Restaurant free essay sample

This proposal is intended to pinpoint the problems and introduce actions or solutions for the active restaurant operator-owner and manager who are involved in the Moviante Restaurant. The analysis is divided into four parts: (1) problem identification, (2) causes of the problems, (3) solutions to the problems, and (4) recommendations. Additionally, there will be a complete discussion on problem solving designed to avoid future, foreseeable undesired outcomes. Statement of the Problem Mark Jaslow, the manager of Moviante, described that the business level in the spring and summer of 1998 was booming. However, from November on, business began to decline. Even the effort to eliminate costs such as labor hours, laundry expenses, and advertising budget seemed to be useless. Further, Moviante discontinued offering lunch in December owing to the fact that the advertisements for lunch specials failed significantly to promote business. According to the income statement of 1998, Moviante has suffered operating losses of $3,208. This loss is primarily due to declining sales revenue while increasing in operating expenses. We will write a custom essay sample on Restaurant or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page What actions should Moviante take in order to reverse annual loss of this year as well as any losses that possibly incur in the future? Problem Identification 1. Operating Loss – this is a major problem of the restaurant. As shown in 1998 income statement, total costs are approximately 90 percent of total sales. This showed a red flag of the restaurant. Also, the majority of restaurant sales come from weekend nights rather than the weekdays (See Table1). Operating Times| Sales Volume/week| Percentage of Total Sales| Weekdays| $3,000| 40%| Weekend nights| $4,500| 60%| Total| $7,000| 100%| Table1: Sale Volume per week 2. Advertising and Promotion – according to an informal survey of 25 residents within a ten mile radius of Ithaca conducted in February 1999, no respondents recognized the name â€Å"Moviante†. More surprisingly, they did not know what it was or where it was located. Furthermore, of all the coupon ads that advertise in the valley’s free newspaper with a circulation of 29,000, only ten coupons were redeemed. The restaurant was promoted using 13 local newspapers within a 30 mile radius, 1 free valley newspaper, New York Times, New York Magazine, local radio station. Indeed, the restaurant had placed advertisements using these media; however, Ithaca residents did not know or hear about it. Therefore, the problem here with regard to media used and advertising or promotion strategies is another major concern. 3. Target Market – Moviante is located on a side street in the college town of Ithaca, New York. Because of easy accessibility to Route 80, the restaurant would capture the transient vacationer who might be enroute to ski, camp, or fish. According to Schore, he said the major problem was how to divert those travelers from the superhighway and into Ithaca. Nevertheless, the restaurant firstly offered different meal periods to attract different customers (See Table2). Meal Period| Target Market| Lunch| Intown and regional businesses| Dinner| Remote areas| Afternoon snack| Students, shoppers, locals| Brunch| Remote areas| Late night snack| Students, locals| Table 2: Meal Period and Target Market Take out| Locals| The strategy of attracting different customers with different meal periods did not work out very well because the majority of customers were described as mostly upper middle class couples in the $30,000-$40,000 income bracket from the surrounding cities within half an hour of Ithaca. As a result, the problem here is that the target customers are not the people who mainly patronize the restaurant. 4. Menu – items on the menu seems to be another problem of Moviante. Of the ten items on dinner menu, one was vegetarian while the rest of them were seafood and meat. Clearly, no variety of items was offered to vegetarian customers. Further, Moviante served much the same menu for lunch and dinner, only portions and prices were different. The menu was not created in such a way that can attract new customers. These all shortcomings would bring in the restaurant’s menu problem. Causes of the Problems There are a lot of symptoms stated and occurred at the restaurant. To make sure that these symptoms really cause the problems, it is necessary to verify each symptom closely. The problems stated earlier are involved with operating loss, advertising and promotion, target market, and menu. The following are those that cause the restaurant problems. 1. Management – the restaurant began to decline in sales revenue, incurring operating loss since November 1998. Obviously, this loss happened right after Mark Jaslow was promoted to be the manager of Moviante. Jaslow had been employed as a cook in New York City for the past six years and was just finishing his Hotel and Restaurant management degree at Cornell University. He was originally hired as the cashier/assistant manager in March 1998. He who has very few months of management experiences, are now responsible for all areas from the front to the back of the house. It would be problematic for a job that used to have two persons (Schore and Quinn as a co-manager) responsible for transferring to a job of one person. Perhaps, job overloading can result in an ineffective performance. It is also known that poor organizational structure and poor management are the major causes contributing to the firm’s failure (Reich, 1998). 2. Marketing – one of the problems stated earlier is target customers are not the people who mainly patronize the restaurant. Moviante did not have clear marketing objectives, a detailed action plan of marketing strategies, as well as an effective marketing research and information system. Each of these factors deprives the restaurant of achieving its target market and business’s goals. According to survey, most Ithaca residents still did not know â€Å"Moviante† in spite of the restaurant’s marketing effort. Indeed, the restaurant’s target market was not clearly defined. Each group of the target market should be clarified regarding age, income, education, geographical area, and preference. As a result, the restaurant would not be able to develop an effective marketing strategy if the target customers were not defined clearly and correctly at the first place (Kerin Peterson, 2001). 3. Advertising and Promotion – all of the restaurant advertisements were eventually cancelled in November 1998 due to the operating loss. Ineffective use of promotional mix such as public relations, personal selling, and sales promotion can be a major cause keeping Moviante away from reaching sales volume. Obviously, Moviante failed to increase customer awareness of the restaurant and entice first-time buyers to try the restaurant. Hence, there would be difficult for the restaurant to create new customers, gaining a higher percentage of repeat customers. Advertising message is another cause of the restaurant problem. Simply stated â€Å"Moviante† and included a description of its food with the address and hours of operation would not entice or catch people’s attention. Below is the figure illustrated that the restaurant spent 75 percent on the simply stated â€Å"Moviante† ads while spending 25 percent on more informative ads with specific details about the food with redeemable coupons offered. 4. Menu – as far as the restaurant profit is concerned, the menu and menu planning are front and center in the restaurant business. The menu is the most important ingredient in guests’ experience (Walker Lundberg, 2001). Observations from menu in many Italian restaurants, northern Italian style restaurants are likely to offer green spinach noodles served with butter and grated Parmesan cheese. Also, items such as â€Å"gnocchi† which are dumplings made of semolina flour and â€Å"saltimbocca† which is made of thin slices of veal rolled with ham and fotina cheese and cooked in butter and Marsala wine are examples of popular items at the northern Italian restaurants (Walker Lundberg, 2001). However, Moviante which defined as northern Italian cuisine did not have any of those itemed mentioned appeared on its menu. Accordingly, lack of popular menu items, variety of items, vegetarian choices, and kids’ menu are the drawbacks of Moviante restaurant. Analysis of Alternatives or Solutions The following solutions were assessed and analyzed based on statement of problems and causes. The solutions were developed in order to help Moviante solve current problems and prevent foreseeable undesired outcomes. These also help the restaurant to succeed in the areas of profitability, customer satisfaction, as well as employee satisfaction which are the best wishes for all restaurant businesses. (Reich, 1998). 1. Management – key alternatives for Moviante regarding management include: * Develop management philosophy – this is a profound step that can leads to the restaurant success or failure (Reich, 1998). All stockholders and manager should have a meeting and clearly discuss about the relationship among sales volume, profit volume, and amount of service to be offered. * Organizational structure – an operational structure will facilitate the smooth operation of the restaurant (Kreck, 1978). Even though Moviante is operating as a small business, organizational structure is necessary. Using functional approach recommended by Reich (1998) to form an organizational chart, Moviante restaurant may be divided into dining room, kitchen, management, marketing, and finance/accounting. Additionally, having a clearly organizational structure can help the restaurant examine in detail of the tasks and jobs to be performed by each person (Walker Lundberg, 2001). * Evaluating and training – continually operating without performance evaluation is not motivated employees to make the best out of their ability. Training is also key to keeping satisfied, capable, confident, and competent employees (Walker Lundberg, 2001). Accordingly, all employees at the Moviante restaurant should be trained periodically to successfully meet restaurant goals. . Marketing – key alternatives for Moviante are provided to solve these three major problems: (1) Moviante did not have a clear set of marketing objectives and strategies, (2) Moviante current distribution methods did not reach profitable market segments, (3) Moviante did not effectively use promotional mix variable to maximize its sales revenue. * Marketing objectives – this includes identifying target market an d establishing goals for each market segment (Abbey, 1993). First of all, Moviante needs to identify the types of market segments to be solicited. Moviante’s current market segments are too broad and vague, making it difficult for the restaurant to penetrate to all of them within a limited budget. However, the plan to capture the transient vacationer who might be enroute to ski, camp, or fish, as well as people from the city heading to the country want to stop in Ithaca is interesting. According to the study of consumer behavior, transient vacationer and visitors are more likely to spend much money in the restaurant along their way to travel than those of local people who live close or nearby that restaurant (Hawkins, Best, Coney, 2004). This group of people would help the restaurant generate higher average check. However, the local people should not be overlooking because these group can maintain the sales volume during the weekdays. * Marketing strategies – after target market is clearly defined, now the restaurant would be able to do the action plan for each market segment. The action plans should include advertising strategies and media planning to use for each segment. The table below shows potential market segment with planned advertising media: Target Market| Promotion Techniques| Advertising Media| Transient vacationers, visitors| * Coupon redemption * Happy hours| * Join the Chamber of Commerce with the promotion of â€Å"Main Street Ithaca† * Brochures, flyers, Website | Local residents (i. e. students, shoppers, regional businesses| * Coupon redemption * Happy hours, senior discounts * Support local sports team| * Radio, direct mail, newspapers * Sample menus, posters * Restaurant’s own Website| 3. Menu engineering – key alternatives to menu problems include: * Prepare a well-written menu – to make it easier for customers to read, menu should be organized, clean, and fresh in appearance (Gordon Brezinski, 1999). It is recommended that the price on the restaurant’s menu be aligned on the right. Also, too much detailed item description is wasted. * Items on the menu – as stated earlier in the causes of problem, Moviante as a northern Italian ethnic restaurant, should adopt popular items which have been used widely and successfully in other Italian cuisines. According to the consumer behavior study by Hawkins, Best, Coney (2004) customers are more likely to patronize the restaurants that offer popular items rather than those that offer ordinary dishes. * Special menu – with a growing number of people who are concerned more about what they consume, special menus including vegetarian meals, low-fat, or low-carb items are becoming to grow. More and more restaurants are providing specialty items to attract customers (Ruggless, 2003). As a result, Moviante needs to offer more vegetarian items and stay abreast to the consumer’s trends. Kids’ menu – the whole attitude of full-service restaurants changed when the fast-food restaurants started to appeal to families with kids by offering kid meals at desired sizes and prices (Gordon Brezinski, 1999). Most of the transient vacationers and visitors are more likely to be families with kids. Offering kids’ menu would be a good opportunity for the restaurant to brin g in more customers. Conclusions and Recommendations * The restaurant’s operating loss occurred since November 1998 was due to the major causes of poor management, lack of organizational structure, marketing and promotion problems, as well as menu problems. A restaurant needs a series of marketing programs that target its variety of customer segments and are designed to generate additional traffic from among the growing year-round resident population – particularly during the off-season. Accordingly, the restaurant should target and attract seasonal residents, visitors, and vacationers – in and out of Ithaca area. * Moviante’s marketing activities should take into account the lifestyles of the Ithaca residents, which are made up of year-round residents, seasonal residents, and tourists. * Weekend dinner business presents the biggest meal period sales volume. Hence, marketing programs are needed to address these meal period opportunities. * The restaurant’s new menu should be promoted. A great deal of thought and effort has gone into designing a menu that will communicate a better price/value perception than the current menu. Promotion of the new menu will also help promote the image of the restaurant. * Steps should be taken to improve the restaurant’s awareness in the community. * Generating groups and party business to maximize use of the areas of the restaurant. * Promotion incentives that encourage and reward purchase frequency over specified time periods may be employed. Decorating the restaurant in the holiday’s theme.

Essay on Anxiety and Coerce， 使满 Suffice

Essay on Anxiety and Coerceï ¼Å' ä ½ ¿Ã¦ » ¡ Suffice Essay on Anxiety and Coerceï ¼Å' ä ½ ¿Ã¦ » ¡ Suffice * ä ½Å"æâ€"‡æ› ¿Ã¦  ¢Ã¨ ¯  Ã¥ ¾â€"åˆ °Ã¯ ¼Å'ä »ËœÃ¥â€¡ º ä »ËœÃ¥â€¡ º ç »â„¢ Give, offer, endow, endue, present, bestow, provide, supply, furnish Impart, instruct, apprise, teach, instill, inculcate, Proffer, confer, donate, contribute, subscribe, bequeath, Issue, flow out, release, æ” ¯Ã¥â€¡ º Cost, spend, pay, pay out, expend, disburse, Prodigal, profligate, splurge, spendthrift, dissipate frugal, scrimp, skimp, abstemious, Expenditure, subvention, Ã¥ ½â€™Ã¨ ¿Ëœ,Ã¥  ¿439 Return, hand out, restore, reciprocate, remunerate, revert, Compensate, reimburse, indemnify, expiate, atonement, Salary, remuneration, Emolument, honorarium, 分é…  Distribute, allocate, issue, hand out, apportion, allot, dispense, ration, allot, assign,designate; Distribution, dispensation ration, allotment æâ€" ½Ã¥Å    impose, entail, exert, inflict, suppress, subjugate, compress ,repress, coerceï ¼Å' ä ½ ¿Ã¦ » ¡ Suffice, satiate, satisfy, cater, sate, meet requirement, gratify Suffuse, implant, instill, infuse, fill, impregnate, æ” ¾Ã¥ ¼Æ' Relinquish, give up, disclaim, abdicate, abjure, waive, renounce, recant, wean, forsake, abdicate, desert, forswear, renounce, repudiate, forgo, disown, disavow, abandon Renunciation, èŽ ·Ã¥ ¾â€" Ã¥ ¾â€"åˆ ° Get, receive, Accept, attain, acquire, obtain, gain, repossess, retrieve, procure, catch, Earn, profit, embezzle, peculate, defalcate, graft, appropriate, Obtainable, accessible, receptive, Receiver, recipient, procurement Ã¥ ¤ º Deprive, take away, exact, extort, dispossess, bereave, divest, strip, Loot, ravage, ransack, sack, despoil, plunder, rapine, snatch, ,exploit, distill, Confiscate, impound, sequestrate, forfeit, expropriate Exaction, depredation, spoliation, Ã¥  ¸Ã¥ ¼â€¢ Attract, appeal, fascinate, draw, charm, intrigue, enchant, tempt, allure, enchant, enthrall, rivet, fix, spellbind, intoxicate, engross, occupy, captivate, enamor, Attractive, appealing, charming, pleasing, attractiveness, fascination, charisma, personal, magnetism, attraction, fascination, Ã¥Å'…å  «510 | Contain, consist of, comprise, cover, encompass, span, contain, encompass, subsume, consist of, include, involve, embroil, implicate, ; Configuration componentï ¼Å' éÅ"ۏ ¦ , Require, call for, need, demand, necessitate, Necessary, required, requisite, essential, Requisite, prerequisite, requirement, precondition, ä ½ ¿ ä ½ ¿ Cause to be, make, lead to, render, turn into, trigger, activate, cause, è ¦ Ã¦ ±â€šÃ¯ ¼Å'è ¯ ·Ã¦ ±â€šÃ¯ ¼Å' Request, ask, entreat, demand, petition, appeal to Solicit, invoke, plead, implore, beseech, adjure, Dictate, command, mandate, order, instruct, charge, Imperative, essential, compulsory, mandatory, urgent, obligatory, Request, requisition, petition, invocation; ä ¿Æ'ä ½ ¿Ã¯ ¼Å' åŠ Ã¨ ¯ ´Ã¯ ¼Å' Advise, urge, argue, advocate, persuade, sway, influence, Convince, expostulate, exhort, hortative åˆ ºÃ¦ ¿â‚¬Ã¯ ¼Å' æ ¿â‚¬Ã¥ â€˜Ã¯ ¼Å'é ¼â€œÃ¥Å  ± Stimulate, activate, spur, incite, agitate, inspire, arouse, excite, provoke, actuate, incite, foment, stir up, trigger, Kindle, enkindle, ignite encourage, motivate, invigorate, prompt, instigate, Impetuous, impulsive; Drive, motivation, incentive, inducement, impetus æŽ ¨Ã¥Å  ¨Ã¯ ¼Å'é © ±Ã¥Å  ¨Ã¯ ¼Å'è ¿ «Ã¤ ½ ¿ Push, drive, propel, force, oblige, propel, compel goad Ã¥ ¨ Ã©â‚¬ ¼Ã¥Ë† ©Ã¨ ¯ ± æ ¬ ºÃ© ªâ€"ï ¼Å' ä ¼ ªÃ¨ £â€¦ Deceive, dupe, cheat, swindle, hoodwink, Disguise, Duplicity, artifice, chicanery, deception, scheme, subterfuge, duplicity. Ã¥ ¼â€¢Ã¨ ¯ ± Beguile, lure, tempt, allure, entice, tantalize, coax, delude, cozen, beguile,, Guile, deceit, cunning, wile, trickery Wily Ã¥ ¨ Ã¥ â€œ Threaten, menace, intimidate ,hector, frighten, bully, Threatening, menacing, Threat, menace å… Ã¨ ® ¸,æ‰ ¿Ã¨ ® ¤ Allow, let, permit, license Allowance, license, permission, consent, sanction, authorization Ã¥ ¿Æ'ç â€  æÆ' ³Ã¨ ¦  æÅ"ŸæÅ"› Expect, look forward to, wait for, look ahead to, suppose, anticipate, await æ ¬ ²Ã¦Å"ݕ ¼Å'æ ¬ ²Ã¦ ±â€š Wish, want, desire, long, yearn, aspire, crave, hanker, covet: Desirous, eager, avid, greedy, acquisitive, much desired, coveted, ambitious, enterprising; Longing, aspiration, yearning, ambition, avarice, desire for, appetite, desire æ„ Ã¥â€º ¾ Intend, tend to, mean, plan, be inclined to, predispose, resolve, prone to, apt to, disposed

Brand Background Of Starwood And Marriott Marketing Essay

Brand Background Of Starwood And Marriott Marketing Essay A brand enables customers to remember the core information about a product, and prevents competitors from making imitation. (Aaker, 1991). Successful brand building helps profitability by adding value that entices customers to buy (De Chernatony and McDonald, 1994). It is also becoming clearer that companies creating strong brands can obtain important competitive advantage over those that do no (Kohli and Thakor, 1997). Whenever a marketer creates a new name, logo or symbol for a new product, he or she has created a brand (Keller, 2003). According to the American Marketing Association’s definition, brand is a â€Å"name, term, sign, symbol or design, or group of sellers, and to differentiate them from those o f the competition†. Another definition given by Farquhar (Farquhar, 1989) is â€Å"a name, symbol, design or mark that enhances the value of product beyond its functional purposes†. The brand creates a more favorable view of the product, relative to others in the market. If successfully built, a brand will add value for customers, and is the underlying reason for purchase. This can bring profitability to the firm (Laforet, 1996). In this report, two hotel groups were chosen for analysis and comparison with the perspective of branding: Starwood and Marriott, both are the leader in lodging industry. Starwood Hotels & Worldwide, Inc is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with more than 992 properties in approximately 97 countries and 145,000 employees at its owned and managed properties (Starwood). Starwood Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels, resorts and residences. Starwood Hotels also owns Starwood Vacation ownership, Inc, one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. As one of the largest operators of upper-upscale and luxury hotels, its global portfolio is unmatched. Starwood remains on track to increase its world-wide foot p rint by 20% over the next five years through smart, carefully targeted growth that will expand its presence in the upper upscale and luxury hotel categories, as well as in the vital limited service segment. Exhibit 1 shows all the brands of Starwood, including Luxury full-service hotels, Luxury and upscale full – service hotels, Select-service hotels, extended stay hotels. The company divides its nine brands into four levels: luxury full-service hotels, luxury and upscale full-service, select-service, extended stay. Judging from the room quantity of each brand, the most two popular brands are Sheraton with 392 properties and Westin with 165 properties. The brands with the least sites are St Regis with 19 properties and Element with only 6 properties. It means that there is much less guests knowing St Regis and Elements than the people knowing Sheraton and Westin. Compared with Starwood, Marriott has more than 3150 lodging properties located 69 countries and territories (Marri ott) with 20 brands, including the newest one – Autograph collection, which was announced on 25th January 2010 (hospitalitynet, 2010). Exhibit 2 showed Marriott’s brands, including luxury lodging, full-service lodging, select-service lodging, extended stay lodging and timeshare. Brand has specific purposes, and businesses should invest in it only with specific aims in mind. It is a form of information, and is most valuable where customers have the least specific information, the least ability to obtain information, the least clarity on evaluation criteria, and the least time or inclination to obtain product information (Keller, 2008). Among all the Marriott’s luxury brands, there is only one brand and logo telling people that it is belong to Marriott group. Ritz-Carlton is often thought as an independent company and has no relationship with Marriott. Bulgari is originally a jewelry company and nothing to do with hospitality. It is very creative that the two comp anies became partners and launched a new brand in lodging industry, but it is difficult for people to associate these two brands. And for Edition, it was planned to open the first property in 2010, but so far, the official website (http://www.editionhotels.com) has not launched any new information.

Applied paramedic practice Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Applied paramedic practice - Assignment Example 2. For my personal development so far, I feel that my skills of taking a patient’s history and performing a physical examination are better than I previously was able to do. Part of this success is due to repetition--doing the same task over and over again. Also, I have improved with the reassessment of vital signs and interventions to see if I have used appropriate treatment of I have need to correct a mistake. 3. My experience of the past weeks has shown that there are some problems that I need to address. I can do so by improve my knowledge and skills in certain areas. I used to struggle with some of the knowledge, but I have been determined to make improvements so that I can achieve all of my objectives for this course. I still have a lot to learn, but I hope that by the end of this course I will be able to identify all of my strengths and weaknesses so that I know what I need to work on. 4. There are some new goals that I want to achieve in the short term. Over the next few weeks, I would like to focus on the pathophysiology principle so that I can improve my assessment skills. This is really important to me because it will help show where I am academically right now. Also, I want to be able to identify ECG and all of the paramedic drugs. These skills will come in handy in the future. 5. The applied paramedic practice topic is a comprehensive approach to everything that we have learned over the last three years. The integration of the areas of the curriculum helps me to assess patients and prescribe them with the right type of treatment. This is not only beneficial from the patient’s point of view, but it also gives me confidence because I understand what I am

Cybersecurity Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 8

Cybersecurity - Coursework Example Having maliciously developed functional Private keys from one Secure Socket Layer certificate, attackers can use these keys to sign other certificates. This weakness in MD5 hashing exposes risk to information in systems because attackers can easily pass off fake Certificates of authority. In some cases, this algorithm has been subjected to reversing which allows attackers to crack passwords. It is therefore safer for CAs to opt for safer algorithms like SHA-1 and SHA-2. The suggestion that a system of ‘least privilege’ is the best way of restricting information damage is viable. Putting in place at least privilege policy in an organization would be the most appropriate way to manage information damage and misuse. This policy guarantees that not a single person is granted an indiscriminate clearance level of data therefore; the risk of exposure to malicious damage is reduced. Division of duty also works well especially in the IT department in cases where accidental erasure of data is experienced. The loss is then only limited to the level of access that particular staff has. It is therefore appropriate to grant staff in the organization access to information only on a need

Ancient history Essay Example for Free

Ancient history Essay Lebanon   French: Republique libanaise), is a country on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It is bordered by Syria to the north and east, and Israel to the south. Lebanons location at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian hinterland has dictated its rich history, and shaped a cultural identity of religious and ethnic diversity. [8] The earliest evidence of civilization in Lebanon dates back more than 7,000 years—predating recorded history. [9] Lebanon was the home of the Phoenicians, a maritime culture that flourished for nearly 2,500 years (3000–539 BC). Following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire after World War I, the five provinces that comprise modern Lebanon were mandated to France. The French expanded the borders of Mount Lebanon, which was mostly populated by Maronite Catholics and Druze, to include more Muslims. Lebanon gained independence in 1943, and established a unique political system, known as confessionalism, a power-sharing mechanism based on religious communities. French troops withdrew in 1946. Before the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990), the country experienced a period of relative calm and prosperity, driven by tourism, agriculture, and banking. [10] Because of its financial power and diversity, Lebanon was known in its heyday as the Switzerland of the East. [11] It attracted large numbers of tourists,[12] such that the capital Beirut was referred to as Paris of the Middle East. At the end of the war, there were extensive efforts to revive the economy and rebuild national infrastructure. [13] Until July 2006, Lebanon enjoyed considerable stability, Beiruts reconstruction was almost complete,[14] and increasing numbers of tourists poured into the nations resorts. [12] Then, the month-long 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah caused significant civilian death and heavy damage to Lebanons civil infrastructure. However, due to its tightly regulated financial system, Lebanese banks have largely avoided the financial crisis of 2007–2010. In 2009, despite a global recession, Lebanon enjoyed 9% economic growth and hosted the largest number of tourists in its history. Etymology The name Lebanon comes from the Semitic root lbn, meaning white, likely a reference to the snow-capped Mount Lebanon. [15] Occurrences of the name have been found in texts from the library of Ebla,[16] which date to the third millennium BC, nearly 70 times in the Hebrew Bible, and three of the twelve tablets of the Epic of Gilgamesh (perhaps as early as 2100 BC)[17]. The name is recorded in Ancient Egyptian as Rmnn, where R stood for Canaanite L. [18] Ancient history Main article: History of ancient Lebanon Evidence of the earliest known settlements in Lebanon was found in Byblos, which is considered to be one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world,[9] and date back to earlier than 5000 BC. Archaeologists discovered remnants of prehistoric huts with crushed limestone floors, primitive weapons, and burial jars left by the Neolithic and Chalcolithic fishing communities who lived on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea over 7,000 years ago. [19] Lebanon was the homeland of the Phoenicians, a seafaring people that spread across the Mediterranean before the rise of Cyrus the Great. [20] After two centuries of Persian rule, Macedonian ruler Alexander the Great attacked and burned Tyre, the most prominent Phoenician city. Throughout the subsequent centuries leading up to recent times, the country became part of numerous succeeding empires, among them Persian, Assyrian, Hellenistic, Roman, Eastern Roman, Arab, Seljuk, Mamluk, Crusader, and the Ottoman Empire.

The Hartford Whalers Are Going Going ... :: essays research papers

The Hartford Whalers Are Going Going ...   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Hartford Whalers are in a very tough situation at this time. When Peter Karmanos bought the team in May of 1994, he inherited the worst lease agreement at the smallest arena in the NHL.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Hartford Civic Center lease agreement creates profit for private companies; however, the lease causes the Whalers to lose money. The mall is owned and operated by Aetna; therefore it has nothing to do with the Whalers. The city of Hartford owns the coliseum, parking garage, and exhibition hall. The state of Connecticut pays a 1.6 million dollar annual leasing fee to take control of the coliseum, parking garage, and exhibition hall. The state hired Ogden Entertainment Services to run the coliseum, and Ogden receives all of the revenue from luxury boxes, the coliseum club, advertisements, rental fees and the exhibition hall. The state also hired Kinney Systems to run the parking garage and Service America Corporation to run the concessions. Both companies receive all revenue from the service they run. After all of this, there is no money left for the Hartford Whalers (Swift & Arace, 1+).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The reason why these three companies keep all of the revenue from the Civic Center can be blamed on Richard Gordon, the former owner of the Whalers who did not want the city of Hartford to run the Civic Center. In 1993, the state decided to negotiate a new lease with the Whalers. The state of Connecticut did not want to run the coliseum so they hired three private companies to take this job. These companies would only run the Civic Center if they could keep all of the revenue from the service they controlled. Richard Gordon accepted this lease because this agreement would repay him for an additional ten million dollars in loses and he sold the team a year later (Lang 53-69).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Hartford Whalers is the only major league team in Connecticut and at the Civic Center. They currently have a bad lease which causes them to lose money. The Hartford Whalers play all exhibition, regular season, playoff games, the training camp, and some practice time rent free at the Civic Center. However, the Whalers get no revenue from concessions, luxury boxes, parking, and the coliseum club. The Whalers get sixty percent of the revenue from advertisements along the boards but no revenue from all other ads around the coliseum (Swift, 1+). The Whalers can leave Hartford after the 1997-98 season if they lose a cumulative thirty million dollars from 1994-95 through 1997-98. They must also pay a five million dollar penalty to leave Hartford.

Storm Born Chapter One

I'd seen weirder things than a haunted shoe, but not many. The Nike Pegasus sat on the office's desk, inoffensive, colored in shades of gray, white, and orange. Some of the laces were loosened, and a bit of dirt clung around the soles. It was the left shoe. As for me, well†¦underneath my knee-length coat, I had a Glock .22 loaded with bullets carrying a higher-than-legal steel content. A cartridge of silver ones rested in the coat's pocket. Two athames lay sheathed on my other hip, one silver-bladed and one iron. Stuck into my belt near them was a wand, hand-carved oak and loaded with enough charmed gems to probably blow up the desk in the corner if I wanted to. To say I felt overdressed was something of an understatement. â€Å"So,† I said, keeping my voice as neutral as possible, â€Å"what makes you think your shoe is†¦uh, possessed?† Brian Montgomery, late thirties with a receding hairline in serious denial, eyed the shoe nervously and moistened his lips. â€Å"It always trips me up when I'm out running. Every time. And it's always moving around. I mean, I never actually see it, but†¦like, I'll take them off near the door, then I come back and find this one under the bed or something. And sometimes†¦sometimes I touch it, and it feels cold†¦really cold†¦like†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He groped for similes and finally picked the tritest one. â€Å"Like ice.† I nodded and glanced back at the shoe, not saying anything. â€Å"Look, Miss†¦Odile†¦or whatever. I'm not crazy. That shoe is haunted. It's evil. You've gotta do something, okay? I've got a marathon coming up, and until this started happening, these were my lucky shoes. And they're not cheap, you know. They're an investment.† It sounded crazy to me – which was saying something – but there was no harm in checking, seeing as I was already out here. I reached into my coat pocket, the one without ammunition, and pulled out my pendulum. It was a simple one, a thin silver chain with a small quartz crystal hanging from it. I laced the chain's end through my fingers and held my flattened hand over the shoe, clearing my mind and letting the crystal hang freely. A moment later, it began to slowly rotate of its own accord. â€Å"Well, I'll be damned,† I muttered, stuffing the pendulum back in my pocket. There was something there. I turned to Montgomery, attempting some sort of badass face, because that was what customers always expected. â€Å"It might be best if you stepped out of the room, sir. For your own safety.† That was only half-true. Mostly I just found lingering clients annoying. They asked stupid questions and could do stupider things, which actually put me at more risk than them. He had no qualms about getting out of there. As soon as the door closed, I found a jar of salt in my satchel and poured a large ring on the office's floor. I tossed the shoe into the middle of it and invoked the four cardinal directions with the silver athame. Ostensibly the circle didn't change, but I felt a slight flaring of power, indicating it had sealed us in. Trying not to yawn, I pulled out my wand and kept holding the silver athame. It had taken four hours to drive to Las Cruces, and doing that on so little sleep had made the distance seem twice as long. Sending some of my will into the wand, I tapped it against the shoe and spoke in a sing-song voice. â€Å"Come out, come out, whoever you are.† There was a moment's silence, then a high-pitched male voice snapped, â€Å"Go away, bitch.† Great. A shoe with attitude. â€Å"Why? You got something better to do?† â€Å"Better things to do than waste my time with a mortal.† I smiled. â€Å"Better things to do in a shoe? Come on. I mean, I've heard of slumming it, but don't you think you're kind of pushing the envelope here? This shoe isn't even new. You could have done so much better.† The voice kept its annoyed tone, not threatening but simply irritated at the interruption. â€Å"I'm slumming it? Do you think I don't know who you are, Eugenie Markham? Dark-Swan-Called-Odile. A blood traitor. A mongrel. An assassin. A murderer.† He practically spit out the last word. â€Å"You are alone among your kind and mine. A bloodthirsty shadow. You do anything for anyone who can pay you enough for it. That makes you more than a mercenary. That makes you a whore.† I affected a bored stance. I'd been called most of those names before. Well, except for my own name. That was new – and a little disconcerting. Not that I'd let him know that. â€Å"Are you done whining? Because I don't have time to listen while you stall.† â€Å"Aren't you being paid by the hour?† he asked nastily. â€Å"I charge a flat fee.† â€Å"Oh.† I rolled my eyes and touched the wand to the shoe again. This time, I thrust the full force of my will into it, drawing upon my own body's physical stamina as well as some of the power of the world around me. â€Å"No more games. If you leave on your own, I won't have to hurt you. Come out.† He couldn't stand against that command and the power within it. The shoe trembled, and smoke poured out of it. Oh, Jesus. I hoped the shoe didn't get incinerated during this. Montgomery wouldn't be able to handle that. The smoke bellowed out, coalescing into a large, dark form about two feet taller than me. With all his wisecracks, I'd sort of expected a saucy version of one of Santa's elves. Instead, the being before me had the upper body of a well-muscled man, while his lower portion resembled a small cyclone. The smoke solidified into leathery gray-black skin, and I had only a moment to act as I assessed this new development. I swapped the wand for the gun, ejecting the clip as I pulled it out. By then, he was lunging for me, and I had to roll out of his way, confined by the circle's boundaries. A keres. A male keres – most unusual. I'd anticipated something fey, which required silver bullets; or a spectre, which required no bullets. Keres were ancient death spirits originally confined to canopic jars. When the jars wore down over time, keres tended to seek out new homes. There weren't too many of them left in this world, and soon there'd be one less. He bore down on me, and I took a nice chunk out of him with the silver blade. I used my right hand, the one I wore an onyx and obsidian bracelet on. Those stones alone would take a toll on a death spirit like him without the blade's help. Sure enough, he hissed in pain and hesitated a moment. I used that delay, scrambling to load the silver cartridge. I didn't quite make it, because soon he was on me again. He hit me with one of those massive arms, slamming me against the walls of the circle. They might be transparent, but they felt as solid as bricks. One of the downsides of trapping a spirit in a circle was that I got trapped too. My head and left shoulder took the brunt of that impact, and pain shot through me in small starbursts. He seemed pretty pleased with himself over this, as overconfident villains so often are. â€Å"You're as strong as they say, but you were a fool to try to cast me out. You should have left me in peace.† His voice was deeper now, almost gravelly. I shook my head, both to disagree and to get rid of the dizziness. â€Å"It isn't your shoe.† I still couldn't swap that goddamned cartridge. Not with him ready to attack again, not with both hands full. Yet I couldn't risk dropping either weapon. He reached for me, and I cut him again. The wounds were small, but the athame was like poison. It would wear him down over time – if I could stay alive that long. I moved to strike at him once more, but he anticipated me and seized hold of my wrist. He squeezed it, bending it in an unnatural position and forcing me to drop the athame and cry out. I hoped he hadn't broken any bones. Smug, he grabbed me by the shoulders with both hands and lifted me up so that I hung face to face with him. His eyes were yellow with slits for pupils, much like some sort of snake's. His breath was hot and reeked of decay as he spoke. â€Å"You are small, Eugenie Markham, but you are lovely and your flesh is warm. Perhaps I should beat the rush and take you myself. I'd enjoy hearing you scream beneath me.† Ew. Had that thing just propositioned me? And there was my name again. How in the world did he know that? None of them knew that. I was only Odile to them, named after the dark swan in Swan Lake, a name coined by my stepfather because of the form my spirit preferred to travel in while visiting the Otherworld. The name – though not particularly terrifying – had stuck, though I doubted any of the creatures I fought knew the reference. They didn't really get out to the ballet much. The keres had my upper arms pinned – I would have bruises tomorrow – but my hands and forearms were free. He was so sure of himself, so overly arrogant and confident, that he paid no attention to my struggling hands. He probably just perceived the motion as a futile effort to free myself. In seconds, I had the clip out and in the gun. I managed one clumsy shot and he dropped me – not gently. I stumbled to regain my balance again. Bullets probably couldn't kill him, but a silver one in the center of his chest would certainly hurt. He stumbled back, half-surprised, and I wondered if he'd ever even encountered a gun before. It fired again, then again and again and again. The reports were loud; hopefully Montgomery wouldn't do something foolish and come running in. The keres roared in outrage and pain, each shot making him stagger backward until he was all the way against the circle's boundary. I advanced on him, retrieved athame flashing in my hand. In a few quick motions, I carved the death symbol on the part of his chest that wasn't bloodied from bullets. An electric charge immediately ran through the air of the circle. Hairs stood up on the back of my neck, and I could smell ozone, like just before a storm. He screamed and leapt forward, renewed by rage or adrenaline or whatever else these creatures ran on. But it was too late for him. He was marked and wounded. I was ready. In another mood, I might have simply banished him to the Otherworld; I tried not to kill if I didn't have to. But that sexual suggestion had just been out of line. I was pissed off now. He'd go to the world of death, straight to Persephone's gate. I fired again to slow him, my aim a bit off with the left hand but still good enough to hit him. I had already traded the athame for the wand. This time, I didn't draw on the power from this plane. With well-practiced ease, I let part of my consciousness slip this world. In moments, I reached the crossroads to the Otherworld. That was an easy transition; I did it all the time. The next crossover was a little harder, especially with me being weakened from the fight, but still nothing I couldn't do automatically. I kept my own spirit well outside of the land of death, but I touched it and sent that connection through the wand. It sucked him in, and his face twisted with fear. â€Å"This is not your world,† I said in a low voice, feeling the power burn through me and around me. â€Å"This is not your world, and I cast you out. I send you to the black gate, to the lands of death where you can either be reborn or fade to oblivion or burn in the flames of hell. I really don't give a shit. Go.† He screamed, but the magic caught him. There was a trembling in the air, a buildup of pressure, and then it ended abruptly, like a deflated balloon. The keres was gone too, leaving only a shower of gray sparkles that soon faded to nothing. Silence. I sank to my knees, exhaling deeply. My eyes closed a moment, as my body relaxed and my consciousness returned to this world. I was exhausted but exultant too. Killing him had felt good. Heady, even. He'd gotten what he deserved, and I had been the one to deal it out. Minutes later, some of my strength returned. I stood and opened the circle, suddenly feeling stifled by it. I put my tools and weapons away and went to find Montgomery. â€Å"Your shoe's been exorcised,† I told him flatly. â€Å"I killed the ghost.† No point in explaining the difference between a keres and a true ghost; he wouldn't understand. He entered the room with slow steps, picking up the shoe gingerly. â€Å"I heard gunshots. How do you use bullets on a ghost?† I shrugged. It hurt from where the keres had slammed my shoulder to the wall. â€Å"It was a strong ghost.† He cradled the shoe like one might a child and then glanced down with disapproval. â€Å"There's blood on the carpet.† â€Å"Read the paperwork you signed. I assume no responsibility for damage incurred to personal property.† With a few grumbles, he paid up – in cash – and I left. Really, though, he was so stoked about the shoe, I probably could have decimated the office. In my car, I dug out a Milky Way from the stash in my glove box. Battles like that required immediate sugar and calories. As I practically shoved the candy bar into my mouth, I turned on my cell phone. I had a missed call from Lara. Once I'd consumed a second bar and was on I-10 back to Tucson, I dialed her. â€Å"Yo,† I said. â€Å"Hey. Did you finish the Montgomery job?† â€Å"Yup.† â€Å"Was the shoe really possessed?† â€Å"Yup.† â€Å"Huh. Who knew? That's kind of funny too. Like, you know, lost souls and soles in shoes†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Bad, very bad,† I chastised. Lara might be a good secretary, but there was only so much I could be expected to put up with. â€Å"So what's up? Or were you just checking in?† â€Å"No. I just got a weird job offer. Some guy – well, honestly, I thought he sounded kind of schizo. But he claims his sister was abducted by fairies, er, gentry. He wants you to go get her.† I fell silent at that, staring at the highway and clear blue sky ahead without consciously seeing either one. Some objective part of me attempted to process what she had just said. I didn't get that kind of request very often. Okay, never. A retrieval like that required me to cross over physically into the Otherworld. â€Å"I don't really do that.† â€Å"That's what I told him.† But there was uncertainty in Lara's voice. â€Å"Okay. What aren't you telling me?† â€Å"Nothing, I guess. I don't know. It's just†¦he said she's been gone almost a year and a half now. She was fourteen when she disappeared.† My stomach sank a little at that. God. What an awful fate for someone so young. It made the keres' lewd comments to me downright trivial. â€Å"He sounded pretty frantic.† â€Å"Does he have proof she was actually taken?† â€Å"I don't know. He wouldn't get into it. He was kind of paranoid. Seemed to think his phone was being tapped.† I laughed at that. â€Å"By who? The gentry?† â€Å"Gentry† was what I called the beings that most of Western culture referred to as fairies or sidhe. They looked just like humans but embraced magic instead of technology. They found â€Å"fairy† a derogatory term, so I respected that – sort of – by using the term old English peasants used to use. Gentry. Good folk. Good neighbors. A questionable designation, at best. The gentry actually preferred the term â€Å"shining ones,† but that was just silly. I wouldn't give them that much credit. â€Å"I don't know,† Lara told me. â€Å"Like I said, he seemed a little schizo.† Silence fell as I held on to the phone and passed a car driving 45 in the left lane. â€Å"Eugenie! You aren't really thinking of doing this.† â€Å"Fourteen, huh?† â€Å"You always said that was dangerous.† â€Å"Adolescence?† â€Å"Stop it. You know what I mean. Crossing over.† â€Å"Yeah. I know what you mean.† It was dangerous – super dangerous. Traveling in spirit form could still get you killed, but your odds of fleeing back to your earthbound body were better. Take your own body over, and all the rules changed. â€Å"This is crazy.† â€Å"Set it up,† I told her. â€Å"It can't hurt to talk to him.† I could practically see her biting her lip to hold back protests. But at the end of the day, I was the one who signed her paychecks, and she respected that. After a few moments, she filled the silence with info about a few other jobs and then drifted on to more casual topics: some sale at the mall, a mysterious scratch on her car†¦ Something about Lara's cheery gossip always made me smile, but it also disturbed me that most of my social contact came via someone I never actually saw. Lately the majority of my face-to-face interactions came from spirits and gentry. It was after dinnertime when I arrived home, and my housemate, Tim, appeared to be out for the night, probably at a poetry reading. Despite a Polish background, genes had inexplicably given him a strong Native American appearance. In fact, he looked more Indian than some of the locals. Deciding this was his claim to fame, Tim had grown his hair out and taken on the name Timothy Red Horse. He made his living by reading faux-Native poetry at local dives and wooing naive tourist women by using expressions like â€Å"my people† and â€Å"the Great Spirit† a lot. It was despicable, to say the least, but it got him laid pretty often. What it did not do was bring in a lot of money, so I'd let him live with me in exchange for housework and cleaning. It was a pretty good deal as far as I was concerned. After battling the undead all day, scrubbing the bathtub just seemed like asking too much. Scrubbing my athames, unfortunately, was a task I had to do myself. Keres blood could stain. I ate dinner afterward, then stripped and sat in my sauna for a long time. I liked a lot of things about my little house out in the foothills, but the sauna was one of my favorites. It might seem kind of pointless in the desert, but Arizona had mostly dry heat, and I liked the feel of humidity and moisture on my skin. I leaned back against the wooden wall, enjoying the sensation of sweating out the stress. My body ached – some parts more fiercely than others – and the heat let some of the muscles loosen up. The solitude also soothed me. Pathetic as it was, I probably had no one to blame for my lack of sociability except myself. I spent a lot of time alone and didn't mind. When my stepfather, Roland, had first trained me as a shaman, he'd told me that in a lot of cultures, shamans essentially lived outside of normal society. The idea had seemed crazy to me at the time, being in junior high, but it made more sense now that I was older. I wasn't a complete socialphobe, but I found I often had a hard time interacting with other people. Talking in front of groups was murder. Even talking one-on-one had its issues. I had no pets or children to ramble on about, and I couldn't exactly talk about things like the incident in Las Cruces. Yeah, I had kind of a long day. Drove four hours, fought an ancient minion of evil. After a few bullets and knife wounds, I obliterated him and sent him on to the world of death. God, I swear I'm not getting paid enough for this crap, you know? Cue polite laughter. When I left the sauna, I had another message from Lara telling me the appointment with the distraught brother had been arranged for tomorrow. I made a note in my day planner, took a shower, and retired to my room, where I threw on black silk pajamas. For whatever reason, nice pajamas were the one indulgence I allowed myself in an otherwise dirty and bloody lifestyle. Tonight's selection had a cami top that showed serious cleavage, had anyone been there to see it. I always wore a ratty robe around Tim. Sitting at my desk, I emptied out a new jigsaw puzzle I'd just bought. It depicted a kitten on its back clutching a ball of yarn. My love of puzzles ranked up there with the pajama thing for weirdness, but they eased my mind. Maybe it was the fact that they were so tangible. You could hold the pieces in your hand and make them fit together, as opposed to the insubstantial stuff I usually worked with. While my hands moved the pieces around, I kept trying to shake the knowledge that the keres had known my name. What did that mean? I'd made a lot of enemies in the Otherworld. I didn't like the thought of them being able to track me personally. I preferred to stay Odile. Anonymous. Safe. Probably not much point worrying about it, I supposed. The keres was dead. He wouldn't be telling any tales. Two hours later, I finished the puzzle and admired it. The kitten had brown tabby fur, its eyes an almost azure blue. The yarn was red. I took out my digital camera, snapped a picture, and then broke up the puzzle, dumping it back into its box. Easy come, easy go. Yawning, I slipped into bed. Tim had done laundry today; the sheets felt crisp and clean. Nothing like that fresh-sheets smell. Despite my exhaustion, however, I couldn't fall asleep. It was one of life's ironies. While awake, I could slide into a trance with the snap of a finger. My spirit could leave my body and travel to other worlds. Yet, for whatever reason, sleep was more elusive. Doctors had recommended a number of sedatives, but I hated to use them. Drugs and alcohol bound the spirit to this world, and while I did indulge occasionally, I generally liked being ready to slip over at a moment's notice. Tonight I suspected my insomnia had something to do with a teenage girl†¦. But no. I couldn't think about that, not yet. Not until I spoke with the brother. Sighing, needing something else to ponder, I rolled over and stared at my ceiling, at the plastic glow-in-the-dark stars. I started counting them, as I had so many other restless nights. There were exactly thirty-three of them, just like last time. Still, it never hurt to check.

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

I Write to Discover What I Know

I Write to Discover What I Know As a blogger, I see everything that happens in my life as a possible jumping off point for an article. There are writing topics surrounding me at every moment. And yet, I sit down most weeks not knowing what I’m going to write about. I face â€Å"writer’s block† on a regular basis. How do I manage to think of something to say every week? I scroll through various topic sources such as: articles I’ve read or that someone has sent to me over the past week things I’ve learned at a conference or workshop articles someone else has written that I might want to post as a guest post client success stories and challenges, as well as business lessons from the past week Topic ideas are a dime a dozen. But how do I land upon one that strikes a chord with my audience? Sometimes I start writing only to discover that it’s a dud; and so I start over. Today’s article began when a friend sent me a link to a page of chalkboard art. I looked through the images through my default filter of â€Å"Is there a blog article in this?† When I saw a beautiful rendition of a quote by Flannery O’Connor, â€Å"I write to discover what I know,† I knew I had found a rich topic. I started thinking about a class in law school, Alternative Dispute Resolution, where I first discovered the phenomenon of â€Å"discovering what I know† by putting pen to paper. Each week we were given a choice of 3 topics and had to write a page or two about one of them. Each week, I was sure I would have nothing to write about. But write I did. I got an A. Writing doesn’t have to be academic to be a discovery process. Even writing a shopping list can help you uncover previously hidden information. So can writing a heartfelt letter to a friend. If you are someone who writes a journal, you understand that you discover surprises about yourself as you let your thoughts flow onto the page. Often all it takes to â€Å"unblock† a writer is the spark of an idea; sometimes that idea must be accompanied by a detailed framework or outline of a full essay. If someone is having a hard time writing  a resume, going through How to Write a WINNING Resume  along with one of my resume questionnaires  can do the trick. Clients often tell me that completing that questionnaire is one of the most valuable parts of working with me; they identify what they know about themselves as they start putting it into words. I would like every person faced with a writing project to know that it’s okay to start out not knowing what you’re going to write. Even if you have no clue, try sitting down and writing, even if it doesnt make sense or isn’t related to the topic. Stream of consciousness is just fine and is a great way to discover your own thoughts. You might be someone who needs to talk through ideas with another human being and nail down an outline before writing. If so, call someone (perhaps The Essay Expert) to work with you. If, on the other hand, all you need is structure, I recommend reading â€Å"how to† books such as How to Write a WINNING Resume or How to Write a KILLER LinkedIn Profile. If you are stuck on your resume, try answering the questions in my resume questionnaires so that you have guidance as you start to put your ideas to paper (or to computer). I am a frequent writer, and thus an evolving discoverer. I explore how seemingly unrelated topics connect with each other. I dive into my opinions, likes and dislikes. I find out more and more about who I am and who I am not. Flannery O’Connor was right on target, as  I hope you too will learn as you embark on this path of discovery.

Historical development of management Assignment

Historical development of management - Assignment Example Historical development of management The industrial revolution was to further impact the theory and practice of management with its new demands during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries due to the opening of factories, which demanded new styles, and practices in order to monitor, control. The practice of managing initially fell on owners of commercial enterprises but was gradually expanded to incorporate employees who were recruited for the sole purpose of managing. The non-owner managers became more and more popular as commercial organizations grew in size and complexity. Though management as a practice according to some definitions has existed for many centuries, some written works have been thought to have great influence on modern management theories. In fact, even ancient military texts have been credited with having contributing to management practice by their emphasis on evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of one’s adversary as well as oneself. The great general Sun Tzu of China wrote of the great benefits of the correct evaluation of one’s foes and self in the â€Å"The Art of War†. Other works were written for the purpose of training and guiding leaders in the area of decision-making. Famous for Machiavellianism was Niccolo Machiavelli who is still talked of in modern management studies though in a negative sense for his promotion of mistrust of employees and class stratification based on economic and position power.

Trade balance, Exchange rate policy, Growth rate of economy in Brazil Essay

Trade balance, Exchange rate policy, Growth rate of economy in Brazil - Essay Example For the production of the commodities Brazil mainly used Slave labors for the production of the commodities. Industrialization in Brazil took place in the year 1930 and onwards. The first steel plant was built in the country in 1940.During the 1950s to 1970s other important sectors of the economy such as fertilizers, automobile, petrochemical and steel expanded. It was in this time that the growth rate of Brazil was at the record high levels in the world. During 1970s the countries in Latin America along with Brazil was a favorite destination for absorbing the excess liquidity of banks in the United States, Japan etc. As investments started flowing in there was a rapid development of the infrastructure facilities. During this period the economy of Brazil grew at a rate of about 8.4% per annum. In was during this period that per capita income of the Brazilians raised 4 fold. Trade policies in Brazil have undergone several changes in the past decade. The trade policies during the 1930s and 1940s, was characterized by great depression. During this time Brazil followed protectionist policies which isolated the country from rest of the world. The country experienced trade growth during 1960s and 1970s and this led to the opening of the doors related to agrarian and tax reforms. Several banks participated in this period to the reforms. As cheap credit was available government and private sector participated in heavy borrowing and this led to the fact that economic growth was high and unstable. Then in the 1980s as the interest rates rose sharply the accumulated debt proved to be unstable for the country and this resulted in the country going into debt crisis. This resulted in the fact that the country had to suffer almost 15 years of low growth and hyper inflation. In the 19990s there was a beginning of privatization and liberalization. As Brazil had followed protectionist policies for about half a century, this resulted in the fact that the country’s share in