Duport Analysis: the Number Game

DuPont Analysis: Playing The Numbers Game! The summary of this case is that a newly joined CFO of a company, Plastichem Inc. , was able to turn the company’s unfortunate situation around when he first arrived. Yet, five years later, Plastichem has gone through some difficult times including their stock price/ratings severely dropping with no understanding as to why. The case ends with the CFO attempting to figure out what went wrong with the numbers he was given. To determine the liquidity, we used the quick ratio, current ratio, and interest coverage ratio.From these equations, the higher the ratios meant the better of the company’s financial condition, or more liquidity. The acceptable ratios vary from different industries. In general, company’s quick ratio should be 1 or higher, and its current ratio should be above 1. 5 to be considered liquid. In the comparison between two companies’ ratios, DCM Molding has shown a better financial condition on averag e in the past four years, and Plastichem has barely met the acceptable average or is below the average in the past four years. Quick Ratio = (Cash and marketable securities + A/R + Other Current Asset)/ Current Liabilities | Year| 2004| 2003| 2002| 2001| Plastichem| 0. 86| 1. 141| 1. 039| 0. 826| DCM Molding| 0. 99| 0. 93| 1. 114| 1. 568| | Year| | 2004| 2003| 2002| 2001| Plastichem| 1. 301| 1. 523| 1. 462| 1. 309| DCM Molding| 1. 632| 1. 518| 1. 826| 2. 095| | Year| | 2004| 2003| 2002| 2001| Plastichem| 0. 763| 1. 9113| 1. 962| 2. 442| DCM Molding| 4. 667| 1. 217| 4. 217| 8. 6| To measure the leverage, we calculated the debt-equity ratio. Plastichem had a relatively high Debt-Equity Ratio, which indicated that Plastichem was using many debts to finance its growth.High Debt-Equity Ratio also indicated that Plastichem bore more risk because the cost of debt (interest). The company would make more profit if the incremental profit exceeds the incremental cost of debt; however, the comp any may lose more money/ make less money if the incremental profit is less than the incremental cost of debt. | Year| | 2004| 2003| 2002| 2001| Plastichem| -19. 331| 5. 076| 4. 862| 1. 355| DCM Molding| 1. 192| 1. 477| 1. 274| 0. 714| To determine the profitability, we calculate the Profit Margin, ROE, and ROA. By looking at the ratios, Plastichem’s profit has dropped in the past four years.The high leverage may have enlarged the loss of the company. On the other hand, DCM Molding has shown a steady income/profit over the years. | Year| | 2004| 2003| 2002| 2001| Plastichem| -24. 14%| 0. 68%| 3. 45%| 5. 65%| DCM Molding| 5. 91%| 6. 19%| 5. 37%| 5. 09%| | Year| | 2004| 2003| 2002| 2001| Plastichem| ? | 3. 53%| 6. 38%| 17. 30%| DCM Molding| 17. 76%| 18. 64%| 17. 44%| 10. 95%| | Year| | 2004| 2003| 2002| 2001| Plastichem| -26. 90%| 0. 58%| 1. 09%| 7. 34%| DCM Molding| 8. 10%| 7. 53%| 7. 66%| 6. 39%| A common size balance sheet is a different type of balance sheet that hows each d ollar amount in a form of percentage of a common number from the actual balance sheet. Common size balance sheet is useful in comparing companies that have a different scale of operations. This type of balance sheet helps in observing at the firms as a common sized and it also helps in comparing the changes in various segments over a period of time. PLASTICHEM INCORPORATED| | | | | Annual Income Statements (Value in Millions)| | | | | 2004| 2003| 2002| 2001| Sales| 100. 00%| 100. 00%| 100. 00%| 100. 00%| Cost of Sales| 74. 81%| 62. 76%| 63. 39%| 65. 04%| Gross Operating profit| 25. 19%| 37. 24%| 36. 61%| 34. 6%| Selling, General & Admin. Expenses| 13. 27%| 18. 54%| 18. 66%| 20. 73%| EBITDA| 11. 92%| 18. 71%| 17. 95%| 14. 23%| Depreciation & Amortization| 6. 16%| 5. 51%| 5. 82%| 4. 41%| EBIT| 5. 76%| 13. 20%| 12. 12%| 9. 82%| Other Income, Net| -0. 17%| 0. 20%| 0. 12%| 0. 08%| Total Income Avail for Interest Exp. | 5. 59%| 13. 40%| 12. 24%| 9. 90%| Interest Expense| 7. 54%| 6. 90%| 6 . 18%| 4. 02%| Minority Interest| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| Pre-Tax Income| -1. 95%| 6. 50%| 6. 06%| 5. 88%| Income Taxes| 0. 03%| 0. 71%| 2. 61%| 0. 23%| Special Income/Charges| -22. 15%| -5. 10%| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| Net Income from Cont.Operations| -24. 14%| 0. 68%| 3. 45%| 5. 65%| Net Income from Discont. Opers. | 0. 00%| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| Net Income from Total Operations| -24. 14%| 0. 68%| 3. 45%| 5. 65%| Normalized Income| -1. 99%| 5. 78%| 3. 49%| 5. 65%| Extraordinary Income| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| Income from Cum. Eff. of Acct. Chg. | 0. 00%| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| Income from Tax Loss Carryforward| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| Other Gains| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| -2. 02%| 0. 00%| Total Net Income| -24. 14%| 0. 68%| 1. 43%| 5. 65%| PLASTICHEM INCORPORATED| | | | | Annual Balance Sheets (Values in millions)| | | | | | 2004| 2003| 2002| 2001|ASSETS | | | | | Current Assets| | | | | Cash and marketable securities| 1. 20%| 1. 40%| 1. 47%| 0. 60%| Accounts receivable| 17. 34%| 17. 33%| 14. 74%| 21. 03%| Inventory| 10. 31%| 7. 01%| 7. 44%| 12. 88%| Other Current assets| 1. 54%| 2. 21%| 2. 03%| 0. 40%| Total Current Assets| 30. 40%| 27. 94%| 25. 68%| 34. 91%| | | | | | Non-Current Assets| | | | | Property, Plant & Equipment, Gross| 35. 44%| 28. 70%| 25. 85%| 47. 99%| Accumulated depreciation & Depletion| 14. 41%| 9. 13%| 8. 15%| 19. 42%| Property, Plant & Equipment, Net| 21. 03%| 19. 57%| 17. 71%| 28. 57%| Intangibles| 45. 67%| 50. 07%| 53. 53%| 33. 0%| Other Non-Current Assets| 2. 90%| 2. 41%| 3. 09%| 3. 52%| Total Non-Current Assets| 69. 60%| 72. 06%| 74. 32%| 65. 09%| Total Assets| 100. 00%| 100. 00%| 100. 00%| 100. 00%| | | | | | LIABILITIES AND EQUITIES| | | | | Current Liabilities| | | | | Accounts payable| 7. 71%| 6. 92%| 6. 03%| 9. 76%| Short Term Debt| 2. 48%| 1. 63%| 1. 03%| 3. 92%| Other current Liabilities| 13. 17%| 9. 80%| 10. 50%| 12. 98%| Total Current liabilities| 23. 36%| 18. 35%| 17. 56%| 26. 66%| | | | | | Non-Current liabilitie s| | | | | Long-term debt| 80. 96%| 64. 35%| 65. 38%| 30. 89%| Deferred Income Taxes| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| 0. 0%| Other Non-Current Liabilities| 1. 13%| 0. 84%| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| Minority Interest| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| Total Non-Current Liabilities| 82. 09%| 65. 19%| 65. 38%| 30. 89%| Total Liabilities| 105. 46%| 83. 54%| 82. 94%| 57. 55%| | | | | | Shareholder's Equity| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| Preferred Stock Equity| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| Common Stock Equity| -5. 46%| 16. 46%| 17. 06%| 42. 45%| Total equity| -5. 46%| 16. 46%| 17. 06%| 42. 45%| | | | | | Total liabilities and Stock Equity| 100. 00%| 100. 00%| 340| 100. 00%| DCM MOLDING| | | | | Annual Balance Sheets (Values in millions)| | | | | 2004| 2003| 2002| 2001| ASSETS | | | | | Current Assets| | | | | Cash and marketable securities| 0. 33%| 1. 25%| 0. 47%| 8. 06%| Accounts receivable| 19. 87%| 18. 36%| 20. 31%| 19. 44%| Inventory| 14. 32%| 13. 34%| 14. 69%| 10. 83%| Other Current assets| 1. 89%| 1. 48%| 2. 19%| 4. 72%| Total Current Assets| 36. 40%| 34. 44%| 37. 66%| 43. 06%| | | | | | Non-Current Assets| | | | | Property, Plant ; Equipment, Gross| 47. 28%| 42. 08%| 43. 44%| 56. 39%| Accumulated depreciation ; Depletion| 17. 20%| 12. 66%| 11. 09%| 10. 83%| Property, Plant ; Equipment, Net| 30. 08%| 29. 42%| 32. 34%| 45. 56%| Intangibles| 33. 0%| 35. 46%| 28. 44%| 5. 28%| Other Non-Current Assets| 0. 22%| 0. 68%| 1. 56%| 6. 11%| Total Non-Current Assets| 63. 60%| 65. 56%| 62. 34%| 56. 94%| Total Assets| 100. 00%| 100. 00%| 100. 00%| 100. 00%| | | | | | LIABILITIES AND EQUITIES| | | | | Current Liabilities| | | | | Accounts payable| 7. 66%| 8. 10%| 8. 28%| 5. 56%| Short Term Debt| 7. 44%| 6. 61%| 4. 22%| 7. 50%| Other current Liabilities| 7. 21%| 8. 10%| 8. 28%| 7. 50%| Total Current liabilities| 22. 31%| 22. 69%| 20. 63%| 20. 56%| | | | | | Non-Current liabilities| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| Long-term debt| 28. 63%| 31. 93%| 29. 22%| 15. 00%|Deffered Income Taxes| 0. 1 1%| 0. 57%| 0. 00%| 3. 89%| Other Non-Current Liabilities| 3. 33%| 4. 45%| 6. 09%| 2. 22%| Minority Interest| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| Total Non-Current Liabilities| 32. 08%| 36. 94%| 35. 31%| 21. 11%| Total Liabilities| 54. 38%| 59. 64%| 55. 94%| 41. 67%| | | | | | Shareholder's Equity| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| Preferred Stock Equity| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| Common Stock Equity| 45. 62%| 40. 36%| 43. 91%| 58. 33%| Total equity| 45. 62%| 40. 36%| 43. 91%| 58. 33%| | | | | | Total liabilities and Stock Equity| 100. 00%| 100. 00%| 100. 00%| 100. 00%| DCM MOLDING| | | | |Annual Income Statements (Value in Millions)| | | | | 2004| 2003| 2002| 2001| Sales| 100. 00%| 100. 00%| 100. 00%| 100. 00%| Cost of Sales| 66. 83%| 64. 85%| 64. 76%| 62. 96%| Gross Operating profit| 33. 17%| 35. 15%| 35. 24%| 37. 04%| Selling, General & Admin. Expenses| 17. 23%| 18. 65%| 19. 60%| 22. 22%| EBITDA| 15. 94%| 16. 49%| 15. 64%| 14. 81%| Depreciation & Amortization| 4. 61%| 4. 40%| 4. 32%| 4. 86%| EBIT| 11. 33%| 12. 09%| 11. 32%| 9. 95%| Other Income, Net| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| -0. 12%| -0. 23%| Total Income Avail for Interest Exp. | 11. 33%| 12. 09%| 11. 20%| 9. 72%| Interest Expense| 2. 43%| 2. 16%| 2. 0%| 1. 16%| Minority Interest| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| Pre-Tax Income| 8. 90%| 9. 93%| 9. 10%| 8. 56%| Income Taxes| 2. 99%| 3. 75%| 3. 73%| 3. 47%| Special Income/Charges| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| Net Income from Cont. Operations| 5. 91%| 6. 19%| 5. 37%| 5. 09%| Net Income from Discont. Opers. | 0. 00%| 0. 00%| 0. 35%| 0. 00%| Net Income from Total Operations| 5. 91%| 6. 19%| 5. 72%| 5. 09%| Normalized Income| 5. 91%| 6. 19%| 5. 37%| 5. 09%| Extraordinary Income| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| Income from Cum. Eff of Acct. Chg. | 0. 00%| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| Income from Tax Loss Carryforward| 0. 0%| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| Other Gains| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| Total Net Income| 5. 91%| 6. 19%| 5. 72%| 5. 09%| We can see that the cost of the s ales has been increasing for both the companies. But, the cost of goods sold for DCM is less that than of Plastichem. This indicates that DCM has been better at controlling their cost so they have a higher gross margin as compare to Plastichem. This reduction in the gross profit has lead to the reduction on the expenses occur due to selling the goods, but since DCM has a higher gross profit than Plastichem, they can also spend more in selling their goods.Plastichem also has more debt compare to DCM, due to which they have a higher interest expenses compare to DCM. A DuPont analysis helps us better understand the changes in return on equity (ROE). DuPont analysis tells us that three things affect ROE: operating efficiency, asset use efficiency, and financial leverage. Therefore we break up ROE into its components: ROE = Profit Margin (PM) * Total Asset Turnover (TAT) * Equity Multiplier (EM) | 2004| Return on Equity| Net Profit Margin| Total Asset Turnover| Equity Multiplier| | | | | | | Plastichem| 0. 00%| -24. 07%| 1. 12| 0. 00|DCM| | 17. 76%| 5. 91%| 1. 37| 2. 19| | 2003| | | | | | | | | | | Plastichem| 3. 53%| 0. 68%| 0. 85| 6. 08| DCM| | 18. 64%| 6. 19%| 1. 22| 2. 48| | 2002| | | | | | | | | | | Plastichem| 6. 38%| 1. 47%| 0. 74| 5. 86| DCM| | 17. 44%| 5. 72%| 1. 34| 2. 28| | 2001| | | | | | | | | | | Plastichem| 17. 30%| 5. 65%| 1. 30| 2. 36| DCM| | 10. 95%| 5. 32%| 1. 20| 1. 71| If we look at the figures we find that the reduction in ROE for Plastichem is mainly due to the drop in net profit margin. Plastichem increased their use of debt, which resulted in a higher EM, but poor PM ensured the fall of ROE.For DCM, on the other hand, we see that it has been fairly constant as well as ROE components. Some of the limitations regarding the various financial analyses above are: Many companies near the year or quarter end improve the appearance of their figures presenting them in the most attractive way possible. The miss misrepresentation of numbers makes the analysis more difficult. The analysis may also be unclear by inflation as general price levels for goods and services go up and subsequently purchasing power goes down, which makes comparison difficult over time.Many firms also use different accounting methods which make comparing of different companies difficult for instance there are two primary accounting methods used in USA, cash and accrual accounting. Cash accounting reports income and expenses are reported in the year they are received and paid; accrual accounting reports income and expenses in the year they are earned and incurred. Again making it very difficult to analyze different companies. Some additional data Jay and Jack need in order to improve their finding would be to look into the companies accounting practices and see if any off balance sheet items are present.From there they need to make sure the off balance sheet items are converted to in the balance sheet items to have an appropriate comparison. A statement of cash flows would also useful in analysis, as it would allow in determining the short-term viability of a company, particularly its ability to pay bills. A statement of cash of cash flows also allows us to view cash and cash equivalents coming in and out of company, giving better understanding as to where money is going and coming from.Also although looking at numbers may allow analysis to quickly spot differences in financials, I believe you must research companies in how they are run and if they are consistently making good business decisions. After collecting, compiling, and analyzing data we have come to conclusion that DCM Molding has shown a better financial condition on average in the past four years, and Plastichem has barely met the acceptable average or is below the average in the past four years. The Plastichem had a relatively high Debt-Equity Ratio, which indicated that was using many debts to finance its growth.The high Debt-Equity Ratio also indicated that Plastichem b ore more risk because the cost of debt (interest) making things difficult. The cost of the sales for both the companies have increased. But, the cost of goods sold for DCM is less that than Plastichem. This indicates that DCM has been better at controlling their cost so they have a higher gross margin as compare to Plastichem. This reduction in the gross profit has lead to the reduction on the expenses occur due to selling the goods, but since DCM has a higher gross profit than Plastichem they can also spend more in selling their goods.So in comparison we see that DCM Molding is doing far better with its figures showing much better results than Plastichem. Recommendation that Jack would be justified in making in his report to Andrew would be Plastichem needs to increase profit margin after looking at the figures we find that the decrease in return on equity for Plastichem is mostly due to the drop in net profit margin. Plastichem increased their use of debt that resulted in a higher equity multiplier, but poor profit margin ensured the fall of return on equity.Plastichem had a relatively high Debt-Equity Ratio, which indicated that Plastichem was using many debts to finance its growth. It should be treated as a serious problem being that Plastichem’s main rival is rated as a strong buy while their stock is rated as a hold. The strong drop in price will create fear for potential and current shareholders. If that fear continues, Plastichem’s shareholders might sell their stock at a decreasing rate, causing more issues for the company.The CFO should do a comparison between Plastichem and DCM’s numbers, and find the strengths and weaknesses amongst his company, in particular within its management teams. He should also begin finding ways to pay off Plastichem’s debt as well as not accumulating anymore, being that Plastichem is already seen as risky. The CFO should also find a tighter way to control the company’s costs. The analyst s are very accurate in their recommendations to the two firms. DCM Molding figures showed far better results and stock should rise; While Plastichem might consider selling stocks, if financial performance continues to worsen.

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Honor words - Essay Example I am here now and so happy that I choose to honor my words. I read one time that words are powerful. People can choose to believe me or not based on how I act after I tell them something. It is my hope that I can be seen as a person that can be trusted. A person that when I say something, I honor those words, no matter how hard it might be. I must say that it is hard to always do what is right. It is harder to always do what we say, but it is sometimes more easy to just change my mind. If I truly believe in my dream, however, I will continue to honor my words and show people that when I say something, I mean it. You, my teacher, have asked me how I respect my words. I think about this a long time. My simple answer is that I need to respect myself first. I look in the dictionary and find the word integrity. This means, to me, that I need to be honest with myself and others, even when nobody sees what I do. When I think of my words, then, I need to respect what I say and shows others that I am loyal, honest, and a person who will work hard to follow through on what I

E Government in the UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

E Government in the UK - Essay Example E government implementation in the UK includes the use of cards with smart chips for passes to pay for school meals, public transportation and for online voting and online payment transactions. Websites are setup for public consultation, paying parking tickets. E-government is big business in the twenty-first century, amounting to over 1% of GDP in most industrialized nations and around  £14 billion annually in the United Kingdom, according to recent estimates (Margetts, 2010). The core factors that occur, when assessing national E government in the form of providing human resources, correspond with the ushering in of globalization and the internet and the balance this new era must maintain between the diffusion of ideas and innovation, as opposed to the replication of practices from one area to the next. As noted by Dempsey, â€Å"E-government is the delivery of online government services, which provides the opportunity to increase citizen access to government, reduce government bureaucracy, increase citizen participation in democracy and enhance agency responsiveness to citizens needs (Dempsey, 2001).† These are the ideal policy changes that E-government is set about to enhance government and private sector practices in the U.K. The problem is this implies E-government practices improve the quality of government practices, which some naysayers argue is not the case. In the Guardian U.K. article, â€Å"E-government is not a financial cure-all,† the author notes that advancements the internet has brought on to be utilized by local and federal governments, as well as private sector institutions in the U.K., does not necessarily mean enhanced quality of these services. The author says, â€Å"When all else fails, reach for the ‘e’. In the past week, both the prime minister and the chancellor of the exchequer have cited e-government to explain how they are going to cut the cost of public services, but not their quality (Cross, 2010).† The author then goes onto point out the key to petitioning for e-government initiatives can be traced to a specific term that dictates how e-government is identified in the public eye, he says, â€Å"The current buzzword is ‘smarter government’, but the basic concept has been policy for a decade, since Tony Blair's first e-envoy, Alex Allan, unveiled the national e-government str ategy in April 2000 (Cross, 2010).† The author goes on to note that after billions of dollars invested in the 2005 E-government policies to improve public services placed UK on a European commission’s annual benchmarking survey as the leader in Europe of the electronic public services.

Patriotism in War Films Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Patriotism in War Films - Research Paper Example A flower seller, a nurse, a sales man, doctor or teacher all can be patriots if they obey the laws designed by the government of that country. However, patriotism does not mean to stand by the president or other government official if their plans for the government are against the rights of the country. A country is formed from the people residing in it therefore love for one’s country automatically leads to the love for the citizens of that country. When there is love between the citizens and they stand united to protect the rights of each other against the evil eyes on them, such countries succeed because of the will power to fight for themselves and for their country. Ways to Awaken Patriotism in a Person There are various ways to awaken the feeling of patriotism in a person. Some of those ways are through patriotic movies, novels or documentaries. Another way could be to celebrate the events when important steps or actions were taken to protect the country’s territo ries from intruders or for instance when the country achieved independence after fighting vigorously for it and losing a lot of precious lives. These events can take place in schools and publicly to inform and teach the youth about the sacrifices people had given for their country and to remind the elders of the difficult situations the country had to face when they were young. Patriotic movies can very beautifully play the role of increasing or developing patriotism. Such movies are based on war against enemy countries and involve the army, navy or the air force. Movies present close resemblance to the events which occur in wars at the border front and allow the audience to experience it with their eyes what it is like to be on the border front. The audience feels as if they are present in that situation or wish to be present with the military officers to play their part in preserving the honor of the country. Patriotic war films encourage the youth to enroll in the military becaus e the youngsters are very enthusiastic about their country. They believe what they see. In patriotic war films they get inspired by the personality of the officers and soldiers. The discipline portrayed by them inspires the youngsters and the aged alike so much that one just wants to stand up for them and salute them even though they are just actors portraying the character of the real heroes, the heroes who leave their families and safe boundaries of their houses to secure the future of their people and the next generation to come. The only way to be a true patriot is by being sincere with the country. The citizens must keep their personal interests behind and be more concerned about the demands of the country. A country is a home land; it is not just a piece of land with a collection of mountains, rivers and valleys. A country is a heritage of one’s dreams, aspirations, culture, traditions and religion. A country provides a platform for fulfilling one’s dreams and ho pes for the future. So horrifying is the image of someone not having a nationality, no country to call their own; where ever that person will go people will see him as an intruder; that person will not be loyal to any country he visits because he would be like a traveler without a home. The love for home cannot be compared to anything in the world. Patriotism is an active virtue. A true patriot, who loves his country dearly, will

Produce a fully functional Essay Example for Free

Produce a fully functional Essay The company sells to small corner shops in the east midlands. All the sales to shops are currently recorded on an order form that will be processed in the companys main office. They use calculators to find out the total cost. They have a total of four company reps that they use to deliver orders and take new orders if required. Each of the rep carries a number of documents including order forms and a catalogue including a price list. The current system used to take orders can no longer handle the increasing quantity of trade and a new system is required. The company decided to solve this problem by giving each rep a laptop computer. A package will be installed into the laptops to process the data. The company will require the following features in the package:   An automated order form to replace the current one. A database containing each item of stock.   A facility to update the sales sheet.   A summary sheet to raise the stock order from the warehouse so they can be delivered on the next round.   A total sales sheet so it is possible to view any commission earned by the rep. A home page that can be used to navigate to the other pages.   An option to print so there is hard evidence of the documents. CURRENT METHODS USED   All of the sales to the shops are manually recorded on an order form that is processed in the main office.   The reps use calculators to calculate the costs.   The reps carry catalogues containing all the products available along with price lists.   The order forms are separate sheets.   The reps visit the shops about once a week and they make new orders if necessary   The reps receive 2% commission for any order over   1000. WORKING SPECIFICATION Front Page This sheet will link up with the rest of the sheets in the spreadsheet so users can search it easily. Order form. This sheet will be used when customers want to order products from the company. Information to go into the order form will include:   Date of order   Time of order   Sales persons name   Customer name and Address   Customer contact numbers   Name of product   Description   Price   Stock number   Quantity   Total cost Print out form This sheet will be identical to the order form and will show what the customers have ordered. There will be a print option so the customers have a receipt for what they have bought. Stock and price list This sheet will show all the products available from the company along with a price list. Address Sheet. This will include contact details for all the customers. DATA CAPTURE METHODS There are many of methods used to input data into a cell. Some are listed below.   Manually keying in information.   Selecting data from drop down lists   Macro programming   Hot keys Below I have drawn a table to show how the information will be captured. Typing into cells Selecting data from a list Automatic Hot keys Customer name Rep name Date Print Address Stock description Time Saving work done Contact numbers Stock model no. Total cost Quantity Total quote cost Below is a table to show what processing needs to be done to achieve the required output. Stock Code Lookup information within a database. Display stock in a cell. Rep Name Process index number from the rep table. Display the data in a cell. Customer Information Lookup information within the database. Display stock in a cell. Time and Date Process the system date and time. Display time and date in the cell chosen. Commission Finds out a total if over i 1000, and works out 2% of it. Displays commission total in a cell chosen. For a spreadsheet database to be successful, it should be as error free as possible. Information should be easily entered. An excel spreadsheet can provide the following functions. Tips and Help, to make it easier to use. Formatting of cells.   Labels and titles.   Highlighting and background colours   Drop down lists Validation and verification DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT By designing the spreadsheet first, it will be easy to put it together. I will provide ways of easily entering data into the spreadsheet. These will include   Data entry forms   Form like sheets I am going to enter some tips to help the user use the database. These will include.   Data entry messages   Validation messages Marcos will play a big roll in the design of the spreadsheet. I will use it to make the spreadsheet user-friendlier. It will be used to   Simplify data input.   Produce printed reports I will use more complex spreadsheet facilities to make it even easier to use.   Drop down lists- so data can be selected from a choice and not typed in every time.   Named cells- some of the cells will be named so it will be easy to use when carrying out formulae. Validation- this will restrict what data can be put into certain areas so it is easier for the users.   Lists and tables- these will be used to sort the data so it can be looked up. The Front Page I will place a variety of links and macro buttons on this page so that users can search the spreadsheet easily. The buttons will all be placed on the page. I will include a company to show the user that they are on the right program. I may colour code it to make it user friendly. The order form The order form will contain many formulas. I will use a combo box to create an area where the customer information goes. When the user selects their name in this box, the rest of the information will be shown. I will use V-lookup to do this. V-lookup will also be used to find products that the user wishes to order. When the stock code is typed in, information on that product will be shown. The column headings will be stock code, stock and model number, description, and price. I may colour code the different columns to make it more user friendly. In order to find the total cost for the products the customer wishes to buy, I must multiply the cost of the product by the quantity. Calculation Sheet This sheet is private and can only be viewed by the sales representatives. All calculations the reps need to make will be done on this page. For example they can mark up prices on this page. As this page is private I will insert a lock function with a password so customers cannot enter it. Commission form The function of this page is to calculate the amount of commission. The formula to calculate this will be: . This means that the rep will only get commission is a sale is over i 1000. ORDER FORM DEVELOPMENT This order form includes all the relevant information needed. I have neatly lined up the buttons next to the customer details box. However there are a few problems with it. It looks very bland. None of it is emboldened so important parts dont stand out. There is no title to show what the sheet is for. I will include these improvements in my next design. Certain important words have been emboldened. This makes it much easier to read and looks more professional. I have placed Order Form at the top so the user can see what the page is for. The buttons are in an odd position and should be rearranged to get a better balance. The form should include Online Direct Computers address in case the used needs it. Also an option should be added to show the sales person. Also it currently shows the price without VAT. Another calculation must be added to show the price with VAT added. It is still very dull so some colour needs to be added to make it more attractive and more user friendly. By adding colour and rearranging the buttons has improved the image and it now looks finished. The sales person name can now be added from a drop down list box. I will maintain this image throughout the program. TESTING I carried out a number of tests in order to check that the spreadsheet is running correctly and to check whether it matches up with the specification. There were four tests that I carried out: Continuous Testing   Testing Data   Invalid Data Testing   Specification test Continuous Testing- I will test all the formulas that I have put into the database including all the combo boxes and buttons. Testing Data- I am going to test data in the spreadsheet to see if it all works properly. I will test: Product information   Customer details   Sales representative names Invalid Data Testing-I will deliberately input some invalid data into some of the cells to see whether the error messages, that I created, appear. Specification test- I will compare my original specification to with my finished package. This will tell me whether the package will be able to do the job the user requires.E-Mail [emailprotected] com Invalid Data If I enter a stock code that isnt between 1000 and 1047 an error message will appear because there is no stock out side of this. If letters are typed in by accident an error message with appear. Specification Test Original Specification Comments Target Met Front Page This sheet will link up with the rest of the sheets in the spreadsheet so users can search it easily. I have created a front page that links up all of the pages in the database. Order form This sheet will be used when customers want to order products from the company. Information to go into the order form will include: Date of order   Time of order Sales persons name Customer name and Address   Customer contact numbers   Name of product   Description   Price   Stock number   Quantity   Total cost Date and time of order have been added into order form using the formula =NOW() The sales person names have been inserted into a drop down list that can be selected. There is space in a box at the top of the form for the customer name. This automatically there address and contact numbers. There is a box on the order form for stock codes to be typed in. This automatically brings up details including a total cost. Print out form. This sheet will be identical to the order form and will show what the customers have ordered. There will be a print option so the customers have a receipt for what they have bought. I have included an option on the order form to print so customers will have a receipt of what they have bought. Stock and price list This sheet will show all the products available from the company along with a price list I have produced a list of all the products available from online direct computers Address Sheet This will include contact details for all the customers I have produced a list of all the customers and there contact details. Examples of the sheets.

Pick Your Family Essay Example for Free

Pick Your Family Essay The dictionary definition of family is: all the descendants of a common ancestor. Although this statement is true, some would disagree and say that the meaning to the word â€Å"family† goes far beyond that simple definition. Many people consider friends, schoolmates, animals, friends of a parent, and co-workers to be their family as well. Your whole family can be made up of many people that are not necessarily your real family. The relationship you share with another individual classifies them as a family member. These people may not be your relative at all, but someone you feel a strong connection to for one reason or another. Just because someone is your family member by blood, does not mean you have to have a close relationship with him or her. Your family can be extended from your nuclear family because another person may be very special to you, or makes you feel loved enough that you would consider them a part of your family. Children that lose their mother and father might have someone take care of them that are not blood related. In a situation like this, the child’s real family is not apart of the family that raises them and takes care of them. Family is more of a concept and more about the relationship that the two people share. In a case where parents have died or some other circumstance has arisen where they cannot provide for their child, strangers or friends may assist in raising that child. That would make them the caregivers; they would be the mother and father because they fill that role in the child’s life. Many people may say they have two mothers, this is because they have two people that fill the motherly role in their life and both of those people make them feel loved and appreciated. Another example where your family might not be your real relatives is godmothers or your godfathers. Your godmother or godfather can be anyone that your parents think can and will fill that role best. This may be your blood related uncle or the best man in your parents wedding. Regardless of the blood relation this person is in now classified as your family member. Family can also expand to include more than just humans as well. Most Americans have a pet dog or a pet cat that is considered a part of their family. It is very common in a household environment that animals are added to the mix. Whether it is a family of four wanting to add extra love in their lives, or a lonely college student looking for a companion. Many people add a pet into their homes to love and feel love in return. One might think this classifies that animal as a family member. Animals and humans can share a very special relationship, just like family members share. This special relationship is what makes someone or something a part of your family not just blood. Some people may have very special experiences with another individual. Growing up with a particular friend and experiencing many of life’s challenges and tribulations can make a relationship grow very strong. People that have been there for another person through tragedies, deaths, illness, hardships and times of celebration share special bonds. These people may refer to each other as brothers or sisters or second daughters or sons. It is the many experiences and the compassion and empathy that people share with one another that make them feel that closeness with one another. They will often refer to these special people as â€Å"family members†, although they have no blood relation. Many people that are not your real relatives can be more like your family than your real family. There are many reasons that families break up, or do not speak any longer. Death, distance, past arguments and sickness can all be some reasons why you are not close to your blood family. Most people know of someone who may no longer speak to their mother, father, sister, or brother; this kind of thing happens all the time. This is very common after a parent’s death, and the children have to disperse the parent’s valuables. You can’t pick your family, but you can pick your friends. Sometimes those friends treat you better than your own family. They’re a surplus of people that might fill a particular role better than others, and the relationship you share with them is what defines them as your family member.

History Of Mobile Banking

History Of Mobile Banking Mobile banking is known as M-banking or SMS Banking. The european company called PayBox supported financially by Deutsche Bank, in 1999 started mobile banking.  [i]  SMS was the earliest mobile banking service offered. It is an emerging field in the banking segment. However, older phones had limited functionality. Mobile phones, palm PCs and PDAs were lacking hardware and software support. The higher cost of data plans and the slower network speed were also limiting factors in the growth of mobile banking. It has been improved with the advancement of the technology, the hardware and software. The cost of mobile devices has been reduced drastically and is still reducing. Network speed is much better than before and data plans are not as costly. All of these changes have provided necessary raw materials for the growth of mobile banking and the numbers of people using mobile banking is increasing day by day. Users, who were using computers/laptops for online banking, are moving towa rds mobile banking because of ease of use and fast access. In the USA, mobile banking was introduced in 2006 by Wachovia bank.  [ii]  In Sep 2007, Aite group predicted the mobile banking users in the United States would reach 1.6 million by the end of the year 2007 and will rapidly increase to 35 million by the year 2010.  [iii]  The report indicated the growth potential for mobile banking. However, the security issues are the major concerns for mobile banking service providers and the users. As mobile banking systems mature, more users will start using mobile banking, which will draw the attention of the hacker community to target mobile banking customers mostly for financial gain. Safety and security of the personal and financial information stored and managed in the devices are the key factors for users, banking organization and the security community. The purpose of this paper is to gain basic knowledge of mobile banking, explain the different kinds of architecture used in mobile banking and identify the different security attacks and its countermeasures. Mobile banking in US compare to other countries Wachovia bank was the first to announce mobile banking services to their customers in Sep 2006 and re-launched in March 2007 followed by a few other banks.  [iv]  They developed their own banking product with ATT. Bank of America started mobile banking services in March 2007 in collaboration with four major wireless carriers, which reported 500,000 users within the first 6 months. Initially, the services offered were funds transfer, bill payment, branch and ATM locations, account balance, etc. Since then there has been huge progress in mobile banking services. In 2009 and 2010 respectively, San Antonio, Texas-based USAA launched their new application for the iPhone and Android platform that is capable of remote deposit capture allowing users to take a photo of the check and deposit electronically.  [v]  In the middle of 2010 Chase bank also introduced the mobile RDC application for the iPhone.  [vi]  In Nov 2010, U.S. Bank and Visa announced a mobile payment system for th eir customers.  [vii]  They offer the service via use of the MicroSD card, which fits in most existing mobile devices. A month before that, U.S. bank launched a full suite mobile banking solution for prepaid cardholders with bill pay capabilities. Even though the US based banks provide different kinds of mobile banking services, they are still far behind of their counter parts in the world. 7Many banks in the world have offered mobile banking and financial services for years. European and Asian countries have been offering mobile banking services for years that vary for banking related services to the mobile proximity payments. Japan and South Korea are the world leaders in adopting mobile banking technology. Before 2004, the Internet was the only way of using mobile banking in Japan, which enabled customers to browse the merchant website through a web browser. However, customers still had to use their credit/debit cards for payments. In 2004, NTT DoCoMo started using FeliCa contactless IC chips developed by Sony for mobile devices, which can carry personal and financial information that facilitated remote payments and substituted mobile devices for cash and cards at merchants points of sale. In 2005, KDDI and Vodafone also adopted FeliCa. 7In 2002, SK Telecom and KTF launched their proximity payment programs in South Korea, which used an infrared technology. These prog rams were not successful because of number of reasons. In 2003, LG Telecom started South Koreas first IC chip based mobile banking service, which significantly increased the market share of LG Telecom. The other carriers also adopted IC chips following the success of LG Telecom. Also, Visa and MasterCard have successfully operated in South Korea since 2006. Since then mobile banking services have come a long way in other countries of the world. Difference between mobile banking and online banking/credit/debit card banking At present, mobile banking provides almost the same kind of services as online, credit/debit card banking. When mobile banking services first started, the mobile devices were not able to support all mobile banking services and they were lacking hardware and software support. The initial mobile banking service offered was the SMS banking; while online banking was very well developed and was offering all kinds of banking services. Credit/debit card systems are also fully developed and people were able to use their cards at merchants point of sale and online for payments. However, technological advancements in mobile devices have enabled users to use mobile banking related services via SMS, web browser and mobile web applications. Currently available mobile devices have the same processing power as computers and they are still evolving. In some countries, mobile banking was started in the early 90s and now offer a full suite mobile banking solution, which has features of online banking and credit/debit card banking. People are using their mobile devices to replace cash and cards. However, mobile banking services in the USA were started at the end of 2006. Most USA banks are still not offering full mobile banking solutions to their customers. U.S. banks recently announced proximity payment systems in 2010, which has been in use for a long time in other countries. Some of the features of online banking and credit/debit card banking are not available for mobile banking systems. So mobile banking systems in the US are less developed compared to online, credit/debit card banking in terms of services. However, as number of people enrolled in mobile banking increases and banks offer more services with a full range of solutions in the US, the line between mobile banking and online/credit/debit card banking will get thinner and, in the future, mobile banking will provide a combination service of online and credit/debit card banking in the US. In terms of security, mobile banking is as secure as online banking and offers the same security features and protections. However, there is less number of users for mobile banking than online/credit/debit card banking, which reduces the risk of security threats. The hacking community is more targeted towards the online/credit/debit card banking for financial gain. A large number of antivirus, antimalware/spyware etc. available for online banking are not widely available for mobile banking. But with the increase in number of users for mobile banking, these software are also increasing. Mobile banking also carries the risk of some attacks called Vishing, SMishing and spoofing that are only possible in mobile devices. The security features and countermeasures for them differ from online banking. However, mobile banking provides the same security protections as the online banking, as most of them are derived from the experience with online banking. Mobile banking services 5Mobile banking systems allow users to perform bank related transactions like balance checks, account transactions, bill payments, fund transfers, credit/debit card management, etc. through mobile telecommunication devices like mobile phones or PDAs (personal digital assistants). Mobile banking can be divided in three different concepts based on an academic model: (1) Mobile accounting, (2) Mobile brokerage and (3) Mobile financial information services. 6Mobile accounting services can be divided into account operations and account administration. Account operations include fund transfers, bill payments, etc. and account administration includes ordering checks, updating profiles and personal information, managing lost or stolen cards, etc. Mobile brokerage is related to buying and selling of stocks, securities, and obtaining current information about securities. Mobile financial information divides into account information and market information. Account information includes informati on on branch and ATM locations, credit/debit cards, statements, alerts, balance inquiries, etc., while market information includes products and services, currency exchanges, interest rates, etc. Mobile banking advantages disadvantages Mobile banking offers many advantages to both, users and service providers. It is fast and easy to use and saves time. For online banking, an internet connection is an essential which is a major problem in developing countries. However, many individuals can find mobile connectivity at places where internet connection cannot be found. Mobile banking is cost effective for providers as cost of mobile banking is much less compared with onsite banking. Various kinds of banking services and transactions can be performed with mobile banking. However, mobile banking has many disadvantages too. Security issues are the major concern. Phishing scams, viruses and Trojans and physical loss of the mobile device are some of the security issues that affect mobile banking. The cost of the mobile devices, which are compatible with the mobile banking application and still quite high. Mobile requires a data plan and text messaging services, which is an added cost to the user. Some providers charge for s oftware and mobile banking services as well. Different types of mobile banking architecture 5There are three types of architectures available for mobile phones to enable mobile banking. Up until 2010 most of the mobile banking was performed by SMS or mobile web. With the advancement in mobile phones and following the success of Apples iPhone and other operating system based phones, mobile banking is increasing through the special client applications. These different architectures are further discussed below: SMS or MMS based mobile banking Mobile website Mobile client application SMS or MMS based mobile banking architecture SMS based mobile banking was the first mobile banking service offered. It is based on plain text message interaction. 6,11SMS banking works in two different modes. Pull mode and push mode. Pull mode is a one-way text message system where the bank sends a text message to the users informing them about certain account situations. It can be used to promote other mobile banking services. Push mode is a two-way message system where users send text messages to the bank requesting specific transactions or services with predefined request codes and the bank replies with specific information pertaining to the transactions or services through plain text messages. 6,11There are two different kinds of text messaging systems: SMS and MMS. SMS is a short form of short message service, which includes sending or receiving plain text messages from the bank. It has a limitation on the number of characters can be included in a message. MMS, known as multimedia messaging service, is the second type of messaging service, which can carry larger text messages and works on the same platform as SMS. To use message based mobile banking, a customer has to enroll his/her cell phone to the bank and the bank sends a text massage with a onetime password. Each bank has its own SMS banking number and commands for mobile banking. The message based system has some advantages. It is cost effective and familiar technology, virtually available in each and every cell phone regardless of manufacturer, model or carrier. It provides two-way communication between the bank and the user, so either the bank or the customer can initiate communication. It does not transmit or sto re the confidential information in the mobile device. However, SMS cannot carry a larger message and account information. SMS has to be limited to certain number of characters which limits its use. Mobile website based mobile banking architecture 6,11This architecture includes the use of the internet browser of the mobile device to access the banks internet banking website. Users can connect to the internet via a wireless network or their carriers internet service. The biggest advantage of this architecture is most of the processing is done at a remote server at the bank and much less information is stored in the mobile device. On the other hand, it doesnt require the installation of special software and most of the phones today are capable of using an internet browser. 6,11WAP (wireless access protocol) was created in 1999 and made internet access possible through mobile devices. WAP is an industry standard for wireless applications for mobile devices. It provides the same kind of user experience to the customer as the Internet banking and it does not require the installation of a special mobile banking application. However, it has some disadvantages also. Banks have to create mobile websites that are mobile friendly and can be accessed through the small screen of mobile device. It does not work with all kinds of phones and requires smart or PDA phones. There is an added cost for data plans and only customers can initiate communication. This system is more prone to attack as mobile devices are not capable of running firewalls or antivirus protections. Mobile client application based mobile banking architecture 6,11This architecture requires the download and installation of a mobile client application to the mobile device. With the help of the application a bank can provide a wide range of services to their customers. Although this approach has some advantages and some disadvantages. First of all, users have to learn a new application. The application has to be customized to different phones which increases the development cost to the banks. The applications are also susceptible to attacks and only customers can initiate communication. The older phones are not capable of running this application because of technical limitations. The use of internet requires a data plan that increases the cost on the part of customers. (A data plan requires to use client application based mobile banking architecture, which increases the cost on the part of customer.) Some of the banks charge an initial fee for downloading and installing the mobile client application. Mobile banking security requirements Confidentiality Authentication integrity non-repudiation Security attacks/threats Mobile banking is an emerging technology and the number of mobile banking subscribers increases day by day. With the increase in number of users, the concerns for security also rise. Different kinds of security attacks are as follows: What kinds of attacks are more on which types of architecture model? Vishing12 Vishing is a social engineering attack over the telephone system. It is a type of phishing and it is a combination term of voice and phishing. Mostly it uses features facilitated by Voice over IP (VOIP), to gain access to private, personal and financial information from the public (information of the users). It is used to get the authentication information of the user mostly for financial gain. 13Phishing Phishing is an another kind of social engineering attack in an electronic communication to acquire sensitive information like usernames, passwords and credit card details by redirecting unsuspecting users to a fake website with the use of an authentic looking email. It can also be carried out by instant messages. 14Smishing Smishing is also a social engineering attack similar to phishing. The name is derived from SMs phiSHING. It uses the text message system of the phone to get private, personal, and financial information of the user. A web site URL embedded in the text message may act as a hook. However, the phone number that connects to the automated voice response system has become more common. 15,16Spoofing Spoofing is an attack where a person or program successfully masquerades as another with falsifying data. A spoofing attack causes the telephone network to display a number on the recipients caller-id-display. This number is familiar and looks like it came from a legitimate source, which is not an origination source actually. 6Lost and stolen phones This is one the biggest threats for mobile banking. Mobile phones are small and portable and could be easily lost or stolen. Authentication, authorization and confidentiality are the areas to be considered when mobile devices are lost or stolen. 19In 2001, 1.3 million devices were lost or stolen in the UK. 17In 2006, over 1 billion phones were sold worldwide. Of those 80 million were smartphones, which have operating system and can store all kinds of information. 18A survey found that 34% users didnt even use a PIN. This threat increases with the increase in the number of phones. 6Cracking and Cloning Cracking a mobile device means modifying its software to gain control of that particular mobile device. Attackers find the ways to break or crack the software and once cracked the attacker has the access to the data stored in the device. An IPhone cracked by an ISE is an example of phone cracking. Attacker found an exploit in the iPhones web browser, deployed a fussing attack and injected invalid data into a program looking for the buffer overflow. With cracking, the software attacker can also view SMS logs, call history, etc. or send that data to their machine. Bluetooth is also vulnerable to phone crack attack. 17If Bluetooth is on, any Bluetooth device can connect to the phone within a 30 foot range. An attacker can use bluesnarfing and download, upload or edit files on a device without the owners permission. Default setting can be change by attacker.(Even once a Bluetooth device connected with phone, attacker can change the default setting also.) 20One survey in London found that 379 out of 943 phones had their default setting on and 138 out of 379 were vulnerable to attack. Making identical copies of anything is known as cloning. Cloning of a mobile device creates a second device, which has the same identical information as the original device. Cloning new phones is difficult while older phones were easy to clone with some basic equipment. 17Cloning of GSM phones is much more difficult in comparison to cloning of CDMA phones. Cloning of CDMA phones only requires a phones electronic serial number and mobile identification number. A few ALLTEL customers had their phones cloned during their visit to different places. Cloning can affect all carriers and all kinds of phones if they are left on. 21With less than $2000, any attacker can build a cloning device that can capture the signals from a mobile device. It can capture the signals sent out by the phone from up to a mile away and get the codes that identify the phone. Cracking and cloning are active threats to mobile banking. Cracking can be used to get sensitive data from the phone or to install malware w hile cloning can duplicate all information from the phone and an attacker can get about half of the information to identify the phone. 6,22Man-In-the-Middle attack(MIM) MIM is considered a threat to the confidentiality and integrity of people. It is a form of active eavesdropping in which attacker makes independent connections to victims by positioning him/herself in between two victims to take control of communication between them with the intention of interception and alteration of information and relays it to others, making them believe that it came from the other person and not from the attacker. The attacker must be able to intercept all messages and alter them while it is transit. It is also known as active wiretapping or traffic intercepting. The chances of this kind of attack increases with the use of wireless connection compared to other more secured connections. Viruses, malware and malicious code 24Malicious code is a software in the form of viruses, malware or worms. These kinds of software can be inserted into a system without the knowledge of the user. The primary intent of inserting the software is to gain private personal and financial information of the user and compromise the integrity and confidentiality of the system. It affects the victims private data, applications, operating systems or sometimes just annoys the users. 23Mobile browsers are susceptible to the same kind of security risks as home or office computers. Mobile browsers are little safer at this point compared to computers. With the increase of mobile banking, the numbers of these kinds of software will increase. However, at present, the increasing number of viruses and Trojan horses is the biggest concern to mobile banking security. 25The mobile devices running windows operating system are a favorite target for the hacker community. 26The first generation viruses were proof-of-concept viruses. The Commwarrior virus spreads over Bluetooth and MMS. SymbOS.skulls is a Trojan horse that affects symbian phones and changes all the application icons to skull icons. In 1994, the Cabir worm spread as an infected SIS package called caribe.sis. It spread via open Bluetooth connections and affected Symbian Series 60 phones. Timifonica virus infected PCs in 2000 and sent harmless text messages to cell phones. There are also software that infect mobile devices and look for personal information like stored password or other sensitive information. Some Trojans can steal address book information and send that information to hackers via SMS or MMS. 6Bluetooth can be used easily to spread these viruses. Most digital phones available today are Bluetooth enabled and any Bluetooth device can be infected within range. In Finland, a mobile malware was spread from Bluetooth to Bluetooth device during a soccer game. However, while Blueto oth is the easiest way to spread viruses it is not the only way. Malware have been written that use Internet and cellular networks to spread. SMS and MMS can also be used to spread viruses and malware. Therefore, this threat is a recent major concern for banks and users. Vast number of attacks can be launched with use of viruses and malware. Security countermeasures Security of mobile banking is an important and a crucial issue. In addition to that, wireless communication increases the vulnerability of the system. Therefore, more robust security system is necessary to protect the private personal and financial information of the users. Following are some of the countermeasures discussed in the paper. What kinds of countermeasures are more required and more available for which types of architecture model? User authentication 27Authentication is process of identification of something or someone as authentic. There are three different ways by which someone can be authenticated. These three categories are based on the factors of authentication: what you know, what you have or what you are. Each of these factors have a range of elements. Research has suggested that for better security at least two or preferably three factors be verified. If two elements are required for authentication it is called as two-factor authentication while two or more than two factors authentication is known as multi-factor authentication. 6FFIEC requires banks to use multiple forms of authentication for electronic banking. All mobile banking systems need to use at least two-factor authentication for user identification. 6Authentication techniques based on what user knows including a combination of the pin number, the username, the password and the onetime password for mobile banking. Research has shown security concerns with this technique as users use weak passwords, write it down or share with others. 28Therefore, to increase the protection of the mobile device pin protection or distributed pin verification scheme has been suggested in which one-half of the pin is stored in the mobile device and rest of the half is stored in a remote machine in the network. So the attacker can get only half of the pin from the phones memory. 6Another technique uses what user has. This includes ID card, cell phone, credit card etc. Use of any of the above forms is not a reliable technique as the user must have the physical possession of them. 6Biometrics is an another form of authentication that includes face, voice, fingerprint, DNA sequence etc. 18Clarke and Furnell found in a survey that 83% of populations were in favor of using biometric system for authentication. 29A report on biometric security for mobile banking in March 2008 discusses the different issues of the mobile banking and suggests use of biometric system for more robust security with the help of a users fingerprint as a biometric element. 6Behavior analysis can also be used as a security measure where users are granted or denied access based on their previous behavior. A robust system uses multiple forms of identification before and during use of an application and if necessary asks for more accurate form of identification. If the user fails they are locked out. Encryption 30Encryption means changing or transforming the information in an unreadable form to anyone with the help of algorithm. A key is required to make the information readable again. This process is called decryption. Encryption addresses the confidentiality issue. Encryption can be used to protect data at rest and in transit. There are vast numbers of incidents reporting data interception in transit. 6There are two different ways to protect the data on the phone. (1) Encryption of information stored in the phone and (2) Encryption of the information during communication. 31The current encryption technique is AES and ECC. The wireless data is encrypted with AES and the encryption key uses ECC to encrypt this data. They increase the speed of encryption and decryption and currently they are the most powerful technology available for encryption. 6CellTrust uses AES and micro clients to protect the SMS messages and send encrypted SMS messages. ClairMail recommends the use of SSL and HTTPS during communication. TPM is another tool that can help with encryption and protection of mobile devices. It is an embedded chip in the motherboard that can work with mobile devices or security smartcards. It can store keys, passwords, digital signature and certificates. 32TPM chip has a unique RSA key embedded in it during production. So it can be used to perform platform authentication. For example , to verify mobile devices seeking access for mobile banking. Digital signature 33Digital signature is an electronic signature that can be used to identify the authenticity of the message of the document. It is also known as digital cryptographic signature. It can be used with encrypted or unencrypted message. A valid digital signature indicates that the message or document was sent by a known person and it was not altered in transit. Digital signature also represents non-repudiation. Therefore, ones the message has been sent and digitally signed, the signer cannot deny that he/she did not sign a message. 6With the help of Digital signatures customer can sign the document and does not have to visit branch office. In mobile banking, adding a digital signature to the transaction proves that a customer authorized the transaction. 31At present digital signature technology uses RSA algorithm and ECC algorithm. Because of higher security level, low calculating processing speed, small storage space and low band-width requirement ECC will be more suitable for mobile banking. WPKI technology 34PKI (public key infrastructure) is a security mechanism for wireless internet and uses public key cryptography and certificate management for communications. It provides all four of the security feature for e-commerce: confidentiality, integrity, non-repudiation and authentication. 35WAP (wireless access protocol) is developed by WAP forum to provide a common format for internet transfers for mobile devices. The WAP stack includes five layers: WAE, WSP, WTP, WDP and WTLS. WAP consists of WIM, WTLS, WMLScrypt and WPKI. 31Wireless application protocol PKI is an extension of traditional IETF PKI standards used in wired network. It is mainly used in wireless network. WPKI applications have to work in a restricted environment like less powerful CPUs, less memory, less storage space, small displays etc. Therefore, WPKI must be optimized like the other security and application services within WAP environment. WPKI uses a public key system based on ECC algorithm for encryption and decryption. With the help of this system the information can safely reach to its destination. In the presence of other security protocols like WIM, WTLS and WMLScrypt of WAP, WPKI can fulfill all four security requirements for mobile banking: confidentiality of data, identity and authentication, integrity and non-repudiation. Conclusion The number of people use mobile devices is rising rapidly. Advanced technology in mobile device field has overcome the limitations of the older phones. Newer phones have a wide range of functions and improvement in hardware and software support, which enabled users to use mobile devices as substitute for computers. These mobile devices are capable of performing complex functions, which enabled users to manage their finances through mobile devices. There are three different kinds of architecture for mobile banking. SMS based system works in almost any mobile device. Web based systems are similar to internet system and they are more popular in the USA. The client application system offers robust solution to mobile banking. However, all of these systems have security issues those need to identified and addressed in a proper fashion. Confidentiality, authentication, integrity and non-repudiation are the most important security requirements for any mobile banking system. Authentication of the user and encryption of the data presents serious challenges to the mobile banking system. Implementing the various types of authentication and encryption technology can improve the mobile banking security, which reduces customers fear against security issues and increase

Trusted Systems: Protecting Sensitive Information :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Introduction With the widespread use of the internet, networked applications have expanded to provide many services that a few years ago would have seemed impractical or futuristic. Among them are applications that allow you to find your perfect date, to file your taxes online, rent movies or even to send away gifts you don’t like. With the proliferation of the internet the demand for programs that use information in more complicated and advanced ways has risen. Commercial entities have come forward to fulfill this demand, and the internet has become the center for many applications driven by information. As information use and sharing among applications becomes more desirable we have seen the downside of sensitive information being accessible to entities for which it was not intended. When we look at the development goals of the internet and of computer networks in general we can easily see the contradictory goals that protecting privacy would present. The internet was developed by people who saw great potential in being able to share scientific and military information quickly and easily between computers. Concerns about the privacy of information created by the new applications mentioned above, give us the goal of making sure that information is only accessible by the entities that it is intended for. By definition this means making information sharing more difficult as we don’t want a legitimate user of information to be able to share that information with someone who does not have a legitimate right. For example if I submit my personal information to an insurance company, I don’t want the insurance company to share my information with others who might use it to send me advertisements or for more sinister purposes. Current computer systems a nd networks have been built with the first goal of ubiquitous access and information sharing in mind. Therefore protecting sensitive information requires us to completely rethink the way that computer systems are designed. Potentially there are two routes that we could take. One is to allow computer systems and the internet to enjoy the free architecture that they have at present but to prosecute violators with strict laws on information security. The other is to completely redesign computer systems with the additional goal that information should only be accessible by parties that the owner of the information trusts.

Internet Advertising (Web Advertising) :: BTEC Business Marketing GCSE Coursework

Web Advertising It is questionable whether advertising on the Web is effective, researchers say. According to Natia Enligh and Michael Pierce, authors of â€Å"Advertising on the Web,† the Web has the ability to deliver a flow of information. â€Å"For advertisers especially, the Web has enormous potential, mainly because of its vast size and global reach. Today marketers and advertisers are wondering just how they can use the Web to have the greatest impact on consumers.† Advertising on the Web is effective because it offers an extensive amount of information and is interactive. â€Å"Consumers can control the type of volume of information they get, in real time and with minimal effort. The Web has excellent potential to target common-interest groups nationally or across the world,† write Enligh and Pierce. Forrester Research Inc. of Cambridge, Mass. says because of the high cost of computers and Internet access, households that are on-line are more educated and have higher income levels than average ones. â€Å"Home Web users spend about four hours a week on-line. This means that they spend less time on other activities, particularly watching television. As a result, marketing strategies must integrate more mediums if they are to deliver a consistent message.† According to â€Å"Effective Internet Advertising Techniques,† (http://afgen.com/techniques.htm), these are some techniques to use when advertising on the Internet: †¢ Attract your reader with a catchy word or phrase right up front. †¢ Study other classifieds. If you see them repeatedly its because they work. †¢ Keep your classifieds brief and to the point, using phrases, not complete sketches. †¢ Use simple words, not long ones. Don’t confuse the reader. †¢ Tell the reader exactly what they are getting. †¢ Don’t try to sell the product in a classified. Simply try to get interested people to respond. †¢ Use energetic punctuation, such as exclamation points instead of periods. The Internet is Different Some experts believe reaching a younger target audience is effective for advertising on the Internet. â€Å"There are some sections of the population, such as young people and hobbyists, that you cannot reach with conventional media or whom it would be too expensive to reach with TV. The Internet is good mean to seek out niches,† says Andrew Rolf, creative director of Internet consultancy Hyperlink Interactive. (The Financial Times Limited-London) On-line advertising works differently than other mediums. Customers are in charge; they have control of the â€Å"Back† button.

Nsci 280 Week 4 Quiz

Week Four Quiz Chapter 9 Muscular System: Histology and Physiology ________________________________________ 1. Which of the following is NOT a function of skeletal muscle? a. body movement b. maintenance of posture c. respiration d. constriction of organs e. production of heat 2. Which of the following is true? a. Skeletal muscle is capable of spontaneous contraction. b. Smooth muscle is found in the walls of hollow organs. c. Cardiac muscle cells have multiple nuclei. d. Smooth muscle cells are long and cylindrical. e. There is a small amount of smooth muscle in the heart. 3.Which type of muscle tissue has cells that branch? a. skeletal muscle b. smooth muscle c. cardiac muscle d. both skeletal and cardiac muscle e. both cardiac and smooth muscle 4. Hypertrophy of skeletal muscles from weight lifting is caused by an increase in the a. number of muscle fibers. b. size of muscle fibers. c. number of striations. d. number of nuclei within the muscle fibers. e. number of muscle cells. 5 . Actin myofilaments a. resemble bundles of minute golf clubs. b. contain both myosin and tropomyosin. c. are held in place by the M line. d. contain strands of fibrous actin. . are the thickest proteins in muscle. 6. When an action potential reaches the presynaptic terminal, a. calcium ions diffuse into the presynaptic terminal through voltage-gated ion channels. b. acetylcholine moves into the presynaptic terminal. c. a local potential is generated in the presynaptic terminal. d. ligand-gated ion channels in the presynaptic terminal are opened. e. nothing else happens. 7. In excitation-contraction coupling, a. calcium ions must bind with myosin to expose active sites on actin. b. myosin heads bind to exposed active sites on actin. . cross-bridges form between myosin heads and calcium ions. d. movement of the troponin-tropomyosin complex causes actin myofilaments to slide. e. ATP binds to actin myofilaments. 8. Which of the following helps explain the increased tension seen in mult iple wave summation? a. increased motor unit recruitment b. increased concentration of calcium ions around the myofibrils c. exposure of more active sites on myosin myofilaments d. the breakdown of elastic elements in the cell e. decreased stimulus frequency 9. An isotonic contraction is described as a. ction potential frequency is high enough that no relaxation of muscle fibers occurs. b. a muscle produces constant tension during contraction. c. a muscle produces an increasing tension during contraction. d. a muscle produces increasing tension as it shortens. e. a muscle produces tension, but the length of the muscle is increasing. 10. Which type of respiration occurs in the mitochondria? a. anaerobic respiration b. aerobic respiration c. both anaerobic and aerobic respiration Chapter 10 Muscular System: Gross Anatomy ________________________________________ 1.The sternocleidomastoid muscle extends from the mastoid process of the temporal bone to the sternum and medial clavicle. Wh en both sternocleidomastoid muscles contract, the head is flexed. The end of the muscle that connects to the sternum is the a. origin. b. belly. c. body. d. insertion. e. fixator. 2. Which of the following represents a class I lever system? a. crossing your legs b. hyperextension of the head c. standing on your tiptoes d. flexion of the elbow to elevate the hand e. lifting weight with your arm 3. In order to stabilize the hyoid so that the larynx can be elevated in swallowing, the _____ muscle group is used. . Pterygoid b. Infrahyoid c. Auricularis d. Suprahyoid e. hyoglossus 4. If abdominal muscles are contracted while the vertebral column is fixed this will aid in a. vomiting. b. childbirth. c. urination. d. defecation. e. All of these choices are correct. 5. Which muscle will depress the scapula or elevate the ribs? a. levator scapulae b. serratus anterior c. pectoralis minor d. subclavius e. rhomboideus major 6. Which of the following muscles extends the forearm and has its inse rtion on the ulna? a. Deltoid b. biceps brachii c. triceps brachii d. brachialis e. coracobrachialis . The gluteus maximus a. does most of the work in â€Å"sit-ups. † b. accounts for a sprinter's stance. c. allows one to sit cross-legged. d. is used in the knee-jerk reflex. e. is a common site for injections. 8. Label muscle â€Å"A† on the diagram. a. orbicularis oculi b. temporalis c. trapezius d. sternocleidomastoid e. masseter 9. Label muscle â€Å"A† on the diagram. a. linea alba b. serratus anterior c. rectus abdominis d. external oblique e. internal oblique 10. What does â€Å"A† represent? a. Coracobrachialis b. Deltoid c. pectoralis major d. biceps brachii e. serratus anterior

Psychology And How It Affects The System Of Referencing Essay

Cataloging is an olden time procedure that is made to arrange the collection of books within libraries. Of course, since libraries are considered to have a large collection of reading materials, arranging them into categories helps in the process of researching for the students or plain readers alone. However, this procedure of arranging the files and taking notes of the information with regards a certain book takes much time and effort from the librarians that they are already incapable of doing the primary responsibility that they should be addressing in their profession, assisting the readers. Today, the development of technology aides in libraries have created a radical change within the systems of arranging the files as well as redefined the role of librarians in completing the tasks appointed for them to finish. Technological changes are indeed good. As for this matter, the changes of the procedures taken into consideration by libraries have indeed radically changed the ways by which the librarians tried to complete their duties to their profession,. The existence of computer-based programs also made several files in the local libraries available online making it more convenient for readers to utilize. More than that, it could be noted that the digital based Operating System that is used in public libraries have made it easier for readers to find the actual resources that they need for their researches becomes highly possible and efficient for the users. Yes, the impact of technology in library activities as well as within the procedures of referencing could indeed be considered one of the most successful applications that is made and presented by today’s modern technology. Of course, with the massive overflow of informations through the publication of several reading materials, filing them up in a way that readers would have them through easier access today is beneficial. This is also true in terms of psychological referencing. IT is undeniable that both traditional and modern technological approaches make the psychological references more utilized for studies and assessment procedures for present researches. Psychology too interacts with the different approaches used today in referencing systems. Most often than not, the systems carry the fact that there are certain measures that needs consideration in terms of the acceptance of the human behavior with the referencing systems that are concerned with systematically placing references for basis of studies. Because of the utilization of technology, it is undeniable that the major sources on derived from psychological readings had primarily been improved. Both the ideas and the authors are carefully jotted down in researches with ample accuracy that the studies passed about psychology are then considered to be highly authoritative and validated in terms of sourced references. References: VICTOR HERRERO-SOLANA. (March 2006). Graphical Table of Contents for Library Collections: The Application of Universal Decimal Classification Codes to Subject Maps. Information Technology and Libraries. JOHN D. BYRUM JR. AND DAVID W. WILLIAMSON. (March 2006). Enriching Traditional Cataloging for Improved Access to Information: Library of Congress Tables of Contents Projects. Information Technology and Libraries. Library Information and Technology Association. (February 2007). Futurespeak: A Preface to Top Technology Trends in Libraries.

Local and National Provision for Hockey Essay

Sport’s a big part of today’s society, with hockey featuring highly. This is mainly due to the popularity of the sport within secondary schools and the national curriculum. With about 1150 hockey clubs in England, a National Governing Body (NGB) essentially organises the country’s hockey. England Hockey replaced the England Hockey Association (2002). It coordinates involvement and development with nationally run competitions and leagues. Much work’s also pumped into developing the foundations for future hockey: the young players of today. With high profile names involved in local schemes such as ‘Slazenger Stick Skills’, youngsters are encouraged to participate with rewards e.g. badges and certificates. The National Lottery helps develop all levels of hockey with funding via Sport England. It’s also in conjunction with the Youth Sports Trust and the Central Council for Physical Recreation. Through funding, Regional schemes such as Active Sports Talent Camps exist to develop the regions county and talented players. Lucazade often get involved with these local to territorial ‘stepping stones’. Locally, clubs such as Bradford and Halifax Hockey Club also exist and have junior teams to involve younger, future players. Local area teams like Calderdale compete against others, such as Wakefield, in developmental tournaments such as the Millennium Youth Games. This type of basic introductory competition promotes basic principals of hockey: fun whilst gaining experience and skill. Clubs receive private sponsors to fund kit, but main funding comes from the players i.e. hiring the pitch is paid for by subs. Some clubs may organise fund raising events such as ‘bag-packs’ at supermarkets. Sponsorship at national level is more serious with England Hockey leading the way in developing its image with investors such as Harrods and high status associations such as Great Britain Olympic Hockey and World Class Hockey. Hockey’s usually introduced at secondary school as part of the National PE Curriculum, but younger players may be introduced to junior sections of clubs through siblings etc. As a traditional sport that’s stereotyped for females (especially school level) private schools emphasise its’ importance by being in conjunction with local clubs to provide pathways for progression e.g. Bradford Girls Grammar School and Bradford Hockey Club. By regular club training and competition, a player may develop and be entered for local schemes/trials e.g. representing Kirklees in the West Yorkshire Youth Games. This can lead to scouting for county trials. Through higher standards of training and competition, development may continue and progression to a territorial level e.g. North England. Opportunities through trials and training weekends are provided and thus, following the pattern, international trials and competition. As seen by the diagram the different stages become more demanding with less players meeting the higher standards and progressing upwards. There’s ranging competition at all levels e.g. school- u12, to u18 and clubs varying from u11 up to numerous open age teams. Currently in England hockey is not a professional and therefore technically paid sport as it is in various other countries such as Holland. There is no provision for this level but with an increase of water based pitches and the senior men’s and women’s English hockey Leagues’ continuously improving standards of competition, the international scene is well established and provided for. By playing in the Senior National League a player has reached the top level of competition before international level, and thus it often leads to opportunities to trials for these highly developed players. There are however both male and female international competitions via club tournaments, and representative events for the England teams such as the Olympics, World and European Championships. Aside from the other agencies mentioned in connection with England Hockey the school link programme PESSCL partner the NGB to re-enforce participation in the education zone. They work together to implement it within secondary schools, but as yet there is no such scheme for primary schools such as ‘High 5 Netball’. This information is generally based on female participants but many clubs have male teams that are involved in national, regional and sub divisions. E.g. Sheffield has long standing, devoted men’s teams. Equality exists with popular, yet more social as most players are initially committed to gender specific teams. However colleges such as Greenhead provide for mixed team players and participate in regular competition. Although more profiled as a ‘female sport’ the National Men’s league has a higher status through more media and sponsorship coverage than the women’s league with early sponsors like ‘à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ Stretcher and much more consistent media coverage from Sky Sports.’ Although sparse, Zone Hockey is a full flowing scheme that provides access to hockey for the disabled. It can be played on an equal level with able bodied players and is simply and adapted version of the original. It was developed between Nottingham Trent University, the Youth Sport Trust and England Hockey. It’s widely supported by associations such as the British Wheelchair Sports Foundation. A 5-a-side game that is fully adaptable to different playing surfaces and wheelchairs, that provides all boys and girls with a high scoring, fast moving, fun game. However there is no involvement at an elite level such as at the Paralympics due to its sparse global popularity and no record of an international English representative side Evaluating the situation of Hockey within England, it’s fair to say there’s a solid structure that can still be built on. Equality exists within the sport to the extent of mixed teams, of which most major sports in England do not provide for at senior level e.g. soccer. Also disabled access exists and is strong in many parts of the country but not to the extent of international competition. However, without professionalism, Hockey lacks funding that marketing, TV coverage rights, ticket sales etc. could provide. Fantastic facilities become ever more prominent (e.g. water based pitches), there is surely a gap waiting to be filled that would provide more access and opportunity locally and nationally including disabled athletes. This is certainly an aspect to consider for improvement and standard of the sport for all.

Totalitarianism Soviet Stalin

To what extent was the Soviet Union a totalitarian state by 1939? The term ‘totalitarianism' emerged in the 1920s and '30s, to describe the dictatorial regimes which appeared at that time in Germany and the USSR. The Soviet Union was undoubtedly totalitarian by the late 1930s. However, Stalin's power was anything but absolute up until that time. It took the Great Terror, the cult of personality and two decades of political patronage to put him in a position where he could abandon the pretences of law and rule like a tsarist despot.According to the political scientist Carl Friedrich, a totalitarian regime is istinguished by the following characteristics: a powerful ideology, which promised the onset of a golden era; a single mass-based party, led by a charismatic dictator; a system of terror, built around a ruthless secret police force; and the centralised control of the economy, the mass media and the armed forces. Clearly, the Soviet Union shared all of these characteristics b y the late 1930s.As far as ideology was concerned, Marxism-Leninism offered a powerful and appealing vision for the nation: a society that was devoid of exploitation, and in which all men and women were qual. Of course, the reality in no way mirrored that vision, but this could be rationalised on the grounds that state control was necessary until capitalism had been vanquished elsewhere in the world. Marxism also offered a deterministic interpretation of history, in which all societies were moving towards socialism.Hence, dissidents (those who opposed the Stalinist vision) could be swept away on the grounds that they were standing in the way of history. Politically, the Soviet system had many characteristics of totalitarianism even before Stalin had consolidated his ule. Russia had become a one party state within a year of the Bolsheviks seizing power, and that party soon grew to have millions of members. With the outbreak of the civil war, the Cheka had been given the power to deal with enemies of the Revolution without the inconvenience of a trial.No one knows how many people were put to death in this way between 1918 and 1924, but it was at least 70,000 and possibly as many as a quarter ofa million. Even so, the Communist Party itself retained many democratic elements throughout the 1920s. Stalin needed the support f his colleagues to attain pre-eminence within the Politburo, and this dependence continued until the 1930s. Even as late as 1933, he was unable to persuade his colleagues to have dissident elements within the party put to death. Only two members of the Politburo (Molotov and Kaganovich) were willing to back him on this.Two others (Voroshilov and Kalinin) were reluctant to agree, while the rest (Kirov, Ordzhonikidze, Kossior, Kuibyshev and Rudzutak) were totally opposed. To obtain absolute power, Stalin needed to circumvent the traditional avenues of authority and resort directly to terror. Kirov's assassination gave him his chance. In 1936, he u nleashed a series of show trials, to discredit and eliminate his enemies within the Central Committee. In the first of these trials, in 1936, Stalin eliminated the so-called ‘Oppositionists' – those Old Bolsheviks who had tried to block his rise to power in the Os (men like Kamenev and Zinoviev).The second set ot trials, in 1937, was aimed at Stalin's own allies – those who had opposed him on issues such as collectivisation and the execution of party dissidents. Finally, in 1938, he eliminated the remaining members of Lenin's inner circle (men like Bukharin and Rykov). This was accompanied by a full-scale assault on every institution in the Soviet Union: the party, the army, the bureaucracy, the cultural organisations, the industrial enterprises, even the secret police. In all, 18 million people died during these purges.With his enemies dead, deported or terrorised into silence, Stalin now assumed the powers of a despot. As Alan Bullock has written, â€Å"Stalin felt strong enough to order the arrest of any of his colleagues without consultation or appeal to the Central Committee or anyone else – the classic definition of the tyrant's power. (Bullock: 525) However, fear was not the only factor underpinning Stalin's rule. Soviet totalitarianism was also characterised by the state's monopoly over economy, the mass media and the armed forces.As far as the economy was concerned, Stalin replaced NEP with a system of command socialism. Under this system, the state owned virtually all productive assets and ran the economy via central planning. Agricultural land was collectivised, and a series of Five Year Plans was introduced to facilitate industrialisation. Another area where the state enjoyed a monopoly was the media. There were over 10,000 newspapers in the country, and all were government owned or controlled. The regime also controlled the nation's cinemas and film production houses.