Credit Card Fraud in the UK Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Credit Card Fraud in the UK - Research Paper Example In 1946, John Biggins’ introduced the first bank card called â€Å"Charge-It† which allowed account holders at Biggins bank located in Brooklyn to purchase. The bill is forwarded to Biggins and Biggins pay the merchant, then charge their account holders in return. In 1951, the same system was also adopted by Franklin National Bank in New York. Both systems worked the same but use was limited locally. Diners Club Card was introduced through the initiative of Frank McNamara and his partner Ralph Schneider. By 1951, there were about 20,000 cardholders of Diners Club (Woolsey and Gerson, 2009). It was estimated that the cost of credit card fraud in the United States amounts to around US$750-830 million in 2006 alone or globally at 7 cents per $100 transaction (Mercator Advisory Group, 2008). In 2007, it has been reported that estimate of losses caused by credit card fraud reached some $52.6 billion. Credit card fraud is the misuse of a credit card through theft or another payment system through the illegal source of funds with the purpose to obtain funds or goods without bearing the payment. Physical cards may be stolen or identity data and other relevant information may have been compromised to allow the commission of credit card fraud. Usually, the legitimate cardholder may not be aware of the fraud, and neither does the institution that issued the card (Levi, Bissell, and Richardson, 1991). The cardholder may only start to become aware of theft or fraud once a billing statement has been received which is not delivered daily or weekly, but usually every month (Levi, Bisse ll, and Richardson, 1991).

Environmental Impacts of the Global Increase in Demand for Oil Essay Example for Free

Environmental Impacts of the Global Increase in Demand for Oil Essay To what extent are the environmental impacts of the global increase in demand for oil acceptable? [15 marks] After the industrial revolution, the demand for oil has been increasing globally. Over 100 million tonnes of oil are transported around the world on average a day. There are countries like the US which consume almost one quarter of global oil output, which must be supplied from oil reserves, usually from countries like Saudi Arabia (Guinness, 2011, p. 245). This shows that the topic of oil consumption is a global issue as all countries need oil to develop and provide for their populations. The issue with this large consumption of oil is the fact that oil is a non-renewable source of energy and therefore has a limit. Oil is formed from the remains of dead plants and animals in underground rock which is found in marine areas and therefore requires technology such as pipelines and drilling machines to extract the oil. The implications of this has caused serious environmental consequences which questions whether extracting oil to supply the demands of the world’s population should be permitted when the environment has to pay the cost, examples being oil leaks into the sea and the effects of that. With a growing global population, energy companies are trying to find sources of energy and are therefore trying to construct pathways and routes to constantly feed people’s needs and demands. This has lead to companies searching and drilling for oil in fragile environments, such as the Alaska pipeline which crosses 3 mountain ranges. The reason why companies are looking into areas full of permafrost is because global warming is causing the ice in the Arctic Circle to melt and oil rich sea beads are now being uncovered. The implementation of the Alaska pipeline has not caused any major environmental problems as many obstacles had been avoided when constructing this project, such as raising the pipeline on stilts so that that the heated oil would not cause the ice to melt. However, the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska, which occurred in 1989 did take place and still affects the environment, animal species and humans to this day. The oil tanker named Exxon Valdez was carrying 1.2 million barrels of oil when it ran aground on Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, spilling 240 000 barrels. The oil slick eventually covered 25 000 km2 coastal and off-shore waters and 1700km of coastline (RGS Worcester, n.d., para. 2). A major oil spill like this has resulted in devastating environmental impacts, which has caused social and economical impacts as well. The clean-up process, which included burning the oil (relatively effective as it reduced 113,400 liters of oil to 1,134 liters of removable residue), spraying chemicals on the oil which reached the shoreline and mechanical cleanup methods, did not eradicate the oil fast enough as the environmental impacts are still present after 21 years. 10000 people were involved in the clean up and it took 4 summers and cost 2 billion dollars. This large number of people put their jobs on hold and attended to the effects of the oil spill, which could have caused a decline in the economy in Alaska (Exxon Valdez oil spill, n.d., para. 5). The biggest impact of the oil spill was on the wildlife. Some 2,000 sea otters, 302 harbor seals and about 250,000 seabirds died within a few days after the oil spill (Graham, 2003, para. 1). A decrease in biodiversity and the ecosystems in Alaska affect the environment significantly as it disrupts food chains and causes animals like ducks and other marine animals to lose their source of food. The biggest impact, in terms of wildlife, is the herring population and the effect on the herring industry in Alaska. The spill occurred during spawning season that the inlets and bays where herring traditionally laid their eggs were choked with oil. Within four years, the herring population has disappeared. This has affected Alaskans in terms of their jobs and their source of food. Permits to fish herring commercially had been worth hundreds of thousands of dollars before the spill but became worthless, leaving many fishermen facing huge amounts of debt. Farmers used to earn 150000 dollars a year but this has dropped to 5000 dollars, showing the extent of the impact of the loss of herring (BBC News, 2010, para. 9). A weaker economy results in economical problems within the area and a change in employment structure as children of these fisherman can no longer have the opportunity to be a herring farmer. Economic problems can also result in social problems such as domestic violence, alcohol abuse, suicides and divorces, mainly due to massive unemployment. This example shows that the environmental impacts can have their own impacts, which again questions whether the extraction of oil is worth all these consequences. After 21 years, 20000 gallons of oil still remain on the beaches of Prince William Sound (BBC News, 2010, para. 30). Therefore, the clean up hasn’t been very effective. It’s also worth pointing out that maybe all the environmental impacts still haven’t been determined, for example the soil and vegetation could also have been affected by the oil spill as the oil may have seeped through the sand of the beaches. This would affect the growth of vegetation drastically. People don’t know enough to predict how long the effects are going to last as they can range from years to centuries. One wonders how long countries can continue to extract and consume oil when they still don’t fully know the extent of the environmental effects of oil spills and if their chances of occurring are more likely. The production of oil is also a process which causes a variety of negative effects on the environment. An example is the tar sands oil extraction in Canada – the country which supplies the US with the most oil as it doesn’t have issues regarding transport, weather and the fact that there are pipeline installed from Canada to the US. There is enough natural gas to heat 3 million homes from the extraction of tar sands oil in Canada. However, it is expensive to extract the oil out of the sands (120 million dollars over the last 12 years have been invested) which has lead to environmental degradation in the form of excess use of water to extract bitumen. The bitumen is then refined and the toxic sludge (not like conventional oil – mainly nasty impurities) that is left over after separating oil from impurities is usually dumped in ponds and lakes. In some cases, the toxic ponds are so big that they can be seen from space. The Athabasca River in Canada has a large number of toxic ponds, some being 60 km long in length. These companies, like SUNCOR (Canadian energy company), are dumping around 1.8 billion liters of toxic materials like sludge and impurities in these ponds, they will eventually reach water in the delta (Sustainable Guidance, 2011). The effects of these impurities in the water can be devastating to the wildlife. There is a decrease in the number of fish as the sludge clogs up the fish’s gills, making it hard for them to breathe. The change in the ecosystem and food chain will also cause a decline in fish as smaller species like plankton may be affected by the impurities. The fish may also be contaminated and migratory birds which eat these fish will suffer and possibly die as they won’t eat healthy meat. Moose is another species which are affected by the toxic ponds as their source of food is contaminated and decreasing. This has lead to a number of endangered species. There is a 35 million acres coniferous forest (larger than the Brazilian forest) which is full of endangered species. There have also been cases where environmental issues like toxic ponds are not released to the public as these details have been ‘covered up’ by companies like SUNCOR, leaving environmentalists like Green peace in conflict with these energy companies. This example has shown the harmful effects of oil production on the environment, which again makes us question whether this is all worth it (Sustainable Guidance, 2011). To a very small extent, the environmental impacts of the global increase in demand for oil are acceptable. It can be said, with great certainty, that oil production and consumption does not benefit the environment. The environmental consequences may not be frequent but when they do occur, they cause a catastrophic effect, which takes the environment and the people decades or even longer to recover. These impacts are therefore not acceptable, which is why countries should start investing in producing renewable energy such as solar panels and wind turbines. Governments can’t suddenly start decreasing the amount of oil they consume as the people are already used to living with a high standard of living. The populations around the world should be educated about the problem and should be encouraged to start relying on renewable sources of energy. However, this raises the problem for developing countries and NICs. It will be extremely difficult to develop without consuming large amounts of oil and will therefore cause the rate of development to decrease. This leaves these types of countries at a disadvantage, which questions whether it is acceptable for all countries to consume a smaller amount of oil when there are countries with different levels of development. Clearly the issue needs to be discussed before any strategies can be implemented. References BBC News. (2010, July 6). Alaska town slowly heals after 1989 Exxon Valdez spill. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-10548872 BBC News. (2010, June 17). Examining the legacy of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10324021 Exxon Valdez Oil Spill (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved February 24, 2013 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exxon_Valdez_oil_spill Graham, S. (2003, December 19). Environmental effects of Exxon Valdez spill still being felt. Retrieved from http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=environmental-effects-of Guinness, P. (2011). Geography for the IB diploma. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. RGS Worcester. (n.d.) The Exxon Valdez – environmental catastrophe in a fragile environment? Retrieved from https://schoolweb.rgsw.org.uk/resource.aspx?id=52612 Sustainable Guidance. (2011, April 27). Tar sands oil extraction – the dirty truth. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkwoRivP17A

The Power of Women in Death of a Salesman Essay -- Arthur Miller

In the play Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, there are several female characters. Linda Loman is a loyal and nurturing wife and mother and is the person who holds the family together. The other women in the play are wanton and pull the Loman family apart. Both types of women in the play hold a position of power over the pitiful men, whether it is as a matriarch or a whore. Willy, Biff, and Happy Loman all have a common weakness: lack of self-control. Willy had an affair with a woman when he was younger, sleeping with secretaries that could help him make sales to their bosses. Biff â€Å"stole [himself] out of every good job since high school† (131). Happy sleeps with his bosses’ wives because he cannot advance in his profession and taking his bosses’ wives’ loyalty away from them is the only thing that brings him satisfaction. This senselessness that afflicts the Loman men renders them all unhappy and poor. Linda however, remains rational throughout the social and economic insecurity in her life. The other women too, never fail to manipulate the men into a puppet-like state. The ability to remain rational and manipulate others renders the female characters in Death of a Salesman more powerful than the male characters, despite the patriarchal demeanour of the play. Linda loves Willy unconditionally. As Willy’s mental health becomes more and more unstable, he becomes more irritable. No matter how abusive Willy behaves toward Linda, she never gets angry or allows Willy to become aware that he is losing his mind. Whereas Willy and his sons lack self-control, Linda proves to have an abundance of it by remaining calm during Willy’s fits of his inferiority complex. Although Willy does not admit it, he knows that he has failed to ach... ...ported by the neck: Linda. All of the Loman men have very flawed characters. They are steered greatly by their sex drives, leaving them as helpless as puppets. The women, Linda and the prostitutes, are all talented puppeteers. Linda works as a sort of purifying force as she tries to keep the family together while the other women work as corrupting forces, having affairs with the Loman men, which pulls the family further apart. In both cases, the women gain power by exercising their ability to reason or manipulate to gain power over the men. It must be true that the women of the play are more powerful than the men, because the men are powerless without self-control. â€Æ' Works Cited Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. New York: Penguin, 1976. My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Dir. Joel Zwick. Perf. Nia Vardalos, Michael Constantine, and John Corbett. IFC Films, 2002.

Childhood Is The Best Part Of One’s Life Narrate Your Experience

Many a time, I have longed for my childhood days. This is especially true at times when I would like to escape from the torture of examinations and homework. Furthermore, my childhood was filled with countless memorable moments that I would love to relive. Many, who have happy childhood memories, would also, I am sure, feel the same.Childhood is a period which is associated with fun and play. The child hardly cares or knows what the adult thinks of him. He frolics with his childhood playmates in the sand, mud or water. Through his mother may chide him for his pranks, she may, secretly in her heart, wish that she too could be as carefree and happy as her child.Children normally do not have any major responsibilities to shoulder. Political, economic, social and family problems do not disturb them. They may be confused because they can not comprehend the problem, but most of them will not go through heartbreaking moments over them.However, the above beautifully painted childhood phase i s not true in the case of all children. There are children who are abused and exploited and who suffer from dire poverty. In Ethiopia and other poor countries, children are afflicted with many diseases and continually suffer the pangs of hunger. They have to shoulder the responsibilities of adults, looking for food and taking care of their younger siblings.These cases, however, may be considered as exceptions. Many still feel that the average child’s life is much merrier. Adult life is filled with responsibilities. Yet, responsibilities need not be viewed negatively. There are many joys that come with responsibilities. For example, I always experience great joy and satisfaction when I do well in my exam after studying hard for it.Therefore, in my view, childhood can be looked back upon as one of the best periods in one’s life. With a positive attitude, a person can experience happiness in any period of his life.

Personnel Management and Organizational Behavior Essay

Four ways to shape employee behavior are: positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, punishment, and extinction. Positive reinforcement is following a reaction with something enjoyable (Robbins & Judge, 2007). Employees need recognition for exceeding the organization’s standard on job performance. A well-organized reward program will motivate employees to excel the organization’s standard. Example of this are: employee of the month, quarter or year, and recognitions to employees for presenting ideas to improve the organization’s operation. Negative reinforcement is also referred as â€Å"looking busy†. Supervisors should explain the task to the employee, provide necessary resources, and ensure the work is performed to standard. These actions will help eliminate negative reinforcement. Punishment and knowing the organization’s standard are directly related. The organization’s standard, duties and responsibilities of the employees have to be established in order to hold employees accountable for their incorrect behavior. Punishment can be used as the way to unsure employees follows the standard. The different type of punishments have to be included in the workplace policy to ensure the employee knows what could happen if he/she does not follow the standard. Extinction is a behavior not reinforced, causing it to disappear (Robbins & Judge, 2007). Adequate supervision and communication in the workplace are two key elements to assess this behavior and eliminate when is not needed. Managers have to develop ways to shape employee’s behavior in order to improve performance. Shaping the employee’s behavior starts with adopting practice that encourage employees to be responsible, loyal, and committed to an organization’s goal (â€Å"Strategic Planning in the Payroll Department†, 2007). Some of these practices include setting standards, establishing duties and responsibilities, and direct supervision. Discuss the three components of an attitude. The main components of an attitude are: cognitive, affective, and behavioral. Cognitive component is a consciously held opinion or belief (Colborn, 2007, p. 68), such as â€Å"sexual harassment is wrong†. Managers should enforce values, high standard, group and cultural behavior awareness to improve the working environment. The affective component is the emotional tone or feeling of an attitude (Colborn, 2007): â€Å"I don’t like Charles, because he harasses his female employees†. Leaders should maintain open communication with their employees to let them express their feelings and emotions. Behavioral component is the intent to behave in a certain way toward something or someone (Robbins & Judge, 2007), such as â€Å"I’m going to avoid Charles because of his improper conduct†. This action could cause problems in the work group and if not handle properly it will set a bad example to the employees. In conclusion leaders should understand the components of an attitude in order to establish means to avoid these in the working environment. Enforcing values, high standards, open communication and continues supervising are key to success. How is bounded rationality related to decision making? Bounded rationality is defined as making decisions by constructing simplified models that extract the essential features from problems without capturing all their complexity (Robbins & Judge, 2007, p. 161). This concept used a method where a satisfactory solution is obtained in stade of the optimal solution. This approach is driven by previous experiences, limited information and selecting the first solution that satisfies the constraints. Decision-making process is a detail process to obtain the best solution. During this process all alternatives and courses of action are considered and evaluated completely. This approach consumes time and resources because every alternative has to be evaluated in order to obtain the best solution. In my opinion the decision-making process should be exercise as much as possible in order to obtain the optimum solution to a problem. Leaders should be aware of both approaches and select one based on time, safety concerns, priority of the task, and resources available. What is a quality circle? Quality circle is a work of employees and supervisors, who meet regularly to discuss their quality problems, investigate causes, recommend solutions, and take corrective actions (Robbins & Judge, 2007, p. 237). A successful quality circle should include the following: a comptroller, individual assignment, tentative times, progress report, implementation and performance monitoring. The comptroller will be in charge of conducting the meetings, keeping record of the problems, progress and implementation. Problems should be brainstorm by the group and assigned to the best qualify employee. Each problem should have a tentative time to obtain a solution. During each meeting a progress report is required in order to ensure timely solution of the problem. Implementing the solution and monitoring its performance will ensure employee’s satisfaction and develop credibility to the quality circle. The end statement of the quality circle is to fix problems in the organization.