Month: October 2022

The acronym RSA is among the most recognizable in the information security industry. It stands for Rivest, Shamir and Adleman, the fellows who developed the public-key encryption and authentication algorithm and founded RSA Data Security, now known simply as RSA Security. RSA’s annual security summit is arguably the most prestigious information security conference held each year. It is a “must-attend event” for companies that work in all the many fields under the “security” umbrella, from biometrics to cryptography. The RSA Conference is a high-powered assemblage of software developers, IT executives, policymakers, bureaucrats, researchers, academics and industry leaders, who come together to exchange information and share new ideas. The topics range widely from trends in technology to the best practices in biometrics, identity theft, secure web services, hacking and cyber-terrorism, network forensics, encryption and numerous others. At the 2007 get-together, Bruce Schneier, among the security industry’s most inventive and outspoken experts, spoke on a topic that so fascinated and excited the audience and the industry that it was still being discussed at the 2008 event a full year later. Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Counterpane, a firm he founded that was later acquired by BT (formerly British Telecom), Schneier is known for his cryptographic genius as well as his critiques of technology use and abuse. In last year’s groundbreaking address, Schneier spoke about security decisions versus perceptions. He argued that, by and large, both are driven by the same irrational, unpredictable, subconscious motives that drive human beings in all their other endeavors. He has undertaken the gargantuan challenge of analyzing human behavior vis-à-vis risk-management decisions, and is reaching into the fields of cognitive psychology and human perception to facilitate this understanding and develop practical security applications for airports, the Internet, banking and other industries. Awareness comes first Schneier asserts that security managers, their business colleagues and their respective corporate user communities are subject to the same drives and passions as other humans doing other things. That means they are as likely as anyone else to make critical decisions based on unacknowledged impressions, barely-formed fears and faulty reasoning, rather than on objective analysis. “Security is a tradeoff,” Schneier told an overflow audience at his RSA 2007 session. “What are you getting for what you’re giving up? Whether you make that tradeoff consciously or not, there is one.” He gave an example of such a trade-off by predicting that no one in the audience was wearing a bullet-proof vest. No hands were raised at this challenge, which Schneier attributed to the fact that the risk was insufficient to warrant wearing one. In addition to this rational thinking process, he averred that other, less rational factors doubtless influenced the many individual decisions not to wear a vest – such as the fact they are bulky, uncomfortable and unfashionable. “We make these tradeoffs every day,” said Schneier, going on to add that every other animal species does, too. In the business world, understanding how the human mind works will have a tremendously powerful effect on the decision-making process. Human psychology comes into play in matters concerning salaries, vacations and benefits. There is no question, he added, that it plays a crucial role in decisions about security as well. Decision-making and “security theater” Schneier has put a great deal of time into his study of human (and animal) psychology and behavioral science. Everything he has learned, he told the conference attendees, leads him to believe that the decisions made about security matters – whether by security firms or the responsible departments of other kinds of companies – are often “much less rational” than the decision-makers think. The study of decision-making has led Schneier and others to take a new angle on the continuing argument over the effectiveness of “security theater.” The term refers to those measures – most airport measures, in fact, according to Schneier – that are designed to make people think they’re safer because they see something that “looks like security in action.” Even if that security does absolutely nothing to stop terrorists, the perception becomes the reality for people unwilling to look deeper into the issue. Sadly, Schneier said, there are many people who are unwilling to look more deeply into anything, preferring the false security of ignorance. There is a “feeling versus reality” disconnect, Schneier asserted. “You can feel secure but not be secure. You can be secure but not feel secure.” As far as airport security is concerned, it has been proven again and again that it is not particularly difficult for terrorists (or your aunt, say) to bypass airport security systems. Therefore, the only thing the system can do is catch a very dumb terrorist, or decoy – but more importantly, the “theatrical approach” makes the American air traveler think that the security regime is accomplishing more than it actually is. The TSA is not completely without merit. It is accomplishing something, doing at least some good work, as most any large organization would. The issue is not the little bit of good, but the large amount of pretense, plus the ultimate cost in both dollars and a devalued cultural currency. The TSA are three letters nearly as reviled as IRS, which is quite an accomplishment for a seven-year-old. What we need to learn Schneier is focusing his studies on the brain these days. The more “primitive” portion of it, known as the amygdala, is the part that simultaneously experiences fear and produces fear reactions. The primary, overriding reaction is called the “fight-or-flight” response, and Schneier pointed out that it works “very fast, faster than consciousness. But it can be overridden by higher parts of the brain.” Somewhat slower, but “adaptive and flexible,” is the neocortex. In mammals, this portion of the brain is correlated with consciousness and evolved a set of responses that would confront fear and make decisions to promote personal and, later, group safety. The nexus, or overlapping area, between psychology and physiology is still being “mapped” and is far from being clearly understood, but it

Are you scratching your head trying to make sense of male psychology? Do you seem to understand everyone who is important in your life except the man you are involved with? Are you frustrated with the fact that you work so hard on your relationship but never seem to get much out of it? Well if you feel that way, you’re in good company because there are many women who have a lot of trouble trying to make sense of male psychology. Men Are From Mars, Women From Venus One of the reasons that this is so challenging is because of how men view relationships and the fact that it’s so different from how women do. There have been lots of books written about this very issue and if you read enough of them you’d see that trying to make sense of male psychology boils down to the simple fact that men are a whole lot different from women. And because of that, the way they deal with situations and interact with other people including the women they love, is different from the way a woman would. If you can get your head around that fact and accept that that’s just the way it is, your level of frustration will decrease. And then maybe you can even learn to accept these differences and use them to make your relationship better. Men like excitement and action. They feel more comfortable when they are doers which make them naturally take on the role of the decision maker and leader in a relationship. What Men Expect From You To keep a relationship on an even keel, the smart woman will accept this about her man and work around it. Instead of insisting, quietly guide him to come around to your way of thinking. He really doesn’t always want his own way but because he’s competitive, he doesn’t want to just give in to you either. Your relationship will flourish if you can keep things interesting. So don’t let things become too predictable. Instead be spontaneous and open to the fun and unique parts of life. Tease him and flirt with him and be generous with compliments. You’ll get so much more out of your man if he feels loved and appreciated. Let him know how much you need and depend on him so he feels like a real man in your eyes. Men are basically “what you see is what you get” kind of people, so if you want to deliver a message to a man, be clear and direct. In other words tell him exactly what you mean so he’s not forced to guess and so that you’re not disappointed when he can’t read your mind. Trying to make sense of male psychology can be a real challenge and it will probably be a work in progress for as long as you’re together. If you need help figuring out how men view relationships, you’ve arrived at the right place. Source by Evangeline K Harris

People, before you start training you cat you need to know couple things about cats: Cats are not fond of training in general They don’t care whether they please you or not. The things that you will need the most while training your cat are: patience, rewards, consistency, positive reinforcement, and first and foremost TIME. If you have these ingredients, your training sessions will be successful. Both you and your cat will have to contribute something. Yours will be time and patience and your cat will have to learn the lesson. If you want to teach your cat use the litter box or play in the proper way and place, prepare for the task. Everybody knows that cats are independent by nature. Some people seem to not see the difference between independence and a lack of ability to learn. Remember that your cat needs to be mentally stimulated and have physical exertions to stay healthy. Play with your cat to help him have enough exercise. A good idea would be to consult your cat doctor or read some books about cat psychology and behavior. There are things that you need to know before you start the training. If I would have to mention two keywords for cat training they would be: bribery and rewards. Cats don’t do things you want them to do simply because you’ve asked them to do so; they need to get something from it for themselves. It’s like they would be asking: “what’s in it for me”. Some of the rewards you can acquire our are: food, affection, rubs. By using rewards you are working with the cat’s natural instinct to help you achieve proper behavior. Cats are different than dogs. Their ability to focus on the one activity is smaller than dogs. Your training session shouldn’t be any longer than 15 minutes per day. It’s the best to do the training before mealtime when your cat is hungry. I will give you couple tips that you can use to be sure your training will be more successful. If you yell at or beat your cat, you will not achieve anything else but getting your cat scared of you. If your cat is afraid he will not learn anything. User rewards instead of punishment. Use your voice. Your cat has a very well developed sense of hearing. Don’t repeat commands more than two times or else it will not be effective. Your session should be short and enjoyable for you and your cat. Use your cats name when you are giving a command. When your cat does something well remember about the reward and praise. The food you are using as a reward during training sessions should be better than what your cat usually eats. Let your cat choose for himself when he does the trick. Don’t force your cat to perform in front of your friends. Cats remember well so don’t give up. Practice patience with your cat and it will pay off. Cats are wonderful creatures. Just love them and you will see the results. Source by Sandy Stone

A Bachelors Degree in psychology is actually one of the more common majors available to people who are looking to complete their degree online. There are many colleges and universities who offer psychology degrees online. The key when trying to decide on which online degree program to use is to find a school that is reputable. Here are some of the main factors that are important: Reputation – You may think initially that a school’s reputation is not that important. However, when you go to get a job after school or if you decide to continue your education with graduate school, you may find it difficult for your school to be acceptable to employers or graduate school programs. The better reputation your school has the more favorably you will be looked upon by prospective employers. Accreditation – There are a few different types of accreditation, but the most important one is regional accreditation. Once a school has regional accreditation, the credits are much more easily transferable to another school. Regional accreditation also gives the school credibility. However, regional accreditation is just a starting place. You will still need to make sure that the school has a good reputation otherwise. Cost – University degrees online vary in price from $100 per credit to $500 per credit or more, depending on the school. It’s important to shop around for a price that you can afford. Also, make sure to find out whether or not the school has financial aid for those enrolled in an online program. Some schools do not offer financial aid for those enrolled in an independent study program. Source by CL Haehl

The art of Japanese tattooing has gained great popularity over the years. From the days when it was associated with the Yakuza, it has come a long way in representing the whole of Japanese culture and tradition. Japanese art always has something for everyone. Whether you want a cherry blossom design or wish to go for a fierce dragon, you will find it all in different styles, colors and designs. Ranging from a koi fish to a mortal combat scene, Japanese tattoos have a variety of meanings associated with their art. History and significance of Japanese tattoos There is a rich and strong historical background behind all Japanese tattoos. There are designs inspired by old figurines on tombs and some historical documents indicate that Japanese men used to have their faces and bodies decorated in various colors and styles. Then later in Japanese history when Chinese culture left its influence on Japan, tattooing became taboo and was reserved for criminals and outcasts. Traditional Japanese tattoos used to symbolize different types of character in people. Currently, Japanese tattoos are famous for ranging from small tattoos to brilliant large-sized designs that can cover an entire arm of the person having it tattooed. Japanese tattoo designs and symbolism There are various types of Japanese tattoo designs that are famous among people for their special significance. Some of these are the following: Cherry Blossom: These are symbolic of life and are also known as Sakura. Though cherry blossoms are fragile it is considered to be their beauty that they are able to survive and bloom even in harsh conditions. Japanese culture believes that life should be lived to the fullest and the awareness of death should govern good living. That is the power of a cherry blossom tattoo, and one should take good care of it when it is tattooed onto the body. Koi Fish: Koi fish are brightly-colored fish that are related to the spiritual significance of the Japanese culture and are very famous in tattoo designs. It is believed by Japanese people that koi fish go upstream to reach the gates of heaven where they become dragons. Koi fish are representative of power, ambition, strength, luck and individuality. If a tattoo has to symbolize a person’s struggle in life, then a koi fish tattoo is the perfect way to do that. Dragons: Being an important part of the culture of Japan, dragons symbolize wisdom, strength, freedom, power and courage. They even symbolize supernatural powers at times. It is important to choose the right colors for dragons, though, as each symbolizes something different. So, you can get dragons designed in a variety of ways after checking their significance with your artist. Hannya Masks: This is a traditional design where the meaning of demonic masks comes from kabuki plays. These tattoos represent good luck and are believed to ward off evil. There are several other Japanese tattoo designs that you might like, but make sure you know their meanings and significance before getting any of them tattooed. Source by Kristen Dunn

Infomercials are a multi-billion dollar business ($150 billion in 2009) and a world wide phenomenon. The first infomercials ran strictly between the hours of 2-6am overnight. However, with the emergence of 24/7 cable t and dedicated shopping and infomercial channels, they’ve begin to become ingrained in the popular culture. They’ve made instant stars out of their most visible and charismatic “pitchmen” such as Ron Popeil, Billy Mays, Anthony Sullivan, Mrs Cleo, Mike Levey and numerous others. Even television and movie stars are re-invigorating their careers by sitting in as pitchmen. To understand the psychology that drives the production of the infomercials we see today, the ones that have an uncanny means of mesmerizing and luring you into the pitch after only a few seconds, we have to think in terms of human psychology, and particularly the stimulus-response reaction that regulates dopamine levels in the brain: Infomercials are designed and scripted to increase dopamine levels in your brain. Infomercials take you on a thrill ride aimed right at your need to have the smartest solutions to common problems – They inform you about a problem you never had (or never really considered much of a problem), follow that by laying out an incredibly clever solution, and a flow of ever more fantastic product benefits, bonuses, and giveaways, all leading to the thrilling climactic reveal of an unbelievable low price. And they try their best to get you “buy in the next few minutes” because it only take 5 to 6 minutes for your dopamine levels to drop. It’s all about the psychology of selling. Slick production and hype on the level of the Hollywood blockbuster all in 30 minutes or less – the folks who produce infomercials can make a so-so product look simply Amazing! Actually about half of the infomercial products that are marketed on television deliver on their promise, 30 percent still deliver but are too expensive, and the rest are practically useless or junk. The infomercial is here to stay. The economic numbers are just too great to ignore. For example, the ShamWow spot was produced on a mere $20k budget, but has garnered millions in sales as a result of the infomercial’s appeal, and the charismatic delivery of its now infamous pitchman, Vince Offer. The infomercial represents the extreme manifestation of capitalism, instant gratification for $19.95 (plus a small shipping and handling charge). You gotta love it. Source by Winston Wolf

The role of sports psychology shows how crucial it is for coaches and athletes to practice psychological skills for peak performance. Top athletes around the world from basketball, football, baseball, hockey, soccer, tennis and golf will use sports psychology to gain their mental edge. Sports performance specialists play a key role in keeping up the emotional health of athletes. Often, athletes -especially the most successful ones -find it difficult to keep up their emotional health due to psychological stress. It’s been observed that athlete’s psychological stresses commonly include: imbalance, ranging from tiredness, injury due to gastrointestinal disorders, sleep disorders, and tenderness and muscle strain. Unfortunately, most athletes remain reluctant to confide themselves in a Sports performance specialist due to the alleged stigma. Nonetheless, many sports practitioners recognize the importance of consulting sports performance specialists, a psychologist, or a therapist for relief or to develop the requisite mental toughness. Working with a sports psychologist is the only way to help athletes become aware of the possibility of a causal psychological requisite for a complaint and investigate into their emotional status as an integral part of their medical history. A sports psychologist is, therefore, invaluable in conducting a non-judgmental questioning, so as to unveil inter-personal issues that may exist. Such examples are with the athlete’s trainer, team mate, family member, or stress with regard to a forthcoming competition. For concrete results, it is advised that psychological performance education should be integrated in an athlete’s holistic competition preparation practice, performed correlatively with other exercise tools. This will involve a teamwork effort among the training team, the athlete, and the sports psychologist. Consult a sports psychologist, who is capable of teaching skills to help you to improve your learning process and motor skills, deal with competitive stress, and adjust the requisite level of awareness for peak performance. Make sure that your sports performance specialist will design a training program that will help you to stay focused despite the many disturbances in a competitive setting. Source by Todd Stofka

On the analysis of a kiss, science of kissing, types of kisses and the social basis of kissing.. Kissing is one of the oldest human activities. It is the expression of affection, liking or love for another person. If you go back to the history of kissing, public kissing may not have existed a few hundred years ago and still not permitted in some cultures, but we can safely assume that kissing has existed for thousands of years even if it was done privately as it is a very natural form of human emotional expression. Students of psychology will usually try to analyze kissing from a psychoanalytic perspective. A kiss is an oral activity, like smoking or eating, it involves the mouth and can be traced back to the oral stage of psychological development. To an extent the oral fixation theory may be true. This means some people are addicted to activities of the mouth, derive pleasure from sensations in the mouth and are thus also addicted to kissing or related activities of the mouth. Oral fixation describes certain personalities, but in this article, I will focus largely on the analysis of a kiss and the science involved. Kissing involves neural and hormonal activity and several recent researchers have indicated that dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin and sex hormones are released during romantic kissing. Dopamine and serotonin are chemicals (neurotransmitters) and oxytocin is a hormone released by the pituitary gland. When emotions are involved, the amygdala and hypothalamus in the brain are activated and the activation of amygdala and hypothalamus, release of chemicals and stimulation of the pituitary and sex glands during kissing create attachment and gives a feeling of euphoria in romantic relationships. In non-romantic relationships, kissing creates affection and emotional attachment and is usually experienced among friends, family members, social relationships and so on. A kiss on the cheek is a type of social greeting and is common in many cultures. A kiss can be interpreted in many ways and the attributes of a kiss could be analyzed according to the length or duration, depth, position or location, facial expression before and after a kiss,and these elements when analyzed will finally help derive the covert or overt motivations of kissing. Since kissing is done on the human body, we have limited spatial coordinates to begin with. No one will hopelessly or passionately kiss a tree or a wall, although that kind of activity can also be analyzed. Let’s start with the top of the head. A short, brief fleeting kiss on the top of the head indicates affection. Parents kiss their children on the head or forehead. When bosses or colleagues kiss on the head, that can look patronizing and even odd. Forehead kissing is common among family and older relatives often kiss children or young people on the forehead. Brief kissing on the cheek is accepted as social custom among some cultures and is seen as a mark of formality or formal friendliness and camaraderie. Brief kiss on the cheek is often a mark of rapport, affection among workers and support or encouragement. As soon as the kiss moves to other parts of the body, the analysis gets more complex. Apart from the head or the cheek which is considered affectionate, kissing on the eyes, nose, ears or chin would be considered romantic. Kissing on the nose has an element of affection involved but on the chin, it is more intimate. The first principle is that the further down the kiss goes, the more intimate it becomes. So, a kiss on the leg is obviously far more intimate than a kiss on the hand. The lip kissing is of course, very intimate and we are not considering it within this principle. Kiss on the hand is actually a more traditional and formal romantic expression. In ancient times, men proposed women by kissing the hand. It is formal romanticism. The second principle is that the longer it gets, the more intimate it becomes. So, intimacy through kissing is about space and time. The third principle is that the spatial and temporal aspects will determine the motivation of the kiss. This means a kiss can indicate many expressions including love, romance, sexual attraction, affection, formal support and the type of kiss or the motive will be largely determined by the spatial and temporal attributes of the kiss. A long kiss on the front of the neck is bolder than a kiss on the back of the neck. The kiss on the inner surface of the skin such as the palm or inner wrist or elbow is more intimate than kiss on the outer surface and so on. Public kissing on the inner surface of the body may look a bit desperate, so must be done privately. What about the temporal aspects? A man sits beside you in the park, speaks with you for a while, gives a brief kiss on your fingers and walks away. It is strange behavior but does happen. That is the uncertain kiss. Long term lovers will engage in more prolonged kisses. Prolonged mouth to mouth kisses create attachment and even a level of trust. The mouth, tongue, lips have large number of nerve endings and are extremely sensitive, thus mouth to mouth kissing gives heightened pleasure. Romantic kissing is of course a prelude to sexual relations. Let me go to the third principle from which you derive the motivations of kissing. Why did a friend kiss you in a certain way? As long as the kiss is not too long and is on the cheek or face, that is an indication of support, encouragement and affection. Kissing may not have sexual meanings and connotations. Affection between two people is quite possible, even if they are not lovers. Whether of the same or opposite sex, two people can feel great love, affection and support for each other and kiss each other on the head, cheek or face and such expressions are often natural, especially in teamwork.

Is it possible to just ‘fake it’ and act like you are applying the Law of Attraction? What do you think? The Law of Attraction is a simple concept: whatever you focus on in your life, and however you feel about things, will send a vibration out to the Universe that the Universe will match in like vibrations and bring back to you what you have been focusing on. Sounds pretty easy, doesn’t it? Until you begin to apply it and you realize how the logical mind takes over and doesn’t want to focus on what you want. It wants to focus on the worst case scenario or the fear and worry of what you don’t have, but by focusing on the negative, the Universe brings negative back to you through the Law of Attraction. Is the Universe some mean entity that brings you negative? No, the Universe loves you and supports you in everything that you do and is on automatic when it comes to what it brings to you through vibration. Whatever you vibrate out comes back to you in some form… always. So the question is: if you are a negative person who is attempting to switch to the more positive side of life can you trick the LOA by using reverse psychology? Would it work like Tom Sawyer whitewashing the fence? Tom Sawyer didn’t want to paint the fence but he acted as if he loved it so all his friends wanted to join in painting the fence because Tom used reverse psychology. Could you pretend you love something and focus on it when in fact you really feel the lack of what you want? Could you trick the LOA into thinking you were focusing on the joy of the want? Absolutely not. The Universe knows you better than you know yourself. When you act as if you are wealthy but don’t believe it will happen that is exactly what will come back into your life over and over again until you make the decision to change your thoughts and feelings on wealth. You have to change within in order for the Law of Attraction to work in your life the way that you want it to. The Law of Attraction is working all the time in your life. It just may not be exactly how you want it to work. You may be focusing on the lack of what you don’t have or the negative of your life and the Universe is bringing you what you are focusing on no matter what you think. There is no discrimination with the Universe. It is just answering your call that you are sending out. Using reverse psychology will not further your efforts in the Law of Attraction. You have to work on yourself. The more honest work you do within, the more you will break down obstacles that seem to be in your way of getting what you desire. Tricking the Universe will only bring you more trickiness. Dig deep within your own self, change those repetitive mental patterns that you don’t need anymore, and create new thoughts and feelings that will reflect the life that you want. You don’t have to use reverse psychology to get what you want. Just work on who you want to be and the Universe will match your vibration with the Law of Attraction. Source by Beth Mccain

In this article, we’ll be taking a look at the most basic aspects of Design Psychology, first asking a question, and then addressing the various concepts, in abbreviated form. “I wish I had learned all this before we bought our first house 25 years ago, and before we had our children. Not only would our homes be more harmonious, but so would our lives together. It’s amazing to learn how colors, lighting, sounds, and patterns affect us so deeply.” -Angela Pederson, Palm Desert, California What are the basic fundamentals of Design Psychology? Lighting & our psychological responses to light Color & psychology Patterns & reactions Textures & the sense of touch Scale & human response Styles, themes & desirable effects Ethnic traditions & the importance of heritage Furniture & arrangement for human comfort Sounds & repercussions Scents & sentiments Embellishments & emotional undercurrents How can Design Psychology help me? It can help you: Select from the mass confusion of home furnishings. Decorate your home right the FIRST time. Save time, effort, and money. Find out which colors, patterns, furniture, and accessories support happy feelings. Learn about lighting and color psychology, and the underlying emotional effects of your home’s design details. Discover how Mother Nature can guide your home decorating, to create an environment that’s perfect for your emotional needs. What Design Psychology ideas could I use to best create an environment that would support my emotions? Lighting is the crucial design element for happiness. Using Color Psychology without fear supports joyful living. Happy warm colors need cooling balance, in order to maintain harmony. Color, when used as a background, needs to flatter individuals. All of your senses should be considered when creating your Overall Design Plan. There you have it; Design Psychology in a nutshell. The concepts are unique and powerful, and can help you create a home that’s perfect for joyful living. (c) Copyright 2004, Jeanette J. Fisher. All rights reserved. Source by Jeanette Joy Fisher