Technology

Chapter 2 Literature Review

2.1 Introduction
In this chapter, a discussion of related literature will look into the possible effects of gender on peoples perception of the usability of mobile phone applications and the various preferences of male and female mobile phone users. Looking at mobile phone applications in a general perspective, along with identifying similar health devices in relation the gym application, will be discussed in the latter part of this project.

By conducting research, it will look into the specific needs of different groups of users based on their gender differences. These specific needs will highlight the usability issues and requirements between male and females.

2.2 Mobile Phone Applications
The increased use in mobile telecommunications (particularly mobile phone use) has led to a growth in research which indicates that the use of mobile communications are influencing how we go about our daily lives from both a social and an economic perspective (Love, 2005). Mobile phones are basically devices that are designed in such a way, that they provide communication between two parties through the radio waves and towers that are setup all over the city, country and areas where ever its services are offered.

However, in the present era mobile phones are not used for the purpose of receiving calls and sending text messages but there are a number of useful utilities and applications that have been designed and introduced with each passing day. The companies that are manufacturing mobile phones have put a lot of innovation in it with the passage of time. It is not limited to a few operations that it could perform earlier but it poses a lot scientific applications which provide equal facilities and flexibilities like a desktop PC or laptop.  Mobile phones now have become a good source for sharing data, transferring it to PC easily and quickly and even getting reliable and fast access to the internet. The availability of internet on such a compact medium has appreciated e-commerce on larger scale. The growing use of mobile phones and the design and development of mobile applications is basically the point which will be focused in the next few sections of this literature.

Mobile phone providers also create various software and applications to suit the needs of diverse users, from adolescent users to the elderly, males and females, students and professionals, and so on. Furthermore, mobile phone providers even set up unique application platforms that are exclusive for mobile phone brands. For instance, Apples iPhone is compatible with applications from the companys Apple store, while Nokia mobile phones are pre-installed with applications from the companys Ovi store. Mobile phones released by Microsoft with the Android platform also offer a wide variety of mobile phone applications for its users. (Gilroy, 2009) The range of mobile phone applications available for users includes business, education, social networking, health and lifestyle, communication, entertainment, and so on. With the rapid development of technology, mobile phone providers and third-party programmers are progressively developing new mobile applications each time in order to suit the needs of users.

For people who go to the gym and are conscious about their health, there are various applications available for them, such as calorie counters, exercise routine programmer and scheduler, body mass index (BMI) calculator, and so on. Apple has an application for the companys iPhone called iFitness, which is a reference list for exercise routines in gyms. iFitness shows the mobile phone user how specific routines should be done including the number of repetitions for each exercise, the kind of gym equipment required, etc. Mens Health Workout is another application for iPhone users that set up exercise routines for men depending on what they wish to achieve from working out.

2.3 Mobile Fitness Device Functions
Another experiment was taken place between different user groups to find the usefulness and perception of a mobile fitness device functions in terms of how they are sorted. This application consisted several sensors for measuring physiological issues in a human body.  The purpose of this experiment was to look at the possible effects of different groups of users When designing applications targeting to large audiences, the devices features should map to the preferences and expectations of the target users. Thus it is important to investigate the user perceptions when interacting with such devices.  (A. Ahtinen, et al., 2007).  Users have different perception in terms of specific needs when interacting with a device and it resulted that users with different aspirations want different features for a fitness and health-care device


2.4 Mobile Phone Interface Usability Issues Male Vs Female
It has also been observed that male and female mobile users have a bit differences in terms of likeness to posses mobile phone and its usage. The impact of individual differences (such as age, gender, cognitive ability and memory) on users performance and perception of the usability of a service or application have been well documented in humancomputer interaction literature (Tun and Wingfield, 1997 Palmquist, 2001 Goodman, Brewster and Gray, 2004).

 A study conducted in 2006 revealed the facts about mobile usage by women. It said that 50 of female mobile users said that they make half of their calls from their mobile phones and almost 50 women when interview commented that mobile phones are much time saver than any other medium of communication. It was also observed that women on average 35 to 39 want their mobile phone near them all the day. When both genders were asked about the activities they perform on mobile phone women were found more interested to go for ring tones, taking pictures of family member, sending text messages to friends etc. Mostly women says that they prefer their items to be bespoke, they like to differentiate them with others carrying trendy things for this purpose they keep stylish and modified mobile phones and go for more and more new features. (Alex, 2006)

On the other hand, if mobile phone usage in males is considered, it has been observed that males go for style, status, and fashion when talking about mobile phones and do purchasing according to these terms as compare to females. On the whole that is what makes the user but phones is mainly safety and security besides taking care of fashion and trends and the value added services that the mobile vendors and mobile companies are providing. (IDC press release, 2005)

A recent study conducted related to mobile usage by males and females, involved university students. The study gave a task to some 33 males and 29 females, to test short and long-term memory in them. The students were tested under three conditions, no phone exposure, active phone exposure and inactive phone exposure. The task was to learn some words that were given in a two-dimensional shape and within a limited time of 3 minutes. 12 minutes later they were asked to place the shapes and words in right places, similar exercise was made again and it was observed that males who were exposed to active phones made less errors while females stayed unaffected by the exercise, hence the conclusion was made that mobile usage facilitates memory in males but not females and it has gender issues and affects so obvious that it can be seen from any such exercise like the one mentioned above. (Smythe, James W, 2003)

The matter of maintaining style by Men and Women can never be ignored. It exists and expands with the passage of time. As more awareness, education and sense of maintaining style, fashion and trends is developed Men and Women are found to be more conscious about the stuff they keep. According to some analysts as they say women are not found to be more careful about the characteristic, uniqueness and standard of the product they as compare to men which is a false conclusion at a large extent. According to a recent study, women put more focus on the form of product while men go for the functionalities. Somehow both want ease of use. While talking about the form of product men are more concerned with sharp edges and lines, and women with curves, rounds and similar shapes. Like the nature they posses men like hard, metallic sort of interfaces while women go for soft, warm and matt looks.  Women are observed to be more inclined towards themes like nature, feminism etc while men mostly prefer ease of use in the interface. (Lishan Xue and Ching Chiuan Yen, 2007)

Schematic representation of aesthetic key points for the two genders
(Lishan Xue and Ching Chiuan Yen, 2007)

2.5 PC Usage Male Vs Female
It has been a topic of great interest by educators and scholars that why there exists difference in way of thinking of men and women with regard to the usage of technology and specifically computers.  The research questions to be discussed at this point are do men and women really have differences in their attitude towards the use of technology Are their daily lives, work and study affected by the technology usage  The demographic study showed that men and women both showed less concern when asked about how much influence technology has on their professional and personal lives. The response that showed it actually have some affect was some 2.06 for men and 1.5 for women. As computer has become an essential component of at homes and classrooms, offices and cafes therefore it is obvious to observe the gender differences in its usage.

Female student are more interested to peruse computer based or technology based career as they show more interest to contribute in it by their hard work and putting their creative side in it. While when these students go for career oriented jobs although it has been observed that women wants to keep aside from getting into technicalities but with the passage of time trends are changing and management should provide equal opportunities to males as well as females on technological assignments and projects. (Charles M. Ray, 1999)

The demographic report also showed, female considers the computers a fun and multitasking, adventurous device while men take it as a machine. Men wants to lead , they want the machine to do exactly what they want, they want to master themselves in its usage ,on contrary women concentrates on the usage of computers, its features, the facilities provided etc. This difference according to gender is found because generally technology is more associated with men and females stays a bit away from learning to command the machine. (Charles M. Ray,n.d)

In a recent study, an investigation of gender HCI issues using formative work.  The formative work was used to consider design using gender-conscious design features in the prototype to meet genders requirements.  The reason behind conducting this study was because women perceive that applications are less focus on them because designers tend to forget about their requirements. Designers ignorance of gender differences is particularly evident in studies showing software is unintentionally designed for males. (Beck, L 2005).  This study shows that designers must consider requirements from both gender differences in terms of usability, whether its software, mobile application, PC interface etc as they both have specific requirements from each other.

As a usability principle of any type of interface, icons are very important part of the usability principles. A previous study investigated the user preferences in terms of icons as what icon is easy to recognise. The study took place in the Taiwan area dealing with teenagers of both gender looking at mobile phone icon recognise. Two questionnaires took place including 5 concrete icons, 5 abstract icons and 5 arbitrary icons. The questionnaires were designed to examine icon recognition and teenagers favourite icons. . However there is no gender difference in the recognition of concrete icons or arbitrary icons. Out of the three icons, according to female teenagers they prefer abstract icons because of their richer concepts, while male teenagers prefer concrete icons because of the ease of learning them (Chung, S et al., 2007).

The study conducted by Compton  Burkett (2003) also revealed that there is no significant difference in the perceptions or perspectives of between male and female users. In the study, Compton  Burkett (2003) surveyed 697 male and female students from three different colleges in order to determine the differences in knowledge, dependence, and use of the PC. The results of the study proved that there are no specific differences and that both male and female users have certain apprehensions in utilizing the PC and both gender populations have equal knowledge about the PC interface.

 2.6 Various Applications Available for Mobile Phones      
 While talking about mobile phone usage and being interested in various innovative applications, it is found that not only mobile messengers, converters, trackers are famous, but more advanced applications like the one which can be installed on PC can be developed for mobile phone users. One of the many possible applications can be a health and fitness gym application which can provide services to the user on its mobile phone rather than visiting it. With regards to the Gym goers and with respect to gender first then the main point can be reached. For better understanding of the requirement of this application, it would start with the difference in thinking of men and women for using Gym and keeping themselves in the shape. (WellSphere, 2009)

Males take the activity of going to Gym as a challenge, they like to look fit, make biceps, and muscles feel stronger and do competitive exercises. They take it as a sport and do it for fun it is a task for them. On the contrary, women take this activity like a luxury its something like for maintaining their beauty no more than makeup. Whats natural in women is the urge to look good and thats the basic desire of going to Gym for them. The one thing that is a major concern for is health and fitness. Getting inside to this discussion it has also been observed that men are more likely to spend time in Gym and fitness, while women have to make sacrifice if they have a family and kids to look after. Women easily let go their fitness hours and fatigue of going to Gym than men.  Therefore, women easily make a compromise of their health as compare to let their family and other responsibilities being affected by their extra hours of exercising and most of the time their dream of being in a good shape and look attracted stay behind comparing with men. (WellSphere, 2009)

2.7 Various Aspects of Mobile Application
There are numerous companies in the market who have hired researchers and programmers to think and find the solution to such problems where people require some personal assistant to remind them about their daily routines, like taking medicine on time, cut the sugar usage, increase the vitamin use weekly etc. They collect statistics of such people who are facing the problem and are regular and frequent user of mobile phones, and then they go for performing some research of all possible sorts of flexibilities and environment that can be provided to such people on a mini device in their hands and pockets all the time. For this purpose, companies are working on an application that can be installed on mobile phones easily and can be used just as a person is visiting consultant physically. It will be explained in the later part of this paper but that part has some connection with these kinds of inventions. One of the many such applications which can be observed is Accenture Personal Performance Coach.  This is the result of research conducted at Accenture labs under the subject human-computer interactions.  According to a senior researcher at Accenture, mobile phones today are much more than just call receiving and text sending devices, the expert further added that in the coming era, mobile phones will serve as a complete personal assistant for oneself which will guide and aware an individual about the physical attributes and the changes if any. It will also be a complete record keeper of your body attributes, which you can easily access anytime to compare the change good or bad to be updated about your health. (Accenture, 2009)

2.8 Discussion of Literature
Computers, Internet and technology usage is always great interest for human beings and getting a part of daily life. Where there are technology usage issues that exists gender differences and its effects on the humans. Female users are found to be more interested in looks, fashionable product with colours variations, shapes and styles matching their personality, while males are found to be more interested in the technological aspect, the usage options, more usability issues and quality of the product. In this rushing world, people do not get enough time to waste physically approaching shops and outlets to get the gadgets of their type and interest therefore Internet marketing and e-business become a popular term. By the passage of time services like home remedy, self medication, e-hospital and doctor consultation also became a part of human life, similar is the trend of maintaining oneself by staying in touch with gym where there is no time to visit physically.

Similar is the case when it comes to the usage of cell phones, of course there exists some gender issues and differences that how males and females takes this technology and its usage. As mentioned in literature review that cell phones usage has become more and more popular among young males and females and even it is giving great impacts on human memory like putting reminders, alarms and meeting schedules in it these features however found to affect more frequently in males as compare to females. The memorizing exercise proved this fact, when a study was conducted taking as sample of 29 females and 33 males. Hence one can say that males and females are so dependant on technological advancement that it is getting a part of daily life.

Therefore willing to stay in shape but unfortunately lack of time and extra money can cause a number of males and females to stay long with only the desire of being fit. The only solution to this problem is to have a mobile gym application that can be easily installed and used anywhere, anytime. An appropriate and user friendly application must be compatible with all sort of handsets, it should provide all the required services to the user that the malefemale might get going to gym and besides the progress record keeping which is the most highlighted feature should be well maintained. In this prototype, it has been tried to work with these ideas and as it is only prototype the actual developed end product might differ a bit in some features and options but will almost cover all the key points.

There is always room for improvement and innovation in the field of science, hence, this is not the last thing done, as mentioned earlier that companies are working and researchers are being conducted on human  computer interaction subject which is a very vast field to cover, this application is just a small contribution and can be extended with more and more features depending upon the user desirability of usage and requirements.

2.9 Summary
This literature review shows more research is needed in order to create guidelines for designers to develop interfaces to meet the needs of male and female. The following chapter describes the research methodologies used to help obtain the requirements.

The paper deals with recommending a local high school on the school-wide purchase of a computer system by solely focusing on the configuration and specification of one computer system. The recommendations are based on current and real computer systems, brand and the varying prices that will be verified.

Target Local High School
In the advancing word of today, there is a dire need for up to date technology in business and educational institutions alike. Moreover, the task of buying an ideal computer system for students in a high school becomes quite challenging keeping in mind the acquisition of the latest computer systems and the varying prices.

A desktop system is recommended over a laptop for the high schools computer centre as it would allow ease of instruction in a conducive environment. It would also allow for easy and low cost maintenance. The latest computer system in market these days is the Intel Core i7. The recommendation for this microprocessor is that it should have a good clock frequency of 2.66 GHz and multi-core technology.

A RAM with a memory speed of 1066 MHz and storage capacity of at least 6GB is recommended with DDR3 SDRAM technology. A large secondary storage in the form of a hard drive is essential for students record keeping and important data (preferably with 7200 rpm and 750 GB capacity). An optical storage of  a combo DVDRW (R DL)  DVD-RAM - Serial ATA will provide read and write facility to the students at a speed of 40x for CD and 16X for the DVD.

For a monitor, a 20-inch-diagonal size display with a (169 aspect ratio) 1600 by 900 native screen resolution is recommended which makes it appropriate for showing HD content. For this purpose, HPs 2009m monitor offers a good quality and a suitable refresh rate for viewing digital media with a price of 200. It has a display refresh rate of over 60.

The HP Pavilion Elite m9650f - Core i7 940 2.66 GHz is a core i7-based, consumer level computer. Compared to other general-purpose desktop computers on the market, it is set at a medium price at around 1,205.

The operating system needs to be the latest and should have ease of use as well. Windows 7 as the latest public release version of Microsoft Windows for home and business use is recommended. It will also provide an excellent media centre for the high school students. Windows 7 will also provide improved performance on multi-core processors.

For the installation of software, Microsoft Office (320), used everywhere from the New York offices of Fortune 500 companies high up in skyscrapers all the way down to rural elementary school classrooms, is suggested. It provides a user-friendly approach with word processors, spreadsheet, and slide show presentations etc, with an e-mail client. In terms of usability, we all are so accustomed to Microsoft Office that it often feels like second nature to us. Whether we acknowledge it or not, the productivity work that we do using MS Office is extra-ordinary.

For, protection against viruses, a specialist anti-virus software like Symantec Norton Anti-Virus needs to be installed. Norton has drastically improved virus scan engine and provides excellent user support at a price of 39. Additionally, Adobe Acrobat PRO 9 (89.9) will provide accessibility to PDF files. PDF format is widely used for educational purposes and thus the Adobe Reader becomes a necessity.

As the purchase of the computer systems would be in large quantity (hardware and software combined), it is recommended that it should be bought from a store in the city. By adopting such means, the high school can avoid large shipment costs that will come with buying a computer system through the internet. It will also provide for easy maintenance of the computer systems and good user support for installation as well.

To make the classroom instructions more effective and interactive, certain additional components have to be installed. An HP wired mouse (25.27) is recommended as it will not be misplaced during instructions by the students. A web camera along with a good microphone, is a necessity with any modern computer system, therefore, for this purpose an HP Elite Auto-Focus Webcam (73) will provide for video conferencing with students from distant cities and countries as well. The LOGITECH USB ADVANCED MICROPHONE (50) is recommended as it provides sound clarity and a single USB plug and play connection. It also filters out background noise. The keyboard is recommended to be HPs ADESSO SLIM-MEDIA Desktop Keyboard with built-in Card Reader and a USB Hub (33).

Overall, the HP computer system will be provided with a one year service and support warranty which is quite necessary. The user support will provide for timely maintenance as well.

S.NoNamePrice1HP Pavilion Elite m9650f - Core i7 940 2.66 GHz (with Windows 7 OS)12052HP 2009m Monitor 1893HP wired mouse25.274HP Elite Auto-Focus Webcam535LOGITECH USB advanced microphone 406HPs ADESSO SLIM-MEDIA Desktop Keyboard337MS Office 20073208NORTON Anti-Virus399Adobe Reader PRO 989.9TOTAL  1994.17

The whole computer system has been bought in this case at a price of 1994.17 by making the maximum use of the monetary assistance provided by the high school administration. It can be safely concluded now that the computer system so provided, is the most ideal considering the currents trends in technology. Even if the high school aims at keeping the require technology for a minimum of five years or so, the computer system is well suited to meet all such demands with the progression of time.

This paper will discuss the issues of security in local area networks (LANs) and wide area networks (WANs). The security of a database is very important and the achievement of which is imperative for any company which stores their data on a cloud computing environment. The composition of the cloud includes services and cloud computing. The advantages of cloud computing are hundredfold which including the eradication of training of users for new applications. These same users are provided with increased capability so that it is no longer necessary to train them new software is applications. Most of the information which is stored in the cloud is large databases which makes security a very important factor in cloud computing. Security of the database will have to be seen in the context of confidentiality, integrity and availability. The work of a database administrator in cloud computing environments involves the guarding of the database from frauds such as privacy breach and unauthorized access form fraudsters.

The current trends in information technology leave one wondering if security is anything we can be assured of. There are many computer frauds that have been targeted at computer systems. With databases being integrated in many websites and dynamic websites being created faster than creating security mechanisms, their security is very paramount for the integrity of the content it has to be assured.

Cloud computing is a buzz in the information technology industry. there has been effort by companies and individuals to store databases in the cloud but the big questions is whether there is enough mechanisms to assure their safety while they are stored in the cloud. the point of contentions here is that there are few companies which provide could computing services and they are the same companies who have to make sure that the security of what they store in their clouds is assured for their clients (Cleveland, 2009). Many argue that there should be third party companies who should be concerned with security of information that are stored in the cloud. Cloud computing providers are totally responsible for what is taking place in their clouds including the security of the data. Clients have had to communicate with these providers very often to make sure that all is well with their data in the cloud.

This paper will look at the various instances where the security of databases can be achieved in a cloud computing environment.


Chapter one
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Background
Cloud computing is a technology where data and different applications are stored on storage networks and servers which are located in a remote place and accessed by the users via the Internet. This technology of cloud computing allows businesses and consumers to get access to applications without the need of installing them on their own on-site servers. The applications are installed on remote servers. In the normal way of applications use, consumers purchase licenses for application software from their software provider and install them on their on-site servers. In cloud computing case, it is On Demand basis where consumers pay a subscription fee for the service. The use of this technology increases efficiency because the storage, memory and processing are centralized.

For one to understand the security of a database on a LAN and WAN, knowledge of cloud computing characteristics is of paramount significance. This technology involves sending services which have been hosted through the Internet. Cloud computing would be useless without the technologies like Web 2.0, Software as a Service (SaaS), and Data as a Service (DaaS). These technologies have made cloud computing a success (Cleveland, 2009). The main aim of cloud computing is to change the paradigm to another shift so that computing could get a new meaning information technology moved from desktop applications to getting services which are hosted in the cloud. There is a difference between cloud computing and cloud services where the latter involves a case where services are delivered over the Internet real-time.

Cloud computing is a technology where data and different applications are stored on storage networks and servers which are located in a remote place and accessed by the users via the Internet. This technology of cloud computing allows businesses and consumers to get access to applications without the need of installing them on their own on-site servers. The applications are installed on remote servers. In the normal way of applications use, consumers purchase licenses for application software from their software provider and install them on their on-site servers. In cloud computing case, it is On Demand basis where consumers pay a subscription fee for the service. The use of this technology increases efficiency because the storage, memory and processing are centralized.

There are three types of cloud computing. The first is the Software as a service (SaaS). This is the cloud computing type where applications are installed on the remote servers and then offered to the consumer as a service. A single instance of the application software is set to run on the cloud and serves multiple users or organizations. In the traditional software use, users would purchase the license and install them on their on-site servers. With cloud computing, the end-user will pay for the service as he uses it.

The second type of cloud computing is the Platform as a service (PaaS). Most companies started by providing SaaS to the end-users. Most of these companies have also started developing platform services for the end-users. In PaaS, products are provided to enable applications to be deployed on the end-users. Platforms act as an interface to enable users to get access to applications which are provided by partners or by customers. Some of the big players in this cloud computing industry like Microsoft, Google and Amazon have provided platforms which include Windows Live for Microsoft, Apps Engine for Google and EC2 for Amazon. Providers like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft have developed platforms which enable users to gain access to applications stored on centralized servers.

1.2 The problem
As cloud computing gains popularity, there are many questions that linger in the minds of the players which include how the information will still be considered private with the intrusion of the third-party companies in the same. What are the measures that companies using cloud computing are taking to ensure that their data is secure in the cloud What is the future of cloud computing Will the credentials of the data be entrusted on total strangers who are miles away
This paper will try to answer the problems of security of the database in the cloud. There are many databases which are being uploaded into the cloud and less is being done to address their security. I will explore the research that has been done in this area and the probable solutions that can be made to overcome the issue of insecurity.

1.3 The hypothesis
In this paper, I choose to deal on the following hypotheses
The issue of security of the databases in the cloud has been left to the third-party players. The companies who have implemented the cloud computing in their organization have left the issue of cloud computing to be managed by the players in this new field like Google and Microsoft Azure.
The issue of Web 2.0 technologies which have threatened the security of databases in storage areas which are miles away from the center. With the advent of cloud computing and virtualization, the access to the servers which are miles away is not so much trusted. It is imperative that the data be secured in the LAN of the cloud.

The issue of privacy of the data stored in a cloud computing environment. The storage of the data in the cloud is prone to access by third party

1.4 Research questions
This paper is based on the following research questions
What is the security level of the database which stored in the cloud How is the security of unauthorized access of the data and databases which are stored in the cloud There is much to desire for the control of data in the cloud. What is the responsibility of the corporate users in the cloud With all the hype that has been associated with cloud computing, there are issues which should be considered before any company shifts their paradigm and move completely to cloud computing (Dodani, 2009). There is the issue of lose of control for information. The end user will lose control of the information once they are sent to the cloud. Hackers are no longer teenagers who are idle but they have become expert IT professionals who have made hacking their full time mission. The issue of security cannot be left on remote managers and servers and expect that everything will be right. All the security is left to the third-party to ensure this. In theory, the data which is stored in the cloud is unusually safe and they are replicated across multiple machines. In case the data is lost, there is no local backup. This can be overcome if the users download all the documents which have been stored in the cloud to the desktop. This might be tedious to most users, the more reason why most of the users are still skeptical about moving to this new technology.

The second research question is to deal with performance of the database in the cloud. Cloud computing vendors may not meet the quality that is required for quality performance. There are standards that have been set for proper storage of data in any environment. With cloud computing vendors not regulated, it leaves a lot of security leaks which could be detrimental to the security and integrity of the data in the cloud (Dodani, 2009).

The third research question is about management of the database in the cloud. It is proving to be a difficult task to administer security and manage a virtualized corporate information technology environment. The management of the security in the cloud may be thwarted with the complications of the legalities that come with this. There are no tools available for the user to monitor the security level and manage cloud computing vendors and their products.

The forth question is about governance and regulatory compliance. With there are many questions that come in mind when outsourcing of services is raised in any organization. The processes of cloud computing, internal tools to be used by the buyers and third-party auditor process need to be addressed.

The fifth question is about finance of managing the security of the database in the cloud. Will the company be able to manage the management of the security in the cloud without adding any budgetary allocations to it If there are tools which will be developed by the buyers, will the tools be costly once they have been adopted by the company

1.5 Proof criteria
a) Null hypothesis
The hypothesis about the privacy of databases in the cloud is null. This is because there are formalities that are to be agreed before ownership of data is agreed upon. There are preliminary agreements that need to be done before the cloud computing firm and the organization wishing to store their data with the firm agree with the organization or company wishing to store their data in the cloud. This hypothesis is null and is not applicable in this scenario.

b) Alternate hypothesis
The hypothesis that the security of the data in the cloud is not secured is supported by many authors and researchers who have done their research on cloud computing. It is widely accepted that the use of cloud computing comes with a lot of security. Hackers are no longer teenagers who are idle but they have become expert IT professionals who have made hacking their full time mission. The issue of security cannot be left on remote managers and servers and expect that everything will be right. All the security is left to the third-party to ensure this.

c) Success criteria
The criteria that I will use to verify the hypothesis is right are taking a research to get the feel of the users of this technology on the field. The research to be carried out will help me get what the users of cloud computing feel the technology is doing for them. Many researches have been used get the authenticity of the hypotheses. Since there are some companies which have adopted this technology already, there is need then to have the feel of these companies about the technology.

d) Repeatability
There is some level of significance of the hypothesis. The current trends in information technology leave one wondering if security is anything we can be assured of. There are many computer frauds that have been targeted at computer systems. With databases being integrated in many websites and dynamic websites being created faster than creating security mechanisms, their security is very paramount for the integrity of the content it has to be assured.

1.6 Assumptions made
There are assumptions that must be made for the research to be a success. One of the assumptions is the fact that governments and organizations comply and accept this form of technology. The constraints experienced in rolling out cloud computing are mainly those imposed by governments which does not allow other countries to store data. An example is that of the Canadian government whereby data belonging to Canada is not allowed to reside in the Unite States. This is due to the Patriot Act. Another example is that of the French government where the government will not use Blackberry devices because all emails are routed via United States and therefore will become visible to Homeland Security. It is possible that with the presence of these constraints, the growth of the use of cloud computing will be retarded. This research assumes that the use of this technology has no constraints at all.

Another assumption that will be made is that the relevance of this technology is maintained as long as this research paper is being done. This research will remain relevant as long as all the findings in it are followed.

1.7 Dependencies
The dependencies that are involved include the fact the cloud has still some privacy and security issues that should still be looked into. There are issues that should still be looked upon.

The first issue to be considered when deploying cloud computing is the privileges given to users in order to access their data. Data which are stored outside the premises of an enterprise brings with the issue of security. Hoe safe is the data Who else assesses the data Data which have been outsourced bypass the controls of the personnel of the enterprise. The client should get as much information as possible about how the data is stored and how the integrity of this data is catered for. The providers should be asked specific information about their hiring of privileged administrators who will manage the data.

The second issue to be considered is the regulatory compliance. The consumers are responsible for the security and integrity of their own data even when this data is held and stored by other providers. In the case of traditional service providers, they are subjected to external audits by auditors who will normally check on the security policy of that enterprise. The cloud computing providers should accept to undergo these external audits and this should be agreed upon in written form.

The other security policy to be considered is about the location of the cloud. In most cases, consumers do not know where the cloud is located and even dont know which country it is. What they care is that their data is being stored somewhere. The providers should indicate, in written form, their jurisdiction and should accept to obey local security policies on behalf of the consumers.

Another issue is that consumers should be aware of the security breaches present with providers. Providers have always claimed that security is at its tightest in the cloud but this fact alone is not enough to assume security issues. It is good know that all security systems that have been breached were once infallible and so with newer technologies, they can be broken into. An example is Google which was attacked in 2007. Their Gmail services was attacked and had to make apologies. With this in mind, it is a good lesson to learn that even though systems might be tight in the cloud, it is not a full assurance that they will never be hacked. While providers of cloud computing face security threats, research has shown that cloud computing has become very attractive for cyber crooks. As the data become richer in the cloud, so should security become tighter.

1.8 Limitations
There are limitations that are expected to be met in the research of this paper. One of the limitations is the fact that the technology is still new and there are few companies which have put this technology in place. It will therefore be hard to get the data of the technology. Compared to other technologies which have been fully developed, cloud computing is still not well developed.
The other challenge is the fact that there is no standardization made yet concerning the cloud computing. Companies and private practioners still develop their own clouds without following a standard procedure.

Constraints
One of the constraints is that it is tedious getting data which are scanty. Scanty due to the fact that they are not well developed. I will have to get research material from online journals and not from free repository because they are not found in the public domain yet.

Chapter two
2.1 Literature review
There have been many discussions that have been written on cloud computing. McEvoy and Schulze discuss the limitations that were experienced with grid computing. These authors believe that the flaws that was experienced with grid computing. One of the problems of grid computing is the fact that it exposes too much detail of the underlying implementation thus making interoperability more complex and scaling almost impossible (McEvoy,  Schulze, 2008). Instead of this being a flaw it became one feature of grid computing. When someone is looking for solution at a more abstract and higher level, that is where cloud computing becomes handy and plays a big role.

Jha, Merzky,  Fox also give a descripti9on of clouds as providing higher level abstraction through which services are delivered to the customer. It is widely agreed that the difference between the cloud and grid is the complexity of the interface through which the services are delivered to the customer and the extent to which the resources underlying are exposed. With cloud computing, the interfaces of higher-level cloud restrict the services to off-the-shelf software, which are deployed as a generic shared platform (Jha, Merzky,  Fox).

There are many papers and proceedings which discuss SaaS, cloud computing, virtualization, and grid computing. Several of the most useful references are summarized in this section. The references for both the support and conflicts of the various definitions are all included.

The have been various views about the cloud model. Some authors have argued that cloud computing model incorporates popular trends such as Web 2.0 SaaS, and DaaS. The main aim of all these revolutions is so that we may change the way we compute and shift absolutely from desktop based computing to services and resources which are hosted in the cloud.

There have been other explanations about cloud computing that gives the distinction between cloud services and cloud computing. He argues that a cloud service is any business or consumer service that is consumed and delivered over the Internet in real-time. Cloud computing on the other hand consists of a full information technology environment which consists of all the components of network products that make the delivery of cloud services a reality. This is what enables cloud services to be performed.

Another definition of cloud computing is that it is a style of computing where large and scalable information technology activities are provided as a service using Internet technologies to external customers. Cloud computing are characterized by their self-service nature where users customers acquire resources any time they wish to use these services as long they have an Internet connection and can get rid of these services when they are no longer interested in these services.

A cloud computing system is the environment where the consumption of cloud services is enables and made possible. Cloud computing is a new way where capacity is increased, capabilities added and functionalities exploited without the need to add any infrastructure to the system, train new skills or acquisition of a new software license. In this new setup, the services can be categorized into concepts depending on the needs of the consumer. These categories include Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), managed service providers (MSP), and utility computing which deals with products, services, and solutions that are consumed over the Internet real-time. The users of cloud computing do not possess any infrastructure of the system because there is no initial investment in serves or software licenses. They instead use the resources as a service and pay for the use of these resources which are supplied by the service provider. In this case, most cloud computing providers have options which feature computing items which range from lower-powered system units to units which require extensive multicore CPU systems which require

2.2 Research Questions
This paper is based on the following research questions
What is the security level of the database which stored in the cloud How is the security of unauthorized access of the data and databases which are stored in the cloud There is much to desire for the control of data in the cloud. What is the responsibility of the corporate users in the cloud With all the hype that has been associated with cloud computing, there are issues which should be considered before any company shifts their paradigm and move completely to cloud computing (Dodani, 2009). There is the issue of lose of control for information. The end user will lose control of the information once they are sent to the cloud. Hackers are no longer teenagers who are idle but they have become expert IT professionals who have made hacking their full time mission. The issue of security cannot be left on remote managers and servers and expect that everything will be right. All the security is left to the third-party to ensure this. In theory, the data which is stored in the cloud is unusually safe and they are replicated across multiple machines. In case the data is lost, there is no local backup. This can be overcome if the users download all the documents which have been stored in the cloud to the desktop. This might be tedious to most users, the more reason why most of the users are still skeptical about moving to this new technology.

The second research question is to deal with performance of the database in the cloud. Cloud computing vendors may not meet the quality that is required for quality performance. There are standards that have been set for proper storage of data in any environment. With cloud computing vendors not regulated, it leaves a lot of security leaks which could be detrimental to the security and integrity of the data in the cloud (Dodani, 2009).

The third research question is about management of the database in the cloud. It is proving to be a difficult task to administer security and manage a virtualized corporate information technology environment. The management of the security in the cloud may be thwarted with the complications of the legalities that come with this. There are no tools available for the user to monitor the security level and manage cloud computing vendors and their products.

The forth question is about governance and regulatory compliance. With there are many questions that come in mind when outsourcing of services is raised in any organization. The processes of cloud computing, internal tools to be used by the buyers and third-party auditor process need to be addressed.

The fifth question is about finance of managing the security of the database in the cloud. Will the company be able to manage the management of the security in the cloud without adding any budgetary allocations to it If there are tools which will be developed by the buyers, will the tools be costly once they have been adopted by the company

Chapter three
3.1 Introduction
The study was concerned with the assessment of the security of databases which have been stored in a cloud computing environment. The cloud computing has been installed with little research being done on the likely effects of the security breach in the cloud. An action learning approach was applied with an experimental learning context. Consequently, the learning concept is applicable for graduate students working on the modalities of the data and all the transactions which are taking place in the cloud.

Internal security factors
There are factors which are cropping which concern the security of the databases in a cloud computing environment. The internal factors are that of the integrity of the data when they have been sent to the cloud. It is widely believed that data which have been sent to be stored in remote place have their security compromised as the security systems in the remote sites are not well vetted. Unless the cloud computing player gives the client the rights to access the status of their information while they are stored in the cloud. Most of the security of data in the cloud is normally left to the full management of the company providing the hosting.

External security
The second security issue that concerns companies wishing to store their data in the cloud is about the external issues of security that should be adhered to. Most of the cloud computing players have their own security measures that are installed in place. There is the issue of lose of control for information. The end user will lose control of the information once they are sent to the cloud. Hackers are no longer teenagers who are idle but they have become expert IT professionals who have made hacking their full time mission. The issue of security cannot be left on remote managers and servers and expect that everything will be right. All the security is left to the third-party to ensure this.

3.2 Methodology
Due to few companies which have implemented cloud computing, it was hard getting a company to get the features and their views on cloud computing security. Most of the research were got from giant companies which have fully adopted cloud computing in their systems and have all the tools that are required to study this subject well. Most of the views were taken form renowned review sites which have a wide experience in getting company information and technology trends in the offing. These review sites have a balanced representation of the companies.

3.2.1Procedures
The results were from 5 companies which have widely dealt with cloud computing and are concerned with the security of the databases stored in the clouds. These companies have their representatives and program officers who were very helpful in this research. Data was collected using SPSS program. The views from the employees of these companies were captured in a questionnaire which was sent online. They were asked how they perceive their achievement of the database security in cloud computing. They were then asked of their personal feel of the extent to which the war against attacks in the cloud has been achieved.

In part 1, the respondents were told to imagine that they are the implementers of cloud computing in a company, that researchers are interested in knowing what goes through their mind when they make such a implementation decisions, and that there are no right or wrong answers. Participants were then asked a series of questions related to database security in cloud computing the type of cloud computing they wish to implement (attribute vs. consensus), the type of information source (personal vs. impersonal), type of heuristics (independent self-related vs. interdependent self-related), decision speed, consideration set, product involvement, and product knowledge. In part 2, participants were asked a series of individual differences in their technologies they wished to b implemented. In part 3, participants were presented with demographic questions such as age, gender, nationality, raceethnicity, and cultural identity. Once a participant finished the questionnaire, heshe was thanked and dismissed.

3.3 Statistical analysis
This section will discuss the statistical techniques that were used to get a clear analysis of the data and obtain the results in the analysis. There were two basic types of statistical analysis that were done which are descriptive and inferential analysis.

3.3.1 Descriptive statistics
These are the characteristics of the sample. The statistics that were used in this were the frequencies, means and standard deviations. Frequencies usually refer to the actual amount or the proportion that was obtained between the respondents which responded to a certain questions to these who did not respond. This study represents these in form of bar charts and tables. The arithmetic mean was used in the study to measure the central tendency which is used to determine the average response of respondents towards a test.

3.3.2 Inferential statistics
This is the statistics which allows the researchers to make inferences about the true differences in the population basing on the sample data. One of the in-thing in discussing the inferential statistics is the discussion of the significance of the study. This is discussed first in this paper.

3.3.3 Statistical significance
The hypotheses from the research cannot be tested directly given the size of the research and the constraints of time and finances that is associated with it. The differences which appear in the sample data may not be true in the ground. Cooper and Emory (1995) states that the statistical significance of a result is the probability that the relationship which was observed or a difference, that is , between means, in a sample occurred by pure chance and also that in the population from which the sample was drawn, there is no such relationship which is in existence. This value is computed in each statistical test that is performed and is treated as p-value.

Most of the p-values which are commonly used are 0.001 and 0.005. The value usually depends on the researcher and the level of risk they are willing to accommodate in their research. This risk is depicted in the Type 1Type 2 error. Cooper and Emory (1995) still insist that statistical significance is a very important tool should not be confused with scientific findings. They also distinguish between two significance test which statistical significance and practical significance. A research may be statistically important but yet when the variable that is being studied is not significant. Practical significance is measuring the importance of the research basing on other factors like cost of doing the research and the validity of the research.

The article on Seasonal Dynamics of Tree Growth, Physiology and Resin Defenses in a Northern Arizona Ponderosa Pine Forest (Gaylord, et al., 2007, p.1) by Monica L. Gaylord and others is a paper that addresses all aspects of the seasonal dependence of pine ponderosa. The development, maturity and resins of the pine forest as linked to various climatic variations are evaluated and illustrated scientifically in this work on the forest ecology. The article intends to establish different facts on leaf level net photosynthetic rate, leaf water potential, resin flow after phloem wounding (Gaylord, et al., 2007, p.1) along with the response in 2 years of pine ponderosa with respect to the climatic disparities. The living things observed in this analytical exploration are pine ponderosa and pine bark beetles. The statistical analysis and the site description have been performed in the course of the compilation of the article to accomplish the set objectives.

The selected article is critically analyzed in this paper with the supporting evidence of the selected four articles, which are closely related to the topic. The authors of Arizona Pine (Pinus Arizonica) Stand Dynamics Local and Regional Factors in a Fire-Prone Madrean Gallery Forest of Southeast Arizona, USA, (Gaylord, et al., 2007, p.1) affirm that extensive weather prototypes materialize to put forth the administration of the humidity accessibility, fire incidence and forest demography, lift the convincing likelihood of local harmonization of tree-plant dynamics. GL Zausen, the author of the second article, has been able to clearly illustrate various aspects of ponderosa pine physiology and the bark beetle abundance. The third article was written by Daniel D B Perrakis and is titled Seasonal Fire Effects on Mixed-Conifer Forest Structure and Pine Resin Properties evaluates, through effective explanations, the seasonal effects on pine resins. (Gaylord, et al., 2007, p.1). The fourth article Ponderosa Pine by William W. Oliver and Russell A. Ryker, facilitates a strong background of the impact of climate on ponderosa pine trees. With the solid back up of these four articles, the exploration carried out by Monica L. Gaylord and colleagues is being studied through this paper. The objective of this paper is to investigate and establish the reality and factuality of the major article with the supporting evidence from other articles.

Synopsis
The survival of a tree in extreme conditions lies in its ability to overcome the photosynthate between growth and defense (Monica, et al., 2007, para.1) without any major loss of its essentials. The selected article for research crucially explores the physiology, the growth and resin defense of pines besides examining the close relationship with climatic dynamics. The potential of pines to survive various extreme weather conditions is evaluated and studied, while answering possible queries regarding those. The precipitation, resin flow, belowground and aboveground growth of pines, temporal variation in needles, radial growth and carbon allocations are the chief biological developments determined through various scientific approaches. The entire investigation is concluded under the resolving schemes of the context of water stress in trees, current hypotheses of carbon allocation in plants and the historical lack of pine bark beetle epidemics in the northern Arizona.

Restoring Mixed Conifer Ecosystems to Pre-Fire Suppression Conditions in Crater Lake National Park, (Gaylord, et al., 2007, p.1) links the resin growth and wood support of the pine ponderosa forest with climatic conditions. Various close relations of the developmental and physiological perspectives of pines with ecological terms have been evaluated under the background of Crater Lake National Park. The paper establishes that constant exposure to different extreme conditions helps pines to overcome the problems linked with these. The fact stated that sustained by frequent, low-intensity fires (Agee  Perrakis, 2007, p.1) lead to the evolution and accumulation of fuels and shade tolerant species (Agee  Perrakis, 2007, p.1) and this supports the criterion of the fire science.

Andrew M. Barton and his colleagues explain the real life relationship between diverse climatic conditions and the entire aspects of pine groups, which also influence the bark beetles. The paper also claims that stand dynamics of Arizona pine (Pinus Arizonica) to the fire history and drought severity and compared the dynamics in the two sites before and after the divergence in fire frequency (Barton, Swetnam  Baisan, 2001, p.1) and this hypothesis has been established with the proper evidence through scientific modes. The article successfully underlines the fact that tree-plant reaction to local fire and weather conditions allow them to preserve and as a part of ecosystem they are in fact influenced by climatic diversities throughout a year.

GL Zausen essentially establishes that apart from the ecological alterations and climatic conditions, human activities also contribute to the physiology, growth and expansion of pines. Various negative influences caused during the seasonal shifts are found to be reduced with the vitalized research based activities for betterments. The paper is relevant in supporting the analysis in the work of Monica L. Gaylord and her colleagues through the exploration of the assorted linkages to the topic, supported by the proper evidence and experiments. Lower rates of the destruction of pine trees have been observed at the end of their research on the matter. Oleoresin exudation flow in July was greater in a warm year than a cooler year. (Zausen, et al., 2005, p.10).

William W. Oliver and Russell A. Ryker successfully illustrate the traits closely linked with the growth, development and other features of pine ponderosa. The habitats, climatic influences and other demography are studied and explained very well through the paper, creating a better foundation for ones knowledge on pine forests and the ecological links. The soil geography and reproductive cum lifecycle examinations have been done in the paper, giving the audience information about almost all facts related to pines and their wealth. The fact that pine ponderosa trees distribution on drier sites is related closely to supplies of available soil moisture is supported by the above statement. (Ryker  Oliver, n.d., para.9).

Critique
Introduction
The papers under consideration concern closely related topics. It is an established fact that findings on a certain topic, when investigated by more than one person, are unlikely to be the same. In addition to this, the discussions on topics having variations will obviously not present an analogous result. The major article selected has accomplished its objectives through the specific approaches leaving behind the other works done on similar lines. The results of studies conducted by peers will, however, come to help at times. This critique is undertaken to determine whether the works selected for this paper will support directly or indirectly the deduced facts in the major article. The methods and experiments deployed by all articles under consideration are different and but appropriate for their own objectives. Hopefully, the particulars and the data obtained through the statistical approach or any other analytical method can be similar or supporting or else backing up the papers written by these authors. The critique covers all possible areas of the researches and makes specific evaluation of each aspect. The monthly values of features measured were noted and analyzed to see whether there are changes as mentioned in the topic. Through a systematic approach and employment of different scientific tools and techniques in the investigation a sincere attempt has been made to derive best results with least redundancies.

Methods
The Northern Arizona University Centennial Forest is the area utilized by the authors of the major articles to investigate the topic. They have observed four different seasons in that area which recorded a frost free climate for 115 days. The authors, taking various steps, have applied the method of tree sampling with DBH considerations and the monthly photosynthesis analysis. Predawn and midday xylem potential have been measured for needles. These measured values are later sampled with a specific interval convenient for the purpose. Resin flow has been noted by removing the barks from both sides of the wood at a height 1.3 meters from ground level. The fine root production has been evaluated for below the ground growth determination. The needle development, stem radial expansion and the growth of shoots have been evaluated to determine the above the ground growth resolution. The statistical analysis has been done with the utilization of the numerical tool known as analysis of variance (ANOVA) with SAS software package (SAS Institute Inc. Cary, North Carolina) (Gaylord, et al., 2007, p.3). Tabulating observed values to achieve the scientific provisions for the objectives kept for the research. Linear regressions accompanied by the curvilinear approach have been used for measuring the resin flow, developmental and physiological features and atmospheric heat, facilitating the identification of the mean ambient temperature. JMP is a software employed for accomplishing linear regressions. Durbin-Watson Tests have been used to correlate the variety of the data obtained. The methods are all based on scientific procedures and foundations, giving out the most efficient and reliable results. These have made the analysis most effective besides rendering its credibility. The entire observations of experiments done as stated above are tabulated and recorded for further evaluation, done on weekly, monthly, yearly and comparative basis through which results are identified.

Results
Photosynthesis was bimodal throughout 2002 during midday with June exhibiting least and October the highest while 2003 witnessed an increase, though the seasonal variation were similar for both the years. July marked lowest in the year 2003. Appreciable difference in photosynthesis has been identified between months of both the years considered. Predawn and midday xylem hydro potential of leaf have been determined to be varied with respect to change in climatic conditions. The highest values for both are seen at a half way of winter season, gradually decreasing toward the end of spring and during the advent of summer. 2002 exhibited the predawn lowest value in May and the highest in September at midday turned to be the lowest in May and highest during December. The figures are identical in the following year as well. A consistent variation between months has been observed in both years. The resin flow is measured for weeks and turned out to be in the range of 11.9 - 3.1 and 0.03 - 0.03 mL in 2002, where highest is credited to June and lowest to January. In 2003, the range got expanded to 17.7 - 3.0 and 0.01 - 0.01 mL, among which July has the highest and January has the lowest values. But, in fact, there has been no considerable variation between the years 2002 and 2003. Below the ground growth indicated the lowest during the period between January to June with a little enhancement in July and maximum average growth in August 2003. This is a better figure, than in 2002, for the root growth also in terms of consistency. The root growth has different rates in various months of the two years. The above the ground growth has been marked between June and July with the maximum level of development during July  August period in 2002. But the time span May  June in 2003 marked the beginning and June  July the highest values. The similarity between the two years is the elongation occurred during December. Linear regressions have helped in allocating carbon between development and resistance. The resin flow is linked to the growing period in a positively correlated manner under the consistent air temperature. The photosynthesis analytical results have been of the least significance under the correlative analysis with the most relevant one as a negative relation with resin flow.

Discussion
The overall investigation shows that there exist considerable variations in the growth, physiology and the resin flow of pine ponderosa. The variations in climate between the two consecutive years cannot be tremendous. But the study indicates a clear difference in the developmental aspects of pines between 2002 and 2003. The below the ground growth credibly displayed a better enhanced appearance with the availability of the soil water content, soil temperature and carbon dioxide. The resin flow is directly linked with the temperature prevailing during the period. But the variation between the years is not evident due to the fact that temperature variations are not considerably different when considered with the average temperature of the two analyzed years. The pressure of water has contributed evidently to the needle growth. The parallel influence of hydraulic pressure on both above the ground as well as below the ground growth is explicitly evident from the experiments. The redundancy created bivariate graphs in the case of the growth and the resin defense relationship. The expected result has not been obtained through this approach. The GDBH which is supposed to be supported through this particular plot has not proved to be completely supportive. The actual requisite is a graph with a bell shape link between the growth and the resin defense. But to the negative result, a clear bell pattern has not been obtained. This is a flaw in the accuracy of the research conducted. According to the GDBH, with a medium level of pressure from water, only resin defense can be enhanced and not growth. This is due to the allocation of carbon to resins rather than for the growth perspectives. But to the maximum extent it has reached up to the GDBH in the case of higher stress form water. As a whole, the research has been successful in achieving the objectives set and also various other accomplished researches in the same domain have supported the facts derived from this study.

Conclusion
The major article has been critically evaluated and examined to ascertain the facts, and to determine, which investigation has proved to be the most efficient, supported by scientific methods and tools available. Through the statistical approach, the requisites are met, to which other selected articles have been related and it shows that all the four articles considered in this study have supported the facts in the main paper. GL Zausen, in a different approach toward the management of the growth and physiology, actually evaluates the matter of seasonal link of those. The study of the climatic situation and fire cases is the objective of Andrew M. Barton, who never ignores the link of climate and growth and the resin flow of pine trees. Similar is the case of the fire science article which has not been able to eliminate the relationship from its investigation. But William W. Oliver, whose aim is to study all aspects of pines, obviously does many supportive activities in his work with respect to the major article selected for this research. The arid natures will be affected by drought and other similar extreme conditions which affect the moisture availability, eventually leading to negative effect on the growth and physiology of pine trees linking with bark beetles survival. The research finds evidence in all academic sources, in the context that the slight variations in photosynthesis will never have any impact on the growth and resin flow during the growing season of pine ponderosa. As a whole, the entire work integrates the selected articles to the major article selected for investigation on pine ponderosa with evidence of scientific test results and graphs. The statistical tools and techniques of all researchers in common, have contributed to establish factuality of Seasonal Dynamics of tree Growth, physiology and resin defenses in a northern Arizona ponderosa pine forest by Monica L. Gaylord and her colleagues. In fact, it is evidently deduced that the growth period and the resin defense phase, along with the physiological traits of ponderosa pine of northern Arizona, are in close affinity with climatic variations over any short time span, thereby exhibiting real life distinctions in those.

Importance of information security education
The use of computing in the organisation by the end-users has been one of the most important components of the overall information resource in any organisation. This trend has been seen not only in the computing processes but in information security as well (Micro, 2007). This is because the use has all the information on how the information is stored in the organization. This knowledge is vital because they can circumvent into the security details of the system and cause havoc or the lack of it can make them very innocent of the security issues and the system can be accessed. The lack of this information is important for the organization. It is due to this that training should be done for the employees of any organization. It is well known that the more educated a person is the more mature and secure decisions they make for the sake of the organization and for the sake of the individual. The questions that rave in the minds of many people is why the education on the security of the systems and vulnerabilities not taken as a serious issue for most of the people The end-users are the one ones who will see these threats and vulnerabilities and will be the ones that will be taken advantage of. This happens due to their ignorance on simple things like keeping confidential information to their selves and making sure that the network is kept as secure as possible. The information security field has recently grown in leaps and bounds and the security professionals have reacted to this by setting up firewalls, intrusion detection systems but have failed to use the most important and vital defense that any organization can have which is educating the people they have so they take part in the fight against this threat. Employees can be the blast line of security in any organization but if they lack all the tools that are needed to defend the network, they will be as ineffective as a newly purchased firewall which is still intact in the box.

Training programs are the educational programs that are set to reduce the number of security breach that is caused by the lack of knowledge for the end-users to defend the system. Security awareness for the employees is so important that government agencies are required to train their employees on the importance of having a secure environment.

If security awareness is made part of the employee orientation, this will set the tone of being concerned with the security of the organization. This training will give the security expectations of the employee from the employee and will not only explain what the policies are, but will also explain why these policies are there in the first place. An example is the fact that if the employee will understand why hisher password must be a certain number of characters and should have certain mix of characters, they will adhere to this. If they could be shown how it is very simple to crack a simple password, then they will appreciate it faster than just leaving them to figure out the reason on their own.

Awareness also instills a spirit of responsibility and helps to point to the employees the fact that they are part of the security custodians of the organization. They help to show them their role in protecting the system of the organization. Awareness helps to motivate the employees and give them the morale and psyche to learn more on the security of the organization. One of the main goals of training id to motivate the learners in the act of securing the system so they will get the training from the conscious to the subconscious.

Another importance of training the employees on information security is due to the fact many people will help the organization fight against insecurity. The information security department will be expanded into becoming the whole organization. The scenario of having 10 employees fighting is not as appealing as having everyone protecting their systems from virus attacks. The latter is easier and more productive to the organization when compared to the former.

In educating the employees, it is one of the ways of managing risks. Having uneducated employees is taking a very large risk which has very devastating results for the organization. The major risk that an organization is taking is the one where they have employees access and rush to have their work done with little or no regard at all to the security of the whole system.

Technology is both a friend and foe to the security of an organization. With many employees using laptops, personal digital assistants, blackberries, and portable devices, the issue of information security awareness cannot be underestimated. The high rates of loss of these vital devices only makes this more serious an issue that many organizations are taking the issue of information security a matter of urgency and concern.

Information security policies
Some of the information ethics and security assurance policies that employees should adhere are discussed in the sections that follow

Transferring documents and information technology that contain very sensitive and personal data policy. This policy should be adhered to so that all employees are responsible for their own information and should make sure that the information is kept secure at all time. This policy is set to make sure that there is a well laid procedure to make sure that there us a clear structure of flowing when attempting to move data from the server to an outside environment.

Protecting personal data and sensitive data policy. This policy is set to attend to the breach of leaving personal documents unattended to in the premises of the organisation.

Information risk policy. This policy is put in place to make sure that the third parties will adhere to the policies and security oconcerns of the company when they are handling the data in the organization.

Signs to show that a website is hacked
There are signs that one should look for to know if their website is being hacked.
The useradministrator cannot log in to their server.

Changing pages every time the administrator log into the system. This is unusual because the administrator is the one who should be changing the pages.

The presence of long shell connection that are logged from users who are strangers to the system is reason enough to be highly suspicious.

There is abnormal increase in the bandwidth that the web stats cannot account for.

There are injections for SQL when one looks at the logs
The worst kinds of attacks are those that the hacker does nothing to the system, like changing the password but using your system to practice phishing to other sites.

The types of attacks that can be experienced in a network are discussed below
Bottlenecks in a network are caused by overuse of the available bandwidth. With the emergence of social networking technologies like Face book, Twitter, and YouTube, it is common for resources to be overused as many people are chatting, sending messages and other social networking activities brought about by these new technologies. These vulnerabilities can be addressed by employing the use of management systems for networks and utilities like trace route where the system and network administrators can be able to know the location the bottlenecks and so can reroute network traffic from these locations.

Destruction of Data
Data destruction can be in the farm of complete loss of information files or loss of data copies to spies. This can be caused by viruses, human activity and natural disasters.

Disaster
Natural disasters such as earthquakes and fire may cause disruption to network services. Human made disasters such as terrorism can cause network services disruption.

Virus Attack
A virus is a program, usually a small program that is build to disrupt normal operations of a computer. Viruses are usually transmitted as attachments to other files with falsified information to show that the file is useful. Once the virus is in the computer it may replicate itself or other files. It has the ability also to delete files including system files. The virus can completely wipe out all data and information on a computer.

As can be seen from the list of types of viruses above, viruses cause multiple forms of threats from complete data distraction, data falsification and hardware loss.

Unauthorized Access
Data interception is another serious vulnerability to networks. Intruders can have unauthorized access to networks. Hackers who are within the company wide local area network can gain access to the network and control data and even alter this data. The data that is being sent in any network must be protected as much as possible to retain their integrity. Network administrators can make use of authentication systems to keep intruders at bay. Firewalls can also be configured to eradicate unauthorized access.

Systems within a network may fall prey to the unintended audiences. Types of unauthorized access may be caused by external persons or employees who are not supposed to access certain network resources.  Unauthorized access falls into four categories of, causal intruders who are practicing the art of hacking, fun hackers who just probe systems to test their security levels,   professional hackers who intentionally hack into systems for particular purposes such as data theft and industrial espionage. These may lead to industrial espionage and data falsification that may result in fraud and losses to the institution the fourth and being unauthorized access by internal employees for any of the three reasons already discussed.

Questions to ask
What are the expected trends in dressing This question is very important so as to get the trends of dressing for both official matters and casual. This question will serve to know what the industry should strive to produce in large quantities in the future.

What is the expected nature of work in the future This is to get to know emerging trends like work-from-home workers who work from the comfort of their homes thus their attire is completely different from that of someone working from the office.

Will the current machinery be able to handle additional workload This is to ensure that with additional workload that could be foreseen in the near future, there is enough machinery to handle.
For how long will the system store the data that were used for mining This is so that the users will be able to know the period in which they can do data mining and for how long the data is useful to the organization.

What is the working culture of the organization This is to get the way the organization work like the business hours, and holidaying season so that we work optimally at all times.

What is the general economic status in the world This is to ensure that all the expenses incurred will be in tandem with the external economy. Reading the money markets is a good idea and will help the planners in planning for the activities within the organization.

How much customer information should be stored and for how long This is so that the frequency of data mining can be achieved. We will be able to know the frequency in which clients change their preference tests.

What are the companys disasters recovery requirements Just in case of a disaster, there is need to have ways in place that will help the company in pulling out of unforeseen calamities.

For how long are managers expected to serve in the organization This will help in getting more details on the period in which management are changed and so that the implementation of new policies is in line with the goals of system enterprise.

What are the strengths and weaknesses of the competition This will help the company understand the competition well. Getting to know what the company has as the competitive advantage over their competition is very important.

Requirements for a data warehousing
Benefits of using a data warehouse
Some of the greatest benefits of establishing warehouses include the fact that the university will be able to execute most business and academic decisions based from multiple sources. An example is that the university collects and store data in 30 databases. The university has not only the power to analyze the data from all the databases but also has the historical information from these databases (Stone,  Jose, 2007). Using a data warehouse give the organization the past trends whether concerning student behavior or lecturers trends in their work.

Another advantage of using a data warehouse is the fact that the information that is received is not restricted to the tables in the databases. The warehouse will be independent of whichever application it was used to develop the databases.

Most warehouses provide the companies recalculated graphs that they use ion their day-to-day running of their operations. They support low cost strategy whereby these warehouses provide savings in billing processes, reduce fraud losses, and reduce the cost of reporting.
In conclusion, the benefits of establishing a warehouse far outweigh the disadvantages. Most companies will benefit from a warehouse when the proper tools are set in place and the users have the knowledge in the use of the warehouse.

Data warehouse implementation
The implementation of the warehouse will be as shown in the Gann chart below
Requirements
The requirements for implementing a data warehouse include
Hardware
Servers  the number depends with the volume of data to be stored
Client computers
Switches
Access points
Server racks
Data cables
Laptop computers
Software
Web server
Application software for client machines and the laptops
Remote desktop connection software
ftp server and client
database servers and clients
Computerization in Pomona Hospital

With hospital processes going complex by the day, it is paramount that most of the processes be computerized. With nurses being required to get the diagnosis from the field, it is important that they use the technologies that are available for their processes to be simplifies. With many deaths occurring in the US caused by medical errors, this could be avoided simply by using information technology (Gritzalis, 2009). The use of bar-code technology to ensure that the right medication is given is something to be grasped. However, there are issues that arise with the use of bar-code readers in the sense that the nurses have to wake the patients for the reader to get the bar-code which is in the patients tag. Most nurses often bypass this because of the fear they have. The use of RFID technology is the remedy for this.

RFID
This technology can be combined with the information system in the hospital and voice over IP (IP) to come up with a single system that will be very useful in tracking patients, staff and the assets of the hospital. The most important implementation is the setting up of VeraFi Wi-Fi (802.11 abg) network router, which is used to establish a connection between the hospitals local area network through an Ethernet port. For the telephone calls to be able to go through the Wi-Fi network, the VeraFi unit needs to have two RJ11 ports that are used to connect regular analog telephones and also for converting the analog call into VoIP using the SIP protocol. This unit also has an RFID transceiver which is used to read RFID tags which are usually placed on the bracelets of patients, staff ID badges and hospital equipment.

The setup will ensure that patients get the correct treatment by use of both the Wi-Fi and RFID capabilities of the router. Nurses and doctors who have RFID-tagged badges will also carry Wi-Fi enabled PDAs or tables PCs. Whenever there is a close proximity of the caretaker with the patient, the Wi-Fi network will deliver the records of the patient to the device of the caretaker.

Apart from saving on the cost, this new setup will help the nurses and doctors get the patients complete records instead of having to work to the central place in search of this data. This is equal to saving 3 minutes on every patient with the use of this technology.

The new setup will also be used to track the patients, staff and the equipment of the hospital whenever there is need for this information. This capability will enable the doctor trace a particular patient without the need to search for the patient traditionally. They can then schedule their meetings very efficiently.

Real-time information is very important for hospital because the urgency of the information is key to the medication of the patients. With current ailments where the treatment should be given on real-time, the information should also be real-time to aid in this scenario.

ERP Software
There are three parts of organizational processes which are strategic planning, management control and operational control. Even though an ERP system does much of the operational coordination across functional departments, ERP systems has also been seen to be successful in management and planning control.

The implementation of the ERP system will help reduce the cost of running processes in most of the departments in our organization. This is due to the fact that an ERP system integrates most of the business processes which ate across the departments onto a single enterprise-wide information system. With the implementation of an ERP, there will be improved coordination between the departments in the company what is more, there will be increased efficiencies in doing business. One of the immediate benefits that the company stands to gain is the reduction of operating costs like lowering inventory control cost, production costs, and marketing costs.

The implementation of an ERP system will nurture the development of day-to-day management. With ERP implementation there will more management of customer processes and will help to win the confidence of the customers. The manual way of serving the customers is not friendly to the clients because they are served slowly and the quality of these services is not to their expectations. The users have a better accessibility to the data so that they make decisions effectively. The actual costs are tracked and activity based costing is achieved.

With ERP, the company will track the strategies that need to be implemented and the management of resources is effectively managed. There is a good logical connection between all these strategies and the sense of their existence is realized with the use of ERP software. Resource planning has been the most successful link in the implementation of the ERP software.

Most of the suppliers for the company are not satisfied with the pace at which their payments for the items they supplied are processed. Although most of the delay has been financial in nature, a good percentage of this delay has been caused by delay in manual processing. With ERP system the suppliers will get faster processes in whatever they are doing and this will help to increase their satisfaction of the company and thus continued support of the company.

Sales will also be improved with the use of ERP system. This is because the process control will be improved and the purchases will be improved. With sales improving, the company stands to benefit a great deal.

In general, we feel the company should implement ERP system for the benefit of improving the overall profitability of the company. We feel the automation of the processes in the company by use of the ERP system will be a great step towards managing the processes of the company. It should therefore be implemented without much ado.

Implementing Internet security policy
With the current trends in the Internet attacks, there is a lot to desire. Organizations have been required to look into the use of Internet content and how they should avoid attacks being downloaded into the computer systems.

The regulations of the Internet use are as follows

Internet access
All access must go through the company firewall. Bypassing the firewall should not be allowed.
All use of the Internet must be authorized in writing and all limitations should be clearly defined.
All issues and risks of Internet use should be assessed before using the service. Integrity of the data must be considered.

All client computers which are accessing the Internet must be running resident protection software.
All users must be authenticated so that they have log in credentials.
All usage and log into the system must log off when they are not using their accounts.
Any licensing of software that is used on the Internet should be analyzed.
Any download of scripting must be approved by the IT department.
All material that is copyrighted should not be sent. All authors should be encouraged to encrypt e-mail messages.
All programs that are downloaded from the Internet should be chuckled by the virus.

Internet technology has played a great role in the sector of communication and technology. Since internet is being used in all sectors, economic, social, political among others, it has affected human life a great deal. Therefore, internet can be referred to as a medium of western culture. The paper shall describe how internet has affected different aspects of western culture.

Main body
Use of internet has led to a lot of changes in the western culture, and also the transfer of western culture to other parts of the world

Explanation
In almost all aspects internet has caused considerable number of changes. In the education sector it has led to the emergence of a want to know culture among the students. The globalization of culture is also a good example to show how communication technology and more so internet is a medium of culture. Western culture is virtually everywhere in the world as a result of the spread in communication technology. In the family set up, children are recorded to be learning more from the internet that from their parents. People are also socializing through the internet like. For instance online games and dating have become more popular and indeed this has changed peoples habits.

Conclusion
It is clear that through the use of internet western culture has changed. Moreover, Western culture has gone to all the other parts of the world. Therefore Internet is a medium for western culture.
The sector of communication technology is one of the fastest growing sectors everywhere in the whole world. This has been enhanced by many factors especially after the onset of computer technology. Through the use of computers, internet technology followed closely and it is now possible to access information from any part of the world. This has a lot of advantages as well as many disadvantages. Internet, being one of the latest advancements in the sector of communication and technology, affects the change and the growth of any culture. This paper shall analyze critically how internet is a medium for Western culture and explore how internet has affected the attitude, values, goals, and beliefs of people in the Western world.

Culture, which can be defined as shared beliefs, goals and attitudes, grows very fast and is prone to change. In the Western World according to Athena (2000), internet is viewed to be a result of highly cherished values of western civilization namely the freedom of association and the freedom of speech.

Globalization of culture is clear evidence that internet technology is playing a great role in cultural exchanges. This results when many parts of the world share similar aspects of culture. Western culture is virtually everywhere in all parts of the world. Almost all countries are making an attempt to learn the English language because most materials in the internet are written originally in English. Most of the books have also been translated to English language. The globalization of culture can be attributed to the internet usage because it is through the internet that people learn about other cultures and borrow some attributes from the same (Global Policy Forum, n.d). In addition, as Albright (2009) reports, all other cultures in the world have adapted even the Western diet as well as the styles of eating and cooking. With internet, one only needs to be connected so as to get the information he or she wants.

Internet has also affected the education culture. Attwood (2009) argues that, despite the fact that internet is promoting a want to know culture among the students it has also made them to develop a poor casual approach to evaluation. Due to this, they prefer quick answers which are not applicable to all sectors. She continues to argue that, use of the internet technology makes people to prefer instant information which is always available in the World Wide Web. The continued use of the internet information by students with little or no extensive research may eventually kill the analytical skills of the students. However, even with those few shortcomings Attwood further notes that, internet is encouraging networking and collaboration through the use of web pages like Wikipendia and facebook not only among the  students but also among other scholars as well (2009).

Internet has changed social life to such a great extent. Initially people would only establish network relationships at clubs or in other recreation facilities. Internet has changed this a great deal such that nowadays, people are able to establish relationships through the internet. Dating sites provide people with an opportunity to look for their life partners and even establish lasting relationships. Young (2007) reports that, even though internet dating in UK became popular from 2005 it has become a hobby because new dating sites are being opened every month. The habit of using dating clubs for matchmaking has been outdated and more and more people prefer online dating. Moreover, the fact that chat services are available increases the convenience. Online dating is not only popular in U K but also in other countries in the west and other parts of the world and through it people have adapted to new way of life.

In the Western countries, there are some games that are played through the internet. Through playing of such internet games, people are able to socialize as well as well exchange values and beliefs and this provides a medium not only to change but also for growth. Price (2009) cites one online game known as Bingo that is popular in the Western countries. His studies reveal that the game was initially played by women but it later changed to be a mens game. The players of Bingo are supposed to be loyal to the group meaning that it encourages healthy human relationships. Social values are also enhanced like honesty. All this describes how internet is medium of culture.

In this era of internet, studies reveal that children are spending a lot of their time in the internet. They tend to learn more from the internet than they do from their parents and other people in the society. Dick notes that since about 20 of children have computers, they tend to withdraw from the family activities as they always spend their time in the internet (2007). Through the internet, they not only play games, but also watch movies, listen to music and interact with others from different parts of the world. This reveals that internet is a medium of culture, because through its use, children are able to acquire some values and pass those values to others as well.

Religious beliefs are also being shared through the internet. Preachers are posting sermons in the internet and any one with internet connection can access such materials. It is also possible to listen to radio programs as well as watch television programs even those from other countries. However, this is more common in western countries than in other parts of the world due to the fact that western technology is more advanced.

In conclusion, it is apparent that internet is a medium of culture because it affects almost all aspects of peoples life. It has been used in all sectors ranging from economic, social, political, and religious among others. Through it, people have been able to air their opinions as well as associate with others. Internet is not only educative but also a means of entertainment. Therefore it has all the characteristics of a medium of any culture because it allows the exchange and growth of any culture.