Ethics and Abortion Essay

Nicky was 18 when she started dating with James. They had unprotected premarital sex. After a few weeks, she found out that she was pregnant so she asked an advice from her doctor. She wasn’t ready for a baby yet. She still had her ambitions in life and she didn’t want to give up her social life. So she and James decided to abort the baby (â€Å"Real Life: Abortion (Nicky’s Story),† 2003). Yes, you read it right. In this time of one-night stands, premarital sex and unwanted pregnancies, abortion has become a common resort from responsibility. Abortion is the removal of an embryo or a POC (Product of Conception) from the uterus. Basically, there are two types of abortion: the spontaneous abortion and the induced abortion. Spontaneous abortion is the type that is caused by accident and/or by natural cases. It can also be caused by environmental factors. On the other hand, induced abortion is caused by human action. It is further categorized into therapeutic and elective. Therapeutic abortion is the act of removing the fetus from the uterus for reasons of safety and/or survival in the part of the mother, to preserve the mother’s health, to terminate pregnancy that would result in a child born with congenital disorders, and to selectively reduce the number of fetuses to lessen health risks regarding multiple pregnancies. Meanwhile, elective abortion is the kind of abortion performed for any other reason. There are two different but parallel theories regarding abortion—the consequential theory and the deontology theory. The consequential theory believes that an act is morally right if and only if it contributes to the common good(Williams, 1973. ). It outrightly supports abortion—may it be therapeutic or elective. In therapeutic abortion, if the mother life is at risk in having the pregnancy, then the consequential theory allows for such action. If having a baby destroys a person’s future career, then abortion is okay. Consequential theory denies that moral rightness depends solely on the anything other than the consequences (B. Hooker, 2000). Nonetheless, what makes this morally wrong is not the abortion itself but the consequences it may bring to the mother such as emotional trauma. Consequential theory ignores all morally relevant factors to the consequences as opposed to whatever the circumstances there may be(Mill, 1861). However, deontology theory asserts otherwise. Deontological ethics or duty-based ethics does not consider an act as good or evil per se but classifies the action as it is being performed or on the process of performing devoid of prejudice or pre-established ethical principles. It judges morality by evaluating the nature of the actions and the will of the person involved rather than what is achieved(Kay, 1997). It is also known as nonconsequentialism. Deontological judgment depends on the object or original nature of the act. It typically involves two important elements, prerogatives and constraints. Prerogatives deny that one should always choose the option with optimistic consequences and constraints place limitations on the actions that the person may do in order to bring about his own personal good. Thus, from the deontological parlance, abortion, because it takes away life, upsets nature’s way of creation, and denies the natural capacity of a woman to give birth, is objectively and intentionally malicious, although it could be justified in extreme cases which would merit for an exception. These two theories, in essence are different but somehow, they are compatible with each other. They do not really contradict each other, rather, they are analogous. Analogous theories are truly and essentially different but necessarily contradictory with each other in principle but they could have similar effects or conclusion per application that is why they are analogous—partly the same, partly different. In the present society, most women view abortion consequentially. They justify abortion by consequences it may cause. Let’s take Nicky’s situation as an example. Nicky believes that the abortion of their baby is right mainly because it was not yet the right time for them to have a baby. If she were to continue with her pregnancy, what would have happened? She would have lived a miserable life—not having a job or a career and tied down with a baby. What if her boyfriend James left her? Could she find another man who would readily accept her despite her past? There were lots of things to be considered—school, financial stability, and emotional stability. These and a lot more questions ran through Nicky’s mind before she decided to go with the abortion. Obviously, it is not easy to try to confuse one’s conscience. But if we look at it closely, it is a matter of rights. Women’s rights. Everybody makes mistakes. Nicky did a mistake by engaging in unprotected sexual intercourse with her boyfriend. Nevertheless, continuing the pregnancy could also be a mistake. Abortion, when we look at its consequences, is not a mistake. According to the Women’s Rights, â€Å"women have the right to bodily integrity and autonomy†. Whether or not the woman decides to resort to abortion of the fetus inside her body, it is her right to decide on that. Aside from that, women also have the right to parenthood and marriage. Women who have committed abortion should not be discriminated by the society. True, it is not such a nice image but hey, women are humans. Women have rights—equal rights—and dignity(â€Å"2006,† Human Rights Watch).

Smu I Sem Stat Assignments Set 2

rMBA SEMESTER 1 MB0040 – STATISTICS FOR MANAGEMENT- 4 Credits (Book ID: B1129) Assignment Set- 1 (60 Marks) Note: Each question carries 10 Marks. Answer all the questions 1. What do you mean by Statistical Survey? Differentiate between â€Å"Questionnaire† and â€Å"Schedule†. ANS: Definition of statistical survey: A Statistical survey is a scientific process of collection and analysis of numerical data. Statistical surveys are used to collect numerical information about units in a population. Surveys involve asking questions to individuals. Surveys of human populations are common in government, health, social science and marketing sectors.Stages of Statistical Survey: Statistical surveys are categorized into two stages – planning and execution. The two broad stages of Statistical survey AS FOLLOWS: [pic] Planning a Statistical Survey: The relevance and accuracy of data obtained in a survey depends upon the care exercised in planning. A properly planned in vestigation can lead to best results with least cost and time. Steps involved in the planning stage are as follows: Step 1: Nature of the problem to be investigated should be clearly defined in an unambiguous manner. Step 2: Objectives of the investigation should be stated at the outset.Objectives could be to: †¢ Obtain certain estimates †¢ Establish a theory †¢ Verify an existing statement †¢ Find relationship between characteristics Step 3: The scope of the investigation has to be made clear. The scope of investigation refers to the area to be covered, identification of units to be studied, nature of characteristics to be observed, accuracy of measurements, analytical methods, time, cost and other resources required. Step 4: Whether to use data collected from primary or secondary source should be determined in advance.Step 5: the organization of investigation is the final step in the process. It encompasses the determination of the number of investigators requi red, their training, supervision work needed, funds required. Execution of Statistical survey: Control methods should be adopted at every stage of carrying out the investigation to check the accuracy, coverage, methods of measurements, analysis and interpretation. The collected data should be edited, classified, tabulated and presented in diagrams and graphs. The data should be carefully and systematically analysed and interpreted.Differentiate between â€Å"Questionnaire† and â€Å"Schedule†: Questionnaires contain simple questions and are filled by respondents. Schedules also contain questions but responses are recorded directly by the investigator. 2. The table shows the data of Expenditure of a family on food, clothing, education, rent and other items. Depict the data shown in the table using Pie chart. |Items |Expenditure | |Food |4300 | |Clothing |1200 | |Education |700 | Rent |2000 | |Others |600 | ANS: [pic] Fig: Pie-chart showing expenditure of a family on var ious items 3. Average weight of 100 screws in box A is 10. 4 gms. It is mixed with 150 screws of box B. Average weight of mixed screws is 10. 9 gms. Find the average weight of screws of box B. ANS: GIVEN THAT: †¢ n1=100, †¢ n2 = 150, †¢ X1 = 10. 4 Gms, †¢ [pic]= 10. 9 Gms, †¢ X2 =? WE KNOW THAT: [pic] 10. 9 = (100*10. 4) + (150 X2) / 100+150 10. 9 = 1040 + 150 X2 / 250 0. 9*250 = 1040 + 150 X2 2725 = 1040 + 150 X2 150 = 2725-1040 X2 =1685 / 150 X2 = 11. 23 Gms Therefore, the average weight of screws of box B is 11. 23 gms. 4. (a) Discuss the rules of â€Å"Probability†. (b) What is meant by â€Å"Conditional Probability†? ANS: 1. Addition rule: The addition rule of probability states that: i) If ‘A’ and ‘B’ are any two events then the probability of the occurrence of either ‘A’ or ‘B’ is given by: [pic] ii) If ‘A’ and ‘B’ are two mutually exclusive events then the pro bability of occurrence of either A or B is given by: [pic] ii) If A, B and C are any three events then the probability of occurrence of either A or B or C is given by: [pic] In terms of Venn diagram, from the figure 5. 4, we can calculate the probability of occurrence of either event ‘A’ or event ‘B’, given that event ‘A’ and event ‘B’ are dependent events. From the figure 5. 5, we can calculate the probability of occurrence of either ‘A’ or ‘B’, given that, events ‘A’ and ‘B’ are independent events. From the figure 5. 6, we can calculate the probability of occurrence of either ‘A’ or ‘B’ or ‘C’, given that, events ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’ are dependent events. pic] iv) If A1, A2, A3†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦, An are ‘n’ mutually exclusive and exhaustive events then the probability of occurrence of at le ast one of them is given by: [pic] 2. Multiplication rule: If ‘A’ and ‘B’ are two independent events then the probability of occurrence of ‘A’ and ‘B’ is given by: [pic] Conditional Probability: Sometimes we wish to know the probability that the price of a particular petroleum product will rise, given that the finance minister has increased the petrol price. Such probabilities are known as conditional probabilities.Thus the conditional probability of occurrence of an event ‘A’ given that the event ‘B’ has already occurred is denoted by P (A / B). Here, ‘A’ and ‘B’ are dependent events. Therefore, we have the following rules. If ‘A’ and ‘B’ are dependent events, then the probability of occurrence of ‘A and B’ is given by: [pic] It follows that: [pic] For any bivariate distribution, there exists two marginal distributions and ‘m + nâ€⠄¢ conditional distributions, where ‘m’ and ‘n’ are the number of classifications/characteristics studied on two variables. 5. (a) What is meant by â€Å"Hypothesis Testing†?Give Examples (b) Differentiate between â€Å"Type-I† and â€Å"Type-II† Errors ANS: Hypothesis Testing: Hypothesis testing is about making inferences about a population from only a small sample. The bottom line in hypothesis testing is when we ask ourselves (and then decide) whether a population, like we think this one, would be likely to produce a sample like the one we are looking at. Testing Hypothesis: In hypothesis testing, we must state the assumed or hypothesised value of the population parameter before we begin sampling. The assumption we wish to test is called the null hypothesis and is symbolised by ?Ho†. The term null hypothesis arises from earlier agricultural and medical applications of statistics. In order to test the effectiveness of a new fert iliser or drug, the tested hypothesis (the null hypothesis) was that it had no effect, that is, there was no difference between treated and untreated samples. If we use a hypothesised value of a population mean in a problem, we would represent it symbolically as ? H0. This is read – The hypothesized value of the population mean. If our sample results fail to support the null hypothesis, we must conclude that something else is true.Whenever we reject the hypothesis, the conclusion we do accept is called the alternative hypothesis and is symbolised H1 (â€Å"H sub-one†). Interpreting the level of significance: The purpose of hypothesis testing is not to question the computed value of the sample statistic but to make a judgment about the difference between that sample statistic and hypothesised population parameter. The next step after stating the null and alternative hypotheses is to decide what criterion to be used for deciding whether to accept or reject the null hypot hesis.If we assume the hypothesis is correct, then the significance level will indicate the percentage of sample means that is outside certain limits (In estimation, the confidence level indicates the percentage of sample means that falls within the defined confidence limits). Hypotheses are accepted and not proved: Even if our sample statistic does fall in the non-shaded region (the region shown in below figure that makes up 95 percent of the area under the curve), this does not prove that our null hypothesis (H0) is true; it simply does not provide statistical evidence to reject it.Why? It is because the only way in which the hypothesis can be accepted with certainty is for us to know the population parameter; unfortunately, this is not possible. Therefore, whenever we say that we accept the null hypothesis, we actually mean that there is not sufficient statistical evidence to reject it. Use of the term accept, instead of do not reject, has become standard. It means that when samp le data do not cause us to reject a null hypothesis, we behave as if that hypothesis is true. [pic] fig: Acceptance and rejection region of sampleSelecting a Significance Level: There is no single standard or universal level of significance for testing hypotheses. In some instances, a 5% level of significance is used. In the published results of research papers, researchers often test hypotheses at the 1 percent level of significance. Hence, it is possible to test a hypothesis at any level of significance. But remember that our choice of the minimum standard for an acceptable probability, or the significance level, is also the risk we assume of rejecting a null hypothesis when it is true.The higher the significance level we use for testing a hypothesis, the higher the probability of rejecting a null hypothesis when it is true. 5% level of significance implies we are ready to reject a true hypothesis in 5% of cases. If the significance level is high then we would rarely accept the nu ll hypothesis when it is not true but, at the same time, often reject it when it is true. When testing a hypothesis we come across four possible situations. The above figure shows the four possible situations. [pic] Table: Possible situations when testing a hypothesisThe combinations are: 1. If the hypothesis is true, and the test result accepts it, then we have made a right decision. 2. If hypothesis is true, and the test result rejects it, then we have made a wrong decision (Type I error). It is also known as Consumer? s Risk, denoted by ?. 3. If hypothesis is false, and the test result accepts it, then we have made a wrong decision (Type II error). It is known as producer? s risk, denoted by ? 1 – P is called power of the Test. 4. Hypothesis is false, test result rejects it – we have made a right decision. Type-I† and â€Å"Type-II† Errors: Suppose that making a Type I error (rejecting a null hypothesis when it is true) involves the time and trouble of reworking a batch of chemicals that should have been accepted. At the same time, making a Type II error (accepting a null hypothesis when it is false) means taking a chance that an entire group of users of this chemical compound will be poisoned. Obviously, the management of this company will prefer a Type I error to a Type II error and, as a result, will set very high levels of significance in its testing to get low . Suppose, on the other hand, that making a Type I error involves disassembling an entire engine at the factory, but making a Type II error involves relatively inexpensive warranty repairs by the dealers. Then the manufacturer is more likely to prefer a Type II error and will set lower significance levels in its testing. 6. From the following table, calculate Laspyres Index Number, Paasches Index Number, Fisher? s Price Index Number and Dorbish & Bowley? s Index Number taking 2008 as the base year. Commodity |2008 |2009 | | |Price (Rs) per Kg |Quantity in Kg |Price (Rs ) per Kg |Quantity in Kg | |A |6 |50 |10 |56 | |B |2 |100 |2 |120 | |C |4 |60 |6 60 | |D |10 |30 |12 |24 | |E |8 |40 |12 |36 | Sol: Commodity |2008 |2009 |   |   |   |   | | |P0 |Q0 |P1 |Q1 |P1Q0 |P1Q1 |P0Q0 |P0Q1 | |A |6 |50 |10 |56 |500 |560 |300 |336 | |B |2 |100 |2 |120 |200 |240 |200 |240 | |C |4 |60 |6 |60 |360 |360 |240 |240 | |D |10 |30 |12 |24 |360 |288 |300 |240 | |E |8 |40 |12 |36 |480 |432 |320 |288 | |   |   |   |   |   |1900 |1880 |1360 |1344 | |   |   |   |   |   |? P1Q0=1900 |? P1Q1= |? P0Q0= |?P0Q1= | | | | | | | |1880 |1360 |1344 | (A) Laspyres Index Number =? P1Q0 / ? P1Q1 x 100 =1900 / 1880 x 100 = 1. 0106 x 100 = 101. 06 Ans. (B) Paasches Index Number =? P1Q1 / ? P0Q1 x 100 =1880 /1344 x 100 =1. 3988 x 100 =138. 88 Ans. (C) Fisher’s Price Index Number = ? P1Q0 x ? P1Q1 / ? P0Q0 x ? P0Q1 X 100 = 1900 x 1880 / 1360 x 1344 X 100 = 1. 9542 x 100 = 1. 3979 x 100 = 139. 79 Ans. (D) Dorbish & Bowley? s Index Number = ? P1Q0 / ? P0Q0 + ? P1Q1 / ? P0Q1 x 100 = 1900 / 1360 + 1880 / 1344 x 100 = 2. 795 x 100 = 1. 6718 x 100 = 167. 18 Ans. [pic]

National Initiatives Essay

Many national initiatives have been developed over the years as society becomes more progressive and tolerant, the results of these legislative regulation at every level from international law all the way down to individual practice policy have an effect on anti-discriminatory practice in health and social care systems Conventions and fundamental and regulation European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms 1950 Article 14 in this convention concerns discrimination and prohibits discrimination based on many different factors such as Race, Sex, Age etc. It also can extend to protect against discrimination of different sexual orientation and legal rights of people under national law. In terms of Health and social care and anti-discriminatory practice this Article is very important as it sets the basis for a non-discriminatory Health a Social care System. This article states in essence that by and large everyone has the right to be treated without being discriminated against for any illogical reason such as a person not being treated because they mentally Ill. It should mean also that more health professionals cannot be hired based on discrimination from the employer against other applicants. E.G a dental practice picks a Caucasian applicant over an Asian Applicant based purely on their own prejudice against Asian people. Sex Discrimination Act 1975 This act dictates that men and women are protected by law from being discriminated against on the bases of their sex or marital status. This act gives men and women the rights to the same level of treatment by health professionals and to attain the same positions as one another. This makes a more diverse workforce and in health & social care which is a diverse environment, this is a good thing. Codes of Practice and Charters Codes of practice are enforced by individual practices and Healthcare Centres, These are all similar in most respects but usually are specified to the practice itself. For example a Dentist and a Hospital for the mentally infirm will have different codes of practice due to the complete difference in patient, treatment and the overall healthcare plan. But this show’s just some of the benefits and uses of practice codes in healthcare as it allows room for maximum patient care. These codes of practice however generally address what is considered to be discrimination in the practice and what sanctions follow if any of these codes are broken. This helps to ensure that all employees are aware what discriminatory practice is and this allows no excuse when discriminatory practice is carried out by and employee. Organisational Policies and procedures Organisational policies and procedures affect various things in health & social care including positive promotion of individual rights, advocacy, staff development and training, complaints procedures, confidentiality. Promoting individual rights Individual rights cover a large range of rights and good organisational policies cover the protection of these against discrimination. People’s individual rights in the health and social system must be protected against any infringement on them e.g. their personal beliefs. Advocacy An advocate is someone who stand’s in the place of and speaks for someone who is not able to represent themselves, e.g. an advocate for a mental patient or a child. This person is responsible for said person and should only act in their best interests. Advocates promote anti discriminatory practice by giving a voice to those without one, stopping discrimination based on lack of social ability. Staff development and training It is essential that staff are trained properly in anti-discriminatory practice, this allows them to develop as professional’s with a duty to uphold the rights of individuals and to work against discrimination where seen. Complaints procedures and confidentiality Complaints procedures must be followed up quickly and efficiently as any possible discrimination must be investigated and also that complaints processed properly can make for improvements in the delivery of healthcare. Patient’s confidentiality must be kept at all times as any illness is private to whomever has it. National initiatives are in place for a reason, practices are still working every day to promote anti-discriminatory practice, the idea to produce an equal, quality and efficient healthcare system that works for everyone is still not a complete reality but with more initiatives and good practice it could be.

Argument paper Choose from Supplied List Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

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Cultural Dimensional Model of Hofstede and Mintzberg - Essay Example Individualism. This dimension deals with the amount of interdependence that a society values among its members. Observably, individualism in the context of the US is relatively higher and scores 91 while China scores 20. This implies that people in the US are more concerned about themselves and the family members. On the other hand, China is categorized as a collectivist society where people place importance on group efforts (The Hofstede Centre, â€Å"Cultural Tools†). Masculinity. This dimension reveals the degree of value placed by the people on achievement and success. Correspondingly, Chinese society can be found to be driven by achievement success and competition. Accordingly, it ranks 66 with respect to the dimension of Masculinity. On the contrary, the US, although not represents a feminist society but it ranks 62, which is slightly lower as compared to China (The Hofstede Centre, â€Å"Cultural Tools†). Uncertainty Avoidance. China ranks 30 in terms of uncertainty avoidance, which implies that the people in China are more enthusiastic and like to conduct activities that are governed by low regulations. On the other hand, the US ranks 46, which is comparatively higher than China. This implies that the people in the US are more inclined towards revealing risk-avoiding behavior than the people in China (The Hofstede Centre, â€Å"Cultural Tools†). Pragmatism. In terms of pragmatism, Chinese as compared to American culture is very pragmatic and people in China are more dependent on the situation, context and changing scenario. According, the US ranked 26 while China scores 87 on the scale of pragmatism (The Hofstede Centre, â€Å"Cultural Tools†). Indulgence.  

1968 Democratic Convention Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

1968 Democratic Convention - Research Paper Example Despite of its rich legacy, there have been some events related to the history of this party, which still haunt the stakeholders (Campbell, 2008). One of these events is the â€Å"Democratic National Convention of 1968 at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, Illinois† (Campbell, 2008). This paper is an attempt to present a brief account of the events that led to this convention, the happenings during the convention and events that took place in the aftermath. Discussion Before light is shed on the convention, it is important to draw a rough and succinct sketch of the events leading to Democratic Convention of 1968 that would help in better understanding of the entire event and its happenings. Events leading to 1968 Democratic Convention Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Without any doubts, the man who saw the dream, Martin Luther King, Jr. remains as one of the most influential personalities in the American history (Hoffman, Leary & Mailer, 2008). During the late 1950s and 1960s, he had become the icon of American liberalism, anti Vietnam War advocate, civil right activist and leader of the peace movement (Dautrich & Yalof, 2009). It was on April 4, 1968 when he was assassinated at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. This created widespread anger, frustration and rage in the public and riots spread in major United States, such as â€Å"Washington D.C., Kansas City, Baltimore, Louisville, Chicago, and various 100 other major cities causing damage of more than 50 million US dollars† (Farber, 1988). In fact, Chicago has not witnessed such magnitude of riots since 1968. During these disturbances, â€Å"11 citizens lost their lives, 48 injured, 90 police officers were wounded, and more than 2156 were taken into police custody† (Kusch, 2004). Despite the fact that the city appeared to be getting back to the normal after a week or so but this event installed the first wave of anger and frustration within the hearts of minds, par ts of which became evident during the convention as well (Edy, 2006). Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy After the death of Luther King, Jr. Robert F. Kennedy was the first political leader, who was also running for the Democratic Party nomination for President. Kennedy had lost his brother John F. Kennedy earlier in the decade (Farber, 1988). Shortly after addressing his supporters at midnight in a ballroom at The Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, he left for addressing a press conference (Kusch, 2004). On his way to the conference, he took the route that went through the kitchen and a Palestinian immigrant, Sirhan Bishara Sirhan, who shoot Kennedy in the chest three times. He died after 26 hours, thus depriving the democratic party of a charismatic and influential leader who would have gone on to win the Democratic convention (Campbell, 2008; Hoffman, Leary & Mailer, 2008). Decision of Lyndon B. Johnson not to contest for the second term Lyndon B. Johnson, one of the four political personalities in the history of United States to serve as the President, Vice President, Representative, and Senator during his career, was the 36th president of the United States who served during the 1963-1969 era. He served as the vice president during the Kennedy era and took over the job as the president of the country after his assassination. He ran for the office after completing that term and won with an overwhelming majority. Johnson is still praised by critics and observers for his domestic policies such as â€Å"Great Society legislations† (McGowen, 2003). However, he paid the price for increasing American involvement in Vietnam War in form of his sharply declining popularity, both in the American

Political Contention Essay Example for Free

Political Contention Essay Solita Collas-Monsod is a professor at the University of the Philippines: Diliman and a writer in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. Solita Collas-Monsod’s article entitled â€Å"The Trillanes Myth† was published or appeared in the Philippine Daily Inquirer and was last updated in September 3, 2007. The author was able to catch the attention of its audience, and she was able to effectively use the title of her article to give a bird’s eye view of what is stored for the readers. She also starts her column through a statement of her stand regarding the issue being discussed. The author wanted to show or inform the audience and or the readers of the Philippine Daily Inquirer about the Trillanes group which started a coup d’ etat in Oakwood Hotel, or the well known â€Å"Oakwood ‘Mutiny†, wherein there were 300 uniformed military officers and men who were guided or led by Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV. Her arguments also state that the Court, led by July 25 order of RTC Judge Oscar B. Pimentel, should continue its firm stand with regards to imposing the necessary law or exercise government authority, without validation of the badges of inequality. She assumed that the world, more specifically the sympathizers of the Trillanes group or the military officers, should not be deranged or persuaded by the â€Å"idealisms and principles† of the Trillanes group. She also states that the audience, we, should not be blinded by the myths or lies which the Trillanes group gives us, and that we should stick or be firm with our government rules about coup d’etats. Solita Collas-Monsod values the truth and in seeking proper justice for such violators of the law. She strongly believes that proper justice or punishment in accordance with the government laws should be imposed on the Trillanes group, and we should do this objectively, not subjectively. Monsod was able to define terms clearly in her article. Solita Collas-Monsod did her assignment or did basic research, thus, she was able to support her arguments with ample and enough facts. The argument for me is successful, and it does convince me. There are facts or sufficient supporting statements used by Monsod in her article and these facts or statements seem really reliable. My beliefs and line of thinking was the same as Monsod with regards to the â€Å"Oakwood ‘Mutiny†, more specifically about the Trillanes group. Monsod’s argument strengthened my former belief about proper government execution of its laws . Politically speaking, this is really an eye-opening article not only to the public but to the government and its officials as well, more specifically to the Judicial Court. There are times when I had small doubts with regards the Judiciary system of the Philippines before, but because of Monsod’s article, and facts that she stated about the actions taken by the Court, led by Judge Pimentel, these doubts are not gone. I believe that indeed, the political world still has its â€Å"impartiality. † Solita Collas-Monsod’s article affects the political process by simply strengthening the implementation of Judicial law and in informing the public about the Trillanes group. The government and the public, or the audience, are at the advantage, whereas the Trillanes group is definitely in the losing end. Work Cited: Collas-Monsod, Solita. The Trillanes Myth. The Philippine Daily Inquirer, 2007.

Crossing Heavens Border Essay Example for Free

Crossing Heavens Border Essay After the division of Korea in World War II, North Korea introduced communism into their country aiming to create a country where everyone was equally wealthy. However, unlike the expectation, NK’s national plans didn’t work out well, and North Koreans started to suffer from political oppression and chronic food shortages. North Koreans who could not stand the situation in their home country started fleeing from North to South Korea. first broadcast in July 2007 reveals the 10 day journey of the North Korean defectors who cross several border to settle in South Korea. The journey of North Korean defectors begins in Tumen and Yalu river, the rivers defectors have to cross to reach Shenyang, a city in China. As soon as they arrive in China, North Korean defectors always have to be careful. This is because they can be caught by Chinese authorities that repatriate defectors back to their home country, where they face cruel punishments. Often, defectors temporarily settle in Shenyang to raise money before they smuggle into South. Some women defectors are even tempted into sex industries, and they often lose their opportunity to reach South Korea. Those who successfully depart Shenyang ride on an illegal bus for 10 hours that takes them to Beijing. In Beijing, group of defectors spread out themselves and melt into the crowd to avoid authority until they board a train to Kunming. On the train, the defectors hide themselves from Chinese officials’ inspection by either leaving their seat or pretending to sleep when the officials are around. After three tenth days, they arrive in Kunming. From there, they face another 8 hour drive through the mountains toward the jungle border with Laos. Even for North Korean defectors who are chastened by adversities, crossing the jungle, which takes 18 hours on foot, is strenuous. Finally, after they cross another border to Thailand from Laos, the defectors can apply for asylum at the South Korean embassy in Bangkok, and their long arduous trip ends there (Crossing Heavens Border, PBS). At the embassy, we interviewed a 23-year-old North Korean refugee Lee Ok Kyung, who was waiting for her South Korean visa to be issued. Lee recalled her memory of childhood in the North as a nightmare.â€Å"Everyone around me was struggling to find food so dying from hunger wasn’t anything new to us† she said. â€Å"My parents ran their pants off on farms day and night, but they were paid much less than the amount of work they did because all their money was sent to the supreme leader Kim Jong Il. However, no one complained about this because everyone was brainwashed that Kim was their demigod of North Korea. Unlike my neighbors, however, I knew that Kim and the high officials were deceiving us. I left North Korea because I was eager to free myself from suppression of the North Korean government. From my respect, North Korea was a heavenly country without any future or freedom. † Until now, many of North Koreans risk their lives in the hope of resettling in South Korea, a country now home to more than 23,500 defectors. However, against the refugee’s expectation, life in a new country is not easy. Many find themselves unable to cope with the faster pace of life in the South, and they are often looked down upon by their Southern neighbors. Nevertheless, North Korean refugees take such adversities lying down because they have a desperate bid for freedom that can only be acquired by crossing the border.

Strategy-evaluation Framework for Mattel

Strategy-evaluation Framework for Mattel 1.0 Strategy Review, Evaluation, and Control The best-formulated and best-implemented strategies become obsolete as a firms external and internal environments change. It is essential, therefore, that strategists systematically review, evaluate, and control the execution of strategies. We have developed a general strategy-evaluation framework for Mattel: Reviewing bases of strategy Measuring organizational performance Taking corrective actions Besides that, we will introduce balanced scorecard as another strategy-evaluation tool to analyze Mattel from few areas of objectives: customers, managers/employees, investors/shareholders, operations/processes, community/social responsibility, and financials. 1.1 General Strategy-Evaluation Framework 1.1.1 Reviewing bases of strategy Reviewing the underlying bases of Mattels strategy could be approached by developing a revised EFE Matrix and IFE Matrix. As being well described and analyzed in Chapter 3 and 4 of this report, here, we will revise EFE and IFE Matrix to review and evaluate how effective Mattels strategies have been in response to key external and internal factors. External Factors Opportunities Mattel has a chance to market Barbie to the whole world and make it a recognizable brand worldwide. This has been proven that Mattel tries its best to improve its marketing strategies to penetrate different market segments and strive for stable revenue annually from international market. Weakening dollar makes the price of Mattels toys becomes more affordable. It is helpful in increase its revenue. To take this advantage, in fact, Mattel has reduced the selling price of its products in some countries. Threats Many children start abandoning tangible toys and looking for more interactive and technological toys or cyber/virtual games. That was why Mattel tried to diversify into software industry. However, until now, its result is not satisfactory. One of the reasons is, the adopted strategies are not matched with its corporate culture or operations. Global recession caused reduced spending or down trading for toys. This is inevitable despite how much effort has been made to stimulate the revenue. However, if Mattel is able to make it more affordable and create a need for customers, it might change its situation. However, strategies should be well developed. Different countries with different cultures and languages in fact have posed barriers which hindered market penetration strategies of Mattel. However, Mattel seemed to have overcome them well as it tried to market its products with different languages in different countries and modified the content of ads with some â€Å"local flavors†. Many other competitors keep coming out with different and better products, such high product substitution threat might threaten the competitive position of Mattel. Therefore, Mattel is particularly cautious with its product quality and safety issues. However, there was still an outbreak of toxic toy which caused few millions loss to Mattel. Due to the emergence of China market and since many production plants have been setup in China, raw materials are subject to price fluctuation when the economy of China appears to be unstable. To overcome this, possibly, Mattel can locate its plants at many different countries. The downfall in one country might be offset by the upturn of another country. Internal Factors Strengths With successful operational and marketing strategies, Barbie has been known as a long established brand for 60 years. With recognizable brand portfolio and wide product range to cater various life stage, in fact, Mattel has safeguarded its market leader position for years. One of the strategies is to have new product launch annually, so that, customers will have â€Å"surprise† every year. Such strategies are considered successful. With the effort and perseverance in maintaining business integrity and practicing corporate social responsibility, it has brought much credit to the reputation of Mattel. Despite the scandals, Mattel does have a group of loyal supporters and fans who will purchase new products of Mattel. Such strategy of creating loyalty and trust in customers is very effective in customer retention. Since Mattel has strategic partnership with Microsoft, Disney, BanDai and etc, this created an invincible strength for it. As there are so many other strong rivals who strive to win market share from Mattel, Mattel tries to form a strong alliance with other strong companies in the market. Devoted, highly-motivated and energetic management team which works together to make better and better products and performance and stay together during doom time, this shows that Mattel has a successful HR strategy which retains experienced and outstanding employees in the corporation. Since early year, Mattel has been keeping its intangible assets as its valuables, such as trade names and trademarks. That is why it has a particular department which deals with this issue. Weaknesses Unprofitable mergers and acquisitions of the Learning Company had made a loss of nearly billion in Mattels account. Although eventually Mattel sold off this subsidiary, this reduced the confidence of investors as Mattels management is perceived as too reckless in MA strategy. Due to many external changes, slipping popularity of their core product – Barbie has been shown in the declining sales of its product. Therefore, Mattel keeps coming out with new products to retain the interest and passion of customers. After the outbreak of toxic toys scandal, generally, the level of acceptance of customers has dropped. No doubt, Mattel has been striving to give the customers the best products, in terms of quality, safety, and etc, however, such an incident is nearly fatal to the reputation and future of Mattel. No matter how good the strategies are, one scandal might ruin the company as a whole. 1.1.2 Measuring organizational performance This includes comparing expected results to actual results, investigating deviations from plans, evaluating individual performance, and examining progress being made toward meeting stated objectives. Both long-term and annual objectives are commonly used in this process. Criteria for evaluating strategies should be measurable and easily verifiable. Generally, strategy evaluation is based on both quantitative and qualitative criteria. For quantitative criteria, financial ratios are commonly used. There are three critical comparisons: Comparing the firms performance over different time periods Comparing the firms performance to competitors Comparing the firms performance to industry averages Mattels performance over different time periods has been well explained in Chapter 7. Overall, Mattel is able to maintain its financial ratios over years. It only has slight increase or decrease occurred. Therefore, internally, we may say Mattel is financially stable and strong over years. Even during economic crisis period, it was still able to maintain its financial performance at a satisfactory level. On the other hand, to compare the performance of Mattel to that of competitors and also industry averages, two main competitors, namely, Hasbro Inc. (HAS) and Jakks Pac Inc. (Jak) have been identified and served as a benchmark to compare the performance of Mattel Inc. (Mat). From the table below, it is obvious that Mattel is the market leader of this industry which having splendid financial performance as compared to its main competitors. By looking at its valuation, profitability, dividend, growth, liquidity and asset ratios, Mattel is far better than competitors and industry averages. In short, based on quantitative criteria, Mattels performance takes a leading position which created core competency for its sustainability and survival. However, it may guarantee long-term success if it does not proactively improve itself. Year 2008 MAT HAS JAKK Industry Averages Valuation Price/Earnings (TTM) 15.24 14.58 1.52 12.78 Price/Cash Flow 10.73 7.83 10.07 9.54 Price/Sales (TTM) 0.98 1.13 0.75 0.95 Price/Book 2.66 2.46 1.06 2.06 Per Share Data Last Dividend 70.09 42.11 0 37.40 Book Value 5.88 9.3 11.66 1.95 EPS (TTM) 1.07 1.9 -12.8 -3.28 Revenue 5.91 B 4.02 B 903.39 M 3.61 B Profitability EBIDTA 742.00 M 654.33 M 101.79 M 499.37 M Operating Margin 9.74% 12.29% 1.85% 10.29% Profit Margin 6.41% 7.63% 1.42% 7.49% Gross Profit Margin 45.19% 55.96% 35.56% 45.57% Dividend Dividend Yield 4.18% 2.96% 0.00% 2.38% Payout Ratio 70.09 42.11 0 37.40 Dividend Yield 5 Year Average 3.33% 2.07% 0.00% 1.80% Growth Net Income 379.63 M 306.76 M 76.05 M 254.15 M EPS (TTM) 1.07% 1.90% -12.80% -3.28% Revenue 5.91 B 4.02 B 903.39 M 3.61 B PEG 1.56% 1.44% 1.71% 1.57% Financial Strength Quick Ratio (MRQ) 6.41 7.63 1.42 7.49 Current Ratio (MRQ) 2.06 2.61 2.09 2.25 Long Term Debt to Equity Ratio (MRQ) 32.72 81.65 0 31.12 Total Debt to Capital (MRQ) 29.83 34.03 11.64 25.17 ROE 17.32 21.24 9.47 16.01 ROA 10.9 9.67 -46.98 -1.80 ROIC (Return on Invested Capital) 13.8 15.52 9.5 12.94 Assets Asset Turnover 1.43 1.29 0.88 1.20 Asset per Employee 143,123.72 528,095.93 1.03 M 0.57 M Inventory Turnover 6.72 5.74 6.79 6.42 Apart from quantitative criteria, there are some qualitative criteria needed to be taken into consideration. These criteria are presented in question forms, including the following questions: * Is the hiring and recruitment process matched with the strategy? Among the workers working at Mattels plant, a large majority of the workers (79%) got their job by applying directly at the plant site, while another 19% were referred by friends. The average length of employment among the interviewed workers was approximately 4.0 years. However, for 26% of the workers, employment at Mattel was their first job. This indicates that while the workforce includes a sizeable proportion of temporary and seasonal workers, the core group provides Mattel with a substantial number of stable and experienced employees. The hiring process includes general company orientation, which covers such issues as the employment contract, rules of conduct, disciplinary measures, grievance procedures, wages deductions and overtime pay policies, transportation services, facilities, amenities and tour of the factory. Newly hired workers also receive information and training in the topics of Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS Orientation). Each worker at the Mattels plant ha s a signed contract on file. Employee personnel records also include illness and injury reports; disciplinary action reports; medical examinations and maternity leave reports. All new hires are also given a medical examination. They also received job-related training of varying length based on the specific requirements of their jobs. Based on these mechanisms on hiring and recruitment, Mattel is able to ensure they have selected the best and right people to achieve companys goals. Are the workers able to understand and practice GMP? GMP is very important in ensuring the quality of products. Interviewed workers largely confirmed that they were familiar with various provisions of Mattels GMP. Management Compliance Report (MCR) indicated that GMP document in local language was provided to all employees and is available in local language. The Plant Manager plays the key role in communicating GMP information to supervisors and employees. The MCR also stated that information on GMP is provided twice a year, through various sources such as the new hire orientation program, employee handbook, boards and the company intranet. Are the plants workers financially motivated to achieve companys objectives? Financial compensations to plants workers are very important to maintain the morale and motivation level of workers. The minimum wage for Tijuana is $41.67 (Mexican pesos) per day. Temporary workers at the Mexicos plant earn at least $74.00 per day; while the core groups minimum wage is $85. All overtime is paid at double wage rates, up to 9 overtime hours each week. All hours worked in excess of 9 hours per week are paid at triple rates. In addition, workers also receive attendance and punctuality bonuses. Besides, all confirmed workers are also entitled to annual leave, sick leave, maternity leave, free vacation, free transportation, free coffee and bakery products, free training courses, and etc. These policies are able to match the workers objectives with companys objectives when they are well compensated. Are work environment of manufacturing operations and related facilities able to ensure the quality of work from workers? As an example, the plant in Mexico is a large plant consisting of one building covering an area of over 473,000 sq. square feet. The facility has installed a very modern and efficient delivery system for handling raw materials. Resins for manufacturing plastic are delivered by trucks to a roadside facility where they are stored in large silos. From there, they are delivered to the molding machines on the factory floor through a sophisticated computer-controlled system. The process is designed to keep the site clean and helps minimize spillage and waste. The facility maintains, among others, detailed and up-to-date records on plant maintenance, air filtration, noise control, fire prevention, and safe storage of hazardous materials. The high standards of environmental health safety of the plant were also confirmed by the ICCA professional engineering audit team through an extensive â€Å"walk through† of the entire plant. ICCAs inspection confirmed that the plant was in â€Å"good† operating condition internally and in â€Å"fair† condition externally. The plant provides free-of-charge Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to all employees where use of such equipment is required and appropriate. The factory meets or exceeds the GMP requirements for bathroom, wash basins, and clean drinking water. Toilets are equipped with an effective flushing system and are maintained and cleaned on a regular basis. The dining area at the factory canteen is quite attractive. Colorful paintings, natural light through large windows a nd TV for entertainment provides the dining room with a pleasant environment. There is also an outside eating area for those who wish to smoke. Employees are served two meals per shift. The meals are mostly subsidized by the factory with workers paying only a nominal sum. In addition, the medical clinic at the plant is excellent and well-staffed. It is open 24 hours and seven days a week. It is staffed with one medical doctor and three qualified nurses. The clinic has a good record keeping system for the workers use of the clinic including work-related injury data. In short, Mattel has a well maintained facility and operates in an efficient manner while ensuring that the plant provides a clean, safe and healthy work environment for its employees. This also helps to ensure the workers produce high-quality products. 1.1.3 Taking corrective actions The final strategy-evaluation activity is about taking corrective actions, which requires making changes to competitively reposition a firm for the future. These corrective actions might be derived from the inspection of internal or external auditors who review and evaluate the practices and policies of a company. Some corrective actions, for example, like altering an organizations structure, replacing one or more key individuals, selling a division, or revising a business mission. Other changes could include establishing or revising objectives, devising new policies, issuing stock to raise capital, adding additional salespersons, differently allocating resources, or developing new performance incentives. As for Mattel, despites some of the scandals, it has been performing well since its establishment. When there were discrepancies of performance from target, Mattel had made corrective actions accordingly. 1. Mattel Independent Monitoring Council for Global Manufacturing Principles In this internal auditing practice, the physical plant, including all manufacturing and storage areas, were found to be in excellent condition. The plant and its related machinery were well maintained. The housekeeping appeared to be very good resulting in a neat, clean and safe operating plant. MIMCO was especially attentive to ensure that employees were properly using safety equipment and that environmental practices were being followed. However, there are few areas have been identified to make improvements. Employee Treatment by Line Supervisors MIMCO report of the previous audit had noted that the primary source of employee dissatisfaction pertained to incidents, albeit infrequent, of verbal abuse by line supervisors especially when it is meted out in public and in the presence of co-workers. It was recommended that Montois plant management review all pertinent issues of supervision and human relations in its weekly meetings. Further, the plant management should take action to strengthen its first-line supervisor training program. Work-place Hazards Mattel was found to have insufficient storage space as it had reached its maximum capacity. This shortage led to storage of volatile compounds in a tool crib in the middle of the factory assembly line. Another issue of concern was the noise level in some areas caused by the sonic welding machines. This noise level was found to be in access of Mattel GMP standards in the vicinity of the sonic welding operations. A possible work hazard described by employees was the risk of fire when water spilled from machines on the electric cables in work areas. MIMCO recommended an upgrade to the water feeding system and training of employees. The use of all-purpose utility knives to trim the mold marks was identified as a work hazard by management, production employees and the MIMCO team. These cuts were found to be a major source of injury and lost-days of work. Mattel had made corrective actions accordingly to rectify the mistakes and improve on the insufficiencies. Insufficient Bathroom and Toilet Facilities In the initial audit of Montoi, employees had complained about long waiting time for the use of bathrooms. The employees felt that there were not enough bathrooms to meet their needs when the plant was operating at full capacity. Although, the number of available bathrooms met both the GMP standards and the Mexican law, it was recommended that serious consideration should be given to expanding these facilities. The Montoi plant has added 11 more toilets for female employees and 8 for male employees. 2. Mattels corrective actions on ICCA 2004 Follow-Up Report of Mattel Owned and Operated Plants in China Regular and Overtime Work Hours ICCA found that Mattels plants were scheduling work hours in excess of Mattels 60 hour per week requirement. In response to this, Mattel has elected to limit the maximum number of working hours to 60 per week during normal operations, and 72 hours per week during peak periods and other extraordinary situations, provided that overtime is voluntary, the employees are paid appropriately and work hours in excess of 60 hours per week, but less than 72 hours per week, do not exceed 1/3 of the year for each employee. Payment of Minimum Wages Mattels China partner at the Guan Yao facility had made a good faith effort in negotiating a minimum wage that was competitive with other local cities, and had sought out and received approval for the reduced minimum wage originally stipulated for their area. With respect to this reduction of minimum wage at Mattels Guan Yao plant, Mattel has instituted a policy in conjunction with the new minimum wage increase slated for early 2005, which requires Mattels China partner to pay the stated minimum wage for the area. Due to the inconsistency in legal opinion regarding local waivers allowing a reduction of the minimum wage, Mattel will no longer accept these types of waivers from the local labor bureau. Inappropriate Wage Rate During Temporary Shut Downs and Other Circumstances There are three separate and distinct situations with respect to the amount of money employees are compensated for hours worked. In each case that ICCA has identified, Mattel has gone back and assessed an acceptable corrective action. For example, in the case of Guan Yao Chang An, with respect to the payment of minimum wages during down time for internal factors within control of the plant operations, Mattel has instituted a policy of paying the employees minimum wage during these unexpected shutdown periods. This policy change was instituted in January 2004. Mandatory Deductions and Legally Mandated Benefits Mattels annual leave policy has been amended to reflect the actual days of service an employee has worked over the length of their tenure at Mattel. In 2004, Mattel will compensate employees with 5 days of paid leave for those who quit before the end of the year and have one year of service. Mattels policy with respect to maternity leave was updated in 2004. All employees seeking maternity leave, regardless of whether they return to work, will be compensated for the full 90 days, as allowed under Chinese labor law. Mattels policy on deductions for room and board was changed in 2004. All employees who stay in the dorm and eat at the cafeteria will be charged no more than 50 percent of their minimum wage rate. It should further be noted that staying in the dorms is voluntary for employees. 1.2 Balanced Scorecard There are few criteria have been introduced to evaluate and review the performance of Mattel Inc. 1.2.1 Customers Product Quality and Safety Mattels reputation for product quality and safety is among its most valuable assets. Their commitment to product quality and safety is an integral part of their design, manufacturing, testing and distribution processes, and is essential to the success of their business. Childrens health, safety and well-being are their primary concern. They will meet or exceed legal requirements and industry standards for product quality and safety. They strive to earn their consumers trust through their dedication to safety, and to exceed the expectations of parents. Employees have an obligation to immediately report any concerns about product safety or quality to Mattels Worldwide Product Integrity Department. Consumer Information They respect the confidentiality of consumer information consistent with all applicable privacy and data protection laws and regulations. They do not share, sell or trade any private or sensitive personal information obtained online from children without the prior consent of the parent or unless compelled by legal process. Advertising and Promotions Mattels brand and product promotion activities, including advertising, packaging, point of purchase displays, promotional programs and sweepstakes, should be conducted in a manner consistent with applicable laws and with their reputation for honesty and integrity. They adhere to high standards of commercial fairness in ads and promotions. They must accurately portray the features, quality and performance of their products in all advertising media and packaging in a manner appropriate for their target audience. They do not misstate facts or provide misleading or deceptive information about Mattels products, or the products of a competitor. They should be diligent in safeguarding the reputation of Mattel brands and products by being selective about promotional opportunities, such as event sponsorship and other joint promotions, avoiding association of Mattels name with any product, service or activity which might be considered unsafe or inappropriate for children, or with any person or organization if the relationship might be damaging to Mattels reputation. 1.2.2 Managers/Employees Respect They will treat others as they want to be treated with respect, dignity and fairness. They have the right to work in an environment free from discrimination and harassment based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, ancestry, social origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status or other protected characteristics. They also respect their co-workers rights, and remember that such discrimination and harassment will not be tolerated. They should speak out when the conduct of a coworker makes them or others uncomfortable. They each have a responsibility to report to Human Resources any such harassment or discrimination that they experience or observe. Diversity Mattel recognizes diversity as an asset, and is committed to actively seeking and promoting diversity in the workforce. They value the different perspectives, insights and experiences of diverse individuals and cultures, and they aspire to create a company culture that encourages an expression of, and a respect for, diverse viewpoints. They provide equal employment opportunity for all applicants and employees, without regard to factors such as race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, ancestry, social origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status or other protected characteristics. They make employment decisions to meet their business needs based on factors such as qualifications, skills and achievement. They comply with local and national employment laws. Employee Health and Safety Mattel is committed to providing a safe, healthful and environmentally responsible workplace, and has established safety programs to provide information and training for safe practices in the normal conduct of business and for emergencies. They are responsible for observing safety and health rules, for taking appropriate precautionary measures and for reporting unsafe or hazardous conditions to their supervisors, to Mattels Global Sustainability Department, Global Security Department or local Mattel security personnel. In order to maintain their high standards for quality, productivity and safety, they should be in suitable mental and physical condition at work. Possessing, buying or selling, using or being under the influence of illegal drugs or engaging in any other activities which create an unsafe work environment while on duty, or when on Mattel premises, are expressly prohibited. The consumption of alcohol while on duty or when on Mattel premises is prohibited except during approved Mattel social functions, or during business meals. 1.2.3 Investors/Shareholders Protecting Mattel Assets All employees and Directors share in the responsibility to protect Mattels assets, including physical assets, financial assets, intellectual property and proprietary information from theft, loss, damage, misuse or waste. Those of them who have custody of company property, such as vehicles and laptop computers, should take appropriate measures to ensure their proper security and use.

Springs Industries Inc. :: Business Management Studies

Springs Industries Inc. Springs Industries Inc. is a $2.2 billion textile company that is headquartered in Fort Mill, South Carolina. Springs Industries focuses its efforts into the production of the home furnishings market, and operates under well-known brand names such as Wamsutta, Springmaid, Disney, LizAt Home and Bill Blass. Their home furnishings segment account’s for nearly 82% of the company’s revenue, and remains one of the leading producers of bedding, bath and other home furnishing products in the United States (McFarlan, pg. 1, 1997). In 1995, Springs acquired several additional companies in which they could facilitate the introduction of new and complementary products that would provide them with a distinct set of product offerings. However, integrating these new companies into the existing operating environment would pose significant challenges. â€Å"Presenting one face the customer† was of the utmost importance to Springs and fusing the â€Å"back-office, administrative, and marketing efforts of its acquisitions† would present numerous complexities (McFarlan, pg. 1, 1997). Knowledge Building The home furnishing market which Springs competes in is extremely volatile. In the home furnishings market, earnings are directly related to fast and flexible product development, short production cycles, and ability to replenish stock supplies quickly. Recently, Springs industry rival WestPoint Stevens was making waves in the marketplace from the payoff of their heavy investments the past five years into technologies that increased their current capacity 12%. To further stress the need for Springs to re-work their existing structure, one must first understand that in this industry it is critical to present a strong product lineup because retailers increasingly wish to purchase from fewer suppliers. This is evidences by another competitor of Springs, Pillowtex, in recent times acquired additional smaller companies which will allow the expansion of their current offerings, and position them to compete directly with Springs in the existing home furnishing market (McFarlan, pp. 1-3, 1997). Wanting to remain competitive and on top of their respective market, in 1997 Springs Inc. hired up and coming executive Crandall Bowles to lead them into the new millennium. Bowles top priority was to direct her efforts on the company’s information systems and determine both the breadth of expenditures and the pace of innovation necessary in order to increase profit by quickening the pace of its application of new technology and sources of information to marketing, customer service, and inventory management (McFarlan, pp 1-2, 1997). Springs deals specifically with large retailers, the likes of Wal-Mart, Kmart and Target. These companies demand that suppliers manage their existing inventories according to current purchasing trends, which are identified though the collection of Point of Sale (POS) data and the use analytical sophisticated Information Technologies (IT).

The Role Of The U.s. In The Third World In The Year 2000 :: essays research papers

The Role of the U.S. in the Third World in the Year 2000   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The United States budget will continue to tighten and we must better utilize our dollars spent on Third World aid. The questions of illegal immigration, the population explosion, and environmental issues will become vital to our future. With closer linkage of US aid to these issues we can get the most bang for our buck.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The best way to stop illegal immigration into the United States is not to erect higher fences at our borders, but to invest in the third world, primarily Mexico. Providing jobs at home where they enjoy life without worry about the INS is the best solution. This solution will be cheaper than increasing funding for border patrols and INS personnel. If we were able to keep most illegal immigrates home, the more impoverished they would become and the greater the incentive for them to cross the border. By investing and improving their homeland, more people would stay home, rather than take the dangerous journey to an unknown country to provide food for their families.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Slowing down population rates of third world countries must be another priority. Empowering women in third world countries, giving them independence from their husband and a choice in birth control is a start. Smaller grants similar to Foundation of the Philippine Environment can reward particular actions of foreign government, whether it be environmental, social or economic. Too many of current policies are aimed at creating markets for our commercial interests.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  We must also link aid with environmental issues, making the rain forest and jungles more profitable to locals without bulldozing them. This has been demonstrated in Uganda with the mountain gorillas. Eco-tourism is helping the local economies and the national governments. This was also working in Rwanda until Civil War tore this country apart. Fortunately the mountain gorillas have been left alone for the most part, since this was their third largest income provider and the number one and two sources, coffee and tea fields were destroyed during the war.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Worldwide instant communication has improved human rights. The use of fax machines and cell telephones during the Tiananmen Square uprising informed the world of events and somewhat restrained the Chinese. Dan Rather doing the evening news from the Square while the protests were happening prevented the massacre from being ignored. The advent of CNN has put instant news into the hands of people all over the world.

Western Scientific Perspectives :: essays research papers

Anthropology 122-1   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Western Scientific Perspectives   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Walking on a clear night a person can’t help but look up and see the stars. Each beautiful, illuminating the night sky along with the moon, far away yet close enough to admire and wonder. I sit sometimes outside and just look up and gaze in wonder at the stars, but the scientists in me thinks further. The stars are like our sun in the solar system, hydrogen balls, exploding, radiating energy and light in all directions yet we are so far that we see them as specks in the night sky. Then there are those night where Venus and Mercury can be seen among the stars, almost a spiritual experience. Science has taught us that gravity and other laws of nature control the movement of such celestial objects and control everyday happenings where most would not give it a second thought.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In life we all seek the truth, the truths about the universe; our surroundings. Some people seek the truth through what science tells us. The Big Bang Theory tells us that there was a massive explosion where concentrated matter is scattered all over what is the universe and over time the planets and other systems formed to their current states. Then some seek the truth through religion and God and so we have the story of Genesis from the Bible. Fritjof Capra, author of The Tao of Physics, was a high-energy physicist who conducted years of research in his career and understood his surroundings as a physicist but through his learning the religious philosophies of Hinduism, Buddhism and Taoism saw his surroundings are more than that. Capra saw a rhythm that surrounded everything.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"I ‘saw’ cascades of energy coming down from outer space, in which particles were created and destroyed in rhythmic pulses; I ‘saw’ the atoms of the elements and those of my body participating in this cosmic dance of energy; I felt its rhythm and I ‘heard’ its sound, and at that moment I knew that this was the Dance of Shiva, the Lord of Dancers worshipped by the Hindus.† (Capra, 11) Ultimately Capra discovered for himself and argues is the view of the world explained through physics and the view given by philosophies such as Hindusim, Buddhism and Taoism are parallel to each other.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to Capra, knowledge can be divided into to parts, rational and intuitive. Everyday we learn, we gain knowledge of our surroundings and from our everyday happenings.

Subway Is the Better Fast Food Restaurant.

COM155 Subway Is The Better Fast Food Restaurant. Living in this crazy world that is today, where family dinners consist of whatever fast food restaurant is on the way home from work. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, it is no wonder why 33% of American adults and 17% of American children are obese. Subway and McDonald’s are the two giants in the fast food world. They have both fans and boycotters. However Subway is a better fast food restaurant than McDonalds, due to Subway’s children’s meals choices, advertising, amount of locations and nutrition.Advertising is the way that companies bring in customers. Advertisements can make mouth water and the consumer crave what the advertisement is offering. Subway has an advertising campaign that offers a â€Å"limited time† deal where the consumer can get a certain type of Foot long sandwich for five dollars. The deals last a month long. At the end of the month the sandwich is switched ou t and another one is put in its place. McDonald’s has a similar deal. They come out with specialty sandwiches or burgers every few months for example the McRib which is only three inches and cost four dollars.McDonald’s advertises to the younger consumers while Subway advertises to a â€Å"healthier† consumer. Both ways of advertising are far and legal. However no parent wants to deal with their child, which has just seen an ad for a â€Å"Happy Meal†, throwing a temper tantrum because they do not get to have a â€Å"Happy Meal. † Both companies are bringing in consumers in the masses. McDonald’s and Subway have kid’s meals. This is a meal that has a smaller portion meant for a child. The Subway â€Å"Fresh Fit† kid’s meals have a choice of â€Å"mini sandwich† which is three inches, and the child’s choice of a side and a drink.The choices include: chips, apple slices, or a cookie for the side and three dif ferent kinds of milk, juice, water, or a small soda for the drink. The calories range for these meals is from 150 to 220 calories per meal with the average meal being 208 calories. McDonald’s â€Å"Happy Meal† comes with a burger, or chicken nuggets, a â€Å"kids† fry, apple slices, and a drink. The drink choices are two different types of milk, juice or soda. The calories range for these meals is from 320 to 430 calories per meal with the average meal being 376 calories. That is almost double the amount of calories than the kid’s meal is at Subway.As a parent, McDonald’s â€Å"Happy Meals† have too many calories and are making today’s kids fatter than ever. The amount of locations and sales are important to any company. Heller (2011) noted that Subway is now the largest fast food company in the world. It has 33,749 locations all over the world, while McDonald’s has 32,737 locations. However by the amount of sales McDonald†™s in the largest. McDonald’s has reported that they have 24 billion dollars in sales a year. Subway posts sales reports at 15. 2 billion dollars a year. So why is it that a restaurant that has more location has less reported earnings?The cost of subway’s food is more expensive. When a company buys fresh food versus frozen foods, the earnings go down because the fresh food costs more money. On top of that Subway would rather make a little less profit and get a better product to its consumers that is healthier for them and that cost the same amount of money than a place that is not as nutritious for them, like McDonald’s. The menu options and nutrition are very different at these two places. Subway has choices like sandwiches, salads, and soups as a main course, while McDonald’s has burgers, chicken pieces and salads as a main course.The sides for these two places are similar with things like apples, yogurt and cookies. Nevertheless they can be very diff erent as well with McDonald’s carrying things like fries, ice cream while Subway Choices to carry things like baked chips. As for drinks McDonald’s carries: soda, water, tea, milk, juice, and coffee. Whereas Subway carries soda, water, juice and milk. With all these options the choices are endless, however so are the calories. So let’s look at just the main course. When a consumer orders a meal from Subway they are looking at a range of 230 calories to 600 calories for just the sandwich with an average of 391 per sandwich.At McDonald’s the same consumer ordering a meal is looking at a range of 250 to 800 calories for just the burger with the average of 444 calories per sandwich. Now if this consumer does not just eat a burger or sandwich, which most consumers eat a whole meal, then they are looking at close to 1000 calories per meal at McDonald’s and 600 calories at Subway. Concerning menu options and calories the clear winner is Subway. McDonaldâ €™s or Subway is the million dollar question. McDonald’s with its deep fried and frozen foods can do nothing but add more fat to an already obese country.Subway could help Americans out of their obesity problem, with their fresh healthy foods. After all the talk about children’s meals, advertisement, amount of locations and reported sales, and nutrition it is easy to see why Subway it the healthier and smarter fast food choice that more Americans should be making. References page Center for Disease Control and Prevention at www. cdc. gov Overweight and Obesity, Data and Statistices, U. S. Obesity Trends February 27, 2012 Laura Heller, Subway Is Now Bigger Than McDonald’s, March 08, 2011 www. dailyfinance. com

Brain and Language

Damasio and Damasio (1992) discussed the detailed mechanics of language processing by the human brain. Their article, first established a general understanding of such concepts as the brain’s ability to categorize and classify word-forms through the mediation of the human sensors. According to their article, the brain’s left and right hemispheres contains three neural structures. The first extensive structure processes the non-verbal representations organizing objects, events, and relationships.Second structure, located only in the left hemisphere is responsible for producing the language through and with phonemes, phonemic and syntactic structures with the resulting word-forms. They referred to the third structure as a mediating structure that can change the concept into the word form or vice versa. Their further discourse proceeded into the specifics of the brain anatomy and various effects of the damage or lesions of the portions of the brain. Their examples with the color recognition were particularly impressive when they described the condition known as achromatopsia – lack of ability to perceive colors (i.e. seeing the environment in the shades of gray). The article was especially effective in describing the complicated mechanism behind the color recognition, color categorization and classification, and producing the correct word-form for the specific color. The article argues against the traditionally thought the â€Å"pictorial† representations of the objects, persons, or any combination of the environmental experiences but instead the authors describe their theory of how records of neural activity are stored in the sensory and motor cortices.Such patterns of synaptic activity also act through and with associations on which one particular object will associate with the patterns of color, shape, usage, tactile perceptions, and the feelings that a person has usually when using this object. The authors further state that the neu ral actions that occur as the result of interaction between the person and the object happen in different functional areas of the brain and come together in areas of â€Å"convergence† of synaptic connections.Then recall of the event and its associated experiences depend upon simultaneous reactivation of the neural actions within the neuron assemblies when those fire simultaneously and reactivate the previously occurred patterns of neural activity. Simultaneously, the categorization and classification occurs in such similar or related neural actions are activated together. The categorization and classification abilities of the first neural structure make it possible to distinguish objects by their characteristics and function ‘stored’ previously, as Damasio and Damasio describe the example with a coffee cup.Such ‘recollection’ is perhaps responsible for the brain’s ability to express the formed within concept and to understand a comprehensive input as the concept. The article further exemplifies a curious condition in which a patient would loose an ability to define a concept for a unique entity (like an animal species in the author’s example). From this example, the reader would learn that the affected patient would not be able to name any animal species (i. e. raccoon) nor would say its size, color, or shape.He would simply say â€Å"animal† when presented with the picture of a raccoon (Damasio Damasio, 1992). When describing the affect produced by the specific lesion of the portion within the left hemisphere, the authors wrote about the earlier discovery by Paul Broca and Carl Wernicke of the phenomenon called ‘cerebral dominance’ which specifically pointed out at the left hemisphere as the organ responsible for the production and processing of human language in â€Å"99 percent of right-handed and two-thirds of left handers.† The article confirms these studied by briefly discussing t he research by Edward Klima of the University of California at San Diego and Ursula Bellugi of the Salk Institute of Biological Studies in San Diego who have discovered that aphasia (condition that impedes language-interpreting ability) is caused by damage to the particular region of the left hemisphere of the brain. Using the aphasic patients, the investigators were able to map the neural activities responsible for the formation of the language and its interpretation (also including other variations of language such as sign language) (Damasio & Damasio, 1992).With having a map in front of them, the neuroscientists and other field investigators would be able to specify exactly which function would be impaired as the result of damage to which portion of the left hemisphere. This would also extend to the predictive ability as far as other functions of the whole language production mechanism are concerned. Example of such can be actual production of speech sounds, intonation (i. e.spea king in a ‘flat tone’, long pauses between the words and defective grammar), the impairment of associative and habit learning, production of nouns, production of verbs (nouns and verbs are produced and processed in different regions), difficulty understanding meanings that represent the syntactic structures, and the inability to understand the meaning of non-reversible passive structures. The authors further attempt to defend their point of view in favor of the mediating system between the structure that is responsible for concept processing and the system that actually produces word and word structures.According to them, the mediating system’s function would be that of the selection of the correct meaning of lexicon or that connecting the concepts’ interrelationship. It is understood that mediation system is mostly activated when the person attempts to understand the comprehensive input. The purpose of comprehension sets in motion the mediating system tha t is capable of bringing associative connections between the concepts, particular experiences, and generalized experiences together. To exemplify their view, the authors mention A. N. and L. R.as patients who have a problem in retrieval of common nouns representing certain entities. Their deficit in the specific word-form retrieval is causes by their inability to activate the mediation system that deprives them of the ability to bring the connection between the concepts (i. e. of the noun and what that noun represents as far as the object and its function). Damasio and Damasio explained such selective deficiency by stating that the selectivity in conceptualization of entities depends upon the absence or presence of the personal relation of the patient to the entity/concept.By loosing the function of some regions of the left hemisphere, the patients will respond by loosing the specific speech/conceptualization function that is mapped to that region. In A. N. and L. R. case it was the damage to anterior and midtemporal cortices that rendered them unable to pick may common nouns. The article concludes with the detailed discourse into the studies by the group of researchers at Washington University.Specifically, this group was interested in the production and interpretation of verbs and functors and how the nouns can be mediated together with the appropriate actions, like the noun ‘apple’ would mediate with the verb ‘eat. ’ Their conclusions illustrated a situation in which the damage to the certain left hemisphere regions would disrupt such association rendering the patient unable to produce the appropriate verb and further disrupting their use of grammar (Damasio & Damasio, 1992).The article was comprehensive in its purpose in terms of being able to describe the complex structure and function of the left hemisphere’s regions responsible for processing, production, and mediation of the components of human language. The only critiq ue of the article that I have is that the authors attempted to place too much of very specific information into a very small format. The complexity of the concepts behind the message would be better delivered if more practical examples were used and the text would be delineated with a larger number of lay terms.In general, the article’s audience appeared to be professionals or paraprofessionals who already had a significant understanding within the field. It would be difficult to understand for people with a limited knowledge and background within the field. The illustrations were adequate and the sources appropriate in both quality and quantity. My suggestion for the further research would be targeting the Visio-Spatial Memory Units that are units of memory assembled from different perceptual input within the Working Memory (Baddely, 1992).Further, my suggestion would be to investigate the alternative approaches to the definition and theoretical function-ability of the short -term memory. References Baddeley AD. 1992. Working memory. Science 255:556-59 Damasio, A. R. , & Damasio, H. (1992). Brain and Language, Scientific American, pg. 89- 95, Retrieved June 28, 2007 from http://www. utdallas. edu/~wkatz/Proseminar_articles. html

An Approach to Detect and Prevent Sql Injection Attacks in Database Using Web Service

IJCSNS International Journal of Computer Science and Network Security, VOL. 11 No. 1, January 2011 197 An Approach to Detect and Prevent SQL Injection Attacks in Database Using Web Service IndraniBalasundaram 1 Dr. E. Ramaraj2 1 Lecturer, Department of Computer Science, Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai 2 Director of Computer Centre Alagappa University, Karaikudi. Abstract SQL injection is an attack methodology that targets the data residing in a database through the firewall that shields it. The attack takes advantage of poor input validation in code and ebsite administration. SQL Injection Attacks occur when an attacker is able to insert a series of SQL statements in to a ‘query’ by manipulating user input data in to a web-based application, attacker can take advantages of web application programming security flaws and pass unexpected malicious SQL statements through a web application for execution by the backend database. This paper proposes a novel specification-ba sed methodology for the prevention of SQL injection Attacks. The two most important advantages of the new approach against xisting analogous mechanisms are that, first, it prevents all forms of SQL injection attacks; second, Current technique does not allow the user to access database directly in database server. The innovative technique â€Å"Web Service Oriented XPATH Authentication Technique† is to detect and prevent SQLInjection Attacks in database the deployment of this technique is by generating functions of two filtration models that are Active Guard and Service Detector of application scripts additionally allowing seamless integration with currently-deployed systems. General TermsLanguages, Security, Verification, Experimentation. Keywords Database security, world-wide web, web application security, SQL injection attacks, Runtime Monitoring changes to data. The fear of SQL injection attacks has become increasingly frequent and serious. . SQL-Injection Attacks are a cl ass of attacks that many of these systems are highly vulnerable to, and there is no known fool-proof defend against such attacks. Compromise of these web applications represents a serious threat to organizations that have deployed them, and also to users who trust these systems to store confidential data. The Web applications hat are vulnerable to SQL-Injection attacks user inputs the attacker’s embeds commands and gets executed [4]. The attackers directly access the database underlying an application and leak or alter confidential information and execute malicious code [1][2]. In some cases, attackers even use an SQL Injection vulnerability to take control and corrupt the system that hosts the Web application. The increasing number of web applications falling prey to these attacks is alarmingly high [3] Prevention of SQLIA’s is a major challenge. It is difficult to implement and enforce a rigorous defensive coding discipline. Many olutions based on defensive coding ad dress only a subset of the possible attacks. Evaluation of â€Å"â€Å"Web Service Oriented XPATH Authentication Technique† has no code modification as well as automation of detection and prevention of SQL Injection Attacks. Recent U. S. industry regulations such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act [5] pertaining to information security, try to enforce strict security compliance by application vendors. 1. Introduction 1. 1 SAMPLE – APPLICATION Information is the most important business asset in today’s environment and achieving an appropriate level of Information Security. SQL-Injection Attacks (SQLIA’s) re one of the topmost threats for web application security. For example financial fraud, theft confidential data, deface website, sabotage, espionage and cyber terrorism. The evaluation process of security tools for detection and prevention of SQLIA’s. To implement security guidelines inside or outside the database it is recommended to access the sensitive databases should be monitored. It is a hacking technique in which the attacker adds SQL statements through a web application's input fields or hidden parameters to gain access to resources or make Application that contain SQL Injection vulnerability.The example refers to a fairly simple vulnerability that could be prevented using a straightforward coding fix. This example is simply used for illustrative purposes because it is easy to understand and general enough to illustrate many different types of attacks. The code in the example uses the input parameters LoginID, password to dynamically build an SQL query and submit it to a database. For example, if a user submits loginID and password as â€Å"secret,† and â€Å"123,† the application dynamically builds and submits the query: Manuscript received January 5, 2011 Manuscript revised January 20, 2011 198IJCSNS International Journal of Computer Science and Network Security, VOL. 11 No. 1, January 2011 SELECT * from FROM loginID=’secret’ AND pass1=123 user_info WHERE If the loginID and password match the corresponding entry in the database, it will be redirect to user_main. aspx page other wise it will be redirect to error. aspx page. 1. dim loginId, Password as string 2. loginId = Text1. Text 3. password = Text2. Text 3. cn. open() 4. qry=†select * from user_info where LoginID=’† & loginID & â€Å"’ and pass1=† & password & â€Å"† 5. cmd=new sqlcommand(qry,cn) 6. rd=cmd. executereader() 7. if (rd. Read=True) Then 8. Response. redirect(â€Å"user_main. spx†) 9. else 10. Response. redirect(â€Å"error. aspx†) 11. end if 12. cn. close() 13. cmd. dispose() b. Union Query In union-query attacks, Attackers do this by injecting a statement of the form: UNION SELECT because the attackers completely control the second/injected query they can use that query to retrieve information from a specified table. The result of this attack is that th e database returns a dataset that is the union of the results of the original first query and the results of the injected second query. Example: An attacker could inject the text â€Å"’ UNION SELECT pass1 from user_info where LoginID=’secret – -† nto the login field, which produces the following query: SELECT pass1 FROM user_info WHERE loginID=’’ UNION SELECT pass1 from user_info where LoginID=’secret’ — AND pass1=’’ Assuming that there is no login equal to â€Å"†, the original first query returns the null set, whereas the second query returns data from the â€Å"user_info† table. In this case, the database would return column â€Å"pass1† for account â€Å"secret†. The database takes the results of these two queries, unions them, and returns them to the application. In many applications, the effect of this operation is that the value for â€Å"pass1† is displayed along with the account informationFigure 1: Example of . NET code implementation. 1. 2 Techniques of SQLIA’S Most of the attacks are not in isolated they are used together or sequentially, depending on the specific goals of the attacker. a. Tautologies Tautology-based attack is to inject code in one or more conditional statements so that they always evaluate to true. The most common usages of this technique are to bypass authentication pages and extract data. If the attack is successful when the code either displays all of the returned records or performs some action if at least one record is returned. Example: In this example attack, an attacker submits â€Å" ’ or 1=1 – -†The Query for Login mode is: SELECT * FROM user_info WHERE loginID=’’ or 1=1 – AND pass1=’’ The code injected in the conditional (OR 1=1) transforms the entire WHERE clause into a tautology the query evaluates to true for each row in the table and returns a ll of them. In our example, the returned set evaluates to a not null value, which causes the application to conclude that the user authentication was successful. Therefore, the application would invoke method user_main. aspx and to access the application [6] [7] [8]. c. Stored Procedures SQL Injection Attacks of this type try to execute stored procedures present in the database.Today, most database vendors ship databases with a standard set of stored procedures that extend the functionality of the database and allow for interaction with the operating system. Therefore, once an attacker determines which backend database is in use, SQLIAs can be crafted to execute stored procedures provided by that specific database, including procedures that interact with the operating system. It is a common misconception that using stored procedures to write Web applications renders them invulnerable to SQLIAs. Developers are often surprised to find that their stored procedures can be just as vulner able o attacks as their normal applications [18, 24]. Additionally, because stored procedures are often written in special scripting languages, they can contain other types of vulnerabilities, such as buffer overflows, that allow attackers to run arbitrary code on the server or escalate their privileges. CREATE PROCEDURE DBO. UserValid(@LoginID varchar2, @pass1 varchar2 AS EXEC(â€Å"SELECT * FROM user_info WHERE loginID=’† [email  protected]+ â€Å"’ and pass1=’† [email  protected]+ â€Å"’†);GO Example: This example demonstrates how a parameterized stored procedure can be exploited via an SQLIA. In the example, we assume that the query string constructed at ines 5, 6 and 7 of our example has been replaced by a call IJCSNS International Journal of Computer Science and Network Security, VOL. 11 No. 1, January 2011 to the stored procedure defined in Figure 2. The stored procedure returns a true/false value to indicate whether the u ser’s credentials authenticated correctly. To launch an SQLIA, the attacker simply injects â€Å" ’ ; SHUTDOWN; –† into either the LoginID or pass1 fields. This injection causes the stored procedure to generate the following query: SELECT * FROM user_info WHERE loginID=’secret’ AND pass1=’; SHUTDOWN; -At this point, this attack works like a piggy-back attack.The first query is executed normally, and then the second, malicious query is executed, which results in a database shut down. This example shows that stored procedures can be vulnerable to the same range of attacks as traditional application code [6] [11] [12] [10] [13] [14] [15]. d. Extended stored procedures IIS(Internet Information Services) Reset There are several extended stored procedures that can cause permanent damage to a system[19]. Extended stored procedure can be executed by using login form with an injected command as the LoginId LoginId:';execmaster.. xp_xxx;-Passwo rd:[Anything] LoginId:';execmaster.. p_cmdshell'iisreset';-Password:[Anything] select password from user_info where LoginId=†; exec master.. xp_cmdshell ‘iisreset'; –‘ and Password=† This Attack is used to stop the service of the web server of particular Web application. Stored procedures primarily consist of SQL commands, while XPs can provide entirely new functions via their code. An attacker can take advantage of extended stored procedure by entering a suitable command. This is possible if there is no proper input validation. xp_cmdshell is a built-in extended stored procedure that allows the execution of arbitrary command lines. For example: exec master.. p_cmdshell ‘dir' will obtain a directory listing of the current working directory of the SQL Server process. In this example, the attacker may try entering the following input into a search form can be used for the attack. When the query string is parsed and sent to SQL Server, the server wi ll process the following code: SELECT * FROM user_info WHERE input text =† exec master.. xp_cmdshell LoginId /DELETE'–‘ 199 Here, the first single quote entered by the user closes the string and SQL Server executes the next SQL statements in the batch including a command to delete a LoginId to the user_info table in the database. . Alternate Encodings Alternate encodings do not provide any unique way to attack an application they are simply an enabling technique that allows attackers to evade detection and prevention techniques and exploit vulnerabilities that might not otherwise be exploitable. These evasion techniques are often necessary because a common defensive coding practice is to scan for certain known â€Å"bad characters,† such as single quotes and comment operators. To evade this defense, attackers have employed alternate methods of encoding their attack strings (e. g. , using hexadecimal, ASCII, and Unicode character encoding).Common scanning an d detection techniques do not try to evaluate all specially encoded strings, thus allowing these attacks to go undetected. Contributing to the problem is that different layers in an application have different ways of handling alternate encodings. The application may scan for certain types of escape characters that represent alternate encodings in its language domain. Another layer (e. g. , the database) may use different escape characters or even completely different ways of encoding. For example, a database could use the expression char(120) to represent an alternately-encoded character x†, but char(120) has no special meaning in the application language’s context. An effective code-based defense against alternate encodings is difficult to implement in practice because it requires developers to consider of all of the possible encodings that could affect a given query string as it passes through the different application layers. Therefore, attackers have been very succe ssful in using alternate encodings to conceal their attack strings. Example: Because every type of attack could be represented using an alternate encoding, here we simply provide an example of how esoteric an alternativelyencoded attack could appear.In this attack, the following text is injected into the login field: â€Å"secret’; exec(0x73687574646f776e) – – †. The resulting query generated by the application is: SELECT * FROM user_info WHERE loginID=’secret’; exec(char(0x73687574646f776e)) — AND pass1=’’ This example makes use of the char() function and of ASCII hexadecimal encoding. The char() function takes as a parameter an integer or hexadecimal encoding of a character and returns an instance of that character. The stream of numbers in the second part of the injection is the 200 IJCSNS International Journal of Computer Science and Network Security, VOL. 11 No. , January 2011 ASCII hexadecimal encoding of the strin g â€Å"SHUTDOWN. † Therefore, when the query is interpreted by the database, it would result in the execution, by the database, of the SHUTDOWN command. References: [6] f. Deny Database service This attack used in the websites to issue a denial of service by shutting down the SQL Server. A powerful command recognized by SQL Server is SHUTDOWN WITH NOWAIT [19]. This causes the server to shutdown, immediately stopping the Windows service. After this command has been issued, the service must be manually restarted by the administrator. select password from user_info whereLoginId=';shutdown with nowait; –‘ and Password='0' The ‘–‘ character sequence is the ‘single line comment' sequence in Transact – SQL, and the ‘;' character denotes the end of one query and the beginning of another. If he has used the default sa account, or has acquired the required privileges, SQL server will shut down, and will require a restart in order to f unction again. This attack is used to stop the database service of a particular web application. Select * from user_info where LoginId=’1;xp_cmdshell ‘format c:/q /yes ‘; drop database mydb; –AND pass1 = 0 This command is used to format the C: drive used by the ttacker. 2. Related Work There are existing techniques that can be used to detect and prevent input manipulation vulnerabilities. 2. 1 Web Vulnerability Scanning Web vulnerability scanners crawl and scan for web vulnerabilities by using software agents. These tools perform attacks against web applications, usually in a black-box fashion, and detect vulnerabilities by observing the applications’ response to the attacks [18]. However, without exact knowledge about the internal structure of applications, a black-box approach might not have enough test cases to reveal existing vulnerabilities and also have alse positives. 2. 2 Intrusion Detection System (IDS) Valeur and colleagues [17] propose the use of an Intrusion Detection System (IDS) to detect SQLIA. Their IDS system is based on a machine learning technique that is trained using a set of typical application queries. The technique builds models of the typical queries and then monitors the application at runtime to identify queries that do not match the model in that it builds expected query models and then checks dynamically-generated queries for compliance with the model. Their technique, however, like most techniques based on learning, can generate large umber of false positive in the absence of an optimal training set. Su and Wassermann [8] propose a solution to prevent SQLIAs by analyzing the parse tree of the statement, generating custom validation code, and wrapping the vulnerable statement in the validation code. They conducted a study using five real world web applications and applied their SQLCHECK wrapper to each application. They found that their wrapper stopped all of the SQLIAs in their attack set without g enerating any false positives. While their wrapper was effective in preventing SQLIAs with modern attack structures, we hope to shift the focus rom the structure of the attacks and onto removing the SQLIVs. 2. 3 Combined Static and Dynamic Analysis. AMNESIA is a model-based technique that combines static analysis and runtime monitoring [1][7]. In its static phase, AMNESIA uses static analysis to build models of the different types of queries an application can legally generate at each point of access to the database. In its dynamic phase, AMNESIA intercepts all queries before they are sent to the database and checks each query against the statically built models. Queries that violate the model are identified as SQLIA’s and prevented from executing on the database.In their evaluation, the authors have shown that this technique performs well against SQLIA’s. The primary limitation of this technique is that its success is dependent on the accuracy of its static analysis f or building query models. Certain types of code obfuscation or query development techniques could make this step less precise and result in both false positives and false negatives Livshits and Lam [16] use static analysis techniques to detect vulnerabilities in software. The basic approach is to use information flow techniques to detect when tainted input has been used to construct an SQL query. These ueries are then flagged as SQLIA vulnerabilities. The authors demonstrate the viability of their technique by using this approach to find security vulnerabilities in a benchmark suite. The primary limitation of this approach is that it can detect only known patterns of SQLIA’s and, IJCSNS International Journal of Computer Science and Network Security, VOL. 11 No. 1, January 2011 because it uses a conservative analysis and has limited support for untainting operations, can generate a relatively high amount of false positives. Wassermann and Su propose an approach that uses stati c analysis combined with automated reasoning to verify that he SQL queries generated in the application layer cannot contain a tautology [9]. The primary drawback of this technique is that its scope is limited to detecting and preventing tautologies and cannot detect other types of attacks. 3. Proposed Technique This Technique is used to detect and prevent SQLIA’s with runtime monitoring. The solution insights behind the technique are that for each application, when the login page is redirected to our checking page, it was to detect and prevent SQL Injection attacks without stopping legitimate accesses. Moreover, this technique proved to be efficient, imposing only a low overhead on the Web pplications. The contribution of this work is as follows: A new automated technique for preventing SQLIA’s where no code modification required, Webservice which has the functions of db_2_XMLGenrerator and XPATH_ Validator such that it is an XML query language to select specific part s of an XML document. XPATH is simply the ability to traverse nodes from XML and obtain information. It is used for the temporary storage of sensitive data’s from the database, Active Guard model is used to detect and prevent SQL Injection attacks. Service Detector model allow the Authenticated or legitimate user to access the web applications.The SQLIA’s are captured by altered logical flow of the application. Innovative technique (figure:1) monitors dynamically generated queries with Active Guard model and Service Detector model at runtime and check them for compliance. If the Data Comparison violates the model then it represents potential SQLIA’s and prevented from executing on the database. This proposed technique consists of two filtration models to prevent SQLIA’S. 1) Active Guard filtration model 2) Service Detector filtration model. The steps are summarized and then describe them in more detail in following sections. a. Active Guard Filtration Mod elActive Guard Filtration Model in application layer build a Susceptibility detector to detect and prevent the Susceptibility characters or Meta characters to prevent the malicious attacks from accessing the data’s from database. b. Service Detector Filtration Model Service Detector Filtration Model in application layer validates user input from XPATH_Validator where the Sensitive data’s are stored from the Database at second 201 level filtration model. The user input fields compare with the data existed in XPATH_Validator if it is identical then the Authenticated /legitimate user is allowed to proceed. c. Web Service LayerWeb service builds two types of execution process that are DB_2_Xml generator and XPATH_ Validator. DB_2_Xml generator is used to create a separate temporary storage of Xml document from database where the Sensitive data’s are stored in XPATH_ Validator, The user input field from the Service Detector compare with the data existed in XPATH_ Val idator, if the data’s are similar XPATH_ Validator send a flag with the count iterator value = 1 to the Service Detector by signifying the user data is valid. Procedures Executed in Active Guard Function stripQuotes(ByVal strWords) stripQuotes = Replace(strWords, â€Å"‘†, â€Å"†Ã¢â‚¬ ) Return stripQuotesEnd Function Function killChars(ByVal strWords) Dim arr1 As New ArrayList arr1. Add(â€Å"select†) arr1. Add(â€Å"–â€Å") arr1. Add(â€Å"drop†) arr1. Add(â€Å";†) arr1. Add(â€Å"insert†) arr1. Add(â€Å"delete†) arr1. Add(â€Å"xp_†) arr1. Add(â€Å"‘†) Dim i As Integer For i = 0 To arr1. Count – 1 strWords = Replace(strWords, arr1. Item(i), â€Å"†, , , CompareMethod. Text) Next Return strWords End Function IJCSNS International Journal of Computer Science and Network Security, VOL. 11 No. 1, January 2011 202 Figure 2: proposed Architecture Procedures Executed in Service D etector navi. Compile(â€Å"/Main_Tag/Details[LoginId='† & userName & â€Å"‘ and Password=† & Password & â€Å"]†) _Public Sub Db_2_XML() adapt=New SqlDataAdapter(â€Å"select LoginId,Password from user_info†, cn) Dim nodes As XPathNodeIterator = navi. Select(expr) Dim count2 As Integer = nodes. Count. ToString() Return count2 dst = New DataSet(â€Å"Main_Tag†) End Function adapt. Fill(dst, â€Å"Details†) dst. WriteXml(Server. MapPath(â€Å"XML_DATAXML_D ATA. xml†)) End Sub Procedures Executed in Web Service _ Public Function XPath_XML_Validation(ByVal userName As String, ByVal Password As Integer) As Integer Dim xpathdoc As New XPathDocument(Server. MapPath(â€Å"XML_DATAX ML_DATA. xml†)) Dim navi As XPathNavigator = xpathdoc. CreateNavigator() Dim expr As XPathExpression = . Identify hotspot This step performs a simple scanning of the application code to identify hotspots. Each hotspot will be verified with the Active Server to remove the susceptibility character the sample code (figure: 2) states two hotspots with a single query execution. (In . NET based applications, interactions with the database occur through calls to specific methods in the System. Data. Sqlclient namespace, 1 such as Sqlcommand- . ExecuteReader (String)) the hotspot is instrumented with monitor code, which matches dynamically generated queries against query models. If a generated query is matched with Active Guard, then it is onsidered an attack. 3. 1 Comparison of Data at Runtime Monitoring When a Web application fails to properly sanitize the parameters, which are passed to, dynamically created SQL statements (even when using parameterization techniques) it is possible for an attacker to alter the construction of back-end SQL statements. IJCSNS International Journal of Computer Science and Network Security, VOL. 11 No. 1, January 2011 When an attacker is able to modify an SQL statement, the statement will execute with t he same rights as the application user; when using the SQL server to execute commands that interact with the operating system, the rocess will run with the same permissions as the component that executed the command (e. g. , database server, application server, or Web server), which is often highly privileged. Current technique (Figure: 1) append with Active Guard, to validate the user input fields to detect the Meta character and prevent the malicious attacker. Transact-SQL statements will be prohibited directly from user input. For each hotspot, statically build a Susceptibility detector in Active Guard to check any malicious strings or characters append SQL tokens (SQL keywords and operators), delimiters, or string tokens to the legitimate command.Concurrently in Web service the DB_2_Xml Generator generates a XML document from database and stored in X_PATH Validator. Service Detector receive the validated user input from Active Guard and send through the protocol SOAP (Simple Obj ect Access Protocol) to the web service from the web service the user input data compare with XML_Validator if it is identical the XML_Validator send a flag as a iterator count value = 1 to Service Detector through the SOAP protocol then the legitimate/valid user is Authenticated to access the web application, If the data mismatches the XML_Validator send a flag as a count alue = 0 to Service Detector through the SOAP protocol then the illegitimate/invalid user is not Authenticated to access the web application. In figure 3: In the existing technique query validation occur to validate a Authenticated user and the user directly access the database but in the current technique, there is no query validation . From the Active Guard the validated user input fields compare with the Service Detector where the Sensitive data is stored, db_2_XML Generator is used to generate a XML file and initialize to the class XPATH document the instance Navigator is used to search by using cursor in the selected XML document.With in the XPATH validator, Compile is a method which is used to match the element with the existing document. The navigator will be created in the xpathdocument using select method result will be redirected to the XPATH node iterator. The node iterator count value may be 1 or 0, If the flag value result in Service Detector as 1 then the user consider as Legitimate user and allowed to access the web application as the same the flag value result in Service Detector as 0 then the user consider as Malicious user and reject/discard from accessing the web application If the script builds an SQL query by concatenating hard-coded trings together with a string entered by the user, As long as injected SQL code is syntactically correct, tampering cannot be detected programmatically. String concatenation is the primary point of entry for script injection Therefore, 203 we Compare all user input carefully with Service Detector (Second filtration model). If the user input and Sensitive data’s are identical then executes constructed SQL commands in the Application server. Existing techniques directly allows accessing the database in database server after the Query validation. Web Service Oriented XPATH Authentication Technique does not allow directly to ccess database in database server. 4. EVALUATIONS The proposed technique is deployed and tried few trial runs on the web server. Table 1: SQLIA’S Prevention Accuracy SQL Injection Types Unprotected Protected 1. TAUTOLOGIES Not Prevented Prevented 2. PIGGY BACKED QUERIES Not Prevented Prevented 3. STORED PROCEDURE Not Prevented Prevented 4. ALTERNATIVE ENCODING Not Prevented Prevented 5. UNION Not Prevented Prevented Table 2: Execution Time comparison for proposed technique Total Number of Entries in Database Execution Time in Millisecond Existing Proposed Technique Technique 1000 1640000 46000 2000 1420000 93000 3000 1040000 6000 4000 1210000 62000 5000 1670000 78000 6000 1390000 107000 T he above given table 2 illustrate the execution time taken for the proposed technique with the existing technique. 4. 1 SQLIA Prevention Accuracy Both the protected and unprotected web Applications are tested using different types of SQLIA’s; namely use of Tautologies, Union, Piggy-Backed Queries, Inserting additional SQL statements, Second-order SQL injection and various other SQLIA s. Table 1 shows that the proposed technique prevented all types of SQLIA s in all cases. The proposed technique is thus a secure and robust solution to defend against SQLIA’sIJCSNS International Journal of Computer Science and Network Security, VOL. 11 No. 1, January 2011 204 4. 2 Execution Time at Runtime Validation The runtime validation incurs some overhead in terms of execution time at both the Web Service Oriented XPATH Authentication Technique and SQL-Query based Validation Technique. Taken a sample website ETransaction measured the extra computation time at the query validation, th is delay has been amplified in the graph (figure: 4 and figure:5) to distinguish between the Time delays using bar chart shows that the data validation in XML_Validator performs better than query validation.In Query validation(figure:5) the user input is generated as a query in script engine then it gets parsed in to separate tokens then the user input is compared with the statistical generated data if it is malicious generates error reporting. Web Service Oriented XPATH Authentication Technique (figure: 4) states that user input is generated as a query in script engine then it gets parsed in to separate tokens, and send through the protocol SOAP to Susceptibility Detector, then the validated user data is sequentially send to Service Detector through the protocol SOAP then the user input is ompared with the sensitive data, which is temporarily stored in dataset. If it is malicious data, it will be prevented otherwise the legitimate data is allowed to access the Web application. 5. C ONCLUSION SQL Injection Attacks attempts to modify the parameters of a Web-based application in order to alter the SQL statements that are parsed to retrieve data from the database. Any procedure that constructs SQL statements could potentially be vulnerable, as the diverse nature of SQL and the methods available for constructing it provide a wealth of coding options. 1800000 Execution time in Milli Sec 1600000 1400000 1200000 000000 Proposed Technique Existing Technique 800000 600000 400000 200000 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 Total Number of Entries in Database Figure4: Execution Time comparison for proposed technique (data validation in X-path) with existing technique The primary form of SQL injection consists of direct insertion of code into parameters that are concatenated with SQL commands and executed. This technique is used to detect and prevent the SQLI flaw (Susceptibility characters & exploiting SQL commands) in Susceptibility Detector and prevent the Susceptibility att acker Web Service Oriented XPATH Authentication Technique hecks the user input with valid database which is stored separately in XPATH and do not affect database directly then the validated user input field is allowed to access the web application as well as used to improve the performance of the server side validation This proposed technique was able to suitably classify the attacks that performed on the applications without blocking legitimate accesses to the database (i. e. , the technique produced neither false positives nor false negatives). These results show that our technique represents a promising approach to countering SQLIA’s and motivate further work in this irection References [1] William G. J. Halfond and Alessandro Orso , â€Å"AMNESIA: Analysis and Monitoring for Neutralizing SQLInjection Attacks†, ASE’05, November 7–11, 2005 [2] William G. J. Hal fond and Alessandro Orso, â€Å"A Classification of SQL injection attacks and countermeasure s†,proc IEEE int’l Symp. Secure Software Engg. , Mar. 2006. IJCSNS International Journal of Computer Science and Network Security, VOL. 11 No. 1, January 2011 [3] Muthuprasanna, Ke Wei, Suraj Kothari, â€Å"Eliminating SQL Injection Attacks – A TransparentDefenceMechanism†, SQL Injection Attacks Prof. Jim Whitehead CMPS 183. Spring 2006, May 17, 2006 4] William G. J. Hal fond, Alessandro Orso, â€Å"WASP: Protecting Web Applications Using Positive Tainting and Syntax-Aware Evaluation IEEE Software Engineering, VOL. 34, NO. 1January/February 2008 [5] K. Beaver, â€Å"Achieving Sarbanes-Oxley compliance for Web applications†, http://www. spidynamics. com/support/whitepapers/, 2003 [6] C. Anley, â€Å"Advanced SQL Injection In SQL Server Applications,† White paper, Next Generation Security Software Ltd. , 2002. [7] W. G. J. Halfond and A. Orso, â€Å"Combining Static Analysis and Runtime Monitoring to Counter SQL Injection Attacks,† 3rd International Workshop on Dynamic Analysis, 2005, pp. – 7 [8] Z. Su and G. Wassermann, â€Å"The Essence of Command Injection Attacks in Web Applications,† 33rd ACM SIGPLAN-SIGACT Symposium on Principles of Programming Languages, 2006, pp. 372-382. [9] G. Wassermann and Z. Su. An Analysis Framework for Security in Web Applications. In Proceedings of the FSE Workshop on Specification and Verification of componentBased Systems (SAVCBS 2004), pages 70–78, 2004. [10] P. Finnigan, â€Å"SQL Injection and Oracle – Parts 1 & 2,† Technical Report, Security Focus, November 2002. http://securityfocus. com/infocus/1644 [11] F. Bouma, â€Å"Stored Procedures are Bad, O’kay,† Technical report,Asp. Net Weblogs, November 2003. http://weblogs. asp. net/fbouma/archive/2003/11/18/38178. as px. [12] E. M. Fayo, â€Å"Advanced SQL Injection in Oracle Databases,† Technical report, Argeniss Information Security, Black Hat Briefings, Black Hat USA, 2 005. [13] C. A. Mackay, â€Å"SQL Injection Attacks and Some Tips on How to Prevent them,† Technical report, The Code Project, January 2005. http://www. codeproject. com/cs/database/ qlInjectionAttacks. asp. [14] S. McDonald. SQL Injection: Modes of attack, defense, and why it matters. White paper, GovernmentSecurity. org, April 2002. http://www. governmentsecurity. rg/articles/SQLInjectionM odesofAttackDefenceandWhyItMatters. php [15] S. Labs. SQL Injection. White paper, SPI Dynamics, Inc. ,2002. http://www. spidynamics. com/assets/documents/Whitepaper SQLInjection. pdf. [16] V. B. Livshits and M. S. Lam. Finding Security Errors in Java Programs with Static Analysis. In Proceedings of the 14th Usenix Security Symposium, pages 271–286, Aug. 2005. [17] F. Valeur and D. Mutz and G. Vigna â€Å"A Learning-Based Approach to the Detection of SQL Attacks,† In Proceedings of the Conference on Detection of Intrusions and Malware Vulnerability Assessment (DIMVA), July 20 05. [18] Kals, S. Kirda, E. , Kruegel, C. , and Jovanovic, N. 2006. SecuBat: a web vulnerability scanner. In Proceedings of the 205 15th International Conference on World Wide Web. WWW '06. ACM Press, pp. 247-256. [19] Sql injection – HSC Guides – Web App Security Written by Ethical Hacker sunday, 17 February 2008. http://sqlinjections. blogspot. com/2009/04/sql-injection-hscguides-web-app. html. Prof. E. Ramaraj is presently working as a Technology Advisor, Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai, Tamilnadu, India on lien from Director, computer centre at Alagappa university, Karaikudi. He has 22 years teaching experience and 8 years esearch experience. He has presented research papers in more than 50 national and international conferences and published more than 55 papers in national and international journals. His research areas include Data mining, software engineering, database and network security. B. Indrani received the B. Sc. degree in Computer Science, in 2002; t he M. Sc. degree in Computer Science and Information Technology, in 2004. She had completed M. Phil. in Computer Science. She worked as a Research Assistant in Smart and Secure Environment Lab under IIT, Madras. Her current research interests include Database Security.