Device Hardening and Secure Network Design Term Paper

Device Hardening and Secure Network Design - Term Paper Example Bragg, Rhodes-Ousley, & Strassberg (2009) stated that routers have the capability to carry out IP packet check and filter. Access control lists (ACLs) could be configured to authorize or refute UDP and TCP network traffic. These factors are foundational upon the destination or source address, or together, and on the UDP or TCP port numbers enclosed in a packet. Additionally, the firewalls are implemented for additional in-depth examination; tactically positioned router ACLs thus they augment network security. For instance, access control lists could be employed on border routers to drop visibly not needed traffic, eliminating the burden from the border firewalls. Access control lists can as well be employed on WAN links to drop broadcast and additional needless traffic (Bragg, Rhodes-Ousley, & Strassberg, 2009). Servers are intended to bring data in a protected and dependable style for web-based users. Thus, they need to make sure that data confidentiality, integrity, and accessibility are maintained. However, one of the main steps to attain this guarantee is to make sure that the servers are maintained and installed in a way that they could stop illegal access, illegal utilization, and disturbances in service. Additionally, the reason for establishing the server hardening policy is to express the requirements for installing a new server in a secure fashion and maintaining the security integrity of the server and application software. In addition, the server hardening process offers the comprehensive information necessary to harden a server as well as have to be applied for UTEP IT official approval. A number of the wide-ranging steps incorporated in the server hardening process contain (Microsoft Press, 2005). At present, network security has become the most important subject of discussion. Additionally, there are many networking security management and handling measures are available.  Ã‚  

Urban poverty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Urban poverty - Essay Example A detailed explanation of the reasons which resulted in formation of several neighborhoods around several cities of Britain is given by them. They have also explained on how the neighborhoods gradually turned out to be poverty ridden areas in the period 1981 to 1998. Some of their proposed solutions are detailed below. (Power & Houghton 2007) Several projects and ‘pilot’ plans were proposed by the government for the renewal of neighborhood and with their success, it has propelled several local authorities of each city to follow the same procedure. Power and Houghton (2007) suggest that the local authorities need to solve the immediate short term problems first than look at the long term problems. This is because, nationwide projects, generally tend to neglect these smaller problems but according to author’s view, they usually pose big threats to life in cities. The other common problem that is being reported by the author is the local crime incidents that happen in the cities that affect the day to day life of the residents. Any city that is clean and that follows the rules will flourish. So, the authors are of the opinion that police personnel are to envisage every doubtful street that could casus crime incidents and ensure strict adherence to rules and regulations by the residents. On the other hand, the author also warns that enforcing of rules by any kind of office personnel is a tough job and even more tough to consistently apply it. But, if applied, it would help the poor and people with low wage incomes to sustain their living. An example of such action was done in the late 1990’s in the city of Manchester. Reports suggest that it helped the city to greatly pull most of its so called waste lands back to business boundaries. The author concludes the analysis with this example to show that neighborhood management helps people t o be safer and to improve their way of living. (Power & Houghton 2007) The picture presented by

Grade Retention for Struggling Students Essay Example for Free

Grade Retention for Struggling Students Essay The use of ABA principles and techniques to treat people with Autism live happy and productive lives has grown quickly in recent years. According to information provided by the Autism Organization, ABA is used all over the world and is recognized as a safe and effective treatment. http://www.autismspeaks.org/whatisit/index.php There have been many studies done in a variety of settings all examining effects of ABA methods on social behaviors. Donald Baer completed the first published study on ABA in 1968 and there was another study by O. Ivar Lovaas done in 1987. These studies both took a look at using behavior modification interventions on Autistic children. The idea was to use early intervention to teach alternate, socially appropriate behaviors. In the study by Lovaas, subjects were assigned to one of two control groups, one that received 40 hours per week of one-to-one treatment, and the other 10 hours or less. Both treatment groups received treatment for at least two years. The follow up indicated the groups that received the additional treatment did much better in achieving normal intellectual and educational functioning (Lovaas, 1987). Much of the data I reviewed revealed great success in implementing applied behavior analysis in treating Autistic children in replacing or reducing inappropriate behaviors. According to many reports, ABA is considered by many researchers to be the most effective therapeutic approach in treating children with Autism, but in order for the program to be effective, both parents, educators, and other care providers need to be trained (http://autism.healingthresholds.com/therapy/applied-behavior-analysis-aba). How effective is ABA in reducing aggressive behaviors in Autistic students? There’s actually quite a bit of interest in ABA, an increase in demand for the service, and several universities across the United States are involved in studies on the use of ABA. In a THE FIVE W’S OF CULTURAL DIVERSITY 4 paper published just a decade ago, Tris Smith carefully studied outcome investigations of ABA programs and found convincing evidence that ABA treatment programs have increased adaptive behavior and reduced inappropriate behavior. He also mentioned that this program may raise IQ and other standardized scores, and even reducing the need for special services. Mr. Smith suggest research is needed to confirm results on IQ and test scores (Smith, 1999). The organization, Autism Speaks, has grown into the nations largest autism science and advocacy organization, dedicated to funding research into the causes, prevention, treatments and a cure for autism; increasing awareness of autism spectrum disorders. With several medical professionals with field experience in Autism and behavior intervention programs, they support the use of ABA with children of all ages, with and without disabilities, in many different settings (Green G, Brennan L., and Fein, D. 2002) Several studies have been done on the effectiveness of ABA. My particular interest is will ABA work with aggressive behavior in Autistic students and I found no study that targeted aggression specifically but targeted social behaviors in general. There is a gap in the literature because I found no study that focused specifically on aggressive behavior and provided the data to support that. I will use the data from the student records at my school to fill in the gap. Reviewing the Literature ABA is using what we know about behavior to bring about change; to increase or decrease a particular behavior, to improve the quality of a behavior, to stop an old behavior, or teach a new. The number of children being diagnosed with Autism Disorder each year has increased significantly over the past decade. These students’ social behaviors are affected in various THE FIVE W’S OF CULTURAL DIVERSITY 5 degrees from mild social awkwardness to extreme physical aggression towards themselves and others. It’s extremely important to find successful interventions which can help autistic students improve these socially significant behaviors which include Reading, Academics, Social skills, communication, and adaptive living skills. Keep in mind that adaptive living skills include things like fine and gross motor skills, eating and food preparation, toileting, dressing, personal self care, money and value, and the list goes on but these skills are detrimental to these students future success, not only in school, but in life. I will be using pre-existing data on students who have attended the school where I work. These student s have moved on but their records are still assessable. I will have to use fictitious names and delete personal information due to privacy. My plan is to use the correlational research method. I will gather the data from my students as well as looking at studies recorded at the Cambridge Center for Behavior Studies, The New Jersey Education Association, and a study published by McEachin S.J., Smith, T., and Lovaas, O.I. in the American Journal of Mental Retardation. Theory The theory behind ABA is that you can teach children with autism, as well as others, appropriate social behaviors with simplified instructional steps and consistent reinforcement. There are actually a number of techniques that follow the ABA principal. I suggest that we can use the same approach to reduce aggressive behaviors. Studies directly related I did find studies related to my question of what effect ABA has on aggressive behavior in Autistic students, even though aggression was not the focus of the study. These studies both used the same ABA principles but with some differences in technique. O. Ivar Lovaas was THE FIVE W’S OF CULTURAL DIVERSITY 6 interested in ABA and wanted to see if it was effective in treating children with Autism. Many autistic children show minimal emotional attachment, absent or abnormal speech, retarded 1Q, ritualistic behaviors, aggression, and self-injury. The prognosis is very poor, and medical therapies have not proven effective. (Lovaas, 1987) He wrote a detailed article about a study and provided a close look at how the study was conducted. In this study, intensive ABA treatment was provided to one control group of autistic children under the age of 4, but minimal treatment was provided to the other control group. A variety of ABA techniques were used to try and reduce self stimulatory and aggressive behaviors, building compliance to verbal requests, teaching imitation, and to begin teaching appropriate toy play in the first year. The study continued to address significant behaviors over a period of time. When the study was completed, a follow up assessment was conducted and the control group that received the intense treatment had better scores on their IQ tests had higher educational placement, with 47% of them completing normal first grade in a public first grade. Ann M. Baer, Trudylee Rowbury, Donald M. Baer did a similar study that uses a variation of an ABA. The subjects used in this study were not just Autistic but all students had behavior problems. These students were between the ages of 4 and 6. The study examined the possibility of instructional control over extremely non-compliant children. In this study, a token reward system was used to reinforce appropriate behaviors. The classroom was divided into two sections, one for pre-academic tasks where tokens can be earned, and the other section was a play area where students could exchange their tokens for free time. The students were allowed to choose the task they complete but earned more points or tokens for completing a task the teacher suggest. As a students’ compliance increases, time outs were introduced. When THE FIVE W’S OF CULTURAL DIVERSITY 7 this happened, compliance increased significantly. This study demonstrated two procedures that can be effective in increasing childrens compliance but keep in mind there are many variables that come into play. (Baer, Rowbury, Baer) Studies tangentially related All the studies I found were relevant to my question and were also based on the question of whether or not ABA methods were effective in improving behavior. Method The subjects in this study were students at my school. There were 9 total, 8 males and 1 female. Each of these students had been diagnosed with Autism. None of these students had received any type of behavior intervention prior to this study. The students were tracked for three months prior to receiving treatment (the first 3 months of school). We were measuring the number of aggressive behavior episodes each school day. After recording incidents in the students for 3 months, ABA treatment on all 9 students began. The treatment was provided at school by a teacher who was also a certified behavior specialist. The treatment began the 1st of December and we began measuring the behavior incidents two weeks after treatment started. Aggressive behavior was described as behavior that causes, or is intended to cause pain, harm, or damage to oneself, to another person, or to property. Aggressive behavior can be described as mental, verbal, or physical. Inappropriate behavior is when the student is not following rules, is loud or unruly, disruptive, offensive, refusing to complete work, not listening, not cooperating with authority figures, etc. Results The design I used was a One-Group Pretest-Posttest. I used a single group and measured THE FIVE W’S OF CULTURAL DIVERSITY 8 them before and after they received applied behavior analysis treatment. I used the T test and paired two samples for means and the results indicated a â€Å"t† statistic of 5.199 and a p value of .0004 which is less than 0.05. There is a significant difference between the two means. So what does all this mean to me and my research? It appears as though applying applied behavior analysis techniques may have a positive effect on reducing aggressive behaviors in students with Autism. Of course, there are many factors that can also affect the results such as whether or not students care providers receive in home training, what kind of training have the teachers had, and how many hours of treatment is each student receiving? The research I’ve done so far did suggest that by providing intense treatment over long periods of time, by ensuring that all care providers and teachers working with the students are highly trained, and these techniques are used consistently and appropriately, the number of behavior incidents will decrease significantly. As I was reading all the literature about ABA and how important it is for individuals implementing these techniques to receive specialized training, and how intense the training should be in order to achieve the optimal results, I became more interested. As I was recording the results after the treatment and in some students I saw really big changes, but in other students the changes were minimal. I also knew that some students care providers had received in-home training while others had not so I was not really surprised by the results. My data analysis findings are pretty much what I expected in some ways but surprising in others. Discussion Both studies done by Lovaas, and several others related to using ABA techniques for behavior intervention therapy, had more control over the variables. In the study done at my school, we did THE FIVE W’S OF CULTURAL DIVERSITY 9 not get to select our subjects based on any specific criteria other than their diagnosis of Autism and no previously recorded ABA treatments were received by the subject prior to our study. Many experts believe that parents and other care providers should receive intense training on ABA techniques in order for the treatment to help. Lovaas devoted an entire study on the importance of parental factors in the success of treatment. He noted that the role parents play is crucial in determining how much progress a child makes. I noticed in our study, the students who had a more significant change in the number of behavior incidents after treatment, also received in home training/treatment. Our district offered in home training to parents as well as treatment . Most of the parents refused the training. I’ve been working with the Autistic students this year and I noticed that at the beginning of the school year, they all have a lot of difficulty, and many have several behavior incidents. Autistic students need lots of structure and routine. As the students get settled into the routine of being in school, they get used to their new environment, and transitioning around campus, the incidents for most students decrease, even without a certified behavior therapist on site. It’s the more severe students who continue to show the least amount of progress. In Lovaas’s study, he began treatment very early in the child’s life. Even with the child find program, many times, we don’t get to start any type of behavior intervention until 5 or 6 years of age. Many behaviors are already in place by then. Most of my students came from single parent homes, and more than one child with a disability in the home. Most of our parents had little education and even less training on how to help a child with Autism. There are new studies being done every day in this area. I look forward to finding â€Å"easier ways† to teach these students. It is very challenging, frustrating, and extremely exhausting, but since the number of people being diagnosed in the Autism spectrum is growing THE FIVE W’S OF CULTURAL DIVERSITY 10 Baer, D.M., and Wolf, M.W., Some still current dimensions of Applied Behavior Analysis. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 1987, 209, 313-327 Baer, A. M., Rowbury, T., and Baer, D. M. The development of instructional control over classroom activities of deviant preschool children. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 1973, 61, 289-298 Green, G., Brennan, L., and Fein, D. Intensive behavioral treatment for a toddler at high risk for autism. Behavior Modification, Vol. 26 No. 1, January 2002, 69-102 Koegel, R. L., Russo D. C., and Rincover A., Assessing and Training Teachers in the Generalized use of Behavior Modification with Autistic Children. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 1977, 10, 197-205 Lovaas, O. I., Behavioral treatment and normal educational and intellectual functioning in young autistic children. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1987, Vol 55, No. 1, 3-9 Lovaas, O. I., Koegel, R. L., Simmons, J. Q., and Stevens, J. Some generalization and follow up measures on autistic children in behavior therapy. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, (in press) Smith T. (1999). Outcome of early intervention for children with autism. Clinical Psychology: Research and practice, 6, 33-49

Impacts of Nuclear Energy on Global Business

Impacts of Nuclear Energy on Global Business 1. Background and Overview Tony Blair’s Labour government has finally decided to move ahead â€Å"with a vengeance† (Webster, 2006) with its’ plans for development of nuclear power, ending years of speculation on the issue. Work on the last nuclear power station started eighteen years ago in the UK on Sizewell B and since then there has been a complete embargo on any fresh initiative in the area. Things are now likely to change, much to the concern of environmentalists and anti nuclear campaigners. The use of nuclear power, for any reason, peaceful or otherwise, has always been looked upon with deep suspicion because of its inherent association with weapons of mass destruction and its ability to cause large scale destruction on a horrific and unimaginable scale. â€Å"Many analysts have attempted to explain the visceral hostility toward nuclear power, and the most common explanation is that people link nuclear power with nuclear weapons.† (Lorenzini, 2005) The reasons for this attitude are also justifiable as most scientific work in atomic radiation, atomic change and nuclear fission, be it in the USA, Nazi Germany or communist Russia, at least till 1956, was focussed primarily on the furthering of the atomic bomb. It was only after 1956 that the focus of nuclear technology shifted to the design of safe and reliable nuclear plants. The growth in use of nuclear energy for power entered a state of not just stagnation but moderate decline, world wide, in the late seventies and remained so until the turn of the century and the UK was presumably, but echoing global concern in the formulation of its energy policy. Very few reactors were ordered globally and the new reactors coming on line just about matched requirements. Global capacity increased by only a third in more than a decade. Even then, nuclear energy, from the 442 nuclear power reactors used in 31 countries, adds up to one sixth of the world’s electricity supply today. The growth of nuclear fuel as an energy source has been sluggish due to quite a few reasons, some of which now need rethinking in today’s grim geopolitical and environmental scenario. For more than three decades, energy policies in the United States and much of the Western world have been held in the ideological grip of a flawed concept: the notion that we can achieve sustainable energy by relying solely on conservation and renewable resources, such as wind, the sun, the tides, and organic materials like wood and crop waste. Born in the wake of the 1973 oil embargo and arising out of renewed commitments to environmental quality, this idea has an almost religious appeal. An unintended result is that the world has become ever more reliant on fossil fuels and therefore less able to respond to global warming. (Lorenzini, 2005) It has been the case of the pro nuclear power lobby, for many years now, that nuclear energy is a clean, economic and efficient way to generate power; ideal for continuous generation of medium and large scale electricity. In nuclear power stations, apart from the nuclear reactors, the rest of the equipment works similarly to those in coal or gas fuelled power plants. However, the cheaper and more widely available fuel used by these nuclear plants, compared to those fired by coal, oil and gas, makes the case for its’ wider use attractive. This is especially relevant today with oil hovering in the range of 70 to 73 USD per barrel, and gas from the North Sea wells beginning to run out. With the increase in greenhouse and emission problems and the uncertainty of fossil fuel supplies in a shifting and unstable political environment, the nuclear power option has definitely got itself a strong tailwind. The concerns of the anti nuclear campaigners focus on a number of worrying issues. Their first contention concerns the forecasted reduction of carbon dioxide emission from nuclear power plants; this to them is no more than blatant propaganda. In the US, where much of the worlds uranium is enriched, including Australias, the enrichment facility at Paducah, Kentucky, requires the electrical output of two 1000-megawatt coal-fired plants, which emit large quantities of carbon dioxide, the gas responsible for 50per cent of global warming. Also, this enrichment facility and another at Portsmouth, Ohio, release from leaky pipes 93per cent of the chlorofluorocarbon gas emitted yearly in the US. The production and release of CFC gas is now banned internationally by the Montreal Protocol because it is the main culprit responsible for stratospheric ozone depletion. But CFC is also a global warmer, 10,000 to 20,000 times more potent than carbon dioxide. (Caldicott, 2005) In addition, the environmentalists say that nuclear fuel cycle also consumes large quantities of fossil fuel, in the mining of uranium, in the construction of the reactor and its’ robotic decommissioning as also in the transportation and storage of radioactive waste. The use of nuclear fuel can lead to significant health threats from the unregulated emission of radioactive isotopes; which include Krypton, Xenon, Argon and Tritium and could cause long term physical harm to residents in surrounding and nearby areas. These releases are unregulated because the nuclear industry considers these particular radioactive elements to be biologically inconsequential. The transportation and storage of radioactive waste could also become a global security problem, if the use of nuclear energy is adopted on a wide basis. A completely new and potentially catastrophic dimension would be added to global security with the deliberate creation of new and potentially vulnerable targets for terrorist strikes. While the advanced nations would be able to shore up reasonable levels of security the same may not be true of the developing countries where weaker management systems could lead to grave risks; witness the variation in the effectiveness of different management sy stems in disaster control in the Chernobyl and Three Mile Island episodes. Nuclear proliferation remains a major issue. The USA is planning to go ahead with the selling of weapons grade nuclear fuel to India, (a non signatory to the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty and a country with a history of surreptitious manufacture of nuclear weapons) for use in power generation. If it is India today, can Pakistan be far behind? The prospect of an atomic bomb capable Pakistan getting access to Yellow Cake, an intermediary for the production of enriched uranium, is a frightful thought; enough to send shivers down the spine of the developed world. The energy crisis enveloping the globe has a number of dimensions, all equally worrying. The availability of fossil fuels is reducing sharply because of resource depletion, price spikes and geopolitical reasons. Greenhouse emissions of carbon dioxide are leading to global warming with far reaching ecological effects that could one day threaten the existence of the world. The development of renewable energy sources, wind and solar, once touted as the best solutions, have been largely unsuccessful and remained in the realm of experimentation; useful only in small isolated pockets. In this situation, while nuclear energy does appear to have most of the answers, the concerns of the environmentalists and the anti nuclear campaigners also remain very valid. 2. Impact on Contemporary Business Organisations The UK has always been in the forefront of development of nuclear technology. The work carried out by British scientists in the 1940s was renewed after the war and it is pertinent to recall that the world’s first nuclear power reactor started in the UK in 1956. Twenty three nuclear reactors power the country’s nuclear plants, leading to the generation of a total of 75 billion kWh of electricity, a fifth of the country’s requirement. However, all but three of these plants are scheduled to close by 2020, with consequent effects on the economy and operations of contemporary business organisations. The major dilemma for business and economy is to find alternative sources for energy, nuclear or otherwise to fill this expected gap in energy production and to provide for increased needs. 2020 is not so far away. The other major factor staring British economy in the face is the prospect of importing 90 % of its gas requirement by 2025. The country and its economy is looking at a huge energy deficit, an issue that will need resolution in the very near future. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has, in a widely publicised call in April this year, asked the Government to clarify its’ stand on longer term carbon emission policy to enable low carbon emission sources like nuclear fuel to play an important role. The CBI has also stated very categorically that nuclear power is the only proven low-carbon technology able to deliver consistent supplies of electricity on a large scale. The advantages of stable operating costs, the availability of nuclear fuel from politically stable countries and the ability to store uranium are practical reasons to work towards the development and commissioning of more nuclear plants. In addition, the operating costs of nuclear power are stable because the cost of fuel varies between only 5 and 10% of total operating costs. The cost of building nuclear power plants, as of now, is far more than that of conventional oil, gas and coal fired plants. Operating costs are however not just lower but also expected to be stable and independent of recurring political upheavals. Two factors are however set to change these circumstances. The cost of fossil fuel, especially oil is on a sharp upward path, threatening to throw all cost projections out of gear. The expected depletion in gas resource and consequent compulsion to buy increasing quantities from outside is also going to come with its own consequences, increased costs definitely one of them. While manufacturers of nuclear power plants are working on reduction of capital cost, a â€Å"significant increase in the price of natural gas could make new nuclear plants economically competitive even without further reductions in their capital costs.† (Taylor, 2004) The CBI in its statement of April also stated that companies would seriously consider investing in new, capital intensive nuclear plants, subject to the introduction of a correct non-discriminatory policy on carbon emission; beyond the present policy which is unclear after 2012. Intense concern about the current situation also made it say that â€Å"an energy policy based on crossing fingers and the use of the prayer mat is not acceptable†.(Nuclear Power in the United Kingdom, 2006) Contemporary businesses, not just in the UK but across the globe are wrestling with an energy crisis, the widespread usage of fast depleting fossil fuels, rocketing oil prices currently resting in the low 70s (USD per barrel), and the continuous spectre of carbon dioxide emissions and global warming. The real advantage of nuclear energy is its potency. One pound of uranium contains the energy equivalent of roughly one million pounds of coal. Such potency means that nuclear powers energy potential is vast, clearly sustainable as a long-term resource. It also means nuclear’s environmental impact is inherently low. With so much energy coming from such a small volume of material, producing nuclear fuel requires much less exploration, mining, transportation, and collection, with all their attendant environmental problems, than do fossil fuels. For example, a 1,000-megawatt nuclear plant requires one refueling per year, whereas a similarly sized coal plant requires 80 rail cars of coal per day. (Lorenzini, 2005) The gridlock appears to be slowly tightening with nuclear power possibly the only solution to the intensifying problem. 3. Likely Future Scenario The future scenario in use of fuel for energy and its development is probably going to move in reasonably predictable directions. All across the globe, awareness on global warming and its possibly devastating repercussions has heightened considerably. Every natural calamity, be it the Tsunami in Indonesia, earthquakes in Pakistan, the arrival of the Katrina in the United States or the melting of the glaciers in the Himalayas finds an immediate media connection to carbon dioxide emissions, the greenhouse effect and global warming. This phenomenon, coupled with the instability of supply and the rising cost of fossil fuels is going to lead to an expansion of nuclear power both in the USA and the UK. Governmental restrictions on use of nuclear power are slowly being dismantled as governments across the globe see the advantages of going nuclear for power generation. Along with increase in nuclear power generation, governments across continents will try to develop renewable energy sources for power generation. Renewable energy has not really made much headway despite concerted efforts in the last thirty years. Nearly 90 % of the global energy production is obtained from fossil sources and most of the rest comes from nuclear power. Wind and hydro energy can be harnessed only in suitable locations that have access to huge amounts of rainfall, fast flowing rivers or conditions suitable for setting up wind farms. Countries with access to fossil fuels, oil, gas and coal will of course continue to depend heavily upon these sources for power. However, the threat of emissions and consequent ozone layer depletion will nudge all countries towards the development of alternative sources. The rising costs of oil, essential for vehicular and air transportation will lead to its curtailment for use as as fuel for all but essential reasons. Renewable sources will of course fill a part of the yawning power gap which appears to be looming on the horizon but nuclear power is also very much a part of the final answer. It is the one energy source that today combines the benefits of displacing the use of fossil fuels, minimising pressure on land, avoiding resource depletion and restricting harmful emissions. The UK and the USA, both countries with over regulated nuclear power generation environments will necessarily open up their laws to ease the setting up of newer power facilities, based on nuclear fuels. The building of nuclear energy capacity necessarily comes with the enormous added responsibility of ensuring public health and safety, involving first, the storage and containment of harmful waste material and second, the prevention of dangerous nuclear material going into the hands of rogue states and terrorist organisations. Contemporary business organisations will need to survive in similar circumstances for the next few years until additional nuclear and renewable energy facilities are set up. This is essentially going to be a slow, expensive and careful process and the period of infrastructure build up will be open to all the risks that exist today, namely uncertain supplies and skyrocketing prices. It is only with the spread and extensive use of nuclear power on a global basis, the establishment and strict enforcement of protocols for responsible and peaceful use of nuclear energy and the rooting out of rogue states and terrorist organisations that businesses will be able to witness and take advantage of stability in supplies and cost of energy, free of the worry of a global environmental threat from emissions of harmful gases. 4. Summary and Way Forward In the UK the 2006 review of the energy policy has put development of nuclear energy firmly on agenda and public opinion is also now veering towards its use. It has been determined that all the new plants will have to be built by the private sector with internalised waste and decommissioning costs. All barriers that threaten to slow down investment will be looked at very carefully, without compromising public safety; new and speedier licensing procedures will also be considered. The use of nuclear fuel for energy is gaining ground globally after years of stagnation but some of the old concerns still remain. Environmentalists and anti nuclear campaigners have a number of worries, most of which concern safety, the prevention of hazards from nuclear plants and the misuse of nuclear fuel by rogue states, international criminals and terrorist organisations. While their strident objections to the theory of nuclear energy being much cleaner and â€Å"greener† than energy derived from fossil fuels could be taken to be substantially incorrect, it would be presumptuous to brand all their worries about safety and the possibility of nuclear proliferation as facile and alarmist. Many of these concerns are still valid and do need attention. The two major areas that demand consideration are the disposal of nuclear waste and the reprocessing of spent fuel. The sustainability of nuclear power, the ability to make it work for long time frames and to think of it as a real long term solution to the global power issue depends upon obtaining an acceptable and workable solution to the problem of managing nuclear waste. Nuclear wastes are classified differently from other toxic residues and need to be kept safely for thousands of years, whereas the timeframe for non radioactive toxics of between 50 to 70 years is far less. Work is needed in this area on two fronts, the carrying out of continuous scientific research, needing significant governmental and institutional funding to find a solution to the storage problem, and a fresh look at regulatory laws to assess whether they can be revisited without compromising safety. Reprocessing relates to the process in which plutonium and uranium are chemically separated from spent fuel for reuse, as is done in France. Reprocessing allows for more complete usage and tapping of the energy potential of nuclear fuel and makes waste management easier, reducing both bulk and long term hazards which could arise from the waste. However, the separated plutonium could create a potential nuclear threat, if it finds its way to the wrong hands, and again will need very careful security. After years of stagnation, the several demands of the twenty first century have combined to make the world seriously think of the need for nuclear power. The increase in demand for power and electricity in the developing world, the sharply eroding global resources of fossil fuels, the continuing global geopolitical instability, the skyrocketing prices of oil and gas, and the need to severely restrict carbon emissions are forcing nations to turn towards nuclear fuel for release from their energy worries. The need of the moment is to think and to cooperate in this global mission. As Paul Lorenzini states: The most critical step is to build a consensus among energy planners and policymakers that sustainability as a policy goal should include nuclear power. Bringing nuclear power back into the mix for energy planning means shedding ideological biases. It means openness of thinking to resolve the tension between the human desire for modernization and the global need for sustainability (2005) References Caldicott, H, 2005, Nuclear Power is the problem, not a solution, Common Dreams News Center, www.commondreams.org/views05/0415-23.htm Clapp, R. W., 2006 Nuclear Power and Public Health. Environmental Health Perspectives, 113(11), 720+.Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=od=5012166072 [27 Aug 2006] Lorenzini, P., 2005, Spring. A Second Look at Nuclear Power: By Overlooking Nuclear Power in the Quest for Clean Energy, We Are Condemning Ourselves to a Future of Increased Fossil Fuel Use. Issues in Science and Technology, 21, 31+. Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=od=5009414160 [27 Aug 2006] Nuclear Power in the United Kingdom, 2006, World Nuclear Association, www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf84.htm [27 Aug 2006] Taylor, J. J. (2004, Spring). The Nuclear Power Bargain: The Potential Benefits Are Enormous If We Can Continue to Make Progress on Safety, Environmental, Fuel Supply, and Proliferation Concerns. Issues in Science and Technology, 20, 41+. Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=od=5006170378 [27 Aug 2006] Webster, P, 2006, Britain goes nuclear to beat energy crisis, Times Online, www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2184192,00.html [27 Aug 2006]

The National Market for Cellular Phone Service Essay -- Business Econo

Figures Unreadable The National Market for Cellular Phone Service The national cellular market is undoubtedly one of the nation’s most expansive markets. In 2003, wireless revenues totaled to over $100 Billion; nearly one percent of the United States GDP. Since wireless has emerged, the typical buyer has expanded from the average middle/upper-class adult to teenagers, elderly, and business consumers. 20% of American teenagers own cell phones, explaining why Virgin Mobile was founded to specifically target young consumers1. There is certainly a large market for business consumers, as many carriers advertise business solutions even in retail outlets. Altogether, it’s estimated that 50% of Americans own cell phones, yielding a consumer base of approximately 147 Million customers2. Although there are over 300 registered national wireless firms, there are only a select few that compete in the entire national market3. The industry’s largest corporation is Verizon Wireless with a 2003 annual revenue of $22.5 Billion and a base of 40.4 Million customers. Sprint PCS, T-Mobile, and Nextel also have growing nationwide networks. Many competitors, although well known, only have coverage areas in sections of the United States. Alltel, for example, only offers service in the south and midwest. Until recently, Cingular had coverage areas in only the southeast and western parts of the United States. Its recent merge with AT&T wireless, though, will expanded its network to what some speculate will become the largest nationwide network. Since we are considering the market for national cellular service, we will consider only the ones with complete nationwide service: Verizon Wireless, Sprint PCS, T- 1 Brome 2 Brian and Tyson .. ...escoop.com/>. Burden, Eric. Personal interview. 6 Dec. 2004. Cingular. . Leslie Cauley, and Paul Davidson. â€Å"Cingular, AT&T deal gets an OK from Justice.† USA Today Oct. 2004: Money, Pg. 03b. Marshall Brian and Jeff Tyson. â€Å"How Cell Phones Work.† Article. . Nextel. . T-Mobile. . Taylor, John B. Economics. Boston: Houghton, 2004 RadioShack. . Sprint PCS. . Verizon Wireless. . â€Å"What is the difference between analog and digital cell phones?† Article. . Wireless Advisor. . Yahoo Finance. .

The Vinland Map: 15th Century Artifact or 20th Century Forgery? Essay e

The Vinland Map: 15th Century Artifact or 20th Century Forgery? Throughout history, the discovery of an ancient artifact has always brought with it much excitement. The idea that we are able to look at something that existed so long ago intrigues us. However, along with the excitement of new discoveries, there is often much controversy. One such discovery, the Vinland Map, has been the cause of much debate since 1957. The Vinland Map, first presented to the public in 1965 in a book written by Skelton, was discovered in 1957 (Skelton 1965, p.3). In the 1960’s the map was bought and donated to Yale University where it remains today. The Vinland Map was originally thought to be a 15 th century depiction of medieval Africa, Asia, and Europe. What is most striking about the map is that it depicts Iceland, Greenland, and a part of North America known as Vinland that was thought to have been unknown before Columbus’ journey to America (Skelton 1965, p. & Brown, Clark 2002, p. 3658). In the 1950’s the idea that people had traveled to the New World before Christopher Columbus was a new concept. However since then we have found evidence that the Vikings did travel to North America before Columbus. If the Vinland Map is a true 15 th century artifact, it represents the oldest known depiction of the New World to date. There were some aspects of the map that caused confusion. For instance t he map has no history of origin (Skelton 1965, p.228). No one knows who the author might have been and there is also no date written on the map. With such a lack of historical information on the map, it is no surprise that a controversy has ensued over the authenticity of the map. Because of this controversy, many experiments have been performed att... ...raphy 1. Skelton, R.A., Marston, T.E., Painter, G.D. The Vinland Map and the Tartar Relation. Yale University Press: New Haven and London, 1965. 2. McCrone, W.C. â€Å"Analysis of Medieval Document: Tested by Small Particle Analysis†. Analytical Chemistry. 48 (1976): 677A-679A. 3. Donahue, D.J., and J. Olin, and G. Harbottle. â€Å"Determination of the Radiocarbon Age of Parchment of the Vinland Map†. Radiocarbon. 44 (2002): 45-52. 4. Higham, Thomas. â€Å"The Method†. Radiocarbon Web-info. . 5. Brown, K.L., and R. Clark. â€Å"Analysis of Pigmentary Materials on the Vinland Map and Tartar Relation by Raman Spectroscopy†. Analytical Chemistry. 74 (2002): 3658-3661. 6. Hassel, B. â€Å"The Vinland Map shows its true colors; scientists say it’s a confirmed forgery.† American Chemical Society. 29 July 2002 .

Modern Technology Effects Essay

With advances in technology, student study habits have dramatically changed. It’s affected the way classes are taught, students learn theories and the way information is presented. Gone are the days of slaving over books in the library and scribbling down notes on paper. Technology is changing the way kids learn in schools and at home. Students are now able to bring their work with them wherever they go because of laptop computers and handheld tablets, like the iPad. Having these electronic tools seems essential to all of us, including kids, nowadays and we wonder how we ever survived without them. Not too long ago, students were lucky to have one computer in their classrooms and the teacher wrote the lessons on a chalkboard. Now it is much more common to see each student with their own laptop or iPad and the teachers writing on smart-whiteboards that connect to these computers. With the way the world is becoming dependent on the use of technology in day-to-day life, it is good for the younger generation to learn a basic understanding of these tools, even though the software systems will most likely change by the time they enter the work force. Students are also able to do more complex tasks earlier on because of the capabilities of technology. However, this does present the problem of becoming dependent on these devices to solve these challenges, especially those above their learning level. Don’t you remember having to learn how to do math in your head before you were given a calculator to solve an equation? If students don’t learn how to problem-solve on their own, it may present challenges for them down the road because they expect to have the answer right at their fingertips. Recently psychologists at Columbia University released an article on the effect search engines and the Internet are having on our ability to memorize. which concluded that we are less likely to remember discrete information than we are where we found it, and that we only commit something to memory if we think we won’t be able to access it later, when we need it. While students are becoming more digitally advanced than the prior generation, it is good to learn the basics as well. Having a child read a book, write out a math problem, or do research in a library may not appeal to them as much as â€Å"playing† on an iPad, but it can only add to their education. Scope and Limitations Modern technology has always been considered as a gauge for an awareness of how developed a society is. With the influx of technological gadgets, modern technology is definitely beneficial to mankind. But, as with other scientific and technological discoveries, these gadgets have also taken its toll on those who are the main users of thee discoveries – the students. Twenty or so years ago, students would have to spend hours, and even days in the library, if they are to complete a research work. Answering assignments means that one will have to read chapter after chapter in their textbooks. Nowadays, vital information may be obtained by merely a click of the mouse. Everything is readily available at their fingertips, so to speak. Oftentimes, students say, â€Å"Thank God for the internet†. While this may be true, there are also harmful effects on students which may fall under the physical, psychological, emotional, mental and social aspect. Basically, students make use of the internet in answering assignments and doing research work. However, students would often be making use of social networking sites while simultaneously doing their assigned tasks. This means that the student is not a hundred percent focused on accomplishing what is required. It also takes them a longer time in completing the assigned task. As a result, the student therefore, is more physically exhausted, often spending the wee hours in the morning due to the fact that he or she is actually multi-tasking. It has been observed that almost every week, more updated gadgets are being introduced in the market. For the adolescent, who is in the third plane of development, there is this need to belong to a certain group. More often than not, social cliques mean dressing alike, thinking alike, and even having similar gadgets are some of the basis in order to be part of a specific group. Hence, the adolescent is psychologically, emotionally and even mentally affected if and when an updated version of these gadgets is out in the market. There is this need to have these gadgets in the hope of being â€Å"in† with the group. It is one way of satisfying the need to belong to a social group which means that it also affects the social aspect of the student. Having seen both sides of the coin, are modern gadgets beneficial or harmful to students? I would say both – there are beneficial and harmful effects not only to students but to anyone for that matter. The key is still in our hands. Remember that anything in excess could have negative results. Modern technology – including modern gadgets – has been invented for mankind’s convenience. Let us show gratitude to the men of the past who have painstakingly invented and devised ways to make life easier. Let us make use of modern technology effectively, wisely and responsibly.