The Role of BPDU Guard in Spanning Tree
BPDUGuard
As a CCNA / CCNP candidate you are expected to understand the purpose and function of Spanning-tree BPDU guard. The CCNA / CCNP’s exam will ask of you to determine the purpose of the BPDUGuard (Bridge Protocol Data Unit) within the spanning-tree protocol.
Before we go into detail as to the purpose of the BPDU Guard feature a quick recap on the spanning-tree protocol is required.
Spanning-tree is a protocol which is designed to prevent physical and/or logical loops in your layer 2 network. Spanning-tree achieves this loop free environment by first of all electing a device to act as the focal point of the network which all other switches measure themselves from. This focal point role is an elected role. The election of the focal point known as the “Root Bridge” is done at the very start of spanning-tree determining the loop free topology, the election of the Root Bridge is carried out by using a combination of the switches MAC address and a value known as the “Default Priority”.
These two values are conveyed into the network via BPDU’s. BPDU’s are used by spanning-tree to maintain a stable state network. In standard 802.1D spanning-tree for instance only the Root Bridge generated a BPDU.
The stability of the Root Bridge is of paramount importance in the operation and continual uninterrupted service of spanning-tree. A change in the position of the Root Bridge will cause service disruption on the network with data and voice session timing out.
It is important to consider what events could cause a change in the position of the Root Bridge, events such as links failing between the existing Root Bridge and the rest of the network would cause a change, or possibly a duplex mismatch between the Root Bridge and downstream switches causing the spanning-tree messages from the Root Bridge from reaching the other parts of the network. These events are easily fixed and resolved none of which would require the use of the BPDU Guard feature.
In our network we want to enforce the Spanning-tree domain borders and keep our active topology and the position of our Root Bridge predictable.
In our network we enable BPDU Guard only on access ports (access ports lead to end user devices) so that any end user devices on these ports that have BPDU Guard enabled are not able to influence the Spanning-tree topology.
BPDU Guard is enabled on an access port:
Swith(config-if)#spanning-tree bpduguard enable
Once BPDU Guard is enabled it will keep an eye open for any BPDU’s entering the access ports. The only devices which can reliably create and transmit BPDU’s are switches.
We want to keep a predictable topology and not allow other switches outside our control onto our network. If a rogue switch is introduced into our topology it will in most cases transmit a BPDU, if the rogue switch has “better” values than the existing Root Bridge it will cause a topology change in the switched network. Any topology change is bad news for the users.
By configuring the “BPDU Guard” feature on the access-ports enables the spanning-tree protocol to shut the port down in the event that is receives a BPDU. As a rule of thumb, BPDU’s are really only expected across trunk links.
If a rogue switch is plugged into a port configured for BPDU Guard, the port will disable as soon as the first BPDU is received, by shutting the port down we prevent the rogue switch from affecting our spanning-tree topology.
To re-enable a port disabled by BDPU Guard you will need to remove the offending device and then bounce the port by issuing the shut/no shut command.
How Quickly Do Men Fall In Love?
The most asked question by women of all ages is: “Is he in love with me?” I have a different take on what is “love’ and what is not, but for the sake of answering this question, I’ll use the word “love” to mean romantic attraction and sexual chemistry.
Romantic attraction and sexual chemistry happens for a majority of men in three stages and in real life, this can be a little bit confusing for us women because romantic attraction and sexual chemistry happens for most of us in two stages: first when we meet him and decide he deserves a chance to try to “make us fall in love” and secondly, when we have collected enough evidence (what he did and what he failed to do) for falling in love with him.
Even if the process of “falling in love” happens to us in only two stages, it is actually much more difficult for us women to “fall in love’ than it is for men. I am sure, this is news for some women, and even hard to believe for others. So let me try to explain how easy it is to increase chemistry with a man if you know what you are working with and what you are up against.
1. The first stage of “falling in love” for a man is instant: fast and furious
Unknown to a majority of women, men fall in love at first sight even more frequently than do women. Research shows that within the first fifteen seconds, a woman will have decided (sub-consciously) if she will give a guy a chance to try to “make her fall in love’ or not. In the same amount of time, a man will have decided if he is “turned’ on by how a woman looks or not.
Yes, I know, I know, this is not fair. But despite our lofty notions of “appreciate human beings for their character rather than for their looks”, nature has programmed our brains (more programming on men’s brains) to select out and respond to stimuli as sexually compelling or repelling simply based on good reproductive sense – who is best suited to carry on our gene, and legacy.
While women use visual, emotional and safety (including financial) cues to assess a man’s desirability, over 90% of a man’s decision at this stage is purely based on visual cues. When his eyes lock on to a woman for the first time, they lock on to her visual presentation. Whatever he recognize as “suited to carry on his gene, and legacy”, that’s what he focuses on, admiring and lingering on its details. Some men get super glued on boobs, others on booties and others on legs etc. Physical features and bouncy behavior that suggests youth, health and vitality place one woman ahead of all the other pack. And if you are attentive and not trying to delude yourself or force a relationship to happen, you will know when a man is visually attracted to you. HE WILL TELL YOU – in very specific verbs and he simply can’t take his eyes off you!
Keep in mind that at this first stage, it’s just pure sexual chemistry. At this stage you are still dispensable and interchangeable. You’re still just another woman in the pack, and he is still very much attracted to several other women at the same time. But just because this stage is very much based on “animal” instinct does not mean it is not very important. How physically attractive a man finds you determines how much time he’ll want to spend with you, and later in the relationship “looks’ confirm to him again and again why he finds you attractive. If a man is not physically attracted to you, trying to make him “fall in love” with you is like trying to wake up a dead horse – you see and believe what you want to see and believe.
2. The second stage of “falling in love” for a man is when he begins to see you as unique and special
He may still be visually attracted to other women and you may be the woman with the “less than perfect” body but there is just “something about you” – and it is driving him nuts. It can be the way you talk or the way you laugh or the way you think or your enthusiasm and passion, or whatever it is you do that makes him think you must feel more deeply and experience life more profoundly and therefore you must be more delightful to be with. He feels more energized just by being around you which in turn makes him feel good about himself and about life in general.
At this stage, like his counterparts in the animal kingdom, he begins to mark his territory. He pays more attention to your needs, spends more time with you and is over protective when other men try to make a move on “his woman”. In other words, if you are with a guy who still wants to keep it “an open” relationship and does not mind you dating other guys, then he still has not reached this stage of attraction. He (and you) are pretty much still up for grabs.
Are there things you can do to intensify attraction in order to speed up the process? Yes. There are many things you can do, and discussing them requires me to write another article. The bottom line is, the more positive (happy, deep, and moving) and less negative (painful, stress-full, dull, and “full of yourself”) experiences he shares with you, the more likely he is to look at the future with good feelings about you.
3. The third stage of “falling in love” for a man is when he has convinced himself that he is a happier and more fulfilled person with you in his life than when by himself
He feels he is with the right woman at the right time, and at this stage, you will not even be asking the question “Is he in love with me?” because you will know. He will have NO problem declaring to you how he really feels. He might not always use the words, “I love you,” but he manages to get his point across. He is strongly attracted to you to want to start the breeding process or if he is past “breeding”, he is attracted to you enough to want to “settle down”. Keep in mind that in this age and time “settle down” does not necessarily mean marriage to all people but it simply means “I AM WITH THE ONE” (which is the title of my upcoming book). This feeling of “I AM WITH THE ONE” is not the same thing as when he feels he “needs’ you (see my article: How Do You Know If He or She Loves You Or Just Needs You?).
You will do yourself great favour if right now, here and today, you decide to exercise your power of choice to have what you want and to stop wasting time, emotions and energy on going-no-where relationships.
Intranet
Introduction to Intranets
What exactly is an intranet? It’s one of those terms that’s more thrown around than understood, and has become more of a buzzword than a commonly understood idea. Simply put, an intranet is a private network with Internet technology used as the underlying architecture. An intranet is built using the Internet’s TCP/IP protocols for communications. TCP/IP protocols can be run on many hardware platforms and cabling schemes. The underlying hardware is not what makes an intranet-it’s the software protocols that matter.
Intranets can co-exist with other local area networking technology. In many companies, existing “legacy systems” including mainframes, Novell networks, minicomputers, and various databases, are being integrated into an intranet. A wide variety of tools allow this to happen. Common Gateway Interface (CGI) scripting is often used to access legacy databases from an intranet. The Java programming language can be used to access legacy databases as well.
With the enormous growth of the Internet, an increasing number of people in corporations use the Internet for communicating with the outside world, for gathering information, and for doing business. It didn’t take long for people to recognize that the components that worked so well on the Internet could be equally valuable internally and that is why intranets are becoming so popular. Some corporations do not have TCP/IP networks, the protocol required to access the resources of the Internet. Creating an intranet in which all the information and resources can be used seamlessly has many benefits. TCP/IP-based networks make it easy for people to access the network remotely, such as from home or while traveling. Dialing into an intranet in this way is much like connecting to the Internet, except that you’re connecting to a private network instead of to a public Internet provider. Interoperability between networks is another substantial bonus.
Security systems separate an intranet from the Internet. A company’s intranet is protected by firewalls-hardware and software combinations that allow only certain people to access the intranet for specific purposes.
Intranets can be used for anything that existing networks are used for-and more. The ease of publishing information on the World Wide Web has made them popular places for posting corporate information such as company news or company procedures. Corporate databases with easy-to-build front-ends use the Web and programming languages such as Java.
Intranets allow people to work together more easily and more effectively. Software known as groupware is another important part of intranets. It allows people to collaborate on projects; to share information; to do videoconferencing; and to establish secure procedures for production work. Free server and client software and the multitude of services, like newsgroups, stimulated the Internet’s growth. The consequence of that growth stimulated and fueled the growth of intranets. The ease with which information can be shared, and with which people can communicate with one another will continue to drive the building of intranets.
A Global View of an Intranet
An intranet is a private corporate or educational network that uses the Internet’s TCP/IP protocols for its underlying transport. The protocols can run on a variety of network hardware, and can also co-exist with other network protocols, such as IPX. People from inside an intranet can get at the larger Internet resources, but those on the Internet cannot get into the intranet, which allows only restricted access from the Internet.
Videoconferencing is an important application that requires sending massive quantities of data. Intranets can be built using components that allow the extremely high bandwidths required for transferring such information.
Often an intranet is composed of a number of different networks inside a corporation that all communicate with one another via TCP/IP. These separate networks are often referred to as subnets.
Software that allows people to communicate with each other via e-mail and public message boards and to collaborate on work using workgroup software is among the most powerful intranet programs. Applications that allow different corporate departments to post information, and for people to fill out corporate forms, such as time sheets, and for tapping into corporate financial information are very popular.
Much of the software used on intranets is standard, off-the-shelf Internet software such as the Netscape Navigator and the Microsoft Explorer Web browsers. And customized programs are often built, using the Java programming language and CGI scripting.
Intranets can also be used to allow companies to do business-to-business transactions, such as ordering parts, sending invoices, and making payments. For extra security, these intranet-to-intranet transactions need never go out over the public Internet, but can travel over private leased lines instead.
Intranets are a powerful system for allowing a company to do business online, for example, to allow anyone on the Internet to order products. When someone orders a product on the Internet, information is sent in a secure manner from the public Internet to the company’s intranet, where the order is processed and completed.
In order to protect sensitive corporate information, and to ensure that hackers don’t damage computer systems and data, security barriers called firewalls protect an intranet from the Internet. Firewall technology uses a combination of routers, servers and other hardware and software to allow people on an intranet to use Internet resources, but blocks outsiders from getting into the intranet.
Many intranets have to connect to “legacy systems”-hardware and databases that were built before an intranet was constructed. Legacy systems often use older technology not based on the intranet’s TPC/IP protocols. There are a variety of ways in which intranets can tie to legacy systems. A common way is to use CGI scripts to access the database information and pour that data into HTML formatted text, making it available to a Web browser.
Information sent across an intranet is sent to the proper destination by routers, which examine each TCP/IP packet for the IP address and determine the packet’s destination. It then sends the packet to the next router closest to the destination. If the packet is to be delivered to an address on the same subnetwork of the intranet it was sent from, the packet may be able to be delivered directly without having to go through any other routers. If it is to be sent to another subnetwork on the intranet, it will be sent to another internal router address. If the packet is to be sent to a destination outside the intranet-in other words, to an Internet destination-the packet is sent to a router that connects to the Internet
How TCP/IP and IPX Work on Intranets
What distinguishes an intranet from any other kind of private network is that it is based on TCP/IP-the same protocols that apply to the Internet. TCP/IP refers to two protocols that work together to deliver data: the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and the Internet Protocol (IP). When you send information across an intranet, the data is broken into small packets. The packets are sent independently through a series of switches called routers. Once all the packets arrive at their destination, they are recombined into their original form. The Transmission Control Protocol breaks the data into packets and recombines them on the receiving end. The Internet Protocol handles the routing of the data and makes sure it gets sent to the proper destination.
In some companies, there may be a mix of TCP/IP-based intranets and networks based on other networking technology, such as NetWare. In that instance, the TCP/IP technology of an intranet can be used to send data between NetWare or other networks, using a technique called IP tunneling. In this instance, we’ll look at data being sent from one NetWare network to another, via an intranet. NetWare networks use the IPX (Internet Packet Exchange) protocol as a way to deliver data-and TCP/IP networks can’t recognize that protocol. To get around this, when an IPX packet is to be sent across an intranet, it is first encapsulated inside an IP packet by a NetWare server specifically for and dedicated to providing the IP transport mechanism for IPX packets.
Data sent within an intranet must be broken up into packets of less than 1,500 characters each. TCP breaks the data into packets. As it creates each packet, it calculates and adds a checksum to the packet. The checksum is based on the byte values, that is, the precise amount of data in the packet.
Each packet, along with the checksum, is put into separate IP wrappers or “envelopes.” These wrappers contain information that details exactly where on the intranet-or the Internet-the data is to be sent. All of the wrappers for a given piece of data have the same addressing information so that they can all be sent to the same location for reassembly.
The packets travel between networks by intranet routers. Routers examine all IP wrappers and look at their addresses. These routers determine the most efficient path for sending each packet to its final destination. Since the traffic load on an intranet often changes, the packets may be sent along different routes, and the packets may arrive out of order. If the router sees the address is one located inside the intranet, the packet may be sent directly to its destination, or it may instead be sent to another router. If the address is located out on the Internet, it will be sent to another router so it can be sent across the Internet.
As the packets arrive at their destination, TCP calculates a checksum for each packet. It then compares this checksum with the checksum that has been sent in the packet. If the checksums don’t match, TCP knows that the data in the packet has been corrupted during transmission. It then discards the packet and asks that the original packet be retransmitted.
TCP includes the ability to check packets and to determine that all the packets have been received. When all the non-corrupt packets are received, TCP assembles them into their original, unified form. The header information of the packets relays the sequence of how to reassemble the packets.
An intranet treats the IP packet as it would any other, and routes the packet to the receiving NetWare network. On the receiving NetWare network, a NetWare TCP/IP server decapsulates the IP packet-it discards the IP packet, and reads the original IPX packet. It can now use the IPX protocol to deliver the data to the proper destination.
How the OSI Model Works
A group called the International Standards Organization (ISO) has put together the Open Systems Interconnect (OSI) Reference Model, which is a model that describes seven layers of protocols for computer communications. These layers don’t know or care what is on adjacent layers. Each layer, essentially, only sees the reciprocal layer on the other side. The sending application layer sees and talks to the application layer on the destination side. That conversation takes place irrespective of, for example, what structure exists at the physical layer, such as Ethernet or Token Ring. TCP combines the OSI model’s application, presentation, and session layers into one which is also called the application layer.
The application layer refers to application interfaces, not programs like word processing. MHS (Message Handling Service) is such an interface and it operates at this level of the OSI model. Again, this segmentation and interface approach means that a variety of email programs can be used on an intranet so long as they conform to the MHS standard at this application interface level.
The presentation layer typically simply provides a standard interface between the application layer and the network layers. This type of segmentation allows for the great flexibility of the OSI model since applications can vary endlessly, but, as long as the results conform to this standard interface, the applications need not be concerned with any of the other layers.
The session layer allows for the communication between sender and destination. These conversations avoid confusion by speaking in turn. A token is passed to control and to indicate which side is allowed to speak. This layer executes transactions, like saving a file. If something prevents it from completing the save, the session layer, which has a record of the original state, returns to the original state rather than allowing a corrupt or incomplete transaction to occur.
The transport layer segments the data into acceptable packet sizes and is responsible for data integrity of packet segments. There are several levels of service that can be implemented at this layer, including segmenting and reassembly, error recovery, flow control, and others.
The IP wrapper is put around the packet at the network or Internet layer. The header includes the source and destination addresses, the sequence order, and other data necessary for correct routing and rebuilding at the destination.
The data-link layer frames the packets-for example, for use with the PPP (Point to Point). It also includes the logical link portion of the MAC sublayer of the IEEE 802.2, 802.3 and other standards.
Ethernet and Token Ring are the two most common physical layer protocols. They function at the MAC (Media Access Control) level and move the data over the cables based on the physical address on each NIC (Network Interface Card). The physical layer includes the physical components of the IEEE 802.3 and other specifications.
How TCP/IP Packets Are Processed
Protocols such as TCP/IP determine how computers communicate with each other over networks such as the Internet. These protocols work in concert with each other, and are layered on top of one another in what is commonly referred to as a protocol stack. Each layer of the protocol is designed to accomplish a specific purpose on both the sending and receiving computers. The TCP stack combines the application, presentation, and the session layers into a single layer also called the application layer. Other than that change, it follows the OSI model. The illustration below shows the wrapping process that occurs to transmit data.
The TCP application layer formats the data being sent so that the layer below it, the transport layer, can send the data. The TCP application layer performs the equivalent actions that the top three layers of OSI perform: the application, presentation, and session layers.
The next layer down is the transport layer, which is responsible for transferring the data, and ensures that the data sent and the data received are in fact the same data-in other words, that there have been no errors introduced during the sending of the data. TCP divides the data it gets from the application layer into segments. It attaches a header to each segment. The header contains information that will be used on the receiving end to ensure that the data hasn’t been altered en route, and that the segments can be properly recombined into their original form.
The third layer prepares the data for delivery by putting them into IP datagrams, and determining the proper Internet address for those datagrams. The IP protocol works in the Internet layer, also called the network layer. It puts an IP wrapper with a header onto each segment. The IP header includes information such as the IP address of the sending and receiving computers, and the length of the datagram, and the sequence order of the datagram. The sequence order is added because the datagram could conceivably exceed the size allowed for network packets, and so would need to be broken into smaller packets. Including the sequence order will allow them to be recombined properly.
The Internet layer checks the IP header and checks to see whether the packet is a fragment. If it is, it puts together fragments back into the original datagram. It strips off the IP header, and then sends the datagram to the transport layer.
The transport layer looks at the remaining header to decide which application layer protocol-TCP or UDP-should get the data. Then the proper protocol strips off the header and sends the data to the receiving application.
The application layer gets the data and performs, in this case, an HTTP request.
The next layer down, the data link layer, uses protocols such as the Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) to put the IP datagram into a frame. This is done by putting a header-the third header, after the TCP header and the IP header-and a footer around the IP datagram to fra-me it. Included in the frame header is a CRC check that checks for errors in the data as the data travels over the network.
The data-link layer ensures that the CRC for the frame is right, and that the data hasn’t been altered while it was sent. It strips off the frame header and the CRC, and sends the frame to the Internet layer.
On the receiving computer, the packet travels through the stack, but in the opposite order from which the packet was created. In other words, it starts at the bottom layer, and moves its way up through the protocol stack. As it moves up, each layer strips off the header information that was added by the TCP/IP stack of the sending computer.
The final layer is the physical network layer, which specifies the physical characteristics of the network being used to send data. It describes the actual hardware standards, such as the Ethernet specification. The layer receives the frames from the data link layer, and translates the IP addresses there into the hardware addresses required for the specific network being used. Finally, the layer sends the frame over the network.
The physical network layer receives the packet. It translates the hardware address of the sender and receiver into IP addresses. Then it sends the frame up to the data link layer.
How Bridges Work
Bridges are hardware and software combinations that connect different parts of a single network, such as different sections of an intranet. They connect local area networks (LANs) to each other. They are generally not used, however, for connecting entire networks to each other, for example, for connecting an intranet to the Internet, or an intranet to an intranet, or to connect an entire subnetwork to an entire subnetwork. To do that, more sophisticated pieces of technology called routers are used.
When there is a great amount of traffic on an Ethernet local area network, packets can collide with one another, reducing the efficiency of the network, and slowing down network traffic. Packets can collide because so much of the traffic is routed among all the workstations on the network.
In order to cut down on the collision rate, a single LAN can be subdivided into two or more LANs. For example, a single LAN can be subdivided into several departmental LANs. Most of the traffic in each departmental LAN stays within the department LAN, and so it needn’t travel through all the workstations on all the LANs on the network. In this way, collisions are reduced. Bridges are used to link the LANs. The only traffic that needs to travel across bridges is traffic bound for another LAN. Any traffic within the LAN need not travel across a bridge.
Each packet of data on an intranet has more information in it than just the IP information. It also includes addressing information required for other underlying network architecture, such as for an Ethernet network. Bridges look at this outer network addressing information and deliver the packet to the proper address on a LAN
Bridges consult a learning table that has the addresses of all the network nodes in it. If a bridge finds that a packet belongs on its own LAN, it keeps the packet inside the LAN. If it finds that the workstation is on another LAN, it forwards the packet. The bridge constantly updates the learning table as it monitors and routes traffic.
Bridges can connect LANs in a variety of different ways. They can connect LANs using serial connections over traditional phone lines and modems, over ISDN lines, and over direct cable connections. CSU/DSU units are used to connect bridges to telephone lines for remote connectivity.
Bridges and routers are sometimes combined into a single product called a brouter. A brouter handles both bridging and routing tasks. If the data needs to be sent only to another LAN on the network or subnetwork, it will act only as a bridge delivering the data based on the Ethernet address. If the destination is another network entirely, it will act as a router, examining the IP packets and routing the data based on the IP address.
How Intranet Routers Work
Just as routers direct traffic on the Internet, sending information to its proper destination, and routers on an intranet perform the same function. Routers-equipment that is a combination of hardware and software-can send the data to a computer on the same sub network inside the intranet, to another network on the intranet, or outside to the Internet. They do this by examining header information in IP packets, and then sending the data on its way. Typically, a router will send the packet to the next router closest to the final destination, which in turn sends it to an even closer router, and so on, until the data reaches its intended recipient.
A router has input ports for receiving IP packets, and output ports for sending those packets toward their destination. When a packet comes to the input port, the router examines the packet header, and checks the destination in it against a routing table-a database that tells the router how to send packets to various destinations.
Based on the information in the routing table, the packet is sent to a particular output port, which sends the packet to the next closest router to the packet’s destination.
If packets come to the input port more quickly than the router can process them, they are sent to a holding area called an input queue. The router then processes packets from the queue in the order they were received. If the number of packets received exceeds the capacity of the queue (called the length of the queue), packets may be lost. When this happens, the TCP protocol on the sending and receiving computers will have the packets re-sent.
In a simple intranet that is a single, completely self-contained network, and in which there are no connections to any other network or the intranet, only minimal routing need be done, and so the routing table in the router is exceedingly simple with very few entries, and is constructed automatically by a program called ifconfig.
In a slightly more complicated intranet which is composed of a number of TCP/IP-based networks, and connects to a limited number of TCP/IP-based networks, static routing will be required. In static routing, the routing table has specific ways of routing data to other networks. Only those pathways can be used. Intranet administrators can add routes to the routing table. Static routing is more flexible than minimal routing, but it can’t change routes as network traffic changes, and so isn’t suitable for many intranets.
In more complex intranets, dynamic routing will be required. Dynamic routing is used to permit multiple routes for a packet to reach its final destination. Dynamic routing also allows routers to change the way they route information based on the amount of network traffic on some paths and routers. In dynamic routing, the routing table is called a dynamic routing table and changes as network conditions change. The tables are built dynamically by routing protocols, and so constantly change according to network traffic and conditions.
There are two broad types of routing protocols: interior and exterior. Interior routing protocols are typically used on internal routers inside an intranet that routes traffic bound only for inside the intranet. A common interior routing protocol is the Routing Information Protocol (RIP). Exterior protocols are typically used for external routers on the Internet. AÊcommon exterior protocol is the Exterior Gateway Protocol (EGP).
Intranets come in different sizes. In a small company, an intranet can be composed of only a handful of computers. In a medium-sized business, it may include dozens or hundreds of computers. And in a large corporation, there may be thousands of computers spread across the globe, all connected to a single intranet. When intranets get large, they need to be subdivided into individual subnets or subnetworks.
To understand how subnetting works, you first need to understand IP addresses. Every IP address is a 32-bit numeric address that uniquely identifies a network and then a specific host on that network. The IP address is divided into two sections: the network section, called the netid, and the host section, called the hostid.
Each 32-bit IP address is handled differently, according to what class of network the address refers to. There are three main classes of network addresses: Class A, Class B, and Class C. In some classes, more of the 32-bit address space is devoted to the netid, while in others, more of the address space is devoted to the hostid. In a Class A network, the netid is composed of 8 bits, while the hostid is composed of 24 bits. In a Class B network, both the netid and the hostid are composed of 16 bits. In a Class C network, the netid is composed of 24 bits, while the hostid is composed of 8 bits. There’s a simple way of knowing what class a network is in. If the first number of the IP address is less than 128, the network is a Class A address. If the first number is from 128 to 191, it’s a Class B network. If the first number is from 192 to 223, it’s a Class C network. Numbers above 223 are reserved for other purposes. The smaller the netid, the fewer number of networks that can be subnetted, but the larger number of hosts on the network. A Class A rating is best for large networks while a Class C is best for small ones.
To create a subnet, the demarcation line on the IP address is moved between the netid and the hostid, to give the netid more bits to work with and to take away bits from the hostid. To do this, a special number called a subnet mask is used.
Subnetting is used when intranets grow over a certain size and they begin to have problems. One problem is management of host IP addresses-making sure that every computer on the network has a proper, up-to-date host address, and that old host addresses are put out of use until needed in the future. In a corporation spread out over several locations-or across the world-it’s difficult, if not impossible, to have one person responsible for managing the host addresses at every location and department in the company.
Another problem has to do with a variety of hardware limitations of networks. Dissimilar networks may all be part of an intranet. An intranet may have some sections that are Ethernet, other sections that are Token Ring networks, and conceivably other sections that use different networking technologies altogether. There is no easy way for an intranet router to link these dissimilar networks together and route the information to the proper places.
Another set of problems has to do with the physical limitations of network technology. In some kinds of networks, there are some strict limitations on how far cables can extend in the network. In other words, you can’t go over a certain distance of cabling without using repeaters or routers. A “thick” Ethernet cable, for example, can only be extended to 500 meters, while a “thin” Ethernet cable can only go to 300 meters. Routers can be used to link these cables together, so that an intranet can be extended well beyond those distances. But when that is done, each length of wire is essentially considered its own subnetwork.
Yet one more set of problems has to do with the volume of traffic that travels across an intranet. Often in a corporation, in a given department, most of the traffic is intradepartmental traffic-in other words, mail and other data that people within a department send to each another. The volume of traffic outside to other departments is considerably less. What’s called for is a way to confine intradepartmental traffic inside the departments, to cut down on the amount of data that needs to be routed and managed across the entire intranet.
Subnetting solves all these problems and more. When an intranet is divided into subnets, one central administrator doesn’t have to manage every aspect of the entire intranet. Instead, each subnet can take care of its own administration. That means smaller organizations within the larger organization can take care of problems such as address management and a variety of troubleshooting chores. If an intranet is subnetted by divisions or departments, it means that each division or department can guide the development of its own network, while adhering to general intranet architecture. Doing this allows departments or divisions more freedom to use technology to pursue their business goals.
Subnets also get around problems that arise when an intranet has within it different kinds of network architecture, such as Ethernet and Token Ring technologies. Normally-if there is no subnetting-a router can’t link these different networks together because they don’t have their own addresses. However, if each of the different networks is its own subnet-and so has its own network address-routers can then link them together and properly route intranet traffic.
Subnetting can also cut down on the traffic traveling across the intranet and its routers. Since much network traffic may be confined within departments, having each department be its own subnet means that all that traffic need never cross an intranet router and cross the intranet-it will stay within its own subnet.
Subnetting can also increase the security on an intranet. If the payroll department, for example, were on its own subnet, then much of its traffic would not have to travel across an intranet. Having its data traveling across the intranet could mean that someone could conceivably hack into the data to read it. Confining the data to its own subnet makes that much less likely to happen.
Dividing an intranet into subnets can also make the entire intranet more stable. If an intranet is divided in this way, then if one subnet goes down or is often unstable, it won’t affect the rest of the intranet.
This all may sound rather confusing. To see how it’s done, let’s take a look at a network, and see how to use the IP address to create subnets. Let’s say we have a Class B network. That network is assigned the address of 130.97.0.0. When a network is given an address, it is assigned the netid numbers-in this case, the 130.97-and it can assign the host numbers (in this case, 0.0) in any way that it chooses.
The 130.97.0.0 network is a single intranet. It’s getting too large to manage, though, and we’ve decided to divide it into two subnets. What we do is fairly straightforward. We take a number from the hostid field and use it to identify each of the subnets. So one subnet gets the address 130.97.1.0, and the other gets the address 130.97.2.0. Individual machines on the first subnet get addresses of 130.97.1.1, 130.97.1.2, and so on. Individual machines on the second subnet get addresses of 130.97.2.1, 130.97.2.2 and so on.
Sounds simple. But we have a problem. The Internet doesn’t recognize 130.97.1.0 and 130.97.2.0 as separate networks. It treats them both as 130.97.0.0 since the “1″ and “2″ that we’re using as a netid is only known to the Internet as a hostid. So our intranet router will not be able to route incoming traffic to the proper network.
To solve the problem, a subnet mask is used. A subnet mask is a 32-bit number in IP form used by intranet routers and hosts that will help routers understand how to route information to the proper subnet. To the outside Internet, there is still only one network, but the subnet mask allows routers inside the intranet to send traffic to the proper host.
A subnet mask is a number such as 255.255.255.0 (the built-in default for Class C addresses; the Class B default is 255.255.0.0 and the default for Class A is 255.0.0.0). A router takes the subnet mask and applies that number against the IP number of incoming mail to the network by using it to perform a calculation. Based on the resulting IP number, it will route mail to the proper subnet, and then to a particular computer on the subnet. For consistency, everyone in a particular intranet will use the same subnet mask.
Subnetting an Intranet
When intranets are over a certain size, or are spread over several geographical locations, it becomes difficult to manage them as a single network. To solve the problem, the single intranet can be subdivided into several subnets, subsections of an intranet that make them easier to manage. To the outside world, the intranet still looks as if it’s a single network.
If you’re building an intranet and want it to be connected to the Internet, you’ll need a unique IP address for your intranet network, which the InterNIC Registration Services will handle. There are three classes of intranet you can have: Class A, Class B, or Class C. Generally, a Class A rating is best for the largest networks, while a Class C is best for the smallest. A Class A network can be composed of 127 networks, and a total of 16,777,214 nodes on the network. A Class B network can be composed of 16,383 networks, and a total of 65,534 nodes. A Class C network can be composed of 2,097,151 networks, and 254 nodes.
When an intranet is assigned an address, it is assigned the first two IP numbers of the Internet numeric address (called the netid field) and the remaining two numbers (called the hostid field) are left blank, so that the intranet itself can assign them, such as 147.106.0.0. The hostid field consists of a number for a subnet and a host number.
When an intranet is connected to the Internet, a router handles the job of sending packets into the intranet from the Internet. In our example, all incoming mail and data comes to a router for a network with the netid of 147.106.0.0.
When intranets grow-for example, if there is a department located in another building, city, or country-there needs to be some way to manage network traffic. It may be impractical and physically impossible to route all the data necessary among many different computers spread across a building or the world. A second network-called a subnetwork or subnet-needs to be created.
In order to have a router handle all incoming traffic for a subnetted intranet, the first byte of the hostid field is used. The bits that are used to distinguish among subnets are called subnet numbers. In our example, there are two subnets on the intranet. To the outside world, there appears to be only one network.
Each computer on each subnet gets its own IP address, as in a normal intranet. The combination of the netid field, the subnet number, and then finally a host number, forms the IP address.
The router must be informed that the hostid field in subnets must be treated differently than non-subnetted hostid fields, otherwise it won’t be able to properly route data. In order to do this, a subnet mask is used. A subnet mask is a 32-bit number such as 255.255.0.0 that is used in concert with the numbers in the hostid field. When a calculation is performed using the subnet mask and the IP address, the router knows where to route the mail. The subnet mask is put in people’s network configuration files.
Overview of an Intranet Security System
Any intranet is vulnerable to attack by people intent on destruction or on stealing corporate data. The open nature of the Internet and TCP/IP protocols expose a corporation to attack. Intranets require a variety of security measures, including hardware and software combinations that provide control of traffic; encryption and passwords to validate users; and software tools to prevent and cure viruses, block objectionable sites, and monitor traffic.
The generic term for a line of defense against intruders is a firewall. A firewall is a hardware/software combination that controls the type of services allowed to or from the intranet.
Proxy servers are another common tool used in building a firewall. A proxy server allows system administrators to track all traffic coming in and out of an intranet.
A bastion server firewall is configured to withstand and prevent unauthorized access or services. It is typically segmented from the rest of the intranet in its own subnet or perimeter network. In this way, if the server is broken into, the rest of the intranet won’t be compromised.
Server-based virus-checking software can check every file coming into the intranet to make sure that it’s virus-free.
Authentication systems are an important part of any intranet security scheme. Authentication systems are used to ensure that anyone trying to log into the intranet or any of its resources is the person they claim to be. Authentication systems typically use user names, passwords, and encryption systems.
Server-based site-blocking software can bar people on an intranet from getting objectionable material. Monitoring software tracks where people have gone and what services they have used, such as HTTP for Web access.
One way of ensuring that the wrong people or erroneous data can’t get into the intranet is to use a filtering router. This is a special kind of router that examines the IP address and header information in every packet coming into the network, and allows in only those packets that have addresses or other data, like e-mail, that the system administrator has decided should be allowed into the intranet.
All intranets are vulnerable to attack. Their underlying TCP/IP architecture is identical to that of the Internet. Since the Internet was built for maximum openness and communication, there are countless techniques that can be used to attack intranets. Attacks can involve the theft of vital company information and even cash. Attacks can destroy or deny a company’s computing resources and services. Attackers can break in or pose as a company employee to use the company’s intranet resources.
Firewalls are hardware and software combinations that block intruders from access to an intranet while still allowing people on the intranet to access the resources of the Internet. Depending on how secure a site needs to be, and on how much time, money, and resources can be spent on a firewall, there are many kinds that can be built. Most of them, though, are built using only a few elements. Servers and routers are the primary components of firewalls.
Most firewalls use some kind of packet filtering. In packet filtering, a screening router or filtering router looks at every packet of data traveling between an intranet and the Internet.
Proxy servers on an intranet are used when someone from the intranet wants to access a server on the Internet. A request from the user’s computer is sent to the proxy server instead of directly to the Internet. The proxy server contacts the server on the Internet, receives the information from the Internet, and then sends the information to the requester on the intranet. By acting as a go-between like this, proxy servers can filter traffic and maintain security as well as log all traffic between the Internet and the network.
Bastion hosts are heavily fortified servers that handle all incoming requests from the Internet, such as FTP requests. A single bastion host handling incoming requests makes it easier to maintain security and track attacks. In the event of a break in, only that single host has been compromised, instead of the entire network. In some firewalls, multiple bastion hosts can be used, one for each different kind of intranet service request.
How Firewalls Work
Firewalls protect intranets from any attacks launched against them from the Internet. They are designed to protect an intranet from unauthorized access to corporate information, and damaging or denying computer resources and services. They are also designed to stop people on the intranet from accessing Internet services that can be dangerous, such as FTP.
Intranet computers are allowed access to the Internet only after passing through a firewall. Requests have to pass through an internal screening router, also called an internal filtering routeror choke router. This router prevents packet traffic from being sniffed remotely. A choke router examines all pack-ets for information such as the source and destination of the packet.
The router compares the information it finds to rules in a filtering table, and passes or drops the packets based on those rules. For example, some services, such as rlogin, may not be allowed to run. The router also might not allow any packets to be sent to specific suspicious Internet locations. A router can also block every packet traveling between the Internet and the internal network, except for e-mail. System administrators set the rules for determining which packets to allow in and which to block.
When an intranet is protected by a firewall, the usual internal intranet services are available-such as e-mail, access to corporate databases and Web services, and the use of groupware.
Screened subnet firewalls have one more way to protect the intranet-an exterior screening router, also called an exterior filtering router or an access router. This router screens packets between the Internet and the perimeter network using the same kind of technology that the interior screening router uses. It can screen packets based on the same rules that apply to the internal screening router and can protect the network even if the internal router fails. It also, however, may have additional rules for screening packets specifically designed to protect the bastion host.
As a way to further protect an intranet from attack, the bastion host is placed in a perimeter network-a subnet-inside the firewall. If the bastion host was on the intranet instead of a perimeter network and was broken into, the intruder could gain access to the intranet.
A bastion host is the main point of contact for connections coming in from the Internet for all services such as e-mail, FTP access, and any other data and requests. The bastion host services all those requests-people on the intranet contact only this one server, and they don’t directly contact any other intranet servers. In this way, intranet servers are protected from attack.
Ford Motor Company – Case Study
Background (General Facts)
Ford Motors is one of three leading automotive manufacturing companies in the United States. Based in Michigan in 1903 by Henry ford and grew to reach revenue of $150 billion and more than 370,000 employees by 1996 [1]. In the 1970′s, the automobile market for the major auto makers – General Motors (GM), Ford, and Chrysler- was crunched by competition from foreign manufactures such as Toyota and Honda. In 1999, Ford acquired the Swedish Volvo model in an attempt to compete in the foreign market and expand to other regions. Furthermore, Ford launched a full organization re-engineering business process plan called “Ford 2000″ aiming at reestablishing the company’s infrastructure. The process meant reduction in their Vehicle Centers (VCs) to only five covering the operations that spanned 200 countries. It also meant cutting redundancies and requiring Information Technology (IT) to be the driving force and the link between Ford centers worldwide.
In building Ford’s IT infrastructure, the company focused on implementing a setup that supported the TCP/IP communication protocol based on the U.S. department of Defense requirements. At those days, Ford internal network was meant to serve files transfer unlike most companies that used the network mainly for email communications. Throughout the 1990′s, Ford developed a cost effective Global Enterprise Network Integration (GENI) process to link all its locations compromising on the type of the connection and the cabling in favor of full coverage. During the same time, Ford started building its Web Farm, which was basically a set of hardware and software managed by a team for building Ford’s public website. The work started by publishing documents for technical references and moved to more advanced images from a live auto show. As a result, the website received 1 million visits a day in less than 2 years after its official launch. Throughout the end of the 90′s, Ford established its web services by increasing the amount of information published, building more intelligent and standard web application in 12 weeks period, purchasing more Netscape browsers for setup on its users’ machines, and creating a B2B server to allow the suppliers secured access to Ford’s Intranet.
In the path towards service cost reduction and bringing more business through the web, Ford worked closely with its competitors in the U.S. market GM and Chrysler to establish what came to be known as “Automotive Network Exchange” (ANX) certificate. The protocols aimed at providing a unified communications standard through the Internet to enable suppliers to provide common technology for all manufacturers. Moreover, Ford focused on making information on its web site more accessible and useful by deploying a team to manage the process of adding and updating information based on an analysis of how humans deal with information. One final aspect of Fords endeavor was to try to build a model through its infrastructure that benefited from the model implemented by Dell computers to improve their supply chain and delivery process. The direct model would not work well for automotives as it would with computers, as a result Ford worked on its retailing network remodeling and identifying what would eventually give it the extra edge in delivery time.
Enterprise Architecture Issues
Ford’s regional expansion to address the competition for market shares demanded cost management for the infrastructure upgrades
IT infrastructure places limitations on the type of application development based on the platforms
Easy access to information and prompt delivery of vital data to key individuals requires proper knowledge managementOrganizations reengineering and process remodeling is necessary when adapting new technologies to maintain the cost and increase efficiency
Supply chain errors and delays can severely affect the progress of the business and the market value of the corporation
Analysis
Infrastructure Upgrade
Since the inception of the Internet in the 1960′s, much effort has been made in standardizing how computers connect to it. In 1982, the International Organization for Standards (ISO) realized that during that period many ad hoc networking systems were already using the TCP/IP protocol for communications and thus adapted it as a standard in its model for the Internet network [2]. The main driver for IP convergence, at that period, was the growth in data traffic through wide area networks (WANs) established by local companies. Furthermore, in 1991, the Internet was open for commercial use, and that demanded a reduction in the total cost of operating the network to cope with 1 million Internet hosts that materialized in only 1-year time. Telecommunications companies like AT&T understood the potential and worked on standardizing the network offering voice services over IP networks that managed the separation between voice and data transmission [3].
At the same time, Ford had launched its plan to update its infrastructure, and seized the opportunity brought by the global movement of integrating the voice, fax transmission network with data transmission and expanded its WAN to include its offices in Europe and elsewhere. The financial benefits also came from the fact that Ford adapted the TCP/IP protocol from the beginning and made sure that all its technical infrastructure upgrades adhere to the standards. This made the transition of its system to the Internet as cost effective as it could be.
Web Technologies
Intranets employ the hypertext and multimedia technology used on the Internet. Prior to 1989, when Tim burners-Lee invented the Web [4], most applications used standard development languages such as C and C++ to create desktop applications that were proprietary and dependent on the platform. For example, applications running on a command-based operating system such as UNIX would not run under Windows, and those working for PCs might not work on Apple computers and vice versa [5]. The invention of HTML (Hyper-Text Markup Language) introduced a new model for applications that conform to the standards provided by a single program, the “Web Browser”. Unlike standard applications, the browser brought a unified interface that had a very fast learning curve. Users seem to require no additional training to work with web browsers. Furthermore, system administrators did not have to spend time installing upgrades on users’ machines, since the Intranet client/server architecture facilitated all the updates through the connection with the web server [6].
Since Ford established its Intranet, it was aiming at building web applications through the initial analysis of “Mosaic”, the early form of web browsers. The technical department at Ford used web languages to create the first web site in 1995. In 1996, the team started building applications making use of the unified “Netscape” browser that was deployed on all machines at the company, and working on a standard template to cut on the development life cycle. There was a substantial cut in training cost due to the user-friendly interface of web applications. Furthermore, the speed of development made vital applications available to different individuals across the company. For example, the B2B site allowed suppliers remote and secured access to various sections of Ford’s Intranet. In addition, the development team created an application as a virtual teardown on Ford’s website where Ford’s engineers could examine parts of competitors’ cars and evaluate any new technologies. The alternative would have been an actual trip to a physical location where Ford tears down cars to examine the parts.
Knowledge Management
While there are many definitions for knowledge, each company might adapt its own based on how it analysis data and information to acquire knowledge. The University of Kentucky, for example, defines knowledge as “a vital organization resource. It is the raw material, work-in process, and finished good of decision-making. Distinct types of knowledge used by decision makers include information, procedures, and heuristics, among others… ” [7].
Organizations go through different activities to manage the amount of information they collect to form the knowledge base of the company. Activities include creating databases of best practices and market intelligence analysis, gathering filtering and classifying data, incorporating knowledge into business applications used by employees, and developing focal points for facilitating knowledge flow and building skills [8].
Ford was excited about the traffic it was receiving on the Web site and everyone was publishing all the material they have on desk on the Intranet. Nevertheless, there was a growing concern about the usability and usefulness of the material people were adding. As a result, Ford created a “Knowledge Domain Team” to build complete information in nine areas that were identified as vital to the business. The process Ford took was based on surveys and specialists input in how people perceive information, and what is considered vital and what is distracting in the structure of Ford’s website. The aim behind the initiative was to reduce the time individuals spent in searching for information through proper indexing of the website content, and making sure that what was important could be accessed in due time, and what is trivial did not overwhelm the researcher with thousands of results.
Business Re-engineering
In the area of organization’s re-engineering process innovation is the set of activities that achieve substantial business improvements. Companies seeking to benefit from process innovation go through the regime of identifying the processes, the factors for change, developing the vision, understanding the current process, and building a prototype for the new organization. History shows that organizations who define their processes properly will not have problems managing the issues and developing the change factors [9]. When introducing technology, business redesign is necessary. The industrial fields have been using Information Technology to remodel processes, control production, and manage material for generations. However, it is only recently that companies recognized that the fusion of IT and business would go beyond automation to fundamentally reshaping how business processes are undertaken [10].
When foreign companies were allowed to compete in the U.S. market, Ford understood that to succeed in business in a competitive arena it needed to implement strategies that competitors find difficult to imitate [11]. As a result, Ford bought Sweden Volvo to enter the European market, and partially owned Mazda to have a competitive edge with Japanese cars1 [12]. To achieve that it re-engineered its production development activities and global corporate organization and processes for dramatic cost reduction. Furthermore, it understood that expansion requires collaboration and alignment, and thus planned to establish the IT infrastructure through a WAN that connected all the offices. In the process of innovation and re-engineering, Ford has set policies to manage the cost of establishing the network, built models for continuous implementation, and organized global meetings to align all parties with the process. Adding to that, when it came to managing the website, Ford facilitated an awareness campaign for all the branches to understand that Ford is using the web to collaborate and research and adapting information technology as a way to maximize its business value. The goal for Ford was to maintain its leadership in the market and to do that in the most efficient and cost effective method that is there.
Supply chain management
Supply chain management (SCM) is about coordinating between suppliers, manufactures, distributors, retailers, and customers [13]. The basic idea that SCM applications revolve around is providing information to all those who are involved in making decisions about the product or goods to manage delivery from the supplier to the consumer [14]. Studies show that reducing errors in supply chain distribution, increases revenue, enhances productivity, and reduces the order-to-fulfillment period [15].
Ford often compared its supply chain process to that of Dell’s, in an attempt to close the gaps in its own process and reach the level of success Dell has reached. The difference in the distribution model between Dell and Ford lies in the middle link of using retail shops. Since Ford cannot skip retail as a focal distribution point, it worked on establishing a network of retail shops that it owned. Ford made sure shops are not affecting each other in terms of sales, and gave them all a standard look and feel to establish itself in the consumer’s market as a prestigious cars sales retail company. Furthermore, extensive re-engineering initiatives were undertaken to enhance Ford external network by eliminating the correlation with smaller suppliers. In that way, Ford made sure that key suppliers have access to forecasting data from customers’ purchasing trends and production information to enable a faster order-to-delivery cycle. Ford vision was to create a model that allowed flexibility, predicable processes and delivered the product at the right time to the right consumer.
Conclusions
Ford is an example of how traditional organizations can mature to adapt what is current and maximizes the business value. The process that Ford went through necessitated the continuous support from management. In addition, it depended on alignment between those involved as a key for success. The correlation was not restricted to internal staff; it extended to cover competitors to reach mutual benefits, to work with suppliers to maintain similar grounds and adequate infrastructure, and to create training programs to educate all on the vision and organization’s objectives.
Ford technical progress came at a time where the Internet was yet to reach its full potential. The introduction of Fiber-optic cables in the late 90′s and the substantial increase in bandwidth would have helped Ford and cut on the cost in endured connecting its own offices. Furthermore, the ISP services that provided hosting servers were limited to only few players, which explained why Ford preferred to manage its own web server and maintain the overhead of the 24 hours uptime and backup.
From this case study, I understood the level of commitment large firms have to maintaining their position in the market. These companies know the revolving nature of business in the sense of how easy it is to fall back if they did not keep up with the change. The Ford process also shows the need for quick and resourceful thinking when faced with situations that might seem to be unfavorable. The way Ford ventured into the foreign market by acquiring local manufacturers was a strategic decision that did not only enabled Ford to merge with different technologies, but it also saved it the additional cost of establishing production centers in Japan and Europe.
Recommendations
Maintaining leadership in the market requires innovative organizations willing to reengineer to succeed.
IT fusion with the business means restructuring and remodeling to understand the role IT would play to meet the business objectives
Planning and modeling is vital when coordinating work with large teams.
Constructing websites is not about content; it is about understanding what adds value and how humans interact with information.
Knowledge management is a plan that companies need to develop as part of their initial business process modeling
It is not wrong for large firms to try to adapt to successful processes implemented by other firms.
References
Robert D. Austin and Mark Cotteleer,”Ford Motor Co.: Maximizing the Business Value of Web Technologies.” Harvard Business Publishing. July 10, 1997. harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu/b02/en/common/item_detail.jhtml;jsessionid=WDARNHINBSYKSAKRGWCB5VQBKE0YOISW?id=198006 (accessed July 30, 2008).
Computer History Museum, Internet History 80′s. 2006. computerhistory.org/internet_history/internet_history_80s.shtml (accessed July 30, 2008).
Darren Wilksch and Peter Shoubridge, “IP Convergence in Global Telecommunications.” Defense Science & Technology Organization. March 2001. http://www.dsto.defence.gov.au/publications/2400/DSTO-TR-1046.pdf (accessed July 30, 2008).
Computer History Museum, Internet History 80′s.
H. Joseph Wen, “From client/server to intranet.” Information Management & Computer Security (MCB UP Ltd) 6, no. 1 (1998): 15-20.
R. Boutaba, K. El Guemioui, and P. Dini, “An outlook on intranet management.” Communications Magazine (IEEE), October 1997: 92-99.
Joseph M. Firestone, Enterprise Information Portals and Knowledge Management (OXFORD: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2002), 169.
David J. Skyrme, “Knowledge management solutions – the IT contribution.” ACM SIGGROUP Bulletin (ACM) 19, no. 1 (April 1998): 34 – 39, 34.
Thomas H. Davenport, Process Innovation: Reengineering Work Through Information Technology (Watertown,MA: Harvard Business Press, 1993), 28.
Thomas H. Davenport “The New Industrial Engineering: Information Technology and Business Process Redesign.” Sloan Management Review 31, no. 4 (Summer 1990): 11-28, 12
Gary M. Erickson, Robert Jacobson, and Johny K. Johansson, “Competition for market share in the presence of strategic invisible assets: The US automobile market, 1971-1981.” International Journal of Research in Marketing (Elsevier Science) 9, no. 1 (March 1992): 23-37, 23.
Austin and Cotteleer, “Ford Motor ” , 2.
Henk A. Akkermans, et al. “The impact of ERP on supply chain management: Exploratory findings from a European Delphi study.” European Journal of Operational Research 146 (2003): 284-301, 286
Thomas H. Davenport and Jeffrey D. Brooks, “Enterprise systems and the supply chain.” Journal of Enterprise Information Management 17, no. 1 (2004): 8-19, 9.
Kevin B. Hendricks, Vinod R. Singhal, and Jeff K. Stratman. “The impact of enterprise systems on corporate performance:A study of ERP, SCM, and CRM system implementations.” Journal of Operations Management 25, no. 1 (January 2007): 65-82.
Personal Evangelism
What do you think of when you hear the word “evangelism?” Do you think of evangelists who travel around the country, or other countries, holding meetings and seeing large numbers of people getting saved? Do you think of missionaries who give their lives to go to a foreign country and share Jesus with the lost? By dictionary definition, evangelism is “the winning of commitments to Christ”, so thinking of the great work of missionaries and evangelists isn’t off the mark. However, what comes to your mind when you hear the phrase “personal evangelism?” Doesn’t that put evangelism in a whole different category?
o What is personal evangelism?
Have you ever spent time chatting with neighbors, co-workers, relatives or friends? This is considered your personal life, and includes everyone that you come into contact with in a day, and when you take those relationships and turn conversation to talk about God, that is evangelism. Looking at it from this perspective doesn’t make it sound quite so intimidating, does it? In fact, you may be involved in personal evangelism every day without realizing! But remember, it’s not just building relationships with others that makes it personal evangelism, its building relationships for the express purpose of winning souls to Christ.
o How important is personal evangelism?
In Jesus’ great commission to the disciples, He tells them that they are to “Go, and make disciples.” What is a disciple? A disciple is one who is a follower. How do you make someone a follower? By “teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you.” Matthew 28:19,20 In other words, teach them what the Bible says about God, man, sin, eternity, and salvation. If Jesus’ came to “seek and save the lost,” (Luke 19:10), and then commanded His disciples to evangelize, wouldn’t you agree that personal evangelism is one of the most important responsibilities in the world?
o Why should you be involved in personal evangelism?
The heart– Galatians 2:20 says that I am no longer living, but Christ is living in me. That means our sinful, selfish hearts are being conformed to be like His heart. What is the heart of God? As we saw earlier in Luke 19:10, Jesus’ heart was to seek and save the lost, and if we claim to be His followers, we’ll have the same desire. Other places in the Bible show us just how much Jesus loved people, and how much He wanted to see them come to know Him, “When He saw the crowds, He felt compassion for them, because they were weary and worn out, like sheep without a shepherd.” Matthew 9:36 “As He approached the city, He wept over it.” Luke 19:41
The joy– The Bible says that joy is proclaimed in heaven over one sinner who comes to repentance (Luke 15:7,10), and that God rejoices and has joy over those who are His (Zephaniah 3:17). We cannot help but experience joy when we see someone understand the Gospel; “delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of his beloved Son” Colossians 1:13
DNS Server Not Responding on Windows 7
A DNS Server is a computer registered for joining a Domain Name System. The benefits of DNS Servers include Public IP Address and possibility to use special purpose networking software. However, it has been noted that users complain about DNS server not responding on Windows 7.
Sometimes, the computer doesn’t connect to the internet, and show you an error that The DNS Server is Not Responding. In some cases, the computer may show you that the data transfer rate is changing. The only problem you get is difficulty in connecting your computer to the Internet.
Solutions:
1. Incorrect DNS Settings
2. Disable Firewall Protection
3. Clean Browser Cache
4. Uninstall VPN Software
5. Reinstall the Network Adaptor
6. Setup a Static for IP via DHCP
Incorrect DNS Settings
The incorrect DNS settings may become the cause of your DNS Server not responding on Windows 7. Here are the steps to make correct settings:
1. Click Start button on the Taskbar.
2. Type NCPA.CPL in the Search box, and press ENTER.
3. Right click the local area connection you are using, and select Properties.
4. Select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4), and click Properties button.
5. Select the option Use the following DNS server addresses.
6. Enter the following:
a. Primary DNS: 208.67.222.222
b. Secondary DNS: 208.67.220.220
7. Click OK | OK.
Disable Firewall Protection
If you are using a Firewall software, then disable it temporarily, and check whether the problem still persists or not.
Disabling Windows Firewall
1. Click Start button on the Taskbar.
2. Type Windows Firewall in the Search box, and press ENTER.
3. Click Turn Windows Firewall On or Off link at the left hand pane.
4. Select the following two options:
a. Turn off Windows Firewall (not recommended) from Home or work (private) network location settings.
b. Turn off Windows Firewall (not recommended) from Home or work (private) network location settings.
5. Click OK button.
Clean Browser Cache
Try cleaning the browser cache via system cleaner software for resolving this problem. Most of the times the internet connectivity problem are browser related.
Uninstall VPN Software
Virtual Private Network (VPN) software enables private communications over wireless or computer network via tunnelling technology. If you have installed any VPN software, then try uninstalling it.
1. Click Start | Control Panel.
2. For Windows XP, double click Add or Remove Programs. For Windows Vista or Windows 7, click Programs | Uninstall a Program.
3. Select the VPN software you have installed.
4. Click Uninstall or Remove button.
5. Follow the on screen instructions, and reboot the system after completion.
Reinstall the Network Adaptor
1. Click Start button on the Taskbar.
2. Type Device Manager in the Search box and press ENTER.
3. Expand: | Network Adaptors.
4. Right click the network adaptor you are using, and select Uninstall option.
5. Reboot the system after completion.
6. The system shall detect the network adaptor now. If it does not, then do the Steps 1 and 2 above.
7. Right click, and select Scan for Hardware Changes.
8. The new hardware process will start. Wait for detection of your network adaptor.
9. Configure the newly installed network adaptor properly. For the information about configuring it, refer to Incorrect DNS Settings section.
Setup a Static for IP via DHCP
For those using their IP Address via DHCP should configure the network settings as below:
1. Click Start button on the Taskbar.
2. Type NCPA.CPL in the Search box, and press ENTER.
3. Right click the local area connection you are using, and select Properties.
4. Select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4), and click Properties button.
5. Select the option Use the following IP address.
6. Enter the following:
a. IP Address: 192.168.1.3
b. Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
c. Default Gateway: 192.168.1.2
7. Select the option Use the following DNS server addresses.
8. Enter the following:
a. DNS server: 192.168.1.2
9. Click OK | OK.
Highly Recommended
10 Tips for Building a Successful Website
Do you have a strong desire to build a website, yet don’t have a clue where to begin? That was me six years ago. Like you, I desperately wanted to be part of the online community and stake my claim on the world wide web.
What have I learned in six years? A lot! It has changed my life and can change yours too. Here are some valuable tips I learned from some of my biggest mistakes building a website and working online.
Let’s Get Started.
Have you ever been to a website and been totally confused about what it is they actually offer or do? I know I have. I get frustrated with websites like these and quickly start my search again for a website that focuses on the information I am after.
Tip #1 – Find a niche market for your website. Don’t try to be a website for everything. If your website is about recipes, make it about recipes and products that compliment your theme. Don’t throw in insurance quotes, apartment searches and etc.
Tip #2 – Stay away from wallpaper and dark background colors. Do you want visitors to see your services or your wallpaper? My guess is the reason you have a website is to promote a product or service, so make that the focus. Busy wallpaper distracts from the services and products you are trying to promote.
Dark background colors make reading web copy much harder and can be a bit overwhelming to most people’s sense of calm and well being. When in doubt, do as other successful online businesses do. Notice no wallpaper or dark background colors on Microsoft, eBay and etc. It’s okay to add a splash of color to your website, just not the whole page.
Tip #3 – Avoid using flash introductory pages. Sure they look nice and can be quite entertaining, but what do they really do for your website? In my opinion, frustrate your visitors. In today’s fast paced society we want the facts and information quickly. Remember, there are still plenty of dial-up users who will become frustrated waiting for your flash page to load and will move on to your competitor’s website.
Tip #4 – Turn your speakers down for this one. Nothing scares a visitor off more quickly than entering a website and being blasted with music. Avoid using music on your website. It just isn’t professional, unless of course, you are in the music industry and your website is about music.
Tip #5 – Focus your web copy for your customer. They are looking for “What’s In It For Me?” Take time to write good web copy or pay someone who can.
Example of What Not to Do: Welcome to our website. We are excited you have found us. Notice in this example, all the words really focus on the company: our, we, us. Nothing is really about the benefits for customers.
Example of What to Do: Are you frustrated with website builders that don’t deliver? You need a professional website with state-of-the-art ecommerce solutions and you need it now. Doesn’t this sound a lot more exciting and interesting? Notice the “you” in this text. It is about the customer and fulfilling a need.
An excellent book and learning tool for writing good web copy is, “Persuasive Online Copywriting: How to Take Your Words to the Bank,” by Bryan Eisenberg, Jeffrey Eisenberg, and Lisa T. Davis. I highly recommend it and can say from experience, it is well worth the investment. You can find it easily online at Amazon.com.
Tip #6 – To bold or not to bold…that is the question? Bolding text can be a valuable tool for drawing attention to a product or service. If you bold each and every word in your paragraph, guess what? Nothing stands out. Use it sparingly to get your message across. Also, the same is true for using italics. Use it in moderation to highlight keywords of interest.
Tip #7 – Easy navigation. Can your visitors easily find what they are looking for or is there some secret passage they have to discover to get there? One way to determine how easy your website is to navigate is to send a friend to your website and ask them to find a particular product or service. Guess what? If they can’t find it, neither can your potential customers. Keep your website clean and easy to navigate. A cluttered site will result in poor sales. Visitors become frustrated when they cannot quickly find what they are looking for on a website.
Tip #8 – How can your visitors contact you? I have browsed websites where there is absolutely no way to contact the owner and I am amazed at why anyone would do this. What this tells me is there is “no” and I repeat, “NO” customer service so why would I want to do business with them? The trust factor on the web is totally different than the trust factor of doing business locally. At a minimum, you should provide a contact form or email. It’s even better to provide a contact phone number.
Note: Respond in a timely manner to requests. Generally within 24 hours is best. Anything beyond that and people get hesitant about the legitimacy of your business and service. They want to know there is a live, eager person tending the store. Not one who checks in every few days or weeks.
Tip #9 – Dead End – No Outlet – Site Not Found! By this I mean, are your customers finding those links to nowhere on your website? Sometimes it can’t be helped, however, check your website often for dead links, keep it updated and the content fresh. Finding a bunch of dead links on a website will send a very clear message to your visitors. No one is tending the store. Not much happening here! This is a sure way to quickly devalue your website.
Tip #10 – Should you link up? Yes! Quality link exchanges do work. Exchange links with websites that compliment the demographics of your website. If your website is about recipes, linking with other recipe sites, cooking sites and such are a good move. Linking to real estate websites, for example, would not be a good linking strategy. It is also best to categorize your link partners for your visitors: Italian Recipes, Mexican Recipes and etc. And, when possible, house your link pages on your own domain, not with a free linking service.
In closing, I am sure you are reading this article because you want a professional website. If you have programming skills and can write your own code, great! If not, there are many affordable, quality online website builders available. Avoid using the free website builder services. It’s that old saying, “You Get What You Pay For,” and it certainly is true in this case.
The Development of Old Age and Related Issues
In traditional Chinese and other Asian cultures the aged were highly respected and cared for. The Igabo tribesmen of Eastern Nigeria value dependency in their aged and involve them in care of children and the administration of tribal affairs (Shelton, A. in Kalish R. Uni Michigan 1969).
In Eskimo culture the grandmother was pushed out into the ice-flow to die as soon as she became useless.
Western societies today usually resemble to some degree the Eskimo culture, only the “ice-flows” have names such a “Sunset Vista” and the like. Younger generations no longer assign status to the aged and their abandonment
is always in danger of becoming the social norm.
There has been a tendency to remove the aged from their homes and put them in custodial care. To some degree the government provides domiciliary care services to prevent or delay this, but the motivation probably has more
to do with expense than humanity.
In Canada and some parts of the USA old people are being utilised as foster-grandparents in child care agencies.
SOME BASIC DEFINITIONS
What is Aging?
Aging: Aging is a natural phenomenon that refers to changes occurring throughout the life span and result in differences in structure and function between the youthful and elder generation.
Gerontology: Gerontology is the study of aging and includes science, psychology and sociology.
Geriatrics: A relatively new field of medicine specialising in the health problems of advanced age.
Social aging: Refers to the social habits and roles of individuals with respect to their culture and society. As social aging increases individual usually experience a decrease in meaningful social interactions.
Biological aging: Refers to the physical changes in the body systems during the later decades of life. It may begin long before the individual reaches chronological age 65.
Cognitive aging: Refers to decreasing ability to assimilate new information and learn new behaviours and skills.
GENERAL PROBLEMS OF AGING
Eric Erikson (Youth and the life cycle. Children. 7:43-49 Mch/April 1960) developed an “ages and stages” theory of human
development that involved 8 stages after birth each of which involved a basic dichotomy representing best case and worst case outcomes. Below are the dichotomies and their developmental relevance:
Prenatal stage – conception to birth.
1. Infancy. Birth to 2 years – basic trust vs. basic distrust. Hope.
2. Early childhood, 3 to 4 years – autonomy vs. self doubt/shame. Will.
3. Play age, 5 to 8 years – initiative vs. guilt. Purpose.
4. School age, 9to 12 – industry vs. inferiority. Competence.
5. Adolescence, 13 to 19 – identity vs. identity confusion. Fidelity.
6. Young adulthood – intimacy vs. isolation. Love.
7. Adulthood, generativity vs. self absorption. Care.
8. Mature age- Ego Integrity vs. Despair. Wisdom.
This stage of older adulthood, i.e. stage 8, begins about the time of retirement and continues throughout one’s life. Achieving ego integrity is a sign of maturity while failing to reach this stage is an indication of poor development in prior stages through the life course.
Ego integrity: This means coming to accept one’s whole life and reflecting on it in a positive manner. According to Erikson, achieving
integrity means fully accepting one’ self and coming to terms with death. Accepting responsibility for one’s life and being able to review
the past with satisfaction is essential. The inability to do this leads to despair and the individual will begin to fear death. If a favourable balance is achieved during this stage, then wisdom is developed.
Psychological and personality aspects:
Aging has psychological implications. Next to dying our recognition that we are aging may be one of the most profound shocks we ever receive. Once we pass the invisible line of 65 our years are bench marked for the remainder of the game of life. We are no longer “mature age” we are instead classified as “old”, or “senior citizens”. How we cope with the changes we face and stresses of altered status depends on our basic personality. Here are 3 basic personality types that have been identified. It may be a oversimplification but it makes the point about personality effectively:
a. The autonomous – people who seem to have the resources for self-renewal. They may be dedicated to a goal or idea and committed to continuing productivity. This appears to protect them somewhat even against physiological aging.
b.The adjusted – people who are rigid and lacking in adaptability but are supported by their power, prestige or well structured routine. But if their situation changes drastically they become psychiatric casualties.
c.The anomic. These are people who do not have clear inner values or a protective life vision. Such people have been described as prematurely resigned and they may deteriorate rapidly.
Summary of stresses of old age.
a. Retirement and reduced income. Most people rely on work for self worth, identity and social interaction. Forced retirement can be demoralising.
b. Fear of invalidism and death. The increased probability of falling prey to illness from which there is no recovery is a continual
source of anxiety. When one has a heart attack or stroke the stress becomes much worse.
Some persons face death with equanimity, often psychologically supported by a religion or philosophy. Others may welcome death as an end to suffering or insoluble problems and with little concern for life or human existence. Still others face impending death with suffering of great stress against which they have no ego defenses.
c. Isolation and loneliness. Older people face inevitable loss of loved ones, friends and contemporaries. The loss of a spouse whom one has depended on for companionship and moral support is particularly distressing. Children grow up, marry and become preoccupied or move away. Failing memory, visual and aural impairment may all work to make social interaction difficult. And if this
then leads to a souring of outlook and rigidity of attitude then social interaction becomes further lessened and the individual may not even utilise the avenues for social activity that are still available.
d. Reduction in sexual function and physical attractiveness. Kinsey et al, in their Sexual behaviour in the human male,
(Phil., Saunders, 1948) found that there is a gradual decrease in sexual activity with advancing age and that reasonably gratifying patterns of sexual activity can continue into extreme old age. The aging person also has to adapt to loss of sexual attractiveness in a society which puts extreme emphasis on sexual attractiveness. The adjustment in self image and self concept that are required can be very hard to make.
e. Forces tending to self devaluation. Often the experience of the older generation has little perceived relevance to the problems of the young and the older person becomes deprived of participation in decision making both in occupational and family settings. Many parents are seen as unwanted burdens and their children may secretly wish they would die so they can be free of the burden and experience some financial relief or benefit. Senior citizens may be pushed into the role of being an old person with all this implies in terms of self devaluation.
4 Major Categories of Problems or Needs:
Health.
Housing.
Income maintenance.
Interpersonal relations.
BIOLOGICAL CHANGES
Physiological Changes: Catabolism (the breakdown of protoplasm) overtakes anabolism (the build-up of protoplasm). All body systems are affected and repair systems become slowed. The aging process occurs at different rates in different individuals.
Physical appearance and other changes:
Loss of subcutaneous fat and less elastic skin gives rise to wrinkled appearance, sagging and loss of smoothness of body contours. Joints stiffen and become painful and range of joint movement becomes restricted, general
mobility lessened.
Respiratory changes:
Increase of fibrous tissue in chest walls and lungs leads restricts respiratory movement and less oxygen is consumed. Older people more likelyto have lower respiratory infections whereas young people have upper respiratory infections.
Nutritive changes:
Tooth decay and loss of teeth can detract from ease and enjoyment in eating. Atrophy of the taste buds means food is inclined to be tasteless and this should be taken into account by carers. Digestive changes occur from lack of exercise (stimulating intestines) and decrease in digestive juice production. Constipation and indigestion are likely to follow as a result. Financial problems can lead to the elderly eating an excess of cheap carbohydrates rather than the more expensive protein and vegetable foods and this exacerbates the problem, leading to reduced vitamin intake and such problems as anemia and increased susceptibility to infection.
Adaptation to stress:
All of us face stress at all ages. Adaptation to stress requires the consumption of energy. The 3 main phases of stress are:
1. Initial alarm reaction. 2. Resistance. 3. Exhaustion
and if stress continues tissue damage or aging occurs. Older persons have had a lifetime of dealing with stresses. Energy reserves are depleted and the older person succumbs to stress earlier than the younger person. Stress is cumulative over a lifetime. Research results, including experiments with animals suggests that each stress leaves us more vulnerable to the next and that although we might think we’ve “bounced back” 100% in fact each stress leaves it scar. Further, stress is psycho-biological meaning
the kind of stress is irrelevant. A physical stress may leave one more vulnerable to psychological stress and vice versa. Rest does not completely restore one after a stressor. Care workers need to be mindful of this and cognizant of the kinds of things that can produce stress for aged persons.
COGNITIVE CHANGE Habitual Behaviour:
Sigmund Freud noted that after the age of 50, treatment of neuroses via psychoanalysis was difficult because the opinions and reactions of older people were relatively fixed and hard to shift.
Over-learned behaviour: This is behaviour that has been learned so well and repeated so often that it has become automatic, like for example typing or running down stairs. Over-learned behaviour is hard to change. If one has lived a long time one is likely to have fixed opinions and ritualised behaviour patterns or habits.
Compulsive behaviour: Habits and attitudes that have been learned in the course of finding ways to overcome frustration and difficulty are very hard to break. Tension reducing habits such as nail biting, incessant humming, smoking or drinking alcohol are especially hard to change at any age and particularly hard for persons who have been practising them over a life time.
The psychology of over-learned and compulsive behaviours has severe implications for older persons who find they have to live in what for them is a new and alien environment with new rules and power relations.
Information acquisition:
Older people have a continual background of neural noise making it more difficult for them to sort out and interpret complex sensory
input. In talking to an older person one should turn off the TV, eliminate as many noises and distractions as possible, talk slowly
and relate to one message or idea at a time.
Memories from the distant past are stronger than more recent memories. New memories are the first to fade and last to return.
Time patterns also can get mixed – old and new may get mixed.
Intelligence.
Intelligence reaches a peak and can stay high with little deterioration if there is no neurological damage. People who have unusually high intelligence to begin with seem to suffer the least decline. Education and stimulation also seem to play a role in maintaining intelligence.
Intellectual impairment. Two diseases of old age causing cognitive decline are Alzheimer’s syndrome and Pick’s syndrome. In Pick’s syndrome there is inability to concentrate and learn and also affective responses are impaired.
Degenerative Diseases: Slow progressive physical degeneration of cells in the nervous system. Genetics appear to be an important factor. Usually start after age 40 (but can occur as early as 20s).
ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE Degeneration of all areas of cortex but particularly frontal and temporal lobes. The affected cells actually die. Early symptoms resemble neurotic disorders: Anxiety, depression, restlessness sleep difficulties.
Progressive deterioration of all intellectual faculties (memory deficiency being the most well known and obvious). Total mass of the brain decreases, ventricles become larger. No established treatment.
PICK’S DISEASE Rare degenerative disease. Similar to Alzheimer’s in terms of onset, symptomatology and possible genetic
aetiology. However it affects circumscribed areas of the brain, particularly the frontal areas which leads to a loss of normal affect.
PARKINSON’S DISEASE Neuropathology: Loss of neurons in the basal ganglia.
Symptoms: Movement abnormalities: rhythmical alternating tremor of extremities, eyelids and tongue along with rigidity of the muscles and slowness of movement (akinesia).
It was once thought that Parkinson’s disease was not associated with intellectual deterioration, but it is now known that there is an association between global intellectual impairment and Parkinson’s where it occurs late in life.
The cells lost in Parkinson’s are associated with the neuro-chemical Dopamine and the motor symptoms of Parkinson’s are associated the dopamine deficiency. Treatment involves administration of dopamine precursor L-dopa which can alleviate symptoms including intellectual impairment. Research suggests it may possibly bring to the fore emotional effects in patients who have had
psychiatric illness at some prior stage in their lives.
AFFECTIVE DOMAIN In old age our self concept gets its final revision. We make a final assessment of the value of our lives and our balance of success and failures.
How well a person adapts to old age may be predicated by how well the person adapted to earlier significant changes. If the person suffered an emotional crisis each time a significant change was needed then adaptation to the exigencies of old age may also be difficult. Factors such as economic security, geographic location and physical health are important to the adaptive process.
Need Fulfilment: For all of us, according to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs theory, we are not free to pursue the higher needs of self actualisation unless the basic needs are secured. When one considers that many, perhaps most, old people are living in poverty and continually concerned with basic survival needs, they are not likely to be happily satisfying needs related to prestige, achievement and beauty.
Maslow’s Hierarchy
Physiological
Safety
Belonging, love, identification
Esteem: Achievement, prestige, success, self respect
Self actualisation: Expressing one’s interests and talents to the full.
Note: Old people who have secured their basic needs may be motivated to work on tasks of the highest levels in the hierarchy – activities concerned with aesthetics, creativity and altruistic matters, as compensation for loss of sexual attractiveness and athleticism. Aged care workers fixated on getting old people to focus on social activities may only succeed in frustrating and irritating them if their basic survival concerns are not secured to their satisfaction.
DISENGAGEMENT
Social aging according to Cumming, E. and Henry, W. (Growing old: the aging process of disengagement, NY, Basic 1961) follows a well defined pattern:
1. Change in role. Change in occupation and productivity. Possibly change
in attitude to work.
2. Loss of role, e.g. retirement or death of a husband.
3. Reduced social interaction. With loss of role social interactions are
diminished, eccentric adjustment can further reduce social interaction, damage
to self concept, depression.
4. Awareness of scarcity of remaining time. This produces further curtailment of
activity in interest of saving time.
Havighurst, R. et al (in B. Neugarten (ed.) Middle age and aging, U. of Chicago, 1968) and others have suggested that disengagement is not an inevitable process. They believe the needs of the old are essentially the same as in middle age and the activities of middle age should be extended as long as possible. Havighurst points out the decrease in social interaction of the aged is often largely the
result of society withdrawing from the individual as much as the reverse. To combat this he believes the individual must vigorously resist the limitations of his social world.
DEATH The fear of the dead amongst tribal societies is well established. Persons who had ministered to the dead were taboo and required observe various rituals including seclusion for varying periods of time. In some societies from South America to Australia it is taboo for certain persons to utter the name of the dead. Widows and widowers are expected to observe rituals in respect for the dead.
Widows in the Highlands of New Guinea around Goroka chop of one of their own fingers. The dead continue their existence as spirits and upsetting them can bring dire consequences.
Wahl, C in “The fear of death”, 1959 noted that the fear of death occurs as early as the 3rd year of life. When a child loses a pet or grandparent fears reside in the unspoken questions: Did I cause it? Will happen to you (parent) soon? Will this happen to me? The child in such situations needs to re-assure that the departure is not a censure, and that the parent is not likely to depart soon. Love, grief, guilt, anger are a mix of conflicting emotions that are experienced.
CONTEMPORARY ATTITUDES TO DEATH
Our culture places high value on youth, beauty, high status occupations, social class and anticipated future activities and achievement. Aging and dying are denied and avoided in this system. The death of each person reminds us of our own mortality.
The death of the elderly is less disturbing to members of Western society because the aged are not especially valued. Surveys have established that nurses for example attach more importance to saving a young life than an old life. In Western society there is a pattern of avoiding dealing with the aged and dying aged patient.
Stages of dying. Elisabeth Kubler Ross has specialised in working with dying patients and in her “On death and dying”, NY, Macmillan, 1969, summarised 5 stages in dying.
1. Denial and isolation. “No, not me”.
2. Anger. “I’ve lived a good life so why me?”
3. Bargaining. Secret deals are struck with God. “If I can live until…I promise to…”
4. Depression. (In general the greatest psychological problem of the aged is depression). Depression results from real and threatened loss.
5. Acceptance of the inevitable.
Kubler Ross’s typology as set out above should, I believe be taken with a grain of salt and not slavishly accepted. Celebrated US Journalist David Rieff who was in June ’08 a guest of the Sydney writer’s festival in relation to his book, “Swimming in a sea of death: a son’s memoir” (Melbourne University Press) expressly denied the validity of the Kubler Ross typology in his Late Night Live interview (Australian ABC radio) with Philip Adams June 9th ’08. He said something to the effect that his mother had regarded her impending death as murder. My own experience with dying persons suggests that the human ego is extraordinarily resilient. I recall visiting a dying colleague in hospital just days before his death. He said, “I’m dying, I don’t like it but there’s nothing I can do about it”, and then went on to chortle about how senior academics at an Adelaide university had told him they were submitting his name for a the Order of Australia (the new “Knighthood” replacement in Australia). Falling in and out of lucid thought with an oxygen tube in his nostrils he was nevertheless still highly interested in the “vain glories of the world”. This observation to me seemed consistent with Rieff’s negative assessment of Kubler Ross’s theories.
THE AGED IN RELATION TO YOUNGER PEOPLE
The aged share with the young the same needs: However, the aged often have fewer or weaker resources to meet those needs. Their need for social interaction may be ignored by family and care workers.
Family should make time to visit their aged members and invite them to their homes. The aged like to visit children and relate to them through games and stories.
Meaningful relationships can be developed via foster-grandparent programs. Some aged are not aware of their income and health entitlements. Family and friends should take the time to explain these. Some aged are too proud to access their entitlements and this problem should be addressed in a kindly way where it occurs.
It is best that the aged be allowed as much choice as possible in matters related to living arrangements, social life and lifestyle.
Communities serving the aged need to provide for the aged via such things as lower curbing, and ramps.
Carers need to examine their own attitude to aging and dying. Denial in the carer is detected by the aged person and it can inhibit the aged person from expressing negative feelings – fear, anger. If the person can express these feelings to someone then that person is less likely to die with a sense of isolation and bitterness.
A METAPHYSICAL PERSPECTIVE
The following notes are my interpretation of a Dr. Depak Chopra lecture entitled, “The New Physics of Healing” which he presented to the 13th Scientific Conference of the American Holistic Medical Association. Dr. Depak Chopra is an endocrinologist and a former Chief of Staff of New England Hospital, Massachusetts. I am deliberately omitting the detail of his explanations of the more abstract, ephemeral and controversial ideas.
Original material from 735 Walnut Street, Boulder, Colorado 83002,
Phone. +303 449 6229.
In the lecture Dr. Chopra presents a model of the universe and of all organisms as structures of interacting centres of electromagnetic energy linked to each other in such a way that anything affecting one part of a system or structure has ramifications throughout the entire structure. This model becomes an analogue not only for what happens within the structure or organism itself, but between the organism and both its physical and social environments. In other words there is a correlation between psychological
conditions, health and the aging process. Dr. Chopra in his lecture reconciles ancient Vedic (Hindu) philosophy with modern psychology and quantum physics.
Premature Precognitive Commitment: Dr. Chopra invokes experiments that have shown that flies kept for a long time in a jar do not quickly leave the jar when the top is taken off. Instead they accept the jar as the limit of their universe. He also points out that in India baby elephants are often kept tethered to a small twig or sapling. In adulthood when the elephant is capable of pulling over a medium sized tree it can still be successfully tethered to a twig! As another example he points to experiments in which fish are bred on
2 sides of a fish tank containing a divider between the 2 sides. When the divider is removed the fish are slow to learn that they can now swim throughout the whole tank but rather stay in the section that they accept as their universe. Other experiments have demonstrated that kittens brought up in an environment of vertical stripes and structures, when released in adulthood keep bumping into anything aligned horizontally as if they were unable to see anything that is horizontal. Conversely kittens brought up in an environment of horizontal stripes when released bump into vertical structures, apparently unable to see them.
The whole point of the above experiments is that they demonstrate Premature Precognitive Commitment. The lesson to be learned is that our sensory apparatus develops as a result of initial experience and how we’ve been taught to interpret it.
What is the real look of the world? It doesn’t exist. The way the world looks to us is determined by the sensory receptors we have and our interpretation of that look is determined by our premature precognitive commitments. Dr Chopra makes the point that less than a billionth of the available stimuli make it into our nervous systems. Most of it is screened, and what gets through to us is whatever we are
expecting to find on the basis of our precognitive commitments.
Dr. Chopra also discusses the diseases that are actually caused by mainstream medical interventions, but this material gets too far away from my central intention. Dr. Chopra discusses in lay terms the physics of matter, energy and time by way of establishing the wider context of our existence. He makes the point that our bodies including the bodies of plants are mirrors of cosmic rhythms and exhibit changes correlating even with the tides.
Dr. Chopra cites the experiments of Dr. Herbert Spencer of the US National Institute of Health. He injected mice with Poly-IC, an immuno-stimulant while making the mice repeatedly smell camphor. After the effect of the Poly-IC had worn off he again exposed the mice to the camphor smell. The smell of camphor had the effect of causing the mice’s immune system to automatically strengthen
as if they had been injected with the stimulant. He then took another batch of mice and injected them with cyclophosphamide which tends to destroy the immune system while exposing them to the smell of camphor. Later after being returned to normal just the smell of camphor was enough to cause destruction of their immune system. Dr. Chopra points out that whether or not camphor enhanced or
destroyed the mice’s immune system was entirely determined by an interpretation of the meaning of the smell of camphor. The interpretation is not just in the brain but in each cell of the organism. We are bound to our imagination and our
early experiences.
Chopra cites a study by the Massachusetts Dept of Health Education and Welfare into risk factors for heart disease – family history, cholesterol etc. The 2 most important risk factors were found to be psychological measures – Self Happiness Rating and Job Satisfaction. They found most people died of heart disease on a Monday!
Chopra says that for every feeling there is a molecule. If you are experiencing tranquillity your body will be producing natural valium. Chemical changes in the brain are reflected by changes in other cells including blood cells. The brain produces neuropeptides and brain structures are chemically tuned to these neuropeptide receptors. Neuropeptides (neurotransmitters) are the chemical concommitants of thought. Chopra points out the white blood cells (a part of the immune system) have neuropeptide receptors and are “eavesdropping” on our thinking. Conversely the immune system produces its own neuropeptides which can influence the nervous system. He goes on to say that cells in all parts of the body including heart and kidneys for example also produce neuropeptides and
neuropeptide sensitivity. Chopra assures us that most neurologists would agree that the nervous system and the immune system are parallel systems.
Other studies in physiology: The blood interlukin-2 levels of medical students decreased as exam time neared and their interlukin receptor capacities also lowered. Chopra says if we are having fun to the point of exhilaration our natural interlukin-2 levels become higher. Interlukin-2 is a powerful and very expensive anti-cancer drug. The body is a printout of consciousness. If we could change the way we look at our bodies at a genuine, profound level then our bodies would actually change.
On the subject of “time” Chopra cites Sir Thomas Gall and Steven Hawkins, stating that our description of the universe as having a past, present, and future are constructed entirely out of our interpretation of change. But in
reality linear time doesn’t exist.
Chopra explains the work of Alexander Leaf a former Harvard Professor of Preventative Medicine who toured the world investigating societies where people lived beyond 100 years (these included parts of Afghanistan, Soviet Georgia, Southern Andes). He looked at possible factors including climate, genetics, and diet. Leaf concluded the most important factor was the collective perception of aging in these societies.
Amongst the Tama Humara of the Southern Andes there was a collective belief that the older you got the more physically able you got. They had a tradition of running and the older one became then generally the better at running one got. The best runner was aged 60. Lung capacity and other measures actually improved with age. People were healthy until well into their 100s and died in their sleep. Chopra remarks that things have changed since the introduction of Budweiser (beer) and TV.
[DISCUSSION: How might TV be a factor in changing the former ideal state of things?]
Chopra refers to Dr. Ellen Langor a former Harvard Psychology professor’s work. Langor advertised for 100 volunteers aged over 70 years. She took them to a Monastery outside Boston to play “Let’s Pretend”. They were divided into 2 groups each of which resided in a different part of the building. One group, the control group spent several days talking about the 1950s. The other group, the experimental group had to live as if in the year 1959 and talk about it in the present tense. What appeared on their TV screens were the old newscasts and movies. They read old newspapers and magazines of the period. After 3 days everyone was photographed and the photographs judged by independent judges who knew nothing of the nature of the experiment. The experimental group seemed to
have gotten younger in appearance. Langor then arranged for them to be tested for 100 physiological parameters of aging which included of course blood pressure, near point vision and DHEA levels. After 10 days of living as if in 1959 all parameters had reversed by the equivalent of at least 20 years.
Chopra concludes from Langor’s experiment: “We are the metabolic end product of our sensory experiences. How we interpret them depends on the collective mindset which influences individual biological entropy and aging.”
Can one escape the current collective mindset and reap the benefits in longevity and health? Langor says, society won’t let you escape. There are too many reminders of how most people think linear time is and how it expresses itself in entropy and aging – men are naughty at 40 and on social welfare at 55, women reach menopause at 40 etc. We get to see so many other people aging and dying that it sets the pattern that we follow.
Chopra concludes we are the metabolic product of our sensory experience and our interpretation gets structured in our biology itself. Real change comes from change in the collective consciousness – otherwise it cannot occur within the individual.
Readings
Chopra, D. The New Physics of Healing. 735 Walnut Street, Boulder, Colorado 83002,
Phone. +303 449 6229.
Coleman, J. C. Abnormal psychology and modern life. Scott Foresman & Co.
Lugo, J. and Hershey, L. Human development a multidisciplinary approach to the psychology of individual growth, NY, Macmillan.
Dennis. Psychology of human behaviour for nurses. Lond. W. B.Saunders.
The Invisible Women of the Great Depression
During the Great Depression, women made up 25% of the work force, but their jobs were more unstable, temporary or seasonal then men, and the unemployment rate was much greater. There was also a decided bias and cultural view that “women didn’t work” and in fact many who were employed full time often called themselves “homemakers.” Neither men in the workforce, the unions, nor any branch of government were ready to accept the reality of working women, and this bias caused females intense hardship during the Great Depression.
The 1930′s was particularly hard on single, divorced or widowed women, but it was harder still on women who weren’t White. Women of color had to overcome both sexual and racial stereotyping. Black women in the North suffered an astounding 42.9% unemployment, while 23.2%. of White women were without work according to the 1937 census. In the South, both Black and White women were equally unemployed at 26%. In contrast, the unemployment rate for Black and White men in the North (38.9%/18.1%) and South (18%/16% respectively) were also lower than female counterparts.
The financial situation in Harlem was bleak even before the Great Depression. But afterward, the emerging Black working class in the North was decimated by wholesale layoffs of Black industrial workers. To be Black and a woman alone, made keeping a job or finding another one nearly impossible. The racial work hierarchy replaced Black women in waitressing or domestic work, with White women, now desperate for work, and willing to take steep wage cuts.
Survival Entrepreneurs
At the start of the Depression, while one study found that homeless women were most likely factory and service workers, domestics, garment workers, waitresses and beauticians; another suggested that the beauty industry was a major source of income for Black women. These women, later known as “survivalist entrepreneurs,” became self-employed in response to a desperate need to find an independent means of livelihood.”
Replaced by White women in more traditional domestic work as cooks, maids, nurses, and laundresses, even skilled and educated Black women were so hopeless, ”that they actually offered their services at the so-called ‘slave markets’-street corners where Negro women congregated to await White housewives who came daily to take their pick and bid wages down” (Boyd, 2000 citing Drake and Cayton, 1945/1962:246). Moreover, the home domestic service was very difficult, if not impossible, to coordinate with family responsibilities, as the domestic servant was usually on call ”around the clock” and was subject to the ”arbitrary power of individual employers.”
Inn Keepers and Hairdressers
Two occupations were sought out by Black women, in order to address both the need for income (or barter items) and their domestic responsibilities in northern cities during the Great Depression: (1) boarding house and lodging house keeping; and (2) hairdressing and beauty culture.
During the “Great Migration” of 1915-1930, thousands of Blacks from the South, mostly young, single men, streamed into Northern cities, looking for places to stay temporarily while they searched for housing and jobs. Housing these migrants created opportunities for Black working-class women,-now unemployed-to pay their rent.
According to one estimate, ”at least one-third” of Black families in the urban North had lodgers or boarders during the Great Migration (Thomas, 1992:93, citing Henri, 1976). The need was so great, multiple boarders were housed, leading one survey of northern Black families to report that ”seventy-five percent of the Negro homes have so many lodgers that they are really hotels.”
Women were usually at the center of these webs of family and community networks within the Black community:
“They ”undertook the greatest part of the burden” of helping the newcomers find interim housing. Women played ”connective and leadership roles” in northern Black communities, not only because it was considered traditional “woman’s work,” but also because taking in boarders and lodgers helped Black women combine housework with an informal, income-producing activity (Grossman, 1989:133). In addition, boarding and lodging house keeping was often combined with other types of self-employment. Some of the Black women who kept boarders and lodgers also earned money by making artificial flowers and lamp shades at home.” (Boyd, 2000)
In addition from 1890 to 1940, ”barbers and hairdressers” were the largest segments of the Black business population, together comprising about one third of this population in 1940 (Boyd, 2000 citing Oak, 1949:48).
“Blacks tended to gravitate into these occupations because “White barbers, hairdressers, and beauticians were unwilling or unable to style the hair of Blacks or to provide the hair preparations and cosmetics used by them. Thus, Black barbers, hairdressers, and beauticians had a ”protected consumer market” based on Whites’ desires for social distance from Blacks and on the special demands of Black consumers. Accordingly, these Black entrepreneurs were sheltered from outside competitors and could monopolize the trades of beauty culture and hairdressing within their own communities.
Black women who were seeking jobs believed that one’s appearance was a crucial factor in finding employment. Black self-help organizations in northern cities, such as the Urban League and the National Council of Negro Women, stressed the importance of good grooming to the newly arrived Black women from the South, advising them to have neat hair and clean nails when searching for work. Above all, the women were told avoid wearing ”head rags” and ”dust caps” in public (Boyd, 2000 citing Drake and Cayton, 1945/1962:247, 301; Grossman, 1989:150-151).
These warnings were particularly relevant to those who were looking for secretarial or white-collar jobs, for Black women needed straight hair and light skin to have any chance of obtaining such positions. Despite the hard times, beauty parlors and barber shops were the most numerous and viable Black-owned enterprises in Black communities (e.g., Boyd, 2000 citing Drake and Cayton, 1945/1962:450-451).
Black women entrepreneurs in the urban North also opened stores and restaurants, with modest savings ”as a means of securing a living” (Boyd, 2000 citing Frazier, 1949:405). Called ”depression businesses,” these marginal enterprises were often classified as proprietorships, even though they tended to operate out of ”houses, basements, and old buildings” (Boyd, 2000 citing Drake and Cayton, 1945/1962:454).
“Food stores and eating and drinking places were the most common of these businesses, because, if they failed, their owners could still live off their stocks.”
“Protestant Whites Only”
These businesses were a necessity for Black women, as the preference for hiring Whites climbed steeply during the Depression. In the Philadelphia Public Employment Office in 1932 & 1933, 68% of job orders for women specified “Whites Only.” In New York City, Black women were forced to go to separate unemployment offices in Harlem to seek work. Black churches and church-related institutions, a traditional source of help to the Black community, were overwhelmed by the demand, during the 1930′s. Municipal shelters, required to “accept everyone,” still reported that Catholics and African American women were “particularly hard to place.”
No one knows the numbers of Black women left homeless in the early thirty’s, but it was no doubt substantial, and invisible to the mostly white investigators. Instead, the media chose to focus on, and publicize the plight of White, homeless, middle-class “white collar” workers, as, by 1931 and 1932, unemployment spread to this middle-class. White-collar and college-educated women, usually accustomed “to regular employment and stable domicile,” became the “New Poor.” We don’t know the homeless rates for these women, beyond an educated guess, but of all the homeless in urban centers, 10% were suggested to be women. We do know, however, that the demand for “female beds” in shelters climbed from a bit over 3,000 in 1920 to 56,808 by 1932 in one city and in another, from 1929 -1930, demand rose 270%.
“Having an Address is a Luxury Now…”
Even these beds, however, were the last stop on the path towards homelessness and were designed for “habitually destitute” women, and avoided at all cost by those who were homeless for the first time. Some number ended up in shelters, but even more were not registered with any agency. Resources were few. Emergency home relief was restricted to families with dependent children until 1934. “Having an address is a luxury just now” an unemployed college woman told a social worker in 1932.
These newly destitute urban women were the shocked and dazed who drifted from one unemployment office to the next, resting in Grand Central or Pennsylvania station, and who rode the subway all night (the “five cent room”), or slept in the park, and who ate in penny kitchens. Slow to seek assistance, and fearful and ashamed to ask for charity, these women were often on the verge of starvation before they sought help. They were, according to one report, often the “saddest and most difficult to help.” These women “starved slowly in furnished rooms. They sold their furniture, their clothes, and then their bodies.”
The Emancipated Woman and Gender Myths
If cultural myths were that women “didn’t work,” then those that did were invisible. Their political voice was mute. Gender role demanded that women remain “someone’s poor relation,” who returned back to the rural homestead during times of trouble, to help out around the home, and were given shelter. These idyllic nurturing, pre-industrial mythical family homes were large enough to accommodate everyone. The new reality was much bleaker. Urban apartments, no bigger than two or three rooms, required “maiden aunts” or “single cousins” to “shift for themselves.” What remained of the family was often a strained, overburdened, over-crowded household that often contained severe domestic troubles of its own.
In addition, few, other than African Americans, were with the rural roots to return to. And this assumed that a woman once emancipated and tasting past success would remain “malleable.” The female role was an out-of-date myth, but was nonetheless a potent one. The “new woman” of the roaring twenties was now left without a social face during the Great Depression. Without a home–the quintessential element of womanhood–she was, paradoxically, ignored and invisible.
“…Neighborliness has been Stretched Beyond Human Endurance.”
In reality, more than half of these employed women had never married, while others were divorced, deserted, separated or claimed to be widowed. We don’t know how many were lesbian women. Some had dependent parents and siblings who relied on them for support. Fewer had children who were living with extended family. Women’s wages were historically low for most female professions, and allowed little capacity for substantial “emergency” savings, but most of these women were financially independent. In Milwaukee, for example, 60% of those seeking help had been self-supporting in 1929. In New York, this figure was 85%. Their available work was often the most volatile and at risk. Some had been unemployed for months, while others for a year or more. With savings and insurance gone, they had tapped out their informal social networks. One social worker, in late 1931, testified to a Senate committee that “neighborliness has been stretched not only beyond its capacity but beyond human endurance.”
Older women were often discriminated against because of their age, and their long history of living outside of traditional family systems. When work was available, it often specified, as did one job in Philadelphia, a demand for “white stenographers and clerks, under (age) 25.”
The Invisible Woman
The Great Depression’s effect on women, then, as it is now, was invisible to the eye. The tangible evidence of breadlines, Hoovervilles, and men selling apples on street corners, did not contain images of urban women. Unemployment, hunger and homelessness was considered a “man’s problem” and the distress and despair was measured in that way. In photographic images, and news reports, destitute urban women were overlooked or not apparent. It was considered unseemly to be a homeless woman, and they were often hidden from public view, ushered in through back door entrances, and fed in private.
Partly, the problem lay in expectations. While homelessness in men had swelled periodically during periods of economic crisis, since the depression of the 1890′s onward, large numbers of homeless women “on their own” were a new phenomenon. Public officials were unprepared: Without children, they were, early on, excluded from emergency shelters. One building with a capacity of 155 beds and six cribs, lodged over 56,000 “beds” during the third year of the depression. Still, these figures do not take account the number of women turned away, because they weren’t White or Protestant.
As the Great Depression wore on, wanting only a way to make money, these women were excluded from “New Deal” work programs set up to help the unemployed. Men were seen as “breadwinners,” holding greater claim to economic resources. While outreach and charitable agencies finally did emerge, they were often inadequate to meet the demand.
Whereas black women had particular hard times participating in the mainstream economy during the Great Depression, they did have some opportunity to find alternative employment within their own communities, because of unique migration patterns that had occurred during that period. White women, in contrast, had a keyhole opportunity, if they were young and of considerable skills, although their skin color alone offered them greater access to whatever traditional employment was still available.
The rejection of traditional female roles, and the desire for emancipation, however, put these women at profound risk once the economy collapsed. In any case, single women, with both black and white skin, fared worse and were invisible sufferers.
As we enter the Second Great Depression, who will be the new “invisible homeless” and will women, as a group, fare better this time?
References:
Abelson, E. (2003, Spring2003). Women Who Have No Men to Work for Them: Gender and Homelessness in the Great Depression, 1930-1934. Feminist Studies, 29(1), 104. Retrieved January 2, 2009, from Academic Search Premier database.
Boyd, R. (2000, December). Race, Labor Market Disadvantage, and Survivalist Entrepreneurship: Black Women in the Urban North During the Great Depression. Sociological Forum, 15(4), 647-670. Retrieved January 2, 2009, from Academic Search Premier database.
Birth Chart Astrology: The Meaning of The Moon In The Natal Chart
Bringing Birth Chart Astrology Down To Earth
This the first of a series of articles in which I try to bring Astrology down to Earth, by explaining what each planet represents in us at a basic level. This article explains the Moon, which is one of the Ego planets, Sun and Saturn being the other two, understanding each in turn and learning to see them as sub-personalities that need to work together to make you feel secure, worthwhile and complete. An awareness of these different energies will help in the understanding of your inner core self which is needed before the process of integration can successfully occur.
The Moon in the Birth Chart
The Moon is a very important planet in the Birth Chart as it is from this that we operate from through childhood and thus it becomes our foundation. Although we grow towards our Sun (our own ‘mind’) in adulthood, the Moon is a ‘feeling, reflective’ energy that picks up and stores early messages and experiences. Many of our behavioural and emotional problems can be uncovered by examining the role of Moon in the Natal Chart. The Moon informs and represents the way we habitually respond and react throughout life. It denotes our instinctive behaviour and the sign it is in describes its innate quality, whereas the house reflects the environmental influence. Any aspect to the Moon shows how it reacts. If for example it has a connection to Mars, then it may be more assertive in having its needs met. Moon with Venus will emphasise its female or creative quality and Moon in aspect to Mercury may be able to express its feeling in some communicative way..
What The Moon represents in You
In essence the Moon represents our emotions, responses, habits and contact needs. It symbolises the inner child that gains experience itself through the contact with others. It is our basic need to be loved and nurtured and the ‘feeling’ self looks to gain this from others. We usually receive this from our family and home environment and often a pet feeds our emotional self. Uncontrolled and immature emotions all come under the Moon’s domain as we never lose our inner child. We often revert back into our Moon when we behave irrationally, or become moody or sulky, usually because our needs are not being met. If we feel unsafe or threatened we have a tendency to fall back on our Moon and it is by sign, house and aspect that describes how we react.
The Moon in us is always that inner child who likes to play and have fun and each of us look for this in our own way. Even when we grow older we still look for things we enjoy or that bring us emotional nourishment.
The Moon’s Element in the Astrological Birth Chart.
The Moon’s element can be a vital clue for our emotional nourishment in feeling secure and good about ourselves. Your Moon’s element then gives you a sense of emotional stability and confidence at a deeply profound level.
As discussed the Moon is a ‘feeling’ planet. Therefore having Moon in a Water element (Cancer, Scorpio or Pisces) will intensify the ‘feeling’ nature. Therefore anyone or anything that allows the nurturing quality to be used or expressed will assist you in feeling secure and at home with yourself. On a negative note this type of Moon could be clinging, possessive and controlling in a nurturing way.
Moon in a Fire element (Aries, Leo or Sagittarius) will react directly and with enthusiasm to anything that they can pioneer or have a leading part in directing change or something new. Emotions driven by fire can be explosive, impatient and restless but will feel at home in having a mission and implementing action in getting things off the ground and aiming for a goal.
People with ‘Airy’ Moon, (Gemini, Libra or Aquarius) will need to communicate to others their ideas, opinions, ideals, knowledge or beliefs to others in order to feel right about themselves. Finding out, learning and passing on information on will be nourishment for them, as well as a good conversation with like-minded or intellectual people. Curiosity and the need to know could be the thing that forces them out their comfort zone. Negatively they could be too influenced by others options, be indecisive or simply a ‘gossip’.
Moon in Earth (Taurus, Virgo or Capricorn) will be in their element when they are making money, adding to their resources or making their home cosy, comfortable or beautiful. They cannot just wish or believe, they need to have and to hold the tangible or to make progress in order to feel secure. They react in a grounded, steady and matter- of-fact manner, which can turn into stubbornness and a reluctance to change or let go. They are very much at home when working or being productive in their practical way.
To Find Nourishment
It is a really good and interesting exercise to find out what it is that nourishes you. When you feel that you’re in your element, then you are in your Moon, your ‘ emotion’ body. The Moon represents the past and stores all our memories thus creating a foundation. The Sun symbolises the mind and it’s from our own mind that we can view the past. In so doing we can let go of any shaky or insecure structures in order to establish a firmer sense of self. It is only from this that our Sun can begin to shine until we acknowledge this it will be a dim light looking for recognition. Remember however that it is the Moon that holds our experience and a lot of creativity. Coming from our emotions, feeling and need for contact with others (Moon) will always keep us vulnerable and dependent on others’ opinions of us.From the light of the Sun and the establishment of our own foundation (as opposed to that of our childhood) then we can bring out the qualities, playfulness and creativity that our Moon has kept in store for us.
As the physical Sun and Moon need each other, likewise we to need to work consciously with our own Moon and Sun and you can only do this by knowing your Astrological Birth Chart!