Type of Markets and Their Characteristics Term Paper

Type of Markets and Their Characteristics - Term Paper Example In the market there are those goods that are referred to as public goods, these goods are provided by the government due to various reasons, the reasons why the government provide these goods are because the provision of these goods is too expensive for firms to provide. Also due to the fact that the provision of these goods by firms may not yield economic profits and the government will source revenue from taxes in order to provide public goods. Public goods include products such as roads, railway roads and education. The government will provide these gods given that they require huge investment and the returns are relatively low. However problems arise whereby the market may exhibit the free rider effect, this refers to the situation whereby some individuals in the economy do not pay taxes yet they enjoy public goods, therefore it is evident that the market cannot function without public goods and therefore the role of the government in the market is to provide public goods.

DVT Risk Assessment Tool for Nurses Using Modified Delphi

DVT Risk Assessment Tool for Nurses Using Modified Delphi Research article DEVELOPMENT OF PATIENT’S DVT RISK ASSESSMENT TOOL FOR NURSES USING MODIFIED DELPHI TECHNIQUE. Mr.Kapil Sharma1,Ms. Jaspreet Kaur Sodhi2, *Ms.Rupinder Kaur3 ABSTRACT Background Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a very serious, potentially fatal, and very preventable medical condition. It is important for all patients admitted to the hospital to be screened for the risk of developing a DVT. This could be easily accomplished by performing a risk factor assessment-screening tool on all patients. It is also important to educate the medical and nursing staff on the fact that all patients are at risk for developing DVT, not just surgical patients who are often believed to be at the highest risk of DVT. The implementation of the risk factor assessment could potentially save lives and reduce the hospital costs of treating and managing the complications of DVT and venous thromboembolic disease. The implementation of a risk factor assessment tool could potentially aid in the recognition and appropriate prophylaxis of those patients who are at extremely high risk for DVT. Without appropriate recognition of the risk for DVT, patients may be placed at risk for DVT and the p otentially fatal and/or debilitating complications associated with the development of DVT.1 Aim The aim of the study is to develop Patient’s DVT Risk Assessment Tool for Staff Nurses. Objectives To select and pool the items to develop Patient’s DVT Risk Assessment Tool for Staff Nurses. To obtain consensus of Panelists for the development of Patient’s DVT Risk Assessment Tool for Staff Nurses. To organize valid items in a structured format for the development of Patient’s DVT Risk Assessment Tool for Staff Nurses. Methods Using instrument development design for Patient’s DVT Risk Assessment Tool for Staff Nurses. 66 Items were generated from evidence and qualitative data. Face and content validity were established through experts by 3 modified Delphi round. Content validity was computed. The content validity index (CVI) was calculated for each item i.e CVI-i, content validity index for experts i.e CVI-e and general content validity index for the tool i.e CVI-total. Item level CVI (CVI-i) is calculated by number of experts agreeing on the value of relevance of each item (value between 3 and 4) divided by total number of experts, expert level CVI (CVI-e) is calculated by number of items scored between 3 and 4 by an expert divided by total number of items and general CVI (CVI-total) is calculated by sum of all experts individual CVI divided by number of experts. Based on expert panel, CVI-i lower than 0.6 were deleted, (CVI-e) is 0.8,and CVI-total) 0.89. Results Patient’s DVT Risk Assessment Tool for Staff Nurses had face and content validity. The content validity index was 0.89. Conclusion The study concluded that assessment of DVT risk is essential in hospitalized patients.The identification of DVT risk at its earliest stage can help to decrease the morbidity and mortality rate in hospitalized patients.The Patient’s DVT Risk Assessment Tool will be helpful to identify risk of DVT at its earliest stage so that preventive measures can be taken. Keywords Deep Vein Thrombosis,Patient’s DVT Risk Assessment Tool.Modified Delphi Technique,Content Validity Index INTRODUCTION â€Å"An ounce of prevention is cheap, the pound of cure costly† (A.Taylor, B.J. Whiting) In India, the incidence of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is not well highlighted and literature survey shows scanty works in this field. Most of the literature available in India is from the orthopaedic departments, overall incidence of DVT in general population is largely unknown. Most of the DVTs are idiopathic and occur in less than 45 years age group. Irrespective of the etiology, LMWH and Warfarins are efficient, safety is well demonstrated, and domiciliary treatment is advisable with surveillance. Idiopathic DVTs require long term follow up to watch for recurrent thrombosis.2 Each year, deep vein thrombosis (DVT) occurs in 1 of every 1,000 Americans, hospitalizes nearly 600,000 for DVT-related complications, and kills up to 300,000. It is possibly the most common preventable cause of hospital deaths in the United States. Occupations in transportation, air travel, con ­fined spaces, and sedentary office positions pose risks for DVT. The risk of DVT increases with factors such as obesity, cancer, pregnancy, estrogen-containing medications, major surgery, and hospitalizations. , With an understanding of DVT, occupational health nurses are well positioned to promote DVT awareness and reduce the risk of complica ­tions for employees diagnosed with DVT.3 Deep vein thrombosis [DVT] is one of the most dreaded complications in post-operative patients as it is associated with considerable morbidity and mortality. Majority of patients with postoperative DVT are asymptomatic. The pulmonary embolism, which is seen in 10% of the cases with proximal DVT, may be fatal. Therefore it becomes imperative to prevent DVT rather than to diagnose and treat. Only one randomized trial has been reported from India to assess the effectiveness of low molecular weight heparin in preventing post-operative DVT.4 METHODOLOGY It is a methodological study to develop Patient’s DVT Risk Assessment Tool. The tool was validated by 10 multidisciplinary health care professionals. The study was conducted in 3 Modified Delphi rounds.The validity of tool was determined by content validity index (CVI). The data was collected via e-mail.The tool was developed under three phases and under each phase some steps were taken. PHASE 1- Preliminary preparation During this phase the investigator developed the preliminary Patient’s DVT Risk Assessment Tool for which the following steps were taken: Step-1: Review of Literature- An extensive review of literature was carried out from books, journals and through internet. Literature was searched which represent Patient’s DVT Risk Assessment Tool from all aspects. Various tool were searched. Literature related to tool construction and standardization was also reviewed. Step-2: Items selection and pooling- Different tools were analyzed and related items such as risk factors were selected from the content and items were pooled together. Step-3: Preparation of first draft- Selected items were seemed to represent Patient’s DVT Risk Assessment Tool to generate first draft of the tool. PHASE 2- Validation of first draft and subsequent drafts Step-1: Selection of panel- There were 10 experts in all Delphi rounds. The Delphi panel was consisted of multidisciplinary health care professionals (nurses, doctors, and administrator). The sample of the panelist were heterogeneous to ensure the entire spectrum of opinion to be determined. The written consent was taken from the selected experts to participate in the study. The first draft of tool was circulated among 10 experts from above stated field. Step-2: Delphi Rounds: The modified Delphi technique was used to validate the draft. (The Delphi is an interactive process designed to combine expert’s opinion into group consensus. According to this technique the response of each panelist remains anonymous that there are equal chances of each panelist to present the ideas unbiased by the identity of other panelist. There are subsequent Delphi rounds until a definitive level of consensus is recorded). All the panelist were requested to give their valuable suggestion pertaining to the content, accuracy of information, the item order i.e organization and sequence of the items and working of the items. The suggestions given by panelist was incorporated to generate the second draft of tool. Step-3: Modification: as per the experts opinion:The modification in the tool was made. PHASE 3- Assessing reliability and content validity of tool: Draft prepared after third Delphi round. Validity of Tool: It was done by expert’s opinion. The tool was circulated to 10 experts of various specialties . The experts were asked to rate the items in terms of relevance to the Patient’s DVT Risk Assessment Tool. A 4 point likert scale (1 not relevant, 2 somewhat relevant, 3 relevant, very relevant). The content validity index (CVI) was calculated for each item i.e CVI-i, content validity index for experts i.e CVI-e and general content validity index for the tool i.e CVI-total. Item level CVI (CVI-i) is calculated by number of experts agreeing on the value of relevance of each item (value between 3 and 4) divided by total number of experts, expert level CVI (CVI-e) is calculated by number of items scored between 3 and 4 by an expert divided by total number of items and general CVI (CVI-total) is calculated by sum of all experts individual CVI divided by number of experts. Based on expert panel, CVI-i lower than 0.6 were deleted, (CVI-e) is 0.8, and CVI-total) 0.89. Instrument development: The content validity assessment process described by Waltz and Bausell (1981) and Lynn (1986) was used. 66 items were generated and were carefully investigated for clarity, grammar, and construction. A likert scale was chosen as scale type. Each item was rated on 4 point likert scale (1 not relevant, 2 somewhat relevant, 3 relevant, very relevant) with significant agreement (10 experts rating item a 4 or 3) needed for it to be retained. The experts were asked also to evaluate the set of items to determine if any content area was missing. REFERENCES 1.Race TK, Collier PE. The hidden risk of deep vein thrombosis the need for risk factor assessment: case reviews. Critical Care Nursing Quarterly [serial on the Internet]. 2007, July;30(3): 245-254. 2. L Chinglensana, Santhosh Rudrappa, K Anupama, T Gojendra, Kala K Singh, Sudhir T Chandra. Clinical profile and management of deep vein thrombosis of lower limb. Journal Of Medical Society.2013;27(1):10-14 3. Emanuele, P,. Deep Vein Thrombosis, AAOHN Journal 2008; 56(9):389-392. 4.Anandan Murugesan, Dina N. Srivastava,Uma K. Ballehaninna, Sunil Chumber,Anita Dhar,Mahesh C. Misra,Rajinder Parshad, V. Seenu, Anurag Srivastava,and Narmada P. Gupta. Detection and Prevention of Post-Operative Deep Vein Thrombosis [DVT] Using Nadroparin Among Patients Undergoing Major Abdominal Operations in India; a Randomised Controlled Trial. Indian J Surg. 2010 August; 72(4): 312–317

Money and Matrimony in Vanity Fair Essay -- Vanity Fair Essays

Money and Matrimony in Vanity Fair      In his novel Vanity Fair, William Thackeray exposes and examines the vanities of 19th century England. His characters pursue wealth, power, and social standing, often through marriage or matrimony. The present essay looks at Thackeray's use of the institution of marriage in Vanity Fair to comment on how these vanities often come at the expense of the true emotions of passion, devotion, and love. Parental Ambitions In Vanity Fair, money is central to nearly all of the characters' relationships. Thackeray connects England's merchant families, the lesser nobility, and the high aristocracy through money and matrimony, and parents are frequently the chief negotiators in these business transactions. Mr. Osborne is perhaps the novel's most avaricious parent; money and social eminence are all-important to Mr. Osborne, and he is willing to sacrifice his children's happiness to connect his family name with these vanities. He forbids his daughter Jane to marry an artist with whom she has fallen in love with, swearing to her "that she should not have a shilling of his money if she made a match without his concurrence" (p416). For Mr. Osborne love has little to do with matrimony, and marriage is simply a transaction that should increase family wealth and prestige. This concept was by no means uncommon during the 19th century: the rise of industrialism and colonialism meant an influx of wealth into England, and marriage was seen by many as a way of either rising in station or cementing business ties. This latter theme is seen in Mr. Osborne's interference in his son George's relationship with Amelia. Their courtship is arranged, the "two young people [having] been bred up by their parents" (p38) ... ...und them, and not look in. She eluded them, and despised them --- or at least she was committed to the other path from which retreat was now impossible. (p410-11) Thackeray points out that Becky could have led a simple, happy life, but for her relentless desire to achieve wealth and social status. She never comes to this realization, however, and through Rebecca the author shows us how our desires for the vanities can blind us to more truer, simpler emotions. Conclusion The marriages and mà ©salliances of the characters in Vanity Fair show us the folly and futility of chasing wealth, power, and social eminence at the expense of love and passion. Thackeray's novel reminds us that there are frequently hidden costs when we make such a bargain, and the true expense is often more than we can afford.    Works Cited Thackeray, William (18 ). Vanity Fair.   

Lewis Binford Essay

Only child Mother from well to do family who lost $ Dad electrician laborer Josef lewis binford mother(Eoline Roberts Binford) was descended from Virginia Tidewater high society,by birth no money scout learning by doing skilled in construction laborer helped with field work later years enrolled 1948 Virinia Polytech instutte under athlete scholarship foot ball forestry biology Married Jean mock two children $ problems 1952 enrolled army GI Bill to Okinawa, where he worked with native Ryukyuan peoples. Dischared 1954 interest anthplogy UNC 1957 B. A. That turned his interests to archaeology. Under the tutelage of Joffre Coe, Binford gained valuable field experience, read the literature, and began to question the conceptual underpinnings of the discipline. Armed with the belief that archaeology could and should do far more than merely situate ancient cultures in time and space, and keen to bring it into the mainstream of anthropology, Binford went to the University of Michigan for graduate work. Influential in his education there were. White, Albert Spaulding (from whom Binford learned  analytical methods), and James Griffin, the quintessential culture historian, dean of eastern North American archaeology, and for Binford graduate adviser and symbol of all that was (and was wrong with) traditional archaeology (Sabloff, 1998, p. 13). Binford earned his M. A. in 1958 and Ph. D. in 1964 at Michigan, though Griffin did not last as his adviser. After teaching at Michigan for a year, Binford joined the University of Chicago anthropology faculty in 1961. Binford left Chicago four years later, still brash though unbowed despite having been denied  tenure. By then, at least, he had received his Ph. D. but only after Griffin was persuaded to resign from his dissertation committee (Binford, 1972, p. 11). It was the first overt breach of what was a long, acidic relationship. It was at Chicago that Binford launched what came to be called the â€Å"New Archaeology† (later, â€Å"Processual Archaeology†) with hi s landmark article â€Å"Archaeology as Anthropology† (1962). After travelling to several univ. and being fired from what he called the best uni In 1968 Binford was hired at the University of New Mexico, Still, Binford gave no quarter to postprocessualists In 1991 Binford retired from the University of New Mexico and accepted a faculty appointment at Southern 20 BIO G RA PHICAL MEMOIRS Methodist University in Dallas. There he could teach less and have more time to devote to a project he had started in the 1970s (previews of which appeared as Binford [1990, 1997]), which would become his last major book: Constructing Frames of Reference: An Analytical Method for Archaeological Theory Building Using Ethnographic and Environmental Data Sets (Binford, 2001).

Using a Ghost During the Elizabethan Period. Hamlet

During the Elizabethan period, a ghost was seen as a common feature in most tragedy plays. Shakespeare's Hamlet is a prime example of the use of a ‘ghost' to entice fear and apprehension amongst the Elizabethan audience. The ghost can be seen as projecting several functions throughout the play, all of which are vital to the play's ultimate impact. An Elizabethan audience were highly superstitious, held Roman Catholic beliefs of purgatory and were extremely fearful of afterlife and the uncertainty that surrounded it. Such views were powerful connotations that aided Shakespeare to influence his audience with considerable impact. However, the implications of a ghost were seen as very different for a Elizabethan audience as compared with the perception of a ghost by a modern audience. Therefore it could be said that the disparity in how the ghost is received may diminish the play's impact for a modern day audience. The audience of Shakespeare's time were surrounded with highly religious concepts. During the period, whilst many were deemed protestants, there were many who challenged the idea of souls and their sins in relation to heaven and hell and continued to practise the old faith. Therefore an Elizabethan audience would have been familiar with the concepts of heaven and hell and the uncertainty surrounding ghosts. Whether the ghost of Old Hamlet is living in hell or purgatory is an issue which Shakespeare leaves open and unresolved. This leaves the Shakespearean audience with the question of whether there was hope of redemption for old hamlet and in relation, themselves. This can be seen as one of the various functions of the ghost in hamlet, by engaging into the religious mindset of Elizabethans, they would question its presence and would be intent on discovering its existence and nature throughout the play.

Is AP Chemistry Hard 5 Key Factors Considered

Is AP Chemistry Hard 5 Key Factors Considered SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips AP Chemistry is an intimidating subject if you're not familiar with the material. There are all these weird formulas with superscripts and subscripts to remember, and it involves what some students view as an unpleasant amount of math. But is AP Chemistry as hard as it sounds? In this article, I'll examine five different factors to reach a conclusion regarding the true difficulty level of AP Chemistry in comparison with other high-level classes. What Determines the Difficulty of an AP Class? 5 Factors Before we talk about AP Chemistry specifically, what are the main factors that determine how hard (or easy) an AP class is? Let's take a look at the top five. Factor 1: Passing Rate The number of test takers who score 3 or higher on an AP test is a good indication of how difficult the AP class is. If a very high percentage of students earn passing scores, it might mean that the class is less challenging. It might also mean, however, that the particular class attracts higher-achieving students who are extremely well prepared and tend to do better on tests across the board. That’s why, in addition to score averages, we also need to consider the perceptions of students and the actual difficulty of the content. Factor 2: 5 Score Rate Another piece of data that's slightly different from the passing rate is the percentage of students earning 5s (the highest possible score) on the AP test. A large percentage of students may pass an AP test, but if only a small group earns 5s, it usually means that true mastery of the subject is hard to come by. The cutoff for a 5 on most AP tests only requires answering 60-70% of questions correctly, so even a 5 doesn't necessarily represent complete comprehension of the material being tested. Factor 3: Content Difficulty The content covered is, of course, a central factor that affects the difficulty of an AP course. Even if most students pass the exam, the class itself might be challenging because of the amount of ground it covers or because of the complexity of the material. In this case, a high passing rate would indicate that only very driven students take the class, and everyone else shies away from it. Factor 4: How Students Perceive the Class The difficulty of AP classes can also be judged by the way students view them. As I mentioned, some classes with high passing rates owe these statistics to self-selection by high-achieving students. That doesn’t mean that these students think the material is easy, though. They’re just more dedicated to working through challenging concepts. Evidently, student feedback can provide yet another perspective on the difficulty of an AP class. Factor 5: When Students Take the Class If students take the class earlier in high school, they're more likely to perceive it as difficult. If they take it their junior or senior year, on the other hand, they're more likely to feel comfortable with the material. Why? By this time, most students have adapted to their high school workloads and have possibly already taken other AP classes, too. These are the five main factors that determine the difficulty of an AP class. In the next sections, I’ll analyze all these factors for the AP Chemistry class and exam to give you a better idea of how much of a challenge they'll present for you. Chemistry's the one with the shapes and stuff, right? (Sorry, I can't use a screencap of Channing Tatum from 21 Jump Street for legal reasons, and I can't say the real line cuz I'm keepin' it clean. But you get the reference- or at least you do now because I overexplained it.) What Do Statistics Say About the AP Chemistry Exam? It's now time for us to determine the difficulty of AP Chemistry specifically. First off, what’s the passing rate for AP Chemistry? In 2017, the passing rate (i.e., the percent of test takers who scored 3 or higher) was 52.4%. This rate is lower than that for the AP Biology test (64.1%) and slightly higher than that for US History (50.9%). Human Geography, US History, US Government and Politics, Physics 1, and Environmental Science are the only tests that have lower passing rates than Chemistry does. This data indicates that Chemistry is a difficult test- but, as you can see, there’s an eclectic mix of different subjects with low passing rates. Passing rates don't always reflect how hard AP tests are; rather, these results represent a combination of which types of students tend to take the class and the objective complexity of the material covered. AP Environmental Science, for example, doesn’t cover super challenging concepts, but students who choose to take this AP class tend to be less intense- they might take it as a one-off AP when they’re in mostly mid-level classes otherwise. Even keeping these factors in mind, I think AP Chemistry’s low passing rate is reflective of a high level of difficulty. Usually, only the most driven students take AP Chemistry, and they’re still not passing the test at an especially high rate. We can also look at the 5 rate for the test. The 5 rate for AP Chemistry is 10.1%. Only six other AP tests have lower 5 rates. This statistic is consistent with the passing rate in terms of AP Chemistry's position among other AP tests. Because the passing rate and the 5 rate are well aligned in this way, I’m inclined to conclude that AP Chemistry is a test on the difficult end of the AP spectrum. You know, the AP spectrum. It's like the color spectrum except with no colors- only darkness and pain. Is the Content of the AP Chemistry Class Difficult? There’s a lot of material covered in AP Chemistry. The course involves memorization of complex principles, mastery of specific mathematical skills, and the ability to visualize interactions between tiny things that can only be represented abstractly. It’s similar to AP Biology in some ways, but it’s even harder to intuitively understand if you don’t know much about chemistry in the first place. Take this official AP Chemistry multiple-choice question, for example: If you haven't taken any chemistry classes, this question will be virtually incomprehensible to you (the answer is D, if you're wondering). There's a whole separate language around chemistry, with symbols and words that are almost never used in daily life- unless you're a chemist or chemical engineer. Questions on a test like AP Biology might ask about advanced concepts, but there aren't as many unfamiliar terms or new ways of thinking involved as there are on the AP Chemistry test. In general, you need a wide range of skills to succeed in chemistry, and these skills build on each other from the ground up. The foundations of the Chemistry course deal with memorizing the properties of different substances and developing an understanding of why they behave in certain ways under certain conditions. You'll use this knowledge to conduct data analysis and do calculations. To show you what I mean, here's an example of a question you might see on the Chemistry test: For part a, the conjugate base form, In-, is the predominant form of HIn in the buffer in Beaker Y. This is because the pH of the beaker (7) is greater than the pKa of HIn (5), which means that the equilibrium reaction will form a significant amount of products (In- and H3O+). For part b, the acid form of HIn predominates the aqueous layer of Beaker X since pH (3) pKa (5). HIn is a neutral molecule, so some of it can dissolve in the oil layer of Beaker X due to London dispersion interactions with the oil (which leads to the yellow color of the oil layer). The oil layer in Beaker Y, on the other hand, is colorless because In- is charged. It will mainly dissolve in the aqueous layer of Beaker Y due to ion-dipole interactions with water. This question asks students to draw on background knowledge of acids and buffer solutions to explain the chemical interactions present in a specific scenario. If you don’t understand the basic concepts of the course, you won’t be able to justify your answers to more advanced problems. The cumulative nature of AP Chemistry's wide-ranging curriculum and the complex critical-thinking skills required to answer most questions on the exam contribute to its reputation as a very challenging course. If you have cracks in your foundation, you'll have to halt construction on the monument to AP Chemistry that symbolizes your understanding of the material. Seriously, though- stop building that thing and do your real homework. Do Students Think AP Chemistry Is Hard? From personal experience, I'd say yes to this question- but ultimately it depends heavily on your aptitude for the material, the quality of your teacher, and your previous experiences with chemistry. As someone who had a terrible AP Chemistry teacher, I found it very difficult to understand the concepts I was being taught. It was especially hard because my high school didn't give us the option of taking an introductory chemistry course before AP. Students who have a stronger background in chemistry might find the class easier to get through, but AP Chemistry is still notorious for having lots of homework and challenging tests. This goes back to one of the factors listed at the beginning of this article: when students tend to take the class. Many high schoolers take AP Chemistry in their junior or senior year after taking an introductory chemistry course. The fact that even these students see AP Chemistry as a hard course validates the judgments we've made thus far about its high difficulty level. Almost every academic skill is involved. You’ll have to deal with problem sets, labs, and extensive memorization of chemical properties. The math aspect of the course includes unit conversions, reaction balancing, and other stoichiometry problems (which use relationships between reactants and products in a chemical reaction to do calculations). If math doesn’t come easily to you, AP Chemistry will be more difficult. Students have varied opinions of the class depending on how it's taught at their schools. The main response is that although it's a lot of work, it can be a rewarding experience. Everyone seems to agree that the quality of teaching has a huge impact on the difficulty level and enjoyability of the class. Here's what some students think about AP Chemistry. Quotes come from College Confidential, and all bold emphasis is mine. I took it sophomore year and it was definitely rough. However, much of that was because of the teacher. If you've already taken CP Chem, AP likely won't be as hard for you as it is for many others. I think that it is hard compared to my other classes (I am taking 5 more APs at the moment in addition to this one), and the science department practically had to beg the ten people that are in the class to take it. Behind Calc BC, Chemistry is the hardest AP at my school as well. However, it is so much fun- a great curriculum. If you love chemistry, or even have an interest in it, definitely take it. If you can look at this without feeling a wave of panic rising in your chest, you'll probably do well in AP Chemistry. Will AP Chemistry Be Hard for You? Based on what we now know about AP Chemistry, how can you determine how hard the class (and test) will be for you? Here are three actions you can take: #1: Ask Teachers and Previous Students About the Class Every school is different, so the AP Chemistry class offered at your school could be more or less demanding than those offered at other high schools. This is why it’s best to consult with people who have the inside scoop. Talk to your current science teacher to see what he or she has to say about AP Chemistry. Will you be able to handle it based on how you did in science this past year? Have students who are similar to you had trouble with AP Chemistry in the past? You can also discuss this with your guidance counselor, who should have access to additional data on how previous students fared in the class. Previous students are great resources as well. If they’ve been through the class, they can give you a better idea of how overwhelming (or underwhelming) the workload actually is. #2: Think About Your Academic Strengths and Weaknesses If you enjoy math and science and are genuinely interested in chemistry, AP Chemistry will be an easier class for you than it would be for someone who would rather never look at a math problem again. Chemistry is more technical and math-centric than AP Biology is. It’s hard to memorize or reason your way out of aspects of the content you only vaguely understand on a deeper level. If you don’t know exactly how to do a chemistry problem, it can start to look like a meaningless jumble of numbers and letters pretty quickly. If you tend to rely on memorization to do well in most subjects, AP Chemistry might be a rude awakening for you. #3: Pay Attention to Your Schedule Only you know how much effort you're willing to put into your classes. However, I can pretty much guarantee that it'll be hard for anyone to take AP Chemistry at the same time as other time-consuming classes, such as AP Biology or AP English Lit. I don't recommend taking more than two intense AP classes simultaneously (see our take on which APs are the hardest), particularly if you have lots of extracurriculars. You should also try to fit an introductory chemistry class into your schedule the year before you take AP Chemistry so that you’re well prepared! If you get to the point where you're eating whole coffee beans to stay awake, it's time to reevaluate your choices. Conclusion: Is AP Chemistry Hard? Based on the evidence I've seen, we can say that Chemistry is one of the harder AP classes. It has a low passing rate, a low 5 rate, and its content is considered pretty challenging from both an objective viewpoint and a student's perspective. Don’t let this scare you away from the subject, though. Chemistry is truly fascinating once you break through the first couple layers of understanding. You'll learn so much about how the world works and why it works that way. If you take an introductory chemistry class beforehand and are prepared to work hard, you'll be more than capable of doing well! What's Next? Still not quite sure what to expect from AP Chemistry? Read this article for more details about the structure and content of the exam. Already taking AP Chemistry and need some extra help? We go over how to balance chemical equations in this guide. Are you planning on taking SAT Subject Tests in addition to APs? Learn about the differences between these two types of tests and which scores matter more to colleges. If you're still trying to figure out your schedule, take a look at this article for advice on which AP classes you should take in high school. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points? We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Jack Nelsons Problem Essays

Jack Nelsons Problem Essays Jack Nelsons Problem Essay Jack Nelsons Problem Essay Chapter 1Application Case: Jack Nelsons Problem 1. What do you think was causing some of the problems in the bank home office and branches? There is clearly aproblem with communication, and the effects are felt in the area of employee commitment. Additional contributingfactors include the lack of consistency in the policies and procedures of various locations. There is no cohesiveness tothe staffing activities of this organization. 2. Do you think setting up a HR unit in the main office would help? Of course we think it would! Since there are HR-related problems both in the home office and in the branches, it is clear that if a personnel office were set up, it wouldneed to help to coordinate the HR activities in the branches. 3. What specific functions should it carry out? What HR functions would then be carried out by supervisors andother line managers? What role should the Internet play in the new HR organization? There is room for quite abit of variation in the answers to this question. Our suggested organization would include: HR Unit: job analyses,planning labor needs and recruiting, providing advising and training in the selection process, orientation of newemployees, managing wage and salary administration, managing incentives and benefits, providing and managing theperformance appraisal process, organization-wide communications, and providing training developing services. Supervisors and Other Line Managers: interviewing and selection of job candidates, training new employees,appraising performance, departmental personal communications, and training development. Internet and HR: shiftsome activities to specialized online service portals and/or providers. Continuing Case: Carter Cleaning Company 1. Make a list of 5 specific HR problems you think Carter Cleaning will have to grapple with? Potential answers could include the following:1) Staffing the company with the right human capital by identifying the skills and competencies that arerequired to perform the jobs and the type of people that should be hired. Sourcing candidates andestablishing an efficient and effective recruiting and selection process will be an important first step. ) Planning and establishing operational goals and standards and developing rules and procedures tosupport business goals and strategies. Failure to do so will result in a lack of clarity around performanceexpectations down the line as each store becomes operational. 3) Implementing effective Performance Management through setting performance standards, highquality appraisal of performance, and providing ongoing p erformance coaching and feedback to developthe abilities of each person and support positive employee relations. ) Designing an effective compensation system that will give the company the ability to attract, retainand motivate a high quality workforce, providing appropriate wages, salaries, incentives and benefits. Apoorly designed system will result in difficulty in attracting candidates, turnover and low employeemorale. 5) Training and developing employees both at the management and employee level to be able toperform the job to meet the performance expectations. This should include a new hire orientationprogram as well as a program for ongoing training and development. Lack of attention to thiscomponent may result in errors, increase in operational costs, turnover, and morale problems. 2. What would you do first if you were Jennifer ? Answers will vary; however, probably the most important first step is to ensure that thestaffing process is well designed and targeting the right mix of skills and abilities neededamong candidates. A thorough job should be done in analyzing the requirements of each  job, developing a complete job description for each role, and sourcing candidates thatmeet those requirements. Significant time should be invested in the hiring process toensure that the candidates hired meet the requirements and possess the skills andabilities to do the job. Chapter 3 Application Case: Siemens Builds a StrateUntitled 1gy – Oriented HR System 1. Based on the information in this case, provide examples, for Siemens, of at least four strategically requiredorganizational outcomes, and four required workforce competencies and behaviors. Strategically requiredorganizational outcomes would be the following: 1) An employee selection and compensation system that attracts andretains the human talent necessary to support global diversification into high tech products and services 2) A â€Å"learningcompany† in which employees are able to learn on a continuing basis; 3) A culture of lobal teamwork which willdevelop and use all the potential of the firm’s human resources; 4) A climate of mutual respect in a global organization. Workforce competencies and behaviors could include 1) Openness to learning; 2) teamwork skills; 3) cross-culturalexperience; 4) openness, respect and appreciation for workforce diversity. 2. Identify at least four of the strategically relevant HR system policies and activites that Siemens hasinstitut ed in order to help HR contribute to achieving Siemens’ strategic goals. ) Training and development activities to support continuous learning through a system of combinedclassroom and hands-on apprenticeship training to support technical learning; 2) Continuing education andmanagement development to as developing skills necessary for global teamwork and appreciation for  cultural diversity; 3) Enhanced internal selection process which includes pre-requisites of cross-border andcross cultural experiences for career advancement; 4) Organizational development activities aimed atbuilding openness, transparency, fairness, and supporting diversity 3. Provide a brief illustrative outline of an HR scorecard for Siemens. Metrics could include things such as:1. Level of organizational learning:a. Number of hours of technical training per employee (class room and hands-on)b. Number of hours of education management development2. Level of cross cultural team worka. Number of employees assigned to roles including cross-border and cross-cultural experiencesb. Survey results measuring employee climate on dimensions of teamwork, openness,transparency, fairness, diversity3. Extent to which the employees can describe the company’s core values4. Effectiveness of selection process for identifying high quality candidates – number of qualifiedcandidates per position, turnover and retention statistics. Continuing Case: the Carter Cleaning Company 1. Would you recommend that the Carters expand their quality program? If so,specifically what form should it take? Most students will agree that there areopportunities to expand the quality program. The employee meeting approach is a good tart in terms of utilizing high involvement organizational practices. There are opportunitiesto maximize the overall quality of their human capital. For example, training seems to bean obvious area to focus in terms of educating and building awareness about basicstandards and procedures. 2. Assume the Carters want to institute a high performance work system as a testprogram in one of their stores. Write a one page outline summarizing what such aprogram would consist of . Students should include some of the following ideas in their  outline: Identify the types of HR practices they would implement to improve quality,productivity, financial performance; methods for job enrichment; strategies for implementand leverage a team-based organization; ways to implement and facilitate highcommitment work practices; employee development and skill building to foster increasedcompetency and capability in the workforce; a compensation program which providesincentives (for example profit sharing; pay for performance) for achieving major goals andfinancial targets. Chapter 4 Continuing Case: Carter Cleaning Company The Job Description 1. What should be the format and final form of the store manager’s job description? The format noted in figure 4-7 could be a reasonable format to use. Students mayrecommend that Jennifer include standards of performance section in the job description. This lists the standards the employee is expected to achieve under each of the jobdescription’s main duties and responsibilities, and would address the problem of  employees not understanding company policies, procedures, and expectations. Inaddition, students may recommend that Jennifer instead take a competency-basedapproach which describes the job in terms of the measurable, observable, behavioralcompetencies that an employee doing that job must exhibit. Because competencyanalysis focuses more on â€Å"how† the worker meets the job’s objectives or actuallyaccomplishes the work, it is more worker focused. 2. Was it practical to specify standards and procedures in the body of the jobdescription, or should these be kept separately? They do not need to be keptseparately, and in fact both Jennifer and the employees would be better served byincorporating standards and procedures into the body of the description. The exception tothis would be if the standards and procedures are so complex or involved that it becomesmore pragmatic to maintain a separate procedures manual. 3. How should Jennifer go about collecting the information required for the standards,procedures, and job description? She should first go about conducting the jobanalysis, collecting information about the work activities, human behaviors, machines,tools, equipment, and work aids, performance standards, job context, and humanrequirements. The best methods for collecting this information in this case are throughinterview, questionnaires, observation, diaries/logs maintained by employees, In addition,she should ensure that she is identifying the essential functions of the job, and that thedescriptions are ADA compliant

How Bar Graphs Are Used to Display Data

How Bar Graphs Are Used to Display Data A bar graph is a way to visually represent qualitative data. Qualitative or categorical data occurs when the information concerns a trait or attribute and is not numerical. This kind of graph emphasizes the relative sizes of each of the categories being measured by using vertical or horizontal bars. Each trait corresponds to a different bar. The arrangement of the bars is by frequency. By looking at all of the bars, it is easy to tell at a glance which categories in a set of data dominate the others. The larger a category, the bigger that its bar will be. Big Bars or Small Bars? To construct a bar graph we must first list all the categories. Along with this, we denote how many members of the data set are in each of the categories. Arrange the categories in order of frequency. We do this because the category with the highest frequency will end up being represented by the largest bar, and the category with the lowest frequency will be represented by the smallest bar. For a bar graph with vertical bars, draw a vertical line with a numbered scale. The numbers on the scale will correspond to the height of the bars. The greatest number that we need on the scale is the category with the highest frequency. The bottom of the scale is typically zero, however, if the height of our bars would be too tall, then we can use a number greater than zero. We draw this bar and label the bottom of it with the title of the category. We then continue the above process for the next category and conclude when bars for all categories have been included. The bars should have a gap separating each of them from one another. An Example To see an example of a bar graph, suppose that we gather some data by surveying students at a local elementary school. We ask every one of the students to tell us what his or her favorite food is. Of 200 students, we find that 100 like pizza the best, 80 like cheeseburgers, and 20 have a favorite food of pasta. This means that the highest bar (of height 100) goes to the category of pizza. The next highest bar is 80 units high and corresponds to cheeseburgers. The third and final bar represents the students who like pasta the best and is only 20 units high. The resulting bar graph is depicted above. Notice that both the scale and categories are clearly marked and that all the bars are separated. At a glance, we can see that although three foods were mentioned, pizza and cheeseburgers are clearly more popular than pasta. Contrast With Pie Charts Bar graphs are similar to pie chart since they are both graphs that are used for qualitative data. In comparing pie charts and bar graphs, it is generally agreed that between these two kinds of graphs, bar graphs are superior. One reason for this is that it is much easier for the human eye to tell the difference between the heights of bars than wedges in a pie. If there are several categories to graph, then there can be a multitude of pie wedges that appear to be identical. With a bar graph, it is easier to compare heights a know which bar is higher. Histogram Bar graphs are sometimes confused with histograms, probably because they resemble each other. Histograms do indeed also use bars to graph data, but a histogram deals with quantitative data that is numerical rather than qualitative data, and of a different level of measurement.

Leglization of Marijuana Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Leglization of Marijuana - Research Paper Example Firstly, a comparison between alcohol and cigarettes shows that the use of marijuana has mild health risks and losses to the society. This is a great paradox since alcohol and cigarettes have not been banned despite their greater damage potential. This scenario further worsens owing to the ease of availability of the two products. On the contrary, to get marijuana, one must do it in secret so as not to arouse suspicion. Such hypocrisy and unfairness to marijuana users ought to end (Legalizationofmarijuana.com, 2010). Secondly, prohibiting marijuana has served to increase the black market that goes as far as to even corrupt the judicial system. There is massive bribing of judges that occurs to secure the release of rich marijuana dealers. Such arrests have led to America ending up as the largest jailor nation overcrowding jails, resulting in the release of more dangerous criminals such as murderers. On average, drug dealers are sentenced at a rate that is five times higher than the rate of those arrested for manslaughter. Such unfair severity in terms of punishment has led to the resignation of judges who do not wish to belong to a corrupt system (Legalizationofmarijuana.com, 2010). In addition, many farmers in America have turned to growing marijuana in their cornfields. This is because marijuana farming has become a lucrative venture with a bushel selling for up to 70,000 dollars. This is in stark contrast to that of corn, which rakes in a few dollars per bushel. Clearly, marijuana is fast substituting corn as the major cash crop in America. Failing to legalize marijuana is turning innocent farmers on whom the country‘s survival depends into criminals. Legislation of marijuana will work better than simply decriminalizing or medicalizing it. Decriminalisation serves to legalize the possession of little amounts of the drug although it does not put an end to the enormous black market or allow for simpler taxation.

Benchmarking Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Benchmarking - Assignment Example The intention of this study is benchmarking as an improvement process which is mainly used to discover as well as incorporate the best practices in operation. It is the most preferred process which understands and identifies the elements of world class performance in work process. There are four processes in benchmarking which includes planning, analysis, action and review. There are three different types of benchmarking which includes internal, external and best practice. About 70% of the fortune 500 companies goes for benchmarking companies like Ford Motor Company had benchmarked its function of account payable against Mazda Motor. Studies have shown that top management usually does not support the benchmarking. Mangers should not be discouraged from the process of benchmarking. It provides managers to know their goals through the data. According to Betts, there are people who perceive that their individual performance is better than actually it is which is also termed as the Lake Wobegon effect. Betts have conducted a research to seek if these phenomena are also present when the employees are asked to give their views on the performance of the organization. Overestimation of performance is common in organization as well as in individuals. Individuals rate themselves better than they actually are projected with the help of an example. Around 87% of MBA students at Stanford rate their performance to be at top in comparison with their peers, about 90% of the students believed that were above average and only 10% thought they were below average. Similar is with organizations. Thus benchmarking is important in order to escape from the Lake Wobegon effect as the consequences of this performance may not result to be effective for organizations or mangers. According to Alfred North Whitehead, it is not ignorance but ignorance of ignorance which leads to the death of knowledge. The performers who are below the average and are ignorant of the fact that they are poorer performer usually are not motivated to improve (Betts, Croom & Lu, 2011, p.734). Lake Wobegon effect or benchmarking revolves around perverse dynamic. The mangers believe that they are above average performers. But in reality not all mangers are above average neither does all of them deserve to get a performance bonus. Therefore establishing an appropriate peer group and benchmarking is the only option to establish a competitive edge over the competitors (Lipman & Hall, 2008, p.33). Therefore it has been proved that overestimation of performance is common in organizations and individuals. As per a survey conducted by Betts, it has been proved that overestimation of performance is common as 75 % of the employees reported above average performance, 20 of them reported average performance and only about 5% reported to be below average performance. The people are bad at understanding the average performance basically when they are to evaluate the performance of organization in which th ey work. Therefore the consequence of over estimating is likely to bring about a change and so a greater effort should be put on benchmarking performance and also in spreading awareness in respect to benchmarked to the organization (Betts, Croom & Lu, 2011, p.740). Thus creating a need for change is must in the organization but as seen the management decision of benchmarking usually creates a resistance in the employees. Change is an important aspect and should be done on regular intervals. Manager’s use benchmarking to compare the performance of employees on some given dimension in comparison with other organizations performance so that it can be decided how successful the change has been. For example, when Xerox was

Writer's Memo for the final draft (letter) Assignment

Writer's Memo for the final draft (letter) - Assignment Example I made these changes because I felt that a letter to an Editor would have to have the necessary shift in perspective from being on the offensive to taking a softer line. This was done out of propriety as well as a desire not to join issue with the other readers. I wanted to get my point across and argue about the editorial without taking on other readers on what may seem to be a futile attempt to join issue with them. The intention here was to comment on the issue at hand and not get carried away in making my case strongly. I did quote on more than one occasion from the editorial. The quotation that I chose was to reflect the gravity of the issue at hand and make some suggestions regarding the same. The idea here was to show the author of the editorial the points where I agreed with her and the points where I felt she should have taken a more assertive stand. Hence, I selectively quoted from the article to reflect these positions of mine. I want to make the point that guns do not have a place in a civilized society and particularly in national parks. Hence, my target audience would be the kind of people who would join the Mothers against drunk driving and similar projects. I was trying to convey my sense of anguish about using guns in public places and particularly in the national parks and hence wanted to convey my desire to make my stand clear. If my letter has to be evaluated fairly, my stand against taking guns to public places must be made clear and that I have strong opinions regarding the same. To the best of my ability, I have made everything clear. I have stated the reasons for writing the letter as well as the position that I took. In this way, I have conveyed the reasons why I wrote that letter as well as what changed from the initial draft and what remained the same. Hence, I hope to be evaluated according to the merits of the letter and

Classical Liberalism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Classical Liberalism - Essay Example Locke attempted to protect some areas of personal life from governmental action. People should not be deprived of their property rights by the state. The acceptance of the government authority over people is to ensure that the latter protects their property and liberty. In ancient times, people enjoyed full-fledged freedom and liberty; and the state should endeavor to provide these rights (Stein 21). The Lockean perception states that the fundamental duty of the state is to protect private property. However, this theory has been discounted because the state has extended protection to only property that it creates and to the extent to which it deems to be sufficient. The state is the bestower as well as the depriver of property. Consequently, the restrictions imposed by the state on land use become an intrinsic part of the land (Epstein 129). A state that controls private property is akin to a dictatorship. Moreover, a state that strictly protects the right to private property, cannot address crises effectively. For instance, during times of war, natural disasters and economic depressions the state is empowered to control private property. However, classical liberalism requires the state to operate under certain limitations, while seizing private property. Therefore, a classical liberal society cannot survive in a real time environment and it cannot build gigantic projects like the Tennessee Valley Authority. Such classical liberal societies cannot deal with the Texas farmers in drought situations. There will be no technological advancement in a classical liberal society. It cannot launch expedition to outer space, and there would be no scientific experiments (Rockwell). The sole ruler of a society is its legislation, therefore, it is irrelevant as to who wins in the elections or who emerges as the president. Communities develop by themselves, and the future of the people is determined by their actions.

Managed Healthcare Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Managed Healthcare - Assignment Example Information technology enables faster acquisition of test results as well as better forms of treatment being administered to the patients. The managed care sector is therefore keen on ensuring that they offer quality services to their patients (Kongstvedt, 2012). There are various factors in the managed care industry. These factors include the government, the employers and the employees as well as the providers. The process of providing managed care is driven by two factors which are the federal government policy and market-driven business practices. Each of this is important when it comes to care provision since the law has to be followed. On the other hand, an organization also has to consider whether it is making profits or not and just how up to standard their equipment is. This will ensure that despite the provision of managed care going on, they make revenue and stay up to

Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 25

Business - Essay Example On the other hand bring it with the organization structure of Hostess and this will depend on the Human Resource department exhibited by the firm, the teams owned by the firm verses the individual behavior of the individual members of the original company. This will go hand in hand with the communication models of the companies and the employee handling skills used by the employees. This may not be actually relevant for the firm since the firm will decide on whether to use distributorship, which operates through contracts. Therefore, the task that is left for this individual is to gunner all the information with regards to the form of distribution they would wish to use and land on the form that is appropriate for Worde white Bread name(See the attachments). A business mode to be employed by a company is quite a formal plan for earning a profit for the company, a business model is otherwise called a profit model and if the right procedure and channel were used in formulating and implementing it then the business would earn a profit out of it (Hoque). This is because the business model employed by for example by the Pepperidge Farm Bread Company would set the bread products and services to be offered to the customers and the way the company will offer such products and services. The distribution model implemented depending on how it is adopted will consider the cost structure and the manner to improve on the sales for the company to bring in more money to widen the gap for profitability while minimizing costs hence expanded profitability. The distribution model if enacted through a good model has always ensured that a wide range of costs as those on employees are negated hence they come in below the sales revenue widening the probability of increasing sales to improve on the profitability. For the distributor model to work as opposed to the employees’ model a series of steps as defined below must be followed in

Managed Healthcare Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Managed Healthcare - Assignment Example Information technology enables faster acquisition of test results as well as better forms of treatment being administered to the patients. The managed care sector is therefore keen on ensuring that they offer quality services to their patients (Kongstvedt, 2012). There are various factors in the managed care industry. These factors include the government, the employers and the employees as well as the providers. The process of providing managed care is driven by two factors which are the federal government policy and market-driven business practices. Each of this is important when it comes to care provision since the law has to be followed. On the other hand, an organization also has to consider whether it is making profits or not and just how up to standard their equipment is. This will ensure that despite the provision of managed care going on, they make revenue and stay up to

Literature paper #2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Literature paper #2 - Essay Example A sensible reading of the text would reveal Gregors metamorphosis as a metaphor of the modern society where people have become quite alienated, burdened with familial responsibilities and obligations, neurotic, and lack understanding, love, or communion. Twentieth-century modernist images of metamorphosis, on the other hand, lead us to question not only the boundaries of man’s relationship with nature and the supernatural, but the very status of humanity itself, transformed into the monstrous. Gregors metamorphosis is governed by uncontrollable factors that cause both physical and mental changes in his personality. No doubt, Gregors tragedy stems from his strong sense of familial obligation and responsibilities; his subsequent guilt due to his inability to fulfill his responsibilities turns him into a bug and this metamorphosis brings about drastic changes in the gender roles and sibling relations.Gregor’s metamorphosis underlines that man’s existence is absurd a nd meaningless and that human nature is essentially monstrous. His transformation is more inward than physical; it is Kafka’s inner conviction that human nature is inevitably monstrous and meaningless that makes him to depict Grgor’s character as animalistic, and the only possible escape for Gregor is to succumb to the ultimate reality-death. In Metamorphosis, one experiences man’s inner struggle and longing to survive in a world where one cannot find any sort of solace. Everyone seeks his/her existence and is likely to get disillusioned and desperate when things go beyond one’s comprehension and control. Even though the metamorphosis of Gregor sounds to be supernatural and beyond human comprehension, the touching story of Gregor’s misfortunes points to the meaninglessness of human life; man is incapable of fighting the supernatural elements and the essential monstrous human nature that unleashes itself in such turbulent

The Darknet And The Future Information Technology Essay

The Darknet And The Future Information Technology Essay People have always copied things. In the past, most items of value were physical objects. Patent law and economies of scale meant that small scale copying of physical objects was usually uneconomic, and large-scale copying (if it infringed) was stoppable using policemen and courts. Today, things of value are increasingly less tangible: often they are just bits and bytes or can be accurately represented as bits and bytes. The widespread deployment of packet-switched networks and the huge advances in computers and codec-technologies has made it feasible (and indeed attractive) to deliver such digital works over the Internet. This presents great opportunities and great challenges. The opportunity is low-cost delivery of personalized, desirable high-quality content. The challenge is that such content can be distributed illegally. Copyright law governs the legality of copying and distribution of such valuable data, but copyright protection is increasingly strained in a world of programmab le computers and high-speed networks. The dramatic rise in the efficiency of the darknet can be traced back to the general technological improvements in these infrastructure areas. At the same time, most attempts to fight the darknet can be viewed as efforts to deprive it of one or more of the infrastructure items. Legal action has traditionally targeted search engines and, to a lesser extent, the distribution network. As we will describe later in the paper, this has been partially successful. The drive for legislation on mandatory watermarking aims to deprive the darknet of rendering devices. We will argue that watermarking approaches are technically flawed and unlikely to have any material impact on the darknet. Finally, most content protection systems are meant to prevent or delay the injection of new objects into the darknet. Based on our first assumption, no such system constitutes an impenetrable barrier, and we will discuss the merits of some popular systems. We see no technical impediments to the darknet becoming increasingly efficient (measured by aggregate library size and available bandwidth). However, the darknet, in all its transport-layer embodiments, is under legal attack. In this paper, we speculate on the technical and legal future of the darknet, concentrating particularly, but not exclusively, on peer-to-peer networks. The rest of this paper is structured as follows. Section 2 analyzes different manifestations of the darknet with respect to their robustness to attacks on the infrastructure requirements described above and speculates on the future development of the darknet. Section 3 describes content protection mechanisms, their probable effect on the darknet, and the impact of the darknet upon them. In sections 4 and 5, we speculate on the scenarios in which the darknet will be effective, and how businesses may need to behave to compete effectively with it. 2 The Evolution of the Darknet We classify the different manifestations of the darknet that have come into existence in recent years with respect to the five infrastructure requirements described and analyze weaknesses and points of attack. As a system, the darknet is subject to a variety of attacks. Legal action continues to be the most powerful challenge to the darknet. However, the darknet is also subject to a variety of other common threats (e.g. viruses, spamming) that, in the past, have lead to minor disruptions of the darknet, but could be considerably more damaging. In this section we consider the potential impact of legal developments on the darknet. Most of our analysis focuses on system robustness, rather than on detailed legal questions. We regard legal questions only with respect to their possible effect: the failure of certain nodes or links (vertices and edges of the graph defined above). In this sense, we are investigating a well known problem in distributed systems. 2.1 Early Small-Worlds Networks Prior to the mid 1990s, copying was organized around groups of friends and acquaintances. The copied objects were music on cassette tapes and computer programs. The rendering devices were widely-available tape players and the computers of the time see Fig. 1. Content injection was trivial, since most objects were either not copy protected or, if they were equipped with copy protection mechanisms, the mechanisms were easily defeated. The distribution network was a sneaker net of floppy disks and tapes (storage), which were handed in person between members of a group or were sent by postal mail. The bandwidth of this network albeit small by todays standards was sufficient for the objects of the time. The main limitation of the sneaker net with its mechanical transport layer was latency. It could take days or weeks to obtain a copy of an object. Another serious limitation of these networks was the lack of a sophisticated search engine. There were limited attempts to prosecute individuals who were trying to sell copyrighted objects they had obtained from the darknet (commercial piracy). However, the darknet as a whole was never under significant legal threat. Reasons may have included its limited commercial impact and the protection from legal surveillance afforded by sharing amongst friends. The sizes of object libraries available on such networks are strongly influenced by the interconnections between the networks. For example, schoolchildren may copy content from their family network to their school network and thereby increase the size of the darknet object library available to each. Such networks have been studied extensively and are classified as interconnected small-worlds networks. [24] There are several popular examples of the characteristics of such systems. For example, most people have a social group of a few score of people. Each of these people has a group of friends that partly overlap with their friends friends, and also introduces more people. It is estimated that, on average, each person is connected to every other person in the world by a chain of about six people from which arises the term six degrees of separation. These findings are remarkably broadly applicable (e.g. [20],[3]). The chains are on average so short because certain super-peers have many links. In our example, some people are gregarious and have lots of friends from different social or geographical circles.. We suspect that these findings have implications for sharing on darknets, and we will return to this point when we discuss the darknets of the future later in this paper. The small-worlds darknet continues to exist. However, a number of technological advances have given rise to new forms of the darknet that have superseded the small-worlds for some object types (e.g. audio). 2.2 Central Internet Servers By 1998, a new form of the darknet began to emerge from technological advances in several areas. The internet had become mainstream, and as such its protocols and infrastructure could now be relied upon by anyone seeking to connect users with a centralized service or with each other. The continuing fall in the price of storage together with advances in compression technology had also crossed the threshold at which storing large numbers of audio files was no longer an obstacle to mainstream users. Additionally, the power of computers had crossed the point at which they could be used as rendering devices for multimedia content. Finally, CD ripping became a trivial method for content injection. The first embodiments of this new darknet were central internet servers with large collections of MP3 audio files. A fundamental change that came with these servers was the use of a new distribution network: The internet displaced the sneaker net at least for audio content. This solved several problems of the old darknet. First, latency was reduced drastically. Secondly, and more importantly, discovery of objects became much easier because of simple and powerful search mechanisms most importantly the general-purpose world-wide-web search engine. The local view of the small world was replaced by a global view of the entire collection accessible by all users. The main characteristic of this form of the darknet was centralized storage and search a simple architecture that mirrored mainstream internet servers. Centralized or quasi-centralized distribution and service networks make sense for legal online commerce. Bandwidth and infrastructure costs tend to be low, and having customers visit a commerce site means the merchant can display adverts, collect profiles, and bill efficiently. Additionally, management, auditing, and accountability are much easier in a centralized model. However, centralized schemes work poorly for illegal object distribution because large, central servers are large single points of failure: If the distributor is breaking the law, it is relatively easy to force him to stop. Early MP3 Web and FTP sites were commonly hosted by universities, corporations, and ISPs. Copyright-holders or their representatives sent cease and desist letters to these web-site operators and web-owners citing copyright infringement and in a few cases followed up with legal action [15]. The threats of legal action were successful attacks on those centralized networks, and MP3 web and FTP sites disappeared from the mainstream shortly after they appeared. 2.3 Peer-to-Peer Networks The realization that centralized networks are not robust to attack (be it legal or technical) has spurred much of the innovation in peer-to-peer networking and file sharing technologies. In this section, we examine architectures that have evolved. Early systems were flawed because critical components remained centralized (Napster) or because of inefficiencies and lack of scalability of the protocol (gnutella) [17]. It should be noted that the problem of object location in a massively distributed, rapidly changing, heterogeneous system was new at the time peer-to-peer systems emerged. Efficient and highly scalable protocols have been proposed since then [9],[23]. 2.3.1. Napster Napster was the service that ignited peer-to-peer file sharing in 1999 [14]. There should be little doubt that a major portion of the massive (for the time) traffic on Napster was of copyrighted objects being transferred in a peer-to-peer model in violation of copyright law. Napster succeeded where central servers had failed by relying on the distributed storage of objects not under the control of Napster. This moved the injection, storage, network distribution, and consumption of objects to users. However, Napster retained a centralized database  [1]  with a searchable index on the file name. The centralized database itself became a legal target [15]. Napster was first enjoined to deny certain queries (e.g. Metallica) and then to police its network for all copyrighted content. As the size of the darknet indexed by Napster shrank, so did the number of users. This illustrates a general characteristic of darknets: there is positive feedback between the size of the object library and aggregate bandwidth and the appeal of the network for its users. 2.3.2. Gnutella The next technology that sparked public interest in peer-to-peer file sharing was Gnutella. In addition to distributed object storage, Gnutella uses a fully distributed database described more fully in [13]. Gnutella does not rely upon any centralized server or service a peer just needs the IP address of one or a few participating peers to (in principle) reach any host on the Gnutella darknet. Second, Gnutella is not really run by anyone: it is an open protocol and anyone can write a Gnutella client application. Finally, Gnutella and its descendants go beyond sharing audio and have substantial non-infringing uses. This changes its legal standing markedly and puts it in a similar category to email. That is, email has substantial non-infringing use, and so email itself is not under legal threat even though it may be used to transfer copyrighted material unlawfully. 2.4 Robustness of Fully Distributed Darknets Fully distributed peer-to-peer systems do not present the single points of failure that led to the demise of central MP3 servers and Napster. It is natural to ask how robust these systems are and what form potential attacks could take. We observe the following weaknesses in Gnutella-like systems: Free riding Lack of anonymity 2.4.1 Free Riding Peer-to-peer systems are often thought of as fully decentralized networks with copies of objects uniformly distributed among the hosts. While this is possible in principle, in practice, it is not the case. Recent measurements of libraries shared by gnutella peers indicate that the majority of content is provided by a tiny fraction of the hosts [1]. In effect, although gnutella appears to be a peer-to-peer network of cooperating hosts, in actual fact it has evolved to effectively be another largely centralized system see Fig. 2. Free riding (i.e. downloading objects without sharing them) by many gnutella users appears to be main cause of this development. Widespread free riding removes much of the power of network dynamics and may reduce a peer-to-peer network into a simple unidirectional distribution system from a small number of sources to a large number of destinations. Of course, if this is the case, then the vulnerabilities that we observed in centralized systems (e.g. FTP-serve rs) are present again. Free riding and the emergence of super-peers have several causes: Peer-to-peer file sharing assumes that a significant fraction of users adhere to the somewhat post-capitalist idea of sacrificing their own resources for the common good of the network. Most free-riders do not seem to adopt this idea. For example, with 56 kbps modems still being the network connection for most users, allowing uploads constitutes a tangible bandwidth sacrifice. One approach is to make collaboration mandatory. For example, Freenet [6] clients are required to contribute some disk space. However, enforcing such requirements without a central infrastructure is difficult. Existing infrastructure is another reason for the existence of super-peers. There are vast differences in the resources available to different types of hosts. For example, a T3 connection provides the combined bandwidth of about one thousand 56 kbps telephone connections. 2.4.2 Lack of Anonymity Users of gnutella who share objects they have stored are not anonymous. Current peer-to-peer networks permit the server endpoints to be determined, and if a peer-client can determine the IP address and affiliation of a peer, then so can a lawyer or government agency. This means that users who share copyrighted objects face some threat of legal action. This appears to be yet another explanation for free riding. There are some possible technological workarounds to the absence of endpoint anonymity. We could imagine anonymizing routers, overseas routers, object fragmentation, or some other means to complicate the effort required by law-enforcement to determine the original source of the copyrighted bits. For example, Freenet tries to hide the identity of the hosts storing any given object by means of a variety of heuristics, including routing the object through intermediate hosts and providing mechanisms for easy migration of objects to other hosts. Similarly, Mnemosyne [10] tries to organize object storage, such that individual hosts may not know what objects are stored on them. It is conjectured in [10] that this may amount to common-carrier status for the host. A detailed analysis of the legal or technical robustness of these systems is beyond the scope of this paper. 2.4.3 Attacks In light of these weaknesses, attacks on gnutella-style darknets focus on their object storage and search infrastructures. Because of the prevalence of super-peers, the gnutella darknet depends on a relatively small set of powerful hosts, and these hosts are promising targets for attackers. Darknet hosts owned by corporations are typically easily removed. Often, these hosts are set up by individual employees without the knowledge of corporate management. Generally corporations respect intellectual property laws. This together with their reluctance to become targets of lawsuits, and their centralized network of hierarchical management makes it relatively easy to remove darknet hosts in the corporate domain. While the structures at universities are typically less hierarchical and strict than those of corporations, ultimately, similar rules apply. If the .com and .edu T1 and T3 lines were pulled from under a darknet, the usefulness of the network would suffer drastically. This would leave DSL, ISDN, and cable-modem users as the high-bandwidth servers of objects. We believe limiting hosts to this class would present a far less effective piracy network today from the perspective of acquisition because of the relative rarity of high-bandwidth consumer connections, and hence users would abandon this darknet. However, consumer broadband is becoming more popular, so in the long run it is probable that there will be adequate consumer bandwidth to support an effective consumer darknet. The obvious next legal escalation is to bring direct or indirect (through the affiliation) challenges against users who share large libraries of copyrighted material. This is already happening and the legal threats or actions appear to be successful [7]. This requires the collaboration of ISPs in identifying their customers, which appears to be forthcoming due to requirements that the carrier must take to avoid liability  [2]  and, in some cases, because of corporate ties between ISPs and content providers. Once again, free riding makes this attack strategy far more tractable. It is hard to predict further legal escalation, but we note that the DMCA (digital millennium copyright act) is a far-reaching (although not fully tested) example of a law that is potentially quite powerful. We believe it probable that there will be a few more rounds of technical innovations to sidestep existing laws, followed by new laws, or new interpretations of old laws, in the next few years. 2.4.4 Conclusions All attacks we have identified exploit the lack of endpoint anonymity and are aided by the effects of free riding. We have seen effective legal measures on all peer-to-peer technologies that are used to provide effectively global access to copyrighted material. Centralized web servers were effectively closed down. Napster was effectively closed down. Gnutella and Kazaa are under threat because of free rider weaknesses and lack of endpoint anonymity. Lack of endpoint anonymity is a direct result of the globally accessible global object database, and it is the existence of the global database that most distinguishes the newer darknets from the earlier small worlds. At this point, it is hard to judge whether the darknet will be able to retain this global database in the long term, but it seems seems clear that legal setbacks to global-index peer-to-peer will continue to be severe. However, should Gnutella-style systems become unviable as darknets, systems, such as Freenet or Mnemosyne might take their place. Peer-to-peer networking and file sharing does seem to be entering into the mainstream both for illegal and legal uses. If we couple this with the rapid build-out of consumer broadband, the dropping price of storage, and the fact that personal computers are effectively establishing themselves as centers of home-entertainment, we suspect that peer-to-peer functionality will remain popular and become more widespread. 2.5 Small Worlds Networks Revisited In this section we try to predict the evolution of the darknet should global peer-to-peer networks be effectively stopped by legal means. The globally accessible global database is the only infrastructure component of the darknet that can be disabled in this way. The other enabling technologies of the darknet (injection, distribution networks, rendering devices, storage) will not only remain available, but rapidly increase in power, based on general technological advances and the possible incorporation of cryptography. We stress that the networks described in this section (in most cases) provide poorer services than global network, and would only arise in the absence of a global database. In the absence of a global database, small-worlds networks could again become the prevalent form of the darknet. However, these small-worlds will be more powerful than they were in the past. With the widespread availability of cheap CD and DVD readers and writers as well as large hard disks, the bandwidth of the sneaker net has increased dramatically, the cost of object storage has become negligible and object injection tools have become ubiquitous. Furthermore, the internet is available as a distribution mechanism that is adequate for audio for most users, and is becoming increasingly adequate for video and computer programs. In light of strong cryptography, it is hard to imagine how sharing could be observed and prosecuted as long as users do not share with strangers. In concrete terms, students in dorms will establish darknets to share content in their social group. These darknets may be based on simple file sharing, DVD-copying, or may use special application programs or servers: for example, a chat or instant-messenger client enhanced to share content with members of your buddy-list. Each student will be a member of other darknets: for example, their family, various special interest groups, friends from high-school, and colleagues in part-time jobs (Fig. 3). If there are a few active super-peers users that locate and share objects with zeal then we can anticipate that content will rapidly diffuse between darknets, and relatively small darknets arranged around social groups will approach the aggregate libraries that are provided by the global darknets of today. Since the legal exposure of such sharing is quite limited, we believe that sharing amongst socially oriented groups will increase unabated. Small-worlds networks suffer somewhat from the lack of a global database; each user can only see the objects stored by his small world neighbors. This raises a number of interesting questions about the network structure and object flow: What graph structure will the network have? For example, will it be connected? What will be the average distance between two nodes? Given a graph structure, how will objects propagate through the graph? In particular, what fraction of objects will be available at a given node? How long does it take for objects to propagate (diffuse) through the network? Questions of this type have been studied in different contexts in a variety of fields (mathematics, computer science, economics, and physics). A number of empirical studies seek to establish structural properties of different types of small world networks, such as social networks [20] and the world-wide web [3]. These works conclude that the diameter of the examined networks is small, and observe further structural properties, such as a power law of the degree distribution [5], A number of authors seek to model these networks by means of random graphs, in order to perform more detailed mathematical analysis on the models [2],[8],[21],[22] and, in particular, study the possibility of efficient search under different random graph distributions [18],[19]. We will present a quantitative study of the structure and dynamics of small-worlds networks in an upcoming paper, but to summarize, small-worlds darknets can be extremely efficient for popular titles: very few peers are needed to satis fy requests for top-20 books, songs, movies or computer programs. If darknets are interconnected, we expect the effective introduction rate to be large. Finally, if darknet clients are enhanced to actively seek out new popular content, as opposed to the user-demand based schemes of today, small-worlds darknets will be very efficient. 3 Introducing Content into the Darknet Our analysis and intuition have led us to believe that efficient darknets in global or small-worlds form will remain a fact of life. In this section we examine rights-management technologies that are being deployed to limit the introduction rate or decrease the rate of diffusion of content into the darknet. 3.1 Conditional Access Systems A conditional-access system is a simple form of rights-management system in which subscribers are given access to objects based (typically) on a service contract. Digital rights management systems often perform the same function, but typically impose restrictions on the use of objects after unlocking. Conditional access systems such as cable, satellite TV, and satellite radio offer little or no protection against objects being introduced into the darknet from subscribing hosts. A conditional-access system customer has no access to channels or titles to which they are not entitled, and has essentially free use of channels that he has subscribed or paid for. This means that an investment of ~$100 (at time of writing) on an analog video-capture card is sufficient to obtain and share TV programs and movies. Some CA systems provide post-unlock protections but they are generally cheap and easy to circumvent. Thus, conditional access systems provide a widely deployed, high-bandwidth source of video material for the darknet. In practice, the large size and low cost of CA-provided video content will limit the exploitation of the darknet for distributing video in the near-term. The same can not be said of the use of the darknet to distribute conditional-access system broadcast keys. At some level, each head-end (satellite or cable TV head-end) uses an encryption key that must be made available to each customer (it is a broadcast), and in the case of a satellite system this could be millions of homes. CA-system providers take measures to limit the usefulness of exploited session keys (for example, they are changed every few seconds), but if darknet latencies are low, or if encrypted broadcast data is cached, then the darknet could threaten CA-system revenues. We observe that the exposure of the conditional access provider to losses due to piracy is proportional to the number of customers that share a session key. In this regard, cable-operators are in a safer position than satellite operators because a cable operator can narrowcast more cheaply. 3.2 DRM Systems A classical-DRM system is one in which a client obtains content in protected (typically encrypted) form, with a license that specifies the uses to which the content may be put. Examples of licensing terms that are being explored by the industry are play on these three hosts, play once, use computer program for one hour, etc. The license and the wrapped content are presented to the DRM system whose responsibility is to ensure that: The client cannot remove the encryption from the file and send it to a peer, The client cannot clone its DRM system to make it run on another host, The client obeys the rules set out in the DRM license, and, The client cannot separate the rules from the payload. Advanced DRM systems may go further. Some such technologies have been commercially very successful the content scrambling system used in DVDs, and (broadly interpreted) the protection schemes used by conditional access system providers fall into this category, as do newer DRM systems that use the internet as a distribution channel and computers as rendering devices. These technologies are appealing because they promote the establishment of new businesses, and can reduce distribution costs. If costs and licensing terms are appealing to producers and consumers, then the vendor thrives. If the licensing terms are unappealing or inconvenient, the costs are too high, or competing systems exist, then the business will fail. The DivX DVD rental model failed on most or all of these metrics, but CSS-protected DVDs succeeded beyond the wildest expectations of the industry. On personal computers, current DRM systems are software-only systems using a variety of tricks to make them hard to subvert. DRM enabled consumer electronics devices are also beginning to emerge. In the absence of the darknet, the goal of such systems is to have comparable security to competing distribution systems notably the CD and DVD so that programmable computers can play an increasing role in home entertainment. We will speculate whether these strategies will be successful in the Sect. 5. DRM systems strive to be BOBE (break-once, break everywhere)-resistant. That is, suppliers anticipate (and the assumptions of the darknet predict) that individual instances (clients) of all security-systems, whether based on hardware or software, will be subverted. If a client of a system is subverted, then all content protected by that DRM client can be unprotected. If the break can be applied to any other DRM client of that class so that all of those users can break their systems, then the DRM-scheme is BOBE-weak. If, on the other hand, knowledge gained breaking one client cannot be applied elsewhere, then the DRM system is BOBE-strong. Most commercial DRM-systems have BOBE-exploits, and we note that the darknet applies to DRM-hacks as well. The CSS system is an exemplary BOBE-weak system. The knowledge and code that comprised the De-CSS exploit spread uncontrolled around the world on web-sites, newsgroups, and even T-shirts, in spite of the fact that, in principle, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act makes it a crime to develop these exploits. A final characteristic of existing DRM-systems is renewability. Vendors recognize the possibility of exploits, and build systems that can be field-updated. It is hard to quantify the effectiveness of DRM-systems for restricting the introduction of content into the darknet from experience with existing systems. Existing DRM-systems typically provide protection for months to years; however, the content available to such systems has to date been of minimal interest, and the content that is protected is also available in unprotected form. The one system that was protecting valuable content (DVD video) was broken very soon after compression technology and increased storage capacities and bandwidth enabled the darknet to carry video content. 3.3 Software The DRM-systems described above can be used to provide protection for software, in addition other objects (e.g. audio and video). Alternatively, copy protection systems for computer programs may embed the copy protection code in the software itself. The most important copy-protection primitive for computer programs is for the software to be bound to a host in such a way that the program will not work on an unlicensed machine. Binding requires a machine ID: this can be a unique number on a machine (e.g. a network card MAC address), or can be provided by an external dongle. For such schemes to be strong, two things must be true. First, the machine ID must not be virtualizable. For instance, if it is trivial to modify a NIC driver to return an invalid MAC address, then the software-host binding is easily broken. Second, the code that performs the binding checks must not be easy to patch. A variety of technologies that revolve around software tamper-re

Cybernetics and the Security-State :: Wiener Government Mechanics Papers

Cybernetics and the Security-State The mastery of nature, so the imperialists teach, is the purpose of technology. But who would trust a cane wielder who proclaimed the mastery of children by adults to be the purpose of education? Is not education above all the indispensable ordering of the relationship between generations and therefore mastery, if we are to use this term, of the relationship and not of children? And likewise technology is not the mastery of nature and man. Men as a species completed their development thousands of years ago; but mankind as a species is just beginning his. In technology a physis is being organized through which mankind's contact with the cosmos takes a new and different form from that which it had in nations and families. . . . The paroxysm of genuine cosmic experience is not tied to that tiny fragment of nature that we are accustomed to call 'Nature'. In the nights of annihilation of the last war the frame of mankind was shaken by a feeling that resembled the bliss of the epil eptic. And the revolts that followed it were the first attempt of mankind to bring the new body under its control. -- Walter Benjamin, One Way Street, 1925-26 Garry Kasparov lost to Deep Blue on May 11, 1997. The event itself had almost no affect on the daily life of the general populace in and of itself, and in fact had been considered inevitable for some time. Even so, commentators read awful portent into the fact that the chess grandmaster, dubbed "Humanity's Champ," was beaten by the IBM computer. USA Today was not alone in asking, "Are computers backing humans into a corner?" With rare exception, after the initial hype died down the media reassured us that we were in no immediate danger of computers turning against us and taking over the planet, at least not actively. Chess, we were assured, is susceptible to the type of "simple" brute force calculations a computer can do. Understanding natural language, recognizing speech and handwriting, and analyzing images require work of a different sort, a "common sense" that has so far eluded most artificial intelligence researchers. Unlike human babies (an admittedly loaded example) , computers have trouble interacting with and learning about the "real world" except within strictly defined parameters.

The Genesis of a Backcountry Identity :: Colonial America Colonization Essays

The Genesis of a Backcountry Identity In the North American English[1] colonial experience and in the subsequent post- revolutionary American Republic, the ability to assimilate either individually or collectively into the hierarchy of power represented a continually evolving process. Previously, throughout Europe’s ancient rà ©gime, a ridged hierarchy had dominated the social interaction of every facet of life and dictated that social positioning was a product of one’s birth and not open to unwarranted acts of social promotion. With the opening of English colonization efforts in the new world during the seventeenth century, the ridged social hierarchy of the old world was transplanted to North America. Although the Puritan settlers of the Massachusetts Bay Area and the settlers at Jamestown came to North America with wildly divergent intentions, the two different groups nevertheless brought with them the social behaviors of the dominate English identity that they had both been accustom to. The geographica l distance between England and North America, however, generated a logistically challenged environment that increasingly compelled colonial Americans to integrate their dominant English customs within the practical realities of living three thousand miles away from London. Maintaining traditional social order in the English North American colonies was therefore particularly problematic the farther west that English colonial expansion reached in North America. Consequently, in the ensuing one hundred and fifty plus years before colonial America entered the pre-revolutionary period in 1763[2], a gradual weakening of the traditional English hierarchical order of colonial life facilitated the development of a sectionalist conflict that would characterize the western expansion of North America. The loosening of traditional social controls in the English North American colonies affected nearly every aspect of colonial society, but along the expanding frontier regions of colonial America the effects of the weakening hierarchy’s authority allowed a distinct frontier or backcountry identity to develop.[3] At the forefront of the backcountry’s collective identity lay the singular importance of land ownership because, as historian Alan Taylor suggests, â€Å"the distribution of †¦property would determine what sort of society would be reproduced over time as Americans expanded across the continent.†[4] Because property ownership ultimately represented the defining element for entrance into the governing ranks of early American society, some marginalized groups of white frontier settlers that were typically comprised of recently arrived immigrants, squatters, and tenant farmers, occasionally were compelled to rebel against the eastern colonial centers of authority. The Paxton