Category: Tech & Engineering 2928

Engineering Writing by Dorothy Winsor

As one reads the above article, it comes out rather obvious that the authors main point is to discredit the common idea perceived by many engineers that language is but a means of knowledge transportation and not a means of discovering knowledge. According to Winsor, engineers do require good writing skills if they are to effectively analyze the physical data that they encounter in their profession, to convert such data into easy-to-understand knowledge that can be easily shared with other individuals, and even record such data to be utilized in conducting further experiments. Winsor further states that language enables engineers to express themselves as engineers. She illustrates this point by observing that the language used by engineers in their reports enables them to transform their non-linear yet creative decisions during experiments to logical sequences of choices given that engineering entails the analysis of data and fact and not just implicit knowledge.

Winsors study of writing about engineering illustrates how her conception applies practically. In her article, after interviewing an engineering report writer, Winsor concludes that articles, such as the engineering report, are more than just practical compositions and can be better described as works that illustrate just how much the writer respects actions taken with regards to facts. Such reports, therefore, identify their writers as belonging to the engineers community. Simply put, instead of enlightening their readers, these reports are vital in creating a community with which both the reader and writer can identify with.

Winsor is right in more ways than one. Good language skills are among the most vital skills that every human should possess given the need to constantly convey information to one another. As much as engineering mostly deals with technical data, there are many instances when engineers have to deal with other professionals and to effectively do this they need good language skills. Engineers, therefore, just like other professionals, also require good language skills to effectively carry out their duties. Two discussion questions that arise from this article are:

1. It is obvious that language is crucial for communication, but to what extent is does language skills contribute to the engineering profession?
2. Can one become an excellent engineer without possessing excellent language skills?

The Composing Process of an Engineer by Jack Selzer

As one reads Jack Selzers article, it can be noticed that the larger issue in his article is his suggestion that in some cases, it is possible for writers to effectively write without having to refer to their drafts to guide them in editing or polishing their articles. In this article, it can be observed that Selzers engineer is not only confident but also well prepared for the report he was about to compose given that he produced detailed outlines, linearly composed his report, and spend only about five percent of his time going through his report. One of the issues that cannot go without being noticed is that the engineer spent more than three-quarters of the time he spends composing on planning. It can also be noticed that the engineers audience may have changed, but most of the other elements he come across as he composed his report remained more or less the same. Selzer notes that the engineer has over time written a myriad of documents, and this could be the main reason why he is that confident as he writes this report. He has become so familiar with such kinds of documents that he does not need to pause and go through his work.

In Selzers article, he convinces his readers that he has scrupulously researched his work by listing the method he used to collect his data. In this essay, the method he uses more is the observation of an engineer, Keneth Nelson, who records the engineers thoughts and answers to the questions he asks him during the report writing. He even provides details of the engineers background, in particular, certain events such as the engineer having previously composed his own1200 words.

When one does the same thing over some time, it reaches a time when the individual gets very used to the routine and carries out the duties with a lot of ease. The engineer in Selzers article best illustrates this point from the way he approaches the article with confidence without having to revise his work. The preparation stage also contributes to making the composting process much easier. Once one makes adequate preparations, it is easy to organize oneself as an engineer in Selzers article.

As one reads Selzers article, Selzers document illustrates that he thoroughly observed the engineer. From this article, two discussion questions that arise are:

1. What is the main factor that can enable one to confidently compose good articles without the need to constantly go through the article?
2. Given that preparation is very important if one is to have an easy time composing articles, what are some of the important activities that should be included in the preparation process?

References

Selzer, J. (1983). The composing processes of an engineer. College Composition and Communication, 34(2), 178. Web.

Winsor, D. A. (1990). Engineering writing/Writing engineering. College Composition and Communication, 41(1), 58. Web.

Introduction on ELID

The crushing procedure of molding materials by using hard rough particles as cutting medium has been a noteworthy technique to create exactness mechanical parts (Azarhoushang & Tawakoli, 2011). The technique is used for handling optical and electronic parts. It is utilized as a last machining procedure to create smooth surfaces and the appearance of different sorts of materials, particularly on hard and fragile ceramics. Electrolytic in-process dressing (ELID) grinding, which uses a metal-reinforced granulating wheel, is a strategy for accomplishing a mirror surface appearance on hard and fragile materials (Biswas, 2009).

The procedure of ELID Grinding has a concurrent electrolytic response and granulating activity. Electrolysis occurs between the anode and cathode wheel. The subsequent anodic oxide wears off effectively to permit proficient grinding. The factors associated with electrolysis complement the component of grinding and make it fundamentally unique from customary grinding. Distinctive variations of the process have been accounted, however, the essential logic of activity is the same as ELID (Wu, Ren, & Zhang, 2015).

Few researchers have recommended numerical clarification, among other basic investigations, that promote knowledge. The fundamental segments of the procedure, machine device, control supply, granulating wheel, terminal points, voltage supply, current, electrode gap, and electrolytes have experienced a few adjustments and advancement to convey better outcomes and suit particular purposes (Wu, Zhang, & Ren, 2015). The procedure has been connected with stock evacuation tasks for hard and fragile materials with low grinding capabilities than regular grinding.

Electrochemical Process of ELID

The essential ELID grinding framework comprises of a metal-fortified granulating wheel, a power supply, and a coolant that has high conductivity (Biswas, Kumar, & Rahman, 2010). The ELID design operates with two cathodes. The metal-fortified wheel is connected as the positive anode, while a copper brush is connected as the negative terminal. The power supply gives electric energy to the cathode and anode terminals. Consequently, the oxide layer produced on the wheel surface decreases the grinding power unlike with the ordinary grinding machines (Islam, Kumar, Balakumar, Lim, & Rahman, 2008).

Technology advancement influence the quest for improved grinding techniques. As a result, individuals have higher necessities for surface precision of optical, electrical and mechanical components (Jamali, & Mills, 2016). In traditional grinding, these components are coupled with lapping issues such as poor surface blend and high device cost. The cost of producing a fine metallic surface with traditions machines depends on the metal. However, the cost of crushing hard material like earthenware production could represent up to 79% of that cost (Kersschot, Qian, & Reynaerts, 2013). The low grinding proficiency, substantial wheel depreciation, and extensive dressing time are fundamental drivers for this high crushing expense (Kuai, 2014).

Application with Manufacturing Optical Components

The machine components of the ELID are hard and fragile materials (Lee & Kim, 2012). The best strategy to produce them is to utilize a crushing procedure in elastic mode, because the smooth surface can be gotten if the material is produced under plastic crushing rather than fracture. The utilization of ELID with super-abrasive wheel makes the flexible mode machining of optical part materials more achievable. Therefore, using the ELID procedure in optical material granulating forms is efficient. The oxide layer decreases the conductivity of the crushing wheel (Lian, Guo, Liu, Huang, & He, 2016). The heavy wheel is pre-dressed during the mechanical process. The surface of the wheel is covered with an oxide layer.

Mechanical Process of the Oxide Layer

It is fundamental for the wheel to be electrically pre-dressed to project the grains on the wheel surface. At the point when pre-dressing begins, the holding material streams from the grinding wheel of the oxidized layer. This protecting layer mitigates the electrical conductivity of the wheel surface and averts extreme flow. As grinding starts, the metal wheel and the oxide layer depreciate. By implication, the conductivity of the wheel surface increases when the electrolytic dressing is in motion (Maegawa, Itoigawa, & Nakamura, 2015). Please note that the fine surface appearance is gotten from the soft nature of the bonding material and the oxide layer. This cycle is rehashed amid the crushing procedure to accomplish the stable grinding process. Keeping in mind the goal to deliver an oxide layer on the metal, the factors include voltage, electrode gap, current, and electrolyte. Because of the electric flow, water begins to deteriorate, while hydrogen is delivered in the cathode and ions charged particles are pulled into the anode terminal. In ELID crushing, it is essential to set a legitimate separation between the granulating wheel surface and the work-piece to guarantee a fine appearance (Nadolny, 2015). Therefore, the electrode gap influences the quality appearance. The oxide layer controls the gap between the electrodes.

The steps in ELID grinding wheel can be summarized below

Stage 1

Truing is performed on the wheel to diminish the uneven symmetry. As a result, the grinding wheel surface is flatted and symmetrical. It is important to perform ELID pre-dressing, keeping in mind the goal to protrude the cutting material. The pre-dressing is performed at a low speed and takes around 30 minutes. During the pre-dressing step, the rough grains are projected by expelling the metal bond from the wheel surface through electrolysis. If the cast is steel, the material is ionized into Fe2+. The ionized Fe reacts with OH- to produce hydroxides, which change into oxide (Fe2O3), framing a protecting oxide layer on the wheel surface. This protecting layer diminishes the electrical conductivity of the granulating wheel and averts over the top evacuation of the metal bond material (Palmero, 2015). The oxide layer rate diminishes with the decrease in flow speed.

Stage 2

As the ELID grinding starts, the wheel and work-piece association wear off the material bonding. Based on this principle, the electrochemical process begins. The cycle repeats at the same time during the crushing procedure. In this way, the bulge of the grains remains roughly consistent amid the whole crushing process.

Variables that influence the ELID pre-dressing process

Numerous elements could influence the ELID pre-dressing of a granulating wheel. The principal variables include

1. Power supply, which includes current, and voltage
2. Electrolytic properties, which include pH, conductivity, metal erosion hindrance
3. Grinding wheel design, which includes bond materials and super abrasives
4. Kinematic variables such as crushing wheel speed and rotor angle speed

It is known that all of these elements influence the ELID pre-dressing. There is in reality a single autonomous parameter to describe how much electrical power is provided for electrolysis within a particular time. It is suggested by specialists that a voltage of 90V is appropriate for ELID crushing. Other than the capacities as coolant, grease, flushing medium, the crushing liquid moreover fills in as the electrolyte for ELID.

Crushing wheels are made of numerous sorts of abrasives in different sizes and syntheses fortified in a wide range of bonding materials and arrangements (Yu, Huang, & Xu, 2016). A granulating wheel is made out of grating grains, bond material, and pores, all of which affect the electrolytic dressing process. The kinematic granulating factors include the wheel speed, load rate, and angle speed. Amid the ELID pre-dressing stage, the wheel speed influences the grinding quality of ceramic materials.

The Importance of the Oxide Layer in ELID

The condition of the oxide layer mostly alludes to the thickness and conservatives. Although the oxide layer has insulating properties, the electrolyte flows through its pores, which makes it electrically charged the ELID crushing process. Clearly, the capability of the oxide layer is an extensive impression of the thickness and compression. Whenever the crushing condition, metal bond quality, electrolyte properties are consistent, the oxide layer is identified with the surge current (Pavel, Pavel, & Marinescu, 2004). During the grinding process, the ELID components are energized by the surge current and voltage. The voltage controls the electrolyte, electrodes, and the oxide layer. As a result, the oxide layer alters the electrode gap. By implication, the oxide layer facilitates the gap variation between the cathode and the anode terminal (Ping, Cohen, Dosoretz, & He, 2013). At that point, the difference in its protection caused by the difference in the thickness of the oxide layer can be overlooked.

The crushing procedure of molding materials by using hard rough particles as cutting medium has been a noteworthy technique to create exactness mechanical parts (Zhang, Ren, Yang, Jin, & Li, 2013). The technique is used for handling optical and electronic parts. It is utilized as a last machining procedure to create smooth surfaces and the appearance of different sorts of materials, particularly on hard and fragile ceramics (Saleh, Bishwas, & Rahman, 2009). Brittle ceramic production has discovered applications that require high temperature, pressure, and perseverance abilities (Pittari, Subhash, & Zheng, 2015). However, the crushing process has concentrated on accomplishing exact geometry and surface cut on hard and fragile materials. For example, silicon wafers, and porcelain products rely on pressure cutting to produce quality materials. Moreover, substantial crushing tasks have been produced to cut and expel materials with proficiently and constrained surface necessities. Accuracy in the cutting of silicon wafers, for creating coordinated circuit chips, utilizes thin grating plates to deliver silicon cuts (Prabhu & Vinayagam, 2013).

Nevertheless, in ceramic and steel crushing, low granulating effectiveness, surface fracture, and quality debasement result in high crushing cost (Venkata & Kalyankar, 2014). One noteworthy technique for an effective granulating process is the planning of the crushing wheel. Machine designers should understand effective procedures for truing and dressing (Zhao, Xue, & Zhao, 2011). Truing refers to the shaping of the cutting wheel surface with the goal that the turning wheel runs valid with less run-out from its perceptible shape. Consequently, pre-dressing is the procedure to condition the crushing wheel surface to accomplish proper molecule projection to accomplish assigned grinding task. The ELID technology was created to encourage the generation rate of crushing procedures with expanding surface quality for handling hard and weak surfaces (Wang, Ma, & Wang, 2011).

Comment on Experimental Results

Researchers have conducted experimental studies to investigate the impact of ELID grinding of fragile materials. Consequently, other studies on factors that include ELID grinding when have been designed. Wang, Ma, and Ning (2012) experimented with vortex current and laser sensor to gauge thickness and development of oxide layers on the grinding wheel surface. As a result, growth analysis of oxide layers was estimated in pre-dressing process. The outcome demonstrates that internal development speed of the oxide layer is more prominent than outward development speed along the circumference of the crushing wheel. The authors concluded that the thickness of oxide layers in ELID grinding process depends on the electrolytes. However, the grinding wheel affects the inward and outward speed of the oxide layer.

Yang, Ren, and Jin (2010) emphasized that the oxide layer influences the granulating proficiency and machining quality in ELID grinding. With a specific goal to investigate and control the thickness of the oxide layer, the authors proposed a high-recurrence power source. It utilizes the superposition of enormous pluses to accomplish periodical electrolysis and to alter oxide layer state. In view of an investigation of current change, the authors designed a pulse indicator to control the state of the oxide layer. The results showed that the new power source could keep a stable granulating process. Consequently, the experiment revealed that the grinding wheel could control the dressing current, which affects the thickness of the oxide layer.

Ma, Zhu, and Stephenson (2006) conducted an experimental research on the thickness of the oxide layer in ELID. The researchers investigated the development of various pre-dressing conditions in ELID wheel, impacts of voltage, current supply, and wheel speed on the oxide layer quality. The results demonstrated that the oxide layer thickness on the wheel surface is significantly proportional to the pre-dressing time. Consequently, the oxide layer rate is higher at the beginning of the ELID process. By implication, the thickness and development rate of the oxide layer is influenced by the proportion of voltage and current supply. The authors emphasized that it takes longer time for oxide layer thickness to reach a stable state in lower voltage as compared with higher current and voltage supply. There are no impacts to wheel speed of oxide layer growth.

Wang, Ren, Chen, Zang and Deng (2018) conducted a comparative study on the state of an oxide layer using the cathode and anode terminals. As a new grinding innovation, the oxide layer assumes an imperative part of ELID process. As a result, the researchers explored the condition of the oxide layer on ELID wheel surfaces using the cathode instrument. Consequently, the authors measured the thickness and structure of the oxide layer during the pre-dressing phase. The granulating power was measured with the workpiece and cathode instrument. As indicated by the researchers, the workpiece instrument showed the gap in the oxide layer. Thus, current flow and voltage facilitated the growth of the oxide layer. By implication, the oxide thickness controlled the surface appearance of the grinding wheel. The researchers also revealed a significant difference between the workpiece and the cathode instrument. The gap was wider with the workpiece than the cathode instrument. This accounts for the change in current and voltage supply during the ELID process. Thus, the outcome provides valid information concerning the ELID grinding process and its performance.

A critique of experiments measuring the thickness of the oxide layer can be expressed using the factors that influence the ELID process. One, the electrochemical behavior of each factor significantly affects the oxide layer during pre-dressing. As a result, current supply negatively affected the oxide layer. The experiments using different electrolytes showed that higher current supply significantly altered the thick layer (Wei, Zhao, Jing, & Liu, 2015). In summary, the experimental findings revealed that the oxide layer thickness, cutting speed, voltage supply, and the depth of the fracture affected the grinding wheel surface.

References

Azarhoushang, B., & Tawakoli, T. (2011). Development of a novel ultrasonic unit for grinding of ceramic matrix composites. Int J Adv Manuf Technol, 57(9), 945955.

Biswas, I. (2009). Fundamental studies on wheel wear in ELID grinding [PDF document]. Web.

Biswas, I., Kumar, S., & Rahman, M. (2010). Experimental study of wheel wear in electrolytic in-process dressing and grinding. Journal of Advanced manufacturing Technology, 50(1), 931-940.

Islam, M., Kumar, S., Balakumar, S., Lim, H., & Rahman, M. (2008). Characterization of ELID grinding process for machining silicon wafers. Journal of materials processing technology, 198(1), 281290.

Jamali, S., & Mills, D. (2016). A critical review of electrochemical noise measurement as a tool for evaluation of organic coatings. Progress in Organic Coatings, 95(4), 25-37.

Kersschot, B., Qian, J., & Reynaerts, D. (2013). On the dressing behavior in ELID grinding. Procedia CIRP, 6(1), 632-637.

Kuai, J. (2014). Adhesion model and shedding limits identification of the oxide film on the surface of ELID grinding wheel. Adv Mater Res, 900(1), 557560.

Lee, E., & Kim, J. (2012). A study on the analysis of grinding mechanism and development of dressing system by using optimum in-process electrolytic dressing. Journal of Mechanical Tools Manufacture, 37(19), 1673-1689.

Lian, H., Guo, Z., Liu, J., Huang, Z., & He, J. (2016). Experimental study of electrophoretically assisted micro-ultrasonic machining. Int J Adv Manuf Technol, 85(9), 22152124.

Lim, H., Fathima, K., Kumar, S., & Rahman, M. (2002). A fundamental study on the mechanism of electrolytic in-process. International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture, 42(1), 935943.

Ma, B., zhu, Y., & Stephenson, D. (2006). Experimental Study on the Growth Behaviors of Oxide Layers in ELID Pre-Dressing Process. Advances in Materials Manufacturing Science and Technology, 533(1), 588-591.

Maegawa, S., Itoigawa, F., & Nakamura, T. (2015). Optical measurements of real contact area and tangential contact stiffness in rough contact interface between an adhesive elastomer and a glass palate. J Adv Mech Des Syst Manuf, 9(1), 311326.

Nadolny, K. (2015). Wear phenomena of grinding wheels with solCgel alumina abrasive grains and glass ceramic vitrified bond during internal cylindrical traverse grinding of 100Cr6 steel. Int J Adv Manuf Technol, 77(1), 8398.

Palmero, P. (2015). Structural ceramic nanocomposites: a review of properties and powders synthesis methods. Nanomaterials, 5(1), 656696.

Pavel, R., Pavel, M., & Marinescu, I. (2004). Investigation of pre-dressing time for ELID grinding technique. Journal of Materials Processing Technology, 149(1). 591-596.

Ping, Q., Cohen, B., Dosoretz, C., & He, Z. (2013). Long-term investigation of fouling of cation and anion exchange membranes in microbial desalination cells. Desalination, 325(1), 48-55.

Pittari, J., Subhash, G., & Zheng, J. (2015). The rate-dependent fracture toughness of silicon carbide- and boron carbide-based ceramics. J Eur Ceram Soc, 35(1), 44114422.

Prabhu, S., & Vinayagam, B. (2013). Analysis of surface characteristics by electrolytic in-process dressing (ELID) technique for grinding process using single wall carbon Nano tube-based Nano fluids. Arab Journal of Science Engineering. 38(1), 1169-1178.

Saleh, T., Bishwas, I., & Rahman, M. (2009). Efficient dressing of the wheel in ELID grinding by controllable voltage with force feedback. Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 46(1). 123-130.

Venkata, R., & Kalyankar, V. (2014). Optimization of modern machining processes using advanced optimization techniques: a review. Int J Adv Manuf Tech, 73(1), 11591188.

Wang, D., Ma, B, & Ning, S. (2012). Thickness measurement and growth behaviors of oxide layers on grinding wheel surface in pre-dressing process of ELID. China Mechanical Engineering. 23(1), 2173-2175.

Wang, Y., Ma, B., & Wang, D. (2011). Method study on the thickness measurement of oxide layers in ELID pre-dressing process. New Technol New Process, 1(1), 4547.

Wang, Z., Ren, C., Chen, G., Zhang, L., & Deng, X. (2018). A comparative study on state of oxide layer in ELID grinding with tool-cathode and workpiece-cathode. The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 94(4), 1299-1307.

Wei, S., Zhao, H., Jing, J., & Liu, Y. (2015). Investigation on surface micro-crack evaluation of engineering ceramics by rotary ultrasonic grinding machining. Int J Adv Manuf Technol, 81(1), 483492.

Wu, M., Ren, C., & Zhang, K. (2015). ELID groove grinding of ball-bearing raceway and the accuracy durability of the grinding wheel. Int J Adv Manuf Technol, 79(1), 17211731.

Wu, M., Zhang, K., & Ren, C. (2015). Study on the non-uniform contact during ELID groove grinding. Precis Eng, 39(1), 116124.

Yang, L., Ren, C., & Jin, X. (2010). Experimental study of ELID grinding based on the active control of oxide layer. Journal of Materials Processing Technology, 210(13), 1748-1753.

Yu, X., Huang S., & Xu, L. (2016). ELID grinding characteristics of SiCp/Al composites. Int J Adv Manuf Technol, 86(1), 11651171.

Zhang, K., Ren, C., Yang, L., Jin, X., & Li, Q. (2013). Precision grinding of bearing steel based on active control of oxide layer state with electrolytic interval dressing. Int J Adv Manuf Technol, 65(1). 411419.

Zhao, B., Xue, J., & Zhao, M. (2011). Research on surface residual stress of nano-composite ceramics under multi-frequency ultrasonic grinding and dressing. Key Eng Mater, 487(1), 447451.

Abstract

The issue of preventive maintenance in relation to reliability can be interpreted as the practice of maintaining equipments or systems before they indicate any incidences of failure. Preventive maintenance is also akin to avoiding or mitigating repeated failure of machinery and equipment. This practice is aimed at improving the reliability of equipment and consequently reducing the costs that are associated with the replacement of parts and periodical system shutdowns. When preventive maintenance is up to par, it can also contribute towards higher sustenance of systems functionality. The only concession that applies to this last benefit is that maintenance has to be timely and professional. This project reviews the literature that is associated with preventive maintenance in accordance with MTTF and MTBF approaches. The reviewed literature addresses preventive maintenance using Maintenance Repair and Overhaul Performance indicated for Military Aircraft. Several aspects of preventive maintenance are covered throughout the paper, including analytic capability, accessibility, failure rates, and reliability.

Introduction of Literature

When it comes to the preventive maintenance of military aircraft, the goal is to guarantee a level of reliability that helps to keep the planes ready for deployment. Consequently, all forms of maintenance are aimed at being preventive and proactive. The genesis of Maintenance Repair and Overhaul Performance indicators can be traced back to the World War II period and the subsequent Cold War related tensions. Substantial resources had gone towards to improving and producing highly functional military craft. Some of these resources went towards coming up with outstanding designs, streamlining maintenance operations, and improving reliability.

These activities also incorporated the need for training highly effective maintenance teams with the view of safeguarding the initial investments. The purpose of this literature review is to identify a method of performance measurement that can quantify aircraft maintenance activities. Furthermore, the measurements should have the ability to correlate with effective managerial systems that apply to aircraft maintenance. The definition of reliability as outlined in this paper refers to the ability of a system to function correctly and complete the desired tasks in the course of a predetermined period and under certain conditions. The exploration of facts is in line with the activities that accompany the operations and maintencne of aircrafts. In addition, the significance of having a definite and recordable process that can be quantified is a key element in this review.

Nomenclature

MTTF = Mean time to failure

MTBF = Mean time between failures

» (t)= Failure rate

’_k = Failure density function of the kth

’R = Repair frequency

f(t) = Probability density function

L(t) = Total failure function of repairable.

C= Total cost

C_R= Cost of repair

C_M= cost of maintenance

I_s = Serviceability Index

T_up = Aircraft Uptime

I_bd = Index for Breakdowns

W_i = Work accomplishment Index

I_ec = Environmental condition Index

C_new = As Good as News Index

Overview of Literature

This literature review consists of two articles, which address the topic of preventive maintenance. The two articles encompass a similar approach as they access different aspects of aircraft maintenance such as maintainability, accessibility, and manufacturing capability within a certain system. For instance, the article on the impact of preventive maintenance on reliability addresses issues that touch on safety. The calculations that were used in the study were meant to offer support to the elements of time and cost. When these factors are brought together, they make up the MTTF and MTBF aspects of preventive maintenance. Below is one of the equations that are used to address these concepts, such as failure instances and costs of repair.

Equation (1)

The values of ’ (t), L (t), » (t), and’R are then defined and applied.

By applying this equation, the failures in any system are found to increase a systems reliability by adding components that are more reliable. On the other hand, the cost-reliability factor was found to decrease after it reached a certain threshold.

The article on Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul Performance Indicators for Military Aircraft dwells on the calculation of maintenance performance using performance indicators (PMIs). These calculations are used to evaluate the efficiency of carrying out maintenance as an independent measure. This factor can also be used as a measure of group competency and the resulting operational availability index. The equation for calculating this serviceability index is laid out below.

Equation (2).

The efficiency of maintenance is measured using the ratios of the summing number of service-days for each aircraft. The insertion of the environmental factor in this equation is meant to account for differences in working conditions for different aircraft.

the effects of aircraft preventive maintenance on reliability:

The articles analysis was concerned with finding out how various functionalities within an aircrafts maintenance, such as the braking system and control system. The article also utilizes the Functional Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) as well as a two-stage method of analysis. In the course of addressing the preventive maintenance schedule, the authors of this article adopt an approach that is considerate of both zonal and structural factors in its analysis. The calculations in this article seek to unravel the reliability analysis of the non-repairable components of aircraft. These are also the components that increase a systems reliability owing to the connection between cost and reliability, as demonstrated below in Figure 1

In the course of this articles calculations, it becomes clear that randomness and normalcy of distribution are important significant variables in the subsequent reliability analysis. The sampled elements can also be applied to various forms of experiments through the utilization of Poisson or Chi2 distribution. The resulting outcome is a reliable solution to maintenance frequency. The f(x) function represents probability density, and it can only be applicable for the limited time of between zero and five years. Figure 2 demonstrates how the distribution function can be reliable in the course of calculating the reliability of a certain component in relation to maintenance.

The function of destitution is,

0, otherwise

The article also examines the maintenance data that spans a period of five years and in the context of three different case scenarios. Under regular preventive maintenance (TM=1 year), the correlating reliability is expected to be higher than 80%

Maintenance, repair, and overhaul pERformance indicators for military aircraft:

Maintenance PMIs of aircraft include tools for implementing maintenance performance systems. This process is implemented with the view of measuring the values of the entire maintenance process. Some of the improvements that relate to key indicators include carrying out repairs and overhauls of parts. This article presents an analysis of how factors such as work accomplishment, time, equipment breakdowns, and environmental conditions relate to PMIs. The authors of this article came up with a new standard of measuring repairs, maintenances, and overhauls. This system uses records from localized operations within an organization. Figure 3 shows the variations of the total number of maintenance-related activities in their technical capacity.

This article has successfully come up with a method of quantifying the probable duty accessibility of an aircraft. The planned maintenance of an aircraft can be optimized by the normal usage of the machine as well as the elements of the time-bound accomplishment of preventive maintenance. The measurement of performance, as discussed by this article, has become a useful tool to all levels of workers, including the aircraft maintenance staff and also the top level of management, in the overall purpose of maintaining high standards of safety.

In an efficient method of gauging fault diagnosis, s_fd time is used as a reliable utility value. Therefore, the sums of snags in a certain timeframe are related to the diminishing time and improvement in the signaling of noise, with the view of achieving accuracy.

Where,

S/N_S signal to noise for shorter the better time.

y_i Time is taken for the correct rectification.

s_fd Max(S/N_S).

These articles were chosen depending on various factors, including their relevance to practical maintenance practices. For individuals with experience as preventive maintenance technicians, the articles provide them with a wide range of practical applications.

Another rationale for choosing these articles was the fact that working in this field provided a chance for implementing maintainability and reliability. The analytic tools in both articles could also be reliable measures of preventive performance. The two articles were focused on the need for excellence in the course of maintenance, systems reliability, and persuasion of efficiency.

Discussion

These articles have relevant contributions to the topic of reliability that results from timely replacements. Therefore, the conditions that contribute towards the results are worth noting. There is also a risk that the values of deficient reliability can be calculated as a minimum cost for the purpose of ensuring high levels of dependability in a certain aircraft.

Contributions of the effects of aircraft preventive maintenance on reliability:

The review of this topic contributes to the technical contributions of values that are achieved as a result of applying preventive maintenance. This preventive maintenance is not used in relation to MTTF, and it involves frequent distribution values, information on homogeneity, and other calculation efficiencies. Furthermore, there are significant aspects of preventive maintenance that exist in relation to reliability conditions. These basic concepts are explained through simple applications, which are related to preventive aircraft maintenance

CONTRIBUTIONS of Maintenance, repair, and overhaul preformance indicators for military aircraft:

There are significant contributions in relation to an aircrafts preparedness and reliability. These contributions add to the purpose of maintaining a functional and reliable serviceability index. A reliable index takes into account the levels of work accomplishment, breakdown logs, and overall effectiveness. All these factors are aimed at providing high levels of efficiency and reliability. Therefore, aircraft companies can be able to gauge how maintenance contributes towards their overall business goals.

Discussion of Dificiency and Potential Improvements

The two articles have shortcomings in their assessment of maintenance performance in the context of various working conditions and skill levels. These articles are not able to decipher the accurate impact of work accomplishment and skills in their quest to understand the systems reliability.

Deficiencies the effects of aircraft preventive maintenance on reliability:

This article addresses technical deficiencies as the result of having preventive-maintenance on reliability. On the other hand, the values of MTTF are directly related to the number of system failures in reference to repair costs and working tasks. Therefore, improvements can be related to changes in reliability, preventive maintenance, and scheduling within a Tm value of 1 year. This approach reveals that the critical juncture in an aircraft maintenance regime lies in the maintenance intervals of between 0.2 and 0.25.

Deficiencies of Maintenance, repair, and overhaul pERformance indicators for military aircraft:

The apparent technical deficiencies in this article include the fact that the top management is in charge of outlining performance. An effective model of ensuring above-average performances includes non-management-oriented variables such as environmental conditions. It was up to the MPIs to make up for these types of ratio deficits by including other preventive maintenance factors.

Summary

These two articles are effective in their bid to outline the importance of preventive maintenance. The application of preventive maintenance in regards to MTTF is also well executed in the two articles. For instance, it is apparent that downtime in the flight departments could result in both short-term and long-term financial implications. Maintenance of aircraft involves regular testing and monitoring of equipment. Therefore, it is important for military aircraft operators to create efficiency by minimizing downtime through their ability to make an accurate diagnosis of problems and maintaining high levels of reliability.

References

Kiyak, E. The Effects of Aircraft Preventive Maintenance on Reliability. International Journal of Applied Mathematics and Informatics 6.1 (2012): 9-16.

Raju, V. R. S., O. P. Gandhi, and S. G.Deshmukh. Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul Performance Indicators for Military Aircraft. Defense Science Journal 62.2 (2012).

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 Course Number

 Date

 This is my own work.

.open HospitalDB

.header on

.mode column

CREATE TABLE groups

(

gr_id INT NOT NULL,

gr_name CHAR(24) NOT NULL,

gr_descript VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,

PRIMARY KEY (gr_id)

);

CREATE TABLE department

(

dept_id INT NOT NULL,

dept_name VARCHAR(24) NOT NULL,

dept_head VARCHAR(24) NOT NULL,

PRIMARY KEY (dept_id)

);

CREATE TABLE substance

(

sub_id INT NOT NULL,

sub_name VARCHAR(24) NOT NULL,

sub_mng VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,

sub_therind VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,

sub_ddi VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,

sub_adm VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,

sub_cntind VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,

sub_overd VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,

sub_storeq VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,

gr_id INT NOT NULL,

PRIMARY KEY (sub_id),

FOREIGN KEY (gr_id) REFERENCES groups(gr_id)

);

CREATE TABLE employee

(

emp_id INT NOT NULL,

emp_fname VARCHAR(24) NOT NULL,

emp_lname VARCHAR(24) NOT NULL,

emp_midinit CHAR(1) NOT NULL,

dept_id INT NOT NULL,

PRIMARY KEY (emp_id),

FOREIGN KEY (dept_id) REFERENCES department(dept_id)

);

CREATE TABLE storage

(

sto_id INT NOT NULL,

sto_date DATE NOT NULL,

sto_usedate DATE NOT NULL,

sto_util yesno,

sub_id INT NOT NULL,

emp_id INT,

PRIMARY KEY (sto_id),

FOREIGN KEY (sub_id) REFERENCES substance(sub_id),

FOREIGN KEY (emp_id) REFERENCES epmloyee(emp_id)

);

Below are the statements for DB population with fictional data with screenshots of SELECT * FROM queries.

INSERT INTO groups ( gr_id, gr_name, gr_descript) VALUES ( 1, Antidepressants, Help to manage stress ) ;

INSERT INTO groups ( gr_id, gr_name, gr_descript) VALUES ( 2, Antibiotics, Kill bacteria ) ;

INSERT INTO groups ( gr_id, gr_name, gr_descript) VALUES ( 3, Antiallergy, Help to manage allergies ) ;

INSERT INTO groups ( gr_id, gr_name, gr_descript) VALUES ( 4, Vitamins, Improve vitamins counts ) ;

INSERT INTO department (dept_id, dept_name, dept_head) VALUES (1, Surgery, John Brown ) ;

INSERT INTO department (dept_id, dept_name, dept_head) VALUES (2, Nursery, Peter Black ) ;

INSERT INTO department (dept_id, dept_name, dept_head) VALUES (3, Pharmacy, Helen Red ) ;

INSERT INTO department (dept_id, dept_name, dept_head) VALUES (4, Therapy, Paul Yellow ) ;

INSERT INTO substance (sub_id, sub_name, sub_mng, sub_therind, sub_ddi, sub_adm, sub_cntind, sub_overd, sub_storeq, gr_id) VALUES (1, Antieviline, Manage with caution, Being evil, Antigoodine, Orally, twice a day, 1 tablet, Being good, Becomes too good. Stop treatment, 6 months, temp between 0 and 5 degrees Celsius, 1 ) ;

INSERT INTO substance (sub_id, sub_name, sub_mng, sub_therind, sub_ddi, sub_adm, sub_cntind, sub_overd, sub_storeq, gr_id) VALUES (2, Antigoodine, Manage with caution, Being good, Antieviline, Orally, twice a day, 1 tablet, Being evil, Becomes too evil. Stop treatment, 6 months, temp between 0 and 5 degrees Celsius, 1 ) ;

INSERT INTO substance (sub_id, sub_name, sub_mng, sub_therind, sub_ddi, sub_adm, sub_cntind, sub_overd, sub_storeq, gr_id) VALUES (3, Antisadine, Manage with caution, Being sad, Antihappyine, Orally, once a day, 1 tablet, Being happy, Becomes too happy. Stop treatment, 6 months, temp between 0 and 5 degrees Celsius, 1 ) ;

INSERT INTO substance (sub_id, sub_name, sub_mng, sub_therind, sub_ddi, sub_adm, sub_cntind, sub_overd, sub_storeq, gr_id) VALUES (4, Antihappyine, Manage with caution, Being happy, Antisadine, Orally, once a day, 1 tablet, Being sad, Becomes too sad. Stop treatment, 6 months, temp between 0 and 5 degrees Celsius, 1 ) ;

INSERT INTO employee (emp_id, emp_fname, emp_lname, emp_midinit, dept_id) VALUES (1, Harry, Potter, A, 4) ;

INSERT INTO employee (emp_id, emp_fname, emp_lname, emp_midinit, dept_id) VALUES (2, Hermione, Granger, B, 3) ;

INSERT INTO employee (emp_id, emp_fname, emp_lname, emp_midinit, dept_id) VALUES (3, Ron, Weasley, C, 2) ;

INSERT INTO employee (emp_id, emp_fname, emp_lname, emp_midinit, dept_id) VALUES (4, Tom, Riddle, D, 1) ;

INSERT INTO storage (sto_id, sto_date, sto_usedate, sto_util, sub_id, emp_id) VALUES (1, 10-02-2019, 10-08-2019, yes, 1, 1 ) ;

INSERT INTO storage (sto_id, sto_date, sto_usedate, sto_util, sub_id, emp_id) VALUES (2, 10-02-2019, 10-08-2019, yes, 2, 1 ) ;

INSERT INTO storage (sto_id, sto_date, sto_usedate, sto_util, sub_id, emp_id) VALUES (3, 10-02-2019, 10-08-2019, yes, 3, 1 ) ;

INSERT INTO storage (sto_id, sto_date, sto_usedate, sto_util, sub_id, emp_id) VALUES (4, 10-02-2019, 10-08-2019, yes, 4, 2 ) ;

Addition of Deleted Date Attribute

Over time, there may appear a need to delete rows of data from a DB for various reasons. The primary concern is not removing a row and using a soft deletion instead is safety. There is always a possibility of human error and data can be deleted by accident. Another advantage of using a marker column is preserving historical data for future analysis (Coronel & Morris, 2019). However, there are also tradeoffs for using this method of deletion, which includes privacy concerns (Ben-Assuli, 2015). Moreover, a DB using soft removal can become too sizeable, and there may appear problems with storage. In short, while there are clear benefits of using a marker-column for deletion, as opposed to deleting a row from a table, a DB administrator should also be aware of the tradeoffs of the method.

As the DB described above is not designed for soft deletion, there is a need to introduce a new attribute to the tables where data is most likely to be deleted. I chose to modify the employee table to acknowledge employee turnover. Additionally, I decided to change the substance table, as new drugs may appear on the market. I added emp_deletedate and sub_deletedate attributes respectively to the two entities. Below are the SQL queries for the procedure with a screenshot of .schema command.

ALTER TABLE substance ADD COLUMN sub_deletedate date ;

ALTER TABLE employee ADD COLUMN emp_deletedate date ;

SQL Queries

Database Schema

SQL Statements

 Student Name

 Course Number

 Date

 This is my own work.

.open Assignment2

.header on

.mode column

CREATE TABLE Patient

(

PatientID INT NOT NULL,

Name VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL,

DOB DATE NOT NULL,

PRIMARY KEY (PatientID)

);

CREATE TABLE Doctor

(

DoctorID INT NOT NULL,

Name VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL,

MedLicenseNumber INT NOT NULL,

Phone VARCHAR(20) NOT NULL,

PRIMARY KEY (DoctorID)

);

CREATE TABLE Medication

(

MedicationID INT NOT NULL,

BrandName VARCHAR(24) NOT NULL,

GenericName VARCHAR(24) NOT NULL,

PRIMARY KEY (MedicationID)

);

CREATE TABLE Prescription

(

PrescriptionID INT NOT NULL,

Date DATE NOT NULL,

MedicationID INT NOT NULL,

PatientID INT NOT NULL,

DoctorID INT NOT NULL,

FOREIGN KEY (MedicationID) REFERENCES Medication(MedicationID),

FOREIGN KEY (PatientID) REFERENCES PatientID(PatientID),

FOREIGN KEY (DoctorID) REFERENCES Doctor(DoctorID)

);

DB Population

INSERT INTO Patient (PatientID, Name, DOB) VALUES (1, Severus Snape, date(1965-02-20) ) ;

INSERT INTO Patient (PatientID, Name, DOB) VALUES (2, Albus Dumbledore, date(1901-01-01 ) ) ;

INSERT INTO Patient (PatientID, Name, DOB) VALUES (3, Dobby Elf, date(1995-03-07) ) ;

INSERT INTO Patient (PatientID, Name, DOB) VALUES (4, Albus-Severus Potter, date(2010-03-12) ) ;

INSERT INTO Doctor (DoctorID, Name, MedLicenseNumber, Phone) VALUES (1, Harry Potter, 1234567, 7707894561 ) ;

INSERT INTO Doctor (DoctorID, Name, MedLicenseNumber, Phone) VALUES (2, Hermione Granger, 7654321, 7701234567 ) ;

INSERT INTO Doctor (DoctorID, Name, MedLicenseNumber, Phone) VALUES (3, Ron Weasley, 2345678, 7707654321 ) ;

INSERT INTO Doctor (DoctorID, Name, MedLicenseNumber, Phone) VALUES (4, Tom Riddle, 3456789, 7702345678 ) ;

INSERT INTO Medication (MedicationID, BrandName, GenericName) VALUES (1, Antieviline, Goodness ) ;

INSERT INTO Medication (MedicationID, BrandName, GenericName) VALUES (2, Antigoodine, Evil ) ;

INSERT INTO Medication (MedicationID, BrandName, GenericName) VALUES (3, Antisadine, Happiness ) ;

INSERT INTO Medication (MedicationID, BrandName, GenericName) VALUES (4, Antihappine, Sadness ) ;

INSERT INTO Prescription (PrescriptionID, Date, MedicationID, PatientID, DoctorID) VALUES (1, 2019-02-15, 1, 1, 2 ) ;

INSERT INTO Prescription (PrescriptionID, Date, MedicationID, PatientID, DoctorID) VALUES (2, 2019-02-16, 1, 2, 3 ) ;

INSERT INTO Prescription (PrescriptionID, Date, MedicationID, PatientID, DoctorID) VALUES (3, 2019-02-17, 3, 3, 4 ) ;

INSERT INTO Prescription (PrescriptionID, Date, MedicationID, PatientID, DoctorID) VALUES (4, 2019-02-16, 3, 4, 2 ) ;

SQL Queries

Below is the query to retrieve a list of all doctors:

SELECT Name FROM Doctor ;

Below is the query to retrieve the number of patients who were born before 01/01/1994.

SELECT count (DOB)

FROM Patient

WHERE DOB > 1994-01-01 ;

Below is the query to retrieve the patient information along with the ID of any prescribing doctor for each patient.

SELECT Name, DOB, DoctorID FROM Patient, Prescription

WHERE Patient.PatientID=Prescription.PatientID ;

Below is the query to retrieve the prescription information along with the patient name, DOB, medication brand name, and prescribing doctor name sorted by most recent date.

SELECT PrescriptionID, Date, Prescription.MedicationID, Prescription.PatientID, Prescription.DoctorID, Patient.Name, DOB, BrandName, Doctor.Name

FROM Prescription, Patient, Medication, Doctor

WHERE Patient.PatientID=Prescription.PatientID

AND Medication.MedicationID=Prescription.MedicationID

AND Prescription.DoctorID=Doctor.DoctorID

ORDER BY Date DESC ;

Below is the query to retrieve the most prescribed generic medication name.

SELECT GenericName,

COUNT(Prescription.MedicationID) AS value_occurrence

FROM Medication, Prescription

WHERE Medication.MedicationID=Prescription.MedicationID

GROUP BY Prescription.MedicationID

ORDER BY value_occurrence DESC

LIMIT 1;

References

Ben-Assuli, O. (2015). Electronic health records, adoption, quality of care, legal and privacy issues, and their implementation in emergency departments. Health Policy, 119(3), 287-297. Web.

Coronel, C., & Morris, S. (2019). Database systems: Design, implementation, and management. (13th ed.). Web.

Abstract

Child education is considered a very fundamental part of the growth process. It has now been proven that early exposure to intellectual development programs is an important investment for any country desiring to industrialize. In this e-portfolio, I have attempted to amplify this fact considering that I have been in the teaching profession for the last twenty-two years handling students at the elementary levels typically grades 1,2,4,5, and K.

The initial findings gathered during my stay and teaching in Okinawa Japan point to the fact that diversified, accelerated, and specialized elementary teaching programs have greatly contributed to the advanced state of the Japanese. In this e-portfolio, I have mentioned my contribution to implementing such an approach in the elementary teaching program back in the US.

It remains notable that elementary teaching programs require huge investments to maintain their relevance. Further, still, the use of e-portfolios within the educational fraternity as a way of expression, learning, and development is becoming increasingly necessary to broaden the students intellectual capacity the very point I am advocating for in this e-portfolio.

Having been in the teaching profession for the last twenty-two years, I consider the shared experience an important contribution especially as far as elementary teaching is concerned. Using this e-portfolio, I attempt in summary to justify the fact that a special focus and attention should be directed to elementary teaching programs. This is necessary to develop a firm base that should grow and sustain the productivity and industrialization in any nation. As I still carry on research in this area, I will appreciate all the reactions that this posting may attract, which should be directed towards improving our elementary teaching programs in the US.

Introduction

An e-portfolio also called a digital portfolio describes a library that is electronically assembled portraying different profiles of a user (Jafari, 2006). These being electronic, they will be typically supported on a website. These profiles are generated using conventional electronic elements such as images, hyperlinks, text, and related electronic files (Barret, 2000). On accessing someones portfolio, various aspects relating to their abilities and achievements can be derived through self-expression. In the educational fraternity, this is commonly referred to as digital identities. One main objective of establishing and maintaining an electronic portfolio is to enable the portfolio creator to assess their learning enabling them to increase their awareness as far as their learning strategies and needs are concerned. Advancements in technology nowadays support the creation and maintenance of electronic portfolios that are much more adaptable, unlike the traditional paper-based ones. Additionally, these electronic portfolios have been known to spur better learning among their users (Cambridge, 2001). At present electronic portfolios are proving popular in various areas, including schools and higher education. They have also been found suitable to promote professional development as well as a support job application. These portfolios can be utilized in educational setups to support accreditation as well as assessment.

Electronic portfolios are broadly categorized as representational in which case they serve as a showcase about the owner enumerating their achievements and goals, which is typical of some kind of work. They can also be developmental highlighting the owners accomplishments over a definite period. The reflective portfolio contains the owners reflection of the content and its value to the owner (Villanova University, 2010, p.1). E-portfolios will support the working of recognition of prior learning (RPL) practice based on effective evidence capture and validation. It is made possible by creating links to existing evidence while emphasizing the conversational style as demonstrated by a good RPL process. This is achieved through regular but non-continuous dialogue.

Resume

Maxwell Ben

Letter of introduction

Maxwell Ben is forty-eight years old and a child education enthusiast. I am keen on developing productive elementary teaching programs, with a reference to the Japanese accelerated elementary teaching programs. I am presently married, having been for the last twenty-seven years to my lovely wife Emma and have two lovely daughters Gloria who is four years, and Elaine, who is twelve. I have spent most of my years teaching in Jacksonville NC with an initial stint in Japan for five years.

The early years of study for my first degree were at South Ridge University, South Carolina. However, on moving to Florida and setting up a home there in Jacksonville, I have enrolled for an online degree course in a masters degree in curriculum and instructions in reading.

The years spent in Japan were fulfilling and rich in new experiences. I had a chance to evaluate and compare the elementary education systems of the Japanese and the English. The systems through similar are fundamentally different in various ways. This opened my eyes to incorporate some of these features in our curriculum back home, resulting in a noticeable change in child education uptake. It is necessary to note that for such highly industrialized countries as Japan, the investment going into research and curriculum development is enormous and dynamic to ensure that even the very elementary training systems are moving forward at the same pace as other industries. Japan boasts of high productivity of its people who at times are workaholics, the very reason that made me hate homework. Creating an environment that spurs the development of a childs capabilities establishes a productive mentality when they grow up. It is part of the Japanese secret to their high industrialization rate.

Pictures

Below here is a gallery of my pictures and artifacts for my portfolio.

References

Barret, H. (2000).How to create your own electronic portfolio. Web.

Cambridge, B. (2001). Electronic portfolios: Emerging practices in student, faculty and institutional learning. Sterling, Virginia: Stylus Publishing.

Jafari, A. (2006). Handbook of research in e-portfolios. Hershey, PA: Idea Group Publishing.

Villanova University. (2010). Villanova University: ePortfolio examples. Web.

Introduction

Technology had a significant impact on various aspects of our daily lives. The primary text is an article by Sven Birkerts, which was written in 1994 to discuss contemporary technological developments, particularly the transfer of information into electronic form. The article conveys the authors concerns with regard to technology; it is evident from the piece that Birkerts is upset about the increasing popularity of electronic forms of information.

The article provides valuable insight into the ways that technological progress has shaped the world in which we live today, but there are some gaps in the ideas presented by Birkerts. Hence, exploring the content of the article and comparing it to other works on the topic would help to evaluate the subject comprehensively while introducing multiple perspectives.

The main idea presented in the text is that the advancement of technology entails a significant cultural change that will have substantial negative consequences. For Birkerts, the most important outcome is the shift from print books to electronic forms of information sharing. Based on the text, it seems that print books have significant personal value to the author. On the first page, Birkerts explains that he felt the cultural shift approach while working as a co-manager in a rare book shop (54).

The author remembers a time when computers were starting to become popular, and many people sought to sell their libraries in order to get electronic. The author claims, the selling off of books was sometimes done for financial reasons, but the need to burn bridges was usually there as well (Birkerts 55). From the authors perspective, the shift towards electronic communication signified a significant decrease in the value of printed books.

Main body

The article expresses Birkerts bitterness towards this trend, and it is not surprising that for him, the development of electronic means of information sharing is a primarily negative change. Many people, especially those who are invested in literature and other forms of art, value print books more than their electronic counterparts. To this day, people enjoy the feel of a printed book, the smell of it bringing positive images to their minds. Rare, antique books are even more valuable due to their history.

They are unique because they were read by people of various generations. There is also another way in which printed books connect us to history. Since the development of written language, people have shared stories through written text. The means by which stories and works of literature were shared developed gradually. First, the paper was invented and popularised, allowing people to write larger volumes of text. Later, printing technologies developed, allowing people to put ink on pages using machines. Although these developments affected the production of written text, they did not change the medium as a whole. In fact, they made books available for the broad population, thus supporting the development of literature as a whole.

In this context, the shift towards electronic communication is not merely a change of technology, but a change in medium. Electronic books are different not only in terms of how they are produced but also in the ways that people read them. Since almost everyone owns a smartphone now, electronic books are usually read on the go, during lunch, or even while watching TV. This alters the ritual of reading, turning it from a personal and somewhat sacred experience into an activity that is secondary to other commitments.

In the article, the author pays particular attention to discussing how the metaphysical arrangement of printed books impacts the way we receive information. For example, Birkerts notes that the books are arranged in a linear, layered manner, which is in accord with our traditional sense of history (58). Books are meant to be read from cover to cover, thus sharing the entirety of information embedded in them with the reader.

In electronic publications, people can perform a search to find a particular quote or concept that they are interested in, disregarding the rest of the book or merely skimming through it. Electronic sources of information other than books are usually simplified to ensure ease of reading. For instance, many online articles use bullet points, e-mails tend to be short and to the point, and reports present information using graphs, charts, and images. Birkerts comments on this development, noting that impression and image take precedence over logic and concept, and detail and linear sequentiality are sacrificed (58). Indeed, obtaining information from electronic sources has become much easier.

The consequences of the cultural shift discussed by the author are drastic. Birkerts asserts that the modes of communication we use impact our way of living, and thus the change in the mechanism of information sharing will undoubtedly affect other aspects of peoples lives (56-57). First of all, the author claims that the rise of electronic means of communication will be associated with the gradual erosion of language and arts. According to Birkerts, language will grow increasingly impoverished, primarily because efficiency and ease of information sharing are preferred over the form (62). Arts and literature, in particular, are bound to meet the same fate, as fewer people will become interested in their complexity and deep, metaphorical meaning (Birkerts 59).

Secondly, the author also fears that the shift will affect personal identity by deteriorating the private self. Birkerts notes that the interconnectedness developed through electronic communication will result in social collectivization that will over time all but vanquish the ideal of the isolated individual (63). Both processes are apparent in contemporary society, as we communicate with more people than ever before using simple, effective means of information sharing.

Lastly, an essential consequence of the shift discussed in the article is the deterioration of education in its traditional meaning. Birkerts shows that the fast-paced environment had already impacted the way we read and learned texts in the 1990s: A poem by Milton, a play by Shakespeare  one can hardly find the text among the explanatory notes nowadays (62). Furthermore, the development of the Internet also means the growing number of free, accessible sources of information that are presented. Students no longer have to read Shakespeares plays or Miltons poems at all to pass their exams  instead, they can read Sparknotes or brief summaries. For Birkerts, this is a significant adverse change since it affects young peoples ability to appreciate the form of the written text and grasp the authors intended meaning.

Overall, the text provides a detailed, logical description of the negative effects that the shift towards electronic communication entails for our society. Still, what the author does not explore is the reason why this shift is occurring at all. The aforementioned examples of technological development, including paper production and printing, brought about positive change, making information available to more people. In a similar manner, the shift towards electronic communication would have never occurred if it did not benefit the overall development of society.

By focusing on the deterioration of the print, Brickerts does not consider the positive aspects of the change. This is a significant gap and, to evaluate the issue thoroughly, it is essential to examine the positive effects of technological development on the same aspects of life mentioned by Brickerts, including education, language, and the arts.

The secondary resources considered in the paper focus primarily on the benefits of technology for education, language, and the arts. The information shared in these articles allows filling the gaps evident in Brickerts article and showing whether or not the influence of electronic communication is as drastic as portrayed in the primary text. The exploration of the materials will shed light on the topic and offer a way of explaining what the electronic millennium means for us in greater depth.

The first article is an opinion piece from The New York Times, which considers the effect of technological development on storytelling. Written by a book author, the essay examines the consequences of the change in the format discussed in the primary source. Harrow explains that technological changes, despite resulting in the deterioration of printed literature, could have a significant positive effect on storytelling because they enable people to experience narratives instead of reading them. The shift in the format, according to the author, would not curb peoples thirst for knowledge and entertainment, and thus new technology would leverage storytelling rather than killing it.

Harrow writes, Stories are shape-shifters, infinite and immortal: theyve been painted on the walls of Chauvet Cave and pressed into clay tablets; sung by griots in the streets of Old Mali and cut into the Peruvian desert; danced and drummed and whispered, spun like spider-silk across the Atlantic and painted on the undersides of overpasses. This claim can be extended to other forms of art since the need for creative expression is in our nature. People have created sculptures and pictures since prehistoric times; with the development of technology, arts will evolve further instead of becoming irrelevant.

Birkerts claims regarding language erosion are, perhaps, some of the most concerning aspects of the article. Various experts in linguistics have considered the possibility of language deterioration due to the emergence of electronic communication formats. In his article, Paul Parry examines the effects of technology on the English language as a whole, offering some insights with respect to potential future developments. The author confirms that the introduction of electronic means of communication had an effect on the English language and its use. However, according to Parry, the result was not language erosion, but language enrichment.

The author shows that the lack of eloquent expressions in text messages and e-mails is mainly due to the new, specific conventions related to these communication channels. Parry mentions that the traditional English language remained intact; it is still used in contemporary literature and informal writing. Language remained the primary means of expression for most people, and thus poetry and literature continue to thrive despite the emergence of social media and smartphones. By continuing to express themselves through language, people will most likely prevent the erosion of language and preserve the linguistic tradition with minimal changes.

With regard to education, the technological shift brought about at the end of the 19th century also had significant positive effects on people from all over the globe. An article by McCoy focuses on the positive impact of technology on education, thus filling the gaps apparent in Birkerts article and offering a more well-rounded perspective on the changes. The authors note that the development of the Internet and electronic communication provided opportunities for global learning, allowing people from different parts of the world to exchange knowledge, experience, and information (McCoy).

This offered universal access to knowledge, thus enabling people to solve problems and learn collaboratively and in a diverse socio-cultural context. Additionally, technological development gave rise to new educational formats, including webinars, games, and simulators (McCoy). While the simplification of the learning process is something that Birkerts appears to oppose, it made learning more efficient and continuous. For example, adults who work full-time can still learn new information through webinars. People from other countries can complete courses in Ivy League universities, famous for their competent and engaging teaching. Hence, free, technology had a positive influence on economic, social, and cultural development through increased access to knowledge and education.

Conclusion

On the whole, the information gathered from all four sources allowed exploring the topic of technological progress and its influences in great depth. The article by Birkerts is an excellent source despite the identified gaps in it. The sources value, however, lies not in the explanation of possible adverse effects of technology, but in the discussion of its impact on our lives as a whole. Birkerts is correct in his account of the cultural shift caused by technology.

This shift is evident 25 years after the publication of the article in all aspects of our lives. Our daily communication is more efficient, we learn more in a shorter amount of time, and we get information from more sources than ever before. Nevertheless, as shown by the secondary sources, these changes have more positive value than risks. Harrow, Parry, and McCoy explore the beneficial influence of technology on literature, arts, language, and education.

From these articles, it is evident that technology does not seek to replace what we have now; instead, it aims to provide new opportunities that can change our lives for the better. Comparing and contrasting the information from different resources was essential for understanding the value of each article while also investigating the topic from multiple perspectives.

Works Cited

Birkerts, Sven. Into the Electronic Millennium. The Gutenberg Elegies: The Fate of Reading in an Electronic Age, edited by Sven Birkerts, Faber & Faber, 1994, pp. 54-64.

Harrow, Alix E. Its 2039, and Your Beloved Books Are Dead. The New York Times. 2019. Web.

McCoy, William. Five Positive Effects of Technology on Education. Chron Small Business. 2019. Web.

Parry, Paul. The Impact of Technology on the English Language. English Language Expert. 2010. Web.

Since the aim of the questionnaires was answering the question of What are the threats to privacy in the twenty-first-century data collection?, the analysis of respondents attitudes toward the key problem will focus on several important indicators. The first aspect relates to respondents demographic data about questionnaires respondents. This type of data is important because of the existing interrelationship between economic and social characteristics of a population and its approaches toward a particular phenomenon (Treiman, Lu, & Qi, 2012). The results are presented below:

Thus, the first four questions that respondents were asked were directly associated with their demographic information. In terms of ethnicity (Figure 1), the largest majority of respondents was Asian (95.83%) while the rest identified as other (4.17%). 66.67% of respondents were male, 29.17% were female, and 4.17% were of other genders (Figure 2). In terms of age groups, the largest part of respondents was between ages 18 and 25 (70.83%) (Figure 3), which is important to answering the research question because this age group is considered the most proficient in the use of technologies (Millennials: Technology equals social connection, 2014). The last demographic aspect was related to respondents occupations and it was shown that 62.5% of them were students, which aligned with the findings on their age (Figure 4). The mentioned findings on respondents demographics show that there could be a high likelihood of participants having enough knowledge about threats to data privacy, especially in terms of technology use.

The next set of questions was targeted at getting to know the attitudes of respondents toward the use of the Internet and other technology-oriented tools used for collecting information. When asked whether respondents agreed with the statement that Google products made their lives convenient, the opinions were mixed. While 8.7% of respondents strongly agreed and 43.48% agreed with the above statement, it is important to account for the 26.09% of people who strongly disagreed and 4.35% who disagreed (Figure 5). These findings point to the fact that there is some doubt as to whether Google products enhance peoples lives. Next, the question of how often different applications and tools are used was asked. Tools classified as Other were shown to be the most popular among the sample of participants, with Wechat and Google Docs leading in this category. By weighted average, Google drive was the second tool used frequently, followed by Gmail, Google Translate, Google Maps, and Chrome (Figure 6). Since all of the mentioned tools play significant roles in peoples professional and personal lives, the findings are important for enhancing researchers understanding about how often different applications are used in everyday activities.

The next set of questions was concerned with getting the understanding of respondents opinions on whether Google products and technologies, in general, have a negative impact on preserving their privacy. As seen from the respondents answers presented above, most people use Internet-based technologies for various purposes, which means that some personal information could get exposed. 37.5% of respondents agreed with the statement that they realized Google surveillance of their lives, 29.17% had a neutral attitude toward the idea, while 25% strongly disagreed and 8.33% disagreed (Figure 7). These results show that despite being aware of the possible privacy and surveillance risks associated with the use of online technologies, people continue using it.

When asked about types of information that participants feel could be stolen, all presented categories received similar attention from the questionnaires respondents (Figure 8). E-mail information was considered the most valuable because hacking could lead to such outcomes as the theft of password information, credit card details, and personal correspondence, as reported by Larson (2017) for CNN. Search history was the second-ranked category of data that respondents feared to lose, followed by location information, advertisement targeting, auto-populated information, and artificial intelligence assistance. The fact that respondents showed a relatively equal attitude to all of the mentioned categories of information shows that the data users store online is valuable to them and that their loss could lead to serious consequences.

After getting to know more about how their information could be compromised through the use of online tools, the participants were asked whether they would change the patterns of Google tools use. 50% of questionnaire respondents indicated that they would continue using Google without making any changes or implementing security measures (Figure 9). 37.5% of respondents mentioned that they would reduce their use of Google products while 8.33% would increase it, which is an interesting result. Only 4.17% of surveyed participants concluded that they would resort to using other products.

The last question in the survey is of special importance to the analysis of finding because it shows that despite high risks of personal information stored online, and in Google tools, in particular, being compromised, people will continue using them. This suggests that users are willing to take responsibility for applications the assistance of which they seek to enhance the sharing, processing, and storing of information. Unfortunately, when serious data breaches occur, most people blame companies rather than acknowledging the lack of their personal awareness (Shah, 2015). However, the responsibility of corporations should not be underestimated, especially in cases such as the recent Facebook scandal associated with the leaking of information to Cambridge Analytica (Wong, 2018). Given the current state of information security, committed efforts of users targeted at protecting their personal data are needed.

The findings of the questionnaire show that Google products are widely used for storing and sharing valuable information. However, there is a lack of awareness on the part of some users as to whether their personal data could be at high risks of being hacked and used for malicious purposes (de Bruijn & Janssen, 2017). Because most questionnaire respondents were willing to continue their use of Google products, convenience and effectiveness were more valuable to them than the preservation of information. Further efforts targeted at studying the use of Internet-based tools of data storage and processing can be associated with examining specific cases of information breaches rather than measuring the overall attitudes of the population. Nevertheless, the results shed light on the actual picture of online tools use, suggesting that they make everyday life convenient and more productive regardless of the risks that come with them.

References

de Bruijn, H., & Janssen, M. (2017). Building cybersecurity awareness: The need for evidence-based framing strategies. Government Information Quarterly, 34(1), 1-7.

Treiman, D. J., Lu, Y., & Qi, Y. (2012). New approaches to demographic data collection. Chinese Sociological Review, 44(3), 56.

Shah, S. (2015). Whos to blame for a data breach? Computing.

Millennials: Technology equals social connection. (2017). Insights.

Larson, S. (2017). Every single Yahoo account was hacked  3 billion in all. CNN.

Wong, J. C. (2018). Mark Zuckerberg apologizes for Facebooks mistakes over Cambridge Analytica. The Guardian.

Introduction

Information systems depend on the way data is stored and retrieved for use. Without a system where information is saved and collected, a user cannot track the history of changes or utilize data that was once present in a database. To perform these actions, the concept of data warehousing was introduced. The purpose of this paper is to examine the origin of data warehouses, present their current use, and consider the attitudes of experts and users towards the concept. Furthermore, the essay aims to assess the benefits and potential drawbacks of using data warehouses, as well as the perspectives that these environments may have.

Origin and History

It is clear that the development of data warehouses was closely connected to the increased use of databases by businesses. Databases were utilized to collect and update data about transactions, workers, business operations, and other active processes in the corporate world (Devlin and Murphy 62). However, this type of data storing meant that some information, once updated, got lost and could not be retrieved without creating a specific system for its storage. Thus, while databases allowed organizations to store contemporary information, they provided limited opportunities for long-term research and analysis.

As an outcome, the concept of data warehousing was introduced. In the 1980s, the idea of an architectural model that would store data from different sources and time periods was developed by Devlin and Murphy (62). Some scholars previously considered ideas similar to those presented in the paper by Devlin and Murphy. Nevertheless, this article led to the growth of data warehouse research and for-profit organizations offering their own systems for database management (Kimball and Ross 26). Thus, data warehouses entered the business sphere, and new research opportunities were open to analysts.

Later, several data warehousing alternatives were offered, driving innovation in the field further. For example, Kimball devised a toolkit for creating and installing a data warehouse for a business (Kimball and Ross 32). Inmon developed a hub-and-spoke Corporate Information Factory (CIF) approach that focused on normalized data (Kimball and Ross 56). While the models were in competition with each other, their creators also looked at integrative solutions where several ideas were implemented to create complex warehouses.

Current Use

At the present moment, the concepts offered by Kimball, Inmon, and other researchers are still implemented in various business fields. One of the most notable examples is the healthcare industry, which is heavily dependent on data. Healthcare providers collect significant amounts of information every day  patients identification, health records, prescriptions, diagnoses, nurses and doctors duties, schedules, pay, and many other types of data are essential for organizations operation. The digitization of the field meant that most hospitals and facilities began using databases instead of paper-based records (Ghani et al. 417).

Later, such systems as the Electronic Health Record (EHR) and Clinical Decision Support (CDS) were introduced  their functionality is closely tied to retrieving current data (Khan and Hoque 3). However, these solutions are unsuitable for medical research because they only store the latest information and have to be updated with each patient visit.

Thus, healthcare organizations started implementing data warehousing into their structure to have a system for unobstructed access to old data. The first example of such use is demonstrated in the research by Turley et al., who look at the Clinical Data Warehouse (CDW) that was integrated by Health Sciences South Carolina (HSSC) in 2013 (1245). In this case, the purpose of the warehouse was to store data for Learning Healthcare Systems (LHS) that had access to patient and hospital information from all regions in the United States. With the help of the CDW, HSSC was able to increase data pools for vital clinical research and improve healthcare quality in several states (Turley et al. 1245). The ability to work in a system with broad access to old data played a crucial role in medical innovation.

The second example of data warehousing in healthcare deals with cost standardization. Visscher et al. proposed and implemented a data warehouse for an infrastructure provided by the National Institutes of Research (396). This system collected data about healthcare cost measurements based on patient health, treatment, and other EHR information. As an outcome, Visscher et al. analyzed the costs for procedures, activities, and services and standardized them with a costing algorithm for future use (396). A similar solution can be offered to all for-profit facilities to maintain their economic growth.

Common and Personal Attitudes

The use of data warehouses is a crucial part of data analysis in business and healthcare. The implementation of warehouses seems to go with the digitization of processes because data has to be stored for access as well as research (Moscoso-Zea et al. 64661).

Therefore, the common opinions find both sides of data systems  databases and data warehouses  necessary in creating a system for immediate and long-term objectives completion (North et al. 19). My attitude is similar to the views described above. Data warehouses are invaluable in using large amounts of information that are stored over time to find patterns, identify weaknesses in performance, and note what changes are happening to a company or its clients.

Fundamental Strengths and Weaknesses

As discussed above, the main benefit of a data warehouse is its ability (and core purpose) of storing large amounts of data that would otherwise disappear. Thus, warehouses maintain data history  changes in the source and their evolution (North et al. 21). Moreover, data warehouses have the ability to integrate information from several databases, acting as a single source of knowledge for an analyst. As data warehouses operate separately from transactional databases, their use for research does not impede the primary business operations, helping analysts to work, while the business continues to update its databases (Moscoso-Zea et al. 64668).

If one were to use a database that is used for everyday operations, it would possibly interfere with company performance. Data in warehouses can also be restructured to be more understandable for users, delivering answers more suitable for research than for simple representation (Visscher et al. 396). Finally, data warehouses are optimized for handling large queries, and their functionality allows one to complete predictive and prescriptive analyses (Kimball and Ross 93). Overall, the list of benefits sets data warehouses apart from databases and other systems for data storage.

Nonetheless, data warehouses have some weak sides as well that businesses should consider before implementation. First, data warehouses may be rather expensive to set up and scale (North et al. 20). Second, as research is a priority in these systems, the speed of operation may be slow. Data warehouses require significant power and have a substation impact on the computers CPU (central processing unit), which implies that hardwares characteristics should be sufficient for the warehouse to operate. Finally, data warehouses, as all data stored on physical carriers, are not safe from external influence (disasters, power outbreaks, and other issues).

Expert Opinions

Data warehouses continue to be a topic of discussion in the sphere of process digitization. Arora and Gupta, for instance, believe that data warehouses will be an addition to the future system of e-governance (28). The scholars argue that data warehousing will be integrated by more organizations and government entities to store citizen data. Ghani et al. suggest the implementation of data warehousing into other spheres of healthcare, including telemedicine (415). Here, the architecture of such systems is predicted to deliver better care to patients and provide them with more detailed consultations.

Khan and Hoque also highlight the innovative potential in health data technology. They suggest that countries with low quality of healthcare delivery can improve their performance and develop a system for more insight into the needs of people (Khan and Hoque 2). It should be noted that all mentioned experts predict that data warehousing will evolve with the integration of big data and cloud computing. Overall, the field of healthcare seems to be one of the most interested in data warehousing technologies.

Conclusion

The history of data warehouses shows that this concept has evolved with other aspects of data handling and analysis. Such systems offer organizations a chance to look at information without disturbing the main transactions. Furthermore, they store data that would be lost otherwise, providing a perspective for discovering trends and fluctuations. Data warehouses require sufficient financial and technological resources, but they perform activities that a simple database cannot do. Their current and future implementation projects are centered in the field of healthcare.

Works Cited

Arora, Rakesh K., and Manoj K. Gupta. e-Governance Using Data Warehousing and Data Mining. International Journal of Computer Applications, vol. 169, no. 8, 2017, p. 28-31.

Devlin, Barry A., and Paul T. Murphy. An Architecture for a Business and Information System. IBM Systems Journal, vol. 27, no. 1, 1988, pp. 60-80.

Ghani, Mohd Khanapi Abd, et al. Telemedicine Supported by Data Warehouse Architecture. ARPN Journal of Engineering Applied Sciences, vol. 10, no. 2, 2015, pp. 415-417.

Khan, Shahidul Islam, and Abu Sayed Md Latiful Hoque. Towards Development of Health Data Warehouse: Bangladesh Perspective. 2015 International Conference on Electrical Engineering and Information Communication Technology (ICEEICT). IEEE, 2015, pp. 1-6.

Kimball, Ralph, and Margy Ross. The Data Warehouse Toolkit: The Definitive Guide to Dimensional Modeling. 3^rd ed., John Wiley & Sons, 2013.

Moscoso-Zea, Oswaldo, et al. A holistic View of Data Warehousing in Education. IEEE Access, vol. 6, 2018, pp. 64659-64673.

North, Max M., et al. Data Warehousing: A Practical Managerial Approach. Computer Science and Information Technology, vol. 5, no. 1, 2017, pp. 18-26.

Turley, Christine B., et al. Leveraging a Statewide Clinical Data Warehouse to Expand Boundaries of the Learning Health System. eGEMs, vol. 4, no. 1, 2016, p. 1245.

Visscher, Sue L., et al. Developing a Standardized Healthcare Cost Data Warehouse. BMC Health Services Research, vol. 17, no. 1, 2017, p. 396.

Introduction

The concept of access control is confusing to many people. Some consider it as the act of preventing external sources from accessing information stored in a system. They are unable to differentiate between access control and identity verification or authentication. Sicuranza, Esposito, and Ciampi (2015) define access control as the regulation over access to system resources after a users account credentials, and identity has been authenticated and entry to the system granted (p. 745). For instance, a particular group of employees may be limited to accessing specific files once they log into a system. The various access management approaches include mandatory access control (MAC), discretionary access control (DAC), and role-based access control (RBAC). This paper will review the aforementioned methods and outline their positive and negative aspects. It will also evaluate their application and give recommendations on the most appropriate access control method for medium-sized organizations.

Mandatory Access Control

It is the most improved method of data access, which is commonly used in government institutions. The access technique utilizes a hierarchical approach to restricting admission to information (Younis, Kifayat, & Merabti, 2014). The systems administrators define the rules for accessing resources such as data files. Hence, it is difficult for users to alter the access control of specific resources. In MAC, all resource objects are allocated unique security tags. The tags contain information regarding the category (department, management level, or project) and classification (confidential or top secret) of the data (Younis et al., 2014). Similarly, every user account is linked to resources based on the level of access given to individuals by the system administrator.

Discretionary Access Control

DAC permits users to regulate their admittance to information. Gajanayake, Iannella, and Sahama (2014) allege that DAC is commonly used in the majority of personal computer operating systems. Unlike in MAC, where resources are assigned security labels, the DAC system uses an access control list to regulate the use of data. Gajanayake et al. (2014) claim, An access control list contains the names of users and groups to which the user has permitted access together with the level of access for each person or group (p. 8). Users can only set admission restrictions to data that they already possess.

Role-Based Access Control

RBAC is also referred to as non-discretionary access control. The control method uses a real-world approach to regulate access to information. Individuals access data based on their roles in an organization. Kumar (2013) emphasizes that RBAC allocates authorization to specific functions within an institution. Employees are then assigned to those responsibilities. For instance, a human resource manager is assigned to human resources roles, allowing him or her to access all information assigned to the human resource department. While a user may belong to numerous groups, he/she can only be attributed to one role within an organization. RBAC makes it hard for users to assign to themselves additional permissions beyond what is described in their job functions.

Strengths and Weaknesses of Access Control Methods

The primary advantage of MAC is that it is the most secure mode of data protection. A user cannot access information unless his/her category and classification matches with the security label of the data that they seek to acquire. The primary objective of MAC is to safeguard the confidentiality of data. Mohammed and Said (2014) maintain that MAC does not allow flexible allocation of data security. Conversely, DAC enables individuals to create customized access regulations for different users. Thus, the method is more elastic regarding data security. The use of MAC comes at a price. An organization incurs costs attributed to system management due to the need to constantly update object and account labels to accommodate new data, new users and changes in the categorization and classification of existing users (Mohammed & Said, 2014, p. 411). Additionally, it is difficult for an organization to implement the control method without proper planning.

DAC exposes data to the risk of unauthorized use. Kumar (2013) argues that RBAC is flexible and secure than DAC. The method offers different means of managing and regulating users access rights. The primary challenge of RBAC lies in determining and assigning users to different privileges. It becomes difficult for some users to execute specific critical tasks due to limited access to information. For instance, a chief accountant may not perform some essential duties because he/she can only access information available to all accountants.

Ways to Mitigate Negative Aspects

The inflexibility associated with MAC can be mitigated by giving some individuals the authority to grant access to information to other users. It would make it easy for a system to accommodate new users and information. Moreover, it would be easy for an organization to implement changes to users classification and categorization. On the other hand, institutions can introduce access control measures that do not rely solely on the possession of a certificate for access to reinforce the security of discretionary access control (Mohammed & Said, 2014, p. 415). Breaking roles into sub-roles may help to minimize the challenges associated with assigning privileges to different users in RBAC.

Applications of the Access Control Methods

MAC is commonly used in military and government institutions. The method is extremely secured, hence suitable for controlling access to sensitive information. Organizations can use this method to protect top-secret information. DAC is flexible, and it allows all users to access information (Zhou, Varadharajan & Hitchens, 2014). The method can be used to safeguard data that is meant for general use within an organization. RBAC makes sure that users do not access information that does not concern their areas of operations within an organization. Corporations use RBAC to minimize the challenges of system privilege administration (Zhou et al., 2014). It is suitable for institutions with distinct departments that run particular tasks. RBAC is the best method for a medium-sized organization. It would facilitate flexible and secure access to information.

Foreseen Challenge

The inability to accord users additional privileges may hinder individuals ability to discharge their duties efficiently. Employees require a level of empowerment to perform effectively. Thus, the use of RBAC to regulate the access and use of information in the organization may demotivate some workers. The challenge can be resolved through the use of hierarchical privilege and role assignments. The move would give individuals such as information security managers the power to access additional information beyond what is within their job description, thus being able to make informed decisions and assist those who work under them.

Conclusion

Organizations require granting different privileges to information users to guarantee the security of institutional data. MAC may be used in protecting top classified information. On the other hand, DAC can be used to grant access to general information whose unauthorized use may have limited impacts on an organization. RBAC is suitable for regulating the use of information that governs the daily operations of an organization. It is the most suitable mode of data management as it allows flexible access and use of information.

References

Gajanayake, R., Iannella, R., & Sahama, T. (2014). Privacy oriented access control for electronic health records. e-Journal of Health Informatics, 8(2), 1-11.

Kumar, A. (2013). Designing role-based access control using formal concept analysis. Security and Communication Networks, 6(3), 373-383.

Mohammed, E., & Said E. H. (2014). SWOT analysis of access control methods. International Journal of Security and Its Applications, 8(3), 407-424.

Sicuranza, M., Esposito, A., & Ciampi, M. (2015). An access control model to minimize the data exchange in the information retrieval. Journal of Ambient Intelligence and Humanized Computing, 6(6), 741-752.

Younis, Y. A., Kifayat, K., & Merabti, M. (2014). An access control model for cloud computing. Journal of Information Security and Applications, 19(1), 45-60.

Zhou, L., Varadharajan, V., & Hitchens, M. (2014). Secure administration of cryptographic role-based access control for large-scale cloud storage systems. Journal of Computer and System Sciences, 80(8), 1518-1533.

Introduction

The modern world transitions into the extensive use of computers, mobile devices, and other gadgets, while the associated privacy concerns become an essential topic of discussion. As the key assets of any organization, people are expected to ensure cyber security to protect such intellectual property as business plans, patents, copyrights, policies, and other corporate documentation. A well-established security mindset is one of the key goals of proper response towards digital security threats. The given course, Emerging Threats and Countermeasures, was rather beneficial to better understand the current challenges existing in the field of cyber security and potential strategies to address them.

Practical Use of Knowledge and Theories

A lack of proper security awareness is one of the paramount reasons for incidents and multi-million losses incurred by companies. As a result of this course, it becomes clear that insufficient measures that are taken to protect the organization lead to information leakage and its unauthorized use by attackers. The real-life examples discussed during the course allowed comprehending the extent to which the security of the IT department is critical. This course also promoted an in-depth understanding of various types of cyber attacks, their structures, and the threats they pose.

In particular, the fact is that the national infrastructures of the United States experience the increasing levels of malicious cyber activity: they grew over 760% within 2006-2012 (Amoroso, 2012). Among the sources of the latter, it is possible to enumerate hackers, foreign nations, criminals, discontented employees, et cetera. While the federal agencies try to address the emerging threats, they fail to implement countermeasures, which make it important to constantly review the state of security in an organization.

Deception, a powerful protection tool, presents a viable option to combat adversaries by better understanding them and preserve the national security. The course made it clear that deception poses such security objectives as energy, analysis, attention, and uncertainty, which are associated with diverting the attention of adversaries and using honey pots. In practice, deception can be introduced in several stages, including scanning, discovery, exploitation, and exposing (Heckman, Stech, Schmoker, & Thomas, 2015).

The main idea of this theory lies in using deception methods to develop cyber weapons threat detection that is to be based on technology that distributes controlled baits and traps. It should be stressed, however, that the observation of intruder activity can be risky yet informative. In this connection, the local circumstances should be taken into account to prevent incidents.

The discovery of the strategies that can be used by IT specialists was the main focus of this course. For instance, the supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) is a special dispatch system that collects information about the current activities of the organization, as well as their management. The advantage of SCADA is that it can provide the necessary information through indicators that are collected from different points of the business object in a real time.

Only in this mode of separation, it is possible to optimally manage the organization, making its operation continuous, without downtime, attack failures, and emergency situations. In order to implement effective management, it is necessary to integrate various applications responsible for solving the tasks into one single system. Such integration of different applications, which include solutions to specific problems, will help in designing the effective operation of an automated control system. Also, a synchronized exchange is to be created between the information data of various archives, databases, references, and through processes.

The defensive measures compose another essential area that was studied in this course, which can be directly applied to the practice. For example, it became clear that both pre- and post-attack response actions are critical to ensure security in design, defaults, and depth. The forensic analysis in cyber security is especially important for the early detection of vulnerabilities and fending off attackers. Among the key problems existing in this area, it is possible to enumerate a lack of visibility, overwhelming alerts, and inadequate data. In this regard, the front-line experience should be viewed as the basis of the response to powerful threats, which needs to be included in the National Response Program.

According to the National Cyber Incident Response Plan, there is a range of guiding principles that should be followed: shared responsibility, respect for affected entities, enabling restoration, and the unity of governmental effort (National cyber incident response plan, 2016). These principles demonstrate the direction that should be adopted towards any cyber security incident.

Conclusion

To conclude, it should be emphasized that the Emerging Threats and Countermeasures course was useful to better understand the threats that emerge in the field of cyber security. For national infrastructures, the issue of protecting data requires an immediate and appropriate response from IT departments that ensure the sustainability and development of organizations. Knowledge and skills obtained through the given course allow considering the current vulnerabilities and methods to address attacks with greater awareness, which is beneficial for practical work with the prevention of threats. Thus, the course contributed to mastering the understanding of cyber security breaches and potential ways to minimize them.

References

Amoroso, E. G. (2012). Cyber attacks: Protecting national infrastructure. Waltham, MA: Elsevier.

Heckman, K. E., Stech, F. J., Schmoker, B. S., & Thomas, R. K. (2015). Denial and deception in cyber defense. Computer, 48(4), 36-44.

National cyber incident response plan. (2016). Web.