Power Point PHD Defense Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Power Point PHD Defense - Essay Example Whereas some companies have taken advantage of diversity within their organizations to experience growth, others have managed diversity poorly and so gone into administration. The core problem therefore has to do with lack of proper management of diversity in become competitive. Based on the problem identified above, the researcher conducted this study with the purpose of investigating the issue of diversity among companies in Brazil, and finding out how diversity is managed in Spanish and Brazilian companies situated in Brazil. Prompt: Whiles diversity can have several advantages such as promoting cross-functional roles, when it is not managed well it leads to a lot of negative effects. Next we shall review some of the outcomes when diversity is managed poorly. Crowder et al. (2012) defined culture disconnect as a situation where employees refuse to act and go about their roles in a manner that is in line with the organizational culture of the companies they work in. Prompt: The need to avoid such negative effect of diversity was the rationale for which this study was started. Our next slide will therefore give us more ideas on the need not to allow the effects of culture disconnect to happen. Prompt 1: According to Barinaga (2010), a the work output of employees is said to be efficient when employees are able to produce so much within a very short period of time and by the use of the most minimum resources available (Hughes et al. (2012). Where there is disconnect and every employee is pursuing their individual cultures and differences, the need to coordinate efforts to ensure such efficiency becomes hindered. Prompt 2: For employees to work and achieve the most optimal results, it is expected they will frequently consult with others within their rank and exchange ideas, knowledge, skill and competence (Taylor & Hansen, 2005). However, when diversity is not well

Complex Computer Systems Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Complex Computer Systems - Research Paper Example Most computer systems that are considered successful demonstrate a positive direct effect on the perceived eases of use. Therefore, some computer systems are never fully accepted by their intended users, and are underutilized (Hasan, 2007). Also, very few IT systems have been categorized as truly successful. There are numerous factors and processes that make IT projects complex (The British ComputerSociety, 2006). Understanding and proper management of these projects is important to comprehend why such projects fail. It also helps to understand how proper management of complexity can increase success for computer systems. Technology is an important source of complexity of computer systems, but the key source of complexity is the scope of the project, as set by management (The British Computer Society, 2006). Among the success or failure factors are social, economic and technical factors. These factors influence whether the complex computer system project succeeds or fails in its obje ctives. There must be technical and social strategies designed to detect and manage external and internal influences to ensure success of any complex computer system. ... esign and production of prepayment gas meters, introduced to the United Kingdom energy market to make work easier for energy suppliers and domestic clients (The British Computer Society, 2006). Central service installed on server database and application server. These have interfaces and tier supplier infrastructure The Smart Meter System has several components. First, the Smart Meter’s Central System has a web interface and Oracle database (TheBritishComputerSociety, 2006). The web interface and Oracle database have been built on a Distributed Computing Infrastructure. Integration of these components with the central system allows for online payment. The payment is identified by the payment agent. A Short Message (SMS) is processed by the SMS provider system. Also, every Smart Meter System has an Apache web server, which is used to deliver user interfaces. The Oracle 9i database component of the system is was used to produce the database, while the Tomcat servlet container is driven by Java and the STRUTS framework (TheBritishComputerSociety, 2006). This uses Java Server Pages and cascading style sheets for presentation layer. The Prepayment Metering Infrastructure Provider application allows suppliers to interact with their meters in real time (The British Computer Society, 2006). The Smart Meter System is a complex computer system because it allows domestic clients and domestic energy provision customers to make prepayments for their gas, using their mobile phones. The Smart Meter System is also complex because it is can be used by both vendors and end user clients. Therefore, the system accepts top ups in terms of monetary values by customers via their mobile phones (The British Computer Society, 2006). Consequently, plans were put in place to sell the Smart

Determinism and the benefits of Taylors theory Essay Example for Free

Determinism and the benefits of Taylors theory Essay In Metaphysics Richard Taylor outlines the different views on the concept of freedom. The traditional view is that of the compatibilists which states that freedom is the ability to act, or not to act, according to the determinations of the will. It is so defined to make it compatible with the theory of determinism, which essentially states that all actions have a causal explanation due to the state of the world in the moment previous. However, the definition is clearly inadequate due to the fundamental flaws of determinism and its failure to account for deliberation or personal choice. A superior alternative is offered by what Taylor calls the theory of agency, but is more commonly known as libertarianism. In discussing a theory one must start with some data in order to prove the validity of the theory, and in discussing determinism this is no different. Two suitable criteria dealing with the decision making process are: firstly that we at times deliberate with the view of making a decision , and secondly regardless of whether I deliberate I sometimes have a personal choice in the decision making process. These criteria are ideal because they are both things that we as individuals are fairly certain of so any acceptable theory must account for them in some way. For common sense, a virtue in argumentation, suggests that it is easier to accept the veracity of partial self-determination in the decision making process than an abstract philosophical theory. To asses the applicability of the data to determinism a more in depth examination of determinism is needed, which Taylor defines as having three tenets: Firstly, that the theory of determinism is true. Secondly, that voluntary behaviour is free unless constrained, and finally that causes of voluntary behaviour are certain states, condition, decisions, and desires. The principle problem of determinism is precisely this last tenet, for what are the causes of the inner states that cause my actions? Where do they come from? Are they under my control? If determinism is true then the problem of infinite causality arises for the causes of the actions must themselves have causes. When applied to the two original data the infinite causality of determinism  renders these data false. Take deliberation as an example. I can deliberate only about future actions, but there are always causes to everything I do making the outcome of the deliberation inevitable and the process itself irrelevant. The incompatibility of determinism and deliberation does not bode well for the second datum, as if I am to have a personal choice in an action then I must be able to concretely execute any of the options associated with the action. But if determinism is true there can again only be one option due to the chain of causes thus negating the option of personal choice. A better theory, one that incorporates these two essential data is what Taylor calls the theory of agency, but is more commonly known as libertarianism, which postulates that human beings are frequently, but not always, self-determining beings. To further understand the theory of agency and thus its advantages it is first necessary to examine how it deals with the causation of actions. If an individual is relatively free in his decision making it follows that the individual agent can be considered a cause for the resulting action. For example, if I move my hand then the obvious cause of the motion is me and not some infinite series of causes. The lack of such a sequence of causes, unlike the one put forward by determinism, is an advantage for it allows the theory of agency to be rid of the problems of determinism discussed above. Moreover this allows libertarianism to incorporate the two criteria originally put forth. Under libertarianism deliberation becomes not just possible, but quite logical as it makes sense to ponder a matter over which I have control of the outcome. Then obviously, if I am at least a partially self-determining entity then I have a fair amount of personal choice in what course of action I should pursue. Aside from avoiding the problems of determinism, perhaps libertarianisms greatest advantage is its common sense appeal. For example, if I am considering whether to order a Big Mac for lunch or a McChicken, it makes much more sense to me that through deliberation I can choose which sandwich I would like to eat, rather than the existence of some infinite chain of events that pre-determines that I will eat a Big Mac. It is of course necessary to acknowledge that common sense and simplicity are not absolute truths, but as Bertrand Russell wrote, in support of common sense,  in The Problems of Philosophy, Since this belief [in the existence of physical objects] does not lead to any difficulties, but on the contrary tends to simplify and systemize our account of our experiences, there seems no good reason for rejecting it. (Russell, 24) While Russell was addressing another problem the logic of common sense he applied most definitely applies to the case at hand as well. As a concluding argument in favour of libertarianism consider, the very fact of reading and grading this essay. If determinism were true then this essays grade would have long been pre-determined by a series of causes stretching back to before its very creation thus rendering useless the whole process. Texts Cited Russell, B. Problems of Philosophy. Oxford University Press: Oxford, 1997. Taylor, R. Metaphysics. Englewood Cliffs NJ: Prentice Hall, 1993

Signs of Elder Financial Abuse

Signs of Elder Financial Abuse CHAPTER 1: METHODS AND TACTICS OF AN ELDER FINANCIAL ABUSER Our families, communities and state legal system have worked in recent years to protect our loved ones from elder financial abuse. That said, families with elder adults still share a deep fear about the physical, mental and financial safety of their loved ones. Elder abusers, however reprehensible, often find ways to circumvent the protections that our families and society provide our senior citizens. Wrongdoers have their methods and tactics, and its our responsibility to counter them at every turn. If they think theyve gotten away with hijacking estate or trust assets, trust litigation attorneys should make them pay under the full weight of civil law. In my practice, which likely mirrors our country at large, the following are the five most common ways elder financial abuse happens: 1. Caregiver Abuse When a Michigan trial judge dismissed a familys lawsuit against a home care company for sending a caregiver with two felony criminal warrants to care for a man in his 80s, the national press erupted with questions about how this could happen. In this particular case, a caregiver company Kentucky-based ResCare sent a woman to a retired Detroit-area businessman to look after his ailing wife, who had dementia. It didnt take long until the wifes jewelry began to disappear, as well as the businessmans fortune. Court filings estimate the losses to be as high as $1.5 million. The caregiver, if she could be called that, moved the businessman out of his bedroom into the basement of his lakefront home and moved her mother into the home. The businessmans wife died, and within months the caretaker married the businessman. When the businessmans family members finally intervened and removed him from his home, his finances were in a shambles. He didnt have bank accounts with positive balances or working credit cards. He had his social security monthly payment thats it. The Michigan businessman and his family are simply representative of the widespread abuse affecting our growing elderly population. I have handled a number of cases where predators, posing as legitimate caregivers, soon take advantage of the elderly. This misconduct includes physical and medical neglect often coupled that with embezzlement and theft. The Michigan case didnt work out well not that any of these abuse cases by nature work out well. Even with a partial financial recovery, the seismic emotional repercussions stemming from misplaced trust dont easily recede. 2. Financial Exploitation Financial exploitation takes many forms. Every day, even though I have been counseling families for decades, I am regularly surprised. The sale of an elders medications; grocery bills more attributable to cash withdrawals taken by caregivers than bread and milk purchased for the elderly; lawn service for a small yard at $300.00 per week; money used for gambling; medical care and dental care neglected because of the theft of funds; and assignments of bank accounts into joint tenancy with a wrongdoer. Most families with victimized elders could readily add to the list of the ways elders are financially exploited. Vigilance helps. Here are some examples of vigilance: Be very careful and take precaution when hiring caregivers. Simply hiring a caregiver company is not an insurance policy against wrongdoing. Watch your elders bank accounts particularly withdrawal activity or changes in accounts. Sometimes the horse is out the barn door before you discover bank transfers but it is still better late than never (or a year later). Be careful and inquiring when you hear that your elder has been making frequent trips to the bank. Be vigilant in watching your elders mail. We have seen circumstances where financial information is hidden from the view of the elder and his or her relatives. This is a sign of great danger. Some financial advisors believe that an elders credit report should be ordered periodically. This could also be a good canary in the coal mine. We have seen cases where social security checks were cashed by wrongdoers. Direct deposit of social security checks, retirement and dividend checks provide some distance between a wrongdoer and your elders money. Review receipts from vendors (grocery store, pharmacy, Costco etc.) for goods purchased for your elderly relative. We have seen wrongdoing first discovered in this review. A $350.00 receipt from the local grocery store showing a $200.00 cash withdrawal can make even the most oblivious suspicious. Watch for service scams. New heaters, air conditioners, garbage disposals or lawn irrigation systems sold at a large premium are not unusual. Reverse mortgages can be a blessing or a curse. Reverse mortgages may provide a large lump sum payment or a stable predictable monthly income to senior adults, but money coming from reverse mortgages may also be a large tempting cookie jar for unscrupulous caretakers or relatives. More than once have I seen reverse mortgages paid to vulnerable senior adults with questionable capacity. The existence of a reverse mortgage is often not discovered by the senior homeowners family until the senior has passed away. 3. Misuse of Powers of Attorney Durable powers of attorney can be a great legal vehicle for senior adults to appoint a trusted agent to handle health, legal and financial matters. Such powers, when used with prudence by trusted family members or agents, provide legal protection when and if the senior becomes incapacitated or incompetent. Such powers when used correctly are an unfettered blessing. If misused, such powers can destroy a lifetime of planning. The effective and prudent use of durable or medical powers of attorney brings no headlines. In the same way, misuse of such legal vehicles is often kept secret and only met with incredulity by relatives when discovered. We have seen a number of incidents where powers of attorney were misused at the end of life of an elderly adult to benefit the holder of the power of the attorney. Examples of misuse include: The transfer of real property to the holder negating trust provisions that provide for a different distribution; entry and seizure of safe deposit personal property coupled with later denials of the existence of such properties; dramatic changes in bank accounts that are inconsistent with will or trust provisions; and transfer of vehicles. Some holders of medical powers of attorney have misused their powers to prevent family members from visiting the hospital bed of a gravely ill or dying relative. California has recently addressed this issue in legislation making such abuse much more difficult. In the meantime stories abound about how a son or daughter, grandson or granddaughter, could not visit a dying relative because a stepmother or stepfather prevented the visit. If these problems were not so common there would be little need to address it. For those who face the issue, they should immediately contact a lawyer familiar with elder abuse laws. Medical facilities should also be aware of their own limitations is preventing visits. 4. Isolation and Freeze-Outs Isolation of elders from their families, neighbors and loved ones is an all too common occurrence. Changed door locks, new locked front gates, mobile telephone seizures, failure to answer or open the door to visitors, and unreported removals of elders from their homes are part and parcel of isolation. These actions cause family members to fear for the safety of their loved ones and also may create a sense of helplessness. Unfortunately, such conduct is common. For Californians who encounter isolation or freeze-out abuse, the first step is to call Adult Protective Services or its equivalent. Local law enforcement agencies also often have task forces that deal with such abuse. Civil lawyers skilled and experienced in elder abuse issues can assist in such contacts and can also address such issues in civil filings that include restraining orders and other appropriate measures. Words of warning while isolation and freeze-out conduct might be obvious to the family member of the elder, such conduct may not be as obvious to authorities. Criminals and wrongdoers do not usually jump at the chance to admit guilt. While there is no excuse for elder abuse, wrongdoers will readily provide excuses. Common excuses include I had to keep everyone away because they just upset the elder; We had to move Grandpa to Arizona because they had the best medical care there; I had to keep Aunt Bessie from the phone because she only got upset when she heard from her relatives; Of course I had to keep my dad away from my sisters and brother because they are greedy and they only wanted to get his money; and I needed to protect my uncle because he was afraid that his children were going to hit him, push him down or lock him up in a mental asylum. Dont expect the isolator to readily admit that she bought her boyfriend a new Harley with grandmas money, that the house and surrounding are a pigsty because she is doing meth, or that all of grandmas jewelry was sold to support her drug habit. Youve got to dig at it when your loved one is isolated when you are frozen out. The process can be demanding, frustrating, and can cause anxiety. Still dont turn your back on your elder do something protect the vulnerable. 5. Unwarranted Transfers First, an obvious acknowledgment: families often have difficulty in transferring an elderly family member to an assisted living or nursing facility in situations where it is absolutely in the seniors best interests to have such a transfer. Id venture to say that most transfers are absolutely warranted and done with love and care for the senior. It is the unwarranted transfers, coupled with wrongdoing, that can petrify family members. The common setting for unwarranted transfers is the presence of a family member maybe a stepbrother or stepsister who is estranged from the seniors other children and family members. For whatever reason, and by whatever treacherous means, the wrongdoer is able to get the elder into his or her home and get the elders estate plan altered. Once the estate plan is effectively altered, it can be Katy bar the door for change. More than once we have seen circumstances that the senior is transferred against his or her wishes to a facility geographically removed from other family members. In the meantime, personal goods and family mementos are often discarded or hidden. These actions often cause even greater anger than money transfers. You simply cant replace photographs, family heirlooms, military awards, or personal collections with money. The discarding of important family treasures is an affront to the remaining family members a complete disregard of important family history and a glaring mark of the greed of the wrongdoer. Difficulties abound when trying to address unwarranted transfers. First off, the senior often lacks capacity. So what do we look at when the senior lacks capacity? One way to deal with an incompetent senior is to seek a conservatorship of his or her person and estate. This is not without complications. Does the senior really wish to be supervised by a stranger or even a benign family member? Conservatorships can be expensive and time consuming. Prospective conservatees are afforded counsel public defenders or otherwise. The costs of such counsel is paid from the conservatees estate. Courts are often reluctant to appoint conservators even for those with great impairment it is the taking away of ones freedom, even if such freedom increases vulnerability to scams and unscrupulous people. Detecting the Tactics of Elder Financial Abuse The sooner elder financial abuse is detected, the better the chance for recovery of estate and trust assets on behalf of the victims. So what are the typical signs or red flags to look out for? According to the guidelines of National Adult Protective Services Association, the following factors should be watched closely to avoid a potential personal tragedy and financial disaster: 1. Liabilities Unpaid Bills: What if an elderly loved one should have the means to pay the bills every month, but somehow their utilities get shut off? There might be more in play than just a seniors faulty memory a bad actor may have made off with money from the elders accounts, leaving the victim high and dry. 2. Surrender of Oversight: Very often we see cases of a new friend, neighbor or opportunistic relative appearing on the scene to offer their help in managing the elders financial account. At times they even succeed in gaining power of attorney. This effective forfeiture of oversight should be looked into closely for other indicators of suspicious activity. 3. Suspicious Withdrawals: As any good investigator will tell you, follow the money. When financial accounts begin registering unexplained withdrawals or checks set to cash, its time for you to speak with bank employees and get further details on whos making these transactions. 4. Vanishing Assets: Another tell-tale sign of elder financial abuse is when valuables begin to disappear. Suddenly an elders jewelry, cash or financial documents like stock certificates vanish, and the perpetrator takes to living lavishly with new purchases of fancy attire, vehicles, property, etc. 5. Changed Estate Documents: Wrongdoers who commit elder financial abuse will often seek to legitimize their predatory behavior with the stamp of legitimacy. Exercising undue influence on the elderly victim, theyll shop around for any lawyer who will agree to change a will or trust document in their favor. Ask your elderly loved one about any such changes if you are faced with such a situation, it may be time to consult an experienced trust litigation attorney. 6. Creditors Come Knocking: Is the elder encountering financial trouble where there should be none? Find out the explanation for property liens or foreclosure warnings. The reason behind creditor claims may be more than just a mistake your elderly family member might have been financially exploited by an abuser who cleaned out their accounts. Identifying Financial Exploitation and Scams As the population of senior citizens in California continues to grow, so too will the challenge posed by fraudsters who want to prey on our elderly and steal their money. To help seniors and their loved ones identify and avoid scams, Ive compiled a list of the most common ploys, tricks, and tactics financial criminals use against the elderly. So watch out for the following forms of fraud: 1. Grandparents Scam A senior will receive a phone call beginning with, Grandma? The caller will cleverly elicit the grandchilds name. Posing as the grandchild, the scammer will then say theyve gotten into some form of deep trouble they might tell the senior theyre in jail or stranded in a foreign country. Its an emergency, and they need help immediately! With the grandparent now upset and ready to assist their supposed grandchild by any means possible, the scammer will ask them to wire money to their bank account, often by Western Union. To avoid falling for the grandparent scam, dont let a caller drag you into the guessing game, whereby you willingly provide them with the names of your grandchildren and other relatives. If a scammer is more sophisticated, they might research their victim on social media sometimes theyll run the scam on platforms like Facebook. Call your family members and check on the whereabouts of your grandchildren, no matter how convincing a story you may hear over the phone or through social media. 2. Secret Shopper To your surprise, you receive a check in the mail for several thousand dollars to Wal-Mart or another big-box store. Youve been chosen for the secret shopper program! In reality, youre being conned into depositing a bad check. Once youve deposited, the scammers will ask you to mail them a check with the difference and thats in addition to your being responsible for the fraudulent check youve cashed. Secret Shopper is a nasty scam that leaves its bewildered victims thousands of dollars poorer. Keep elderly loved ones away from fraud schemes like Secret Shopper by using the too-good-to-be-true rule: if its too good to be true, its not true someones after your money. That means Secret Shopper offers are as good as garbage. 3. Email Scams Email scams have been around a long time and arent going away its cost-effective for swindlers to send out millions of spam emails, even if they only get one or two responses from potential victims. If you have an email account, youre going to receive these from time to time, even with the best spam filters. The most notorious email scams are Nigerian prince letters, which inform recipients that they have been selected to share in an enormous royal fortune in Nigeria or some other West African nation. All the recipients have to do to gain their riches is wire money to the esteemed prince to pay the transaction fee. Naturally, there is no pot of gold at the end of the Nigerian rainbow, with the net result of your bank account being emptied. Another common type of email scam is known as phishing, the imitation of real websites to elicit personal and financial information. You might very well receive a bank alert that seems to be from your bank; the message will inform you that your bank account is overdrawn, you are the victim of identity theft, etc. Even the layout of the email and fake website will look convincingly real. Yet the actual purpose of the phishing scam is to get you to enter your bank account ID, password, Social Security Number, etc., into the phony website, all in order to defraud you. In addition to Nigerian prince emails and phishing schemes, you may also receive emails marked urgent, etc. Often theyll seemingly be sent from friends and relatives. Theyll have attachments in the form of letters or videos youre told to open. In reality, theyre fake letters with harmful attachments viruses or malware that are designed to infect your computer and steal your personal information. Online criminals can even mask their spam messages to make it appear they come from friends, family, and colleagues in their attempt to trick you into opening the attachment in order to unleash their virus. To steer clear of email scams, the best policy is simply to delete unfamiliar emails and not engage too-good-to-be true offers to share in African riches. If you get a bank alert email that youre unsure of, check your account online (dont click on any link in the message) or simply call your bank to check your account. Also remember to never open attachments in unknown messages, and be very weary of vague requests from seemingly familiar senders who might very well be identity thieves and con artists. 4. Investment Fraud Investment fraud is an all-too-common form of elder financial abuse, and scammers find numerous ways to perpetrate the crime against seniors. The first variety are classic Ponzi schemes, where elderly clients are recruited into dubious investment ventures promising big returns, but which in reality generate no profit investment proceeds are simply skimmed from client funds. Ponzi schemers will pose as legitimate entrepreneurs or investment advisors, sometimes offering free meals to attend their wealth seminars. By the time a Ponzi scheme collapses (as it inevitably will if authorities dont intervene), victims are often left penniless and effectively unable to recover any of the funds they had invested in the scheme the perpetrator likely spent all the money and distributed it out as false profits. Its unfortunate but true that there are also a few bad-faith brokers out there who are willing to defraud their elderly clients. Investment advisors and brokers who violate their clients trust can sometimes go years stealing before they finally get caught. To keep a financial predator from looting your accounts or those of your loved ones, make sure to review their background through FINRAs BrokerCheck it never hurts to get a second opinion on a firm or particular advisor. Along with Ponzi schemes and outright abuses by bad-faith brokers, also watch out for multi-level marketing schemes (MLMs). MLMs, otherwise known as pyramid schemes and network marketing, are technically legal business models that require the new member to recruit others into the venture in order to sell whatever product might be on offer. Senior citizens, at times lonely and in need of companionship, can be vulnerable to these schemes, some of which will send them box-loads of products and charge them whether they agreed or not. So while MLMs are technically legal, they are often highly exploitative of senior citizens through their deceptive terms and conditions. To steer clear of investment fraud, apply the too good to be true rule to investment offerings that boast sky-high returns and near-zero risk chances are its a Ponzi scheme. Conduct due diligence and consult a reputable advisor who can help you or your elderly loved ones make sound investment decisions. And stay away from MLM pyramids, the only point of which is to enrich their very top layer while exploiting everyone else below them with largely empty promises of wealth. 5. Telemarketing Fraud Often connected with investment scams are predatory telemarketing schemes, another way fraudsters look to entrap seniors. Many elderly Americans receive several phone calls a week from slick salesmen pitching everything from penny stocks to flimsy-sounding premium retirement programs for their portfolios. Quick-talking telemarketers will pressure lonely, confused seniors into once-in-a-lifetime investments in dubious or non-existent oil and gas holdings, foreign currency exchange, real estate, and even blockbuster movie productions. Another ploy is to hit up the victim for contributions to a supposed charity. Finally, dont be fooled by con men (and women) who pretend to be calling from your bank, hospital, insurance provider, etc. Theyre looking to elicit your personal information to commit identity theft against you. Its sad but true that financial abuse is made easy over the telephone. To prevent telemarketing fraud, make it an express policy to never sign onto anything over the phone. Courteously hang up and make sure to register for the US governments Do Not Call list. Keep it simple never give personal or financial information to unknown callers, no matter who they might claim to be. 6. Repair Fraud Seniors are frequently targeted for elder financial abuse right in their own home through the common tactic of repair fraud. If an elder is forgetful or possibly suffering from dementia, wrongdoers will look to exploit this weakness by overcharging for home repairs and yardwork. Sometimes scammers will even come around repeatedly, performing the same task several times over a given period and defrauding the victim in the process. Even unscrupulous auto mechanics have been known to jack up prices for elderly, confused customers and engage in dishonest, unethical practices like changing tires every few months. Another updated form of repair fraud is the antivirus scam, which can be perpetrated in person, online, or over the phone. You might receive a fake email, a telephone call, or even a door-to-door visit from someone claiming to check your computer for viruses. Theyll tell you your computer is infected and repair it, charging you for a non-existent service and possibly even stealing your personal and financial information while they access your computer. Countering repair fraud might mean going to the doctor and getting an evaluation over possible memory loss or increased confusion. Seniors with conditions like dementia must be protected from financial exploitation one effective way to shield vulnerable elderly loved ones from repair fraud is to obtain financial power of attorney. When a responsible younger relative takes on this legal duty, its sometimes possible to recover funds lost to repair fraud. 7. Sweepstakes Scams Fake sweepstakes, lotteries, and raffles represent a widespread form of fraud perpetrated against senior citizens. Youll get a flashy mailer informing you of your amazing prize winnings, or perhaps a telephone call or spam email. A fabulous fortune is yours to be had, youre told, and all you have to do to attain your winnings is pay a phony tax, shipping fees, or other made-up charges. Your social security number and bank information might even required to claim the supposed prize. In reality, of course, the sweepstakes is a scam meant to trick you out of hundreds or even thousands of dollars, potentially putting your identity at risk. The too-good-to-be-true rule applies to most scams, and ridiculous sweepstakes mailers are no exception. A real raffle or lottery wouldnt require you pay or provide sensitive personal info to access your prize. Sweepstakes offers and other contest winnings should be promptly tossed in the trash, and whoevers sending them through the postal system should be regarded with strong suspicion. Seniors should have a trusted loved one help them sort through mail and identify all such deceptive mailers. Countermeasures Heightened Vigilance What are some initial steps you can make to prevent elder financial abuse? Several measures are available for family members, lawyers, financial professionals and medical caregivers. Along with basic awareness, coordination and ongoing communication between parties translate to increased protection. Here are some basic actions you can take to keep elderly loved ones safe from exploitation: 1. Financial Oversight: A family member and financial professional at the local bank or advisory firm should establish a system of oversight over an elders accounts. In addition to setting up bill payment, keep a sharp eye on any excessive withdrawals or irregular transfers. Consider joint accounts with the elder, and look into the possibilities of a limited credit card for an elder susceptible to financial exploitation. 2. Revocable Trust: With a revocable trust in place, a trustee has access to a trust account without enjoying the status of legal ownership. Stopping irresponsible or just plain bad trustees from squandering assets translates to building in effective safeguards. 3. Communication: The human element is vital in preventing elder financial abuse, and that means maintaining effective lines of communication between all interested parties, whether it be the attorney, investment advisor or medical caregiver. Just as importantly, a loving relationship with an elderly family member makes all the difference in shielding them from harm. If a senior is lonely, theyll be more vulnerable to fraud or unethical sales pitches. Just visiting an elder regularly, talking and showing them you care is an enormous boost in keeping them safe. 4. No-Contact Lists: Boiler room telemarketers and deceptive mailers target elders who suffer from cognitive impairment. One way to block most, if not all, of these unwelcome solicitors is to contact the FTCs Do Not Call Registry, Nomorobo and the Direct Marketing Association. Speak with your elderly loved one about the harmful nature of these calls and fliers to help them spot when theyre being scammed. Protecting your elderly family member is virtually a full-time job for many it becomes a full-time job of care, comfort, housing, medical visits, and protection. Such duties may be embraced with love, but it is a love coupled often with real suffering. It is never easy to care for a parent with dementia or with chronic physical or mental problems. Both physical and mental exhaustion often accompany such care. Sibling issues arise between those who are near the elder family member and those who are geographically removed. Friends of the elder might be critical of the care or protections that are put in place for the elders benefits. Not all is black and white. Taking care of an elder adult often reminds us to reflect on the meaning of the Fifth Commandment: Honor thy father and thy mother. Doing this honor is a day-to-day process, and is not without its challenges.

The Biological Basis of Language Development Essay -- Health Medicine

The Biological Basis of Language Development "The principles and rules of grammar are the means by which the forms of language are made to correspond with the universal froms of thought....The structures of every sentence is a lesson in logic." BIOLOGICAL BASIS OF LANGUAGE "[H]uman knowledge is organized de facto by linguistic competence through language performance, and our exploration of reality is always mediated by language" (Danchin 29). Most higher vertebrates possess ‘intuitive knowledge’ which occurs as the result of slow evolution of species. However, the ability to create knowledge through language is unique to humans. According to Benjamin Whorf, "language†¦. is not merely a reproducing instrument from voicing ideas but rather is itself the shaper of ideas†¦. We dissect nature along lines laid down by language" (Joseph 249). In addition, the development and acquisition of language seems to be related to "complex sequential processing, and the ability to form concepts and to classify a single stimulus in a multiple manner" (Joseph 178). Antione Danchin suggests that the knowledge we create through language allows us distinguish ourselves from the rest of the world to produce models of reality, which become more and more adequate due to the "self-referent loop" which enables us to understand ourselves as objects under study. This "path from subject to object," which is common to all humans, Danchin claims, suggests the existence of a universal feature of language (29). Biological foundation of language may contribute significantly to such universality. The issue here is not whether language is innate, for, clearly, language must be learned. Nor is the issue whether the aptitude for learning a la... ...guage. Vol 58(2) 265-326, Jun 1997.    Modgil, Sohan and Celia Modgil. Noam Chomsky: Consensus and Controversy. New York: The Falmer Press, 1987. Persson, Inga-Britt. Connectionism, language production and adult aphasia: elaboration of a connectionist framework for lexical processing and a hypothesis of agrammatic aphasia. Helsinki, Finland: Societas Scientiarum Fennica, 1995. Schachter, Jacquelyn. Some semantic prerequisites for a model of language. Brain & Language. Vol 3(2) 292-304, Apr 1976. Schnitzer, Marc L. Toward a neurolinguistic theory of language. Brain & Language. Vol 6(3) 342-361, Nov 1978.    Skinner, B. F. Verbal behavior. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1970. Vocate, Donna R. The Theory of A.R. Luria: Functions of Spoken Language in the Development of Higher Mental Process. Hillsdale[NJ]: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., 1987.

Affirmative Action in California: Has It Outlived Its Purpose? Essay

Affirmative Action In California: Has It Outlived Its Purpose? INTRODUCTION In the past, most California public agencies believed that affirmative action was an effective tool in the fight to correct discrimination. The main intent of affirmative action was to protect women, minorities and handicap individuals from discrimination (Hill, 1998,1). Affirmative action has been used in areas such as public employment, education and contracts. But today, some public agencies are questioning the meaning of affirmative action. The opponents of affirmative action believe that it encourages preferential hiring practices and reverse discrimination. They have also taken a strong stance towards the elimination of affirmative action through the California Civil Rights Initiative – Proposition 209 (http://www.ca.gov.). The supporters of affirmative action, however, still maintain that it is needed to prevent artificial barriers in the treatment of workers and hiring and admission practices (http://www.co.la.ca.us.). Even though Proposition 209 was passed by Californ ia voters, this has not discouraged professional organizations such as Americans United for Affirmative Action (http://www.auaa.org) and the American Association for Affirmative Action (http://www.affirmativeaction.org) who are still committed to educating the public on the importance of affirmative action. The concept of affirmative action has always been and continues to be a very controversial topic. This paper will focus on the positive and negative viewpoints of affirmative action as well as the future of its existence. AFFIRMATIVE ACTION: ORIGIN AND MEANING. The existence of discriminatory behavior against minorities was the leading force in the creation of the ... ...ve action, it has not stopped professional organizations such as the AUAA and the AAAA from informing the public about the past success and importance of affirmative action. It is not clear whether affirmative action will continue to be a part of the fight against discrimination in the United States. It is clear however, that affirmative action will continue to be highly debated issue for many more years. Bibliography Larson, Richard and McDonald, Laughlin (1980). "The Rights of Racial Minorities" Affirmative action. Avon Books: 82-89. Goldman, Alan (1977). (Affirmative action." In Marshall Cohen, ed., Equality and preferential treatment. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 192-209. Hill, John (1998). "County of Los Angeles position on the California Civil Rights Initiative" Memo to the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors, 1-5.

Choosing Hardware Essay

T he computer system that is already installed will not meet the Theme Park’s requirements because it is inadequate. The RAM (system memory) is about 4000 megabytes too small and would only last for a very short period of time, thus making it a rather expensive mistake. The hard drive is only 10 gigabytes, making it 990 gigabytes short of what you would need. The optical drive is out of date – it is the equivalent of video in today’s world. The USB is out of date and with the new USB 3, which has been dubbed the super speed USB3, can transport files in seconds not minutes or hours. The CPU goes at a snail’s pace. There is no graphics editing programme – it only has Windows media centre, which can only let you print photos out and pretty soon, they will stop making updates for Windows XP. The printer only prints out 18ppm when I would recommend having â€Å"Brother HL-5370DW Mono† because the first page can come out in 8. 5 seconds, with a maximum of 30 ppm with a resolution of 1200 x 1200 which means you can print out visitors’ photos quicker than the old system and prevents annoyed customers having to wait for their souvenir photos, thus increasing business. I would suggest upgrading to â€Å"HP Touchsmart 600†. With a touchscreen, there is no need to have a mouse. It is 10 times quicker, for the particular requirements the Theme Park will need – which is an improvement over the old VDU. It has an Intel Core 2 Duo Processor which is an improvement on the old system. As far as the RAM is concerned, I recommend having 4GB which is a substantial improvement on the 64MB. The hard drive has a huge improvement to 1TB over the old system of only 10 GB. The optical drive would be brought up to the 21st century by having the new computer’s optical drive DVD rewriter which is a great improvement over the previous system. The DVD rewriter means you can record to it and play which is not possible on the CD-Rom. The graphics card can be improved to the GeForce G2000 which is yet another improvement over the old system. The improved graphics card helps you to have quicker and better graphical enhancements on your VDU. The software I would recommend loading onto the new system, which the old system didn’t have, is a graphical editing programme. The programme I would recommend is called CorelDraw X3, which has a professional artist working on the making of the programme, so you can have professionally done films with intuitive drawing features and an easy to follow instruction manual. The new system comes with Windows 7, which has features such as touchscreen capabilities and I mentioned how useful these could be above. They have features like Snap and Aero which are not found in XP. It is also more secure than XP with data encryption built into Windows 7. I would also recommend a Super Speed USB 3, which can transfer files in the blink of an eye, making it quicker to transfer to digital photo frames for a technologically advanced souvenir. I believe that the new system meets and exceeds the specification, with plenty of time saving devices meaning that business would increase and higher quality photos would be produced, and you can improve photos using CorelDraw Users may need training in the new recommended system because Windows 7 is new and not many people will have used it, but once the expense of training and buying the equipment has passed, it will be quicker and easier to use. Simple Report to David and rest of staff. The reasons why the new system has computer parts that they are quicker and with more memory, is that the old system has the equivalent memory of a goldfish. My recommended system has the memory of an elephant. The programmes recommended may be complicated but after training, make life much easier and more amazing compared to the XP Media centre edition. The improvements will be speed, usability and memory requirements. The speed is quicker because it has a processor (CPU) which is a newer one and unlike the one in the old processor, has one processor within the unit. The new one has double the processors in the unit. The usability of the old system needed a mouse and partially sighted people would find it difficult to see the mouse cursor, so the Touchscreen I have recommended would get rid of the need for a mouse, so it is much easier for everyone to use. The memory in the old system was poor. The memory in the new system is vastly increased, more than 10 times. Once trained in the new editing package I have recommended, â€Å"CorelDraw†, the Staff can produce great looking professional photos like the ones in magazines. . The resolution is the same for both printers, but the speed is massively improved which will help you with editing as you can print it off much quicker. The printer in the old system is slow to print, resulting in annoyed employees and customers. The printer I recommended for the new system is just over double the speed and prints at 33 ppm, and with the first page printing in 8. 4 seconds for a speedy delivery, this will provide a superior service with an increased profit margin. The old system is slow and not very user-friendly and the new system allows an increased productivity and an increased target audience, e. g. , help for dyslexics, partially-sighted people, and even blind people. The CorelDraw programme will allow you to edit photos 10 times easier than with your old system, with increased tools to add to the overall effect of the photos.