8% (6,800,000 people) of South Africans have access to the internet and 4,822,820 are Facebook users. ( www. inte rnetworldstats. com ). 39% of urban South Africans are using their mobile phones to access the internet. That is 20 million South Africans aged 16 and older. (Anonymous, 2011). 1. 2Social media Social media (also known as social networking) is the share of information and resources as a result in the communication by people, made possible by different online technology tools.This can be done by means of text, online video, blogs, images, podcasts, and other multimedia communication. (Doyle, n/d ) 1. 3Instant messaging (social networks for Facebook) Instant messaging is a feature of facebook that allows you to send or share information with your Facebook friends. The feature can be used at any time to communicate with other people on facebook. There is a bar on the right bottom corner of the screen where one can choose with whom one wants to connect and communicate with. (Reiss, 2010) 1. 4Facebook Facebook is the most popular Social network website on a global scale (www. cmag. com) and second most popular social media website in South Africa (The Mobility 2011 research project). Facebook is a free site that makes most of it’s revenue by means of advertising. The site was first used as a means for Harvard students to get acquainted , but in 2006 the sit became available to everyone who wanted to join. The site has over 500 million users. (http://www. pcmag. com) 1. 5Advertising/marketing communications on Facebook Facebook has a number of advantages and disadvantages to use for your business.Some of the focus Facebook can provide is on branding, customer engagement, reputation management, new customer acquisition, client retention, to drive web traffic to your website, the viral effect, a feedback mechanism, brand repositioning. (Jody, n/d) Because Facebook makes marketing fast and easy, it means that the company should keep up with marketing trends. â€Å"It can also act like a media to leverage your brand and get more authority so users can trust you. † ( Anderson, n/d) 1. 6Current research on Facebook Companies or everyday users can collect data from facebook pages that they have created, through means of Facebook polls.The polls are a graphical illustration of the people who visit your page. It illustrates active page visits and users, showing their age, gender, geographic location, giving one the ability to strategically improve ones marketing mix and to identify the target audience. (facebook. com, n/d) 1. 7Generation Y In a resent study showed that the majority of the generation Y, in South Africa, prefer Facebook over other social media mediums. As a result Google lost a 50% of their market share to facebook, due to user choosing Facebook as a search engine over Google.Mxit is still more popular than Facebook, but lack the loyalty Facebook users. The study shows people spend five times more hours on Facebook than on Mxit. Further studies have shown that generation Y, when given a choice, will choose the Internet over magazines, cell phones over using the Internet and tertiary education over using their cell phones. (Saunders, n/d) 8. Hierarchy response models REFERENCE LIST Doyle, A. n. d. cial Media-Socia Media Definition. http://jobsearch. about. com/od/networking/g/socialmedia. htm [1April 2011]. Fakhar, K. 2009.Benefits of Marketing Through MXit. http://webupon. com/marketing/benefits-of-marketing-through-MXit/#ixzz1I4mh0DZG [30 March 2011]. Haridakis, P. & Hanson, G. 2009. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media. Social Interaction and Co-Viewing with MXit: 317-318, March 30. Laco, A. 2010. History of MXit. http://www. articlealley. com/article_1482289_81. html? ktrack=kcplink [30 March 2011]. Smith, D. 2010. Five million now online as web access grows in South Africa. http://www. guardian. co. uk/world/2010/jan/14/internet-five-million-south-africa [1April 2011]. Verna, P. 010. Pros and Cons for MXit’s Business in 2010. http://www. emarketer. com/blog/index. php/pros-cons-MXit-b usiness-2010/ [31 March 2011]. Ward, S. n. d. Social Media Definition. http://sbinfocanada. about. com/od/socialmedia/g/socialmedia. htm [30 March 2011]. Zawarski, Z. 2010. Happy 5th Birthday MXit. http://www. zadling. com/2010/05/happy-5th-birthday-MXit/ [31 March]. Appendix A: SafeAssign Report Appendix B: Integrating multimedia semantic content analysis of MXit Only attached the first page! Appendix C: The talk uploaded: MXit and the technicity of the body, etc, etc†¦

Cancer Diary of Osteosarcoma

SUBMITTED BY: ARAGAW GEBEYEHU SUBMITTED: DR. FLORES ROZAS DATE OF SUBMISSION: 04/16/1801/26/12 My name is osteosarcoma. I am highly malignant tumor of mesenchymal origin and the second most common primary malignant bone tumor .I am originate from mesenchymal cells. I have spindle shape and hyper chromatic nucleus. I have been formed when osteoblasts cells secreted malignant osteoid. I am like osteoblast (bone forming) cells, but I cannot make strong matrix like them. You know that osteoblasts originate from immature mesenchymal stem cells. So my ancestors are from those. But I am already modified in to osteosarcoma cell. I can occur at any bones found in the body. I am more frequent at sites of the most rapid bone growth; those are extremities of long bones near metaphyseal growth plates. From the sites that I frequently choose ;distal and proximal end of femur (42%),proximal end of tibia(19%), proximal end of humerus (10%), pelvis skull and jaw(85%) and pelvis( 8%). I can be appearing 1 to 3 million people per year. Off course, I am rare compared to other types of cancer. I can attack any age as primary osteosarcoma but mostly between 10-25yrs. I can also come at older individuals as secondary osteosarcoma. I affect males little bit more than females. I am most common in patients with Fraumeni syndrome, Rothmund-Thomson syndrome, Bloom and Werner syndromes. Exposing to Paget disease and ionizing radiation give favorable conditions for me to develop our colony. Fig 1. Osteosarcoma genesis and osteogenesis When I was changing to osteosarcoma, there was a mutations of MDM2 amplifications which led to p53 gene inactivation. Another controller gen which is called retinoblastoma (RB) genes was also altered. I become safe because there is no more check point and control for me .But the normal bone cells have several check points in their cell cycle. In the presence of RB mutations I will occur at an incidence 500 times that of the normal population. Normal cells are always worrying for G1/S check point but I am not, because the p53 and Rb genes are already mutated (lost their function). I am preparing more DNA and for that I am also synthesizing mRNA and important proteins. During my replication time I gained chromosome number 1 and lost chromosome 9, 10 and 13. Till now I am successfully dividing and I am forming other similar cells. In near future I will have my own colony of cells and my own sarcoma tissues01//14/2014As usual I was preparing to divide but the proteins detected a damage in my DNA. The damage was too big to be repaired. Even if it is bigger damage I will not go to programmed cell death called apoptosis. Because this is not my character. My only goal is to survive and proliferate more. This is my unique behavior. Of course I was not like this, I was following the normal path of cell cycle and programed cell death. This thing happened after I lost my DNA sequence that triggers cell death pathway.5/18/15Recently I got another mutations and my FOS and Jun proteins are up regulated. Those proteins are components of activator protein1 complex (AP-1). AP-1 his regulator of cell transcription. Now I am getting additional energy because my transcription regulators are out of service. I can proliferate freely and destroy bone cortex and extend towards bone marrow cavity and soon out wards towards adjacent soft tissues.10/17/15I am now thinking why not I visit other organs. I have information lung, liver and also other bones are the safe place and more fertile to me . When I become more organize, I can migrate and live there. I am already resistant to programed cell death (anoikis) and can exhibit anchorage independent growth (AIG). Abnormal integrin? v6, Rho, ATPase e.g. Racl and Cdc42 upregulated p13 kinases which in turn inhibited proapoptotic factor Bad and this protected me from apoptosis even when I am not attached to any membrane. Now I have bigger size with hypoxic and acidic environment. So I need supporting blood vessels to obtain oxygen and nutrients I have done angiogenesis for my sustained growth and further metastasis. My intrinsic conditions have to lead to stimulation of von Hippie Lindau protein. It releases hypoxia inducible factor-1? (HIF-?)which further up regulates several VEGF gene such as VEGF A through VEGF E. This further releases Nitric oxide (NO) from endothelial cells and results in vasodilation and increased vascular permeability. By doing those processes I got leaky and irregular vasculature.3/14/16 I am starting flight to lung. I am using integrin proteins, which found in my surface ,in attaching to matrix proteins (fibronectin).For my signal transduction and interaction with other cells, I use integrin along with ezrin protein ,foal adhesion kinase (FAK),protein kinase C (PKC) and Rho GTPase. They also help me for my conformational changes. Besides to this matrix metalloproteinase (MMPs) are helping me in my sojourn through blood vessels and tissue renewal process. Now I have reached the lungs and I am growing, multiplying and consuming all nutrients. It is like as I heard .I like it.10/10/2016Today, the patient could not resist me .He took me to hospital. Because I create sever pain and swelling. I was diagnosed by radiograph as high grade sarcoma. Additionally they did CT scan, RI and biopsy and confirmed my stage. They are now discussing to fight against me.Yes they have started chemotherapy (high dose methotrexate, doxorubicin and cisplatin). I have been fighting against those drugs for the last three months and I am now getting old, starving and feeling weaker day by day. Oh those drugs become treble for me. Methotrexate is a dihydrofolate reductase inhibitor, it can block folic acid supply which is needed for my RNA and DNA synthesis. Doxorubicin which is also a drug that interact with my DNA and inhibits biosynthesis of macro molecules. Cisplatin causes damage to my DNA. I have to create solutions, because I am no longer able to make RNA efficiently. But I am struggling to continue my life. I got another mutations which is alteration in reduced folate reductase (RFC) protein Leu291pro.Yes I did it. This alteration unable carrier to transport methotrexate towards me .Besides to this, membrane pump-glycoproteins (P-gp) is also helping me with pumping out these drugs. Due to this I start dividing and spreading slowly but steadily. Other worse situations are happening to me, they are using high energy rays (x-rays) to kill me. I am no longer able to grow. I am shrinking. 4/14/18The worst thing are happened on me. Now, they are performing surgery and removing me as cancerous tissue. I was sending my daughters to afar to lung. By myself I am highly depressed and weak due to huge loss my colony. I try to grow and spread again by my reserve soldiers and by those immigrant members. They are still in dilemma to administer chemotherapeutic agent after surgery. The people are always struggling to combat me and other friends. If they post-surgery chemotherapy no more survival .I say good bye I will not be there anymore. REFERENCEBiomarkers in osteosarcoma, Colin Kong, M.S and Marc F. Hansen, Ph.D.Biology and therapeutic advances in pediatric osteosarcoma, Nayssa Marina Et.al,The oncologist ,2003Novel therapeutic strategy for osteosarcoma targeting osteoclast differenciation, bone reabsorbing activity ,and apoptosis pathways.The molecular pathogenesis of Osteosarcoma; A review, Matthew L. broadhead, sarcoma, 2011.Current strategy for chemotherapy in Osteosarcoma, Dorothy carric, International Orthopedics, 2006Osteosarcoma: A review of diagnosis ,management and treatment strategies, David S. geller ,MD, and Richard Gorlic MDSwitch from ?v?5 to ?v?6 integrin expression protects squamous cell carcinomas from anoikis, S.M. Janes ,Journal of cell Biology,2006.Analysis of molecular mechanisms of osteosarcoma using bioinformatics approach ,Jaxon yang ,oncology letters,2016.

Discuss the main issues in defining and measuring intelligence. The WritePass Journal

Discuss the main issues in defining and measuring intelligence. Abstract Discuss the main issues in defining and measuring intelligence. AbstractMain BodyConclusionReferencesRelated Abstract The study of intelligence began in the late 1800’s, and despite rigorous investigation, the scientific community remain divided over its exact definition and appropriate measurement (Weinberg, 1989). In its most popular sense, intelligence has been defined as the ability to learn new information, and apply such information to manipulate one’s environment. Other definitions include adaptability to new environments and changes to the current environment, the ability to reason and evaluate, to learn quickly and from experience, or even the capacity for innovative thoughts and ideas. However despite this intellectual quagmire, two broad schools of thought have emerged. The first believes that all intelligence comes from a single, general factor. The second believes there is more than one type of intelligence, although proponents of this view have yet to agree exactly how many types of intelligence exist. The purpose of this paper is to discuss each school of thought in turn and identify both their contributions and shortcomings. Furthermore, as theories of intelligence vary, so do the proposed methods of intelligence measurement, and these too will be critically examined. Main Body The oldest theory of intelligence was proposed by Charles Spearman in the early 20th century (Spearman, 1904). Employing a statistical approach, he observed that children’s school performance appeared to correlate across seemingly unrelated subjects. Spearman reasoned that such correlations indicated a single underlying general mental ability, affecting performance across different mental tests, which he coined the ‘general’ or ‘g’ factor. In addition, he argued for the existence of ‘specific’ or ‘s’ factors which related to narrow and task-specific abilities, such as vocabulary range or mathematical skill, although Spearman and his subsequent followers placed more emphasis on the importance of g. Proponents of uni-factor theories of intelligence draw upon the phenomenon of the positive manifold (Spearman, 1904) as support for the concept. Simply put, it is the fact that different tests of cognitive ability appear to correlate together highly. Although early critics of Spearman’s approach challenged his model with newer methods of analysis (see Thurstone, 1938), it has remained hugely influential, leading Kane and Brand (2003) to conclude: â€Å"Spearman’s g, through custom and empirical evidence, has become the ubiquitous cornerstone of empirically based theories of intelligence. It is the reference point for most studies conducted over the past ninety years. Every factor analytic study of cognitive ability has yielded a g, provided the data were analysed in such a manner as to allow a general factor to materialise†(Kane Brand, 2003: 12) The major criticism of Spearman’s theory was levelled at its simplicity. Several theorists subsequently proposed that intelligence in fact comprised several separate abilities that did not correlate with each other. Amongst the earliest challenge to Spearman’s unitary concept of intelligence was Louis Thurstone’s (1938) Theory of Primary Mental Abilities. Thurstone proposed that intelligence arose from seven primary independent factors, which included verbal comprehension, numeric ability, spatial relations, perceptual speed, word fluency, memory and inductive reasoning. Using a revolutionary psychometric approach, multiple factor analysis, Thurstone analysed the results of mental reasoning tests from a sample with similar IQ scores, and found that they had different profiles of mental abilities. However, similar analyses of data from a more heterogeneous population did not support a seven-factor model; instead it provided evidence for a single-factor model, or ‘g’. Conceptualising intelligence as a single general factor led to Spearman’s hypothesis that intelligence could be measured using a mental aptitude test and scored with a simple numerical value. This became the forerunner of the modern intelligence quotient. In contrast, proponents of multiple intelligences agree there is more than one single type of intelligence, although theorists do not agree on exactly how many different types exist. Gardner (1983) proposed a multi-factor model of intelligence, differentiating eight modalities which were weakly correlated at best. These factors included linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, musical, kinaesthetic, interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligence, and could account for individuals who were, for example, simultaneously good at language tasks and poor at spatial awareness tasks. This new concept of intelligence was born out of the criticism that standard intelligence tests were biased towards North American and European culture, and crucially Gardner felt that traditional tests of intellect provided measures of linguistic, logical and spatial intelligence, and ignored factors such as musical ability and athleticism. However, Gardner’s formulation has had a minimal effect on intel ligence testing, primarily because the type of quantitative factor analytical study that is required to validate such an approach has never been undertaken (Benson, 2003). Following Gardner’s work was Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory of Intelligence (1985). Like Gardner, Sternberg agreed that intelligence was more than a single general ability, but felt that Gardner’s theory merely described talents rather than defined intelligence. Sternberg defined intelligence as â€Å"mental activity directed toward purposive adaptation to, selection and shaping of, real-world environments relevant to one’s life† (Sternberg, 1985 p. 45) and described three major components; practical intelligence (an ability to adapt to one’s environment), experiential intelligence (the ability to think in novel ways) and componential intelligence (the efficient processing of information). Using this model, he was able to describe individuals who were talented in one area, but less so in the other two, similarly to Gardner, but avoided aligning specific components of intelligence with academic disciplines. Sternberg’s approach has won particular acclaim with reference to real-life situations (Carraher, Carraher, Schliemann, 1985); indeed it is Sternberg’s practical dimension of intelligence that can account for cultural discrepancies present in other methods of intelligence testing. G-theorists however argue that practical intelligence represents little more than ‘job knowledge’ and can be better explained by g (Jensen, 1993). Conclusion Even in contemporary psychology, considerable debate over the exact nature of intelligence is ongoing, and definitive conceptualisation (and therefore measurement) remains elusive. Two distinct schools of thought remain; uni-factor and multi-factor theories of intelligence. Both have particular strengths and weaknesses, but given that considerable debate about the nature of intelligence remains, and no single approach is accepted by all, there is still room for improvement on any given theory. References Benson, E. (2003). Intelligent intelligence testing. Monitor 43, (2) 48 – 56. Carraher, T. N., Carraher, D., Schliemann, A. D. (1985). Mathematics in the streets and in schools. British Journal of Developmental Psychology 3 21-29. Jensen, A. R. (1993). Test validity: g versus tacit knowledge. Current Directions in Psychological Science 2, (1), 9-10. Kane, H Brand, C. (2003). The importance of Spearmans’ g as a psychometric, social and educational construct. The Occidental Quarterly 3 (1) 7 – 29. Spearman, C. (1904). â€Å"General intelligence†, objectively determined and measured. American Journal of Psychology 15, 201 – 293. Sternberg, R. J. (1985). Beyond IQ: A Triarchic Theory of Intelligence. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Thurstone, L.L. (1938). Primary mental abilities. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Weinberg, R. A. (1989). Intelligence and IQ: Landmark issues and great debates. American Psychologist 44 (2), 98-104.