Public Relations Research Essay Example for Free

Public Relations Research Essay Education is a 501(C) 3 nonprofit corporation that exists to serve the shared interests of public agencies, businesses, teachers, community organization, and individuals disturbing or using environmental education (EE) materials and programs. It is a neutral and objective source of information related to EE in Colorado and a voice for EE’s important role in the balance between societal needs and environmental quality. As a statewide member organization, CAEE has over 850 members from across Colorado including teachers, students, information educators, public agency employers, and retirees. CAEE is a national leader in innovative, state-of-the-art approaches to statewide capacity building for EE resources. More than 500 organizations, engaging thousands of staff and volunteers, are providing EE programs and services. The organization faces two problems: 1) image awareness and 2) funding. The organization faces a lack of image awareness for the following reasons: 1) with the large number of diverse organizations and flexible staff and volunteer participants it is difficult to create a unified brand image; and 2) with a staff of from 2 to 4 members as the only consistent representatives for CAEE, their image tends to define CAEE. Therefore, the organization needs to create and communicate a consistent message for CAEE to enhance its image and increase members and partners with their one of their primary target audiences-K-12 educators. The CAEE has the following image/brand elements, but it needs a wider public and media exposure to generate image awareness. Current Brand Images: †¢ CAEE Logo, which is used on all advertisements and promotions †¢ CAEE is prominently displayed on its website and all e-mail addresses †¢ CAEE has a Facebook page CAEE’s positioning is weak, since many EE providers that are members of CAEE are often very involved, however, there is a major EE provider sector that is unaware of the benefits of CAEE’s services. In addition to the EE community, CAEE has not been effective in reaching those outside the EE community such as funders and legislators. The CAEE’s second problem is funding, since it continually struggles with a precarious financial situation. The major source of CAEE’s funding comes primarily from grants and corporate sponsorships. Therefore with a down turn in the economy CAEE’s funding. There are two cases that relate to the CAEE’s problems of image awareness and consistent corporate funding. They are both Cause Branding cases from Cone, Inc. I selected these case studies from Cone, Inc. , because it is a pioneer and leader in Cause Branding. They utilized extensive research, analysis, and strategy development. In 2010, Cone, Inc. conducted a Cause Evolution Study. In the study, they found that despite the downtown in the economy over the previous two years, nearly 64% of American companies responded well to the social and environmental issues that emerged during the recession. The following is an overview of their research findings: 83% of Americans wish more products, services, and retailers they use would support causes. 88% of consumers have a more positive image of a product or company when it supports a cause they care about. 90% of consumers want companies to tell them the ways they are supporting causes. With respect to Cause Branding in specific industries, the study found that consumers are looking beyond the usual candidates, the ones the find on stores shelves to those with recognized environmental footprints such as the following industries.

Key features of Spies in the opening chapter Essay Example for Free

Key features of Spies in the opening chapter Essay The key features of Spies are introduced and highlighted by the use of different narrative techniques which occur throughout the novel. One of the most important features in the novel is mystery; this is created largely due to the fact that Stephen is not a reliable narrator. His uncertainty means that we are not told the truth at times. This very aspect portrays Spies as a modern novel. By creating ambiguity there is no certainty or clarity in the plot, despite the narrator having lived through the story. This enables Frayn to comment on perception, an important theme in the novel. Childhood is also a vital aspect in this novel as it helps readers discover Stephens past and acknowledge the way in which he has grown up. It also assists readers in drawing differences between Stephen as a youth and an old man narrator; furthermore it helps Frayn to comment on identity which is another key feature. Relationships are also significant as they are either made or broken in Spies. Moreover the structure of the novel in itself is fundamental and acts as a key feature, largely because it creates suspense and helps introduce the key features. The opening chapter is written in two different tenses; the present in which we establish the effect the smell of a plant has on the narrator who is an old man, the past tense in which memories are introduced by the old man narrator and again the present tense as the old man narrator travels back in time and recounts some of those memories. Mystery is something which cannot be explained or understood, and often leaves the reader confused. This is instantly accomplished in the very first sentence of the opening chapter: The third week of June, and there it is again: the same almost embarrassingly familiar breath of sweetness We are introduced to the novel in the present tense which draws the reader in and acquaints them with the same knowledge as the narrator. June helps establish a time. Moreover it is an unknown factor which is introduced with the third person pronoun that helps create intrigue by giving it an importance. again: suggests that the narrator has formally been acquainted with this unknown factor but is withholding this information from the reader. The use of a colon in the quotation allows readers a moment to pause and so the pace gathers suspense. It also acts as a qualifier as after the colon the it is disclosed, almost embarrassingly familiar breath of sweetness We are left to question why a familiar breath of sweetness is embarrassing. Frayn reveals that a smell is the subject of the sentence, but in doing so he creates further intrigue. This however is subsequently revealed to be the smell of privet. The privet is a shrub and it is the smell of this shrub which conjures embarrassing memories. This is explored in Chapter Five of the novel when we come across Stephen and Keiths mother in the privet: Im too embarrassed to watch her You cant look at her face Theres nowhere left expect the bit in between and that part of a lady, as Ive known for at least a year now, is her bosom This creates humour; something which is consistent throughout Spies as Frayn describes Stephans naivety as a child. It also solves the root of Stephens embarrassment. Mysteries continue to be featured in the opening chapter as a key feature which is subsequently developed in the novel. for a moment Im a child again and everythings before me all the frightening, half-understood promise of life. In this quotation we witness a time shift from the present to the past in which the first person narrator is an adult reflecting upon his childhood. The key words used within this quotation are: frightening, half-understood, and promise of life. These words conjure a sense of negativity and leave the reader questioning why the smell is frightening and half understood. The word frightening introduces us to suspense, and leaves us to question the uncertainty of this intriguing smell. Furthermore, frightening, half-understood promise of life, illustrates that the narrators upbringing was distorted, as a childs future, the promise of life is a positive reference, but Stephens recollection of his has negative connotations. This is reflected in Chapter 9 where Stephen is faced by Mr Hayward. I follow him across the street to the Haywards house, holding the basket with both hands, sick with apprehension. This quotation reinforces the fear felt by Stephen as a child. Sick suggests that Stephen is distressed. In addition apprehension illustrates the fact that Stephen is in fear and extremely terrified of Mr Haywards actions. The second paragraph of the opening Chapter continues in the present tense to allow us as readers to learn more about the intriguing smell. It draws the readers awareness to every detail and makes us want to read on. It must come from the gardens. Which one? I can never trace it. Frayns use of a question and the short sentence reflects the old man narrators confusion. I can never trace it, confirms the uncertainty and mystery over the smell as well as reflecting the narrators state of mind of confusion and agitation. Frayn develops this theme of confusion and perception, throughout Spies. In Chapter Five Stephen does not know the meaning of x. What is the value of x, I struggle to calculate, over and over again through the long confusions of the night Here it is evident that Frayn is withholding information which intrigues the readers. The value of x is unclear this leaves it open to interpretation as x highlights mystery. To the readers x can emphasize numerous factors. This may include birthdays, anniversaries, bank associated dates and so forth. Returning to the second paragraph of the novel Frayn writes, Its not like the heartbreaking tender sweetness of the lime blossom The use of an oxymoron reinforces the old man narrators confusion as he tries to identify the source of the smell. This creates mystery and suspense. One critical evaluation of this is argued by Max Watman, in which he states, If we are not to benefit from the older mans perspective until the last dozen or so pages, why introduce him at the start? Max Watman, The New Criterion, (May 2002) I strongly disagree as without two narrative voices the difference between appearance and reality cannot be achieved. This creates mystery which ties in with the fact that Frayn often withholds information until the next paragraph or chapter to create anticipation. The old man narrator continues with, What is it, that terrible, disturbing presence in the summer air? The words, terrible and disturbing create an ominous tone. The narrator is giving it a physical representation by referring to it as a negative presence; this gives it a nightmarish quality; something which haunts the narrator and which will inevitably haunt us. This reinforces the sense of mystery. The smell continuous to be described with negative imagery, Theres nothing clean about the reek The word reek suggests an unpleasant, powerful smell and creates a negative tone. Insinuating itself so slyly, Suggests that the smell is somewhat sneaky and creeps upon him unexpectedly. Its evident that the smell is frustrating him; furthermore the word insinuating suggests that it is reminding the old man narrator of unpleasant memories. The smell acts as a catalyst and prompts Stephen to remember Keiths mother, Shes sitting in the dust in front of me, weeping seeping unnoticed into the deepest recesses of my memory, to stay with me for the rest of my life, is that sweet and luring reek. The use of assonance among, seeping, deepest, weeping portrays to us the lingering painful memories. The memory off the past is finished of negatively with the repetition of reek. The hard k sound at the end makes it sound harsh. Childhood plays another key feature in the novel seen in the opening chapter where Frayn uses another oxymoron to present the contradiction of a, Far-off nearby land. One interpretation of this is that the narrator is physically distant from his home but nevertheless, it is nearby in his memories again this reflects the narrators confusion and agitation concerning the smell, as it reminds him of his childhood. You cant go back, everyone knows that So Im never going then Im getting old. Frayn gradually reveals information concerning the narrators persona; here we can establish that the narrator is an old man who should have a better understanding of his past then appears to be the case. The use of ellipses: everyone knows that portrays that the narrator is hesitant about what he is going to do. Childish hesitation, in contrast, is to be expected as part of the process of growing up, Keith? I query, trying not to sound as frightened as I am. What are you doing? Where are you? I climb reluctantly back through the hole in the fence. Reluctantly shows that Stephen is unwilling and not keen to climb back through the fence. This proves his hesitation and dependency on Keith and the fact that he doesnt want to pursue anything without him because he doesnt have the confidence to do so. The fact that the old man narrator seems to be equally hesitant creates suspense as the reader wonders what terrible events must have occurred in his childhood. Then the laughters gone I dont know what to do or what to say. Here again we witness the dilemma faced by the narrator as a child and his inability to deal with the complications set before him. By introducing the key feature of childhood in the opening chapter, we are able to witness how Stephen grows up as portrayed in Chapter Eight: Do I feel alright? I have a sense of freedom, as if Im no longer bound by the rules and restrictions of childhood. This shows Stephen growing up and slowly moving away from depending on Keith. As part of growing up, comes the awakening sense of romance and sexuality: Its name breathes itself through the perfumed air as slowly and softly as a sigh: L a m o r n a The use of personification within this quotation of Chapter Eight helps portray the idea that L a m o r n a is alive by giving it a long vowel sound as though it is breathing; a type of human quality. This ultimately shows Stephens increased awareness of his senses which suggests his sexuality and him growing up. Identity in Spies is another key feature and ties in significantly with childhood. Firstly the identification of the smell is vitally significant. The fact that the narrators daughter identifies it as Liguster, which is the German name for the shrub, reveals more about the narrators identity: Liguster No. And yet, as another wave of that shameless summons drifts over us, everything inside me stirs and sifts. The personification within this quotation illustrates a persistent sense demanding Stephens attention. Liguster The use of ellipsis shows the control that the smell has over him; it stays with him and has settled on his conscience, Liguster And yet its whispering to me of some thing secret, of some dark and unsettling thing at the back of my mind, of something I dont quite like to think about This portrays the smell as devious. Liguster is a catalyst within Stephens memories; it is the Liguster that makes him remember his childhood. The words dark and unsettling, are both very negative. They suggest the unknown and ooze a lack of understanding where Frayn is deliberately trying to block out this secret. Furthermore it leaves readers to question why Liguster is dark and unsettling. We wonder what awful event or events must have occurred. In addition, the quotation: whispering to me is personification which reminds us of something surreptitious that is devious and cunning and suddenly creeps up on him. This can be linked to the key theme of perception, which is the difference between appearance and reality allowing insight on a matter. There was a German spy in the Close that summer. It wasnt his mother it was me. This quotation creates irony as throughout Spies, Stephen related German people to germs, as in Chapter Ten: Hes an old tramp, filthy and bearded. And hes a German! His Germanness lingers in the air This reinforces his childhood and the immaturity attached to it; whereas the quotation within Chapter Eleven reveals the real identity of the old man narrator: this old man is Stefan Weitzler.

The Increasing Popularity Of Internet Marketing Essay

The Increasing Popularity Of Internet Marketing Essay With the increasing popularity of internet, we see that online shopping is penetrating in the lives of people. It is so, because of the wide distribution and rapid progress of computer use and internet, it has offers consumers not only access to an endless amount of information but also an opportunity of making purchase at home. However, due to this change, online shopping has been regarded as very popular for consumers and it has become an accepted way of purchasing different types of goods and products. Online shopping also known as internet shopping, e- shopping, e- commerce, and online purchasing is viewed as a process where consumers buy directly from a seller without any intermediary throughout the net. Thus, in a more general sense, consumers can stay at their own leisure or at their own comfort of their house and browse through the internet to buy goods or products according to their desires or specifications anywhere in the world. Moreover, changes in the lifestyles are pushing consumers to go for online shopping. Instead of spending times and doing shopping activities in a retail stores, consumers are finding it easier and pleasant to shop online at any time or during festival season. People are now buying many types of goods and services as well, on the internet. Thus, according to a survey it has been found that due to the growing trend of online shopping, many companies are finding it advantageous to join the bandwagon and offers their consumers to shop online, otherwise they could have incurred losses if only they would concentrated on retail store. Further to that, in this new age, technology is actually the main motive that is in terms of e-commerce which has become an integral part for most youngsters. Nowadays, it is very common especially for youngsters to go online and buy their desires needs and wants. Moreover, in todayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s time, there are apps (short for application) i.e. software that you buy from your preferred online store, which has different functions that has makes life more easier or simply for entertainment and which has mostly attract the youngsters due to its various purpose that is; gaming, variety of news and information, social networking, sports news, weather forecasting and amongst others. Thus, with all these facilities, people are benefitting enormously. At the present time where people have smartphones, IPhone, android and amongst others they are always connected with Internet and at any point in time they can buy anything that they want. When you log onto your iPhone or android phone, y ou get updates about new games and new apps. Some free, some try and buy. With this temptation, no one actually can resist and 95% eventually end up buying something. Although, we see that some companies are also making online shopping easier and more interesting by giving some facilities such as to try and then buy. Thus, through this, people are finding it relatively easier and are adopting it. However, due to this new trend, we see that the behavior of consumers are changing as well as their attitudes, that is by having all this facilities, they are engaging more upon that. Hence, this study will try to investigate the internet usage pattern and also the attitude of internet users toward online shopping. It will also examine to which extent are the consumers being influenced toward online shopping and also the benefit and drawbacks associated to it. Further to that, this research will also attempt to provide a holistic view of those shoppers and online shoppers. Their demographics, psychographics, shopping experience and level of satisfaction and dissatisfaction with online shopping will also be analyzed in details. 1.1 Motivation My motivation in conducting this study is simply because nowadays, with the rapid change in the technological advances, it has revolutionaries the way people do their shopping. In this era, online shopping has created a unique stand and thus become very popular for everyone whether youngsters or adults. Everyone keeps an interest to that. Moreover, internet has been introduced in Mauritius since 1996 and the number of people connecting to internet is constantly increasing. Thus, undoubtedly online shopping is a new feature that has been recently created. Definitely, online shopping has a double side coin which consists of some benefit and drawbacks as well. Since it is a relatively new occurrence, this has encouraged me more on doing this typical survey. In addition to that, products such as laptop, camera, mobile phone, all the technological gadgets, cloths, shoes and amongst others are the main stuff for the online shoppers. There are a number of websites such as amazon, e-bay and many others that provide consumers a wide choice of products so that they can make their purchase. Nevertheless, these websites also provides guarantee to their product, thus as a result it gives assurance to their consumers. Through its risky yet people like to do online shopping. Further to that, it is believe that nowadays, online shopping has become a lifestyle as everyone finds it more interesting and they are making online shopping some part of their life. Thus, I was motivated to do this survey as it is something new and people are finding adaptable and interesting. 1.2 Background Due to the invention of computer use and internet, it has created a paradigm shift of the traditional way people shop. People used to go to market, retails stores to purchase the products but nowadays, we see that consumers is no longer bounded by any opening or closing hours nor by any specific location. Meaning that at any time and place, he can purchase products and services as well. Hence, indeed internet has become a medium for communication and information exchange which has become very essential and present in everyday life. Long ago, people used to go to market, retails stores to find and make a purchase of the products they required. Normally, they had to travel to go to these shops. Before buying a particular product goods, they would choose their products very carefully and once they were sure about the products, they would buy it. Thus, these were the traditional shopping method but nowadays, it is not the only shopping method that exists. The rapid growth of internet has brought another way of making purchase that is online. Customers search on the internet for products according to their specific needs. Today, internet is considered as a mass medium as it provides consumers with purchase characteristics that is in term of convenience. It provides consumers the ability to view and purchase product at any time and also to visualize their needs of the products. In addition to that, there are already a number of websites created for selling products such as amazon, eBay and amongst others. In this environment of customer choice, people have the ability to search for a range of products on the internet and that too with a variety of better choices and experienced as compared with traditional retail stores. They have also given the opportunity to the same people to sell their items online. In the study of Oppenheim and ward (2006), he explained that earlier people use to shop on the internet because of the price but now it has been converted into convenience. Thus the current primary reason for people to shop online is just because of convenience. Hence, online shopping is just a process where consumers decide to shop on the internet. Moreover, many previous papers have analyzed this concept of online shopping in respect of consumerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s attitudes and behavior for example, Hunt (2007) has discuses about the various methods of online shopping and Wolfinger has studied the situation involves in online shopping and many others . In present times, it has become more easier, it is so as people who have IPhone, Android, Smartphone or tablets can easily have access to internet easily and then whenever, they want to shop they can shop at anytime and anywhere. Due to the progression of technology, a software called apps have been created which give many facility in various ways. Thus, through all these, online shopping is becoming more accessible to all. We even see that in other countries, some companies are emphasing more in online shopping. They are giving option of trying before buying, thus this is a newly designed features that been created to attract more consumers. Thus to conclude, due to the improvement of technology, it has given more facilities to consumers to shop online and to experience new things. A as a result, internet has developed a highly competitive market, where competition over the consumers is fierce. Objectives of the project To gain an insight about the profile of current internet users. To examine the factors which encourage and discourage consumer from purchasing online. To identify the key factors which influence the Mauritian online shopping behavior. To investigate the level of consumerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s attitude toward online shopping. To determine how socio-demographic affect consumer attitude toward online shopping. Research questions; What are the factors that influence decisions on whether to purchase online or at physical store? What are the advantage and disadvantage of purchasing online or at the physical store? How do these factors influence the consumer to purchase online? What are the mode of payment and delivery of goods being done when purchasing online? What is the level of consumerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s attitude toward online shopping? What is the relative impact of socio demographic and attitude in online shopping and purchasing behavior? Layout of the project Chapter 2; literature review This chapter will presents a critical summary of all previous researches that has been done on attitude and behavior of people toward online shopping. It is divided into many sections which will be further elaborated. Chapter 3; research methodology It will describe the research process that has been used to carry out for this study. The research design and sampling plan will be further described. The sources of data both primary and secondary sources will be used and the questionnaire design will also be presented. Chapter 4; analysis and findings of the study Chapter 4 will deals with the analysis of data collected. This analysis has been in line with the objectives and therefore the finding will be extracted from this analysis and which will be presented in a way that would be easily understood. Chapter 5; recommendation and conclusion It will present the conclusion that has been drawn from the analysis of the research. Further scope for the research and some implication also will be discussed. Summary Since the rapid development of the internet, online shopping has become a new and widely used medium. Despite the fact it is relatively a new thing peoples especially youngsters always keeps an interest to that ant that also do not have any problem using this medium. Thus, I wanted to have a clear information about the current usage pattern on online shopping and also about the benefit and risk associated to online shopping. What actually I want in this research is understand the consumers and what influence them toward online shopping and also their attitude and behavior toward this new occurrence of technology. This is what I want to accomplish with this research.

Juvenile Delinquency :: essays research papers

BOOT CAMPS ARE A BAD ALTERNATIVE Boot Camps For Children are A Failure According To Substantial Media Research. Wilderness Therapy Treatment - A non-profit consumer protection information, health, safety, referral & education site. More Information: www.Wilderness-Therapy.Org E-mail: info@Wilderness-Therapy.Org Peter S. Canellos, Contributing Roporter, BOSTON GLOBE, April 30, 1989, PAGE: 29 SHERIFFS, LAWMAKERS EXPLORE ALTERNATIVES TO JAIL //acs-VT2000 At least one former supporter of boot camp has turned into a skeptic, however. Larry R. Meachum, who opened the first prisoner boot camp in the nation while serving as commissioner of corrections in Oklahoma, opposed such a proposal when it came up in Connecticut, where he now serves as corrections commissioner. Meachum, a one-time acting corrections commissioner in Massachusetts, cited three potential pitfalls in the program, said Connecticut corrections spokesman William Flower. - The"widening-net syndrome."Judges, seeing the boot camp as a positive alternative for jail inmates, will sentence to jail young delinquents who would otherwise be placed on probation, adding to the corrections population rather than reducing it. - Limited effectiveness."That 'scared straight' philosophy doesn't work for everyone,"Flower said."Some of the street toughs like it. They like the violence of it." - Brutality."It can lead to training instructors going into excess,"Flower said. Instructors have a hard time taming the street kids, he said, and respond, as in the military, by demanding more and more physical exercise. "He started the first one in the country in Oklahoma,"Flower said of Meachum."What he discovered is the support systems for the program have to be in place before you do a boot camp. It's not the simple solution that it appears to be. It's not the panacea that people think it is." AMERICA'S FOREMOST EXPERT ON BOOT CAMPS SAYS THEY DO NOT REDUCE RECIDIVISM -- THEY FAIL GARY MARX, Chicago Tribune, Oct. 12, 1994, From: NewsHound@sjmercury.com HARD TIME: BOOT CAMPS FORCE OFFENDERS TO SHAPE UP? \ acs-VT2000 ''The simplistic view that military and physical training will work (in reducing recidivism) is wrong,"says Doris MacKenzie, a University of Maryland criminologist who is the nation's foremost expert on boot camps. ''Many boot camps Use punishment for punishment's sake. They try to make it look tough for the public, but they are not doing what really works." BOOT CAMPS ARE NOT WORKING GARY MARX, Chicago Tribune, Oct. 12, 1994, From: NewsHound@sjmercury.com HARD TIME: BOOT CAMPS FORCE OFFENDERS TO SHAPE UP? \ acs-VT2000 There's only one problem: boot camps aren't working, or at least not as well as politicians and other proponents said they would.

The Massachusetts Technology Sector Essay -- Journalism Journalistic E

The Massachusetts Technology Sector After working for more than five years as a software engineer at a Massachusetts-based digital-video editing company, Dave Lanzar decided it was time to take a chance and join the ranks of a start-up streaming media company that had yet to go public. â€Å"The future was rosy and we were all going to get rich,† Lanzar said. But that future never materialized, and the company that was supposed to make Lanzar rich no longer exists. He was laid off in August 2001, one month before the terrorist attacks on Sept.11, 2001 accelerated an already progressing downturn in the job market that hit the Massachusetts technology sector especially hard. Lanzar did not work as a programmer again for over two years. During that time he burnt through his entire savings and starting doing odd jobs like baby-sitting and lawn-work to survive. In October 2003 he secured a several-month-long contract job. After the contract ended in early 2004, it was six more months until Lanzar found a permanent job. Even though he is back to work, his extended, unpaid and unwanted vacation still haunts him. â€Å"I definitely, sometimes feel my rustiness. I’m having to work very hard to overcome that,† Lanzar said. The Massachusetts high-tech industry has been the setting for thousands of similar stories since 2001. The Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce reported that, between 2001 and 2003, the Boston area alone lost 32,000 high-technology jobs -- a 22 percent loss. The Mass Software Council reported in the 2004-2005 edition of its yearly software industry research publication, The Complete Guide to the Massachusetts Software Industry, that the state lost 121 software companies and 3,859 software-related jobs in 2... ...the state will not invest too heavily in one specific technological growth area, such as stem-cell research, while ignoring the rest. â€Å"We think if there’s going to be an investment in technology, it should be more broad-based,† said Boulanger. Boulanger also warns of possible dangers looming on the horizon that could impede growth. He points to proposed Massachusetts House bill 2606 as a potential momentum killer. The bill aims to close corporate tax loopholes, and includes a measure to ensure that any software bought online would be subject to state tax. The bill claims this loophole is worth an estimated $50 million dollars in yearly revenue. â€Å"It’s definitely moving in the wrong direction,† Boulanger said. â€Å"The state government has the ability to make Massachusetts companies more competitive around the margins. And that is all we are really asking for.†

Cloud Computing Essay -- Technology, Cyber Criminals

â€Æ' Introduction Over the past several years the term cloud computing has become common in homes and organizations alike. Cloud computing can be defined as a pooled set of computing resources that are furnished via the internet. There are three types of cloud services typically available, these services are Platform as a Service (PaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS). Organizations can benefit greatly from cloud services because they eliminate the need to buy and manage physical resources. Although such an action cuts cost it leaves organization victim to the vulnerabilities and threats that exist in cloud computing. Throughout this paper I will discuss the vulnerabilities and threats that come along with the adoption of cloud computing. In addition, I will discuss standards and policies that effectively manage the risk associated with cloud computing. Threats & Vulnerabilities The abuse and nefarious use of cloud computing is a threat to any organization that takes advantage of cloud services. Most providers of cloud services make it all too easy for cyber criminals to register for service, all that is need to register for service with many providers is a valid credit card (Cloud Security Alliance, 2011). In addition to the ease of registration providers offer free trials of their services allowing attacker to carry out attacks covertly on cloud services. By gaining such access cyber criminals can deploy malicious code, abuse known exploits, and send spam messages to those that are sharing the same resources. Organizations are aware that threats can be internal as well as external, those that provide cloud services are no exception. The people who the service providers employ can pose... ...ncy use(CIO, 2011). FedRAMP is not alone in the effort to create standards regarding cloud computing. The National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) has published two draft publications specifically related to cloud computing. The first document, Special Publication 800-145 (Draft), has been created provide the NIST definition of cloud computing. The NIST has defined as the following: â€Å"Cloud computing is a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction. This cloud model promotes availability and is composed of five essential characteristics, three service models, and four deployment models.† (NIST, 2011)

Economic Development and Environmental Protection

This paper argues on both theoretical and empirical grounds that, beyond a certain point, there is an unavoidable conflictbetween economic development (generally taken to mean ‘materialeconomic growth') and environmental protection. Think for a moment of natural forests, grasslands, marine estuaries, salt marshes, and coral reefs; and of arable soils, aquifers, mineraldeposits, petroleum, and coal. These are all forms of ‘natural capital' that represent highly-ordered self-producing ecosystemsor rich accumulations of energy/matter with high use potential (low entropy). Now contemplate despoiled landscapes, eroding farmlands, depleted fisheries, anthropogenic greenhouse gases,acid rain, poisonous mine tailings and toxic synthetic compounds. These all represent disordered systems or degraded forms of energy and matter with little use potential (high entropy). The main thing connecting these two states is human economic activity. Ecological economics interprets the environment-economyrelationship in terms of the second law of thermodynamics. The second law sees economic activity as a dissipative process. Fromthis perspective, the production of economic goods andservices invariably requires the consumption of available energy and matter. To grow and develop, the economynecessarily ‘feeds' on sources of high-quality energy/matter first produced by nature. This tends to disorder and homogenizethe ecosphere, The ascendance of humankind has consistently been accompanied by an accelerating rate of ecological degradation, particularly biodiversity loss, the simplificationof natural systems and pollution. In short, contemporary political rhetoric to the contrary, the prevailing growth-oriented global development paradigm is fundamentally incompatible with long-term ecological and social sustainability. Unsustainability is not a technical nor economic problem as usually conceived, but rather a state of systemic incompatibilitybetween a economy that is a fully-contained, growing, dependent sub-system of a non-growing ecosphere. Potential solutions fly inthe face of contemporary development trends and cultural values Ecological disturbance and nature tourism. THE purpose of this article is to consider the role of disturbance as a crucial ecological consideration in landuse planning for nature tourism. Incorporation of ecological insights into the environmental-planning process offers hope for rational and sustainable development. Nature tourism has been proposed in recent years as a solution to the dilemma that developing countries face in conserving their biological heritage and concurrently improving the economies of local human settlements. In Mexico, nature tourism has become a favored mechanism for development, especially on the Yucatan peninsula. Recognizing the immense value of its coastal natural communities, Mexico has recently established several large biosphere reserves to preserve natural resources and to accommodate and support human settlements. The experience of sprawling, high-impact Cancun, with more than one million visitors annually, has encouraged the government to reassess its development goals. One example of Mexican openness to sustainable conservation-development projects is the innovative, cooperative effort of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras to establish Ruta Maya, a low-impact design to promote tourism based on natural and archaeological treasures (Garrett 1989). In the Yucatan, two long, relatively pristine barrier peninsulas, Rio Lagartos and Celestun, are being identified as opportune sites for nature tourism. Both have high conservation value and were designated special biosphere reserves by the government in 1979 because of their floral and faunal diversity. Both have small human settlements based on fishing and salt extraction. The protection concept known as the Mexican modality, in which local villages can coexist with both conservation and tourism, is an ambitious development plan. Through trial and error, it is becoming clear that development must be guided by ecological understanding if degradation of natural systems is to be avoided. Sites worth visiting are often those that cannot endure heavy human use, and if irreversible environmental degradation results from nature tourism, both conservation of biological diversity and sustainable tourism will fail. Although political and economic considerations usually far overshadow ecological concerns, conservation of natural resources will not succeed if ecological insights are ignored in planning for nature tourism. To retain the integrity of ecosystems, ecologists must convey the most useful information about the dynamic physical and biological contexts of natural communities, including information about the effects of human change on natural disturbance regimes. Important shifts in ecological theory in the past several decades could change perspectives on planning decisions. Fundamental models of community organization throughout the history of ecological thought were rooted in the idea of equilibrium, and most principles applied to managing natural areas have been based on the notion of stability. Many recent empirical studies offer evidence that the natural world is not static, that natural disturbances are common to many environments, and that most landscapes are not in equilibrium, at least for the short term. Planners and developers of tourist facilities, along coastlines, for example, have mistakenly assumed that the physical context for hotels and roads was a stable place. RECENT ECOLOGICAL THOUGHT From its beginnings, ecology has been the study of nature as a stable, orderly system. Natural communities that were undisturbed by people were generally thought of as pristine and immutable, composed of interdependent and harmoniously arranged species assemblages (Botkin 1990). This idea was based on a long tradition in Western culture that envisioned nature as orderly and was embodied in the phrase â€Å"balance of nature† (Glacken 1967). Largely through the writings of Frederick E. Clements (1916) early in the twentieth century, the notion of natural communities as naturally occurring assemblages of species in harmony with local climatic regimes became ecological dogma. If a community was disturbed, damage would be repaired along a predictable continuum toward the climax community. Later, equilibrium became an explicit assumption for most ecosystems, a steady state to which a system returned if a disturbance altered its balance (Connell 1978). Dissenting voices proposed that species act independently of one another and that perturbation is a common event in many natural communities (Gleason 1917; Watt 1947). Strong evidence for the commonness of disorder in nature has come from a large body of literature documenting the profound and pervasive effects of a multitude of disturbances–fires, floods, windstorms, alluvial erosion, landslides, grazing, insects, and invasion of exotics (Veblen and Ashton 1978; Bormann and Likens 1979; Sprugel and Bormann 1981). It is now believed that all ecosystems are somewhat dynamic and that, in some, severe or even catastrophic disturbance is a regular occurrence. Natural disturbances were once assumed to retard the orderly progression of species replacement †¦ THE PROBLEM: Sulfur dioxide is a major source of air pollution world wide, and a major contributor to the problem of acid rain. SOME SOLUTIONS: 1) The technology exists to produce cleaner burning coal, but this process is very expensive. ) Inorganic sulfur can be removed from coal by washing it, but this will not remove organic sulfur, and the process is also very expensive. 3) Coal gasification converts goal to a gas in order to remove the sulfur. The gas produced from the sulfur can then be used to augment supplies of natural gas. This process is not yet competitive enough. 4) Scrubbing removed the oxides from the gases in the smoke stakes, but is also an expensive producer. Looking at these solutions, it would be easy to conclude that th ere is no win win solution when it comes to sulfur emissions from coal. However, in Germany they did find a solution that is win-win. AN INNOVATIVE SOLUTION: â€Å"A German company in 1980 purchased coal-scrubbing technology and improved on it†¦ rather than disposing of the calcium sulfite rich sludge the company further processes it to produce building materials such as sheet rock or wallboard, which are sold worldwide. Another innovative approach to removing sulfur has been taken at a large coal burning plant near Mannheim, Germany. The smoke from combustion is cooled, then treated with liquid ammonia.. he sulfur-contaminated smoke is cooled in a heat exchange process that allows the chemical reaction between the sulfur rich smoke and ammonia to take place†¦ waste heat from the cooling towers is used to heat nearby buildings, and the plant sells the ammonium sulfate in a solid granular form to farmers to use as fertilizer. Thus, Germany, in response to tough pollution control regulations, has substantially reduced its sulfur dioxide emission s, and in the process it has boosted its economy. â€Å". Increasing recognition that the overall goals of environmental conservation and economic development are not conflicting but can be mutually reinforcing, has prompted calls for ‘environmentally sustainable’ economic development. Although there are difficulties in defining sustainable development in an analytically rigorous way, there is still a need to evolve a concept of sustainability that both distinguishes it from other post-war meanings of development and is useful for practical analysis and policymaking.