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Risks Associated with Co-Location

Contents

TOC o “1-3” h z u 1. Introduction PAGEREF _Toc70220540 h 12. Discussion and Analysis PAGEREF _Toc70220541 h 22.1 Co-Location PAGEREF _Toc70220542 h 22.2 Risks Associated with Co-Sharing PAGEREF _Toc70220543 h 23. Conclusion PAGEREF _Toc70220544 h 5References PAGEREF _Toc70220545 h 6

Risks Associated with Co-Location

1. IntroductionAttainment of organizational objectives is one of the major goals for many organizations, governments included. In order to engage in the different activities such as production and distribution of goods and services, various organizations and institutions have been forced to adopt several strategies. The process of co-location is one of the major strategies different organizations and institutions have been forced to adopt in order to continue operating effectively. Through co-location, a vast majority of institutions small and large have been able to save on cost by sharing various types of costs such as rental cost and infrastructure investment with other co-locating institutions. In addition, through co-location organizational departments are able to come together, share resources, while collaborating with each other in the attainment of both short and long term organizational goals. Despite the various benefits associated with co-location in an organization, it is imperative for institutions to note that there also exist various major risks associated with the co-location process. Bearing this in mind, the purpose of this report therefore is to identity and communicate the various major risks associated with the new government co-location of office space between the the Ministry of Health & Wellness and Ministry of Social Services in downtown Wellington.

2. Discussion and Analysis2.1 Co-LocationCo-location commonly known as co-sharing is one of the major approaches adopted by various institutions with the aim of attaining various objectives. It involves the process of placing several entities such as departments in a single sharing location (Mariotti & Di Vita, 2017). For most organizations, co-location is adopted as an approach in team building which utilizes the strategy of putting members of different departments in the same location with the aim of improving their performance as a team or reducing the costs of operation (Bueno et al., 2018). Bearing this in mind, it is clear that co-sharing has revolutionized the traditional approaches to work. Despite its major purpose in encouraging team development and reducing costs in an organization, there are various major risks associated with co-sharing arrangement. Cyber security and data privacy is one of the major risks associated with co-location arrangements in organizations.

2.2 Risks Associated with Co-SharingIndustrial revolutions have created rapid coupling of the digital and physical worlds, and as a result leading to an increased reliance on the internet and other forms of networked cyber technologies (Wheatley & Sornette, 2019). Despite the great benefits, this increased change in technology has been associated with an increase in aggravated man made perils, bringing along new ways to commit crimes such as cyberattacks. Recently, malware attacks and data breaches have been the number one prime issues for many organizations and institutions globally. Being placed among the most extreme risks today, data breaches and cyber threats are considered some of the most dangerous crimes extending to theft, extortion, fraud, and business disruption. Mariotti & Di Vita (2017) indicate that, with the World Economic Forum report indicating that cyberattack is among the biggest risk and challenge to global instability, it seems that operating organizational activities in an open space while sharing internet connectivity with dozens of departments from other institutions as result of co-location arrangement is a data breach on the verge of happen.

In the world today, as organizations and institutions globalize and the number employees in the organization increases, expectations of instant access to information also increases. Bearing in mind that internet connectivity such as WIFI connection is considered as one of the most important tools a working environment can offer to access instant information, cases of data breach and cyber security have been on the rise as a result of this (Mariotti & Di Vita, 2017). Therefore, through co-location arrangement, many organizations and institutions are able to experience increased risks of data breach and cyber security which in one way or another affects the operations of the organization. The availability of public internet connectivity which is associated with co-location arrangement makes it easier for individuals to access personal information belonging to clients or organizational financial information which in many times results to wrongful acts such as fraud, theft, and exploitation.

Loss of data privacy and cyber security within an organization due to data breach and cyberattack is considered a major risk for most institutions such as social services and health departments. Establishment of co-location arrangements creates an environment of enhanced sharing and access within organization which typically requires opening of information systems so that relevant information can be accessed and shared (De Peuter et al., 2017). In many cases, this can be done online through the use of publicly accessible organizational networks. As a result, this may expose an organization to digital security issues that can lead to various major incidents that disrupt the integrity, availability, and confidentiality of data such as health care data and information systems on which organizations rely in the distribution of key mandate services. In addition, organizations’ reputation, assets, and the physical activities conducted can be impacted to an extent of affecting its competitiveness and ability to engage in productive services.

In cases involving institutions such as social services and health ministries, co-location is considered a major risk due to the fact that it increases the impacts of data breaches. De Peuter et al. (2017) states that, operating organizational activities in an open space while sharing internet connectivity with dozens of departments from other institutions as result of co-location arrangement can cause an increase in access and sharing of personal data which in turn results to data breaches. As a result, this causes personal harm to individuals due to violation of privacy from the breached personal data. To the institution, this can cause economic losses to the institution affected due to filled suits against it. In addition, increases in these cases of personal data breaches can also affect the reputation of the institution and as a result leading to loss of competitiveness in terms of its services. Bearing this in mind, it is therefore clear that if no actions are taken against mitigating the risk of data breach as a result of cyberattacks, organizations are able to suffer various consequences such as loss of clients due to the fear of violation of privacy, loss of competition, and the loss of facing different law suits from angry and violated clients (Wheatley& Sornette, 2019). Apart from these consequences, it is also clear that the risks of data breach and cyber threat also results to other consequences such as loss of control over the important data if the security risk is not addressed early in advanced. In this case the information will move from the institution’s information system (data holder) to the outside world thus moving out of the institutions control reach.

Apart from data breached and cyber security, co-location and hotdesking arrangements can also result to the risk of leadership disruption within the organization. When two departments from different ministries such as the Ministry of Health & Wellness and Ministry of Social Services start working under the same location and building, issues of leadership always become a major problem. In this case, employees become disrupted which leadership to flow due to the fact that they are sharing the same space and as a result his creates problems within the organizations such as delay in service distribution, on the job quarrelling, lack of collaboration which results to poor performance in both the short term and long term (Vanichvatana, 2018). In addition, it is often the dream of a majority of employees to occupy offices with luxurious equipment in it. However, the, the co-location and hotdesking system of organization might affect these dreams due to the fact that it does not put in place any system or measures of identifying who the veteran and leaders of the organizations are. Despite this, this system treats all the employees equally regardless of the experience and time of stay in the organization. Due to this, the system of arrangement of workplace may result to various disputes such as hierarchy of office which in turn starts affecting operation of services due to increased rivalry within the organization. Additionally, this dispute in leadership can also cause resentment among the organisational employees in the co-location arrangement, especially for those who feel they are about to attain their personal goals. Bearing this in mind, it is therefore clear that disruption in leadership is another major risk associated with both co-location and hotdesking in an organization. according to (Vanichvatana, 2018) findings, in order to avoid the major consequences such as poor performance and attainment of organization goals associated with it, it is imperative for the organizational management to always establish a clear line of authority in the organization before adopting the use of hotdesking or co-location in the organization. In so doing, organizations are able to reduce increase cases of disruption in leadership as a result of co-location and hotdesking.

3. ConclusionIn summary, attainment of organizational goals is one of the major goals for many organizations and institutions. In order to engage in different activities such as production and distribution of goods and services, various organizations and institutions have been forced to adopt several strategies such as co-location. Through co-location, a vast majority of institutions small and large have been able to save on cost by sharing various types of costs such as rental cost and infrastructure investment with other co-locating institutions. Despite the various benefits associated with co-location in an organization, it is imperative for institutions to note that there also exist various major risks such as data breach and cyber security associated with the co-location arrangements. To avoid the issues of disruption in leadership, organizational management should always establish a clear line of authority in the organization before adopting the use of hotdesking or co-location in the organization. In regard to data breach and cyber security, the organization should implement a security policy that every employee should go through when signing their work contract and abide by it to the end.

ReferencesBueno, S., Rodríguez-Baltanás, G., & Gallego, M. D. (2018). Coworking spaces: a new way of

achieving productivity. Journal of Facilities Management.

De Peuter, G., Cohen, N. S., & Saraco, F. (2017). The ambivalence of coworking: On the politics

of an emerging work practice. European Journal of Cultural Studies, 20(6), 687-706.

Mariotti, I., Pacchi, C., & Di Vita, S. (2017). Co-working spaces in Milan: Location patterns and

urban effects. Journal of Urban Technology, 24(3), 47-66.

Vanichvatana, S. (2018). Investigating users’ perspectives of coworking space: cases of Bangkok

CBD. Chinese Business Review, 17(9), 465-478.

Wheatley, S., Hofmann, A., & Sornette, D. (2019). Data breaches in the catastrophe framework

& beyond. arXiv preprint arXiv:1901.00699.

Organisation-Behaviour

Contents

TOC o “1-3” h z u Introduction PAGEREF _Toc342426792 h 1Strategic Analysis Using Models PAGEREF _Toc342426793 h 2Self Efficacy Model PAGEREF _Toc342426794 h 22) Leader-Member Exchange PAGEREF _Toc342426795 h 3Analysis and Recommendation as per LMX PAGEREF _Toc342426796 h 4Job Characteristics Model PAGEREF _Toc342426797 h 5Analysis and Recommendations as per Job Characteristic Model PAGEREF _Toc342426798 h 6Goal Setting Model PAGEREF _Toc342426799 h 7Analysis and Recommendation as per Goal Setting Model PAGEREF _Toc342426800 h 9Conclusion PAGEREF _Toc342426801 h 10Works Cited PAGEREF _Toc342426802 h 10

IntroductionTexas Roadhouse is a chain restaurant throughout the United States. There are approximately 340 locations in over 46 states, and they are quickly expanding. Its menu specializes in steaks and ribs, as well as adding a western atmosphere for guests to enjoy. In the restaurant business, there are many different positions held by a variety of different people. There are cooks, dish washers, bus boys, hostesses, bartenders, servers, and also nightly management. On average each night, there are approximately 19 servers, 6 bus boys, 6 hostesses, 3 bartenders, and large amount of kitchen staff. All of these different positions are crucial in the nightly success of the company. Without any of these positions, the restaurant would not be able to run as smoothly.Objectives of The study

In this report we are trying to find out the way to increase efficiency and effectiveness of the restaurant by analyzing

Role conflicts within groups

Communication problems among group members

Lack of cohesiveness in groups with diverse members

Excessive intergroup conflict

These can be analyzed using four models:-

Self Efficacy Model

LMX Model

Job Characteristics Model

Goal Setting Model

Strategic Analysis Using ModelsSelf Efficacy ModelThe term self-efficacy is used to describe an individual’s perception of how competent they find themselves and their abilities to achieve complex tasks. People with strong self-efficacy are more likely to accept more responsibility and accept more challenging tasks. They also believe that no obstacles can get in the way from stopping them achieve their goals. Individuals with low self-efficacy are more apt to looking as difficult tasks as intimidating and do not believe they that are capable of achieving personal success. Overall, self-efficacy plays an important role in influencing the tasks that people perform and how well they perform them. The most important factor that is impacting through self-efficacy is persistence. This is found important because the higher the person perceives themselves on the scale, the more persistent that they will be with performing a complex task. This will also help to improve communication among group and hence their performance.Analysis and Recommendations as per Self Efficacy model

Self-efficacy is something that is important in any organization. However, it is important at Texas Roadhouse to hire individuals who have a High level of self-efficacy so that employee perceives themselves capable of achieving many complex tasks and also achieve group goals. This could prove to be an issue within the organization because individuals could become bored or feel not challenged by the tasks designated in their position, which could lead to frustration and communication problem for the employees and employer. Hence, Challenging tasks should be given to such individuals.

The individuals with moderate level of self efficacy provides opportunity for the organization to designate tasks to that are challenging but also still attainable. It is good to hire large no. of employees in this category. There were three individuals who scored close to the lower end of the self-efficacy scale.

The individuals with low self efficacy can pose a problem for Texas Roadhouse as they might hinder the productivity and success of the organization. Hence, in order to ensure more confident and driven individuals, Texas Roadhouse could moderately delegate more difficult tasks to these individuals in order to boost their confidence and the way they perceive themselves. Also, they could provide more positive feedback in their jobs and reinforce that the individual is doing well at their job.

2) Leader-Member ExchangeThe leader-member exchange (LMX) is a model that suggests that leaders develop different relationships with each of their subordinates through a series of work-related transactions.This is the most important aspects in developing relationship. There are two important groups to consider that a subordinate may fall under depending on which phase they fit into. The in group is defined as a low number of subordinates with high LMX relationships. The second group is known as the out group in which the number of subordinates is large and contains relatively low level LMX relationships (Hellriegel 323). Employees who find themselves in the out-group are likely to face high job turnover. This should be important to all management because high turnover is a very large investment for the organization. The level of LMX has a significant relationship to subordinates satisfaction with their manager. Employees with low-quality LMX are more likely to become dissatisfied, less motivated, and more prone to quitting. Whereas employees with high level LMX are likely to be satisfied with their work, more motivated, and committed to staying and contributing to the organization (Hellriegel 323).. LMX has three critical components which are mutual affection, contribution to work activities, and professional respect. When a subordinate has high mutual affection for a superior, the subordinate likes the superior as a person and will often come to the superior’s defense if attacked. High contribution to work activities comes into play when a subordinate goes above and beyond their job description to help the superior out. High Professional Respect is when the superior admires the subordinate’s knowledge and competence of the job (Hellriegel 323).

Analysis and Recommendation as per LMXThe Texas Roadhouse management does take steps to increase the mutual affection score of its staff else they will likely to enter the realm of the out group which could potentially lead to the employee leaving the organization because Why stay at an organization if you’re not happy with your manager?

One way management can increase the mutual affection is to take a more active role and listen to the complaints of the employees and to take the time to establish supportive and trusting relationships with the employees.

Another suggestion might be to engage the staff in team building activities and icebreakers. We can conclude that the superiors and managers of Texas Roadhouse are not providing proper support to their staff and needs to make a drastic change soon because the organization as a whole could be affected.

Some possible solutions include taking the time to reassess what kind of support is needed for staff. One way to do this is anonymous comment cards. Have all the employees fill out comment cards anonymously and identify specific instances where an employee failed to receive support. This must be down anonymously by the employer because the employee might be unwilling to respond for fear of termination.

The manager may have a tendency to interact with other employees in an unprofessional manner. The manager can decrease this perception by keeping to policy or by adjusting his/her interactions in front of employees.

Management needs to do a better job of developing better relationships with its employees. Some improvement strategies include the use of assertive communication, appropriate communication openness, and constructive feedback with all of the subordinates.

Job Characteristics ModelThe job characteristics model has to do with the idea of increasing the amounts of five job characteristics: skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy and feedback in a job. Skill variety can be defined as the degree to which a job requires an assortment of skills in order for an employee to carry out the task at hand. Task identity is the extent to which a job requires an employee to complete a task from beginning to end with a visible, tangible outcome. Task significance is the extent to which an employee perceives the job as having an impact on the lives of other individuals, if it makes a difference in society, within or outside of the organization. Autonomy is the level to which a job provides empowerment and discretion to an employee by choosing their own way to complete and schedule a task. Job feedback is the clear information about how effective an employee’s performance is. The different levels of these five job characteristics affect three important psychological states. The first, to experience meaningfulness of the tasks performed, second, to experience personal responsibility for results of the task at hand, and last is the knowledge of the results of task performance. If all three psychological states are positive, strong work motivation based on self-generated rewards is triggered. If they are in the negative zone, meaning the job is not meaningful, lacks responsibility or feedback, the job is incomplete, which does not strongly motivate an employee.

This model can be related to Texas Roadhouse since it looks into how well an employee has the opportunity to be motivated to work in the restaurant. It highlights the areas that need work in the restaurant and what the employees enjoy or dislike about working there. It also demonstrates which employees are content with working there for a while and which view it as a stepping stone towards another opportunity that has not yet befallen upon them.

Analysis and Recommendations as per Job Characteristic ModelThe model demonstrates a need for change in the structure of Texas Roadhouse in order to increase their employee’s motivation to continue their work there. Generally, there are two main approaches recommended to superiors for designing/redesigning jobs which are vertical loading and the formation of natural work teams. Vertical loading is when tasks that were considered reserved for management level staff are delegated to all employees. It includes the power to set schedules, decide work methods, breaks, and seek solutions to their own problems. Natural work teams combines individual jobs into a unit which are logical and meaningful including geographic location, types of business, organizational, alphabetical or numerical, customer groups. If Texas Roadhouse implemented vertical loading into their structure and gave their employees the opportunity to decide their own breaks and more flexible schedules, it could aid in their desire to maintain their positions at the restaurant. Most of the employees are pretty satisfied with the way things are run at Texas Roadhouse, however, according to the data, one of the biggest issues the employees have with Texas Roadhouse is the lack of variety, out of twenty surveys; eleven scored less than a four on the scale. The employees also feel that they do not have the opportunity to see projects through to completion which affects their task identity characteristic. This can be fixed with a simple solution, which is to allow employees to complete a task before assigning them another.

Goal Setting ModelGoal setting is a very integral part of any job. Whether you are attempting to better yourself or complete a project, setting goals is one of the most helpful tools to assist you throughout the process. Goal setting can definitely help a business such as Texas Roadhouse in raising their standards for employees which will end up helping the bottom line. The goal setting model that we used for our survey seems to have a big impact on job performance. According to the model, if employees felt good about the goals they set, they were better at their jobs.

According to the Don Hellreigel text, five essential pieces must come together in order for the managers to gain benefits of a goal setting program. The first piece is that the person must be knowledgeable about the topic of the specified goal and have the sufficient capacity to attain the goal. The second step is that the person must be committed to the goal, especially if the goal is difficult. The third step is that people need feedback on their goals. According to the text, employees will raise their performance because they are afraid they will have past performance. Pg160.

The forth step is that complex tasks must be broken up into simpler more short term goals so that the goals can be attained. It is stated in the text that employees are more responsive when they know about their progress. The fifth and final piece is to have a situation constraint. One of the most important aspects of a leader is to ensure that employees have the resources to attain their goals and to help eliminate any troubles that may lie in the way.

Now to discuss some of the benefits that goal setting can have on performance. According to the Don Hellreigel text, one of the consequences of goal setting is that it motivates individuals to achieve high performance. Some of the benefits stem from developing difficult goals. When it comes to Texas Roadhouse, such goal setting can be setting goals for a certain dollar amount each table waited on per person. The benefits can be such as encouraging people to develop action plans to reach a goal, focusing people’s attention on goal-relevant action, and encouraging people to develop action plans to reach these goals.

Having such goal setting systems in place, you will have to be able to adequately reward your employees. Such reward systems could be like the high-performance work system which is used to describe a well-established method of motivation with new technology that links pay and performance. This isn’t very easy to do, especially when considering the many factors. Such factors could ask questions such as, do you reward individually or as a team.

Analysis and Recommendation as per Goal Setting ModelGoing through a few of the steps that go into goal setting and based on the results provided from the study, we have developed some recommendations for the restaurant. The first recommendation is to put groups of waiters and hostesses into teams in order to create an atmosphere of meritocracy. When there are teams, it’s easier to have tasks done and team members will have the mentality of “if I scratch your back you scratch mine.”

Going along with more of the recommendations through the analysis of the process of effective goal setting, a proper high performance work reward system must be put into place in order to motivate employees. Our recommendation for the work reward system is a system that rewards waitresses on the amount of money per person that they serve. So for example if a team earns on average $15 per customer and another team earns $20 per customer, we reward the team with the $20 per customer with a bonus on top of their normal tips.

To further develop their goals, we can get input for the teams on how they would like to improve the model because it is stated that the more input the employees feel like they are giving, the more they would buy into the program. To improve on that, we would also make the goals a little bit more challenging. For example we could expect a higher dollar amount per customer over last month. For example a ten percent increase could be viable. The last of our recommendations is to give each employee a step by step plan on how to achieve their goals and to give them a monthly review.

ConclusionThe recommendations as per each model would definitely help Texas Roadhouse by improving their trust between one another, their individual and team goals by giving them more input which leads to better communication and coordination between all employees.

Works CitedHellriegel, Don, John W. Slocum. Organizational Behavior. Ohio: South-Western Cengage Learning, 2009.

Weiss HM, Nicholas JP, Daus CS. (1999). An examination of the joint effects of affective experiences and job beliefs on job satisfaction and variations in affective experiences over time. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 78: 1±24

 Fisher D. (2000). Mood and emotions while working: missing pieces of job satisfaction? Journal of Organizational Behavior 21, 185±202

Pugliesi K. (1999).The Consequences of Emotional Labor: Effects on Work Stress, Job Satisfaction, and Weil-Being Motivation and Emotion, Vol. 23/2

 Cote S.,Morgan LM (2002).A longitudinal analysis of the association between emotion regulation, job satisfaction, and intentions to quit. Journal of Organizational Behavior vol 23, 947–962

Ashforth, B. E., & Humphrey, R. H. (1993). Emotional labor in service roles: the influence of identity. Academy of Management Review, 18, 88–115

 Rafaeli, A., & Sutton, R. I. (1989). The expression of emotion in organizational life. Research in Organizational Behavior, 11, 1–42.

Institution

Context in Persuasion

Student’s Name

Institution

Context in Persuasion

News outlets such as newspapers, journalists, and television networks are expected to provide well-researched news content, which is based on truth. However, that has not been the case in recent years as news outlets have fallen victim to rumor-mongering and non-truth telling stories. In recent times stories such as Donald Trump’s association with Russians and allegations of the death of Rich, which lack fundamental truth, have been peddled by the media.

Seth Rich and Fox News

One of the most controversial stories that hit American society was the death of Seth Rich, who was the Democratic National Committee Staffer. The death of Rich in 2016 was the subject of false peddling of news outlets as they tried to link his murder with political assassination. Fox News was among news outlets that provided incorrect information on the death of Rich. Fox News alleged that political opponents assassinated Seth Rich. However, the story turned out not to be accurate as police ruled out the murder as a consequence of botched robbery (Stempel, 2019).

Melania Trump and the Telegraph

Another news story that did not tell the truth through its platform was one on Melania Trump. In a newspaper story written by The Telegraph, the newspaper wrote that Melania Trump was experiencing troubles in her career before she met her husband, Donald Trump (Phillips, 2019). The article asserted that Melania Trump’s career only advanced as a result of the financial aid which she acquired from her husband. However, the story turned out to be far from the truth. The newspaper later retracted the sentiments outlined in the article. They apologized to Melania Trump’s family and acknowledged that her career was successful before meeting her husband, Donald Trump. Melania Trump is a prominent public figure due to her status as the wife of the United States’ president. Therefore, a story based on false facts is likely to gain the attention of the public. Due to the politics associated with the issue, a section of the public is expected to criticize her.

Donald Trump and CNN

Another news story that did not tell the truth was one that was written by CNN targeting Donald Trump. In the news article, CNN alleged that there was a Russian Bank was under investigation by the United States’ Senate (Grynbaum, 2017). The news article went on to link the Russian Bank with an ally of Donald Trump. However, the story written by CNN turned out to be false. Consequentially, CNN retracted the story and apologized for allegations raised. The article also led to the resignation of three journalists from the company.

The three stories above are associated with non-truth telling contexts. Also, the three stories involve politics in the United States. The 2016 elections widely polarized the United States. Since then, the political temperatures have always been on the rise. Therefore, the untrue stories are likely to cause a stir amongst the public. The stories may also sway the public towards a particular political dimension.

One of the reasons why the public is easily swayed by news stories which lack the basic truth is the lack of proper standards of assessment. The public lacks the standers sued and advocated by philosophers such as Aristotle, Plato, or Scott. The American public rarely uses elements such as logic when deciphering news from their news outlets. As a result, the effect of false stories is spread at a high rate without questioning their truth basis. The public will be in a better position to judge and validate non-truth telling news if they use standards set by philosophers such as Plato.

Martha Stewart

Martha Stewart was involved in an insider trading case that featured ImClone Company, which dealt with the manufacture of drugs. In the case, Stewart acquired insider information that the company had failed in its approval to obtain a Food and Drug Administration license. Consequentially, she sold her stocks the night before the announcement was made. She was charged with conspiracy, obstruction of justice and securities fraud.

The case of Martha Stewart is similar to that of key stakeholders in society. Society expects people who are put in positions of power to make decisions that are in the public interests and which the public approves. The manner in which people perceived Martha Stewart after the securities fraud is that which is expected of public figures. However, there are slight changes in public perception when it comes to religious leaders such as catholic Bishops. The public is keener when it comes to catholic Bishops. They expect them to behave in a manner that is godly and devoid of mistakes. A violation of the expectations of the public leads to a public uproar.

Conclusion

News outlets in the United States and beyond have become the subject of writing and printing news that fail t articulate the whole truth. American politics are some of the most affected sectors when it comes to telling stories that lack non-truth telling contexts. The lack of the public to engage in standards asserted by Plato, Scott, or Aristotle contributes to a rush public opinion and unnecessary reactions on such stories.

References

Grynbaum, M. M. (2017, June 27).). A costly retraction for CNN and an opening for Trump. The new York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/27/business/media/cnn-retracted-story-on-trump.htmlPhillips, K. (2019, January 28). British newspaper apologizes, agrees to pay damages for ‘false statements’ about Melania Trump. The Washington Post, https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2019/01/26/british-newspaper-apologizes-agrees-pay-damages-false-statements-about-melania-trump/Stempel, J. (2019, September 13). Parents of murdered Democratic Staffer Seth Rich can sue Fox News: U.S Court. Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-fox-seth-rich/parents-of-murdered-democratic-staffer-seth-rich-can-sue-fox-news-court-idUSKCN1VY1YD

Steps for implementing CVP analysis

Course Name: Course Code: Student’s Name: Student Registration Number: Supervisor’s Name:

Date:

Contents

TOC o “1-3” h z u Introduction PAGEREF _Toc358988293 h 3Assumptions of CVP analysis PAGEREF _Toc358988294 h 4Steps for implementing CVP analysis PAGEREF _Toc358988295 h 4Graphical Presentation of CVP Analysis PAGEREF _Toc358988296 h 6Conclusion PAGEREF _Toc358988297 h 7References PAGEREF _Toc358988298 h 8

IntroductionAmong various duties of managers one is to forecast the revenues, costs, production level etc. Forecasting is done to plan in advance the future course of action and resources required to fulfill them. Managers use various techniques in forecasting and among them CVP analysis is one. CVP analysis helps in determining the level of operating activities required in order to avoid losses in future and earn a predetermined sum of money. (Brewer, 5th Ed)

CVP analysis is a very useful toll which organizations uses to avoid losses, plan the future level of operating activities, forecasting the requirement of funds so that organization can determine source of funds in advance etc. The most basis role of CVP analysis is to determine the future level of production and analyze how variations in costs and volume affect a company’s operating income and net income. (Brewer, 5th Ed)

Assumptions of CVP analysisAs we know every technique used in finance for the purpose of analysis has its own assumption and limitation, this technique also have its own limitation and uses various assumption. Various assumptions are required to be made for conducting cost volume profit analysis which is given as follows: (Brewer, 5th Ed)• Sales price per unit is constant.• Variable costs per unit are constant.• Total fixed costs are constant.• Entire production is sold.• Costs are only affected by the change in activity level.• If a company sells more than one product, they are sold in the same mix.

Above mentioned assumption are necessary to make CVP model work, few of these limitation are unrealistic still in order to make the model work we have to follow them.

Steps for implementing CVP analysisFirst step is to determine the selling price per unit to be charged from the customer.

Second step is to segregate all company’s costs, including manufacturing, selling, and administrative costs as variable or fixed.

Third step is to add all the variable costs including manufacturing, selling and admin and then compute the per unit variable cost.

Once we get selling price per unit and variable cost per unit we can determine the contribution margin. Contribution margin is the surplus of sales price over variable cost.

Last step is to determine the total fixed costs which include manufacturing, selling and admin costs.

Once all the above mentioned steps are completed we can than compute the units required to break even or to earn a particular amount of money. The accountant will conduct the cost volume profit analysis to determine the changes in the cost incurred and the effect of volume on the operating income and net income. This will help the management in planning and taking short term managerial decisions. (Brewer, 5th Ed)

Although break-even analysis is very useful for capital budgeting project but its assumptions is somewhere unreasonable which also tends to lower its importance. The very first assumption which is very unrealistic is that all the units produced are sold in the year of production which is not true as each and every organization maintains certain level of ending inventory. Another shortcoming of break-even analysis is that the prices of the product sold are constant throughout the year which is not the case at all. Demand and supply relationship of the product is very important in determining the price of the product which is completely overlooked by break-even analysis. (Brewer, 5th Ed)

Even though there are few shortcomings of break-even analysis but still it helps organization a lot in making strategies which helps organization to gain competitive advantage against its competitors. (Brewer, 5th Ed)

Graphical Presentation of CVP AnalysisIn the graph shown below, cost and revenue are presented on y-axis and output in units is presented on x-axis, as we can see that breakeven point is achieved when total cost is equal to sales revenue i.e. no profit no loss situation. Also we can see that fixed cost remains same no matter how many units are produced. (Acorn, Ch.5)

Both sales and variable cost are upward slopping which shows their direct relationship with units sold, if units sold will increase both sales and variable cost will increase and if units sold will decrease both sales and variable cost will decrease. Total cost is derived by adding total fixed cost and variable cost, any units sold before breakeven point will be loss to the company whereas any units sold after breakeven point will be profitable. (Acorn, Ch.5)

As we can see the slope of sales revenue and variable cost is same therefore the additional profit i.e. difference between sales and variable cost per unit will remain same in all cases but as we know that fixed cost per unit will decrease with increase in total units the profit per unit will increase with increase in total output. From the above graph we have established few other concepts which are as follows. (Acorn, Ch.5)

The distance between the actual or budgeted sales and breakeven sales is known as Margin of safety, higher the output higher is the margin of safety and vice versa. The above diagram also made one thing very clear that we must start the production only if the total budgeted sales units are greater than breakeven sales and if the budgeted sales units are less than breakeven units than in such case we must not begin the production of the goods i.e. project must not be undertaken. (Acorn, Ch.5)-3937015240000

ConclusionThe basic concept behind using CVP analysis is to equip them with a technique which can help them in determining the future course of action. In absence of breakeven analysis it would be difficult to determine the minimum required sales and effect of change in sales and cost on operating profit.

Thus every organization must practice CVP analysis before entering into any new project or changing the price of a good. In all such events which will substantially affects the costs and revenue must be followed by CVP analysis.

ReferencesAcorn, Break-even analysis (CVP analysis), Ch. 5, Available at: http://www.acornlive.com/demos/pdf/P2_PM_Chapter_5.pdfBrewer, garrison & Noreen, Introduction to managerial accounting, Ch. 6, 5th Ed

The Concept of Worship, Prayer, & Rituals In The Islamic Religion

Course

The Rituals of the Islamic Religion

Student’s name

University

Instructor

Due Date

The Concept of Worship, Prayer, & Rituals In The Islamic Religion

The religion Muslim is important to understand through a business perspective. A brief summary of the history of Islam will be discussed as well as explaining the important elements for Muslims, which included but is not limited to the Qur’an, The Five Pillars and Ramadan. The different types of branches of Islam include Sunni, Shiite, and Sufi in which all have significant differences and similarities. The importance on the study of Muslim is important due to the world revolving around religion, however news media proves to escalate the problems when in fact Muslims are traditional humans who take their religion serious in both heart and in their beliefs, such as believing in Allah (God) and Muhammad.

When examining the concept of worship and prayer in the Islam, it is noticed that the religion takes the concept of worshipping and praising a higher power very passionately, and this is a very important aspect of an individual’s faith. It has always been the central practice of bringing all faiths together and serving as a common ground for all believers since the beginning of time. No matter what sect of a religion you believe in and practise, worship is something that stays evident and consistent throughout all sects of a religion. The Islamic faith emphasizes both public and private forms of worship. For believers, they each serve a different function, and each has a different meaning and purpose behind it. Private worshipping across these different faiths share many similarities that will be discussed later on, as well as examining public worshipping across these different faiths, while looking at the many similarities as well as differences that they all share together.

Ibada an umbrella term for religious devotion (Worship & Ritual chapter 12, p. 191). Muslim worship is referred to as “ibada,” or service to God, and involves praising and confessing sins to one’s lord. Salat is the Muslim term for prayer, and it is one of Islam’s pillars. Islam requires that certain actions be taken before a Muslim can pray their daily salat. Before a person prays, they must maintain and demonstrate their purity. Purity is extremely important in Islam with a famous hadith quoting “Purity is half the faith” (Worship & Ritual chapter 12, p. 191). Islamic prayer requires that a person attain this “purity” that the religion so reveres. Muslims must perform an action prior to their salat called “wudu”. Water is required when performing wudu, and if water isn’t accessible one must perform an action called “tayammum”. Tayammum substitutes water with elements of the earth such as sand or clay to purify oneself. Showing the multiple ways Muslims can purify themselves before prayer represents how important purity is when it comes to worship in Islam. Now that we have discussed what has to be done before worship, it is time to discuss how Muslims worship privately and publicly.

The history of the Muslim religion started with a vision that Muhammad had when he was in a cave by Allah. Allah is the God to the Muslim Religion. As Muhammad was born in the town Mecca many events lead to the forming of the religion. Mecca had fame due to having black meteorites representing to the people as falling rocks from Heaven. The people in Mecca built a shrine over the black Meteorites known as Kabah. The Kabah is a very sacred area to the Muslim religion as it is Private to the world. In accordance to Molloy, “Islamic religion basically translates to “submission” and “giving in fully” implying total submission to God’s will”, (Ch.10). The Islamic religion is a serious deal especially when talking about Muhammad and Allah. The Qur’an is represented as a bible to the Muslim Religion. The stepping­stones of the religion and history as well as Religion laws are set in the Qur’an. Although Islam prohibits images artist have to record everything in sacred words to be able to describe the writings.

Each and every day, Muslims are obligated to fulfill five prayers in praise of Allah (SWT)., when it comes to private prayer in Islam. These five prayers, which focus on one’s relationship with God, can be done in private throughout the day. These five daily prayers, on the other hand, can be said in public. When it is time to pray, “a chanted call to prayer in Arabic called adhan” (Worship & Ritual chapter 12, p. 192) is performed to alert everyone that it is time to stop and pray. Private worship in Islam is typically performed at home and can include acts of worship such as reading the Quran, praying, and reciting other holy scriptures (Bellah & Rappaport, 1999). Fasting is another form of worship in Islam, and Muslims must fast for one month during the Islamic month of Ramadan. Fasting is another form of private worship that is valued in Islam.

Now that we’ve covered the private aspect of worship, let’s turn our attention to the public aspect of prayer in Islam. As long as the person is praying to the Ka’aba shrine in Mecca, public and private worship can take place anywhere. Private prayers are typically performed alone, whereas public prayers are typically performed in groups. When a group prays publicly together, “this requires a leader in the congregation who stands at the front and sets the tone with his or her voice and body language” (Worship & Ritual chapter 12, p. 193). Furthermore, for the salat to be acceptable in public group prayers, the prayer leader must be a male. Finally, in order for the prayer to be accepted in both private and public worship in Islam, the individual(s) must perform a “niyya, meaning intention” right before the prayer begins (Worship & Ritual chapter 12, p.193). The “mosque” is Islam’s holiest place of worship, and it is where the majority of public worship takes place. Friday prayers are an important part of public worship in Islam, and it is recommended that all Muslims go to the mosque to worship God as a group on Friday. As part of public worship in Islam, sermons and lectures are also held inside the mosque.

The Qur’an is a written symbol that represents Islam’s people’s religion. Praying, fasting, and living according to the Qur’an on a daily basis are among the rituals that take place. According to Molloy, “the Qur’an has 114 chapters, or Suras” (Ch.10). Each Sura or chapter of the Qur’an is given a name, such as the elephant, thunder, Light, and moon. The Suras are arranged in length order, shortest to longest. The final chapters of the Qur’an are brief. Because the order in the Qur’an is reversed, the chapters, like those of other religions, are not always in chronological order. Abu Bakr caliphate, according to Hooker, is where the Qur’an was written down after Muhammad’s death. Bakr was important to Muhammad.

Bakr was recognized as the first Caliph. After Muhammad’s death, the Caliph is in charge. Although the Qur’an is a guide for all Muslims and the people of Islam, the Five Pillars are also important in guiding the religion.

The five Pillars are, according to Molloy, ” Pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj), Fasting During Ramadan (Sawm), Charity to the Poor (Zakat), Prayer (Salat), and Creed (Shahadah).” (Ch.10). An Islamic creed, or shahadah, is depicted as a whisper into a newborn’s ears. Muslims believe there is only one god, Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. The message is brief, but it contains foundational words. Salat is another piller in which devout Muslims pray five times a day, at dawn, noon, midafternoon, sunset, and night. Zakat is a religious donation in the form of a fixed monetary amount. The estimated percentage is 2.5 percent of total money generated. Sawm represents religious fasting in order to establish religious discipline and respect. The Hajj is a symbol of people attempting to find Mecca at least once in their lives. Another important Islamic topic is Ramadan. Ramadan is a month of fasting during which no food, drink, or sexual activity is permitted. This long tradition, which lasts 29­30 days, is known all over the world. An opportunity for spiritual reflection and growth, as well as service to others and time spent with loved ones, are all part of a Muslim holiday season. As Muslims, we strive to grow spiritually and become closer to Allah and those we love. Between sunrise and sunset, they abstain from daily luxuries like smoking, drinking, and having sex with others. Additionally, In Ramadan, Muslims devote themselves to spiritual reflection and unity by reciting the Quran, praying, fasting, doing charitable acts, and spending time with loved ones while avoiding lying, gossiping and fighting.

Islamic prayer is either an act of supplication or an act of worship. Because supplication is among the most essential aspects. Almighty Allah’s glory is its primary objective. Maintaining contact with one’s religious beliefs is the most critical duty of a Muslim. Every Muslim adult, male or female, is required to pray on a personal level. In order to cultivate the habit of prayer in a child, it is expected that he begin at the age of seven. The punishment will be severe if he refuses to do it by the age of 10. Additional to this, they pray to receive a message from God or Allah in addition to the other requirements

Muslim culture or spirituality places a high value on fasting and prayer ADDIN CSL_CITATION {“citationItems”:[{“id”:”ITEM-1″,”itemData”:{“DOI”:”10.1007/s13668-018-0233-2″,”ISSN”:”21613311″,”abstract”:”Purpose of review: Since the early development of human societies, religious beliefs, and practices has been integral to their identity, culture, and social structure, traditions are influenced by the area, era, and culture wherein they developed. Some religions offer advice on behavioral and diet modifications as strategies to fortify the body, purify the spirit, and elevate consciousness. This review is an attempt to compare different practices, describe the health benefits and risks of fasting, and reconcile these age-old recommendations with practical modern life. Recent findings: Research to clarify and quantify the impact of these dietary modifications is challenging due to the variability in recommendations among various religions and in day-to-day practices. Summary: Most religions share common goals of well-being, body-mind integration, and spiritual attainment. Historically, the transformational power of fasting periods has been appreciated, but there is still much to discover about the underlying beneficial physiologic mechanisms of fasting in preventing and treating metabolic diseases.”,”author”:[{“dropping-particle”:””,”family”:”Venegas-Borsellino”,”given”:”Carla”,”non-dropping-particle”:””,”parse-names”:false,”suffix”:””},{“dropping-particle”:””,”family”:”Sonikpreet”,”given”:””,”non-dropping-particle”:””,”parse-names”:false,”suffix”:””},{“dropping-particle”:””,”family”:”Martindale”,”given”:”Robert G.”,”non-dropping-particle”:””,”parse-names”:false,”suffix”:””}],”container-title”:”Current Nutrition Reports”,”id”:”ITEM-1″,”issue”:”3″,”issued”:{“date-parts”:[[“2018″,”9″,”1″]]},”page”:”131-138″,”publisher”:”Current Science Inc.”,”title”:”From Religion to Secularism: the Benefits of Fasting”,”type”:”article”,”volume”:”7″},”uris”:[“http://www.mendeley.com/documents/?uuid=594bbbd1-e649-3338-981c-f852e8fc82b9″]}],”mendeley”:{“formattedCitation”:”(Venegas-Borsellino et al., 2018)”,”plainTextFormattedCitation”:”(Venegas-Borsellino et al., 2018)”,”previouslyFormattedCitation”:”(Venegas-Borsellino et al., 2018)”},”properties”:{“noteIndex”:0},”schema”:”https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json”}(Venegas-Borsellino et al., 2018). Fasting is yet another distinguishing feature of Islam in terms of morality and spirituality. Basically, fasting means abstaining from all food, drink, sex, and tobacco use for an entire day. Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, mandates that all of this must be completed between the hours of sunrise and sunset. It is the goal of this pillar to help Muslims better understand what it means to have a positive attitude toward humanity ADDIN CSL_CITATION {“citationItems”:[{“id”:”ITEM-1″,”itemData”:{“DOI”:”10.1080/1369118X.2017.1340970″,”author”:[{“dropping-particle”:””,”family”:”Johnson”,”given”:”Mark R.”,”non-dropping-particle”:””,”parse-names”:false,”suffix”:””}],”container-title”:”Information, Communication & Society”,”id”:”ITEM-1″,”issue”:”12″,”issued”:{“date-parts”:[[“2017″,”12″,”2″]]},”page”:”1844-1847″,”publisher”:”Informa UK Limited”,”title”:”Gods in and of the machine: morality, divination and meaning in digital religion and games”,”type”:”article-journal”,”volume”:”20″},”uris”:[“http://www.mendeley.com/documents/?uuid=5db95eb1-c0f0-3b52-9721-a6dab0cc4359″]}],”mendeley”:{“formattedCitation”:”(Johnson, 2017)”,”plainTextFormattedCitation”:”(Johnson, 2017)”,”previouslyFormattedCitation”:”(Johnson, 2017)”},”properties”:{“noteIndex”:0},”schema”:”https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json”}(Johnson, 2017). Salah, the final of Islam’s five pillars of prayer, requires that all Muslims walk in prayer in a regular and orderly fashion every day. Observed and performed at predetermined times five times a day, it is a physical, mental and spiritual expression of worship. During this time, they are required to pray facing Mecca. Muslims must first stand, bow, abject themselves, and then sit on the ground, effectively ending the prayer (2013, April 19). Islamic prayer involves reciting or reading special verses and prayers at various points in the year. For the most part, salah, or prayer, serves as a means of communication with God and a way to keep God in mind. Muslim lives are influenced greatly by this Pillar because it defines their relationship and allegiance to Allah, making it a high priority for Muslims.

It’s an excellent time to focus on one’s religious beliefs and grow closer to Allah, while also developing patience and compassion ADDIN CSL_CITATION {“citationItems”:[{“id”:”ITEM-1″,”itemData”:{“DOI”:”10.5144/0256-4947.2002.186″,”ISSN”:”02564947″,”author”:[{“dropping-particle”:””,”family”:”Azizi”,”given”:”Fereidoun”,”non-dropping-particle”:””,”parse-names”:false,”suffix”:””}],”container-title”:”Annals of Saudi Medicine”,”id”:”ITEM-1″,”issue”:”3-4″,”issued”:{“date-parts”:[[“2002″]]},”page”:”186-191″,”publisher”:”King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre”,”title”:”Research in Islamic fasting and health”,”type”:”article”,”volume”:”22″},”uris”:[“http://www.mendeley.com/documents/?uuid=63c6d10c-7f98-37fd-ba3a-3a9acf5b5ef4″]}],”mendeley”:{“formattedCitation”:”(Azizi, 2002)”,”plainTextFormattedCitation”:”(Azizi, 2002)”},”properties”:{“noteIndex”:0},”schema”:”https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json”}(Azizi, 2002). It’s about taking care of both your mind and body. First and foremost, the qualities adopted during fasting are the qualities we should exhibit as Muslims. The month serves as a constant reminder of how we should behave in general, not just during this month. The month reminds us to strive for purity and discipline ourselves to perform these acts in order to secure it in our daily lives, becoming accustomed to purifying our beliefs as well as our bodies, minds, and souls ADDIN CSL_CITATION {“citationItems”:[{“id”:”ITEM-1″,”itemData”:{“ISSN”:”2345-2587″,”abstract”:”Introduction: Nearly one billion adult Muslims across the world refrain from eating, drinking, and smoking from dawn until dusk during the holy month of Ramadan. The duration of Islamic fasting varies depending on the coinciding season and geographical location. The present study aimed to review the health benefits of Islamic fasting. Methods: This review was carried out after searching in several databases such as Science Direct, PubMed, Medline, PMC, Google Scholar and also the related articles. Results: Islamic fasting is along with many health benefits such as the reduced risk of diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, hypertension and cancer. Although, some health problems have mentioned during Islamic fasting like dehydration, headaches. Conclusion: According to the results of this review, religious fasting positively influences the body weight and lipid and glucose levels, while exerting antioxidative effects, increasing longevity, and improving the renal and immune function. The health benefits of fasting could be reinforced through the balanced intake of various nutrients, such as dairy products, fruits and vegetables, meat and fish, cereals, and grains, as well as beverages such as water and milk, during Ramadan.”,”author”:[{“dropping-particle”:””,”family”:”Massoud”,”given”:”Ramona”,”non-dropping-particle”:””,”parse-names”:false,”suffix”:””},{“dropping-particle”:””,”family”:”Sharifan”,”given”:”Anoosheh”,”non-dropping-particle”:””,”parse-names”:false,”suffix”:””},{“dropping-particle”:””,”family”:”Massoud”,”given”:”Armita”,”non-dropping-particle”:””,”parse-names”:false,”suffix”:””}],”container-title”:”Journal of Nutrition,Fasting and Health”,”id”:”ITEM-1″,”issue”:”1″,”issued”:{“date-parts”:[[“2020″]]},”page”:”17-22″,”title”:”Religious Fasting; the Purgation of Soul and Body”,”type”:”article-journal”,”volume”:”8″},”uris”:[“http://www.mendeley.com/documents/?uuid=e45c9f55-b642-3929-b293-b615ecf0936b”]}],”mendeley”:{“formattedCitation”:”(Massoud et al., 2020)”,”plainTextFormattedCitation”:”(Massoud et al., 2020)”,”previouslyFormattedCitation”:”(Massoud et al., 2020)”},”properties”:{“noteIndex”:0},”schema”:”https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json”}(Massoud et al., 2020). Increasing our closeness to Allah SWT and instilling fear of our Lord – it is critical to remember who our Creator is, why we were placed here, and what our goals are in this material world; to remember that this world is merely a stop-gap (albeit a very brief one) on our journey to the Hereafter. We should strive for taqwa and to be as close to Allah as possible.

Connecting with our Lord is critical for remembering why we’re here in the first place; otherwise, we’ll get lost in this realm, which is exactly what we’re here to avoid. In our materialistic world, we frequently fail to recognize how dependent we are on Allah SWT. As a result, the practice of remaining humble at all times; a simple act such as fasting simply demonstrates how dependent we are on our Lord and His creation ADDIN CSL_CITATION {“citationItems”:[{“id”:”ITEM-1″,”itemData”:{“abstract”:”The main purpose of this paper is to provide an analytical justification about how important the fasting is for the humankind. In fact, it is a theoretical paper which motivates regarding the issues of benefits that we can achieve from fasting. The results of the paper disclose some significant reasons that fasting can be considered as a well being program to acquire patience, strong will, righteousness, sincerity, good manners, discipline, better sense of prestige, better dieting habits, and many other physical and spiritual benefits of human being in order to establish peace, prosperity and sustainable development of the society. However, the limitation of the paper was it could not consider any numerical examples in favour of the main message of the study because of lack of data availability. Nevertheless, the paper shows its originality in substance and makes a unique contribution to the literature on one of the most important pillars of Islam”,”author”:[{“dropping-particle”:””,”family”:”Hossain”,”given”:”Mohammad Zakir”,”non-dropping-particle”:””,”parse-names”:false,”suffix”:””}],”container-title”:”Journal of Emerging Trends in Economics and Management Sciences”,”id”:”ITEM-1″,”issue”:”3″,”issued”:{“date-parts”:[[“2012″]]},”page”:”184-190″,”title”:”Fasting in Islam : Its Excellence, Benefits and Use for Sustainable Development of the Society”,”type”:”article-journal”,”volume”:”3″},”uris”:[“http://www.mendeley.com/documents/?uuid=6406567c-9d97-3565-9253-1e5e148fbf20″]}],”mendeley”:{“formattedCitation”:”(Hossain, 2012)”,”plainTextFormattedCitation”:”(Hossain, 2012)”,”previouslyFormattedCitation”:”(Hossain, 2012)”},”properties”:{“noteIndex”:0},”schema”:”https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json”}(Hossain, 2012). Ramadan reminds us to be humble and selfless while also having empathy and compassion for others.

Ramadan, like many other Islamic attributes, serves to remind us that we are all equal in this world, regardless of skin color, race, religion, gender, or social status. We’ll all end up in the same place, wearing the same clothes, carrying only our amaal and leaving behind all worldly possessions. That is when we will truly understand how those we helped in this world contribute to what we bring into the next.

Despite the fact that Islamic ideals are generally peaceful, many Muslims are vehemently opposed to another religion coexisting with Islam and feel compelled to kill the infidel. This suggests that this group is going through a difficult time. Because of this conflict, it may be easier for this group to connect with Muslims by bridging the gap and participating in some of their religious and cultural traditions ADDIN CSL_CITATION {“citationItems”:[{“id”:”ITEM-1″,”itemData”:{“DOI”:”10.2307/1387619″,”ISSN”:”00218294″,”abstract”:”This book argues that religion can and must be reconciled with science. Combining adaptive and cognitive approaches, it is a comprehensive analysis of religion’s evolutionary significance, and its inextricable interdependence with language. It is also a detailed study of religion’s main component, ritual, which constructs the conceptions that we take to be religious and therefore central in the making of humanity’s adaptation. The text amounts to a manual for effective ritual, illustrated by examples drawn from a range of disciplines.”,”author”:[{“dropping-particle”:””,”family”:”Bellah”,”given”:”Robert N.”,”non-dropping-particle”:””,”parse-names”:false,”suffix”:””},{“dropping-particle”:””,”family”:”Rappaport”,”given”:”Roy A.”,”non-dropping-particle”:””,”parse-names”:false,”suffix”:””}],”container-title”:”Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion”,”id”:”ITEM-1″,”issue”:”4″,”issued”:{“date-parts”:[[“1999″]]},”page”:”569″,”title”:”Ritual and Religion in the Making of Humanity”,”type”:”article-journal”,”volume”:”38″},”uris”:[“http://www.mendeley.com/documents/?uuid=fd26613c-c1bf-3fa4-8aaa-b92dfc0993ca”]}],”mendeley”:{“formattedCitation”:”(Bellah & Rappaport, 1999)”,”plainTextFormattedCitation”:”(Bellah & Rappaport, 1999)”,”previouslyFormattedCitation”:”(Bellah & Rappaport, 1999)”},”properties”:{“noteIndex”:0},”schema”:”https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json”}(Bellah & Rappaport, 1999). Almsgiving is a central tenet of Islam, and I believe that connecting with it would be beneficial for these people ADDIN CSL_CITATION {“citationItems”:[{“id”:”ITEM-1″,”itemData”:{“DOI”:”10.4172/2161-0711.1000178″,”abstract”:”A review of research articles on Ramadan fasting indicates that fasting can serve as an excellent research model for Psycho-social behaviour and health studies. The purpose of fasting for Muslims is to learn self-restraint from indulgence in everyday pleasures, for self-discipline, to develop God-consciousness, to develop self-control, to purify the body, and to empathize with the poor and hungry. Muslims describe a feeling of inner peace and tranquillity. This involves restraining anger, doing good deeds, exercising personal discipline, and preparing one to serve as a good Muslim and a good person. One of the greatest advantages of fasting is that its true observance inculcates in a person a habit of speaking the truth. Fasting is a powerful therapeutic process that can help people recover from mild to severe health conditions.”,”author”:[{“dropping-particle”:””,”family”:”S”,”given”:”Ahmad”,”non-dropping-particle”:””,”parse-names”:false,”suffix”:””},{“dropping-particle”:””,”family”:”K”,”given”:”Goel”,”non-dropping-particle”:””,”parse-names”:false,”suffix”:””},{“dropping-particle”:””,”family”:”KA”,”given”:”Maroof”,”non-dropping-particle”:””,”parse-names”:false,”suffix”:””},{“dropping-particle”:””,”family”:”P”,”given”:”Goel”,”non-dropping-particle”:””,”parse-names”:false,”suffix”:””}],”container-title”:”Journal of Community Medicine & Health Education”,”id”:”ITEM-1″,”issue”:”09″,”issued”:{“date-parts”:[[“2012″]]},”title”:”Psycho-Social Behaviour and Health Benefits of Islamic Fasting During the Month of Ramadan”,”type”:”article-journal”,”volume”:”02″},”uris”:[“http://www.mendeley.com/documents/?uuid=263b0784-0acd-37de-b1c8-2304b5bd7e1f”]}],”mendeley”:{“formattedCitation”:”(S et al., 2012)”,”plainTextFormattedCitation”:”(S et al., 2012)”,”previouslyFormattedCitation”:”(S et al., 2012)”},”properties”:{“noteIndex”:0},”schema”:”https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json”}(S et al., 2012). For this reason, I believe Christians and Muslims can find a common ground on giving to the poor in the Bible, which will make it easier to develop connections and spread the message.

A Shiite is someone who believes in Ali, Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law. The Shiite sect was founded by a political movement that supported Ali. A Sunni is a follower of Muhammad’s way of life. Sunnis account for 80 percent of Muslims. Shitte are distinguished by their pure white or pure black headdress. Sunnis shave their mustaches and wear a smaller headband. Sufis and scholars regard a Sufi as Islam’s inner, mystical, or psycho­spiritual dimension. Sufis interpreted various Qur’anic concepts as mystical interpretations. Every type of follower has their own set of beliefs. Despite the fact that all of the movements spawned political movements, being able to identify each individual is critical because they do not get along.

Conclusion

In the Islamic religion, the passage of time is significant. Muslims are born with a strong sense of discipline, despite the fact that traditions are common among Muslims. The Qur’an and the Five Pillars are inextricably linked. The Qur’an is Islam’s fundamental prayer, law, and way of life. Ramadan is significant in business because it is necessary to respect a worker’s or business investor’s religion. It is essential to pray five times a day and to respect others. Sports, like many other aspects of life, teach restraint and discipline. Self-discipline practice allows you to separate from certain desires as well as constrain and detach yourself from your needs, allowing you to achieve true independence. Without the unnecessary burdens and indulgent wants and needs of daily life, such as status, material, money, stress, and possessions, one can achieve true contentment, freedom, and, most importantly, simplicity. Fasting helps to sharpen and direct the mind’s focus, allowing us to remember the reason for our existence and restore balance in our lives.

REFERENCES

ADDIN Mendeley Bibliography CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY Azizi, F. (2002). Research in Islamic fasting and health. In Annals of Saudi Medicine (Vol. 22, Issues 3–4, pp. 186–191). King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre. https://doi.org/10.5144/0256-4947.2002.186

Bellah, R. N., & Rappaport, R. A. (1999). Ritual and Religion in the Making of Humanity. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 38(4), 569. https://doi.org/10.2307/1387619

Hossain, M. Z. (2012). Fasting in Islam : Its Excellence, Benefits and Use for Sustainable Development of the Society. Journal of Emerging Trends in Economics and Management Sciences, 3(3), 184–190. https://journals.co.za/doi/abs/10.10520/EJC132217

Johnson, M. R. (2017). Gods in and of the machine: morality, divination and meaning in digital religion and games. Information, Communication & Society, 20(12), 1844–1847. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2017.1340970

Massoud, R., Sharifan, A., & Massoud, A. (2020). Religious Fasting; the Purgation of Soul and Body. Journal of Nutrition,Fasting and Health, 8(1), 17–22. http://eprints.mums.ac.ir/18097/

S, A., K, G., KA, M., & P, G. (2012). Psycho-Social Behaviour and Health Benefits of Islamic Fasting During the Month of Ramadan. Journal of Community Medicine & Health Education, 02(09). https://doi.org/10.4172/2161-0711.1000178

Venegas-Borsellino, C., Sonikpreet, & Martindale, R. G. (2018). From Religion to Secularism: the Benefits of Fasting. In Current Nutrition Reports (Vol. 7, Issue 3, pp. 131–138). Current Science Inc. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13668-018-0233-2

Substantive laws are laws of crime that are defined by statutes and prescribe what is to be done and also proscribes what is

Crime and criminal law

Student’s name

Institution affiliation

Substantive laws are laws of crime that are defined by statutes and prescribe what is to be done and also proscribes what is not to be done. Procedural law on the other hand lays out the rules that the state must follow in prosecuting suspects. Criminal laws are enforced by the state, and its violation is regarded as acts against the state and the victim. A crime is an act of violation of criminal law for which a punishment is prescribed. The prosecutors must prove the intent to commit the crime. Crime is a subcategory of all harmful acts. The largest circle consists of all harms, personal, social, criminal, and non-criminal offenses. The lower subcategory consists of social harms that are regulated by the state but not by the criminal justice system. Mala prohibita and mala in se forms the third circle while the core consists of mala in se crimes that cause the most harm to society. mala in se is differentiated from mala prohibita on three concepts namely consensus, seriousness, and harm.

Criminal law emanates from state and federal constitutions, state and federal statutes, and common law. There are several limitations to criminal laws. First, criminal law cannot criminalize any conduct it pleases. Laws that infringe the rights of individuals such as freedom of speech are prohibited. The law must be narrow in conformity to the overbreadth doctrine. The criminal law be void of vagueness, that is, it must state the offense it is prohibiting and punishment it will accord. The people have a right to fair notice. The other limitations include that it must not limit the due process. It should also avoid restricting equal protection. The principles of ex post facto laws and bills of attainder limit criminal law.

There are five elements of criminal liability that constitute corpus delecti. First, actus reus which states that there must be an act for criminal liability to attach. Thoughts alone are not valid grounds for criminal liability. There are three forms of actus reus namely possession, omission, and voluntary movements. Secondly, mens rea affirms that there must some sort of guilt mind. The concept introduces discussions on intent and motive which must be proven in a court of law. Intent refers to the desire to do an act while motive refers to the reason why an action was undertaken. Thirdly, concurrence which is an aggregate of criminal act and intent. Fourth, causation is the criminal act that is the cause of harm. It has two forms, legal and factual causations. The fifth element is harm, which can either be physical or mental.

Inchoate crimes are crimes that occur in the preparation of an offense. There are three forms of inchoate crimes. Solicitation is where a person is induced to commit a crime. The other two are conspiracy and attempt. The defense is a reaction by the defendant to the complaint and may either be an alibi or an affirmative defense. In alibi defenses, the person asserts that they are not guilty of the crimes committed. Affirmative defenses are grouped into two justification and excusation. In justification defenses, the defendant argues that they are not liable for the crimes they admit to having committed. The defendant may claim that they committed the crimes in acts of self-defense or in the line of a public duty or in some cases take the form of consent. In excuse defenses, the defendant admits wrongdoing but claims that the situation was entirely to blame for their actions. It may take various forms such as duress, intoxication, age, and insanity, all of which have to be justified in court.

In procedural defenses, the defendant claim that the criminal justice system sullied the standard due process in developing their case. Defendants get acquitted if they can prove the claims. Crimes are grouped based on the type of act. Hence there can be crimes against a person, a society, property, or morality. The crimes against persons include murder, manslaughter, negligible homicide, forcible rape, aggravated assault, and robbery. The crimes against property are burglary, theft, and arson. The other form is crimes against public order and morality where the offender is not easily identified.

References

Book review.

There are four primary points of view on deviance, even though there are many different sociological theories about crime S

Criminology

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Criminology

There are four primary points of view on deviance, even though there are many different sociological theories about crime: Structural Functionalism, Conflict Theory, and Labeling Theory are some of the approaches that have been proposed. The purpose of criminological theory is to aid in the comprehension of crime trends and the criminal justice system (Janet & Daniel, 2021). Theories address the creation and breaking of laws, deviant or unlawful conduct, and criminal behavior patterns. Individual approaches might be global or micro. Several factors affect the likelihood and perspective of crime by individuals in America. People disobey the law for various reasons, including poverty, poor parenting, low self-esteem, and drinking/substance misuse. Because of their birth circumstances, certain people are more likely to become criminals.

The proposed criminal categorization is based on 11 first-level categories that give the classification a broad framework. The following are some of the crime trend categories: Acts that cause death or are intended to cause death, Acts that cause or seek to cause harm to another person, sexually harmful activities, and acts of violence or threats of violence against a person involving the property. The significance of studying these crime trends is that it enables an individual to unearth the underlying intentions for a given crime and thus help in the development of prevention mechanisms for the future.

References

Janet L. Lauritsen and Daniel L. Cork. (2021). Read “Modernizing Crime Statistics: Report 1: Defining and Classifying Crime” at NAP.edu. The National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine. Retrieved from

https://www.nap.edu/read/23492/chapter/7#126

This paper presents a critical analysis of the results of a study conducted by Risnes at al. (2013, p. 420).

Critical Analysis

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Critical Analysis

This paper presents a critical analysis of the results of a study conducted by Risnes at al. (2013, p. 420). The study was carried out to determine the psychiatric effects of a severe cardio-respiratory failure treated with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). The results of the study are presented in a journal article published in psychosomatic journal. Risnes at al. (2013, p. 421) conducted a quantitative research and thus, the results of the study were analyzed using statistical tools. The results were analyzed using SPSS v. 15.0 and were also subjected to test and the Mann–Whitney U-test. The researchers used tables to present the results.

The results of the study presented in the article are reliable. Before commencing, the researchers conducted numerous pilot studies to check the consistency and stability of data collection instruments. The process of checking the reliability of the scales that were applied in data collection took 9 months. The instruments were found to be produce consistent and stable results in different contexts. Thus, the results produced by the instruments can be said to be reliable. The researchers did not report any examination of validity of their research. However, it is clear that the results of the study provide answers to the key question of the study. In other words, the researchers did not deviate from the key objective of the study. Furthermore, the results of the study mainly correspond to the results of previous studies conducted on the same topic.

However, results on the impact of ECMO on neuropsychiatric morbidity produced mixed results. While strong positive link was found between the two variables in some cases, no association was reported in others. This makes it difficult to make a general conclusion from the results of the study. Despite the fact that the researchers acknowledge the issue, they make a general conclusion from the results of the study.

References

Risnes, I. et al. (2013). “Psychiatric Outcome after Severe Cardio-Respiratory Failure Treated

with Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation: A Case-Series.” Psychosomatics 2013; 54:418–427)

Literature review on Cross-cultural communication

Cross-cultural communication

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Literature review

Effective communication with individuals of dissimilar cultures is a significant challenge. This is because cultures provide individuals with ways of perceiving, interpreting, and thinking about the world. In turn, the same words can connote different things to individuals from different cultures, in spite of the idea that they employ the same language. There are three notable ways from which cultures impact language; cognitive constraints, behavior constraints, and emotional constraints. These elements are associable to each culture thereby affecting communication. Communication is, thus, a cultural element that connects with the ways of a community.

In the analysis about cross-cultural communication, there are confounding elements that involve in the discourse. To begin with, a culture or a subculture may refer to a certain group of people in terms of national contexts. This is what describes, for instance, Swedish culture and French culture. However, a cultural entity does not have to be a national group. Culture applies to whatever is distinguishable over a considerable period of time. In this sense, there is the sense of teenage culture, working-class culture or male culture.

An investigation into cross-cultural communication has always to the question of how individuals understand each other if they do not share a joining cultural experience. In the current world, multicultural communities that exist within a global village face this question in daily setting. This communication recognizes that individuals of different cultural experiences may share the same language. Besides, it recognizes that individuals of different cultural orientations may not share the same language.

Bennett analyzes the primate life into understanding how different groups tolerated each other’s differences (Bennett, 2001). The core argument builds on the idea that individuals have, in history, tackled cultural differences by avoiding the same. In this argument, he constructs the idea of primates gathering around a fire over a day’s catch. If another group of primates appear, there are two reactions that are likely to occur; fight or flight. This is an aspect that has not altered over time as individuals retreat to their backyard when they are confronted with cultural differences. In cases whereby individuals are mandated to tackle cultural differences, there is usually a fight. In history, groups that were unsuccessful in avoiding different people strove at converting them. This is the case of religious missionaries who strove to impose their beliefs on other groups. The idea was that if other people convert to given beliefs or cultural practices, the world becomes a better place.

The case of upper-case and lower case culture highlights the differences that exist in communication. In a traditional setting, an individual is high likely to associate culture with literature, art, dance or music. This is an objective sense of culture that does not comprehensively discuss communication. On the other hand, in the subjective examination of culture, psychological features of a society become valuable in the analysis of given communication patterns.

It is crucial to regard emotions as a significant component of individuals’ lives. This is because they color life by according them meaning and significance to the wellbeing of individuals. Emotions, such as sadness, fear, guilt and disgust, in that they communicate things about the self and define individuals’ relationship with other people. Emotions are also critical since they inspire behaviors. The conflict between cultures and individuals occur because of emotions that we experience. This suggests that the manner in which individuals deal with their negative emotions determine the relationships and nature of communication that occur between different cultural groups. Communication depends on the manner by which different cultural entities resolve their conflicts.

Proper communication between individuals of different cultures cannot occur if individuals do not tame their negative emotions. This is a scenario of inadequate critical thinking that deters resolution of conflicts as regards stereotypes and generalizations. Instead of creating new schemas that enhance ways of thinking, this scenario reinforces narrow and ethnocentric ways of perceiving each other.

Communication is a complex and rich process that entails multiple messages, which occur through multiple signal systems. Culture has a prominent impact on the encoding and decoding of nonverbal and verbal signals. Because of this element, misunderstandings and conflict are inevitable in cross-cultural communication. A useful strategy in cross-cultural communication is the involvement of personal growth model that focuses on emotional reactions and critical thinking.

Yang proposes that high and low-context is the primary cultural dimension that defines communication patterns in terms of information processing. In high-context cultures, there tends to be more reliance on internalized comprehension and less verbally explicit communication. Besides, they manifest rational, context-based, and situational knowledge (Yang, 2011). These cultural groups tend to express themselves in non-verbal and indirect style. On the other hand, individuals from low-context cultures, share transferable, codified, and external knowledge. Besides, they employ explicit communication style. Low and high-context communication styles are dependent on the social structures where individuals reside. This suggests that high-context cultures will tend to establish long-term, multifaceted, and close relationships. Within such relationships, greater boundaries among groups are established as individuals assume high-context information. On the other end, individuals from low-context cultures easily interact and communicate across various boundaries. Such individuals develop short-term relationships that thrive on external and explicit information. In a low-context pattern, there is a greater emphasis on independence that creates loosely bound relationships. This is because people share an individualistic social orientation that emphasizes on the self and nuclear family.

Lowell, on her study about the impact of healthcare on the Aboriginal community of Australia, recognizes that social, political, and cultural factors affect communication (Lowell, 2001). Differences in understanding, experiences, expectations, and interpretations are sources of communication failure between the Australian medical staff and the Aborigines. These differences are manifold between standard Australian English and Aboriginal English, And between Aboriginal languages and standard Australian English. Besides, attitudinal and social skills, such as motivation and power relations, and person’s unique intercultural negotiation skills impact on effectiveness of communication.

This was an instrumental study because the health staff would always employ a strategy of learning the given languages in the community they worked. This is usually viewable as a sufficient strategy of achieving effective communication with coworkers and Aboriginal clients. However, communication challenges emerged thereby proving that broad disparities in world view and cultural knowledge cannot be synchronized through shared linguistic knowledge. Once an individual does not comprehend the emotional and attitudinal perspectives that attach to words of a different language, it becomes ineffective to share a language.

Wang utilized brainstorming to uncover the differences and similarities that display in communication between different cultural groups (Wang, 2009). Brainstorming is a process of finding ideas from individuals by discouraging criticism. The assumption exists in the view that individuals are more likely to put forward their ideas if they overhear each other’s creations and share the freedom of presenting unconventional arguments. In the findings, it was discovered that cultural groups increase their talkativeness as depending on contexts of discussions.

Hypothesis

The hypothesis in this study is; emotional associations to cultural groups are vital determinants to nature of communication that transpire between individuals of different cultures.

Research methods

In the research, the main type of data would be from secondary sources. This is because they present various empirical studies that share conclusions about different elements to communications. The research would be descriptive in presenting empirical conclusions out of tested models to interactions.

Findings

To begin with, it was discernible that different cultural groups could increase their talkativeness as depending on contexts if discussions. By examining elements of brainstorming, certain individuals could talk more if they utilized text-media. On the other hand, other individuals could talk more if they employed verbal media. In cases where there was a dominant cultural group, in terms of numbers of people, there would be a tendency for the less dominant group to adopt the communication style of the other group (Matsumoto, 2005).

In terms of Aboriginal clients and workers in Australia, it was discernible that there are additional factors that play in cross-cultural communication (Lowell, 2001). These factors surpass the mere idea of sharing a similar language. Different cultural groups perceive and react to words differently. This is because they possess different attitudes and emotional orientation of connoting and denoting words.

A major discovery on cross-cultural communication involved high and low-context cultures. High and low-context communication synchronizes with the social structures that exist in given societies. In the investigation, it was uncovered that individuals from high-context cultures tend to manifest lower level of sentiment in their communications. On the other hand, individuals from low-context cultures expressed higher levels of sentiment in their communication.

Discussion

It is arguable that the findings supported hypothesis. However, emotions are only part of the components that influence communication between cultures. A critical look at cross-cultural communication involves examining all the elements that involve cultures. In the examination of cultures as variables to communication, emotions, behavior and thinking orientations exist within the frame.

In societies that hold certain elements as objective, individuals will tend to align their communication within conservative limits. This suggests that communication will involve metaphors and strong cultural elements that never separate in individuals’ argument. On the other hand, liberal societies promote free expression and explicit communication that involved loud conversations and discourses.

Each culture involves existing individuals that share similar experiences. These experiences affect how individuals react and denote communication elements. This suggests that individuals how learn foreign languages have to participate in the cultural understanding that involves interpretation of words. Certain cultures may involve quick reactions and openness to situations because experiences informed such a conscience. In cross-cultural communication, an individual must recognize this perspective in one’s expression and response to conversations.

In cross-cultural communication, it is vital to recognize of the idea that individuals exploit their elements of familiarity to judge situations. In addition, their personality embeds in their communication styles. It is, therefore, unreasonable to make stereotypes and generalize cultural influences on communication. In this perspective, individuals of a certain group that live in a foreign society are different from their counterparts who live in original societies. This is the recognition that culture is a rich and complex factor in communication.

References

Lowell, A. (2001). A review of two subprograms of the cooperative research centre for Aboriginal and tropical health’s indigenous health and education research program. Cooperative Research Centre for Aboriginal and Tropical Health, 1(1), 1-40.

Yang, J (2011). Collaborating globally: culture and organizational computer-mediated communication. Information systems, 1(9), 1-20.

Matsumoto, D (2005). Emotion and intercultural communication: the role of culture in communication process. Psychology journal, 26(3), 15-29.

Wang, H. (2009). Cultural Difference and Adaptation of Communication Styles in Computer-Mediated Group Brainstorming. Communication department, 36(2), 669-678.

Bennett, Milton, J. (2000). Intercultural communication: a current perspective. Culture and communication journal, 23(2), 1-20.

Research-Paper

CSIA 301

09/21/2014

Research Paper

Stuxnet worm

The Stuxnet worm was first discovered in June 2010 and has since been labeled the most complex weapon in cyber warfare to this dayto date. Norton Symantec stated “It’s like nothing we’ve seen before – both in what it does, and how it came to exist. It is the first computer virus to be able to wreak havoc in the physical world CITATION The11 l 1033 (The Stuxnet Worm, 2011)” The Stuxnet worm is A form of malware, e or malicious software, that has over 1500 lines of code embedded in it, the Stuxnet. This worm can has the ability to infect computer systems that where with running a Microsoft Wwindows operating system,s and llyingay dormant without being undetected while itand replicatinges itself until it finds its true target. After the worm’s target is acquired it then makescauses the targeted equipment to raise its rate of rotation per minute at to a dangerously high speed and ultimatelyconsequently causinge the target to rip itself apart. Meanwhile As this is occurring, another poartion of the worm creates false positive readings to indicate showing the workers that the equipment is still working at the suggestive rate . The wormwhile simultaneously overr ridinges the manual kill switch thereby disabling any preventative or reactionary measuresso workers cannot stop this action from happening if they wanted toomight attempt.

The only known attack of the Stuxnet virus is the attack against the Iranian nuclear facilities. Although no country or group has come forward and confirmed that they initiated the cyber-attack on the Iranian nuclear facilities, due to the complexity of the worm and the amount of founding it must have taken to create it tthis cyber super weapon it is rumored that thehas led theorists to believe that the attack was carried out by the U.S. and Israeli governments for political reasons.gain. Kushner (2013) supportsSupports this belief and states that “Analysts then realized that financial gain had not been the objective. It was a politically motivated attack. Kushner (2013). CITATION Dav13 l 1033 (Kushner, 2013)” Whether staged for financial or political gain, tThe Stuxnet attack on the Iranian nuclear faculties was devastating to the whole of their nuclear program. The creator of the StuxnetWhen launched against the Iranian nuclear system, the Stuxnet worm exploited 4 different zero day vulnerabilities on Microsoft’s website. This was the first worm to exploit so many zero-days. This is howBy exploiting these vulnerabilities, the worm was able to infect it infected other computers that used the Microsoft operating system by. The worm was able to creatinge a false yet seemingly n authentic digital certificate that stated shows the update wasat it is coming from a trusted company. As a result of this seemingly authentic digital certificate, the patch was downloaded many times and traces of this worm have been tracked to personal computer systems in countries around the world. By far the most traces were found in computers in Iran and surrounding countries such as Indonesia and India. Though the impact has not been as severe or widespread, traces of the virus have even been found on some computers in the United States. When it wasThe download was just the beginning of the attack, however, and it was not until after the virus was downloaded into the systems, that the worm then replicatesbegan replicating itself and started searching fors to look for its target which is now known to be a specific Siemen software and hardware combination that runs on Microsoft operation systems. Specifically, The “Stuxnet is designed to attack the Siemens Simatic WinCC SCADA system. These SCADA systems are installed in big facilities to manage operations. CITATION Jan10 l 1033 (McEntegart, 2010) ” (McEntegart, 2010). To operate in such a way, But in order for the worm to find itself from the PC’s to the target the worm replicated itself and had to traveled on the drivers of removable USB drives. After the worm infected the drivers on the USB, it is said that an employee at the nuclear facility brought one of the infected USB’s to the nuclear facility and plugged it into a computer at theon site. Traces of this worm have been tracked to have infected personal computer systems in countries around the world. By far the most traces where found in computers in Iran and surrounding countries such as Indonesia, India and even some computers in the United states where infected by the Stuxnet virus. After the worm infected the drivers on the USB it is said that an employee at the nuclear facility brought one of the infected USB’s to the nuclear facility and plugged it into a computer at the site. After t Once the worm searched the new computer system and realized that the computerand realized it was on the same network that tas the target was ontarget, it went to work. The worm then travelbegan traveling though out the network, and found the particular targeted Siemens Simatic WinCC SCADA system, and as well as the software associated with the system, . The worm thenand raised the level of rotations per minute on the hardware on the Siemens Simatic WinCC SCADA system. The worm continues to raise the speed of rotations on the hardware,Then causing the rotors to spin extremely fast and causing eventually forcing the system to spiral out of control. As this was occurring, the worm began to complete the job it was designed to do by causing While the system was spinning out of control the worm also made the software checks to look as if the hardware was working properly . During this time the worm had alsoand takingen over the controls for the system kill switch. The workers at the facility had no way to ever prepare for a meltdown of this magnitude and. this silentThis was an attack twas one for whichhat no one was prepared. had any idea that anyone or group was capable of doing the attackers had all the angles covered besides destroy all the evidence. This attack was so deviously designed that it could have gone completely unnoticed had the designers taken the time to design a method by which all evidence would be destroyed after the attack, but they did not do so and their neglect in doing so raises questions of future motives. By not neglecting to destroying all the evidence, from the designers actually increase and enhance the effects and impact of Stuxnet. Kelley (2013) puts it this way,the attack greatly increased the effects and impact of the Stuxnet attack. “ThTat’s because the initial attack provided a useful blueprint to future attackers by highlighting the royal road to infiltration of hard targets, humans working as contractors. CITATION Mic13 l 1033 (Kelley, 2013)” The fact idea that the target now could be humansa human damages the confidentiality. In addition, Now the code that was used to create the Stuxnet worm is now openly available out on the World Wide Web and. tEven though the code is very extremely complicated, many hackers are tryingstill attempt to duplicate what it can do and while possible working on targeting other systems that will be able to cripple society as we know, such as it like electrical grids and water dams. This Stuxnet attack made the use of the nuclear facility power unavailable. If another attack was to happen to something like an electrical grid and shut down a cities electricity lives will be lost. Being that the virus was walked into the nuclear plant hurt the integrity of the system. Also the fact that the worm was able to make the software project false positives stating that the hardware was working correctly also messed up the integrity of the facility.Ways to protect computers from a Stuxnet attack. Due to the complexity of the Stuxnet worm, the most conventional ways of defending protecting computers systems are were not as affectiveineffective. This attack was totally unexpected. But since the attack patches and updates for Microsoft, have come out to fix the zero day vulnerabilities. Siemens has also put out a tool that will detect and remove the stuxnet worms from any infected system. Most anti-virus software have made changes to their software to look for the Stuxnet worm also. Now companies are coming up with ways to check a systems integrity. There is now a program called Hypercheck and “HyperCheck uses an out-of-band network card utilizing the CPU’s System Managed Mode (SMM) to check the integrity of core libraries on the target system, including hypervisor code and the host operating system kernel. CITATION Def10 l 1033 (Defending Against Stuxnet Type Threats, 2010)” If you uses While some basic core methods of protecting computers systems will improve detection of a possible Stuxnet invasion, they might may not aid in completely dhelp defending or protecting your computer or network against the Stuxnet virus.

The most important way to protect against any computer or network attack is to engage in cyber security educationbe educated and educate your employees. Everyone Every employee should have a basic understanding of computer security and . Everyone should have basic knowledge of what to look for as it pertains to computer security. Each All companiesy should have a cyber security personnel in charge aand nd also policies and procedures in place just in case there is an attack. The company should review its policies and procedures should be reviewed and modified annually and then the companies should hold mandatory annual training should be conducted for all employees and as well as introductory information security training for all new employees should be a part of the company’s practices.

The nuclear facility should put in place better physical security to check employees for things like USB drives, removable hard drives, CD and any type of equipment that data can be transferred from. Also the facility should have done more physical check of the systems and had manual ways to shut down the system before in destroyed itself. The Stuxnet worm was the first of its kind. It was malicious software that can do physical damage. It changed the way cyber war is fought it has truly raised the bar when it comes to malware or any cyber-attack. With a few copycat virus now showing up such as Duqu and Flame. The need for companies and governments to secure all systems and educate all personal are at an all-time high. Works Cited BIBLIOGRAPHY Defending Against Stuxnet Type Threats. (2010, OCT. 1). Retrieved from http://www.invincea.com: http://www.invincea.com/2010/10/defending-against-stuxnet-type-threats/

Kelley, M. B. (2013, Nov. 20). The Stuxnet Attack On Iran’s Nuclear Plant Was ‘Far More Dangerous’ Than Previously Thought. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com: http://www.businessinsider.com/stuxnet-was-far-more-dangerous-than-previous-thought-2013-11

Kushner, D. (2013, Feb 26). The Real Story of the Stuxnet . Retrieved from http://spectrum.ieee.org: http://spectrum.ieee.org/telecom/security/the-real-story-of-stuxnet

McEntegart, J. (2010, September 27). Stuxnet is World’s First Cyber Super Weapon. Retrieved from http://www.tomsguide.com: http://www.tomsguide.com/us/stuxnet-cyber-weapon-worm-trojan,news-8122.html

The Stuxnet Worm. (2011, Nov. 21). Retrieved from http://us.norton.com/: http://us.norton.com/stuxnet

To protect against the Stuxnet virus companies