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natalieemmanuel

FAA will review security and plans after big Chicago air travel problems - The Washingt... - 1 views

  • “I do understand the traveling public’s frustrations with flight delays and cancellations,” Michael P. Huerta, the FAA administrator, said in a speech Monday morning. “The air transportation system is vital to our economy and people rely on it to function 24 hours a day, seven days a week. I want to make sure that we have the most robust contingency plans possible.”
  • This review, which will take 30 days, will encompass the way security is managed at facilities, said Huerta, who was speaking to the annual Air Traffic Control Association conference outside of Washington, D.C. It will also cover the ways air traffic control operations can be resumed “as quickly as possible,” he said.
  • “This is one of the most challenging situations that air traffic controllers and other FAA employees have faced since 9/11,” Paul Rinaldi, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, said in a statement. “The damage to this critical facility is unlike anything we have seen before.”
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    In the wake of the recent fire that wreaked havoc on Chicago area airports this past weekend the FAA is planning to review its security measures. On Friday, an employee at a radar facility in Aurora Illinois set fire to a telecommunications room in an attempt to commit suicide. The fire caused thousands of departing and connecting flights bound for the Chicago area and around the country to be canceled and grounded. Not only were flights canceled on Friday but many continued to be canceled on Saturday and Sunday as well. Chicago's O'Hare Airport is the second busiest airport in the nation and an issue in security can disrupt not only the Chicago area but also flights around the country. It was noted that this incident was one of the most challenging situations air traffic controllers have had to work through since 9/11. Air travel is incredibly important to most Americans and a breach in security can be devastating. It is most important to keep travelers safety in mind especially when it comes to traveling by air. Although it is very important for travelers to make it to their final destination it is much more important that they get there safely and this is a topic the FAA is going to review as a result of this incident.
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    I think the question to be asked is "Can we do anything at all when a crazy person is in our midst?" If he was working at the center, he must have had some sort of vetting or clearance that he had to complete for employment. Did no other employees see any signs that he was suicidal (someone ALWAYS does)? What kind of measures were being employed to secure this clearly critical piece of infrastructure? How long did it take for anyone to respond? Clearly, lots of questions need to be posed. The effects of this one fore will ripple for months to come.
mayr0604

Data Mining: What is Data Mining? - 3 views

  • For example, one Midwest grocery chain used the data mining capacity of Oracle software to analyze local buying patterns. They discovered that when men bought diapers on Thursdays and Saturdays, they also tended to buy beer. Further analysis showed that these shoppers typically did their weekly grocery shopping on Saturdays. On Thursdays, however, they only bought a few items. The retailer concluded that they purchased the beer to have it available for the upcoming weekend. The grocery chain could use this newly discovered information in various ways to increase revenue. For example, they could move the beer display closer to the diaper display. And, they could make sure beer and diapers were sold at full price on Thursdays.
  • Data warehousing is defined as a process of centralized data management and retrieval. Data warehousing, like data mining, is a relatively new term although the concept itself has been around for years.
  • ata mining is primarily used today by companies with a strong consumer focus - retail, financial, communication, and marketing organizations. It enables these companies to determine relationships among "internal" factors such as price, product positioning, or staff skills, and "external" factors such as economic indicators, competition, and customer demographics. And, it enables them to determine the impact on sales, customer satisfaction, and corporate profits. Finally, it enables them to "drill down" into summary information to view detail transactional data.
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  • WalMart is pioneering massive data mining to transform its supplier relationships. WalMart captures point-of-sale transactions from over 2,900 stores in 6 countries and continuously transmits this data to its massive 7.5 terabyte Teradata data warehouse. WalMart allows more than 3,500 suppliers, to access data on their products and perform data analyses. These suppliers use this data to identify customer buying patterns at the store display level. They use this information to manage local store inventory and identify new merchandising opportunities. In 1995, WalMart computers processed over 1 million complex data queries. The National Basketball Association (NBA) is exploring a data mining application that can be used in conjunction with image recordings of basketball games. The Advanced Scout software analyzes the movements of players to help coaches orchestrate plays and strategies. For example, an analysis of the play-by-play sheet of the game played between the New York Knicks and the Cleveland Cavaliers on January 6, 1995 reveals that when Mark Price played the Guard position, John Williams attempted four jump shots and made each one! Advanced Scout not only finds this pattern, but explains that it is interesting because it differs considerably from the average shooting percentage of 49.30% for the Cavaliers during that game.
  • How does data mining work? While large-scale information technology has been evolving separate transaction and analytical systems, data mining provides the link between the two. Data mining software analyzes relationships and patterns in stored transaction data based on open-ended user queries. Several types of analytical software are available: statistical, machine learning, and neural networks. Generally, any of four types of relationships are sought: Classes: Stored data is used to locate data in predetermined groups. For example, a restaurant chain could mine customer purchase data to determine when customers visit and what they typically order. This information could be used to increase traffic by having daily specials. Clusters: Data items are grouped according to logical relationships or consumer preferences. For example, data can be mined to identify market segments or consumer affinities. Associations: Data can be mined to identify associations. The beer-diaper example is an example of associative mining. Sequential patterns: Data is mined to anticipate behavior patterns and trends. For example, an outdoor equipment retailer could predict the likelihood of a backpack being purchased based on a consumer's purchase of sleeping bags and hiking shoes.
  • Size of the database: the more data being processed and maintained, the more powerful the system required. Query complexity: the more complex the queries and the greater the number of queries being processed, the more powerful the system required.
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    This article highlights the topic of Data Mining and the way in which companies use it to become informed and discover new ways to become more effective. Data Mining can be used to increase revenue, cut costs and identify growing trends. This article will feature key examples from major companies such as Oracle, Wal-Mart and the NBA, all of which use Data Mining to enhance their business performance. 
irinadolgopolova

Why It's Crucial to Use Accounting Software Built for Restaurants | QSR magazine - 0 views

  • “Every business uses an accounting system of some sort, and every dollar should end up there,” says Tony Smith, CEO of Restaurant365.
  • it can be difficult for multi-unit operators using a generic accounting system to see if a certain vendor is billing above the contracted price or pinpoint specific ingredients that might be leaking money due to someone over-portioning a recipe
  • a true all-in-one accounting system is more useful for restaurants because it monitors inventory, pays vendors, reconciles bank statements, tracks fixed assets, forecasts scheduling, and produces financial statements.
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  • According to Smith, most financial accounting systems focus on monthly or fiscal periods which provide a comprehensive breakdown only at the end of a particular cycle. But in restaurants, where the week is so important and sales for a month which has five Saturdays can be drastically different from a month that only has four Saturdays, it’s much more important to compare data on a weekly basis by using an integrated, restaurant-specific software.
  • By adding technology that provides better visibility and guidance, operators can greatly increase efficiency and tracking in their restaurants
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    The article discusses how accounting systems specially designed for restaurants can better perform activities like monitor inventory, pay vendors, record transactions, do forecasting, and generate statements by integrating all this data in real time for management to use in their decision making. Using generic software that does not fully integrate all the information available can result in a less efficient operation, where employees spend more time performing their tasks, irregularities are missed, and important information is not analyzed. For example, when compiling information for decision making, most systems focus on a monthly or yearly basis for their data breakdown, while accounting software for restaurants should be able to do it on a weekly basis to adapt to thigh margins and nature of the business.
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    The author talks about the importance of having a specific to restaurants accounting system. They also point out the importance of having a system that can send alerts in cases of suspicious activity or expenses not lining up with the inventory. They also say that it is important to have the ability to review reports on a day-to-day or weekly basis.
Diya ZHAO

New mobile technology for hospitality sector - Business - Jamaica Gleaner - Saturday | ... - 0 views

  • Jamaican hotels will soon have an opportunity to upgrade their facilities' services with new technology, allowing visitors to access various hospitality options through applications on their mobile smart phones.
  • Movitas is the one we're featuring today, which is our partner that does the mobile applications that follow the guests; they download the app for their resort and then they use it on their own mobile device, wherever they are in the country.
  • It's available on BlackBerry, on Android devices, and on iOS, which is the Apple platform, so all platforms, any smart phone or tablet," Poirier informed.
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  • We're not just looking at the hotels, but all the businesses that support the hotels and guests as well, and Movitas and Avaya will be able to do that along with the 4G technology that we bring to the market, as well as the expertise we have in Avaya and being able to bring the hotels up to speed with their technology as well, because they are going to have to upgrade their technologies to be able to take all of this into account."
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    This article talked about Jamaican hotels are going  to upgrade their facilities' service with new technology which allowing visitors to access various hospitality options throught applciations on their smart phone.  Nowadays a lot of hotels they public their products based on this technology. Local mobile service provider Digicel on collaboration with New jersey based telecommunications company Avaya and Pennsylvania based mobile technology company Movitas, revealed the new technology to hotel industry representative during a recent hospitality breakfast at the Haif Moon resort. it sounds really convenient , I mean based on several platforms like that for example Black Berry Android and on IOS any smart phone or tablet. it could be used widely not just for hotels also other business.
Craig S. Wright

Two Floors of Doubletree Grand Hotel Evacuated Due To Fire | NBC 6 Miami - 0 views

  • Two floors of the Doubletree Grand Hotel Biscayne Bay were evacuated Saturday afternoon after a fire started at a condominium next door.
  • The cause of the fire at the Grand, at 1717 N. Bayshore Drive, remains undetermined.
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    Having a proper security plan is so critical for hotels. Here in Miami, just days ago, the Doubletree had a fire and everyone was evacuated. Due to proper evacuation measures and a fast responce from fire officals, no one was injured.
jennifer amador

New Restrictions Quickly Added for Air Passengers - NYTimes.com - 0 views

  • new restrictions on travelers that could lengthen lines at airports and limit the ability of international passengers to move about an airplane.
  • But several airlines released detailed information about the restrictions, saying that passengers on international flights coming to the United States will apparently have to remain in their seats for the last hour of a flight without any personal items on their laps.
  • Overseas passengers will be restricted to only one carry-on item, and domestic passengers will probably face longer security lines.
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  • Travel has declined about 20 percent since 2008 because of the economy, and airlines have been dealing with numerous delays in the past week because of snowstorms on the East Coast and in the Midwest.
  • T.S.A. had ordered new measures for flights departing from foreign locations to the United States, including mandatory screening of all passengers at airport gates during the boarding process. All carry-on items would be screened at security checkpoints and again at boarding, the airline said. It urged passengers to leave extra time for screening and boarding.
  • The new restrictions began to be instituted Saturday on flights from Canada and Europe to the United States. Air Canada said it was waiving fees for the first checked bag, and it told passengers to be prepared for delays, cancellations and missed connections because of the new limits.
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    After September 2011 alot of changes have occured in airline and airports throughout the world. TSA has purchased, trained, and introduced innovative machinery that can easily detect authorized items inside luggages. The US governement have spend alot of money also to simply protect the nation from terrorists and any form on violence especially in the hospitality and tourism industry. Alot of th airlines have changed the way they used to operate before the attacks; for instance food is no longer served on airplanes, and more fees are charged for luggages and definitely more screening in airport terminals. The introduction of air marshalls and new machinery have definitely changed the perspective of traveling nowadays, travelers have to wait longer to be screened and to even get out of the plane after the plane have landed at its destination. On a positive note, everything that have changed is for our own safety as citizen of the US and i personally believe moew things should be implemented if it can only improve the way we are being protected.
jazminesnyder

India's Modi Seeks More Investment From U.S. Tech Sector - US News - 0 views

  • India's burgeoning tech sector is responsible for creating more than 400,000 American jobs
  • business deals between firms in the two countries have generated $22.5 billion in tax revenue for the U.S. since 2011
  •  the report should dispel the stereotype that India’s IT sector “takes jobs away from the U.S.”
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  • “neither country can achieve their nation’s economic vision without the other.”
  • easing the process for skilled Indian workers – including college students educated in the U.S. – to be able to obtain visas so they can join American tech companies.
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    The main focus of my article is about the financial connection between India and the U.S. The article discusses a few key issues about India and their tech support in relation to the U.S. It tells us that "India's burgeoning tech sector is responsible for creating more than 400,000 American jobs, according to a report released Monday that prompted calls from leaders in both nations to reform business practices so the industry remains a bright spot in an often unreliable global economy". The article goes on to list some more interesting statistics. For example, "The new study from the National Association of Software and Service Companies, a trade group representing Indian technology firms, said business deals between firms in the two countries have generated $22.5 billion in tax revenue for the U.S. since 2011". I feel that these two statistics are important because in too many cases, Americans feel that "foreigners" are coming to the U.S. and "stealing" all of our jobs. That is clearly not the case with every situation, as the article points out. The article further explains that India is seeking to ease the process of coming into the U.S. to work. They feel that if they are providing their highly skilled techs to come work here and/or gain their American education here than the process of getting the visa should be much more lax than it is for other countries. I don't know if I agree with that one, but I understand their point.
amichellemagluta

Right Property Management System is Key to Your Hotel's Success. - Saturday, 27th July ... - 1 views

  • Ask any hotelier and they will all agree that a hotel management system plays a key role in their hotel’s success.
  • At the back-end, hotel software is even more important. The front office module, point of sale, accounts receivable, banquets and conferences, restaurant module, housekeeping, inventory, HR and Payroll, along with a host of other modules and apps in a hotel software must work in an interconnected and smooth manner.
  • you will have to additionally invest in purchasing, licensing and maintaining the back-end modules.
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  • Many times, a software vendor could simply be offering you a Front Office Module.
  • These software products may have integration issues, and can become major hurdles for your staff when they use the modules
  • your hotel runs a mission-critical operation.
  • Numerous integrations also means you could spend long hours networking and interacting with multiple vendors.
  • this could get restrictive and influence your other partnerships.
  • review about your potential software vendor is their experience in the industry
  • investing in the right hotel software is a complex task and most hotels spend months deliberating on their investment.
  • The hotel software market is full of options, and each vendor claims his software is the best. However investing in the right hotel software is a complex task and most hotels spend months deliberating on their investment. Unfortunately, hoteliers excel at their core skill, delivering to guests a world-class hospitality experience, and sometimes get ‘talked’ into making a wrong decision on the software they adopt.
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    The right property management system plays a key roles in the success of any hotel. Property management systems store guests' information which helps make for a pleasurable stay at the hotel. On the back end having the proper property management system can be key tool in making a successful stay at the hotel. The front end has software that handles the point of sale, account receivable, banquets, conferences, restaurant, housekeeping, inventory, payroll, among other apps and modules that connect to make the hotel run successful smooth. The information that is stored in these systems generate reports that the hotel can review for decision making. Much like other software, technology can be exhausting at times when it doesn't do what we want it to do. The hotel software market is full of many different option management can choose do off with. A few things a hotel should consider when choosing software should be: How many modules will your new hotel software offer? Does your new property management system have third party products merged into it? Is your hotel software compatible with third party software? Does your property management system help you enhance revenue? Considering all these questions while choosing a new property management system can help management choose the best system that will be most beneficial for the hotel. As someone who has been part of choosing a PMS it is very important to consider everything. Every vendor tells you why theirs is the best. It takes a lot of time to review everything and determine what system will work best for the company. I think where companies go wrong when getting a new system is training. The companies I've worked for often do very little training. I think lack of training for employees contributes to employees not using systems correctly and to full capacity which causes errors in reports. As a sales director, I often read reports and knew the information wasn't correct and it was due to input error. This
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    Correct, but as well hoteliers would always go for Opera if the company does not have a signed deal with a PMS company to use their services worldwide. For example, Starwood in America have a signed deal with Galaxy systems, however Starwood in Asia Pacific go with Opera. This is just due to the fact that Galaxy is still facing some issue in terms of getting the system in different languages. But in general, Opera is preferred by any hotel company. Recently the Hilton in Japan, has changed their PMS ONQ to Opera.
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    Property management systems are important in a hotel. They enable to establishment to store information to personalize a guest experience, but they also assist the back-end with point-of-sale, accounts, payroll, restaurant module, ect. The headache is deciding which system is best for your operations. This article list a few helpful questions in order to sort out what system your establishment needs. The first question the article is, "How many modules will your new hotel software offer?". The reason why the author points this out as being important is because some softwares just come with the Front office module. Meaning you will need to invest in another system to accommodate the back-end of the hotel. Then he goes into ask, "Does your new property management system have third party products merged into it?". Some software vendors require smaller companies to merge products to make up their PMS. This can lead to a hassle for the staff and means you could spend long hours needing to interact with multiple vendors rather than just one. Another question the author posses is, "Is your hotel software compatible with third party software?". This question is to double check that the software you plan to integrate is compatible with third party hardware and software. A couple examples are credit card payment gateway and the door locking system. These are all useful questions that a manager can look to in order to help them pick a system.
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    The main point of this article is to point out key features that you need to consider when you are upgrading your PMS in your hotel. It makes the point that choosing a new PMS is not easy, and it can get very complicated since there are so many on the market. One of the main points the author makes is that you should be looking for a system that has multiple modules, not just a Front Office Module for example. Another point the author makes is that some software companies have other parties involved when establishing their software, this is not a good thing since it may lead to you having to interact with a number of vendors which could take a good amount of time away from you, time that you could be using interacting with guests or doing a more qualitative time consuming task. You also want to make sure that your new potential software is compatible with third party software. "Review this list carefully to ensure the software you are buying is compatible with a large number of third party hardware, if not, this could get restrictive and influence your other partnerships". Lastly, the article discusses how you should check with the experience in the industry of software companies you are considering. Since your hotel runs a "mission-critical operation" you want to make sure that your PMS will indeed help stick with the mission of helping to enhance your revenue. I believe that these are great tips to follow by when looking to incorporate a new PMS, I also think the security of your new software should be added to the list as well; how secure is it from hackers?
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    This article was very interesting and it gives advice to any person thinking about opening a hotel in what software you can use. A hotel software is extremely important because that has all the guest information and store there experience that they had at the hotel. You have to see what software you want to implement when changing the hotel management system or property management system you need to know who is selling it to you and what is included in the software. If you are just getting a new system, you have to make sure that everything you already have is included and more. You also have to make sure that the software you get is compatible with a third party hardware. A hotel software system can make you or break you in a hotel. You really have to know the vendor that is selling you the software and make sure that they have experience with the software. The better the software that you have in the hotel, the smoother the hotel will run.
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    The article talks about the importance of using a PMS or Property Management System. The use of a property management system is very important to the success of a property. The article is also able to aid those who looking to implement a property management system by helping them narrow down what they will need. The article poses questions toward the reader to see what they are looking for in a PMS.
bench7628

Are Waiters In Danger Of Being Replaced With Tablets And Robots? - iReTron Blog - 0 views

    • bench7628
       
      This article point the positive and the negative effects of robot waters and tablets in the restaurant industry. There is a high demand for eMenu and robots in the restaurant industry in the country like China.
  • A new report from Cornell University claims that table top technology actually benefits customers at full-service casual dining chains. By monitoring one chain restaurant’s service over the course of two Fridays and two Saturdays, research showed that table turnover rates improved and customer spending increased when a table top-placed tablet was used for ordering and/or settling the bill.
  • When you think about it, there can be advantages to robot waiters. They won’t spit in your salad when they get mad at you, and they certainly won’t give you a bad attitude. They probably won’t need to be tipped. But don’t people go to restaurants for human interaction?
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  • Perhaps people who attend fancy restaurants won’t like the new technology completely taking over their experience. And then there are people who are completely sick and tired of technology taking over every other profession, including education and banking. But the replacement of waiters with tablets and (possibly) robots is certainly going to happen whether they like it or not.
jordanfernandez

Proximity Marketing: Often Creepy, but It Doesn't Have to Be. | Center for Digital Ethi... - 0 views

  • Imagine you’re out shopping one Saturday afternoon. You walk into a department store and see a big sign that reads, “Get our app and save!” You love a good deal so you scan the QR code and select “download.” You scroll through a user agreement with about 10,000 words of legalese and click “agree.”
  • As you walk down the street later, your phone is abuzz with notifications you’ve never received before: a constant stream of ads from each store you pass. You wonder how they’re reaching you, until you realize the department store app is still running — it must connect to other stores.
  • Proximity marketing — location-based direct marketing in which a business or other organization sends offers, promotions, alerts or other messages to a person's smartphone based on the device’s location — is annoying, creepy and downright invasive in this story. But it doesn’t have to be. When implemented ethically, proximity marketing can provide worthwhile benefits to marketers and consumers alike.
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  • This beats traditional advertising, which connects to consumers before they’re in a store — while they’re sitting on the couch at home watching television, for instance — and relies on them to remember the message later.
  • By using proximity marketing technology, stores can catch up by providing some of the perks of online shopping in person, like easy access to discounts, saved shopping lists and personalized recommendations.
  • Lastly, proximity marketing tools allow companies to gather behavioral data about their customers, including how often they visit a store and when, how long they stay and what areas of the store they gravitate toward.
  • Target merged its “Cartwheel” coupon app — used by 27 million shoppers, saving them more than $1 billion — with the main Target app and incorporated new features.
  • But completely opting-out of proximity marketing — agreeing to all or nothing — should not be the only way consumers can protect themselves.
  • Their recommendations include displaying in-store signage notifying shoppers that their location data is being collected, letting consumers opt-out of analytics services, limiting how data is used and never selling personally identifiable data to a third party.
  • If retailers want their customers to shed the “malicious” connotation that comes with data tracking, they need to be upfront about how they are using that data, including location.
  • Target’s privacy notice is currently 4,359 words and the top of the page reads, “We may change or add to this privacy policy, so we encourage you to review it periodically.” How many customers read the whole statement and check back periodically for updates?
  • So let’s reimagine our scene in the department store: Again, you download its app. This time, the user agreement is a few clear bullet points. The app walks you through a quick Q&A to find out if it can access your location to make your shopping experience easier. It asks if it can share your information with its partners — other stores, whose names the user agreement lists out explicitly — and gives you an option to opt out.
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    This article addresses what proximity marketing is and how it can be beneficial to marketers and consumers if done right. It talks about how companies throw hundreds of pages of legalese when downloading new apps that people never read. They recommend to include displaying in store signage notifying shoppers that their location data is being collected, letting consumers opt out of analytic services and limiting how data is used without selling personal identifiable data to third party. I believe if companies make it easier for us to trust them with our data more people will use this style of marketing.
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