Honeynets implementation Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Honeynets implementation - Case Study Example To ascertain the effectiveness of the project in administering the foresaid role, I have done sufficient research about the reliability and convenience of the system in managing the task and have found it much viable and efficient. The research done covered a wide scope including monitoring and getting feedback with those already with the system. I have also done hypothetical hacking techniques and in all the cases, the project has proved beyond hacking. I therefore strongly recommend the project for your institution to cushion form such possible attempts. Best regards. Executive Summery During the month of February, we received a formal communication to design a system security than would be hackers proof since the existing one was frequently being intruded in. It did not provide a resistant guard to hackers. Following this communication, we designed a study to help the company in the following ways; I. Keeping intruders outside the production system in disguise while they think the y are inside the main production system. II. It recognizes any intrusion attempt. This is because any operation found within it can only be from an intruder. III. Cheaper to manage; it can be virtually supported as opposed to those that are physically supported. IV. Recognizing and storing the pattern taken by the intruders to help our experts advance a quick counter response. During the month of February, hackers intruded into the production line system of the company. As a result of the intrusion several information were altered within the production system and the company lost very crucial operational and management data. In this regard, the company is estimated to have lost about $ 150,000. As a result of our in depth feasibility study, we established the following criterion for the system to be adopted; a) Can be virtually supported b) It has significantly low cost of maintenance c) It gives the identity of the hackers d) It is difficult to penetrate by hackers In this regard, we want to confidently appeal for company’s management to ratify the new security system and engage it for the next six month during which they will observe the number of attempted hacking without success in the main system. It is at this time that it will prove inevitable to avoid. Abstract The need to prevent hackers from succeeding in their quest is one of the investments being done by most of the organizations. Organizations do invest in various systems that will ensure that their insider information is not leaked to the unauthorized persons or that the unknown does not manipulate the organization’s data. Various systems have therefore been floated in response to the conduct. The lingering question is the viability of the system employed to succeed in the intended purpose, we made a proposal to your organization in this regard where we intended to implement the Honeynet project. Research was done about this project in terms of how successful it is and the informati on collected is

Implicit cognition Essay Example for Free

Implicit cognition Essay Implicit cognition refers to internal influences that affect an individual’s behaviours. The identifying feature of implicit cognition is that an individual’s past experiences can influence their judgements in   fashion that the individual is not introspectively aware of – i.e. the person is not conscious of the fact that the experiences have affected his/her perceptions in such a way. (Greenwald Banaji, pg 4; 1995) Evidence supports the view that social behaviour and attitudes in particular are often based largely on unconscious attitudes, for example an individual’s attitudes towards a specific ethnic group are prone to be implicitly influenced. Implicit attitudes are commonly thought to mainly effect cognitive bias in a negative way (e.g. racism), however Edward Thorndike (1920) named the ‘halo effect’, upon observing that personality ratings showed a tendency for positive attributes to be associated with other positive attributes more than they should be (Greenwald Banaji, pg 9; 1995). A great amount of ‘halo effect’ research has been based on using physical attractiveness as the objectively irrelevant attribute that influences perception of other characteristics. Studies have shown that attractive people are judged to possess greater social skills as well as being more successful in employment (Dion, Berscheid Walster; 1972). As previously mentioned implicit cognition is caused by past experiences influencing judgement in ways that the individual is not introspectively aware, thus it is imperative to use indirect measures to gauge an individual’s implicit attitudes. The distinction between direct and indirect measures depends on the relationship between what the subject is informed about the purpose of a measure and what the researcher chooses to interpret from the subjects response to the measure (Greenwald Banaji, pg 8; 1995) – the researcher will inform the subject that one attribute is being measured when in fact the researcher will interpret information about another attribute based on the subjects response to the measure. It is necessary to use indirect measures because implicit attitudes are by definition attitudes that an individual is unable to report as they are unaware of their existence i.e. implicit attitudes are beyond an individual’s introspective limits. For the purpose of this essay I have chosen to examine the reaction time based ‘Implicit Association Test’ (IAT) and Facial Electromyography (fEMG) which is based on physiological measurement. Implicit attitudes result in projections of behaviour or judgments that are under the control of automatically activated evaluation, without the actor’s awareness of that causation. The IAT procedure seeks to measure implicit attitudes by measuring their underlying automatic evaluation. A beneficial property of the IAT is that it may resist individuals masking their attitudes using self presentation strategies (e.g. providing false responses in order to gain social acceptance or avoid criticism). In short, the IAT may reveal attitudes and other automatic associations even or those who prefer not to express those attitudes (Greenwald et al, pg 1464-5; 1998). The IAT is performed over a series of five stages; the first stage is called ‘Target Concept Discrimination’ in this stage the target concept is introduced and the subject is instructed to simply pair the stimuli with its corresponding concept, for example a study on implicit attitudes towards sexual preference (Project Implicit – an online database of IATs offering the test to the public, spearheaded by Dr Anthony Greenwald, Dr Brian Nosek and Dr Maharin Banaji) presents the subject with the task concepts ‘gay’ and ‘straight’, the subject is then presented with images displaying gay or straight couples or words such as homosexual and heterosexual. When the stimulus appears on screen the subject pairs it with the corresponding category – picture of a man and wife pairs with straight concept. The next stage in the IAT is ‘Associated Attribute Discrimination’ as previously this stage is presented as a two- category discrimination task. The subject is asked to pair words such as happiness, love, agony, strife with the corresponding attributes good and bad according to which attribute best suits their meaning. Following the introduction to the ‘Target Concept Discrimination’ and to the ‘Associates Attribute Dimension’, the two are amalgamated in the third stage –i.e. gay and good on one side of the screen and straight and bad on the other or vice versa. During this stage stimuli for target and attribute discriminations appear on alternate trials. For example’ a picture of a homosexual couple would be shown followed by the word ‘famine’.   As previously the subject pairs the stimuli with their matching category. The fourth stage consists of reversing the target concepts position in the experiment and the final stage of the experiment combines the ‘Reversed Target Concept Discrimination’ with attribute discrimination. For example the gay concept is now on the same side of the screen as bad. The subject is then presented with alternating stimuli and pairs them with the appropriate concept or attribute. If the target concepts are differentially associated with the attribute dimension, the subject should find one of the combined task (either the third stage or the fifth stage) to be more difficult than the other- this is shown in the subjects reaction time; longer reaction times suggest the subject has higher difficulty pairing an attribute with a concept. The measure of the difference in difficulty is used to provide the measure of implicit attitudinal difference between the target categories (Greenwald et al, pg 1465-6; 1998). In the example of implicit attitudes towards sexual preference, it should be easier to complete the task when straight is combined with good if there is a stronger association between heterosexuals and good meanings than between homosexuals and good meaning, thus showing an implicit attitude of bias towards heterosexuals. Also it is common to use training stages before each of the combined discrimination stages to reduce the effects the order of the combined discrimination tasks has on the IAT results. Since the IAT was first described by Dr. Anthony Greenwald et al in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology in 1998 it has grown exponentially in popularity, having been used in over 300 published studies and cited in over 800 articles (Azar, 2008). Among the reasons for the success of the IAT are its relative ease of use, the large effect sizes it creates, its high level of adaptability and its resistance to subject’s faking their responses. To show the validity of the IAT Greenway et al (1998) used the classical known-groups validity measure. This measure consists of using groups whom are known previous to the experiment to differ regarding the construct of interest. Greenwald et al used Americans of Korean and Japanese descent to test the validity of the IAT. The participants had to classify positive and negative words along with typical Korean and Japanese names in the combined discrimination stage, as expected the IAT results showed that individuals of Korean or Japanese descent were prone to hold mutually negative implicit attitudes towards the other ethnicity (Banse et al pg 146; 2001). It has been disputed that the reason for these IAT results is at least partially based on ethnic groups being more familiar with names associated with in their own group, i.e. positive IAT scores may reflect familiarity more so than sympathy with their own ethnic group. Another commonly expressed concern with the internal validity of the IAT is the order in which the combined discrimination tasks appear. Greenwald et al (1998) expressed that all other thing being equal, strengths of associations used in the first of the IATs two combined tasks had a tendency to be stronger than those used in the second combined task. However, in a subsequent study Nosek et al (2005) showed that an increase in the length of the training stages before each of the combined discrimination stages can result the order having less of an effect on the IAT scores. If the pairing order effect is due to the interference caused by learning and becoming accustomed to an initial response set and subsequently needing to replace it with a new response set, then extra practice with the new response set may act to reduce this effect. (Nosek et al, pg 177; 2005). Furthermore the IAT is designed that the order of the combined discrimination task be random.

Thw Pathophysiology Of Diabetes Health And Social Care Essay

Thw Pathophysiology Of Diabetes Health And Social Care Essay Millions of people around the world suffer from Diabetes Mellitus. It is a chronic disease in which the body cannot produce enough insulin or the body is resistant or abnormally responds to the insulin being produced. The result of these complications involve the individual becoming hyperglycemic, meaning the sugar in their blood is elevated, which can secondarily lead to more serious health problems. There are different types of Diabetes Mellitus and they include; Type 1-Also known as Insulin Dependent Diabetes and it is suggested that it is an autoimmune disorder. It most commonly affects children and adults (20-40 years old). It also most commonly affects non-hispanic whites, African Americans and Hispanic Americans. The pathophysiology of this type of Diabetes is defined as the pancreas not being able to produce enough insulin that is required for normal body processes. The individuals immune system secretes substances that attack the beta cells of the pancreas, also known as the islets of Langerhans, resulting in little or no insulin being produced. Individuals with Type 1 Diabetes can expect symptoms of polyuria (increased urine), Polydipsia (increased thirst), Polyphagia (increased hunger or eating) weight loss, nausea, blurred vision, fatigue and weakness, muscle cramps, gastrointestinal symptoms and peripheral neuropathy (numbing and tingling in both hands and feet). The second type of Diabetes is Type 2 Diabetes, also known as non-insulin dependent Diabetes or adult onset diabetes. 90-95% of Diabetics have this type of diabetes, 20% of that number coming from the population over 65 years of age. 55% of individuals are obese. The pathophysiology of this type of Diabetes is simply defined as being insulin resistant. Insulin is needed to move blood sugar into the cells where it can be stored for later use. Having type 2 Diabetes makes the fat, muscle cells and liver resistant to insulin, resulting in blood sugar not getting into the cells to be stored fo r energy. This results in the blood glucose level becoming elevated which triggers the pancreas to produce more and more insulin but not enough for the bodys demand. Individuals with Type 2 Diabetes can expect symptoms such as; Blurred vision, fatigue, frequent or slow-healing infections, increased appetite, increased thirst, increased urination and erectile dysfunction. The third type of Diabetes is Gestational Diabetes. This type of Diabetes is only diagnosed during pregnancy. The pathophysiology of Gestational Diabetes is defined as being the body not being able to make or use all of the insulin it needs for pregnancy. It is said that the hormones released from the placenta, block the action of the mothers insulin, resulting in elevated blood sugar. This can be extremely dangerous for mother and baby. The extra blood glucose goes through the placenta, giving the baby high blood glucose levels resulting in the babys pancreas to make extra insulin to get rid of the excess blood glu cose received from the mother. This extra energy will result in being stored as fat, which can lead to macrosomia, or fat baby. The baby can also have low blood glucose levels at birth, which will in turn give them breathing problems. These babies also have a high risk for obesity. Women with gestational diabetes have very few symptoms, but those documented include; excessive weight gain, excessive hunger or thirst, excessive urination or recurrent vaginal infections. The exact causes of Diabetes is still unknown to medical scientists but what is known is that certain factors also known as risk factors may contribute to the disease. These risk factors vary with what type of Diabetes the individual has but some of them coincide with each other. Type 1 Diabetes is is considered an autoimmune disease, which is the cause of 0.3% of type 1 cases. Other risks factors include the individual being genetically susceptible to the disease, having a poor diet or being malnourished, and the environment in which the individual lives that may give off a virus that affects the pancreas. With Type 2 Diabetes, genetics also play a big role as with Type 1 Diabetes. The offspring is more likely to develop Diabetes if the mother had diabetes, and 2 to 3% of offspring will develop diabetes from their father is diabetic. If both parents are diabetics, the risk is much greater. Other risk factors include, age-80% of all cases occur after the age of 50, poor diet, as with type 1, obesity and fat distribution-having excess body fat over 30% will result in increased insulin resistance, sedentary lifestyle, stress, certain drugs-clozapine, olanzapine, risperidone, quetiapine and ziprasidone, infection-such as strephylococci, sex-more common in women especially those with a history of multiple pregnancies and those suffering from Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, Hypertension, and high triglycerides and cholesterol levels-which lead to high blood sugars. There are many consequences for the individual that poorly controls their Diabetes and these consequences are generally the same for both types of Diabetes. Individuals that have had Diabetes for 10 to 15 years are at risk for eye problems such as Retinopathy-which is damage to the small blood vessels and nerve endings that are responsible for vision. Large blood glucose levels can also cause blurred vision, and difficulty in focusing. Cataracts are also more likely to occur in elderly person with Diabetes. Other consequences include kidney problems known as Nephropathy. The kidney filters waste products from our bodies and expels this waste into the urine. If blood sugar is elevated, increased glucose is filtering through the kidneys, which will in time, cause kidney damage which will require dialysis or kidney transplantation. Screening for this complication is recommended 2 years after diagnosis of diabetes in adolescents and 5 years in individuals diagnosed with diabetes after pu berty. Nerve problems such as Neuropathy (nerve damage) are also cause for concern in those with Diabetes. Symptoms of this complication include; numbness or feelings of pins and needles in the extremities. It is not typically found in young people but can arise with poor control of Diabetes. If neuropathy is found in the early stages, it can be reversed with improved Diabetes control. Vascular Disease is another complication arising from poorly controlled Diabetes. This complication can be very serious because it can lead to heart attacks and strokes due to the narrowing or blockages of the large blood vessels. Those individuals with secondary diseases such as untreated high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels or those who smoke are at greater risk for this type of complication. Foot problems, due to decreased blood flow or nerve problems are also possible complications. Although children and adolescents generally do not get this complication, it is always advised that they protect their feet from injury. Plantar warts, calluses, corns and in grown toe nails will be slower to heal with the high sugar environment so proper care of these issues is important to prevent more further damage. Aside from complications that can arise from poorly controlled diabetes, there are other medical conditions that are at higher risk with the individual has diabetes and those include thyroid problems, such as hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism, and coeliac disease-which is an autoimmune condition in which the body forms antibodies against the protein gluten, which can be found in rye, oats, barley and wheat. Many medications are used for the treatment of Diabetes I and II. Everyone with Type 1 Diabetes and some with Type 2 Diabetes must take Insulin to control their diabetes if diet and exercise is not effective. Insulin cannot be taken in a pill form because the stomach enzymes break it down, so most people inject it or use an insulin pump. The most commonly used form of insulin is the synthetic human insulin, which is chemically identical to human insulin. The only problem with this type of insulin is that it doesnt mimic the way natural insulin is secreted, but there are newer types of insulin called insulin analogs that more closely resembles the way natural insulin acts in the body. The medications used for the management of type 2 diabetes include; Sulfonylurea drugs-which stimulate the pancreas to produce and release more insulin, Meglitinides- which work like the Sulfonylureas, but the patient is less likely to develop low blood sugar and they work quickly and results fade rapidl y, Biguanides-which inhibits the production and release of glucose from the liver, which means you need less insulin to transport blood sugar into your cells, Alpha-Glucosidase inhibitors-which block the action of enzymes in your digestive tract that break down carbohydrates. This means blood is absorbed into your bloodstream more slowly, which helps prevent the rapid rise in blood sugar that usually occurs right after a meal. Thiazolidinediones- This drug makes your body tissues more sensitive to insulin and keep your liver from overproducing glucose. Drug Combinations- Which is a combination of these drugs which will control the individuals blood sugar in several different ways. Nutrition plays a big part of Diabetes and may even cure Type 2 diabetes. Any food you eat will raise your blood sugar with its highest peak 1 to 2 hours after you eat, and how much you eat, and the time of day can have an impact on how high it is. Many people think that is order to control diabetes, you have to follow the diabetes diet which includes boring and bland foods but that is only a myth. In order to control diabetes, fruits (because fruits contain sugar fructose, which does not need insulin for its metabolism and well tolerated for diabetics), vegetables (raw vegetables should be taken liberally because they stimulate and increase insulin production), whole grains, foods that are high in nutrition and low in fat and calories, fewer animal products (increases the toxemic condition underlying the diabetic state and reduce the sugar tolerance) and fewer sweets is what needs to be implemented. It is also important to eat 4 to 5 small meals a day instead of 3 to keep your blood sugar balanced so its not low at some points and sky rocketing others. It is also suggested that caffeine products such as coffee, cocoa, and tea be avoided because of their adverse influence on the digestive tract. Other foods that should be avoided are white flour products, sugar, tinned fruits, sweets, chocolates, pastries, pies, puddings, refined cereals and alcoholic drinks. Finally, the do-good foods that every diabetic should be eating include; celery, cucumbers, beans, onion, and garlic. Eating a nutritious diet is the first step in controlling your diabetes. Exercise is good for everyone but it is especially important for diabetics to partake in some form of exercise most days. Exercise improves your bodys use of insulin, burns excess body fat, helping to decrease and control weight-(improved insulin sensitivity), improves muscle strength, increases bone density and strength, lowers blood pressure lowers LDLs and increases HDLs, improves circulation, increases energy level and reduces stress. It is important to see a doctor before you start an exercise regimen but once an individual gets the free and clear, 30 minutes of aerobic exercise such as walking, hiking, jogging, biking, tennis, cross-country skiing and swimming or good choices. When exercising the body needs extra energy in the form of glucose for exercising the muscles so with exercise, the liver can release stored glucose, and the muscles can take up glucose at almost 20 times the normal rate, which lowers blood sugar levels. It is important for the individual to not overdo it though because strenuous exercise can actually have the opposite affect and increase blood sugar levels because the body recognizes intense exercise as stress and releases stress hormones that tell your body to increase available sugar to fuel your muscle. If this happens, insulin will be needed after the workout. As long as the individual follows a safe exercise routine, diabetes can be controlled and with along with a correct diet, may even be cured. A discharge teaching plan for diabetes mellitus includes; advising the patient on the importance of an individualized meal plan by reducing carbohydrates and stressing that fad diets are not recommended and can make the condition worse, discuss the goals of dietary therapy for the patient, and if the patient is obese, setting a goal of 10% of patients body weight over several months to reduce blood sugar. Explain the importance of exercise in maintaining and reducing body weight and lowering blood sugar, demonstrate and thoroughly explain the procedure for insulin self-injection and ask them to re-demonstrate it to you to show understanding and review dosage and time of injections in relation to meals, activity, and bedtime based on insulin regimen. Teach patient how important it is to test blood sugar before meals to avoid hypoglycemia and after meals to avoid hyperglycemia and teach them how to correctly monitor blood sugar and ask them to re-demonstrate it to you to insure accurac y. Explain the symptoms to look for when possible complications of the disease arise. Encourage patient to wear an identification bracelet in the case that the patient is unable to speak and needs medical treatment. Teach the family or caregiver the same information to ensure competency. Provide emotional support for the patient and the family. Diabetes is a rapidly growing disease that everyone needs to be aware so everyone can work together to bring it to an end. Although some cases will never be eliminated, education, diligence and hard work will reduce the amount of people that have it or are diagnosed with it and the complications will be decreased. Without that, the numbers will continue to increase.

Aztec and Inca Religious Zeal Essay -- Pre-Colombian History

Aztec and Inca Religious Zeal   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Aztec and Inca peoples lived in militaristic and expansionist societies whose ideals were fueled by their religious convictions. Expansionism was necessary for both societies to support their religious beliefs. The religious zeal of these two civilizations became something that the leaders of the empires could not control. These empires were built through ideologically driven conquests, which became the cornerstones of their societies and something beyond the control of the rulers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Every imperialistic nation has a motive for expansion. Military, materialism, and missionary are three of the biggest motives foe expansion that imperialistic countries use to expand their borders. Conquests that are based strictly on militaristic or materialistic goals make up long-lasting empires that rule for centuries without decline. These two motives require that some semblance of a government be set up in conquered territories so that the ruling country may use these territories as they wish. Furthermore, once these types of conquests are started, emperors are able to stop them as they wish. Ideological conquests, however, are driven by deep-down religious convictions that emperors and rulers have little power over. Furthermore, conquests that are driven by ideologies do not require the conquerors to establish working governments in their wakes. Therefore, imperial land-holdings that were acquired through ideologically driven conquests sometimes require re- conquering.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Aztec and Inca empires were built through various ideologically driven conquests, which became ingrained in their societies and grew beyond the emperors’ control. The Aztec’s expansion was promoted by their need for human sacrifices in order to keep the world working in the proper order. The Mexica people’s, who founded the Aztec empire, rise in power coincided with their tribal god’s, Huitzilopochtli, rise in the pantheon of gods to one of the creator gods (Bakewell, 23). The further Huitzilopochtli rose in the pantheon the more sacrifices were needed to keep the universal balance. The Mexica people inherited the use of human sacrifices from their predecessors, the Toltecs, but Huitzilopochtli was a Mexica creation. Mexica imperialism was due to â€Å"the elevation of Huitzilopochtli and the formulation of an imperial cult that united the patron deity, ... ...bility and support ended up ruining their empire. Split inheritance was so ingrained in Inca society that it took on a life of its own and could not be stopped by anyone. In the minds of the Incas the short-term benefits of the split inheritance system far out-weighed the long-term detriments of which they arguably were not aware. Both the Incas and the Aztecs were part of empires that were built by religious ideologies that required the expansion of a state. These ideologies had similar benefits like a better after-life, material riches, and social mobility, and similar disadvantages. The disadvantages included not allowing for government of conquered territories and over-extending each empire’s sphere of influence to the point that political stability was impossible. Each society had a potential savior of the empire in the end, but the religious ideologies of the people were far too strong for any emperor to oppose. Works Cited Bakewell, Peter. A History of Latin America. Blackwell Publishers Inc., Malden, MA. 1998 Conrad, Geoffrey W. and Demarest, Arthur A. Religion and Empire: The Dynamics of Aztec and Inca Expansion. Cambridge University Press. New York, NY. 1984

New Jersey Revenue Reform

In his State of the State speech, Governor Corzine identified five broad areas of revenue reform in New Jersey, i.e., pensions and benefits, shared services, debt reduction, modernization of the tax structure, and sustainability.   The centerpiece of the direct property tax relief is the tax credits in the form of 20%, 15%, and 10%, depending on the amount of income per household.   Governor Corzine was explicit about this in his speech.He was equally explicit in stating that for the tax credit system to work, there must be a solid, concrete source of funding.   For this, he pointed out the sales tax revenues and the redirected homestead rebates will supply the first influx of financing.   As for the succeeding years, the balance is proposed to come from the following: 1) cost savings achieved through regular and independent auditing by a new, nonpolitical state comptroller; 2) consolidations and shared services; 3) collective bargaining on pension and health benefits; 4) ass et monetization designed to reduce the state's credit card payments and provide the capacity to make capital investments in the future of the state; and 5) 4% cap on the increase in the property tax levy, claimed to be the key for sustainability of the tax credit system.   Each of these is supposed to contribute to the sustainability of the reform program, with the cap and the credit working off each other to attain the goal.Reacting to the speech, Assembly Minority Leader Alex DeCroce stated that â€Å"sadly, after five years of Democrat control, the state of our state has never been worse.   The toxic mix of high property taxes, public corruption, a mountain of debt, wasteful state spending and anti-economic growth policies are making New Jersey unaffordable for middle class families† (The Associated Press 2007).Superficially, Governor Corzine’s recommendations seem to be nothing more than political grandstanding, since all 120 legislative seats are slated for el ections this year.   Clunn (2006) points out that in 2005, State House representatives promised to enact real property tax reforms by year-end of 2006, with no results.   The recommendations of the State House were effectively countered by the Governor’s apparent desire to negotiate benefits reforms rather than make tax cuts, something that the State House representatives endeavored to get approved for five months.Corzine’s actions since his election have lead to the creation of a blogspot on the internet, called NJ Fiscal Folly, where citizens voice out their criticisms against the Governor.   Many individuals reacted negatively to the raising of sales taxes from 6% to 7%, the refusal of essential state spending reforms, and the addition of $270 Million to the Governor’s already significant pork (NJ Fiscal Folly 2006).For the bloggers, â€Å"any talk about setting aside a portion of the tax increase is simply blather, nothing more than lipstick on the pi g† (NJ Fiscal Folly 2006).   More so when paired with the proposed alternative budget for 2007, which involved barely any spending cuts, save for a lower contribution to the pension system, and the Governor’s threat to shut down state government unless the legislature approves his proposed budget (NJ Fiscal Folly 2006).   The sales tax increase was supposed to supply $1.2 Billion in revenues for the government.There are a few people, however, that are trying to look past the politics and are objectively assessing whether or not the proposals are actually feasible or if they will produce the desired results.   Senator Gormley, a Republican, thinks that the speech given by the Governor gave a â€Å"matter-of-fact outline of what needs to be done†, but it remains to be seen whether or not it will be done (Rispoli 2007), since talk of revenue reform has been just that, talk, for the past half a decade, with New Jersey’s property tax reliance at double th e nationwide rate.   Hester (2007) reports that legislators are hoping to have the new tax system of property tax credits in place before the bills go out this summer, which are checks mailed to homeowners as tax relief.Others reacted more constructively to the Governor’s empowered speech, such as William G. Dressel, Jr. Executive Director of the New Jersey State League of Municipalities.   Dressel (2006) applauded some of the proposed reforms while rejecting others, but stated that the recommendations will â€Å"generally help to limit future pension and benefits costs.†After a preliminary analysis of the proposed recommendations, Dressel (2006) pointed out that there are certain things lacking therein which the special session needs to provide for, such as the burdensome relationship between the real property tax payers and the members of the Police and Firemen’s Retirement System, and the enforcement of the moratorium on new benefits.   Dressel (2006) r ejected outright the proposal to ban dual elective office holding and the tying a portion of property tax relief funding to adherence with the Efficiency Commission.He also commented that with respect to the original recommendation by the governor on shared services, there seemed to be a deviation in the course being taken by the special session.   He pointed out that thus far, there were no recommendations on debt reduction and no specific provisions for sustainability, and that the proposals to modernize the tax system were deficient in supplying a funding source for the changes sought, specifically the tax credit system reducing residential property taxes by 20%.Hester (2007) reports that this 20% cut would require $2 Billion per annum and be funded by money previously allocated for property tax rebates and sales tax revenue, with the government relying on the previous year’s excess sales tax revenue to serve as initial funding, but with the need to find $400 Million mor e each year to fund the tax cut past the current year.Caslander (2007) opines that with the proposed changes, New Jersey would be better of changing its name from the Garden State to the â€Å"Tax Capital†.   Treating the proposals as being analogous to â€Å"finding free cheese in a mouse trap†, Caslander (2007) believes that the solutions will alleviate the problem only for a short term, but that the problem will remain, and in effect, the current proposed solutions will only end up compounding the problem, because the solution involves granting tax relief now but providing for its funding later.Rebovich (2006), after the first special session, commented that perhaps an ideal real property tax reform program would involve an extension of the sales tax, an increase in income tax rates, and savings from benefit reductions, as in effect, the burden would be shared or distributed among different people, and the effects on business and the economy would not be so harsh. Considering that the Governor’s state of the state speech cannot be expected to expound completely the mechanics of the proposed reform, that could perhaps account for the lack of details as to how the proposed changes will work.   At first glance, the proposals seem to conform to Rebovich’s picture of what would be an ideal real property tax reform program to alleviate the current situation in New Jersey.   Both public and private sectors are affected, and it seems that the burden is spread out.   However, there are still many things that need to be addressed.For example, how exactly will the tax credit system work?   How much will it take to develop the system and install it in place of the current system?   How will the new system be funded in order to be put in place?   These questions are as important as determining where the funding for the credits themselves will be taken.   Without concrete plans for the working and implementation of the credit sy stem, it will definitely not work, and the reforms desired will not be attained.Also, what will be the cost of implementing a new system of auditing?   And what guarantee is there that the new state comptroller will be, as he is described â€Å"nonpolitical†?   What about consolidation and shared services?   The Governor stated that this area needs some review, but there must be a specific set of rules or criteria to help determine which areas or branches should be consolidated, and which should remain independent, as well as which particular services should be shared.   As for reduction of pension and health benefits, is there potential liability on the part of the state for those who claim a vested right to the value of the benefits they receive, especially with respect to pension and retirement benefits of those who have been receiving them for years?   Spreading the burden of paying for the proposed reforms is a good idea, but is it just?   What if the state e nds up spending more because of litigation?   Then the expenses would merely be redirected elsewhere, but the burden would still be heavy for a lot of people.   The idea of banning dual elective office holding is a good idea, whatever curtailing effects it might seem to have on the right of suffrage of the electorate.Public office is a public trust, and from the person in office should be expected no less than the duty of utmost fidelity and loyalty to the people he represents.   The tendency in holding dual offices is that the efforts of the public officer will be divided, and the quality of his services might be diminished.   As for Dressel’s arguments against the Efficiency Commission, perhaps a set of rules to govern the proceedings and determinations made by the Commission, as well as a mode of appeal or review of its determinations, would be enough of a safeguard against the danger of subjectivity pointed out.Objectively, the recommendations given are feasible, but more work needs to be put in fine tuning the plans and executing them.   The cooperation of everyone is needed; instead of blindly criticizing, constructive comments and active participation can make the proposals for reform work.Reference List:Dressel Jr., William G. Legislators Haven’t Gone Far Enough For Taxpayers. 23 November 2006. 12 January 2006. ;http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006611230369;Hester J., Tom.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Corzine: Time is Now For Property Relief.† Courier Post Online.   9 January 2007. 12 January 2007. ;http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070109/NEWS01;The Associated Press. Reaction to Corzine’s Speech. 9 January 2007. 12 January 2007. ;http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200770109023;Rispoli, Michael. â€Å"Corzine Reiterates Need For Pension, Health Care System Reforms.† Courier Post Online. 9 January 2007. 12 January 2007. ;http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbc s.dll/article?AID=/20070109/NEWS01;Hester Jr., Tom. â€Å"Democrats See New Deadline for Tax Reform, Hope System Will be in Place Before Bills Go Out This Summer.† Daily Record. 11 January 2007. 12 january 2007. ;http://www.dailyrecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007601110373;Caslander, Thomas Paine. â€Å"New Jersey Should Change Its Nickname from the Garden State to the ‘Tax Capital’†.   10 January 2007. 12 January 2007.   ;http://www.thedailyjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007701100329;Clunn, Nicholas. â€Å"Hopes For Tax Reform Crashed and Burned.† Courier Post Online. 27 December 2006. 12 January 2006. ;http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061227/NEWS01/612270446/-1/ARCHIVES;Blogger. NJ Fiscal Folly. 8 July 2006. 12 January 2007. ;http://njfiscalfolly.blogspot.com/;Rebovich, David P. Political Interests and Economic Reality Clash at Special Session. 2 August 2006. 12 January 2007. ;http://politics.nexcess. net/rebovich/2006/08/political_interests_and_econom.html;

Career and College Goals Essay

College and Career Goal It was the first year that psychology was being offered at my high school and I was eager to be a part of the learning experience. I knew instantly that psychology was my calling. I could see so many opportunities to make a difference in life, both big and small. I have never felt a stronger pull towards a goal and a career. Unfortunately, after high school I allowed procrastination and discouraging words from others stand in my way. Then as the years passed, I started a family and the excuses to not go back to school and get my psychology degree seemed more easily justifiable. I continued to let time pass me by but the urge I felt to commit to my goal remained. The desire was there, the goal was there, everything was there except motivation. I couldn’t motivate myself because I couldn’t justify giving up more of my time to something that wasn’t my family or my current career. Life was already so hectic. Then as my kids got older, I realized that I wasn’t setting a very good example for them by putting my dreams on hold. I knew that I would continue to keep telling myself â€Å"one day† and that day was never going to come unless I made it happen. I guess it finally hit me that my life is always going to be hectic. I have five kids for God’s sake! That day of realization was the day I decided to go back to school and earn my degree. I want my kids to follow their dreams, achieve their goals, and never give up. I can honestly thank my kids and my husband for my motivation and making me realize that getting my degree was a positive change of pace and that it would benefit us greatly. It is one of the best decisions I have made and I don’t have to take time away from my family. I am currently pursuing my Bachelor’s degree in Psychology at Columbia Southern. After I graduate I am committed to continuing my education and pursuing my Master’s degre e. One day I hope to have my own psychology practice. I have a deep passion to help people and I look forward to making a positive impact in people’s lives.