I N F O R M A T I O N T E C H N O L O G Y & S E R V I C E S Robert Morris University Information Technology Acceptable Use Policy Revision 15 (11/10/2014) 1. Introduction 1.1. Scope The Information Technology Acceptable Use Policy applies to anyone who has access (“User”) to Robert Morris University (“RMU”) computing and communications resources (“Systems”). 1.2. Purpose This policy defines acceptable uses for the Systems at RMU. 2. Violations Violations should be reported to your Manager, the Director of Information Security, or to the Information Technology Help Desk .Violation of this policy will result in disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment or expulsion from the University. 3. General 3.1. Follow all RMU policies, even as they change and are supplemented over time. 3.1.1. Additional policies regarding specific Information Technology issues may be created and/or modified and must be followed to adhere to the Information Technology Acceptable Use Policy. 3.2. Adhere to software licensing agreements and copyright laws. 3.3. Automatic updates may not be disabled. 3.4. Local Firewalls may not be disabled. 3.5. Use virus protection software and do not bypass or disable it. 3.6. Back up your data kept on your local drives. Network drives are backed up daily by Information Technology. 3.7. Do not alter RMU-supplied computer hardware or software. 3.8. Do not initiate or propagate viruses, worms, or any destructive programs. 3.9. Do not share credentials, passwords, or logon sessions 3.10. Respect the rights, granted privileges, and rightful activities of other Users. 4. E-mail 4.1. Use e-mail for purposes consistent with your role at the University. Page 1 of 11 I N F O R M A T I O N T E C H N O L O G Y & S E R V I C E S Robert Morris University Information Technology Acceptable Use Policy Revision 15 (11/10/2014) 4.2. Students must comply with Google’s terms of service found here: http://www.google.com/accounts/TOS 4.3. Prohibited Uses include 4.3.1. Creating or distributing any disruptive or offensive messages, including comments about race, gender, appearance, disabilities, age, sexual orientation, religious beliefs and practice, political beliefs, or national origin. 4.3.2. Distributing pornography. 4.3.3. Sending messages that libel, harass, or threaten other individuals. 4.3.4. Using another user’s account, or forging of email header information. 4.3.5. Entrepreneurial activities, including operating a business, selling, advertising, trading or conducting any commerce not directly related to one’s role at the University. 4.4. Email sent through the Internet may only be sent through the RMU email system. 5. Anti-virus and anti-malware 5.1. Resident students get free anti-virus software (www.rmu.edu/sophos) and acknowledge upon registering their computing equipment that they will maintain active anti-virus software. 5.2. Resident students must have either Sophos or other anti-virus software installed and must be automatically kept up-to-date with current virus signatures. Automatic updates may not be disabled. 5.3. All RMU-owned PCs must have Sophos installed and must be automatically kept up-to-date with current virus signatures. Automatic updates may not be disabled. 5.3.1. Users are responsible for alerting the Help Desk immediately if: 5.3.1.1. A virus is suspected 5.3.1.2. Antivirus software is reporting it is out of date or disabled 5.4. All RMU-owned servers must have anti-virus installed and must be automatically kept up-to-date with current virus signatures. 5.5. Employees get free anti-virus software for home use (www.rmu.edu/sophos). Anyone remotely connecting, emailing attachments, or conducting any other university business must maintain active anti-virus software. 5.6. Best practices to avoid malware infections Page 2 of 11 I N F O R M A T I O N T E C H N O L O G Y & S E R V I C E S Robert Morris University Information Technology Acceptable Use Policy Revision 15 (11/10/2014) 5.6.1. Never open any files or macros attached to an email from an unknown, suspicious or untrustworthy source. Delete these attachments immediately, then "double delete" them by emptying your Trash. 5.6.2. Delete spam, chain, and other junk email without forwarding. 5.6.3. Never download files from unknown or suspicious sources. 5.6.4. Never follow links contained in emails from an unknown source. 5.6.5. Avoid direct disk sharing with read/write access unless there is absolutely a business requirement to do so. 5.6.6. Always scan removable media from an unknown source for viruses before using it. 5.6.7. Back-up critical data and system configurations on a regular basis and store the data in a safe place. 6. Internet 6.1. Students may connect hubs, switches, and gaming devices to the network. None of these devices or connections will be supported by RMU. 6.2. Where RMU wireless access is provided, you may not operate your own wireless system. 6.3. Prohibited Activities, including but not limited to 6.3.1. Any activity that is in violation of any local, state, federal or international law 6.3.2. Posting obscene material 6.3.3. Violating copyright laws or other intellectual property rights 6.3.4. Distributing, viewing, or saving pornography or other obscene material on any RMU system or network 6.3.5. Using RMU computing resources for pyramid or other solicitation schemes 6.3.6. Impersonating any person or entity or forging anyone else's digital or manual signature 6.3.7. Sending bulk or commercial messages without the approval of your Senior Vice President 6.3.8. Forging, altering or removing electronic headers 6.3.9. Sending very large messages or files to a recipient with the intent to disrupt a server or account Page 3 of 11 I N F O R M A T I O N T E C H N O L O G Y & S E R V I C E S Robert Morris University Information Technology Acceptable Use Policy Revision 15 (11/10/2014) 6.3.10. Engaging in activity to restrict, inhibit, or degrade any other user's use of the network 6.3.11. Reselling or distributing your network access or software licenses to any third party 6.3.12. Interfering with University-owned wired or wireless equipment 6.3.13. Modifying or extending the wiring and/or data jacks on campus 6.3.14. Using RMU computing resources for commercial purposes 7. Passwords 7.1. Do not disclose your password(s) to anyone. University personnel will never request your password(s). 7.2. Change passwords a minimum of every 60 days, even on systems that cannot automatically force the password change. 7.3. Follow password composition rules on all Systems: 7.3.1. Passwords must be a minimum of 7 characters. 7.3.2. Passwords must contain a combination of alphabetic, numeric, and alphanumeric characters. (Examples of alphanumeric characters are $#@^%&(*) 7.3.3. Avoid simple variants of names or words (even foreign words), simple patterns (AbCd, 1234, xyza, etc.) famous equations (E=MC2, pi=3.14159, etc.), or well-known values(zip codes, birthdays, phone numbers, etc). 7.3.4. Passwords history must be enforced for a minimum of the previous 3 passwords. 7.4. Do not write down your password or send any password via e-mail or instant messaging. 7.5. Avoid using the "Remember Password" feature in applications. 7.6. If you suspect your account or password has been compromised change the password and notify the Help Desk at x2211 immediately. 8. Access 8.1. Keep your login information confidential. Access is granted to an individual and may not be transferred to or shared with another User. 8.2. Utilize inactivity timeouts to lock and password protect your PC after 10 minutes of inactivity. Depending on the confidentiality of your data, you may want or be required to shorten this time. IT can advise upon request. Page 4 of 11 I N F O R M A T I O N T E C H N O L O G Y & S E R V I C E S Robert Morris University Information Technology Acceptable Use Policy Revision 15 (11/10/2014) 8.3. Access only Systems for which you have been granted a login ID and password. 8.4. Protect any information retrieved from a password-protected source with an equivalent level of privacy and security, e.g., data saved to a local drive from a query or report data printed on paper must carry the same level of protection as the source data. 8.5. If you have access to a secured Information Technology location, do not admit someone into that location without permission from Information Technology. Contact the Help Desk at x2211 or [email protected] permission. 8.6. Do not engage in any activity that could disrupt any system. 9. Data Privacy 9.1. All data, including e-mail, is owned by RMU and may be viewed by an RMU system administrator upon request by a Senior Vice President, the Vice President Human Resources or the Chief Student Life Officer & Dean of Students. 9.2. Email address book information is the property of Robert Morris University and may not be shared with any external entity. 9.3. Student Records 9.3.1. Student records are confidential and are protected under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA). Under FERPA, authorized users may access this information only in the legitimate educational interest of the student. All information must be kept confidential. Sharing account names and passwords to administrative databases, applications, and systems is prohibited. 9.3.2. Requests for access to student records must be submitted to and approved by the owner of the data prior to access being granted. Access will be reviewed annually. 9.4. Financial data privacy is governed by the Graham-Leach-Bliley Act. All RMU Financial information must adhere to these requirements. 9.5. Social Security Numbers 9.5.1. Unless required by law, or with permission of a Senior Vice President, social security numbers are not to be collected, requested, transmitted via e-mail, used or stored. If approved this information must be encrypted when transmitted or stored on computer systems. 9.5.2. All non-name references to students must be by RMU Student ID Number or computer account name and all non-name employee references must be by RMU Employee ID Number or computer account name. 9.6. Software Licenses Page 5 of 11 I N F O R M A T I O N T E C H N O L O G Y & S E R V I C E S Robert Morris University Information Technology Acceptable Use Policy Revision 15 (11/10/2014) 9.6.1. Licenses are owned and maintained by RMU IT 9.6.1.1. Licenses may never be used or distributed without written consent from the contract owner 10. Support Services 10.1. IT Help Desk The Information Technology Help Desk serves as a central point of contact for the Robert Morris University community for providing technical support services. 10.1.1. Hardware – Hardware issues encompass installation, maintenance, upgrades, and connectivity. 10.1.1.1. University owned – The IT Help Desk will fully support University owned, technology-related hardware issues. 10.1.1.2. Personally owned – The IT Help Desk will provide limited support and guidance to resolve hardware issues with personally owned and will refer users to the vendor or manufacturer of the equipment if necessary. 10.1.2. Software 10.1.2.1. University owned – The IT Help Desk will fully support any software problems regarding Robert Morris University purchased and developed software. 10.1.3. Classroom/Lab Management – The IT Help Desk will support technology-related issues in classrooms and Labs. 10.1.4. Network Access - Only RMU equipment purchased through the Help Desk will be eligible for access to the RMU Administrative network. All other equipment will have Internet access and can access RMU applications through supported access methods, e.g. http://it.rmu.edu/vmware-view 10.2. ResNet ResNet is an outreach of the Help Desk dedicated to resident students and is located in Lexington and Yorktown halls. 10.2.1. ResNet will make best-effort attempts to remediate problems with student computing equipment. 10.2.2. Students requesting help from ResNet must sign a release form before service can be undertaken on their equipment. 10.3. Training Page 6 of 11 I N F O R M A T I O N T E C H N O L O G Y & S E R V I C E S Robert Morris University Information Technology Acceptable Use Policy Revision 15 (11/10/2014) Training on selected University-developed administrative applications will be provided by Information Technology. See www.rmu.edu/training for more information. 11. Physical Security of Electronic Devices 11.1. Access to RMU servers will be physically secured. 11.2. Lock or logoff your workstation when it’s unattended. 11.3. When restricted and/or sensitive information is retained on media the media must be stored in a secure storage location (locked) or destroyed per DOD 5220.22. 11.4. Laptops left unattended must be secured by a cable lock or kept in a locked container. 11.5. All phones and other portable devices (eg: netbooks, tablets, smartphones, handheld devices) that contain data about RMU or have access to any RMU resource including Email must be passcode protected and must auto lock after 10 minutes. 12. Library Policies 12.1. Intellectual Property Illegal copying and use of copyrighted material is specifically prohibited. All intellectual works (data, pictures, articles, books, etc.) in the research databases are protected by copyright unless it is explicitly noted otherwise. 12.2. Faculty/Staff 12.2.1. Usage – Library faculty and staff work in compliance with current institutional computer usage policies as defined herein. It is our belief that the use of a computer is no different than the use of any other University provided equipment (i.e., audio/visual, telephone, typewriter, etc.) and as such, Library employees are expected to work in accordance with the usage policies set forth in those documents. 12.2.2. Access/Security – Because of the unique nature of library work, access to proprietary databases and other electronic resources is necessary and requires special treatment. In some cases, special passwords are required to access a variety of applications that are needed to fulfill the Library’s mission. These include but are not limited to: 1) the Voyager database; 2) shared cataloging databases; 3) the OCLC interlibrary loan database; and 4) proprietary informational databases. Access and security are unique to all of these applications. 12.2.3. Resources Needed – While the University furnishes employees with network resources (e.g., e-mail, Sentry Secured Services, etc.) the Library requires additional tools outside of those provided by Robert Morris. The Library, in consultation with the Provost, shall be the sole determiner in deciding which resources are needed by the Department in order to fulfill its mission. Library staff members will work closely with Page 7 of 11 I N F O R M A T I O N T E C H N O L O G Y & S E R V I C E S Robert Morris University Information Technology Acceptable Use Policy Revision 15 (11/10/2014) members of the University community to ensure that all acquisitions are compatible and compliant with existing institutional computing hardware and software. 12.3. Students 12.3.1. Usage – Students using Library resources, either in-house or via remote access, are subject to all applicable institutional policies. 12.3.2. Printing – Network printing policies for students which are set forth in existing University IT policies apply in the Library environment with the addition of students being able to pay for printing by using the “chip” on their Freedom Cards. 12.3.3. Remote Access – To date, all library databases other than ROBCAT are positioned behind Sentry Secured Services and require passwords for access. Students using Library provided databases are subject to the licensing terms that have been established by individual vendors. 12.3.4. Resources Provided – The Library, in consultation with Academic Administrators and faculty, shall be the determiners in deciding which resources are needed by students in order to fulfill the academic mission and accreditation requirements of the Institution. Library staff members will work closely with members of the University community to ensure that all acquisitions are compatible and compliant with existing institutional computing hardware and software. 13. RMU Owned Computer Hardware and Software Acquisition and Maintenance 13.1. Approvals 13.1.1. Academic – All requests for computer hardware and software must be submitted to the Academic Technology Committee that is chaired by the Associate Vice President, Academic Affairs. The Associate Vice President, Academic Affairs works closely with Information Technology and Business Operations to leverage purchasing agreements and ensure technical compatibility with the Academic computer images. The Academic Technology Committee compiles associated costs, justification for the purchase, and submits the request for final approval. 13.1.2. Non-Academic – All requests for computer hardware and software must be submitted to Information Technology Help Desk after department manager approval. Information Technology ensures technical compatibility with computer images, assists in the compilation of associated costs and helps to build the justification for the purchase. If a purchasing agreement does not exist, Information Technology and Business Operations will identify and qualify preferred suppliers before the request is submitted for final approval. 13.2. Classification of Purchases Page 8 of 11 I N F O R M A T I O N T E C H N O L O G Y & S E R V I C E S Robert Morris University Information Technology Acceptable Use Policy Revision 15 (11/10/2014) 13.2.1. Capital – A purchase is considered a capital purchase if the total amount of the project is over the capital threshold, currently $1000, and the project has a useful life of more than one year. If the purchase qualifies as capital, submission for the purchase, including justification, must be made to the Capital Committee after approval. Submit requests to Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) Contact, Revere. 13.2.2. Expense – If your purchase does not meet the criteria above then it is an expense. For items that have not been budgeted, contact your FP&A Contact for assistance. 13.3. PCs and Workstations (User Computers) 13.3.1. Requests for PCs must follow normal approval processes outlined in 9.1 above. 13.3.2. The Help Desk, [email protected] or x2211, is the Information Technology contact for PC purchases. The Help Desk establishes technical standards for desktop and laptop computers, works with Business Operations to negotiate volume purchasing agreements and with your FP&A Contact to establish operating vs. capital leases. 13.3.3. Only standard computers may be purchased. Exceptions are made for special-purpose equipment such as equipment for learning labs. The Help Desk publishes standard configurations at www.rmu.edu/pcstandards. The Help Desk will assist in entering the purchase requisition, will receive the equipment upon delivery and install it. 13.3.4. Special-purpose equipment, i.e., non-standard equipment, will not be imaged or configured by the Help Desk. 13.3.5. Special-purpose equipment, i.e., non-standard equipment, will not be connected to the RMU Administrative network. 13.4. Ownership and Responsibilities 13.4.1. The University retains ownership of equipment purchased by the University. 13.4.2. All servers deployed on Robert Morris University infrastructure must be owned by a university operational group that is responsible for system administration. Approved server configuration guides must be established and maintained by each operational group, based on business needs and approved by Information Technology. Operational groups should monitor configuration compliance and implement an exception policy tailored to their environment. 13.5. Printers and Scanners 13.5.1. Requests for Printers and Scanners must follow normal approval processes outlined in 9.1 above. 13.5.2. Contact the Help Desk, [email protected] or x2211, with your request for a printer or scanner. Page 9 of 11 I N F O R M A T I O N T E C H N O L O G Y & S E R V I C E S Robert Morris University Information Technology Acceptable Use Policy Revision 15 (11/10/2014) 13.5.3. Amcom is the University’s print and scanner supplier. Requests for printers other than standard Amcom equipment will be approved for the following circumstances: 13.5.3.1. The Requestor can substantiate the need for confidentiality. 13.5.3.2. The Requestor is in a location that isn’t economically feasible for Amcom to support with standard copier/printer/scanner equipment. 13.6. Auxiliary Computer Equipment 13.6.1. Auxiliary Computer Equipment includes devices such as mice, USB drives, and pointing devices. 13.6.2. Approval for purchases of Auxiliary Computer Equipment up to $100 may be made at the department level. 13.6.3. Requests over $100 must follow normal approval processes outlined in 9.1 above. 13.6.4. All purchases should be approved equipment and purchased from approved suppliers. Current approved equipment and approved suppliers can be found at www.rmu.edu/pcstandards. 13.6.5. If you require equipment not approved or not offered by an approved supplier, contact the Help Desk, [email protected] or x2211. 13.7. Servers, Network, and Data Center Equipment 13.7.1. Requests for Servers, Network, and Data Center equipment must follow normal approval processes outlined in 9.1 above. 13.7.2. Purchases will be made from approved suppliers. Approved suppliers will be selected by Information Technology and Business Operations. 13.7.3. The Senior Director Technical Services, [email protected], is the Information Technology contact for these purchases. 13.8. Software 13.8.1. Requests for RMU-standard PC software for which RMU has a university-wide license, e.g., Microsoft Office products, may be submitted directly to the Help Desk, [email protected] or x2211. RMU-standard software can be found at www.rmu.edu/pcstandards. 13.8.2. Requests for RMU-standard PC software for which RMU does not have a university-wide license must go through normal department approval procedures and the purchase will be charged to the department’s budget. This category of software can also be found at www.rmu.edu/pcstandards. Page 10 of 11 I N F O R M A T I O N T E C H N O L O G Y & S E R V I C E S Robert Morris University Information Technology Acceptable Use Policy Revision 15 (11/10/2014) 13.8.3. All other requests for software must follow normal approval processes outlined in Section I above. The Help Desk, [email protected] or x2211, is the Information Technology contact for Software purchases. 13.9. Maintenance of Equipment 13.9.1. PCs - Contact the Help Desk, [email protected] or x2211 for service on a PC. The Help Desk will arrange warranty work by scheduling the service with the Requestor. If a PC is not under warranty, costs of repair or replacement are the responsibility of the Requestor. In this case the Help Desk will recommend repair or replacement and will first attempt to repair the computer from the used parts inventory. 13.9.2. Printers and Scanners 13.9.2.1. Amcom is responsible for the maintenance, repair, and replacement of the Amcom-owned equipment. Contact the Amcom Purchasing and Business Center at 412-397-3691 or [email protected]. 13.9.2.2. For all other printers, contact the Help Desk, [email protected] or x2211 for assistance. The Help Desk will recommend a course of action based on the age of the printer, the nature of the problem, and the cost of a replacement. All costs are the responsibility of the Requestor. 13.9.3. Auxiliary Computer Equipment – Owners are responsible for the maintenance and support of their auxiliary desktop computer equipment. 13.9.4. Servers, Network, and Data Center Equipment – Information Technology is responsible for securing adequate maintenance contracts on critical equipment in support of disaster plans. A schedule of contracts, service levels, contacts, and phone numbers will be kept in the department for departmental access. Business Operations will participate in selecting appropriate suppliers for these services. 13.9.5. Software – Information Technology is responsible for maintaining university-wide standard software. Requests for on-going maintenance and support of Academic software must be submitted to the Academic Technology Committee during the annual budgeting process. Administrative department specialized software, which is used only by one department, is the responsibility of that department. 13.10. Information Technology reserves the right to refuse access to the RMU Administrative network or technical support for equipment purchased outside of this policy. Page 11 of 11
03 November, 2015
Article summary Order Description The summary must be written in the following manner: 1) The summary must be at least 300 words; no more than 350 words. 2) Absolutely no plagiarism or copying phases and placing them in quotes!! Summarize the article in your own words. You must choose the most significant points on which to elucidate the reader. 3) The summary must not include your opinions; only factual material from the article. 4 ) Do not use the phrase “this article says. . . !” 5) Begin the summary with a bibliographic entry; single space. (See instructor if you do not know what this is.) 6) Double space the summary. 7) Use 12 point font; one-inch margins all around; do not justify either margin. -- Summary grading: 1) Quality and validity of summary information: 50 percent 2) Summary mechanics: 50 percent. This includes grammar, spelling, punctuation, and proper format based upon the general directions above. Based on the article below: Will a cemetery excavation establish a link between the Black Death and resistance to AIDS? FROM THE START, Nico Arts sensed that the frail remains of a child buried in front of a medieval church altar had an important story to tell. Arts is the municipal archaeologist in Eindhoven, a prosperous industrial city in the southern Netherlands whose medieval streets vanished long ago beneath a modern warren of concrete and steel. In the late winter of 2002, Arts and his team were conducting a test excavation near St. Catherine's Church in the city center, in advance of the development of a new public square. As the archaeologists gently troweled away the sediments, they stumbled across graves from the medieval church and its adjacent cemetery. The discovery surprised Arts because human bone rarely survives for centuries in the region's acidic soils. So he continued digging. At the bottom of the trench lay a pierced silver coin and the skeleton of a sickly, fourteenth-century child who had been laid to rest inside the church walls, an area reserved for the nobility. Arts believed he had found someone very important, such as the son or daughter of a former lord of Eindhoven. He was certain that the Dutch public would want to know more about this young aristocrat, so he arranged for an artist to reconstruct the child's face. The artist, however, needed to know the child's sex — something physical anthropologists could not determine. So Arts persuaded forensic scientists at the University of Louvain in Belgium to test for ancient DNA. The chances of finding it seemed slim because water dissolves DNA, and the repeated pumping of groundwater from underground parking lots over the past decade could have periodically soaked the child's bones. Bur in 2004, Arts received some unexpected news: one of the child's milk teeth yielded DNA. It was the first time usable amounts of this molecule had been recovered from an ancient body in the Netherlands, and it showed the child was a boy. This chance discovery of ancient DNA has led to one of the most ambitious archaeological projects ever to come out of the Netherlands — a massive excavation in the St. Catherine's Church cemetery and the establishment of a major ancient human DNA databank. With $3.4 million in funding, Arts and a team of archaeologists and physical anthropologists have now unearthed the skeletons of more than 750 Eindhoven citizens. And over the next two years. University of Leiden geneticist Peter de Knijff will attempt to recover DNA from these remains. "We expect that at least 75 percent of all individuals will have ancient DNA and proteins," says Arts. For researchers, the Eindhoven DNA bank could prove a major windfall, paving the way for a host of new studies. To unravel the mysteries of human disease, researchers are increasingly studying genetic variations in human populations that increase the risk of illnesses, such as diabetes, or boost resistance to infections such as malaria. By studying the variants over time, researchers hope to advance knowledge of these diseases and gather clues to produce vaccines or new drug treatments. And such medical research is where the Eindhoven DNA bank, which spans 600 years of history, could really shine. "The Dutch initiative seems very important and interesting," notes Pardis Sabeti, a medical researcher who studies human genetic diversity and disease at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard University. The Dutch team hopes, for example, that their project will reveal the origin and prevalence of a genetic variant that increases resistance to one of the world's most lethal viruses — HIV. Today, nearly 10 percent of people of northern European descent possess this variant, known as the CCR5 ?32 allele, and the discovery is sparking the development of a new class of AIDS-fighting drugs. Evidence suggests that this mutation first arose 3,100 to 7,800 years ago, but how did it become so prevalent across Europe in an age before the AIDS epidemic? Could this mutation also have boosted resistance to an earlier epidemic, such as smallpox or the Black Death? In search of new data, Knijff and his team will search for this variant in the DNA of Eindhoven's citizens. "There is no doubt that these studies are valuable," says Susan Scott, a University of Liverpool historian who has written extensively on the Black Death and its possible connection to the HIV-resistance variant. "Whilst I don't think [ancient DNA] studies will yield a vaccine for AIDS, they may assist molecular geneticists to develop some gene therapy." For Arts and many of his colleagues, the bold project has ushered in a new era in archaeological research. "It makes archaeology much more relevant than it ever has been before," says Eveline Altena, a University of Leiden doctoral student in charge of recovering ancient DNA from the Eindhoven burials. "If we can use archaeological samples to answer medical questions, how cool is that?" ON A SUNNY MORNING IN EARLY JUNE, NiCO Arts hustles down the corridor of the former police station that now houses the Eindhoven Archaeology Centre. In a corner office, physical anthropologist Leonie Korthorst pores over crumbly bones from one of the graves, examining them for telltale traces of disease or injury. Elsewhere in the building, archaeologists are studying detailed maps of the graveyard and analyzing finds ranging from the tiny bone beads of paternosters, an early form of rosary, to a rare medieval copper stylus for writing on wax. And ream members are still screening sediments from the graves." We had 8,000 kilograms [17,600 pounds] of sand to sieve," says Arts. "That's the part we couldn't do during the excavation, because we had to hurry to allow construction crews to begin work on the new town square." At 54, with a thatch of white hair, trendy black glasses, and elegant brown linen shirt, Arts looks more like an architect than a man who makes his living kneeling in the dirt. Born in Eindhoven, he became the town's first municipal archaeologist in 1989. Since then, he and his colleagues have continuously stayed one step ahead of the bulldozers, gleaning as much data as possible about medieval Eindhoven — a particularly critical task since two great fires destroyed all written records from that period. Over the past 20 years, however, archaeology has done much to recover this lost history. As Arts points out, Eindhoven was founded in 1225 at the confluence of two small rivers, in a region of poor sandy soils. A market town from the start, it held a population of 300 by the mid-fourteenth century. Most lived in thatch-roofed wooden houses and earned a living from making and selling woolen felt cloth. As in much of feudal Europe, religion was at the center of their lives. With its tall red-brick spire, St. Catherine's Church dominated the townscape. Heading out the door of the archaeological center, Arts leads the way to the old church site, a five-minute stroll from his office. Now barricaded behind a high steel fence, the excavation has been filled in and paved over, in preparation for the new town square. But 18 months ago, this was a scene of intense activity as Arts and his crew carefully peeled away the layers of sediments with trowels and spades. Delving down nearly six feet, they discovered the reason for the excellent preservation of the bones. Both the medieval church and its nineteenth-century successor had suffered serious damage in a series of wars and fires: chalky rubble had repeatedly fallen to the ground, where it neutralized the natural acidity of the sediments and protected the skeletons from decay. For more than six centuries nearly everyone in Eindhoven had been buried in the old churchyard — an estimated 15,000 in all. The excavation cut through just one corner of the cemetery, but it was enough to yield 750 intact graves and some 250 collections of bones reburied during earlier phases of construction. For Arts, the greatest challenge now is to date the skeletons as precisely as possible. Fortunately, the archaeologists have recovered thousands of pottery sherds. His team currently dates many of the sherds by consulting known chronologies for distinctive pottery types. They will also get thermoluminescence dates from brick foundations of the church and radiocarbon dates from the bones. The researchers will also examine the small number of coins they found for further clues. Only with well-dated DNA samples can geneticists track the historic prevalence of key mutations that confer susceptibility or resistance to disease. IN THE FORENSIC LABORATORY FOR DNA RESEARCH at the University of Leiden Medical Centre, Altena sits in an empty conference room and lays a binder on the table. Tall and willowy, with straight blond hair, she joined the Eindhoven team two-and-a-half years ago to take DNA samples from the dead. Since then, the 31-year-old has begun working on a doctoral degree in the study of ancient DNA at the University of Leiden and assisting Knijff in setting up a laboratory to analyze the Eindhoven samples. Most museums and universities, she explains, acquired their collections of human skeletons long before archaeologists understood the importance of collecting DNA. As a result, existing collections are often heavily contaminated with modern DNA from the archaeologists and curators who handled them. So Arts and his team adopted precautionary measures to avoid contamination. They placed each archaeologist's DNA on file for cross-checking. Then, as each skeleton was exposed, Altena followed strict forensic procedures to collect samples. She set up a small plastic tent over the remains to minimize the possibility of contamination from other archaeologists working nearby. Wearing a white body suit and gloves, and using freshly sterilized tools, she extracted as many as four teeth — usually molars — from each of the dead. "The DNA is in the roots of the teeth, so it is covered on the top by the tooth enamel and on the bottom by the jawbone," she says. "That means you have protection from contamination and also conservation of the DNA because it degrades more slowly in the teeth." After pulling each tooth, Altena examined it visually for signs of disease or abnormality. Then she immediately sealed the tooth in a sterilized tube and stored it in a freezer at minus 68 degrees. In all, she collected 2,584 teeth. To test the DNA preservation in the collection, Altena traveled last November to the Paleogenetics Laboratory at Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany. There, with ancient DNA experts Joachim Burger and Wolfgang Haak, she and a Dutch colleague, René Mieremet, tested five representative samples, including teeth from the oldest layers of the cemetery. For the team, it was a moment of truth. Had groundwater dissolved the DNA in some parts of the cemetery? Altena's preliminary tests revealed that all five samples contained both DNA from the cell nucleus and from the mitrochrondia, an organ within the cell that has its own DNA. It was a very promising sign. Such high-quality DNA could provide answers to many complex medical questions — including, perhaps, the genetic history of resistance to AIDS, a disease that killed 2.9 million people worldwide in 2006 alone. GENETICISTS DISCOVERED THE CCR5?32 GENE VARIANT in the mid-1990s when researchers observed chat a small percentage of high-risk individuals — including drug users who shared their needles and gay men who had sex with many partners without wearing condoms — did not become infected with HIV. Indeed, this select group seemed to possess a strong natural resistance to the virus. On investigating further, medical researchers in Belgium and the United States discovered that this resistance came from a genetic mutation that prevented HIV from docking onto the cells of the human immune system and infecting them. People who possess one copy of the CR5?32 mutation have a 70 cent lower risk of HIV infection than people without it. People with two copies are virtually immune to the most prevalent strain of HIV. Today researchers wonder whether this mutation could also have helped people survive an earlier epidemic, allowing them to pass on the gene to their descendants. One popular theory suggests that CCR5?32 could have conferred resistance to smallpox or the Black Death. The Black Death first reached Europe's shores in A.D. 1347, when Genoese merchant ships pulled into the port of Messina in Sicily. The frightened crews had just fled from the plague-ravaged Crimea; by the time the ships reached Sicily, their crews had black, egglike swellings under their arms and in their groins, and small black blisters stippled their skin. Some raved deliriously, bled from the nose, vomited blood, and exuded a strange, repulsive odor. As most perished, panic spread among Messina's citizens. Abandoning their houses, they roamed the countryside in a vain attempt to escape infection. "The disease clung to the fugitives and accompanied them everywhere they turned in search of help," wrote the Franciscan friar Michael Platiensis just 10 years later, in 1357. "Many of the fleeing fell down by the roadside and dragged themselves into the fields and bushes to expire." Most researchers now believe that the Black Death was the bubonic plague. Caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, it spread from rats to humans, usually by means of an infected flea. But historical records show that the Black Death occurred in areas such as Iceland, where there were no rats. As a result, historian Susan Scott and University of Liverpool zoologist Chris Duncan suggest that Black Death was a viral hemorrhagic fever, akin to Ebola virus. No one, however, debates its lethal effect. In just three years, the Black Death swept across Europe, as far north as the Arctic Circle, claiming the lives of 40 percent of its inhabitants. And over the next three centuries, it struck repeatedly on the continent, filling graveyards whenever it appeared. COULD THE SMALL BIT OF GENETIC CODE that gives some people of European descent resistance to HIV today also have saved lives from the Black Death centuries ago? It is a fascinating theory, one that Arts and Knijff intend to test with the forensically excavated DNA samples from Eindhoven. As Arts points out, the Black Death first arrived in Eindhoven in either 1348 or 1349. And it returned repeatedly in later centuries. Unfortunately, no surviving documents record the effects of the first plague on the town's citizenry, but records from the late fifteenth century show that Eindhoven's population plummeted by 40 percent. "We know that there was a crisis," says Arts, "so it must have been the plague." Moreover, Arts and his colleagues found signs that some coffins in the church cemetery were washed with lime, a traditional way of burying the contagious, Knijff and his colleagues plan to search each DNA sample from Eindhoven for the mutation and chart its prevalence over time. If this genetic coding did confer resistance to the Black Death, those carrying it should have lived longer and produced more children than those who didn't, thereby increasing the frequency of the mutation over rime. But Altena cautions against too much optimism. Searching for the mutation in the Eindhoven samples will be difficult, she explains." We have a very small selection [of people in the database] and only 10 percent of the population has that mutation." Nevertheless, the Eindhoven project clearly demonstrates the key role that archaeologists will soon be playing in a new field of medical research — archaeoepidemiology. In the months to come, for example, Knijff and his colleagues hope to study genetic variants that increase risk to diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular ailments. By tracking these variants over time, he explains, medical researchers may be able to assess the extent to which diseases are caused by generic risks and by environmental factors such as diet and levels of physical activity. "Archeoepidemiology, once fully mature, will allow us to estimate effects of genetic variants under different environmental conditions," he says. To encourage this development, Dutch authorities are now planning to make the collection of DNA samples mandatory for all archaeologists who encounter human remains in their digs. Other European countries may soon follow. For Arts, the dig in a medieval cemetery has forever changed the way he works, as well as how he thinks about the past. As he relaxes at the end of a warm summer day, he marvels at the good fortune that led him to the grave of the boy buried with the silver coin. "If we had found an adult there," he says with a broad smile, "we wouldn't have bothered to look for ancient DNA because we would have been able to tell whether it was a man or woman." PHOTO (COLOR): Beneath Eindhoven's modern skin of brick and asphalt lie the bones of its medieval townspeople. Studying their DNA may reveal the origin of the genetic resistance to AIDS. PHOTO (COLOR): An excavator uses toothpicks to help map a burial before recording the location of each bone and removing them to the lab for cleaning. Roots from trees planted over the site in 1982 extend through many of the burials, creating a challenge for the archaeologists. PHOTO (COLOR): The remains of a necklace made of bone, amber, and jet still adorns the throat of a 10- to 12-year-old child who died in the 16th century. Analysis of the child's teeth showed he or she was seriously ill between ages three and six. PHOTO (COLOR): Eveline Altena prepares to take a DNA sample from a recently excavated molar. The tooth's pulp cavity seals off DNA from contaminants, making it the best place to look for intact genetic samples. PHOTO (COLOR): These copper coins were buried in a leather pouch found in the hand of a 10- to 12-year-old child. They allowed archaeologists to date the burial to the 16th century. PHOTO (COLOR): People who died of infectious diseases such as the Black Death were often buried in wooden coffins coated with lime. In this burial, the wood has rotted away, but the impression of the planks and a thin layer of lime remain. PHOTO (COLOR): This forensic reconstruction shows the 10-year-old boy, nicknamed Marcus van Eindhoven, whose DNA sample was the first in the Eindhoven DNA bank. He stands on the spot where the boy was buried.
03 November, 2015
Marketing Campaign Order Description Assignment Instructions Over the past 4 weeks, we have discussed many forms of communication. Last week, we specifically looked at visuals and the best way to make use of them. We are, once again, going to focus this information on a specific area...Marketing. Following, you will find links to several journal articles. Please read all of them to give you a good idea of what you need to do to come up with a good marketing campaign. I would like you to create a fictional company and come up with a marketing campaign to brand that company. Make sure that you give me some background as to what the company sells and who you are trying to reach, your campaign should target that audience. Think of this as a pitch to the customer as to how you would like to brand their and why. I do not expect you to create an all-inclusive campaign, you just need to be able to clearly express your ideas to your client. You will want to include some research to show your client that you have looked into their company as well as the market that they intend to sell. Please attach your paper as a Word document to this assignment. Sandhya, R., & Girija, P.P. (2011). Tata Tea's Jaago Re! Campaign: The Social-Cause Marketing Initiatives and Long-Term Branding Initiatives. IUP Journal of Brand Management, 8(2), 31-60. Fairy Liquid Case Study: Using Evocative Marketing Techniques to Boost Product Sales. (2011). Datamonitor, 1-14. Old El Paso Case Study:Addressing the Connectivity Trend with the Meal Kit Concept.(2010). Datamonitor, 1-12. Vaseline Case Study: Creating Stand Out Appeal in the Body Skincare Market, (2010). Datamonitor, 1-16. Paper must include: Cover Page 3-5 pages content Reference Page - Wikepedia is not an acceptable source for this paper should you choose to use additional sources.
02 November, 2015