Individual Presentation: Kevin Mitnick :: Computers Technology Kevin Matnick Essays

Individual Presentation: Kevin Mitnick Introduction Originally, I had planned on researching George Lucas as my creative genius. I am in love with the Star Wars saga, but I really could not get interested in George Lucas. Then, late one night, I saw a movie called Takedown. It was based on a true story that dealt with the pursuit and capture of Kevin Mitnick, one of the most infamous computer hackers of all time. I was instantly amazed. As soon as the movie was over, I began scouring the internet looking for information concerning him. I am quite interested in computers, and Mitnick’s mastery of them drew me towards him. I knew then that he was who I wanted to research. His creativity encompasses a wide range of skills. Obviously, his mastery of computer and telephone systems deals with the Mathematical/Logical domain. Also, he is talented at acquiring information from people, which is an intrapersonal skill. Plus, he is strongly self-motivated and that deals with the interpersonal domain. This combination of skills elevated him to be one of the best hackers the world has ever seen. I have a great deal of respect for Kevin Mitnick because he is able to use a computer creatively to acquire whatever he wants to know. In a way, I wish I could be like him. A computer is such a valuable asset, but many times it is not close to being used to its full potential. Kevin Mitnick realized this, and put his computer to maximum usage. However, it is unfortunate that what he did was against the law. Due to this, I really cannot consider him a role model. I have no desire to risk going to jail over a computer-related crime. Even so, there is still a great amount of potential within Mitnick. Since he knows so much about breaking into computers, he could use that knowledge when he gets out of jail to design security systems that would be almost impenetrable. He knows all the tricks of the trade on how to tap into someone’s system. It is this insight that could enable him to design a nearly full-proof security system. Only time will tell what happens with Mi tnick in the future.

Our Grandmothers By Maya Angel Essay -- essays research papers

Imagery In The Poem “Our Grandmothers'; by Maya Angelou Image (Imagery) – Descriptive poetry flourished. One basic meaning for ‘image’ is provided by that context, but other, looser and more treacherous, meanings have accreted: any sensuous effect provoked by literary language; any striking language; metaphor; symbol; any figure. Maya Angelou’s poem, “Our Grandmother’s,'; vividly exemplifies a sense of imagery that is brought to life. The most effective way that, Maya Angelou presents imagery to the readers is through the setting. Firstly, at the beginning of the poem the narrator describes the current state of the main character and gives a brief description of the setting through imagery. “She lay, skin down on the moist dirt, / … the whispers of leaves…/ the longing of hounds…'; (“Our Grandmothers';, 1-4). These lines are very effective to the readers because the imagery behind these lines allows the readers to feel the cool breeze blowing, hear the leaves rustling and even sense the smell of fear; everything that one could think of to enhance the setting of a plantation. Reading this poem is an escape from modern day life. As readers, we observe everything that the narrator and the main character experience. To fulfill the imagination of the readers, Maya An gelou concentrates primarily as to how the readers are going to interpret certain events. S...

Pension reform in Europe

Task 6 Are future pensions secured? Bruno Miguel Silva Abrantes Current Issues in Economic Policy Academic year 2012-2013 Contents Are pensions secured? Understanding pensions Pensions aim to handle the transition of a person as worker to retired. So that he enjoy an income provided by the state or another organization and maintain a similar standard of living to what he had while employed and thus have a comfortable life economically, until the end of his life.The second objective of a pension is related to the fght against poverty which is done through a redistribution of income that romotes equity, within the elderly class. 1 There is a growing concern on the part of the European Commission on the sustainability of pension systems in the various countries of the European Union. The recent financial and economic crisis has revealed weaknesses that several countries have and bring into question the sustainability of the pension system. Economic growth slowed, unemployment has risen and the public accounts are in poor condition.One of the more serious implications on future pensions is related to the fact that a large part of the population remains unemployed or is forced to accept Jobs where they get lower ncomes, or work less time, which will result in a lower pension. 2 Further compounding the situation is a major demographic trend towards an aging population. The increase in life expectancy over the past decades, combined with low fertility rates is creating a change in the composition of the population. The number of active workers will decrease while the number of people who are retired will increase.Moreover, the numbers of years that a person remains employed is dwindling, partly because people start to work later, due to the many years spent in education. On the other hand there is a great tendency in obtaining early retirement ue to existing policies and management ot age in What are the main systems of pension funding? the labor market. In several co untries of the EIJ-27 the public sector is largely responsible for pensions, early retirement, disability and survivors. However there are some differences between the various members of the European Union at the level of pensions related to occupational or private pensions.In a generalized way pensions can be classified into three pillars: The public social security system, mandatory or voluntary occupational schemes and voluntary private schemes. The first, public social security system is undoubtedly largely responsible for the allocation of pensions to the population in most member states of the EIJ-27. This pillar can be characterized mainly by the Pay-as-you-go system (PAYG). In this system pensions are financed directly from taxes and social contributions that workers are paying in the present.The taxes are used to pay pensions in the short-term instead of being used to create funds that may grow in the long-term and benefit future generations. 3 Schemes within the second pil lar can be mandatory or voluntary occupational schemes. Participation in these funds is usually mandated by law and aims to provide an adequate pension to retired people according to what they saved during their working life. These funds are created by a company or organization in order to provide proper pensions to their employees, which should correspond to the effort and contribution the workers exercised.Both the employee and the employer contribute to the fund, which grows with the return rates that vary with the state of the market and the economy. The amount of the pension depends on the number of years of service and final salary of the employee. These funds are important to relieve the responsibility of the state to secure pensions in the whole population, but also because it is believed that these organizations are able to grow a fund more effectively than the state would. 4 The third and final pillar is characterized by private schemes. These are schemes that help people to accumulate savings for their retirement.The people who wish to do so can choose from a wide range of schemes who best match their needs. There are funds that are riskier; however the contribution that person does is less than the benefit you will receive if all goes well. On the other hand there are safer funds in which the benefit will match the contribution made. Typically these funds are voluntary and are complementary to government reforms that people receive from the state. 5 Looking at table 7(in appendix) we can divide public pensions, which are part of the first pillar of pensions in various sub-groups.Among which we can find Minimum pension / social allowance, Old age, early retirement, disability and survivors' pensions. Early- retirement, old-age pensions, disability and survivors' pension exist in almost all 27 member states. Early retirement does not exist in the Netherlands, Malta, United Kingdom and Norway. These schemes operate mostly in the form of earnings-relat ed, which means that pensions are assigned according to what people earned and contributed during their working life. However not all countries have adopted this scheme in the same way.In Denmark, survival and disability pensions are awarded according toa flat rate, offering a pension with a fixed value over time. This way of organizing pensions can promote greater social equity it the people who are the target of these flat-rate pensions have not worked or contributed enough to receive a ension that is sufficient to have a good quality of life in old age. However the state has to make an extra effort to fund this pension scheme, an effort that ultimately fall on taxpayers, since the people who will receive these pension contributed less than the amount of pension they will receive. Minimum pension or social allowance schemes exist in all EIJ member-state. These pensions are usually means-tested, in the sense that people are tested to understand whether they are , that is according to what the person has earned and contributed as an employee, or if they did not ork and had no and any gain if they have worked and which contributed received is not enough to access a normal pension. This type of pension is normally financed by taxes on citizens rather than individual contributions of individuals to pension funds. In the 2nd pillar we find Mandatory / voluntary schemes occupation.

Swot Analysis Of A Manager Of A Fast Food Shop

Strengths –Years of experience working, managing and owning a fast food restaurant Good communication skills with customers Friendly attitude with customers and staff Being able to mentor staff as I have years of experience in this fieldWeaknesses –Health problems Fatigue I have to look after my family which includes young children personally sometimes causing me to work lessOpportunities –To franchise and own more fast food shops I’m close to staff which I think my competitors might lackThreats –My staff might not be motivated enough if I work less Less time working means that I will get less customer feedback and less time to communicate with them(B) Skills AuditMy key skills are communicating with customers and satisfying them. I also have leadership skills, which enable me to guide and motivate the staff to perform better and be nicer to customers. Years of experience also help me decide how to deal with different members of staff and how to mot ivate them.There are gaps in my skills such as my stress levels. I get stressed pretty  easily and fatigue catches up too in a few hours of work. I can sometimes tend to be short tempered which might affect my mood at times and cause others to misunderstand me. Also, expressing my emotions correctly can also be seen as a vital gap.(C) Evaluation of my Strengths and Weaknesses –Years of managing and owning a fast food restaurant certainly has its benefits. I know what customers like and what they might not like and the kind of service they like to be provided with. I tend to have good communication skills with both the customers and staff, which tend to be imperative too. Being friendly with the customers encourages them to come to my shop more often. I make sure me and my staff act friendly with them and provide them with the best possible service. I understand how to motivate my staff; each and everyone get motivated in different ways. I use my skills and experience to mot ivate staff and push them to work harder and provide better service. My staff may look up to me as a mentor and respect my years of hard work to be successful in this business.My weaknesses might make me work less. Working less at my shop will cease me from having opportunities to bond with customers and creating a good relationship with them. It will also affect how I would like to personally ensure that the food being served is of the best quality and the service provided is admirable. My low fatigue level might get me tired, inefficient and might cause me to be downcast at times. These might stand as problems and if I cant work more, it’ll be tough for me to expand my business. These weakness in the long run stand in my way to achieve my goals in the future.I would try to quickly try and address these problems so that they don’t affect my goals. I would try to work on my health. I would try and workout in the gym, jog and eat healthy so that my health becomes better over time and fatigue doesn’t come easily. Working out or jogging would also help me reduce my stress levels. This could also somehow make me more stressed out and tired in the short run but hopefully it should eventually make my health better overall in the long run.I could also appoint a dedicated and efficient manager for the time being to play my role in the shop till I recovered and returned to my full ability. Although the manager might not live up to fulfilling my specific tasks and might just be a letdown because I have to pay an extra employee, appointing one would certainly be worth a try for the short run.

Employer Associations & Modern Awards Essay

There have been substantial changes to modern awards over the years that employer associations have historically and are currently advocating. In this regard, issues such as penalty rates and flexibility stemming from employer association submissions have been researched and examined by (Sheldon & Thornthwaite 2013) portraying evidence that employer associations relatively prefer cost cutting and enhanced managerial prerogative as oppose to productivity. Entailed within this essay the key concepts such as penalty rates, managerial prerogative, flexibility and productivity will be discussed with particular focus the modern award reviews combined with an overview of Sheldon and Thornthwaite’s argument in summary and concurrence. According to (Boxall & Purcell, 2011) management goals are predominantly associated with cost efficiency, controllable flexibility, legitimacy and managerial power. It is these goals that evidently become the concern of relevant employer associations, as such they take on the role of combining, allocating and utilising resources in order to achieve organisational objectives. There have however been significant changes over the years regarding employer association involvement particularly seen over the course of the 1980’s. Employer associations aim to influence and negotiate with the Government of the day as well as tribunals in an effort to ensure that the mutual concerns of organisations are being met. (Sheldon & Thornthwaite, 2013) discuss key system issues with regard to employer associations mainly focusing on restricting union’s right of entry, penalty rates and other provisions incorporating aspects of substantive and procedural rules. Modern Award reviews primarily began in 2012, it is during this time that leading associations took the opportunity to not only push for more workable provisions but also to campaign for more substantial changes within various awards. Employer associations accounted for a large number of submissions to the tribunal on a broad range of issued in particular penalty rates, public holidays and flexibility. In the technical sense, penalty rates are a form of tangible benefit within the financial context which generally refers to those payments made to workers outside normal working hours. Regulator motivations for including penalty rates in modern awards as stated by (Sloane, 2014) are twofold: firstly, to compensate workers for work performed during what was historically known as ‘unsociable hours’ and secondly, to dissuade employers from operating within those hours. However,  as advocated by (Sheldon & Thornthwaite, 2013) the modern award reviews have ‘provided a forum for employers and their associations to escalate their campaign to the significance of penalty rates in industries operating during the traditionally ‘unsociable hours’, which is evidence that employer associations prefer to enhance managerial prerogative over productivity which is predominantly concerned with the cost of resources. The push for the examination of provisions regarding penalty rates has mostly been seen to affect the tourism and retail industries. Flexibility is made up of numerous components however, within in the context of the workplace involves thinking creatively about how working lives can be better structured to match individual and business needs (Job Access, 2012). Following the review of penalty rate provisions, amendments to the flexibility clause were sought after with particular attention paid to the manufacturing industry. Greater flexibility was requested in the taking and cashing out of annual leave in a further attempt to enhance cost cutting initiatives through control measures which ultimately leads to the underlying concept of elevated managerial prerogative. Managerial prerogative may be defined as management’s unqualified authority to exercise its discretion in certain areas under the belief that they have exclusive rights to make decisions and therefore resist any interference with that control (Storey, 1983). Sheldon & Thornthwaite make reference to managerial prerogative in the defensive context through aggressive industrial action which has historically been used as a means of strengthening managerial prerogative. The 2011 Qantas lockout serves as one of the most significant demonstrations of managerial prerogative through the organisations decision to engage in a lockout. As part of a wider push to entrench managerial prerogative employers were also seen to be engaging in aggressive bargaining strategies in order to escalate disputes with the intention of gaining access to arbitration which has an adverse affect on productivity. (Stewart, 2005) promotes the fact that there needs to be greater emphasis on productivity which forges greater efficiency and high trust work systems founded on flexible and fair employment. Productivity is the economic factor stemming from the adequate use of resources; productivity is essentially the measure of achievement through the amount of output that is achieved as result of the input predominantly referring to land, labour and capital as the key resources. Between penalty rates and productivity there is no association they are separated by the contexts of which they are defined. (AI Group, 2012) identify key problem areas within the Fair Work Act Review and state that it is ‘hampering productivity growth, workplace flexibility and competitiveness’ thus meaning that penalty rates do not influence productivity levels. (Sheldon & Thornthwaite, 2013) do make it apparent that employer association’s main concerns do in fact favour cost cutting and managerial prerogative rather than focusing on the importance of productivity enhancement. (Sheldon & Thornthwaite, 2013) further explored critiques from employer associations whose predominant concern was based on the fact that managerial prerogative was reduced through the increasing weakness of employer’ freedom to contract. (DEEWR, 2012) Released a report referring to more productive and equitable workplaces which disappointed employer associations thus further confirming productivity enhancement to be of no concern. It is clearly demonstrated that employer associations’ main concerns were that of cost cutting and managerial prerogative it is however, the amalgamation of all the relevant key concepts discussed that essentially equip organisations with a competitive advantage. The core concepts behind the submissions made by employer associations clearly obscure the importance of larger issues which further represents that employer associations prioritise the ease of managements working lives over that of the worker. Bibliography Australian Industry (AI) Group (2012), Applications to Vary a Modern Award – 2012 Review, Stephen Smith, Director – National Workplace Relations. Boxall, P and Purcell, J (2011), The Goals of Human Resource Management, Strategy and Human Resource Management, 3rd Edition, Palgrave Macmillan, New York, pp. 1-36. Department of Employment, Education and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) (2012), Towards More Productive and Equitable Workplaces: An Evaluation of the Fair Work Legislation, Australian Government. Job Access, Flexibility in the Workplace, Australian Government, Accessed 1st May 2014 Sheldon, P and Thornthwaite, L. (2013), Employer and Employer Association Matters in 2012, Journal of Industrial Relations, Vol. 55: No. 3, pp. 386-402. Sloane, J (2014), Pay Penalty Rates, but not Through Awards System, The Australian. Stewart, A (2005), A Simple Plan for Workplace Regulation, Industrial Law News, Issue 7. Storey, J (1983). Managerial Prerogative and the Question of Control, Routledge & Kegan Paul Publishing, London.

Film and Tragic Love Story

Last January 10, 2013, I, together with my English 211 classmates watched the Lantaw 2012 Short-film festival. It’s my first time to watch a short-film here in USM since Lantaw is a yearly activity here in our school. I was really excited to watch those 5 short-films, especially the film â€Å"Salamin† from Ateneo de Davao University, who got first place in a certain event. I also enjoyed the 4 films, namely; Surat, Kulta, Ayuda, and Incognito. In the film â€Å"Surat†, produced and directed by the 2 BSECE-A, I was really surprised because my friend, April Mae Tulang, is the lady protagonist in the film.It was a tragic love story between a teacher and a rebel. It was a nice film and story, but for me the ending is a bit predictable one, the guy died and the teacher became an old maid. Let’s go to the film â€Å"Kulta†, from 2 ABPolSci. This film is a tragic-family story. The story was based from the reality today. In the film, they were orphans, but still a happy family. Not until when the youngest of them got sick, and she really needed to get in the hospital. Because of being penniless, the oldest son took the risk of being a bomb carrier in exchange of money.It was a reality-based film. It’s just, I can’t understand what were they’re saying because there’s no subtitle in the movie. While in â€Å"Ayuda†, from 3ABEnglish, is one of the short-films that I’ve been enjoyed watching. I enjoyed this film simply because we can related based from the story! It’s a college love story. The cast of the film played each of their roles nice and easy. But we were wondering about the ending of the film. It was totally fuzzy why the guy holds a mini-knife. Will he take suicide? Or will he kill the antagonist?It’s very confusing. And the film which I mostly liked, the â€Å"Incognito†, which is from DevChem (students from Development Communications and Chemistry department) real ly amazed me. The main cast were so amazing in performing their different roles. And the ending was really unpredictable! I did not imagine that pretty lady was †¦ gay. Haha. I am very happy for the people who made this short-film. They made it really great! I was really excited in the â€Å"Salamin† by the AdDU filmmakers because Sir Lloyd said that Salamin is a must-see short-film.And I really watching the film. At first, I never imagined that it/s going to be a horror movie. Their setting was nice, the actors especially the main characters delivered well. I was having fun even though some parts of the movie surprised me, it has a good sound effects and a loud and clear voice which I understand easily. Over-all, the Lantaw short-film Festival was a success. The audiences enjoyed those 5 films being watched. Thanks for the loud Sound System that we all heard the sounds loud and clear. Ellyn Mae L. Arias

Critically Analyse the extent to which the militarisation of Essay

Critically Analyse the extent to which the militarisation of humanitarian assistance has affected the way in which humanitarian agencies carry out their role in conflict affected countries - Essay Example Military activities are usually politically driven, and they follow the strategies laid out by their governments. On the other hand, aid organizations operate under impartiality and neutrality, but they rely on the military for security and provisions such as transportation. This affects their impartiality and neutrality since they might engage in some politically oriented missions. In the past, NGO workers have been used to gather intelligence for the military, which affects their functionality (Weiss, 1999). The government utilizes humanitarian relief aid to woo the local residents to provide information about the militants. In Iraq and Afghanistan, this strategy has been used to gather information regarding the Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants (Aidan, 2010). Humanitarian aid can be defined as logical assistance, medical assistance, and food supplies to people caught up in a humanitarian crisis such as war or natural disaster. Several countries in the third world such as Congo, Sierra Leone, Syria, and Libya have experienced internal war due to political instability. The affected population in these regions requires protection and assistance, which is mostly provided by NGOs along military organizations such as NATO, United Nations, and African Union. Today’s conflicts disregard human life as well as the values of tolerance and human dignity, and the general population is usually targeted by warlords. The main aim of humanitarian aid is to assist every person without discrimination, respect human dignity, and pursue no other interest. In areas where the military is involved, some affected groups may be locked out due to political reasons. The military may also influence the process of aid provision depending on the cooperation by the locals. This cooperation gauged in terms of information the military receives from local residents regarding militant groups in the region. The involvement of the military in aid activities