World Wide Web and Tool

With time going, web has become increasingly popular in our life. I will show you what the web 2. 0 applications is and the description of six different tools or website through this report. You can also get the information about how webs can help in your studies and a sequence of tool or web site’s value beside the sub titles. The conclusion will include the consequence of our group discussion about our favorite tool/web sites. And reference will be shown in the end. Web 2. 0 applications â€Å"The term Web 2. was coined in 1999 to describe web sites that use technology beyond the static pages of earlier web sites. Tim Berners-Lee is the first person who put forward the conception of web 2. 0. He said that Web is a collaborative medium, a place where we could all meet and read and write. † available at: http://news. bbc. co. uk/2/hi/technology/4132752. stm, Mark Lawson, Berners-Lee on the read/write web, BBC News ) Compared with web 1. 0 which just focuses on accessing the information, Web 2. 0 pays more attention on exchange the information.. The individuals can be providers and users at the same time on those websites. Although Web 2. 0 is a new one, it does have an update to any technical specification, the software developers and end user to change the Web- cumulative together. Presentation tool URL: http://prezi. com/ Presentation tools of web2. 0 can let you show presentations whenever you like. The tools won’t be too difficult to be learned. People can find a lot of course of study which will teach you how to use the software. With this tool, presentation can be simple and accessible and the tool can save a myriad of time. For students like me in senior high school, we always need to do a presentation. Doing an outstanding Power point will cost most of time. But with the help of presentational tools like prezi which already have an ocean of stencil plate, we can easily complete a great Power point. And the rest time can be used to practice the speaking. What’s more, Picsviewer and Slide share also have the same function. Video tool URL: http://animoto. com Video tools can help people modify the video and photography automatic. Not all the person has money to buy advanced equipments or has good skill to take photos. So the website like Animoto is a good choice to make your special video without wasting much time. In school, we sometimes will have a play for the ceremony. Not only will it make you after-school activities more colorful, but also it will cost a lot of to treat the music. Now video tool makes it faster to do this thing which can help us keep balance between study and after-school activities better. You can also use Gizmoz or Photo peach to do this thing. Mobile tool URL: http://PollEverywhere. com With the technology improve, people today not only use mobile phone to make the call, they also use it to get picture or flash. Like Poll Everywhere, it will add joy for people to get responses by lively. For students, Mobile tool makes it more easily to get vivid information. Students can remember the image better than the texting. Jott and drop. io also has this function to make the word alive. Search tool UPL: www. myallsearch. com There is a sea of web site on the Internet. People usually don’t have enough to scan all of web site. The search tool like Myallsearch can search result of the Authoritative website, for instance, Google, Ask. com, Yahoo! and Lycos by one click. Searching information is a crucial part of academic essay or other homework which students in high school usually need to do. At first, students are too young to determine whether the site can be trusted. Search tool like featuring Google and Wikipedia can help students to access credible information quickly. Community tool URL: http://edmodo. com Community tool is one of the fundament of Web2. 0. It builds a bridge of communication between teachers and students. Like Edmodo, it is designed specifically for educators to exchange the information about professional knowledge. Tool like Edmodo, Google Doc and Ning is a good platform for teachers and students to exchange the message with each other. Asking questions become easier, and students can get more professional knowledge if they want. Social network URL: www. renren. com Social network like Renren provides an interactive platform for different people. People can know where their friends are and how they feel though a photo or a small sentence. It can also help you make friends who have the same hobbies. For students, we can broaden our horizons though watching various kind of information. We can also use tools like Twitter and Face book to ask friends for suggestion of the problem in study. Conclusion The web2. 0 has been integrated into our daily lives. During this report, we have known the meaning of web2. 0, descriptions six different tools and the effect in our study. After the discussion, we think that our favorite tool is search tool. We can get lots of credible information quickly which can save much time for us to do other things.

Member of Parliament Essay

This puts the rest of the team in a situation that could cause stress and extra work that they wouldn’t have had to deal with if the team member had done what they said they would do. In order to avoid this it is important for all team members to understand the importance of doing what they are assigned to do. †¢A team member who does not meet deadlines There are many things to consider when something goes wrong when you are a part of a team or group. The first thing I would do is make sure that the deadline was known and that the team member understood the deadline and what was supposed to be completed. If there was a misunderstanding then I would make sure that the rest of the team didn’t have the same misunderstanding about the deadlines and their importance. This situation is especially true for me and this assignment. I was late in submitting my portion and it has put team members in this exact scenario. The way I would handle this with myself, is to make sure I know how important deadlines are and how the impact the work of the rest of the team. I would let myself know that people are relying on me to have my portion of a project or assignment done in order for their portions to be implemented and the final project to be completed. In order to avoid this in the future, I will make sure that I keep track of all deadlines and schedule my time accordingly.

A Story Of A Bird Essays - Great Happiness, Fear Death, God Didn

Story of a Bird ric bird was flying through a forest and had very luckily and eventually found his best tree to build a nest to stay, to enjoy and to love in his lifetime. When he flied towards the tree with great happiness and hope, he was shot ruthlessly, however. But the shoot didn't cause an immediate death to the bird. And he asked why he couldn't be shot early - before he had found his best tree. 'I don't fear death, but I fear the death with regret' said the bird. he bird was looking at his best tree as much as he could before his breathing stopped while he was bleeding badly. 'If God didn't like me to build a nest at my best tree, why did God lead me to find it?' 'Does God like to see my deepest disappointment?' cried the bird. he breathing of the bird had become slower and weaker. But his eyes were still kept on his best tree. He didn't try to seek help because he didn't want to waste a little bit time from looking at his best tree. 'All my attention, my concern and my mind belong to my best tree.' said the bird, with smile. His sight became slimmer and slimmer, and his eyes were going to close. 'My heart and regret are eternal' cried the bird. And then his breathing stopped. His body was made to be a specimen put in the house of a Canadian family.

Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 31

Business - Essay Example It is evident that a lot of companies are planning to or offering telecommuting services to their employees. Drastic weather conditions are among factors that are pushing companies to offer telecommuting. Employees in Washington saved the government a large sum of money by working from home during official snow days. This is according to research done by Global Workplace Analytics. According to Lister, â€Å"Telecommuting is the only way companies will know how to build work places and design work practices and decide what technology is needed for support† (Tugend). Today, telecommuting is not limited to one sector of the population but men, women, young, old, parents, and non parents all participate. The article states that individuals who work from home tend to be more productive and put in more working hours. It is however important for an employee to combine both working at home and from the office, since working from home alone my affect promotion chances. Telecommuting has grown drastically and a lot of individual are full time employees working from home. On average, the article states that the number of Americans working outside the office is as high as thirty percent of the population (Tugend). Telecommuting is helping companies reduce office spaces but still a large number of individuals would prefer to combine both working at home and from the office. The second article â€Å"Working Productively as a Telecommuter† outlines tips on how to become a successful telecommuter. For a lot of people, the idea of telecommuting is working from the comfort of your home in pajamas without the rush of the office. The article however states that this is not a healthy notion and is destined to failure for any individual telecommuting. Even if working from home an individual needs to take is serious. One should be focused and work hard just as if he was his own boss (Garone). The article gives tips on how to be successful in telecommuting. For first time

Research and Writing Handbook Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Research and Writing Handbook - Essay Example However during the course of this discussion we would be analyzing the killing and the subsequent riots that sparked in the aftermath from the perspective of identity negotiations. However it is important that an idea regarding the understanding of identity negotiations is first acquired. Identity negotiations is referred to as a process through the help and application of which people get an understanding and reach upon an agreement regarding the identity of different people living in their society. It is with the help of this understanding that people actually assume their identities and consequent roles that they need to fulfil in the societal setup they are a part of. (Bakir and David. 2007) On psychological grounds the phenomenon of identity negotiation uncovers a different aspect which is based upon the clash that takes place between the expectations of perceivers with self-views that targets hold. It is under such a condition that people and members of a society engage in a â €Å"battle of wills† and it is in the midst of these conditions that a society gets stratified and once again yearns for an identity. (Swann. 1987) The disastrous events that took place in London after the killing of Mark Duggan provided a comprehensible manifestation of a divided community and society members. This can further be verified from the details that have been disclosed by journalists covering these haunting events. At one end there were people who did condemn the killing of Duggan but were not in favor of the chaos that followed in the aftermath. They encouraged peaceful ways through which they could bring the attention of state policy makers towards this crucial issue, hence it is clear that this particular segment of the society refrained from exercising any violent means of protest. Unfortunately, it was this very segment of the society that had to pay maximum price of their non-violent behavior in the form of human as well as material loss. Their businesses we re burned and they themselves gained injuries while trying to protect it. Quoting David Lawrence, the author of the story â€Å"I know people who have lost everything they ever owned because their homes were burned down over the weekend. I know people who have worked hard to create successful businesses and now have nothing to show for it† (Lawrence. 2011) in an overnight turn of events they lost everything that they once rightfully owned. On the other hand there was also a particular segment that took complete advantage of this situation in creating wreck and havoc in different areas. It has primarily been the activities of these members of London society that have unleashed a violent and brutal picture of a society which was at one point of time referred to as the most civilised society in Europe. The plunder and looting that these people convinced onlookers that the elements of radicalism, extremism and rebellion are present in almost all people; however what is shockingly astounding regarding these riots is the very identity that outlaws disguised as when conducting all these activities. They took on a new form of societal role which was appalling, dangerous and disastrous. Once again quoting Lawrence: â€Å"They just saw it as an opportunity to wreak havoc and seek things for personal gain. Stealing trainers from JD Sports? Taking phones from T-Mobile? Removing the hole in the wall, literally leaving a hole in the wall? All in

Exploiting the Native Americans Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Exploiting the Native Americans - Essay Example s of Native Americans, the colonists necessitated having to consult pertinent documents substantiating the expeditions of Columbus as well as hearsays from fishermen and traders which detailed personal encounters with the indigenous Americans. Perhaps through the stories relayed by Spanish visitors of the land, they found out that the latter often appeared to match emblematic descriptions as ‘savage’, ‘beastlike’, ‘flesh-eating’, or any such term near ‘hostile’. On the other hand though, there existed locals as the Indian tribes that exhibited character of earnest openness and received the Europeans well, notwithstanding mixed emotions and motives.  While many of them fell into the assumption that foreign invaders arrived for a good cause inclusive of the will to form allies to aid them in combating native adversaries, gradually, they discovered that the people from the West were scheming to exploit their resources. As an indirect manner of exploiting the native Americans, Europeans generally acknowledged trade with the latter from whom they obtained animal skins and hides and a wampum of polished shell beads in exchange of technology-based weaponry, liquors, and even religion and disease type which bore negative impact upon the sense of independence and natural system of the local people. Initially, this relation enabled the natives to trust the settlers with their properties and resources, understanding the risk measures the foreigners had to undergo in order to survive the New World that originally belonged to the indigenous inhabitants. Eventually though, the stealthy nature of the colonizers’ primary aim was revealed and the natives realized that their course of action reflected a hidden goal of securing lands and trading for the purpose of acquiring tools to exploit the indigenous Americans. Despite the Puritan attitude, it became clear that land acquisition by the western intruder s meant complete exclusion of the natives from the huge

Business organisations law Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Business organisations law - Coursework Example It means that the liability of actual authority is greater compared to that of apparent authority because there is an agreement already undertaken. Actual authority is said to enjoy more power than an agent with apparent authority because a third party will usually be unaware of the terms and conditions of the agreement between the principal and his agent and thus he will be unaware of the extent of the agent’s actual authority. According to John D Maltas, an agent’s apparent authority will be unaffected by limitations on the actual authority, i.e. it is easier for a third party to establish that the agent acted within the scope of his apparent authority rather than the agent’s actual authority (John D Maltas, p 43) and hence he is said to have more power than apparent authority. Richard A. Mann and Barry S. Roberts emphasize that an apparent authority can not exist where the principal is undisclosed because, apparent authority is the power resulting from acts that appear to the third party to be authorized by the principal. (Richard A. Mann and Barry S. Roberts, p. 350) Normally an agent needs to disclose to his principal all material facts known to him and circumstances that may influence his principal when entering in to contracts. Once an agent fails to disclose these facts, he is not entitled to commission. Suppose, the agent has received any profit resulting from non-disclosure is recoverable by the principal (John D Maltas, p 49). This has been well explained by S. A. Christensen and W. D. Duncan. When one party to a contract pays a secret commission to the agent and does not disclose this to the principal, the party takes the risk of non-disclosure. A party who deals secretly with the agent of another will be considered to have committed a fraud against the principal and cannot later defend the validity of the transaction. This will require the principal to return any benefits received under the transaction, because this will not prohibit him

Leading Retailer Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Leading Retailer - Case Study Example The main aim of the company is to help people save money to help live better. The growth of the company over the years has been immense. The company pays a lot of attentions to the needs of the stakeholders and helps provide the stakeholders with the desired results. The biggest retailer in the world with over 971 discount stores, 2447 super centres, 132 neighborhood markets, and 591 Sam's clubs in the US, Wal - Mart has been able to very smoothly make its way to the top of the retailing industry. The company is spread over the 14 countries and employees almost over 2.1 million people. The company has made enormous revenue of over $378,799 million for the year - end January 2008. Being the largest retailer in the world, Wal - Mart is faced with a lot of competition and making all the happenings, issues, events etc of Wal -Mart always in the limelight (Money Central, 2008). The company works on the basic values which mainly revolve around the respect for individuals, service to customers and striving for excellence. The management of the company is said to be very efficient and the managers are known to be work by the values of the firm. However the company still faces a number of issues pertaining it employees, each of whom are known as associates in the company. The vision of the company is to become the leaders of the retail industry. This however can only be achieved by ensuring that the customers receive what they desire out of the company. The mission of the company highlights their constant need to improve the services provided to exceed customer expectations and to provide customers with reasonably priced goods of great quality. The company's basic va lues of respect for individuals, service to customers and striving for excellence speaks for itself. Wal - Mart has tried to ensure it reaches out to the majority of the American population and the major customer groups accounting to almost 23 percent belong to families where the annual income is lesser than $25,000. It was also noted that almost half of the customers of the superstore are blue-collar workers and most of the families are either unemployed or elderly (Featherstone, 2005). The Issues: Wal - Mart in some recent reports has been accused of not treating their employees fairly and making the employees work over the shift hours. The company has also been accused for paying the employees much lower than what they should receive. According to a number of reports the employees have actually disclosed the fact that they receive pays which are way below the minimum level of pay that has to be given to the employees. The company claims to give importance to the employee's growth and careers. The company's website claims to provide the employees with a competitive pay, skills development and health benefits for the employee and family. However a recent article in Business Week highlighted the fact that the company has been paying employees about $8.23 per hour, or $13,861 a year. This pay is well below the federal poverty line of $14, 630 for a family of three. Other

Domestic Dogs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Domestic Dogs - Essay Example Domestic dog is morphologically distinct from all other canids except its close relatives, the wolf-like canids. The earliest burial remains of a domestic dog are 14,000 years old and were found in Bonn-Oberkassel, Germany. Despite their many shapes and sizes all domestic dogs, from Newfoundlands to pugs, are members of the same species-Canis familiaris. Although they have domestic temperaments, these dogs are related to wolves, foxes, and jackals. Many of the behavior traits and body movements or positioning can be applied universally to all canids for example ear positioning, tail positioning, raised hackles, etc. There is considerable similarity between dogs and wild canid species; many wolf-like canids cannot be distinguished from domestic dogs of equivalent size. However, all dogs are consistently separated from fox-sized, wild canids by subtle but evolutionarily significant differences in olecranon, metapodial, and scapula morphology. Second, in domestic dogs the pattern of sta tic allometry is nearly identical to that of ontogenetic allometry. This finding can be attributed to simple heterochronic alterations of postnatal growth rates. Talking about wolves, they have a fairly sophisticated communication system--in both body language and verbal language. They use their whole bodies when communicating. North American Wolves are extremely social animals and live in groups called packs. The packs can vary in size, usually according to the abundance or dearth of prey. For example, the wolf packs of Alaska's Denali National Park preying primarily on moose can number into the twenties; but in Minnesota, wolf packs typically number under ten. In some packs, there is one male or female wolf called the "omega". This wolf lives on the fringes of the wolf society and is usually the last to eat, sometimes going without if food is scarce. The link between the Domestic Dog and the Wolf is therefore a matter of scientific classification in Zoology. Interestingly the recl assification of the dog in 1993 meant the inclusion of Lupus to the scientific classification and therefore signifying the link between the dog and the wolf. Domestic Dogs share many of their characteristics with their wild relatives. Pack animals eat meat. Dogs too are able to eat raw meat if given to them and it's called the raw diet, territory issues marking their scent, communicating using physicality, play fighting etc. Essential difference between Domestic Dogs and their wild relatives is that of genetic information. Some other trivial differences are that dogs tend to howl less and bark more. Dogs are also domesticated as they are friendly towards people. A domestic dog when subject to wild environment will get acclimated and become wolf-like. As far as physicality is concerned, some of the attributes are tail & ear carriage, vocal communication - barking, howling, hunting, pack mentality & hierarchy, mating & litter rearing. Dogs were probably the first tame animals. They ha ve accompanied humans for some 10,000 years. During this time we have, in some respects, genetically engineered (by selective breeding) so that they can become useful as working dogs. For Example the Bernese mountain dog was bred for draft work, the Boxer for bear fighting and the Mastiff as a war dog. Apart for the

Human resource Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Human resource - Essay Example In order to deal with these influences, it is essential for managers to develop their internal structures and employees’ behaviors to enable them handle the external forces. The environment in which an organization operates in is responsible for organizational activities and their eventual outcomes. This paper evaluates the effects of external factors on Human Resource Planning (Rothwell and Kazanas, 2003, P.176). Economic uncertainty Economic factors have a direct effect on recruitment, staffing and rewards that employers can give to their workers. The reason is that demand and supply law holds that when supply of labor is high, employers can obtain labour at lower prices, and when demand exceeds supply, and then employers have to pay higher wages and benefits. In instances where a country’s economy is growing at a positive rate, companies register high demand for their goods and services. In order to cope with such demand, organizations recruit more labor force, event ually lowering the rate of unemployment. When there is low level unemployment, the need for professional workers increases. This necessitates for organizations to enhance their employee retention and training strategies. When the economy is growing at a negative rate, demand for products and services reduces, and firms have to grapple with that in two ways. One option is laying off some workers, or lowering the amount of wages and benefits for in a bid to retain existing employees. Unemployment rates increase and employers are overwhelmed with applicants for advertised vacancies (Mathis and Jackson, 2008, P.454). Socio-cultural context Population trends are a key driver of the social sphere. This is demonstrated in the counter-cyclical shifts, in population trends. UK and other parts of the globe are registering increasing population growth. However, eastern and western Europe is registering low birth rates. United Kingdom in particular and Europe in general experience numbers of mi grants, resulting in an increase in the size of the prospective labor force. Moreover, migrants also form a considerable portion of consumers for the country’s goods and services. Kandula (2007, p 59) notes that the high number of the aging citizens marks a loss in the pool of knowledge, skills and capabilities. The reason is that elderly people have so much knowledge from the organization, and their retirement and departure from the workforce creates a significant gap in organizations. Kandula further notes that elderly people have a vast number of needs and special services. For illustration, elderly people require welfare benefits and caregivers, which is extra consumption for the country. United Kingdom is also registering high an increasing gap between the affluent and the poor. This results in the rise of socio-economic disparity that creates an increase in asset prices. Cascio and Boudreau (2012, P.51) note that socio-economic developments influence organizations human resources in one way or the other, particularly through the supply and demand for labor and consumption goods. Other social trends are such as rising divorce rates and rising numbers of single parents, drug use and changing roots of social individuality. The effect of these trends results in solo-living among people of all ages. Reduced interest in social conformity, vanity and individual

Alzheimer’s disease Essay Example for Free

Alzheimer’s disease Essay Alzheimers disease is a neurological disorder in which the death of brain cells causes memory loss and cognitive decline. A neurodegenerative type of dementia, the disease starts mild and gets progressively worse. Alzheimers is the most common form of dementia, a general term for memory loss and other intellectual abilities serious enough to interfere with daily life. Alzheimers disease accounts for 60 to 80 percent of dementia cases. Alzheimers is not a normal part of aging, although the greatest known risk factor is increasing age, and the majority of people with Alzheimers are 65 and older. But Alzheimers is not just a disease of old age. Up to 5 percent of people with the disease have early onset Alzheimers (also known as younger-onset), which often appears when someone is in their 40s or 50s. Alzheimers worsens over time. Alzheimers is a progressive disease, where dementia symptoms gradually worsen over a number of years. In its early stages, memory loss is mild, but with late-stage Alzheimers, individuals lose the ability to carry on a conversation and respond to their environment. Alzheimers is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. Those with Alzheimers live an average of eight years after their symptoms become noticeable to others, but survival can range from four to 20 years, depending on age and other health conditions. People with Alzheimer disease also develop deposits of stuff (protein and fiber) that prevent the cells from working properly. When this happens, the cells cant send the right signals to other parts of the brain. Over time, brain cells affected by Alzheimer disease also begin to shrink and die. Lots of research is being done to find out more about the causes of Alzheimer disease. There is no one reason why people get Alzheimer disease. Older people are more likely to get it, and the risk gets greater the older the person gets. For instance, the risk is higher for someone who is 85 than it is for someone who is 65. And women are more likely to get it than men. Researchers also think genes handed down from family members can make a person more likely to get Alzheimer disease. But that doesnt mean everyone related to someone who has it will get the disease. Other factors, combined with genes, may make it  more likely that someone will get the disease. Some of them are high blood pressure, high cholesterol, Down syndrome, or having a head injury. ‘ Citation Page www.medicalnewstoday.com www.alz.org

Wal-Mart principles Essay Example for Free

Wal-Mart principles Essay Introduction As pointed out by Craig Herkert, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Wal-Mart International, â€Å"Every day low prices, quality assortment, and exceptional service are Wal-Mart principles that transcend borders, languages and cultural differences.† (Daniels, Radebaugh and Sullivan, 2004). Wal-Mart’s success in the retail industry depends on how the company may incorporate its customer strategy in a market completely different from its home business. Wal-mart inevitably find their operations growing more complex. One reason for this is the large number of individual decision makers (buyers, distributors, and store personnel) who have a significant effect on strategy and execution and who add complexity through their everyday actions (Bianco et al, 2007). Another is that the high fixed costs of retailing exert continual pressure to add new products and capture incremental revenue. Not only does this ratchet up complexity, it also raises the cost of selecting, buying, and delivering each product. The predictable result: buyers have to make too many decisions for too many different types of store on too little information. Although sometimes Wal-Mart underestimate the cost financial and operational of added retail complexity (Bailey and Schultz, 2000). In financial terms, this complexity is directly reflected in selling, administrative, and other operating costs. Among department stores, the cost gap between good and average performers can be 3 percentage points or more; among specialty stores, up to 5 percentage points. In operational terms, lower sales, slower inventory turns, and lower gross margins occur when buyers cannot cope with the complexity of their business. These effects can readily be seen in the gap between good and average performers markdown rates: a 2.5 percentage point difference among department stores; 4 percentage points among specialty shops. Leading retailers have achieved these performance premiums by reducing complexity. They have stopped trying to be everything to everybody (Bianco et al, 2003). Regardless of their format or the market segment in which they compete, each has created a huge competitive advantage by focusing product offerings, narrowing market concentration, standardizing store size and layout, and simplifying the buyers job. Retailer like Wal-mart carries tens of thousands of items: 70,000 stock keeping units (SKUs) is not unusual for a discounter; a full-line department store often carries close to a million. Many of these items require fundamentally different sourcing and distribution methods and are in demand for only a few short months before seasons and hence assortments change (Bonache, 1999). One retailer we studied carried more than 1,200 different styles of knitwear, yet only 5 percent of them contributed almost 40 percent of sales. This retailer was carrying the cost of offering all those SKUs when less than half that number would provide a selection adequate for most customers needs. Internal Analysis Several Companies in the commercial and industrial business where Snap-On is major players are in a race that gets more difficult every year, with bigger, stronger, and more innovative competitors. In addition, the rules of the race are constantly changing with the emergence of electronic business, globalization, disruptive technologies, innovation and convergence of industries. Competitors who have been in other races suddenly join your race with strength, technology, and new approaches to the market, often becoming instant leaders (Palmer, 1997). Moreover, it is possible to lead in this race for long periods of time and to create significant value for shareholders and employees. To make the possibilities of these, different sectoral organizations need a strategy that sustains their strong position in the race, anticipates changes, and helps them continue to lead. The rules to be ahead are the following: †¢ Competitive advantage is short-lived †¢ Today’s competitive advantage is tomorrow’s competitive requirement †¢ Companies without a competitive advantage should expect, at best, zero return. For a variety of reasons, many companies have underdeveloped strategies. Sometimes an underdeveloped strategy is effective, a single spectacular idea can carry a business a long way, even without an explicitly stated strategy. Management intuition and organizational willpower can substitute temporarily as well. However, with the pace of business today, industry leaders need to think through and plan for the next industry lifecycle or risk being dethroned (Briscoe, 2004). It is possible in today’s environment to fully engineer a company from a strategic point of view in a way that was unthinkable five years ago. Advances in technology, combined with worldwide deregulation and decontrol of product and financial markets, allows new flexibility in the implementation of company strategies. SWOT Analysis Strengths. Compared to the retail industry competitors of Wal-mart, the company exercises an almost direct access to the market-base. Since the company originated and developed in the U.S. economy, Wal-mart is highly of advantage compared to its competitors. This gives Wal-mart is well- experience, skilled, and knowledgeable of the people in the market. The centralized aspect of Wal-mart ensure capitalization of its brand globally which results to good return of investments and profits while the decentralized business approach of the franchises extends possible business opportunities for the entire business in terms of product innovation, design, research and development. This makes possible continuous growth of the business enterprise through a pool of creative staff and employees that contribute to the competence, security, image and integrity of the company. Other strengths of the company are as follows: Good strategic positioning has been the foundation of company’s success. High employee productivity as a result of its good scheme. Vibrant and independent culture is supported with a generous profit-sharing plan and stock ownership plan for all employees. Technology innovations. An efficient management team. Constant focus in the company’s mission. Weaknesses. Basically, tools and equipments in today’s modern world is everywhere, with the help of globalization nonetheless. However, the problem with this is that world of the retail business has witnessed a dramatic shift in the way in which the market are determined away from an intrinsic interaction between the regional environmental factors towards the dominance by global capitalism. Retail goods are now being considered more of a retail material rather than a medium on which artists can express their artistic ideas to the fullest (Hill and Jones, 1998). Globalization has made statements of different cultures available to every individual around the world. Although mass production of this merchandise is being created with extensive consideration on production budget and marketing research, Wal-mart should be sensitive to the importance of maintaining art in its products and designs so as not to fall into the common retail-crafted orientation perception regarding today’s market. As such, the development efforts and research initiatives and projects that the company invest in order to maintain continuous operation and competitive position call for wise selection of business opportunities as well as skilled leadership and risk management skills among its decision-makers. But more importantly, the company should foster tasteful and intrinsic creative designs for the consumers at the lowest possible prices. Good relationships with the suppliers and other business affiliations for the successful operation of the company lie should be observed. Moreover, technological innovations and facilities in tools and equipment marketing should be fully exhausted in order to serve the economic and aesthetic purposes of the company. Opportunities To survive in todays world globalization is important. Wal-mart have a wide opportunity to go global to improve and expand its business. They also have the opportunity to include more overseas supplier, which will actually give them cost advantage, as suppliers then can be available on a local level. Before they are able to take these opportunities they need to fix themselves up more strongly (Child and Faulkner, 1998). They also have the opportunity to use available technology to improve their functioning and to gain competitive advantage. Additional content area or expansion is an opportunity for the company to boost its market coverage. Joint ventures with other company paves way for integrating new business practices and would definitely be a good basis in their plans for international expansions. The company can form additional alliances that will facilitate the culture and business systems of a foreign neighbor to support its foreign growth strategy. Consumers want to effortlessness of shopping. Growing opportunities in internet shopping. Increase in dollar value Threats The continuous transformation of the monopolistic economic environment of U.S., the competitors in the local as well as the international children’s merchandise is a major intimidation to Wal-mart since highly acclaimed, recognized, popular and sophisticated companies in the fashion industry can exercise the same market penetration initiatives of the company. In particular, there are highly stable local apparel manufacturers that supply and distribute materials, designs and products to other internationally acknowledged clothing lines. These local manufacturers are also distributing their products and designs in the local market under their own respective brand names. At the international level American designs and products are existent and likewise persistent in increasing market share in lucrative business locations (Hessan and Whiteley, 1996). Small towns do not want entry of Wal-mart. Variety of Competition in the national, regional and local market. There is a powerful competition among substitute products As a result of the very competitive rivalry substitute products come in easily. Conclusion Wal-mart have been the best performers have learned to focus on a well-defined target market even as they expand geographically (Shah and Phipps, 2002). Wal-Mart, for example, has largely maintained its focus on customers with similar needs as it expanded across regions. The traditional Wal-Mart customer lives in a small town and is willing to drive a great distance to stock up on a wide range of items at the best possible price (Shah and Phipps, 2002). As the search for growth has brought Wal-Mart closer to urban customers, the company has had to support its merchandising performance by making additional investments in systems, communications, and executive travel in order to coordinate its widespread store network. Wal-Mart is considered to be a geographically-dispersed retailer, maintains market focus by expanding its store network region by region, building up enough scale in each one to justify regional buying offices dedicated to the specific needs of local customers (Briscoe, 2004). References Bailey, S. Schultz, D. (2000). Customer/Brand Loyalty in an Interactive Marketplace. Journal of Advertising Research, 40 (3), 41. Bianco, A. , B., Der Hovanesian, M., Young, L., Gogoi, P. (2007). Wal-Marts Midlife Crisis; Declining growth, increasing competition, and not an easy fix in site. Business Week. New York, April 30, 2007, Issue 4032, page 46. Bianco, A., Zellner, W., Brady, D., France, M., Lowry, T., Byrnes, N., Zegel, S., Arndt, M., Berner, R., Palmer, T., A. (2003). IS WAL-MART TOO POWERFUL? Low prices are great. But Wal-Marts dominance creates problems for suppliers, workers, communities, and even American culture Business Week. New York: Oct 6, 2003., Iss. 3852; pg. 100 Bonache, J. (1999). The International Transfer of an Idea Suggestion System. International Studies of Management Organization. 29(4), p. 24. Briscoe, D. R. (2004). International Human Resource Management: Policies Practices for the Global Enterprise. New York: Routledge. Child, J Faulkner, D (1998), Strategies of cooperation: managing alliances, networks, and joint ventures, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Daniels, J, Radebaugh, L Sullivan, D (2004), International business: environments and operations, 10th edn, Prentice Hall, London. Hessan D. and Whiteley R.. (1996). Customer Centered Growth: Five Proven Strategies for Building Competitive Advantage. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books. Hill, C.W.L. Jones, G.R. (1998), Internal Analysis : Resources, capabilities, competencies, and competitive advantage. Strategic Management Theory. An Integrated Approach. 4th ed, Houghton Mifflin Co., pp 107-139 Palmer, A. (1997) Defining Relationship Marketing: An International Perspective, Management Decision, Vol. 35, No. (4), pp. 319-21, ISBN 0025-1747. Shah, A Phipps, T 2002, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc 2001. In: F. David, Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases, pp. 41-55, Prentice Hall International, Inc. Shaoming, Z. and Tamer, C. (2002) The GMS: A Broad Conceptualization and Measurement of Global Marketing Strategy, Journal of Marketing, 66 (4), 40-56

Operating Systems Tasks and Programming Lab

Operating Systems Tasks and Programming Lab Lab Activity 1 Operating Systems Tasks and Programming a) Future of operating systems. [Report on the future of operating systems here] b) Programming activity C++ #include using namespace std; int main() { ÂÂ   int id = 6669447; string name = Salman Mohammed Fazal; int counter = 0; for (int i = 0; i cout counter++; //increment counter if (counter == id[-1]) { //if counter = last character of ID cout counter = 0; //reset counter } } } JAVA public class test { public static void main(String[] args) { int id = 6669447; String name = Salman Mohammed Fazal; int counter = 0; for (int i = 0; i System.out.print(name.charAt(i)); //print character counter++; //increment counter if (counter == id[-1]) { //when counter is last character of ID System.out.println(); //new line counter = 0; //reset counter } } } } PYTHON name = Salman Mohammed Fazal id = 6669447 for i in range (0, len(name), int(id[-1])): #for every n characters print(name[i:i+ int(id[-1]))]) #slice and print string Code Outcome (same for all) Lab Activity 2 Linux Command Line (Commands and outcomes from a series of small tasks that require use of a number of Linux commands) How made Portfolio1 directory read/write/executable only for you and your group. That is, not for others.ÂÂ   Show evidence of this with ls command. How downloaded the script http://www.centerkey.com/tree/tree.sh to your home directory using wget and make it executable. Making Directories How created a 207se directory in your Portfolio1 directory. How created numbered directories for the labs. i.e. lab1 and lab2 etc. Evidence of transferring lab1 activity into appropriate directory Evidence of make directory activities using tree.sh Display todays date and using the cal command show the month that you were born. Move into the lab1 directory and use the appropriate command to show the current directory What is talk, write and wall are for The Talk command is used for exchanging messages with other users who are logged on the same network. The Write command is used to send messages to users in the same network. This one-way only. The Wall command is used to send messages to all the users in the entire network. This is limited to the admins only. ÂÂ  What command prevents the effects of those three commands from interrupting you. To prevent users from interrupting you, you can use the Mesg command. This command basically enables or disables users from writing to your terminal. Mesg y to Allow access and Mesg n to deny access. The song in song.txt. Using wc the number of words and lines in the file. Using grep to get the lines containing and and the number of the lines contain and in the document Use cat to show the contents of the file. Appropriate Linux command to see if the two files differ and how they differ. Use sort to sort the file and redirect the output to a new file called song2.txt Use sort and rev to reverse the sorted contents of song.txt and append the output to song2.txt Total memory used and the total memory available Find out how you can display your username on the screen. List the processes that are running. What are the differences between the Linux commands less, more and most. The more command works similarly to the cat command by displaying contents of a file, however the more command, you view bits of the text (a screenful), and is in a forward-scrollable manner. The less command is similar to the more command, however with this it is possible to scroll both, forward and backward. The most command is more like the less command, but the only difference is, it is possible to view several files at once with this command. The basic syntax for these commands are: more less Lab Activity 4 Bootloader Brief description of the Lab activity and what you did This weeks task was to create a bootloader using Assembly which included my student details and a triangle of dots. We then have to boot the bootloader with bochs. Boot pragma linux with bochs Make a bootloader that displays your student details and triangle Commented bootloader code to display your student details and triangle [BITS 16] [ORG 0x7C00] top: ;; Put 0 into ds (data segment) ;; Cant do it directly mov ax,0x0000 mov ds,ax ;; si is the location relative to the data segment of the ;; string/char to display mov si, msg call writeString ; See below jmp $ ; Spin writeString: mov ah,0x0E ; Display a chacter (as before) mov bh,0x00 mov bl,0x07 nextchar: Lodsb ; Loads [SI] into AL and increases SI by one ;; Effectively pumps the string through AL cmp al,0 ; End of the string? jz done int 0x10 ; BIOS interrupt jmp nextchar done: ret msg db Name: Salman Fazal,13,10, Email: [emailprotected], 13,10, Fav Module: 207SE ;), 13,10, DOB: 01/08/1996 21 ,13,10, Std ID: 6669447 ; Null-terminated times 510-($-$$) db 0 dw 0xAA55 Output from Bochs showing student details and triangle Lab Activity 6 Memory Management Memory Allocation Activities Due to the code outputs being too long, I have just snipped a portion of the result, however all of my answers match with the results in the code. * NULL = Memory address not allocated. First-Fit Best-Fit Worst-Fit Paging Activities FIFO 4 2 7 7 5 6 3 9 3 2 2 Page Entry 0 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 9 9 9 9 Page Entry 1 2 2 2 2 6 6 6 6 2 2 Page Entry 2 7 7 7 7 3 3 3 3 3 Page Fault F F F H F F F F H F H Page Fault Total: 8 4 2 7 7 5 6 3 9 3 2 2 Page Entry 0 4 4 4 4 4 6 6 6 6 6 6 Page Entry 1 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 Page Entry 2 7 7 7 7 7 9 9 9 9 Page Entry 3 5 5 5 5 5 2 2 Page Fault F F F H F F F F H F H Page Fault Total: 8 RANDOM 4 2 7 7 5 6 3 9 3 2 2 Page Entry 0 4 4 4 4 5 6 6 6 6 2 2 Page Entry 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 9 9 9 9 Page Entry 2 7 7 7 7 3 3 3 3 3 Page Fault F F F H F F F F H F H Page Faults Total: 8 4 2 7 7 5 6 3 9 3 2 2 Page Entry 0 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 9 9 9 9 Page Entry 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 Page Entry 2 7 7 7 7 3 3 3 3 3 Page Entry 3 5 6 6 6 6 6 6 Page Fault F F F H F F F F H H H Page Fault Total: 7 The random algorithm did not give me the same result as the way I solved it. This is because There is no specific rule/method on what memory block to be replaced. Each time a process needs to be moved to a memory block, a random memory block is chosen in order to swap the process. Evidence of running code Lab Activity 7 Buffer Brief description of the Buffer Activity This weeks task involved using buffers in terms of reading and writing from a file Commented Buffer.c code #include //library for file control options #include //library for general purpose tools #include //header file #include //file IO #define BUF_SIZE 500 //sets buffer size to 500 #define OUTPUT_MODE 0700 //defines the output mode, sets file permissions int main(int argc, char *argv[]) { //Define variables int in_fd, out_fd; //hold associated numbers on both files int rd_size = 1; //hold amount of bytes in buffer (final should be 500) int wr_size; //hold amount of bytes on the output file char buf[BUF_SIZE]; //initialise buffer and its size if (argc != 3) //check for correct number of arguments exit(1); //exit if too many or too few parameters in_fd = open(argv[1], O_RDONLY); //open file to read from (read only) //if file isnt found, variable will have a negative number if (in_fd exit(2); //exit if files empty out_fd = creat(argv[2], OUTPUT_MODE); //create the output file //if file isnt created, variable will have a negative number if (out_fd exit(3); //exit if cannot write to the file while (rd_size > 0) { //while characters (in file) still exist: rd_size = read(in_fd, buf, BUF_SIZE); //read the file into buffer if (rd_size exit(4); //exit if error while reading wr_size = write(out_fd, buf, rd_size); //write from buffer into file if (wr_size close(in_fd); close(out_fd); //close both of the files if error found exit(5); //exit if error while writing } } } Update the code to so that it prints if an error has occurred or if a file is successfully created with the content of the review in it. After running code what is in hamlet.txt #include //library for file control options #include //library for general purpose tools #include //header file #include //file IO #define BUF_SIZE 500 //sets buffer size to 500 #define OUTPUT_MODE 0700 //defines the output mode, sets file permissions int main(int argc, char *argv[]) { //Define variables int in_fd, out_fd; //hold associated numbers on both files int rd_size = 1; //hold amount of bytes in buffer (final should be 500) int wr_size; //hold amount of bytes on the output file char buf[BUF_SIZE]; //initialise buffer and its size if (argc != 3) { //check for correct number of arguments printf(Error: Invalid number of parameters passed.); exit(1); //exit if too many or too few parameters } in_fd = open(argv[1], O_RDONLY); //open file to read from (read only) //if file isnt found, variable will have a negative number if (in_fd printf(Error: File not found.); exit(2); //exit if files empty } out_fd = creat(argv[2], OUTPUT_MODE); //create the output file //if file isnt created, variable will have a negative number if (out_fd printf(Error: File not created.); exit(3); //exit if cannot write to the file } while (rd_size > 0) { //while characters (in file) still exist: rd_size = read(in_fd, buf, BUF_SIZE); //read the file into buffer if (rd_size printf(Error: Cant read from file.); exit(4); //exit if error while reading } wr_size = write(out_fd, buf, rd_size); //write from buffer into file if (wr_size close(in_fd); close(out_fd); //close both of the files if error found exit(5); //exit if error while writing } } printf(Operation Successful!); } After compiling and running the code, the hamlet.txt file contained the exact same text that was in the main review.txt file Evidence: Updated buffer.c code to show how many character are read to buffer, how many character read at a time into the buffer, how many words in the document and how many times the buffer is filled #include //library for file control options #include //library for general purpose tools #include //header file #include //file IO #define BUF_SIZE 500 //sets buffer size to 500 #define OUTPUT_MODE 0700 //defines the output mode, sets file permissions int main(int argc, char *argv[]) { //Define variables int in_fd, out_fd; //hold associated numbers on both files int rd_size = 1; //hold amount of bytes in buffer (final should be 500) int wr_size; //hold amount of bytes on the output file char buf[BUF_SIZE]; //initialise buffer and its size int rd_count = 0, buf_count = 0, wd_count = 0; if (argc != 3) { //check for correct number of arguments printf(Error: Invalid number of parameters passed.); exit(1); //exit if too many or too few parameters } in_fd = open(argv[1], O_RDONLY); //open file to read from (read only) //if file isnt found, variable will have a negative number if (in_fd printf(Error: File not found.); exit(2); //exit if files empty } out_fd = creat(argv[2], OUTPUT_MODE); //create the output file //if file isnt created, variable will have a negative number if (out_fd printf(Error: File not created.); exit(3); //exit if cannot write to the file } while (rd_size > 0) { //while characters (in file) still exist: rd_size = read(in_fd, buf, BUF_SIZE); //read the file into buffer if (rd_size printf(Error: Cant read from file.); exit(4); //exit if error while reading } if (rd_size == 500){ //if read, rd_count += 500; buf_count += 1; //increment character and buffer counter } else{ rd_count += rd_size; } for (int i=0; i if(buf[i] == ) wd_count+=1; //increment if space found } wr_size = write(out_fd, buf, rd_size); //write from buffer into file if (wr_size printf(Successfully written to file!n); close(in_fd); close(out_fd); //close both files printf(Total number of characters read is: %d.n, rd_count); printf(Total number of words: %d.n, wd_count); printf(Buffer filled %d times.n, buf_count); exit(5); } } } Impact of changing buffer size I altered the buffer 3 times, the first was changing the size to 1000, the second was 1300 and the third was 2000. What I noticed was as the buffer size increases, the amount of times the buffer is filled decreases as the buffer is able to fill in more characters each time. Below is a screen shot of when the buffer size was set to 2000: We can see the buffer at this time was filled 0 times, meaning the entire text was placed into the buffer. Updated buffer.c code to compare if two files are the same #include //library for file control options #include //library for general purpose tools #include //header file #include //file IO #define BUF_SIZE 500 //sets buffer size to 500 #define OUTPUT_MODE 0700 //defines the output mode, sets file permissions int main(int argc, char *argv[]) { //Define variables int in_fd, in_fd2; //hold associated numbers on both files int rd_size = 1; //hold amount of bytes in buffer (final should be 500) int rd_size2 = 1; char buf[BUF_SIZE]; //initialise buffer and its size char buf2[BUF_SIZE]; //initialise buffer and its size //int rd_count = 0, buf_count = 0, wd_count = 0; if (argc != 3) { //check for correct number of arguments printf(Error: Invalid number of parameters passed.); exit(1); //exit if too many or too few parameters } in_fd = open(argv[1], O_RDONLY); //open first file to read from if (in_fd printf(Error: File not found.); exit(2); //exit if files empty } in_fd2 = open(argv[2], O_RDONLY); //open second file to read from //if file isnt found, variable will have a negative number if (in_fd2 printf(Error: File not found.); exit(3); //exit if files empty } while (rd_size > 0 rd_size2 > 0) { //while characters (in file) still exist: rd_size = read(in_fd, buf, BUF_SIZE); //read file 1 to buffer rd_size2 = read(in_fd2, buf2, BUF_SIZE); //read file 2 to buffer if (rd_size printf(Error: Cant read from file.); exit(4); } for (int i=0; i if(buf[i] != buf2[i]){ //if characters of the 2 files are not the same: printf(The files are not the same!); close(in_fd); close(in_fd2); exit(5); //print message and close } } } printf(YESSSSSS!! The files are the same.); //if code passes the loop, theyre the same! } Comparison of review.txt and hamlet.txt Comparison of hamlet.txt and review_observer.txt Lab Activity 8 Cache Buffer Brief Description of Cache Buffer Activity This weeks task was to alter the cache_reader.c file and complete the cr_read_byte function. Additionally, we also had to add a count of the total number of bytes and the number of times the buffer was filled. Commented implementation of the cr_read_byte function char cr_read_byte(cr_file* f){ /* 1. check if buffer needs refilling 2. return currently pointed character 3. move pointer to next character */ if(f->usedbuffer >= f->bufferlength){ refill(f); } char currentChar = f->buffer[f->usedbuffer]; f->usedbuffer++; return currentChar; } Comment updated code to show that each byte is being read, and when the buffer is being refilled. To show that the buffer is being refilled, I added a print statement each time the buffer refills in the cr_read_byte() function. Also the next part of the question will show that the buffer is being refilled and the bytes are being read by keeping a count each time that happens. *The code for this part of the question is combined with the next part (cache_reader.c). (I set the buffer to 200) Commented updated code showing to show how many bytes were read in total, and how many times the buffer was refilled In this part, I had to update the code in 3 different files, below are the screenshots of every update I made: cache_reader.h In this sec

The Santa Monica Bay Restoration :: Environment Environmental Pollution Essays

The Santa Monica Bay Restoration Pollution is a worldwide catastrophe that contaminates or destroys every living and non-living thing in its path. The earth is designed to constantly balance itself allowing plant and animal life the ability to thrive. Unfortunately when bombarded with chemicals, heavy metals and unnatural human waste, the earth exceeds its critical load and irreversible damage occurs. There are literally thousands of areas that have been negatively effected by the numerous types of pollution. To date there are over four thousand lakes alone where wildlife and human use ceases to exist. Pollution reeks such havoc on communities because it "knows no boundaries." Even if one country implements tough emission laws, a neighboring country's pollution may continue destroying its resources. To exemplify the ever increasing degree of pollution, I will be focusing on the Santa Monica Restoration Project. This project is an ongoing effort to maintain a clean and healthy environment in and surrounding the Santa Monica Bay so that plant and animal life are able to thrive. Unfortunately this project is continuously challenged by numerous pollutants. Pollution is a simplified way of classifying a multitude of harmful acts and elements. The Santa Monica Bay experiences pollution created by auto and homeowners, oil spills and leaks, gasoline and paint contamination from boats, wastewater from two local sewage treatment plants, litter and construction sediment. The goal of the restoration project is double fold. Number one, to clean up the bay in order to bring back plant and animal life that has either died or fled to other habitats, and two to make the individuals and companies who cause the contamination aware of the harmful acts they are engaging in daily. In many clean-up projects, officials initially point fingers at factories and large corporations assuming large facilities must be the cause of such horrendous pollutants. Unfortunately, what officials have discovered is that although industries do produce large amounts of waste, human activity produces even more. "Residential and open land uses together comprise ninety percent of the total Santa Monica Bay watershed area, and contribute eighty-two percent of the total runoff and the largest pollutant loads to the Bay." Auto and homeowners commit numerous actions that hurt the environment unknowingly. Simple acts such as overwatering one's lawn creates a runoff which cause pesticides and fertilizers to flow into storm drains that empty into the bay. Litter, pet waste and improperly disposed car care products cause the same problem.

Cold War Book Review Essay -- essays research papers

Political and economic perspectives should not dominate the analysis of communist rule. Analysis of the social aspects and results of communist rule are necessary to achieve a full understanding of the effects of such government. Slavenka Drakulic produced How We Survived Communism and Even Laughed, an appealing work with this fresh social approach. This nonfiction work combines the author’s own recollections with the stories of other women of the Eastern Bloc. Drakulic, a renowned journalist and writer, utilizes her keen eye for detail and truth in this quest that shows how communism has devastating effects on the common citizen. She provides insight into the conditions of life for women within a communist system. Several points of view from those living under such a regime are documented in this collection of 19 essays. The author highlights the unimportant aspects of life and how they are important as symbols of recurring injustice under this communist regime in Eastern Europe. Her travels to Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, and East Germany result in adequate research of several personalities and experiences. This extensive research abroad, coupled with Drakulic’s own background experiences, provides a solid groundwork for the author’s thesis. However, any amount of research cannot surmount to the experiences Drakulic faced growing up with the lifestyle that comes with communist rule. If she is discussing the perils of doing lau...

Essay --

France is a very large and well-known country. It is one of the largest European countries in land, after Russia and Ukraine. Twenty percent of France’s territory lies outside of Europe, known as â€Å"DOM-TOM.† The European territory of France covers 211,209 square miles. France is also one of the oldest states in Europe, founded in 843. French is the official language of England as well as 300 other countries. It is spoken by 270 million people worldwide. France has a population of 2.5 million citizens and twenty percent of the citizens live in the Parisian region. Paris, the capital of France, was founded by Celtic tribe, Parisians, and settled around 4,200 BCE. France shares borders with several other countries. Those countries include Belgium, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Monaco, Spain, and Andorra. France is 15,782 feet above sea level. The highest point is in Western Europe, Mont Blanc, between France and Italy. The lowest point is Rhà ´ne river delta, measuring only two meters above sea level. The Rhà ´ne is one of the major rivers of Europe, measuring 505 miles, starting in Switzerland and running through southeastern France. Near its mouth on the Mediterranean Sea, the river divides into two branches, the Great Rhà ´ne and the Petit or Little Rhà ´ne. Some other river systems including Seine, Loire, and Garonne, divide the Massif Central from the Alps and flows into the Mediterranean Sea. Western France’s climate consists of a high amount of rainfall, mild winters, and cool to warm summers. The climate of inland France tends to be more continental with hot, stormy summers, colder winters and less rain. Some natural hazards in France include flooding, avalanches, windstorms, droughts, forest fires, and e... ...e’s most popular theme park is Disneyland Paris, with fifteen million visitors. Disneyland Paris was the second Disney park to open outside of United States, after Tokyo Disney Resort. Another tourist attraction is Europe’s oldest functional canal, Canal du Midi. The canal was built from 1666 through 1681 and is 150 miles long. It has sixty-three locks, 126 bridges, seven canal bridges, and one tunnel. France’s major transportation is rivers. Overall France has twenty-four rivers that add up to 300km in length. In addition to rivers, railway is also major way of transportation in France. There is a total of 40,300 miles of railway, mostly operated by SNCF, the French national railway company. The trains can travel up to 199 miles per hour. France also has 475 airports. The most popular airport is Charles de Gaulle Airport, located in the vicinity of Paris.

Not Too Old to Alter Essay

One hundred fifty one years hitherto, a substantial Filipino in the illustrious epithet of Jose Protacio Rizal Mercado y Realonda, extricated our predecessors from being slaves by deploying a taciturn yet strapping apparatus. It was for his exertion that we are anon lodging on the snug threshold of freedom. By dint of his literary works −essays, novels and articles. He brawled for our territory’s liberty hostile to the Spanish settlers who subjugated us for three hundred thirty three years. I staunchly cannot portray where we will be today if it was not for Jose Rizal’s intrepid escapade. But why is it that until today, we are still bruised by the storms of hitch and inundated with wrangles? Is this the underlying pretext why Rizal squandered his duration aiming to fulfill his desire? Is this worth three centuries of anguishing? Well, no! He divulged, â€Å"our liberty will not be secured at the sword’s point†¦ we must secure it by making ourselves worth of it. And when the people reaches that height, God will provide a weapon, the idols will be shattered, tyranny will crumble like a house of cards. And liberty will shine out like the first dawn.† Unambiguously, he craves us to rectify our oblivion towards his forfeits, to esteem what he capitulated in abidance for us to stow our existence like it should be. And in the interval we exploited our latitude fruitfully, everything will plummet into array. Ostensibly our interstate hero, Dr. Jose Rizal still subsists in ontological epoch, he would aptly be applying his erudite dexterity reversely to the pompous President Pnoy. Rizal covets genuine metamorphosis, and Aquino’s administration has not outdo it yet, alternatively, he burlesqued number games on our psyche to somehow persuade us that he and the Filipino at large are on the right-track (tuwid na daan). Reminiscent of what he executed throughout his State of the Nation Address, he swindled us via manifesting statistic testimony vis-à  -vis his feats that were explicated by some research agency or sector. Indubitably he would be an underground propagandist for the second time around. Rizal is a true-blue nationalist. He is a silhouette of expansive brainpower, he manipulated his wit to craft a fictional character playing role in a true-to-life story that had commenced the Filipino’s quandary during the Spanish conquest. Although the characters were illusory, Filipinos were adroit to grasp the gist beyond it, he used that conspiracy to elevate his tacit propaganda, to somehow truant from prosecution. He has utilized his writing prowess to hoist his fellow Filipino’s cognizance. Using this slant, he affirms that we can elicit liberty without denuding of blood, that it is a diplomatic and robust tool to draw a collective force among his country men. Disdain of what he did to galvanize our perception, after obtaining our unequivocal sovereignty, we again stagger in hauling up our country from drowning. We struggle in the somber because of our own liabilities. It is our transgression that scorted us to our congested enlargement. We have continuosly been predominated by our culture principally by our unbecoming customs –crab mentality, pride. Instead of maneuvering for a progressive state, we Filipinos hubs solely for our personal garnishment. We quantize everybody as our adversary no matter what their socio-economic status is. How can we debark affluence when there are these people who are only aspirng for our stoppage? This kind of stance, crab mentality, will only make our country unsteady. If everyone has this perspective, then at the end, everyone will torment the consequences. â€Å"There are more faults which make a man more unpopular and no faults which are more unconscious of in us. And the more we have it ourselves, the more we dislike it in others.† A quotation made by an outlandish writer, C S Lewis. Interiorizing this notion, pride is a bigger stumbling block as we ever envisage it to be and the appalling side of it is more vicious as we opine it to be. When we are gobbled by pride, we incline to look down on people, and are not able to empathize with them. It is hard to put yourself in the shoes of others. Same as in national growth, if we prefer to use Filipino vernacular rather than English as a medium of interaction in edifying, I believe it would be more tranquil to digest the information. Like for example Japan, look where they are now. But then, it is not the peccadillo of the followers alone. The leader of our nation also endows to the loss of our state by their bogus governance. They are the very incentive why Philippines is internationally renowned for corruption. The funds that are preordained for the people were embezzled barbarously. This money is intended for everybody not for somebody. Therefore, we arbitrate the Filipino themselves are the midmost walls hindering national expansion. The great Jose Rizal once articulated, â€Å"no good water comes from the muddy springs. No sweet fruit comes from a bitter seed†. No matter how callous our Government Officials try to avert smelly fish from amplificating its smell, it would always find its way out to the sense of our country men. And that kind of Government Officers reflects to the kind of country they belong to. Even in Rizal’s interlude, these barriers were vividly observable. This is the wall shadowing our triumph which generated the darkness we are in now. These things will continue to shake our solidarity until we learn how to lend a hand. How will we telltale this to our national hero? He would be so thwarted when he unearth that his atonement was sealed in a trash bag. He filled our thirst for freedom by furnishing to us a cup full of fearlessness, hope and determination to uphold a better future. Let us not recollect the dim history of the past when we are muted by illiteracy. Only elites had a privilege to have an education. Thus the higher classes repress the Indio’s. We have now arrived in this murky place to cue us how subterranean we fell. This is not the time to blame one another. It is now time to make valid the promises of liberty. Start breaking the seal! This is the moment where we ascend from the dark, where we rise from drowning and were we face tomorrow’s sunlight wiping off the shadow of yesterday. Just like what Elias said in Rizal’s notorious novel, Noli me Tangere, â€Å"Mamamatay akong hindi nakikita ang ningning ng bukang-liwayway sa aking Bayan! Kayong makakakita, salubungin ninyo siya, at huwag kalilimutan ang mga nabulid sa dilim ng gabi.† Today we are still balking for that versatile transformation that only us, FILIPINOS can do. Who else will have a â€Å"Rizalic† heart that will have the audacity to protract his bequest? Who else? Will it be the Americans? Or the Chinese? Will it be Koreans? No! We should impede contemplating on those foreigners, pioneer laboring for the betterment of our country. Now, let the light cover Luzon. Let the light cover the island of Visayas. Let it reign across Mindanao. And when our motherland is categorically blanketed with rays of light, only then our boon will emerge to bloom, conceiving a better society. Only then will Jose Rizal’s death would be worth it.

Digital Fortress Chapter 3

Susan's Volvo sedan rolled to a stop in the shadow of the ten-foot-high, barbed Cyclone fence. A young guard placed his hand on the roof. â€Å"ID, please.† Susan obliged and settled in for the usual half-minute wait. The officer ran her card through a computerized scanner. Finally he looked up. â€Å"Thank you, Ms. Fletcher.† He gave an imperceptible sign, and the gate swung open. Half a mile ahead Susan repeated the entire procedure at an equally imposing electrified fence. Come on, guys†¦ I've only been through here a million times. As she approached the final checkpoint, a stocky sentry with two attack dogs and a machine gun glanced down at her license plate and waved her through. She followed Canine Road for another 250 yards and pulled into Employee Lot C. Unbelievable, she thought. Twenty-six thousand employees and a twelve-billion-dollar budget; you'd think they could make it through the weekend without me. Susan gunned the car into her reserved spot and killed the engine. After crossing the landscaped terrace and entering the main building, she cleared two more internal checkpoints and finally arrived at the windowless tunnel that led to the new wing. A voice-scan booth blocked her entry. NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY (NSA) CRYPTO FACILITY AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY The armed guard looked up. â€Å"Afternoon, Ms. Fletcher.† Susan smiled tiredly. â€Å"Hi, John.† â€Å"Didn't expect you today.† â€Å"Yeah, me neither.† She leaned toward the parabolic microphone. â€Å"Susan Fletcher,† she stated clearly. The computer instantly confirmed the frequency concentrations in her voice, and the gate clicked open. She stepped through. The guard admired Susan as she began her walk down the cement causeway. He noticed that her strong hazel eyes seemed distant today, but her cheeks had a flushed freshness, and her shoulder-length, auburn hair looked newly blown dry. Trailing her was the faint scent of Johnson's Baby Powder. His eyes fell the length of her slender torso-to her white blouse with the bra barely visible beneath, to her knee-length khaki skirt, and finally to her legs†¦ Susan Fletcher's legs. Hard to imagine they support a 170 IQ, he mused to himself. He stared after her a long time. Finally he shook his head as she disappeared in the distance. As Susan reached the end of the tunnel, a circular, vaultlike door blocked her way. The enormous letters read: crypto. Sighing, she placed her hand inside the recessed cipher box and entered her five-digit PIN. Seconds later the twelve-ton slab of steel began to revolve. She tried to focus, but her thoughts reeled back to him. David Becker. The only man she'd ever loved. The youngest full professor at Georgetown University and a brilliant foreign-language specialist, he was practically a celebrity in the world of academia. Born with an eidetic memory and a love of languages, he'd mastered six Asian dialects as well as Spanish, French, and Italian. His university lectures on etymology and linguistics were standing-room only, and he invariably stayed late to answer a barrage of questions. He spoke with authority and enthusiasm, apparently oblivious to the adoring gazes of his star-struck coeds. Becker was dark-a rugged, youthful thirty-five with sharp green eyes and a wit to match. His strong jaw and taut features reminded Susan of carved marble. Over six feet tall, Becker moved across a squash court faster than any of his colleagues could comprehend. After soundly beating his opponent, he would cool off by dousing his head in a drinking fountain and soaking his tuft of thick, black hair. Then, still dripping, he'd treat his opponent to a fruit shake and a bagel. As with all young professors, David's university salary was modest. From time to time, when he needed to renew his squash club membership or restring his old Dunlop with gut, he earned extra money by doing translating work for government agencies in and around Washington. It was on one of those jobs that he'd met Susan. It was a crisp morning during fall break when Becker returned from a morning jog to his three-room faculty apartment to find his answering machine blinking. He downed a quart of orange juice as he listened to the playback. The message was like many he received-a government agency requesting his translating services for a few hours later that morning. The only strange thing was that Becker had never heard of the organization. â€Å"They're called the National Security Agency,† Becker said, calling a few of his colleagues for background. The reply was always the same. â€Å"You mean the National Security Council?† Becker checked the message. â€Å"No. They said Agency. The NSA.† â€Å"Never heard of 'em.† Becker checked the GAO Directory, and it showed no listing either. Puzzled, Becker called one of his old squash buddies, an ex-political analyst turned research clerk at the Library of Congress. David was shocked by his friend's explanation. Apparently, not only did the NSA exist, but it was considered one of the most influential government organizations in the world. It had been gathering global electronic intelligence data and protecting U.S. classified information for over half a century. Only 3 percent of Americans were even aware it existed. â€Å"NSA,† his buddy joked, â€Å"stands for ‘No Such Agency.' â€Å" With a mixture of apprehension and curiosity, Becker accepted the mysterious agency's offer. He drove the thirty-seven miles to their eighty-six-acre headquarters hidden discreetly in the wooded hills of Fort Meade, Maryland. After passing through endless security checks and being issued a six-hour, holographic guest pass, he was escorted to a plush research facility where he was told he would spend the afternoon providing â€Å"blind support† to the Cryptography Division-an elite group of mathematical brainiacs known as the code-breakers. For the first hour, the cryptographers seemed unaware Becker was even there. They hovered around an enormous table and spoke a language Becker had never heard. They spoke of stream ciphers, self-decimated generators, knapsack variants, zero knowledge protocols, unicity points. Becker observed, lost. They scrawled symbols on graph paper, pored over computer printouts, and continuously referred to the jumble of text on the overhead projector. JHdja3jKHDhmado/ertwtjlw+jgj328 5jhalsfnHKhhhfafOhhdfgaf/fj37we ohi93450s9djfd2h/HHrtyFHLf89303 95jspjf2j0890Ihj98yhfi080ewrt03 jojr845h0roq+jt0eu4tqefqe//oujw 08UY0IH0934jtpwfiajer09qu4jr9gu ivjP$duw4h95pe8rtugvjw3p4e/ikkc mffuerhfgv0q394ikjrmg+unhvs9oer rk/0956y7u0poikIOjp9f8760qwerqi Eventually one of them explained what Becker had already surmised. The scrambled text was a code-a â€Å"cipher text†-groups of numbers and letters representing encrypted words. The cryptographers' job was to study the code and extract from it the original message, or â€Å"cleartext.† The NSA had called Becker because they suspected the original message was written in Mandarin Chinese; he was to translate the symbols as the cryptographers decrypted them. For two hours, Becker interpreted an endless stream of Mandarin symbols. But each time he gave them a translation, the cryptographers shook their heads in despair. Apparently the code was not making sense. Eager to help, Becker pointed out that all the characters they'd shown him had a common trait-they were also part of the Kanji language. Instantly the bustle in the room fell silent. The man in charge, a lanky chain-smoker named Morante, turned to Becker in disbelief. â€Å"You mean these symbols have multiple meanings?† Becker nodded. He explained that Kanji was a Japanese writing system based on modified Chinese characters. He'd been giving Mandarin translations because that's what they'd asked for. â€Å"Jesus Christ.† Morante coughed. â€Å"Let's try the Kanji.† Like magic, everything fell into place. The cryptographers were duly impressed, but nonetheless, they still made Becker work on the characters out of sequence. â€Å"It's for your own safety,† Morante said. â€Å"This way, you won't know what you're translating.† Becker laughed. Then he noticed nobody else was laughing. When the code finally broke, Becker had no idea what dark secrets he'd helped reveal, but one thing was for certain-the NSA took code-breaking seriously; the check in Becker's pocket was more than an entire month's university salary. On his way back out through the series of security check points in the main corridor, Becker's exit was blocked by a guard hanging up a phone. â€Å"Mr. Becker, wait here, please.† â€Å"What's the problem?† Becker had not expected the meeting to take so long, and he was running late for his standing Saturday afternoon squash match. The guard shrugged. â€Å"Head of Crypto wants a word. She's on her way out now.† â€Å"She?† Becker laughed. He had yet to see a female inside the NSA. â€Å"Is that a problem for you?† a woman's voice asked from behind him. Becker turned and immediately felt himself flush. He eyed the ID card on the woman's blouse. The head of the NSA's Cryptography Division was not only a woman, but an attractive woman at that. â€Å"No,† Becker fumbled. â€Å"I just†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Susan Fletcher.† The woman smiled, holding out her slender hand. Becker took it. â€Å"David Becker.† â€Å"Congratulations, Mr. Becker. I hear you did a fine job today. Might I chat with you about it?† Becker hesitated. â€Å"Actually, I'm in a bit of a rush at the moment.† He hoped spurning the world's most powerful intelligence agency wasn't a foolish act, but his squash match started in forty-five minutes, and he had a reputation to uphold: David Becker was never late for squash†¦ class maybe, but never squash. â€Å"I'll be brief.† Susan Fletcher smiled. â€Å"Right this way, please.† Ten minutes later, Becker was in the NSA's commissary enjoying a popover and cranberry juice with the NSA's lovely head cryptographer, Susan Fletcher. It quickly became evident to David that the thirty-eight-year-old's high-ranking position at the NSA was no fluke-she was one of the brightest women he had ever met. As they discussed codes and code-breaking, Becker found himself struggling to keep up-a new and exciting experience for him. An hour later, after Becker had obviously missed his squash match and Susan had blatantly ignored three pages on the intercom, both of them had to laugh. There they were, two highly analytical minds, presumably immune to irrational infatuations-but somehow, while they sat there discussing linguistic morphology and pseudo-random number generators, they felt like a couple of teenagers-everything was fireworks. Susan never did get around to the real reason she'd wanted to speak to David Becker-to offer him a trial post in their Asiatic Cryptography Division. It was clear from the passion with which the young professor spoke about teaching that he would never leave the university. Susan decided not to ruin the mood by talking business. She felt like a schoolgirl all over again; nothing was going to spoil it. And nothing did. Their courtship was slow and romantic-stolen escapes whenever their schedules permitted, long walks through the Georgetown campus, late-night cappuccinos at Merlutti's, occasional lectures and concerts. Susan found herself laughing more than she'd ever thought possible. It seemed there was nothing David couldn't twist into a joke. It was a welcome release from the intensity of her post at the NSA. One crisp, autumn afternoon they sat in the bleachers watching Georgetown soccer get pummeled by Rutgers. â€Å"What sport did you say you play?† Susan teased. â€Å"Zucchini?† Becker groaned. â€Å"It's called squash.† She gave him a dumb look. â€Å"It's like zucchini,† he explained, â€Å"but the court's smaller.† Susan pushed him. Georgetown's left wing sent a corner-kick sailing out of bounds, and a boo went up from the crowd. The defensemen hurried back downfield. â€Å"How about you?† Becker asked. â€Å"Play any sports?† â€Å"I'm a black belt in Stairmaster.† Becker cringed. â€Å"I prefer sports you can win.† Susan smiled. â€Å"Overachiever, are we?† Georgetown's star defenseman blocked a pass, and there was a communal cheer in the stands. Susan leaned over and whispered in David's ear. â€Å"Doctor.† He turned and eyed her, lost. â€Å"Doctor,† she repeated. â€Å"Say the first thing that comes to mind.† Becker looked doubtful. â€Å"Word associations?† â€Å"Standard NSA procedure. I need to know who I'm with.† She eyed him sternly. â€Å"Doctor.† Becker shrugged. â€Å"Seuss.† Susan gave him a frown. â€Å"Okay, try this one†¦ ‘kitchen.' â€Å" He didn't hesitate. â€Å"Bedroom.† Susan arched her eyebrows coyly. â€Å"Okay, how about this†¦ ‘cat.' â€Å" â€Å"Gut,† Becker fired back. â€Å"Gut?† â€Å"Yeah. Catgut. Squash racquet string of champions.† â€Å"That's pleasant.† She groaned. â€Å"Your diagnosis?† Becker inquired. Susan thought a minute. â€Å"You're a childish, sexually frustrated squash fiend.† Becker shrugged. â€Å"Sounds about right.† It went on like that for weeks. Over dessert at all-night diners Becker would ask endless questions. Where had she learned mathematics? How did she end up at the NSA? How did she get so captivating? Susan blushed and admitted she'd been a late bloomer. Lanky and awkward with braces through her late teens, Susan said her Aunt Clara had once told her God's apology for Susan's plainness was to give her brains. A premature apology, Becker thought. Susan explained that her interest in cryptography had started in junior high school. The president of the computer club, a towering eighth grader named Frank Gutmann, typed her a love poem and encrypted it with a number-substitution scheme. Susan begged to know what it said. Frank flirtatiously refused. Susan took the code home and stayed up all night with a flashlight under her covers until she figured out the secret-every number represented a letter. She carefully deciphered the code and watched in wonder as the seemingly random digits turned magically into beautiful poetry. In that instant, she knew she'd fallen in love-codes and cryptography would become her life. Almost twenty years later, after getting her master's in mathematics from Johns Hopkins and studying number theory on a full scholarship from MIT, she submitted her doctoral thesis, Cryptographic Methods, Protocols, and Algorithms for Manual Applications. Apparently her professor was not the only one who read it; shortly afterward, Susan received a phone call and a plane ticket from the NSA. Everyone in cryptography knew about the NSA; it was home to the best cryptographic minds on the planet. Each spring, as the private-sector firms descended on the brightest new minds in the workforce and offered obscene salaries and stock options, the NSA watched carefully, selected their targets, and then simply stepped in and doubled the best standing offer. What the NSA wanted, the NSA bought. Trembling with anticipation, Susan flew to Washington's Dulles International Airport where she was met by an NSA driver, who whisked her off to Fort Meade. There were forty-one others who had received the same phone call that year. At twenty-eight, Susan was the youngest. She was also the only female. The visit turned out to be more of a public relations bonanza and a barrage of intelligence testing than an informational session. In the week that followed, Susan and six others where invited back. Although hesitant, Susan returned. The group was immediately separated. They underwent individual polygraph tests, background searches, handwriting analyses, and endless hours of interviews, including taped inquiries into their sexual orientations and practices. When the interviewer asked Susan if she'd ever engaged in sex with animals, she almost walked out, but somehow the mystery carried her through-the prospect of working on the cutting edge of code theory, entering â€Å"The Puzzle Palace,† and becoming a member of the most secretive club in the world-the National Security Agency. Becker sat riveted by her stories. â€Å"They actually asked you if you'd had sex with animals?† Susan shrugged. â€Å"Part of the routine background check.† â€Å"Well†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Becker fought off a grin. â€Å"What did you say?† She kicked him under the table. â€Å"I told them no!† Then she added, â€Å"And until last night, it was true.† In Susan's eyes, David was as close to perfect as she could imagine. He only had one unfortunate quality; every time they went out, he insisted on picking up the check. Susan hated seeing him lay down a full day's salary on dinner for two, but Becker was immovable. Susan learned not to protest, but it still bothered her. I make more money than I know what to do with, she thought. I should be paying. Nonetheless, Susan decided that aside from David's outdated sense of chivalry, he was ideal. He was compassionate, smart, funny, and best of all, he had a sincere interest in her work. Whether it was during trips to the Smithsonian, bike rides, or burning spaghetti in Susan's kitchen, David was perpetually curious. Susan answered what questions she could and gave David the general, unclassified overview of the National Security Agency. What David heard enthralled him. Founded by President Truman at 12:01 a.m. on November 4, 1952, the NSA had been the most clandestine intelligence agency in the world for almost fifty years. The NSA's seven-page inception doctrine laid out a very concise agenda: to protect U.S. government communications and to intercept the communications of foreign powers. The roof of the NSA's main operations building was littered with over five hundred antennas, including two large radomes that looked like enormous golf balls. The building itself was mammoth-over two million square feet, twice the size of CIA headquarters. Inside were eight million feet of telephone wire and eighty thousand square feet of permanently sealed windows. Susan told David about COMINT, the agency's global reconnaissance division-a mind-boggling collection of listening posts, satellites, spies, and wiretaps around the globe. Thousands of communiques and conversations were intercepted every day, and they were all sent to the NSA's analysts for decryption. The FBI, CIA, and U.S. foreign policy advisors all depended on the NSA's intelligence to make their decisions. Becker was mesmerized. â€Å"And code-breaking? Where do you fit in?† Susan explained how the intercepted transmissions often originated from dangerous governments, hostile factions, and terrorist groups, many of whom were inside U.S. borders. Their communications were usually encoded for secrecy in case they ended up in the wrong hands-which, thanks to COMINT, they usually did. Susan told David her job was to study the codes, break them by hand, and furnish the NSA with the deciphered messages. This was not entirely true. Susan felt a pang of guilt over lying to her new love, but she had no choice. A few years ago it would have been accurate, but things had changed at the NSA. The whole world of cryptography had changed. Susan's new duties were classified, even to many in the highest echelons of power. â€Å"Codes,† Becker said, fascinated. â€Å"How do you know where to start? I mean†¦ how do you break them?† Susan smiled. â€Å"You of all people should know. It's like studying a foreign language. At first the text looks like gibberish, but as you learn the rules defining its structure, you can start to extract meaning.† Becker nodded, impressed. He wanted to know more. With Merlutti's napkins and concert programs as her chalkboard, Susan set out to give her charming new pedagogue a mini course in cryptography. She began with Julius Caesar's â€Å"perfect square† cipher box. Caesar, she explained, was the first code-writer in history. When his foot-messengers started getting ambushed and his secret communiques stolen, he devised a rudimentary way to encrypt this directives. He rearranged the text of his messages such that the correspondence looked senseless. Of course, it was not. Each message always had a letter-count that was a perfect square-sixteen, twenty-five, one hundred-depending on how much Caesar needed to say. He secretly informed his officers that when a random message arrived, they should transcribe the text into a square grid. If they did, and read top-to-bottom, a secret message would magically appear. Over time Caesar's concept of rearranging text was adopted by others and modified to become more difficult to break. The pinnacle of non computer-based encryption came during World War II. The Nazis built a baffling encryption machine named Enigma. The device resembled an old-fashioned typewriter with brass interlocking rotors that revolved in intricate ways and shuffled cleartext into confounding arrays of seemingly senseless character groupings. Only by having another Enigma machine, calibrated the exact same way, could the recipient break the code. Becker listened, spellbound. The teacher had become the student. One night, at a university performance of The Nutcracker, Susan gave David his first basic code to break. He sat through the entire intermission, pen in hand, puzzling over the eleven-letter message: HL FKZC VD LDS Finally, just as the lights dimmed for the second half, he got it. To encode, Susan had simply replaced each letter of her message with the letter preceding it in the alphabet. To decrypt the code, all Becker had to do was shift each letter one space forward in the alphabet-â€Å"A† became â€Å"B,† â€Å"B† became â€Å"C,† and so on. He quickly shifted the remaining letters. He never imagined four little syllables could make him so happy: IM GLAD WE MET He quickly scrawled his response and handed it to her: LD SNN Susan read it and beamed. Becker had to laugh; he was thirty-five years-old, and his heart was doing back flips. He'd never been so attracted to a woman in his life. Her delicate European features and soft brown eyes reminded him of an ad for Estee Lauder. If Susan's body had been lanky and awkward as a teenager, it sure wasn't now. Somewhere along the way, she had developed a willowy grace-slender and tall with full, firm breasts and a perfectly flat abdomen. David often joked that she was the first swimsuit model he'd ever met with a doctorate in applied mathematics and number theory. As the months passed, they both started to suspect they'd found something that could last a lifetime. They'd been together almost two years when, out of the blue, David proposed to her. It was on a weekend trip to the Smoky Mountains. They were lying on a big canopy bed at Stone Manor. He had no ring-he just blurted it out. That's what she loved about him-he was so spontaneous. She kissed him long and hard. He took her in his arms and slipped off her nightgown. â€Å"I'll take that as a yes,† he said, and they made love all night by the warmth of the fire. That magical evening had been six months ago-before David's unexpected promotion to chairman of the Modern Language Department. Their relationship had been in a downhill slide ever since.

Bombing of Hiroshima

The Bombing of Hiroshima Hiroshima, Japan (1945), a city of industrial wealth and military significance, was destroyed by the first nuclear bomb on August 6, 1945. Hiroshima was a city that was mainly untouched by the American nightly bombings. A community that carried about as if the war was elsewhere became the center of attention as a mushroom cloud rose above the city on that unforgettable morning.As an American, I am unsure of my thoughts concerning this matter, but as a human being, the destruction and devastation that the atomic bomb, Little Boy, caused would have been just as devastating on my soul as it was for the individuals who were there if I was able to view it as a â€Å"fly on the wall. † Through the power of the internet and books, I am able to travel back in time and do just that.Curiosity, intrigue, and a thirst to acquire knowledge are the reasons that I have chose the bombing of Hiroshima as an event I would like to have witnessed. I believe that would hav e been a horrific sight, to see buildings collapse, flesh fall from the bones of people, and the aftershocks of the most eventful day in the history of the world. I would like to have seen the destruction first-hand of what a bomb that size could destroy.Although my heart goes out to the individuals of Japan, their emperor, Hirohito, had the opportunity to have stopped the bombing all together; it was his decision to carry on with the war after President Truman had sent The Potsdam Declaration to him outlining the terms of surrender for Japan. Bad as it may have been for the Japanese, a war that lasted any longer than what it did would have killed many more and obliterated the economies of all the world powers including Japan and the United States.