Saturday, October 12, 2019

Miles Davis Essay -- essays research papers

The Electric Miles Davis Born in Alton, Illinois, Miles Davis grew up in a middle-class family in East St. Louis. Miles Davis took up the trumpet at the age of 13 and was playing professionally two years later. Some of his first gigs included performances with his high school bandand playing with Eddie Randall and the blue Devils. Miles Davis has said that the greatest musical experience of his life was hearing the Billy Eckstine orchestra when it passed through St. Louis. In September 1944 Davis went to New York to study at Juilliard but spend much more time hanging out on 52nd Street and eventually dropped out of school. He moved from his home in East St. Louis to New York primarily to enter school but also to locate his musical idol, Charlie Parker. He played with Parker live and in recordings from the period of 1945 to 1948. Davis began leading his own group in 1948 as well as working with arranger Gil Evans. Davis’ career was briefly interrupted by a heroin addiction, although he continued to rec ord with other popular bop musicians. 1955 was Miles Davis’ breakthrough year. His performance of "round midnight" at the Newport Jazz Festival alerted the critics that he was "back". Davis form a quintet which included Red Garland, Paul Chambers, Philly Joe Jones, and John Coletrain. In 1957 Davis made the first of many solo recordings with the unusual jazz orchestrations of Gil Evans, and he wrote music for film by Louis Malle. In 1963Davis formed a new quintet including the talents of Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Tony Williams, and Wayne Shorter. The late 1960s sound Davis playing with a variety of talented musicians. Davis retired during the mid-‘70s due to severe ailments and an automobile accident. He returned in 1980 making new recordings and expensive tours. He received an honorary doctorate of music from the New England Conservatory in 1986 in honor of his long-standing achievements. Davis’ playing Incorporated many styles, from bop to modal fusion. Oftentimes Davis was the victim of negative criticism because of his adopting sometimes unpopular styles of music, but he is most respected for being one of a few jazz musicians who continually took the music to newer and more creative heights. The musical events Miles Davis created during his so-called electric period (1969-1975), are acts of constant exploring in c... ...und producers argue they are sparing us from," says Teo. For a future re-issue, it would be terrific if Columbia restored the entire sets and give us a four CD package. We also need the complete live sets excepted from Live-Evil. These moments are important enough in Miles’ progression and the music of these nights is deserving of reaching the public. And the considerable legions of Miles fanatics are willing to dish out the money. In addition to his playing and nurturing of excellent talent, Miles Davis was quite remarkable in his rare ability to continually evolve. Most jazz musicians generally performed their style early on and spend the rest of their careers refining their sound. In contrast Miles Davis every five years or so would forge ahead, and do to his restless nature he not only played bop but helped found cool jazz, hard bop, modal music, his own unusual brand of the avant-garde and fusion. Jazz history would be much different if Davis had not existed. If Miles Davis had retired in 1960, he would still be famous in jazz history, but he had many accomplishments still to come. In 1991 Miles Davis passed away, he was 65. Jazz lost a man that was more than a god.

Friday, October 11, 2019

Questions Kooistra Autogroep Essay

2. Evaluate the budgeting, performance measurement, and incentive systems used at Kooistra Autogroep. What changes would you recommend, if any? Budgeting system: The CEO introduced a formal annual budgeting process. The main target of this budgeting system was to determine the net profit targets for the year. The net profit target is the company’s revenue minus the controllable expenses. These targets were for the company’s departments and should help with decentralization of the company. The budgeting process was ment to be bottom-up. This means that the managers of the departments could prepare the budgets and the CEO and CFO then reviewed these budgets. Most managers are unexperienced with budgeting and the review of the CFO and CEO would lead to a discussion so that the managers would get more and more confident with budgeting. This would help the decentralization. The car industry is an industry, which is really dependable on the economic conditions. So the budget made at the beginning of the year is not always a feasible budget. Reviewing the budget a few times a year could change this. The CEO helps out sometimes when the budget target probably is not going to be made. But the managers cannot depend on this. Performance measurement: The new performance measurement now includes not only financial information but also nonfinancial information. The performance measurement system is used to communicate the company’s objectives to the personnel. The objects that are measured in the performance are the most important objectives. The performance measurements provide the managers with the information to do their job properly and it provides feedback to the top management about the performance of the managers. The company uses ‘Balanced Scorecard’ on a weekly basis. The balanced scorecard provides key metrics for the manager’s list of targets and it provides an indication of the progress towards budget target. Besides the balanced scorecard the managers get also a monthly report, which is more detailed about the company’s operations. Recommendation: the balanced scorecard is used to measure the manager’s performance for different factors. These factors are financial and nonfinancial. But it is not very clear what the targets are. Every  dealership has to have a return of sales of 2% but there is not given any further financial of nonfinancial performance indicator. Incentive system: A major change for the Kooistra Autogroep was the expansion of the pay-for performance system. The pay-for performance system already existed in the company but only for a few sales people. But this is limited and not fully covered for all the sales people. Because of the already excising contract and rejecting the pay-for performance bonus system not every sales person is accounted with pay for performance. This could lead to disorder and unfair situation. Because when its not going well with the economy and so with the dealerships sales the sales people with the pay for performance are accounted for the less sales. But the sales people with the normal salary contract are not accounted for the fewer sales. Also in normal situations the sales people with the pay-for performance system will try to do their best because their salary depends on their performance. While for the sales people with the normal contracts its not as much depended on their performance. For the management team the pay-for performance does its work for every member. So it’s fairer. The managers could also receive a bonus reduction when some criteria were not met. But it’s said that this would be a very subjective decision and it was not really clear on what criteria it depends. This should be changed and made clear on what criteria or totally deleted. Note: It is said that no bonus will be paid for below or above target performance, which is strange. Because as a company u would want to have above target performance. Further more the pay for performance system is a relatively unknown system in Dutch companies and the personnel of the company are not really pleased with this system. So it would be point to think about for the company to introduce the system quietly. This could be done for example by starting with a tradional bonus system and next to that also a pay for performance system. So using both systems for a few years and then switch to only a pay-for performance system.

Thursday, October 10, 2019

White Blood Cell and Marks

A differential count of white blood cells from a patient gave the bsolute number of lymphocytes as 8000 per mm3 and the total number of white blood cells as 12,000 per mm3. Calculate the percentage of lymphocytes in this sample of white blood cells. Is this a normal or abnormal percentage? Explain your answer. (4 Marks) Percentage of lymphocytes in WBC= 8000/12000 100=66. 67%, the normal values of lymphocytes in blood is 20%-40%. So this would be an abnormal percentage. 5. Describe the difference between a communicable disease and an inherited disease.Use examples you have studied in this exploration to support your description. (4 Marks) A communicable disease is a disease that is transmitted from person to person; for example, malaria. An inherited disease is a disease that is passed through genetics; for example, sickle cell anemia. 6. Why are white blood cells in a stained blood smear usually counted at low power under a microscope? Explain your answer. (2 Marks) They are counted at low power because they are much bigger than all other blood cells.If you try to count them on high power, you have to keep moving the slide and will likely lose count or get confused. On low power, the other cells are much less visible and you will get a broader picture of the white cells which it makes it easier to get an accurate count. 7. Why is the presence ofa larger than normal number of neutrophils indicative of an infection? Explain your answer. (2 Marks) 8. Why would you not expect to see tissue macrophages in a blood smear? Explain your answer. (4 Marks)

Information Systems Security Essay

In today’s IT world every organization has a responsibility to protect the information and sensitive data they have. Protecting data is not only responsibility of security and IT staff but every individual is involved in protecting the information. The risks to information security are not digital only, but it involves technology, people and process that an organization may have. These threats may represent the problems that are associated to complex and expensive solution, but doing nothing about these risks is not the solution. The case we have been assigned today deals with physical and logical vulnerabilities and protection against the risks and threats by implying the best controls to either mitigate, avoid and transfer the risks. Being an Information Security officer at a newly opened location in a busy mall, I have been asked to identify physical and logical risks to the pharmacy operations and also to suggest remedies to avoid any huge loss to the business. The pharmacy operations involve the unique transactions which involves the critical patients’ data, valuable medication and access to cash. The regulation set by the government obligates a pharmacy to meet certain standards to secure logical and physical access to information systems. The pharmacy is comprised of 4 work stations, there is a drug storage are and an office in the premises which has a file server, domain controller and a firewall. The three of the four work stations are placed at the counter to record and retrieve information of customers’ order. The entry of the store if from the mall and there the drug storage area is securely locked location behind the front counters. The store has a back door entry which is used by the employees and for delivery of new drugs. As an IT officer I have to protect all aspect of security including physical security of IT systems. Information Systems Security Physical security is an essential part of information technology security. Physical security encompasses not only the area containing system hardware, but also locations of wiring used to connect the systems, supporting services, backup provisions and any other part of the systems. Laptops and other types of mobile computing devices must also be protected from theft. The data on the mobile devices sometimes more than the value of the device. Such devices can also be an entry point on network. First look at the physical vulnerable area to IT systems within the pharmacy. After identifying the IT assets of company we can surly identify the physical risks. * Server Room * File server * Domain controller * Front Counter workstations * Switches/hubs The back door as showed in the floor plan is used by the employees of the pharmacy and it is often used for delivery of drugs. The access through this door is a physical vulnerability. Only authorized personal should be allowed to use this door. Any unidentified entry or activity should be monitored carefully. Such incident can result in loss of physical devices. The server room is a highly secured area which should be allowed only to IT people, other personal should be granted access by seeking special approval. The door should be locked all the time to protect IT assets. The workstations at the front counters should also be locked and placed securely to avoid any theft. The caged area cannot be locked all the time, it would result in low productivity as the staff move between the store, office and front counters. Securing the server room by locking it is the first step; surveillance makes it more effective if someone breaks into the server room. In case of an incident, one can easily pull up the video and check it for a particular time or for a particular event. â€Å"A logical breach affects the network, data and software without physically affecting the hardware. One of the problems with any logical breach of security is that the damage is invisible and its extent is unknown†. (Georgia Institute of Technology). As we read in the book, vulnerabilities are found in all seven domains of the network: * User Domain: * Lack of awareness of security policy * Accidental acceptable use policy violation * Intentional malicious activity * Social engineering * Workstation Domain: Unauthorized user access * Malicious software introduced * Weaknesses in installed software * LAN Domain * Unauthorized network access * Transmitting private data unencrypted * Spreading malicious software * LAN-to-WAN Domain * Exposure and unauthorized access of internal resources to the public * Introduction of malicious software * Loss of productivity due to Internet access * WAN DomainTransmitting private data unencrypted * Malicious attacks from anonymous sources * Denial of Service attacks * Weaknesses in software * Remote Access Domain * Brute-force attacks on access and private data * Unauthorized remote access to resources Data leakage from remote access or lost storage devices * System/Application Domain * Unauthorized physical or logical access to resources * Weaknesses in server operating system or application software * Data loss from errors, failures, or disasters† (Kim, 2012) System and data could be vulnerable due a physical breach where an intruder affects any system or node by uploading some invisible malicious code on one of the computers. Usually the logical breach results due an unauthorized access to the system/network. The users on the front desk should be given access to the information they need to perform their job on need to know basis. Any workstation is capable to breach into sensitive information. Access to any machine could lead to confidential information breach. All users are required to use their credential to access information on the network. A strong password is required by the policy outlined by the IT department. Logical vulnerability deals with anything which is to do with computer software/network other than the physical network. People are the weakest link in the whole chain. They are the biggest threat to the IT network; any user could compromise the system without even knowing the result of his/her actions. Users using personal device on the enterprise network is the biggest threat ever. Use of personal media should be strictly prohibited because it could bring in the malicious code which gives access to hackers to break into network and steal confidential information. A weak password also helps intruders to disguise them as the legitimate user and access the information to compromise the network. Software and antivirus updates could also be crucial if it is not done on time, it can lead into breach. The physical threat and vulnerability can result in huge loss in revenue and confidential information leakage. As mentioned above, any physical vulnerability can result in loss such as theft of the equipment, any device plug to attack remotely or record data. We often printers in the network security, most printers nowadays stores information on built in memory on the printers before printing. If somebody walks out with the printer, access to information in printer’s memory can be accessed easily. Figure 1 Key Logger As showed in the picture, there is a small device which is a key logger. If any personal (internal or external) have access to the assets of the company can install such a device which will not be found with careful examination. Such devices can log the keys strokes which will open a door for attackers to get access to information all the time. Figure 2 Threats & Potential Impact The picture above is self-explanatory, is the network is physically or logically vulnerable any attacker can break which can lead to the impact mentioned above. In case of pharmacy where it is required by the law to take very extra care of customers’ confidential information no risks can be taken. In-case the network is compromised due to physical and logical vulnerability, the attacker can disrupt the whole business. Some disgruntle employee can cause DOS which will bough down the network which will result in delay in orders, low productivity. Vulnerability can also cause loss of information, loss of privacy of customers, legal liability due to leakage of confidential information which is governed by the HIPAA. And above of all reputation among customers, it is very difficult to gain customers’ confidence if it is lost just because of any event. To identity and deal with risks, we are going to take the same approach as defined in the book. After carefully examining the risks, we are going to analyze the impact and based on the impact we will develop a strategy either to mitigate, transfer, avoid or accept the risks. Figure 3 Risk Management Process To deal with the physical risks identified above, the best strategy would be to mitigate or transfer it in-case of any event. Numbers of steps are suggested to mitigate the risk due to physical vulnerability. The back door is used by employees only. The server room is always locked and with prior permission no other than IT personal can enter in it. All IT assets have been locked securely to avoid any theft. Surveillance is also part of our strategy to mitigate any risks. Risks transfer strategy comes into play if anything happened to IT assets. Based on the value of assets most of the assets are covered under insurance. But data is such a valuable asset of the company that no insurance can cover the loss of data theft. After evaluating the logical vulnerabilities, I am going to suggest risk mitigation and risk acceptance strategy. â€Å"Malicious attacks increasingly complex variations are continuously being introduced and can sometimes spread widely before protection software companies deliver the latest detection strings and solutions†. Standard for Technology in Aumotive Retail, 2012) . The first step would be to mitigate the risks at any cost) but since the people are weakest link in the whole IT security scenarios they tend to do things unintentionally which compromise the security. Based on these facts I have also suggested the risk acceptance strategy. This fact is known by most of the businesses but they still do it because they do not perform any operations without manpower. The staff working at front desks or any employee at the pharmacy could use personal media which could lead to any attack. The weak password can also help attackers to use logical bomb technique to guess the password. A strong administrative control is required to avoid such incidents. Some of the suggestions to mitigate the logical vulnerabilities: Security Awareness- as mentioned above the people is the weakest link in the IT security. User awareness on virus control is the most effective tool to control it. In the awareness programs they should be reminded that data should be accepted from the trusted sources. Incase they receive files from untrusted source should not be open. Persona media should be approved by IT department to use. Patch Management- latest patch protects the system against the latest viruses. It is a process that updates the vulnerable areas on the application level. Hackers usually use the flaws and weak points in the system and exploit them to get on the network. Software OEM issues a new update to fix the issue, windows and antivirus auto update is common examples of such patch management. Most organization does not allow automatic updates due to interference in current operations. They usually test the patch on test environment before replicating it to production nodes. Anti-virus scanners – these products scan files and email and instant messaging programs for signature patterns that match known malicious software. Since new viruses are continually emerging, these products can only be effective if they are regularly updated with the latest virus signatures. See your product manual for instructions on how to activate this. Anti-virus scanners can be positioned on gateways to the network and/or on network hosts. Anti-virus scanners need to be frequently updated to be effective. Therefore, regularity and method of update are criteria that need to be considered when selecting anti-virus products. The first line of defense is administrative controls against any physical and logical threats. These are the policies which is prepared and approved by the management to staff for compliance. In pharmacy’s case strict policies are suggested to comply with regulatory compliance (HIPAA). First of all physical access to premises especially from the back door needs to be secure. The policy to enter in the building using a cat card or smart token is mandatory which a control to prohibit any unauthorized access. The IT room is also protected by a digital lock which can only be accessed by ntering correct combination of the password. The IT devices cannot be move out without prior approval from management on a prescribed form. Another preventive control is to disable all removable media from the systems at the front desk. The USB/serial ports are disabled and it can only be granted on special approval. To control logical vulnerabilities I have suggested mix of administrative, detective, preventive, corrective controls. All users by policy are required to use strong passwords, the password must contain, one letter in caps, one symbol/numeric value. The total length should be between 8-20 characters. Users are required to change the password every 30 days and they cannot use passwords any 10 previously used passwords. Users are also cautioned about not to write passwords. Most of the employees have role based access to IT systems. All front desk employees go straight to the application required to book patients’ orders. They cannot open or use personal email on the systems. The access to internet is controlled by the web application filter which only allows users to check pre-approved sited required to manage operations. All systems have the latest updated antivirus software which does not allow any infected file to execute. The best strategy to deal it with is preventive. Similarly to prevent any intruder in the network, IDS are deployed to monitor any unusual activity. Backup of data with regular interval makes it possible to continue the business in case of any break down due to any malicious activity. The data is backed up with only last changed items after every 4 hours. As mentioned earlier the patients’ data is highly confidential, any loop whole can result in legal liabilities.

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Organizational Impact Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Organizational Impact - Research Paper Example as widely known as one of the most influential and powerful technology company that emerged as leader in the hardware and software industry, has always been fostering on innovation. Muller (2011, p. 2) noted that Apple has managed to sustain its innovation with effectively calculated and consistent increases of its investment in research and development and rapid fire-launches of unique newer products and upgrades. Innovation occurs within four dimensions of the organization; product innovation, process innovation, business model or strategic innovation and marketing innovation. Apple inc is an illuminating example for all these kinds of innovations (OBrien, Clifford and Southern. 2010, p. 96). Within last two decades, Apple has been offering various types of products and services, including iMac, iPod, iPad, iTune, iLife and iPhone variants. Apple has been highly successful in creating a unique identify of its brand to effectively establish strong brand equity and convert this to long term profitability for the firm to stay highly competitive. Apple’s increased R&D efforts and greater concerns over technology advances have transformed the way by which the products and services are produced and delivered to its customers. Moreover, Apple’s own-store retail marketing that company has launched own-retail store with multi-hubs in various cities around the world represented a unique idea of manufacturer’s own-store retailing strategy. This was another successful innovation in terms of marketing and business model. The overall impact of the innovation on Apple is its name, the brand, brand’s loyalty, competitive advantage the company has sustained and the long-term profitability it can guarantee for years to come. McDonald, perhaps an alternate name for quality fast-food and quick meal, has emerged to be a most powerful international fast-food restaurant that keeps on driving innovation in delivering food and offering quality services. Cekeravac (2012) noted

Tuesday, October 8, 2019

Women As Buddhists Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Women As Buddhists - Essay Example Legends around Shakamuni Buddha abound; one of them tells of the death of his mother, Maya when Shakamuni was an infant. His aunt, Prajapati, took over the raising of him and later asked to join his sangha. She was refused. It was only after Shakamuni’s cousin Ananda has requested three times that Prajapati amd her 500 followers were allowed to practice Buddhism outside of the home, as nuns.  Legends around Shakamuni Buddha abound; one of them tells of the death of his mother, Maya when Shakamuni was an infant. His aunt, Prajapati, took over the raising of him and later asked to join his sangha. She was refused. It was only after Shakamuni’s cousin Ananda has requested three times that Prajapati amd her 500 followers were allowed to practice Buddhism outside of the home, as nuns.   This story has been denied as even existing by some scholars, who justify their denial by pointing out that it was invented to restore societal norms after the death of the Buddha    Mu ch debate has been engaged over this story, citing Buddhism as sexist from the very beginning. But let us look at the society of the times, for it is society that inspires and also creates rules and mores and acts as the impetus behind changing laws and constitutional amendments in every country. Firstly, Indian society was (and still is, in many places) a khast system which follows strict social mores concerning one’s circumstances of birth, familial status and gender.  ... A woman conducting the same practice was subject to rape, robbery, and other heinous crimes against women, which still occur today. Scholars state that it is very likely that Shakamuni refused to let his beloved aunt and caretaker be an active nun due to the dangers to women who were emancipated during his time. Since the Buddhist faith is centered on compassion and enlightenment attainable by anyone who can adhere to the practices and guidelines, it is more likely that Shakamuni was attempting to protect women rather than subdue them.3 It also makes sense that in his compassion, the Buddha placed nuns under the Eight Strict Rules and under the subordinance of the monks in order to preserve his teachings by not driving Indian society into anarchy by giving women too much freedom too soon. This certainly would have been the wisdom of one so enlightened, knowing the impermanence of the world and knowing that with time and changes to society through continued enlightenment, the rules could be relaxed. He never said that women could not achieve enlightenment just as men could; in fact he said the opposite: " 'Straight' is the name that Road is called, and 'Free From Fear' the Quarter whither thou art bound. Thy Chariot is the 'Silent Runner' named, With Wheels of Righteous Effort fitted well. Conscience the Leaning-board; the Drapery Is Heedfulness; the Driver is the Dharma, I say, and Right Views, they that run before. And be it woman, or be it man for whom Such a chariot doth wait, by that same car into Nirvana's pre sence shall they come."4 As to the eight rules, they are basically thus: 1. A bhikkuni (nun), even if in the order for 100

Monday, October 7, 2019

Favorite location Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Favorite location - Essay Example It is an island that is roughly 10 miles long with a great beach. The ocean is on the one side of the city, while on the other side, it is accosted by the bay. Throughout the length of Ocean City runs a highway, taking a drive on which is a real soothing and pleasant experience. Most of the time, the weather at Ocean City is nice and favorable. This makes it a highly recommended tourist destination. The beach at Ocean City is not only huge, clean and free of debris, but is also quiet, safe and friendly. What makes the beach at Ocean City really special is its ample clean and white sand, lots of waves, no trash and the 24/7 presence of lifeguards. In fact, talking a walk on the beach may sometimes turn out to be a difficult experience as one gets one’s feet sunk in the soft velvety sand time and again. Ocean City offers plenty of beach space and room to all the visitors, so that they may spread around, relax and really enjoy the ocean. Ocean City, Maryland, is a place that has something to offer to a person of any temperament, inclination and preference. Located at just three miles from the Ocean City, Maryland boardwalk is a perfect place to take a soothing walk or an energetic run, or to simply relax as the time glides past unnoticed and unregistered. Not to mention that it is actually at night that the boardwalk really comes to life with a plethora of interesting engagements like acrobatic performers, rides and arcades. No wonder, at night, the boardwalk turns into a scintillating heaven that simply cannot fail to attract even the most placid and restrained of visitors. In the evenings, as the sun sinks down the bay, the sunsets at Ocean City happen to offer unbelievable visual delights. Also, getting up early in the morning to welcome the brilliance and warmth of the rising sun is an amazing experience in itself. Not to mention that Ocean City offers to its patrons a great night life densely