Cyber Crime In The 21st Century

Cyber Crime In The 21st Century As the world has moved into the 21st century and technologies presence in our lives have increased, so has the amount of crime that is committed using the Internet and computers. Cybercrime is a form of crime where the Internet or computers are used as a medium to commit crime. Issues surrounding this type of crime have become high-profile, particularly those surrounding hacking, copyright infringement, child pornography, and child grooming. There are also problems of privacy when confidential information is lost or intercepted, lawfully or otherwise. In recent years the U.S. has invested money and effort towards protecting vital systems in the U.S. from following prey to cybercrime and cyber terrorism. However, various studies and recent incidents in the news show that the U.S. lags behind other nations such as China in efforts to combat cyber crime and cyber terrorism. This problem is one that the public often overlooks, yet it is a very serious matter nonetheless. HACKERS What comes to mind when you hear the word computer crimes? A common response is hackers. Although many may not know of a fully fledged hacking case, they often fall under federal jurisdiction. Hacking is nothing new and has been around for many years. It actually can be dated back to 1870 when a male teenager was first hired as a switchboard operator and was able to disconnect and redirect calls and use the line for personal usage. The advent of the computer age brought about the traditional hacker, who was first thought of as a harmless user with a curiosity about how things worked. The best way to figure how things work was to take things apart or view the internal configuration and learn what makes them function, and hackers did just that with electronic devices and systems. Over the years, hacking has taken on a completely different meaning and is often identical with the activity of a computer criminal. Hackers, both good and bad are here to stay and have a role in our society. There are three types of hackers and each is different from the other. For example, a white hat hacker is a person who identifies weakness in a computer system or network but instead of taking advantage of it, expose the weakness to the system owner and recommends a fix before the flaw can be taken advantage of by others (Michael Knetzger, 2008). They usually work with major law enforcement agencies and big industrial corporate offices to help reduce hacking. In contrast with white hat hackers, black hat hackers break into system with malicious intent to steal damage or deface them, (usually a computer, phone system or network) for vandalism, credit card fraud, identity theft, piracy, or other types of illegal activity( (Michael Knetzger, 2008)). Grey hat hackers are those who are on both side of the hacking fence. A gray hat hacker discovers and supplies information about network security issues and weakness to the network administrator and also to black hat hackers to exploit the s ystem. Hacking in general continues to have a negative association and implies any illicit activity against a computer system or other digital device. Hackers can be defined or categorized, there is not a one size fits all hacker profile, but statistics have shown that hackers share similar traits. Hackers tend to be between the age group of 14-25 years, insecure, white males who are intelligent social outcasts or loners who have had previous problems in school and lack positive outlets for their talents. They are also the technical superiors to criminal offenders and are most difficult for law enforcement to track. The actual number of hacking attacks against private and public industry is unknown. Statistics show that only 17% of companies whose computers were hacked report them to law enforcement due to fear of negative publicity. In addition, business owners feel that they may lose hundreds of millions of dollars. According to the New York Times, 90% of Fortune 500 networks have been hacked. In Canada Internet hacking has doubled to 8% in 1998 over a period of just one year (Parker, 1983). If this trend continues then it must now be around 32%. This only includes reported computer hacking trends; therefore it certainly would be much higher. Not only is business having trouble with hacking but also Homeland Security and Department of Defense. There have been approximately 250,000 attempts to break into the Government systems in 1995, 65% of which were successful (Michael Knetzger, 2008). According to research in 1998 the Financial Cost to computer security breaches was reported for the 163 co mpanies at $123.7 Million (1999 CSI/FBI Report). Copyright infringement Hacking continues to be one of the major issues of cyber crime. At another level copyright infringement is the appropriation of new forms of intellectual property that have been created or popularized within cybercrime. Copyright infringement (or copyright violation) is the unconstitutional or prohibited use of works covered by copyright law, in a way that violates one of the copyright owners restricted rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work or to make derivative works (Parker, 1983). There are many ways that copyrights infringement are being used; the most common ones from the 21st century are musical works, TV, films, and text. It is a continuous thing that continues to grow. For example, replication of a CD or other recorded media containing copyright material without authorization of the copyright holder may be a form of copyright infringement, depending on local laws. Unauthorized downloading of copyrighted material and sharing of recorded music o ver the Internet, often in the appearance of MP3 files, is another form of infringement; even after the termination of Napster and a series of infringement suits brought by the RIAA. Bootleg recordings are musical recordings that have not been formally released by the artist or their associated administration or production companies. They may consist of demos, outtakes or other studio material, or of dishonest recordings of live performances. Music enthusiasts may use the term bootleg to differentiate these otherwise unavailable recordings from pirated copies of commercially released material, however these recordings are still covered by copyright regardless of their lack of formal release, and their distribution is still against the law (Parker, 1983). Sampling of copyrighted music for use in other works without authorization is also a form of copyright infringement. Some companies exploit this fact by attempting to sue the creators of the new work for copyright violation. Promoti onal screening DVDs distributed by motion picture studios (often for consideration for awards) are a frequent source of unauthorized copying when movies are still in theatrical release, and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) has attempted to restrict their use. Movies are also still copied by someone sneaking a camcorder into a motion picture theater and secretly taping the projection (also known as camming), although such copies are often of lesser quality than DVDs. Some copyright owners have responded to breaches by displaying warning notices on commercially sold DVDs; these warnings do not always give a fair picture of the purchasers legal rights, which in the US generally include the rights to sell, exchange, rent or loan a purchased DVD. According the Straits Times, a copy of the most recent James Bond movie the World is not Enough was available for free on the Internet before its official release. (Wall, 2001) This and similar other incidents have caused conside rable concern to owners. When a creator is unable to profit from their making of a movie, it causes a massive financial loss. Child pornography Child pornography generally includes sexual images connecting both prepubescent and post-pubescent adolescent minors and computer-generated images with the intention of appearing to involve them. The majority possessors of child pornography who are arrested are found to possess images of prepubescent children; possessors of pornographic images of post-pubescent minors are less likely to be prosecuted, even though those images also reduce inside the statutes. Child pornography is a multi-billion dollar industry; one of the fastest increasing criminal segments taking place in the internet. Philip Jenkins notes that there is overwhelming evidence that [child pornography] is all but impossible to obtain through non electronic means. (Parker, 1983). The Internet has drastically changed how child pornography is reproduced and disseminated, and, according to the United States Department of Justice, resulted in a substantial increase in the availability, accessibility, and volume of child po rnography. (Michael Knetzger, 2008). The production of child pornography has become very profitable and is no longer restricted to pedophiles. Digital cameras and Internet distribution facilitated by the use of credit cards and the ease of transferring images across national borders has made it easier than ever before for users of child pornography to obtain the photographs and videos. The NCMEC estimated in 2003 that 20% of all pornography traded over the Internet was child pornography, and that since 1997 the number of child pornography images available on the Internet had increased by 1500%. In 2007, the British-based Internet Watch Foundation reported that child pornography on the Internet is becoming more brutal and graphic, and the number of images depicting violent abuse has risen fourfold since 2003. The CEO stated The worrying issue is the severity and the gravity of the images is increasing. Were talking about prepubescent children being raped. (Parker, 1983) About 80 percent of the children in the abusive images are female, and 91 percent appear to be children under the age of 12. Prosecution is difficult because multiple international servers are used, sometimes to transmit the images in fragments to evade the law. Some child pornographers also circumvent detection by using viruses to illegally gain control of computers on which they remotely store child pornography. In one case, a Massachusetts man was charged with possession of child pornography when hackers used his computer to access pornographic sites and store pornographic pictures without his knowledge. T he U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit has ruled that if a user downloads child pornography from a file sharing network and possesses it in his shared folder without configuring the software to not share that content; he can be charged with distributing child pornography (Wall, 2001). Regarding internet proliferation, the U.S. Department of Justice states that At any one time there are estimated to be more than one million pornographic images of children on the Internet, with 200 new images posted daily. (Parker, 1983). They also note that a single offender arrested in the U.K. possessed 450,000 child pornography images, and that a single child pornography site received a million hits in a month. Further, that much of the trade in child pornography takes place at hidden levels of the Internet, and that it has been estimated that there are between 50,000 and 100,000 pedophiles involved in organized pornography rings around the world, and that one third of these operate from the United States. (Wall, 2001). In 2008 the Google search engine adapted a software program in order to faster track child pornography accessible through their site. The software is based in a pattern recognition engine and is helping to track down people who try to access child pornography sit es. Child grooming The deliberate actions taken by an adult to form a trusting relationship with a child, with the intent of later having sexual contact, are known as child grooming (Michael Knetzger, 2008). This involves psychological manipulation in the form of positive reinforcement, activities that are typically legal but later lead to sexual contact. This is done to gain the childs trust as well as the trust of those responsible for the childs well-being. Additionally, a trusting connection with the relatives means the childs parents are less expected to believe possible accusations. Child pornography images are frequently shown to the child as part of the child grooming process. To establish an excellent connection with the child and the childs family, a child groomer might do quite a few things. For example, they might take an undue attention in someone elses child, to be the childs special friend to gain the childs trust. They might give offerings or money to the child for no apparent reason (toys, dolls, etc.). They may show pornography-videos or pictures-to the child, hoping to make it easy for the child to accept such acts, thus normalizing the behavior. People are very sick they may simply talk about sexual topics to interest the kid. These are just some of the methods a child groomer might use to gain a childs trust and affection in order to allow them to do what they want. Hugging and kissing or other physical contact, even when the child doesnt want it, can happen. To the groomer, this is a way to get close. They might talk about problems normally discu ssed between adults, or at least people of the same age. Topics might include marital problems and other conflicts. They may try to gain the childs parents trust by befriending them, with the goal of easy access to the child. The child groomer might look for opportunities to have time alone with the child. This can be done by offering to babysit. The groomer may invite the child for sleepovers. This gives them the opportunity to sleep in the same room or even the same bed with the child. Sexual grooming of children also occurs on the Internet. Some abusers will pose as children online and make arrangements to meet with them in person. According to a 2003 New Zealand study, 23% of 7-10 year olds and 37% of those 16 or older reported meeting someone face to face that they met over the Internet. In 2003, MSN implemented restrictions in their chat rooms to help protect children from adults seeking sexual conversations with them. In 2005, Yahoo! chat rooms were investigated by the New York State attorney Generals office for allowing users to create rooms whose names suggested that they were being used for this purpose. That October, Yahoo! agreed to implement policies and procedures designed to ensure that such rooms would not be allowed. An organization called Perverted-Justice (known as PJ) specializes in capturing persons who solicit PJ operatives posing as underage teens. To catch a predator is a television show based on such activities. An organization called Crisp Thinking specializes in anti-grooming activities by studying chat room and other Instant messaging logs with a special software that can identify when adults are trying to groom children. Cyberterrorism Cyberterrorism is the convergence of terrorism and cyberspace. It is generally understood to mean unlawful attacks and threats of attack against computers, networks, and the information stored therein when done to intimidate or coerce a government or its people in furtherance of political or social objectives (Michael Knetzger, 2008). Further, to qualify as cyberterrorism, an attack should result in violence against persons or property, or at least cause enough harm to generate fear. Attacks that lead to death or bodily injury, explosions, plane crashes, water contamination, or severe economic loss would be examples. Serious attacks against critical infrastructures could be acts of cyberterrorism, depending on their impact. Attacks that disrupt nonessential services or that are mainly a costly nuisance would not. Cyberspace is constantly under assault. Cyber spies, thieves, saboteurs, and thrill seekers break into computer systems, steal personal data and trade secrets, vandalize Web sites, disrupt service, sabotage data and systems, launch computer viruses and worms, conduct fraudulent transactions, and harass individuals and companies. (Furnell, 2002) These attacks are facilitated with increasingly powerful and easy-to-use software tools, which are readily available for free from thousands of Web sites on the Internet. Many of the attacks are serious and costly. The recent ILOVEYOU virus and variants, for example, was estimated to have hit tens of millions of users and cost billions of dollars in damage. The February denial-of-service attacks against Yahoo, CNN, eBay, and other e-commerce Web sites was estimated to have caused over a billion in losses. It also shook the confidence of business and individuals in e-commerce. To understand the potential threat of cyberterrorism, two factors must be considered: first, whether there are targets that are vulnerable to attack that could lead to violence or severe harm, and second, whether there are actors with the capability and motivation to carry them out. Looking first at vulnerabilities, several studies have shown that critical infrastructures are potentially vulnerable to cyberterrorist attack. Eligible Receiver, a no notice exercise conducted by the Department of Defense in 1997 with support from NSA red teams, found the power grid and emergency 911 systems had weaknesses that could be exploited by an adversary using only publicly available tools on the Internet (Wall, 2001). Although neither of these systems was actually attacked, study members concluded that service on these systems could be disrupted. Also in 1997, the Presidents Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protection issued its report warning that through mutual dependencies and interconnectedness, critical infrastructures could be vulnerable in new ways, and that vulnerabilities were steadily increasing, while the costs of attack were decreasing. Although many of the weaknesses in computerized systems can be corrected, it is effectively impossible to eliminate all of them. Even if the technology itself offers good security, it is frequently configured or used in ways that make it open to attack. In addition, there is always the possibility of insiders, acting alone or in concert with other terrorists, misusing their access capabilities. According to Russias Interior Ministry Col. Konstantin Machabeli, the state-run gas monopoly, Gazprom, was hit by hackers who collaborated with a Gazprom insider. The hackers were said to have used a Trojan horse to gain control of the central switchboard which controls gas flows in pipelines, although Gazprom, the worlds largest natural gas producer and the largest gas supplier to Western Europe, refuted the report In conclusion, the violent pursuit of political goals using exclusively electronic methods is likely to be at least a few years into the future. However, the more general threat of cybercrime is very much a part of the digital landscape today. In addition to cyberattacks against digital data and systems, many people are being terrorized on the Internet today with threats of physical violence. On-line stalking, death threats, and hate messages are abundant. The Florida teen who threatened violence at Columbine High School in an electronic chat room is but one example. These crimes are serious and must be addressed. In so doing, we will be in a better position to prevent and respond to cyberterrorism if and when the threat becomes more serious. In a matter of years, cybercrime has permeated many aspects of our society. Financial information and other personal information are susceptible to cyber criminals and their actions. Children, nowadays, need constant supervision on the Internet as these criminals seek to hunt and abuse innocent children. Each of these challenges presents the imperative for law enforcement to increase their ability to protect citizens against cyber crime. Perhaps, programs supported by law enforcement to train intelligent individuals with superior technological skills will not only provide law enforcement with skilled individuals to combat cybercrime but it may also prevent many of those people from becoming hackers in the first place.

Microenvironmental Factors Affecting Toyota Essay

Microenvironmental factors are â€Å"The factors close to the company that affect its ability to serve its customers† [principles of marketing]. The microenvironmental factors that affected the introduction and sale of the Toyota Prius were it customers, competitors and publics. Customers are anyone who buys or rents from the company. Customer are the most important microenvironmental factor that affect company as they survive on meeting the wants and needs of the customer and failure to do so will result in the company failing. Toyota study their customers and saw that they wanted a car with better fuel consumption and as a result Toyota decided to make the Prius, their first hybrid car. Toyota dealt with their customers by setting up website to educate the customers about the Toyota Prius. They took advantage of Earth Day to send out green seed cards shaped like Toyota’s logo to prospective buyers and they also gave away some green Prius at Earth Day events. However, Toyota did not recognise that consumers normally don’t buy cars for the saving in the long-run so â€Å"fuel savings are not going to be the key it convincing people to purchase the Prius† [principles of marketing]. As a result of this Toyota have asked governments to give tax cuts to cars with better fuel consumption. Competitors are any company in the same market place as your company. In order of a company to be successful in the market place a competitors most grain a competitive advantage over its competitors. Toyota has been successful in maintaining its competitive advantage although competitors like Citroen have cars which are just as efficient as the Toyota Prius, â€Å"Toyota is still the market leader in this segment† [principles of marketing]. They have done this by capturing people imagination by being the first Hybrid car on the market and through the effective use of advertisement. Publics are any group that has an actual or potential interest in an organisation’s ability to achieve its objectives. Good relations with the public help to enhance the company’s reputation so helping to increase in sales. The biggest factors of the Toyota Prius’ microenvironment are media and the government. Toyota has worked with Government bodies and has asked for tax incentives encourage people to buy more environmentally friendly cars to increase the amount of hybrids sold. Toyota also has spent 15m of its 200m annual marketing budget on the Prius. It has introduction ads that appealed more to peoples’ emotion to get them to buy the Prius. Overall, Toyota has analysed its icroenvironment extremely well as it has maintaining its competitive advantage over it competitors and has sold over 1m Prius with the waiting list of the Prius waiting list being over 18 month and becoming a status symbol among Hollywood stars. Question 2: The macro environment consists of six forces that affect the whole microenvironment, demographic, economic, natural, technological, political and cultural forces. The Toyota Prius is such a highly technologically advanced vehicle with its four cylinder petrol engine and 33-kilowatt electric motor. This could be one of the demographic factors that prompted the introduction of the Prius for Toyota. The Prius appeals to Generation Y also known as the â€Å"echo boomers† who were born between 1977 and 1994. Their comfort with computers, digital technology and overall technical advances prove they are and attractive target for marketers wanting to create a device at the high end of new, innovative devices on the market today e. g. iPad , Toyota Prius. The economic environment consists of the factors that affect consumer buying power and spending patterns. With many countries experiencing economic recession, consumer purchasing power is reduced. People have less money and now have to spend more carefully. The recent high petrol prices are causing a rising demand for greener, more fuel efficient cars that are cheaper to run. Several governments are providing incentives to people to buy these hybrid cars. In the UK, the government is offering reduced car tax on initial purchase. Electric car drivers can also avoid the ? 8 per day Congestion Charge in London. Toyota must be aware of and keep up with the technological environment which includes the forces that create new technologies, creating new product and market opportunities. This is the most rapidly changing environment. By introducing the Toyota Prius, the company has gained a technological initiative in the hybrid market. Toyota knew that their target market for this product would include technology enthusiasts, or ‘techies’ as they are known, and included reference to the cars leading technology in their advertisements. Natural forces also affected Toyotas decision to manufacture a hybrid car. Consumers are becoming more concerned about the environment and about how the products they purchase have an effect on it. Petrol and diesel are both non-renewable fossil fuels which release carbon emissions that contribute to global warming. Therefore there is a demand in the market for alternatives to petrol-powered vehicles, such as electric cars. Hybrid cars like the Toyota Prius offer improved gas mileage and emissions standards. Toyota have used this opportunity to position themselves in the market as an ‘environmentally concerned company’ Toyota needs however, to be aware of the political environment which may pose restrictions on its business activity. The political environment includes laws, government agencies and pressure groups that influence and limit various organisations and individuals in a given society. Recently, the EU commission announced new legislation which will be brought in that requires all manufacturers selling cars in the European Union to lower average CO2 emissions of new cars. The governments of some countries have intervened and offered tax incentives to stimulate the purchase of clean-fuel and high-mileage hybrid cars. Cultural values have an effect on the products people choose to buy. Although core values and beliefs held by society are quite persistent, secondary cultural values are more open to change. Recent changes in cultural values include a greater appreciation for nature. People are starting to realise that nature is finite and fragile. They are beginning to seek out more environmentally-friendly products, one of these being fuel-efficient cars. Toyota has responded to this by introducing the Toyota Prius onto the market. Even in Hollywood it seems that it is now cool to be environmentally responsible as a range of A-listers are now owners this hybrid car. Question 3:  Toyota has ran a masterful marketing campaign so far. It has become the â€Å"environmentally concerned† car manufacturer and the technology leader in the hybrid car market. It has targeted â€Å"techies† and early adopters by educating consumers about the new car. Toyota have used the power of the internet to promote the Prius. The first thing they did was educate consumers about the prius. They launched a website to distribute the information and sent 40000 e-brochures to likely buyers. It worked. The Prius â€Å"flew out of dealer’s showrooms† and they even had difficulty â€Å"keeping up with demand†. They also ran print ads with tag lines such as â€Å"when it sees red it charges†, an emotional reference, and they ran television ads as well. By using these marketing tools to great effect the company was firmly established as a caring brand in the consumer’s mind. The new â€Å"environmentally concerned† Toyota is clearly a hit with customers as it sold 400000 hybrids in 2006 alone. It has even succeeded in making being green cool as a host of Hollywood celebrities like Cameron Diaz and even Arnold Schwarzenegger has one to park, ironically, beside his giant hummer. Another effective strategy was to become the market leader in a new technology. It was risky to jump into the market that soon as it could have cost the company a lot of money if it didn’t work out. Toyota always subtly stresses the technology aspect of the car in its advertising. Surprisingly hybrids aren’t all that efficient. The citroen CZ, C1 and C3 all have better fuel consumption than the Prius, but it doesn’t matter as Toyota â€Å"have captured people’s minds†. It’s marketing campaigns have won over the environmentally conscious companies like IKEA, who are switching their car fleet to hybrids. Toyota’s efforts have left other car makers â€Å"racing to catch up†. Marketing segmentation was used to great effect by Toyota. It set out very early on to target the â€Å"techies† and the â€Å"early adapters† through emails and the online website. â€Å"Many Prius owners are immersed in technology†, they even have their own website called â€Å"Priusenvy. com†. It really has taken off with the â€Å"techies†. They were able to make changes such as â€Å"cruise control† and a â€Å"sniffer† to the car without the help of a qualified mechanic or engineer. This success can be attributed to the narrow targeting of the cars. Toyota could improve its strategy by appealing more to the general market for cars. Today the cost of a Prius is significantly lower than it was when it first came out. Perhaps it’s time to focus on what a great small family car it would make or how it might suit a professional, like a teacher for example. There are many environmentally conscious people among the ranks of the middle class families of Ireland. By honing in on the small family market Toyota could bring an alternative to the Ford Mondeo and the Volkswagon Passet. Overall Toyota has done almost everything right with the Prius. When we think â€Å"Hybrid† we think â€Å"Prius† exactly like â€Å"MP3† and â€Å"iPod†. That is the sign of an extremely efficient marketing campaign.

Owens & Minor Case Study Solution Essay

1. What is the value-added by Owens and Minor? Is this value-addition visible? * They own and manage the inventory for the manufacture * They take on the financial risk associated with the function of managing the inventory flow to the hospitals. * They care for product returns and carry the risk for that. * They carry the receivables (cash flow issues due to long payment terms of customers; actually a 90 days credit) * They carry and manage most of the inventory for the hospitals, which are sometimes even running stockless. * They track and verify customer prices for contracted product purchases and monitor agreements between end-users and manufacturers * The distribution has changed in a way that hospitals required the distributors to carry more of the inventory and making more deliveries in lower units of measure, while keeping the same originally negotiated prices. This has put a stronger burden on the distributors. * Owens & Minor creates a clear value-add for both manufacturers and suppliers. Manufactures usually only want to produce and sell the product before getting it out of the door * Hence Owens and Minor takes the full responsibility for all stressful parts of selling a product. On the other hand customers don’t want to buy and own products before they are ready to use it. * Thus Owens and Minor also enables them to achieving more efficient structures, while reducing additional costs related to managing efficiently. 2. Evaluate the impact cost-plus pricing has on distributors, customers, and suppliers. Distributors: * Services related to inventory management are not included properly, since the percentage they gain is the same for all products. Whether they are cheap and efficiently to handle or rather problematic. Hence costs will skyrocket if customers will ask for additional services (while keeping the same price). * They have the drawback of customers engaging in cherry-picking and only enabling the distributors to manage low-margin, inexpensive products. Customers: * Cost-plus pricing lead to a complicated pricing structures, since distributors and customers negotiated separate product prices from manufacturers, introduced incentives, let prices vary from customer to  customer, covered some products by contract and some don’t etc. * Hence purchasing managers were nearly unable to properly track actual product costs and compare quotes from competing manufacturers and distributors. Suppliers: * Suppliers have no motivation to try to reduce costs and increase efficiencies since profits remain the same. * Market demand is not taken into consideration. If a supplier has a markup, which takes the reseller’s price point beyond current market prices, the reseller’s demand will decrease dramatically. 3. What effect will ABP have on customer behavior? Provide an example to illustrate. ABP connects O&M‘s fee to the level of the service they provide * Customer is motivated to keep its activities down to a minimum level and only order services that he really needs * Customers who want to extend their service-level can get this because there is a way for O&M to price a higher service-level * ABP helps customers to optimize their service-level and hence their costs. 4. What are the obstacles to successful implementation of ABP at Ideal? How would you address these obstacles? * Internal systems at hospitals (e.g. budgeting, compensation) were tied to cost-plus percentages. * Product prices with cost-plus percentages were used to determine transfer pricing between hospital departments * Technological barriers: Customer has to change to an EDI system (electronical data input) * Hospital would have to change its systems and procedures for material handling * For a hospital to benefit it would have to be willing to change and shed personnel, equipment and warehousing space. * Culture of hospitals (e.g. surgeons have different preferences for many operating room supplies) O&M‘s response: * Offered to convert the activity fee to a cost-plus equivalent * O&M‘s logistical services worked closely with customers moving to ABP to help them realign processes and institute cost savings.

Schools and Education - Understanding the Rise in Apathy,...

The Rise in Apathy, Cheating and Plagiarism – Understanding the Problem Over the past ten years teachers have witnessed a drop in student preparation and a rise in apathy and cheating. Students who cheat do so from a variety of motives. Making this situation even more difficult is that faculty members do not even define plagiarism the same or punish it consistently (Howard, â€Å"Sexuality† 473). Some surveys even show that teachers simply ignore the problem or do not report plagiarism because: â€Å"they do not want to be bothered, because they think only the student who cheated is actually harmed, or because of the unpleasant bureaucracy and documentation ramifications† (Moeck 484). Alschuler and Blimling add to this list the fear†¦show more content†¦Conventional wisdom of the time believed that students learned to write well and think better by becoming acquainted with the works of great writers and thinkers. Only by showing a mastery of the masters could one establish authorial authority, and because the author’s a udience knew the masters too, the student had no need to cite sources (Howard, â€Å"Plagiarisms† 788). It isn’t until the late 17th Century that British authors begin hurling the accusation of plagiarist at each other. Ideologically this makes sense because after the fall of Rome, Western Europe fell into a dark age. Not until the Renaissance do we see another spurt of humanism that marked the great classic periods of Greece and Rome. Before the invention of the printing press, the rise in literacy, and the focus on humans as perfectible creations who can create important works by themselves, there was very little need for authorial ownership. In the Renaissance, associating an author’s name with a work was generally tied to prosecution for blasphemy and libel (Hammond 23). â€Å"Authorship could only develop as a profession when it became respectable for individuals to live off their wits† (23). Not until 1709 do we find the first copyright law protecting ownership rights, and this did not solve the thorny problem of intellectual property and how to protect an idea (36-37). In the Romantic Period, a major shift in thought occurred. The Romantics prized individuality andShow MoreRelatedAnnotated Bibliography: Plagiarism39529 Words   |  158 Pagesï » ¿Plagiarism Bibliography Buckwalter, J. A., Wright, T., Mogoanta, L. and Alman, B. (2012), Plagiarism: An assault on the integrity of scientific research. J. Orthop. Res., 30:  1867 1868. Granitz, N. and Loewy, D. (2007). Applying Ethical Theories: Interpreting and Responding to Student Plagiarism. Journal of Business Ethics, 72(3), 293-306. Luke, B. and Kearins, K. (2012), Attribution of words versus attribution of responsibilities: Academic plagiarism and university practice. Vaccine, 30(50):