Assignment 4 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 8

4 - Assignment Example It is vital during data collection for the researcher to perform the criteria to know the best languages to be during the interview. Conversely, it requires translator, who are difficult to get. Psychological analysis is a way of measuring ones performance on a job in a standardized and objective manner. It uses a test score used to establish an individual’s performance, for instance, an examination for students. The advantage of the process is that the assessment enables the researcher to determine the abnormal and normal personality. On the contrary, there are individuals who can perform a duty so well without being subjected to such tests when it comes to practicality. Questionnaires are applicable in scenarios that require sentences response to an event or an utterance’s interpretations that are contained in the description of the event. Its advantage is that it is not so expensive and can quickly be direct to many participants (Schauer, pg 8). Its disadvantage is that only written and specific instructions can be to the participants, which also rely on the participants’ imaginations. It is the use of surveys or questionnaires to examine attitudes in individuals as various measures are used to determine what causes likes and dislikes in people. Its merit is that it provides designed portfolios with additional information on how to check on attitudes. On he other hand, its demerit is that its accuracy will only depend on the collected data even if it’s a false statement. Oral discourse elicitation is a data collection technique that allows researchers highly to control the context type of events they intend to extract as they research on data that is oral. Elicited imitation includes role-plays and conversations. The merit of conversations done orally is that they provide data orally. On the other hand, role-play is advantageous in that the participants are the events’ details. Their main demerit is that they don’t

Customer Driven Quality Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Customer Driven Quality - Research Paper Example One of the driving factors for this trend is the "impact of competition" (Burrill and Ledolter, 1999, pg. 523). The second major factor is the ISO 9000 system of standards. These standards provide a baseline by which processes and organizations are checked. The organizations strive to achieve certification as a stamp of approval. The final factor is quality awards. Companies compete to earn the highly visible quality awards. Not only do these awards make a statement about the organization, but these needs will have leverage in marketing campaigns (Burrill and Ledolter, 1999, pg. 523). The major factors that help define the value of quality have been presented. The next phase is to tie these factors to customer satisfaction. Greater levels of competition provide a catalyst to force companies to keep improving products or services. Consumers can generally choose from one of many companies to meet needs. One way for a company to keep customers is to provide a much greater level of satisfaction. The manufacturing industry will be used to illustrate this example. Automotive manufacturing is a $484 billion industry (Yahoo! Finance, 2007). Quality plays a major role in the success of this business. According to industry data Toyota is currently at the top of the market capitalization with $228.3 billion. Toyota takes both employee's and customer seriously when it comes to satisfaction. Toyota vehicles are in the top five in both the Midsize Car Initial Quality and Midsize Car Reliability awards from JD Power (JD Power, 2007). These examples of quality awards and the financial standing in the industry provide evidence of Toyota's value of quality being important. Consumer trends show the importance of fuel efficient vehicles that are still safe and fun to drive. Industry trends cited record-level gas prices for the beginning of the trend toward more fuel efficient vehicles. The forecast for the 2006 model year showed Japanese Big Three (Honda, Nissan, and Toyota) continuing to capture market shares. Customer needs were being met by these companies. Fuel efficient and hybrid vehicles were being manufactured with attention to quality (Edmunds, 2007). The manufacturers spotted the trend and produced quality vehicles that met the customer's needs. Toyota maintains quality at all levels of the company. This method allows Toyota to garner the best input from every employee. Special attention is paid to Toyota's methods for gathering input from all employees. "Toyota receives 4,000,000 ideas from its 80,000 employees. Since over 95% are implemented, this is over forty-six implemented ideas per employee per year" (Wadsworth, Stephens, and Godfrey, 2002, pg. 92). Toyota leverages the knowledge each employee gains while performing job functions. This allows for a close check to be kept on the quality of the products being manufactured. Steph Service companies lose millions of dollars when failures become repetitive. The failures result in redesign costs, liabilities, and transaction costs (Free Quality, 2007). Much of the business lost as a result of failures is the most serious cost and causes customer defection. The task that service companies must provide is error-free services. Error-free service becomes challenging due to subjective

Paramedic Professionals Essay Example for Free

Paramedic Professionals Essay Although paramedics work alongside other emergency services and health care providers, they are not classified as health care professionals, therefore, working independently from these organisations and autonomously within their own state ambulance organisations. Through exploring the evolution of paramedic practice and their role as a health care provider, the current status of paramedics as a semi profession is explained along with what further development is needed before they become a recognised profession. In understanding how paramedics work autonomously within their own state based organisations, the concept of scope of practice and evidence based practice is explored. Finally by discussing how paramedics are independent, we establish paramedics’ role and position within the Australian Health Care System. A paramedic is a health care professional At present in Australia, paramedics are not classified as registered health care professionals. (Smith 2012) Instead, paramedics are widely regarded as semi-professionals with the potential to become a fully recognised profession in the near future. The definition of profession and the guidelines to become a recognised profession are not black and white. Professions Australia defined a profession as ‘a disciplined group of individuals who adhere to ethical standards and who possess special knowledge and skills in a widely recognised body of learning derived from research, education and training at a high level. ’ (Allied Health Professions Australia 2008: 8) Whilst Wilinsky (1964) describes 4 key elements that are essential for the process of professionalization. These include; the implementation of a unified code of ethics and regulations, attaining professional licencing, registration and accreditation, the establishment of university study and education and the development of full-time occupation and formation of occupational territory. Over the past 20 years the roles of paramedics have changed rapidly, with changes still occurring at the present. Paramedics have transitioned from ‘stretcher bearers’ knew as ambulance officers, to todays’ paramedics who are full time workers and are able to administer extensive pre hospital care. Along with the changes to the nature of the paramedics’ job, there has also been a significant change in the way paramedics are trained. ‘Training for paramedics has transitioned from on the job training provided by State and Territory Ambulance Services to vocational qualifications and more recently, higher education (University) sector qualifications. ’(Williams, Brown, Onsman 2012: 6) These changes to higher education training and full time employment, has allowed for paramedics to move one step closer in becoming a recognised profession. A review of common professional traits suggests two main areas where the discipline falls short and it is that paramedics do not have ‘national registration and regulation resulting in professional self-control and accreditation’ and they do not nationwide qualifications that link from tertiary education to the paramedic services (Williams, Brown, Osman 2012: 1) Firstly, registration in the context of health care professionals, is the process of licensing and registering clinicians to practice at a uniform national standard of care. Productivity Commission 2005 in Williams, Brown, Osman 2012: 7) Registration allows for consistency in education and training nationwide, and ensures paramedics work within the provisions of their scope of practice. (Council of Ambulance Authorities 2008) Secondly, there are no national university standard degree competencies or a national curriculum in relation to paramedic training. This leads to an inconsistency between the curricula taugh t to paramedic students. This is further aggravated by ambulance services as they work independently from the Australian Health care System and of the universities as well. Williams, Brown, Osman 2012) In conclusion, without the implementation of nationwide registration, licensing and education qualifications, paramedics will continue to be recognized as a semi-profession. Operating autonomously Paramedics are allied health care providers who are operating autonomously at a state level within their own ambulance services. The United States National Library of Medicine defines autonomy as the ‘decisions and the freedom to act in accordance with ones professional knowledge base. (Nurs 2010: 1) In the paramedic profession this knowledge base is known as a scope of practice. Within each state based paramedic organisation, there is legislation and guidelines that outline the scope of which a certain qualified paramedic can work in. Scope of practice refers to ‘the extent to w hich providers may render Health care services and the extent they may do so independently and the type of diseases, ailments, and injuries a health care provider may address and what procedures and medication they can provide. ’ (Prats ;amp; Katz 2012: 13) For example, in Queensland, whilst out on road paramedics have the freedom to make their own decisions and judgments based on their knowledge, as long as it is legal in the legislation of the Queensland Ambulance Service Ambulance Service Act 1991 (Qld) and within the scope of practice of the paramedics qualifications. (Queensland Consolidated Acts 2010) As paramedics gain further knowledge and undergo more training, the scope of practice of this paramedic will increase. The larger the scope of practice, the more autonomously the paramedic is able to operate. Currently in Queensland there has been an increased awareness of poorer patient outcomes and difficulties in accessing medical help in rural and remote areas. (Horizon 2007 in O’Meara 2011) In an attempt to increase positive patient outcomes, expanded scope roles have been introduced into the Australian Health Care System, allowing certain paramedics to apply skills and protocols for which they were not originally trained. (Sterling, Pedler, Walker 2007) This increases the paramedics’ autonomy within their field which allows them to work for better patient outcomes. Paramedics are also highly autonomous as they frequently use evidence based practice as a means of new research and technique. In the pre hospital care environment, ‘rather than making decisions about practice actions based on routine and traditionally taught methods, paramedics use evidence identified from well-constructed studies as a basis for the clinical decisions and behaviours. ’ (Curtis ;amp; Ramsden 2011: 111) Evidence based practice occurs through ‘integrating individual clinical expertise with the best available external clinical evidence from systematic research. (Sackett ;amp; Rosenberg 1996: 1) This can only occur when an individual is given autonomy within their field of work. In conclusion, as paramedics have the freedom to make decisions within their scope of practice and can utilise evidence based practice, paramedics are autonomous within a state level. Operating independently within The Australian Health Care System Although paramedics work alon g-side the Australian Health Care System, paramedics are independent of this system. The Houghton Mifflin Company 2011 defines independent as being ‘not governed by a foreign power; self-governing. Paramedics are governed by their own state based organisations and are separate and independent of the hospitals and the Australian Health Care System. When dealing with any misconduct or inquiries, unlike nurses and doctors whose governing power is the Australian Health Care System, paramedics approach their own state based organisation. In conclusion, even though the paramedics work in conjunction with other health care providers both in and out of the hospital setting, paramedics governance is independent of other health care services and the Australian Health Care System. Willis, McCarthy, Lazarsfeld-Jensen and O’Meara 2009) Conclusion: In conclusion paramedics are autonomous and independent health care providers who work along-side the Australian Health Care system. Alth ough paramedics work alongside other emergency services and health care providers in both the in and out of hospital care environment, they are not classified as health care professionals. But with the implementation of nationwide curricula and ethical standards, paramedics can move from a semi profession to fully recognised profession. Paramedics have the freedom to make decisions within their scope of practice and can utilise evidence based practice, making paramedics autonomous within a state level. Through the broadening of paramedics’ scope of practice in certain environment such as rural areas and through the use of evidence based practice we see efforts to increase positive patient outcomes. Finally, paramedics are independent from the Australian Health Care System as they are self-governed by their own state based organisations.

Importance of Using the ACARS System

Importance of Using the ACARS System Abbreviations ACARS: Aircraft Communication Addressing and Reporting System ADS-B: Automatic dependent surveillance broadcast CMU: Communication Management Unit CDU: Control Display Unit FMS: Flight Management System ATC: Air Traffic Control AOC: Aeronautical Operational Control AAC: Airline Administrative Control NOTAM: Notice to Airmen VHF: Very High Frequency VDL: VHF Data Link MAC: Message Authentication Code AES: Advance Encryption Standard SHA: Secure Hash Algorithm CA: Certificate Authority ICAO: International Civil Aviation Organisation IPsec: Internet Protocol Security In this report the importance of using the ACARS system in the communication between the aircrafts and the ground units such as Air traffic control (ATC), aeronautical operational control (AOC) and airline administrative Control (AAC). (2) Also, the need of securing the communication channel against passive and active attackers will be identified and analysed. The ACARS system is used to transmit data both from aircraft to ground and from ground to aircraft. The data transmitted from the aircraft to the ATC will communicate requests and receipts for clearances and instructions when the aircraft is on the ground, during the phases of take-off and landing and finally during the time the aircraft is in the air. The ACARS is system is also used for communication between the aircrafts and the AOC and AAC ground units. The data transmitted between these three entities is about various aspects of the aircraft, weather information and observations, NOTAMS, flight plan and any diversion from the flight plan, technical performance, possible system failures and any special information regarding the flight and its passengers. ACARS system to transmit data to the ground receivers, the FMC hardware is used on newer aircrafts or the CDU on older ones. The communication is accomplished by using the FMS unit and a small printer in the aircrafts and similar hardware on the ground. The FMS transmits the data to either a satellite or a ground antennas, regarding the altitude of the aircraft. After either the satellite or the antenna will transmit the data through the communication network to the appropriate ground unit using a private network. Due to the reason that these data are crucial and must not be altered or even sometimes monitored by unauthorised users the security of the communication channel and the data should be the top priority of the airlines. To achieve that the data transmitted should always maintain the three major aspects of information security which are: Confidentiality Integrity Availability During the early years of the aviation industry communication channels were only needed between the ATC and the pilots. There were no ways to transmit data regarding the aircrafts avionic systems, engines and integrity, mainly due to the reason that there was not such advanced technology, on both the communication channels and on the aircrafts. The only communication channel available was the VHF channels that in our days is the least trusted protocol. As the aircrafts developed, the boundaries were extended, and led to a rapid increase in air traffic. In order to co-op with this, the aircrafts manufacturers decided to improve the quality and quantity of the systems aboard the aircrafts in order to protect them from mid-air collisions and also help the ATCs to manage the traffic easier. From the moment that the aviation instruments on board the aircraft changed from analogue to digital, a breakthrough was achieved, leading many companies to develop software and hardware that allowed the improvement of the communication and data transmission between the aircrafts and the ground. Along with these improvements, the aircrafts critical systems were able to continuously provide the data recorder information regarding their condition. During this phase the CPDLC was developed in order to minimize the acoustic misunderstandings (6) provided accountability and made the communication easier, more efficient and safer to transmit and receive l ong messages (6). Although in my opinion this system would make the communication between the pilots and the ATC easier and safer, it wasnt widely used because of security threats like message manipulation or injection (6) that were not possible to be detected. Also, a major backdoor to the system in my opinion was that there was no authentication leading to eavesdropping or spoof clearances (6). For the improvement of safety and to be able to improve the accident investigations, the authorities decided that it would be helpful, that these data should be transmitted to the ground and in order to improve the communications between the aircrafts and the ATCs, a new system was developed, which is called ACARS. Along with it new techniques of communication and data transmission were introduced that allowed the aircraft, ATCs and airlines headquarters to communicate with each other by sending short texts. ACARS was introduced during the 80s and as the years passed it became very popular among the airlines. It allowed direct communication between aircrafts and ATCs for requesting and receiving instructions and clearances. The ability of communicating between the aircraft and the AOC and AAC was introduced, that allowed the exchange of information about the weather, possible issues with the aircrafts systems, NOTAMs, passenger information, etc. In the early years of aviation, the computers were not very capable in intercepting or manipulating a message that was transmitted and therefore there was little need for that system to be secure. As the years pass and computers became stronger, together with the knowledge of people, possible unauthorised monitoring of message transmission or even manipulating the messages transmitted between the aircrafts and the ground was a threat to aviation. In order to solve this issues, security mechanisms were placed in order to protect the communication channels and the data transmitted. The security mechanisms placed, are updated regularly in order to maintain the information secure against new threats and attackers. The difficulty of maintaining a secure communication channel is becoming greater, due to the reason that the cost of hardware that allow you to monitor the information transmitted by aircrafts are very cheap and easily accessible. This together with the increasing knowledge of people on how to use them the wrong way and with the intention to cause harm for various reasons, makes the work of the ones trying to protect these systems, very difficult and crucial for the safety of the passengers and aircraft crew lives. As the workload for the pilots in command increased greatly due to the increased traffic, reduction of the crew members in aircrafts and the need to maximize profit without undermining safety and in order to protect the pilots from making mistakes or forget to complete the necessary steps for the safe conduct of a flight, researchers were working on a new way of communication between the aircraft and the ground operations. That software was ACARS and was developed in the 1980s. ACARS is a digital datalink system (3) that allows the pilots, ATC and the airlines headquarters to exchange short messages no matter of the location of the aircraft around the world. In order to achieve that the aircraft is equipped with an avionics computer which is called Communications Management Unit (CMU), a control display unit (CDU) and a printer. The CMU was designed to be able to send and receive digital messages (3) regarding aspects of the flight, instructions and clearances from the ATC, weather forecasts, NOTAMs and information to and from the companys headquarters regarding the aircrafts performance and special needs about the passengers. In order to achieve the level of communication needed, the ACARS system is using different types of communication media. The two media used to communicate between the aircraft and the ground by using satellites when the aircrafts are at higher altitudes and radio antennas at lower altitudes. Before the first implementations of the ACARS system, the communication between the aircrafts and the ground was performed by VHF voice channels. As the technology advanced, new way of communication were developed. During the first periods of implementation of the ACARS system the ARINC organisation, developed a service that a allowed for the VHF communication service to be upgraded by a new service that allowed the use of digital telex formats (3) to the VHF communication channel. During the 90s this led to the standardization of a VHF Digital Link. As the implementation of the ACARS software by airliners became widespread, new services were developed in order to make the communication channels more efficient. SITA company, during this phase had developed a large ground communication network that was connecting places around the world. In order to further enhance the abilities of ACARS, SITA integrated their ground communication network to be able and cooperate with ACARS already existing communication channels between aircraft and ground. In my opinion the ACARS system was designed very cleverly because it was able to cooperate with many types of aircraft communications equipment such as VHF, Inmarsat, sitcom, iridium satellite, VDL and high frequency data link (6). More detailed, SITA managed to merge both VHF and VDL air to ground communication channel together with the ground network it had already developed and to provide an end to end communication channel between aircrafts and ground operations no matter the type of flights. Both short haul and long haul routes were supported. Figure .1 ACARS Setup (9) ACARS security is very important for the safe conduct of flights. Two different types of security were implemented. The first one was called DSP-based architecture and is only capable to protect ACARS messages during transmission from the aircraft to the ground, leaving the ground network unprotected and risking attacks from hackers open. For that reason, there is an end to end security architecture was proposed and developed. In order for the security of the ACARS system to be complete it will have to maintain confidentiality, integrity and availability to the information transmitted at all times, both in the communication channel between the aircraft and the ground and also in the ground network. On the end to end solution proposed in the article The Approach of ACARS Data Encryption and Authentication (5), The proposed security will be using symmetric and asymmetric cryptography, a hybrid system that could solve the problems of using just one of the methods of cryptography, along with digital signatures to provide adequate privacy and integrity (5) to the messages. The issues that came up with the symmetric cryptography were that in order to communicate with each other, a key had to be exchanged between the sender and the recipients of the message. This unique key was designed to be known just by the sender and the recipient of the message in order to protect it from unauthorized users. This proved to be very difficult to maintain secure due to the large number of users that are using ACARS to communicate. On the other hand, asymmetric cryptography was able to solve this problem but it required the use of a large size keys that led to a rather large amount of bandwidth requi red just for the exchange of the keys that kept secure the communication, which was a problem due to the limited amount of bandwidth the ACARS system was designed to require. This hybrid system that was proposed, made use of a key derivation algorithm called Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman which is using an elliptic curve and certain points in order to find the private key. By using the elliptic curve along with the private key, it was able to generate the public key of both the aircraft and the ground station (sender and recipient). By using this technique, the communication channel was secure because it was very difficult for the attacker to find the private key even though the exchange of public key is intercepted (5). For the receiver to be able to decrypt and use the private key a key derivation function is needed which in this case is the MAC. In order to provide encryption to the data transmitted the AES algorithm is used in combination with the SHA 256 algorithm. The number 256 after the SHA acronym means the length of the random binary sequence that is used as the key for the AES (5) algorithm. Due to the reason of the limited bandwidth that ACARS is designed to be using, the message data transmitted and the necessary data transmitted to provide security should be compressed as much as possible. In order to do so every letter, number or symbol will have to be encoded to a 6bit stream during the encryption phase. In order for the recipient to be able to decode it and read the correct message, the MAC of the encrypted data will have to be read and be decrypted to an ACARS readable character. Also, the correct MAC value will have to be calculated in order for the message to be authenticated. During the testing phase of the above end to end security mechanism, eavesdropping was possible to be done but no actual data were able to be read, due to the AES that was used in the encryption of the message, so confidentiality was achieved. Privacy was also achieved because if the message was manipulated, the MAC value would have been changed and the recipient would have detected the change in value. Finally for the digital signature to be correct, the assumptions that the CA was trustworthy had to be made. Wireless Communication Security Due to the reason that the main communication channel between the aircraft and the ground stations will always be wireless, some necessary aspects of security will always have to exist in order to able to say that the channel is secure. According to the authors of the article (7), in order for a security protocol be acceptable, it must meet some requirements. The first one is the mutual entity authentication which is able to provide security by identifying the sender and the receiver. Also, the Asymmetric algorithms are very critical according to my opinion, regarding the key distribution that will allow the sender and the receiver authenticate each other messages. Next in order to prevent unauthorised people to access the communication channel, the two parties must agree to the keys used and to be able to confirm them when needed along with being able to control them, maintain the key freshness (7) so no replay attacks could be performed and also to protect secrets of old communications in the case that an unauthorised person gains access to a session key. All the above aspects, in my opinion are critical in order to maintain privacy in the communication channel. According to the article (7) which I agree with, some compromises should be taken in order to have the security options tailored to the needs of your systems. In our case the ACARS system was designed to have a small amount of load in transmitting data and therefore and IPsec with fixed pre-shared keys (7) would be very helpful because it has limited data exchanged in order to provide security. On the other hand, protocols based on asymmetric cryptosystems (7) are able to provide better security but in a higher data load cost. Wireless Communication Threat Model In order to be able to provide better solutions in the wireless communication channel, we must be able to identify the threat that are possible to be faced during the transfer of data. In order to do so we must have a threat model that is tailored to our needs. In order to create a threat model, we must also know the adversaries capabilities. In the case of wireless networks according to the article (8) authors, which are the one that ACARS uses, the adversary usually has the ability to receive and transmit data (8), should be able to monitor the network and in order to do the previous two, he must have knowledge on how the network was setup. Commonly, if the attacker is able to eavesdrop a wireless, he will be able to inject traffic (8) into the network. All of the above capabilities in my opinion are depended to the knowledge he has and to the money he is willing to spend in order to be able to perform such tasks. The main attacks he can perform to a wireless network has to do with spoofing attacks (8), replay attacks (8) which I believe is easily solved by the freshness aspect of security, eavesdropping (8) compromise or introduction of nodes, wireless jamming (8) and finally a denial of service (8) attack by increasing extremely the load of the network. ACARS Security per Honeywell Per Honeywell, ACARS is using a message security system that is able to provide message authentication, confidentiality and data integrity, which are the basic aspects that need to be protected. Based on an ICAO document regarding the security plan a public key infrastructure and other cryptographic algorithms are used in order to protect the data transmitted. More specifically, according to the ARINC specification 823 (4) the security of the messages is split in two different parts. The first part was published on 2007 and contains everything regarding the framework of the security, such as algorithms, protocols and message formats. The second parts are about the key management of this security mechanism and was published 1 year later and contains information regarding the key life cycle and the how a certificate is managed. Furthermore, two different security provisions were developed and each of them had different characteristics regarding the mechanisms used in order to protect the data transmitted. The first one is called ATN/OSI Security and it was described in the ICAO document 9880. This kind of security foresight used digital signatures which uses the Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman cryptographic algorithm combined with a SHA256 in order to generate and verify the signatures. As for Message authentication, it uses hashed MAC with a 32bit MAC length. A key agreement is used in order to share the public key that will then be used in order for the recipient to be able to derive the secret key and be able to decode the message sent. The second one is called ACARS Security ARINC 823. This one also uses the digital signatures in order to sign the message and the specifications of the digitals signatures are similar to the first security foresight, making use of the elliptic curve Diffie-Hellman algorithm combined with a SHA256 for the signature generation and verification. Again, for the message authentication a hashed MAC is being used but in this case the length of the MAC is not standard. It could be 32 bit, 64 bit or even 128 bit, with the default one to be the 32 bit. The main difference between the two security foresights is that the previous didnt require a confidentiality mechanism to be in place. On the other hand, this one uses for encryption and AES128 cipher algorithm that is mainly used to encrypt and decrypt the messages. Finally, the key establishment mechanism is similar on both security foresights, meaning that both of them use an elliptic curve Diffie-Hellman with SHA256 algorithm to provide the communication channel with a secret key agreement, shared public key and the derivation of the secret key. Threats As the technology is improved, the computers become more powerful, leading in the implementation of better security mechanisms but also in increasing amount of computing power that possible attackers have in their hands. This along with the ability given to the public to be able to track the flights using the ADS-B can have possible backdoors that can threaten the safety of the flights. The main use of this surveillance technology is for the improvement of the safety and efficiency of the flights. This technology also lead to the creation of a web application and smartphone application, that gave the ability to anyone to be able to track any aircraft in the world that had this technology active. Anyone with a cheap hardware setup could receive the information sent to the ground by the aircrafts. If an attacker is able to intercept these signals, he is able to perform passive attacks like eavesdropping the communications or furthermore, block the response from the ATC (jamming) and finally send his response back (message injection), could result in the attacker to be able to perform an active attack and penetrate the aircrafts navigation system. Another possible attack according the article (6) this attacks could result in the virtually modifying the trajectory of an aircraft (6). After the attacker, has gained access to the aircraft systems, he can receive information via the ACARS system. If the ACARS system is not protected correctly, the attacker will be able to exploit the systems and either insert false information to the avionics or just attach a virus or malware and have a constant access to the aircrafts avionics and information. Furthermore, the attacker could gain access to the FMS he will be able to mess with the navigation and flight planning such as waypoints, altitudes, speeds, alternate the destination airport of the flight etc. This will result to the attacker being in complete control of the aircraft, with the pilots not being able to do much in order to gain back the control of the aircraft. Although the ACARS system was updated regularly and the ACARS AMS was developed in order to provide end to end security, many airlines decided to not use it and instead provide some security by obscurity (6), which according to my opinion could lead in more risks and better security because no one has tested the security algorithms that are used and therefore if there is any vulnerability in the security algorithm, the company will never be aware of it, leaving the communication channel open to zero day attacks. The cost of the hardware needed to complete such an attack is not high. Using online shopping web applications or other sellers, the possible attacker will be able to buy the necessary hardware such as FMS hardware, air to ground transmitters, ACARS manager hardware and other hardware, in order to perform such an attack. By using one of the most known flight simulator software, combined with the necessary hardware and finally by exploiting any vulnerabilities in the security of ACARS and FMS systems, they can manage to gain control of the aircraft with low cost. There are many ways the attacker could gain access or perform attacks against the aircrafts. These ways may include attacks via the internet by exploiting bugs in web applications, vulnerabilities against software, SQL injections to databases or other vulnerabilities that are not fixed in mobile applications. There are two different threat models according to the authors of the article On perception and reality in the wireless air traffic communication security (6). The two different threat models are the traditional aviation threat model (6) and the Modern threat model (6). The main difference between these two according the article are that the software-defined radios are widely available to the public and along with them to possible attackers and the change between analogue instruments and digital instruments, with the second ones to give the ability to the users to transmit more data in electronic form. These could lead to an increase in the abilities hackers to eavesdrop, modify and inject data on the communications channel. The traditional threat model is used from when the first forms of communication were implemented in aviation. As years passed the communication channels were improved and the amount of data that was transmitted increased rapidly. The authors of the article characterize the article as naÃÆ'Â ¯ve (6) of the reasons of inferior technological capabilities and financial capabilities, requirement of inside knowledge and the use of analog communication. (6). I can agree with their opinion because I believe that indeed the threat model is very old and due to the new technologies, along with the low cost of a setup that could allow to interfere with the communications of an aircraft, the risk will be much higher. The second threat model is the modern threat model. It has major changes from the first one due to the increased digitalisation and automation (6) of the aircrafts communication channels. Also, the increased technological capabilities (6) such as cheap hardware could lead to possible attacks that could not be performed when the first threat model was developed. Finally, people could easily gain aviation knowledge (6) from the internet, flight simulator software, which could increase the seriousness of the attacks that could be performed. For the above reasons and from my own experience with aviation knowledge and flight simulator software, I would agree that this model is more up to date and more tailored to identify the threats that todays aircraft face. Concluding on the above-mentioned information, the aviation world and more specifically the security of the aircrafts, crews and passengers are far from safe. This is because even with the security measures that are already researched, the airlines do not always implement them. Also, the technology required and the cost of acquiring such technology makes it easier for attackers to perform either passive or active attacks against aircrafts. The above when combined with the knowledge of an attacker can lead to great threats against the aircrafts. In order to maintain the aviation world safe, the need to reassess the risk of attacks under realistic system models and the development of appropriate countermeasures (6) should be identified and embraced along with new end to end security implementations are proposed and if approved implemented by airlines. Such security mechanisms must be tested in order to be totally sure that all vulnerabilities are patched and that it will never have a backdoor that could allow an attacker to perform an attack. In my opinion in order to be able to be sure that a security mechanisms that will be placed is totally secure, we must first learn our adversaries, understand their capabilities, intentions, motive and upon all knowledge and financial state. Next, we must understand what passive and active attacks an adversary can perform. If we manage to understand the above aspects of our adversaries, then we must understand what has to be done in order to prevent them from launching an attack against the aircraft- ground communications channel and ground network. By having the necessary information about the adversaries and the protection mechanisms that we can implement, then we must evaluate those already implemented and find ways to enhance them. References Smith, M., M. Strohmeier, V. Lenders, and I. Martinovic. On the security and privacy of ACARS. (016 Integrated Communications Navigation and Surveillance (ICNS)): 1-27. Web. 15 Feb. 2017. Aircraft Communications, Addressing and Reporting System. Aircraft Communications, Addressing and Reporting System SKYbrary Aviation Safety. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2017. Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS). Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS). N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2017. Olive, Michael . ACARS Message Security (AMS) as a Vehicle for Validation of ICAO Doc. 9880 Part IV-B Security Requirements. Proc. of ICAO ACP WG-M Meeting, Belgium, Brussels. N.p.: n.p., n.d. 1-12. Print. Yue, M., and X. Wu. The Approach of ACARS Data Encryption and Authentication. 2010 International Conference on Computational Intelligence and Security (2010): 556-60. Web. 10 Feb. 2017. Strohmeier, Martin, Matthias Schafer, Rui Pinheiro, Vincent Lenders, and Ivan Martinovic. On Perception and Reality in Wireless Air Traffic Communication Security. IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems (2016): 1-20. Web. Akram, Raja Naeem, Konstantinos Markantonakis, Keith Mayes, Pierre-Francois Bonnefoi, Damien Sauveron, and Serge Chaumette. Security and performance comparison of different secure channel protocols for Avionics Wireless Networks. 2016 IEEE/AIAA 35th Digital Avionics Systems Conference (DASC) (2016): n. pag. Web. Akram, Raja Naeem, Konstantinos Markantonakis, Royal Holloway, Sharadha Kariyawasam, Shahid Ayub, Amar Seeam, and Robert Atkinson. Challenges of security and trust in Avionics Wireless Networks. 2015 IEEE/AIAA 34th Digital Avionics Systems Conference (DASC) (2015): n. pag. Web. Network Graphic. Digital image. ATC Data Link News. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2017.

Ode To A Nightingale Essay -- English Literature

Ode To A Nightingale Choose a poem which you think could be described as a â€Å"quiet† or â€Å"reflective† poem. Show how the poet has achieved this effect and discuss to what extent you find it a suitable way of dealing with the subject matter in the poem. In your answer you must refer closely to the text and to at least two of mood; theme; sound; imagery; rhythm or any other appropriate feature. â€Å"Ode To A Nightingale† by John Keats is a poem which Keats wrote when he was dying. Due to this, the poem is extremely reflective on the things Keats considers important to him, namely life, death and his imagination. By using the nightingale to embody these aspects, Keats is effective, in my opinion, in attempting to deal with the matter at hand, and involving me in his struggle between life and death. One of the things which the nightingale represents to Keats is death. This is not surprising as he is near death and so it is influencing the way he thinks. At times Keats welcomes death and at other times is undecided, but always the nightingale is used as a representation for it. â€Å"That I might drink, and leave the world unseen, And with thee fade away into the forest dim:† He is talking to the nightingale here, telling it that he will go with it, into the forest. Here the nightingale signifies death and Keats is wishing to follow it, to, in effect, die. Keats uses the metaphor of fading to show his transition into death. This use of imagery emphasizes the reflective nature of Keats, and I find it a very effective way to show how he is thinking. As the nightingale represents death, Keats embraces it and sees it as the only real painless way. â€Å"I have been half in love with easeful Death, Call’d... ...other groan; Where palsy shakes a few, sad, last grey hairs, Where youth grows pale, and spectre-thin, and dies;† Conversely, this shows life as a painful thing, from which Keats wants release. He has made his mind up as to what life is like for him and others. This contemplation shows where he is in his life and musings. It seems Keats is prepared to die, and this shows that. In conclusion, Keats makes the poem very reflective by reflecting on the meaning of life through a nightingale. For Keats, the nightingale represents, in essence, the cycle of life, and shows that death an exist along with life. The bird also represents Keats imagination, and this he also reflects on, along with the complexity of life and death. I think that Keats was very effective is achieving a reflective poem which deals with the intricacy of death and the agony of life.

Organizational Technology :: Technologies of Communication

We live in an age of communication. Communication is the problem and the opportunity addressed by a great deal of technology design and development. But because communication is an interpersonal and a social phenomenon, technology issues must be approached with a particular appreciation of human and social factors. The organization of societies today requires effective global communication between diverse and far-flung social and cultural systems. Only through technical mediation are we able to maintain the flows of commerce and information required by the world-wide interdependence. Technologies of communication become the means of production, or production format, of communication. Their use in communication is not transparent. In fact, technologies introduce new contingencies and context into communication. Analysis of communication and interaction in society today needs to account for the transformative effects of mediation. Technologies are rational by design, and in use, they rationalize human activity. Human communication and interaction, however, are neither rational nor designed. The difference between the technical and the human shows up in technology at what we call the "interface." In our case, we will consider this not just a user interface, but a social interface. It is social because it translates communication (messages, content) while also facilitating the subtle and tacit exchange of interpersonal acknowledgments. The latter, though they don't "say" anything, reproduce our relations. Social interface issues generally involve ambiguities of communication, intent, outcome and so on. These ambiguities result from technology's mediation of practices in which individuals are normally able to address and resolve ambiguities as they come up. It's at the social interface where the distinction between communication's content and participants' relationships becomes an issue, because the technology that's good for transmitting content may not be good for reproducing relationships. The implicit purpose of communication is to motivate a listener (or recipient) to do, or understand, something communicated. Thus the use of technology extends and limits the very power of communication. It extends our ability to access and connect, but limits our ability to communicate and bind. Repercussions can be seen at all levels of society, from individual and interpersonal to macro-social. Our study of communication technologies will borrow from pragmatics, which is branch of linguistics that emphasizes the "how" of what we say (in addition to the "what"). A pragmatics of mediated interaction would thus emphasize the production and performance of mediated communication and interaction, focusing on the practices developed around connectivity technologies.

Global Business Strategies Essay

Course Description The manager’s perspective in the fields of international payments, international trade, and investment are analyzed. Emphasis is given to the materials and concepts that illuminate the strategies, structure, practices, and effects of multinational enterprises. Policies Faculty and students/learners will be held responsible for understanding and adhering to all policies contained within the following two documents: University policies: You must be logged into the student website to view this document. Instructor policies: This document is posted in the Course Materials forum. University policies are subject to change. Be sure to read the policies at the beginning of each class. Policies may be slightly different depending on the modality in which you attend class. If you have recently changed modalities, read the policies governing your current class modality. Course Materials Hill, C. W. (2009). International business. Competing in the global marketplace (7th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill. All electronic materials are available on the student website. Week One: Contemporary Global Business Environment Details Due Points Objectives 1.1 Define globalization. 1.2 List the major drivers of globalization. 1.3 Explain some effects of globalization. 1.4 Compare and contrast the role of economic integration in promoting global business. 1.5 Relate the stage of economic development of an economically integrated region to potential business opportunities. Readings Read Ch. 1 of International Business. Read Ch. 2 of International Business. Read Ch. 3 of International Business. Read Ch. 5 of International Business. Review this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings. Read the Week One Read Me First. Participation Participate in class discussion. 1 Individual Week One Quiz Post week one quiz. 1 Individual Globalization Questionnaire Prepare a comprehensive response to the following questions in 350 words. What is globalization, and what are some of the traditional international trade theories that support the concept of globalization? List the major drivers of globalization and provide three examples of each. Explain at least four effects of globalization that affect your community and your organization. 10 Week Two: Global Business Strategy Formulation Details Due Points Objectives 2 2.1 Conduct a business risk analysis. 2.2 Choose an appropriate mode of entry for global products or services. Readings Read Ch. 6 of International Business. Read Ch. 7 of International Business. Read Ch. 8 of International Business. Review this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings. Read the Week Two Read Me First. Participation Participate in class discussion. 1 Individual Week Two Quiz Post week two quiz. 1 Learning Team Instructions Select a country and product to focus your cumulative Global Business Plan Learning Team project. The deliverables for the project include the following Learning Team assignments: Week Two: Comprehensive Analysis Outline and Presentation Week Three: Country Risk and Strategic Planning Analysis Paper Week Five: Final Global Business Plan and Presentation Individual Regional Integration for and Against Articles Select a region approved by your instructor and choose a trading bloc (NAFTA, EU, ASEAN, etc.) within that region. Write two 350- to 500-word articles, one article in favor of regional integration and another article against regional integration. Describe the advantages and disadvantages of regional integration and relate the stage of economic development of the economically integrated region to resumecustomerservice@livecareer.com potential business opportunities. 10 Learning Team Comprehensive Analysis Outline and Presentation Select a product and a country for a global business venture. Conduct a regional, country, and product analyses for your new global venture. Prepare a 1,050- to 1,400-word outline and a 5- to 7-slide summary presentation illustrating the following: Region Analysis Regional alliances and economic integration Physical environment and its affect on trade Political stability Economic conditions Finance options available Social, health, and environmental conditions Terrorism threats Country Analysis Political stability Economic conditions Finance options available Physical environment and its affect on trade Social, health, and environmental conditions Cultural considerations Organization and product or service analysis Description of your organization Product needs assessment of the target country Description of product to meet the need Format your written paper consistent with APA guidelines. 5 Week Three: Strategic Implementation: Global Business Operations Details Due Points Objectives 3 3.1 Describe the legal, cultural, and ethical challenges that confront global businesses. 3.2 Determine the various roles that host governments play in global business operations. Readings Read Ch. 12 of International Business. Read Ch. 14 of International Business. Read Ch. 15 of International Business. Read Ch. 17 of International Business. Review this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings. Read the Week Three Read Me First. Participation Participate in class discussion. 1 Individual Week Three Quiz Post week three quiz. 1 Learning Team Country Risk and Strategic Planning Analysis Paper Prepare a 1,400- to 2,100-word paper in which you conduct a country risk analysis for your selected global business venture. Analyze the following risks in your paper: Political, legal, and regulatory risks Exchange and repatriation of funds risks Competitive risk assessment Taxation and double taxation risks Market risks (four Ps) Distribution and supply chain risks Physical and environmental challenges to entering and operating in a target market Social and cultural risks Cyber or technology Describe how you would manage these risks Summarize your strategic planning process: Define and clarify mission and objectives SWOTT analysis of target country Make strategy selection Select and justify an appropriate mode of entry for your global product or service Control and evaluation Devise contingency plan Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines. 10 Week Four: Strategy Implementation: Finance and Marketing in Global Business Details Due Points Objectives 4 4.1 Analyze global financing and exchange rate mechanisms. 4.2 Identify multilateral and regional financial institutions that help foster global business. 4.3 Identify various methods of financing global operations. 4.4 Identify key foreign exchange risks and techniques to mitigate risk. 4.5 Conduct a global marketing analysis for a product or service. Readings Read Ch. 9 of International Business. Read Ch. 11 of International Business. Read Ch. 16 of International Business. Read Ch. 18 of International Business. Read Ch. 20 of International Business. Review this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings. Read the Week Four Read Me First. Participation Participate in class discussion. 1 Individual Week Four Quiz Post week four quiz. 1 Individual Case Study Select one of the following cases from the International Business Textbook: â€Å"Nike: The Sweatshop Debate† at the end of Part 2 â€Å"Google in China† at the end of Chapter 4  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Boeing versus Airbus: Two Decades of Trade Disputes† at the end of Part 3 (Video is not required to complete this case.) â€Å"The Russian Ruble Crisis and Its Aftermath† at the end of Part 4 â€Å"Molex† at the end of Part 6 â€Å"Merrill Lynch in Japan† at the end of Part 6 Write a 500- to 750-word paper in which you address the following topics: Describe the legal, cultural, and ethical challenges that confront the global business presented in your selected case study. Determine the various roles that host governments played in this particular global business operation. Summarize the strategic and operational challenges facing global managers illustrated in your selected case. Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines. 15 Week Five: Changing Environment of Global Business Details Due Points Objectives 5 5.1 Identify appropriate business strategies based on business risk analysis. 5.2 Determine appropriate exit strategies for a global organization. Readings Read Ch. 4 of International Business. Read Ch. 13 of International Business. Review this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings. Read the Week Five Read Me First. Participation Participate in class discussion. 1 Individual Week Five Quiz Post week five quiz. 1 Individual Global Financing and Exchange Rate Mechanisms Choose one of the following topics. Prepare a 1,050- to 1,750-word paper in which you analyze one of the following global financing and exchange rate topics: Purchasing power parity and the Big Mac index Currency hedging Hard and soft currencies Countertrade Financing via letters of credit and EXIM Bank and commercial banks Tariff and nontariff barriers Roles of international financial institutions (e.g. IMF, World Bank, ADB, etc.) Euro currency markets Define your selected topic. Explain how your topic is used in global financing operations and describe its importance in managing risks. Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines. 15 Individual Final Examination Prepare to take a final exam. 10 Learning Team Final Global Business Plan Paper and Presentation Prepare a 7,000- to 8,750-word paper integrating your previous Learning Team assignments to include the following new material: Summarize your findings from previous Learning Team assignments. Include the rationale for selecting your target country. Refer to your Learning Team Country Risk Analysis for highlights. Determine the marketing mix specific to your selected global product or service and explain your choice of marketing mix. Prepare a marketing plan that addresses product modification, pricing, promotional programs, distribution channels, and e-business in your chosen country. Include market indicators and trends for your product or service. Prepare a financial overview for your global venture. Include a chart that represents the general budget for your global venture. Explain how your company deals with foreign exchange risk for your global operation. Identify potential domestic and international sources of financing for your global venture. Include at least two possible financial institutions within your chosen region. Describe the degree to which your organization operates as a centralized versus decentralized organization. Include a chain of command chart to illustrate how communications would reach senior management from the field when events necessitate changes in tactics or strategy. What types of exit strategies would be most appropriate for your global venture? Some strategies to consider include divestiture of assets, handing over to a joint venture partner, diversification, shutting down operation, and contingencies for your global venture. Based on your findings, make final recommendations about the feasibility of this global venture. Would you recommend proceeding with this global venture? Explain why or why not. Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines. 15 Week One Quiz Questions What technological advances in telecommunications and transportation have influenced global business in the last decade? How have these technological advances affected regional economic development? What trends may be anticipated in these areas? Would globalization have been possible without these technological advances? Discuss how culture, language, and religion might influence the costs of doing business in a particular country. Support your statement with examples. Discuss the following theory: The study of global business is relevant if you work or plan to work in a large multinational company, but it has little or no significance for individuals who work in smaller national firms. Do you agree or disagree? Defend your argument with at least two supporting statements. Week Two Quiz Questions What is country risk analysis? How is this analysis conducted? Is country risk analysis an effective tool in determining the desirability of establishing a manufacturing site or other mode of entry? Define a trade deficit and a trade surplus. What are the implications of a long-term trade deficit or trade surplus? What techniques are available to correct balance of payment deficit or surplus? Does free trade equate to fair trade? Does free trade exist anywhere in the world? Respond to the questions and support your answers with examples. Week Three Quiz Questions What is the current status of the telecommunications, energy, and transportation infrastructures of the world’s fastest developing countries? What effect does importing advanced technology, such as wireless technologies, into a developing country have on that country’s telecommunications, energy, and transportation infrastructures? How do these changes in infrastructure and technology alter business productivity? What are some issues and trends in global sociocultural issues? Why must a company be sensitive to the sociocultural environment within the host country? What affect does sociocultural sensitivity have on a company’s operations or sales within a host country? What are the major staffing policies that global organizations must consider? How must an organization choose among these staffing policies? How do you assess the effect of implementing a specific staffing policy? What are the primary functions of the foreign-exchange market? Who are the participants in the market? How do global companies use the foreign-exchange market to hedge against foreign-exchange risks? Felix, a U.S. technology company has recently developed a revolutionary wireless phone. The product offers exciting new features along with all of the features of current products, but at a fraction of the manufacturing costs. As the international business manager of Felix, you have been asked to choose the best mode of entry into the European market. Your have the following options: Export your product from the United States. Enter into an alliance with a large European company. Manufacture the product in the United States and set up a wholly owned subsidiary in Europe. License a European firm to manufacture and market the phone in Europe. In preparation for your choice, list the pros and cons of each method of entry. Which choice do you present to your CEO? Support your decision. Can any product or service be marketed globally? If it sells in the United States, does it sell in another country? Explain why or why not. Can a product be marketed in the same manner in multiple countries? Defend your answer with examples. How might you relate the four Ps of marketing to customer relations management (CRM) in a global business environment? Week Four Quiz Questions What are the elements of capital budgeting? How do you determine these elements in the global business arena? Provide examples of how you would use capital budgeting analysis to determine the desirability of global projects. What are the international and regional institutions that comprise the global monetary and financial system? What role do these institutions play in  promoting global business operations? Under what conditions is it better to borrow funds from a domestic bank? When might it be necessary to borrow from a target country financial institution? Explain your answer. When would a firm choose to operate on a transnational basis? Under what circumstances would a firm use a localization strategy? When would an international strategy be employed? Support your answers with examples. Week Five Quiz Questions Describe one exit strategy an organization may use when things go wrong in a foreign country. What are some of the issues that might prompt the implementation of an exit strategy? Summarize the effect of an exit strategy on the strategic planning for a global organization? Name the factors that may contribute to the global business failure of an organization? How might a global organization protect itself against a global business failure? Are US ethical standards applicable worldwide? Explain your answer and provide examples. What are the consequences of failure to incorporate ethical considerations into global planning.