Organized Cybercrimes Essay

Verizon business researched and reported in 2009 a case study involving data breaches in secured network. Within their findings, they summarize the threats, which industry, and which records are the most popular. The report fist showed that a percentage of the hacking from outside sources came from the European Union, and the most popular info being stolen was financial and retail goods. Surprisingly there were a large amount of threats in house that took advantage of software issue’s and exploited them. More than likely sold the info to outside source to further continue hacking and establishing a backdoor it the database. Of the all the outside attacks according from the European Union, most of them were organized crime family’s that originated out of the Soviet bloc nations. It is by far cheaper the hack and sells credit card numbers abroad that sit on a corner and peddle illegal goods. Another cash crop for cybercrime and hacking is the diversion of goods, especially from ports of entry. Using financial records and accounts to pose as a company that is entitled to receive goods is one the tactics used. Once those item are in there possession, they disappear. A percentage of these hackers can by way of software be totally transparent, and for intent purposes be invisible until the crime has committed. This poses a very job to law enforcement to track capture and convict these criminals, not to mention some these countries don’t even have extradition rights to the USA. It would take a co-op effort of the Euro nations and US and Asia to make the act of hacking and breaching networks a more serious crime.

Market Outlooks Simbrand

PRACTICE ROUND European demand is already at a good level. The annual demand growth is estimated to be between 30 and 100% annually, depending on the segment. In the Asian market the demand level currently is low, but the growth is expected to be even higher than in Europe. In both Europe and Asia the growth will be fastest during the next couple of years, after which the growth is likely to slow down. In any case, the consensus among analysts is that the growth rates will be positive for several years to come. The high-end segments in both the consumer and company segments play a major role in the first years. Later on, with market penetration, the low-end segments might well dominate the sales volumes. Because PDAs are still rather unfamiliar products especially among low-end segments, and since the companies are new and thus unknown, it is important to think carefully about advertising and channel investment decisions. Advertising and channel investments have a long-term effect on demand and therefore, it might be rather risky to neglect these areas of the marketing mix completely. Finally, the group’s financial officers as well as executives of the production company have emphasized the importance of accurate sales forecasts. Budgets are useless if forecasted sales are far from reality, which usually decreases the quality of decisions significantly. In addition, production facilities’ output is preliminarily planned according to the forecasts. Large adjustments required in case of poor forecasts result in increased unit costs. ROUND 1 European demand is already at a good level. The annual demand growth is estimated to be between 30 and 100% annually, depending on the segment. In the Asian market the demand level currently is low, but the growth is expected to be even higher than in Europe. In both Europe and Asia the growth will be fastest during the next couple of years, after which the growth is likely to slow down. In any case, the consensus among analysts is that the growth rates will be positive for several years to come. The high-end segments in both the consumer and company segments play a major role in the first years. Later on, with market penetration, the low-end segments might well dominate the sales volumes. Because PDAs are still rather unfamiliar products especially among low-end segments, and since the companies are new and thus unknown, it is important to think carefully about advertising and channel investment decisions. Advertising and channel investments have a long-term effect on demand and therefore, it might be rather risky to neglect these areas of the marketing mix completely. Finally, the group’s financial officers as well as executives of the production company have emphasized the importance of accurate sales forecasts. Budgets are useless if forecasted sales are far from reality, which usually decreases the quality of decisions significantly. In addition, production facilities’ output is preliminarily planned according to the forecasts. Large adjustments required in case of poor forecasts result in increased unit costs. ROUND 2 The total sales of PDAs in Europe are expected to grow hundreds of %. Growth will be fastest among the low-end segments. However, the price elasticity of these segments is rather high and thus the availability of cheaper models with reasonable features has a significant impact on the realized growth. The demand growth estimates for Asia seem even more promising than for Europe. In Asia, the market is still clearly dominated by high-end segments. By offering new high-tech models the companies can create more demand. Competence indices started to grow from the starting point of 100 but some analysts are waiting to see products with compactness and battery life ranging in between 105 – 110 this year. However, the production line cost of 3. 5 Mâ‚ ¬ is high considering the rather small size of the markets at the moment. This will certainly limit the enthusiasm in launching new models with nice new features. On the other hand, using the latest technology, that the R&D investments in the previous period have created, decreases the risk that products become obsolete rapidly. Therefore, new advanced products brought to markets now might turn out to be very successful in the long run. If companies decide to launch new products, they have to be sure that their products are not too close to each other in terms of features. Similarity causes the products to cannibalize each other. The financial market is turning cautious and more risk averse. The interest rates for start-ups are skyrocketing to two-digit figures. Companies are hit as soon as they run out of equity. ROUND 3 The adoption of PDAs is still accelerating in both market areas. Most analysts forecast that the stage of rapid growth is going to last for at least a couple of years, but later on the proportional growth will probably decrease. In addition, Asian growth figures are estimated to be constantly bigger than the European ones. PDA markets in Asia have undergone significant structural changes as low-end segments have gained a foothold in a relatively short period. What is more, it seems that the growth of low-end segments is mainly attributable to the areas associated with the lowest standard of living in the world. Companies are able to produce the same products they offered last year at a lower cost. This is partly due to economies of scale. In addition, lower costs are a result of knowledge improvements, i. e. as competence indices increase the earlier models can be produced more efficiently. Even though the low-end segments have become more and more important, companies cannot afford to cut R&D investments considerably. High-end segments are willing to pay more for innovative models and as a result they are going to be important especially in monetary terms in the future. The size of new PDAs is already very reasonable. Nowadays, the typical frontal area of a high-end device is largely covered by the display and further decreases in size will probably not be appreciated as much as previously. The components have also been pushed to very small sizes. As a result of rapidly growing PDA markets, the economies of scale factor has been decreasing the unit costs along with the increase in the technological know-how resulting from the R&D efforts. Interest rates remain at high levels. Therefore, interest payments might become a significant burden for highly leveraged companies. ROUND 4 As estimated in the previous period, the PDA markets in both continents continue to grow rapidly. Due to the vast population in Eastern Asia, the Asian households should grow to be the biggest segment even in global terms at the end of this period. However, the high price sensitivity of the segment will probably lead to low unit margins resulting in high growth at the expense of profit margins. Moreover, the high-end segments seem to be rather saturated and the increase in sales is about to stall to the level of repurchases. The differences in the Asian segments seem to continue to be larger than the differences in the European segments. This holds for all the preferences. What is more, the price sensitivities of the Asian segments are very different. As the number of models available in the markets has increased, the design has become a more important determinant of demand. This trend is prevailing in Europe. Comprehensive market research carried out in Europe revealed a challenging matter related to avant-garde design. High-end segments seem to appreciate avant-garde even more than before. However, some of the low-end customers reacted rather negatively to the design. Interest rates are at the same level as in the previous round. ROUND 5 As estimated, the growth of demand for PDAs has decelerated in both market areas. The deceleration of growth will turn into negative figures in high-end segments. However, the demand of low-end segments in both Europe and Asia might still grow at the rate of 100 %. As demand growth among all segments has been above 70 % in the recent years, these pessimistic scenarios bring about new challenges for the management in the future. Advertising seems to have a bigger effect on consumer segments than on corporate segments. The consumers’ response to advertising is approximately twice the response of the corporate segments according to the latest consumer research reports. Central banks all over the world have decreased their steering rates in order to lessen the severity of a threatening recession. As a result the interest rate level has decreased significantly. Moreover, the companies in the industry are now financially sound. The risk premium in the rates is decreasing. ROUND 6 The stage of rapid growth seems to be over in both Europe and Asia. Demand for PDAs is still growing globally but the growth rates are far from what they used to be. What is more, the long-term forecasts show that demand growth is going to slow down continuously as the markets mature further. However, the total size of both markets is rather large as a result of the rapid growth in previous years. Therefore, companies with satisfactory market shares should be able to earn nice profits. The high-end segments seem to appreciate functions, perhaps more than expected. Therefore, an extensive set of functions is required from the most popular models. As a result, the importance of functions is expected to grow gradually among low-end segments as well. However, the cost of adding functions is estimated to increase as the demand for them increases globally and the specific components become scarce. Interest rates continue to decrease. However, the difference between current and last round’s level is not very significant. Excluding the function-specific components (digital camera lenses, headsets, 3G-technology etc. ), the material costs should decrease as the most important manufacturers have managed to increase production capacity considerably. ROUND 7 The total demand for PDAs is still growing globally. The industry has clearly reached a stage of maturity and as a result, a significant growth in sales can only be achieved by increasing market share. Since typical devices are now characterized by large displays and advanced multimedia features, improving battery life and saving electricity consumption have become more challenging. The state of the world economy is rather unchanged and the interest rates are at the previous round’s level ROUND 8 Total Global growth rate is about the turn into negative figures, the competition for market share is expected to intensify. The number of products available has increased in both markets and as a result, the risk of similar products cannibalizing each other has become very real. Therefore, companies that manage to find new and innovative combinations of features might sell lots of devices at good prices. The most important piece of news of this period relates to the components. New double-core technology introduced by the two biggest manufacturers is going to revolutionize the processing speed, size and power usage of the devices in the near future. Therefore, investments in R&D are expected to produce new competences more efficiently than ever before. What is more, the new components are cheaper to manufacture and as a result, production costs are expected to remain at the current level for the next few years and to decrease after this. Economies in Asia are growing rapidly after the recent recession and thus, the interest rates might increase slightly. However, there are still many uncertainties in the world’s economy, for example, high unemployment in the EU and skyrocketing debt levels in the USA. ROUND 9 Despite the expected economic upturn, unemployment is still at high levels in most of the European countries. In addition, both consumer and business confidence indices have reached a decade low. Mostly as a result of these economic factors, the aggregate demand of PDAs in Europe is estimated to decrease for the first time in history. Households are the only segment that is associated with growth in demand. However, the price level has a large effect on the development and the realized demand might be somewhat different from these forecasts. In Asia on the other hand, the rapid economic growth continues and as a result, according to the analysts, the demand for PDAs continues to grow. The new generation of components has rapidly replaced the old ones. Companies are expected to launch several new models with advanced features. According to recent market information, the high-end segments in Asia are highly appreciative of the latest technology. The component prices have decreased earlier than expected. The development is going to be reflected in the unit costs already in this period. Interest rates continue to increase mostly because of the favorable economic development in Asia. ROUND 10 As the markets have matured and competition has become ever tougher, especially in Europe market demand for PDA’s has substantially decreased. This put an increased emphasis on marketing, features and price of the product. The overall appreciation of entertainment and good looks is still strong among households as is security for the corporations. According to market analysts, the weak European market development will most likely continue next year and now would be the time to consolidate one’s market position especially in Asia. Even though Asian market development was better than in Europe they too are expected to decrease more drastically next year. Analysts also predict a further reduction in sales next year due to the fact that second hand products are expected to come available in masses. As the broader market becomes more stable, mainly due to the strict interest rate policies of the largest central banks, and as the size of PDA market decreases material prices reach a new low. The decrease in material and manufacturing prices partly offsets the decrease in sales figures. Central banks fearing market overheating in Asia have yet increased their interest rates creating some financial trouble for the highly levered companies.

Free Essays on The Presbyterian Church

The Presbyterian Church Presbyterianism in based in the system of church government by representative assemblies called presbyteries. This is in opposition to government by bishops, the Episcopal system, or by congregations, congregationalism. In its strict sense, Presbyterianism is the name given to one of the groups of ecclesiastical bodies that represent the features of Protestantism emphasized by French lawyer John Calvin, whose writings pushed forward much of the Reformed thinking that came before him. The most important standards of orthodox Presbyterianism are the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms of 1647. The chief distinctive features set forth in the Westminster declarations of belief are Presbyterian Church government, Calvinistic theology, and absence of prescribed forms of worship. Presbyterians trace their history to the 16th century and the Protestant Reformation. Some of the principles articulated by John Calvin remain at the core of Presbyterian beliefs. Among these are the sovereignty of God, the authority of the scripture, justification by grace through faith and the priesthood of all believers. What they mean is that God is the supreme authority throughout the universe. Knowledge of God and God's purpose for humanity comes from the Bible, particularly what is revealed in the New Testament through the life of Jesus Christ. Our salvation through Jesus is God's generous gift and not the result of our own accomplishments. It is everyone's job - ministers and lay people alike - to share this Good News with the whole world. That is also why the Presbyterian Church is governed at all levels by a combination of clergy and laity, men and women alike. In 1706, eight Presbyterian ministers met in Philadelphia and formed the Presbytery of Philadelphia, the first Presbyterian presbytery in the New World. The clergy assumed the freedom to organize and the right to worship, preach and teach, and to administer the... Free Essays on The Presbyterian Church Free Essays on The Presbyterian Church The Presbyterian Church Presbyterianism in based in the system of church government by representative assemblies called presbyteries. This is in opposition to government by bishops, the Episcopal system, or by congregations, congregationalism. In its strict sense, Presbyterianism is the name given to one of the groups of ecclesiastical bodies that represent the features of Protestantism emphasized by French lawyer John Calvin, whose writings pushed forward much of the Reformed thinking that came before him. The most important standards of orthodox Presbyterianism are the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms of 1647. The chief distinctive features set forth in the Westminster declarations of belief are Presbyterian Church government, Calvinistic theology, and absence of prescribed forms of worship. Presbyterians trace their history to the 16th century and the Protestant Reformation. Some of the principles articulated by John Calvin remain at the core of Presbyterian beliefs. Among these are the sovereignty of God, the authority of the scripture, justification by grace through faith and the priesthood of all believers. What they mean is that God is the supreme authority throughout the universe. Knowledge of God and God's purpose for humanity comes from the Bible, particularly what is revealed in the New Testament through the life of Jesus Christ. Our salvation through Jesus is God's generous gift and not the result of our own accomplishments. It is everyone's job - ministers and lay people alike - to share this Good News with the whole world. That is also why the Presbyterian Church is governed at all levels by a combination of clergy and laity, men and women alike. In 1706, eight Presbyterian ministers met in Philadelphia and formed the Presbytery of Philadelphia, the first Presbyterian presbytery in the New World. The clergy assumed the freedom to organize and the right to worship, preach and teach, and to administer the...

Ivan Illych essays

Ivan Illych essays In the Bible the Pharisees were the Jewish upper class. They socialized with the Roman governors and Israels finest citizens. The Pharisees were the richest and most educated men in the area; they were also the leaders in the Hebrew society. They appeared to be the most successful men of their day, but in reality it was all a smoke screen they used to look successful. The Bible shows that they were hypocrites who only cared for themselves. The Pharisees did not care about their families or their religion. In one instance Jesus was preaching to a crowd of people and said, Everything they do is done for men to see (Matthew 23:5). The Pharisees only about how people saw them. Leo Tolstoys novella The Death of Ivan Ilych focuses on a modern Pharisee. In the story Ivan Ilychs self-centered formula for success was really a failure. Ivan failed in his family and official life. He also placed too much emphasis on material possessions, and he ruined his social life. Part of Ivan Ilychs formula for success was to make others think he had the perfect family, but his family was only for show. Ivan married Praskovya Fedornva for social acceptance and not love. When Ivan decides to get married Tolstoy tells us, To say that Ilych married because he fell in love with Praskovya Fedornva and found that she sympathized with his views of life would be as incorrect as to say that he married because his social circle approved (525). A lot of successful people marry women they dont love because it makes them look good. In the story the only reason Ivan married Praskovya was to improve his social standing in his community. Ivan did not care Praskovya; he only cared about making himself look successful in societys eyes. Another problem with his family life was that Ivan substituted his work for his family. As his family life started to become difficult Ivan trans...

Cundo un ciudadano puede pedir green card a hijastros

Cundo un ciudadano puede pedir green card a hijastros Los ciudadanos americanos pueden pedir la green card, tambià ©n conocida como tarjeta de residencia permanente,  para los hijos extranjeros de su marido o de su mujer. Las reglas son distintas si los hijos son menores de 21 aà ±os y solteros o si son mayores o estn casados. Aplican las mismas normas para los casos en los que el varà ³n es el estadounidense y la mujer la extranjera y se pide a los hijos de à ©sta o el caso contrario. Es decir, cuando una mujer estadounidense contrae matrimonio con un hombre forneo y solicita la tarjeta de residencia permanente para los hijos de à ©ste. Requisitos del matrimonio entre ciudadano y extranjero para poder pedir a los hijos de à ©ste El primer requerimiento para poder pedir a un hijastro es que el và ­nculo entre ciudadano estadounidense y el cà ³nyuge extranjero sea un  matrimonio legal vlido en el lugar en el que se celebraron, no una mera relacià ³n de pareja o de hecho. Por otro lado, nunca se admiten los casos de bigamia, que en los Estados Unidos se considerado como un delito. Adems, seà ±alar que las leyes federales de migracià ³n reconocen los mismos derechos a los matrimonios heterosexuales, conformados por una mujer y un varà ³n, que a los formados con dos personas del mismo sexo.   Pero,  ¿quià ©nes se consideran hijastros? A los efectos de peticià ³n de ciudadano para hijastros la ley es muy clara y pide que se cumplan dos requerimientos. En primer lugar, que se trate de hijos biolà ³gicos del cà ³nyuge extranjero casado con un ciudadano o que se trate de un hijo adoptado legalmente. Sà ³lo se admiten esos dos casos, por lo tanto quedan excluidas situaciones como hijos de crianza, tutor legal, etc. En segundo lugar, el ciudadano estadounidense sà ³lo podr pedir a los hijastros que tenà ­an menos de 18 aà ±os en el momento de celebrarse el casorio, aunque los reclame aà ±os ms tarde cuando ya son ms mayores de dicha edad. Es fundamental entender que los hijastros con los 18 aà ±os cumplidos o mayores en el momento en el que su mam o su pap se casà ³ con un ciudadano americano no pueden ser pedidos por à ©ste mediante este procedimiento. Si bien hay otras opciones que se explican en este artà ­culo ms abajo. Si se cumplen estos dos requisitos, se aplican reglas distintas segà ºn la edad y el estado civil del hijastro. Hijastros menores de 21 aà ±os que estn solteros Este grupo de personas se considera como familiares inmediatos de un ciudadano americano. Esto es muy importante porque al estar en esta categorà ­a no  hay là ­mites anuales al nà ºmero de personas que pueden conseguir la green card por este camino. Sà ³lo hay que esperar a que se apruebe su peticià ³n, lo que generalmente toma sà ³lo unos meses. La tramitacià ³n de los papeles se inicia enviando el formulario I-130 al Servicio de Inmigracià ³n y Ciudadanà ­a, USCIS por sus siglas en inglà ©s. Se debe completar uno por cada hijastro y antes de iniciar los trmites verificar que se tienen ingresos suficientes para patrocinar y que el hijastro pedido no tiene en su historial ninguna causa que vaya a provocar que se le deniegue la green card. Si los hijastros estn ya en Estados Unidos hay que ver si estn en condicià ³n de ajustar su estatus.   Si entraron ilegalmente al paà ­s no ser posible ajustar el estatus, por lo que antes de iniciar ningà ºn trmite consultar con un abogado ya que tendrn que salir del paà ­s para completar la tramitacià ³n y deben tener claro las posibles consecuencias negativas de la aplicacià ³n del castigo de los 3 y de los 10 aà ±os y tambià ©n verificar si esa regla les aplica o pueden estar excluidos. Si estn en el extranjero, el USCIS debe aprobar primero la peticià ³n y posteriormente  se comunicar con  el Centro Nacional de Visas y à ©ste con la oficina consular que deba tramitar la visa y con la persona interesada. En estos casos los hijastros del ciudadano  viajarn a Estados Unidos con una visa de inmigrante y se convertirn en residentes permanentes en el momento de ingresar al paà ­s.  ¿Quà © pasa si mientras se tramita la green card uno de los hijastros cumple 21 aà ±os? A veces ocurre que se pide al hijastro cuando es soltero y tiene menos de 21 aà ±os, pero la tramitacià ³n se alarga y cumplen los 21 y todavà ­a no tienen los papeles. En estos casos la ley  les protege y sigue considerando que pueden continuar el trmite ya iniciado. Se trata de una ficcià ³n legal que considera que la edad del pedido se ha congelado.  ¿Quà © pasa si una vez iniciado el trmite el hijastro se casa? Este es un caso muy distinto al anterior.  Ã‚  El hijastro pasa de ser un familiar inmediato de un ciudadano a ser considerado categorà ­a F3. En estos casos la espera para obtener los papeles es muy larga, siendo incluso mayor en el caso de Mà ©xico cuando se compara con otros paà ­ses de Latinoamà ©rica o Espaà ±a. Se debe consultar el boletà ­n de visas que cada mes publica el Departamento de Estado para un clculo aproximado de los tiempos de espera. Hijastros de cualquier edad que estn casados o solteros mayores de 21 aà ±os En este caso, el ciudadano americano todavà ­a puede solicitar la green card para sus hijastros, pero habr que esperar a que haya una visa de inmigrante  disponible para ellos. Los solteros mayores de 21 aà ±os son un F1 y los casados de cualquier edad un F3. Recordar que siempre se va a mirar quà © edad tenà ­a la persona pedida en el momento en que su padre o madre se casà ³ con el ciudadano americano que los est pidiendo y que ese matrimonio debe haber tenido lugar antes de que cumplieran los 18 aà ±os. Otras opciones Para los casos en los que no es posible ninguna de las opciones anteriores porque el matrimonio tuvo lugar despuà ©s de que se cumplieran los 18 aà ±os de edad todavà ­a hay opciones. Por ejemplo, un ciudadano puede pedir a su cà ³nyuge extranjero. Este se convierte en residente permanente legal y , por lo tanto, tiene derecho propio a pedir a sus hijos solteros de cualquier edad (pero no a los casados). Pero ese residente puede, si asà ­ lo desea, solicitar la ciudadanà ­a por naturalizacià ³n despuà ©s de que pasen 3 aà ±os de casado con ciudadano. Y una vez que convierte en ciudadano puede pedir a sus hijos casados. Consejos a tener en cuenta antes de iniciar la tramitacià ³n Es posible que el USCIS no apruebe la peticià ³n de la residencia permanente para los hijastros. En estos casos, verificar si se puede apelar la decisià ³n. Tambià ©n conviene asegurarse de que se tienen recursos econà ³micos suficientes o, en el caso de no tenerlos, garantizarse un copatrocinador e informarse de cà ³mo  pueden afectar las deudas y/o el mal crà ©dito a las peticiones de familia. Finalmente, para las personas interesadas en la green card se recomienda tomar este test de respuestas mà ºltiples que ayuda de un modo sencillo a conocer los puntos fundamentales sobre la tarjeta de residencia, cà ³mo obtenerla y cà ³mo conservarla.

Environmental analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

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The Issue of Rational Suicide Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

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