National Infrastructure Protection Plan - 550 Words

National Infrastructure Protection Plan and Risk Management Framework (Essay Sample) Content: Infrastructure Protection and Risk Management PlanNameInstitution The 21st century world is characterized by a wide range of both natural and manmade threats and hazards that include but not limited to terrorism attacks, natural calamities, accidents and other form of emergencies. These threats and hazards expose critical natural infrastructure and key resources to either direct or indirect risk. An effective national infrastructure and resources protection system should prioritize prevention of catastrophes that may lead to loses of lives and management of disruptive impacts that may tamper with national economies. In the United States of America, the national infrastructure protection plan (NIPP) has been put in place to manage and reduce the effects of the most serious threats and risks that the national faces. The current NIPP has achieved the above objectives by coming up with a strategy that strikes a balance between the nations resiliency and a well focused and risky conscious prevention, protection and preparedness plan (Department of Homeland Security 2009). The NIPP plan, which operates under critical infrastructure and key resources (CIKR) protection framework, carries out its operations by integrating a vast network of federal agencies, local government agencies, private sector and regional consortia. The overall aim of the NIPP plan is to incorporate multiple jurisdictions and authorities in unifies yet flexible way in enhancing the countrys CIKR protection. The feedback loop design is a critical part of the NIPP for it tracks the progress of the infrastructure protection plan and suggests necessary improvements to the protection of the CIKR. The feedback loop design consists of various continuous steps that should be followed to protect infrastructure or resources from risk (John 2007). These steps are repeated in reverse order, also referred to as loop order, to fast track the improvements and make necessary improvements. The pre sence of the feedback loop design works to strengthen the national infrastructure protection program since it measure effectiveness of the program from time to time, making it identify areas of weaknesses and carry out necessary corrections, updates and improvements. The risk management approach is suitable for protecting the nations critical infrastructure since it establishes a comprehensive risk management framework that combines vulnerability, consequences and risk information in order to come up with a holistic rational and systematic assessment of national and regional risk. The risk management approach framework is structured such that it promotes continued improvement in infrastructure and resources protection program. Risk management approach is comprised of six steps namely setting of security goals, identification of target systems, assets, functions and networks, assessment of risks, prioritization of risks, implementation of protective programs and measurement of effec tiveness (Department of Homeland Security 2009). The outcomes of these steps is usually reduced risk and improved risk management activities. The second step, that involves identification of target systems, assets, functions and networks, is the most central and critical in the entire risk management framework since narrows down to national resources and installations that are deemed most vulnerable. By developing an inventory of systems, assets and networks located within and without the nation, the step enables the NIPP to focus on the most critical areas as opposed to spreading attention to some areas that may not be under threat at all. The major criticism that the national infrastructure protection model has faced is that it has vast number of entries that can not effectively be handled using the currently available resources. The next critic is that most of these assets have mo...

The Article Here Comes The Sun - 1284 Words

The article Here Comes the Sun deals with the fundamental issue of energy production. The author delves into how some forms of energy production can cause damages to citizens and the environment (Krugman, 2011). Thus, there is need for invention of cost-effective means of energy production that will not impose any harm to the environment nor call for a huge portion of funding from the citizens’ taxes. The alternative source of energy would be solar energy according to the writer (Krugman, 2011). The author is a veteran columnist for the New York Times who writes in diverse fields such as politics, trade, health and microeconomics. Some of Krugman’s famous articles include Health Reform Lives and The Force Awakens published in November 23rd and 20th respectively. Therefore, the article Here Comes the Sun lays a basis on why the adoption of solar energy in the United States will save the government and its citizenry the extra cost while at the same time protecting our env ironment. Summary: In summary, the article tries to give justifications as to why solar energy is the best alternative to energy problems encountered in the United States today (Krugman, 2011). However, solar energy not been tapped effectively due to the fossil energy cartels that have ganged up with politicians to thwart all efforts to embrace alternative sources of energy (Ahmed, 2014). The propaganda created by this group has made large scale production of solar energy a nightmare. The writer contends thatShow MoreRelatedHow Sun Produces Light And Heat1689 Words   |  7 PagesMubarak Alkhulifi 12/2/15 How Sun Produces Light and Heat? It is a common among human beings that our brain asks questions regarding everything, which comes in front of us in our daily routine. We tend to explore why and how it occurred or was produced and we try to get to the core of it. With the development of this universe, man is now questioning how it was created. 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Immigration And The Illegal Immigration Into The United...

Immigration A major part of political platforms in the 2016 race is immigration and how we will deal with it. And it is seemingly unanimous that they are trying to decrease the amount of travel into the United states because it leads to major issues, but does it really? It’s acting as a catalyst in creating a more diverse economy, helping the growth and advancement of diplomatic ties with other countries, and it is the basis for which this country is founded on - immigrate, settle, colonize, grow. The issue that we should be fighting against is the illegal immigration into the US. The undocumented persons -- not the document travelers -- are where issues like manual labor jobs being given at a lower wage, the idea that terrorist acts can be committed, and the increase in crime arise, but even so these statements are frequently false and grotesquely exaggerated. The issue of immigration and illegal immigration being spoken on within the same context is giving the a large majority of the p opulation the idea that they are one and the same- both being seen as one criminal group. The United States needs a complete overhaul of their illegal immigration prevention and legal immigration system, but the opposition is attempting to close the borders completely. To both those who are coming in with and without permission, and they are gaining followers because they are using facts that are not facts at all and are purely procured from opinion. (Show Your Support) The process to beShow MoreRelatedIllegal Immigration And Immigration In The United States1091 Words   |  5 Pagesarrest persons for immigration enforcement purposes. (De Leon, K) The new legislation, created by California Senate President Kevin de Leon, officially makes the state of California a â€Å"sanctuary state†. 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Statistical Inference & Regression Analysis Free Sample

Question: 1. Use the same data that was used in Assignment 1 which is the SWEETS-4-U2 data for the previous year which consists of 52 weekly values of the sales and costs for the two popular product lines namely Forgive and Rejoice. These two products are both wrapped chocolates sold by weight. The only difference between Forgive and Rejoice is that different messages are attached to each type of chocolate. The Forgive chocolates have messages like Sorry, Forgive Me and Trust Me and the Rejoice chocolates have messages like Celebrate, Have Fun and I Love You. The 52 Sales and Cost values for both types of chocolate are given in SWEETS-4-U2.xls. The Accountant for SWEETS-4-U2 is worried that the business is spending too much on advertising for Rejoice as sales now exceed what the firm has budgeted for. In the business plan the firm had assumed that the average weekly sales for Rejoice was $450. If sales are more than $450 then the firm will be able to reduce its advertising spending. (You can use Excel or your calculator for any calculations.) [a] Using Excel and the weekly sales data find the mean and standard deviation of Rejoice Sales. [b] Find the 90% interval estimate of the average weekly sales for Rejoice. [c] Using a level of significance of a = 0.05 test whether the average of the weekly sales for Rejoice are more than 450. [d] Briefly explain what a Type I error and what a Type II error are and what are their costs or consequences in this problem. [e] Find the p value in this situation. Explain what the p value is and how we would use the p value to test the hypotheses. [f] Using the p value test the hypotheses when the level of significance is a = 0.10 [g] Briefly explain how and when we can use an interval estimate when testing hypotheses. 2. Suppose the Sales manager of the Sweets-4-U2 chain of confectionary stores is interested in the relationship between Sales and Total costs for the Rejoice range of chocolates. i.e. how total cost is affected by sales, for the Rejoice product line. The 52 Sales and Cost values for both types of chocolate are given in SWEETS-4-U2.xls. Unless otherwise stated use a level of significance of a = 0.05.) (You can use Excel or your calculator for any calculations.) [a] Obtain the scatter diagram, the covariance and the correlation coefficient for Total Costs and Sales for the Rejoice chocolates. Briefly explain what this graph and these values are telling us about the relationship between Total Costs and Sales [b] Write down the two forms of the Population Regression function you would assume here. Briefly explain how we interpret the conditional mean E(Y | X) and the error term (e). [c] Estimate the sample regression function. Write down your estimated model and briefly explain what the estimated intercept and estimated slope are telling us about the relationship between the Total Costs and Sales for Rejoice chocolates. [d] Using the F statistic, the R-squared value and the p-value for the estimated slope briefly discuss whether this estimated model does or does not show that there is a significant relationship between Total Costs and Sales for Rejoice chocolates. (With a sample of n = 52 you can assume that the critical values for the t statistic are the same as the critical values for a z statistic.) [e] Test the following hypotheses concerning the slope H0 : b1 = 0.8 and H1 : b1 0.8 [f] Using you estimated model forecast the Total Costs when Sales are 200. Comment briefly on how useful this forecast will be. Briefly explain what we mean by the terms Prediction Interval and Confidence Interval [g] Using the F statistic, the R-squared value and the scatter diagram which shows the Residuals on the vertical axis and the values of Sales (our X variable) on the horizontal axis briefly discuss whether our estimated model can be seen as a reliable estimate of the relationship between Total Costs and Sales for Rejoice chocolates. Answer: a) Using Excel and the weekly sales data find the mean and standard deviation of Rejoice Sales. The mean and standard deviation by using excel is given below: b) Find the 90% interval estimate of the average weekly sales for Rejoice. The 90% confidence interval estimate of the average weekly sales for rejoice is given in the following table: c) Using a level of significance of a = 0.05 test whether the average of the weekly sales for Rejoice are more than 450. Here we have to use the one sample t test for the population average of the weekly sales for the Rejoice. The total test with calculations are given below: Null hypothesis: Population average for weekly sales is $450. Alternative hypothesis: Population average for weekly sales is more than $450. One sample t test for Rejoice sales d) Here we reject the null hypothesis that the population average for the weekly sales is $450. Briefly explain what a Type I error and what a Type II error are and what are their costs or consequences in this problem. Type I error is nothing but the probability of the rejecting the null hypothesis when it is true and type II error is the probability of the not rejecting the null hypothesis even though it is not true. For this problem, the type I error is the probability of rejecting the null hypothesis that the average of the weekly sales for Rejoice is $450 when actually it is true that the average of the weekly sales for Rejoice is $450. The type II error is the probability of not rejecting the null hypothesis that the average of the weekly sales for Rejoice is $450 when actually it is false that the average of the weekly sales for Rejoice is $450. e) Here we are given a p-value = 0.0833 and we know the following decision rule: Decision rule: We reject the null hypothesis when the p-value is less than the alpha value or level of significance and we do not reject the null hypothesis when the p-value is greater than the alpha value or level of significance. Here, we have alpha value = 0.05 and p-value = 0.0833, that is, we have p-value alpha value, therefore, we do not reject the null hypothesis that the average of the weekly sales for Rejoice is $450. f) Using the p value test the hypotheses when the level of significance is a = 0.10 The t test for the average for alpha = 0.10 is given below: t test for rejoice (alpha = 0.10) Here also we get the p-value = 0.0833 And we have alpha = 0.10 Here, p-value alpha value Therefore, we reject the null hypothesis that the average of the weekly sales for Rejoice is $450. g) Briefly explain how and when we can use an interval estimate when testing hypotheses. If the test statistic value in the testing hypothesis is lies between the lower limit and upper limit of the given confidence interval, then we do not reject the null hypothesis that the average of the weekly sales for Rejoice is $450 and if the test statistic value is out of this confidence interval then we reject the null hypothesis that the average of the weekly sales for Rejoice is $450. The scatter plot for the total costs and sales for the Rejoice Chocolates is given as below: For this scatter plot y represents the total costs and x represents the sales for the rejoice chocolates. The covariance for the total cost and sales is given as below: The correlation coefficient for the total cost and sales is given as below: h) Write down the two forms of the Population Regression function you would assume here. Briefly explain how we interpret the conditional mean E(Y | X) and the error term (e). The two forms of the population regression function is written as below: Y = a + b*X Where Y is dependent variable, X is independent variable, a is the y-intercept and b is the slope of the regression line. In another form of the population regression function is given as below: Total cost = a + b*Sales We interpret the conditional mean E(Y|X) when we already given the mean of the x values or values of independent variable. The error term is nothing but the difference between the predicted value and the actual value. i) Estimate the sample regression function. Write down your estimated model and briefly explain what the estimated intercept and estimated slope are telling us about the relationship between the Total Costs and Sales for Rejoice chocolates. Here we have to estimate the sample regression function. For this regression model, we take the dependent variable y as the total cost and independent variable x as the sales of the rejoice chocolates. The regression analysis by using excel is given as below: Here we get the correlation coefficient as the 0.9723, this indicate that there is high association between the dependent variable total cost and independent variable sales of the rejoice chocolates. There is high linear relationship found between the dependent variable total cost and independent variable sales of the rejoice chocolates. The ANOVA table for this regression model is given as below: The coefficients for the regression equation are given in the following table: The regression equation is given as below: Y = 51.7669 + 1.0014*X Total cost = 51.7669 + 1.0014*sales j) Using the F statistic, the R-squared value and the p-value for the estimated slope briefly discuss whether this estimated model does or does not show that there is a significant relationship between Total Costs and Sales for Rejoice chocolates. (With a sample of n = 52 you can assume that the critical values for the t statistic are the same as the critical values for a z statistic.) Here the F statistic value is given as 865.47 and p-value is given as 0.00. The value of coefficient of determination or R squared is given as 0.9454, this means, about 94.54% of the variation in the dependent variable total cost is explained by the independent variable sales of rejoice chocolates for this regression model. For this regression model, the p-value is given as 0.00 which is less than the level of significance or alpha value 0.05, therefore we reject the null hypothesis that the linear relationship between the dependent variable total cost and independent variable sales of rejoice chocolates is significant. k) Test the following hypotheses concerning the slope H0 : b1 = 0.8 and H1 : b1 0.8 The complete test procedure is given below: Null hypothesis: H0 : b1 = 0.8 Alternative hypothesis: H1 : b1 0.8 Level of significance = alpha = 0.05 Degrees of freedom = n 2 = 52 2 = 50 Critical value = 2.008559072 Test statistic formula is given as below: t = b1 / SE where SE is the standard error and formula for standard error is given as bleow: SE = sb1 = sqrt [ (yi - i)2 / (n - 2) ] / sqrt [ (xi - x)2 ] The standard error is given as SE = 0.1373 Test statistic = t = 0.8 / 0.1373 = 5.8267 Critical value = 2.008559072 Test statistic Critical value Decision rule: Reject null hypothesis when test statistic value critical value Here test statistic value is greater than the critical value, therefore, we reject the null hypothesis that the slope is 0.8. l) Using you estimated model forecast the Total Costs when Sales are 200. Comment briefly on how useful this forecast will be. Briefly explain what we mean by the terms Prediction Interval and Confidence Interval Here we are given value of sales = 200. Now for forecasting the total costs we have to use the above regression model which is given as below: Y = a + b*X Total cost = a + b*Sales Y = 51.7669 + 1.0014*X Total cost = 51.7669 + 1.0014*sales Now, plug sales = 200 in the above regression equation for estimation or forecasting of total costs. Total cost = 51.7669 + 1.0014*200 = 252.0469 Total cost = $252.0469 Prediction interval means, the interval in which the predicted values lies in and the confidence interval means, the interval for which we have exact probability or confidence that the values are lies within this interval. m) Using the F statistic, the R-squared value and the scatter diagram which shows the Residuals on the vertical axis and the values of Sales (our X variable) on the horizontal axis briefly discuss whether our estimated model can be seen as a reliable estimate of the relationship between Total Costs and Sales for Rejoice chocolates. For this regression model, we get the F statistic value as 865.4676 which is very high. The value of coefficient of determination or R squared is given as 0.9454, this means, about 94.54% of the variation in the dependent variable total cost is explained by the independent variable sales of rejoice chocolates for this regression model. The scatter plot clearly shows the linear relationship exist between the dependent variable total cost and independent variable sales of rejoice chocolates. For this regression model, we reject the null hypothesis that the linear relationship between the dependent variable total cost and independent variable sales of rejoice chocolates is significant.

The Glass Menagerie A Study In Symbolism Essays (1550 words)

The Glass Menagerie: A Study In Symbolism In the drama, The Glass Menagerie (1945), Tennessee Williams reflects upon personalexperiences he and his family encountered during the Depression of the 1930's. As a lower classfamily, the characters are placed in the slums of St. Louis in 1935. The protagonist, Tom Wingfield,is the narrator and Williams' surrogate. Living with his mother and sister, Tom supports them byworking in a shoe manufacturing warehouse. He should feel lucky to have this job; however, hedespises his work and dreams of leaving to become a Merchant Marine. Unhappy with what life hasdealt him, Tom strives for adventure and longs to turn his back on his responsibilities. His mother,Amanda Wingfield, abandoned by her husband almost sixteen years ago, tries to keep her familytogether through tough times. Although her love and hopes for her children are sincere, heroverbearing and outspoken nature often hurts them. Laura, Tom's sister, suffers from neuroses. She has trouble separating fantasy from reality. Without the ability to function in the outside world,Laura becomes a liability to both Tom and Amanda. The gentleman caller, Jim O'Connor, is afriend of Tom's from the warehouse. He is an ambitious young man, who strives for the AmericanDream through hard work and optimism. Jim offers the Wingfields hope for the future: Tom: He is the most realistic character in the play, being an emissary from aworld of reality that we were somehow set apart from. But since I have apoet's weakness for symbols, I am using this character also as a symbol; he is the long- delayed but always expected something that we live for (23). Williams gives the reader many emblems throughout the play; there are three of them are especiallyinteresting. The unicorn symbolizes Laura's uniqueness, the picture of Mr. Wingfield represents hisstrong influence on his deserted family, and Malvolio's coffin trick signifies Tom's suffocatinglifestyle. The unicorn is a symbolic representation of ways that Laura is unique or unusual . The first facetof the unicorn, its horn, refers to ways that Laura is an unusual person, such as in her may escapemechanisms. Laura's escape devices include her glass menagerie, listening to records on theVictrola, and visiting the park and zoo. Laura identifies with her glass menagerie because she hastrouble identifying with the real world, the pieces are small and delicate, just as she is. The Victrolais a reminder of Mr. Wingfield; Laura often plays records to avoid the present and thinks pleasantlyabout the times she had with her father. When Laura stopped going to Rubicam's Business College,she would spend many of her days at the zoo or park. She was a nature lover and thought of theseplaces as very peaceful and beautiful, a sharp contrast to her real life. The fragility of the unicorn, itssecond part, recalls Laura's delicate psychological condition. Laura's emotional problems causedmany difficulties in her life. While in high school, Laura was very self-conscious about the brace shehad to wear, as evidenced in the following passage: Laura: I had that brace on my leg -- it clumped so loud! Jim: I never heard any clumping. Laura: To me it sounded like -- thunder! Jim: Well, well, well, I never even noticed. Laura: And everybody was seated before I came in. I had to walk in front of all those people. Myseat was in the back row. I had to go clumping all the way up the aisle with everyone watching! Jim: You shouldn't have been self-conscious. Laura: I know, but I was (93). Laura suffered all the way through high school. Unfortunately, she scored poorly on her finalexaminations and dropped out of school. After such a failure, her fragile self-esteem dropped fromlow to almost non-existent, and she could not face going back. Six years later, with pressure fromher mother, Laura took another stab at education. She enrolled at Rubicam's Business College. However, Laura only made it to the first test. As the test began, she vomited on the floor and had tobe carri ed to the bathroom. Laura never returned to school, and once again her fragile emotions gotthe best of her. The transparency of the unicorn, its final facet, represents the fact that Laura'sproblems are easily apparent to anyone who cares to notice them. This is best seen

My Trip to Brazil essays

My Trip to Brazil essays Last summer I was invited to play soccer in Brazil, an experience of a lifetime. I traveled alone leaving La Guardia airport in New York, making connections in Miami, Sao Paulo and finally arriving in the cit of Natal, Brazil 20 hours later. There I trained with the professional soccer team, America F.C. The Brazilian natives could not have been any nicer or friendlier. This was an experience that I would never forget. Since I was unable to speak their language, Portuguese, the Brazilian players communicated to me through Soccer. Indeed they helped me through the training sessions by physically showing me what to do with the ball. Nevertheless when I was not focused, or simply could not do what they could, their body language made their dissatisfaction with me clear. The Brazilian players and coaches however, never were negative always projecting a positive attitude. A typical example of their passion of the game and teaching ability occurred when we were playing in a game. A Brazilian player would pass me the ball and naturally expect that I handle it properly. In the beginning, I could not and so the next time the same player would pretend to pass me the ball but purposely pass it to someone else. This is the way he told me he expected more from me. Perhaps ten minutes later I would be given another try. I quickly learned what they expected from me and improved dramatically from this. Off the soccer field was even more enlightening, as the players would invite me to go out with them. They interpreted the language, showed me the local sites, introduced me to native foods and showed me how to exchange Dollars to Reals. They took me in and watched over me for my entire trip and I thank them for that. On my first day I met and extremely interesting person, a fifteen year old, homeless native, who lives on the beach. The natives nicknamed him appropriately, Pele. Ironically Pele was the happiest boy on the beach...

Write a 2-3 page paper about outsourcing from the perspective of a Essay

Write a 2-3 page paper about outsourcing from the perspective of a multinational firm (Yes, this may be a hypothetical firm), - Essay Example t saving has been passed on to the customer who has benefited by the fact that even though the costs of raw materials is on the rise, the price of our goods haven’t gone north and the quality of the goods we provide has remained the same over the years and even improved in many cases. Something that the customers have really appreciated and have been complimenting us on time and again. Also with outsourcing we have been able to reduce the time it takes to bring out new products into the market. With people working in different time zones, it is now possible to bring out new products at a faster rate than before. Now our designers can create a design which is sent to the manufacturers who can produce the goods and it can be ready and shipped back to all our stores within weeks. This has meant that whenever a customer purchases a T&T product they are always buying the latest in fashion. Most of our back office operations have been outsourced freeing up valuable resources which would otherwise have been bogged down due such tasks. This has brought in a huge cost saving to the company as well allowing us on to divert our resources and concentrate on many other avenues which would have otherwise would have suffered. But even though outsourcing is seen by many as the fix it all solution for many problems, it comes with its own set of woes, the biggest and by far the toughest to deal with is the people issue. A company’s most precious asset are the people that work there and they are the hardest hit when outsourcing is considered. Since many processes have been outsourced, many workers have been let go which was done with a heavy heart but it was a must. The customer wanted high quality apparel at reasonable costs and the only way to provide it to them without sacrificing on the product was to downsize. Also with our high dependence on the Internet and other such information delivery systems, when a crash occurs things can spiral into chaos as was the recent case