Analysis of the UK Human Rights Act

Analysis of the UK Human Rights Act The Human Rights Act contains certain provisions which have enacted to prevent busybodies, cranks and other mischief makers from bringing actions under the act. It will be argued that whilst this was the aim of the legislation, this has only in part been achieved. Section 7 of the Human Rights Act permits Convention rights issues to be raised in any legal proceedings. However, S7 also provides that only a victim of an alleged infringement of the Convention may bring an action under the Act. This is a narrow concept and requires the claimants to be personally affected by the action being impugned. The ECHR test is more expansive than the notion of a private legal right which is used to govern the grant of standing for the declaration and injunction in English law. Complaints under the Convention must be brought by a person, non-governmental organisation (NGO) or group of individuals claiming to be the victim of a violation. Â   The term victim refers to the person directly affected by the contentious act or omission. In the case of Dudgeon v United Kingdom (1981) 4 EHRR 149 the gay male applicant were regarded as victims of the countries criminalisation of homosexual practices even though he had not bee subject to prosecution. However converse ly in Leigh, Guardian Newspapers Ltd and Observer Ltd v United Kingdom (No 10039/82) (1984) 38 DR 74 the commission did not accept that all journalists were victims of a House of Lords decision to refuse to disclose documents to journalists even though the documents concerned had been read out in court. The victim test is narrower than the sufficient interest test for judicial review. The obvious question is how the court is to choose which test to apply in circumstances where both seem to be available. With its locus standi requirement that one arguing that a public body has acted incompatibly with the Convention should be a victim of the violation, the Act allows challenge and intervention by a far narrower class of persons and interests than obtains for judicial review generally. Access to the courts in the formalised rights debates under the Act is correspondingly restricted. Calls for a human rights culture and democratised debates about rights are all very well, but ultimately the very point of a judicially enforced Bill of Rights is that decisions are made in cloistered courts by judges who cannot, unlike ministers, be lobbied. Â  As one recent, detailed study has concluded, the result is, if not the end of politics, then its legalisation. As Loughlin puts it, judicial review [of statutes] must be seen as the retention of some form of aristocratic rule in a democratic state, where the aim is no less than the elimination of the idea of the (political) sovereign and its replac ement with the sovereignty of law[i]. It can therefore be seen that whilst it is suggested that the victim requirement is sufficiently narrow it does not obviously exclude the likes of busybodies and cranks from brining action. The reason this difficulty arises can be demonstrated in the case of Dudgeon as above, that is that a person may not necessarily be a person who has been prosecuted or effected by the act but only has to be one that is likely to be so affected. This causes a multitude of problems and encompasses a plethora of applicants included those referred to as busybodies and cranks. Question 2 The convention rights that are particular important to gypsies are Article 8 the right to a home and to respect for private and family life; and Article 14 the right not to be discriminated against in relation to Convention rights. It is argued that gypsies can rely on these provisions in their search not only for protection of their homes. The landmark decision in this field was that of Buckley v UK [1996] JPL 1018. In that case Mrs Buckley was a gypsy residing with her three children in caravans on land that she owned. She was refused retrospective planning permission and the council took enforcement action. She lost her appeal and took her case to Strasbourg. She argued that prevention of her continued residence on her land was a breach of her Article 8 rights. She further argued that the statutory regime enacted by the 1968 and 1994 Acts amounted to a breach of her Article 14 rights in that it prevented her from pursuing her traditional lifestyle. The Court held unanimously that Article 8 was applicable. However, the right is that there shall be no interference beyond that which is reasonably necessary in a democratic society. The court held that the interference with the Gypsies right to a home, which they acknowledged existed, was justified on grounds of public policy. The court also rejected her Article 14 claim. In Chapman Others v UK (2001) The Times, January 30 the court held once again that there was no incompatibility with Article 8, again for much the same reasons, that the acknowledged infringement was justified on public policy grounds. However this time the court was considerably more critical of the UK government, stating (at para 96 of the original transcript): although the fact of being a member of a minority with a traditional lifestyle different from that of the majority does not confer an immunity from general laws it may have an incidence on the manner in which such laws are to be implemented [The] vulnerable position of Gypsies as a minority means that some special consideration should be given to their needs and their different lifestyle both in the relevant regulatory planning framework and in arriving at the decisions in particular cases To this extent there is thus a positive obligation imposed on the Contracting States by virtue of Article 8 to facilitate the Gypsy way of life. The court made clear that the United Kingdom enjoyed a wide discretion in how it went about what were essentially political, rather than judicial, decisions. That discretion was however to be subject to important considerations, and failure to give proper weight to these considerations could make the decisions taken unlawful. Amongst these considerations, the court emphasised (at para 103), was the fact that if no alternative accommodation is available, the interference [with the right under Article 8] is more serious than where such accommodation is available. In other words, it may prove very hard for local authorities to justify a failure to provide for adequate accommodation themselves, while at the same time setting out development plan policies that do not allow Gypsies to make their own provision. In R. (on the application of Fuller) v. Chief Constable of Dorset Police [2001] EWHC Admin 1057, December 12, 2001 Local councils had indicated that they would tolerate the continued presence of travellers on their land until the end of August. Following certain incidents the councils agreed with the police that the travellers would be required to leave. On August 29 the council and police visited the site. The council gave the travellers written notice to leave on August 31 and the police at the same time issued a direction under section 61 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order 1994. Four of the travellers sought a declaration that the direction under section 61 was invalid. Held, (i) that section 61 had to be construed narrowly since it created a criminal offence, and on its true construction a direction could not be issued until the trespassers had failed to comply with a valid request by the occupier of the land to leave; (ii) that a valid direction could not be given to vacat e the land at some future date, and accordingly the direction was invalid; (iii) that section 61 was compatible with the ECHR; Articles 3 and 6 of the Convention were not engaged, Article 8 rights would not necessarily be infringed and Article 1 of the First Protocol was not infringed; (iv) that, if the travellers had failed to leave on August 31, a section 61 direction would have been lawful, save possibly in respect of one of the claimants who at the time was nine months pregnant. Therefore the case law in this area demonstrates that by and large the regulation of the environment is left to executive and legislative authorities. Question 3 What is due process? In Thomas v. Baptiste [2000] 2 A.C. 1 members of the Privy Council engaged in a dispute as to whether the phrase due process of the law in the Constitution of Trinidad and Tobago meant anything more than what the dissenting judgment described as applying the law of the land as a matter of both substance and procedure Due process invokes the concept of the rule of law itself and the universally accepted standards of justice observed by civilised nations that observe the rule of law This raises the question of the impact of the ECHRs incorporation into UK law via the Human Rights Act. It is argued that procedurally there has been a great amount of change to the UK situation and that this change is ongoing. Under the Human Rights Act 1998 UK courts have to consider, taking account of the Convention jurisprudence under s2, to what extent, if at all, the freedoms may legitimately be curtailed. If, having striven to achieve compatibility, it is found to be impossible, a court of sufficient seniority can issue a declaration of incompatibility, although it will merely have to go on to apply the law in question.[ii] This is of course of profound effect on previous UK legal procedure where the courts would have had to apply the provision of the Act even if it breached the convention. Incorporation of the Convention under the Human Rights Act has already had a number of procedural advantages. UK Citizens may obtain redress for human rights breaches without needing, except as a last resort, to apply to the ECtHR in Strasbourg. This obviously saves a great deal of time and money for the citizen and thus greatly improves access to justice. The range of remedies available under the Human Rights Act is the same as in any domestic court case, and so includes injunctions and specific performance where appropriate, rather than simply damages. British judges are already making a contribution to the development of a domestic Convention rights jurisprudence.[iii] There is still some concern however that UK judges will improve procedural requirements and not regard the Convention rights as they should. The British judiciary are, in general, highly regarded, but they are an elite group, drawn mainly from a certain stratum of society and therefore, to varying degrees, out of touch with the working class. They have trained in techniques of legal analysis which included deciding cases without the responsibility of considering their human rights repercussions, although it is fair to say that their attitude to such repercussions was changing in the years leading up to the enactment of the Human Rights Act. Apart from its implications for legislation, public authorities have been greatly affected by the inception of the Human Rights Act due to the requirements of s6. Under S 6, it is unlawful for a public authority to act in a way which is incompatible with a Convention right. This is the main provision giving effect to the Convention rights; rather than the incorporation of the Convention, it is made binding against public authorities. Under s6(6), an act, includes an omission, but does not include a failure to introduce in or lay before Parliament a proposal for legislation, or a failure to make any primary legislation or remedial order. Section 6 (6) was included in order to preserve parliamentary sovereignty and prerogative power: in this case, the power of the executive to introduce legislation. Thus, apart from its impact on legislation, the Human Rights Act also creates obligations under s6 which bear upon public authorities. Such obligations have a number of implications. Indepe ndently of litigation, public authorities must put procedures in place in order to ensure that they do not breach their duty under s6. [i] Loughlin M, (2000) Sword and Scales: An Examination of the Relationship Between Law and Politics Passim [ii] For example see the case of R (H) v Mental Health Tribunal North and East London Region and Another [2001] EWCA Civ 415 [iii] R v A [2001] 2 WLR 1546; R v Lambert [2001] UKHL 37; R v Offen [2001] 1 WLR 253

Transaction Management And Concurrency Control Computer Science Essay

Transaction Management And Concurrency Control Computer Science Essay As more networks and databases are connected together, the importance of a solid database management system becomes apparent. Transaction and Concurrency Control, Recovery and Backup, and Security are major functions that should be examined when choosing the correct system. Databases which contain your companys valuable information must be properly protected, backed up, and secure from data loss and unauthorized access. In response to this requirement, both Oracle and Microsoft have implemented strong features into their database products. This paper compares the offerings of the two databases in terms of features, functionality, and ease of management. Table of Contents Introduction Overview a) SQL Server Overview b) Oracle Overview Transaction Management and Concurrency Control a) Overview of Transaction Management and Concurrency Control b) SQL Server TM and CC c) Oracle TM and CC d) Comparison Backup and Recovery a) Overview of Backup and Recovery b) SQL Server B and R c) Oracle B and R d) Comparison Security a) Overview b) SQL Server Security c) Oracle Security d) Comparison Conclusion Introduction This paper will provide a comparative review of three database management system functions: transaction and concurrency control, recovery and backup, and security, between Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle. The purpose is to enhance understanding of database functionality and, through comparison, provide insight into the commonalities and differences between two different systems. Overview of Database Management Systems Microsoft SQL Server is a relational database server, with its primary languages being T-SQL and ANSI SQL. ANSI SQL is the American National Standards Institute standardized SQL and is used as the base for several different SQL languages, including T-SQL. T-SQL is a proprietary extension that uses keywords for the various operations that can be performed, such as creating and altering database schemas, entering and editing data, and managing and monitoring the server. Any application that works through SQL Server will communicate via T-SQL statements. T-SQL has some differences/extensions to basic SQL, including local variables, control of flow language, changes to delete and update statements, and support functions for date and string processing, and mathematics. Version 1.0 of SQL Server was released in 1989 and originated in Sybase SQL Server. Microsoft later ended the co-licensing agreement with Sybase and went on to develop their own version of SQL Server. The latest version is SQL Server 2008, released on August 6, 2008, and includes many improvements to speed and functionality, which will be discussed in further detail below. Sample SQL Server Architecture Diagram 1 Oracle Database is a relational database management system produced by Oracle Corporation. Users can utilize the proprietary language extension to SQL, PL/SQL, or the object-oriented language Java to store and execute functions and stored procedures. Oracle V2 was first released in November 1979 and did not support transactions, but had basic query and join functionality. The latest version is Oracle Database 11g, released in 2007, and includes many enhancements to functionality, which will be discussed in further detail below. Sample Oracle 11g Architecture Diagram 2 Transaction Management and Concurrency Control Overview A transaction, a single logical unit of work, is an action or series of actions that are performed by a user or application which can access or change the database contents. A transaction results in database transformation from one consistent state to another, and can either result in success or failure. A failed transaction is aborted and the database restores to the previous consistent state. The Database Management System is responsible for making sure all updates related to the transaction are carried out, or that stability is maintained in the case of a failed transaction. Transactions have four basic properties: Atomicity, Consistency, Independence, and Durability (ACID). Atomicity means that it is a single unit of work. Consistency ensures that data is always held firmly together in a coherent state, even after a failed transaction or crash. Independence ensures that the effects of an incomplete transaction are contained and not visible to other transactions. Durability ensure s that successful transactions result in permanent changes to the state of the database. Concurrency control is the process of managing and controlling simultaneous database operations. This is required because actions from different users and operations must not interfere with functionality, or the database could be left in an inconsistent state. Potential problems that concurrency control can solve are lost updates, inconsistent analysis, and uncommitted dependencies. The two main concurrency control techniques are locking and timestamping.  [3]   SQL Server TM and CC SQL Server fulfills the ACID requirements by using transaction management, locking, and logging. An explicit transaction is created in SQL Server by using the BEGIN TRANSACTION and COMMIT TRANSACTION commands. ROLLBACK TRANSACTION rolls back a transaction to the beginning or another save point within the transaction. SAVE TRANSACTION sets a savepoint within the transaction by dividing the transaction into logical units that can be returned to if part of the transaction is conditionally cancelled. Locking ensures transactional integrity and database consistency. In SQL Server, locking is automatically implemented, and provides both optimistic and pessimistic concurrency controls. Optimistic concurrency control assumes that resource conflicts are unlikely but not impossible, and allows transactions to execute without locking resources. Pessimistic concurrency control locks resources for the duration of a transaction. SQL Server can lock the following resources: RIDs, keys, pages, extents, tables, and databases. It utilizes several lock modes, including shared, update, exclusive, intent, and schema locks. Shared locks allow for concurrent read operations that do not change or update data, such as a SELECT statement. Update locks prevent a common form of deadlock that occurs when multiple sessions are reading, locking, and potentially updating resources later. Exclusive locks are used for data modification operations, such as INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE, and ensure that multiple up dates cant be made on the same resource at the same time. Intent locks are used to establish a lock hierarchy, and include intent shared, intent exclusive, and shared with intent exclusive locks. Schema locks are used when a schema dependent operation of a table is executed, and include schema modification and schema stability locks.  [4]   A deadlock occurs when two transactions have locks on separate objects and each user is waiting for a lock on the other object. SQL Server can set deadlock priority by scanning for sessions that are waiting for a lock request, and the SET DEADLOCK_PRIORITY command to customize deadlocking. The SETLOCK_TIMEOUT command can set the maximum time that a statement waits on a blocked resource, because the timeout period is not enforced by default.  [5]   Oracle TM and CC Oracle Database offers two isolation levels, providing developers with operational modes that preserve consistency and provide high performance. Statement level read consistency automatically provides read consistency to a query so that all the data the query sees comes from a single point in time when the query began. The query never sees any dirty data or changes made during query execution. Transaction level read consistency extends read consistency to all queries in a transaction. Oracle uses rollback segments, containing old values of data that have been changed by uncommitted or recently committed transactions, to provide consistent views and does not expose a query to phantoms. Oracle Real Application Clusters (RACs) use cache-to-cache block transfer to transfer read-consistent images of blocks between instances. It uses high speed, low latency interconnects to answer remote data block requests. Isolation levels provided by Oracle Database are read committed, serializable, and read-only. Users can choose the appropriate isolation levels for transactions depending on the type of application and workload, using these statements: SET TRANSACTION ISOLATION LEVEL READ COMMITTED; SET TRANSACTION ISOLATION LEVEL SERIALIZABLE; and SET TRANSACTION READ ONLY. The ALTER SESSION function can then be used to change isolation level for different transactions. Read committed is the default transaction isolation level. Each query executed by a transaction sees data committed before the query began. Oracle Database does not prevent other transactions from modifying the data read by a query, so that data can be changed by other transactions between two query executions. This can lead to non-repeatable reads and phantoms in cases where the transaction runs the same query twice. This isolation level is good for when few transactions are likely to conflict, and can provide higher potential throughput. Serializable transactions see only changes made at the beginning of the transaction, plus changes in the transaction itself through INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE statements. These transactions do not experience non-repeatable reads or phantoms. This isolation level is suitable for large databases and short transactions that update few rows, when there is a low chance that two concurrent transactions will modify the same rows, or where long-running transactions are primarily read-only. A serializable transaction can modify a data row only if it can determine that prior changes were committed before the current transaction began. Oracle Database uses control information in the data block to indicate which rows have committed and uncommitted changes. The amount of history that is retained is determined by the INITRANS parameter of CREATE and ALTER TABLE. To avoid having insufficient recent history information, higher values can be set for INITRANS for tables that will have many transaction s updating the same blocks. If a serializable transaction fails with the CANNOT SERIALIZE ACCESS error, the application can either commit the work executed to that point, execute additional statements with ROLLBACK, or undo the entire transaction. Read-only transactions see only changes made at the time the transaction began and dont allow INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE statements. Oracle Database uses locks to control simultaneous access to data resources. Low-level serialization mechanisms called latches are used to protect shared data structures in the System Global Area. Oracle automatically gets the necessary locks when executing SQL statements, using the lowest applicable level of restrictiveness to provide the highest possible data concurrency and data integrity. The user may also lock data manually. There are two modes of locking: exclusive and share lock modes. Exclusive lock mode prevents the associated resource from being shared, and is obtained to modify data. The first transaction to lock the data is the only one which can modify it until the lock is released. Share lock mode allows the associated resource to be shared, depending on the operations. Users reading data can hold share locks to prevent a writer access. Multiple transactions can have share locks on the same resource. All locks created by statements within a transaction last until the tr ansaction is completed or undone. Because row locks are acquired at the highest degree of restrictiveness, no lock conversion is needed or performed. Oracle automatically converts table lock restrictiveness from lower to higher as appropriate. Lock escalation is when multiple locks are held at one level of granularity, and a database raises the locks to a higher level of granularity. An example is converting many row locks into one table lock. Oracle Database never escalates locks, because this increases the chances of deadlocks. A deadlock occurs when two or more users are waiting on data locked by each other. This can prevent transactions from continuing to work. Oracle automatically detects deadlocks and solves them by rolling back one of the statements. User generated deadlocks can be avoided by locking tables in the same order for transactions accessing the same data. Oracle Database locks fall into three general categories: DML locks (data locks), DDL locks (dictionary locks), and Internal locks and latches. DML locks protect data (i.e. tables, rows). The purpose is to guarantee the integrity of data accessed by multiple users. Row locking is the finest granularity and has the best possible concurrency and throughput. A transaction always acquires an exclusive row lock for each individual row modified by INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, and SELECT with the FOR UPDATE clause. If a transaction uses a row lock, it also uses a table lock for the corresponding table. Table locking is mainly used for concurrency control with DDL operations. Table locks are used when a table is modified by the INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, SELECT with FOR UPDATE, and LOCK TABLE DML statements. These statements require table locks to reserve DML access to the table for the transaction and to prevent conflicting DDL operations. Table locks can be used at both table and subpartition level for partitioned tables. A table lock can be held in the following modes, from least to most restrictive: row share (RS), row exclusive (RX), s hare (S), share row exclusive (SRX), and exclusive (X). A row share table lock is the least restrictive, and has the highest degree of concurrency for a table. It indicates the transaction has locked rows in the table and intends to update them. It is specified by the statement LOCK TABLE IN ROW SHARE MODE. A row exclusive table lock is slightly more restrictive, and indicates the transaction holding the lock has made one or more updates to rows in the table or issued a SELECT FOR UPDATE statement. It is specified by LOCK TABLE IN ROW EXCLUSIVE MODE;. A share table lock is made automatically for a table specified by the statement LOCK TABLE IN SHARE MODE;. A share row exclusive lock is more restrictive and is made for a table specified by the statement LOCK TABLE IN SHARE ROW EXCLUSIVE MODE;. Exclusive table locks are the most restrictive and are specified by the statement LOCK TABLE IN EXCLUSIVE MODE;. DDL locks protect the structure of schema objects (i.e. table definitions). Internal locks and latches are automatic and protect internal data structures such as data files. Only individual schema objects that are modified or referenced are locked during DDL operations. The entire data dictionary is never locked. DDL locks have three categories: exclusive DDL locks, share DDL locks, and breakable parse locks. Exclusive and share DDL locks last until DDL statement execution and automatic commit is complete. Most DDL operations require exclusive DDL locks for a resource to prevent interference with other DDL operations that might reference the same object. If another DDL lock is already held, then the operation must wait until the other lock is released to proceed. DDL operations also create DML locks on the modified schema object. Some DDL operations require share DDL locks to allow data concurrency for similar DDL operations. A share DDL lock is created for the following statements: AUDIT, NOAUDIT, COMMENT, CREATE (OR REPLACE) VIEW/ PROCEDURE/ PACKAGE/ PACKAGE BODY/ FUNCTION/ TRIGGER, CREATE SYNONYM, and CREATE TABLE (if CLUSTER is not used). Breakable parse locks are acquired is created for a SQL statement and each schema object it references. A parse lock does not restrict any DDL operation and can be broken to allow conflicting DDL operations. It is created in the parse phase of SQL statement execution and held as long as the shared SQL area for the statement is in the shared pool. Latches and internal locks protect internal database and memory structures. Users cannot access them. Latches are simple, low-level serialization mechanisms to protect shared data structures in the system global area. The use of latches is dependent on the operating system. Internal locks are higher-level, more complex mechanisms and include dictionary cache locks, file and log management locks, and tablespace and rollback segment locks. Dictionary cache locks are very short and are on dictionary caches while the entries are being modified or used. They make sure that parsed statements dont have inconsistent object definitions. They can be shared or exclusive; shared last until the parse is finished and exclusive last until the DDL operation is finished. File and log management locks protect different files. They are held for a long time because they indicate the status of files. Tablespace and rollback segment files protect tablespaces and rollback segments. All instances must agree whether a tablespace is online or offline. Rollback segments are locked to make sure that only one instance can write to a segment.  [6]   Comparison Microsoft SQL Server is enabled to lock smaller amounts of data at a time, which is a big improvement. There is row-level locking, so now SQL Server locks only the rows that are actually being changed. However, SQL Server has no multi-version consistency model, which means that reads and writes can block each other to ensure data integrity. The difference with Oracle is that the database maintains a snapshot of the data, which prevents queries from hanging without performing dirty reads. Backup and Recovery Overview Database backup and recovery mechanisms ensure that organizations have prepared a copy of their data, or have the tools necessary to recover from a failure. A failure is a state where inconsistency prevents transactions from reaching the desired results. Some types of failures are transaction failure, system failure, media failure, and communications failure. Transaction failure may be caused by deadlocks, time-outs, protection violations, or system errors. Transaction failures can be solved with either a partial or total rollback, depending on the extent of the failure. System failures can be recovered with a restart, or rollback to the last consistent state. Restore/roll forward functions help with restoring the database after a media failure. SQL Server B and R SQL Server databases consist of two physical hard drive files, the MDF and LDF files. MDF files contain all of the data being stored. LDF files contain a record of every data change. Logging data changes make undo operations and backups possible. The log file is cleared, or truncated, after a certain amount of time, which is determined by the database recovery model. SQL Server can maintain multiple databases, with different recovery model settings. The recovery model can be either simple, full, or bulk-logged. With simple recovery, log files are not kept permanently, so when this setting is activated, a full backup must be done. Full backups restore all of the data and cannot be set to a specific time. The full recovery setting refers to a database with a transaction log file history. The log files keep track of every data change operation. The database will stop working if the log file runs out of space, so the auto grow function can be enabled. When running in full recovery, differential and transaction log backups become available. Differential backups copy all data changes since the last full backup. Every time a full backup is run, the differential backup is reset. Transaction log backups copy all data changes since the last full or transaction log backup. They are usually very small and fast. The disadvantage is the level of recovery; if any log backup is damaged or unusable, the data is not recoverable past the last good backup.  [7]   Oracle B and R Oracle databases can be backed up using export/import, cold or off-line backups, hot or on-line backups, or RMAN backups. Exports extract logical definitions and data from the database to a file. Cold or off-line backups shut down the database and backup all data, log, and control files. Hot or on-line backups set the tablespaces into backup mode and backup the files. The control files and archived redo log files must also be backed up. RMAN backups use the rman utility to backup the database. More than one of these methods can and should be used and tested to make sure the database is securely backed up. On-line backups can only be done when the system is open and the database is in ARCHIVELOG mode. Off-line backups are performed when the system is off-line; the database doesnt have to be in ARCHIVELOG mode. It is easier to restore from off-line backups because no recovery is required, but on-line backups are not as disruptive and dont require database downtime. Point-in-time recovery is available in ARCHIVELOG mode only.  [8]   Comparison Starting with version 10g, Oracle Database adopted the Automatic Storage Management (ASM) feature, which automates storage management after a certain point. The DBA allocates storage devices to a database instance and it automates the placement and storage of the files. SQL Server storage management must be done manually, using the Share and Store Management Console in SQL Server 2008, or must purchase a separate tool. Oracles Flash Recovery feature automates the management of all backup files. The Flash Recovery area is a unified storage location for all recovery related files in the Oracle database. The DBA can also change the storage configuration without having to take the database offline. SQL Server also provides the ability to manage backup files, using a backup wizard to manage the relevant files, but does not do it automatically. SQL Server 2008 introduced improvements in backup compression. With compression, less disk I/O and storage is required to keep backups online, resu lting in increased speed. Tradeoffs seem to be between SQL Servers speed and Oracles increased functionality. In Oracle, backups are fully self-contained, but in SQL Server the DBA must manually recreate the system database using the install CD. Oracle also uses the Data Recovery Advisor (DRA) tool to automatically diagnose data failures, show repair options, and execute repairs at the users request. Oracles Flashback technology allows for instant recovery of dropped tables and logical data corruptions. SQL Server provides for data recovery by rebuilding the transaction log, running repair to fix any corruptions, and ensure the logical integrity of data is not broken.  [9]   Security Overview Security is an important part of any organizations database management system. According to Dr. Osei-Brysons lecture notes, security breaches are typically categorized as unauthorized data observation, incorrect data modification, or data unavailability. Unauthorized data observation discloses confidential information to users without the proper permissions. Incorrect data modification can be either intentional or unintentional, but can be devastating to database consistency and can result in unreliable data. Unavailable data can be very costly to an organization, depending on how the data is used. Three requirements for a data security plan include secrecy and confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Secrecy and confidentiality protects data from being accessed by unauthorized parties. Database integrity is important to protect the data from incorrect or improper modification. Availability means preventing and minimizing the damage from unavailable data. Database management systems include some form of access control mechanism to make sure each user has access to only the data they require to perform their jobs. Users are granted certain authorizations by a security administrator to determine which actions can be performed on each object. The database administrator is responsible for account creation, assigning security levels, and granting/revoking privileges. SQL Server Security Security is an integral part of SQL Servers package, according to a recent White Paper commissioned by Microsoft.  [10]  Security features for Microsoft SQL Server 2008 include policy-based management to apply policies to database objects. These policies contain a collection of conditions that can be used to enforce business and security rules. Oracle Security Oracle 11g uses supports strong authentication through KPI, Kerberos, and Radius for all connections to the database except connections made as SYSDBA or SYSOPER. Tablespace encryption provides an alternative to transparent data encryption column encryption by enabling the encryption of the entire tablespace. This is best used with large amounts of data. The transparent data encryption master key can be stored in an external hardware security module for stronger security. 11g also provides increased password protection, secure file permissions, optional default audit settings, and controls on the network callouts from the database.  [11]   Comparison In SQL Server, transparent data encryption encrypts and decrypts data in the database engine and doesnt require more application programming. The functionality is included in SQL Server 2008, but requires a $10,000 per processor additional charge with Oracle Database 11g. SQL Server 2008 allows Extensible Key Management and Hardware Security Module vendors to register in SQL Server and provide management that is separated from the database. This separation of keys from the data provides an additional layer of defense. SQL Server 2008 also has auditing support through an Auditing object, which allows administrators to capture and log all database server activity. The National Vulnerability Database, provided by the National Institute of Science and Technology, reported over 250 security vulnerabilities with Oracle products over a four year period, and none with SQL Server. The report did not list the type and severity of the vulnerabilities, or which specific products were affected, but there seems to be a trend toward vulnerability. Microsoft Update is a fairly straightforward and easy to use patching solution for SQL Server. Computerworld called Oracles patch management system involved excruciating pain and two-thirds of Oracle DBAs dont apply security patches. Oracle seems to be behind in patch management at this time. SQL Server can also prevent highly privileged users from accessing sensitive data through use of the auditing object, assigning individual permissions, module signing, Policy-based management, and additional functionality. Oracle uses Database Vault to control privileged access, but costs 20k per processor. Conclusion The comparative review of Transaction Management and Concurrency, Recovery and Backup, and Security functions on Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle 11g database has shown that there are many similarities in the functionality between the two companies, but also key differences in database management philosophy. I learned that SQL Server seems to have the edge on speed and better security, but Oracle is making many advances in high level functionality and is starting to automate many features than in previous years. I was also able to improve my understanding of the DBMS functions by examining their practical application in separate systems.

Russia vs. China: FDI Analysis for Energy Company Essay -- Social Risks

Introduction A company that is considering investing internationally has to evaluate some important factors that are crucial in choosing the right country. In order to choose the best decision a businessperson has to analyze economic, political, geographical and social factors before entering a new market. This paper will analyze two countries using a fictive sample of Energy Company based in US. This private company wants to enter to a new market in one of the BRIC countries located in Europe or Asia. The energy company wants to build ECO power plants (environmental friendly) and introduce a new concept of sustainable energy source to these two countries (Russia and China). Hydropower, Wind power and solar energy should be used to generate the electricity. The capital investment is quite high in order to build new power plants, but the goal of the company is to become a big competition for already existing companies in this industry. The major advantage of this energy company is that they produc e electricity for a fair price and do not pollute the environment. The company wants to build a chain of ECO power plants in one of these countries and expand to other markets outside the US. Social risks and benefits Russia and China are countries with large population. These states belong to BRIC group, which are countries with fast developing economy. Both are very attractive destinations for foreign direct investments that can benefit whole country. Despite of the prosperity a huge amount of the population live below the poverty line and lack basic needs or education. The average wages in these countries are very unstable because they vary from region to region. While average wages in China are rising those in Russia are ... .... The World Factbook. Retrieved November 24, 2013, from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ch.html Central Intelligence Agency (2013). The World Factbook. Retrieved November 24, 2013, from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/rs.html Graham, E. M., Wada, E. (2001). Foreign Direct Investment in China: Effects on Growth and Economic Performance. Retrieved November 24, 2013, from Peterson Institute for International Economics website: http://www.iie.com/publications/wp/01-3.pdf The World Bank (2013). Doing Business in China - World Bank Group. Retrieved November 24, 2013, from http://www.doingbusiness.org/data/exploreeconomies/china/ The World Bank (2013). Doing Business in Russian Federation - World Bank Group. Retrieved November 24, 2013, from http://www.doingbusiness.org/data/exploreecon omies/Russia

Hitler Youth :: essays research papers

I thought the most interesting aspect of the Hitler Youth movement was the beginning of it all, when the numbers were small to when the organization held a lot of power. The years 1933-1938 were the most influential of the youth movement. These years determined what the organization would become and how much power they would hold.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When Hitler came into power as the German Chancellor in 1933, the Hitler youth was not nearly close to an idea of what it was to become. Around this time, The Hitler Youth Organization numbered around one hundred thousand. Until two months later when Hitler was given dictatorial powers, which meant the state, was behind the Hitler Youth now. Immediately Hitler ordered that either organizations join the Nazi’s or disband. If the organizations chose to join the Hitler Youth Movement were under the power of Baldur Von Schirach who Hitler appointed to be the head of The Youth organization, with only Hitler to answer to.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Schirach began quickly by sending the fifty boys into The Reich’s Committee of German Youth Association, and taking the six million members under the authority of the Hitler youth. So most of the recruitment for the Youth Movement was forced. Some groups did join willing though, but groups like The Catholic Youth Organization held out for as long as three years.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Schirach soon organized Hitler’s Youth Movement into a precise running machine. He set up age brackets as well as a Hitlers youth for girls called the BDM(Bund Deutcher Madel{League of German Girls}). The age brackets for boys started at ten to fourteen were the boys were in the jungvolk, and the boys from fourteen to eighteen were in the HJ(Hitler Jugend{Youth}). The girls had their age brackets as well the young girls from ten to fourteen were in the Jungmadel, and the girls from fourteen to eighteen were in the actual BDM.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The youth organization was based on competition on what ever they did boys or girls. The boys and girls did not participate together though, they did do very much of the same things. The boys played War games, and often started brawls, which was not discouraged because the Nazi’s believed it was toughing up the youth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The only problem Schirach was running into was that he could not find enough qualified people to be Youth leaders. Schirach could not fill the positions because the youth movement was growing so fast.

The Future Of Computer Crime In America :: essays research papers

The Future of Computer Crime in America The proliferation of home computers, and of home computers equipped with modems, has brought about a major transformation in the way American society communicates, interacts, and receives information. All of these changes being popularized by the media and the wide increased personal and private sector use of the Internet. All of these factors plus the fact of more and more business and government institutions are jumping to make the use of these services has put a much wider range of information at the finger tips of those, often select and few individuals whom know how to access, understand and use these information sources. Often times today this information is of a very sensitive and private nature on anything from IRS Tax returns, to Top Secret NASA payload launch information. Piled on top of that many times the individuals accessing these information sources are doing so by illegal means and are often motivated by deviant and illegal means. It is said that at any given time the average American has his name on an active file in over 550 computer information databases of which nearly 90% are online, and of the 550 databases the number comes no where close to how many time your personal information is listed in some database in an unactive file. The "Average American" could simply sit in his/her home doing nearly nothing all day long and still have his/her name go through over 1,000 computers a day. All of these vast information files all hold the crucial ones and zero's of data that make up your life as you and all others know it. All of these data bits, at the hands 100,000's of people. With little or NO central control or regulatory agency to oversee the safe handling of your precious little ones and zero's of information. As it would seem Arson Wells was little late with his title of "1984" . "BIG BROTHER" is INDEED WATCHING, US ALL and as it would seem our BIG BROTHER is alot bigger then Mr. Wells could have ever imagined. And that our BIG BROTHER is EVERYWHERE! The 100,000's of people that do have this information make up our modern BIG BROTHER in the form of government institutions to private advertising companies, these people are all the "trusted" ones who use our information everyday for legal and useful purposes but what about the others who use their skills and and knowledge to gain their "own" personal and illegal access to these vast depositories of information? These individuals popularized and demonized by the media are often referred to

No Taxation Essay

The demand of No Taxation without Representation was the primary force in motivating the American revolutionary movement. It was also a symbol for democracy and freedom to the American people. The slogan described how Americans weren’t represented in British Parliament. Americans said that they did not vote for someone to represent them in Parliament and therefore, cannot be taxed. Justice is what the people wanted.In the mid-1700’s, due to the high debt created by the British after the French and Indian War, parliament created a series of new taxes used on only the American colonies to gain revenue. One of the most unpopular taxes, called the Stamp Act, required a stamp to be put on all legal documents for a certain fee. This upset many people in the colonies including the Virginia House of Burgesses, which was the legislature in Williamsburg, Virginia, at the time. The committee there created a resolution to ask the same rights as Britons, who had representatives in P arliament to defend themselves against taxation without representation (Document A). As Daniel Dulany says in Document C, â€Å"A right to impose tax on the colonies, without their consent for the single purpose of revenue, is denied†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Dulany and many others agreed that taxing the colonists for revenue, or to make money, should not be allowed without the colonists agreement. Dulany also says that regulating the trade of the American Colonies is within the rights of the British to do so without American consent. The Americans took this to heart, and by 1765, the phrase of no taxation without representation was a common thought supported by Dulany’s idea. The British then came up with Virtual Representation. Virtual Representation is the idea that every member of the British Empire is represented by every Member of Parliament. The colonists disagreed with Virtual Representation, still displaying their anger or unconstitutional taxes through No Taxation without Repr esentation. In Document F, the Second Continental Congress explains why they believe in the idea of independence and the explanation of taxation without representation is the first thing the address. In his pamphlet, Common Sense, Thomas Paine explains the absurdity of an island, England, ruling a continent, America. Common Sense begins to stir thoughts of revolution and independence in the minds of Americans.

Pros and cons of English being the international lingua franca Essay

English speakers in the world including those who are in the inner circle, outer circle and expanding circle had reached to 380 millions of people since 2001. The finding shows how influential English Language is. Gradually, English become the international lingua franca, â€Å"utilized outside of the country or countries of its origin.†( Subject Area – English Language Essays) The Lingua Franca There are both pros and cons of English becoming the international lingua franca. English is the best candidate language for lingua franca. Many countries take English as the second language, students learn English under the education system mandatorily. In this way, the percentage of the population had the standard level of understanding of English, which is a non-native language, is unprecedentedly large. Also, there are so many English Language media immersing in the world, for example movies, pop music, the American TV programmes and the internet etc. The high level of invasion of the Anglophone societies’ culture creates a platform for learners to enhance their English abilities, just by sitting in front of the computer. Learning English is as easy as this without having to go to an English speaking country. Under the fact that English is widespread in comparison to the most other languages, there is no doubt that English is the most suitable to be the international lingua franca. In addition, overcoming the language barriers is the potential benefit of English. Communications are difficult when people don’t have a common language. With English being the lingua franca, it is easier for people to disseminate ideas and also break down cultural boundaries that separate people apart at the same. Van Parijs who is a Professor at the Faculty of economic, social and political sciences of the University of Louvain, gives the example of the use of English by Belgians when discussing the separation of that country with the Dutch-speaking Flemish and the French-speaking Walloons. They choose to hold the conversation in English as they would like to show mutual respect to both the Flemish and Walloons, by not privileging some Belgians over one another. â€Å"With English as the lingua franca, instead  of having to choose a language that some of the participants in the conversation understand but not others, one can choose a language that leaves no one completely left out.† (Benjamin Studebaker), I totally agree with this statement. People can communicate only when they have a common language, with English a language the widespread and popular in the world, English propose a potential benefits to the world as a lingua franca. Despite the fact that English is beneficial for communication, there are drawbacks of English being the lingua franca. For institutionalized teaching of English in non-ENL countries, there are problems found. First, English grammar, vocabularies, pronunciation so on, serves as obstacles for students to learn completely standard English. â€Å"English grammar and verb conjugation is extremely irregular, requiring a considerable amount of rote memorization, instead of the application of logical and consistent rules† (Subject Area – English Language Essays The Lingua Franca) The above saying shows the difficult part of learning English, and it is true that we cannot create sentence in our own logic instead we do that in memorizing sentence patterns. Also, we won’t know all of the slangs that the American and the British use meanwhile we cannot avoid they speak those unknown slangs to us. The second drawback of English being the international lingua franca is that the dominance of the English language proposes a threat to our own language. Taking Hong Kong as an example, English is set to be the second language here, abilities of English usually come first than Chinese. Therefore, parents always place English a high place. When children’s result in English language is poor, they spend so much money on remedial classes. But if in the other way round, may be some parents won’t care. Gradually, students themselves cultivate that value that English language is much more important, and that Chinese language is being undervalued as a result. There are both pros and cons of English being the lingua franca, and the situation of English being the lingua franca is not changing in this few decades, all we can do is to explore those advantages and drawbacks and avoid the seriousness of the drawbacks deteriorating. Works Cited Profile of Van Parijs. University of Oxford. http://www.law.ox.ac.uk/profile/philippe.vanparijs. 14 Feb 2014 Benjamin Studebaker. English Lingua Franca. http://benjaminstudebaker.com/2013/05/20/english-lingua-franca/. 20 May 2013 â€Å"Subject Area – English Language Essays The Lingua Franca†. http://www.ukessays.com/essays/english-language/pdf/the-lingua-franca.pdf. 2006