Privacy issues Essay Example for Free

Privacy issues Essay What it is? Privacy is the right of individuals to conceal things, related to them, from others and prevent non-relevant persons/authorities from gaining access to it. Â  An individual wishes to hide his/her personal information since the latter is an invaluable asset. Anyone gaining access to it can cause harm to the individual. For example, an individual has the right to keep his/her credit card number private. Anyone gaining access to it can cause financial damage to the individual. (Alba, Stay , Lorenzen and Scoble , 2008) A breach of privacy occurs when an unauthorized person gains access to the information. This breach can only occur at a place where there is a large volume of information about the individuals. In this report we shall look at privacy issues related to the government, retail stores, hospitals, banks, organizations, or social networks like ‘face book’. Privacy Issues Faced By the Government: Governments collect a lot of information of people. Information regarding citizens of the country is required to avoid any act of illegal activities, terrorist attacks, etc. Information of people helps track people involved in criminal activities. More over information is also required to estimate or to calculate the taxes that the residents in the country will be giving in the proceeding year. Information of people is also required to plan for future developments in the country by looking at the people’s age, sex, etc. For example, in order to provide better healthcare to its people, the government collects information on people’s age, sex, illness records etc. (Freeman and Peace, 2004) Many important benefits occur from people gaining access to this information. Public records can help bring people close together. They can be used to link people who share common activities or hobbies. They can be used to track down missing family members such as finding parents for kids. Access to these records by businesses helps them to serve consumers better. This improves the quality of goods and services in the country and increases expenditure by consumers. Through this the overall economy prospers. (Chander , Gelman , and Radin , 2008) Access to these records by law-enforcing agencies improves safety of people. Records of criminal arrests and convictions ensure that such people are not hired at jobs. However, these benefits do not fully justify the breach of individual’s privacy. There are many ways that governments destabilize and threaten the privacy of citizens. Governments have numerous incentives to collect, store, and use information about their citizens. And they bear very little when they abuse information about citizens. Public records are one way that threatens the privacy of individuals. Information such as on property and loans of an individual , driving license information , criminal record and tax record are some of the example that can be mishandled by the government and other authorized persons and may become a serious issue . Individuals may even commit frauds and violent crimes using the private data available to the government. For example, public records contain information on people’s bank account. Any one gaining access to it can commit a fraud using this information and then the person bearing the account will be held responsible. Governments take a lot of steps to prevent unauthorized access by people to this information. All these steps are implemented at the points where the information is extracted and recorded. For example, all vehicles traveling on highways are required to have black boxes fitted into them. These record invaluable information on what individuals do inside the vehicle. So the authorities need to ensure that these black boxes are not easy to break into. Â  Similarly, all cell phones broad cast information on locations that the cell phone user visits. This is also an invaluable asset. The government needs to ensure that cell phone companies do not disclose this information to other companies or individuals. Similarly, governments collect a lot of information on financial standings of people. This is done in the name of performing tax calculations. These records, if mishandled, can clearly reveal extremely confidential information like income, savings, investments etc. Thus it is utmost important that governments ensure that financial information is only accessed by concerned authorities. Privacy Issues Faced By Retail Stores: Retail outlets – Real and Online, in pursuit of serving their customers better than their competitors, allow credit services to their regular customers. To effectively run this scheme, they need to record a lot of personal information such as credit card numbers and social security numbers. Misuse of these can cause a lot of damage to the individual. For example misuse of credit cards can even make an individual bankrupt. (Solove , Rotenberg , and Schwartz , 2006) Not only it is important information like credit card number that is to be kept concealed, even information like address and phone numbers are important. This if leaked out can be used by spammers and junk mailers. Already people are facing this issue. A lot of regulations are imposed by law-enforcing agencies upon retailers to ensure that they handle the personal information appropriately. For example the Retail Council of Canada has established a comprehensive privacy policy on what information is collected at retail stores, how it is collected, how it is used and what should be done to protect it . (Holtzman, 2006) This is not just the duty of retail stores , etc to protect and individual personal information but the individuals are also at the same time responsible for protecting their own person information that can have the potential to be used in illegal activities . Individuals should give only limited and relevant information to the retail stores in order to protect their privacy . Moreover a go through on the copy of retailers privacy policy can also be helpful to find out what information can be leaked out from the retail store or to find out which information they should not give out to the stores . Privacy Issues Faced by Social Networking Websites like ‘Face book’: Social networking sites are new dimension of internet these days. Their aim is to connect an individual with all his friends and colleagues with just a click. Also they help an individual meet new people and make new acquaintances. With the busy and fast running life of today these sites have become enormous hits. However, these sites are huge repositories of information relating individuals all across the globe. And when there is information there is the risk of privacy being breached. Thus the need for a privacy policy arises in this case too. Most websites ensure that the information is maintained on computers that are safe from unauthorized access. Moreover they also need to ensure that there are no leakages of information while it is being transmitted from the server to the user or vice-versa. (Atwan , Lushing, and Andrews, 2008) The ‘Face book’ has two core privacy principles. First, it gives choice to its users to put in whatever information they want. And individuals can control who can see how much information. Second, it aims to make sharing of information easier and less time consuming. Â  However, the website does reveal that the user information will be revealed to the third parties. by stating that the information in the profiles can be used by the third party without indentifying the name of that individual. Privacy Issues Faced by Organizations: Organizations, both public and private collect and maintain a lot of information on their customers. Customer Information can have several uses that can be very valuable especially for organizations. Some of the benefits of having customer information is that it can help learn the needs and wants of their customers – potential and current. It can be used to more efficiently offer their products to customers and also , the customer information can be used to predict the future demand of the company’s product and future cash flow . Like at all the other sources, this information is equally likely to be misused and individual’s privacy will be breached. The best way to regulate organization’s privacy is at government level. People expect government to formulate laws that will ensure that organizations do not breach away with consumer’s privacy. (Solove , Rotenberg , and Schwartz , 2005) Another way is to regulate through the market regulation. In this the business that is successful in retaining the customer information private and confidential becomes successful whereas business that do not offer satisfactory privacy guarantees to the customer are ignored and put out of the business. Privacy Issues faced by Hospitals The question is why privacy is important in hospitals. Privacy in hospitals is needed to ensure that personal health information can be shared for core health activities, with safeguards to limit the inappropriate use and sharing of patient data. Â  Any deviation from this law will hurt the hospitals reputation as patients will stop trusting hospital to safeguard their sensitive personal records. Therefore hospitals are required to take critical steps towards building security and privacy of healthcare providers, patients and all others involved in health care. (Gaston , 2003) Some steps taken towards safeguarding patient’s privacy include: 1. Patient’s written and explicit authorization is required to disclose personal health information to employers. The authorization must include what information is to be shared, person allowed to use data and for what purpose information is to be retrieved. 2. However, hospital administration is permitted to utilize patient’s personal health information for treatment. 3. If the patient is present, the hospital may disclose medical information to such people if the patient does not object. If the patient objects to disclosure the hospital may determine whether the disclosure is in the best interests of the patient. The professional judgment of the health care provider should inform any decision regarding disclosure of protected health information to a family member or friend who is involved in the patients care, as these disclosures are permitted, but not mandatory. 4. Disclosure of protected health information has always been permitted for purposes such as national security, public health monitoring, and law enforcement, as well as many others. 5. The health information custodians policies must be readily available to patients and should include information about practices and procedures. The right of privacy and consent are essential to the trust and integrity of the patient-physician relationship. Privacy Issues in Banks – Real and Online . Customer’s personal privacy is extremely important to banks. Bank should be committed to protecting customer information. Banks should not share nonpublic information about customers with third parties without their consent. Â  Information banks should collect from customers should help serve only the financial needs of customers, provide customer service, offer new products or services, and fulfill legal and regulatory requirements. These types of non-public, personal information may include: 1. Information we received loan or insurance applications or other forms. 2. Information about transactions with affiliates of banks. 3. Information from outside companies. Banks should collect only the information necessary to deliver quality products and services to customers. All of internet sensitive information of customers should be protected by data encryption technology. (Luna , 2004) References: 1. Alba, Jason , Stay , Jesse , Lorenzen , Lee Scoble , Robert (2008). Im on FacebookNow What: How to Get Personal, Business, and Professional Value from Faceboo. Happy About. 2. Alderman, Ellen , Kennedy , Caroline (1997). The Right to Privacy.Vintage . 3. Atwan , Greg , Lushing, Evan , Andrews, Aurora (2008). The Facebook Book . Abrams Image. 4. Chander , Anupam , Gelman , Lauren , Radin , Margaret Jane (2008). Securing Privacy in the Internet Age . Stanford Law Books. 5. Freeman, Lee, Peace, A. Graham (2004). Information Ethics: Privacy and Intellectual Propert.Information Science Publishing . 6. Gaston , S. J. (2003). Protecting Your Money, Privacy and Identity from Theft, Loss and Misuse. Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants . 7. Holtzman, David H. (2006). Privacy Lost: How Technology Is Endangering Your Privacy. Jossey-Bass. 8. Levine, John R. , Church , Ray Everett-, Stebben , Gregg (2002). Internet Privacy for Dummies . For Dummies . 9. Luna , J.J. (2004). How to Be Invisible: The Essential Guide to Protecting Your Personal Privacy, Your Assets, and Your Life. Thomas Dunne Books. 10. Solove , Daniel J. , Rotenberg , Marc , Schwartz , Paul M. (2006). Privacy, Information And Technology. Aspen Publishers. 11. Solove , Daniel J. , Rotenberg , Marc , Schwartz , Paul M. (2005). Information Privacy Law. Aspen Publishers.

Wicca Vs. Paganism Essays -- essays research papers

Wicca versus Paganism   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Wicca and Pagan are two religions, which have many similarities as well as many differences within each area. Wicca is a sect of Pagan in which each has their own variations on the religion. A good way to put it; all Wiccans are Pagan, but not all Pagans are Wiccan. Witch is a term used for any practitioner of Wicca. The Webster's II Dictionary defines witch as 1. A woman who practices sorcery or is believed to have dealings with the devil, 2. An ugly, vicious old woman; hag. Wicca is described by the American Heritage Dictionary as the cult of witchcraft. Pagan is the religion under which many different religions are practiced. Webster's II Dictionary defines pagan as one who does not acknowledge the god of Christianity, Islam, or Judaism; heathen. Most parts of these definitions are wrong. Wicca is a sect of Paganism, in which different practices are learned, worshipped, and taught. One form of Wicca is Solitary Practitioners the other is Coven Practitioners. The forms of Wicca that are practiced vary in most uses. Solitary Practitioners usually 'pray';, read, meditate, and cast magik and spells alone. Whereas Covenants practice these familiar things amongst a group of anywhere from two people up to thirteen people. In Pagan practices, these things are practiced normally within a group setting of anywhere from two people to hundreds of people. Both practices use a magik circle which is either drawn imaginary or with the use of a broom or sea salt. This is to keep out any negative energy from entering the circle while any type of practice is being done. This keeps the practitioner(s) from any harm or wrongdoing. Both of these religions are nature-based and usually have one of three belief systems in common: polytheism, pantheism, and animism. Both of these religions use many objects in their practices or studies. Both Wiccans and Pagans will use what is called Magikal tools. These are known to include, incense, candles, athames; usually known as a black handled knife, the broom; used to 'sweep'; away negative energies, the cup or chalice; used to hold such things as blessed water, wine and other fluids, the cauldron; used as an instrument in which to cook and for brew making, also used for scrying, and most importantly, the pentacle. The pentacle is usually a flat piece of brass, gold, silver, wood, wax... ...ifferent. Many Pagans prefer to worship within a coven or group. Each person would take on a different aspect within the group. Each person plays a different part within the circle. There is a group of teachers, called the High Priestess and High Priest. The High Priestess and Priest would control any and all worship sessions, much like the Christian churches. Each person thereafter might control a corner, or element, and the less powerful of them all would worship and watch the ceremonies take place. Pagans do not have a Book of Shadows, in which to worship. This religion is an oral based religion, passed down from mouth to mouth. Pagans may rely upon any natural force, such as a body of water, or a natural rock formation. They use these to help them focus energy upon their gods or goddesses. Both, Pagans and Wiccans, have varying religious practices; however, many of them are also similar. Pagans focus more on the group aspect of tradition and the 'old times';, whereas, Wicca is based primarily upon the needs and wants of the witch. This could even include practicing Christianity on the side. Both religions do; however, have in common many uses of tools, spells, and 'prayers';.

Swot Red Bull

STRENGTH – Leadership position The company â€Å"Red Bull† is considered like the â€Å"leader† of the energy drinks market in the world with 70% of market share in 2012. – Marketing strategy * A lot of sports events, promotions and campaigns (like street marketing) * Sponsorship (F1 Red Bull Team, Felix Baumgartner, Shaun White†¦) * Original communication strategy and efficient (http://www. redbull. fr/cs/Satellite/fr_FR/Video/Le-nouveau-clip-du-Monde-de-Red-Bull-au-cinema-021243076490242) -Innovation * Innovating recipe of energy drink containing â€Å"Taurine† – Loyal customers * The creation of an universe encouraged customer loyalty Strong Brand identity and trendy brand – Strong financial position * Turnover of 3,27 Billion of Euros. – Single product Weaknesses – Average price – Lack of product innovation Nowadays, there are a lot of competitors in the market owned by famous brands like Coca-Cola (Burn) or Pepsi (Dark Dog) – Lack of patent on Red Bull’s recipe means anyone can copy it – High logistics costs – Profits linked to exchange rates – High sunk cost (marketing, Advertising) Opportunities – Red bull has opportunities to expanding the target markets as well as product lines extension * Extension of product line can help to retain market share Increase market share with increased opportunities in emerging markets through being trendy * Sunk cost can provide future growth in emerging markets due to a trendy image – Consumer recognition through sponsorship of sports events so can expand product with a loyal customer base * Overcome higher prices than competitors with product expansion and diversification – New ventures like partnership with Facebook – Product and services expansion – International manufacturing opportunities * Manufacturing Internationally can decrease exchange rate risks Keep substantial mar ket share with international operations * High logistics costs can be decreased with decentralized production in emerging markets Threats – Competition * Major competitors such as Coca Cola (burn) and Pepsi (dark dog) are continually seeking to regain market share of Red Bull – Negative publicity * Various media reported that Red Bull is harmful for one’s health * The caffeine levels in Red Bull can be dangerous if consumed by children/teenagers * Red Bull has gone to the extremes of seeking scientific proof that its product is safe for consumption (cost of scientific research) Inability to move forward with the product * The product could be in danger of becoming stale by shunning conventional advertising methods * Large investment in extreme sport events the question is what will be their next step to keep on being innovating and attracting – Ability to gain new customers and retain current customer loyalty * Red Bull’s target market currently ai med at youngsters: so this generation will continue to drink ‘energy drink? * the next upcoming generation accept this product ?

Team Importance Week 3 Hcs 325

Introduction No management position is easy these days. There are many rules and regulations to follow, as well as many responsibilities that grow more over time. One of the responsibilities as a manager is to improve efficiency of the company and extend customer satisfaction. Not only does this take money, but time, skill, and teamwork. As the manager of a busy call center, the call volume has increased so much that there is an extra $20,000 to spend on improving customer satisfaction and efficiency. How can this be spent wisely to reach these goals? Teamwork is top on the list of importance because without a team, there is no business.Teams provide many things to a health care facility, as well as any other successful business. Teams are used in many different ways in other industries, such as the military, for example. This sets examples for the health care industry as to how teams might be used similarly there compared to somewhere like the government jobs. However, nothing is ea sy like saying the alphabet. In any industry, conflict does arise, and having the knowledge of problem solving is very good to have in order to make an educated decision for the health care organization. GoalsIn the call center, there is an extensive amount of money to be used for improving the quality of care, and customer’s satisfaction. Goals need to be set in order for the $20,000 to be used wisely. Teamwork is the answer to this. To improve quality of the product, and to increase customer satisfaction, everyone has to be able to work together very well to reach the goals of the company. So far because of this teamwork, the call volume has increased immensely. Managers in the call center have a process they follow, called the Five Step Planning process, which enables them to improve teamwork, which solely improves quality and satisfaction.Five Step Planning Process â€Å"At its most basic, planning is decision making†. (Donald J. Lombardi, John R. Schermerhorn, Bri an Kramer; 2007, John Wiley & Sons Inc. ). The five step planning process is used in order to make the best decisions possible when making decisions within an organization, as well as help out with any conflicts that may arise during the process. It is a support system for problem solving and breaks down how to do it with as little conflict as possible. Step one of the process is to identify and define the problem.This is where information is gathered, evaluated, and is deliberated. Doing so defines any problems correctly and can be taken care of efficiently without complications along the way. Step two of the process is to generate and evaluate possible courses of action. In this step, managers â€Å"can begin formulating one or several potential solutions†. (Donald J. Lombardi, John R. Schermerhorn, Brian Kramer; 2007, John Wiley & Sons Inc. ). More information may need to be gathered and analyzed before going to the third step of the process, which is choosing a preferred plan of action.In the third step, a decision is made with selecting a specific course of action. In the fourth step, implement the planned course of action, actions are established and implemented to meet the final goal. Nothing new is able to happen unless action is taken. Managers should have the ability to be able to have the determination and be creative in order to implement the planned course of action. Finally, the fifth and final step of the process is evaluating the results. What happens is the accomplishments with the original objectives are compared to what has been come up with.Both the positive and negative sides should be kept in an open mind, before a final decision is made to stick. Look Outside the box Looking at how other businesses are ran and how the make teamwork better is a way to improve customer satisfaction. Teamwork is used in different ways in other industries, such as the military, for example. They use teamwork to the full extent because in their world, it may mean life or death. Jane Dyer, a veteran, states â€Å"Teamwork is a fundamental lesson in the military. At basic training, you learn about being the member of a unit†.She also states that after you leave that basic training, you are still responsible for your unit and whether or not you like a team member, you will still honor and protect each other. The military is so tightly compact, they are like a family. This sets examples for teamwork in the health care organizations because whether or not you like a team member, that does not mean you cannot help the company you work for succeed along with yourselves. The military’s company is the United States. Should they not work together well, they could die and others lives would then be at stake.It is the same concept with businesses. Should the team not work together well and improve, then one, the company ends up dying, then everyone working loses their jobs. Just because one industry is different than the other, they could very well learn important lessons about team work from each other. Conclusion Industries around the world are very different but also alike in so many ways. The military is a great industry to look at for things like team work, because the health care industries can learn how to improve their quality of care and customer (patient) satisfaction.Having that extra money can benefit the companies when they focus on improving team work alone. Lessons are learned all around. References: Donald J. Lombardi, John R. Schermerhorn, Brian Kramer; 2007, John Wiley & Sons Inc, â€Å"Managerial and Supervisory Planning: Preparing for the Road Ahead†; retrieved from https://ecampus. phoenix. edu/content/eBookLibrary2/content/eReader. aspx Jane Dyer, 2010, â€Å"The military shows the importance of teamwork†; retrieved from http://www. mydd. com/users/jane-dyer/posts/the-military-shows-us-the-importance-of-teamwork

Cause and Effect Essay Example Great Depression

Cause and Effect Essay Example Great Depression Cause and effect essays  are popular ways of helping students understand the relationship between various events. They’re extremely popular in history classes, although students are certainly going to encounter them in English and writing classes as well. English and writing classes are often geared towards helping students be better at critical thinking in general, and cause and effect essays can serve as excellent critical thinking exercises in general. Cause and effect essay outline is a five-paragraph essay with an introduction paragraph, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion paragraph. 50 WINNING CAUSE AND EFFECT ESSAY TOPICS If you are looking for cause and effect essay examples here is a great one below Cause and Effect Essay Example: GREAT DEPRESSION The World Great Depression hit the global economy from the late 1920s through the period in 1930s. The depression had enormous market implications: social, economic and political. In order to understand the implications of the global depression crisis, it is imperative to review the crisis causes. This essay reviews on the economic and political causes of  the crisis and their subsequent implications. Economically, the crisis onset was in 1929 characterized by the Wall Street collapse. At this time, the economy purchasing power was failing as money supply decreased. Initially, there was speculation on the eminent Wall Street collapse. At this time, the USA government resulted to financial measures aimed at reducing this influence. In this case, the federal government sought to reduce money supply in the economy through increased interest rates. This aimed at establishing avenues to reduce the increased money supply in the market. However, this process failed in the long run as the money supply continuously fell (Rosen, 2005). The Federal Reserve Bank, the central bank in America failed to institute mechanisms to reduce this crisis. Consequently, this led to the  reduced  money supply in the economy resulting in  the great depression. Reduced money supply in the market reduced the economy’s ability to purchase products. Politically, Rosen (2005) stated that the protectionism approach and regulations played a significant role in the emergence and escalation of the global recession crisis. In this regard, global economies such as European  markets developed strategies to regulate against increased importation into the markets. This sought to remedy the European market overproduction rates. Similarly, in order to protect the American multinational companies; the government in 1930 instituted the Smoot-Hawley Tariff. The tariff instituted high taxation rates for imports in the Unites States. In this regard, the strategy sought to limit importation into the economy. This was a strategy to mitigate against the increased overproduction in the economy. As such, the government sought to establish the structure  through which to reduce on the implications of increased overproduction in the economy. However, although this reduced instances of over production in the economy, it led to reduced international trade. Consequently, this reduced foreign exchange in the global markets. This trend was not only in the USA  but also in countries across the global economy. Increased tariffs and importation restrictions resulted to reduced international trade. As a result, economies were subjected to decreased foreign exchange. This implicated on the overall currency purchasing powers in the economy as currencies lost their value in the global market. International trade plays a significant role in enhancing increased currency purchasing through the development of balanced and favorable terms of trade. Through the establishment of favorable terms of trade, economies currencies increase their purchasing power enhancing increased spending and consumption levels in an economy. Reduction on the trade resulted in  reduced spending further reducing money supply in the market, thus propagating the global Great Depression crisis. The reduction in the  importation  and international trade rates resulted in  increased unemployment rates. The international trade distribution channels proved increased employment opportunities. Therefore, its collapse led to increased unemployment. Further, the trade allowed for increased government revenues through levied taxes and tariffs. To this effect, its reduction resulted to decreased government revenues. A combination of these factors reduced earnings and government spending in the economy. Consequently, the reduced international trade perpetuated reduced money supply in the global market. The global depression crisis emergence was because of reduced money supply in the market. An additional cause for the escalation of the global recession crisis was the existence of small and numerous banks. In this regard, the banks lacked enough capital and funds to support their systems. To this effect, the collapse of Wall Street resulted in an  increased lack of confidence in  the banking industry. As a result, there emerged the cash rush. This was a process through which banking customers sought to withdraw their funds and have them in liquid cash. Due to the advance and defaulted loans, the banking industry was unable to avail all the required funds. This led to the eventual collapse of the banking industry. The banking industry is an imperative component in the global market success and functioning. Therefore, the collapse of the banking industry led to the eventual collapse of the entire global economy as the banking services that enhanced transaction success no longer functions (Rosen, 2005). Consequently, the global market failed to result in the great recession. Moreover, the global depression crisis emergence can be hedged on the political systems and obligations imposed on nations after World War I. After the war, the USA emerged as a major power due to its late entry into the war. As a result, it advanced loans and funds towards the reconstruction of global nations such as Germany. On the other hand, Germany was burdened with increased loans repayment as damages for the war. This culminated in the banking industry overspending and due to inflation, the banks considerably raised their lending rates leading to global market supply deficiency. HOW TO WRITE A CAUSE AND EFFECT ESSAY If you need assistance with cause and effect essay writing, feel free to contact our friendly support team or place an order and we will gladly help you.

Bird Watching Tips for Beginners

Bird Watching Tips for Beginners Identifying a bird can be challenging. Birds are active, energetic animals and you need a quick eye to spot as many details as possible in a short span of time. The obstacles are many- the light may be dim, you could have the sun in your eyes, or the bird may dive into a bush. So to stand the best chance of landing a name for a bird, youll want to know what to look for- what matters most and how to spend your precious viewing time. Keep Your Eye on the Bird Photo  © Marc Romanelli / Getty Images. When you spot a bird, dont immediately try to flip through the pages of a field guide to identify it. Every moment of viewing time is precious. Keep your eye fixed on the bird and study it- absorb details of its markings, movements, song, feeding habits, and size. You may want to jot down notes or quickly sketch things that catch your eye. But dont focus too much on your jottings, try to maximize the time you have the bird in view, as this is your time to study it and you dont know how long it will be before the bird dashes off, out of sight. Listen for Calls and Song Listening out for a birds vocalizations is simple but its also easy to forget to do. The odds are, if you dont make a conscious effort to listen, you wont remember the birds song and youll miss out on one of the best bird identification tools there is. The good news is that you can listen to a bird while you look at it- its easy to do both at the same time. Look for bill movements along with the calls you hear, just to ensure youre associating the correct song with the bird youre trying to identify. Estimate General Size and Shape A general picture of the bird, that is its approximate size and shape, will often give you many clues when placing it into the correct family of birds. Therefore, begin with an assessment of the birds overall appearance. What is the approximate size of the bird? Its easiest to estimate size in relation to well know birds. For instance, is the bird youre observing about the size of a sparrow? A robin? A pigeon? A crow? A turkey? Think in terms of silhouettes and try to get an inkling for its general body shape. Does it stand upright and walk with ease, or is it unsteady and awkward on land? Make Note of Facial Markings and Bill Characteristics After determining its general size and shape, then youre ready to start noticing details. Start at the head first. Look for distinctive strips and patches of color including crown stripes, eye lines, nape color, eye arcs or rings. Does it have a black hood on its head? Do its feathers form a crest atop its head? Also note the color and shape of the birds bill. How long is the bill in relation to the birds head? Is it straight or curved, conical or flattened? Look for Wing Bars and Tail Shape Next look for details on the birds body, wings, and tail. Keep an eye out for wing bars, color patches, and markings on the birds body, when it is stationary or in flight. What color is its back and its belly? How long is its tail in relation to the birds body length? How does it hold its tail? Does it have a forked tail or is it square or rounded? Observe Leg Color and Length Now study the birds legs. Does the bird have long legs or short legs? What color are its legs? If you can catch a glimpse of its feet, try and determine if its feet are webbed, or if it has talons. Some birds even have toes that arranged differently than others and if youre fortunate enough to have a close-up view, see how many of its toes point forwards or backwards. Study Movement and Flight Patterns Observe the way the bird walks, how it holds its tail, or how it jumps from branch to branch. If it flies off, watch for a pattern in its flight, does it swoop up and down in gentle arcs with each wingbeat or does it glide gently and steadily? Determine Feeding Habits If you can, try and determine what the bird is eating or how it feeds. Does it cling to a tree t trunk and dig at the bark looking for insects? Or does it forage across your lawn, tilting its head to watch for insects scurrying amongst blades of grass. Does it sway its bill through the water at the edge of a pond? Describe Habitat, Region, and Climate Make note of the habitat in which you have observed the bird. You can do this even after the bird has flown off, so its best to leave this step until last. Did you spot the bird in a wetland or woodland? Are you in an urban setting or a farm field? Each species of bird has a typical region that they inhabit and making note of the region youre in when you observe a bird can narrow the possibilities when you try to identify that bird. Also, birds migrate and species composition in a region changes throughout the seasons, so make note of the time of year (or specific date you observe the bird). Record Your Observations After viewing the bird, jot down your observations for later reference. From markings to behavior, write down anything you noticed, it can all help when you later sit down with a field guide to confirm the birds species. Also, note the location, date, time of day of the siting.

Explain Descartes theory in relation to doubt and evaluate his Essay

Explain Descartes theory in relation to doubt and evaluate his rationalism - Essay Example f Descartes effort to overcome skepticism through showing whether if one proceeds to consider matters systematically and the truths that one cannot doubt. Descartes uses a method of doubt and method analysis to ascertain the hypothesis. The doubt method involves the act of creating and posing strong and skeptical hypotheses that ultimately call into the doubt classes of the claims of knowledge. Cartesian doubt method normally gives more details regarding the method. Under normal circumstances, determination of the classes take place through three facilities that Descartes hold and that might come to understand things, senses, imagination and ultimately understanding or reason(Clemenson 2007,p.78). Having eliminated all the truths that emanating from senses and imagination, many of such things that come in the mind will finally emanate from reasoning. Therefore, Descartes concludes that it is not possible to fall under deception of thinking that he does not exist when in real sense he exists (Clemenson, 2007, p.56). Therefore, unless something existed, there would be nothing that one can deceive. Therefore, this a truth found with absolute certainty. The Descartes method has appealed many philosophers through finding certain foundation where one can base all the claims. The ability to sustain test of time and crucible foundation has made it endure well throughout the twentieth century. However, there are some philosopher who has challenged the theory affirming that it has critical problems of incoherence and skeptical hypotheses. On the other hand, rationalism is a view that takes reason as the main test and source of knowledge. It also backs any view that supports reason as a source of justification. In terms of formal and acceptable definition, rationalism is the methodology of truth where the truth does not depend on the sensory system; rather it depends on the intellectual and deductive reasoning. The rationalists believe in reality and have intrinsically