Cyber Worlds Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Cyber Worlds - Essay Example People have different arguments on this controversial issue some considering it as worthwhile while others viewing it as not safe and cost ineffective. Most people view prisoners as outcasts in the community and argue that they should not be treated well. Most countries do not allow inmates to have access to the internet arguing that it insecure and that they will not feel the pain of the sentence. They also say that access to internet may lead to them planning their way out since they can plan with people from outside. Denying inmates the chance to access the internet could also create more time for them to carry out other activities. Removing the family ties by no access to internet could also help them reform by feeling the pain that comes with being away from their families. Most prisons work under a tight budget and therefore removing the cost due to internet access could save much in the end. Prisons without internet access have been ranked top in terms of discipline in the prison and discipline of the prisoners in the outside world after the jail term is over. Internet tends to destroy morals of people in general and prisoners are not an exception. Therefore lack of access to internet reduces the chances of moral destruction .access to internet could also give inmates a chance to smuggle drugs by contacting the sellers of drugs. Access to the internet could also lead to the inmates keeping up with the criminal activities that are being incarcerated. Inmates have also been found taunting their victims through social media and lack of internet access could eliminate this. However, the disadvantages of denying internet access to inmates are very insignificant as compared to the advantages that it comes with. Inmates are human beings and they deserve to be treated like the rest of citizens (Bowden ,4).Prisons should be viewed as rehabilitation centers rather than centres of punishment. They should be

Problem of unemployment Essay Example for Free

Problem of unemployment Essay Unemployment is a serious problem in our country, which leads to poverty. Many people are eager to find jobs SuPport themselves as well as their families but there are not enough jobs for everyone. As a result the problem of unemployment is seen at every level. Lack of job opportunities has brought depression and hopelessness among our youth. It has made them to go astray which creates many other problems like drug addiction, identity crises, etc. Let us first examine the causes of the problem of unemployment before discussing the various ways and means of solving this problem. There are many reasons for the problem of unemployment in our country. One of them is the slow growth of our economy, in relation to increase in the number of educated persons. When an economy is growing, there are plenty of jobs for everyone. Our economy has grown and there has been development but not enough to generate sufficient number of jobs. Another factor that has led to unemployment is the growth in population. Ours is a thickly populated country the population increasing by leaps and bounds. But jobs and gainful avenues cannot be generated in the proportion. The jobs are restricted in number but the people applying for them are many. So, a large section of people is left without job. The growth in education has resulted is larger number of people looking for white collar jobs, which are not available. Again, education is often not aimed at providing people with vocational skills. So their scope for employment remains limited. At the same time, the growth of mechanization and more sophisticated machinery is important for the development of industry. But this often means few people are required for specific jobs. As a result there is more unemployment. It is the responsibility of the government to provide jobs for all those who are able to work. It has started schemes like the Jawahar Rozgar Yojana, Swarnajayanti, Gram Swarozgar Yojna and other in rural areas. Loans are also given- to encourage self employment and small scale industries. Technical and vocational education should be stressed. When people get technical and vocational education, they will not hanker after services on completing their education. They will come out well prepared to stand on their own legs. They will choose a profession in accordance with their capability and aptitude. This will help in solving the problem unemployment. J M It is also necessary to check the rapid growth of our pulation. There must be laid on family planning in this regard. After population is controlled, we can easily overcome the problem of unemployment. Unless this problem is under control, all round development of our country can never be possible. Hence, it is necessary to bring awareness among the common mass.

The Impacts Of Invasive Alien Plants

The Impacts Of Invasive Alien Plants Chapter 1 Research on the impacts of invasive alien plants (IAP) on biodiversity, ecosystem services and processes have been well documented in the literature. Furthermore, the primary focus of this research was the negative impacts associated with IAPs when there are some benefits associated with these plants. Limited research has also addressed the issue of IAP impact on the livelihoods and well-being of local land-users. Seeing that limited resources are available to address the issue of IAP at large, quantification of stakeholder perception is needed to maximise IAP management. Through this thesis, an investigation into the spread and impacts of IAPs in the rural parts of the Agulhas Plain as well as the perceptions, uses, costs and benefits associated with IAPs and the importance of these plants to the livelihoods of the local communities was carried out. The purpose of this research is to provide a better understanding of the possible impacts of invasive plant species on the livelihoods of people. This local knowledge can aid researchers by providing context specific information about impacts, which can then be used for future conservation actions. Motivation The detrimental effects of IAPs on ecosystems and biodiversity, ecosystem goods and services the economy of human enterprises and human health have been well documented in the literature (e.g. Geesing et al. 2004, Nel et al. 2004, Shackleton et al. 2007). Invasion by alien species have been reported as a major threat to the biodiversity and functioning of sensitive ecosystems (Turpie et al. 2003, Richardson and Van Wilgen 2004, Van Wilgen et al. 2008). It has been shown that invasive species are very successful in competing for resources with native species and can modify fuel loads by changing the amount of litter fall (Behenna et al. 2008). Invasive alien plants are also capable of altering the natural nutrient fluxs by shifting the nitrogen content due to changes in the litter fall (Behenna et al. 2008). Dense stands of acacias along the rivers in the Western Cape replace and exclude native fynbos species (Blanchard and Holmes 2008). Invasive alien plants also pose one of the grea test immediate threats to floral diversity in the fynbos and have the ability capture vast amounts of water (Turpie et al. 2003). In contrast, research exploring the effects of IAPs on the livelihoods of local, rural communities has received little attention (McGarry et al. 2005, Shackleton et al. 2007). Not all of the impacts exerted by IAPs are negative as these plant species is a source of both costs and benefits (Bardsley and Edward-Jones 2006). Various plants have been introduced to South Africa for a variety of purposes (Van Wilgen et al. 2001). These include species intrudes for crop production, timber and firewood, garden ornamentals, for dune stabilisation and hedge plants (Van Wilgen et al. 2001). Several of these have become naturalized and some of the naturalized species are now invasive (Van Wilgen et al. 2001). Costs are experienced when these invasive species impede the functioning of social and ecological systems (Bardsley and Edward-Jones 2006). Benefits, on the other hand, are experienced when the same traits (such as hardiness and high fecundity) that lead to these species becoming invasives, contribute to their usefulness (Bardsley and Edward-Jones 2006). Rural communities are exposed to IAPs in different ways (Shackleton et al. 2007). The outcome is that that these communities have to weigh up the trade-offs between the possible positive benefits of IAPs as a natural resource and the negative impacts exercised by these species on ecosystem goods and services and in turn on human livelihood (Shackleton et al. 2007). It is generally accepted that the negative effects of IAPs on ecosystem goods and services are transferred directly to human well-being (Shackleton et al. 2007). This has been proven otherwise by researchers such as de Neergaard and others (2005), Shackleton and others (2007) and Kull and others (2011) who illustrated that IAPs can be integrated significantly by local communities in their lifestyles as either a source of tannins and timber, for firewood, building material, as well as for medicinal extractions and financial income by selling of firewood. Working for Water (WfW), an IAP eradication programme, was launced in 1995 with the aim of restoring natural capital by controlling invading species and enhance water security (Van Wilgen et al. 1998). Simultaneously, the programme aims to alleviate poverty by providing employment to underprivileged communities (Van Wilgen et al. 1998). To date, the WfW programme has developed into one of the biggest conservation projects in Africa with regard to manpower, costs and impact (Ndhlovu 2011). Immense sponsorships have contributed towards extensive areas being cleared and a large numbers of individuals being employed (Binns et al. 2001, Turpie et al. 2008). Conversely, the socio-economic benefits of the WfW programme have not been wholly assessed regardless of the programmes extensive activities and substantial sponsorships associated with it (Turpie et al. 2008). Additionally, the use of these plants by rural communities is not well understood and seldom integrated into eradication programmes as stated below: The lack of information on the socio-economic impacts of IAS has been singled out as a major barrier to the implementation of comprehensive national IAS management programmes and as one of the main reasons for the failure of IAS issues to feature prominently in the mainstream agenda of most countries (Peter, 2009). Quantification of stakeholder perception on the impacts of IAPs is essential in order authorize an argument for the control and management of invasive plant species (Peter, 2009). Though it is vital to understand anthropogenic impacts on landscapes and ecosystems through ecological knowledge of invasive species, an improved understanding of the social processes is also required to inform both species management and conservation policy (Peter 2009). There is a shortage of information regarding the socio-economic impact of alien species presently found in South Africa. Even in well studied areas such as the Cape Floristic Region, the range of the impact of invasive plants is poorly understood. Additionally, limited research has also been done with regard to the socio-economic impacts of alien eradication programmes in the Western Cape. Consequently, there is a need for comprehensive research that investigates the holistic impacts (both negative and positive) of IAPs on the livelihoods and well-being of local communities. Goals and Objectives Considering the above, the objective of this study was to assess the effects and impacts of IAP infestation on human well-being, with the focus on the effects of IAPs on the livelihoods of rural land users in the Western Cape, South Africa. The main research question that directs the study is as follow: What are the impacts of invasive alien plants on the livelihoods of rural land users? This research question was broken down into seven key questions. These key questions were adapted from the literature (see McGarry et al. 2005). Key Questions What is the significance of the natural environment to the community? What are peoples attitudes towards and perceptions of IAPs ? How important are IAPs for human well-being and livelihoods? Are the IAPs used for sustenance, for domestic requirements, etc.? Are IAPs sold to provide an income? Does the local community perceive IAPs as having a positive or negative impact on spirituality, culture and/or aesthetics? How do IAPs in the area affect the supply of (other) ecosystem goods and services which are important to peoples livelihoods? What are peoples attitudes towards IAP management? What are the impacts of IAP eradication programmes on livelihoods? What is the impact of IAP distribution on land-use practices? What are the long-term and short-term gains and losses for human well-being and livelihood as a result of IAP impact? The study site is highly dependent on areas where rural communities are still highly reliant on generating an income from the land. Additionally, the study site must also comply with the use of IAPs by the local community and in the same light IAPs must be potentially regarded as a problem by the local community. The Agulhas Plain, situated within the Cape Floristic Region (CFR), has been selected as the focus area for this study as it meets the above mentioned criteria. Study area The Agulhas Plain (AP) is located within the CFR which is internationally known as a global biodiversity hotspot (Turpie et al. 2003). The CFR, known for its Mediterranean type climate, is the most floristically rich of the seven diverse biomes allocated in South Africa with an estimated 9600 plant species of which 70% are endemic (Richardson and Sekhran 2009). The AP, comprising an area of 270 000 ha, is located at the southern-most tip of South Africa and is a species-rich area known for its fire-prone coastal lowland fynbos and infertile soils (Richardson and Sekhran 2009, Treurnicht 2010). It is internationally recognised as a centre for endemism (Treurnicht 2010). This area is however increasingly threatened by habitat transformation and alien plant invasion (Turpie et al. 2003), the latter being the focal point of this study. Fynbos wildflower farming and harvesting, particularly from natural vegetation, forms an integral part of this areas economic activity and contributes immensely to this regions agricultural sector (Treurnicht 2010). This has been shown Turpie and others (2003) who stated that natural fynbos vegetation are estimated to be accountable for 57.6% of the CFRs turnover, which were equal to R90.5 million in the year 2000. The Agulhas Plain is practically responsible for the largest part of this turnover (Turpie et al. 2003). Study limitations It was not possible to do a systematic and exhaustive research in all the areas on the Agulhas Plain were IAP infestation occurs due to the time limitation of this study. It was thus decided to do a detailed and comprehensive micro focus i.e. case study on the socio-economic impacts of invasive alien plants and to gather as much consistent information as possible by means of interviews. Elim and the surrounding farming communities were accordingly selected as the study group. Study site selection Elim and the surrounding farming communities were chosen as the best suitable study site according to the following reasons: It was established during the visits prior and during the pilot study that this rural settlement and its neighbouring farms still relies on woody IAPs as either a primary or a supplementary source of energy. It was noted during field visits that the areas surround the settlement as well as the neighbouring farms are invaded to a substantial degree. There has been active alien eradication programmes in the area since 1998 i.e. Working for Water as well as LandCare under the departments of Water Affairs and Agriculture respectively. Thesis outline Chapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2 Literature Review Chapter 3 Methods, Results and Discussion Chapter 4 Implications for management and policies

Cloning and Mind Zombies :: Cloning Argumentative Persuasive Argument

Cloning and Mind Zombies Cloning, is it the thing of the future? Or is it a start of a new generation? To some, cloning could give back a life. A life of fun, happiness, and freedom. For others it could mean destruction, evil, or power. Throughout this paper, you the reader, should get a better concept of cloning, it's ethics, the pro's and con's, and the concerns it has brought up. You will hear the good of what cloning can do and the bad that comes with the good. Most of the information you will read about in this paper is what might become of the future. Even though the cloning of humans can not be accomplished. When it is the possibilities are endless. What is cloning? How did it get started? Well, it is like this. A clone is a genetic copy or a replica of an living organism. But, when you gear cloning doesn't a Si-Fi movie come to mind. Like when they take a nucleus, place it in a egg, put the egg in a incubator, and when it hatches it's an exact replica of the original being (Lawren). Though this has been done with frogs it has not yet been accomplished with mammals (Lawren). Another way to make a clone, as they do in the cattle buisness, is to split the cells of a early multi-celled embryo which will form two new embryos (Lawren). For it to get started into practice it took more than fifty years of questioning and testing. The first successful cloning experiment involved a leopard frog. It took place in, 1952 with group of scientist from the Institute for Cancer Research in Philadelphia (Lawren). To clone the frog they used an embryonic frog cell nucleus(Margery). 1962, John Gurdon of Cambridge University cloned a toad that survive threw adulthood and was able to reproduce. He was also the first to take a nucleus from a fully contrast tadpole intestinal cell and cloned toads(Robertson). As you can see we are getting close to the cloning of humans. 1981, Steen Willadsen was the first to clone a artificial chimera. He did this by mixing a sheep and a goat getting the result of a "geep" (Lawren). It had the body shape and the head of a goat, and a dappled coat which had large patches of sheep's wool. 1984, Willadsen cloned the first verifiable mammal, using embryonic nuclei transplant into an unfertilized sheep egg. Also in, 1986, when he worked for Texas bioengineering company (Lawren). By using the embryonic nuclei, he produces the first cloned calves from cattle.

Working With Survivors of Trauma Essay -- Post-traumatic stress disord

Bio-psychosocial Assessment Presenting Issue Spartacus came to seek the help of a mental health specialist since he was experiencing a number of difficulties in his life after his service at the U.S. Army. He â€Å"felt different† on his return to home and found it exceedingly tough to blend in into the family life as he did before going to serve in the army. The emotional attachment he had with his family members such as the wife and the son had disappeared. Spartacus not attend to the son accordingly as a father should. Though he knew that this was not right, he could not bring himself to a solution and that is the reason why he sought specialized help. The problem had persisted for a while and Spartacus knew that the situation was getting worse. It was interfering with his day-to-day functioning. He wanted help so that he could revert back to his normal function just like in the period before living for the military. He could not sleep, he was constantly nervous, he felt less motivated and showed a general loss of ap petite. Demographic Information Spartacus is an African American male aged 25 years. He has served in the U.S. military for with multiple deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan. He had returned to his home in U.S having suffered many physical injuries during one of the combats. He was (and is still) married to Tamika and they have a son who is three years old. Current Living Situation Spartacus spent most of his time in solitude, away from the wife and son. He easily got irritated and found comfort in smoking cigarette. In his loneliness, Spartacus could spend many hours replaying the scenes from his combat experience. He always felt jumpy. Birth and Developmental History Having been born 25 years ago... ... useful evidence that helped in coming up with the right treatment for Spartacus. Bibliography Chang, Y., & Hsiao, S. (2006). Quality of Life: Scaling with Maslow‘s Need Hierarchy. Gerontology, 52(6), 376-376. Hofmann, S. G. (2007). Enhancing exposure-based therapy from a translational research perspective. Behavior Research and Therapy, 45(9), 1987-2001. Kennedy, J. E. (2007). Posttraumatic stress disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder-like symptoms and mild traumatic brain injury. The Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development, 44(7), 895-920. Resick, P. A., & Miller, M. W. (2009). Posttraumatic stress disorder: Anxiety or traumatic stress disorder?. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 22(5), 384-390. Taylor, S. (2004). Understanding and treating health anxiety: A cognitive-behavioral approach. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 11(1), 112-123.

Applications of cryptography

Looking for the â€Å"best† websites in cryptology is a daunting, if not an impossible task. This is because, as I started searching the Web for interesting sites on cryptology, I found that there are just so many. The task is made even more difficult by the fact that cryptology is such a broad subject which encompasses several sub-subjects. Nevertheless, I have to choose three sites. Basically, I just set two criteria for choosing a site: it has to be interesting and it has to be easily understandable even when the content is technical.Being a history enthusiast, my search for fascinating contents led me to a website that features cryptology in the 16th and 17th centuries. It can be accessed via the link http://home. att. net/~tleary/cryptolo. htm and is written by Thomas (Penn) Leary. One of the reasons I was drawn to this site is the existence of an author for the site. With internet access and blogging accessible to almost everyone, I tend to get wary of websites whose aut hors are unknown for I feel that this lessens the reliability of the site and its contents, unless the site belongs to a company or organization whose reliability cannot be questioned.The content starts with a philosophical statement by Blaise de Vigenere, something which I found quite endearing. Being primarily a non-technical site, it avoids the use of cryptographic jargon and instead uses words easily understandable by almost any reader. Examples of the early kinds of cryptology such as the Elizabethan cryptology (uses numbers to encipher letters) were discussed in the site. Several paragraphs in the site are attributed to Johannes Trithemius, a German monk who is also considered the first theoretician in cryptography.Most of his schemes also include steganography, a close cousin to cryptography, which involves concealing the existence of the message itself. Aside from that, Trithemius contributed much to the existence of polyalphabeticity. His tableau, which he called his  "tabula recta†, uses the normal alphabet in various positions as the cipher alphabets. Giovanni Battista della Porta, another famous early cryptographer received a highlight in the site. Likewise, the use of acrostic, a cipher which involves using the first letters of a poem in order to form a word, was also given emphasis.Poets in the Italian Renaissance and during the Elizabethan period were reported to be quite fond in using acrostic. Although quite non-technical, this website appealed to me because I can look back and trace the early days of cryptology when there were no computers and other modern crypto graphing equipment. It is fascinating to note that the state-of-the-art cryptography used nowadays evolved from relatively simple ciphers such as Trithemius’ tableau and acrostic. In terms of information presentation, the website did quite well and the information was arranged in a clear and systematic manner.Furthermore, the author cited several works which I find commendable as most of the websites today obtain information from other sites, books and journals without acknowledging these sources. As for the technical side, I found David Wagner’s (1999) discussion of the Boomerang Attack quite interesting. His paper can be accessed by this link: lasecwww. epfl. ch/intranet/proceedings-iacr-98-03/papers/1636/16360156. pdf, although I believe it originally came from www. cs. berkeley. edu/~daw/papers/boomerang-fse99. ps. As you might have noticed I’m quite a stickler for the reliability of website contents.Apart from the topic being quite interesting, I chose this website because it came from an academic institution, which I believe screens articles and papers before posting it in their website. Even for non-technical readers, Wagner’s (1999) introduction to the concept of a boomerang attack is quite comprehensible. He started by describing differential cryptanalysis, a powerful cryptanalytic technique. Because of such power , differential analysis has been used to break many published ciphers. Block cipher designers therefore ensure that their design is secured from differential attacks.Algorithm designers usually compute an upper bound p on the probability of any differential characteristic on the cipher. The designer then invokes an often repeated â€Å"folk theorem† stating that any successful differential attack will require at least 1/p texts to break the cipher, thus making a conclusion that the cipher is safe from differential attacks. In order to prove this â€Å"folk theorem† false, Wagner (1999) exhibited an attack – in this case the boomerang attack – that allows an opponent to beat the 1/p bound in some cases.Let’s say the best characteristic for half of the rounds of the cipher has a probability of q, a successful boomerang attack will therefore need O (q-4) chosen texts. In some cases, q-4 > 1/p, in which case the boomerang attack will be able to beat th e folk theorem’s bound. Basically, a boomerang attack is still a differential-style attack but does not try to cover the whole cipher with a single pattern having a significantly large probability. Instead, the attacker tries to find two highly-probable patterns, though not necessarily related to each other, but when taken together can cover the whole cipher (Standaert, Piret, Quisquater, 2003).Wagner (1999) does not only discuss boomerang attack theoretically and only through probabilities, he showed how boomerang attack can be used to break COCONUT98, a cipher that rely on decorrelation techniques for its design. The breaking of COCONUT98 suggests that decorrelation design may fail to give enough security against advance differential attacks when caution is not taken. Therefore the use of decorrelation techniques is not a total guarantee of safety against differential-style attacks.Nevertheless, a decorrelation design still improves the cipher’s security such that in the absence of a decorrelation module, COCONUT98 will be more vulnerable to conventional differential-style attacks. Wagner (1999) also demonstrated the use of boomerang attacks on Khufu and FEAL, and included a description of â€Å"inside-out attack†, a dual to boomerang attack, with the boomerang attack working from the outside, while the â€Å"inside-out attack† works from the inside. In general, the site is very informative but I must admit, quite technical.One therefore does not approach it without having received a background on cryptology. Oliver Pell’s (nd) website, which he claims has won him a prize in a mathematics essay contest, is just as interesting. Accessed from http://www. ridex. co. uk/cryptology/#_Toc439908875, it presents a very useful overview of cryptology. Slightly technical, it comes in between the first two websites. Whereas the first is definitely non-technical while Wagner’s (1999) paper is definitely technical, Pell (nd) prese nts technical data in the simplest way possible.In fact, among the three sites, this one definitely stands out. The website content begins with the definition of commonly-used cryptographic terms, an indication that the paper is meant to be read by a wide range of audience including non-technical ones. The history of cryptography and cryptanalysis which followed the definition is quite fascinating and seems to me, well-researched. Ancient Egyptians, Hebrews and Assyrians already developed a crude form of cryptographic systems.Later on, the Greeks invented the first transposition cipher but it was the Arabs who were the first to have a clear grasp on the principles of cryptography and elucidated the beginning of cryptanalysis. In the more modern times, the uses of cryptography during the First and Second World War were also discussed. What follows is a detailed discussion on cryptography starting on how cryptographic systems are grouped: based on the mathematical operation that chang es the plain text into ciphertext using the encryption key, based on whether a block or stream cipher is produced, and based on the type of key used, whether single or two key.Substitution ciphers – ciphers wherein the units of the plaintext are replaced with symbols or group of symbols, transposition ciphers – rearranging of the letters of the plaintext without actually changing the letters themselves, block ciphers – symmetric-key encryption algorithms that changes a fixed length block of the plaintext into the same length of cipher text, and stream ciphers – also breaks plaintext into units but usually a single character are just some of the ciphers discussed in greater detail under the single key cryptography.A problem in cryptography – the key distribution problem – is also tackled. Such a problem usually occurs because both the sender and the receiver hold a copy of the key, but must also prevent others from getting access to the key. The solution to this problem, the two-key cryptography, is also discussed. Briefly, a two-key cryptography enables a user to possess two keys – one public and one private – with the public key used to encrypt the data to be sent, and the private key used to decrypt it.Some common applications of cryptography, such as protecting confidential company information and protecting a phone call just to name a few, are also presented. In general, the topic (Cryptography) is really well presented. At times when the topic gets a bit too technical (like algorithms), the author presents examples in order for the topic to be better understood. Such a well presented website content is quite uncommon and indeed deserves a prize. References Leary, T. (1996 July). Cryptology in the 16th and 17th Centuries.Retrieved September 27 from http://home. att. net/~tleary/cryptolo. htm Pell, O (nd). Cryptology. Retrieved September 27, 2007 from http://www. ridex. co. uk/ cryptology/#_Toc43990887 5. Standaert, F-X. , Pirret, G. & Quisquater, J-J. (2003). Cryptanalysis of Block Ciphers: A Survey. UCL Crypto Group Technical Report Series. Retrieved September 27, 2007 from http://www. di. ens. fr/~piret/publ/cg03-2. pdf Wagner, P. (1999). Boomerang Attack. Retrieved September 27, 2007 from lasecwww. epfl. ch/intranet/proceedings-iacr-98-03/papers/1636/16360156. pdf.

Econ 256 Final

2. Why do economists generally regard median income as a better measure of a typical American's well-being than mean income? Dfiodifaje 3. Why do the United States, and many other counties, have antitrust laws on the books? What's so harmful about oligopoly that warrants an entire body of law? The United States and many other countries have antitrust laws on the books to protect their consumers in their different markets. Having the abilities to both raise and lower prices are the reasons that oligopolies are so harmful. . Two consumers go to the insurance company to purchase some life insurance. James is a smoker and a police officer who races motorcycles in his spare time. Kathy is a nonsmoker and a librarian who likes to make quilts in her spare time. The insurance company knows that both consumers are 40 years old, but the company has no information about occupations or hobbies. How does the private information in this situation create an adverse-selection problem? How could the insurance company lessen this problem? Without knowing the background information on the potential clients, insurance companies are without the ability to see that while James is risking his life as a police officer, he is also a smoker and racer. He’s putting his life on the line and still increasing the risk of injuries. The insurance should have a line on their application that asks for applicants for their occupation, whether they are smokers or if they drink, and lastly what they enjoy doing in their spare time. With having this information, the company can see what each of the individuals really needs insurance-wise. 6. Jane works part-time and earns $12,000 per year. Because she is below the poverty line, she also earns $4,000 in various welfare benefits. Suppose she is offered a new job that would pay her $15,000 and would bring her earnings high enough so that she no longer qualified for any welfare benefits. This is what is known as a â€Å"notch†. Explain what is happening with Jane and how could we modify the system to eliminate the notch.