Evaluative Writing Essay

This article is based on the art of attack prevention and it aims at illustrating how security attack scenarios can be used to check the effectiveness of a system in preventing a system attack. Through the use of a system known as eSAP, the authors have made a report on how scenarios of possible attacks were selected and tested giving recommendations based on their results. The article comes in handy especially at a time where the issue on information system security is quite vital for companies to maintain. This paper analyzes the article by Haralambos, Paolo and Gordon’s article as to determine its appropriateness, usefulness and validity of the study. Throughout the study, examples and comparisons will be used to evaluate the work. Further justifications will be given for all arguments put forth. Evaluation The writer starts of the paper quite well by explaining what the paper will cover in the introduction. This gives the reader an overview of what to expect because he or she already has an idea of what the article is about (Memering’, 2008). The manner in which the introduction is done is also enticing such that the reader is encouraged to read on. Further, the authors introduce the article by referring to another article from which the current one stems from. This actually encourages the reader to desire to read the previous article. For those that cannot access it however, this is a disadvantage to them. Accordingly, it would have been wise for the writers to start with a brief history of the previously completed work so that the reader does can effectively understand where they started. Failure to do this is therefore a flaw in the paper and could impact on the desire of the reader to look at the paper. The authors make use of a real life example in the article to explain how the use of scenarios can be used to analyze the information systems design. eSAP (electronic Single Assessment Process) is assessed to using possible security attacks to establish whether its three main security features which include integrity, availability and privacy can be achieved in case of an attack (Haralambos, Paolo and Gordon, 2007). Attacks such as interruption, interception and modification were used to check eSAP. The use of an example not only makes the article more interesting to read but also enhances the understandability or the reader so that he or she can grasp exactly what the writers intend to say (Memering’, 2008). Besides this, the authors make use of a diagram for illustration. According to Memering, 2007), this is an effective way of making the readers to get the idea that the author is trying to pass across at a glance. For example, when a procedure is described in steps, the reader can actually follow these steps to and understand the described process better than when only the text was available. The article by Haralambos, Paolo and Gordon is quite useful in attack prevention. In the current times, many companies have been faced with threats of system attacks hence the need to avoid them. An example is a recent attack on Kaspersky, a major anti-virus vendor which occurred on the customer support site in February 2009 (O’Donnell, 2009). Since this paper addresses the possible ways in which systems meant to handle such cases can be tested, it is of significant importance. This paper could form a useful background for information system analysts to gauge the ability of different systems to effectively address the desired security concerns. Another reason why this article is very useful is that for every factor tested, there is a recommendation given to reduce the likelihood of the occurrence of that action in real life. For example, after testing the validity of passwords and the ability of the system to keep off intruders, the authors suggest the use of one-time passwords. Such kind of advice could be used by technicians to further enhance system security and thereby protect it from attack. This study is quite relevant in the study of information system security because it is quite unique in its own way. While other studies concentrate on showing the likely situations that are may face the security system, this paper suggests ways of testing them as well. Liu and Yu (2007) are some of the authors who came closest to doing this kind of research by analyzing the possible intentions of attackers which are also contained in this paper. They however left the research at that and did not proceed to test the scenarios. According to Liu and Yu (2007), once the attackers’ intentions are identified, the countermeasures to prevent attack can then be identified. They however fail to show the criteria that would be used to prevent attacks. Through the use of the eSAP scenario, Haralambos, Paolo and Gordon bring out the concept so well and even give suggestions on how to handle attacks. It is a good way of testing the effectiveness of a system in handling various security attacks which the management can utilize to establish which system to use in attack prevention. This is in line with what Liu and Yu (2009) suggest. According to them, a system can only be useful if it performs the job it is designed for. As an example, there is no way a system can allow every employee in a department to have a password and expect that this to be a secure way of protecting their system from attackers. This is a well researched article and it would be right to say that it is valid both in terms of facts and expressions made by the authors. Before the authors could perform the test, a set of scenarios are selected which are then put through a scenario validation procedure. This is done using software inspections so that the data validity is assured. The authors also make use of numerous sources to as backup for the study which makes the information contained valid to a large extent. Conclusion A paper that succeeds in putting across the desired message is said to be appropriate. If it is of benefit, then it is useful to the leaders. Should the paper give facts that can be evidenced then we can afford to say that it is valid. The article by Haralambos, Paolo and Gordon leaves the reader with a lot of knowledge to grasp. It is well researched using various books and the results can be said to be valid as they made use of a real life situation to test the system. The authors make the article simpler to understand through the use of examples and a diagram. The recommendations given in the paper could also prove useful to future managers and system technicians in designing strategies of attack prevention. References Liu, L. , Yu, E. , Mylopoulos, J. , (2007). Analyzing Security Requirements as Relationships Among Strategic Actors, Proceedings of the 2nd Symposium on Requirements Engineering for Information Security (SREIS’02), Raleigh-North Carolina. Memering, D. (2008). The writer’s work: guide to effective composition. New York: Prentice-Hall. Mouratidis, H. , Giorgini, P. & Manson, G. (2007). Using Security Attack Scenarios to Analyse Security During Information Systems Design. Retrieved on July 20, 2009 from http://homepages. uel. ac. uk/H. Mouratidis/Paper91_CR. pdf O’Donnell, A. (2009). Kaspersky suffers attack on support site, no apparent data breach. Retrieved on July 20, 2009 from http://blogs. zdnet. com/security/? p=2511

Breast Cancer Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Breast Cancer - Research Paper Example ost cases, the onset of breast cancer does not cause pain and has very little noticeable symptoms .When it progresses; some symptoms start to show up including lymph or a small thickening near or in the breast. Other symptoms include change in the size of the breast and nipple discharge. The breast becomes tender or turns inwards and causes skin irritation. Some breasts have some form of dimpling and scaliness. However having one or more of these symptoms does not necessary mean, that one has breast cancer. Cancerous tumors sometimes invade surrounding tissues and often appear in the liver, bones, brain, or lungs. People should know the symptoms of breast cancer to ensure early diagnosis. Other symptoms include change in skin texture or enlargement of pores or selling of the breast or any shrinkage. Treatment of breast cancer has different forms that include surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, biological therapy, and hormone therapy. All these treatments can be used together or individually. It depends on the diagnosis and stage of the cancer .Screening of breast cancer is done at the early stages but diagnosis happens at a later stage when someone has the symptoms as discussed above. Doctors must take into consideration the grade and stage of cancer, general health, and whether a patient has reached menopause. When it comes to surgery it depends on the type of cancer someone has, which is then followed by chemotherapy or biological treatment that also depends on the type of cancer. According to Andreeva and Pokhrel (2013) Europe is divided into Eastern Europe, Western Europe. Eastern Europe has many economically, and culturally distinct nations that are marked by post communist transitions, detrimental health practices and underfunded prevention measures. Breast cancer cases in Eastern Europe are mostly diagnosed at late stages. Screening of women varies widely; about 57 percent of Hungarian women and 3% of Georgian women were seen to have been examined

Human Resource Planning and Recruitment strategies Essay

Human Resource Planning and Recruitment strategies - Essay Example The present global financial meltdown has created real and urgent human resource issues for organizations throughout the world. Everything seems to be shrouded in uncertainty. Employers are unsure of how events will play out in the near future, while employees sit tight, holding fast to the job on hand, not because they don't want better opportunities but because everything is in a stand still. KPMG is a global network of professional services firms providing Audit, Tax and Advisory services. The firm has a total of 137,000 outstanding professionals working together to deliver value in 144 countries worldwide. The realities created by the present global financial crisis are poles apart from what used to obtain when the global economic climate was good. Being a firm that recruits high flyers and top graduates, there was always a high turnover in manpower before the crisis began. People were leaving and coming in at a fast rate. This implied that HR was always on its feet and on the move. Consulting jobs from clients streamed in whether employees went out on marketing or not. The reputation of the company attracted new clients every day. Sometimes the firm had no option other than to reject jobs that are not value adding According to Vetter (1967, p15), Human Resources Planning is "the process by which management determines how the organization should move from its current manpower position to its desired position. Through planning, management strives to have the right number and the right kinds of people, at the right places, at the right time, doing things which result in both the organization and the individual receiving maximum long-run benefits". Writing in the American Psychologist, Jackson and Schuler (1990, pg 227) state that "traditionally human resource planning occurs within the context of the overall organizational plan and its strategic focus. It generally involves predicting, in the light of prevailing circumstances and past performance, the organization's future human resource needs and planning for those needs to be met". It includes establishing objectives and then developing and implementing programs (staffing, appraising, compensating, and training) to ensure that people are available with the appropriate characteristics and skills when and where the organization needs them. The biting economic climate has affected planning in several organizations. Now more than ever, there is uncertainty about the future and how things will

Brown v Board of Education Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Brown v Board of Education - Research Paper Example Thus, public schools could achieve only limited success in integration of white and black students in desegregated schools. A study involving six communities and schools reveals that educators tried to convince the middle class white parents and students for desegregation so as to prevent them from moving out which would make the public schools economically unviable. At the same time, black students were often asked to leave their community schools by offering them bus facilities and such actions resulted in the closure of those black schools. (Wells, Holmes and Revilla). The policy makers tried to bring about color blindness in toto. It was to some extent achieved as stated by the authors â€Å"†¦.when several of the districts and schools we studied had seen a great deal of racial tension and even â€Å"rioting†. By the late 70s, a degree of clam had returned; not talking about race seemed the best way to â€Å"keep the peace† and â€Å"to keep the lid on things † (Wells, Holmes and Revilla 13). Major Claim   A Prejudice and unequal treatment Although schools were desegregated and students of color and whites started attending the same public schools, the administration put the black students in separate class rooms within the same schools. Their needs were often ignored (Wells, Holmes and Revilla). African Americans are over represented in special education The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)3 provides for free public education to students with disabilities. This special education efforts call for initiatives on the part of schools to have appropriate procedures to ensure that a child referred for special education is actually a child with... The paper tells that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) provides for free public education to students with disabilities. This special education efforts call for initiatives on the part of schools to have appropriate procedures to ensure that a child referred for special education is actually a child with disability requiring special education. It is often the case that wrong cases of children are referred for special education. It is especially the case with African American students in many districts of the country. This results in a disproportionate representation of group membership for special education. Overrepresentation in special education is said to occur when the membership of a particular group, say African Americans is found to be larger than the percentage of that group in the overall educational system or within a given disability group. Such a variance is a cause for concern (Council For Exceptional Children and Black School Education). It has been contended that disproportionate representation of African American students in special education results due to inadequate/wrong allocation of educational resources, wrongful curriculum and pedagogy, and insufficient teacher preparation. The White privilege and racism is charged with referring disproportionate number of African American students for special education categories such as mental retardation and learning disabilities. Such students once labeled as such tend to show results in achievement gains and come out of special education at rates much higher than those of their counterparts in White students with disabilities.

Environmental audit Tesco Plc Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Environmental audit Tesco Plc - Coursework Example The company chosen for study is Tesco Plc which is the biggest multinational general merchandise and grocery retailer in United Kingdom. The company operates in over 2,315 stores globally with over 1,875 stores in UK. It also has significant presence in North America, Asia and Europe. The total revenue of the company for the year ending 2013 was over  £ 64.8 billion while net income after taxes was over  £ 120 million. Tesco PLC was founded by Jack Cohen in 1919 as a group of market stalls. The company is listed on London Stock Exchange and has over 6350 stores globally. It is also a constituent of FTSE 100 Index. The company is headquartered in Chestnut, Hertfordshire of England. The company has huge geographical diversification into areas like clothing, furniture, electronics, financial services, retailing of books, internet services, software, music downloads, DVD rental, and so on. Tesco Stores Ltd is a subsidiary of Tesco PLC in United Kingdom. ... 64.8 billion while net income after taxes was over ? 120 million. Tesco PLC was founded by Jack Cohen in 1919 as a group of market stalls. The company is listed on London Stock Exchange and has over 6350 stores globally. It is also a constituent of FTSE 100 Index. The company is headquartered in Chestnut, Hertfordshire of England (TESCO, 2013, pp.3-16). The company has huge geographical diversification into areas like clothing, furniture, electronics, financial services, retailing of books, internet services, software, music downloads, DVD rental, and so on. Tesco Stores Ltd is a subsidiary of Tesco PLC in United Kingdom. The company offers a wide range of personal finance services both offline and online. The relative position of Tesco’s market share with respect to other foremost players in the market is depicted as follows: (Source: t1ps.com, 2012) External Business Environment Analysis Global recession during 2007 to 2009 has substantial impact on the overall retail indust ry across the world. During the year 2012, retail growth was only 1.2% and it was the third lowest in the history retail industry of UK in last 40 years. Thus, the macro-economy significantly influences organizations’ strategy by influencing the surroundings of the industry. The external environment determines the outlook of industry and hence it is very important to analyze the external environment in order to formulate appropriate strategy for the organization (TESCO, 2013, pp.8-9). PESTEL Analysis The macro-economic environment is evaluated using the PESTEL analysis that identifies key drivers that influence the company’s strategic decisions. The objective of this analysis is to reveal the impact of various external factors upon a business as well as the industry

Literacy Narrative Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

Literacy Narrative - Essay Example Writing is almost totally based on practice and research. Writing good texts is impossible without concentration, analysis and some basic sense of self-critique. But it is better to stop on each of my discoveries. With my first paper I faced the fact that having a topic and sitting with a laptop and a cup of coffee does not mean writing. It is then I understood that writing requires efforts and concentration. A good writer must create his work word by word stringing the beads. Distraction can cause loss of thought and that is why a person must make efforts to write. Only later much later writing becomes natural and the words start flowing. But I have to say that this principle is applicable to any sphere of human life: on the first stages you only try, fail, develop some skills and only then the process becomes easier and brings pleasure. Analytical thinking is another thing that is a must in writing. The pleasant bonus is that it is extremely useful in real life and writing helps to improve it. When creating my first texts I had to choose and assess arguments, ideas, and concepts from different sides and decide if they are relevant to my work or not. It was very difficult often to consider some theories and concepts that are both right but still are opposite. So it is challenging sometimes to have one stable opinion regarding something. So it is a writer who decides which facts are more important and more persuasive and which are irrelevant with the help of critical analysis. Analytical thinking is the ability to analyze information critically, to define relevant from irrelevant, to structure information in your own words. Several discoveries were not as pleasant as I wanted them to be. Speaking about structure it turned out that it can be another serious ordeal to clear perception of the text. I did not realize it for a long time and paid little attention to making text coherent and logical. Sometimes it was much easier to write everything

Globalisation and mass media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Globalisation and mass media - Essay Example vior that makes up the institutional structure of a larger society, mass media is a considered a system which enables us to communicate messages and symbols to the public† (Herman & Chomsky 1988, p. 5). One of the most significant impact of globalization towards the mass media is the change in the type of mass media ownership not only from within but also outside the national borders. For instance: Between 1970s and 1980s, the independent newspaper publishers like Washington Star and Philadelphia Bulletin were all earning good profit until the rapid development of information and communication technology existed (Compaine & Gomery 2000, p. 1). Since a large number of newspaper readers are able to gain access to electronic news information, some of the independent newspaper companies were forced to enter into merger contracts or buy-outs in order to make the company financially survive the challenges within the global markets. Over the years, similar changes took place in other form of mass media including book publishing and the magazine, radio, television, Aiming to give the readers a better understanding of the impact of globalization on mass media, a literature review will be provided regarding the main purpose of globalization. Eventually, a social scientific research will be conducted to determine the political economy of the modern mass media. In the process of going through the main discussion, a full overiew with regards to the impact of globalization on mass media will be tackled followed by contextualizing its development which started to occur during the twenteeth century. Prior to conclusion, the most current issues that are being debated by the mass media people aside from the possible economic, social, and political consequences of these issues towards the cultural industries will be thoroughly analyzed and discussed. Globalization is a process of interaction and integration of the world economy, culture, technology, business governance, human