Shopping For Privacy: How Technology in Brick-and-Mortar Retail Stores Poses Privacy Risks for Shoppers

As technology continues to rapidly advance, the American legal system has failed to protect individual shoppers from the technology implemented into retail stores, which poses significant privacy risks but does not violate the law. In particular, I examine the technologies implemented into many brick-and-mortar stores today, many of which the average everyday shopper has no idea exists. This Article criticizes these technologies, suggesting that many, if not all of them, are questionable in their legality taking advantage of their status in a legal gray zone. Because the American judicial system cannot adequately protect the individual shopper from these questionable privacy practices, I call upon the Federal Trade Commission, the de facto privacy regulator in the United States, to increase its policing of physical retail stores to protect the shopper from any further harm

How financial technologies are revolutionizing the financial industry

JEL Classification: G18, G21Financial technologies (fintech) have known an incredible exposure over the last years, attracting investments of large billions of dollars. Fintech can be seen as the match between finance and technology and they are imposing a way of thinking in all the branches of the financial industry. The main aim of this dissertation is to study how the financial technologies are revolutionizing the financial industry. After the financial crisis of 2008, customers have changed their ways of seeing “Finance” and, more particularly, “Banks”, looking for products and services responding to their needs. Moreover, the financial crisis has highlighted a relevant number of dysfunctions of the banking sector and on the financial regulation. Regulators have strengthened their requirements for banks, particularly in their relations with clients. These have opened a breach for Fintech companies and they are using it. Fintech companies rely on a different value proposition to clients that is based on a timesaving, fast and clear experience. Indeed they are proposing majors innovation in products and also in the processes. Fintech companies have put the customer back at the center of all their attention; customer becomes again the top priority. Financial technologies have already revolutionized the finance industry even if their impact on the market, for the moment may still be seen as trivial.As tecnologias financeiras (Fintech) têm conhecido uma crescente exposição desde há vários anos, atraindo o investimento de largos milhões de dólares. As Fintech podem ser vistas como o casamento entre finanças e tecnologia e estão a obrigar a repensar todos os ramos da indústria financeira. O principal objetivo desta dissertação é estudar como as tecnologias financeiras estão a revolucionar a indústria financeira. Após a crise financeira de 2008, os clientes mudaram a sua maneira de olhar para as "Finanças" e, mais particularmente, para os "Bancos", na procura de produtos e serviços que respondam às suas necessidades. Além disso, a crise financeira colocou a descoberto um número relevante de disfunções do sector bancário e na regulação financeira. Os reguladores aumentaram as suas exigências para com os bancos, particularmente nas suas relações com os clientes. Tudo isto criou um conjunto de oportunidades para as empresas fintech que estas aproveitaram . Estas empresas assentam fintech numa proposta de valor diferente para os clientes, que assenta numa experiência de economia de tempo, rápida e clara. Na verdade, propõem um conjunto de inovações importantes não apenas em produtos mas também nos processos. As empresas fintech voltaram a colocar o cliente no centro das atenções. O cliente volta a ser a principal prioridade. As tecnologias financeiras revolucionaram a indústria financeira ainda que, neste momento, o seu impacto no mercado possa ainda ser visto como algo trivial

After the Prestige: A Postmodern Analysis of Penn and Teller

By mocking the magic community and revealing the secret behind some of their tricks, Penn and Teller perform a kind of parodic and post-modern “anti-magic.” Penn and Teller display an artful use of rhetoric; in exposing the secrets and shortcomings of conjuring, they are revolutionizing the way people think about both the art of magic and the magic community. Individuals such as Penn and Teller may use parody to subvert the hegemonic interpretations. However, we also know that it is difficult to bring down a system while operating within that system. Thus, this article explores the way Penn and Teller are challenging the metanarrative of the magic community, using several of the duo’s more popular illusions as examples for analysis. Ultimately, this paper should help us gain a better understanding of the way parody can be used to challenge hegemonic conceptions, and the limitations of this type of rhetorical approach

Knowledge Collaboration: Working with Data and Web Specialists

When resources are finite, people strive to manage resources jointly (if they do not rudely take possession of them). Organizing helps achieve—and even amplify—common purpose but often succumbs in time to organizational silos, teaming for the sake of teaming, and the obstacle course of organizational learning. The result is that organizations, be they in the form of hierarchies, markets, or networks (or, gradually more, hybrids of these), fail to create the right value for the right people at the right time. In the 21st century, most organizations are in any event lopsided and should be redesigned to serve a harmonious mix of economic, human, and social functions. In libraries as elsewhere, the three Ss of Strategy—Structure—Systems must give way to the three Ps of Purpose—Processes—People. Thence, with entrepreneurship and knowledge behaviors, data and web specialists can synergize in mutually supportive relationships of shared destiny

Gender and the construction of identity within climate technology innovation in Kenya

This paper undertakes an analysis of the discursive construction of the entrepreneurial identity within media on climate technology(CT) innovation in Kenya. Using the STEPS pathways approach along side a post-structuralist feminist identity framework, it explores the way that the narrative of entrepreneur-led innovation may include or exclude the framings of particular actors. The paper draws on ideas of antagonism in identity construction, legitimacy, and access to resources, in order to identify those actors that may perceive themselves as, or be perceived as, more or less legitimate as CT entrepreneurs, thus being more or less likely to gain access to resources for CT innovation. Although the climate technology entrepreneur aligns in some ways with more normatively feminine notions of the caring social entrepreneur, overall the CT entrepreneur remains a masculine identity. Women are underrepresented in media portrayals of CT entrepreneurship.Further, portrayals of women CT entrepreneurs tend to question their legitimacy, depicting them as either requiring the support of men, or as taking up masculine characteristics in order to gain credibility. The paper demonstrates that this might translate into more favourable attitudes towards men CT entrepreneurs when seeking access to institutional support. It recommends further research into the capacity for CT entrepreneurship to effectively incorporate marginalised framings, and where entrepreneurship will fail to meet their needs, it calls for increased support for appropriate alternative processes of climate technology innovation

George Mathews and John McKee: Revolutionizing East Florida, Mobile, and Pensacola in 1812

It has become conventional to regard the East Florida revolution of 1812 as a singularly colorful and controversial episode in the history of the early republic. Its colorful aspects have lent themselves to the writing of fast-paced narratives that make for good reading because its organizers-United States government agents George Mathews and John McKee-brought to the performance of their duties roughly equal proportions of outright illegality, low intrigue, and not a little incompetence. The revolution they staged has always been controversial because it has been difficult to escape the conclusion that it embodied the desire of the administration of James Madison to enlarge the nation by actively subverting the Spanish regime in East Florida.1 It is now reasonably clear that the actions of Mathews and McKee in Florida and on the Gulf Coast between 1810 and 1812 departed far more from the policies of the administration than they fairly reflected them

Quality Management System-INcrease Factor of the Organizational Competitiveness

Modern organizations operate in an extremely turbulent, dynamic and unpredictable environment, which bear profound changes in relatively short periods of time and impose requirements in terms of increased economic competition and the intended performance objectives. Therefore, this paper investigates the significant increase of the weight factor on the quality of products on the market. The latter is an element of prime importance for the development of the organization. The only path to quality is an operational and advanced quality management system. This study will analyze and demonstrate that implementing such a system will give the possibility to organization to make products and services according to specifications, increase of efficiency and productivity, increase of offering capacity, reduce losses, increase staff motivation and involvement, reduce costs, increase consumer and partners confidence, improve company image on the market, increase customer loyalty and ultimately increase profit. All these factors by creating value will ensure a sustainable competitive advantage for any organization.quality, quality management system, organizational competitiveness, competitive advantage.