Phantom Limb: Possible Treatments to Kill the Pain Essay

The phenomenon of phantom limb was first described by a French doctor, Ambroise Pare, in the 16th century however it was not until 1866, after the American Civil War, when Doctor Wier Mitchell published his first account of the malady, coining the term â€Å"Phantom Limb†. Phantom limb is the experience of persisting sensory perceptions after limb amputation and remains one of the best-known, but puzzling phenomena within medical science (Oakley & Halligan, 2002). Phantom limb pain (PLP) is a frequent consequence of the amputation and causes considerable discomfort and disruption of daily activities. Originally, PLP was thought to have been secondary to nerve damage at the site of amputation but succeeding evidence showed that patients who have undergone regional anesthesia continue to experience phantom limb pain despite the cut-off of pain sensation to the amputated area (Melzack, 1997). This lead to the belief that the pain sensation experienced by patients with PLP may be due to nerve impulses or signals generated at the spinal cord level. This, however, was refuted on the basis that patients with transection of the spinal cord still complain of persisting phantom limb pain. It has been argued then that the brain areas that correspond to the human body could be the one responsible for the phantom sensations (Melzack, 1997). This was based on the fact that much of the human (and primate) body is represented by distinct brain areas located in the somatosensory and motor cortex on either side of the central sulcus. Consequently, even after limb removal, the brain areas representing those parts remain structurally and functionally intact. It has been argued that the activation of these bodily disconnected brain areas by adjacent brain areas (representing other intact body parts) may be a partial neurophysiological explanation for the production and maintenance of the continuous perceptual experience that is the ‘phantom limb’. This functional remapping results in some cases in the referral of selective sensory information from an intact body area (such as the face or shoulder) to the phantom limb (Halligan, Zeman and Benger, 1999). The remapping hypothesis is supported by functional imaging (Kew, Halligan, Marshall, Passingham, Rothwell, Ridding, Marsden and Brooks, 1997) and behavioural studies (Ramachandran, Stewart and Rogers-Ramachandran, 1992; Halligan, Marshall, Wade, Davies and Morrison, 1993). Given the magnitude and speed of onset of the reorganization (within 24 hours of amputation) it is unlikely to be a product of neural sprouting but rather the unmasking of existing but previously inhibited neural pathways (Ramachandran and Blakeslee, 1998). In addition, these abnormal plastic changes in the central nervous system associated with the phantom experience have been used to explain the consistently high incidence of pain attributed to a limb that no longer exists (Ramachandran and Blakeslee, 1998). Several other theories have been proposed to explain the pathophysiological processes behind the PLP phenomenon but despite all of these, the exact cause of PLP remains uncertain. As a consequence, the current treatments for the condition are just as varied as the litany of many possible yet complex mechanism of PLP. This literary review will assay the possible treatment options available for the management of PLP using information from published literature through searches in research databases using the keywords phantom limb, phantom limb pain, biofeedback, treatment, and phantom limb illusions. Treatments of PLP There are different modalities available in treating PLP ranging from pharmacological agents to psychophysiological therapy. The treatment outcome varies from approach to approach and more even from patient to patient. A careful evaluation is essential before considering any of of these treatments in order to obtain a more individualized approach in the management of PLP. Thermal biofeedback Biofeedback relies on instrumentation to measure moment-to-moment feedback about physiological processes. It provides patients with information about their performance in various situation (Saddock & Saddock, 2003). Using this electronic feedback, the patient is made aware of certain sensations such as skin temperature and muscle tension. A case report describing the use of thermal biofeedback combined with electromyogram (EMG) in treating a 69-year-old man suffering from burning and shooting phantom pain suggested that biofeedback is an effective treatment modality for severe phantom limb pain (Belleggia & Birbaumer, 2001). The rationale behind the treatment was based on the premise that most patients complain of intolerance to cold after amputations which tend to aggravate unpleasant or pain sensations in the stump. The treatment, however, required several sessions and in this particular case, there were 6 sessions of EMG biofeedback followed by another 6 sessions of temperature biofeedback. The patient presented in this case also did not use a prosthesis and did not receive prior treatment for chronic pain and the entire treatment process was done in a controlled environment where everything is calibrated and maintained to avoid external bias. Although the treatment outcome of the case report was favorable, there is no absolute guarantee that the same beneficial results can be expected to other patients with PLP especially to those who are already using prosthesis and to those who are already refractory to previous chronic pain therapies. Also its efficacy and adaptability in actual clinical settings remains to be studied. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) The use of electroconvulsive therapy have been common in patients with psychiatric disorders such as depression. This involves the utilization of electric stimulation by means of two electrodes placed bilaterally on the temple to produce convulsion. The artificial seizure that followed have shown efficacy in patients with a variety of pain syndromes occurring along with depression (Rasmussen & Rummans, 2000). Using this evidence, 2 patients with severe phantom limb pain refractory to multiple therapies but without concurrent psychiatric disorder were treated using ECT. One of the patient’s previous treatments included biofeedback, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, hypnosis, epidural injections, and multiple analgesic medications including non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, opiates, and adjunct analgesics including carbamazepine and nortriptyline. He was referred for ECT by the anesthesia pain service due to previous good responses in depressed patients with a variety of non-phantom limb pain syndromes. The other patient in the case study also had numerous treatments including transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, intra-axillary alcohol injections. Epidural steroid blocks, stellate ganglion blocks, biofeedback, and medications including antidepressants, benzodiazepines, opiates and carbamazepine. After ECT, both patients enjoyed substantial relief of pain with one case in remission from PLP 3. 5years after ECT. From this clinical note, it was concluded that patients with PLP who are refractory to multiple therapies may respond to ECT. It should be emphasized that ECT have several complications including dental and muscular injuries secondary to the severe muscle twitching accompanying the induced convulsion. The concurrent use of muscle relaxants have been effective in minimizing such injuries. The most troublesome side effect of ECT, however, is memory loss. Some patients report a gap in memory for events that occurred up to 6 months before ECT, as well as impaired ability to retain new information for a month or two after the treatment (Smith, et al, 2003). You may equate this to the data loss in computers after an unexpected reboot. Hypnotic mirrors and phantom pain Hypnotic procedures have long been used in treating a variety of pain syndromes. This involves the use of suggestion and imagery to alleviate the patient’s pain experience (Chavez, 1989). A case study reports the use of a hypnotically induced ‘virtual’ mirror experience which modified long standing intractable phantom limb pain despite generating a qualitatively inferior experience of movement in the phantom limb compared to that produced with an actual mirror (Oakley & Halligan, 2002). Using hypnosis, two main approaches to modifying phantom limb pain experience were identified in the study: ipsative imagery approach and a simulated movement approach. The ipsative imagery approach takes into account the way the individual represent their pain to themselves and attempts to modify that representation in order to alleviate the pain experience. The movement imagery-based approach encourages the PLP patient through hypnosis to ‘move’ the phantom limb and to take control over it. In the study, a case of a 76-year-old woman who had an above-knee amputation of her right leg secondary to peripheral vascular disease was presented. The investigators emphasized that she was pain-free at the time of her operation and that her PLP only begun two years after surgery. There were several components of her pain in her missing limb. She complained of feeling pins and needles in her ‘foot’, her ‘toes’ felt like they were being held in a tight vice, a slicing, cutting pain in the sole of her ‘foot’ and a chiselling pain in her ‘ankles’. After several sessions using the ipsative imagery approach, the patient claimed significant pain relief of most of her pain but the vice-like pain remained. The movement imagery-based approach also showed notable pain alleviation in another case that was presented, this time of a 46-year-old man who had experienced PLP since suffering from an avulsion of his left brachial plexus some five years prior to the study. At the beginning of the study, the patient rated his pain at 7 using a scale from 0 to 10, with 0 as pain free and 10 as the worst pain imaginable. During treatment, the patient had 0 rating and immediately after treatment it was 2. 5. The result of the study showed that hypnotic movement imagery is worth investigating further, considering the comparative ease of use and the potential of additional information as to the possible neurocognitive mechanism involved in PLP. Mirror treatment Mirror treatment uses leg exercises performed in front of a mirror to demonstrate increased ‘motor control’ over the phantom limb. In contrast to hypnotic imagery techniques which uses hypnotically induced ‘virtual’ mirror experience, mirror treatment involves the use of a real mirror apparatus to replicate the movements of the real limb with the phantom limb. The first case study of the use of ‘mirror treatment’ in a person with lower limb amputation who was reporting PLP was presented by MacLaughlan, M. McDonald, D. , & Waloch, J. (2004). During the intervention, there was a significant reduction in the patient’s PLP associated with an increase in sense of ‘motor control’ over the phantom, and a change in aspects of the phantom limb that was experienced. Although this effect was successfully replicated by using hypnotic imagery alone, the significant difference between the two approaches was the qualitatively more powerful experience of movement in the phantom left hand with the real visual feedback. The case study which was conducted in a conventional clinical setting supports the potential of ‘mirror treatment’ for PLP patients with lower limb amputations. The investigators, however, emphasized that the case study cannot indicate the extent to which beneficial effects are due to somatosensory cortex re-mapping, psychosocial factors such as individual differences in ‘body plasticity’, somatic preoccupation or creative imagination, or to other factors. Since it is the first case study of the use of ‘mirror treatment’ in a person with lower limb amputation, similar case studies are needed to ascertain the treatment’s applicability to other patients with lower limb amputations. Botulinum toxin Pharmacological agents have also been employed in the management of PLP. , Botulinum toxin type A, however, has not been previously used for this indication. In fact, it was only recently that this toxin has been used for medical purposes, especially in the field of cosmetics. Botox, as it is popularly known, has been beneficial in relieving muscular tension in the face due to its muscle-relaxing effect. Once considered a biological weapon which causes gas gangrene, this toxin inhibits the synaptic transmission of acetylcholine at the motor end plate and muscle spindles of the skeletal musculature and influences nociceptive transmitters. A pilot study on the influence of the agent on phantom pain after amputations was recently reported (Kern, Martin, Scheicher, et al, 2003). Four cases of patients with knee amputations who were suffering from severe stump pain following surgery were presented. After botulinum toxin injection, significant reduction of pain in the amputation stump was experienced among the patients. Citing a strong correlation between stump pain and PLP and the occurrence of of stump pain without obvious pathology, the study clearly emphasized the need for further investigation into the use of botulinum toxin in the treatment of post amputation pain. Other treatments of PLP Multiple other modalities, adjunct medications and anesthetic/surgical procedures have been used in the treatment of PLP with varying long term success. Although at least 60 methods of treating PLP have been identified, successful treatment of persistent type is not commonly reported. Tricyclic antidepressants, anticonvulsants, calcitonin and mexilitine have been used with varying success (Delisa, Gans, Bochenek, et al, 1998). Other surgical procedures and drug regimens have also been proposed. Despite all these, an established role of each of these treatments in the management of PLP remains a subject for future investigation. Summary Despite the advances in medical research and treatment, PLP is a phenomenon that continues to perplex the medical field. Several theories that were proposed to explain the etiology of the condition remain the subject of continued discussion. The pathophysiology involved in PLP could be multifactorial rather than the effect of a single factor. In the United States, there are approximately 1. 6 million people are living with limb loss according to the National Limb Loss Foundation Information Center. Between 1988 & 1999, an average of 133,735 hospital discharges per year was due to amputation. It is estimated that 50%-80% of patients with amputations complain of PLP (Delisa, Gans, Bochenek, et al, 1998). The actual incidence of this problem is, however, unclear because the condition tends to be underreported because of the complexity and strange nature of the complaint. Finding the most appropriate treatment for PLP has proven to be a difficult challenge for medical practitioners. The current treatment options for the condition are just as varied as the litany of many possible yet complex mechanism of PLP. Thermal biofeedback combined with electromyogram (EMG) have been demonstrated to completely eliminate PLP after treatment. In a case study, the use of ECT have shown pain relief in patients with PLP refractory to multiple therapies. The use of hypnosis and visual imagery in several case reports has indicated significant success in modifying the pain experience of PLP patients. Interestingly, the success of this technique in treating PLP has given a deeper insight on the psychological aspect of the condition. Botulinum toxin, a drug considered as a very dangerous toxin that causes gas gangrene, has also shown promising results in alleviating stump pain. Multiple other modalities, adjunct medications and anesthetic/surgical procedures have been used in the treatment of PLP with varying long term success. Establishing an accepted role of each of these treatments in the management of PLP, however, would require further investigation. The highly varied approaches involved in the treatment of PLP present a unique burden especially for the General Practitioners (GPs) who provide the primary health for amputees in the community. A recent study suggests that GPs underestimate the prevalence, intensity and duration of phantom and residual limb pain. Moreover, inconsistencies in the reasons given for referral to specialist services for the management of phantom pain were reported. These findings have serious implications for the management of phantom limb pain, disability and psychological distress in amputees in that GPs not only provide first line treatment, but are also the gatekeepers for referral to other services (Kern, Martin, Scheicher, et al 2003). The prevalence of case studies presented in this review clearly shows the lack of major clinical trials targeted into identifying the best approach in the management of PLP. Most of these treatments are already being used for other diseases and there is ample literature to justify their use for PLP yet there is not a single searchable literature involving a bigger study population investigating any of the above methods. It is obvious that the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of these individual treatment methods cannot be ascertained by only a handful of case reports. More comprehensive studies should be done in order to formulate an acceptable protocol for the adequate treatment of PLP.

Moby Dick Book Report

â€Å"Call me Ishmael,† Moby-Dick begins, in one of the most recognizable opening lines in English-language literature. The narrator, an observant young man setting out from Manhattan, has experience in the merchant marine but has recently decided his next voyage will be on a whaling ship. On a cold, gloomy night in December, he arrives at the Spouter-Inn in New Bedford, Massachusetts, and agrees to share a bed with a then-absent stranger. When his bunk mate, a heavily tattooed Polynesian harpooner named Queequeg, returns very late and discovers Ishmael beneath his covers, both men are alarmed, but the two quickly become close friends and decide to sail together from Nantucket, Massachusetts on a whaling voyage. In Nantucket, the pair signs on with the Pequod, a whaling ship that is soon to leave port. The ship’s captain, Ahab, is nowhere to be seen; nevertheless, they are told of him – a â€Å"grand, ungodly, godlike man,† according to one of the owners, who has â€Å"been in colleges as well as ‘mong the cannibals. The two friends encounter a mysterious man named Elijah on the dock after they sign their papers and he hints at troubles to come with Ahab. The mystery grows on Christmas morning when Ishmael spots dark figures in the mist, apparently boarding the Pequod shortly before it sets sail that day. The ship’s officers direct the early voyage while Ahab stays in his cabin. The c hief mate is Starbuck, a serious, sincere Quaker and fine leader; second mate is Stubb, happy-go-lucky and cheerful and always smoking his pipe; the third mate is Flask, short and stout but thoroughly reliable. Each mate is responsible for a whaling boat, and each whaling boat of the Pequodhas its own pagan harpooneer assigned to it. Some time after sailing, Ahab finally appears on the quarter-deck one morning, an imposing, frightening figure whose haunted visage sends shivers over the narrator. (A white scar, reportedly from a thunderbolt, runs down his face and it is hinted that it continues the length of his body. ) One of his legs is missing from the knee down and has been replaced by a prosthesis fashioned from a sperm whale's jawbone. Soon gathering the crewmen together, with a rousing speech Ahab secures their support for his single, secret purpose for this voyage: hunting down and killing Moby Dick, an old, very large sperm whale, with a snow-white hump and mottled skin, that crippled Ahab on his last whaling voyage. Only Starbuck shows any sign of resistance to the charismatic but monomaniacal captain. The first mate argues repeatedly that the ship’s purpose should be to hunt whales for their oil, with luck returning home profitably, safely, and quickly, but not to seek out and kill Moby Dick in particular – and especially not for revenge. Eventually even Starbuck acquiesces to Ahab's will, though harboring misgivings. The mystery of the dark figures seen before the Pequod set sail is explained during the voyage's first lowering for whales. Ahab has secretly brought along his own boat crew, including a mysterious harpooneer named Fedallah, an inscrutable figure with a sinister influence over Ahab. Later, while watching one night over a captured whale carcass, Fedallah darkly prophecies to Ahab hints regarding their twin deaths. The novel describes numerous â€Å"gams,† social meetings of two ships on the open sea. Crews normally visit each other during a gam, captains on one vessel and chief mates on the other. Mail may be exchanged and the men talk of whale sightings or other news. For Ahab, however, there is but one relevant question to ask of another ship: â€Å"Hast seen the White Whale? † After meeting several other whaling ships, which have their own peculiar stories, the Pequod enters the Pacific Ocean. Queequeg becomes deathly ill and requests that a coffin be built for him by the ship’s carpenter. Just as everyone has given up hope, Queequeg changes his mind, deciding to live after all, and recovers quickly. His coffin becomes his sea chest, and is later caulked and pitched to replace the Pequod's life buoy. Soon word is heard from other whalers of Moby Dick. The jolly Captain Boomer of the Samuel Enderby has lost an arm to the whale, and is stunned at Ahab's burning need for revenge. Next they meet the Rachel, which has seen Moby Dick very recently. As a result of the encounter, one of its boats is missing; the captain’s youngest son had been aboard. The Rachel's captain begs Ahab to aid in the search for the missing boat, but Ahab is resolute. The Pequod’s captain is very near the White Whale now and will not stop to help. Finally the Delight is met, even as its captain buries a sailor who had been killed by Moby Dick. Starbuck begs Ahab one final time to reconsider his thirst for vengeance, but to no avail. The next day, the Pequod meets Moby Dick. For two days, the Pequod's crew pursues the whale, which wreaks widespread destruction, including the disappearance of Fedallah. On the third day, Moby Dick rises up to reveal Fedallah tied to him by harpoon ropes, clearly dead. Even after the initial battle on the third day, as Moby Dick swims away from the Pequod, Starbuck exhorts Ahab one last time to desist, observing that â€Å"Moby-Dick seeks thee not. It is thou, thou, that madly seekest him! † Ahab ignores this voice of reason and continues with his ill-fated chase. As the three boats sail out to hunt him, Moby Dick damages two of them, forcing them to go back to the ship and leaving only Ahab's vessel intact. Ahab harpoons the whale, but the harpoon-line breaks. Moby Dick then rams the Pequod itself, which begins to sink. As Ahab harpoons the whale again, the unfolding harpoon-line catches him around his neck and he is dragged into the depths of the sea by the diving Moby Dick. The boat is caught up in the whirlpool of the sinking ship, which takes almost all the crew to their deaths. Only Ishmael survives, clinging to Queequeg’s coffin-turned-life buoy for an entire day and night before the Rachel rescues him.

Meridian

To be independent is to be without limitation and free of civilization, all the while, the thought of being free of civilization, without limitation is overwhelmingly wild. In the novel Meridian, by Alice Walker, the short presence of a character addressed as The Wild Child symbolizes the theme of self awareness and pursuing one’s life independently. Alice walker uses the short presence of The Wild Child as an influential factor when developing her main character Meridian. The use of characters from Meridian’s ancestry, such as Feather Mae (Meridian’s great grandmother) and inanimate objects, such as The Sojourner (tree), further support the theme that The Wild Child represents. Notably, Alice Walker writes her Meridian through a series of flashbacks through third person omnicient narration. The novel opens with Truman Held arriving in Chicokema, Georgia, to meet up with Meridian, his former lover. Meridian is seen escorting a group of children, who were mostly black and impoverished, to an attraction displaying a mummified woman in which they were not permitted to attend. A shift then occurs to a flashback in New York City where Meridian, ten years prior, had not been willing to proclaim that she would kill on behalf of an African American revolutionary organization. Another flashback then occurs to when Meridian had been a child who chose not to accept Jesus into her life despite her mother’s religious devotion, this urges Meridian’s mother to withdraw her love towards her daughter. The novel continues to shift unravelling a countless number of memories that contributed to the reasoning behind why Meridian resulted to her introverted ways. Meridian seeks guidance and a sense of belonging that she never received from her mother, but finds that traditional paths in life do not provide her any comfort. Instead she cultivates a keen sense of dedication towards the civil rights movement, which gives her drive throughout her young adult years. Meridian endures sexual misfortunes throughout life first as a child, when she becomes pregnant and marries due to her lack of knowledge about sex, and later with older men who take advantage of her low self esteem. Giving up her son, Eddie Jr. , Meridian seeks happiness within the campus of Saxon College where she intially struggles and finds refuge under The Sojourner, a rarely large magnolia tree. This is where she later encounters The Wild Child. The novel concludes with Truman asking Meridian to love him as she once did before he had married Lynn, a white activist for civil rights. Meridian admits her love for Truman has changed and prepares to pick back up her life elsewhere; Truman realizes that he must now take up the internal struggle in which Meridian has finally escaped. Although Meridian began as a shattered individual who struggled throughout much of her life, this is what helps to mold and define the calm, determined person that she ultimately becomes; through the representation and comparison of The Wild Child to Meridian, Meridian’s growth is all the more apparent. Alice Walker creates The Wild Child as almost an eidolon figure, for she is not even given a name. Occupants within the impoverished areas surrounding Saxon College, the school in which Meridian attends, know hardly anything of the mysterious young girl who searches for food in garbage cans and can barely speak any language besides the few swear words she has aquired over the years. Meridian attempts to help the poor child but fails to tame her, which in return plays a large role in The Wild Child’s death. Meridian is much like The Wild Child in regards that she has always stripped her life of outside guidance, close relationships, and comforts (material, mental and physical comforts) as she moves from place to place. As an activist against racism and a person of whom secludes herself from others, Meridian lives as an outcast within society trying to avoid the judgement passed by people, just as The Wild Child does. This shows both Meridian and The Wild Child’s sense of self identity and independence in the way that they realize that they would rather be separated from society and go about things in their own way, the only way that they know. Although The Wild Child makes only a brief appearance within the novel, Alice Walker makes her intentions of this character evident by supporting the theme of self awareness and independence that The Wild Child represents with other characters and objects. Feather Mae, Meridian’s great- grandmother is made out to also be a person of free will, who is far reachinging and of an eccentric nature. Feather Mae is a woman whoabandons all religion not founded on physical ecstasy and later results to worshiping the sun while walking around naked. This is just as Meridian renounced religion at an early age in her life because she had not experienced any type of â€Å"ecstasy† in trying to become devoted to Jesus. Just as The Wild Child lived content in her own ways of surviving, both of these exceptional women, Meridian and Feather Mae, endure life in their own idealistic way. Walker also emphasises the importance of the rather large mangolia tree, The Sojourner, in which Meridian takes refuge through hard times when she intially began college. The tree was rare in itself, being the largest in the country. The Sojourner not only signified the growth of African American people through times of oppression, but it also stood as a souvenir of the past. Like the tree, Meridian is a character who has been around through difficult times and still continues to grow, but Meridian also carries with her guilt and saddness from her past. Although the destruction of The Sojourner later in the novel Walker symbolized the abrupt destruction of ties to racism and ways of the past, it also represented the destruction of Meridian, leaving room for a new part of her to grow and develop more as an individual who can be contempt with who she is in the present, rather that sulk in who she was in the past. As has been noted, Meridian being a novel made up of flashbacks and recollections of the past allowed for Alice Walker to create a character that develops through the influences of her surroundings and other characters. Although The Wild Child plays only a small role in the writing of the novel, her presence is significant, for it shapes the entire meaning of who the main character, Meridian, becomes. The Wild Child also serves to enhance the sense of independence and self awareness that the author tries so strongly to get across. Meridian To be independent is to be without limitation and free of civilization, all the while, the thought of being free of civilization, without limitation is overwhelmingly wild. In the novel Meridian, by Alice Walker, the short presence of a character addressed as The Wild Child symbolizes the theme of self awareness and pursuing one’s life independently. Alice walker uses the short presence of The Wild Child as an influential factor when developing her main character Meridian. The use of characters from Meridian’s ancestry, such as Feather Mae (Meridian’s great grandmother) and inanimate objects, such as The Sojourner (tree), further support the theme that The Wild Child represents. Notably, Alice Walker writes her Meridian through a series of flashbacks through third person omnicient narration. The novel opens with Truman Held arriving in Chicokema, Georgia, to meet up with Meridian, his former lover. Meridian is seen escorting a group of children, who were mostly black and impoverished, to an attraction displaying a mummified woman in which they were not permitted to attend. A shift then occurs to a flashback in New York City where Meridian, ten years prior, had not been willing to proclaim that she would kill on behalf of an African American revolutionary organization. Another flashback then occurs to when Meridian had been a child who chose not to accept Jesus into her life despite her mother’s religious devotion, this urges Meridian’s mother to withdraw her love towards her daughter. The novel continues to shift unravelling a countless number of memories that contributed to the reasoning behind why Meridian resulted to her introverted ways. Meridian seeks guidance and a sense of belonging that she never received from her mother, but finds that traditional paths in life do not provide her any comfort. Instead she cultivates a keen sense of dedication towards the civil rights movement, which gives her drive throughout her young adult years. Meridian endures sexual misfortunes throughout life first as a child, when she becomes pregnant and marries due to her lack of knowledge about sex, and later with older men who take advantage of her low self esteem. Giving up her son, Eddie Jr. , Meridian seeks happiness within the campus of Saxon College where she intially struggles and finds refuge under The Sojourner, a rarely large magnolia tree. This is where she later encounters The Wild Child. The novel concludes with Truman asking Meridian to love him as she once did before he had married Lynn, a white activist for civil rights. Meridian admits her love for Truman has changed and prepares to pick back up her life elsewhere; Truman realizes that he must now take up the internal struggle in which Meridian has finally escaped. Although Meridian began as a shattered individual who struggled throughout much of her life, this is what helps to mold and define the calm, determined person that she ultimately becomes; through the representation and comparison of The Wild Child to Meridian, Meridian’s growth is all the more apparent. Alice Walker creates The Wild Child as almost an eidolon figure, for she is not even given a name. Occupants within the impoverished areas surrounding Saxon College, the school in which Meridian attends, know hardly anything of the mysterious young girl who searches for food in garbage cans and can barely speak any language besides the few swear words she has aquired over the years. Meridian attempts to help the poor child but fails to tame her, which in return plays a large role in The Wild Child’s death. Meridian is much like The Wild Child in regards that she has always stripped her life of outside guidance, close relationships, and comforts (material, mental and physical comforts) as she moves from place to place. As an activist against racism and a person of whom secludes herself from others, Meridian lives as an outcast within society trying to avoid the judgement passed by people, just as The Wild Child does. This shows both Meridian and The Wild Child’s sense of self identity and independence in the way that they realize that they would rather be separated from society and go about things in their own way, the only way that they know. Although The Wild Child makes only a brief appearance within the novel, Alice Walker makes her intentions of this character evident by supporting the theme of self awareness and independence that The Wild Child represents with other characters and objects. Feather Mae, Meridian’s great- grandmother is made out to also be a person of free will, who is far reachinging and of an eccentric nature. Feather Mae is a woman whoabandons all religion not founded on physical ecstasy and later results to worshiping the sun while walking around naked. This is just as Meridian renounced religion at an early age in her life because she had not experienced any type of â€Å"ecstasy† in trying to become devoted to Jesus. Just as The Wild Child lived content in her own ways of surviving, both of these exceptional women, Meridian and Feather Mae, endure life in their own idealistic way. Walker also emphasises the importance of the rather large mangolia tree, The Sojourner, in which Meridian takes refuge through hard times when she intially began college. The tree was rare in itself, being the largest in the country. The Sojourner not only signified the growth of African American people through times of oppression, but it also stood as a souvenir of the past. Like the tree, Meridian is a character who has been around through difficult times and still continues to grow, but Meridian also carries with her guilt and saddness from her past. Although the destruction of The Sojourner later in the novel Walker symbolized the abrupt destruction of ties to racism and ways of the past, it also represented the destruction of Meridian, leaving room for a new part of her to grow and develop more as an individual who can be contempt with who she is in the present, rather that sulk in who she was in the past. As has been noted, Meridian being a novel made up of flashbacks and recollections of the past allowed for Alice Walker to create a character that develops through the influences of her surroundings and other characters. Although The Wild Child plays only a small role in the writing of the novel, her presence is significant, for it shapes the entire meaning of who the main character, Meridian, becomes. The Wild Child also serves to enhance the sense of independence and self awareness that the author tries so strongly to get across.

Critical response essay to You're Thinking of getting a What by John

Critical response to You're Thinking of getting a What by John Gray - Essay Example Student’s response Even if the tattoo may seem weird to most of us, it was an ancient art form in the Meiji period of Japan. Clifford J. Kurkowski refers to â€Å"The Tattooer† by Junichiro Tanizaki and says –â€Å"he vividly describes that Japanese men, who were performing in the Kabuki Theater, received tattoos in order to satisfy their upper class audiences and enhance their beauty.† The ethical standards of permanently painting one’s body during that era in Japan was surely much above what it is today – even though it is still considered to be a form of art. I agree with Gray that the sight of a tattoo can hinder any conversation or stall further relationship building platform. As he says â€Å"people either have tattoos or they do not† there are no in-betweens. However, the same can be said about any other idiosyncrasies of a human being – a certain hair style, a nose ring, a navel ring, certain attitude, and many more. You either have it or you do not, you either fall in the same group or you do not. The only difference is that these fads and foibles do not encounter any sense of complete isolation – these are tolerated within the social network. ... ily on the basis of geographical convenience.† I feel this itself is the answer to the puzzling â€Å"laissez-fair craft† – the mental state of the person and the easily accessible tattoo parlors work in a conducive manner. The psychological condition of the person before going in for the drinks plays a good part in giving him or her ‘Dutch courage’ to act brazen, as in audacious. The close by parlor gives the ‘come hither’ looks and lo and behold the person is marked for life. The unfortunate part is that the fashionable statement becomes permanent – something the person never gave much thought to before having it done. The damage is done and most often done in highly unhygienic manner and conditions. It is true that as Gray points out – â€Å"the tattoo parlor is a breathtakingly unregulated industry. Although the city health inspector may call now and then to update the crumbling certificate on the wall, only the tattooi st’s personal ethic prompts him or her to maintain sanitary premises†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Finally, I must say I do not agree with the â€Å"a tattoo, however, is a threat† statement. This is a result of an impetuous decision, and each one of us has taken such rash steps in our lives. Fortunately, for us from the ‘no tattoos’ segment of human kind our reckless actions did not leave any prominent and ugly scars for life. We feel the threat from the other side, the people with the tattoos do not, but it is our reaction that tends to drive them into a separate corner, away from the rest of us. Moreover, there is little knowledge about this form of expressing one’s revolt. It is necessary to have more literatures and information about tattoos. Information regarding the 'ifs' and 'buts' of getting a tattoo done and stressing on the permanent factor:

Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 12

Education - Essay Example There was also push for marriage and fatherhood for these disabled veterans. After the war, several Britons believed that independent, skilled labor would help cure the veterans disabled in battle. This would enable them to earn their own living as well as support themselves. In addition it would change them from being helpless to independent strong men. The most interesting things I learnt from the lecture include a lot of exciting insights from the World War I. For instance the fact that the first world war was fought by people from all the continents even though some did not know why they were fighting. The scientific research also that was going on shifted attention to this war; many new things were discovered that were for the first time ever used in war of that magnitude. The use of newly invented machine guns by the soldiers was also another thing that caught my attention. The issue of the veterans being given wives to marry as a way of rewarding them is also another very striking thing that caught my eye. The use of plastic surgery on injured soldiers is another thing that caught my

Federal financial aid in relation to rising tuition costs Essay

Federal financial aid in relation to rising tuition costs - Essay Example It never seems that governmental intervention is desired in most businesses and likely colleges and universities are no different. Those who might argue against the partial cost reimbursement program might suggest that this is a form of price control (Hauptman, 1998) which would give governmental regulators considerable authority over university and college business. However, the evidence does not suggest that partial reimbursement of tuition costs is price control rather it is designed to lessen the burdens on tuition-paying students, especially those with lower-level income brackets. Additional arguments related to price control might suggest that this would be a tactic to create a form of competitiveness between rival universities and colleges, at a time when consumer incomes are down, to give some universities with a higher financial portfolio an edge over less-affluent or cash-rich universities. From a microeconomic perspective, the activities of the college or university related to reimbursement programs might ensure a higher volume of interested students than those universities which do not provide partial cost reimbursements. This would not be a value to the student if they were denied partial reimbursements to assist with day-to-day needs such as clothing and in-house meals. Partial cost reimbursement would also provide students with the necessary tools to succeed. Morris and Maisto (2005) offer a unique theory of human needs proposed by psychologist Abraham Maslow in which the needs of students start out at the most basic, such as food and water (physiological) and progress through a series of stages until they reach self-actualization, or the pinnacle of their human capacity. Under this model, it is theorized that no individual can progress through self-development until basic fundamental needs are met. The partial cost reimbursement program, as modeled by Maslow’s theory, would provide students with a wide variety of physiological

Are computers making us excessively depend on technology Research Paper

Are computers making us excessively depend on technology - Research Paper Example In a bid to realize this, technology has had to come in handy. Technology has essentially offered the society internet, cellphones, business systems, teaching and learning tools, communication platforms, and entertainment among others (Dumas, 2012). Across these essential provisions of technology, computers count as vital components that enhance technology exploitation. In this respect, people’s lives have become more oriented towards computer use and subsequently excessively dependent on technology. Transport, education, work, entertainment, business, and communication among other computer-technology-based factors have become highly computerized (Sachs, 2011).This has followed the need to take advantage of emerging, new, and advanced technologies. Technology transfer has also gained ground all over world, thereby subjecting diverse societies to technological growth and development and computer use. Globalization, social, economic, and political change, and contemporary industrial revolution also continue to shift the globe towards computerization. This shift can be termed excessive based on the vibrant global technological development. Khosrow-Pour, M. (2002). Issues and Trends of Information Technology Management in Contemporary Organizations: 2002 Information Resources Management Association International Conference, Seattle, Washington, USA, May 19-22, 2002, Volume 1. New York: Idea Group, Inc.

Contemporary issues in human resource management Assignment

Contemporary issues in human resource management - Assignment Example The study aims at highlighting the contemporary issues involved in human resource management, such as discriminations, job stress, safety issues, emotional labour, diversity, and employee burnout. In this report specifically the issue of Virgin Australia Airline has been chosen and their new policy of not allowing male passengers to sit beside children, as they are considered unsafe. This policy was regarded as a discrimination approach of Virgin Airlines, by its male customer. In such cases the role of human resource management and the department needs to be evaluated. Human resource management (HRM) plays a very important role in the development of modern economies. The difference between developed and developing countries lies in difference in their human resources, otherwise most of the resources are same. It has been seen that though exploiting the financial, physical, natural resources are very important in modern times, but none of them are as important as committed and efficient work force. It is often said that most of the development come from the human minds (Robbins, and Coulter, 2008, p. 366-367). The traditional importance of HRM was due to the recruitment and selection process which they handled, but now a strategic approach of HRM in administration, personnel management and other accomplishments have made the role of HRM momentous in organizations. There are numerous additional roles that the human resource department of the company has to supervise along with staffing and selection of the employees. These roles includes training the employees, monitoring performance of the employee for appraisal, job analysis, ascertaining the remuneration for a particular job position.., allotting incentives for good performance, taking care of the employee benefit policies of the company, acting as a communication channel between the employees and the top level management, developing employee welfare, safety and health care plans, taking care of promotions, transfers, maintaining industrial relationships, handling the issues of the Trade Union, solving disputes within the employees or departments, assessing the ethical issues in the department or organization, etc (Aswathappa, 2008, p. 5-6). The human resource department also has the responsibility to ensure that gender discrimination does not prevail in the organisation on the basis of gend er, according to the Civil Rights Act 1964 (Kurtz, and Boone, 2008, p. 54). Problem Areas This section involves the contemporary issues of human resource with respect to Virgin Australia Airline. The company has recently reviewed its policies in which they have restricted men to sit beside children on the flights. The policy

Communicating with a Diverse Audience Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Communicating with a Diverse Audience - Essay Example By diversity we are not only referring to ethnic differences but also other demographic factors such as age, gender, social class and religious beliefs. Therefore in our firm, we never use language that seems to target any particular group nor do we allow jokes that might accidentally offend someone's religious or cultural beliefs. Communicating with our employees and other stakeholders is however extremely important and critical to company's success. Over the years, we have learned that the more the communication, the better the understanding people have and the less confusion and conflict we face. Communication is regular done in form of both internal and external messages. We have an intranet that allows horizontal as well as vertical communication. The company website has a bulletin board where important messages are placed and there is a forum that allows for comments on new happenings. Change is the essence of business success today but it is change that generates most resistance. In our organization, we know that whenever any change is being introduced, people refuse to accept it readily at first if they fail to understand its significance. Thus, we have developed a culture of communicating about change before it is brought into the organization. To communicate after change has been introduced can often backfire. It is important to prepare the employees and others for change when it is being anticipated. This helps in reducing resistance, which can make the change process easier. We realize that whenever change is to be introduced, people must be taken into confidence not only so they can be informed but also to tell me how they can benefit from this change. Audience benefits are very critical to success of communication and thus we keep that in mind every time our organization is planning change. One key example of our organization's commitment to its employees is the time when we were planning to introduce robotic technology in our production unit. Organization understood that this was a big change and could result in serious resistance. But it also meant improving productivity by 65%, which could lead to lower costs in the long run. The firm however refused to let this change affect employees in a negative manner. We were more concerned about our employees' welfare than anything else. We knew that we had to improve productivity and our plan for introduction of robots could bring in serious improvements but we didn't want this to affect our employees. The organization first identified the way in which this change could affect our people. We realize that some people in the production department will have to be moved. We also knew that many people might not know how to adopt the new technology so training had to be arranged. Third, we had to find way to convince the audience of the benefits of adopting this new technology. But these benefits had to be audience benefits not organizational benefits. This was a critical task and failure to communicate properly could produce negative consequences. The first important step we took was identifying the ways in which we could accommodate the surplus staff. We didn't want them to leave but some of them had to be moved to other departments. We looked at the strengths and weaknesses of our staff and then decided what would the next most suitable position for them.

Vicos Project (Case Analysis) Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Vicos Project (Case Analysis) - Term Paper Example Gildner (2009) reveals that for the Peruvian elites had for many decades attempted to bring an indigenous population largely viewed as backwards and pre-modern into the world of modernity without success. Therefore, it was thought that Cornell Peru Project (CPP) could bring to an end this kind of development dilemma. Cornell, working in partnership with the Instituto Indigenista Peruano (Peruvian Indigenous Institute, IIP), researched both provoked and studied social change among this indigenous population at Vicos using participant intervention method (Cornell University, n.d). By improving conditions in vital areas of education, health care, and agriculture, local anthropologists sought to insulate discrete agents of change and to monitor how effective they were. The main aim of doing this was to help improve the living standards of living of Vicos inhabitants. The most practical impact of U.S modernization efforts at Vicos came about because of pushing the Peruvian indigesimo towards an integrationalist position while marginalizing more radical advocacy for agrarian reforms. Gildner (2009) notes that the researchers of CPP found themselves between indigenous communities demanding land redistribution and land owners in the rural areas seeking the maintenance of property rights. Acting as an alternative to agrarian reform, the CPP promoted a more traditional answer to the â€Å"Indian problem† aimed at cultural assimilation as well as incorporation of politics through Spanish literacy training, increased political participation and compulsory military service. Gildner (2009) argues that this â€Å"conservative wait-and-see approach† came about from the isolated and objective science intrinsic to the modernization efforts of Cornell’s team. The success of the project was also based on power. It is the power that helped th e Vicosinos achieve a wider sharing of positive values than they had under manorial regime. Wood (1975) notes that power was recognized as a key element in change and the distribution of power in the form of participation and responsibility in decision-making to people in the community. This happened to be one of the major goals of CPP according to Wood (1975). To ensure that this became successful, CPP created a decision-making power base for the entire community through the mayorales, which is a political group within the hacienda system. Wood notes that, despite the mayorales being older men and less susceptible to innovation compared to other members of the society, the project coordinators felt that it was viable to work through traditional authority group to help drive the agenda. Research conducted by Cornell University was also aimed at stimulating and promoting technological change in underdeveloped areas. Wood reveals

Internet and marketing strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Internet and marketing strategy - Essay Example (Definition) It is also "referred to as online marketing or Emarketing, is the marketing of products or services over the Internet. The Internet has brought many unique benefits to marketing including low costs in distributing information and media to a global audience. The interactive nature of Internet marketing, both in terms of instant response, and in eliciting response, are unique qualities of the medium. Internet marketing ties together creative and technical aspects of the internet, including design, development, advertising and sales. Internet marketing methods include search engine marketing, display advertising, e-mail marketing, affiliate marketing, interactive advertising, blog marketing, and viral marketing. Internet marketing is the process of growing and promoting an organization using online media. Internet marketing does not simply mean 'building a website' or 'promoting a website'. Somewhere behind that website is a real organization with real goals. Meanwhile, at this juncture, there is need to focus on Internet Marketing Business Model. But however, what is Business Model in particular. "A Business Model Draws on a Multitude Business Subjects, including economic, entrepreneurship, finance, marketing, operation and strategy. The Business Model itself is important determinant of profits to be made from innovation (Role of the Business Model) Additionally, there are six components of Business Model, these are; Value preposition, Market Segment, Value Chain Structure, Revenue Generation and Margins, Position in Value and lastly Competitive Strategy. MARKETING STRATEGY It is well known fact that "An Internet Marketing Strategy is fast becoming an integral part of marketing and PR manager's 'hat.' Blogs, online press releases, media rooms, SEM, interactive elements, and rich media are aspects of the job every marketing and PR professional must get their wits around. An effective Internet Marketing Strategy is vital your business success today. What people see when they do a search does influence their perception of your company. It also affects your brand value.And now that the search engines have changed the way they display results with theintegration of news, blogs, and feeds and video into the web search results pages, there aremore PR opportunities in search than ever before". (On line PR Lessons of 2007) However, there are 10 most known Internet Marketing Strategy that should be adapted in order to make the E-Business effectively and successful indeed. They are as follows: 1. The E-marketing planning process: "The integration of e-marketing-specific objectives, strategies and activities into the traditional annual marketing planning process". (Top 10 Strategic E-Marketing Issue) 2. Organizing and resourcing for e-marketing: "As the importance of online channels increase, the structure of the marketing organization and responsibilities may need to change to maximize the opportunities available through new media". (Top 10 Strategic E-Marketing Issues) 3. Defining the Online value proposition (OVP :): "To achieve

Amy Chua Hanna Rosen Essay Example for Free

Amy Chua Hanna Rosen Essay Amy Chua and Hannah Rosin: a comparison and contrast of parenting styles In recent years, Yale professor Amy Chua has drawn a great deal of attention due to her focus on a parenting style that is foreign – both figuratively and literally – to most Western parents. This style centers on a Chinese model that Chua espouses, and that has become famous, or infamous, for the stern and rigorous practices that Chua enforced with her own two daughters. Chua has received a large amount of criticism; one of her critics is Hannah Rosin, a prominent writer and editor. In response to Chua, Rosin outlines an alternative method of parenting. It can be argued that while both Chua and Rosin are involved and devoted mothers, they have distinctly contrasting views on how to raise children. There are three areas in which this contrast can be most clearly seen: attitudes to success, attitudes to self-esteem, and attitudes to happiness. Amy Chua’s model of parenting has success at its core. Chua sums up the Chinese approach to activities in this way: â€Å"What Chinese parents understand is that nothing is fun until you’re good at it† (Chua, 2011). With this as a mantra, Chua promotes an extremely rigorous approach to such activities as learning a musical instrument; she believes that two or three hours of practicing an instrument daily is appropriate for young children. Furthermore, Chua believes that parents should not give their children any choice over which musical instruments to learn; the violin and piano are the only acceptable choices, regardless of the child’s natural talent or predilection. This approach is also evident in academics. Chua says, â€Å"†¦the vast majority of Chinese mothers†¦believe their children can be ‘the best’ students, that ‘academic achievement reflects successful parenting’ and that if children did not excel at school there was ‘a problem’ and parents ‘were not doing their job’† (Chua, 2011). Hannah Rosin takes a distinctly different approach to success, one that is arguably more reflective of Western attitudes in general. Rosin says, â€Å"Ms. Chua has the diagnosis of American childhood exactly backward. What privileged American children need is not more skills and rules and math drills. They need to lighten up and roam free, to express themselves in ways  not dictated by their uptight, over-invested parents† (Rosin, 2011). In Rosin’s view, Chua’s version of success is ultimately very limiting. Rosin doesn’t argue that success is a negative thing in and of itself; however, her looser, freer approach suggests that it can be achieved differently. Another area where Rosin and Chua differ from each other is in their approach to self-esteem and the way in which parents should treat their children. Chua openly admits that it is common for Chinese parents to make comments to their children that Western parents find reprehensible, such as â€Å"Hey fatty, lose some weight†, or referring to a child as â€Å"garbage† (Chua, 2011). However, Chua defends these comments by arguing that in fact, Chinese parents speak in this way because ultimately, they believe that their children are capable of being the â€Å"best†. She contends that Chinese children know that their parents think highly of them, and criticize them only because they have high expectations and know that their children can meet them. Hannah Rosin disagrees. She says, â€Å"†¦there is no reason to believe that calling your child ‘lazy’ or ‘stupid’ or ‘worthless’ is a better way to motivate her to be good than some other more gentle but persistent mode’† (Rosin, 2011). She believes that a parent’s role is not to act as a harsh critic and task master, but rather to guide them through the inevitable difficulties of life that arise. Unlike Chua, Rosin is not concerned with forcing her children to be â€Å"the best†. Rather, she says that â€Å"It is better to have a happy, moderately successful child than a miserable high-achiever† (Rosin, 2011). It is in this area, pertaining to notions of happiness that Chua and Rosin depart most distinctly from each other. It can be argued that the idea of happiness is almost completely absent from Amy Chua’s template. Chua says, â€Å"Chinese parents believe that they know that is best for their children and therefore override all of their children’s own desires and preferences† (Chua, 2011). In other words, the feelings or preference of the child as an individual are lacking completely from the Chinese framework of parenting. The child’s happiness, or misery, is completely irrelevant, because the  parent is the supreme authority, acting in the child’s best interest. Chua claims, â€Å"It’s not that Chinese parents don’t care about their children , just the opposite. They would give up anything for their children† (Chua, 2011). However, the one thing that Chua and other parents will not give up is complete authoritarian control. Rosin takes an entirely different approach to the value of individual happiness. She observes that happiness does not come through being successful; furthermore, â€Å"happiness is the great human quest† (Rosin, 2011). Parents cannot possibly always be in a position to know what will make a child happy or not; children must work out their own path to happiness (Rosin, 2011). Rosin believes that an over-emphasis on perfection will not lead to greater happiness and may even create less happiness in the end. In conclusion, it is undeniable that both Amy Chua and Hannah Rosin love their children and believe that their approach to parenting is based on a desire to do what is best for those children. However, the two approaches present a sharp contrast to each other. Amy Chua believes that success, perfection and being â€Å"the best† are of paramount importance, and will ultimately build a child’s self-esteem (Chua, 2011). Hannah Rosin is critical of the harshness of the Chinese template and argues for a gentler approach, one that takes the natural interests and talent of the child into account (Rosin, 2011). Rosin notes that the idea of enjoyment or happiness is strikingly absent from Chua’s parenting style; in turn, Chua observes that many Western parents are disappointed with the choices that their children make in their lives (Rosin, 2011; Chua, 2011). It can be argued that both the Eastern approach and Western approach have a great deal to offer each other; a wise parent knows how to walk a middle ground.

Exploring visions of capitalism exits

Exploring visions of capitalism exits What is capitalism? Based on (Fulcher J 2004), capitalism is en essentially investment of money in the expectation of making profit. Thus, capitalism is a special social structure where both the selling and buying of commodities organized by capital dominate human economic activities. Capitalism has expanded in social relations of production, distribution and consumption. In this essay, Im going to talk about the several visions and also the terms of capitalism, also not forget how has the global capitalist systemevolved over the two centuriesà £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ There are several types of visions of capitalism exits. Liberal vision means an economy with self-regulating market with free trade and no state will step in to interference. Marxian vision which expand global system but based on exploitation of workers by capitalists and liable to crisis as result of gap between total wages and value of goods and services. Schumpeterian vision stresses the role of entrepreneur investment and saving in order to gain profit and also over-investment in the market. Polanyian vision which is stresses utopian nature of free market and dependence on state intervention, leading to social strains to generate demand for state regulation. Lastly, Keynesian vision which is try to reach equilibrium below full employment levels. In order to keep the full employment, state has to put money into the economy to restore confidence and boost demand. According to (Makoto Itoh1988) merchant capitalism has grown about two and half centuries until the middle of the eighteenth century for the explosive expansion of world trade with the invention of new continent and worldwide sea routes. It is a term described by economist that an earliest phase in the development of capitalism. Based on ((Randy Hodson,Teresa A.Sullivan 2008), merchant capitalism grew not as a way to organized production but as a way to organize trade. (Fulcher J 2004) stated that merchant capitalism is the investment in order to generate huge profit by risk and long-distance trading ventures , and the profit is the result of scarcity and distance. Merchants have to made money by investing in goods that they sold at profit. According (Makoto Itoh1988) the beginning of seventeen century mercantilism appeared as bullionism, where silver and gold was treated as treasure. Thus, the growth of wealth was measured by accumulation of these metals which served as money. So, m ercantilist known the importance of manufacturing industries and foreign trade was the source of national wealth and treasure. After that, based on (Makoto Itoh1988) mercantilism turned to a typical police balance of trade system where the total nation balance of trade rather than the balance of each individual bargain was underlined. There is argument about state should export more goods than imported in order to let foreigners pay the bullion, and only raw materials that cant extract at home should be imported. Thus, subsidies for export and creation of monopolies among the trading companies in order to encourage home production of manufactured goods. Capitalism production is specific in commercial supplied inputs and outputs of production through the market. The whole production process is restructured with the economic rationality of capitalism, which price is described the relationships between input and output. The profit depended ultimately on workers so production itself becomes directly a source of capital growth, based on the commercial exploitation of surplus labor. According to( Fulcher J 2004), capitalist production is based on wage labor and a clear line of division and conflict emerges between the owners of capital, who own what Karl Marx called the means of production and those who sell their labor in exchange for wages. Means of production are those factories, tools and the machinery to create a product. A worker can sell his labor to capitalist for a wage in any activity or investment that will bring profit to a capitalist. For the example of cotton mills, apart from heavy machinery cost, wages were the main cost o f the company. So, Wages costs were minimized by replace less skilled and cheaper labor as work together with invention of technology made this possible. On other hand, Industrial capitalism required continuous work , based on (Fulcher J 2004), workers had become, as Marx put it wage slaves. Anarchic capitalism also known as liberalization market was the stage in 18th and early 19thcenturies when industrial capitalism made its breakthrough. It was anarchic because participants can seize and defend resources without regulation. Economist Murray Rothbard defined the term of anarchy society as one where there is no legal possibility of coercive aggression against the person or property of any individual. According to anarchic capitalism, the personal activities or economic activities would be regulated by private law rather than politics yet entrepreneurs competitors will provide law enforcement, courts rather than through taxation. Anarchic capitalism argued that society should based on the voluntary trade of private property and services which consists of money, consumer goods, capitals goods or land to maximize individual liberty and wealth. (Kaletsky ) stated that the ideology is clear that a capitalist system based on private property and profit was an elemental force of nature, governed by iron laws of economics that were as immune to human manipulation as a hurricane. The general beliefs of laissez-fair which dominant throughout this 150 year period is that economics and politics are two different areas in human activity and emotion that should remain different in the interest of economic and political progress. In anarchic capitalism what is important is the way of gain property without roadblock from the compulsory state and the most economically beneficial is through voluntary trade rather than government intervention. Government intervention extensively in the economy, essentially through high and var iable trade tariffs and excise taxes in order to raise revenues. Not only that, according to (Kaletsky) there were also used to favor influential industries or social interests such as textile manufacturers or yeoman farmers. Nevertheless, according to (Kaletsky), laissez-faire capitalism has been succumbed because of its internal contradictions just like what Marx had predicted before. Anarchist romantics repulsed, according to Keyness description suggested, one of the reason might be the revolutionary groups of 1880-1915 period that exceed achievements in their destructive political impact by terrorists of PLO or IRA. So, by 1914, free market capitalism was declining and the internal contradiction that identified by Marx were toward a systemic breakdown. In 1919, Keynes warning there will be an economic catastrophe foreshadowed. Then, financial earthquakes of hyperinflation in Weimar Germany and also Great Depression happened on 1930s. Based on (Kaletsky), during nineteenth-century politico-economic system was still in death throws and capitalism had become extinct so the system has to opt for reform. Managed capitalism which born out of the economic disaster in the interwar period was begin in second half of 19th century which thrived for roughly 40 years and came to its peak in 1970s. Thus, its the policies that Keynes had been recommending to British government. The (Fulcher J2004) stated that competition and market regulation declined as both sides of industry become more organized and as state management and control increased. One of the remarkable transformation occurred in the 1930s was the invention of government economist. According to (Kaletsky), the interactions between the government and market in anarchic capitalism has been consider incidental to economic activity and generally damaging to it as government need to raise revenues by tariffs and taxes for the main reason which is fighting war. So, landlord or manufacturers have to pay for tariffs to protect them for low-cost foreign competition. There is no one belief that the working of the market will be improved eve n there is intervention of Bank England in money market and also motivation of self-interests of City London or British finance to quell panics. According to (Kaletsky), Prime minister has described that the governments reaction to Keyness early proposal to lift the British economy out of Great Depression. The macroeconomic condition was transformed by collapse of global trade and industry in early 1930. As what stated in (Kaletsky), public outrage intensified over mass unemployment, the twin threats of socialist revolution and fascist dictatorship forced democratic politicians to engage with the economy in ways that classical economist had never imagined. Next, government been offered a freedom of action by the time gold standard has been breakdown. Then, based on economists and politicians that the upshot was that if unguided by government, capitalism was ruinously and unstable. The (Kaletsky) stated that a competent government will protect the public and also economy from unavoid able anarchy of free market. But from the 1960 onwards, economy crisis hit the world. Not only Britain but also other countries like Italy, France were facing inflation and even assassination from terrorism. Thus, breakdown of the international monetary system in 1971 leads a death blows and collapsed to manage capitalism. According to (Kaletsky), a lethal combination of high inflation and mass unemployment known as stagflation appeared in the economy. After the 1979 Iranian Revolution, capitalism in this period was faced the same problem as the early one in 1930s, it had to transform itself to survive or choose to become extinct. Why did managed capitalism collapsed is probably caused of corporatist institution couldnt work in the end, government had failed to regulate prices and incomes because the cooperation wasnt been engineered between unions and employers. Remarketized capitalism period happened on 1980s after the collapsed of managed capitalism and its revival of market forces. Thus, in 1981-1982,based on (Kaletsky) monetarism has been applied to tame of inflation by revival of free or competitive markets, prevent distorted by state intervention, always keep a capitalist economy in balance, producing efficient and rational outside ,including economic stability and full employment. What causes the crisis of capitalism in 1970s? Its the consequence of errors in monetary policy. Additionally, another reason of the great inflation and breakdown of Keynesian capitalism was probably the private enterprise hard to afford the high taxes, the militant unions they empowered and especially the Increase of powerfu l labor movement brings class conflict and pressure for income redistribution. Next, Keynesian full-employment built a natural tensions over the distribution of wagers and profit between workers and capitalists in the economic system. By the late 1960s, the top priority of government policy was maintain full employment then the labor militancy intensified to achieve the escalate demand so a postwar generation of workers had grown up. Thus, according (Kaletsky), companies felt confident to pay offers that were needed to stave off labor militancy and strikes. So inflation was created as result. Government has to restore discipline into the labor market in order to stop the inflation. So, government has to abandon full employment policies and also create condition to millions workers who going to lose their jobs. In 1943, self-destruction of Keynesian full-employment was predicted by economist and he was argued that due to the labor militancy and inflation, the solution will create a new crisis of capitalism and force the capitalism system to reinvent itself again. Lastly, based on ( Kaletsky ) the thirty years epoch started with Thatcherism in 1979 and ended with the crisis of 2007-2009.

Impact of Identity Theft in E-Commerce

Impact of Identity Theft in E-Commerce ABSTRACT In the world of today, where time is money and information is a corporate asset, protection of data confidentiality and integrity has become critical. Today, companies are focusing much more on how to secure their businesses from identity fraud, which has emerged as the modern day menace. As I found research on identity theft is rather limited. This research will provide more knowledge of the subject. The aim of this research therefore was to find and assess the impact and the level of identity theft in e-commerce. This was achieved by using analytic induction from the existing research literature and analysis of feed back from the various business executives, industry specialists and company clients through a questionnaire. After introducing identity theft and its impact on the corporate sector in detail, in the first two chapters with the data protection laws; it discusses their merits, demerits, controls and loopholes, the third chapter of this study delves into the methods and techniques used to prevent identity theft, it discusses in detail their efficacy, efficiency, implications and limitations while the last chapter is a case study of an organization where , existing data has been collected from various sources and has been critically analyzed and reviewed. A quantitative method approach has been employed in carrying out this research, besides carrying out a case study of an organization Moreover, aim to decrease the risk and effects of identity theft in e-commerce possible best practice techniques were identified through this research which was achieved through a study of existing literature which results the formation of a policy document. This policy document was also evaluated by industry experts. INTRODUCTION Like Mcleod and Scheel (2001) says, â€Å"e-business creates higher customer satisfaction, by providing quicker service, less effort to buy a product or service, and less business cost compared to a business run without the use of information technology (IT)†. Internet is also called worldwide network of computers. It provides excellent opportunities for an organization to do their business online. To get more customers and to increase the publics awareness of the business, it is very important to represent themselves on the Internet and their products, resulting in increased sales volume and higher profits. Security implications hold back the business. Nowadays, Credit card companies, banks and software companies work together to produce a broad standard to do safe online business. Whereas on the other hand System Hackers are trying to get as much information as possible, which they can easily sell in the black market. Some of the staff in companies also busy in selling their customers details in the same black market. Specific guidelines should be followed by companies to develop a safe and successful appearance in the online business. Some critics like Professor Richard Walton CB, (2005) however quarrel, The rise of the Internet and other modern technologies has brought about a fundamental change in commercial life. He further says that thieves have been stealing wallets and credit cards for a long time, but the growth of online buying and on-line banking has made Identify Theft the fastest growing white-collar crime in the U.K. and America, Its a big problem, and it can happen to anyone. On the other hand, some people are disagreed that the major cause of Identity theft is internet. As per Thomas C. Greene (2005) he said, that The vast majority of incidents can be traced to (what he calls) skimming, or dumpster diving, he goes further to say that plain stupidity among those who own our personal data are also contributive. Only a small fraction of such incidences result from on line transactions. I found majority of research is on the topic of identity theft, which usually consists of some variations in the phrase identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the United kingdom or it begins with a quaint anecdote about the tens of thousands of identity theft victims that emerge each year. According to a report published in the American angle, Anne P.Minz (2002) which says that the consumer sentinel network of agencies gathering data on e-commerce fraud, reports that in 2001 alone, there were 204,000 complaints, compared to 138,900 reported in 2000. It is noticeable that 47% increase demonstrates the growing nature of the problem. Figures such as the ones noted above are apparently disconcerting, in other to glean possible remedies which in turn demands for additional research on this issue. There are so many occasioning of identity theft and different ways this may be consummate. The overheads and wounded are considerable to financial institutions as well as individuals, but the overheads are often difficult to reveal or enumerate, mainly for individual punter sufferers. If an individual is auspicious enough to avoid financial responsibility for the theft, in so many ways they still endure losses in different ways, which may not be substantial; most of the time the affecting damage is very heavy that some sufferers commend suicide while so many others hunt for therapeutic or psychiatric assistance. In an attempt to recover from the theft or loss, sufferer may end up costs more money and time. These two must not be perplexed as theft resembles fraud in that and both engagedin some form of unlawful takings, but fraud requires an extra component of false pretenses formed to persuade a sufferer to turn over wealth, property or other services. Theft, by difference, needs only the illegal captivating of anothers possessions withthe aim to enduringly divest the other of the possessions. Harsh punishment is for fraud because of more planning is involved in that than does the theft. However, for the use of this study we are going to focus on identity theft in e-commerce in accessing the effect on online business in UK. Definition of Identity Definition of Theft â€Å"Theft† can be defined as per English Law act 1968 section (1). Subsection (1), that a person is guilty of theft if he is deceitfully appropriates property belongs to another with the purpose of enduringly miserly the additional of it; and that steal and theft shall be construed consequently. It is irrelevant whether the appropriation is made with a view to expand, or is made for the thiefs own benefit. As per encyclopedia dictionary 2007, Sometimes theft is used synonymously with larceny as a term; however, we can say that, it is actually a broader term, encircling many forms of dishonestly taking of property, including cheating, double-crossing and false pretenses. Some states categorize all these offenses under a single statutory crime of theft. Property belonging to another is taken without that persons consent will be assumed as theft, where Theft could be regarded as criminal act. Sense of Identity Theft In the Identity theft and assumption prevention Act of 1998 the term identity theft was first codified, where the act makes it as a federal crime when someone deliberately uses or transfers, without legal permission, a means of identification of another person with the aim to commit, or to aid or support, any unlawful activity that constitutes a breach of federal law, or that constitutes a offense under any applicable state or local law. In addition, the act defines it as a means of identification as any name or number that may be used, alone, or in combination with any other information, to identify a specific person. Identifying information is noted to be, surrounded by other things, passport number, a name, date of birth, drivers license or national insurance number (NI), access device or telecommunication identifying information. Identity theft may be broadly defined as the unlawful acquirement or the use of any aspect of an individuals personal information for committing some form of criminal activity (Hoar, 2001; LoPucki, 201; Slosarik 2002). This definition is proposed to cover any type of crime that falsely uses a victims name, home address, bank account, credit / debit card number, national insurance number, date of birth, etc. (Federal trade commission, 2004) Formal Definition of Identity Theft Although the act of simply embezzlement ones private information is an offense, the key factor to be notable here is that this information is then used to declare to be someone else. In other words we can say when someone else uses your identity as his own with the ultimate ambition for fiscal, material, and monetary gain. The Internet, the evolution of e-commerce, online shopping, and wireless capability, the explanation of identity theft can be further extended to comprise such things as the hacking into the customer databases of large organizations; stealing of usernames and passwords; the theft and hacking of network login sessions; and onwards. The development of e-commerce and particularly Wireless has compounded the problem of identity theft. Basically, it can happen worst yet to anyone, anywhere and at anytime, at variable edges in the way that information can easily be stolen. For example, Identity theft can occur by an individual simply rummaging through the trash cans at the local dumpster (the technically it is well-known as â€Å"Dumpster Diving†, and will be discussed later). Identity theft can also happen at your workplace, particularly if you do most of your work through telecommuting over a wireless link. Suppose yourself sitting in a cafà © at the train station, and while you are waiting for your train. Your laptop computer is connected to the â€Å"Hot Spot† or wireless link at the cafà ©, and you access your confidential customer data as well as an important work e-mail, but how do you know if the wireless link is for authentic? For example, there could be someone sitting next to you, and this person could have set up a fake wireless access point, and you unintentionally logged into that, thinking that you have really linked to a legitimate, safe and encrypted wireless link. Now, you can see that, this person has all the right to use your customer information, usernames and passwords as a result of that fake link, or â€Å"rogue† Wireless access link, And then you are completely unaware to all of this (this situation is well-known as â€Å"The Evil Twins†). Nowadays, you can see every where there is always a case of theft of identity going on almost every day. First, it was simply stealing a Bank Account Number or 16 digits credit card numbers, but now this crime is going on a large scale, where it affects millions of people all at once. Some peoples working in companies where they are steeling and selling customers full details under the table. As according to the BBC world report (March-2008) on local TV news, that HSBC Bank lost one data disk (compact disk) of their customer details. As we move more towards a wireless and mobile world, people who launch identity theft attacks are becoming much more stylish in the manner in which these attacks are launched. We are also seeing a trend today where large corporations are becoming very complacent in protecting their customer databases from these attacks. There are also trends going on where small, Wireless devices with huge capacity are being used in identity theft crime, and private information is even sold during auctioning processes over the internet. Definition of the term â€Å"Electronic Commerce†: â€Å"Electronic Commerce refers generally to all forms of commercial transactions involving both organizations and individuals, that are based upon the electronic processing and transmission of data, including text, sound and visual images† (OECD, 1997), â€Å"Electronic commerce is about doing business electronically. It is based on the electronic processing and transmission of data, including text, sound and video. It encompasses many diverse activities including electronic trading of goods and services, online delivery of digital content, electronic fund transfers, electronic share trading, electronic bills of lading, commercial auctions, collaborative design and engineering, online products (e.g. consumer goods, specialized medical equipment) and services (e.g. information services, financial and legal services); traditional activities (e.g. healthcare, education) and new activities (e.g. virtual malls).† (EC document, 1997) â€Å"Electronic commerce is the carrying out of business activities that lead to an exchange of value across telecommunication networks† (EITO, 1997) â€Å"E-commerce involves business transactions conducted through computer networks. The e-business literature deals with the technical facilities needed to run a business smoothly.†(Laudon and Laudon, 2000) â€Å"E-business creates higher customer satisfaction, by providing quicker service, less effort to buy a product or service, and less business cost compared to a business run without the use of information technology (IT)† (McLeod and Schell, 2001). Both of these approaches to e-business point to changes in the entire vision of a classical understanding of business. Service industrys challenges Companies are using electronic funds transfer (EFT) for their customers as the fast and secure way of transactions, at present; there are two most excellent ways to handle money online: personal checks and credit cards, there are other fast and secure methods to exchange funds online. Electronic funds transfer (EFT) is another name for online money exchange. Here, the exchange of digital money is involved between buyers and sellers. In the front customer authorization is made over the Internet where Banks handles the transactions behind. To ensure higher level of security specialized authentication systems should be adopted. IDs and passwords are one of the most fashionable methods of data security are in use to access a server or Internet site, but these are often poor. To address this problem, Axent Technologies has developed hardware and software solution called Defender that creates unique, one-time passwords that cannot be guessed, shared, or cracked (Venetis, 1999). â€Å"The system incorporates software on the users computer that communicates with the Defender Security Server on the other end. When the user connects with the server, a software token is activated that automatically establishes a dialogue with the server. A new password is generated during each session, removing any possibility that the user will forget to change his/her password on a regular basis† (Venetis, 1999). This study aims not only to evaluate benefits of adopting secure solution to identity-theft, but also to see that what best practices should be adopted by the Companies, which add value to their online business. Through in-depth research, I will be able to examine why customers switch to new online companies for their shopping. I will see techniques other companys uses to give confidence to their customers to retain them. Although there is a very limited research available on prevention of identity theft in e-business, but my aim is to study how I can contribute from the experiences of other companys perspective. By using quantitative method approach, I will try to test the current literature available on the subject matter. The study is based upon research conducted throughout the report from a variety of sources. The scope of the study is the assessment of tools, technologies and architectures that may involve in identify theft in e-commerce. As the scope of â€Å"Identity theft in e-commerce† is a diversified, so I have limited my research to online fraud detection and prevention methods. Why this research? The Literature provides insights into factors underlying the impacts of identity theft on e-business and failure results: customers lack of confidence, inappropriate variety of technologies structures, lack of ability to control and secure online businesses, lack of adoptable techniques and processes, but lack of study on how to secure online business. Research Questions To concentrate the research primary and secondary questions have been devised to establish a central path to guide the research. PRQ:What technologies are currently in place to combat fraud and how do they work? SRQ:Looking at previous fraud prevention techniques, have new technologies actually prevented and deterred fraud from the mainstream areas? The past study on identity theft in e-commerce was not enough to solve the problems. As the cyber crime growing rapidly, it is very difficult to secure online business. The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate why the organization like XYZ UK Limited not able to continue their online businesses and what new techniques and best practices are in use by others to run their online businesses. What are the techniques that were appropriate for identity management and how well the organization (XYZ UK limited) complies with these techniques? The quantitative data was collected through an online questionnaire addressed to approximately 50 business executives, partners, experts and consumers. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES This research emphasizes the issues in private company (XYZ-UK Limited) regarding the risk and impact of identity theft that company had faced while doing online business and also the problems they had been through in transactions, made on the Internet. I will also put forward what new techniques should be adopted to increase more business and customers satisfaction. To see companies involved in e-business and how to overcome their problems. Adopt new techniques and ideas to have secure online business. Following are research objectives: To analyze, the affect of cyber crime on businesses and with its consequences on customer relationship. Determine the protection level that the company has provided through its security Policy to maintain the privacy of their customers sensitive information and determine its compliance with industry best practices. To identify the reasons that results for the company in suffering loses and losing business opportunities and determining their plan to overcome those constraints. Analyzing new strategies acquired by the company to achieve the level of protection and review their effectiveness in accordance with existing practices. To provide opinion whether new methods for safe on-line business ensure customers satisfaction or need of improvement. Organization of Research This research is organized as follows. The first chapter, as noted, introduces the research and objectives. The second chapter provides the brief overview of literature on identity theft in e-commerce and describes the critical background identity theft associated with e-commerce., and third Chapter consists of Methodology. Chapter 4 Analysis of the findings of Survey as well as content analysis to assess the scale of the effect of these factors on e-commerce success as supposed. Chapter 5 is a policy document can be used as best practices. CHAPTER2 Literature Review â€Å"Whats my ROI on e-commerce? Are you crazy? This is Columbus in the new world. What was his ROI?† (Andy Grove, chairman of Intel) CHAPTER TWO Literature Review DEFINITION OF E-COMMERCE Various definitions of e-commerce are there; the one given at this point is an attempt to relate to this research. â€Å"Electronic commerce is about doing business electronically. It is based on the electronic processing and transmission of data, including text, sound and video. It encompasses many diverse activities including electronic trading of goods and services, online delivery of digital content, electronic fund transfers, electronic share trading, electronic bills of lading, commercial auctions, collaborative design and engineering, online products (e.g. consumer goods, specialized medical equipment) and services (e.g. information services, financial and legal services); traditional activities (e.g. healthcare, education) and new activities (e.g. virtual malls).† (EC document, 1997) While, defining the term â€Å"Electronic Commerce† ranges from broad (EITO) to the very narrow (OECD), basically they are equivalent. A patent description of transactions rather than the scope of activities are there. A hurdle in drafting a precise definition of e-commerce is the continuing evolution of science and technology and its impact on ever-changing environment. (Civil Jurisdiction, 2002) Identity theft may be broadly defined as the unlawful acquirement or the use of any aspect of an individuals personal information for committing some form of criminal activity (Hoar, 2001; LoPucki, 201; Slosarik 2002). This definition is proposed to cover any type of crime that falsely uses a victims name, home address, bank account, credit / debit card number, national insurance number, date of birth, etc. (Federal trade commission, 2004) Some authors and authorities have obviously been some hard work on the result of identity theft to those whom their identity had been stolen; they were trying to see how identity theft can be avoided and possible ways to avoid ones identity being stolen by the criminal specially in online business and to find what identity theft in e-commerce is about. For instance, Mehdi Khosrowpour (2002) defines â€Å"identity theft is a form of hacking which results in possession of personal data and information by the hackers to masquerade as the true identity owners for future use†. IMPACT OF CYBER CRIMES ON BUSINESS E-commerce oriented Businesses are often having a fear that exposing security weakness gives the opportunity to hackers to penetrate into business sensitive information and do the damage. These concerns have shown to have negative impact on consumer attitudes toward using the Internet to make purchases. (Koufaris, 2002) The outcome is failure in doing business online. The losses can be divided into â€Å"direct† and â€Å"indirect losses†. The complete impact of identity theft is not completely understood so far, but latest researches importance the fast development and major costs linked with the offense have discussed and looking to solve it. Near the beginning debate around identity theft relied on subjective proof which is mainly reported by the popular press Identity theft is in many ways a more harmful act that can have continuous effects on major financial effect on merchants as well as on customers. Recent studies have found that identity theft victims often suffer the same emotional consequences as victims of other crimes. The crime of identity theft can be difficult to track because it takes many forms and is used to facilitate other crimes, such as credit card fraud, immigration fraud, Internet scams, and terrorism. Identity fraud arises when someone takes over fictitious name or adopts the name of another person with or without their consent Rt Hon David Blunkett MP (2002) DIRECT LOSSES Direct losses can be defined as losses in terms of monetary value. Reflection of such costs can be seen as incorporated costs of the market incentives faced by such parties addressing the issue. Surveys conducted by experts show the range of financial losses that the businesses have suffered. Identity theft losses to companies are over two times greater whereas to consumers three times that are linked with conventional payment deception. Analysis of recent consumer surveys has suggested that while users may view the internet as a marketing channel valued for its convenience and ease of use for shopping, security and privacy issues are very influential on decisions to buy online†. (Smith and Rupp, 2002a, b) In e-businesses associated fraud losses are also normally charged back to merchants. From the perspective of the credit card issuer, the cost of identity theft for illegally purchased products is most likely to be claimed against the applicable retailers by the credit card issuer. Internet merchants fraud-related costs are high, and when those costs are combined with growing consumer fears of identity theft it results in significant damage to the business. For consumers, the main impact of identity theft is the unauthorized use of their credit card accounts that could make them suffer financial losses. Corporate identity theft provides perpetrators to conduct industrial sabotage resulting in possible fines to businesses for breach of regulatory rules. Another form of direct losses is the loss of data, according to studies data breaches cost companies losses in terms of administrative performance, management defections and loss of critical and sensitive business data as well as customer data. It will also allow consumers to sue if their personal information is improperly taken from online transactions (Tillman, 2002). It also results in cost overheads for companies to implement preventive measures and techniques. Additionally there will be costs for the recovery of loss-data. It also impacts the company to continue its business processes, above all companies may go out of business because of major data-loss. One more category of direct loss is the loss of equipments and products, since it is very easy for id theft criminal to divert the delivery or shipment of goods by having unauthorized access to the place where it is convenient to pick it up. INDIRECT LOSSES There could be many indirect losses because of identity theft. For example, the time and resources spent on corrective action after the identities and personal information have compromised. However, the ultimate indirect loss, in this regard is, the loss of goodwill, company reputation, customer confidence and relationship with trading partners. Reputation is one of trustworthy behaviour and plays an important part in determining the willingness of others to enter into an exchange with a given actor (Grabner-Kraeuter, 2002, p. 48). It has also estimated that businesses fear to accept large number of orders because of their susceptibility, especially they turn away overseas transactions and hence get to lose business. The combination of financial losses coupled with reputation and customer trust provide great level of damage to the e-businesses. In terms of reputation, it can said that any e-commerce scandal will become headline of news immediately and the media is always curious about such scandals, thus the publicity of any such incident ruins the company reputation largely. Consumers always worry about their privacy. Many researchers have found that, a majority of internet users worry about spreading of personal data, because the person stealing someones data can use it to misuse the bank accounts, conduct a crime using the details of somebody else, can easily get away from worst situations or can even cross countries borders using fake identities, all of the above can create problem for the person whose identity has been used for all such crimes. Liability issues are always in concern when companies are dealing with trading partners or doing the business within a country having strict laws for companies to be found liable if they do not protect their own and critical information of others. Theft of corporate identities may adversely affect morale of third party employees as well as the competitive advantages that a company may have with its trading partners. Using a network perspective, concerning interrelationships between people and organizations, economic relationships between organizations embedded in networks of social relationships (Galaskiewicz, 1985; Granovetter, 1985; Uzzi, 1997). Improper handling of information can also take companies to court where they can held accountable for negligence and can face severe fines including imprisonments. Another aspect of indirect loss is the damage to the credit history of both customers and businesses. Businesses will no longer be able to obtain business loans to boost their business and also cannot obtain insurance benefits from insurance companies. Similar things happens to customers, once their history has been marked susceptible they cannot obtain bank loans, credit cards, health claims and even a better carrier. In summary, the above psychoanalysis shows a picture what an individual or a business might suffer from if cyber criminals steal their identities. E-commerce and Main Categories Nowadays businesses are using heterogeneous computer environments to integrate their proprietary systems with the external world. Database servers and application servers supported with middleware to interface with online connections; these include HR management, supply chain management and customer relationship management. Through electronic networks where the purpose is to achieve businesses, E-Commerce can be separated into major categories: Business-to-Business (B-TO-B) relationship Business-to-Customer (B-TO-C) relationship Business-to-Government (B-TO-G) relationship Consumer-to-Consumer (C-TO-C) relationship Mobile Commerce (m-commerce) relationship The two core categories are Business to Business and Business to Customer. Business to Customer (B-TO-C) B-TO-C e-commerce is a part of the business, which deals with commercial activities between companies and customers. Companies can easily make their strategies according to the needs and requirements of customers, based on analysis of customers statistics in this model, these statistics can be based on marketing, sales and customer service components (e.g. ordering, online assisting, delivering and customers interaction etc.). E-tailing The most common form of business-to-consumer (B2C) transaction is E-tailing. (Electronic retailing) It is the selling of sellable merchandise over the Internet. E-Tailing: Revolutionary Trends in E-Business Recent studies have found that 1997 was the first big year for e-tailing. Dell Computers claimed as they processed a multimillion dollar orders taken through their Web site. In 1996, was the success for Amazon.com welcomed Noble Barnes to launch its E-business site whereas, Commerce Net/Nielsen Media disclosed that 10 million customers had completed purchases on-line. A systematic approach in this regard, needs a good combination of business strategies and dynamic networks. â€Å"The total of these structures is called a dynamic strategic network† (Dyke, 1998). One of the best examples of B-to-C e-commerce is Amazon.com, an online bookstore that launched its site in 1995. The benefits of B-TO-C e-commerce includes that it provides instantaneous communication between consumer and trader as well as products and services can be access globally and transactions happens in real time, whereas the risk includes, the confidentiality and privacy of customers information. Business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-customer (B2C) transactions are used in e-commerce and is a type of online shopping. Advantages of B2C e-commerce; The subsequent advantages are: Shopping can be quicker and expedient. Prices and Offers can alter immediately. The website can be incorporated with Call centers directly. The buying experience will be improved by Broadband communications. Background of E-Shopping E-Shopping was in