Blog

Introduction and Primary Plan of Action

Case Study 2: Credit Card Payment System

Insert Name

CSIA 412

Introduction and Primary Plan of Action

Creating a credit card payment system that is compliant with federal standards is not something that a physician should enter into lightly as there are various standards and requirements with which they must comply. This compliance ensures privacy of consumer data, consumer protection, as well as protection for the business from unauthorized access. In addressing the needs of the physician who has once again hired my services, I would first educate them on the various advantages and disadvantages of such a system, walk through the system requirements as outlined by the federal government, and then provide him with recommendations that would make the network compliant. All of this would be discussed before any action is taken and I would also provide a report written in laymen’s terms describing the needs, the process, price points, and a page for signed consent to move forward with the process.

Payment Card Industry (PCI) and Data Security Standards (DSS) advisement

As provided for the physician

The payment card industry (PCI) data security standards (DSS) were developed in order to enhance the security of cardholder data while also creating a standard level of security globally (PCI, 2010). When used in a PCI-compliant environment, payments made by debit and/or credit cards face much less risk at exposing private consumer data than when used in a non-PCI compliant environment while simultaneously offering security to the company processing the payment. There is a lot to take into consideration, however, when deciding to implement a credit card payment system (CCPS).

The first consideration is whether or not the payment data will be stored in-house or if a third party will manage it. Each method requires a different mode and level of security. In light of the fact that your business would be considered a Level 4 merchant under PCI Compliance because you complete fewer than 1 million single card transactions annually and/or fewer than 20,000 online transactions, I would recommend using a third-part to manage your data (PRWeb Newswire, 2009). In the present moment, you do not have the manpower or the resources to ensure compliance of data security and compliance with PCI/DSS and so it would be beneficial to use a service such as TrustKeeper 3.0 in order to perform daily inspections of stored data, firewalls, anti-virus software, and file integrity (PRWeb Newswire, 2009). By employing the use of such software, you provide an added sense of peace to your business and are better able to focus on servicing your patients without the added threat of their confidential information being attacked at any moment. My first recommendation would be to look over and strongly consider the benefits TrustKeeper 3.0 has to offer and make a decision on whether or not you would like to use it (I highly recommend going this route). Your other option would be to host the data in-house. This method requires hiring a trained, in-house, technology specialist who is not only versed in the area of network management but also in the area of financial point of sale systems, PCI/DSS compliance, and how to configure and maintain a system that is in compliance with federal standards. This can become costly as this individual would need to be full time and may require a team of additional individuals in order to ensure around-the-clock monitoring of your system.

The second consideration to undertake is the use of firewalls and data encryption. Even though an outside company will be handling the storage of your data, you will want to ensure that the transmission of the data from your office to the third party is secure and undetected by an outside party. In addition, you want to ensure that even if an unauthorized party is able to gain access to the information that they will not be able to use it. The first step to ensuring that this information is not intercepted is by creating and maintaining a secure network firewall that filters and monitors incoming and outgoing network traffic. These firewalls should limit inbound traffic to the payment card system, should not permit unauthorized outbound traffic, should deny direct connection between the internet and the cardholder data system, should not disclose personal IP addresses, and should be installed on any personal/private devices used by any employee of the organization (PCI, 2010). In conjunction with all of the above, the encryption used to protect consumer data should employ the use of resilient cryptography and security protocols, should ensure that wireless networks through which data is sent is encrypted according to industry best practices, and that permanent account numbers (PAN) are never sent unprotected through email, text messages, etc. These security measures ensure that consumer data is protected and unauthorized access to your payment network is not granted to outside parties.

The third, and final, initial consideration to undertake is that of the antivirus program you plan to use. While the program currently in place is great for scanning every day correspondence, and ensuring that your system is not overtaken by malware, you will want to purchase and anti-virus software that detects not only Trojans, worms, and malware but also that identifies and removes adware, spyware, and rootkits, while also detecting breach attempts and attempts at unauthorized access (PCI, 2010). Also, as with the firewalls and encryption methods, you will want to ensure that this software is installed and activated on any private system that is used by an employee to perform company business. An inexpensive, yet efficient effective, anti-virus program that can be used is Trend Micro Titanium. This software not only detects for the aforementioned threats but also hosts a running log of scans, detections, and removals (which is needed for audit) and provides a web filter which makes it much more different to happen upon harmful websites (Rietta, 2014). This type of anti-virus software is sufficient for your small business but powerful enough to keep you out of harm’s way while providing added protection for your clients’ data.

Security Considerations

Even with all of the above in place, there are various other security standards that must be adhered to in order to be in compliance with PCI/DSS according to PCI (2010). Those standards include, but are not limited to, the following:

Guarantee a current and secure system by installing all software patches and upgrades

Establish an identification and ranking system for network vulnerabilities and threats.

Restrict cardholder data on a need to know businesses basis

This includes employees and third parties

Assign rights and authorization access according to user IDs

Ensure removal of authorization and account upon termination of employment/contract

Ensure authenticity of authorized parties

Create and maintain unique user IDs

Enforce strong password combinations through the use of an 7+ character password that includes all of the following:

1 number

1 capital letter

1 symbol (such as &, #, =, or +)

Does not include any portion of the users name

Require a change of password every 60-90 days

Require reentry of password after an idle phase (15 minutes or less)

Require two-step authentication processes for remote access

Restrict physical access to cardholder data

All of these security requirements allow for an optimal environment in which to host a payment card system, but only if it is actively monitored. The enforcement of a few simple procedures can lead to the securement of a significant amount of data and the savings of a significant amount of money for any company. By ensuring these standards are in place on the front end, as well as hosting monthly staff trainings on required tasks, duties, and expectations, you are not only setting yourself up for compliance but are also creating a culture of responsibility, efficiency, and client safety.

Conclusion

A payment card system has the potential to provide ease and efficiency in completing business transactions to both you and your customers if implemented correctly. PCI-compliance is a great place to start in terms of providing a safe and secure mode of payment for your customers, but it should not be the place that you stop in order to provide your customers with the highest standard of service, as it is just the starting place. It is my recommendation that you seriously considering hiring an outside company and incorporating the use of a third-party software to host secure cardholder data, employ the use of strong firewalls and encryption, and install a comprehensive, automatic anti-virus software that detects issues within the system as well as potential threats on the web. In addition to all of this, I recommend a solid security plan that outlines the expectations of employees as it pertains to passwords, user IDs, data security, confidentiality, and required authentication processes. Though seemingly time consuming on the front end, the time and money saved in the long run is well worth the up-front effort.

References

PCI Security Standards Council, LLC. (2010). PCI DSS requirements and security assessments procedures (2.0). Retrieved from: https://learn.umuc.edu/d2l/le/content/47852/viewContent/2363939/View

PRWeb Newswire. (18 December 2009). Element payment services partners with trustwave for level 4 PCI DSS compliance program. Business Insights: Essentials. Retrieved from: http://bi.galegroup.com.ezproxy.umuc.edu/essentials/article/GALE%7CA222821771/fba5f6a2d2e80822af5a8451c548af53?u=umd_umuc

Rietta, F. (2014). Anti-virus for mac PCI compliance. The Rietta Blog [Weblog]. Retrieved from: https://rietta.com/blog/2014/01/23/anti-virus-for-mac-for-pci-compliance/

letter to turn downan event invitation

Canceling a keynote speaker

Firms Name

Postal Address

City, Zip Code

Date (July 26, 2013)

Vice Embry

Postal Address

City, Zip Code

Dear Mr. Vice

We were very delighted when you accepted our invitation to be the main speaker during our company retreat. We hope you can relate with how sad we are to cancel it. The company is undergoing some hard economic times and has taken some measures to reduce on spending. We had not anticipated canceling this event and we regret doing so.

We understand that you had cancelled other plans so that you could attend our retreat; we highly regard your commitment and good will to our company. We understand that you spent your money to buy an airline ticket to come for the retreat. We are glad to inform you that all the money you had spent in preparation for our event will be refunded.

Again, we regret all inconveniences that canceling this event has caused, kindly understand that we are undergoing tough economic times. However, we are changing our strategy to ensure that such situations do not happen in the future. Thank you for your continued support in all our activities, we highly appreciate it.

We will plan another company retreat when these hard economic times are gone and we look forward to having you there. We hope to have another opportunity to have you in our company retreat.Up to that time, we express our regret for the inconvenience and look forward to better times and having you speak in our event.

Thank you and continue with your good work.

Yours Sincerely,

(Writers Name)

Nominal interest rate is the rate of interest applicable before adjustment for inflation

BUSINESS

Name:

Institutional affiliation:

Date

Nominal interest rate is the rate of interest applicable before adjustment for inflation. If the compounding frequency of an interest rate, say monthly or yearly, is not the same as the time unit, this interest rate is referred to as nominal. Therefore, the real interest rate applicable during trade activity is obtained by subtracting inflationary pressure.

In instances where traders plan to exploit the interest-rate differential between two countries based on their nominal interest rates, they should first account for the influences these respective countries currency exchange rates could have on their business activity. The “interest rate differential is essentially what such prospecting traders obtain as profit” during such trading activity but it relies heavily on the currency exchange rates remaining constant (Fabozzi 2008). Given the unpredictability of currency exchange rates, this carry trades could result in huge losses.

Different countries may have slightly different interest rates since the rates quoted are based on nominal and not effective interest rates. Doing this understates the interest rates and when compared to the equivalent effective interest rates, it exposes prospecting traders to losses and liability arising from the differences. The two traders would not only be exposing themselves to the risks associated with exchange rate unpredictability, but also differences in their target markets effective interest rates as stated and as is.

Aggregate demand is “the summation of all the demands within a country at any given instance” (Tucker 2010). It has a direct impact on the economy and can be manipulated as a tool to alter economic position of a country. As a sum of the products that will be bought at all price levels, it is demand of the GDP of a country.

During the Great Depression as reported by Spulber (1989), “President Roosevelt tried many tactics to introduce remedial action into his country’s economic system” (pg 104). One of the many he tried was to manipulate public spending using the aggregate demand. By extending Thanksgiving by a week, he increased the rate of consumer spending moving the AD curve to the right – an increase. This exogenous increase lead to an increase in real output and slowly introduced inflationary pressure to counter the effects of the depression.

Aggregate supply on the other hand is the sum total of all the supply in a country at any given instance. Arnold (2010) shows that “the interplay of aggregate demand and aggregate supply forms an important indicator of the country’s economic state and offers an opportunity to correct any anomalies” (pg 352). When the aggregate demand is increased, the aggregate supply increases too resulting in increased real output, employment and GDP of the country. Such manipulations afforded the United States under President Roosevelt the chance to recover from the Great Depression.

References

Arnold, R. A. (2010). Expectations theory and the Economy. In Economics (p. 352). Australia: South-Western Cengage Learning.

Fabozzi, F. J. (2008). Foreign Exchange. In Handbook of Finance: Financial Markets and Instruments (p. 695). Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.

Spulber, N. (1989). Antistagflation Policies. In Managing the American economy, from Roosevelt to Reagan (p. 104). Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

Tucker, I. B. (2010). Aggregate Demand and Aggregate Supply. In Microeconomics for today (p. 258). United Kingdom: South Western Educational Pub.

system for GGC students

Brainstorming ideas for new information system for GGC students

List your ideas here.

System Request Form

Project Name:

2.1 Why is the system needed?

Business Need: Describe why GGC students need this system

Functionality: Describe the functionality requested

2.2 Technical Feasibility: Can We Build It?

Does GGC have a similar system where IT staff could leverage existing knowledge? If yes, what is it? If not, what tools, software, hardware, or other resources will be required?

Application(s)/Software Needed

Hardware Technologies Needed

Other resources required

Project Size (estimate how many students or faculty it will impact)

2.3 Organizational Feasibility: If We Build It, Will They Come?

Project Champion(s) Who is (or should be) championing this project? This means who would you go to if you wanted to actually present this idea?

Users Who (specifically) will be using this system?

Other Stakeholders What is the impact on other stakeholders (people who are impacted – for better or worse – by the system you are proposing)?

2.4 Summary:

Overall, what are the biggest benefits for this GGC implementing this system?

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

3.1 Expected Value: What Value does it provide?

Tangible: Value that can be easily measured

Intangible: Value that cannot be easily measured

Special Issues or Constraints: What special issues or constraints will need to be considered?

3.2 Economic Feasibility: Should We Build It?

What economic constraints (and benefits) must be considered?

Annual Benefits (Cost Savings and Revenues) (best guess estimates)

Intangible Costs and Benefits

Data

Data Needed?

What data will you require users to input?

Data?

What other data would be required to be stored in the database?

INPUT / OUTPUT DESIGNS

Input Screens

What would the input screen(s) look like? Draw them here. You can use drawing tools in MS Word or use Excel or Powerpoint or http://wireframe.cc to do a mockup.

Output Screens

What would the output screen(s) look like? Draw them here. You can use drawing tools in MS Word or use Excel or Powerpoint or http://wireframe.cc to do a mockup.

Output / Reports / Printouts

What would output reports look like? Draw them here. You can use drawing tools in MS Word or use Excel or Powerpoint or http://wireframe.cc to do a mockup.

Introduction (12)

Book Review

Student’s Name

Institutional affiliation

Introduction

Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela follows the extraordinary story of Nelson Mandela’s life. It is a story about his setbacks, struggles, renewed hope, and ultimate triumph of the globally revered human rights icon. Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela is one of the greatest political and moral leaders of his time. Mandela is an international hero who was dedicated to the fight against apartheid in South Africa, an act that won him the title of president of his country and the Nobel Peace Prize (Herzog, & Román, 2015). After his release from a 27- year jail term in 1990, he found himself at the center of inspiring and most compelling political drama in the world. As head of the African National Congress and anti-apartheid policy, he played a pivotal role in steering South Africa towards majority rule and multiracial government. On the other hand, Race, Gender, and Punishment: From Colonialism to the War on Terror documents the disproportionate representation of black Americans within the U. S criminal justice system and the beliefs and entrenched system that shape punishment among other social control forms today. Specifically, the book talks about the cultural and structural forces which continue to influence and further perpetuate racial discrimination. This essay highlights the relationship between race and colonialism, gender and race, social control, and immigration. Further, it examines social punishment on a global scale, Mandela’s message about race, and the promotion of global peace through Mandela’s example.

Racism and Colonialism

The aspects of race and colonialism are evident in the texts. Their interaction has to do with the unequal treatment of particularly the people of color within their respective environments. Notably, in the United States and South Africa, the practices of punishment were not equal. Different races were treated differently, but in most situations, the white people received preferential treatment. This was informed by the notion that white people were better than others because they came to colonize other countries. In South Africa, apartheid had become a norm, with Americans treating the native people, particularly racial minority as outcasts. In the Long Walk to Freedom, we experience Mandela’s brush at the hands of white settlers. In the biography, Mandela’s description of his tenure in prison cells is disheartening. He received a life sentence on charges of inciting people to strike in 1961. Mandela reported that the conditions under which he was living as uninhabitable; he carried out backbreaking labor and slept in tiny cells. All the torture he underwent resulted from the apartheid policies that gained massive support and influence from politicians, including Daniel Malan Francois, who was responsible for implementing the nadir of African freedoms.

How Slavery Highlights Race and Gender

Both texts reveal that there is an interrelationship between slavery and gender and race. This is because, to some extent, the gender and the ethnicity of a person determine their fate. With regard to freedom, Mandela explains that he was convicted of inciting people to strike, but close examination reveals that underlying factors, including his race, fueled the determination of his opponents to convict him. In the 1960s, there was rampant racial discrimination across South Africa. The white colonialist had taken over leadership, and they disregarded the rights of racial minorities such as black people. In fact, at the time, the situation was so critical to the extent that Africans were denied access to some spaces, and they had been confined to living in specific locations while the white settlers who were in authority had the freedom to access and live in places of their choice. This kind of treatment was gendered and discriminative in all forms. Additionally, text from Race, Gender, and Punishment shows that punishment practices in the United States are racist and engendered. Considering the United States’ racist history, it is evident that colonizers shaped the justice systems in a way that is unfair to the subjects, particularly people of color and women, hence subjecting them to slavery. The colonizers had the notion that painted their culture as superior. As a result, the justice system ended up criminalizing and giving people of color and men favorable treatment compared to their counterparts who are not people of color.

Immigration and Social Control

Immigration is related to social control because it shapes the attitudes and perceptions of the people in society, including the community and police. The text from Race, Gender, and Punishment points out that in U. S. policing, factors such as immigration status, race, and ethnicity influence how the law is enforced. With the current populations of immigrant groups on the rise, the legal authorities face the challenge of fully enforcing the law. Worth noting that individuals who identify as minority groups such as African Americans, Hispanics, and others are disproportionately affected by the negative perception and stereotypes. This has to do with the past experiences that law enforces have with these particular groups of people. For instance, there’s the notion that people of color are criminal offenders because they comprise the majority of convicted fellows. Because of their history and these social perceptions, some ethnicities not originally from the U.S are subject to unfair treatment within the justice systems, hence controlling their freedom.

Social Punishment on a Global Scale

On a global scale, social punishment, also referred to as a social sanction, is a mechanism through which individuals within cooperation use some of their resources to punish defectors. Social punishments arise from norms that are found within a give a given society. Within a given society, punishments are used in controlling society. For instance, prisons’ existence is entirely for maintaining law and order where defiant people are punished by being denied freedom. In essence, any sanction is a reaction from one person towards a group or an individual’s behavior. Social punishment is any means by which confirmation of standards that have been socially approved is conformed. Social punishments can be negative and positive. When a person’s action conforms to normative expectations, we are rewarded, and while failure to meet expectations leads to negative sanctions in the form of punishment. It is important to note that different norms carry different sanctions because of their importance in different cultures is not equal. Essentially, rewards and punishments are definite expressions of group approval.

Mandela’s Message on Racism

Concerning the discussion about racism, Mandela brought the message that to be free is not merely to cast one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others (Nokele, 2015). Mandela spent all his life-fighting injustice and racism. Notably, Mandela’s will power and political principle to rebel against white supremacy apartheid in South Africa motivated people struggling for an equal and fair world. He spent 27 years of his life in prison for rebelling against apartheid. This followed his realization that the only way to eliminate white supremacy was by the use of force. He maintained that the lack of dignity that Africans went through was a direct result of white supremacy policies. His struggle represented a true struggle experienced by African people, and it was inspire by suffering and experience. Mandela remained committed to ideals of a free society to the extent that he was prepared to die for this cause if need be.

Peace Promotion Using Mandela as an Example

We can promote global peace by following in Mandela’s footsteps as a dedicated and true advocate of equality and justice. He put his people’s interests before his own and was prepared to even die in his fight against racial discrimination. Like Mandela, we can contribute to the promotion of global peace by forming commissions designed to help violators and victims of human rights violations address their past. Further, we should encourage our governments to be transparent in all their dealings and to keep watch on their actions by calling them out on their wrongs. This way, we will encourage restorative justice for many nations whose past are marred with racial discrimination and injustice.

Conclusion

Issues of racism and differential treatment cut across the history of not South Africa and the United States as contextualized by the two books; they affect many countries. Long Walk to Freedom is about Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, one of the greatest political and moral leaders. He is an international hero who was dedicated to the fight against apartheid in South Africa, an act that won him the title of president of his country and the Nobel Peace Prize. Race, Gender, and Punishment: From Colonialism to the War on Terror follows the disproportionate representation of black Americans within the U. S criminal justice system and the beliefs and entrenched system that shape punishment among other social control forms today. We can borrow a leaf from Nelson Mandela’s legacy in his fight for equal treatment. We need to stand up against discrimination in all its forms because we are all equal, and nobody deserves preferential treatment moreso on the grounds of racism.

References

Nokele, A. B. B. (2015). Translating conceptual metaphor in Mandela’s Long walk to freedom: a cross-cultural comparison (Doctoral dissertation, University of South Africa).

Herzog, B., & Román, E. (2015). Revoking citizenship: expatriation in America from the colonial era to the war on terror (Vol. 9). NYU Press.

Walmart – the Face of Twenty First Century Capitalism

Book Report

Lichtenstein N. Wal-Mart, The Face of Twenty First Century Capitalism: New Press, 2006. Print.

Name

Professor

Course

Date

Wal-Mart – The Face of Twenty First Century Capitalism

Introduction

Wal-Mart – the Face of Twenty First Century Capitalism is edited by one America’s most excellent labor historians. The book marks a determined effort to scrutinize the full scope of Wal-Mart’s operations in business, its effects on the social scene, and its role in the American as well as, the world economy. The book is based on a conference held in 2004 by leading business analysts, labor leaders, historians, and sociologists. The conference immediately drew the interest of national media. Profiles were subsequently drawn in the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, as well as the New York Review of Books. Typically, books concerning Wal-Mart either eulogize blindly the budget behemoth or criticize it for its elimination of beneficial legislation in regard to labor practices, along with other things. This book fails to do either.

REVIEW OF WAL-MART – THE FACE OF TWENTY FIRST CENTURY CAPITALISM

The book comprises of twelve selections that are separated into three categories. These include “A Global Corporation,” “Working at Wal-Mart,” and “History, Culture, Capitalism.” The authors include labor and social historians, anthropologists, economists, management specialists, and union leaders. On the whole, the papers are academic in nature and incorporate graphs, charts, tables, as well as footnotes. However, they are interesting and accessible and present insight into the world’s leading company. The book provides scrutiny of the numerous sectors that Wal-Mart occupies in people’s lives as well as the increasingly global economy. The book is extremely recommended for scholastic libraries.

At the beginning of the 21st century, Wal-Mart overtook all its rivals as the world- changing economic institution in contemporary times. Even in a country of shoppers whose chief burning metaphysical objective is to find their stuff, the domination of the big-box retailer that is Wal-Mart is a big astonishment. The enterprise that originated from Arkansas is currently the 30th biggest economy on the planet. It is also China’s 6th biggest export market, the chief customer to Bangladesh, and the biggest private employer in Mexico. It is proven that Wal-Mart’s single day sales surpass the total gross domestic product of approximately 36 nations.

Contributions to the book are an anthology of essays from sociologists and historians who anticipate depicting that this leviathan has thrown the world economy into an innovative hyper-retail quagmire whereby big businesses and conglomerates stalk the world, fighting off regulations as well as, standards of fair labor. Indeed, facts demonstrate that businesses of the scale of Wal-Mart generate their own economic power turfs, consequently reducing wages and twisting market access and manufacturers’ prices wherever they go.

However, an essay by Strasser Susan explains that, Walton’s homegrown empire is actually the most recent in the American custom of merge and squeeze. The genealogy of Wal-Mart is traced to the Frank Woolworth’s innovations of cost control and the Richard Sear’s popularization of mail order in the late 19th century. It is also traced to the 20th century sudden increase of chain stores and discount houses. Even prior to the emergence of retailer gigantism, centrally coordinated enterprises drove off independent merchants and substituted locally based businesses with national corporations. Numerous market analysts have been keen over the collapse of the small-town self-regulating entrepreneur for several generations.

According to Moreton Bethany, the reality of the matter is that, the success of Wal-Mart relies on the managers’ abilities to suckle life out of the convectional red-state ethics. The corporation’s Human Resource practices thrive in exploiting the labor force and employees’ traditional principles, in order to sustain the Wal-Mart family.

The question begs whether Wal-Mart is a curse or a blessing for America. The essayists acknowledge that Wal-Mart has its remarkably positive aspects. Its policy on everyday low prices is alleged to reduce families’ expenditure by approximately $600 per annum. Several analysts credit Wal-Mart sustaining a restraint on the inflation rate of U.S. According to a survey conducted by McKingsley & Co, 25% of the productivity gains in the U.S economy from 1995 through 1999 were attributed to Wal-Mart. The analysts also acknowledge the fact that Wal-Mart employs approximately 1.33 million U.S citizens mainly in the economically miserable communities.

However, the essayists do not predominantly focus on Wal-Mart’s achievements, but rather focus on the costs of its retailing style. The essayists allege that, Wal-Mart holds the American economy at ransom through its paltry health-care coverage, as well as, low wages that throw costs on the American tax payers. While money spent in the Wal-Mart stores by its clients would eventually circulate in the local economy, a great amount of the finances vanish into the international-market stratosphere. The book also highlights how Wal-Mart’s style of retailing damages metropolitan landscapes, disfiguring traditional downtowns as well as increasing the average drive times per household, pollution, and sprawl.

An essay by Rathke Wade proposes a Wal-Mart Workers Association which would campaign extensively for better workplace conditions, through rallying politicians and the public to the cause for equity in labor instead of focusing barely on isolated collective bargaining accords. According to essayist Bell Clement, probably Americans could be influenced into making an alternative choice. For instance, in Germany, the company concurred into improved workplace conditions thereby it is yet to record any tangible profits. This is while shoppers in America continue to take their dollars to the uptown hyper mart, without minding the bona fide costs. Wal-Mart is criticized for its supposedly melancholic obsession with profits, but it is criticized also for practicing a careless process whereby employees are promoted into the senior management positions. While the supporters of the Wal-Mart class action proceedings malign Wal-Mart for its assumed prejudice, none has received above-normal profits through offering employment to the ones against whom Wal-Mart allegedly discriminated.

According to Karjanen, Wal-Mart is a vital component of the forerunner of a social revolution. The essayist alleges that structural and spatial inequalities are increased when mega retailers transforms regional economies. Karjanen asserts that Wal-Mart is a component of a structure that generates an hourglass economy where growth takes place typically at the top and bottom of the wage scale. However, this is intricate to interpret, particularly since another essayist, Hoopes, alleges earlier that little is known concerning the Wal-Mart workforce. Like other essayists, Hoopes, in the book unconditionally believes that remuneration is determined by the munificence of the employer, but not by competitive conditions. According to Hoopes, Wal-Mart is able to employ managerial influence to squeeze labor out of its employees.

Furthermore, the temporal assessments have little to say concerning labor force participation trends. Karjanen criticizes Wal-Mart as a medium in an international supply chain that cannibalizes less important rivals, but a new study by Russell Sobel and Andrea Dean found no statistically vital effect of Wal-Mart’s entry on small-firm employment or self-employment.

Regrettably, economic analysis is this book discharged out of hand. Disregard the economic structure short-circuit discussion and, since the essayists are dealing with unambiguously economic subject matter, it may be compared to restraining language by disregarding some pages in a dictionary. This generates double speak, and it is inappropriate. Regrettably, it seems to be the modus operandi in regard to Wal-Mart criticism. Colorful argumentative literature may be entertaining and useful, but it should not be a substitute for vigilant economic way of thinking.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the essays are found to be conflicting in their discussions of discrimination and profits. First, the essayists sustain that Wal-Mart is a paranoid profit-maximiser, especially alert to the bottom line. Secondly, they allege that Wal-Mart is blinded by custom and prejudice that it would apparently forgo healthier business practices, and, consequently, profits, with the aim of indulging a taste for prejudice. These observations are contradictory. Wal-Mart can only be seen as either a profit-maximiser, or not. However, there are cases in which prejudice can endure in equilibrium, but this would occur in situations in whereby the clientele are keen to pay more for prejudice. While the book serves as a constructive catalogue of information and a foil for the financially viable mind-set, the valid motivation to criticize Wal-Mart, its aggressive quest of subsidies, are offered little thought, and the political limitations Wal-Mart faces are hardly analyzed. If there is a need to criticize Wal-Mart, it is deficient to allege that Wal-Mart offers low wages and fail to provide more information. It is prudent to demonstrate that the markets whereby Wal-Mart operates in are not aggressive. Therefore, in this regard, if patterns are to be claimed, then such patterns require being clearly identified.

Works Cited

Lichtenstein N. Wal-Mart, The Face of Twenty First Century Capitalism: New Press, 2006. Print.

True because the yield to maturity for bond B is always pre-determined

Bonds

Name

Course

Course instructor

Date

Question 1

True because the yield to maturity for bond B is always pre-determined and are therefore priced at a premium with lower yield to maturity by pricing them to the call thus depreciating the value of premium.

Question 2

Bond with greater interest risk is a 30 year BB rated bond from Canadian Duck Calls Incorporated because it is highly affected by risks such as inflation unlike a 30 year Canadian Government bond which is very certain and is not much affected because it is governments.

Question 3

Seniority of bonds is accompanied with lower coupon rates due to their less default risk because a company is likely to recover the assets on the most senior bonds compared to the junior bonds which have higher risk and pay rate.

Puttable bonds pay lower interest compared to other bonds without put option because an investor can recover all the investments in case the interest rates rise.

A Canada plus call feature has lower interest rate because an investor may refinance the bond in case the rates go high.

Bonds with deferred call provision normally experience lower interest rates which act as the tradeoff for the bond although the investor receives some stability for their investments in form of less money. This kind of bond protects bondholders from the risk of increasing interest rates.

Protective covenants are designed to protect lenders from issuer actions and a lender has a right to call back the obligations from the borrower. Protective covenants have lower interest rates and are mainly used to lower the risk of bonds. AAA represents a bond with very strong qualities and any investor would prefer investing in suck kind of a bond.

Interest payment on a floater may be lower compared to the rate paid on fixed rate bonds. At times, floaters tied to T-bills may further fall especially during political crisis. The coupon rates on floaters tends to reduce with short term benchmarks and have both high credit risk and sector risks because they are mostly issued by financial institutions.

Question 4

A three year 8% bonds will provide highest possible profits in case of any decrease in market interest rates since the maturity period is very low and is not subject to many risks such as interest risks. The other investments are related to longer periods (10 years) which may be subject to many risks such as inflation and interest rate risks.

Question 5

Companies would rate their bonds to attract more investors especially when their bonds offer better in an industry in terms of interest rates and other factors which may give a company good reputation.

A bond with AAA rating from DBRS would indicate that the bond has very low interest risks because AAA takes into consideration all the financial strengths of a particular company. AAA indicates superiority in financial strengths as well as stability in an organization’s economic environment after taking care of all the interest risks.

Introduction to Business and Management

BMGT 110

Introduction to Business and Management

Spring 2014

Quiz #1

Chapters 1-5

INSTRUCTIONS:

Type your name on the answer sheet, below.

Scroll down to see the three questions that make up this quiz. Each question is worth up to 5 points.

Type your answer to each question on the page below the question. Your answer should be approximately 1 page in length, double-spaced, for each question.

Submit your answers in your Assignment Folder by the due date.

______________________________________________________________________________

Answer Sheet

Name:

Question 1: Although most new businesses start out as sole proprietorships, few large businesses are organized this way. Why is the sole proprietorship such a popular form of ownership for new businesses? What features of sole proprietorship make it unattractive for growing businesses? What business forms would be more appropriate for a growing business?

A sole proprietorship is such a popular form of business for many different reasons. The most popular of which I believe is that a sole proprietorship can be started by one person with an idea. A sole proprietorship is easy to setup, and easy to maintain. There are no taxes on the business other than income generated from the business which is taxed directly to the owner. It can be a very popular form of business for someone who is interested in owning 100% of their company. Usually most startups form as sole proprietorships where the owner is the man with the ideas and the vision for the business.

Some of the advantages to owning a sole proprietorship involve the ownership of the business. The sole proprietor has complete control over what they would like to do with their company whether that be selling it, transferring it, or growing it. There are no corporate tax payments in a sole proprietorship, there are very few formal business requirements, and little legality involved in forming a sole proprietorship.

The disadvantages of a sole proprietorship include, but are not limited to several of the following details such as debts, employees, and responsibilities. When a sole proprietorship is formed the business owner is responsible for all business debts acquired through the business. Liabilities are the sole responsibility of the owner, and an owner will be responsible for any and all legal activities conducted by an employee of the business. It can be very difficult to acquire investors in a sole proprietorship because there is no room for the investor to grow their money other than to charge interest or royalties.

In growing a business I would first start with looking at a sole proprietorship and then look at moving to either a limited liability corporation or incorporating your business. Incorporating a personal business can really prove to protect the business owner from liabilities, and can serve to save you thousands of dollars in taxes.

Question #2: Explain how prices are determined in a free-market economy. During the recent recession, consumers were less willing and able to purchase products they had grown accustomed to buying. Describe how the supply and demand curves were affected by consumers’ decisions to pull back on their spending.

Prices in a free market economy are determined by supply and demand. When you have a great product that everyone is in need of, you can charge a higher price because of the demand for the product or service. When you are selling something that is a luxury item or good frequently it can be difficult to attract business when times become tough. In the free market economy there is competition, and competition is a good thing for businesses. It ensures that no one player gets too far ahead of the others. Prices in a free market will often fluctuate with the status of the economy, however they will stabilize over time becoming a system which works for both consumer and supplier.

When the recession hit America and other surrounding areas people started to hold onto their money more and more. This creates a cascading effect throughout the economy which can result in further damaging the economy. In order to stabilize the economy it is necessary to have the players in the economy spend money. When people start to spend money they tend to also make money, which represents the normal ebb and flow in the economy.

The supply and demand curves change drastically in an economic recession. The first step in the process is when the consumers begin to get tight on their cash. When a consumer feels that times are tight their demand for everyday goods begins to go down. As the demand goes down the price point on the supply side begins to move down with it until the economy is reestablished and people begin to become more comfortable spending money. This being said, we can conclude that what really begins to hurt the economy is when people start to save their money. When you save your money it forces others to save their money, which creates a vicious cycle where there isn’t enough cash flow into the economy to restore balance. This is why government programs like cash for clunkers are establish to make people spend money.

Question #3: Why would a U.S. company decide to form a strategic alliance with a company in another country? What kinds of ethical considerations might the U.S. company be faced with given possible differences in laws and standards between the two countries?

Generally a U.S. company decides to form a strategic alliance with companies outside of the U.S. because they can be make the U.S. companies more efficient. To understand what makes these businesses more efficient we have to understand what advantages are made by going outside of the U.S. There can be many reasons to partner up with an international company, and these usually include saving money on costs, and decreased price point for inventory creation and services. When a company that works within the U.S. is able to outsource their day to day menial tasks to a company in another country it generally means that they are taking advantage of the other companies lower operating costs. This can lead to a great relationship between both companies. The company in the U.S. begins to make more money than it did previously which can lead to more profits for the U.S. company. The foreign company gains a new customer which usually pays very well compared to if they were to do business with their own country alone.

As a U.S. company it dealing with companies outside of the U.S. can lead to ethical differences and standards from country to country. For instance when outsourcing product creation to China we may find that children under the age of 14 are often being used to do the labor for your company. This can definitely become an ethical issue for the company especially if the children are underpaid and working for far less than what they should be making. This can lead to bad press, and can even lead to entire companies being shut down that rely too heavily upon outsourcing to other countries. Generally it is for reasons such as these that often companies go to great lengths to stay within the U.S. to proudly wear the stamp “Made in the USA”.

Kymriah to Treat B-Cell Cancer

BiologyStudents Name

Institution of Affiliation

Date

Kymriah to Treat B-Cell Cancer

Kymriah is a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy that was developed by Novartis. The drug is able to produce prolonged complete responses with minor side effects in adults with relapsed or those with refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). The drug is also used in the treatment of the B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia in the patients who are aged 25 years and below. It is used to treat individuals whose cancer treatment has not gotten better with other therapies or has relapsed for two or more times. Further studies are ongoing to test the efficiency of the drug I the treatment of different types of cancer. Kymriah is a drug that was developed using the patients T-cells, which happens to be one of the immune system cells. According to Gill, a gene for a specific receptor, chimeric antigen receptor, is added to the T-cell in the laboratory and the changed T-cell now the CAR T-cells are cultured in large numbers in the laboratory, and they are provided to the patients by infusion. The drug, Kymriah binds to the protein CD 19, that is found in some Lymphoma and Leukemia patient cells, aiding the body’s immune system in destroying the cancer cell.

Kymriah was the first cell-based gene therapy to obtain validation by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In accordance with Gardner views, the CAR-T drug was meant for the treatment of relapsing or refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma among the pediatric and young adult patient of 25 years and below. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is the most frequent type of leukemia in children. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is marked by the bone marrow producing too many white blood cells, the lymphocytes to which fail to develop correctly. The excess development of the abnormal white blood cells causes swellings and damage to the internal organs preventing the body from producing other blood cells. The prevention of the formation of different blood cells especially the red blood cells that are responsible for the transport of oxygen around the body tissues, result to anemia and as well dampened immune response. It is in a similar manner that the diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, which is the most common form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma is an aggressive cancer of the lymphatic system that is caused by the accumulation of the abnormal B-cells.

The new analysis of the trial data on the Novartis Kymriah CAR-T therapy that were presented at the 59th American Society of Hematology annual meeting indicates that the drug sustained complete responses at six months in adults with a difficult to treat the form of leukemia cancer. The CAR-T therapy offers a new treatment approach in the sense that it is specially produced for the treatment of an individual patient. During the process of treatment, the T-cells are drawn from the blood of the patient and then reprogrammed in the laboratory to develop the T-cells to which are genetically programmed to hunt and kill the patient’s cancer cells.

According to the data obtained from the Juliet’s trail that was led by the researchers from the University of Pennsylvania indicate an overall response rate (ORR) of 53% in the patients taking the Kymriah medication, with 40% achieving a complete response (CR) and 14% achieving a partial response (PR) (Wohlfarth). At six months, 30 percent of the patients were in complete response, with a 74 percent relapse-free rate onset of response, while the median duration of response was not reached. According to the principal investigator, Stephen J. Schuster, at the time of the trial enrollment, the patients with the DLBCL had been through multiple rounds of chemotherapy, and a significant number had unsuccessful stem cell transplants, and this left the patients with few options and poor prognosis. With the availability of the Kymriah drug, the team was able to significantly increase the chances of achieving and maintaining a sustained response without the stem cell transplant, and this was a demonstration of the benefit caused by the Kymriah drug in the treatment of the lethal blood cancer.

Concerning safety, the cytokine release syndrome (CRS) that can result when engineered cells get activated into the body of the patient, occurred in 58 percent of all the treated patients with the Kymriah drug, with 23 percent of them experiencing three-quarters cytokine release syndrome. 21 percent of the patients experienced any grade neurologic events, and 12 percent of the patients possessed three-quarters neurologic adverse events that were managed by supportive care. Grade three-quarters cytopenias lasting more than 28 days, grade three-quarters infection and grade three-quarters febrile neutropenia occurred in 27 percent, 20 percent and 13 percent of the patients respectively. According to Samit Hirawat, while the immediate response to the treatment by the drug is a marker for efficacy, the physicians and patients require treatment options that provide sustained reactions over time with as consistency in the safety profile.

Additional analysis of the data obtained from the ELIANA clinical trial indicates impressive results in the 75 patients that were treated with the Kymriah drug (Thomas et al.). The investigation found the overall remissions rate within three months was 81 percent, the rates of the event-free survival were 73 percent at six months and 50 percent at 12 months. The overall survival rate was 90 percent and 76 percent over the same time intervals. The follow-up analysis of the results that were obtained from the ZUMA-1 trial that investigated the effectiveness of axicabtagene ciloleucel in the patients with the refractory non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma also indicated impressive outcomes. According to the analysis, more than one year after the treatment, 42 percent of the 108 patients enrolled in the ZUMA-1 trial had maintained remission while 40 percent of the patients exhibited no evidence that pointed them to have cancer. Besides more than half of the patients were alive at the median follow up of 15.4 months, and that is more than double the median survival for 6.6 months for the patients treated with the conventional therapy aside from the Kymriah therapy. Therefore the efficacy of the Kymriah drug can be said to be high, and that’s why the Food and Drug Administration opted to license the drug for commercial use.

The Kymriah drug just like other drugs has it is own mechanism of action. The primary purpose of the CAR-T therapy is to eliminate the CD-19 expressing malignant and normal cells with specificity and increased chances of remission. According to Anton, the Tisagelecleucel also known as CTL019 is a CD19 that is directly genetically modified immunotherapy that is genetically targeted to the treatment of specific patients. CTL019 is an adoptive immunocellular cancer therapy that is programmed to use the autologous peripheral blood T- cells that have been coded with a transgene encoding in chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) to identify and eliminate the CD19 cells that express that malignant and non-malignant cells. The CAR is comprised of a murine single-chain antibody fragment that recognizes the CD19 cells and is fused to the intracellular signaling domains from the 4-1BB (CD137) and CD3-zeta. The CD3-zeta component is significant for the initiation of the T-cell activation and anti-tumor activity while the 4-1BB enhances the expansion and most fundamentally the persistence of the tisagenlecleucel. Upon the binding to the CD19 expressing cells, the CAR transmits a signal to promote the T- cell expansion, activation, target cell elimination as well as the persistence of the tisagenlecleucel. The transduced T-cells expand in vivo to engage and as well eliminate the CD19 expressing cells and may inhibit immunological endurance to assist in supporting a long-lasting remission.

Concerning dosage, the treatment course consists of the fludarabine and cyclophosphamide lympho-depleting chemotherapy that is followed by the infusion of Kymriah drug. According to the directions provided by Bachmeier, Kymriah is provided as a single dose unit that contains the chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) viable positive T- cells. The dosage is based on the patient’s weight that is reported at the time of leukapheresis that includes: For the patients below 50kgs, the dosage is 0.2 to 5.0 x 106 CAR-positive T-cell per kg body weight while for the patients above 50kgs the standard dosage is 0.1 to 2.5 x 108 CAR-positive viable T cells. For the Lympho-depleting chemotherapy: Fludarabine (30 mg/m² intravenous daily for four days) and cyclophosphamide (500 mg/m² intravenous daily for two days starting with the first dose of fludarabine). Infuse Kymriah drug for 2 to 14 days after completion of the lympho-depleting chemotherapy.

Despite the effectiveness of the Kymriah drug, there are lots of side effects are said to accompany its administration such as cytokine release syndrome, hypogammaglobulinemia, fever, decreased appetite and infections of unspecified pathogens. A headache, bleeding episodes, low blood oxygen, vomiting fatigue, delirium, and acute kidney injuries are just among the side effects of the administration of the Kymriah drug in accordance with Jones.

The advancement in the field of medicine has enabled and as well led to the development of drugs that are capable of curing diseases that for a long time disturbed and threatened the extinction of the human race. The Kymriah drug, as a chemotherapy for cancer treatment, is one of the many such drugs that have restored hope to the people especially the patients of cancer. Kymriah is a drug that was manufactured by the Novartis Company, directed to the detection and elimination of the CD19 cells. The clinical trials have proved the efficacy of the drug with over 80 percent success, and this led to its approval by the Food and Drugs Administration proving it safe for commercialization. The Kymriah as well can increase the risk of life-threatening infections that may lead to death and therefore it is advisable to seek medical attention upon the development of symptoms such as fever, chills or bleeding just after the drug use.

Work Cited

Gill, Saar, and Carl H. June. “Going viral: chimeric antigen receptor T‐cell therapy for hematological malignancies.” Immunological reviews 263.1 (2015): 68-89.

Gardner, Rebecca A., et al. “Intent to treat leukemia remission by CD19CAR T cells of defined formulation and dose in children and young adults.” Blood (2017): blood-2017.

Wohlfarth, Philipp, Nina Worel, and Georg Hopfinger. “Chimeric antigen receptor Tcell therapy—a hematological success story.” memo-Magazine of European Medical Oncology (2018): 1-6.

Hirawat, Samit, and Langdon Miller. “Methods for dosing an orally active 1, 2, 4-oxadiazole for nonsense mutation suppression therapy.” U.S. Patent No. 9,877,952. 30 Jan. 2018.

Thomas, Xavier, and Etienne Paubelle. “Tisagenlecleucel-T for the treatment of acute lymphocytic leukemia.” Expert opinion on biological therapy just-accepted (2018).

Anton, Roman. “Advances in Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy.” Global Journal of Medical Research (2018).

Bachmeier, Christina. “Tisagenlecleucel Kymriah Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp.—all entries with PAPs.”

JONES, DOW. “Novartis: receives first ever FDA approval for a CAR-T cell therapy, Kymriah (TM)(CTL019), for children and young adults with B-cell ALL that is refractory or has relapsed at least twice.”

The biological perspective of depression argues that depression is as a result of an imbalance of the brain chemicals, the ne

Biology

Students Name

Institution of Affiliation

Date

The biological perspective of depression argues that depression is as a result of an imbalance of the brain chemicals, the neurotransmitters. Various compounds are used by the brain as messengers to communicate with other parts of the brain as well as the nervous system. The neurons communicate through the chemical messengers, and they are in constant communication through the exchange of the neurotransmitters. The neurons communication is essential to the brain as it aids the brain to carry out its functions. The imbalance of neurotransmitters can be articulated to the development of depression. The monoamine hypothesis has the suggestion that the lowered levels of the brain chemicals such as serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine to which result in the symptoms of depression.

The imbalance of serotonin levels is said to influence a person’s mood and eventually lead to depression. There are possible problems that are associated with the imbalance of the serotonin levels, and this includes reduced brain cell production of serotonin, the inability of the serotonin to reach the receptors and as well can be attributed to the shortage of the chemical trypan from which serotonin is made. In case any of the above biochemical problems do occur, it is believed that one has a high probability of being depressed.

Depression can also be related to abnormalities in the circadian rhythm. Such examples include the rapid eye movement sleep, a stage in which dreaming do occur, may be intense and quick to arrive in people with depression. Rapid eye movement sleep relies on decreased serotonin levels in the brain stem. The serotonin levels are impaired by the compounds such as the antidepressants, to which increase the level of serotonin levels in the brain stem structures. The serotonergic system tends to be least active during sleep and most active during wakefulness. Continued wakefulness due to the deprivation of sleep tend to activate the serotonergic neurons, and this leads to the same effect that is caused by the therapeutic effect of anti-depressants like the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). The depressed people exhibit a significant elevation in the moods after deprivation of sleep The selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors may directly depend on the rise of the central serotonergic neurotransmission for their therapeutic effect, the same effect to which alter the cycles of being awake and that of sleep.

According to research, the effects of light therapy on the seasonal affective disorder suggest that light deprivation is related to the lowered activity in the serotonergic system as well as to the abnormalities in the sleep cycle that include insomnia. The exposure to light as well targets the serotonergic system and therefore provide more support for the essential role to which the serotonergic system play to the development of depression. Light therapy and sleep deprivation target the same brain neurotransmitter system and brain sites the same way the antidepressant drugs and therefore, they are also used in the treatment of depression.

The increase as well as the decrease in sleep length also play a significant role and can be a significant risk factor for the development of depression. The patients who are diagnosed with major depressive disorders sometimes may manifest diurnal and seasonal variations of symptoms severity, even during the no-seasonal depression. The daily mood improvement is associated with the activity of the dorsal neural networks, and as well a rise in the mean core temperature is observed. A proposition made by one of the hypothesis indicates that depression is as a result of a phase shift. The exposure to daylight leads to decreased serotonin levels due to reduced transport activity, and this may underlie the seasonal development of depression in individuals. In short, the biological perspective of depression is of the opinion that depression is due to a reduction or alteration of the serotonin levels which result in mood swings to which lead to the development of depression resulting from the abnormalities in the circadian rhythm.

Reference

Demirkan, A., Penninx, B., Hek, K., Wray, N., Amin, N., Aulchenko, Y., Middeldorp, C. (2011). Genetic risk profiles for depression and anxiety in adult and elderly cohorts. Molecular Psychiatry, 16(7), 773–783.

Silberg, J., Maes, H., & Eaves, L. (2010). Genetic and environmental influences on the transmission of parental depression to children’s depression and conduct disturbance: An extended children of twins study. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 51(6), 734–744.