Strategic Global Operations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Strategic Global Operations - Essay Example INCAT entered into joint venture with AFAI of Hong Kong against its previous strategy of licensing shipyards to build vessels in different countries. INCA is globally knows for its two high-speed ferry designs. It enjoys excellent reputation for its customer service and the safety of its vessels. Although INCAT had initially licensed shipyards, it entered into joint venture in 1996 due to heightened global demand. The growth of the company has taken place through innovation, diversification and globalization as competition has intensified and as economic situation has worsened (Wickham, 2005). This paper evaluates why INCAT chose to enter into joint venture against licensing for building catamaran vessels. Depending upon the equity participation desired, the technology transfer, the risks and controls, the costs involved, an organization chooses to either enter into licensing agreement, joint ventures, or have a wholly-owned subsidiary. Licensing is a contract in which the licensor provides the licensee with access to one or a set of technologies in exchange for financial compensation (Rajan & Pangarkar, 2000). In this agreement there is very little equity stake by the licensor or the multinational unit. Licensing requires a high level of technological competence. INCAT would just receive the royalty in exchange for the technology but would have little control over the quality. When technology is transferred to new and uncertain markets, the transaction cost is high and hard entry mode is preferred (Zhao & Decker, 2004). INCAT and AFAI had worked together for several years and developed a relationship of trust and commitment. INCAT received inclination from several shipbuilders located in Malta, England, China and Sweden but it preferred AFAI for several reasons. Cultural distance can pose an obstacle in the management of joint ventures and this can be reduced through experiential

Team Communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Team Communication - Essay Example Team development can be achieved by effective communication which increased cohesiveness of the team. These types of work structures require a whole new notion of collaboration-collaboration with external constituencies. A potential impediment to the success of work teams comes from differences in employee preferences and values. Just as some cultures are more individualistic or more collectivistic than others, individuals within cultures also vary on this dimension-even though there is, on average, more variation across cultures than within cultures. For example, when faced with the prospect of moving to a team-based work environment, some employees in a study conducted in the United States expressed concerns that reflected their individualistic values. "The communication gauge is read by individually asking team members about the purpose of what they do, why this project exists, and what success looks like for the purpose of team understanding" (Thompson and Border 2008, p. 10). Nu merous impediments will challenge the effective implementation of teams across national contexts, including the inherent time lag between implementation and results, the often tenuous relationships between teams, cultural differences that require adaptations in practices to fit the context, and increasing domestic demographic diversity within nations. As temporary team structures, multicultural teams, and virtual teams proliferate, these team-savvy practitioners will be able to lead their organizations through successful implementation and use of teams in multinational contexts (Hermelis et al 2008). In addition to increasing the likelihood of informal communication through increased contact, proximity increases the quality of communication. By high-quality communication, we mean two-way interactions involving more than one sensory channel. The opportunity for interactions of this type is especially important during the initiation and planning stages of a project, when the need for a rich communication modality is strongest. In addition to increasing the likelihood of informal communication through increased contact, proximity increases the quality of communication. By high-quality communication, we mean two-way interactions involving more than one sensory channel. t (Thompson and Border 2008). The main challenges of team communication are diversity (cultural, age and gender and different perspectives on the research projects. Having multiple opportunities for high-quality, low-cost interactions makes it possible for potential collaborators to find each other and to manage their work efficiently. Without these opportunities for informal communication, collaborations don't get started, and if the opportunity for informal communication declines, collaborative work typically slows down, becomes more burdensome and, sometimes, comes to an end. Teams in individualistic cultures appear to be particularly susceptible to overconfidence. "That the biases inherent in self-selection could skew the exit questionnaires and thus our research findings." (Hermelis et al 2008, p. 342). Individualists view their team as an entity in and of itself rather than one that is connected to the external context and are therefore even less apt to use external sources of information to make correction s in their behavior and improve their performance. Particularly in

British Trade Unions Experienced Rapid

British Trade Unions Experienced Rapid British trade unions experienced rapid membership growth in the 1970s, followed by a severe membership decline in the 1980s and 1990s and a subsequent stabilisation in membership numbers in the period since 2000. Critically evaluate the various economic, political, industrial and internal union factors which may have influenced these fluctuations; then assess, (with supporting evidence), whether British trade union membership is likely to grow or decline in the next five years. This essay will critically evaluate the various factors which influenced the re-curing decline and increase of the British trade unions from the 1970s to 2000. This essay will also analyse the decline and growth of the trade unions in the next five years. The real beginning of British trade unionism was established by craftsmen in the late eighteenth century who called themselves Friendly Societies. They focus on the individual employee or member by providing services, advice and representing individuals (Simms Charlwood, 2010). Trade union is any organisation, whose membership consists of employees, which seeks to organise and represent their interests both in the workplace and society and, in particular, seeks to regulate the employment relationship through the direct process of collective bargaining with management (Salamon, 2000). Trade Unions are central to employee relations in Britain and other countries. They have suffered loss of membership and other challenges throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Hollinshead et al (2003) states that trade Union membership increased during the 1960s and 1970s from (9.8million in 1960 to 13million in 1979). This was due to the growth in the public sector and white -collar work. Although the decline in trade union membership since 1979 has been among manual employees in the manufacturing sector, union membership suddenly change towards non-manual and public sector employees (Simms Charlwood , 2010). The sustained decline in membership in 1980s and 1990s was due to the int eractions among the composition of the workforce and Jobs, the roles of the state, employers and individual workers and of unions own structure and policies (Gall, 2004). These factors which attributed to the decline in membership will be studied separately but also recognize that there is a considerable interaction among them. On the measure of economic influence on unions due to the Global trade in developed countries, combined with the rapid technological change, have had important impacts in other countries including Britain (Freeman, 1995). Industrialization in other countries has had a massive impact on British trade unions this was due to the increase in competitive product markets that presented challenges to unions. Because of the competitive product markets it made it harder for unions to win concessions from employers. This causes the cost of unionization and collective action to be higher (Brown et al, 1997). Also a rise in unemployment in the 1980s was significant in reducing trade union membership. The shift in composition of the workforce and jobs played a role in union membership decline, particularly from 1970s. Also changes in gender composition had an impact on union membership (Simms Charlwood, 2010). This was due to the decline in manufacturing employment and rise of service sector whi ch led to the removal of the whole sections of highly unionised workforces employing mainly males. There are several reasons for not relying on compositional effects as the main cause of union decline. Union membership fell by 5million in the 1980s and 1990s. Research evidence from British social attitudes survey and labour force survey suggested that only between 1 million and 1-7million of this loss is attributable to the changed structure of the workforce and employment (Millward et al, 2000). Activities and policies of the state had a negative impact on British trade union membership for example legislation promoting or undermining union security, and its influence on the environment in which employers and unions operate. Carruth and Disney (1988) states that Union decline was triggered by the global recession of 1980. This affected Britain most because of the legal reforms of the conservative government and the way they managed the economy. Also, the environment in which the social partners conducted their activities was affected by the attack on public sector activities, the undermining of collectivism and a greater emphasis than previously on product market competition. Public sector unions faced privatisation such as the water, steel, coal and electricity industries and competitive tendering for services provided by local government, the NHS and civil services, which cost job losses in these highly unionised sectors (Hollinshead et al, 2003). Again, collectivism was d amaged by, for example, taking a million teachers and nurses out of collective bargaining and at the same time breaking up the central control of education and health by introducing local management of schools and health service trusts (Colling and Terry, (2010). Industrial relations legislation also affected union decline, by weakening union security and then outlawing the closed shop and interfering in check-off arrangements. The strike threat, a fundamental source of union power was weakened by laws which permitted a union to be sued and also introduced ballots prior to a strike and outlawed both secondary and unofficial action. This legislation both raises the cost of organising and reduces the costs employers face in opposing unions. Freeman and Pelletier (1999) calculated a legislation index according to how favourable or unfavourable various strands of labour law were to unions in each year. These changes in the law were shown to be central to the decline in density in the 19 80s. In 2000, the labour government introduced a new procedure by which employees could seek recognition of a union from their employer. This policy changes contributed in part to the unions slight recovery of union members. Although the policy has been criticised a research conducted by Income Data Services suggests that some 470 voluntary agreements between companies and unions were signed prior to the law taking effect. Furthermore, trade union policies and structure also affected membership, for example structural issues include moves to decentralization, the nature of mergers and multi-unionism. Also, policies regarding the manner in which unions interact with members, employers, potential members, and the state. In 1960 trade unions took a decision to withdraw such that shop stewards became responsible for collecting dues and members. However the shop stewards role was shortly submerged by their collective bargaining function. Such uneven bargaining outcomes, led to a loss of national voice (Bryson 2001). This may have weakened employers associations and coalitions among unions which could have improve the concentration of membership. Brook (2002) suggested that in the 1980s 10 unions with 250,000 members accounted for 60% of membership, but years later 11 unions with over a quarter of million members accounted for three quarters of membership. This fusion was aimed at raising market share, shuff ling of members around than generating scale economies which would release extra resources for servicing and organising. Also, more than one union in the workplace (i.e. multi-unionism) has a positive impact on industrial relations. Research suggested that when organisations have more than one union in the workplace it connects with fragmented bargaining, rather than single table bargaining, where productivity growth is lower and financial performance and strike record are worse than in similar workplaces with just one union (Simms Charlwood, 2010). . Ferner and Hyman (1992) Trade unions depend on their members for income, so when union member declined their income decreased. Due to these changes, unions made a decision to prioritize the representation of existing members rather than expanding into new areas. Policies towards members and potential members also affected membership decline due to the changing workforce increasing diversity, the move to services work and changing patterns of employment and changing lifestyle habits (Hollinshead, 2003). In 1980s the union movement demonstrated it most negative behaviour by opposing the industrial relations legislation despite the fact that the conservative government had a clear mandate and the public supported its proposals. Again some unions challenged the power of the state and they seem not to realise until it was too late the fragility of their situation. This lead to the state withdrawing its support for their activities and many employers followed the state. This lead to the rapid decline of members and unions bargaining agenda became hugely constrained. During the 1990s, TUC general secretary John Monks tried to create new sources of legitimacy power for unions by promoting the idea of a more Europeans style of partnership industrial relation (Heery, 1999). Politicians and policy makers did not support the idea that it will make any substantial impact on union fortunes. Again, many employers were reluctant to engage with unions in this way, and many activists were not comfor table with the idea (Hollinshead et al, 2003). Although the union movement improved in the 1990s it was too late to reverse the sustained loss of members. In 1997 Labour government came into power and repeatedly stated it would not repeal the anti-union legislation introduced in 1979. In addition the Labour Party distances themselves from trade unions which created it. Also the Labour Government took a stand towards public service reform, the level of the minimum wage, and the refusal to embrace more widespread employment rights such as those enjoyed elsewhere in the EU, for example the family friendly policies. They introduced the 1999 Employment Relations Act which sought to widen collective bargaining with unions being granted statutory right to recognition where they have over 50% of a workplace bargaining group. Individual rights have been strengthen by the introduction of the minimum wage, a maximum working week, the right to union representation at grievance and disciplinary hearings and reduction to 1 year of the unfair dismissal qualification period. Ewing (2003) states that the 1997 Labour Government has adopted a notably different, if still broadly pluralist approach, to its predecessors, in that it has assigned a far more comprehensive role to legislation, as opposed to collective bargaining, foe setting minimum employment standards. Also at the same time it has place tight restrictions on the trade union and industrial action whilst granting unions statutory powers to widen their spheres of collective bargaining. Furthermore, British trade unions attempted to address declining levels by placing great emphasis on membership recruitment and organizing new workers. Unions organises workers in workplaces where there has not been a union. It does it this by emphasising the different interests of workers and managers, and by showing how workers can pursue their interests by acting collectively. For example Unite union took a similar approach and has done some innovative work with low-paid cleaners in London, by building local networks and tapping into their local activism (Wills, 2005). This approach was influenced by ideas from America (Bronfenbrenner et al.,1998) and by mobilization theory (Kelly1998). It states that, the collective power of workers will force the employer to listen to them and take their interests seriously. However it is difficult to do this in the current social environment and also, it proves difficult considering the legal constraints on using their coercive power. Gall (200 4) reports that, there are challenges in recruiting workers and that it is often expensive and time consuming, successful outcomes are far from certain, again there is a risk that the employer may counter-mobilize. Secondly, in an effort to renew legitimacy power which declined in both government and many employers, unions decided to work in partnership with employers. Haynes and Allen (2001) states that partnership includes ideas of mutual acceptance of the legitimacy of each partner, cooperation, and joint decision making. Unions suggested that by getting employers to accept the right and legitimacy of the union to express the collective interests of workers, they union hope to use partnership to convince workers that their voices will be heard. Kelly (1996) argues that in using this approach workers may think that because the union works cooperatively with managers it is not an independent body that represents their interests. On the other hand, union may lose the ability to put the workers point of view effectively since it lacks or is unwilling to use its coercive power. Furthermore, employers and unions have benefited from Partnership in terms of increased job security, benefits in wages, and increased union density (Kelly 2004). Finally, In order to improve union membership rates, unions decided to provide better services to members. By expanding the range of services they provided in the hope that this would attract new members. Some example includes providing credit cards or discounts on insurance, but it proved ineffective it was not a priority for workers (Waddington and Whitson 1997). Looking to the past we saw that unions offered financial services such as forms of life insurance or assistance with funeral costs as they have been the most concern of workers. If unions fail to defend and promote their members interest, membership will decline. Finally, in spite of the extensive experiments with strategies for renewal, unions have not seem successful in creating new form of unionism adapted to the changed political, social and economical circumstance. A WERS surveys conducted have traced the decline of union membership and influence in British workplace over the course of 1980s and 1990s (Millward et al, 2000), however there are signs that the rate of decline has slowed in recent years (Grainger and Holt, 2005). The labour force survey indicates that the total number of unions members among employees in Britain actually increase from 6.7million to 6.9million between 1998 to 2003 (Hicks e t al 2005).The economy was expanding at the same time but, in contrast to earlier periods unions were broadly keeping pace. Again, 200,000 members were gained between 1998 and 2003; twice as many were lost between 2003 and 2009. Density fell two percentage points to reach 27.0% in 2009. Also the 2008/9 recession appears to have brought no change in membership decline. This is because the recession has not affected union jobs any more or less than non-union jobs to date. However, this may change if there are large scale redundancies in the public sector. This may result in a disproportionate share of the jobs that are lost can be expected to be union jobs which is likely to result in membership decline. Ferner and Hyman (1992) suggest that future union is likely to depend on the political climate and employer policy. It is hard to predict on the latter that most employers will be welcoming to unions as they were during the post Donovan period of industrial relations reform. This together in shifts in the employment structure suggests that, even with a favourable political situation, unions will find it hard to increase density levels. Nevertheless, some predict that the true turning point towards better fortunes for trade unions may still be some way away (Metcalf,2005). Though there are difficulties, one in three British workers are still members of unions, however the probability that working people will turn to trade unions to develop collective responses is very low (Simms Charlwood, 2010). In conclusion, British trade unions have developed from small localised organisations into complex national institutions and have played an integral and influential role not only in the workplace but also in society. Again, British trade unions have some grounds for cautious optimism in respect of their membership numbers. However, bearing in mind the enormous defeats and severe constraints in the past. Overall it seems trade union membership is unlikely to increase as they face a less supportive economic and political environment. Also, the new coalition government suggested they will introduce more legislation to restrict union ability to take industrial actions.

Thomas Hobbes Philosophy Essay -- Thomas Hobbes Philosophy

Thomas Hobbes Thomas Hobbes was an English philosopher who lived from 1588-1679. He attended Oxford University where he studied classics. His occupation was a tutor, but he also traveled around Europe to meet with scientists and to study different forms of government. He became interested in why people allowed themselves to be ruled, and what would be the best form of government for England. Thomas Hobbes was the first great figure in modern moral philosophy. Hobbes had a pessimistic view of people; he believed humans were selfish creatures who would do anything to better their positions. He also thought that people could not be trusted to make decisions on their own, and a country needed an authority figure to provide direction and leadership. Therefore, Hobbes believed in an absolute monarchy - a government that gave all power to a king or queen. He also thought that people should obey their king, even if he is a tyrant. He said that because people were only interested in promoting their own self-interests, democracy would never work. In fact, he thought democracy was very dangerous. But even though he distrusted democracy, he believed that a diverse group of representatives presenting the problems of the common person would prevent a king from being unfair and cruel. Hobbes coined the phrase, "Voice of the people," meaning one person could be chosen to represent a group with similar views. In 1651, Thomas Hobbes wrote his famous work, "Leviathan" which put into...

Liesel

Melange was a brave young girl who developed Into a kind, respected young woman. Elise will always be remembered as a determined woman. Lease's life was t cough, but during those times, she discovered herself. Less lost her family at a young age. Her mother was unable to care for her, as a result Else was sent to foster parents, Hans and Ross a Hibernate, to care for her.Else grew up In a difficult time period, World War II, her foster parents aided her as much as they could and tried their best to raise her as their own. She grew up on Hi Mel Street in Mulching, Germany. She often played with the neighborhood children and they all enjoyed the game of soccer. The neighborhood games was where Elise met her best friend, Rudy Steiner. Rudy Steiner and Lies Engineer created a very special bond. Rudy deseed irately loved Lies, but Lies only cared for him as a friend.Lies and Rudy not only played Soc ere, but they also stole. The two were known to steal apples from farmers. Elise was a sma rt and talented girl. She was determined and if she set her mind on something, she would get it done. Lies was given no educational attention till she w as nearly ten years old, but she made a mission to learn to read and write. It took time but she soon was one of the best readers in her class. Less Melange faced many difficult times In her life.She lost many people In her life ND Less was once faced with bearing the secret that a Jew was living In her basemen NT(he later had to leave do to safety Issues). When Less was a young girl Germany was beginning Eng to be bombed by the Allies, during the bombings, Helmet Street was hit, all of Leases neigh hobos, friends. And even her foster parents were killed in the bombing, but Lies survived d u to the fact that she was in her basement sleeping after a long night of writing. After the bombing Lies lived with the mayor and his wife. Lies lived a long happy

Deception Point Page 110

Sexton had no idea what the man was talking about. The reporter handed him the photocopies. Sexton looked at the pages-and for a moment, his mind went totally blank. No words came. He was staring at unfamiliar photographs. Black-and-white images. Two people. Naked. Arms and legs intertwined. For an instant, Sexton had no idea what he was looking at. Then it registered. A cannonball to the gut. In horror, Sexton's head snapped up to the crowd. They were laughing now. Half of them were already phoning in the story to their news desks. Sexton felt a tap on his shoulder. In a daze, he wheeled. Rachel was standing there. â€Å"We tried to stop you,† she said. â€Å"We gave you every chance.† A woman stood beside her. Sexton was trembling as his eyes moved to the woman at Rachel's side. She was the reporter in the cashmere coat and mohair beret-the woman who had knocked over his envelopes. Sexton saw her face, and his blood turned to ice. Gabrielle's dark eyes seemed to bore right through him as she reached down and opened her coat to reveal a stack of white envelopes tucked neatly beneath her arm. 132 The Oval Office was dark, lit only by the soft glow of the brass lamp on President Herney's desk. Gabrielle Ashe held her chin high as she stood before the President. Outside the window behind him, dusk was gathering on the west lawn. â€Å"I hear you're leaving us,† Herney said, sounding disappointed. Gabrielle nodded. Although the President had graciously offered her indefinite sanctuary inside the White House away from the press, Gabrielle preferred not to ride out this particular storm by hiding out in the eye. She wanted to be as far away as possible. At least for a while. Herney gazed across his desk at her, looking impressed. â€Å"The choice you made this morning, Gabrielle†¦ † He paused, as if at a loss for words. His eyes were simple and clear-nothing compared to the deep, enigmatic pools that had once drawn Gabrielle to Sedgewick Sexton. And yet, even in the backdrop of this powerful place, Gabrielle saw true kindness in his gaze, an honor and dignity she would not soon forget. â€Å"I did it for me, too,† Gabrielle finally said. Herney nodded. â€Å"I owe you my thanks all the same.† He stood, motioning for her to follow him into the hall. â€Å"I was actually hoping you'd stick around long enough that I could offer you a post on my budgeting staff.† Gabrielle gave him a dubious look. â€Å"Stop spending and start mending?† He chuckled. â€Å"Something like that.† â€Å"I think we both know, sir, that I'm more of a liability to you at the moment than an asset.† Herney shrugged. â€Å"Give it a few months. It will all blow over. Plenty of great men and women have endured similar situations and gone on to greatness.† He winked. â€Å"A few of them were even U.S. presidents.† Gabrielle knew he was right. Unemployed for only hours, Gabrielle had already turned down two other job offers today-one from Yolanda Cole at ABC, and the other from St. Martin's Press, who had offered her an obscene advance if she would publish a tell-all biography. No thanks. As Gabrielle and the President moved down the hallway, Gabrielle thought of the pictures of herself that were now being splashed across televisions. The damage to the country could have been worse, she told herself. Much worse. Gabrielle, after going to ABC to retrieve the photos and borrow Yolanda Cole's press pass, had snuck back to Sexton's office to assemble the duplicate envelopes. While inside, she had also printed copies of the donation checks in Sexton's computer. After the confrontation at the Washington Monument, Gabrielle had handed copies of the checks to the dumbstruck Senator Sexton and made her demands. Give the President a chance to announce his meteorite mistake, or the rest of this data goes public too. Senator Sexton took one look at the stack of financial evidence, locked himself in his limousine, and drove off. He had not been heard from since. Now, as the President and Gabrielle arrived at the backstage door of the Briefing Room, Gabrielle could hear the waiting throngs beyond. For the second time in twenty-four hours, the world was assembled to hear a special presidential broadcast. â€Å"What are you going to tell them?† Gabrielle asked. Herney sighed, his expression remarkably calm. â€Å"Over the years, I've learned one thing over and over†¦ † He put a hand on her shoulder and smiled. â€Å"There's just no substitute for the truth.† Gabrielle was filled with an unexpected pride as she watched him stride toward the stage. Zach Herney was on his way to admit the biggest mistake of his life, and oddly, he had never looked more presidential. 133 When Rachel awoke, the room was dark. A clock glowed 10:14 P.M. The bed was not her own. For several moments, she lay motionless, wondering where she was. Slowly, it all started coming back†¦ the megaplume†¦ this morning at the Washington Monument†¦ the President's invitation to stay at the White House. I'm at the White House, Rachel realized. I slept here all day. The Coast Guard chopper, at the President's command, had transported an exhausted Michael Tolland, Corky Marlinson, and Rachel Sexton from the Washington Monument to the White House, where they had been fed a sumptuous breakfast, been seen to by doctors, and been offered any of the building's fourteen bedrooms in which to recuperate. All of them had accepted. Rachel could not believe she had slept this long. Turning on the television, she was stunned to see that President Herney had already completed his press conference. Rachel and the others had offered to stand beside him when he announced the meteorite disappointment to the world. We all made the mistake together. But Herney had insisted on shouldering the burden alone. â€Å"Sadly,† one political analyst on TV was saying, â€Å"it seems NASA has discovered no signs of life from space after all. This marks the second time this decade that NASA has incorrectly classified a meteorite as showing signs of extraterrestrial life. This time, however, a number of highly respected civilians were also among those fooled.† â€Å"Normally,† a second analyst chimed in, â€Å"I would have to say that a deception of the magnitude the President described this evening would be devastating for his career†¦ and yet, considering the developments this morning at the Washington Monument, I would have to say Zach Herney's chances of taking the presidency look better than ever.† The first analyst nodded. â€Å"So, no life in space, but no life in Senator Sexton's campaign either. And now, as new information surfaces suggesting deep financial troubles plaguing the senator-â€Å" A knock on the door drew Rachel's attention. Michael, she hoped, quickly turning off the television. She hadn't seen him since breakfast. On their arrival at the White House, Rachel had wanted nothing more than to fall asleep in his arms. Although she could tell Michael felt the same, Corky had intervened, parking himself on Tolland's bed and exuberantly telling and retelling his story about urinating on himself and saving the day. Finally, utterly exhausted, Rachel and Tolland had given up, heading for separate bedrooms to sleep. Now, walking toward the door, Rachel checked herself in the mirror, amused to see how ridiculously she was dressed. All she had found to wear to bed was an old Penn State football jersey in the dresser. It draped down to her knees like a nightshirt. The knocking continued. Rachel opened the door, disappointed to see a female U.S. Secret Service agent. She was fit and cute, wearing a blue blazer. â€Å"Ms. Sexton, the gentleman in the Lincoln Bedroom heard your television. He asked me to tell you that as long as you're already awake†¦ † She paused, arching her eyebrows, clearly no stranger to night games on the upper floors of the White House.

Games to Support Skills for Children with Disabilities

Games to Support Skills for Children with Disabilities Games are an effective tool to support instruction in special education. When your students know how to play a game, they can play it independently. Some board games and many electronic games are available commercially or online, but they dont always support the skills that your students need to build. At the same time, many online computer games fail to support social interaction, which is an important benefit of supporting instruction with board games. Reasons for Games Drill and Repetition: Students with disabilities often need lots and lots of practice on skills, beyond what they would receive in a general education class, in a more naturalistic approach to instruction. We also know that students have difficulty generalizing skills, so games that use math or reading skills in a game will motivate children to use those skills across more social settings.Social Skill Training and Practice: Many children with disabilities, especially developmental disabilities such as autism spectrum disorders, have difficulty with social interactions. Board games support waiting, turn taking, and even losing gracefully, which both typical, and children with special needs struggle with. Games can even be designed to support social skills, such as a social skill game that requires students to complete a social task successfully (Say hello to a friend, etc.), to stay on a square on the board, or you can make some social skills cards for existing games (Chance cards on Monopoly?). Peer-Mediated Instruction:  Children with disabilities benefit from having skills modeled by typically developing, non-disabled peers. Those skills will include both academic and social skills. The typical peers will be sure to check the work of their challenged peers and can supervise play. Games as part of inclusion give both groups opportunities to practice skills, exercise some socially appropriate behavior, and build positive peer relationships. Bingo Kids love bingo. Kids with disabilities love bingo because it doesnt require knowing lots of rules, and since everyone plays through every game, it scores well on the engagement scale. It requires that they listen; identify the numbers, words, or pictures on the card; place a cover on the squares (fine motor skills), and recognize the pattern of covered squares. Many bingo games are commercial and available through online or brick and mortar stores. Teaching Made Easier, an online subscription tool for making games is an excellent way to make sight word, number, or other sorts of bingos, including picture bingos. Kinds of Bingo Games Vocabulary Building Bingos: These bingos have children cover pictures of animals or items in other categories to build receptive language.  Number Recognition Bingos: Teaching Made Easier makes it possible to customize the range of numbers used for Bingo. You can make one set of cards that uses numbers from twenty to forty to give students practice in recognizing numbers larger than twenty, but not the whole shooting match up to 100. You can also ask students with strong number recognition to read the cards, as it helps them build their skills in reading numbers aloud. Educators often recommend that some recitation in math instruction is included to be sure the numbers also get into students mouths.  Math Fact Bingo: Call numbers and have students cover matching math facts (i.e., call 12 and students can cover 2 x 6 or 3 x 4) Board Games You can build a board game based on any number of different games: Parchesi, Sorry, Monopoly. The simplest games are simple games that start at one place and end at the finish line. They can be used to support counting, or they can be used to support specific skills. You can use dice, or you can create spinners. Many Math series provide spinners that you can adapt: Once again, Teaching Made Easier provides a template for spinners. Kinds of Board Games Counting Games: An example is Halloween Rumble. Start with a serpentine path divided into squares, use dice (to building counting and adding skills) or a spinner. You can use a spinner for skip counting games (by 2s and 5s).Social Skills Games: Design this after games like Life or Monopoly, where students take cards to complete a social skill. Perhaps you might have a stack of requests such as, Ask a friend for help on your math, or a greeting: Greet a teacher in school. Quiz Show Games A great way to help students prepare for a test is a Quiz Show format. Build your game like Jeopardy and make you categories support whatever topic your students are preparing for. This is an especially good tactic for a secondary teacher who can pull a group from a content area class to prepare for a test. Games Create Winners! Games are a great way to engage your students, as well as give them lots of opportunities to practice skills and content knowledge. They seldom realize that the whole time they are competing with their classmates, they are supporting learning with their peers. It can provide some formative assessment information, letting you see whether a student understands a skill, a content area or a set of concepts.

Research Paper Prohibition

Research Paper Prohibition Research Paper Prohibition Mary Louise Cecilia Guinan otherwise known as "Texas," by the state she was from was an actress and singer in the late 19th and early 20th Century. This gal was the operator of many ritzy speakeasies, though it could never be proven. She became a model for the others, as she was the best female in the business, no matter how many times the coppers shut down the drums, more would be established. Prohibition was a law that the U.S. should have never put into place because the younger generation became very rebellious, moral values dissipated, and society took a turn for the worst. Leading up to the Prohibition Era, World War I had recently ended. The economy was terrible at the conclusion of the war, however, it improved a little bit as people no longer had to be afraid of something happening, and their family members were now home. As the economy was improving, women also won the vote. Many women during this time wanted equality and to be able to vote just as the men, and t hey finally won after all they had been fighting for. Soon, there were not only restrictions on alcohol, but the selling of "intoxicating liquors" became illegal. Alcohol otherwise known as liquor is a drug, which affects how a person feels and behaves, and can be dangerous when too much is consumed. The Eighteenth Amendment prohibited the making or selling of these intoxicating liquors, and as of January 16, 1920, alcohol was prohibited in the United States. The old ­line conservative Americans were fine with the alcohol regulations after the war, however, the young people were more comfortable with alcohol. The prohibition of alcohol is one of the reasons that the young people became rebellious. This rebelliousness was more geared toward the females, rather than the males. The females created the "flapper," a name that is associated with a certain look. A flapper is a girl with short skirts or dresses, and even shorter hair. The hair was cut into the bob hairstyle. This was not something that was traditional for a female during this time as usually they had shoulder ­length or longer hair that was pinned up. The clothing was also an act of rebellion geared toward the females in America. The dresses were made to be showy, straight, and hanging just below the knee. The everyday young woman became like a

Panama Papers

Panama Papers HUGE LEAK OF INFORMATION REVEALS WHAT WORLDS ELITE WANTS TO HIDE Tax evasion in the form of offshore accounts and companies has been relatively common among the wealthy elite for a long time. The Panama Papers have revealed the extent of the corruption involved. The law firm and corporate services provider Mossack Fonseca has been protecting its clients’ information for a long time, and there has been a tremendous offshore records leak as of late. The massive leak of documents that have come to be known as the Panama Papers, because Mossack Fonseca is based in Panama, have revealed that the world’s wealthy elite has been evading taxation and committing fraud to a degree that has stunned the whole world. These papers have provided authorities with information on 214,488 offshore actors. FINANCIAL REWARDS ARE THE ONLY WAY TO GAIN EMPLOYEE LOYALTY The People Implicated by the Panama Papers The Panama Papers are truly shocking in terms of their scope. There are 11.5 million records here, and they are full of the accounts of illegal activities of billionaires, drug traffickers, politicians, professional athletes, and celebrities. Football player Lionel Messi and famous actor Jacki Chan are among their ranks. There are at least 128 public officials and politicians involved, including the king of Saudi Arabia, six members of the House of Lords in the United Kingdom, and the prime ministers of Pakistan and Iceland. More than two hundred people with American addresses alone have shown up in these documents. In many cases, the families of politicians were involved, such as the children of the Azerbaijan president. At least 33 of the people and companies that have been implicated have been involved with terrorist organizations, rogue nations, or drug lords. One bitterly ironic facet of the scandal is the fact that public leaders who have become famous for trying to end corruption have also been involved. Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s family is connected to the documents, as is the father of British Prime Minister David Cameron. It is possible that some of these people are victims of circumstances and that they have not benefited from the shady dealings of their families, but it is equally possible that they partly managed to get away with what they did because it was through their family members. It does seem that a great deal of these people have been using trusted individuals to take the risk when it comes to laundering money for them, particularly people like President Putin. At this point in the scandal, some of the people accused or involved with those who were accused are coming forward. Overall, they have been trying to weasel out of their responsibilities. Vladimir Putin has said that the allegations were just designed to discredit the people involved and cause instability in Russia. The Icelandic prime minister has resigned over this scandal, and this scandal may change Iceland’s public image for a long time. HOW HUMAN DIGNITY IS VALUED WITHIN THE ACADEMIC SPHERE Mossack Fonseca’s Involvement In an International Corruption Scandal Up until recently, Mossack Fonseca was an obscure corporate service provider and law firm that was located in Panama but with a few dozen branches and offices throughout the world. It is the fourth largest offshore law firm in the world, but it never really rose to prominence in the general public consciousness. Today, this is a law firm and corporate service provider that is going to go down in history as being one of the most infamous and corrupt organizations in the world. There are lots of documents to go through that will illuminate exactly what Mossack Fonseca did for their clients. However, overall, they worked to keep a huge amount of information related to their clients’ financial records secret. They have removed paper records and erased electronic records in the wake of potential legal troubles for their clients. They backdate documents in order to help their clients cheat in financial transactions. In fact, clients have actually paid them to backdate documents, so there is no doubt that many of these clients knew about this practice and actively encouraged it. Law firms are allowed to give their clients a high degree of confidentiality, but it is safe to say that Mossack Fonseca has abused that privilege in every way. The International Community Responds to the Panama Offshore Records Leak The Panama Papers scandal is shaping up to be one of the defining moments of the twenty-first century. The international community has jumped on it. Journalists all around the world are working together in order to investigate Mossack Fonseca more thoroughly. This issue has managed to bring journalists together in a way that was completely unprecedented. Law enforcement officials from all over the world are launching their own investigations into Mossack Fonseca and everyone connected to the law firm. Brazil has been particularly active when it comes to uncovering the scandal and bringing the people responsible to justice. They are investigating former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and current president Dilma Rousseff may lose her position as a result of this scandal. Employees at the Brazilian office of Mossack Fonseca have been arrested, and Brazil is continuing to respond to this problem. Other countries that have Mossack Fonseca offices are launching more of their own investigations. ACADEMIC INTELLECTUAL IN POLITICS This scandal has tremendous implications for people all around the world. High London property prices have been linked to the fact that these wealthy people have been able to buy up the best properties in the area while evading the local taxes and using cached wealth. Some people have discussed this issue in terms of the Great Recession, wondering about the link between ongoing economic troubles and the Panama Papers. Of course, the scandal has also revived the old debate about privacy and access to information in a technological society, with some people raising concerns about the broader implications about the leak and not just the results of the leak. Other sources are celebrating the incident as an example of a new form of activism that is only possible in the Information Age, and which will stop the rich and the powerful from guarding all of their ignoble secrets. The situation raises all sorts of questions about the amount of wealth that has been siphoned away from governments all around the world as a result of all of this offshore tax evasion. Norway, Spain, Germany, Australia, and France are all looking into the issue from the taxation perspective, partly in the hopes of recovering some of the money that their respective governments are owed. There is no telling how all of the recovered wealth might affect the economy, or whether the costs of the investigation are going to counteract all of the potential financial benefits.

The possible treatment for Arteriovenous malformation Essay

The possible treatment for Arteriovenous malformation - Essay Example Management can be done by treatment of symptoms only through drugs. However, a bleeding AVM presents emergency and invasive intervention becomes imminent. The major treatment therapies include open surgery, endovascular embolization and radiosurgery. A multidisciplinary approach is usually employed to minimize the associated complications and achieve better treatment results. A recent clinical trial has established a higher risk of stroke, neurologic disability and death patients with interventional management as compared to the patients managed without intervention. In the end, the study concludes key findings in the form of bullet points. The goal of this study is to present various contemporary practices employed for the evaluation and management of arteriovenous malformations. The risks associated with each procedure are the prime focus of the study, which will also help to highlight their differential effectiveness in dealing with such diverse anomalies. Although there has been remarkable progression in development of non-invasive techniques over the last two decades, the approaches are still being debated on the basis of effectiveness and associated complications. This study will therefore also investigate major challenges faced by practitioners in accurate diagnosis and management of the disease. Further, recent research advancements into the role of multidisciplinary efforts and their future prospects will also be discussed. The human cardiovascular system is among the early developed systems, assuming its functional role by the fourth week of embryonic life. It consists of heart and a closed network of tubular vessels, and serves as a transport system for circulation of blood in the body (1). The pumping mechanism of heart forces the blood into arteries, then arterioles, followed by intricate bed of narrow

Nurses and the Affordable Care Act Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Nurses and the Affordable Care Act - Coursework Example For instance, through this legislation, the government intends to encourage nursing education and mitigate shortages of nursing professionals in many of its states offering them with loan facilities as well as the opportunity to get a proportion of their loan cancelled. According to Wakefield (2010), the legislation also offers a wider opportunity for deserving nurses to appear in leadership positions within the sector. In the words of Davis, Abrams and Stremikis (2011) too, â€Å"the Affordable Care Act invests $1.5 billion over 2011–2015 for the National Health Service Corps to provide scholarships and loan forgiveness for primary care physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants practicing in health professional shortage areas.† Applying the above discussed facts of Affordable Care Act, it becomes apparent that the government is taking realistic and effective measures to encourage participation of nurses in almost every sphere of the healthcare sector in America. This would help in dealing with the major issues prevalent in the domain. At the onset, it will address the long-lasting inhibition amid the nurses that they lack adequate opportunities to be in the leadership position of the industry. On the other hand, it is expected to ensure diversity as well as uniformity in the trend of delivering nursing services to the population in rural areas of the nation, apart from those regions suffering from shortage of these professionals. Therefore, with greater growth opportunities and financial aids, it gets justified that the new legislation serves with a greater voice and diverse set of choices to the nurses influencing the future of these professionals as a group as well as

Business Writing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Business Writing - Assignment Example While preparing the draft, Kathy should take into consideration the detailed information available on the subject which includes various opinion and suggestion of the persons on the matter, her own opinion and perspectives, etc. Based on these inputs, Kathy would need to decide on the parts of her writing which needs to be edited, added or replaced. After preparing the draft, Kathy should read the piece to herself in order to be sure that her writing is properly structured and follow a logical flow with meaningful interpretations. In the draft written by Kathy, she should also look to remove redundant words which do not add sense to the piece of writing. The draft that is prepared by Kathy would need to be revised in order to make sure that the sentences written by her are structured, logical and meaningful. Kathy should look to present her writing in a better manner and use separate paragraphs where necessary. Kathy could also look to take suggestions and feedbacks from her peers in order to improve her writing skills relevant to the piece. After performing these steps, Kathy should make sure that she proofreads the piece written by her. This step is important for Kathy to produce a piece of writing to the target readers which do not contain any grammatical errors, errors in punctuation, spelling errors, etc. In this activity of proofreading, Kathy would need to make sure that all sentences in the writing piece are complete, simple and meaningful. Kathy would be able to remove her confusion in process of writing by performing these steps and would be able to produce a completely structured and perfect form of writing. Comparison of oral v/s written medium of communication: Advantages and disadvantages, examples In order to remove the confusion of Kathy in understanding the differences and applications of oral medium and written medium of communication, the advantages and disadvantages of both the form of communication should be explained. This would help Kathy to undertake the appropriate medium of communication in order to apply the same according to the need of the situation. The advantages of the oral medium of communication would help Kathy to resolve the issues faced the customers on an immediate basis. A good power of communication would help in resolving the customer complaints immediately (Kaul 15). The grievances could be settled in the front desk on an instant basis to the satisfaction of the customers in the hotel of Las Vegas. Thus effective oral communication would help in consolidating the customer relation for the Las Vegas hotel. The disadvantages of oral communication are that the facial expressions and emotions expressed during the communication process could not be concealed. This could lead to flaring of tempers. Once an oral communication is mishandled, it is very difficult to repair the relationship between the communicators. Thus Kathy should be careful of these disadvantages of oral medium of communication. In cas es where oral medium of communication is not effective, where maintenance of official records are necessary to validate the earlier communication held, the written form of communication would be advantageous and Kathy would need to adopt this form of communication. Moreover, written medium of communication is beneficial when the sender and the receiver of message are not within reachable distance.

Major Writing Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Major Writing Assignment - Essay Example While scientific accomplishment, as well as artistic accomplishment has something to say about mankind, their representations providing examples of the best (and sometimes the worst) of human existence, religious works express something of everyone who has existed. Science explains what can be proven, the framework of life that is defined by actions and reactions. What is known gives human beings comfort on those things that can be explained, but religion has provided explanations for those aspects of life that could or cannot be explained. In his writing, Worrell (2003) suggests that science and religious belief are not compatible, that to have one is to discredit the other. He states â€Å"science and religion (are) two conflicting ways in generating beliefs about our world† (p. 69). The stark truth of that statement is that science is about belief as much as religion is about belief. The scientist observes and then believes how the event proves his or her theory. An example of this is the atom. Science has yet to find a way to see an atom. It can be detected in groups, the evidence of it can be seen through the energy that is expelled when it is split, but the atom itself, a single atom, has yet to be seen (Saunders, 2007, p. 4). Therefore, the atom exists because it is believed that it exists. God exists because it is believed that He exists. Therefore, in bringing forward the works of religious materials as a resource of representing how the human race existed, the nature of human kind will be explored further than can be found in any sort of other resource. What is valued, how belief was developed, how nature was perceived, and how daily life was framed is available through examination of the belief systems of religion. Providing texts that speak of these things will give any being that finds them a reality of the cultures of humanity, their wars, their loves, and what they held dear, far better than any other text. Excerpts of religious content wi ll provide the best of average human life, and in the process, provide those that read them evidence of the kind of people that lived in the world of Earth. Article 2: An encyclopedia of science When the Earth dies, as it is an impending probability, as a race, the best resource for giving an alien society information that frames the nature of human existence would be an encyclopedia of science that has peer-reviewed articles that represent the best of the scientific work of humanity. Through a piece of work that explained the nature of human scientific discovery, an alien can assess the evolution of intellectual thought that has occurred throughout the existence of human kind. The nature of science is to describe, explain, and give context to the natural world, and to use it in order to advance the nature of life. Through explanations of how human kind has developed their knowledge and used it, an alien race can discover the nature of human existence. According to Peter Atkins (198 7), â€Å"science has never encountered a barrier that it has not surmounted or that it cannot reasonably expected to surmount eventually† (p. 349). Scientific discovery and the innovations that have come from that discovery show human kind for

Nokia Company Product Marketing Plan Assignment

Nokia Company Product Marketing Plan - Assignment Example Nokia Corporation is one of the major global producers of mobile phones, serving consumers in more than 130 countries. Nokia is separated into 4 business groups which include Mobile phones, Multimedia, Enterprise Solutions and Networks. The Nokia group, promotes wireless voice and data products in consumer and corporate markets. The Nokia solution group manufactures wireless phone for use in the corporate sector. Wireless broadcast and switching equipment is sold (Nokia, 2012).In the beginning of 1960, Nokia started to diversify in an effort to change the company into Regional Corporation with increase in interests outside Finnish borders. Being unable to begin effective internal development, the company turned its focus into achievement. However, the local government realized to decrease two underperforming local industries which supported Nokia’s development within the country and encouraged its eventual merger with â€Å"Finnish Rubber Works†, which was founded in 18 98, and â€Å"Finnish cable works†, which was formed in 1912, to form Nokia Corporation.In 1967, Nokia started a division to demonstrate design and manufacturing abilities in data processing industrial computerization and communications systems. The division was later expanded and made into several divisions, which then concentrated on developing information system, including personal computer and workplace, digital communication system and mobile phones. Nokia’s essential focus was development of the electronics sector.... Eco-friendly Mobile. This paper shows how Nokia can develop a marketing plan by implementing their past strategies, which the company has already applied. Firstly, in this paper, it shows the brief background about the company and its existing products and also shows the company’s past strategies i.e. how Nokia achieved its brand name and goodwill in past and current market situations. Next, it highlights the company’s situation analysis and overall study of internal and external factors through different marketing tools. For examining the situation analysis of Nokia’s market PEST analysis, competitor and consumer analysis have been applied. In internal analysis, it depicts the company’s current position in the market and the current data on brand performance of Nokia. This marketing plan also provides information of the company’s basic goals and objectives and shows after launching the Eco-friendly product, within this 12 months campaign, what can be expected regarding the fulfillment of their goals and objectives. Then, in this paper, Nokia’s target market and customers of their eco-friendly product has been analyzed and this paper also provides a clear picture regarding how the company segments their market for their eco-friendly product using four perspectives of segmentation. The marketing mix strategy of Nokia’s eco-friendly mobile using 4P’s has been provided. Certain evaluation and control methods have been provided which shows how the company can evaluate their market performance when they would launch their new eco-friendly product. An action plan is also provided which highlights the various elements of marketing plan through â€Å"Gantt chart† of 12 months campaign. 2 Table of Contents 3

Movie Review- Discussion Board Post Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

- Discussion Board Post - Movie Review Example However, the paperwork is finally discovered in an alternate location and is filed with the court at the last possible moment. The following day, Beckett is dismissed by the firms partners, who had previously referred to him as their "friend." Beckett believes that someone deliberately hid his paperwork to give the firm an excuse to fire him, and that the firing is actually as a result of his diagnosis with AIDS. He asks several attorneys to take his case, including personal injury lawyer Joe Miller (Washington). Miller is an admitted homophobe, and knows little about Becketts disease. As the case goes before the court, the partners of the firm take the stand, each committing perjury by claiming that Beckett was incompetent and that he had deliberately tried to hide his condition. The defense repeatedly suggests that Beckett had invited his illness through his homosexual acts and was therefore not a victim. In the course of testimony, it is revealed that the partner who had noticed Becketts lesion had previously worked with a woman who had contracted AIDS after a blood transfusion and so should have recognized the lesion as relating to AIDS. During cross-examination, Beckett is confronted with his inactions of concealing his illness, his supposed incompetence, and the origin of his contracting AIDS; the latter of which has gone unexplained to everyone, including Miguel, until this point. He admits that he was originally planning to tell his partners that he was gay, but he soon changed his mind after hearing them make off-color homophobic jokes in the sauna of a health club. Beckett eventually collapses in court shortly after finishing cross-examination. During his hospitalization, the jury votes in his favor, awarding him back pay, damages for pain and suffering, and punitive damages. There are five concepts within

Nokia Company Product Marketing Plan Assignment

Nokia Company Product Marketing Plan - Assignment Example Nokia Corporation is one of the major global producers of mobile phones, serving consumers in more than 130 countries. Nokia is separated into 4 business groups which include Mobile phones, Multimedia, Enterprise Solutions and Networks. The Nokia group, promotes wireless voice and data products in consumer and corporate markets. The Nokia solution group manufactures wireless phone for use in the corporate sector. Wireless broadcast and switching equipment is sold (Nokia, 2012).In the beginning of 1960, Nokia started to diversify in an effort to change the company into Regional Corporation with increase in interests outside Finnish borders. Being unable to begin effective internal development, the company turned its focus into achievement. However, the local government realized to decrease two underperforming local industries which supported Nokia’s development within the country and encouraged its eventual merger with â€Å"Finnish Rubber Works†, which was founded in 18 98, and â€Å"Finnish cable works†, which was formed in 1912, to form Nokia Corporation.In 1967, Nokia started a division to demonstrate design and manufacturing abilities in data processing industrial computerization and communications systems. The division was later expanded and made into several divisions, which then concentrated on developing information system, including personal computer and workplace, digital communication system and mobile phones. Nokia’s essential focus was development of the electronics sector.... Eco-friendly Mobile. This paper shows how Nokia can develop a marketing plan by implementing their past strategies, which the company has already applied. Firstly, in this paper, it shows the brief background about the company and its existing products and also shows the company’s past strategies i.e. how Nokia achieved its brand name and goodwill in past and current market situations. Next, it highlights the company’s situation analysis and overall study of internal and external factors through different marketing tools. For examining the situation analysis of Nokia’s market PEST analysis, competitor and consumer analysis have been applied. In internal analysis, it depicts the company’s current position in the market and the current data on brand performance of Nokia. This marketing plan also provides information of the company’s basic goals and objectives and shows after launching the Eco-friendly product, within this 12 months campaign, what can be expected regarding the fulfillment of their goals and objectives. Then, in this paper, Nokia’s target market and customers of their eco-friendly product has been analyzed and this paper also provides a clear picture regarding how the company segments their market for their eco-friendly product using four perspectives of segmentation. The marketing mix strategy of Nokia’s eco-friendly mobile using 4P’s has been provided. Certain evaluation and control methods have been provided which shows how the company can evaluate their market performance when they would launch their new eco-friendly product. An action plan is also provided which highlights the various elements of marketing plan through â€Å"Gantt chart† of 12 months campaign. 2 Table of Contents 3

Scope & Nature Essay Example for Free

Scope Nature Essay The scope of operations management ranges across the organization. Operations management people are involved in product and service design, process selection, selection and management of technology, design of work systems, location planning, facilities planning, and quality improvement of the organizations products or services. The operations function includes many interrelated activities, such as forecasting, capacity planning, scheduling, managing inventories, assuring quality, motivating employees, deciding where to locate facilities, and more. We can use an airline company to illustrate a service organizations operations system. The system consists of the airplanes, airport facilities, and maintenance facilities, sometimes spread out over a wide territory. The activities include: Forecasting such things as weather and landing conditions, seat demand for flights, and the growth in air travel.   Capacity planning, essential for the airline to maintain cash flow and make a reasonable profit. (Too few or too many planes, or even the right number of planes but in the wrong places, will hurt profits.) Facilities and layout, important in achieving effective use of workers and equipment. Scheduling of planes for flights and for routine maintenance; scheduling of pilots and flight attendants; and scheduling of ground crews, counter staff, and baggage handlers. Managing inventories of such items as foods and beverages, first-aid equipment, in-flight magazines, pillows and blankets, and life preservers.   Assuring quality, essential in flying and maintenance operations, where the emphasis is on safety, and important in dealing with customers at ticket counters, check-in, telephone and electronic reservations, and curb service, where the emphasis is on efficiency and courtesy. Motivating and training employees in all phases of operations, Locating facilities according to managers decisions on which cities to provide service for, where to locate maintenance facilities, and where to locate major and minor hubs. Now consider a bicycle factory. This might be primarily an assembly operation: buying components such as frames, tires, wheels, gears, and other items from suppliers, and then assembling bicycles. The factory also might do some of the fabrication work itself, forming frames, making the gears and chains, and it might buy mainly raw materials and a few parts and materials such as paint, nuts and bolts, and tires. Among the key management tasks in either case are scheduling production, deciding which components to make and which to buy, ordering parts and materials, deciding on the style of bicycle to produce and how many, purchasing new equipment to replace old or worn out equipment, maintaining equipment, motivating workers, and ensuring that quality standards are met. Obviously, an airline company and a bicycle factory are completely different types of operations. One is primarily a service operation, the other a producer of goods. Nonetheless, these two operations have much in common. Both involve scheduling activities, motivating employees, ordering and managing supplies, selecting and maintaining equipment, satisfying quality standards, and—above all—satisfying customers. And in both businesses, the success of the business depends on short- and long-term planning. The operations function consists of all activities directly related to producing goods or providing services. Hence, it exists both in manufacturing and assembly operations, which are goods-oriented, and in areas such as health care, transportation, food handling, and retailing, which are primarily service-oriented. A primary function of an operations manager is to guide the system by decision-making. Certain decisions affect the design of the system, and others affect the operation System design involves decisions that relate to system capacity, the geographic location of facilities, arrangement of departments and placement of equipment within physical structures, product and service planning, and acquisition of equipment. These decisions usually, but not always, require long-term commitments. Moreover, they are typically strategic decisions. System operation involves management of personnel, inventory planning and control, scheduling, project management, and quality assurance. These are generally tactical and operational decisions. Feedback on these decisions involves measurement and Control. In many instances, the operations manager is more involved in day-to-day operating decisions than with decisions relating to system design. However, the operations manager has a vital stake in system design because system design essentially determines many of the parameters of system operation. For Example, costs, space, capacities, and quality are directly affected by design decisions. Even though the operations manager is not responsible for making all design decisions, he or she can provide those decision makers with a wide range of information that will have a bearing on their decisions. A number of other areas are part of the operations function. They include purchasing, industrial engineering, distribution, and maintenance. Purchasing has responsibility for procurement of materials, supplies, and equipment. Close contact with operations is necessary to ensure correct quantities and timing of purchases. The purchasing department is often called on to evaluate vendors for quality, reliability, service, price, and ability to adjust to changing demand. Purchasing is also involved in receiving and inspecting the purchased goods. Industrial engineering is often concerned with scheduling, performance standards, work methods, quality control, and material handling.  Distribution involves the shipping of goods to warehouses, retail outlets, or final customers. Maintenance is responsible for general upkeep and repair of equipment, buildings and grounds, heating and air-conditioning; removing toxic wastes; parking; and perhaps security. The operations manager is the key figure in the system: He or she has the ultimate responsibility for the creation of goods or provision of services. The kinds of jobs that operations managers oversee vary tremendously from organization to organization largely because of the different products or services involved. Thus, managing a banking operation obviously requires a different kind of expertise than managing a steel- making operation. However, in a very important respect, the jobs are the same: They are both essentially managerial. The same thing can be said for the job of any operations manager regardless of the kinds of goods or services being created. The service sector and the manufacturing sector are both important to the economy. The service sector now accounts for more than 70 percent of jobs in the United States, and it is growing in other countries as well. Moreover, the number of people working in services is increasing, while the number of people working in manufacturing is not. The reason for the decline in manufacturing jobs is twofold: As the operations function in manufacturing companies finds more productive ways of producing goods, the companies are able to maintain or even increase their output using fewer workers. Furthermore, some manufacturing work has been outsourced to more productive companies, many in other countries that are able to produce goods at lower costs. Many of the concepts presented in this book apply equally to manufacturing and service. Consequently, whether your interest at this time is on manufacturing or on service, these concepts will be important, regardless of whether a manufacturing example or service. Operations management is often used along with production management in  literature on the subject. It is therefore, useful to understand the nature of operations management. Operations management is understood as the process whereby resources or inputs are converted into more useful products .A second reading of the sentence reveals that, there is hardly any difference between the terms production management and operations management. But, there are a least two points of distinction between production management and operations management. First, the term production management is more used for a system where tangible goods are produced. Whereas, operations management is more frequently used where various inputs are transformed into tangible services Viewed from this perspective, operations management will cover such services organization as banks, airlines, utilities, pollution control agencies super bazaars, educational institutions, libraries, consultancy firm and police departments, in addition, of course, to manufacturing enterprises. The second distinction relates to the evolution of the subject. Operation management is the term that is used now a day. Production management precedes operations management in the historical growth of the subject The two distinctions not withstanding, the terms production management and operations management are used interchangeably. Scope of Production and Operation Management The scope of production and operations management is indeed vast. Commencing with the selection of location production management covers such activities as acquisition of land, constructing building, procuring and installing machinery, purchasing and storing raw material and converting them into saleable products. Added to the above are other related topics such as quality management, maintenance management, production planning and control, methods improvement and work simplification and other related areas.

Advantages And Disadvantages Of The Hospitality Industry Tourism Essay

Advantages And Disadvantages Of The Hospitality Industry Tourism Essay The hospitality industry is a huge and famous industry in this world, and there are multiple areas in this industry. This industry is specialized by training. This gigantic sector includes tourism and tour, traditional hospitality industry such as resorts and hotels, motel and a range of other hospitality services. ( Johnston, 2010). Because of this industry is famous so there is several advantages in this industry. But if we look deep through this industry also got some disadvantages also. The advantage of hospitality industry is that, they afford to provide the full service to their customers. For example, many hotels or resorts are around-the-clock, provide 24-hour operations and staffs are required to work varied shifts and extended hours for their customer satisfaction. Its means they provide the services for their clients all the time. Without bothering the time of the clients ask for the service. For example if any of the clients need foods or any other service at midnight means they can provide all the service to them without any further adore. Besides that, this industry also provides other services such as tour and tourism beside provide only the accommodation service. Mostly the resort department will provide this as their service. It is because mostly the resorts will located at beach site waterfall site. So the people those who are go there can enjoy the beach site by staying there for 2 days or more than 2 days. In this situation, the industry helps their client to enjoy the nature by staying at beach site. The resorts also sometimes will build at jungle site. Those who is interest for stay in jungle for get any deferent experience they can go there and stay there and at the same time can enjoy the jungle life. The hospitality industry is famous for accommodation sector. They provide this sector with multiple categories. For example five star hotel, four star hotels, and three star hotels and so on. So those who are afford to pay the high fee they will choose their standard level hotel such as five star or four star hotels and those who are not afford to pay more fees only for the accommodations for a short period time will choose the lower level hotels. So its shows that this industry provide hotels for all the people according to their living standard. Then glamour myth also a advantage of the hospitality industry. Is means the hotel industry offers you the chance to meet rich, famous and interesting people. So we can meet them at the place where go for rest but at the same time it brings benefit to us. Can get meet any famous person or any important person who are in the same carrier with us. For example, if I ¿Ã‚ ½Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½m a business person I can get to meet any other business person who is carry on the same business with me, so I can develop my business very well and famous. At the same time they can include scientists attending in-house conferences, foreign tourists, local business people and ordinary everyday citizens. Although you might be able to tell your friends that Hollywoods hottest stars are staying in your hotel, youll probably have to stretch the truth a little to say that you actually talked with them. Celebrities might chat with you like an old friend, out of politeness, only when ordering room service, or not at all. Some may be jovial and even invite you for a drink, while others will treat you with the cool and fun. Furthermore the hospitality industry provides the standard living for their client. They provide services with the standard level such as the rooms that they provide the foods that they provide. They provide the rooms with full furniture and all the equipment. So the client will happily can enjoy all the service of them. So they will satisfy with their service and may be the loyal to the particular hospitality industry. With the advantages of hotel Industry come the disadvantages too. The disadvantage of this industry is long and odd hours. This means that if the client or customer of that particular hotel doesn ¿Ã‚ ½Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½t like early starts or late finishes, then the hotel industry may not be help them. They may make late to help the client purposely. Besides that, pressure, high standards and deadlines also a disadvantages of the hospitality industry. Working for demanding clients and management is not the downside of working in hotels for it is what the industry is all about but you may find that the pressure of guest and management expectations are more stressful than you ever imagined. Pressure and deadlines are intrinsic elements of the industry and the best hotel workers thrive on conquering the challenges and obstacles placed in the way of personal and company objectives. Culture problem also consider as a disadvantage of this industry. Most of the hospitality industry provides their service with the western style but it not suitable for all the clients of them. For example we can take the Malay religion, they cannot eat all the food especially pork at all and they can eat only  ¿Ã‚ ½Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½halal ¿Ã‚ ½Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ food so they face some problems. Then also must prepare with at least a special hall for their praying. Because Malays must at the correct time and must carry on the prayer at the special venue which is called as  ¿Ã‚ ½Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½surau ¿Ã‚ ½Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ if there don ¿Ã‚ ½Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½t have mosque. So some of the hotel or hospitality management sometimes never provides or forget to prepare all this things to them. Besides Malays, in our country the Indian are sometimes will carry on the vegetarian. So the hotels must prepare the vegetarian foods for them. But they never provide this sometimes. So the clients need to go out site of the hotel for find the foods for them. This shows that the hospitality industry never give important for their clients. As the conclusion, the hospitality industry provides the good service for their client with their variety service. But still this industry needs to improve their service to archive the target of their industry. if they improve all this the customers will get happy and will enjoy with service. Question 2 2.1: Find out the factors that affecting travel and tourism. Explain in detail? Tourism comprises the activities of persons travelling to and staying in places outsides their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes. The word staying suggests that tourists stay at least one night. However must acknowledge that day visitors make a huge contribution to the tourist industry and some regions and organizations choose to include day visitors in statistics. It is acknowledged by the World Tourism Organization that tourism is the fastest growing economic sector, bringing foreign exchange earnings to countries and creating jobs. Jobs are not only created directly in tourism but in related industries, for example in construction. Much tourism development occurs in developing countries, bringing economic opportunities local communities. There are several factors that affecting travel and tourism industry which influence the industry. The first factors that affect this industry are technological factor. Nowadays the technology develops very well. So also develop in travel and tourism. The growth of e-commerce and new transportation affect the travel and tourism industry. Nowadays the travel system develops well for example the buses that use nowadays is full of air-condition service, with video and audio system. Travel and tourism has always been an industry that has made extensive use of new technology equipment. Central reservation system (CRS), the use of computers in travel agencies and sophisticated databases for marketing purposes are now ordinary. Increase in competition within the industry will force organizations to use new technology to the full. New developments in transportation make extensive use of new technology, for example the Channel Tunnel, the advances in aircraft design and opening up new long-hall destinations. Then more develop bus is super VIP bus. This is consisting of all the service to t he passengers. So the passengers can enjoy the traveling period. Furthermore, another factor is, the technology develops until the passengers or the customers can get the information of the travel and tourism industry in internet. The particular agency will update all the information in web so the customers can check easily all the information about their tour and can easily contact to the particular agency. This makes the agency famous among the people because all over the world can access their information and can consider to the particular agency. At the same time also help the customers to get all their information in detail and faster too. Cultural and environmental factors also affect the travel and tourism industry. In the 1980s saw the emergence in Britain of a greater environmental awareness and a society that was beginning to take its health and fitness seriously. These factors are likely to remain important influences on travel and tourism developments in the future with so-called green issues high on the agenda. The political aspect also affects this industry. The security concerns over travel have had a serious impact on the travel and tourism industry. Which are leading to increased business failures in certain situation if the government never invent in this industry. The government must provides all the services to help the industry such as prepare a good road for travel and railway tracks for the rails travel so the travel and tourism industry can easily can safely travel. Then the choice of destination also affects this industry. Most of the customer likes to travel for a famous and enjoyable place. So they must bring out the travel and tourism to a famous popular place, which got a high demand among the people. Then choose of place should be according to the age group. If want to carry on a travel and tourism, must be a place where got a lots of fun and entertainment but if want to carry on for veterans means place should be suitable for them. So they can enjoy the travel with fullest and the affect also will be the positive type. Other than age group category there got other group category also, such as leisure customers, business customers, independent travelers, package holidaymakers. So the travel and tourism must be carrying on according to deferent types customers. Besides that, the rule and regulation also will affect the travel and tourism industry. The travel that ¿Ã‚ ½Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s going to carry should be following the all the rules and regulations that the government stated and the particular place stated. So it will never affect the customers of them. For example, if the tourism place stated that cannot brings camera or video inside means they should tell earlier to their customer so they may follow the rules and will not affect the agency also. If not the agency may affected because did not follow the rules and regulation. While the customers ¿Ã‚ ½Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ also wont respect to the agency. At the end the customers won ¿Ã‚ ½Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½t support for the particular industry. The travel and tourism that going to carry on also should be suitable for the season. Because the customers are always like to travel to different destination in a different season. So should carry on the correct travel and tourism event at the correct season. If not it will affect alt the industry. The customer may not will support the agency because they are not giving what they want and they won ¿Ã‚ ½Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½t satisfy with them at all. At last the food and beverage also will affect the industry, even is not a big issue and important in a travel and tourism industry. The foods that they provide to the customers should be good foods which is not expired or spoiled. If not the customer may get anger with their service and will get disappointment with their service. So if a travel and tourism industry wants to be success means, they should consider all the element of the travel and tourism. And must prepare earlier for everything with full of good service for their customer ¿Ã‚ ½Ã ‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s satisfaction. Conclusion As the conclusion, we have learnt about the meaning of hospitality and the stages of hospitality industry development from traditional to advanced stage and learnt that hospitality management means how to cater for people in a friendly and cheerful manner to enable the guest appreciate in services. Besides that, we have learnt about the meaning and the importance of housekeeping Department in hotel, motel, guest how we have learn about the interdepartmental co-operations among various departments of the hotel and the importance of hotel industry in our society. Furthermore, we also learnt the meaning and types of non-commercial hospitality management and the type of organization that is available. Lastly we have learnt and understood the meaning of the layout in hospitality industry and the necessary and important factors to consider when plan to establish this industry.

Theme of Love in The Magic Barrel by Benard Malamud Essay -- essays re

That what love is has always been a question satisfied completely by no answer. Some have their own definitions and draw in their minds images of ideal lovers, while others just simply follow what the hearts dictate. Through the spiritual journey to seek for love of Leo, the main character of 'The Magic Barrel' by Bernard Malamud, the author gives us his undeniable declaration of love. Leo, who has a matchmaker find for him a wife, after all his choices falls in love with the one he does not choose, yet he loves her at the first sight. As what Malamud declares, it is because love is not a matter of choice but of chance. From the very beginning of the story we are known that Leo Finkle has devoted all of his 6 year-time to his study and he is to be ordained. Never has in his mind had the thought of getting married until he is adviced to do so in order to win a congregation in an easier way. How can he get married once he has had no ?time for a social life and the company of young women The solution is a traditional one within the Jewish community, he calls in Pinye Salzman the matchmaker. From what he talks about the role of a marriage broker (?ancient, and honorable, highly approved?) and about his parents? marriage (?a successful one in the sense of their everlasting devotion to each other?), we might infer that he believes there will be love after getting married by arragement. Here we can see the conflict, and even irony of the situation. Leo loves no one yet he wants to have a wife. He wants a wife yet he finds her through other?s suggestion which depends on the lady?s social status, property an d father?s promises. Moreover, his requires are so much and so high that there may be no ability to fulfill them. He finds fault... ... some one nor not to love that person. Leo after discovering Stella is not a good girl has tried not to love her. ?Through days of torment he endlessly struggled not to love her but he is unsuccessful, or in fact, he scares of success, ?fearing success, he escaped it.? Poor him! Why cannot he succeed? Because it is the magic of love. Because we do not have the competence in controlling love. Because he must love no one but Stella. Love is not something that we can choose but something that destiny has planned for us. Any one of us can be a Leo now and then. We innocently believe that we have the choice and that we are taking the control over choosing our lovers. The illusion hurts us sometimes. However as Bernard Malamud shows us, love is not a matter of choice but of chance. There will be some one for us somewhere outside. Sooner or later our chance will come.

Advertising is Creating Materialistic Consumers :: Business Ethics

American youth represent a large target for the advertising market. Advertising to American youth means big business and lucrative profits for suppliers of products and services. â€Å"American children represent a dynamic retail market, influencing an estimated $500 billion in total retail spending† ("Marketing to children:" 2009). Youth are impressionable, they will examine many advertisements and conclude they want or need many of the advertised products and services. The result is purchasing and the collecting of inanimate objects, in most cases many of them by our youth. Through constant global advertising, extreme purchasing and the plentiful accumulation of objects, our youth are turning into â€Å"shopaholics† or â€Å"consumer addicts† and they are adopting materialistic values. In other words, materialistic values are being forced upon our youth in advertisements by encouraging or persuading consistent purchasing of products and services. Since advertising is virtually all around us, materialism can begin at a very young age. According to Goldberg and Gorn (1978), â€Å"Materialistic values are correlated to exposure to marketing for children as young as preschoolers† (p. 22). The younger the better in the advertisers yes as they see dollar signs. If you target them young, you can mold them like clay and the materialism will build and expand over time. Keep in mind youth are easy prey, and reaching them as a demographic is also a simple accomplishment. Television commercials, magazines and the internet are the some of the more popular methods in which to reach America’s youth. They are a captive audience, they spend countless hours watching television and surfing on the internet. It is a shame our technological advances over the centuries have actually turned against our youth, at least when it comes to non-censored advertising. It should be no surprise they are a likely target and potentially big money makers.

Security on the Internet

The Internet has had security problems since its earliest days as a pure research project. Today, after several years and orders of magnitude of growth, is still has security problems. It is being used for a purpose for which it was never intended: commerce. It is somewhat ironic that the early Internet was design as a prototype for a high-availability command and control network that could resist outages resulting from enemy actions, yet it cannot resist college undergraduates. The problem is that the attackers are on, and make up apart of, the network they are attacking. Designing a system that is capable of resisting attack from within, while still growing and evolving at a breakneck pace, is probably impossible. Deep infrastructure changes are needed, and once you have achieved a certain amount of size, the sheer inertia of the installed base may make it impossible to apply fixes. The challenges for the security industry are growing. With the electronic commerce spreading over the Internet, there are issues such as nonrepudiation to be solved. Financial institutions will have both technical concerns, such as the security of a credit card number or banking information, and legal concerns for holding individuals responsible for their actions such as their purchases or sales over the Internet. Issuance and management of encryption keys for millions of users will pose a new type of challenge. While some technologies have been developed, only an industry-wide effort and cooperation can minimize risks and ensure privacy for users, data confidentiality for the financial institutions, and nonrepudiation for electronic commerce. With the continuing growth in linking individuals and businesses over the Internet, some social issues are starting to surface. The society may take time in adapting to the new concept of transacting business over the Internet. Consumers may take time to trust the network and accept it as a substitute for transacting business in person. Another class of concerns relates to restricting access over the Internet. Preventing distribution of pornography and other objectionable material over the Internet has already been in the news. We can expect new social hurdles over time and hope the great benefits of the Internet will continue to override these hurdles through new technologies and legislations. The World Wide Web is the single largest, most ubiquitous source of information in the world, and it sprang up spontaneously. People use interactive Web pages to obtain stock quotes, receive tax information from the Internal Revenue Service, make appointments with a hairdresser, consult a pregnancy planner to determine ovulation dates, conduct election polls, register for a conference, search for old friends, and the list goes on. It is only natural that the Web’s functionality, popularity, and ubiquity have made it the seemingly ideal platform for conducting electronic commerce. People can now go online to buy CDs, clothing, concert tickets, and stocks. Several companies, such Digicash, Cybercash, and First Virtual, have sprung up to provide mechanisms for conducting business on the Web. The savings in cost and the convenience of shopping via the Web are incalculable. Whereas most successful computer systems result from careful, methodical planning, followed by hard work, the Web took on a life of its own from the very beginning. The introduction of a common protocol and a friendly graphical user interface was all that was needed to ignite the Internet explosion. The Web’s virtues are extolled without end, but its rapid growth and universal adoption have not been without cost. In particular, security was added as an afterthought. New capabilities were added ad hoc to satisfy the growing demand for features without carefully considering the impact on security. As general-purpose scripts were introduced on both the client and the server sides, the dangers of accidental and malicious abuse grew. It did not take long for the Web to move from the scientific community to the commercial world. At this point, the security threats became much more serious. The incentive for malicious attackers to exploit vulnerabilities in the underlying technologies is at an all-time high. This is indeed frightening when we consider what attackers of computer systems have accomplished when their only incentive was fun and boosting their egos. When business and profit are at stake, we cannot assume anything less than the most dedicated and resourceful attackers typing their utmost to steal, cheat, and perform malice against users of the Web. When people use their computers to surf the Web, they have many expectations. They expect to find all sorts of interesting information, they expect to have opportunities to shop and they expect to be bombarded with all sorts of ads. Even people who do not use the Web are in jeopardy of being impersonated on the Web. There are simple and advanced methods for ensuring browser security and protecting user privacy. The more simple techniques are user certification schemes, which rely on digital Ids. Netscape Communicator Navigator and Internet Explorer allow users to obtain and use personal certificates. Currently, the only company offering such certificates is Verisign, which offers digital Ids that consist of a certificate of a user’s identity, signed by Verisign. There are four classes of digital Ids, each represents a different level of assurance in the identify, and each comes at an increasingly higher cost. The assurance is determined by the effort that goes into identifying the person requesting the certificate. Class 1 Digital IDs, intended for casual Web browsing, provided users with an unambiguous name and e-mail address within Verisign’s domain. A Class 1 ID provides assurance to the server that the client is using an identity issued by Verisign but little guarantee about the actual person behind the ID. Class 2 Digital IDs require third party confirmation of name, address, and other personal information related to the user, and they are available only to residents of the United States and Canada. The information provided to Verisign is checked against a consumer database maintained by Equifax. To protect against insiders at Verisign issuing bogus digital IDs, a hardware device is used to generate the certificates. Class 3 Digital IDs are not available. The purpose is to bind an individual to an organization. Thus, a user in possession of such an ID could, theoretically, prove that he or she belongs to the organization that employs him or her. The idea behind Digital IDs is that they are entered into the browser and then are automatically sent when users connect to sites requiring personal certificates. Unfortunately, the only practical effect is to make impersonating users on the network only a little bit more difficult. Many Web sites require their users to register a name and a password. When users connect to these sites, their browser pops up an authentication window that asks for these two items. Usually, the browser than sends the name and password to the server that can allow retrieval of the remaining pages at the site. The authentication information can be protected from eavesdropping and replay by using the SSL protocol. As the number of sites requiring simple authentication grows, so does the number of passwords that each user must maintain. In fact, users are often required to have several different passwords for systems in their workplace, for personal accounts, for special accounts relating to payroll and vacation, and so on. It is not uncommon for users to have more than six sites they visit that require passwords. In the early days of networking, firewalls were intended less as security devices than as a means of preventing broken networking software or hardware from crashing wide-area networks. In those days, malformed packets or bogus routes frequently crashed systems and disrupted servers. Desperate network managers installed screening systems to reduce the damage that could happen if a subnet’s routing tables got confused or if a system’s Ethernet card malfunctioned. When companies began connecting to what is now the Internet, firewalls acted as a means of isolating networks to provide security as well as enforce an administrative boundary. Early hackers were not very sophisticated; neither were early firewalls. Today, firewalls are sold by many vendors and protect tens of thousands of sites. The products are a far cry from the first-generation firewalls, now including fancy graphical user interfaces, intrusion detection systems, and various forms of tamper-proof software. To operate, a firewall sits between the protected network and all external access points. To work effectively, firewalls have to guard all access points into the network’s perimeter otherwise, an attacker can simply go around the firewall and attack an undefended connection. The simple days of the firewalls ended when the Web exploded. Suddenly, instead of handling only a few simple services in an â€Å"us versus them manner†, firewalls now must be connected with complex data and protocols. Today’s firewall has to handle multimedia traffic level, attached downloadable programs (applets) and a host of other protocols plugged into Web browsers. This development has produced a basis conflict: The firewall is in the way of the things users want to do. A second problem has arisen as many sites want to host Web servers: Does the Web server go inside or outside of the firewall? Firewalls are both a blessing and a curse. Presumably, they help deflect attacks. They also complicate users’ lives, make Web server administrators’ jobs harder, rob network performance, add an extra point of failure, cost money, and make networks more complex to manage. Firewall technologies, like all other Internet technologies, are rapidly changing. There are two main types of firewalls, plus many variations. The main types of firewalls are proxy and network-layer. The idea of a proxy firewall is simple: Rather than have users log into a gateway host and then access the Internet from there, give them a set of restricted programs running on the gateway host and let them talk to those programs, which act as proxies on behalf of the user. The user never has a account or login on the firewall itself, and he or she can interact only with a tightly controlled restricted environment created by the firewall’s administrator. This approach greatly enhances the security of the firewall itself because it means that users do not have accounts or shell access to the operating system. Most UNIX bugs require that the attacker have a login on the system to exploit them. By throwing the users off the firewall, it becomes just a dedicated platform that does nothing except support a small set of proxies-it is no longer a general-purpose computing environment. The proxies, in turn, are carefully designed to be reliable and secure because they are the only real point of the system against which an attack can be launched. Proxy firewalls have evolved to the point where today they support a wide range of services and run on a number of different UNIX and Windows NT platforms. Many security experts believe that proxy firewall is more secure than other types of firewalls, largely because the first proxy firewalls were able to apply additional control on to the data traversing the proxy. The real reason for proxy firewalls was their ease of implementation, not their security properties. For security, it does not really matter where in the processing of data the security check is made; what’s more important is that it is made at all. Because they do not allow any direct communication between the protected network and outside world, proxy firewall inherently provide network address translation. Whenever an outside site gets a connection from the firewall’s proxy address, it in turn hides and translates the addresses of system behind the firewall. Prior to the invention of firewalls, routers were often pressed into service to provide security and network isolation. Many sites connecting to the Internet in the early days relied on ordinary routers to filter the types of traffic allowed into or out of the network. Routers operate on each packet as a unique event unrelated to previous packets, filtered on IP source, IP destination, IP port number, and a f few other basic data contained in the packet header. Filtering, strictly speaking, does not constitute a firewall because it does not have quite enough detailed control over data flow to permit building highly secure connections. The biggest problem with using filtering routers for security is the FTP protocol, which, as part of its specification, makes a callback connection in which the remote system initiates a connection to the client, over which data is transmitted. Cryptography is at the heart of computer and network security. The important cryptographic functions are encryption, decryption, one-way hashing, and digital signatures. Ciphers are divided into two categories, symmetric and asymmetric, or public-key systems. Symmetric ciphers are functions where the same key is used for encryption and decryption. Public-key systems can be used for encryption, but they are also useful for key agreement and digital signatures. Key-agreement protocols enable two parties to compute a secret key, even in the face of an eavesdropper. Symmetric ciphers are the most efficient way to encrypt data so that its confidentiality and integrity are preserved. That is, the data remains secret to those who do not posses the secret key, and modifications to the cipher text can be detected during decryption. Two of the most popular symmetric ciphers are the Data Encryption Standard (DES) and the International Data Encryption Algorithm (IDEA). The DES algorithm operates on blocks of 64 bits at a time using a key length of 56 bits. The 64 bits are permuted according to the value of the key, and so encryption with two keys that differently in one bit produces two completely different cipher texts. The most popular mode of DES is called Cipher Block Chaining (CBC) mode, where output from previous block are mixed with the plaintext of each block. The first block is mixed with the plaintext of each block. The block uses a special value called the Initialization Vector. Despite its size and rapid growth, the Web is still in its infancy. So is the software industry. We are just beginning to learn how to develop secure software, and we are beginning to understand that for our future, if it is to be online, we need to incorporate security into the basic underpinnings of everything we develop.