Security Deployment Protect Migration Iaas-Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Security Deployment Protect Migration Iaas? Answer: Introduction Webb's Store is a regional retail store based in Australia and New Zealand. They want to increase their market share, hence want to embellish the business activities. Therefore, Webb has decided to move to Cloud (Azam et al., 2013). They have engaged a consultant who will show lights on the various aspects of Cloud Computing and will help them to adopt the cloud technology. The report will highlight the security factors correlated with the migration of their SQL Server database to IaaS cloud framework. The report will showcase the benefits as well as the risks associated with the database, the IaaS framework. The risks associated with backing up of data, storage of data and retrieval of data will be discussed elaborately in this report. Finally, the recommendations have been made on how Webb should adopt the cloud technology. Security deployment to protect this migration of database to IaaS instance Webb's want to move to the cloud and the challenges they will have to face are data breaches, hijacking of accounts, gaining access to APIs, malware attack at the database and the data loss all due to the intruders (Shufeng Xu, 2012). Thus to safeguard the cloud database following measures should be taken- A Proper understanding of the network- The database administrators should know where Webb's sensitive data will be stored and those data should be labelled so that it can be retrieved easily at the time of need. Securing network information- The data stored in the database must have a proper accessing rule that means which data will be accessed by which employee within the Webb. A set of rules must be applied to the customers as well (Azam et al., 2013). The customers will access data and the data to which extent must be set by the administrators that are how they can secure their database. Monitoring of network- Webb must hire a security team, they must act proactively and search for any vulnerabilities all the time as anytime the intruders can attack the database and Webs security can be compromised. Security intelligence technologies- The Security Intelligence and Event Management technologies must be implemented to detect any flaws in the defence system. Proper cryptographic technologies can be used along with that (Dinh et al., 2013). Benefits and issues related to deployment of these security measures Benefits of mitigating those risks- Securing against the DDoS attack- The cloud computing security solutions can secure the system and the database from DDoS attack and thus authenticity and authorization of database and system can be ensured. Security of information- Cloud security solutions can be used to protect Webbs data from all kind of security breaches (Varia Mathew, 2014). iii. Regulatory compliance- Cloud computing solutions help Webb to regulate and maintain the advanced infrastructure thus financial data can be made secure. Flexible solutions- The server crashes can be avoided by escalating cloud solutions, then afterwards when the high traffic gets over, Webb can scale back down to diminish the heavy expenses (Muthui SISAT, 2013). Provide 24x7 services- Webb can provide 24x7 services to the customers for the cloud security solutions. The issue that Webb can face is that they will have to spend heavy for this security solution (Dillon Vossen, 2015). Risks associated with migrating database to the cloud with respect to- The database risks are- Data breaches Webb's customer's personal details and along with that the employees' data can be hacked and the whole company can face huge loss and their reputation will suffer. Account hijacking- The sensitive information can be hijacked by means of phishing and in that case, the security passwords of both the employees and the customers can be at risks (Tsai et al., 2014). Malware attack- The malware attack and the worm attack can make the system and the database vulnerable. The IaaS infrastructure The three risks associated with IaaS Cloud are- Misconfiguration- Since Webb will adopt the IaaS framework they can face the misconfiguration issue, the framework must comply with their existing hardware and software system along with that the network framework. Vulnerabilities- The vulnerability can be managed by Elastic Workload Protector technique via Scan, Prioritize and Remediate (Manvi, Shyam, 2014). Shadow-IT- The Shadow-IT includes using a server that is inactive for a longer period of time, not using dormant resources like Webb using the new cloud server and forget the older one, use of AWS new services which is still in testing mode. Communications between Webbs and their IaaS database in the cloud Webb should adopt the IaaS architecture provided by Amazon AWS, Amazon will provide the hardware and software solutions for Webb. Webb will just need minimal changes in their existing hardware and software solutions to comply with Amazon IaaS cloud framework (Gai, Steenkamp, 2014). Amazon will take care of their data, maintain and upgrade system and database and will provide latest security solutions. Webbs consideration for the use of the Cloud for backup and possibly also for archival of records The risks associated with backing up of data are- Backing up of data requires the bandwidth of the internet that means to upload and download data Webb will need a network having high bandwidth. They have to spend heavy money on bandwidth. Data breaches can occur and Webbs sensitive data can be compromised. iii. Due to server breakdown of the cloud vendor, the data can be lost. Storage of data in the Cloud Data stored can be vulnerable to attack due to transmission of data in an unencrypted network. During operations of data in the cloud they must be stored the files properly, if not properly saved it will be stored as a corrupted file or can be transmitted to the intruders in between (Manvi, Shyam, 2014). Retrieval of data from the cloud The data retrieved from the data may contain virus associated so they must be checked. Requires high bandwidth data to download files faster and to operate. Webbs use of a Cloud backup and its impact on the company The following benefits Webb can enjoy- Webbs database can be scaled in agile and effective manner. It provides profitable cost effective services too. Webb will not have to take heavy administration as the cloud vendor will maintain and update the database (Manvi, Shyam, 2014). Also, Webb does not have to spend money on hardware and software. iii. The cloud vendor, Amazon will provide advanced security solutions so both Webb and Webb's customers will not have to worry about the data breaches. Recommendations to Webb for protecting access to the following services that they want to move to the Cloud Webb should adopt the IaaS architecture provided by Amazon AWS, Amazon will provide the hardware and software solutions for Webb. Webb will just need minimal changes in their existing hardware and software solutions to comply with Amazon IaaS cloud framework (Sharma et al., 2017). Amazon will take care of their data, maintain and upgrade system and database and will provide latest security solutions. So Webb will have to trust Amazon for the protection service. Their Ms SQL Server 2012 R2 cloud instance Amazon RDS for SQL server provides the facility so that Webb can acquire the full capabilities of SQL server for deploying new application programs. Besides that, Webb must implement physical security that means database server hardware and network components must be protected from unauthorised access (Dillon Vossen, 2015). Again, they will have to apply digital encryption keys and certificates for enhanced security of their database. Their Cloud network infrastructure They need to adopt the cloud architecture provided by a cloud vendor, Amazon. They need the latest hardware, latest operating system and latest software-these changes are required to integrate with Amazon cloud architecture (Varia Mathew, 2014). After integration, they can use the cloud server of Amazon to deploy their apps and perform their business activities in a secured manner. Their Cloud backup and restore infrastructure Amazon AWS will back up the data of Webb and will keep track of data stored, modified, retrieved by Webb (Sharma et al., 2017). All these data transmission will be done on a secure channel, thus with the advanced security solutions provided by Amazon AWS, Webb do not have to worry about the data breaches. Conclusion It can be concluded from the above discourse that Webb Store can be largely benefitted if they adopt Amazon AWS framework for enhancing their business operations. The consultant must advise Amazon AWS for the excellent service they offer, and with their latest cloud technology features and advanced web solutions, they are quite ahead of all their competitors. Thus adopting Amazon AWS, Webb can be benefitted both in Australia and New Zealand retail stores. The report has showcased the security factors correlated with the migration of their SQL Server database to IaaS cloud framework. The report has highlighted the benefits as well as the risks associated with the database, and the IaaS framework. The risks associated with backing up of data, storage of data and retrieval of data has been thoroughly discussed in this report. Lastly, the recommendations have been made on how Webb should adopt the cloud technology, how they can be benefitted from Amazon AWS. References Azam, Abdollahzadehgan; Ab Razak Che Hussin; Gohary , Marjan Moshfegh Gohary Mahyar Amini (2013),The OrganizationalCritical Success Factors for Adopting Cloud Computing in SMEs, Journal of Information Systems Research and Innovation (JISRI), Volume 4, Issue 1, pp. 67-74. Dillon, S., Vossen, G. (2015). SaaS cloud computing in small and medium enterprises: A comparison between Germany and New Zealand.International Journal of Information Technology, Communications and Convergence,3(2), 87-104. Dinh, H. T., Lee, C., Niyato, D., Wang, P. (2013). A survey of mobile cloud computing: architecture, applications, and approaches.Wireless communications and mobile computing,13(18), 1587-1611. Gai, K., Steenkamp, A. (2014). A feasibility study of Platform-as-a-Service using cloud computing for a global service organization.Journal of Information Systems Applied Research,7(3), 28. Manvi, S. S., Shyam, G. K. (2014). Resource management for Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) in cloud computing: A survey.Journal of Network and Computer Applications,41, 424-440. Muthui, M., SISAT, C. (2013). Amazon Web Services. Sharma, P., Lee, S., Guo, T., Irwin, D., Shenoy, P. (2017). Managing Risk in a Derivative IaaS Cloud.IEEE Transactions on Parallel and Distributed Systems. Shufeng Gao Xu, Ai, (2012) Boosting Electronic Business Applications by Digitally Enabling SMBs with Cloud Computing Model, 11th International Symposium on Distributed Computing and Applications to Business, Engineering Science, pp-214-218. Tsai, W., Bai, X., Huang, Y. (2014). Software-as-a-service (SaaS): perspectives and challenges.Science China Information Sciences,57(5), 1-15. Varia, J., Mathew, S. (2014). Overview of amazon web services.Amazon Web Services.

Only Connect Essay Example

Only Connect Paper The epigraph Only Connect that Forster has given to Howards End is certainly an appropriate one, as the impact of these two words is significant throughout the novel. Forster manages impressively not only to intertwine the lives of the characters, but also integrate the separate divisions of the social spectrum into the world of the novel. Throughout the novel a number of significant connections occur between the various characters. In the portrait of Margaret and Helen Schlegel and in the optimistic ending to the novel, Forster points readers towards a future of harmonious connection between the different elements in the world of the novel. This essay, however will argue that in fact the conflict that is presented in Howards End, outweighs the connections. The protagonist in Howards End who connects with a number of characters is Margaret Schlegel. Margaret is the chief representative of the Schlegel family, which signifies the idealistic, intellectual and cultural aspects of the English upper middle classes. For example, Margaret becomes acquainted with Mrs. Wilcox, a gentle, selfless, loving and strangely omniscient character. In contrast to Margaret, Mrs. Wilcox is clearly not intellectual. Margaret throws a luncheon for the ethereal, selfless Mrs. Wilcox. However, it is clear that Mrs. Wilcox feel uncomfortable amongst the guests. For example, it is made evident that her tastes were simple and her knowledge of culture slight. There was no common topic between Mrs. Wilcox and the guests. Unlike Margaret, Mrs. Wilcox is not interested in Art, Music, Journalism and Literature. Instead, Mrs. Wilcoxs life revolves around her husband and sons. Although Mrs. Wilcox is not a cultured lady, as is Margaret, and despite the failure of the luncheon, they still seem to share spiritual qualities which allow them to connect. This surprising friendship is Forsters attempt to bring the two main families of the novel into a union. He also wishes to bring together the two symbolic ideas that they represent. Mrs. Wilcox is a very different creature from her husband and children, replacing their materialistic hard-headedness with a kind of selfless, loving sensitivity to those around her. We will write a custom essay sample on Only Connect specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Only Connect specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Only Connect specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The readers recognize that Mrs. Wilcox tends to have an intuitive knowledge of the people around her. Mrs. Wilcox calls this an instinct which may be wrong. As their relationship develops, Mrs. Wilcox attempts to leave her home, Howards End, to Margaret. Although Mrs. Wilcox and Margaret are from different families with contrasting beliefs, they are clearly able to converse well with each other. For example, in Chapter 8 the two characters speak about superstitions. It is apparent that Margaret and Mrs. Wilcox do share some similarities. For instance, Mrs. Wilcox tells her companion about the wych-elm tree in Hertfordshire Margaret tells Mrs. Wilcox that she loves folklore and all festering superstitions. There are obvious parallels between these characters, and this adds to the idea of a future of harmony. Even after the death of Mrs. Wilcox, it seems that her presence still remains within Margaret. A striking incident in which Margaret reveals Mrs. Wilcoxs existence is during her first visit to Howards End. Margaret sees an old woman who was descending, with figure erect and with a face impassive. This woman, Mrs. Avery, mistakes Margaret for being Mrs. Wilcox. Mrs. Avery stated that Margaret had Mrs. Wilcoxs way of walking. Some readers might find this way of expressing the spiritual connection rather unconvincing. For instance, the incident at Howards End, can be thought to be too supernatural sounding. However, Foster is knowingly and wittily asking the reader to stretch their sympathetic connection with Margaret to the extent that they can feel with her, the presence of Mrs. Wilcox. Forster is seducing the reader into accepting something which is irrational and something that would be rejected by commonsense. In Mrs. Wilcox, there is an acceptance of a Margaret-like mentality as opposed to a Henry-like mentality. This supernatural aura is also presented in Chapter 18. Mrs. Wilcox strayed in and out, ever welcome ghost; surveying the scene, thought Margaret, without one hint of bitterness. This suggests that Mrs. Wilcox approved of Margaret and Henry being together. It portrays the spiritual connection between Margaret and Mrs. Wilcox. The most explicit expression of the theme of only connect occurs at the beginning of chapter 22. This is an essential chapter, as it allows the readers to grasp the concept of only connect: Margaret greeted her lord with peculiar tenderness on the morrow. Mature as he was, she might yet be able to help him to the building of the rainbow bridge that should connect the prose in us with passion. Without it we are meaningless fragments, half monks, half beasts, unconnected arches that have never joined into a man. In this chapter, Margarets task in helping Mr. Wilcox to achieve internal harmony is defined: Only Connect! That was that whole of her sermon. Only connect the prose and the passion, and both will be exalted and human love will be seen at its highest. Live in fragments no longer. Only connect, and the beast and monk, robbed of the isolation that is life to either, will die (chapter 22). Margaret has an overall venture throughout the novel to unify the unseen with the seen, and therefore create balance. Yet the greatest challenge to this project comes in the form of her eventual husband, Henry Wilcox. After the death of Mrs. Wilcox, Margaret grows very fond of her husband Henry Wilcox. She wishes to change the male mannerism in his character, of panic and emptiness. Margarets attempt to change Henry can be said to be a noble, heroic aim. Margaret starts to do this when she cultivates Henry. While Margaret never forgot anyone for whom she had once cared; she connected and she hoped that some day Henry might do the same. The well-known critic, FR Leavis rather objects to the plausibility of Margaret and Henrys relationship. I disagree: Forster does attempt to trace the development of Margaret and Henrys courtship. Forster suggests the plausibility of their relationship through the narration about Margarets father. It can be said that Margaret is aware that her fathers characteristics are reflected in Henry. For example, the fact that her father is able to change countries and ideals, relates to Mr. Wilcoxs spontaneous and impulsive qualities. This attracts her enormously to Henry. She admires Henrys male strength and soldier- like quality. It also seems appropriate that Margaret and Henry are both middle-aged, single people. Margaret also sympathises with the fact that Henry is needy without a wife. Her intentions to connect with Henry and make him connect are thus not so poorly motivated as Leavis thinks. However, although we might well sympathise with Margarets aims, it is unlikely that readers of Howards End will feel that Margaret will succeed in changing Henry. Henrys character contrasts enormously with Margarets. He is described as being obtuse, materialistic and money-orientated. The way in which Henry deals with Leonard Bast is definitely contrary to the way in which Margaret deals with him. Henrys association with Leonard conflicts enormously with Margarets beliefs. Henry deals casually with Leonard Bast and does not show any sympathy for him when his employment situation becomes disastrous. It is obvious that Henry does not see a personal connection with Leonard Bast. Henry even forgets who Leonard Bast is, contrary to Margarets aim. Margaret later tries to show Henry that he must forgive Leonard and Helen for their sexual encounter. According to Henry it is wrong to have pre-marital sex. However, he has had extra-marital sex with Jackie Bast, and so if Margaret is willing to forgive him, then surely Margaret feels he should be equally willing to forgive Leonard and Helen. She is suggesting that Henry only utilises one area of his emotions and thought, as he is too arrogant and self-protective to forgive. Henry prefers not to connect, so then he does not have to face the consequences and the reality of his actions. It is a case of ignorance being bliss. While he needed the support from Margaret when he had been exposed, he is unwilling to succour another, and so Margaret is attempting to sever his isolation and halt his detachment from reality. Margaret tells her partner; You shall see the connection if it kills you, Henry! A man who ruins a woman for his pleasure, and casts her off to ruin other men These men are you. You cant recognise them, because you cannot connect. Some readers think that what happens at the end of the novel is that through connecting with Henry, Margaret succeeds in undermining Henrys defences. However, it is rather the indirect influence of Margarets connection of Henry and Charles to the Basts that really brings about Henrys change. Henry eventually must face the discovery that his son, Charles, has caused the death of Leonard Bast, and Charles must serve time in prison. Henry is a broken man, but Margaret undertakes his care. Henry undergoes a breakdown and finally recognises that his values were at fault. His obtuseness and ignorance converts into humbleness and awareness. Henry eventually is reconciled to Helen. She and her illegitimate child join Margaret and Henry at Howards End, where peace and stability are enjoyed. It is here when these connections and reconciliation are imposed to provide a source of hope for harmony in the future. In this ending Forster is clearly trying to portray the possibility of a unified Edwardian England. Forster has earlier prepared for the climactic scene of harmony and connection by his scene of reconciliation between Margaret and Helen, the past sanctifying the present. Foster thus illustrates the restoration of the family unit, and here too attempts to convey an impression of inner-harmony and connection between the characters. The situation of the living circumstances at the end of the novel can be said to present harmony. A harmony is achieved at Howards End, as it is inhabited by Margaret, Henry, Helen and the Bast love child. The Bast child can represent a new connected class, a mixture of bourgeoisie and bohemian upper class. It is the characters aptitude to forgive, and so embrace the other that allows them to connect. This is suggested in the relationships between Margaret and Mrs. Wilcox and Margaret and Helen. However this is a mannerism not possessed by Henry until the end of the novel. This explains the reasons for his narrow-minded treatment of Leonard Bast. Not only do various connections or relationships in Howards End predict a future of harmony, but Forster attempts to convey this impression through the ambience of the novel. The continuity in national life appears clearly in the description of the Dorset Coast at the end of chapter 19. The vision of England as a ship of souls, with all the brave worlds fleet accompanying her towards eternity, is a passage which certainly embodies the ideals of harmony and continuity, untarnished by provinciality or jingoism. Forsters use of tone and visionary language positively creates an atmosphere of peace and harmony. A number of ideas in the book are shaped under a Romantic belief that internal order can occur through love, thus attempting to represent the notion of a reconciliation of opposites, through Romantic tendencies. For example, the Romantic idea of the healing and comforting powers of nature is conveyed through Leonards walk. In chapter fourteen, Leonard tells the Schlegel sisters of his connection with nature. The conversation between Leonard and the sisters is clearly enlightening. The characters are all involved in a situation which interests them. The sisters encourage the conversation with phrases such as Yes, go on. Their curiosity is evident when Margaret asks Yes, but the wood. This ere wood. How did you get out of it? However, the love connection between Margaret and Henry, is not truly believable. For example, nowhere in the book is true love really moulded, but instead love based upon the desire to improve and to belong. This is portrayed through their marriage, which seems to occur out of convenience. It is in fact the conflict between the characters which seem more realistic, thus Margaret and Helen separate through conflicts between the families. Henry Wilcox is disgusted when discovering that Helen has fallen pregnant. He does not wish to have a fallen girl staying at Howards End and he does not deny this to Margaret. Henry informs his son, Charles of the situation. In Chapter 39 Charles immediately consults Tibby Schlegel, Helens younger brother. Tibby admits that it was Leonard Bast who would be the father of Helens baby. The Wilcoxes anger leads to the death of Leonard Bast. This incident indubitably predicts a future of conflict The ending of the novel, Forsters attempt to redeem the possibility of connection, is in fact unbelievable and implausible. The final situation in Howards End presents an unrealistic harmony. Forster has made an ending that is too rushed and too optimistic. Readers will question whether it is truly possible for Helen to live beside Mr. Wilcox. It is because of the Wilcox family that Helens lover is now dead. Her baby will have to be raised as a bastard, because there will be no chance of them getting married. It is unrealistic that Helen would forgive the Wilcox family for allowing what happened to Leonard Bast. Leonard will not be able to be a representative of the Bast family. It is likely that Helen will always hold some sort of abhorrence for the Wilcoxes because of her lovers death. It is almost impossible to see that the Bast child will live contentedly beside the Wilcox family, knowing that they are the reason that he is a bastard. The readers also see no sign of Jacky Bast at the end of the novel. Surely it is not credible that Forster has not included this important figure in the end of his novel? The impression of an incurable gender conflict between Henry and the Schlegel sisters is emphasised all the more in the other characters. In fact, Forster portrays almost all the male characters in his novel negatively. The men are possessive and chauvinistic characters made of panic and emptiness as suggested by Margarets sister Helen. Chapter 25 contains a scene in which the clear conflict between men and women is portrayed. Margaret is determined to go back to the place where the car she was travelling in was thought to have hit a dog. Margaret exclaims Do please stop! I want to go back, please. However, Charles took no notice. The other characters told Margaret that The men are there, The men will see to it. This reaction emphasizes how it was commonly thought that the men should take care of all important business and that the women should merely submit to them and do what they are told. After the demanding way that Charles and Mr. Wilcox act toward the women, the narration includes Ladies sheltering behind men, men sheltering behind servants-the whole systems wrong, and she must challenge it. On page 214, Charles speaks of the incident that occurred. He states Miss. Schlegel had lost her mind, as any woman might. The male dominating character underlines his stereotypical view of women as he speaks of them as being over dramatic and foolish. Despite Forsters optimistic ending, scenes like this strongly suggest that the gender differences in the early twentieth century, are likely to cause a future of conflict and disagreement. Forsters vivid and emphatic presentation of the differences within the families, very much goes against the possibility of harmony. He places a large emphasis on the difficulty in connecting due to the families different backgrounds. For example, the pragmatic Wilcox family are materialistic and very much money-orientated. They represent the solid English work ethic and conventional social morality. They are involved greatly in the business environment. On the other hand, the idealistic Schlegel family are more spiritual and cultured. The upper class family appreciate Edwardian culture such as the Arts and literature and music. The Basts, headed by a lower-middle class insurance clerk are impoverished. Leonard Bast desperately hopes that books will save him from social and economic desolation. Their differences in interests present a huge and eventually immovable obstacle in connecting with each other. Moreover, Forster does not deal with people across the whole social spectrum in his novel. If only connect is going to be associated with England, then it is unfair to make a prediction of the future of England upon reading Howards End. Forster does not look upon the whole of England. He avoids looking at people of great wealth such as aristocrats and upper class, and although he includes Leonard Bast, he does not look at the vast numbers of the working class people at all. When reading Howards End, readers are aware of the conflicts and connections between the families. Through many relationships within the novel, people are able to connect and share interests. They are also able to share ideas and beliefs with one another. However, apart from these, too many disagreements occur. These broad fault-lines between groups of people are very evident in the novel, and Forster does little to persuade us they can be healed. They are crystallised in the situation between Henry and Margaret. It is clear that Henry is afraid of emotion. His motto is concentrate, while Margarets is only connect. This difference in attitudes creates an irreconcilable tension in the novel. They are very different people who represent extremely different ideas. The difference between concentrating and only connecting is the difference between Margaret and Henry; it is the difference between the Schlegels and the Wilcoxes, and the primary conflict in Howards End. Through this argument, it can be concluded that the sense of conflict outweighs the attempt to present the Schlegels, Wilcoxes and Basts as connected. Forster is very much similar to the way that Margaret thinks. Forster tends to be biased towards Margarets ideas and beliefs. It can be said that Forster and Margaret share the same aphorism; Only Connect. Although Margaret encourages connection, the hope for harmony seems doubtful. The attempted connections prove unsuccessful. Most significantly, the connection between Leonard Bast and the Schlegels, finally results in his death and Forsters contrived and sketchy harmonious conclusion cannot rescue the argument. Rather what is stressed is the divided nature of Edwardian England and a future of conflict. Bibliography http://www.utm.edu/~lalexand/brnovel/forster.html http://www.musicandmeaning.com/forster/

WWI BLAMES GERMANY essays

WWI BLAMES GERMANY essays Throughout history, the loser had always been the ultimate evil, especially in a world war, in Germanys case. However, it is true that Germany did have responsibilities of starting the war, although she was not the one who sparked initial dispute. She was taking part in the imperialistic game, which made other overseas empires. She was building an enormous navy, which irritated wanted to maintain the 2 power standard. She was rising economically and which also antagonized the great powers of Europe. The attitude of Kaiser was a factor. Her growing powers and allies forced Britain to join the French and Russians to balance out the power. Finally, when Germany signed the blank Austria, which backed Austria up to do what he otherwise wouldnt do, caused spark of the Great War. The Schlieffen Plan also caused the outbreak of the Germany to declare war on France, who then was still neutral, and to step on soil, land which Britain swore to protect. ...

A Beginners Guide to Economic Indicators

A Beginners Guide to Economic Indicators An economic indicator is simply any economic statistic, such as the unemployment rate, GDP, or the inflation rate, which indicate how well the economy is doing and how well the economy is going to do in the future. As shown in the article How Markets Use Information To Set Prices investors use all the information at their disposal to make decisions. If a set of economic indicators suggest that the economy is going to do better or worse in the future than they had previously expected, they may decide to change their investing strategy. To understand economic indicators, we must understand the ways in which economic indicators differ. There are three major attributes each economic indicator has: Three Attributes of Economic Indicators Relation to the Business Cycle / EconomyEconomic Indicators can have one of three different relationships to the economy:Procyclic: A procyclic (or procyclical) economic indicator is one that moves in the same direction as the economy. So if the economy is doing well, this number is usually increasing, whereas if were in a recession this indicator is decreasing. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is an example of a procyclic economic indicator.Countercyclic: A countercyclic (or countercyclical) economic indicator is one that moves in the opposite direction as the economy. The unemployment rate gets larger as the economy gets worse so it is a countercyclic economic indicator.Acyclic: An acyclic economic indicator is one that has no relation to the health of the economy and is generally of little use. The number of home runs the Montreal Expos hit in a year generally has no relationship to the health of the economy, so we could say it is an acyclic economic indicator.Frequency of the Dat aIn most countries, GDP figures are released quarterly (every three months) while the unemployment rate is released monthly. Some economic indicators, such as the Dow Jones Index, are available immediately and change every minute. TimingEconomic Indicators can be leading, lagging, or coincident which indicates the timing of their changes relative to how the economy as a whole changes.Three Timing Types of Economic IndicatorsLeading: Leading economic indicators are indicators which change before the economy changes. Stock market returns are a leading indicator, as the stock market usually begins to decline before the economy declines and they improve before the economy begins to pull out of a recession. Leading economic indicators are the most important type for investors as they help predict what the economy will be like in the future.Lagged: A lagged economic indicator is one that does not change direction until a few quarters after the economy does. The unemployment rate is a lagged economic indicator as unemployment tends to increase for 2 or 3 quarters after the economy starts to improve.Coincident: A coincident economic indicator is one that simply moves at the same time the economy does. The Gross Domest ic Product is a coincident indicator. Â   Many different groups collect and publish economic indicators, but the most important American collection of economic indicators is published by the United States Congress. Their Economic Indicators are published monthly and are available for download in PDF and TEXT formats. The indicators fall into seven broad categories: Total Output, Income, and SpendingEmployment, Unemployment, and WagesProduction and Business ActivityPricesMoney, Credit, and Security MarketsFederal FinanceInternational Statistics Each of the statistics in these categories helps create a picture of the performance of the economy and how the economy is likely to do in the future. Total Output, Income, and Spending These tend to be the broadest measures of economic performance and include such statistics as: Gross Domestic Product (GDP) [quarterly]Real GDP [quarterly]Implicit Price Deflator for GDP [quarterly]Business Output [quarterly]National Income [quarterly]Consumption Expenditure [quarterly]Corporate Profits[quarterly]Real Gross Private Domestic Investment[quarterly] The Gross Domestic Product is used to measure economic activity and thus is both procyclical and a coincident economic indicator. The Implicit Price Deflator is a measure of inflation. Inflation is procyclical as it tends to rise during booms and falls during periods of economic weakness. Measures of inflation are also coincident indicators. Consumption and consumer spending are also procyclical and coincident. Employment, Unemployment, and Wages These statistics cover how strong the labor market is and they include the following: The Unemployment Rate [monthly]Level of Civilian Employment[monthly]Average Weekly Hours, Hourly Earnings, and Weekly Earnings[monthly]Labor Productivity [quarterly] The unemployment rate is a lagged, countercyclical statistic. The level of civilian employment measures how many people are working so it is procyclic. Unlike the unemployment rate, it is a coincident economic indicator. Production and Business Activity These statistics cover how much businesses are producing and the level of new construction in the economy: Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization [monthly]New Construction [monthly]New Private Housing and Vacancy Rates [monthly]Business Sales and Inventories [monthly]Manufacturers Shipments, Inventories, and Orders [monthly] Changes in business inventories is an important leading economic indicator as they indicate changes in consumer demand. New construction including new home construction is another procyclical leading indicator which is watched closely by investors. A slowdown in the housing market during a boom often indicates that a recession is coming, whereas a rise in the new housing market during a recession usually means that there are better times ahead. Prices This category includes both the prices consumers pay as well as the prices businesses pay for raw materials and include: Producer Prices [monthly]Consumer Prices [monthly]Prices Received And Paid By Farmers [monthly] These measures are all measures of changes in the price level and thus measure inflation. Inflation is procyclical and a coincident economic indicator. Money, Credit, and Security Markets These statistics measure the amount of money in the economy as well as interest rates and include: Money Stock (M1, M2, and M3) [monthly]Bank Credit at All Commercial Banks [monthly]Consumer Credit [monthly]Interest Rates and Bond Yields [weekly and monthly]Stock Prices and Yields [weekly and monthly] Nominal interest rates are influenced by inflation, so like inflation, they tend to be procyclical and a coincident economic indicator. Stock market returns are also procyclical but they are a leading indicator of economic performance. Federal Finance These are measures of government spending and government deficits and debts: Federal Receipts (Revenue)[yearly]Federal Outlays (Expenses) [yearly]Federal Debt [yearly] Governments generally try to stimulate the economy during recessions and to do so they increase spending without raising taxes. This causes both government spending and government debt to rise during a recession, so they are countercyclical economic indicators. They tend to be coincident to the business cycle. International Trade These are a measure of how much the country is exporting and how much they are importing: Industrial Production and Consumer Prices of Major Industrial CountriesU.S. International Trade In Goods and ServicesU.S. International Transactions When times are good people tend to spend more money on both domestic and imported goods. The level of exports tends not to change much during the business cycle. So the balance of trade (or net exports) is countercyclical as imports outweigh exports during boom periods. Measures of international trade tend to be coincident economic indicators. While we cannot predict the future perfectly, economic indicators help us understand where we are and where we are going.

Bullfighting in spain Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Bullfighting in spain - Essay Example Osborne took the challenge and engineered a twenty three foot, nine thousand pound bull. It became an instant landmark. The bull, like many other advertisements around the Spanish country side, where part of an intricate cultural display that attracted foreigners and kept the country’s identity. It was categorized among other cultural phenomenon such as Escorial, the Acueduct, Giralde, and the flamenco show all of which are major tourist attractions in Spain (Garry, 28). Today there are over 90 Osborne bulls around the country serving as land marks and tourist attraction all over the country. During legislative crack down on the relevance of the Osborne bull since it stopped being associated with the distillery anymore, it was revered as not only an advertisement or a tourist attraction, but also a true representation of the Spaniards’ culture of bull fighting. The culture is so wide spread around the country and so deeply embedded within the society that go as far as embossing on clothing, mugs among other decorative objects. Regional mascots can be found around the country giving the sport the recognition and passion it requires. Nevertheless, bullfighting has not been accepted with open arms because it can be seen as animal cruelty since the bull is â€Å"tortured† before it is killed. Animal activists all over the world have come up with reason after reason have the practice banned in Spain. In Catalonia, for instance, they consider this behaviour uncivilized and are more often than not protesting against it at their Spanish Embassy. They posse an ethical challenge insisting that no human with their limit of morality would go through the process of bull fight and come out unscathed (Bradley, 34). Before the bull is put into the ring or corrida it has to undergo cruel three steps, also known as tercio, to ready it for the oncoming spectacle. In the first step,

Practical Chemistry Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Practical Chemistry Report - Essay Example Molar absorptivity is fixed the moment the reactant is fixed, cell length is standardized and therefore, its effect is also fixed. Now only variable deciding intensity of the absorbed and therefore transmitted light is the concentration of the reactant. Therefore, concentration of the reactant at a particular time can be read directly from the detector reading of the transmitted light. Care should be taken to subtract the reading corresponding to the bare solution i.e. the solution having no reactant. Data from both the experiments has been plotted separately on semi log scale i.e. ln[A] was plotted against time t (s) using excel software. Data points were plotted as a X-Y scatter plot and a linear interpolation was used as nature of the plot for the first order reaction is linear from the theory. Slope of the line gives value of the rate constant ÃŽ » and the intercept gives value of the initial concentration i.e. [Ao] Figure 1 shows variation of ln[A] vs time for Experiment 1. The close proximity of the data points from the linear interpolation line confirms that all the data points are very accurate. The same is confirmed by very high value of R2 which is 0.9929. One should note that value of R2 being 1 means all the data points will fall on the interpolation line. That is the ideal condition which never happens in actual experiments. There is another useful parameter half life (t1/2) associated with a first order reaction kinetics. This is the tie period during which concentration of the reactant is reduced to half of its original value. Value of half life (t1/2) can be calculated by putting [A] = [Ao]/2 and setting t as t1/2 in the integrated form of the rate equation derived above. This comes out to be In experiment 1 value of the rate constant (ÃŽ ») is 0.0006. Therefore, value of half life comes to be 1155 second. One should check in the experimental data whether really [A] is halving in every 1155s. What we find is that

Who Do I Want to Become a Psychologist Essay Example for Free

Who Do I Want to Become a Psychologist Essay So, I want a PhD in neurocognitive or cognitive psychology because: 1) I was made to be a psychologist. I may not be as articulate as I want to be here but here it goes As a preteen, for all my science fair projects leaned in the direction of psychology (one year I remember trying to test my classmates mood at different times during the year to examine the mood- weather relationship). The first time I seriously became interested in neuroscience/psychology I was 20 years old or so my cousin had just committed suicide at the time and I was looking for answers (especially because I had been having suicidal thoughts for a couple of years before his deathwhich is scary because I wasnt even 21 yet). It was easier for me to accept the fact that he was ill if I had physical proof that his brain (and mine) was different. I also grew up with a schizophrenic aunt. She used to tell me that there were people who were talking to her and that her thoughts were being recorded I always wanted to know what she saw. This was about the age when I started feeling guilty for how I had treated her when I was younger (at this point I may have been a bit older like 25). I also have another bipolar aunt, who, at the time, kept trying to kill herself every few months (actually when I was around 13, she once told my mom she wanted to speak with me, and then told me that she was going to kill herself yeah, its messed up). All this combined with my own manic and depressive episodes I frequently questioned reality when I was my normal self. The fact that physical changes in the brain could create these differences in the intangibleI believed that I could have all the answers to my questions about my reality, and my illness if I could understand the brain This lead me to 2) As a result of experiences during my early adult years I gradually became an spiritual and not claiming a religion, but my first research methods/experimental psychology class was a religious experience. That sounds over the top, but research is the only means by which I can answer the questions I have about my mental life: psychology is my religion. Training to become a better researcher helps me make sense of my meaningless world. So, I want a PhD to become a better researcher. 3) I enjoy debating and creating experimental designs to answer the many, many questions I have about different aspects of human cognitionand I tend to find questions everywhere. I have been known to spend weeks on literature reviews based on something I disagreed with in a random NYT article and then create hypothetical designs based on what Ive found. I already do it for free I think its high time I get paid for it. A PhD program will pay me for it. I also want the ability to turn my hypothetical designs into actual research I cant do that without the independence a TT job will get me or the training I will receive as a doctoral student and a post-doc fellow. Thats why I want a PhD in psychology. I have a passion for research in psychology and would have little credibility without a PhD. I will not be able to secure the grant money I may want for what ever I want to do in the future and I dont want to be dependent on other faculty members forever. A PhD and a TT job will give me the freedom to do what I want in terms of research I guess thats my real answer. Now, if only I were allowed to be this truthful in a personal statement Also, being called Dr. is kind of cool but its not like people in our field call each other doctor And, to my family, Ill never be a real doctor because I will not have an MD. I’m a felon, it’ll never happen.