Cloud Computing Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 2

Cloud Computing - Research Paper Example For instance, information of an organization needs to be protected and is the ultimate responsibility of the board of director for which they are also liable. We have selected a small medium enterprise called as ‘Wizni Incorporated’ this is transformed from a traditional IT service to a cloud service provider. The Information technology architecture of the company incorporates three components i.e. business analytics expertise, along with the provision of a quality cloud hosting provider. Likewise, the core competency of Wizni Inc. is business analytics. Moreover, the company is delivering business analytics bundled with powerful systems enabling their clients to make efficient decision making. Wizni Incorporated provides state of the art analytics solutions for empowering organizations to utilize business intelligence required for making efficient decision making. The company provides Business intelligence deployments that facilitate ease of discovery, patterns hidden i n IT systems, applications and unstructured data. The business analytics products are DIFEEâ„ ¢ (data-inference and federation engine) and Score IT. DIFEE is used for virtualization and Score IT is used for data mining, model scoring and life cycle management. Furthermore, IBM Cognos Express is also a first integrated business intelligence tool that is precisely developed and acquired by the company to meet customer requirements. The tool is bundled with critical reporting, scorecard, analysis, budgeting, forecasting dashboard and customization features and capabilities for the small medium enterprises at an affordable cost without large associated investments. Moreover, the tool incorporates a pre-configured solution that is very easy for installation and use for the end users. The transition of this new powerful cloud solution is approved by the board on the basis of gaining competitive edge among small medium enterprises within the region. Previously, there was no growth in cl ientele and after implementing the cloud based solution, clientele sky rocketed and stakeholders were satisfied at the same time ready to invest in the technological solution. On the other hand, cloud computing also reflects significant risks, principal risks of cloud computing is associated with federal agencies and regulations. Any vulnerability found in the software, platform or infrastructure of the vendors will expose serious exposures, as information may be related to more than one organization. Moreover, employees working internally on the cloud computing premises of ‘Business Cloud’ may also expose a serious threat if no proper background employee checks were performed during recruitment procedures. Furthermore, if any governmental agencies for instance, military or other sensitive body is also using the same cloud from the same vendor is also most likely to be compromised, if any breach of any one of these fundamental concepts Confidentiality, Integrity and Ava ilability is successful. In addition, the incident response function may not be efficient and effective if any incident occurs and affect the customer or employee. For instance, if a security incident affects the customer, the incident response function of the organization will trigger in a timely manner to isolate and investigate the root cause via root cause analysis. In a cloud computing scenario, it may be a different case and result

Martin Luther King Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Martin Luther King - Essay Example Throughout your letter, you explain to them why your demonstrations were necessary as a means of bringing in the interest and attention of the northern white people and force change in the laws for the benefit of black citizens of the South. You also indicate why it was appropriate and even incumbent upon you, as a minister, to stand up for the human rights of your people rather than to allow them to continue to be so poorly treated. Finally, you demonstrate your connection with your people by pointing out to these ministers why the timing of your demonstrations had to be now as society had finally reached a boiling point when some action was bound to occur. In your closing words, you criticize these other ministers for not helping you find a peaceful means for the people to express their frustration and to act in the name of human goodness. While it is true that your efforts throughout your life did bring about significant change for the better in getting many of these segregation l aws abolished, speaking as a citizen of the 21st century, I regret to tell you that things haven’t really changed all that much. In the 45 years since you wrote your letter, psychologists and sociologists have discovered more and more about the effects of the past upon the reactions of the present within the human mind. Recent investigation has proven that racism is rooted in dysfunctional belief systems resulting from distorted perceptions formed over a period of time as beliefs and practices are passed from one generation to the next. We cannot ignore the significant role of the socio-cultural environment in shaping perceptual patterns. In addition, it is well known that people are inclined to respond on the basis of their own experience when it comes to social interactions and social biases such as racism. Therefore, people who have

Semantic Priming: Effects of Related and Unrelated Words

Semantic Priming: Effects of Related and Unrelated Words Semantic Priming: Effects of Related and Unrelated Words on Response Times Introduction to Cognition, Biological Psychology and Quantitative Research Methods Abstract The aim of this experiment was to measure the response times on the string of letters that were shown to the participants on a computer screen. The task of the participants was to decide whether the string of letters were words or non-words. The hypothesis of the experiment was that the response time in the lexical decision task would be significantly faster for target words related to the prime than for target words unrelated to the prime. The experimental design was repeated measures, where participants responded to all the stimuli that were propounded. Participants were presented with a string of words related to the prime, words unrelated to the prime, non-word created from a word related to the prime and a non-word created from a word unrelated to the prime. The findings of the experiment showed that participants responded faster when the letter strings were related words rather than unrelated words. This is because related words are closely associated in implicit memory, theref ore the response times of the participants will be faster in recognising the words. Explanations for the results of the experiment will be discussed further in the report. Introduction Priming is an effect on implicit memory in which the reaction time of a response to a stimulus is faster due to having previous experience of the stimulus. For example, individuals can recognise a word faster if it is paired with a related word. For example, â€Å"table† and â€Å"chair† and are slower at recognising words if they are unrelated. For example, â€Å"nurse† and â€Å"butter† (Refer to appendix A). In the study of Meyer and Schvaneveldt (1971) we refer to semantic priming, where semantic refers to the logic and language individuals store in their implicit memory. Meyer and Schvaneveldt (1971) suggested that the response times were faster when the string of words were related because a part of the memory is activated in which the retrieval of words from semantic memory is faster. Associative priming and the lexical decision task is an extension of the study by Meyer and Schvaneveldt (1971). In their experiment they hypothesized that recognition of a word is faster when it is associated with its prime. In their experiment they presented 12 participants with two strings of letters, one above the other. Their task was to press the ‘yes’ key if the two strings were words and the ‘no’ key if one or both were non-words. In their results, they found that response times were faster when the target string consisted of related words such as ‘bread’ and ‘butter’ or ‘nurse’ and ‘doctor’ proving their hypothesis to be correct. Furthermore, another psychologist McNamara (1992) demonstrated results from a similar experiment of associative priming. He also found that mean response times were faster when words were related rather than unrelated. He also found that errors rates (percentage of errors) were much higher in the non-related condition than in the related condition. The present experiment is in favour of that of Meyer and Schvaneveldt’s (1971) and McNamara’s (1992) because similar results were obtained from both research studies. The difference to the present study to that of Meyer and Schvaneveldt’s (1971) was that the string of words were not presented simultaneously, they were presented one after the other and the participants were to decide if both strings were words or if one of both were non-words. From this it is unknown which letter string is the one that the participant responds to from their implicit memory. However the present experiment could allow us to investigate the effects of the time between the letters are presented on the effects on response times. Another modification that was made was that in the present experiment, was that one letter was changed in either a related or an unrelated word. This allows us to investigate the eff ects of the response time on the identification of words. Previous research by Meyer and Schvaneveldt (1971) and findings from the present experiment are relevant in explaining how the long term memory is organised in individuals. The hypothesis of the experiment was that the response time in the lexical decision task would be significantly faster for target words related to the prime than for target words unrelated to the prime. Participants 150 participants took part in the present experiment, all being part of the same educational institution. The participants consisted of mixed gender with majority being female. The age of the participants varied from 18 and above and they were also from various ethnicities. The type of sampling that was used in the experiment was opportunity sampling because the participants were available to take part in the experiment at that time. Apparatus As the experiment was computer based, each participant had access to a computer. The program was written in TCL for Windows, and ran on PCs using the Windows 7 operating system. There were two types of stimuli used in the experiment; words and non-words, related and unrelated words. Key findings in the experiment showed that participants responded faster when words were related to each other; for example, ‘bread’ and ‘butter.’ Thus, participants responded slower when words were unrelated to each other; for example, ‘table’ and ‘nurse.’ Design The experiment was set up in an educational institution and the task was carried out using computer equipment. There were 150 participants involved in the experiment and consisted of first year psychology students. This was an opportunity sample, as the participants were available at the time the study was being carried out. The program was written in TCL for Windows, and ran on PCs using the Windows 7 operating system. The design of the experiment was repeated measures where participants were presented with all the stimuli. There were two independent variables for this experiment: related or unrelated words and word or non-words. The dependent variable was the response time in which participants decided if the string of letters were words or non-words. The conditions in the experiment were to press the ‘L’ key or the ‘A’ key if the string of letters were words or non-words. The experiment program showed the participant which key to press for each response. The controls that were used in the experiment were the ways in which the stimuli were presented. The target was presented 300, 600 or 900 milliseconds after the prime was presented on the computer screen. When the results were presented the times after the stimuli were presented were averaged out. Procedure The participants carried out the experiment simultaneously. The participant was seated in front of the computer throughout the experiment. The stimuli were presented one after the other on the screen after which the participant had to make the choice if the string of letters presented were words or non-words. The participant responded by pressing the ‘A’ or ‘L’ key on the keyboard; these were random for each participant. Response time was measured by the computer programme. The experiment lasted around 20 minutes. Participants were shown 18 trials in which the target string was a word related to the prime, 18 trials in which the target string was a non-word, 18 trials in which the target string was a non-word created from a word and 18 trials in which the target string was a non-word from a word unrelated to the prime, which means there were 72 trials in total. (Refer to appendix B). Results The inferential test chosen for the present experiment was a repeated measure t-test. Using a repeated measures t-test, with alpha set at 0.05, response times for the related words were significantly faster than the unrelated words (t=-3.762, df=149, p=0.000, two tailed). Similarly, using a repeated measures t-test, with alpha set at 0.05, response times were significantly faster for related non-words than for unrelated non-words (t=0.974, df=149, p=0.332, two tailed). The difference between the mean response times in each condition varied, the mean response time was faster when the target string was a word related to the prime and was slower when the target string was a pseudo word unrelated to the prime. McNamara (1992) reports that lexical decisions are made faster because semantic memory consists of interconnected nodes (Refer to appendix C). When a stimulus is presented, a part of the semantic memory is activated and the spreads across the network activating related nodes. The c loser the nodes, the closer the words are associated in semantic memory. Mean Reaction Times and Standard Deviations in Lexical Decision Task Discussion The hypothesis of the experiment was accepted because response time in the lexical decision task was significantly faster for target words related to the prime than for target words unrelated to the prime. This is in favour of Meyer and Schvaneveldt’s (1971) experiment as previously mentioned because in their experiment, their mean response time was fastest when the target string was a word related to the prime; similarly with the present experiment. The results of the present experiment demonstrates that Meyer and Schvaneveldt’s (1971) and McNamara’s (1992) theory of semantic priming is both valid and reliable. An opportunity sample was used in the experiment and may be considered as a weak research method by many researchers. Therefore this kind of sample may produce a biased sample as it is easy for the researcher to gather participants from their social group; in this case, a sample of students from the same educational institution. Hence the results of the experiment are not generalizable to a whole population. Since majority of the participants involved in the experiment consisted of students, the results can be affected because a much educated, mature individual will have more knowledge of the world and whose memory may be better than that of students. Similarly, a younger, uneducated individual may not have a reasonable good memory so their results will differ from the student’s results. A more appropriate type of sample may be a volunteer sample, where the experiment will recruit all types of individuals from the society. This way the findings of the experiment may be general izable to a total population. References Friedenberg, J. Silverman, G. (2006). Cognitive Science: An Introduction to the Study of Mind. London: Sage Publications Ltd. Goldstein, E. (2010). Cognitive Psychology: Connecting Mind, Research and Everyday Experience. (3rd ed.). Belmont: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. McNamara, T. (1992). Learning. Memory, and Cognition. Journal of Experimental Psychology. 18 (6) 1173-1190. Meyer, D. Schvaneveldt, R. (1971). Facilitation in Recognizing Pairs of Words. Journal of Experimental Psychology. 90 (2) 227-234. Proctor, R. Healy, A. (Eds.) (2003). Experimental Psychology, Volume 4 (2nd ed.). New Jersey: John Wiley Sons, Inc. Appendix Appendix A Stimuli used in the experiment. The words in the brackets indicate where the pseudo word originated from. Appendix B Number of trials per condition. Appendix C A diagram of how knowledge in semantic memory may be organised.

Modern Art Essay -- Manet, Rembrandt, Gaugin

This paper references the following works: Olympia. Edouard Manet. 1863. Oil on canvas. H. 130; W. 190 cm. Paris, Musà ©e d'Orsay Self Portrait. Rembrandt. 1660. Oil on canvas. 31.61 x 26.5 cm. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Self Portrait Dedicated to Paul Gaugin. Vincent van Gogh. 1888. Oil on canvas. 60.5 x 49.4 cm. Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University Pieta. Anabale Carricci. 1600. Oil on canvas. 149 x 156 cm. Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte, Naples, Italy. Woman with Dead Child. Kathe Kollowitz. 1903. Etching. 39 x 48 cm. To the casual viewer, Modern art is often shocking, amusing, indecipherable and unnerving because art has always been understood in terms of traditional representation. However at the turn of the nineteenth century, European artists began to rebel against the institution of classical art. To gain success as an artist in Europe up until this time, acceptance by the Royal Academies of Art was essential (Rosenfeld 2000). The approved style was that of classical antiquity depicting idealised historical, mythological and religious scenes and because the Academies controlled official patronage for artists, they set the rules for standards of â€Å"beauty† in art (Rosenfeld 2000). However with the rise of modernity in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, art theory evolved. Modernity in this period was characterised by rapid growth of industry and technology in the city, which meant substantial social and economic innovation across Europe. Feelings of anxiety and instabil ity accompanied this rapid transformation (Sturken and Cartwright 2009, 449) and lead to a self-conscious awareness within artists and consumers alike. So strongly were the changes felt that artists began reinterpreting traditional subject matter to reflect this new modern age. Ultimately, Modern artists sought truth over beauty, a concept which encompassed both the physicality of painting as a medium as well as the artist’s sense of self in an endeavour to create â€Å"pure† art (Greenberg). Academic art strove to overcome the limitations of painting as a medium; surface flatness, canvas structure and properties of paint pigment (Kleiner 2009, 822), to create illusions of space and aesthetics. Modern artists reacted by emphasising the same properties to communicate original insights and observations. However, the popular notion that Modernism was a... ...3857?accountid=10382 (accessed Feb 4, 2015) Figure 2. Olympia. Edouard Manet. 1863. Oil on canvas. H. 130; W. 190 cm. Paris, Musà ©e d'Orsay offered to the French State by public subscription initiated by Claude Monet, 1890 © RMN-Grand Palais (Musà ©e d'Orsay) / Hervà © Lewandowski. Reproduced from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/cultureshock/flashpoints/visualarts/olympia_a.html (accessed Feb 4, 2015). Figure 3. Self Portrait. Rembrandt. 1660. Oil on canvas. 31.61 x 26.5 cm. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. http://totallyhistory.com/self-portrait-altman/ (accessed Feb 4, 2015) Figure 4. Self Portrait Dedicated to Paul Gaugin. Vincent van Gogh. 1888. Oil on canvas. 60.5 x 49.4 cm. Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/gogh/self/gogh.self-gauguin.jpg (accessed Feb 4, 2015) Figure 5. Pieta. Anabale Carricci. 1600. Oil on canvas. 149 x 156 cm. Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte, Naples, Italy. http://www.wikipaintings.org/en/annibale-carracci/pieta-1600 (accessed Feb 4, 2015) Figure 6. Woman with Dead Child. Kathe Kollowitz. 1903. Etching. 39 x 48 cm. oj0 http://hammer.ucla.edu/programs/detail/program_id/204 (accessed Feb 4, 2015)

Gun Control Is Bad Essay

Gun control laws should not be strengthened, instead they should be enforced. Instead of making it harder for law-abiding citizens to obtain guns, guns should be taken away from unstable individuals or people who should not have guns like criminals. The first reason why gun control should not be strengthened is that citizens have the right to own guns; it is one of those entitlements that makes the United States different from other countries. Secondly, criminals are criminals and that is why they are called criminals, they don’t follow the law; basically if a criminal wants a gun they will get a gun, legally or not. My third reason is that guns are used for protection. Strengthening gun control laws will not prevent violence, guns aren’t the only tool used to hurt people, and people will use other objects to hurt people if they can’t have guns. Without a gun, murderers will still murder people whether they use a gun, knife, baseball bat, or any other object, it doesn’t matter. If not that many citizens have guns thanks to stronger gun laws, what if the government becomes tyrannical or does not protect the citizens’ rights? Well they won’t be able to do anything because they will be helpless, they can’t take out the leaders and fix the government. The second amendment states, â€Å"A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed. Adolf Hitler took away guns from the Jewish people during his reign of power in Europe, the constitution states that guns are â€Å"necessary to the security of a free state† and Hitler did not want a free state, he did not want them to fight back. Same goes for Fidel Castro and other leaders like them. Guns are necessary to for the people to have, to make sure the government is kept in line. The founding fathers wanted citizens to be able to own guns to make sure that the people are in charge. Thomas Jefferson said, â€Å"When the people fear the government there is a tyranny, when the government fears the people there is liberty.† If stricter gun control laws went into effect then citizens will begin to lose a basic right as a citizen of the United States. Some people who think strengthening gun control will reduce gun violence but it will only make law-abiding citizens not want to go through the process of getting a gun. Criminals will find a way to get guns if they want them which is why instead of strengthening gun laws, it should be made sure that criminals and unstable people do not have guns. When alcohol was illegal during Prohibition, the criminals still found a way to get it, if guns are illegal they will still find a way to get them. Chicago has some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation. In 2010 it was illegal for a citizen to own a handgun. In that same year more Chicago police officers were killed by gunfire than any other police agency. According to theacru.org a Harvard study showed, â€Å"Norway has the highest rate of gun ownership in Western Europe, yet possesses the lowest murder rate. In contrast, Holland’s murder rate is nearly the worst, despite having the lowest gun ownership in Western Europe.† This is showing how gun control does not work. According to dosomething.org, â€Å"Most guns used in crimes are stolen either from homes or gun dealers.† A criminal will find a gun illegally if they have to, they won’t care about gun control laws, only citizens who will follow the law will, and they will be the ones to get hurt by the criminals. If they want it, they will find a way to get it. Guns don’t kill people, people kill people and if guns are not available then people will still kill people, gun control laws being strengthened will not stop people from killing each other. The proof is in the facts, gun control doesn’t work. Guns can be used to balance power between the strong and the defenseless which can save innocent lives. For example, if an elderly woman was home alone and someone was breaking into her home she could easily shoot the intruder and defend herself. According to justfacts.com, in a survey done by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 1994, â€Å"Americans use guns to frighten away intruders who are breaking into their homes about 498,000 times per year.† An example of this is a story done by ABC News on October 20, 2012 a 12 year old girl was home alone when an intruder broke in, she hid in her closet with her mom’s gun and when the intruder came to the closet she shot him in the shoulder and he got scared off, that probably saved her life. Also, a survey from the Journal of Quantative Criminology from 2000 stated, â€Å"U.S. civilians use guns to defend themselves and others from crimes at least 989,883 times per year.† If gun control laws are strengthened it will be harder for citizens who obey the law to obtain guns which they would use to protect themselves therefore the crime rate will spike as the smaller and weaker cannot protect themselves. Stricter gun control laws will only make it harder for citizens who actually follow the law to acquire guns, criminals don’t care if it is illegal or not. It is an unalienable right as a U.S. citizen to own guns and guns are used as protection from people like who want to do harm to others. If gun laws are strengthened criminals will still get the guns if they want them, they don’t care if they break the law. Guns are used for protection by citizens. I think that the only way to lessen violence with guns is to have stronger penalties for murders and harm to other people. Also, I believe that people should keep track of their guns and keep them in a safe place so no one can steal them.

Change and Continutie

Between 500 CE and 1500CE changes and continuities in interregional commerce in the Eurasian World occurred. The Silk Road connected South Asia, Western Asia, and South Asia with Europe. The â€Å"road† was used for trading good such as silk, porcelain, and other luxuries. Not only was it used for trading material goods, but it was also used for trading religions, skills, and knowledge. It also passed along diseases. Some changes that occurred were that classical empires collapsing and new empires began to rise, and trade in the Indian Ocean became more regulated in 1500CE than before in 1400CE.A continuity that occurred was the Indian Ocean trade remained unregulated from 700CE through 1400CE. Due to the collapse of the classical empires in 500CE and the rise of the Byzantine, Abbasid, and Tang Empires in 700CE, trade declined then grew. When the classical empires collapsed, trade declined because due to the lack of government following the decline of the classical empires, p rotection could not be granted for trade and trade routes could not be repaired. Due to these reasons, trade and travel became dangerous.When the Byzantine, Abbasid, and Tang empires began to rise, trade grew again because Tang rulers set up military garrisons to protect the trade done through the Silk Road, the Byzantine empire’s central location on the Mediterranean Sea allowed trade to flourish, especially in the capital of Constantinople, and in the Abbasid empire Muslim merchants spread improved irrigation in the region, which led to increases in food production and population. Because of the three empires rising, trade was able to be successful again after the fall of the classical empires.During the years of 700CE through 1400CE a continuity of unregulated Indian Ocean trade continued in Eurasian trade. The Indian Ocean represented the world’s largest sea-based system of communication and exchange. The alternating wind currents that blew predictably eastward dur ing the summer months and westward during the winter months (monsoons) was what made the Indian Ocean commerce possible. Because the Indian trade route was so successful and many people depending on it, it continued to remain unregulated from 700CE through 1400CE.Another reason for it continuing to remain unregulated was because cities located strategically grew and it was a safe environment for markets, it welcomed all merchants, and charged reasonable fees. Although it remained unregulated from 700CE through 1400CE, that all changed by 1500CE. From the unregulated Indian Ocean trade in the 1400’s, trade became more controlled by the Chinese and the Europeans by the 1500’s. To gain control over the Indian Ocean trade Europeans captured the port cities, wrecked them, stole from them, and burned them to the ground, killing the residents of the cities.Because people from other countries traded as well and they brought their culture, religions, and other values and belief s that fascinated the people who lived along the Indian Ocean regions, a lot of people were affected. The Indian Ocean became controlled by the Chinese and the Europeans. In the same way as the Silk Road was used for trade and commerce and was successful the Indian Ocean was also used for trade and commerce. However, the silk route is widely interconnected trade route across Asian continent connecting East, South, and Western Asia with the Mediterranean world, as well as North and Northeast Africa and Europe.In Indian Ocean routes majorly connecting Middle East, Africa, and East Asia with Europe and the Americas. In conclusion, during the time period of 500CE through 1500CE Some changes that occurred were that classical empires collapsing and new empires began to rise, and trade in the Indian Ocean became more regulated in 1500CE than before in 1400CE. A continuity that occurred was the Indian Ocean trade remained unregulated from 700CE through 1400CE. Both the silk road and the Ind ian ocean were used for commerce and trade.

Free Essays on Trafficking

Trafficking in persons is a modern-day form of slavery, involving victims who are typically forced, defrauded or coerced into sexual or labor exploitation. It is among the fastest growing criminal activities, occurring both worldwide and in individual countries. Annually, at least 700,000 people, mostly women and children, are trafficked worldwide, including 50,000 persons into the United States. The unequal status of women and children in the world has led to exploitation on every continent, including the United States where personal freedoms are cherished. Women are snared into trafficking by various means. For example, physical force is used or false promises are made regarding a legitimate job or marriage in a foreign country to entrap victims into prostitution, pornography and other forms of commercial sexual exploitation or slavery-like labor conditions in factories and fields. Victims suffer physical and emotional abuse, rape, threats against self and family, passpor t theft, and physical restraint. Traffickers have taken advantage of the disparate position of women and girls in the source and transit countries, including harmful stereotypes as women as property, commodities, servants, and sexual objects. Traffickers have also taken advantage of the demand for cheap unprotected labor, and the promotion of sex tourism in some countries. Trafficking into the sex industry also has serious societal consequences as it contributes to the spread of HIV and AIDS. Some trafficked women are required to engage in unprotected sex. Particularly disturbing is a case uncovered by INS where at least one trafficker was purchasing HIV-positive females because he found them to be cheap labor and since he believed they had nothing to live for. The trafficking industry worldwide also is closely intertwined with other related criminal activities, such as extortion, racketeering, money laundering, and bribery of public officials, d... Free Essays on Trafficking Free Essays on Trafficking Trafficking in persons is a modern-day form of slavery, involving victims who are typically forced, defrauded or coerced into sexual or labor exploitation. It is among the fastest growing criminal activities, occurring both worldwide and in individual countries. Annually, at least 700,000 people, mostly women and children, are trafficked worldwide, including 50,000 persons into the United States. The unequal status of women and children in the world has led to exploitation on every continent, including the United States where personal freedoms are cherished. Women are snared into trafficking by various means. For example, physical force is used or false promises are made regarding a legitimate job or marriage in a foreign country to entrap victims into prostitution, pornography and other forms of commercial sexual exploitation or slavery-like labor conditions in factories and fields. Victims suffer physical and emotional abuse, rape, threats against self and family, passpor t theft, and physical restraint. Traffickers have taken advantage of the disparate position of women and girls in the source and transit countries, including harmful stereotypes as women as property, commodities, servants, and sexual objects. Traffickers have also taken advantage of the demand for cheap unprotected labor, and the promotion of sex tourism in some countries. Trafficking into the sex industry also has serious societal consequences as it contributes to the spread of HIV and AIDS. Some trafficked women are required to engage in unprotected sex. Particularly disturbing is a case uncovered by INS where at least one trafficker was purchasing HIV-positive females because he found them to be cheap labor and since he believed they had nothing to live for. The trafficking industry worldwide also is closely intertwined with other related criminal activities, such as extortion, racketeering, money laundering, and bribery of public officials, d...