Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Database Development Essay

Abstract This paper defines the Software Development Life Cycle phases specifically the Waterfall method with a review of tasks to improve the quality of datasets throughout the cycle. It includes recommendations of actions to be performed for full optimization for enhancing performance from data quality assessment. Although full optimization may be reached throughout the process of SDLC, continued maintenance must be in sued to properly retain the database error-free and protected. An evaluation of three methods and activities to ensure maintenance planning is implemented is discussed. An in-depth analysis of an efficient method for planning concurrency control methods and lock granularities that are available to use that will minimize potential security risks that may occur. Finally, serializability isolation model is introduced that ensures transactions produce less record-level locking while operating the system and how a verification method allows review of proper inputs and error checks to increase consistency. Introduction There are several Software Development Life Cycle methods that are availabel to utilize although, the Waterfall SDLC is the most desirable due to the simplicity and straight forward methods utilized and will be discussed in regards to topics in this paper. The benefits of this model type include departmentalization and manegerial control. A schedule can be set for each phase similarly to a how a factory system works from one step to the next in a proceeding manner until the product is complete. However, once in the testing phase it is difficult to revert back to make any additional changes.  (SDLC Models., n.d.). Tasks to Improve Dataset Quality Using SDLC Methodology The Waterfall SDLC incorparates the following stages of planning and executing software, requirements specification, design, implementation, testing and maintenance. The requirements phase of the SDLC is to ensure clearly defined requirements via all parties involved in the processes. Deliverables in this stage include requirements documents that incorporates descriptions of requirements, diagrams and references to necessary documentation as well as Requirements Tracability Matrix (RTM), this displays the manner in which products being developed will interact and correlate to previous components that have already been developed. This phase prepares datasets integrity success throughout the SDLC process when requirements are properly defined. (The Software Development Cycle (SDLC)., n.d.). The design phase lists software features in detail with psuedocode, entity-relationship model(s) (ERM), hierarchy diagrams, layout hierarchy, tables of business rules, a full data dictionary, and business process diagrams. This phase transforms the requirements into system design specifications. In this phase it is imporatant to review software and hardware specifications and system architecture. This will create the foundation for the implementation phase. Lastly, the implementation phase begins the coding process in which portions of programs are developed and tested. Clearly defined requirements are defined via use-case scenario that enables context based definitions and a visualization of the completed product for clarifications, accuracy, and completeness of requirement request. (SDLC Models., n.d.). Actions to Optimize Record Selections and Improve Database Performance Actions to optimize record selection and improve database performance include automated controls that can be applied in the design phase of SDLC. The design phase specifically it is important for developers to set proper  automated controls such as input, processing, and output controls to enhance integrity, security, and reliability of the system and datasets. Input controls such as completeness checks and duplication checks ensure blank fields and duplicate information is not entered into the data sets. Automating process controls to ensure systems correctly process and record information. (FFIEC IT Examination Handbook InfoBase – Design Phase., n.d.). Quality management techniques that improve quality assessments include error detection, process control, and process design. These processes detect missing values, improve recurring errors, and help optimize effeciency. (Even, A., & Shankaranarayanan, G., 2009). Three Maintenance Plans and Three Activities to Improve Data Quality Three types of maintenance plans include: preventative, corrective, and adaptive maintenance which improve the data quality. Activities to improve data quality include database backups, integrity checks, optimizing the index. Preventative maintenance incorporates creating and continuously maintaining daily and/or weekly backups for data loss prevention, corrective maintenance ensures system errors are corrected. One activity associated to corrective maintenance includes resolving deadlocks, which occurs when two or more tasks permanently block each other. Adaptive maintenance includes enhancing system and database performance via based on utility assessments and optimized queries to improve performance. (Coronel, Morris, & Rob., 2013). Methods for Planning Proactive Concurrency Control and Lock Granularity Concurrency issues revolve around conflicts that occur when simultaneous tasks are performed on multiple systems, the conflict may cause inconsistencies. The goal of concurrent controls is to establish consistent throughput and accurate from results in concurrent operations. Granular locking schemes enable locking pages, tables, rows, and cells. After reviewing â€Å"Process-centered Review of Object Oriented Software Development Methodologies,† the methodologies mentioned were outside of the scope of concurrency and lock granularity. However, there are two methods, high  granularity approach and low granularity approach that will enable a distributed database with consistency. High granularity offers maximum concurrency although requires more overhead versus low granularity which offers minimum overhead although reduces concurrency. Additional overhead in the form of locking granularly at different object-oriented hierarchy levels helps create proactive concurrency control within the system. This provides additional security via the ability to control which users are modifying the database at the same time. (Ellis, R., n.d.). System Analysis to Ensure Tractions do not Record-Level Lock Database in Operation In multiuser database transactions that are executing simultaneously must have consistent results, it is vital to have control over concurrency and consistency. To enable processes that provide this control a transaction isolation model named, serializability is available for use. This model gives the illusion that transactions execute one at a time. The multiversion consistency model provides multiple users with a separate view of the data concurrently, which prevents record-level locking from affecting the database. (Data Concurrency and Consistency., n.d.). Once updates are commited to the system verifyoption can be utilized to ensure the integrity of data entered will enhance system effectiveness. (SqlCeEngine.Verify Method (VerifyOption) (System.Data.SqlServerCe)., n.d). Conclusion In conclusion material discussed includes an analysis specific tasks that will improve the quality of datasets within a database. A review of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) and more specifically the Waterfall methodology SDLC. Recommended actions in the design phase that will enhance the optimization of record selection are considered along with three maintenance plan options and activities to improve the quality of data within the database. Serializability isolation model ensures transactions that will produce less record-level locking while operating the system and verification methods will allow for review of proper inputs and error checks to increase consistency. Overall, research shows that multiuser distributed databases utility will depend on specific functions created from the  origination of the product in the SDLC to the finished product and continued maintenance for consistent and efficient performance. References Data Concurrency and Consistency. (n.d.). Oracle Documentation. Retrieved September 12, 2013, from http://docs.oracle.com/cd/B10500_01/server.920/a96524/c21cnsis.htm Even, A., & Shankaranarayanan, G. (2009). Quality in Customer Databases-Centered Review of Object Oriented Software Development Methodologies. ACM Computer Database, 15, 3,4,5. Retrieved September 12, 2013, from the ACM Computer database. Ellis, R. (n.d.). Lock Granularity. Granularity of Locks_and Degrees of Consistency_in a Shared Database. Retrieved September 12, 2013, from www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=9&sqi=2&ved=0CF8QFjAI&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpages.cs.wisc.edu%2F~nil%2F764%2FTrans%2FGranularity.ppt&ei=kQ8yUqOhPIzl4AOM6oDIDw&usg=AFQjCNEdfijo3XG83N7W2WlglSi3cEJsQQ&sig2=WGLffPJ8amqYRjHXJAHLuQ&bvm=bv.52109 FFIEC IT Examination Handbook InfoBase – Design Phase. (n.d.). FFIEC IT Examination Handbook InfoBase – Welcome. Retrieved September 12, 2013, from http://ithandbook.ffiec.gov/it-boo klets/development-and-acquisition/development-procedures/systems-development-life-cycle/design-phase.aspx Rob, P., & Coronel, C. (2002). Database systems: design, implementation, and management (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Course Technology. SDLC Models. (n.d.). One Stop QA. Retrieved September 12, 2013, from www.onestopqa.com/resources/SDLC%20Models.pdf SqlCeEngine.Verify Method (VerifyOption) (System.Data.SqlServerCe). (n.d.). MSDN the Microsoft Developer Network. Retrieved September 12, 2013, from http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc835509%28v=vs.100%29.aspx The Software Development Cycle (SDLC). (n.d.). Pelican Engineering. Retrieved September 13, 2013, from www.pelicaneng.com/DevDocs/sdlc.pdf

Advocacy Campaign Essay

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to implement an advocacy campaign that will assist adults with disabilities with the necessary resources that will assist them in becoming productive citizens in the community. As children with disabilities, community- based support services are not available after he or she becomes an adult, consequently, there is no information provided to aid them with basic needs such as social empowerment, financial assistance, provision maintenance, and other agencies that will assist them and their families if needed. This paper will also discuss the goals, barriers, and support factors that will assist in this advocacy campaign, as well as the activities that will be implemented along with the necessary resources that are available for adults with disabilities. Introduction, Needs, and Goals A young child who is diagnosed with a disability, alter their familys lives forever. Dealing with the challenges from the disability, families had to rely upon strengths withi n themselves that they did not know existed. Community-based services for children with disabilities are available until the child reaches adulthood. After the child becomes an adult and wants to pursue a career, they have to pay for it themselves through financial aid or school loans that have to be repaid back once graduation is completed. Some people with a disability cannot drive therefore, it is difficult for them to get out and socialize so they remain confined to their homes without a support system. Advocating for people with disabilities will help them receive community resources as needed that will assist them with their advocacy needs. Disabled people face many challenges in society. There is a great need for advocacy when it comes to assisting these individuals with crises that affects their daily living. The purpose of this advocacy campaign is to educate disabled people and their families about the resources that are available to assist them with their basic advocacy needs. Knight and Oliver (2007) stressed that there is a demand for advocacy for children and young people with disabilities that have difficulty with m aking important decisions that will affect their lives. The basic needs that hinders individuals with disabilities live a  productive life in the community are (1) social empowerment (2) financial assistance for education, (3) provision maintenance, and (4) support systems. Empowerment is described as a person who cannot completely accomplish their goal and become a part of society and, if they are not able to have a say, and take control over their situations regarding their life (Miller, Hinterlong, Greene, 2010). People cannot completely accomplish their goal to be a part of society if they are not able to have a say and take control over their situations regarding their life. Houten and Jacobs (2005) stressed that empowerment cannot take place unless there is active participation in their community and society. However, active involvement of disabled people has not been clear in reality, it is difficult if we take a quick look at the living circumstances and the capability of disabled people. According to Voorhis and Hostetter (2006), social empowerment among social service professionals placed attention on the perception of empowerment among social service professionals, and their responsibility for client empowerment through advocacy. Financial as sistance for education to assist people with disabilities will help them further their education after undergraduate because financial aid is no longer available. Boone and King-Berry (2009) asserts that people with disabilities and their relatives have a serious need for information related in particular to their disability status. For example, they also mentioned that a financial incentive program that offer cash or other benefits should be created to increase more income, additional services, and or else an economic opportunity for individuals with disabilities. Providing financial assistance through community support will decrease the anxiety of them not being able to complete educational goals because lack of funds, and also stop them from applying for student loans that is repayable once they receive their degree. Provision maintenance is an ongoing service for individual with disabilities to help aid in housekeeping, laundry, and meal preparation on a regular basis when needed, not just when their impairment will not allow them to perform these daily functions, so they can continue to live independently. Provision maintenance will benef it them by providing them with a service that will complete those chores on the days they are not mobile because of pain. According to Moone and Lightfoot (2009), people with disabilities desire to live independently in the community and a need for  suitable services is needed that will support them with daily living. Support systems are essential to everyone, not just those with disabilities. However, individuals with disabilities depend on the aid of family, friends, and services within the community to assist them until they are totally dependent upon themselves. Support services for people with disabilities are vital to the achievement of students with disabilities (Tagayuna, Stodden, Chang, Zeleznik, Whelley, 2005). Professionals must also accept that they have a responsibility to work with and support the disabled persons family, because a person who places the family in danger, also places professionals in danger as well. Therefore, professionals must build relationships with families for personal growth and development by supporting people with disabilities. Van Haren and Fiedler (2008) convey that professionals must positive to make families not so dependent on their advice and services through a family empowerment plan. The goal of this advocacy campaign is to support individuals with disabilities by connecting them to community based services that will aid them in their pursuit to become a well-rounded individual, to collaborate with United Cerebral Palsy in assisting with this campaign for resources for people with disabilities. As Luecking and Wittenburg (2009) reveals, a system linkage is needed to provide services for people with disabilities whose service needs, and lack of contact to supports systems can cause difficulties in preparing for schooling, work, and independent living for people with disabilities. Barriers and Supports There are several potential barriers that may hinder this campaign applying resources to people with disabilities. They are (1) a need of financial assistance if people with disabilities want to pursue a career beyond undergraduate to relieve stress of not having enough funds to continue their education because the only funding that is available is student loans, whi ch will place this population in debt. Regardless of how much students and parents spend in the United States, such as credit cards, which shows lack of financing, over fifty percent of college students have accumulated over five thousand dollars in debt from a loan company like Sally Mae (Boone, King-Berry (2009). It is important to help these people with educational funding from community resource that will help them financially while continuing their education. Another potential barrier that may hinder this campaign of applying resources for disabled people is needs  for disable people to socialize within the community regardless of their handicap. It is difficult to socialize when a person is confined at home because of a disability. There should be a resource that provides people with disabilities to go and socialize with other people beside them that have a disability. According to Taub, McLorg and Bartnick (2009), there is a barrier called environmental, which get in the way of disabled women participating in soc ial activities because of the location of the activity. For example, a person in a wheelchair, there may not be enough space for it. The last potential barrier that may hinder this campaign of applying resources to disabled people is a need for the already existing community based services to work together and provide these clients with the necessary resources if needed. A person may believe that it would be simple for community-based services to work with a counselor to provide home health care for their disabled client on an ongoing temporary basis to assist him or her with personal and home care needs per their request. On the other hand, some community base services do not provide that type of home health care. Singer, Biegel, and Ethridge (2009) support this barrier by asserting that care giving is not needed for a few weeks or months during a loved ones acute illness, instead the need for assistance with daily living commonly last for years (p. 101). Even though there are several barriers that may hinder the advocacy campaign for helping disabled people, but there are various support factors that will assist with the efforts of this campaign such as non-profit organizations, home health care, state legislatures and elected representatives. Non-profit organizations. Home health care is needed for people with disabilities to assist them with pers onal care and household chores when their mobility has decreased due to the pain from the condition when it occurs, not always because they may not be in pain on a daily basis. Therefore, there should be organizations and federal and legislatures that work together to assist these people with their personal care needs like maxim health care (www.maximhealthcare.com), which is a non-profit organization that will collaborate with other organizations and federal, state, and local policies that will help aid in the advocacy effort for these people (Wehrwein, Pollack, 2005). Activities Problem Definition Since the problem definition has been described that will advocate change a proposed campaign will be developed (Rothstein, 2008). After that,  it is necessary to research of the resources for advocating for disabled people that have access to that will help in their campaign. A resource will include centers for people with disability and the people who need information on the necessary resources these advocacy needs. Next, developing the advocacy campaign for disabled people will include finding volunteers, creating the vision and mission statement, leadershi p team, fundraisers or sponsors that will provide monetary resources, and the results of the campaign. The volunteers will consist of skillful advocates who have years of experience that is elected and appointed leaders that will work for the cause of this campaign (Donaldson, 2008). For example, the president, the vice president, secretary, treasurer, and the Chaplin. The vision and mission statement will be created from the consumer education from the issues researched for this campaign for people with disabilities. The leadership team will consist community leaders that are strong, effective, and organizers (Keys, Factors, 2001). The leadership team will be committed and knowledgeable in the issues that people with disabilities encounter. The committee will also consist people who will locate sponsors or create fundraisers to provide funds for this campaign. The results of the campaign will be the resources that will enable people with disabilities to receive services to assist them with becoming active citizens within the community, finances for school, home health care that will assist them with personal care and household chores when need, and support system that will help them and their families become independent on making their own decisions. Strategic P lanning This process will be developed from social marketing strategies for reaching people with disabilities. Social marketing is characterized as marketing techniques that will be used to gear skillful people in the area of disabilities to promote change for action (Moone, Lightfoot, 2009). For example, the planning will be created through social marketing strategies to support individuals with disabilities by connecting them to the community- based services that will aid them in their pursuit to become active citizens in the community. When advocating for people with disabilities, this type of strategy will benefit because it will focus on what the disable person need, such as social empowerment and finances to further education rather than focusing on the disability (Moone, Lightfoot, 2009). The six marketing are (1) participants, which is the people that will  focus on the needs of the disabled people (2) partnering with other agencies that will work with disabled people, this technique is essential to the campaign (3) price, getting the federal, state, and legislators to act on behalf of the disabled people (4) promotion, is the materials that will be used to get the information in the community (5) product, advocating for people with disabilities to receive the n ecessary resources for their basic needs and (6) place, is where the campaign advocates will meet within the community to provide services (Moone, Lightfoot, 2009). Actions This stage of the advocacy campaign for people with disabilities who will make contact with the people that are in the public eye such as the city officials to support the advocacy efforts on behalf of disabled people, which Eriksen (1997) characterize as lobbying. Then that person or organization must review the information from research to decide whether lobbying will be suitable advocate that will take action through communicating the organizations needs to such as agencies that provide financial assistance, home health care providers, and support systems such as United Cerebral Palsy through letters, flyers, phone calls to officials to support laws on research for resources in aiding disabled people, support groups for disabled people, and networking are beneficial to advocating for people with disabilities. This process will provide positive point of views on advocacy and support advocates that will act on behalf of disabled people (Toporek, Lewis, Crethar, 2009). Evaluations Evaluation of the advocacy campaign is vital in any organization to ensure that there are no problems that are not identified such as environmental problems, financial problems, attitudinal problems, and problems with the group that might affect the completion of the advocacy campaign (Torres, Preskill, 2001). To ensure that the evaluation of the advocacy campaign is successful in advocating on behalf of the client, the advocate leader will utilize SPIES, which is categorized as strategic planning, implementation, evaluating, and streamlining (www.courseroom2.capella.edu). Once the mission and the rationale has been established, the advocacy committee must strategize a plan along with the disabled clients to implement the goals that is aim to aid people with disabilities connect to community resources to assist in their advocacy efforts. The disabled person will have to make a decision to become a self-advocate to assist the counselor in fighting for resources to aid them  with funds for education, home health aide, and a support system that will help him or her become active people in the community. After the plan have been developed, then the implementation of the activity can be set up by allowing the client to speak at a workshop on his or her behalf about funding for education, and then evaluate by doing follow-up on him or her to see if the plan is being completed. Finally, the counselor would streamline by providing disabled people with support groups for disabled people who are having a difficult time receiving resources that will help them w ith their advocacy efforts to observe other in similar situations and help them make a decision to continue to plead for their own cause. The advocacy meetings will take place in the local library on every Wednesday of the month. There will be approximately three new volunteer members will be assigned per month as needed for campaign. Each member will be assigned four disabled clients and their family members and provide information as to whether they already receive community-based services. Counselor Roles in the Advocacy Campaign The counselor that will be advocating in the campaign for disabled people is trained in professional counseling so he or she can intervene with these clients individually or in a group in order to understand the clients disability as well as the advocacy efforts (Kiselica , Robinson, 2001). He or she will beware of their own values, skills, and personalities that are vital to advocacy, which will consist of relationship building and communications skills to effective plead the advocacy efforts to the community clearly so he or she can be heard. He or she is a good listener, seek questions to understand the needs of the client, they will portray good character and integrity that is trustworthy as well as have the ability to think normally so they can plan the best strategy for this disabled people (Eriksen, 1997). He or she will show commitment and appreciation for their clients (Kiselica, Robinson, 2001). For example, the advocate counselor wi ll ensure that the disabled client know that they understand and feel what they are experiencing and will do everything to assist them in receiving the necessary resources that will enable them to become sociable in the community, funds to continue their education, aid with household chores, and support systems that will support their needs. The advocate must be knowledgeable in communications skills such as verbal and nonverbal and realize what the client is saying and not saying. He or she should also be  able to speak with any organization that will aid in helping the disabled clients live productively by utilizing their skills in the areas of being able to discuss complicated problems with the clients such as not being able to provide home health care because of the severity of the condition, using the computer to obtain research on disability as it relates to the advocacy campaign, must be able to communicate the advocacy efforts through television or radio (Kiselica and Robinson (2001). These skills are necessary for advocacy work. The counselor has developed many relationships throughout his or her field of counseling. He or she is involved in professional organizations, assisted other organizations that are already involved in activities that already in existence in the community, and no doubt has been involved in legislation in some way. In other words, the counselor is the best advocate for advocating for this disabled people because he or she already possesses the skills that will make this grass root campaign into a reality. However, with any advocacy campaign there are ethical issues that may arise while planning a strategy. In planning for this campaign, the counselor did not consider that there may be some barriers that may hinder the personal growth and development of the disabled client while working on this campaign (Greenleaf, Williams 2009). The ethical dilemmas that may arise in advocating for disabled people to receive community resources such as being mindful of the power relationship between the counselor and the client, by not letting the client gain control over the interview by speaking on behalf of himself or herself (Knight, Oliver, 2007). For example, not gaining information about the clients disability before the interview, learn their behaviors because there may be some type of concern that they may not be able to complete the interview and counselor-client relationship by overstepping his or her by getting overly involved with the clients problems. Kiselica and Robinson (2001) assert that professionals must describe the boundaries of their relationships with clients even if they take on a more involved role than they are responsible for. For example, a counselor that is disabled may become to involved with the clients situation and make all the decisions the planning stage because they have experienced similar advocacy efforts of the client regardless of what cultural background the disabled client are from, the counselor must let the disabled client become a productive citizens by letting him or her  make their own decision for improving change through community based services. Resources There will be a list of local and systematic resources that will be used in collaboration with the advocacy campaign for disabled people to provide community based services that will assist them in locating social activities within the community to become active, funding for college to continue their education, agencies to assist them with provision maintenance, and support system that will help them and their family to become independent and work on their own behalf. (See Appendix). Recommendations There are several ideas to bear in mind prior to engaging in advocacy that involves learning definitions to the problem that has not been defined, examine the source power, observe and locate the federal and state officials that will make the decision concerning the laws on issues associated with the disability, and understand the completion and expansion of the actions concerning disabled people (Tappe, Galer, Radius, 2009). The advocate counselor must choose a strategic plan that will r e-evaluate the actions communicating the organizations needs and sporadically see if more funding is needed by researching more literature and seeking consultation from other agencies who have successfully advocated for disabled people. When engaging in grass root campaigns, there are many issues to consider such as problems that may arise both inside and outside of the organization, how the definition of the problem is going to become a sticky factor with the public, such as the media and radio, home health agencies, such as Maxim, and community based agencies, such as United Cerebral Palsy, and financial institutions, as well as the counselors profession (Gladwell, 2002). Another issue to consider is a possible setback to utilizing the social marketing strategies, such as flyers and letters, for reaching an organization and agency desired spokesperson in that it may be more successful, and might reach more disabled people than it is capable of serving (Moone, Lightfoot, 2009). Conclusion People with disabilities cause families lives to be changed dramatically because of the obstacles that are challenged on behalf of the disability where families had to depend upon their self-determination that they did not believe they had. Community based services have been available for children for a long time, but adults have no community based services that will assist them and their families if needed. An advocacy campaign for people with disabilities will enable them  to receive community resources as needed to help them with their basic needs. There is a demand for advocacy for assisting people with situations that affects their daily routine (Knight, Oliver, 2007). The rationale for this advocacy campaign is to educate disabled people and their families about the resources that are available to assist them with their advocacy needs such as social empowerment, financial empowerment, provision maintenance, and a support system.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Organisation and Control of Computer Operations Essay

The organisational structure of the company is quite straight forward and to the point and easy to understand. The company is split into two departments the computing department and Contracts team. Taira Zeb is the overall is the director of the company. Martin Gates is the Transport Manager of the daily operations team. He liaises with other companies to A2z Travel Uk Ltd can offer when they book with them. He explains to companies what special rates they can offer them if they book association or company booking outings. If the Company’s or associations are happy to sign any contract or booking with A2z Travel Uk Ltd he passes the contact details to the contract manager make them sign a contact or booking. The people working in Martin Gates team include: – * Wendy Gates (Contracts Manager) – the main role of Wendy Gates is to secure contracts and bookings also introduce discount under the authorisation of Martin Gates the Transport Manager. * Sandeep Uppal (Health & Safety Manager) – Bashir deals with health and safety issues within the company, and also liability issues whilst vehicles are in use by companies and groups. * Mohammed Zafreen (Head Mechanic) – deals with the vehicles checking them on a weekly basis checking for problems before they go to the outing it is booked for. Mohammed Zafreen is charge of checking if the all transport coaches are safe to drive on roads and all the paper work is up to date for example MOT, Car Tax before they are let out. Mohammed Zafreen also deals with daily maintenance for vehicles when he has the time to do so. * Asan Fazal (Assistant Mechanic) – deals with daily maintenance of the coaches on a daily basis. * Sandeep Uppal (Health & Safety Manager) – Sandeep Uppal deals with health and safety issues within the company, and also liability issues whilst its coaches are in use by A2z Travel Uk Ltd * Julia Wilson (Health & Safety Co-ordinator) -Julia Wilson works under Sandeep Uppal and deals with training in-house staff on health and safety issues under the guidance of Sandeep Uppal. The computing department is run by Asian Fazal who is the IT Manager. He deals with overall matters regarding hardware and software requirements for A2z Travel Uk Ltd, and is involved with all purchasing of hardware and software but before funds can be released to him the director must be with agreement with him. The people working in Asan Fazal team include: * Ahmed Hussain (Technician) -Tony deals with maintaining hardware/software with the company and resolve any network problems. * Andrew Dales (IT Security Manager) – deals with security producers and deals with viruses and have creped thought the network. * Praveen Patel (Backup Manager) – responsible for making sure all data has been backed up successfully the backup manger responsibilities ensure all backups are done daily and weekly basis and enforce backup procedures with in the company. The backup manager must ensure all backups kept in a safe place in a different location if for example all data was lost due to fire. * Wajid Gahni (Database Administrator) responsibilities include, database design, co-ordination and use of data integrity, up keep of data, and data maintenance to see if the data passed thought the database is not garbage. * Azard Amera (Security Assistant) she deals with daily security issues or given daily task to complete by the IT Security Manager * Frank Dean (Backup Assistant) responsible for backing up data on a daily basis every evening and reports back to the backup manager if he occurs any problems. He will contact the backup manager when a daily backup is co The Structuring 0f Computing Jobs Within The Organisation. IT Department Structure IT Manager – Asan Fazal Asian Fazal in A2Z Travel UK Ltd is of that to give support and guidance to the IT department on all computing issues within the organisation also chasing up things that the IT department need to do. Asian Fazal is responsible for work on internal projects and teams such as IT Security policies, hardware, software and backup policies. Asian Fazal has to enforce see policies otherwise there could be major Problems within the company. His job involves analyzing security requirements, evaluating safeguards, vulnerabilities, threats also opportunities. Asian Fazal job entails: – * Identify integration issues and develop solutions of computing systems within the company. * Coach and develop skills within a project team. * Lead project teams within the computing department. * Run the IT department to the highest standard. IT Security Manager – Andrew Dales Andrew Dales is responsible for all IT security integration issues within the computing network in the company, which include data Protection act, computer misuse act, IT security and privacy. Andrew Dales to deal with security breaches that has taken place also making high security risk into a low security risk. Andrew Dales ensures all passwords are used coherently and in accordance to the A2Z Travel UK Ltd IT Security and privacy policies. Andrew Dales deals with any seen or reported act of computer misconduct, and she ensures the company’s regulations of carrying out these procedures. Security Assistant – Azard Amera Azard Amera job involves assisting the Security Manager in security related issues. Azard Amera keeps on top of all the latest security, and virus software. Azard Amera has a list of jobs to do on a daily basis that he must complete. Azard Amera can take over the security manager role if he is sick or he can not attend for work Technician – Tony Seagull Tony Seagull who is the company technician manages, maintains and supports the company’s fundamental IT infrastructure. He is also responsible for the development of a completion of training programs for the users of the computer systems within A2Z Travel UK Ltd. Tony regularly comes to check the computers in working order on a weekly basis are as well as coming. He is also responsible for the hardware and software problems and any network issues that arrive. When the organisation decides to upgrade any of the hardware or software used the technician is responsible for carrying with the backup assistant if the work load is too much for him. The technician inputs ideas for what the company needs to the IT manager. Backup Manager – Praveen Patel Praveen Patel is responsible for backing up of all data used within the system. Back ups are carried out on a daily basis. (Every evening) These back ups are stored at the main site location. Weekly back ups are also taken from the system, these back ups are taken to a secure location off site. This is done so that if data is lost or corrupt at the main site, only a weeks worth of data is lost. Backup Assistant – Frank Dean Frank Dean is responsible for backing up data on a daily basis, and ensuring all security procedures are met. Database Administrator – Wajid Gahni As the database administrator Wajid Gahni has the responsibility and the role of: – – Co-ordinating the use of data in database management systems. – Providing support to the other departments. – Any changes made to the database must be approved by DBA. – Controlling access, performance, monitoring and tuning of the database. – Working with other computing team members to make sure the database is working to the highest performance. – This DBA gives different users different access rights to the system – The DBA resolves disputes that can occur with the Database. Privacy and Security Privacy â€Å"Privacy is the claim for individuals to be left alone, free from surveillance or interference from other individuals, organisations or the state†. (P59 lauden and lauden.) A2Z Travel.org has about 10 computers, which they use to keep personal data about all drivers, coaches, routes and customers. Therefore all access to customers and staff information within the company is restricted to those authorised to see it. There are formal procedures that are followed for the allocation of access rights to users such as using a secure password, never telling anyone your password, changing passwords regularly and making sure that no staff members write their passwords down, such data should be memorised. At A2Z Travel.org a single password is used so that users can log on to the system, this is secure as only members of staff have authority can log on to the system. An improved way of using passwords would be to assign each user with their own unique user name and password so that all unauthorised access is prevented. These passwords should be confidential and users removed from the system they leave the company. The company plan to implement a more secure password system in the near future to improve security. The use of data encryption would also be of great benefit to A2Z Travel.org, as this would prevent any data being accessed from any other software applications, this would also be necessary when setting up individual unique passwords to access the system. Privacy Software The most interesting thing that we found out while we were at A2Z Travel International was that the two directors, have their own computers, which they work on. The computers have a lot of software installed on it but the most interesting software that we found installed on the computers was the Privacy Guardian 3.2 for Windows. When we asked the directors why they only have this installed on their computers they told us simply because they do not want anybody to know which internet sites they use and visit. Apparently this is something to do with the contracts they have with other companies. The directors admitted that occasionally they would view the contents on colleague’s hardware, including cache, cookies, index.dat and history. Privacy Guardian ensures that all traces of Internet and computer activities are permanently erased and unrecoverable from the PC. â€Å"Privacy Guardian is a safe and easy-to-use privacy protection tool that securely deletes online Internet tracks and program activity records that are stored in your browser and other hidden files on your computer†. SECURITY The Security of a system is a combination of its ability to support: * System Availability * Data Integrity * Data Confidentiality It is essential that all information must be protected against unauthorised access, theft and physical damage. Access to data should only be allowed to members of staff with authority, there might also be certain levels of security so that particular members of staff can only access certain data. Therefore all data in A2Z Travel.org is kept in a secure locked office, with limited access. Backups of data are also kept on secure location off site for security reasons. Data protection act – The main objectives of the act are to make sure that any personal data stored in any computer related to a member of staff is accurate, used for only the purpose registered, kept up to date, and only available to those who are entitled to use the data. Any member of staff may ask for a copy of the data held in their record. It is a legal requirement to meet with the data protection act in any organisation, staff are also made aware of this and are given a copy of the companies data protection policy when they are recruited. CCTV – A2Z Travel.org is a 24-hour coach service and therefore all gates are kept opened for drivers to enter and emerge, and so the need for CCTV is essential. CCTV is also used within the office; this can help to audit users activities on p.c’s. For instance if there was a problem experienced and it could not be confined to a particular member of staff the CCTV system could be used to view who was using the system at a particular time. There is CCTV placed in several places such as inside and outside the office and in the coach yard where the coached are parked. Equipment security – In order to minimise the loss or damage the equipment within the company is protected from security threats and environmental hazards. Regular backup copies of data are taken on a daily basis, which is done by Charles Stewart (Backup Assistant). Master software and backup data diskettes are kept in locked cabinets when not in use and they are also stored in a different location. It is vital for master copies to be kept elsewhere as data that is corrupted or destroyed in case of fire or theft, which will result in losing weeks/months of work, cannot always be replaced. Any computer is at risk from damage or theft. Theft is becoming more and more common amongst companies and organisations. To avoid losing thousands of pounds on buying more equipment to replace the ones that have been damaged or stolen, A2Z Travel international have insured all their equipment in the company. This insurance cover will compensate for the repair or replacement of the equipment and software. The use of security ties and lock help to protect the companies’ hardware, this is necessary as a number of drivers are continuously entering and emerging from the office. Security tags are also used on all of the hardware so that the equipment is identifiable in the event of theft or loss. All of the equipment is also registered with the manufacturer so that they are identifiable from the serial number. To further improve security the use of metal casings and security locks on devices such as printers to prevent any other member of staff apart from the technician from changing consumables etc, this helps maintain equipment as members of staff without I.T knowledge may damage the equipment when attempting to change consumables etc. Viruses – A large risk faced by A2Z Travel.org is the possibility of downloading or receiving harmful viruses. There are a number of ways in which it is possible to contract a virus including the use of floppy disks, downloading data from the Internet or email. To reduce these risks it is the role of the I.T security manager to have an up to date anti virus software subscription. Even more important is the task of regularly updating this software as new viruses are regularly generated. Another security step taken by the organisation is to implement firewalls on all of the P.Cs used within the company. This helps to protect data and filter out any harmful files. The role of the technician includes updating all of this software and carrying out regular checks on all of the computers. Another precaution taken by the company involves completing regular windows updates on all machines used within the company. This keeps all Microsoft software up to date so that there is less risk of contracting any viruses or experiencing any problems with any software. Technical Security – This considers the security requirements, which are related to the technology within A2Z Travel.org in particular IT networks, systems and equipment. Topics that are involved include: Hacking – This is an act to penetrate computer systems to gain knowledge about the system and how it works. A hacker is someone who is interested in computer programming and things that are related to the technical side of a computer. The damage a hacker can do is change a password so legitimate users are denied access, can smuggle another program onto the P.C, can steal credit numbers to obtain goods and services and can crash a system. A2Z Travel.org uses up to data virus protection and Microsoft firewall applications to prevent any unauthorised access to the system. Bibliography http://www.indianest.com/computing/security/020.htm http://www.itbusinessedge.com http://www.etechb.co.uk/education/Docs/Technician_Phase1-summary.pdf Carroll, John Millar, (1987), Computer Security 2nd Edition, http://www.iseek.org/sv/13000.jsp?id=100047 http://www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk/eventual.aspx?id=34 http://www.pctools.co.uk/privacy-guardian http://mtechit.com/concepts/security.html http://www.pctools.co.uk/privacy-guardian

The Importance of Marriage in Pride and Prejudice

Set in late 18th Century England, Pride and Prejudice depicts the search of women for the ‘inevitable' husband and of a male dominant society, within which no woman can be considered truly successful without the assistance of a man of ‘good fortune'. Austen addresses the common ideals of society throughout Pride and Prejudice, such as the monetary values of marriage and the need of a woman to find security for herself and her future children. The opening line of the novel reads ‘It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. Austen not only uses this line to introduce a key theme of the novel, but also hints at the underlining themes of the novel and at the irony and satire due to follow. This is also a use of proleptic irony, Elizabeth is considered as a woman who seeks true love, rather than a marriage based on the fortune of the male; however, upon seeing Pemberley Austen presents Elizabeth as considering money for the first time, the sheer size of the house impresses her and thus she cannot disregard its appeal. During both the 18th and 19th centuries marriage was regarded both a social and biological destiny for woman across all the classes. Austen portrays this belief through Charlotte Lucas whom after gaining some composure considers â€Å"Without thinking highly either of men or of matrimony, marriage had always been her object; it was the only honourable provision for a well-educated young woman of small fortune, and however uncertain of giving happiness, must be their pleasantest preservative from want† (Austen,J. 1853: 22). This amplifies the importance of the rejection of marriage by Elizabeth to Mr Collins, whom by the opinions of society at the time, the natural reaction for a woman in her situation would have been to accept. For she cannot afford to be overly choosy when it comes to marriage – earlier on in the novel Austen describes Mr Bennett cautiously going through the accounts of the estate, in which we are indirectly informed that the accounts are not looking positive. This marriage rejection is also relevant to the life of Austen, who we have learnt rejected a marriage proposal after overnight mentation. Marriage during the 18th and 19th centuries would be a whole family affair, and thus the effects of a marriage proposal or rejection would be felt throughout the generations. Families would look to ally themselves with other families of similar rank, hence marriage between cousins was common practice. This would ensure that both wealth and property would remain within the same family for generations via entailment, thus explaining the disappointment of Mrs Bennett upon finding out of the rejection of marriage between Elizabeth and Mr Collins. Moving to their husbands' establishment would often be the only possible freedom available to girls, though not to be confused in any way with independence, which girls at the time would be lacking. This was another reason that leading families would ally with one another, or often marry within – a family would never wish for their daughter(s) to be associated with a family of lower social value, and thus a smaller estate, or require any future financial support from them – this dependence would grow increasingly expensive and as Austen presents the Bennetts as a family with some financial troubles there is no question as to why she identifies the need for the daughters to be married off. With marriage being the ultimate goal for any young girl within Pride and Prejudice, events leading up to any such event are considered significant. For example, any balls or dances and the partnerships which develop within these; any ‘chance' encounters, such as meetings within town. Marriage would be a key theme of conversation within social circles of girls beyond puberty, the legal age for marriage was 16 (or the age of ‘coming out'), it was much desired by the age of 18 and would threaten to be beyond availability for girls of 20 or older. Girls would worry about being considered an ‘old maid' beyond the age of 20 which explains the desire that Austen presents Charlotte to have in ‘catching' Mr Collins and the warning that Mr Collins gives Elizabeth, who upon rejection of Mr Collins' proposal is already 21. Though the legal age of marriage in England was 16, due to the Marriage Act of 1853, it is assumed that Lydia and Wickham elope to Gretna Green in order to complete their marriage, rather than be living in sin and thus have society look down on them as an unlawfully acquainted couple – in Scotland was not necessary to live in each others' company for a minimum of 3 weeks prior to marriage like it was in England, thus allowing for an instant marriage. Much like the partnership between Darcy and Elizabeth we are made to wait for them to be partners in dance, it is a recurring theme throughout the novel that the longer the time period before the first dance between a couple the longer the time period will also be before they are romantically interested in one another. â€Å"To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love† (Austen, J. 1853: 6), thus the reluctance of Darcy to participate in dancing earlier on in the novel marks his limited social availability. However he becomes more available to Elizabeth later on in the novel as Austen presents him as someone whom is interested in being acquainted with Elizabeth and thus he asks her to dance, though even the act of doing this is portrayed as being difficult for him to achieve. The partnership between Elizabeth and Darcy is a stark contrast to that of Jane and Bingley, which Austen develops from the introduction of the two parties – they dance at the first meeting of one another and are thus romantically involved with one another from this point. Mr Bennett is presented by Austen as a man who is interested in the happiness of his daughters, though namely Lizzy, he is rarely phased by the actions of Lydia, Jane or Mrs Bennett however upon learning of Mr Collins' proposal states â€Å"Your mother will never see you again if you do not marry Mr. Collins†¦ And I will never see you again if you do. † (Austen, J. 853: 64) Austen uses this conversation as a means of demonstrating the understanding and respect that exists between both Lizzy and her father, with Mrs Bennett already having come to the conclusion that Mr Bennett would insist on Lizzy marrying Mr Collins, however in this scene Austen also manages to portray a subtle humour – we read earlier on in the novel of Mrs Bennett's ‘nerves' and this is just another example of Mr Bennett knowing how to vex her, with the reader remembering earlier on in the book when Mr Bennett states â€Å"You mistake me, my dear. I have a high respect for your nerves. They are my old friends. I have heard you mention them with consideration these last twenty years at least. † (Austen, J. 1853: 4). With Lizzy being truly her father's daughter she knows that she will have the support of the parent who means the most to her, or at least the parent whom she is more interested in pleasing. Mr Bennett plays a pivotal role in the marriage of Lizzy, he has the final say on whether or not she marries Darcy, throughout the novel Austen doesn't portray any form of interaction between Mr Bennett and any of his other daughters or their respective partners regarding the issue of marriage. Though this may be due to Elizabeth's importance to the novel, we assume that this is also due to the value of her partnership with Darcy and how this is used to show her romantic development throughout the novel. Austen presents Elizabeth as a character who goes through the typically romantic process of falling in love with someone – both Elizabeth and Darcy must overcome a variety of obstacles in order for their love to Blossom, their story starts with bad first impressions of one another, with Lizzy assuming Darcy to be a pompous, arrogant man and Darcy being blinded by Lizzy's social inferiority. Austen wrote this novel based in an era within which girls being forced in to marriages for financial reasons was coming to an end and though monetary reasons were still considered a valid reason for marriage, or at least one for which marriage would be considered acceptable by one's family, people were also marrying due to love for one another. Lizzy represents the new era within which love is the main reason for marriage or courtship, we recognise this as Lizzy is aware of Darcy's fortune from an early stage of the novel, however she dismisses him due to his arrogant behaviour – if Lizzy was only interested in his wealth, or if this were the reason of her interest in Darcy then Austen would have ensured that she, like her other sisters, flaunted herself in front of a male of such high social value. Austen represents marriage for the ‘wrong' reasons with the marriage between Mr and Mrs Bennett. With Mr Bennett having previously married Mrs Bennett for her youth and good looks, with Mrs Bennett declaring â€Å"I certainly have had my share of beauty, but I do not pretend to be anything extraordinary now. â€Å", he now finds his only happiness through private study or mocking his wife, referring to her ‘nerves' as his ‘old friends', with his witty humour being too complex for her to understand and thus not being able to tell when he is using sarcasm. This sarcasm is a trait which Lizzy shares, for example in Chapter 28 when describing Miss De Bourgh, Lizzy states â€Å"She looks sickly and cross. Yes, she will do for him very well. She will make him a very proper wife. † This use of juxtaposition is rife in Austen's work and is often used for comic effect. Austen uses the juxtaposed relationship between Lizzy and Darcy to present us with an example of marrying for love, rather than superficial reasons which are evident throughout the novel. Examples such as Mr Collins and Charlotte Lucas, or Lydia and Wickham are doomed to fail, or at least to result in the severe unhappiness of the parties involved due to the basis of the relationships being built on financial security or social status. Lizzy and Darcy represent a marriage which ignores the superficial values and focuses on true love, Austen shows us as the reader that this is the only way to have a truly successful and happy marriage to one another and she manages to gain our agreement by portraying the other possible choices throughout the novel.

Monday, July 29, 2019

Franchising

Franchising is defined as a business model wherein the owner of the business (franchisor) gives the independent operator (franchisee) the right to distribute his product, apply his business techniques and use his brand and/or trademark in the conduct of the business. With such a business model, the business owner can maximize their business’ profit potential in a shorter time compared to other more traditional business models. In franchise business, it is not only the products or service that the franchisee can avail; it is more of the system-the business plan of the chosen franchise. It is fact that before franchise companies offer their business packages, they already conducted strenuous researches and studies to test the capability of the franchise to withstand the various factors that might affect the operation of the business. Simply put, franchise business offers a time-tested business plan. When entrepreneurs think of franchising, food is often the first thing that comes to mind. Most of the world’s biggest restaurant concepts are all franchised businesses. This chapter focuses on study and literature readings of franchising business specially food franchising. Different report related to this research will help researcher educate themselves to the different aspect of purchasing a food franchise. Since 1950s, food establishments have quickly become the most popular sector in franchising. In U. S. as the nation’s economic environment hold steady, franchising continues to exhibit its positive influence. According to William Rosenberg International Center of Franchising at the University of New Hampshire Whittemore School of Business and Economics, â€Å"Franchised Businesses create more value and perform better financially than their non-franchised competitors†. The study found that over the 10 year period, U. S. public restaurant franchisor have created more value than their non-franchising competitors. â€Å"Franchising firms minimize agency problems, and have access to cheaper capital, motivated managerial expertise, and better local market knowledge,† according to the report. Franchising has grown so fast since the 1950s that it is now pervasive in different economy around the world. In study commissioned by the International Franchise Association, PriceWaterhouseCoopers estimated that in 2001 there were more than 767,000 business establishment in the United States engaged in franchising, providing directly or indirectly more than 18 million jobs, over $506 billion in payroll, and over $1. 5 trillion of output. Franchising now dominates certain sectors of the U. S. economy, over 56 percent of quick-sevice restaurants are franchises. Franchising is also one of the fastest-growing U. S. xports, and it is now estimated that franchising will grow 12 to 14 percent per year in the future. The restaurant industry has earned a reputation for high risk and high rewards. Some industry analysts claim a dubious 90 percent failure in the first year. Franchise restaurants based on proven systems have a high success rate—about 62 percent over four years—than independent operators. In U. S. the average full-service restaurant in 2006 grossed $867,000. The restaurant industry is the U. S. largest employer after the government. The profitability of a food franchise always depends in their ability to provide satisfaction in their customers. Research indicates that consumers have strong preference about choosing where to eat—with 62 percent saying they look for â€Å"environmentally friendly† establishments, 70 percent want offerings not easily duplicated in their home kitchen; and 83 percent express approval of healthier eating options at quick service eateries. The Success of food franchise can be put down to strong customer focus; franchisees are selected and entrusted with a loved brand and the quality of product and service is never compromised. It is necessary that the franchisor offers its franchisees a comprehensive franchise system, with maximum support and training. Entrepreneurial Failure: The Case of Franchises†, by Steve Michael, a professor of business administration at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Campaign, concluded that â€Å"Franchisees are less likely to fail if they have been trained effectively by the franchisor†. Franchises with the best, most robust training programs have the most successful franchisees. The length of the training program was significantly tied to the chance of failure. Those franchises with the shortest franchisee training programs were more likely to fail. Those with longer programs were more likely to succeed. Michael Newman, president and founder of ABC, based in Citrus Heights, California, agrees and says training of franchisees was paramount from the word â€Å"go†. â€Å"We realized very early on that everything is about training† says Newman. â€Å"Franchisees need good training in order to be successful out in the field. There are as many varieties of food franchises as there are types of foods. Investments can range from the very high end of hundreds of thousands of pesos for full-service restaurants, to a moderate capital outlay for vending machine. There are franchises that specialize in sandwiches, barbeque, burgers, pizza, ethnic foods, candy, ice cream, smoothies and many other types of foods. Food franchising is most often associated with restaurants and it is the best franchise because food and eating remain constant. In Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs, survival needs is the first factor that man should satisfy. In here, nourishment of one’s body is essential, not just because man wants to eat but rather man needs to eat in order to survive. Aside from being a need for human survival, food is the best franchise to engage in because people spend much for food. Plus, human choices of what kind of food or menu to offer are almost endless. Another good thing about food franchise is that, there are a lot of affordable franchise packages that will fit your capital. Entrepreneurs can select from food carts, which is a good start-up, or by kiosks and cafes. This type of food franchise do not require investors to dole out millions or hundreds of thousands pesos. Franchising has recently been named as one of the most outstanding and most successful business models in the country today. It has become so popular that we now have more than a thousand franchise Philippines brands (from just about 50 franchising brands during the 1980s). No wonder, the Philippines is now being dubbed as the â€Å"Franchising Hub of Asia†. Food franchise here in the Philippines is a good earning potential since the products are usually affordable and the taste suits the Filipino taste buds. The very simple explanation for this is that Filipinos love to eat good food. Investors can put their franchise near the schools and universities, transport terminals and even within shopping malls. They can place their franchise anywhere, provided there is traffic or consumers who willing to pay for good tasting meals. There is no doubt, that food business or franchise is a stable industry despite the greet hit of economic recession. Entrepreneurs likely to think that competition in food franchise is stiff. Yes, of course. But their edge depends on the quality and taste of the food. They have to make sure that they deal with the best franchise company who offer good food at good price. Food products should be clean, properly processed, and served in an appetizing way. Naturally, man will spend good money for a great meal. So, it is a confirmation that food franchise can stay sturdy and growing even if other business entities face bankruptcy. Everyone can afford to skip buying latest gadget, but it is a sure bet that, they cannot afford to skip food. As long as there are people around, then food industry stays. Today, even if the economy is down, is still the best time to buy a food franchise. Food business in the Philippines is one of the best investments but it does not promise a 100 percent success. Successful business often start with an idea an entrepreneur hatches, slowly builds up and takes to market. Planning and controlling often occupy the top of every aspiring businessman’s to-do-list before they even starts leasing space and producing products. As it turns out, there are always exceptions to the rule, even in business. Take for instance Edgar Injap Sia. For him, taking advantage of a great opportunity outweighs all the planning known to man, which why he took up a vacant mall in his hometown of Iloilo City without a plan on what to do with. After a few weeks of conceptualizing, Sia decided to put up a restaurant offering an Illonggo staple called inasal in a ciy that was already teeming with versions of the same product. But due to his relentless work ethic, Sia’s Mang Inasal Restaurant became a critical and dominant success in the Visayas region in no time. After establishing a good foothold in that region, he then set his sights on conquering the holy grail of every Filipino businessman: taking his concept to Luzon, specifically the make-or-break capital city, Metro Manila. I was not very familiar with Manila, because I was born and raised in Visayas. I only visited once a year, and it was usually for very short stays. So I knew I was in for a quite a challenge taking Mang Inasal to Luzon,† he said. Out of nowhere, Mang Inasal branches in Metro Manila had sprouted like mushrooms. Mang Inasal’s Founder Edgar Injap Sia shares the secret on making up in the big league. First, be brave and be hold. Second, innovate and start something new. Third, be ready for backbreaking work. Fourth, refuse to give up. Fifth, go slow and steady. Sixth, join reputable organizations. Seventh, stand out. Eight, continue to look for opportunities. â€Å"Nothing is impossible with right attitude. Do not be intimidated by problems look at them as an opportunities for growth. That’s the entrepreneurial spirit of Mang Inasal’ Chairman and CEO, Edgar J. Sia II. In food franchise business commitment with the right attitude is one of the most important recipe. It is impossible to survive and succeed being a franchisee if you are not committed in your business. Source http://www.bison.com/press_ABCSeniors_06092008

Theme of Status in Daisy Miller

In the short story, â€Å"Daisy Miller†, by Edith Wharton, a common obsession is found with the status and respectability of the characters presented in the story. Edith develops this obsession as a theme that is supported by European and American ideals, character’s viewpoints, and character’s actions in the story â€Å"Daisy Miller†. The theme of status and respectability is largely developed by the ideals of the society found within Daisy Miller. The story originates in Switzerland and then later goes on to take place in Rome. In each of these cities, the story implies that status is highly regarded and that the society looks down upon certain unrespectable behaviors. The European societies of Daisy Miller watch and titter over the apparent reckless behavior of this young girl, as this behavior is not acceptable to the upper class. Daisy Miller, as viewed by the European society, a reckless, flirtatious, and imprudent girl, who does not heed societal standards. Her most dishonorable actions are that she tends to spend time with various men in the community. The upper classes find that Daisy’s promenading with various men in public is of upmost disgrace. Throughout the story their views on this sort of behavior are often voiced. In a conversation between Winterbourne, a man who becomes slightly involved with Daisy, and Mrs. Walker, an overseer of Daisy, the criticism of Daisy Miller’s actions is voiced. â€Å" That girl must not do this sort of thing. She must not walk here with you two men. Fifty people have noticed her. † Winterbourne raised his eyebrows. I think it’s a pity to make too much fuss about it. † â€Å"I think it’s a pity to let the girl ruin herself! † The story Daisy Miller tends to revolve around this idea that Daisy is â€Å"ruining herself† due to her irresponsible actions. The society of Europe is very absorbed with Daisy’s respectability; an example of how to the respectability of an individual greatly affects their status in society. Because Daisy and her family are of low class, Daisy’s irresponsible actions easily bring them to an even lower status. The main character Mr. Winterbourne supports the theme of respect and status by acting as a narrator for the follies of Daisy Miller as well as a connection between her and the upper-class ideals of status and respectability. When he is not with Daisy, Mr. Winterbourne is often listening to what is being said about her. â€Å"They ceased to invite her, they intimated that they desired to express to observant Europeans the great truth that, though Miss Daisy Miller was a young American lady, her behavior was not representative. Mr. Winterbourne is highly aware of Daisy’s dishonorable reputation that she gains in the European, especially Roman society, and continuously notes how she falls on the societal scale. Mr. Winterbourne’s obsession with how Daisy Miller is perceived in their society is an important part of what carries the theme of respect and status throughout the short story. Mr. Winterbourne not only perceives Daisy Miller’s affect on society but also d ebates with himself the reasons behind her dishonorable actions. He asked himself whether Daisy’s defiance came from the consciousness of innocence, or from her being, essentially, a young person of reckless class. † In instances such as this, Mr. Winterbourne continuously seeks to rationalize why Daisy dishonors herself through such reckless actions. The theme of status and respectability is also supported by the actions of Daisy Miller herself. Daisy Miller begins by chasing after status in the European society. She often talks of the â€Å"society† in her European community as a class which she strives to be apart. Daisy Miller realizes that she is found to be disrespectable however, tries to believe that this is not the truth. When Winterbourne implies how Daisy Miller perceived in Rome, she acts as though she does not believe him. â€Å" â€Å"Of course I care to know! † Daisy exclaimed seriously. â€Å"But I don’t believe it. They are only pretending to be shocked. † She illustrates the importance of respect and status in both European and American societies. She is very concerned with the respect and status that she has in her society, however is naive of how she fails to gain either of those things. Daisy’s innocence is what saves her from the realization that she is in fact, bringing herself down to a lower space in the social ladder. â€Å"Miss Daisy Miller looked extremely innocent. Some people had told him that, after all, the American girls were exceedingly innocent.. † Daisy Miller is also important to the theme of respect and status in that she provides an outlet for the societal views of what is respectful and what is not. Obviously, â€Å"going around† with men is not a respectable course of action for Daisy Miller, and for this she is ostracized from her society. In the short story, â€Å"Daisy Miller† a societal criticism of respect and status is provided as a major theme. Daisy Miller’s actions are the central to the stories plot, and the criticism that she receives by the â€Å"society† is a constant aspect of the stories plot. Various characters express this criticism, however, the most important of these characters are Mr. Winterbourne, and Daisy herself. Mr. Winterbourne and Daisy each express opposite views towards the societies criticism; however, their separate views, as well as those demonstrated by the society of Europe dramatically support the theme of respect and status in the short story.

The Impact of Multinationals on Economic Growth and Prosperity in Essay

The Impact of Multinationals on Economic Growth and Prosperity in Developing Countries - Essay Example This essay offers a comprehensive review of the influence, exerted by multinational companies, on the growth of developing economies. In the paper, four examples of successful beneficial co-operation between Indian government and multinational companies are provided. Globalisation leads to liberalisation. In economic terminology, governments use the term liberalisation to indicate an open economy system. Governments attract FDI through attractive incentives and subsidies. Multinationals are encouraged to invest and produce goods and services for local and external consumption. There is an unimpeded flow of goods and services between economic jurisdictions. Multinational companies in their activities look for political stability, a strong skilled workforce, and profits, as prerogatives for investment. Countries that attract such investors look at capital investment flow, equity participation, and employment benefits for its workforce. Consumers also benefit from quality international products at low costs. The topic of globalisation became intense in 1990s, when major players began to debate on the benefits developing countries could have from it. Most third world countries were under pressure to clear debts, intense illiteracy, unemployment, poverty and infrastructural development. Most experts were unanimous that most developing countries required foreign direct investment to bail them out of their debts. This could be done only if the countries were willing to share the fruits of investment and provide equal leverage.

Growth and Development of SMEs in Indian Textile Industry Essay

Growth and Development of SMEs in Indian Textile Industry - Essay Example In order to understand further the framework and theoretical part of the study, this study will try to find other related information from books and academic journals. The topics will include managing acquisition, doing mergers, Indian culture, MSEs and other related topics. Methodology The data will be both quantitative and qualitative. The variable that will be of primary importance is the financial performance of small family owned textile businesses. This variable will be used to as the basis of information about the growth and development of small family owned textile business. This will be analyzed using inferential statistics by comparison of means to be generated by SPSS. Quantitative data that will be obtained from the respondents will be those that are related to financial performance. Qualitative data that will be obtained are those other information related to answering the research questions. Information will be gathered through personal interview. Questionnaire will also be used as a way to gather important information from the respondents. The chosen respondents are owners of small family owned textile business in the city of Surat (Guijarat), the textile hub of India. About ten percent of these businesses will be randomly chosen by the proponent. Random sampling will prevent bias and impartiality of information. Action Plan: The action plan of this study is presented in the Ghant Chart below. This is to ensure that the study will be implemented on a step by step process.

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Earth week Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Earth week - Essay Example ay was a great success, it cemented minds of people concerning issues of environmental importance which further led to communal concern and political priority. Many governments on that note enacted laws which include protection of endangered species of animals and plants, maintenance of clean environment, safe drinking water among other much legislation. With time a great success was recorded on institutionalized land, air and water protection. Issues affecting local communities are given attention on the earth week and more so teachings conducted on field of natural calamities such as flooding and how best to deal with them. It also serves as an avenue where to express their growing consciousness of the environment. Events are organized in such a way to enable exhibition of displays that provides information on recycling or non-biodegradables. The internet has served as an important tool in the earth week since it enables reach billions of people in awareness creation. The internet helps in linking of activities around the world such as the pictures of the environmental scenes after the first world earth day and subsequent anniversaries. Effort is not only geared towards the earth week success in campuses and colleges only but even beyond. To ensure effective match of the objectives, it calls for corporate involvement. Wide range of activities is in that regard organized. Such activities involve campus, colleges and general environment general clean up, community service which is environmentally related, public speaking on the importance of environmental conservation coupled with efforts to put such into practice. To mark the peak of the Earth week celebrations Geographic photo editors always select most of the earth’s stunning pictures as seen from the space by NASA satellites which reveal the earth’s green nature. This besides helping in other activities and events are used by environmentalists and environment based organizations to improve the

Abbey Bank Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Abbey Bank - Essay Example Abbey is one of the UK’s leading personal financial services company. It offers a full range of personal financial services including mortgages and savings, bank accounts, loans and credit cards, long term investments policies, critical illness and unemployment cover, and household finance. The company operates in the UK, Europe, and the US. It is headquartered in London, UK and employs about 25,000 people. Abbey is one of the leading providers of mortgages, savings, protection and self- invested personal pensions in the United Kingdom and is one among the largest bank in UK.The Group's principal activity is the provision of major financial services and residential mortgage lending. The Group's financial services includes Banking and Savings which provides residential mortgages, savings and banking & consumer credit; Investment Protection consists of three principal segments: protection, investment and savings & pensions; General Insurance includes non-life insurance products and residential home insurance; Treasury Services was structured into three business areas: Asset and Liability Management, Financial Products and Short Term Markets; Group Infrastructure comprises Central Services, Financial Holdings and the results of certain small non-core businesses and Portfolio Business Unit which includes Wholesale Banking (Roy, 2005).

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Sexism at Work Place Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Sexism at Work Place - Essay Example Women were also not allowed to work with men. Household work and rearing children were the only jobs of females. This was all changed by the industrial revolution of in the early 20th century. Because of need for labor women had to abandon their conventional walk of life and they had to work in factories and industries to make goods. This played a great role in the emancipation of women. After that as a result of series of struggle through feminist movements in 1950s and 60s women were finally liberated. Today women are in a much better condition. But still this emancipation has not fully come and in many walks of life women still today face discrimination. Work places are especially prone to sexism against female and not much attention is given to this issue. This will be the topic of discussion in this essay and we will attempt to highlight issues women face in the work place. Discrimination against Women at Work Place Women today face many issues at the work place. They are not tr eated equally to men and pay structure is also not the same. The problem is that women are not considered to be treated equally to men. They are mostly given secretary and low level jobs, and chances to promotions are very rare. Young women are usually expected to deliver coffee and do petty jobs regardless of their job status, and they are similar to ‘dolls’ for their bosses (Bennett, Ellison, & Ball. 2010). This causes them a lot of problem. Women who suffer from prejudice at work place do not speak much about it out of embarrassment. Also most of them need the jobs so it is not possible for them to risk their jobs. They are left with no choice but to accept this attitude at the work place. If they will not comply by the ‘norms’ then their jobs will be at risk. This is why sexism prevails in the society and at work places. The pay ratio of women is also an example of how blatant sexism has taken over the work places of today. The women receive significant ly less pay than for the same services they give in offices. Females MBA holders earn $4600 less than male MBAs annually (Bennett, Ellison, & Ball. 2010). The reason for this divide in income is only negative attitude towards women. Lower pay scale of women usually discourages them from working. Women who are need of money still work at these lower rates without raising their voices. Lower pay scale for women makes no sense simply because women can work as much as men. Their productivity is similar to men. Nowadays jobs are not like older times when people had to do physical work. Women in offices have nothing to do directly with their physical strength. Rather it is the power of the mind that is important today and women are equally able as men to do their job. So this difference in pay has no rational justification. Wal-Mart is one example of an employer that is blatant in its discrimination against women. It is a practice for the company not to hire women and deny them promotions (Al Norman, 2010). The fact that, a company as big as Wal-Mart can also discriminate against women, is not understandable. But this is happening in this modern world and there is no hope of any improvement. It is because of these big companies that issue of sexism at work place is not discussed in media very often. It is important to understand the reason behind this mentality. It is the old thinking that because women are not as strong physically as men they cannot be treated equally to men. Women were first subjugated by clerics and then by statesmen. And this tradition is continuing now because the attitude of the society in general has not changed regarding women. They are still considered weak and inferior beings that

Marketing Environment of the Financial Services Industry Essay

Marketing Environment of the Financial Services Industry - Essay Example Modification of this law recognizes the comparative development of the DIFC and strengthens its autonomy from onshore legislators. These legislative alterations with regard to DIFC examine what can be anticipated in terms of future regulations inside UAE financial services segment. This will significantly aid in encouraging business in the area. The significant bodies of the DFIC are maintained which have distinct pecuniary units with independent budget lines. The new amendment also clarifies the governance and executive structures of the three significant bodies. The new duties are to instigate, standardize and develop an independent payment structure in connection with the UAE fundamental Bank to advance massive wholesale disbursement, including multi-nation, and currency clearance deals. It clears the capability to clear and mend payments and to implement a structure accordingly (Campbell, p. 1). Current havoc in financial markets with regard to the sub-prime financial catastrophe calls for the integration of chattel liquidity into contemporary risk management components. The definitive target is to execute advanced financial modelling elements and sound regulations for the monetary, service industry in the UAE. The Amended Law indicates further advancement of the DIFC and Dubai as a retreat of tranquillity, order and superb governance. The DIFC society and stakeholders promote this amendment since it aims at enhancing the legislative obligation to subsidize DIFC’s contribution to global financial services sector as might be necessary to sustain effectiveness, transparency and veracity. 2 Global Financial Services Industry Leverages on enhanced De-risking Strategies The comprehensive international outlook aims at changing the financial services sector. Rapid recovery has been recorded in varied sections such as banking and coverage from the present economic meltdown. This is expected to guide the international monetary services in the short or medium terms. Transaction safety, operational effectiveness, regulatory conformity, business stability planning, re-engineering, client service and business peril management will probably advance market development in the approaching years. The financial services segment is significant consumer of varied business services and items. It is an economic authority that drives other enterprises undertakings, setting principles as it provides the monies required to advance these enterprises. It is the spotlight of other sections of the market. It is a sector significantly susceptible to market alterations. The initiation of niche players enhances the sector, although, there have been declines in the number of financial affiliations. The emergence of non-financial institutions into this sector is significantly altering the sector. Escalating competition and flooded markets has forced massive actors in the global banking sector to explore upcoming markets. These changes in the financial segment wi ll significantly increase profits, improve clients’ confidence and advance the entire business progress (GIA, p.1). Consolidation has been extremely significant in the financial services segment in present years. These structural alterations in the sector have produced the liberal strategic turbulence that has challenged senior administration

Friday, July 26, 2019

Multiple Intelligence in the Classroom Research Paper

Multiple Intelligence in the Classroom - Research Paper Example ng and considering all of these kinds of multiple intelligences and how teachers can deal with different kinds of intelligences in the classroom using a variety of teaching strategies. In this book, the reader can find the relationship between MI theory and special education, and MI theory and cognitive skills as well. It also discusses the relationship between MI theory and classroom environment. Critics’ opinion on this theory is also a part of the book. In one of its appendixes, related MI resources are given. Related books on MI teaching are also a part of the appendixes of this book. One of the appendixes presents examples of MI lessons and programs. In this way, this book presents a thorough study on MI theory, and its education related issues. The intent of the writer, Thomas Armstrong, of writing this book, is to emphasize on different kinds of intelligences, which different human beings are gifted with, especially the students; and to tell the ways to deal with people with a variety of intelligences to optimize the ratio of success in people and to minimize failures, because of their unrecognized potentials. Armstrong emphasizes that Gardener (1983) has rightly pointed out that Western cultures value linguistic intelligence and logical or mathematical intelligence only, and Armstrong says that Gardener has pointed out that other cultures value other types of intelligence as well. Thomas Armstrong has provided his readers with he idea that a variety of teaching strategies should be used in the classroom to help different kinds of intelligences grow and to assess them finally. Adapted from a checklist that is adapted itself from Armstrong, these are the habits and characteristics, that indicate some one with a particular intelligence - some one with linguistic intelligence would enjoy writing, speaking, communicating and reading. Some one with logical and mathematical intelligence would be interested in working of things; would enjoy puzzles,

UCC and UCITA models acts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

UCC and UCITA models acts - Essay Example Ogden where Chief Justice Marshall interpreted the Power of Congress to regulate commerce and in the same breadth prohibited states from interfering with the flow of goods and services across state boundaries by passing laws (Find Law n.d.). Chief Justice Marshall indicated that the clause was not limited to interstate commerce but also intrastate commerce. Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) refers to contracts for sale of goods (Cornell University Law School). The article is limited in scope and does no cover computer information and internet contracting. It governs transactions in tangible goods and does not cover intangible items. Article 2 of the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA) was specifically created to deal with the deficiencies in the UCC. Article 2 of UCITA relates to intangible items such as licenses. According to UCITA Online (n.d) the Act states clearly that contracts relating to computer information are licenses and therefore involves a set of legal considerations that are not applicable to sale of tangible items. The UCITA therefore established a clear set of rules relating to software licensing, online access and other transaction in computer information where none existed before UCITA Online (n.d.). Computer software though purchased with a computer has limitations and guidelines on how they are used.

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Economic questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Economic questions - Assignment Example ect an offer of zero units, but at an offer of one unit they will accept it if they are self-interested and risk-neutral because it is one more unit than they would be getting if they rejected the one unit offer. c) The subgame perfect Nash equilibrium does not match the actual behavior at all. The different assumptions we can make in part a to explain this is basically that if people feel that the amount they are getting is unfair, they will try to hurt the other person as well as themselves by making sure nobody gets anything. 2- In this situation, the drug-dealer’s best option is to go to the park because if the officer is at the park the dealer will still make 50 deals whereas if they are both on the street he will only make 30 deals. The officer can do better if she stays on the street but knows the drug dealer will do better at the park given that they both choose the same place. Therefore, the most likely payoff would probably be the bottom right square where 50 deals are made and 120 are stopped. However, Player Two has a bigger payoff when they are at different locations. Because of this, a mixed-strategy Nash equilibrium shows that the dealer would average about 100 deals, meaning the officer would be able to stop an average of 70 deals. If Player Two is self-regarding, Player One will benefit more from sending payment if Player Two delivers (P,D). In this situation Player One will also make a profit if they don’t send payment and Player Two delivers (NP, D). In the other two situations Player One & Player Two will benefit equally (NP,K) and Player One will lose in the payment – non delivery situation (P,K). If Player Two is reciprocal, Player Two stands to benefit more from a payment and delivery situation (P,D), as well as benefiting more from a payment and non-delivery situation and a non-payment, non-delivery situation (NP, K). The only situation where Player one benefits more is where they don’t pay but the item is still delivered (NP,

Evaluate and revise A Strategy for Scottish Tourism Essay

Evaluate and revise A Strategy for Scottish Tourism - Essay Example It was evolved primarily based on the views that the overseas target markets showed declining performance, there was considerable increase in short tours and also the expenditure was exceeding budgets as per the targets set. The new strategy was the result of a consultation document from Henry McLeish MSP, Honorable Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning in 1999. The consultation document provided the broad items that could go to make for the new strategy, viz., optimal use of IT, tourism promotion to remote and rural areas, assuring quality, identifying future markets, domestic as well as overseas, extending the tourism season, improving training, improving accessibility of areas for tourism interest in Scotland, ATB functioning, as well as making tourism sustainable in the long term. It is therefore in this context that the strategy was examined. Acknowledges are due and hence conveyed in all earnestness to the university professors, fellow students as well as the different authors and experts who have permitted quoting their works in this report. In particular, mention needs to be made of JRB Ritchie and GI Crouch, whose painstaking work The Competitive Destination: A sustainable tourism perspective, 2003, has afforded this study to be made on the basic of fundamental strategy and tourism concepts outlined by these eminent authors. The study examined the new Scottish Tourist Board (STB) strategy according to the principle that tourism development needs to both competitive and sustainable in the long term. Sustainability means conserving the natural resources of Scotland and protecting its heritage structures. The strategy recognizes the natural advantages of Scotland in its scenic beauty and varied landscape and also highlights efforts to be undertaken like technology adoption, customer focus, service quality assurance, lifelong learning, training, better coordination among public bodies and greater involvement of

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Common agricultural policy (research paper) Essay

Common agricultural policy (research paper) - Essay Example Currently, there are reforms that are being instituted with a view to reducing control on imports, as well as the transfer of subsidy to land stewardship, as opposed to a specified production of crops. In addition, the implementation of this scheme usually varies among the various member countries of the European Union. Up until 1992, the European Union share on agricultural expenditure amounted to 49 percent of the union's budget. It has thus far been projected that come the year 2013, the traditional share spending of CAP will have reduced by half, to 32 percent. It has further been opined that the cause behind this reduction shall be as a result of a reduction in real terms in the present financial period. Conversely, the amount spent by the European Union on regional policy, and which in 1988 represented 17 percent of the EIU budget, will by 2013 be more than double, to stand at 36 percent. The Common Agricultural Policy hopes to provide reasonable living standards to farmers the one hand, while also ensuring that consumers receives high quality food at prices that are fair (Richardson 2000). In addition, the CAP hopes to preserve rural heritage. Although some critics have regarded the CAP as a project whose sole intent is a waste of money, still there is a majority of others who views it as the most successful policies of the European Union. ... As opposed to the paying of farmers so that they can produce more, the payment made by the European Union are conditional; as long as the farmers are able to meet animal welfare and environmental standards. Additionally, the farmers are also supposed to ensure that their land is kept in a good condition always. Thus far, the CAP has recognized a need to take into consideration the agricultural social structure, as well as the natural disparities among various agricultural regions. Through the maintenance of the levels of commodity prices, the integrated measures of the CAP ensure that production of commodities in the European Union is subsidized. To achieve this, the cap uses a number of mechanisms: First, import levies are charged to specific goods that are imported from outside the European Union. Such levies are often set at such a level as to aid in the raising of world market prices to reach the target price of the European Union. Secondly, the CAP uses import quotas as a means of restricting the quantity food that is to be imported into the European Union. Then, such prices of the foods are usually set with a view to raising the world market prices so at to reach the targets fro the European Union. Such a target price is often chosen to become the maximum price that can be desired for such goods within the co9nfuines of the European Union. Thirdly, the import quotas are also used as a way of restricting the amount of food that can be imported into the European Union. To this end, there are some countries who are non-members of the European Union that have been able to negotiate for quotas that enables them sell specific products within the EU minus the tariffs. Finally, there is

Car pooling scheme is effective argue against this statement Essay

Vehicle pooling plan is compelling contend against this announcement - Essay Example While there appear to be numerous focal points to it...