Roles of Managers and Individuals Essay Example for Free

Roles of Managers and Individuals Essay There is one thing that is a constant within any organization which is change. Change is undeniable and inevitable. Change is what leads to progress. Structures, procedures, systems and policies and systems or just a few forms of change which an organization will use when utilizing change. When an organization undergoes goes there is a focus on the behaviors as well as the results based production delivered by its employees. When employees engage themselves in the change process while taking ownership of the processes in place, the organization will obtain value. Management at the executive level to the supervisors on the front line will all play a role in the process of change. The following will examine the roles of managers, change agents that are used, as well as the management’s role in combating resistance, and championing change. Roles of Managers â€Å"The ultimate goal of change management is to engage employees and encourage their adoption of a new way of doing their jobs.† (Change Management Learning Center, 2014). There are several key management roles in the change process such as a project team, intermediate level managers and supervisors and finally executives and senior management. Senior-level managers and executives have many roles such as visibility and participation throughout the entire duration of the project, communicate with employees, manage resistance and build a group of strong leaders for the future. An effective way to predict the success of a project is through strong leadership. Front line supervisors and intermediate-level managers also manage resistance in addition to the roles of coaching, advocating, communicating and acting as a liaison for upper management to the  individuals. Employees prefer hearing the risks and rewards that come from change and how it will affect the staff on a day to day basis from their direct manager as this is who they built a report with. Managers act as the voice of the organization and must be advocates of change whether they agree with it or not. The manager’s job is to prevent resistance from employees, take direction while providing feedback to the team and helping with the individual transitions of the employees. When dealing with the change process, the role of the individual is the acceptance of altering the day to day operations while using the solutions of change. The employees are in charge of controlling the changes and alterations in their particular division or area. The employees also act as the main source of feedback regarding the changes as they are on the â€Å"front line† and see all of these changes first hand. Change Agents Whether the organization is large or small, it will need a change agent to undergo the change process. A change agent is defined as â€Å"individual or group that undertakes the task of initiating and managing change in an organization† (Lunenburg, 2010). A change agent will either be internal, which consists of managers, supervisors or any employee that is in charge of the over-sight of the change, or external, which consists of any third party firms or consultants. Internal Change Agents Internal change agents consist of individuals that provide training, knowledge, personal perspectives, procedures in problem solving, skill building, data gathering to evaluate processes and assistance with team learning within groups. Internal changes agents will invest themselves personally in the change and have knowledge of the organization’s culture, issues, employees and environment. External Change Agents External change agents are used to make large organizational overhauls and massive changes. These change agents are brought in from outside the organization and are used to provide an unbiased perspective of the situation and push the organization to think outside of the norm.The draw-backs of external change agents are availability ( as they will have other clients), cost, and time ( to become familiar with the way the organization runs its business). Combating Resistance The first step in combating resistance is to realize that not all employees are going to resist the changes. Once the employees who do resist are identified it’s important for management to identify how each employee will respond best when feeling resistant. Managers would be best served looking for signs of resistance that include sabotage, blaming and intimidation. Once these symptoms have been identified management must utilize the correct approach with which they use for the employee. Some of these approaches include: Resistance Cycle- This approach includes the psychological stages such as resistance and denial. Situational Approach- This is a combination of six methods that range from communication to education to implicit and explicit coercion. Thought Self-Leadership- This process involves leading through persuasion using the thoughts of the individual. Successful leadership involves identifying and understanding the differences between the two styles of resistance, passive and active. Once this is done, action may be taken to squash any resistance the employees have created. Championing Change Championing change begins in the hiring and grooming process. Organizations are committed to choosing the best available candidates that will flourish and blossom into the leaders of the future. The organization must identify the changes they are looking to make and then choose employees that will best format to those changes, Once the employees have been selected, they must be given all the tools needed to transition the organization to where it wants to go, this includes training and education. Finally, feedback needs to be given throughout the process to ensure that all agreed upon changes are being completed successfully and are accomplishing desired  objectives. There is one thing that is a constant within any organization which is change. Change is undeniable and inevitable. Utilizing change agents, having active leadership and management with the ability to communicate, and sustaining a positive relationship with the employees are sure fire ways to ensure a seamless transiti on through change. References Change Management Learning Center. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.change-management.com/tutorial-job-roles-mod2.htm Lunenburg, F.C. (2010). Managing Change: The role of the change agent. International Journal of Management, Business, and Administration, 13(1), 1-6. Retrieved from http://www.nationalforum.com/Electronic%20Journal%20Volumes/Lunenburg,%20Fred%20C. %20Managing%20Change%20The%20Role%20of%20Change%20Agent%20IJMBA,%20V13%20N1%202010.pdf

Stakeholders Involved And Related Ethical Issues Information Technology Essay

Stakeholders Involved And Related Ethical Issues Information Technology Essay We also had on a local well known blog attacks and insults of a ferocity which would never have been gratuitously made in a face to face situation. We tend to feel more unconstrained on the net and often seem to revel in the support which fellow bloggers of the same thoughts tend to give us in an immediate thread response. Examine this situation in the context of the assignment specification especially from the defamation and virtual privacy invasion point of view. Introduction Unethical behavior over the internet is becoming more common. Ranging from private discrete stalking termed cyber-stalking to public defamation, it is becoming increasingly imperative to analyze the ethical issues at stake in these situations. For a personal gain, the stalker makes use of the internet to harass and defame his victim by publicly posting private sensitive information about his victim or spreading false rumors. Facts about Online Stalking Due to the spreading of the Internet across all institutions worldwide, it has become much easier for stalking to take place. Every person probably has personal data available on the Internet, either being on a personal web page or profile; or else being available to search for in government, institutes and organizations databases. Online stalking is much easier than traditional physical stalking due to various reasons: The person being stalked would probably not be aware of such a fact until the stalker initiates contact with the victim Cyber stalking can be done from the comfort of the stalkers home, or from anonymous locations such as a public internet cafà © or an office environment (1). The most crucial fact is that it is done remotely and not by confronting the actual victim. The ferocity and malicious intent would probably be greater as the aggressor feels more unconstrained on the net than in a face to face confrontation. Several online technologies can be used to stalk online (cyber-stalking). For a stalker to research about the victim, traditional search engine as well as profiles on social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace can be used. To make direct contact with the victim, the stalker may make use of Instant Messaging (IM) services, online forums, and chat rooms. Alternatively the stalker may try to elicit a response from the victim by using techniques such as publishing defamatory statements about the victim in public places such as a web site, message boards, or a fake blog run in the victims name (2). Cyber-stalking and cyber-bullying is much more aggressive than if done face to face. The term cyber-bullying is more commonly associated when teenagers are involved in stalking and bullying online, while cyber-stalking is used for stalking involving adults. Dr. Bamford in (3) explains that the anonymity of the stalker greatly reduces traditional social and contextual attitudes such as tone of voice used and relevant body language. Anonymity can be achieved either by submitting comments in public places such as forums without an ID to trace back to the poster, or else using an alias with the aim of masking the aggressors identity. Without these attitudes, social norms and constraints are neglected, and further like-minded people might participate with the stalker in harassing the victim. Anonymity can also be easily achieved by using an anonymous remailer service (4). This would be specialized software aiming to achieve anonymity in the sending of emails. It strips the originating address from an email message and forwards it to its intended destination. All header information that might be used to track the sender is removed. According to U.S. statistics in 2007 (5), the majority of stalking victims are female at 78%. On the other hand, the majority of stalkers are male at 87%. Victims of stalking can range from a single person to whole organizations. A previous failed relationship can be a motivator for harassing a single person for emotional gain, while possible financial gain is a motivator for harassing groups or an organization. It is to the stalkers advantage however if the victim is singled out, making stalking on a single person more common than harassing a group of people. The main motives of stalking, as identified in (1), are: Stalking an ex-partner of a sexual relationship even after the relationship comes to an end. This can be due to a certain party not willing to accept that the relationship is over. Stalking however also takes place during a relationship. In a research by Tjaden and Thoennes in (6), it was concluded that nearly 60% of females are stalked by their male partner, while 30% of males are stalked by their female partner. Stalking with the aim of vengeance on the victim. This type is the most dangerous as the stalker is probably premeditating a violent attack on the victim due to a previous grudge. It is to be noted that the majority of this type of stalker are male. Stalking due to mental illnesses, ranging from delusional stalkers suffering from depressions to harasser stalkers suffering from a certain attention-seeking personality disorder. After obtaining the necessary vital information, in most cases the stalker exposes it publicly to defame his victim. Such public places include chat rooms and more commonly community areas such as online profiles and forums. The stalker may assume the identity of the victim by posting inflammatory and probably fictitious information in the name of the victim to elicit a response from the community (5). This type of action, termed Masquerading, is discussed later on. There are several defamatory actions that are viewed as illegal and prosecuted, some of which, as mentioned in (4), include the sending of malicious and threatening private messages over the Internet to the intended victim, libel at the intended victim, as well as the publication of messages in public places such as on a web site that show malicious intent to commit acts of hate-motivated violence. Cyber bullying is common in adolescent teens. In a survey carried out in (7), it was reported that 43% of U.S. teens have experienced some form of cyber-bullying in the previous year. This may be due to a lack of knowledge about the reason and the ways to protect private information. The internet and virtual communication environments in general, provide a perfect medium for a cyber bully to defame the victim constantly, even after school hours. In June 2003, a twelve-year old Japanese girl ended up killing her classmate after the latter defamed her on the Internet by the posting of certain messages (3). An example of group bullying is what happened to Canadian boy David Knight (3), who was a victim of a hate campaign when school mates built an online web site entitled Hate David Knight. The website contained defamatory pictures and abuse towards the victim. The group also encouraged the global online community to join their hate campaign. Another form of cyber attacks that is common amongst teens is Masquerading (3). This term refers to either when the stalker/attacker poses as somebody else who is close to the victim, or as the victim itself. In the first case, one can make use of the victims closest friend mobile phone to send harassing messages in the name of the friend, for example. In this way, the harasser remains anonymous while at the same time confusing the victim. In the second form of Masquerading, the stalker may obtain the victims login details for personal places such as personal blog, webpage or Facebook profile. This exchange of passwords amongst teens is very common, as it is considered a sign of true friendship and trust (3). The stalker would then proceed to defame the victim by posing as the victim himself/herself, producing a creditable and real scenario for fellow online friends to witness. Suicides due to Cyber-Stalking and Cyber-Bullying The effects of cyber-stalking on the victim can be quite damaging. We analyze two such cases where victims ended up committing suicide after being stalked or harassed over the Internet. The first case is the suicide of Megan Meier, a thirteen-year-old teenager that committed suicide on 17th October 2006 after being cyber-bullied on MySpace, a popular social networking website (8). A fake profile was set up on MySpace in the name of a 16-year-old boy named Josh Evans who wanted to befriend Megan. On the day of the suicide, Megan and Josh had an argument online. Some other participants also joined in and in no time, there were messages and bulletins being sent to friends and schoolmates containing false accusations about Megan about her physique and sexual tendencies. This led to Megans suicide. From this case we can see how dangerous such a situation can be over the Internet, where like-minded people join with the stalker and behave unethically and inappropriately to the detriment of the victim. The second suicide case took place in Abu Dhabi when Emma Jones, a British teacher killed herself (9) after being defamed on the social networking site Facebook. The responsible harasser was her ex-boyfriend, who posted naked photos of Emma on Facebook. Allegedly he had obtained the photos illegally from Emmas computer. This public defamation coupled with the fact that she was working in an Islamic country that is very restrictive on such issues contributed to Emmas suicide. Stakeholders Involved and Related Ethical Issues At first glance, the stakeholders in cyber-stalking are mainly the stalker and the victim. However, it may not always be that clear to identify all stakeholders. The victims near family can become a stakeholder due to the victims possible actions, such as suicide, after being the victim of a privacy invasion or of public defamation. The controlling authorities of mediums that aided the stalker in retrieving sensitive information about the victim are also stakeholders. This however cannot be stated conclusively as legislations vary across various jurisdictions. In a certain jurisdiction, an action may be considered legal while in others it may not. In a case study of internet stalking (10), a twenty-year old girl named Amy Boyer from New Hampshire was murdered in October 1999. The murderer, Liam Youens, used to stalk her on the internet by searching for her personal information. Using search engine tools that are readily available to everyone, he was able to go through online databases and learn where his victim lived, worked and other personal details. He then set up two web sites, one of which publicly exposed all of Amys private details he managed to get hold of. On the other site he explicitly described his plan of murdering Amy. In this case, Amys immediate family members are stakeholders as they have to suffer her loss. The involvement of organizational entities as potential stakeholders is subject to ethical dilemmas. For example, the ISPs hosting the web sites might have a responsibility of monitoring the contents it hosts to avoid such cases. Also, the users reading the web sites might have an ethical obligation of informing the relevant authorities and assist the victims. We can therefore conclude that it is not always a clear-cut answer when identifying the involved stakeholders. They vary according to the case as well as what we judge as ethically right or wrong. In the case where the stalker is still an adolescent, the parents and teachers are also stakeholders as they are responsible for the development and education of the person in question. When they however see the deficiencies of laws and technology to deal with such issues, they realize they are quite powerless to avoid such a situation. As regards laws related to cyber-bullying, they are ambiguous and poorly put into practice (3). One reason for this is the lack of technical expertise and resources on the parts of the authorities such as the police, which would make it difficult to actually enforce the laws. The authorities would not have a clear understanding of a certain situation if necessary education and training has not been provided beforehand to deal with such situations. If we are to ethically analyze the shareholders in various situations concerning the internet, we first have to know who supposedly is in control of a situation and who has to take responsibility (11). Internet infrastructure companies such as Cisco and Oracle are considered as shareholders by some as they provide the internet network. However although these companies may provide the backbone structure, they would have limited interest in the content on their infrastructure. One can direct the blame on the ISPs, however these host limited content. Most newsgroups and chat rooms are nowadays hosted independently not by ISPs, and are not always easy to trace. It can be argued that a paradigm shift of Internet content has occurred from locally to globally (11). Whereas previously we had specialist ISPs hosting and providing all the content, we moved on to an era where the content is provided by the general end users. Examples of this are personal blogs and Twitter feeds. ISPs cannot be relieved of all the blame though. Even though one cannot expect them to pre-check content posted by their users, they should be willingly able to help should they receive a complaint or notification about particular content they are hosting or malicious users making use of their ISP services. Roger Darlington in (11) suggests that we first should understand what the word ethics means and represents in the context of the Internet before we can conclude who is a stakeholder or not. To have a better understanding of who is responsible for what on the Internet, he suggests that: We should accept that the Internet is not a value-free zone. We should act in a civilized manner as in the end it is us (the end users) who shape the Internet when providing content and services. Our actions on the Internet should be consistent with what we do in the real life. We should comply with laws when making use of the Internet in the same way as we do practically. The author suggests that we do not invent a new set of laws and values for the Internet; instead we apply the laws we are used to in the physical world for issues including discrimination, pornography and copyrights to name a few. We should be aware that the Internet is used by people from different cultures, religions and ethnicity. Where possible we should thus try to accommodate as much of the Internet society as possible. We should be responsive and accept feedback from the Internet user community. Ethical Issues One should make a discrepancy between what is legal and what is ethical. An action might be considered legal yet unethical. There is no law stopping a divorced man from setting up an online profile pretending to be a middle-aged woman who wants to befriend his ex-wife. Most people however would consider this behavior unethical. Although ethics are only moral guidelines and are not imposed on us like law is, they are more worldwide in judging if an action is right or wrong. As we already mentioned, various jurisdictions have inconsistent laws about similar issues concerning private information. In some countries, it may be legal to accumulate personal data on its citizens and store them in a public repository, while this practice might be illegal in other countries wishing to protect the citizens privacy. Ethical dilemmas arise in such a case. A stalker citizen living in a country that protects privacy can use a paid service that operates in a country where there is no privacy protection to obtain information about his victim that lives in the stalkers country. The service is not illegal as it operates from a different country, however such action borders on whether it is ethical or not. It is difficult to deal with such ethical issues due to a lack of technological understanding from certain authority parties. Political parties demanding that there should be more control on hosted content such as newsgroups and chat rooms would most of the time have limited knowledge about how these are hosted. Also they ignore the fact that it is a near impossible scenario to monitor and control all the information exchange that takes place. Even when laws are not in place, a responsible party such as a web hosting company should have a moral responsibility to control the content it hosts. For example, if a company hosts a web site about how to make or detonate a bomb, it should not walk away claiming to not be responsible if such information is made use of by members of the public for malicious purposes. Roger Darlington in (11) proposes some useful solutions to prevent ethical problems on the internet such as cyber stalking and cyber bullying. Laws should be modernized to reflect changing times and to make them in context with the use of the Internet. They should take into account new crimes that are not possible in the physical world such as grooming of under-age girls in chat rooms as well as cyber stalking to name a few. Such actions should be punished by crime fighters who are specifically technically trained for such high tech situations. These fighters should possess all necessary resources to tackle such cyber criminals. As already mentioned, most of cyber stalking and bullying takes place in open online communities, where the harasser can defame and expose his victim in front of a large audience. Due to this fact, these spectators witnessing such unethical behavior should be morally obliged to take action and help the victim. In the United Kingdom, the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) runs a hotline where Internet users can confidentially report such criminal behavior or contents. These foundations would be equipped with knowledge and techniques how to deal with such situations by judging the legality of the cases and identifying the culprits. If the content is deemed illegal and is hosted within the foundations jurisdiction area, they can issue a notice to the relevant ISP hosting the material to take action by removing the content (11). Maltese Law In 2002, the Data Protection Act (12) was amended in Malta to protect private data from getting into the hands of cyber-stalkers, cyber-bullies, harassers, and all those with a malicious intent to defame or invade the privacy of a victim. The document contains a number of clause articles that help protect private data. The seventh Article ensures that when data is processed, it is processed fairly and lawfully. The data collected should be specific and used for explicitly stated legitimate purposes. This clause protects the subject from revealing more data than is necessary or required. Article nine of the document clearly states that the subject must give consent before such data provided can be processed. The subject also has the right to revoke his/her consent to sensitive data processing providing legitimate grounds for the revocation. This is specified in Article 11. Cyber-stalkers wishing to learn personal information about a subject can illegitimately pose as a third-party company that makes use of this sensitive data for marketing purposes. Article 10 of the Data Protection Act specifically protects the subject from such third-parties by having the choice not to disclose his information with such parties. Article twelve focuses specifically on Sensitive Personal Data, and states that the processing of sensitive data can only take place if the subject gives consent or else has made this sensitive data public. This latter case is one which stalkers profit from, as they make use of already publicized data to defame an individual without any needed consent from the subject in question. They would not have obtained the information illegally as it would be publicly available, for example on the victims Facebook profile. One can easily view pictures of the victim and read personal information such as locality and workplace if the victim has not adjusted his/her privacy settings accordingly. Only in extreme cases, such as if a subject is being investigated or is an issue for national security, public security or the defense should secrecy restrictions be temporarily lifted. This is stated in Article 23. The Data Protection Act also prevents third parties with possible malicious intentions from processing and accessing personal data. In fact, Article 25 specifies which persons are authorized to process data. In the previous section, we discussed whether it is ethical if a stalker citizen living in a country that protects privacy can use a paid service that operates in a country where there is no privacy protection to obtain information about his victim that lives in the stalkers country. Article 27 deals specifically with such a case, whereby the transfer of sensitive data to a third country is subject to it having adequate levels of protection for this data. So if this third country does not protect the data as resiliently as the citizens country, then the third country would have no right in requesting for such information. Ethical Analysis: Consequentialist Theory A consequentialist ethical theory is a theory that focuses on the overall general consequences arising from an action. This type of ethical theory judges the rightness or wrongness of an action by analyzing the consequences of such an action. In fact it can be defined as a general normative theory that bases the moral evaluation of acts, rules, institutions, etc. solely on the goodness of their consequences, where the standard of goodness employed is a standard of non-moral goodness. (13) Utilitarianism is an example of a consequentialist ethical theory. In Utilitarianism, an action is considered ethically right if it results in the best consequences. Jeremy Bentham, an ancient philosopher and advocate of utilitarianism, defines a right action as that action is best that produces the greatest good for the greatest number (14).   However it is not always clear how a quantitative measurement of right or wrong due to an action can be defined. Also it is difficult to compare utilities as they are subject to individual interpretations. One can argue that harm done to a man and a tree should be treated equally as bad, while others argue that harm done to a human is more wrong than harming a tree. The utilitarian theory does not state that no wrong consequences can result from an action. It is only concerned with the greater good, so if a small minority of people suffers great harm while the vast majority enjoys a small benefit, the overall action is considered as ethically right. Apart from being concerned with the consequences from an action, Utilitarianism can also be applied to laws and rules. This type, called Rule Utilitarianism is concerned with the consequences from a rule. A rule is considered good if it satisfies the majority of the people. Applying this ethical theory to the concept of cyber-stalking and harassment over the Internet, we must decide if an action is morally right or wrong by analyzing the consequences it has on the respective shareholders. The amendment and enforcement of legislation against cyber-stalking is ethically right in a consequentialist view. It harms the minority that go against it, however the majority of the Internet society benefit from having a safer environment. The same argument can be applied to the already-mentioned ethical issue about whether ISPs should monitor the contents they host and act if a complaint is received. By controlling the content they host, ISPs would be punishing those who post malicious messages or information by banning them from posting for example. The greater good is ensured though, as the Internet society as well as the potential victims of such harassers would have a safer future experience on the Internet. Ethical Analysis: Duty Theory A duty ethical theory, or Deontology, is rather different from Consequentialism. In Deontology, an action is right if it satisfies a principle or moral rule, without any concern for the overall consequences. It is the acts that determine if something is ethically right or wrong, not the consequences as in Consequentialism. Morality is determined according to rationally recognizing ones duties towards others (15). Same as in Consequentialism, Deontology can also be branched into two types: a set of ethical theories concerning actions and another set concerning the rules (15). Both sets of ethical theories however state that the good comes from our own ability to carry out our moral obligations. Kantianism, or Kantian Ethics, is an example of a deontological ethical theory which falls under the deontological set of theories concerning rules. Kant states that for one to act morally right, he needs to act according to his duty, which must be good in itself. The motives of the action ultimately determine if an action is ethically right or wrong. In cyber-stalking, the stakeholders must act according to what their duty is. Taking the ISP ethical issue, the ISP must always seek to satisfy and protect his clients, providing that what they are posting on the Internet is morally correct. We discussed many cases where the stalker or harasser hides behind anonymity to attack the victim. It is the duty of the stalker to respect the victim over the Internet and act in a consistent way as he would when face-to-face with the victim. Failing to do so will result in unethical behavior according to Kantianism. All stakeholders must perform their duty to behave ethically correct. We shall take into example the already discussed case where a citizen makes use of a detective service operating in a third country to discover information about another person living in his country. Law makers and law enforcers in both countries should act ethically and perform their duty in protecting their citizens, by amending specific laws which protect a persons privacy even online. In this scenario, it would become illegal to obtain such information using this service, thus it will be the citizen requesting information who is behaving unethically. In the Amy Boyer case, the general public who read the websites set up by Liam Youens had the duty to inform the relevant authorities such as the ISP hosting the websites. According to the Kantianism view, the complaint by these users to the relevant authorities is the correct ethical action to perform. Conclusion Cyber-stalking and online harassment is a major issue that is ever increasing as more people make use of online facilities to disclose private information. Whether disclosing the data involuntary, by filling forms with sensitive data that ends up being shared with third-parties, or voluntary by posting it on personal profiles such as Facebook and MySpace, it is becoming increasingly likely and easier to stalk a person by obtaining all necessary personal information. Such stalking often has devastating effects on the victim. We discussed several cases where acts of stalking or defamation over the Internet ended up with the victim committing suicide. In most cases, this would be because of the public humiliation suffered by the victim when the harasser and similarly-minded people behave unethically over the Internet. We showed that such people feel more unconstrained when attacking from a safe and anonymous environment than when facing the victim in the physical world. Legislations need to be devised to minimize such cases as much as possible. Locally, the Data Protection Act is one such legal document that protects sensitive data of the citizens. The problem however lies with inconsistencies between various jurisdictions in accepting and implementing such legislations. Only when a set of unambiguous and consistent rules is devised can all the relevant stakeholders in such cyber-stalking issues know what the right course of action to behave ethically is. To help us in our moral and ethical judgment and how we should act in cyber-stalking issues, we discussed and contrasted the two major theories of ethics of conduct: Consequentialism and Deontology. While Consequentialism states that the right action is the one that produces the most intrinsic good for the majority of the stakeholders, Deontology states that the right action is to perform ones duty in the circumstances. For both ethical theories, we focused on Utilitarianism and Kantianism respectively as a practical example. For each, we evaluated how the stakeholders should act when faced with the ethical issues and cases that were discussed.

The Pursuit of Genetic Engineering Essay -- Genetics Science Technolog

The Pursuit of Genetic Engineering Imagine a world where diabetes is effectively treated, where cancer has a cure, and where food is altered for higher quality and increased production. This â€Å"fantasy† world is on the brink of becoming a reality due to advances in genetic engineering and cloning. These medical innovations have the potential to revolutionize our lives in numerous ways. However, the fear of controversy and the fear of the â€Å"new† could hinder and possibly halt any progress that we are capable of making. There are concerns that society should carefully consider. It is important, though, to thoroughly research and examine a topic in order to understand why there should be no fear caused by cloning and genetic engineering one must know the factual processes behind them before a strong argument on behalf of their advancement can be formed. Cloning and genetic engineering are very controversial subjects; however, when used appropriately as a means to solve a problem or ease pain and suffering in a person, rather than to â€Å"play God† and take life into one’s own hand can be very beneficial. The pursuit of cloning and genetic engineering should be continued as they provide a means for improving health care and making major advancements in food production and waste disposal because when ethics come into play the facts show that the two are not actually processes in which ethical issues should arise. The terms â€Å"genetic engineering† and â€Å"cloning† are often used interchangeably but there are conceivable differences between the two that should be pointed out. Genetic engineering is the alteration of one’s DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, (Walker 1). It is defined as, â€Å"the use of manipulations of an individual’s genetic ma... ...r, Ronald. Beyond Cloning : Religion and the Remaking of Humanity. Harrisburg: Trinity Press International, 2001. â€Å"First Cloned Human Embryos Created.† 27 Nov. 2001. On-line. Internet. 10 Feb 2003. www.newscientist.com/hottopics/cloning/ â€Å"Human Cloning: The Process.† 8 April 1998. On-line. Internet. 10 Feb 2003. http://www.cs.virginia.edu/~jones/tmp352/projects98/group1/how.html. Ridley, Mark. The Cooperative Gene. New York: The Free Press, 2001. â€Å"Should Cloning Be Banned?† 25 Nov. 2001. On-line. Internet. 16 Feb 2003. http://reason.com/biclone.shtml Thompson, Larry. Correcting the Code: Inventing the Genetic Cure for the Human Body. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994. Wilmut, Ian, Keith Campbell, and Colin Tudge. The Second Creation: Dolly and the Age of Biological Control. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2000. The Pursuit of Genetic Engineering Essay -- Genetics Science Technolog The Pursuit of Genetic Engineering Imagine a world where diabetes is effectively treated, where cancer has a cure, and where food is altered for higher quality and increased production. This â€Å"fantasy† world is on the brink of becoming a reality due to advances in genetic engineering and cloning. These medical innovations have the potential to revolutionize our lives in numerous ways. However, the fear of controversy and the fear of the â€Å"new† could hinder and possibly halt any progress that we are capable of making. There are concerns that society should carefully consider. It is important, though, to thoroughly research and examine a topic in order to understand why there should be no fear caused by cloning and genetic engineering one must know the factual processes behind them before a strong argument on behalf of their advancement can be formed. Cloning and genetic engineering are very controversial subjects; however, when used appropriately as a means to solve a problem or ease pain and suffering in a person, rather than to â€Å"play God† and take life into one’s own hand can be very beneficial. The pursuit of cloning and genetic engineering should be continued as they provide a means for improving health care and making major advancements in food production and waste disposal because when ethics come into play the facts show that the two are not actually processes in which ethical issues should arise. The terms â€Å"genetic engineering† and â€Å"cloning† are often used interchangeably but there are conceivable differences between the two that should be pointed out. Genetic engineering is the alteration of one’s DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, (Walker 1). It is defined as, â€Å"the use of manipulations of an individual’s genetic ma... ...r, Ronald. Beyond Cloning : Religion and the Remaking of Humanity. Harrisburg: Trinity Press International, 2001. â€Å"First Cloned Human Embryos Created.† 27 Nov. 2001. On-line. Internet. 10 Feb 2003. www.newscientist.com/hottopics/cloning/ â€Å"Human Cloning: The Process.† 8 April 1998. On-line. Internet. 10 Feb 2003. http://www.cs.virginia.edu/~jones/tmp352/projects98/group1/how.html. Ridley, Mark. The Cooperative Gene. New York: The Free Press, 2001. â€Å"Should Cloning Be Banned?† 25 Nov. 2001. On-line. Internet. 16 Feb 2003. http://reason.com/biclone.shtml Thompson, Larry. Correcting the Code: Inventing the Genetic Cure for the Human Body. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994. Wilmut, Ian, Keith Campbell, and Colin Tudge. The Second Creation: Dolly and the Age of Biological Control. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2000.

Light and Darkness in James Baldwins Sonnys Blues :: Sonnys Blues Essays

Light and Darkness in James Baldwin's Sonny's Blues In James Baldwin's "Sonny's Blues" the symbolic motif of light and darkness illustrates the painful nature of reality the two characters face as well as the power gained through it. The darkness represents the actuality of life on the streets of the community of Harlem, where there is little escape from the reality of drugs and crime. The persistent nature of the streets lures adolescents to use drugs as a means of escaping the darkness of their lives. The main character, Sonny, a struggling jazz musician, finds himself addicted to heroin as a way of unleashing the creativity and artistic ability that lies within him. While using music as a way of creating a sort of structure in his life, Sonny attempts to step into the light, a life without drugs. The contrasting images of light and darkness, which serve as truth and reality, are used to depict the struggle between Sonny and the narrator in James Baldwin's "Sonny's Blues." The opening paragraph of the story contains a metaphorical passage: "I stared at it in the swinging light of the subway car, and in the faces and bodies of the people, and in my own face, trapped in the darkness which roared outside"(349). This reference is significant because it is a contrast to the dismal society that the narrator and his brother Sonny live in. The darkness is the portrayal of the community of Harlem that is trapped, in their surroundings by physical, economic, and social barriers. The obvious nature of darkness has overcome the occupants of the Harlem community. The narrator, an algebra teacher, observes a depressing similarity between his students and his brother, Sonny. This is true because the narrator is fearful for his students falling into a life of crime and drugs, as did his brother. The narrator notes that the cruel realities of the streets have taken away the possible light from the lives of his brother and his students. The narrator makes an insigh tful connection between the darkness that Sonny faced and the darkness that the young boys are presently facing. This is illustrated in the following quote: "These boys, now, were living as we'd been living then, they were growing up with a rush and their heads bumped abruptly against the low ceiling of their actual possibilities. Light and Darkness in James Baldwin's Sonny's Blues :: Sonny's Blues Essays Light and Darkness in James Baldwin's Sonny's Blues In James Baldwin's "Sonny's Blues" the symbolic motif of light and darkness illustrates the painful nature of reality the two characters face as well as the power gained through it. The darkness represents the actuality of life on the streets of the community of Harlem, where there is little escape from the reality of drugs and crime. The persistent nature of the streets lures adolescents to use drugs as a means of escaping the darkness of their lives. The main character, Sonny, a struggling jazz musician, finds himself addicted to heroin as a way of unleashing the creativity and artistic ability that lies within him. While using music as a way of creating a sort of structure in his life, Sonny attempts to step into the light, a life without drugs. The contrasting images of light and darkness, which serve as truth and reality, are used to depict the struggle between Sonny and the narrator in James Baldwin's "Sonny's Blues." The opening paragraph of the story contains a metaphorical passage: "I stared at it in the swinging light of the subway car, and in the faces and bodies of the people, and in my own face, trapped in the darkness which roared outside"(349). This reference is significant because it is a contrast to the dismal society that the narrator and his brother Sonny live in. The darkness is the portrayal of the community of Harlem that is trapped, in their surroundings by physical, economic, and social barriers. The obvious nature of darkness has overcome the occupants of the Harlem community. The narrator, an algebra teacher, observes a depressing similarity between his students and his brother, Sonny. This is true because the narrator is fearful for his students falling into a life of crime and drugs, as did his brother. The narrator notes that the cruel realities of the streets have taken away the possible light from the lives of his brother and his students. The narrator makes an insigh tful connection between the darkness that Sonny faced and the darkness that the young boys are presently facing. This is illustrated in the following quote: "These boys, now, were living as we'd been living then, they were growing up with a rush and their heads bumped abruptly against the low ceiling of their actual possibilities.

Explication From Hamlet :: essays research papers

Assignment 1: Explication from Hamlet (1.3.111-137) (â€Å"My lord, he hath importuned me with love† †¦ [end of scene]. Ophelia and Polonius have a father-daughter discussion toward the end of Act 1 where Polonius, concerned father that he is, warns his daughter Ophelia of becoming too involved with Hamlet. This warning comes just as Laertes, brother and son, has bid farewell. Laertes has just warned Ophelia himself of getting involved with Hamlet—this is the first time the audience is alerted to the romance. What have we seen of Hamlet so far? He is deeply grieving his father’s death; he resents the rapid marriage of his uncle and mother bitterly; and he has been told of the ghost of his father. The plot is building faster than Claudius could say, â€Å"I do!† in these first few scenes, and I would imagine the first audience of Shakespeare’s play would have been absolutely gripped to see what it all will come to. Hamlet so far has been portrayed as passionate and earnest, but not necessarily mad. When he says to his mother, â€Å"Seems, Madam? I know not seems†¦Ã¢â‚¬  we are given the impression of a man who is who he is, without pretence or acting. We know little of Polonius so far except that he is a well meaning, good-natured, and for all appearances honourable servant of the king. This scene casts the first shadow of doubt upon Hamlet’s character. It is curious that Shakespeare warns Ophelia twice: once through Laertes, and once through Polonius. Reading Laertes’ speech we can see the perspective of an understanding, though cynical young man. He essentially says, â€Å"Be careful of Hamlet because he’s young and his passions are burning. When the passions die down he’ll realise his desire for you can’t be fulfilled by marriage because of political constraints, and you’ll be left behind, scandalised.† Both Laertes and Polonius recognise that Hamlet, being young and foolish, is also not subject to the same consequences of reckless behaviour as Ophelia: â€Å"with a larger tether may he walk.† But there are two main differences in what Polonius says and doesn’t saw: his warning lacks the political slant, and he attacks Hamlet’s integrity. Ophelia’s first protest to Polonius was that Hamlet had made his affections known to her â€Å"with love in honourable fashion,† and it is this statement that evoked Polonius’ response: â€Å"Ay, springes to catch woodcocks!† A springe is a type of trap or snare.

Assignment Unit

Some of the things you can buy through e-commerce are physical goods such as clothing, digital goods such as video r photograph, services such as access to paid web content, entertainment such as buying concert tickets, and holidays and hotels can be booked entirely online. Some commerce is entirely electronic from start to finish such as video tracks, however other things through commerce such as clothing begins with an electronic system but then ends with the physical item In the customers hand.Hardware and Software: Around The Clock will need several hardware and software equipment In order to set up their e-commerce system, these Include the following: Web Server: A web server Is something which supplies a web page. Any type of computer can become a web server, firstly you would have to install server software and then connect the machine to the internet.Once this is complete you can type in any URL to the web browser and it doesn't matter where in the world the web page is locat ed you will still be able to access it because you have a web server and the page is on the web, this is why Around the Clock will need a web server so that they can get a wider range of customers, and therefore more profits. A URL is a formatted sting of text used by web browsers, emails and other software to Identify an internet web age, other text documents, graphics or programs. Browsers: A browser Is a piece of software on the Internet that Is used for retrieving Information resources.The Information that Is Identified by a URL can be anything such as a web page, Image, video, or other piece of content on the Internet. A user can put in a web address such as www. Aeronautically. Co. UK into the browser to easily access the web page they are looking for. Although browsers are usually used on the internet to access any web pages they can also be used to access information y web servers in private networks; so this is a possibility for Around The Clock and could be useful for thei r growing company.Server software: Server software is software that allows web developers to add more web pages to their websites with ease; without the software it would be difficult to try and add another web page to a website already made. The software works through a process called FTP (file transfer protocol) this process uploads web pages directly onto a website without any hassle. Web authoring tools: Web authoring tools Is a type of software that allows the user to change a web site In a desktop publishing format.If a company where to Install this software then they will then be able to change their web page whenever they want to. The software will user designs. E-commerce Networking Ports: Ports connect protocols and IP addresses together. Each computer has several ports for data to pass through, they are virtual so they cannot be seen. Each port has a number to identify it and it can be opened or closed. There are some default ports such as port 35 is usually for email and port 80 is usual for the internet, although these can be changed.For a web server, it Is good practice to close all ports that are not being used otherwise hackers can take advantage of open ports to get into the system. A port is identified for each address and protocol by a 16-bit number, commonly known as the port number. The port number, added to a computer's IP address, completes the destination address for a communications session. TCP/IP Addresses: You need TCP/IP to connect to the Internet. You install TCP/IP to use with the dial To make sure the data reaches the right location on a network, each computer is given a unique number called an IP address.It is a set of four numbers each from O to 255, for example 145. 2. 78. 255 would be an IP address a specific computer on a network. When you connect to the internet using TCP/IP it provides you with all the internet features such as email, web browsers and file transfer. You can also use the various different programs TCP/IP i ncludes to access information on the internet. Protocols: A protocol is an agreed way of networking also known as ‘hand shake'. If computers don't use the same protocol it becomes impossible for them to understand the data reanimated between them.

GAAS, GAGAS and PCAOB Auditing Standards

Audit standards are set codes of conduct for auditors when auditing financial statements or other financial issues of a company. There is also a relation to performance audit and certain attestation engagements.The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) established all Generally Accepted Auditing Standards (GAAS). GAAS, in turn, formed the basis for other standards like the Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS) and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). This paper seeks to define those three standards, while clarifying the similarities and differences between them.All the three standards have some underlying similarities. They all address the basic audit issues like transparency, accuracy, reliability etc of financial statements.They all also spell out standards for audit field work and performances, simultaneously spelling out, on a dynamic base, the education and qualifications required of the audit and audit assistants. All th e three standards ultimately target the protection of the firm and its assets or finances. They minimize operational risks. And though driven by different objects, GAGAS and PCAOB are based on the AICPA’s GAAS.The different objectives of the three auditing standards results in a difference in their content, approach, criteria and specifications. Nowadays, the GAAS primarily deals with audits of non-issuer public companies. PCAOB, on the other hand, addresses the concerns of auditors auditing issuer and certified public companies.Its hold in matters of issuer companies, as controlled by the American Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is paramount. GAGAS, as set by the Government Accountability Office, applies to government organizations or organizations availing government assistance, setting auditing standards for their functions, activities, programs and so on.[1]IntroductionThe external audits of governmental and non-governmental entities may be broadly classified int o Financial Audits, Performance Audits and Attestation Engagements. Auditing Standards have some General Standards, as well as Field Work Standards and Reporting (GAO, July 2007).The Generally Accepted Audit Standards (GAAS) are issued as Statements on Audit Standards (SAS)[2]. This is done by the Audit Standards Board or ASB which has been set up by the AICPA. These standards relate principally to the audit processes and procedures which are to be adopted by the public companies not issuing shares. [3]The General Accepted Auditing Standards are sets of systematic guidelines used when conducting audits on company finances, to ensure accuracy, consistency and verifiability of auditor’s action and reports.However, for auditing government bodies, the US Government Accounting Office sets separate rules and standards, outlined by the GAGAS. These include auditing of their activities and programs, as well as all their functions.The objective is to ensure proper use of funded assist ance availed from government bodies or agencies. (GAO, Jul 2008). Companies that issue shares and that are registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission were placed under the standards of the PCAOB[4].As per the provisions of GAGAS, their reference incorporates GAAS, unless the Government Accounting Office specifically excludes them through a formal announcement. Sometimes, depending on the audit requirements and the organization being audited, GAGAS may be used together with PCAOB.Basic Objectives and Premises behind all Audit Standards:The similarities amongst all the auditing standards may be drawn from their basic premises and government policies driving them. For example, all auditing standards serve as a regulatory tool, prescribing the process to be followed by auditors, and determining what is to be scrutinized in the financial statements, internal control processes and management performances.Audits done on an organization’s financial statements express an o pinion on the fairness with which the statements represent the status and changes in the financial position, operational results and cash flows.Universally, audits need to be performed by a person or persons who has/have adequate technical training and proficiency as an auditor. The auditors need to maintain their independence so that their assessment and opinions reflect an impartial and objective view of the issues involved. They are also expected to exercise due professional care in planning and conducting the audit report [5].The auditor must have sufficient knowledge of internal control processes so as to enable him to plan properly and arrive at the nature, extent and timing of tests to be performed for ensuring a proper audit. While in the field, the work needs to be adequately planned and properly supervised.The competency and sufficiency of evidence reviewed needs to be assured so that the auditor and others can form a proper opinion on the financial matters in the organiza tion, which is subjected to the audit.All performance audits have similar standards. The auditors must prepare written audit reports communicating the audit results[6].   The audit reports should be prepared and made available so as to ensure timely use by management legislative and other interested parties.The auditors must report the scope, objectives and methodology of audits. They must report any significant findings of audits and in the applicable cases, also the auditor’s conclusions.They should report recommendations for action. This is to correct problem areas and ensure operational improvement. They must state what auditing standard was used in the reporting. All cases of significant non compliance or abuse must be reported, found during or related to the audit. In some cases, this reporting has to be done to outside parties.Appropriate inspection and observation must be conducted to gather competent and factual evidence so that a reasonable opinion on the financia l state of affairs of the organization under audit may be formed.Audit work must be properly planned & materiality considered for arriving at considered opinions based on competent evidence by selecting appropriate nature, timing & extent of tests. Audits must be designed so that material frauds may be detected reasonably well.[7] It is notable that frauds are intentional misstatements.Material misstatements may result from direct & material illegal acts and this is to be considered in audit design so as to ensure the reasonable detection of such misstatements through the audit process.[8]   The auditor must detect any indirect illegal acts that may indirectly affect correctness of financial statements by applying audit procedures[9] (GAO, Jul 2007).Every audit strives to maintain accountability and transparency within any organizational policy, whether for governmental or non-governmental organizations. To this end, public resources within an organization must be efficiently, eth ically, effectively, equitably and economically utilized.Where this is not the case, audits prescribe the remedial steps to be taken in a time-bound manner by the organization’s management and other concerned parties. All assessments by the auditors must be objective, concise, independent and factual, as related to an organization’s financial or management performance. The auditor therefore needs to be independent and impartial. All this adds up to a case for complete professionalism and quality of audit processes.