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Database backup
In information technology, backup is the process of copying and archiving the computer data so that one can use it to restore the original after an event of data loss occurs (Mullins, 2012). There are two distinct purposes of backups. One is to recover the data after its loss maybe because of data deletion or corruption. The data loss may be a common experience of the computer users. The second purpose of the backup is to recover the data from the earlier time according to the user-defined data retention policy. There are two divisions of the backups that include the logical and the physical backups (Dafoulas & Ward 2011). The logical backups usually contain the logical data from the database with the Oracle export utility. It is stored in a binary file so as to help in later re-importing to a database using the corresponding Oracle import utility. On the other hand, the physical backup refers to the backup of the physical files that is used for storing and also recovering databases such as the control files and the data files. It is a copy of the files storing database information to another location whether it is on offline storage or a disk.

The database backup tends to form a duplicate of the data when the backup is complete. With a backup, it is easy for an individual to recreate the whole database from the backup in just one step that involves restoring the database. During restoring, it is a process that involves overwriting the existing database or it may create a database in case it does not exist (Dafoulas & Ward 2011). During backup, it is a process that tends to use a lot of storage space for every backup, and it also requires more time so as to completely backup all the operations.

With the Oracle backup, the types of backups include the logical backup, cold backup, and the hot backups. The hot backup is a backup of the data while it is running. Oracle tends to have RMAN which usually ensures the success in the hot backup. A cold backup is a backup that involves the offline physical backup, which is a process that happens when the database is not operating. It is a type of backup that accommodates all of the essential data files and other database components (Snedaker, 2014). On the other side, the logical backup is that backup of the tablespace, schemas, and whole database. Since an organization has a large amount of data, it is essential for the database administrators to use the automatic backup utilities that are available in a database such as ORACLE.

Any of the backup strategies used tends to start with the data repository. The backup data should be stored and organized to a degree. Other types of data backups include the full backup, differential backup, incremental backup, and mirror backup. The differential backup is the backup that includes all the files that changed since the last full backup. The incremental backup is the backup including files that changed in the last backup process (Snedaker, 2014). The full backup refers to the initial process of the backup that includes all the files and folders. Mirror backup is the backup of all files of the data that changed since the last full backup.

Disaster planning
Disaster planning is important as it helps in ensuring the continuation of the business processes if a disaster happens. Disaster is a term that is relative since disasters tend to occur in varying degrees. Disaster planning is essential as it offers an effective solution to use in recovering all the vital business processes (Whitman et al. 2013). The disaster recovery plan tends to offer the procedures for handling emergency situations. In disaster planning, the plan must offer information for the proactive handling of the crisis and must include detailed procedures for communication, executives, investor relations, human resources, and technology management. The plan must also document the procedures, responsibilities, and the checklist to use in managing and controlling the situation following the crisis.

Disaster planning tends to offer a state of readiness that allows prompt personnel response after a disaster occurs. It tends to provide a more efficient and effective recovery process. A disaster recovery plan must be able to accomplish several objectives. These objectives include managing the recovery operation in an effective and organized manner, recovering information and data imperative to the operation of critical applications (Mullins, 2012). It should also assess the damage, repair damage, and activate the impaired computer center. Every business tends to have the responsibility of responding to short or long term disruption of the services. Developing, documenting, implementing and testing the disaster recovery plan enable the business to restore the availability of the critical applications in an organized and timely manner after the occurrence of a disaster.

The advantages of disaster planning are that it results in improved technology. An organization requires improving IT systems so as to support the recovery objectives that you develop in disaster planning. The attention that one pays to recoverability leads to making the IT systems more consistent with each other. Disaster planning also results to improved business process. Since the business processes tend to undergo analysis and scrutiny, the administrators may not help but find areas that need improvement (Whitman et al. 2013). Disaster planning also benefits the organization through fewer disruptions. Because of improved technology, the IT systems are more stable than in the past. When one make changes to the system architecture so as to meet the recovery objectives, the events that used to cause outage do not do so anymore. Disaster planning also offers a competitive advantage because having good disaster recovery plan provides the organization with bragging rights that cab outshines the competitors. Disaster recovery plan tends to allow the organization to claim higher reliability and availability of services.

During disaster planning, it is significant that one should define the strategy to follow when employing the required softness to ensure the principles of detection, prevention, and response to the disaster. Such a strategy tends to define the activities that people will participate in when a disaster occurs, and it has a plan for explaining how to conduct the activities. It is essential for the organization to set the priorities of the processes and operations that they should perform. A disaster recovery plan is essential for the company as it contains the action that will help reduce the impact of the disaster and enable the organization to resumes its operation as fast as possible (Schin, 2014). It is an important aspect of the organization because it helps the organization save a lot of costs that it would incur if it never had a disaster recovery plan.

Importance of integrating backups and disaster planning
Database recovery is an essential aspect of disaster recovery. The purpose of the database backup is so as to safeguard the data in the case that a disruptive event occurs. The disaster planning aims at safeguarding the data and also the physical devices. It is important to integrate database backups and disaster planning as they work as complementary to each other when both of them are not properly implemented. Integrating database backup and disaster planning are important as backup database help in deciding the data to keep a backup for, and disaster planning helps in selecting the suitable backup plan for the physical storage of the data (Schin, 2014). Disaster planning is important as it helps to pinpoint the likely areas for problems. During planning, one need to assign tasks to different people so that everyone can know what is expected of them. Then again, backing up data and storing the copy off site may help to ensure that if a disaster strikes, one can move on without a lot of disruption.

It is important to execute database backup and disaster planning effectively. Failure of effectively executing them can result in a lot of loss to the organization. Without good backup and disaster planning, the organization can lose essential data and even customer data that can be of negative impact on the company (Mullins, 2012). When the two are not properly integrated, it can cause confusion to workers in the organization when an event of disaster happens as employees will not understand what to do in such a situation. Therefore, the damage can be much when the plan and backup are not properly executed.

Introduction
Telenursing is the utilization of technology to conduct nursing practice and deliver nursing care. The use of technology has changed the delivery medium of nursing care. It has necessitated competencies related to its use to deliver nursing care. Practitioners engaged in telenursing plan, assess, evaluate and intervene the outcomes of nursing care. Technologies commonly used in this practice include computers, Internet, telephones, telemonitoring equipment and digital assessment tools. The term telehealth is used to describe the breadth of health services provided through communication technologies. The paper will explore telenursing as a specialty of telehealth. Advantages and disadvantages for the patient and legal and ethical principles for the nurse of this technology will be explored. These will be used as the basis for decision-making and whether it is a good fit for me.

Advantages and disadvantages for the patient
Advantages
Diagnosis and Consultation
Research evidence shows increased success of diagnosis of diseases. Telenursing has productively been used as a tool for diagnosing acute conditions including leukemia. In addition to diagnosis, nurses can provide educational sessions or other patient education efforts. Telenursing has been shown to be a successful undertaking for nurses in patient education as it offers two-way video and audio technology. Nurses also have benefited from consultations through telehealth tools. Just as in patient education, nurses can use the two-way audio and video technology to consult with other providers. For example, home health nurses may use technology to consult with physicians or specialists regarding a particular patient (Hebda & Czar, 2013).

Monitoring and Surveillance
Adherence and compliance problems are among the various issues that are essential to achieving patient safety. After patients leave a facility, they take responsibility for their own health care at home. Patients may not always follow treatment plans as directed by providers or physician due to various factors, including wrong understanding and miscommunication of the treatment plan, complex treatment schedule that requires additional guidance for the patients to comprehend and the lack of access to facilities required for the treatment plan. This can cause negative outcomes and creates safety issues for the patient. Therefore, these technologies provide nurses with efficient tools of caring for patients. The use of these technologies improves adherence or compliance to the prescribed regimen of care. They also allow effective symptom management. Telenursing is one strategy that nurses currently use to monitor and communicate with patients beyond the acute care setting. It also reduces health care utilization rates for acute care services by reducing visits to the Emergency Department (Hebda & Czar, 2013).

Clinical and Health Services outcomes
Telenursing has been associated with an improvement in clinical and health service outcomes. Technologies have been used in the management of chronic conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, congestive heart failure and diabetes. Mortality and morbidity are the outcomes measured for these patients. Telenursing shows better outcomes in these areas. More specifically, telenursing technology has been shown to be an important tool in health intervention. For example, nurses can induce communication to help patient reduce HbA1c levels. They may also offer assistance to patients with traumatic brain injury in their transitioning from the hospital to the community. In addition to these technologies, other devices and applications are also making a difference in patient health care and safety. Essentially, telehealth technologies have replaced traditional care as practical alternatives (Hebda & Czar, 2013).

Reduction of cost
With telephone-based telenursing, there is relatively no technical setup required for interaction or cost to the patient. Many individuals own a cell phone in their home that can be utilized during sessions. Often, nurses limit telephone discussions to education or counseling as there are no visual cues for the telenurse. Technologies offer more and broader potential for telenursing practice. With telehealth technologies, patient access to care is improved; adherence to care increases and providers network with each other improves. Nurses can also closely monitor safety of patients at homes or alternative living facilities. The evident improvement in patient’s outcome has an indirect impact on cost of delivery of services (Hebda & Czar, 2013).

Disadvantages
As the use of technology increases in nursing profession, cost, privacy, autonomy, security and confidentiality issues have emerged. Facilities invest heavily in the security of patient information. These measures call for significant allocation of resources interms of human resources and money. Thus, the use of telecommunication increases the costs of purchase and operations of these equipments. These costs are passed on to consumers of health. Patients meet these costs through charges to health services. Health organizations are also faced with continued threat of as the need for confidentiality and security of patient data remain in the forefront of telenursing. On the other hand, Laws and regulations continue to place requirements for the protection of personal information. Data breach incidents have more impact than government fines, publicized lawsuits, and labor or union disputes. Breaches also have an impact on patients. Another disadvantage of telenursing is the technicality associated with the use of specific technologies. Telehealth technology differs and can range from telephone calls postoperatively to live, interactive voice and video patient education to using a popular video game system and downloadable data devices (Schlachta et al., 2010).

Legal and ethical principles for the nurse
With telenursing, confidentiality remains a concern that must always be addressed. Telehealth sessions must remain confidential interaction between a provider and a patient. Information privacy is the relationship between technology, collection and sharing of data, the public expectation of privacy, and the legal and related issues surrounding them. Privacy concerns exist when there is sensitive information or personally identifiable information that might be of interest to other parties. Maintenance of information privacy is a risk management issue for any organization (Greenberg, 2000).

The security risks increase with the extraordinary utilization of internet services due to the advent of cloud computing. Hence, training is a necessary component of an organization’s security practices. Hospitals are forced to instead focus on making information system users intrinsic to the security processes through awareness, training and information rather than focusing purely on implementing technologies. Technologies such as firewalls, intrusion detection system, intrusion prevention system, antivirus content filtering and encryption are commonly implemented to reduce the risk of cyber attacks. While such technologies are widely available to help hospitals mitigate the risk of intentional and unintentional threats, their effectiveness is limited if security threats and risks fail to focus on user intrinsic components of the organization’s ICT system. Computer dependency, false sense of entitlement and ethical flexibility increases the security risk to the disadvantage of the medical facility. This exposes health facilities to risks of security and data breach. In the long run, this may compromise patients’ safety (Greenberg, 2000).

Conclusion and Recommendations
Innovative technologies are employed in nursing practice to improve patient care and thus improve safety. Technologies range from the ubiquitous computing to simple telephone and only promise more in the future. The research on telenursing practice shows significant benefits related to consultations, diagnosis surveillance and monitoring of patients, technology advancement and clinical and health services outcomes. These areas have considerable patient safety concerns. On the other hand, special concerns in relation to patient safety have emerged with this method of health care delivery. As the use of technology increases in nursing profession, cost, privacy, autonomy, security and confidentiality issues have emerged. A job in telenursing is in my future. The pro of this decision is that I will get to work in a field that has shown high potential of growth in the future. The con of this decision is that ability to safeguard data is important as personal information increasingly continues to be collected.

Summary of McDonald’s strategies and performance

The McDonalds Corporation is a successful global restaurant that operates chains around the globe. The organization has employed global expansion and effective management strategies to enter new markets and gain a share of the diverse, fast food market. It is clear that McDonalds has achieved this massive success. The business has established best practices in the global food industry. However, it has also experienced international growth challenges trends in the recent past. These factors have seen the company perform poorly in its different businesses in both local and foreign nations. (Mourdoukoutas, 2013)

One of the strategies employed by McDonalds is the creation of both customer and brand loyalty for its products and services. Right from the beginning, the founder, Ray Kroc ensured that the French fries customers bought in one restaurant would be similar to another McDonald restaurant by developing a sophisticated operating and delivery system. He proved himself an industrial pioneer who revolutionized the American restaurant industry by imposing discipline on the production of milkshakes, hamburgers, and French fries. The consistency made McDonald’s the brand name that defined American fast food. In the restaurant industry, the McDonald’s is well known for high-quality foods and services evident in the quantity of customers they serve. The making of a uniform and consistent product for customers is one of the most important aspects of McDonald’s success. (Beef Central, 2015)

Irrespective of where customers purchase their products, once they see the ever-present “golden arches” they know exactly they are expected to get. McDonald’s Mission Statement has helped the business to focus on what really matters both to itself and to stakeholders. It has acted as a guide to strategic and routine operational decisions. In addition, it represents the glue that binds all the franchises under the organization together. Another strategy employed by McDonalds is rapid expansion. Right from the beginning, McDonalds expanded by franchising. By 1960, more than 200 McDonald’s outlets were operational. McDonald’s Corporation has been recording declining sales and profits both in its local and foreign businesses. On the other hand, competitors have been formulating strategies to attract more customers to their business. In 2015, McDonald’s reported 30% drop in profit and 11% decrease in revenue for the first three months of the year. It announced hundreds of store closings. The company has been trying to fix its problems particularly in the U.S market that generates 40% of its profit. It is simplifying its menu to appeal to its customers. It is testing all-day breakfast and has slowed down service and focused efforts on reducing errors in orders. (Mourdoukoutas, 2013)

The reality is that McDonald’s recent performance has been poor. In 2015 first quarter, the company recorded US$5.6 billion in global revenue down from $6.7 Billion in 2014 first quarter. The net income recorded amounted to $ 811 million down from $1.2 billion in the year 2013. Part of the business expenses arose from charges linked to restaurant closures. In the US and Canada, 220 restaurants were closed as well as 130 in Japan. The company is expected to close other 350 restaurants worldwide to avoid further loses. McDonald’s largest division in the United States saw a decrease in sales of up to 2.6% reflecting low customer traffic and negative sales amidst high competition. (Mourdoukoutas, 2013)

The operating income decreased by 11% as a result of weak sales and restructuring and closing activities. In its Europe’s division, the business experienced a decline in sales of 0.6%. First quarter operating income decreased by 20% partly as a result of currency and inflation pressures in Russia and continuing macroeconomic pressures facing much of Europe The business’s Pacific, Asia, Middle East and African divisions saw first quarter sales decrease by 8.3%. Asia region had a prolonged impact of consumer perception issues particularly in Japan over food safety breaches. The operating income in these regions decreased due to restaurant closing in response to poor performance.