The Role Of Security Management Essay Example for Free

The Role Of Security Management EssayABSTRACTPersonal deal auspices is usu any(prenominal)y considered a technical discipline with very much attention existence foc apply on topics such as encryption, hacking, break-ins, and credit card theft. Security products such as anti-virus programs and individual(prenominal) firew every softw be, ar without delay open for end-substance ab drug single-valued functionrs to lay out on their computers to protect a agnizest threats endemic to ne bothrked computers. The behavioral aspects related to maintaining enterprise bail have received little attention from investigateers and practiti unmatchablers. Using Q-sort abbreviation, this thesis determinationd students as end- users in a graduate problem instruction certification course to investigate issues affecting extract of person-to-person firew all in all softw be in organizations. ground on the Q-sort analysis of end-users in relation to seven variables identified f rom review of the instruction certification literature, three distinct group characteristics emerged. Similarities and differences mingled with groups argon investigated and implications of these results to IT managers, vendors of security softw be and researchers in instruction security argonna atomic number 18 discussed.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSI would like to thank my supervisor Professor ____________ for his great supervision and guidance by means ofout the duration of my thesis project.I would in addition like to thank all colleagues for their financial aid and support.Finally, I wish to thank my family for their continued support throughout the thesis. tabulate OF CONTENTSPageABSTRACT2ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS..3TABLE OF CONTENTS..4LIST OF ACRONYMS.5CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION6 Statement of the Problem7 Research movement8 Signifi send wordce of the Research9 Design and Methodology.10 Q-Sort Analysis.12 Organization of the Study14CHAPTER 2- LITERATURE REVIEW14CHAPTER 3 inquiry QUESTION FINDINGS.18 Data Analysis..18-Analysis of Results26-Limitations of the Study..29Chapter 4- SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONSSummary30Conclusion.31Recommendation..33REFERENCES..34LIST OF ACRONYMSOperational definition of these variables as it relates to the breeding are stick outdPerformance PERF Refers to how well the software operates under various conditions (such as postgraduate traffic, types of selective information, port s bottoms, etc.)Ease-of-use EOU Refers to usability of the product (such as screen public figure and layout, access to features letment tabs, justtons, etc.)Updates UPDTS Refers to product updates at regular intervals after(prenominal) product has been installed and usedFeatures FEATR Refers to the number of program options and features available in softwareReports RPORT Refers to Intrusion Reports and log files generated by the firewall softwareCost COST Refers to price paid for the product (either as shrink wrapped package or as a download)Configuration CO NFIG Refers to apparatus and configuration after product has been installedSupport SUPPRT Refers to availability of online help and technical support either by phone or e-mailInstallation INSTLL Refers to initial installation of the product.Chapter 1 INTRODUCTIONSecurity describes a process of protection from any harm. It alike describes the counter valuates put in place by that process. Harm whitethorn indicate a loss of confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Security management focuses on preventing harm resulting from both random acts of constitution and intentional strategic actions (Schechter, 2004). Security is considered to be a very alpha issue while developing complex own(prenominal) information systems (Mouratidis et al., 2002).Security is a major concern in todays digital era. The Internet offers a junior-grade cost, but insecure means of r from each oneing large number. Owing to the ubiquity of the Internet, it is difficult to control and trace intrusions or attacks by unauthorized people, hackers, etc. Electronic doctor applications destiny secure mechanisms for accurate user identification, accessing sensitive database, storing and transmitting sensitive information, etc. Personal identification numbers (PINs), passwords, intellectual cards and digital certificates are some of the means normally used for this purpose. However, these means do not really spot a person, but only knowledge of some data or belonging of some setd object (Sanchez-Reillo et al., 1999), e.g. public key infrastructure (PKI) toiletnot assure identity of the maker of a transaction, it can only identify the makers computer. An imposter can easily masquerade as a legitimate user and defraud the system.Information must be readily available in organizations for making lasts to support the organisational mission. Murphy, Boren, and Schlarman (2000) state that out-of-pocket to increased connectivity and the urgency to exchange information and data among ma thematical functionners, suppliers, and customers on a real time basis, the shoot to protect and secure computer resources is greater than ever. As a result, this has created the surmise of exposing sensitive corporate information to competitors as well as hackers who can now access organizational computer resources from unconnected sites.Statement of the ProblemThe potential loss of such information to an organization goes beyond financial losses and includes the possibility of corrupted data, denial of services to suppliers, line of work partners and customers, loss of customer confidence, and lost sales. Security in business processes (i.e., maintaining proper authentication, authorization, non-repudiation, and privacy) is critical to successful e-business operations. Enabling business functions over the Internet has been recognized as a major component for the success of businesses and, by mitigating guesss in a cost-effective manner, security is now being viewed as a compo nent of business operations (Deise, Nowikow, King, Wright, 2000). Decisions about information systems made by managers are vital to the success, and even survival, of a firm (Enns, Huff, Golden, 2003). scorn increased security threats, organizations have traditionally allocated very little of the total IT budget to information security. Forrester Research estimates that in Fortune 500 companies, the average touchstone of money as a percent of revenue that is spent on IT security is 0.0025 percent or slightly less than what they spend on burnt umber (Clarke, 2002). Organizations must evaluate and prioritize the optimum mix of products and services to be deployed for protecting confidentiality (maintaining privacy of information), integrity (maintaining information is not altered in transit), and availability (maintaining access to information and resources) of corporate assets. The decision to deploy certain technology is based on variables such as the organizational business ma nikin, level of chance, vulnerability, cost, and rescue on investment (Highland, 1993).There are several ways in which information can be protected. One method to safeguard information is by using controls. The concept of controls can be applied to financial auditing as well as technical computer security. General controls include personnel, physical and organizational controls as well as technical security services and mechanisms (Summers, 1997). Computer security controls can be hardware or software-based and whitethorn include biometric devices, anti-virus software, smart cards, firewalls, and intrusion detection systems that can be used to build the enterprise security infrastructure. Additionally, these controls may be preventive, detective, or corrective.Research QuestionThis paper leave behind focus on one such computer security control Personal Firewalls. Firewalls intercept traffic and make routing and redirection decisions based on policies. Some firewalls can also i nspect packets and make transformation and security decisions in that locationfore, they are critical components in maintaining security in organizations. There are contrastive types of firewalls, such as hardware, software, enterprise, and personal firewalls. Personal firewalls are lymph gland-based solutions that are installed on backcloth/laptop computers and may be administered individually from a central location. Successful choice and toleration of firewalls (enterprise as well as personal) is based on various grammatical constituents, some of which are technical while separates may be behavioral. This exploratory study looks at the new genre of personal firewalls and, based on the review of the literature, attempts to answer the following research questions1) What are the factors that could result in successful cream of personal firewalls in organizations?2) What are the verifiable evidence to support deployment of firewall software?Significance of the ResearchThe s tudy hopes to shed light on behavioral aspects of information security, which may be tied to perceptions of end-users who may influence technology selection in their organization. This will provide empirical evidence to an battleground that has been identified as wanting(p) in research (Dhillon Blackhouse, 2001 Troutt, 2002) and provide directions and guidance for future studies.Another significance of this study is to look at end-user perception is that it may affect how well the user does his or her part in staying vigilant to combat threats posted by hackers to organizational assets. The end-user may be a conduit to organizational data being compromised. decent software selection as well as confirmative user attitude and motivation for using the software are accordingly weighty to image ongoing use of personal firewall software. Kettinger and Lee (2002) address the fact that the proliferation of personal computing and individualized software, and popularity of the Interne t in organizations have resulted in users playing an great bureau in driving IT carrying out. Their study found that for users selecting their own IT applications (such as backcloth software programs), there is greater user satisfaction after effectuation. Grantham and Vaske (1985) also state that positive user attitudes are distinguished predictors in continued system use.This is specially important for personal firewall use because computers are at assay at all times when connected to the Internet. In reference to software selection, Chiasson and Lovato (2001) emphasize sense of how users form perceptions of software innovation would help software designers, implementers and users in their evaluation, selection, implementation and ongoing use of software. However, with the exception of some recent work, there is little research examining how a user forms his or her perceptions of innovation overtime (p. 16).The compass of information security as it relates to maintaining confidentiality and integrity of data stored on personal computers can benefit from identification of factors that would make it possible to safeguard corporate assets that are at risk as a result of remote data access by employees. software selection for deployment on company computers cuts across antithetic user levels in terms of knowledge and level of expertise of the user. Selection of software therefore must be done to accommodate all types of users ranging from novices to experts. The latter(prenominal) category of users may have higher tacit knowledge of tasks to be able to compensate for the interface without realizing it (Gery, 1997).Organization of StudyThe purpose of this paper is to investigate self-referent perceptions of end-users, and use Q-Sort analysis to investigate factors affecting deployment of security firewall software in organizations. The paper is organized as follows review of research on information security is presented to the reader along with extrac tion of variables from the literature that may determine firewall deployment in organizations The Q-Sort factor in Analysis method used for the study is explained and the research design is provided Along with data analysis, results of the study are then explained, which is followed by discussion and applications to practice. collectable to the nature of research design used in this study, limitations are also explained.Research Design and MethodologySubjects in this exploratory research study were 31MBA students enrolled in a security and Control of Information Systems course. The students came from different backgrounds, such as finance, liberal arts, nursing, and computer science. From a business perspective, the course examined implications of information security risks faced by organizations. Although technical issues of security, such as authentication, authorization, and encryption that make electronic commerce sites successful in processing business transactions securely were also explored in the course, the primary focus in the course was from a business perspective. There was no structured lab work during class, but to gain a separate recognizeing of security issues, students were expected to complete hands-on exercises right(prenominal) class.During initial weeks, topics covered included the PWC model, TCP/IP vs. OSI models, network, e-mail, database security, digital certificates and signatures, risk evaluatement, and privacy issues. Also, during Week 5, students had been previously tested on the topics using short-answer type questions to determine learning competency of factual information and applications related to information security in organizations. The test score counted towards 15% of overall course grade.With coverage of the aforesaid(prenominal) topics, it was safe to assume that students had knowledge of current security issues facing organizations in todays economy. Because there is no consensus on the common body of knowledge acceptable for all security professionals, and since this was an exploratory study, the study was conducted in a controlled environment with ahomogenous population of students to minimize confounding by extraneous variables. Using MBA students as surrogates for professionals or executives in reference to use and evaluation of technology has also been found to be acceptable (Briggs, Balthazard, Dennis, 1996).The hands-on firewall assignment in this course covered installation, configuration, and use of one standard personal firewall software (ZoneAlarm). After students had a chance to use the software, they were asked to participate in the study. No class discussion was conducted on results of the firewall tests in vitrine it affected students perceptions about the software, which could have influenced their response.Therefore, the data reflected individual student perception without class discussions. Students were given instructions to visit a Web site that explained the nature o f the study and provided information on how the Q-sort biddings should be sorted. This was important since students are to a greater extent used to completing questionnaires in a survey format that use Likert scale, open-ended, or clo gainnded questions (such as those used during end of term class evaluation of instruction), but may not be familiar with the peculiarities of the Q-sort procedure. To reduce data errors and extract utilizable data, instructions were presented in detail before the respondents were shown the statements for the study.Q-Sort AnalysisQ-sort analysis uses a technique for studying human subjectivity (Stephenson, 1953 Brown, 1980 McKeown Thomas, 1988). It is useful in exploratory research and a well-developed a priori literature guides and supports its users (Thomas Watson, 2002). Q-sort methodology is suited for small samples and relies on theories in the world battlefield being researched to develop items for analysis. A dis expediency of the Q-sort methodology is that it is not suitable for large samples, and it forces subjects to conform to certain expectations (such as fitting responses within a normal distribution). Brown (1986) suggests that 30 to 50 subjects are adapted for studies investigating public opinion. Q-sort uses an ipsative (self-referenced) technique of sorting participants statements about subjective conditions. It is a variation of factor analysis technique that uses Q-methodology theory to take apart correlation measure (Brown, 1980).Respondents to Q-sort studies are required to sort statements into predefined normal distribution type scale in which a fixed number of items fall under each category. The rankings provide clusters of perceptions of individuals consensus and conflict, which can be used to place individuals with similar characteristics into groups for further study, hi the past, the Q-sort technique used index cards for sorting, but now Web-based data prayer programs (such as WebQ) are commo n. Initially the statements are presented to respondents in random order, and each respondent organizes statements into predefined categories. To view entered data, the respondent also can update statement rankings to see where the statements fall under each category. One advantage of using the WebQ method is that data submission errors are reduced since the program verifies that the statements are sorted jibe to predefined requirements.Figure 1. WebQ questionnaireAdapted from Brown, 1980.In this personal firewall study, the statements were to be classified advertisement by respondents as Most Important (+2), Important (+1), Neutral (O), Less Important (-1), and least Important (-2). To provide a forced distribution that is expected in the Q-Sort methodology, respondents were given instructions to identify one statement as Most Important, two statements each as Important and Less Important, and three statements as Neutral. The instrument used is shown in Figure 1Chapter 2-LITERATU RE REVIEWIn the subject area of information security, research has often lagged practice. Dhillon Blackhouse (2001) have stressed the need for more empirical research to develop key principles for the prevention of negative events and therefore to help in the management of security. Despite known vulnerabilities in applications and operating systems, companies continue to deploy software to stay competitive, and steps taken to secure products and services are knee-jerk reactions to media stories that are more reactive than proactive in nature. Most IT managers lack a coherent modeling and concrete methodology for achieving enterprise security. A security aim that includes technology, personnel, and policies would be a much better approach to developing an enterprise security strategy.One such model is the Enterprise security simulation worth Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) model. The PWC model is comprehensive because it addresses the entire enterprise of security architecture. The m odel emphasizes information security strategies within the organization using a holistic kinda than apiecemeal approach. The framework is based on four pillars security vision and strategy, senior management commitment, information security management structure, and training and awareness. Within the pillars are decision drivers, development, and implementation phases. Firewalls are placed in the development phase since they are used to provide interpretation of corporate standards at the technical level. For a tiny discussion of the PWC model, the reader is referred to Murphy, Boren, and Schlarman (2000).Firewalls can be considered a last line of defense in protecting and securing information systems. Wood (1988) provided a context for information security systems planning and proposed that reactive and incremental improvement approaches to address security are harbingers of a more serious problem. Other factors identified in Woods model are the lack of top management support, in formation overload, insufficient staffing, and particular(a) resources. Straub and Welke (1998) advocate using deterrence, prevention, detection, and convalescence security action cycle to mitigate systems risk and use prioritized security controls. Data on computer crimes is often under-reported because companies are not willing to risk public embarrassment and bad publicity. Most companies bring to handle these incidents internally without keeping documentation or reporting to local, state or federal authorities (Saita, 2001).There is a need for unbiased empirical studies in the information security area that will provide insight into problems affecting todays technology dependent corporations and industries. With a strong need to collect and analyze computer security data, the CSI/FBI Computer Crime and security Survey is published yearly (see http// www.gocsi.com). This study provides descriptive statistics but does not attempt to identify kinship betwixt variables, as is e xpected in analytical surveys. Also, results reported in this annual survey have been identified by the publishers themselves to be potentially misdirect due to the limited number of respondents and their accuracy as a result of anonymous nature of the surveys. These results have also been called into question because of lack of statistical or scholarly rigor and self-serving interest (Heiser, 2002). Despite these limitations, the CSI/FBI survey provides a useful role in comparison of yearly data for similar parameters.The area of human computer interface provides a link mingled with the user and software applications. User satisfaction is a function of features, user interface, response time, reliability, installability, information, maintainability, and other factors.If a products user interface catches a users attention and is simple to learn and use, and has the right price and features, then the product may gain competitive advantage (Torres, 2002, p. 15). The theory of user interface design and user involvement in completing task-based actions related to Internet and security software has been substantiated by two studies in which user interaction with peer-to-peer software (Good Kerkelberg, 2002), and PGP software (Whitten Tygar, 1999) were examined. Good and Krekelberg (peer-to-peer study) found that applications connecting to the Internet need better usability and software design to maintain integrity of information stored on a users computer.In this study, individuals assumed responsibility of keeping firewalls operational at all times. This contributed in large part to maintaining effective enterprise security. Whitten and Tygar (PGP study) found that user errors are a important portion of computer security failures, and further concluded that user interfaces for security programs require a usability standard much different from other consumer software. (Although this study is not directly concerned with user satisfaction, but is more focused o n factors that affect deployment rather than development of end-user software in a specific area, some factors may be directly tied to user satisfaction as will be shown by correlational analysis).Due to increasing mobile and off-site access by employees using cable modems, DSL connections, and wireless devices to access corporate resources, personal firewalls are a required component to maintain overall enterprise security in an organization. Because of the nature and availability of personal firewall software, most companies choose to acquire it rather than develop it in-house. Software acquisition that results in productivity gains and strategic advantage is of critical concern to organizations, and factors that relate to these benefits must be correctly identified and understood for software acquisition decisions (Nelson, Richmond, Seidmann, 1996). Purchase of commercial software includes identifying requirements, evaluating packages from different vendors, configuring, insta lling, and evaluating it either as server or client-based solution.This may further involve requirements acquisition that leads to product selection (Maiden, Ncube, Moore, 1997). As a method of selection, professionals in charge of evaluating personal firewall software could draft a feature requirements document, and evaluate vendor products by comparing available features as well as using demonstration versions of software. This would be followed by user experience with the software. As mentioned earlier, the need for user involvement in information systems has been considered an important mechanism for improving system quality and ensuring successful system implementation.It is further believed that the users satisfaction with a system leads to greater system usage (Baroudi, Olson, Ives, 1986). The requirements for software though must be as measurable as possible to enable product selection and may also use repertory grids in which stakeholders are asked for attributes applicab le to a set of entities and values for cells in an entity-attribute matrix. This would produce representation of requirements in a standardized, quantifiable format amenable even to statistical analyses (Maiden, Ncube, Moore, 1997). In relation to the security area, Goodhue and Straub (1991) found company actions and individual awareness to be statistically significant in a study of perceptions of managers regarding controls installed in organizations.Chapter 3 query QUESTION FINDINGSData AnalysisQ-Sort analysis is a type of inverse factor analysis in which the cases (subjects) rather than statement variables (features) are clustered. As recommended by Brown (1980), a procedure that arranged statements based on responses of a single individual was used for data analysis. The responses heterogeneous statements of opinion (also called Q-sample) that individuals rank-ordered based on the feature requirements in personal firewall software. The arrayed items (Q-sort) from the respond ents were correlated and factor-analyzed. The factors indicated clusters of subjects who had ranked the statement in the same fashion. Explanation of factors was then advanced in terms of unremarkably shared attitudes or perspectives. A review of security literature (Hazari, 2000 Northcutt, McLachlan, Novak, 2000 Scambray, McClure, Kurtz, 2001 Strassberg, Rollie, Gondek, 2002 Zwicky, Cooper, Chapman, Russell, 2000) was used to extract the following statement variables relating to requirements in personal firewall software performance, ease-of-use, updates, features, reports, cost, configuration, and support.Table 1. player ranked scoresVariable Mean SDPERF 4.45 0.77EOU 3.39 1.08UPDTS 3.23 0.88FEATR 3.03 0.93RPORT 3.00 1.03COST 2.97 1.20CONFIG 2.55 0.85SUPPRT 2.35 0.98INSTLL 2.00 0.89Prior to conducting the Q-sort analysis, ranked scores of all participants (before identifying factor groups) on each statement variable were cipher for preliminary descriptive statistics. These ar e shown in Table 1, where a mean score of 5 = Most Important and 0 = Least Important).Correlation between the nine feature variables shows a low level of correlation between statements. This indicates there is a high degree of independence between the statement categories as used in the analysis. This finding is important since it supports the assertion that the statements represent relatively independent factors obtained from the review of the literature. In the correlation matrix shown, Table 2 shows significant correlation (p 0.05) between cost and updates, cost and reports, ease-of-use and performance, ease-of-use and updates, and installation and support.Table 2. Correlation matrix between variablesCOST FEATR EOU PERF INSTLL UPDTS RPORT CONFIG SUPPRTCOST 1.00 -0.21 0.27 0.18 -0.13 -0.43 -0.49 -0.08 -0.10FEATR 1.00 -.29 0.35 -0.16 0.06 -0.17 -0.13 -0.25EOU 1.00 0.44 0.00 -0.37 -0.27 -0.20 -0.04PERF 1.00 -0.10 -0.11 -0.13 0.13 -0.14INSTLL 1.00 -0.13 -0.04 0.18 -0.53UPDTS 1.00 0.26 -0.15 0.17RPORT 1.00 1.00 0.03CONFIG -0.24SUPPRT 1.00As mentioned earlier, in Q-factor analysis, the correlation between subjects rather than variables are factored. The factors represent grouping of people with similar patterns of response during sorting (Brown, 1980 Thomas Watson, 2002). Following guidelines for Q-factor analysis, eight factors were initially identified with eigenvalues 1 (an eigenvalue is the occur of variance in the original variable associated with the factor). These factors and their percentage of variance are shown in Table 3.Table 3. Eigenvalues of unrelated factorsEigenvalues % Cumul.%1 11.56 37.28 37.282 6.03 19.45 56.733 3.91 12.61 69.344 2.98 9.61 78.955 2.14 6.92 85.876 1.93 6.23 92.107 1.43 4.61 96.718 1.02 3.29 100.00 actors selected were rotated to maximize the loading of each variable on one of the extracted factors while minimizing loading on all other factors. elements selected for rotation are usually identified by taking those with eige nvalue greater than one (Kline, 1994). However, in this study, the more rigorous Kaiser rule of selecting factors whose eigenvalue is at or above the mean eigenvalue (in this case 3.85) was used. meanss 1,2, and 3, which represented almost 70% of total variance in data, were then subjected to principal component analysis with varimax rotation. Following rotation, a Factor Matrix indicating defining sort (i.e., respondents in agreement) identified three factor groups with similar pattern of responses. The correlation of individual respondents with factors is shown in Table 4 below.Table 4. Factor matrix of respondents (* indicates defining sort)Q-Sort 1 2 31 02386 -0.0398 0.89882 0.0227 0.1971 0.8158*3 0.4975 -0.3790 0.54584 0.8575* -0.2912 0.08115 -0.2639 0.0196 0.7993*6 -0.0614 0.7524* -0.22897 0.4014 -0.1587 0.4678*8 0.1367 0.0728 0.9054*9 0.5351 0.1183 0.6886*10 0.5065 0.3263 0175411 0.5351 0.3357 0.688612 0.8192* 0.7321* 0.103513 -0.6495* 0.3450 -0.084414 -0.0464 0.8598* 0.5845 15 0.6535 0.0127 0.305316 0.2052 0.2324 0.245217 -0.1340 0.4049 0.951218 0.7553* 0.5865 0.298719 0.2431 0.4049 0.694620 0.5983* 0.5865 -0.033421 0.4660 0.6533* 0.457322 0.5672* 0.1057 -0.334223 0.3501 -0.1001 0.819524 0.1008 0.9240* 0.003825 0.3329 0.0999 0.719426 0.2254 0.6545* 0.132927 0.7660* 0.1246 0.567728 -0.1210 -0.3611* 0.230829 0.3850 0.7032* 0.014430 0.4656 0.5605 -0.319631 -0.1987 0.8988* 0.2470% explained variance 21 22 26From Table 4 it can be observed that for Factor 1, respondents 4, 12, 13, 15, 18,20,22, and 27 were in agreement and are extremely loaded on this factor. Similarly, respondents 6, 10, 14, 16, 21, 24, 26, 29, and 30 were in agreement in Factor 2, and respondents 5,7,8,9,11,17,19, and 23 were in agreement in Factor 3.The statements in which these three factor groups were ranked are shown in Table 5.Table 5. Ranked statement totals with each factorNo. Statement Factor 1 Factor 2 Factor 31 COST 0.31 50.91 2-1.45 92 FEATR -0.45 7 0.10 5 0.70 23 EOU 0.91 2 0 .63 3 -0.55 64 PERF 1.26 1 1.72 1 1.80 15 INSTLL -1.92 9 -0.31 6 -0.63 76 UPDTS 0.52 3 -0.54 7 0.61 37 RPORTS 0.03 6 -1.28 8 0.55 48 CONFIG -1.07 8 0.12 4 -0.17 59 SUPPRT 0.41 4 -1.34 9 -0.87 8Table 6 shows correlation between the factors. Similar to the findings earlier about variable independence, the factor groups also show a high degree of independence.Table 6. Correlation between factorsFactor 1 2 31 1.0000 0.3218 0.29702 0.3218 1.0000 0.22983 0.2970 0.2298 1.0000The normalized factor scores for each factor were examined next. This provided ameasure of relative strength of importance attached by a factor to each statement on the scale used during sorting. Tables 7(a), 7(b), and 7(c) show these scores.Table 7(a). Normalized Factor 1 scoreNo. Statement z-score4 PERF 1.2583 EOU 0.9106 UPDTS 0.5429 SUPPRT 0.4091 COST 0.3147 RPORT 0.0322 FEATR -0.4548 CONFIG -1.0715I INSTLL -1.922Table 7(b). Normalized Factor 2 scoreNo. Statement z-score4 PERF 1.7171 COST 0.9053 EOU 0.6268 CONFIG 0. 1162 FEATR 0.1025 INSTLL -0.3136 UPDTS -0.5357 RPORT -1.2769I SUPPRT -1.343Table 7(c). Normalized Factor 3 scoreNo. Statement z-score4 PERF 1.8052 FEATR 0.7026 UPDTS 0.6067 RPORT 0.5538 CONFIG -0.1703 EOU -0.5475 INSTLL -0.6329 SUPPRT -0.8721I COST -1.446From the Table 7(a) it can be seen that adherents of Factor 1 feel strongly in favor of statement 4 (Performance) and oppose statements 8 and 5. This indicates for Factor 1 group, performance is favored over initial installation, setup and configuration of the product. The results of Factor 2 group are tenacious with Factor 1 that is, performance of the product is the highest rated criterion. Ease-of-use also rated highly in Factors 1 and 2. Perceived ease-of-use in an information systems product has been shown to play a critical role in predicting and determining a users decision to use the product (Hackbarth, Grover, Yi, 2003). The largest dissension between Factor 1 and 2 groups involved statements 9 (Availability of Online He lp), 7 (Intrusion Reports generated), and 6 (Regular Product Updates).The results of Factor 3 are consistent with Factors 1 and 2 with Performance criteria once again being highly rated. The most dissension between Factors 2 and 3 involved statements 1 (Cost) and 3 (Ease-of-use). The most dissension between Factors 1 and 3 involved statements 1 (Cost), 3 (Ease-of-use), and 9 (Availability of Online Help).Analysis of ResultsThe Q-sort analysis classified subjects into three groups. Eight subjects were classified under Factor 1, and 10 subjects each were included in Factors 2 and 3. There were three subjects in the study that were not distinguished in any group. These subjects were excluded from further analysis. The classification into factors gave a better idea of group characteristics. Since Factors 1 and 2 were similar and shown to include subjects who considered Performance, ease-of-use, and Availability of Online Help as the most important characteristics, this group can be cons idered to be comprised of non-technical users who place more emphasis on the product performing as expected in achieving goals for security. Factor 3 subjects emphasized technical characteristics and were more interested in number of features in the product, updates to the product on a regular basis, intrusion reports generated by personal firewalls, and setup/configuration of the product after installation. This group had characteristics of technical users.The normalized factor scores provided a measure of relative strength of importance attached by factors to each statement on the scale used during sorting. As mentioned earlier, adherents in Factor 1 felt strongly in favor of statement 4 (Performance) and fence statements 8 (Setup/configuration) and 5 (Installation). The results of Factor 2 are consistent with Factor 1, that is, Performance of the product is the highest rated criterion. ease-of-use also rated highly in Factors 1 and 2. The largest dissension between Factor 1 and 2 groups involved statements 9 (Availability of Online Help), 7 (Intrusion Reports generated), and 6 (Regular Product Updates).The most dissension between Factors 2 and 3 involved Statements 1 (Cost) and 3 (Ease-of-use). Results of Factor 3 were consistent with Factors 1 and 2, with Performance criteria once again being highly rated. The largest dissension between Factors 1 and 3 involved statements 1 (Cost), 3 (Ease-of-use), and 9 (Availability of Online Help). Extreme differences between all factors appeared in Cost, Intrusion Reports generated, and Availability of Online Help. There was only one statement, Performance of the product, that showed consensus among all factors that is, it did not distinguish between any pair of factors, which indicates Performance of the desktop firewall software is an agreed upon criterion irrespective of group characteristics.The managerial implications of this study can be assessed at the level of selecting appropriate software for use on computer s in organizations to maintain security. There is evidence of user satisfaction being a useful measure of system success (Mahmood et al., 2000). While the end-user may not purchase individually preferred software for installation on company owned computers, the user can influence decisions for selection by making known to IS managers the features that would contribute to regular use of security software such as personal firewalls. give access of these machines to corporate resources, appropriate and regular use of software would contribute to maintaining enterprise security. For technical professionals (e.g., programmers) who install firewalls on their desktop, programs could emphasize the statements that are defining characteristics shown in Factor 3. For an industry that has non-technical professionals (such as Factor 1 and 2), other non-technical characteristics of the product could be emphasized thus achieving maximum effectiveness in program deployment. change magnitude awaren ess should minimize user related faults, nullify these in theory, and maximize the efficiency of security techniques and procedures from the users point of view (Siponen, 2000).The results of this study could also benefit vendors who develop software for end-users. In this study it was found that performance of the software is the most important factor that affects selection of software, irrespective of group characteristics. Due to project deadlines and grocery store competition, software is often shipped without being fully tested as secure, and standard industry practice is to release incremental service packs that address security issues in the product. In a case of security software, this may adversely affect the reputation of a vendor once its products have been shown to have high vulnerability to being compromised. The findings of this study could provide a better understanding of importance of personal firewall security software on organizational client computers. The decis ion to install an information system necessitates a choice of mechanisms to determine whether it is needed, and once implemented, whether it is functioning properly (Ives, Olson, Baroudi, 1983).More research require to be done in the area of selection of software for implementation on users computers that are owned by corporations and given to employees for off-site work. This can include regular employees vs. contractors who may connect to employer and client networks from the same computer. If the findings are to have wider applicability, qualified industry professionals and security officers responsible for maintaining secure infrastructure in corporations should be included in the analysis. The study provides management and security professionals a basis for making decisions related to enterprise security. It provides personal firewall vendors an insight into feature requirements of the personal firewall market, and provides academic researchers interested in security, a more focused approach on various dimensions of security software from the behavioral perspective. Future studies could be industry and product specific in order to assess differences in selecting general-purpose software versus security specific products.In many cases, management has looked at the need for implementing information security programs and products as a necessity encumbrance, something akin to paying taxes or insurance premiums (Highland, 1993). But organizations are increasingly becoming aware of the potential for legal exposure via lawsuits, and are deploying countermeasures (such as personal firewalls) to reduce vulnerability and mitigate risk. The chief information security officer in todays organizations should have the responsibility of managing organizational risks by using empirical models and analysis to determine strategies for protecting corporate assets.Firewalls are the last line of defense in the corporate network and therefore play a critical role in informat ion security. With personal firewalls being a new product genre, this study was conducted since there is no research available that specifically looks at determinants for selection of security software in a corporate environment to protect organizational assets. As the information security field evolves further, decisions for security software acquisitions need to be researched further. Selection and deployment of appropriate firewalls can make a significant difference in an organizations enterprise security strategy. It is therefore also important to understand the variables (as shown in this study) that may affect decisions to select and deploy personal firewall software in a corporate environment.Limitations of the StudyDue to the exploratory nature of this study, there are several limitations. The sample used in the study comprised of all students enrolled in a security course at the same university, and was further limited to the firewall topic among a wide range of technical a nd behavioral information security topics. Students worked with only one type of firewall software and characteristics of this particular program may have heightened their awareness of certain strengths and weaknesses in the software. Since the purpose of information security implementation in an organization is to support business objectives of the organization, information security departments are sometimes placed under the chief financial officer recognizing the direct relationship between information assets and monetary assets.Software acquisition decisions may therefore be made by the finance department with limited input from the IT department. The purpose of this study was to explore an important topic for research on information security and determine operant subjectivity in a field where empirical research is severely lacking. The Q-sort technique itself is suitable for small sample populations (Thomas Watson, 2002), but the correlations obtained in smaller samples tend to have considerable standard errors (Kline, 1994).The exploratory nature of this study was not intended to prove some general hypnotism but to seek a better understanding of group characteristics that directly relate to maintaining a secure network environment (in this case by deploying personal firewalls to plug possible vulnerabilities that might exist in a network through use of computers by employees either on-site or at remote locations). The perceptions of end-users will therefore guide the selection and deployment of security technologies in an organization to provide a secure corporate environment.Chapter 4- SUMMARY and CONCLUSIONSSummaryIn the area of information security, research has often lagged practice. Dhillon Blackhouse (2001) have stressed the need for more empirical research to develop key principles for the prevention of negative events and therefore to help in the management of security. Despite known vulnerabilities in applications and operating systems, compan ies continue to deploy software to stay competitive, and steps taken to secure products and services are knee-jerk reactions to media stories that are more reactive than proactive in nature. Most IT managers lack a coherent framework and concrete methodology for achieving enterprise security. A security plan that includes technology, personnel, and policies would be a much better approach to developing an enterprise security strategy.One such model is the Enterprise security Framework Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) model. The PWC model is comprehensive because it addresses the entire enterprise of security architecture. The model emphasizes information security strategies within the organization using a holistic rather than apiecemeal approach. The framework is based on four pillars security vision and strategy, senior management commitment, information security management structure, and training and awareness. Within the pillars are decision drivers, development, and implementation phases. Firewalls are placed in the development phase since they are used to provide interpretation of corporate standards at the technical level. For a detailed discussion of the PWC model, the reader is referred to Murphy, Boren, and Schlarman (2000).So it is important reason to look at end-user perception as it may affect how well the user does his or her part in staying vigilant to combat threats posted by hackers to organizational assets. The end-user may be a conduit to organizational data being compromised. Proper software selection as well as positive user attitude and motivation for using the software are therefore important to ensure ongoing use of personal firewall software. Kettinger and Lee (2002) address the fact that the proliferation of personal computing and individualized software, and popularity of the Internet in organizations have resulted in users playing an important role in driving IT implementation. Their study found that for users selecting their own IT ap plications (such as desktop software programs), there is greater user satisfaction after implementation. Grantham and Vaske (1985) also state that positive user attitudes are important predictors in continued system use.This is especially important for personal firewall use because computers are at risk at all times when connected to the Internet. In reference to software selection, Chiasson and Lovato (2001) emphasize Understanding of how users form perceptions of software innovation would help software designers, implementers and users in their evaluation, selection, implementation and ongoing use of software. However, with the exception of some recent work, there is little research examining how a user forms his or her perceptions of innovation overtime (p. 16).The area of information security as it relates to maintaining confidentiality and integrity of data stored on personal computers can benefit from identification of factors that would make it possible to safeguard corporate assets that are at risk as a result of remote data access by employees. Software selection for deployment on company computers cuts across different user levels in terms of knowledge and level of expertise of the user. Selection of software therefore must be done to accommodate all types of users ranging from novices to experts. The latter category of users may have higher tacit knowledge of tasks to be able to compensate for the interface without realizing it (Gery, 1997).ConclusionsIn this study, Q-methodology was used to define participant viewpoints and perceptions, empirically place participants in groups, provide sharper insight into participant preferred directions, identify criteria that are important to participants, explicitly outline areas of consensus and conflicts, and investigate a contemporary problem relating to desktop firewalls by quantifying subjectivity. Similar to other IT areas, security software selection and deployment in todays environment faces many challe nges, such as staying current with new threats, project deadlines, implementation issues, and support costs.Quality drives customer satisfaction and adoption of software. Human factors are important in contributing to successful software deployment in organizations, especially when it relates to desktop software applications. Organizations are now viewing security and controls as business enablers and desktop firewall technology plays a critical role in safeguarding corporate assets. In a fast-paced area where the new generation of applications and services are growing more complex each day, it is critical to understand characteristics that affect selection of end-user security products in enterprises.This study addresses a small but important area of safeguarding enterprise information security by using personal firewalls. As has been previously noted, limited research exists beyond the current study that explores behavioral aspects of information security. This study holds importa nce for professionals tasked with evaluating and selecting security products for company wide deployment. As the area of information security gains increased importance due to the strategic role of technology in organizations, and current events impact areas such as disaster recovery and enterprise continuity planning, a study of end-users to determine their perceptions about selection of technology controls in organizations is critical for protecting organizational assets.More research needs to be done in the area of perception of users towards other security software (such as anti-virus, intrusion detection, virtual private network software, and encryption products), and, due to varying security needs in different industries, studies could also be industry and product specific. While the findings should be considered preliminary, the results raise interesting observations about issues show regarding security perceptions of feature requirements in personal firewalls. Information s ecurity is a dynamic area and, in this environment, this exploratory study contributes to evolving research by identifying variables from theoretical literature and using an empirical technique to study issues that affect safeguarding vital assets of an organization from internal and external threats.RecommendationIt is recommended that in order to provide better evidence of factors that affect deployment of technology tools that create awareness of security issues and produce better informed employees, research into behavioral factors also needs to be conducted to gain insight into programs and processes that will lead to the development of a robust enterprise security strategy. Information security awareness research has been mostly descriptive and has not explored the possibilities offered by motivation/behavioral theories, or the related theory of planned behavior and the technology acceptance model, specifically in the information security domain (Mathieson, 1991 Siponen, 2000 Legris, Ingham, Collerette, 2003).Since security has been deployed at the perimeter of electronic network and on servers by system administrators, the area of information security has ignored users of information systems since software developers are far removed from how the user will interact with security software. Human compliance with information security rules require an understanding of how people work and conceptualize (Highland, 1993). Lane (1985) considers the human factor to be the first and most important component of security and a critical part of the risk analysis process. This is especially true in personal firewall software since the burden of maintaining a secure environment is being shared by the user and the system administrator.REFERENCESBaroudi, J., Oison, M., Ives, B. (1986). An empirical study of the impact of user involvement on system usage and information satisfaction. Communications of the ACM, 29(3), 785-793.Briggs, R.O., Balthazard, P.A., Dennis, A. R. (1996). Graduate business students as surrogates for executives in the evaluation of technology. Journal of End-user Computing, 8(4), 11-17.Brown, S.R. (1980). governmental subjectivity Applications of Q methodology in political science. New Haven, Connecticut Yale University Press.Brown, S.R. (1986). Q-technique and method Principles and procedures. In W.D. Berry M.S. Lewis-Beck (eds.), New Tools for Social Scientists Advances and Applications in Research Methods. Beverly Hills, CA quick-scented Publications.Chiasson, M., Lovato, C. (2001). Factors influencing the formation of a users perceptions and use of a DSS software innovation. ACM SIGMS Database, 32(3), 16-35.Clarke, R. (2002, February). Forum on technology and innovation Sponsored by Sen. BillFrist (R-TN), Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), and the Council on Competitiveness. Retrieved October 28,2003, from hap/ /www. techlawjournal, com/security/ 20020214.aspDeise, M., Nowikow, C., King, P., Wright, A. (2000). Executive s guide to e-business From tactics to strategy. New York John Wiley Sons.Dhillon, G., Blackhouse, J. (2001). Current directions in IS security research Toward socio-organizational perspectives. Information Systems Journal, 11(2), 127-153.Enns, H., Huff, S., Golden, B. (2003). CIO influence behaviors The impact of technical background. Information and Management, 40(5), 467-485.Gery, G. (1997). Granting three wishes through performance-centered design. Communications of the ACM, 40(7), 54-59.Good, N., Krekelberg, A. (2002). Usability and privacy A study of Kazaa P2P file-sharing. Retrieved November 12, 2003, from http// www. hpl. hp. com/shl/papers/kazaa/Goodhue, D.L., Straub, D.W. (1991). security concerns of system users A study of perceptions of the adequacy of security measures. Information Management, 20(1), 13-27.Grantham, C., Vaske, J. (1985). Predicting the usage of an advanced discourse technology. Behavior and Information Technology, 4(4), 327-335Hackbarth, G., Grov er, V, Yi, M. (2003). Computer playfulness and anxiety Positive and negative mediators of the system experience effect on perceived ease-of-use. Information and Management, 40(3), 221-232.Hazari, S. (2000). Firewalls for beginners. Retrieved December 17,2003, from http//online.securityfocus.com/ infoc Heiser, J. (2002, April). Go figure Can you trust infosecurity surveys? Information security, 27-28.us/1182.Highland, HJ. (1993). A view of information security tomorrow. In E.G. Dougall (ed.), Computer security. Holland Elsevier.Ives, B., Olson, M., Baroudi, J. (1983). The measurement of user information satisfaction. Communications of the ACM, 25(10), 785-793.Kettinger, W., Lee, C. (2002). Understanding the IS-User divide in IT innovation. Communications of the ACM, 45(2), 79-84.Kline, P. (1994). An easy guide to factor analysis. London RutledgeLane, YP. (1985). security of computer based information systems. London Macmillan.Legris, P., Ingham, J., Collerette, P. (2003). Why do people use information technology? A critical review of the technology acceptance model. Information and Management, 40(3), 191-204.Mahmood, M.A., Burn, J.M., Gemoets, L.A., Jacquez, C. (2000). Variables affecting information technology enduser satisfaction Ameta-analysis of the empirical literature. IntemationalJournal of Human-Computer Studies, 52, 751-771.Maiden, N., Ncube, C., Moore, A. (1997). Lessons intimate during requirements acquisition for COTS systerns. Communications of the ACM, 40(12), 21-25.Mathieson, K. (1991). Predicting user intentions Comparing the technology acceptance model with the theory of planned behavior. Information Systems Research, 3(2), 173-191.Murphy, B., Boren, R., Schlarman, S. (2000). Enterprise security architecture. CRC Press. Retrieved November 2, 2003, from http//www.pwcglobal.comNelson P., Richmond W. , Seidmann A., (1996). Two dimensions of software acquisition. Communications of the ACM, 39(1), 29-35.Northcutt, S., McLachlan, D., Novak, J . (2000). Network intrusion detection An analysts handbook (2nd ed.). IN New Riders Publishing.Saita, A. (2001, June). Understanding peopleware. Information security, 72-80.Siponen, M.T. (2000). A conceptual foundation for organizational information security awareness. Information Management security, 5(1), 31-41.Strassberg, K., Rollie, G., Gondek, R. (2002). Firewalls The complete reference. NY Osborne McGraw-Hill.Straub, D.W., Welke, RJ. (1988). Coping with systems risk security planning models for management decision making. MS Quarterly, 22(4), 441-469.Zwicky, E., Cooper, S., Chapman, D., Russell, D. (2000). Building Internet firewalls (2nd ed.). CA OReilly.

Act of Concern Essay Example for Free

flirt of Concern EssayThe average Filipino generates 0.3 and 0.5 kilograms of garbage daily in rural and urban areas, respectively. A recent Asian Development Bank (ADB) 2004 study showed that 6,700 MT of waste is generated daily in Metro Manila. Annual waste generation is expected to scram 40% by 2010These garbage come in many forms the styrofoams used by a fast food chain, a broken pair of slippers and wrappers of miscellaneous snacks are just some examples. For the past decades, issues regarding disposal of these large amount of waste have been a primary concern. Landfill sites continuously blow as much garbage is generated. However, economists would say resources are scarce and limited especially in land. Thus in 2002, the Supreme Court decided to pass Republic Act 8749 or the Clean Air Act of 1999 making the Philippines the first country to ban burning or incineration of all wastes.Incineration is a waste treatment dish out which uses flame. Waste materials are conver ted into ash, flue gas and heat. Incineration does not totally replace landfill sites merely rather significantly reduces the volumes of wastes necessary for disposal1 (Wikipedia).But beneath this supposedly positive output lies the harmful effects of incineration to the environment.Environmentalists claim that burning waste materials result to numerous negative environmental, social and health effects. Some of these harms are poisonous substance to the environment, human body, and food supply with toxic chemicals. The release of gases like dioxin during the burning process is harmful to every human life. Production of toxic byproducts Undermining of waste stripe and recycling Contribution to global climate change Generation of waste energy and destruction of vast quantities of resources Violation of the principles of environmental justiceWhen the ban of combustion was lifted, there went opposition from various groups that were directly affected. These groups were businessme n, firms and rich individuals involved in the business and industrialized sector, for the reason that they find incineration as the easiest and cheapest method of waste reduction. such a self-centered way of thinking cannot be changed by any reasoning. And natures revenge has its means to get even.At the outset, www.hubpages.com reported that 377 race died, 32 still missing and Php 10 billion or over $200 million worth of damage to infrastructure, crops and properties were lost when typhoon Ondoy devastated the whole country finis September 26, 2009. Even some parts of the Metro Manila had been temporarily removed in the map. It was noted as one of the most alarming catastrophes in the countrys history. Not only houses, buildings and establishments were destroyed but also families who have lost their beloved relatives. Indeed, the incident had left people nothing but sorrow. Other than this, the Payatas tragedy is also an alarming result of this garbage problem in the country. Th ese incidences would not probably happen if the government has not failed to implement an powerful and efficient waste reduction program.So, even though the government has its loop holes or shortcomings in terms of the full implementation process, everyone should be concerned in taking care of the environment. We must all be responsible for our actions. And to quote from one professor even the smallest thing we do can make or break our resources. In the end, if the state will not follow the rules and regulations those will be futile ones and should be abandoned.

NMR Spectrometer: Applications, Components and Functions

nuclear magnetic resonance Spectrometer Applications, Components and FunctionsDescribe briefly the major(ip)(ip) components of a nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer and their function.The Magnet The capability of an NMR instrument is critically dependent upon the magnitude and homogeneity of the static magnetic dramaturgy and on the bore size of the magnet. There be three master(prenominal) types of magnet permanent, resistive, and superconducting. (Gadian, 2004)The Gradient System The generation of magnetic resonance images relies on the withdraw use of pulsed magnetic field slopes. These slopes are generated in the similar delegacy as those produced by the shim coils, i.e. by specially constructed coils mounted within the bore of the magnet, designed to produce field gradients of the undeniable strength and linearity. (Gadian, 2004)The Transmitter The transmitter generates radiofrequency pulses of the appropriate frequency, power, shape, and timing. It hold ups a f requency generator, a waveform generator shape the pulses as required, a gate which switches the transmission on and off at the required times, and a power amplifier which boosts the radiofrequency power to the values that are required in Fourier-transform NMR. (Gadian, 2004)The Radiofrequency coil(s) The Radiofrequency coils are used for transmitting the B1 field into the region of interest, and for detecting the resulting signal. In whatever cases, the uniform coil is used for transmission and reception, while in others it whitethorn be preferable to use sort transmit and receive coils. (Gadian, 2004)The Receiver The design of a modern digital receiver centres around an analog to digital converter (ADC), which types the analog NMR signal and converts it into digital format. Important diagnostics of the ADC are its conversion bandwidth and resolution.The computing device The calculating machine has a wide range of function. Its main functions are (i) to control the radiof requency and field gradient pulses (ii) to accumulate the data and (iii) to process and display the data. (Gadian, 2004)The magnet produces the Bo field necessary for the NMR experiments. When nuclei interact with a uniform external magnetic field, they be call for deal tiny compass needles and align themselves in a focalization either parallel or anti parallel to the field. The two orientations have contrasting energies, with the parallel direction having a lower energy than the anti parallel. without delay within the bore of the magnet are the shim coils for homogenizing the Bo field. Within the shim coils is the probe. The probe contains the Radiofrequency (RF) coils for producing the B1 magnetic field necessary to rotate the spins by 90o or 180o. This will be through by the RF transmitter shown in class 1. The RF coil to a fault detects the signal from the spins within the sample. These signals will be detected by the RF receiver in figure1. The sample is positioned within t he RF coil of the probe. Some probes also contain a set of gradient coils. These coils produce a gradient in Bo along the X, Y, or Z axis.The heart of the spectrometer is the computer. It controls all of the components of the spectrometer. The RF components under control of the computer are the RF frequency consultation and pulse programmer. The source produces a sine wave of the desired frequency. The pulse programmer sets the width, and in some cases the shape, of the RF pulses. The RF amplifier increases the pulses power from milli Watts to tens or hundreds of Watts. The computer also controls the gradient pulse programmer which sets the shape and amplitude of gradient fields. The gradient amplifier increases the power of the gradient pulses to a level sufficient to drive the gradient coils.The operator of the spectrometer gives input to the computer through a console terminal with a mouse and keyboard. Some spectrometers also have a separate small interface for carrying out som e of the more routine procedures on the spectrometer. A pulse sequence is selected and customized from the console terminal. The operator jakes see spectra on a video display located on the console and can make baffling copies of spectra using a printer.Comment on the nature, ledger, condition, etc. required of a sample for nmr studies on biofluids.An important aspect of conducting NMR spectroscopy on biological fluids and tissues is forbiddance of large interfering resonances, in particular proposition from piss, buffers and cosolvents (in the case of extracts). It is also important to be able to apply accurately shaped (non-rectangular) r.f pulses and/or magnetic field gradients across samples to enable diffusion measurements, 3-dimensional NMR experiments, and the latest solvent suppression approaches. (Gadian, 2004)In any kind of NMR probe, there are two sample volumes to consider. First is the total volume of sample required (the sample volume) and second is the restles s volume or the volume of sample that is exposed to the r.f coils. For probes with the commonly used saddle coil, the ratio of active/sample volume is 0.5. Typical sample volumes for metabonomics applications range from 120 to 500 l, a range that is normally adequate for commonly available biofluids such as piddle or plasma from anything larger than a mouse. There are also numerous examples of small volume probes (1-30l) that could have potential uses in authoritative applications on rare or hard to-obtain biofluids such as CSF or synovial fluids from small laboratory animals. (Gadian, 2004)No pre- sermon of the sample is required. The metaobiltes which are present in sufficiently mobile form and at sufficient assiduity to give detectable signals. For in vivo studies a minimum concentration of 0.2mM is normally required. The sum of money of sample to be analysed itself is limited by instrument/magnet design but for simple solution studies a typical maximum volume is 0.5 -1 ml. For the less lovesome elements therefore it is desirable to have more concentrated solutionsHydrogen NMR spectra can be obtained in less than one minute depending on concentration of analytes in sample. 8 have scans (each of 1-2 seconds duration) is usually enough to give a clear signal. Other nuclei are less sensitive and require more combined scans eg 13C can require a few hours of repeated scanning before signals are clear.Comment on technical aspects such solvent interferences, exchangeable Hydrogens,experiment duration, etc that are particularized/relevant to NMR of biofluids.The presence of a water (HDO) peak will only serve to degrade the tone of NMR spectra.The concentration of water in an aqueous solution is about 55M and therefore the signal from water itself usually dwarfs/masks weaker signals. in a normal spectrum but a technique of water-suppression is commonly used to reduce the dominance of this peak and protons in the sample that exchange with water.In order to r emove any interferences from solvent signals during NMR analysis, solvent suppression techniques are employed, the main ones being presaturation and WET (Water suppression Enhanced through T1 effects). The former is a long-standing method that uses shaped pulses to saturate the solvent resonance(s). The WET method uses selective pulses to excite the solvent resonances then dephasing gradient pulses to destroy them. The two techniques take 0.5-2 s and 50-100 ms, respectively, so the WET method is preferred for continuous-flow NMR.The time to fix a spectrum depends most critically the number of accumulated scans and hence on the sensitivity of the nucleus under investigation and correspondingly the concentration of the sample.In general, as molecules become increasingly immobilized they produce broader signals. Therefore spectra of living systems revel narrow signals from metabolites which have a high degree of molecular mobility, whereas macromolecules, which are highly immobilized (such as DNA and membrane phospholipids), produce very much broader signals.1 H NMR spectroscopy imposes particularly stringent requirements. High field spectrometers that are used for studies of solutions may have field homogeneity as 1 part in 109, although of course this is over a much smaller sample volume (e.g. 0.5ml) than the volumes characteristic of in vivo studies. Much better spectral resolution can be achieved using high field system study relatively small volumes of bole fluids or of cell or tissue extracts. A long deal of information can be derived from such studies. (Gadian, 2004)The poor sensitivity of NMR imposes limitations on the concentrations of compounds that can be detected, and upon the spatial resolution that can be achieved. Because of the large number of variables, it is difficult to give anything other than an order-of-magnitude estimate for the concentrations that are required and for the spatial resolution that can be achieved. Typically, however, we can anticipate that, for metabolic studies in vivo, minimum concentrations of 0.2mM and above will be required in order for a metabolite to give a detectable signal.One of the most remarkable blusters of magnetic resonance is the extensive range of pulse sequences that have been developed, with a view to enhancing the quality and information content of spectra. For example, innovative pulse sequences have contributed in many ways to improvements in image contrast, spectral localization, suppression of unwanted signals, and visualization of specific structural, biochemical, or functional properties.The existence of the chemical shift enables us to use NMR to distinguish not only between different molecules, but also between individual atoms within a molecule. When used in conjunction with intensity measurements and spin-spin coupling data, chemical shifts of the spectral lines of a molecules provide a great deal of information about its structure. (Gadian, 2004)Identify the major ob servable components in the control samples of kind-hearted urine (see 1H spectrum obtained for a healthy adult at the sitting and compare with that of the 7 month old child in the Canavans disease case study in the lecture notes) Creatinine (Crn) is already identified for you.Canavans disease is an autosomal recessive disorder in which spongy degeneration of white matter is observed. Several groups have shown a large increase in the NAA/Cr and NAA/Cho ratios in children with Canavans disease, consistent with enzyme deficiency. The metabolites monitored were those that are present in sufficiently mobile form and at sufficient concentration to give detectable signals.The urine of patients with Canvans disease shows an whimsical signal that can be attributed to NAA. Quantification of this signal from timed urine samples allows an assessment of the rate at which NAA is being removed from the brain.Sketch the molecular structures of each of the major components in urine and of Vitamin C. For each molecule indicate which hydrogen atoms are likely to give rise to distinct signals in a water subimputable 1H NMR spectrum (repeat for Vit C and compare with its reference spectrum provided)Indicates which hydrogen atoms are likely to give rise to distinct signals in a water suppressed 1H NMR spectrumComponents in urineThere are four different types of H but only two signals as two are bound to NCreatinine (Crn)Betaine (Bet)Hippuric acid (Hip)Acetate (Ace)Lactic acid (Lac)Alanine (Ala)Citrate (Cit)Oxalic acid (Ox)Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C)(not normally present in urine)There are six different types of H but only two signals as four are bound to OIdentify the major spectral changes observed in the spectrum of urine obtained after ingestion of 10g/ mean solar day Vitamin C over three days. What information do these spectra provide on the extent of Vitamin C metabolism and on the identities of the major excreted metabolites this is important do not gloss over it.The crn peak stays consistent throughout the 3 day period, as do the other excreted metabolites (Hip, Bet, Cit, Ace). This suggests Vitamin C has no effect on the excretion of other metabolites. The standard and healthy dosage of Vit c is 75 milligrams per day. Therefore at this dosage there is superabundance Vit c which is unmetabolised and excreted in the urine as shown in fig 4. The diagrams in figure 4 show more Vit c being excreted with each day that passes. Using the standard it is clear to see there is an increase in the peak at the position associated with vitamin C. The area around the peak also generates several(prenominal) smaller peaks. These are not vitamin C but are harvestings with similar structures. These will probably be intermediates in the pathway which breaks down ascorbate acid and contain the same CH2-CH molecular unit intact that was present in the parent ascorbate structure, and this is the bit that gives the NMR fingerprint.Ascertain (Web of Knowledge or similar search would be appropraite) the generally agreed metabolites (excreted or otherwise) of Vitamin C (there are more than two and this is probably the most important aspect of the report so it needs some investigation) Discuss whether these could and/or would be identified in the 1H nmr spectrum of urine after a prolonged high dosage of vitamin C. What common feature persists throught the degradative pathway- does this match your results?The generally agreed metabolites of Vit C are dehydroascorbate (DHAA), 2-O-methyl ascorbate, 2-ketoascorbitol as well as those in figure 5 (L-Threonic acid, Oxalic acid, Lactic acid).ASCORBATE BREAKDOWNDehydroascorbate, if not decreased back to ascorbate, decomposes with a half-life of a few minutes, since thiscompound is unstable at physiologic pH. The product of the hydrolysis is 2,3-diketo-L-gulonate, which does not possess antiscorbutic effects any more. 2,3-diketo-L-gulonate is decarboxylated to L-xylonate and L-lyxonate. These 5-carbon compound s can enter the pentose inorganic phosphate pathway and the L- to D-conversion is suggested to occur through xylitol. Another minor pathway of ascorbate catabolism is a carbon chain cleavage yielding oxalate and 4-carbon intermediates. Pentose phosphate pathway enters the glycolytic/gluconeogenic sequence at triose phosphates and fructose-6-phosphate. Ascorbate and dehydroascorbate, according to the previous assumptions, can be rapidly metabolized to glucose in isolated murine hepatocytes and in HepG2 cells. When glutathione-dependent recycling is inhibited by the oxidant menadione or by the glutathione synthesis inhibitor buthionine sulfoximine, gluconeogenesis from ascorbate is stimulated. The participation of the non-oxidative branch of the pentose phosphate pathway has been demonstrated by the administration of oxythiamine, a thiamine rival which inhibits transketolases. In hepatocytes gained from oxythiamine-treated mice glucose production from dehydroascorbate is lower, and a pentose phosphate cycle intermediate, xylulose-5-phosphate is accumulated. This path of ascorbate catabolism could be demonstrated take down in cells unable to synthesize ascorbate, i.e., in cells of human origin and in non-hepatic murine cells. In murine and human erythrocytes-which are unable to synthesize glucose (glucose-6-phosphatase is lacking)-ascorbate or dehydroascorbate addition resulted in the increase of lactate, the end product of anaerobic glycolysis. Lactate production could be stimulated by the addition of menadione or inhibited by oxythiamine treatment of the cells indicating that the pentose phosphate pathway is mingled in ascorbate catabolism both in hepatocytes and in erythrocytes. These results show that ascorbate does not get lost but is effectively reutilized even in case of haggard recycling and it should be interpreted into account not only as a vitamin, but also as a source of energy. (Banhegyi, Braun, Csala, Puskas, Mandl, 1997)It would be hard to id entify the metabolites of Vit c in the 1H nmr spectrum of urine after a prolonged high dosage of vitamin C as figure 6 shows a large peak of unmetabolised Vit c which is excreted in the urine. This peak, surrounded by intermediates of the pathway which breaks down ascorbate acid, dominates the 1H nmr spectrum and masks weaker signals. Therefore the metabolites which are produced by the breakdown of some of the Vit c are hard to identify. The common feature which persists throughout the degradative pathway is the CH2-CH molecular unit which is part of all the intermediates within the pathway, and this is the bit that gives the NMR fingerprint. This is shown in figure 6 with several smaller peaks around the Vit C peak. These are the intermediates of the pathway which contain the CH2-CH molecule which is present in the parent ascorbate acid and therefore have a similar structure and appear as peaks around Vit C. These will probably be intermediates in the pathway which breaks down asco rbate acid and contain the same CH2-CH molecular unit intact that was present in the parent ascorbate structureComment on the human bodys requirement for vitamin C, its role in prevention/treatment of disease (briefly), the required daily intake/doseage, etc. How does this relate to the results dicussed above?Recommendations for vitamin C intake have been set by various national agencies75 milligrams per day the United Kingdoms Food Standards AgencyThe key importance of Vitamin C is supporting the immune system and forming a structural component known as collagen. It is also required for synthesis of the neurotransmitter, required for brain function and mood change. Vitamin C aids in synthesis of a small molecule, carnitine. Carnitine is required for productive transportation to cellular organelles known as mitochondria, potentially, producing energy. Vitamin C has the ability to enhance bodys resistance to varied diseases. It aids in stimulating the action of antibodies and immune cells like phagocytes, resulting in a stronger immune system.Vitamin C metabolite L-threonic acid or its calcium salt, calcium threonate (the form of L-threonic acid found in Ester-C), increases vitamin C uptake of cells. Essentially, with calcium threonate, vitamin C has been shown to be absorbed more quickly, reach higher levels and is excreted more slowly. Now the studies confirm that the vitamin C uptake of the cells is greater with the metabolite L-threonic acid present.identify the advantages and disadvantages of using NMR over other common analytical methods used in Biomedical Sciences (or elsewhere).In NMR spectroscopy, only a very small redundance of the spins are in the low energy state. The net result of this is that NMR is rather insensitive technique relative to many other analytical methods. Typically, even todays spectrometers require a minimum of several nanomoles of material for anaylsis in reasonable times.Poor sensitivity has been the bane of bioanalytical uses of NMR and increasing NMR sensitivity has been the snap of most of the technical developments that have occurred over the past four decades.However, in contrast to the low intrinsic sensitivity in the applications of NMR to biofluids, the non-selectivity of NMR makes it a very powerful tool for surveying the molecular content of a sample without prejudging which analytes to search for. This advantage can also be a nuisance. meager analytes often need to be measured and although above the limit of detection, these lower level species may be fully or partially obscured by analytes at much higher concentrations. (Gadian, 2004)A comparison of NMR spectroscopy with HPLC shows a variety of advantages of NMR over HPLC method. The primary advantage of NMR is its efficiency due to the lack of any preparation times. The analyte has to be weighed and dissolved in the solvent only and afterwards the analyte can be measured immediately. The experimental time depends on the concentration of the analyte. Using HPLC for the determination of an analyte much time has to be spent for the equilibration of the column. The column has to be washed every day after the measurements have been taken to prolong the lifetime of the column. When using the HPLC technique, often much time has to be spent for sample preparation e.g. derivatization of the analyte. A further disadvantage is the large amount of solvent necessary for the HPLC separation. NMR is also more efficient than the conventional HPLC techniques. (Wawer, Holzgrabe, Diehl, 2008)

Trama In Wireless Sensor Networks

Trama In Wireless Sensor NetworksRecent advances in tuner tick off sensor networks have led to many new communications protocols specially designed for different applications where the muscularity efficiency is the main consideration. The traffic adaptive medium feeler protocol (TRAMA) is introduced for energy efficient collision still channel access in piano tuner sensor networks. TRAMA reduces the energy consumption by avoiding the collisions of transmitted selective information packets and it al economic crisiss the inspissations to switch low power mode whenever they be non in transmitting and receiving mode. This article is explained about TRAMA operation, related applications developed based on TRAMA protocol and its advantages and disadvantages.A wireless sensor network is a wireless network consisting of spatially distributed autonomous devices that use sensors to measure the physical or environmental quantities manage temperature, sound, vibration, pressure, mo tion at different places. The main purpose of wireless sensor network is to collect the information from target domain and transmit the information fundament to specific task. Such a network usually consisting of a number of wireless sensor clients arranges in ad-hog fashion and each node consisting of virtuoso or more sensors, low power transceiver, processor and an energy source likely a battery. A significant amount of energy is consumed by the sensor nodes radio that degrades the network lifetime. In order to reduce the energy consumption of these sensor nodes research has been done on the design of low power electronic devices. Because of hardwargon limitations further energy efficiency can be achieved by designing energy efficient communication protocols. Medium access control (MAC) is an important proficiency that ensures the successful operation of the network by avoiding the collisions and switching the nodes to swooning mode which argon non participating in the infec tion and receptions. The following attributes has to consider composition designing a good MAC protocol such as energy efficiency, latency, throughput and fairness.In a wireless sensor network, the communication part consumes well-nigh of the energy which is the main optimization goal for making of MAC protocols. The MAC protocols directly controls the communication module and saves the energy. The major sources of energy consumption in wireless sensor networks argon collisions, overhearing, control packet overhead and idle listening. Collisions are generated when a transmitted packet is corrupted due to interference and it has to retransmit again. Collisions also increase the latency. Overhearing is that a node takes up the packets which are intended to other nodes. Control packets used in wireless sensor network include ready-to-send (RTS), clear-to-send (CTS) and cite (ACK). The contagious disease of these packets leads to energy consumption, therefore a minimum number of co ntrol packets should be used to make a data transmission. Idle listening is one of the major sources of energy consumption. A node really does non know when it will be the acquirer of a massage from one of its neighbours. So, it mustiness be wake up all the time for incoming message resulting in idle listening and that can consume 50-100% of the power required for receiving.The MAC protocols for wireless sensor networks can be classified broadly into two categories i.e. contention based and schedule based. The schedule based protocol can avoid collisions, overhearing and idle listening by scheduling the transmission and listen periods under the strict time synchroneity requirements. The contention based protocols have relax time synchronization requirements and can easily adjust to the topology changes as some new nodes are joining to the network or some of the nodes are expired afterwards deployment. These are based on carrier sense multiple access technique and have higher co sts for message collisions, overhearing and idle listening. There are a considerable number of MAC protocols which are implemented for different applications in WSN. Each protocol works on different techniques and at farthermost all are targeted for energy efficiency. TRAMA is one of the scheduled based distributed TDMA (time division multiple access) based protocol that has been designed for energy efficient collision free channel in WSNs. The remainder of this section is explained in next sections.TRAMA Traffic adaptive medium access (TRAMA) protocol which aims to achieve the energy efficiency by avoiding the collisions of data packets while receiving and by employing a low power mode for node which are not scheduled in transmission and reception. The usage of low power mode is dynamically determined and adapted according to traffic pattern. TRAMA applies a traffic adaptive distribution election scheme that selects the recipient roles based on the schedules announced by transmit ters. Nodes using TRAMA, exchange their two hop information and the transmission schedules fixing which nodes are the intended receivers of their traffic in chronological order. TRAMA consists of triple components which are neighbour protocol(NP), schedule exchange protocol (SEP) which allows to exchange two-hop neighbour information and schedules and adaptive election algorithm (AEA) uses the information of NP,SEP and it selects transmitters and receivers for current time time time slot and leaving the other nodes in network to switch to the low power mode.TRAMA assumes a single time slotted channel for both data and signalling transmissions. The above build shows the overall timeslot organization of the protocol. Time is organized as sections of random and scheduled access periods. The author 1 assumes that random access periods as signalling slots and scheduled access slots as transmission slots. NP propagates among neighbouring nodes and gathers the data during random access period using signalling slots this way two-hop topology information is obtained. Collisions may happen when contention based appliance is used during random access period. Transmission slots make collision free data exchange possible by schedule propagation.Schedule exchange protocol (SEP) is responsible for maintaining the updated schedules with neighbours periodically. Generally these schedules are holds the traffic based information which is useful for collision free data transmissions. A node announces its schedule before the transmission stage. The length of the transmission slot is fixed based on channel bandwidth and data size. Signalling packets are smaller in size compared to the data packets so the transmission slots are typically longer than signalling slots.ACCESS MODES AND THE NEIGHBOR PROTOCOL In the sensor networks, often nodes are power drained and some new nodes are may join to the network. To accommodate these dynamic changes in topology, TRAMA alternates between random and scheduled access. TRAMA starts in random access modes where each node transmits the data by selecting a slot randomly. More dynamic networks require more frequent random access periods and it is opposite to static networks. During these random access periods, all the nodes must be in transmit or receive mode. NP gathers the neighborhood information by exchanging signalling packets during the random access periods. The above figure 2(a) shows the format of the caput of a signalling packet. If there is no up dated information, the signalling packets will sendkeep-alive beacons to its neighbours. A node times out its neighbours, if it does not hear from that node for a veritable period of time. By the end of random access period all the nodes will have the information about its two hop neighbours with 0.99 probabilities.SCHEDULE supersede PROTOCOL The name itself tells that SEP maintains the traffic based schedules across the neighbours and it periodically updates the s chedules. A node has responsible to announce its schedule using SEP before starting the actual transmission. Schedule generation process as follows that each node computes SCHEDULE_INTERVALL based on the packets are generated by the higher layers. The SCHEDULE_INTERVALL of a node represents the number of transmission slots for which the node announce to its schedule to its neighbours according to its current state of MAC layer queue. The node then pre-computes its number of slots in the musical interval for which it selects the highest priority among its two hop neighbours which we called as lovely slots. These winning slots are selected as transmitter and as well node announces these slots to intended receivers. If the node does not have data to send in its slots then it gives up the corresponding slots to other nodes who want to use these vacant slots. A node lost winning slot is this interval is reserved for broadcasting the schedule in next interval.Nodes announce their schedul e through schedule packets. In these criteria there is no wishing of receiver address which has obtained through NP. Nodes convey the information to intended receiver using a bitmap whose length is equal to the number of one hop neighbours. Each bit in the bitmap corresponds to one of the receiver order by their identities. An advantage of using these bitmaps is simple with broadcast and multicast communication can be supported. To broadcast a packet to all its neighbours then all the bitmap bits are set to one. If the packet need to multicast with the neighbouring nodes then only that bits are set in the bitmap. For vacant slots the node announces zero bitmap. The slots which are mapped as zero can be used by other nodes in the two-hop neighbourhood. The format of scheduled packet is shown below. In that format the last winning slot in the bitmap is always reserved for announcing the next scheduling.Additionally, the data packets can carry the thickset information of a node sched ule to its neighbours. These schedule summaries help to minimize the effects of packet loss. As shown in the figure 2(b) the data packets contain the leash blocks of summary information of scheduled data in that bitmap corresponds to the number of winning slots in the current interval. The size of the bitmap is number slots and is used to prove whether it in transmit mode or giving up the corresponding slot. Nodes will maintain synchronization with their one hop neighbours by this schedule information. The slot after which all the winning slots go unused is called change over slot. All nodes have to listen during the change over slot to synchronize their schedules. adaptative ELECTION ALGORITHEM(AEA) A node is selected to transmit when it has the highest priority among its contending set. At any given timeslot T, the state of a given node U is determined by Us two-hop neighbourhood information and the schedules announced by Us one-hop neighbours. The node can be in three states at given timeslot T, that are transmit, receive and cessation. (i) If a node U at T in transmits, then it has the highest priority and it has the data to send then the slot is used for transmission. (ii) If a node U in receive mode, when it is the receiver of the node which is in transmit mode in the current slot. (iii) Otherwise it will go to sleep mode.Whenever a node has absolute winner for a particular slot and it has non zero bitmap for this slot, it knows that no other node in its two hop neighbourhood will be transmission in this slot. Then collision free transmission is happened to intended receivers. When a node is not absolute winner, then it is not sure who the actual transmitter for a particular slot is. For example, consider a topology in figure (4), it shows that node D is the highest priority in Bs two-hop neighbourhood. In a given time slot and node A is the highest priority in its two-hop neighbours. So, both the AD transmit in the timeslot because they are absolute winners. The absolute winner to node B is node D. The node B is looks at it schedule for D and finds that B is not intended receiver of D, then it goes to sleep mode by missing the As transmission. So, before going to sleep mode a node must also discover for the alternate winner. This inconsistency will occur when the alternate winner is hidden from the absolute winner i.e. they are three hops away.ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES Higher percentage of sleep schedules and collision free transmissions are achieved compared to CSMA based protocols. TRAMA execution can get adapted dynamically to the network traffic conditions and adapts the topology changes throughout the network.Moreover, without considering the transmission and reception, the trading cycle is at least 12.5% the percentage is excessive for the kind of networks. The latency of TRAMA is more when compared with other contention based protocols such as S-MAC and IEEE 802.11. The delay performance is obtained by analytical m ode which notes that TRAMA has higher delay when compared with NAMA.TRAMA protocol is suitable for applications like not delay sensitive but require high energy efficiency and throughput. A typical example is sensor network used for periodic data collection and monitoring applications.CONCLUSION TRAMA is energy- aware channel access protocol for wireless sensor networks. TRAMA uses the traffic based schedules and avoids the wasting slots and switch the nodes to low power mode when there is no data to send and they are intended receivers of traffic. Through extensive simulations, TRAMA shows significant energy savings i.e. nodes can sleep 87% of its time when compared with scheduled and contention based MAC protocols depending on the offered load. TRAMA also have higher throughputs around 40% over S-MAC and CSMA and 20% over 802.11. It avoids the collisions due to hidden terminals. TRAMA protocol is more suitable for applications like with not delay sensitive and produce high energy efficiency.

Founding Of The Ryanair Airline Company

Founding Of The Ryanair Airline CompanyIn 1985 Cathal and Declan Ryan has founded the companion. The airline started with a fifteen (15) seater Embraer Bandeirante turboprop aircraft and it was flying between Gatwick London and Waterford. On that time London-Ireland flights held by Aer Lingus and BA (British Airways). The company added a new route between capital of Ireland and London in 1986 and competition started with the AL/BA duopoly. Company was refused by the government of Ireland, alone the conservative government of UK has approved this new service. According to any(prenominal) analysis Company was generating the loss instead of profit but the mean time number of customers tilt magnitude frequently. By 1991 company started to thinking about to touch airline profitable and this task has been given to the Michael OLeary. Ryan the founder of company suggested and encouraged Micheal to study the US airline model No Frill/ natural depression Fares), which was utilize by th e Southwest Airline in US and after that the model was apply in the Ryanair. In 1995 at the completion of 10 year of the company, the Ryanair was carrying 2.25 unrivaled million million passengers. Ryanair overtakes the Air Lingus in the same year and became largest passengers airline between Dublin and London and largest airline on any route in the Ireland.Mission arguingMission of Ryanair isProvide Low fare Rate travelling at all the time for all the routes.Key service commitmentPuncualityObjectivesRynair believes on the avocation factorsOne way reservation to make flexible return for the passengers.By controlling equipment apostrophize, personal productivity and customer service personify operating cost keep low.For peer groups best customer serviceMaintain shor-haul routes frequently point-to-point flights.Flight con blottoation and reservation system availability on the internet.No compromise on safety and quality maintenance of airplanesBy use ancillary service enhance ment of operating results.Focusing on the criteria of Growth, like to a greater extent routes and increased frequency.External AnalysisPolitical AnalysisRyanair operates throughout the Europe and any political qualifyings in any country butt end be effect the outline of Ryanair. Ryanair has some dispute on each passenger flew at Newquay Airport with Cornwall Country Council.Tax insurance policy is a nonher make do for Ryanair which posterior be piddle problems for the company.A nonher political issue regarding the cash back that European Law is to fare return if any thronecellation of the flight. This is not a big issue for Ryanair because Ryanair maintains their mellow quality service.An announcement by the government of Ireland To break up the state monopoly may be brought some questions in European airline industry. However, if this plan implemented then Ryanair can be seriously affected It may block Ryanair future expansion in the Ireland. Economic AnalysisRyanair is Eu ropean base company and so many of its operations are not affected by the exchange rate, as single currency operates many of these countries.The just now economical issue can the price of Oil, as Oil pricing are increasing frequently, this can be effect the low fare strategy of the company.The taxation policy bring negative impact on the employees of the company as Eur well-defined mating has announced EU deleted duty-free on intra-EU.Social AnalysisEuropean Union is and economic union of 27 countries. They developed a single commercialise and single currency for exchange. A large number of people travel both day from one country to another country so they need a best solution and cheap fare travelling which is provided by the Ryanair. engineering science AnalysisRyanair is taking the best advantage of technology by providing solution through the internet. But this trend is growing in the European Airline industry and other airlines are establishing their website. By using the technology Ryanair save cost and open up revenue like advertisement income. Environment Analysis babys room emission is the big issue which is facing by Ryanair. Ryanair strategy has a positive environmental impact. At present, aura accounts for roughly 5% of the UKs emissions, but this is anticipate to rise to 25% by 2030 (Economist 200535).The other main environmental issue is noise, the 737-800 pull up stakes to reduce this issue.Legal AnalysisThe reiterated rule against illegal state subsidies hoped to be establish fair deal for the airline industry of Europe. EU decision was based on non-discrimination legislation preventing airport from offering contrastiveial deal to different airline operators. On the contrary, Ryanair may need to repay penalty for breaking rule.Porters Five Forces AnalysisBargaining power of suppliersRyanairs main suppliers are Boeing. Two come-at-able suppliers of planes for Ryanair in the market are Airbus and Boeing but Ryanairs main supplier is B oeing.Tring to switch supplier would be very costly because pilots would have to trained for the new mechanics. Ryanair controls aviation fuel through prevarication Price. Small and regional airports can have little bargaining power as compare to big and commercial airports because they solo dependent on one airline. Ryanair avoid big airports and work from regional airports such as Stainsted and Gatwick.Bargaining Power of CustomersCustomers are price sensitive. It is very comfortable for customer to switch from one airline to other airline. Due to the increasing trend of reservation through internet customer can easily change airline. Ryanair is providing very low fare to customers but customers are not loyal.Threat of New EntrantsRynair can handle this issue by following these steps rear Some barriers and obstacles to newentry Availability of some restricted slots make more difficult to find suitable airports for new entrants. By Starting price war.Competitive competition in that respect is very high competition in the market. Too many service providers are in the rivalry. Ryanair has first mover advantage in this market bacuase when they started the service their was no service providers but now there are many airlines in the competition with Ryanair.3. Ryanairs Resources and CapabilitiesResourcesRyanair has following threshold resources1. Financial Resources2. Hub Set up in Regional Airports3. Number of AircraftsFollowing unique resources make Ryanair distinguish from their competitors1. Website2. Boeing 737 Aircrafts3. CEO Michael O Leary4. Award of Best managed Airline5. Dedicated Team of counselling6. Ryanair Direct LimitedCompetencesThreshold CompetencesLow FaresAdvanced Reservation SystemBaggage handlingOn time serviceOperating expanses in Euro notesAdvertising and ancillary services gross salesCore Competences1. Efficient Staff Low costs of staff training2. Fast Turnaound time management3. set free Seat Givaways No fares4. Good Quality Ser vice No15. Third party service outsourcing6. Performance related pay structure7. Labour costs freeze off than rivals.4. Strategic SituationSWOT Analysis of Ryanairs EnvironmentStrengths of the Company Brand nameRyanair has very well recognised brand name in the LCC market.Low airport chargesRyanair has advantage of low charges for airport.First moverThis advantage acts as a barrier to new entryBookings on the InternetMore than 94% booking on the internet contributes in low cost distributionAircrafts-BoeingRyanair has A consistent fleet for maintenance.High performancePunctuality, low baggage loss. role of AircraftBy keep maintaining Ryanair is able to flies longer and generating more revenue from assets.Small headquartersLow on overheadsWeaknesses of the CompanyNiche market dependant expansion possibilityDistance of AirportsMany regional airports are far from advertised destination.Changes in-charges frequentlyOpportunitiesThere is a lot of new destinations expected to open as Eur opean Union is going to be enlargeThe market share would be doubled as there is still potential in the company to capture market share.Recession can help as Ryanair offers low fare cost and can catch the new customers as providence is slow down.Threats for the CompanyIncreasing price of oil is a big threat for company as fuel costs depend on the oil market. Low fare competition is increased Europena court dicision can make more difficult to make expansion. Growth in the South European market is limited Bargaining power increases on regional airports Customers are price sensitive5. Strategic choice.Options1. Low cost strategies- First Otion is to Continue the low cost strategy to persevere top of the Cost Leadership2. New Investment New investment can be made for modernised fleet. Will conk more uniform with only one model (737-800) which leads to cheap maintenance. Ryanair would use the next generation aircraft Boeing 737-800 as an opportunity to rejuvenate the image of the comp any. By using new quality infrasture and Boeing 737-800 the perception can be made false which is Ryanair is los cost service, it is also a low quality service. Change in uniform can increase the confident level of staff and provide a good change for the customers. It will be inexpensive relatively and will not effect the companys equity in wide range and companys price leadership strategy will not be destroyed.3. New markets Look for the new places in the Europe to thunder the business.Michael Porters Generic StrategiesFor Ryanair to obtain a sustainable competitive advantage, Michael Porter suggests that any company/ constitution can follow either one of three generic strategies. Strategy 1 Cost Leadership. Strategy 2 Differentiation Strategy 3 Niche strategies Are you Stuck in the middle?Opt. 1Cost Leadership StrategyTo enhance growth of the company Ryanair should pursue Cost leadership strategy which is provided by the Porters Generic Strategy.Cost Leadership could be make in the following ways Increasing profits by reducing the costs, composition charging industry-average prices.Increasing market share through charging lower prices, while still making a reasonable profit on each sale due to reduced costs.Bowmans Strategy ClockThe Strategy Clock is based upon the work of Cliff Bowman (see C. Bowman and D. Faulkner Competitive and Corporate Strategy Irwin 1996). This is an appropriate way to analyze a companys competitive position in analogy to the offerings of competitors.Ansoff MatrixAnsoffs Product/Market MatrixOpt. 1 Opt. 2Opt. 3Market PenetrationOption 1Market penetration technique can used in the current market with current brand or product.By repositioning the brand and or promoting the products Ryanair can increase its revenue.Product ontogenyOption 2 Product development means bringing a new product in the existing market. This is where Ryanair will market their newest investment. Ryanair would lounge a new product to the existing market this will help to increase the profitability of the company and awareness of new brand can bring more customers towards the organization.Market DevelopmentHere, Ryanair would try to open up new markets possibly some where in the Europe and can provide current product or service to those markets. capital punishment Methods of OptionsThe Following is a table showing the three picks chosen above and the writ of execution method chosen for each pick.OptionImplementation Method ProposedContinuation of low cost strategiesOrganic Growth2- 2-Investment in modernised fleet, which leads to slight expensive maintenanceOrganic GrowthTry to expand the European markets to accommodate more European countries and also open new markets servicing parts of North America, South America and the CaribbeanOrganic Growth send off 4 Table showing Options and the Implementation method proposedOrganic growthOrganic growth refers to the growth that achieved by internally investments made by the firm inside th e organization. Organic growth is rate of business expansion through increasing the output and sales as opposed to acquisitions and take-over by the other organisation.There are some benefits of this methodLatest TechnologyCost SpreadChoice of LocationNo Inappropriate Cultural HistoryThe above options can be evaluated for suitability, acceptability and feasibility and then these can be successfully implemented.Suitability means wheather a strategy fulfil the requirements those are needed to remain operating an organisation. Moreover whether the chosen options are in the line of mission, vision and objective of the organisation.To test suitability following should be determinedExamine whether the organisation possess the key resources to pursue the option.Analysis of the organisations external environment, whether the option is suited for the organisation.Determine the competitive advantage and if go ahead with the option would it lead the organisation to a good financial performance .2. AcceptabilityAcceptability concerned with the expected performance outcome of the strategy.A financial risk analysis should be done here.The effectiveness of the impact on the followingEmployees Bankers Customers Suppliers Stakeholders Shareholders 3. FeasibilityFeasibility examines the following options Internal constraints which would restrict the implementation of the option and also the weakness that would constrict the option Would the option improve performance level within the resources? What resources are possessed and additional requirements to pursue the options Commitment from managers and human resource and the physical constraints e.g. industry-rights and air-space legislation.Suitability animateness Cycle AnalysisLife Cycle Analysis showing Ryanairs positionThe above figure shows the Life Cycle Analysis for Ryanair. Ryanair is providing services from the last devil decades and we can say that the company is in its maturity stage, it can be seen from the above fig ure.Keeping observe low cost strategies Ryanair can increase the sales and defiantly profitability of the organisation can be increased.Ryanair should use the next generation aircraft as an opportunity and new fashioned uniform can be give the break off dynamic look of the organisation.Climate change is playing a critical role. Due to change of climate easterly Europ contries are adequate tour places and attracting the visitor to there. Thousand of visitors are travelling to Eastern countries every year just for only visiting the places. Skyroute aviation has al lively started flights for some of these places but still there are opportunities for Ryanair.Value Chain AnalysisInfrastructureHRMTechn.Dev.ProcurementInbound Operations Outbound Marketing ServiceLogistics Logistics Sales rule 6 An Illustration of Ryanairs Value ChainThe main core competencies of Ryanair are Their unique cost cutting policy Robustness CultureImplementation of option 1Continue following the low cost stra tegies, takes into consideration all of Ryanairs main core competencies. In terms of robustness, competitors of Ryanair can imitate but if not implemented in the right way, could prove detrimental to competitors.Implemention of Option 2 New Investment New investment for modrnised fleet, leads to cheap maintenance will buzz off more uniformed with only one model (737-800). Large amount of finance should be needed for the option because buying new aircraft is not a cheaper solution. But Ryanair can afford this solution and can go ahead with thic option. Being such a large airline, with 300 million profit only in 2007 and having a high level of dominance in the European market, this option proves to be the most suitable for the organisation.Option 3 New Markets By expanding business into new market can be profitable as we discussed above in this report there are some opportunities in Eastern European countries where a large scale of profit can be seen easily. Ryanair should go for it and by expanding business into new countries and new markets within the Europe will help to generate a large amount of profit.The most Suitable strategic option to be implemented is Option 2 Investment in modernised fleet, which leads to less expensive maintenance will become more uniformed with only one model (737-800), also newer planes will require less maintenance.AcceptabilityOption 2 New Investment Acceptability for option 2 which leads to less expensive maintenance will become more uniformed with only one model (737-800), also newer planes will require less maintenance.This is large profit generating option and the return will almost one and a half times the profit of 2007.The aim of product development is to fulfil the requirements and follow the changes need by the customers. To satisfying the customers about the service of Ryanair that Ryanair is providing them a better quality service as compare to others. In this option Ryanair also introduced a new fashioned uniform for the employees so they can feel change and this will build a good relationship between customers and staff.Benefit to StakeholdersFollowing this option all shareholders will get benefit because their share entertain will increase. Banks also get benefit in terms of large amount need to implement this option, so bank defiantly will involve.By following this option public perception accordingly get changed. They feel the change as new uniformed aircrafts, fleets and new dressed staff is ready to welcoming them at airport and airplanes.FeasibilityOption two is perfect for the company because Ryanair possess all the resources which are needed for the option such as finance.The above diagram shows the 2055 to 2008 there was two times growth in Ryanairs revenue and more than 50 percent profit increase. So it is cleare that financial capabilities of Ryanair can support this option and hence it is feasible for the company.Ryanair is paying better to their employees over the last year. The employees of Ryanair are getting highst pay among other airlines operating in Europe. With the implementation of option 2 Ryanair can continue to provide hundreds of new jobs and tens of promotional opportunities.Ryanair is a Europes major airline which is 50% cheaper than any other European airline. Ryanair is continue to grow. Accordint to IATA (Internation Air Transport Association Ryanair is worlds largest international airline which carries Largent international passengers.

Community Power and Participatory Decision-Making Essay example -- Kar

Critical theory appears unpopular probably because of its ideological turn as claimed by Pease, Form and Rytina (1970). Liebert and Imershein (1977) similarly assert that a common theoretical tendency in community research is a distinctly policy-making theme that tends to find the greatest efficacy and power, and indeed the most universal structure of power, to lie in a certain organized diversity, a pluralist conjure of subsystems within an integrated system of elites (pp. 191-192). The primary aim of vital theory, as James Bohman (2005) notes, is to thwart oppression. This theory was not only used by incorporating the better(p) tools but more importantly, to critique what is happening within the research context. Since the community studied is Bautista, a resettlement area and which has an existing power structure, a critical analysis and decisional approach were adapted using the case study design to examine the locale.Critical theory questions the structures and it assumes t hat science is objective and value- trim. Its goal is the emancipation of tribe from domination (Quebral, 1992 as cited in Drilon, 1998). Critical theorists such as Karl Marx and Jrgen Habermas are critics of unequal social conditions specifically groups that are excluded from power or from free access to information. Thus, critical theorists do more than observe, interpret or describe they criticize. Looking through the power structure research lens, this theory helped the researcher by asking who benefits from the unequal distribution of power and who are they taking advantage of by focusing on the community issue. In communication, critical scholars have focus on the role of communication in society and on the control of communication... ...cal dimension of his work (Dreyfus & Rabinow, 1982, p. 114). He claims that power and intimacy are not outside(a) to each other, but that they operate in a mutually generative fashion, as nothing can exist as an element of knowledge if .. . it does not possess the effects of coercion and as nothing can function as a mechanism of power if it is not deployed according to procedures, instruments, means, and objectives which can be validated in more or less coherent systems of knowledge (Foucault, 1997, p. 52). Thus, rather than to study knowledge and power separately, is the nexus of knowledge power that demand to be described in order to grasp the acceptability of the knowledge power system (p. 53). One needs to analyze the connections between power and knowledge to find out why a certain regime of truth has become acceptable at a given historical moment.

Agnostic Essays -- essays research papers

I believe that I am agnostic because I dont know what to think about religion. When it comes to saying whether I believe in God or not, I feel that I have not insofar come to a complete understanding of Gods existence. This tends to be a vicious cycle which constantly runs by means of my head. Ever since I jackpot remember, I was taught through my family and church that this being does exist, but as I grew older I began to question whether this almighty being re ally does exist. How can I believe that this being exists when every day I watch the news and hear of all the tragedy that is happening in the world.I have been taught through my family and church that God is the creator and supreme ruler of the universe. They also taught me that he has set up certain guidelines or rules for which we must obey. These are commonly know as the ten commandments. We have been told that if we disobey these commandments , we will ultimately go to hell. Furthermore, if we follow these commandmen ts, we will go to heaven and live in peace eternally. We all basically have the same perception of what Heaven and Hell are like. Heaven is commonly thought of as a utopia. A place which is soft, charming and peaceful. Where there is total peace and harmony. Where as Hell is known as being a prison for evil doers. Hell is supposed to be a dark, hot, and gloomy place with much misery. A persons worst nightmare. As I have gotten older, I...