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Cyber Security. Internet privacy, security and surveillance are important to protect our finances and moral values.

Cyber Security

Thesis Statement: Internet privacy, security and surveillance are important to protect our finances and moral values.

The protection of the financial sector from attacks of different kinds that facilitate obtaining information on business transactions is a necessity for the global economy that is increasingly adopting the online platform for business. Risks involved in security breaches that reveal user information leading to potentially serious financial losses have stood in the way for a completely functional online business platform (Robin para.3). The recent successes in online transactions and banking have shown tremendous improvements for the computing world, in dealing with potential threats. This comes as a promising future for the integrity of cyber transactions in overcoming the vice. It should be important for the computing world to facilitate a safer attribute for the simpler version of business presented by cyber transactions before a completely online-based economy gets rolled out. To illustrate the recent successes, the ambitious mobile banking products currently operating in some African countries cannot thrive without the proper mechanisms to protect the economy of the developing world. The importance of security at such an economic level not only touches on the support of micro and medium level businesses in rural areas of the developing world but on the national economy of an entire country. In the near future, it will be comfortably possible to predict that the laxity in rolling out a safe environment for an online-based global economy will have to end in order to open up unexploited potential and opportunity of the global community.

Humans are social beings with complicated social order attributes that need balancing at all times for the benefit of the society remaining as a functional unit. Among the most important social attributes that hold the human society together are social values and morals. This important attribute of the society however remains exposed to blatant abuse by certain immoral elements that misuse the internet. Cyber security breaches have been a target by the sections of social misfits attacking the social fabric of the human race through the internet to cause disability to social values. Posting of immoral content on the internet and distributing it to the global audience is an attack on the social integrity of the human community. It therefore follows that the security mechanisms formulated by the authorities to counter cyber attacks must consider protecting social values in the global village for a better society to thrive (RCG, 6). A cold culture without human values and morals is tantamount to the elimination of the human race if the internet continues to enjoy unchecked access to dump immoral content for an audience that is unwilling to destroy the social fabric. To illustrate the magnitude of potential risks posed by cyber misuse with regard to social values and morals, the society is increasingly under the threat of being unable to control explicit content and highlight of social vices as a way of life. The influence that the dissemination of negative content has to the society not only affects children but also poisons the minds of the general audience. Social leaders and families will continue to struggle to regain control of the social units they are in-charge of until the content of the internet is safe to the society moral values.

Robin, “5 Major Internet Security Threats to Avoid,” Last updated 22 June 2011, Web. HYPERLINK “http://www.ebestinternetsecurity.com/internet-security-threats/” http://www.ebestinternetsecurity.com/internet-security-threats/ (Accessed 21 March 2012)

Thomson, Ian. “Government, Business, Military are Internet Security Threats,” 2012, Web. HYPERLINK “http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/02/29/schneier_warns_government_business_threat/” http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/02/29/schneier_warns_government_business_threat/ (Accessed 21 March 2012)

RCG, “Immorality Explosion,” 2003, Web. HYPERLINK “http://rcg.org/trends/tie.pdf” http://rcg.org/trends/tie.pdf (Accessed 21 March 2012)

Nature if the US Taxation System

Nature if the US Taxation System

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Date of Submission

Introduction

The US is a federal republic with autonomous state and local governments. Taxes in the US are charged at the federal, state and local levels. The US tax system has evolved over the last three centuries, marked by significant changes in response to changes in the structure and role of the government, changes in the economy and society as well as changes in other circumstances. The types of taxes charged, the magnitude of revenues and the relative proportions of the taxes collected are far different from the way they were 100 or 50 years ago (Carbaugh & Ghosh, 2009). This paper presents a brief description of the US taxation system today. As well it examines how the taxation system impacts on the choices made by individuals. Lastly, the paper examines the impact of the taxation system on US business internationally.

Description of the taxation system

Taxes at the three different government levels in the US are charged on income, property, payroll, gifts, estates, sales, imports and various types of fees. Net income for individuals and business organizations is subjected to taxation at federal, state and local levels. As well, taxes are charged on worldwide income of residents and citizens, but they are allowed credit for foreign taxes. Non-resident citizens also pay taxes on worldwide income in the same rate and manner like the residents. The amount of income of an individual or business organization to be subjected to taxation is determined using tax accounting rules (Carbaugh & Ghosh, 2009). Citizens and residents and allowed to reduce taxable income by deducting personal allowances. As well, they are allowed to deduct the amount that is used for certain non-business expenses such as medical, charitable contributions, state and local taxes and home mortgage interest. Rules for determining taxable income differ from one government level to another. For instance, the local and state tax rates vary from 0% to 13.30% from one jurisdiction to another and are graduated. On the other hand, the federal taxation rates vary from 10% to 39.6%. The US has one of the most progressive taxation systems in the world. Tax rates on individual incomes increase as income increases (Eric & Matt, 2009).

Apart from income taxes, payroll taxes are also charged at the federal and state levels. These include Medicare and Social Security taxes charged on both employees and employers. Employers also pay unemployment tax and other levies. Property taxes are charged by the local governments and other special purpose authorities. The taxes are charged based on the market value of a property. Schools and other authorities are governed separately and are charged separate taxes. Property tax rates and rules vary widely from one jurisdiction to another (Carbaugh & Ghosh, 2009). Sales taxes are charged at the local and state levels. The taxes are charged on the retail prices of goods and services. The sales taxes vary from 0% to 16% from one jurisdiction to another. Customs duties or tariffs are imposed by the federal government on imports of goods into the US. The customs duties or tariffs are paid before the goods are legally imported. The rates vary from 0% to more than 20% based on the country of origin and type of good. Gift and estate taxes are charged by the federal and some state governments. The taxes are charged on the transfer of an inherited property by lifetime donation or by will (Carbaugh & Ghosh, 2009).

Impact on choices of individuals

Just as in any other country, the taxes levied in the US have a significant impact on the choices that are made by individuals. A good example is the impact that the progressive personal income tax has on the decisions that are made by US citizens and residents. Personal income tax is legally assessed on household or individual income but its impact goes beyond there (Barigozzi & Villeneuve 2006). Individuals may respond to high personal income tax rates by migrating to low tax states, reducing their work efforts and other behaviours to reduce the personal income tax liabilities. In the case of personal income tax increase, firms or employers may decide or may have to compensate their workers for the higher personal income tax by offering them higher pre-tax wages. This implies that the higher personal income tax may be shifted, in part or in full, onto the employers. If the personal income tax levied on workers is shifted, in part or in full, onto the employers, it may have an impact on the decisions made by employers. For instance, the employer may decide to transfer the burden to consumers by increasing prices of products or by establishing other ways of saving costs within the firm (Laganà & Sgro, 2011).

As Eric and Matt (2009) explain, personal income tax rates in the US highly affect business location decisions. Apart from affecting the pre-tax wages, the personal income taxes can have a huge impact on after-tax returns on capital investment. As such, the personal income tax rates levied in different states may highly influence decisions on where to locate plants and facilities. The rates may also influence the decisions on whether or not to establish a new business or to add more capital investment in a business. If an increase in personal income tax is shifted, in part or in full, onto the employer, the latter may decide lay off some workers or to put off future recruitment plans. As Eric and Matt (2009) explain, taxes levied on different raw materials may affect costs of the materials. In turn, the cost of the materials may influence the decision by an individual or a firm on whether or not to purchase a particular material. Similarly, tax rate charged on the production of an item may influence the decision on whether or not an individual or a firm will produce it. Generally, the US taxation system has a huge impact on the decisions and choices that are made by individuals.

Impact on US business internationally

The US tax system facilitates US business in the international arena. Precisely, the current tax system encourages US multinational firms to conduct business in foreign countries by allowing them to defer US tax on their foreign sources of income until their profits are repatriated. The US government uses this and other incentives to encourage US multinational firms to locate physical assets, jobs and production in low-tax foreign countries. For instance, US oil multinational firms located in Saudi Arabia have remained firm due to support by the US government through such incentives. Their ability to defer US taxes enables them to have higher operating capital than most competitors. In addition, the multinational firms utilize the advantage by altering their prices to achieve competitive advantages (Angus et al., 2010). Some provisions of the US tax law encourage the US multinational companies to shift profits to low-tax countries. For instance, cross-crediting allows corporations to use the excess tax credits derived from operations in high-tax nations to offset the tax due on repatriated profits from the net returns earned in low-tax nations. The American Jobs Creation Act allows a tax break on income repatriated from low-tax countries.

As Clausing (2006) explains, the US tax system allows domestic multinational firms to shift income among themselves and their affiliates in foreign countries. For instance, a multinational corporation can borrow funds in a high-tax country to finance its operations and then claim larger interest deductions in that country. In doing so, the firm can be able to report more profits in another low-tax country. At the same time, the corporate income tax rates have remained higher in the US than in other advanced industrial countries. This has strengthened incentives for foreign corporations operating in the US to shift their investments and income to other countries. This has led to a reduction in the US tax revenue. In short, the tax system has both positive and negative consequences on US business in the international arena.

Conclusion

In conclusion, taxes in the US are levied by federal, state and local governments. There are different types of taxes which are levied at one, two or all of the three government levels. The federal, state and local governments usually charge different tax rates, which vary from one jurisdiction to another. As explained in the discussion, The US tax system has a high impact on the decisions and choices that are made by individuals. The tax system provides incentives for US multinational companies in the international arena. At the same time, it has led to reduction in US taxation revenue.

References

Angus, B., Neubig, T., Solomon, E. & Weinberger, M. (2010). The U.S. International Tax

system at a Crossroads. Northwestern. Journal of International Law & Business, 30(3), 517

Barigozzi, F. & Villeneuve, B. (2006). The Signaling Effect of Tax Policy. Journal of Public

Economic Theory, 8(4), 611 – 630

Carbaugh, B. & Ghosh, K. (2009). Reforming the U.S. Tax System. Challenge, 54(2), 61 – 79

Clausing, K. A. (2006). International Tax Avoidance and U.S. International Trade. National Tax

Journal, 59(2), 269

Eric, E. & Matt, B. (2009). On the effects of increasing income tax. Central Penn Business

Journal, 25(26), 10

Laganà, G. & Sgro, P. M. (2011). A factor-augmented VAR approach: The effect of a rise in the

US personal income tax rate on the US and Canada. Economic Modeling, Volume 28(3), 1163 – 1169

Cyber Crime. EMERGING TRENDS AND STATISTICS

Cyber Crime

Contents

TOC o “1-3” h z u HYPERLINK l “_Toc380413168” Introduction PAGEREF _Toc380413168 h 1

HYPERLINK l “_Toc380413169” EMERGING TRENDS AND STATISTICS PAGEREF _Toc380413169 h 2

HYPERLINK l “_Toc380413170” TYPES OF CYBERCRIME PAGEREF _Toc380413170 h 3

HYPERLINK l “_Toc380413171” Financial cyber crimes PAGEREF _Toc380413171 h 3

HYPERLINK l “_Toc380413172” Piracy PAGEREF _Toc380413172 h 3

HYPERLINK l “_Toc380413173” Child Pornography and Cyber-stalking PAGEREF _Toc380413173 h 4

HYPERLINK l “_Toc380413174” Hacking PAGEREF _Toc380413174 h 4

HYPERLINK l “_Toc380413175” Cyber-terrorism PAGEREF _Toc380413175 h 5

HYPERLINK l “_Toc380413176” RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PREVENTING CYBERCRIME PAGEREF _Toc380413176 h 5

HYPERLINK l “_Toc380413177” Back-up and encrypt crucial information PAGEREF _Toc380413177 h 5

HYPERLINK l “_Toc380413178” Keeping firewall on PAGEREF _Toc380413178 h 5

HYPERLINK l “_Toc380413179” Update or install antivirus software PAGEREF _Toc380413179 h 6

HYPERLINK l “_Toc380413180” Update or install antispyware technology PAGEREF _Toc380413180 h 6

HYPERLINK l “_Toc380413181” Update the operating system PAGEREF _Toc380413181 h 6

HYPERLINK l “_Toc380413182” Turn off computer systems PAGEREF _Toc380413182 h 6

Introduction

Technology has been one of the most fundamental pillars of the modern world. It has contributed immensely to the increase of efficiency and effectiveness, as well as quality of service in varied sectors. This should underline the reason as to why governments and other entities have made an enormous or vast amount of investment on technology. Needless to say, the introduction of computers and internet in the world of technology has been one of the most groundbreaking steps in the history of technology. While the upside of computers, internet and technology at large are well recognized, there is no guarantee as to the use of technology for the betterment of the human race. Indeed, there have been concerns as to the use of technology in a manner that endangers the human race. This is especially with regard to cyber crime.

The term cyber crime has been used to underline any criminal act that involves the use of computers and networks including carrying out of traditional crimes such as fraud and gambling through the internet (Brenner, 2010). Cybercrime has been identified as one of the fastest growing facets of crime with an increasing number of criminals exploiting the anonymity, convenience and speed with which modern technologies come in an effort to commit a wide range of criminal activities (Brenner, 2010). Such criminal activities may include but are not limited to attacks against computer systems and date, internet auction fraud, the distribution of images pertaining to child sexual abuse, online financial services penetration, and identity theft, not to mention the employment of spamware, botnets, viruses and email scams such as phishing (Brenner, 2010). Underlining the seriousness of this category of crime is the fact that internet’s global nature has enabled criminals to undertake almost every form of criminal activity at any part of the world. This, in essence, underlines the importance of all countries putting in place domestic offline controls that would eliminate crimes undertaken in cyberspace. On the same note, internet has fallen in the hands of terrorists, who have been using it to recruit and incite radicalization, which poses an incredible risk and threat to international, as well as national security (Brenner, 2010). The threat of terrorism has forced law enforcement authorities to address vulnerabilities pertaining to security, which are associated with information technology infrastructure such as electrical grids, power plants, computer systems and information systems of government and key corporations (Brenner, 2010).

EMERGING TRENDS AND STATISTICS

Looking at the trends pertaining to cybercrime, it is evident that there have been immense changes in the nature and the players or perpetrators of cybercrime. Scholars note that cybercrime, in the past, would be perpetrated by individuals or even small groups of people. This, however, has been changing with a trend emerging where criminally minded technology professionals, as well as traditional organized crime syndicates have started working together and combining their expertise and resources thereby heightening the damage and the cost of cybercrime (Brenner, 2012). Indeed, criminals have found this approach to be extremely effective in perpetrating their criminal activities. Research shows that the cost of cybercrime in the entire world for 2007 and 2008 was more than $8 billion. Even more worrying, especially for corporate entities, is the fact that corporate cyber espionage has allowed cyber criminals to steal intellectual property whose estimated worth is $1 trillion in the entire world (Brenner, 2012).

TYPES OF CYBERCRIMECyber crimes have been categorized in varied groups depending on their nature. Indeed, scholars have used three rationales to categorize cybercrime. The first category involves the use of a computer as a weapon to undertake conventional crime that is seen in the physical world including illegal gambling and fraud (Brenner, 2012). The second category involves the computer of an entity as a target, where computers are attacked through, for example, spreading malware and viruses. The third category involves computers as accessories, where they are used as filing cabinet for the storage of stolen or illegal information.

Financial cyber crimesThese are defined as crimes that disrupt the capacity of a business to carry out e-commerce. Companies have been investing heavily on the enhancement of commercial transactions online. It is worth noting that the development of e-commerce is dependent on public confidence on the security pertaining to information that is stored and processed on computer networks, as well as a predictable environment that acts as a strong deterrent to computer crime (Yar, 2006). The capacity of a business entity to undertake e-commerce is heavily dependent on its capacity to minimize e-risk. Financial cyber crimes include DDOS (distributed denial of service), e-forgery and viruses, e-fraud, e-extortion, as well as stealing of proprietary information.

Piracy

This involves the theft of software and creative works through illegal duplication and faking of genuine works and their distribution while passing them off as genuine. While the software industry has played an immense role in the creation of products that have enhanced the quality of lives in the modern world, piracy or software theft has crippled the global market of software, as well as the capacity to create new products (Yar, 2006). Underlining the seriousness of this crime is the fact that software theft, counterfeiting and illegal distribution resulted in costs of up to US$21 billion for Asia Pacific region in 2011 (Brenner, 2012). This included all packaged software used on computers included system software, business applications, security packages, databases, consumer applications, reference software and PC games. This has crippled creativity and growth in software and creative works development.

Child Pornography and Cyber-stalking

The internet has been used as a powerful tool for exposing children to pornography or even posting naked pictures of underage kids (Brenner, 2010). This has also increased the exposure of children to pedophiles, especially considering the accessibility of porn sites to children from the comfort of their houses.

Cyber-stalking, on the other hand, involves persistent actions of harassment made towards an individual through the use of internet. In some cases, stalking would be followed by violent acts or even verbal attacks on an individual

Hacking

This term underlines the illegal interference, invasion or interruption of a network or computer system done for the thrill of the challenge, to pass a political message, or even out of personal notoriety or for financial reasons (Brenner, 2010). Hackers may siphon money from other accounts through stealing credit card data and transfer the cash to their accounts, or even extort cash from corporations and individuals. The threat from hacking is primarily economic in nature with no real physical danger involved.

Cyber-terrorismThis is defined as the attack meted against a computer network or information that is stored in it thereby leading to violence against property and persons, or at least result in sufficient harm as to generate fear. This does not include attacks that interfere with nonessential services or that are simply a costly nuisance.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PREVENTING CYBERCRIMEScholars have identified varied strategies that may be used to lower the possibility of cyber attacks or even the cost of loss of data in case of an attack.

Back-up and encrypt crucial informationIt is imperative that a schedule for undertaking regular system upgrades and critical data backups is established. This would guard against the loss of critical data in case of a cyber-attack. It is imperative that this data is stored in remote locations away from the office (Brenner, 2012). On the same note, this information should have strong password codes or even be encrypted to increase the difficulty of accessing it. Regular modification of passwords would lower their vulnerability to compromise.

Keeping firewall onFirewall comes in handy in protecting computer networks against hackers that may access and steal sensitive information from the system (Brenner, 2012). Firewalls have been widely recommended especially for single computers and may be bought alongside operating systems, hardware routers or even individually.

Update or install antivirus softwareThese are designed to avert malicious software programs from entrenching themselves to the computer systems. Once they detect a virus or malware, they disarm or delete them automatically (Brenner, 2010). It is imperative that antivirus software are updated regularly to ensure that they protect the computer against new malware.

Update or install antispyware technologyThis technology guards against software installed in one’s computer aimed at collecting information about an individual or his activities without his knowledge and consent. While antispyware technology would protect an individual from spyware, it is imperative that one complements the technology by desisting from downloading software from suspicious sites or even emails (Brenner, 2010).

Update the operating systemOperating systems undergo periodic update so as to align them with emerging technology requirements, as well as fix security holes (Yar, 2006). It is imperative that updates are installed so as to ensure that the computer incorporates the latest protection.

Turn off computer systemsWhile keeping computers on would ensure that an individual is always ready for action, it increases the vulnerability of the systems to hackers and other unwanted attacks. Firewall protection should be complemented by turning computers off as this would sever the attackers’ connection (Yar, 2006).

In conclusion, cyber crime has become extremely common in the recent times. This has resulted in immense losses with 2008 data showing that more than $8 billion was lost to cybercrime (Brenner, 2012). This has undoubtedly increased in the recent years. Cyber crimes are criminal activities that are carried out using computers and internet. The varied types of cybercrimes are financial, hacking, child pornography and piracy, cyber-terrorism and cyber-stalking. Indeed, cyber crimes may result in loss of lives (for example in cyber-terrorism and cyber-stalking), or even loss of finances especially in the case of hacking, piracy and financial crimes such as e-fraud. In most cases, they pose a risk to the security of individuals and firms. This underlines the necessity of putting up measures that would prevent cyber crimes. It is recommended that individuals back up critical data regularly and ensure that the data is encrypted so as to increase the difficulty of cyber attacks on the data (Brenner, 2012). In addition, it is imperative that the systems are updated regularly to ensure they have the capacity to fend off attacks. Antispyware, antivirus and firewalls should be installed, turned on and updated regularly so as to fend off attacks. These should be complemented by turning off computers so as to cut off any connections that may have been established with the attackers.

References

Yar, M. (2006). Cybercrime and society. London: SAGE Publ.

Brenner, S. W. (2010). Cybercrime: Criminal threats from cyberspace. Santa Barbara, Calif: Praeger.

Brenner, S. W. (2012). Cybercrime: Criminal threats from cyberspace. New Delhi: Pentagon Press.

NATURE ENERGY SNACKS

NATURE ENERGY SNACKS

Institution

Student’s name

Nature energy snacks

Describe the current marketing mix and target audience using the 4P’s

To push the sales of any new or existing product requires apt marketing skills. Marketing involves providing the required product to the appropriate consumers at the right time and place and at an affordable price. The key concepts here are place, price, promotion and product or service (Kitchen, 2006).

The product in this case is an energy snack being sold to college students by a partnership of John and Jayne. They sell the snacks in 8oz. packages for about $2.5 in the colleges’ bookstores and around the environs. The product seems to doing well because of its quality, pricing and convenience. Students have taken into it because of its naturalness. The partnership considered the 4P’s of marketing by ensuring that the products met the expectations of the students and are easily available at an affordable price to the students. They have also diversified the product into 35 varieties after beginning with only three. Since the target market was the college students, John and Jayne did not have to employ massive promotion strategy but have solely relied on word of mouth which is in some way very appropriate in a college setting.

Describe a new marketing mix and target audience that would increase the sales of natural nectars

John and Jayne aim at increasing the sales of natural nectars. Since this is an existing product, they will not have to employ massive promotion strategy but will definitely go beyond the word of mouth advertising. Since the current target market which is the college students in southwestern United States already know this product, they can coalesce with the colleges’ sports departments to have the college teams in various teams promote this product in other colleges not in southwestern. The two therefore will have to provide banners and coupons as well as have the selected teams wear jerseys with their product labels. This technique will help spread the information concerning this product far and wide. John and Jayne will then be forced to open up new stores around the country and establish an elaborate distribution channel. By doing this, they will have cut the cost of promotion significantly as compared to if they had sought the services of media and marketing companies.

Reference

Kitchen, J. P.(2006). A reader in marketing communications. London: Taylor $ Francis Publishers.

Cyber Crime Analysis. to analyse the Internet communication as well as dangers associated with it in the current society

Cyber Crime Analysis

Contents

TOC o “1-3” h z u HYPERLINK l “_Toc377139442” Introduction PAGEREF _Toc377139442 h 1

HYPERLINK l “_Toc377139443” Evolution of Communication PAGEREF _Toc377139443 h 1

HYPERLINK l “_Toc377139444” Telecommunication Growth PAGEREF _Toc377139444 h 2

HYPERLINK l “_Toc377139445” Communication Challenges PAGEREF _Toc377139445 h 2

HYPERLINK l “_Toc377139446” Hackers and Cyber Attackers PAGEREF _Toc377139446 h 3

HYPERLINK l “_Toc377139447” Security loopholes PAGEREF _Toc377139447 h 4

HYPERLINK l “_Toc377139448” Cyberbullying PAGEREF _Toc377139448 h 4

HYPERLINK l “_Toc377139449” Software Copyright Infringement PAGEREF _Toc377139449 h 5

HYPERLINK l “_Toc377139450” Malicious Attacks PAGEREF _Toc377139450 h 6

HYPERLINK l “_Toc377139451” Cybercrime complexity PAGEREF _Toc377139451 h 6

HYPERLINK l “_Toc377139452” Conclusion PAGEREF _Toc377139452 h 7

HYPERLINK l “_Toc377139453” Bibliography PAGEREF _Toc377139453 h 8

IntroductionMany individuals currently regard the Internet as the greatest breakthrough in telecommunication field. The Internet is viewed as an important invention that has shaped communication as well as interconnected the whole world. It has changed the way things are handled and improved efficiency at the same time saving the ever-increasing costs. The benefits reaped from the Internet usage are innumerable given that it has revolutionized service delivery, production process, and opened up many opportunities globally. However, the Internet usage has its negatives too that greatly affect the lives of many individuals and organisations. The cost of dealing with negative impacts of technology is increasing as the level of technology rises. Moreover, cyberethics has been compromised extensively because of the increased cyber attackers resulting in increased cybercrimes globally. Statistics shows that issues related to software piracy, Artificial Intelligence (AI), database privacy, intellectual property copyrights, virtual communities, robotics, and cyber stalking are some of the trending topics in the technology world. This paper seeks to analyse the Internet communication as well as dangers associated with it in the current society.

Evolution of CommunicationCommunication is a key element of the current life trends that involve many individuals, governments, and organisations worldwide either on handling official matters or on dealing with informal issues. The online platform has been identified as the most effective, efficient, and fast to conduct communications. This has resulted in inventing communication tools such as Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Google and others. These platforms assemble the online community to a particular meeting point like Facebook to ease the communication process. Likewise, applications that help in fast communication that is affordable have emerged such as Skype, Google video calls, and Whatsapp. The combination of these inventions has boosted the need to communicate and connect to the outside world at the comfort of our daily living.

Telecommunication GrowthTelecommunication industry has significantly grown to height never thought of and raised the standards of living. Furthermore, communication and interaction sowed to new height with the advent of emails, online phone calls in additional to the World Wide Web used for hosting online shopping sites, blogs, websites, discussion forums, music and video sites. On the other hand, this extended communication and interaction of the large online community introduced loopholes for hackers, attackers, and increased cybercrimes significantly. The criminals can mine other individual’s data and use it for personal gains such as fraud, selling it for marketing purposes, cyber stalking, cyberbullying, and hacking purposes. Therefore, there is dire need for the Internet users to be careful in online platforms when dealing with sensitive information. It calls for stricter measures to be devised by developers and increased caution while communication on the Internet.

Communication Challenges

Privacy

Privacy is of utmost need when handling life issues in all areas of operations. In technology world, data privacy is the key factor when dealing with security and user safety issues. Most individuals are concerned with privacy issues and enforce standard measures and policies that guarantee communication is done in safe and secure environment. Hackers and cyber attackers deny users the freedom of communication and engage in cunning strategies to obtain the data conveyed illegally or mine information without users consent. Some organisations with huge online transactions are approached by these evil-minded individuals for the sale of their users’ data without the knowledge of the users. Some compromise individual privacy and earn huge amount of money on data transactions leaving the users to bear the burden of attacks.

Hackers and Cyber AttackersThe hackers and cyber attackers have designed data mining tools that monitor users’ browsing trend as well as provide enticing links that lead to users inputting their data without realizing they are attack strategies. This has led many individuals to problems and some lost huge amount of money in the process. Likewise, hackers have data packets that they use to track online users movements to gain access to their data. They also have tools that are used to access individual, organisation, and governmental databases to retrieve sensitive data. Therefore, security professionals need to be involved in dealing with these crimes because their effects range from individuals losses to governmental institutions collapsing. Neglecting the enforcement of the current security measures and policies poses great challenges to the dealing with cyber warfare.

Security loopholes

Most online transaction websites and financial institutions have tightened their security measures as well as invested in acquiring the best available solutions in the market to ensure safe and secure communication with their clients. Developers have researched on many loopholes that the attackers use to engage in privacy infringement. They have worked to eliminate the loopholes as well as share some of the best approaches through online forums to acquire streamlined communication platforms that guarantee security and uphold privacy standards. The owners of online platforms like Google, Facebook, Yahoo, and MySpace have engaged themselves in campaigns against cybercrimes by raising awareness to their users on how to embrace secure policies and practice safe browsing. This reduces the cyber-attacks and nurtures communication for improved satisfaction.

Cyberbullying

Miller claims that it is worth noting that retrieval of available individual information online helps attackers to engage in cyberbullying, a trend that is on the rise currently. Cyberbullying is the deliberate usage of information to intimidate, manipulate, discriminate, control, humiliate or falsely discredit the owner in a disguised manner by another individual. It is mostly done to a known individual by either a known or an unknown person. When done to adults it is referred as cyber stalking for the purposes of threatening victim’s reputation, earnings, employment, in additional to their safety. The effects associated with cyberbullying cyber stalking are more adverse than many people may assume because it tortures physically, psychologically, and at times economically. It is among the cybercrimes that need to be addressed and eliminated. However, most victims suffer lonely and hardly disclose it to anybody because of fear and lack of information.

Software Copyright InfringementOn another note, the increased need to communicate has led to increased computer usage all over the world. This has led to increased demand for software in the technology market. Contrastingly, this has attracted illegal software vendors in the market who offer them at cheaper prices compared with the legal dealers. This has increased the software piracy as well as infringement of copyrights to many developers. Furthermore, it has resulted in sale of counterfeit products that are below recommended standards, introducing an avenue for attackers. This cybercrime has resulted in developers running at losses because they have little market control. Due to insufficiency of information to users, they have been conned and exploited by the conmen and exposed their systems to attacks and threats. The substandard soft wares in the market pose great challenges to the fight against cybercrimes in additional to collapsing the software development industry. Moreover, some system owners do not install antivirus, Internet security, and other security measures to safeguard their devices and this is a major contributor to increased cybercrimes. Security apparatus helps filter spams, unwanted access, unauthorized loggings, and emergence of new spyware or virus to the system. For effective and productive handling of cybercrimes, computer users have to embrace some of the fundamental security policies and practices.

Malicious AttacksFurthermore, technology growth has remarkably helped malicious developers to inventing viruses, malware, spyware, and denial of service attacks. Viruses are manipulative codes that when introduced into computer systems interfere with files consistence by corrupting, deleting, and manipulating file formats. They lead to loss of important data to individuals and organisations. Moreover, viruses are destructive and bypass privacy settings and policies to access restricted information. Some attackers introduce viruses to systems of online users that help them gain control of the information stored in the systems. Some viruses record user’s keystrokes when entering passwords and critical data and send it to the attackers. Likewise, some complex and robust spyware take screen shots and send them to the attackers so that the attackers can monitor the user’s activities that help them to intensify attack strategies. Some spyware with spear phishing attacks can steal sensitive information documents and decrypt the available data for the benefits of the attackers.

Cybercrime complexityThe complexity of the cybercrimes results in many cases happening without being reported to authorities. Statistics shows that approximately 85% of cybercrimes are not reported and it poses a great challenge to the fight against cybercrimes as well as intensifying future attacks. Moreover, given that most attackers disguise themselves anonymously when undertaking attacks; it is hard to identify the real attacker. In the past, this has helped many attackers escape unpunished and aided serious attacks especially to government databases. There also lacks sufficient technical knowledge and skills in handling cybercrimes in the security and legal departments making cyber warfare complicated undertaking However, currently technology is helping identify locations as well as system addresses that have been involved in committing the cybercrimes. This helps in arresting and identifying the attackers and contributes significantly to reducing the crimes trends.

ConclusionIt can be concluded that communication is vital in the current world and dealing with its threats is the only solution to secure safe environment. Business transactions have embraced the digital strategies to evolve their communication processes. Likewise, individuals are switching to online platforms for enhanced communication that is efficient and cost effective. On the other hand, some strategies need to be enforced to curb cybercrimes and reduce attack rates. Strict measures and standards need to be devised for online social platform owners and email service providers to ensure that data security is guaranteed. Likewise, those caught having compromised user privacy right are to be prosecuted and their operations halted because of engaging in unethical business practices.

Reduction of the number of those accessing and handling the data in the institutions holding sensitive data like hospitals, social amenity services, and financial institutions is another viable solution. This raises responsibility for individual data in addition to reducing loopholes exposing the data to attackers. Furthermore, attackers and hackers arrested committing cybercrimes are to be prosecuted and jailed to discourage upcoming hackers and attackers. Software developers need to have strategies that ensure that software are registered online for authentication process to avoid counterfeits. Moreover, individuals need to be informed about the importance of installing computer security measures like antivirus because it helps curb cybercrimes to a remarkable extent. Finally, the legal and security departments need to have special sub department that is well trained and informed about dealing with cybercrimes. If all these steps are practised, the fight against cybercrimes will be intensified leading to reduced cases of attacks and losses.

BibliographyAndress, Jason and Steve Winterfeld. 2011. Cyber Warfare: Techniques, Tactics and Tools for Security Practitioners, Maryland Heights: Syngress Publishing.

Freeman, L. and Peace, G. 2004. Information Ethics: Privacy and Intellectual Property. Hersey, Pennsylvania: Information Science Publishing. ISBN 1-59140-491-6.

Kamp, Poul-Henning. 2011. “The Software Industry Is The Problem.” Communications Of The ACM, Business Source Complete, 54 (11): 44-47..

Miller, S. 2010. The moral foundations of social institutions: A Philosophical Study. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Park, Yong J. 2013. “Digital Literacy and Privacy Behavior Online.” Communication Research, Academic Search Premier, 40(2): 215-236.

Smyth, S. M. 2010. Cybercrime in Canadian criminal law. Toronto, ON: Carswell.

Youn, S. 2009. “Determinants of Online Privacy Concern and Its Influence on Privacy Protection Behaviors Among Young Adolescents”. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 43(3): 389–418.

Natural Resources of Economics

Natural Resources of Economics

Presented by

Institution

Abstract

The journal, written by Corden and Peter in 1982, aimed at determining the aspects of structural change in open economies. The authors concentrated on the influence of natural resources to both developed and developing countries. Natural resources form the booming sector that contributes to the economic growth of the country. The article concentrated on the impact of de-industrialization by looking at the role of current technology in advancing older industries in Ireland, Switzerland, and Japan. The following paper provides a review of this article through analyzing the problems identified by authors, explaining the methods used to gather information and the authors’ main concluding remarks.

Introduction

Many empirical and theoretical studies have tried to investigate the phenomenon behind natural resources and their impact towards a country’s economy. Some scholars argue that natural resources are a curse because most resource-rich countries experience lower economic growth rates (Philippot, 2010). Max W. Corden and Peter J. Neary wrote about the booming sector and de-industrialization in a small open economy with the aim of exploring the nature of the general impacts towards de-industrialization. The authors based their analysis on areas where natural resources never exploited the cash from the nation but played a part in economic development. In addition, the article mentions about the effect of the current technology use in industries whereby technology has replaced human labor. The article concentrated on the short-term effects demonstrated through asymmetric growth because of resource allocation rather than long-term effects that cause depletion of natural resources.

The main problem(s)

The article addresses the impact of increased natural resources exploitation in the energy sector in terms of income distribution and growth of the manufacturing industry in terms of revenues generated from resource mining. According to the article, a boom occurs because of many reasons although it bases the argument on the improvement in technology. The article adopts a framework of an open economy producing goods purchased at exogenous global prices, and a non-traded good. The main traded goods identified in the article are energy and manufacturers while services forms the non-traded commodities (Corden & Neary, 1982). The article makes use of this framework because it played a major role in evaluating the outcome of the analysis through offering reliable and effective results. The authors made two key assumptions. Firstly, the models were assumed to be real, and any form of monetary consideration was ignored. The process dealt with real prices of goods identified. Secondly, only relative prices were determined, and the model gave no room for guess work. The analysis was conducted putting into consideration pre-boom equilibrium, influences of the boom on outputs, and effects of boom on the factor incomes (Corden & Neary, 1982).

Methods used to gather information

The article offers authors’ expertise in using frameworks and models in investigating a given phenomenon. The impact of natural resources towards the economy has been investigated by a number of researchers. Different methods are used by different people while trying to get to the root of the problem. Neary used the pure theory of international trade in establishing the effect of capital and labor towards development of the manufacturing sectors. The author borrowed a leaf from Corden and Peter in order to determine the relationship between natural resources and the micro-economy. Corden and Peter conducted their study in both developed and developing countries to determine sources of boom. Throughout the article, technology is used as the main source of boom and authors use it to gather information on industrial advancements in Japan, Switzerland, and Ireland (Corden & Neary, 1982).

On the other hand, natural resources management technologies have assisted in the improvement of the mining industries considering that industries can increase the productivity using the current technologies. Three main effects determine the level of resource use in the country. These are the amount of resources generated, the economic growth of the nation, and changes in income. Managi claimed that economic growth forms the central issues in the modern world and natural resources act as the main drivers to economic growth. Researchers focus more on people preferences and technology while analyzing long-run economic growth. In this article, the authors concentrated on the short-term economic growth through looking at the income and outputs. The article made use of these three factors in establishing the role of technology in natural resource exploitation during in the ancient periods. In addition, the article collected data from on energy prices to investigate the influence of the boom on people’s income and the resulting effect to the nation grid.

Conclusion

The following article is of great significance to the present economies because it provides countries with ideas on how to manage their natural resources. The article analyzed the problem of resource allocation, income distribution, and real exchange rates in traded goods. In conclusion, the article articulated that the boom promotes real appreciation because a rise in prices of non-traded goods leads to a real rise on the traded good (Corden & Neary, 1982). The results from this article demonstrate causes of de-industrialization. According to Rowthorn and Ramaswamy (1997), employment in most advanced technologies declined drastically from 1970 to 1994 because of the introduction of technologies that replaced human labor.

References

Corden, W. M., & Neary, J. P. (1982). Booming Sector and De-Industrialisation in a Small Open

Economy. The Economic Journal, 92(368), 825-848.

Managi, S. (2011). Technology, Natural Resources and Economic Growth: Improving the

Environment for a Greener Future. Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd, Cheltenham, UK.Neary, J. P., & Wijnbergen, S. v. (1986). Natural resources and the macroeconomy. Cambridge,

Mass.: MIT Press.

Philippot, L. (2010). Natural resources and economic development in transition economies.

Retrieved from

http://cerdi.org/uploads/sfCmsContent/html/323/Philippot.pdf

Rowthorn, B., & Ramaswamy, R. (1997). Deindustrialization its causes and implications.

Washington, D.C.: International Monetary Fund.

Cyber Bulling, Internet Predators And Personal Security Risks Of Social Networking Site

Cyber Bulling, Internet Predators And Personal Security Risks Of Social Networking Site

Introduction

Social networking sites are websites that provide a virtual community for people of the same tastes, and interests. Interested persons create their profiles in these websites and begin to connect to friends, family or interact with new friends via online activities such as, email, chat photos, events and status updates. Example of social networking cites include; facebook, myspace, myyearbook, twitter, youtube webkinz and club penguin just to mention but a few.

Social networking sites form real grounds for making friend and sharing important information with family and friends. However, they have become channels through which social crimes are perpetrated like cyberbullying, online predation and privacy invasion or personal security risks. Both kids and adults are at risk of embarrassment by providing much information on their profiles pages on social sites for the whole world to see. Increase of social networking sites is not the root cause of social crimes like cyberbulling, internet predation and privacy invasion; they have only increased the volume of content or increased susceptibility to the problems.

For better understanding of social networking problems, I shall tackle each problem separately. Namely;

cyberbullying

Online predators

Private life invasion/ personal security risks

Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying can be defined as the use of internet to send or post text, video, or image to hurt or embarrass another person intentionally. With the advent of the internet and subsequent advancement of technological tools like notebooks, tablets and mobile phones, cyberbullying has evolved to a very challenging issue in our lives now more than ever before (Smith, 2009). This includes such sites like face book, tweeter, LinkedIn, myspace just to mention but a few. Cyber bullying mostly occurs in chat rooms, blogs, emails, texting and more commonly social networking sites. There are several types of cyberbullying that are practiced nowadays. They include;

Harassment: it involves repeated behavior of sending nasty, mean and insulting messages.

Flaming: this is a kind of online fight that is characterized by instant messages or email with vulgar or angry language.

Denigration: this bullying involves “dissing” someone online by posting gossips or rumors about the person with the intention of damaging the reputation of the person.

Impersonation: this kind of bullying involves someone pretending to be someone else and sending or posting materials online with the intention of damaging ones reputation or friendship.

Pranking; this involves tricking an individual to provide embarrassing information or secretes and then sharing it online.

43% of teens (4of 10) provide information that they have experienced some form of cyberbullying last year.

the report released on Feb., 11, 2010, by David Abel, Globe staff entitled “Newburyport teens charged in cyberbullying case” reveals that three 14 years old boys from Newburyport were charged with the identity after they allegedly harassed a boy at high school by creating a false facebook page having the boys name and picture and then posted disparaging remarks on the page about the student. The police report indicated that the boys accused of bullying were judged at Newburyport district court. Lieutenant Mark Murray of the Newburyport police department retaliated that bullying has been rampart in the state and they will take the case seriously so as to send a message to the whole state. Murray said that the harassment will not be tolerated since the prince of phoebe, 15, had committed suicide by hanging herself after being bullied by a group of girls who taunted her with a series of hurting messages on facebook. The boy who did not have a facebook page was questioned by many students about the posts on the facebook page and other attacked him physically by tripping him.

Visual script for Cyber bullying statistics

The following statistics were adapted from youth research compiled at cyberbullying.us

The approximate number of youths who have been victimized by cyber bullying is about 33%

56% of the primary cyber bullying location was in they chat room

49% of the victims in the chat room were victimized via instant messages while 28% via e-mail

The statistics reveal that about 34 % of the bullied youth feel frustrated, 22% feel sad and 30% feel angry. Of the total percentages bullied women feel angrier than men.

About 41 % of the victims remain quit of the abuse while about 38% tell at least an online friend of the abuse.

Of the interview guys 17 % admitted to have bullied an individual online. The interviewees revealed that they considered it fun or instructive to bully their victims so as to strengthen them.

More than 50% of the participants interviewed felt that cyber bullying is bad and is just like or more badly than bullying that occurs in real life situations (youth research compiled at cyberbullying.us).

42% of the kids interviewed revealed that they have been bullied online and ¼ of them indicated that the bullying occurred more than once

Cyberbullying is on the rise in the recent years as the national survey of 10-17 years old c indicated that more than half of the online children have been victims or perpetrators of bullying.

ONLINE PREDETORS

Internet provides a very good platform for online predators since they can easily hide their identity and get access to the target victims. An online predator can be defined as a criminal who targets teens with the aim of manipulating them to meeting for sex. Online predators masquerade to be building genuine friendship with victims through lying, blackmailing, and guilt. Additionally, they attempt to engage in intimate communication and eventual in-person meeting. Online predators also use information on the profile page of the social site to try and locate the victim in person and engage them in a relationship. This is the reason why it is critical for one to evaluate the information to be included in the profile page to avoid predation. Predators “groom” to attract the victims into their trap. The national centre for missing and exploited children conducted research study on crime against children in 2006 and found the following about youth internet users for a period of five years.

Visual script for online predation

The rate of youth encountering unwanted sexual exposure to sexual materials increased from25% to 34%.

There was an increasing rate of 6% to 9% of cases of online harassment

There was a decrease from 19%- 13% in the number of those youths receiving unwanted solicitation for sex. This is attributed to proper measures taken against online predation.

Forty percent (40%) of youth who use internet revealed that online sex solicitors asked for nude or sexually explicit photographs from them.

Thirty one percent (31%) of the solicitors were very aggressive and they attempted offline contact with the youth.

The above bargraph shows lifetime cyberburrying victimization rates from 2010-2004.

2004 registered the highest rate od cyberbullying while 2007 recorded the smallest rate of about 18%.

The information above shows that of the 4441 sample students who were interviewed they revealed in a period of 30 days that they at least suffered one aspect of bullying with 20% admitting that they have been cyber bulled in their lifetime and cyber bulled others in their lifetime. During the 30 day research, posting hurtful messages and spreading of rumors were the most commonly reported type of cyberbullying.

From the above bar graph More ladies experienced more cyberburrying in their lifetime than male counterparts; 28% females against 16% of males. Ladies are also easy to report cyberbullying incidences than men. Lastly ladies are likely to spread rumors online while men post hurtful posts while they bully their victims.

Personal security risks caused by use of social networking site

Invasion on private life or personal security risks is one problem that social sites pose to internet users. If personal information, password to social sites pages and photos posted online are not carefully they can be used by other malicious intruders to jeopardize the reputation of individuals or invade personal securities of individuals. Care must be taken so that information given online is limited to an extent of avoiding private life invasion by intruders or unnecessary persons. Malicious impersonation occurs when some people pretend to be the ones you really know but they are not the ones. Such people pretend to be your friend and befriend your children online leading to unfortunate consequences.

Conclusion

Cyber bulling, internet predators and personal security risks caused by use of social networking site is real and is on the increase as seen from above. The advent of social networking sites only accelerated the problems associated with internet crimes. The best way to curb or stop cyberbullying, online predation and personal security risk is by educating internet users to be careful about the information they reveal about them online. Kids must be informed and guided by their parents not to give private information online because once they do so they risk themselves against burring and predation or invasion of their personal lives by intruders. Asking people to stop using social sites as a way to avoid cyberbullying, online predation and private live invasion is not the best way of dealing with the crimes or prosecuting the perpetrators of the crime still, is not the best way to deal with it rather everybody should be informed that the any personal/ private information provided online is never safe at all and is prone to online intrusion. However, perpetrators of cyberburrying or those people responsible for spreading rumors about other people or impersonating other people who do not have pages on social sites should be prosecuted and punished for causing harm to innocent victims.

More research should be done on cyberbullying so that strong measures can be developed to curb these crimes which are on the increase in the recent years. Most importantly the parents should be alert and informed about the social sites their children are operating so that they can easily monitor any kind of bullying or abuse resulting from the sites. They should encourage their kid stop report to them or seek for advise incase they encounter problems online. This will serve as the sets strategy to avoid may negative consequences of cyberbullying and other online crimes committed to kids.

Scripted audience questions

Why is cyberburrying on the increase in the recent times?

Answer: It is emergent this days because of the increase of many social sites and technological advancement. People can use laptops, mobile phones notebooks, desktops and may other technological gadgets which support internet to perpetrate cyberbullying (Smith, 2009).

What are the effects of cyberbullying, online predation and private live invasion online?

Answer: The effects that cyberbullying can have on an individuals greatly differs from one person to another. This is dependent on a number of factors like age, experience, knowledge, emotional maturity among many other variables. The most common emotional effects that have been reported to have occurred to individuals include depression, anger, sadness and frustration. It is important to note here that the effect that cyberbullying can have on one individual, is not the same effect it can have on another. This is because we all perceive what happens around us very differently .Further, cyberbullying and online predation can cause physical effects such as self harm or suicide committal (Smith, 2009).

(iii) What best measures should be taken to stop or reduce the effects of cyberbyllying, online predation and personal live intrusion online or personal life security risks?

Answer: Parents should ensure that their children are informed of the cyber safety tips to be able to notice predators and bullying messages or e-mails. Cyberbullying prevention techniques/ campaigns must be emphasized to sensitize all the people about the vice and provide them with necessary tips of avoiding the vice from spreading even more (www.ncpc.org/cyberbullying.).

(iv) Are social networking sites key contributors to cyberbullying, online predation and personal security risks?

Answer: It is evident that the advent of social networking sites provides a much more environment for cyberbullying, and online predation. However, cyberbullying has been existent since the emergence of internet. Social networking sites contribute about 58% of the overall cyberbullying and online predation ( HYPERLINK “http://www.cyberbully411.com/” www.cyberbully411.com/).

Reference

HYPERLINK “http://safety.lovetoknow.com/Cyber_Bullying_Statistics” http://safety.lovetoknow.com/Cyber_Bullying_Statistics

HYPERLINK “http://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/11-facts-about-cyber-bullying” http://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/11-facts-about-cyber-bullying

United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2008.  National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Center for Disease Control and Prevention.  Prevalence of Individual Adverse Childhood Experiences, 1995-1997.

United States Department of justice.  National Institute of Justice.  Youth Victimization: Prevalence and Implications, 2003.

Wolak, Michell and Finkelhor.  Online Victimization of Youth: Five Years Later.  Alexandria, VA, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.  2006.

HYPERLINK “http://www.cyberbully411.com/” www.cyberbully411.com/

HYPERLINK “http://www.ncpc.org/cyberbullying” www.ncpc.org/cyberbullying.

NATURAL RESOUCES AND ENERGY

NATURAL RESOUCES AND ENERGY

NAME

PROFESSOR

INSTITUION

COURSE

DATE

An ecosystem is a community of both flora and fauna that exist within a certain habitat and their influence on each other suit their stay. Forest ecosystems consist of different sorts of plants and animals that interact with each other. The main component of forest ecosystems is trees. Trees are habitat for the animals within the ecosystem.

Forestry and agriculture

Agricultural practices are set up next to many forests around the world. This is because of the fertility associated with forest areas. Most forest areas are very fertile and prolific in terms of agriculture. The mount of produce in around forest areas is usually higher than in other areas. This is attributable to the cool and wet climatic conditions presented by the forest ecosystem. It is common to find, among other crops, cash-crops in forest areas. Tea and coffee are the leading cash crops that do well in forest regions due to their climate. Farmers also rear livestock around forest areas. This is because forests serve as grazing and browsing areas for their livestock especially during dry spells or for those who do not have enough tracks of land for feeding their livestock. However, agriculture does not augur well with forestry. There are many impacts that agricultural activities have on development of forest ecosystems. Some crop farmers tend to encroach into forests so as to gains access to large tracts of land. In doing so, they interfere with the ecosystem. Some animals living in the forest ecosystem get attracted to some crops by human beings. For instance, some agricultural crops like maize are eaten by different forms of wild animals. Monkeys are good examples. In the event of the maturity of such crops, monkeys have the tendency of uprooting, among eating, and destroying maize. This in effect brings about human wildlife conflict. The farmers try their best to prevent their crops from damage. This leads them to the extent of killing some forest ecosystems so as to make their agricultural activities viable.

Forestry and leisure activities

Forests offer beautiful sceneries and places for people to relax and enjoy themselves. Being sources of rivers, some forest have waterfalls and other wild animals that local people and tourist would like to have a glimpse. Most nations have set up game reserves and national parks within the forest ecosystems. Tourists visit such places and in return the nations get revenue from the fee they receive from tourists. In return the government provides security and other forms of guide to these tourists. It is obvious that some park animals such as elephants, lions and buffalos are very dangerous; they can kill. So in the event of people enjoying themselves within the forest ecosystem, they might interfere with the lives and activities of some wild animals within the ecosystem. This brings in a human wildlife conflict. Some wild animals are killed in the event of protecting their young ones. Some people also get killed when enough security is not sought to prevent such conflicts.

Management practice for sustainability and conservation of forests

Conservation of natural forest ecosystems includes a variety of measures for management of natural and forest types. Management problems of forests include conflicts with the local people over the rights of the land and illegal access of animal and plant resources. Legal protection of forests ensures conservation of those natural resources. Creation of buffer zones forms a manmade obstacle against human encroachment of the mainly protected area. Support of the local people in conservation aims can be enhanced by the active involvement in the harvesting and management of the buffer zones. This can protected be through better practices of agroforestrty practices, hunting and establishment of forest and agriculture tree plantations.

A sustainable wildlife management system is also of much importance. The habitats of wildlife are being reduced and destroyed by agriculture practices, livestock rearing and the continued overharvesting of the forest resources. Wildlife poaching has also led to the extinction of many wild species. The fauna sustainability has been majorly threatened by habitat degradation and excessive hunting of game. This can be limited through establishing of sound ban measures on the use and sale of game thus putting an end to poaching. Biodiversity development, improvement and sustainable use are quite preferable to the idea of total ban on the commercializing and marketing of wildlife other related products. It is of much importance to make considerations of the increased multiple uses that wildlife provides to human beings such as recreation, food not leaving behind the scientific, cross-cultural, economic importance and ecological functions.

Fire protection management practices are also crucial. Fire is a natural component of many forest ecosystems. It can damage vegetation leading to erosion of soil and loss of fertility. Fire outbreaks can also lead to harmful effects through carbon emissions during the process of combustion. Most fire outbreaks are as a result of human intervention which include deliberate deforestation, slush and burn cultivation , regeneration of rangeland , accidents , traditional uses such as religious and tribal functions and political and socio-economic disagreements over use of land and rights of ownership. Fire control measures are a matter of enhanced popular education programs and sound agricultural policies as opposed to direct control methods and responses.

Management for soil components and water conservation also is important. Forested watershed areas that provide clean water to densely populated areas should be protected against practices of shifting cultivation and urbanization without proper planning. The management practices in such areas should be effective surveillance measures to protect forest cover resources.

REFERNCES

Fisher, R. J., Maginnis, S, Jackson, W.J, Barrow, E, and Jeanrenaud .S. (2005). Policy and Conservation: Landscapes, People and Power. Gland, Switzerland, and Cambridge, UK: IUCN The World Conservation Union.

Hagar, J.C. (2007). Wildlife species associated with non coniferous vegetation in Pacific Northwest conifer forests: A review. Forest Ecology and Management.

CW Williams Health Center

CW Williams Health Center

Name

Institution

CW Williams Health Center

Strategic Health Services Management

A structured strategic management is very necessary as an approach needed in tackling revolutionary changes in the healthcare system. Health care organizations have today universally embraced the strategic management perspectives developed in the business and heath sector. The health care systems have developed strategies and management systems that are unique in their own ways. According to Swayne, Duncan and Ginter (2013), health care leaders have realized that strategic planning, thinking, and managing strategic momentum are important for coping with the dynamic nature of the health care industry. Strategic management has become the single most effective manifestation of effective and reliable leadership in the health care organizations. Strategic management provides a guiding framework for the management of all kinds of contemporary health organizations.

Over the past few decades, strategic management concepts have been widely applied in the healthcare industry. Swayne, Duncan, and Ginter (2013) notes that the concept of strategic management has continuously been embraced or adopted by healthcare organizations as a core part of leadership and as one way of anticipating and coping with different external forces. The key purpose for strategic management in health care system is to ensure that there is a fit between the external and internal environment of an organization. To ensure survival and compatibility, health care organizations should have the ability to comprehend the significant shifts in environmental conditions and be able to equip their organizations to be able to succeed in the new environments. So many health care organizations are set up every passing day and they are formed based on new technologies and new forms of operation that if the old health organizations do not have the strategies to analyze their operations, they can easily be edged out of the market. This calls for constant and persistent reforms in relation to the changing external environment (Swayne, Duncan, and Ginter, 2013).

Strategic Management in health care can be considered in a number of ways in relation to how different factors affect the American citizens. The first strategic management in this aspect is the cost management. The rising costs for the American patients in the healthcare industry has motivated the providers to make efforts in managing such costs, while at the same time offering quality care at affordable prices. According to Swayne, Duncan, and Ginter, (2013), one major step taken by the providers in reducing costs is analyzing and establishing the inefficiencies associated with the operations of heath care organizations. The next point is the aspect of information management, which is a key factor in the management of both the mission and the costs incurred by healthcare providers. An increase in the availability and the quality of information systems, like computer software, hardware, and networks, can boost the knowledge and operations of the providers and at the same time improve the quality of healthcare provided to the patients. The availability of computers will ensure that all the health records of the patients are safely stored for faster accessibility and also used in the future to obtain any important information (Swayne, Duncan, and Ginter, 2013).

The next strategic management is system management, which when properly managed can provide both quality patient care and high technology which may be difficult for single facilities to access single handedly. For example, the health care system of the Indiana University is formulated in such a way that all patients can access whatever resource they need across the state. It has a central system office that is able to coordinate all the services in its member hospitals in various cities across the state. Gathering such resources and information enables small business owners, their employees, and even patients to access a large volume of information within a very short time. The other aspect is the patient care management, which may include diagnosis, laboratory testing, examination, treatments, prescriptions, and surgery. These services can be provided in state-of-the-art mobile care facilities, hospitals, or even in a physician’s office, by the providers. According to Swayne, Duncan, and Ginter, (2013), the major challenge facing the health care industry is the manner of managing the different types of patients. The challenge comes in on how to serve all the customers at low costs and at the same time maintain high quality services.

In any hospital environment, there are strategic changes that often take place and need to be put into consideration. For a health organization to continue performing, there is need to adopt new polices in order to remain relevant in its operations. The organization can for example make use of a research focusing on the future trends to elucidate whether a certain strategy change would help in the achievement of goals and objectives. However, certain strategies may promote the accomplishment of some set of goals but at the same time work against another goal. This implies that one strategy can at times conflict another, thereby calling for the need of health providers to understand strategic co-ordination. According to Swayne, Duncan, and Ginter, (2013), most of the organizational and environmental characteristics are negatively associated with the operational efficiency or market share in the health care environment. Only for-profit status and stringent Medicare payments correlate with proper financial performance. This implies that urban hospitals lose market shares in wealthier, competitive, and highly populated communities. The urban hospitals have on the other hand strived to overcome this challenge by diversing their operations across many regions within the state so as to expand on their volume of clients (Swayne, Duncan, and Ginter, 2013).

SOSI

The SOSI (Statement of Strategic Intent) for C. W. Williams Health Center is to promote a better future, in terms of health for the community; by continuously giving the best, reachable healthcare; with respect, compassion, and pride following the vision of the organization’s founder-Dr. Charles Warren Williams. The strategic statement also indicates that C. W. Williams need to advance into the 21st Century through promoting a brighter and healthier future of the black community. The health center’s Chief Executive Officer, Michelle Marrs, with her 20 years experience in health care management and efficient delivery of services was the major force behind the center’s financial improvement and the efficient provision of health care. Her efforts entailed optimizing and rationalizing operation efficiencies, increasing payment rates to the heath center by initiating insurance systems, starting partnerships with several regional providers of healthcare services aimed at improving the organization’s network, and strengthening the links with private providers of community healthcare services (Swayne, Duncan, and Ginter, 2013).

The chief executive had the objective of providing health care services to individuals who were medically underserved majorly in the rural areas since half of the individuals who were medically underserved lived in the rural areas. The other half that were medically undeserved also lived in economically depressed locations in the inner cities, where they lived in poverty and lacked services such as health insurance. Other individuals also had serious problems of homelessness, substance abuse, and AIDS. In order to serve all the citizens across the state, the chief executive formulated strategies that would ensure that health services is accessible to all individuals both to those who lived in the rural areas and also the other individuals who lived in the poverty stricken slums in the cities. One of the strategies was the initiation of the managed care plans, which enrolled over 2 million beneficiaries of the Medicaid program. According to Swayne, Duncan, and Ginter, (2013), low income Americans and the Medicaid beneficiaries had high rates of disabilities and common illnesses than others. This meant that they accumulated comparatively higher costs of medical cover and medical care. However, they were faced with certain challenges such as the rural nature of the Southern states, which made such states not become attractive to most managed care organizations and the insurers that provided fee-for-service to hospitals and the physicians (Swayne, Duncan, and Ginter, 2013).

The strengthening of connections with Tufts Medical School, in addition to creating plans and programs to develop several community-based health centers helped in bringing healthcare services nearer to patients. Raising finances is the immediate step into realizing a brighter future for C. W. Williams and Tufts Medical School relationship. This is a vital step given that the history of losses in finances is connected to the decline in the existence of the health center. The idea of raising finances was a major step in the operations of C. W. Williams health centre because it offered the opportunity to adequately serve the medically underserved individuals in the rural areas by making all necessary facilities accessible to the citizens (Swayne, Duncan, and Ginter, 2013).

Michelle had served in the health care sector for a very long time but she admitted facing a number of challenges due to the rapidly changing health care environment that required new means of operation every passing day. The managed care changes thus forced the health care centre to align themselves to one of the two hospitals. They were forced to stake such a step despite not willing to take away the patients’ choice due to the managed care changes. However, in order to achieve such a mission, the chief executive noted that she needed more help from internal operations before proceeding to the external interactions. She further created the position for the director of finance and at the same time striving to buy another location in order to serve its patients in a better way. The management however argued that buying another facility would seriously stretch the organization financially but on the other hand argued that finding a new location for the facility was a perfect idea since it would give a variety of patients the opportunity to access all the medical services of their choice (Swayne, Duncan, and Ginter, 2013).

Stakeholder Analysis

It is vital for the board of C.W. Williams to conduct a proper stakeholder analysis so as to identify the crucial stakeholders who are capable of impacting the organization’s objectives and goals. Stakeholders are charged with the responsibility of developing and implementing different tactics and strategies based on the existing health service environment. The stakeholders should be a team of dedicated individuals who are able to transform their activities and operations according to the standards set by the dynamic global medical environment. Major stakeholders of C. W. Williams are listed below according to their significance.

In order to identify the influence these stakeholders have on the operations of C. W. Williams Health Care centre, it is important to consider each stakeholder category on a matrix based analysis. The following shows how the stakeholders have been classified:

MEETING NEEDS

Keep contented in order to meet their needs MAJOR PLAYERS

Influenced actively and closely engaged.

LEAST IMPORTANT

Monitor using minimum effort SHOW CONSIDERATION

Keep them informed

2190751847850Power

Power

41243254295775High

High

25146004343400Interest

Interest

10668004295775Low

Low

2190753609975Low

Low

219075190500High

High

Patients: In every organization, patients posses the highest power, but with lower levels of interest in the management of the organization (this is in reference to C.W. Williams Health Center). With this in mind, the patients’ needs ought to be met by keeping them satisfied. According to Swayne, Duncan, and Ginter, (2013), patients are the main reason for the establishment of any health facility and their interest should be paramount to the operations of any health facility. Health organizations that ignore the needs of their patients are not likely to succeed since the patients would be moving out one after the other and eventually leaving them with no patient to serve. In order to succeed, the organization should further carry out periodic surveys on the patients to sample all their desired interests and then look into the best services to offer. C. W. Williams Health Center should move into the rural areas where several individuals who are medical underserved live in order to offer proper and timely services to them. The organization has strived to acquire new facilities and medications that are able to handle serious diseases like HIV/AIDS, which is a major disease affecting the individuals living in the rural areas and the slums found in urban areas. Swayne, Duncan, and Ginter, (2013) note that the services offered to the patients should be one that is dynamic and universally acceptable.

Physicians: The physicians working at C.W. Williams Health Center are categorized under high power and high interest. Therefore, this group are the major players in the industry, thus should be handled accordingly. These individuals are at the core of operations at every health facility and they greatly influence the success of the health organization. They are at a close interaction with the patients and directly offer treatments to the patients. The organization should therefore ensure that its physicians are a team of experienced and competent individuals who will be able to offer the right kind of treatment for the right disease. Incompetent and inexperienced physicians often lead to patients losing their lives aimlessly because of poor treatments. This would give a bad reputation to the health organization and for that matter not be able to achieve its goals and objectives (Swayne, Duncan, and Ginter, 2013).

Employees/staff: The case of C.W. Williams Health Center’s staff and employees are also categorized under the important players. These two groups should be engaged with keen interest in the management of the organization. They also play a major role in the operations of the organization in the sense that how they treat and handle the patients determines the reputation of the health care center. C. W. Williams Health care center should be able to employ several employees across the state but most notably in the rural areas where the underserved individuals live and where their services are majorly required. The employees and the staff should be a team that is very friendly to the patients, punctual at the work place, and above all dedicated to the achievement of the organization’s goals and objectives. A staff that is unfriendly or rude to the patients would send a very bad image to the public and for that matter may drive away the patients that are in high need of the health services. This would otherwise contradict the organization’s mission and objective of equal service to all. In its quest to adopt new forms of technology in keeping the health records, the organization should be in a position to employ individuals who are able to handle computers to enable them keep all the health records for the patients. According to Swayne, Duncan, and Ginter, (2013), this will not only make the health records accessible for all individuals but will also offer faster delivery of health services.

Board of directors: The board is also a significant player in the stakeholder overview of the company. They have high interest and power in the management of the organization. It is vital for C.W. Williams Health Center to engage the board directly and actively while making decisions on the hospital’s operations. The board of directors should have the interest of the organization at heart by ensuring that all the operations and priorities of the company are rightfully placed. The organization should give the board of directors the power to carry out a periodic strategic audit and analysis of the activities of all employees and other stakeholders to ensure efficiency of the organization. However, the board should be comprised of individuals who have good reputation and integrity to ensure that the organization achieves its goals and objectives (Swayne, Duncan, and Ginter, 2013).

Charlotte Memorial Hospital: Charlotte is categorized under high power in the stakeholder analysis of C.W. Williams Health Center. The hospital was mandated to admit patients who were required to be hospitalized in C.W. Williams. Due to the little space in the health center, more space was needed (and it was available at Charlotte Memorial). There need to be a very close relationship based on mutual trust and respect between C. W. Williams and Charlotte Memorial Hospital so that the patients getting admitted to the hospital get quality treatment based on the mission and vision of C. W. Williams. This commitment was observed in the Chief executive officer when she said that patients are at will to choose the hospital where they receive their treatment.

Federal Government: The federal government possesses high power and low interest in the affairs of C.W. Williams Health Center management and operations. The federal government normally set up rules and regulations that directly or indirectly affect the operations of any health organization. The federal government can also dictate the kind of areas that the health facilities should be built. It can also set up rules that will discourage the citizens from using the facilities of the organization or set up rules that may lead to the collapse of the organization altogether. The federal government also determines whether or not to offer grants for the operations of the hospital. If the federal government decides not to give or reduce the amount of money meant to be a grant for the company, its mission of expanding operations to the rural areas where there are many individuals who are medically underserved would be highly affected. However, it is generally healthy for every organization in any state to observe the existing rules and regulations for purposes of developing a positive public image and also to avoid rubbing shoulders with the federal government. Therefore, the organization need to meet the legal requirement and needs of the government to ensure they are satisfied; failure to which the operations of the organization can be highly compromised (Swayne, Duncan, and Ginter, 2013).

Medicaid consulting groups: The consulting groups possess high power and low interest in terms of stakeholder significance and participation in the operations and management of C.W. Williams Health Center. These are groups that are mandated with the responsibility of offering expertise direction to the organization and devising strategic policies that would ensure that the organization operates smoothly and profitably in the health sector that is challenging and competitive. The Medicaid Consulting group is mandated with the responsibility of carrying out market research and market analysis then coming up with policies that would ensure that the organization achieves its main mission of reaching out to the medically underserved, majorly in the rural areas. The Medicaid Consulting groups should also devise ways and means to ensure that the organization adopts means of operations that are cost effective and at the same time viable in respect to the ever changing medical environment. With the above specs in stakeholder categorization, the health center should ensure that the needs of Medicaid Consulting personnel are sufficiently met (Swayne, Duncan, and Ginter, 2013).

Hospital affiliation: The hospital affiliations of C.W. Williams Health Center are categorized under high power and low interest group. This is because they are concerned with the management, treatment, referrals, and other major activities of the health center. This is a group of people that have the operations of the organization at heart and for that matter highly influence the success of the organization. They can influence the public perception of the organization and how the organization relates with other stakeholders and other agencies that are at a higher position and ability to offer funds to C. W. Health Centre. Because of this, their needs and interests should be handled considering the power they wield in the activities and management of the C.W. Williams.

Non-physician providers: This group is categorized under low power and high interest stakeholders. As much as they may not offer direct treatments to the patients, they have a great impact on the operations and success of the organization in the sense that they form a link between the health center and the external environment. This is very vital given that the Chief executive had stated that her main mission was to set up strategies that would promote the organization’s relationship with the external environment. The organization cannot advance its operations externally if there is no channel to link its activities; in this case it would be the role of the non-physician providers to accomplish such a duty. Therefore, C.W. Williams should ensure that they are informed while at the same time showing them greater considerations (Swayne, Duncan, and Ginter, 2013).

Pfizer: Like the Medicaid Consulting group, Pfizer as a major provider of drugs and other important medical aids have high power and low interest in the management and operations of C. W. Williams Health Center. This is another major stakeholder of the C. W. Williams because of their role of distributing drugs to the hospital. Their failure to deliver drugs in time would mean that the patients would not be treated in time, which would mean putting danger on the lives of the patients. The hospital should for that matter ensures that Pfizer becomes a very responsible and reliable team that can be trusted with the delivery of drugs at any time of need. The organization should also ensure that Pfizer produces drugs that are effective in treating the patients and at the same time have long expiry dates so that the drugs can stay long in the hospital shelves without expiring. Since the organization has the potential of benefiting the organization in terms of realizing high profitability; C. W. Williams need to ensure that their needs are catered for (Swayne, Duncan, and Ginter, 2013).

Trend Analysis for C. W. Williams Health Center

There a number of possible events that can emerge with reference to both internal and external situations in C. W. Williams Health Center. Some of these possible events are:

Partnering of Area Hospitals to form HMO

Shift from FFS to Managed Care Environment

Increasing the number of community health centers

Increasing need for medical technology

Reduction in government allocation to grant money for C. W. Williams.

The listed trends are categorized and analyzed based on the impact they have on the organization in relation to their profitability on the overall performance of the organizational activities as shown below:

Service Area Competitor Analysis (SACA) for C.W. Williams Health Center

SACA is process used by the organization to understand its market environment and how to evaluate its competitors. It generally involves understanding the operations and vulnerabilities of its competitors in its area of operation. It also includes the organization assessing the impact of its strategies against its main competitors and at the same time identify potential moves that a competitor might take and thus endanger the organization in relation to the position it occupies in the market (Swayne, Duncan, and Ginter, 2013). SACA generally assists the organization identify sources of competitive advantage that would in turn enable the organization attain a cost advantage and formulate the organization’s strategy. Competitor information can be considered and analyzed in three important categories. The first category is the general competitor information, which involves avoiding surprises in the market environment and benchmarking competitors. The next category is the offensive competitor information, which involves identifying a new market niche and then formulating viable strategies to break through into the new market environment. The last category in this aspect is the defensive competitor information, which involves anticipating the competitor’s moves and then designing strategies to shorten the time to counter the moves of the competitor (Swayne, Duncan, and Ginter, 2013).

For effectiveness of SACA, it requires the organization to work in such a way that it avoids surprises in the market environment and also provide a forum for its stakeholders to evaluate and discuss the assumptions concerning the organization’s market position, capabilities, and competition. When effectively implemented, it would enable the organization become aware of formidable and significant competitors that the organization can not avoid and also enable the organization learn from its potential rivals by benchmarking. According to Swayne, Duncan, and Ginter, (2013), it also helps in building consensus among the organization’s stakeholders concerning its goals, objectives, and capabilities. This helps to increase commitment to the organization’s strategies and foster strategic thinking within the organization. The formulation of SACA involves four major steps. The first step is to identify the service category, which involves identifying whether what is provided is a product or a service category. The second step is the identification of the service area, which involves identifying the service boundary and the service location. The third step is identifying the service area profile, which involves the assessment of qualitative and quantitative based needs at present and in the future. The fourth step is the service area structural analysis, which involves making use of the porter’s 5 forces framework (Swayne, Duncan, and Ginter, 2013).

Service area competitor analysis enables organizations to understand and analyze the significant patterns and factors influencing competition based on the location of the company or the business it is involved. Porter’s 5 forces, as a major strategic tool can be applied in the assessment and evaluation of service area outlook in relation to the competition faced by the company. Porter’s technique evaluates the industry in which the organization is operating and the competitive rendition using the following main forces:

The suppliers bargaining power

The buyers bargaining power

Threat emerging from substitute services and products

Threats emerging from new entrants into the business

Existing rivalry among or between the established competitors

Using the above forces, C. W. Williams Health Center’ service area competitor analysis can be expressed as follows:

The suppliers bargaining power

The suppliers have a low to moderate bargaining power in the healthcare provision industry targeting the specific community (black). The industry is marked with the presence of well-established suppliers who are capable of providing the same products and services at significantly lower costs. The fact that there exist so many suppliers in the medical industry who are able to offer high quality services and health facilities increases competition among the suppliers. It becomes a situation of many suppliers fighting for a few health providers in the medical industry. The result would be that the suppliers would produce high quality drugs and at the same time supply them at lower prices, which otherwise works to the advantage of C. W. Williams since this gives it the opportunity to serve its patients with high quality drugs. The fact that it is able to purchase the drugs at a lower price will in turn lower its cost of operation and thus give it the opportunity to offer reasonable remuneration to its staff and employees. This will in turn give the employees the motivation to work even harder (Swayne, Duncan, and Ginter, 2013).

The buyers bargaining power

The buyers have a high to moderate chances of bargaining power in the healthcare provision industry. In the locality where C. W. Williams is operating, different institutions and health care centers exist; providing similar services and products to the targeted patients hence the increase in the opportunities of bargaining power to the buyers of the services and products. There are so many hospitals in the region but the chief executive stated that every patient is entitled to choose the hospital to receive medical attention. The loyal customers to W. W. Williams will always stick to their services given the quality services they offer and their desire to serve individuals who are not so privileged in the society. However, when it comes to buying drugs, the buyers will always move to the health providers that offer a variety of drugs at lower prices. This calls for the need of C. W. Williams to co-ordinate with manufactures that produce high quality drugs but at comparatively low costs in order to gain a competitive advantage in its environment of operation (Swayne, Duncan, and Ginter, 2013).

Threat emerging from substitute services and products

Threat emerging from substitute products and services in the healthcare provision to the community is considerably high. The explanation behind this occurrence is managed care provision, which has very high influence on service delivery to marginalized communities and other healthcare institutions. In addition to this, various organizations and community based institutions in the United States of America have developed their own programs assisting the employees. This includes companies that have opened hospitals where its patients can be treated at highly subsided rates and also selling high quality drugs at lower prices. This gives C. W. Williams a competitive disadvantage as the individuals who would have been treated at their health centre get fair treatments elsewhere. The Federal government also has the tendency to open public health centers where most services are free or the drugs are sold at very low costs. Due to the fact that the government operates under economies of scale, it becomes very difficult for the organization to effectively compete in the provision of health services (Swayne, Duncan, and Ginter, 2013). This leaves a negative effect on the institutions charged with the responsibility of giving healthcare to the marginalized communities in any location. The Federal government may also fail on its duty of making the rural areas accessible for the establishment of new health centers. This may also offer a great challenge to C. W. Williams in its objective of reaching out to the marginalized groups.

Threats emerging from new entrants into the business

The threat emerging from new ventures into the industry is low. This follows the fact that the creation and maintenance of a completely new equipment or hospital facility for the provision of specialized healthcare to specific cases. For example, in C. W. Williams’ case, requires heavy investment in terms of effort and capital. Thus, new ventures are left with no option but to consider spending time and resources in their bid to enter and succeed in the industry. It is believed that such efforts are not v

Native Tales

Native Tales

What parts of this book strike you as particularly Canadian? Which parts might you find in a book by a writer from the USA?

There are some parts of the book which illustrate life of Canadians and how they get along. They are generally Canadian native tales which means they are particularly Canadian. On the other hand, there are books which are written by an author from the U.S.A. This is so because there are authors who are Native American. This shows that they are originally from the U.S.

This book is dated—does it still have an appeal to American readers. But child and adult? If so what are the appeals?

The book still has an appeal to the American readers. This is because there are stories inside the book that are written by Native Americans. The book written by a native American provides an American with information of the past making the current generation to understand more about what happened in the past.

Is this a novel? What criteria are you using to determine your answer: does your answer change this only as a novel for children, not a novel for wider, adult audience?

The book is not a novel. This is simply because it contains many stories. It is not written in prose form where there are many chapters connected (Macmillan, 2012). These stories all have different topics where they touch on different ideas.

Does this book appeal to girls? What would have to change to broaden its interest to both sexes of children?

The book does not really appeal to the girl nature. Authors have to take into consideration the fact that readers are both male and female. In this case, they have to provide information on both sexes in order to favor both genders and make all of them have interest in reading books.

The illustrations are obviously quite simple—what changes will you as editor suggest so that the book continues its sales appeal?

Authors have to consider both sexes when writing books and make sure that they do not favor one than the other. Authors ought to write books, having in mind that they may be bought by anybody. All stories should therefore not be those that criticize other human beings.

About the native tales what similarities do you see among the Canadian native tales to other stories we’ve read?

The Canadian native tales just like the other tales talk about happenings in life and issues that affect human nature. The styles used in writing these stories are similar and there are some authors who have written various tales. The similarity therefore is the style of writing what the authors write about.

Reference

Macmillan, C. (2012). Canadian Fairy Tales. Canada: HardPress.