Confidentiality and Minors

Confidentiality is an essential component to the counseling process. It allows for the client to build a trustful relationship with the counselor. â€Å" Counselors regard the promise of confidentiality to be essential for the development of client trust† (Glosoff & Pate, 2002). Most individuals that seek counseling services assume that what is discussed in the counseling sessions with the counselor will be kept in confidence with limited exceptions. These exceptions become a complex balancing act for the counselor especially when their clients are minors. Confidentiality is a widely held ethical standard a variously accorded legal right of clients and responsibility of counselors (American Counseling Association, 2005: American School Counseling Association, 2010). According to the Ethical Standards for School Counselors and the Code of Ethics and Standards for Counseling (2010), both specify that counselors are ethically required to take appropriate action and breach confide ntiality in certain circumstances involving minors.Counselors are required to breach confidentiality if there is imminent danger to self and others, if there is suspected child abuse or neglect or to protect a vulnerable client from danger. There are other limitations to confidentiality and minors as well. Some of these limitations involve parents and their right to know what is happening in counseling sessions between the therapist and their child.This problem is one that schools counselors and clinical therapists must face when counseling minors. Counselors in both clinical and school settings are faced with ethical issues with regards to confidentiality each time they encounter a client that is a minor. School Counselors have a variety of roles and responsibilities to students, teachers, parents and administrators (Iyer, McGregor & Connor, 2010).According to the American School Counseling Association (2004), it is the responsibility of the school counselor to help a child develop effective coping skills, identify personal strengths and assets, recognize and express feelings and provide a foundation for the child’s personal and social growth as he or she progresses from school to adulthood as apart of the process. School Counselors must collaborate with all persons involved with the minor in this process, which usually includes the parents and teachers. SchoolCounselors are also sometimes asked to be apart of child study teams within the school, which can be very beneficial to the students and those involved in their lives. School Counselors must follow the American School Counseling Association’s ethical standards for School Counselors regarding confidentiality. In beginning sessions between the client and the school counselor confidentiality should be discussed and the conditions in which it may have to be breached. According to Lazovsky (2010), The management of student confidentiality has been described as the primary ethical dilemma of sch ool counselors.There are various ethical and legal issues that arise for School Counselors when dealing with confidentiality. School Counselors are required ethically to report when a student engages in clear and imminent danger to themselves or others. Some school counselors base their decision to breach confidentiality on how imminent the danger is that is being presented by the situation. â€Å"Most counselors would agree parents should be informed of drug experimentation by an 8 year old. Many however, would disagree to tell parents that a 16 year old client reported occasional experimentation with marijuana† (Glosoff & Pate, 2002).This example shows that school counselors should use discretion when deciding to breach confidentiality. These two minor clients are different but each situation has a variety of ways that it could be handled. According to Lazovky (2008), school counselors are advised to consult with supervisors and colleagues before making decisions based on b reaching confidentiality. They should also know their state policies and laws in the school jurisdiction. Another ethical and legal issue that can arise for school counselors counseling minors in relation to confidentiality is the disclosure of student provided information to parents.Privileged communication is apart of confidentiality. Privileged communication allows for clients to ask counselors to keep their communications and records of their counseling sessions confidential. Privilege belongs to the client and the counselor asserts privilege for the client. According to Glosoff (2002), the already complex issue of privileges communication for school counselors is made even more complex by who has the privilege when counseling a minor. Parents of minors rather than minor clients are assumed to control privilege. School Counselors are sometimes subpoenaed for court appearances when the parent’s do not agree on whether the counselors presence is necessary in the testimony o r a parental custody dispute may be the heart of the legal proceeding. The ACA and ASCA recognize that school counselors have limits to their ability to protect client confidences. School Counselors must not only be mindful of their ethical duties but cooperate with any laws that that apply to them as well. The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) establishes that parents control the rights of students under the age of 18 (Iyer, McGregor & Connor, 2010).This includes any of the student’s records such as grades, awards and date of birth. Decisions about the release of these records are based under exceptions under FERPA and also the parent’s consent. However, most records regarding the student are held in safe places where other school officials do not have or need access. Another law that school counselors must keep in mind is HIPAA. This law was enacted to protect patient’s health information. In relation to school counselors, the student’s me dical records are being protected. The issue of confidentiality in Child Study Teams has become an ethical dilemma for many school counselors.The school counselor must decide on what to disclose and what information to inquire about based on each member’s rights and responsibilities. Deciding what to reveal and what to keep confidential can be a hard and difficult task for school counselors. Clinical Therapists face many ethical and legal issues with regards to confidentiality as well. Clinical Therapists are different from School Counselors in their role with minors because the only stakeholder involved with the therapist in most cases is the parent. According to Ellis (2009), minor’s right to confidentiality is an area at times, which ethics and the law are in conflict.One of these ethical dilemmas arises in the area client privilege. In the case of minors, this privilege extends to the parents who act as representatives to their dependent children. Clinical Therapis t struggle with maintaining confidentiality for their minor clients especially when the law is on the side of the parents because they have the right to know. Stone & Issacs (2003) suggest that in order to deal with ethical issues regarding confidentiality and minors therapists should prepare a written professional services agreement which provides details on the limits and conditions of confidentiality.At this point the parent can be involved in their child’s treatment in various ways. One of the ways that parents can be involved is through periodical family sessions. In the clinical counseling setting, there are often conflicts between duties of confidentiality and the need to share information with parents or other agencies that provide care for a child or adolescent. There can also be ethical conflicts between duties of confidentiality, grounded in respect for patient autonomy, and both statutory and moral obligations to report child abuse, which are grounded in duties of care and protection (Kaplan, 2005).One issue which troubles some clinical therapists is a statutory obligation to report consensual sexual relationships that adolescents are engaged in with adults irrespective of whether they are clinically judged to be abusive, because they can be framed in many child protection statutes or guidance as constituting abuse. (Ellis, 2009). There are some similarities between confidentiality and counseling minors in both school and clinical settings. One similarity is that in both settings counselors must follow the same ethical guidelines for breaching confidentiality.Breaching confidentiality is allowed by ethical codes in special or extreme circumstances (Lazovsky, 2008). In both settings counselors must carefully deliberate over the circumstances that are presented to them by the minor client in the counseling sessions. The counselor should then decide whether or not to breach confidentiality. This ethical dilemma is a difficult issue that many co unselors are faced with in both clinical and school settings.Another similarity between counseling minors in both school and clinical settings is that counselors must often consult with other staff members in both settings for the benefit of the children that they serve. It is important for counselors to educate other non-mental health staff members that they must keep confidential any personal information they learn about children as a result of their professional positions (Rehmley & Herley, 2010). If any information were to be disclosed outside of the school or clinical settings, it could be lead to grounds for a lawsuit.There are some differences between confidentiality and counseling minors in both school and clinical settings as well. One difference is that counselors in clinical settings encounter fewer ethical issues around confidentiality and minors because parents usually have given legal consent for the counselor to work with the client. However in the school setting, Reh mley & Herley (2010) state that the counselor often does not have a legal obligation to obtain parental permission before counseling students unless there is a federal or state statute to the contrary.Another difference between confidentiality and minors in the school and clinical setting is in the clinical setting the counseling process may be limited to the counselor, the minor client and the parents. Most minor clients who are placed in clinical treatment facilities will be unable to make crucial decisions for themselves. The privilege of informed consent will be given to the parent and the parent will operate in the child’s best interests (Glosoff & Pate, 2002). Counselors in both clinical and school settings find the ethical and legal issues of confidentiality difficult because there are constant conflicts between the law and ethics.One issue that counselors find causes tension between law and ethics is whether children have the right to enter into a counseling relations hip without parental consent. According to Rehmley & Herley (2010), every child has a moral right to privacy in the counseling relationship. Kaplan (2005) believes that children should have the same rights to confidentiality as adult clients. However, counselors constantly struggle between the ethical obligation of privacy to their minor clients and their legal obligation to the parents of the same minor clients to keep their child protected and safe.There are some ways that counselors are able to deal with these ethical and legal dilemmas regarding confidentiality and minors. One recommendation that was made by Iyer, Baxter-McGregor & Connor (2010) is to develop and maintain a strong informed consent policy. Informed consent is a process that is an ongoing process and should begin before the counseling process begins. According to Glosoff & Pate (2002), it is beneficial in both settings to develop a written informed consent policy so that it can be given to parents and anyone else who is involved in the clients counseling process.This is beneficial because all parties involved in the process will know about confidentiality and also what to expect. Another recommendation that was suggested by Iyer, Baxter-McGregor & Connor (2010) is to educate all members that are involved in the minor client’s counseling process about the importance of confidentiality. In this way there will be a reduction in the likelihood of difficult situations posed by ethical dilemmas developing in the first place. An explanation of confidentiality would be a great addition to an orientation to parents, teachers or other non-mental health professionals.They would know what to expect with regards to confidentiality in counseling sessions with minors. Another suggestion that was discussed in the literature in relation to ethical and legal dilemmas regarding confidentiality and minors is to send out educational newsletters and emails. This suggestion takes a proactive stance towards the ethical and legal issue of confidentiality and minors and it helps to avoid the possible ethical dilemma before it occurs (Glosoff &Pate, 2002).Some possible items that could be included in these newsletters or emails may be a definition of confidentiality, one’s informed consent policy, state regulations or law’s regarding confidentiality and a summary of ASCA’s and ACA’s ethics statements for counselors. Lastly, another suggestion that was discussed in the literature in relation to ethical and legal dilemmas regarding confidentiality and minors is for counselors to develop a strong network of professionals that counselors can confide in and ask advice when they encounter an ethical dilemma (Iyer, Baxter-McGregor & Connor 2010; Glosoff & Pate, 2002).This network may include school psychologists, local psychologists, counseling professionals and any who works within a similar field. According to Iyer, Baxter-McGregor & Connor (2010), a counselor may u se a common framework such Kitchener’s five moral principles regarding ethical decision making. The five moral principal’s are autonomy, justice (fairness), beneficence (doing good), non-maleficence (doing no harm) and fidelity (keeping promises).Another ethical decision making model that can be followed is by Forester-Miller and Davis which is to 1) Identify the problem, 2) Apply one’s professional code of ethics, 3) Determine the nature and decisions of the dilemma, 4) Generate potential courses of action, 5) Consider the potential consequences of all options and choose a course of action 6) Evaluate the selected course of action and 7) Implement the course of action. Counselors in both clinical and school setting have a tremendous amount of responsibility to uphold when they are counseling minors.The ethical and legal issues that arise for this group can sometimes differ and also be contradictory to each other. It is the responsibility of the counselors to pr epare themselves and all parties involved in the counseling process with the knowledge that is necessary in regards to confidentiality and minors. In many cases when the counselor is left to choose the right course of action in regards to confidentiality, the outcome will inevitable benefit the client. References American Counseling Association. (2005). Code of ethics and standards of practice (Rev. ed. ) Alexandria, VA: Author.American School Counselor Association. (2010). Ethical standards for school counselors. Retrieved from http://www. schoolcounselor. org/content. asp? contentid=17 Barnett, J. E. (2008). The ethical practice of psychotherapy: Easily within our reach. Journal Of Clinical Psychology, 64(5), 569-575. doi:10. 1002/jclp. 20473 Ellis, E. M. (2009). Should a psychotherapist be compelled to release an adolescent’s treatment records to a parent in a contested custody case?. Professional Psychology: Research And Practice, 40(6), 557-563. doi:10. 1037/a0017419 Glo soff, H. L. , & Pate, R. r. (2002).Privacy and confidentiality in school counseling. Professional School Counseling, 6(1), 20-27. Iyer, N. N. , Baxter-McGregor, J. & Connor, A. R. (2010). Ethical dilemmas for the school counselor: balancing student confidentiality and parents’ right to know. New York State School Counselor Association, 7(2), 17-22. Kaplan, A. I. (2005). Therapist-Patient Privilege: Who Owns the Privilege?. Journal Of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 11(1/2), 135-143. doi:10. 1300/J146v11n0111 Lazovsky, R. (2008). Maintaining confidentiality with minors: Dilemmas of school counselors. Professional School Counseling, 11(5), 335-346. oi:10. 5330/PSC. n. 2010-11. 335 Mitchell, C. W. , Disque, J. , & Robertson, P. (2002). When parents want to know: Responding to parental demands for confidential information. Professional School Counseling, 6(2), 156-161. Rehmley, T. P. , & Herlihy, B. (2010). Ethical, Legal and Professional Issues in Counseling. Merrill; New Yor k. Stone, C. , & Isaacs, M. L. (2003). Confidentiality with minors: The need for policy to promote and protect. The Journal Of Educational Research, 96(3), 140-150. doi:10. 1080/00220670309598802 Confidentiality and Minors By Neferteria Thomas

Juan Luna and Filipinos Great Pride Essay

The first thing you’ll notice about the painting is its size. Standing at 4 meters in height and 7 meters in width, the painting no doubt commands attention and gives off a majestic aura. Any viewer of the painting will feel dwarfed by the large painting and may feel overwhelmed by the magnanimity of it. The next thing you’ll notice about the Spoliarium is the rich colors used. Predominantly, the painter made use of warm colors for his work of art, with reds being a central color that attracts the most attention. In person, the colors are striking and quite unique. The Spoliarium depicts an even during the Roman empire, where gladiators die for entertainment. The painting shows how gladiators are being dragged mercilessly by men towards an unknown darkness, where other tragically killed gladiators are brought. To the left is a cheering crowd, screaming for blood while to the right, a woman is crouched and seemingly in sorrow. The painting shows a tragic event, definitely. But it also shows a deeper meaning, especially for the Filipinos during the time of the Spanish colonization (which lasted over 400 years!). According to art experts, the fallen gladiators who are being dragged are the Filipino people, while the men dragging them into the darkness are representative of the Spanish rule. The woman crouched on the right side of the painting is believed to be the Mother Country or the Inang Bayan who weeps for her Philippines. The blood thirsty crowd to the left is a representation of the social cancer of that time. Truly, there is more than meets the eye when it comes to Luna’s painting. The Spoliarium shows the Spanish government’s mistreatment of the Philippines. The dead bodies of the gladiators represent the Spanish killings of Filipino revolutionaries. The Spoliarium is famous among the Filipino people, to say the least. The fact that Luna had gained recognition among other Spaniards in Madrid because of this painting has given the Filipinos great pride. This also shows that the Filipinos have skills that can equal, if not, surpass the Europeans of that time. This is why the painting, along with Hidalgo’s, are deemed National Cultural Treasures, because they were able to contribute to the development of art in the Philippines. The Spoliarium can be found in the Hall of the Masters of The National Museum of the Philippines. Whether you are a foreigner or a local, take a few hours off your schedule to visit the museum and learn more about Philippine culture and history through the eyes of its artists. It is an educational and enriching experience.

Satirical Attack on the Education System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Satirical Attack on the Education System - Essay Example He writes for a newspaper with a satire style, where he criticizes the educational system for not training their students enough to have acceptable writing and research skills. The writer can be trusted because of the use of evidence and logic to present his claims, and though his appeal to logos is based on his own personal experiences as a shadow writer and may be contested, his rants and insights have been reproduced in other scholarly articles, and furthermore, Dante effectively uses the appeal to emotions by focusing on how his job impacts the future professionals and workers of the world. Using logos, Dante successfully argues his main claim that the educational system is to be primarily blamed for students depending on shadow scholars because of the emphasis on grading and not education and their inability to handle cultural differences. The reasons that he provided are based on his interactions with students, whom he categorized into three types: â€Å"the English-as-second-language student; the hopelessly deficient student; and the lazy rich kid† (Dante par. 21). He supports these categories through examples of what they expect from their writers and why they expect this way. For instance, for the rich student, he says: â€Å"While the deficient student will generally not know how to ask for what he wants until he doesnt get it, the lazy rich student will know exactly what he wants† (Dante 22). Still, his experiences are hard to verify since his clients will certainly not admit to plagiarism. It is possible to check his claims, nonetheless, through g oing through academic articles written on the topic, such those from Austin, Simpson, and Reynen and Scanlon. These authors agree that many students use these paper mills because they can and because of the failings of the educational system. Dante’s ethos is perceived is high because he is consistent on what he says he does for his clients.

No topic Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

No topic - Personal Statement Example Lastly, I was a cheerleader for our voluntary team especially in various communal activities aimed at dealing with poor dental clinical health matters. Being a patient is very disastrous. I have encountered this ever since I was ten years of age. Dental infections caught my intellectual attention back then and still do to-date. Firstly, pain caused by dental infections distracts various activities of individual patients. Secondly, being a dental patient damages a patients’ self-image. These individuals may not openly interact with others because of bad breath or colored teeth, which easily distort self-image. Concisely, as an aspiring dentist since when I was ten years old, I began by helping my uncle sterilize used blankets for new patients. Yes, this may sound uncultured or uncouth way of handling patients clinically, but in Cuba, everything is a waste. Most blankets in this country are passed to several generations. This left us the mission of clinically and cautiously cleaning these blankets to remove the adhesive and molar bands. My reasons for wanting to undertake clinical dentistry course: Healthcare professionalism in the current world has emerged to be one of the well-paying fields of professionalism. Dentistry, as a part of healthcare professionalism in the contemporary society, gives individual professionals a wider view of the clinical care system in a more evidence-based way throughout the world. I was a bit hesitant because of the mess I left behind after helping my uncle in his dentist staff. Additionally, the Cuban employment domain was not motivating at all. Most professionals back then were paid meagre salaries. This killed my dream of becoming a dentist. My parents resorted into changing my career aspirations from becoming a dentist to being a mere artist. This was my worst nightmare so far. As an artist, my parents believed that my life would be better some days in the future.

Phase 1 - Concepts and terminology of statistics applied to business Essay - 2

Phase 1 - Concepts and terminology of statistics applied to business decision-making 4-20 - Essay Example Mean-  the arithmetic mean (mean) of a list of numbers is the sum of all the members of the list divided by the number of items in the list. A  classic example of Arithmetic mean is average income. The arithmetic mean may be misinterpreted to imply that most peoples income is higher than the case in fact is.† In statistics, mean has two related meanings: MEDIAN-  The median is the number which is in the exact  middle of the data set. Literally, it is the value in the middle. â€Å"The statistical median is the middle number of a group of numbers that have been arranged in order by size. If there is an even number of terms, the median is the mean of the two middle numbers: If there is an even number of terms, add the two middle terms and divide by 2.†Ã‚   (Statistical Median). Mode means the number that appears the most often, if working with only one variable. In statistics, mode means the most frequent value assumed by a random variable, or occurring in a sampling of a random variable. The term is applied both to probability distributions and to collections of  experimental data. Range  - It means the difference between the highest and the lowest value. The range is the length of the smallest interval which contains all the data. It is calculated by subtracting the smallest observations from the greatest and provides an indication of  statistical dispersion. The mid range point is the half way between two variables. .Variance -   In probability and statistics , the variance of a   random variable, is a probability distribution , a measure of its statistical dispersion , indicating how its possible values are spread around the expected value . Where the expected value shows the location of the distribution, the variance indicates the scale of the values. A more understandable measure is the square root of the variance, called the Standard deviation... For a population, range is more than twice the standard deviation. Variance

Database systems-Entity-Relationship modelling Essay

Database systems-Entity-Relationship modelling - Essay Example A database will help to make the report generation process faster with the use of correct report generating programs. The management will have the option of having up-to-date information when it comes to decision making in Lanchester Liners. Since all the data is retrieved from a central database, the consistency of the data is guaranteed. It becomes a clear advantage of a database, since the manual file systems are vulnerable to duplicated data. The security of data can also be enhanced with the implementation of a database using passwords and other security protocols. For this company, a computerized database will make the data available to remote locations such as to a ship in the middle of a journey by the using modern communication technology. The transition from a manual file system to a database system will make the company concentrate on staff training, spending on hardware and software. The company also has employee new team of professional to maintain the technical aspects of the database. These two factors can be considered as the drawback occurring from the implementation of a database. The Business rules of the system Following Business rules have been identified according to the interview conducted with Lanchester Liners Company. 1. ... 4. Many employees are assigned to ship at a time and an employee works in a one particular ship at a time. 5. A passenger may book several excursions and a particular excursion may be booked by several passengers. 6. A Passenger may be in many cruises from time to time. A cruise takes many passengers. 7. An itinerary consists of several excursions and an itinerary may share several excursions. 8. Excursion consists of many attractions. An attraction is limited to only one excursion. 9. Some passengers may also do lecture to other passengers. ER – Model of Lanchester Liners Primary key - Foreign key - Non-prime attributes – In Red The list of Entities, Attributes, and Relationships of the system Entity Attributes Primary Key Foreign keys SHIP Ship _No - Ship Number Ship _Name Ship _No ------------- ITINERARY It_ID - Itinerary ID It_ID Sh _It * Dep _Port – Departing port Arri _Port – Arriving port Ship _No - Ship Number It_ID - Itinerary ID Ship _No It_ID Sh ip _No It_ID CRUISE Cruise_ID – Cruise ID Days of tour – Week days of the tour Tour _Operator – Tour operator’s name Cruise_ID ------------- Cr _It * Cruise_ID It_ID Cruise_ID It_ID Cruise_ID It_ID PASSENGER Pas_ID – Passenger ID Pas_Contact – Passenger contact details Pas_Name – Passenger Name Pas_ID ------------- P Assigned to Cruise_ID Pas_ID Pas_satis – Passenger satisfaction Cruise_ID Pas_ID Cruise_ID Pas_ID EXCURSION Exc_ID – Excursion ID Exc_ID -------------- Booking Exc_ID Pas_ID Exc_ID Pas_ID Exc_ID Pas_ID ATTRACTION Att ­_ID – Attraction ID Att_desc - Attraction Description Exc_ID Att ­_ID Exc_ID It _Ex * Exc_ID port_name It_ID It_ID Exc_ID It_ID Exc_ID EMPLOYEE ** Emp_Name - Employee Name Emp_ID - Employee ID Emp_phn –

Leadership in the United States Army Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Leadership in the United States Army - Assignment Example This principle of leadership is developed by the use of leadership traits, for example as an army leader in the United States, one must know the strength and weakness which one possesses. Experience and knowledge must be considered since one is going to work with groups and one must know the best way to deal with any given situation. Before one can lead, one must be able to do the job of military and again demonstrate the ability to accomplish the mission and demonstrate competence in any mission that is given to him or her. In the United States as an army leader, one must seek well rounded military education or even carry research so as to be technically and tactically proficient (Howell, 2012). Again one must seek guidance from capable leaders who have been in a position to lead and associating with other units of security and knowing their tactics so as to improve leadership skills. As an army leader who has undergone promotion by ranks, one must set the standards by personal example. All the military men who are under the leadership must do what is said and not as what one wants. The appearance, attitude, physical fitness and personal example are the key areas that those who are under the leaders look and therefore as a leader one must observe them properly. This principle is commonly used where a command is to be dictated for example in the case of United States army where the commander must command and communicate in a clear and concise manner (Johnson, 2009). Supervision must be highly looked upon and certainly made that the mission is understood by everyone in the group and questions are given time to be clarified and advice given. As an army commander in United States teamwork always leads to the achievement of the goals and thus being encouraged with perfection.

Examine critically the rights of minority in a company when the notice Essay

Examine critically the rights of minority in a company when the notice to acquire their shares has been served - Essay Example Current paper focuses on the examination of the rights of minority shareholders especially in the case that the notice to acquire their shares has been served. The relevant provisions of the Company Act 2006 have been studied, along with the literature published in the particular issue. It is proved that the law gives to the minority shareholders the right to promote the protection of their interests. However, when the notice to acquire their shares has been served to the minority shareholders, then their potentials for protecting their rights are reduced. Still, there are certain legal tools that can help the minority shareholders to secure their share in a particular organization. The effectiveness of these tools is further depended on a series of factors; the perceptions of minority shareholders on their organization and their skills to manage such projects highly affect the success of the efforts of the minority shareholders to secure their position as valuable members of the org anization. Rights of minority in companies – overview The role and the rights of minority in modern corporations have been highly studied in the literature. The reference to the rights of minority shareholders in general is necessary in order to understand the potentials of the particular group of persons to seek for legal tools for protecting their rights after a notice to acquire their shares has been served. According to the most common view, minority shareholders have a major disadvantage compared to the majority shareholders: ‘they are not protected by shareholder decision rights’ (Kraakman 2009, p.195). On the other hand, minority shareholders can choose among different legal means for protecting their rights; reference can be made, for example, to the ‘sharing norms, rules and standards’ (Kraakman 2009, p.195). In this context, minority shareholders are given the chance to prohibit outside investors to enter the organization. Indeed, minority shareholders are allowed to make an offer for buying the shares of their organization before these shares are offered to the public in general (Kraakman 2009, p.195). The above right of minority shareholders is part of the ‘preemptive rights framework’ (Kraakman 2009,195). At this point, the rights of minority shareholders are considered as secured, a fact that results to the improvement of communication within the organization, meaning especially the communication between the majority shareholders and the minority shareholders, who are, by the law, vulnerable towards the majority shareholders who can control organizational decisions. However, the power of the above rule has been strongly criticized. More specifically, it is noted that the potential of minority shareholders ‘to refer to the preemption rule’ (Kraakman 2009, p.195) can be limited if such decision is developed by the shareholders. On the other hand, the common law rules seem to protect the min ority shareholders more effectively compared to the civil law rules (Mallin 2007). Still, it should be noted that the protection of minority shareholders has not always set as a priority in the UK legal system (Mallin 2007). This fact indicates the potential inability of legislators to realize the level of risks that minority shareholders have to face. Sheikh (2008) emphasizes on the weakness of the existing laws

The impact of the financial crisis on the airline industry Essay

The impact of the financial crisis on the airline industry - Essay Example Nonetheless, an economic crisis occurred in between the year 2000 and 2001. Within this period, Turkey faced one of the worst economic turmoil, with the unemployment rate reaching over 11%. In addition, the Turkey government borrowed an additional 23 billion dollars (Reinhart &Â  Rogoff, 2009). This paper will analyze the impact of the financial crisis on the airline industry, focusing on Turkish Airlines. The Aviation sector is expanding by day with progressing technologies and economies. Developments on aviation sector affect airlines operations. The Airline industry or sector is connected with international trade laws or policies. The Turkish Airline sector is growing fast and has a large significance to economic progress. Their international and countrywide financial crisis also had a tremendous impact on Turkish Airlines. At the period of the financial crisis, Turkish Airlines was faced with decreased air travels, massive retrenchment of workers, among others. This also contrib uted to the economy of Turkey becoming delicate, not only domestically, but also internationally (Rigas, 2001). Not only, did the financial crisis affect Turkish Airlines and its workers, it also affected businesses that were depending on the Airline services, for example, tourism and shipment of goods from Turkey to other areas. Turkish Airlines is the Turkish national transporter airline in Turkey. Turkish Airline headquarters is situated in the capital city, Istanbul, at Ataturk Airport. Turkish Airlines offers its air travelling services to over two hundred and four domestic and international destinations in the Americas, Africa, Europe, and Asia. In addition, Turkish Airline offers its carrier services to an additional ninety one countries (Rigas, 2002). This makes its destination system from one area the largest in the whole world. Turkish Airline’s central station is Ataturk International Airport. Turkish Airlines has been on the rise since 2006. The number of passenge rs using Turkish Airline increased from 17million passengers in 2006 to 29 million passengers in 2010, earning over $15 million dollars over the five years. A report released in 2011 showed the airline had employed 18,188 workers. Turkish Airline has also been a constituent of the Star Alliance network from 2008. Turkish Airline also co-owned B&H Airlines, AnadoluJet, North Cyprus Airlines, SunExpress, and Cyprus Turkish Airlines. Turkish airline has been affected by financial crises since the olden days. Turkish Airlines suffered financial losses between 1987 and 1988, mainly because of significant expenditure on its numerous new Airbuses. This is according to a report released by Air Transport World. The fleet of airplanes also comprised DC-9s and Boeings. Turkish Airlines finished the period with less than 10,000 airline workers. In addition, after the Persian Gulf War, Turkish Airlines also suffered in the world wide economic crisis (Rigas, 2002). Nonetheless, Turkish Airlines g ot back on its feet in the middle of 1990s. The largest contribution to its financial development came from destination in North America. Turkish Airlines capital continued to increase, attaining the 10 trillion mark, in 1995. During the same year, Turkish Airline had switched some of its Boeing to cargo planes. Turkish Airline attained a $6 million profit within the same year. Nonetheless, Turkish Airline had to compete with the extreme inflation of the country due to

MOD 3 CA ACC Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

MOD 3 CA ACC - Essay Example The Chief Financial Officer of the company, Lester Ledger, feels that the product lacks the aesthetic appeal and suggests repackaging them in designer bottles. This will increase the variable cost per unit by $ 4.75 and the fixed production costs will increase by $ 40,000 per year. He predicts that the sales volume will increase by 32 % (264,000 units). However, the increase in sales does not outdo the increased costs and the company will incur a loss of $ 1.334 million (as shown in Appendix 2). According to the Production Manager, Buster Bumble, the reduction in the standard size of the bottle by 10 % would drop the variable costs by $ 2.65 (amounts to $ 13.35 per unit). However, due to the reduced size, the sales will drop to $ 195,500 units. Though the contribution margin is considerably increased, the company still incurs a loss of $ 549,425 (as shown in Appendix 3). The marketing manager suggests that the product requires more promotion and an increase of marketing budget by $ 527,000 will be appropriate. This, combined with a price increase by $4.90 per unit will increase the sales volume by 17 % (234,000 units). The contribution margin is considerably increased as both the sales volume and the unit prices are higher than before. The increase in the contribution margin is significantly higher than that of the fixed costs and hence results in a profit of $ 129,600 (Appendix 4). It is evident from the above analysis that the first three proposals still result in a heavy loss for The Lovely Scent Perfume Company. The proposal made by the marketing manager indicates an estimated profit of $ 129,600. Hence it is recommended that the company should increase the marketing budget (by $ 527,000) and also increase the price by $ 4.90 per

Major Differencies Between Eastern and Western Philosophies as the Basis for Adult Education Essay Example for Free

Major Differencies Between Eastern and Western Philosophies as the Basis for Adult Education Essay Western philosophy has its roots in Athens, Rome and Judeo ­Christianity while Eastern philosophy is derived from Confucianism, Taoism and Mahayana Buddhism. As Greek and Latin are to Western civilisation, so classical Chinese is to East Asian civilisation. I will focus on four major differences between Eastern and Western philosophies. 1. Western Individualism and Eastern Collectivism In the Greco‑Roman tradition, the image of Prometheus powerfully illustrates the struggle for individual freedom. Prometheus had gone against Zeus, the all powerful god who ruled the sky from Mt. Olympus. Prometheus annoyed Zeus by creating human beings. To protect the human beings from Zeus, he stole fire from Hephaestos, the blackmith god and gave it to the human beings. This angered Zeus to the extent that Prometheus was chained to a rock and an eagle tore out his liver. In European consciousness, Prometheus had become the hero who: defied the patriarchy in the name of individual freedom, who brought light into our darkness. He was the saviour who sacrificed himself for the sake of mankind, the benefactor who brought the gift of technology down from heaven, the teacher who taught us that we are not at the whims of the gods any more, who showed us how to use our intelligence to take control of the world. The Christian tradition has also reinforced the notion of individual rights. The Bible speaks of God creating Man in His own image and letting him have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle and over all the earth, and every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth (Genesis 1:26). By comparison, the Chinese live in a world of obligations: obligations to serve the ruler, obligations to work for the family, obligations to obey elders, obligations to help relatives, obligations to do well to glorify the name of ancestors, obligations to defend the country in times of trouble, and obligations to oneself to cultivate ones own virtue. It would also seem that rights only belong to one individual ‑ the Son of Heaven. Confucianism promotes conservatism and this stifles creativity and robs the people of self‑introspection. 2. Fragmentary and Holistic According to Fritjof Capra, the emphasis of rational thought is epitomised in Descartes celebrated statement,Cognito, ergo sum ‑ I think, therefore, I exist. This has forcefully encouraged Westerners to equate their identity with their rational mind rather than with the whole organism. This division between the mind and the body has led to a view of the universe as a mechanical system consisting of separate objects, which in turn were reduced to fundamental building blocks whose properties and interactions were thought to completely determine all natural phenomena. This mechanistic conception of the whole world is still the basis of most of our sciences and continues to have a tremendous influence on our lives. Academic disciplines become fragmented and this has served as a rationale for treating the universe as if it consisted of separate parts to be exploited by different groups. The essence of the Eastern world view is the awareness of the unity and the mutual inter‑relation of all things and events, the experience of all phenomena in the world as manifestation of a basic oneness. All things are seen as independent and inseparable parts of a cosmic whole, as different manifestations of the same ultimate reality. The Eastern traditions refer to this ultimate, indivisible reality as Brahman in Hinduism, Dharmakaya in Buddhism and Tao in Taoism. 3. Conflict and Harmony The Marxist view of history saw change as arising from a dialectic interplay of opposites ‑hence class struggle and conflict. Western civilisation based itself on the struggle between the Good and Evil, God and Satan or Psyche and Cupid. Eastern philosophical thought is based on this notion of the Yin and the Yang. Frithjof Capra describes the Yang as the strong,male creative power associated with Heaven while yin is the dark,receptive, female and maternal element. The dark yin and the bright yang are arranged in a symmetrical manner. They are dynamic ‑ a rotating symmetry suggesting very forcefully a continuous cyclic movement.The two dots in the diagram symbolise the idea that each one of the forces reaches its extreme, it contains in itself the seed of the opposite.Life says Chuang Tzuis the blended harmony of the yin and the yang. Taoism permeates the economic and social lives of the Chinese through geomancy, qigong, Chinese medicine and idol worship. As Chan observes:Almost every hotel, office and commercial building that has gone up within the last decade adheres to certain principles of geomancy or Fengshui ‑ the art and science of harmonising man and nature. 4. Idealism and Pragmatism. The Western idea of democracy does not fit into the Eastern scheme of things easily. In an interview by the Daily Telegraph on 16 October 1989 the former Prime Minister remarked that: I think in a mainly Chinese electorate, the idea of a loyal opposition and an alternative government does not come easily. Youre either for or against the government. The Confucianistic idea of social hierarchy where a persons existence is relational, extending from his family, society and country. The pragmatism of the East is exemplied in the way Confucianism has been used to emphasize order through social hierarchy and the rules and conventions. Taoism provided the meaning of life and thus compliment Confucianism. Confucius preached the doctrine of the here and now. The emphasis is one of life and life and not life and death. The sage hoped to hear the right way in the morning, and die in the evening without regret. What lays the foundation of life for the Chinese is the family and the continuation of the family also means the passing on of experience, culture and thought. The Taoists has an equal view of life and death seeing life and death as the coming out and going back of a human form of existence. Chuang Tsu talks of coming and going . Lao Tzu said,out to life, in to death. The crux of the matter is to make the best of the present.

Diagnostic radiography

Diagnostic radiography 2. Background and Objectives of Study Student retention is widely seen as a threat to the nation at large as it creates not only an economic burden to the government but also to the institutions.It establishes loss of wellskilledpersonsexpectedto enter the labour force and has animmense impact in student welfare as well. Yorke (2000) describes predisposing factors which resultin drop outs as; wrong pick of course, frustration with environment, failure to cope with workload, no support from within, fiscal issues as well aspersonal matters.Recent research by SCoR (2007) has revealed that retentionrates in diagnostic radiography have steadily decreased in the past four years and this brought up heaps of issues of concern to higher education. Therefore guidelines by the SCoR were put in place to try and improve retentionin institutions but the question is; has enough been done to implement those guidelines so as to eliminate the attrition rates.There is an overlook into the matter and institutions are suffering from the outc omes of retention. Thus, it is necessary to find the root of the problem, which comes down to having a look into students views on the course itself. This might give the HE an insight on how to tackle the problem knowingly aware of the exact factors that they are dealing with. Retention of students is not only the universities role but also of the student contribution in the programme, therefore the overall aim of this study is to identify, recommend and target support needed to aid retention and also to find out student insight as they progress in radiography courses and how this has an influence in retention. Most of this research will be based on a study carried out by Yorke and Longden (2004), as it covers first year experiences into higher education thus it might be useful in relating overall students perspicacity of higher education with how radiography students feel about their course. The only differences being that both 1st and 3rd year diagnostic radiography students are to partake in the study. 3. Methods Research on the selected area embraces the survey research design. As a quantitative method it is perceived in a sense of being steadfastas it involves collection of statistical data on study variables, (Sim Wright, 2000). Use of this design came down to it being simple and well known, with the amount of satisfactory information one can acquire from opinions and perspectives of individuals, on current issues.A large amount of data would be easier to obtain as it would be from a widely dispersed geographical sample group. As a qualitative method, a survey explores reasons of trends in behaviour and attitudes, perceptionand actions of individuals, more reasons to carry out this research with this method. A survey is relatively cost effective thus making it easier to conduct the research, (Neale, 2009). There is however need for choice of the research instrument for data collection. Anopen ended questionnaire would be a useful tool to get the desired information in alogicalway(ref). They will be distributed face to face to individual students by telephone, via post and emails to the Radiography Departments. Radiography students to be investigated are in the UK. Only 24 universities provide Radiography (diagnostic), hence a larger sample size of the whole population would be essential but only 9 universities (approximately 279 students) will be sampled, each school as a representative of each province in the UK. Altman (1991) discusses the random sampling method as appropriate to useas it lessens preconceived notions of the results as most of the universities have a likely chance of being selected for the research reducing biases.A random sample will be achieved by drawing up the sample groups into cohorts.A survey of each cohort (intake, 1st year and 3rd year) will be conducted to explore issues that may be specific to each particular year of study, for example 1st year home sickness or financial issues in final year students, 4. Location of study and access arrangements The study will be limited to universities in England and Wales. Admittanceto the universities would be through the school faculty ethics and their Heads of department. 5.Personnel Cost Factors As a first time researcher need for personnels, such as a supervisor and advisors, to help in the undertaking of the study is essential in a sense that they have more knowledge in the field of research and therefore will be able to steer the research in the right direction, (Barnard Seale, 1998). No costs are to be considered in this manner as these supporters are volunteers to give out assistant where applicable. As the sample size of this study is relatively of a great cohort, the cost is going to be considerably high. Equipment to be used in the research will include paper sheets for construction of the hard copy questionnaires, as well as the ink ( £20) needed to print out the questionnaires. They will need to be dispersed in envelopes (stamped) via the post office which cost around a total of  £0.74. To travel to the different universities travel costs have to be considered, nevertheless emails could be used as a means of reducing travel cost. Overallit gives an approximation of about  £376 to carry out the research. 6. Ethical Considerations Issues that may arise in conjunction with conducting this research include getting access to participantsalong with student enrolment and dropout records. Approval on these issues would be achieved through the School Ethics Committee under the department of radiography, in the universities under study. Other issues might be of acquiring data from students. This involves confidentiality, consent and free wiled partaking. All these issues will be addressed accordingly through the assurance of anonymity in staging of results, utter confidentiality in data compilation and privacy, although sometimes this will not be possible especially when the partakers are to be considered at various intervalsof research, (Polit Hungler, 1995). Introductory letters, and consent forms were possible will be issued to be sure that a mutual agreement of involvement is met, (Trochim 1999). Due to taking part in this research individuals might experience potential distress, therefore support arrangements will be put in place. Is NHS R D approval required?Yes No If which Trust/s will be required to give approval? Is NHS Ethics Committee approval required?Yes No If Yes, state the name of the REC to whom you will be applying. 7. Project Milestones and Timescales Activity Start Date Completion Date Await approval from ethics committee and Research practice panel Construct questionnaires Ethical review and data collection Data analysis Discussion conclusions Completion of written research Design of poster and article Submission of article and poster 10.01.10 01.06.10 08.10 11.10 12.10 02.11 01.03.11 09.05.11 01.05.10 20.06.10 10.10 12.10 01.11 03.11 08.05.11 09.05.11

How can a traumatic experience influence childrens behaviour

How can a traumatic experience influence childrens behaviour How can a traumatic experience influence children’s behaviour? The issues surrounding children’s behaviour after a traumatic experience are complex, multifactorial and often hugely controversial. Having considered the literature on the subject, one could be forgiven for believing that there are as many opinions on the issues as there are people considering the issues. In this review we have attempted to cover as many of the major areas as possible in order to present a reasonably comprehensive overview of the subject. The definition of a traumatic experience is subjective from both the point of view of the child concerned and also form the observer. Some commentators have suggested that the only workable definition of a traumatic experience is one that, by definition, produces demonstrable psychological sequelae. (Abikoff 1987) This may be the case, but as other commentators observe, some psychological sequelae may not surface for years, if at all. This does not mean that the original triggering episode was not traumatic. There is also the view that that the worst kind, or most extreme type of trauma may be the most likely to be actively suppressed at either a conscious or subconscious level. (Haddad Garralda. 1992) Literature Review With an area of literature as vast as the one that we are considering here, it is often difficult to find a place to start. In this instance we will consider the paper by Prof. Harry Zetlin (1995) who starts with a short monograph on the screening of a television programme which dealt with arguably the most catastrophic of stresses to befall a child, that of the loss of a parent through murder or violence. He makes several thought provoking comments which are worthy of consideration as they are germinal to the thrust of this article. The first is a plea that the diagnostic label of post-traumatic stress should not be a catch-all basket for all emotional and behavioural problems that can occur after a traumatic experience. (Gorcey et al.1986) The second is the realisation that in the particular circumstances portrayed on the television where a parent is murdered have two consequences. The first is the obvious catastrophic trauma that the child experiences with the violent loss of a parent, but the second is the much less obvious fact that the child has, at a stroke, also lost a valuable, and normally available resource, of the protective family environment, which is often one of the most useful therapeutic tools available to the therapist. He adds to this two further insights. The first is that the surviving parent has their own trauma to deal with and that is invariably transmitted to the child and that, because such events are mercifully comparatively rare, only a comparatively few professionals are ever able to build up any significant expertise and experience on the subject. The main issue of the piece is, however, the very relevant point that considering the apparent obsession of the media with intrusive fly-on-the-wall documentaries and the almost equally insatiable public hunger for sensation, the very fact that such a programme is made at all, almost inevitably adds to the trauma felt by the victims. (Koss et al 1989) One could argue that actually confronting and talking about such issues is part of the healing process. Such considerations may be of value in the adult who is more able to rationalise the concepts involved, but to the child this may be very much more difficult and being forced to relive the episodes in a very public and unfamiliar arena, may do little more than add to the psychological stresses and damage already caused. (Mayall Gold 1995) This paper offers a wise and considered plea for sense and moderation, not to mention reservation and decency. It is written in calm and considered moderate tones which makes the impact of its message all the more powerful. The next few papers that we would like to analyse deal with the thorny issue of Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children. It has to be commented that there is a considerable body of literature which argues on both sides of the debate about whether ADHD is the result of childhood trauma. One side is presented, quite forcibly, by Bramble (et al. 1998). The authors cite Kewley (1998) as stating that the prime aetiology of ADHD is a genetic neuro-developmental one. They challenge the expressed views that it is a manifestation of early childhood abuse or trauma which can have occurred at some time previously with the words: ..early abuse and trauma later manifest as symptoms and that the detection of these symptoms in children clearly illustrates early trauma is a prime example of the logical fallacy that underpins all psychoanalytical theory and practice. The authors argue that to state because psychotherapy is often effective it must reflect the fact that a traumatic episode must have been responsible because it addresses directly the original emotional trauma (Follette et al.1996), is completely unsound. The natural progression of this argument, they assert, is the reason why many parents of children with ADHD have such difficulty in finding child psychiatrists who can actually help them rather than the many who would seek to blame them for the childs behaviour in the first place. (Breire 1992) The authors take the view that the reason that psychoanalytical practitioners have held so much influence on the profession over the years is that it is only recently that the glare of evidence based medicine has fallen on their discipline. The authors argue that far from using psychotherapeutic tools to try to achieve resolution, the evidence suggests that psycho-stimulant treatment is far more effective (Abikoff 1987) if only because it enhances the therapeutic effect of other forms of treatment such as family therapy and special educational provision. The converse argument, or perhaps an extension of the argument, is presented by Thambirajah (1998) who takes the view that many papers on ADHD (and by inference he is referring to the one reviewed above), regard the syndrome as being a diagnosis made simply by checking an appropriate number of boxes on a check-list. He asserts that factors such as biopsychological circumstances should be weighed equally strongly as the symptom cluster of impulsivity, inattention or hyperactivity. (Tannock 1998) In direct contrast to the preceding paper he states that early traumatic experiences, current abuse or even depression of the mother may all be contributory factors in the aetiology of the condition. He argues that taking no account of these factors is to ignore much of the accumulated evidence and wisdom on the subject. He also makes a very valid point that to ignore these factors and only to use the check-list approach means that here is an over-reliance on the significance of these symptoms and, as a direct result, this leads to an overestimation of prevalence. He points to the obviously erroneous estimate of a study that was based exclusively on check list symptomatology, of 15% (although the study is not quoted). The author makes the very valid point that most psychiatrists would agree that the hyperkinetic disorder is a small sub-group within the ADHD syndrome and that these children may need treatment with stimulants but only after other aetiologies have been excluded. He makes the rather apt comparison of treating all children with ADHD the same way as calling all four legged animals with a tail donkeys. There are a great many more papers on this issue which we could usefully review but we must explore other areas of trauma in a childs life in order to try to give a representative overview. With the possible exception of the situation outlined in the first paper reviewed, there can be few experiences more traumatising to a child than to me made homeless as a refugee in a time of war. The paper by Hodes (et al. 2001) is both heart rending and informative as it explores the health needs of refugees arriving in the UK. Although the paper catalogues all of the health needs (that need not concern us in this article) of the refugees, it does not overlook the psychosocial trauma aspects of the childrens plight. They point to the fact that one way that a childs psychological trauma can be minimised is by being accepted into a peer group such as a school. While this may indeed be true, the problem is that refugee children are seldom seen by their peers as belonging and are therefore seldom completely accepted. (Lewis 1998) This is either aggravated or caused by the fact that they already have twice the rate of psychiatric disorder as found in control groups of children. (Tousignant et al. 1999). It is therefore important to be aware of these problems as they are often very amenable to psychiatric intervention (OShea et al. 2000). The authors quote a paper by Burnett and Peel (2001) who appear to be particularly pessimistic about making a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder in children from a fundamentally different culture, as their recovery is thought to be secondary to the reconstruction of their support networks, which may prove particularly difficult in a different or even alien, cultural environment. They point to studies of the children who fled to the USA to escape the Pol Pot regime, who had post-traumatic stress in childhood, and even when followed up 12 years later they quote 35% as still having post traumatic stress and 14% had active depression. (Sack et al. 1999). This may be a reflection of the difficulty in getting appropriate treatment for a condition in a different culture. But, in distinct relevance to our considerations here, the authors comment that even exposure to a single stressor may result in a surprisingly persistent post traumatic stress reaction. (Richards Lovell 1999). The last article that we are going to consider here is a paper by Papineni (2003). This paper has been selected partly because of its direct relevance to our consideration, but also because on a human level, it is a riveting piece of writing. It is entitled Children of bad memories and opens with the quote Every time there is a war there is a rape (Stiglmayer 1994). The whole article is a collection of war-related rape stories and the resultant psychopathology that ensued. The author specifically explores the issues relating to childhood rape and its aftermath. She also considers a related issue and that is how the effect of maternal shame shapes a childs perception of themselves (with heartrending consequences), how the shame felt by the mother is often externalised to affect the child who is the visible symbol of the physical act. (Carpenter 2000) The catalogue of emotion and reaction described in this article by some of the subjects, would almost make an authoritative text book on the consequences of a traumatic experience in childhood. It would be almost impossible to quantify a single negative emotion that was neither articulated nor experienced by the victims, not only of the act of rape, but also of the stigma and aftermath of the act which was often described as the worst aspect of the whole thing. A constant theme that runs trough the paper is the realisation that the presence of a child conceived by a rape is a potent reminder of the trauma and therefore is, in itself a bar to psychological healing. The author also points to the fact that another, almost inevitable consequence of forcible rape, is difficulty with relationships and intimacy which can devastate a childs social development. (Human Rights Watch.1996). Such a child may not only have this burden to bear for its life, but the stigma forced upon it by society may also have untold consequences. The author quotes a child born from the Rwandan conflict, describing itself by different names which bear witness to societys perception, and more accurately and inevitably, the childs perception of itself: children of hate, enfants non-desirÃÆ'Â ©s (unwanted children), or enfants mauvais souvenir (children of bad memories) The author describes how such psychological trauma may never be successfully treated and ends with the very perceptive comment. There cannot be peace without justice, and unless the international community recognises all rape in conflict situations as crimes against humanity, there will be no peace for the victims of such atrocities. Conclusion It is clearly a forlorn hope to cover all of the aspects of trauma and its potential impact on a childs life in one short article. We hope that, by being selective, we have been able to provide the reader with an authoritative insight into some on the problems associated with the subject.

Kurt Vonnegut :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Kurt Vonnegut has always had a great awareness of the destructive social impact of science and technology. Contraptions that Vonnegut calls â€Å"social transplants† replace real relatives and friends with synthetic ones. Recordings, radio and television are just a few of these devices. They make it possible to bring synthetic relatives and friends right into your home and replace those friends and relatives who are not perfect, nor even consistent, with a better class of people. Vonnegut’s least favorite technology is the computer, because it is a nervous system outside of our own, and it has deprived humans of the experience of becoming. â€Å"All they have to do now is wait for the next program from Microsoft† (Pickering 24). Films, books and plays show us people talking much more entertainingly than people really talk. Singers and musicians show us humans making sounds far lovelier than humans really make (Skaw 568). All of these technological developments have decreased the amount of contact we have with other humans. The first of these â€Å"transplants† took place in the 4th century before Christ. Audiences accepted attractive people who memorized interesting things to say on stage as genuine relatives and friends (Vonnegut 266). We no longer have a need to make conversation with our dreadful real family and friends, not when we have all of these technological and entertaining transplanted friends and family. Vonnegut believes contemporary society is lonely because we have alienated ourselves from each other because of all of the technology in our world. Throughout his many writings Vonnegut shows his fascination with the way technology changes the social environment (Lundquist 88).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   He never abandons his theme of hatred for science and technology and its social impact on society. Vonnegut also believes that we no longer have developed imaginations because of destructive technological developments. We are not born with an imagination; teachers and parents help us to develop it. Imagination was once very important because it was your major source of entertainment. The imagination circuit is built in your head. People can read a book and envision it in their mind. However, this is no longer necessary. Now there are shows, actors, and movies that show us the story instead of letting us use our imagination to envision it. We do not need imagination just like we do not need to know how to ride horses in our society. We have cars that can go much faster than horses so why learn how to ride one? This question can be applied to imagination. Why unleash your imagination to envision an unknown world in a book

Edgar Allan Poe - Mr. Pessimistic Essay -- Biography Biographies

Edgar Allan Poe - Mr. Pessimistic Some people always look at the bad side of things instead of the good side. This is called pessimism. Edgar Allan Poe could be recognized as the king of pessimism. He is known for his tales of the mysterious and macabre. His dark and twisted works are filled with pessimism. Poe was a person who had faced many troubling experiences throughout his life. To escape from his saddened world, Poe drank and wrote short stories and poems with a pessimistic outlook. Being a pessimist is what made Poe such a great and creative writer. He brought out his dark side in his work. It seems that all of his stories and poems are laced with pessimism. Pessimism was like Poe’s warm blanket. He had a sad life, which definitely contributed to his writing. Poe’s poem â€Å"The Raven† greatly reflects his own life and his feelings after the death of his wife Virginia. Of Poe’s entire life "The Raven" is said to be Poe’s best-known and written work. It is about a lover lamenting his dead mistress. It makes it clear that the death of a beautiful woman was for him the supremely interesting subject, and that the most appropriate tone of a poem is melancholy, and certainly there can be no subject more melancholy than the loss of beauty through death (Minor 2244). The autobiographical element in this poem can be noticed. As a young child Poe’s father abandoned them and he lost his mother. John and Fanny Allan took him home, but they did not formally adopt him (Qrisse). J...

Analysis of Through the Tunnel by Doris Lessing Essay -- Through the T

Analysis of Through the Tunnel by Doris Lessing â€Å" Through The Tunnel† is written by a lady called Doris Lessing. Through the tunnel is a short story about a boy called Jerry and his mother who are on holiday in Spain. There are three themes to the story, the first is the safe beach . The second is the dangerous beach. The third is when jerry goes through the tunnel. The characters are introduced on their first day on holiday where they are going to the safe beach. It begins when they are walking to the beach and jerry stops to look at the other beach (dangerous beach), Jerry’s mother stops and looks for him and asks if he wants to go to that beach instead. Guilt gets the better of him because his dad is dead, and he dose not want to leave his mother on her own. The next day it was the same routine of going to the beach and doing swimming and sunbathing all day. His mother asks him the same question as the other day, she wants to let him go and give him some independence. She also wants him with her to make sure he is ok when he is swimming. She was having an inner conflict at this point. Inner conflicts are going on between both characters. As they both carry on walking Jerry blurts out: â€Å"I’d like to go and have a look at those rocks over there† The writer makes Jerry say this because in this story Jerry wants to be more mature like an adult than immature like a kid. When she left him to go his own ways, Jerry had some more guilt going through his head. When his mum left him she felt insecure about letting him go his own ways. â€Å"once Jerry got to the other beach, he went straight to the sea for a swim. The sea was warm from the heat of the sun, but when the currents of the deep sea came in, it w... ...e he goes under water for a long time his nose starts to bleed. He can hold his breath for one hundred and sixty seconds and when he keeps on practicing he can hold it for two minutes. This is the amount of time he needs to go through the tunnel. when he finds out that he is going home in a couple of days he decides to do it the day before he goes home. The time comes for him to do the challenge he goes to the bay and dives in. when he is going to the tunnel lots of thoughts are going through his head whether he is going to die or not and whether he will see his mother again. Once he gets to the tunnel he starts to go through the tunnel it gets thinner and thinner, and he starts to wonder if he will make it. Jerry makes it through and he is so delighted because he thinks he is mature now, but really he is just the same person as before the challenge.

Looking Glass Self Essay

In the most basic terms the Looking Glass self is your self image which is formed by the views others hold of you. These views the people around you have can have either a positive or negative effect on your self imagine. First we picture how our personality and appearance will come off to others, and then we think about how they will judge our personality and appearance. As people around us pass judgment on who we are this is when our self-concept develops, basically who we think we are and how we feel about ourselves as a whole. These judgments’ can have a powerful effect on ones beliefs and feelings about themselves. I’ve felt and been effected by the beliefs another person has about me. When I was in the 8th grade I thought I was a wonderful student, smart, well behaved. I felt as though my teachers all thought the same way. Then one day my homeroom teacher called me stupid for missing a homework assignment. To be called out in front of the class like that was horrifying. Though that wasn’t the only time an incidence like that occurred. In the 9th grade I struggled with math. I did poorly on tests, I already lacked confidence in the subject and it took one day with a substitute teacher to shatter it completely. I will never forget the words she said to me â€Å"Why can’t you finish the test? Are you stupid? † As child of any age, those words are damaging to the way you feel about yourself, and the way you think others perceive you. â€Å"Tell a child he’s stupid enough times and eventually he’ll start believing you, claims Benj Vardigan, with the Behavioral Institute. When a child makes mistakes or doesn’t understand a concept, his knee-jerk reaction may be to conclude that he’s stupid. Take that one step further and watch a child stop trying to understand or stop trying to learn a concept because he automatically assumes he can’t figure it out. † (Hatter) In A Class Divided on of the first examples of looking glass self that I picked up on was when the children came back in from recess after fighting. Mrs. Elliot asks â€Å"What’s wrong with being called brown eyes? † and a little boy, Roy, says â€Å"It means we’re stupider and – well, not that†¦Ã¢â‚¬  It’s immediate how the effect of this experiment took hold. These children took to heart what their teacher, Mrs. Elliot had said, that brown eyed children are less than blue eyed children, they aren’t as smart or as well behaved. In the first day of the lesson the effects on their peers perception of them had caused so much turmoil that it caused one child to hit another, clearly the negative aspect of looking glass. In the Teaching Adults section, Mrs. Elliott describes how she gave tests before during and after the lesson on discrimination. Telling the audience that the student test scores raise on the day they are on top, scores drop when they are on the bottom and after the experiment the children’s testing scores maintain a higher level. She attributed this to the children discovering how good they are. I believe instilling a positive self-imagine in a child is one of the most important things a parent, or teacher can do. â€Å"Whether self-concept is positive or negative can influence important areas of a child’s development and achievement. Educators have recognized that there is a link between self-concept and performance in school. Students with a strong self-concept tend to have good grades and take an active role in school. They are able to accept challenges and enjoy new learning experiences. Students with a negative self-concept tend to have both attitude and behavior problems. They may be unwilling to try new things, because they believe they will fail anyway, or they may not work up to their potential. Some educators feel that a positive self-concept is so important that children need to be taught to like themselves before they are taught academic skills such as reading, writing, and mathematics. † (Myers-Walls and Hinkley)

Lord of the Flies: Human Nature Essay

In the novel, Lord of the Flies, Golding has young and innocent children on a remote island to test how human nature works. Golding uses objects such as the conch and the Beast to reflect our society politically and psychologically. The novel shows human’s own illness and human nature. Human nature is unavoidable and can be a source of evil. It is one’s nature to do whatever it takes in order to survive. By trying to survive one’s evil creeps out. Jack and his hunters showed the most evil. The first pig being killed was the first sign of evil. They celebrated the killings and became blood thirsty for hunting. It was human nature for the hunters and the little boys to follow Jack and to try to survive on the island. Evil is an inborn trait that lives inside every one. It is our parents’ job to teach good morals and values when we are young, but evil can not be fully covered up. The children enjoyed the freedom away from rules and adults. As time passes on the island their freedom soon turns into a nightmare and in the end some died. Civilization is not so far from savagery and everyone has some kind of evil lurking about. Even the little innocent British boys have a certain amount of evil in themselves. The kids are used to rules, but they soon realize that rules do not matter anymore. They can not be punished for throwing rocks or pushing a boulder and killing someone. Roger can not get into trouble by adults anymore, so his human nature kicks in and he reveals his evilness. He was able to kill without getting into trouble. The Beast is messing with the kids’ minds and they become crazed little boys. The fear makes them turn into savages and kill to survive. The Beast is like a phobia for the littluns. Beast from the Air arrives and stirs up some more trouble. It confuses them because they realize there are more things to be cautious of. The conch was supposed to be good, but the power of it changes the kids. Jack and Ralph fight about who has the conch and who is the leader. It is human nature for Jack to desire the conch and what is not his. Human nature has a big role in Lord of the Flies and many of the kids can not handle it. Once human nature was revealed many turned into little killers. It was human nature to try to survive and many did live at the end, but at the cost of lives.

General Security Policy

Sample Information Security Policy I. POLICY A. It is the policy of ORGANIZATION XYZ that information, as defined hereinafter, in all its forms–written, spoken, recorded electronically or printed–will be protected from accidental or intentional unauthorized modification, destruction or disclosure throughout its life cycle. This protection includes an appropriate level of security over the equipment and software used to process, store, and transmit that information. B. All policies and procedures must be documented and made available to individuals responsible for their implementation and compliance. All activities identified by the policies and procedures must also be documented. All the documentation, which may be in electronic form, must be retained for at least 6 (six) years after initial creation, or, pertaining to policies and procedures, after changes are made. All documentation must be periodically reviewed for appropriateness and currency, a period of time to be determined by each entity within ORGANIZATION XYZ. C. At each entity and/or department level, additional policies, standards and procedures will be developed detailing the implementation of this policy and set of standards, and addressing any additional information systems functionality in such entity and/or department. All departmental policies must be consistent with this policy. All systems implemented after the effective date of these policies are expected to comply with the provisions of this policy where possible. Existing systems are expected to be brought into compliance where possible and as soon as practical. II. SCOPE A. The scope of information security includes the protection of the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information. B. The framework for managing information security in this policy applies to all ORGANIZATION XYZ entities and workers, and other Involved Persons and all Involved Systems throughout ORGANIZATION XYZ as defined below in INFORMATION SECURITY DEFINITIONS. C. This policy and all standards apply to all protected health information and other classes of protected information in any form as defined below in INFORMATION CLASSIFICATION. III. RISK MANAGEMENT A. A thorough analysis of all ORGANIZATION XYZ information networks and systems will be conducted on a periodic basis to document the threats and vulnerabilities to stored and transmitted information. The analysis will examine the types of threats – internal or external, natural or manmade, electronic and non-electronic– that affect the ability to manage the information resource. The analysis will also document the existing vulnerabilities within each entity which potentially expose the information resource to the threats. Finally, the analysis will also include an evaluation of the information assets and the technology associated with its collection, storage, dissemination and protection. From the combination of threats, vulnerabilities, and asset values, an estimate of the risks to the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the information will be determined. The frequency of the risk analysis will be determined at the entity level. B. Based on the periodic assessment, measures will be implemented that reduce the impact of the threats by reducing the amount and scope of the vulnerabilities. IV. INFORMATION SECURITY DEFINITIONS Affiliated Covered Entities: Legally separate, but affiliated, covered entities which choose to designate themselves as a single covered entity for purposes of HIPAA. Availability: Data or information is accessible and usable upon demand by an authorized person. Confidentiality: Data or information is not made available or disclosed to unauthorized persons or processes. HIPAA: The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, a federal law passed in 1996 that affects the healthcare and insurance industries. A key goal of the HIPAA regulations is to protect the privacy and confidentiality of protected health information by setting and enforcing standards. Integrity: Data or information has not been altered or destroyed in an unauthorized manner. Involved Persons: Every worker at ORGANIZATION XYZ — no matter what their status. This includes physicians, residents, students, employees, contractors, consultants, temporaries, volunteers, interns, etc. Involved Systems: All computer equipment and network systems that are operated within the ORGANIZATION XYZ environment. This includes all platforms (operating systems), all computer sizes (personal digital assistants, desktops, mainframes, etc. ), and all applications and data (whether developed in-house or licensed from third parties) contained on those systems. Protected Health Information (PHI): PHI is health information, including demographic information, created or received by the ORGANIZATION XYZ entities which relates to the past, present, or future physical or mental health or condition of an individual; the provision of health care to an individual; or the past, present, or future payment for the provision of health care to an individual and that identifies or can be used to identify the individual. Risk: The probability of a loss of confidentiality, integrity, or availability of information resources. V. INFORMATION SECURITY RESPONSIBILITIES A. Information Security Officer: The Information Security Officer (ISO) for each entity is responsible for working with user management, owners, custodians, and users to develop and implement prudent security policies, procedures, and controls, subject to the approval of ORGANIZATION XYZ. Specific responsibilities include: 1. Ensuring security policies, procedures, and standards are in place and adhered to by entity. 2. Providing basic security support for all systems and users. 3. Advising owners in the identification and classification of computer resources. See Section VI Information Classification. 4. Advising systems development and application owners in the implementation of security controls for information on systems, from the point of system design, through testing and production implementation. 5. Educating custodian and user management with comprehensive information about security controls affecting system users and application systems. 6. Providing on-going employee security education. 7. Performing security audits. 8. Reporting regularly to the ORGANIZATION XYZ Oversight Committee on entity’s status with regard to information security. B. Information Owner: The owner of a collection of information is usually the manager responsible for the creation of that information or the primary user of that information. This role often corresponds with the management of an organizational unit. In this context, ownership does not signify proprietary interest, and ownership may be shared. The owner may delegate ownership responsibilities to another individual by completing the ORGANIZATION XYZ Information Owner Delegation Form. The owner of information has the responsibility for: 1. Knowing the information for which she/he is responsible. 2. Determining a data retention period for the information, relying on advice from the Legal Department. 3. Ensuring appropriate procedures are in effect to protect the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of the information used or created within the unit. 4. Authorizing access and assigning custodianship. 5. Specifying controls and communicating the control requirements to the custodian and users of the information. 6. Reporting promptly to the ISO the loss or misuse of ORGANIZATION XYZ information. 7. Initiating corrective actions when problems are identified. 8. Promoting employee education and awareness by utilizing programs approved by the ISO, where appropriate. 9. Following existing approval processes within the respective organizational unit for the selection, budgeting, purchase, and implementation of any computer system/software to manage information. C. Custodian: The custodian of information is generally responsible for the processing and storage of the information. The custodian is responsible for the administration of controls as specified by the owner. Responsibilities may include: 1. Providing and/or recommending physical safeguards. 2. Providing and/or recommending procedural safeguards. 3. Administering access to information. 4. Releasing information as authorized by the Information Owner and/or the Information Privacy/ Security Officer for use and disclosure using procedures that protect the privacy of the information. 5. Evaluating the cost effectiveness of controls. 6. Maintaining information security policies, procedures and standards as appropriate and in consultation with the ISO. 7. Promoting employee education and awareness by utilizing programs approved by the ISO, where appropriate. 8. Reporting promptly to the ISO the loss or misuse of ORGANIZATION XYZ information. 9. Identifying and responding to security incidents and initiating appropriate actions when problems are identified. D. User Management: ORGANIZATION XYZ management who supervise users as defined below. User management is responsible for overseeing their employees' use of information, including: 1. Reviewing and approving all requests for their employees access authorizations. . Initiating security change requests to keep employees' security record current with their positions and job functions. 3. Promptly informing appropriate parties of employee terminations and transfers, in accordance with local entity termination procedures. 4. Revoking physical access to terminated employees, i. e. , confiscating keys, changing combination locks, etc. 5. Providing employees with the opportunity for training needed to properly use the computer systems. 6. Reporting promptly to the ISO the loss or misuse of ORGANIZATION XYZ information. 7. Initiating corrective actions when problems are identified. 8. Following existing approval processes within their respective organization for the selection, budgeting, purchase, and implementation of any computer system/software to manage information. E. User: The user is any person who has been authorized to read, enter, or update information. A user of information is expected to: 1. Access information only in support of their authorized job responsibilities. 2. Comply with Information Security Policies and Standards and with all controls established by the owner and custodian. 3. Refer all disclosures of PHI (1) outside of ORGANIZATION XYZ and (2) within ORGANIZATION XYZ, other than for treatment, payment, or health care operations, to the applicable entity’s Medical/Health Information Management Department. In certain circumstances, the Medical/Health Information Management Department policies may specifically delegate the disclosure process to other departments. (For additional information, see ORGANIZATION XYZ Privacy/Confidentiality of Protected Health Information (PHI) Policy. ) 4. Keep personal authentication devices (e. g. passwords, SecureCards, PINs, etc. confidential. 5. Report promptly to the ISO the loss or misuse of ORGANIZATION XYZ information. 6. Initiate corrective actions when problems are identified. VI. INFORMATION CLASSIFICATION Classification is used to promote proper controls for safeguarding the confidentiality of information. Regardless of classification the integrity and accuracy of all classifications of information must be pr otected. The classification assigned and the related controls applied are dependent on the sensitivity of the information. Information must be classified according to the most sensitive detail it includes. Information recorded in several formats (e. g. , source document, electronic record, report) must have the same classification regardless of format. The following levels are to be used when classifying information: A. Protected Health Information (PHI) 1. PHI is information, whether oral or recorded in any form or medium, that: a. is created or received by a healthcare provider, health plan, public health authority, employer, life insurer, school or university or health clearinghouse; and b. relates to past, present or future physical or mental ealth or condition of an individual, the provision of health care to an individual, or the past present or future payment for the provision of health care to an individual; and c. includes demographic data, that permits identification of the individual or could reasonably be used to identify the individual. 2. Unauthorized or improper disclosure, modification, or destruction of this information could violate state and federal laws, result in c ivil and criminal penalties, and cause serious damage to ORGANIZATION XYZ and its patients or research interests. B. Confidential Information 1. Confidential Information is very important and highly sensitive material that is not classified as PHI. This information is private or otherwise sensitive in nature and must be restricted to those with a legitimate business need for access. Examples of Confidential Information may include: personnel information, key financial information, proprietary information of commercial research sponsors, system access passwords and information file encryption keys. 2. Unauthorized disclosure of this information to people without a business need for access may violate laws and regulations, or may cause significant problems for ORGANIZATION XYZ, its customers, or its business partners. Decisions about the provision of access to this information must always be cleared through the information owner. C. Internal Information 1. Internal Information is intended for unrestricted use within ORGANIZATION XYZ, and in some cases within affiliated organizations such as ORGANIZATION XYZ business partners. This type of information is already idely-distributed within ORGANIZATION XYZ, or it could be so distributed within the organization without advance permission from the information owner. Examples of Internal Information may include: personnel directories, internal policies and procedures, most internal electronic mail messages. 2. Any information not explicitly classified as PHI, Confidential or Public will, by default, be classified as Internal Information. 3. Unauthorized disclosure of this information to outsiders may not be appropriate due to legal or contractual provisions. D. Public Information 1. Public Information has been specifically approved for public release by a designated authority within each entity of ORGANIZATION XYZ. Examples of Public Information may include marketing brochures and material posted to ORGANIZATION XYZ entity internet web pages. 2. This information may be disclosed outside of ORGANIZATION XYZ. VII. COMPUTER AND INFORMATION CONTROL All involved systems and information are assets of ORGANIZATION XYZ and are expected to be protected from misuse, unauthorized manipulation, and destruction. These protection measures may be physical and/or software based. A. Ownership of Software: All computer software developed by ORGANIZATION XYZ employees or contract personnel on behalf of ORGANIZATION XYZ or licensed for ORGANIZATION XYZ use is the property of ORGANIZATION XYZ and must not be copied for use at home or any other location, unless otherwise specified by the license agreement. B. Installed Software: All software packages that reside on computers and networks within ORGANIZATION XYZ must comply with applicable licensing agreements and restrictions and must comply with ORGANIZATION XYZ acquisition of software policies. C. Virus Protection: Virus checking systems approved by the Information Security Officer and Information Services must be deployed using a multi-layered approach (desktops, servers, gateways, etc. ) that ensures all electronic files are appropriately scanned for viruses. Users are not authorized to turn off or disable virus checking systems. D. Access Controls: Physical and electronic access to PHI, Confidential and Internal information and computing resources is controlled. To ensure appropriate levels of access by internal workers, a variety of security measures will be instituted as recommended by the Information Security Officer and approved by ORGANIZATION XYZ. Mechanisms to control access to PHI, Confidential and Internal information include (but are not limited to) the following methods: 1. Authorization: Access will be granted on a â€Å"need to know† basis and must be authorized by the immediate supervisor and application owner with the assistance of the ISO. Any of the following methods are acceptable for providing access under this policy: . Context-based access: Access control based on the context of a transaction (as opposed to being based on attributes of the initiator or target). The â€Å"external† factors might include time of day, location of the user, strength of user authentication, etc. b. Role-based access: An alternative to traditional access control models (e. g. , discretionary or non-discretionary access control po licies) that permits the specification and enforcement of enterprise-specific security policies in a way that maps more naturally to an organization’s structure and business activities. Each user is assigned to one or more predefined roles, each of which has been assigned the various privileges needed to perform that role. c. User-based access: A security mechanism used to grant users of a system access based upon the identity of the user. 2. Identification/Authentication: Unique user identification (user id) and authentication is required for all systems that maintain or access PHI, Confidential and/or Internal Information. Users will be held accountable for all actions performed on the system with their user id. a. At least one of the following authentication methods must be implemented: 1. strictly controlled passwords (Attachment 1 – Password Control Standards), 2. biometric identification, and/or 3. tokens in conjunction with a PIN. b. The user must secure his/her authentication control (e. g. password, token) such that it is known only to that user and possibly a designated security manager. c. An automatic timeout re-authentication must be required after a certain period of no activity (maximum 15 minutes). d. The user must log off or secure the system when leaving it. 3. Data Integrity: ORGANIZATION XYZ must be able to provide corroboration that PHI, Confidential, and Internal Information has not been altered or destroyed in an unauthorized manner. Listed below are some methods that support data integrity: a. transaction audit b. disk redundancy (RAID) c. ECC (Error Correcting Memory) d. checksums (file integrity) e. encryption of data in storage f. digital signatures 4. Transmission Security: Technical security mechanisms must be put in place to guard against unauthorized access to data that is transmitted over a communications network, including wireless networks. The following features must be implemented: a. integrity controls and b. encryption, where deemed appropriate 5. Remote Access: Access into ORGANIZATION XYZ network from outside will be granted using ORGANIZATION XYZ approved devices and pathways on an individual user and application basis. All other network access options are strictly prohibited. Further, PHI, Confidential and/or Internal Information that is stored or accessed remotely must maintain the same level of protections as information stored and accessed within the ORGANIZATION XYZ network. 6. Physical Access: Access to areas in which information processing is carried out must be restricted to only appropriately authorized individuals. The following physical controls must be in place: a. Mainframe computer systems must be installed in an access-controlled area. The area in and around the computer facility must afford protection against fire, water damage, and other environmental hazards such as power outages and extreme temperature situations. b. File servers containing PHI, Confidential and/or Internal Information must be installed in a secure area to prevent theft, destruction, or access by unauthorized individuals. . Workstations or personal computers (PC) must be secured against use by unauthorized individuals. Local procedures and standards must be developed on secure and appropriate workstation use and physical safeguards which must include procedures that will: 1. Position workstations to minimize unauthorized viewing of protected health information. 2. Grant workst ation access only to those who need it in order to perform their job function. 3. Establish workstation location criteria to eliminate or minimize the possibility of unauthorized access to protected health information. 4. Employ physical safeguards as determined by risk analysis, such as locating workstations in controlled access areas or installing covers or enclosures to preclude passerby access to PHI. 5. Use automatic screen savers with passwords to protect unattended machines. d. Facility access controls must be implemented to limit physical access to electronic information systems and the facilities in which they are housed, while ensuring that properly authorized access is allowed. Local policies and procedures must be developed to address the following facility access control requirements: 1. Contingency Operations – Documented procedures that allow facility access in support of restoration of lost data under the disaster recovery plan and emergency mode operations plan in the event of an emergency. 2. Facility Security Plan – Documented policies and procedures to safeguard the facility and the equipment therein from unauthorized physical access, tampering, and theft. 3. Access Control and Validation – Documented procedures to control and validate a person’s access to facilities based on their role or function, including visitor control, and control of access to software programs for testing and revision. . Maintenance records – Documented policies and procedures to document repairs and modifications to the physical components of the facility which are related to security (for example, hardware, walls, doors, and locks). 7. Emergency Access: a. Each entity is required to establish a mechanism to provide emergency access to systems and ap plications in the event that the assigned custodian or owner is unavailable during an emergency. b. Procedures must be documented to address: 1. Authorization, 2. Implementation, and 3. Revocation E. Equipment and Media Controls: The disposal of information must ensure the continued protection of PHI, Confidential and Internal Information. Each entity must develop and implement policies and procedures that govern the receipt and removal of hardware and electronic media that contain PHI into and out of a facility, and the movement of these items within the facility. The following specification must be addressed: 1. Information Disposal / Media Re-Use of: a. Hard copy (paper and microfilm/fiche) b. Magnetic media (floppy disks, hard drives, zip disks, etc. ) and c. CD ROM Disks 2. Accountability: Each entity must maintain a record of the movements of hardware and electronic media and any person responsible therefore. 3. Data backup and Storage: When needed, create a retrievable, exact copy of electronic PHI before movement of equipment. F. Other Media Controls: 1. PHI and Confidential Information stored on external media (diskettes, cd-roms, portable storage, memory sticks, etc. ) must be protected from theft and unauthorized access. Such media must be appropriately labeled so as to identify it as PHI or Confidential Information. Further, external media containing PHI and Confidential Information must never be left unattended in unsecured areas. 2. PHI and Confidential Information must never be stored on mobile computing devices (laptops, personal digital assistants (PDA), smart phones, tablet PC’s, etc. ) unless the devices have the following minimum security requirements implemented: a. Power-on passwords b. Auto logoff or screen saver with password c. Encryption of stored data or other acceptable safeguards approved by Information Security Officer Further, mobile computing devices must never be left unattended in unsecured areas. . If PHI or Confidential Information is stored on external medium or mobile computing devices and there is a breach of confidentiality as a result, then the owner of the medium/device will be held personally accountable and is subject to the terms and conditions of ORGANIZATION XYZ Information Security Policies and Confidentiality Statement signed as a condition of employme nt or affiliation with ORGANIZATION XYZ. H. Data Transfer/Printing: 1. Electronic Mass Data Transfers: Downloading and uploading PHI, Confidential, and Internal Information between systems must be strictly controlled. Requests for mass downloads of, or individual requests for, information for research purposes that include PHI must be approved through the Internal Review Board (IRB). All other mass downloads of information must be approved by the Application Owner and include only the minimum amount of information necessary to fulfill the request. Applicable Business Associate Agreements must be in place when transferring PHI to external entities (see ORGANIZATION XYZ policy B-2 entitled â€Å"Business Associates†). 2. Other Electronic Data Transfers and Printing: PHI, Confidential and Internal Information must be stored in a manner inaccessible to unauthorized individuals. PHI and Confidential information must not be downloaded, copied or printed indiscriminately or left unattended and open to compromise. PHI that is downloaded for educational purposes where possible should be de-identified before use. I. Oral Communications: ORGANIZATION XYZ staff should be aware of their surroundings when discussing PHI and Confidential Information. This includes the use of cellular telephones in public areas. ORGANIZATION XYZ staff should not discuss PHI or Confidential Information in public areas if the information can be overheard. Caution should be used when conducting conversations in: semi-private rooms, waiting rooms, corridors, elevators, stairwells, cafeterias, restaurants, or on public transportation. J. Audit Controls: Hardware, software, and/or procedural mechanisms that record and examine activity in information systems that contain or use PHI must be implemented. Further, procedures must be implemented to regularly review records of information system activity, such as audit logs, access reports, and security incident tracking reports. These reviews must be documented and maintained for six (6) years. K. Evaluation: ORGANIZATION XYZ requires that periodic technical and non-technical evaluations be performed in response to environmental or operational changes affecting the security of electronic PHI to ensure its continued protection. L. Contingency Plan: Controls must ensure that ORGANIZATION XYZ can recover from any damage to computer equipment or files within a reasonable period of time. Each entity is required to develop and maintain a plan for responding to a system emergency or other occurrence (for example, fire, vandalism, system failure and natural disaster) that damages systems that contain PHI, Confidential, or Internal Information. This will include developing policies and procedures to address the following: 1. Data Backup Plan: a. A data backup plan must be documented and routinely updated to create and maintain, for a specific period of time, retrievable exact copies of information. b. Backup data must be stored in an off-site location and protected from physical damage. . Backup data must be afforded the same level of protection as the original data. 2. Disaster Recovery Plan: A disaster recovery plan must be developed and documented which contains a process enabling the entity to restore any loss of data in the event of fire, vandalism, natural disaster, or system failure. 3. Emergency Mode Operation Plan: A plan must be developed and documented which c ontains a process enabling the entity to continue to operate in the event of fire, vandalism, natural disaster, or system failure. 4. Testing and Revision Procedures: Procedures should be developed and documented requiring periodic testing of written contingency plans to discover weaknesses and the subsequent process of revising the documentation, if necessary. 5. Applications and Data Criticality Analysis: The criticality of specific applications and data in support of other contingency plan components must be assessed and documented. Compliance [ § 164. 308(a)(1)(ii)(C)] A. The Information Security Policy applies to all users of ORGANIZATION XYZ information including: employees, medical staff, students, volunteers, and outside affiliates. Failure to comply with Information Security Policies and Standards by employees, medical staff, volunteers, and outside affiliates may result in disciplinary action up to and including dismissal in accordance with applicable ORGANIZATION XYZ procedures, or, in the case of outside affiliates, termination of the affiliation. Failure to comply with Information Security Policies and Standards by students may constitute grounds for corrective action in accordance with ORGANIZATION XYZ procedures. Further, penalties associated with state and federal laws may apply. B. Possible disciplinary/corrective action may be instituted for, but is not limited to, the following: 1. Unauthorized disclosure of PHI or Confidential Information as specified in Confidentiality Statement. 2. Unauthorized disclosure of a sign-on code (user id) or password. 3. Attempting to obtain a sign-on code or password that belongs to another person. 4. Using or attempting to use another person's sign-on code or password. 5. Unauthorized use of an authorized password to invade patient privacy by examining records or information for which there has been no request for review. . Installing or using unlicensed software on ORGANIZATION XYZ computers. 7. The intentional unauthorized destruction of ORGANIZATION XYZ information. 8. Attempting to get access to sign-on codes for purposes other than official business, including completing fraudulent documentation to gain access. — ATTACHMENT 1 — Password Control Standards The ORGANIZATION XYZ Information Security Policy requi res the use of strictly controlled passwords for accessing Protected Health Information (PHI), Confidential Information (CI) and Internal Information (II). See ORGANIZATION XYZ Information Security Policy for definition of these protected classes of information. ) Listed below are the minimum standards that must be implemented in order to ensure the effectiveness of password controls. Standards for accessing PHI, CI, II: Users are responsible for complying with the following password standards: 1. Passwords must never be shared with another person, unless the person is a designated security manager. 2. Every password must, where possible, be changed regularly – (between 45 and 90 days depending on the sensitivity of the information being accessed) 3. Passwords must, where possible, have a minimum length of six characters. 4. Passwords must never be saved when prompted by any application with the exception of central single sign-on (SSO) systems as approved by the ISO. This feature should be disabled in all applicable systems. 5. Passwords must not be programmed into a PC or recorded anywhere that someone may find and use them. 6. When creating a password, it is important not to use words that can be found in dictionaries or words that are easily guessed due to their association with the user (i. e. children’s names, pets’ names, birthdays, etc†¦). A combination of alpha and numeric characters are more difficult to guess. Where possible, system software must enforce the following password standards: 1. Passwords routed over a network must be encrypted. 2. Passwords must be entered in a non-display field. 3. System software must enforce the changing of passwords and the minimum length. 4. System software must disable the user identification code when more than three consecutive invalid passwords are given within a 15 minute timeframe. Lockout time must be set at a minimum of 30 minutes. 5. System software must maintain a history of previous passwords and prevent their reuse.