Best Places to Work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Best Places to Work - Essay Example The success of Starbucks can be largely attributed to its high regard to its employees which it treats as partner. The specialty coffee retailer is now recognized as one of the best places to work for because of its organizational structure, the relationship between its employees, its unique values, and its employment of modern human resource management techniques. It should be noted that the business organization efficiently uses its human resource in order to enhance its image and maximize its profitability. In its business operation, it is irrefutable that the company has strategically aligned its workforce in order to achieve its specific goals and objectives. This includes designing an organizational structure which highlights the revolution in human resource management. The primary governing body at Starbucks is comprised of the Office of the Chairman and the Board of Directors which "receives substantial input from other senior level executives including senior vice president of human resources" (Tripp et al 2005). The mid-level managers, who oversee and manage the day to day affairs of each specialty retail shop is given enough discretion and power for decision making.

Self defense Essay Example for Free

Self defense Essay Representing a group that is fighting in self defense, for preservation of our species, and all species of life on earth is usually the main goal of an eco-terrorist. Eco-terrorists operate through self-sufficient units, and are unconstrained by geographic boundaries. They are very difficult to permeate and stop. Unlike racial hate groups with membership requirements, an eco-terror activist can become a member of the eco-terror movement simply by carrying out an illegal action on its behalf. In recent years, an increasing amount of eco-terrorism activity has been carried out, and the amplified nature of these attacks suggests that the actions and beliefs behind the groups are not coming to an end anytime soon. II. Definition Eco-terrorism has numerous definitions. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, eco-terrorism is defined as the acts of terrorism, violence or sabotage committed in support of ecological, environmental, or animal rights causes against persons or their property. The term itself can refer to the use of violence of a criminal nature against innocent victims or property for environmental and political reasons. Often of a symbolic nature, acts of eco-terrorism are usually committed by individuals who believe that the exploitation of natural resources and vandalism of the environment are becoming so severe that action outside of conventional legal and environmental channels is required. By the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), it is defined as the use or threatened use of violence of a criminal nature against people or property by an environmentally oriented, subnational group for environmental-political reasons, or aimed at an audience beyond the target, often of a symbolic nature (Jarboe, 2002). The FBI has credited to eco-terrorism, $200 million in property damage from 2003 to 2008, and a majority of states within the USA have introduced laws aimed at eco-terrorism. Ultimately, any definition is possible but the commonly held definition of terrorism is that its goal is ideological, not financial. III. History The term eco-terrorism is believed to have been coined by Ron Arnold, the executive director of the center for the Defense of Free Enterprise. He first used the term in a 1983 article in Reason Magazine. In 1991, Ron Arnold told Outside magazine that he chose the term eco-terrorism because it was ambiguous and fit neatly in newspaper headlines. He defended the word by stating Facts dont really matter. In politics, perception is reality (Berlau, 2007). † According to Mr. Arnold he wanted to destroy environmentalists by taking away their money and their members. He spoke of his efforts as We (CDFE), Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise, created a sector of public opinion that didnt used to exist. No one was aware that environmentalism was a problem until we came along (Burke, 1993). Ron Arnold was trying to eliminate eco-terrorists and destroy environmentalism once and for all for two main reasons. First, for him personally, it was financially rewarding to oppose environmentalism and second it was a political gain on his part with the government and politicians. Arnold has been very busy writing a series of highly critical books on the environmental movement. He has always been aimed at mobilising those receptive to his argumentative language and comparitive policy debates as being a war. Arnold once stated We are sick to death of environmentalism and so we will destroy it. We will not allow our right to own property and use natures resources for the benefit of mankind to be stripped from us by a bunch of eco-facists (Burke, 11993). † To understand Ron Arnold’s term of eco-terrorism, one must look back into history as to how the activities of threats began. The eco-terrorist movement was said to begun in the 1960’s, when a group of animal rights advocates in England formed the Hunt Saboteurs Association. This assembly disrupted fox hunts by blocking roads, protesting the hunters by using bullhorns, and confusing the hunting dogs trail by spraying chemicals that eliminated the scent left by foxes. After effectively ending a number of traditional hunting events across England, the members of the Hunt Saboteurs Association decided more militant action was needed and in 1972, they became the Band of Mercy, a much more violent activist group that damaged property and held frequent meetings to attract new advocates. The ideas of violent activities to ensure the activist’s points were made brought about the forming of many more organizations that even exist today. IV. Organizations There are many organizations alive in today’s societies, which are fighting for environmental causes and animal rights. The Animal Liberation Front (ALF) is one of the most extreme animal rights groups in the United States. Their purpose is to inflict economic damage to those who profit from the misery and exploitation of animals. They oppose any form of animal experimentation and perceived mistreatment towards animals. Their principle activities include freeing animals from places of abuse such as labs, and zoos, and then committing property destruction. The origins of ALF trace back to the Hunt Saboteurs Association that was formed in England in the 1960’s, which later became the Band of Mercy. ALF claimed full responsibility for a 1987 arson at a University of California-Davis veterinary laboratory, which ended up causing $3. 5 million worth of damages. Their next major claim was at a 1992 firebombing at an animal research laboratory at Michigan State University. The Department of Justice and Agriculture stated that ALF was the most significant â€Å"radical fringe† animal rights group and reported more than 313 incidents of break-ins, vandalisms, arson and thefts committed in the name of animal rights between 1979 and 1993 (Anti-Defamation League, 2005). In 1975, Peter Singer who was an Australian philosopher; wrote the most influential book titled â€Å"Animal Liberation†. It was one of the first books to cover animal rights and it gave great motivation to activist groups such as ALF, to become more active and more violent in their protest activities. In his book, Singer says that any living being that has a face, must have a soul and is able to feel pain and sadness (Singer, 1975). Although he did not specifically advocate violence, Singer did suggest that animals deserve the same rights as humans. Another well known organization is Earth First, which came about in the 1980’s. This group engaged in acts of civil disobedience by using the method of tree spiking. This is the practice of hammering nails and large metal spikes into the trunks of the trees, to prevent it from being cut down. When the loggers’ saws hit the spikes they would be damaged upon repair, forcing the workers to stop, which ultimately slowed the rate of logging, and in return cost the logging companies time and money. They insisted no harm to the loggers but the spikes were known to severely injure the loggers, and they were forced to abandon their tactics of tree spiking which resulted in loss of popular support. Earth First brought about a more radical organization of themselves and in 1992 they renamed the organization as the Earth Liberation Front (ELF). ELF sees its own actions as a matter of self defense, protecting the earth from the greedy individuals and corporations that it views as destroying the environment’s ability to sustain life. They view politicians as ineffective and believe that if something is to be done, they must do it themselves. ELF claimed sole responsibility for an attack in the United States in 1997 when activists burned down a Bureau of Land Management horse corral in Oregon. The group also made national headlines when it claimed responsibility for the arson of a ski resort in Vali, Colorado, which caused $12 million in damages. Their reasoning for this attack was that putting profits ahead of Colorado’s wildlife will not be tolerated, and that the greedy corporation continued to trespass into the wild and un-roaded areas. ELF views the ongoing battle with urban and leisure building, as a wasteful and unnecessary infringement on natural habitats. Car dealerships and sport utility vehicles are also a common target for members of the ELF organization. They have been known to set fire to, blow up, and spray paint such vehicles and facilities. The organization defends their actions with the view that they are eliminating the profit motive from killing the natural environment. Ultimately since 1996, ELF’s campaign of property destruction has cost some $43 million, and has yet to result in permanent closure of a business or facility. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has formed joint terrorism task forces with police around the country to investigate ELF actions and potentially stop them altogether. Another well known organization is Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC). This organization came about in 1998 when a British television broadcast, BBC, did a graphic documentary alleging mistreatment of animals by Huntingdon Life Sciences, a British-based research firm. In response to this documentary, outraged animal rights activists began to pressure financial institutions associated with Huntingdon Life Sciences to drop their support of the company and thereby force them to discontinue animal use in their tests. This campaign named themselves Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty. SHAC quickly became a transatlantic cause among radical animal rights activists, with chapters in Germany, Italy, Portugal, and the United States. Today, the group has claimed responsibility for several bombings and numerous acts of vandalism as well as harassment in both the United States and Europe. The SHAC uses the internet more effectively than any other eco-terrorist group. On their website, they provide activities with specific targets that include information such as the names and addresses, spouse’s names and even social security numbers of its intended targets, whether it is an individualized person or a company/organization. Once the information is relayed electronically, SHAC activists protest outside the homes of the targeted employees. A new nonprofit organization recently formed in Portland, Oregon, called Stop Eco-Violence (SEV), was made to demonstrate the harm of eco-terrorism to communities where it occurs. SEV was founded on the core principle that violence is no solution to addressing environmental and social issues. Stop Eco-Violence hopes to expose the terrorists and their founders, as well as assist law enforcement agencies, by serving as a public clearinghouse to track eco-terrorism cases. Despite the few successes by law enforcement in capturing those responsible for eco-terror related crimes, most of the acts made by these organizations remain unsolved. Eco-terrorist groups remain extremely difficult to identify and infiltrate, and it is very unlikely that the rapidly growing movement of eco-terrorism will disappear soon. However, I feel that these organizations should be allowed their activist movements as long as their position of the acts themselves include such attitudes that the kind, compassionate, caring of other people is included.

Using Big Data to Defend Against Cyber Threats

Using Big Data to Defend Against Cyber Threats Abstract In todays world, there are petabytes of data being moved by the minute, that data is analyzed and algorithms are developed so companies can critique and improve their services, ultimately increasing their profit, this is called BIG DATA. Majority of the being moved holds critical information such as social security numbers, health information, locations, passwords and more. When data is compromised BILLIONS of dollars are at risk, affecting the companys integrity and the people who data is stolen livelihood, the security of big data is vital to a companys present and future success. Big data is the large volume data which is difficult in processing through traditional method. Security and privacy for big data as well as Big Data management and analytics are important for cyber security. As the field of Cyber Security is increasingly becoming more and more in demand every day, big data is being pushed to the forefront rapidly for big businesses. Big datas main role is to mine and analyze large sets of data to find behavioral trends and common patterns. From a cyber security perspective, I feel as though big data has ushered in a new wave of possibilities in regards to analytics and provided security solutions to prevent and protect data from future cyber-attacks. I have cyphered through large amounts text in regards to big datas effectiveness. It is important to understand its effectiveness to better help companies both utilize and protect its data from cyber criminals. The break-out participants pointed out that Big Data analysis for cyber security is for malici ous adversary that can launch attacks to avoid being detected. The Privacy preserving biometric authentication must be secured and biometrics represent sensitive information that needs to be strongly protected. Big Data analysis for Preventing cyber-attacks is vital important in security and data management. Enforcing access control policies in big data stores is very important approach to secure the big data. Keywords: Network Protection, Analytics, and Analysis Introduction Big data is key to the evolution of technology, it is used to improve the services companies provide by developing algorithms through analyzation of each users data. An example of big data would be the popular social media application Instagram. Every user has access to an explore page, that explore page is based off the pictures each user likes, comments on or may have in common with a follower. This small action, improves the experience of the user and increases the time the user uses that application, ultimately bringing in more money. Big data is continuing to be used on bigger platforms including financial services, health services, weather, politics, sports, science and research, automobiles, real estate, and now cyber security. An important way to monitor your network is to set up a big data analysis program. Big data analysis is the process of examining large data sets to uncover hidden patterns, unknown correlations, market trends, customer preferences and other useful busin ess information. So with our topic being how big data analytics can prevent cyber-attack, its a pretty simple answer that knowing what data is traveling on your network can help prevent a cyber-attack by helping you to track everything that comes onto the network where you can decide if it make be harmful or not. This research will show just how simple it is to recognize unfamiliar data in your network and track where each piece of data goes. Big data is high-volume, high-velocity and high-variety information assets. Big data are collected through social networking, cell phones, interacting web application. Billions of bytes of data are collected through various medium every minutes. Big data demands cost-effective, innovative forms of information processing for enhanced insight and decision making. There is always issue on the storage and processing these large data set. Storage, management and analysis of large quantities of data also result in security and privacy violations. Privacy and security have compromised while storing, managing and analyzing the large quantities of large data. When dealing with big data, it is necessary to maintain the well balance approach towards regulations and analytics. (http://ceur-ws.org/Vol-1097/STIDS2013_P1_JanssenGrady.pdf) Data management and analytical techniques can be used to solve security problems. The massive amounts of data are being collected and this data has to be analyzed to defend cyber-attacks. There are issues on security and privacy for big data, data management and analytics to secure the data. Big Data is major in database management. There are many data communities that they are developing large data and its solutions for efficiently managing and analyzing large sets of data. Big Data research and development need to do in academic, industrial and government research labs to protect it. Cloud data management include malware detection, insider threat detection, intrusion detection, and spam filtering. There needs more attention in security and privacy considerations for Big Data including systems, data and networks. Big organization or government agency who are the big data collector need to come together to develop solutions for Big Data security and privacy. The big data privacy, integrity and trust policies need to examine inside the context of Big Data security. The collection and mining data concerning user activities and travel can be used to find out across geographical areas like knowing the originated of the any disease that outbreak. The collection on the social media, posting videos and photos and status can help to recognize to any criminal or terrorist activities. There are many other domains and data technologies play the major role in strengthening security. The break-out participants pointed out that Big Data analysis for cyber security needs to deal with adaptive, malicious adversary that can potentially launch attacks to avoid being detected. The denial of information attacks is one of the attack that has to be considered as big threat for data privacy. Big data analysis for cyber security need to operate in high volume like data coming from multiple intrusion detection systems and sensors and high noise environments, changing normal system usage data is mixed with stealth advanced persistent threat related data. Big data analytical tools that can integrate data from host, network, social networks, bug reports, mobile devices, and internet of things sensors to detect attacks. The biometric authentication must be secured. The authentication requires recording biometrics of users and used for matching with templates provided by users at authentication time. Templates of user biometrics represent sensitive information that needs to be strongly protected. In the different environments in which users have to interact with many different service providers have to interact by applying hashing security technique. Today, cyber threat is increasing because existing security measure systems are not capable of detecting them. Previously, attacks had simpleton aim to attack or destroy the system. However, the destination of Holocene epoch hacking onrush has changed from leaking selective information and demolition of services to attacking large-scale systems such as critical substructure and state authority. Existing defense reaction applied science to detect these tone-beginning are based on pattern matching method acting which are very limited. To defend against these stranger attacks. Researchers can propose a new simulation based on big data analysis technique that can extract information to detect future attacks. This author state Within the last few 4 sentiency of twelvemonth, Network Behavior Analysis (NBA) has been one of these emerging technologies that have been sell as a security direction tool to improve the current network surety status. The briny focusing of NBA is to proctor inbound and outbound dealings associated with the network to ensure that nothing is getting into the host, package, and application political program systems which helps enhance the overall security measuring section of the network at all story ( Anand, T). It is stated that approximately 25 % of large endeavor systems will be using NBA by 2011. First, the model has little proactive capableness posture toward preventing any security incident because the architecture is material body with technologies that discover most security events in progression while it misses opportunities to detect and firmness other small menace before it become problems job for the network. Enforcing access control policies in big data stores is to secure the data storage. Some of the recent Big Data systems allow its users to submit arbitrary jobs using programming languages. This creates challenges to enforce fine grained access control efficiently for different users. To control such challenge there need to apply how to efficiently enforce such policies in recently developed Big Data stores. Big Data analysis for Preventing Cyber Attacks is vital important in security and data management. Big Data analysis systems that can easily track sensitive data using the capture provenance information can potentially detect sensitive information goes in the hackers hand. Building the provenance aware Big data analysis systems is needed for cyberattack prevention. The big data tool is for cyber security can potentially mine useful attacker motivations, technical capabilities, and modus to prevent future attacks. At the point when managing security issues in the present civil argument encompassing enormous information investigation, the feeling that one may frequently accumulate is that we are within the sight of a contention between positions which cant without much of a stretch be accommodated. It is as though protection were an obstacle to development spoke to by the open doors offered by big data, a weight originating from the past. Then again as though big data will bring the end of protection, an inescapable infringement of the private circle for mechanical advancement. We tend to be skeptical on this thought of a contention and, rather, we feel this is just history rehashing itself, like each time an innovation move happens, particularly at its initial stage. Toward the end, it is every one of an innocent encounter between the individuals who just observe the rankles and the individuals who just see the advantages. The story however is considerably more perplexing and, over the time, t hese prerequisites cant fit in clichà © plans. To state it in an unexpected way: big data investigation is digging in for the long haul, and additionally security. The objective of this part is to blueprint how the innovative capacity to remove esteem from information for cutting edge society and the control over it, which is exemplified by security standards, can succeed together. Understanding Infrastructure The more data security experts must analyze, the better they can understand the infrastructure of a complex network. The big network attacks of recent memory are analyzed on a big data scale This shows analyst, how to improve the design of the networks infrastructure and implement security tools to negate cyber-attacks. The more secure and sound the foundation of a network is the less likely data would be compromised. Understanding Hackers Big data is also being used to pinpoint which hacker is guilty of committing the cyber-attack. Security experts can analyze attacks and connect the hackers habits or routines when they attack a network. Cyber experts can react quickly and perform efficiently when theyre familiar with a hackers routine, possibly tracking the hackers actions and possibly finding the location of the hacker. In addition, by using big data, security experts are also able to find hackers through different social media platforms such as, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and many other forums that may be a site where other hackers may reside. Hacking has leaked personal selective information or were done for just fame, but recent hacking targets fellowship, administration agencies. This variety of attempt is commonly called APT (Advanced Persistent Threat). APT attack is a special kind of onslaught that use mixer engineering, zero-Day picture and other techniques to penetrate the target scheme and persistently collect valuable entropy. It can give massive impairment to national agencies or initiative. Another author states An advanced persistent threat (APT) uses multiple forms to break into a network, avoid detection, and harvest valuable information over the long full term. This info-graphic particular s the attack phases, methods, and need that differentiate APTs from other targeted approach (Siegel, J. E.). Security system of pattern for spotting and security measure system of rules against cyber-onrush are firewalls, trespass detection arrangement, encroachment bar system, anti -viruses answer , data base encryption, DRM solutions etc. Moreover, integrated monitoring technologies for managing system log are used. These security department solutions are developed based on signature. Per various reports, trespass detection systems and intrusion bar systems are not capable of defending against APT onset because there are no signature tune. Therefore, to overcome this issue, security expert is offset to apply data minelaying technologies to detect previously targeted attacks. We propose a new exemplar based on big data analysis technology to prevent and detect previously unknown APT attacks. APT attack is usually done in four steps: intrusion, searching, collection and attack. Figure one describes the attack procedure in detail. Development of Security Tools Hackers can develop complex tools that can find vulnerabilities in a network. By way of big data, cyber experts can develop tools to counter the hacker, aiding security experts in compliance reporting, monitoring, alerting and overall management of complex systems. A big data analytical tool a lot of companies are becoming familiar with is Lumify. Lumify Lumify is an open source tool that creates a visualization platform for analysis of big data, including 2D and 3D graph visualizations, full-text search, complex histograms, interactive geographic maps, and collaborative workspaces. Search Results The user can upload their own personal data or begin with a search with a built-in search engine. The search engine can find artifacts such as documents, images, and videos or entities, which are individual terms pulled out of the artifacts by an analyst during the data extraction process. The data can also be edited to fit a specific search by using Lumifys built in filters, decreasing the amount of data that is unusable for this specific search (pictured below). After the search results are found the user can use the graphic visualization tool. Graphic Visualization Analysis of big data can be complex, terabytes of data is combed through, in attempts to connect a common interest. Lumify makes the process of analyzation easier through graphic visualization. After the search is complete (shown above), the user can place the results on the graph through drag and drop. The user then can click on the results and load all related items or related items of a certain type, creating a relationship between the entities. The relationship between the entities can be created or Lumify can find a common interest. Map Integration When loading data/entity in Lumify the data/entity can be connected to a geographical location, any entity/data that has a location, the location symbol will be seen next to the entity (pictured below). In the top left-hand corner of the (pictured below) the user can click the location menu and the global map will appear with the locations associated with the entities that were previously loaded. The user than can load data within a radius of the entity location and click to see results that relate to the location of your entity. The map and visual are fully compatible with each other, meaning whatever you do in one area of the database, the other tool is updated with the latest data. Lumify can be the leading BIG DATA analytical tool on the market because of its ability to display BIG DATA visually. Conclusion The chances of cyber-attacks increase daily because of a dependency on the internet to achieve daily task, per Susan OBrien of Datameer, 99 percent of computers are vulnerable to attacks, nearly 1 million malware threats are released daily, and the estimated cost of cyber-crimes average a BILLION dollars!! Big data has already produced positive results in its efforts to dwarf cyber threats, per security website HELPNETSECURITY federal agencies that effectively use big data analytics see improvements in cybersecurity. In fact, 84 percent of big data users say their agency has successfully used big data analytics to thwart a cybersecurity attack and 90 percent have seen a decline in security breaches malware (50 percent), insider threats (47 percent), and social engineering (46 percent) because of using big data analytics. Evolving cyber threats demand a new generation of cyber tactics, big data is leading the way in making the internet and the world a safer place. We now live in the era of Big Data. Whether we like it or not, companies are regularly collecting reams of information about us as we go about our daily lives. They are tracking us as we visit web sites. They also tracking while we are walking around stores, and as we purchasing products. While some of the information may be mundane, some of it can be highly sensitive, including very specific details about our finances and our health status. To protect the data of our life there always challenging for big organization and government agency. Big data is high-volume, high-velocity and high-variety information assets and demands cost-effective, innovative forms of information processing for enhanced insight and decision making. Variability is in the data flows velocity, which has cost-effectiveness and that leads to the producing of additional processors in cloud systems to handle the load which increases. The log data that are from devices flows into systems, the change and analysis can be done before the curation of data into persistent storage. Volume is the characteristic of the data set and identification of the big data. The cyber must also deal with a richer set of attributes for the resources which adds in a variety of other contextual datasets into the analysis. Variety is the Big Data attribute. This attribute enables most sophisticated cyber analytics. The mechanism is required to bring multiple and highly diverse datasets in scalable way. The security can be obtained through a controlled metadata. We now live in the era of Big Data, whether we like it or not, companies are regularly collecting reams of information about us as we go about our daily lives, details about our finances and our health status. Ontologies for metadata helps to find out that is already existed, encompassing resources and attack event ontologies. Ontology for metadata is for browsing and querying metadata. The ontology representations of the facts are full confidence in the data being described. While this metadata could be browsed manually, the real value comes if it can be actionable; such that selections over the metadata ontology would automatically construct queries to the Big Data Machine learning technique the best to technique to protect big data. Government also has to take serious action about how the big data have to handle to protect the personal information. So any big data collector or government agency have to take further step to protect the privacy of citizen. References OBrien, S. (2016, May 05). Challenges to Cyber Security How Big Data Analytics Can Help. Retrieved October 27, 2016, from https://datameer-wp-production-origin.datameer.com/company/datameer-blog/challenges-to-cyber-security-and-how-big-data-analytics-can-help/ Big Data to Fight Crime. (2015, June 10). Retrieved October 27, 2016, from https://www.promptcloud.com/big-data-to-fight-cyber-crime/ (2016, August 30). Retrieved October 27, 2016, from https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2016/08/30/feds-big-data-analytics-cybersecurity/ Lumify Documentation. (n.d.). Retrieved November 22, 2016, from http://lumify.io/docs/ Siegel, J. E. (2016). Data proxies, the cognitive layer, and application locality: enablers of cloud- connected vehicles and next-generation internet of things (Doctoral dissertation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology). http://csi.utdallas.edu/events/NSF/NSF-workhop-Big-Data-SP-Feb9-2015_FINAL.pdf http://www.blackhat.com/docs/us-15/materials/us-15-Gaddam-Securing-Your-Big-Data-Environment-wp.pdf ceur-ws.org/Vol-1097/STIDS2013_P1_JanssenGrady.pdf

Withdrawing Forces from Vietnam Essay -- Vietnam War American History

Withdrawing Forces from Vietnam â€Å"I’ve always said, if you don’t go in to win, don’t go in at all†¦Either you conduct the conflict with all the assets the United States has at its disposal to bring about a quick and successful outcome or you stay out.† -Alexander M. Haig JR. The War That Couldn’t Be Won! By withdrawing its forces from Vietnam in 1973 did the United States admit defeat? This is an argument that historians and observers have been having for years. Before answering that question however, we must first understand if we ever really had a chance to win the war. The circumstances leading up to the war were pretty much out of the United States control with an obligation to our French allies. With threats of communism taking over Vietnam, many felt that our presence was needed to avoid Ho Chi Mihn’s control. With all of the excitement, many important factors were overlooked such as did the United States have enough troops to fight this war, what type of retaliation the Vietnamese would use, and were we ready to fight a sixteen year war? The United States strongly underestimated the power and desire that the North Vietnamese had to gain control and preserve communism. It was thought that the US presence in Vietnam was required to contain the communist influence from living up to the expectations of the Domino Theory. The Domino Theory resulted from the Cold War and stated that if one country was to fall under the communist regime, soon neighboring countries would fall. At the time France was fighting to gain back control of Vietnam as it was beginning to feel resistance from small guerrilla groups known as the Viet Kong, so America saw it as its duty to help out their French allies by giving money and supplying weapons. America believed this was necessary in order to help the French keep control of Vietnam and never fall to Communism. These small Communist guerrilla groups were funded by other Communist powers such as China and Russia. If the whole of Vietnam fell to communist rule this could have had an impact on the rest of the world and show that a Communist regime holds more power than the United States Democracy, thus slowly turning the rest of the world communist. This was just the beginning of the part the US played in Vietnam. Gradually they got dragged further and further into the war and sud... ...m was not even really supported by the Vietnamese people. How could the United States expect to win a war when nobody wanted the government they had set up? South Vietnamese guerillas began to work with the North Vietnamese soldiers to defeat the American supported government and to unify Vietnam. The United States basically turned the Vietnamese that were earlier on their side against them. They became angry that so many of their civilians were being injured and killed and did not want the government set up by the United States to stay in place. With even more Vietnamese people against the United States, there was no way that they were going to be able to win this war. In 1975 many tired troops finally came home from Vietnam, defeated. Their efforts did not end communism and left countless numbers of Americans and Vietnamese people dead. The United States weak strategies, the public’s anti-war attitude, and the Vietnamese’s opposition to the government the United States had set up all contributed to the United State’s defeat in Vietnam. The most tragic part about the Vietnam War was that it took about sixteen years to lose a war that from the beginning we were not going to win.

Evaluate the Foodservice Operation Essay

As time passes by, people were expecting also an improvement in the way cultural institutions would like to show what they got. If you have gone to a museum once, or other cultural institutions, you would probably go back some other time due to the liking in the place and its content. However, an expectation of seeking new experiences would probably be born onto you. Cultural institutions have been making many improvements and developments for the people visiting the place. Such improvements and developments are through exhibits, experiences, facilities, amenities, and many more. Together with the improvements is the food service. The fact that people are now becoming aware of the food trends which are probably seen in the television and the styles of serving and preparations of foods, the need for the improvement of the food service in this cultural institution is a must. Look at this; would anyone have much interest to go to the cafeteria in basement or in any place in the museum, having an old-fashioned theme, walking in a dark path? Someone might lose his/her appetite. Food service operations, such as having cafeterias, food courts and in any other form inside of the cultural institutions, enhance the satisfaction of the people who visits the place. In addition to that, it can also produce additional revenue for the institution and made the entire facility a place to go. Imagine, someone had to walk for a long time to see the cultural institutions have to show. Then the time he/she would be thinking of rest, he/she can then go to the cafeteria and have a rest while recharging his energy through eating. This is how Andy Zakrajsek explains how foodservice operations are important in such cultural institutions. He is the current director or retail businesses and the manager of the Brain Food Court together with the other operations regarding foodservice at the Museum of Science & Industry (Levin, 2006). Food Service Mission A place to rest and unwind The main mission of having a food service operation in a cultural institution is to give time for the people visiting their place a time to recharge, say after an 8-hour tiring strolling looking on what the place have to offer . A need for nourishment can be given by these food service facilities. Another thing is to give time for the visitors to sit beside their friends and families, while enjoying the beautiful scene of the place. Through this, visitors then have the opportunity to unwind and take some rest for the next hour/s going back to see more of the exhibits present on the place. To generate additional revenues Not only on the outside or special occasions are catering on the play. At the Museum of Science & Industry, there are also special events celebrated with which catering services held by the Brain Food Court under Andy Zakrajsek are on the roll. This catering on special events was considered to be one of the activities which generate a large amount of revenues. The museum and all other cultural institutions were designed to have a large area for special events and gathering such as large lobbies, atriums, amphitheaters, etc†¦ However, there is also a need for spacious places inside the cultural institutions; this is in addition to the accommodations needed for the gathering, but also the need for the foodservice preparations. Considering the costs of the foodservice preparations, having a place inside the cultural institution as the preparation area, will costs lesser than renting a place to takeover or a catering service outside, while earning greater profit. Must Adapt to Changes There are also called peak seasons and valley seasons on the museum. The number of visitors may vary from day-to-day or from season-to-season. For example, there can be thousands more of visitors which comes to visit the museum during summer, and by a hundred during winter (Johns, 2006). Due to this ‘seasons of change’, the foodservice must be adaptive to this kind of situation. The foodservice then must be flexible. Since there would be a large number to serve during warmer days, the foodservice operation must also consider the safety, but still must be in efficient manner. And in cold winter days, there must be an operation that shall consider the minimal staffing to lower the expenses. Andy Zakrajsek had thought of this problem and had also find solution to resolve this problem regarding the peaks and valleys. He said that having equipments and designs of the facilities which are flexible should be the best solution for a cafeteria and other foodservice facilities. The museum had undergone major renovations on their designs to adapt with the changes in numbers of guests that will arrive. Considering the case that occurs during cold winter days with which only a few numbers of guests arrives at the museum. The application of these flexible equipments and facilities can be seen; such as shutting down of some of the stations allocated for cooking. Doing this will lessen the costs for the amenities, and also to reduce some staffs. The need for an exceedingly flexible equipments and facilities is a must in order for the foodservice operations to handle the changes with regards to the numbers of crowds and the changing food trends. To Look Great while being Durable The food court and cafeterias are the one responsible for the foodservice operations. Together with other facilities and areas in the museum, the food court and cafeterias must also look really good as elaborated by Andy Zakrajsek. The museum’s food courts and cafeterias have been visited by a million and a half of visitors every year, many of them were kids. In addition to the foodservice operations, the manager of the foodservice operations had included in the food courts and cafeterias some carts, strollers and backpacks having buckles (Levin, 2006). This will make it easier for visitors to handle their kids, and for the place to be in control and in stillness. But these additional equipments must also be durable through time. There had been some changes together with the major renovations, on the floors and walls of the food courts and cafeterias. The food court and cafeteria’s floors were replaced by stain-proof and scratch-proof floorings while still having a nice design. As Andy Zakrajsek explained, they needed an industrial-level of surface materials while still giving an interesting look and designs. Educational Purpose One of the major purposes of the cultural institutions was to educate. Foodservice operations also included this purpose on their operations. There is a ledge purposely designed in front of the pizza and grill stations of the museum. This is made so that children can step onto it so that they can see and observe the cooks while working. The window protectors which divide the stations for cooking and the customer’s area were made of clear glasses which are in lower position relative to the customers view. This is an intended work so that the visitors can make a better look at the cooking and food preparation. Is it profitable? The manager of the Brain Food Court and the other foodservice operations of the Museum of Science & Industry, Andy Zakrajsek, had focused on two things. They made critical and complete evaluations on the foodservice operations. They had evaluated the department for the special events of the museum. The first thing they evaluated are the following; how it functions; how the food courts, cafeterias and foodservice operations connected to the museum and how will it serve the guests; and had also evaluated the quality of the management used and the staffs of the foodservice operation. The second thing they did is reviewing the catering program. The purpose of this is a way easy, the optimization of the income that the museum can earn. After the evaluations and reviews done, they made improvement and developments regarding the concerns stated above. The result is that the net income of the museum had increased up to 250% within five years (Greenbaum, 2004). What makes foodservice profitable is that it enhances the cultural institutions overall purpose, having cafeterias and food courts, catering and other special events and foodservices, make the increase in the number of visitors in the museum, this is the main supporting evidence how foodservice operations make the institution more profitable. As stated by the by Andy Zakrajsek, the catering on the special events held at the museum was considered one of the activities which generates a large amount of revenues. Conclusion The importance of the foodservice operations in cultural institution is extremely high. Thus, this implies that the planning about the foodservice operations must be included on the design process of every cultural institution. Summing it up, there is a critical role played by the foodservice operations in a cultural institution, and planning it up early and having it is one of the measures of success of the institution. Foodservice operations are responsible for the enhancements of the institution, which controls the increases the number of visitors, in which it brings huge revenues to the institution.

Angora Goat Facts

Angora Goat Facts The angora goat (Capra hircus aegagrus) is a domestic goat which has been deliberately bred to produce a soft, luxurious coat suitable for human textile manufacture.  Angoras were first developed in Asia Minor, between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, perhaps as much as 2,500 years ago- references to the use of goat hair as a textile appear in the Hebrew Bible.   Fast Facts: Angora Goats Scientific Name: Capra hircus aegagrus (the name for all domesticated goats)Common Names: Angora goat, mohair goatBasic Animal Group: MammalSize: Height at withers: 36–48 inches  Ã‚  Weight: 70–225 poundsLifespan: 10 yearsDiet:  HerbivoreHabitat: Semi-arid pastures in Asia Minor, US (Texas), South AfricaPopulation: ca 350,000Conservation Status: Not Evaluated   Description The scientific name for Angora goats is Capra hircus aegagrus, but that name is also used to refer to most other domestic goats. All belong to the order Artiodactyle, family Bovidae, subfamily Caprinae, and genus Capra.   Angora goats are small in relation to dairy goats or sheep. Adult females stand 36 inches tall and weigh between 70–110 pounds; males stand 48 inches tall and weigh 180–225 pounds. Their main defining characteristic is long (8–10 inches at shearing) ringlets of hair which are fine, silky, lustrous, and dazzlingly white in color and contain little oil in the fleece.  That hair, known as mohair, is a coveted and expensive resource when converted to textiles and sold in sweaters and other clothing. Raw mohair is graded on the basis of fiber thickness, and the best prices to be obtained are hairs that are between 24 and 25 microns thick. Both males and females are horned unless the farmer removes them. Bucks have horns which can reach two or more feet long and have a pronounced spiral, while female horns are comparatively short, 9–10 inches long and straight or slightly spiraled.   Male angora goat in profile. Dmaroscar / Getty Images Plus Habitat and Distribution Angora goats thrive in mostly semi-arid regions with dry, hot summers and cold winters. They originated in Asia Minor and were first successfully exported to other countries beginning in the mid-19th century. Populations were established in South Africa in 1838, and the US on or near the Edwards Plateau of Texas in 1849. Other substantive populations today are managed in Argentina, Lesotho, Russia, and Australia. These goats are almost all in managed (rather than wild) populations, and they are often artificially inseminated, dehorned, and otherwise controlled. Adult angoras are sheared on a biannual basis, producing weights of up to about 10 pounds per year of long, silky fibers between 8–10 inches long. The goats are quite susceptible to cold and wet weather after they have been sheared, for periods up to 4–6 weeks. Close up of mohair on an angora goat. CookedPhotos / Getty Images Plus Diet and Behavior   Goats are browsers and grazers, and they prefer brush, tree leaves, and rough plants, reaching the lower parts of trees by standing on their hind legs. They are often pastured with sheep and cattle since each species prefers different plants. Angoras can improve pastures and reforestation areas by controlling leafy spurge and destroying a range of nuisance plants such as multiflora roses, sand burs, and Canadian thistle. Goats like to go under or through obstacles, so agricultural specialists suggest that five-wire electric fences, woven-wire, or small-mesh fencing is required to keep them penned in. While most goats are not aggressive towards humans, they can do serious or lethal damage to other goats with their horns, especially during the rutting season. Reproduction and Offspring Angora goats have two sexes, and the male is considerably larger than the female. Billies begin rutting in the fall, a behavior that initiates estrus in the females. Little is known about natural herds and group behaviors since studies have been primarily confined to managed populations. Breeding lasts between late September into December (in the northern hemisphere); gestation typically lasts between 148–150 days. Kids are born between late February through April or early May.   Angoras typically have one, two, or on rare occasions three kids, once a year, depending on herd size and management strategy. Kids are extremely delicate at birth and need protection for the first few days if the weather is cold or damp. Kids feed on mothers milk until they are weaned at about 16 weeks. Kids become sexually mature at 6–8 months, but only about half have kids of their own in the first year. Angora goats have a lifespan of about 10 years. An Angora goat (Capra hircus aegagrus) nursing a kid. Pelooyen / Getty Images Plus Conservation Status   Angora goats have not been evaluated as to conservation status, and there are at least 350,000 in different managed populations. Few are wild; the majority live in commercial herds which are grown to produce mohair. Sources Breeds of Livestock- Angora Goats. Oklahoma State University, 1999Jensen, Harriet L., George B. Holcomb, and Howard W. Kerr, Jr. Angora Goats: A Small-Scale Agriculture Alternative. Small Farm Program, University of California Davis, 1993.Jordan, R. M. Angora Goats in the Midwest. North Central Regional Extension Publication 375, 1990.  McGregor, B. A. Investigating the Angora Goat Agro-Pastoral Production System in Southern Australia. Small Ruminant Research 163 (2018): 10–14.  McGregor, B. A., and A. M. Howse. The Effects of Mid Pregnancy and Postnatal Nutrition, Birth Parity and Sex on Angora Goat Live Weight Gain, Skin Follicle Development, Mohair Physical Properties and Fleece Value. Small Ruminant Research 169 (2018): 8–18.  Shelton, Maurice. Angora Goat and Mohair Production. San Angelo, TX: Anchor Publishing, 1993.  Visser, Carina, et al. Genetic Diversity and Population Structure in South African, French and Argentinian Angora Goats from Genome-Wide Snp Data. PLOS ONE 11.5 (2016): e0154353.