Specific Digestive Conditions

One of the most common digestive conditions in a person is Acid Reflux, this is mostly caused on lying down after having an unusually large meal, eating closer to bedtime, consuming carbonated drinks and spicy food, smoking or drinking, taking medicines like pain killers, being obese and being pregnant. This condition is usually caused when the acid produced by the stomach moves up into the esophagus thereby causing a burning sensation or heart burn. The other symptoms that are seen in this condition are bloating, nausea, burping, hiccups, sore throat, cough, vomiting’s and a feeling that something is stuck in the throat. All the above symptoms are caused due to stress, bad diet which includes refined and processed food, sugars, and unhealthy fatty foods, lack of exercise, presence of certain toxins, germs and viruses in the food we consume.

It’s also surprising to note that the medications we take regularly like painkillers, anti-depressants and other medicines for treating osteoporosis and inflammation can also cause acid reflux and heartburn. It’s informative to note that acid reflux can lead to most of the common diseases like heart ailments, cancer, arthritis, obesity and other digestive conditions. To maintain a thorough defense system in our body, we should try to follow certain steps to avoid this condition like eating small meals 5 to 6 times a day, maintaining a gap of 3 hours between eating and sleeping, ensuring that we exercise daily, including lots of fiber and greens, whole grains, unrefined food, probiotics, nuts, omega 3 fatty acids and healthy oils in our daily diet. Identifying the root cause for any disease is crucial to treat it; this is very true in the case of such digestive disorders which if not treated at the right time and in a right manner can lead to cancer of the esophagus.

Health Care Sustainability

Efforts to improve sustainability in health care have great advantages like promoting heath care, cutting costs, motivating the staff and encouraging community based health care. Every health care center produces a huge amount of carbon dioxide and other particulate matter into the air which is inhaled by all the patients and the staff due to which it is very important to adapt energy saving technologies. By conducting an energy audit we can become aware of all the available opportunities to save energy, like changing the lighting fixtures to energy saving fixtures, maintaining the heating and cooling systems in an efficient manner to increase their efficiency and save energy. Also partnering with the local authorities to tap renewable energy by renewing the waste gases to energy, also entering the solar and wind energy market and recycling the used cardboard, paper, wood and other waste material will greatly help in improving sustainability in health care.

Health care centers have an unusually large environmental footprint wherein they contribute to a major part of the waste generated, and are the major producers of greenhouse gas emissions and spend the most on energy. The high quantity of waste generated by the Health centers will in turn aid in the spreading of diseases and raise the costs of managing healthcare centers due to the rising usage and spending towards food, water and energy. Improving the indoor environment of a hospital by using quality ecological practices with positive outcomes with regards to health should be the main principle of sustainability. Care should be taken in the architectural finishes, usage of material and open green spaces while designing an energy efficient health care center. Effective waste management should be the main objective of all the health care centers, as effective management and usage of waste will help in reducing the energy costs at the same time making use of the waste for renewable energy and recycling products which help in changing Health Care.

Israel vs. Palestine

There is always a constant fear of war and the never ending feeling of insecurity and dream of peace in the Middle Eastern countries. Hope a day would come when both the Arabs and the Jews support each other with all the ongoing conflicts on border control, control of Jerusalem, water issues, freedom of movement and refugee rights resolved. Even after all these years the Arabs and Jews are unable to lead a peaceful life always leading an insecure life. We look forward to see the end of the daily violence in the Middle East were many innocent people including children are losing their lives because of the hatred between the two races. Even with the continuous negotiations between the two parties aided by the UN, US, Russia and Europe the war between them is not even near to its end. The expectation of the United Nations to involve the Middle Eastern countries to join the resolutions and treaties of Nuclear Weapon Free Zone and the Non Proliferation treaty is a good step and if successful will witness a peaceful Middle East.

The hope of introducing the two states solution to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine also is very promising, and if introduced will definitely solve a majority of the differences between the two parties. The two states solution looks promising wherein Israel can stop all the activity of settlement and pullout its troops from the West bank and Gaza region, and the Palestine’s can work hard to develop the land liberated to them.  The Israel-Palestine Unilateralism should be proposed by the United States to promote peace instead of attacking them by war. Let’s strongly hope that the constant fighting between Israel and Palestine will one day come to an end and be friendly neighbors with successful trade and business between both the parties.

Cocaine and its Effects

Cocaine is obtained by extracting coke from cocoa bush extensively found in Columbia, which produces 90-100% pure cocaine. Cocaine when ingested acts as a stimulant to the nervous system, which acts like an anesthetic to the body and numbs the part of body when applied to it. The initial feeling when cocaine is ingested is one of euphoria and elation which gives a rush to the person involved making him feel extremely ecstatic, energetic and powerful. All these feelings of power which the person is undergoing are not real, and these feelings are induced by cocaine due to which the brain is packed with dopamine which acts as a neurotransmitter sending neurons to the brain. This feeling of ecstasy lasts for a very short time, a few minutes or less than an hour, after this the person will feel very low and extremely depressed. These feelings of initial ecstasy a person undergoes are accompanied with an increased heart rate, high blood pressure, sleeplessness, dry mouth and a loss of appetite.

Prolonged and excessive use of cocaine causes behavior changes in a person like the person will experience palpitations, greater agitation, irritation, hallucinations, loss of weight and symptoms of hyper mannerism. Long term usage of cocaine may cause cancer, lung damage, respiratory problems, asthma and bronchitis. Snorting on cocaine through the nose damages the throat, larynx and the surrounding tissues. Long term cocaine users may also experience a sensation of crawling on the skin, which might make them to scratch their skin resulting in excessive bleeding and cause of lesions. When cocaine users are under extreme stress they experience all the above behavioral problems, which are a result of the changes in brain functioning due to stimulation caused by using cocaine. Users become addicted to cocaine which affect their brain and senses by giving them the initial rush and pleasurable feelings.

Influential People of American History

American History is probably one of the most interesting histories all over the world. And some of the most important people shaping the history of America in between 1492 to 1865 are Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and Abraham Lincoln.

             Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston in 1706, he was a clever boy, and as he grew up he was fascinated in books and poetry, which made him write articles for newspapers and books. He was a very creative person, and was the inventor of the Franklin stove which saved fuel. But the invention for which we all remember him still today is the invention of electricity, we remember him as the first person to introduce light in our lives. Franklin was such a person who thought all people were equal, and in 1765 he was asked by Thomas Jefferson to help him in writing the Declaration of Independence. The people of America still consider him as a hero, who struggled for their independence.

             George Washington was born in Virginia in 1732; he was a gentleman who developed good morals and manners at a young age. In the beginning of his career he worked as a surveyor and he had many lands. Till the American Revolution Washington managed his lands at Mount Vernon. In 1775 as a delegate of Virginia Washington was elected as Chief Commander of the Continental Army. Immediately after he took command of his troops and started the war against British, which lasted for six years. In 1781 he finally forced the arrest of Lord Cornwallis, which put an end to the war. He was one of the main persons in the Constitutional Convention in 1787 at Philadelphia. And finally on April 30^th 1789 he took oath as the first President of the United States.

             Thomas Jefferson was born in Virginia in 1743; his father who was a planter was a rich man with lots of land, which Jefferson inherited from him. He was an active member of the Congress, who did not speak much. He along with Benjamin Franklin wrote the Declaration of Independence. He was appointed as a minister to France in 1785. He played a key role in writing a bill for religious freedom, which was put forward in 1786. Jefferson was elected as vice-president in 1796. In 1801 he was elected as the third President of United States. As the President he cut the expenditures for the Navy and the Army and he also slashed the budget. He was also busy in keeping the nation away from the wars of Napoleon.

             James Madison was born in Virginia in 1751; he was mostly inspired by people like Isaac Newton, David Hume and Voltaire. He worked on the Orange County Committee for safety in Virginia in 1774. Later he was elected to the Virginia Convention, which sought independence and wanted a new state. He served in the council of State in 1778 and 1779. He became a leader of the Nationalist Group in 1779. He worked closely with Jefferson and he left Congress in 1797. In 1801 he was appointed as the State secretary by then President Jefferson. James Madison was elected as the fourth President of United States in 1808. He played a key role in forming the US constitution, and was greatly favorable to a republican government.

             Alexander Hamilton was born in 1755; his parents were from West Indian trading families. Hamilton entered into politics by writing about the disputes between the Americans and the British. He was more interested in action so he joined the military and fought in different battles in 1775 and 1776, his abilities brought him closer to George Washington and he worked for four years with Washington as a staff officer. After leaving the army he went into legal practice and became a well known lawyer. Hamilton was the one to propose to establish a national bank to help the government to manage various trades and finance matters that was how the Bank of United States was started in 1791. Hamilton was obviously one of the most influential people, as he was the first secretary of the treasury and he had given America a very strong financial foothold.

             Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky in 1809; he used to work on a farm and tried to manage as much education as he could. He spent almost eight years in the legislature of Illinois. In 1858 Lincoln contested for the Senator elections, but he lost the elections, but while contesting with the opposition, he gained lots of popularity which earned him the nomination for the President in the Republic part in 1860. In 1861 he was elected as the 16^th President of the United States. Lincoln was totally against slavery and in 1863 he passed the Emancipation Proclamation bill which declared that all the people working as slaves were free forever. In 1864 he was re-elected as the President, he was a very flexible and generous person and he encouraged the people to stop fighting and unite with others.

             All the above people have played a key role in shaping the history of United States and all of them have influenced the country in their own way. Most of the influential people were the Presidents of the United States at some time or the other. People still remember these people with respect and that shows in the various names of states and memorials which are in the names of these people.

Advantages of Meat Taxation

Paying compulsory taxes on the income you earned and for other services to contribute to the revenue of the Government has become a general practice, at the same time adding taxes and duties on certain products like cigarettes, alcohol and other products which are harmful for human consumption and which the Government doesn’t want people to use has been a great tactic.  But the recent proposal to introduce tax on meat to the above list with the intention of reducing the consumption of meat by the common man and to reduce the high costs associated with the consumption of meat will definitely be hard on the Americans, as they are the highest consumers of meat.

As per statistics every American on an average consumes 44kg of meat per year compared to Indians who consume 5kg of meat per person.  The number of pigs, cows and lambs has grown 10 folds; farming for livestock covers 1/3^rd of the land in the world, which could have been used to grow crops to feed the malnourished people.  With the growing consumption of meat, the prices of staple food also have seen a steep rise, and this is also the main reason for obesity among Americans.  Results also show that compared to vegetarians, non vegetarians showed a greater tendency in facing the risk of obesity, which clearly shows that meat consumption is directly linked to obesity.  Studies have also revealed that due to the high amount of antibiotics used on animals there is a danger of widespread infectious diseases like Tuberculosis, smallpox, measles and even the recent highly prevailing Swine flu which killed so many people.

 

The increase in production of meat also has a negative impact on the environment in the form of effluents released by the livestock and also as a major part of the green house gases emitted is by the livestock as a result of which we face a high risk of global warming.  Also when compared to consumption of water, the water required for growing crops such as wheat and rice is very less when compared to water consumption by livestock, due to which we may face a severe scarcity of water. The increase in meat production is also the reason for the gradual declination in the number of fishes being killed to produce fish oil and dry feed every year so that they can be fed to chicken and pigs.

With America being the highest consumer of meat, the proposal to introduce tax on meat maybe seen as a move to discourage the usage of meat by the Government, and might deter people from the lower income groups in buying meat, but it certainly will be not be a restriction for meat lovers, who are bound to consume meat despite the taxation on meat.  But taking into consideration all the benefits of abstaining from meat consumption, like good health, decreased risk to diseases, better environment, decrease in obesity and many more, this proposal should be definitely finalized as introducing taxes on meat would at least temporarily reduce the consumption of meat, and people would think twice while purchasing meat.  Studies also reveal that by taxing meat, the average consumption per person in a year would definitely fall even though we cannot expect a total fall in meat consumption, which would help in curtailing the rising prices of staple food and encourage the cultivation of crops.  We will definitely help in having a better environment which will have a positive impact on the planet by reducing the consumption of meat.

Hindu Temple Architecture and its Significance

This article describes the significance of depicting art in the form of architecture in Hindu temples; the forms of the deities are embodied as sculptures on the walls and in the temple, the worshippers look up to these sculptures as their favorite deities, architecture in temples is a very important feature and is given great prominence. The view of this article is to illustrate the significance and importance of the daily rituals and ceremonies performed which have a large influence on the form and structure of architecture in a temple, Hindus being very devotional people, daily rituals in a temple and the deities in the form of sculptures form an important part of the daily life of a devotee. 

The starting of any venture, new beginnings and special occasions begin with rituals being performed in the anticipation of great success in the project. The Construction of the temple is also considered very significant, prior to starting construction, rituals are performed while laying the foundation stone and erecting the first Mukha Dwara (Main door) and Dwaja Stambha (Sacred Pillar), the form and plan of the temple and the place where the deity should be placed (Garbha Gudi) also holds significance during the construction of a temple. This is enough evidence to illustrate the essential relation between man and God in Hinduism. The response to the depiction of female eroticism as sculptures on the temple is that these sculptures symbolize an auspicious beginning to life as erotica is the very basis of life and the further continuation of mankind, Eroticism in the form of sculptures in Hindu temples is very significant and widely found on temples. To conclude, this portrayal of various deities and performance of daily rituals and ceremonies is a part and parcel of Hinduism and is done for the safety and well being of the people and the whole community, this is truly seen in the recurring art form in so many temples, each temple is constructed to worship a particular God, Indians believe a lot in offering prayers at temples for the well being and survival of mankind.

The Hudhud Cyclone at Vishakhapatnam

Vishakhapatnam the port city, beautiful city and excellent tourist spot with its breathtaking beaches and greenery and a haven for tourists and now after the devastation caused by the Hudhud cyclone, the initial place of welcome to tourists, the airport remains as a mute witness to the disaster caused by the storm. Even with all the warnings issued by the Government and the Disaster Management Department fully geared up, one still wonders what went wrong to cause such a major scale catastrophe. The Government has to retrospect on the reason behind the huge damage caused to the airport, all the factors that went into causing the damage should be deeply studied and remedial steps taken so that the structure can withstand any sort of natural calamities it is exposed to in the future.

The first thing that comes to the notice with regards to the damage caused to the Vishakhapatnam airport is that probably the structure was not designed to withstand the required wind speed which is a consideration which should not have been overlooked especially in the coastal areas. Structures can be designed to withstand a wind speed of more than 200 Kmph also; the destruction caused by the Hudhud cyclone was at a wind speed of 170-190 Kmph, so if the wind speed was considered during the construction of the airport such major damage could not have been caused. It is very important that in coastal areas the structures are constructed in such a manner that the roof is properly connected to the body of the structure and the body to the foundation, the connections between the roof to the wall provide uplift resistance which is very important for the roof to be intact during cyclones. In high cyclone prone areas it is always better to go with a hipped or pyramidal roof compared to a gable roof, as it offers more resistance to wind with its increased slope. The other major damage caused during gusty winds and cyclones is the widespread breakage of glass panes due to the high wind pressure and effect of flying objects. To overcome this problem it’s advisable to opt for thicker glass panes, smaller size panels and by pasting paper or plastic strips across the panels.

If all these precautions were taken during the construction of the airport structure the damage caused to the Vishakhapatnam airport probably would not have been so severe. The Hudhud cyclone and its after effects should be taken as a lesson learnt and any future constructions in the coastal areas should be constructed in such a manner so as to withstand wind speed during severe storms and cyclones.

The Seven Best Android Apps for Collage Making

The seven best Android app for all your photo collages

Collage is a technique used to create unique art forms by assembling different materials like paper, newspaper bits, ribbons, paint, magazine pieces, photographs and other smaller articles to create a new piece of art. Pictures are a sweet reminder of all our good times and a collage helps us in capturing such precious moments. All the below applications can be used to organize all our photographs in an orderly and easy manner.

       1.      Moldiv Collage Photo Editor

 This is a free app and comes from the creators of PicsPlay Pro, it lets users combine multiple photos to a collage. It offers users a choice of great layouts and unique fonts and stamps. It is easy to use with some very good effects and photo editing features. This app offers users more than 80 frames to choose from and each frame can accommodate 9 photos, and also allows users to change the shape of the frame and customize the frame area according to their needs. It allows users to share the collages on different social networking sites.

       2.      PicStitch Collage Maker

 This is a free application and allows users to create a number of collages basing on their needs, and allow the collages to be posted on Facebook, Whatsapp and Instagram and many other social networking sites. This app is very easy to use with the help of drag and drop option and has the facility of more than 20 frames to choose from. Allows the users to apply the lovely effects, add captions and stickers and doesn’t allow any advertisement which is a huge hit with the users.

      3.      Photo Collage - Nordic Soft

      

Photo Collage from Nordic Soft is a free application with loads of new features, like photos from the gallery can be added to the collage and also be set as a background. This app offers users to choose from more than 500 backgrounds and 27 fonts, and allows the insertion of multiple lines of text. The photo gallery of this application allows multiple selections of pictures at a time and also offers the facility to use stickers, background and images from Google Images. This app also sports a new and trendy layout with icons and action bars and is very user friendly.

      4.      Pic Collage – Cardinal Blue Software

This is a free application which allows users to create attractive collages with photos, stickers, icons, texts and frames this app offers. This apps allows users to search for collages of celebrities and accordingly create their collage, and also has the facility to search for other similar collages and comment and like them, at the same time others can like your collage.  This app also has a contests section where the user can reach out for the requirement of other users with his collages.

5.      Photo Grid Collage Maker – Roid App

This is a free Android App, which offers an easy to use interface with a great set of pre-designed grids; this app works well with Instagram and allows users to create a video slide show along with their favorite music. This app allows users to select pictures from Facebook, Dropbox, Instagram and even Google Images to populate their collages. It offers users a great experience in creating great collages and videos helping them in preserving their long lasting memories.

      6.      Photo Collage Editor - Zentertain

                   

 This is a free app which allows users to have great fun experience in creating collages by its wide range of stickers and backgrounds along with great looking fonts. It offers more than 120 attractive frames to choose from which helps users in creating great looking collages. Its simple user interface allows users to rotate and resize the photographs in a jiffy making the entire experience of collage making excellent.

     7.      Photo Collage Maker – Scoompa

             

This app allows users to create a great collage by allowing them to customize the collage by offering many such options. This is a free app which offers more than 100 layouts and stickers to select from and more than 55 various fonts. This app can use pictures from a users social networking sites, camera and Google images to create an awesome looking collage. This app is extremely easy to use by allowing users to have high resolution pictures and all the collages can be shared to friends and family members.

Save our Coral Reefs

The alarming rise in global warming due to the rapid spread of industrialization is not only harmful to people all over, but it also has resulted in the slow diminishing of the coral reefs. The gradual increase in temperature of the earth’s crust due to the emission of the most harmful greenhouse gases has begun to slowly affect the natural coral reef, which are normally very sensitive to even small temperature rises in the ocean. Due to global warming widespread bleaching of coral reef has been taking place thereby resulting in the death of several coral reefs. Bleaching of oceans is caused due to numerous environmental factors like pollution caused by rapid industrialization, fishing and other forms of polluting the water, but the major cause of damage to coral reefs is the rising heat.

Even while oceans can absorb more heat without any major change in its temperature, the living creatures in the ocean cannot sustain even small rise in the temperatures. To save the diminishing natural habitat of coral reefs we have to be more conscious in saving the earth from global warming, some of the measures that we can take are by avoiding polluting water by frequent dumping and by working to improve watershed management in the surrounding areas. Other steps that can be taken by the authorities are to ban extensive ocean dredging and limiting the water traffic. Considering the benefits of coral reefs by preventing storms, promoting tourism by way of giving large scale revenues and to protect the natural marine existence, it is very important to protect and nurture the fast diminishing coral reefs.

Extending the battery of iPhone and iPad

Increasing the life of an iPhone and iPad Battery

 Updating your iPhone or iPad can drain out the battery life, the short battery life of Apple iPhone and iPad has been a frequent problem for most of the users of Apple products, by following these tips we can easily extend the battery life of our iPhone.

Close down all the open apps which we are not in use by tapping the home button twice which will bring up all the open apps, as an open app can drain the battery life faster.

Turning off the Wi Fi from the Settings when not required, and instead of using the mobile data, using Wi Fi when required to access or download data can easily extend the battery life.

By disabling the location services and app updates and also when the battery is at its weakest by switching to the airplane mode we can extend the battery life.

By turning off the notifications from the settings for all apps the battery will not drain quickly, as whenever we receive a notification the phone lights up to alert us which uses power and is an unnecessary drain on our battery.

Disabling the email notifications in the settings, turning off all the features like GPS and Bluetooth when not required and reducing the brightness of the screen can all be done to extend your battery life.

Turning off the keypad and lock or unlock sounds from the Settings – Sounds, will absorb lesser power.

Turning off the Vibration alerts from the Settings and also opting for s static background instead of a dynamic background from Settings-Wallpapers and Backgrounds can also help in extending the battery life.

By following the above tips we can enjoy using our apple products without fear of a weakening battery.

South West Airlines

The well-known South West Airlines made its debut as a small airline from Dallas, Texas, today it is one of the popular domestic airlines.  But the rise to popularity was not easy for the airlines, and it would have seen even more success but for the Wright’s Amendment which limited its operations only to a few places.

The Wright’s amendment was initiated by then Congressman Jim Wright in 1979 to protect the Fort Worth International Airport in Dallas from losing business and having competition. The amendment prevented South West airlines from operating its flights from the neighboring states, and this amendment will be expiring in October 2014.

All these years’ passengers were forced to pay higher fares due to prevention of more airlines operating from the Love Field Airport, because of the Wright’s Amendment, with the end of the amendment coming soon; passenger traffic will see a rise resulting in fall of fares. With the expiry of the amendment nearing, the Love Field Airport is all being spruced up to face the increase in passengers. South West Airlines is all set to face the challenge and increase its profits.

Technology for Students

Technology has become a part and parcel of daily life, and technology can help students in learning in an easy and effective manner. Teachers are increasingly making use of the latest digital technologies for imparting knowledge to students. It is the role of the teacher to see to it that the student is sufficiently trained to face the challenges in the education system. A teacher who is extremely proficient in learning and adopting the latest technologies will be seen as a role model and will be successful in helping the students think innovatively and making use of digital technologies to help them learn the toughest of subject in an easy manner. An efficient teacher interacts with parents and colleagues on a regular basis about keeping abreast with the latest technologies which can help the students by healthy interactions and proposals.

The goal of the teacher is to educate the students by communicating important and relevant information to them by making use of different digital media, which helps in motivating the students and experience the use and outcome of using technology first hand.  The projects done by students can be communicated to their parents by using technology, and students can also learn from various online education websites which are very interactive and a combination of innovation and technology and excellent at imparting training.

As an activity the teacher can encourage the students to share their thoughts and ideas regarding the way to use digital media in learning, collecting and assessing information required for their research and education needs. Teachers can encourage students in participating in online discussion forums, webinars and chats related to their subject, which will help them gauge their capability and grip on the subject. By introducing students to the latest technology and the teachers exhibiting their ability to demonstrate and use innovative technologies, students become more motivated in using digital media for their learning needs. 

Professional Moving Companies

Once the decision has been taken to shift from one location to another, the first thing a person does is to estimate the time, effort and resources required for moving. He then has to come to a decision whether to move on his own or let Professional moving companies handle the shifting. If the person is moving long distance like cross country it is benefitable to employ the services of professional moving companies, he can list out all the companies offering such moving services and shortlist a few of the companies based on the services they offer and his requirements. He can further zero down on a company by comparing the services and quotations of all the shortlisted professional moving companies.

With the wide range of services offered by professional moving companies like packing/unpacking, attention to quality and safety, better choices and professionalism it is more practical for the customer to opt for the services of such professional moving companies instead of going through all the stress and exertion of shifting on his own. By deploying the services of moving companies, a person has more time on his hand to get acquainted to the new location he intends to shift to, and he will also be saving himself from going through all the pain himself, and also any repairs to damage during transit will also be taken care of the moving company.

By hiring the services of professional moving companies, customer gets a detailed plan of the schedule of the departure and arrival at the new location, efficient packing and proper labeling of different goods like light, heavy and fragile to avoid any mix up and risking any damage. Being used to the process of moving and by adopting certain techniques they can also complete the packing, loading and unpacking in a much quicker and efficient manner compared to what a person can do by himself. The customer will be benefited by getting excellent services and can also avail certain cash back offers by hiring the services of professional moving companies.

 When comparing the costs involved in the whole moving process if done personally and if hiring professional moving companies, the latter is more cost effective considering the facts that a person doesn’t have to exert himself, is not required to be absent from work, will not be required to undergo physical stress and at the same time will be getting the total process done in an efficient and timely manner. Like the name says professional moving companies offer professional services which are cost effective and offer great services.

Kindle Unlimited

The popular electronic e-commerce Major Amazon will be offering its customers an unlimited access to reading and listening for $9.99 per month, the service which would be called Kindle Unlimited is expected to increase the growth rate of Amazon by offering customers access to its more than 600,000 books and audio books  Amazon will be initially offering a 30 day free trial service for its customers and the service would be available for Kindle, i OS and Android operating phones.

The company is required to attract well-known publishers for this service to gain popularity and also has to overcome peer pressure from start up firms. Amazon has included its best sellers like the Harry Potter Series, the Lord of Rings and the Hunger Game series to this soon to launch service. Amazon which has recorded low profits in the past has been trying to launch new services and is hoping to increase its sales by attracting customers to the new Kindle Unlimited, where customers can easily access the required author or genre of books and start reading.

Ethical Hacking

Ethical Hacking is breaking into the Computer information system to identify any loopholes and rectify the system and to report any vulnerability in the system, it is Legal and these hackers possess certain skills which are put to use as per the requirement. Ethical hacking helps an individual identify potential threats on the computer or network.

Hackers are divided based on their knowledge as

Coders: They are extremely skilled people with good programming knowledge and who know what they are doing. Good understanding of coding and the outcome of the code.
Admins: They are aware of what is expected of them, they make the work of coders easy by monitoring and guiding, they do not have knowledge of coding.
Script Kiddies: They are basically hackers with little experience and do not know the outcome of coding, sometimes could cause severe damage due to their lack of experience.

Hackers based on their Legality

White Hat Hackers: A hacker who specializes in testing and security methodologies, licensed to work with high pay scales, the good hacker.
Black Hat Hackers: Dangerous people with a wrong intent to earn money or destroy the security system, he is the bad hacker. They could be anybody from the coders, admins or script kiddies.
Grey Hat Hackers: This hacker generally involves himself in good and bad activities could be a white or black hat, and mostly could be the ‘admin’, as he has the opportunity to indulge in such activities.

Hacking with a malicious intent is ‘Cracking’, and it is used by breaking into Computer Systems for personal or commercial gains, for posting harmful or malicious content causing damage to the information and systems.

The important measures to be taken to avoid hacking with a malicious intent are adopting certain Security and counter measures, using effective Anti-Viruses, properly logging out after using mails, opening the browser manually, refraining from opening any spam files and maintaining proper password protection for all the administrator accounts. 

OSI and TCP/IP

The OSI model is a model which explains the way computers communicate with each other over a network; it uses a seven layered approach to transmit data, the layers being physical, data link, network, transport, session, presentation and application, the data flows down the transmit layer over a physical link, and finally passes through the receiver layer. The TCP/IP is also a layered model but does not use all of the layers as in the OSI model, the network protocol model is similar to layer 3 of the OSI model, the combination of the 5^th, 6^th and 7^th layers of the OSI model is similar to the application layer and the host-to-host layer is similar to the 4^th layer of the OSI model. A fiber media convertor is a networking device used to connect two media types which are not similar like a twisted one with fiber optic cable, they are significant in connecting fiber optic cable systems with the already existing copper based systems and the structured cabling systems.

          A network address is used to identify a computer on the network, when used properly computer can find the addresses of added computers on the same network, and can be used to send messages to these computers, the most used example of a network address is the Internet Protocol (IP) Address. The network protocol is a set of rules which a computer follows when data is exchanged in a computer network, a few examples of network protocols are FTP, HTTP, SMTP, Telnet, HTTPs, Bluetooth, OSI and RTPS protocols etc,. WAN (Wide Area Network) is a network that covers a larger area which uses telecommunication lines that are leased. LAN (Local Area Network) is a network used to connect computers in a small area which maybe at home, office or a computer lab for example, an Ethernet. Network security is the steps or approaches taken by a network administrator to avoid misuse, illegal access to the network, and ability to modify a computer network. Tools that are used for network troubleshooting are very important for every administrator to troubleshoot different conditions of working some of the troubleshooting tools are Ping, IPConfig, Trace route, Netstat, NS lookup, Subnet, Netstat, Mtr and Route. All the above discussed topics are extremely important to understand the working, data exchange and networking of a computer.

          Data communications and Network systems are used for computers to communicate with each other, computer networking systems are widely used in many fields like accounting, sales and many others, the job of a system analyst it to communicate with other computer systems for sharing information among them. Email and internet are most extensively used at homes, offices and in individual businesses, designing the hardware and software for computer usage for data exchange is a part of data communications and Network systems. The growing demand for computer analysts who have in depth knowledge in Data communications and Network systems itself is proof enough that internet and email play a major role in everyday life.

Why did Brazil Lose?

Brazil losing to Germany by 7-1 goals in the Semi Finals of the ongoing FIFA world cup came as a huge shock to the numerous fans and the team themselves. The reasons for the much acclaimed team to lose can be many, but the most glaring reason could be the absence of their most coveted player Neymar out of the game with a vertebrae injury. Neymar with his great talent as a skillful scorer was the most wanted person on the team during the match against Germany, but the Brazilian team had to play without him due to his injury. And adding further insult to injury was the manner in which Thiago Silva got himself suspended by being awarded two yellow cards, his absence as a defense player was also very obvious. And even the talented players like Ramires and Willian also could not fill the gap left by Neymar, they were totally at a loss when it came to scoring goals.

What was most evident was the lack of confidence, connection and spirit in the Brazilian team during the semifinal match, the players were not up to their mark and could not stop Germany from making the goals, and the German goal keeper turned out to be an excellent show stopper. All the hopes of millions of fans and the Brazilian government who invested so much money on their players came crashing down with Brazil losing badly to Germany. What was most apparent in the Brazilian team was the total lackluster play and inability to put up any defense, which along with the absence of two of their most sought after players and a strong and confident German team, was the main reason for them to lose.

Customary/Traditional Management

The old style of management follows a very disciplined and systematic style of working, in which the employees have no say in any matters and this sort of management is mostly seen in government and some private agencies. The management is usually not concerned with the well-being of their employees which may result in heartache for them towards the management, which further leads to the employees not performing their best at work, which in turn affects the quality of the work. Traditional leaders do not encourage knowledge sharing or discuss with their employees; they tend to believe that they have the power to be authoritative and usually do not encourage suggestions from their employees. When the employee’s performance at work is excellent also, the management fails to recognize or even fail to express their pleasure towards the employee in this kind of management.

In a modern organization the working is mostly fast paced and challenging and usually decisions have to be taken on the spot, for this sort of working environment the traditional style of management would be a restriction to progress. The management of such high profile organizations should be more flexible and collaborative and employees above managerial level should be given the freedom if necessary to take decisions on their own as required which benefit the organization. This style of management is also more interactive and more sensitive to the needs of the employees, were interaction is usually on a personal basis as this helps in better understanding, quicker completion of work and succeeding. This manner of management is very important for the growth and prospects of the organization.

With the fixed rules and principles of the traditional management it would definitely be a hurdle to progress in a high tech organization, in a collaborative management both the higher ups and the workers are viewed as equals and work on a common platform were they can share their ideas and information to achieve their goals and principles. Employees who excel at work are rewarded and given enough exposure to pursue higher assignments. Any concerns at work are quickly solved as all the workers are responsible for their work and are equally involved in their commitment. Knowledge sharing of resources along with a mutual respect towards a co-worker, are the key factors in a collaborative management due to which the work would be achieved much faster and effectively and also resulting in personal satisfaction to the employees.

In today’s world of frequently changing complex business processes and technologies, organizations have to work in an innovative and strategy based manner to reach targets and milestones. For any organization to succeed on a global level it is very important to plan, strategize and work towards achieving it. All the above reasons are why traditional management would not be effective in high tech organizations, the more interactive and collaborative manner of management is much preferred for its easy and effective manner in which all the employees and the leaders mingle and work together for the prospect of the organization. The work in a collaborative setting is accomplished much faster by having discussions, knowledge sharing and brain storming sessions. People are the most important resources in a collaborative management setting thus giving more priority to employees and their needs and requirements. Thus comparing to traditional management, a collaborative manner of management would be more preferable to any high tech organizations considering the fast paced work and complexities.

Technology to the Rescue

A local media firm has four branches in nearby locations, due to the operations in different locations and lack of streamlining of the sales and purchases in a systematic manner at a centralized location, the customer base was badly affected resulting in a drop in the sales.  To overcome this problem the company is required to set up a centralized data center like WAN (Wide Area Network) from where the employees from all the four locations can access the inventory for stock updates.  Using the WAN system makes it easier to transfer data faster from one location to another, and it is also cheaper and easy to access and catalog records from a remote location.  The work flow is more flexible as you have more control on the records thus giving the required priority to cataloging the records and communication among employees of different locations.

To overcome the issues of online security all the access to the enterprise network should be secured, this can be done by applying the device identity for control of access, securing the LAN and the remote VPN is very important in this sort of mechanism. In this methodology the authentication process is secured by using the Transport Layer Security to have more security between the authentication service and the device, this works in a similar fashion to web security between the browser and the web server. By using the WAN system the company can ensure zero tolerance of errors and all the transactions can be done on a customized intranet website, and web servers put up at the centralized data center can cater to the needs of the online web traffic by helping with online sales. Using Access control mechanisms by maintaining access control lists on authentication basis is also another solution to network security. The growing needs of online connectivity and usage, risks exposure to attacks from malware, an operative authentication device for network connectivity is very important to overcome the risk of probable malware attack. By using WAN, the company can have better service and improved productivity, combined savings and can easily manage and arrange traffic as per requirements.

Overcoming the Power Crisis

The solution to power crisis can be making use of alternative sources of energy like solar and wind energy. Especially in a country like India were frequent power cuts is common, the power cuts during the summer season vary from anywhere between 4-12 hours a day, the rural areas experiencing the highest power cut of around 12 hrs a day. It’s time that someone gave a serious thought to the solution for this crisis. By adopting solar energy, the rural people can benefit as they have an abundance of sunlight and space, they can install these solar panels on their rooftops or even near their fields for agricultural purpose and generate their own power. In this manner they will be fulfilling their needs and any excess power can also be sold to the grid at a fixed rate, by this they along with the government will be mutually benefited.

The only hurdle to more people adopting alternative sources of energy might be due to the lack of awareness and sufficient economic resources. The government by taking certain steps can help in creating awareness among people by conducting campaigns in different areas and at the same time they can also help the common man by providing the required solar panels and other resources at a subsidized rate or by providing loans at a cheaper interest rate. With the ever growing population in India meeting the demands of basic necessities has become a task, in such a scenario promoting alternative sources of energy should be taken up in a big way to meet the demand. In a country like Germany, one can see that all the rooftops are covered with solar panels where solar energy is hugely used; this shows the practical thinking of the Germans. It is high time that people in India think practically and put this into action.

Exploring the Financials

Our financial decisions are totally based on money, time and worth. While making a financial valuation, we must consider the value of the project at the starting of the project which is the present value (PV), and the future value (FV), which is what you have at the ending of a project. It is imperative to calculate the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of a project which is a total estimate of all the costs including the purchase price in addition to all other costs to be incurred during the project time. Net present value (NPV) of the project which is the PV of the future cash flows minus the purchase price or the initial cost incurred for the Project. It is important that every firm should calculate the TCO and NPV to determine whether the firm is going to generate a negative or positive cash flow. There are instances where the managers handling the finances of a firm manipulate the costs to portray a positive cash flow to the management.

This is also true in case of stocks where some firms resort to falsely raising the stock price to the advantage of the owners, and quickly selling off the stocks to a huge profit once the price has risen, resulting in a sharp fall of the stock price. Calculating the TCO and NPV and making use of the results in a right manner should warn the firm of any future risks and taking measures to overcome them. The individuals working on the financials of a firm should also be aware of the significance of the work they are doing without blindly carrying out the analysis. As this is very important for every firm, being up to date and doing the analysis in a timely and right manner can save a firm from any sort of risk and also be largely profitable to the firm if used in a proper and efficient manner.

Bonds vs. Stocks

Stockholders own shares of a particular stock whereas Bondholders are creditors of a company; the bondholders can influence the company’s management to stay away from risky projects and can also raise the asking interest rate thereby raising the capital cost for the company.  Usually stocks are unsettled but can be sold at any time on the other hand bonds have a fixed period of maturity after which the amount is retrieved.  When stockholders take up risky projects they also have an advantage when the stock rises, bondholders are more interested on the return of their investment.  The bondholder will get interest irrespective of the bond making a profit or a loss but the stockholder will not be getting any dividend if the stock doesn’t make profits. Compared to the notion that bondholders have more advantages then stockholders, it can also be noted that a stockholders penchant for stocks which are risky can have a huge impact on the finances of a bondholder.

Using the tool of dividend discount model we can estimate the value of a stock basing on the future dividends being paid after discounting to reflect the current value of the stock.  Using this model investors are able to pick up and invest in stocks which are likely to give good returns due to the extensive research taken up by the company’s.  But it can only evaluate the value of a stock which pays out dividends which is the major negative point of this model, but for some stocks like telecom and technology in which the investors only look for a rise in the price of the stocks this model will not be of much help in envisaging the stock price.  And this model also requires input of accurate data, which sometimes becomes difficult in predicting the accurate stock value.

Over the Counter Stocks

Holding preferred stocks usually assures the stockholder of getting a fixed amount of dividend which is also higher when compared to the dividend paid out for common stocks, and the dividends for common stocks are not known by the stockholder until they are paid out.  The value of common stocks depends on the fluctuations of the market, but at the same time buying these stocks is better when compared to buying penny stocks.  To the common man the common stock will be more tempting because of its high growth prospective in a faster way, and also investing in a large cap company of a company stock is much preferable.  Even though preferred stocks give out higher dividends, in the long run common stocks tend to give higher profits when compared to preferred stocks, as the value of common stocks moves along with the market movement, they are mostly preferred by investors. 

            For an investor who invests in common and preferred stocks, even if a company goes bankrupt it would not make much difference as due to his continuous and daily monitoring of the common stocks he will be in a position to sell off the stocks to his advantage.  Over the counter markets are usually not traded in the stock market but are rather traded through a dealer who in turn directly deals with the sellers and the buyers.  These are mostly listed in the over the counter bulletin boards, bonds fall into the category of the over the counter markets as they are not directly traded in the market, these markets are also important as they give the investor an alternative to being invested in markets and they also help investors to concentrate on smaller stocks which have a greater potential to grow.  But investors should be very cautious and do extensive research before investing in such over the counter markets.

Technology - Information

Design ideas are the form of expressing a plan, outline or a sketch which at a later stage take a definitive shape and structure. Proper planning and estimation of the design should be done prior to putting it into form, the economic viability and the effectiveness of the design idea is a very important aspect, as the success of the idea depends on how credible and commercially viable the idea is if put into action. Therefore the commercial success of any design idea is very crucial and any ideas which might not be a success should be rejected.

A system is designed in a particular manner to achieve the purpose of its design, for example an escalator is designed to move people a short distance at a given speed, and this system is mostly useful for elder people. If the escalator is operated in a different manner say for instance due to the way of operating, it may instead of smoothly moving forward has a shaky ride while going up and coming down it is bound to topple all the people moving on an escalator, due to which the very purpose of the escalator is not served.

The use of computer controlled technological systems in our daily life has become a part and parcel of life, from the automatic locks in our car, the video games we play to the alarm system in our phones all make use of the embedded technology to keep the systems operating. In order to keep running continuously our smartphone uses embedded technology which is a computer system that is designed for specific functioning of different controls in a larger system, which is part of a total device including the hardware and other parts.

Misinformation about the working and effectiveness of any product can alter a person’s viewpoint towards the product.  For example smartphones are being widely used globally and the competition in the market of smartphone brands is immense, if a rival company of a well-known brand, spreads incorrect information about the technology used in the smartphones produced by that brand, it can affect the commercial market of phones thereby adding fuel to the viewpoint of the rival company. Hence misinformation without authentic information can make or totally ruin a company.