Monday, January 27, 2020

Cyber Crimes and Cyber Security

Cyber Crimes and Cyber Security Jackalynn E. Sellers Abstract Cyber related crimes are increasing at a rapid rate across the world. Hacking and viruses are used to steal important personal information. Understanding cyber-crime is essential to understand how criminals are using the Internet to commit various crimes and what can be done to prevent these crimes from happening. This paper will cover different cyber-crimes and information on what the average Internet user can do to protect themselves from falling victim to cyber-crimes. Keywords: Cyber Security, Cyber Crime The Internet is a place saturated with information and over the years, information has become more easily accessible than ever before. How much information that is chosen to be shared on the Internet should be carefully considered. A simple post to any social media site could give out more personal information than originally intended. Cyber security is a priority with the growing use and ease of access of the Internet. If an internet user is not careful about the information given over to cyberspace, the users identity could easily be stolen or their finances drained. Cyber security is important not just to the government but also to the average user. Cyber Crime To understand why cyber security is needed and important, an understanding of cybercrime is required. Cybercrime is any illicit activity that is performed on the Internet or any network-based device. These crimes include identity theft, viruses, cyber stalking, and phishing. Identity Theft Identity theft occurs when a hacker steals information from personal accounts such as banking information, social security numbers, and addresses. The hacker will then use this information to create accounts in the victims name. Being aware of encrypted websites and having adequate measures of protection when imputing this information into websites is essential to even the less-than average user of internet. Viruses Computer viruses are pieces of code that are usually attached to downloadable files. When the file is running the code of the virus activates and proceeds to spread throughout computer files. These viruses infect vital information and can lead to deletion or corruption of important system files. Some viruses will also allow personal information and files to be accessed by another user. Cyber Stalking Cyber stalking is a crime that occurs when a person is being harassed by another person in an online setting. The victim is often bombarded with messages not just to themselves, but also to family members or friends. Threats are often received by the victim as a tactic to get the victim to reply. Often the victim will suffer from anxiety and fear. Phishing Phishing is a crime where electronic mail is sent to the victim that mimics banking institutions or other financial or personal information accounts. The victim, if not careful, will enter their personal information on a site that mimics very closely the website used for personal information. It is important for a potential victim to be aware of email addresses associated with bank accounts and other sites that may contain personal information. Conclusion The increase on cyber-attacks all over the world is pressing the need for updated cyber security. The United States created the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) in 1988 after a wide-spread break in of the Internet. The CERT has no authority to arrest or prosecute hackers but it does provide constant security of international information on the Internet. Interpol has also set up the I-24/7 communication system for internet-based policing to report any crimes found. Altogether, the average user of the Internet can protect themselves from cyber-crimes by being aware of what information is being put on the Internet and being aware that the information can be seen at any time by any person in the world. There are departments of security in place for the more serious cyber-crimes and reports can be made to these departments of any cyber-attacks. Advances are constantly being made to police the Internet and cyberspace. References Goutam, R. K. (2015). Importance of Cyber Security. International Journal of Computer Applications, 111(7) doi:10.5120/19550-1250 Williams, B. K. Sawyer, S. C. (2015) Using Information Technology. New York, New York: McGraw-Hill Education  

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Pfizer Industry Analysis

An Economy and Industry Analysis Focus Industry: Pharmaceutical Industry Focus Company: Pfizer, Inc. (PFE – NYSE) Pharmaceutical Industry Classification The pharmaceutical industry seems to be an intermingling of growth and expansion stage. This is mainly due to the fact that there are so much research and development (R&D) work being conducted in the industry, creating growth in the industry. At the same time, various players in this industry have started to acquire or merge with their respective competitors, in order to expand and diversify product line, market share, or new markets. The worldwide pharmaceutical sales has continued to grow faster than most segments of the world economy – driven by strong demographic trends of the world population: aging population in many countries, lengthening of average life expectancy, and rising incidence of chronic diseases. This industry is a non-cyclical industry, as the products, drugs and medication, are geared towards consumers and markets that are not prone to price changes, inflation, or economy fluctuations. Consumers in the market might lean towards product lines in the lower end of the affordability spectrum, rather than higher end – purchasing generic products in the market. Pharmaceutical Industry Application of Porter’s Five Forces Industry Competitors and Intensity of Rivalry In general, the main competitors for the pharmaceutical industry are Pfizer ($45. 2B in 2003 sales), GlaxoSmithKline ($35. 2B), Merck ($22. 5B), Bristol-Myers Squibb ($20. 7B), Abbott Laboratories ($19. 7B), and Johnson & Johnson ($19. B). However, with the recent spur in mergers and acquisition (M&A) activities in various industries, the pharmaceutical industry had a significant merger in August 2004 between two France competitors – Sanofi-Synthelabo and Aventis – creating Sanofi-Aventis, one of the top three pharmaceutical companies with Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline. The rivalry among the current competitors in this industry is intense due to the competitive nature of product develo pment and patent profitability. Each competitor is spending billions of dollars in their respective R&D efforts to discover new products and patents to continue the stream of prescribed and over-the-counter drugs produced and sold to consumers in the market. The rivalry is also intense due to the regulation set forth by Federal Drug Administration (FDA) in US and other governmental regulators in various countries of the world, where stringent requirements and scarce allocation of patents are given out to companies developing new drug products. However, due to such intense rivalry, numerous companies have started to merge (like Sanofi-Aventis), or form alliances or joint-ventures in creating new products, to compete with other competitors. Bargaining Power of Buyers In the world of pharmaceutical, the buyers are basically wholesale distributors such as Cardinal Health Inc. , McKesson, and AmeriSourceBergen. These wholesale distributors play the middle-man role in selling and distributing all pharmaceutical products to various buyers like pharmacies, hospitals, HMOs, clinics, and mail-order companies. The concentration of buyers are high due to the fact that there are only a select few key buyers that make huge purchases from all the players in the pharmaceutical industry. As such, buyers do have above average bargaining power that allows the wholesale distributors to dictate the price of the products. However, all the pharmaceutical companies have distributor agreements that help curb the bargaining from being overzealous. Bargaining Power of Suppliers Suppliers to the pharmaceutical industry players are in abundance. The industry does not suffer from scarce resources as the raw materials (both active and inactive ingredients) are always available from various drug ingredient makers and distributors. As such, the suppliers are low in concentration and without much bargaining power. Most of the suppliers are similar and as such, easily interchangeable, without much risk or hassle. With the globalization of economy, the market of available suppliers is even bigger than it used to be – resulting in even lower concentration of suppliers and giving the pharmaceutical industry more power in bargaining for the prices of drug ingredients. Threat from Substitute Products For the brand prescription drugs, the main substitute would be the generics or competitors’ similar prescription drugs. However, this internal threat between competing products does not change the dynamics of drugs that are produce in the safety of patent. The larger threat that the pharmaceutical industry faces is from alternative medicine such as herbal medicine, acupressure, acupuncture, massage therapy, homeopathic medicine, and other growing fads of self-remedy. The effect of alternative medicine is limited however to the critical and chronic degree of the diseases and illnesses that could be treated or prevented. Threat of Potential Entry The threat of potential entry for this industry at this stage (growth and expansion) is definitely low. This is mainly due to the enormously high barrier to entry in obtaining capital and resources for R&D efforts to produce patents. Due to the scarcity of patents and large amount of capital required for the numerous years of research and development, it is close to impossible for new smaller companies to enter this industry at this time. Each of the players in this industry is spending billions of dollars each year just to conduct researches and perform studies, which hopefully will result in the development of an effective and efficient drug that can be patent. Other than that, there are also legal and regulatory obstacles that prevent new competitors, from the FDA and other governmental structures. Other Influencing Forces Due to the nature of the drug products, there is intensive regulatory and legal implication that affects this industry. A good example of how the government and political environment influence and dictate the direction of the pharmaceutical industry is through various regulations by the FDA and Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), involving patent protection, product approvals, pricing controls, and product liability. The demographic evolvement in the world is another factor that should be considered. As the baby boom generation ages and life expectancy rises, demand for pharmaceuticals are soaring. In the US, seniors aged 65 and older currently represent only 13% of the population but account for 34% of all prescriptions written and more than 40% of drug sales. Approximately 80% of seniors in the US use prescription drugs on a regular basis. According to a United Nations study, the number of people worldwide aged 60 or older will grow from 593 million in 1999 to close to 2 billion by 2050. Recent technological developments and breakthroughs have changed the way new drugs are discovered, how they are tested, the precision that it affects the diseases, and how the drugs are being delivered or distributed to patients. The recent development in stem cell research will definitely create more opportunity for growth in the pharmaceutical industry, especially in the European Union a

Saturday, January 11, 2020

Chris Mccandless Essay

People travel into the wild prepared to face the worst; they do not want to encounter a deadly situation. The man in Jack London’s â€Å"To Build a Fire† went into the cold prepared for nothing, he felt that he was above nature and it could not affect him. Chris McCandless in Jon Krakauer’s â€Å"Into The Wild† went into the wild unprepared for the conditions he was about to face. As a person who read the writings of Jack London, his death seems somewhat ironic. â€Å"To Build a Fire† by Jack London brings out the irony even more, we see how London wrote and how it relates to how Chris died. Chris McCandless is a person who did not believe in rules of society. He believed that he was above rules. He even felt he could defeat nature; he went into the wild expecting to come out alive while he lived on what nature gave him. â€Å"Alaska has long been a magnet for dreamers and misfits, people who think the unsullied enormity of the Last Frontier will patch all the holes in their lives† (Krakauer, 6). This is exactly what Chris was trying to do when he went into the Alaskan wilderness. He wanted to escape the rules and suffering he faced in society. Jim Gallien recalled, â€Å"He wasn’t carrying anywhere near as much food and gear as you’d expect a guy to be carrying for that kind of trip† (Krakauer, 5). The man in â€Å"To Build a Fire† went to go meet his friends in the cold with nothing to protect him or keep him warm except the clothes on his back, and a dog that accompanied him. Chris and the man both went into the wilderness underprepared for the challenges they would face. Chris read Jack London throughout his life, he knew about his stories and this is how he learned about the beauty of the Alaskan wilderness, but as he read he should have also learned of the dangers. Even though he read these stories by Jack London he still went into the wild unprepared. Chris McCandless spent most of his life in a warm climate. He was born in California, grew up in Virginia, and went to college in Georgia. Chris has never experienced anything relatively close to the Alaskan climate. Through reading stories about people experiencing the Alaskan wilderness Chris should have learned about the dangers that people faced in the cold temperature. The man was not scared of the cold at all, he felt as if he was above it and ended up dying. This shows the dangers of undermining the climate of the north and Chris did the same. He tried to live off of the land that was barren. The man was not concerned with â€Å"the absence of sun from the sky, the tremendous cold, and the strangeness and weirdness of it all—made no impression on the man† (London). The man in â€Å"To Build a Fire† was a representation of rational thinking, and how people in society believe mankind is more powerful than the world. This thinking was evident in Chris’s life. He felt that he was above the laws of the government. He did what he wanted, â€Å"On December 2, he reached the Morelos Dam and the Mexican border. Worried that he would be denied entry because he was carrying no identification, he sneaked into Mexico by paddling through the dam’s open floodgates and shooting the spillway below† (Krakauer, 25). There are resemblances between the qualities of the man and Chris McCandless. Chris’s death was not ironic but the reason he died was ironic. To Build a Fire† is a story about a man who is a very rational thinker who died because he felt he was better than nature and it could not kill him, the dog he traveled with lived because it relied on instincts. Chris went into the wild with a mindset similar to this man’s mindset. This is what brought out the irony of Chris’s death, he was an avid reader of Jack London and by reading his stories he should have been able to conclude that in order to survive in this climate he needed to be more prepared for difficult situations than he was.

Friday, January 3, 2020

Single Parent vs. Traditional Family Essays - 1844 Words

Which behalf is the best side, the single parent versus the traditional family? A traditional family is defined or described as two parents working together to solve anything that goes on in their house. The advantage of a traditional family is that they are going to have a more stable income that will buy them a reasonable house or an apartment. â€Å"The traditional families have two parents, the mom and the dad, jointly raising kids with help and advice from each other† (Magnier). An accustomed family also expresses their feelings towards one another and has respect among others in their home. A dysfunctional family is usually described as conflicted adults living on their own. Although a dysfunctional family may sound inadequate, it is†¦show more content†¦Particular individual parents often enter schools to get a better job to support their child. Being a single parent, the individual can control how their money is spent. The parent also does not have to wo rry about the other mate losing it by having a problem. â€Å"A single parent must have a flexible job that allows her to leave work for sick children, doctor’s appointments, parent conferences and school performances†(McGrath). If that parent does not get a flexible job, then it will hurt the child in the long run. A solution to the flexible job is to maybe stay at home where an individual can work from home and still get their expected income. On the other hand, a traditional family can easily handle their financial state. They have two steady incomes to support their household and life. Single parents also have troubles with childcare. If their child is young, they will need somebody to take care of that child. Traditional families do not have to worry as much. It is more of an outcome that the father is there if the mother is not. When an individual has a child and they are a single parent, they have to pay attention to the child and the child’s nee ds. There are few advantages for a child living in a single parent home. They often get to live in two houses and fluctuate between houses. They get two holiday celebrations with the parents. This kind ofShow MoreRelatedTraditional Families Vs Single Parent Families1615 Words   |  7 PagesTraditional families versus single parent families. A traditional family household is a household with two parents, mother and father. A single parent family household is a one parent household a mother, or father. This household is usually occurs when a parent dies, parents divorce, or the parents was never married and separated after having a child together. 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Recently theRead MoreErik Erikson s Development Theory1603 Words   |  7 Pagesfocus on Erikson’s last four stages of development, and discuss how each stage may be impacted by these various factors. Identity vs. Role Confusion The adolescence stage of development in Erikson’s theory was labeled as identity vs. role confusion. Teenagers begin developing a sense of who they are in the world by testing different roles and forming them into a single identity (Erikson Handout, 2017). However, Erikson’s idea of the typical adolescent and identity does not completely take into accountRead More Adolescence and Juvenile Delinquency Essay1644 Words   |  7 Pagesthat it cannot be controlled or corrected by the parents, endangers others in the community, and becomes the concern of a law enforcement agency(1994). I found that most theories about what causes delinquency in children and adolescents originate with families and parenting. 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