Blogcritics Author: iAMrj

Announcement: Short-content feeds

Phillip Winn — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT

Sunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding.

The Key To The Good Life Is You

iAMrj — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 17:33:36 EDT

Life is a...Well, you know the saying. But life is also one helluva party. Life isn't all good, and it isn't all bad. And even though your parents brought you to the bash, the older you get the more you must realize that it's up to you to enjoy being here, especially if you're gaining in wisdom and not just years.That's easier said than done, of course. Life can be indescribably difficult and distressing, giving you as many reasons to acquiesce to anger, abjection, and apathy as you might find to persevere, press forth, and profit from your experiences. Regardless, the choice is yours. You can will yourself to learn and grow from even your most regrettable experiences or allow afflictions and adversities to deny you the joy of living.You can make life richly rewarding despite how rough and rugged it can be, first and foremost, by fully embracing this present moment. And this one, too. And each moment to come. Make the most of each moment, and allow each moment to make the most of you. Yesterday is gone, and tomorrow isn't promised. So, put as much into enjoying the present as you do into building a future. Don't just contemplate life; live it. Don't just make a living; live life to the fullest on what you make. Get a life, and get the most from it.Forsake all hope of changing the past. And don't allow yourself to be deterred, detained, or demeaned by those who dare demand that you attempt to reconstruct or restructure the past. Look to the past only to learn from it and for reasons to be grateful; not to waste precious energy trying to undo what can't be undone.Focus on people and things that deserve your attention, and give each of them the attention that they deserve. Organize these priorities in accordance with how you perceive your purpose for living and your principles of living. Be true to yourself while treating others as well as you want to be treated and while going about the business of doing what you must to have the good things you desire.Have faith. Find a reason to believe you can fly. Dare to believe in someone or something that gives substance to your hopes and propels you through your problems to continue pursuing your dreams. Keep your mind clear of negative thinking, which can shipwreck your passion and leave you drifting aimlessly on a dilapidated raft of regret, remorse, and resentment. Face the future with powerful motivation as well as positive expectations.Think positive, but be practical, too. Don't just dream; do what you must to make your dreams come true. Don't just complain; do what you can to improve your life and the lives of others. As the famous prayer of serenity admonishes us, change the things you can, accept the things you can't change, and seek wisdom to know the difference.Live creatively because your wishes are not always life's commands. Expect the unexpected and prepare for the unpredictable. Keep an open mind because there will always be more to life than what you've come to learn, live, love, or look forward to. Be spontaneous, versatile, daring, and adventurous because inflexibility and fear of the unknown will stifle you. Don't limit yourself or those around you. Pursue even those pleasures the very existence of which you had not suspected.Make it a daily delight and a priority to play. Have loads of fun as you journey through life because it's good for you and your relationships. Don't amuse (literally, "not-think") yourself to death nor go through life so serious and somber that you fail to get plenty of comedic relief.Don't permit ephemeral pleasures to impede your progress. Everything that's good to you doesn't always remain good for you. As good as some things are, you still need to let them go in order to grow. The "good" job that has gone from being a comfort zone to a dead-end zone. The "good" relationships that are keeping you from having the life you truly desire. Have the sense and strength to put dubious delights behind you and keep before you the real desires of your heart.Embrace your feelings of inadequacy as reminders to stay humble, keep growing, and always be empathetic, compassionate, patient, and forgiving of others. Accept your weaknesses as signs pointing to your need of others. You're not all you can be, and you'll never be all you'll ever need. Make good friends and acquaintances that can complement, comfort, encourage, and enhance you. Allow yourself to love and be loved because nothing else will ever give your life as much meaning.If you wrong someone, try to right that wrong by asking for forgiveness, making restitution, and changing your ways of thinking and living in such a manner that you don't continue committing the same offense. If you're wronged, extend forgiveness and illuminate a path that might lead to a brighter future. Let neither bitterness nor guilt consume or degrade your quality of life.Find rest in giving your very best. Honestly give your all to discover and delight in all the good that life has to offer. To err is human, so don't allow your mistakes to discourage you. Wipe the dust of ignorance and indifference from your feet, always seek to become a better person, and keep your conscience clear by avoiding intentional acts of insensitivity and ineptitude.Be fair to others, faithful to your word, and follow the way of peace. Embody what you expect from others and show fortitude when you must and equanimity in every situation. Keep your mind, spirit, relationships, and environment healthy, knowing that your life will never be any more than what you make of yourself, your relationships, your opportunities, and your influence.

richard jones (www.iamrj.com) is a freelance writer living near Detroit, Michigan, and co-founder of Alopecia World, a unique and exciting social network for hair loss "sufferers," their loved ones and friends.

Good Samaritans Should Not Always Get Involved In Domestic Disputes

iAMrj — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 16:27:28 EDT

Domestic violence is harmful and potentially fatal, not only to individuals directly targeted by their abusers, but also to a victim's family members and friends, good Samaritans, counselors, coworkers, police officers, and everyone else exposed to it.This month, for example, a father of three in Melbourne, Australia, was gunned down while trying to intervene in a domestic dispute. A second man who intervened and the female victim who was being dragged by her hair from a car were also shot by the male perpetrator.A police officer in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was also injured and nearly pushed from a second floor balcony during a struggle with a domestic violence suspect earlier this month.That's why it is common for two or more police officers to respond and approach domestic calls with caution. They hope doing so will help decrease the risk to police officers in these unpredictable situations. "We never know what we're going to," said one police officer. "A simple check person call could turn into a person with a gun that could turn into a deadly force situation."Not only can good Samaritans and others get killed while intervening in domestic disputes, they themselves can also seriously injure or kill someone and possibly face criminal charges, as a result.All this has me wondering why two subway security guards in Montreal, Quebec, are under fire for not attempting to stop a man from attacking a woman who appeared to be his partner. The incident occurred the same day Montreal police announced that its officers would be taking over patrolling the increasingly violent subway system. According to news reports, the union representing subway security guards said the guards had no choice but to stand aside as the man assaulted his partner because police had ordered them to stop intervening in violent incidents."This shows how absurd this new arrangement is," union president Josée Massicotte told Radio-Canada, "because in regular circumstances, metro guards would have acted right away."However, just as it did not make sense to allow unarmed security guards who have no power to make arrests to patrol the very problematic public system, it does not make sense to expect the guards to put themselves in harm's way by attempting to quell potentially lethal incidents of intimate partner abuse. Safety is the first priority, not only for victims of domestic violence, but also for those who witness it. This is why DV prevention experts and police consistently urge bystanders and even victims not to confront violent offenders.A person who confronts an enraged batterer discovers that it's like trying to "reason with a ticking time bomb," noted an abused wife in Cincinnati, Ohio. This is a deadly job only for law enforcement personnel and others with special training in violence intervention, domestic or otherwise."If you witness or hear a violent episode, do not try to intervene physically as this may result in injuries to you or others," cautions the Family and Child Abuse Prevention Center of Ohio. "Call 911 immediately. When the police arrive, cooperate, ask to fill out a statement, and prepare yourself to testify in court."Moral crusading and public outrage notwithstanding, the security guards as well as other bystanders should always keep at safe distance, call the police, and wait for the situation to be handled by armed police officers trained to diffuse such a violent and volatile situation.

When Hair Loss Is Not The Problem

iAMrj — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 12:56:16 EDT

I recently read an article that describes alopecia as "a cruel disease that leaves men and women feeling ashamed" as a result of losing their hair. The article is about Helen King, a wife and mother of two who has alopecia universalis, which means she has lost all the hair on her body.This happened to Helen after she had several bouts with alopecia areata, which is the loss of head and body hair in patches of varying sizes. Helen never developed alopecia totalis, the loss of all hair on just the head.Further characterizing alopecia as "the disease with mentally hurtful repercussions that are misunderstood by almost everyone," the article reflects what seems to be most medical professionals' view of the psychological impact of alopecia.However, alopecia is not a painful, physically debilitating, or life-threatening condition, though it is sometimes accompanied by irritation of the skin as well as minor complications resulting from the loss of eyelashes and eyebrows. Indeed, the main issue with alopecia is the way most people view hair loss, especially in women. It is not the condition itself, but taken-for-granted cultural assumptions that cause many alopecians intense emotional suffering and problems in their personal and professional lives.A humanities professor who has alopecia areata betrayed some of those cultural assumptions when she wrote, "Alopecia challenges me to understand how my body can reject part of itself against my wishes. It taunts me to grow strong enough to accept myself regardless of the way I look. It makes me wish that I could reconcile my own body image with the intellectual notion that gender is a social construction."One of the cultural assumptions behind the professor's statements is that each human being is constituted in such a manner that one's mind should be able to control one's body. Such mind-body dualism is not only tightly woven into the very fabric of Western cultural experiences; it has also inspired an ideology of self-control that necessitates interpreting the state of a person's body as a material sign of the person's moral character and medical condition. Thus, many alopecians are driven to find a cure and socially acceptable ways of "coping" with their condition, not only because they do not want others to mistake them for social deviants or cancer patients, but also because they do not want to appear weak and defeated.Female baldness, in particular, is often taken as a sure sign of illness, insanity, and illicitness, making it imperative for "real" women of integrity and strength to do everything within their power to keep "something on their heads," if not their natural hair.Another cultural assumption embedded in the humanities professor's comment is that there is an ideal body type. Many Westerners live under the tyranny of the "tight" body -- an ageless, "fit," and pulchritudinous treasure in earthen vessel. It is "forever young" and healthy and mirrors the kind of marketable sex appeal sanctioned by their society's guardians of "good" looks. It is further presumed that the ideal body type for a "real" woman includes a head of "beautiful" hair. Such hair is thought to be "an indelible signifier of female beauty," wrote Nichi Hodgson. "Except of course, when it is growing on any other part of the body, and then it becomes decidedly illicit."It is not uncommon, therefore, for apolecian women to lament their loss of their locks because they believe it makes them "look like a man."For men, on the hand, hair loss is a sign of status and sagacity, at best, and the natural aging process, at worst. That, of course, implies a third cultural assumption -- that the anatomical and attitudinal differences between males and females are such that it is only proper for the "two sexes" to fulfill certain fixed roles and expectations."This complex of cultural processes," writes marketing professors Craig J. Thompson and Elizabeth C. Hirschman, "can invest seemingly minor losses of self-control ... with a high degree of symbolic importance. Second, they inspire a consumer orientation that tends to magnify the significance of physical changes and deviations from the culturally idealized body types." No doubt, the multi-billion dollar medical, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries thrive and feast on such magnification of the medically mundane while gnawing away at the self-confidence of "patients." In other words, many people with apolecia have the weight of the world on their shoulders because they have succumbed to cultural imposition of the unnecessary.The social significance of hair as well as the dualistic metaphysics, relative standards of beauty, and shifting conceptions of gender roles used to render hair meaningful and almost magical are social constructions and not incontrovertible, immutable, and incorrigible realities. No one needs hair to be attractive, healthy, or whole. Neither does the presence or absence of hair determine the kind of person you are.Just as members of society had the audacity to attribute mythical power and significance to human hair, alopecians must have the audacity to demythologize hair and thereby end their "hairmares." As Sheila Jacobs declares in the introduction to her classic book titled The Big Fall: Living With Hair Loss, "It's time to change a stigma into a distinction."

Most Men Desire to End Violence Against Women, But...

iAMrj — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 21:59:47 EDT

Most men are not only aware of the prevalence of violence against women, but they are also willing to help prevent it.Such are key findings of a national survey conducted from April 23 to May 23, 2007, by Peter D. Hart Research Associates for the Family Violence Prevention Fund and Verizon Wireless."There has been a sea of change in men's attitudes toward domestic, dating and sexual violence, and especially in their willingness to take action to stop it," said Esta Soler, president of the Family Violence Prevention Fund."That's one reason domestic violence has been declining in this country," she added. "But it's still a tremendous problem."Men recognize the ongoing problem, too, as more than half of them think it is likely that, at some point in their lives, a woman or girl they know will be a victim.They don't just see the problem. Most men are willing to take time to get involved in efforts to address the problem.For example, 68% have talked to their sons and 63% have talked to their daughters about the importance of healthy, violence-free relationships.Most men (55%) have also talked to other boys who are not their sons, though only 47% have discussed the matter with girls who are not their daughters.Moreover, many men would express disapproval if someone -- a friend or celebrity -- made demeaning jokes or comments about women or exploited them.Men are not all-talk.Many of them are also willing to do everything from volunteer their time and donate to prevention groups and causes to sign pledges and petitions that promote respect for women and girls and urge elected officials to strengthen laws against domestic violence and sexual assault.Men also think that most institutions, including the entertainment and sports industries, government, businesses, and religious institutions, need to do more to raise awareness and address the problem of violence against women."Across the board," said Verizon Wireless president and CEO Lowell McAdam, "men want more done to stop domestic violence and sexual assault."But what this Father's Day poll does not reveal is whether the majority of men also want to let go of the patriarchal attitudes, aggressive tendencies, and lust for power and control that lead them to want to subjugate, use, and abuse women and others in the first place.I hope it is not long before some researchers help us find out.RELATED LINKS: * Read the press release * Read the full report in PDF format * Survey highlights (Powerpoint presentation) * Family Violence Prevention Fund * Verizon Wireless

Do Dads Deserve Father's Day?

iAMrj — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 20:35:13 EDT

This week Time Magazine published an article that questions "whether dads -- at least as a group -- have done a good enough job to deserve the honor" of Father's Day.The article cites statistics that suggest that the answer may be an unequivocal no. For example, it states, "In the U.S., more than half of divorced fathers lose contact with their kids within a few years."It further states, "According to a 1994 study by the Children's Defense Fund, men are more likely to default on a child-support payment (49%) than a used-car payment (3%)." Finally, the article notes, "Even fathers in intact families spend a lot less time focused on their kids than they think: in the U.S. fathers average less than an hour a day (up from 20 minutes a few decades ago), usually squeezed in after the workday."Glenn Sacks, a men's and fathers' issues columnist, calls the article a "hatchet job" and attempts to debunk its disheartening statistics in his latest blog. "The drumbeat continues," laments a passionate and perturbed Sacks, "dads don't care, dads walk out, dads are stingy. All of these canards have been debunked many times, but that doesn't stop the mainstream media's attacks on fathers and fatherhood."In fact, according to a press release from the University of Maryland, "Fathers have never mattered as much as they do this Father's Day." UM Assistant Professor of Education Natasha J. Cabrera, who has spent the last five years studying fathers, believes, "Fathers today are more involved in the daily routine of children's lives than they were 20 or 30 years ago." She attributes this to "increased maternal labor force participation" and adds that "changing family structures -- more single-parent, combined, cohabiting, and divorced families -- has helped create a cultural shift that expects more hands-on child rearing from dads."More dads are getting more involved in their children's lives. But even when fathers become less involved, it is usually not completely by choice. "Research is also unequivocal that few fathers abandon their children voluntarily," says Stephen Baskerville, president of the American Coalition for Fathers of Children. "Most fatherless children result from fathers being forcibly separated from their children by courts."Regardless of what research indicates, there are still far too many fathers who spend far too little time with their children. And while there are many explanations for this, hardly any of these explanations amount to real excuses. Still, there are enough fathers doing enough to deserve the honor of Father's Day because it only takes one.Even if only one father is a positive presence in his child's life, his loved ones and friends should pause every now and again to encourage him; for like mom, the difference dad makes in the life of a child can determine the difference he will make in the life of a whole community.But Father's Day should not be only for those who are good fathers, but also for those who are growing fathers.Let us observe Father's Day, not just because there are countless (or uncounted!) loving fathers who are intimately involved in the lives of their children, but also because there are a lot of fathers who need to be loved to wholeness.

There's Still Hope For Carmelo

iAMrj — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 02:21:32 EST

How is it that seemingly good people like the Denver Nuggets' Carmelo Anthony can extend a helping hand one day and throw a sucker punch the next?Though "fallen" human beings, they still know how to lift themselves and others.That they are imperfect doesn't necessarily mean they are not good people; for the true measure of their character isn't just the depths to which they might sink, but also the depths from which they're able to rise.That's why we've been able to learn as much as about Kermit Washington since he threw "the punch" as we did on and before the night of December 9, 1977.As the National Basketball Retired Players Association aptly states, Washington has turned a new leaf after punching opponent Rudy Tomjanovich 28 years ago. Since then, Washington created Project Contact to establish relief for East Africa. Not exactly the stereotypical behavior of a punk.Likewise, even if the melee at Madison Square Garden on December 16 was a defining moment in Anthony's life and career, it doesn't have to be the definitive moment.Anthony, like Washington, will never erase the memory of his pathetic role in yet another infamous NBA basketbrawl, especially since the media relishes every opportunity to over-report when a star has crashed to earth.Nonetheless, if he learns from his mistakes and truly commits himself to being a good person and not just doing good things -- such as his $1.5 million contribution to a youth center in Baltimore -- he can eventually restore his personal integrity as well as repair his public image.But this not only applies to Anthony and Washington. It also applies to every other NBA player and human being.Each of us is subject and susceptible to falling, faltering, and failing in this life. But the beautiful thing is, more often than not, we can also be resilient and raise ourselves from the mire of whatever mess we find ourselves in.And that we can so extricate ourselves doesn't excuse our indiscretions. It's just one of many things that make life worth living.

The Inspiring Imperfection of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

iAMrj — Tue, 25 Jul 2006 11:06:32 EDT

People tend to celebrate or castigate Martin Luther King, Jr., with moderation conspicuous only by its absence. Most devotees speak of him as though he was perfect, and many detractors speak against him as though he was pathetic.When they dare speak to each other, they often "dualogue" and demean one another rather than engage in meaningful dialogue about the extraordinary contributions this ever-so-hu-man of faith made to the Black struggle for freedom, power, prosperity, and peace.That is unfortunate because, as is usually the case with famous people, carefully integrating hagiographic and much less honorific images of King can actually help one form a realistic and even refreshing idea of what he was like and all about. As a Christian, in fact, his life is reminiscent of certain heroes of the faith whose collective claim to fame was that God performed mighty works in and through them despite themselves.Like ancient Israel's King David, for example, who gained the reputation as a man after God's own heart, Martin Luther King was also subject and susceptible to the same passions, perplexities, personal problems, and poignant contradictions as the rest of fallen humanity.Yet, like the prophet Elias, when King prayed and protested against the tsunamic flood of injustice unleashed by racist attitudes and actions, it was as though he summoned all of heavenkind as well as humankind in an effort to stymie the deluge of racial discrimination that was destroying the lives of people of African descent.He was not a saint or just a sinner, but a real hu-man who dealt with deeply personal issues in addition to grave social issues. He was a Black activist who had to cope with his own shortcomings even while working indefatigably to stem the calamitous tide of systemic racism in this country.Thus, he is a Black American hero not because he had a halo, but because he was strong and sagacious enough to look and lift himself beyond his own faults and respond, as we now know only he could, to our nation's dire need for revolutionary love, respect, equal opportunity, and perennial application of the philosophy of non-violence.The distinguished journalist Marshall Frady noted that King exhibited "that mystic capability of leaders of genius, at certain critical moments, to suddenly transmute into someone, something, awesomely larger than their ordinary selves." He never would have done so if, like far too many potentially great people, he had been incapacitated by his imperfection rather than driven by his dream.It is disingenuous to dismiss him as a charlatan and an insult to his noble ideals to condone his indiscretions. However, it is wise to learn from him to stay humble and keep growing regardless of our accomplishments.His life also shows that we do not have to be perfect to be great. Rather than hoard our gifts until we fancy ourselves to have it all together, we can grow even as we go forth doing great things with our lives. Besides, greater maturity and strength of character are good things that come not to those who just wait, but to those who make such progress a courageous, lifetime pursuit.

Carmelo Anthony's Friends Bail Him Out of Trouble Yet Again

iAMrj — Fri, 14 Jul 2006 08:59:01 EDT

Isn't it time for Carmelo Anthony to realize that true friends are good for you as well as good to you?Earlier this week, the Associated Press reported that Tyler Brandon Smith – whom Carmelo describes as his "best friend" – was pulled over by police in Lochbuie, Colorado. This happened late Sunday while Tyler was driving Carmelo's 2005 Dodge Magnum, and Tyler was cited for marijuana possession and three traffic violations.Each charge is a misdemeanor, added the AP. The marijuana charge carries a fine of up to $100 for conviction but no jail time.Carmelo has been linked to marijuana before, no thanks to another one of his friends. In October 2004, Denver airport inspectors found marijuana in his backpack, but prosecutors dropped a drug charge after this friend claimed ownership of the marijuana and said Carmelo didn't know about it.The Denver Nuggets star has also made headlines for a bar fight in New York and for an unwitting appearance in a bootleg DVD in Baltimore in which a man threatened to kill police informants."I cursed (Tyler) out a little bit," Carmelo said Wednesday at his annual basketball camp, according to the Rocky Mountain News. "I just want him to learn from his mistakes. He's a man. He's got to face what happened. The one thing I did tell him is that anything that happens is going to come back to me, so just watch out... He understands."Perhaps what the NBA star needs to understand is that, if he keeps dealing with friends like these, he won't need any enemies.

Parenting And Positive Possibilities

iAMrj — Fri, 9 Jun 2006 23:37:53 EDT

I am a new daddy! Not because there is a newborn in my life, but because over the past few years I have renewed my relationships with my three daughters.They are ages 19, 13, and 11, and the foremost reason I feel so blessed to be me. As I wrote in a confessional piece titled "Daddy, Do Better," loving and being loved by them has made a powerful and positive difference in my life.Having experienced such joy in parenting, I want to encourage all parents, especially men, to reclaim and revitalize their relationships with their children. No matter what age you and your child are, and no matter what your relationship with your child or children is like, there is always room from improvement and the need to deepen intimacy.As parents, we also need close and appropriate relationships with our children to truly feel good about ourselves and avoid being inundated with regret.That does not mean that our relationships with our children will be problem-free. There will be challenging moments because "to error is human." Of course, parents are also human, so it is not always our children's fault that they and our relationships with them sometimes falter. Regardless of the reason for each predicament, it is critically important that we respond with humility, empathy, openness, honesty, forgiveness, and a helping hand rather than with just sternness, defensiveness, judgmental-ism, and rebuke.Just as we must not always condone, we must not always condemn. We must be wise, even-handed, and circumspect in guiding our children and growing with them.For parents who are estranged from their child or children, as I once was, there is undying hope for reconciliation until death do you part. And the fount of this hope isn't denial of the needless pain either the child or parent has suffered, but that indomitable desire for a wholesome parent-child relationship that seems to indwell every parent and child.It may seem impossible to even fathom the healing of gaping familial wounds, but as long as there's the breath of life in you and your child, there is a real and fighting chance that you can breathe new life into your relationship.The key is to humble ourselves, and then parent.

Employee Termination And Information Security

iAMrj — Sun, 30 Apr 2006 00:41:17 EDT

Letting an employee go can be a dirty job, but a company's information technology (IT) department must help do it.It is necessary to involve IT in the employee termination process because a former employee who still has access to a company's network and proprietary corporate data is a security threat.Moreover, it is smart to conserve certain technological resources, data, and logs in the event that the former employee or company itself decides to pursue litigation.Finally, it is essential to integrate IT into the process to help ensure that employee termination controls are comprehensive enough to meet relevant Sarbanes-Oxley requirements.Information security and data retention policies must be company-specific and tailored to the laws under which the company operates. Nevertheless, there are at least three broad principles to which a company should adhere when and after terminating an employee.Prompt notification of terminationEvery company should have a strictly enforced policy that clearly states who is to notify whom when someone's employment is ending or has ended. This policy should also mandate that these notifications be given immediately.An information security contact should be among those who are notified, and this person's responsibilities should entail researching, documenting, and revoking an employee's access to the company's electronically stored proprietary information and its information systems.Prudent revocation of accessIn the case of a terminated employee, IT should immediately revoke all computer, network, and data access the former employee has. Remote access should also be removed, and the former employee should be dispossessed of all company-owned property, including technological resources like a notebook computer and intellectual property like corporate files containing customer, sales, and marketing information.However, in the case of an employee whose end of employment is only imminent, IT should consult with the employee's manager, Human Resources, and other key decision-makers to determine the appropriate manner in which to stagger the revocation of access over the person's remaining days of employment.Just as the granting of access and security clearances should be documented for future reference, the revocation of access should also be documented, especially for legal purposes. The goal, of course, should always be to revoke access in ways that makes good business sense financially, technologically, and legally.Preemptive preservation of dataEvery company should have data redundancy and retention policies that satisfy its business needs and adhere to applicable laws. Such policies address the backup, restoration, and preservation of corporate data in general.However, a company should also enact policies that detail when and how IT should go about preserving potentially and particularly sensitive data, records, logs, and other materials that could be of legal significance were the company and former employee to wage a legal battle. It is especially important to do this in the case of a former employee who held a high-level position or left the company under a cloud of suspicion.Mark McLaughlin of Computer Forensics International notes, An IT staff should only preserve subject data to the extent they are trained to do so. Creating a backup image of software for later deployment or archive is different than creating an evidentiary image. All evidentiary images must be non-invasive, meaning the original data must not be altered in any way. Further, chain of custody is very important when handling evidence. Not only should narratives of who did what and when be created, but the physical control of the resulting evidence must be secured. I've personally handled several cases, and heard of thousands more, where IT departments or even law firms have ventured into uncharted waters to save a buck and cost the company big!It all comes down to teamwork.The appropriation and application of these three principles should be the collective work of the company's executive staff, IT and HR departments, and legal counsel that specializes in computer forensics and the laws governing the company's use of computing technology.The results of this cooperative effort should be greater protection of corporate data as well as better preparedness for litigation regarding corporate data theft, hacking, and other forms of illegal or ill-advised uses of computing technology.