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Demystifying “Environmental Sustainability” There has been much talk over the past few years about enviornmental sustainability. Everyone is talking about it. Even people with degrees in French Literature are talking about it! Conferences are held on environmental sustainability. There are hundreds of definitions of sustainability and yet no one seems to understand what it really means. So-called experts are coming up with “metrics” and “indices” as new ways to measure sustainability and none has universal acceptance. Sustainability is the new environmental buzzword of this decade. What exactly is it? According to EPA, sustainability is based on a simple principle: “Sustainability creates and maintains the conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony, that permit fulfilling the social, economic and other requirements of present and future generations”. What this definition says is that as we make our products, we should make sure that there is as little net negative impact on the environment as possible. A good example to illustrate this concept is to look at our savings account in the bank. If we have $1000 in the bank and its pays 3% interest a year, the sustainable way to manage this bank account would be to spend no more than $30 a year. On the other hand, if we were to draw down the principal amount by spending more than $30 a year, we would deplete the account over time and there will be nothing left for our children. It would not be a sustainable account. Think of nature as one gigantic bank account. As we make our products, we need to make sure that the rate at which we take something away from nature is no faster than nature’s own rejuvenation rate. For example, if we discharge too much pollutants to a river, the river may not be able to assimilate the pollutants in time and the net results would be a depletion of dissolved oxygen in the water and fish kill. The river in this example is not being sustained and the practice of discharging pollutants into this river is not sustainable. This concept of “sustainability” is not new at all. Regulatory agencies’ permitting programs have been taking sustainability into account for years. In fact, the entire premise behind permitting is sustainability. The amount of pollutant you are allowed to discharge into a stream under a permit is entirely dependent on the assimilative capacity of that stream. Your permit conditions demand that. If there are too many sources of pollution going into a particular water body that is under stress, the Clean Water Act requires that a waste load allocation scheme be set up to regulate how many sources can discharge how much pollutants into that body of water. On the air side, if we wish to build a new power plant in a non-attainment area (i.e. where the National Ambient Air Quality Standards are not being met at the time), the agency will require us to “offset” our new pollutant by removing more than the new amount from an existing source under the Clean Air Act’s New Source Review Program. For example, if we wish to emit 1000 tons of new soot into the atmosphere in Los Angeles, we would have to either purchase an existing plant that is currently emitting 1500 tons of soot and shut it down or purchase emission credit in the open market. That’s the Clean Air Act’s way of ensuring sustainability. You must remove from the existing inventory more than what you plan to emit. If we plan to build our new power plant in a city where the air is clean (an attainment area), we would have to get a PSD (Prevention of Significant Deterioration) permit from EPA to demonstrate that our new power plant will not jeopardize the attainment status under the Clean Air Act. We will have to put in the most advanced pollution control equipment to do that and demonstrate through computer modeling that the new plant would not cause the area to be re-classified as non-attainment. That’s another example of sustainability. The above examples also illustrate the two main approaches to environmental sustainability, namely, “waste minimization” and “pollution prevention”. These concepts have been around for years as well! Every manager knows that if he can find a way to make his products by generating less wastes and causing less pollution, he will save money in the long run. Years ago, the canning industry converted from making three-piece cans with lead soldered side seams to making two-piece cans with water-based sealing compound for the same sustainability reasons. The water-based sealing compounds generates no hazardous wastes and the whole process causes a lot less pollution. So the next time someone asks if you are practicing “environmental sustainability”, tell him about what you are doing in waste minimization and pollution prevention. Or ask him: What else is new? 4 responses to “Demystifying “Environmental Sustainability” 1. crccoralreefcreator Great article and nice examples of sustainability ! 2. Seychelle Krygsman This article is great! It makes explaining sustainability a lot easier! 3. It seems you leave out resource management. Toxifying a stream is one way of demonstrating unsustainable practice. Pumping ground water beyond recharge rates or employing logging practices that silt the stream also are unsustainable. I appreciate your non-alarmist approach… truly I do, but while the tenets of sustainability predate industrial society, all our ancient wisdom and modern technologies have moved only further from this lofty goal. It is difficult to balance this reality and the urgency it demands, with the understanding that the movement itself must be sustainable. • Anthony….I think you are viewing the word sustainable in the traditional sense. Anything bad is not sustainable. My whole point is that toxifying a stream can still be sustainable environmentally if it is managed properly. Read my example of a bank account. Withdrawing money from your bank account is sustainable if you do not exceed the interest it earns. Every man-made activity comes with some degree of toxicity and pollution. Even Mother Nature can be a big polluter. Ever seen a volcanic eruption? The trick is not to eliminate toxicity (you can’t) but to manage it in a true sustainable way. There are people who refer to sustainability as motherhood, apple pie, fair wage, world peace, population control and you name it. They are just wrong. Leave a Reply You are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change ) Twitter picture Facebook photo Google+ photo Connecting to %s
A surge on EMP attacks! September 11, 2010 § Leave a comment Venus Bathing in the Electromagnetic Pulse Image by Shooting Chris via Flickr Apparently, there is a surge in the media on potential EMP attacks: “An EMP Attack could be more damaging than an Nuke Bomb”, “Severe Danger to U.S. of EMP Attack”, “EMP Attack: Only 30 Million Americans Survive, and “EMP Attack Would Decimate America”, “EMP could leave ‘9 out of 10 Americans dead'”. And that is just the tip of the iceberg. Is it a distraction? Or is the threat real? Or is it spin doctors? What is an EMP attack? An electromagnetic pulse (EMP) is a burst of electromagnetic radiation coming from an explosion and/or a fluctuating magnetic field. An EMP can be generated from natural sources like lightning or solar storms interacting with the earth’s atmosphere, ionosphere and magnetic field. It can also be created using a nuclear weapon or non-nuclear devices. Of all man-made EMP’s, the ones that can really do some serious damage as mentioned in the media surge ~ And I mean DAMAGE ~ is a High-altitude Electro Magnetic Pulse (HEMP). Effects of a HEMP During the first United States nuclear test on 16 July 1945 states, “All signal lines were completely shielded, in many cases doubly shielded. In spite of this many records were lost because of spurious pickup at the time of the explosion that paralyzed the recording equipment. The Starfish Prime test of 1962 showed that the magnitude and effects of a high altitude nuclear explosion were much larger than previously believed. More tests to study the physical mechanisms producing the electromagnetic pulses followed. In the same year, Russia too did nuclear tests in space over Kazakhstan 1962. Smaller, but over areas with a stronger earth magnetic field and higher population density. The complex multi-pulse is usually described in terms of three components. The E1 pulse is the very fast component destroying computers and communications equipment. It is too fast for for ordinary lightning protectors. The E2 pulse is like lightning. Ordinary lightning protectors will do, and it won’t do much damage. The E3 pulse is slow and restores the Earth’s magnetic field to its natural state. It is quite similar to a geomagnetic storm caused by a very strong solar flare. It can induce geomagnetic currents in equipment such as power line transformers. More notes from my searches Beyond a certain altitude a nuclear weapon will not produce an electromagnetic pulse. And for equipment to be affected, the weapon needs to be above the visual horizon. Large weapons could effect satellite operations and communications. The local strength of the Earth’s magnetic field matters. The stronger the field, the stronger the impact. It doesn’t take building big megaton bombs to produce an electromagnetic pulse of significant size. Small pure fission weapons with thin cases causes an electromagnetic pulse more efficiently … I can’t find much more than that. Apparently details are still classified, beyond the links given below. STRATFOR writes … My 2 cents For business or public actors further verification does not seem to make sense. We, the public, simply need more information for intelligent “open source” brainstorming. And aside from man-made EMP’s possibly attacking us, we seem to have solar storm phenomena coming up soon, and scientific and military data might be useful for surviving that in a variety of contexts. Military and research institutions, those are the actors that do have more information than “open source” (publicly available information). Scientists would do well if they released what more information is available from the tests, and military sources would do well to provide information on related scenario’s and possible preparation and mitigation strategies and tactics. I think a non-condescending and respectful attitude towards the public may be well worth considering. Until that happens, people will likely be speculating instead of verifying and validating … and there will be lots of room for fear mongers that wish to gain influence over the easily frightened. A mere political game. Indeed not “intelligent speak”. Your task, ye Weavers of Tales, is to create a fable of fairytale suitable for instilling the appropriate level of fear in children so they grow up appreciating all the lords do to protect them. ~ Bruce Schneier’s Annual Movie Plot Threat Contest Tagged: , , , , , Leave a Reply WordPress.com Logo Twitter picture Facebook photo Google+ photo Connecting to %s What’s this? You are currently reading A surge on EMP attacks! at Serendipity.
Loading presentation... Present Remotely Send the link below via email or IM Present to your audience Start remote presentation • Invited audience members will follow you as you navigate and present • People invited to a presentation do not need a Prezi account • This link expires 10 minutes after you close the presentation • A maximum of 30 users can follow your presentation • Learn more about this feature in our knowledge base article Do you really want to delete this prezi? Make your likes visible on Facebook? You can change this under Settings & Account at any time. No, thanks Ancient chinese communication No description blaze tobin on 4 March 2013 Comments (0) Please log in to add your comment. Report abuse Transcript of Ancient chinese communication INK STONE An ink stone is used to grind solid ink into its liquid form.The ink stone is the palette from which the calligraphy brush receives its ink. Ancient ink stones were single stones chosen for their texture and color and ground into small, flat mortars. Solid sticks of inking material, called ink sticks, were ground into the stones and mixed with water to form ink. Paper • The ancient Chinese art of calligraphy could not have been possible without another Chinese invention: paper. Course, hemp paper was the first prototype writing surface and did not lend itself to accurate brushwork. With the advances in smoother, more reliable paper production, though, Chinese writing blossomed into a full-fledged art form. Ancient Chinese paper made from hemp, rags, and even wheat stalks was easy to produce, and though modern paper production has made great strides since the days of hand-pulped rag paper, some enthusiasts make their own calligraphy paper Calligraphy is an ancient Chinese form of writing. The ancient Chinese used a brush to write in calligraphy, so essentially they painted the letters. They used ink stone or an ink stick to hold the pigment used to write the characters, and they usually wrote directly onto silk. However, before soft brushes, the ancient Chinese used hard brushes or metal tools to scratch characters into stone, shell or bone. about three thousand people worked on the great wall.Rocks fell on people walls caved in workers died of exhaustion and disease.Only enough food to keep them alive paper The two main rivers The great wall Calligraphy Paper What they ate About three thousound people worcked on thegreat wall.Rocks fell on people.Walls caved in.Workers died of exhaustion or diseases.There was only enough food to keep them alive. in northern China preceeded rice but, then rice, pork, fish. Wheat was much later. While rice was not only a prominent food for the Chinese of today, it is also the first grain that was farmed in the country. A deep representation of rice farming is found in the archaeological evidence of ancient times, as along the Yang-tse River showed signs in about 5,000 BC. At that time, inhabitants prepared rice by boiling it in water, which is the same way we still rely upon today. Sometimes, the rice was made into wine, which then became a well-known and popular drink in China since prehistoric days. Joining the rice farming of the past is a wealth of other food items connected to the ancient Chinese. Some think that rice was found all over China, but in the northern part of the country, the climate and land is much drier and colder. In the north, the people used wild millet and sorghum instead. What the ancint chinese ate People in China generally wore tunics (like long t-shirts). Women wore long tunics down to the ground, with belts, and men wore shorter ones down to their knees. Sometimes they wore jackets over their tunics. In the winter, when it was cold, people wore padded jackets over their tunics, and sometimes pants under them. In early China, poor people made their clothes of hemp or ramie. Rich people wore silk. Most people in China, both men and women, wore their hair long. People said that you got your hair from your parents and so it was disrespectful to cut it.During the Sui Dynasty, in the 500's AD, the emperor decided that all poor people had to wear blue or black clothes, and only rich people could wear colors. What the ancient chinese wore Religion in ancient China underwent a change around 600 BC in the form of establishment of the Eastern Chou Dynasty. A mythical figure with the name of Lao Tzu created the religious philosophy of Taoism. The ancient people of China believed in the concept of Tao, the forces of nature. People in China in ancient times believed that everything in nature had two forces that were in contrast to each other: the yin and the yang. The Yin was –female force and the Yang was the male force. The objects in nature containing yin forces were passive, cold and dark. Objects in nature that contained yang or the male force were aggressive, hot and full of light. Religion To most Westerners, the dragon is a fearsome and mythical creature that breaths fire, lays waste to the countryside, destroys the populace But to the Chinese dragons represent an auspicious creature that controls rainfall and the land that yields their crops. The Chinese dragon is indeed devine, blessed with heaven's will, and, by extension, the symbol of the Emperor. To the ancient Chinese dragons were not creatures of fire, as so many would think, but rather creatures of water. The dragon of the Chinese resided in rivers, lakes, pools and rose in great clouds of mist to promote rainfall>The people of China would carve jade into the shapes of dragons and used them as a sort of Chinese water dragon to worship heaven and beg for rain. The ancient Chinese also linked the dragon image to the east, the direction associated with spring, sunrise and the promise of new birth. A recent archaeological expedition of a Neolithic tomb revealed the image of a dragon made of shells and precious stones on the east side of the tomb. On the west side of the tomb, the ancient dragon's opposite direction, was the image of a tiger. The east-dragon, west-tiger relation remains a valid part of Chinese culture and religion to this day. Full transcript
Dismiss Notice Dismiss Notice Join Physics Forums Today! Thermodynamics for Mechanical Engineering Problem 1. Feb 22, 2015 #1 A closed, rigid tank contains a two-phase liquid-vapor mixture of Refrigerant 22 initially at -20 C with a quality of 50.36%. Energy transfer by heat into the tank occurs until the refrigerant is at a final pressure of 6 bar. Determine the final temperature. If the final state is in the superheated vapor region, at what temperature does the tank contain only saturated vapor? 2. Relevant equations v = vf + x(vg-vf) 3. The attempt at a solution Ok so there are two states in this problem. since I have T1 & x=.5036 I looked at the reference tables in the back of my book and used vf, vg, and x to compute v ( v being specific volume). my computed v :: vf<v<vg which makes since because the ref. 22 is in the two-phase liq-vap region. Since it is being heated , v and T are increasing correct? I don't know what to do from here. since P2 is given, I just assumed at P2 it will be in super-heated vapor state and used linear interpolation to find T using v i found from the initial state and the surrounding T's and v's from the table. but I'm pretty sure that is wrong because v is supposed to increase. Really don't know what I'm doing. 2. jcsd 3. Feb 23, 2015 #2 rude man User Avatar Homework Helper Gold Member How can v increase when the container is rigid? You're assuming specific volume = 1, a fixed number. 4. Feb 23, 2015 #3 You did it correctly. The combined volume per unit mass doesn't change, because the tank is rigid. So v doesn't change. So, now what is your game plan for doing the second part? Have something to add? Draft saved Draft deleted Similar Discussions: Thermodynamics for Mechanical Engineering Problem
Dismiss Notice Join Physics Forums Today! Trouble understanding Virtual cache 1. Apr 22, 2014 #1 Trouble understanding "Virtual cache" I'm having trouble understanding what virtual cache actually means. I understand that to get a cache hit (physical cache) you index to the cache set and compare all the tags in that set with the tag in the cache address you are looking for. I also understand how the memory management unit and the Transition look-aside buffer work for virtual memory. Page tables map, virtual addresses of each process, to physical addressees in memory. But what does virtual cache mean? I mean if you give physical cache addresses a virtual address what are you achieving? And also do virtual cache addresses get mapped using the same MMU as real memory? I've read Wikipedia and such but I just can't understand why this would be useful. 2. jcsd 3. Apr 22, 2014 #2 User Avatar Homework Helper For most processors, the cache addresses are virtual addresses. If the data resides in cache, there's no need to obtain a physical address for that cached data. The conversion from virtual to physical is performed via descriptor tables outside of any cache operations. On a side note, for memory mapped I/O like DMA that uses physical addresses, the pages of memory for that I/O need to be loaded and locked, then their addresses translated from virtual to physical for the memory mapped I/O to take place. For Windows this is done via a function called MmProbeAndLockPages(). 4. Apr 23, 2014 #3 Ok thanks, so if the processor wants to access memory, it sends the virtual address to the mmu and the cache which then works out if it resides in cache (it always resides in ram also)? And if it resides in cache does it then go to the cache using a physical address (set no. , tag and offset) or does it access the cache in some other way? If so then how does physical cache differ? Basically I can't see the difference between physical and virtual cache. 5. Apr 23, 2014 #4 User Avatar Homework Helper As mentioned in my last post, for most processors, if there is a cache hit, then no physical address mapping takes place, since there's no need to do this if the desired data is in the cache. How the rest of this is done for non-cache hits depends on the processor. X86 proccessors use a translation look aside buffer cache which is a type of content addressable memory (fully associative) to translate a sub-set of possible virtual addresses to physical addresses. If not in the table, then the descriptor tables that reside in ram are used. If the desired pages are currently not in RAM, then the operating system swaps out pages if needed and swaps in pages from the swap file. The descriptor tables are updated to reflect the updated swapped pages, and the TLB is updated to remove any swapped out pages (it may just be cleared, I don't know if it's possible to partiallly clear out the TLB). There may be some processors that map virtual to physical addresses first, then use a cache based on physical addresses, but the mapping step would normally increase the overhead, so I'm not sure if any currently produced processors do this. 6. Apr 24, 2014 #5 There is (almost) no difference between those caches. The differences are in what's around them. For caches that are keyed by physical addresses, virtual to physical address translation must always take place before addressing the cache. Even if that is very efficient, it is still extra processing, which requires either more time or more silicon, or both. Caches keyed by virtual addresses eliminate this need, and the virtual to physical address translation is done only when there a real need to access memory. Now the "almost" bit. Virtual address caches are somewhat more expensive because a typical virtual address space is (much) greater than a typical physical address space. So a virtual address cache needs more address lines, more logic elements and more silicon (more power, too). Similar Discussions: Trouble understanding Virtual cache 1. Cache in python? (Replies: 4) 2. Trouble with fgets (Replies: 1) 3. Virtual Caches (Replies: 5)
Dismiss Notice Dismiss Notice Join Physics Forums Today! Two people clapping 1. Jan 17, 2016 #1 "Two people stand a distance L apart along an east–west road. They both clap their hands at precisely noon in the ground frame. You are driving eastward down this road at speed 4c/5. You notice that you are next to the western person (W) at the same instant (as measured in your frame) that the eastern person (E) claps. Later on, you notice that you are next to a tree at the same instant (as measured in your frame) that the western person claps. Where is the tree along the road? (Describe its location in the ground frame by computing how far to the east of W it is.)" 2. Relevant equations "rear clock ahead": t = Lv/c^2 t_A = gammat_B 3. The attempt at a solution So I have obtained 2 answers, and I'm unsure which is correct. By looking at it from my frame, and noting that "Rear clock ahead" tells me that E will clap t = Lv/c^2 =4L/5c before W, I know that (in my frame) the tree will travel towards me at v = 4c/5, and will travel for time t. Therefore: d = vt = 4c/54L/5c=16L/25. I'm confused though, for the questions asks me to give the distance from the ground frame. Is the above correct? I believe that its not, and that I have to adjust the distance obtained by the gamma factor (3/5) because of length contraction. Therefore L(ground) = L(for me)/gamma = 16L/255/3 = 16L/15. What gives me confidence in this is that I get the same answer if I instead adjust the time it takes the tree to move (in the ground frame, the time that I move for) using the equality t(ground) = gamma*t(me) (for the ground frame). I'm having a hard time justifying either of these in my head. Which is correct? Thanks for the help. 2. jcsd 3. Jan 17, 2016 #2 User Avatar Staff: Mentor You will get better results if you use the Lorentz transforms instead of thinking in terms of length contraction and time dilation. You have three relevant events (West claps, East claps, next to the tree) and you have enough of the x, x', t, and t' coordinates for each to work out the ones you don't have. 4. Jan 17, 2016 #3 I gave it a go with the LTs, thought I'm not sure I'm going through with it correctly. Here's what I did: Between claps Ground frame: x = L, t = 0 x' = Y(x-vt) = 5L/3 t' = Y(t-vt/c^2) = -5L/3c But now, for between the West clap and meeting the tree (what I need to know): x' = 0, t' = -5L/3c I get x = Y(x'+vt') = 20L/9 which definitely doesn't seem right. Did I miss something? 5. Jan 18, 2016 #4 User Avatar Homework Helper Gold Member I had to stare a while at what you did here, but I think your procedure is OK. :smile: (I had to keep in mind that your symbols x, t, x', t' are intervals between events.) However, I believe you made a mistake in the equation t' = Y(t-vt/c^2) = -5L/3c. Should the second t in the middle expression be x? That's probably just a typo. Nevertheless, I don't get -5L/(3c). Last edited: Jan 18, 2016 6. Jan 18, 2016 #5 My apologies! I get so used to shortening it (no deltas) that I often forget they were ever there. It was a typo. I ran it again though, and I obtained 4L/3c for t'. Not sure how I did that. =/ I thought about it again though, and I believe I got the values for x' and t' incorrect for the second set. I meet the tree when W claps, therefore, in my frame (the primes): x' = ?. t' = 0. In this case, I'm not sure where to go since I am lacking a value for x', and it is needed to calculate either value x or t. And the previous value for distance shouldn't apply, as it corresponds to the distance between W clapping and E clapping, yes? I'm really not sure where to go with this, it seems like an endless circle that doesn't connect all three. But let me have a go at it again tomorrow, and I'll get back to it here! (long day) 7. Jan 18, 2016 #6 User Avatar Homework Helper Gold Member OK. If you give the correct interpretation to t' here, then you are getting close to the answer for the original question. Yes, Δt' is zero for the two events: (1) W claps (2) Car meets tree Instead, now think about the two events: (1) Car meets W person (2) Car meets tree (I think it's best to use the Δ symbol when referring to differences in x or differences in t for two specified events. It keeps things clearer for me, anyway.) Last edited: Jan 18, 2016 8. Jan 19, 2016 #7 User Avatar Science Advisor Homework Helper Gold Member Another idea is to leave ##v## and ##\gamma## in general and derive a formula for the distance to the tree in terms of these variables and ##L##. Then you could check that formula makes sense in the limits of ##v## small and close to ##c## before plugging in the specific ##v## you have. Have something to add? Draft saved Draft deleted Similar Discussions: Two people clapping
Dismiss Notice Join Physics Forums Today! Why is a neutron ionizing radiation? 1. Nov 7, 2014 #1 Why and how does a neutron knock electrons off of atoms? Is it because a neutron is not exactly neutral? Is a neutron composed of smaller charged particles which interact with the electrons when it gets close? 2. jcsd 3. Nov 7, 2014 #2 It does not. Neutron can knock out _protons_ out of atomic nuclei. And neutron can be absorbed by a nucleus. In many cases resultant heavier isotope is unstable to beta-decay. 4. Nov 7, 2014 #3 User Avatar Staff: Mentor As with all questions of this sort, you will get better answers if you spend some time searching the web first, see what you find, then come back here with more specific questions based on what you learn there. 5. Nov 7, 2014 #4 Yes, I looked at the wikipedia article and I see that neutrons cause ionization by causing the nucleus to become unstable. Similar Discussions: Why is a neutron ionizing radiation?
How It Works Select the work to be done Compare matched pros Complete your project Powered by  The Home Depot Why is My Lawn Brown? Pro Referral > Home Guides > Landscaping > Why is My Lawn Brown? Why is My Lawn Brown? While everyone would like to have a green lawn to relax in, host parties, spend time with family, and generally have a wonderful time, the reality is that lawns often turn brown. When this happens you need to take the time and make the effort to understand the underlying causes and rectify them. There are various possible reasons why your lawn could have turned brown, and you need to examine them all. 1. 1.Not Enough Fertilization One of the reasons why your lawn is brown could be inadequate fertilization. You need to apply a nitrogen phosphorous potassium fertilizer to have balanced soil fertility. The spreader too needs to be calibrated properly to ensure even application of fertilizer. This will ensure that there are no streaks of yellow nutrient deficient grass on your lawn. Additionally, you should avoid applying fertilizer in early spring, before the weather becomes hot, or in fall before the grass becomes dormant. You can also use organic matter during soil reconstruction to ensure that it is adequately fertilized for a green and luxuriant lawn. 2. 2.Not Enough Water Your lawn can also become brown and dry up if it receives too little water. Some grasses become dormant during droughts but survive and become green once they are watered. If your lawn has patches of brown, you need to stand on the brown patch when the sprinkler is turned on and ensure that the water is reaching the spot. Sometimes, lawn ornaments can prevent the water from reaching all parts of the lawn, or the sprinkler might need to be adjusted. You need to water deeply up to 6 inches for the lawn to remain green throughout the year. 3. 3.Too Much Water While inadequate water can turn your lawn brown, so can too much water. Excess watering can lead to the brown grass because it deprives the roots of oxygen. This can lead to the rotting of both roots and crowns. 4. 4.Lawn Care Your lawn will reward you with a green spot to spend time in if you make the effort to maintain it. Good lawn care involves proper fertilization, mowing, watering, aeration, and seeding. You need to mow the lawn at between one and half and two and a half inches. Do not mow your lawn by more than one third the length of the grass at any time to ensure that the grass is not stressed. As a rule, the clippings can be left on the grass after mowing. However, you need to rake any fallen leaves regularly to ensure that the grass remains healthy. Examine the blades of grass for signs of damage periodically. By spotting distress signs early you can treat it sooner before the problem spreads. If the blades of grass look ragged and brown, you might need to sharpen the blades of the mower and adjust them. Check the lawn for signs of fungal infections and take proper steps to treat them as soon as they appear. In the spring, take the time to inter seed the places where the lawn appears thin. You can also make the effort to reroute people so that distressed areas of the lawn are not stepped on frequently until the grass has time to recover. 5. 5.Aerate Proper aeration is needed for a healthy lawn. This means that you need to ensure that the trees and shrubs over the lawn are pruned regularly to avoid casting a shadow over the lawn. Plan your landscaping to ensure that the lawn receives sufficient sunlight throughout the year. Make sure that the soil is not compacted by adding organic mulch to it. It does depend on where you live as well. In places such as Milwaukee or Chicago where it is cloudy more often than it is in Houston or San Diego, you probably do not want too much ground cover since that portion of your lawn will not receive a sufficient amount of sunlight. 6. 6.Best Watering Practices In order to ensure that your lawn remains green and does not become brown you need to follow the best watering practices. The best time to water your lawn is between midnight and sunrise, closer to dawn. If possible, install a sprinkler with a timer so that your lawn is watered at the right time even as you catch up on your sleep. This is because the lawn should not remain damp for long after being watered. If you water your lawn in the evenings, after the dew forms, it can lead to rotting roots. In case you have a sprinkler without a timer, ensure that you water the lawn before 10 am. You should not water the lawn after this as the day will be too hot and sunny for the grass to thrive. You should water your lawn to a depth of six inches. Moreover, ensure that your sprinkler reaches every part of the lawn. Remove objects that block the path of the water from the sprinkler and also ensure that the sprinkler is not blocked or malfunctioning in any other way. This will ensure that your lawn is evenly watered and uniformly green and lush. A homeowner who spots brown patches on the lawn should take immediate steps to contain the damage and restore the health of the lawn. This will entail checking the sprinkler, ensuring adequate fertilizer application, proper mowing, watering the lawn at the right time, checking for fungus and other diseases, ensuring adequate aeration, and so on. These steps will ensure that your lawn returns to green in a short time. Find Pros Get Expert Advice
Showing posts with label History. Show all posts Showing posts with label History. Show all posts Thursday, December 16, 2010 History of Pencils Everyone knows about the good old number 2 pencil. But who knows what that number 2 actually means? Have no fear, I've taken the time to research this pointless topic for your pleasure. First, a little history. Today pencils are numbered and/or lettered to tell us how hard the lead is. The higher the number, the harder the lead, and the lighter the markings. However, it wasn't always this way. The earliest pencils were made simply from filling a wood shaft with raw graphite. The hardness of the graphite would differ depending on the quality of the graphite, thus it was different depending on where the pencil was made. The current style of making pencils was developed in 1794 by Nicolas-Jacques Conté (1755-1805). Conté, a painter, chemist, physicist, balloonist, and inventor, put into practice a new method of making pencils so that they would be much more functional. The Conté Process, as it became known, mixes powdered graphite with finely ground clay. This mixture is then shaped into a long cylinder and then baked in an oven. The more clay that is added versus graphite the harder the pencil lead. In January 1795, Conté patented his method as patent number 32. (Pretty high up there!) Conté's first pencils were numbered for varing degrees of hardness. As the Conté process made its way into the world, other pencil makers decided to use the same technique. Of course, like any product, each company came up with their own standards for how their product should be labeled. To further complicate things, English pencil decided to use letters instead of numbers. Soft leads were labeled 'B' for black, and harder leads with 'H' for hard. For varying grades they would just add more letters, thus very soft was 'BB', very hard was 'HH', and extra hard was 'HHH'. Simple right? Later they switched again to a combination of numbers and letters! Where you would see 2B, 9H, etc. Although more complicated, this system allowed for a much wider variety of grades to be made with no more than a two character description. This was the last major change in the English grading system, the same they use today. Why an F and an HB? Who knows. They're crazy! Many of the United States companies use a number only system for writing pencils (1, 2, 2½, 3, 4), but the number letter combination for graphic and artist pencils. I guess they couldn't make up their mind. The No. 2 / HB grade pencil is the middle grade and is the most commonly used pencil for generic use. Harder grades are used for drafting and engineering, while softer grades are used usually by artists. Still to this day there is not a "universal" pencil grading method. The foolish pencil makers have yet to sit down and come up with one. We should lobby our governments. Who Invented Pizza...........? Who invented Pizza ? Pizza was first made in Naples about 500 years ago. According to ancient stories, a baker in Naples wanted to make something for the King and Queen of Italy, who happened to be visiting that area that day. So he added some food on top of a flat bread that were like the colors of the Italian flag - red, green and white. He added tomatoes, cheese and basil and served it to the king. The king loved it so much that soon a lot of people were eating "Pizza"!It was just something a lot of people ate in that area. The Duke of Naples made it popular by adding a variety of toppings.
Article Text Who should have a sleep study for sleep related breathing disorders? 1. L Whiteford, 2. P Fleming, 3. A J Henderson 1. Bristol Royal Hospital for Children, Department of Paediatric Respiratory Medicine & Sebastian Diamond Mother & Baby Sleep Laboratory, Bristol, UK 1. Correspondence to: Dr A J Henderson Education Centre, Bristol Royal Hospital for Children, Upper Maudlin Street, Bristol BS2 8AE, UK; By the time children are 5 years old more of their life will have been spent asleep than awake. Sleep medicine is therefore especially relevant in paediatrics. However, one recent survey showed that paediatricians’ knowledge of sleep medicine is poor and that few paediatricians enquire about sleep as part of their general consultation.1 • CCHS, congenital central hypoventilation syndrome • OSAS, obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome • PSG, polysomnography • REM, rapid eye movement • UARS, upper airway resistance syndrome • monitoring • physiological • polysomnography • sleep • sleep apnoea syndrome • obstructive Statistics from Ventilatory function is physiologically reduced during sleep in adults and children. Therefore, respiratory disorders are exacerbated and may only be clinically apparent during sleep. Assessing respiratory status only when a child is awake will underestimate the severity of sleep related breathing disorders or miss them altogether. Such failure to recognise sleep related breathing disorders can have significant adverse consequences on children’s physical health and on their behaviour and learning. The first step towards identifying a sleep related breathing disorder is to take a careful history. Symptoms during sleep and wakefulness should be enquired about as part of the general paediatric consultation (table 1). Table 1 Reported features that may suggest a sleep related breathing disorder Symptoms of sleep disturbance are commonly reported by parents and include behavioural problems, parasomnias, and insomnia.2 The commonest symptom associated with possible sleep disordered breathing is snoring, which may occur occasionally, only in association with upper respiratory infection or seasonal rhinitis, or on the majority of nights, termed habitual snoring. A history of snoring may be accompanied by reports of apnoea or dyspnoea associated with cessation of the respiratory noise. Such events are frightening to parents who may then maintain increased vigilance over their child during the night. Restless sleep with frequent changes of body position may indicate subcortical arousals.3 Children may sometimes adopt unusual sleeping postures, such as hyperextension of the neck to increase airway patency. Autonomic disturbances, including heart rate variability,4 profuse sweating, and nocturnal enuresis,5 have been reported in children with sleep disordered breathing. Children with breathing disturbances during sleep may be difficult to rouse or irritable on waking. Hypoventilation during sleep can be associated with the presence of morning headaches, vomiting, and lack of appetite for breakfast. Daytime symptoms include mouth breathing in children with adenoidal hypertrophy. Excessive daytime sleepiness is less common in children than in adults with sleep disordered breathing.6 However, behavioural disturbances such as hyperactivity or aggression may occur,7 and chronic sleep disturbance is associated with learning difficulties,9 developmental delay, failure to thrive, and cardiovascular dysfunction. Populations of children at increased risk of sleep related breathing disorders include those with adenotonsillar hypertrophy, craniofacial abnormalities, obesity, chronic respiratory or chest wall disease, and neuromuscular disorders affecting upper airway control and respiratory muscle function. Physical examination should include assessment of factors predisposing to sleep related breathing disorders and of potential consequences of sleep disordered breathing. The former will include careful examination of the upper airway, looking particularly for signs of adenotonsillar hypertrophy, the commonest cause of increased upper airway resistance during sleep in children. Nasal patency should be assessed and the presence of craniofacial and palatal abnormalities noted. These include syndromes that affect the development of the mid-face and mandible, such as Pierre Robin, Apert, Treacher Collins, CHARGE, Goldenhar, and Pfeiffer,10 and conditions that may be associated with multifactorial sleep related breathing disturbances, for example achondroplasia,11 in which central and obstructive apnoeas and chest wall restriction can all contribute to sleep related breathing disturbances. Children who have had palatoplasty for cleft palate may also have narrow posterior airways and be at risk of obstructive sleep apnoea.12 Respiratory examination, including measurement of respiratory function in appropriately aged children with suspected pulmonary or chest wall disease should be performed. The contribution of neuromuscular diseases to sleep disordered breathing should be considered in children with disorders affecting muscle strength and tone, including cerebral palsy, congenital and acquired myopathies and muscular dystrophies, particularly in association with kyphoscoliosis, and disorders affecting control of upper airway tone and reflexes, such as bulbar or pseudobulbar palsy. Potential complications of sleep disordered breathing include failure of expected growth.13 Cardiac examination is usually normal, although signs of pulmonary hypertension may be present. Systemic hypertension is probably less common in children than in adults with obstructive sleep apnoea but has been described.14,15 Cor pulmonale was described in earlier studies but is uncommonly seen, possibly due to earlier recognition and intervention of severe obstructive sleep apnoea. Although clearly important, clinical history and examination alone are unable to differentiate between children with and without significant sleep related breathing disorders. Symptoms are common; the prevalence of habitual snoring in a general population of children is 10%.16 However, most habitual snorers will have primary snoring, characterised by the absence of associated hypoxaemia, hypercapnia, sleep disruption, or daytime symptoms. This is a benign condition that does not require treatment. Only a small proportion of children who habitually snore have obstructive sleep apnoea requiring treatment. Therefore, attempts have been made to devise screening methods to identify children at risk of significant sleep related breathing disorders. Brouillette and others17 designed a clinical scoring system based on three questions about breathing during sleep. When applied to a general paediatric population, this was able to discriminate between healthy children and those with severe obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) but did not identify those with mild to moderate OSAS. Carroll and co-workers18 extended this scoring system and applied it to a population of children referred to a sleep clinic for assessment of snoring or difficulty breathing during sleep. In this setting it was not possible to reliably distinguish primary snoring from OSAS using the clinical history alone. Preutthipan and others19 studied parents’ ability to predict the severity of childhood OSAS based on observation of their child’s sleep. They showed that parents of children with severe OSAS were more likely to report cyanosis, obstructive apnoeas, and extremely loud snoring. They felt the need to shake or watch their child more frequently during sleep and were afraid of their child’s breathing at night. However, no single parental observation or combination of these could be used to confidently predict severe OSAS. Other investigators have also shown that clinical evaluation alone is not sufficient to identify children with significant sleep related breathing difficulties.20,21 A group at high risk for severe obstructive sleep apnoea can be identified but milder degrees may be missed. Therefore, some form of sleep study is advisable for further evaluation of symptomatic cases. Overnight polysomnography (PSG) in a sleep laboratory is considered to be the gold standard investigation for suspected abnormal breathing during sleep in children. A dedicated paediatric sleep laboratory, which can accommodate the unique needs of children, is the ideal setting for such investigations. Studies in adult laboratories may be sub-optimal and will be misinterpreted if adult diagnostic standards are applied. Despite the fact that young children take frequent naps, PSG is best performed at night during natural sleep. Marcus and others22 reported that nap studies had a positive predictive value of 100%, but a negative predictive value of only 20% for sleep disordered breathing. Nap studies can be useful for screening but are of limited diagnostic value, as they may not include episodes of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep; the behavioural state during which abnormalities are most likely to be seen. There is also some evidence that a sleep study is more likely to be abnormal in the later part of the night, which would be missed by a nap study. Sedatives should not be used to induce sleep for PSG as they depress upper airway dilator muscle function and may induce worse apnoea in children predisposed to OSAS.23 PSG simultaneously records a number of physiological variables, which can be selected depending on the clinical context in which the study is being carried out. They typically include respiratory movements, gas exchange, cardiac rate and rhythm, sleep state, and muscle activity. Respiratory effort can be assessed by simultaneously recording chest and abdominal wall movement using inductance plethysmography. Paradoxical inward rib cage movement (PIRCM) during inspiration is associated with upper airway obstruction during sleep.24 However, the usefulness of this measurement is limited in infants and young children, in whom paradoxical rib cage movements occur physiologically during REM sleep. A more accurate way of measuring respiratory effort utilises oesophageal pressure monitoring, but this is more invasive and the presence of an oesophageal manometer can interfere with sleep, making it unacceptable to many children. Airflow at the nose and mouth are seldom measured directly but proxy measures indicating the presence of gas flow, such as temperature change measured with a thermistor, can detect apnoeas. Oxygenation is measured by pulse oximetry, and carbon dioxide tensions can be measured non-invasively using an end-tidal CO2 catheter or transcutaneous CO2 electrode. Sleep staging ensures that the study includes periods of REM sleep. It also allows arousals from sleep, including subcortical arousals, to be identified, and hence provides information on sleep quality. Staging sleep involves the combined measurement of the electroencephalogram (EEG), electro-oculogram (EOG) to record rapid eye movements, and the electromyogram (EMG) to record submental and tibial muscle activity, thus allowing movement arousals to be detected. There is some debate about the value of precise sleep staging in the diagnosis of straightforward conditions such as obstructive sleep apnoea in an otherwise healthy child with adenoidal hypertrophy, in which case quiet sleep can be differentiated from active sleep using cardiorespiratory and behavioural variables. Additionally, advances in technology, such as neural network analysis,25 have the potential to simplify this process. An audio video recording during sleep is usually performed as part of the PSG as it is helpful in correlating physiological disturbances with clinical or behavioural findings. A trained technician is required to supervise the study to assure quality. Therefore, PSG is expensive and time consuming to perform. Additionally, there are limited resources for full polysomnography in children in the United Kingdom and other countries. Therefore, researchers have been prompted to evaluate other options for the assessment of sleep disordered breathing either as diagnostic or screening investigations. Pulse oximetry is the most widely used of the available screening methods. In some circumstances it can be useful, but it does have significant limitations. The finding of intermittent episodes of hypoxaemia in a snoring child is highly suggestive of OSAS. Stradling and others showed that pulse oximetry had 93% sensitivity and 86% specificity for detecting OSAS.26 Brouillette and others27 showed a high positive predictive value for pulse oximetry but also a high false negative rate. Sleep related breathing problems are more likely to occur during rapid eye movement (REM) than during non-REM sleep. It is not possible to determine if adequate periods of REM sleep have been included in a sleep study using pulse oximetry alone. Some children who snore have significant disturbance in their breathing and sleep without recurrent episodes of hypoxaemia. There is evidence that continuous partial airway obstruction may be the most common presentation of disordered breathing during sleep in children of all ages,28,29 and this will not be detected by pulse oximetry. Additionally, pulse oximetry is not a reliable indicator of severity of OSAS.30 This is potentially important in preoperative assessment, particularly of high risk children with adenotonsillar hypertrophy who have an increased risk of perioperative complications with severe disease. Pulse oximetry does however have an important role in assessing oxygenation during sleep in children with chronic lung disease and neuromuscular disorders. Audio and video taping have also been used to screen for sleep disordered breathing. Recording the snoring sound can be used to detect apnoeas, but it cannot differentiate between central and obstructive apnoea.31 Goldstein and colleagues32 found that a sound recording was positive when compared to PSG only 50% of the time. Lamm and others33 found that home audiotapes were not sufficiently specific to reliably distinguish primary snoring from OSAS. A videotape of a child during sleep can provide useful information. It allows the physician an opportunity to observe disturbed sleep. However it is not practical in a clinical context to record and view more than a limited portion of the sleep period. The severity of sleep disordered breathing may vary throughout the night. The design of sophisticated computer systems for analysing video material may circumvent this problem. Combining audiotaping with pulse oximetry adds to the diagnostic value;31 however, lack of arousal data and information to stage sleep remains a problem. Due to the limitations of single channel recording systems, attempts have been made to develop simple multichannel devices that are suitable for unattended home use or with minimal supervision. There is limited evidence of the performance of these devices in children to date, but recent studies of such monitors compared in both laboratory and home conditions with PSG, have shown that obstructive apnoea/hypopnoea syndrome in adults can be diagnosed satisfactorily in a substantial proportion of cases.34 Although such comparisons do not exist for children, unattended home PSG has been evaluated in a research context and found to provide acceptably high quality data.35 Therefore, this represents a potentially useful and cost effective approach to the diagnosis of obstructive apnoea in children that deserves further evaluation. Obstructive sleep apnoea and upper airway resistance syndromes The most common indication for performing sleep studies in children is for the detection of obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS). OSAS in children is characterised by recurrent events of partial or complete airway obstruction during sleep, resulting in disruption in normal ventilation and sleep patterns,36 but rarely with prolonged apnoea. Episodes of obstruction occur primarily during REM sleep, in contrast with obstructive apnoeas in adults, which are mostly non-REM phenomena. The prevalence of OSAS in preschool children is estimated to be 1–3%.37,38 The majority of cases of OSAS in children are associated with adentonsillar hypertrophy. It is most commonly diagnosed between the ages of 2 and 8 years when the tonsils and adenoids are largest in relation to the upper airway size. However, the symptoms of OSAS are not simply related to structural narrowing of the airway by physical obstruction. This is supported by studies which have shown no correlation between upper airway or adenotonsillar size and OSAS,39,40 and by studies in which children have failed to show improvement after adenotonsillectomy despite the lack of other risk factors for OSAS.21 A combination of structural and neuromotor abnormalities is likely to be important for OSAS to develop. The role that these two factors have will vary in different individuals. In children with adenotonsillar hypertrophy, structural factors will tend to predominate, although subtle neuromotor abnormalities are likely also to be present.41 In children with cerebral palsy and neurodisability, it is more likely that neuromotor factors will be to the fore. The classical picture of OSAS in which snoring is associated with obstructive apnoea and hypoxaemia represents only a small proportion of children with sleep disordered breathing. It is now widely recognised that a spectrum of abnormalities exists42 between primary snoring and classical OSAS, with two further conditions, upper airway resistance syndrome and obstructive hypoventilation being intermediate between the extremes. It is also recognised that children may move up or down this spectrum in response to seasonal variations and with age or growth. Therefore, these should not be regarded as static conditions. Upper airway resistance syndrome (UARS) is characterised by increased upper airway resistance and increased work of breathing during sleep sufficient to cause frequent microarousals (brief arousals <15 seconds) from sleep, which lead to excessive daytime sleepiness and diminished neurocognitive function. In obstructive hypoventilation, increased airway resistance sufficient to cause partial airways obstruction and hypoventilation occurs, leading to peak end tidal CO2 >55 mm Hg or end tidal CO2 >45 mm HG for more than 60% of the total sleep time. Snoring is common to all of these conditions. UARS and obstructive hypoventilation are not detectable using single channel screening, such as oximetry, but multichannel systems have the potential to identify obstructive hypoventilation and may also be useful in screening of UARS, the clinical significance of which has yet to be fully determined in children. Other conditions In children with chronic lung disease and limited pulmonary reserve, such as infants with chronic lung disease of prematurity and children with cystic fibrosis, the normal effects of sleep on respiratory function can result in significant ventilatory and gas exchange abnormalities.43 Children may require higher inspired oxygen concentrations during sleep, whether or not supplemental oxygen is needed during wakefulness. These children can be identified by continuous assessment of oxygen saturation during sleep. Children with neuromuscular disease, especially those with progressive conditions such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy, will eventually develop respiratory disturbances during sleep.44 These are most pronounced during REM sleep due to diminished respiratory drive, atonia of the upper airway and intercostal muscles, and dependence of respiration on diaphragmatic function. Both obstructive apnoea and alveolar hypoventilation can occur. Progressive scoliosis is often a contributing factor in these children. Mild hypercapnia and REM sleep desaturation are the first abnormalities to be observed and can be detected by combined recordings of gas exchange using oximetry and end tidal CO2. Treatment is limited to supportive measures but these can prolong the duration and, most importantly, improve the quality of life for these patients. Sleep studies will also identify conditions in which there is an underlying abnormality in the central control of respiration. These conditions may be primary, such as congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (CCHS), or secondary to diseases of the spinal cord or brain stem. CCHS may range in severity from mild alveolar hypoventilation during sleep with adequate ventilation during wakefulness to complete apnoea during sleep and severe hypoventilation even when awake. Infants usually present with cyanosis and respiratory failure, or occasionally apnoea at birth. Rarely, infants present later with apparent life threatening events or cor pulmonale. Definitive diagnosis requires careful evaluation using PSG, including measurement of ventilation during wakefulness, REM, and non-REM sleep states. Treatment of CCHS is with long term support of respiration. As ventilation requirements will change over time in such patients it is necessary that PSG should be repeated at regular intervals. It is our practice to do so on a six monthly basis. Failure to recognise sleep disordered breathing in children can have significant consequences on growth, cardiac, and neurological function. Early surveys of children with severe OSAS reported failure to thrive in 27–56% of cases.13,45 Increased recognition of OSAS and earlier intervention has made failure to thrive the exception in recent times. However, children with OSAS still tend to have a growth spurt following adenotonsillectomy.46 This would appear to be due to decreased work of breathing postoperatively rather than to increased caloric intake.47 Two studies have suggested that endocrine factors may also have a role. Increases in insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) and its binding protein have been shown after adenotonsillectomy in children with OSAS.48,49 Recurrent nocturnal hypoxemia, hypercapnia, and respiratory acidosis can lead to pulmonary hypertension and on to cor pulmonale and congestive heart failure. This used to be a common presentation of OSAS in childhood but is now rarely reported. However, asymptomatic degrees of pulmonary hypertension may be more common than previously appreciated. Tal and others have shown reduced right ventricular ejection fractions in 37% of children with OSAS, although only 7% had clinical evidence of pulmonary hypertension.50 All these children showed normalisation of heart function after surgery. Routine screening of children with suspected OSAS with ECG or echocardiogram is unlikely to be worthwhile. Systemic hypertension is a common complication of OSAS in adults but less frequently reported in children. Marcus and colleagues found that children with OSAS had a significantly higher systemic diastolic blood pressure (but no difference in systolic pressure) than children with primary snoring.14 This observation raised concerns about the long term consequences to adult health of albeit mild increase of blood pressure during childhood associated with OSAS. Children with sleep disordered breathing have been shown to have a high incidence of neurocognitive and behavioural disturbances51–54 These include attention disorders, memory and learning disabilities, school failure, developmental delay, hyperactivity, aggressiveness, and withdrawn behaviour.8 Behavioural symptoms may be the primary clinical manifestation of sleep disordered breathing. Guilleminault and others showed that children aged 6 years and over who were referred to a sleep disorders clinic were frequently seen by the school counsellor before coming to the clinic, and concerns about attention deficit disorder and special educational needs had been raised.52 Rebellious behaviour was encountered more often than frank sleepiness. O’Brien and colleagues identified a high prevalence of sleep disordered breathing in children aged 5–7 years with mild attention deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADHD) compared with children with severe ADHD or none.53 Further evidence for a link between behaviour and neurological symptoms and sleep disordered breathing comes from studies that have shown improvement in these symptoms after treatment with adenotonsillectomy.8,54 Gozal performed screening for sleep disordered breathing in first grade students who were performing in the lowest (10th) centile of their class. He found that a surprisingly high proportion (18%) were snorers with associated nocturnal gas exchange abnormalities. Children treated with adenotonsillectomy showed improvement in their grades the following year, whereas those left untreated did not. The American Academy of Pediatrics has recently published clinical practice guidelines on diagnosis and management of OSAS in children.55 Although there are currently gaps in the evidence, the following is suggested as an approach to the recognition of OSAS in children: 1. The possibility of obstructive sleep apnoea should be considered in children with habitual snoring, although the majority of these children will have primary snoring. Although clinical assessment is poor at discriminating primary snoring from OSAS, symptoms or signs suggestive of the latter should prompt further investigation. In the presence of significant complications, such as cardiorespiratory failure, investigation should be urgent in a specialist centre. 2. Single channel systems, such as overnight oximetry, may be helpful if they show positive results in the context of a suggestive history of uncomplicated OSAS. However, a normal study does not exclude OSAS and polysomnography remains the gold standard investigation. Unattended home studies using multichannel systems appear promising and deserve further evaluation in this context. 3. Complex and high risk patients, such as those with craniofacial abnormalities, neuromuscular disorders, and suspected central hypoventilation, should be referred to a specialist centre for further investigation. View Abstract Request permissions
The Russian Empire (commonly known as Russia) is a sovereign state that spans across North Eurasia. Russian Empire Tsar's world Russia 1 the Russian Empire Languages Russia (official first language), 160 others officially recognized Capital Moscow Government Semi-constitutional monarchy Legislature Imperial Duma Head of State Tsar of Russia Head of government Prime Minister of Russia Area 23,800,000 Population 432,000,000 (2008 census) Economy by GDP 17,200,000,000,000 (1st) Founding 1721 Refoundation 1991 Currency Ruble The Russian Empire is a semi-federal state governed under a semi-constitutional monarchy and a unicameral parliamentary system, with its seat of government in the capital city of Moscow. Russia is a highly developed country, with the world's largest economy by nominal GDP as well as by purchasing power parity. It is among the worlds most industrialised countries being among some of the first to industralise. Russia is a superpower with leading economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence. It has the worlds largest nuclear weapons stockpile while its military expenditure ranks second in the world. It is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, G8, G20, OECD, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, Eurasian Economic Community, Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe the Council of Europe and the World Trade Organization. Ad blocker interference detected!
Sunday, November 16, 2008 A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words There is an old cliche that says, "A picture is worth a thousand words." We will be examining photojournalism from various locations around the world. is a website that draws more than a million views a month. You will be responsible for visiting this website and examining a set of pictures. After taking the time to examine the amazing photography, please select a set of pictures to study. Your pictures should have an international theme. As you browse the pictures, select one that stands out to you. For that picture, please (1) describe any features or details that stand out to you, (2) describe the events that most likely led up to the picture and what events you imagine will follow (3) brainstorm why the photographer took this picture - what "story" he was trying to capture, (4) how does the photograph help paint a strong picture about the culture that you are examining and do you think the picture is accurate or is it an attempt to tell a false story? Once you are done, please post your response. Then, comment on two responses that have been done by your classmates. Wednesday, May 14, 2008 Picasso and O'Brien Thursday, April 17, 2008 To the right, you should see an image of people walking in the rain. This picture is from a previous Boston Marathon. Please select a person from the photograph and write 15-20 sentences from your perspective. Make sure to use the FIVE SENSES to describe you and your surroundings. Think about the temperature outside, the water in your sneakers, and the mix of water and sweat on your clothing. You want your reader to feel like he or she is a part of the picture. Please use at least five different types of sentence constructions that we reviewed last class. Please post your response below. Thursday, April 10, 2008 Below you will find a link that will show you pictures of Vietnam. Spend some time looking at the images, and let me know what you think! Tuesday, April 8, 2008 Narrative Preparation Select an image for the basis of your 3rd narrative of the semester. We're doing a nice job of "showing vs. telling", but we can do more. Today, we'll strip down the process and prepare for our 3rd story. This time, I am asking you to focus on a specific task: developing characterization through imagery. 1. Study the image. 2. Characterization: Create your protagonist. List several qualities of this character. What drives him or her? What fears does he or she have? 3. Write a passage which describes the physicality and psychology of your character. Reveal these qualities through detail so that the reader is left to determine them. Here's an example: avoid: "Johnny was a roofer from the midwest who worked really hard. He was sick of his job." The problem? The reader is disengaged from the get-go. Everything is revealed; there is no puzzle, question, or curiosity to compel the reader to move forward. Try something more like this: "His fingers, seasoned by the unmistakable breath of the Dakotan winter, clutched the dusted chrome of the handle. His red '76 Chevy, tinted a faded pink by the glow of twilight, groaned and coughed to a start. He sighed and plucked a cluster of bills from his mottled dungarees and tossed them into the passenger seat among the pile- rusty tools, foam coffee cups, faded receipts. He popped the truck into drive but his boot remained heavy on the break. An orange sliver of the fading sun pulled his gaze to the top of the roof, its shingles a crisp mosaic of sparkling grey. And on this night John sat for a moment, his flesh and bone drooping slowly into the torn fabric of his seat." 4. Post your brainstorming results and a draft of your passage here. Wednesday, April 2, 2008 Outside Reading What are you reading for outside reading? What books would you recommend? Tuesday, April 1, 2008 Tasteful Waste Visit the link below to view the artwork of American artist Chris Jordan. Feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you think of it. Friday, February 8, 2008 Art Critique: Brett X. Please post your critique of Brett's "Two Paths." Thank you!! Art Critique: Mr. Kefor Please post your critique of Mr. Kefor's "Still Life." Thank you! Tuesday, February 5, 2008 The Power of Critiques After reading the critiques of Benois Madonna and Virgin of the Rocks, examine the paintings. What aspects of the paintings do the critiques help you focus on? Would you have noticed these aspects without the critique? What is the purpose of this critique? Is anything missing from the critique that you would have liked addressed? How will reading these critiques help you when it is time to write your own critiques? Sunday, February 3, 2008 Writing and Visual Imagination students- use this post to brainstorm and/or declare your concepts. Don't forget to read the comments from last semester's students below; some of them contain valuable information and suggestions.
Ask Questions, Get Answers Use differentials to find an approximate value for the given numbers $(1.97)^{6}$ 1 Answer • Let $y=f(x)$ be a differentiable function then the quantities $dx$ and $dy$ are called differentials.The differential $dx$ is an independent variable. • The differential $dy$ is then defined by $dy=f'(x)dx(dx \approx \Delta x)$ • Also $f(x+\Delta x)-f(x)=\Delta y =dy $ from which $f(x+\Delta x) $can be evaluated Given $ (1.97)^6$ Step 1: Let $y=x^6$ Step 2: let $x=2, \Delta x =-0.03$ Then $f(2)=2^6=64$ and $dy=6x^5dx$ $\quad= 6 \times 32 \times (-0.03)$ $\quad=-192 \times 0.03$ $\therefore f(1.97)=f(2)+\Delta y$ answered Aug 12, 2013 by meena.p Related questions Download clay6 mobile appDownload clay6 mobile app
Monday, March 06, 2006 The lode of intense but ultimately futile effort that runs through the strata of Greek history is especially rich when it comes to the Greek conception of society. From ancient times it was the custom for Greeks to abandon their war-ravaged or civil strife-stricken homelands, ostensibly in order to preserve themselves and their culture and to set up what they hoped to be a convivial re-forged society anew, elsewhere, in the hope that the prospect of a tabula rasa in an unknown land, would give them a second chance for survival and success . Ostensibly, this was undertaken Many of these new cities/colonies, bore the name of their mother city or place of origin. Thus the city of Messina in Sicily has been named after Messinia in the Peloponnese, while the city of Isparta in Asia Minor was named after Messinias’ arch-nemesis, Sparta. It says much for the concept of a tabula rasa that most of the ancient Greek colonies have largely been swept clean of a Greek presence within them. Instead, and especially in the aftermath of the Asia Minor catastrophe, the ancient colonies, unable to survive trial, tribulation and destruction, disgorged their colonial population back into the windpipe of the motherland, creating colonies from colonies. And thus it is in the death throes of the dream for a new society that suburbs such as Nea Philadelphia or Nea Smyrna came into being. Interestingly enough, Athens Nea Smyrna is not the first child of woe to emerge prematurely and bloody from the womb of its stricken mother. For almost two hundred years prior to tumultuous events that caused the destruction of the mother city, its passion under the Ottoman yoke saw it again embrace the prospect of escape and rebirth, not around the littoral of the Mediterranean this time, but in the ultimate embracing of the tabula rasa, in the New World itself. The colony of New Smyrna, though financed and established by the British East Florida Company, was the brainchild and project of the Scotsman, Dr. Andrew Turnbull (1718-1792). After having spent years in the Ottoman Empire, Dr. Turnbull married a Greek woman, Gracia Maria Rubina Turnbull (1736 - 1798) from the city of Smyrna on 22 August 1753. The New Smyrna Colony was named in honour of her city of birth. Aside from family sentiments, Dr. Turnbull sought to provide a haven for the Greeks of Asia Minor, who, residing in the lands where Ottoman power was strongest, bore the brunt of an increasingly intolerant and repressive society. Further, Turnbull believed that Greeks and other peripheral peoples who were used to a Mediterranean climate and methods of agriculture would be perfectly suited to the lands in eastern Florida. On 26 June 1768, eight ships carrying 1,255 Mediterraneans arrived in the Spanish settlement of St. Augustine, in Florida, in preparation for their re-settlement. Collectively, this is said to be the largest single contingent of colonists ever to immigrate to North America. The colonists included individuals from Corsica, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy and the Balearic island of Minorca near Spain. While the individuals who composed this colony were drawn from numerous locations in the Mediterranean, Asia Minor Greeks and Greek-Corsican colonists numbered more than half the original contingent. This mixed bag of colonists came as both freemen and indentured servants to work on a large plantation some 100 kilometres south of St Augustine, in an area then known as Mosquito Inlet. The British Crown Colony in what is today the general area of New Smyrna Beach awarded a grant for some 40,000 acres of land to Dr. Turnbull and his partners. This is to where the weary colonists travelled in the summer of 1768, immediately after their arrival in St Augustine. With food, tools, provisions and housing for only 500 colonists awaiting the 1,255 individuals, circumstances at the new plantation would have been difficult under any conditions. What made matters worse was that despite his championing of the Greek cause and his stated intention to provide a haven for Greeks who had suffered Ottoman oppression, Dr. Turnbull chose to ignore the conditions set forth by the indenture contracts he had his would be new settlers sign. With the ill-fed colonists exposed to severe weather and cruelly mistreated by overseers used to driving Negro slaves, trouble was inevitable. In 1768, a revolt took place on the plantation, in protest against its prevailing poor conditions and the inhumane treatment of the colonists by their purported ‘saviour.’. The colonists were subdued by British troops and put on trial in St. Augustine. Three of the rebel leaders were condemned to death: Carlo Forni, Giuseppe Masiadoli (alias Bresiano), and Elias Medici, a Corsican Greek. In an obvious attempt to divide the strong alliance which had developed between the numerous unmarried Greek and Italian colonists, the life of Elias Medici was to be spared on the condition that he be the executioner of Forni and Masiadoli. Bernard Romans, the famed Dutch topographer (1720-1784), witnessed the execution and left this riveting account: “On this occasion, I saw one of the most moving scenes I have ever experienced: long and obstinate was the struggle of this man's mind, who repeatedly called out that he chose to die rather than to be executioner of his friends in distress. This not a little perplexed Mr. Woodridge, the sheriff, till at last the entreaties of the victims themselves put an end to the conflict in his breast, by encouraging him to act. Now we beheld a man thus compelled to mount the ladder, take leave of his friends in the most moving manner, kissing them the moment before he committed them to an ignominious death.” Ironically, after the failed revolt, the New Smyrna Colony eventually prospered, yielding vast sums of money as an indigo plantation. Nevertheless in the short term, through mismanagement, greed and political intrigue within the Colonial government in St. Augustine, the plantation failed in 1777. There was great loss of life at the colony. The survivors, who only numbered around 600, literally escaped the plantation in the dead of night, making their way over 100 kilometres along the shoreline beach to St. Augustine. It was on Saint George Street where the survivors of the New Smyrna Colony first settled after their escape in 1777. Since that time, this area of Old St Augustine has been called “the Greek Quarter” and alternately “the Minorcan Quarter.” Upon their arrival in St. Augustine, the surviving colonists, soon distinguished themselves. Many houses and shops still found on St. George Street and throughout Old St, St Augustine bear bronze plaques, commemorating not only their status as buildings on the Historical Register of the Untied States, but also the Greek colonists who owned those buildings. Given the manner in which public records were kept, it is uncertain how many of the original Greek colonists survived. We do know that men such as Petros Cotsifakis, Gasper Papi of Smyrna, Ioannis Giannopoulos of Mani, Ioannis Koluminas from Corsica, Anastasios Mavromatis of Melos, Elias Medici and others survived. Among the customs and traditional ways of life the Greek colonists of new Smyrna bequeathed to their descendants, was the use of the pezovoli, the traditional Greek fishing net. The cry, “mullets on the beach,” which signals a run of this species of fish, has long been recognized as the freedom cry of the New Smyrna Colonists. For as custom has it, once this call is sounded, all the descendants are free, regardless of their work or other duties, to run to the beach and use their hand-thrown pezovoli. Another time-honoured relic of St. George Street is the Genopoly House. Ioannis Giannopoulos - who in time went by the name of Juan Genopoly - built a home for himself sometime around 1800. Today, this preserved building is recognized as one of the oldest schoolhouses in North America. As the story goes, Genopoly, in typical Greek fashion, was worried his children would grow up without an education. Genopoly (or one of his sons - the stories are unclear) hired a school teacher, and generations of children from St. Augustine went to school in this building. Further, St Augustine boasts the only Greek Orthodox Shrine in the US. In 1777, the Spanish governor Vicente Manuel de Zespedes gave the abandoned Avero House to the community for its religious and civic use. Eventually, the second floor of Avero House was turned into a chapel. The Chapel of San Pedro served its mixed parish community for approximately seven years. In 1965, local Greeks in St. Augustine acquired Avero House, one of the oldest surviving Spanish colonial buildings in the region. Through the sustained efforts of the late Archbishop Iakovos, Avero House was purchased by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese. In 1969, Iakovos announced that this shrine would bear the name of Saint Photios, the great Patriarch of Constantinople from the Ninth Century who fought to preserve the original Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed and remove the filioque clause, and who sent Greek missionaries to Christianize the Slavs. A historical restoration ensued with a grand dedication celebration taking place on February 27, 1982. One of the Shrine's express missions is to honor the memories of all the New Smyrna Colonists. The Shrine consists of a courtyard and an exhibition area with artifacts, photographs and historical documents on the colony; a beautiful Byzantine style chapel, a gift shop and offices. With well over 100,000 visitors a year, the St. Photios Shrine is a premier Hellenic American Museum. This year, between 4-5 February, a two-day round of festivities was held to commemorate the twenty-fourth annual pilgrimage to the Shrine, as well as the ingenuity of its hapless Geek colonists. The intrepid immigrants of the New Smyrna Colony deserve nothing less, as long as there are other colonists to remember them. First published in NKEE on 6 March 2006
Complete list of HTML tags • By Christopher Kielty, last updated September 07, 2016 • Filed under: HTML Here it is. The complete list of HTML tags. Up to date for HTML5. Older, less useful tags have been removed from this list. Other tags, like <b> and <i>, have been updated to reflect their new meanings. Each tag is followed by a brief description of what it does. Think of this as an HTML cheat sheet. My intention when writing this article was to provide a quick and easy to understand description of each HTML tag. I believe some of these could use a little more explaining. Expect regular updates to this article along with separate articles on each tag. <!– –>: Comment. Anything between <!-- and --> will be commented out. <!DOCTYPE>: Specifies which version of HTML is being used. <a>: The “a” is short for “anchor,” which is more commonly known as a “hyperlink,” or just a “link”. To make an actual link using the <a> tag, use the href attribute: <a href=””>EASTMAN REFERENCE</a> <abbr>: “Abbr” is short for “abbreviation”. Use with the title attribute like so: <abbr title=”Cascading Style Sheets”>CSS</abbr> <address>: Contact information for the author. Alternatively, this could be general contact information for the website. <area>: Establishes areas in an image map. <area> is always used inside of <map>. <article>: The <article> tag is new in HTML5. This tag can be used to contain blog entries, forum posts, etc. <aside>: New to HTML5. The <aside> tag can be used for a sidebar that is placed next to the main content. <audio>: New in HTML5. The <audio> tag can be used to place an audio stream within an HTML document. <b>: Makes text bold. Perhaps better alternatives are <em>, <strong>, <h4>, etc. <base>: Use to set a base URL. <bdi>: Short for bidirectional isolation. Useful for working with languages that use right to left text. <bdo>: Short for Bidirectional Override. Use this to override the current direction of text. Useful for languages that use right to left text. <blockquote>: For quoting from an external source. Typically rendered as indented text. <body>: Establishes the body of an HTML document. <br>: Single line break. Think of “br” as short for “break.” <button>: Specifies button that can be clicked. Commonly used with forms. <canvas>: Used for rendering graphics on the fly. Typically used in conjunction with a scripting language. <caption>: Must be inserted just after <table>. Specifies a caption for the table. <cite>: Used for citations. <code>: Use for code examples. (HTML, for example) <col>: Define properties of a specific <col> within a <colgroup> <colgroup>: Essentially a group of columns. <data>: Used for specifying script friendly data. <datalist>: New in HTML5. Specify predefined data for an <input>. <dd>: Description list. Use with <dt> and <dl>. <del>: Mark text as deleted without actually deleting it. This will typically be rendered as a strikethrough. <details>: New in HTML5. Can be used for additional details which can be hidden or revealed. <dfn>: Use when first defining a term. <dialog>: Dialog box. <div>: Division within an HTML document. <dl>: Description list. Use with <dd> and <dt>. <dt>: Description list. Use with <dd> and <dl>. <em>: Emphasis. Typically renders as italics. For something stronger, try <strong>. <embed>: New in HTML5. A container for external content. <fieldset>: Group related items in a form. <figure>: Define self contained content such as photos or diagrams. <footer>: The footer of a document, below the main content. <form>: Forms for user input. <h1>: Level 1 heading. <h2>: Level 2 heading. <h3>: Level 3 heading. <h4>: Level 4 heading. <h5>: Level 5 heading. <h6>: Level 6 heading. <head>: The head section. Used mostly for metadata. <header>: Not to be confued with <head>, <header> typically contains introductory content and layout that goes above the body. <hgroup>: Used for grouping <h1>, <h2>, <h3>, etc., tages together. Useful for multilevel headings. <hr>: This can be used for seperating text within a paragraph. Typically renders as a horizontal line running across the page. <html>: The root level tag of an HTML document. All other HTML tags go inside the HTML tag. <i>: In HTML 4, the <i> tag simply rendered text as italics. In HTML5, is intended for sections of text that are different from the normal flow (voice, mood) of the main content. Although browsers typically render this as italicized text, <i> should not be used to for emphasis. Use <em> for that. Or <strong>, if you want strong emphasis. <iframe>: Makes it possible to embed another page within a page. In HTML5 this is known as nested browsing. <img>: Use <img> to place images within webpages. Use it with the src attribute like so: <img src=”image.png”> <input>: Input is used with various attributes to create form input elements. <ins>: Useful for denoting text that has been added to an HTML file since the original version. Updates to a blog post for example. This is typically rendered as underlined text, although this can really be rendered just about any way you want with a stylesheet. <kbd>: Used for keyboard input. This is different from form element text input. <keygen>: Used for authentication with a security certificate. <label>: For assigning labels to interface elements such as forms. <legend>: Useful for making forms easier to understand. <li>: This represents a list item with an <ol> (ordered list) or <ul> (unordered list). <link>: Used for linking to external resources. Typically seen in <head> referring to an external style sheet. Different from the <a> (anchor) tag. <main>: New to HTML5. These tags enclose the main content of an HTML document. <map>: Used when defining an image map. <mark>: This is essentially used for highlighting. Of course, whether or not highlighting is actually involved depends on the involved stylesheet. <menu>: Used for creating various kinds of menus. This is new to HTML 5.1. <menuitem>: Specify actions that can be taken with a menu. <meta>: Used for specifying various meta information about the document. Meta tags are used within the document <head>. <meter>: Used to represent a number when the minimum and maximum is known (ie. 10%). <nav>: Used for specifying a navigational region within a document. <noscript>: For anyone using scripts within their pages, <noscript> is useful for specifying content that should be rendered when scripting isn’t supported. <object>: For embedding objects within a document. <ol>: Ordered list (1. 2. 3.). Use with <li> (list item). <optgroup>: Useful for helping users understand a various options. <option>: Used within the <select> tag to specify an option. <output>: Displays the output of an action, such as from a script or form. <p>: Paragraph. Enclose paragraphs in an article within <p> tags. <param>: Used when parameters need to be passed to an object embedded within the document. <pre>: For preformatted text. This can be useful for displaying code within a web page. <progress>: Can display the progress of an action, such as with a script. <q>: Quotation from an external source. <rb>: Used for Ruby annotation. <rp>: Specify text to be displayed when ruby annotations are not supported by the browser. <rt>: Text component of a ruby annotation. <rtc>: RTS stands for Ruby Text Container. <ruby>: For roby annotations. <s>: Marks text that is not longer relevant, applicable, or accurate. <samp>: Sample output one might get from a particular computer program. <script>: Scripts inside of an HTML document are enclosed in the script tags. <section>: A nonspecific means of breaking up content within a webpage into sections. <select>: Used with <option> for selecting a particular option. <small>: Typically used for small print. Useful for comments within the main cotent. <source>: Used with <audio> and <video> for specifying media source. <span>: Useful for applying styles to or around text, especially inline. <strong>: The enclosed text is of strong importance. <style>: For declaring style sheets within a document. <sub>: For displaying subscript. Useful for math, especially in conjunction with <sup> (superscript). <summary>: Used in conjunction with the <details> tag for specifying a summary. <sup>: For displaying superscript. Useful for math, especially in conjunction with <sub> (subscript). <table>: For making tables in an HTML page. <tbody>: Groups table rows. <td>: Stands for table data; this represents a data cell within a table. <template>: Declares HTML snippets that can be used later. <textarea>: For multi-line text entry. <tfoot>: Table footer. <th>: Table header cell. <thead>: Table header row. <time>: Specifies the date/time within a document. <title>: The title of an HTML document. <tr>: A row within a table. <track>: Used to specify text tracks with <audio> and <video>. <u>: Useful for annotating text for various reasons. No longer specifically for underlining, although you can of course still do that with CSS. <ul>: Unordered list. Use with <li> (list item) to make unordered lists. <var>: Defines a variable within the content of an HTML page. <video>: For embedding video within an HTML page. <wbr>: Specifies line wrapping preferences for specific areas of text.
Thursday, July 26, 2012 Significant Christian Victory Titusz Dugovics, a Hungarian soldier of Slav origin, leads the charge at the Siege of Nándorfehérvár. Ever wonder why the church bells ring in Europe at noon? A majority of Europeans do not know why. The bells in Europe toll at noon because of the Hungarian (Christian) victory at the Siege of Nándorfehérvár in 1456. The city is now called Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It used to be a town in the old Kingdom of Hungary. Throughout the centuries since, Hungary lost control and ownership of the town. A majority of people in Europe also don't know that Hungary was the defender of Christian Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries. To quote Pope John Paul II, "Hungary was also Christianity's bulwark against the invasion of the Tartars and Turks". Hungary was the only kingdom at the time that could organize significant resistance to the Ottoman Turks. The Turks made it their priority to crush Hungarian opposition and resistance. They were known to amass huge armies and marched all over the Balkans and Central Europe to attack their Christian enemies. They were quite a formidable foe as their troops were highly-trained. The Janissaries were the elite fighting soldiers of the Turkish Sultans and were highly effective in combat. They were drafted from the captured children of their foes as many of them were Christians (Slavs and Hungarians). Turkish Sultan Mehmed II was the ruler of the Turkish forces that besieged Nándorfehérvár. The Ottoman Turks invaded Europe in the 14th century in the attempts of conquering it and converting it to the Islamic faith. Many kingdoms fell to the advancing Turks but it was Hungary who was the only significant kingdom that stood in their way. The Byzantine Empire, Serbian and Bulgarian kingdoms all fell in defeat to the Turks. Christian Europe was beginning to fear this invasion. Various Popes over the centuries from the Catholic church had called for organized resistance in order to defend Christian Europe. The fortress of Nándorfehérvár as it appeared during the siege in 1456. The failures of the Crusades in the Holy Land led many European rulers to be very pessimistic about any more organized efforts against Islam. The Hungarians were pretty much on their own when it came to fighting the Turks as a result. The Kingdom of Hungary fought the Ottoman Turks for over two centuries mostly without any assistance. Many battles occurred as Hungary tried to maintain her independence and freedom. It was said centuries later that the Hungarians were the only foe the Turks truly respected. John Hunyadi was Hungary's military leader who fought the Turks for two decades. John Hunyadi (1407-1456), the Hungarian nobleman and military leader, fought many battles with the Turks for two decades before the siege. He was in charge of the Christian forces and prepared the defences of the Nándorfehérvár fortress before the Turks attacked. Hunyadi and the Christians, who consisted mostly of Hungarians and Serbians, were outnumbered by their enemy. It is estimated that the Turks had up to 100,000 men when they attacked. The Christians could only muster about 4,000 well-armed and trained soldiers with about 60,000 peasants. In any case, Hunyadi managed to push the Turks back to their camp and defeated them outside the city walls. In the battle, the Turkish Sultan Mehmed II, was killed in combat with a Christian knight. The rest of the Turkish force fled with fear and never came back. Unfortunately for the Hungarians and Christians, John Hunyadi would die of a plague that broke out in their camp three weeks after the battle. The siege turned into a battle outside the city walls as the Hungarians attacked the Turkish camp. The Siege of Nándorfehérvár was significant because it was the first time that Christian Europeans stopped a large Turkish army and defeated them. The victory is very significant in Hungary today as it is celebrated every year. Since 2011, it has become an official holiday in Hungary. It does have great importance to the country and the Hungarian people. One can only imagine what would have happened if the Hungarians lost the siege. If the Christians lost the siege, the Turks could have conquered Europe entirely or at a faster rate. Though the victory at Nándorfehérvár didn't defeat the Turks entirely, it still gave European Christians time to re-organize and prepare for the next Turkish onslaught. The Turks would remain in Europe up until the 19th century. They were finally beat back and pushed out so that they never became a threat to Christian Europe ever again. The 556th anniversary was celebrated in Budapest this past Sunday (July 22, 2012). There were thousands of people present at the celebration who remembered the Hungarian heroes at the siege. There was a flotilla of boats and small warships that commemorated the battle. It was a very colourful affair as many reenactors were also present in medieval armour and clothing. Politicians and members of the Hungarian military were also present at the commemoration. They made speeches glorifying the great Hungarian victory against the Ottoman Turks. Unfortunately the Hungarian left-wing does not seem to celebrate this occasion as it is "politically incorrect" for them to do so. Nevertheless, many Hungarians see this victory with great pride as it was their forefathers that helped to stop one of Christian Europe's greatest threats. The video on the commemoration is in Hungarian. It is over one hour, but worth a watch. More on the Siege of Nándorfehérvár:
Monday, February 14, 2011 Chapter 30: Common Exceptions and Errors In this chapter we are going to take a look at the common exceptions and errors you may encounter whilst your career as a Java programmer. Some of them are: ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException, ClassCastException, IllegalArgumentException, IllegalStateException, NullPointerException, NumberFormatException, AssertionError, ExceptionInInitializerError, StackOverflowError, or NoClassDefFoundError. Where Exceptions Come From Jump back a page and take a look at the previous chapter. It’s important to understand what causes exceptions and errors, and where they come from. For the purposes of exam preparation, let’s define two broad categories of exceptions and errors: • JVM exceptions Those exceptions or errors that are either exclusively or most logically thrown by the JVM. • Programmatic exceptions Those exceptions that are thrown explicitly by application and/or API programmers. JVM Thrown Exceptions Let’s start with a very common exception, the NullPointerException. This exception occurs when you attempt to access an object using a reference variable with a current value of null. There’s no way that the compiler can hope to find these problems before runtime. Let’s look at the following: static String s; public static void main(String [] args) { Surely, the compiler can find the problem with that tiny little program! The code will compile just fine, and the JVM will throw a NullPointerException when it tries to invoke the length() method. Earlier in this chapter we discussed the call stack. As you recall, we used the convention that main() would be at the bottom of the call stack, and that as main() invokes another method, and that method invokes another, and so on, the stack grows upward. Of course the stack resides in memory, and even if your OS gives you a gigabyte of RAM for your program, it’s still a finite amount. It’s possible to grow the stack so large that the OS runs out of space to store the call stack. When this happens you get a StackOverflowError. The most common way for this to occur is to create a recursive method. A recursive method is one that invokes itself in the method body. While that may sound weird, it’s a very common and useful technique for such things as searching and sorting algorithms. Take a look at this code: void go() { // Bad Recursion Example As you can see, if you ever make the mistake of invoking the go() method, your program will fall into a black hole; go() invoking go() invoking go(), until, no matter how much memory you have, you’ll get a StackOverflowError. Again, only the JVM knows when this moment occurs, and the JVM will be the source of this error. Programmatically Thrown Exceptions Now let’s look at programmatically thrown exceptions. Remember we defined “programmatically” as meaning something like this: Created by an application and/or API developer. For instance, many classes in the Java API have methods that take String arguments, and convert these Strings into numeric primitives. A good example of these classes are the so-called “wrapper classes” that we studied in one of our previous chapters. At some point long ago, some programmer wrote the java.lang.Integer class, and created methods like parseInt() and valueOf(). That programmer wisely decided that if one of these methods was passed a String that could not be converted into a number, the method should throw a NumberFormatException. The partially implemented code might look something like this: int parseInt(String s) throws NumberFormatException { boolean parseSuccess = false; int result = 0; // do complicated parsing if (!parseSuccess) // if the parsing failed throw new NumberFormatException(); return result; Other examples of programmatic exceptions include an AssertionError (actually, it’s not an exception, but it IS thrown programmatically), and throwing an IllegalArgumentException. In fact, our API developer could have used IllegalArgumentException for her parseInt() method. But it turns out that NumberFormatException extends IllegalArgumentException, and is a little more precise, so in this case, using NumberFormatException supports the notion we discussed earlier: that when you have an exception hierarchy, you should use the most precise exception that you can. Of course, as we discussed earlier, you can also make up your very own special, custom exceptions, and throw them whenever you want to. These homemade exceptions also fall into the category of “programmatically thrown exceptions.” A Summary of the Exam’s Exceptions and Errors Some of the common exceptions you may encounter in the exam are: 1. ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException - Thrown when attempting to access an array with an invalid index value (either negative or beyond the length of the array). 2. ClassCastException - Thrown when attempting to cast a reference variable to a type that fails the IS-A test. 3. IllegalArgumentException - Thrown when a method receives an argument formatted differently than the method expects. 4. IllegalStateException - Thrown when the state of the environment doesn’t match the operation being attempted, e.g., using a Scanner that’s been closed. 5. NullPointerException - Thrown when attempting to access an object with a reference variable whose current value is null. 6. NumberFormatException - Thrown when a method that converts a String to a number receives a String that it cannot convert. 7. AssertionError - Thrown when a statement’s boolean test returns false. 8. ExceptionInInitializerError - Thrown when attempting to initialize a static variable or an initialization block. 9. StackOverflowError - Typically thrown when a method recurses too deeply. (Each invocation is added to the stack.) 10. NoClassDefFoundError - Thrown when the JVM can’t find a class it needs, because of a command-line error, a classpath issue, or a missing .class file. Previous Chapter: Chapter 29 - Exception Handling Next Chapter: Chapter 31 - Assertions 1 comment: 1. It would really help if you used code tags for the code. Google+ Followers
Chilean Quake Likely Shifted Earth's Axis, NASA Scientist Says March 01, 2010, 2:28 PM EST By Alex Morales March 1 (Bloomberg) -- The earthquake that killed more than 700 people in Chile on Feb. 27 probably shifted the Earth's axis and shortened the day, a National Aeronautics and Space Administration scientist said. Earthquakes can involve shifting hundreds of kilometers of rock by several meters, changing the distribution of mass on the planet. This affects the Earth's rotation, said Richard Gross, a geophysicist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, who uses a computer model to calculate the effects. "The length of the day should have gotten shorter by 1.26 microseconds (millionths of a second)," Gross, said today in an e-mailed reply to questions. "The axis about which the Earth's mass is balanced should have moved by 2.7 milliarcseconds (about 8 centimeters or 3 inches)." The changes can be modeled, though they're difficult to physically detect given their small size, Gross said. Some changes may be more obvious, and islands may have shifted, according to Andreas Rietbrock, a professor of Earth Sciences at the U.K.'s Liverpool University who has studied the area impacted, though not since the latest temblor. Santa Maria Island off the coast near Concepcion, Chile's second-largest city, may have been raised 2 meters (6 feet) as a result of the latest quake, Rietbrock said today in a telephone interview. He said the rocks there show evidence pointing to past earthquakes shifting the island upward in the past. 'Ice-Skater Effect' "It's what we call the ice-skater effect," David Kerridge, head of Earth hazards and systems at the British Geological Survey in Edinburgh, said today in a telephone interview. "As the ice skater puts when she's going around in a circle, and she pulls her arms in, she gets faster and faster. It's the same idea with the Earth going around if you change the distribution of mass, the rotation rate changes." Rietbrock said he hasn't been able to get in touch with seismologists in Concepcion to discuss the quake, which registered 8.8 on the Richter scale. "What definitely the earthquake has done is made the Earth ring like a bell," Rietbrock said. The magnitude 9.1 Sumatran in 2004 that generated an Indian Ocean tsunami shortened the day by 6.8 microseconds and shifted the axis by about 2.3 milliarcseconds, Gross said. The changes happen on the day and then carry on "forever," Benjamin Fong Chao, dean of Earth Sciences of the National Central University in Taiwan, said in an e-mail. "This small contribution is buried in larger changes due to other causes, such as atmospheric mass moving around on Earth," Chao said. --Editors: Reed Landberg, Andrew Atkinson To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reed Landberg at Chilean Quake May Have Shortened Earth Days: 03.01.10 - NASA Perhaps more impressive is how much the quake shifted Earth's axis. Gross calculates the quake should have moved Earth's figure axis (the axis about which Earth's mass is balanced) by 2.7 milliarcseconds (about 8 centimeters, or 3 inches). Earth's figure axis is not the same as its north-south axis; they are offset by about 10 meters (about 33 feet). By comparison, Gross said the same model estimated the 2004 magnitude 9.1 Sumatran earthquake should have shortened the length of day by 6.8 microseconds and shifted Earth's axis by 2.32 milliarcseconds (about 7 centimeters, or 2.76 inches). Gross said that even though the Chilean earthquake is much smaller than the Sumatran quake, it is predicted to have changed the position of the figure axis by a bit more for two reasons. First, unlike the 2004 Sumatran earthquake, which was located near the equator, the 2010 Chilean earthquake was located in Earth's mid-latitudes, which makes it more effective in shifting Earth's figure axis. Second, the fault responsible for the 2010 Chiliean earthquake dips into Earth at a slightly steeper angle than does the fault responsible for the 2004 Sumatran earthquake. This makes the Chile fault more effective in moving Earth's mass vertically and hence more effective in shifting Earth's figure axis. Gross said the Chile predictions will likely change as data on the quake are further refined. Alan Buis Home page
Front cover of the first edition of The Wind in the Willows, published in Britain in 1908. The Wind in the Willows is a 1908 children's novel of twelve chapters by Kenneth Grahame. The novel tells the adventures of the animals Mole, Ratty, Badger and Mr. Toad. It has been read and re-read with pleasure by children and their parents for multiple generations. Mole is spring cleaning but gets fed up with the work he is doing. He decides to leave his underground home and take a walk in the fresh air. He eventually finds himself at the river, which he has never seen before, and meets the water rat Ratty who takes him for a boat ride. Mole and ratty quickly become friends. Ratty invites Mole to stay with him and teaches him how to row a boat, how to swim and the ways of the river. Wind in the Willows pg 50 Mole, Ratty, Toad and his horse. 1913 illustration by Paul Branson. In the summer Ratty takes Mole to Toad Hall, the home of the wealthy Mr. Toad. Mr.Toad is a cheerful and friendly character but is also vain and boastful. He becomes completely obsessed with one hobby for a short while before completely losing interest in it and moving on to something else. Before the start of the novel, Toad had been keen on boating but he has given that up and bought a horse-drawn caravan. Toad persuades the reluctant Ratty and Mole to join him on a journey in the caravan. The journey is cut short when the caravan crashes because a car frightens the horse. However, the crash leads to Toad's new obsession with cars. Mole wants to visit Ratty's friend Badger who lives in the Wild Wood. Ratty does not want to take him there because he knows that Badger does not like visitors. Mole decides to go to the Wild Wood by himself in the hope of meeting Badger but gets hopelessly lost. Ratty goes out looking for Mole but he becomes lost in the snowy Wild Wood too. By chance, the two friends end up at Badger's house. Badger invites them in and gives them warm clothes. Badger tells the two friends that Toad has already crashed six cars and been to hospital three times. Mole, Ratty and Badger agree that Toad has to be saved from himself. Wind in the Willows pg 326 Ratty, Mole and Badger prepare to take Toad Hall back from the weasels. 1913 illustration by Paul Branson. In the spring Badger, Ratty and Mole go to Toad Hall. They try to persuade Toad to give up his obsession with cars but do not have any success. They decide instead to prevent Toad from leaving his own house. However, Toad pretends to be sick and escapes when Mole goes to fetch a doctor. He steals a car, is caught and sentenced to twenty years in prison. The jailer's daughter befriends Toad and helps him to escape dressed as an old washerwoman. Toad is helped in his escape by a train driver who takes pity on him and, still disguised as an old washerwoman, he is able to bluff his way on board a canal boat and into a car. He insists on driving the car, which he crashes, but is able to make his way back to Ratty's home. Toad learns that while he has been away the weasels, stoats and ferrets from the Wild Wood have taken over Toad Hall. Toad, Ratty and Badger sneak into Toad Hall through a secret entrance. Fight off the ferrets, stoats and weasels and take back Toad's ancestral home. Toad sends money to all those who helped him and all those who he wronged. He promises to change his ways and never cause any trouble again. The first 1908 edition of The Wind in the Willows had no illustrations but many illustrated editions have been published since. Those who have illustrayed the novel include Paul Branson (1913), Arthur Rackham (1940), Tasha Tudor (1966), Michael Hague (1980), Scott McKowen (2005) and Robert Ingpen (2007). Illustrations by E.H. Shepard, who also illustrated the Winnie-the-Pooh books, were approved by Kenneth Grahame, although he did not live to see them published in 1931. Mr. Toad and his horse as they appear in the 1948 Disney film The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad. Toad of Toad Hall, written in 1929 by A.A. Milne, best known as the author of the Winnie-the-Pooh stories, was the first stage adaptation of the The Wind in the Willows. There have been several others, both musicals and straight plays. There have also been numerous radio plays based on the story and readings of the novel on the radio. The first animated adaptation of the novel was the 1949 Walt Disney film The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad. The story of The Wind in the Willows makes up the first half of the film, the second half is based on the unrelated short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving. The Disney adaptation of the novel is brief, centering on the adventures of Mr. Toad. It also differs from the novel in making the horse that pulls Toad's caravan a major character, having the weasels from the Wild Wood being led by a human called Winky and turning Badger into the Scottish Angus MacBadger. The cartoon ends with Mr. Toad flying a plane, which he crashes into Toad Hall, indicating that he has not changed his ways after all. A Disneyland ride, "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride", was inspired by the cartoon. A stop-motion animated film of The Wind in the Willows was made for British television. It first aired in the United Kingdom on the ITV network on December 27, 1983. The film follows the novel closely, although it also ends with Toad crashing a plane into Toad Hall. The film spawned a stop-motion animated TV series of fifty-two episodes that originally ran on ITV in the UK between 1984 and 1990. Some of the episodes of the series are based on material from the novel which was left out of the 1983 film. Other adaptations include an American animated version from 1987, a British animated version from 1995, a 1996 live action movie, released as The Wind in the Willows in Britain and as Mr. Toad's Wild Ride in the United States, which starred former Monty Python members Terry Jones, John Cleese and Eric Idle and a 2006 live action TV movie jointly produced by the British BBC and the Canadian CBC. See also External links Ad blocker interference detected!
Teacher Resources - Free Printable Worksheets Christmas gifts don't just come in boxes. Volunteering your time, donating money to charities, and visiting the sick or elderly can be the greatest gifts of all. More of Randall's Favorite Learning Resources [ Quiz Script \| Explanation of Answers ] Level: Topic: Type: Speakers: Length: narration Christmas story man 03:07 1. Pre-Listening Exercises [ Top ] What is the meaning of Christmas to those that celebrate this day? Use the Internet to answer these questions, or discuss them with other students. What do you think is the meaning of the title, "The Christmas Gift," in this story? What ideas come to your mind when you think of Christmas gifts? 2. Listening Exercises [ Top ] Listen to the story by pressing the "Play" button and answer the questions. Press the "Final Score" button to check your quiz. Loading the player ... [ What are these different audio choices? ] [ Other Audio Option: Play Window Media ] 1. What event did Ray Anderson witness at the beginning of the story? A. a home fire B. an explosion C. an automobile accident 2. How did Ray save the baby? A. He pulled the baby out of the window. B. He put out the flames with a fire extinguisher. C. He called the police and fire department. 3. What happened to Ray? A. He had extensive head injuries. B. He was burned over much of his body. C. He suffered from smoke inhalation. 4. Who is Aaron? A. He is Ray Anderson's son. B. He is Karen's older brother. C. He was adopted by Sandra Jenkins. 5. What was Ray Anderson doing that fateful Christmas Eve? A. serving at homeless shelter in the community B. cutting down Christmas trees for families C. taking goods to needy people Score = Correct answers: Listen to the coversation again as you read the Quiz Script . Review the Explanation of Answers . 3. Post-Listening Exercises [ Top ] 1. What was the Christmas "gift" Ray gave to others? 2. What did the narrator mean when he said that Ray believed that "the best Christmas gifts came not from the gift received, but from those given, and that those acts of charity should remain anonymous"? 3. Discuss the teachings of other religions or moral lessons when it comes to charity and kindness towards others. Randall Davis . All rights reserved. Read complete Terms of Use for more information. Using This Site View Site in Mobile \| Classic Share by:
Insert a node at the tail of a linked list Back to Problems List View Submissions Problem Statment You’re given the pointer to the head node of a linked list and an integer to add to the list. Create a new node with the given integer, insert this node at the tail of the linked list and return the head node. The head pointer given may be null meaning that the initial list is empty. Input Description You have to complete the Node* Insert(Node* head, int data) method which takes two arguments - the head of the linked list and the integer to insert. You should NOT read any input from stdin/console. Output Description Insert the new node at the tail and just return the head of the updated linked list. Do NOT print anything to stdout/console. Sample Input NULL, data = 2 2 --> NULL, data = 3 Sample Output 2 -->NULL 2 --> 3 --> NULL Code Editor //Your code goes here.
Why Elon Musk’s space rockets are so much more promising than Jeff Bezos’s right now blue origin launchBlue Origin See Also How you can get NASA to pay you $29,000 SpaceX just had its 1st successful launch of its Dragon spacecraft, which will take American astronauts to space by 2017 10 things humans are doing right now to reach Mars 2015 is shaping up to be an extremely exciting time for the future of commercial spaceflight, which will be built upon the backbone of revolutionary 21st Century rockets. Private American space companies Blue Origin and SpaceX are paving the way. Blue Origin, which was created by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, successfully launched its “New Shepard” space vehicle for the first time on April 29. The vehicle was named after Alan Shepard, who became the second human and first American to enter space 44 years ago. Two weeks earlier, on April 14, Elon musk’s SpaceX attempted to land one of its Falcon 9 rockets on a floating platform in the Atlantic Ocean. Both events were significant tests in the race to build a fleet of revolutionary reusable rockets. With such a fleet, companies could launch the same rocket many times over instead building rockets that they only use once and crash land in the ocean, which is common practice for many current space companies like Arianespace. But there’s a major difference between Blue Origin’s New Shepard and SpaceX’s Falcon 9: spaceX_blueoriginScreen grabs from SpaceX and Blue Origin YouTube videos New Shepard generates about 10% the power of a Falcon 9 and it cannot transport humans — or anything else for that matter — to the International Space Station. SpaceX, however, has been transporting food, water, and other supplies to the ISS since May 2012. And we’ll need to use powerful rockets as transportation vehicles if we ever want to reach and colonize other planets like Mars. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 is a two-stage rocket — meaning it has two parts — whereas Blue Origin’s is a single-stage rocket. The benefit of a single-stage rocket is that it’s smaller, lighter, cheaper to build, cheaper to launch, and less complicated to fly. Despite these advantages, they’re also the reason Blue Origin’s latest rocket won’t be transporting supplies or astronauts to the ISS. Ever. (SpaceX is in agreement with NASA to launch astronauts in space by 2017.) The current version of New Shepard is designed for what is called suborbital spaceflight, where the rocket reaches space but is not high enough or fast enough to place its spacecraft into a complete orbit around the Earth. That’s something that must be done in order to dock with the ISS and to get to the moon. Blue Origin is currently working on a more powerful engine that could boost future rockets into higher, orbital space, but that engine is still under development according to Blue Origin’s website. To date, SpaceX has attempted to land their rockets designed for reuse twice. Unlike Blue Origins’ rather secretive behavior, SpaceX is extremely open about their failed rocket landing attempts; it even uploads videos of the events onto its YouTube account. SpaceX’s next rocket-landing attempt will be on June 19. Blue Origins’ next attempt is unknown. NASA has also commissioned the space company Boeing to contribute rocket technology for future spaceflights, but their approach to reusable space technology is very different from either SpaceX or Blue Origin. Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-vs-jeff-bezos-2015-5#ixzz3ZWR2pH2p Trackback from your site.
The only free and comprehensive online etymological dictionary of the Spanish language haya (1) f. (Noun) "beech," "beech tree" 14th cent. From the second element of Latin materia fagea "beech wood." From fagus "beech tree." From Proto-Italic fāgo- 'id.' From Proto-Indo-European bheh2g-o- 'id.' Also the origin of the surnames de la Haya, Hay, Hayas, Faya, and Fayos. Romance: Western Vulgar Latin: Asturian faya, Portuguese faia Indo-European: Celtic: Gaulish *bāgos "beech;" Germanic: Old Norse bók "beech," Old High German buohha 'id.,' Old Saxon bōka 'id.,' Old English bōc 'id.' (English beech); Hellenic: Ancient Greek φηγός (phegós) "oak," "acorn"
Paper 80, Section 1 The Adamites Enter Europe Home Table of Contents 80:1.1 Before the last Andites were driven out of the Euphrates valley, many of their brethren had entered Europe as adventurers, teachers, traders, and warriors. During the earlier days of the violet race the Mediterranean trough was protected by the Gibraltar isthmus and the Sicilian land bridge. Some of man's very early maritime commerce was established on these inland lakes, where blue men from the north and the Saharans from the south met Nodites and Adamites from the east. 80:1.2 In the eastern trough of the Mediterranean the Nodites had established one of their most extensive cultures and from these centers had penetrated somewhat into southern Europe but more especially into northern Africa. The broad-headed Nodite-Andonite Syrians very early introduced pottery and agriculture in connection with their settlements on the slowly rising Nile delta. They also imported sheep, goats, cattle, and other domesticated animals and brought in greatly improved methods of metalworking, Syria then being the center of that industry. 80:1.3 For more than thirty thousand years Egypt received a steady stream of Mesopotamians, who brought along their art and culture to enrich that of the Nile valley. But the ingress of large numbers of the Sahara peoples greatly deteriorated the early civilization along the Nile so that Egypt reached its lowest cultural level some fifteen thousand years ago. 80:1.4 But during earlier times there was little to hinder the westward migration of the Adamites. The Sahara was an open grazing land overspread by herders and agriculturists. These Saharans never engaged in manufacture, nor were they city builders. They were an indigo-black group which carried extensive strains of the extinct green and orange races. But they received a very limited amount of the violet inheritance before the upthrust of land and the shifting water-laden winds dispersed the remnants of this prosperous and peaceful civilization. 80:1.6 The blue men, then dominant in Europe, had no religious practices which were repulsive to the earlier migrating Adamites, and there was great sex attraction between the violet and the blue races. The best of the blue men deemed it a high honor to be permitted to mate with the Adamites. Every blue man entertained the ambition of becoming so skillful and artistic as to win the affection of some Adamite woman, and it was the highest aspiration of a superior blue woman to receive the attentions of an Adamite. 80:1.7 Slowly these migrating sons of Eden united with the higher types of the blue race, invigorating their cultural practices while ruthlessly exterminating the lingering strains of Neanderthal stock. This technique of race blending, combined with the elimination of inferior strains, produced a dozen or more virile and progressive groups of superior blue men, one of which you have denominated the Cro-Magnons. 80:1.8 For these and other reasons, not the least of which was more favorable paths of migration, the early waves of Mesopotamian culture made their way almost exclusively to Europe. And it was these circumstances that determined the antecedents of modern European civilization. Next: Climatic And Geologic Changes
Project #61527 - imitating essay Essay #4: Rhetorical Analysis: An Imitation Length: Hard to predict, as there are so many choices, but to write a fully developed essay will probably take about 750-1000 words, or 3-4 pages. This essay will be accompanied by an introduction that is about 1 ½ - 2 pages, or approximately 350-500 words. • word-processed and double-spaced • online submission • MLA format for headers, title, margins, paragraphs, etc. • Include the introduction in the same document as your essay, at the beginning. At the end of your Introduction, put a page break, and then start your essay on the next page. Introduction: Your essay must be preceded by an introduction which explains what you noticed about the original writing and what features you were particularly aiming to imitate. Include the introduction at the beginning of the same document as your essay. Further instructions for the introduction are below. The Assignment: Write an essay of your own which imitates the structure, form, and the writing style of one of the following essays that we’ve read for class. You will also write an introduction (instructions below) which explains your process of decision-making in composing your imitation. You may imitate any one of the following essays: “Joyas Voladores” “Once More to the Lake” “The Ugly Tourist” “Shooting an Elephant” “The Death of the Moth” Choosing a topic: Think of a topic that somehow will work with the form and style of the original essay. For example: • If you choose “Joyas Voladores,” you might write a meditation and exploration of some aspect of nature, and connect it to human emotions. • If you choose “Once More to the Lake,” you’d highlight a specific memory and write about it a way that evokes a theme and point of view about that theme. • If you choose “The Ugly Tourist,” you might write about something in society that angers or troubles you, and let yourself fully express your bitterness about it, while also finding the ways in which you are, yourself, culpable. • If you choose “Shooting an Elephant,” you might write an essay that uses a symbolic story to express your strong opinion about a specific issue in society or culture. • If you choose “The Death of the Moth,” you might write about a view out of a window, or an object of some kind, or an animal. In describing these, the speaker will work out ideas about an issue or decision on her mind. For example, the speaker might be meditating about some aspect of the meaning of life: what does it mean to be alive? How should we use our lives? Or perhaps the speaker faces some sort of important choice: should I move? Should I stay here? Should I take this new job? Should I get married? The speaker’s ideas about the meaning or decision are illustrated in the descriptions of the view or object or animal. These are only a few ideas about what topics might suit each essay. You might have additional wonderful thoughts for topics. Does the imitation have to be in exactly the same style as the original? Your writing will certainly be flavored with your own voice; however, your essay should steal as much of what’s amazing and wonderful and applicable from the style of the original. Sentences: Your sentences do not have to be in the exact language of essays written in earlier times: They will probably be in contemporary General English, as Trimble calls it. However, your essay must show close observation of the sentences in the original. In your essay, try to write some of the same kinds of sentences—similar lengths, similar grammatical structures. Vocabulary: Consider the vocabulary the original uses: why is it apt for the topic, why did the author choose it? Does a similar level of vocabulary suit your topic? Perhaps you will be inspired by the original and by the needs of your topic to use some different kinds of words and to extend the range of your vocabulary. Overall structure: Consider how the original conveys the information: What order is it in? How big are the paragraphs? What is the structure within each paragraph? Again, you do not need to copy the original exactly, but you do need to understand the structure of it and deliberately decide how various elements of that structure can serve your topic and purpose. Introduction: Your Introduction (see instructions below) will discuss your process of developing the imitation and will explain all the ways that you see your essay imitating the original. That’s how I will know what you are learning about writing, so the introduction is very important. How to get started: 1. Think of a topic that will work, and that you would like to write about. 2. Do the worksheet to help you study the style of the essay you are imitating. 3. Freewrite and brainstorm and in general write as much as you can, a zero draft, in which you get all your ideas down while also trying to channel the style of the original. 4. Read over this first draft and see what you want to keep. Of it. 5. Keep on shaping and cutting and re-writing and adding and rearranging your own essay while also checking in with the original to see if you are keeping to its style and using its features to your own essay’s best advantage. 6. When your own essay is complete, write the Introduction. The Introduction Length: About 1 ½ - 2 typed and double-spaced, or approximately 350-500 words. Can be longer. What to say in the Introduction: Discuss the following questions: Which essay are you imitating and why did you choose it? How did you pick your topic and why do you think it fits with the style and structure you’re imitating? What aspects of the original did you especially intend to imitate? Be specific: Discuss word choice, sentence structure, sentence length, paragraph structure, overall order, etc. What aspects of the original do you think your essay is the most successful at imitating? What aspects of the original do you think your essay is the least successful at imitating? What have you learned about writing from doing this imitation? How do you think having done this imitation might affect your writing (and reading) in the future? Grading: 100 points total Basic MLA format (3 points): The essay follows the required MLA format for header, title, spacing, margins, paragraphing, etc. Introduction (15 points): The Introduction details the process and intentions of your imitation, answering the questions in the assignment. Imitation (30): Your essay successfully imitates the structure and style of the original at all levels: overall structure, tone, sentence style, and word choice. It fulfills the intentions laid out in the Introduction. Opening and ending (8): The opening (including the title) starts the essay off clearly and strongly, and the ending takes the idea further. Both opening and ending follow the model of the essay you’re imitating. Main idea (8 points): The essay has a clear main idea, either implicitly or explicitly stated, depending on the essay you’re imitating. Example and evidence (8 points): The piece supports its point with plenty of detail and vivid example, giving plenty of information and addressing counterarguments if the topic and imitation need them. Organization (8 points): Although the overall structure is dictated by the overall structure of the essay you’re imitating, and may allow for leaps between paragraphs (if the original makes these leaps) your essay is still easy for a careful and attentive reader to follow, in coherent units (sentences and paragraphs) that clearly lead from one to the next. Grammar and proofreading (20 points): The essay is free of distracting errors in grammar, and it has been carefully proofread. THE ESSAY TO IMITATE IS “Shooting an Elephant” : Subject English Due By (Pacific Time) 03/09/2015 11:00 am Report DMCA Chat Now! out of 1971 reviews Chat Now! out of 766 reviews Chat Now! out of 1164 reviews Chat Now! out of 721 reviews Chat Now! out of 1600 reviews Chat Now! out of 770 reviews Chat Now! out of 766 reviews Chat Now! out of 680 reviews All Rights Reserved. Copyright by - Copyright Policy
Tortillas in guatemala Solo disponible en BuenasTareas • Páginas : 6 (1479 palabras ) • Descarga(s) : 0 • Publicado : 29 de febrero de 2012 Leer documento completo Vista previa del texto History of Tortilla How to make Tortillas? Ingredients - Tools Process of making tortillas Nutritional Value Tortillas in Guatemalan food Tortillas in General Culture Idioms National Day “Súper Tortila” Conclusions Tortillas are an important aspect in Guatemalan cuisine. They have existed since the Mayan and have prevailed to this day. The process ofmaking them is considered an art and the wide variety of meals on which you can eat it is virtually the whole Guatemalan cuisine and more. Tortillas are considered a National symbol because it unites the whole Guatemalan culture, both in culinary and communication fields. Nowadays tortillas are a basis of Guatemalan cuisine and they are a proof of how the culture has existed and will continue toexist for many more years in such a predominant way. Corn tortillas are and have been fundamental in Guatemalan cuisine since a long time ago. It is used in wide variety of food and the process of making it is something that not everyone can do. Some even consider it an art. History of Tortillas It is believed that tortillas were originated in Mesoamerica in 1500 b.c. because itis around this date that the “comales” (traditional stove from Guatemala) used for their cooking were used. Tortilla´s main ingredient is corn, which was the base food for the pre-Columbian civilizations of Mesoamerica. Corn has it origin from the Mayan mythology in the Popol Vuh, the Sacred Mayan Book. According to the creation myth, the gods decided to create the man but after trying to createhim with wood and later on with clay, they tried with corn and it turned out successful. That is why Mayan people are “men of corn”. The Mayan also had a God for Corn, called Yum Kax (picture). The two most relevant aspects in the making of tortillas were the harvesting of corn and the practice of nixtamal, which is a process on which the corn kernel is crushed and boiled in water of lime. These twoprocesses were remarkable progresses in the prehispanic culinary. How to make Tortillas? Ingredients – Tools You need corn as a masa or dough. It takes several hours to do this masa. It is made in the following way: - Corn is the main ingredient. There are two types, the sweet one when is harvested when the kernels are tender and sweet. In Guatemala is called “elote”. However the other typeis the one you use for tortillas. This corn is left until the kernels are fully mature and dry. An important aspect of Guatemalan corn is that there are several types of corn, therefore yellow, black and white tortillas can be made. To make the corn masa or dough, the hardened corn kernels are boiled in water with lime dissolved on it. As stated before this is called nixtamal. After boiling thekernels it is fairly easy to grind into a sort of wet dough which is the masa. The corn is cooked in a metal basin over an open fire. The mix is heated to boiling over an open fire and cooked until the kernels are soft. The excess of water is poured off and the corn is ground. You use a grinder or you manually prepare the dough. Then the process to make tortillas begins. -Nowadays there are two types of dough to make tortillas. One is the traditional one, stated before. The other one is when powdered mix is being used instead of nixtamal. The flavor, aroma and consistency are very different. How to make tortillas? What you need first is a comal, which is traditional stove from Guatemala. It is a heavy steel, iron or clay which is heated with firewood, giving thetortillas a faintly smoky taste. The iron and steel comales are heated with gas. After the tortillas are made they are set in a basket covered with fabric to keep them warm. The traditional way of making tortillas is the following: 1. A tortilla maker wets her hands, grabs a handful of masa and makes it into a ball. 2. The ball is squashed between the two hands. 3. The edge of the ball is... tracking img
What is Impetigo? Impetigo is a contagious skin infection that affects the face, neck, hands and buttocks. It is most common in children, although it can affect anyone who plays contact sports, as it is often spread through contact sports. It initially appears as blisters. Types of Impetigo Bullous Impetigo Large blisters appear that do not usually burst. They appear clear, then cloud over. They often form crusts. There is seldom redness or pain. The skin is itchy. Non-Bullous Impetigo This type of impetigo begins with tiny blisters that burst and leave wet patches of red skin that weeps fluid. They then crust over. If you suspect that you or a child has impetigo, you should consult a doctor.
Colon Cancer Colon cancer or colorectal cancer is one of the 5 types of the most common cancer worldwide in men as well as in women, according to WHO statistics. In USA, it causes over 17 500 deaths. Focus on causes, symptoms and prevention of this cancer. What is colon cancer? Colon cancer is a malignant tumor that develops in the colon or rectum. In the majority of cases it is formed in the lining of the colon from polyps. They are usually benign but can become cancerous and cause colon cancer if they are not extracted. Worse, the tumor can spread and affect other body tissues and thus form metastases. Colon cancer mainly affects people over age 50 and those with personal or family history or who suffer from inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn's disease. Note, however, that even if cancer primarily affects the elderly, young people can also be affected. Factors to colon cancer risk are many, including: • obesity • A diet high in meat (animal fat) and low in fruits and vegetables • Smoking and alcohol consumption • Physical inactivity Symptoms of colon cancer: Like most types of cancer, colon cancer is usually asymptomatic during its early stages. The warning signs appear only at an advanced stage and can count: • Abdominal pain • Sudden weight loss • Tiredness • The blood in the stool • bowel disorders The prevention of colon cancer: The first measure to prevent colon cancer is to get regular screening, particularly for people over 50 years. Follows a series of changes every day to clean up the lifestyle and prevent this devastating disease. Discover below 14 tips to reduce the risk of colon cancer: 1 - Eliminate sugary drinks like sodas and refined sugar in general diet 2. Drinking green tea which is full of epigallocatechin gallate, a flavanol, known for its antioxidant properties. 3. Eat plenty of cruciferous vegetables, including broccoli, if consumed regularly can reduce the risk of colorectal cancer. 4- Eat Brazil nuts, which contain significant amounts of selenium, a trace element that plays an important role in the prevention of colorectal cancer. 5. Marinate meat in lemon or balsamic vinegar juice before cooking. These ingredients acids will inhibit the formation of chemical materials that cause cancer, according to the results of various studies. 6. Focus on foods high in dietary fiber (fruits, vegetables and whole grains) because these promote intestinal transit and may protect against colon cancer. 7. Balance the intake of omega 3 and omega 6, taking high-quality oils such as olive oil or coconut oil 8. Eat onions! These foods are an excellent source of quercetin, a flavonoid known for its antioxidant and anti-cancer. 9. Avoid eating fries or chips, which contain significant amounts of acrylamide. It is a chemical substance which is in high content starch food during cooking at high temperatures and which is potentially carcinogenic. 10- Eat fermented vegetables, especially, sauerkraut (cabbage fermentation), because they are very good sources of probiotics that improve the intestinal flora. Moreover, this fermentation process allows the production of substances for anti-cancer effect as isothiocyanates and sulforaphane. 11- Try to sleep in a dark room to enhance the production of melatonin and the sleep hormone. Do not forget that the secretion of melatonin is stimulated by darkness. The latter gave an anticancer effect by inhibiting the development of various cancers including breast cancer and prostate cancer. 12- Go walking or practice any other physical activity. 13- sun exposure to replenish vitamin D. This vitamin is essential for healthy bones and may also reduce the risk of developing colorectal cancer and breast cancer. In fact, vitamin D deficiency may be linked to the onset of colorectal cancer. 14. Avoid exposure to toxins in the environment as well as carcinogens. Post A Comment:
How To Make Halloween Autism-Friendly 10/20/2016 02:21 EDT \| Updated 10/20/2016 02:21 EDT Don Mason via Getty Images Halloween is a fun time of year for most children. They love getting dressed up in costumes, going to parties, as well as going trick or treating where they get the best thing of all, candy! But for many children with autism this is a very difficult holiday. As they get older, they want to participate with their peers, but due to noise sensitivity, food allergies, and perhaps fears of the dark and crowds, it may keep them from enjoying themselves as they deserve to. What can a parent do? Here are rules you can go over with your child with autism to make Halloween Autism Friendly. 1) Let your child pick a costume that they find comfortable: It is so important for a child to feel comfortable in their own skin, and the best way to start is if they are physically comfortable in their clothes. A costume where they can move freely and truly breathe is the best way to start. Also, remember to think about the weather, layering and being visible in the dark if they are going outside. 2) Consider an indoor venue or going to only a few homes: For some kids trick or treating inside or outside past a few homes or places can be intimidating and lead to a meltdown. It is important to go with their body language and comfort level. See how they are doing with the people around them, the lighting, and the noise. Indoor trick or treating in a shopping mall could be a nightmare for some kids with light or noise sensitivity, whereas going outside in the dark can be a nightmare for other kids who are afraid of the dark and processing the strange things they see around them. It's best to see with your child what they would prefer. Sometimes a small party at home or at a friend's house can be the solution too. 3) Bring their headphones, chew or fidget toys, and any other toys that could help with sensory issues: These are good ways to make it as comfortable for your child in terms of how they feel in their bodies and how they process things around them. When they can be in tune with themselves and the way they process noise, light and sight, they can enjoy themselves more in a festive atmosphere. Also remember water for all that walking. 4) Go over scripts of what to say and NOT to say: This is particularly helpful for older verbal children. Sometimes despite how obvious it is to us, kids with autism don't understand the social cues around them and may not know what to say or do. They may also be a little too forward. For example, we had coached my son on the "Trick or Treat" on his first year out, but had forgotten to remind him to open his bag and stay on the porch of the house. He was used to going into someone's house right away when the door opened, like when we visited friends. It made for some laughs and some stressful moments too. I re-wrote our Social Story for Halloween to include staying close to adults, waiting on the porch, opening the bag, and saying Trick or Treat! 5) Make sure you explain what candy they could eat and not eat in advance: This is good to do whether your child has food allergies or not. We also have set ground rules for when our son could have candy, how much, and where we keep it. For him, like for many children, the joy is more in the outing and time with friends than in the consumption, though of course he enjoys eating the "fun food" too. 6) Eat dinner first then go trick or treating with a buddy if possible: After a light but healthy dinner, most kids, with and without autism, will have more fun if a friend is trick or treating with them. My son had a blast last year when two of his good friends joined him. And it was nice as all the Dads went too! It gave this Mom a little bit of a breather. Check with your child if this is what they want and try to go with a friend that is just as willing obviously. Holidays are generally a little more overwhelming for kids with autism, but with a good plan, pictures to explain things in advance if your child responds to it, and being rested and in positive spirits, a child can go a long way to having a great Halloween experience with their family and friends. Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook
Kidney Disease News and Events read more Word Kidney Day Font Size A A A Facts on Type 1 Diabetes 2012-11-28 16:50 Type 1 diabetes mainly occurs among teens covering 10% of diabetes. It occurs due to the body fails to secrete insulin. Therefore, once someone is diagnosed with diabetes,they should start insulin injection immediately. Type 1 diabetes is less common Type 1 diabetes is less common than type 2 diabetes and mainly affect people younger than 35. As the pancreatic islet cells fail to produce insulin to meet the body’s need, insulin has to be injected. Causes of type 1 diabetes Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disorder. In right condition, immune system can protect the healthy tissues and cells against the foreign harmful substances. However, in some cases, the immune system is activated improperly and regards the pancreatic islet cells as harmful substance and attack them mistakenly. As a result, the impaired cells fail to produce enough insulin to carry sugar, thus leading to elevated blood sugar level. Symptoms of type 1 diabetes Increased thirst Increased hunger Dry mouth Abdominal pain Frequent urination Weight loss Blurred vision Complications of type 1 diabetes If left untreated, type 1 diabetes will lead to a myriad of serious complications, including: Diabetic nephropathy Diabetes is the leading cause of end stage renal failure. It is said that 35~45% of people with type 1 diabetes can develop diabetic nephropathy. It mainly occurs among people with more than 10 years’ history of diabetes. In early stage of diabetic nephropathy, the kidney damage can be reversed completely. Therefore, urinary microalbumin test is very important for people with type 1 diabetes, which can help the earliest kidney damage. Diabetic foot Diabetic foot is a major cause of amputation worldwide. It occurs due to peripheral vascular disease, neuropathy and infection. Retinopathy occurs in 75% to 95% of people with type 1 diabetes. Fortunately, vision loss is not so much common among the patients. Control blood sugar, blood pressure and improve blood circulation can reduce the risk of retinopathy significantly. What else you want to know: Make An Appointment Beijing Tongshantang Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine. How can I get this treatment? How can I get this treatment in my countries? How much does this treatment cost? What should I prepare to your hospital except visa? How can I go to your hospital? (+area code)Phone Number: Whatsapp : Disease Description: contact us patient story Patient Story Latest Articles
The land is overgrown with plants more fertile than bare ground or no plants because it contains a layer of flower soil that is not exposed to erosion. However, if forests are logged indefinitely, especially in sloping areas, water and wind erosion can easily occur. For the need for erosion protection, you can see it in The characteristics of fertile soil are good texture and soil structure, ie the grain of the soil is not too big and not too small; Lots of salt that is useful for plant foods; And plenty of water to dissolve the salts. Soil texture shows the relative proportions of the largest particle size can be found in clay clusters whose diameter of particles has a size of 0.0002 mm to almost as large as molecules. Soil structure is the arrangement of grains of a soil. In general, the composition of the soil consists of 90% of mineral materials, 1-5% of organic matter, 0.9% air, and water. The factors that influence the texture of the soil include mineral and rock composition / parent material, the nature, and the rapid process of local soil formation, and the relative age of the soil. To prevent erosion, efforts are made in the following ways. 1. Conducting reforestation by replanting deforested areas. 2. Prohibit the reconstruction of forests that are carried out in a haphazard manner. 3. Strip cropping, meaning planting mountain slopes with alternating plants. 4. Terraces, it means making terraced terraces on sloping farmland. 5. Counting plowing, meaning plowing by contour line, this hijacked plain can hold water. 6. Crop rotation, which is the replacement of plant species so that the soil does not run out of one of the nutrients due to be sucked by one type of plant. The level of erosion of a land will greatly affect the fertility of the soil for agriculture. The higher and higher surface soil erosion levels mean less fertile and unsuitable for food crops. Arrangement of water (drainage) a land also affect the condition of soil fertility. If the water setting is bad then the ground will be flooded its surface. Not all land on the surface of the earth can be utilized directly by humans because there are certain constraints, such as the presence of thick ice-covered land, ie, land at the poles and in high mountains, arid soils with too high temperatures such as lands In the desert, the infertile lands, and the land of rocks, all of which are very difficult to cultivate. Only certain land that can be utilized. The qualitative lands that are most likely to be utilized in the fulfillment of human needs are called potential land. Potential land can be utilized by humans for non-farming, among others, in the form of: • utilization for industrial sites, • utilization for trading locations, • utilization for residential areas, and • utilization for social facilities such as entertainment, infrastructure, transportation, and other social facilities.… 6 Ways a Small Business Can Cut Marketing Costs An effective marketing campaign often determines the fate of a startup. A very small amount of companies reaches their true potentials without marketing. Unfortunately, very few small businesses and startups can afford to spend more than a few thousands of dollars on it. Therefore, they must learn to reach a large audience with a very tight budget. Read our list below for ways to make your company’s marketing campaign cheaper. Cut Costs Start by working on ways to expand your budget. Determine if your current budget works for your immediate marketing strategies. If not, analyze the financial success of some of your other programs and departments. Decide if these other areas of your business generate enough positive results to continue to exist at your company. If not, consider downgrading or cutting them so that you have more money for marketing. Focus Your Campaign Online Most of the world is connected to the World Wide Web, which makes it the perfect place to expand your business locally and globally. Create a page for your business on every social media platform, especially LinkedIn, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Next, research your competitors’ social media campaigns. Evaluate both their successful and failed ones. Then look at their average social engagements. Focus on comments, shares, and likes. Think about how you can alter and use their strategies to market your business. Write a guest blog to expand your online presence beyond your own pages. Cultivate relationships with popular bloggers through engagement on their posts. After developing an organic connection, approach these bloggers about writing a guest post for their blog. Guest blogging allows you to share your expertise, promote your business to a wider audience, and create shareable content. Apply Coupons Not all marketing can be online based. Sometimes you’ll need to do offline networking, go on a tour to promote your product, or meet with a potential client in person. For these instances, you need to have physical marketing material, such as fliers, business cards, and catalogs. Use coupons to save on printing services like Vistaprint. Major printing services often have daily coupons available on major deal sites, such as Groupon. These companies also are flexible enough to workout payment plans, or offer even more discounts to small business owners. Be an Expert or Seek an Expert Seek advice from a trusted marketing professional. Networking events provide ample opportunities to meet new people, especially those in fields such as marketing. At every networking event, aim to connect and exchange contact information with at least one marketing professional. Also consider becoming a marketing expert yourself. Learn as much as you can about it with blogs, books, courses, and videos. Turn Your Customers into Ambassadors Send out surveys to learn as much as you can about your fans and clients. Learn what makes them like, dislike, or buy from your company. Develop and create content that caters to the results of your survey. Reward loyal clients with contests and discounts that match their needs. Let the …
Aneurysm Specialist A heart aneurysm may occur after a patient suffers a heart attack or other heart-related issues. Heart aneurysms must be diagnosed and treated promptly if the patient is to maintain good health. Cardiologist Dr. Rany Saleh at New York Medicine Doctors in New York City offers patients the personalized help they need for this and other heart-related issues. Aneurysm Q & A New York Medicine Doctors What is an aortic aneurysm? An aortic aneurysm is a major bulge in the aorta. If an aortic aneurysm is large enough, it can rupture. When an aortic aneurysm bursts, major bleeding starts. This can result in death if treatment isn't pursued immediately. Why do aortic aneurysms occur? An aortic aneurysm is most often caused by atherosclerosis, also known as hardening of the arteries. Other causes include: • Genetics • Some infections • Trauma The natural aging process can also contribute to the development of aortic aneurysms. Some congenital conditions that can cause aortic aneurysms include: • Turner’s syndrome • Marfan syndrome • Ehlers-Danlos syndrome • Bicuspid aortic disease What are the signs of an aortic aneurysm? Aortic aneurysm symptoms are different from one area of your body to the next. An aortic aneurysm can happen anywhere from your chest to your abdominal area. If the aortic aneurysm is in your chest, you may have no obvious symptoms early on. If the aneurysm in your chest starts to grow, it will start to stress your chest organs, including your heart, which can lead to: • Chest pain • Pain in the upper-back area • Difficulty breathing What happens if an aortic aneurysm in the chest bursts? If an aortic aneurysm in your chest bursts, you will experience sudden and severe pain, as well as a rapid decrease in blood pressure. This can cause you to go into shock fairly quickly, so getting to the hospital immediately is critical. It's important for patients who have any of the risk factors for aortic aneurysm to have regular appointments with Dr. Saleh at New York Medicine Doctors. By having regular check-ups, aortic aneurysms can be treated and managed well before they grow out of control and burst. How are aortic aneurysms treated? Treatment for aortic aneurysms can include both medication and surgery. The goals are to: • Prevent aneurysms from expanding further • Prevent damage to the heart or other organs • Preserve the patient's quality of life Patients will need to have their aneurysm tested by Dr. Saleh on a regular basis to ensure it's not expanding. Surgery is generally only needed if the aneurysm is at risk for rupture. Ask us Feel free to email us regarding any scheduling or general questions! Email Address Follow Us New York Medicine Doctors 800 2nd Avenue 9th Floor, Between 42nd and 43rd Street New York, NY 10017
by Jeff Strite This content is part of a series. Does Your Money Own You (1 of 4) Series: Escaping Financial Bondage Jeff Strite I Timothy 6:6-12 OPEN: In 1347, the Black Plague was raging through Europe and thousands of people died. Many people saw it as judgment of God. And so, hoping to appease God's wrath, the citizens of Lubeck, Germany surrounded the churches and monasteries of their city and offered them enormous amounts of money and riches. The monks and priests inside one of these monasteries fearful of contamination, barred their gates and would not allow the citizens to enter. The persistent crowds threw valuables, coins, gold, and jewels over the walls… and the frightened monks threw all of it back. Money and valuables were thrown back and forth over the walls for hours until the monks finally gave up and allowed the riches to remain. Within hours piles 3 and 4 feet high arose, and for months following the incident some say for years - the money remained untouched. Why did the people of Lubeck want to give the money? They thought it would bring them life. Why didn't the monks want the money? They thought the money would bring them death. The tragic situation in 14th century Germany illuminates two basic views of money. 1st There are those who believe money can buy them life. o They believe wealth can buy security o Enjoyment of life o Health… and ultimately an avoidance of death (for the healthier you are, the less likely you are to die). But is that true? Money can't buy you SECURITY Money can't protect you from decay and theft and loss. Nothing you own is safe in this world. And money can't help you ENJOYMENT of ... There are 16417 characters in the full content. This excerpt only shows a 2000 character sample of the full content. Price: $4.99 or 1 credit
5 Replies Latest reply on Jul 24, 2014 10:26 PM by mr_scott Creating a Conditional Count I have a database which contains animal movement data. I would like to create a field which calculates the number of moves each animal makes. The database has an Individual table (450 records), where this calculation would be, and is related to a Recapture table (2500 records) by individual ID. The Recapture table has a record for each time an animal is captured and the distance moved from the last capture. I would like to calculate a field in the Individual Table which has the number of times an animal moved (Recaptures::Distance Moved > 0). I've been trying to find a way of doing a conditional count (for example: Count(Recaptures::Distance_Moved>0), but that doesn't appear to be fair game. This seems like a fairly simple question, but I've been unable to find a straight forward solution. Any help would be much appreciated. • 1. Re: Creating a Conditional Count What about a context free solution? ExecuteSQL("SELECT COUNT(*) FROM Recaptures WHERE kf_IndividualID = ? AND Distance_Moved > 0" ; "" ; "" ; kp_IndividualID) The other way you could do it would be to add a filter to the relationship so that you only count records where Distance_Moved is > 0. This would require you to add a calculated global to the individuals table that was a zero constant. Then you could count via the relationship. 1 of 1 people found this helpful • 2. Re: Creating a Conditional Count Another solution would be to add a calc field to the Recaptures table, say, cHasMoved, defined as Distance_Moved > 0. Then either create a summary field in Recaptures as sCountOfcHasMoved and display that (related) field in Animals, or create a calc field in Animals as Count ( Recaptures::cHasMoved ). If you need to not only display the value, but also use it programmatically, consider using a “normal” number field and a trigger to update that field whenever you add/delete a Recapture record or edit a Distance_Moved value. This would also speed up your solution, since an unstored field needs to be recalculated each time it is displayed, while this number field can be stored. As you can see, lots of options to choose from … If you take Mike's suggestion and use eSQL(), don't forget to set the field to unstored. • 3. Re: Creating a Conditional Count I hadn't thought of approaching it with multiple steps -- thanks! • 4. Re: Creating a Conditional Count Thanks for the suggestion. I'll admit I'm not competent in SQL yet but this sounds like a solid approach. • 5. Re: Creating a Conditional Count Good ideas, one and all. There's another, much faster option that I'd like to share, compliments of Daniel Wood at Digital Fusion — posted on their Weetbicks Blog back in December, 2010, "A Lightning Fast Alternative to the Count() Function". If you want to count the number of records by the id(Recaptures)::id_related (Movements) relationship, then add a new unstored calculation field in Movements with "Get ( FoundCount )" as the only thing in the calculation window — no target fields, not the "Count ( )" function… just "Get ( FoundCount )". Now, in the main table of Recaptures, you can go into Layout Mode, then choose to replace or duplicate an existing field, or add a new field to your layout, but it's this "Get ( FoundCount )" field form the Movements table. It will render the count of all movement records that share the id of the parent Recapture record, upon which the relationship was created. You can also use this calc in most places to replace "Count ( )" fields, and it will greatly speed up your development time, reduce context errors and calc fields, and give you a common way to reach down into your relationships to count related records…but…it's super fast! Best regards, - - Scott Oh…So if you have a parent table related down to Recpatures, say "Animals", and you wanted to track the number of recaptures, as well as the number of Movements — all displayed quickly on the Animal's record, just add the related "Get ( FoundCount )" fields from Recpatures (if you don't have one, then copy and paste the one from the other table) and Movements!
blindness to gorillas Inattentional blindness; if you are concentrating on one static task, you often fail to notice dynamic movement. In tests using a video of a group of basketball players catching a ball, 50% of observers do not see the gorilla wandering through the scene, and 25% of people don’t see the woman with the umbrella. When they are concentrating on counting the number of throws between the players. “We feel like we’ve got all the details of the things going on around us,” Daniel Simons observes “But my bet is that most of the time people are really focused on one goal at a time.” Also change blindness; finding that people often fail to detect change in their visual field, as long as the change occurs during an eye movement or when people’s view is otherwise interrupted. detailed further reading… great video demo Leave a Reply You are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change ) Twitter picture Facebook photo Google+ photo Connecting to %s %d bloggers like this:
Newton’s Third Law Of Motion Newton’s third law of motion: This means that for every force there is a reaction force that is equal in size, but opposite in direction. That is to say that whenever an object pushes another object it gets pushed back in the opposite direction equally hard. If you picture a rocket, the first thing you see is the powerful engines exploding with a downward force against the ground. Since the ground does not move, the reaction is that the ground pushes back with an equal force, causing the rocket to take flight. We see this law of physics in action everywhere we go in life. Here are a few more examples: –You are stepping off a boat onto the bank of a lake. (Action) As you move in the direction of the shore, the boat tends to move in the opposite direction away front the shore. (Reaction) If we’re not paying attention and accommodate for Newton’s third law, we find ourselves lying face down in the water. –You swing your leg in the direction of a ball, placing your foot in direct contact with that ball. (Action) The ball, in turn, goes soaring off into the air away from your foot and leg. (Reaction) –For every breath we take in we use our muscles to expand our chest and allow air to move in. (Action) At the end of each breath, our muscles relax and our chest returns back to its original state, causing air to rush out of our body. (Reaction) It really is amazing to see this law put into action in our daily lives, all around us. But I have to ask, is this law truly active in all aspects of our lives? Let’s revisit the last example I gave…….the breathing example. Genesis 2:7 When we take in a breath of air, there is an exchange that takes place at the cellular level in our bodies. Our lungs exchange oxygen for carbon dioxide. Then, when we exhale, we release the carbon dioxide that was exchanged for the oxygen…….action and reaction. Thinking about the act of breathing, I started thinking about the act of breathing in our spiritual lives. God created us and made us in His perfect image. (Gen1:27) He gave us and gives us life. When we breath in the life-breath that God gives us, what are we exhaling? What is the REACTION from us in response to God’s ACTION in our lives? What is the EVIDENCE in our lives of God’s PRESENCE in our lives? Do any of you ever remember watching old cartoons on Saturday mornings as kids. That was one of my favorite things to do. I remember that whenever one of the cartoon characters would burp, a green fog would always billow from their mouth. Hilarious at the time; but is this what our spiritual exhale, reaction, looks like? Matthew 7:15 “By their fruit you will recognize them.” The fruits that our lives produce are the indicators of our faith and relationship with Jesus Christ. That fruit is the evidence of living out your faith with the life that God blesses you with. Can the people in your life recognize Christ in your life based on your “spiritual exhale?” Does the fruit of your life point towards Christ or somewhere else? (Matt6:21) John 15:5,8 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he WILL bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing…..This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit showing yourselves to be my disciples.” After reading this verse, maybe the action-reaction law that Newton came up with still holds true in our spiritual lives. Our lives bear fruit in all that we do. We are spiritually exhaling every moment. It could be that we need to pay attention to what we are breathing IN with each of our spiritual breaths. Apart from Christ we cannot produce the fruit that glorifies His Father. That would look like us exhaling that green cartoon fog. But if we are inhaling Christ as passionate followers and disciples, our lives will reflect Christ’s ACTION by the fruit that we produce……..showing love for others, peace in the midst of any storm, acts of kind service, and most importantly, making more disciples. Make no mistake. The fruit of a true Christ follower is not a perfect attendance record at church. The Pharisees had that, and they plotted and schemed and murdered Christ. The fruit that really glorifies God most is a disciple who follows after Him passionatley, taking the commands that Jesus gave us, and passing them along to another person……who then puts them into practice by following Christ and reproducing another disciple. That is the holy and glorifying, aromatic and pleasing, exhale of a Christ follower. That is the exquisitely glorifying REACTION to Christ’s ACTION in our lives, going out and living Christ’s commands and teaching others how to do the same. What does your spiritual exhale look like? BeGoDo courageously and GLY! Leave a Reply You are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change ) Twitter picture Facebook photo Google+ photo Connecting to %s
This is a good article. Click here for more information. Izumo-class cruiser From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core Jump to: navigation, search A postcard of Izumo at speed, circa 1905–15 Class overview Name: Izumo class Builders: Armstrong Whitworth, United Kingdom Operators: Imperial Japanese Navy Preceded by: Asama class Succeeded by: Yakumo Built: 1898–1901 In commission: 1900–1945 Completed: 2 Lost: 2 General characteristics Type: Armored cruiser Displacement: 9,423–9,503 t (9,274–9,353 long tons) Length: 132.28 m (434 ft 0 in) (o/a) Beam: 20.94 m (68 ft 8 in) Draft: 7.21–7.26 m (23 ft 8 in–23 ft 10 in) Installed power: Speed: 20.75 knots (38.43 km/h; 23.88 mph) Complement: 672 The Izumo-class cruisers (出雲型装甲巡洋艦 Izumo-gata sōkōjun'yōkan?) were a pair of armored cruisers built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) in the late 1890s. As Japan lacked the industrial capacity to build such warships herself, the vessels were built in Britain. They were part of the "Six-Six Fleet" expansion program that began after the defeat of China during the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894–95. The sister ships participated in three of the four main naval battles of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–05—the Battle of Port Arthur, the Battle off Ulsan and the Battle of Tsushima—but played a much more minor role in World War I. Iwate was first used as a training ship in 1916 and remained in that role for most of the rest of her career. Her sister, Izumo, was mostly used for training during the 1920s, but became flagship of the IJN forces in China in 1932. She was involved in the Shanghai Incident that year and in the Second Sino-Japanese War that began five years later. The ship was used in the early stages of the Philippines Campaign during the Pacific War until she struck a mine at the end of 1941. Izumo joined her sister as a training ship in home waters in 1943. Both ships were sunk in a series of American air attacks on the naval base at Kure in July 1945. Their wrecks were refloated after the war and scrapped. Background and design Japan initiated the 1896 Naval Expansion Plan after the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894–95. The plan included four armored cruisers and four battleships, all of which had to be ordered from foreign shipyards as Japan lacked the capability to build them itself. Further consideration of the Russian building program caused the IJN to believe that the battleships ordered under the original plan would not be sufficient to counter the Imperial Russian Navy. Budgetary limitations prevented ordering more battleships and the IJN decided to expand the number of more affordable armored cruisers to be ordered from four to six ships. The revised plan is commonly known as the "Six-Six Fleet".[1] These ships were purchased using the £30,000,000 indemnity paid by China after losing the First Sino-Japanese War.[2] Unlike most of their contemporaries, which were designed for commerce raiding or to defend colonies and trade routes, the Izumo class was intended as fleet scouts and to be employed in the battleline.[3] Construction of the Izumo-class ships was awarded to the British shipbuilder Armstrong Whitworth of Elswick, the same shipyard that had built the earlier two Asama-class armored cruisers of the "Six-Six Fleet".[4] They were also designed by Sir Philip Watts, who took advantage of rapidly advancing boiler technology to substitute lighter Belleville boilers in lieu of the cylindrical boilers of the earlier ships and used the weight saved to increase the thickness of the protective deck and improve the hull structure. The increased number of boilers required an extra funnel, which became the primary means of distinguishing between the two classes.[5] File:Izumo-class armored cruiser left elevation plan.jpg Left plan, elevation and half section of the Izumo class from Jane's Fighting Ships, 1904 The Izumo-class ships were 132.28 meters (434 ft 0 in) long overall and 121.92 meters (400 ft 0 in) between perpendiculars. They had a beam of 20.94 meters (68 ft 8 in) and had an average draft of 7.21 to 7.26 meters (23 ft 8 in to 23 ft 10 in). The ships displaced 9,423 to 9,503 metric tons (9,274 to 9,353 long tons) at normal load and 10,235 to 10,305 metric tons (10,073 to 10,142 long tons) at deep load. They had metacentric heights of 0.73 to 0.88 meters (2 ft 5 in to 2 ft 11 in).[6] Their crew consisted of 672 officers and enlisted men.[7] The ships had two 4-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines, each driving a single propeller shaft.[8] Steam for the engines was provided by 24 Belleville boilers and the engines were rated at a total of 14,500 indicated horsepower (10,800 kW). The sisters had a designed speed of 20.75 knots (38.43 km/h; 23.88 mph) and both exceeded it by at least a 1 knot (1.9 km/h; 1.2 mph) during their sea trials from 15,739 to 16,078 ihp (11,737 to 11,989 kW). They carried up to 1,527 long tons (1,551 t) of coal[9] and could steam for 7,000 nautical miles (13,000 km; 8,100 mi) at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).[7] File:Asama class 8 inch gun turret right elevation.jpg Cross-section of the eight-inch gun turret used by all the "Six-Six Fleet" armored cruisers The main armament for all of the "Six-Six Fleet" armored cruisers was four Armstrong Whitworth-built 45-caliber eight-inch guns in twin-gun turrets fore and aft of the superstructure. The electrically operated turrets were capable of 130° rotation left and right, and the guns could be elevated to +30° and depressed to −5°. Each turret accommodated 65 shells, but could only be reloaded through doors in the turret floor and the ship's deck that allowed the electric winch in the turret to hoist shells up from the shell room deep in the hull.[10] The guns were manually loaded and had a rate of fire about 1.2 rounds per minute. The 203-millimeter gun fired 250-pound (113.5 kg) armor-piercing (AP) projectiles at a muzzle velocity of 2,500 feet per second (760 m/s) to a range of 20,000 yards (18,000 m).[11] File:Izumo naibu.JPG Crewmen working the six-inch guns The secondary armament consisted of fourteen Elswick Ordnance Company "Pattern Z" quick-firing (QF), 40-caliber, six-inch (152 mm) guns. All but four of these guns were mounted in armored casemates on the main and upper decks, and their mounts on the upper deck were protected by gun shields. Their 100-pound (45.4 kg) AP shells were fired at a muzzle velocity of 2,300 feet per second (700 m/s).[12] The ships were also equipped with a dozen 40-caliber QF 12-pounder 12-cwt guns[Note 1] and eight QF 2.5-pounder Yamauchi guns as close-range defense against torpedo boats.[11] The former gun fired three-inch (76 mm), 12.5-pound (5.7 kg) projectiles at a muzzle velocity of 2,359 feet per second (719 m/s).[13] The Izumo-class ships were equipped with four submerged 18-inch (457 mm) torpedo tubes, two on each broadside. The Type 30 torpedo had a 100-kilogram (220 lb) warhead and three range/speed settings: 870 yards (800 m) at 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph), 1,100 yards (1,000 m) at 23.6 knots (43.7 km/h; 27.2 mph) or 3,300 yards (3,000 m) at 14.2 knots (26.3 km/h; 16.3 mph).[14] All of the "Six-Six Fleet" armored cruisers used the same armor scheme with some minor differences, one of which was that the four later ships all used Krupp cemented armor. The waterline belt ran the full length of the ships and its thickness varied from 7.0 inches (178 mm) amidships to 3.5 inches (89 mm) at the bow and stern. The thickest part of the belt covered the middle of the ship for a length of 275 feet 2 inches (83.87 m). It had a height of 7 feet 0 inches (2.13 m), of which 4 feet 4 inches to 4 feet 7 inches (1.33 to 1.39 m) was normally underwater. The upper strake of belt armor was 5.0 inches (127 mm) thick and extended from the upper edge of the waterline belt to the main deck. It extended 167 feet 11 inches to 174 feet 11 inches (51.18 to 53.31 m) from the forward to the rear barbette. The Izumo class had oblique 5-inch armored bulkhead that closed off the ends of the central armored citadel.[15] The barbettes, gun turrets and the front of the casemates were all 6 inches thick while the sides and rear of the casemates were protected by 51 millimeters (2.0 in) of armor. The deck was 63 millimeters (2.5 in) thick and the armor protecting the conning tower was 356 millimeters (14.0 in) in thickness.[16] The ships had 30 watertight compartments in their double bottom and an additional 136 or 137 between the bottom and the upper deck.[14] Ship Builder[9] Laid down[9] Launched[9] Completed[17] Fate Izumo Armstrong Whitworth, Elswick 14 May 1898 19 September 1899 25 September 1900 Sunk, 28 July 1945; broken up, 1947[18] Iwate 11 November 1898 29 March 1900 18 March 1901 Sunk, 25 July 1945; scrapped, 1946–47[19] Russo-Japanese War The sisters spent most of the Russo-Japanese War as flagships together in the 2nd Division of the 2nd Fleet; Iwate for the divisional commander, Rear Admiral Misu Sotarō, and Izumo for the fleet commander, Vice Admiral Kamimura Hikonojō.[20] They participated in the Battle of Port Arthur on 9 February 1904, when Vice Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō led the Combined Fleet in an attack on the Russian ships of the Pacific Squadron anchored just outside Port Arthur. Tōgō had expected the earlier surprise night attack by his destroyers to be much more successful than it was, anticipating that the Russians would be badly disorganized and weakened, but they had recovered from their surprise and were ready for his attack. Iwate was moderately damaged by the Russians, but Izumo only slightly.[21] File:Japanese cruiser Iwate.jpg A postcard of Iwate at anchor, before 1905 In April 1904, the division was tasked to contain the Russian armored cruisers based at Vladivostok, but failed to do so until 13 August when the latter tried to rendezvous with the ships that attempted to breakout from Port Arthur. Unbeknownst to the Russians, Tōgō had defeated the ships from Port Arthur during the Battle of the Yellow Sea on 10 August and the Russian squadron from Vladivostok was intercepted off Ulsan, Korea by the 2nd Division. The steering of the Russian cruiser Rurik was damaged early in the battle and the Russians made several attempts to prevent the Japanese from concentrating fire on her, but were ultimately forced to abandon her to her fate. Kamimura left Rurik to the tender ministrations of his reinforcements and pursued the two remaining Russian ships for a time before breaking off pursuit prematurely based on an incorrect report that Izumo had expended most of her ammunition. That ship was hit over 20 times, but suffered fewer than 20 men killed or wounded. Iwate, in contrast, was hit far fewer times, but one of them started a major ammunition fire that killed or wounded dozens of men.[22] After the battle, the sisters were refitted and assigned to different units, escorting troop convoys to northern Korea, providing cover while a minefield was laid off Vladivostock, and blockading the Tsugaru Strait until the Russian ships from the Baltic Fleet approached Japan in mid-1905.[23] Battle of Tsushima Main article: Battle of Tsushima The Russian 2nd and 3rd Pacific Squadrons were spotted on the morning on 27 May 1904 and Tōgō ordered his ships to put to sea. Izumo and Iwate had rejoined the 2nd Division in anticipation of this battle and Kamimura's ships confirmed the initial spotting later that morning before joining Tōgō's battleships. Together with most of the Japanese battleships, the division opened fire at 14:10 on the Russian battleship Oslyabya, which was forced to fall out of formation at 14:50 and sank 20 minutes later. After a failed torpedo attack was repulsed by Iwate and several other cruisers around the same time, the Russian battleship Knyaz Suvorov suddenly appeared out of the mist at 15:35 at short range. Kamimura's ships engaged her for five minutes before she disappeared back into the mists. Later in the day, Kamimura led his division in a fruitless pursuit of some of the Russian cruisers around 17:30. He abandoned his chase around 18:03 and encountered the Russian battleline about a half hour later. He stayed at long range and his ships fired when practicable before ceasing fire at 19:30.[24] File:Japanese cruiser Izumo.jpg A Japanese postcard of Izumo at anchor, 1905 The surviving Russian ships were spotted the next morning and the Japanese ships opened fire and stayed beyond the range at which the Russian ships could effectively reply. Rear Admiral Nikolai Nebogatov therefore decided to surrender his ships as he could neither return fire nor close the range.[25] Well after Nebogatov's surrender, the coast defense ship Admiral Ushakov was spotted well south of Nebogatov's ships and Iwate and the armored cruiser, Yakumo, were tasked to pursue her. The Japanese ships demanded that the Russians surrender when they came within range, but her captain refused. Admiral Ushakov attempted to close the range to bring the Japanese cruisers within range of her guns, but they were fast enough to keep the range open and the Russian ship could not hit either of them. After about half an hour, Admiral Ushakov had been heavily damaged to bear and her commander ordered his crew to abandon ship and the scuttling charges detonated.[25] Both Iwate and Izumo were struck several times during the battle, but neither was significantly damaged and casualties were light.[26] After the battle, the division covered amphibious landings in northeastern Korea in July and August before the war ended.[27] Subsequent service Izumo was ordered to patrol the west coast of Mexico to safeguard Japanese interests and nationals during the Mexican Revolution[28] and was still there when Japan declared war on the German Empire on 23 August 1914. She was then tasked to search for German commerce raiders and protect Allied shipping off the western coasts of North and Central America. The ship assisted the armored cruiser Asama in early 1915, when she struck a rock off Baja California.[29] In 1917, Izumo became the flagship of the Japanese squadron deployed in the Mediterranean Sea. After the war, she sailed to Great Britain to take control of some ex-German submarines and then escorted them part of the way back to Japan.[18] Iwate played a minor role in the war, participating in the Battle of Tsingtao[30] before sailing to the South Sea Islands to search for German commerce raiders.[31] The ship began the first of her many training cruises for naval cadets of the Imperial Japanese Navy Academy in 1916, a task that would last until the end of 1939. Izumo began making training voyages of her own during the 1920s.[32] File:Japanese cruiser Izumo at Vancouver Feb 1925.jpg Izumo at anchor in Burrard Inlet, Vancouver, Canada, February 1925 In 1924, four of the ships' 12-pounder guns were removed, as were all of their QF 2.5-pounder guns, and a single 40-caliber 8 cm/40 3rd Year Type anti-aircraft (AA) gun was added.[33] The gun had a maximum elevation of +75 degrees, and could fire a 3-inch, 12.5 lb (5.67 kg) projectile with a muzzle velocity of 2,200 ft/s (680 m/s) to a maximum height of 23,600 feet (7,200 m).[34] Refitted again in 1930–31, their torpedo tubes were removed as were all of her main deck 6-inch guns and their casemates plated over; they now carried only four 12-pounders. At that time, Iwate also had her boilers replaced by six water-tube boilers, but Izumo was not reboilered until 1935.[33] The new boilers produced less steam which limited engine power to 7,000 ihp (5,200 kW) and reduced their top speed to 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph).[7] China service and World War II Izumo at anchor in the Huangpu River, Shanghai, 1932. The American armored cruiser USS Rochester is anchored to the left. In 1932, during the First Shanghai Incident, Izumo became the flagship of the newly re-established 3rd Fleet that garrisoned Japanese-occupied China. Two years later, she was equipped to operate a floatplane at the Sasebo Naval Arsenal.[18] During the Second Sino-Japanese War, the ship participated in the Battle of Shanghai in mid-1937 during which she provided naval gunfire support to Japanese troops ashore.[35] Still in Shanghai at the beginning of the Pacific War on 8 December 1941, Izumo captured the American river gunboat USS Wake and assisted in sinking the British river gunboat HMS Peterel.[18][36] On 31 December, the cruiser struck a mine in the Lingayen Gulf while supporting Japanese forces during the Philippines Campaign. During this period, Iwate was still serving as a training ship in home waters. The sisters were briefly re-classified as 1st-class cruisers on 1 July 1942[18][19] before they became training ships in 1943. Izumo returned to Japan late that year and joined her sister in training naval cadets.[37] In early 1945, the sisters were rearmed when their 8-inch guns were replaced by four 12.7 cm (5.0 in) Type 89 dual-purpose guns in two twin mounts and four of their remaining 6-inch guns were removed. When firing at surface targets, the Type 89 gun had a range of 16,100 yards (14,700 m); they had a maximum ceiling of 30,970 feet (9,440 m) at an elevation of +90 degrees. Their maximum rate of fire was 14 rounds a minute, but their sustained rate of fire was around 8 rounds per minute.[38] Their light anti-aircraft armament was significantly reinforced by the addition of 9 (Iwate) and 14 (Izumo) license-built Hotchkiss 25-millimeter Type 96 light AA guns in single, double and triple mounts and two 13.2-millimeter Hotchkiss machine guns in single mounts.[37] The 25 mm (0.98 in) weapon was the standard Japanese light anti-aircraft gun during World War II, but it suffered from severe design shortcomings that rendered it a largely ineffective weapon. The twin and triple mounts lacked sufficient speed in train or elevation; the gun sights were unable to handle fast targets; the gun exhibited excessive vibration; the magazine was too small and, finally, the gun produced excessive muzzle blast. The weapon had a maximum range of 24,600 feet (7,500 m), but effective range was only about 4,900–9,800 feet (1,500–3,000 m).[39] The sisters were attacked, but not hit, during the American aerial attack on Kure in July 1945. However, the shockwaves from near misses caused extensive flooding in both ships. Iwate sank in shallow water on 25 July and Izumo capsized three days later. Both ships were removed from the navy list on 20 November and their wrecks were raised and scrapped in 1946–47.[18][19] 1. "Cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 12 cwt referring to the weight of the gun. 1. Evans & Peattie, pp. 57–62 2. Brook 1999, p. 125 3. Milanovich, p. 72 4. Brook 1999, pp. 112–13 5. Milanovich, pp. 74–76 6. Milanovich, pp. 74, 80 7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 Jentschura, Jung & Mickel, p. 74 8. Milanovich, p. 81 9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Brook 1999, p. 112 10. Milanovich, pp. 76–77 11. 11.0 11.1 Milanovich, p. 78 12. Friedman, p. 276; Milanovich, p. 78 13. Friedman, p. 114 14. 14.0 14.1 Milanovich, p. 80 15. Milanovich, pp. 80–81 16. Chesneau & Kolesnik, p. 225 17. Milanovich, p. 73 18. 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 18.4 18.5 Hackett & Kingsepp, Izumo 19. 19.0 19.1 19.2 Hackett & Kingsepp, Iwate 20. Kowner, pp. 241, 465 21. Forczyk, pp. 42–43 22. Brook 2000, pp. 43, 45 23. Corbett 1994, II, pp. 52, 104, 159–62, 176–77 24. Campbell 1978, Part 2, pp. 128–32; Part 3, pp. 186–87 25. 25.0 25.1 Corbett 1994, II, pp. 319–20 26. Brook 1999, p. 113; Campbell 1978, Part 4, p. 263 27. Corbett, II, pp. 356, 363–65, 377–80 28. "Japanese Cruiser Sent to Mexico". San Francisco Call. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 12 November 1913. p. 2. Retrieved 24 April 2015. 29. Estes 30. Burdick, pp. 228, 241 31. Corbett 1938, I, pp. 366, 409 32. Lacroix & Wells, pp. 657–58 33. 33.0 33.1 Chesneau, p. 174 34. Campbell 1985, pp. 197–98 35. "Japanese Consulate in Ruins". The Sydney Morning Herald. Trove: Digitised newspapers and more. 18 August 1937. p. 15. Retrieved 25 April 2015. 36. Rohwer, p. 123 37. 37.0 37.1 Fukui, p. 4 38. Campbell 1985, pp. 192–93 39. Campbell 1985, p. 200 • Campbell, N.J.M. (1978). "The Battle of Tsu-Shima, Parts 2, 3 and 4". In Preston, Antony. Warship. II. London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 127–35, 186–192, 258–65. ISBN 0-87021-976-6. • Corbett, Julian Stafford (1994). Maritime Operations in the Russo-Japanese War, 1904–1905. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-129-7. • Corbett, Julian. Naval Operations to the Battle of the Falklands. History of the Great War: Based on Official Documents. I (2nd, reprint of the 1938 ed.). London and Nashville, Tennessee: Imperial War Museum and Battery Press. ISBN 0-89839-256-X. • Estes, Donald H. (1978). "Asama Gunkan: The Reappraisal of a War Scare". Journal of San Diego History. 24 (3). • Forczyk, Robert (2009). Russian Battleship vs Japanese Battleship, Yellow Sea 1904–05. Botley, UK: Osprey. ISBN 978-1-84603-330-8. • Hackett, Bob & Kingsepp, Sander (2012). "HIJMS Iwate: Tabular Record of Movement". SOKO-JUNYOKAN - Ex-Armored Cruisers. Retrieved 23 April 2015. • Hackett, Bob & Kingsepp, Sander (2014). "HIJMS Izumo: Tabular Record of Movement". SOKO-JUNYOKAN - Ex-Armored Cruisers. Retrieved 23 April 2015. • Harmsen, Peter (2013). Shanghai 1937: Stalingrad on the Yangtze. Havertown, Pennsylvania: Casemate. ISBN 978-1-61200-167-8. • Hata, Ikuhiko; Shores, Christopher & Izawa, Yasuho (2011). Japanese Naval Air Force Fighter Units and Their Aces 1932–1945. London: Grub Street. ISBN 978-1-906502-84-3. • Kowner, Rotem (2006). Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War. Historical Dictionaries of War, Revolution, and Civil Unrest. 29. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-81084-927-3. • Milanovich, Kathrin (2014). "Armored Cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy". In Jordan, John. Warship 2014. London: Conway. ISBN 978-1-84486-236-8. • Saxon, Timothy D. (Winter 2000). "Anglo-Japanese Naval Cooperation, 1914–1918". Naval War College Review. Naval War College Press. LIII (1). Archived from the original on 13 December 2006. • Warner, Denis & Warner, Peggy (2002). The Tide at Sunrise: A History of the Russo-Japanese War, 1904–1905 (2nd ed.). London: Frank Cass. ISBN 0-7146-5256-3. External links
The National Media Museum The National Media Museum was opened in Bradford in 1983 and spans over seven floors of galleries and interactive exhibitions. Claiming an important position in the history of media, the museum is home to what was originally Britain’s largest cinema screen and the first IMAX cinema in the UK. 14647372_1341554472523811_332416206_oThe broad definition of “The Media” used by the museum can be seen through the fact it has so many sections and floors, each dedicated to different elements that can all in their own way contribute to what we define as the media. Featured floors include themes such as video games and the history of photography and television. Located on the first floor is an exhibition entitled “In Your Face” which explores many elements of the media that capture our faces such as the “Selfie”. Here media is defined as capturing a picture of our self and sharing it with others. The exhibition also explores how we can share a message or emotion through a Selfie and how media can be defined as conveying a message or meaning through a particular medium. It delves deep into the science behind our emotions and how we show them to others by displaying a wide galler15007660_1366060640073194_1576816547_oy of portraits. It even invites guests to take their own pictures throughout the exhibition and add them to a slideshow of those who have visited thereby showing their diversity in age, gender, emotion etc. Questions such as “How would you feel having a mask made for you?” and “Can a photograph capture the soul?” create debates within the definition of media. For example, can media be defined as reality and can it ever be an accurate representation of the real world or must we define it as fiction that has been manipulated by the creator? The Experience TV gallery on the third floor of the museum features many puppets 15007671_1366060636739861_7678865_ofrom early children’s programmes such as The Wombles and Thunderbirds. This gallery explores the physical and sculptural aspect of media. Although the final creation is a programme which is broadcast it asks whether the definition of media can also include the elements that help construct the piece such as animation puppets. The museum also defines the media through its archives and special collections. A unique selection of items held by The National Media Museum are the Archives of The Daily Herald newspaper which contain 100,000 glass negatives of15008003_1366060626739862_2108481897_o.jpg over 3.5 million images of photographs used by the paper. It was one of the first of the museum’s collections and can shape a clear historical narrative of developments such as the rise of rock and roll as it was progressing to become accepted into mainstream society. Media plays a key part in history and therefore can to an extent be partly defined as a record of how society has changed recorded through images and writings such as The Daily Herald. This shows major developments in itself as it was rebranded to become The Sun newspaper. Leave a Reply You are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change ) Twitter picture Facebook photo Google+ photo Connecting to %s
Rebellion in Brothers Karamazov In this chapter, Ivan and Alyosha have been reunited and are finally on speaking terms. Ivan goes off and begins to try and get Alyosha to understand his religious stance, which isn’t as atheist as dening as people originally thought, which has to do with the fact that the people of the time period, especially it seems the Karamasov brothers, have this perception that the world and the human mind are not mutually exclusive. The Karamazov brothers, even the likes of Ivan, are very much connected with a world outside of the secular. The porous self is a way of existence where emotions simply lived inside someone’s mental space but found their way to the outside world. Evil thoughts and emotions usually found a way to find their way to the outside world, such did good thoughts. Alyosha, who is intensely connected to an emotion of love and with the mysticism of the religious world, and is thus in the ‘real’ world of the novel is shown and felt by others. Ivan who usually is depicted as cold and removed is more reflective of a modern secular society. For most of the novel (up until this point) he seems to think that there is a clear boundary between the two, however by the time we get to the chapter on Rebellion, Ivan’s emotions are ignited and he begins to show his porous self. Ivan in rebellion is discussing about the way in which children are treated: “These educated parents subjected the poor five year-old girl to every possible torture. They beat her flogged her, kicked her not knowing why themselves, until her whole body was nothing but bruises; finally they attained the height of finesse: in the freezing cold, they locked her all night in the outhouse… for they smeared her face with her excrement and made her eat the excrement, and it was her mother, her mother who made her!” There were multiple examples that Ivan used to demonstrate what it was like to be a child during this time period. It was torturous in a lot of ways. Before in the story all of the children that we meet lived a horrible and hard life but at least had someone to care in some way for them, but in this moment Ivan demonstrates the most extreme cases to make a point at the pitiful lives that most children endure during that time. In those times where life was porous, emotion didn’t have a set space, it extended to more than just spirits, it went beyond to things that have no wills and have evil meanings. Such as children, evil has exists because of the way in which children are treated. Ivan confirms his belief in things that are evil by the obsession that he has formed about the wrongdoing to children. He rattles on with multiple stories in which children are treated and seen as things rather than human people. Ivan states: Thus human and evil thoughts are created and carried out by human hands that have been influenced by the cosmic forces. Evil is manifested and created from feeling and things that are outside of human concern. Aside from this all of men are already considered evil. Though Ivan finds a want to continue on with this idea that God, which is an important for human understanding and love and happiness but he cannot seem to get himself to love that which is also impacting the world in a negative way. Leave a Reply You are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change ) Twitter picture Facebook photo Google+ photo Connecting to %s
Femoral Artery is the main artery of the lower limb. It’s the continuance of external iliac artery and enters the femoral triangle behind the inguinal ligament at the midinguinal stage. It runs downward and medially successively via the femoral triangle and adductor canal. At the lower end of the adductor canal (i.e., at the junction of middle one-third and lower one-third of the thigh), it leaves the thigh via the adductor hiatus (a tendinous opening in the adductor magnus) to goes into the popliteal fossa where it continues as the popliteal artery. Please rotate the device for better visual interaction. To get the elaborated info click on the body part. Surface Marking Femoral ring: It is represented by a horizontal line 1.2 cm long over the inguinal ligament 1.2 cm medial to the midinguinal point. Femoral artery: It is represented by the upper two-thirds of a line joining the midinguinal point to the adductor tubercle. The thigh is slightly flexed, abducted and laterally rotated. Extent and Course It passes downwards and medially. first in the femoral triangle, and then in the adductor canal. At the lower end of the adductor canal, i.e., at the junction of the middle and lower thirds of the thigh it passes through an opening in the adductor magnus to become continuous with the popliteal artery. Relations of the Femoral Artery in the Femoral Triangle 1. The main anterior relations are the skin, superficial fascia, deep fascia and the anterior wall of the femoral sheath. 2. Posteriorly, the artery rests, from above downwards on the psoas major, the pecuneus, and the adductor longus. The posterior wall of the femoral sheath Intervenes between these structures and the artery sheath Intervenes between these structures and the artery. 3. The femoral artery is accompanied by the femoral vein. Just below the inguinal ligament the vein is medial to the artery. However, the vein gradually crosses to the lateral side posterior to the artery. It is directly behind the artery at the apex of the femoral triangle, and lateral to the lower end of the artery. 4. The femoral nerve is lateral to the upper part of the artery. Lower down the artery is related to the branches of the nerve, some of which cross it. The branch to the pectineus crosses behind the upper part of the artery. The medial cutaneous nerve of the thigh crosses the artery from lateral to medial side near the apex of the femoral triangle. The saphenous branch crosses the artery within the adductor canal. The nerve to the vastus medialis is lateral to the artery in the adductor canal. 5. The femoral branch of the genitofemoral nerve is also lateral to the upper part of the femoral artery, within the femoral sheath, but lower down it passes to the front of the artery. 6. The profunda femoris artery a branch of the femoral artery itself, and its companion vein, lie behind the upper part of the femoral artery, where it lies on the pectineus. Lower down, however, the femoral and profunda arteries are separated by the adductor longus. In the femoral triangle: • 3 superficial branches: Superficial epigastric artery, superficial external pudendal artery, and superficial circumflex iliac artery. • 3 deep branches: Profunda femoris artery, deep external pudendal artery, and muscular branches. In the adductor canal: • Muscular branches. • Descending genicular artery. The deep external pudendal artery originates just below the superficial external pudendal artery and enters medially deep to the spermatic cord or round ligament of the uterus and supplies the scrotum or labium majus. The descending genicular artery leaves the canal by descending inside the substance of vastus medialis and splits into articular and saphenous branches. The saphenous branch, also named saphenous artery, accompanies the saphenous nerve as it arises via the roof of adductor canal. Alternative names of femoral artery: Some vascular surgeons, call the first part of femoral artery, proximal to the origin of profunda femoris artery as ‘common femoral artery’ and its continuance distally as ‘superficial femoral artery’. Profunda Femoris Artery This is the largest branch of the femoral artery. It is the chief artery of supply to all the three compartments of the thigh. It arises from the lateral side of the femoral artery about 4 cm below the inguinal ligament. The origin lies in front of the iliacus. As the artery descends, it passes posterior to the femoral vessels. It leaves the femoral triangle by passing deep to the adductor longus. Continuing downwards, it passes first between the adductor longus and the adductor brevis, and then between the adductor longus and the adductor magnus. Its terminal part pierces the adductor magnus to anastomose with upper muscular branches of the popliteal artery. The profunda femoris artery gives off the medial and lateral circumflex femoral arteries, and four perforating arteries. The medial circumflex femoral artery leaves the femoral triangle by passing posteriorly, between the pectineus and the psoas major muscles. The lateral circumflex femoral artery runs laterally between the anterior and posterior divisions of the femoral nerve, passes behind the sartorius and the rectus femoris, and divides into ascending, transverse and descending branches. The ascending branch runs deep to the tensor fasciae latae, gives branches to the hip joint and the greater trochanter, and anastomoses with the superior gluteal artery. The transverse branch pierces the vastus lateralis and takes part in the cruciate anastomosis on the back of the thigh just below the greater trochanter. The descending branch runs down along the anterior border of the vastus lateralis, accompanied by the nerve to that muscle. Clinical Significance Compression, Palpation and Cannulation of Femoral Artery • The femoral artery can be compressed against the femoral head at the midinguinal point to control the bleeding in the distal part of the limb. • The pulsations of the femoral artery are felt by the clinicians in the femoral triangle just below the midinguinal stage. • Since the femoral artery is very superficial in the femoral triangle, it’s the preferable artery for cannulation and injecting dye to do processes like angiography. It’s also the favored vessel for performing the coronary angiography and angioplasty.
Macintosh - Security Information Securing OS X Even a Mac can be hacked. Think of it as a car. If you leave the keys in the ignition, it's just a matter of time before someone walks by, sees the keys in the ignition and drives off. It's the same with a computer. If you leave everything unlocked, no passwords, no firewalls, someone, at some time, is going to take it. Here's how to prevent someone from stealing your "car." First: Prevent Physical Access One of the best ways to keep your data safe is to keep it physically inaccessible. 1. Use cables and locks to keep the whole machine from being stolen. Even the largest desktop can disappear if a room is unattended for a long period of time. A recommended brand is Kensington. There are locks for computers like these 2. Keep your office door locked, even if you're only going down the hall for a few minutes. Apple has made items so sleek and small they can fit into pockets and bookcases with ease. 3. Limit access to the keys to the computer area. If only a few people can enter, there is less chance of items going missing. 4. Keep services like file sharing, BlueTooth or Web services turned off. Don't let thieves on the network access your computer remotely. You can also turn on the firewall to keep out unwanted visitors. 5. Do you share a system with other people? Give them their own accounts. 6. Keep data where it's supposed to be. In other words, install applications in the Applications folder, your data in your Documents folder, place pictures in the Pictures folder, etc. If another user logs in to their account on your machine, they can't access anything that is in your account except for the Public folder. 7. Don't save files to the desktop. If you haven't set a screen saver, locked your door or turned off your computer, anyone can walk by and read an open file or double-click on a file and then read it. 8. Don't leave your email window open. Again, anyone walking by can see or read your mail. Sensitive data can become compromised in this way. 9. Do you share or use a public Mac? Afraid to surf for sensitive data? OS X's Safari is your answer. It features private browsing so cache files and history can no longer be accessed by other users. Just open Safari and turn on Private Browsing from the menu. Second: Protect Your Account 1. Require every user to log in to the Mac. Don't turn on Automatic login. If this feature is enabled, anyone can turn on the power and access your files. 2. Lock your screen. You can use a hot corner, drag your mouse to it to start the screen saver and walk away. If correctly set, anyone trying to get in will have to enter your password to get access. This helps if you need to leave for lunch or class but can leave everything running. 3. Log out of the machine so the login screen is displayed. 4. Lock your Keychain application. Third: Verify Your Network Avoid wireless networks whenever possible. They are inherently insecure. ECU now provides a secure wireless network called eduroam. Fourth: Keep Viruses at Bay Yes, the Macintosh is fairly secure, but where there's a will, there's a way. Make sure your Symantec Endpoint antivirus software is up to date. Symantec Endpoint is a free download from the ECU Download Center, Fifth: Keep EVERYTHING Up To Date Make sure you've downloaded all the operating system updates available and checked the system preferences. Also make sure all applications are up to date. Most should have a Check for Updates section under the Help menu in the tool bar. Sixth: Use Secure Erase Trash Think that file is deleted when you tell the trash to empty? Not true. The name of the file has been removed from the disk directory, but the data is still in place. Secure Erase will immediately overwrite the file with random data so it cannot be reconstructed even while using US DoD specifications. Last But Most Important: Back Up Your Data Take your backup off site if at all possible. Don't leave it in your office or near the computer where a thief can take it AND your computer. Here are some back up suggestions: • PirateDrive is 40GB of free storage that is backed up daily and password protected. • Use jump or flash drives with encryption software and even fingerprint readers for biometric access control. However, be cautious with these small drives. They are easily stolen, dropped and damaged, or washed while in your pocket.
How has immigration affected American culture? Quick Answer Immigration has affected American culture in many ways from adding resources in the form of workers, allowing the country to remain demographically youthful, enriching the nation with new cultures and contributing to America's influence throughout the global world. In fact, due to the massive amounts of immigration that occurred throughout the early years of the United States, the country is considered to be an "immigrant nation" by many. Continue Reading Full Answer One of the ways in which immigrants have positively benefited the United States is through the way the United Sates is viewed by other countries. Immigrants give the United States a way to connect with other nations because so many of the people living in the United States were once members of different nations. It also gives the United States a strong workforce, bolstering the country's economic prosperity. Economic prosperity is another way in which immigrants have positively benefited the United States. Economic prosperity is one of the ways in which nations are judged as to whether or not they are powerful. Immigrants not only take jobs that Americans might not want such as low-skill jobs in the domestic service or construction industries, but they also raise the demand for American goods. Learn more about Immigration Related Questions
1.1 INTRODUCTION TO E-COMMERCE 1.1.1 Introduction Two thousand years ago, Roman roads brought trade and commerce to Europe in an unprecedented manner. A thousand years ago, the spice routes linked the cultures of East and West. At the dawn of the second millennium, the Internet, the world’s largest computer network, the network of networks, is making fundamental changes to the lives of everyone on the planet-changing forever the way business is conducted. Internet has become an important medium for doing global business based on the state of the art technology. Global business was conducted in a new way: electronically, using networks and the Internet. The availability of Internet has led to the development of E-Commerce (Electronic commerce), in which business transactions take place via telecommunication networks. E-Commerce has two major aspects: economical and technological. The stress of this course will show you how to get started in the complex and exciting world of Electronic Commerce. New standards and new facilities are constantly emerging and their proper understanding is essential for the success of an operation and especially for those who are assigned a duty to select, establish, and maintain the necessary infrastructure. 1.1.2 Brief History Of E-Commerce The history of E-commerce is a history of how Information Technology has transformed business processes. Some authors will track back the history of E-commerce to the invention of the telephone at the end of last century. The Internet was conceived in DBA 1727 1969, when the Advanced Research Projects Agency (a Department of Defence organization) funded research of computer networking. The Internet could end up like EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) without the emergence of the World Wide Web in 1990s. EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) is widely viewed as the beginning of E-commerce if we consider E-Commerce as the networking of business communities and digitalization of business information. EDI, which expanded from financial transactions to other transaction processing and enlarged the participating companies from financial institutions to manufacturers, retailers, services, and so on. Many other applications followed, ranging from stock trading to travel reservation systems. Such systems were described as telecommunication applications and their strategic value was widely recognized. With the commercialization of the Internet in the early 1990s and its rapid growth to millions of potential customers, the term electronic commerce was coined, and EC applications expanded rapidly. One reason for the rapid expansion of the technology was the development of networks, protocols, software, and specifications. The other reason was the increase in competition and other business pressures. From 1995 to 1999 we have witnessed many innovative applications ranging from advertisement to auctions and virtual reality experiences. Almost every medium- and large-sized organization in the United States already has a Web site many are very extensive; for example, in 1999 General Motors Corporation offered 18,000 pages of information that included 98,000 links to its products, services, and dealers. 1.1.3 Definition Of E-Commerce: Electronic commerce is an emerging model of new selling and merchandising tools in which buyers are able to participate in all phases of a purchase decision, while stepping through those processes electronically rather than in a physical store or by phone (with a physical catalogue). The processes in electronic commerce include enabling a customer to access product information, select items to purchase, purchase items securely, and have the purchase settled financially. It is an emerging concept that describes the process of buying and selling or exchanging of products, services; and information via computer networks including the Internet. E-commerce is basically, doing business-as-usual, but across the Internet. You advertise your products or services on your Web site, as you would in any other media like newspapers, TV or brochures. Advertising on your Web site can be done in two ways. The first is by use of a relatively simple Web site consisting of a few pages whereby you tell potential customers who you are, what you do, where you are and how they can contact you ( easiest done by giving them your email address). The second way of enabling world-wide customers to buy from you is to provide them with an On-Line Catalogue of your products which they can browse at their leisure without having to go to your place of business. On-Line Catalogue: On-Line Catalogue is that catalogue where people access via the Internet. OnLine Catalogue is an integral part of website, enabling customers to...       Browse through stock list, read about an item or service; Look at photographs of the products. Select which items they want to purchase And drop them into a shopping cart as they go along. When they have completed their shopping, they go to the Check-Out. The next step is to request the order by filling in their details and method of payment on a form which is waiting for them at the Check-Out. The form is already partially completed with a breakdown of the items in their shopping cart, prices inclusive of tax, and shipping & handling charges, if any. If they choose to pay by credit card, the form includes a place for them to fill in their credit card number. And then, with one press of a button, they send the order to you. Electronic Commerce under different perspectives: Let’s see how Electronic Commerce (EC) is defined under each perspective. 1. Communications Perspective EC is the delivery of information, products /services, or payments over the telephone lines, computer networks or any other electronic means. DBA 1727 2. Business Process Perspective EC is the application of technology toward the automation of business transactions and work flow. 3. Service Perspective EC is a tool that addresses the desire of firms, consumers, and management to cut service costs while improving the quality of goods and increasing the speed of service delivery. 4. Online Perspective EC provides the capability of buying and selling products and information on the internet and other online services. 1.1.4 Classifications of E-Commerce Applications Electronic Commerce (e-Commerce) is a general concept covering any form of business transaction or information exchange executed using Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). E-Commerce takes place between companies, between companies and their customers, or between companies and public administrations. Electronic Commerce includes electronic trading of goods, services and electronic material. E-Commerce systems include commercial transactions on the Internet but their scope is much wider than this; they can be classified by application type: Electronic Markets: The principle function of an electronic market is to facilitate the search for the required product or service. Airline booking systems are an example of an electronic market. Electronic Data Interchange (EDI): Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is the electronic exchange of business documents in a standard, computer processable, universally accepted format between-trading partners. EDI is quite different from sending electronic mail, messages or sharing files through a network. In EDI, the computer application of both the sender and the receiver, referred to as Trading Partners (TPs) have to agree upon the format of the business document which is sent as a data file over electronic messaging services. The two key aspects of EDI that distinguish it from other forms of electronic communication, such as electronic mail, are: 1. The information transmitted is directly used by the recipient computer without the need for human intervention is rarely mentioned but often assumed that EDI refers to interchange between businesses. It involves two or more organization or parts of organization communicating business information with each other in a common agreed format. The repeated keying of identical information in the traditional paper-based business. Communication creates a number of problems that can be significantly reduced through the usage of EDI. These problems include:     Increased time Low accuracy High labour charges Increased uncertainty. To take full advantage of EDI’s benefits, a company must computerize its basic business applications. Trading partners are individual organization that agrees to exchange EDI transactions. EDI cannot be undertaken unilaterally but requires the cooperation and active participation of trading partners. Trading partners normally consists of an organization’s principal suppliers and wholesale customers. Since large retail stores transact business with a large number of suppliers they were among the early supporters of EDI. In the manufacturing sector, EDI has enabled the concept of Just-In-Time inventory to be implemented. JIT reduces inventory and operating capital requirements. EDI provides for the efficient transaction of recurrent trade exchanges between commercial organizations. EDI is widely used by, for example, large retail groups and vehicle assemblers when trading with their suppliers. Internet Commerce The Internet (and similar network facilities) can be used for advertising goods and services and transacting one-off deals. Internet commerce has application for both businessto-business and business to consumer transactions. DBA 1727 The three categories of E Commerce 1.1.5 Types of e-commerce There are a number of different types of E-Commerce      B2B - Business to Business B2C - Business to Consumer C2B - Consumer to Business B2E - Business to Employee C2C - Consumer to Consumer The two businesses pass information electronically to each other.au and follows the links to read a report on the recommended wines. on-line newspapers.craigs. These businesses may have been slow in gearing-up for E-Commerce compared to the innovative dot. but they usually have a sound commercial structure as well as in-depth experience of running a business something which many dotcoms lacked. insurance quotes. or weather forecasts. The user accesses the Internet site http://www. B2B e-commerce currently makes up about 94% of all e-commerce transactions. Typically in the B2B environment. E-Commerce can be used in the following processes:    Procurement.com. It is still a two way function but is usually done solely through the Internet.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT B2B . 7 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . it has been this type of business that has been successful in using E-Commerce to deliver services to customers.Business to Business E-commerce has been in use for quite a few years and is more commonly known as EDI (electronic data interchange). The wine is then dispatched from the supplier’s warehouse and in theory is delivered to the consumer without delay. order fulfilment. Managing trading-partner relationships.Business to Consumer Business to Consumer e-commerce is relatively new. In the past EDI was conducted on a direct link of some form between the two businesses where as today the most popular connection is the internet. This is where the consumer accesses the system of the supplier. B2C can also relate to receiving information such as share prices.com start ups. After reading the tasting notes the user follows the links to place an order along with delivery and payment details directly into the merchants’ inventory system. The supplier may be an existing retail outlet such as a high street store. Example: A home user wishes to purchase some good quality wine. NOTES B2C . causing many to fail. are providing their services on-line. supply 8 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI .Consumer to Business Consumer to Business is a growing arena where the consumer requests a specific service from the business. The site provider usually charges a transaction cost. Harry places a submission with in a web based C2B facility. at both a central and local level. B2A is the least developed area of E-Commerce and it relates to the way that public sector organisations. Dodgy Brothers Airways accesses the facility and sees Harry’s submission.DBA 1727 NOTES C2B . C2C . The consumer lists items for sale with a commercial auction site. The UK government is committed to ensuring this country is at the forefront of e-Commerce and it is essential that e-Government plays a significant part in achieving this objective. An intranet is a web site developed to provide employees of an organisation with information. subcontracts.1. In reality this site should be call C2B2C. 1.Consumer to Consumer These sites are usually some form of an auction site. Example: Harry is planning a holiday in Darwin. The intranet is usually access through the organisations network. The site then provides a connection between the seller and buyer to complete the transaction. He requires a flight in the first week of December and is only willing to pay Rs. 250. it can and is often extended to an Entrant which uses the Internet but restricts uses by sign on and password. Due to it being a slow period. Other consumers access the site and place bids on the items. 250. B2E . the airline offers Harry a return fare for Rs.Business to Employee Business to Employee e-commerce is growing in use. it has the potential to increase the domestic and business use of e-Commerce as traditional services are increasingly being delivered over the Internet. This form of E-commerce is more commonly known as an ‘Intranet’.6   Scope of E-Commerce Selling can be focussed to the global customer Pre-sales. Also known as e-Government. 7 E.g.1.Commerce in Action 9 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . delivery.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT             Financing and insurance Commercial transactions: ordering. etc) Transport and logistics Public procurement Automatic trading of digital goods Accounting Dispute resolution NOTES 1. customs. payment Product service and maintenance Co-operative product development Distributed co-operative working Use of public and private services Business-to-administrations (e. Shop Online. the consumer is typically connected to an online transaction server located somewhere else on the internet which runs software commonly referred to as a shopping cart application. Depending on the ecommerce implementation. The shopping cart application has been setup by the merchant to display all products and services offered. the sales order can now take two totally different paths for confirming to the consumer that the order is officially placed. or an image of a shopping cart button are common entry points into a web store). From there. taxes. The consumer then receives an email shortly afterwards. This generally takes place in no more than 5-7 seconds and the consumer is then informed that the order was received. the credit card was authorized. After choosing to visit the web store. shipping charges.g. It is at this point that the consumer makes the decision to visit the web store by clicking on a link or button located on the web page (e. etc.DBA 1727 NOTES How E-Commerce Works The consumer first moves through the internet to the merchant’s web site. where the issuing and acquiring banks complete or deny the transaction. Scenario 1 The consumer’s credit card information goes directly through a private gateway to a processing network. Buy Now. and that the product will ultimately be shipped. Scenario 2 The consumer’s entire order and credit card information is electronically submitted back to the merchant’s server (usually via email. the credit card being authorized. so he enters all pertinent credit card information and a sales order is produced. and status on when the product will exactly be shipped. 10 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . FTP. At the web site. the consumer is briefly given an introduction to the product or services the merchant offers. the consumer decides that he wants to purchase something.. confirming the order being received. or SSL connection) where the order can be reviewed first and then approved for credit card authorization through a processing network. as well as calculate pricing. e. 4. the first scenario is a more simplistic method of setting up a shopping cart application and does not take into consideration any back office issues that may delay shipment (i. items out of stock. depending on which country you live in. Let us assume an ecommerce implementation that uses the second scenario mentioned above. . 1. 3. the following should also be noted: 1.). PC Charge™.e. and the type of business you are running. etc. This refers to transactions where the customer is not present and only the credit card number and expiration date are being used for approving the charges. However. Your merchant account provider must allow you to handle non-swiped credit card transactions. orders submitted after office hours or during holidays. ManageMore’s eCommerce Manager relies on the second scenario to handle all of its ecommerce orders. In order for credit card authorization to be automatic from within ManageMore. There are several basic steps you will need to accomplish before becoming Commerce enabled. These products are sold separately from ManageMore and eliminate the need for merchant terminal devices or separate time consuming steps to approve credit cards. This second scenario keeps the consumer accurately informed throughout the entire ordering process. or AuthorizeNet™ (i. Getting a Merchant Bank Account Web Hosting Web Design Considerations Registering a Domain Name Obtaining a Digital Certificate NOTES Getting a Merchant Bank Account In order to be able to accept credit cards. This can be relatively easy or somewhat difficult.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT In both scenarios. back orders. you must apply for an account with a credit card merchant account provider. 2. you must ensure that your merchant account provider has credit card processors that connect with IC Verify™.. the process is transparent to the consumer and appears virtually the same.Intellicharge Interface) software. 5. When choosing a merchant account provider. 11 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI 2. 75% to 2. These fees can come in the form of an application fee. Always try to find an ISP that can provide a local telephone number for you to connect to the internet.75% and no more than . while Scenario 2 involves farming out all web hosting administration to an ISP. If not. years in business. Note: If your computer or local area network is already connected to the internet.25 cent per transaction. Typically expect to pay around $100 to $500 for getting an account setup to accept credit cards and sometimes electronic checks. and company size. Avoid merchant account providers that require 1 or 2 year contract terms. as this is how you gain a presence on the internet in the first place. You will need a dedicated phone line or data line for processing credit cards and electronic checks. contact Intellisoft regarding our merchant account provider affiliates and the free Intellicharge Interface just for signing up with them. Avoid merchant account providers that ask for a non-refundable fee before you get approved. software fee. There are actually two scenarios that can be used for web hosting. 12 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . Constantly changing to a new merchant account provider when your old one goes out-of business can be costly and time consuming. 6. 8. The following should be noted when searching for an Internet Service Provider: 1.DBA 1727 NOTES 3. Scenario1 involves setting up and maintaining your own web server. it doesn’t make sense to lock your company into a commitment for any period of time. Expect merchant account providers to have some form of a sign up fee after being approved only. Web Hosting Web hosting is a very important step in this process. you should do a little research on the company’s reputation. etc. An Internet Service Provider (ISP) is a company that provides you with internet access and limited hard drive space on their web servers for hosting your web site. You should be able to find a merchant account provider that can offer you discount credit cards rates ranging from 1. Since there are so many merchant account providers available. processing fee. When choosing a merchant account provider. 5. 4. a separate data line will not be necessary if you use the Intellicharge Interface for electronic payment. 7. 5. Many small businesses tend to choose CSP’s for creating a web store because it gives them the flexibility of choosing a provider that offers competitive pricing and the best shopping cart application for their needs. and ease of use. There are a lot of online transaction providers out there. make sure the ISP is reputable. Choose an ISP that is known for good technical support and has knowledgeable people familiar with ecommerce sites. The following should be noted when dealing with shopping cart applications: 1. functionality. the same ISP or CSP you choose can provide web design and consultation. you may want to seek the help of professional web designers to make the look and feel of your web store consistent with the rest of your corporate web site. Most businesses will rent these online web store programs rather than committing to such a steep investment. appearance. layout. Online transaction providers will either sell or rent you the use of an online shopping cart application for your business. 3. 2. However. In many cases. Be forewarned that purchasing an online shopping cart application is very expensive.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT 2. 13 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . 3. Rental pricing for the use of shopping cart programs vary depending on number of transactions generated a month. number of products listed on the shopping cart application. NOTES The online transaction providers that offer the actual web store itself can sometimes be hosted by your same ISP or may require a completely different provider. 4. Deciding on a provider’s package that fits your needs is perhaps the most important aspect. Choose an ISP that is known for having few interruptions of service. referred to as a Commerce Service Provider (CSP). and they all have varying packages. and the sophistication of the shopping cart application itself. Web Design Considerations With little knowledge of HTML and a lot of patience. you can probably create your own corporate web site with the help of products like Microsoft FrontPage™ or DreamWeaver™. Choose an ISP that consistently has fast connection speeds. Most shopping cart applications. Online transaction providers will usually provide one shopping cart solution they feel is better than the many others that exist and differ by price. when adding a web store to your web site. As with any company you do business with. like SoftCart by Mercantec. allow its templates to be modified just for this purpose. Obtaining a Digital Certificate A digital certificate. SSL protects communications so you can take credit card orders securely and ensure that hackers cannot eavesdrop on you. There are many to choose from. for most people obtaining a digital certificate is not a problem. Domain names serve as a convenient way of locating information and people on the Internet.com?” Registering a domain name is one of the most important decisions you can make for your online identity.8 Architectural Framework of E Commerce A framework is intended to define and create tools that integrate the information found in today’s closed systems and allows the development of e-commerce applications. For a minimal fee. your peers . you may want to get your own digital certificate. also known as a SSL Server Certificate.mybiz. 1. for customers to find your web site by typing “123. enables SSL (Secure Socket Layer encryption) on the web server. Any ecommerce company that provides you with an online web store will require you to have SSL before you can use their services.123.the whole world. data repository. Rather. Thankfully. In layman terms.456” or by typing something simple to remember like “www.DBA 1727 NOTES Registering a Domain Name Domain names are the names for computers on the Internet that correspond to IP (Internet protocol) numbers to route information to addresses on the Internet network. 2. If you are a larger company. computer languages. It is important to understand that the aim of the architectural frame-work itself is not to build new database management systems. Your domain name says who you are to your clients. The basics for registering a domain name are: Contact a domain name registrar on the internet to register for a domain name. however. will it be important to you. or communication protocols. software agent based transaction monitors.456. Select a unique domain name you would like others to use for finding your web site. the architecture should focus on synthesizing the diverse resources already in place in corporations to 14 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . one can usually use the certificate owned by the web hosting company where your page resides.1. just do a web search on “domain name registrar” to get you started. As seen in Fig. we will not elaborate on the various aspects of the network infrastructure that transports information. These were discussed extensively earlier and will not be addressed here. NOTES These layers co-operate to provide a seamless transition between today’s computing resources and those of tomorrow by transparently integrating information access and exchange within the context of the chosen application. interface. brokerage services. security and electronic document interchange.1. But only when they are integrated do they provide uniquely powerful solutions.1. 1. In the ensuing discussion of each of these layers. The electronic commerce application architecture consists of six layers of functionality. middle ware and structured document interchange. We begin our discussion with the application level services. support layers” secure messaging.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT facilitate the integration of data and software for better applications. or services: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) applications.8a Electronic Commerce: A conceptual framework 15 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . Table 1. data or transaction management. and. and network infrastructure and basic communications services (see Table.8 a).. electronic commerce applications are based on several elegant technologies. and a dependable way to conduct business’ transactions. buy them differently using electronic cash and secure payment systems.8. and receiving proposals.” Where “distribution” may not automatically mean “physical Transport. Business-to-business transactions include the use of EDI and electronic mail for purchasing goods and services. and error-prone. The current accounts payable process occurs through the exchange of paper documents. how customers allocate their loyalty may also be different. customers learn about products differently through electronic publishing. an economical. 16 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . submitting requests for proposals. Each year the trading partners exchange millions of invoices. brand equity can rapidly evaporate forcing firms to develop new ways of doing business Business-to Business Transactions We call this category market-link transaction. Three distinct classes of electronic commerce application can be distinguished: customer to business. Here. Small companies are also beginning to see the benefits of adopting the same methods. and intra organization Consumer-to-Business Transactions We call this category marketplace transaction.1. businesses. Examine this scenario. time consuming. business-to-business.” In this new environment. purchase orders. and other transactions. and have them delivered differently. mailing is costly.DBA 1727 NOTES 1. Most of the documents are in electronic form at their point of origin but are printed and key-entered at the point of receipt. The current manual process of printing. the organization itself has to adapt to a world where the traditional concepts of brand Differentiation no longer hold-where “quality” has a new meaning.to-computer communication as a fast. and other organizations depend on computer . checks. buying information and consulting services. Also. In light of this. financial reports.1 Electronic Commerce Application Services The application services layer of e-commerce will be comprised of existing and future applications built on the innate architecture. governments. where “content” may not be equated to “product. In a marketplace transaction. both before and after sales. and customer service. the development of which is necessitated by the increasing information resource fragmentation. Most professionals have enough trouble keeping track of files of 1 interest on one or two database services. small businesses are looking toward electronic commerce as a possible savior. Intra-organizational Transactions We call this category market-driven transactions. Three major components of market-driven transactions are    customer orientation through product and service customization. To maintain the relationships that are critical to delivering superior customer value. are rapidly becoming necessary in dealing with the voluminous amounts of information on the networks. and by continuously monitoring their customer commitment by making improved customer satisfaction an ongoing objective. if it is impossible to expect humans to do the searching. It 17 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . With all the complexity associated with large numbers of on-line databases and service bureaus. and owner-ship of all these systems.2 Information Brokerage and Management The information brokerage and management layer provides service integration through the notion of information brokerages. a market-driven business develops a comprehensive understanding of its customers’ business and how customers in the immediate and downstream markets perceive value. and advertising. by spreading strategic and tactical decision making so that all units can participate.1. cross-functional coordination through enterprise integration. A company becomes market driven by dispersing throughout the firm information about its customers and competitors. We use the notion of information brokerage to represent an intermediary who provides service integration between customers and information providers. marketing. management must pay close attention to service. for example. Information brokers. given some constraint such as a low price. NOTES 1.8. fast service. or profit maximization for a client. As on-line databases migrate to consumer information utilities. consumers and information professionals will have to keep up with the knowledge.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT Given this situation and faced with the need to reduce costs. In essence. These tools include software agents. time-delayed updates or future compensating transactions. For instance. service integration allows one to link the hedging program (offered on a time-sharing basis by a third party) with the search program (could be another vendor) that finds the currency rates from the cheapest on-line service to automatically send trades to the bank or financial services company. Another aspect of the brokerage function is the support for data management and traditional transaction services. software agents are used to implement information brokerages. For example. and performing transactions. negotiating deals. to use the more popular term-that act on the searcher’s behalf. 30. Software agents are mobile programs that have been called “healthy viruses. and the declarative resource constraint base which describes a business’s rules and-environment information. In other words. information is retrieved about the latest currency exchange rates in order to hedge currency holdings to minimize risk and maximize profit.DBA 1727 NOTES will have to be software programs-information brokers or software agents.” “digital butlers/” and “intelligent agents. Although the notion of software agents sounds very seductive. Information brokerages dispatch agents capable of information resource gathering. The agents are intelligent because they have contingency plans of action. service integration becomes critical. suppose you send an agent to an on-line store with a request to order a bouquet of roses for Rs. depending on prior instructions. In effect. the act of retrieving the information is the input to other transactions. it will take a while to solve the problems of interregna 18 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . distributed query generator. Brokerages may provide tools to accomplish more sophisticated. If the shop offers roses starting at Rs. Taking the same foreign exchange example further. 25 or less.” Agents are encapsulations of users’ instruction that perform all kinds of tasks in electronic market places spread across networks. It addresses the issue of adding value to the information that is retrieved. At the heart of this layer lies the work-flow scripting environment built on a software agent model that coordinates work and data flow among support services. Information brokerage does more than just searching. a personalized automated trading system can be created without having to go to any financial institution. As pointed out earlier. the distributed transaction generator. in foreign exchange trading. With multiple transactions being the norm in the real world. your agent can either choose a different bouquet or find a different store by consulting an online “Yellow Pages” directory. This is just one example of how information brokerages can add value. They examine themselves and their environment and if necessary change from their original course of action to an alternative plan. 1. Interactive catalogs are the customized interface to consumer applications such as home shopping. Yet until electronic commerce services are up and running on a large scale. An interactive catalog is an extension of the paper-based catalog and incorporates additional features such as sophisticated graphics and video to make the advertising more attractive. These two concepts are very different. The primary difference between the two is that unlike interactive catalogs. the prospect of a single-agent language like Telescript as a world standard is disturbing. To some critics. operate behind the scenes and attempt to organize the enormous amount of information and transactions generated to facilitate electronic commerce. They worry that agents sound a bit too much like computer viruses. we can expect that there will be no one common user interface that will glaze the surface of all electronic commerce applications. take the case of buying an airline ticket with several stopovers with the caveat that the time between layovers be minimized. which deal with people. From a computing perspective.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT communication. 1. be coordinated with the amount of time spent in the air-port terminals. they need not have the multimedia glitter and jazz generally associated with interactive catalogs. it is impossible to know how well software agents will work. directory support services interact directly with soft-ware applications. on the other hand. Tool developers 19 NOTES ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . Directories.8. directories would play an important role in information management functions. In the case of electronic commerce. Directory services databases make data from any server appear as a local file. interface and support services will provide interfaces for electronic commerce applications such as interactive catalogs and will sup-port directory servicesfunctions necessary for information search and access. For instance. which instead of running errands may run amok. the “self-destruct” mechanism built into their codes. A classic example of a directory is the telephone White Pages. which allows us to locate people and telephone numbers. This search would require several queries to various online directories to-find empty seats on various airlines and then the avail-ability of seats would. and other headaches that come with distributed computing and net-working.3 Interface and Support Services The third layer. For this reason. but graphics and object manipulation will definitely dominate. Vendors such as General Magic go to great lengths to explain the precautions it has taken to make this impossible: the limits placed on the power of agents. interoperable agents. work continues (software doesn’t wait for a response). In general. 20 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . and form-based systems like Lotus Notes. not tomorrow when the courier service would deliver. but he forgot to let you know. when a message is sent.4 Secure Messaging and Structured Document Interchange Services The importance of the fourth layer. and invoices. Messaging services offer solutions for communicating non formatted (unstructured) data-letters. receive. This must be done today. Consider a familiar business scenario: You hand over an urgent fax Monday and find out Tuesday that it’s still sitting on your fax operator’s desk. and combine messages. they are more enablers of the applications that solve problems. enhanced fax. e-mail. and large data files. is clear. divorcing you from the architectural primitives of your system. It’s called Integrated Messaging: a group of computer services that through the use of a network send. With asynchronous messaging. Others define messaging as a frame-work for the total implementation of portable applications. Or you’re in London and you need to send a spreadsheet that details a marketing plan for a product introduction strategy to a co-worker in New York. Unstructured messaging consists of fax. masking the peculiarities of the environment. 1. Or.8. the number was wrong. and reports as weft asformatted (structured) data such as purchase orders.This allows the transfer of messages through store-and-forward methods. Messaging is gaining momentum in electronic commerce and seems to have many advantages. shipping notices. Broadly defined. Everyone in business knows that electronic messaging is a critical business issue. secured messaging. Some better-known examples are electronic mail. and electronic data interchange. What happened? The line was busy and he thought he’d try again later. messaging is the software that sits between the network infrastructure and the clients or electronic commerce applications. Structured documents messaging consist of the automated inter-change of standardized and approved messages between computer applications. faxes. It supports both synchronous (immediate) and asynchronous (delayed) message delivery and processing. memos. messaging products are not applications that solve problems. but the shape of catalogs or directories will depend on the users’ desires and functional requirements. There is a solution to these common and frustrating problems. via telecommunications lines.1.DBA 1727 NOTES and designers might incorporate common tools for interface building. Examples of structured document messaging include EDI. So one person can start the form. No pre-processing is necessary. mail it to the next. The main disadvantages of messaging are the new types of applications it enableswhich appear to be more complex. networks that permitted shared resources and applications that could be accessed by 21 NOTES ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . the messages are treated as “objects” that pass between systems. Because of the lack of standards. when vendors. This is known as message-enabled work-flow solutions. The ability to access the right information at the right time across diverse work groups is a challenge. As the cry for distributed computing spread. Like so many other innovations. Messaging is central to work-group computing that is changing the way businesses operate. Users in the 1970s. although there is an increasing need for programs to interpret the message. especially to traditional programmers and the jungle of standards it involves. transformation. the backlog was enormous.1. fill it in/ sign it. users demanded interaction between dissimilar systems. translation. Also. client-server technology. didn’t have a need for middleware3&heR conditions changed-along with the hardware and the software the organizations couldn’t cope: The tools were inadequate. the problems of getting all the pieces to work together grew from formidable to horrendous.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT Another advantage of messaging is that it is not associated with any particular communication protocol. the information travels along with the form. Something was needed to solve all the interface. In distributed systems. 1. and confidentiality through data encryption and authentication techniques are important issues that need to be resolved for ensuring the legality of the message-based transactions themselves. delivered homogeneous systems that worked. and so on. and all other forms of communicating between/among unlike platforms. Messaging is well suited for both client server and peer-to-peer computing models. it came into being out of necessity. the users were dissatisfied.8. security. When an employee sends an electronic mail form. mail it to the next person. Today. With the growth of networks. and the pressure was overwhelming. there is often no interoperability between different messaging vendors leading to islands of messaging. and interpretation problems that were driving application developers crazy. with the messaging tools. privacy. And. people can communicate and work together more effectively-no matter where they are located.5 Middleware Services Middleware is a relatively new concept that emerged only recently. and other resources across collections of multi-vendor. Transaction integrity must be a given for businesses that cannot afford any loss or inconsistency in data. Another reason for middleware is the computing shift from application centric to data centric. The strategic architectures of every major system vendor are now based on some form of middleware. Transparency is essential for dealing with higher-level issues than physical media and interconnection that the underlying network infrastructure is in charge of. The ideal picture is one of a “virtual” network: a collection of workgroup. For electronic commerce. The key to realizing the theoretical benefit of such architecture is transparency. That is. Some commercial sites have had gigantic centralized TP systems running for years. departmental. heterogeneous systems. In simple terms. which then satisfies the request any way it can. Transparency is accomplished using middleware that facilitates a distributed computing environment. enterprise. computation. middleware services focus on three elements: transparency. To achieve data-centric computing. remote data controls all of the applications in the network instead of applications controlling data. Security and management are essential to all layers in the electronic commerce model.DBA 1727 NOTES multiple software programs. The goal is for the applications to send a request to the middleware layer. middleware provides the qualities expected in 22 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . and inter enterprise LANs that appears to the end user or client application to be a seamless and easily accessed whole. two broad general categories of security services exist: authentication and authorization. and distributed object management and services. This gives users and applications transparent access to data. Transaction Security and Management Support for transaction processing (TP) is fundamental to success in the electronic commerce market. transaction security and management. middleware is the ultimate mediator between diverse software pro-grams that enables them talk to one another. At the transaction security level. Transparency Transparency implies that users should be unaware that they are accessing multiple systems. Nor should application developers have to code into their applications the exact locations of resources over the network. Users need not spend their time trying to understand where something is. using remote information. Last but not the least is the Network Infrastructure. and presentation package. Today. to a word processing tool bar. The best example of this approach is an active document. isolation. Objects are defined as the combination of data and instructions acting on the data. 1. Distributed Object Management and Services Object orientation is proving fundamental to the proliferation of network-based applications for the following reasons: It is too hard to write a net-work-based application without either extensive developer retraining or a technology that camouflages the intricacies of the network. Advertising done well on the web can get even a small firm’s promotional message out to potential customers in every country in the world. Electronic Commerce increases the speed and accuracy with which businesses can exchange information. Businesses can use electronic commerce to identify new suppliers and business partners. These applications will also be able to access and retrieve data from any file in the computing network. which reduces costs on both sides of transactions.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT a standard TP sys-tem: the so-called ACID properties (atomicity. consistency. or video toward integrated documents known as com-pound document architectures. If you create a new document that is an integration of the spreadsheet. and durability). the tool bar will automatically change from a spreadsheet too bar. what you’ll see in the next generation of operating systems is that as you scroll through your document. A natural instance of an object in electronic commerce is a document. Objects are an evolution of the more traditional programming concept of functions and procedures. 23 NOTES ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . Here. pictures. the trend is to move away from single data-type documents such as text. to a presentation package tool bar. the term object is being used interchangeably with document resulting in a new form of computing called document oriented computing.1.9 Advantages of E-Commerce     Electronic Commerce can increase sales and decrease costs. which will be dealt in this unit later. word processor. A document carries data and often carries instructions about the actions to be performed on the data. 10 Disadvantages of E-Commerce  Some business processes such as perishable foods and high-cost. Electronic payments of tax refunds. which are a function of technology. Firms facing difficulty of integrating existing databases and transactionprocessing software designed for traditional commerce into the software that enables electronic commerce. it is worthwhile to examine today’s business environment so let us understand the pressures it creates on organizations and the responses used by organizations. 1. design and business process skills needed to create an effective electronic commerce presence. Costs.DBA 1727 NOTES   E-Commerce provides buyers with a wider range of choices than traditional commerce because buyers can consider many different products and services from a wider variety of sellers. Consumers are fearful of sending their credit card numbers over the Internet and having online merchants. Companies that offer software design and consulting services to tie existing systems into new online business systems can be expensive.1. can change dramatically even during short-lived electronic commerce implementation projects because the technologies are changing so rapidly. public retirement and welfare support cost less to issue and arrive securely and quickly when transmitted over the Internet. Consumers are simply resistant to change and are uncomfortable viewing merchandise on a computer screen rather than in person.2 DRIVING FORCES OF E-COMMERCE E-Commerce is becoming popular.      24 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . 1. Many firms have trouble recruiting and retaining employees with the technological. unique items such as custom-designed jewelry might be impossible to inspect adequately from a remote location. economical. creating new products or providing superb customer service. External integration refers to the electronic networking of corporations. 25 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . societal and technological factors are creating a highly competitive business environment in which consumers are the focal point. lower global information sharing and advertising costs. Economic Forces One of the most evident benefits of e-commerce is economic efficiency resulting from the reduction in communications costs. speedier and more economic electronic transactions with suppliers. is the networking of the various departments within a corporation. Lower sales costs: increase in the customer volume do not need an increase in staff as the sales function is housed in the computer and has virtually unlimited accessibility Lower ordering processing cost: online ordering can be automated with checks to ensure that orders are correct before accepting.2. and independent contractors into one community communicating in a virtual environment (with the Internet as medium). customers/clients. sometimes in an unpredictable manner and therefore companies need to react frequently not only in the traditional actions such as lowering cost and closing unprofitable facilities but also innovative activities such as customizing products. This allows critical business information to be stored in a digital form that can be retrieved instantly and transmitted electronically. thus reducing errors and the cost of correcting them. on the other hand. and cheaper customer service alternatives. New sales opportunities: the website is accessible all the time and reaches the global audience which is not possible with traditional storefront. low-cost technological infrastructure. suppliers. Categories of Economic Forces   Lower marketing costs: marketing on the Internet maybe cheaper and can reach a wider crowd than the normal marketing medium. NOTES   Economic integration is either external or internal. These factors change quickly. Internal integration.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT 1.1 Environmental factors that create Business Pressures: Market. and of business operations and processes. Internal integration is best exemplified by corporate intranets. The e-hub serves as the centre for management of content and the processing of business transactions with support services such as financial clearance and information services. It is a lot easier for companies to provide their target consumers with more detailed product and service information using the Internet. easier. From the standpoint of firms/ businesses and consumers. television broadcast. Market Forces Corporations are encouraged to use e-commerce in marketing and promotion to capture international markets. and Internet access is eliminated. both big and small. IBM. having only one information provider means lower communications costs. cable television. The Internet is likewise used as a medium for enhanced customer service and support. 26 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . frequent and significant changes in markets and increased power of consumers are the reasons to create market forces.NET: Linking Asian Markets through B2B Hubs SESAMi. vertical and industry-specific interoperable B2B e-markets across the globe. a virtual exchange integrating and connecting businesses (small. Technology Forces The development of information and communications technology (ICT) is a key factor in the growth of ecommerce. Strong competition between organizations. e-marketplaces and internal enterprise systems for the purpose of sourcing out supplies. It is strategically and dynamically linked to the Global Trading Web (GTW). This in turn has made communication more efficient. and more economical as the need to set up separate networks for telephone services. the world’s largest network of trading communities on the Internet. SESAMi reaches an extensive network of regional. medium or large) to trading partners. Nestle and Intel. compression and the promotion of open systems technology have paved the way for the convergence of communication services into one single platform.NET is Asia’s largest B2B e-hub. buying and selling goods and services online in real time.DBA 1727 NOTES Among the companies with efficient corporate intranets are Procter and Gamble. SESAMi. extremely low labor cost in some countries. For instance. EG. Because of this very important link. faster. technological advances in digitizing content. 2 Critical response activities by Organizations: A response can be a reaction to a pressure already in existence. Organizations’ major responses are divided into five categories: strategic systems for competitive advantage. Installing landlines in rural areas can become more attractive to the private sector if revenues from these landlines are not limited to local and long distance telephone charges. These several responses can be interrelated and Ecommerce can also facilitate the other categories. it becomes necessary to review the factors that create societal and environmental forces. continuous improvement efforts. Strategic Systems Strategic systems provide organizations with strategic advantages. business process reengineering (BPR).2. business alliances and EC. This development will ensure affordable access to information even by those in rural areas and will spare the government the trouble and cost of installing expensive landlines Societal and environmental forces To understand the role of E-commerce in today’s organizations. better negotiate with their suppliers. or it can be an initiative that will defend an organization against future pressures. It can also be an activity that exploits an opportunity created by changing conditions. but also include cable TV and Internet charges. thus enabling them to increase their market share. or prevent 27 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . At present the high costs of installing landlines in sparsely populated rural areas is incentive to telecommunications companies to install telephones in these areas.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT Moreover.       Changing nature of workforce Government deregulations Shrinking government subsidies Increased importance of ethical and legal issues Increased social responsibility of organizations Rapid political changes NOTES 1. the principle of universal access can be made more achievable with convergence. The four categories are described below. Business Process Reengineering (BPR) Business Process Reengineering refers to a major innovation in the organization’s structure and the way it conducts business. Most of FedEx’s competitors have already mimicked the system. and determining production schedules and deliveries accordingly. Similarly. An example is FedEx’s overnight delivery system and the company’s ability to track the status of every individual package anywhere in the system. the competitors quickly followed and now FedEx is introducing new activities. reducing the time from the inception of an idea until its implementation— 28 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . using its extranets. permits faster delivery to customers and supports rapid and paperless transactions among suppliers. So FedEx moved the system to the Internet. many companies continuously conduct innovative programs. manufacturers and retailers. Continuous Improvement Efforts In order to improve the company’s productivity and quality. The major areas in which E-Commerce supports BPR are  Reducing cycle time and time to market: Reducing the business process time (cycle time) is extremely important for increasing productivity and competitiveness. The efforts taken by companies for continuous improvement are       Improved productivity Improved decision making Managing Information Change in management Customer service Innovation and Creativity.DBA 1727 NOTES competitors from entering into their territory. Dell Computer takes its orders electronically and improved moves them via Enterprise Resources Planning software (from SAP Corp. almost in real time. There is a variety of EC supported strategic systems. However. Electronic Commerce provides flexibility in manufacturing. Information technology and especially EC play a major role in BPR. For example. Intel is taking its products’ consumption in 11 of its largest customers.) into the just-in-time assembly operation. integration with business processes. limited-time mission.2. it’s community. items are produced in a large quantity but are customized to fit the desires of each customer. In mass production. And. in which companies form a special organization for a specific. Customer-focused approach: Companies are becoming increasingly customer oriented. Knowledge management: Employees can access organizational know-how via their company’s intranet. Electronic commerce is an ideal facilitator of mass customization. One of the most interesting types is the temporary joint venture. enjoy a distinct competitive advantage. and overall performance matter. Information Technology allows the decentralization of decision making and authority but simultaneously supports a centralized control. We certainly have the technology to build great business-to-consumer and business-tobusiness ecommerce applications into our business models. attributes such as viable application design. such as sharing resources. For example.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT    time to market—is important because those who can be first on the market with a product. or who can provide customers with a service faster than competitors. Empowerment of employees and collaborative work: Empowerment is related to the concept of self-directed teams. Management delegates authority to teams who can execute the work faster and with fewer delays. This can be done in part by changing manufacturing processes from mass production to mass customization. Some knowledge bases are open to the public for a fee over the Internet. establishing permanent supplier-company relationships and creating joint research efforts. generating income.3 E-Commerce Communities What it is that will drive e-commerce in the future? — in a word. even competitors can be beneficial. yes. 1. information and knowledge they need for making quick decisions. 29 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . NOTES Business alliances Many companies realize that alliances with other companies. There are several types of alliances. a company produces a large quantity of identical items. In mass customization. the Internet and the intranets enable empowered employees to access data. Online conversation with business partners will also give net positive results. It includes any process that a business organization (either a for-profit.2. which include procurement. governmental or non-profit entity) conducts over a computer-mediated network. instant messaging. ICT is used to enhance one’s business. A more comprehensive definition of e-business is: “The transformation of an organization’s processes to deliver additional customer value through the application of technologies.4 Is e-Commerce the Same as e-Business? While some use e-commerce and e-business interchangeably. processing of payments. we believe community solutions will soon become more integrated and far-reaching. Building community has to be at the heart of any successful ecommerce strategy. on the other hand. philosophies and computing paradigm of the new economy. In e-commerce. two-way mailing lists. electronic links with suppliers. This will also serve to potentially drive new business opportunities for both parties. A private discussion area or secured online meetings can go a long way toward building stronger relationships between companies.” Three primary processes are enhanced in e-business: 1. and production control processes. and more. online collaboration tools. 1. chat functions. ordering and replenishment of stocks. Production processes. You may choose to invest slowly at first and increase your community commitment over time. video. 30 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . audio. The tools that form online communities include discussion or forum software. Such a strategy currently requires multiple technical approaches. In e-business. among others. they are distinct concepts.DBA 1727 NOTES A successful community strategy must embrace the idea of moving the one-onone communication that occurs offline into the virtual world of e-commerce. However. information and communications technology (ICT) is used in inter-business or inter-organizational transactions (transactions between and among firms/ organizations) and in business-to-consumer transactions (transactions between firms/ organizations and individuals). 2. Customer-focused processes, which include promotional and marketing efforts, selling over the Internet, processing of customers’ purchase orders and payments, and customer support, among others; and 3. Internal management processes, which include employee services, training, internal information-sharing, videoconferencing, and recruiting. Electronic applications enhance information flow between production and sales forces to improve sales force productivity. Workgroup communications and electronic publishing of internal business information are likewise made more efficient. The Internet economy pertains to all economic activities using electronic networks as a medium for commerce or those activities involved in both building the networks linked to the Internet and the purchase of application services such as the provision of enabling hardware and software and network equipment for Web-based/online retail and shopping malls (or “e-malls”). 1.3 BENEFITS AND LIMITATIONS OF E-COMMERCE Few innovations in human history encompass as many potential benefits as EC does. The global nature of the technology, low cost, opportunity to reach hundreds of millions of people (projected within 10 years), interactive nature, variety of possibilities, and resourcefulness and rapid growth of the supporting infrastructures (especially the Web) result in many potential benefits to organizations, individuals, and society. These benefits are just starting to materialize, but they will increase significantly as EC expands. 1.3.1 The Benefits of EC       The new markets could be accessed through the online and extending the service offerings to customers globally. Internet shrinks the globe and broaden current geographical parameters to operate globally Marketing and promotional campaigns can be done globally at the reduced cost. Retaining the customer and the customer services could be improved drastically. Strengthen relationships with customers and suppliers ? Streamline business processes and administrative functions DBA 1727   No added sales staff A catalogue which is quickly and easily updateable. This means that when prices or stocks are changed, you don’t have to have hundreds or thousands of obsolete catalogues lying around. You don’t have to wait for the printer to deliver the catalogue before the new prices can come into effect. The facility to advertise daily, weekly or monthly ‘specials’ and sales, or any special discounts - and they can be changed within minutes, when and if necessary. You can also add a marketing message which highlights your strengths, such as the range and quality of your products or services - or anything else you want to tell your customers. Benefits to Organizations  Electronic commerce expands the marketplace to national and international markets. With minimal capital outlay, a company can easily and quickly locate more customers, the best suppliers, and the most suitable business partners worldwide. Electronic commerce decreases the cost of creating, processing, distributing, storing, and retrieving paper-based information. For example, by introducing an electronic procurement system, companies can cut the purchasing administrative costs by as much as 85 percent. Ability for creating highly specialized businesses. For example, dog toys which can be purchased only in pet shops or department and discount stores in the physical world, are sold now in a specialized www.dogtoys.com Electronic commerce allows reduced inventories and overhead by facilitating “pull”-type supply chain management. In a pull-type system the process starts from customer orders and uses just-in-time manufacturing. Electronic commerce reduces the time between the outlay of capital and the receipt of products and services. Electronic commerce initiates business processes reengineering projects. By changing processes, productivity of salespeople, knowledge workers, and administrators can increase by 100 percent or more. Electronic commerce lowers telecommunications cost-the Internet is much cheaper than VANs.   Other benefits include improved image, improved customer service, newfound business partners, simplified processes, compressed cycle and delivery time, increased productivity, eliminating paper, expediting access to information, reduced transportation costs, and increased flexibility. NOTES Benefits to Consumers   Electronic commerce enables customers to shop or do other transactions 24 hours a day, all year round, from almost any location. Electronic commerce provides customers with more choices; they can select. Electronic commerce frequently provides customers with less expensive products and services by allowing them to shop in many places and conduct quick comparisons. In some cases, especially with digitized products, EC allows quick delivery. Customers can receive relevant and detailed information in seconds, rather than days or weeks. Electronic commerce makes it possible to participate in virtual auctions. Electronic commerce allows customers to interact with other customers in electronic communities and exchange ideas as well as compare experiences. Electronic commerce facilitates competition, which results in substantial discounts.      Benefits to Society  Electronic commerce enables more individuals to work at home and to do less travelling for shopping, resulting in less traffic on the roads and lower air pollution. Electronic commerce allows some merchandise to be sold at lower prices, so less affluent people can buy more and increase their standard of living. Electronic commerce enables people in Third World countries and rural areas to enjoy products and services that otherwise are not available to them. Electronic commerce facilitates delivery of public services, such as health care, education, and distribution of government social services at a reduced cost and/or improved quality. Health-care services, for example, can reach patients in rural areas.    DBA 1727 1.3.2 The Limitations of EC The limitations of EC can be grouped into technical and non-technical categories. Technical Limitations of EC       There is a lack of system security, reliability, standards, and some communication protocols. Insufficient telecommunication bandwidth. The software development tools are still evolving and changing rapidly. It is difficult to integrate the Internet and EC software with some existing applications and databases. Vendors may need special Web servers and other infrastructures, in addition to the network servers. Some EC software might not fit some hardware, or may be incompatible with some operating systems or other components. Non-technical Limitations Of the many non-technical limitations that slow the spread of EC, the following are the major ones.  Cost and justification: The cost of developing EC in-house can be very high, and mistakes due to lack of experience may result in delays. There are many opportunities for outsourcing, but where and how to do it is not a simple issue. Furthermore, to justify the system one must deal with some intangible benefits (such as improved customer service and the value of advertisement), which are difficult to quantify. Security and privacy: These issues are especially important in the B2C area, especially security issues which are perceived to be more serious than they really are when appropriate encryption is used. Privacy measures are constantly improved. Yet, the customers perceive these issues as very important, and, the EC industry has a very long and difficult task of convincing customers that online transactions and privacy are, in fact, very secure. Lack of trust and user resistance: Customers do not trust an unknown faceless seller (sometimes they do not trust even known ones), paperless        transactions, and electronic money. So switching from physical to virtual stores may be difficult. Other limiting factor:. Lack of touch and feel online. Some customers like to touch items such as clothes and like to know exactly what they are buying. Many legal issues are as yet unresolved, and government regulations and standards are not refined enough for many circumstances. Electronic commerce, as a discipline, is still evolving and changing rapidly. Many people are looking for a stable area before they enter into it. There are not enough support services. For example, copyright clearance centres for EC transactions do not exist, and high-quality evaluators, or qualified EC tax experts, are rare. In most applications there are not yet enough sellers and buyers for profitable EC operations. Electronic commerce could result in a breakdown of human relationships. Accessibility to the Internet is still expensive and/or inconvenient for many potential customers. (With Web TV, cell telephone access, kiosks, and constant media attention, the critical mass will eventually develop.) Despite these limitations, rapid progress in EC is taking place. For example, the number of people in the United States who buy and sell stocks electronically increased from 300,000 at the beginning of 1996 to about 10 million in fall 1999. As experience accumulates and technology improves, the ratio of EC benefits to costs will increase, resulting in a greater rate of EC adoption. The potential benefits may not be convincing enough reasons to start EC activities 1.4 DATA MINING 1.4.1 Introduction to Data Mining Data mining, the extraction of hidden predictive information from large databases, is a powerful new technology with great potential to help companies focus on the most important information in their data warehouses. Data mining tools predict future trends and behaviours, allowing businesses to make proactive, knowledge-driven decisions. The automated, prospective analyses offered by data mining move beyond the analyses of past events provided by retrospective tools typical of decision support systems. Data mining tools can answer business questions that traditionally were too time-consuming to resolve. They scour databases for hidden patterns, finding predictive information that experts may miss because it lies outside their expectations. DBA 1727 Most companies already collect and refine massive quantities of data. Data mining techniques can be implemented rapidly on existing software and hardware platforms to enhance the value of existing information resources, and can be integrated with new products and systems as they are brought on-line. What is Data Mining? Data mining is the semi-automatic discovery of patterns, associations, changes, anomalies, rules, and statistically significant structures and events in data. That is, data mining attempts to extract knowledge from data. Data mining differs from traditional statistics in several ways: formal statistical inference is assumption driven in the sense that a hypothesis is formed and validated against the data. Data mining in contrast is discovery driven in the sense that patterns and hypothesis are automatically extracted from data. Said another way, data mining is data driven, while statistics is human driven. The branch of statistics that data mining resembles most is exploratory data analysis, although this field, like most of the rest of statistics, has been focused on data sets far smaller than most that are the target of data mining researchers. Data mining also differs from traditional statistics in that sometimes the goal is to extract qualitative models which can easily be translated into logical rules or visual representations; in this sense data mining is human centered and is sometimes coupled with human-computer interfaces research. Data mining is a step in the data mining process, which is an interactive, semiautomated process which begins with raw data. Results of the data mining process may be insights, rules, or predictive models. The field of data mining draws upon several roots, including statistics, machine learning, databases, and high performance computing. Here, we are primarily concerned with large data sets, massive data sets, and distributed data sets. By large, we mean data sets which are too large to fit into the memory of a single workstation. By massive, we mean data sets which are too large to fit onto the disks of a single workstation or a small cluster of workstations. Instead, massive clusters or tertiary storage such as tape are required. By distributed, we mean data sets which are geographically distributed. 1. it is an essential feature of induction of expressive representations from raw data. and identifying segments of a population likely to respond similarly to given events. An example of pattern discovery is the analysis of retail sales data to identify seemingly unrelated products that are often purchased together. Other predictive problems include forecasting bankruptcy and other forms of default. Data mining uses data on past promotional mailings to identify the targets most likely to maximize return on investment in future mailings. Faster processing means that users can automatically experiment with more models to understand complex data. A typical example of a predictive problem is targeted marketing. Data mining automates the process of finding predictive information in large databases. Otherwise.4. It is only by analyzing large data sets that we can produce accurate logical descriptions that can be translated automatically into powerful predictive mechanisms. High speed makes it practical for users to analyze huge quantities of data. Automated discovery of previously unknown patterns. and can be implemented on new systems as existing platforms are upgraded and new products developed. Given databases of sufficient size and quality. Other pattern discovery problems include detecting fraudulent credit card transactions and identifying anomalous data that could represent data entry keying errors. When data mining tools are implemented on high performance parallel processing systems. Larger databases. or intelligently probing it to find exactly where the value resides. yield improved predictions. in turn. they can analyze massive databases in minutes. statistical and machine learning principles suggest the need for substantial user input (specifying meta-knowledge necessary to acquire highly predictive models from small data sets).E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT The focus on large data sets is not a just an engineering challenge.2 The Scope of Data Mining Data mining derives its name from the similarities between searching for valuable business information in a large database — for example. data mining technology can generate new business opportunities by providing these capabilities:  Automated prediction of trends and behaviours. 37 NOTES   ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . Data mining tools sweep through databases and identify previously hidden patterns in one step. Both processes require either shifting through an immense amount of material. Data mining techniques can yield the benefits of automation on existing software and hardware platforms. finding linked products in gigabytes of store scanner data — and mining a mountain for a vein of valuable ore. These capabilities are now evolving to integrate directly with industry-standard data warehouse and OLAP platforms.    Many of these technologies have been in use for more than a decade in specialized analysis tools that work with relatively small volumes of data.4 How Data Mining Works The technique that is used to perform these feats in data mining is called modeling. mutation. Decision trees: Tree-shaped structures that represent sets of decisions. and natural selection in a design based on the concepts of evolution.3 Techniques used in Data Mining The most commonly used techniques in data mining are:   Artificial neural networks: Non-linear predictive models that learn through training and resemble biological neural networks in structure. With these models in hand you sail off looking for treasure where your model indicates it most likely 38 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . These decisions generate rules for the classification of a dataset. Nearest neighbour method: A technique that classifies each record in a dataset based on a combination of the classes of the k record(s) most similar to it in a historical dataset (where k ³ 1). Genetic algorithms: Optimization techniques that use processes such as genetic combination. if you were looking for a sunken Spanish galleon on the high seas the first thing you might do is to research the times when Spanish treasure had been found by others in the past. Modeling is simply the act of building a model in one situation where you know the answer and then applying it to another situation that you don’t. You note these similarities and build a model that includes the characteristics that are common to the locations of these sunken treasures. Sometimes called the k-nearest neighbour technique. For instance.4. You might note that these ships often tend to be found off the coast of Bermuda and that there are certain characteristics to the ocean currents. 1. Rule induction: The extraction of useful if-then rules from data based on statistical significance. Specific decision tree methods include Classification and Regression Trees (CART) and Chi Square Automatic Interaction Detection (CHAID) . and certain routes that have likely been taken by the ship’s captains in that era.4.DBA 1727 NOTES 1. however. This act of model building is thus something that people have been doing for a long time. You could just randomly go out and mail coupons to the general population . if you’ve got a good model. is not much different than the way people build models. For example. you find your treasure.4.4. As the marketing director you have access to a lot of information about all of your customers: their age. Table 1. Table 1. credit history etc. Your problem is that you don’t know the long distance calling usage of these prospects (since they are most likely now customers of your competition).(a) . Once the model is built it can then be used in similar situations where you don’t know the answer.just as you could randomly sail the seas looking for sunken treasure. What happens on computers. The good news is that you also have a lot of information about your prospective customers: their age. say that you are the director of marketing for a telecommunications company and you’d like to acquire some new long distance phone customers.4. sex.(a) illustrates the data used for building a model for new customer prospecting in a data warehouse. You can accomplish this by building a model.you could use your business experience stored in your database to build a model. In neither case would you achieve the results you desired and of course you have the opportunity to do much better than random . sex. Computers are loaded up with lots of information about a variety of situations where an answer is known and then the data mining software on the computer must run through that data and distil the characteristics of the data that should go into the model. You’d like to concentrate on those prospects who have large amounts of long distance usage.Data Mining for Prospecting NOTES 39 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI .4.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT might be given a similar situation in the past. credit history and long distance calling usage. Hopefully. certainly before the advent of computers or data mining technology. (b) .DBA 1727 NOTES The goal in prospecting is to make some calculated guesses about the information in the lower right hand quadrant based on the model that we build going from Customer General Information to Customer Proprietary Information.4. With data mining. 40 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . Table 1.(b) shows another common scenario for building models: predict what is going to happen in the future. Mining the results of a test market representing a broad but relatively small sample of prospects can provide a foundation for identifying good prospects in the overall market. If the model works.4. Table 1. the results can be tested against the data held in the vault to confirm the model’s validity.Data Mining for Predictions If someone told you that he had a model that could predict customer usage how would you know if he really had a good model? The first thing you might try would be to ask him to apply his model to your customer base .4. Once the mining is complete.4. the best way to accomplish this is by setting aside some of your data in a vault to isolate it from the mining process. its observations should hold for the vaulted data.where you already knew the answer. Test marketing is an excellent source of data for this kind of modeling. the attributes of customers with an affinity for the product can be identified. Using data mining to analyze its own customer experience. Applying this segmentation to a general business database such as those provided by Dun & Bradstreet can yield a prioritized list of prospects by region. Using a small test mailing. shipments. retention. Recent projects have indicated more than a 20fold decrease in costs for targeted mailing campaigns over conventional approaches. Data from consumer panels. The results can be distributed to the sales force via a wide-area network that enables the representatives to review the recommendations from the perspective of the key attributes in the decision process. Two critical factors for success with data mining are: a large. and 41 NOTES    ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI .5 Profitable Applications A wide range of companies have deployed successful applications of data mining. A large consumer package goods company can apply data mining to improve its sales process to retailers.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT 1. campaign management. A diversified transportation company with a large direct sales force can apply data mining to identify the best prospects for its services. While early adopters of this technology have tended to be in information-intensive industries such as financial services and direct mail marketing. and so on). the technology is applicable to any company looking to leverage a large data warehouse to better manage their customer relationships. The data needs to include competitor market activity as well as information about the local health care systems. well-integrated data warehouse and a well-defined understanding of the business process within which data mining is to be applied (such as customer prospecting. A credit card company can leverage its vast warehouse of customer transaction data to identify customers most likely to be interested in a new credit product.4. Some successful application areas include:  A pharmaceutical company can analyze its recent sales force activity and their results to improve targeting of high-value physicians and determine which marketing activities will have the greatest impact in the next few months. The ongoing. this company can build a unique segmentation identifying the attributes of high-value prospects. dynamic analysis of the data warehouse allows best practices from throughout the organization to be applied in specific sales situations. and design targeted marketing strategies to best reach them. or techniques. engineers. Hardware Trends. the analysis of this data. Through this analysis. during this same period the number of scientists. we describe five external trends which promise to have a fundamental impact on data mining. Data Trends. Data mining requires numerically and statistically intensive computations on large data sets. Only one conclusion is possible: either most of the data is destined to be write-only. and extract meaningful knowledge.D. the number of new Ph. They leverage the knowledge about customers implicit in a data warehouse to reduce costs and improve the value of customer relationships. 1. the commoditization of high performance computing through SMP workstations and high performance workstation clusters enables attacking data mining problems that were accessible using only the largest supercomputers of a few years ago. Each of these examples has a clear common ground. Perhaps the most fundamental external trend is the explosion of digital data during the past two decades. must be developed. Much of this data is accessible via networks.DBA 1727 NOTES  competitor activity can be applied to understand the reasons for brand and store switching. During this period. in part.6 Trends that Effect Data Mining In this section. filter irrelevant information. These organizations can now focus their efforts on the most important (profitable) customers and prospects. 42 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI .’s in statistics graduating each year has remained relatively constant during this period. which can automate. the manufacturer can select promotional strategies that best reach their target customer segments. On the other hand. In addition. the amount of data probably has grown between six to ten orders of magnitude. and other analysts available to analyze this data has remained relatively constant. The increasing memory and processing speed of workstations enables the mining of data sets using current algorithms and techniques that were too large to be mined just a few years ago.4. For example. such as data mining. new protocols. In addition. scientists and engineers today view simulation as a third mode of science. Data mining and knowledge discovery serves an important role linking the three modes of science: theory. It provides tools to satisfy the information needs of the employees organizational levels-not just for complex data queries.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT Network Trends. react quicker. With these types of expectations and constraints. accurate and often insightful 43 NOTES ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . A data warehouse is a subject-oriented repository designed with enterprise-wide access in mind. A data warehouse is a collection of computer-based information that is critical to successful execution of enterprise initiatives. With this type of connectivity. Business Trends.5 DATE WAREHOUSING 1.1 What Is Data Warehousing? The primary concept of data warehousing is that the data stored for business analysis can most effectively be accessed by separating it from the data in the operational systems. and do it all using fewer people and at lower cost. algorithms. The next generation internet (NGI) will connect sites at OC-3 (155 MBits/sec) speeds and higher. A data warehouse is more than an archive for corporate data and more than a new way of accessing corporate data. As mentioned above. Today businesses must be more profitable. Scientific Computing Trends. it becomes possible to correlate distributed data sets using current algorithms and techniques.5. data mining becomes a fundamental technology. 1. This is over 100 times faster than the connectivity provided by current networks. enabling businesses to more accurately predict opportunities and risks generated by their customers and their customers’ transactions. and languages are being developed to facilitate distributed data mining using current and next generation networks. and offer higher quality services than ever before. but as general facility for getting quick. especially for those cases in which the experiment or simulation results in large data sets. experiment and simulation. He defined the terms in the sentence as follows: Subject Oriented: Data that gives information about a particular subject instead of about a company’s ongoing operations. which he defined in the following way: “A warehouse is a subject-oriented. A data warehouse is typically a blending of technologies. including relational and multidimensional databases. time-variant and nonvolatile collection of data in support of management’s decision making process”. integrated. One of the principal reasons for developing a data warehouse is to integrate operational data from various sources into a single and consistent architecture that supports analysis and decision-making within the enterprise. A data warehouse is designed so that its users can recognize the information they want and access that information using simple tools. graphical user interfaces. client/ server architecture. update and delete production data that feed the data warehouse.2 Definitions Data Warehouse: The term Data Warehouse was coined by Bill Inmon in 1990. Operational systems create data ‘parts’ that are loaded into the warehouse. Some of those parts are summarised into information ‘components’ and are stored in the warehouse. Integrated: Data that is gathered into the data warehouse from a variety of sources and merged into a coherent whole. extraction / transformation programs. 44 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI .5.DBA 1727 NOTES information. 1. Data warehouse users make requests and are delivered information ‘products’ that are created from the components and parts stored in the warehouse. Time-variant: All data in the data warehouse is identified with a particular time period. A data warehouse is analogous to a physical warehouse. Operational systems create. and more. This definition remains reasonably accurate almost ten years later. However.Increased quality and flexibility of enterprise analysis arises from the multi . some intangible. This typically offers significant savings. It is the process of creating. Also.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT Non-volatile Data is stable in a data warehouse. every month the oldest month will be “rolled off” the database. For instance. Having a Data Warehouse also eliminates the resource drain on production systems when executing long . Ralph Kimball provided a much simpler definition of a data warehouse.5. a single-subject data warehouse is typically referred to as a data mart.level summary information. A data warehouse is “a copy o f transaction data specifically structured for query and analysis”. More data is added but data is never removed. Due to the large amount of storage required for a data warehouse. Data warehousing is essentially what you need to do in order to create a data warehouse. if three years of data are decided on and loaded into the warehouse. and what you do with it. data warehouses can be volatile.running. only a certain number of periods of history are kept in the warehouse.tired data structures of a Data Warehouse that supports data ranging from detailed transactional level to high . NOTES  45 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . Better enterprise intelligence . This definition provides less insight and depth than Mr. and the newest month added. populating. (multi-terabyte data warehouses are not uncommon). This enables management to gain a consistent picture of the business. but is no less accurate.A Data Warehouse allows reduction of staff and computer resources required to support queries and reports against operational and production databases. complex queries and reports.  More cost effective decision making . Guaranteed data accuracy and reliability result from ensuring that a Data Warehouse contains only ‘trusted’ data. and then querying a data warehouse and can involve a number of discrete technologies such as: 1. Inmon’s.3 ADVANTAGES OF DATA WAREHOUSE Implementing a Data warehouse provides significant benefits many tangible. while data warehouses are generally enterprise in scope. package. it contains the information required to find and access the actual data.DBA 1727 NOTES    Enhanced customer service . They are also called executive information systems (EIS) 46 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . and pre-process the data. along with schemas (information about data) and the processing logic used to organize. Information systems reengineering . business rules and processing logic required scrub. the organization builds a series of data libraries over time and eventually links them via an enterprise wide logical data warehouse. regional. package and pre-process the data for end user access. Data library: This is a subset of the enterprise wide data warehouse. Decision support systems (DSSs): These systems are not data warehouses but applications that make use of the data warehouse.wide data requirements provides a cost . In addition.Allowing unlimited analysis of enterprise information often provides insights into enterprise processes that may yield breakthrough ideas for reengineering those processes. 1. Typically.An enterprise can maintain better customer relationships by correlating all customer data via a single Data Warehouse architecture. Knowing what information is important to an enterprise will provide direction and priority for reengineering efforts. it performs the role of departmental.4 Types of Data warehouses: The term data warehouse is currently being used to describe a number of different facilities each with diverse characteristics. Physical data warehouse: This is an actual. Logical data warehouse: This contains all the metadata.A Data Warehouse that is based upon enterprise.5. Just defining the requirements for Data Warehouse. organize. wherever it actually resides. physical database into which all the corporate data for the data warehouse are gathered. results in better enterprise goals and measure. Business reengineering . Data Warehouse development can be an effective first step in reengineering the enterprise’s legacy systems.effective means of establishing both data standardization and operational system interoperability. or functional data warehouse. As part of the data warehouse process. 1.5.5 Aspects of Data Warehouse Architecture This list of aspects of architecture that the data warehouse decision maker will have to deal with themselves. There are many other architecture issues that affect the data warehouse, e.g., network topology, but these have to be made with all of an organization’s systems in mind (and with people other than the data warehouse team being the main decision makers.) Data consistency architecture This is the choice of what data sources, dimensions, business rules, semantics, and metrics an organization chooses to put into common usage. It is also the equally important choice of what data sources, dimensions, business rules, semantics, and metrics an organization chooses not to put into common usage. This is by far the hardest aspect of architecture to implement and maintain because it involves organizational politics. However, determining this architecture has more to do with determining the place of the data warehouse in your business than any other architectural decision. In my opinion, the decisions involved in determining this architecture should drive all other architectural decisions. Reporting data store and staging data store architecture The main reasons we store data in a data warehousing systems are so they can be: 1) reported against, 2) cleaned up, and (sometimes) 3) transported DBA 1727 Data modeling architecture This is the choice of whether you wish to use demoralized, normalized, objectoriented, proprietary multidimensional, etc. data models. As you may guess, it makes perfect sense for an organization to use a variety of models. Tool architecture This is your choice of the tools you are going to use for reporting and for what I call infrastructure. Processing tiers architecture This is your choice of what physical platforms will do what pieces of the concurrent processing that takes place when using a data warehouse. This can range from an architecture as simple as host-based reporting to one as complicated. Security architecture If you need to restrict access down to the row or field level, you will probably have to use some other means to accomplish this other than the usual security mechanisms at your organization. Note that while security may not be technically difficult to implement, it can cause political consternation. In the long run, decisions on data consistency architecture will probably have much more influence on the return of investment in the data warehouse than any other architectural decisions. To get the most return from a data warehouse (or any other system), business practices have to change in conjunction with or as a result of the system implementation. Conscious determination of data consistency architecture is almost always a prerequisite to using a data warehouse to effect business practice change. 1.6 NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE REQUIREMENTS The network infrastructure is the underlying foundation of the system. It forms the services that create the operating makeup of your network. In a Communications Services deployment, determining your network infrastructure from the project goals ensures that you will have an architecture that can scale and grow. 1.6.1 The Existing Network We need to understand our existing network infrastructure to determine how well it can meet the needs of our deployment goals. By examining our existing infrastructure, we identify if we need to upgrade existing network components or purchase new network components. We should build up a complete map of the existing network by covering these areas: 1. Physical communication links, such as cable length, grade, and so forth 2. Communication links, such as analog, ISDN, VPN, T3, and so forth, and available bandwidth and latency between sites 3. Server information, including:  Host names  IP addresses  Domain Name System (DNS) server for domain membership 4. Locations of devices on your network, including:  Hubs  Switches  Modems  Routers and bridges  Proxy servers 5. Number of users at each site, including mobile users DBA 1727 After completing this inventory, you need to review that information in conjunction with your project goals to determine what changes are required so that you can successfully deliver the deployment. 1.6.2 Network Infrastructure Components The following common network infrastructure components have a direct impact upon the success of your deployment:      Routers and switches Firewalls Load balancers Storage Area Network (SAN) DNS Routers and Switches Routers connect networks of your infrastructure, enabling systems to communicate. You need to ensure that the routers have spare capacity after the deployment to cope with projected growth and usage. In a similar vein, switches connect systems within a network. Routers or switches running at capacity tend to induce escalating bottlenecks, which result in significantly longer times for clients to submit messages to servers on different networks. In such cases, the lack of foresight or expenditure to upgrade the router or switch could have a personnel productivity impact far greater than the cost. Firewalls Firewalls sit between a router and application servers to provide access control. Firewalls were originally used to protect a trusted network (yours) from the untrusted network (the Internet). These days, it is becoming more common to protect application servers on their own (trusted, isolated) network from the untrusted networks (your network and the Internet). Router configurations add to the collective firewall capability by screening the data presented to the firewall. Router configurations can potentially block undesired services (such as NFS, NIS, and so forth) and use packet-level filtering to block traffic from untrusted hosts or networks. In addition, when installing a Sun server in an environment that is exposed to the Internet, or any untrusted network, reduce the Solaris software installation to the minimum number of packages necessary to support the applications to be hosted. Achieving minimization in services, libraries, and applications helps increase security by reducing the number of subsystems that must be maintained. The Solaris™ Security Toolkit provides a flexible and extensible mechanism to minimize, harden, and secure Solaris systems. Load Balancers Use load balancers to distribute overall load on your Web or application servers, or to distribute demand according to the kind of task to be performed. If, for example, you have a variety of dedicated applications and hence different application servers, you might use load balancers according to the kind of application the user requests. If you have multiple data centers, you should consider geographic load balancing. Geographic load balancing distributes load according to demand, site capacity, and closest location to the user. If one center should go down, the geographic load balancer provides failover ability. For load balancers on Web farms, place the hardware load balancers in front of the servers and behind routers because they direct routed traffic to appropriate servers. Software load balancing solutions reside on the Web servers themselves. With software solutions, one of the servers typically acts a traffic scheduler. A load balancing solution is able to read headers and contents of incoming packets. This enables you to balance load by the kind of information within the packet, including the user and the type of request. A load balancing solution that reads packet headers enables you to identify privileged users and to direct requests to servers handling specific tasks. Storage Area Networks (SANs) Understanding the data requirements of the storage system is necessary for a successful deployment. Increasingly, SANs are being deployed so that the storage is DBA 1727 independent of the servers used in conjunction with it. Deploying SANs can represent a decrease in the time to recover from a non-functional server as the machine can be replaced without having to relocate the storage drives. Use these questions to evaluate if your deployment storage requirements would be best served through a SAN:     Are reads or writes more prevalent? Do you need high I/O rate storage? Is striping the best option? Do you need high uptime? Is mirroring the best option? How is the data to be backed up? When is it going to be backed up? Domain Name System (DNS) Servers which make heavy usage of DNS queries should be equipped with a local caching DNS server to reduce lookup latency as well as network traffic. When determining your requirements, consider allocating host names for functions such as mailstore, mail-relay-in, mail-relay-out, and so forth. You should consider this policy even if the host names all are currently hosted on one machine. With services configured in such a way, relocation of the services to alternate hardware significantly reduces the impacts of the change. 1.6.3 Planning Your Network Infrastructure Layout In deriving your infrastructure topology, you need to consider the following topics:       DMZ Intranet Internal network Proxies Firewall Configuration Mobile users Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) These days, most company networks are configured for a DMZ. The DMZ separates the corporate network from the Internet. The DMZ is a tightly secured area into Intranet The DMZ provides a network segment for hosts that offer services to the Internet. You should continue to locate all machines hosting Web servers. For example. Apply the same approach to DNS servers. To limit exposure in case of a security breach from such attacks. limit outbound initiated traffic to the Internet to those machines requiring access to the Internet to carry out the service they are providing (for example. This design protects your internal hosts. consider creating separate inbound and outbound servers to provide these services. security issues exist with VPN and remote access traffic. and so on) that are meant solely for internal users. However. inbound email can still be received. mail. A simpler network design might only define separate DMZ segments for Internet services.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT which you place servers providing Internet services and facilities (for example. Internally. Progressively. and remote access. The firewall providing the DMZ segmentation should allow only inbound packets destined to the corresponding service ports and hosts offering the services within the DMZ. these servers typically contain no information about the internal network. with respect to the type of connection requests. web servers). so too. However. Also. FTP servers. given the potential of a denial-of-service attack interrupting DNS or email. These machines are hardened to withstand the attacks they might face. Separation of services in this manner also permits tighter controls to be placed on the router filtering. are the internal services. you also have similar services to offer (Web. However. DMZ implementations have moved the segment behind the firewall as firewall security and facilities have increased in robustness. as they do not reside on the same segment as hosts that could be compromised by an external attack. the DMZ still remains segmented from the internal networks. Should an email-based Trojan horse or worm get out of control and overrun your outbound mail server. VPN access. file serving. mail servers. the name server facilities only include the server and the routers to the Internet. You need to separate appropriate connections of these types from the rest of the network. DNS and mail). You might want to segment an inbound-only DMZ and an outbound-only DMZ. internal DNS. and external DNS on a DMZ segment. Just as the Internet services are segmented. 53 NOTES ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . Identify the type of internal network traffic and services used on each of these segments to determine if an internal firewall would be beneficial. better yet. A machine requiring access to the Internet can pass its request onto the proxy. Use a firewall between each internal network segment to filter traffic to provide additional security between departments. These segments house users’ machines or departmental workstations. or. and test network segments are also included in this list. Internal Network The segments that remain make up your internal network segments. which in turn makes the request on the machine’s behalf. These machines request information from hosts residing on the intranet. The firewall rules providing the segmentation should be configured similarly to the rules used for the DMZ’s firewall. If users require Internet access. In addition. Place a proxy on an internal network segment. an intranet segment. though. just as multiple DMZs can be beneficial—depending on your services and your network’s size—multiple intranets might also be helpful. Proxies Only the machines directly communicating with machines on the Internet should reside in the DMZ. these machines avoid direct communication with machines in the DMZ. the services they require should reside on hosts in the intranet. Development. This indirect communication is acceptable. lab. Machines on internal networks should not communicate directly with machines on the Internet. This relay out to the Internet helps shield the machine from any potential danger it might encounter. your private internal services should reside in their own internal DMZ. 54 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . proxies become helpful.DBA 1727 NOTES Just as you separate the Internet-facing services into the DMZ for security. Inbound traffic should come solely from machines relaying information from the DMZ (such as inbound email being passed to internal mail servers) and machines residing on the internal network. Ultimately. this creates a problem based on your previous topology decisions. In this situation. Preferably. A host on the intranet can in turn communicate with a host in the DMZ to complete a service (such as outbound email or DNS). Mobile Users When you have remote or mobile users. To keep this communication indirect. Use IP-spoofing protection whenever possible. people realized that stand . By preventing IP spoofing. For instance. most firewalls provide features to prevent IP spoofing. which in turn makes the actual connection out on the Internet. the only packets containing a source IP address from your internal machines should come from within the network itself.alone networks 55 NOTES ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . and the potential for bypassing IP address-based authorization and the other firewallfiltering rules is reduced. it should reside in the DMZ. 1.1 Introduction to TCP/IP: The realization that stand . Will there be any facilities they cannot access? What kind of security policies do you need to address? Will you require SSL for authentication? Also. examine whether your mobile user population is stable or is expected to increase over time. pay attention to how you will provide them access to the facilities. Based on your network’s topology. if there is only one entry point into your network from the Internet and a packet is received from the Internet with a source address of one of your internal machines. When there were too many of them. A second proxy residing in the intranet passes connection requests of the internal machines to the proxy in the DMZ. use a double proxy system. it was likely spoofed. not from the Internet. However. Firewall Configuration In addition to the typical packet-filtering features. this conflicts with the desire to prevent internal machines from directly communicating with DMZ machines.alone computers made no sense made the network possible.7.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT Because the proxy communicates directly with machines on the Internet. Use the same IP-spoofing protection on any internal firewall as well.7 TRANSMISSION CONTROL PROTOCOL/INTERNET PROTOCOL TCP / IP 1. this possibility is eliminated. then to regional networks. The solution had to be vendor . Something had to be done. the US Department of Defence (DOD) initiated work on a project with a simple objective: develop a set of standard rules (Protocols) which could be used by all machines and networks to communicate. and even the geographical location. Layered-the collection of Internet protocols works in layers with each layer building on the layers at lower levels.2 Internet Protocols: A protocol is a set of rules that determines how two computers communicate with one another over a network. and finally to the global Internet. TCP and IP were developed to connect a number different networks designed by different vendors into a network of networks (the “Internet”). 1. this means that the customers or businesses are not required to buy specific systems in order to conduct business. operating systems and networking software. The protocols around which the Internet was designed embody a series of design principles. Rather than surrender to the monopoly of vendors. remote logon) across a very large number of client and server systems. Connecting these networks was either impossible or done using expensive proprietary network devices. electronic mail. On the battlefield a communications network will sustain damage. because of the automatic recovery. This layered architecture is shown in  56 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI .  Interoperable-the system supports computers and software from different vendors.7. This was the problem confronting the US Government and the academic community in the late 60s. independent of the hardware or the operating system. The solution they found was TCP/IP/. For EC. Everything they had was heterogeneous-computers.neutral. However. so the DOD designed TCP/IP to be robust and automatically recover from any node or phone line failure. This design allows the construction of very large networks with less central management. and that they also needed to talk to one another.DBA 1727 NOTES made little sense either. networks. Several computers in a small department can use TCP/IP (along with other protocols) on a single LAN. It was initially successful because it delivered a few basic services that everyone needs (file transfer. It became so successful that both the Internet and the World Wide Web adopted it is their protocol. network problems can go undiagnosed and uncorrected for long periods of time. The IP component provides routing from the department to the enterprise network. The most accurate name for the set of protocols are describing is the “Internet protocol suite”.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT   Simple-each of the layers in the architecture provides only a few functions or operations.the Internet is based on end-to-end protocols. 57 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . The job of the post office is to deliver the mail. This means that application programmers are hidden from the complexities of the underlying hardware. Certainly the ARPAnet is the best.7. This means that the interpretation of the data happens at the application layer(i. End-to end.known TCP/IP network.e the sending and the receiving side) and not at the network layers. NOTES 1. TCP and IP are two of the protocols in this suite. it has become common to use the term TCP/IP or IP/ TCP to refer to the whole family. Because TCP and IP are the best known of the protocols. It was developed by a community of researchers centered around the ARPAnet. It is much like the post office. only the sender and the receiver are concerned about its contents.3 What is TCP/IP? TCP/IP is a set of protocols developed to allow cooperating computers to share resources across a network. This is another reason why it’s more suited to streaming-data applications: there’s less screwing around that needs to be done with making sure all the packets are there.g. or finding out who is logged in on another computer. These machines had their own disks. and UDP.is responsible for verifying the correct delivery of data from client to server. Data can be lost in the intermediate network. Because it doesn’t need to keep track of the sequence of packets.is responsible for moving packet of data from node to node. transferring files between computers.DBA 1727 NOTES TCP/IP is a family of protocols. e. it has lower overhead than TCP.contained. in the right order. TCP adds support to detect errors or lost data and to trigger retransmission until the data is correctly and completely received.level” functions needed for many applications. It does not provide the same features as TCP. TCP. UDP (User Datagram Protocol) is a simple transport-layer protocol. etc. One of the things that makes UDP nice is its simplicity. Thus the most important “traditional” TCP/IP services are: File transfer. 1.. TCP . Security is handled by requiring the user to specify a user name and password for the other computer. or to send files to another computer.   Others are protocols for doing specific tasks. The organizations assign groups of their numbers to departments. and that sort of thing. A few provide “low. although this is unsuitable for some applications. The Internet authorities assign ranges of numbers to different organizations.” Again. The file transfer protocol (FTP) allows a user on any computer to get files from another computer. and generally were self. and is thus considered “unreliable.7. 58 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . IP operates on gateway machines that move data from department to organization to region and then around the world.  IP . it does have much more applicability in other applications than the more reliable and robust TCP. IP forwards each packet based on a four byte destination address (the IP number). whether they ever made it to their destination.4 TCP/IP Services Initially TCP/IP was used mostly between minicomputers or mainframes. These include IP. sending mail. Note that you are really still talking to your own computer. The most serious is that a micro is not well suited to receive computer mail. Microcomputer mail software then becomes a user interface that retrieves mail from the mail server. in order to send the mail. They would maintain “mail files” on those machines. There are some problems with this in an environment where microcomputers are used. 1. But the telnet program effectively makes your computer invisible while it is running.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT Remote login The network terminal protocol (TELNET) allows a user to log in on any other computer on the network.This was necessary to finally break the monopoly of vendors who claimed that their product alone will save the world. Every character you type is sent directly to the other system. mail is normally handled by a larger system. they are its inherent features:  Independence of vendor. the connection to the remote computer behaves much like a dialup connection. When you send mail. The computer mail system is simply a way for you to add a message to another user’s mail file. Generally. in whatever manner it would normally ask a user who had just dialed it up. the remote system will ask you to log in and give a password. type of machine and network . it may be turned off. This allows you to send messages to users on other computers. the mail software expects to be able to open a connection to the addressee’s computer. If this is a microcomputer. These rules are independent of the applications that have no idea of what is going on at the two ends of the communication channel. For this reason. Originally. people tended to use only one or two specific computers. The goals of TCP/IP were set by the US Department of Defence.7. where it is practical to have a mail server running all the time. You start a remote session by specifying a computer to connect to. and today. 59 NOTES ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . anything you type is sent to the other computer. or it may be running an application other than the mail system. From that time until you finish the session.5 Features Of Tcp/Ip A protocol is a set of rules that have to use by two or more machines to talk to one another. Computer mail. That is. DBA 1727 NOTES     Failure recovery . Berkeley developed an entire suite of tools that are today known as the r – utilities because all their command names are prefixed with an “r. These terms provide a foundation for subsequent chapters illustrates the components of an IP network. Enable reliable transmission of files.6 TCP/IP Terminology The Internet standards use a specific set of terms when referring to network elements and concepts related to TCP/IP networking. Later.7. Some of the most important application available in the TCP / IP family are:         ftp and rep for file transfer telnet and rlogin for logging in to remote machines rsh (rcmd in SCO UNIX) for executing a command in a remote machine without logging in The Network File System (NFS) which lets one machine treat the file system of a remote machine as its own The electronic mail service using the Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMTP).The transmission. it should be able to divert data immediately through other routes if one or more parts of the network went down.Being originally meant for the defence network. remote login and remote execution of commands. pine and elm mailers Remote printing which allows people to access printers on remote computers as if they were connected locally The Hyper Text Transport Protocol (HTTP) of the World Wide Web which browsers like Netscape use to fetch HTML documents The point – to – Point Protocol (PPP) which makes all these facilities available through a telephone line 1. Facility to connect new sub networks without significant disruption of services High error rate handling . Post Office Protocol (POP) and the mail. must be 100% reliable. irrespective of the distance travelled. with facilities for full error control. TCP/IP originally began by the development of a collection of programs (the DARPA set) that enabled computers to talk among themselves. \ 60 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . which runs an implementation of IP. Examples include Internet layer protocols such as the Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) and Transport layer protocols such as the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP). including routers and hosts. Another term for network is internet work. On an IPv6 network. 61 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI      . Network Two or more subnets connected by routers. Subnet One or more LAN segments that are bounded by routers and use the same IP address prefix. LAN segment A portion of a subnet consisting of a single medium that is bounded by bridges. A host is typically the source and the destination of IP traffic. a router also typically advertises its presence and host configuration information. Host A node that cannot forward IP packets not explicitly addressed to itself (a non-router). Router A node that can forward IP packets not explicitly addressed to itself.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT NOTES Elements of an IP network Common terms and concepts in TCP/IP are defined as follows:   Node Any device. Upper-layer protocol A protocol above IP that uses IP as its transport. A host silently discards traffic that it receives but that is not explicitly addressed to itself. Other terms for subnet are network segment and link. Every TCP/IP network has an address that is used by external networks to direct their messages.67 represents the complete network address of the host. we have an internet. workstations. For instance. Address An identifier that can be used as the source or destination of IP packets and that is assigned at the Internet layer to an interface or set of interfaces.67. (Note that the server and client need not be on different computers. and a host within the network could have the host address of 45. and mainframes. if the network is hooked up to the Internet. which is the super – network of all networks. They could be different programs running on the same computer. Packet The protocol data unit (PDU) that exists at the Internet layer and comprises an IP header and payload. An example of a physical interface is a network adapter. popularly known as an intranet. 192. A server is a system that provides a specific service for the rest of the network. And.168. When two or more networks are connected together. In that case. 192. sometimes a node.45. Every host in the network has an address as well.DBA 1727 NOTES     Air A node connected to the same subnet as another node. This has led to the “server/client” model of network services.168 (or strictly speaking. Note that these computer services can all be provided within the framework of TCP/IP. including microcomputers. A local internet or intranet may easily be connected to the Internet which also uses the same protocol. All communication between hosts normally takes place through these network interfaces only.0. In a network. and every such host has a hostname. Now many installations have several kinds of computers. that computer will call on other systems on the net for specialized services.168. Each machine is fitted with a network interface card that is connected by wire to the corresponding cards in other machines.0) could be the address of a network. and the combination of these two addresses forms the complete network address of the host. These computers are likely to be configured to perform specialized tasks. minicomputers. 192. and uses the TCP/IP protocol for communication.) Here are the kinds of servers typically present in a modern computer setup. This name is unique throughout the network. but also to all connected networks. Interface The representation of a physical or logical attachment of a node to a subnet. Although people are still likely to work with one specific computer. 62 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . This address has to be unique not only within the network. A client is another system that uses that service. a computer is known as a host. it has to be unique throughout the world. A number of vendors now offer high-performance diskless computers. this allows people working on several computers to share common files. However there are also “remote procedure call” systems that allow a program to call a subroutine that will run on another computer. Instead they connect them to terminal servers. you simply type the name of a computer. These extra “virtual” drives refer to the other system’s disks. If your terminal is connected to one of these. These computers have no disk drives at all. there are a number of different collections of names that have to be managed. Aside from the obvious economic benefits. This capability is useful for several different purposes. A network file system provides the illusion that disks or other devices from one system are directly connected to other systems. It lets you put large disks on a few computers. This allows you to access printers on other computers as if they were directly attached to yours. you request that a specific command or set of commands should run on some specific computer. terminal servers. Other systems access the data over the network. They are entirely dependent upon disks attached to common “file servers”. but a few tasks require the resources of a larger system. There is no need to use a special network utility to access a file on another system. There are a number of different kinds of remote execution. and you are connected to it. It becomes very tedious to keep this data up to date on all of the computers. but still give others access to the disk space. (The most commonly used protocol is the remote lineprinter protocol from Berkeley Unix) remote execution. names and network addresses for computers. A terminal server is simply a small computer that only knows how to run telnet (or some other protocol to do remote login). remote printing. Your computer simply thinks it has some extra disk drives. That is. Thus the databases are kept on a small number of systems. This includes users and their passwords. and accounts.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT     network file systems. Generally it is possible to have active connections to more than one computer at the same time. name servers. This is useful when you can do most of your work on a small computer. In large installations. It makes system maintenance and backup easier. because you don’t have to worry about updating and backing up copies on lots of different machines. The terminal server will have provisions to switch between 63 NOTES  ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . Some operate on a command by command basis. Many installations no longer connect terminals directly to computers. In that case. Network window systems allow a program to use a display on a different computer. and those datagrams are treated by the network as completely separate. At that point. Full-scale network window systems provide an interface that lets you distribute jobs to the systems that are best suited to handle them. an error will occur. but still give you a single graphically-based user interface. However at some level.8 HYPERTEXT MARKUP LANGUAGE (HTML) 1. 1.1 Web Based Client / Server Over the past three or four years. Information is transferred as a sequence of “datagrams”. A datagram is a collection of data that is sent as a single message. suppose you want to transfer a 15000 octet file. The vast majority of EC applications are Web based. the clients are called Web browsers and the servers are simply called Web servers. to start a conversation that will continue for some time). It is perfectly possible that datagram 14 will actually arrive before datagram 13. the network doesn’t know that there is any connection between them. Web browsers and servers need as way 64 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI .e.DBA 1727 NOTES  connections rapidly.7. and some datagram won’t get through at all. However while those datagrams are in transit. Each of these datagrams will be sent to the other end. they will be put back together into the 15000-octet file. Like other client/server applications. the World Wide Web (WWW) has come to dominate the traffic on the Internet. For example. information from those connections is broken up into datagrams. There are provisions to open connections (i. that datagram has to be sent again.8. Each of these datagrams is sent through the network individually. Until recently. Most networks can’t handle a 15000 octet datagram. In such applications. high-performance graphics programs had to execute on a computer that had a bit-mapped graphics screen directly attached to it. 1. network-oriented window systems.7 TCP/IP – Connectionless technology: TCP/IP is built on “connectionless” technology. and to notify you when output is waiting for another connection. It is also possible that somewhere in the network. So the protocols will break this up into something like 30 500-octet datagrams. where the access – method can be http.ch:80/hypertext/Data Sources/ Geographical.8. as opposed to the following example where all the values are explicitly specified: http://info. and ask the server to respond with an 65 NOTES ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI .htm) take default values.html. These links can be textual or graphic and when clicked on.ch” stored in the directory “Data Sources”. The HTML codes are used to create links.and a new protocol – the Hypertext Transport Protocol (HTTP) were introduced. In the case of a URL like www. port (80). the client program on their computer uses HTTP to contact the server. 1. The complete syntax for an “absolute” URL is access – method: // server –name [: port]/directory/file. Hypertext is text that is specially coded using a standard system called Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). the access – method (http).com. and anywhere else a company can advertise. can “link” the user to another resource such as other HTML documents. This is the default syntax for a URL. on billboards.1. for example.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT 1) to locate each other so they can send requests and responses back and forth and 2) to communicate with one another. HTTP is based on client/server principle. appearing on the Web. HTTP allows the client to establish a connection with the server and make a request.anywhere. When a user selects a hypertext link.ge.com”.. a new addressing scheme – the URL .8.html” on the server “info. on television.g. We are all familiar with “www . graphics. ftp. The World Wide Web encompasses the universe of information that is available via HTTP. identify a resource. or telnet.cern. directory. gopher.cern. or protocol that governs the transfer of hypertext between two or more computers. text files. 1. and file (e. in print.2 Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is the set of rules. The server request identifies the resource that the client is interested in and tells the server what “action” to take on the resource. To fulfil these needs.1. animation and sound.1 Universal Resource Locator (URL) Universal Resource Locators (URLs) are ubiquitous. home page. What this URL represents is the Web page “Geographical. which is a subset of a much older and far more complex text markup language called Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML). A text mark up language specifies a set of tags that are inserted into the text. however. using a text mark up language. Another markup language that was derived from SGML for use on the Web is Extensible Markup Language (XML). The Web client software uses those instructions as it renders the text and page elements contained in the other files into the Web page that appears on the screen of the client computer. are the structure of the page and the text that makes up the main part of the page. SGML is a meta language.8. HTML is a special kind of text document that is used by Web browsers to present text and graphics. The page structure and text are stored in a text file that is formatted. and even small programs that run in the web browser. Telnet. The server accepts the request. Gopher. also called tags.DBA 1727 NOTES action. The markup language most commonly used on the web is HTML. Each of these elements is stored on the Web server as a separate file. 1. provide formatting instructions that Web client software can understand. which is increasingly used to mark up information that companies share with each other over the Internet 1. etc.3 Hypertext Markup Language (Html) A web page is created using HTML.HTML consists of standardized codes or ‘tags’ that are used to define the structure of information on a web page. SGML was used for many years by the publishing industry to create documents that needed to be printed in various formats and they were revised frequently. which is a language that can be used to define other languages. 66 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . These mark up tags. The most important parts of a Web page. and then uses HTTP to respond to or perform the action. HTML. photographs. HTML stands for Hypertext Markup Language. HTTP also provides access to other Internet protocols like File Transfer Protocol (FTP). of marked up. such as graphics. Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP).8.2 Mark Uplanguages and The Web Web pages can include many elements. WAIS. XML and XHTML have descended from the original SGML specification. Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP). sound clips. In addition to its role as a markup language. To try this out. Lynx etc. The tags used in HTML usually consist of a code in between two “wickets”.html” or “.8. If the file extension is “. The title should be placed at the beginning of your document. then view the file in a web browser. and </p> to indicate the end of a paragraph.1 HTML Tags: HTML tags are used to define areas of document as having certain characteristics..htm” then the browser will recognize it as HTML. Here is what you need to type: <title>My first HTML document</title> Change the text from “My first HTML document” to suit your own needs. type the above into a text editor and save the file as “test.html”. Most browsers show the title in the window caption bar. A document that has been prepared using HTML markup “tags” can be viewed using variety of web browsers such as Netscape. A browser interprets the tags in an HTML file and presents the file as a formatted readable web page. HTML is standardized and portable.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT The text includes markup tags such as <p> to indicate the start of a paragraph. The browser retrieves Web pages from Web servers that thanks to the Internet can be pretty much anywhere in World. 1.       start with a title add headings and paragraphs add emphasis to your text add images add links to other pages use various kinds of lists NOTES Start with a title Every HTML document needs a title. These codes are called container tags because the formatting described by the tag affects only the text contained between the tags. With just 67 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI .. HTML documents are often referred to as “Web pages”.3. The title text is preceded by the start tag <title> and ends with the matching end tag </title>. you will be familiar with the built in styles for headings of differing importance. In HTML there are six levels of headings.DBA 1727 NOTES a title. Add headings and paragraphs If you have used Microsoft Word. Something is still missing! People who 68 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . the least important. <img src=”peter. Let’s assume you have an image file called “peter.jpg” width=”200" height=”150"> The src attribute names the image file. It is 200 pixels wide by 150 pixels high. The next section will show how to add displayable content.</p> <p>This is the second paragraph. the browser will show a blank page. unlike the end tags for elements like headings. and so on down to H6. The </p> is optional.jpg” in the same folder/directory as your HTML file. For example: <p>This is the first paragraph. H1 is the most important. H2 is slightly less important. Don’t worry.</p> Adding a bit of emphasis You can emphasize one or more words with the <em> tag. The simple way to add an image is using the <img> tag. The width and height aren’t strictly necessary but help to speed the display of your Web page. for instance: This is a really <em>interesting</em> topic! Adding interest to your pages with images Images can be used to make your Web pages distinctive and greatly help to get your message across. Here is how to add an important heading: <h1>An important heading</h1> and here is a slightly less important heading: <h2>A slightly less important heading</h2> Each paragraph you write should start with a <p> tag. you may need to also give a longer description.jpg” width=”200" height=”150" alt=”My friend Peter”> The alt attribute is used to give the short description. To avoid long delays while the image is downloaded over the network. by scanning an image in. A single click can take you right across the world! Links are defined with the <a> tag. Generally speaking.html”> You can create images in a number of ways. It is common for the caption to be in blue underlined text. All three formats support options for progressive rendering where a crude version of the image is sent first and progressively refined. you can add one as follows using the longdesc attribute: <img src=”peter. Lets define a link to the page defined in the file “peter. The text between the <a> and the </a> is used as the caption for the link.html”>Peter’s page</a>. Assuming this has been written in the file “peter. Most browsers understand GIF and JPEG image formats. 69 NOTES ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . in this case “My friend Peter”.html”. newer browsers also understand the PNG image format.jpg” width=”200" height=”150" alt=”My friend Peter” longdesc=”peter. lines and text.html” in the same folder/directory as the HTML file you are editing: This a link to <a href=”peter. while GIF and PNG are good for graphics art involving flat areas of color. Adding links to other pages What makes the Web so effective is the ability to define links from one page to another. or creating one with a painting or drawing program. you should avoid using large image files. For complex images. JPEG is best for photographs and other smoothly varying images. and to follow links at the click of a button. for instance with a digital camera. You can add a short description as follows: <img src=”peter.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT can’t see the image need a description they can read in its absence. you need to put the name of the subdirectory followed by a “/” in front of it..w3./college/friends/john.DBA 1727 NOTES If the file you are linking to is in a parent folder/directory./mary. It uses the <ul> and <li> tags.html”. the following allows you to click on the company logo to get to the home page: <a href=”/”><img src=”logo. To link to a page on another Web site you need to give the full Web address (commonly called a URL). often called an unordered list. The first kind is a bulletted list.org you need to write: This is a link to <a href=”http://www.w3. for instance: <a href=”. and then at a subdirectory of that named “friends” for a file called “john. for instance: <a href=”friends/sue. for instance: <ul> <li>the first list item</li> <li>the second list item</li> <li>the third list item</li> </ul> 70 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . Three kinds of lists HTML supports three kinds of lists.gif” alt=”home page”></a> This uses “/” to refer to the root of the directory tree.. i.html”>Sue’s page</a> The use of relative paths allows you to link to a file by walking up and down the tree of directories as needed. You can turn an image into a hypertext link. you need to put “. for instance to link to www.html”>Mary’s page</a> If the file you are linking to is in a subdirectory. for instance: <a href=”.org/”>W3C</a>.e. the home page. for example./” in front of it..html”>John’s page</a> Which first looks in the parent directory for another directory called “college”. but that the </li> is optional and can be left off. This allows you to list terms and their definitions. This kind of list starts with a <dl> tag and ends with </dl> Each term starts with a <dt> tag and each definition starts with a <dd>. you always need to end the list with the </ol> end tag. one within another. For instance: <ol> <li>the first list item</li> <li>the second list item</li> <li>the third list item</li> </ol> Like bulletted lists. It uses the <ol> and <li> tags. The second kind of list is a numbered list. For instance: <ol> <li>the first list item</li> <li> the second list item <ul> <li>first nested item</li> <li>second nested item</li> </ul> 71 NOTES ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . often called an ordered list. Note that lists can be nested. but the </li> end tag is optional and can be left off. For instance: <dl> <dt>the first term</dt> <dd>its definition</dd> <dt>the second term</dt> <dd>its definition</dd> <dt>the third term</dt> <dd>its definition</dd> </dl> The end tags </dt> and </dd> are optional and can be left off.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT Note that you always need to end the list with the </ul> end tag. The third and final kind of list is the definition list. The <head> .. Tidy is very effective at cleaning up markup created by authoring tools with sloppy habits. The <html> .. and is then followed by an <html> tag followed by <head> and at the very end by </html>.. Here is a template you can copy and paste into your text editor for creating your own pages: <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4. The document generally starts with a declaration of which version of HTML has been used.. Tidy is available for a wide range of operating systems from the TidyLib Sourceforge site.org/TR/html4/loose. </body> contains the markup with the visible content.DBA 1727 NOTES </li> <li>the third list item</li> </ol> You can also make use of paragraphs and headings etc. HTML has a head and a body If you use your web browser’s view source feature (see the View or File menus) you can see the structure of HTML pages.01 Transitional//EN” “http://www. </html> acts like a container for the document.w3. 72 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI .. for longer list items. and information on style sheets and scripts.dtd”> <html> <head> <title> replace with your document’s title </title> </head> <body> replace with your document’s content </body> </html> Tidying up your markup A convenient way to automatically fix markup errors is to use HTML Tidy which also tidies the markup making it easier to read and easier to edit. I recommend you regularly run Tidy over any markup you are editing. and has also been integrated into a variety of HTML editing tools.. </head> contains the title. while the <body> . including sales and marketing analysis. OLAP is being used for applications such as product profitability and pricing analysis. consistent.9. OLAP systems enable managers and analysts to rapidly and easily examine key performance data and perform powerful comparison and trend analyses. even on very large data volumes.2 What is OLAP? On-Line Analytical Processing (OLAP) is a category of software technology that enables analysts. OLAP is now acknowledged as a key technology for successful management in the 90’s.9. quality tracking. The most common are sales and marketing analysis. manpower and pricing applications and many others.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT 1. OLAP technology is being used in an increasingly wide range of applications. Codd in 1993 to refer a type of application that allows a user to interactively analyze data. invoices or general ledger transactions. 1. in fact for any management system that requires a flexible top down view of an organization. profitability analysis. An OLAP system is often contrasted to an OLTP (On-Line Transaction Processing) system that focuses on processing transactions such as orders. It describes a class of applications that require multidimensional analysis of business data. quality analysis. through hierarchies and/ or across members trend analysis over sequential time periods 73 NOTES ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . manpower planning. financial reporting.9 OLAP: ON-LINE ANALYTICAL PROCESSING 1.1 Introduction: The term OLAP (On-Line Analytical Processing) was coined by E. financial reporting and consolidation. They can be used in a wide variety of business areas. and budgeting and planning. interactive access to a wide variety of possible views of information that has been transformed from raw data to reflect the real dimensionality of the enterprise as understood by the user.F. activity based costing. OLAP functionality is characterized by dynamic multi-dimensional analysis of consolidated enterprise data supporting end user analytical and navigational activities including:   calculations and modeling applied across dimensions. managers and executives to gain insight into data through fast. difference is the way in which data is stored. An example of incompatible data: Customer ages can be stored as birth date for purchases made over the web and stored as age categories (i. and only. Data stored by operational systems. databases do not have any difference from a structural perspective from any other databases. OLTP. Examples of OLTPs can include ERP. A retail example: Point-of-sales data and sales made via call-center or the Web are stored in different location and formats. personalized viewing. Normally data in an organization is distributed in multiple data sources and are incompatible with each other. When a consumer makes a purchase online. Order Number. With a database design. It would a time consuming process for an executive to obtain OLAP reports such as . as well as through analysis of historical and projected data in various “what-if” data model scenarios. Call Center. Price. OLAP helps the user synthesize enterprise information through comparative. CRM. such as point-of-sales. OLTPs are designed for optimal transaction speed. optimized for transactions the record ‘Consumer name. they expect the transactions to occur instantaneously. This is achieved through use of an OLAP Server.e. between 15 and 30) for in store sales.DBA 1727 NOTES     slicing subsets for on-screen viewing drill-down to deeper levels of consolidation reach-through to underlying detail data rotation to new dimensional comparisons in the viewing area OLAP is implemented in a multi-user client/server mode and offers consistently rapid response to queries. call data modeling. 74 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . The main difference.What are the most popular products purchased by customers between the ages 15 to 30? Part of the OLAP implementation process involves extracting data from the various data repositories and making them compatible. Making data compatible involves ensuring that the meaning of the data in one repository matches all other repositories. Payment Method’ is created quickly on the database and the results can be recalled by managers equally quickly if needed. are in types of databases called OLTPs. regardless of database size and complexity. Online Transaction Process. Order Name. OLAP allows business users to slice and dice data at will. Address. Telephone. It is not always necessary to create a data warehouse for OLAP analysis. SCM. Point-of-Sale applications. OLAPs are designed to give an overview analysis of what happened. OLAP cubes are not strictly cuboids .DBA 1727 NOTES Data are not typically stored for an extended period on OLTPs for storage cost and transaction speed reasons. such as the ones above. OLAPs have a different mandate from OLTPs. from a data model OLAP cubes are created.it is the name given to the process of linking 76 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . year or quarter. The most common method is called the star design. it is possible to build reports that answer questions such as:    The supervisor that gave the most discounts.e. Hence the data storage (i. Using the above data model. The surrounding tables are called the dimensions. month. The quantity shipped on a particular date. data modeling) has to be set up differently. To obtain answers. In which zip code did product A sell the most. Star Data Model for OLAP The central table in an OLAP start data model is called the fact table. multi-user data manipulation engine specifically designed to support and operate on multi-dimensional data structures. The cubes can be developed along business units such as sales or marketing. flexible calculation and transformation of raw data based on formulaic relationships.3 OLAP Server An OLAP server is a high-capacity.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT data from the different dimensions. Customer and Product Dimensions OLAP can be a valuable and rewarding business tool. Or a giant cube can be formed with all the dimensions.9. or offer a choice of both. Given the current state of technology and the end user requirement for consistent and rapid response times. Steps in the OLAP Creation Process 1. Aside from producing reports. as well as for fast. staging the multi-dimensional data in the OLAP Server is often the preferred method. The OLAP Server may either physically stage the processed multi-dimensional information to deliver consistent and rapid response times to end users. 77 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . NOTES OLAP Cube with Time. or it may populate its data structures in real-time from relational or other databases. OLAP analysis can aid an organization evaluate balanced scorecard targets. The design of the server and the structure of the data are optimized for rapid ad-hoc information retrieval in any orientation. A multi-dimensional structure is arranged so that every data item is located and accessed based on the intersection of the dimension members which define that item. sales forecasting. A truly flexible data model ensures that OLAP systems can respond to changing business requirements as needed for effective decision making.9.time” information for effective decision. its ability to provide “just – in . Among other applications. 1. Sales analysis and forecasting are two of the OLAP applications found in sales departments. The inherent flexibility of OLAP systems means business users of OLAP applications can become more self sufficient. and market / customer segmentation. marketing departments use OLAP for market research analysis. developers can deliver applications to business users faster. Perhaps more importantly. Managers are no longer dependent on IT to make schema changes. IT developers also benefit from using the right OLAP software. Analyzing and modelling complex relationships are practical only if response times are consistently short. to create joins or worse. financial performance analysis.4 Uses Of Olap OLAP applications span a variety of organizational functions. The key indicator of a successful OLAP application is its ability to provide information.making.5 OLAP Benefits: OLAP applications increase the productivity of business managers. Typical manufacturing OLAP applications include production planning and defect analysis. customer analysis. developers. By using software specifically designed for OLAP. For all the above applications is the ability to provide managers with the information they need to make effective decisions about an organization’s strategic directions. promotions analysis. This requires more than a base level of detailed date.e. i. OLAP enables managers to model problems that would be impossible using less flexible systems with lengthy and inconsistent response times. In addition. it is certainly not a very efficient use of developer time. 78 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . and financial modelling.. as needed. Finance departments use OLAP for applications such as budgeting.DBA 1727 NOTES 1. and whole organizations. More control and timely access to strategic information equal more effective decision-making. because the nature of data relationships may not be known in advance. Although it is possible to build an OLAP system using software designed for transaction processing or data collection. the data model must be flexible.9. activity – based costing (allocations). Within the field of cryptology one can see two separate divisions: cryptography and cryptanalysis. As a result. which means hidden and “logos” which means word. Cryptology is as old as writing itself. non-repudiation of origin.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT providing better service.10 CRYPTOGRAPHY 1. it can verify whether you are entitled to enter the system. data authentication (data integrity and data origin authentication).2 Cryptographic services The main goals of modern cryptography can be seen as: user authentication. The same principal applies when one person tries to 79 NOTES ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . By using software designed for OLAP. IT also realizes more efficient operations through OLAP. The word cryptology is made up of two components: “kryptos”. the famous Roman emperor Julius Caesar used a cipher to protect the messages to his troops. and data confidentiality. 1. For example. The cryptographer seeks methods to ensure the safety and security of conversations while the cryptanalyst tries to undo the former’s work by breaking his systems.10. IT reduces the query drag and network traffic on transaction systems or the data warehouse.1 Introduction to Cryptography The origin of the word cryptology lies in ancient Greek. User Authentication If you log to a computer system there must (or at least should) be some way that you can convince it of your identity. unlike standalone departmental applications running on PC networks. However. Once it knows your identity. IT gains more self-sufficient users without relinquishing control over the integrity of the data. Faster delivery of applications also reduces the applications backlog OLAP reduces the applications backlog still further by making business users selfsufficient enough to build their own models.10. and has been used for thousands of years to safeguard military and diplomatic communications. 1. OLAP applications are dependent on data warehouses and transaction processing systems to refresh their source level data. Since the user’s memory is limited. Other techniques include measurements of how a person types his name or writes his signature. You can give him something only you can know: a password. The device will then compute the corresponding response. a smart card (a hand-held computer the size of a credit-card). This indicates that someone who can eavesdrop this information will later be able to impersonate the user. and many practical systems use a combination of both.DBA 1727 NOTES communicate with another: as a first step you want to verify that you are communicating with the right person. If a person tries to identify himself to the system. This process is called user authentication. In order to increase the security. and so on. these biometric systems are not perfect: some legitimate users will inevitably fail the identification and some intruders will be accepted as genuine. which verifies it. If more sophisticated protocols are used. or will even not learn the secret of the users (this requires zero-knowledge protocols). Or you could have some specific items with which you can identify yourself: a magnetic strip card. using something 80 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . a token. this information should not vary too much over time. a pincode. A similar observation holds true for a magnetic strip card or memory chip. If the user possesses a device which can perform simple computations. using secret information which has been assigned to him. There are several ways to obtain user authentication. or can take into account the location of the user. However. but this is not done each time you access the computer. all these items are being defined at a certain time and often don’t change from there on. Note that in this case the procedure does not authenticate the user but rather his device. the user will have to enter the challenge on the keyboard. Therefore there must be some way in which you can prove your identity. For the time being the first two methods are the ones generally applied. the shape of the hand and retinal pattern of a person are good decision criteria. the system generates a random challenge and sends it to the person or to his device. This response is then sent back to the system. Whether it is a password. the user should authenticate himself with respect to the device. the security can be increased significantly by introducing the well-known challenge-response idea. the verifier does not need secret information (this requires public-key protocols). a (predesigned) user-id. These however require specialized equipment and thus a big investment. In case of a token (a mini-calculator). All these systems provide static authentication only. it is a well-known fact that fingerprints. One might make use of biometric properties. One might argue that you could change your password. a pincode or a user-id. You should always be alert for possible intruders in your network or in your communication system. In general. NOTES 81 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . that was sent. unless you know it has been sent directly to you by the right person. If both parties are authenticated to each other. Data integrity A data integrity service guarantees that the content of the message. this enemy can just change the message and then relay it to B. Data authentication Data authentication consists of two components: the fact that data has not been modified (data integrity) and the fact that you know who the sender is (data origin authentication). Active wire-taps (modifying and then relaying the messages) are also more difficult than passive wire-taps (listening in on the messages). B will not see that the message has been tampered with and will assume A really intended it the way he got it. an educated computer user can tap into the messages that are being transmitted over the line. As a consequence. Therefore it should always be combined with data origin authentication. This makes the device useless if it is stolen.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT he alone knows. one also requires that the computer authenticates itself to the person logging on. It is very easy to read and modify someone’s electronic mail. has not been tampered with. If you don’t support data integrity. Electronic mail over the Internet does not offer any security. which is commonly seen as being private. We have A(lice) who sends a message to B(ob). In general wire-tapping is only a matter of cost: tapping a telephone line is obviously easier than tapping a coaxial cable or a micro-wave. we use the term mutual authentication. Data integrity by itself is not meaningful: it does not help you to know that the data you have received has not been modified. A well-known example is the Internet that connects universities and companies world-wide. One could argue that active wire-tapping is difficult. There is also an enemy who taps the line between them. Suppose B is the owner of a mail-order company and he decides to let his customers order through electronic mail. how can B be sure of the real origin of this data? A variation on this theme is: the enemy could send a message to B claiming it A is the originator. With data confidentiality we try to protect ourselves against unauthorized disclosure of the message. The example of Caesars cipher given in the introduction clearly demonstrates this. falsely. one wants to make sure that this enemy never understands his contents.DBA 1727 NOTES Data origin authentication Here one wants to make sure that the person who is claiming to be the sender of the message really is the one from whom it originates. If A sends a message to B. while non-repudiation with proof of delivery protects against any attempt by the recipient to deny. Non-repudiation with proof of origin protects against any attempts by the sender to repudiate having sent a message. non-repudiation is provided by a manual signature. Non-repudiation of origin Non-repudiation protects against denial by one of the entities involved in a communication of having participated in all or part of the communication. An example will illustrate the importance of non-repudiation of origin. In a paper and pencil world. Data confidentiality This aspect of data security certainly is the oldest and best known. there are techniques to ensure against this type of fraud. but the enemy intercepts it and sends it to B. The fact that confidentiality was considered to be much more important than authentication of both sender and data. with a seal and a signature. Confidentiality protection is very 82 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . Thanks to cryptography. If A sends a message to B. but the enemy intercepts it. For him it is really important that he can show to an arbitrary third party that A really ordered the things he is claiming otherwise it would be easy for a customer to deny the purchase of the goods. together with non-repudiation of origin can be explained as follows: the latter services have been provided implicitly by the physical properties of the channel: a letter was written in a recognizable handwriting. claiming A has sent it. having received a message. authentication primitives can be used to provide data authentication. Symmetric ciphers Basically there are two kinds of encryption-schemes. Encryption primitives In cryptography one often makes use of encryption. World-wide there are several million transactions each day and all of these have to be passed from one financial institution to another. 83 NOTES ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . These transformations themselves are public: this makes it possible to analyze these algorithms and to develop efficient implementations. . To get back to the original text. In these schemes. who has made what kind of withdrawal. and cryptographic protocols. we apply the inverse transformation. Thus it is really important to manage one’s keys and keep them secret where necessary. symmetric or conventional ciphers and asymmetric or public-key ciphers.10. If there were no way to protect confidentiality. 1. With encryption we transform the clear-text (or plaintext) into cipher-text. This key is the only thing one needs to know in order to encipher or decipher. We discuss two types of encryption primitives. primitives for authentication. called decryption.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT important in the medical world and also in the banking sector. The oldest ones and most used until now are the symmetric ciphers. the key used to decipher the cipher-text is equal to the one used to encipher the plaintext. it is necessary to transform the message with a cipher. Encryption primitives can be used to provide confidentiality. In order to provide confidentiality.3 Cryptographic primitives The above cryptographic services can be realized by several cryptographic primitives: we distinguish between primitives for encryption. everybody would be able to see who had purchased what. We will also discuss protocols for user authentication and for key management. However they use a secret parameter: the keys which are known only by the sender and/ or the receiver. Clearly this would violate individuals and companies rights to privacy. and so on. Symmetric versus asymmetric ciphers The biggest drawback of the asymmetric systems up until now has been the relative low performance compared to the symmetric ones. the number of keys can be reduced. suppose we have a network of n users each of whom wanting to communicate with the others. it requires a huge amount of computation to find the two prime factors. the names of the three inventors). The most popular public-key cipher is the RSA system (RSA stands for Rivest. Since each communication requires a secret key.DBA 1727 NOTES The best known cipher in this category is the Data Encryption Standard (DES) that was adopted in 1977 by the American NBS (National Bureau of Standards) as FIPS 46. he just enciphers it with B’s public key. Since B is the only one who has access to the secret key. B is the only one who can decipher the message and read the contents. Asymmetric ciphers The asymmetric or public-key ciphers are the most recent cryptographic tools. Indeed. Each partner thus has two keys. He keeps one key secret and makes the other one public. Public-key systems provide significant benefits in terms of key management: if every user generates his own key. Since then it has been used all over the world and until now no major flaws have been discovered. In contrary to the symmetric systems the key used to encipher and the one used to decipher are different. In systems without a central trusted server. The security of this scheme is related to the mathematical problem of factorization: it is easy to generate two large primes and to multiply them. 84 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . Shamir and Adleman. but given a large number that is the product of two primes. eliminating (expensive) secret channels like couriers. the total number of keys required equals n*(n-1)/2. only an authentic channel is required. If A wants to send a message to B. Hash functions can be used to protect the authenticity of large quantities of data with a short secret key (MAC). A MAC (Message Authentication Code) that uses a secret key.10. The widely used construction for a MAC is the CBC mode of the DES (with an additional output transformation).4 Authentication primitives One-way functions and hash codes A one-way function is defined as a function f such that for every x in the domain of f. and an MDC (Manipulation Detection Code) that works without a key. even in software implementations. Several MDC’s have been constructed based on the DES.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT 1. which can yield protection of both confidentiality and authenticity. For a MAC one requires that it should be impossible to compute the MAC without knowledge of the secret key. One applies then the oneway function to the input of the user and verifies whether the outcome agrees with the value stored in the table. One-way functions are used to protect passwords: one will store a one-way image of the password in the computer rather than the password itself. Other dedicated designs are SHA (Secure Hash Algorithm or FIPS 180). Sometimes an MDC is used in combination with encryption.that it is collision resistant. For an MDC one requires that it is a one-way function. which means that it should be hard to find two arguments hashing to the same result. There are several schemes which have been proposed for use as hash functions. These hash functions achieve a very high throughput (Mbit/s). In addition one requires that it is hard to find a second pre-image: given an x and the corresponding value of f(x). or to protect the authenticity of a short string (MDC). a hash function has to satisfy some additional requirements. f(x) is easy to compute. A hash function is a function which maps an input of arbitrary length into a fixed number of output bits. and RIPE-MD 160. In order to be useful for cryptographic applications. One can distinguish two types of hash functions. NOTES 85 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . it should be hard to find an x’ different from x which has the same image under f. but for virtually all y in the range of f. as specified in ISO-9797.in most cases . it is computationally infeasible to find an x such that y=f(x). and . g. it will depend on this data and on the secret key of the originator. As in the case of encryption. In this way one can create a digital signature. Assume Bob has received from Alice a digitally signed message. but also more secure. hash functions tend to be three orders of magnitude faster than digital signatures. Bob can go to a third party (e. If Alice subsequently denies having sent the message. data integrity and data origin authentication. Note that it is possible to produce a digital signature based on conventional ciphers like the DES. Since it is not physically connected to the signed data or the originator. This provides digital signatures which are not only faster and shorter.e. It is easy to see that it provides in addition data authentication. i. Several signature schemes have been proposed.. This explains why in general one will first compute the hashcode of the message with a fast hash function and subsequently apply the digital signature to this short hashcode. If Alice adds some redundancy to her message and transforms the result using her secret key. anyone who knows Alice’s public key can verify that this message was sent by Alice (by verifying the redundancy). in addition tamper resistant hardware). In this way a digital signature can provide non-repudiation of origin. Subsequently he can verify the validity of the signature. which is the equivalent of the hand-written signature on a document. these schemes are less efficient in terms of memory and computations. However. a judge). Other constructions use a conventional cipher in combination with tamper resistant hardware: this offers only a limited protection. Schemes which can only be used for digital signature purposes are the DSA and the Fiat-Shamir scheme. who will be able to obtain Alice’s public key.. The RSA public-key cryptosystem is the only one which can be used for both enciphering and digital signatures.DBA 1727 NOTES Digital signature Public-key techniques can also be used for other purposes than for enciphering information. 86 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . Hash functions versus digital signatures Hash functions can only be used in a situation where the parties mutually trust each other: they cannot be used to resolve a dispute (unless one uses. More complex protocols are required to achieve mutual authentication.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT 1.10. many of which exhibit some weaknesses. A large number of protocols have been presented in the available literature.5 Cryptographic protocols A cryptographic protocol is an interaction between one or more entities to achieve a certain goal. we will restrict this section to two types of protocols: protocols for user authentication and protocols for key management. The public keys of the asymmetric cipher can be distributed via an authentic channel which can be provided for example by combining conventional mail with voice authentication. More complex challenge-response protocols can be designed in which the user does not transmit his secret information. In this way one builds a key hierarchy: secret keys for bulk encryption with a symmetric cipher system will be encrypted using an asymmetric cipher system and signed with a digital signature scheme. In fact. Key Management Protocols One of the main links in the cryptographic keychain is the key management protocol: every cryptographic service will make use of cryptographic keying material. whose confidentiality and/or integrity has to be protected. User authentication protocols The design of cryptographic protocols for user authentication is very complex. 87 NOTES ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . For the distribution of this keying material. encryption and digital signatures can be seen as a special case of cryptographic protocols. a physical channel. The simplest protocol providing unilateral authentication consist of sending a password. While a huge number of protocols have been developed. They are based on an encryption algorithm. one can use a new cryptographic primitive. An alternative is to sign these public keys with a single master key: now one only has to distribute a single master key via an authentic channel. a MAC or a digital signature and the use. and ultimately. sequence numbers or time stamps. in addition. of so called nonces (never used more than once): random numbers. Business to Employee C2C . A well known example in this class is the Diffie-Hellman key agreement scheme.Business to Business B2C . 88 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . while stepping through those processes electronically rather than in a physical store or by phone (with a physical catalogue). B2B .DBA 1727 NOTES These signed public keys are called certificates.Business to Consumer C2B . SUMMARY 1. The commonly used scheme nowadays in based on the ITU-T X. by exchanging public keys or parameters. The central authority certifies that a certain public key belongs to a particular user. Note that there also exist public-key protocols which result in the agreement of a secret key between two parties. data or transaction management.Consumer to Consumer Architectural framework of e commerce: The electronic commerce application architecture consists of six layers of functionality. Define EC and describe its types: Electronic commerce is an emerging model of new selling and merchandising tools in which buyers are able to participate in all phases of a purchase decision. There are a number of different types of E-Commerce      2. the system has to provide a means to protect the user in the case by warning the other users that his public key is no longer valid. anybody can read his messages or forge his signatures.509 recommendation. in which one party generates the secret key and enciphers it with the public key of the other party.Consumer to Business B2E . In the context of public-key cryptography. or services: 1) 2) Applications brokerage services. This protocol is different from a key transport protocol. revocation of public keys is very important: once the user’s secret key is compromised. The key agreement protocols have the advantage that they result in an increased security level. Although public-key systems require no on-line central management system. business process reengineering (BPR). Data warehouses and types of data warehouses: A data warehouse is a collection of computer-based information that is critical to successful execution of enterprise initiatives. The Limitations of EC: The limitations of EC can be grouped into technical and non-technical categories. middle ware and structured document interchange. economical. Decision trees. Hardware Trends. continuous improvement efforts. business alliances and EC. Organizations’ major responses are divided into five categories: strategic systems for competitive advantage. Data mining and techniques used in Data mining: Data mining. Data library. individuals. The term data warehouse is currently being used to describe a number of different facilities each with diverse characteristics-Physical data warehouse. Decision support systems (DSSs) 3 4 5 6 7 89 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . low cost. and Rule induction: Trends that Effect Data Mining: Five external trends which promise to have a fundamental impact on data mining are Data Trends. Logical data warehouse. interactive nature. Network Trends. and resourcefulness and rapid growth of the supporting infrastructures (especially the Web) result in many potential benefits to organizations. and support layers” secure messaging. The most commonly used techniques in data mining are: Artificial neural networks. and network infrastructure and basic communications services NOTES Environmental factors and major responses: Market. and society. variety of possibilities. societal and technological factors are creating a highly competitive business environment in which consumers are the focal point. is a powerful new technology with great potential to help companies focus on the most important information in their data warehouses. the extraction of hidden predictive information from large databases. Benefits of EC: The global nature of the technology. security and electronic document interchange. Scientific Computing Trends and Business Trends. nearest neighbour method. Genetic algorithms.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT 3) 4) 5) 6) 2 interface. opportunity to reach hundreds of millions of people. What is eCommerce? What so you understand by EDI? Explain different types of EC? Explain Electronic Commerce Application Services List the advantages and disadvantages of EC: 90 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . consistent. Certainly the ARPAnet is the bestknown TCP/IP network. managers and executives to gain insight into data through fast. HTML is a special kind of text document that is used by Web browsers to present text and graphics. It was developed by a community of researchers centred around the ARPAnet.DBA 1727 NOTES 8      9 Network Infrastructure Components Routers and switches Firewalls Load balancers Storage Area Network (SAN) DNS What is TCP/IP? TCP/IP is a set of protocols developed to allow cooperating computers to share resources across a network. 10 11 12 Questions for review 1.HTML consists of standardized codes or ‘tags’ that are used to define the structure of information on a web page. 2. OLAP: On-Line Analytical Processing (OLAP) is a category of software technology that enables analysts. which means hidden and “logos” which means word. HTML: HTML stands for Hypertext Markup Language. Cryptology is as old as writing itself. 4. 3. and has been used for thousands of years to safeguard military and diplomatic communications. interactive access to a wide variety of possible views of information that has been transformed from raw data to reflect the real dimensionality of the enterprise as understood by the user. Cryptography: The word cryptology is made up of two components: “kryptos”. 5. 18. Which of them are company-dependent and which are generic. 9. 14. 17. List the major activities of BPR What is data mining? List the techniques used in data mining Describe five external trends which promise to have a fundamental impact on data mining. 20. 8. 10. 15. List the major activities taken by organizations to deal with the business pressures. Discuss the Network infrastructure components What is TCP/IP? Discuss the traditional TCP/IP services? What is HTML? What are HTML tags and where are they used? What is OLAP and discuss the data model of OLAP? What are the benefits of OLAP? What is Cryptography? Discuss the major goals of modern cryptography? Discuss about encryption primitives. What is data warehouse? List the advantages of data warehouse. List the organizational. 16. consumer and societal benefits of EC Carefully examine the non-technological limitations of EC.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT 6. 19. 13. What are cryptography protocols? NOTES 91 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . 12. 7. 11. Online channels such as online services and the Web are also impacting traditional retail business models. and logistics to order fulfilment. the retailer seeks out the customer. The success of catalog retailers demonstrates that a significant portion of consumers have embraced the reverse model: the retailer going to the consumer. In the traditional model. retailers need to consider the following issues in developing a business model:   Product/Content Issues: What kind of products are suited for online retailing? Software Interface Issues: What kind of features will constitute an effective interface? What features make it easy to find and select items for on-line purchase? 93 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . delivery. suppliers are assessing technology based solutions to drive down costs (labour.1 RETAILING IN E-COMMERCE 2. school. In the online model. Almost every retailer is re-evaluating every aspect of its operation from customer service to advertising. These developments should impact retailing as much as the advent of strip malls. car. Furthermore. However. anytime-from work. reacting to the pressure of retailers. or airplane. and production) and become more efficient producers of goods.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT NOTES UNIT II BUSINESS APPLICATIONS IN E-COMMERCE 2. merchandising to store design. catalogue retailing. the customer went to the store and located the product.1.1 Electronic Commerce and Retailing Retailing is expected to change with the rapid development of new online sales and distribution channels that literally can be used from anywhere. and TV-based home shopping. a hotel. Selling of different type of goods 94 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . a video recorder. The sale of intangible goods is sometimes called E-servicing. Examples of digital goods are software and music.DBA 1727 NOTES  Process Issues: What are the specific steps in the shopping process from a consumer’s perspective? What kind of processes should companies de-velop to fulfill orders efficiently? Before examining the implications of changing consumer behavior and online retailing in the existing retail business. the most recent foreign exchange rate. if they are sold directly to the consumer who is the end user. The sale of tangible and intangible goods are all referred to as Customer oriented e-commerce or eretailing. or education. So are the sales of services such as telecommunication services or banking services. which may be downloaded from the internet.2(a) We can divide tangible goods into two categories: physical goods and digital goods. a television set. 2.1. let us step back for a moment and ask the question: Why should retailers consider the online environment as a way of doing business? The answer lies in understanding the market changes that affect retailing and that will continue to affect it in the future. etc. Sometimes we refer to this as the sale of tangible and intangible goods. as shown in Figure 2.2 E-Retailing E-retailing essentially consists of the sale of goods and services.    Examples of physical goods would be a book. a washing machine. Entertainment such as -games that would be played on the internet are also examples of e-services. Examples of services that may be sold are information such as the most recent stock prices.1. Here we discuss the sale of tangible goods. Examples of physical outlets that retailers currently use are:     Malls generalized stores (e. this notion of browsing through a catalogue is a forerunner of e-retailing. or the use of vending machines includes other forms that have actually moved away from a physical fixed outlet and in a way are intermediate forms of the movement away from traditional physical retailing outlet to the virtual retailing we see on the internet.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT 2. department store) specialized stores franchise stores NOTES It is useful to reflect that even in traditional retailing we have moved away from just using a static physical outlet within which a customer can have direct contact with the retailer. E-retailing The internet has allowed a new kind of specialization to emerge.1. door-to-door sales. This normally involves a fairly extensive chain starting from a manufacturer to a wholesaler and then to the retailer who through a physical outlet has direct contact with the final customer. they allow specialization in particular classes of 95 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI .3 Difference between Traditional retailing and E-retailing Traditional retailing Traditional retailing essentially involves selling to a final customer through a physical outlet or through direct physical communication.g. In some respects. The customer browses through this catalogue and then carries out mail ordering. Instead of specializing just in a special product line. Thus. Direct mailing. more recent forms of traditional retailing include     direct mailing telemarketing door-to-door sales vending machines Direct mailing to a customer normally involves sending a brochure or catalogue to a customer. telemarketing. com. which allows last minute purchases of travel tickets. which is available to the customers. He is able to sit in front of a terminal and search the net and examine the information on goods. The second aspect of convenience he gets is in terms of time. or perhaps even locate the sites where they may be available at the best price The second type of benefit to customers is better information. The first of these is convenience. In addition to these specialized stores. It is convenient for the customer as he does not have to move from shop to shop physically in order to examine goods. We also have the electronic counterpart of malls or e-malls.4 Benefits of E-Retailing To the customer Customers enjoy a number of benefits from e-retailing. The Internet and the World Wide web are essentially communication media that allow retailers to put on quite extensive information related to their products. and entertainment to be matched against last minute sellers of the same items. E-malls essentially provide a web-hosting service for your individual store much in the way that mall provide a hosting service in the sense of a physical location for your store.1. The third type of convenience that the customer gets is that he has access to a search engine. Examples of these generalized stores include JC penny and Walmart. Thus.DBA 1727 NOTES customers and sellers. and CNET stores: 2. Normally. we also get generalized e-stores where a store sells several product lines under a single management. we see lastminute. GEO Shops. 96 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . Here. This kind of specialization would not have been possible before we had the internet. On the net. Examples of these e-malls are Yahoo! Store. we see specialization not in a product line but in a class of purchasers and a class of sellers. the customer can choose at any time to visit a site to examine the goods that are available and actually carry out his purchasing at one’s own convenient time. the traditional shop has an opening time and a closing time and the customer can only visit the shop within these periods. gift. which will actually locate the products that he describes’ and also the site where they may be available. These allow one to easily inquiries and deal with complaints. of course. it keeps an inventory of a few thousand best selling titles only. competitive pricing pressure that arises from the fact that the customer is now able to look at prices at several sites. They can be from anywhere around the globe.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT The third type of benefit that the customer gets is competitive pricing. he does not have to hire several shop assistants. he can probably have lower inventories.  The first of these is global reach. He does not have to have many shop assistants who are physically answering questions and. Thus. The fourth benefit to the retailer is mass customization. Therefore. The third benefit is the lowered capital cost to the retailer.  The first is lowered costs to the retailer because he does not have to maintain a physical showroom. and these savings can be passed on to customers in the form of reduced prices. the retailer has lower warehousing costs. The retailer must. the retailer is now able to carry out mass customization with reduced time to market for the customized products. Showing the customer goods. These also allow a much more rapid response time than was possible in the days of faxes and postal mail. the pressure is always there on the retailer to maintain a competitive price for his products. NOTES  To the business There are a number of benefits of e-retailing to the business itself.com lists over a few million titles. while Amazon. The retailer does not have to maintain showrooms. Therefore. The use of email and the use of electronic interchange of messages between the customer and the retailer allow better communication between the customer and the retailer. 97 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI    . The retailer now is no longer restricted to customers who are able to reach the store physically. Based on requests by the customers. The second benefit is better customer service. This is due to two factors. Secondly. deliver the goods of a purchase to the customer. brand names at a much lower price.DBA 1727 NOTES   The next advantage is targeted marketing.positioning within that product line to cater for a particular part of the marker. add-on services to basic services. e. and then you could have specialization . flowers. In contrast to this. It may also choose to position itself in a particular part of the product line. So. The last advantage to the retailer consists of different new forms of specialized stores that he is now able to utilize. or add-on options to products that he is selling.com In lastminute. and sells only this particular product line. you can have a specialization by product line. travel tickets. The retailer is also able to provide more value-added services in the way of better information. it could choose to position itself at the very expensive end of the market selling brand names _ Gucci and Armani. as mentioned. earlier. A good example of this is lastminute.g. say books. When you have specialization by product line. Alternatively it could do more mass marketing by selling non . 2. The retailer is now able to pick on a specific targeted group of customers and direct marketing towards these customers. and other items for last 98 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . or it could go into discount selling. a new kind of specialization is emerging on the internet.1. CDs.5 Models of E-Retailing There are several models for e-retailing and these include        Specialized e-store Generalized e-store E-mall Direct selling by the manufacturer Supplementary distribution channel E-broker E-services Specialized e-stores The first class of model what we mention in e-retailing was the specialized e-store and here you can distinguish between two different kinds of specialization: the more traditional specialization along product lines and specialization by function. essentially you have a store that decides to pick one particular product line. clothes. clothes. namely specialization by function.com they sell gifts. this means that the air ticket is likely to cost much more than if he had purchased it some time before traveling and made use of different discounts or promotions. This is a unique kind of specialization. E-malls The next e-retailing model we consider is the e-mall. The advantage for an e-store is that it is grouped together with other stores in a wellknown e-mall site and. Now. E-mall management is responsible only for creating the cyber sites that can be rented and can support services and marketing of the mall. and allow the former to buy from the latter at the last minute. when one purchases an item at a very short notice (e. the purchaser may get his airline ticket at a reduced price. In this situation. which can be utilized by a prospective e-store to create and maintain it_ e-store. there is a win-win situation for both the purchaser and the seller. So. thus. It. In an e-mall. cyberspace is rented out to cyber e-stores that wish to sell their goods. travel). in a single e-mall. So.com does is bring together travelers who want to book at the last minute and an airline which has got spare capacity at the last minute. that have empty seats at the last minute which they are unable to fill. Generally. several product lines can be present.com realized that there are groups of customers who make these purchases at the last minute and feel some degree of angst at having to pay the premium for doing this shopping at the last minute. therefore. each store is under its own management. Several e-malls also provide software tools. which is an extra amount for the convenience of booking the travel at the last minute. in an e-mall. Generalized e-stores sell a large number of product lines rather than con-fining themselves to just one or a very few product lines. Generalized e-stores The next category of e-retailing models that we intend to look at is generalized e-stores. provides a web hosting service. This store could be a specialized or generalized e-store. what lastminute.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT minute shoppers who want to purchase these items at a very short notice.g. 99 NOTES ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI .g. However. he often pays a premium. On the other hand. airline companies. is likely to pick up visitors to the mall. you will find that you may have sellers. The producers of the web site lastminute. So. It is very difficult to do this unless one utilizes the internet to carry out this kind of specialization. unlike the generalized e-store which is under a single unified management. e. Brokers or intermediaries This class of e-retailers is essentially an extension of the notion of a broker from the physical to the cyber world. and security-related facilities. Note that this approach permits mass customization to meet customer preferences. Thus. That is the reason why they are sometimes referred to as electronic intermediaries. A broker is an intermediary who    may take an order from a customer and pass it on to a supplier may put a customer with specific requirements in touch with a supplier who can meet those requirements may provide a service to a customer. this approach can be used by manufacturers of well-known brands of products because the customer already knows the pro-duct. The other well -known examples are Cisco systems and Dell computers. the manufacturer must have a thorough understanding of customer preferences. etc. Secondly. anewshop. A note of caution is important here.com). This direct selling by the manufacturer has an important disintermediation effect leading to reduced costs to the end customer and increased profitability to the manufacturer. of the best known here is Ford. quality. search facilities.DBA 1727 NOTES Direct selling by the manufacturer A number of manufacturers with well-known brand name products have chosen to use the internet to carry out direct selling via the internet. and services to a customer. e-payment facilities. One. 100 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . There are several different models for electronic brokers and these include:  Brokers that provide a registration service with directory. order taking and fulfilment. brokers provide comparison shopping. which utilizes the internet to achieve direct selling but uses its dealer network to facilitate distribution and delivery. otherwise he has to rely on the customer knowledge of a retailer.g. with respect to particular criteria such as price. such as a comparison between goods. Any business can register with such an e-broker (e. By and large. com). Personalization of store layouts. E-services is discussed in the next lecture.1.com or bestbooksbuy. promotions. Change in consumer demographics. “who” can help customers to navigate through the site. Technology improvements that provide greater convenience and more information than traditional retailing.1. which allows convenient goods selection. which is a useful feature before submission. The provision of a search engine. The provision of a shopping cart.Priceline.g. deals. these goods can be downloaded instantly. 4. which more premium placed on efficient use of time Changes in consumer behavior. which allows one to browse through different categories of goods. 2. with less focus on brand name and more on lowest prices. which is a very important feature that does not exist in traditional retailing. Thus. and marketing. An on-line customer salesperson.com). An ability to provide an automatic price update. 3. Brokers that provide comparison shopping between products (e.The last model i.” 2. NOTES 2. The use of Forums (collaborative purchasing circles) to create a customer community and thus increase “stickiness. An order status checking facility. The ability to distribute digital goods directly.e.g. it is dynamic and linked with order process. 5. 6.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT   Brokers that meet a certain requirement such as a fixed price (e. mySimon.7 Changing Retail Industry Dynamics Important factors that affects the retailing industry dynamics are:     Overbuilding and excess supply. The provision of an on-line catalogue.6 Features of E-Retailing 1. 7. Thus. 101 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . 8. DBA 1727 Overbuilding and Excess Capacity With online retailing, constraints of time and space disappear. There is no bricks and mortar storefront to worry about, no critical locations. This new way of retailing can severely affect companies that have invested in expansion and adding capacity. It is important to understand the trouble traditional retailers will face if online retailing takes off. The 1980s was a period of overexpansion and turmoil for retailers. By the end of the decade, complaints about excessive retail space were being voiced. Profits were declining and control of operating expenses became a paramount management objective. Retailers reduced staff and minimized merchandising in order to enhance profits. Sales growth and market share development were given second priority behind profit enhancement. In the 1990s, companies are under pressure to grow and produce profit. An important measurement of profit gains is gross margin per square foot. For many retailers, these numbers is either growing slowly or declining, partially reflecting a less favorable product mix and more competition. Inadequate productivity, both per worker and per unit of space, is also reducing profit margins. Overbuilding also resulted in a growing shortage of lowcost, entry-level workers for the retail industry. The shortage of entry -level workers means that retailers are using under trained workers who are less able to empathize with shopper needs-leading to a perception that retailers in general and shopping centres in particular are unable or unwilling to provide quality service. Clearly, with crowded domestic markets and competition constantly grinding away at operating profit, new ways of retailing are being explored by forward-thinking companies such as Wal-Mart. Demographic Changes Shopping patterns are beginning to change with the increase of time -strapped, two-career couples and the aging ofAmerica. Value and time management are the consumer concerns driving interest in online retailing. Recent retail data shows a decline in the amount of time Americans are spending in shopping malls [EDR95]. The suggested reasons vary: time constraints, safety concerns, and growing frustration with the lack of courteous service and insufficient product information. Understanding the implications of time constraints on consumer shopping behavior is important as they portend the trends to come. For instance, Americans have openly embraced shopping channels like QVC and Home Shopping Network and retailers like CUC International. Today’s time-strapped shoppers have less time and want better values, fewer hassles, and more options. Today, a shopping trip requires a consumer to decide what he or she or the family needs, brave the traffic on the way to a store, hunt for parking, find and select items for purchase, take them to a checkout, wait in line, pay for the items, sometimes bag them, and carry them back home. It can be a hassle and a lot of work, so most working professionals have learned to dread shopping trips. As technology improves, it may not be long before driving to the store gives way to online shopping with home delivery as provided by Peapod. In contrast, there is a growing segment of the population for whom time constraints are less of a problem. The demographic outlook in the United States is for an increasing share of older shoppers (age 50 and above) who prefer shopping at stores rather than online. However, the product mix offered by many department stores and malls is increasingly out of touch with the aging population and does not reflect the shift in purchasing power. Also, with the aging of the population, there is evidence to indicate a shift in consumer interest away from material goods and toward experiences, such as travel and recreation. In addition, as people get older, they tend to become more frugal. Retailers will need to concentrate on value by offering new product mixes. By this we mean a product mix that includes not only merchandise but also bundles in entertainment and “recreational” shopping with movie theatres, restaurants, bookstores, libraries, and community meeting facilities. This sort of change is already occurring in bookstore design (such as Borders Bookstores and Barnes and Noble), which include a variety of facilities such as coffee shops. However, building shopping malls based on these new business models is a risky venture and requires huge investments. Consumer Behavior Consumer behavior is more volatile than ever before, and companies need new ways of responding to consumer needs and satisfying demand. According to one survey, the typical consumer spent only four hours a month in a shopping mall in 1990 versus ten hours in 1985, and sales per square foot dropped. Specialty retailing-power centres, discount malls, discount stores, and catalogue shopping-has become one solution for closely monitoring consumer trends and reacting to them quickly. All of these alter-natives have one thing in common: they provide consumers with a very large selection of producers priced with deep discounts. DBA 1727 Consumers are no longer as influenced by brand names as they used to be. The emergence of the value shopper is changing retailing. Today, the shopper is less willing to pay the premium for the brand name and much more attentive to quality and value. The decline in gross margins is the first evidence of the impact of that change, reflecting lower initial mark-ups and more discriminating shoppers in that segment clearly, retailers that are focused on providing value-the best price, service, and selection-regardless of the brand name will be successful. The real differentiating characteristic for retailers will be in their ability to define what the broad or niche consumer segment is looking for, identifying characteristics of customers in each target segment, and learning how to bundle products and package brands so that they become the preferred choice for online customers Technology Improvements in Electronic Retailing Today, electronic retailing is still far from being a competitive threat to more traditional store retailing (see Table), but it is becoming increasingly attractive as technology and applications improve, and retailers gain experience. Three dominant forms of electronic retailing channels are: television re-tailing, CDROM retailing, and online service based retailing, in which we include Web-based retailing. Now we can discuss about the most prominent one: the television retailing. Television Retailing: Television retailing grossed an estimated Rs. 3.2 billion in 1994. One of the pioneers in this area is Home Shopping Network, Inc. (HSN), which began broadcasting electronic retailing to a small, local audience in 1982. Three years later they took this still unproven idea national- and made it work. Today, HSN is a television-based retail, entertainment company, and online retailer (owns Internet Shopping Network), with coast-to-coast customers and annual sales of $1 + billion. The breadth and reach of TV retailing are amazing. In. 1994, HSN reached 65.8 million television households throughout the United States. These households received the signals via cable, broadcast, and satellite dish, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Unlike online audiences, which tend to be predominantly affluent and well educated (net annual in-come is estimated at Rs. 60,000 - Rs. 80,000), the target audience for television re-tailing is moderate income households and mostly women. How does it work? The TV retail marketing and programming are divided into segments that are televised live, with a show host who presents the merchandise and conveys information relating to the product, including price, quality, features, and benefits. Show hosts engage callers in on-air discussions regarding the currently featured product or the caller’s previous experience with the company’s products. Viewers place orders for products by calling a toll-free telephone number. Generally, merchandise is delivered to customers within seven to ten business days of placing an order. The purchased item may be returned within thirty days for a full refund of the purchase price, including the original shipping and handling charges. The success of television shopping is the result of the effective utilization of electronic media for capturing the power and influence of celebrity and the magic of showmanship, and bringing them to bear on a sale. In its annual report, the Home Shopping Network states that a celebrity can de-but a line of jewelry on HSN and sell more than Rs. 2 million in a single weekend. Of course, there’s another advantage to television retailing. When customer interest, which is monitored by the number of calls being received, begins to DBA 1727 wane, the retailer knows it instantly and can simply move on to the next product. More recently, infomercials have become a crucial retailing topic. The infomercial has become a new and interesting way to retail specialty products. Modem filming techniques and ingenuity make it possible to create high-quality, cost-efficient, and entertaining documentaries that sell. This Coincides with the television viewing public’s appetite for information. Infomercials are an especially logical medium since retailers have the opportunity to economically test and evaluate a product through mass channels such as television retailing before committing major capital resources to infomercial production. Management Challenges in Online Retailing While changes in retailing may be driven by technology, managerial vision is required for successful implementation. Traditionally, retailing has been a low-tech environment in which retailing executives often relegated technology issues to back-room operators. These managers are most at risk, as they do not have a clue that a major revolution has begun. Most of them have never used a computer (or had to), never been on an online service, and do not know what the Internet is or what it can do. The winners will be the players who understand how to leverage the unique capabilities of the on-line medium to effectively meet the changing needs of the consumer. While the technology required to implement online retailing is maturing, many management issues remain unanswered. No one really knows yet how to build and run a successful, mass market online mall. The sales Medium is new, the technology is new, and retailers have a lot to learn about tricky technology, customer behavior, and management issue. But one thing is clear: For online retailing to succeed, online technology must complement management and operational strategy. Online Retailing Success Stories Peapod, CUC International, and Virtual Vineyards help to explain the intricacies of online retailing. Online Retailing: Peapod’s Experience Peapod, based in Evanston, Illinois, is using the online medium for food retailing services. Founded in 1989 by two brothers, Peapod (http://www.peapod.com/) is a member of an online grocery / drug-store shopping and delivery service that already has thousands of customers in the Chicago, San Francisco, and Boston areas. Peapod was founded on the idea that people do not want to go to the grocery store. Peapod has an online database of over 25,000 grocery and drugstore items, and allows comparison shopping based on price, nutritional content, fat, or calories. Other features include electronic coupons, retailer preferred customer discounts, and other benefits like recipes, tips, and information. Peapod membership also allows users to use the shopping and home delivery service. Peapod has a staff of professional shoppers, produce specialists, and delivery people who fulfil the order. How Does It Work? Peapod provides customers with home shopping ser-vices via Pc. Customers need to buy a software application that enables them to access Peapod’s database through an online computer service. Peapod initially had a DOS-based system with graphics. They introduced a new version of the software in 1995-a Windows platform in which product pictures are available. Using the PC, a consumer can access all of the items in a grocery store and drug store. Peapod customers create their own grocery aisles in their own virtual store. Customers can request a list of items by category (cereals), by item (Frosted Flakes), by brand (Kellogg’s), or even by what is on sale in the store on a given day. Within categories, they can choose to have the items arranged alphabetically by brand or sorted by lowest cost per ounce, package size, unit price, or nutritional value. Customers also can cre-ate repeated use shopping lists (baby items, barbecue needs, and the like). Peapod’s back office is linked with the mainframe databases of the super-markets at which it shops for its customers (Jewel in Chicago and Safeway in San Francisco), allowing it to provide the supermarkets’ stock keeping units and shelf prices electronically to its customers. Once consumers have made a selection, they can then give specific shopping instructions, such as “substitute with same calories,” or red grapes only.” They can click on the “Comment” button and type in any extra information they would like the Peapod shopper to know. At any time during the order, a consumer can subtotal the amount purchased, or access the “Help” screen for immediate assistance. Online ordering is simple: users double-click on the Peapod icon and then enter their user IDs and passwords. On verification, users get access to a whole grocery store and drug store of items. Before the actual purchase of an item, users can view images of it and the nutritional content as well. The system allows users to sort items by various criteria like price, price/ unit, total calories, fat, protein, During the transaction closing process. In addition. With these features. plus a monthly service fee. service representatives found that some customers were receiving five bags of grapefruits when they really wanted only five grapefruits. Payment can be made by check. charge. At each stage-ordering. The employee pays for the groceries. they click on “Done” and the order is electronically routed to Peapod. Peapod treats each call as an opportunity to learn (and remember) each customer’s preferences and to figure out what the company can do to improve service as a whole. the delivery ad-dress. Consumers save money-despite the extra overhead-because they use more coupons. and cholesterol. Customers are willing to pay these extra charges for convenience and because Peapod provides a lower cost shopping experience for the consumer. 108 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . and delivery-the processes are tailored to provide personalized service at a relatively low cost. For example. Pinpoint delivery within a 3Dminute window) can be selected for a small additional charge. and buy fewer impulse items than they would if they shopped at a real supermarket. or Peapod Electronic Payment. Pea pod aims to target the health and fitness conscious consumer who chooses foods tailored to specific dietary needs. and instructions for getting there. users need to choose a delivery time within a 90minute slot. and then faxed to the stores. a per-order charge of Rs. shopping. where the appropriate items are kept cold or frozen until the deliverer picks up a set of orders and takes them to the customers within their 90-minute pre-selected windows. 5. If a customer has a problem. The store gets a printout with the order. who shops the aisles of the store. the rest are faxed or phoned. holding. do better comparison shopping. Eighty-five to ninety percent of Peapod’s orders come in via computer. he or she can call Membership Services. There are also search features to help locate a particular item. and a service representative will try to resolve the matter. Peapod began asking customers to confirm orders in which orderentry errors may occur. When users have finished shopping. consumers save time and have more control because they can shop from home or work whenever they want. Each order is filled by a Peapod employee. A “Find Item” option at the top of the screen lets users search either by brand name or product type.DBA 1727 NOTES carbohydrates. Reducing impulse purchases is important when you consider that 80 percent of the items purchased in a grocery store are impulse items-non-planned purchases. Peapod members are charged actual shelf prices. In response. Peapod orders are taken centrally. often at special Peapod counters in the back of the store.00 plus 5 percent of the order amount. The order is then taken to a holding area in the supermarket. such as having an overflow warehouse when something is available on a deal or buying products before there is actual need. Peapod is using interactive technology to change the shopping experience altogether. it is quite possible that in the future Peapod may be tempted to compete with grocers by emulating certain aspects of their warehousing. existing retailers do have some advantages. Is Peapod a competitor to the retail grocer? Not really. advantage enjoyed by food retailers is the shopper’s resistance to switching food stores because of familiarity with the shelf locations of products purchased. and once Peapod gains enough customers. The homes it delivers to cut across many demographics. The online environment must offer significant advantages to overcome shopper inertia and induce trial. It creates the supply chain after identifying a specific demand from a specific customer. these customers would be back in the stores in a second. if it were not for wellmanaged logistics. Peapod will be tempted to say it is costing a lot to go to the store and pick up product off the shelf. volume discounts. Peapod could have its own warehouse. and getting coop advertising. They provide access to customers and make their money by buying on deals. Peapod makes all of its money on the customers it serves. A lot of credibility comes with the name of the retailer in its individual market. As soon as the Peapod does that it is likely to fall into the same traps as the retailers. Peapod’s strategy has been to partner with the retailer rather than compete directly. Indeed. the formula for Peapod’s success is the busy American lifestyle. and it feeds off the existing infrastructure to do it. patronage. However. as other online providers are doing. 109 NOTES ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . Still. It is also inconvenient for consumers to relearn dozens of product locations at a new store. To avoid the overhead . it is a mass customizer. though subtle. Peapod can help grocers expand into places that might not otherwise be practical from a capital investment standpoint. The one thing these demographics have in common is they have better things to do than grocery shop.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT What is the Business Model? Rather than automating the trip to a retail store. Why? As these new retail formats emerge . let alone continued. An important. The behindthe-scenes logistics are central to what Peapod is all about. Peapod has to make sure the orders get to the stores and that they are shopped correctly. However. How does Peapod Compete with Traditional Retailers? Traditional retailers make money from the suppliers. Building and Maintaining Customer Relationship The goal of marketing is to build and create lasting customer relationships.2.DBA 1727 NOTES 2. designing the marketing program. framing the market opportunity.2 INTERNET CONSUMERS AND MARKET RESEARCH 2. 110 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . These seven stages must be coordinated and internally consistent. what is Internet marketing? Internet marketing is the process of building and maintaining customer relationships through online activities to facilitate the exchange of ideas. and evaluating the results of the marketing program. formulating the marketing strategy. and serv-ices that satisfy the goals of both parties. The Internet marketing program may well be part of a broader campaign to satisfy customers who use both online and offline services. an Internet-marketing program involves a process. loyal customers. designing the customer experience. crafting the customer interface. While the process can be described in a simple linear fashion. Successful marketing programs move target customers through three stages of relationship building: awareness. the marketing strategist often has to loop back and forth during the seven stages. exploration. This definition can be divided into five components: A Process Like a traditional-marketing program. the goal is to build offline (as relevant) as well as online relationships. the focal point shifts from finding customers to nurturing a sufficient number of committed. The seven stages of the Internet marketing program process are setting corporate and business-unit strategy. products. It is important to stress that the goal of Internet marketing is not simply building relationships with online customers.1 What is Internet Marketing? If traditional marketing is about creating exchanges that simultaneously satisfy the firm and customers. and commitment. Hence. Rather. In both the online and offline worlds. goods. However. and distribution of ideas. That is. suppliers. the success of an Internet marketing program ‘may rest with traditional. for example.2 Scope of Internet Marketing Marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception. Exchange At the core of both online and offline marketing programs is the concept of exchange. in the form of advertising revenueboth parties will be satisfied. promotion. Firms must be increasingly sensitive to these cross channel effects if they are to measure the independent effects of online and offline marketing programs. 2. Internet marketing deals with levers that are available in the world of the Internet. Hence. To the extent that weather. Both parties must be satisfied for exchange to continue. He is clearly satisfied with and loyal to the site. and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational goals NOTES 111 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI .com can monetize this loyalty-most likely. firms must be very sensitive to cross-channel exchanges. pricing. or shareholders.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT Online By definition.com. online marketing may produce exchanges in retail stores.com. its widely successful of the past two years. the recruiting and job-seeking service Monster. offline marketing vehicles. if the firm is unable to meet its financial obligations to employees. Consider. Customers are still happy. in particular. then the exchange is unbalanced. However. In the new economy. Each day he arises and checks the weather in his city as well as the weather in cities he will be traveling to during the week. but the firm is unable to sustain its revenue model. exchange is still the heart of marketing. as noted above. Monster’s success can be tied directly to the effectiveness of its television advertising and. Satisfaction of Goals of both Parties One of the authors of this book is a loyal user of the website weather. an online marketing program must be evaluated according to its overall exchange impact-not just the online exchange impact.2. DBA 1727 NOTES The definition summarized above has four critical features. 112 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . The traditional retail context provides the simplest illustration of this principle. money. Analysis. while the seller must exchange something of value to the buyer. The classical marketing approach involves four broad steps: market analysis. and Distribution Strong marketing programs do not involve one action. implementation. These include bartering. and control. volunteering services. The buyer may exchange time. such as the design of a great product. market planning. or marketing program). Finally. It is about Exchange Marketing is not successful unless two parties exchange something of value. implementation. and political donations. Rather. It Involves a Mix of Product. This mixing entails blending the right amounts of the 4P ingredients. and the design of the marketing mix (also termed the 4Ps. Too often. or services. this translates into significant problems with order fulfilment at the most pressing times of the year. A given consumer exchanges money for a particular good or service. and in the right sequence. many of which are non monetary. However. Promotion. positioning. How often have you witnessed the hot Christmas toy advertised-but not found it on the shelf? In the Internet environment. at the right time. marketing control refers to the informal and formal mechanisms that marketing mangers can use to keep the marketing program on course. exchange also occurs in a wide variety of contexts. upon which a particular firm-with unique skills-can capitalize. the most successful marketing programs involve mixing the ingredients of marketing to deliver value to customers. Pricing. target market choice. These are: Marketing is a Process A process is a particular method of doing an activity. generally involving a series of steps or operations. Market planning requires segmentation. and control collectively provide a process for marketing managers to follow in the design and execution of marketing programs. Market implementation includes the systems and processes to go to market with the marketing pro-gram. 5 Market analysis involves searching for opportunities in the marketplace. planning. marketing programs fail because they allocate too many (or too few) resources in an uncoordinated way. exciting changes that have a profound impact on the practice of marketing. the firm must have a positive cash flow or show a clear path to profitability for investors to maintain confidence. a new era of marketing has emerged. the standard marketing-mix toolkit includes such mass-marketing levers as television advertising. With the emergence of the Internet and its associated technology-enabled. the text would not be complete (and indeed might be actionable from the standpoint of business practice!) if it did not propose a broader 113 NOTES ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . the firm. In short. However.3 E-Business Issues & Internet Marketing At its core. advertising. a traditional bricks-and mortar marketer uses a variety of market-ing variables-including pricing.g. and competitive responses happen in real time. At the same time. these are new. and its shareholders. consumer expectations about convenience have forever been altered. new levers have been added to the marketing mix. To accomplish this goal. and regionalized programs. those organizations are not likely to have a long life.) At the ‘other extreme. including segmentation.. the mission of marketing is to attract and retain customers. building unique resources. At the same time. some of the fundamentals of business strategy-seeking competitive advantage based on superior value. The key to modern marketing is simultaneously satisfying the customer. pundits and academics alike have argued that both the basic building blocks of marketing strategy and the pathways to competitive advantage have remained the same The approach taken in the current volume falls between these polar views. In this context.2. and positioning in the minds of customershave remained the same. as well as customer-specific marketing techniques such as the use of sales reps. That is. The intent of this text is to provide a clear indication of what has changed and what has not changed. and public relations. screento-face interfaces (e. segments have been narrowed to finer gradations. mass marketing. 2. direct mail. and channel choice-to satisfy cur-rent and new customers. Well-respected academics and practitioners have called for new rules and urged debate about fundamental tenets of marketing. In the long run. mobile phones. Firms can have highly satisfied customers if they provide services for free.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT It is Intended to Satisfy Individual and Organizational Needs The aim of marketing is to provide a satisfactory outcome for both the firm and the customer. interactive television). 4 The Seven Stages of Internet Marketing 114 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . 2.g. under-standing the five forces enables firms to comprehensively map their competitive environment while simultaneously identifying specific actions for their managers (e. Frameworks such as the 4Ps of marketing or the five forces of competitive analysis are important because they provide easy-to-remember. Thus. reduce buyer power by increasing the number of buyers).DBA 1727 NOTES framework to understanding the practice of Internet marketing. They also serve as guides to managerial action.. simplifying structures for complex problems.2. specifying unmet or underserved customer needs.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT The given figure provides an overview of the seven stages of Internet marketing. What mechanism do they put in place to evaluate these opportunities? In this second part of the Internet-marketing process. declaring the company’s resource-based opportunity for advantage. a simple six-step methodology helps evaluate the attractiveness of the opportunity The six steps include: seeding the opportunity. books. the senior leadership team of each unit sets the strategic direction and steers the business unit toward its goals. identifying the target segment. Stage Two: Framing the Market Opportunity Stage two entails the analysis of market opportunities and an initial first pass of the business concept-that is. and evaluating the results of the marketing program. including decisions about which units should be kept. sold. electronics. Business-unit strategy focuses on how a particular unit in the company attacks a market to gain competitive advantage. designing the marketing program. Once these business units are established and incubated in Amazon’s corporate head~ quarters. The Seven Stage Cycle Of internet Marketing Stage One: Setting Corporate and Business-Unit Strategy Corporate strategy addresses the interrelationship between the various business units in a firm. Corporate-strategy issues relate to the choice. and tools/hardware. However. formulating the marketing strategy. for example. and number of business units such as kitchen. Consider. it is very important to stress that marketing plays a critical role in this market-opportunity assessment phase. assessing opportunity attractiveness. and making the final go/no-go decision. crafting the customer interface. mix. designing the customer experience. Amazon. framing the market opportunity. The final go/ no-go choice is often a corporate or business-unit decision. for example. that you are running a major dot-com business such as Amazon. the management team needs to obtain a sufficient picture of the marketplace and a clear 115 NOTES ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . The seven stages are these: setting corporate and business-unit strategy.com. collecting sufficient online and offline data to establish the burden of proof of opportunity assessment. music. Let’s say. or augmented. In order for the firm to make an informed choice about the opportunity. The senior management team is continually confronted with go/no-go decisions about whether to add a new business unit or develop a new product line within an existing business unit. the design of the customer experience constitutes a bridge between the high-level marketing strategy (step three) and the marketing program tactics (step five). The experience should correlate with the firm’s positioning and marketing strategy. business unit. the firm also needs to collect sufficient market research data. the overall marketing strategy comprises both offline and online marketing activities. Thus. during the market-opportunity assessment phase. The marketing strategy goals. and Marketing Strategy Corporate Stage Four: Designing the Customer Experience Firms must understand the type of customer experience that needs to be delivered to meet the market opportunity. Corporate. This set of linkages is shown in figure . and overall marketing strategies of the firm. resources.DBA 1727 NOTES articulation of the customer experience that is at the core of the opportunity. Thus. and sequencing of actions must be tightly aligned with the businessunit strategy. Finally. Business-unit. 116 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . Stage Three: Formulating the Marketing Strategy Internet marketing strategy is based upon corporate. community) that can be used to create target customer awareness. traditional marketing such as television advertising. intense commitment to the brand (e. exploration. marketing is responsible for acquiring and retaining target customers. The connection may manifest itself in a deep.g. including word-of-mouth. Managing this building and pruning process is one of marketing’s key tasks. they are in the awareness stage. The firm has made a go/no-go decision on a particular option. commitment to the firm’s offering. prior to discussion of the Market space Matrix.g. the stages of the customer relationship and the associated classes of levers that can be employed must be defined. successful marketers manage to move desirable customers from awareness through exploration and. Consumers become aware of firms through a variety of sources. functional based commitment (e. Awareness is the first step in a potentially deeper relationship 117 NOTES ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . Simply put. it is hoped. Moreover. or attitudes about a firm or its offerings but have not initiated any communications with the firm. and. Stage five entails designing a particular combination of marketing actions (termed levers) to move target customers from aware-ness to commitment.. pricing. Once customers reach commitment. the Internet marketer has six classes of levers (e. The framework used to accomplish this task is the Market space Matrix. This bond can originate from cognitive or emotional sources. knowledge. Whether defined as a function or an organization-wide culture. regular use of weather.. the firm is in a position to observe their behavior patterns and determine which customers to nurture and which customers to terminate (or serve at a lower level of cost). The four stages of customer relationships are briefly outlined below Awareness When customers have some basic information..E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT Stage Five: Designing the Marketing Program The completion of stages one through four results in clear strategic direction for the firm. it has decided upon the target segment and the specific position that it wishes to own in the minds of the target customer. Building and Nurturing Customer Relationships A relationship can be defined as a bond or connection between the firm and its customers. finally.com). the Harley-Davidson HOG club-member) or a simple. commitment.g. and online marketing programs such as banner ads. In this process. However. non strategic customers are a different matter.g. Commitment Commitment involves feeling a sense of obligation or responsibility for a product or firm. 118 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . The most valuable customers may be identified based on profit. revenue. However. a large well-regarded customer may not be profitable but opens the door to new accounts). exploration may take the form of frequent site visits. The firm does not want this set of customers to terminate the relationship. and possibly even the return of merchandise. Dissolution Not all customers are equally valuable to the firm. It may include phone call followups on delivery times or e-mails about product inventory. That is. their repeated.. Firms should segment their most valuable and less valuable customers. 20 percent of customers provide 80 percent of the profit. the customer (and firm) begin to initiate communications and actions that enable an evaluation of whether or not to pursue the four key stages of customer relationship. or test. some e-commerce retail exchanges. By implication. This stage is also likely to include some trial on the part of the customer.driving a car. Unprofitable. enduring attitudes and behaviors reflect loyalty. The exploration stage may take only a few visits or perhaps years to unfold.marketing context. In an industrial. In the online world. as one can imagine. going on a first date. Exploration is analogous to sampling songs. and/or strategic significance (e. therefore. Exploration In the exploration stage. awareness without action is not in the best interests of the firm. When customers commit to a website. managers often refer to the 80/20 rule of profitability.DBA 1727 NOTES with the firm. a large number of customers are unprofitable or have high cost to serve. of the site? Should the site include commerce activities? How important are communities in the business model? Stage Seven: Evaluating the Marketing Program This last stage involves the evaluation of the overall Internet marketing program. screen-tb-face interaction). wireless applications protocol (WAP) device. The four stages vary by the ‘intensity of the connection between the firm and the customer Intensity of connection may be defined as the degree or amount of connection that unfolds between the firm and its target customers. This visitor would have a high level of frequent contact but a low level of scope.. This interface can be a desktop PC. relationship intensity is correlated with the stage of the relationship. or other Internet enabled appliance. As this shift from people-mediated to technology -mediated interfaces unfolds. (How often does the customer visit the site?) The scope of the connection. This includes a balanced focus on both customer and financial metrics. (How many different points of contact does the customer have with the firm?) The depth of contact. In all cases. personal digital assistant. (How thoroughly is the customer using the site?) NOTES A customer might visit a website such as Amazon on a regular basis. or context. it is important to consider the types of interface design considerations that confront the senior management team. sub-notebook. The key difference is that the nature of the exchange relationship is now mediated by a technology interface. 2. but only to purchase books. Another customer might visit Amazon frequently but not stay on the site for a long duration or engage in deeper connections such as writing reviews.. What is the look-and— feel. commenting on products. or communicating with other Amazon users. Stage Six: Crafting the Customer Interface The Internet has shifted the locus of the exchange from the marketplace (i.e. mobile phone. face—to-face interaction) to the market space (i. This customer would have high frequency but low depth. Three dimensions capture intensity: 1. 119 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . The frequency of the connection. 3.e.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT Often it is in the best interests of the firm to terminate the relationship or encourage this set of customers to disengage with the firm. By implementing a cross-sell strategy. Direct Marketing and Fulfilment This includes pre-sale interaction such as advertising that either influences or provides potential customers with the necessary information to make a purchase decision.DBA 1727 NOTES 2.2. Campaign management. 120 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI .5 Customer Relationship Management(CRM) Cross-selling and Up-selling This application has the capability to qualify prospects. Cross-selling and up-selling depend on identifying life-path needs. responding to requests in a timely manner is critical. or other correspondence into the hands of the customers and prospects when they are most receptive. This is because. a direct marketing process. direct mail responses. For instance. collateral packages. in the finance industry. keep detailed records of sales activities. easily and efficiently. and check on the status of the customer orders. integrate and leverage marketing programs by automating such tasks as managing responses. allows companies to manage. Cross-sell and up-sell application may be used to schedule sales calls. literature. then banks could cross-sell education savings plans or even loan consolidation plans. bonds and annuities. track contact or the “moments of truth and refer them to sales persons when appropriate. banks are attempting to build lasting relationships with customers by matching their life-path needs to complementary products and services. Whether it is product or service inquiries. which would then trigger a sales person to call the customer and ask if she or he would be interested in investment options. in a bank an event would be a large deposit. complete with the applications necessary to track customer contacts. and arranging logistical aspects of events. The goal of effective fulfilment is to provide a myriad of information to customers and prospects quickly. as organizations grow larger. If customers with young children can be identified. it becomes more difficult to manage multiple simultaneous programs and track costs across multiple channels. For example. Marketing automation is critical. As customers approach retirement. This creates a need for fulfilment capabilities that can get product information. pricing or billing issues. Marketing departments today are being deluged with requests for information via the Web and other channels. banks could recommend assets such as money markets. triggers can be established to identify prospects for additional sales. Another critical core competency is fulfilment. or requests for literature. qualifying leads. Today. very few organizations are able to make these 121 NOTES ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . Help-desk software automates the management and resolution of support calls and improves efficiency and effectiveness. and posting systems. The field service application provides the organization with features for scheduling and dispatching repair personnel.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT Effective fulfilment is not trivial.. The applications include support for service request management. and capture support costs for charge backs. return material authorizations. and handling contracts and accounting. Customer support capabilities are used to manage customers who are having problems with a product or service and to resolve those problems. Field Service Operations There is nothing like the hands-on approach to in they with of the customers about the company your company. Field service and dispatch applications have become mission critical tools that affect a company’s ability to deliver effective customer service and contain costs. activated when a problem can be solved over the phone and requires sending a repair person to the customer site to perform maintenance or repair. contact and activity management. and detailed service agreements. as well as look up detailed information about customer service contracts. customer surveys. These applications typically include capabilities to verify customer status (e. create and manage service requests. contacts and activities. Armed with this complete customer and product information. monitor service-level agreements.g. account management. what level of support they are entitled to) track specific tasks needed to resolve problems across multiple workgroups. Customer Service and Support Customer support provides customer care and other services. These discrete applications work together to ensure that customer service representatives can quickly assign. maintain permanent incident histories. sales force automation. service professional can resolve customer issues efficiently and effectively. Retention Management Effective Customer Relation must be based on differentiating customers based on account and transaction histories. managing inventory and logistics. it requires a sophisticated interface with campaign management. Field service is the hands on extension of external customer support. DBA 1727 NOTES distinctions. 365 days a year from any location. or “bots” as they are known. to search the web for a bundle of products and report back on which supplier is offering them the cheapest. Accuracy: Virtually eliminates processing errors. so once a customer found a supplier they were comfortable with they tended to stick with them. and then buy from anyone. 2. at least until something went wrong. 122 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . thus speeding payment. disengage from customers are high maintenance. Effective decision support depends on the ability to gather customer information at great levels of detail. track and manage. As a general rule. Before online shopping. companies could be reasonably certain that buying almost anything was not easy. low-margin prospects.2. 7 days a week. The ability to effectively segment customers depends on the decision support technology. But with the advent of e-commerce. whatever sells in print in a catalogue will also sell on the internet. in many cases. in any time or currency zone. which most executives see as a powerful enabler of Customer Relation Management. customers can check out the options anywhere. Speed: It takes far less time to complete the entire buy/sell process. Buying and selling firms have the same views of the transactions.6 Benefit from an e-Commerce Sales Strategy The internet is changing the balance of power between business and the customer. There are several major advantages to developing an e-commerce sales strategy: Efficiency: Electronic purchase orders and sales orders are more economical to place. Detailed knowledge about customers allows companies to treat all customers individually and. Convenience: Buying and selling can go on 24 hours a day. Customers can use comparison sites or shopping agents. which make online commerce more precise. Global Reach: Gives businesses an instant global reach to find supplies anywhere in the world. and effectively trans-late them into marketing strategies and tactics. Today’s Internet marketing exec-utive must have all the traditional skills of the offline marketing professional. Because the Internet enables a much greater degree of interaction with customers. Up-to-date Status and Alerts: Generates instant pager. Also provides order histories. A true customer advocate will be looking to provide demonstrable added value to each customer interaction to form the basis for a meaningful relationship. balanced thinking. These critical new skills include customer advocacy and insight. and technology has been their principle tool for managing it. Marketing professionals will need to strategically collect information from many disparate sources. Customer Advocacy and Insight An insatiable curiosity for customers and marketplaces is a bare necessity for today’s marketing professional. selling direct to consumers could be expensive. This innate curiosity fuels an individual’s desire to transform mounds of customer data into meaningful and actionable insights. enabling problem avoidance or swifter solutions. 2. which in turn become a platform for advocacy. integration. fax and e-mail notification to identify potential problems. designing and promoting these interactions around customers’ needs and progressively gaining deeper insights are critical components of creating positive customer experience. As both customer behaviors and enabling technologies simultaneously evolve. but must place extra emphasis on some of them to account for the new economy. On the web. and a willingness to accept risk and ambiguity. NOTES 123 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI .E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT Low Cost Entry: Before the web. you can sell direct to consumers worldwide for a hundred pounds a month.2. The Internet presents an adaptive challenge for the marketing executive.7 Critical success factors for internet marketing executives Marketers have always been in the business of anticipating and managing change. a deep understanding of customer needs should serve as the guidepost driving marketing decisions. Setting up a retail outlet or printing a glossy catalogue could cost hundreds of thousands of pounds. create insightful customer mosaics. Culling specific customer insights from a veritable fire hose of data is critically important for new economy managers. a marketing manager must fundamentally understand how to integrate these new tools into the overall marketing mix. Beyond strategy. a consistent message and experience must be maintained across customer touch points in order to create a consistent brand image. It also requires determining the appropriate customer data requirements. Successful marketing managers use this passion to fuel their entrepreneurial instincts and vision. is what will differentiate leaders from followers in the new economy. passion. and then creatively applying the insights gleaned from analysis are critical success factors for all Internet marketing professionals. It requires understanding the dynamic tension between one-toone marketing and mass marketing and being able to strike a strategic balance between them. The new-economy marketing professional needs to have an integrated or’ holistic view of the customer and the enterprise in order to create a uniquely advantaged strategic plan. or fire in the belly. Balanced Thinking An Internet marketing professional needs to be highly analytical and very creative. Understanding the strategic and tactical implications of the Internet. In today’s multi channel environment. Passion and Entrepreneurial Spirit Although very hard to objectively assess. creating “bleeding edge” tools as they lead their teams to success. Internet marketing professionals must also be technologically savvy. Internet marketing professionals need to retool them-selves and their companies to enter into a whole new era of customer-centric marketing.DBA 1727 NOTES Integration The Internet represents both a new channel and a new communications medium. Trying to change the status quo is never easy and only people with conviction and passion will be heard over the din of the inevitable naysayer. The 124 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . leveraging the rapid learning environment and accelerated decision-making process it creates. Managers who are able to hone their marketing plan in a highly integrated fashion are more likely to capitalize on the synergies between marketing elements and thus drive greater effectiveness. Willingness to Accept Risk and Ambiguity In the new economy. computer games. The skill set has not changed tremendously. In order to bring some order to the discuss of these wide variety of e-services. we organize them into the following categories. it can result in a reduced cost for the consumer.3 E-COMMERCE FOR SERVICE SECTOR 2. and the most successful Internet marketers will be willing to play at the edges. jobs and career sites. on-line publishing. and improve the quality of life. This list is by no means exhaustive and it is growing all the time. broker services. which were previously provided by humans in office agencies and/or their branches. Today’s online marketing professionals must have the basic skill set of the offline marketing professional. Successful Internet marketers will build their business models and value propositions around a deep understanding of customer needs-not around the product.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT Internet has enabled customers to have much more information and many more choices than ever before. but-the tools need to be applied with more vigor and sometimes with greater speed. In many cases. and on-line delivery of media content such as videos. namely 1. we will give an overview of eservices. bring convenience. 2. stock trading. etc. In this lecture.3. But they must also react more quickly and manage more information and channels in order to stay one step ahead of the competition. consultancy advice. NOTES 125 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . Web-enabling services. thus shifting the balance of power toward the customer and creating the need for a whole new set of “pull” -based marketing tools. Successful Internet professionals need to rely on a whole new set of marketing tools that work in an extraordinarily dynamic environment. insurance. real estate. There is a wide range of e-services currently offered through the internet and these include banking. travel. The primary purpose here is that these services help to save time and effort for the user. The risk and ambiguity of managing in such uncharted territory is tremendous. loans. Having the courage to try new things is the key to developing break-through Internet marketing. education.1 E-Services The delivery of services via the internet to consumers or other businesses can be referred to by the generic term of e-services. 2. 3. E-services that fall into this category include       Jobs and employment sites Travel Insurance Loans including mortgage loans Real estate sales Brokers The advantage of this kind of matchmaking through the internet is that the ability to search electronically over a wider area to satisfy the customer need and to more precisely meet the customer need is greatly facilitated by both computerization and communication over the internet. These take a need from an individual or business customer and provide mechanisms (from providers) for matching that need. Matchmaking services. It may also bring into the catchments new groups of consumers of the service to whom it might not have been previously accessible.DBA 1727 NOTES E-services that fall into this category include    Banking Stock trading Education In some cases. this may bring a new dimension to the original service. enhancing and altering it. E-education is an example of this. Information-selling on the web. This group essentially sells information content of one sort or another and includes ecommerce sites that provide on-line publishing such as web-based newspapers   consultancy advice specialized financial or other information 126 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . Web-Enabled Services Web-enabled services include personal banking. NOTES 5.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT 4. Therefore. 2. It is not possible to discuss all the different eservices in this lecture and so we will briefly sample only a few examples for each category. while the homepage of Bank of America (www.1.com) illustrates the second model. Pure cyber banks Traditional banks that provide e-banking to complement their retail banking SFNB. While not all banks offer the full range of services on the internet. etc. electronic games. This E-entertainment sector is expected to grow rapidly in the next few years. personal banking commercial banking for both small businesses and large corporations financial services loan application services international trade including settlement instruments. 5. E-banking Security First Network Bank (SFNB. Specialized services such as auctions. with a convergence of TV and internet-based technologies. www.bankofamerica. we can distinguish between twp distinct models: 1.com/)was the first internet bank. Many different auction sites have appeared and these are discussed further in this lecture. and education. movies. Looking at e-banking. 2. 2. you can do your banking with your fingers instead of your feet. It provides most of the banking services on the web. These provide internet-based access to videos.sfnb.3.1. 4. or theme sites. is a pure cyber bank. Entertainment services. banks in both the mentioned groups offer a varied range of services including 1. stock trading. 3. 127 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . foreign exchange transactions. queuing. The advantages to the banking institutions themselves include 1. In addition to these. etc. a number of banks offer personal financial services including making personal loan applications on the internet. 2. in some cases view images of checks. 3. etc. Furthermore. mutual funds. on the internet. say buy a stock the system responds with current “on the web site” prices 128 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI .com). All these represent a large increase in convenience and time saving for the bank customer. saving rentals or ownership of the related properties. saving him trips to the bank branch. American Express Financial Services. place a request to trade. and import transactions directly into home account management software. reduction in staffing because of the reduction in paper processing as well as face-toface bank teller contact. These companies offer you to trade at a very small cost compared to discount brokers or full-service brokers. E-stock trading and e-investing Several companies such as E-Trade (www.DBA 1727 NOTES There are significant advantages for both the individual or corporation as well as the bank in using e-banking. pay bills. obtain statements. 2. do account transfers. allow you to trade stocks. etc. reduced fees. bonds. Datek. such as free checks. one can make such transactions 24 hours a day from any place with internet access around the world. make queries on account balances..on-line. bringing about increase in the time the bank hangs on to the money before making the required transfers.etrade. reduction in the number of retail banking branches. These advantages are so significant that some banks offer customers a number of incentives to -switch to internet banking. etc. increased deposit rates. This has resulted in these on-line trading companies grabbing an increasing market share. An individual doing personal banking on the internet can. leading to increase in interest received by the banks. discount brokers including Charles Schwab and full-service brokers have also moved to introduce internet trading of stocks. amongst other things. The steps involved essentially are the following: 1. In response to this. etc. E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT 3. Pure cyber universities. the convenience of being able to trade anywhere in the world with internet access. such as Jones International University (http://www. however. 3. and access to a wide variety of information on a number of sites.edu) Traditional universities setting up new cyber vehicles for providing university education perhaps with other business partners. which one watches over time without actually buying or selling the stocks in reality. the jury is still out on this. There are a number of web-based technology tools for this purpose. the reduced cost.hk.hkcyberu. Traditional universities offering courses themselves on the internet. They can now reach a client base that is outside their catchment. An example of this can be found on the Smart Money site (www. jonesinternationa.(www.com. In addition to actually allowing you to trade. They also expect to be able to deliver these courses at a reduced cost.g. the internet trader has to confirm this trade or cancel it Several companies allow one to create a simulated portfolio. The reduction in margins available to stockbrokers as a result of internet trading is beginning to have an effect on other more traditional forms of brokers. e.) which was set by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Pacific Century CyberWorks. NOTES The major advantages to the person doing the trading are 1. . A number of so called “open universities” that previously provided distance learning have moved into providing an internet-based version of their courses. An example is Web CT. This has led to some traditional brokers also providing internet trading of stocks. E-education A number of e-universities are being spawned around the world. Another advantage a traditional university has on the internet over a new pure cyber university is that it has an established brand 129 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI 3. these sites provide a considerable amount of information.com). 2. These traditional universities have a number of advantages. while travelling. Again.smartmoney. three models can be seen: 1. 2. An example of this the Hong Kong CyberU . Travel Services Before the internet.com.DBA 1727 NOTES name. A large number of e-commerce sites have appeared. tours. etc. One among some of the innovations that are being explored is the joint teaching by two universities on different continents in order to enhance the learning experience. namely use of quizzes. use of graphics and animation to explain concepts. etc. as well as suggestions on changes to de itinerary.com travelweb. and priceline. the customer who could be an individual or business specifies his requirements in relation to the service.3. It is anticipated that the internet will not only lead to cyber universities of one kind or another but will also have a marked effect on teaching and learning in traditional universities. car hire. in most of these applications. These web sites work in exactly 130 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . 2. tests to provide the student with instant feedback on his/her mastery of the materials. The e-commerce site then does a search over its own databases or over the internet using mobile agents. The use of the ‘internet for education opens up many possibilities. promotions. The travel agent would try his best to meet these requirements by providing information regarding schedules. hotel.com. Essentially. pricing. or over other databases or web sites to look for one or more matches to these requirements. Does one use a distance learning model where the student uses a PULL model to acquire the material? Does one use a traditional lecture model using video streaming? This is a PUSH model whereby a teacher “pushes” the materials to the students. These bookings could be for individuals or corporations involving corporate rates.2 Matchmaking Services This has perhaps been the area in which there has been the greatest growth in eservices. train tickets. one might have gone along to a travel agent in order to book one’s travel requirements such as air tickets. These include trip.1. There are a variety of issues that need to be explored carefully when preparing to deliver educational material on the internet and these include the following: 1. which address this precise market segment. 2. particularly those that have a dynamic character to them. The information is then returned to the e-service provider site to give the customer the required service. etc. which are useful for customers. A number of sites. These ecommerce sites are having a strong “disintermediation” effect.g. matchmaking facilities to search the internet for resumes that best fit a job description given by a prospective employer use of agents to do the search These approaches of using the internet for e-employment or ejobs avoid many of the costs and difficulties associated with traditional approaches to advertising. limited duration. and in some cases like lastminute. When a customer provides requirements.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT the same way. E-employment and e-jobs There are several different kinds of services provided here. further emphasizing the disintermediation effect.monster. and minimal information. a special customer need (i. namely 1. the ability to meet requirements such as specified prices. such as priceline. These travel sites often also have a lot of information on promotions. (www. the customer cannot refuse the offer found. such as www. Disintermediation refers to the removal of intermediaries such as travel agents from the process involved in the purchase of the service.e” booking at the last minute).hotjobs. 2.com b. require that provided the price specified is met... these sites do a search of their own databases or send agents our _ explore other web sites and respond to the consumer. They are attractive to consumers because of the convenience. matchmaking facilities that search the internet for jobs for jobseekers based on a specification. A recent increasing trend has also seen the primary provider of a service such as an airline introducing internet based booking at reduced prices. such as high cost.com) the visualization ‘(3D’ facilities provided on the web allow one to either 131 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . suggestions. 3.realestate. sites where you can get advice on developing your resumes and can post your resumes on the web recruiters who use the web site to post available jobs. These ecommerce sites are beginning to grab an increasing part of the travel market.com) or Jobdirect employers who list available jobs on the web sites a. NOTES Others In some areas.com. Amongst the requirement that the customer could specify is an acceptable price.com. such as real estates e. such as Hot jobs (www. investment. to others that provide games either for a fee or are free coupled together with advertising that pays for the site. retail and investment banking are most affected by online technological innovations and are the ones that stand to profit most from electronic commerce. The challenge behind bank restructuring lies in adequately operational zing the notion of cost control. banks are reassessing their cost and profit structures. Banking as a business can be subdivided into five broad types: retail. international wholesale. domestic wholesale. Of all these types. This is also an area with the greatest likelihood of disinter mediation. and hence the use of micro payment techniques is likely to be of considerable importance here.2 Electronic Commerce and Banking “Banking is vital to a healthy economy. This philosophy is evident in the many mergers and acquisitions occurring in the banking industry. 2. and trust. The role of electronic commerce in banking is multifaceted impacted by changes in technology. such as Disney. 132 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . or allow people distant from the physical site of building to actually visualize it This area of matchmaking and brokering services is expected to grow greatly in the near future with e-commerce sites exploiting new market niches. Sites here vary from theme sites that use a small amount of interactive entertainment to promote their products. A number of companies are gaining access to or have purchased large inventories of movies or other entertainment material with the view of allowing people to download this on the web. rapid deregulation of many parts of finance. Many banks feel that in order to be profitable they need to reduce operating expenses and maintain strict cost control.3. and traditional agents or brokers will have to build new dimensions to their services in order to survive. Given these environmental changes. An important issue here is that the payments involved are relatively small for each transaction.DBA 1727 NOTES   show visualizations of buildings at the drawing board stage. the emergence of new banking institutions. and basic economic restructuring. E-Entertainment This is expected to be a growing area of e-commerce in the future. non banking firms. technology is capable of replacing or expediting tedious financial exercises like check writing. electronic access to bank statements. electronic bill payment and presentment. online payments—encrypted credit cards for transferring payment instructions between merchant. filing taxes. Innovation and technology are becoming the key differentiators in the financial services business. whereas PCs have been entering households in significant numbers only in the last few years. Technology is changing the interaction between banks and consumers. many small businesses and most households still do them manually. 133 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . Technology has also accelerated the pace of product innovation. new technology is a double-edged sword. Technology is enabling the development of new products and services. Advance in networking. In particular. The Securities and Exchange Commission’s decision to allow Spring Street Brewery to trade its stock online may also fundamentally change investment banking by disinter mediating the traditional role of underwriting. processing. technological innovations have enabled the following capabilities: online delivery of bank brochures and marketing information. Although large businesses have automated these tasks. and finally. threatening the banking stronghold on one of the last key services provided by banks. ability to use multiple financial software products with “memory” (thus eliminating the need to re-enter the same data). it also enables new competition from fast-moving. This is not surprising. However. and decision analytics have allowed institutions to lower service costs. ability to request the transfer of funds between accounts. Banks are NOTES Increasingly help to reduce operating costs and still provide adequate customer service. For example. and transferring funds. For example. large businesses have been undergoing computerization for more than thirty years. where recent innovations have provided an opportunity for non banks to break into the banking business. These online capabilities increase the facility and speed of retail banking. While it enables banks to be more competitive through huge investments. This trend can be seen in the area of online payments. sophisticated arbitrage instruments like derivatives are changing the nature of investment banking.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT Technology is the predominant solution for controlling costs. customer. there are many industries that are both willing and able to fill the void. bank. The present nature of online payments is a clear indication that if the banking industry fails to meet the demand for new products. micro payments (or nickel-and-dime transactions using electronic cash and electronic checks). In the past. particularly consumer credit. which have product life-cycle times of only six to nine months. and pay bills electronically. In this new “virtual model.DBA 1727 NOTES Technology also creates problems in the product development lifecycle. This financial requirement pre-vented new participants from entering the market and was a key determinant of success. banks had the luxury of long roll-out periods because successful investment in retail banking required a large monetary commitment for product development.  Changing demographic trends and potential new consumer markets  Cross-industry competition caused by deregulation. along with these services. A thorough understanding of this competitive environment is needed before banks can determine their online strategy. 134 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . the banking industry was chiefly concerned with asset quality and capitalization. Changing Dynamics In Banking Industry In recent years. transfer funds between accounts. Customers want to access account-related information. performing well on asset quality and capitalization is not enough. download account data for use with personal finance software products. and  New online financial products. Banks need to find new ways to increase revenues in a “mature market” for most traditional banking services. which is not a trivial matter to implement on the part of the banks. This is no longer the case. there has been a major change in the way banks strive for increased profitability. Five distinct factors contribute to the new competitive environment:  Changing consumer needs driven by online commerce  Optimization of branch networks in order to reduce costs. if the bank was performing well along these two dimensions.” banks compete with the twelve-to-eighteen-month product development times of companies like Intuit or Netscape. Of course. Today. Changing Consumer Needs Consumer requirements have changed substantially in the last decade. banks must be able to supply/guarantee the privacy and confidentiality that customers demand. technology allows the creation of a “virtual financial institution” made up of firms. In the past. each contributing the best-of-breed software or products to the overall product. then the bank would likely be profitable. Instead of a single institution doing everything. Electronic banking provides a method of communication that will enable the bank customer to be reached. If the consumer uses personal finance software. From the bank’s perspective. there is a gulf between automated information and the bank’s ability to reach the consumer in a unified way. Customers want to be able to bank at their convenience. these home banking services let the bank become an electronic gateway.3. a consumer enters data once into his system and transfers this information to paper in the form of a check. and sold products and services in their homes and offices whenever it is convenient for them-twenty-four hours a day. 2. advertising. served. including over the weekend or late at night. For example. only to have the bank then transfer it from paper back into electronic form. postage and mail. But a few “home banking” systems that can help are beginning to take hold. information gets man-aged twice once by the consumer and once by the bank. these systems do not communicate with one another. then both the consumer and the bank are responsible for maintaining systems. These methods can be costly and impersonal. such as branches.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT Many consumer requirements are based on a simple premise: customers and financial institutions both seek closer and more multifaceted relation-ships with one another. Bankers want more stable and long term relationships with their customers. No matter which software package is used to manage accounts. off-the-shelf personal finance software cannot bridge the communications gap or reduce the duplication of effort described above. Banking Via Online Services Although personal finance software allows people to manage their money. developing and maintaining this relation-ship is difficult. and people on telephones. unfortunately. Unfortunately. thus giving new meaning to double-entry bookkeeping. seven days a week.3. it only represents half of the information management equation. Although financial products are essentially information products and financial institutions are highly automated. reducing the monthly paper chase of bills and checks NOTES 135 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . In combination with a PC and modem. This gulf is filled with established methods. DBA 1727 NOTES Citibank and Prodigy To understand the more contemporary online banking services. in 1996 Citibank began offering Prodigy subscribers a free and direct link to its electronic home banking service. and buy and sell stock trough Citi Corp Investment Services. free Prodigy software will be made available at local Citi Bank branches. transfer money between accounts. and has relationships with more banks than any commercial online service. Citi Bank and Prodigy al-low customers to explore the wide array of services using an interactive. The agreement represents the first time that CitiBank has expanded access to its proprietary PC Banking service through a commercial online service. Access to Citibank is available to Prodigy sub-scribers at no extra fee throughout the New York metropolitan area. review their Citi Bank credit card account. The goal of this approach to banking is to provide superior 136 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . we look at CitiBank and Prodigy. pay bills electronically. CitiBanking on Prodigy offers a full range of banking services. banking via the World Wide Web will undoubtedly catch on quickly. Customers can check their account balances. To en-courage Citi Bank customers to try online banking through Prodigy. hands-on demonstration. To expand the attractiveness of its online banking services. Banking via the Web: Security First Network Bank With the explosive growth in Internet use. Prodigy has been pro-viding home banking to consumers since 1988. If banks choose to offer home banking via personal financial management software. By controlling the software interface. If bank customers (end users) install personal financial management software on their PCs. working with a separate software company. software firms such as Intuit can control the kinds of transactions end users make and with whom these transactions occur. these customers become direct customers of software firms. Banking on the Internet is not the same as banking via online services. without seeking the cooperation of a software company. back up any information. In the early 1980s. or wait months for new versions and upgrades. IBM licensed DOS from a small software company called Microsoft. at the office. IBM’s seal of 137 NOTES ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . This limits the customer to banking only from that computer. Consumers can conduct banking anywhere as long as they have a com-puter (not necessarily their own computer) and a modem-whether at home. IBM decided that operating systems were not central to IBM business strategy. Internet banking means that: Consumers do not have to purchase any additional software (the Web browser is sufficient). Internet banking allows banks to break out of the hegemony of software developers. Consumers can download account information into their own choice of programs rather than following the dictates of the service provider. making a call to access a separate network.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT customer service and convenience in a secure electronic environment. or in a place outside the United States. banks can offer additional services and provide a personal feel to the interface. they lose control over the end user interface and the relationship they have with customers. IBM called this operating system PC-DOS and allowed Microsoft to market this same operating system to competing computer manufacturers under the name of MSDOS. store any data on their computer. and firms like Intuit that can easily transport their product to the Internet. and banking during limited hours of operation. As a result. By maintaining a direct relationship with end users via the Web. The competitors in this segment are banks that are setting up Web sites. since all transactions occur on a secure server over the Internet. The software industry history offers com-pelling proof of the importance of organizations having a direct relationship with consumers. This loss of control has tremendous long-term implications. Banking via online services is restrictive in that the consumer has to install a soft-ware package onto her computer. The emergence of low-cost interactive access terminals for the home as well as affordable interactive home information services. customized ser-vice.1 Management issues in Online Banking The challenge facing the banking industry is whether management has the creativity and vision to harness the technology and provide customers with new financial products necessary to satisfy their continually changing financial needs. In order to achieve this. For banks. quality. The development of effective back-office systems that can support sophisticated retail interfaces. 2. Online banking will realize its full potential when the following key elements fall into place:      The development of an interesting portfolio of products and services that is attractive to customers and sufficiently differentiated from competitors. high-touch personal and affordable service. management has to balance the five key values that increasingly drive customers’ banking decisions: simplicity. losing control over the interface could have dire consequences. too. IBM was unable to move the industry to a new operating system called OS/2 in the late 1980s because Microsoft controlled the customer relationship and was able to convert most end -users to Windows. However.3. convenience. The fact that technology increases the ease of switching from one bank to an-other means that banks that do not offer superior customer service may see low levels of customer loyalty.3. The identification of new market segments with untapped needs such as the willingness to pay for the convenience of remote banking. The establishment of good customer service on the part of banks. Banks must deliver high quality products at the customers’ convenience with high-tech. and price. Consumer question includes : 138 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . The creation of online financial supply chains to manage the shift from banks as gatekeeper models to banks as gateways.DBA 1727 NOTES approval made DOS an industry standard.  Marketing Issues: Attracting Customers The benefits of online banking are often not made clear to the potential user. 3. There are mil-lions of small businesses with annual sales ranging from Rs. but also in order to be attractive to potential customers. Regardless of how a bank chooses to answer these questions. These integrated services contribute to cementing the customer relationship. Many of these firms have PCs and modems. marketers must also work on building a loyal customer base not only in order to maintain the existing base. In the online world. The oftcited time squeeze on consumerslong commutes.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT How is balancing the checking account online superior to doing it on paper? Is paying bills online superior to the familiar 5 of writing checks? Where is the consumer gaining value? Perhaps the answers to these questions are not clear to the bankers themselves.000 customers. consumers want 19-term ability to control and organize their finances more than they want convenience. Customers are increasingly familiar with using technology to access bank accounts and to handle financial affairs. 5 million. banks have opportunity to tap into this market segment. Thus. it is clear that make a mistake trying to sell online banking services on the basis of convenience. NOTES 2.provides a solid opportunity for banks to build a profitable base of small business until a broader consumer market evolves. Marketing Issues: Keeping Customers Keeping customers (or customer loyalty) requires the following: 1. family obligations. 139 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . The rapidly growing use of personal computers by small business. Industry studies indicate that 20 percent of small businesses are immediate prospects for online banking and are willing to pay more than individual consumers for the service-up to $100 a “month. and this familiarity increases interest in additional vices and increases switching costs. household management is pushing consumers toward integrated services that can speed up financial procedures.000 to Rs. heavy workload. Banks can realize the positive cost implications for the longterm value of building customer loyalty. there is not a big cost dif-ference between serving one customer and serving 100. Banks must also look beyond home consumers for online banking consumers. Banks must switch the costs of moving from one software platform to other to keep customers from moving. Banks must provide integrated services. While short term convenience is important. Clearly. 250. New services like interactive cash management services could generate significant revenues for banks. 1 Reasons expected for the increase in Advertising spending Shorter Access Times As more bandwidth becomes available. Many online periodicals include traditional advertisements as well as icons.000-Rs. 2. 45. 140 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . which reportedly charges Rs. This should draw to the Web advertisers who may have been concerned that the current graphical quality was insufficient for displaying their products. Promotions are also common.DBA 1727 NOTES 2. advertisers should be willing to pay more per user to place their icons in online periodicals. without requiring additional access time. send a user across the Web to the advertiser’s Web site. With more advertisers. when clicked with a mouse. for example. In many cases. and People. advertisers ask site visitors to provide their names and addresses in exchange for a product discount. Shorter access times also enable increasingly complex graphics to be placed on Web sites.4. which display an advertiser’s logo and.4 ADVERTISING AND ONLINE PUBLISHING 2. users will spend a larger proportion of their time on Web sites and a smaller proportion waiting to access them. 100 per day for an advertisement.1. which reportedly charge Rs.1 Advertising and Online Publishing With the intention of attracting advertising dollars. magazines and newspapers have also set up sites on the Web. With more time available to draw users’ attention. and magazines such as Hot Wired.000 per quarter for an advertiser to place an icon in the periodical.4. Playboy. the advertiser pays for the access time used when accessing online yellow pages. Reduced Access Fees New Internet users will be attracted by reduced ac-cess fees. 30. Among periodicals that have gone from print to online advertising with some degree of advertising success are: Knight-Ridder’s San Jose Mercury News newspaper. The cost of the access fee itself can be shared by an advertiser if. with part of the reduction covered by advertisers. advertising rates should rise. 2. and an advertiser can use it to justify the cost of promoting a Web site. few publishers have attempted to measure how many advertising dollars are being spent. NOTES 141 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . There are three reasons for this:    The market is too small to justify the cost of measuring its size. then companies may pay far more to advertise. This should boost the appeal of the Web and increase the rates that advertisers could be charged for placing their icons in an online periodical. Spending can be the amount that advertisers pay other Web sites such as periodicals and games to display their icons or product offerings. an online publisher can use it to determine advertising rates and the appeal of its articles. Increasingly Valuable Information Product descriptions can be enhanced through online advertising. leading them to pay more for placement in online periodicals.4. 2. Despite the popularity of advertising on Web sites. the decision to purchase should be easier and more purchases should occur (assuming the product is desirable). it should be increasingly important for advertisers to get users to their sites quickly. There is not a clear definition of what advertising expenses should be counted.1.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT Increasingly Convenient Access to Information As the amount of information online increases. If online advertising encourages users to shift a portion of their purchases to the Web. However. and placing a site -linked icon in an online page. The market is changing too rapidly to develop an effective means of measurement. a measurement system will not be useful until: 1. maintaining a Web site.2 Better Measurement of Advertising Effectiveness Product advertising is far more effective if it leads to a purchase. With more information available. sold. The concern was that other advertisers will follow P&G’s lead. The anticipated P&G strategy. owned. 142 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . The potential of online copyright infringement vastly surpasses the damage that can be inflicted with a photocopy machine. and the speed with which copies (authorized and unauthorized) can be “delivered” to the public.1.” archived. Protecting intellectual property rights and collecting dues from online users is proving to be quite challenging. the emergence of the Internet is dramatically changing how consumers and businesses deal in information and entertainment products and services. the ability to manipulate and change the work. organized. used. 2. It was reported in MediaWeek [MW96] that Procter & Gamble was ready to spend some of its $3. and stored. such as a CD-ROM. standard impressions-delivered when an Internet surfer sees an ad banner but does not click on it to connect to a Web site -are considered to have no value by P&G. the digital version can be sent to friends or even a bulletin board system (BBS) for downloading by anyone with a modern.3 billion ad budget to advertise on various Web sites. Anyone with a computer can make and distribute countless copies of anything digital. managed. reproduced.4. Works also can be combined with other works into a single medium. or a piece of music. to deliver perfect copies of digitized works to scores of other individuals. and used in the digital format. presented. a sharp departure from the industry standard which measures hits . All of this has led to a clarion call for changes in the copyright law. displayed. Today.3 Digital Copyrights and Electronic Publishing Intellectual property rights (copyrights.has sent a shiver down the spine of many ad sales executives. The establishment of high-speed networking makes it possible for one individual. In other words. distributed. causing a blurring of the traditional content lines. licensed. accessed. the quality of the copies.DBA 1727 NOTES Effective measurement of online advertising is taking centre stage. virtually any work can be “digitized. In short. Even worse. performed. However. with a few key strokes. Advances in technology have raised the stakes considerably. be it a book. This increases the ease and speed with which a work can be reproduced. the packaged goods giant told the online publishing community that it will compensate the ad banners it buys only on a “click-through” ba-sis. a TV or computer program. The scope and magnitude of the problem is clear. and licenses) are an important asset possessed by the publishers in their respective markets. as well as how works are created. trademarks. Restricting manipulation of the electronic file containing the work. Owners of copyrights are not willing to put their interests at risk if appropriate protections are not in place to permit them to set and enforce the terms and conditions under which their works are made available online. Also. For instance. NOTES 2. 2.2 Electronic Commerce and Online Ppublishing The Web may have blossomed because of peer-to-peer publishing. However.000 readers per day. Online Copyright Protection Methods Unauthorized access to published content can be restricted by two methods: 1. and unless the integrity of those works is assured. the public will not use the services avail-able and create the market necessary for online publishing’s success un-less access to a wide variety of works is provided under equitable and reasonable terms and conditions. growth in the online publishing marketplace was driven by the potential of new interactive technologies and applications. there is an enormous groundswell of interest among both commercial and corporate publishers in the Web. the electronic edition has attracted more than thirty advertisers paying to reach this audience. and that number is growing by some 3. In addition. These firms are learning that the best way to capture consumers’ attention is to develop a business model that allows the company to 143 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI .E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT The stakes are high. but judging from recent product offerings.000 registered readers on the Web. failing to define the business purposes driving their online presence. it was reported that. They discovered that offering exciting technology without compelling content is insufficient to capture market share. publishers realized that simply having a presence on the Web did not guarantee profits.4. As the initial euphoria wore off. The promise of new interactive publishing captured the imagination of both content providers and the public. from 1993 to 1995 much of online publishing was inhibited by a lack of business purpose. Likewise. This includes controlling Web server access or controlling individual document access. At that time. the con-tent creation side of online publishing was dominated by techno-savvy individuals who were not experienced at selling and who did not under-stand the business of publishing. in less than three months. Restricting access to the source of the work. there were publishing companies who took a “Just Get Me on the Web!” approach. the Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition attracted 500. Initially. Online publishers are developing new business models to charge customers directly and convince them that such charges are justified. Publishers need to pay more attention to their core competency of packaging and delivering content and making money online. Newspaper and magazine publishers. and they have not yet turned a profit. she needs to make a decision about where to go. Some of the sites employ hundreds of people. The early online publishing pioneers are trying to accomplish a difficult feat. programming. and entertainment they receive should be subsidized or nearly free and that advertisers will pay the bill. marketing. This approach may not be viable in the online medium when mass markets are re-placed by customers selecting their information and delivery methods. information. some of the first to stake their claims on the Internet.DBA 1727 NOTES offer unique and valuable information. none of the Web publishers have turned a profit. Some of these firms have invested tens of millions of dollars in people. As more and more firms begin to offer online content. The public has been trained to think that the news. and services. and content. This content. Publishers currently finance their businesses by offering advertisers mass markets for delivering their message in return for large advertising fees. they could grow substantially in coming years as the traffic increases and brand names become established. 144 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . must be packaged so that it provides more value than alternative sources of information. The better the brand. While ad revenues are not coming close to covering expenses now. These are tricky but necessary conditions to successful online publishing. In general. no matter how it is delivered. with millions of dollars in payroll alone. and marketing. equipment. Brand development is important because every time a user sits in front of a Web browser. are tinkering with new advertising models for their fledgling Web sites. the more likely it is to pop up in the consumer’s mind another key issue in online publishing relates to digital copyrights. The key is to identify what the customer wants and finds interesting and to avoid being distracted by new technologies. Many early pioneers invested a huge amount of money into brand building. they are being forced to adjust to new customer attitudes regarding pricing. Many online publishing pioneers have gone up the technology curve and are confronting tough management questions such as how to gain market share and how to be profitable sooner than later. As a result of relatively low ad revenues. but they have not been able to figure out which business model works best for making money. mainstream advertisers have been skittish about pumping money into a medium with an audience whose size and habits are nearly impossible to figure out. and who neither need nor want to make a choice now. and policing is impossible since the levels of protections and sanctions against infringement vary widely in countries across the globe. publishers such as Addison—Wesley only offer catalogs or sample selections of works available online. and alter works without the permission or the copyright holder. the digital world has no international boundaries. and they already have many of the necessary resources at hand. Moreover. The Internet makes it extremely easy to copy. Today.1 Online Publishing Strategies As with any new development. who are uncertain who will win in the online marketplace.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT Effective technological protection mechanisms are vital to ensuring the availability of quality content online. They are unlikely to view online publishing as a sufficiently attractive channel until costs fall and distribution widens. there are generally three strategies for publishing companies to consider: Early Movers These are highly skilled independent publishers with existing access to such key capabilities as direct marketing and order fulfilment. as well as fo-cused publishers in categories not easily suited for the online medium. retransmit. which makes the risk even greater.2. They do not and cannot offer more because in an environment where the culture and technology provide so little protection for the rights of content producers. Gathered here are many multi category and specialty publishers who are competing successfully in traditional markets. Testers also include 145 NOTES ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI .4. Watchers These are large publishing companies that employ scale-sensitive economics. Testers These are the majority of publishers that face either attractiveness and/ or skill challenges. there is too great a risk to their intellectual property. 2. This category includes publishers of unbranded or less distinctive content who cannot attract a sufficiently large initial consumer franchise. These publishers have the capacity to derive the highest benefits from new media as their learning curves are much shorter than others. 4. The publishing intermediation approach. The new medium approach. Content. In general. and price will not be enough to compete in this new environment. This is an online extension of the thirdparty publisher role off-line. This is more controversial and more difficult to implement.2. These tests often include a skill-building program as well as an early warning system so that a company can quickly identify and re-act to changes within the industry or economy. and exploring the attractiveness of potential channels. bundling of products. This is new to the Web. but also more exciting. 146 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . Winning in online publishing will entail developing new skills in areas such as tailored advertising. 2. Those with strong brand images and existing consumer franchises may choose to post-pone entry until they find viable service providers and distributors. Publishers such as the Wall Street Journal and New York Times are taking part in targeted tests and pilot projects aimed at learning what online publishing has to offer. order processing and fulfilment. Publishers will have to innovate constantly and challenge present concepts if this form of commerce is to become widely accepted and popular.     The online archive approach.DBA 1727 NOTES branded general publishers with robust consumer franchises and attractive distribution channels already in place. and customer service as well as re-learning the fundamental principles concerning why people subscribe. Speed of delivery. the online medium appears to be an alternative. and diversity of choice also become critical success factors. but is a logical extension of the trends in electronic delivery over the past several years. service. building required skills. to some extent.2 Online Publishing Approaches There are four contrasting content publishing approaches. The dynamic and just-in-time approach. content is assembled in real-time and transmitted in the format best suited to the user’s tastes and preferences. quality. The Online Archive Approach The online archive approach (including bibliographic databases and full-text search/ retrieval services) is one that appeals to corporate publishers and. For this group. publishers are educating themselves about the potential opportunities without committing themselves to anyone position. In this approach. incentives. bibliographic databases represent a sizable chunk of the online data-base market. which quickly grew in popularity. CD. but separate content streams will be developed for each medium. not a replacement. In addition to its successful CompuServe subscription ser-vice. The online archive approach is also being used by niche publishers such as ZiffDavis. In 1991. developed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM). That bulletin board evolved in 1988 to become PC Mag-Net on CompuServe. The most prevalent example of online archive approach is library catalogs and bibliographic databases. At revenues of over $1 billion a year. Members of the ZD Net/CompuServe edition have access to several features.zdnet.000 Internet hosts each month and is reportedly showing a profit. sophisticated on-line forums with top industry personalities. which began its venture into electronic publishing in . the formatting limitations of the Web are frustrating at the moment. including the ZD Net University series of comprehensive online “continuing education courses. such as magazines. for print publications. For instance. Most libraries have replaced traditional card catalogs with sophisticated electronic online bibliographic databases offering an incredible range of functions. Some writers may write for both media.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT commercial publishers (such as academic or journal publishers) who have an existing digital archive that they want to deliver over the Web as well as on paper. or other media. but with technological 147 NOTES ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . The New Medium Approach The new medium approach (including real -time news delivery. This approach currently has some teething problems because of technological limitations. which caters to an increasing number of physicians who rely on online medical databases to keep up to date with the latest developments and literature. MEDLINE and other medical databases are available free of charge on the Internet. that view the Web as an alternative.ROM. the ZD Net Web Edition (http://www. The spread of PCs has enabled physicians to directly search databases used only by librarians in the past. Wired magazine sees very little crossover in content between its magazine and its HotWired venture. For example. and edutainment) aims to create new material for the Web-to treat the Web as its own medium.1985 with a bulletin board system for readers of PC Magazine. This approach will have the most appeal to commercial print publishers. Ziff-Davis created the ZD Net subscription service on CompuServe to provide a service supporting online versions of all its publications. personalized news delivery. An example of a bibliographic database is MEDLINE.com) logs access by more than 700. one deserving its own material. and a comprehensive database of past articles. University electrical engineering PhD students who began DY simply compiling lists of their favorite Web sites. New organizations that specialize in the management of copyright clearance are emerging as key players. Yahoo was getting about 6 million visitors per day. the old paradigms do not work. The success of Yahoo’s initial public offering (IPO) underscores the importance of online directories. written for a Web audience. the expectations of the Web are so different from print media that new content. It quickly becomes apparent that under this model. Once on that sprawling network. products. too-once the information is out there. all a publisher can do is “be the first with the most interesting stuff. but its intellectual content. At one time. The publisher gives up not only its brand name. two Stanford. and services. Even if the technology constraints were overcome. Yahoo (which stands for Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle) was created in 1994 by David Filo and Jerry Yang. 148 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . It went on to become one of the most popular means of navigating around the Internet. owned. Yahoo is the first place millions of Internet users go when they try to find their way around the rapidly growing Internet. its model is both broadcasting and conversation at the same time. Faced with that model. in the growing market for educational material such as course packs and other customized books. The Publishing Intermediation Approach The publishing intermediation approach (including online directories) exploits new service opportunities for intermediaries. Companies and consumers interested in conducting electronic commerce often struggle to navigate the Internet to create an electronic marketplace. it is no longer. The frustrations are more than offset by the excitement of the interactivity the Web offers. which made it the second most active Web site next to Netscape’s home page. For example. Online directories are important for several reasons. companies offering material owned by more than one publisher face the daunting task of obtaining permissions. With online publishing there may be a well-known starting point. they are having trouble finding other companies.” an approach that HotWired is taking in its attempt to create a place where readers can see what the world has to say on a minute-by minute basis. must be created.DBA 1727 NOTES advancements they will soon be forgotten. the subsequent value-added improvisation from readers makes each online magazine a unique experience. but with no controlling gatekeeper. and preferences. and modem speed. The Dynamic and Just-in-Time Publishing Approach Online content is no longer static information. What is more. For micro payments to work. The page content can be further customized to reflect which Web browser is being used. Sierra OnLine. but it is still too early for most companies to de-ploy. services. transaction costs must be very small (around 10 cents). That is. The world of online entertainment-specifically “pay-for-play” outlets being developed by Sony. and they are nowhere near that yet. the stories. The future is bright for the publishing intermediaries who offer ease of operation. Another way of looking at dynamic publishing is that it is just-in-time publishing. applets.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT Clearly. and detailed information. More importantly. A number of micro payment schemes are emerging. Instead. speed. Content can now be created in realtime and transmitted on the fly in the format best suited to the user’s location. the content engine recognizes repeat visitors to a site and configures the Web pages to match the individual’s known preferences. there will be a demand for intermediation because there will al-ways be a need for a good directory to help people locate goods. and content flow into the computer just as consumers need them. For example. and sound-are stored separately in a database and used to create individualized pages on the fly as each user browses the site. graphics. the elements of each page-text. and others-could serve as the best model for every-one else [PCW96]. and products. tastes. Clearly publishers and developers should be thinking about low-value payments. and then self-destruct after usage. the proposed schemes vary widely and many kinks in the micro payment puzzle have to be worked out. video. a publisher planning to deploy a large product catalog will no longer have to author and update each individual Web page. NOTES 149 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . the user’s geographic location. 5. in the short term. For many Welsh SMEs. Streamline the supply chain. but it was in the provision of customer service and support to their overseas distributors that the greatest benefits have been achieved. This might be the ultimate objective. and procurement processes.1 B2B . manufacturing. In the past EDI was conducted on a direct link of some form between the two businesses where as today the most popular connection is the internet. E-Commerce technologies have allowed even the smallest businesses to improve the processes for interfacing with customers. An alternative way of thinking of B2B eCommerce is to think of it as being used to:   Attract. retain. They are now able to develop services for individual clients rather than provide a standard service.DBA 1727 NOTES 2. The two businesses pass information electronically to each other. Typically in the B2B environment. but. Pentwyn Splicers based in Pontypool manufacture pneumatic splicers for the UK and world textile market. E-Commerce can be used in the following processes:    Procurement. B2B E-Commerce could be used as a significant enabler in their move towards greater trading partner collaboration.5 B2B E-COMMERCE 2. B2B E-Commerce is synonymous with the vision of integrated supply chains. develop. They evaluated all aspects of their business process to determine where the greatest return could be obtained. order fulfilment.Business to Business E-Commerce E-commerce has been in use for quit a few years and is more commonly known as EDI (electronic data interchange). 150 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . Managing trading-partner relationships. B2B e-commerce currently makes up about 94% of all e-commerce transactions. and automate corporate processes to deliver the right products and services to customers quickly and cost-effectively. Using the Web to sell more products was an initial consideration. and cultivate relationships with customers. and third-tier suppliers. in the form of electronic data interchange (EDI) supplied by value-added networks (VAN) operated over leased telephone lines. They have existed for decades. reduced transaction costs. Business for business dominates the total value of e-commerce activity.added chain. accounting for about 80 per cent at present. many barriers. It is expected that by 2001-02. which can extend from the supplier of raw materials to the final consumer. which now limit the extension of Internet EDI to unknown firms. NOTES In business-to-business electronic commerce businesses use the Internet to integrate the value. electronic commerce clearly reduces these costs and thus drives its adoption. analyze. However. Drivers and inhibitors of business-to-business electronic commerce in businessto-business e-commerce. one of the largest EDI service suppliers. there will be a significant increase in business-to-business e-commerce as it draws in smaller second. Because the-economic factors affecting the adoption of e-commerce between businesses are such different from those affecting business-toconsumer ecommerce. As a result. developed by the Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG). estimates that 80 per cent of suppliers are not connected to an EDI system but rely on from. and Insistence by large businesses that all of their suppliers link into their e-commerce system as a condition of-doing business. a defensive reaction A competitors engaging in commerce. makes use of the Transport Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) to link automotive 151 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI .E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT  Capture. the US Automotive Network exchange (ANX). telephone or mail. b. and share. business-to. General Electric (GE). Large manufacturing firms are the main users of EDI.business e-commerce is likely to maintain for enlarge is advantage for the foreseeable future: Electronic links between businesses are not new. drives the second and third and will be explored in greater detail in the next chapter. For example. such as questions of security and reliability. information about customers and company operations. in order to make better decisions. three factors are likely to lead to e-commerce a reduction in transaction costs and improvement of product quality/customer service a. The first factor. will have been overcome. 2 Automated Ecommerce Transactions It is a term also used in electronic commerce and to describe automated processes between trading partners. they represent only the beginning of what is expected to be a wide number of new business-to-business opportunities. accurate inbound and outbound logistics. As businesses move to “build-to-order” processing and just-intime inventories. Another example is the extension of EDI-type links via the Internet. One reason for this is that businesses have adopted electronic commerce technologies in greater numbers than consumers. The accessibility of the Internet makes electronic commerce realistic possibility for SMEs and is likely to lead to its widespread diffusion. as the completed product is retailed to the end customer. For example. Parcel delivery. 2.g. In addition to migrating existing activity to e-commerce. B2B can also describe marketing activities between businesses. Ford and Chrysler). An example of a B2B transaction is a chicken feed company selling its product to a chicken farm. GM.DBA 1727 NOTES suppliers to each other and to original equipment manufacturers (OEM) (e. a premium is placed on timely. in a typical supply chain there will be many B2B transactions but only one B2C transaction. which is another company. The largest impact of business –to – business e-commerce is likely to be on small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). An example of a B2C transaction is a grocery store selling grain-fed chickens to a consumer. logistics and order fulfillment services. because many large business already have EDT’ systems in place. or could not.5. there is greater demand by final consumers for fast order fulfillment and the ability to track an order as it is being processed and delivered. Dispensing with the multiple networks and protocols that now link first-tier suppliers to OEMs. frequently by the same firm. the new system will provide a single common system that can be extended to include all suppliers. though the term can be used to identify sales transactions between businesses (also referred to as 152 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . exist before electronic commerce over the Internet made them economically viable. In addition. spot markets that match buyers and sellers for a wide variety of goods ranging from electronic components to agricultural commodities to transportation futures have sprung up. are also experiencing growth as ecommerce increases. Also. not just the final transactions that result from marketing. The volume of B2B transactions is much higher than the volume of B2C transactions. new business—to-business products are being created which did not. motor vehicles. while business – to – consumer electronic commerce implies that the buyers are individual consumers. petrochemicals. shipping and warehousing. lead times. sales history Customer – sales history and forecasts Supplier – product line and lead times. resellers. and other partners. product plans Transportation – carriers. Business-to – business EC is expected to grow to $1. 2. For example. promotions Supply chain process and performance – process descriptions. sales terms and conditions Product process – capacities. Computing electronics. commitments. Business-to-business EC covers a broad spectrum of applications that enable an enterprise or business to form electronic relationships with their distributors. partner roles and responsibilities.1 percent in 2000 and 9. The percentage of Internet – based B2B EC compared to total B2B commerce will expand from. food. suppliers. market share Sales and marketing – point of seal (POS) . utilities. Retter and Calyniuk 1998). a company selling photocopiers would more likely be a B2B sales organization than a B2C sales organization. paper and office products. customer satisfaction NOTES 153 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI .3 Characteristics of B2B EC Business – to – business electronic commerce implies that both the sellers and buyers are Business Corporation. As Handfield and Nichols (1999) suggest. and agriculture are the leading items in B2B EC. schedules Competitor – benchmarking.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT “institutional sales”). prices. competitive product offerings. locations Supply chain alliance – key contacts. carrying costs. B2B applications will offer enterprises access to the following sorts of information:           Product – specifications. performance measures.9 billion by 2003 and continue to be the major share of the EC market (Free-man 1998. quality.4 percent in2003.5. “Business-to-business” can also refer to all transactions made in an industry value chain before the finished product is sold to the end consumer. delivery time.330.2 percent in 1997 to 2. costs Inventory – inventory levels. often complicated by a longer sales cycle and multiple decision makers on the buyer’s side. research services. conferences. This is a statement of what you do and how you do it differently and better than your competitors. branding. and make sure you have all the infrastructure in place to support each stage of 154 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . The Business Marketing Association is the trade organization that serves B2B marketing professionals. It was founded in 1922 and offers certification programs.4 What is B2B Marketing Communications? B2B marketing communications is how businesses promote their products and services to other businesses using tactics other than direct sales.5. direct mail. facts and figures. Building a campaign plan Whatever form your B2B marketing campaign will take. supported by a number of secondary messages. public relations. build a comprehensive plan up front to target resources where you believe they will deliver the best return on investment. trade show support. B2B marketing communications tactics generally include advertising. and interactive services such as website design and search engine optimization.DBA 1727 NOTES 2. industry awards and training programs. The purpose of B2B marketing communications is to support the marketer’s sales effort and improve company profitability. Developing your messages The next step is to develop your messages. B2B Marketing Methodologies Positioning Statement An important first step in business to business marketing is the development of your positioning statement. sales collateral. B2B marketing is generally considered to be more complex than B2C marketing. There is usually a primary message that conveys more strongly to your customers what you do and the benefit it offers to them. each of which may have a number of supporting arguments. campaign description. ANSI ASC X12 is a popular standard in North America. graphical considerations. be it Cost Per Acquisition. So always put metrics in place to measure your campaigns. RosettaNet is an XML-based. these are also referred to as “third-party” B2B marketplaces. Briefing an agency A standard briefing document is usually a good idea for briefing an agency. corporate guidelines. Since the builders of such marketplaces primarily aim at facilitating buyer-seller interaction (in most cases without being a buyer or seller themselves). Measuring results The real value in results measurement is in tying the marketing campaign back to business results. Cost per Lead or tangible changes in customer perception. it serves as a checklist of all the important things to consider as part of your brief.5.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT the marketing process .5 E-Marketplace “E-” or “electronic” marketplace in a business-to-business context is primarily a large online platform (B2B portal) or website that facilitates interaction and/or transactions between buyers and suppliers at organizational or institutional rather than individual levels. Typical elements to an agency brief are: Your objectives. measure your impact upon your desired objectives. and if at all possible. An approach like UN/CEFACT’s Modeling Methodology (UMM) might be used to capture the collaborative space of B2B business processes.and that doesn’t just include developing the lead . product. target market. your product positioning. emerging B2B standard in the high tech industry. After all.make sure the entire organization is geared up to handle the inquiries appropriately. As well as focusing the agency on what’s important to you and your campaign. 155 NOTES ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . B2B standards UN/EDIFACT is one of the most well-known and established B2B standards. you’re not in the business of developing marketing campaigns for marketing sake. target audience. and any other supporting material and distribution. 2. inventories and cycle times. Help reduce the number of profits after tax 6. Help increase the greenhouse gas emissions in the country 7. which greatly increases collaboration.DBA 1727 NOTES These marketplaces can do one or more of the following: 1. No-frills e-Marketplace Developed in response to customers wanting to purchase products without service (or with very limited service). E-commerce has a variety of different opinions going out towards different people in different organization that are committed to such technology. thereby reducing the need for outsourcing many products. Help buyers find new suppliers and vice versa 2. Help increase trade between distant geographies 4. the no-frills e-marketplace parallels the B2C offering of no-frills budget airlines. regardless of industry and level within that industry. Help reduce the time and cost of interaction for B2B transactions 3. Horizontal e-Marketplace A horizontal e-marketplace connects buyers and sellers across many industries. This is possible because buying/selling items in a single industry standardizes needs. Therefore e-commerce is not well no where near the advanced technology that us in organizations use now a days. Help the environment by using appropriate technology that is environmentally friendly Vertical e-Marketplace A vertical e-marketplace spans up and down every segment of one specific industry. Mainly business and consumer articles. Each level of the industry has access to every other level. Buyers and sellers in the industry are connected to increase operating efficiency and decrease supply chain costs. repair and operations) materials. The most common type of materials traded horizontally are MRO (maintenance. Many corporations have MRO materials bought directly on-line by the maintenance team in order to relieve the purchasing department. no-frills B2B e-marketplaces enable the effective de-bundling of service from product via 156 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . The subject of several Harvard and IMD articles/case-studies. these items are in demand because they are crucial to the daily running of a business. Help manage payments and track orders for B2B transactions 5. There have been a number of EDI standards developed in various industry sectors or within a specific country and there are complex committee structures and procedures to support them. This is one of the applications of E Commerce which makes Business to Business transactions possible over a network. However. and other information in a public-standard format.” This provides the basis of differentiation from conventional B2B sales/purchasing channels.6 EDI Standards EDI stands for Electronic Data Interchange. today it is widely used to describe all products and services used by enterprises. data. Etymology The term “business-to-business” was originally coined to describe the electronic communication relations between businesses or enterprises in order to distinguish it from the communications between businesses and consumers (B2C). initially describing only industrial or capital goods marketing. EDI Standards At the heart of any EDI application is the EDI standard. It eventually came to be used in marketing as well. These elements together with the EDI Agreement are covered in detail in this lecture. The essence of EDI is the coding and structuring of the data into a common and generally accepted format -anything less is nothing more than a system of file-transfers. EDI is the electronic exchange of business documents.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT clear “business rules. Electronic data interchange (EDI) is a technology poised for explosive growth in use as the Internet provides an affordable way for businesses to connect and exchange documents with customers and suppliers of any size. It cuts the cost of managing business-to-business transactions by eliminating the need for labor-intensive manual generation and processing of documents.5. NOTES 157 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . In this lecture we will discuss the EDI standards. the EDI networks and the EDI software that interfaces these two elements and the business applications. Let’s start with EDI Standards. 2. Coding and structuring the documents for business transactions is no easy matter. with relative ease. The network in is 12 separate interchanges. The computer systems that exchange data need a common format. assume a network of three customers (say supermarkets) ordering goods from four suppliers (food manufacturers). To illustrate this.DBA 1727 NOTES Following on from the various sectorial and national EDI standards is the United Nations (UN) EDI Standard: EDIFACT. 158 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . transmitted or transported in electronic format and input into the second. receiving computer system. EDI provides an electronic linkage between two trading partners. without a common format the data is meaningless. see Interchanges between Customers and Suppliers. Two organizations that exchange data can. It is unlikely that each of these exchanges would have its own format but it is perfectly possible that each customer would have developed its own standards (giving each supplier three separate standards to cope with). Business transactions are output from the sending computer system. This is the standard that should be adopted for any new EDI application. As the network of exchanges develops then the number of organizations needing to be party to the agreement grows. agree a format that meets their mutual needs. a standard for data interchange that is:     Ready formulated and available for use. Independent of hardware and software. The data recipients set the standard and the customers conformed to it. NOTES EDI Standards provide a common language for the interchange of standard transactions. 159 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . Now let’s see how the various standards evolve. The evolution of EDI standards can be seen as having three stages (although in practice it was and is somewhat more complex than that): 1. Most of the work on EDI standards has been concerned with the interchange of trade documentation and financial transactions but the principle applies to any interchange where the data can be systematized and codified. Independent of the special interest of any party in the trading network. 2. National and Sectorial Standards Evolution of EDI Standards The first EDI standards evolved from the formats used for file transfer of data between computer applications. Comprehensive in its coverage of the data requirements for any given transaction. The concept of EDI as an application independent interchange standard evolved and several industry sector and / or national standards bodies developed EDI standards to meet the needs of a specific user community. The overall picture is one of unnecessary complexity and incompatibility.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT It is also possible that new exchanges added to the system will have requirements not envisaged when the data formats were originally agreed. or attempts to provide. EDI standards overcome these difficulties. The first formats that might properly be called EDI were developed by organizations that had to process data from a large number of customer organizations. The EDI standard provides. EDI standards are used for the interchange of information as diverse as weather station readings and school exam results. this would require a change to the existing standard or the introduction of an additional standard. International trade also requires a great deal of additional documentation for shipping. as electronic trade developed to cover wider trading relationships there is a growing problem of trade between organisations using different EDI standards.TO .DBA 1727 NOTES 3. For example. EDIFACT is the United Nations standard of Electronic Data 2. The use of sector and national standards for this type of trade was satisfactory. customs authorities. However. In addition to the problem of cross sector trade there is a desire to use EDI for international trade.7 Business . as a universal standard for commercial EDI. New venue for disposing of excess. international credit arrangements. doubled its customer base when it started auctions. . etc. To facilitate this cross sector and international development of EDI the EDIFACT standard has been.) between organisations in differing countries. Weirton steel Corp. obsolete.5.all of this is potentially electronic and obviously a common format is very desirable. invoice. EDI developed in closed user communities within trade sectors and / or national boundaries. under the auspices of the United Nations (UN). etc.Business Actions Business – to-business auctions are growing very rapidly due to the following benefits they provide: Generating Revenue   New sales channel that supports existing online sales. This (sensibly) requires a common format for the exchange of the standard business forms (order. and is being. 160 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . and returned products quickly and easily. The International EDI Standard As already outlined. The requirements of international and cross sector trade meant that the sector and national standards were becoming an impediment to the further development of electronic trading. EDIFACT was developed. developed. com.fastparts. CommerceNet CommerceNet (www. Typical intermediaries are www.net) is a global non-profit membership organization that aims to meet the needs of companies doing EC. www. 3.5. and telecommunications are sold at www. while introducing the latest technology to them to facilitate their business. others by specialists. Here are some examples..commerce.fairmarket. It targets promoting and supporting emerging communities of EC.auctionagate.com. Independent auctions. Some of these services are provided by intermediaries. Auction users spend more time on a site and generate more page views than other users. The Dutch flower market is another example. and www. 2. (e.net and www.g.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT Increasing Page Views  Auctions give “stickiness”.8 Business – TO – Business Services Many companies provide services that are intended to facilitate B2B.com. www. Ingram Micro has its own site. Several companies by pass the intermediaries and auction their products by themselves. www. There are three major types of B2B auctions according to Forrester Research: 1. For example. utilities.com). CommerceNet established a forum for companies doing EC to meet and exchange their experiences.band – x. 2. NOTES Acquiring and Retaining Members  All bidding transactions result in additional registered members.com. access energy. 161 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . In this case many buyers and sellers come together to a third – party Web site.com.autionblock.imx exchange. In this case companies use a third – party auctioneer to create the site and sell the goods.metalsite. Private auctions by invitation only. for selling obsolete computer equipment to its regular business customers. Commodity auctions. com and www. technology providers. ConnectUS provides all the necessary information that supports card purchasing and facilities trades done EDI. However. Open Buying on the Internet The Open Buying on the Internet (OBI) Consortium (www.DBA 1727 NOTES It does contain information about members.org) is a non-profit organization dedicated to developing open standards for B2B Internet commerce. ConnectUS ConnectUS is an online service designed for use by companies paying with corporate purchasing cards.geis. a hotel. which are difficult to audit. EC and Retailing: Retailing is expected to change with the rapid development of new online sales and distribution channels that literally can be used from anywhere.com systems. and other interested parties on an annual fee basis. These developments should impact retailing as much as the advent of strip malls. no specific product information is stored in its database. The service is now as part of www. Summary 1. CommerceNet also certifies Internet-enabled EDI products. an independent collaborative managed by CommerceNet. CommerceNet mainly acts as a services provider. operated by Thomas Publishing Co. school. The service may cut up to 90 percent of the transaction cost for the average ($150) purchase. sometimes resulting in vendor overpayment. allowing companies to search for suppliers anywhere in the world. In fact. financial institutions. Membership in the consortium. and General Electric Information Systems. is open to buying and selling organizations. 162 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . ConnectUS also aids companies in overcoming the shortfalls of purchasing card programs. which can be buyer or supplier companies. or airplane. car. and TVbased home shopping. It is basically for – fee database.thomasregister. anytime-from work. not dealing with any of the individual transactions.openbuy. catalogue retailing. computer games.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT 2. jobs and career sites. E-commerce Sales strategy: There are several major advantages to developing an e-commerce sales strategy: Efficiency. 7. consultancy advice. Low Cost Entry. Up-to-date Status and Alerts. and basic economic restructuring. EC and On-line publishing: The Web may have blossomed because of peer-topeer publishing. Accuracy. broker services. 163 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . There is a wide range of eservices currently offered through the internet and these include banking. rapid deregulation of many parts of finance. 5. the emergence of new banking institutions. products. travel. Matchmaking services. there is an enormous groundswell of interest among both commercial and corporate publishers in the Web. Global Reach. and services that satisfy the goals of both parties. on-line publishing. loans. etc We organize e-services into the following categories. Convenience. 4. namely Web-enabling services. insurance. real estate. but judging from recent product offerings. Specialized services such as auctions EC in Banking: The role of electronic commerce in banking is multifaceted impacted by changes in technology. Entertainment services. and on-line delivery of media content such as videos. 6. education. There are several models for e-retailing and these include Specialized e-store Generalized e-store E-mall Direct selling by the manufacturer Supplementary distribution channel E-broker E-services Internet Marketing: Internet marketing is the process of building and maintaining customer relation-ships through online activities to facilitate the exchange of ideas. E-Services: The delivery of services via the internet to consumers or other businesses can be referred to by the generic term of e-services. stock trading. NOTES 3. Speed. Questions for review 1. 14. B2B EC: In business-to-business electronic commerce businesses use the Internet to integrate the value. accounting for about 80 per cent at present. What is E-Marketplace in a B2B EC? Discuss B2B auctions and B2B services 164 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . How do you differentiate between traditional and E retailing? What are the benefits of E retailing for a customer? What are the benefits of E retailing for a business? Describe the several models of E-retailing? What is Internet Marketing? What are the E-Business issues? What is CRM? What are the critical success factors for internet marketing executives/? Discuss about the wide variety of E-Services? How do you find E-education to be better than the traditional one? What are the advantages of E-banking? What is On-line banking? Discuss the management issues in On-Line banking? Discuss about on-line publishing and its strategies What is B2B EC? List the characteristics of B2B EC. 4. 8. 3. 13. 2. 7. which can extend from the supplier of raw materials to the final consumer. 10.DBA 1727 NOTES 8. 15. 9. 11. 5. 6. 12.added chain. Business for business dominates the total value of ecommerce activity. 16. are examples of Internet service providers.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT UNIT III NOTES E-COMMERCE INFRASTRUCTURE 3. such as electronic mail. along with various others including e-mail. In contrast. file transfer. The World Wide Web is one of the services accessible via the Internet.1 INTERNET 3. file sharing.1 What is the Internet? The Internet is a worldwide. America Online. linked by copper wires. World Wide Web is an example of an information protocol/service that can be used to send and receive information over the Internet. Comcast.1. linked by hyperlinks and URLs. It supports:  Multimedia Information (text. 165 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . and government networks. the Web is a collection of interconnected documents and other resources. The Internet and the World Wide Web are not synonymous. fiber-optic cables. which together carry various information and services. online chat. They allow you to send and receive data to and from their computers or routers which are connected to the Internet. It is a “network of networks” that consists of millions of smaller domestic. programs . pictures. The Internet is a collection of interconnected computer networks. wireless connections. and the interlinked web pages and other resources of the World Wide Web (WWW). business. publicly accessible series of interconnected computer networks that transmit data by packet switching using the standard Internet Protocol (IP). . etc. academic. ). Earthlink. online gaming and others described below. . movies. sound. etc. They make it physically possible for you to send and access data from the Internet. many companies post pictures and descriptions on World 166 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . or e-mail. usually Internet Explorer. a piece of software that allows you to view information on the Internet.2 Internet Structure The Internet is an international network of computers connected by wires such as telephone lines. you can obtain access once you have three things.DBA 1727 NOTES   Hypertext Information (information that contains links to other information resources) Graphic User Interface (so users can point and click to request information instead of typing in text commands). If not. The first part of the address (. and Mozilla.canada@uncp. from the Internet for free. Internet Explorer. For example.edu. government offices. You have access to the Internet when you work in one of this university’s computer labs. just like Lotus 123 and Excel are both spreadsheet software packages. and the rest of the address refers to the server (uncp.mark. such as America Online or Carolina Online. each of these people has an e-mail address. Examples are: Netscape. You also can download another popular browser. First. Firefox. Netscape Navigator. businesses. In addition to allowing people to send e-mail messages to one another. These examples are particular “brands” of software that have a similar function. Schools. Safari. the Internet also allows organizations and individuals to post information about themselves so that others can see it. a device that allows you to connect your computer with the Internet.edu).1. 3. One popular component of the Internet is electronic mail. and many homes use the Internet to communicate with one another. You also may have access at home or in your residence hall. Examples are Apache and IIS. which usually looks so mething like this: mark. In general. you need a browser. The client software for World Wide Web is called a Web browser. Many new computers also come with a browser. which is a computer that can store a lot of information. which people at separate locations can use to send messages to one another. you need a computer and a modem. The server software for the World Wide Web is called an HTTP server (or informally a Web server). Second. Many new computers have built-in modems. you need to subscribe to an Internet Service Provider. or ISP. Finally.canada) specifies the individual user. sometimes called a Uniform Resource Locator. NOTES 167 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . To understand how this process works. and the name of the specific article they want to read. The World Wide Web works the same way. you give it a filename (name) and publish it on the server (send it to the library). When they supplied this information. They may run on various operating systems and utilise a great variety of communication links. These are: 1.g. name of your directory (name of your folder). entertainment). e-commerce. who would assign you a folder where they would store your articles. (ii) interpersonal communication. (iii) data storage.3 The Internet and its Characteristics The Internet by the late 1990s has evolved into a complex environment. Technological neutrality. The URL consists of the domain name of the server (address of the library). you can set up your own World Wide Web site by reserving space on a server. When people wanted to read one of these articles. First. you would put a name on it and send it to the librarians. who would then place it in your folder. In fact. they would need to know the address of the library. Whenever you finished a new article. imagine that you wanted to store some articles you have written at a library so that people could come and read them. form-filling. 3. The company (librarian) then assigns you a directory (folder) where it will store your Web pages (articles). (v) remote data access and downloading. First you need to identify an Internet company (librarian) and ask permission to save Web pages (articles) on its server (library). (iv) research (i. The Internet joins together computers of various sizes and architectures. or URL.1. and the filename of the particular Web page (name of article). The Internet is a dynamic and mercurial system endowed with a number of traits. data finding). Originally a military communication’s network it is now routinely used for five types of operations: (i) long-distance transactions (e. As you create each Web page (article). they need your Web address. remote work. the librarian would give them the article they want. the name of your folder. When people want to read your Web page (article). you would need to obtain permission from the librarians.e.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT Wide Web sites. Gopher. and more recently by the Altavista search engine. and self-refining system. Ubiquity. The Internet makes new uses of old technologies (standalone computers.4 The Internet Tools and their Characteristics The evolution of the Internet is punctuated by the introduction and mass acceptance of such key resources and tools as Unix. polycentric. growing.DBA 1727 NOTES 2. 168 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . modularisation and low cost of the system is coupled with the growing densities of dedicated computer lines. telecommunication networks). configurable. to advise users of encountered difficulties and to recover gracefully from any disasters and down-times. Robustness and reliability. and public access to the source code. the multiplicity of routes followed by the packet-switched data. It is its catalyst and cornerstone. All basic technical features of the Net such as the TCP/IP (transfer control protocol/internet protocol) (Kessler and Shepard 1997).1. Low cost. Internet culture owes Unix a major debt in the four areas. This means that Internet-enabled tools are deployed in ever growing numbers in an ever widening range of environments 3. to handle unexpected interruptions and interferences. as well as wired and wireless phone networks. easy-to-replace. They rely on modularised. and the sturdiness of related software are designed to eliminate errors. These conceptual and procedural debts are: multitasking. Listserv Mailing List Software. openness and extensibility. The robustness. and easy-to-upgrade off-the-shelf software and hardware. Internet Relay Chat. It is an energetic. Telnet. complex. The Internet is not a one-off development. Java language UNIX The foundations of an operating system called Unix were laid at AT&T Bell Laboratories in 1969. Internet operations piggyback on already existing solutions. WWW. network backbones. Whenever possible. Usenet newsgroups. community fostering. Built-in piecemeal change and evolution. operating systems. Unix is not a product of Internet culture. 4. Email. Let’s briefly look at each of these debts. 3. It is a system which scales up extremely well. File Transfer Protocol. It is a network which is geared to expansion and growth. WAIS. 5. Unix was the first operating system which demonstrated in practical terms robustness and tolerance for the variety of it’s users simultaneous activities. numbers and graphic files. Later. The initial format of email communication was that of a one-to-one exchange of electronic messages. NOTES 169 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . This simple function was subsequently augmented by email’s ability to handle various attachments. TCP/IP) networks (Laursen 1997).E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT Unix was one of the first operating systems which embodied the principle of multitasking (time-sharing). simple and global communication between people. Usenet Newsgroups Usenet (Unix Users Network). It was only in 1987 that the NNTP (Network News Transfer Protocol) was established in order to enable Usenet to be carried on the Internet (i.e. In most general terms it means that several users could simultaneously operate within a single environment and that the system as a whole coped well with this complicated situation. such as documents with complex formatting. the wide-area array of sites collating and swapping UUCP-based messages was pioneered in 1979. Within this framework messages were now able to chase their individual recipients anywhere in the world. It was to be used by people who did not have ready access to the TCP/IP protocol and yet wanted to discuss their various Unix tools. This revolutionary client/server software implied for the first time that individuals (both as persons and roles) could have their unique electronic addresses. Usenet was originally conceived as a surrogate for the Internet (then called ARPANET). with the use of multi-recipient mailing lists electronic mail could be used for simple multicasting of messages in the form of one-to-many transmissions. Email Email is the first of the Internet’s tools dedicated to the provision of fast. albeit encumbered by the need to give explicit instructions as to which of the FTP systems need to be monitored. However. ability to do the work as telecommuters. that is. This was accomplished through the Archie database (Deutsch et al. the FTP software would not let them wander across other parts of the host. Telnet gave us the ability to engage in long distance man-machine transactions. There they could browse through data subdirectories. nor did the visitors have the right to change any component part of the accessed electronic archive. Firstly. cohesive. as well as deposit (within the context of a dedicated area) new digital material. In short.all at a distance. That novel technique placed electronic visitors in a strictly circumscribed work environment. electronic mail read and dispatched. results of all these and other operations could be remotely directed to a printer or via FTP to another networked computer. limited public access) techniques as a way of coping with the mounting general requests for access to the archived information. up-to-date catalogue of their contents. File Transfer Protocol The FTP client/server technology was first introduced in 1985 (Barnes 1997). This approach. Usenet flame wars indulged in. Thereby files and directories could be established. the FTP was a first widely-accepted tool for systematic permanent storage and world-wide transmission of substantial electronic information (e. Thirdly. It allowed people (with adequate access rights) to login remotely into any networked computer in the world and to employ the usual gamut of computer commands. Moreover. Its usefulness to Internet culture is three-fold. image files).DBA 1727 NOTES Telnet The networking tool called Telnet was invented in 1980 (Postel 1980). programs. nevertheless integrated a motley collection of online resources into a single. FTP archives promoted the use of anonymous login (i. and statistical packages run against numeric data .e. renamed and deleted. the rapid proliferation in the number of public access FTP archives all over the world necessitated techniques for keeping an authoritative. Secondly. copy relevant files. 1995) and its many mirrors. 170 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . distributed information system. Archie used an automated process which periodically scanned the entire contents of all known “anonymous FTP” sites and report findings back to its central database. text files.g. et al. it acted as a predictable. the WWW server introduced to the Internet the powerful point-and-click hypertext capabilities. Gopher acted as electronic glue which seamlessly linked together archipelagos of information tracked by and referenced by other gopher systems. 1994). World Wide Web Server The first prototype of the WWW server was built in 1991 (Cailliau 1995. compiled in 1674 by Louis Moreriego. such as footnotes. The WWW server is an invention which has redefined the way the Internet is visualized by its users. Liu. image) document could act as a portal leading directly to any other nominated segment of any other document anywhere in the world. such as Telnet. Gopher was the first ever tool capable of the creation and mapping of a rich. Berners-Lee 1998). Secondly. Hypertext itself is not an new idea. Firstly. was the first hypertext technology applied to distributed online information.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT 3. unified environment for handling an array of other electronic tools. The WWW however. C. This invention was previously theoretically anticipated by a number of writers. BernersLee. of a 19th century scholarly monograph. large-scale. Firstly. including in the 1945 by Vannevar Bush of the Memex fame. It is also evident in the apparatus. appendices and references. and infinitely extendable information space. The hypertext notions of a home page and links spanning the entire body of data was first successfully employed on a small. 171 NOTES ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . commentaries. In short.5 Web based Client/Server Gopher Gopher client/server software was used for the first time in 1991 (La Tour nd.1. and again in the 1965 by Theodor Nelson who embarked on the never-completed Project Xanadu (Nielsen 1995. FTP and WAIS. standalone scale in 1986 in the Macintosh software called Hypercard (Goodman 1987). The hypertext principle as employed by the WWW server meant that any part of any text (and subsequently. nd. It is already implicitly present (albeit in an imperfect because a paperbased form) in the first alphabetically ordered dictionaries such as Grand dictionnaire historique. or John Harris’ Lexicon Technicum which was published in 1704 (PWN 1964). Gilster 1997:267). It was a ground-breaking development on two accounts. like gopher before it. The interlocking features of the hypertext. animations.anywhere in the world. or anywhere on one’s computer. the WWW provided a common. However. the revolutionary strengths of the Web have not been immediately obvious to the most of the Internet community. Telnet-based client software). within the same document) and external (to a different document residing on the same or totally different server) hypertext connections. These are: (a) an ability to handle multi-format. and Gopher (but. The HTML language could be used in three different yet complementary ways: (a) as a tool for establishing the logical structure of a document.with the same ease . (b) the 172 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . blindingly fast and infinitely complex cyberspace. the WWW server introduced an explicit address for subsets of information. text. since 1994.e. video. effective and extendable language for document markup. Erwise. simple. who initially regarded the WWW as a mere (and possibly clumsy) variant of the then popular Gopher technology. Viola. Thirdly. provided Internauts with series of novel capabilities. This situation has changed only with the introduction of PC-based Web browsers with user-friendly. graphics-interfaces. which constitutes a deliberately simplified and thus very fast software. or . the World Wide Web. (b) as a tool for shaping the size. Listservs FTP. Lynx (which is an ASCII. sound) data within the framework of a single online document. URLs and the markup language. have laid foundations for today’s global. as well as. (c) as a tool for building the internal (i. surprisingly.DBA 1727 NOTES Secondly. World Wide Web Browsers The principle of a client/server division of labour was put to work yet again in the form of a series of WWW browsers such as Mosaic (built in 1993). or multimedia (numbers. IRC. Cello. appearance and layout of lines of text on the page. was also a powerful electronic glue which smoothly integrated not only most of the existing Internet tools (Email. Usenet. Telnet. not WAIS). images. except for Lynx. several editions of Netscape and Explorer Each of the Web browsers. Moreover. but also the whole body of online information which could accessed by all those tools. Common and simple addressing methodology (Universal Resource Locater [URL] scheme) enabled users to uniquely identify AND access any piece of networked information anywhere in the document. although some application layer protocols do contain some internal sub-layering.1.Presentation and Application . (d) ability to acquire. The protocol layers used in the Internet architecture are as follows Application Layer The Application Layer is the top layer of the Internet protocol suite.6 Elements of Internet Architecture     Protocol Layering Networks Routers Addressing Architecture NOTES Protocol Layering To communicate using the Internet system. (c) the ability to use the browser as a WYSIWYG (“what you see is what you get”) tool for crafting and proofreading of the locally created HTML pages on a user’s PC. a host must implement the layered set of protocols comprising the Internet protocol suite.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT ability to configure and modify the appearance of received information in a manner which best suits the preferences of the reader. 3. The most common Internet user protocols are: 173 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . and support protocols that provide common system functions. A host typically must implement at least one protocol from each layer. save and display the full HTML source code for any and all of the published web documents. We distinguish two categories of application layer protocols: user protocols that provide service directly to users.of the OSI Reference Model [ARCH:8]. The Internet suite does not further subdivide the Application Layer. The application layer of the Internet suite essentially combines the functions of the top two layers . The Application Layer in the Internet protocol suite also includes some of the function relegated to the Session Layer in the OSI Reference Model. except that it also incorporates some of OSI’s Session Layer establishment and destruction functions. There are two primary Transport Layer protocols at present:   Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) User Datagram Protocol (UDP) TCP is a reliable connection-oriented transport service that provides end-to-end reliability. and the set of official Internet transport protocols may be expanded in the future. Other transport protocols have been developed by the research community. type-of-service specification. and a variety of routing protocols. booting. 174 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . The layers above IP are responsible for reliable delivery service when it is required.DBA 1727 NOTES    Telnet (remote login) FTP (file transfer) SMTP (electronic mail delivery) There are a number of other standardized user protocols and many private user protocols. duplicated. providing no end-to-end delivery guarantees. The IP protocol includes provision for addressing. Support protocols. or not at all. and security. fragmentation and reassembly. resequencing. and flow control. the Domain Name System (DNS) protocol. TFTP. IP datagrams may arrive at the destination host damaged. BOOTP. This layer is roughly equivalent to the Transport Layer in the OSI Reference Model. Transport Layer The Transport Layer provides end-to-end communication services. out of order. IP is a connectionless or datagram internetwork service. and management include SNMP. UDP is a connectionless (datagram) transport service. used for host name mapping. Internet Layer All Internet transport protocols use the Internet Protocol (IP) to carry data from source host to destination host. We call this a Link Layer protocol. Protocols in this Layer are generally outside the scope of Internet standardization. Thus. a host must implement the communication protocol used to interface to that network.it uses IP to carry its data end-to-end. This layer contains everything below the Internet Layer and above the Physical Layer (which is the media connectivity. but it is not the same as the Network Layer in the OSI Reference Model. Internet Link Layer standards usually address only address resolution and rules for transmitting IP packets over specific Link Layer protocols. although it is architecturally layered upon IP . Its responsibility is the correct delivery of messages. ICMP provides error reporting. Some older Internet documents refer to this layer as the Network Layer. the Internet (intentionally) uses existing standards whenever possible. and first-hop router redirection. among which it does not differentiate. Link Layer To communicate on a directly connected network. congestion reporting. The Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) is a control protocol that is considered to be an integral part of IP. which encodes and transports messages). normally electrical or optical.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT The datagram or connectionless nature of IP is a fundamental and characteristic feature of the Internet architecture. The Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) is an Internet layer protocol used for establishing dynamic host groups for IP multicasting. NOTES 175 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . and/or contain errors. but is not necessary for Internet operation. every use of the term router is equivalent to IP router. Historically. Constituent networks may generally be divided into two classes:  Local-Area Networks (LANs) LANs may have a variety of designs. the loss rate of the network should be very low. Thus. be lost or duplicated. LANs normally cover a small geographical area (e. as custom hardware development becomes cheaper and as higher throughput is required. For reasonable performance of the protocols that use IP (e. Many older Internet documents refer to routers as gateways. Forwarding an IP datagram generally requires the router to choose the address and relevant interface of 176 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . However. also called long-haul networks. special purpose hardware is becoming increasingly common.g. In networks providing connection-oriented service. a single building or plant site) and provide high bandwidth with low delays. or they may be as simple as point-to-point lines. LANs may be passive (similar to Ethernet) or they may be active (such as ATM). routers have been realized with packet-switching software executing on a general-purpose CPU. This specification applies to routers regardless of how they are implemented. Wide-Area Networks (WANs) Geographically dispersed hosts and LANs are interconnected by wide-area networks. represented by IP subnets or unnumbered point to point lines . In this document. These networks may have a complex internal structure of lines and packetswitches. datagrams can be delivered out of order. According to the IP service specification.. the extra reliability provided by virtual circuits enhances the end-end robustness of the system. constituent networks are connected together by IP datagram forwarders which are called routers or IP routers. TCP). it has at least one physical interface.g. A router connects to two or more logical interfaces..  Routers In the Internet model.DBA 1727 NOTES Networks The constituent networks of the Internet system are required to provide only packet (connectionless) transport. are much more secure. and occasionally accessing. called relaying or forwarding depends upon a route database within the router. Routers provide datagram transport only. A router normally accomplishes this by participating in distributed routing and reachability algorithms with other routers. These other devices are outside the scope of this document. as discussed above. routing protocols and configuration interact in a process called routing.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT the next-hop router or (for the final hop) the destination host.7 Common uses of the Internet E-mail The concept of sending electronic text messages between parties in a way analogous to mailing letters or memos predates the creation of the Internet. The World Wide Web Many people use the terms Internet and World Wide Web (or just the Web) interchangeably. Packet switching devices may also operate at the Link Layer. although in any organization there will be IT and other personnel whose job may involve monitoring. but. 177 NOTES ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . Purely internal or intranet mail systems. 3. This choice. Even today it can be important to distinguish between Internet and internal e-mail systems. if anyone considers it important enough. and they seek to minimize the state information necessary to sustain this service in the interest of routing flexibility and robustness. the two terms are not synonymous. the e-mail of other employees not addressed to them. The routing database should be maintained dynamically to reflect the current topology of the Internet system. Network segments that are connected by bridges share the same IP network prefix forming a single IP subnet. Internet e-mail may travel and be stored unencrypted on many other networks and machines out of both the sender’s and the recipient’s control.1. such devices are usually called bridges. The term “router” derives from the process of building this route database. where the information never leaves the corporate or organization’s network. The route database is also called a routing table or forwarding table. During this time it is quite possible for the content to be read and even tampered with by third parties. Collections of personal web pages published by large service providers remain popular. such as Internet Explorer and Firefox. millions of people worldwide have easy. Web documents may contain almost any combination of computer data including photographs. using the Web. and have become increasingly sophisticated. HTTP is only one of the communication protocols used on the Internet. than ever before for individuals and organizations to publish ideas and information to an extremely large audience. Software products that can access the resources of the Web are correctly termed user agents. text. In normal use. Compared to encyclopedias and traditional libraries. office applications and scientific demonstrations. web browsers. Anyone can find ways to publish a web page or build a website for very little initial cost. instant access to a vast and diverse amount of online information. video. of these resources to deliver them as required using HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol). Web services also use HTTP to allow software systems to communicate in order to share and exchange business logic and data. which are largely used as easily updatable online diaries. diverse and up-to-date information is still a difficult and expensive proposition. One example of this practice is Microsoft.DBA 1727 NOTES The World Wide Web is a huge set of interlinked documents. whose product developers publish their personal blogs in order to pique the public’s interest in their work. linked by hyperlinks and URLs. access web pages and allow users to navigate from one to another via hyperlinks. Some commercial organizations encourage staff to fill them with advice on their areas of specialization in the hope that visitors will be impressed by the expert knowledge and free information. multimedia and interactive content including games. the World Wide Web has enabled a sudden and extreme decentralization of information and data. Many individuals and some companies and groups use “web logs” or blogs. and be attracted to the corporation as a result. professional websites full of attractive. These hyperlinks and URLs allow the web servers and other machines that store originals. It is also easier. graphics. sounds. however. images and other resources. Through keyword-driven Internet research using search engines like Yahoo! and Google. Publishing and maintaining large. Whereas operations such as Angelfire 178 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . and cached copies. in other remote locations. These accounts could have been created by home-working bookkeepers. can open a remote desktop session into his normal office PC using a secure Virtual Private Network (VPN) connection via the Internet. In the early days. initially. who may be paid staff. depending on the requirements. These operations often brand themselves as social network services rather than simply as web page hosts. authentication and encryption technologies. Advertising on popular web pages can be lucrative.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT and GeoCities have existed since the early days of the Web. Contributors to these systems. They may do this with or without the use of security. newer offerings from. fill underlying databases with content using editing pages designed for that purpose. collaboration and information sharing in many industries. This is encouraging new ways of working from home. websites are more often created using content management system (CMS) or wiki software with. and e-commerce or the sale of products and services directly via the Web continues to grow. but the cost of private leased lines would have made many of them infeasible in practice. approval and security systems built into the process of taking newly entered content and making it available to the target visitors. while away from the office. An office worker away from his desk. Remote access The Internet allows computer users to connect to other computers and information stores easily. perhaps on the other side of the world on a business trip or a holiday. Facebook and MySpace currently have large followings. web pages were usually created as sets of complete and isolated HTML text files stored on a web server. More recently. There may or may not be editorial. while casual visitors view and read this content in its final HTML form. including e-mail and other applications. 179 NOTES ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . This gives the worker complete access to all of his or her normal files and data. based on information e-mailed to them from offices all over the world. An accountant sitting at home can audit the books of a company based in another country. Some of these things were possible before the widespread use of the Internet. for example. members of a club or other organization or members of the public. on a server situated in a third country that is remotely maintained by IT specialists in a fourth. wherever they may be across the world. very little content. but also provides security for the workers. while being virtually ignored in the mainstream media. even among niche interests. but the wide reach of the Internet allows such groups to easily form in the first place. It can be put into a “shared location” or onto a file server for instant use by colleagues. Extension to these systems may allow files to be exchanged. Loose Change and Endgame have had extensive coverage on the Internet. whether in the form of IRC “chat rooms” or channels. or via instant messaging systems. this has been the source of some notable security breaches. because it extends the secure perimeter of a corporate network into its employees’ homes. which produced GNU and Linux from scratch and has taken over development of Mozilla and OpenOffice. Collaboration The low cost and nearly instantaneous sharing of ideas. colleagues and friends as an attachment. and skills has made collaborative work dramatically easier.DBA 1727 NOTES This concept is also referred to by some network security people as the Virtual Private Nightmare. knowledge. It can be uploaded to a website or FTP server for easy download by others. “whiteboard” drawings to be shared as well as voice and video contact between team members.org (formerly known as Netscape Communicator and StarOffice). allow colleagues to stay in touch in a very convenient way when working at their computers during the day. File sharing A computer file can be e-mailed to customers. Version control systems allow collaborating teams to work on shared sets of documents without either accidentally overwriting each other’s work or having members wait until they get “sent” documents to be able to add their thoughts and changes. Internet “chat”. An example of this is the free software movement in software development. Not only can a group cheaply communicate and test. 180 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . Films such as Zeitgeist. The load of bulk downloads to many users can be eased by the use of “mirror” servers or peer-to-peer networks. Messages can be sent and viewed even more quickly and conveniently than via e-mail. Pod casting is a variation on this theme. photography. The origin and authenticity of the file received may be checked by digital signatures or by MD5 or other message digests. calendars and other information. music. where—usually audio—material is first downloaded in full and then may be played back on a computer or shifted to a digital audio player to be listened to on the move. the transit of the file over the Internet may be obscured by encryption. the BBC). Such collaboration occurs in a wide variety of areas including scientific research. sale. video. news. over a worldwide basis. This includes all manner of print publications. and money may change hands before or after access to the file is given. software products. to broadcast audio-visual material on a worldwide basis. These techniques using simple equipment allow anybody. This means that an Internet-connected device. They may also allow time-shift viewing or listening such as Preview.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT In any of these cases. political activism and creative writing. The range of material is much wider. a credit card whose details are also passed— hopefully fully encrypted—across the Internet. software development. access to the file may be controlled by user authentication. with little censorship or licensing control. Streaming media Many existing radio and television broadcasters provide Internet “feeds” of their live audio and video streams (for example. are changing the basis for the production. While some webcams can give full-frame-rate video. Internet collaboration technology enables business and project teams to share documents. from pornography to highly specialized. technical web casts. Classic Clips and Listen Again features. These providers have been joined by a range of pure Internet “broadcasters” who never had on-air licenses. graphics and the other arts. film. This in turn has caused seismic shifts in each of the existing industries that previously controlled the production and distribution of these products. The price can be paid by the remote charging of funds from. for example. the picture is usually either small or NOTES 181 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . and distribution of anything that can be reduced to a computer file for transmission. such as a computer or something more specific. Webcams can be seen as an even lower-budget extension of this phenomenon. These simple features of the Internet. can be used to access on-line media in much the same way as was previously possible only with a television or radio receiver. conference planning. 000. Voice telephony (VoIP) VoIP stands for Voice over IP. especially over long distances and especially for those with always-on Internet connections such as cable or ADSL. Users are able to watch videos without signing up. Video chat rooms. sometimes described as an Internet phenomenon because of the vast amount of users and how rapidly the site’s popularity has grown. as the Internet carries the actual voice traffic. if users do sign up they are able to upload an unlimited amount of videos and they are given their own personal profile. Currently. In recent years many VoIP systems have become as easy to use and as convenient as a normal telephone. Interoperability between different providers has improved and the ability to call or receive a call from a traditional telephone is available. 182 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . It uses a flash-based web player which streams video files in the format FLV.000 new videos are uploaded every day. You Tube. Many uses can be found for personal webcams in and around the home. The benefit is that. Simple. Internet users can watch animals around an African waterhole. It is currently estimated that there are 64. and remote controllable webcams are also popular. 2005. inexpensive VoIP modems are now available that eliminate the need for a PC. Voice quality can still vary from call to call but is often equal to and can even exceed that of traditional calls. where IP refers to the Internet Protocol that underlies all Internet communication. and it is also currently estimated that 825. with and without two-way sound. ships in the Panama Canal. It is now the leading website for free streaming video. video conferencing. live and in real time. Traditional phones are line-powered and operate during a power failure. VoIP does not do so without a backup power source for the electronics. Thus.DBA 1727 NOTES updates slowly. Remaining problems for VoIP include emergency telephone number dialling and reliability. a few VoIP providers provide an emergency service. the traffic at a local roundabout or their own premises. was founded on February 15. VoIP can be free or cost much less than a normal telephone call. however. VoIP is maturing into a viable alternative to traditional telephones. This phenomenon began as an optional two-way voice extension to some of the instant messaging systems that took off around the year 2000.000 videos on YouTube. but it is not universally available. These terminals are widely accessed for various usage like ticket booking. A whole campus or park. and there are others available also. Philadelphia. as a form of communication between players. where computers with Internet connections are available. Vienna. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 also offer VoIP chat features. such as “public Internet kiosk”. Public places to use the Internet include libraries and Internet cafes. Apart from Wi-Fi.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT Most VoIP providers offer unlimited national calling. and fixed wireless services. “public access terminal”. and therefore can do so to the Internet itself. There are also Internet access points in many public places such as airport halls and coffee shops. bank deposit. High-end mobile phones such as smartphones generally come with Internet access through the phone network. fiber optic or copper wires). Various terms are used. San Francisco. A hotspot need not be limited to a confined location. free to customers only. or fee-based. Many hotels now also have public terminals. Commercial Wi-Fi services covering large city areas are in place in London. but the direction in VoIP is clearly toward global coverage with unlimited minutes for a low monthly fee. VoIP has also become increasingly popular within the gaming world. Toronto. The Internet can then be accessed from such places as a park bench. Grassroots efforts have led to wireless community networks. Wi-Fi. Chicago and Pittsburgh. various high-speed data services over cellular phone networks. where would-be users need to bring their own wireless-enabled devices such as a laptop or PDA. Hotspots providing such access include WiFi cafes. satellite and 3G technology cell phones. though these are usually fee-based. These services may be free to all. Internet access Common methods of home access include dial-up. there have been experiments with proprietary mobile wireless networks like Ricochet. landline broadband (over coaxial cable. Web browsers such as Opera are available on these advanced 183 NOTES ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . in some cases just for brief use while standing. Wi-Fi provides wireless access to computer networks. Popular gaming VoIP clients include Ventrilo and Teamspeak. and “Web payphone”. online payment etc. or even an entire city can be enabled. a person can order a CD online and receive it in the mail within a couple of days. which can also run a wide variety of other Internet software. which online marketing companies can use as information as to what those users will purchase online. More mobile phones have Internet access than PCs.DBA 1727 NOTES handsets. though this is not as widely used. Friendster. and advertise their own companies’ products to those users. The Internet has also greatly facilitated personalized marketing which allows a company to market a product to a specific person or a specific group of people more so than any other advertising medium. when they advertise themselves they advertise interests and hobbies. It is the fastest way to spread information to a vast number of people simultaneously. The Internet has also subsequently revolutionized shopping—for example. some of the biggest companies today have grown by taking advantage of the efficient nature of low-cost advertising and commerce through the Internet. An Internet access provider and protocol matrix differentiates the methods used to get online.8 Marketing The Internet has also become a large market for companies. Examples of personalized marketing include online communities such as MySpace. also known as e-commerce.9 Online Internet Business Models The outward signs of a robust and thriving business are:      Revenue increases Ability to generate profits Success in creating meaningful alliances Success in expanding into new markets Differentiating itself from other business models 184 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI .1. 3. Many of these users are young teens and adolescents ranging from 13 to 25 years old. Facebook and others which thousands of Internet users join to advertise themselves and make friends online. In turn. 3.1. or download it directly in some cases. Orkut. com YAHOO! 185 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI .E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT What are the key areas that a profitable web site needs to concentrate on?          Develop a unique e-business website Control the product line Introduce new products on a regular basis Ensure easy and reliable credit-card payment methods Provide customer-friendly policies On-time delivery Keep promises Develop a clever marketing strategy Be the best in your field NOTES Existing business models are of many kinds:       Advertising . They defy easy categorization by diversifying revenue streams and becoming hybrids in a cost-efficient way.com DoubleClick.com Oracle CISCO Amazon.banner and direct marketing Subscription sites Customer services Directory services Content providers Product sales Most successful companies pursue several related but different models concurrently. Let’s take a look at some of the top e-businesses in the field today:        E-Bay HomeStore. the company projects a trustworthy and reliable image. automobiles and even auto insurance. Selling just about anything.DBA 1727 NOTES EBAY A company that has emerged unscathed from the recent dot-com bust with profits soaring to almost 400% and revenues doubling in the past one year. certain high quality goods can be sold at prices fixed by the seller. where buyers and sellers of all items are allowed to post their comments online. where credit-card payment facilities are secure and easy. This site also offers professional services for all kinds of business needs. It has transformed auctions that were limited to garage sales and flea markets into highly evolved emarketplaces. their business model can be elucidated thus:        Automation of traditional methods of selling unique items Reliability in mode of payments Customer friendly company Professional services in addition to just plain selling of goods Global reach Regional diversification Successful advertising 186 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . To summarize. Priceline.com. Other companies like Yahoo! and Excite have been quick to catch on and incorporate auctions into their sites. Person-to-person trading and a barter economy have established the company on a secure B2B and B2C platform. a site that offers airline tickets on discount has begun experimenting quite successfully with this business model. Adopting an amazing and unique culture.7 million registered users today. Apart from bidding. from antiques and jewelry to computers. it has 29. A widespread global reach makes its easy for a buyer in Hong Kong to bid and buy a product from a seller in Paris while the regional sites in North America are able to offer hard-to-ship merchandise. Their built-in self-service system for customers. remodeling. and metamorphosed into a digital pioneer in the span of two years. NOTES 187 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . ORACLE This software and service provider entered the digitized world only in 1998.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT HOMESTORE. Consulting services with major firms like Sun Professional Systems have established their reliability with customers. Is that all? No. and safety and security aspects. Their main revenue came in from subscriptions (52%) and the remaining from advertising. Subscription sites that allow users access to a regularly updated online database of any kind for a fee are fast evolving into healthy and strong e-businesses. Homestore. Homestore.28 million customers in January 2001 and is listed among the Fortune top e-50. It registered a growth of 252% at one stage. they also offer financial advice.com’s internet business model allows prospective buyers to review properties before buying. home improvement tips.COM Statistics have revealed that realty sites account for about 9.com is a company that has dominated the real estate field with 3.6% of all online visitors. Internet business models like the Biz Online Initiative that deliver simple and complete online services and a host of other tools that customers require in setting up an e-business model. online loans. Useful advice when moving home and tips on resettling has ensured user satisfaction to the core. have made them a one stop shop for e-businesses today. and buyer’s guides to homes and household items. Innovative products and services and integration of these services have brought them into the forefront of web innovation today. employees and suppliers improved productivity and accuracy and brought down costs by 100’s of millions of dollars. As a subscription site they picked a specific topic which a segment of the population would be passionate about and marketed their services through strategic advertising. This kind of service surpasses the most brilliant technology in use today. an Internet data center that offers a range of web hosting services.COM The customer is King here! Amazon pampers their customers. the latest being its investments in an optical equipment company and speech recognition software makers.a user friendly web site that connects customers easily Fast online e-business services Expert consultancy service Another company using a similar business model is Exodus Communications. security monitoring. They allow these firms to deliver content and applications online round the clock without fail.DBA 1727 NOTES Their business formula:      Innovative products and packages Integration of internal processes Exemplary customer service . Their business model could be termed an acquisition one! AMAZON. 90% of their sales are conducted over the Internet. They offer expertise in planning and executing Internet enabled solutions. 35% of their revenue comes from a very successful e-business consulting firm whom they have partnered with (Sapient). This e-tailer cultivates relationships that lead to customers liking and trusting them. Amazon brought in the world of successful oneto-one marketing. CISCO Cisco develops switches and routers for Local Area Networks (LAN) and Wireless Area Networks (WAN) and the related software. Their servers host leading web sites like Yahoo!. 188 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . bandwidth on demand. They are expanding from 19 data centers to 34 data centers this year. The company has grown in the past 7 years with 71 acquisitions to its credit. a personal touch from another era. They have become the worldwide leaders in networking for the Internet today. tracks their tastes and uses this information to create a unique customer experience. e-Bay and Merril Lynch. Banner ads placed on sites like CNN. are run separately. www. and hosting online chat are a sure fire way to get a response. The web has proven to be an amazing vehicle for advertising and reaching millions without spending a dime on postage and printing.palm. CompuServe. travel and health.nasdaq. They help markets build brands.com. Abacus is one of the largest databases of buyer behavior in about 90 million households in the United States itself. a customer tends to associate trust and comfort in a known and established brand. successful online advertising and special discounted offers made Amazon and books synonymous terms today. automobiles.com.Business. increase sales. 189 NOTES ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI .net. Their direct marketing strategies use customer data to refine marketing messages and increase investment returns.com and Barnes the Noble Ltd. Stu Heinecke Services. technology. To summarize. Online ads possess tremendous communication powers. including trading links with other sites. another famous online bookseller. One of their divisions. They offer agencies plans to manage online campaigns. using odd-shaped attention grabbing banners.macromedia. Pathfinder and The New York Times showed that:      appropriate placement of the ad on specific targeted sites. Another division.COM This Fortune e-50 company offers a collection of premium sites for custom adbuys and sponsorships in various fields . using a search component or a woman’s face in a banner ad. an advertising solutions company used personalized cartoon direct mail and achieved response rates as high as 100%.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT Recently though. Some of their clients include www.networldsolutions. proving that any successful ebusiness strategy will survive provided it is based on a solid brick and mortar foundation. entertainment.com and www. maximize revenue and build one-to-one relationships with their customers. they have suffered heavy losses. www. www. Although barnesandnoble. DOUBLECLICK. a la Barnes and Noble.net conducts online research to evaluate and understand online campaigns and strategies. Online advertising is international advertising that gets a 24X7 exposure for much lesser costs. Lycos. exemplary customer service.diameter. The value of this successful business model lies in its unique and easy categorization of all pages and subjects . Reflect. brilliant business plans. But. Also. As a result. Among the other successful dot-coms. There is no doubt that in the near future. Online advertising was the main revenue for Yahoo!. showing that generalized media doesn’t work compared to specialized media. 190 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI .com. an average person anywhere in the world will surf the Internet more often than he or she watches television or uses the telephone. great and innovative promotional ideas are an integral part of any e-success. As a result. banner ads. online ads. but they didn’t really check on what kind of ads worked online. sports and news.a completely professional looking web site in all. video and audio. thus proving that the basic B2C business model is valid. Excite and Juno seem to have raked in more profits recently. all of Yahoo’s content is owned by other sites and only licensed for their use. a BPI (Buying Power Index) report reveals that more online buying and popularity of a site don’t go hand in hand. Smart thinking.com blended telephone and Internet technologies. clubs and auction stores has become the most popular directory in the web. Competition in cyberspace may become even fiercer in the future and therefore the right business plan is what will eventually ensure long-term success. this year they have been forced to cut budgets and ads. a beauty customization site outlasted other higher profile e-tailers in the business. free news and information services. it makes sense for entrepreneurs of all kinds to come up with ideas of generating income by marketing their products or services to these surfers.DBA 1727 NOTES YAHOO! The “operating system” of the net and a site for evolving search engines. trends revealed that online e-brokers offer the best economic models among consumer-centered Internet companies. 1-800Flowers. Other search engines like Altavista. Instead of spending on physical infrastructure they concentrated in increasing the volume of transactions. Immediate success stopped them from evolving and developing other important aspects of e-business. 2 TCP/IP protocol suite The TCP/IP protocol suite includes the Transport Control Protocol. An Intranet is a company-specific network that uses software programs based on the Internet TCP/IP protocol and common Internet user interfaces such as the web browser.2. 3. In reality.1What is an Intranet? The Internet has captured world attention in recent years.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT 3. NOTES An Intranet is a company-wide network that is based on Internet technologies. an Intranet is the application of Internet technologies within an organization private LAN or WAN network.2 INTRANET 3.2. Today. growth of internal networks based on Internet technologies known as the Intranet is outpacing the growth of the global Internet itself. many Intranets are built around Web servers delivering HTML pages. Simply put. The protocol suite manages all the information that moves 191 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . the Internet Protocol and other protocols. The Intranet environment is completely owned by the enterprise and is generally not accessible from the Internet at large. anyone can use and develop new applications on top of TCP/IP. Table 3.DBA 1727 NOTES across the Intranet and Internet and each protocol transferring data across the network uses a different format. 3. Within an Intranet. These protocols work together to transfer information across the network. Commonly used TCP/IP protocols TCP/IP exists as an open standard.2.2.a summaries the common TCP/IP protocols.2. universal browsers such as Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer enable the users to perform the following tasks independent of the platforms used: 192 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI .3 The benefits of Intranets Cross-platform Many corporate computing environments use different computing platforms. The Intranet enables companies to unify communication within a multi-platform environment. Hence. It can manage almost all the network tasks on the Intranet and Internet and is also the only protocol required to ensure that the computer systems and communications and networking software are interoperable. The capability to exchange information across platforms is crucial. companies can mix and match platforms as needed with no adverse effect on the overall environment. For example. participate in discussions and news groups interact with multimedia presentation gain access to the Internet NOTES Breaking down the barriers Intranets dissolve the barriers of communication that are created by department walls. Putting manuals on-line is an example of how a company can reduce paper consumption and hence costs. Immediate delivery Information delivered using an Intranet becomes available almost instantaneously throughout the entire organization. they are published electronically on the company’s Intranet. Employees. The request form can be filled out and submitted electronically and can reach the concerned parties in seconds. With HTML form-support. booklets and flyers. Most companies have found that hundreds of paper-based applications can be eliminated using Intranets. Reducing distribution cost By combining computing and communication in the same system. geographical location and decentralized resources. Information can move much more quickly and effectively by removing the need for human intervention. Intranets create global accessibility by bringing together individuals and resources from a distributed environment. distribute and update them. view and revise documents. customers and vendors are able to access information stored in multiple locations simultaneously. saving the resources needed to print. such as printed pages. Intranets reduce distribution costs by eliminating the traditional paper-based internal corporate communication media. post sign-up sheets and schedules on the Intranet. an employee can make a request for taking leave on an Intranet. users may even fill out forms. pamphlets. Instead.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT 1 2 3 4 create. 193 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . DBA 1727 NOTES Increase internal communication Intranets greatly facilitate communication among employees. Individuals and groups can distribute their ideas to those who need it without having to go through the department traditionally responsible for the distribution of information. At Sun Microsystems. Many companies have designed their Intranet pages to look as similar to the Web pages as possible. Employees in Hong Kong can communicate easily through e-mail with their counterparts in the United States. for example. Minimal learning curve With the increase in popularity of the Internet and the World Wide Web. Companies are able to build a long-lasting relationship with their customers. for example. Customers are no longer required to go through various layers of organizational hierarchies to reach those who build the products or provide the service. Getting the customers involved Involving the customers with a company’s Intranet will help that company’s focus move from being product driven to being more customer driven. especially when they are located in different buildings. Employees can learn first hand on how customers feel about the company’s products and services. send project documents electronically. They can. different departments are setting up their own servers to serve their customers directly. cities or countries. create online forums on new policies and use videoconference to exchange ideas. 194 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . training users to use the Intranet is easy as many people are already familiar with the Web interface and can translate that experience to Intranet use quickly. 4 Basic intranet structure       Internet technologies used behind the corporate firewall or in private environment Internet standard mail. which facilitate software developers to develop cost effective and easy-to-implement Intranet solutions. traditional GroupWare products have a more limited range of compatible products and fewer specially trained consultants to install and administer them. threaded discussion groups Multimedia using mime type Virtual private network over public Internet Internet Firewall Intranet NOTES 3. Unlike traditional GroupWare products. which often charge on a per-client basis. databases. Scalability Since Intranets are based on Internet technologies. scheduling. The only per-client cost associated with Intranets is the cost of the browsers.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT Open standards Internet technologies follow a set of open standards.2.5 Internet Architecture The corporate intranet has been hailed as the most important business tool since the typewriter. size is not a limitation with Intranets. Users can choose from a number of vendors for software products. etc. Conversely. Despite many successes. particularly in cost and time savings. Intranets use open systems to distribute information.2. many sponsors of corporate intranets are dissatisfied. 195 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . The growth of Internet technologies provides companies with a greater pool of resources to develop their own Intranets. web servers. but the track record so far has been mixed. providing access to information. 3. Enter the intranet. not documents.” Management gurus are helping companies move away from vertical. information design for intranets often receives scant attention. hierarchical organizational lines towards horizontal. Don’t Overlook Design Just as physical work spaces rely on architectural plans to optimize efficiency. 196 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . rather than the organizational chart of the company. the real problems may lie in information design. they focus on tasks. an intranet needs to be carefully designed to help employees access information and collaborate effectively. employees are assumed to be insiders. process-oriented groups that link cross-functional teams focused on the same set of business tasks. So. Recent shifts in corporate structure point to the emergence of “communities of process. Focusing on processes rather than departments is a widely-hailed business trend. and aim to integrate those tasks into distinct processes. but they share several common characteristics. but still aren’t enjoying significant enough productivity or cost savings. which create value for a company and its customers. Why? While critics often point to technological glitches. the best intranets encourage collaboration by creating shared and familiar spaces that reflect the personality of the company and create a common ground for all employees. Successful intranets allow employees from a variety of departments to contribute the different skills necessary to carry out a particular process. Successful process-oriented intranets look and work as differently as the processes they enable. while the company Web site usually has the input of the marketing department. even countries. the ideal vehicle for creating and empowering process-based corporate communities. intranets should be organized primarily around the business processes they help employees carry out. platformindependent virtual space.DBA 1727 NOTES They have spent time and money on development. even intranet training. functions. able to easily locate company information. design and structure of the intranet is often relegated to the IT department. While each department of a company may have its own virtual space. Intranets should help employees collaborate on business processes such as product development or order fulfillment. First they are built on smart information design. Because the public doesn’t see the intranet. intranets centralize the business process in an easily accessible. Specifically. The trouble is that this requires significant interaction between departments. Net-enabled desktops. Second. Finally. Unlike customers. Tasks include fulfilling orders. they can be more complex. such as tracking deliveries. 197 NOTES ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . While a spreadsheet is a “calculation” tool. Think About Tasks Rather Than Documents Thinking of the intranet as a tool means understanding the intranet as more than a collection of documents. information on various retirement plans (including links to financial Web sites) should be placed near the forms actually used to register for those plans. intranets can contribute to dramatic increases in efficiency (as much as a 40% improvement in time spent processing documents. Organize Tasks Into Larger Processes Isolated tasks are usually part of a larger process. People use documents to complete tasks. or collaborating on a research document. the tasks of the users rather than the classification of documents or tools. For example. Similarly. and last year’s budget is an “internal document. To complete these tasks. people need to have related documents and tools close at hand. It won’t allow employees from marketing and research and development to work together to create a new product. Intranets should group together all the tasks that make up a business process. While seemingly the obvious candidate for the structure of the intranet. While important. according to the GIGA Group). Organizing documents within the context of tasks also focuses employees on the function of the documents they are working with. looking up a customer’s billing history. you have a variety of information and tools at hand. creating a budget). The principal of organizing by task can be demonstrated by the example of working at a desk. An organizational chart can’t help employees from the marketing and legal departments collaborate on bringing a document through the approval process.g. Processes can be relatively discrete. Designed effectively around dynamic tasks rather than static documents. an organizational chart actually works against the collaboration the intranet is meant to foster.” both need to be next to each other in order to develop a new budget. to save employee time while signing up for various retirement plans. documents are usually a means to an end. should dictate the organization of the intranet. or getting approval for documents. an organizational chart of the company is often used to organize information on the intranet.. on the corporate intranet. When you sit down to begin a task (e. Or.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT By default. The most important processes in a company are those that create value for a customer. a pharmaceutical company is using its intranet to allow scientists all over the world to collaborate on research. For example. For example. Even simple processes can become more efficient when incorporated into an intranet. key documents. and modification of. the intranet can help employees collaborate to efficiently carry out the central processes of the company. the section covering an initial stage of the sales process includes links to customer presentations. which rely on access to. they are all involved in the process of customer service. For example. Cadence Systems created an integrated section of the intranet for its entire sales process. Organizing all steps of the sales process together also allows for easy tracking of each sales effort. and employees can increase their productivity by sharing knowledge. More complex processes can also be effectively integrated into an intranet. is now centralized in an efficient electronic process. the company included an application to help geographically dispersed engineers to get authorization for new projects. sample letters. Travel costs are eliminated. So. Each phase of the sales process is represented on the intranet with relevant information and tools. These are the central processes which every intranet should help employees accomplish. Caterpillar is developing an extranet application so that experts from around the world can collaborate with employees to design new products. A major franchise retailer is using bulletin boards on its intranet to coordinate major marketing projects. when Ford implemented an intranet. Other applications for intranet collaboration include complex transactions with lawyers and multiple parties. Even though the employees necessary to resolve the complaint work in different departments. What would previously be a time-consuming. 198 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . sales and marketing department. Intranets (and private extranets) can also bring together employees and partners who are geographically dispersed to work on common problems. For example. expensive process. Create Virtual Workgroups Organized Around Processes Intranets can break though departmental walls to help accomplish business processes more efficiently. involving the potential for lost documents and delays. a customer complaint might involve people and information from the accounting. and cut costs by avoiding in-person conferences and employee reallocations. By creating spaces for cross-departmental collaboration. and internal forms.DBA 1727 NOTES such as developing or selling products. Turner Entertainment Group. marketing the intranet to employees remains essential. will help dispersed employees feel that they share the same space. then. These. it must provide ways of empowering all employees. And this is where graphic design. The process-oriented intranet. Unless there is a clear commitment from senior management to have employees collaborate across departments to more efficiently accomplish key business processes. for example.and off-line. and will encourage collaboration and communication around the processes they support. of the intranet. using an intranet to shift the way work is done in an organization requires a cultural change within the organization. in turn. the intranet may have only limited application and benefit. increase the efficiency of key business processes such as product development. intranets have personalities. For the intranet to be successful. The Texas Instruments intranet was established after this shift. is “in sync” with the company it works for. offering concrete incentives for employees to use. Whether it precedes or follows the organizational shift. software development time fell from twenty-two to eight months. An intranet that reflects the culture of its company will make employees feel more at home. and encourage the use. marketing and customer service. certainly an important issue to resolve. tone and standards emerge as vital to the intranet’s success. created a distinctive. At the same time. tone and content. What receives less attention-but is central to the value of an intranet-is the design of virtual spaces. which are amalgams of visual style.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT The bulk of discussion about collaboration in and between companies centers around security. and was designed to reflect and enhance the new organization. The unique imagery created a friendly. oriented around collaborative work groups. an intranet that encourages this type of collaborative work environment can provide a significant return-on-investment. which encourage new forms of collaboration. familiar space for all employees. As the intranet creates new forms of collaboration. Even after the intranet is designed to encourage collaboration. When Texas Instruments initiated a process-centered organization. the Company Reflects the Intranet The corporate intranet can help a company organize around “communities of process” both on. The Intranet Reflects the Company. NOTES 199 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . casual feel for its intranet with a home page that uses a refrigerator with magnates to represent the various divisions. Like it or not. shared. it will challenge traditional ways of doing work and obtaining information. anytime and . We have worked on a variety of web-based systems which have fulfilled many different business roles. and web front ends to large corporate and scientific databases. organizations can make more information available to employees on a “pull” basis (ie: employees can link to relevant information at a time which suits them) rather than being deluged indiscriminately by emails. The ease of deployment over the web has made such applications very attractive for enterprise systems. These applications are no longer restricted to the traditional PC user running Windows.2. secure global access to their data and applications. including systems such as sophisticated workflow systems that help organizations manage their day to day business. more accurately. Time: With intranets. It also helps to improve the services provided to the users. but are also available for PDAs and mobile phones. The introduction of Web Services has widened the scope of web-based applications by allowing other systems to interact with them. With the help of a web browser interface. and with confidence that they have the right information.6 Internet/Intranet Applications From blue-chip companies to one-person start-ups. users can access data held in any database the organization wants to make available.subject to security provisions from anywhere within the company workstations. Any device which has a web browser can potentially utilize an internet/intranet application. the world’s largest climate prediction experiment. 200 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . 2.DBA 1727 NOTES 3. Webbased systems have enabled organizations to provide maintainable. We also have experience of developing distributed applications deployed over the internet such as climateprediction. and the majority of our work has a web-based component. Advantages of intranets 1. Workforce productivity: Intranets can help users to locate and view information faster and use applications relevant to their roles and responsibilities. the Internet and its related technologies have provided new opportunities and new ways of doing business. increasing employees’ ability to perform their jobs faster.net. Tessella has acquired wide ranging experience of internet and intranet applications. E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT 3. Cost-effective: Users can view information and data via web-browser rather than maintaining physical documents such as procedure manuals. 8. CGI applications). The type of information that can easily be conveyed is the purpose of the initiative and what the initiative is aiming to achieve. NOTES 4. the most recent version is always available to employees using the intranet. Promote common corporate culture: Every user is viewing the same information within the Intranet. business standards. Cross-platform Capability: Standards-compliant web browsers are available for Windows. who is driving the initiative. Mac. and even training. and UNIX. By providing this information on the intranet. intranets are useful to communicate strategic initiatives that have a global reach throughout the organization. results achieved to date. Because each business unit can update the online copy of a document. and who to speak to for more information. newsfeeds. 6. Communication: Intranets can serve as powerful tools for communication within an organization. 7. teamwork is enabled. Business operations and management: Intranets are also being used as a platform for developing and deploying applications to support business operations and decisions across the internetworked enterprise. 5. From a communications standpoint. Examples include: employee manuals. company policies. 9. Flash files. 201 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . vertically and horizontally. Web publishing allows ‘cumbersome’ corporate knowledge to be maintained and easily accessed throughout the company using hypermedia and Web technologies. internal phone list and requisition forms. benefits documents. can be accessed using common Internet standards (Acrobat files. Enhance Collaboration: With information easily accessible by all authorised users. staff have the opportunity to keep up-todate with the strategic focus of the organization. customers or other businesses. is that its interconnections are over a shared network rather than through dedicated physical lines. however. In contrast.3. An extranet can be viewed as part of a company’s Intranet that is extended to users outside the company (e. Even if this argument is valid. For example. that is. and possibly the public telecommunication system to securely share part of an organization’s information or operations with suppliers. vendors. an extranet can be understood as a private intranet mapped onto the Internet or some other transmission system not accessible to the general public. An argument has been made that “extranet” is just a buzzword for describing what institutions have been doing for decades. but is managed by more than one company’s administrator(s). military networks of different security levels may map onto a common military radio transmission system that never connects to the Internet. If the various sites in a VPN are owned by different enterprises. RFC 4364 states “If all the sites in a VPN are owned by the same enterprise. e. the VPN is an extranet. One of the differences that characterized an extranet.” 202 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI .1 What is an Extranet? An extranet is a private network that uses Internet protocols. We regard both intranets and extranets as VPNs. the VPN is a corporate intranet. With respect to Internet Protocol networks.g. Briefly.g. It has also been described as a “state of mind” in which the Internet is perceived as a way to do business with a pre approved set of other companies business-to-business (B2B). communicating with previously unknown consumer users. network connectivity.: normally over the Internet). In general. in isolation from all other Internet users. an intranet is a VPN under the control of a single company’s administrator(s). in an intranet and several extranets. In contrast. business-to-consumer (B2C) involves known server(s) of one or more companies. the term “extranet” is still applied and can be used to eliminate the use of the above description.DBA 1727 NOTES 3.. partners. A site can be in more than one VPN.3 EXTRANET 3. Any private network mapped onto a public one is a virtual private network (VPN). interconnecting to each other to create private networks for sharing information. when we use the term VPN we will not be distinguishing between intranets and extranets. and the use of virtual private networks (VPNs) that tunnel through the public network. otherwise known as the Internet Protocol.” Thus.2 Features of Extranet Extranets generally have the following features:  The use of Internet technologies and standards. The term “site” does not mean “website. The use of Web browsers. 3. enabled by authentication mechanisms on a “login page”. “extranet” is a useful term to describe selective access to intranet systems granted to suppliers. an “extranet” designates the “private part” of a website. where “registered users” can navigate. customers. 203 NOTES  ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . more recently.” Further. server management. Browser software uses relatively small amounts of memory and resources on a computer. Similarly.” but to have a VPN. Mozilla’s Firefox. The great thing about browsers is that an application written for a browser can be read on almost any computer without regard to operating system or manufacturer. the issuance and use of digital certificates or similar means of user authentication. fewer clogged hard drives. Such access does not involve tunneling.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT It is important to note that in the quote above from RFC 4364. geographically united organizations. encryption of messages. In this sense. That makes an application developed for a browser a snap to deploy. A browser on a user’s machine is all the software he or she needs to take full advantage of the Extranet application. No messy and confounding installation disks. An extranet requires security and privacy. for smaller. Netscape Navigator or. These include the standardized techniques for transmitting and sharing information and the methods for encrypting and storing information. “intranet” also refers to just the web-connected portions of a “site. a small company in a single building can have an “intranet. Users access Extranet information using a web browser like Microsoft Internet Explorer. These can include firewalls. or IP. they would need to provide tunneled access to that network for geographically distributed employees. or other companies. but rather simply an authentication mechanism to a web server.3. the term “site” refers to a distinct networked environment. Two “sites” connected to each other across the public Internet backbone comprise a VPN. While these are the broad attributes shared by most Extranets. Members can access this information from any computer that has Internet access. Some 204 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . several industries started to use the term “extranet” to describe central repositories of shared data made accessible via the web only to authorized members of particular work groups.DBA 1727 NOTES   Security. several of the leading vendors formed the Network of Construction Collaboration Technology Providers. in the construction industry. most Extranets use either secure communication lines or proven security and encryption technologies that have been developed for the Internet. For example. among others. issue requests for information.3. By their very nature. Germany and Belgium. Australia. make comments. Extranets usually have a central server where documents or data reside. Scandinavia. etc. To protect the privacy of the information that is being transmitted. Central Server/Repository. Extranets vary dramatically in their design and implementation. to promote the technologies and to establish data exchange standards between the different systems. In 2003 in the United Kingdom. They can be employed in a wide variety of environments and for very different purposes. or NCCTP.3 Industry use During the late 1990s and early 2000s. The same type of construction-focused technologies have also been developed in the United States. project teams could login to and access a ‘project extranet’ to share drawings and documents. like:   Sharing case information Sharing of case-related documents—many Extranets contain document repositories that can be searched and viewed by both lawyer and client online Calendaring—key dates and scheduling of hearings and trials can be shared on-line Providing firm contact information Acting as a “work flow engine” for various suppliers Providing access to firm resources remotely Sharing time and expense information      3. Extranets are embroiled in concerns about security. 205 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI .4 Extranet applications An extranet application is a software data application that provides limited access to your company’s internal data by outside users such as customers and suppliers.3. which can be integrated into other online collaborative applications such as Content Management Systems. The limited access typically includes the ability to order products and services. There are a variety of commercial extranet applications. request customer service and much more. Specially secured extranets are used to provide virtual data room services to companies in several sectors (including law and accountancy). check order status. some of which are for pure file management. Also exist a variety of Open Source extranet applications and modules. such as an online banking application managed by one company on behalf of affiliated banks Share news of common interest exclusively with partner companies NOTES  3. and others which include broader collaboration and project management tools.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT applications are offered on a Software as a Service (SaaS) basis by vendors functioning as Application service providers (ASPs). Companies can use an extranet to:      Exchange large volumes of data using Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) Share product catalogs exclusively with wholesalers or those “in the trade” Collaborate with other companies on joint development efforts Jointly develop and use training programs with other companies Provide or access services provided by one company to a group of other companies. A properly developed extranet application provides the supply chain connection needed with customers and suppliers to dramatically lessen routine and time consuming communications. Doing so frees up resources to concentrate on customer service and expansion as opposed to administrative office tasks such as data entry. System access needs to be carefully controlled to avoid sensitive information falling into the wrong hands. the business or revenue models are somewhat different than that of a “brick and mortar” business. 206 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI .g. Developing and implementing an extranet application can provide you the competitive edge to stay ahead of the competition in the eyes of your customers and a better ability to negotiate prices with your suppliers.6 E-Commerce Business Models Since eCommerce consists of doing business online or electronically.DBA 1727 NOTES Just as intranets provide increased internal collaboration. software. which hurts the business when it comes to loyalty of its business partners and customers 2.5 Disadvantages 1. This could cause a lack of connections made between people and a company. Extranets can reduce personal contact (face-to-face meetings) with customers and business partners. Common eCommerce models are direct online sales. Extranets can be expensive to implement and maintain within an organization (e. 3.3. 3. Since delivery is often by mail. extranets provide increased efficiencies between your company and its customers and/or suppliers.: hardware. Direct online sales model You can establish your website as your place of business and directly sell to those entering your “store” to make a purchase. this is similar to customers buying from a mail order catalog. Software products.com is a good example of a business using the direct sales model to gain revenue. Security of extranets can be a big concern when dealing with valuable information. employee training costs) — if hosted internally instead of via an ASP. 3. Amazon. selling online advertising space.3. music and video files can be delivered to the customer through the downloading process. e-books. and online commissions. The web site is stored on a computer. or university has a business model. Samuelsen considers affiliate 207 NOTES ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . Google gains a commission for ads placed on others’ websites. software. even the “free” sites have a business model. five distinct eCommerce business models form the basic structure for the wide variety of websites today. billboard. Every site in the entire world wide web has a business model.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT Online advertising space model Just as television and radio stations gain revenue from advertisements. and storefront sites. it holds true as much today as it ever has. In actuality. A better method is to count the number of viewers that click on an ad. related to the reach or number of viewers they have. The five categories are called vanity. where they gain a commission for sales made through a company using the direct online sales model. accesses telecommunication resources. Someone must pay for the computers. The omnipresent cost either comes from your pocket or some benevolent benefactor.3. Free home pages fit into a business model. taking them to the company’s website. [Editor’s Note: Mr. Online companies such as eBay and PayPal charge a commission for their services. so too can popular websites charge for the number of viewers seeing an ad.every web site costs money. uses web server software.1 Successful Ecommerce Business Models Five different ways websites can generate revenue by Robert Samuelsen “There’s no such thing as a free lunch!” While this simple economic aphorism seems to have been forgotten in the world of cyberspace. 3.6. telecommunication charges. Therefore. Online commission model Individuals and companies can also be established as affiliates. A public site offered by a library. advertising. subscriptions. and must be maintained. Free email service has a business model. school. There are different business models underlying each website. and time. First lets establish the fact that no site is free . The cost and potential revenue constitutes a business model. and other promotion methods. experts will prepare purchase pattern analyses providing advertisers with empirical data to support their promotion campaigns. Advertising: Network television. Therefore. These sites are often created by individuals as an outlet of self expression. All programming and content is funded by advertising dollars. In addition. success is measured on viewer ship as net citizens “surf” by and are influenced to purchase product. Each of the five models have unique characteristics which make it different from the other types. While there are a few sites that are entirely supported by advertising dollars. ezine ads. Economic benefit is created through the indirect purchase of goods or services from existing physical outlets and cost savings through the elimination of infrastructure or inefficiency. the costs are real of these “free” sites.DBA 1727 NOTES programs to be a variant on the storefront model. Vanity: Many web sites are started as vanity sites. Nevertheless. or both. employment information. communities. Revenue comes from creating awareness of its products or services via the web. Most corporate sites today put up these electronic brochures to provide information about their products. with the actual purchase transaction occurring off-line. These sites are created with no intentions of deriving revenue and no illusions of grandeur. many sites combine several of the five identified business models. and many periodicals follow the advertising model. libraries. they all incur costs. Finally. or public information. For eCommerce. associations. it is important to understand their differences. promote a cause. Billboard: Billboard sites (also called brochure or information sites) are designed to derive economic benefit through indirect means from either referred sales. with consumer viewership measuring value. to share a hobby. Agencies conduct sophisticated surveys to measure the value and establish the pricing. advertising can be in the form of banners. 208 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . sponsorships. some businesses feel this is the best way to avoid channel conflict’s potential pricing disparity between different supply chains. It could be as simple as a one page family site or a complex forum on a specific topic. and even businesses. the lack of websavvy viewership statistics hindering the mass adoption by advertisers? As the knowledge of consumer behavior is further understood. or find others with similar interests. reduced cost.] While not all drive revenue directly. The costs are borne either by the individual or by some altruistic enterprise such as universities. Just like a billboard on a highway. radio. This is a much-ballyhooed but still largely unproven model on the web. A website that offers products for sale is the electronic version of a catalog. monthly. These sites are often specialized with expert content and timely information. This collapsing of the supply chain is called disintermediation. Although the vast majority of these sites offer tangible products. each model should be examined carefully to understand which model provides the maximum benefit. While it is impossible to predict the future in this fast moving media. With the understanding of the business models.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT Subscriptions: In other media. Each model will continue to mature both in its acceptance and sophistication. With the business plan in hand. For net entrepreneurs. Storefront: To some people. NOTES 209 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . or annual basis. provide a “shopping cart. a products-offered site is narrowly defined as a “true” eCommerce site. These virtual storefronts are built to describe the offering with pictures and words. offer promotions. Payment through a credit card account is a common payment scheme for subscription sites because of the ability to periodically process the purchase transaction electronically.” and complete the purchase transaction. The primary characteristic of these types of sites is the ability to make a one time purchase with no future obligations. The fulfillment is sometimes completed by the website enterprise or directly from the manufacturer in a drop shipping arrangement. there is no such thing as a free lunch. Some manufacturers are now passing up the intermediary wholesalers and retailers by offering their products directly to consumers. you will realize even in cyberspace. the cyber enterprise arranges for product fulfillment including shipping and handling. Of those that are accepted. it is obvious that all five business models will remain viable for the near term. subscriptions are not yet widely accepted by consumers. The subscriptions fund the development and maintenance of the site. On the web. Subscriptions can be paid on a weekly. Consumers will increasingly look to the web for physical commerce alternatives because of the limitlessness of the media both in terms of geography and shopping hours. they can work for service products too. the subscription models are well established’ accepted by subscribers and nurtured by publishers. Once the product is purchased. financial projections can be easily created and business plans finalized. the subscription model caters to sites targeted to particular niches of individuals who have specific needs. Telnet. Gopher. Usenet newsgroups. and the interlinked web pages and other resources of the World Wide Web (WWW). address books. photo albums. and more recently by the Altavista search engine. Java language. WAIS. and finally. which together carry various information and services. such as electronic mail. academic.DBA 1727 NOTES Robert Samuelsen operates eVine Online. and more—all in a password protected family environment. Email. and government networks. publicly accessible series of interconnected computer networks that transmit data by packet switching using the standard Internet Protocol (IP). the Elements of Internet Architecture  Protocol Layering Networks Routers  Addressing Architecture The outward signs of a robust and thriving business are:  Revenue increases  Ability to generate profits  Success in creating meaningful alliances  Success in expanding into new markets  Differentiating itself from other business models Intranet: An Intranet is a company-specific network that uses software programs based on the Internet TCP/IP protocol and common Internet user interfaces such as the 210 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI .” Summary Internet: The Internet is a worldwide. which he describes as “The web’s first family communication center featuring calendars. It is a “network of networks” that consists of millions of smaller domestic. File Transfer Protocol. WWW. online chat. Internet Relay Chat. Listserv Mailing List Software. business. file transfer. The Internet Tools and their Characteristics: The evolution of the Internet is punctuated by the introduction and mass acceptance of such key resources and tools as Unix. discussion groups. selling online advertising space. and online commissions. better information faster Based on open standards Scaleable and flexible Connects across disparate platforms Puts users in control of their data NOTES Extranet: An extranet is a private network that uses Internet protocols. Why are intranets popular        Inexpensive to implement Easy to use. network connectivity. Companies can use an extranet to:      Exchange large volumes of data using Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) Share product catalogs exclusively with wholesalers or those “in the trade” Collaborate with other companies on joint development efforts Jointly develop and use training programs with other companies Provide or access services provided by one company to a group of other companies. and possibly the public telecommunication system to securely share part of an organization’s information or operations with suppliers. an Intranet is the application of Internet technologies within an organization private LAN or WAN network. just point and click Saves time and money. Simply put. vendors. such as an online banking application managed by one company on behalf of affiliated banks Share news of common interest exclusively with partner companies  E-Commerce Business Models: Common eCommerce models are direct online sales. customers or other businesses. 211 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . partners.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT web browser. 5. 13. 9. 2. 4.DBA 1727 NOTES Questions for review 1. 12. 15. 8. 10. 16. What is an Internet? Explain its characteristics? List the Internet tools and explain its characteristics What is FTP? Explain web based Client/Server? Describe the elements of Internet architecture? Explain the uses of Internet? What are the key areas that a profitable web site needs to concentrate on? Discuss some successful companies that pursue different business models? What is an intranet? List the benefits of Intranet List the basic intranet structure Describe Internet architecture Discuss Internet/Intranet applications Discuss the integration of web technologies with business models What is an Extranet and list its features Describe the extranet applications Discuss E-Commerce Business models 212 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . 14. 11. 7. 3. 17. 6. Three factors are stimulating interest among financial institutions in electronic payments:    decreasing technology costs. Cash and checks are very expensive to process. It is estimated that approximately 56 percent of consumer transactions in the United States are cash and 29 percent are check. The desire to reduce costs is one major reason for the increase in electronic payments.1 ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS AND PROTOCOLS 4. debits.1. 213 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . reduced operational and processing costs. electronic payment is a financial exchange that takes place online between buyers and sellers. Credits. paper transactions are forecast to show very modest growth. from 117 billion in 1993 to 135 billion in the year 2000.1 Electronic Payment Systems Electronic payment is an integral part of electronic commerce. and banks are seeking less costly alternatives. and are expected to increase rapidly. and increasing online commerce. Electronic transactions numbered 33 billion in 1993 and are expected to climb to 118 billion by the year 2000. For the same period. or digital cash) that is backed by a bank or an intermediary. Broadly de-fined. and other electronic transactions account for about 15 percent of all consumer transactions. or by legal tender. electronic checks.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT NOTES UNIT IV E-COMMERCE PAYMENTS AND SECURITY 4. The content of this exchange is usually some form of digital financial instrument (such as encrypted credit card numbers. and even government-in fact. For instance. Organizations are motivated by the need to deliver products and services more cost effectively and to provide a higher quality of service to customers. but a consistent and secure payment capability does not exist. anywhere money needs to change hands. 214 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . merchants face the unappealing option of either picking one standard and alienating consumers not subscribing to a standard or needing to support multiple standards. health care. Many banks issued their own notes. and a recurrent problem was the tendency of some institutions to issue more notes than they had gold as backing.1 Types of Electronic Payment Systems Electronic payment systems are proliferating in banking. The crucial issue in electronic commerce revolves around how consumers will pay businesses online for various products and services. Currently. getting one bank to honor another’s notes was a major problem. users install client software packages. Banks are solving these problems all over again in an online environment. Banks faced similar problems in off-line commerce in the early nineteenth century. retail. The goal of online commerce is to develop a small set of payment methods that are widely used by consumers and widely accepted by merchants and banks. in one method marketed by CyberCash. Further. consumers can view an endless variety of products and services offered by vendors on the Internet. and money.1. This software then communicates with “electronic cash registers” that run on merchants’ Web servers. on-line markets. 4. Innovations in payment methods involved the creation of new financial instruments that relied on backing from governments or central banks. a rather restrictive scenario.DBA 1727 NOTES Banks and retailers want to wean customers away from paper transactions because the processing overhead is both labor intensive and costly.” on their browsers. the proliferation of incompatible electronic payment schemes has stifled electronic commerce in much the same way the split between Beta and VHS standards stifled the video industry’s growth in the 1970s. and the first applications-credit cards appeared soon after. Research into electronic payment systems for consumers can be traced back to the 1940s.1. and gradually came to be used as money. sometimes known as “electronic wallets. The solutions proposed to the online payment problem have been ad hoc at best. which entails extra time. Each vendor’s client works with only that vendor’s own server software. Currently. effort. Today. In the early 1970s. Work on EFT can be segmented into three broad categories: Banking and financial payments    Large-scale or wholesale payments (e.g.g. VISA or MasterCard) Private label credit/debit cards (e..g. bank-to-bank transfer) Small-scale or retail payments (e. train.g. Transfer is informationbased and intangible.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT the emerging electronic payment technology was labelled electronic funds transfer (EFT). First Virtual) 215 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . NetCheque) Smart cards or debit cards (e..C. World Wide Web form based encryption) Third-party authorization numbers (e.g. J. EFT is defined as “any transfer of funds initiated through an electronic terminal.. DigiCash) Electronic checks (e.g.g. instruct.g.g... or airplane. automated teller machines and cash dispensers) Home banking (e. or authorize a financial institution to debit or credit an account.. Thus EFT stands in marked contrast to conventional money and payment modes that rely on physical delivery of cash or checks (or other paper orders to pay) by truck.. American Express) On-line electronic commerce payments o Token-based payment systems Electronic cash (e..g. or computer or magnetic tape so as to order.. Penney Card) Charge cards (e. bill payment) NOTES Retailing payments Credit cards (e..” EFT utilizes computer and telecommunication components both to supply and to transfer money or financial assets..g. Mondex Electronic Currency Card) o Credit card-based payment systems Encrypted credit cards (e. telephonic instrument. settle conflicts. Brokers. although designers are concentrating closely on security. The payment interface must be as easy to use as a telephone.1. A user expects to trust in a secure system. These technical problems. as money may be invested in systems that will not be used. For example. · Standards. Tomorrow’s bank robbers will need no getaway cars just a computer terminal. from cash to bank payments. Database integration. electronic communication must merit equal trust. 216 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . should subsidies be used to encourage users to shift from one form of payment to another. the price of a telephone call. Security.2 Designing Electronic Payment Systems  Privacy. regardless of which bank is managing their money. from paper-’based to e-cash. a customer wants to play with all his accounts. The challenge before banks is to tie these databases together and to allow customers access to any of them while keeping the data up-to-date and error free. experts hope. for example. Millions of dollars have been embezzled by computer fraud. it must be recognized that without subsidies.     One fundamental issue is how to price payment system service. separate accounts have been stored on separate databases. it is difficult to price all services affordably. and facilitate financial transactions electronically-must be in place. No systems are yet fool-proof. On the other hand. None of these hurdles are insurmountable. The problem with subsidies is the potential waste of resources.DBA 1727 NOTES 4. Without standards. Intuitive interfaces. and a little ingenuity. Generally speaking. users value convenience more than anything. just as the telephone is a safe and private medium free of wiretaps and hackers. Standards enable interoperability. With home banking. A secure system verifies the identity of two-party transactions through “user authentication” and reserves flexibility to restrict information/services through access control. The biggest question concerns how customers will take to a paperless and (if not cashless) less-cash world. A “network banker”-someone to broker goods and services. To date. giving users the ability to buy and receive information. will be solved as technology is improved and experience is gained. the welding of different payment users into different networks and different systems is impossible. Most will be jumped within the next few years. Thus investment in systems not only might not be recovered but substantial ongoing operational subsidies will also be necessary. Storage of Certificates If the private key and corresponding public key in a certificate are physically stored in the customer’s personal computer.1. Netscape. software called the electronic wallet. NOTES 217 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . or digital wallet. VeriSign. The role of payment gateway is to connect the Internet and proprietary networks of banks. the customer can use the certificate only at the computer. Since the interoperability of the cardholder’s digital wallet with any merchant’s software is essential. Tandem. To keep the consumer’s certificate in his or her personal computer or IC card. the wallet can work if the IC card is inserted into a card reader attached to a computer.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT 4. To connect the dig-ital wallet with various merchants. In addition. IBM. and procedure of message exchange as depicted in. MasterCard. and American Express) has established a company called SETCo (Secure Electronic Transaction LLC 1999). encryption. interoperability is a very important characteristic to meet. the electronic wallet has to be downloaded into the buyer’s personal computer. storing the certificate in IC card seems to be the safest method. certificate format. is necessary. and MetaLand provide such interoperable digital wallets. SET defines the message format. integrity. a consortium of companies (Visa. Each participating entity needs its own certificate. Electronic Wallet To achieve perfect security. Therefore. This company performs the interoperability test and issues a SET Mark as a confirmation of interoperability. Microsoft.3 Secure Electronic Transaction (SET) Protocol SET protocol was initially designed by Visa and MasterCard in 1997 and has evolved since then. JCB. if the certificate is stored in an IC card. and non repudiation. SET protocol meets the four security requirements for EC as SSL(Secure Socket Layer) does: authentication. However. Secure socket layer protocol for electronic payment even though SET is a perfect solution for secure electronic payments. a simple version of SSL is a very viable alternative. the SSL protocol may use a certificate but it does not include the concept of a payment gateway. This is because SET protocol is complex and certificates are not widely distributed in a stable manner. Theoretically. on the other hand. a relatively simple version of SSL is currently widely adopted. This scheme is called dual signature. which integrates SET protocol with an IC card that can store multiple certificates. The SET protocol. Merchants need to receive both ordering information and credit card information because the capturing process initiated by the merchant. Until SET becomes popular. hides the customer’s credit card information from merchants and also hides the order information from banks to protect privacy. 218 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI .DBA 1727 NOTES Overview of main messages in SET The International Center for Electronic Commerce (ICEC 1999) has developed a system named Smart-SET. Digital signatures and digital certificates ensure consumer account authentication by providing a mechanism that links a consumer to a specific account number. and payment instructions.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT 4. preventing interception of account numbers and expiration dates by unauthorized individuals. credit card account and payment information must be se-cured as it travels across the network. In order to eliminate this potential source of fraud and/or error. Merchant authentication is ensured by the use of digital signatures and merchant certificates.1. Consumer Account Authentication Merchants need a way to verify that a consumer is a legitimate user of a valid account number.3. Integrity of Information SET ensures that message content is not altered during the transmission between originator and recipient. the transaction will not be processed accurately. Information integrity is ensured by the use of digital signatures. SET designates a third party called a certificate authority to authenticate the sender and receiver. If any component is altered in transit. SET provides confidentiality by the use of message encryption. Merchant Authentication The SET specifications provide a way for consumers to confirm that a merchant has a relationship with a financial institution that allows that merchant to accept bank card payments. personal data. Therefore. Payment information sent from consumers to merchants includes order information. SET provides the means to ensure that the contents of all order and payment messages received match the contents of messages sent. 219 NOTES ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI .1 What Features does SET Specify? The following objectives are addressed by SET specifications: Confidentiality of Information To facilitate and encourage financial transactions. it will be necessary for merchants and banks to assure consumers that their payment information is safe and accessible only by the intended recipient. The persons who uses the Internet and the Web to benefit themselves by doing illegal activities such as.2 SECURITY SCHEMES AGAINST INTERNET FRAUD 4.2. Statistics show that only 10% of computer client is reported and only 2% of the reported client results in with convictions. 4.DBA 1727 NOTES Interoperability The SET specifications must be applicable on a variety of hardware and software platforms. Type of Computer Criminals  Hacker-is a person who has good knowledge about computers and tries to open the data packets and steal the information transmitted through the Internet. information and causing damage to resources. As all the people are not honest. For example teenagers who tries to enter into a network out of curiosity till they are caught or deducted. There are two basic types of criminal activities:  The person who tries to understand and learn the various systems and capabilities of any private network. illegal activity’ is inevitable. There are many terms used to signify the computer criminals. Any consumer with compliant software must be able to communicate with any merchant software that also meets the defined standard Interoperability by the use of standard protocols and message formats. 220 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . This type of criminal activity raises the concern for network security.1 Security Issues The Internet is a huge place that hosts several millions of people.  A large system like Internet has many holes and crevices in which a determined person can easily find the way to get into any private network. In this case the person has no intentions to do any damage or to steal any resources but tries to observe the system functionality. stealing software’s. ands must not prefer one over another. 1 Encryption Encryption is a technique for hiding data. For this reason. Phreaks-are persons who hack phone systems. in case of offshore servers where laws are more favorable to the criminal and enforcement will be very difficult. But at the same time.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT    Cracker-is someone who specifically breaks into computer systems by bypassing or by guessing login passwords. These persons enter into the network as authenticated users and can cause any harm to the system. For this reason. The encryption and decryption algorithms are designed in a way so that only the private key can decrypt data that is encrypted by the public key.2 Security Schemes 4.2. Nowadays various encryption techniques are available. One of the available techniques commonly used for encryption is Public Key. And the public key can 221 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . For example. in future the number of fraud cases in which perpetrators create their own provider site will probably increase. One of the reasons of misrepresentation is that on the net it is easy to appear as anyone or anything without the actual presence. 4. creating a scam site is not as easy as it seems to be. This is possible specially. RSA Data Security of Redwood City offers the most popular and commercially available algorithm. NOTES Another major issue in the Internet security is misrepresentation and fraud. A phracker breaks into phone systems and computer systems and specializes in total network destruction. most Web site providers examines sites and have access to the information that is been provided. shops site displaying goods. Phracker-is the combination of freak and cracker. With the rapid growth in use of Internet. which makes the provider responsible for the content. The encrypted data can be read only by those users for whom it is intended. In a Public Key encryption system each user has two keys-public key and private key.2. These people specifically try to scam long distance phone-time for them to control phone switch capability or to hack company automated EBX systems to get free voice-mail accounts or to raid companies existing voice-mail messages.2. which the dealer may not have them physically. because one must host pages somewhere. In Public Key encryption system. it is increasingly important for Web users to protect themselves. rendering it unreadable to anyone but the intended recipient.DBA 1727 NOTES decrypt data. there are two types of encryption methods:   Secret-key encryption Public-key encryption SECRET . encrypted by the private key. Secretkey encryption works in the following way: Anne wishes to send a purchase order (PO) to Bob in such a way that only Bob can read it. All parties must know and trust each other completely. Computer encryption is based on the science of cryptography. Note that in secret-key encryption.). A widely adopted implementation of secret-key encryption is data encryption standard (DES). Most computer encryption systems belong in one of two categories. one can broadcast the public key to all users. Before the digital age. the encryption key and decryption key are the same (see Fig. particularly for military purposes. Therefore. Broadly speaking. Bob decrypts the cipher text with the decryption key and reads the PO. which has been used throughout history. Encryption scrambles the message. and the recipient must use the same key to decipher or decrypt it.KEY ENCRYPTION I n t e r n e t Anne Encrypt Decrypt Bob Secret-key encryption. The transmitter uses a cryptographic secret “key” to encrypt the message. Although secret-key encryption is useful in many cases. Anne encrypts the PO (the plaintext) with an encryption key and sends the encrypted PO (the cipher text) to Bob. also known as symmetric encryption. and have in their possession a 222 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . involves the use of a shared key for both encryption by the transmitter and decryption by the receiver. it has significant limitations. the biggest users of cryptography were governments. secret-key encryption is impractical for exchanging messages with a large group of previously unknown parties over a public network. For in-stance. more sophisticated form of encryption. Further. transmission. known as public-key encryption. given the difficulty of providing secure key management. adding to the overall cost. secretkey encryption suffers from the problem of key distribution-generation.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT protected copy of the key. each consumer would need a distinct secret key as-signed by the merchant and transmitted over a separate secure channel such as a telephone. uses two keys: one key to encrypt the message and a different key to decrypt the message. Hence. Secure key distribution is cumbersome in large networks and does not scale well to a business environment where a company deals with thousands of online customers. it is hard to see secret-key encryption becoming a dominant player in electronic commerce. first developed in the 1970s. Public-Key Encryption Public-key encryption. The two keys are mathematically related so that data encrypted with one key only be decrypted using the other. If secret encryption cannot ensure safe electronic commerce. what can? The solution to widespread open network security is a newer. in order for a merchant to conduct transactions securely with Internet subscribers. a postal service) when the secret key is being exchanged. If the transmitter and receiver are in separate sites. 223 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . and storage of keys. also known as asymmetric encryption. Scrambled message scrambled NOTES I n t e r n e t message Buyer Encrypt with private key Decrypt with private key seller Since shared keys must be securely distributed to each communicating party. Anyone who over-hears or intercepts the key in transit can later use that key to read all encrypted messages. they must trust not being overheard during face-to-face meetings or over a public messaging system (a phone system. Both keys. Both types of systems offer advantages and disadvantages. One of the two keys is “public” and the other is “private. Another prominent public key method being used in online commerce today is called Digital Signatures 224 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . need to be protected against modification. the two are combined to form a hybrid system to exploit the strengths of each method. Even if a would-be criminal intercepts the message on its way to the intended recipient. whatever data one of the keys “locks. Since only the bona fide author of an encrypted message has knowledge of the private key. and a “private key. however. she simply looks up his public key and uses that key to en-crypt her text. a “public key. When the friend receives the e-mail. This is often the case in online commerce.and public key systems.” which is published in a sort of public directory. Public-key encryption is particularly useful when the parties wishing to communicate cannot rely on each other or do not share a common key. The best known public-key encryption algorithm is RSA (named after its inventors Rivest.DBA 1727 NOTES Unlike secret-key encryption. The computer handles the hard work of manipulating the large numbers used in the math of encrypting and decrypting messages. For example. that criminal has no way of deciphering the message without the private key. In the RSA method. The two keys work together. a successful decryption using the corresponding public key verifies the identity of the author and ensures message integrity. the private key must be kept confidential and must be known only to its owner. he uses his private key to convert the encrypted message on his computer screen back to the sender’s original message in clear text. public-key encryption uses a pair of keys for each party. Shamir. if an individual wants to send a snoop-proof email message to a friend. Table compares secret.” The public key can be made known to other parties.” only the other can unlock. an organization first has to identify its security requirements and operating environment.” which is kept secret. which uses a single key shared by two (or more) parties. each participant creates two unique keys. and Adleman). Often. To determine which type of encryption best meets its needs. Online Mart then uses its private key to decrypt the message (only a private key can unlock a document deciphered with a public key). When the customer orders something from Online mart. In addition. How Do Digital Signatures Work? Data is electronically signed by applying the originator’s private key to the data. To ensure further security. To increase the speed of the process. a digital signature enables the computer to notarize the message. NOTES Digital Signature Digital signatures are used for sending authentication. This also means that the originator cannot falsely deny having signed the data. which Online Mart could decrypt with the customers public key and know that only the particular customer could have sent it. Online mart. interacting with a merchant. Let us consider the following scenario of a customer. thus the customer knows that only Online Mart received that data. ensuring the recipient that the message has not been forged transit. he uses Online mart’s public key to encrypt her confidential information. encrypted with her own private key. the private key is applied to a shorter form of the 225 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . This shows how digital signature works in combination with public key encryption to ensure authentication and privacy. the customer can enclose a digital signature. Technically. In the other direction Online mart would send confidential information to the customer using her public key.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT Comparing Secret key and public key Encryption methods. and only she can decrypt it using her private key. If a user is communicating with her bank. To verify the signature. the signature may be fraudulent or the message altered. Before two parties. For example. such as an order form with a credit card number. a user combines her private key and the document and performs a computation on the composite (key+docurnent) in order to generate a unique number called the digital signature. the output is a unique “fingerprint” of the document. the bank performs a computation involving the original document. This “fingerprint” is attached to the original message and further encrypted with the signer’s private key.software. Any recipient can verify that the program re-mains virus-free. and the customer’s public key. then the verifier has confidence that the data was not modified after 1:Jeing signed and that the owner of the public key was the signer. Digital signatures. In this way. each wants to be sure that the other party is authenticated. when an electronic document. In order to digitally sign a document. use public-key encryption to conduct business. the digital signature is verified as genuine. However. The resulting digital signature can be stored or transmitted along with the data. he wants to be sure that the public key belongs to Alice and not to someone masquerading as Alice on an open network. A digital signature provides a way to associate the message with the sender. If the results of the computation generate a matching “fingerprint” of the document.” rather than to the entire set of data.DBA 1727 NOTES data. and checks to see if the enclosed message has been tampered with by a third party. called a “hash” or “message digest. is run through the digital signature process. Before Bob accepts a message with Alice’s digital signature. the purported digital signature. for example. 226 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . consumers can use credit card accounts over the Internet. The bank then decrypts the document using her public key. she sends the result of the second encryption to her bank. in most circumstances this solution is not practical. If the signature verifies properly. and is the cyberspace equivalent of “signing” for purchases. One way to be sure that the public key belongs to Alice is to receive it over a secure channel directly from Alice. Digital signatures ensure authentication in the following way. Bob and Alice. The signature can be verified by any party using the public key of the signer. Digital Certificates Authentication is further strengthened by the use of digital certificates. variations of which are being explored by several companies. otherwise. when distributing signed copies of virus-free . are the basis for secure commerce. This feature is very useful. Visa provides digital certificates to the card-issuing financial institution. In many ways. the public key of the certificate authority should be known to as many people as possible. If one employee makes a mistake and leaves a security hole.2 Firewall A firewall is simply a program or hardware device that filters the information coming through the Internet connection into your private network or computer system. digital certificates are the heart of secure electronic transactions.2. To get the most benefit. A similar process takes place for the merchant. at every T1 line coming into the 227 NOTES ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . digital certificates ensure that two computers talking to each other may successfully conduct electronic commerce. disparate parties can engage in electronic commerce with a high degree of trust. In addition. Without a firewall in place. Such a party is known as a certificate authority (CA).2. it is not allowed through. is digitally signed by the certificate authority. For example. Through the use of a common third party. the company will have one or more connections to the Internet through something like T1 or T3 lines. With a firewall in place. If an incoming packet of information is flagged by the filters. and the institution then provides a digital certificate to the cardholder. in the credit card industry. It contains owner identification information. known as a certificate. the landscape is much different. the certificate authority creates a message containing Alice’s name and her public key.party means of establishing authentication. Thus by using one public key (that of a CA) as a trusted third. 4. The company will therefore have hundreds of computers that all have network cards connecting them together. The validation takes place by checking the digital certificates that were both issued by an authorized and trusted third party. In short. At the time of the transaction. each party’s software validates both merchant and cardholder before any information is exchanged. try to make FTP connections to them. Once Alice has provided proof of her identity. This message. A company will place a firewall at every connection to the Internet (for example. digital certificates provide an easy and convenient way to ensure that the participants in an electronic commerce transaction can trust each other. as well as a copy of one of the owner’s public keys. Let’s say that you work at a company with 500 employees. hackers can get to the machine and exploit the hole. A person who knows what he or she is doing can probe those computers. try to make telnet connections to them and so on.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT An alternative to the use of a secure channel is to use a trusted third party to authenticate that the public key belongs to Alice. all of those hundreds of computers are directly accessible to anyone on the Internet. 3 Creating a Secure System It’s a known saying Prevention is the best medicine and this implies equally well to compute security. whether files are allowed to leave the company over the network and so on. This is especially crucial for any of the following types of data and files. Allow FTP connections only to that one computer and prevent them on all others. Web servers. The” first step is to keep the security of your data files such that only the right people can see them. then incoming information is compared to these characteristics. If the comparison yields a reasonable match.A newer method that doesn’t examine the contents of each packet but instead compares certain key parts of the packet to a database of trusted information.2.   Information travelling from inside the firewall to the outside is monitored for specific defining characteristics. Otherwise it is discarded 4. one of the security rules inside the company might be: Out of the 500 computers inside this company. the company can control how employees connect to Web sites. For example. Stateful inspection .Information from the Internet is retrieved by the firewall and then sent to the requesting system and vice versa. In addition. Packets that make it through the filters are sent to the requesting system and all others are discarded. the information is allowed through.   User passwords Billing files 228 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . A company can set up rules like this for FTP servers. A firewall gives a company tremendous control over how people use the network. Firewalls use one or more of three methods to control traffic flowing in and out of the network:  Packet filtering .DBA 1727 NOTES company). Telnet servers and so on. only one of them is permitted to receive public FTP traffic.Packets (small chunks of data) are analyzed against a set of filters. The firewall can implement security rules. Proxy service . As the user of the system. Another security measure is to delete the not required data or information.4 Storing Secure Information The most insure part of the Internet is not the Net itself but the source and destination of users and computers on the net. Many commercial products provide this facility and often work well to keep the data secure. Decrypted data residing on your hard disk may be available to outside for snooping. The best solution is to use 229 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . the tools can be used to create programs that aid the pirate in greasing security.2. Such program ensures that the original structure of the disk is recognized leaving no recoverable data. Keeping your password files shadowed or hidden keeps pirates from remotely acquiring your file and then running password cracking programs on the file in their own time. One of the best security measures that you can take for physically stored data is to have hardware password protection.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT      System and user logs Credit card information Trusted remote system information Compiler Administration tools NOTES User passwords and usage logs should be kept secure to keep pirate from looking at those files to figure out how to gain further access to your system. if they fall into wrong hands. you should know the place and the method to store your data. Again store owners should ensure that they encrypt archived transactions. General users to your system should not have access to these tools because. Pirates can easily undelete previously deleted information. as well as transactions in the process of being fulfilled. Because of the nature slip type connectivity and TCP/IP networks. someone else could be probing your system while you are working. be sure to protect administration tools as well as compiler. This information of-course applies equally to the both the user and the storeowner. Finally. As server and browser security increases almost pirates will be driven to breaking into the system at the source or at the destination. If a business can afford only lesser security then the best you can do is keep permissions of files hidden from pirates. They can even unformatted a formatted disk after securely deleting file defrayment your drive using any popular disk utility. Storeowners must ensure that product information database is secure. When you are connected to the network your personal system is vulnerable.” 4. Simply deleting the information is not enough. DBA 1727 NOTES programs like the Defense Departments recommended secure delete program. So they could hear the programming sequence running on the computer. more sophisticated security measures should be implemented. This ensures that magnetic particles are mixed several times so that traces of data are not readable. The programmers soon learn how to interpret the different sound frequencies to determine what was happening in their program. The internal clock speed of the computer would oscillate like the radio stations. regular intervals. Every one should take the basic measures of creating secure passwords. the electromagnetic emissions that come from the monitors. Such programs are available in software archives throughout the Internet. But monitor the system in. not leaving printouts laying around. Before marking the file as deleted. depends upon the requirements and cost. 230 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . Particularly. If security breaches are encounter. such programs first write repeating sequences of bits to each bit within the file. The degree of security for computer connected Into Internet. One should encrypt sensitive data that sent over the Internet. The basic measures should be enough to cover the average security standards for the company. In the early age of computing. Another type of pirating is also done by using. A type of technology and research called TEMPEST is available that can reverse this electromagnetic radiation into a reasonable reproduction of the original information. and keeping hard” Yare secure. programmers could debug programs by turning on a radio and placing it near the computer. the companies are vulnerable those are involved in national security or those that have such companies as clients. E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT 4. funds transfers were an usual thing in commercial transactions. Points of sale (also known as POS) are also part of this group. Other kind of EFT is the automatic charge to your check or savings account. the electronic funds transfer act was implemented. It is used by employers for depositing their employees’ salary in a bank account. it migrated itself to computers and became the electronic money transfers of today.3. Since it is affected by financial fraud. Those little blue or dark blue machines in which you pass your card are doing an electronic fund transfer from your account to the retail account. cheap networks. Since an automatic teller machine is much cheaper than a group of bank tellers. The benefit is that you won’t have to go to the bank to do it.3. Since the 19th century. Since all the transaction is done automatically and electronically. it has helped to bring costs down and beneficiate the costumer. The history electronic funds transfer originated from the common funds transfer of the past. This federal law protects the consumer in case a problem arises at the moment of the transaction. the bank will discharge the monthly payment from a pre-accorded bank account. when you are paying a mortgage. improved cryptography and the Internet.3 Advantages of EFT: The main advantage of an electronic funds transfer is time. ATM’s are also used for EFT’s.3 ELECTRONIC FUNDS TRANSFER 4.2 Where do we find EFT? One of the most common EFT’s is Direct Deposit. and with the help of telegraphs. 4. Its use has become widespread with the arrival of personal computers. the bank doesn’t need to pay a person to do it. 4.1 What is EFT? An electronic funds transfer (also known as EFT) is a system for transferring money from one bank to another without using paper money. Finally. a 231 NOTES ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI .3. For example. It’s automatic. but are not limited to:    Preauthorized credits. 4. These transfers may use the Automated Clearinghouse (ACH) or other payments network. You may make arrangements for certain direct deposits to be accepted into your checking or savings account(s). you should only provide your bank and account information (whether over the phone. In some cases. the cost of the maintenance of the transport. Electronic check conversion. or when you provide your check by other means such as by mail or drop box. Other benefit is immediate payment. or via some other method) to trusted third parties whom you have authorized to initiate these electronic funds transfers. You may make arrangements to pay certain recurring bills from your checking account(s). the Internet. These transfers to make or receive payment may be one-time occurrences or may recur as directed by you. insurance and the gas of the transport.3. Some merchants or service providers will initiate an electronic funds transfer to collect a charge in the event a check is returned for insufficient funds. You may authorize a third party to initiate electronic funds transfers between your account and the third party’s account. The merchant or service provider will then use this information to convert the transaction into an electronic funds transfer. your authorization can occur when the merchant posts a sign informing you of their policy.4 Electronic Funds Transfers Initiated By Third Parties. EFT’s have revolutionized modern banking. You may provide your check to a merchant or service provider who will scan the check for the encoded bank and account information. 232 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI  .DBA 1727 NOTES person to drive the loans to the other bank. Examples of these transfers include. You won’t hear either about lost checks causes by the inefficiency of normal mail (nowadays known as snail mail for its velocity compared to emails) and up to date bookkeeping. which brings an up to date cash flow. Electronic returned check charge. This may occur at the point of purchase. In all cases. Your authorization to the third party to make these transfers can occur in a number of ways. the transaction will require you to provide the third party with your account number and bank information. This information can be found on your check as well as on a deposit or withdrawal slip. Preauthorized payments. Thus. the cost of the transport. Currency Conversion. Display of a payment card logo by. If you effect a transaction with your MasterMoney® Card in a currency other than US Dollars. which is disclosed to institutions that issue MasterCard cards. the conversion rate used by MasterCard International to determine the transaction amount in US dollars for such transactions is generally either a government mandated rate or a wholesale rate determined by MasterCard International for the processing cycle in which the transaction is processed . 233 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . The currency conversion rate used by MasterCard International on the processing date may differ from the rate that would have been used on the purchase date or cardholder statement posting date. MasterCard International Incorporated will convert the charge into a US dollar amount. increased by an adjustment factor established from time to time by MasterCard International. MasterCard International will use its currency conversion procedure. Currently. You agree not to use your card(s) for illegal gambling or other illegal purpose. Advisory Against Illegal Use. for example an online merchant does not necessarily meant that transactions are lawful in all jurisdictions in which the cardholder may be located.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT Limitations on frequency of transfers section regarding limitations that apply to savings accounts. NOTES Some of these services may not be available at all terminals. ATM Transfers – types of transfers and dollar limitations – You may access your account(s) by ATM using your MasterMoney® card and personal identification number to:     make deposits to checking account(s) with a check card get cash withdrawals from checking with a check card transfer funds from checking to money market account(s) with a check card get information about the account balance of your checking account(s) with a check card. there are other limits on the number of transfers and dollar amount you can make by check card. However. to:            transfer funds from checking to checking transfer funds from checking to money market transfer funds from money market to checking transfer funds from money market to money market transfer funds from line of credit to checking transfer funds from line of credit to money market make payments from checking to third parties make payments from checking or money market to loan account(s) with us get information about: the account balance of checking account(s) the account balance of money market account(s) Limitations on frequency of transfers. or similar order to third parties. if any.DBA 1727 NOTES Computer Transfer – types of transfers – You may access your account(s) by computer through the internet by logging onto our website at firststarbank. for instance: 234 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . For security reasons. and a secure web browser. telephone. we will be liable for your losses or damages. automatic. your password. or computer transfer are limited to six per month with no more than three by check.  FINANCIAL INSTITUTION’S LIABILITY Liability for failure to make transfers.com and using your user identification number. there are some exceptions. the following limitations apply:  Transfers from a money market account to another account or to third parties by preauthorized. We will not be liable. If we do not complete a transfer to or from your account on time or in the correct amount according to our agreement with you. draft. In addition to those limitations on transfers elsewhere described. Some critical requirements of any marketing encyclopedia are the ability to easily create and maintain a repository of product information. Consumers are benefited because they are able to obtain detailed. promotions.3. and complementary products. NOTES 4. (3) If the automated teller machine where you are making the transfer does not have enough cash. (4) If the terminal or system was not working properly and you knew about the breakdown when you started the transfer. despite reasonable precautions that we have taken. or in order to verify the existence and condition of your account for a third party. (5) If circumstances beyond our control (such as fire or flood) prevent the transfer. such as credit bureau or merchant. or in order to comply with government agency or court orders.5 Online Catalogs Online catalogs provide easy access to product information. (6) There may be other exceptions stated in our agreement with you.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT (1) If. the ability to create multiple search mechanisms to assist in locating information. through no fault of ours. (2) If you have an overdraft line and the transfer would go over the credit limit. and the ability to alert sales representatives and customers to bundled products and services. For assisted selling. or as explained in the separate Privacy Disclosure. CONFIDENTIALITY We will disclose information to third parties about your account or the transfers you make: (1) (2) (3) (4) where it is necessary for completing transfers. It provides a single point of entry for harnessing and distributing all product information. without having to endure the inconvenience of visiting a showroom. up to the minute information about a wide range of products over the Internet. 235 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . Product managers can update information in the database and immediately broadcast the changes throughout the enterprise. a valuable tool is a marketing encyclopedia. an intelligent electronic catalog that connects sales representatives and customers to a company’s most current product and service information. you do not have enough money in your account to make the transfer. The Internet can be viewed as a large distributed Information resource.DBA 1727 NOTES 4. Agents can. with connecting systems that are designed and implemented by many different organizations with various goals and agendas. Intelligent agents work by allowing people to delegate work that they could have done. 236 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . This causes a problem of locating the relevant information. In times to come it is hoped that agent technology can enhance the feature of electronic commerce by efficiently matching buyers and sellers. As a result much of the information is discarded and processed in a sub optimal manner. In addition to making recommendations to the user. just as assistants can. intelligently summarize complex data. automate repetitive tasks. presents a problem to the users-information overload. the agents can also make decisions and perform actions based on those decisions. to the agent software. The agent technology may help the user by helping the user get around this problem. One typical use of the intelligent agent may be found in the exploration of data on the Internet.3. remember things the user might have forgotten. learn from the user and even make recommendations to the user. The growth of the Internet and correspondingly the vast amount of Information it holds.6 Intelligent Agents The Intelligent agent is software that assists people and acts on their behalf. but the agent itself decides whether to approve and allow the action. not have actions performed by other agents. Thus if the cardholder puts down Rs. 1. and can be as low as 10% of the 237 NOTES ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . Agency: The degree of autonomous action that can me taken. credit card issuers will offer incentives even on their secured card portfolios. the cardholder must deposit between 100% and 200% of the total amount of credit desired. 1000. The level of intelligence is further classified according to its ability to respond.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT Intelligent Agent Computing Agent Three primary dimensions of the agents have been defined: agency. 1000. Typically. that is actions performed without the need for direct human intervention or intervention by other agents. 500–Rs. 3. 4. Other agents can request actions. which requires the balance to be paid in full each month. the deposit required may be significantly less than the required credit limit. 4. In these cases. i. 2.4 CREDIT CARD BASED-ELECTRONIC PAYMENT SYSTEM 4.2 Secured credit cards A secured credit card is a type of credit card secured by a deposit account owned by the cardholder. Intelligence: The extent to which an agent can understand its own internal state and its external environment. to adapt and to take initiative. In some cases. It is also different from a charge card (though this name is sometimes used by the public to describe credit cards). A credit card is different from a debit card in that it does not remove money from the user’s account after every transaction.4.1 What is credit card? A credit card is a system of payment named after the small plastic card issued to users of the system.4.. he or she will be given credit in the range of Rs. Respond: Agents should perceive and respond to their environments. The agents should have control over the actions performed within its system. the issuer lends money to the consumer (or the user) to be paid to the merchant.e. intelligence and mobility. In the case of credit cards. as he or she would with a regular credit card. The cardholder of a secured credit card is still expected to make regular payments. secured cards can often be less expensive in total cost than unsecured credit cards. after charging off on other credit cards. for people in certain situations. however. Most of these conditions are usually described in a cardholder agreement which the cardholder signs when their account is opened. Secured credit cards are available with both Visa and MasterCard logos on them. either at the request of the customer or due to severe delinquency (150 to 180 days). Usually the deposit is only used as an offset when the account is closed. Although the deposit is in the hands of the credit card issuer as security in the event of default by the consumer. security is 238 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . In these cases the total debt may far exceed the original deposit and the cardholder not only forfeits their deposit but is left with an additional debt. This deposit is held in a special savings account. and could result in a balance which is much higher than the actual credit limit on the card. but should he or she default on a payment. This allows for building of positive credit history. Secured credit cards are an option to allow a person with a poor credit history or no credit history to have a credit card which might not otherwise be available. (for example. even including the security deposit. the deposit will not be debited simply for missing one or two payments. 4. Fees and service charges for secured credit cards often exceed those charged for ordinary non-secured credit cards.2. This means that whenever a person other than the card owner reads the number. They are often offered as a means of rebuilding one’s credit.1 Security Overview Credit card security is based on privacy of the actual credit card number. This means that an account which is less than 150 days delinquent will continue to accrue interest and fees.4. the card issuer has the option of recovering the cost of the purchases paid to the merchants out of the deposit. or people with a long history of delinquency on various forms of debt).DBA 1727 NOTES desired credit limit. The advantage of the secured card for an individual with negative or no credit history is that most companies report regularly to the major credit bureaus. Credit card issuers offer this as they have noticed that delinquencies were notably reduced when the customer perceives he has something to lose if he doesn’t repay his balance. Merchants will often accept credit card numbers without extra verification for mail order. For internet purchases. but many require the card itself to be present.3 Credit cards in ATMs Many credit cards can also be used in an ATM to withdraw money against the credit limit extended to the card but many card issuers charge interest on cash advances before they do so on purchases. which requires that the thief have access to the card. The main one is to require a security PIN with the card. and if this is done quickly.2. The interest on cash advances is commonly charged from the date the withdrawal is made. credit cards also carry issue and expiration dates (given to the nearest month).4. security is low. so the thief must make sure he can have the goods delivered to an anonymous address (i. called the Bank Identification Number. 4. and the final digit is a validity check code. The next nine digits are the individual account number. not his own) and collect them without being detected. However. whereupon access to the number allows easy fraud. and share a common numbering scheme. a user with access to just the number can only make certain types of transactions. a stolen card can be cancelled. This is the first six digits for MasterCard and Visa cards. there is sometimes the same level of security as for mail order (number only) hence requiring only that the fraudster take care about collecting the goods.4. but often there are additional measures. In addition to the main credit card number. Many card issuers levy a commission for cash withdrawals. as well as extra codes such as issue numbers and security codes. no fraud can take place in this way. Since this happens most of the time when a transaction is made.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT potentially compromised. 4. Some merchants will accept a credit card number for in-store purchases. is the sequence of digits at the beginning of the number that determine the bank to which a credit card number belongs. Thus. The card number’s prefix. rather than the monthly billing date.2 Credit card numbering The numbers found on credit cards have a certain amount of internal structure. Not all credit cards have the same sets of extra codes nor do they use the same number of digits. and require a signature. even if the ATM belongs to the same bank as the 239 NOTES ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . but then the delivery address will be recorded.e. Without encryption there is no way to do this. Payments using plain credit card details. one credit card transaction for the total accumulated amount is completed. and the vendor is usually responsible to ensure that the person using the credit card is its owner. thereby making it uneconomical. when applying payments to a card. Merchants do not offer cash back on credit card transactions because they would pay a percentage commission of the additional cash amount to their bank or merchant services provider. 2.4 Credit Card payment-online networks We can break credit card payment on on-line networks into three basic categories: 1.DBA 1727 NOTES card issuer. The low level of security inherent in the design of the Internet makes this method problematic (any snooper can read a credit card number. do so at the end of a billing cycle. and will carry those balances for years. Payments using third-party verification. 240 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . 3. and apply those payments to everything before cash advances. One would be the cost of a credit card transaction itself.4. The easiest method of payment is the exchange of unencrypted credit cards over a public network such as telephone lines or the Internet. 4. It would make sense to encrypt your credit card details before sending them out. Authentication is also a significant problem. many consumers have large cash balances. even if they pay off their statement balance each month. One solution to security and verification problems is the introduction of a third party: a company that collects and approves payments from one client to another. which have no grace period and incur interest at a rate that is (usually) higher than the purchase rate. Many credit card companies will also. Payments using encrypted credit card details. Such cost would prohibit low-value payments (micro payments) by adding costs to the transactions. After a certain period of time. but even then there are certain factors to consider. For this reason. and programs can be created to scan the Internet traffic for credit card numbers and send the numbers to its master). such as non refutability. privacy. To make a credit card transaction truly secure and non-refutable. To become useful. bank for authorization approval. however. The merchant validates the customer’s identity as the owner of the cred-it card account. I am paying Y dollars to X for item Z. each consumer and each vendor generates a public key and a secret key. because he doesn’t have access to the consumer’s key.5 Encryption and Credit Cards Encryption is instantiated when credit card information is entered into a browser or other electronic commerce device and sent securely over the net-work from buyer to seller as an encrypted message. credit Card systems will have to develop distributed key 241 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . services. A customer presents his or her credit card information (along with an authenticity signature or other information such as mother’s maiden name) securely to the merchant. because the consumer included the precise time in the message. To steal a credit card. The secret key is re-encrypted with a password. (See Fig. and security. He can’t submit the same charge twice. a thief would have to get access to both a consumer’s encrypted secret key and password. does not meet important requirements for an adequate financial system. NOTES 2. The customer’s bank returns the credit card data. The credit card company sends the consumer a credit card number and a credit limit.5(a) Nobody can cheat this system. or funds flow: 1. The consumer can’t claim that he didn’t agree to the transaction. 3. 4. This practice. The vendor will then sign the message with its own secret key and send it to the credit card company. In this scheme.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT 4. The public key is sent to the credit card company and put on its public key server. which will bill the consumer for Y dollars and give the same amount (less a fee) to X.4. the following sequence of steps must occur before actual goods. safety. 5. charge authentication. and the unencrypted version is erased. speed. because he signed it (as in everyday life).4. ‘It is now time T. and authorization to the merchant. To buy something from vendor X. The merchant relays the credit card charge information and signature to its bank or on-line credit card processors. the consumer sends vendor X the message.” then the consumer uses his or her password to sign the message with the public key.4. The vendor can’t invent fake charges. The bank or processing party relays the information tot the customer’s. 4. Now any vendor can create a secure system that accepts credit card numbers in about an hour. Both of these schemes can be substantially bolstered with the addition of encryption to defeat snooping attacks. Consumers pay either by flat fee or individual transaction charges for this service. Businesses get charged a transaction charge ranging from 1 percent to 3 percent for each draft submitted. 242 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . Merchants get paid for the credit card drafts that they submit to the credit card company. Support for Privacy Enhanced Mail (PEM) and Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) encryption has been built into several browsers.5(a) Processing payments using encrypted credit cards 4. Otherwise. a con-centrated attack on these sites could bring the system to a halt.6 Advantages and Disadvantage of credit cards: Consumers use credit cards by presenting them for payment and then paying an aggregate bill once a month.DBA 1727 NOTES servers and card checkers. Figure 4.4. E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT  Credit cards have advantages over checks in that the credit card company assumes a larger share of financial risk for both buyer and seller in a transaction. If the customer wants a report (or even a digital airline ticket). simple. Sellers are ensured that they will be paid for all their sales—they needn’t worry about fraud. and a movie distributor might charge depending on how much of the video had been downloaded. and credit card companies do in fact compile valuable data about spending habits. In fact. The infrastructure supporting the exchange must be reliable. an information provider might charge for partial delivery of a file (the user may have abandoned the session after reading part of the file). a potential bottleneck. Record keeping with credit cards is one of the features consumers value most because of disputes and mistakes in billing. Such exchanges may require many sequence-specific operations such as staged encryption and decrying and exchanges of cryptographic keys. Disputes may arise because different services may have different policies. as it is a function of network capabilities. For example. as research has show that on-line users get very impatient and typically wait for 20 seconds before pursuing other actions. which would be downloaded into a PC or other information appliance immediately at the time of purchase. implementing payment policies will be simpler when payment is made by credit rather than with cash. unless the authorization request is denied. computing power. One disadvantage to credit cards is that their transactions are not anonymous. Hence. many message relays and authorizations take place in real time while the customer waits. Buyers can sometimes dispute a charge retroactively and have the credit card company act on their behalf. however. and fast. intentional customer action versus a problem in the network or provider’s equipment). The user must feel confident that the supporting payment 243 NOTES     ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . The complexity of credit card processing takes place in the verification phase. when an airline ticket is purchased well in advance of the date of travel). If there is a lapse in time between the charging and the delivery of goods or services (for example. available at every server. on-line credit card users must find the process to be accessible. and the specific form of the transaction.g. In general. the customer verification process is simple because it does not have to be done in real time. however. The cause of interrupted delivery needs to be considered in resolving disputes (e. Encryption and transaction speed must be balanced. all the relaying and authorizations can occur after the customer-merchant transaction is completed. Speed will have design and cost implications.. 7 Infrastructure for On-Line Credit Card Processing Competition among these players is based on service quality. The traditional roles are most definitely being reshuffled. and the reluctance of merchants to change processors. If they wait for a clear path to emerge. and other companies understand that they have to do something. 4.” They know all too well that ecommerce transaction architectures (similar to MS-DOS or Windows) on which other e-commerce applications are developed will be very profitable. and reliability. the ability to obtain competitively priced access to an existing network.DBA 1727 NOTES infrastructure will be available on demand and that the system will operate reasonably well regardless of component failures or system load conditions. What exactly is at stake here? A lot. Microsoft.. Eventually. ongoing expenses related to establishing and maintaining an electronic transaction processing network. Most third-party processors market their services directly to large regional or national merchants rather than through financial institutions or independent sales organizations . Many banks are concerned about this prospect and view it as an encroachment on their turf. banking is receiving a jarring message: Get wired or lose customers. and software companies are increasingly allying with banks to sell home banking. price. The builders and providers of this infrastructure are aware of customer requirements and are in fierce competition to fulfill those needs. Barriers to entry include (1) (2) (3) (4) large initial capital requirements. VISA. mostly unsuccessfully. Many companies are developing advanced electronic services for home-based financial transactions. much as banks do today with ATMs. customer support. the companies that own the transaction infrastructure will be able to charge a fee. with remote banking. After years of dabbling. and electronic payment on the Internet can have a substantial effect on transaction processing in the “real” (non 244 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . processing system speed. the goal would be to offer everything from mutual funds to brokerage services over the network. This could be extremely profitable. it will be “too little too late.4. In the emerging world of ecommerce. 8 Risks from Mistake and Disputes: Consumer Protection Virtually all electronic payment systems need some ability to keep automatic records. To be fair. From a technical standpoint. Credit and debit cards have them and even the paper-based check creates an automatic record. Once information has been captured electronically. banks could lose the all-important direct link to be the customer’s primary provider of financial services that lets them hawk profitable services. for as much as 25 percent of non interest income for banks. A decade ago. Features of these automatic records include (1) (2) (3) (4) permanent storage. bank. a payment system database. invented long before the computer and networks gave us the ability to track everything. it is easy and inexpensive to keep (it might even cost more to throw it away than to keep it). Even more worrisome. 4. Why banks are on the defensive is obvious if we look at banking in the last ten years. this is no problem for electronic systems. things are happening so fast in this area that it’s hard to keep up with it all. such as VISA and MasterCard. accessibility and traceability. Given the intangible nature of electronic transactions and dispute resolution relying solely on records. 70 percent of those transactions are processed by nonbanks such as First Data Resources. For example. If software companies and other interlopers become electronic toll-takers. so banks clearly stand to lose business. in many transaction processing systems.4. Although a segment of the payment-making public will always desire 245 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . created without any explicit effort by the transaction parties. not the providers of lucrative value-added services. NOTES The need for record keeping for purposes of risk management conflicts with the transaction anonymity of cash. According to some estimates. Today. One can say that anonymity exists today only because cash is a very old concept. a general law of payment dynamics and banking technology might be: No data need ever be discarded. trans-action processing services account.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT electronic) world. banks processed 90 percent of all bank card transactions. for obvious reasons. and data transfer to payment maker. or monetary authorities. The record feature is an after-the-fact transcription of what happened. The effect of electronic commerce on the banking industry has been one of total confusion. banks could become mere homes for deposits. old or blocked accounts are never purged and old transaction histories can be kept forever on magnetic tape. In sum. Users must be assured that knowledge of transactions will be confidential. With these records. subscribes to a magazine or accesses a server. each transaction would have to be reported. This dossier would reflect what items were bought and where and when. Every time one purchases goods using a credit card. The users must be assured that they cannot be easily duped. Managing Information Privacy The electronic payment system must ensure and maintain privacy. anonymity is an issue that will have to be addressed through regulation covering consumer protection in electronic transactions. customers might feel that all this record keeping is an invasion of privacy resulting in slower than expected adoption of electronic payment systems. many believe that anonymity runs counter to the public welfare because too many tax. the card-reading terminals. There is considerable debate on this point. The anonymity issue raises the question: Can electronic payments hap-pen without an automatic record feature? Many recent payment systems seem to be ambivalent on this point. the balance on any smart card could be reconstructed after the fact. For instance. swindled. or falsely implicated in a fraudulent transaction. limited only to the parties involved and their designated agents (if any). meaning it would appear on an account statement making mistakes and disputes easier to resolve. Obviously.Privacy must be maintained against eavesdroppers on the network and against unauthorized insiders. a database somewhere. All details of a consumer’s payments can be easily be aggregated: Where. thus allowing for additional protection against loss or theft. smuggling. This collection of data tells much about the person and as such can conflict with the individual’s right to privacy.DBA 1727 NOTES transaction anonymity. machines. but its electronic wallets are designed to hold automatic records of the card’s last twenty transactions with a statement built in. This protection must apply throughout the 246 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . all these records can be linked so that they constitute in effect a single dossier. An anonymous payment system without automatic record keeping will be difficult for bankers and governments to accept. This violates one the unspoken laws of doing business: that the privacy of customers should be protected as much as possible. and/or money laundering possibilities exist. that information goes into. However. Were the regulation to apply. This would certainly add some value versus cash. Furthermore. when. or telephones could all maintain records of all transactions and they probably ultimately will. The next risk involved is the privacy of the customer making a purchase. the Mondex electronic purse touts equivalence with cash. and sometimes what the consumer buys is stored. Depending on the store or merchant. however. If the central bank does not guarantee settlement. Managing Credit Risk Credit or systemic risk is a major concern in net settlement systems because a bank’s failure to settle its net position could lead to a chain reaction of bank failures. each with advantages and disadvantages. acting as the ATM card for withdrawing cash and as a check guarantee card. many hurdles remain to the spread of electronic payment systems. trusted third-party agents will be needed to vouch for the authenticity and good faith of the involved parties. A digital central bank guarantee on settlement removes the insolvency test from the system because banks will more readily assume credit risks from other banks.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT whole transaction protocol by which a good or service is purchased and delivered. Without such guarantees the development of clearing and settlement systems and money markets-may be impeded.5. A middle road is also possible. This implies that. The transaction is authorized and processed and the customer verifies the transaction either by entering a PIN or. Merchants can also offer “cashback”/ 247 NOTES ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . the customer may swipe or insert their card into the terminal. by signing a sales receipt. its functionality is more similar to writing a cheque as the funds are withdrawn directly from either the cardholder’s bank account (often referred to as a check card). Various alternatives exist. for example. for many types of transactions. the conditions and terms for extending liquidity to banks in connection with settlement. The digital central bank must develop policies to deal with this possibility. occasionally. In some countries the debit card is multipurpose.1 What is a debit card? A debit card (also known as a gift card) is a plastic card which provides an alternative payment method to cash when making purchases. at least internally. or they may hand it to the merchant who will do so. setting controls on bank exposures (bilateral or multilateral) and requiring collateral.5 Debit card based-Electronic Payment System 4.. Despite cost and efficiency gains. 4. Physically the card is an ISO 7810 card like a credit card. or from the remaining balance on the card. it must define. Issuing bank logo EMV chip Hologram Card number Card brand logo Expiry date Cardholder’s name An example of the reverse side of a typical debit card: 1. debit cards are used widely for telephone and Internet purchases. 3. The use of debit cards has become wide-spread in many countries and has overtaken the check. 4. 2. 6. Like credit cards. The gold contact pads on the card enable electronic access to the chip. for example Switch (now: Maestro) and Solo in the United Kingdom. where a customer can withdraw cash along with their purchase. An example of the front of a typical debit card: 1. “EC electronic cash” (formerly Eurocheck) in Germany and EFTPOS cards in Australia and New Zealand. The need for cross-border compatibility and the advent of the euro recently led to many of these card networks (such as Switzerland’s “EC direkt”. Austria’s “Bankomatkasse” and Switch in the United Kingdom) being rebranded 248 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . there are many other types of debit card. Carte Bleue in France. 2. 3. 4. Magnetic stripe Signature strip Card Security Code Although many debit cards are of the Visa or MasterCard brand. each accepted only within a particular country or region.2 Types of debit card A Finnish smart card. and in some instances cash transactions by volume. 5. The 3 by 5 mm security chip embedded in the card is shown enlarged in the inset.5. Laser in Ireland. 7.DBA 1727 NOTES ”cashout” facilities to customers. Banks in some countries. The transaction may be additionally secured with the personal identification number (PIN) authentication system and some online cards require such authentication for every transaction. 4. One difficulty in using online debit cards is the necessity of an electronic authorization device at the point of sale (POS) and sometimes also a separate PINpad to enter the PIN. There are currently two ways that debit card transactions are processed: online debit (also known as PIN debit) and offline debit (also known as signature debit).3 Online and offline debit transactions Typical debit card transaction machine. etc. which is part of the MasterCard brand.). Some debit cards are dual branded with the logo of the (former) national card as well as Maestro (e. branded to McDonalds. such as Canada and Brazil. Online debit (“PIN debit” or “debit”) Online debit cards require electronic authorization of every transaction and the debits are reflected in the user’s account immediately. the online debit card is generally viewed as superior to the offline debit card because of its more secure authentication system and live status. In some countries including the United States and Australia. EC cards in Germany. bowling centers and theme parks. Overall. which alleviates problems with processing lag on transactions that may have been forgotten or not authorized by the owner of the card. Pinpas cards in the Netherlands. Bancontact cards in Belgium. NOTES 249 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . An example of one of these systems is ECS by Embed International. Laser cards in Ireland. Debit card systems have become popular in video arcades. even though in either case the user’s bank account is debited and no credit is involved. although this is becoming commonplace for all card transactions in many countries.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT with the internationally recognised Maestro logo.5. only issue online debit cards. they are often referred to at point of sale as “debit” and “credit” respectively. Switch and Solo in the UK. essentially becoming enhanced automatic teller machine (ATM) cards. The use of a debit card system allows operators to package their product more effectively while monitoring customer spending.g. a debit card may be used to obtain cash from an ATM or a PIN-based transaction at no extra charge. and bypassing the requirement to pay a credit card bill at a later date. Use of a debit card is limited to the existing funds in the account to which it is linked. For most transactions. or being charged interest. Transactions conducted with offline debit cards usually require 2-3 days to be reflected on users’ account balances. Like credit cards. Unlike personal checks. or fees exclusive to credit cards.g. Check cards debit funds from the user’s account on the spot. other than a foreign ATM fee. thereby making transactions quicker and less intrusive. in which case they can be used with a forged signature. 4. thereby preventing the consumer from racking up debt as a result of its use.5. late fees. thereby finalizing the transaction at the time of purchase.g. Maestro in the United Kingdom and other countries. allowing him/her to make plastic transactions. or to write an insecure check containing the account holder’s personal information. a check card can be used to avoid check writing altogether. since users are rarely required to present identification. Advantages are as follows:  A consumer who is not credit worthy and may find it difficult or impossible to obtain a credit card can more easily obtain a debit card. but not the United States) and are used at point of sale like a credit card.4 Advantages and Disadvantages Debit and check cards. as well as a maximum limit equal to the amount currently deposited in the current/checking account from which it draws funds. This type of debit card may be subject to a daily limit. debit cards are accepted by merchants with less identification and scrutiny than personal checks. Offline debit cards in the United States and some other countries are not compatible with the PIN system. have revealed numerous advantages and disadvantages to the consumer and retailer alike.DBA 1727 NOTES Offline debit (“signature debit” or “credit”) Offline debit cards have the logos of major credit cards (e. as they have become widespread. Unlike a credit card. which charges higher fees and interest rates when a cash advance is obtained. Visa or MasterCard) or major debit cards (e. merchants generally do not believe that a payment via a debit card may be later dishonored.     250 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . When a transaction is made using a credit card.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT The debit card has many disadvantages as opposed to cash or credit:  Some banks are now charging over-limit fees or non-sufficient funds fees based upon pre-authorizations. over-the-limit. and even attempted but refused transactions by the merchant (some of which may not even be known by the client). Many merchants mistakenly believe that amounts owed can be “taken” from a customer’s account after a debit card (or number) has been presented.  For certain types of purchases. or at the very least. without agreement as to date. But when a debit purchase is made. The bank may fight to void the charges of a consumer who is dissatisfied with a purchase. or may be paid at the expense of an overdraft fee if the account lacks any additional funds to pay those items. may be dishonored. the bank may place a hold on funds much greater than the actual purchase for a fixed period of time. the bank has a vested interest in claiming its money where there is fraud or a dispute. such as gasoline. These companies will deny a rental to anyone who does not fit the requirements. and such a credit check may actually hurt one’s credit score. While debit cards bearing the logo of a major credit card are accepted for virtually all transactions where an equivalent credit card is taken. or who has otherwise been treated unfairly by the merchant. amounts not available causing further rejections or overdrafts. and rejected transactions by some banks. and therefore. Theft of the users PIN using skimming devices can be accomplished much easier with a PIN input than with a signature-based credit transaction. lodging. NOTES     251 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . including checks. will verify the creditworthiness of the renter using a debit card. thus causing penalty fees for overdrafts. and the bank has little if any motivation to collect the funds. Until the hold is released. any other transactions presented to the account. and dollar and cent amount. the consumer has spent his/her own money. Debit cards offer lower levels of security protection than credit cards. a major exception is at car rental facilities. the bank’s money is being spent. or car rental. payee name. Car rental agencies require an actual credit card to be used. electronic checks can be easily understood and readily adopted. use digital signatures for signing and endorsing. By retaining the basic characteristics and flexibility of paper checks while enhancing the functionality. 252 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . and bank account. or by public networks such as the Internet. Ideally. Electronic checks are delivered either by direct transmission using telephone lines.DBA 1727 NOTES 4. Electronic check payments (deposits) are gathered by banks and cleared through existing banking channels. and facilitating payment integration with widely used EDI-based electronic ordering and billing processes.6.1 E-Checks Electronic checks are designed to accommodate the many individuals and entities that might prefer to pay on credit or through some mechanism other than cash. thus simplifying customer education. enhancing security at each step of the transaction through automatic validation of the electronic signature by each party (payee and banks). the payer’s bank. except that they are initiated electronically. electronic checks will facilitate new online services by: allowing new payment flows (the payee can verify funds availability at the payer’s bank). The security/authentication aspects of digital checks are supported via digital signatures using public-key cryptography.2 Benefits of Electronic Checks Electronic checks have the following advantages:  Electronic checks work in the same way as traditional checks.6. Electronic checks are modelled on paper checks. such as automated clearing houses (ACH) networks. E-checks:       contain the same information as paper checks contain are based on the same rich legal framework as paper checks can be linked with unlimited information and exchanged directly between parties can be used in any and all remote transactions where paper checks are used today enhance the functions and features provided by bank checking accounts expand on the usefulness of paper checks by providing value-added information 4.6 ELECTRONIC CHECKS 4. and require the use of digital certificates to authenticate the payer. E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT   Electronic checks are well suited for clearing micro payments. Electronic check technology links public networks to the financial payments and bank clearing networks. the check authorizes the transfer of account balances from the account against which the check was drawn to the account to which the check was deposited. To complete a transaction. The account server also acts as a billing service. The payee and the payee’s and payer’s banks can authenticate checks through the use of publickey certificates. The third-party accounting server can earn revenue by charging the buyer or seller a transaction fee or a flat rate fee. Firms can use electronic checks to complete payments over the networks in a more cost-effective manner than present alternatives. a buyer can then contact sellers of goods and services. leveraging the access of public net-works with the existing financial payments infrastructure. the conventional cryptography of electronic checks makes them easier to process than systems based on public-key cryptography (like digital cash). the payer’s account 253 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . the buyer sends a check to the seller for a certain amount of money. Buyers must register with a third-party account server before they are able to write electronic checks. NOTES 4. These checks may be sent using e-mail or other transport methods.3 How do Electronic Check works? Electronic checks are another form of electronic tokens.6. or it can act as a bank and provide deposit accounts and make money from the deposit account pool. such as ac-counts receivable. the electronic check will easily integrate with EDI applications. Once registered. Electronic checks create float. Electronic checks can serve corporate markets. since the contents of a check can be attached to the trading partner’s remittance information. An account holder will issue an electronic document that contains the name of the payer. When deposited. The registration procedure can vary depending on the particular account server and may require a credit card or a bank account to back the checks. They are designed to accommodate the many individuals and entities that might prefer to pay on credit or through some mechanism other than cash. Further. the name of the financial institution. The e-check method was deliberately created to work in much the same way as a conventional paper check. Digital signatures can also be validated automatically. and the availability of float is an important requirement for commerce. with the institutions using these endorsed checks as tender to settle accounts. They offer:       the ability to conduct bank transactions. the seller presents it to the accounting server for verification and payment. large and small.6. the name of the payee and amount of the check. information carrying capability reduces fraud losses for all parties automatic verification of content and validity traditional checking features such as stop payments and easy reconciliation enhanced capabilities such as effective dating The E-Check:  can be used by all account holders. The accounting server verifies the digital signature on the check using any authentication scheme. The specifics of the technology work in the following manner: On receiving the check. A user’s digital “signature” is used to create one ticket-a checkwhich the seller’s digital “endorsement” transforms into another-an order to a bank computer for fund transfer. precisely as a large number of banks may wind up stamping the back of a check along its journey through the system. And. Properly signed and endorsed checks can be electronically exchanged between financial institutions through electronic clearinghouses. using another electronic signature.DBA 1727 NOTES number. 4. an e-check will need to be endorsed by the payee. Subsequent endorsers add successive layers of information onto the tickets. but controlled. an e-check will bear the digital equivalent of a signature: a computed number that authenticates the check as coming from the owner of the account. again like a paper check. before the check can be paid. Like a paper check. or not appropriate  is the most secure payment instrument available today  provides rapid and secure settlement of financial obligations  can be used with existing checking accounts can be initiated from a variety of hardware platforms and software applications 254 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . yet are safe enough to use on the Internet unlimited. even where other electronic payment solutions are too risky.4 Why do we use e-checks? E-Checks have important new features. Most of the information is in uncoded form. This white paper will briefly explore the differences between the two payment approaches. This white paper briefly compares paper and echecks. there are significant differences between echecks and home banking bill payments. These differences are reviewed in five main categories: terminology. This white paper briefly compares the differences between SET and e-checks. risk management. E-check and Automated Clearing House (ACH) Since electronic checks are debit transactions. and information richness. E-check and Home Banking Home banking bill payments are convenient for consumers. and allowance for errors. transaction authorization. business practices. and although they have some of the characteristics of electronic payments. E-check and Secure Electronic Transaction (SET) The SET protocol specifications were defined by the credit card industry to facilitate credit card purchases over the Internet.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT 4. based on five categories: usage. to make payments at the retail point-of-sale. this white paper provides a high level comparison of some of the main differences between the ACH debit system and echecks. This white paper will briefly compare the differences between debit cards and e-checks. E-checks and Debit cards Debit cards are used by individuals and to a far lesser extent by businesses. and risk management. cost. underlying technology. NOTES 255 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . or to obtain cash from ATMs.6.5 Comparison with other payment instruments E-Check and Paper Checks The electronic check (e-Check) is an all-electronic enhancement to the paper check and is based on current check law. 7 STORED VALUE CARDS AND E-CASH 4. we are a long way from a universal payment system because 256 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . expedite customer transactions at the checkout counter. These facilities serve four million customers each workday. university students. They reduce cash-handling expenses and losses caused by fraud. use magnetic stripe technology or integrated circuit chips to store customer-specific information.7. In 1994. and enhance consumer convenience and safety.1 Smart Cards Smart cards. The management challenges created by smart card payment systems are formidable. In addition. operates the New York City subway and public bus system. control access to accounts. and retail customers. Smart cards offer clear benefits to both merchants and consumers. The MetroCard is either swiped through a card reader at subway stations or dipped into a fare box on buses where the fare is decremented. including electronic money. Institutions such as the MTA have made a considerable investment in the stored value card processing network. also called stored value cards. and perform many other functions. Other private sector institutions market stored value products to transit riders. One successful use of stored value cards is by New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). store information. The cards can be used to purchase goods or services. 4. the Long Island Railroad and Metro-North commuter rail systems. many state and federal governments are considering stored value cards as an efficient option for dispersing government entitlements. the MTA anticipates more than 1. The full complement of 467 subway stations is expected to be operational by mid-1997.2 billion electronic fare collection transactions a year on subway and bus lines. telephone customers. In spite of the many prototypes developed.600 MTA buses became operational in 1996. and to get a good return on investment must identify new and innovative ways to achieve additional operating efficiencies and value.7. and nine tolled intrastate bridges and tunnels. All 3. By 1999.2 Smart Cards and Electronic Payment Systems The enormous potential of electronic tokens is currently stunted by the lack of a widely accepted and secure means of transferring money on-line. The MTA is the largest transportation agency in the United States and.DBA 1727 NOTES 4. the MTA began the operation of an automated fare-collection system based on a plastic card with a magnetic stripe. vending customers. through its subsidiaries and affiliates. Smart cards have been in existence since the early 1980s and hold promise for secure transactions using existing infrastructure. The smart card technology is widely used in countries such as France. as well as to meet the emerging payment needs of electronic commerce. value-added marketing programs.7. The idea has taken longer to catch on in the United States. A relationshipbased smart card is an enhancement of existing card ser-vices and/or the addition of new services that a financial institution delivers to its customers via a chip-based card or other device. transportation/ and shopper loyalty programs. estimated to be 80 times more than a magnetic stripe. Such a system moreover must be robust and capable of handling a large number of transactions and will require extensive testing and usage to iron out all the bugs. Traditional credit cards are fast evolving into smart cards as consumers demand payment and financial services products that are user-friendly. 257 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . The chip. NOTES 4. Electronic purses.2. at its current state of development. Japan. which replace money. Smart cards are credit and debit cards and other card products enhanced with microprocessors capable of holding more information than the traditional magnetic stripe. by the year 2000. and Singapore to pay for public phone calls. are also known as debit cards and electronic money. Smart cards are basically of two types:   Relationship-based smart credit cards Electronic purses. In the meantime. and reliable.1 Relationship-Based Smart Cards Financial institutions worldwide are developing new methods to maintain and expand their services to meet the needs of increasingly sophisticated and technically smart customers. convenient. These new services may include access to multiple financial accounts. Germany. Industry observers have predicted that. one-half of all payment cards issued in the world will have embedded microprocessors rather than the simple magnetic stripe. can store significantly greater amounts of data. or other information cardholders may want to store on their card. One such substitute is the smart card.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT merchants and banks have to be signed up and a means has to be developed to transfer money. thousands of would-be sellers of electronic commerce services have to pay one another and are actively looking for payment substitutes. since a highly reliable and fairly inexpensive telecommunications system has favored the use of credit and debit cards. 258 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . The electronic purse works in the following manner. They can package financial and non financial services with valueadded programs to enhance convenience. relationship-based cards are credit based and settlement occurs at the end of the billing cycle. investments or stored value for e-cash.7. including the following:    Access to multiple accounts. such as an automated teller machine. a screen phone. offering a menu of services similar to those that come up on ATM screens. Relationship-based products are expected to offer consumers far greater options. or funds transfer for selected accounts Multiple access options at multiple locations using multiple device types. 4. telephone companies. and airlines to offer frequent shopping and flyer programs and other services.2.DBA 1727 NOTES The chip-based card is but one tool that will help alter mass marketing techniques to address each individual’s specific financial and personal requirements. and attract new customers. birth date. a personal computer. As with credit cards/banks may link up with health care providers. a personal digital assistant (PDA). to making photocopies.2. balance inquiry. on one card or an electronic device A variety of functions. To meet this need. retailers. This information will enable merchants to accurately track consumer behavior and develop promotional programs designed to increase shopper loyalty. bill payment. such as cash access. and even government institutions are racing to introduce “electronic purses. credit card companies. or interactive TVs Companies are trying to incorporate these services into a personalized banking relationship for each customer. banks. personal shopping preferences. build loyalty and retention. Electronic Purses and Debit Cards Despite their increasing flexibility. and actual purchase records. credit. Enhanced credit cards store cardholder information including name. There remains a need for a financial instrument to replace cash. Banks are also attempting to customize services on smart cards. such as debit. to paying subway fares.” wallet-sized smart cards embedded with programmable microchips that store sums of money for people to use instead of cash for everything from buying food. by telephone and transferred to a bank account. meaning that it can be given or traded to someone else. at an ATM or through the use of an inexpensive special telephone. electronic payment systems need to have some cash-like qualities that current credit and debit cards lack. The remaining balance on the card is displayed by the vending machine or can be checked at an ATM or with a balance-reading device. the value of the purchase is deducted from the balance on the card and added to an e-cash box in the vending machine. more likely. As for the vendor. and special telephones that consumers could install at home to recharge the cards are projected to cost as little as $50. This allows customers to pay for rides and calls with a prepaid card that “remembers” each transaction.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT After the purse is loaded with money. the receipts can be collected periodically in person—or. For example. While the technology has been available for a decade. Electronic purses would virtually eliminate fumbling for change or small bills in a busy store or rush-hour toll booth. In one second. And when the balance on an electronic purse is depleted. cash is still the most prevalent consumer payment instrument. and waiting for a credit card purchase to be approved. Cash remains the dominant form of payment for three reasons: o o o lack of consumer trust in the banking system. Today the cards cost $1. In order to displace cash. The versatility of digital cash opens up a host of new markets and applications. A simple card reader would cost a merchant less than $200. it can be used to pay for. and negative real interest rates on bank deposits. cash is negotiable. 4. from $5 to $10. The vending machine need only verify that a card is authentic and there is enough money available for a chocolate bar.3 Electronic or Digital Cash Electronic or digital cash combines computerized convenience with security and privacy that improve on paper cash. candy in a vending machine equipped with a card reader. Digital cash attempts to replace paper cash as the principal payment vehicle in online payments. say. Cash 259 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . inefficient clearing and settlement of non-cash transactions. the cards have been relatively expensive. NOTES These reasons behind the prevalent use of cash in business transactions indicate the need to re-engineer purchasing processes. the purse can be recharged with more money. Although it may be surprising to some. even after thirty years of developments in electronic payment systems.7. DBA 1727 is legal tender, meaning that the payee is obligated to take it. Cash is a bearer instrument, meaning that possession is proof of ownership. Cash can be held and used by anyone, even those without a bank account. Finally, cash places no risk on the part of the acceptor; the medium is always good. In comparison to cash, debit and credit cards have a number of limitations. First, credit and debit cards cannot be given away because, technically, they are identification cards owned by the issuer and restricted to one user. Credit and debit cards are not legal tender, given that merchants ‘have the right to refuse to accept them. Nor are credit and debit cards bearer instruments; their usage requires an account relationship and authorization system. Similarly, checks require either personal knowledge of the payer, or a check guarantee system. A really novel electronic payment method needs to do more than recreate the convenience that is offered by credit and debit cards; it needs to create a form of digital cash that has some of the proper-ties of cash. Properties of Electronic Cash o Digital cash must have a monetary value; it must be backed by cash (currency), bank-authorized credit, or a bank-certified cashier’s check. When digital cash created by one bank is accepted by others, reconciliation must occur without any problems. Without proper bank certification, digital cash carries the risk that when deposited, it might be returned for insufficient funds. Digital cash must be interoperable or exchangeable as payment for other digital cash, paper cash, goods or services, lines of credit, deposits in banking accounts, bank notes or obligations, electronic benefits transfers, and the like. Digital cash must be storable and retrievable. Remote storage and retrieval (such as via a telephone or personal communications device) would allow users to exchange digital cash (withdraw from and deposit into banking accounts) from home or office or while travelling. Digital cash should not be easy to copy or tamper with while it is being exchanged. It should be possible to prevent or detect duplication and doublespending of digital cash. 4.7.4 Using the Digital Currency Once the tokens are purchased, the e-cash software on the customer’s PC stores digital money undersigned by a bank. The user tan spend the digital-money of any shop accepting e-cash, without having to open an account there first or-having to transmit credit card numbers. As soon as the customer wants to make a payment, the software collects the necessary amount from the stored tokens. Two types of transactions are possible: bilateral and trilateral. Typically, transactions involving cash are bilateral or two-party (buyer and seller) transactions, whereby the merchant checks the veracity of the note’s digital signature by using the bank’s public key. If satisfied with the payment, the merchant stores the digital currency on his machine and deposits it later in the bank to redeem the face value of the note. Transactions involving financial instruments other than cash are usually trilateral or three-party (buyer, seller, and bank) transactions, whereby the “notes” are sent to the merchant, who immediately sends them directly to the digital bank. The bank verifies the validity of these “notes” and that they have not been spent before. The account of the merchant is credited. In this case, every “note” can be used only once. In many business situations, the bilateral transaction is not feasible because of the potential for double spending, which is equivalent to bouncing a check. Double spending becomes possible because it is very easy to make copies of the e-cash, forcing banks and merchants to take extra precautions. To uncover double spending, banks must compare the note passed to it by the merchant against a database of spent notes .Just as paper currency is identified with a unique serial number, digital cash can also be protected. The ability to detect double spending has to involve some form of registration so that all “notes” issued globally can be uniquely identified. However, this method of matching notes with a central registry has problems in the on-line world. For most systems, which handle high volumes of micro payments, this method would simply be too expensive. In addition, the problem of double spending means that banks have to carry added overhead because of the constant checking and auditing logs. (fig 4.7.4(a)) Double spending would not be a major problem if the need for anonymity were relaxed. In such situations, when the consumer is issued a bank note, it is issued to that person’s unique license. When he or she gives it to some-body else, it is transferred specifically to that other person’s license. Each time the money changes hands, the old owner adds a tiny bit of information to the bank note based on the bank note’s serial number and his or her license. If somebody attempts to spend money twice, the bank will DBA 1727 now be able to use the two bank notes to determine who the cheater is. Even if the bank notes pass through many different people’s hands, whoever cheated will get caught, and none of the other people will ever have to know. The downside is that the bank can tell precisely what your buying habits are since it can check the numbers on the e-cash and the various merchant accounts that are being credited. Many people would feel uncomfortable letting others know this personal information. Figure 4.7.4(a) Detection of double spending 4.7.5 Drawback of E-cash One drawback of e-cash is its inability to be easily divided into smaller amounts. It is often necessary to get small denomination change in business transactions. A number of variations have been developed for dealing with the “change” problem. For the bank to issue users with enough separate electronic “coins” of various denominations would be cumbersome in communication and storage. So would a method that required payees to return extra change. To sidestep such costs, customers are issued a single number called an “open check” that contains multiple denomination values sufficient for transactions up to a prescribed limit. At payment time, the e-cash software on the client’s computer would create a note of the transaction value from the “open check.” 4.7.6 Business Issues and Electronic Cash Electronic cash fulfils two main functions: as a medium of exchange and as a store of value. Digital money is a perfect medium of exchange. By moving monetary claims quickly and by effecting instant settlement of transactions, e-cash may help simplify the complex interlocking credit and liabilities that characterize today’s commerce. For instance, small businesses that spend months waiting for big customers to pay their bills would benefit hugely from a digital system in which instant settlement is the norm. Instant settlement of micro payments is also a tantalizing proposition. The controversial aspects of e-cash are those that relate to the other role, as a store of value. Human needs tend to require that money take a tangible form and be widely accepted, or “legal tender”. In most countries, a creditor by law cannot refuse cash as settlement for a debt. With the acceptability of cash guaranteed by law, most people are willing to bank their money and settle many of their bills by checks and debits, confident that, barring a catastrophe, they can obtain legal tender (cash) on demand. If e-cash had to be convertible into legal tender on demand, then for every unit there would have to be a unit of cash reserved in the real economy: or, to look at it the other way round, there would be cash in the real world for which digital proxies were created and made available. This creates problems, because in an efficient system, if each e-cash unit represents a unit of real cash, then positive balances of e-cash will earn no interest; for the interest they might earn would be offset by the interest foregone on the real cash that is backing them. The enormous currency fluctuations in international finance pose another DBA 1727 problem. On the Internet, the buyer could be in Mexico and the seller in the United States. How do you check-that the party in Mexico is giving a valid electronic currency that has suitable backing? Even if it were valid today, what would happen if a sudden devaluation occurs such as the one in December 1994 where the peso was devalued 30 percent overnight. Who holds the liability, the buyer or the seller? These are not technological issues but business issues that must be addressed for large-scale bilateral transactions to occur. Unless, we have one central bank offering one type of electronic currency, it is very difficult to see e-cash being very prominent except in narrow application domains. From a banker’s point of view, e-cash would be a mixed blessing. Because they could not create new money via lending in the digital world, banks would see electronic money as unproductive. They might charge for converting it, or take a transaction fee for issuing it, but on-line competition would surely make this a low-profit affair. In the short term, banks would probably make less from this new business than they would lose from the drift of customers away from traditional services. It seems unlikely that e-cash would be allowed to realize its potential for bypassing the transaction costs of the foreign exchange market. If you pay yen for e-cash in Osaka and buy something from a merchant based in New York who cashes them for francs, a currency conversion has taken place. That, however, is an activity toward which most governments feel highly defensive; and if e-cash started to bypass regulated foreign exchange markets by developing its own gray market for settlement, then governments might be provoked into trying to clamp down on it. Because of these obstacles, e-cash in its early forms may be denominated in single currencies and exchanged at conventional market rates. Next we will see the risks involved while doing the transactions involving the use of e-cash. 4.7.7 Operational Risk and Electronic Cash Operational risk associated with e-cash can be mitigated by imposing constraints, such as limits on (1) (2) (3) (4) the time over which a given electronic money is valid, how much can be stored on and transferred by electronic money the number of exchanges that can take place before a money needs to be redeposit with a bank or financial institution, and the number of such transactions that can be made during a given period of time. These constraints introduce a whole new set of implementation issues For example, time limits could be set beyond which the electronic money, would expire and become worthless. The customer would have to redeem or exchange the money prior to the expiration deadline. For this feature to work; electronic money would have to be timestamped, and time would have to be synchronized across the network to some degree of precision. The objective of imposing constraints is to limit the issuer’s liability. A maximum upper limit could be imposed on the value that could be assigned to any single transaction or that could be transferred to the same vendor within a given period of time. Since the user’s computer could be programmed to execute small transactions continuously at a high rate over the network, a strategy of reporting transactions over a certain amount would be ineffective for law enforcement. However, a well-designed system could enforce a policy involving both transaction size and value with time. For example, an “anonymous coinpurse” feature might be capable of receiving or spending no more than $500 in any twentyfour hour period. Alternatively, the “rate ceiling” for the next twenty-four hours could be made dependent on the rate of use or on the number of exchanges that could be permitted before any electronic money would have to be redeposit in a bank or financial institution and reissued. Finally, exchanges could also be restricted to a class of services or goods (e.g., electronic benefits could be used only for food, clothing, shelter, or educational purposes). The exchange process should allow payment to be withheld from the seller upon the buyer’s instructions until the goods, or services are delivered within a specified time in the future. 4.7.8 Legal Issues and Electronic Cash Electronic cash will force bankers and regulators to make tough choices that will shape the form of lawful commercial activity related to electronic commerce. As a result of the very features that make it so attractive to many, cash occupied an unstable and uncomfortable place within the existing taxation and law enforcement systems. Anonymous and virtually untraceable, cash transactions today occupy a place in a kind of underground economy. This underground economy is generally confined to relatively small scale transactions because paper money in large quantities is cumbersome to use and manipulateorganized crime being the obvious exception. As long as the transactions fare small in monetary value, they are tolerated by the government as an unfortunate but largely insignificant by product of the modern commercial .state. As transactions get larger the government becomes more suspicious and enlists the aid of the banks, through the various currency reporting laws, in reporting large disbursements of cash so that additional oversight can be ordered. g. The bank would have a record of that transaction. sales taxes) account for a significant portion of state and local government revenue. the technology is forcing legal. speed of execution. the encrypted e-cash file could be handed off without the knowledge of anyone but the par-ties to the transaction. e-cash cannot escape government scrutiny and regulation. Anything that makes cash substantially easier to use in a broader range of transactions holds the potential to expand this underground economy to pro-portions posing ever more serious threats to the existing legal order. Under the most ambitious visions of e-cash. Moreover. To prevent an underground economy. say. 266 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . However. but it is going to take some serious thinking to design a regulatory scheme that balances personal privacy. Without a functioning system. “How can it not?” By impacting revenue-raising capabilities. we would see a new form of currency that could be freely passed off from one computer to another with no record. as the politics and business play out. the government through law may prevent a truly anonymous and untraceable e-cash system from developing. “Should the law take notice of this development?” but rather. But if e-cash really is made to function the way that paper money does. so.. and ease of use. For now. Just as powerful encryption schemes permit the design of untraceable e-cash systems.DBA 1727 NOTES E-cash on taxation Transaction based taxes (e. yet incapable of being forged. and officials in government are starting to take cognizance of this development and to prepare their responses. The question e-cash poses is not. we are mainly watching and trying to educate ourselves about the likely path of the transition to electronic cash. what the government will do remains a mystery. it is not even clear yet that the market as a whole will adopt an anonymous e-cash standard. allowing those with access to know more about an individual than anyone could know today. too. But after that. or as the down payment on a house-could be made in this new form of currency because there would be no problem of bulk and no risk of robbery. just as a withdrawal or check is recorded now. A consumer could draw such e-cash electronically from his or her bank. The threat to the government’s revenue flow is a very real one. payments we would never think of making in cash-to buy a new car. do powerful electronic record-keeping tools permit the design of traceable systems-systems in which all financial transactions are duly recorded in some database. as issues to be reconsidered. 9 Electronic Tokens An electronic token is a digital analogue of various forms of payment backed by a bank or financial institution. credit. Others are designed for more traditional products. 2. and the purchase interaction. Credit or post-paid. the average amounts. Tokens must be backed by cash. and cost. and float implications. The server authenticates the customers and verifies with the bank that funds are adequate before purchase. Debit or prepaid. Examples of post-paid mechanisms are credit/ debit cards and electronic checks. Users pay in advance for the privilege of getting information. cashier’s checks. Transactions are settled with the exchange of electronic currency.7. Each option incurs trade-offs among transaction speed. Cash or real-time. risk. 267 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI .E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT 4. while others use other proxies for value. The key is-to identify the parties involved. The nature of the transaction for which the instrument is designed. The following sections examine these methods of on-line payment. that is. risk. Electronic tokens are of three types: 1. But we must first understand the different viewpoints that these payment instruments bring to electronic commerce. 1. Examples of prepaid payment mechanisms are stored in smart cards and electronic purses that store electronic money. effectively creating currencies of dubious liquidity and with interesting tax. The means of settlement used. NOTES 3. Most transaction settlement methods use Credit cards. Some systems target specific niche transactions. electronic bill payments (prearranged and spontaneous). Here are four dimensions that are useful for analyzing the different initiatives. An example of on-line currency exchange is electronic cash (e-cash). letters and lines of credit. Sometokens are-specifically designed to handle micro payments. to name a few. others seek more general transactions. payments for small snippets of information. 2. and wire transfers. once approved. Authentication is provided by the use of the digital signature or PIN numbers. The funds. The merchant swipes the card through a transaction terminal. 4. Risk also arises if the transaction has long lag times between product delivery and payments to merchants.7. convenience store. electronic benefit transfer cards. Electronic tokens vary in the protection of privacy and confidentiality of the transactions. The transaction works much like a credit card transaction. The third-party processors who provide services for merchants are also examined by the federal regulators for system integrity. non reputability. or some other store that accepts such cards instead of using cash. If the system stores value in a smart card. and asset management. These transactions occur within the banking system. check. Some may be more open to potentially prying eyes-or even to the participants themselves. gas station. and smart cards. The question of risk. consumers may be exposed to risk as they hold static assets. This exposes merchants to the risk that buyers don’t pay-or vice versa that the vendor doesn’t deliver. Also electronic tokens might be subject to discounting or arbitrage. anonymity. Such a transaction occurs when a customer uses a debit card to make a purchase from a merchant (supermarket. Who assumes what kind of risk at what time? The tokens might suddenly become worthless and the customers might have the currency that nobody will accept. which reads the information. For example. and authentication. and safety of payment is assured. and the terminal routes the transaction through the ATM network back to the customer’s bank for authorization against the customer’s demand deposit account. Both the consumer and the merchant maintain bank accounts.10 Other Emerging Financial Instruments Several other electronic payment systems are currently being prototyped and tested. Debit Cards at the Point of Sale (POS) The fastest growing number of electronic transactions today is debit card pointof-sale transactions. Approach to security. a customer gives an ATM card to the merchant for the purchase. 4.DBA 1727 NOTES 3. and the funds are transmitted inter-bank within the payment system. Encryption can help with authentication. These include debit cards. are transferred from the customer’s bank to the merchant’s bank. the customer enters his personal identification number (PIN). or credit card). just as it is at 268 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . and other purchases or cash distributions are charged against the participant’s cash assistance program allotment. and the PIN pads and terminals are tamper-proof. benefit distribution systems. In EBT. For example. Debit Cards and Electronic Benefits Transfer Debit cards are being used extensively for electronic benefits transfer (EBT). Dedicated lines are also often used for transmission. EBT programs also provide recipients with toll-free customer service lines and multilingual support to handle questions or problems. Electronic benefits transfer uses debit cards for the electronic delivery of benefits to individuals who otherwise may not have bank accounts. which can be lost or stolen. EBT is more convenient than paper methods. EBT eliminates the need to carry food stamp coupons.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT ATMs. state-funded and state-administered benefits (such as general assistance. but state administered benefits (such as food stamps. In an EBT system. and supplemental or emergency payments). Currently. EBT is safer than cash or coupons. and benefits that are both federally funded and federally administered (such as Social Security and Veterans benefits). refugee assistance. and financial institutions. drugstores. First. EBT systems are designed to provide nocost or low-cost access methods. many recipients of federal and state benefits must pay significant fees (three or more dollars) to cash their checks. Recipients can access cash through any number of establishments. Through EBT. Certain cash payments can also be facilitated by installing pas devices in housing authority and utility company offices to accept rent and bill payments. stand in long lines to cash checks. food stamp purchases are charged against the participant’s allotment. recipients access their benefits in the same way that consumers use debit cards to access their bank accounts electronically: the card is inserted into or swiped through a card reader and the cardholder must enter a PIN associated with that card. as well as ATMs. no paper changes hands. The benefit recipient can then access his or her benefits to make a purchase or obtain cash.Second. . Benefits that can be delivered via EBT generally fall into three cate-gories: federally funded. heating assistance. Aid to Families with Dependent Children programs). except for the receipt printed for the purchaser by the pas device or the ATM. In an EBT process. EBT is less costly. existing networks and technologies can provide benefit recipients with online access to their funds at pas devices and ATMs. Further. Electronic benefits transfer has several advantages over paper based. including grocers. particularly by larger merchants. or accept the entire benefit amount at one time. benefits are stored 269 NOTES ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . PINs are sent through the system in an encrypted form. a digital signature enables the computer to notarize the message. Most computer encryption systems belong in one of two categories. Security issues: Encryption is a technique for hiding data. They can also deactivate lost or stolen cards immediately and request a replacement card by a toll free phone call. This also means that the originator cannot falsely deny having signed the data. EBT reduces losses associated with theft. forgery. there are two types of encryption methods: Secret-key encryption. Recipients control all ac-cess to their benefits through their cards and PINs. Broadly de-fined. and fraud. ensuring that programs are working properly and effectively. Its inherent audit and tracking advantages enhance investigations into suspicious conduct by retailers. integrity.DBA 1727 NOTES electronically. Finally. encryption. and can be used only when needed and in the amounts required. EBT is convenient for retailers. electronic payment is a financial exchange that takes place online between buyers and sellers. Retailing payments. EBT improves benefit program management by creating an audit trail and record of benefit usage. Third. and non repudiation. Public-key encryption Digital Signature: Digital signatures are used for sending authentication. Summary Electronic payment system: Electronic payment is an integral part of electronic commerce. It eliminates the time-consuming task of handling food stamp coupons. making grocery checkout procedures faster and easier. ensuring the recipient that the message has not been forged I transit. Types of Electronic Payment System: Banking and financial payments. On-line electronic commerce payments Secure Electronic Transaction (SET) protocol: SET protocol meets the four security requirements for EC as SSL (Secure Socket Layer) does: authentication. Firewall: A firewall is simply a program or hardware device that filters the information coming through the Internet connection into your private network or computer system 270 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . EBT is convenient for the government. By eliminating checks and coupons. In addition. store information. cheap networks. use digital signatures for signing and endorsing. Credit card: A credit card is a system of payment named after the small plastic card issued to users of the system. Electronic tokens are of three types: 1. Its use has become widespread with the arrival of personal computers.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT EFT: An electronic funds transfer (also known as EFT) is a system for transferring money from one bank to another without using paper money. and perform many other functions. or from the remaining balance on the card. Electronic purses. Cash or real-time. and bank account. Digital cash attempts to replace paper cash as the principal payment vehicle in online payments. A credit card is different from a debit card in that it does not remove money from the user’s account after every transaction. E-checks: Electronic checks are designed to accommodate the many individuals and entities that might prefer to pay on credit or through some mechanism other than cash. control access to accounts. Credit or post-paid. The cards can be used to purchase goods or services. 3. Smart cards are basically of two types: Relationship-based smart credit cards. 2. improved cryptography and the Internet. its functionality is more similar to writing a cheque as the funds are withdrawn directly from either the cardholder’s bank account (often referred to as a check card). E-cash: Electronic or digital cash combines computerized convenience with security and privacy that improve on paper cash. Debit card: A debit card (also known as a gift card) is a plastic card which provides an alternative payment method to cash when making purchases. however. E-token: An electronic token is a digital analogue of various forms of payment backed by a bank or financial institution. Physically the card is an ISO 7810 card like a credit card. Debit or prepaid. and require the use of digital certificates to authenticate the payer. Smart cards: Smart cards. use magnetic stripe technology or integrated circuit chips to store customer-specific information. NOTES 271 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . except that they are initiated electronically. including electronic money. also called stored value cards. Electronic checks are modelled on paper checks. the payer’s bank. What is Electronic Payment System? Discuss the various Electronic Payment Systems. security in electronic payment. 8. 24.DBA 1727 NOTES Questions for review 1. 3. 23. List the advantages and disadvantages of using credit card How do you make your credits cards information secure? What is a debit card? How debit card is different from credit card? Discuss on-line and off-line debit transactions List the advantages and disadvantages of debit card What are electronic cheques? How they are different from traditional cheques? List the benefits of E-check Compare E-check with other payment instruments How electronic checks are differing from credit card? What are smart cards? Compare and contrast smart card and traditional credit cards. 17. 6. 22. 15. What is SET protocol? What features does SET specify? Describe security schemes against internet fraud How do you differentiate Secret-key cryptography and Public-key cryptography? How can you ensure and maintain privacy. 18. 4. 7. Discuss about the benefits of electronic payment system. 11. 21. 14. How electronic purses work? What are bilateral and trilateral transactions? What all are the risk factors associated with E-cash? How e-cash effect the government revenues? Discuss the other emerging financial instruments 272 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . 19. What is EFT? Describe the advantages of EFT What is a credit card? What are the pros and cons of using Credit Cards for electronic payment? Describe the major steps involved in an online credit card transaction. 13. 16. 2. 5. 25. 12. 10. 20. 9. Electronic documents and messages.1 Legal issues The world is used to conducting business and commerce on signed paper documents. The world is comfortable with these problems. Two millennia of commerce has been based on the written document with its value ‘authorized’ by the signature of a duly authorized officer.1. exposes us to issues. and that their authentication can be established 273 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . since they are directly the outcome of creating documents electronically. emblems and seals can be forging. have changes the scene. The EC system must. which were hitherto unknown. transmitting them over world wide computer communication networks. impression. For example. Companies set aside funds to take care of losses due to such frauds. and even the most secure marks. on the other hand. Trading partners exchange documents electronically. They need to convince themselves that such documents are authentic when received over networks. The EC world. trade still wants to be assured that the electronic world is safe. paper document can be tampered with. Signatures can be forged. since they have been there for as long as we have been trading. without the familiar signatures and marks. therefore. However. offer at least the same level of reliability as that which obtains in the paper world notwithstanding the significant difference between the concepts embodied in electronic messages and paper documents.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT NOTES UNIT V LEGAL AND PRIVACY ISSUES IN E-COMMERCE 5. It is well known that frauds do take place in the traditional paper based commercial transaction. and trade as well as the legal community knows how to deal with these problems.COMMERCE 5. credit-cards companies do know that a very small percentage of transactions is fraudulent in nature. But then these are known.1 LEGAL ASPECTS OF E. The current legal practice has paper documents and signatures affixed thereon as its foundation. was not changed between the sending and receiving. These may be formal or in formal. In the EDI world of electronic documents. The security of an electronic message. between VANs and their customers. At the international level. too the Indian Customs EDI system (ICES) Project got off the ground in 1995 without any EC/EDI law in existence. radio link. Transactions may be electronic. in fact they are still in the making. and even production systems went into operation without any legal interchange agreement between trading partners. The legal issues of EC have generated tremendous interest among technologists. Likewise. there is a further complication because the electronic message is independent of the actual medium used for storage transmission. remain the same. that it was sent. which applies to the interchange of data and not to the underlying commercial contracts between the parties. optical fiber or a satellite communication channel. Simple activities such as preparation of invoices. the UN has adopted the Model Interchange Agreement for the International Commercial Use of Electronic Data Interchange. this kind of discipline has been created through a set of rules that have developed in the form of interchange agreements within a number of user groups. but the key concept of admissibility of evidence and evidential value of electronic documents. and that it could not be read and interpreted by any third party intercepting or deliberately receiving it. national organization. No laws for EC existed. legal requirement. a Wide Area Network. a private Value Added Network or the Internet. thus gets directly linked to the technical methods for security of computers and networks. traders and legal experts. receipts etc. In addition. have to follow certain protocols agreed to by trading partners. despatch. or an optical disk. The message can be stored on a floppy. was received. From the legal angle. Many of the early EDI experiments. a magnetic disk.DBA 1727 NOTES in case of dispute. There must be a way to prove that a message existed. and regions. In India. acceptable rules of conduct are also necessary to achieve the kind of discipline required for smooth and effective trade and commerce. signing. or even a proper interchange agreement. It addresses the need for uniformity of agreement so that there are no barriers to international trade on account of different 274 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . The physical medium could be coaxial cable. EDI interchange Agreement It is a known fact that a certain discipline is required in the conduct of commerce in the paper world. it may be transmitted over a Local Area Network. which are central to the law. drawing up commercial contracts. 10. The points at which EDI messages have legal effect. This can help reduce legal uncertainty in the electronic environment. messages or signatures. 4. It establishes the rules they will adopt for using EDII ED transaction. There are still very few national and international judgments ruling” on the validity of electronic documents. It establishes the rules they will adopt for using EDI/EC transactions. standards and the methods of communication. Procedures for making any systems changes which may impair the ability of the trading partners to communicate. 2. also introduce uncertainty regarding the legal validity of electronic document. NOTES 275 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . It provides a strong legal framework for ensuring that electronic documents will have a legal binding effect. Responsibilities for ensuring that the equipment. Selection of EDI messages. It” is precisely in this kind of a scenario where clear legal rules and principles are absent. 6. An interchange agreement may be made between trading partners. which were addressed by the working party. Procedures for dealing with technical errors. Security procedures and services. 3. Many of the conventions and agreements relating to international trade do not anticipate the use of EDIIEC. Methods for resolving any possible disputes. It details the individual roles and legal responsibilities of trading partners for transmitting. Liabilities in the event of any delay or failure to meet agreed EDI communications requirement. which prepared this model Interchange Agreement.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT solutions for various problems being adopted by countries. subject to national laws and regulations. are as follows: 1. and that they desire to operate within a legal framework. software and services are operated and maintained effectively. The need (if any) for confidentiality. and storing electronic messages. 8. The roles and contracts of any third-party service providers. that an interchange agreement provides trading partners with readily available solutions the EDI/ EC relationship between them. 7. The laws governing the interchange of EDI messages and the arrangements of the parties. The signing of an interchange agreement signifies that the parties intend to be bound by it. Many national laws. The issues. 9. . as noted above. receiving. 11. The UN has recommended that the member countries should take into account the terms and provisions of the Model Interchange Agreement when framing their own laws on EC. 5. If the material is in the public domain there are no difficulties. The multimedia capability of websites enables all types of work to be ‘published’ on the Internet in the sense that copies can be distributed to users/customers. Copyright law protects only the expression of an idea and idea itself. however. dramatic or musical works. But the copyright law applies to the downloaded matter. The problems. Trading partners can feel confident that it addresses the recognised legal issues arising from commercial use of EDI in international trade. Macqueen. allows protection of the following subject matter: Original literary. however. the subject matter of copyright has further expanded. sound recordings.1. 5.2 Copyright and the Internet Copyright developed in the printed world to protect the economic interests of creative writers. electronic transactions. 276 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . this copy can be readily duplicated and distributed further by the recipient.  Trade and commerce over the Internet give rise to several legal issues . the typographical arrangement of published editions of literary. electronic filing. is that unlike a paper copy. broadcasts. dramatic. 1988 in the UK. remote employee access. and provides a strong legal and practical framework for considering and recording the necessary business decisions. much the same way it applies to physical copies.  Exchange of electronic messages and documents  EDI.DBA 1727 NOTES The interchange agreement is flexible enough to meet the requirement of all business sectors involved in international trade. the Copyright Designs and Patent Act. In due course it protects the originality of artists and innovators too. For example. cable programs These have been broadly classified into two groups as ‘author works’ and ‘media works’ by Hector L. Legal Issues for Internet Commerce Internet commerce raises legal issues through the provision of the following services:  Online marketing  Online retailing ordering of products and services  Financial services such as banking and trading in securities. musical and artistic works. In recent times. 3 Issues Related to Jurisdicary The Internet allows anyone to set up a Website anywhere in the world.4 Service Provider liability Many ISPs provide users access to shared websites. 277 NOTES ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . Usenet news. defamatory. however. etc: “Thus the concerns include libel and defamation.1. much the same way a fax message is. Liability for materials distributed in the Internet may be different for the Website operators. who choose to proceed further. and the ISPs. Jurisdiction determines which laws would be acceptable. Its location could. 5. and in the EC environment through Email. even after reading the notice may be constructed as accepting the conditions imposed by it. An offer can be communicated orally or in writing. viz. Similarly. 5. The offer or can display terms and conditions as a legal notice.5 Formation of an Enforceable Online Contract The growth of EC on the Internet depends to a large extent on the confidence of traders in forming legally enforceable contracts online. the timing of the acceptance offer determines when the contract is formed.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT 5. on his website. Eform is valid. This is based on accepted legal practice. copyright or trademarks infringing material. pornography and obscene material.1.1. EC on the Internet will grow if the parties doing business know what rules will govern what rules govern their activities. The key activities associated with the formation of an enforceable contract do take place on the Internet. E-mail distribution list etc. A Website may accept orders from visitors to the site as part of an Internet store or a shopping mall. AN ISP could be held liable for the bulletin boards. A court law may rule that the location of the Website determines the jurisdiction for that business. These facilities can because by their users to upload unlawful. liability for infringement of third-party rights. amazon. hate propaganda. However.com is a bookstore retailing books. Visitor to the site. Unlawful material includes banned publications.-web sites. For example. third-party liability for defamation. In this case the E-mail of acceptance has to reach the offer or who may say that the contract will be legal only after its receipt (in his notice placed on the Website). be interpreted to decide the jurisdiction of disputes especially in EC. and for aiding and abetting the commission of an offence such as the distribution of photography. offer is communicated by the acceptor and acceptance is received by the offer or from the acceptor. liability for hosting of unlawful materials. without ISP having chance to review it. but this development also exacts a price from individuals.2. social. Before automobiles. The ethical. social. and make recommendations for managers who are given the responsibility of operating e-commerce companies within commonly accepted standards of appropriateness. In case of dispute. SOCIAL.2 ETHICAL. or EC over the Internet the primary concern of users is the existence. Likewise with the Internet: Before the Internet. We live in an “information society. despoil the environment. Understanding Ethical. 278 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . and political issues raised by the rapid evolution of e-commerce. and societies. social and political issues on a scale unprecedented for computer technology. and television. Like other technologies such as steam. and for the most part. These costs and benefits must be carefully considered by those seeking to make ethical and socially responsible decisions in this new environment. electricity. provide a framework for organizing the issues. Social and Political issues Defining the rights of people to express their ideas and the property rights of copyright owners are just two of many ethical. and other things thought to be valuable. influence.” where power and wealth increasingly depend on information and knowledge as central assets. Whether it is EDI over VANs. the same technologies can be used to commit crimes. electronic document must be acceptable as legal evidence in courts of law. there was very little interstate crime and very little federal jurisdiction over crime. There is sufficient awareness in.DBA 1727 NOTES Legal issues are manifold.” Many business firms and individuals are benefiting from the commercial development of the Internet. this has occurred. However. the Internet and ecommerce can be used to achieve social progress. AND POLITICAL ISSUES IN ECOMMERCE 5. wealth. telephones. And Political Issues in E-Commerce Internet and its use in e-commerce have raised pervasive ethical. While the problems of acceptance of and confidence in electronic transactions are there. 5. and threaten cherished social values.1 Ethics. they are not insurmountable. Social. there was very little “cyber crime. and enforceability of appropriate laws for EC. legal and EC technology communities to make EC happen through appropriate developments in their respective areas. and synergy of action among trade. organizations. Controversies over information are often in fact disagreements over power. and political issues raised in e-commerce. and political institutions. governance. would have been impossible.1(a). Some of the ethical. capabilities. what law-making bodies have jurisdiction . Individuals know what is expected of them. business firms. banking and commercial law that provides sanctions against violators.a threat to public safety and welfare? Should mobile commerce be allowed from moving vehicles? NOTES    To illustrate. imagine we drop into the middle of this calm setting a powerful new technology such as the Internet and e-commerce.2. Now. For instance. and public safety and welfare as shown in Fig 5. and political issues raised in each of these areas include the following:  Information rights: What rights to their own personal information do individuals have in a public marketplace. federal. and political institutions are confronted by new possibilities of behavior. property rights. and political issues that have developed around ecommerce over the past seven to eight years can be loosely categorized into four major dimensions: information rights. imagine that at any given moment society and individuals are more or less in an ethical equilibrium brought about by a delicate balancing of individuals. something which. This can be done.such as pornography and gambling .state. social organizations. despite the fact that these music tracks still 279 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . individuals discover that they can download perfect digital copies of music tracks. or in their private homes. Suddenly individuals. and roles and political institutions provide a supportive framework of market regulation. social. when Internet technology make information collection so pervasive and efficient? What rights do individuals have to access information about business firms and other organizations? Property rights: How can traditional intellectual property rights be enforced in an internet world where perfect copies of protected works can be made and easily distributed worldwide in seconds? Governance: Should the Internet and e-commerce be subject to public laws? And if so. and/or international? Public safety and welfare: What efforts should be undertaken to ensure equitable access to the Internet and ecommerce channels? Should governments be responsible for ensuring that schools and colleges have access to the Internet? Is certain online content and activities .E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT The major ethical. social. under the old technology of CDs. social organizations such as business firms know their limits. governance.” It may take years to develop new understandings. Fig 5. Courts and legislative bodies will have to make new laws and reach new judgments about who owns digital copies of copyrighted works and under what conditions such works can be “shared. and provide general reasoning principles about social political issues of the Internet that you will face in the future. The record companies. and public safety and welfare Then business firms discover that they can make a business out of aggregating these musical tracks .DBA 1727 NOTES “belong” as a legal matter to the owners of the copyright . but no c1ear-cutural guidelines. The introduction of the Internet and e-commerce impacts individuals. and Congress were not prepared at first to cope with the onslaught of online digital copying. In the meantime. information rights. as an individual and a manager. How can you make good decisions in this type of situation? Before reviewing the four moral dimensions of e-commerce in greater depth. societies.1(a) 280 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . and political institutions.musicians and record label companies.or creating a mechanism for sharing musical tracks. laws. These impacts can be classified into four moral dimensions: property rights. you will have to decide what you and your firm should do in legal “grey”. where there is conflict between ethical principles.areas. courts. we will briefly review some basic concepts of ethical reasoning that you can use as a guide to ethical decision making.even though they do not “own” them in the traditional sense. and acceptable behavior in just this one area of social impact.2. 2. how can you analyze and reason about the situation? The following is a five step process that should help. As long as there is a decision-making body or individual (such as a Board of Directors or CEO in a business firm or a governmental body in a society). but it is not impossible. It is assumed in ethics that individuals are free moral agents who are in a position to make choices. Accountability means that individuals. Find out who did what to whom.  Identify and describe clearly the facts. systems. or organizations.extends the concepts of responsibility and accountability to the area of law. If you understand some basic ethical principles. you will be surprised at the errors in the initially reported facts. social.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT 5. and where. and how. The third principle -liability . and societies should be held accountable to others for the consequences of their actions. and political controversies usually present themselves as dilemmas. Due process is a feature of law-governed societies and refers to a process in which laws are known and understood and there is an ability to appeal to higher authorities to ensure that the laws have been applied correctly. organizations. In western culture. there are ability and liability principles that all ethical schools of thought share: responsibility. Responsibility means that as free moral agents. Extending ethics from individuals to business firms and even entire societies can be difficult. When confronted with a situation that seems to present ethical dilemmas. your ability to reason about larger social and political debates will be improved. Ethics is the study of principles that individuals and organizations can use to determine right and wrong courses of action. Analyzing Ethical Dilemmas Ethical. A dilemma is a situation in which there are at least two diametrically opposed actions. individuals. their decisions can be judged against a variety of ethical principles.2 Basic Ethical Concepts: Responsibility Accountability.liability. and often you will find that simply getting 281 NOTES ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . when. Liability is a feature of political systems in which a body of law is in place that permits individuals to recover the damages done to them by other actors. organizations and societies are responsible for the actions they take. account. and Liability Ethics is at the heart of social and political debates about the Internet. In many instances. each of which supports a desirable outcome. Sometimes. protection of property. freedom. always be a balancing of consequences to stakeholders. but that some options do a better job than others. but not in other similar instances. Find out the identity of these groups and what they want.DBA 1727 NOTES     the facts straight helps define the solution. and political issues always reference higher values. Otherwise. Some options may be ethically correct. Always ask yourself. and Double Click should cease its or offer Web users the option of not participating in such tracking. who have its vested in the situation. arriving at a “good” or ethical solution may not. 5. and usually who have vocal opinions. The parties to a dispute all claim to be pursuing higher values (e. Define the conflict or dilemma and identify the higher order value involved. and political issue has stakeholders: players in the game who have an interest in the outcome. For example. you can refer to the following well established ethical principle to help decide the matter.3 Privacy and Information Rights The Internet and the Web provide an ideal environment for invading the personal privacy of millions of users on a scale unprecedented in history.2. Identify the potential consequences of your options. Identity the options that you can reasonably take. You may find that none of the options satisfies all the interests involved. This will be useful later when designing a solution. Other options may work in this one instance. Opponents argue this claimed efficiency comes at the expense of individual privacy. and the -enterprise system). there would be no debate. social. It also helps to get the opposing parties involved in an ethical dilemma to agree on the facts. Perhaps no other recent issue has raised as much widespread social and political concern as protecting the privacy of over 160 million Web users in the United States alone.g. “what if I choose this option consistently over time?” Once your analysis is complete. Every ethical. privacy. but disastrous from other points of view. social. Double Click and its supporters argue that their tracking of consumer movements on the Web increases market efficiency and the wealth of the entire society.. The major ethical issues related to ecommerce and privacy includes the following: Under what conditions should we invade the privacy of others? 282 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . Identify the stakeholders. Ethical. a body of court decisions involving torts or personal injuries. founding documents such as constitutions. including the state. market research. or other means? The major social issues related to e-commerce and privacy concern the development of “exception of privacy” or privacy norms. Privacy is a girder supporting freedom: Without the privacy required to think. and associate independently and without fear. in the United States. Legal Protections In the United States. and appropriation of a person’s name or likeness (mostly concerning celebrities) for a commercial purpose. Information privacy is a subset of privacy. The right to information privacy includes both the claim that certain information should not be collected at all by governments or business firms. public disclosure of private facts. as well as in specific statutes. The best statement of due process in record keeping is given by the Fair Information Practices doctrine developed in the early 1970s and extended to the online privacy debate in the late 1990s (described below). plan.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT What legitimates intruding into others lives through unobtrusive surveillance. The Concept of Privacy Privacy is the moral right of individuals to be left alone. In the United States. Canada. there is also protection of privacy in the common law. free from surveillance or interference from other individuals or organizations. Due process also plays an important role in defining privacy. and the claim of individuals to control over personal of whatever information that is collected about them. and perhaps destroyed. In what areas of should we as a society encourage people to think they are in “private territory” as opposed to public view? The major political issues related to ecommerce and privacy concern the development of statutes that govern the relations between record keepers and individuals. Individual control over personal information is at the core of the privacy concept. the claim to privacy against government intrusion is protected primarily by the First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and association and the Fourth: 283 NOTES ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . as well as public attitudes. and Germany. For instance. write. rights to privacy are explicitly granted in or can be derived from. In England and the United States. publicity placing a person in a false light. four privacy-related torts have been defined in court decisions involving claims of injury to individuals caused by other private parties intrusion on solitude. social and political freedom is weakened. 2. as amended Regulates the federal government’s collection.DBA 1727 NOTES Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure of one’s personal documents or home. there are both federal laws and state laws that protect individuals against government intrusion and in some cases define privacy rights vis-a-vis private organizations such as financial. Electronic Communications Privacy Act Makes conduct that would infringe on the security of electronic communications illegal of 1986 Computer Matching and Privacy Regulates computerized matching of files held by different government agencies Makes conduct that would infringe on the security of computer based files illegal Limits access to personal information maintained by state Motor vehicle departments to these with legit mate business purposes Also gives drivers the option to prevent disclosure of driver’s license information to marketers and the general public DESCRIPTION Protection Act of 1983 Computer Security Act of 1987 Driver’s Privacy Protection Act of 1994 Privacy Laws affecting Private Institutions Regulates the credit investigating and reporting industry. also allows other individuals and organizations the right to request disclosure of government records based on the publics right to know Privacy Act of 1947. Gives individuals right to inspect and correct records. In addition to common law and the Constitution. use. Gives people the right to inspect credit records if they have been denied credit and provides procedures for correcting information Family Educational Rights and Privacy Requires schools and colleges to give students and their parents access to student records and to allow Act of 1974 them to challenge and correct information limits disclosure of such records to third parties Regulates the financial industry’s use of personal Right to Financial Privacy Act of 1978 financial records establishes procedures that federal agencies mist follow to gain access to such records Privacy Protection Act of 1980 Prohibits government agents from conducting unannounced searches of press offices and files if no one in the office is suspected of committing a crime.(a) Federal Privacy Laws a NAME General Federal Privacy Laws Freedom of Information Act of 1966 Gives people the right to inspect information about themselves held in government files. Cable Communications Policy Act of Regulates the cable industry’s collection and disclosure of information concerning subscribers 1984 Fair Credit Reporting Act of 1970 Video Privacy Protection Act of 1988 Prevents disclosure of a person’s video rental records without court order or consent 284 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . education. and the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee of due process. and media institutions (cable television and video rentals) Table 5. and disclosure of data collected by federal agencies.2. 5. because computerized information can be so easily copied or distributed on networks. magazine articles. use.3. copies of software. and you have exclusive rights to use this “property” in any lawful way you see fit. and copying. the main questions are: Is there continued 285 NOTES ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . computer disks. the Internet has demonstrated the potential for destroying traditional conceptions and implementations of intellectual property law developed over the last two centuries. compactness . Once intellectual works become digital. The major ethical issue related to e-commerce and intellectual property concerns how we (both as individuals and as business professionals) should treat property that belongs to others. and other media in terms of ease of replication. These are precisely the areas that intellectual property seeks to control. poems. In short. The proliferation of innovation has occurred so rapidly that few entrepreneurs have stopped to consider who owns the patent on a business technique or method their site is using. and journal articles . and difficulty in establishing uniqueness. and alteration. The spirit of the Web has been so free-wheeling that many entrepreneurs ignored trademark law and registered domain names that could easily be confused with another company’s registered trademarks.making theft easy. and political issue related to e-commerce is the fate of intellectual property rights.3 PROTECTING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY Intellectual property is considered to be intangible property created by individuals or corporations.and then to distribute them nearly cost-free to hundreds of millions of Web users. creating some hurdles to distribution. it becomes difficult to control access. it belongs entirely to you. periodicals. Digital media differ from books. the most controversial ethical. book. Before widespread use of the Internet. or films had to be stored on physical media. Information technology has made it difficult to protect intellectual property. But the Internet potentially changes things. such as paper. books. From a social point of view.from music to plays. if you personally create an ecommerce site. or video tape. distribution. The Internet technically permits millions of people to make perfect digital copies of various works . transmission. For instance. social.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT 5. or even music.1 Intellectual Property Rights Next to privacy. difficulty in classifying a software work as a program. intellectual property rights are severely challenged. In general. or worse off. The goal of intellectual property law is to balance two competing interests . 286 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . In the case of the Internet and ecommerce technologies.3.the public and the private.2 Types of Intellectual Property Protection There are three main types of intellectual property protection:  Copyright. music. periodicals. copyright law protects original forms of expression such as writings (books. Owners of intellectual property have usually been successful in pressuring Congress and the courts to strengthen the intellectual property laws to compensate for any technological threat.  Patent and  Trademark law. performances. .DBA 1727 NOTES value in protecting intellectual property in the Internet age? In what ways is society better off. 5.2. Copyright does not protect ideas -just their expression in a tangible medium such as paper. Maintaining this balance of interests is always challenged by the invention of new technologies. literature.have at first tended to weaken the protections afforded by intellectual property law. drawings. art. the information technologies of the last century .from radio and television to CD-ROMs and the Internet . works of art. once again. and other forms of intellectual expression. motion pictures.3. for having the concept of property apply to intangible ideas? From a political perspective we need to ask how the Internet and ecommerce can be regulated or governed to protect the institution of intellectual property while at the same time encouraging the growth of e-commerce and the Internet. and lecture notes). photographs. The public interest is served by the creation and distribution of inventions. cassette tape. music. or handwritten notes. and even to extend protection for longer periods of time and to entirely new areas of expression. 5. and computer programs from being copied by others for a minimum of 50 years.1 Copyright: The Problem of Perfect Copies and Encryption In the United States. The private interest is served by rewarding people for creating these works through the creation of a time-limited monopoly granting exclusive use to the creator. For instance. The defendants counter claimed that the idea of overlapping windows could only be expressed in a single way and. the expression can-not be copyrighted. potentially inhibiting other rights such as 287 NOTES ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . Most industrial nations have their own copyright laws. for infringing Apple’s copyright on the Macintosh interface. Look and Feel “Look and feel” copyright infringement lawsuits are precisely about the distinction between an idea and its expression.. therefore. Congress passed the Computer Software Copyright Act.cannot be lawfully copied and used for a commercial purpose. which clearly provides protection for source and object code and for copies of the original sold in commerce.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT Since the first federal Copyright Act of 1790. only their expression in a work. Copyright protection is clear-cut: It protects against copying of entire programs or their parts.even though easily available to every browser . There are situations where strict copyright observance could be harmful to society. like all rights. are not absolute. Apple Computer sued Microsoft Corporation and Hewlett-Packard Inc. When ideas and their expression merge (Le. and sets forth the rights of the purchaser to use the software while the creator retains legal title. was not protect able under the “merger” doctrine of copyright law. A competitor can view the source code on your Web site to see how various effects were created and then reuse those techniques to create a different Web site without infringing on your copyright. the congressional intent behind copyright laws has been to encourage creativity and authorship by ensuring that creative people receive the financial and other benefits of their work. and there are several international conventions and bilateral agreements through which nations coordinate and enforce their laws. Apple failed to patent the idea of over-lapping windows when it invented this method of presenting information on a computer screen in the late 1960s. Damages and relief are readily obtained for infringement. and in 1980. the HTML code for a Web page . For instance. Among other claims. although the method of producing the expression might be patentable. In the mid-1960s. if there is only one way to express an idea). say. to create a new Web site that looks identical. in 1988. Apple claimed that the defendants copied the expression of overlapping windows. Fair Use Doctrine Copyrights. The drawback to copyright protection is that the underlying ideas behind a work are not protected. the Copyright Office began registering software programs. and processing methods. writers. and abstract ideas. The congressional intent behind patent law was to ensure that inventors of new machines. The Supreme Court has determined that patents extend to “anything under the sun that is made by man” as long as the other requirements of the Patent Act are met. or industrial methods would receive the full financial and other rewards of their labor and yet still makes widespread use of the invention possible by providing detailed diagrams for those wishing to use the idea under license from the patent’s owner. copy it. original. There are four types of inventions for which patents are granted under patent law: machines. and the granting of a patent is’ determined by ‘Patent Office examiners who follow a set of rigorous rules. created in 1812. and cite from. and not evident in prior arts and practice. The doctrine of fair use permits teachers and writers. Professors are allowed to clip a contemporary article just before class. compositions of matter. copyrighted works in order to criticize or even discuss copyrighted works. The fair use doctrine draws upon the First Amendment’s protection of freedom of speech (and writing). federal courts decide when patents are valid and when infringement occurs. the applicant must show that the invention is new. For instance. 5. Ultimately. There are three things that cannot be patented: laws of nature. As with copyrights. Patents are very different from copyrights because patents protect the ideas themselves and not merely the expression of ideas. Journalists. Patents must be formally applied for.3. to use copyrighted materials without permission under certain circumstances. In order to be granted a patent. and hand it out to students as an example of a topic under discussion. non obvious.2 Patents: Business Methods and Processes A patent grants the owner an exclusive monopoly to the ideas behind an invention for 20 years. and academics must be able to refer to. Obtaining a patent is much more difficult and time-consuming than obtaining copyright protection (which is automatic with the creation of the work).2. natural phenomena. novel.DBA 1727 NOTES the right to freedom of expression and thought. devices. Patents are obtained from the United States Patent and trademark Office (USPTO). As a result the doctrine of fair use has been created. 288 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . man-made products. a mathematical algorithm cannot be patented unless it is realized in a tangible machine or process that has a “useful” result (the mathematical algorithm exception). The early Internet was characterized by a spirit of worldwide community development and sharing of ideas without consideration of personal wealth. patents have been extended to both encourage entrepreneurs to invent useful devices and promote widespread dissemination of the new techniques through licensing and artful imitation of the published patents (the creation of devices that provide the same functionality as the invention but use different methods) (Winston. The Patent Office did not accept applications for software patents until a 1981 Supreme Court decision that held that computer programs could be a part of a patentable process. and made the telegraph useful.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT the granting of patents has moved far beyond the original intent of Congress’s first patent statute that sought to protect industrial designs and machines. Patents encourage inventors to come up with unique ways of achieving the same functionality as existing patents. who patented the idea of Morse Code. The danger of patents is that they stifle competition by raising barriers to entry into an industry. plants (1930). NOTES 289 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . Morse. Patents force new entrants to pay licensing fees to incumbents. thousands of software patents have been granted. and software (1981). This early Internet spirit changed in the mid-1990s with the commercial development of the World Wide Web. Patent protection has been extended to articles of manufacture (1842). Essentially. and thus slow down the development of technical applications of new ideas by creating lengthy licensing applications and delays. surgical and medical procedures (1950). as technology and industrial arts progress.com to invent a simplified two-click method of purchasing. Business firms began applying for “business methods” and software patents. For instance. Unlike Samuel F. Since that time. 1998). Amazon’s patent on one-click purchasing caused Barnesandnoble. B. most of the inventions that make the Internet and e-commerce possible were not patented by their inventors. Virtually any software program can be patented as long as it is novel and not obvious. E-commerce Patents Much of the Internet’s infrastructure and software was developed under the auspices of publicly funded scientific and military programs in the United States and Europe. 3. immoral or deceptive marks. State Street Bank & trust attempted to license the system from Signature Financial. and colors”. case upheld the claims of Signature Financial to a valid patent for a business method that allows managers to monitor and record financial information flows generated by a partner fund ( a “hub and spoke” system). that involves an algorithm in the broad sense of the term. State Street sought to have the patent declared invalid and unenforceable because business methods could not be patented. be it electronic or chemical or mechanical. and energy bringing the product to the marketplace . Trademark protections exist at both the federal and state levels in the United States. Signature Financial Group. Inc.DBA 1727 NOTES “Business Methods” Patents In 1998. trademark law protects the owner . The court concluded that business methods should be treated like any process and that Signature Financial had invented a business method that could be patented. a Federal Circuit Court of Appeals in the State Street Bank & ‘Dust v. However. Patent and ‘Trademark Office (USPTO). flags of states and nations. shapes. Inc. and higher returns. in a landmark decision that paved the way for Internet business methods patents. The purpose of trademark law is two fold.2. first. ‘Trademarks are granted for a period of ten years.S. by use in interstate commerce. packaging. ‘Trademarks have been extended from single words to pictures. Second. the trademark law protects the public in the market-place by ensuring that it gets what it pays for and wants to receive. by registration with the U. but when negotiations broke down. and can be renewed indefinitely. mutual funds (the spokes) pool their funds into a single portfolio to achieve greater financial leverage. or marks belonging to others. 290 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . Some things may not be trademarked: common words that are merely descriptive (“clock”). In hub and spoke financial systems.against piracy and misappropriation.3 Trademarks: Online Infringement and Dilution Trademark law is a form of intellectual property protection for trademarks . the Federal Appeals Court threw out the socalled business methods exception under which it was thought business methods could not be patented.” 5. First.a mark used to identify and distinguish goods and indicates their source. or any “step by step process. Federal trademarks are obtained. Signature Financial had invented and obtained a patent (“Data Processing System for Hub and spoke Financial Services Configuration”) on such a system in 1993. The court ruled there was no reason to disallow business methods from patent protection.Financial Group. diversification. and second.who has spent time. money. E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT Disputes over federal trademarks involve establishing infringement. which is defined as any behavior that would weaken the connection between the trademark and the product. It is less a distinct field of law in the way that property or contract are. a single transaction may involve the laws of at least three jurisdictions: 1) the laws of the state/nation in which the user resides. Use of a trademark that creates confusion with existing trademarks. Jurisdiction and sovereignty Issues of jurisdiction and sovereignty have quickly come to the fore in the era of the Internet. i. cyber law is an attempt to apply laws designed for the physical world to human activity on the Internet. causes consumers to make market mistakes. Dilution occurs through blurring (weakening the connection between the trademark and the goods) and tarnishment (using the trademark in a way that makes the underlying products appear unsavoury or unwholesome). Congress passed the Federal ‘Trademark Dilution Act. CONTRACTS AND WARRANTIES 5.1 Cyber law Cyber law is a term used to describe the legal issues related to use of communications technology. but Internet users remain in physical jurisdictions and are subject to laws independent of their presence on the Internet. particularly “cyberspace”. which created a federal cause of action for dilution of famous marks. and jurisdiction. In essence.4. In addition. as it is an intersection of many legal fields. privacy. 2) the laws of the state/nation that apply where the server hosting the transaction is located. the intentional misuse of words and symbols in the marketplace to extort revenue from legitimate trademark owners (“bad faith”) is proscribed. freedom of expression.e. The Internet does not tend to make geographical and jurisdictional boundaries clear.4 CYBER LAW. the Internet. and extends protection to owners of famous trademarks against dilution. including intellectual property. As such. The test for infringement is twofold: market confusion and bad faith. and 3) the 291 NOTES ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . This new legislation dispenses with the test of market confusion (although that is still required to claim infringement). 5. In 1995. or misrepresents the origins of goods is an infringement. for example. An offer is a commitment with certain terms made to another party such as declaration of willingness to buy or sell a product or service. Our world is different” (Barlow. not yours. an acceptance and consideration. property or future services. Contracts are a key element of traditional business practice. A more balanced alternative is the Declaration of Cyber secession: “Human beings possess a mind.2 Contracting and Contract Enforcement in EC Any contract includes three essential elements: an offer. such as money. John Perry Barlow. which they are absolutely free to inhabit with no legal constraints.DBA 1727 NOTES laws of the state/nation which apply to the person or business with whom the transaction takes place. An acceptance is the expression of willingness to take an offer. “Where there are real conflicts. has addressed the governments of the world and stated. The Contract is formed when one party accepts the offer of another party. we will identify them and address them by our means. Another major problem of cyber law lies in whether to treat the Internet as if it were physical space (and thus subject to a given jurisdiction’s laws) or to act as if the Internet is a world unto itself (and therefore free of such restraints). This governance will arise according to the conditions of our world. including all of its stated terms. engage in electronic data interchange (EDI) or fill out forms on web pages. Consideration is the agreed upon exchange of something valuable. such as Lawrence Lessig’s argument that “The problem for law is to work out how the norms of the two communities are to apply given that the subject to whom they apply may be in both places at once” (Lessig. 5. you have no ethical right to intrude our lives. All we want is to be free to inhabit it with no legal constraints.4. Code 190). Since you make sure we cannot harm you. Human civilization is developing its own (collective) mind. So stop intruding!”. We are forming our own Social Contract. and they are equally important on the Internet. where there are wrongs. Those who favor the latter view often feel that government should leave the Internet community to self-regulate. So a user in one of the United States conducting a transaction with another user in Britain through a server in Canada could theoretically be subject to the laws of all three countries as they relate to the transaction at hand. A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace). Offers and acceptances can occur when parties exchange email messages. Other scholars argue for more of a compromise between the two notions. 292 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . which suggests that the goods are suitable for the specific uses of the buyer. acceptance of an offer from the buyer may result in an additional implied warranty of fitness. often unintentionally. Courts have been similarly generous in determining what constitutes a signature. nodding one’s head. courts tend to view offers and acceptances as actions that occur within a particular context. NOTES 293 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . legally binding acceptances of offers. If the seller knows specific information about the buyer’s requirements. shipping goods. shaking hands.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT These Internet communications can be combined with traditional methods of forming contracts. courts tend to interpret those actions as offers and acceptances. A seller implicitly warrants that the goods it offers for sale are fit for the purposes for which they are normally used. in some circumstances. such as exchange of paper documents. 5. Later courts have held that tape recordings of spoken words. Writing Contracts on the web An early decision in the 1800’s held that a telegraph transmission was writing. The main treaty that governs international sales of goods. A signature is any symbol executed or adopted for the purpose of authenticating writing. If the actions are reasonable under the circumstances. requires neither a writing nor a signature to create a legally binding acceptance. It is reasonable to assume that a symbol or code included in an electronic file would constitute a signature. Thus the parties to an electronic commerce contract should find it relatively easy to satisfy the writing requirement. Article 11 of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sales of Goods (CISG). by making general statements in brochures or other advertising materials about product performance or suitability for particular tasks.4. courts have held the various actions—including mailing a check. Firms concluding international electronic commerce do not need to worry about the signed writing requirement in most cases. taking an item off a shelf. computer files on disks and faxes are writings.3 Warranties on the web Any contract for the sale of goods includes implied warranties. or opening a wrapped package—are all. When enforcing contracts. Sellers could create explicit warranties. For example. faxes and verbal agreements made over the telephone or in person. With the internet. While governments who rely on an income tax to fund themselves will have great difficulty taxing Ecommerce. taxes foreign individuals and businesses who are receiving income from U.1 Introduction on Taxation Electronic Commerce (“Ecommerce”) presents unique challenges to federal and state tax authorities.S.S. a business can move to so-called tax haven jurisdictions and conduct business outside the taxing jurisdiction of any country. involve the delivery of goods from a specific physical location to a specific location by means of a common carrier. because of the speed in which transactions occur and the absence of a traditional paper trail. Also. sources. transactions are both instantaneous and largely anonymous. through citizenship and residency. the U.S.5.S. But the U. it will be very difficult. to sophisticated concepts in international taxation. The concept of taxation involves jurisdiction. the U. As discussed below. especially with intangible property transmitted by computer such as software. For instance. digital music or books and services. the U. the internet allows almost any small business to sell to customers in different states and countries. two traditional forms used by remote sellers. From the Boston Tea Party Rebellion in which tea was taxed as it physically landed on American shores. TAXATION AND ENCRYPTION POLICIES: 5. a government’s authority to tax has always been based on territory and jurisdiction. if not impossible to apply traditional notions of jurisdiction to tax these transactions. government taxes its residents on their world-wide income because they are connected with the U.S.DBA 1727 NOTES 5. Also. Although states and local jurisdictions have wrestled with the issue of collecting taxes from out-of-state mail order sellers and telephone solicitors for decades. constitution requires a sufficient physical connection with the state or local jurisdiction by a company to 294 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . mail order and telephone solicitation.S.5. states and local jurisdictions that rely on sales and property taxes to fund their operations are in steep trouble. Because Ecommerce involves computers communicating with each other at the speed of light.S. cannot tax a foreign citizen who is not a U. In contrast. resident on earnings from a foreign source. Ecommerce involves commerce using the Internet: typically purchases and sales through computers. 2001. According to 36% of the respondents who use the internet.2 Current Law . According to a Gallup Poll. Congress noted that the internet was inherently susceptible to multiply and discriminatory taxation in ways that traditional commerce was not.S. September 15. Congress realized that the internet needed time to grow as a viable medium for commerce. compared to 14% in favor (Source: San Francisco Chronicle. page D2). 5. and it extremely doubtful that U. CDs and movies in electronic form) and services (brokerage or accounting services). there is little ground swell for internet taxation by politicians. Congress was concerned that because internet 295 NOTES ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI .  Electronic delivery of goods (books. and  Bundling of taxable and non-taxable items.5. they would be less likely to vote for a politician who voted to tax internet transactions. contend that internet taxes are needed to equalize the tax burden for competitive reasons. Some of the unique features of Ecommerce include:  Computer-to-Computer transactions without a paper trail. In fact. passed in 1988 there is a 3-year moratorium on federal and state taxation imposed on internet transactions. But brick and mortar retailers who sell their products in physical locations. services or goods to a customer who resides in a state is not sufficient nexus. 1999. without being subjected to taxing regimes imposed by the states. In short. and merely selling property.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT burden the business with a tax obligation.  Lack of information on the location of the seller and purchaser. under the Internet Taxation Freedom Act (“ITFA”).A Moratorium on Internet Taxes Currently. 73% of active internet users oppose an internet sales tax.  Anonymous transactions. such as taxable goods with taxexempt services. citizens will vote to tax themselves on internet transactions. outside of pressure from state and local tax authorities. The moratorium began on October 21. especially if a new form of electronic cash takes hold. 1998 and remains in effect until October 21. ITFA’s purpose is to halt the rush by states to tax transactions occurring on the internet until Congress has had the opportunity to study the issue and make recommendations. it will take a Constitutional amendment to change the commerce clause. ITFA would protect internet business from being taxed in complicated and unexpected ways by remote jurisdictions. Thus. a taxing jurisdiction may discriminate in favor of ecommerce. California cannot claim there is an agency nexus to tax the transaction. goods or service. no state or political subdivision may levy a sales tax. but the definition under ITFA has been broadened to include the coverage of the tax. it is permissible to charge a lower rate on an ecommerce transaction. routing transactions throughout the country and even throughout the world. Ecommerce conducted by out-of-state vendors do not have an obligation to collect sales taxes if traditional remote sellers.DBA 1727 NOTES transactions involved a number of computers and routers. Example: If the purchase of a book over the internet is subject to a tax that is different from purchasing a book in a bookstore. there is no agency relationship between the remote seller and the company providing the access or online services. potentially dozens of jurisdictions could attempt to tax a single transaction. such as mail-order and telephone solicitation vendors do not collect sales taxes. Example: If a Nevada-based seller hosts his website on a California computer and a California resident purchases a book. then the tax is discriminatory. states cannot use an “agency nexus” theory to claim that a purchaser’s ISP is an in-state agent for the seller. the tax is discriminatory. Discriminatory Taxes A discriminatory tax traditionally involved a tax that favored local commerce over interstate commerce. if an ecommerce transaction is subject to a tax that is any different from a tax imposed on similar property. its application or a differential tax rate. In other words. In addition. Example: If a purchaser in California uses his computer to connect with a bookseller’s computer located in Nevada. However. Sales tax cannot be levied on because the purchaser uses ecommerce to access the seller’s computer to acquire property. even if the purchaser used a California ISP to connect to the internet. if a remote seller in one state. 296 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . The same would be true if the taxing authority charged a higher rate of tax for ecommerce purchases of books. uses a computer in another state for internet access or online services. Also. It other works. goods or services through other means. If books. NOTES 297 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . magazines. such a tax would violate the prohibition against multiple taxation. The exception does not apply to internet information and search services such as Yahoo. There is an exception if the tax is imposed by a state and a local subdivision. with no physical presence in California. A tax obligation cannot be imposed on a different entity such as a credit card company. Lycos or Alta Vista or ISPs that host such websites or telecommunication companies that transmit information over the internet. Bundled software that includes protected ecommerce or internet applications are protected under ITFA.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT Example: A New Hampshire company. the vendor can use ITFA as a defense if he uses credit card verification or procedures to insure he is dealing with persons over age 17. hosts its website with a California ISP. newspapers or forms of tangible information are not subject to sales tax. but only in proportion to the ecommerce or internet applications. then downloads of that same information cannot be taxed. Vendors who knowingly conduct ecommerce involving obscene or materials that are otherwise harmful to minors cannot rely on ITFA as a defense against taxation. Exceptions to ITFA transactions. service or property would be the entity responsible to collect sales tax under conventional commerce. California cannot impose a sales tax on transactions because a California ISP was involved. Unless a credit is given to eliminate any double-taxation. such as California’s sales tax and San Francisco County’s add-on sales tax for it Bay Area Rapid Transit. However. if the vendor selling the product. This could occur if a state taxed internet access services as telecommunications services and then taxed located telephone services as well. Multiple Taxes Multiple taxes on the same transaction or service either in the same taxing jurisdiction or tow or more taxing jurisdictions are prohibited. the U. Supreme Court held that a remote seller could be required to collect sales taxes only if the seller had the requisite nexus with the buyer’s state.S. The U. Three general rules apply: 1. the duty to collect a sales or use tax depends on where the sale is located and whether the buyer is a consumer or a business.5. Under the commerce clause. Supreme Court held otherwise and ruled that a state could impose a requirement that a company collect and remit sales taxes.The Foundation of State and Local Taxation The Interstate Commerce Clause of the U. 298.DBA 1727 NOTES 5. the company had to have substantial connections (a physical presence) with the state. Quill corporation sold office furniture products through a catalogue. 298 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . the North Dakota Supreme Court held that by selling its product to North Dakota customers. a mailorder company without a physical location. Converse. both California and San Francisco have the right to tax a company physically located in San Francisco. The problem comes when a business is not physically located in California.3 Taxation of Ecommerce . employees or sales agents in North Dakota could not be compelled to collect sales tax on its sales to North Dakota customers. but sells to California residents. Although it was not physically present in North Dakota and did not have a sales agents in the state. Constitution prevents the states and their political subdivisions from imposing taxes that unduly burden interstate commerce. In general. 1992. Retail sales by venders to in-state consumers are subject to sales tax on the purchase. such as a hotel. even though the guests might reside in another state.The Significant Issues Nexus . Under what circumstances may California levy a tax on sales to California residents? In Quill v North Dakota. but the vendor has the obligation of collect and remit the tax to the tax agency. 504 U. It is the commerce clause’s concept of nexus that prohibits most ecommerce transactions from being taxed. The key issue is whether the company that is being taxed as sufficient connection (nexus) with the taxing authority.S. Quill established an economic presence in North Dakota which created nexus for sales tax purposes.S. Example: A company that operates in Nevada and does not sell products in California or to California residents cannot be taxed by California.S. Not only do internet companies not have physical presence in the taxing jurisdiction. in reality. since the consumer is paying a tax for the use of the property. it must determine that the purchase is a California resident and that the seller has sufficient nexus with California to be required to collect and remit the sales tax. such as an actual book. Out-of-state vendors making consumer sales are not required to collect and remit sales taxes. unless they have sufficient nexus with the state. Even if a transaction can be theoretically taxed. then the traditional notions applicable to mail order taxation could be applied since it could be ascertained where the goods were shipped and where they were delivered. Note: If the goods or property purchased are tangible. This means that mail order and 299 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . Will Ecommerce Really Erode the Tax Base for States and Localities? Although state and local tax officials express grave concern that the Ecommerce will decimate the ability for states and localities to levy taxes on these transactions. instead of a sales tax. As a practical matter.S. CD or a shirt. This is usually referred to as a “use” tax. Currently.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT 2. Ecommerce transactions occur instantaneously and without identity of the seller’s or buyer’s location. Because the sales tax is destination based. altogether. If the out-of-state vendor cannot be required to collect the tax. states and localities cannot tax remote sellers anyway. this is virtually impossible to enforce. it is impossible to determine jurisdiction for sales tax purposes. Example: California wants to apply a sales tax to the sale of software to its residents. then the consumer is legally obligated to pay a self-assessed tax directly to the taxing agencies on the purchase. The absence of nexus in the mail order cases is profoundly greater in the Ecommerce context. often then can be located outside the jurisdiction of the U. hence the emphasis on requiring out-of-state vendors to collect and remit the tax. NOTES 3. Without ascertaining the location of the seller or buyer. unless the vendor has sufficient nexus under the commerce clause with the purchaser’s state to require collection. unless a state or locality can pinpoint the physical location of the seller and buyer. In order to California to levy the tax. California cannot determine whether the purchaser was a California resident and whether the seller had sufficient physical presence in California. this response might be overblown. Therefore. services. sales and use taxes continue to grow. accounting. There is no prohibition against the use tax.DBA 1727 NOTES telephone solicitation commerce by remote sellers is not subject to tax. the ultimate tax liability is not affected since in-state consumers have the legal tax liability to self-assess and pay the tax anyway. Ecommerce merely continues the trend to avoid taxes by engaging in remote selling without a physical presence. Unless the Supreme Court drastically alters its reading of the Constitutions’s commerce clause. There is evidence that even if all Ecommerce was subject to sales taxes. Ecommerce does not affect the tax base since remote sales involving mail order or telephone solicitation are exempt from sales tax under the commerce clause. Therefore. such as legal. Most services and intangible products are not currently subject to sales taxes anyway. despite Ecommerce. is to require a state or locality’s resident to self-assess the tax that should have been collected by the remote seller. Although Ecommerce in rapidly growing. Also. The answer to Ecommerce taxation in particular and remote selling in general. a state’s citizen is supposed to self-assess a use tax which is equal to the sales tax. Ecommerce involving intangible goods or services will not cause an erosion of the tax base. as of 1988. and medical costs. although Ecommerce prevents states from forcing remote sellers from collecting and remitting sales tax. but the states have been lax in enforcing this requirement. are not subject to sales taxes. Remember that business-to-business sales are subject to use tax payments by in-state businesses. or there is a constitutional amendment allowing taxation of remote sellers. Even if a remote seller is not subject to sales tax rules. it represents much less than 1% of total consumer spending. 300 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . Neither are food or medicine. the problem lies in enforcement. and approximately 80% of current Ecommerce is business-to-business. To the extent Ecommerce is merely a substitute for other remote seller transactions. In California. the revenue generated to the states and localities would represent about one-tenth of one percent of all sales and use taxes collected. 5. Nowadays various encryption techniques are available. In Texas alone. the biggest users of cryptography were governments. or technological advances that would allow businesses to calculate the sales tax simply and without a large investment in time and resources. These numbers could be significantly increased if states and local jurisdictions were allowed to tax Ecommerce. And the public key can decrypt data. provided the tax is simple to calculate for businesses. there are more than 1. One of the available techniques commonly used for encryption is Public Key. That is precisely why the commerce clause in the Constitution prohibits taxes and is an undue burden on interstate commerce. 301 NOTES ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . The encryption and decryption algorithms are designed in a way so that only the private key can decrypt data that is encrypted by the public key. In a Public Key encryption system each user has two keys-public key and private key.4 The Future for Ecommerce Taxation The Commission on Electronic Commerce. which number close to 7.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT 5. has not been able to make any headway in the taxation debate.500 throughout the U.. RSA Data Security of Redwood City offers the most popular and commercially available algorithm. Before the digital age. but several members have voice support for Internet taxes. particularly for military purposes. Unfortunately. 5. are notoriously parochial minded when it comes to defending their jurisdiction. Small businesses would be buried in costly paperwork attempting to comply with all these rules. created by the ITFA legislation.S. the current state and local tax systems. The encrypted data can be read only by those users for whom it is intended. Therefore. which has been used throughout history. Computer encryption is based on the science of cryptography. In Public Key encryption system.300 separate sales tax jurisdictions. encrypted by the private key.5. This could mean a uniform tax rate agreed to by all the states.5 Encryption policy: Encryption is a technique for hiding data. one can broadcast the public key to all users. You just need to tell others your secret key a number less than 256. there are two types of encryption methods:   Secret-key cryptography Public-key cryptography Data Encryption Standard (DES) A widely-adopted implementation of secret-key cryptography is Data Encryption Standard (DES). In a multi-user environment. to store files on a hard disk in encrypted form. This means that everybody can be told about the algorithm and your message will still be secure. DES can also be used for single user encryption. and the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) (which is now called NIST). should prevent decryption by a third party capable of single-key exhaustive search. DES was introduced in 1975 by IBM. symmetric cryptosystem: When used for communication. Despite the fact that its algorithm is well known. the National Security Agency (NSA). Designed for hardware implementation. DES operates on 64-bit blocks with a 56-bit secret key. using triple-encryption takes three times as long as singleencryption DES. thought to be equivalent to doubling the key size of DES. a different algorithm is generated for each secret key. Broadly speaking. The number 256 is also large enough to make it difficult to break the code using a brute force attack (trying to break the cipher by using all possible keys). If you use DES three times on the same message with different secret 302 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . DES is secret-key. DES has been extensively researched and studied over the last twenty years and is definitely the most well-known and widely used cryptosystem in the world. encrypting each message block using three different keys in succession. that is. which is used both to encrypt and decrypt the message. DES has withstood the test of time. it is impossible to break the cipher without using tremendous amounts of computing power. A new technique for improving the security of DES is triple encryption (Triple DES). for example. Of course. With a few exceptions. both sender and receiver must know the same secret key. however. Instead of defining just one encryption algorithm. discussed in the next subsection. to 112 bits.DBA 1727 NOTES Most computer encryption systems belong in one of two categories. Triple DES. secure-key distribution becomes difficult. DES defines a whole family of them. The actual software to perform DES is readily available at no cost to anyone who has access to the Internet. it operation is relatively fast and works well for large bulk documents or encryption. public-key cryptography. was developed to solve this problem. Over the past few years several new. On the home page a site’s purpose must be clear to the first-time visitor. At this point most shopping carts are abandoned.. If an organisation already has a corporate identity then the site should be consistent with this. The challenge is to create enticement – to explore the store . sound and move in ways that reinforce the company’s existing image. Navigation If customers walk into a new high street shop they can usually find their way around. but DES remains the most frequently used. 5.5. some judgement will be needed to make first-time visits successful.web pages should look. Fulfilment Goods have now been selected and your customer has made it to the checkout. On-screen design and copy styles should reflect existing printed literature. faster symmetric algorithms have been developed. A company’s colours may need re-working online.without customers getting lost.6 Customer’s Trust Online 1. 2. Online and offline customer support services The company’s security policy for 303 NOTES ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . It must be easy to see: How orders are to be processed The company’s returns policy. At all times customers should know where they are in the checkout process and they should be able to find out what happens later. Websites can keep customers’ trust by taking them through a transparent transaction process. Therefore. Presentation The look of a site conveys a sense of personality and influences the degree to which visitors are prepared to trust the site owner. Online conventions are still being developed. There are conventions for laying out a shop and customers unconsciously understand and follow them. Developing a brand to work online is a new task. Use simple words to describe the site’s content and make it easy for visitors to find what they are looking for by giving clear instructions. 3. to a new palette that is fast to download to the computer screen. The internet is tactile . it is virtually impossible to break it using existing algorithms.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT keys. major software companies and web security organizations. Are you handling visitors new to the web trade or devotees?   Newcomers need signposts and easy navigation. use it to build customer expectation of the site’s content. with transparency and. Aim for graphics and functions in proportion to your customer’s needs. don’t hide it. Technology Too much technology can be daunting. If we see them on a website we trust the website more. Familiar Names & Logos Names that we know and trust are familiar and friendly. This means that every component of the plan should be built 304 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . Make sure that technology supports your sales process and does not obscure it: Automatically recognise returning customers Help to complete forms correctly Design forms to work with software programs that automatically add user details to the form 5. Customers trust sites where they can see the familiar logos of credit card brands. 5. Web customers will have higher service expectations than offline customers. the quality of products and the level of service support. 4.5. Old hands need quick routes to every part of the site. give customers the option to return goods there. If you have shops on the high street. Younger visitors and technically aware customers may be more tolerant of higher technical demands. Should your company have a familiar name. then the most successful plan will be the one that responds fastest. These needs will change with your customer’s experience. Use technology as a transparent aid to navigation and activity. If your company is trusted by these organizations. above all. with consistency. And remember to train your staff to handle returned online orders.DBA 1727 NOTES personal information. They may expect service delivered in real time.7 Steps to Plan Successful E-Commerce Respond Fast If the plan is to respond to customer wishes. Test out Your Plan In the online marketplace everything is a test until it’s proven by the customer. look for processes in which information is transferred. Analyse each sales process to clarify what it is that staff spend time doing. Successful testing follows a simple rule: Test one Thing at a Time Only test changes that can be measured directly. computer to computer? With the time saved. If a test includes more than one change. Test to learn from the customer and to improve one step at a time.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT with the intention of proving a principle. then you can redirect your time and resources and use the knowledge gained to good effect elsewhere. more convenient or just new and online? What new information do they get? Decide what you can reliably offer each group now and plan a phased introduction of more complex services. Challenge Internal Assumptions Remove internal processing costs to make dramatic improvements to profit margins. If they don’t. Are you offering them a new way to use an existing service or a completely new service? Is it faster. Ask yourself if your customers want this? If they do. suppliers and distributors? Have you asked what they’d like? The web’s very good at research. Complexity often arises from integrating tried and tested stand-alone services. then a more robust version can be built. How many steps can be eliminated by outsourcing tasks to your customers and suppliers? Who is best placed to make the original information entry? Can that information be shared to avoid reentering the same information? What information could customers. Supplier & Distributor Benefits What’s in it for customers. suppliers and distributors find for themselves. cheaper. what could your staff do to add more value for customers? Focus on Customer. NOTES 305 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . it’s almost always impossible to measure the effect of each one. In particular. there will be a progressive transfer from processing tasks towards customer service. They will almost certainly require some training in how to make the most of the new technology for the benefit of their customers. others will not enjoy the increased interaction with customers. 3. post change  long-term cost-savings  long-term outsourcing arrangements  ongoing online development plans 2. There are three sets of costs that should be calculated: 1. If your organisation is typical. find ways to: Inform them that it is there (they may not know this) Tell them how to change over Incentivise the swap to make it worthwhile Introduce the new service as a special privilege beta test programme Calculate the Three Sets of Costs Very few organisations have all the resources in-house to start offering online services.DBA 1727 NOTES Give Good Reasons to Use Online Services Not all customers will automatically move to an online service simply because it’s there. in a service’s early stages it may not make good sense to risk overwhelming a new online channel by quickly moving large numbers of customers over to the new service. Help Staff Adapt to Online Working An online service will affect your staff and the work that they do. Current company costs that will be altered by the online changes  both internal and external costs Cost to implement the changes  interim support may be needed  training for staff whose tasks change New cost assumptions. Unless a company’s online services are entirely online. 306 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . Some may find this work more fulfilling. staff who is to fulfil new service roles will require assistance to develop new skills. If you prefer customers to use an online channel. Equally.  Intellectual property is considered to be intangible property created by individuals or corporations. social. offer is communicated by the acceptor and acceptance is received by the offer or from the acceptor. The Concept of Privacy: Privacy is the moral right of individuals to be left alone. The ethical. remote employee access. Privacy is a girder supporting freedom: Without the privacy required to think. Trade and commerce over the Internet give rise to several legal issues  The growth of EC on the Internet depends to a large extent on the confidence of traders in forming legally enforceable contracts online. and perhaps destroyed. plan. electronic transactions. free from surveillance or interference from other individuals or organizations. including the state. Exchange of electronic messages and documents EDI. write. and make recommendations for managers who are given the responsibility of operating e-commerce companies within commonly accepted standards of appropriateness. Information technology has made it difficult to protect intellectual property. provide a framework for organizing the issues. because computerized information can be so easily copied or distributed on networks. The key activities associated with the formation of an enforceable contract do take place on the Internet. electronic filing. viz.   307 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . social and political freedom is weakened.E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT Summary  Internet commerce raises legal issues through the provision of the following services: NOTES Online marketing Online retailing ordering of products and services Financial services such as banking and trading in securities. and political issues raised in e-commerce. and associate independently and without fear. including intellectual property. the Internet. 6. 2. 13. 12. The Contract is formed when one party accepts the offer of another party. an acceptance and consideration. List the major legal issues of EC Discuss the EDI Interchange agreement Define ethics Discuss the ethical. 5. i. privacy. In essence. Patent and Trademark law. cyber law is an attempt to apply laws designed for the physical world to human activity on the Internet. as it is an intersection of many legal fields. social and political issues in EC What are the basic ethical concepts Define privacy Define Intellectual property Describe the three main types of intellectual property protection What is contracting? How is it enforced in EC Discuss taxation in EC Describe the significant issues of taxation in EC Define encryption policy Define DES Discuss the steps to plan successful EC 308 ANNA UNIVERSITY CHENNAI . 8. freedom of expression. to decrease the burden of compliance on business and to deal with the increasingly integrated economy of Ecommerce. Cyber law is a term used to describe the legal issues related to use of communications technology.    Questions for review 1. particularly “cyberspace”.e. It is less a distinct field of law in the way that property or contract are. 11. 3. 9. 10. 14. The outdated and overly complex mechanisms used by thousands of jurisdictions to tax traditional transactions is clear that a fundamental restructuring of our current sales tax laws is needed to simply tax collection. 4. Contracting and Contract Enforcement in EC: Any contract includes three essential elements: an offer. 7.DBA 1727 NOTES  There are three main types of intellectual property protection: Copyright. and jurisdiction. Sign up to vote on this title UsefulNot useful
Summary: Who are the peacemakers and what do they do, what is it like to be a peacemaker and why did Jesus say he "did not come to bring peace to the earth" but that peacemakers would be called sons of God? Study Tools Blessed are the peacemakers One of my Great Great Grandfathers was a man by the name of Harry Louis Moffatt, Now Harry Louis was a good keen man, his father John had been Lord Aylmer the Governor of Canada’s batman (or military servant) and his mother was a French orphan by the name of Eliza Bosquet who was Lady Aylmer’s servant. Harry was an avid reader and gained a thirst for adventure, he was keen on a life of adventure and went to sea at the age of twelve, was abandoned by his ships captain in Peru soon after, somehow got back to sea, travelled around the world, worked his way up to first mate in the merchant navy, before he ventured to New Zealand. Once here he was a gold miner who struck it rich in the Wakamarina Valley in Marlborough before he was claim jumped, he panned gold all over the South Island, meeting up with George Fairweather Moonlight and a few other interesting characters. He tried a few different ventures all of which had some degree of risk, opening stores to supply miners in Collingwood and on the west coast, encountering the treacherous Grey Mouth Bar on the wrong tide, he sailed as a passenger back to the United Kingdom as a passenger, but got bored and voluntarily worked as crew. On his way back to New Zealand he met his wife and they settled in Motueka where he found employment as the Wharfinger, he also wrote articles for the Nelson Evening Mail under the pseudonym ‘Kiwi’. The reason I mention my Great Great Grandad is that somehow my Grandad Moffatt had had passed down to him a couple of interesting Items of his Grandads, one was Lord Aylmer’s telescope and the other was a pistol, a single action, rotating barrelled, 45 calibre Colt that went by the name of “a peacemaker.” I can only guess that Harry kept this close at hand in some of his travels for personal protection and as a storekeeper to protect his livelihood. The peacemaker was a military weapon and I suppose it got it’s name for one of two reasons, it was used to fight for peace, which seems a bit of an oxymoron or that if you presented one anywhere at any time it suddenly got very peaceful due to the fear it instilled, well at least until it was fired. Now this might just seem like an interesting story but imagine in my mind as a child growing up who had an understanding that a peacemaker was a six shooter, too hear “blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called sons of God”; (Matthew 5:9) where might that take the thinking of a child with a bit of an imagination. I figured that anyone holding a loaded peacemaker could be called anything they wanted. “Son of God, King of Spain, Queen of Sheba you’re the one with the pistol, what would you like to be called?” You might have also noticed that I have jumped a week ahead of where I was in the beatitudes, that’s because today is the Salvation Army’s fifth annual call to ‘Pray for Peace’. What was it Jesus said “Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called sons of God.” Talk about it... Nobody has commented yet. Be the first! Join the discussion
Trimming a Bird's Beak Rooster with rope tied around beak Jan Stromme / Getty Images Having to trim a bird's beak sounds kind of scary, but it is a necessary procedure for some owners and their pets. Much like our fingernails, a bird's beak grows continuously throughout its life. Because of this, the beak must be constantly ground down in order for it to function properly. Normally, a healthy bird's daily activities include plenty of chewing, eating, and foraging, which help keep the beak ground down to the proper length and shape. Birds can also often be observed rubbing their beaks on rough surfaces to help the process along. Most pet birds that are provided items such as natural wood perches and cuttlebones are able to keep their beaks in good shape. However, now and then a bird's beak becomes overgrown or oddly shaped, and when this happens, a beak trim is necessary to fix it. You should never attempt to trim your own bird's beak, to do so is to risk injury to both yourself and your pet. If you notice that your bird's beak looks too long, uneven, or otherwise abnormal, the first thing that you should do is contact an avian vet. Your vet will need to visit with you and your bird to determine the cause for the beak abnormality and to correct it. When your bird gets his beak trimmed, the vet will use a special file, much like a dremel tool, to gently whisk away the excess layers of your bird's beak. Filing the beak in this manner most closely mimics the natural erosion of the beak, allowing for a more natural look to the finished beak and minimizing the risk of injury to the bird. Understandably, beak trimming can be stressful for a bird. After a trim, it's best to take the bird directly home from the vet's office and place it in a quiet, familiar spot in your home. Reassure your pet, but try to avoid excessive cuddling. Most birds will prefer to be left alone for a while after enduring a trip to the vet. Provide fresh water and plenty of tasty foods, and do not allow visitors or other family members to disturb him until the next day.
10 Essential Techniques To Work With KPIs Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are specific pieces of information which when analysed together, enable business leaders and mangers to overview the actual project health. However, it is a daunting and conjuring task to determine which of the performance measuring matrices should be associated with KPIs. KPIs can be both qualitative and quantitative and therefore, sometimes it becomes difficult for higher authorities to set right KPIs to gauge the project performance during a certain time period. Download Presentation Soft CopyWatch All Webinars Videos There are many reasons why KPIs fail to produce desired results such as lack of clarity in their definition, role and most importantly use. Following lines explain ten essential techniques that will help organisations to implement KPIs successfully and make most of them in the long run. • Start with an End in Mind: KPIs add a lot of value to any organisation because they enable it to work in a better way and move smoothly towards achieving organisational goals. Therefore, all the KPIs should be specific enough to provide detailed information about the quantitative objectives you want to achieve. Similarly, they should help you focus on what actually matters so that you can allocate resources correctly and take corrective actions whenever necessary. • Similarly, KPIs should be able to help you in tracking performance and decision making process. Correctly formulated KPIs result in committed and stimulated efforts and sustainable growth. Furthermore, they also result in standardisation of the processes and promotion of transparency. They help organisations benchmark their objectives more effectively by comparing with other organisations and identifying more opportunities. Last but not the least; they also facilitate business leaders to educate stakeholders about the projects. • Performance Culture: Organisations should also develop a positive performance culture during the formulation, execution and monitoring of KPIs in order to improve their performance. In fact, performance management is like embarking on a journey towards a destination. It will pull things together in an organisation helping all the stakeholders to achieve their respective goals and objectives. • Clarify Terminology: Some organisations have been using KPIs for long now but they are still unable to define KPI correctly. They lack the clarity not only about KPIs but also about many associated terms. It is imperative for companies to understand the difference between terms like matrices, targets and KPIs etc in order to maximise the advantage of implementing them in their workplace. A simple definition of KPI states it is a “a measurable expression for the achievement of a desired level of results in an area relevant to the evaluated entity’s activity”. • Terminology Standards: Organisations also need to standardise terminologies associated with KPIs. This is important because non-standardised terms will create confusion among the employees because everyone will tend to derive his own meaning and work accordingly. In this regard, your objectives should start with verbs, KPIs with symbols such as $ and initiatives with nouns and adjectives. • Extensive Research: Organisations should not blindly follow others companies when it comes to using KPIs. They should do an extensive research to identify examples relevant to their respective niches. They should also try to analyse how much those KPIs helped other organisations to enhance their performance. It is also important to classify them in different groups. For example, you can divide them into industrial KPIs, functional KPIs, management KPIs and so on. The benefit of classifying KPIs is that everybody understands what different KPIs mean and how to use them. • Value Flow / Programme Logic Analyses: Organisations that are new to KPIs must do this process in order to identify and implement correct KPIs. It is a traditional four step process incorporating inputs, processes, outputs and outcomes. Organisations can create KPIs regarding how many resources to allocate for a certain task (input), the % of time and money required to complete that task (processes), what are the outcomes of the task (output) and what impact it has on a large group of people (outcome). Following is a diagrammatic explanation of entire process. • KPI Documentation Process: It is not sufficient to simply establish KPIs and use them but it is also mandatory to document them. It is a fact that organisations who document KPIs perform much better than those who do not. On average, organisations take help of 12 different fields to maintain record of KPIs. Some organisations document them by name, some by definition and some by calculation formula. Yet, there are some who use criteria like data source, purpose, target and standard reporting frequency etc. You can also use any or all of these fields to document KPIs, using separate KPIs forms for each of them. KPI documentation process usually includes: • Reviewing of internal literature and external sources. • Consultation with staff regarding collecting and using data. • Presentation to higher authorities for approval. • Review and approval by KPI architect. • Approval by management team and addition to KPI library. • Design Meaningful Reporting Pages: Employees dealing with KPIs have to present all the data in an attractive and engaging way as it will create more impact on everyone. Therefore, it is important for them to design meaningful KPI reporting pages that will help them to explain the entire process rather easily. Another advice is to design dedicated pages for each KPI as it will make your task rather simple and straightforward. These pages can contain things like tables, graphs, illustrations and images to make KPIs more interesting and easy to understand for all concerned. • Root Cause Analyses: Once you have acquired all the data about KPIs and they are producing desired results, you need to do a root cause analyses of how to solve problems identified by KPIs. You should not jump to the conclusion but should do a step by step analysis about what are the symptoms and root causes and how to find the best possible solution. This method helps you to continuously improve and prevent problems over a period of time. • Benchmarking: Finally, it is necessary for organisations using KPIs to put them in the context of benchmarking. They should use KPIs to measure the quality of their policies, strategies, programs and products etc. The objective of benchmarking KPIs are to determine which areas need to be improved, analyse how other organisations perform brilliantly and further use this data to improve their own performance. Leave a Reply
Does dark energy accelerate space missions ? ESA has a plan to launch Euclid mission to find more about dark energy. October 05, 2011 dark energy, ESA, cosmology, The movie stills pictured above illustrate the formation of clusters and large-scale filaments in the Cold Dark Matter model with dark energy. copyright : wikimedia commons Perfect timing: Yesterday, three astronomers received the news every scientist wants: they would be receiving the physics Nobel Prize for their work in discovering dark energy, a repulsive force that is ramping up the expansion of the universe. So it was somehow fitting that, on the very same day, European Space Agency officials were approving a space mission, called Euclid, that would pin down more precisely dark energy’s key parameters. “It was just coincidence, really,” says David Schlegel, principal investigator for BOSS, a ground-based mission that is also trying to get a handle on the stuff that looks a lot like a cosmological constant, the fudge factor that Einstein introduced in his relativity equations when he thought the universe was static, but later regretted. Okay, so the prize has nothing to do with ESA’s decision. But will it bolster the case for other dark energy missions? In the United States, NASA, the Energy Department and the National Science Foundation are all trying to get a piece of the action. NASA’s WFIRST is the most expensive mission and the most sought after (it was ranked tops in the US decadal survey), and it’s probably the most capable. But it’s stuck in line behind the James Webb Space Telescope, and so most observers think it doesn’t have a chance of flying at all until the 2020s. The selection of Euclid, a very similar mission that would scoop much of the early science, may put further pressure on NASA to attempt what has failed in the past: a mission merger. Ground-based dark energy experiments may get a lot more bang for the buck -- but even there, money is a problem. LSST, another community favorite that will make major strides in measuring dark energy, still needs cash. In a universe that keeps moving faster and faster, missions like LSST and WFIRST seem to get farther and farther away. “It seems like it’s so far in the future,” says Schlegel. copyright : Multiverse From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia copyright : The various universes within the multiverse are sometimes called parallel universes. copyright : cosmology, antimatter,cern copyright : copyright : Antigravity Could Replace Dark Energy as Cause of Universe’s Expansion anti-gravity,dark energy,cosmology copyright : According to this study, matter and antimatter gravitationally repel each other and create a kind of “antigravity” that could do away with the need for dark energy in the universe. copyright : NASA Prepares Antimatter-Hunting Detector for Space Shuttle Launch 16 March 2011 cosmologyn,dark matter,AMS,Space Shuttle,ISS copyright image : A high-tech astrophysics experiment that will probe the mysteries of our universe is getting ready to fly to the International Space Station aboard the space shuttle Endeavour when it launches on its final mission next month. The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) is a particle physics detector that will primarily measure high-energy particles in space, called cosmic rays, and search for signs of antimatter and mysterious dark matter in the universe. copyright : Dark Matter: New Evidence on How Galaxies Are Born By Michael D. Lemonick Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011 dark matter,halo,cosmology Copyright : http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hs-2007-17-a-full_... If you think it's hard to swallow the concept of dark matter, you're not alone. Copyright and Read more Dark energy is not directly detectable, but scientists can track its footsteps through history. dark matter,the hunt,cosmology Herschel finds less dark matter but more stars dark matter,Herschel 16 February 2011 Hunt for dark matter closes in at Large Hadron Collider Wednesday 26 January 2011 cern,lhc,cms,dark matter Max Braun on Flickr copyright : Dark-Matter Galaxy Detected: Hidden Dwarf Lurks Nearby? Richard A. Lovett in Seattle, Washington for National Geographic News Published January 14, 2011 Milky Way.jpg Copyright : The two Magellanic are each about ten times larger. Harvard-Smithsonian Center For Astrophysics - Better Measuring Dark Energy Press Release Release No.: 2011-04 For Release: Thursday, January 13, 2011 09:00:00 AM EST Dark Energy.jpg Copyright : http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cosmological_compo... The Best Way to Measure Dark Energy Just Got Better Seattle, WA These supernovae are currently the best way to measure dark energy because they are visible across intergalactic space. Also, they can function as "standard candles" in distant galaxies since the intrinsic brightness is known. Just as drivers estimate the distance to oncoming cars at night from the brightness of their headlights, measuring the apparent brightness of a supernova yields its distance (fainter is farther). Measuring distances tracks the effect of dark energy on the expansion of the Universe. The best way of measuring dark energy just got better, thanks to a new study of Type Ia supernovae led by Ryan Foley of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. The key is to sort the supernovae based on their color. "Dark energy is the biggest mystery in physics and astronomy today. Now, we have a better way to tackle it," said Foley, who is a Clay Fellow at the Center. He presented his findings in a press conference at the 217th meeting of the American Astronomical Society. The new tool also will help astronomers to firm up the cosmic distance scale by providing more accurate distances to faraway galaxies. Type Ia supernovae are used as standard candles, meaning they have a known intrinsic brightness. However, they're not all equally bright. Astronomers have to correct for certain variations. In particular, there is a known correlation between how quickly the supernova brightens and dims (its light curve) and the intrinsic peak brightness. Even when astronomers correct for this effect, their measurements still show some scatter, which leads to inaccuracies when calculating distances and therefore the effects of dark energy. Studies looking for ways to make more accurate corrections have had limited success until now. "We've been looking for this sort of 'second-order effect' for nearly two decades," said Foley. they show a distinct relationship between the speed of their ejected material and their color: the faster ones are slightly redder and the slower ones are bluer. Previously, astronomers assumed that redder explosions only appeared that way because of intervening dust, which would also dim the explosion and make it appear farther than it was. Trying to correct for this, they would incorrectly calculate that the explosion was closer than it appeared. Foley's work shows that some of the color difference is intrinsic to the supernova itself. The new study succeeded for two reasons. First, it used a large sample of more than 100 supernovae. More importantly, it went back to "first principles" and reexamined the assumption that Type Ia supernovae are one average color. The discovery provides a better physical understanding of Type Ia supernovae and their intrinsic differences. It also will allow cosmologists to improve their data analysis and make better measurements of dark energy - an important step on the road to learning what this mysterious force truly is, and what it means for the future of the cosmos. Copyright : http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/news/2011/pr201104.html December 10, 2010 by Lisa Zyga Enlarge (PhysOrg.com) -- Through precise cosmological measurements, scientists know that about 4.6% of the energy of the Universe is made of baryonic matter (normal atoms), about 23% is made of dark matter, and the remaining 72% or so is dark energy. Scientists also know that almost all the baryonic matter in the observable Universe is matter (with a positive baryon charge) rather than antimatter (with a negative baryon charge). But exactly why this matter and energy came to be this way is still an open question. In a recent study, physicists have proposed a new mechanism that can generate both the baryon asymmetry and the dark matter density of the Universe simultaneously. copyright - credits : No evidence of time before Big Bang. Published online 10 December 2010 \| Nature \| doi:10.1038/news.2010.665 Latest research deflates the idea that the Universe cycles for eternity. Edwin Cartlidge Circular ripples in the cosmic microwave background have been making waves with theoreticians. Dark Matter Halo copyright - credits : http://www.nature.com/news/2010/101210/full/news.2010.665... Mini-oerknak resulteert in superhete vloeistof (LHC - CERN) 25 november 2010 copyright - credits Kort na de oerknal was het heelal een extreem dikke, superhete vloeistof. Dat is de verrassende ontdekking die onderzoekers hebben gedaan met de Large Hadron Collider (LHC), de grote deeltjesversneller in Zwitserland. Op 7 november begonnen wetenschappers een nieuw experiment met de LHC, waarbij zij de kernen van loodatomen met enorme snelheden tegen elkaar lieten botsen. Bij die botsingen ontstonden kleine vuurballen van subatomaire deeltjes met een temperatuur van meer dan 10 biljoen graden. Het idee achter dit experiment was om de 'oersoep' van deeltjes te reproduceren, het zogeheten quark-gluonenplasma, zoals die een miljoenste seconde na het ontstaan van het heelal moet hebben bestaan. Quarks en gluonen zijn de bouwstenen van de neutronen en protonen die de atomen vormen. Volgens veel modellen die de deeltjesstroom van dit subatomaire vuurwerk beschrijven, zou deze oersoep zich als een gas moeten gedragen. Maar uit de waarnemingen blijkt nu dat de oersoep, precies zoals de naam al aangeeft, meer weg had van een vloeistof. Ook de dichtheid van de subatomaire deeltjes die bij de botsingen vrijkwamen, verrast de onderzoekers: bij de 'mini-oerknallen' werden veel meer van die deeltjes gevormd dan verwacht. Het is volgende wetenschappers overigens nog te vroeg om uit deze eerste resultaten verregaande conclusies te trekken over de structuur van het jonge heelal. © Eddy Echternach Penrose: WMAP Shows Evidence of ‘Activity’ Before Big Bang 22nd November 2010 Sir Roger Penrose.jpg Copyright - Credits : Universe Today Hubble Provides Most Detailed Dark Matter Map Yet 11th November 2010 Nasa Hubble Space Telescope shows the distribution of dark matter in the center of the giant galaxy cluster Abell 1689. (more than 1000 galaxies with trillions of stars). Credits : Doorbraak of gelul in de ruimte ? 25 september 2010 de Volkskrant De Amerikaanse natuurkundige Greg Landsberg zegt een nieuwe theorie over verdwijnende ruimtelijke dimensies te hebben gevonden die het antwoord zou kunnen verschaffen op allerlei netelige vragen. Nederlandse collega's regeren geërgerd. 'Toe maar, dit kan er ook wel bij.' ‘Een nieuw paradigma’ noemt hij het zelf. Speculatief, jazeker, maar daarom niet minder veelbelovend. Greg Landsberg, natuurkundige aan de Amerikaanse Brown University, raakt er niet over uitgepraat. Samen met vier collega’s leurt hij sinds een paar maanden met het idee dat het aantal ruimtelijke dimensies in het heelal afhankelijk is van de schaal waarop je de dingen bekijkt. ‘Misschien levert dit een oplossing voor allerlei netelige kwesties in de deeltjesfysica en de kosmologie,’ ratelt hij over de telefoon vanuit deeltjeslaboratorium CERN in Genève. ‘En wie weet lossen we het raadsel van de tijd er ook wel mee op.’ Netelige kwesties zijn er volop in de moderne natuurwetenschap. Waarom zijn er bijvoorbeeld drie deeltjesfamilies in plaats van één? Wat is zwaartekracht? Waarom is er meer gewone materie dan antimaterie in het heelal? Hoe komt het dat het heelal steeds sneller uitdijt? Waaruit bestaat de mysterieuze donkere materie? Valt de relativiteitstheorie ooit te rijmen met de quantumfysica? En, inderdaad, wat is tijd eigenlijk? Wie het allemaal weet, mag het zeggen. En wie het niet weet, hoeft kennelijk ook zijn mond niet te houden. De meest uiteenlopende modellen, theorieën, concepten en luchtballonnetjes vinden de laatste jaren hun weg naar wetenschappelijke blogs, preprint servers, of zelfs naar de pagina’s van Physical Review Letters. Een vijfde kracht, schaduwmaterie, asymmetrische branen – het komt allemaal voorbij. De onbewijsbare snaartheorie met zijn 10^500 heelallen, stevig gepromoot door niemand minder dan Stephen Hawking, is eigenlijk nog een van de serieuzere ideeën. Van de ‘verdwijnende dimensies’ van Landsberg en zijn collega’s kijkt een theoretisch fysicus nauwelijks meer op. ‘Buitengewoon onaangenaam’ vindt kosmoloog Vincent Icke van de Leidse Sterrewacht deze wildgroei aan ‘loze speculaties’. ‘Ik sta positief tegenover dwarse denkers,’ zegt hij, ‘maar je moet wel met een verdomd goed onderbouwd idee komen, wil ik het serieus nemen. Nu nemen mensen onbeperkt de vrijheid om maar te zeggen wat ze blieven. Neem dat snaargelul, daar is al dertig jaar niets uitgekomen dan gebakken lucht en af en toe een wiskundeprijsje. Ik vind dat laf.’ Theoretisch natuurkundige Gerard ’t Hooft van de Universiteit Utrecht, op werkbezoek in Turkije, is het met Icke eens. ‘Men schrijft er maar op los,’ mailt de Nobelprijswinnaar. ‘Verdwijnende dimensies, toe maar, het kan er ook wel bij.’ Landsberg – in 1967 in Moskou geboren – ziet dat natuurlijk heel anders. Er zijn inderdaad meer theorieën dan theoretici, grapt hij met een licht Russisch accent, maar nieuwe ideeën die misschien bevestigd zouden kunnen worden door toekomstige experimenten, kun je niet zomaar negeren. Afgelopen zomer, tijdens de International Conference on High-Energy Physics in Parijs, was er weliswaar veel kritiek op het ‘nieuwe paradigma’, maar toch vooral veel belangstelling. Geen wonder, aldus Landsberg, want wie weet komt de nieuwe deeltjesversneller van CERN nog dit jaar met ondersteunende resultaten. Dun rietje Begin vorige eeuw speculeerden Theodor Kaluza en Oskar Klein al over extra dimensies, in een vruchteloze poging om zwaartekracht en elektromagnetisme in één beschrijving te verenigen. Volgens de Kaluza-Kleintheorie bestaat er naast lengte, breedte en hoogte een vierde ruimtelijke dimensie. Die zou echter niet oneindig uitgestrekt zijn, maar heel compact, waardoor je er alleen op miscroscopische schaal mee te maken krijgt. Alsof je een eendimensionale lijn ziet, die bij nadere beschouwing een tweedimensionaal oppervlak blijkt te zijn, heel strak opgerold tot een extreem dun rietje. ‘In ons model is er echter geen sprake van extra dimensies, maar van ‘verdwijnende’ dimensies,’ zegt Landsberg. Hoe nauwkeuriger je kijkt, hoe minder ruimtelijke dimensies er zijn. Precies andersom dus dan bij Kaluza en Klein. Op een natuurkundeworkshop in Heidelberg, vorig jaar zomer, begon het balletje te rollen. ‘Tijdens een etentje met twee andere natuurkundigen en twee kosmologen bleek dat die vanishing dimensions wel eens een verklaring zouden kunnen vormen voor een aantal problemen in de moderne natuurwetenschap.’ Om uit te leggen hoe het werkt, vergelijkt Landsberg de ruimte met een opgefrommeld vloerkleed. Dat is een driedimensionale structuur, maar als je beter kijkt zie je dat het om een tweedimensionaal kleed gaat, en pak je er een loep bij, dan blijkt het hele kleed geweven te zijn van één enkele eendimensionale draad. ‘Op de allergrootste schaal, vergelijkbaar met de afmetingen van het waarneembare heelal, zou onze driedimensionale ruimte ook weer geplooid en gevouwen kunnen zijn tot een vierdimensionaal geheel,’ aldus Landsberg. Of er op nóg grotere schaal zelfs sprake kan zijn van een vijfde dimensie, durft hij niet te zeggen. ‘Alles is mogelijk.’ Maar daar zit ’m nou net de kneep, volgens de criticasters – alles lijkt maar te kunnen. ‘Ik neem een exotisch idee alleen serieus als er meetbare consequenties uit tevoorschijn komen,’ zegt Icke, ‘of als er fundamentele problemen mee verklaard worden. Veel andere dingen dragen weinig of niets bij, of kunnen zelfs nooit door waarnemingen en experimenten worden onderbouwd of weerlegd. Dan is zo’n theorie volslagen gratuit.’ Ook snaar-theoreticus Robbert Dijkgraaf van de Universiteit van Amsterdam is bepaald niet onder de indruk: ‘Het theoretische en experimentele laagje ijs waarop Landsberg en zijn collega’s schaatsen is erg dun.’ ’t Hooft is bij nader inzien toch net iets milder. ‘Deze mensen weten in ieder geval waar ze over praten, en zien dus zelf de moeilijkheden ook wel in,’ zegt hij. ‘Maar ik vind de prijs die je betaalt voor deze theorie nogal hoog: allerlei waardevolle concepten lijken te sneuvelen, en er komt weinig bruikbaars voor in de plaats.’ Bovendien, aldus ’t Hooft, moet alles wel ‘streng logisch in elkaar zitten, en dat heb ik nog niet gezien.’ Overigens werkt hij zelf ook aan een ‘wild idee’ dat conforme gravitatie heet. ‘Maar dat is verre van uitgewerkt en nog niet wetenschappelijk onderbouwd.’ Landsberg blijft voorlopig onverminderd enthousiast. Als de driedimensionale ruimte op de grootste schaal gevouwen en geplooid is, kan een ander deel van het heelal zich vlak bij het onze bevinden, op zeer kleine afstand in de vierde dimensie. Tussen die ‘naburige’ delen kunnen dan quantumeffecten optreden die een beetje vergelijkbaar zijn met het beroemde Casimir-effect. Dat zou mogelijk een verklaring kunnen opleveren voor de onbegrepen donkere energie, die tot de versnellende uitdijing van het heelal leidt. ‘Maar daar moeten inderdaad nog realistische wiskundige modellen voor worden uitgewerkt,’ geeft hij toe. En wat als er op microscopische schaal inderdaad dimensies verdwijnen? ‘Dan gaan we dat misschien zien in botsingsexperimenten in de LHC-versneller van CERN,’ zegt Landsberg, die zelf aan een van de CERN-experimenten meewerkt. ‘Je verwacht dan dat de deeltjes die bij een extreem energierijke botsing geproduceerd worden voornamelijk in één vlak bewegen. Voorzichtige aanwijzingen daarvoor blijken een jaar of tien geleden al eens te zijn waargenomen, maar die resultaten brachten het toen niet verder dan een vrij obscuur Russisch tijdschrift, waardoor ze nooit veel aandacht hebben gekregen.’ ‘Natuurlijk kun je theoretici niet verbieden met vergezochte ideeën te komen,’ zegt Vincent Icke. ‘Het verbieden van een theorie komt altijd van waarnemingen en experimenten. De natuur zal wel uitmaken wat mag en wat niet.’ Maar, verzucht hij, als de LHC-metingen niets te zien geven, kunnen Landsberg en zijn collega’s zich altijd verschuilen achter de conclusie dat de effecten dan misschien pas bij een nóg veel hogere energie optreden. ‘In het Engels heet dat weaseling out. Dat vind ik het glibberige eraan. Ik houd meer van mouwen opstropen en rekenen. Houd je eerst maar eens bezig met de dingen die wél meetbaar zijn.’ Robbert Dijkgraaf ziet veel meer in de snaartheorie als route naar een oplossing voor de crisis in de deeltjesfysica en de kosmologie. ‘Op kleine lengteschalen vervagen onze klassieke ideeën over ruimte en dimensie misschien wel, en moeten ze worden vervangen door quantumbegrippen,’ zegt hij. Maar Gerard ’t Hooft loopt ook daar niet warm voor: ‘Stephen Hawking moet zelf weten waar hij zijn geld op zet, maar de snaartheorie komt vaak ook met flutverklaringen.’ Zo lang er nog zo veel onenigheid is over de betekenis van een ‘gevestigd’ idee als de snaartheorie, kun je het creatieve natuurkundigen als Greg Landsberg misschien niet kwalijk nemen dat ze plezier beleven aan het speculeren over verdwijnende dimensies. 'Misschien was er héél kort na de geboorte van het heelal wel sprake van slechts één ruimtelijke dimensie en één tijddimensie,’ filosofeert hij er dan ook vrolijk op los. ‘Wie weet komen we er op deze manier ooit nog eens achter waarom je in de ruimte wél alle kanten op kunt, terwijl de tijd maar één richting heeft.’ © Govert Schilling Astronomen nemen afscheid van oerknalsatelliet WMAP ! 13 september 2010 Zonder veel ophef hebben astronomen op 8 september afscheid genomen van de Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe, beter bekend als WMAP. De satelliet, die negen jaar lang de zogeheten kosmische achtergrondstraling heeft onderzocht, is met zijn eigen raketmotor in een veilige baan om de zon gemanoeuvreerd. De WMAP-satelliet werd op 30 juni 2001 gelanceerd naar 'vaste' locatie die vanaf de zon gezien anderhalf miljoen kilometer achter de aarde ligt. Enkele maanden later begon hij met het in kaart brengen van de kosmische achtergrondstraling - de straling die een overblijfsel is van de oerknal, die bijna veertien miljard jaar geleden het ontstaan van het heelal inluidde. Al in 2003 werd WMAP door het wetenschappelijke tijdschrift Science uitgeroepen tot 'doorbraak van het jaar'. De resultaten van de WMAP-metingen zijn in overeenstemming met het standaardmodel dat vrijwel alle astronomen voor het ontstaan van het heelal hanteren. Vastgesteld is dat de oerknal waaruit ons heelal is voortgekomen 13,73 miljard jaar geleden moet hebben plaatsgevonden. Ook is uit het onderzoek gebleken dat het heelal voor slechts 4,6 procent uit normale materie bestaat. De overige 95,4 procent wordt gevormd door donkere materie, die geen enkele vorm van waarneembare straling uitzendt maar wel zwaartekracht uitoefent, en een mysterieuze donkere energie, die het heelal versneld laat uitdijen. Toegevoegd door Eddy Echternach Laws of physics may change across the universe 18:29 08 September 2010 by Michael Brooks Sections of sky This number determines the strength of interactions between light and matter. Galaxies merging.jpg Bar magnet Moreover, the team's analysis of around 300 measurements of alpha in light coming from various points in the sky suggests the variation is not random but structured, like a bar magnet. The universe seems to have a large alpha on one side and a smaller alpha on the other. Extraordinary claim Even if the result is accepted for publication, it is going to be hard to convince other scientists that the laws of physics might need a rewrite. who works at the Institute for Astronomy in Hawaii. But like Cowie, he suspects there is a flaw somewhere in the analysis. "I think the result is not real," he says. Another author on the paper, Michael Murphy of Swinburne University in Australia, understands the caution. Updated on 9 September: The analysis of VLT data was amended to credit Julian King Phantom Universe - Next Biggest Mystery Analysis by Ray Villard Mon Aug 16, 2010 04:27 PM ET Turner has even confessed that we simply may never know. <object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ryqN6dyUmJg&color1=0xb1b1b1&... name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ryqN6dyUmJg&color1=0xb1b1b1&..." type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="385"></embed></object> Large Synoptic Survey Telescope.jpg It will essentially survey the entire sky on a weekly basis. I think the overarching quest will be for finding habitable worlds. Nieuw techniek ontwikkeld voor onderzoek donkere energie ! dark energy cygnus.jpg 21 juli 2010 National Radio Astronomy Observatory Radiosterrenkundigen hebben een nieuwe techniek ontwikkeld om grote kosmische structuren in kaart te brengen. Met deze techniek hopen zij meer te weten komen over de geheimzinnige 'donkere energie' in het heelal (Nature, 22 juli). 'Donkere energie' is de naam die sterrenkundigen hebben gegeven aan de nog onbegrepen oorzaak van de versnellende uitdijing van het heelal. Er zijn verschillende theorieën bedacht om die versnellende uitdijing te verklaren, maar tot nog toe is het niet gelukt om de verschillende kandidaten te De sleutel wordt gezocht bij metingen van de grootschalige verdeling van sterrenstelsels in het heelal. Het meten van de afstanden en snelheden van vele miljoenen sterrenstelsels is een tijdrovende klus. Bij de nieuwe techniek, die intensity mapping wordt genoemd, wordt echter niet naar afzonderlijke sterrenstelsels gekeken, maar naar de radiostraling die afkomstig is van neutraal waterstofgas uit een groot gebied dat grote aantallen stelsels omvat. Op die manier wordt een flink stuk heelal in één keer gemeten en kan veel sneller inzicht worden verkregen in de wijze waarop grote kosmische structuren zich de afgelopen miljarden jaren hebben ontwikkeld. En met die informatie kan dan weer de 'beste' theorie voor de verklaring van de donkere energie worden geselecteerd. © Eddy Echternach (www.astronieuws.nl) URL van deze pagina: Radio Astronomers Develop New Technique for Studying Dark Energy Dark Energy and Dark Matter Might Not Exist, Scientists Allege By Clara MoskowitzSPACE.com Senior Writerposted: 13 June 201007:01 pm ET Dark matter and dark energy are two of the most mind-boggling ingredients in the universe. Ever since these concepts were first proposed, some astronomers have worked feverishly to figure out what each thing is, while other astronomers have tried to prove they don't exist, in hopes of restoring the universe to the more understandable place many would like it to be.A new look at the data from one of the telescopes used to establish the existence of this strange stuff is causing some scientists to question whether theyreally exist at all. Yet other experts are holding firm to the idea that, whether we like it or not, the "dark side" of the universe is here to stay.Dark matter is a proposed form of matter that could make up 22 percent of the universe's mass-energy budget, vastly outweighing all the normal matter, like stars and galaxies. Astronomers can't observe dark matter directly, but they think it's there because of the gravitational pull it seems to exert on everything else. Without dark matter, the thinking goes, galaxies would fly apart.Ads by GoogleJesus: Hoax or Reality?Discover the Evidence From Scholars About Jesus' Claims to be God www.Y-Jesus.com/GodWhy is Brazil Hot What the Banks are not saying What the Banks are investing in www.greenwood-management.comAs if that weren't weird enough, scientists think another 74 percent of themass-energy budget could be made of some strange quantity called dark energy. This force is thought to be responsible for the accelerating pace of the expansion of the universe. (For those keeping track, that would leave only a measly 4 percent of the universe composed of normal matter.)Some cosmic backgroundOne of the prime ways researchers tally how much these components contribute to the overall makeup of the universe is by measuring a dim glow of light pervading space that is thought to be left over from the Big Bang. The most detailed measurements yet taken of this radiation, which is called the cosmic microwave background (CMB), come from a spacecraft dubbed the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP)."It's such an important thing — the microwave background," said astrophysicist Tom Shanks of Durham University in England. "All the results in dark energy and dark matter in cosmology hang on it, and that's why I'm interested in checking the results."Recently Shanks and his graduate student Utane Sawangwit went back to examine the WMAP data and used a different method to calibrate how much smoothing,or blurring, the telescope was causing to its images. This smoothing is an expected affect, akin to the way Earth's atmosphere blurs stars' light so they twinkle.Instead of using Jupiter as a calibration source, the way the WMAP team did, Shanks and Sawangwit used distant astronomical objects in the WMAP data itself that were emitting radio light."When we checked radio sources in the WMAP background, we found more smoothing than the WMAP team expected," Shanks told SPACE.com. "That would have big implications for cosmology if we were proven right."If this smoothing error is larger than thought, it could indicate that fluctuations measured in the intensity of the CMB radiation are actually smaller than they originally appeared. The size of these fluctuations is a key parameter used to support the existence of dark matter and dark energy. With smaller ripples, there would be no need to invoke exotic concepts like dark matter and dark energy to explain the CMB observations, Shanks said.The researchers will report their findings in an upcoming issue of the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.Others not so sure !Yet other astronomers, particularly those who first analyzed the WMAP results, remain unconvinced. "The WMAP team has carried out extensive checks and we unequivocally stand by our results," said WMAP principal investigator Charles Bennett of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md.The WMAP researchers take issue with Sawangwit and Shanks' use of dim, far-away radio sources to calculate the telescope's smoothing error."These are weak sources, so many of them must be averaged together to obtain useful measurements. None of them move with respect to the CMB," said WMAP team member Mark Halpern of the University of British Columbia. "This method is inferior to our main approach."Plus, Halpern said he and his colleagues had identified an error the other team made in failing to account for the confusing contribution of the CMB ripples themselves."We can obtain the Shanks result by omitting the step that properly accounts for the background confusion, but this step is necessary," Bennett explained.Back in this corner ...Yet Shanks said he's aware of these objections and stands by his calculations. "We don't think that's an issue," he said.Ultimately, Shanks hopes future measurements of the microwave background radiation from new telescopes will help clear up the issue.The European Space Agency's Planck spacecraft, launched into orbit in 2009, is currently taking new, even more detailed observations of the CMB. "I'm very interested to see what Planck gets in terms of its results," Shanks said. "And of course we will be there to try and keep everybody as honest aspossible. We're hoping we can use our methods in the same way to check their beam profile that they ultimately come up with."copyright space.com URLhttp://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/dark-matter-dark-energy-question-100613.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+spaceheadlines+%28SPACE.com+Headline+Feed%29CMB thumbnail X-ray Discovery Points to Location of Missing Matter Scientists using two X-ray telescopes (Chandra and XMM-Newton) have found evidence for the "missing matter" in the nearby Universe. This matter is made up of hot diffuse gas, which is known as WHIM (warm-hot intergalactic medium). To get this result, researchers analyzed X-ray light from a distant quasar that passed through a "wall" of galaxies about 400 million light years from Earth.Scientists have used NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and ESA's XMM-Newton to detect a vast reservoir of gas lying along a wall-shaped structure of galaxiesabout 400 million light years from Earth. In this artist's impression, a close-up view of the so-called Sculptor Wall is depicted. Spiral and elliptical galaxies are shown in the wall along with the newly detected intergalactic gas, part of the so-called Warm Hot Intergalactic Medium (WHIM), shown in blue. This discovery is the strongest evidence yet that the "missing matter" in the nearby Universe is located in an enormous web of hot, diffuse gas.The X-ray emission from WHIM in this wall is too faint to be detected, so instead a search was made for absorption of light from a bright background source by the WHIM, using deep observations with Chandra and XMM. This background source is a rapidly growing supermassive black hole located far beyond the wall at a distance of about two billion light years. This is shown in the illustration as a star-like source, with light traveling through the Sculptor Wall towards the Earth. The relative location of the background source, the Sculptor Wall, and the Milky Way galaxy are shown in a separate plot, where the view instead looks down on the source and the Wall from above.An X-ray spectrum of the background source is given in the inset, where the yellow points show the Chandra data and the red line shows the best model for the spectrum after including all of the Chandra and XMM data. The dip in X-rays towards the right side of the spectrum corresponds to absorption by oxygen atoms in the WHIM contained in the Sculptor Wall.The characteristics of the absorption are consistent with the distance of the Sculptor Wall as well as the predicted temperature and density of the WHIM.This result gives scientists confidence that the WHIM will also be found in other large-scale structures.This result supports predictions that about half of the normal matter in the local Universe is found in a web of hot, diffuse gas composed of the WHIM. Normal matter — which is different from dark matter -- is composed of the particles, such as protons and electrons, that are found on the Earth, in stars, gas, and so on. A variety of measurements have provided a good estimate of the amount of this "normal matter" present when the Universe was only a few billion years old. However, an inventory of the nearby Universe has turned up only about half as much normal matter, an embarrassingly large shortfall.COPYRIGHT : Chandra X Ray telescope URLhttp://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2010/h2356/chandra Donkere materie in kaart gebracht 26 april 2010Subaru Telescope Een internationaal team van sterrenkundigen heeft voor het eerst de verdeling van donkere materie in clusters van sterrenstelsels duidelijk in kaart gebracht. Uit hun onderzoek blijkt dat deze verdeling eerder de vorm van een rugbybal heeft dan die van een voetbal. En dat is precies wat op theoretische gronden werd verwacht. Bij het opsporen van de donkere materie, die zoals de naam als suggereert niet rechtstreeks waarneembaar is, is gebruik gemaakt van het zogeheten gravitatielenseffect. Dat effect is het gevolg van de licht-afbuigende werking van materie. Door heel nauwkeurig te onderzoeken hoe sterk een verre cluster van sterrenstelsels het licht van nog verder weg gelegen objecten afbuigt, kan worden vastgesteld hoe de materie in zo'n cluster is verdeeld. Op die manier hebben Japanse, Taiwanese en Britse sterrenkundigen met de Subaru-telescoop op Hawaï twintig clusters onderzocht. Daarbij is gebleken dat de verdeling van de donkere materie de vorm heeft van een afgeplatte bol. En dat is in overeenstemming met de heersende gedachte dat donkere materie uit zogeheten WIMP's bestaat: traag bewegende, zware deeltjes die een overblijfsel zijn van de oerknal. © Eddy Echternach (www.astronieuws.nl)COPYRIGHT ALLES OVER STERRENKUNDE EN SUBARU TELESCOPE !!URL http://allesoversterrenkunde.nl/nieuws/3918-Donkere-materie-in-kaart-gebracht.htmlURL SUBARU TELESCOPEhttp://www.subarutelescope.org/Pressrelease/2010/04/26/index.htmlfeat_beyondgalileo_diag_zoom Lightening the dark About 96% of the Universe is in the form of unknown matter and energy. The rest – only 4% – is the ‘ordinary matter’ that we are made of and that makes up all the planets, the stars and the galaxies we observe. The LHC experiments have the potential to discover new particles that could make up a large fraction of the Universe.In recent years, scientists have collected various evidence of the existence of a new type of matter in the Universe. They call it ‘dark’ because it does not emit or absorb electromagnetic radiation. "One of the main proofs of its existence comes from the measurement of the rotational speed of astronomical bodies in spiral galaxies", explains Gian Giudice, a member of CERN's Theory group and the author of "A Zeptospace Odyssey", a recent book on LHC physics aimed at the general public.According to the Newtonian laws of motion, this value varies as a function of the distance from the centre of the galaxy: more distant objects should rotate at a lower speed than those situated nearer the centre. However, back in the 1970s, astronomers found that outer stars move at a higher rotational speed than expected. “With such a velocity, the attractive gravitational force exerted by the observable mass would not be enough to keep those stars in the galaxy,and stars would simply escape”, continues Gian Giudice. Therefore, something must exist that keeps the galaxy together by exerting gravitational attraction."The second strong piece of evidence suggesting the existence of dark matter comes from the 'gravitational lensing' effect, in which galactic clusters bend the light coming from more distant objects. The way the light is deviated shows that the total mass contained in the clusters must be much larger than what we observe”, explains Giudice. Moreover, studies on the way in which the initial atoms and molecules formed in the Universe show that ordinary matter cannot account for more than 4% of the Universe. This fact allows scientists to exclude the possibility that invisible matter is made of massive objects such as Jupiter-sized planets. On the other hand, theory and observations do not exclude that dark matter is made of primordial black holes in which large amounts of matter could be trapped. However, this latter possibility seems very remote, and scientists tend to think that dark matter is made of a new type of particle.How could the LHC help enlighten physicists?"The yet undiscovered dark matter has to meet some requirements imposed by observations and theory", says Gian Giudice. "It has to be stable, it has to carry no charge, and it has to be relatively heavy”.Through studies on the evolution of the Universe, scientists have been able to infer the mass of the dark matter constituents, situating it between 100 GeV and 1 TeV (for reference, the mass of the proton is about 1 GeV). Interestingly enough, this is exactly the same mass range in which theories beyond the Standard Model anticipate the existence of new particles.“The LHC will explore exactly that range of energies. Therefore, if new particles exist, the LHC has a big chance of finding them”, confirms Gian Giudice. He adds: “The theoretical supersymmetric model suggests three possible candidates for dark matter: the neutralino, the gravitino and the sneutrino. However, it is important to note that supersymmetry is not the only possible scenario".Besides the whole plethora of possible alternative scenarios, even if the LHC experiments find evidence of new particles, it will not be possible to claim that they are the actual components of dark matter. For this, confirmation will be needed from other dedicated experiments.From deep inside the Earth to outer spaceOther experiments are searching for the elusive dark matter particles. Some of them, such as the CDMS experiment at the Soudan Underground Laboratory in Minnesota, and the XENON and DAMA experiments at the Gran Sasso Laboratory in Italy, are installed underground. Others, such as Pamela and Fermi (also at Gran Sasso), are in orbit around our planet.by Francesco PoppiCopyright CERN 2010 - CERN Publications, DG-COhttp://cdsweb.cern.ch/journal/CERNBulletin/2010/18/News%20Articles/1261775?ln=enbild_LHC_Cern Cosmic Dark Matter Clumps Into Cigar Shapes By Clara MoskowitzSPACE.com Senior Writerposted: 26 April 201003:09 pm ETElusive dark matter around clusters of galaxies often clumps into cigar shapes, new observations show.The discovery could help scientists finally understand what makes up dark matter, which is the mystifying stuff thought to exist invisibly all around us. Dark matter, which could be more than five times more abundant than visible matter, is only detectable through its gravitational pull on regular material.According to the new observations, the dark matter around many galaxy clusters is a flattened, cigar-like shape, rather than a rounded sphere."There are clear theoretical predictions that we expect dark mater haloes to be flattened like this," said study co-author Graham P. Smith of the U.K.'s University of Birmingham. "It's a very beautiful, very clean and direct measurement of that."Smith and the team, led by Masamune Oguri of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan and Masahiro Takada at the University of Tokyo, used a quirk of gravity called gravitational lensing to observe dark matter's gravitational effects on large collections of galaxies known as galaxy clusters. Gravitational lensing occurs when mass warps space-time, causing light to travel along a curved path when it passes by. The amount of curving can tell astronomers how massive celestial objects are.For this study, the researchers used the Prime Focus Camera on the Subaru Telescope on Mauna Kea in Hawaii to observe 20 galaxy clusters. They took advantage of gravitational lensing to create maps of the distribution of mass around the clusters, thus getting a peek into the secrets of dark matter."What we're probing with these gravitational lensing observations is the dark matter distribution, because the dark matter dominates the mass on these large scales," Smith told SPACE.com.The fact that the dark matter seems to be flattened out into oblong shapes fits in with the so-called cold dark matter theory. Computer simulations based on this theory have predicted such shapes, but they have never before been verified to such an extent with so many large clusters.The findings could shed light on the fundamental nature of this weird stuff, which scientists cannot detect directly. The observations support the possibility that dark matter is actually made of tiny particles called WIMPS (weakly-interacting massive particles) that exert a strong gravitational force, but otherwise don't interact with normal matter.The research will be detailed in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.Copyright SPACE.comhttp://www.SPACE.com/scienceastronomy/dark-matter-galaxy-clusters-100426.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+spaceheadlines+%28SPACE.com+Headline+Feed%29&utm_content=Google+Reader080923-galaxy-cluster-02 Distant Galaxies Unlock New Secrets of Dark Matter dark matterTo weigh the universe, scientists use two kinds of cosmic scales: one to measure all the regular matter out there, and another to deduce how much invisible dark matter remains hidden underneath.These calculations have been taken further than ever before by a new study that tallied both types of mass in smaller and more distant groups of galaxies than any previous projects. The project found that these faraway galactic clusters have roughly the same proportion of dark matter to regular matter as the closer galaxy groups do.The findings could help astronomers understand more about dark matter, as well as its even stranger sibling – dark energy.Invisible universeDark matter is a form of stuff that does not interact with light, so cannot be seen, but makes its presence felt by exerting a gravitational pull on normal matter.Astronomers measure how much dark matter lies in galaxies by a fluke of physics called gravitational lensing. This phenomenon, predicted by Einstein's theory of general relativity, causes light to curve as it flies through space-time that has been dented by the gravity of large bodies of mass. For example, groups of massive galaxies will gravitationally warp the space-time around them, forcing light to bend as it passes through, and causing them to look distorted when their light reaches our telescopes. Scientists can tell how much total mass there is by how much of this distortion occurs.Next, researchers calculate how much normal matter is in a cluster of galaxies by looking at its X-ray light, since the light must be coming from only the regular stars and gas that make up the cluster.Comparing these two calculations — the total matter to just the regular matter — gives a ratio astronomers call the mass-luminosity relation. So far, the mass-luminosity relation has been measured well for nearby, large galaxy clusters, but there has not been good enough X-ray data to probe farther or smaller, dimmer clusters of galaxies."We can map out the big cities, but no one's been able to map out the villages yet," said Alexie Leauthaud of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, Calif., leader of the new study.New rangesAstronomers used observations from the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton satellite and from NASA's Chandra satellite, as well as data from the Hubble Space Telescope's Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS). These ultra-high resolution photos allowed the scientists to extend the mass-luminosity relation further than ever before.With such dim objects, the gravitational lensing wasn't immediately apparent. So researchers used a statistical analysis to measure the orientation and shape of the galaxies to find small distortions due to so-called weak lensing.They found that the same general ratio of dark matter to normal matter prevailed in these distant, small clusters as for nearby, larger clusters."We didn't know what to expect going down to lower masses or [farther distances], and we find this nice simple relationship," Leauthaud told SPACE.com. "Now the aim is to find out why we find this nice, simple relationship."Dark energy enigmaThe finding may help shed light on an even more bizarre aspect of the universe — dark energy. Dark energy is the name given to whatever mysterious force is causing the universe to accelerate as it expands."We want to try to understand the properties of dark energy," Leauthaud said. "One way to measure properties of dark energy is to measure the number of structures that have formed for a given amount of dark matter."Dark energy basically works against gravity in a tug-of-war. While gravity constantly pulls mass inward, encouraging things to clump together and condense into smaller space, dark energy does the opposite. This force somehow pulls everything apart, causing everything in the universe to move away from everything else at ever-increasing speeds.When mass clumps together enough to form galaxies, it means that gravity has won on those scales, helping things to stick together despite the pull of dark energy. So the more astronomers can measure when and how structures formed in the universe, the better they can understand just how far dark energy's pull reaches.Copyright http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/dark-matter-galaxy-clusters-100126.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+spaceheadlines+%28SPACE.com+Headline+Feed%29&utm_content=Google+Reader Neutrino May Have Triggered Dark Energy 28122008 CompositionCosmos_550CompositionCosmos_550A new theory may explain the mysterious force that is causing our universe to expand at a faster and faster rate. By Irene Klotz \| Mon Dec 28, 2009 10:05 AM ET Seventy-five percent of the universe's mass and/or energy must be comprised of dark energy to explain the universe's observed rate of acceleration.NASA/CXC/UCLA/M. Muno et al.Could a neutrino -- an electrically neutral and nearly mass-free sibling to the electron -- have triggered dark energy, the anti-gravity force discovered just over a decade ago?That's the latest idea from a team of theoretical physicists who suggest that dark energy was created from neutrino condensate in the split second after the universe's birth 13.7 billion years ago.The idea sprang from calculations showing that the density of dark energy is comparable to the value of neutrino mass, said lead researcher Jitesh Bhatt, with the Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad, India.Dark energy, an unknown force that is accelerating the expansion of the universe, is the leading cosmological mystery of modern-day science.It was discovered in 1998 after astrophysicists noted that supernovae -- the exploded remains of massive stars -- showed an accelerated rate of expansion in the last 2 billion years or so when compared to older epochs. Explanations for dark energy fall into two basic camps: those theories that add a new physical entity or those that change the laws of gravity, said Eric Linder with the University of California at Berkeley."If you search for 'dark energy' in just the titles (of research papers) in the past year, you will find 200 speculations on what dark energy is," Linder wrote in an email to Discovery News. "There are a great many hypotheses for dark energy. Some ties to neutrinos have been considered for the last several years, but nothing substantial has yet come out of them."To account for the universe's observed rate of acceleration, 75 percent of the mass and/or energy of the universe has to be comprised of a gravitationally repulsive force, or dark energy.Scientists are developing several dark energy experiments, including the NASA/Department of Energy Joint Dark Energy Mission, in an attempt to refine dark energy measurements and reveal how it operates."It will take much more work before we can pin down the nature of dark energy," Bhatt said. "Without knowing the nature of the dark energy, our knowledge of theoretical physics would remain incomplete."Bhatt's research was published in last month's issue of Physical Review D.copyright http://news.discovery.com/videos/space-study-sheds-light-on-dark-energy.htmlCompositionCosmos_550 Mystery Swirls Around 'Dark Stars' By Charles Q. ChoiSPECIAL to SPACE.composted: 21 December 200908:21 am ETWhen the very first stars lit up, they may have been fueled by the dark matter that has long eluded scientists.These "dark stars," first born nearly 13 billion years ago, might still exist today. Although they would not shed any visible light, astronomers might detect these invisible giants — some 400 to 200,000 times wider than our sun and 500 to 1,000 times more massive — because they should spew gamma rays, neutrinos and antimatter and be linked with clouds of cold, molecular hydrogen gas that normally would not harbor such energetic particles.If scientists find these stars, they could aid the search to discover and identify dark matter. They could also help solve the mystery of why black holes formed much faster than expected.Scientists think unseen, as-yet unidentified dark matter makes up about 95 percent of all matter in the universe. They know it exists because galaxies rotate faster than can be explained by the visible matter within them. Among the main candidates for what dark matter is are WIMPs, or weakly interacting massive particles. One type of WIMP that scientists theorize exists is called a neutralino. These particle can annihilate each other, generating heat. They would also produce quarks and their antimatter counterparts, antiquarks, which would collide to emit gamma rays, neutrinos and antimatter such as positrons and antiprotons.The researchers calculated that in the newborn universe, some 80 to 100 million years after the Big Bang, as proto-stellar clouds of hydrogen and helium tried to cool and shrink, annihilating neutralinos would have kept them hot and large. The result might be dark stars, fueled by dark matter instead of nuclear energy as in normal stars. These would have been made up largely of normal matter, mostly in the form of hydrogen and helium, but would be vastly larger and fluffier than the sun and current stars."It's a completely new type of star with a new power source," said researcher Katherine Freese, a theoretical physicist at the University of Michigan.Originally researcher Paolo Gondolo, a particle astrophysicist at the University of Utah, wanted to dub these new, theoretical kinds of invisible stars "brown giants," similar to dim but smaller, Jupiter-sized stars known as "brown dwarfs." But he said his collaborators insisted on calling them "dark stars," after the song "Dark Star" first played in 1967 by the revered rock band The Grateful Dead. "There is a dark star song by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, too, that we had in mind," Freese said."It was a good name," Gondolo noted. Although dark stars are made up of less than 1 percent dark matter, "it's very important," he explained. "It converts all of its mass to energy with 100 percent efficiency, under Einstein's equation, E=mc2. Normal stars that rely on nuclear energy convert just a small fraction of its mass to energy, 1 or 2 percent."There was initially skepticism as to whether dark matter densities were high enough in the early universe to support the creation of dark stars. "However, we've checked it and so have two other groups, and they agree with us," Freese said. Dark stars could be detected with the next-generation James Webb Space Telescope currently scheduled for launch in 2014. "It may be that these stars eventually cluster together, and clusters of them might be visible with the James Webb Space Telescope," Gondolo said.If scientists do discover dark stars, "they would tell us a very important thing — that dark matter is made of elementary particles," Gondolo said. "At this moment, we know absolutely nothing about what dark matter is made of. We know where dark matter is, how much is there, but we don't know its nature."Dark stars might also explain why black holes formed much faster than expected. Astronomers have found black holes that existed only a few hundred million years after the Big Bang, yet current theories suggest they should have taken longer to form. Dark stars might have collapsed into black holes very early, Gondolo said, because they might be very short-lived and could have formed when the universe was young.In addition, dark stars could solve a puzzle seen with stars in the galactic halo, the murky, roughly spherical part of the galaxy extending past the main, visible component. "There's an abundance of elements in the very old halo stars that's hard to explain, and dark stars can explain that — they would end up creating the chemical abundances needed," Gondolo said.It is unlikely any dark stars are being formed today, Freese said."The early universe was more compact than it is now, and everything was denser, including the amount of dark matter one had at any one place," she explained. "Now the universe has expanded and things are less dense, making it harder to make dark stars today."It remains uncertain just how long dark stars might live, Freese said."The ones that formed in the early universe could have continued as long as they had dark matter to power them," Freese said. "They start at the center of dark matter 'halos' — giant spherical globes of dark matter — and these are always merging with other ones, so some might have burned out their dark matter fuel very early and become either normal stars or collapsed, but it remains an open question if any have survived until now."copyright : Space,com http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/091221-mm-dark-stars.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+spaceheadlines+%28SPACE.com+Headline+Feed%29&utm_content=Google+ReaderDark Star
100 Do's and Don'ts in Web Design Part 4 Don't use blink The tag <blink> should never have been introduced to HTML. Blinking text is irritating, it offends your readers. Don't use it. Don't use columns for text You can show your text in 2 or more columns. This can be implemented with tables or with the not official tag <multicol> The result is newspaper-column like page. But columns have a large drawback on a screen. It takes more up-and-down scrolling to read the text, especially if it's a large page. Avoid using columns this way. Don't use small serif letters Serif letters are developed for printing. They don't look good on a computer screen. At least not in smaller fonts. You should avoid these letters, especially if the serif is tiny, like Times. Don't use all capitals It takes more time to read text that consists of only capitals. Besides, using all capitals is the online equivalent of shouting. Don't overuse bold text Bold text is meant to give some focus to a part of your text. Don't put whole paragraphs in bold. It has the same effect as shouting. Keep focus - and bold text - short and functional. Don't overuse italics Text in italic is hard to read on a screen. The resolution of a screen just isn't capable to present italics without distorting them slightly. This is even more noticeable if you use a small font. So don't use italics for larger portions of your text. Don't use small fonts Don't use small fonts (font size smaller than 4). Small letters are hard to read and that's even worse on a computer screen. Don't use too many fonts Using all kinds of fonts on one page - or in one site - is a very bad typographical practice. Unless you run an online font-archive. Do use punctuation Present information surveyable. Present it in small chunks. Use headings to separate them. Use lists to avoid long textual summing ups. Don't hide your links The default color settings of links is pretty standard. You can change link colors. But if you do you'll have to be sure that links can be recognized. Don't let those fancy colors hide your links. Do use all lowercase or all uppercase links Many browsers discriminate between differences in case. Even if your server doesn't, don't rely on it. If you'll need to move to another server you will be happy if all your links still function. The easiest way to accomplish this is to use links consequently all lowercase or all uppercase. Do separate adjacent textual links If you place textual links horizontally be sure to separate them clearly. With spaces, a vertical line, bracket, whatever. The point is that it must be clear to a visitor where a link starts and where it ends. Do limit the size of predefined text Predefined text (between the tags <pre> and </pre>) cannot be wrapped. If you use it be sure to limit the size, especially the width. Otherwise your visitors might need to scroll horizontally to read the text. Do limit the width of text Reading full width text on a full screen browser is quite terrible. The lines of text get too long; giving you a headache reading them. Limit the width of text-lines using tables, blockquotes etc. Do use textual dates Probably you do use dates. For instance to show the most recent update of your site. But it's a world wide web. Do keep in mind that 02-03-2000 will be the second of March or the third of February, depending on the country your visitor comes from. If you use text for your month, like March 2, 2000 the date will be correctly interpreted. Do provide a visual e-mail address The mailto: trick is great. Start the e-mail-application right from the webpage. But it only works if your visitor uses an integrated e-mail application. For all the others provide a readable e-mail-address. Do use transparency The presentation of images often improves by giving the images a transparent backgroundcolor. They'll better integrate visually with the background. Do use interlacing Interlace larger GIF-images. The visitor will get a quick feedback while the image is still loading. For very small images - like bullets - interlacing makes no sense but in all other cases it does. Don't use too many images Too many images slows down your site. Don't chase your visitors away; limit the number of images. Do make your graphics reproducible If you create your own graphics make them reproducible. You might need another one of the same kind, so be sure to write down all the effects and the parameters you've used to create the graphics. Do break up images If you use large images you can break them up in several parts. You can combine the parts in the webpage to form the original image. Doing so the image-parts can be downloaded parallel, thus reducing download time. Don't use PNG (yet) PNG is a great format for graphics and will eventually replace GIF. But right now many browsers are in use that don't support PNG. For the time being stick to GIF and JPEG. Do combine background-images and background-colors Even if you do use a background-image, still provide a background-color. The background-color should approximately be the main color of the image. If text has a color that contrasts with the background-image, it will still be readable before the background-image is loaded. Do use a browser safe palette Use a browser safe palette for your colors. This will prevent colors from dithering on older monitors. Don't use too many colors You have access to 16 million colors. Be selective - don't try to use them all. Too many colors distract form what you're trying to say. Don't override only one standard color If you override a standard color, be sure to override them all. Your visitor has her own color settings. If you change i.e. only the fontcolor to darkblue, text might become unreadable on a dark background. So be sure also to change the backgroundcolor. 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Tuesday, 18 March 2014 Sunday, 9 March 2014 Arabic Language FAQ Here are the most common FAQ about Arabic language: Learning Arabic: 1. How hard is Arabic? That depends on a lot of things, like what your native language is; for example, if you’re a Hebrew speaker, Arabic will be easier for you than it would be if you were a native speaker of Spanish. But for native English speakers, Arabic is objectively a difficult language, largely because it’s just so different from English. This page sums up the difficulties of learning Arabic for native English speakers pretty well. The State Department’s Foreign Service Institute ranks Arabic as a “category 3″ language (“exceptionally difficult for native English speakers”), along with Chinese, Korean, and Japanese. So, depending on your native language, how much experience you have with learning languages, and so forth, Arabic can definitely be a difficult language. But the important thing is motivation — if you really want to learn it and are willing to work at it, you can do it. You have to invest a lot more time and effort into learning Arabic than you would with Indo-European languages, so many people give up early. But like I said, if you have the desire to learn, that’ll make everything else easier. The Arabic alphabet does seem intimidating at first — all those squiggles, and it goes from right to left! And then there are all those letters like ح ,ج, and خ that are the same except for the dots. But if you just sit down, focus, and go through it systematically, it’s easy to learn in just a few days. (And you can comfort yourself with the fact that at least Arabic does have an alphabet, unlike, say, Chinese!) Pronunciation can be difficult for a native English speaker — letters like ع ,ح, and غ may be hard to produce at first. But that sort of stuff will get easier with practice. What complicates things a bit is the fact that short vowels are usually not indicated in writing outside of the Qur’an and children’s books. This makes things pretty difficult when you’re just starting out and have no way of knowing, just from unvoweled text, the correct pronunciation for words you’re unfamiliar with. For example, looking at the word فلفل, you would see “f-l-f-l” and not know what vowels come in between those letters. The good news is, this gets easier with time and practice. And if you memorize the verb forms (more on them below), that really helps in figuring out the correct pronunciations for lots of words. A lot of people have trouble with Arabic grammar, especially at the beginning of their studies — it’s systematic but complex, and the case endings can be difficult to handle, particularly if you’re not already used to a language like Russian or Latin. Also, one irritating thing is the broken plurals; while some nouns take regular plurals, many have completely irregular plurals. However, there are patterns of broken plurals, and if you memorize enough words with their plurals, you can eventually internalize the patterns just through the practice, and be able to guess plurals intuitively. As far as vocabulary goes, there are only a tiny number of cognates, which does make it harder to pick up a newspaper and immediately recognize words (as you could with, say, French). Also, the vocabulary is very rich; there are many synonyms and words with similar general meanings but different usages/connotations. As I’ve gotten further on in my Arabic studies, I’ve found that after you develop a good base of grammar knowledge, it’s the endless vocabulary that continues to pose a challenge. Stylistically Arabic is also complicated; it’s quite common for sentences to go on for a paragraph, so that by the time you reach the end you have to remind yourself what the original subject of the sentence was! The Arabic writing style is also a lot more “flowery” than the way English is usually written. So writing in Arabic is quite different from writing in English, and it takes a lot of practice to write in a smooth, natural style. And then there’s the diglossia issue: the divide between the standard Arabic that’s written and the Arabic people actually speak, which varies from place to place. You can think of the different dialects in terms of American, British, and Australian English, albeit with more differences. 2. What’s the root system? Most Arabic words are derived from a three-letter root that connotes a general meaning. (There are some four-letter roots, but they’re quite rare.) The usual example given is d-r-s, which has to do with studying. So the form 1 verb درس darasa means “to study,” while the form 2 verb درّس darrasa means “to teach”; درس dars means “lesson,” مدرسة madrasa means “school,” and مدرّسmudarris means “teacher.” And so forth; you can derive tons of words with related meanings from a single root. It’s really quite helpful; if you come across an unfamiliar word but recognize the root, you can use that knowledge to make a good guess at the meaning. 3. What are the verb forms? Every trilateral Arabic root can (theoretically) be transformed into one of fifteen possible verb forms (أوزان awzaan). Each root has a general meaning (like “leaving,” for example), and when you add a specific combination of letters to transform the root into one of the verb forms, that alters the meaning (like “making someone leave”). See below: Most Arabic words are derived from a three-letter (trilateral) root. And each trilateral Arabic root can theoretically be transformed into one of fifteen possible verb forms (الأوزان, al-awzaan). (Forms 11 through 15 are very rare, so people usually just focus on forms 1 through 10, although 9 is also pretty rare). Each form has a basic meaning associated with the general meaning of the root being used. Here’s a more detailed breakdown, using فعل (fa3ala, to do) as an example. (This is all taken from old handouts I got at the AUC, so it’s not my original work.) Form 1 - فعل (fa3ala) Expresses the general verbal meaning of the root in question RootForm 1 verb خ ر ج (x-r-j) – leaving, departingخرج (xaraja) – to leave, go out ج م ع (j-m-3) – joining, unitingجمع (jama3a) – to gather, collect ع م ل (3-m-l) – doing, makingعمل (3amala) – to work, to do, to make ق ط ع (q-T-3) – cuttingقطع (qaTa3a) – to cut, cut off ب ع د (b-3-d) – separating, distanceبعد (ba3ada) – to be far from Form 2 - فعّل (fa33ala) Built on form 1 by doubling the middle radical of the form 1 verb (adding a shadda to it) Often is a causative version of the form 1 verb خرج (xaraja) means “to go out”; خرّج (xarraja) means “to make (s.o.) go out; to graduate (s.o.)” Often an intensive version of the form 1 verb (especially if the form 1 verb is transitive) جمع (jama3a) means “to collect, gather”; جمّع (jamma3a) means “to amass, to accummulate” Form 3 - فاعل (faa3ala) Built on form 1 by adding an alif between the first and second radicals of the form 1 verb Usually gives an associative meaning to the form 1 verb; describes someone doing the act in question to or with someone else عمل (3amala) means “to work”; عامل (3aamala) means “to treat or deal with (s.o.)” Form 4 - أفعل (af3ala) Built on form 1 by prefixing an alif to the form 1 verb and putting a sukuun over the first radical Similar to form 2 in that it is usually a causative version of the form 1 verb خرج (xaraja) means “to go out”; خرّج (xarraja) means “to graduate (s.o.)”; أخرج (axraja) means “to expel, to evict; to produce” Form 5 - تفعّل (tafa33ala) Built on form 2 by adding the prefix تـ to the form 2 verb Often a reflexive version of the form 2 verb خرّج (xarraja) means “to graduate (s.o.)”; تخرج (taxarraja) means “to graduate” (Note: form 5 is usually intransitive) Sometimes an intensive version of a form 1 verb جمع (jama3a) means “to collect, gather”; تجمّع (tajamma3a) means “to congregate, to flock together” Form 6 - تفاعل (tafaa3ala) Built on form 3 by adding the prefix تـ to the form 3 verb Usually a reflexive version of the form 3 verb عامل (3aamala) means “to treat or deal with (s.o.)”; تعامل (ta3aamala) means “to deal with each other” (Form 6 is usually intransitive) Form 7 - انفعل (infa3ala) Built on form 1 by adding the prefix انـ to the form 1 verb Usually a reflexive and/or passive version of the form 1 verb قطع (qaTa3a) means “to cut, to cut off”; انقطع (inqaTa3a) means “to be cut off (from); to abstain (from)” Form 8 - افتعل (ifta3ala) Built on form 1 by adding the prefix ا to the form 1 verb and placing a sukuun must be placed over its first radical Often a reflexive version of the form 1 verb جمع (jama3a) means “to collect, gather”; اجتمع (ijtama3a) means “to meet; to agree (on)” Sometimes has a specially derived meaning relative to a form 1 verb بعد (ba3ada) means “to be far away”; ابتعد (ibta3ada) means “to avoid” Form 9 - افعلّ (if3alla) Built on form 1 by adding the prefix ا to the form 1 verb, placing a sukuun over its first radical, and adding a shadda to the last radical Relates to colors ح م ر (H-m-r) relates to “redness”; احمرّ (iHmarra) means “to become or turn red” Form 10 - استفعل (istaf3ala) Built on form 1 by adding the prefix استـ to the form 1 verb and inserting a ت between the first and second radicals; a sukuun must be placed over the first radical Often a considerative version of the form 1 verb; means “to consider or to deem someone to have the quality” of the form 1 verb in question بعد (ba3ada) means “to be far away”; استبعد (istab3ada) means “to consider s.o. or s.t. remote or unlikely” Often a requestive version of a form 1 verb; means “to request or to seek something” for oneself عمل (3amala) means “to make; to do”; استعمل (ista3mala) means “to use, to put into operation” (that is, to seek to make something work for oneself) And here’s a table of all the verb forms, including their perfect and imperfect conjugations (الماضي والمضارع), active and passive participles (اسم الفاعل واسم المفعول), and verbal nouns (المصدر). Because they’re all regular and predictable (with the exception of form 1 – the second vowel in the imperfect and perfect conjugations, and the verbal noun), if you just memorize them, you’ll know them for almost every verb there is. So if you’re learning Arabic, I suggest you memorize all the verb forms along with their associated meanings as soon as you can; it’ll really come in handy. المصدراسم المفعولاسم الفاعلالمضارعالماضي مُفاعَلَة or فِعالمُفاعَلمُفاعِليُفاعِلُفاعَلَ3 4. Which dialect should I learn? That really depends. If you have a special interest in a particular part of the Arab world, or if you have friends or family from a certain area, go ahead and learn that dialect — although if you’re interested in, say, Morocco or Algeria, just keep in mind that Arabs outside the Maghreb cannot understand these dialects in their “pure” form. (The first time Ahmed Ben Bella spoke to the Arab League, he had to do so in French, because nobody could understand his Algerian dialect!) If you want to learn 3ammiyya but have no real leaning towards one variety or another, I would recommend Egyptian or Levantine Arabic. Egyptian is the most widely understood dialect, thanks to the well-established music, TV, and film industry there; Egyptian media is popular enough that no matter where you go in the Arab world, you’ll keep hearing Egyptian Arabic on TV and the radio. So if you learn Egyptian Arabic, people all over the Arab world will be able to understand you easily. Levantine Arabic is the next most widely understood dialect after Egyptian. Thanks to the popularity of Lebanese music, Syrian musalsalaat, and so on, the Levantine dialect is well-understood in the Arab world. Gulf Arabic is not as widely understood outside the Khaliij, though, and as for Maghrebi Arabic, Arabs from the Maghreb generally have to modify their speech significantly to be understood when talking to other Arabs (see the next question). Since this is harder for non-native speakers to do, I would recommend choosing a dialect that’s easily understood throughout the Arab world like Egyptian or Levantine. 5. How can I read Arabic fonts and write in Arabic on my computer? Here’s how to enable Arabic on Windows. Mac users can use this information to enable Arabic support. If you want to be able to type in Arabic without going through any of those steps, you can use this online Arabic keyboard, which you can also use to learn the Arabic keyboard layout. For really exhaustive information on enabling Arabic for Windows, this webpage covers just about everything. For more information please Do not hesitate to contact us by emailing us on info@arabiclearly.co.uk or fill the form on the right side of this page, and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
Vietnamese doctors reduce body temperature therapy to save unconscious patient For the very first time, Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi succeeded in applying technique to reduce temperature of patient who are unconscious and stop breathing to save lives and reduce brain damage. The technique of reducing patients’ body temperature and cooling the brain has proved to work well in restoring unconscious patients’ awareness and improve patient's movement towards function. Dr. Nguyen Van Chi, deputy head of the hospital’s Emergency Room, said that 82 year old Nguyen Thi X in the northern province of Yen Bai was taken to the hospital when she stopped breathing and her heart stropped beating. Soon medical workers provided treatment to the patient. However, just her heartbeat and her blood pressure improved and she was still unconscious due to her brain damaged due to lack of oxygen. Doctors decided to reduce her body temperature to protect her brain. The therapy can also reduce the risk of severe brain damage, which can occur when blood flow to the brain is disturbed. The unconscious person has their body temperature reduced from 37C to between 32C and 34C for 12 to 24 hours afterwards. The patient was put in a drug-induced coma in intensive care for 24 hours before gradually being warmed back up to normal temperature. Three days, the patient’s regained consciousness. She could open her mouth following doctors’ requirement. Dr. Chi said that the therapy will work well to save patients suffering from Cerebrovascular accident or brain damage due to injuries. The therapy was used widely in the world. As per evidence, the therapy to lower unconscious patients’ body temperature can decrease the fatality rate to 14 percent and the rate of brain damage to 11 percent. Since May, 2015 the Emergency Room has applied the brain cooling therapy to save 10 patients. By KN – Translated by Uyen Phuong Other news Most view Hanoi stresses with dengue as infections rise Hanoi stresses with dengue as infections rise Hanoi has recorded over 17,365 dengue infections with seven deaths since the beginning of the year, Deputy head of the Hanoi Department of Health Hoang Duc Hanh said.
Post Thumb With today’s electronic instrumentation, it is possible to combine close interval potential surveys (CIPS) with direct current voltage gradient surveys (DCVG) of buried and underwater pipelines for improved accuracy in assessing the level of cathodic protec tion combined with locating coating defects without spatial errors. Modern electronic survey instruments are capable of stamping each reading with the time, date and submetre GPS coordinates. This provides information for accurate mapping of the pipe line location, current state of the cathodic protection system, and further allows personnel to accurately locate areas requiring excavation for coating repair. This paper will show by example how combined CIPS and DCVG surveys undertaken to NACE standards are of benefit to pipeline operators in ensuring cost and time-effective integrity management of their pipeline systems. Sophisticated survey (DCVG) and local data logger instrument equipped with a GPS engine that can accurately measure the rectifier ON and OFF potential at each reading stamped with GPS coordinates, distance UTC time. Beside its logging features it is powerful and an accurate equipment for detecting and tracking the escaping currents of pipelines by using its barcode display option in DCVG mode. Applications : 1. Accurate location of coating faults to within centimetres. 2. Approximate severity of coating faults which is closely related to size of coating damage. 3. Determine the degree of protection of steel exposed at coating faults. 4. Determine the approximate shape of coating fault particularly ruffling in tapes and crown cracking in coal tar. 5. Identify faults taking abnormal amounts of Cathodic Protection (CP) current. 6. Identify coating faults close to CP power sources that are taking abnormal amounts of CP current. 7. Recognise and locate interference from foreign structures. 8. Recognise and locate interference from foreign CP systems. 9. Identify coating faults picking up or discharging DC Traction Interference. 10. Identify Optimum location of where to site DC Traction Drainage Bonds. 11. Test the functional ability of Insulating Flanges and Joints (expressed as % efficiency of insulation). 12. Test the functional ability of pipeline support insulators. 13. Recognise without excavation the failure of field joints because of the regular spacing of coating faults. 14. Identify the quality of field bends on buried pipelines. 15. Assess the quality of protective coatings on valves and other pipeline components. 16. Assess the quality of the coating repair at CP cable attachments to pipelines. 17. Identify cable shorts inside metal test posts. 18. Identify which cable is attached to which pipe in a multi-pipeline CP test post. 19. Identify the extent of effectiveness of CP system along a pipeline, i.e. the throw of CP system. 20. Identify where a coating fault gets its CP from and as a result what happens to the degree of protection of a coating fault if a CP transformer rectifiers become inoperative. 21. Pipelines in complex pipeline networks such as under city streets, within process plant tank farms (fire water mains, etc.) 22. Pipelines under concrete or under asphalt roads can be surveyed. 23. Ground beds can be located. 24. Lazy or defective anodes can be located within a shallow horizontal or vertical anode groundbed. 25. Field effect from anode bed can be assessed. 26. From the rate of decay of the pulsed DCVG signal amplitude, areas of greater coating failure can be more readily recognized for closer study. 27. By studying the direction of current flow to faults the applied CP can be adjusted to ensure all faults are receiving adequate Cathodic Protection. 28. DCVG technology can be used on pipelines that cross rivers or estuaries, also on sea outfall pipes. 29. Lazy sacrificial anodes can be identified. Sacrificial anodes can also be located by DCVG technology. 30. DCVG technology can be applied to pipelines carrying all types of fluids, also to armoured electricity and telephone cables to identify damage to the outer protective coating on the armour sheathing. 31. Identify direct shorts inside steel casing pipes. Identify if casing has water shorting out carrier pipe.
Bunker passage Ciconia Bunker was a secret bunker that was constructed in 1954 to 1971 in the mountain near Ciconia. The bunker now is a museum. History of Ciconia BunkerEdit Ciconia Bunker was built in 1954 to 1971 near Ciconia. In case there was an attack in Juliana or a nuclear attack in Yugoslavia or Italy the most important goverment and military people could be safe in the bunker. Inside the bunker there are communications centers, meeting rooms and even a bedroom which was for the Prime Minister, Anton Berčič. Inside the bunker they had type-writers, telephones and a big old computer of the 1980's that was modern in that period. After Juliana became a democratic country the bunker was closed, but in 1990 it became a museum. Ad blocker interference detected!
Absalom, Absalom! Quiz \| Eight Week Quiz B Buy the Absalom, Absalom! Lesson Plans Name: _________________________ Period: ___________________ Multiple Choice Questions 1. Where is Sutpen's architect from? (a) Jefferson. (b) Spain. (c) New Orleans. (d) Martinique. 2. What military conflict has Miss Coldfield lived through? (a) The Civil War. (b) World War II. (c) The Spanish-American War. (d) World War I. 3. When Thomas Sutpen comes to Jefferson, what does the town notice that is strange about his appearance? (a) He is missing a leg. (b) He looks as if he had been ill. (c) He is extremely short. (d) He is wearing a brand-new suit. 4. Why is Quentin Compson going to leave Jefferson in the fall? (a) To get married. (b) To enlist in the Civil War. (c) To move to New Orleans. (d) To attend Harvard. (a) She is his aunt. (b) She is his step-sister. (c) She is his teacher. (d) They are neighbors. Short Answer Questions 1. Where is Ellen Sutpen at the time of Rosa's story? 2. In Chapter 2, which characters are talking about the story of Thomas Sutpen? 3. What do Ellen and Judith do in Jefferson for entertainment? 4. In what year does Stupen's marriage take place? 5. What is Rosa preparing as a wedding gift for Judith? (see the answer key) This section contains 254 words (approx. 1 page at 300 words per page) Buy the Absalom, Absalom! Lesson Plans Follow Us on Facebook
Nov 29, 2012 Epigenesis is the effect of the environment on which genes express. The genes that express are a function of our diet and other environmental influences. In our diet they are affected by three hormones. Insulin controls the glucose level in the blood. Leptin responds to the amount of fat on our body, and Mtor responds to the amount of protein in the diet. Natural selection is designed to select those individuals who survive to pass on the information in the genes through reproduction. Once reproduction and raising children are complete, there is no selective advantage to living longer. In humans there are two main sets of genetic expression which result from conditions of food abundance in the environment. The first environment condition is in times of abundance when there is plenty of carbohydrate and/or protein available. The genes selected during this period favor immediate reproduction as the offspring have the best chances of survival. After reproduction there is no secretive advantage to the parent living much longer past child rearing. The second environmental condition occurs in times of scarcity when carbohydrate is unavailable and protein is merely at a survival level. Nature then selects the genetic expression which favors repair, maintenance, and living longer, so that reproduction can take place in the future when conditions are more favorable. Realizing this epigenetic principle allows modern man to adjust his diet to favor longevity and health. This has been well researched by Dr. Ron Rosedale and consists of a diet with very low carbs and very moderate protein (about 1 gram per kg of lean body mass). Studies by Dr. Rosedale and others have indicated that the bio markers of one following this way of eating match the bio markers of people living over 100 years. In the centenarians they just inherited that genetic expression, while eating a low carb ketogenic diet can actually result in expressions of the same genes. Research shows we now have a choice to live healthy and long lives.
The Schooldays of Jesus“What is it that we lack when we lack nothing, when we are sufficient unto ourselves? What is it that we miss when we are not in love?” “The Schooldays of Jesus”, J. M. Coetzee’s allegorical tale, raises many metaphysical questions. David is six years old and is newly arrived in fictional Estrella with his parents Inés and Simón. They are fugitives, having violated the law by pulling David out of school due to behavioral issues and fleeing the town of Novilla. Coetzee does not tell us the geographic location of Estrella or Novilla. All we really know about either place is that Spanish is the most commonly spoken language. Simón describes Estrella as: “A city criss-crossed by the paths of immigrants: if they did not all live in hope, if they did not each have their quantum of hopefulness to add to the great sum, where would Estrella be?” In “The Childhood of Jesus”, the precursor to The Schooldays of Jesus, Simón meets parent-less and nameless David on a boat, names him, arranges for Inés to be David’s mother and they form a family. Throughout The Schooldays of Jesus, Inés and Simón question their own relationship, while David questions whether they are actually a family. David periodically announces that Simón and Inés are not his parents and the novel delves into the nature of family through its various characters and their relationships. Upon arriving in Estrella, Inés and Simón go to work in an orchard where David spends time with the children of the other workers. The orchard is owned by three unmarried sisters who take a liking to David and offer to pay his tuition to go to the Academy of Dance. Inés and Simón visit the Academy of Dance where they are told that “It is an academy devoted to the training of the soul through music and dance.” Although wishing for a more traditional education for David, the skeptical Inés and Simón enroll him. The school is run by the young and beautiful Ana Magdalena Arroyo and her rarely present, musical genius husband, Juan Sebastian Arroyo. The school also takes boarders and a limited number of students live with the Arroyos. The Academy of Dance is situated next to an art museum, where a disheveled and unpleasant gentleman named Dmitri serves as the Principal Attendant. Dmitri also helps out at the Academy and is passionately in love with the beautiful Ana Magdalena. After enrolling in the Academy David decides he wants to become a boarder and moves in with the Arroyos. He becomes an excellent dancer, but refuses to dance for Simón because “you don’t believe in it.” The ability to transcend the here and now through arts (dance) and the need for a higher level of spirituality, and perhaps morality (described as the soul) to attain that transcendence is a constant thread throughout the book. “It is the soul that brings grace to the dance, the soul that follows the rhythm, each step instinct with the next step and the next.” Dmitri commits a violent act and lands in jail. Through his trial the novel also raises the issue of what is justice. “…it is the mission of the court to rehabilitate offenders, but how far should the court exert itself to rehabilitate an offender who does not want to be rehabilitated…” The novel has a nightmarish surreal quality, attained through quirky dialogue, sketchy landscapes and intentionally superficial character development. Simón, a not quite here and now character, is referred to as he, or him throughout the novel, emphasizing the emptiness and uncertainty he feels, making him inaccessible to the reader. The novel raises many philosophical questions without making any effort to answer them. If you are a Coetzee fan, as I am, this is a must read. If you are not a Coetzee fan, this is probably not the place to start. You can reserve this book at the Cuyahoga County Public Library by clicking on
Cover preview: In Canada, justice is not blind A Maclean’s investigation that spanned nine months has uncovered a system designed to put Indigenous Canadians in jail—and keep them there maccov02_29_16In an investigation that spanned nine months into how Canada’s justice system treats Indigenous peoples, Maclean’s travelled across the country, visiting prisons, jails, bail courts and First Nations courts, and speaking with lawyers, judges, inmates and hundreds of Indigenous people about their treatment by police, legal, judicial and penal authorities. It uncovered a system that appears to put as many Indigenous people in prison as legally possible and appears designed to keep them there. While admissions of white adults to Canadian prisons declined through the last decade, Indigenous incarceration rates were surging: Up 112 per cent for women. Already, 36 per cent of the women and 25 per cent of men sentenced to provincial and territorial custody in Canada are Indigenous—a group that makes up just four per cent of the national population. This helps explain why prison guard jobs are among the fastest-growing public occupation on the Prairies. And why criminologists have begun quietly referring to Canada’s prisons and jails as the country’s “new residential schools.” Also from Nancy Macdonald: Indigenous women share their stories of resilience In the past decade, the federal government passed more than 30 new crime laws, hiking punishment for a wide range of crimes, limiting parole opportunities and also broadening the grounds used to send young offenders to jail. At the same time, it has been ignoring calls to reform biased correctional admissions tests, bail and other laws disproportionately impacting Indigenous offenders. Instead, it appears to be incarcerating as many Indigenous people as possible, for as long as legally possible, with far-reaching consequences for Indigenous families. From 2015: Winnipeg, a microcosm of Canada’s race problem But the problem isn’t just new laws. Although police “carding” in Toronto has put street checks, which disproportionately target minority populations, under the microscope, neither is racial profiling alone to blame. At every step, discriminatory practices and a biased system work against an Indigenous accused, from the moment a person is first identified by police, to their appearance before a judge, to their hearing before a parole board. The evidence is unambiguous: If you happen to be Indigenous, justice in Canada is not blind. “What we are doing is using our criminal justice system to defend ourselves from the consequence of our own racism,” says Toronto criminal lawyer John Struthers, who cut his legal teeth as a Crown attorney in remote, northern communities. Rather than treat trauma, addictions, he says, “we keep the doors closed.” Read the full story, and much more, in the latest issue of Maclean’s. Available now for tablet and mobile readers on our new Maclean’s app on Apple Newsstand and Google Play, on Texture by Next Issue, and soon on newsstands everywhere. Cover preview: In Canada, justice is not blind 1. Isn’t it just possible that aboriginal people commit a large number of crimes, more than other people? We recently had two murders of Mac store clerks in our city, murders done by two young aboriginal men, murders of two family men who had done nothing except be in the store at the wrong time.l It appears to me that aboriginal criminals get lighter sentences than other criminals, just because they are aboriginal. I feel that if you do the crime, you should be punished, no matter your race. • Lois, I think you are correct. In Toronto where carding was viewed as racist, if you look at the data regarding who were disproportionately committing crimes it showed that the majority of those had black skin. So the police were actually using hard data to determine who they stopped and checked not racism. Wherever there is low education and high unemployment, those who live in those environments will be involved in excessive crimes. Those issues exist in spades in both aboriginal and black communities. • This argument never seems to get addressed properly. I think people sense that it’s just another form of racism to suggest that more crime = more [jail] time, but doesn’t the suggestion that crime is more rampant in poverty stricken areas kind of indicate that it’s poverty, not racism, that’s taking the hit? Not all minority groups stranded in depressed areas tend to commit crimes, but that’s an entirely different conversation. Maybe we should have it sometime. • It’s possible for both to be true. It’s possible that certain minority groups commit more crime, likely as a result of their socioeconomic circumstances which are in turn the result of racism, explicit and systemic. Simultaneously, it is possible that the justice system is biased against these same groups. It’s even possible that the way the justice system mistreats people in these groups exacerbates the socioeconomic conditions that then lead to future interactions with the justice system. • Let’s be fair and wait for the full article to come out. While I am skeptical of this claim (and even more skeptical that Maclean’s will present it in a fair and balanced manner), I’m willing to keep an open mind and reserve judgement until after they have made their case. 2. What about Gladue rights whereby it is recognized that First Nations people are way over represented in the penial system and therefore, judges try to find alternate sentences so that they do not have serve time in prison. For instance, they can return to the reservation and serve time there. Are you saying the Gladue rights are not being used? 4. This is like the Macleans Story about Winnipeg being the most racist city in Canada. What Macleans failed to consider however, is that perhaps the people of Winnipeg were just tired of seeing the crime and violence surrounding them, and were even more tired and sick of the fact that most of those causing the problems were aboriginal. Granted, I think it is a question of poverty and not race, as I live near a fairly wealthy reserve, and they are amongst the most friendly folks you will meet. it’s like the “racists” cops in toronto. The question is, were these cops racists BEFORE they became cops, or is it the fact that 95% of the time they deal with violent crime, theft, murder and rape….they are dealing with blacks. It is the chicken and egg argument. Were you a racists BEFORE you were a cop…..or did the reality of those perpetrating the crime turn you into one? 5. Instead, it ‘appears’ to be incarcerating as many Indigenous people as possible, for as long as legally possible, with far-reaching consequences for Indigenous families…Nancy Macdonald! The operative word here is ‘appears’ With Ms Madonald’s extensive articles in the past on Indigenous people and ‘white racism’ her writing seems very bent towards anti-Canadian law makers and possibly white people as a whole. So when I hear from her that there is a system in place to put ‘indigenous people in jail for as long as possible’ then I grow very suspicious of the intent and the facts of the author. We’ll see the facts in the more extensive story–I hope there is some balanced reporting. • This is all really suspicious. Her first article doesn’t even mention Gladue rights. Those are the rights that Canadian judges have to consider other sentences than incarceration for First Nations people with a mindset toward rehabilitation. We are talking about judges that never agreed with Harper’s minimum sentencing…. Sign in to comment.
AD -- Chapter One Lesson 1 Overview of Active Directory Domain Services Knowledge Assessment Fill in the Blank 1. The Active Directory database is stored on each domain controller in a file called _____ntds.dit____. 2. The Active Directory __forest____ is considered the security boundary for an Active Directory environment. 3. To provide fault tolerance, Active Directory utilizes a _multimaster_ replication model. 4. To create a trust relationship with an NT4 domain, you will configure a(n) __external trust__. 5. The _ Domain_ naming context is replicated across the domain. 6. Each object in the schema must have a unique ___OID___. 7. A(n) __cross-forest trust__ provides a two-way transitive trust relationship between all domains within two forests. 8. Each domain in an Active Directory forest has a(n) ___two-way transitive___ trust relationship with every other domain in a forest. 9. ___Universal group caching___ allows a user at a remote site to be able to log into Active Directory without needing to contact a global catalog server. 10. Active Directory clients rely on ___SRV records___ in DNS to locate Active Directory resources such as domain controllers and global catalog servers. Multiple Choice Circle the correct choice. 1. Which of the following items is a valid leaf object in Active Directory? a. Domain b. User c. Application partition d. OU Except for a user object, all of the listed choices are container objects that can contain additional Active Directory objects within them. A user object is the only leaf object listed. 2. Which of the following domain controllers can be joined to a forest that is currently set at the Windows Server 2008 forest functional level? a. Windows 2000 b. Windows Server 2003 c. Windows Server 2008 d. Windows NT 4.0 When an Active Directory forest is set to the Windows Server 2008 forest functional level, only Windows Server 2008 domain controllers can be joined to any domain within the forest from that point forward. 3. You are planning an Active Directory implementation for a company that currently has sales, accounting, and marketing departments. All department heads want to manage their own users and resources in Active Directory. What feature will permit you to set up Active Directory to allow each manager to manage his or her own container but not any other containers? a. Delegation of control b. Read-only domain controller c. Multimaster replication d. SRV records Using delegation of control within Active Directory, you can assign granular permissions within the directory. Therefore, delegated administrators can have elevated rights to only the specified objects and/or containers. 4. What is required by DNS for Active Directory to function? a. Dynamic update support b. DHCP forwarding support c. SRV records support d. Active Directory integration Of the listed choices, only SRV records support is required by DNS for Active Directory to function. Dynamic update support is helpful in supporting an Active Directory environment, but it is not a requirement. 5. If the user named Amy is located in the sales OU of the domain, what is the correct syntax for referencing this user in a command line utility? c. cn=amy,ou=sales,dc=central,dc=cohowinery,dc=com d. dc=com,dn=cohowinery,ou=sales,cn=amy The correct syntax of a distinguished name lists the leaf object first, any OUs or containers second, and the components of the Active Directory domain name last. 6. RODCs do not participate in which of the following? a. Replication b. Cross-forest trusts c. Outbound replication d. External trusts Read-Only Domain Controllers do not perform any type of outbound replication within Active Directory. They accept inbound changes from writeable domain controllers, but do not replicate any local changes to the rest of the domain or forest. 7. Which naming context contains forest-wide data about the physical topology of an Active Directory forest? a. Schema b. ForestDNSZones c. Configuration d. DomainDNSZones The Configuration NC is replicated forest-wide. It contains data about Active Directory sites, subnets, and other forest-wide configuration data. 8. Which of the following is a container object within Active Directory? a. Folder b. Group c. User d. OU Of the listed choices, only the organizational unit (OU) is a container object within Active Directory. A folder may contain other objects within the file system, but of the choices here, only an OU may contain other objects within Active Directory. 9. What is the first domain installed in a new Active Directory forest called? a. Forest root domain b. Parent root domain c. Domain tree root d. Domain root The forest root domain is the first domain installed in an Active Directory forest; while it can subsequently be renamed, it cannot be decommissioned without decommissioning the entire forest. 10. Which of the following is the security boundary within Active Directory? a. Forest b. Domain c. Domain tree d. OU The security boundary within Active Directory is the forest. Active Directory domains provide administrative boundaries, but the true security boundary is at the forest level.
A couple jumping the broom. AP Photo/Frank Franklin II The INSIDER Summary: • Jumping over a broom is a wedding tradition. • Today, it's most widespread among black communities in the United States. • It reclaims a tradition of how slaves were married in America. • There's a myth that the practice comes from tribes in Ghana. • In fact, it all started in Wales, according to scholars. Wedding traditions often have odd, unexpected, and occasionally even disturbing histories behind them. The tradition of "jumping the broom" is no exception. Few wedding traditions have vexed historians and folklorists so much. In its contemporary usage, couples jump over brooms as a sort of signifier of sweeping away the old to make way for a new beginning, and the tradition is most widespread among some black communities in the United States today. As the name of a 2011 romcom, it's even firmly part of the cultural lexicon. But oddly enough, the tradition originated with Romani gypsies from Wales. Two people jumping the broom during the premiere of the movie "Jumping the Broom." Kevin Winter/Getty Images Slaves in America were married by jumping over a broom. Slave marriages often weren't legally recognized, with tragic consequences — families could be separated at the whim of their owners. In the antebellum United States, "jumping the broom" was one ceremony where slaves were forced to marry one another, according to the folklore scholar Alan Dundes. Instead of an ordained minister legally conducting a wedding, there are accounts of slaveowners fetching a broom and having two slaves jump over it before they were considered married, according to Dundes. There was some variance in the practice, according to the accounts that exist today. Sometimes the broom was laid on the ground and sometimes it was held in the air. Sometimes the couple jumped at the same time and sometimes they jumped separately. And sometimes they jumped over a single broom, and sometimes they each had their own broom. An 1899 illustration of a broomstick wedding. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture/New York Public Library Jumping the broom wasn't necessarily a tradition imposed on slaves by their masters, according toTyler Parry, a historian of marriage rituals in the African diaspora. Some slaveowners forced their slaves to do it as a form of mockery. But at the same time, most historians think slave masters didn't care all that much about slave marriages "as long as they were bearing children," Parry told INSIDER. If anything, some slaveowners tended to give more showy weddings. "When slaveowners married slaves, they would usually give certain slaves a very elaborate wedding," Parry said. "They used this to prove to northern abolitionists that they were being very benevolent, nice, and kind to their slaves. It became a form of apologetics." By the 1830s and '40s, jumping the broom was a ritual that enslaved people understood as their own. "They didn't entirely know the origins of it," Parry told INSIDER. But at some point, "slave communities recognized it as one way they could legitimately marry each other." After the American Civil War, former slaves "embraced more orthodox forms of marriage," according to Parry. But in some situations, it was still used. If a couple wanted to marry but a priest wasn't available, for example, they'd jump the broom and then wait for a clergy member to come into town a few weeks later to ratify the marriage. At the same time, former slaves had complicated relationships with legal marriage in America. Marriage was important for legal recognition. But in some cases, they'd rely on their broomstick weddings. "There were even cases where former slaves refused to be married, because they felt their broomstick wedding conducted 30 years ago was sufficient," Parry said. "They didn't need the government telling them they had to get remarried." Centuries later, black communities in America reclaimed the slavery-era tradition for their own . Dundes credits Alex Haley's book and miniseries "Roots" for the resurgence of the marriage ritual. It's featured in a scene in Haley's story. It's part of a larger conversation about broom-jumping and marriage rituals that was taking place among black writers in the 1960s, according to Parry. The 1977 "Roots" miniseries, in particular, sparked a lot of interest in the black community in America at large. In the 1980s and 1990s, Ebony and Jet magazines often wrote about the tradition. According to Parry, the interest in it culminated with the 1992 book "Broom Jumping: A Celebration of Love" by Danita Rountree Green. "That would be the turning point in changing the African-American wedding into what we typically call 'heritage weddings,'" Parry said, which implement African and African-American traditions into wedding ceremonies. A broom jumping ceremony in Chicago in 2014. But what does the tradition mean and where does it come from? Many writers believe the myth— promoted in Green's book — that some form of jumping the broom was practiced in Africa, particularly by the ruling tribes in Ghana, and came to America with the Transatlantic Slave Trade. But there are no recorded instances of jumping the broom in Africa prior to the Transatlantic Slave Trade, according to Dundes. Parry, who's done more recent scholarly work on West African wedding traditions, agrees. "I found nothing about jumping the broom there," Parry said. "It just doesn't exist." The custom, bizarrely enough, most likely originated in Europe. Jumping over a broom was a way to get married without the church. The oldest records we have of jumping over a broom being used as a marriage rite dates to around 1700, in Wales. Some people — particularly Roma, commonly known as "gypsies" — had marriages that weren't recognized by the church. They were married through non-church rituals. One of these rituals, practiced widely in Wales, was a "Besom Wedding," a besom being a type of broom. In a Besom Wedding, a broom was placed aslant in a doorway for a couple to jump over. The couple had to jump over the broom without touching it to be married, according tothe folklore scholar C.W. Sullivan III. The marriage could also be annulled if the couple jumped over the broom again — but backwards. By the beginning of the 18th century, broomstick weddings were widespread in Wales. Stepping over an object was, in fact, widespread throughout much of England. In one community, couples jumped over a "Petting Stone." But while these unions were accepted in Roma communities, Christian communities did not accept the validity of those marriages. Elsewhere in Europe, jumping over the broom symbolized defying witchcraft. For cultures where a belief in witches ran rampant, keeping those witches at bay was a priority. Marriages, in particular, were considered susceptible to witchcraft and curses. Take, for example, the "something old, something new" rhyme, which is meant to defend against the evil eye. An article published in the Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society in 1908 or 1909, cited by Dundes, said that some Roma communities in Scotland and England in the 1800s practiced jumping over broomsticks as a wedding rite. The broomstick, the article wrote, is emblematic of evil and witches. Jumping over the broom symbolized wedded love defying evil and witchcraft. An 1822 illustration of a "broomstick wedding." Wikimedia Commons The practice may also be related to a British version of carrying the bride over the threshold. For that tradition, in some British communities, brooms were placed at the entrance of the room the bride and groom would go into. Anyone who refused to step over it would be considered a witch. It's through 18th century British migrants that the folk ritual made its way to the United States, argues Parry. Jumping the broom in America is now common — and some Neo-Pagans in Europe do it as well. Over time, the tradition of jumping the broom has been somewhat divorced from its Welsh roots. In America, its history has now come to be closely associated with slavery. But today, some people have reclaimed the tradition for their own. "Jumping the broom matters for people," Parry said. "Millions of people still do it." In some black communities in America, jumping the broom is a matter of debate. There's a discussion about whether the tradition is archaic and worth discarding as a relic of slavery, or worth maintaining and remembering. "I'm starting to see that instead of just accepting that someone is going to jump the broom, there are actual conversations that people are having about whether or not they should," Parry said. "Especially when people are interracially married and are dating outside their race ... I've seen some online blogs and polls that ask, 'I'm marrying a white guy, should I jump the broom?'" A rainbow broomstick for a same-sex wedding ceremony in 2011, on the first Saturday when gay marriage became legal in New York. Mario Tama/Getty Images In Europe as well as the United States, there's also a parallel movement in Celtic and Neo-Pagan communities to renew the tradition "as a kind of homage to the British Isles," Parry said. "While in America, we usually attach it to an African-American practice, if you go to Wales or Scotland, they would see it as much more about people who rejected Christianity," Parry said. Over the centuries, jumping the broom has acquired a tangled history, one that touches on different lineages and traditions in different communities. Parry advocates for sharing it. "What you'll actually find is people from different communities trying to claim the custom, which I think is kind of a problematic way of going about it," Parry said. "Because no one owns culture. Culture is just something that evolves and is shared across time."
Children use Alternative Therapies A recent article in the electronic edition of Pediatrics sought to compare the use of “alternative therapies” by children with cancer vs. children receiving routine checkups in a medical outpatient setting. What they discovered is that most parents who utilize medicine for their children’s health care also utilize forms of care that extend beyond what is traditionally offered under the medical model. The authors begin by reciting the usual litany on the significance of alternative therapy in the United States: “Alternative therapy (AT), also known as complementary, non-allopathic, unconventional, holistic, or natural therapy, refers to healing practices that have become increasingly popular with the general public, but not widely accepted by the medical profession. It is estimated that Americans spend $10 billion a year on unproven cancer remedies. 3. AT is thought to be used more frequently in patients with cancer than in patients with minor illnesses. According to Fletcher4, between 20% and 50% of cancer patients use or consider using AT.” One of the unique qualities of this study is its inclusion of “prayer” in the list of “alternative medicine used.” But the authors defended their decision citing: The authors conclude that “use of AT is not limited to children with life-challenging illnesses, but is commonly practiced by those with routine medical problems.” They go on to cite the increase inclusion of “AT and other integrated health approaches” in half of the US medical schools. They also discuss the need for MDs to learn more about alternative forms of care. But there is a louder message for the chiropractor. This study shows that a majority of parents seek alternative care for their children. And while most don’t give a reason, they learn about the benefits of alternative care from their friends and family. The use of chiropractic is quite low in children who routinely seek medical care. Why? The parents are obviously open to alternative care, but they haven’t heard about chiropractic enough to make that choice. This group obviously represents a majority of the US population. The chiropractic profession should explore ways to better communicate with this portion of the public, particularly through current chiropractic patients who are the “friends and family” of those who routinely utilize medical care.
Miloš Miloš - 9 months ago 61 HTML Question How to: "Separate table rows with a line" I have a basic HTML table which contains table rows. My goal is to separate those table rows with a visible line (for better readability of the content). How could I do this? Answer Source There are several ways to do that. Using HTML alone, you can write <table border=1 frame=void rules=rows> or, if you want a border above the first row and below the last row too, <table border=1 frame=hsides rules=rows> This is rather inflexible, though; you cannot e.g. make the lines dotted this way, or thicker than one pixel. This is why in the past people used special separator rows, consisting of nothing but some content intended to produce a line (it gets somewhat dirty, especially when you need to make rows e.g. just a few pixels high, but it’s possible). For the most of it, people nowadays use CSS border properties for the purpose. It’s fairly simple and cross-browser. But note that to make the lines continuous, you need to prevent spacing between cells, using either the cellspacing=0 attribute in the table tag or the CSS rule table { border-collapse: collapse; }. Removing such spacing may necessitate adding some padding (with CSS, preferably) inside the cells. At the simplest, you could use table { border-collapse: collapse; tr { border: solid; border-width: 1px 0; This puts a border above the first row and below the last row too. To prevent that, add e.g. the following into the style sheet: tr:first-child { border-top: none; tr:last-child { border-bottom: none;
Tubal ligation From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Fallopian tube ligation) Jump to: navigation, search Tubal ligation / Tubectomy / BTL surgery Type Sterilization First use 1930 Failure rates (first year) Perfect use 0.5%[1] Typical use 0.5%[1] Duration effect Permanent Reversibility Sometimes User reminders None Advantages and disadvantages STI protection No Risks Operative and postoperative complications Tubal ligation or tubectomy[citation needed] (also known as having one's "tubes tied") is a surgical procedure for sterilization in which a woman's fallopian tubes are clamped and blocked or severed and sealed, either of which prevents eggs from reaching the uterus for implantation. Tubal ligation is considered a permanent method of sterilization and birth control. Tubal ligation methods[edit] Bipolar coagulation The most popular method of laparoscopic female sterilization, this method uses electric current to cauterize sections of the fallopian tube. Monopolar coagulation Less common than bipolar coagulation, monopolar coagulation uses electric current to cauterize the tube together, but also allows radiating current to further damage the tubes as it spreads from the coagulation site. Many cases involve a cutting of the tubes after the procedure.[4] Fimbriectomy By removing a portion of the fallopian tube closest to the ovary, fimbriectomy eliminates the fallopian tube’s ability to capture eggs and transfer them to the uterus.[5] Irving's procedure This procedure calls for placing two ligatures (sutures) around the fallopian tube and removing the segment of tubing between the ligatures. Then to complete the procedure, the ends of the fallopian tubes are connected to the back of the uterus and the connective tissue respectively.[6] This method was pioneered by the merican Obstetrician-Surgeon, Frederick Carpenter Irving (1883–1957) in 1924.[citation needed] Tubal clip The tubal clip (Filshie clip or Hulka clip) technique involves the application of a permanent clip onto the fallopian tube. Once applied and fastened, the clip disallows movement of eggs from the ovary to the uterus.[7] Pomeroy tubal ligation In this method of tubal ligation, a loop of tube is “strangled” with a suture. Usually, the loop is cut and the ends cauterized or “burned“. This type of tubal ligation is often referred to as cut, tied, and burned.[9] This method was develop by the American Gynecologist and Surgeon, Ralph Hayward Pomeroy. Side effects[edit] Advantages and disadvantages[edit] Current tubal ligation (sterilization) policy in the United States imposes a mandatory waiting period for elective tubal sterilization on Medicaid beneficiaries. In the absence of such period for private beneficiaries, some physicians and scientists believe that "this decades-old mandatory delay policy was well intentioned but has now come to have the effect of restricting women's access to elective tubal sterilization and injustice".[22] 2. ^ Shah JP, Parulekar SV, Hinduja IN (January 1991). "Ectopic pregnancy after tubal sterilization". J Postgrad Med. 37 (1): 17–20. PMID 1941685. 3. ^ Hurskainen, R.; Hovi, S.; Gissler, M.; Grahn, R.; Kukkonen-Harjula, K.; Nord-Saari, M.; Mäkelä, M. (2010). "Hysteroscopic tubal sterilization: a systematic review of the Essure system". Fertility and Sterility. 94 (1): 16–19. PMID 19409549. doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2009.02.080. 12. ^ Gentile GP, Kaufman SC, Helbig DW (Feb 1998). "Is there any evidence for a post-tubal sterilization syndrome?". Fertility and Sterility. 69 (2): 179–186. PMID 9496325. doi:10.1016/s0015-0282(97)00229-x. 13. ^ Satoh K, Osada H (1993). "[Post-tubal ligation syndrome]". Ryoikibetsu Shokogun Shirizu (in Japanese) (1): 772–3. PMID 7757737. 18. ^ Chan LM, Westhoff CL (June 2010). "Tubal sterilization trends in the United States". Fertil. Steril. 94 (1): 1–6. PMID 20497790. doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2010.03.029. 19. ^ a b James Trusell; et al. (April 1995). "Economic value of contraception" (PDF). American Journal of Public Health. 85 (4): 494–503. PMC 1615115Freely accessible. PMID 7702112. doi:10.2105/AJPH.85.4.494. 20. ^ Ninaad S. Awsare; Jai Krishnan; Greg B. Boustead; Damian C. Hanbury; Thomas A. McNicholas (2005). "Complications of vasectomy.". Ann R Coll Surg Engl. 87 (6): 406–410. PMC 1964127Freely accessible. PMID 16263006. doi:10.1308/003588405X71054. 21. ^ Cibula, D.; Widschwendter, M.; Majek, O.; Dusek, L. (2010). "Tubal ligation and the risk of ovarian cancer: review and meta-analysis". Human Reproduction Update. 17 (1): 55–67. PMID 20634209. doi:10.1093/humupd/dmq030. 22. ^ Moaddab, Amirhossein; McCullough, Laurence B.; Chervenak, Frank A.; Fox, Karin A.; Aagaard, Kjersti Marie; Salmanian, Bahram; Raine, Susan P.; Shamshirsaz, Alireza A. (2015-06-01). "Health care justice and its implications for current policy of a mandatory waiting period for elective tubal sterilization". American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. 212 (6): 736–739. ISSN 1097-6868. PMID 25935572. doi:10.1016/j.ajog.2015.03.049. External links[edit]
Posted in Uncategorized Structure for Questions with a past-present comparison prompt (“still”, “no longer” etc.) Consider these GP essay questions : Are traditional gender roles still relevant ? Is the television obsolete ? Do we still need libraries ? Has travel become increasingly unimportant ? The topics (in red) can change, but the basic approach to the question need not. Step 1 : What are the functions of the topic ? (tv, libraries, gender roles, travel etc.) Identifying the functions will help you decide which functions have been affected by change, and which ones have not. Step 2 : What are the factors that stimulate change ? (technology ? laws and other government initiatives ? exposure to new or foreign things and ideas ? education ? affluence ? etc) What kind of changes take place as a result ? Have the original functions been affected ? Step 3 : Which parties are affected by the change ? (consumers ? businesses ? the government ? ) How are they affected ? Which parties/groups are not so affected by the change, hence sustaining the relevance/importance of the topic in question ? These steps help you get a fuller answer, and you can then decide how you want to sensibly arrange these ideas. Click here for a sample outline Leave a Reply You are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change ) Twitter picture Facebook photo Google+ photo Connecting to %s
Goodbye, Yellow Brick Road, por James Grant Gold shaped our country’s monetary policy—and Americans’ fantasies of wealth—for nearly four centuries. James Grant reviews One Nation Under Gold by James Ledbetter. Republican William McKinley, who campaigned for ‘sound money,’ signed the gold standard into law in 1900. That system features monetary oversight by former university economics faculty—the Ph.D. standard, let’s call it. The ex-professors buy bonds with money they whistle into existence (“quantitative easing”), tinker with interest rates, and give speeches about their intentions to buy bonds and tinker with interest rates (“forward guidance”). Mr. Ledbetter breaks some historical news by uncovering the existence of Operation Goldfinger, a secret government project in the time of Lyndon Johnson to extract gold from “seawater, meteorites, even plants.” By the late 1960s, America’s foreign liabilities were growing much faster than the gold available to satisfy them. For better or worse, the run on finite American gold continued, and Nixon cut the cord. As if to clinch the case against gold—and, necessarily, the case for the modern-day status quo—Mr. Ledbetter writes: “Of forty economists teaching at America’s most prestigious universities—including many who’ve advised or worked in Republican administrations—exactly zero responded favorably to a gold-standard question asked in 2012.” Perhaps so, but “zero” or thereabouts likewise describes the number of established economists who in 2005, ’06 and ’07 anticipated the coming of the biggest financial event of their professional lives. The economists mean no harm. But if, in unison, they arrive at the conclusion that tomorrow is Monday, a prudent person would check the calendar. The modern sensibility quakes at the rigor of such a system. Our forebears embraced it. Countries observed the gold standard because it was progressive, effective, civilized. It anchored prices over the long term (with many a bump in the short term). It promoted balance in international accounts and discipline in domestic ones. Great thinkers— Adam Smith, David Ricardo and, yes, John Maynard Keynes himself in the wake of World War I—extolled it. The chronic problem in gold-standard days was the one that continues to bedevil us moderns: how to maintain a stable currency when lenders and borrowers run amok. President James Buchanan, Lincoln’s immediate predecessor, addressed the question in his first State of the Union address in the wake of the Panic of 1857. The story of American finance, he contended, was the story of paper credit subverting sound money: “At successive intervals the best and most enterprising men have been tempted to their ruin by excessive bank loans of mere paper credit.” A not-so-distinguished president, Buchanan made the monetary point that Mr. Ledbetter skirts: Excessive lending and borrowing subverts the stability of money. It’s the cause of panics under monetary systems both metallic and paper. Which is to say that we earthlings will never achieve financial perfection. It seems that the trouble (or, at least, one trouble) with money is credit and that the trouble with credit is people. The gold standard, perhaps above all, was a political institution. It flourished in the age of classical liberalism. It was the financial counterpart to the philosophy of limited government. The Ph.D. standard is likewise a political institution. It is the financial counterpart to the philosophy of statism. The policy that some banks are too big to fail—that they must be treated almost as wards of the state to prevent their failure—is a hallmark of the modern age. The policy—indeed, the law—that the stockholders of a bank are themselves responsible for the solvency of the institution in which they hold a fractional interest was a hallmark of the gold-standard era. Mr. Ledbetter is on a mission to set the historical record straight and head off an unprogressive movement away from paper money. He writes: “To avoid gold’s false paths, we need to argue with the past, to test the assumptions that are too often and too casually passed uncritically.” I expect that before very long we will be arguing with our immediate past—demanding to know why the public debt has doubled since 2007, second-guessing our collective belief in the mazy doctrines of “quantitative easing” and “forward guidance,” and tuning in to watch congressional hearings into the causes of some future stock-market crash. Mr. Ledbetter has told some good stories. He hasn’t made his case. —Mr. Grant is the editor of Grant’s Interest Rate Observer. Todo empezó con Platón, Alberto Benegas Lynch Alberto Benegas Lynch (h) dice que la manía del igualitarismo y el resultante ataque a la propiedad privada empezó a volverse sistemático con Platón. En no pocas personas hay, a veces guardado en el interior, a veces exteriorizado, un sentimiento de envidia, celos y resentimiento por los que tienen éxito en muy diversos planos de la vida. Y estos sentimientos malsanos se traducen en políticas que de distintas maneras proponen la guillotina horizontal, es decir, la igualación forzosa para abajo al efecto de contemplar la situación de quienes, por una razón u otra, son menos exitosos. Pero estas alharacas a favor del igualitarismo inexorablemente se traducen en la más absoluta disolución de la cooperación social y la consecuente división del trabajo. Si se diera en la naturaleza lo que pregonan los igualitaristas como objetivo de sus utopías, por ejemplo, a todos les gustaría la misma mujer, todos quisieran ser médicos sin que existan panaderos y lo peor es que no surgiría manera de premiar a los que de mejor modo sirven a los demás (ni tampoco sería eso tolerable puesto que el premio colocaría al premiado en una mejor posición que es, precisamente, lo que los obsesos del igualitarismo quieren evitar). En otros términos, el derrumbe de la sociedad civilizada. Incluso la misma conversación se tornaría insoportablemente tediosa ya que sería equivalente a parlar con el espejo. La ciencia se estancaría debido a que las corroboraciones provisorias no serían corregidas ni refutadas en un contexto donde todos son iguales en sus conocimientos. En resumen un infierno. Este ha sido el desafío de la corriente de pensamiento liberal: como en la naturaleza no hay de todo para todos todo el tiempo, la asignación de derechos de propiedad hace que los que la usen bien a criterio de sus semejantes son premiados con ganancias y los que no dan en la tecla con las necesidades del prójimo incurren en quebrantos. La propiedad no es irrevocable, aumenta o disminuye según la utilidad de su uso para atender las demandas del prójimo. Este uso libre maximiza las tasas de capitalización, lo cual incrementa salarios e ingresos en términos reales. Esto diferencia a los países ricos de los pobres: marcos institucionales que respeten los derechos de todos para lo cual los gobiernos deben limitarse a castigar la lesión de esos derechos. No se trata de buscar una “justicia cósmica” al decir de Thomas Sowell, sino una terrenal en dirección a “dar a cada uno lo suyo”, a saber, la propiedad de cada cual, comenzando por su cuerpo, la libertad de la expresión del pensamiento y el uso y disposición de lo adquirido lícitamente. Sería muy atractivo vivir en Jauja donde no hayan terremotos ni sequías ni defectos humanos ni físicos ni mentales, pero la naturaleza es la que es no la que inventamos, de lo que se trata es de minimizar costos, especialmente para los más necesitados. En cambio, hoy en día observamos por doquier gobiernos que se entrometen en los más mínimos detalles de la vida y las haciendas de quienes son en verdad súbditos de los aparatos estatales, en teoría encargados de proteger a los gobernados, a lo que se agrega el otorgamiento de privilegios inauditos a pseudoempresarios aliados con el poder político para explotar a la gente, endeudamientos estatales mayúsculos, presión fiscal astronómica, gastos públicos siderales y demás estropicios que lleva a cabo el aparato de la fuerza. Se podrá decir que la guillotina horizontal no es necesaria llevarla al extremo del igualitarismo completo (por otra parte, imposible de realizar dado que cada ser humano es único e irrepetible en toda la historia de la humanidad), con que se “modere en algo” es suficiente. Pues bien, en la medida de que se tienda al igualitarismo, en esa medida surgirán los problemas señalados que, recordemos, siempre redunda en daños especialmente a los más pobres ya que son los que más sienten el impacto de la disminución en las antes referidas tasas de capitalización. El delta entre los que más tienen y los que menos tienen (al momento puesto que es un proceso cambiante) dependerá de las decisiones de la gente que cotidianamente expresan sus preferencias en los supermercados y afines. Henos aquí que estos problemas y la manía del igualitarismo y el consecuente ataque a la propiedad privada comenzó a sistematizarse con Platón cuatrocientos años antes de Cristo. Platón en La Repúblicay en Las Leyes patrocina el comunismo, es decir, la propiedad en común y no solo de los bienes sino de las mujeres, en esta última obra dice el autor que su ideal es cuando “lo privado y lo individual han desaparecido” lo cual nos recuerda que con razón Milan Kundera concluye que cuando “lo privado desaparece, desaparece todo el ser”. Claro que Platón no vivió para enterarse de “la tragedia de los comunes”, aunque de modo más rudimentario la explicó su discípulo Aristóteles quien además destacó que los conflictos son más acentuados cuando la propiedad es en común respecto a la asignación de derechos de propiedad. Claro que los autores que con más énfasis propusieron la liquidación del derecho de propiedad fueron Marx y Engels que en su Manifiesto Comunistaescribieron que “la teoría de los comunistas se puede resumir en una sola frase: la abolición de la propiedad privada”. Esta declaración marxista se subsume en la imposibilidad de evaluación de proyectos, de contabilidad, en definitiva, de todo cálculo económico puesto que cuando no hay propiedad no hay precios (que surgen del intercambio de propiedades), con lo cual no se sabe si es mejor una asignación de los siempre escasos recursos respecto de otro destino tal como lo explicó detalladamente Ludwig von Mises. En otros términos, no existe tal cosa como una economía socialista o comunista (Lenin escribió que el socialismo es solo la primera etapa para llegar al comunismo), de allí el descalabro que exhibió el derrumbe del Muro de la Vergüenza en Berlín. Nuevamente reiteramos que no es necesario abolir la propiedad para que aparezcan los trastornos que señalamos en la medida en que se afecte esa institución clave. Cuando irrumpen los megalómanos concentran ignorancia en lugar de permitir la coordinación de conocimiento disperso a través del sistema de precios libres (en realidad un pleonasmo ya que los precios que no son libres resultan ser simples números que dicta la autoridad gubernamental pero sin significado respecto a la valorizaciones cruzadas que tienen lugar en toda transacción voluntaria). Con esos supuestos controles los gobernantes imponen sus caprichos personales con lo que indefectiblemente aparecen faltantes y desajustes de diverso calibre. Además, la manía igualitarista presupone la falacia que la riqueza es estática y que se basa en la suma cero (lo que uno gana lo pierde otro). Sin duda que la utopía comunista no es patrimonio exclusivo de Marx, hubo un sinfín de textos en esa dirección como los de Tomás Moro, Tommaso Campanella, William Godwin y no pocos religiosos desviados del mensaje cristiano de la pobreza de espíritu. Tal vez en este último caso sea pertinente detenerse a considerarlo. Dos de los mandamientos indican “no robar” y “no codiciar los bienes ajenos”. En Deuteronomio 27, 17 se lee “Maldito quien desplace el mojón de su prójimo”, también en Deuteronomio (8, 18) “acuérdate que Yahveh tu Dios, es quien te da fuerza para que te proveas de riqueza”. En 1 Timoteo (5, 8) “si alguno no provee para los que son suyos, y especialmente para los que son miembros de su casa, ha repudiado la fe y es peor que una persona sin fe”. En Mateo (5, 3) “bienaventurados los pobres de espíritu porque de ellos es el reino de los cielos” fustigando al que anteponga lo material al amor a Dios (amor a la Perfección), en otras palabras al que “no es rico a los ojos de Dios” (Lucas 12, 21), lo cual se aclara la Enciclopedia de la Biblia (con la dirección técnica de R. P. Sebastián Bartina y R. P. Alejandro Díaz Macho bajo la supervisión del Arzobispo de Barcelona): “fuerzan a interpretar las bienaventuranzas de los pobres de espíritu, en sentido moral de renuncia y desprendimiento” y que “ la clara fórmula de Mateo —bienaventurados los pobres de espíritu— da a entender que ricos o pobres, lo que han de hacer es despojarse interiormente de toda riqueza” (tomo vi, págs. 240/241). En Proverbios (11,18) “quien confía en su riqueza, ese caerá”. En Salmos (62, 11) “a las riquezas, cuando aumenten, no apeguéis el corazón”. Este es también el sentido de la parábola del joven rico (Marcos 10, 17-22) ya que “nadie puede servir a dos señores” (Mateo 6, 24). Lamentablemente hoy día las cosas han cambiado en el Vaticano, en este sentido y con independencia de otros párrafos véase con atención un pasaje donde queda evidenciado lo que escribía el papa León xiii en la primera Encíclica sobre temas sociales que a continuación reproduzco para destacar que nada ni remotamente parecido fue hasta ahora escrito o dicho por Francisco sino que viene afirmando todo lo contrario en cuanta oportunidad tiene de expresarse. “Quede, pues, sentado que cuando se busca el modo de aliviar a los pueblos, lo que principalmente, y como fundamento de todo se ha de tener es esto: que se ha de guardar intacta la propiedad privada. Sea, pues, el primer principio y como base de todo que no hay más remedio que acomodarse a la condición humana; que en la sociedad civil no pueden todos ser iguales, los altos y los bajos. Afánense en verdad, los socialistas; pero vano es ese afán, y contra la naturaleza misma de las cosas. Porque ha puesto en los hombres la naturaleza misma grandísimas y muchísimas desigualdades. No son iguales los talentos de todos, ni igual el ingenio, ni la salud ni la fuerza; y a la necesaria desigualdad de estas cosas le sigue espontáneamente la desigualdad de la fortuna, lo cual es por cierto conveniente a la utilidad, así de los particulares como de la comunidad; porque necesitan para sus gobiernos la vida en común de facultades diversas y oficios diversos; y lo que a ejercitar otros oficios diversos principalmente mueve a los hombres, es la diversidad de la fortuna de cada uno”. Y, por su parte, el papa Pio xi, al conmemorar la Encíclica de León xiii, consignó que “nadie puede ser, al mismo tiempo, un buen católico y verdadero socialista”. Y como, entre otros, explicaba Eudocio Ravines, “el socialismo no trata de una buena idea mal administrada, se trata de una pésima idea que arruina a todos, lo cual comienza con pequeñas intervenciones estatales que escalan ya que un desajuste lleva a otra intromisión y así sucesivamente”. En esta línea argumental subrayaba Alexis de Tocqueville: “Se olvida que en los detalles es donde es más peligroso esclavizar a los hombres. Por mi parte, me inclinaría a creer que la libertad es menos necesaria en las grandes cosas que en las pequeñas, sin pensar que se puede asegurar la una sin poseer la otra”. En resumen entonces, los yerros más gruesos y dañinos en materia social comenzaron con Platón los cuales deben refutarse para evitar males, especialmente para proteger a los más necesitados que son siempre los que más sufren los embates de políticas equivocadas. This Time is Not Different, Because This Time is Always Different. John P. Hussman, Ph.D. This time is not different Mark Twain once said “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme.” Unfortunately, the failure of history to precisely replicate itself, in every detail, is at the heart of the failure of humanity to learn from it. Each separate instance has its own wrinkles, and within those wrinkles is wrapped the delusion that “this time” is cut from wholly different cloth. In the financial markets, the unique features of “this time” entice investors away from systematic analysis and durable relationships. It eventually becomes enough simply to refer to buzz-words – “investment companies,” “technology,” “globalization,” “conglomerates,” “dot-com,” “leveraged buy-outs,” “quantitative easing” – as a substitute for data and clear-sighted analysis. If doctors behaved like investors do, every time a new strain of virus emerged, they would declare a “new era,” immediately disregarding every known principle of the immune system until everybody was dead. This is emphatically not to say that new changes in the economic or financial environment should be disregarded. The argument is exactly the opposite. When faced with these changes, our obligation as careful investors is to obtain data and quantify, as well as possible, how they reasonably impact the objects we care about, such as long-term cash flows, valuations, and prospective returns. We can’t just take some buzz-word and bandy verbal arguments about, without any analysis at all. We should never abandon our central principles just because we see a squirrel outside the window. If we think the squirrel is important, we have to obtain data and carefully study and quantify how squirrels actually affect the things we care about. We don’t just say, “Ooh, the squirrel has created a new era, so we’re going to ignore everything that history has taught us.” So if we care about how interest rates might impact valuations, we shouldn’t just switch our brains off and talk about low interest rates. We should quantify their effect (see, for example, The Most Broadly Overvalued Moment in Market History). If we think changes in economic policy might affect economic growth, we shouldn’t just toss around figures that pop out of our imagination. We should estimate the potential range of outcomes, given the conditions that systematically determine GDP growth (see Economic Fancies and Basic Arithmetic). If we think the international activity of U.S. corporations has changed traditional valuation relationships, we should explicitly quantify that impact (see The New Era is an Old Story). If we wonder why valuations and subsequent market returns are systematically related even though interest rates aren’t constant, we should work out the arithmetic and examine the historical relationships (see Rarefied Air: Valuations and Subsequent Market Returns). If we wonder whether valuation measures should be corrected for the level of profit margins embedded in those measures, we should collect the data and evaluate the question (see Margins, Multiples, and the Iron Law of Valuation). And if we think that we could be living in a new era of permanently high profit margins, we might want to quantify the evidence before adopting that view (see below). Every episode in history has its own wrinkles. But investors should not use some “new era” argument to dismiss the central principles of investing, as a substitute for carefully quantifying the impact of those wrinkles. Unfortunately, because investors get caught up in concepts, they come to a point in every speculative episode where they ignore the central principles of investing altogether. The allure of those wrinkles is what leads investors to forget the lessons of history, and repeat its tragedies again and again. Throwing in the towel Here’s why. With regard to real interest rates, there’s always a question of how one adjusts for inflation, which can involve trailing rates or inflation rates implied by inflation-protected securities. Because inflation has such a strong serial correlation over time, the distinction matters less than one might think, but it typically helps to use a 2-year trailing rate rather than just the past 12 months. The chart below shows the historical relationship between corporate profit margins and real Treasury yields on that basis. Real interest rates are shown in blue on an inverted (left) scale, with profit margins shown in red on the right scale. About the only segment worth mentioning is a short span during the rapid disinflation of the early 1980’s. Both Treasury yields and wage inflation fell slower than general prices, so real interest rates, real wage rates, and the U.S. dollar all shot higher (leading to the 1985 Plaza Accord). Aside from that, there’s not much to see here, with no systematic fluctuation between real interest rates and profit margins across economic cycles. I would argue that what’s really going on with profit margins is quite different than what Grantham suggests. As usual, my views reflect the data. Specifically, the elevation of profit margins in recent years has been a nearly precise reflection of declining labor compensation as a share of output prices. To illustrate this below, I’ve shown real unit labor costs (labor compensation per unit of output, divided by price per unit of output) in blue on an inverted left scale, with profit margins in red on the right scale. Real unit labor costs are de-trended, reflecting the fact that real wage growth has historically lagged productivity growth by about 0.4% annually. Since unit labor costs and the GDP deflator are indexed differently, the left scale values are meaningful on a relative basis, but shouldn’t be interpreted as actual fractions. What’s notable here is that the process of profit margin normalization is already underway. Though there will certainly be cyclical fluctuations, this process is likely to continue in an environment where the unemployment rate is now down to 4.4% and demographic constraints are likely to result in labor force growth averaging just 0.3% annually between now and 2024. Total employment will grow at the same rate only if the unemployment rate remains at current levels. That creates a dilemma for profit margins: if economic growth strengthens in a tightening labor market, labor costs are likely to comprise an increasing share of output value, suppressing profit margins. If economic growth weakens, productivity is likely to slow, raising unit labor costs by contracting the denominator. [As a side-note, this analysis links up with the Kalecki profits equation because a depressed wage share is typically associated with weak household savings and high government transfer payments]. It’s tempting to imagine that offshoring labor would allow a sustained below-trend retreat in real unit labor costs. But while foreign labor can be cheaper, the corresponding productivity is also often lower, so the impact on unit labor costs is more nuanced than one might think. So again, with great respect, my response is to encourage Grantham to pick up his towel and lace up his gloves. Even if profit margins have moved forever higher, they are unlikely to have moved to the point where recent highs are the new average. Given that valuations fluctuate around norms that reflect those average margins, valuations are now so obscenely elevated that even an outcome that fluctuates modestly about some new, higher average would easily take the S&P 500 35-40% lower over the completion of the current market cycle. Let’s also be careful to distinguish the level of valuations from the mapping between valuations and subsequent returns. As evidenced below, there’s utterly no evidence that the link between historically reliable valuation measures and actual subsequent market returns has deteriorated in any way during recent cycles. So even if one wishes to assume that future valuation norms will be higher than “old” historical norms, it follows that one should also assume that future market returns will be lower than “old” historical norms. It has taken the third financial bubble in 17 years to bring the total return of the S&P 500 to 4.7% annually since the 2000 peak. Don’t imagine that future returns will be much better from current valuations, even if future valuations maintain current levels forever. Indeed, my actual expectation is that the completion of the current market cycle will wipe out the entire total return of the S&P 500 since 2000. Back to the Iron Laws If we are careful about history, evidence, and market analysis, we repeatedly find that the central principles of investing are captured by a few iron laws. Two of them are particularly important in our discipline. The first of these is what I call the Iron Law of Valuation: Long-term market returns are driven primarily by valuations. Every valuation ratio is just shorthand for a careful discounted cash-flow approach, so the denominator of any valuation ratio had better be a “sufficient statistic” for the likely stream of cash flows that will be delivered to investors over decades. For market-based measures, revenues are substantially more reliable than current earnings or next year’s estimated earnings. A second principle is what I call the Iron Law of Speculation: While valuations determine long-term and full-cycle market outcomes, investor preferences toward speculation, as evidenced by uniformity of market action across a broad range of internals, can allow the market to continue higher over shorter segments of the cycle, despite extreme overvaluation. At rich valuations, one had better monitor those internals explicitly, because deterioration opens the way to collapse. As usual, it’s worth briefly recalling not only the success of our discipline in previous complete market cycles, but also the elephant that I let into the room in 2009. Whatever criticism one might direct toward my shortcomings in the half-cycle since 2009, the fact is this. Our challenges arose from my 2009 insistence on stress-testing our methods against Depression-era data, which inadvertently created a specific vulnerability that should be distinguished from our current outlook. Prior to 2009, overvalued, overbought, overbullish conditions were associated with average market returns below risk-free T-bill returns regardless of whether market internals were favorable or not. But the novelty of the Federal Reserve’s deranged monetary policy response encouraged yield-seeking speculation by investors well after historically reliable “overvalued, overbought, overbullish” conditions appeared. In a zero interest rate environment, one had to wait for explicit deterioration in market internals to signal a weakening of investors’ willingness to speculate, before adopting a hard-negative outlook. Put simply, the methods that emerged from that stress-testing exercise inadequately accounted for the effect of zero interest rate policies on speculation, and that’s why our adaptations have focused primarily on imposing additional requirements related to market internals. In contrast, valuation relationships have remained completely intact in recent cycles, correctly identifying stocks as undervalued in 2009, but wickedly overvalued today. Our current defensiveness is fully consistent with the Iron Laws. With interest rates well off the zero bound and market internals already showing internal dispersion, now is not a time to become complacent, and certainly not a time to throw in the towel. Hoping for greater fools We’ll finish with a review of where the most reliable valuation measures stand, showing their relationship with actual subsequent market returns across history, and over recent market cycles. As I’ve observed before, whatever one proposes as being “different” this time had better be something that suddenly changed in the past 5 years and will persist forever. Undoubtedly, Wall Street will think of something, because as Hegel wrote, “We learn from history that we do not learn from history.” The first chart updates the ratio of nonfinancial market capitalization to corporate gross value-added (including estimated foreign revenues), which we find better correlated with actual subsequent S&P 500 total returns than any other measure we’ve studied over time. Note in particular that no market cycle in history (even recent ones) has failed to take this measure to half of its current level by the completion of the cycle. But if one wishes to rule that possibility out, notice that even the level of 1.35 was observed as recently as 2012, and is about the highest level ever observed in post-war data prior to 1998. A retreat merely to that level over the completion of the current market cycle would involve a loss of one-third of the value of the S&P 500. We certainly don’t require a breathtaking market loss in order to adopt a constructive or aggressive market outlook, particularly at the point that a material retreat in valuations is joined by early improvement in market action. Yet investors seem to rule out any material retreat at all. In effect, investors are arguing not only that elevated valuations are justified; they are also quietly assuming that market cycles have been abolished. This is a much larger mistake. The chart below shows MarketCap/GVA on an inverted log scale (left), along with actual subsequent S&P 500 nominal average annual total returns over the following 12-year horizon. Note that the current estimate of near-zero total returns also includes dividends, meaning that we fully expect the S&P 500 Index itself to be lower 12 years from now than it is today. I can’t emphasize enough that the mapping between reliable valuation measures and subsequent market returns is a calculation that does not require adjustment for the level of interest rates. Rather, one uses interest rates for comparative purposes after the expected return calculation is made (see The Most Broadly Overvalued Moment In Market History to understand this distinction). While investors seem to look at low interest rates as if they are a good thing, what low interest rates really do here is to lock passive investors in conventional portfolios into a situation where they have no way to avoid dismal outcomes in the coming 10-12 years. Unlike even 2000, when 6.2% Treasury bond yields provided a conventional alternative to obscenely overvalued stocks, yields on all conventional assets are uniformly depressed here. We presently estimate that the total return of a passive, conventional portfolio mix of 60% stocks, 30% bonds, and 10% cash will hardly exceed 1% annually over the coming 12-year horizon. My expectation is that prospects for long-term investors can be improved only to the extent they can tolerate the possibility of missing returns in the short-term in order to retain the ability to invest at lower valuations and higher prospective returns over the full course of the market cycle. Since investors have been encouraged to use the distance of valuations from their March 2000 bubble peak as a benchmark for prospective returns, it’s worth noting that on the basis of measures that have been most strongly correlated with actual subsequent market returns in market cycles across history, current valuation levels don’t put the “you are here” sign in 1996, or 1997, or even 1998, but rather in late-December 1999. The ebullience of the tech rampage at the time gave the market a level of momentum that it does not have at present, and the price/revenue multiple of the median S&P 500 component is already 50% beyond the 2000 extreme. Still, if one wishes to use the 2000 peak as a valuation bell to ring, it’s worth recognizing how close valuations are to that peak already. Investors should again recall that once the 2000 peak was in, it took just three weeks for the market to plunge more than 11%, bringing valuations below those December 1999 levels. Investors hoping to sell to greater fools had better be able to call a top rather precisely. With weak estimated 10-12 year returns expected for conventional portfolios, investors should not exclude alternative assets, tactical strategies, hedged equity, or at least a good amount of dry powder from consideration. For more comments on alternative investment strategies, see When Speculators Prosper Through Ignorance. As Grantham mentioned, we do see investors engaging in put-writing strategies as a way to generate “income.” In the illusion that stocks cannot decline steeply, these strategies have become so aggressive that implied option volatilities were recently driven to levels seen in just 1% of history. That’s not a crash warning by itself, but depressed volatility did appear in combination with divergent market internals and overvalued, overbought, overbullish conditions approaching the 1987 and 2007 peaks. In my view, shorting cheap put options in a high-risk environment like this one is like writing cheap auto insurance at the Demolition Derby. In the short-run, these strategies crush the volatility index (VIX), but if (and I expect when) a steep market loss turns those short puts into in-the-money obligations to take stock off of other investors’ hands at a fixed price, they are likely to contribute to an acceleration of selling pressure, just as portfolio insurance did in 1987. We’d be inclined toward exactly the opposite strategy. Given low option premiums, along with extreme valuations, interest rates above the zero-bound, and market internals showing continued dispersion, patient investors who can tolerate the potential risk of a slow and annoying drip of option decay over a shorter segment of the market cycle could also see asymmetrically large returns from tail-risk hedges as the market cycle is completed. That kind of position always has to be limited to a small percentage of assets, and should be limited mainly to conditions that join unfavorable valuations and internal dispersion. In the face of marginal new highs, it’s also a reasonable concession to be slow about raising strike prices, since the main object of interest is the 50-60% gap from current valuations to historical norms. As a side note, yes, we did see “Hindenburg” on Thursday, so last week’s high was sloppy internally, but we can’t rule-out further short-term upside.. While about 80% of the market gain since the 2009 low occurred by the end of 2014, a sequence of novelties since then (particularly Brexit and the U.S. election) have worked to extend this high-level top-formation. Still, I continue to view this as a period of top-formation. Unlike Irving Fisher in September 1929, I have no expectation that the market has reached a “permanently high plateau.” The battle of three centuries. The history of central banks. The Economist Contemporary criticisms of central banks echo debates from times past Bankers to the government Good as gold Interwar failure The rise to power Brainteasers, Bill Gross A recent Internet blog posed the predicament of many medium/long-term relationships: At some point couples run out of historical stories or even topical things to say. After all, there are only so many Trump tweets you can talk about, and you’ve long since agreed to disagree about the meaning of life. The blog suggested inventing some new philosophical brainteasers to keep the conversation alive. Having written Investment Outlooks for over 30 years now, I thought it apropos to follow the same approach, so here are my twisters and summary comments following each. Spoiler alert: please think of your answer before reading the “comments”. 1) If forced to choose between killing your favorite pet or an anonymous human being, what would you do? Comment: In a USA TODAY survey from a decade ago, the majority of responses seemed to favor killing the person and saving the pet! 2) Would you rather be “interested” or “interesting”? Comment: Most say “interested”, (as would I), but it’s a close vote. 3) If you were offered one year of quality life in addition to how long you would have lived anyway, would you give up your cellphone for it? Comment: This one creates the most controversy. Young people do not give up their phones. Older people jump at the chance for that additional year. They don’t know how to use a cellphone anyway! 4) If you were stranded on an island with a totally repugnant looking and abusive human being, would you entertain romance with him (her)? Personal Comment: Maybe at 22, not 72! 5) If offered the certainty of a second life after your current one, but it would be a life of misery with no moments of happiness, would you take it? Comment: A few actually say yes, suggesting that their misery might in some way lead to happiness for others. 6) Is there an emotional distinction between saying “Luv you” and “I love you”? Comment: Almost certainly. Inserting the “I” signifies a much stronger – and riskier – personal commitment. Can the Trump Agenda recreate 3% growth? Well, now, that is the investment question of the hour/day/decade and its conclusion, unlike romance on a desert island, will determine the level of asset prices across the investment spectrum. 3% growth leads to a levered rate of corporate revenue/profit increases and a significantly higher P/E ratio, all else equal. 3% growth also sends a green light/all clear signal to high yield bonds and other risk assets that are leveraged and growth dependent. It may also, although not necessarily, lead to higher real interest rates and a future bond bear market. So what’s the answer? The same IMF study suggests that unless there is an unforeseen technological breakthrough, productivity growth is unlikely to return to the higher rates of the 1990’s for advanced economics or the early 2000’s for emerging economics. In other words, their warning speaks to a global productivity slowdown, not just a U.S. based phenomena. They warn that increasing tariffs and developing restrictions on immigration will only exacerbate the slowdown. Global growth, and of course U.S. growth, will be lower than average, they forecast. And if so, what are the investment conclusions? Well here’s where a two handed economist might fall back on the conclusion of my six original brainteasers: There is no right or wrong answer. But since I have two hands but have frequently been accused (praised) of not being an economist, I’ll post my own comment. Equity markets are priced for too much hope, high yield bond markets for too much growth, and all asset prices elevated to artificial levels that only a model driven, historically biased investor would believe could lead to returns resembling the past six years, or the decades predating Lehman. High rates of growth, and the productivity that drives it, are likely distant memories from a bygone era. If you’re “interested” in investment performance, hopefully you’ll find these conclusions somewhat “interesting”. Now pick up your cellphone and know that the only real way to have one more year of extended life is to feast on blueberries instead of Oreo cookies and to exercise daily instead of heading for your couch and widescreen. Happiness Runs – Janus, By Bill Gross Happiness is wanting what you have And not wanting what you don’t have. Shakyamuni Buddha, 500 B.C. The three grand essentials of happiness are: something Alexander Chalmers Happiness runs in a circular motion… happiness runs, happiness runs. Donovan, 1969 I think a lot about happiness – what makes a person happy, whether or not happiness should even be a life’s priority – things like that. A good high school friend stunned me at the early age of 17 by suggesting we should not necessarily try to be happy. Sacrifice, service, devotion to a cause were higher orders, he felt, although presumably, since those were choices, their pursuit could secondarily lead to happiness. Through the years I’ve accumulated a short list of quotes that express a personal view of what makes people happy. You, I’m sure, have your own candidates, but most of them probably resemble some of the ones listed above: Stay busy doing something you enjoy; be mindful of other people and the world in, around, and above you; don’t let your reach exceed your grasp; find someone to share your happiness with. My favorite of all of these is the one above by Donovan – that somewhat kooky “love generation” folk singer of the late 1960s. “Happiness runs in a circular motion…happiness runs, happiness runs.” There may be more to this refrain, however, than appears at first glance, the entirety of which I’ve tried to encapsulate artistically in my open-ended smiley face that wasn’t ever-popular when Donovan crooned the tune. For years I thought that the gist of Donovan’s phrase was the obvious – the “pay it forward” allusion that suggests what goes around, comes around – and it undoubtedly is. But there are hidden nuances, at least to me. The “running in a circular motion” also connotes a self-contained, inward-looking, self-satisfaction that equates happiness to being content with yourself as a person. And the last phrase – “happiness runs, happiness runs” may speak to the Buddhist philosophy of impermanence and the priority of the moment. Donovan might not rank up there with Kant and Spinoza, but his little song packs a powerful message. Rock on, flower child, wherever you are. And while happiness may run in a circular motion, it seems history may too – or at least it may rhyme, as Mark Twain once said. Pictured below are two of my notes written not recently, but in 2003. They are as relevant today as they were then. “Financial repression” runs…in a circular motion, it seems. In 2003, though, central bankers had rarely contemplated the monetary policy instruments that could lower and then artificially cap interest rates. Although my notes correctly allude to “all means including ‘ceilings’ ” to keep the cost of financing low, the expansion of central bank balance sheets from perhaps $2 trillion in 2003 to a now gargantuan $12 trillion at the end of 2016 is remarkable. Not only did central banks buy $10 trillion of bonds, but they lowered policy rates to near 0% and in some cases, negative yields. All of this took place to save our “finance-based economy” and to raise asset prices upon which that model depends. As any investor would admit, these now ongoing policy panaceas have done just that – promoted higher asset prices and engendered a modicum of real growth. In the process however, as I have frequently written, capitalism has been distorted: savings/investment has been discouraged by yields/returns too low to replicate historic productivity gains; zombie corporations have been kept alive in contrast to Schumpeter’s “creative destruction”; debt has continued to rise relative to GDP; the financial system has not been cleansed and restored to a balance where risk and reward are on a level plane; disequilibrium has replaced equilibrium, although it is difficult to recognize this economic phantom as long as volatility is contained. But in order to control volatility, and keep a floor under asset prices, central bankers may be trapped in a QE-forever cycle, (in order to keep the global system functioning). Withdrawal of stimulus, as has happened with the Fed in the past few years, seemingly must be replaced by an increased flow of asset purchases (bonds and stocks) from other central banks, as shown in Chart I. A client asked me recently when the Fed or other central banks would ever be able to sell their assets back into the market. My answer was “NEVER”. A $12 trillion global central bank balance sheet is PERMANENT – and growing at over $1 trillion a year, thanks to the ECB and the BOJ. Central Bank Balance Sheet (US$) Source: Bank of England website “Following Bank of England money market reform on 18 May 2006 the Bank of England ‘Bank Return’ was changed. This series forms part of the new Bank Return, with data starting on 24 May 2006.” An investor must know that it is this money that now keeps the system functioning. Without it, even 0% policy rates are like methadone – cancelling the craving but not overcoming the addiction. The relevant point of all this for today’s financial markets? A 2.45%, 10-year U.S.Treasury rests at 2.45% because the ECB and BOJ are buying $150 billion a month of their own bonds and much of that money then flows from 10 basis points JGB’s and 45 basis point Bunds into 2.45% U.S. Treasuries. Without that financial methadone, both bond and stock markets worldwide would sink and produce a tantrum of significant proportions. I would venture a guess that without QE from the ECB and BOJ that 10-year U.S. Treasuries would rather quickly rise to 3.5% and the U.S. economy would sink into recession. “Stagflation On The Horizon” By Paul Brodsky Stagflation on the Horizon Logic and current trends suggest that declining output growth accompanied by higher prices will begin hitting economies and facing policy makers in the coming years. Markets should begin sniffing out this stagflationary macroeconomic setup this year. We have published data showing global output growth is in decline and have argued this trend will continue. Indeed, a long term graph of US Real GDP growth implies a change in complexion since 1999, from credit-induced boom-bust economic cycles to a secular trajectory of decline (red lines on graph 1). Graph 1: US Real Gross Domestic Product: Percent change from preceding period is in secular decline This trend is especially troublesome following the debt-induced wash-out recession in 2008/2009, subsequently offset by zero-bound interest rates and central bank asset purchases. Since then, real GDP growth, characterized by middling output and low consumer inflation, has languished on a low plane, bouncing between 2.5 percent and 1.6 percent (shaded box on graph 1). The US Bureau of Economic Analysis will not release its initial GDP estimate for Q1 2017 until April 28, but credible high frequency reports suggest real US output growth is in the process of falling below its low plane. The Atlanta Fed’s GDP now forecasts growth of only 1.3 percent in the first quarter. Among the factors weighing on the updated outlook are softer projections for household spending and non-household capital expenditures. Even more ominous is that this estimated slow growth included a month (February) in which the average temperature was ten degrees above normal – the hottest in sixty years. Weak output growth is a far cry from the Fed’s official 3.1 percent forecast based on broad econometric models. This more optimistic forecast has more influence over the Federal Open Market Committee, which establishes and executes monetary policy. Accordingly, the Fed has communicated it will hike rates today and hinted it will again two or three more times in 2017. Declining secular growth stems from the downside of pervasive debt assumption, which retards capex and consumer spending. Unperturbed, policy makers are doubling down. GaveKal Capital published the following two graphs showing how critical Treasury debt issuance has become to US growth. The first shows how debt assumption is increasing far more than GDP ($1.05 trillion of federal debt vs. $632 billion of GDP in the latest quarter). Clearly, it takes a lot of government debt assumption to drive output growth. Graph 2: Diminishing Impact of Federal Debt on Nominal GDP: 2007 – 2016 To prove its point, GaveKal notes a close correlation: “In the first three quarters of 2015, debt growth was held in check by the debt ceiling and fiscal conservatives in Congress. Notice the negative effect on GDP growth in this period as growth slowed each quarter. Then in the fourth quarter of 2015, the debt ceiling was suspended and the flood of federal debt began again. Predictably, growth picked up too.” GaveKal then extended the same graph back 35 years and expressed the time series annually. We can see from Graph 3 below that output growth regularly outpaced debt assumption when a dollar of debt produced more than a dollar of output; which is to say when the US economy functioned properly. This was real economic growth – growth that was not borrowed and that was expected to be repaid someday. Graph 3: Diminishing Impact of Federal Debt on Nominal GDP: 1980 – 2016 As always, Treasury must service its debt by issuing new debt, and raising the debt ceiling has been a constant source of conflict among US legislators. Last week, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin asked Speaker Ryan to persuade the House to raise the ceiling as soon as possible. If Congress does not raise it above $20 trillion, experts say Treasury would default on its debt by late summer or early fall 2017. We are of the view that Congress will once again raise the debt ceiling, but that it will come at a significant cost. One of the major sources of the recent rally in equities and higher Treasury yields has been enthusiasm over Donald Trump’s economic initiatives. If raising the debt ceiling is delayed or tied to legislation that triggers future debt retirement, then expectations for future US growth would decline, as would US equities and Treasury yields. Even if raising the debt ceiling goes smoothly, we think global output will continue to drop. Using debt to promote output growth is playing out across the world. Despite massive debt growth, output is static or declining in Europe… …and even India: Where is the global driver of output growth? Which geography or segment of society has a balance sheet large enough and un-levered enough to support a return to a debt-fueled boom-bust economic cycle? Are we to believe that changes in US fiscal, regulatory, immigration and trade policies would have the power to persuade businesses and consumers around the world to reverse course – to not care about the exchange value of their currencies – so that they produce and consume for the benefit of American output and labor? Even if President Trump succeeds at raising US GDP to 3 percent, which would be no easy feat, how sustainable would that be and would it even matter for US multinationals that must grow abroad? Investors should take note of what should logically be one of the highest-frequency leading indicators for the onset of a recession – retail spending. S&P retail sector stocks, as expressed in the XRT ETF, have declined 13 percent over the last six months in spite of a very strong stock market, and for good reason. Table 1 shows that in the last two quarters profit margins in the retail sector have crashed: Table 1: Leading Indicator of Recession: Retail Sector Profit Margins are crashing Watching US market ebullience in the face of a tiring, highly-indebted US economy that lacks an obvious new outlet for credit growth is like watching a slow motion car crash. We expect continued disappointing consumption, corporate profits and real growth rates to continue in 2017, in the US and around the world, and expect it to be followed by declining global trade and economic malaise. We expect rising inflation to accompany falling output, and to understand why we offer a wonky but practical discussion of inflation. Classic economics suggests demand and inflation should track each other higher and lower. Such a correlation, however, is not as tight in real life as it is conceptually. Super-economic factors associated with the exogenous management of global trade and credit greatly affect supply in ways often unintended by policy makers. From time to time supply shortages arise independent of the economics of production and demand. This creates significant economic dis-equilibria, leading to substantial inflation. The last time this occurred was in the 1970s. OPEC oil exporters, bothered by the unknown future purchasing power of the new fiat dollars they were being forced to receive in exchange for their crude, limited its supply and drove up its price. Since energy was needed for manufacturing and transporting goods and services, the general price level rose across economies, even as demand and the need for labor fell. So, policy-induced supply disruptions led to slowing output and rising prices – stagflation. Since then a global monetary regime that prices oil and most other trade goods in fiat dollars has been in force. US policy makers have maintained a generally stable dollar and, as importantly, strong dollar-denominated assets, which have provided global suppliers with an attractive destination for their wealth. A stable dollar and generally rising US financial assets have created a fairly stable level of perceived wealth creation across the world. Were the dollar’s exchange rate or capital markets to fall, then US dollar and asset holders (foreign and domestic) would have great incentive to liquidate their holdings. Thus, the perception of the US as the global hegemon is the key to stability in the global economy. What would cause capital flight out of the US? The obvious answer is the general perception that the dollar and the US economy will weaken more than those of other major economies. This does not seem to be the case today, at least in relative terms. Following the financial crisis, the Fed acted aggressively to de-leverage the US banking system and was then first to taper and stop quantitative easing. US dollars and capital markets attracted global wealth. More recently, the Fed was also the first among major central banks to begin raising benchmark interest rates, which has further boosted the exchange value of the dollar vis-à-vis other major currencies. The recent enthusiasm over President Trump’s economic initiatives has provided a further boost to US corporate equity. All seems copacetic presently for dollar and US asset holders around the world. Graph 4: DXY Index: a strong US dollar Imminent Problem: A Scarcity of Dollars Not so fast. Relative strength in the dollar stems from positive interest rate differentials and the natural demand for dollars to service, rollover and repay dollar denominated debt. Total US credit market debt totaled over $60 trillion (before the Fed stopped publishing it last quarter), which is five times M2 and fifteen times base money – the amount of deliverable dollars available to repay it. (The $60 trillion figure does not include off balance sheet obligations like Social Security, which would boost the multiple further.) Graph 5: US dollar Leverage There is also a scarcity of dollars held in foreign hands relative to the scale of the global economy. This will lead to a decline in dollar reserves held abroad. Recall that global trade volume is mostly based in dollars. A decline of dollars held in reserve limits global trade, pushing global output down. This, in turn, speeds incentives to raise the status of other major currencies to compete with the dollar. To date, US bond issuers have had an easy time servicing their obligations because the dollar has been strong and they have produced sufficient revenues in dollars. The more pressing problem may arise from non-US issuers of dollar credit, which has doubled over the last ten years to $10 trillion. This credit also has to be serviced, rolled over and repaid in dollars. We anticipate increasing pressure among non-US dollar creditors to obtain dollars as the Fed hikes US interest rates, strengthening the dollar further. The most pressure will be felt by emerging market sovereigns, banks and other companies that have issued about $3.2 trillion in dollar bonds. While further dollar strength would increase exporters’ profit margins, it would also reduce gross trade volume. Top line output of EM economies would suffer and they would likely raise consumer prices to maintain nominal growth rates. Inflation. A discussion of the US dollar and dollar assets (including US real estate) without a discussion of dollar denominated liabilities is like trying to clap with one hand. Depending on how one counts, 25 to 95 percent of US dollars have liabilities attached to them. To service or repay these liabilities, more dollars have to be created. Simply liquidating assets to service or repay them will not work because for every liquidation there must be a buyer and the buyer must have dollars (that do not exist) to settle the trade. Interest rates attached to liabilities ensure that the gross amount of liabilities will grow at a compounding rate, and higher interest rates ensures liabilities will grow faster. This, in turn, puts further pressure on assets to generate returns in excess of the negative return from liabilities. Eventually, this pressures policy makers to make sure asset prices rise more than the compounding rate of liability growth. Ultimately, helping to maintain the appearance of rational asset valuations and decent commercial fundamentals becomes secondary to policy making institutions principally charged with protecting the dollar-centric global monetary system. We are currently far along on this spectrum. We argue the US economy, US assets, the Fed and US fiscal policy makers are displaying obvious signs of late-stage fatigue associated with protecting the current global regime at all costs. As in the 1970s, the triggers for goods and service inflation within a slowing global economy will be currency related and a dearth of supply flowing through the trade channel, but rather than oil, this time the world will lack an adequate supply of increasingly scarce dollars needed for debt service. The Political Solution: Dollar Inflation Milton Friedman famously noted “inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon”. In the post-Bretton Woods monetary system, the pricing and supply of money and credit are not determined by production, but rather by monetary and currency exchange policies. Central banks and treasury ministries manufacture inflation through policy administration. This is easy to see in extremis. During the financial crisis central banks were able manipulate the general price level higher to counteract the onset of deflation. We learned from the 2008/2009 experience, however, that central banks cannot determine where new money and credit mostly flow – to production or to assets. Central banks can directly manipulate only bank balance sheets, and banks, in turn, tend to lend more to issuers and buyers of assets when the organic need for production is not increasing. The organic need for more production in the US (and everywhere else) is falling, as evidenced by declining global output growth. The only lever US policy makers will soon have left to pull, if they want to maintain the USD-centric global system, will be coordinated currency dilution (i.e., devaluation). Oil is still very important to manufacturing and transportation, but oil exporting countries no longer have the same influence over global pricing, thanks to Russia’s ability to compete in global trade and the more recent fracking revolution in the US. The exogenous influence that would produce global economic dis-equilibrium and bring about stagflation today would be money itself, specifically US dollars. To produce consumer inflation coincident with declining or contracting output, there must be an exogenous influence over prices outside the reach of central banks. We believe that influence is actually – and ironically – contracting production. The less production in an economy, the less influential that economy’s factors of production are in the global economy, and the less influence its central bank has over the global supply of goods and services. The Fed has already recognized, and communicated to the public in its statements over the last two years, that its monetary policies also consider the strength of the dollar, trade and the global economy. We think it will have to soon recognize declining global output growth and the impact a strong dollar has on it. Our guess is that the Fed would like to hike rates as much and quickly as possible over the next two years so that it can then reduce them – to weaken the dollar – as global output sinks deeper. In the end, the Fed will not be able to protect unilateral US dollar hegemony. Officials at the Fed and other major central banks, working bilaterally and with the BIS, IMF and WTO, would have to try to bring the purchasing power value of all currencies down together in relation to the real value of global production. Doing so successfully would be a monumental bureaucratic undertaking. We imagine it will be messy from social, political, economic and, especially, financial perspectives. The Fed will have to turn on the spigots and create dollars for US and foreign creditors and, if they are lucky, debtors too. Stagflation will appear. The markets should begin getting a whiff of this soon.
The Four Phases of Focus What happens to the brain during meditation? When researcher Wendy Hasenkamp was at Emory University, she and her team ran experiments on focused meditation aided by the fMRI[1]. In the end, the researchers came to recognize a distinct pattern among their subjects, a four-phase process involving four distinct brain areas. When subjects entered the fMRI scanner, they were told to focus on the sensation of their own breathing. The subject’s insula (related to a person’s focus, or lack thereof) would default towards mind wandering. When that happened and the subject became aware of the fact that they were no longer concentrating on their breathing, they were instructed to press a button. When the subjects tried to refocus on their breathing, their salience network would take over. This is the part of the brain that registers sudden attention shifts, alerting you to nearby distractions. Your salience network might be more aptly named your distraction network, and for many of us, this network is frequently on high alert. Just attempting to concentrate on your own breaths, something you don’t regularly do, becomes a challenge—especially when you’re crammed inside an fMRI as the subject of an experiment. In the third phase, the test subject would attempt to decouple their salience network and wrestle back focus from distraction in order to renew their concentration. Finally, in the last stage, the prefrontal cortex’s executive control center would reestablish its dominance and restore focus on the subject’s breath, moving that focused breathing back into awareness. Regardless of whether we’re talking about an experiment on breath concentration or just living our daily lives, this four-stage process of focusing, mind wandering, decoupling and reestablishing focus is a ritual that we practice over and over all day long. The speed at which you can regain and hold focus has enormous implications for everything you do. The good news is anyone can learn to meditate. Practicing daily breath-focused meditation, even for just five minutes a day, has been demonstrated to improve willpower, which is a prerequisite for flow and happiness. Meditation also has an interesting side effect: many people who meditate experience up to an additional hour of sleep at night. This additional hour of rest has all kinds of health benefits, including lowering your general level of anxiety. Besides, who couldn’t use an extra hour of sleep? [1] Mind of the Meditator, by Matthieu Ricard, Antoine Lutz and Richard J. Davidson, Nov 12014 Scientific American
The countries that are reluctant to accept the Syrian/Afghan/Iraqi and other refugees should, as always, read history. They might learn something. The great, successful societies of the modern world were all built on the backs of refugees. Think about it. During the Irish Potato Famine of 1845-49, approximately 1 million people died and a million more Irish refugees left Ireland for a better life anywhere that would take them in. As a result, most police departments and fire departments in the major cities of the USA east of the Mississippi River were made up primarily of people of Irish descent. Without them, who would have kept law and order? Who would have put out the fires? From Ireland also came politicians (John F. Kennedy), businessmen (Henry Ford), Hollywood personalities (Walt Disney), Supreme Court Justices (William J. Brennan, Jr.), and authors (F. Scott Fitzgerald) — just to name a few. Between 1933 and 1939, approximately 282,000 Jews left Germany and 117,000 from annexed Austria. Of these, some 95,000 emigrated to the United States, 60,000 to Palestine, 40,000 to Great Britain, and about 75,000 to Central and South America (The Holocaust Encyclopedia). Despite the horrors of the Holocaust, many of these refugees became integral parts of the countries they settled in — including Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud. After the war, the refugee survivors settled in most western countries — USA, UK, Australia, a very few in Canada and mainly in Israel. The very fact that they were refugees, who had lost everything and had to start life all over from scratch, drove them to excel in everything they did. After the Israeli War of Independence, the fledgling state, which had a total population of only some 800,000 Jews, took in six hundred thousand Jews from Arab and Muslim countries — nearly doubling the population. This was a tremendous burden on the new country, but one which pushed its development from a small, agricultural community into becoming a modern industrialized state. Refugees, and their descendants, have won Nobel Prizes, created companies and built countries. The one critical factor is this: refugees MUST be absorbed into the general populations of the countries where they are settling. This is the responsibility of both sides: the countries must act to absorb them, and not keep them ‘ghettoized’ in refugee camps, and the refugees must accept the fact that they now live in a different society — one that has opened its doors to them, and they need make the necessary moves to become part of that society. The fact that Europe is so reluctant to absorb the current waves of refugees is, in many ways, a mistake on their part. Birthrates in Germany, France and many other western European countries are so low that they have negative population growth. In ten or twenty years, there will be no one to work in the factories, mow the lawns or drive the buses. This is not by any means to say that this is all the current refugees are capable of. Quite the contrary, but it will give them jobs and incomes to make them proud and happy members of society, whose next generations will then become the excellers, the new prize winners, the next champions. To see what refugees can accomplish, see here — the list is long and impressive! And …There are countries around the world (Canada and Australia to mention just two) who have so much space and such small populations, that it should be a no-brainer for them. They need newcomers, they yearn for a fresh population increase. In rural, eastern Canada, there are towns that lie vacant, where everyone has moved to the big urban centers. There is agricultural land that begs to be farmed, and there are no farmers left to do so. Just think what a village of Afghan refugees could do with the fertile land of Quebec or Nova Scotia. Just think what Syrian shepherds could do in the Australian outback. The Gulf states are the greatest sinners, and greatest losers. By not accepting — nay, welcoming — refugees, they are undermining the very fabric of the societies they wish to preserve. By preventing even the very few that get in from becoming full-fledged members and citizens of society, they are missing their chance to transform their countries from medieval kingdoms into powerhouses of the 21st century. They have all the ingredients necessary to do that — they just lack the will. Refugees are the stuff from which countries are built. Politicians and heads of state ignore this at their own peril. And the upside to all the above is that it is much, much cheaper to encourage refugees to become members of society, than it is to keep them fed, watered and housed in miserable refugee camps.
Thursday, January 30, 2014 Why it's Medically Important to Put your Feet Up The term “Put your feet up” has long since been a slang for relaxation. Used when someone’s had a long day, a rough go at work, or simply when they’ve done too much walking. Once referring to literally placing one’s feet on an ottoman or other raised surface, it now can mean virtually any form of resting. A blanket definition of sorts. Jokes and pleas for sitting aside, however, there’s actually much more behind the idea of raised feet. Taking weight off the dogs on a regular basis can actually work to improve your health. Feet, toes, legs, skin, and beyond. Over time, you can even see an ongoing improvement in body feel and function. Raising your legs and feet for 20 minutes every day can help reduce side effects of diabetes, foot pain, and other specifically located issues. Swollen ankles can benefit from the extra blood flow, while stubbed toes can earn a much deserved break. A routine leg lift can also contribute to leg health and overall body circulation, which we know can improve everyday functions. Other Foot Health Tactics To add to your healthy foot habits, there are other steps that can be taken on. Consider regular massages, foot detoxes, or health-promoting substances. Many of these can even be done at home – give yourself a regular foot rub with your favorite lotion, or look to OTC pads that can remove toxins through the skin. However, you should talk with your doctor before considering any new supplements, or before making changes in your foot treatment regimen. Whether looking for some actual rest or a way to incorporate everyday health into a foot-centered routine, consider resting on a daily basis. Not only does it provide ample health benefits, it allows you to relax in the process.
When liquid starts to thicken and become solid, it coagulates. When you get a cut, the blood flowing from the wound will coagulate: it will start to clot and form a solid scab so you will stop bleeding. • Pronunciation: /ko'æɡjulet/ • English Description: turn from a liquid to a solid mass • Chinese Translation: 凝结(ning2 jie2) • Spanish Translation: coagular • STORY: Many liquids have the potential to coagulate. If the cream you just poured into your coffee is spoiled, you'll see the cream coagulate as it curdles into little floating chunks. If someone has a heart condition that may result in a heart attack, he or she might take medication that keep the blood in the arteries from coagulating, or dangerously thickening. • It was the irresistible call of thrice-warmed hash browns, the siren wail of coagulating grits. • Very simply said, alum is introduced to encourage particles to coagulate.
i Carbon nanohoops ~ nanoall - Nanotechnology Blog Carbon nanohoops The shortest carbon nanotube having one molecule high carbon is called “nanohoop”. It is a tiny ring of carbon, called cycloparaphenylene and will have impact on the development of faster electronic devices, more powerful sensors, and other advanced technologies. Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) can be thought of as built from component macro cycles, often called nanohoops. For example, cycloparaphenylenes can be the thought of as the precursor (at least in principle) of armchair SWNTs. To create chiral SWNTs, cycloparaphenylene-naphthalene and other acene substituted macro cycles can serve as appropriate precursors. Nanohoops are macro cycles formed of aromatic rings linked in a 1, 4’ fashion. The nanohoops contain 3-24 repeat units. The strain energy of the nanohoops exponentially decreases with the number of building blocks n, and this strain strongly correlates with the bend angle at the ipso carbons. Cycloparaphenylene synthesis offers a more targeted approach. This family of benzene-derived compounds forms the smallest possible carbon hoop structure, one molecule high. It also has a fixed diameter and orientation, the two variables that determine a nanotube’s electronic properties. Because of this, cycloparaphenylene molecules could possibly be used as seeds or templates to grow large batches of carbon nanotubes with precisely defined structures. Carbon nanohoops have smaller optical absorption gaps and this counterintuitive trend, opposite to that expected from ordinary quantum confinement, reflects a large increase in electron-hole interaction strength with decreasing hoop diameter. Silver nanohoops Silver nanohoops are a metamaterial and exhibit an antisymmetric resonance that presents a highly negative real part of the permeability at visible wavelengths. The strength of this magnetic resonance is easily tunable through the inner radius of the nanohoops. The hoop-shaped chain of benzene molecules had eluded synthesis, despite numerous efforts, since it was theorized more than 70 years ago. Their strained and distorted aromatic systems and radially oriented p orbitals have intrigued synthesis. The first synthesis and characterization ofcycloparaphenylene was demonstrated utilizing a novel aromatization reaction. The heart of the synthetic challenge lies in overcoming the strain energy required to bend a string of benzene rings which normally resist bending into a hoop. The strain is considerable and increases with decreasing ring size: 5, 28, and 47 kcal/mol for hoops with 18, 12, and 9 benzene units, respectively. Researchers used a strategy that involved the build- up of strain sequentially during the synthesis, using carefully selected small molecule precursors in combination with a cyclohexadiene molecule designed to provide the curvature and rigidity necessary for the ring to form. The strategy was successful and rings with 5, 8, and 14 benzenes were obtained in good yield (>35%). Carbon nanotubes Carbon nanotubes are hollow wires of pure carbon and can be semi conducting or metallic depending on their structure. Carbon nanotubes also feature extremely high electrical conductivity, very small diameters (much less than 100 nanometers), large aspect ratios (greater than 1000), and a tip-surface area near the theoretical limit (the smaller the tip-surface area, the more concentrated the electric field, and the greater the field enhancement factor). These features make carbon nanotubes ideal candidates for electron field emitters, white light sources, lithium secondary batteries, hydrogen storage cells, transistors, smaller computers, or tiny powerful sensors even to detect a single molecule and cathode ray tubes (CRTs). In spite of this feature they have not yet penetrated much into the electronics or other sectors, because they are difficult to make with defined structures in large quantities. At present, they are produced in batches in laboratories, with only few nanotubes in each batch possessing the desired characteristics. This approach is inefficient for commercial applications. Hence scientists are working to improve and systematize the way carbon nanotubes are produced. In order to use the carbon nanotubes more widely and more effectively, it is necessary to implement a controlled growth of the carbon nanotubes with desired structural parameters. 0 Responses to “Carbon nanohoops” Post a Comment All Rights Reserved nanoall - Nanotechnology Blog
What is a Jing? Sometimes when a Chinese teacher is trying to explain a term they will instead explain a term which is a homonym. Because there are so many words in Chinese which sound alike, simular sounding words can, over hundereds of years, take on parallel or related meanings and so in this chapter, instead of explaining jing, the solid, more structural or dense aspect of Qi, I will instead explain jing, a classic. The term jing (ching) is usually translated: Classic. "...(It) is the underlying structure, both in the human body, such as the meridians of acupuncture, and in the body of knowledge of a civilization. This is the general name given to all the "master texts," such as the Tao-te ching, ... [or the I Ching (Yijing)]. It can be used to describe books that are not philosophical (e.g. Nei Ching, "The internal Classic," the master text of Chinese medicine) or even Chinese (e.g. Shen Ching, "The Holy Classic," the Bible). The literal meaning of this character is "warpage" (the threads stretched out lengthwise in a loom that give structure to the fabric that is woven),...." (Cyrille Javary, Understanding the I Ching, p. xii.) What is the appropriate attitude with which to approach a traditional Chinese subject? How do we go about the process of unfolding the subject of the Internal Arts keeping in mind their traditional context? The classical version of traditional literature uses very dense concentrated metaphorical and symbolic language to describe a topic. Often it is a consolidation of many earlier texts which have made mention of the topic at hand. These concentrated classics are committed to memory. Understanding is expected to come over an extended period of time, with experience. In some ways this is a good summary of what a Taijiquan form or a qigng movement series is in itself. Out of this literary tradition grew a tradition of commentary and explanation, probably the consolidation of many generation of practitioners notes from the margins of their copies of the original classic. A popular way to begin a study of a classic, or jing, is for the teacher to take only the first character of the text and from just that character, reconstruct the essence, or "view" of the entire text. Commentaries which really pull apart or expand the meanings of a classic text tend to read like overwhelming layers of wafting clouds passing through the reader; too much to actually grasp, likely to invoke sleep, an inventory of embedded meanings meant to have an influence over time. Studying Internal arts is something like memorizing a classic (jing). A classic, like a an Internal arts routine, embodies conservation, efficiency and the unfolding of the totality of previous experience in a concentrated form. In both cases the relationship of student to practice and student to teacher is the processes of unfolding and revealing the text or form and then re-embodying it in its concentrated efficiency. Chen WeimingI'm calling it concentrated efficiency because that is what it seems like from the outside looking in, but to actually embody either a classic text or a internal arts form feels plain, bland and simple. A traditional Chinese scholar can seamlessly weave a classic, they have memorized, in and out of their speech in such a way that someone who is unfamiliar with the classic won't notice. In fact, scholars who have memorized and embodied many classic texts can play games together where they seamlessly string together classic quotes and yet speak to each other from the heart about things which are important to them. In fact, China has a tradition of scholars with huge appetites for study who can actually quote continuously with genuineness and sincerity. To truly embody an internal practice is the same. On the outside one appears to be doing regular everyday movement, but inside the form (or we could say qigong) is happening all the time, it becomes second nature. The practice of Push-hand is analogous to the senario where two scholars are spontaneously exchanging quotes from classic texts while discussing a third topic.
Thursday, September 19, 2013 CC Art Week 5: Perspective My very favorite project to do with my class for week 5 is a One Point Perspective project. I have done this with kids 9-12 years old with good results. I first learned about it on Deep Space Sparkle. The original site for it is here, and it includes step-by-step instructions, which I absolutely, positively recommend that you write down and practice and then take your class through. I start the lesson by explaining what perspective is, how perspective changes a square into a cube, how it can give depth, etc. I bring some art to show some examples. If you can bring a laptop and show the pictures on the original site for this project, that would be perfect. I get big pieces of paper ready ahead of time, by either folding the horizon line and the diagonal lines, or lightly drawing them on with a pencil. This just saves time and frustration since we only have 30 minutes in CC to do this project. I tape my own sheet of paper to the white board and I draw every step along the way, explaining and showing as I go, what they are to do. I think it helps them to see the actually demonstration. We go through each step. Room moms help make sure the kids are understanding and following instructions. The process is quite counter-intuitive, so there may be some erasing involved. Explain what parallel means, because it will be a helpful word for them to understand! I found that the step where they put the sidewalk lines in is pretty hard for them. They all want to make the lines diagonal, but they need to be parallel with the bottom of the paper. (straight across) Have extra pieces of paper ready because some will need to just start over rather than erase madly. In the half hour that we have for art I have always been able to have all the kids have the street, trees, buildings, and some windows and doors on the buildings. We just sketch it all in pencil. Encourage them to take it home and add color to it! Or, for week 6, since it's sort of a free choice week, you could have them continue to work on this piece. My students this year (11 and 12 year olds) seemed very excited to realize that once they understood the concepts for the slants and so forth, that they could apply this to make different types of landscapes and scenes that they were interested in. Good luck! Challenge B: Linnaeus resources Here are some resources that I found related to our study of Linnaeus for the science project in Challenge B. Here is a chart showing the Linnaean Classification System. More information here on classification. Information about Carl Linnaeus from the Encyclopedia Brittannia. Challenge A week 5 Geography: Central America, etc. I thought I'd share (when I'm able to) what we're doing to help get through Challenge A, in case it is a help to others. I was completely lost and struggling my first year. This year is somewhat better. I have chosen not to have my children do the freehand drawing for geography. Instead, we label blank blackline maps. (they do show the outlines of the countries and the features. I just made copies of the map provided in the ChA guide.) I choose features and capitals as I feel they are important. We do leave some stuff out. My goal is to have my children master the items that we do learn, rather than barely know a bunch more. So, we spend about 45-60 minutes a day working on learning and adding on bit by bit. I aim to get as much of it as possible, and get it well known by my kids. This video might be a help to you: What I did for Day 1 of learning this area: --I gave out a blank blackline map of the area and a labeled version of it as well. You can use the blank map in the ChA guide, or you can print from this site. --We went through the main countries and labeled them one by one in this order: Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama. After labeling, we chanted through, and I would say the country name and the kids would repeat and point to the country. --Once we had that, we went on to the Greater Antilles. We went in order, labeling one at a time. One helpful thing I did was I used a highlighter and went around from child to child, highlighting the next item that we were labeling. This way they knew how to spell and what country we were looking at. --We chanted and pointed through those as well. --We then added some bodies of water: Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean Sea. That is all we are doing for Day 1. Tomorrow I will build on it, starting with giving everyone a blank map and asking them to fill in everything they can remember. After they get as much done as they can, we will look back on the labeled maps to see what was missed, and fill in those. Then we will add on some additional items. We will repeat like this each day until we have everything that we want to get on the map. At some point I will work on teaching the capitals for the countries. We will probably not learn every single island in the Lesser Antilles, and I seriously doubt we will learn the capitals for the ones we do learn. Saturday, September 7, 2013 Getting easier! Encouragement of the day: Consistency pays off. We have been doing school since Aug. 1. Many of the things we are doing are short little things (like a 2-3 minute timed test for math, 15 minutes of practice on penmanship, etc.) and it is so nice to see that now, a month later, there are less groans, and more confidence! One son, who tends to believe he is not going to be good at a lot of things, is coming into his own and going a beautiful job in so many areas. It feels so good to see this and I know it feels good to the kids to gain confidence! I think the biggest key is to do a little bit, consistently, with gentle love and encouragement and fun. (and cookies! Sometimes I start handing out cookies when times are tough at the desks!) There is no need to be cross and pushy and grumpy with your children. If something is really, really hard for them, think of a way to help. Maybe ask for less for awhile. Maybe hand them a cookie or two. Maybe find a different way to do the thing. (I found that using the white board to help kids get the hang of difficult cursive strokes really helped. Making the letters bigger helps them see the parts of the letter, and it involves more muscles when they make it. And you can use fun colored markers, too!) Reminds me of, "Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down!" What are your favorite ways to add a spoonful of sugar to make the medicine go down? Friday, September 6, 2013 Motivational Tickets So I'm using something new, and I thought you all might find it useful as a jumping-off point in your own homes. We've had two persistent character issues going on this school year: 1. Complaining and fussing. Mostly about school work. "This is SO HARD!" "I'm DYING!!!" (over something so strenuous as 15 minutes of penmanship practice for a 5th grader....) 2. Mean words toward one another. The other day at our CC tutor meeting, our director shared Proverbs 12: 18 with us as something that had helped her with her own children. The next day I made a print out of it, in a modern translation, and we are reading it together each morning before school. It says: Some people make cutting remarks, but the words of the wise bring healing. I have a roll of those perforated carnival tickets. (got them in the office supply area of Walmart) I decided to give each boy two sets of 3 tickets per day. One set is plain. One set I draw a red stripe across. They write their name on the back of each one. The plain ones are for complaining: If they fuss or complain about something, they pay me a ticket. The "red line" tickets are for cutting remarks. (cutting=blood=red) So if they make cutting remarks, they pay me a ticket. The goal, of course, is to still have tickets available at the end of the day. I have a container that all of their kept tickets go into. I have a small stash now of tickets that they paid me for complaining or for cutting remarks. I thought this up on a whim, so didn't have the reward portion of this figured out when I started it, and I don't have it figured out now. I'll come up with something. I think that for my sons, just having something tangible to remind them to think before they speak is helpful. Thursday, September 5, 2013 Discover Europe I've not typically been all that interested in notebooking, but Jessica's fabulous sets have really inspired me! I already own both the Discovering Africa set and the Out of This World set about planets, and now I am so excited about the Europe set! Jessica does a beautiful job of designing each page, and since she's a homeschooling mom of four, she knows what to think about for inclusion, interest, and ease of use. The price is certainly right, especially considering that you could use this for an entire year of Geography, or to teach a small class in a co-op setting or something cool like that! As a special introductory offer, you can get $3 off the already bargain price on the Discover Europe set by using coupon code backpack3. Gotta hurry--the coupon expires Sept. 11. You can also help yourself to some free page about England by clicking here! Tuesday, September 3, 2013 CC Cycle 2 Week 3: Saturn After our science experiment today related to Saturn, my class had so many questions that I decided to find some additional resources. Maybe they will be of interest to you: And these: Monday, September 2, 2013 September: It's Time for a Contest! One September day last year, we were in the midst of the school day when I declared, "Dance Break!" I got this song going on the computer and got some of the kids to boogie a little and shake out the school day wiggles. As I watched that video today and thought about doing another September video this month, I thought: Why not a contest? So here it is: 1. Make a September video with your kids using the classic Earth, Wind, and Fire song. It can be unrehearsed, or it can be scripted and edited to perfection. It can be just the kids, or it can include you/your husband/other family members/pets. Just have fun celebrating September! 2. Upload it to youtube, and then 3. leave a comment under this post with the URL of your video. I'll share it on our facebook page so people can vote for their favorite! Make sure you've already Liked our page so you don't miss a thing and so you can get your friends to vote! What will the winner (the video with the most votes) get? Well, I'm going to work on this, but right now I can tell you it will include a prize package currently valued at over $100: A set of ALL of our collections from Classical Composers Monthly A set of ALL of my ebooks from Supermom's Health and Wellness Depending on what else I can rustle up, maybe some other stuff too. :) So, get crackin' kids! Fun is in the air! Contest will run for the entire month of September. I want to see A THOUSAND fun videos!* (do you think we can do it?) Will you tell your friends? Post this on your blog? Let's have some fun! *Fine print, rules, FAQs, and whatnot: Family-friendly videos only. Anything deemed inappropriate will absolutely, positively be deleted. "Ain't nobody got time for that!" "Can we submit more than one video?" Sure, if you want to. The more the merrier. And, I don't have time to police or enforce anything else anytime. Again: "Ain't nobody got time for that!" "Did you really mean it when you said you want a THOUSAND videos?!" Well, um.....yes and no. See above: "Ain't nobody got time for that!" Well, we'll just see what happens, ok? This is my first time at this rodeo. "What if we're not homeschoolers?" Oh, well! You don't have to be a homeschool family to have fun. Join the contest! (And, really--how on earth would I know anyhow? Say it with me: "Ain't nobody got time for that!!") "How do I make a video?" I don't know. All I do is play the song on my computer and use my cell phone to take the video. If you know a fancier way, go for it! If you want to share a link to a How To for all of us, do it!
How Did Fishing Originate And Where? Fishing is a widespread job occupation and means of survival for many. It is also one of the most popular recreational activities. Many people wonder how fishing originated and what the purpose behind it was. Fishing is basically an activity that involves hunting for fish and trying to catch them. It is a native practice used by many ancient tribes worldwide. Each tribe had its own techniques and traditions regarding this activity and different motives. Nowadays, fishing is less of a traditional practice and more of a sport. If you live in a place near the sea, fishing would be your prime source of outdoor entertainment. Not only do fishermen make a living out of this sport, but so do fishing tournament organizers. The question that comes to the mind of many is that of the origins of fishing. The advent of fishing can be traced back to the Mesolithic period which dates about 10,000 years back. Archaeological findings, discarded fish bones and cave paintings were evidence enough to conclude that sea food was one of the primary means of survival and was consumed in large quantities during that era. Some speculate that fishing may even date back to before the development of modern humans, but this has not been confirmed yet. The River Nile was the center of fishing activity. There were numerous methods used for fishing in the early times which are conspicuously illustrated in tomb scenes and drawings discovered within Egyptian tombs. By the start of the 12th dynasty, metal hooks with bards were being used to catch fish. The most important fish at the time were the Nile perch, eels and catfish. Some depictions that point towards fishing being used as a pastime were also found. Ancient Greek culture does not contain many illustrations of fishing scenes, which implies that fishing occupied a low social status during that time. There are pictures of Roman fishing from mosaics which represent fishing with rods, lines and nets, from boats. The Greek-Roman sea God Neptune is also depicted holding a fishing spear. Neptune has also been labeled as the God of fishing. References to fishing can also be found in some ancient literature. Even the Bible contains some references to this ancient activity. An instance of this is Job 41:7 “Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons? Or his head with fish spears?” This book is available to date and contains the various techniques used for fishing. He has described fishing with a “motionless net” in a very intriguing manner. He says that the fishers use nets of buoyant flax and move in a circle while hitting the sea surface with their oars. Hence, the origins of fishing are appalling for many. The significance of fishing, undoubtedly, remains to date, with many of the ancient methods and techniques still in place. Source by Greg Mitchell Leave a Reply
Technical FAQs Ask a Question How can you explain the " frequency converter " principle in an ATV ? a-The input rectifier rectifies the 3 phase network supply b- The obtained DC voltage is filtered c- From the DC supply, an inverter will rebuild an AC supply for the motor Was this helpful? What can we do to improve the information ?
Map of Benin Communes You can easily create a map of Benin Communes using Mapline. Benin, a tropical country in West Africa, has a size area 114,763 km2. It is the home of almost 11 million inhabitants. Using Mapline, you can easily create a map of Benin Communes. Benin is divided into 12 departments which were further divided into 77 communes. These communes are sub-divided into arrondissements and villages or city districts. The districts of Atakora, Ouémé, and Zou each has 9 communes, the largest number of communes of a district. Meanwhile, the district of Littoral has only 1 commune. Map of Benin Communes Steps to Create a Map of Benin Communes 1. Create a Mapline account and login. 5. Select the “Add Territories” option. 6. Select “Benin Communes” as the territory type. 8. Click “Continue.” That’s how easy it is to create a map showing all communes of Benin! Once you have your map, you can create a map of Excel spreadsheet locations to overlay on top. Mapline also makes it simple to see summary information about the locations inside each commune just by clicking on them! Sign up now to create a map of Benin communes.
The Fragility of Russian Power Russia has always been a power whose ambitions exceeded its capacities. That has made for unfathomable suffering, and more than one collapse. But three times, Russia won victories that afforded it a transcendent position. The first time was when Peter the Great triumphed over Sweden in the Great Northern War (1700-21) and Russia’s imperial rise coincided with Sweden’s decline. The second time was when Napoleon lost what was then the world’s greatest army in Russia. The third time was when Hitler did the same thing. After each episode, especially the last, Russia seemed a superpower. But it was not, at least not an enduring one. In Volume III, Tolstoy has captured the fragility of Russian power even during one of its greatest triumphs. This sensitivity to Russia’s vulnerability lends the story of France’s debacle added poignancy. In scale and drama, Napoleon’s invasion of Russia was among the greatest in world history to that time.* A thoroughly modern army, a colossal and multinational force (as made clear by Tolstoy’s allusions to the Polish cavalry who drown unforgettably in the river), hundreds of thousands of troops, not to mention their horses, marched east under France’s emperor. (It is worth noting that Napoleon was born in Corsica, and that the French had purchased the territory from Genoa only in 1768 — the year before Napoleon was born. Thus did the offspring of minor Corsican nobility have the opportunity of being able to rise up in France.) Napoleon’s army essentially won every significant battle in the Russian campaign, and yet it was forced to retreat, and utterly disintegrated. (In the period after 1989-91, Soviet occupation armies retreated from Europe along the exact routes Napoleon had traversed, but in the opposite direction, also having lost no battles.) So 1812 was not your usual war. And the follow-up was not your usual peace. This comes across vividly in Volume III, when the war begins on the opening page. How could it all have been set in motion by one Frenchman? It wasn’t. How could it have been decided by one Russian general? It wasn’t. And so on. Tolstoy writes of the millions of men who somehow consented to take part. He returns to his metaphor of the big sky. He enumerates in virtuoso fashion the gamut of positions on war strategy among the generals at camp. He sets out the causes behind the confounding destruction of the French army, even as he is about to chart its progression toward seizing Moscow. And he describes and analyzes the Battle of Borodino, as well as Moscow’s burning and the French retreat. Tolstoy’s accompanying assertions about history and historians (particularly Pp. 821-3; also P. 754), as well as his theory of leadership (Pp. 808, 745) and other editorials, might seem excessive and annoying, or they might be interesting to discuss, given that Volume III entails a historic long march, and an uncanny turnabout. *Not long before Napoleon, in the 1750s, armies of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) had marched westward. Qing expeditions to their northwest exceeded the distance of Napoleon’s march on Moscow, and over more inhospitable terrain. European armies moved mostly by preying upon local populations, but the steppe was too sparsely populated to “live off the land,” so Qing armies carried enough noodles, grain, mutton, and tea to feed a capital city for a year, along with weapons, camels, mules, carts, and porters – an entire civilization, on the move. The Qing ended up conquering an enormous swath of Asia’s interior, including Mongolia, Tibet, and eastern Turkestan (today’s Xinjiang or New Province), thereby doubling the size of the territory they had inherited from the Ming. (The Ming had better chairs.) Comments are no longer being accepted. It is interesting that two of the largest areas conquered during the age of Imperialism remain largely intact, the Qing Empire (China) and the Tsarist Siberian Empire, and they are sort of facing each other in Inner Asia. Masha (Maria) from Russia November 5, 2007 · 11:58 am Mister Kotkin, one american journalist, inspired by Newsweek’s article “Why russia is really weak”, wrote this I don’t know why, but the title of your entry made me remeber it. By no means it is an attempt to challenge the Majesty of the USA. It has always been and forever will be a Super Power. Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky must be very good translators, I looked into several translations of “The Master and Margarita”. Richard Pevear’s and Ms. Volokhonsky’s seemed the most russian (understandable) to me.
Dismiss Notice Dismiss Notice Join Physics Forums Today! Where did I go wrong? 1. Jul 30, 2015 #1 [Mentor's Note: Thread moved from the technical forums after receiving replies] I'm just learning torque, but if I went wrong here can someone help me (or explain the textbook explanation better). My work was: Torque=.4m(weight of 5kg)sin(120) which comes out to 1.73 The answer choices are The answer is D, and it is apparently because "from the diagram, sin(theta)=40cm/L, so Lsin(theta)=40cm. That is, the question gave the lever arm already. (The given angle of 60 degrees is irrelevant.) Thus, from Torque=Fl, the torque is (.4m)(.5kg)(10m/s^2)=2." Why doesn't Torque=rFsin(theta) apply? Why is the angle irrelevant? Thank you to all who reply; this is my first post so if I make any mistakes I apologize. Last edited by a moderator: Jul 30, 2015 2. jcsd 3. Jul 30, 2015 #2 What is the question? 4. Jul 30, 2015 #3 Oh my gosh I'm so sorry. "what is the torque about the pendulum's suspension point produced by the weight of the bob?" 5. Jul 30, 2015 #4 Just this? Nothing about the mass and the length of the pendulum? 6. Jul 30, 2015 #5 I should have included that in the question also. mass=.5kg and is 40cm below the suspension point. No length is given. I suppose that's where I messed up? 7. Jul 30, 2015 #6 It is really painful to write the exact text? :smile: What is 40 cm below suspension point? The mass? It may seem funny, but the answer to a question depend on the details of that question. 8. Jul 30, 2015 #7 My apologies. "In the figure above, what is the torque about the pendulum's suspension point produced by the weight of the bob, given that the mass is 40cm below the suspension point, measured vertically, and m=.50kg?" 9. Jul 30, 2015 #8 Ok, now it makes sense. :smile: No, the lever arm is not already given. And you will need the angle to find it. 40 cm is the vertical distance. Imagine that you draw a vertical line from m upwards, until it reaches the thick horizontal line. You will have a right angle triangle, with the vertical side 40 cm. The lever arm of the weight is the horizontal side of that triangle. Unless they mean that 40 cm refers to the equilibrium position of the mass, in which case 40 cm will be the length of the pendulum. Last edited: Jul 30, 2015 10. Jul 30, 2015 #9 Two questions: What is done from there? If the length of the string was 40 cm would my original attempt be correct? 11. Jul 30, 2015 #10 The formula for torque applies, of course. The angle in the formula is between r (vector from origin) and the force. Can you see what this angle is in your case? I think their answer may not be correct. I did not see that you wrote that first formula, with sin 120. If the length of the pendulum were 40 cm, it will make partial sense. The angle however is not 120. I see why you may think it is so. But to see the actual angle, imagine that you put both vectors with the tail in the origin. Last edited: Jul 30, 2015 12. Jul 30, 2015 #11 Isn't the angle 120 in my case? 13. Jul 30, 2015 #12 I edited my last post while you were posting. Sorry. See above. Edit (again) If the length of the pendulum is 40 cm, then the answer will be on the list but not D. You just need to take correct angle in your first formula and you will get it. Last edited: Jul 30, 2015 14. Jul 30, 2015 #13 So the angle would be thirty, and their answer is wrong? (An angle of 30 yields an answer of exactly one, and since you said it is one of the answers I assume my angle is still off?) By the way, thank you so much for your patience and time 15. Jul 30, 2015 #14 Yes, if you take g=10 m/s^2. With g=9.8 m/s^2 you get 0.98 Nm which is answer B. And yes, the angle is 30 degrees. 16. Jul 30, 2015 #15 Oh, very well. The book has been using 10 so there is the mix-up. Thank you again 17. Jul 31, 2015 #16 User Avatar Science Advisor Homework Helper Gold Member 2016 Award Seems to me the author got confused between sine and cosine. The text states correctly that ##L\sin(\theta)=.4m##, theta being the 60 degrees shown, but mistakenly takes ##L\sin(\theta)## as the lever arm instead of ##L\cos(\theta)## Have something to add? Draft saved Draft deleted Similar Discussions: Where did I go wrong? 1. Where did I go wrong? (Replies: 5) 2. Where did I go wrong? (Replies: 1) 3. Where did I go wrong? (Replies: 3)
Dismiss Notice Join Physics Forums Today! Where do bacteria in our body come from? 1. Aug 30, 2012 #1 We know that alot of bacteria are present in our body like in our stomach etc. Where do they come from? It's hard to think that at fertilization there is information stored somewhere in the fertilized egg that these bacteria are to be produced which will help in digestion. In other words they probably have to come through the environment. Thoughts? By the way if they do come through the environment, why are'nt they attacked by the immune system? 2. jcsd 3. Aug 30, 2012 #2 User Avatar Science Advisor I believe (not sure about this) that the initial inoculation of gut bacteria comes from your mother. We were told that this is one of the advantages of breast-feeding. After a population of bacteria is introduced, of course they multiply in your gut. I think your immune system doesn't start up immediately after birth, so these beneficial bacteria can get classified by your immune system as part of "self". I'd be interested to hear other comments on whether this is correct. 4. Aug 30, 2012 #3 Simon Bridge User Avatar Science Advisor Homework Helper Gold Member 2016 Award Is this a chicken-and-egg question? The symbiotic fauna/flora/things (for example) in our bodies do get attacked by our immune system - depending on what they do to trigger it. They enter our bodies in the womb or soon after we are born and during birth itself. These organisms have evolved with us into a symbiotic relationship over a very long time. If they were not good at getting into us, and living there, they would not be symbiotic. @phyzguy: babies immune systems get supercharged just after birth - it's just not all their own. Their own system has to learn to recognize new threats and respond properly but is already capable of responding to a wide range of challenges - including controlling their own gut bacteria. I keep reading, but having trouble confirming, that gut bacteria is often transferred from the mother's anus during a vaginal birth. It is certainly what all the newborn health books said when we had our son. Antibodies also cross the placenta and linger for some months after birth. They also get a regular top-up of antibodies and lymphocytes in the breast milk. Last edited: Aug 30, 2012 5. Aug 30, 2012 #4 Andy Resnick User Avatar Science Advisor Education Advisor 2016 Award My understanding is that gut flora primarily get there from eating. And yes, those bacteria have to survive the passage. Lactobacillus acidophilus is a common dietary supplement, for example. 6. Aug 30, 2012 #5 7. Aug 30, 2012 #6 Yes, this is what advertisers of probiotic yoghurt like to call ‘friendly’ bacteria. But that isn’t quite the correct understanding. As Simon Bridge said, the correct term is ‘symbiotic’ relationship, which basically just means mutually beneficial. The enzymes the bacteria produce to allow them to access certain nutrients in the food we eat, also help us to access nutrients as well. But it wasn’t ever thus. There were some generations of what Sean Carroll calls an ‘evolutionary arms race’ that took place between our ancestors and those of the bacteria before it settled down into a symbiotic relationship. And that doesn’t mean the bacteria can’t harm us. The same enzymes they produce that help us when produced in our bowel make us very sick if produced in our stomach. The bacteria do not have a direct route from the bowel to the stomach. Enough said about their usual route to get there if I say, make sure you wash your hands properly after using the toilet! Similar Discussions: Where do bacteria in our body come from? 1. Our bacteria (Replies: 14)
Tuesday, June 10, 2008 Rowsey Blog Why are many people in the United States so afraid of what they consider the unknown? As a language instructor, I work everyday to try to open the minds of my students to learn about other cultures through a variety of means: language, literature, media, and popular culture. Although many students begin taking a language as some type of requisite course, it often opens up their eyes and minds to the lives of our brothers and sisters throughout the world and creates a spark of interest for further study. As the world becomes smaller and more interconnected, why would Ohioans want to become more insular? What are the fears of allowing people to speak languages other than English? Are you afraid that we might all be forced to speak Spanish, or maybe even Somali? Immigrants that come to our county, legally or illegally, come to make better lives for themselves. In order to do so, they must learn English to thrive in this society. But in order to do so, they should also receive help from our government to facilitate that process and the time it takes to learn a language. We can't throw them into a land where no one can communicate with them and expect them to quickly assimilate and forget their mother tongue. Language acquisition takes some time. Now it is our moral obligation to give it to them. Original post is here. No comments:
i guess so meaning, i guess so definition \| English Cobuild dictionary Search also in: Web News Encyclopedia Images ( guesses plural & 3rd person present) ( guessing present participle) ( guessed past tense & past participle ) 1 verb If you guess something, you give an answer or provide an opinion which may not be true because you do not have definite knowledge about the matter concerned. The suit was faultless: Wood guessed that he was a very successful publisher or a banker... V that You can only guess at what mental suffering they endure... V at n/wh Paula reached for her camera, guessed distance and exposure, and shot two frames... V n Guess what I did for the whole of the first week... V wh If she guessed wrong, it meant twice as many meetings the following week. V adv 2 verb If you guessthat something is the case, you correctly form the opinion that it is the case, although you do not have definite knowledge about it. By now you will have guessed that I'm back in Ireland... V that He should have guessed what would happen... V wh Someone might have guessed our secret and passed it on. V n 3 n-count A guess is an attempt to give an answer or provide an opinion which may not be true because you do not have definite knowledge about the matter concerned. oft N that, N at n, N as to n/wh My guess is that the chance that these vaccines will work is zero..., He'd taken her pulse and made a guess at her blood pressure..., Well, we can hazard a guess at the answer. 4 If you say that something is anyone's guess or anybody's guess, you mean that no-one can be certain about what is really true. anyone's guess/anybody's guess phrase v-link PHR Just when this will happen is anyone's guess... 5 You say at a guess to indicate that what you are saying is only an estimate or what you believe to be true, rather than being a definite fact. at a guess phrase PHR with cl (vagueness) At a guess he's been dead for two days. 6 You say I guess to show that you are slightly uncertain or reluctant about what you are saying. (mainly AM) I guess phrase PHR with cl, PHR so/not (vagueness) I guess she thought that was pretty smart..., I guess he's right..., `I think you're being paranoid.'—`Yeah. I guess so.' 7 If someone keeps you guessing, they do not tell you what you want to know. keep someone guessing phrase V inflects The author's intention is to keep everyone guessing until the bitter end... 8 You say guess what to draw attention to something exciting, surprising, or interesting that you are about to say. guess what convention Guess what, I just got my first part in a movie. educated guess ( educated guesses plural ) An educated guess is a guess which is based on a certain amount of knowledge and is therefore likely to be correct. n-count Estimating the right cooking time will always be an educated guess. second-guess ( second-guesses 3rd person present) ( second-guessing present participle) ( second-guessed past tense & past participle ) If you try to second-guess something, you try to guess in advance what someone will do or what will happen. verb Editors and contributors are trying to second-guess the future. V n, Also V Translation English Cobuild Collins Dictionary Collaborative Dictionary English Cobuild abbr. acron. I don't give a fuck me too abbr. acron. Short for "today I learned". [Fam.];[Slang] When you learn about information that isn’t new but is novel for you, share it with the world by adding a “TIL”. abbr. acron. Short for "I love you". abbr. acron. Short for "just so you know". abbr. acron. Short for "I don't know". I have no idea; I don't have a clue Or sign up in the traditional way
Memory Boosting Memory Boosting Implementing memory -boosting tips and tricks can improve your overall health. Is organ, controls almost every function from sensation to movement, from feels to reactions all done by brain consciousness. Apart from enriched memory boosting diet, other methods can enhance your ability to think and overall health. Clinical research by health experts execute that brain workout is must as brain functions affect our daily life. Same study about brain health claims that memory is just like SD card fitted in brain, which keeps on learning, observing and thinking at same time. Brain’s incredible ability to perform many function simultaneously natural process and one can boost memory at any age. Modern lifestyle plays significant role in brain functioning and memory. Hectic days, busy schedules, unhealthy food, uneven sleep leads to stress, depression, anxiety, even dull memory to some extent. Noisy environments and other unhealthy habits in daily regime spot other health problems to extreme level. Moreover, from conscious to unconscious functions, complex to constant brain and body functions, hormonal balance, regular flow of blood, breathing, dreaming, and other multi-tasking is even regulated by brain. Brain functions 24 hours a day, from the day we born till the day we die and is considered as actual workshop. Healthy diet, healthy day schedule can lead to healthy body and brain. Brain health experts what we eat not only affect out body but brain too, what we see effect our mind and memory in both positive and negative manner. Memory sometimes loses track and perform off-beat, lead to forgetfulness in small things, from cell phones to bills and more. For more details please check here. How to improve you memory power is task, few healthy habits can not only boost memory but also helps to get rid of many other health problems. Let’s go through some healthy tips and trick to enhance memory and your brain functioning. Memory Boosters: Health Improvement Eat Healthy: Just like body-brain need proper intake of nutritional diet. Healthy food maintains proper balance between brain and body. Healthy eating habits promotes overall wellness. Famous proverb, eat right to think right is so much true. Brain’s constant functioning 24 hours from day we born till we die. Brain demands more intake of food so is called as hunger organ. Minerals and vitamins play a key role in healthy brain functioning. Medical researchers about brain and health reported that, brain needs at least 20% more of daily energy intake. From many healthy super food brain need adequate amount of water. All essential nutrients plays vital role in managing our daily stress and depressions too. Natural memory boosting diet includes, fruits, vegetables as because of fibre and antioxidant properties, omega 3 (fatty acid) etc. Vitamins C, B, B-6, B-12, folic acid, etc. are important and essential nutrients for brain and memory. Daily Exercise: exercise regulates blood flow, which helps in memory boosting and sharping. At least 30 min to physical exercise can boost energy and boon for health, It helps inflow of oxygen into the blood stream, promotes health. And helps brain functioning, even beneficial to get stress, depression. Apart from physical exercise, yoga, meditation keeps mind active and lowers the risk of other health diseases, even regulates glucose, and blood pressure level. Proper Sleep: proper sleep or even count naps are best healers in memory boosting and helps in lowering the risk of other mental health issues like stress, depression etc. It is claimed that our brain never stops working during sleep but rest can improve mental capability. Get 7-8 hours daily sleep is key to mental and physical health, which helps in remembering our daily observations and benefits our routine task. Keep Social: social interactions plays role in mood and mental health. Friends, family, colleagues, events, parties and social meetings empower your strength. Sharing of thoughts, jokes, emotions and feels in reducing stress and off mood depressions. Healthy talk, with near and dear lowers the risk of chronic diseases and even helps in flow of blood pressure, and heart-related problems. Playing and Skills: creative skills and learning new ones helps in keeping busy. Playing games quiz, puzzles, even experts found that playing video games with task improves the ability to think and sharpen the memory. Looking forward new art and skill of interest enhance brain health and reduce the risk of stress and depression. Moreover, reading books, newspaper and any other social means not only keeps you updated but also helps in keeping mind cells active. Steam Shower Recent Comments • Partner links
Wednesday, March 20, 2013 New Hopes for a Changing World, Chapter Eight “The Rule of Force,” pages 67-73 Humans can cooperate on an equal, voluntary basis, or greater force can compel submission. Until recently, relations between the genders were based on force, but now women in most places have increased scope for consent. [Russell’s recognition that the superior social position of men all derives from physical power had been (forcefully!) stated by his godfather, John Stuart Mill, in 1869: “the inequality of rights between men and women has no other source than the law of the strongest.”] The movement towards private freedom for women has been fostered by the increasing monopolization of all power by the state. Russell admits to exaggeration as he provides a pithy summary: “Women became emancipated from men in proportion as both became slaves of the State [p. 68].” Cooperation between the genders and within the family originated in force. Fathers used force on their children, who then returned the favor when they grew up. Recognizing their eventual vulnerability, fathers built the honoring of parents into a mainstay of morality. “Filial piety is a good example of the way in which a superiority which is originally one of physical strength acquires the sanction of religion, and is thereby able to survive even when it is no longer sustained by superior strength [p. 68].” Another example of a religious precept growing out of superior strength is the biblical claim that women should submit to men. Similar forces are at work on more macro scales. Some warrior tribe or clan imposes its will on a subject people, and over time, the clan becomes a hereditary aristocracy associated with religious virtues and worthy of special privileges. “The remarkable thing is that conquering aristocracies succeed in getting these views accepted by their subjects [p. 69].” Such is the origin of the divine right of kings, though aristocrats and nobles are loath to accept the military origin of their position. Many Indians resent British claims to superiority, which are founded on force; their own caste system has a similar basis, but became hallowed with time. Slavery, of course, also is based on force, and so are post-slavery social advantages claimed by the descendants of the slaveholders. Now a word in praise of rule by the powerful. It may be that such an organization of power is the only feasible organization, that without rule through strength, there is no organization; rather, there is anarchy. Once government is consolidated by a forceful monarch and habits of law-abiding behavior are established, the government can transition to one that is responsive to popular will. [Shades, again, of Mill: "Liberty, as a principle, has no application to any state of things anterior to the time when mankind have become capable of being improved by free and equal discussion. Until then, there is nothing for them but implicit obedience to an Akbar or a Charlemagne, if they are so fortunate as to find one."] The consolidation of a social unit generally is the hard part; the transition to a democratic form can be much smoother. And that consolidation (Russell echoes the Melian Dialogue), at first, restrains only the weak elements of the unit, while the powerful do as they will. Even murder is only a crime when an inferior kills a superior; the law will condone and even ease the homicides committed by the superior class. We need to keep this process in mind today for a transition to world government, which is necessary for preventing war. United Nations-style voluntary associations must needs be weak, as individual nations will not be keen to relinquish their sovereignty. So the establishment of a world government must be the work of a strong power or a small group of strong powers. Once established, the world power can take on a more democratic hue. “This view, which I have held for the last thirty years, encounters vehement opposition from all people of liberal outlook, and also from all nationalists of whatever nation [p. 72].” The alternative, however, of waiting for voluntary surrender of authority, is not feasible. Like it or not, we need to have world government imposed by a strong military force. One hundred years or so of enforced compliance can then give way to voluntary compliance, and a democratic world government can evolve. Any attempt to establish meaningful world government without military superiority will fall victim to the siren song of nationalism, the call to fight and die for freedom rather than to exist in a condition of servitude. Perhaps we could sidestep this logic if people were different than they now are – and maybe they can be different. “It will be necessary that individuals shall have less feeling of hostility and fear towards other individuals, more hope of security as regards their own lives, and a far more vivid realization that, in the world which modern technique has created, the need of world-wide co-operation is absolute, if mankind is to survive [p. 73].” Saturday, March 16, 2013 New Hopes for a Changing World, Chapter Seven “The Size of Social Units,” pages 59-66 Technical and psychological factors determine the size of social units. Psychological factors tend to constrain optimal extension before technical scale economies have been exhausted. The technical tradeoff is that larger organizations bring more people into cooperation, but large size begins to compromise unity. “Where Governments are concerned, the essential condition is that it must be possible to transmit orders and troops from the center in less time than it takes to organize a revolt [p. 59].” Traditionally, roads were the determining factor, but they have since been eclipsed by railways. Both the railroad and the telegraph greatly enlarged optimal state sizes – and then the plane came along. “A journey from London to Sydney is now a no more serious undertaking than a journey from London to Edinburgh was two hundred years ago [p. 60].” Soon, any state will be able to attack any other state almost instantaneously. The optimal size of states has grown, and might be limitless, because military power requires huge and dispersed resources. [Adam Smith noted in The Wealth of Nations (V.1.43) how the invention of firearms tilted the military advantage to rich nations: “In modern war the great expence of fire-arms gives an evident advantage to the nation which can best afford that expence, and consequently to an opulent and civilized over a poor and barbarous nation. In ancient times the opulent and civilized found it difficult to defend themselves against the poor and barbarous nations. In modern times the poor and barbarous find it difficult to defend themselves against the opulent and civilized. The invention of fire-arms, an invention which at first sight appears to be so pernicious, is certainly favourable both to the permanency and to the extension of civilization.”] And large countries permit large free trade zones, themselves friends to opulence. Multiple countries could establish similarly large zones, but national prejudices seem to preclude them. [Would Bertie’s fondness for world government extend to the EU and WTO?] In the past, empires generally were unthreatened by nationalistic uprisings, but now they make it very hard to hold power by force alone. “Most moderns accept nationalism as a natural phenomenon and do not realize how new it is [p. 62].” Communism is a powerful force, but it succumbed to nationalism in Yugoslavia. [Odd now to hear tragically multi-national Yugoslavia held up as a beacon of nationalism.] State power is dominated by nationalism even though the state controls impressive means of propaganda in the press, radio, and schools. “Every child during the impressionable years is exposed to a point of view which, whether avowedly propagandist or not, is always such as might be expected to imbue the child with loyalty to his Government [p. 63].” Where states and nations are equivalent, this control inflates nationalism to new heights. British people today show much more connection to British military success than they did at the time of Nelson. But state propaganda fails when states are opposed to nations, as Britain found in Ireland. Nationalism is stoked by crude means involving historical falsification and assertions of the moral superiority of the nation in question. Today’s Russian state wants to claim priority in all sorts of old inventions and discoveries, at the expense of Newton, Darwin, and Copernicus. “If men were anxious to live happily they would allow a committee of Unesco to pronounce on all such matters [pp. 63-64].” Young people around the globe generally are taught history in ways that will lead them to exaggerate their nation’s chances of victory in the next encounter. This over-optimism breeds over-war in the future. Nationalism is the major force driving humanity to extinction. In America, the nationalism of the Republicans is so extreme that they cling to it despite it being obviously counterproductive to their own aims. They choose to insult foreigners whose assistance is requisite in advancing American policy. “The Republicans apparently feel that if America could only prosper by causing other nations to prosper, then it would be better to fail [p. 65].” Nationalism is not the only bar to social cohesion and to enlightened self-interest. In ancient Greece, strains within city-states between democrats and oligarchs prevented Greek unity. (The Romans soon enough reduced the import of these disputes to the level of neighborhood political spats.) A similar dynamic played out in Renaissance Italy, and modern Western Europe is hosting a revival. Sadism, the love of cruelty and of seeing some enemy punished, is the psychological barrier to the unity we need to survive. Unity cannot be maintained if the love of cruelty is merely suppressed; rather, it must be extirpated. “It is possible, and in slightly different circumstances it would be easy, to live happily – far more happily indeed than anyone now lives – without malice and hatred and the desire for victory in disastrous contests [p. 66].” But this is a topic postponed until part three, “Man and Himself”. Friday, March 15, 2013 New Hopes for a Changing World, Chapter Six “Social Units,” pages 53-58 “Every man feels himself at once an individual and a member of a group, and it is because both these feelings are so deeply engrained in his nature that he has found it necessary to make moral codes and prohibitions and a vast apparatus of praise and blame [p. 53].” Problems arise when individual self-interest takes precedence, despite harm to overall human flourishing. The need for infants – and for moms engaged in childrearing – to be protected lies at the basis of family relations. But long ago, in-groups expanded beyond the family, to larger agglomerations such as tribes. People tend to be cooperative to those in the in-group, but rivalrous towards outsiders. Harmony within the in-group is threatened by sexual competition, and various customs – including the incest taboo and rules concerning exogamy – help to mitigate that competition. The power of custom can be glimpsed by means of the incest taboo. Almost no one seems constrained by it, yet it requires a serious subjugation of instinct. Social groups could find themselves competing for food, with war as the predictable result. Larger groups have an advantage in physical conflicts, pressuring tribes to take on larger populations. The larger social units do not have the same instinctual basis for loyalty and cooperation as does the family, however. Nonetheless, when even a group as large as a nation is threatened, its citizens rally to the cause. “So long as we have common external enemies, hostility between England and Scotland will be kept within limits, but incidents like the Stone of Scone show how easily it could break out [p. 57].” A major question (p. 58) exists as to the extent to which a psychological connection to large groups can be inculcated through education and propaganda, when it does not exist naturally. New social groups erode the power of old ones; thus, the welfare state has diminished the role of the pater familias (and his sometimes despotic wife), which used to extend both broadly and deep. [Russell is echoing an argument he made in multiple places in Marriage and Morals.] Now, much of the world is centered around nuclear families. A totalitarian state might eliminate the family, as in The Republic. The notion that centralized centers of power tend to undermine smaller, decentralized ones holds beyond the family. Large organizations enervate smaller ones. “But sometimes the larger organizations fail to flourish, and centrifugal forces prevail [p. 57].” A precipitate step towards a global state might fall into one of those “fail to flourish” cases, and strengthen nation-states. The tiny moves that actually have been attempted towards global governance so far perhaps are a case in point.
您的位置：爱思网 > TEM > 考试动态 > 2016年英语专业八级真题答案[郑家顺版] 来源：日期：2016-03-23 15:25 阅读 4979 次作者: 划词进入论坛投稿 They realised that both the babbling brook and the mighty river would flow on, and that their waters would never return. They found that as time passed by, young men would become old and the green grass would turn yellow and wither in almost the blink of an eye. A sense of urgency naturally arose over the elusiveness of time. No matter how slowly time flowed, the very fear of its transiency compelled people to use the word “passage”to warn the coming generations of the necessity of taking prompt action; thus instilling the word with a sense of tension. 1. is developed 2. giving 3. it 4. As 5. similar 6. cultures 7. which 8. than 9. or 10. therefore Do It, but with Love and Sincerity The year 2014 witness target=_blank class=infotextkey>witnessed the birth and boom of an activity online and offline both at home and abroad: the ice bucket challenge. Originally designed to attract public attention to the disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the practice has aroused a heated debate during its development. There exist opposing views on this matter. Proponents, represented by the ALS Association, claim that it is beneficial and praiseworthy, for it substantially increased donations for sufferers of the disease. Opponents, however, argue that it wastes water, does harm to one’s body and risks becoming a form of entertainment or commercial advertisement. Personally, I deem that both sides have an element of truth in their arguments and the issue should not be addressed in a simple and crude way. On the one hand, no one can deny the fact that the practice has benefited patients of ALS. Many people have not only donated money but also begun to learn about the disease and pay more attention to it. On the other hand, however, the activity does seem to have deviated from its original purpose. As we have heeded, quite a number of the attendants got involved to attract eyeballs to themselves, rather than the disease. Most remain ignorant about the disease though bombarded by pictures of celebrities soaked in iced water that went viral online. In the final analysis, I should say that the activity is a two-edged sword. But we should not give up eating for fear of being choked. The best policy, as I see it, is to take measures to avoid the harm done by it. For instance, a campaign should be launched at the same time to provide people with more knowledge about the disease, and encourage them to help those in need with love and integrity. Besides, the activity can well take a different form in drought-stricken regions. 阅读理解部分Reading Comprehension 11.B 12.C 13.B 14.D 15.A 16.D 17.B 18.C 19.A 20.D 21.C 22.C 23.B 24.C Answer Questions 25. extravagant(luxurious) 26. The party is splendid, but the girls are frivolous. 27. Data breach is the dark side to this invention. 28. Cyber security faces multiple threats: online crime and espionage 29. More adequate security protection should be given to cyberspace. 30. Presidents and deans cannot be spared from government budget cuts. 31. Grade represents a lower level of student performance 32. More attention should be given to good teaching.
What is diarrhea: What causes diarrhea? What is diarrhea? Diarrhea is a condition describing loose, watery, bowel movements. Worldwide, diarrhea causes around a million deaths a year. It is common; most people suffer from diarrhea at least twice a year. Symptoms can last for several days. Doctors treat mild diarrhea with over the counter medications, but for those who have diarrhea more frequently, diarrhea is likely a symptom of a larger medical problem such as irritable bowel syndrome or Crohn’s disease. [Read more...]
MIT 1000 from Micro Imaging Technology (MIT) is a laser-based, rapid microbial identification system capable of identifying pathogenic bacteria – just minutes after culturing. Due to the small sample volume required, culture time is also reduced by up to 50% compared to standard testing procedures. In most cases, results can be obtained in as little as eight hours from the time the culturing process begins. The device uses the principles of light scattering to discriminate various bacteria cells that are suspended in filtered water. Incident laser light both reflects off the bacteria’s outer surface and penetrates the body of the bacterium, the light interacts with any structural features and eventually emerges from inside the cell. These light patterns are unique for each species and thereby create a signature that is captured and stored in a computer database. The MIT 1000 features 35 photo detectors that surround the sample vial and collect light scattering intensities that are generated when a cell intersects the laser beam. The scattering values collected by the detectors are statistically analyzed by MIT’s proprietary software that contains an extensive database of values for each bacteria seen by the photo detectors. Identification occurs when 10-50 organisms are analyzed, and with and average time of 2 minutes. * Food Micro , Fifth Edition, Strategic Consulting, Inc.
Pests & Diseases Spiders Are A Gardener’s Friend Green lynx spider Maybe it’s because my name is Charlotte and I grew up on a farm, but I have always had an affinity for spiders. I realize not everyone shares this attraction, but here is some news that may help you tolerate them. Spiders are the most important and abundant predator of insect pests in most yards. This means spiders are not hanging around just to frighten you. In fact, they are actively defending your yard and garden against a multitude of insect pests. Understanding Spiders Spiders eat many types of nuisance and plant damaging insects, including mosquitoes, stink bugs, caterpillars, aphids, and beetles. Actually they will eat just about any insect they can get their fangs on, including other beneficials, though on the whole they eat a lot more bad bugs than good ones. In turn, spiders are an important food source for many species of birds, serving as both predator and prey in the food web. Spiders are common in gardens and landscapes throughout the year, though their numbers are generally highest in late summer and fall. An over abundance of spiders in your yard or home is an indication that there are plenty of insects around for them to eat. If you have a lot of spiders around and you can tolerate them, the best thing you can do is leave them alone so they can naturally reduce the insect population. Hunting Spiders Carolina wolf spider Carolina wolf spider / James O. Howell, University of Georgia, While all spiders have the ability to spin silk, not all of them form webs. Some of them hunt. The Carolina wolf spider, a large brown roaming spider, is a common hunter in our area, and can be found actively seeking prey both indoors and out. Also common are the much smaller jumping spiders, which as their name indicates, leap onto their prey and can move at amazing speeds. Another common hunting spider found in our region is the beautiful green lynx, my favorite species of spider. They are often found hunting among flowers and low shrubs. Web Weavers Web weaving spiders catch many types of flying insects in their sticky webs. The most well known of these industrious garden defenders are the orb weavers, whose large, symmetrical webs can truly be considered works of art. This group includes the large black and yellow garden spiders, also known as writing spiders, as well as the spotted orbweaver, who, like many orbweavers, takes down its web each morning by eating it and builds a new web every night! Incidentally, Charlotte, from Charlotte’s Web, was a barn orb weaver, a species of spider native to the northeastern US and not found in our area. A Word of Caution Most spiders will bite if handled or when defending their egg sac. Most of the time these bites only result in a small welt that is much less painful than a bee or wasp sting and there is little to be concerned about. There are two spiders found in our area though that can be more serious – the black widow and the brown recluse. Black widows are one of the two potentially dangerous spiders found in North Carolina. Of the two, black widows are much more common and easily recognized, typically having a large bulbous shiny black body with a red hourglass mark on their back. They are often found in dark and damp places like wood piles, under decks, or hanging out around concrete blocks. While black widow venom may cause nausea, sweating, and tremors, their bites are rarely serious to healthy adults. Brown recluse spiders are much smaller, about the size of a quarter. Their bodies are light brown and they can be difficult to differentiate from several other common spiders. Brown recluse spiders are considered rare in our area, preferring to stay in attics, under houses, or other places that are rarely disturbed. Their bites can result in open sores that are slow to heal. Learn more about the brown recluse spider here. Since most spider bites occur on the hands, you can protect yourself when working in areas where either of these spiders may be by simply wearing gloves. Learn More! · Common spiders in landscapes. · Spiders in and around homes. · North Carolina spiders – photos and descriptions. Featured image – Green lynx spider / Rebekah D. Wallace, University of Georgia,
James Hansen’s view on UK’s dash for fracked gas Respond to the Habitats Regulations Assessment The Department for Energy and Climate Change is currently undertaking a consultation on the Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA). The HRA is a legal requirement to ensure that protected habitats will not be impacted by adverse effects on their integrity by shale gas operations, including fracking. In Somerset this mainly means impacts on the protected areas between Clevedon and Minehead and parts of the Somerset Levels. These protected areas are wetlands and are protected by the international convention, UK and EU law – the Ramsar Convention, Habitats Conservation Regulations 2010 and the European Habitats and Birds Directives. The areas are protected because they are internationally recognised as important sites for biodiversity. Somerset 14th Round Protected Areas, West Somerset 14th Round Protected Areas, West Recent changes to the law mean that fracking can take place underneath all of these areas but the HRA accepts that fracking operations would have a negative impact if they were to take place on the surface inside the protected areas. This is stating the obvious as these are strictly protected areas. After hundreds of pages of inpenetrable maps and analysis the HRA concludes that surface operations could take place anywhere outside of the protected areas without adverse impacts, subject to a few non-biding licence advice notices. The HRA provides no option not to issue a licence no matter what the environmental conditions. The government has been advised by their former Chief Scientific Advisor that exploitation of shale gas would lead to additional cumulative greenhouse gas emissions and further global warming unless displaced fuel is not burned. The government can’t stop Qatar selling their gas to others if we don’t buy it. Global warming causes sea level rise and sea level rise is expected to remove three quarters of the intertidal habitat in the Severn Estuary over the next 60 years. Exploiting shale gas will therefore have a very plausible detrimental impact on these protected coastal habitats which the government has a legal obligation to protect. The HRA doesn’t even mention climate change or sea level rise, despite DECC being concerned about sea level rise and flooding in relation to Hinkley Point power station – which is slap bang in the middle of the Somerset assessment area. The HRA also relegates surface contamination from leaks & spillage and potential well failure to a stage of fracking operations that they say is not relevant to the assessment. It clearly is. The assessment closes at 11:45 am on the 29th September. You can respond to the assessment and make your voice heard. The HRA documents are voluminous and difficult to understand. You can see Frack Free Chew Valley’s response in summary and in detail by following these links. HRA Summary FFCV Response to the Habitats Regulations Assessment NB The government is filtering the best scientific advice from its Advisors and Parliamentary Environmental Audit Committee through the prism of a self appointed industry funded ‘task force’ and is cherry picking evidence to justify pressing ahead with shale gas no matter what. The issues of climate change and sea level rise are just massive to the future of Somerset and its effects are already being felt. The HRA ignores this and the well known critical drainage situation both on the coast and inland.
Bushwick Inlet First Meserole House Daguerreotype, ca. 1848 Today Bushwick inlet is a tiny, truncated body of water, but once it was a far bigger body of water called Bushwick Creek. The headwaters of the Creek reached deep inot today what is McCarran Park and an arm of the stream reached all the way to Roebling Street in Williamsburg. Around the waters of the creek there was an extensive marshland that often flooded, so that is why there were no residents in the park prior to its creation. The Woodpoint Road, ran from Bushwick Church, along the edge of the salt marsh to the town dock at about the present Franklin & Green Streets. A branch led to Bushwick Creek and was later called Fifth Street. Until 1838 it was the only proper road in Greenpoint. Around 1850 Shipbuilding came to Greenpoint. They realized that the marshland around the creek and eventually the creek itself could be filled in to create land for shipyards. They threw up a bulkhead in the creek and filled in land behind it. Quay Street was created in this way and the Western portions of Oak, Calyer, Mesrole and Noble were made by using landfill and by leveling the glacial hills that were once a feature of Greenpoint. Sadly, one of the sources of fill was the hill where the first Greenpointer, Dirck the Norseman, built the first stone house in Greenpoint near the intersection of Calyer and Franklin on the southern bank of Bushwick Creek. Dirck VOLCKERTSE’S one and a half story stone house, built about 1645, stood on a knoll of land on the north side of Bushwick Creek near Calyer between West and Franklin Streets. The creek, earlier was known as NOORMAN’S Kil, named for Dirck VOLCKERTSE, who was the Noorman. The house, later known as Jacobus COLYER House. Hence the name, CALYER. Volckert DIRCKSEN, the oldest son of Dirck VOLCKERTSEN, built his house near Bushwick Creek, alias NOORMAN’S Kil, on Norman Avenue between Manhattan Avenue & Lorimer Street. Later, it was known as the Jacob MESEROLE House. CLANCY’S coal yard was originally located at the edge of Bushwick Creek. CLANCY made every effort to have the creek dredged up to the point where his coal yard located but the government refused to appropriate the necessary money. In order to prove his claim that the creek was navigable he had a canal boat towed up the creek to his yard. There it remained and rotted and was used for fire wood. The locality, at North 14th Street & Berry Street, was long known as CLANCY’S Dock, long after the canal boat and coal yard were no more and with the adjacent flat became famous as the scene of ball games and bitter bare knuckle fights. CLANCY’S Grove was a name applied to this place. His Dock was a good place to get gold fish. This is a description of the inlet written I might guess in the 1920’s or thirties. The black water of the inlet, wherever it shows between the floating logs which cover half its surface, is streaked and marbled with the slowly eddying refuse of the oil works. From this rises an odor evil and strong. Trucks stream across the bridge, carrying the output of Greenpoint factories—with which products the docks are piled, and laden with which the vessels on the busy river steam away day after day. Greenpoint is full of smoke and dirt, the noise of machinery and the tread of workingmen’s feet. That it was ever green and blooming and sweet-smelling is as hard to realize as that this slimy little arm of the East River—all the “filling-in” has left of Bushwick Creek—was ever a clear and unpolluted stream. The vicinity of the old wooden bridge on Bedford Avenue, was the rendezvous of a notorious gang then known as the Rainmakers. They collected tribute from many unwary pedestrians going to or coming from Greenpoint. Many of the residents of this area of Western Greenpoint learned that their houses were built on marshland and water during hurricane Sandy. Banker Street and Clifford place had five feet of water and a wall of water rushed up Meserole following the former path of the creek. Leave a Reply WordPress.com Logo Twitter picture Facebook photo Google+ photo Connecting to %s
A prominent middle Eocene warming event is identified in Southern Ocean deep-sea cores, indicating that long-term cooling through the middle and late Eocene was not monotonic. At sites on Maud Rise and the Kerguelen Plateau, a distinct negative shift in δ18O values (∼1.0‰) is observed ca. 41.5 Ma. This excursion is interpreted as primarily a temperature signal, with a transient warming of 4 °C over 600 k.y. affecting both surface and middle-bathyal deep waters in the Indian-Atlantic region of the Southern Ocean. This isotopic event is designated as the middle Eocene climatic optimum, and is interpreted to represent a significant climatic reversal in the midst of middle to late Eocene deep-sea cooling. The lack of a significant negative carbon isotope excursion, as observed during the Paleocene–Eocene thermal maximum, and the gradual rate of high-latitude warming suggest that this event was not triggered by methane hydrate dissociation. Rather, a transient rise in pCO2 levels is suspected, possibly as a result of metamorphic decarbonation in the Himalayan orogen or increased ridge/arc volcanism during the late middle Eocene. You do not currently have access to this article.
Ancient African Kingdoms Alyssa burnett Ghana has a hot, dry continental air mass over the Sahara with a warm, humid martitime tropical air mass that forms over the South Atlantic. Ghana consists of scrub and tall grass, mostly Guinea grass, rain forests, tall trees, silk cotton trees, with dense forest areas all over along with desert areas. MAP The religion of Ghana consists of one-half of the population being Christian and one-fifth of the population is Muslim. Christian influences are dominant in the southern-part of the country. The people of Ghana also strongly worship the belief that all living things including plants, animals, etc. have spirits that watch over the people of Ghana. Slave trade is also a big part of Ghana going back to the 1500s when the new world came to form, demanding fine goods and an increase in slave trade around the world. Trade in slaves soon rose to become more in demand than gold and other precious trade items. The West Coast of Africa became the primary source of slaves,which attracted attention from Europe, even Muslim traders from the North. It is estimated that roughly 6.3 million slaves were shipped from West Africa all the way to North and South America. Ghana become one of the richest empires under trade, trading with people inside Africa such as: Arab and Berber salt traders of the North and producers of gold and ivory to the South. The king of Ghana also imposed an import-export tax on traders and a production tax on gold, which was the country's most valuable commodity. The king of Ghana was known as the ghana, or war chief. Mayors, civil servants, counselors, and ministers were appointed by the king to assist with administrative duties- but at all times, the king was in charge. CULTURE OF GHANA Ghana is known as the first African country to acquire independence from European rule. Ghana's national language is English, but Akan is the most widely spoken and has acquired informal national language status. Ghanaian national dress consists of kente cloth and another source of common identity and pride. The main exports of Ghana, gold and cocoa, also stand as identifying symbols. Children wearing kente clothing. CURRENT GHANA The country of Ghana gained independence on March 6, 1957. By the 1990s, through the country's state of affairs began exhibiting signs of improvement, and Ghana is now held as an example of successful economic recovery and political reform in Africa. In 2017, Ghana will celebrate 60 years of independence. MALI PHYSICAL Mali consists mainly of grasslands of the savanna that rolls into higher plateaus as you move north. Along with rugged elevations of hills that reach upwards of 3,280 feet of the north east RELIGIONS The Islamic country of Mali is mainly dominated being dominated by the Muslim population. Christianity also co-existed with Islam. In pre-Islamic period, Malian tribes practiced the typical pagan beliefs in bodiless spirits. Mali has gone through countless wars for different reasons. MALI SLAVE TRADE Slave labor in Mali produced the food surpluses that underlay the power of Mali's rulers and lineage chiefs. Slaves lacked kinship ties, and Mali's ruling elite prized slaves for their loyalty. Slaves played an important role in Mali society as royal administrators and soldiers. For an entire decade, a court slave named Sakura ruled Mali. TRADING SYSTEM Economy of Mali banked mainly on trans-Saharan trade during the ancient period. Niani, which was the capita; of the empire of Mali, had people thriving on milk, pounded millet, and honey. Mali suffered a trade deficit till the 1970s. Mali exports rum, chemicals, salt, mineral products, veggies, fruits, food, fuel, machinery, etc. FACTS ABOUT MALI The Republic of Mali is a landlocked country, and is located in Western Africa. Mali shares borders with Algeria to the north, Niger to the east, Burkina Faso and Cote d'lvoire to the south, Guinea to the south-west, and Senegaland and Mauritania to the west. Bamako, the capital of Mali, is considered to be the fastest growing city in Africa and the sixth fastest growing city in the world. Mali covers an area of 478,839 square miles, and is the 24th largest country in the world with a population of 14,517,176. CULTURE OF MALI . A number of symbols and elaborate sequences in the construction of the culture of Mali as the struggle against colonization, the celebration of Mali's rich history, and its long multicultural tradition grow. The culture of Mali is exhibited through the diverse religious cultures and differences in economy contribute to the retrospect government. TODAY In 2013, France intervened militarily upon the government's request following the capture of the town of Konna and its troops overran Islamist strongholds. Mali is self-sufficient in food and is also one of Africa's major cotton producers. A chronic foreign trade deficit makes it nonetheless heavily dependent on foreign aid and remittances from Malians working abroad. SONGHAI PHYSICAL Centered in the middle of Africa stretching to the Niger River in what is now central Mali. The empire eventually extended west to the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, and east into present-day Nigeria and Burkina Faso. Songhai is considered to be one of the greatest African empires, Songhai was also one of the largest empires in West Africa. With several thousand cultures under its control, Songhai was clearly the largest empire in African history. RELIGION OF SONGHAI The religion in Songhai is for the most part Islam apart from other indigenous beliefs. Songhai holds population of 3 million with a French dialect. According to Songhay religious beliefs, there are a number of paths that situate Songhay in the cosmos. These paths are magic, possession, ancestor worship, witchcraft, and Islam SONGHAI SLAVE TRADE Slavery with European states along the coast used to buy and sell African slaves for profit to work on sugar plantations, especially in Brazil and the Caribbean. Slaves were usually captives of war captured during raids on nearby regions. Sculpture of a boy in slavery TRADING SYSTEM SONGHAI Askia Mohammed Toure introduced measures and weights to standardize trading and adding inspectors for all the good being traded at each of the empire's important trading centers. Gold and salt were most commonly traded and the Songhai empire was known for its production of religious artifacts and practical tools. There were many different tribes and clans that were part of the Songhai empire. INFO ABOUT SONGHAI West Africa’s Niger River provided bigger and better harvests than the Nile. Kusoy, the fifteenth member of the Zuwa Dynasty, became Kukiya’s first Islamic king. Converting to Islam in 1009 or 1010, he appointed Muslims to governmental positions. Salt was the Songhai currency. They mined it in the Berber territories and carried it south by caravan. There were royal storehouses for salt. Songhai's currency. CULTURE OF SONGHAI The capital was at Gao, a city surrounded by a wall. It was a great cosmopolitan market place where kola nuts, gold, ivory, slaves, spices, palm oil and precious woods were traded in exchange for salt, cloth, arms, horses and copper. Islam was introduced to the royal court of Songhai in 1019, most people remained faithful to their traditional religion. SONGHAI TODAY Considered one of the greatest African empires, from the early fifteenth to the late sixteenth century, Songhai was also one of the largest empires in Western Africa, stretching all the way to present-day Cameroon. With several thousand cultures under its control, Songhai was clearly the largest empire in African history. Although it was taken over by Morocco in 1591, many of the same religious and social traditions remain today and that is why the Songhai group of people are so close because of their heritage and beliefs. RELIGION The government does not require registration of religious groups. These affiliations assume a population of 12 million. Due to emigration during the recent years of crisis, estimates of the nation’s current population vary between 11 and 13 million. Estimates particularly vary about how much of the population is syncretic (mixing Christian beliefs with indigenous beliefs). Christianity based religion SLAVE TRADE A main cause of the trade was the colonies that European countries were starting to develop. In America, for instance, which was a colony of England, there was a demand for many laborers for the sugar, tobacco and cotton plantations. Paid laborers were too expensive, and the indigenous people had largely been wiped out by disease and conflict, so the colonies turned to Africa to provide cheap labor in the form of slaves. TRADING SYSTEM It is estimated that the central ruins and surrounding valley supported a Shona population of 10,000 to 20,000. With an economy based on cattle husbandry, crop cultivation, and the trade of gold on the coast of the Indian Ocean, Great Zimbabwe was the heart of a thriving trading empire from the 11th to the 15th centuries. The word Zimbabwe, the country’s namesake, is a Shona (Bantu) word meaning “stone houses.” ZIMBABWE INFO Victoria Falls, the world's largest sheet of falling water, on the Zambezi River at the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe was named in honor of Queen Victoria of United Kingdom by David Livingstone. The world's largest man-made lake and reservoir by volume, Lake Kariba on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe is formed by damming the Zambezi River. Zimbabwe today Created By Melanie Burnett Created with images by Fæ - "Map of Church of Scotland Mission Fields, late 19th century (imp-cswc-GB-237-CSWC47-LS2-001)" • US Army Africa - "USARAF Chaplains support African land forces" • charloisporto - "vegetables potatoes basket" • Crea8t - "culture africa mexico" • a hundred visions and revisions - "untitled image" • SEDACMaps - "Mali: Population Density, 2000" • Alfred Weidinger - "Womans Dance at the Coronation of the Hogon, Endé, Mali" • mexolive - "slave castle elmina ghana" • image4you - "euro coins currency" • Public_Domain_Photography - "mali peace hand" • designerpoint - "hippo hippopotamus animal" • Norman B. 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Header Logo Live Chat Home / Essays / Recession Strategy Recession Strategy Economic Recession is the general contraction and slowdown in economic activity that leads to the fall of GDP, Investment spending, business profits, employment, capacity utilization, inflation and household incomes but an increase in unemployment rates. One way to bring the economy out of recession is the full employment of the Keynesian economic theory. Strategies to lead United States economy out of recession Keynesian economics ideology asserts that the resolutions of the "private sector occasionally" lead to ineffective macroeconomic consequences and therefore, supports active public sector policy responses like monetary policy reactions by the central bank and affecting fiscal policy activities by the state to normalize the economy operations. The government of United States should consider increasing aggregate demand by offering stimulus packages to investors to sustain their production and maintain employment opportunities. This will improve economic activity in the country and help reduce unemployment in the short run leading to a reduction of unemployment rates in the long run. During such times, the President of the United States should employ the expansionary monetary policy method as a short run measure to increase the money supply in the market through government investments that will, in turn, create jobs, to help reduce the high unemployment rates and will ensure economy functions to equilibrium. The inducement of investment can be done through a reduction in interest rates and through increasing government investment in infrastructure including sourcing for a cheap source of renewable energy to drive down the cost of production of goods in the industries in the long run. Increase in Investment by the government is another policy that injects income into the economy. This results in increased spending in the general economy, which stimulates high production and investment. The economic recession in the United States can be salvaged by the Keynesian model if the government offers a combination of economic stimulus to the investors to promote consistent production cycle and the use of expansionary monetary policies for a short run. "Increased investment will provide full employment opportunities in the long run to return the economy functions to equilibrium. Order Now Contact Us
Topic tags: Does this scan? Greg Blackman on laser scanner technology, including three-axis scan heads and developments for ultrafast lasers ‘Most laser applications began with a fixed laser beam and a positioning stage that moved the part underneath the beam. This is way too slow to be economically viable for most applications,’ says Georg Hofner, chief executive officer at Scanlab, which manufactures laser scanning devices. Those applications where fast means economically viable range from marking to solar power, and scanning can make the difference,. The widespread adoption of solar power is going to rely on engineers increasing the sunlight conversion efficiency and making the photovoltaic cell manufacturing process much cheaper. Hofner explains how a scanning system manages to be fast enough to deliver economic improvements to the likes of photovoltaics. ‘The scanning system is only moving small mirrors, which positions the beam large distances relative to the movement of the mirror. Scanning heads are therefore dynamically much more advanced than what you can do with a linear stage.’ One example of this speed is the recently completed Solasys project. Coordinated by the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology in Aachen, Germany, Solasys demonstrated 10,000 holes per second laser drilling in metal wrap-through (MWT) and emitter wrap-through (EWT) techniques. This technology is designed to lower the proportion of a crystalline silicon solar cell covered by conducting wires and thereby improve efficiency. Other scanning laser applications are eye surgery and diagnostic retinal scanning. These have to be very precise with excellent reliability and accuracy. Industrial laser processing is another sector. The scanners themselves can range in price and complexity, from simple scan heads for marking costing $500, to three-axis, high-end systems that might reach $50,000. Two-axis systems have an x and y axis perpendicular to one another. As the x and y axes are typically closed-loop and servoed, they can be programmed to cover any spot in a scanning area. ‘The type of laser processing will depend on the size of the aperture,’ explains Red Aylward, president of Cambridge Technology. Larger apertures with a large mirror will give a small, focused spot, but the beam will be manipulated at a slower speed. It depends on the application as to the size of the aperture used. ‘These mirrors move extraordinarily fast,’ Aylward states. ‘Scanning systems can drill 3,000 holes in a circuit board in one second with a small spot size and very fine positioning. The beam has to accelerate to a position, stop, drill the hole, accelerate to the next spot and drill the hole, 3,000 times a second.’ Cambridge Technology provides 28 models of galvanometers, including open-loop, closed-loop and resonant varieties, plus scan heads, controllers, and scanning subsystems. They cover clear apertures from 1 to 100mm, laser powers from milliwatts to several kilowatts, and wavelengths from deep UV to the far infrared. Most galvanometers are closed-looped systems, which have a positioning feedback device built into them. ‘A lot of the performance of the galvo is dependent upon the precision of the feedback device, in terms of its accuracy, its thermal stability, its noise floor, and repeatability,’ says Aylward. Adding a z-axis Adding a third axis makes the system more complex, but allows 3D geometries to be processed. In two axis systems, an f-theta lens is used to alter the focal point dynamically as the beam sweeps over the workpiece. David Freihofer, director, optical scanning components at Cambridge Technology, explains: ‘As the galvo is scanning back and forth, the focal point of the beam is making an arc across the scan field. Therefore, with a flat workpiece, you need to be able to flatten that focal field; the beam has to remain focused as it scans across the workpiece.’ In a three-axis system, the f-theta lens is replaced with a pre-scanning objective system that dynamically focuses the beam along the z-axis. Erwin Wagner, chief technical officer at Raylase, notes that one advantage with incorporating a dynamic lens for the z-axis is that a range of field sizes can be covered. An f-theta objective, on the other hand, provides a fixed focal length, which in turn defines the size of the scanning field. Fabricating f-theta lenses covering larger working areas becomes very expensive, and a dynamic lens for the z-axis increases the field of view. Raylase manufactures scanning systems and components. It has supplied three-axis systems for scanning fields of up to 2 x 2m. In most laser systems the scan head will be synchronised with a linear positioning stage. ‘To position the beam correctly, the galvo axis and linear axis have to be synchronised,’ explains Daniel Schwab, responsible for project engineering and hardware development at Arges, a laser scan head provider. ‘The encoder signal of the linear stage is transmitted to the scan head controller in order for it to calculate the mirror position and position the beam accurately during the movement of the stage.’ Arges also builds controllers for laser systems to synchronise linear stages and scan heads. The company has recently introduced its Anteater three-axis scanning system, suited to applications like micromachining requiring high-speed scanning. The Anteater scanning system incorporates small mirrors for high-speed processing and can be used with picosecond lasers for cold ablation. How well the scan head is synchronised with linear or rotary stages can impact upon the precision of the laser system, which is crucial for micromachining tasks and creating very small features on the part. US company, Aerotech, has released the Nmark CLS scan head controller, aimed at high-end laser micromachining applications. ‘The previous generation of the product, the Nmark SSaM, supports a mature serial communication interface called the XY2100, which is available with almost all commercial scan heads,’ explains Ron Rekowski, advanced automation division manager at Aerotech. ‘The limitation with this serial control protocol is that the exact location of the galvo is unknown. From a programmer’s perspective, the protocol is open loop – the command is sent and you have no idea how long it takes to arrive or what the profile looks like. That’s been a historic problem with galvos.’ To get around this, Rekowski says, galvo suppliers implemented various overheads in their programming such as jump delays, mark delays, and polygon delays. These delays are implemented to ensure the galvo reaches a certain position before switching the laser on or off. There are some inherent shortcomings in this, according to Rekowski. ‘We come from the high-precision laser processing area, but working with linear positioning stages,’ he says. ‘We always know where the stages are positioned; we have direct access to the feedback of the stages. What we tried to do was develop a product that treated the scanner just like a servo axis. What that required was to ditch the XY2100 serial communication protocol, instead accessing the feedback of the galvo directly. By doing this we know exactly where the galvo is positioned at any given point in time. This means a lot of these programming concepts are redundant. Now, because we know the position of the galvo, we can automatically turn the laser on and off at the right position.’ In addition, Rekowski says, because the controller has access to the feedback, the laser can be triggered as a function of position. ‘Historically that’s never been done. Typically, the laser was fired at a constant repetition rate and, as the mirrors accelerated and decelerated, there was a change in overlap of the laser pulses – the pulse rate was fixed, but the material was moving at a variable rate so the spacing of the laser pulses changed.’ The Nmark CLS triggers the laser as a function of position, so when the mirrors accelerate or decelerate the controller will speed up or slow down the trigger rate of the laser to ensure the pulses are positioned precisely. Ultrafast pulses The emergence of ultrafast laser technology, pulsing on the order of picosecond or femtosecond timescales, is driving the development of scanning systems. Hofner at Scanlab comments that the company is working on scanners for ultra-short pulsed lasers. Ultrafast lasers can be used for cold ablation, which doesn’t produce any noticeable heat affected zone on the material. But in order for them to operate in this way, each pulse has to be separated to avoid putting excess energy into the part. To ablate the material, the laser has to pass over the surface several times, but the pulses always have to be separated. ‘These ultra-short pulsed lasers reach very high frequencies of several megahertz to get reasonably high power,’ Hofner says. ‘At these frequencies, the scanning optics have to move extremely fast. This is a real challenge for scanner technology to reach these high speeds and maintain the accuracy of the system.’ He adds that ultra-short pulses put high power densities into the optics and specialised fabrication and coating methods are employed for them. The PSO (position synchronised output) programming environment developed by Aerotech for the Nmark CLS allows a better registration between successive pulses on each pass, because the laser is pulsing based on the position of the stage. In addition, Rekowski says the scanner using the Nmark CLS controller provides high accuracy and repeatability. ‘Traditional scanners aren’t necessarily that accurate,’ he states. ‘They have thermal drift issues and long term repeatability problems. ‘If you’re working with an ultra-high speed laser and you’re trying to make features on the scale of tens of microns wide then accuracy and repeatability becomes critical,’ he says. ‘We deal with these types of accuracies all the time with our precision linear stages. We’re trying to apply that same positioning capability to a scanner.’ According to Rekowski, historically, customers have struggled to get on the order of 10µm accuracy over a field size of 150 x 150mm. With a high-quality set of x-y stages though, that’s not difficult to achieve. The tradeoff with using x-y stages is that they don’t have the throughput that a scanner would. ‘We want to improve the accuracy of the scanner such that we can get better than 10µm over a 150 x 150mm field of view,’ Rekowski comments. The other advantage of tying the scanner and servo axes together with a common programming language is the elimination of stitching errors in larger parts. Traditionally, high-precision scanners would use a small field size – of 100 x 100mm, for example – to keep the accuracy high. A part 300 x 300mm would therefore have to be processed in nine 100mm sections. In this instance, stitching errors, when moving from one section to another, can occur due to the angular motion that occurs during the x-y stage motion. Since the scanner and servo are both controlled directly with the Nmark CLS in the same programming environment, the customer can program in one continuous 300mm x 300mm programming space. ‘The field of view is not fixed to the operational area of the scanner,’ says Rekowski. ‘You don’t need to break a continuous scan into smaller segments according to the field of view of the scanner.’ Speed and accuracy remain important factors in laser scanning devices for high-precision micromachining tasks. And with the emergence of ultrafast lasers further increases in speed will be required to keep up with the pulse rate.
posted by . Describe the origins of this division, and How are they... different in culture? and religion? Thanks for any and all help!!! • History - • History - It doesn't give me any information about culture, language or religion? I could have looked it up on wikipedia myself, but I was looking for a more credible source. I thought this site was run by teachers and tutors. • History - Yes, we are teachers and tutors. However, the question you asked looks like your instructor wants you to consolidate what you've learned about the East and the West. First, which continents do you consider Occident and Orient? What about Africa? There are many differences in languages (hundreds in the Eastern Hemisphere alone) and many different religions. In the Orient, we have Japan, Vietnam, Russia, India, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, etc., each with its own cultures, religions, and languages. Respond to this Question First Name School Subject Your Answer Similar Questions 1. orientalism of muslim and arab american 2. religion Previously i asked if i could receive help towards this question. how has christianity, a faith based on the teachings of one text(the bible), divided into so many denominations? 3. Human Geography (Religion) So I have to do a project on the Cultural Interaction in Religion. My religion is Sikhism. Here are the questions I'm supposed to answer in my presentation: How does the religion impact other aspects of culture? 4. history 5. History 6. art last question the onion-shaped domes on St. Basil's cathedral may remind Russians of what part of their culture heritage ? 7. Sociology For question #3, reference the videos "History of the Most Cajun Place on Earth"and “Music & Culture in the Most Cajun Place on Earth” A) Briefly describe the formation of the Cajun culture as an American subculture in the context … 8. Core World History 1. Choose EITHER Buddhism OR Confucianism and describe its origin, major principles, and how it affected existing laws, social practices, or culture. Also describe whether and how the religion/philosophy influenced other societies. … Why was the early West considered a "crossroads of culture"? 10. World History (Check Answer) More Similar Questions
Book Appointment Online with select physicians. Request Appointment Online to schedule with one of our coordinators. 1.888.IUHEALTH for Same-Day Primary Care Appointments. Sensory Sensitivities in Kids: When to Get Help and How to Implement Strategies at Home Blog Sensory Sensitivities in Kids: When to Get Help and How to Implement Strategies at Home While all kids go through developmental age-appropriate issues, kids who have sensory sensitivities have a stronger than average reaction. More kids are being categorized as having sensory issues and yet many parents are unsure how to address their child’s needs. We talked to Jill Fodstad, Ph.D., HSPP, BCBA-D, psychologist at Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health. Here, expert insights. What are sensory issues? Some kids are very sensitive to loud noises, certain foods or textures or certain material or tags in clothing. While all kids go through developmental age-appropriate issues (what three-year-old isn’t a picky eater), kids who have sensory sensitivities have a stronger than average reaction. It affects their every-day life. There are no national statistics on how many kids have these issues, in part because it’s so hard to quantify. “Some of the issues could be developmental (meaning your child might have sensitivities, but will grow out of it and it’s not necessarily abnormal), or could be related to another condition (like autism) or it could even be a behavior that is copied from classmates,” she notes. It could also be something your child seeks out because it feels good (chewing on his shirt calms him when he feels anxious). Fodstad explains that comprehensive studies have shown that the most common sensitivities are to bright lights, loud noises, food textures and food tastes as well as grooming activities, like getting haircut, nails clipped, brushing teeth. Additionally, kids with sensory sensitives were found to be more likely to mouth objects (chew their shirt) and prefer activities that involved more movement and physical exertion. How can kids (and parents) deal with these issues as children grow? “For sensory issues that are of an impairing naturethose that impact your child’s daily functioning at home, school, or socially—then it’s worth having a conversation with your child’s pediatrician to see if they can recommend an expert, like a psychologist, to help,” says Fodstad. So how can you tell if your child falls into the category of having sensory sensitives versus doing something that is age appropriate? It can be hard to tell. “Many sensory sensitivities are tied to typical child development, like your two-year-old toddler refusing to eat his peas or anything green,” says Fodstad. “However, if these issues persist as your child gets older or if there are significant accompanying problem behaviors or if the sensitivity impairs the child socially or academically, the parent should seek help.” Fodstad recommends that in the absence of significant problem behaviors (the child being physically aggressive to others or themselves, throwing disruptive temper tantrums, noncompliant) during times they are exhibiting sensory sensitives (loud noises, bright lights, foods they don’t like), wait and see if the child grows out of these issues. This is especially true if the child is young and is developing normally. Also, for situations where your child has significant behavior problems (those that have prolonged temper tantrums or aggressive behavior) during these difficult times it might be best to see someone who specializes in these issues, like a psychologist, to help develop a treatment plan that not only targets reducing the sensitivity but also addresses how to safely and appropriately manage problem behaviors when they occur. What are some strategies that can be used at home? Working with your kids on their specific sensitivity (be it loud noises or not eating specific foods) at home makes it more comfortable for your child. It’s a safe, comfortable environment in which anxiety levels should be lower (than say in a restaurant). Other things to keep in mind: 1. Employ strategies that are based upon research. Fodstad explains there’s no one “go to book.” Instead she says it’s imperative to discuss your concerns with a qualified health professional. “It’s going to be the best place to determine what are appropriate and research-based strategies that may be helpful for your child.” 2. Find strategies that are not overly burdensome for the parent to carry out. “If a parent is seeking help from a qualified expert and the recommendation is over and beyond what they can carry out taking into consideration in their own specific circumstances (other children, personal/family responsibilities, finances), the parent should speak up and work with the therapist/doctor/psychologist who is helping them to come up with a better plan that works for the family and for the child,” says Fodstad. 3. Try to track your child’s progress (by keeping a journal). 4. Use more positive-based strategies for doing a good job instead of negative strategies when the child does not meet your expectations. 5. Start at a level where the child can easily be successful right off the bat and slowly build your expectations over time. So if your child will eat no vegetables, instead of trying to get him to eat a serving, start with a small amount, like one pea. Then when he does this, praise him and give him a reward (special TV show or dessert). “The goal is to make sure the initial steps you take to assist your child are helpful right off the bat – it’s going to be a lot less stress for the parent and will help the child buy into the new way of doing things,” explains Fodstad. The goal is to help your child essentially learn how to be more flexible and able to handle and cope with some environment, event, or sensory experience that they perceive to be stressful or hard-to-handle. Over time, and with practice and encouragement, your child will be better able to handle things on their own. -- By Judy Koutsky Viewing all posts in …
Watch Online the Live Sessions of ISWWTA 2015 Rishikesh on Youtube.Visit: Search Engine Thursday, 13 November 2014 An Indian Approach to Improve the Lives of Individuals With Down Syndrome Across the world, individuals living with Down Syndrome are denied their natural rights because a large section in the society has very poor awareness of the condition and considers Down syndrome persons 'less than human'. The school of Down Syndrome Federation of India at Mylapore, a cultural hub of South India, is dedicated to help people affected by this social stigma, providing them with support and care. Here, children are happy and can dance, write poems and stories, succeed in intellectual as well as sports competition, and lead independent lives, dispelling all stereotyped views about the genetic disorder. The school keeps itself away from outside negative influences and maintains a disciplined learning environment. As you walk into the tranquility of the school, a short message will greet you at the entrance. "This is a temple. Make sure that you are pure in thoughts and action before entering." At 10 am, a day at the special school begins with prayer and meditation. Soon after the short session, all therapy divisions of the school get into busy training schedules under the supervision of healthcare and academic professionals. Physiotherapy area on the ground floor of the three-storey building is attention grabbing. Banumathi, a physiotherapist, has just helped a nine-month-old baby to sit properly with two simple leg-stretching techniques. The therapist, who has more than 35 years experience in the training field, says, "Low muscle strength and low cardiovascular fitness is common in children with Down syndrome. As a result, they are slow to reach the early motor milestones such as grasping, rolling, sitting, standing and walking. Physiotherapy is used as an effective tool to strengthen muscles and bones of the children." After correcting the sitting posture of the baby, she gets into the interaction with the parents. She says, "Parents are the physiotherapy trainers for children at home, so we make them familiar with the training techniques. Exercises are recommended based on overall health condition of the child as around 50 percent of babies with the chromosome disorder have heart defects." The parents with the child leave the school for the day as Banumathi gets into the movement issue of another child. Upstairs is the Vocational Therapy Area. Weaving traditional looms, baking, catering, candle making are taught here to make the children financially independent. At the weaving section, children interlace two distinct sets of yarns to fabricate colorful floor mats, towels and napkins. Contrary to the widely held belief, this therapy area proves individuals with the genetic disorder have memory power and can concentrate well. "We gave them training and they are doing more than 60 percent of work in this section. We pay them a fixed amount for their effort," says Mohan, trainer of the weaving section. At the Academic Department, children are taught basic concepts in subjects such as sciences and mathematics and then money concepts, time concepts, and other relevant academics. Here, Vidhya Sree is proud of her beautiful handwriting, Vellu and Vignesh happily show off mathematical skills and Lavanya spells each word correctly; she has just learnt from her favorite teacher. Again, they flaunt an ability that defies a preconceived medical notion associated with Down syndrome. At 1.30pm, it is sports and games time for children after a nutritious lunch. The counseling centre is still busy. Dr. Rekha Ramachandran, chairperson of the Federation, talks to persons affected with Down Syndrome as she tries to find out their difficulties and address their concerns. Dr. Rekha holds a doctoral degree in 'Cognitive Deficit and Depression' in Down syndrome and has traveled all over the world to acquire knowledge on the subject. She organizes World Down Syndrome Congress every year, which aims to display the key role of India in creating a world of respect for all those people with Down syndrome. "We help individuals with Down syndrome to cope better with life challenges eradicating their physical and cognitive illness with our own therapeutic approach." Dr. Rekha says. Connection Between Cold and Pain Few people experience cold not only as feeling cold, but actually as a painful sensation. This applies even to fairly mild temperatures - anything below 20°C. A group of researchers from Lund University in Sweden have now identified the mechanism in the body that creates this connection between cold and pain. It turns out that it is the same receptor that reacts to the pungent substances in mustard and garlic.Professor of Pharmacology Peter Zygmunt and Professor of Clinical Pharmacology Edward Högestätt have long conducted research on pain and the connection between pain and irritant substances in mustard, garlic and chilli. In large quantities, these strong spices can cause burning or irritant sensations in the mouth and throat, and can also cause rashes and swelling. When the eyes are exposed, these spices produce strong pain and lacrimation, a property that has been exploited in pepper spray and tear gas. The reason is that the substances affect nerves that are part of the pain system and that are activated by inflammation.Ten years ago, the Lund research group identified the receptor for mustard and garlic, i.e. the way in which the pungent substances in the spices irritate the nerve cells. Since then, the question of whether this receptor also responds to cold has been a matter of debate. However, the researchers have now demonstrated that this is the case."We have worked with Professors of Biochemistry Urban Johanson and Per Kjellbom here in Lund to extract the human receptor protein and insert it into an artificial cell membrane. There we could see that it reacted to cold", explained Peter Zygmunt. The findings increase our knowledge of the human body's temperature senses. However, they could also help all those who suffer from cold allodynia, i.e. who are over-sensitive to cold and experience pain when exposed to cold. "These problems are very common in patients with chronic pain or diseases that affect the nervous system, such as diabetic neropathy. Patients undergoing chemotherapy can also become over-sensitive to cold as a side-effect of their medication. The discomfort and pain experienced by patients can start at relatively mild temperatures, within the temperature span to which the mustard and garlic receptor reacts", said Edward Högestätt.Receptors for mustard and garlic are found in many locations in the body, including in the skin, bladder and gut. A number of pharmaceutical companies are now attempting to develop drugs to block the receptors in order to reduce problems such as itching, incontinence and pain. The Lund researchers believe that blocking the receptors ought also to relieve pain caused by cold.Moreover, it is known that the mustard and garlic receptor reacts to chemical substances that irritate the airways. Possible new drugs for people who are affected by perfume, solvents, cigarette smoke, car exhausts and suchlike should therefore also benefit those who are over-sensitive to cold in the airways. The discovery of the link between the mustard and garlic receptor and cold means that a further part of human temperature sensing has been charted."We already know that the chilli receptor not only reacts to chilli, but also to temperatures over 42°C, such as when you burn yourself on a fire. The menthol receptor reacts to temperatures under 28°C, which are perceived as pleasantly cooling. And now we know that the mustard and garlic receptor reacts to temperatures under 20°C", said Peter Zygmunt. Source:Lund University Symbiotic plants are more diverse, finds new study Some plants form into new species with a little help from their friends, according to Cornell University research published Oct. 27 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study finds that when plants develop mutually beneficial relationships with animals, mainly insects, those plant families become more diverse by evolving into more species over time. The researchers conducted a global analysis of all vascular plant families, more than 100 of which have evolved sugary nectar-secreting glands that attract and feed protective animals, such as ants. The study reports that plant groups with nectar glands contain greater numbers of species over time than groups without the glands. "Why some groups of species evolve to be more diverse than others is one of the great mysteries in biology," said Anurag Agrawal, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and co-author of the paper. Marjorie Weber, formerly of Agrawal's lab and now a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, Davis, is lead author. "By attracting bodyguards to plants, these glands can increase plant success in a variety of habitats by protecting them from local pests," Weber said. "This in turn may increase plant survival in remote places, decrease risk of local extinction or both." Also, when ants, for example, defend plants against pests, the plants may apply the energy and resources that would otherwise have been apportioned to defense to the development of new traits. These benefits may make these plants more successful at migrating to new places, where they can diversify into new species over time. Nectar glands have evolved independently more than 100 times over Earth's history, which gave the researchers many opportunities for analyses of these mechanisms in different plant families. The analysis "was possible because of the DNA sequence data available for many plant species," Agrawal said. The researchers used the data for computer modeling of phylogenies (branching diagrams that depict the evolutionary relatedness among groups of organisms), and to calculate numbers of new species that occur per million years. Biologists have long speculated which traits may have been "key innovations" that have led to highly diverse groups of species, Agrawal said. In animals it has been suspected that flight played a similar key role in the diversification of birds, bats and insects. For plant species, defense against insect pests and the formation of mutually beneficial relationships with predators was a critical evolutionary leap, he said. Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 'Tis the season to indulge in walnuts Paul Davis Paul Davis Still, Davis recommends caution in diet modification. UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center Source:Journal of Medicinal Food Watch the Medicinal Value of Walnut through Video Wednesday, 12 November 2014 Milk Does Not Do A Body Good – Massive New Study Says The results were as follows: The list literally goes on and on. Milk/Dairy Is Not The Only Source of Calcium • Oranges: One Naval Orange contains approximately 60 mg of calcium • Beans • Green Peas • Chickpeas • Quinoa • Seeds • Hemp Language Areas in The Brain The expressive and comprehensive language areas of the brain are connected through a bundle of nerves. The language areas are believed to lie in the dominant hemisphere of an individual. Language is the communication of thoughts, ideas and feelings, using arbitrary symbols or signals like vocal sounds, body language or written symbols. These symbols are bound by rules for combining its components, like rules of joining words into a sentence. Such a system is used by a set of people in a community or nation in common. Language processing is the manner in which human beings use words and string them together to communicate and also how this system is processed and understood by the listener. Most recent theories suggest that such processing is done by specific areas in the human brain. Brain injuries, stroke, tumor and other damages to the brain that are focused in the speech and language areas can give rise to deficits in expressive or comprehensive language and thus hinder communication. About 25% to 40% of stroke survivors get aphasia or inability to speak, as reported by National Aphasia Association. Besides a direct effect on the language are of the brain, the aphasia could also be due to paralysis of the fascial muscles in aphasia patients. Other causes of damage to the speech and language areas of the brain are brain tumor, seizures, brain infection and dementia. Source:National Aphasia Association Regular Walks keep off Brain Degeneration: Study Regular walks are good not only to keep fit but also to keep off brain degeneration in older adults, claims a new study. The study by the University of Kansas said that the neighbourhood area also leaves a positive effect on our mental health. "Features of a neighbourhood that encourage walking for transportation require having someplace worth walking to, like neighbours' houses, stores and parks," said Amber Watts, assistant professor of clinical psychology, University of Kansas. Easy-to-walk communities help in better cognition, along with lowering blood pressure and body mass index. "People can walk either to get somewhere or for leisure," said Watts. The study followed 25 people with mild Alzheimer's disease and 39 older adults with no signs of cognitive degeneration. The study was a two-year process carried and it took into consideration certain factors such as age, gender, education and wealth that might affect people's cognitive abilities independently of neighbourhood characteristics. The study was presented at the Gerontological Society of America's annual meeting in Washington, DC. He also added that when the environment poses challenges within a person's ability, it keeps the bodies and minds sharp. University of Kansas Understanding Natural Compounds in Pharmaceutical Research Medicine is drifting towards a major problem. Researchers found that an increasing number of bacteria is no longer sensitive to known antibiotics. Doctors urgently need to find new ways of fighting these multi-resistant pathogens. To address the problem, pharmaceutical research is turning back to the source of most of our drugs: nature. Although hundreds of thousands of known active agents are found in nature, exactly how most of them work is unclear. A team of researchers from ETH Zurich has now developed a computer-based method to predict the mechanism of action of these natural substances. The scientists hope this method will help them to generate new ideas for drug development. "Natural active agents are usually very large molecules that often can be synthesized only through very laborious processes," says Gisbert Schneider, a professor of computer-aided drug design at the Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences at ETH Zurich. An understanding of the exact mechanism of action of a natural substance enables the design of smaller, less complex molecules that are easier to synthesise. Once a substance is chemically synthesised, it can be optimised for medical applications. In order to understand the mechanism of action, researchers are studying which parts of a pathogen interact with the natural substance to inhibit its growth for example. In the past, this involved highly complex laboratory tests through which scientists usually identified only the strongest effect of a substance. However, this interaction alone is often unable to explain the entire effect of a natural substance. "Minor interactions with other target structures can contribute to the overall effect as well," explains Schneider. Analysis of 210,000 natural substances Using the computer-based method, the researchers led by Gisbert Schneider were able to predict a variety of potential target structures for 210,000 known natural substances. The software uses a trick to do this: instead of starting with the complete, often complex chemical structure of the substance, it breaks it down into small fragments. This process is based on an algorithm that sifts through chemical databases to find potential interaction partners. The algorithm does not select fragments randomly, but according to the principle of retrosynthetic analysis, a concept that originated in organic chemistry. When chemists want to synthesise a substance, they must consider what intermediate molecules are needed to reach the target. "We wanted to break down the molecules into relevant building blocks," explains Schneider. The software in turn calculates which individual fragments can be used to theoretically synthesise the substance. "By using the computer to break down the molecules, which can be quite large, into separate building blocks, we discover which parts might be essential for the mechanism of action," says Schneider. Thus, it might be possible to design less complex molecules that chemists could synthesise instead of the laborious process of isolating them from the natural source. Similarities discovered The researchers tested their method in detail on a substance found in myxobacteria. This substance, known as archazolid A, slows the growth of tumour cells and has a known target structure; however, there is evidence that interaction with other cellular factors must play a role in its anti-tumour effect. The researchers were able to use the software to identify the other factors and then confirm some of these in laboratory experiments. They were surprised to find that the mechanism of action of archazolid A resembles a much smaller, less complex molecule, arachidonic acid, an unsaturated fatty acid. "This example illustrates how a desirable effect can often be achieved using simpler substances as well," says Schneider. This case could provide inspiration for the development of new drugs. "The analysis is not yet perfect. We were unable to confirm several of the suggested interactions in biochemical experiments," Schneider admits. The goal is therefore to optimise the predictive power of the software even further. However, the algorithm has already helped to narrow down the number of possible candidates that may interact with a substance - and thus reduced the effort required for subsequent lab tests to confirm the interactions experimentally. This should make it easier in future to decipher the mechanisms of action of natural substances. Monday, 10 November 2014 Scientists develop Herbal Mouthwash to fight Oral Cancer pain For the patients of oral cancer, scientists have developed a herbal mouthwash that can help reduce the degree of pain caused due to radiation therapy. The mouthwash is developed, clinically tested and patented by the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB), under the Department of Biotechnology, along with the Regional Cancer Centre in Kerala. A controlled clinical trial involving 148 oral cancer patients is still in the process. As part of the trial, around half the patients were given the herbal mouthwash four times daily. The other group was given soda saline mouthwash. They were examined weekly by a physician. "By Day 22 of the treatment, when the radiation is most damaging, patients in the group administered the mouthwash had significantly lower pain and reduced use of analgesics and antibiotics compared to the control group," said the report. Researchers at the Kerala-based RGCB are of the view that the mouthwash will help oral cancer patients get rid of the problems associated with oral mucolitis, a painful side-effect of radiation therapy of the patients. RGCB director M Radhakrishna Pillai said, "The herbal mouthwash, by mitigating the toxicity associated with radiation therapy, could have a significant impact on improving the treatment continuity and cure rates for oral cancer." He added, "The mouthwash is a simple supernatant liquid obtained by dissolving in water equal quantities of powdered dried leaves and bark of neem (Azadiracta indica); fruits of amla (Emblica officinalis), yellow myrobalan/haritaki (Terminalia chebula) and beleric myrobalan/bibhitaki (Terminalia bellirica); and dried liquorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) roots." The plants used to make the herbal mouthwash are mentioned in Ayurvedic texts where their anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, mucolytic or analgesic properties are mentioned.globe and two-thirds of the cases are found in developing countries. According to Pillai, the high degree of pain prevents patients from completing the radiotherapy process. But the use of mouthwash can now reduce toxicity, lower treatment and hospitalisation costs and allow patients to complete the treatment.globe and two-thirds of the cases are found in developing countries. According to WHO, oral cancer is the 11th most common cancer across the globe and two-thirds of the cases are found in developing countries. Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology Mothers' education significant to children's academic success ANN ARBOR--A mother knows best--and the amount of education she attains can predict her children's success in reading and math. In fact, that success is greater if she had her child later in life, according to a new University of Michigan study. Sandra Tang, a U-M psychology research fellow and the study's lead author, said children of mothers 19 and older usually enter kindergarten with higher levels of achievement. These kids continue to excel in math and reading at higher levels through eighth grade when compared to children of mothers 18 and younger. The negative consequences of teen mothers not only affect the child born when the mother was an adolescent, but they affect the mother's subsequent children as well. Pamela Davis-Kean, associate professor of psychology and a research associate professor at the Institute for Social Research and Center for Human Growth and Development, said the findings present good news and bad news. "However, these children--and other children born to the mother when she wasn't an adolescent--never catch up in achievement across time to children whose mothers had them after completing their education," Davis-Kean said. "This group continues to carry a risk for lower achievement." The study's data was taken from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort, a nationally representative sample of children who were first assessed upon entering kindergarten in 1998 and were interviewed through spring 2007. In 14,279 cases, the children's math and reading scores were collected in third, fifth and eighth grades. Researchers used this data to compare achievement trajectories (kindergarten through eighth grade) of children born either to teen moms (18 or younger) or to adult mothers (19 and older) at the birth of their first child. The analyses took into account mothers' educational expectations for their children, the home environment and other characteristics, such as household income, that may influence children's achievement. Source:Journal of Research of Adolescence Anxiety can damage brain Accelerate conversion to Alzheimer's for those with mild cognitive impairment Toronto, Canada - People with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are at increased risk of converting to Alzheimer's disease within a few years, but a new study warns the risk increases significantly if they suffer from anxiety. Led by researchers at Baycrest Health Sciences' Rotman Research Institute, the study has shown clearly for the first time that anxiety symptoms in individuals diagnosed with MCI increase the risk of a speedier decline in cognitive functions - independent of depression (another risk marker). For MCI patients with mild, moderate or severe anxiety, Alzheimer's risk increased by 33%, 78% and 135% respectively. Until now, anxiety as a potentially significant risk marker for Alzheimer's in people diagnosed with MCI has never been isolated for a longitudinal study to gain a clearer picture of just how damaging anxiety symptoms can be on cognition and brain structure over a period of time. There is a growing body of literature that has identified late-life depression as a significant risk marker for Alzheimer's. Anxiety has historically tended to be subsumed under the rubric of depression in psychiatry. Depression is routinely screened for in assessment and follow-up of memory clinic patients; anxiety is not routinely assessed. "Our findings suggest that clinicians should routinely screen for anxiety in people who have memory problems because anxiety signals that these people are at greater risk for developing Alzheimer's," said Dr. Linda Mah, principal investigator on the study, clinician-scientist with Baycrest's Rotman Research Institute, and assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. Dr. Mah is also a co-investigator in a multi-site study lead by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, and partially funded by federal dollars (Brain Canada), to prevent Alzheimer's in people with late-life depression or MCI who are at high risk for developing the progressive brain disease. "While there is no published evidence to demonstrate whether drug treatments used in psychiatry for treating anxiety would be helpful in managing anxiety symptoms in people with mild cognitive impairment or in reducing their risk of conversion to Alzheimer's, we think that at the very least behavioural stress management programs could be recommended. In particular, there has been research on the use of mindfulness-based stress reduction in treating anxiety and other psychiatric symptoms in Alzheimer's --and this is showing promise," said Dr. Mah. The Baycrest study accessed data from the large population-based Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative to analyze anxiety, depression, cognitive and brain structural changes in 376 adults, aged 55 - 91, over a three-year period. Those changes were monitored every six months. All of the adults had a clinical diagnosis of amnestic MCI and a low score on the depression rating scale, indicating that anxiety symptoms were not part of clinical depression. MCI is considered a risk marker for converting to Alzheimer's disease within a few years. It is estimated that half-a-million Canadians aged 65-and-older have MCI, although many go undiagnosed. Not all MCI sufferers will convert to Alzheimer's - some will stabilize and others may even improve in their cognitive powers. The Baycrest study has yielded important evidence that anxiety is a "predictive factor" of whether an individual with MCI will convert to Alzheimer's or not, said Dr. Mah. Studies have shown that anxiety in MCI is associated with abnormal concentrations of plasma amyloid protein levels and T-tau proteins in cerebrospinal fluid, which are biomarkers of Alzheimer's. Depression and chronic stress have also been linked to smaller hippocampal volume and increased risk of dementia. Source:American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry The brain's 'inner GPS' gets dismantled Imagine being able to recognize your car as your own but never being able to remember where you parked it. Researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have induced this all-too-common human experience - or a close version of it - permanently in rats and from what is observed perhaps derive clues about why strokes and Alzheimer's disease can destroy a person's sense of direction. The findings are published online in the current issue of Cell Reports. Grid cells and other specialized nerve cells in the brain, known as "place cells," comprise the brain's inner GPS, the discovery of which earned British-American and Norwegian scientists this year's Nobel Prize for medicine. In research that builds upon the Nobel Prize-winning science, UC San Diego scientists have developed a micro-surgical procedure that makes it possible to remove the area of the rat's brain that contains grid cells and show what happens to this hard-wired navigational system when these grid cells are wiped out. One effect, not surprisingly, is that the rats become very poor at tasks requiring internal map-making skills, such as remembering the location of a resting platform in a water maze test. "Their loss of spatial memory formation was not a surprise," said senior co-author Robert Clark, PhD, a professor of psychiatry. "It's what would be expected based on the physiological characteristics of that area of the brain," which is known as the entorhinal cortex and is the first brain region to break down in Alzheimer's disease. But the rats retained a host of other memory and navigation-related skills that scientists had previously speculated would be destroyed without grid cells. "The surprise is the discovery of the type of memory formation that was not disrupted by the removal of the grid cell area," Clark said. Specifically, UC San Diego scientists were able to show that even without grid cells rats could still mark spatial changes in their environment. They could, for example, notice when an object in a familiar environment was moved a few inches and they could recognize objects, such as a coffee mug or flower vase, and remember later that they had seen these objects before. Electrical recordings of signals transmitted from the hippocampus suggested that the animals had developed place cells - cells that are believed to convey a sense of location - and that these cells were firing when an animal passed through a familiar place. "Their place cells were less precise and less stable, but they were present and active," said Clark, who is also a research scientist at Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System. "That was a surprise because we had removed the spatially modulated grid-cell input to these neurons." The axons of grid cells project into the hippocampus and it has been assumed that without this relay of information from the entorhinal cortex to the hippocampus, place cells would be unable to develop. "This is not the case," he said. "Our work shows a crisp division of labor within memory circuits of the brain," he said. "Removing the grid-cell network removes memory for places but leaves completely intact a whole host of other important memory abilities like recognition memory and memory of fearful events." Source:Cell Reports PM Narendra Modi allocates 'AYUSH' department to Shripad Naik With an eye on reviving indigenous and traditional medicine, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi on Sunday earmarked a Minister of State (Independent Charge) to look after Department of Ayurveda, Yogaand Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH). Shripad Yesso Naik has been made Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Ayush, said a communique issued by Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Sunday. Earlier, the Department was under the ambit of the Health Minister, under whose ministry it functioned. The move came after Modi effected a Cabinet reshuffle earlier in the day. Sunday, 9 November 2014 New Research Adds Spice to Curcumin’s Health-Promoting Benefits The researchers injected mice with lipopolysaccharide, a bacteria cell wall extract that stimulates an immune reaction in animals. Curcumin can target many molecules, but the research team zeroed in onNF-kB, a protein that is known to play an important role in the immune response. This work was supported by The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and Comprehensive Cancer Center Support (CORE) grant from the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Instituteand funding for Ohio State’s Center for Clinical and Translational Science provided by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences. all at Ohio State. Source:Journal PLOS ONE. Watch this Video Link: Facebook Badge
Tuesday, April 13, 2010 The Bay of Pigs—An Anniversary of Heroism and Shame The Bay of Pigs—An Anniversary of Heroism and Shame Humberto Fontova Tuesday, April 13, 2010 "Freedom is our goal!" roared commander Pepe San Roman to the men assembled before him 49 years ago this week. "Cuba is our cause! God is on our side! On to victory!" Fifteen hundred men crowded before San Roman at their Central American training camps that day. The next day they'd embark for a port in Nicaragua, the following day for a landing site in Cuba named Bahia De Cochinos (Bay of Pigs). Their outfit was known as Brigada 2506, and at their commander's address the men (and boys, some as young as 16) erupted. A scene of total bedlam unfolded. Hats flew. Men hugged. Men sang and cheered. Men wept. The hour of liberation was nigh -- and these men (all volunteers) were putting their lives on the line to see their dream fulfilled. Their dream was a Cuba free from the Soviet barbarism that tortured it, free from firing squads, torture chambers and the teeming Castroite Gulag. The Brigada included men from every social strata and race in Cuba -- from sugar cane planters to sugar cane cutters, from aristocrats to their chauffeurs. But mostly the folks in between, as befit a nation with a larger middle class than most of Europe. "They fought like Tigers," wrote a CIA officer who helped train these Cuban freedom-fighters. "But their fight was doomed before the first man hit the beach." That CIA man, Grayston Lynch, knew something about fighting -- and about long odds. He carried scars from Omaha Beach, The Battle of the Bulge and Korea's Heartbreak Ridge. But in those battles, Lynch and his band of brothers could count on the support of their own chief executive. At the Bay of Pigs, Lynch and his band of Cuban brothers learned -- first in speechless shock and finally in burning rage -- that their most powerful enemies were not Castro's Soviet-armed and led soldiers massing in Santa Clara, Cuba, but the Ivy League's Best and Brightest dithering in Washington. Lynch trained, in his own words, ''brave boys most of whom had never before fired a shot in anger." Short on battle experience, yes, but they fairly burst with what Bonaparte and George Patton valued most in a soldier -- morale. They'd seen the face of Castro/Communism point-blank: stealing, lying, jailing, poisoning minds, murdering. They'd heard the chilling "Fuego!"" as Castro and Che's firing squads murdered thousands of brave countrymen. More importantly, they heard the "Viva Cuba Libre!" from the bound and blindfolded patriots, right before the bullets ripped them apart. They set their jaws and resolved to smash this murderous barbarism that was ravaging their homeland. And they went at it with a vengeance. When the smoke cleared and their ammo had been expended to the very last bullet, when a hundred of them lay dead and hundreds more wounded, after their very mortars and machine gun barrel had almost melted from their furious rates of fire, after three days of relentless battle, barely 1,400 of them -- without air support (from the U.S. Carriers just offshore) and without a single supporting shot by naval artillery (from U.S. cruisers and destroyers poised just offshore) -- had squared off against 41,000 Castro troops, his entire air force and squadrons of Soviet tanks. The Cuban freedom-fighters inflicted casualties of 30 to 1against their Soviet-armed and led enemies. But to hear Castro's echo chambers in the MSM, think-tanks and academia, Fidel was the plucky David and the betrayed invaders the bumbling Goliath! No amount of heroism and pluck can offset those odds, however -- not without air cover. And tragically, 80 percent of the pre-invasion sorties by the freedom-fighter planes from Nicaragua -- the essential component of the plan to knock out Castro's air force on the ground as originally devised under the Eisenhower administration -- had been canceled at the last moment by JFK on the advice of his Best and Brightest. This was a Republican plan, after all, that had landed in their lap. And the New Frontiersmen suffered a guilty conscience about such "Yankee bullying." "The liberal cannot strike wholeheartedly against the Communist," wrote early National Review columnist James Burnham, "for fear of wounding himself in the process." Here was perfect proof. (Interestingly, Vice President Nixon was the main booster for this early action to take out Castro. The man who saw through Alger Hiss also saw through Fidel Castro, and at a time the closet Stalinist was being lionized by both the U.S. media and even the U.S. State Dept.) But the unequal battle raged furiously on the tiny beachhead. CIA man Grayston Lynch, just offshore one of the landing ships, finally learned about the canceled air strikes and figured the freedom-fighters he'd trained and befriended were doomed. "If things get rough," he radioed Commander San Roman "we can come in and evacuate you." "We will not be evacuated!" Pepe roared back to Lynch. "We came here to fight! We don't want evacuation! We want more ammo! We want PLANES! This ends here!" Repeated requests from the beachhead for air cover were transmitted to Washington -- to no avail. "See, Latin American ‘street?’" Camelot was saying with wide eyes and a smug little grin, like Eddie Haskell in front of June Cleaver. "See, U.N.? As you can plainly see, we're not involved in this thing. We're not the imperialist bullies Castro claims." This infantile and criminal idiocy had Adm. Arleigh Burke of the Joints Chief of Staff, who was transmitting the battlefield pleas, teetering on mutiny. Years before, Adm. Burke had sailed thousands of miles to smash his nation's enemies at the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Now he was Chief of Naval Operations and was aghast as new enemies were being given a sanctuary 90 miles away! "Mr. President, TWO planes from the Essex! (the U.S. Carrier just offshore from the beachhead)" that's all those boys need, Mr. President. Let me ...!" "WE put those boys there, Mr. President!!" The fighting admiral exploded. "By God, we ARE involved!" For the bow-tied, white-tailed and manicured New Frontiersmen the thing still boiled down to that all-important image problem. What would the Latin American street and the all-important U.N. think of the Yankee bullies? A lot more than they ended up thinking of the "Yankee pansies and nincompoops," that's for sure. "Sorry," replied the Essex. "Our orders are ..." The Cuban freedom-fighter pilot didn't hear the rest of his death sentence. An explosion and his radio went dead. These messages went on and on, hour after hour, from different pilots -- to no avail. By the second day, nearly half of these almost suicidal brave Cuban exile pilots had met a fiery death from Castro's jets. "NO RETREAT!" roared Erneido Oliva, second in command of the freedom-fighters (a black Cuban, by the way, and today a retired major General in the U.S. Army Reserve. Just so you know, Congressional Black Caucus.) stood and bellowed to his dazed and horribly outnumbered men. "We stand and fight!" And so they did. These things went on for three days. The Brigada's spent ammo inevitably forced a retreat. Castro's jets and Sea Furies were roaming overhead at will and tens of thousands of his Soviet-lavished troops were closing in. The Castro planes now concentrated on strafing the helpless, ammo-less freedom-fighters men. "We shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty!" proclaimed Lynch's Commander-in-Chief just three months earlier. The words were actually speechwriter Ted Sorensen's, later an Obama campaign consultant. To continue with the historical thread, click here. No comments:
Tuesday, April 24, 2007 Scientists announced that they discovered kryptonite! A mineral found by geologists in Serbia shares virtually the same chemical composition as the fictional kryptonite from outer space, used by the superhero's nemesis Lex Luthor to weaken him in the film "Superman Returns." {...} Stanley, who revealed the identity of the mysterious new mineral, discovered the match after searching the Internet for its chemical formula — sodium lithium boron silicate hydroxide. "I was amazed to discover that same scientific name written on a case of rock containing kryptonite stolen by Lex Luther from a museum in the film 'Superman Returns,'" he said. But what about the "tar" in the artificial kryptonite in Superman III? Of course, it isn't kryptonite unless it is green (or red, white, gold, or blue) and glows. More importantly, it can't be kryptonite unless it comes from Krypton. The comic books were always a bit vague about what kryptonite really was. It usually came to earth looking like a chunk of rock but it could be melted and made into other objects like metal. It was treated as an element. Possibly, just as uranium will become plutonium when exposed to the right radiation, most other solids will become kryptonite when properly treated. Additional treatments cause it to change into red, white or gold varieties. Blue kryptonite is an imperfect copy of green and will kill Bizarros. As you would expect from something glowing, kryptonite was radioactive although it did not bother terrestrial life (except for the white form which kills plants). It could be harnessed as a power source which Metallo did. Originally the explosion of Krypton transformed all of the planet's fragments into kryptonite. The young Kal-el's spaceship opened a wormhole to Earth and a significant amount of kryptonite followed through this. Besides killing Superman and powering cyborgs, kryptonite had one other interesting use - it was not affected by the heat of entering Earth's atmosphere. It might have made a good coating for the space shuttle except, as soon as someone did that the shuttle would have failed (with Lois aboard) and Superman would have to rescue a craft that could kill him. Kryptonite could also protect an inhabitant of Daxam from lead poisoning. In the 30th century, Mon-el had to take kryptonite pills regularly to stay healthy. Kryptonite could also impregnate a living being. One such was the Kryptonite Kid who could not only kill Superboy with a touch but could also transform anything he touched into kryptonite. When Superman was re-created by John Byrne in the 1980s the source of kryptonite was changed around a bit. Centuries before terrorists had tried to destroy the planet. They were stopped but not before they started a process that converted much of the planet into kryptonite and caused it to explode. Originally kryptonite could kill Superman but it did not remove his invulnerability. A kryptonite bullet would bounce off of him the same as a lead one. The revised Superman could be shot with a kryptonite bullet (probably because his impenetrable skin was replaced with a force field which failed in the presence of kryptonite). Also, long-term exposure to kryptonite turned out to be fatal to humans as Luther found out after wearing a kryptonite ring for years. No comments:
Sign up The History Of The Most Popular Hair Color, Blonde! As we look back through time one can’t help but notice that apart from some brief moments in human history there is one group of prominent people that have stayed vigorously in vogue….. blondes!! Now we are not nattering on about population percentages and the petite little followers of fleeting little fashion trends, we are talking about Aphrodite sized significance. Which brings us to our starting point in ancient Greece where they prized blonde hair as it was a symbol of both beauty (as shown by their blonde gods Aphrodite, Athena and Hera) and bravery (as most of their heroes of Iliad including Achilles were blondes). In face, various Greek populations were blonde, including the legendary Spartans. Venus_botticelli Aphrodite Moving on to ancient Rome the most popular hair coloring was blonde, which was associated with the exotic and foreign appearance of people from Gaul, (present-day France) and Germany. Ladies of the night were required by law to dye their hair blonde in order to set themselves apart, but many Roman women and men followed suit. The very wealthiest Romans would dust their hair with gold dust to appear more blonde and emperor Commodus (161–192 C.E.) was especially famous for powdering his snow-white hair with gold. So as we can see even back then people were going out of their way to obtain Leucous locks. During the Renaissance, women favored golden and blonde hair because it carried an angelic connotation. Venetian women were known to wear crownless hats with wide brims and to pull their hair through the top to be splayed evenly around the brim. The hair was then plied with a mixture of alum, honey, and black sulfur to encourage sun bleaching. In Northern European folklore, Elves and fairies were often portrayed with blonde hair in illustrations in children’s books and fairy tales. Blonde hair was associated with beauty and goodness which is a theme that continues in most animated Disney stories today from Cinderella to Sleeping Beauty. Of course, we all know of the fascination with Hollywood’s blonde bombshells who defined “sexy” for an entire era of men (and women). legolas lord of the rings elves In the 1930’s Jean Harlow’s platinum hair inspired generations of women to douse their heads in ammonia and peroxide. Her pure monochrome of depigmented hair translated beautifully onto black and white film. Jean’s hair color started a craze across the US where rabid fans bleached their hair to look like hers. Howard Hughes even offered $10,000 to the beautician who could match Jean’s hair color. Then came the 1950’s and Marilyn Monroe took the dumb blonde stereotype and made it something altogether more complex. Her “dumb” characters were actually quite cunning, using their soft voices, big eyes, and fluffy white hair to bilk men out of fortunes and get whatever they wanted whenever they wanted it. In an America where women were still second-class citizens, Marilyn’s trickster blondes were emblematic of a significant women’s issue: how to get what you want without making men feel threatened. After women’s lib, in the 1970’s the dumb blonde stereotype continued to hang around, remaining popular in Hollywood. But with the premiere of Charlie’s Angels, blondes became associated with sexy, crime fighter roles. Farrah Fawcett’s blonde character was the muscle. What her character lacked in intelligence, she made up for with skilled gunplay. The hot blonde with a bloodlust has become a different kind of Hollywood trope, inspiring characters like Uma Thurman’s Beatrix Kiddo in Kill Bill. These days, blond hair hasn’t escaped its historical associations with sexiness or stupidity, but there’s a general awareness that the stereotypes are outdated. Legally Blonde and movies of its ilk have successfully turned the trope on its head. So as we see down our little adventure through Blonde history blondes have always been the most sought after and revered, overcoming controversy and sometimes using it to its cunning advantage and this reign of platinum power will continue as it has been predicted that blonde hair colors will be a dominant trend through 2016. As a fellow blonde, I say with extreme confidence; ”Accuse us of stupidity, we will overcome any and all conspiracy. Nothing can get in our way. Blonde is here to stay!!”
Martial arts strength training Article by Dan Knight added on 26 Aug 2012. Last updated on 26 Aug 2012. Facts about weight lifting and martial arts This is a bit of a controversial subject. My aim with this article is to talk about some of the facts and myths about resistance training. By resistance training I mean weight lifting, body weight exercises like press ups (sometimes called calisthenics) and other forms of training designed to make the muscles of the body stronger and faster. I will then give some examples of training that will improve a persons ability to perform Wing Chun (or any martial art really). So lets kick off by busting open a common myth: The Myth Lifting weights will make you slow. I see this on a lot both on the internet and in some martial arts classes. There is some credibility to it in the sense that lifting weights wrong or with the aim of being the worlds strongest woman/man may make you slower and damage your technique in martial arts. However this is true with Wing Chun specific training too. For instance repeatedly doing a drill wrong will make you worse not better at Wing Chun. I have even heard people say that weight lifting reduces flexibility. Rather than simply say these views are wrong I shall explain the facts about weight training from a martial arts perspective. Wing Chun and most martial arts use punches, kicks, blocking or deflections and footwork. These are all movements that require muscles. Lets look at the punch. This uses the lateral muscles in the back and the triceps in the arm to "throw" the punch out (and some of the smaller muscles in the shoulder area). You then use the bicep and some other muscles to pull the punch back. The faster these muscles can move the more damage the punch will do. If your not convinced about this, there is some good information about the science of striking that can be found here. Weight training for martial arts So for a powerful (or dangerous) strike you need to make your muscles move fast. Whats this got to do with weight training? Firstly the body is an adaptive organism. If you do something over and over your body gets better at doing it. For instance mental subjects like maths, the more you try the more you learn. Subjects that need coordination like Wing Chun, the more you do a drill the easier it becomes. This is also true for physical subjects, the more often you do press ups the more you will be able to do after time. Your body even adapts to what you eat, you eat too much you body gets fat, you don't eat enough you loose weight. So when you punch in the air or on a pad or punch bag a lot your body gets used to it. It adapts your muscles and you can punch for longer without getting tired. There then comes a point where your muscles (the ones involved in punching) can move fast enough to perform the exercise (punching) without the need to adapt anymore. Therefore in order to make your body get faster you need to add more resistance so that your body cant cope with the load you are forcing it to deal with easily, this in turn makes your body adapt again to deal with the extra resistance (weight). Thus your body makes your muscles change so they can push harder. Then when you take away the weight you should hopefully be able to strike faster (and therefore harder). Improving your punch Some extra points worth mentioning here is that your body will adapt to the specific resistance, so picking up some weights and punching with them is NOT going to improve your punch. Why? Because resistance from weight is gravity, so to stop the weight you punched with falling to the floor your arms lift up so the muscles required to lift get stronger. These are not the same as the muscles that push (as in push out a punch). To train these with weight you need to, for instance, lie on your back on a bench or gym ball, face up and punch the weight straight up into the air so that gravity is working against the punch making your muscles push harder. Ill explain this more in the section on training your arms. Professional fighters I know a lot of people have prejudice and the above 3 paragraphs may not be enough to persuade some people that weight training can be really good. However as a final ditch attempt to convince people, lets look at cage fighters and boxers. These are people whose income, health and career all depend on being fast with strikes and footwork etc. Professional fighters lift weights. You think if it slowed them down someone would enter a competition who did no weight training and beat everyone by being faster. But as I have said weight training slowing you down only happens if you do the wrong kind of weight training (trying to lift too much weight making your body get used to exerting force slowly on a regular basis). Some Martial arts specific resistance training These articles will all explain how and why you should train a certain muscle groups to improve your Wing Chun. Sub categories for Martial arts strength training Abdominal and Core Muscles Martial Arts Abs. A complete guide to training you Abdominal Muscles for martial arts. Gain strength speed and power to fight! Tags for this article: Weight TrainingStrengthPunchingMartial Arts Ways to share this article:
Sunday, August 24, 2014 Methane vents bubble up off US coast Their findings came as a bit of a surprise. What is methane hydrate? • Methane hydrate is in the form of a 3D ice structure with natural gas locked inside • The substance looks like white ice, but it does not behave like it • If methane hydrate is either warmed or depressurised, it will break down into water and natural gas • The energy content of methane occurring in hydrate form is immense • In the Gulf of Mexico, gas hydrate resources have recently been assessed at more than 6,000 trillion cubic feet Source: US Department of Energy They do not appear to be reaching the surface. 'The methane is dissolving into the ocean at depths of hundreds of metres and being oxidised to CO2,' said Prof Skarke. This research, though, does highlight the scale of methane that is under the waters. Estimates suggest that these undersea sediments are one of the largest reservoirs on Earth, and contains around 10 times more carbon than the atmosphere. Carbon budget revisions Others who have collaborated on the search for seeps say these discoveries are important. 'These are significant geochemically, as they and our research teams found perhaps one of the largest seeps yet discovered with very active methane bubbling and large amounts of frozen hydrates,' said Prof Steve Ross, from the University of North Carolina, Wilmington. 'These seeps are also significant biologically, as we have found unique chemosynthetic communities, huge range extensions and increased biodiversity.' As to the energy potential of these new seeping sources, Prof Skarke is fairly pessimistic. 'There is no evidence to say that these clathrates are related to conventional gas reservoirs, so there is no evidence to say they are a recoverable resource.' The research has been published in the journal Nature Geoscience. Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc.
Member Menu Harlequin Bugs HarlequinThe first week of May, 2014, many gardeners reported seeing this bug on broccoli that had bolted and other plants in the brassica family. This pest is Murgantia histrionica, also known as the Harlequin Bug or Cabbage Bug. Harlequin bugs come because there are plants that are past their prime. They especially like all the brassica family (cabbage, kale, collard, brussels sprouts, radishes, cauliflower, turnips, mustards, kohlrabi, rutabaga, regular arugula). These plants need to be immediately removed, bagged and disposed of. If they are not removed, the infestation will last into the summer. If some persist until fall planting, which is mostly brassicas, the infestation will carry over. The solution is not killing by hand or killing by spraying insecticide, it is removing all brassicas at once. It is time to plant other crops. Powered by WordPress. Designed by Woo Themes
James Joyce Quiz \| Eight Week Quiz C Buy the James Joyce Lesson Plans Name: _________________________ Period: ___________________ This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Part II: Pola, Rome, Trieste. Multiple Choice Questions 1. Why had Joyce and Nora not yet married? (a) Nora was not sure she loved him. (b) They wanted to rebel against society. (c) Joyce did not want to get married. (d) They didn't have the money for a wedding. 2. Where did Joyce go to further his studies? (a) Vienna. (b) Paris. (c) Madrid. (d) Rome. 3. The Joyces moved in with which family in Trieste? (a) Rinaldo. (b) Francini. (c) Ferraro. (d) Sabatino. 4. What was one of Joyce's two main goals in 1909? (a) To learn how to sail. (b) To become a professor. (c) To visit Russia. (d) To travel the world. 5. Where did the Joyces move when World War I broke out? (a) America. (b) Africa. (c) Switzerland. (d) Austria. Short Answer Questions 1. Why did the manager of the school love Joyce? 2. What was the name of the theater that Joyce established? 3. How many mortgages did Joyce's father have to take out to support his family? 4. Where is Joyce transferred when he is forced to leave the position in #41? 5. Where did Joyce go to college? (see the answer key) This section contains 192 words (approx. 1 page at 300 words per page) Buy the James Joyce Lesson Plans Follow Us on Facebook

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