Food, Sex, Love in Like Water for Chocolate Essay

Have you ever experienced that euphoric sensation after eating an absolutely delicious food? You are not alone. Many have experienced this feeling and refer to it as a â€Å"foodgasm†. These types of connections between food and sex have long been established, but from where do they come? Do we make these connections through our cultural experiences or are they biologically programmed within us? In Like Water for Chocolate, the author, Laura Esquivel, portrays sex and food as being connected in a cultural sense. The basis for this conclusion rests largely in her use of tradition and her depiction of a Latino family strongly based in their culture. This cultural foundation, paired with the interactions between characters, food, and sex, gives the reader plenty of evidence to support this perspective. Esquivel uses the preparation, eating, and serving of food as a connection to love and sex, and as humans we have learned, through culture, to make this connection. Structured in twelve chapters, each representing a month of the year, Esquivel has created an entrancing love story that is sprinkled with culinary enchantments around every corner. Each chapter is prefaced with a recipe that is relevant to the progression of the novel, not to mention the many cooking tid-bits thrown in throughout each chapter. The preparation of food is clearly very important to the culture being represented. Tita, the main character and protagonist, was born in the kitchen and possesses all the superior traits of a culinary expert. She is also blessed (or cursed) with the ability to inject her emotions in to the food she cooks, in turn, infecting all those who consume the food with that emotion. In one section of the novel, Tita makes Quail, in Rose Petal Sauce, to express her passion for her sister, Rasaura’s, husband, Pedro, who she is deeply in love with. With that meal it seemed they had discovered a new system of communication, in which Tita was the transmitter, Pedro the receiver†¦ Pedro didn’t offer any resistance. He let Tita penetrate to the farthest corners of his being, and all the while they couldn’t take their eyes off each other. (Esquivel 52) It is customary, in many cultures, for a woman to prepare a meal for her significant other in order to show how much she cares for him. The fact that Tita has taken the time to cook such a complex and beautiful dish, to translate her love to Pedro, shows how much impact this cultural custom has on her. Through this particular interaction, Esquivel has displayed the influence that culture has over the preparation of food and it’s relation to love. The expectation for a woman to acquire the ability to prepare food for her significant other brings me to another question: Does a woman’s capacity for cooking significantly affect a man’s attraction to her? Esquivel brings this question to the forefront of the reader’s mind when she offers this comparison between Rasaura and Tita’s cooking. The rice was obviously scorched, the meat dried out, the dessert burnt. But no one at the table dared display the tiniest hint of displeasure, not after Mama Elena had pointedly remarked: ‘As the first meal that Rosaura has cooked it isn’t bad. Don’t you agree, Pedro? ’ Making a real effort not to insult his wife, Pedro replied: ‘No, for her first time it’s not too bad. ’ (50-51) She goes on to show Pedro’s reaction to Tita’s cooking saying, â€Å"It wasn’t enough he’d made his wife jealous earlier, for when Pedro tasted his first mouthful, he couldn’t help closing his eyes in voluptuous delight and exclaiming: ‘It is a dish for the gods! ’†(51). This comparison allows us to reasonably assume that Tita’s aptitude for culinary artistry did contribute to the growth of Pedro’s love. So, how might this reaction be culturally habituated? In almost all cultures, men are expected to provide and women are expected to cook. Even if a man is not consciously aware, they subconsciously factor this in to their choosing of a mate. It is culturally conditioned for a man to prioritize supporting his family over many other things. If a woman does not possess the ability to cook then a man may assume that she will not be able to support or provide for their family. This, of course, is not a strict rule of thought but, from my experience, it can be applied to many cases. Through comparison, Esquivel gives the reader evidence that Pedro loves Tita partially for her ability in the kitchen, and with prior knowledge we, as the reader, can attribute this connection to his cultural influences. We’ve determined that falling in love can be related to a woman’s ability to make food, but what about the relationship between food and making love? Earlier I made a reference to the word â€Å"foodgasm†, this portion of a quote, which I previously used, provides a great example of what a foodgasm might look like. â€Å"†¦ for when Pedro tasted his first mouthful, he couldn’t help closing his eyes in voluptuous delight and exclaiming: ‘It is a dish for the gods! ’†(Esquivel 51) It is instances like this one that finds Esquivel nudging the reader to make a connection between food and sex. Esquivel’s use of diction such as ‘voluptuous’ makes it practically impossible not to connect this experience to the effects of an orgasm. Thinking further on this connection, I think that giving food is a form of showing love just as making love is. As raunchy as it may seem, Pedro is receiving Tita through food. It is their unique form of making love. Esquivel makes another food/love connection on page 67 when she says, â€Å"Tita knew through her own flesh how fire transforms a tortilla, how a soul that hasn’t been warmed by the fire of love is lifeless, like a useless ball of corn flour. (67) It’s almost as if Esquivel allows characters, in this case Tita, to take on the form of food. With this being said, receiving food is like receiving the person who made it. In Tita and Pedro’s case, it was their way of making love before they could actually perform the act. I think that the importance of food to their relationship can be contributed to their culture’s emphasis on food. If food were not so important to their culture it would not be the medium for such an important interaction. In order to make and express love in Like Water for Chocolate, Tita makes food for Pedro further emphasizing the cultural connection between food and love. Some may argue that this relationship between food and sex is purely natural and scientific. In some sense this is true. Sex and Food are both biologically programmed drives that all humans possess. We have a strong need to procreate in order to further our species as well as a great need to eat in order to survive. These are facts of nature, but you can’t ignore the emotional connection that we have to food and sex. Tita and Pedro do not have these reactions to food in relation to sex simply because they need to eat or they have a great need to reproduce. Culture conditions us to eat because we love food not to simply eat to live. The same goes for sex. We are taught that in order to have sex one must have a connection to their partner; it is â€Å"morally sound† to think this way. This is especially true for the culture being represented in Like Water for Chocolate. Just in the way that Esquivel structures the novel you can get a sense of the importance food. The food must be treated with respect and love just as a person should be. Esquivel shows the significance of treating food well here: Something strange was going on. Tita remembered that Nacha had always said that when people argue while preparing tamales, the tamales won’t get cooked. They can be heated day after day and still stay raw, because the tamales are angry. In a case like that, you have to sing to them, which makes them happy; then they’ll cook. ‘(218-219) Esquivel’s personification of food demonstrates the meaning that food holds in this culture. It has feelings and you have to love it and nurture it. You don’t just eat food to eat it; you eat food because food is a beautiful part of life that you respect. In this way, Esquivel creates a strong connection between food and love through the cultural importance that the novel puts on the meaning of food rather than the natural tendency of humans to make this connection. After analyzing Esquivel’s novel, Like Water for Chocolate, I can say that the connection between food, sex, and love, in this context, is predominately based on cultural influences rather than natural ones. In making food, one is showing how much they care, just as Tita did for Pedro with her Quale in Rose pedal sauce dish. The ability to create such meals, in a man’s mind, is a reflection on a woman’s ability to provide for their family. By personifying food, Esquivel allows this process of cooking food and giving food to become much deeper than the simple act itself. The act of giving food then takes the form of giving ones self to the individual receiving the food. Whether it is between food and love, cooking and falling in love, or eating food and making love, culture is the force that defines these connections.

Credit Bureau Essay

Consumer Law| The Credit Bureau | Consumer Agency Report| 4/8/2013 | Introduction Credit reporting companies serve as a ball of information about the consumer use of credit as reported by those by which the consumers borrow credit. Lenders gather and use this information to counterpart any data they have already obtained directly about the borrower’s creditworthiness to aid in their lending making decisions. Lenders have the incitement to report their experiences with the borrowers for the gain of other creditor’s data.The essential of credit data are represented by the consumers representation based on his or hers borrowing behaviors of repayment over time. Today, the regulation has led to a high automated worldwide firm that collect detailed oriented, complete information and conform with a range of polices that’s in the best interest of the consumer. Credit reporting companies give businesses intuition into a consumer’s past behaviors, similar to the pr ospective an employer may use a candidate’s college transcript. These intuitions may be used to make decisions about his or her stability as well as the willingness to repay debt.Without this information borrowers would more than likely have to provide other information about themselves when applying for any type sought after credit. History Credit- reporting agencies emerged first in the United States due to the countries strong commercial orientation was highly conducive to institutional experimentation. Credit bureaus were known in some countries from the early 1860s, due to the industry experiencing a rapid growth only after World War I. There origination was purposed to facilitate the exchange of credit information among merchants.The recommenders usually local or suppliers with whom an individual has previously done business with. The small amount of credit that was granted was solely based on the merchants personal knowledge of the customer, a change came about once th e credit bureaus came into full swing. The earliest known credit bureaus maintained a list of customers who were considered by the merchants to be a risk. The U. S. population became more mobile and the credit bureaus began to expand to server a wider range of the population of dispersed merchants after World War I.A void that once needed validated was now filled by the merchants being provided with the information that could be used to make decisions on whether to grant the consumer with credit or not. Before the development of speedy computers and data processing readiness that had the capability of processing a variety of credit information, merchants that granted credit only had the capability of relying on investigations of the individual, public information, employment records, newspapers, and information from landlords about the consumer. Credit Bureaus TodayThere are currently three major credit bureaus in the United States are affiliated with the Associated Credit Bureaus, Inc. Founded in 1906, the international trade association provides its members with fraud prevention, credit and mortgage reports, risk management services, collection services, employment screening and verification services. The Associated Credit Bureaus, Inc. represents the consumer credit reporting information industry before state and federal legislators. Also, it represents the industry in the main stream media as far as consumer credit reporting issues.There are over 500 member of the American credit reporting agencies, collection services, employment reporting, mortgage and tenant screening services. There are over one billion credit cards that are being used daily in the United States which gives the consumer credit bureaus the importance as well as growth today. Similarity the number of consumer credit reports are issued every year with in the United States. Over two billion pieces of data are entered on the monthly basis into credit records. There are 190 illion credit fil es maintained by the three major reported credit bureaus which are Trans Union, Experian, and Equifax in the United States. In an article called Collections and Credit Risk, written by Sidney Hill, Jr. , consumers will soon get a chance to see their credit scores and learn how they really rank with lenders. The credit scores lenders use to make decisions about loans credit cards will be made available on the Web, also included the information about how they come up with the scores as well how the scores can be improved.The State and Federal legislation protects the privacy of personal data while granting consumers access to their own credit information which forced the change. Credit card companies rely heavily on â€Å"risk based† credit scoring to aid in determining the credit worthiness of a consumer, this information was not privet to the consumer applying for credit. The scores were designed to see how person would repay their debt as well as being very valuable in the d etermination of and individual being granted credit.It wasn’t until the end of 2000 that the three major credit agencies made the information known via the internet. The Three Major Credit Bureaus Trans Union founded in 1968 as the holding company of Union Tank Car which was a rail transportation equipment company. They joined the credit aspect in 1969 when they began to acquiring major city and regional credit bureaus. They offer portfolio and risk management as well as a primary source of credit information. They operation is nationwide through a host of offices and independent credit bureaus.They are a server of many industries that on the regular evaluate credit risk as well as verify information about their customer base which include hospitals, communication and energy companies, collection agencies, retailers, financial and banking services and insurance companies. Equifax founded in 1899 was a Retail Credit Company they had offices through the North America by the 192 0’s. By 1960 they had credit files for millions of Americans. They serve the credit card, retail, financial services, transportation, utilities, health care industries and the government.The global aspect of operations includes commercial credit information services, payment services, software, consumer credit, and consulting services. They provide the systems that aid granting credit, check transactions, predict consumer credit, manage risk, payment services and process credit cards. The countries serviced by Equifax the United States, Brazil, El Salvador, Canada, Chile, Argentina, the United Kingdom, Portugal, and Spain. Experian founded in England in 1980 as CCN systems.They expanded to the United States in 1996 by acquiring a company named TRW Information Services. Their purpose is to use its power of information to help its clients is to target forthcoming customers, management and maintain existing customer’s relationships and have the eye for profitable growth o pportunities. They have the capability of allowing their customers to conduct secure and profitable e-business through its web based products and services. Their employees support clients in over 50 countries. ResolutionEvery day credit bureaus receive calls from disgruntled consumers about mistakes on their credit reports, they file complaints against credit card companies, and disputes as well as to requesting their credit scores. The customer service representative takes the information from the consumer for example a dispute of incorrect information on their credit report and investigates the mistake which takes about 30 days to get the information. Once the information comes back either true or negative then you receive a letter in the mail as to the decision.Conclusion The consumer credit file has become one of the most important documents used in the decision making as to whether a consumer gets credit or not. As consumers come into the understanding of the influence of their credit reports their interest will be in the monitoring of the data reported by the credit bureaus. The credit bureaus are not always on the same page as far as consumer information meaning that the bureaus may have some information in their files that the other bureaus may not have but is in the best interest of the consumer.Bibliography Wise Geek. Conjecture, n. d. Web. 08 Mar. 2013 â€Å"Best Bank Rates | Compare the Best Interest Rates Today. † GoBankingRates. com. N. p. , n. d. Web. 08 Mar. 2013. WiseGeek. Conjecture, n. d. Web. 08 Mar. 2013. N. p. , n. d. Web. 8 Mar. 2013. . Hill, Sidney, Jr. â€Å"Collections and Credit Risk. † (n. d. ): n. pag. Print.

Developmental Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Developmental - Essay Example the answer would always be â€Å"I played with my friends.† My mother says that it was only after a year at preschool that I began to give details of my daily happenings. During this period I experienced a number of firsts. I entered school for the first time. I made friends for the first time and according to my teachers I would organize the games for my friends and me to play. I really do not remember what the names of my teachers were but I do remember they were a friendly, kind and loving bunch. Another significant event in my early childhood was the birth of my baby brother. At first I would not understand why he was there but eventually I began to love him. However, loving him did not imply that every toy he got really belonged to him. Sometimes, I would fight with him for a toy that I had chosen for him. My mother reminds me that I would consider everything in the house as belonging to me. The house was mine. The refrigerator and everything in it was mine and certainly my baby brother was mine. Specifically, I remember that I called the next-door neighbor my sister. My mother would always repeat the story of the day that I told her that she had a â€Å"gina† and my grandmother had a â€Å"gina† but my father, my next door neighbor and I had penises. My next door neighbor is now my girlfriend and I discovered that she never had a penis. At age two when other children would only have about 50 words in their vocabulary, I believe I had about one hundred. I loved to talk and I still do. Also I have always loved music and my father would buy instruments for me which I would destroy before the month was through in order to fix them. I have always been a fun loving person. As a child I would enjoy going to the beach. During my preschool years I learnt to swim, to appreciate music and to use the computer. I was usually a happy child. My parents’ friends would tell me that all they remember of me as a young child is my ready smile. It took me a

Discussions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Discussions - Assignment Example On the contrary, those with little or no self-efficacy have no control of tempting and hard situation and will hence succumb to activities such as irresponsible sexual activity and unnecessary drug use. The big question that arises is â€Å"can people with low self-efficacy be helped to improve on the same?† the answer is a big reassuring yes. Through health education programs to people especially adolescents can be helped to adequately improve their self efficacy. But exactly how can this be achieved? It is very simple; the adolescents through the health educator programs are taught to always consider the long term effects of their actions rather than just the tempting pleasurable impact of the situation at hand. In the process the adolescents are taught to always weigh immediate tempting pleasurable effects of the situation and the future devastating effects. If the future effects outweigh the effects presented in that moment in terms of risk then the adolescents should avoi d the situation but if the future benefits outweigh the present risk then they should cautiously consider other factors then undertake the activity if no other risks are involved (Bastani 67). In short the adolescent are cautioned to always think out of the box when faced with such a situation. For example through ‘one on one dialogues’ and ‘abstain from sex’ campaigns adolescents can be made aware of the impact of irresponsible sexual activities. The adolescents can be educated on the benefits of abstaining and refraining from irresponsible sex amongst themselves. Safe sexual activities such as abstaining and use of condoms can also be instilled in such adolescents in the process. Adolescents who have undergone the educator program will easily avoid irresponsible sex than those who haven’t simply because they will have the knowledge of what they are getting into (Karimzadeh 105). Number 2 Brief interventions in substance use treatment. This was the title of an article posted on www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/booksNBK64942/. The article is generally about the model used by professionals such as psychologists, nurses, social workers among others to individuals who can’t access special care or those who simply don’t want to access it. One of the brief interventions mentioned is the stages of change model. The stages of change model were credited with the success of helping smokers quit the vice. Support that involves a huge deal of motivation directed to the person who wants to deal with the substance abuse problem is vital for the model to prove successful. The first stage that was identified is where the individual gives excuses. Afterwards a new phase is arrived at where the individual admits that the drug use indeed is a problem to him or her, but he or she is not ready to quit the vice. Later, the individual enters a new phase where the individual has given a thought of trying to quit and is now preparing to do so. The n ext stage is the most important it is referred to as the action stage because it is the stage where the individual now put his or her words and intentions into action by literally halting the consumption of the drug. It mostly happens four weeks after contemplation of stopping the vice but it might sometimes even take six months. In this stage the individual should receive ample and regularly support to help cope with the withdrawal symptoms. After the action stage the individ

Coupon Accounting Abuse Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Coupon Accounting Abuse - Case Study Example From this paper it is clear that an efficient control environment should have both preventive and detective measures against fraudulent activities. The preventive measures aim to dissuade any chances of fraud or errors and they include the implementation of thorough documentation and authorization practices in the company. In this instance, the company should have had an authorization channel in place such that for one to alter the income statement as Larry did, there had to be proper authorization and documentation to support this. This would therefore ensure that the transactions are accurate and complete, and the proper documentation provides evidence of all transactions. Detective measures would ensure that undesirable activities like fraud are identified. Reconciliation of transactions and their supporting documentation would identify any cases of fraud within the company. This would ensure that financial information is accurate and valid and that any unauthorized alterations of transactions do not occur. Therefore, in Larry’s case, his alteration of the expense estimate for the new coupon would have been detected if proper control measures had been in place. A company must take preventive steps to protect the company from abuse from its employees and management. Preventive measures require efficient processes and should identify any risks that the company is prone to. There are two fundamental activities that act as deterrents of errors and fraud; documentation and authorization. Documentation is anything that provides evidence of a transaction; it may be in form of paper or electronic communication. This ensures the accuracy and completeness of transactions since the documentation provides a record of all the events and activities that have transpired as well as giving information whenever a discrepancy occurs.

Health risk and benfits of energy drinks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Health risk and benfits of energy drinks - Essay Example As such, it could be suggested that consumption of energy drinks has increased. The statistics are threatening given the fact that energy drinks have numerous risks that outweigh the benefits of the products as the discussion below portrays. Energy drinks have a number of advantages that manufacturers and marketers continue to sell in order to grow their markets. The main advantage arises from the product’s name and primary purpose. Energy drinks enhance the performance of the body. The drinks have high levels of caffeine and sugar. The sugar exists in the form of fructose and glucose that dissolves rapidly into the blood stream thereby providing a spontaneous boost in the performance of the body. Such impulsive boost in the performance of the body is always desirable especially in cases where the body shows signs of strain that affect the performance. Athletes for example may suffer from acute exhaustion and would require the rejuvenation of their energy levels. An increasing number of young people also continue to use energy drinks given their desire to have full functionality during most hours of the day (Burrows, Pursey & Neve, 2005). The use of energy drinks to revamp the performance of the body requires adequate education in order to possess the basic knowledge on the ingestion of fructose and glucose in the energy drinks. People must consume an adequate quantity of solid foods as well in order to complement the caffeine and sugar in the energy drinks. This way, the body benefits from numerous other nutrients from the solid foods that make it easy for the body sustain the demands of the energy drinks. Most people use energy drinks without eating adequate quantities of other solid foods, such imbalances have varied effects since the body lacks the mass and protein to enhance the increased performance of the body (Reissig, Strain & Griffiths, 2009). Among the

Why so many people return to college later in life Essay

Why so many people return to college later in life - Essay Example The cost of it is just too much for an average family to afford, and although student loans are available in most of the western countries, many still find it costly and therefore opt to not pursue college at all. Scholarship grants, on the other hand, are also available in most countries, but the stringent rules often discourage applicants. Besides, not everyone interested to avail are able to pass the qualifying examinations. Aside from the financial limitations which hinder many from pursuing college education, there have been other and very varied reasons. Some who have been lucky to have landed good-paying jobs reason that they are already earning good in their jobs and therefore feel that they do not anymore need a college degree to earn. There are also those whose main reason is that they are tied up to family obligations such as raising a child or caring for sick relative. Other reasons include personal fears, insecurities, or just plain excuses to avoid going to college. To mention a few of them: perceived incapability to cope with college life; indecisiveness as to what they want to do with their lives; or even perceived inferiority for having only average grades which they believe are not admissible in college. There are million other reasons why many go through life without college education. And while there are those who eventually find the happiness and contentment they seek in life even without college education, there are also many who wish to or are really working on going back to college later in life. It is interesting to understand why many people would want to or actually are going back to college later in life - to the stressful, fast-paced, mind-grueling life that so many among the younger generations would want so much to avoid. Why do people in their forties, fifties even sixties would add stress to their otherwise laid-back, stress-free lives? Most common reason why people go back to college later in life is

Vodka Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Vodka - Research Paper Example This pattern is also followed in the US also. Vodka normally contains 40% alchahol, which is the normal standard. Such vodka is widely used in Russia as well as the US. Even 50% alcoholic vodka is popular in the US. In some vodka, mainly polish descent, the alcoholic content is around 95%.In many east European countries as well as in the west, vodka is a supportive drink which is blended with other drinks. Examples are bloody marys, vodka martinis, etc (What is Vodka?). Vodka is a colourless and flavourless alchahol. The Russians normally brew it from grain whereas the poles make it from potatoes, beets, corn etc. the sugar is transformed into alchahol and distilled six times forgetting a wonderful mixture of vodka. Six times is the magical number. It is then filtered through charcoal. Vodka is an ideal blender. This property is used to the maximum in many countries. For example a bottle of istok or moskovskaya has milder quantities of vodka blended into it. There are more than 400 brands of vodka in Russia. It is flavoured and the most popular is the pepper flavoured vodka. Sometimes lemon is also used for flavouring. In US vodka is closely associated with martinis and cocktails. The average American drinker does not drink vodka straight. The American drinker does not mix vodka with beer as the Russian drinkers do (Gougeon). In today’s spirit industry, vodka is the most dynamic spirits in the global arena. Its growth trajectory is nothing but truly phenomenal. Over the past 20 years there has been an increase of a staggering 246.7m cases world wide. The growth of vodka is mainly associated in countries like Russia and Poland. In Russia there has been an increase by 21m cases over the 20 year period. This growth is truly commendable because it was achieved against tight governmental control as well as rising affluence. In US also there was tremendous growth for vodka. There was growth by 21.2m cases over the

The Sin Tax bill Reaction Essay Example for Free

The Sin Tax bill Reaction Essay The Sin Tax bill (House Bill 5727 and Senate Bill 3249) is a bill which aims to restructure the existing taxes imposed on alcohol and tobacco goods. On December 20, 2012, President Benigno Aquino III signed the Republic Act 10351 or the sin tax reform 2012. The Sin Tax Bill is a sensationalized issue in the Philippines and it gets several mixed reactions from different stakeholders in the country or Filipinos at large. Filipinos are expected to reduce their vices like alcoholism and smoking as a target result of this Bill. Aquino said the new law aims to favor both the government and the Filipino people since revenues to be generated from the measure will be used to fund health insurance programs for the poor, and build and renovate hospitals in the country. Most families of Filipinos especially those who are not residing in urban areas are farmers. The source of their livelihood is farming tobacco products and harvesting fermented liquors, in our dialect â€Å"tuba†. They are now the immediate concern that the government should consider upon the approval of this Bill. Higher taxes on tobacco products mean lesser income for these farmers. Especially, that they are not the owner of the lands they’re farming, they also pay lease for the lands. Unemployment is one of the possible outcomes of the Sin Tax Bill, especially on our farmers. If they become jobless, they likely can resort to different illegal activities just to provide for their family. The aim of the Sin tax Bill is to discourage smokers and alcoholics. But the problem here is that, especially on Filipinos who claim that these vices are addiction to them, they would still continue smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages, to the point that they would sacrifice some of the immediate needs of their families just to sustain their wants. Filipinos are very steadfast on every endeavor they undertake. But they have this mindset that the Programs of the Government are not reaching the true and deserving beneficiaries, like farmers. They may not benefit from these health programs because in the first place they are not living in the cities where standard and quality health responses are located. Maybe these projects may be beneficial to the Filipinos but what of the immediate impact on these increases of taxes? Different Tobacco and Alcoholic Beverages companies might also decrease the salaries of their workers or lay-off employees because its production will become more expensive. It will really affect factory workers and even small-scale business owners. On the other hand, I think this Sin Tax Bill has its positive goals especially to the youth of the nations. Most consumers of these â€Å"sin goods† are youth. With the presence of this bill, there will be higher prices on different cigarettes and alcoholic drinks and since they cannot afford it, they will be discouraged to smoke and drink alcohols. Let’s just cross our fingers that the youth will not resort to illegal means just to continue their vices, especially the out-of-school-children-and-youths. Since they do not have a proper education, we should take it into account that OSCYs are more vulnerable to these vices and if they are not guided properly, this Sin Tax Bill will make sins bigger.

Decision to drop atomic bomb Essay Example for Free

Decision to drop atomic bomb Essay The decision was made from the president that they were going to drop the bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 6, 1945. They chose to drop the bomb because if they didn’t there would have been more casualties than necessary in the continued fighting in the Asian theater of the war . Dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II, the president at that time, Harry S. Truman, made the right choice. The atomic bomb was definitely a political conflict for the United States and Japan. The event which initiated the ultimate bombing began with Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941, according to History.com. When the A-bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, instantly â€Å"Little boy† destroyed 90% of the city, even though it exploded at an altitude of 580 meters. Since the city of Hiroshima only had 298 doctors and 270 of them died, this was rough for the citizens in Hiroshima since the people had no medical help. When they were looking for food and clothes and such it was very rare for them to find the materials they need. However in Nagasaki it was easy to get meds from the naval hospitals out there. Well in September in Hiroshima it was very hard for the people to heal faster because it was so cold and rainy outside for them to fully recover. According to Cacpeaceday. Before dropping the bombs, Japan was refusing to surrender, their emperor insisted on fighting on. Everyone thought that japan had lost but they didn’t know that they refused to surrender and kept fighting. So more and more American’s were dying. The US felt like if they don’t defeat japan soon that they will gain more advantage over Asia or even in japan. Japan ended up shortly surrendering after US dropped two atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan was occupied by allied powers under the American general, MacArthur. Reference According to ibiblio.com pg. 24. http://cacpeaceday.wikispaces.com/3.+The+impact+and+short+term+effects+of+the+dropping+of+the+atomic+bombs U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey: The Effects of the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki June 1946

Implement Synthesizable Square Root Algorithm On Fpga Engineering Essay

Implement Synthesizable Square Root Algorithm On Fpga Engineering Essay The main objective of this paper is to implement synthesizable square root algorithm on FPGA. As square root function is not synthesizable on Silicon, this paper proposes optimized non restoring square root algorithm for unsigned 8 bit number on ED2C20F484C7 device in Cyclone II family. This algorithm is implemented in gate level abstraction of Verilog HDL. The basic building block of the design is CSM (Controlled Subtract Multiplex) block. It makes use of only subtract operation and append 01 which is an improvement over restoring algorithm. Keyword: FPGA,CSM,Verilog HDL,fixed point Introduction The square root function is a basic operation in computer graphic and scientific calculation application. Due to its algorithm complexity, the square root operation is hard to be designed in digital system. As known, digital system has been used in daily life or industrial purpose that may have been in need of square root operation to fully execute its functions. Scientists have developed various algorithms for square root calculation. But the implementation of algorithms is difficult because of their complexities and thus results into long delays for its completion. There are two main families of algorithms that can be used to extract square roots. The first family is that of digit recurrence, which provides one digit (often one bit) of the result at each iteration[6]. Each iteration consists of additions and digit-by-number multiplications (which have comparable cost) Such algorithms have been widely used in microprocessors that didnt include hardware multipliers. Most of the FPGA implementations in vendor tools or in the literature use this approach. Second family of algorithms uses multiplications. It includes quadratic convergence recurrences derived from the Newton-Raphson iteration [5]. The digit recurrence approaches allow one to build minimal hardware, while multiplicative approaches allow one to make the best use of available resources when these include multipliers. Also there are estimation method and digit-by-digit method. Digit-by-digit method is classified into two distinct classes: restoring and non- restoring algorithm [1]. In restoring algorithm, remainder is restored in the regular flow. So its implementation needs more hardware. Compared to the restoring algorithm, the non restoring algorithm does not restore the remainder, which can be implemented with fewest hardware resource and the result is hardware simple implementation. It is most suitable for FPGA implementation. Restoring and non restoring square root calculation Restoring Algorithm Step 1: If it is a 2n bit number then divide it in a group of 2 bits Step2: Subtract 1 from the first 2 digits (starting from MSB) Step3: Whenever the result of the subtraction is positive then the developed root is 1 otherwise 0 Step4: Whenever the result is negative, write it as it is. We have to restore the wrong guess by appending 01 and guessed square root. Step5: Now take the next two digits Step6: Append 01 (to be subtracted from next two digits of dividend) and guessed square root to subtract from the remainder. Step7: If the result of subtraction is negative then restore previous remainder by adding wrong guess by appending 01 and guessed square root. Step8: Every time guessed square root has to be updated while appending 01. Step9: Continue the steps until the group of two digits end 1 0 0 1.1 0 1 0 01 01 11 01.00 00 00 00 01 00 01 take next two digits from dividend 1 01 Append 01 Negative value 11 00 + 1 01 0 0 01 11 -10 01 11 10 Negative value + 10 01 01 11 01 10 00 01 11 00 00 10 01 01 01 01 1 00 10011 01 1011111 + 1001101 010110 00 010011001 000010111 00 100110101 1100100111 Figure 1: The example of restoring algorithm to solve square root B. Proposed Modified Non Restoring Algorithm A little modification in non restoring algorithm makes calculation faster. It uses only subtract operation and appends 01. It uses n stage pipelining to find square root of 2n bit number. The following algorithm describes the modified non restoring square root algorithm. Step1: Start Step2: Initialize the radicand (p) which is 2n bit number. Divide the radicand in two bits beginning at binary point in both directions. Step3: Beginning on the left (most significant), select the first group of one or two digit (If n is odd then first group is one digit ,else two bits) Step4: Select the first group of bits and subtract 01 from it. If borrow is zero, result is positive and quotient is 1 else it is 0. Step5: Append 01(to be subtracted next two digits of dividend) and guessed square root to subtract from remainder of previous stage Step6: If result of subtraction is negative, write previous remainder as it is and quotient is considered as 0, else write the difference as remainder and quotient as 1. Step7: Repeat step 5 and step 6 until end group of two digits. Step8: End 1 0 0 1.1 0 1 0 01 01 11 01.00 00 00 00 00 01 00 01 take next two digits from dividend 1 01 Append 01 11 10 01 01 11 01 100 01 11 00 00 1001 01 001011 00 1001101 00101100 00 10011001 0000010111 00 100110101 001011100 Figure 2: The example of modified non restoring algorithm to solve square root Basic Building Block for Non restoring algorithm Inputs of the building block are x,y,b and u while d and b0(borrow) are outputs. If b0=0, then d b0=( ~ x .y)+(b.~x)+(by); d= (~x.y.~b.~u)+(~x.~y.b.~u)+(x~y.~b)+(x.u)+(x.y.b); csmblock.jpg Figure 3: RTL schematic of CSM block The generalization of simple implementation of non restoring digit by digit algorithm for unsigned 6 bit square root by array structure is shown in Fig.4. Each row of the circuit executes one iteration of non restoring digit by digit square algorithm, where it only uses subtract operation and appends 01. Figure 4: Pipelined structure of 6 bit unsigned square root number The design can be optimized by minimizing the logic expressions and can be implemented by modifying CSM block. The specialized entities A,B,C,D,E,F,G and H are derived from CSM block and are defined as follows: For csmA, ybu = 100 b0 = ~x d = ~x For csmB, yu = 00 b0 = ~x.b d = ~x.b + ~b.x For csmC, u = 0 b0 = ~x.y + ~x.b + y.b d = ~x.y.~b + ~x.~y.b + x.~y.~b + x.y.b For csmD, yb = 10 b0 = ~x d = ~x.~u + x.u For csmE, y = 0 b0 = ~x.b d = ~x.b.~u + ~b.x + x.u For csmF, xy = 00 b0 = b d = b.~u For csmG, xyb = 010 b0 = ~x d = ~u For csmH, xyu = 000 b0 = b Figure 5: Optimized Pipelined structure of 8 bit unsigned square root number Results and analysis The Non Restoring algorithm can be implemented with least hardware resources and the result will be the faster than restoring square rooting techniques. The source code is implemented in such a way that it can be extended according to users requirement to calculate complicated square root in FPGA. Figure 6: Simulation result of 8 bit square root using non restoring algorithm The DE1 kit has 4 seven segment displays only so the maximum number which can be displayed is 9999d and also it doesnt have a decimal point. Hence output obtained is less precise if one of the displays is considered as a decimal point. Table 1 shows the list of Logic Elements usage for 8 bit implementation. This indicates the size of the implemented circuit hardware resource. Table 1: Comparison of LEs usage in 8 bit implementation No Implementation of non restoring algorithm for 8 bit LEs 1 8 bit (with seven segment) 85 2 8 bit (without seven segment) 71 3 optimized 8 bit (with seven segment) 64 4 optimized 8 bit (without seven segment) 50 Table 2: PowerPlay Power Analyzer Status No PowerPlay Power Analyzer Status 8 bit with optimization (mW) 8 bit without optimization (mW) Low Medium Low 1 Total Thermal Power Dissipation 71.65 447.96 72.84 2 Core Dynamic Thermal Power Dissipation 0 190.47 0 3 Core Static Thermal Power Dissipation 47.36 48.06 47.36 4 I/O Thermal Power Dissipation 24.29 209.44 25.48 Conclusion: This implementation and analysis shows that proposed method is most efficient of hardware resource. This is reasonable, because it only uses subtract operation and append 01. The result shows that the proposed algorithm is easy to implement and also uses less resources. The result is extended for square root implementation of 8 bit floating point number and also it can be expanded to larger numbers to solve complicated square root problem in FPGA implementation.

The Importance of Women Soldiers in the Civil War Essay -- women involv

Women have been fighting in wars since the late eighteen-hundreds even though until around WWI they were not permitted to serve. Originally women involved in battle had few jobs such as becoming nurses, spies, etc. while the men fought for days on end. What would happen if the two worlds collided? Women would cross-dress to fight alongside the men. This was common along the war front as women wanted to accompany their husbands or other family in battle, and some wanted to be patriotic and serve for their country. These women put their lives on the line and played the part of a comrade in war, and people believed them until they were discovered and sometimes sent back home. Although women had small roles as nurses, those who took on the important role of secretly becoming soldiers in battle ultimately changed women’s roles in society. The decision to cross-dress wasn’t very easy for many women who joined the army, however for some they felt it was absolutely necessary. As a child, Sara Emma Edmonds received a book about a woman who dressed as a male pirate in the American Revolution. Soon Edmonds had found a hero in this character and later stated in her memoirs that â€Å"when [she] read where ‘Fanny’ cut off her brown hair and donned the blue jacket and stepped into the freedom and glorious independence of masculinity, [she] threw up [her] old straw hat and shouted.†(Tsui 7). She had been inspired from an early age and escaped to masculinity when she was fifteen with the help of her mother. From there she joined the Union army as Franklin Thompson and fought as she had intended. Another factor that influenced women and their decision to join the army was their husbands or other male family members. Loreta Janeta Valazquez succumbed to... ...Civil War. Guilford, CT: TwoDot, 2003. 23-35. Print. Tsui, Bonnie. "Sarah Emma Edmonds." She Went to the Field: Women Soldiers of the Civil War. Guilford, CT: TwoDot, 2003. 7-22. Print. "Women's Changing Roles during the Civil War." The Herald-Mail. N.p., 16 Sept. 2002. Web. 06 Mar. 2014. Wakeman, Sarah Rosetta. "July, 1863-December, 1863." An Uncommon Soldier: The Civil War Letters of Sarah Rosetta Wakeman, Alias Private Lyons Wakeman, 153rd Regiment, New York State Volunteers. Ed. Lauren M. Cook. Pasadena, MD: Minerva Center, 1994. 41-42. Print. Blanton, DeAnne, and Lauren M. Cook. "Means and Motivations." They Fought like Demons: Women Soldiers in the American Civil War. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State UP, 2002. 27-30. Print. "GENERAL SAMANTHA LEE A Tiger's Heart." General Samantha Lee. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2014. .

American Politics Essay -- Government Politics

Due to the economic strife the American public knows all too well what a recession is. It is economic hardship that has led to the loss of thousands of jobs and businesses. This economic hardship has led to many people losing their homes, cars and other valuables. Why is it that when the Obama administration talks about the recession they refer to it as â€Å"The Bank Stabilization Plan.† (Stewart) Something that has caused the total meltdown of the American Economy being referred to as â€Å"The Bank Stabilization Plan† (Stewart) seems outright ludicrous. Even if they are in the process of fixing the problem, the government insists on using modest language to confuse the public into believing that the issue is not a huge problem; Just a minor inconvenience that is in the process of being â€Å"stabilized.† In his essay â€Å"Politics and the English Language,† George Orwell says that a â€Å"mixture of vagueness and sheer incompetence is the most marked characteristic of modern English prose, and especially of any kind of political writing† (515). Politicians are always attempting to make the problems they have created seem like trivial or easily fixed when in fact they are intricate and intense, through the use of â€Å"pretentious diction† (516) and â€Å"meaningless words† (517). The quote says a lot about political writing when Orwell’s essay was written in 1946 and we are now in the year 2010 and â€Å"pretentious diction and meaningless words,† (516,517) as Orwell describes them, are still being used. Through careful analysis of recent important speeches, I have found that â€Å"pretentious diction and meaningless words† (Orwell) are still commonly used to mislead the public into believing that things are in the public’s best interest, when they clearly are ... ...government is telling us that they are fixing it and have it under control when in fact they truly do not? They are handing out money they do not have and putting the country into trillions of dollars of dept; that is not a solution. I agree with Orwell a million percent when he states that a â€Å"mixture of vagueness and sheer incompetence† (515) shapes the way that the government reports new findings and important information. Work Cited Mariner, Joanne. â€Å"Obama’s New Euphemism.† FindLaw’s Writ | Legal Commentary. 30 June June 2009. Web. 08 November 2010. Orwell, George. â€Å"Politics and the English Language† Occasions for Writing: Evidence, Idea, Essay. Ed. Robert DiYanni and Pat C. Hoy II, Boston, MA 2008. 514 - 522 Stewart, Jon. â€Å"New Euphemisms- Obama Re-branding† The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. 31 March 2009. Video Clip. 08 November 2010.

Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein Essay

In Chapter 5, Frankenstein brings the monster to life. Shelly uses a typical gothic method of mimicking Frankenstein’s disgust for the creature with weather, â€Å"the dreary night of November. † Frankenstein is appalled at his creation despite that the monster’s â€Å"limbs were in proportion† and he â€Å"had selected his features as beautiful†. Frankenstein then describes the creature in such a way that the reader learns that although Frankenstein attempted to create beauty but is faced with the disgusting looks of the creature. â€Å"†¦ his hair was of lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of pearly whiteness; but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his†¦ shrivelled complexion and straight black lips. † Shelly uses an ironic contrast of life and death in describing the monster, using elements like â€Å"yellow skin† which is relevant to a new – born baby with jaundice and â€Å"straight black lips†, which is relevant to a dead body. She also uses descriptions like â€Å"shrivelled complexion† which is relevant to both a baby and a corpse. The creature also reacts to life as a new – born baby does. â€Å"It breathed hard, and a convulsive motion agitated its limbs. This contrast is effective in showing the reader the irony in the fact that new life is given to parts of the dead. Shelly effectively describes the creature with enough detail to allow the reader to interpret the creature’s appearance individually and also empathise with Frankenstein. Frankenstein has been disillusioned whilst creating the monster, but when it becomes alive, he is faced with its ugliness and abandons him. This is not an example of unconditional love and links in with Elizabeth’s arrival into the Frankenstein family. â€Å"Oh! No mortal could support the horror of that countenance. A mummy again endued with animation could not be more hideous as that wretch. † The memory of the shock of the monster’s looks is very powerful to Frankenstein and Shelly portrays this by using words like â€Å"Oh! † when Frankenstein is telling Walton his story. Frankenstein has a dream after creating his monster in which, as he kisses Elizabeth, she turns into the corpse of his dead mother. â€Å"I embraced her, but as I imprinted the first kiss on her lips, they became livid with the hue of death. I thought I held the corpse of my dead mother†. This dream shows that Frankenstein has subconscious fears of harm coming to his family, which does actually happen later on in the novel. The dream is an effective example of foreshadowing, another typical gothic technique effectively used by Shelly. The reader could also interpret that the dream foreshadows Frankenstein’s fears of creating the monster a â€Å"wife†. It presents the idea that although Frankenstein first thinks that building a companion for the monster will keep his family safe, the consequences could be much worse if he does as it is possible that the creatures will breed. The monster is not reunited with its creator until several months later, where he tells Frankenstein of the hardships of life he has endured as an abandoned and disfigured child. â€Å"Father† and â€Å"son† meet in the mountains; this location could be interpreted as an effort by Shelley to use the mountains symbolically, showing Frankenstein’s guilt for abandoning his â€Å"child† or as the towering glaciers threatening Frankenstein; telling him that nature is not to be toyed with by man. The creature learns that humans should have families by reading a book that he finds whilst living near the French family he grows to love. He meets a blind man from the family who treats him with kindness, but when the rest of the family see him, they drive him from their cottage with stones. This teaches the monster that people hate him for his ugliness and therefore develops a hatred for his creator for making him so ugly. Upon meeting Frankenstein, the creature makes a direct relationship between the bad parenting and upbringing he endures with his own desire to harm others when he claims â€Å"misery made me a fiend. † Shelley uses this line as a blatant point that bad parenting will result in evil.

Understand the Work of the Ream

Understand the work of the team 3. 1 Team work is essential for the school curriculum to be taught across the school starting with the head teacher down to the TA. Another benefit of teamwork is that the teacher can divide the work out between the members of the team. This enables the individuals to concentrate on their specific duties that will contribute to the teacher’s lesson plan. This gets the job done faster. Communication / sharing ideas become an important aspect of teamwork, so the whole team can see the class progress steadily to its goals. 3. 2 The class teacher’s purpose and objective is for the running of their class and making sure that the national curriculum is delivered and delegate duties to the TAs that are in their class. The TA; s role is to support the teacher in delivering the national curriculum do the tasks set out and deliver feed back 3. 3 My role in the class is to help the class teacher. On a Monday I go to Mrs. , s class and get the children get ready for forest school in a safe manner when the class are ready we sing the forest school song then go in to forest school out the other side and around the running track looking at all the interesting things like plants etc then when we are around the track we play 123 where are you in which the class go away and hide and we shout 123 where are you and they respond with 123 we are over here and then we go and find then the kids love this game , when we get back in to forest school the kids had some paint brushes an were encouraged to write some simple words with wet mud on decorators backing paper or on any think that wanted to write on within reason once the activities were over we packed up spades and buckets rakes and the rest of the stuff and put them safely away and get the washed and changed ready for dinner In the afternoon session anther teacher comes in to the class and my role was then to take groups of 4 kids and do phonics with them this consisted of the class teacher giving me recourses which were A4 pieces of laminated paper letters on and I would sound out a letter and they would have to find that letter, anther activity was another piece of A4 laminated paper with pictures on they would have a letter on the top and the kids would have to find the items on the paper starting with that letter normally 4 items , then we play I spy I would 4 items on the table sound out the word and ask them which item they thought it would be after that it was time to get them ready for home. 3. 4 When working in a team I always respect my colleges and opines if I don’t respect their opines how can I expect them to listen to me, almost all my colleagues have a lot more experience than myself and would be able to offer me good advice in situations I have had no experience of.

Matrice Swot of Coca Cola

Internal| * Strenghts1/ partner with big companies (Mac Donalds)2/ Excellent strategy3/ Diversified production lines4/ Unique taste5/ World’s leading brand | * Weaknesses1/ Product not healthy2/ The target group of the CC company are mainly younger people. / Taste differentiation4/ Sluggish performance in North America5/ lack of popularity of many Coca Cola’s brands| External| * Opportunities1/ advertise it’s less popular products2/ Acquisitions3/ buy out competition4/ It can to provide food in the future5/Growing Hispanic| * Threats1/ New drink competitor have appeared gradually2/ Intense competition (ex: Pepsi)3/ legal issues4/Dependence on bottling partners5/ The economy nowadays is depressing actually, and the poor economy may affect the consumers to purchase good| Strenghts| Weaknesses| Oppor-tunities| S5/O5. Knowing that Coca-Cola is a brand leader in his market; it will be easy to continue to have a growing market in South America. S1, S2, S3, S4, S5/O2, O 3, O4. It may also invest in the creation of food and continue to buy the competition and gain new market. All of this because coca-cola has a unique taste, it is followed by contacts (like MacDonald), his strategy is great and it has a diversified production lines. | W1/O3. Like everybody knows, Coke is not really good for your health.However everyone knows that Coca-cola was originally sold in pharmacies for stomach ache. Maybe that Coca-Cola could buy the competition, which is not tarnished by this reputation. W2/O4, O5. Even if they are young people who are targeted by coca cola, by exploiting new markets and new products, coca-cola can expand his target, as if they provide food. W4/O5. I think that these tests have to be performed in a country growing for coca-cola (ex: Hispanic) before embarking on a stagnant market (North America)| Threats| T1, T2/S5, S3 .Although recently many competitors appear. Coca cola is the worldwide leader and can buy them, crash them, or ignore them. This is not the case of Pepsi who is already too big, and then why not plays on the diversification of the products of coca-cola (many different products) which is not the case of Pepsi. T3, T4/S2. As regards the jurisdiction, they could still and always try to improve them strategy, which is already excellent, it is the same thing for such bottling partners. T5/S2.As for the world economy, it is less important, being the world leader and with an excellent strategy, I can continue to win customers. | T1, T2/W5. To bring down the new competitors on the market, coca cola have to show all the drinks he offers, as many are ignored and coca-cola has the budget for put these drinks forward. This will permit at coca-cola to be apart from other major competitors such as Pepsi etc †¦ T3/W3. Legal problems are present, knowing that coca is not developed in regard to health.For this strategy (already good) coca must to be improved, and do not forget that a wide range of product is alread y present in coca-cola by passing of coca zero until coca light. T4/S5. In terms of bottling partners, this must be a part of the strategy of coca-cola who is world leader and who has the capabilities to invest in bottling, the question is: it is worth the trouble it? T5/W5. About the economic crisis, I think Coca-cola is a global leader, so he has just to try to conquer new markets such as South America and to develop his others annexes brands who miss of popularity|

Hamlet Foils Fortinbras Essay

In Hamlet, one of Shakespeare’s most recognizable plays, Shakespeare portrays a great example of a literary foil between Fortinbras and Hamlet. Fortinbras, a minor character, possesses traits that emphasize Hamlet’s distinctive qualities. Fortinbras’ characteristics bring out both the worst and the best out Hamlet throughout the play. In Act IV Scene IV, Hamlet’s soliloquy points out every one of Fortinbras’ qualities that Hamlet admires. Fortinbras inspires Hamlet to be a man of action. Hamlet knows that he has been thinking too precisely on the event of killing Claudius. On the other hand, Fortinbras is ambitious and takes actions for what the believes in. For example, in the letter to the King, Young Fortinbras made it clear that he was going to get back the land his father lost. King Fortinbras’ death gave his son determination and motivation to make his father proud. Unlike Fortinbras, Hamlet just weeps over his father’s death. Hamlet continues to talk about his hatred for Claudius and vows revenge for King Hamlet’s murder, but takes no action in it. In Act III Scene III, Hamlet shows his tragic flaw, procrastination. Instead of taking advantage of the only moment Hamlet has alone with Claudius, Hamlet over thinks the situation and makes up an excuse for himself to not kill Claudius. In contrast to Hamlet’s indecisiveness, Fortinbras knows what he wants and makes it happen. For instance, for Fortinbras’ plan to invade Poland to work, he independently gathered 20,000 men for his army. Even though most of Fortinbras’ qualities contrast from Hamlet, his qualities encourage Hamlet to be at his full potential. Hamlet looked up to Fortinbras and highly respected him. Shakespeare did an excellent job of showing the foil between Fortinbras and Hamlet in his writing.

Changing Views on Homosexuality

Men and women are feeling more open to express their homosexual lifestyle and this is in part due to the changing views of sexual behavior and homosexuality. Homosexual behavior is defined as sexual behavior with a member of one’s own sex (Sarason Sarason, 2005). Prior to the 1970s, homosexuality was considered to be a diagnosable psychiatric disorder and was listed in the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). Homosexuality was viewed almost as a disease that people needed to be cured of. Research revealed that homosexual men and women did not differ in psychological adjustment from heterosexual men and women (Sarason Sarason, 2005). There has been the debate of whether a person is born gay or if homosexuality is a learned behavior. In my opinion, I believe that a person is born gay and does not chose or learn this sexual behavior from others. I’ve witnessed a relative grow up and noticed behavior as child that suggested he may be gay. As an adult, he informed the family that he is in fact gay. This came as a shock to no one and when asked when he knew he was gay, he stated that he knew all along. It is thought that if people no longer viewed homosexuality as a behavior that people chose to partake in, that less emphasis would be placed on trying to â€Å"cure† homosexuality. Dr. Glenn Wilson and Dr. Qazi Rahman, authors of the book Born Gay, state that there is no single gay gene, but genes do contribute and consider the effect of sex hormones to which fetuses are exposed in the womb (Ahuja, 2005). Wilson and Rahman feel that sexual orientation is fixed at birth and that any evidence-based scientist would agree (Ahuja, 2005). With more people understanding that sexual orientation is innate rather than learned, viewpoints on homosexuality are shifting. Our society is slowly becoming more accepting and placing less of a stigma on homosexual behavior. In the past there were no rights for gays wanting to marry, but now gays in Massachusetts can legally marry. In Vermont and other parts of the world, gay men and women now have the right to enter into legal partnerships that give them some of the same protections and responsibilities of marriage (Sarason Sarason, 2005). Past opinion polls have resulted in some Americans saying that gays cannot be considered good role models for children (Sarason Sarason, 2005). Some people have thought that a child’s sexual orientation could be affected if the child had gay or lesbian parents. Research on child adjustment in homosexual households provided results that did not differ from children raised by heterosexual parents (Sarason Sarason, 2005). Dr. Ellen C. Perrin feels that children raised by gay or lesbian couples do just as well as children raised as by heterosexual couples. â€Å"In some ways children of same-sex parents actually may have advantages over other family structures†, says Perrin (Chang, 2005). Studies conducted on homosexual couples show that lesbian couples share household responsibilities equally and that children adjust better when there is an equal division of labor (Chang, 2005). Raising healthy, well-adjusted children and understanding that homosexuality is an innate behavior are just two examples of why attitudes towards homosexuality are changing. Although there is still room for improvement in terms of accepting gay culture, strides are being made compared to earlier attitudes. To me the most significant change is understanding that homosexuality is not a disorder, it represents a person’s sexual orientation. References http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/news/20051012/study-same-sex-parents-raise-well-adjusted-kids Changing Views on Homosexuality Men and women are feeling more open to express their homosexual lifestyle and this is in part due to the changing views of sexual behavior and homosexuality. Homosexual behavior is defined as sexual behavior with a member of one’s own sex (Sarason Sarason, 2005). Prior to the 1970s, homosexuality was considered to be a diagnosable psychiatric disorder and was listed in the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). Homosexuality was viewed almost as a disease that people needed to be cured of. Research revealed that homosexual men and women did not differ in psychological adjustment from heterosexual men and women (Sarason Sarason, 2005). There has been the debate of whether a person is born gay or if homosexuality is a learned behavior. In my opinion, I believe that a person is born gay and does not chose or learn this sexual behavior from others. I’ve witnessed a relative grow up and noticed behavior as child that suggested he may be gay. As an adult, he informed the family that he is in fact gay. This came as a shock to no one and when asked when he knew he was gay, he stated that he knew all along. It is thought that if people no longer viewed homosexuality as a behavior that people chose to partake in, that less emphasis would be placed on trying to â€Å"cure† homosexuality. Dr. Glenn Wilson and Dr. Qazi Rahman, authors of the book Born Gay, state that there is no single gay gene, but genes do contribute and consider the effect of sex hormones to which fetuses are exposed in the womb (Ahuja, 2005). Wilson and Rahman feel that sexual orientation is fixed at birth and that any evidence-based scientist would agree (Ahuja, 2005). With more people understanding that sexual orientation is innate rather than learned, viewpoints on homosexuality are shifting. Our society is slowly becoming more accepting and placing less of a stigma on homosexual behavior. In the past there were no rights for gays wanting to marry, but now gays in Massachusetts can legally marry. In Vermont and other parts of the world, gay men and women now have the right to enter into legal partnerships that give them some of the same protections and responsibilities of marriage (Sarason Sarason, 2005). Past opinion polls have resulted in some Americans saying that gays cannot be considered good role models for children (Sarason Sarason, 2005). Some people have thought that a child’s sexual orientation could be affected if the child had gay or lesbian parents. Research on child adjustment in homosexual households provided results that did not differ from children raised by heterosexual parents (Sarason Sarason, 2005). Dr. Ellen C. Perrin feels that children raised by gay or lesbian couples do just as well as children raised as by heterosexual couples. â€Å"In some ways children of same-sex parents actually may have advantages over other family structures†, says Perrin (Chang, 2005). Studies conducted on homosexual couples show that lesbian couples share household responsibilities equally and that children adjust better when there is an equal division of labor (Chang, 2005). Raising healthy, well-adjusted children and understanding that homosexuality is an innate behavior are just two examples of why attitudes towards homosexuality are changing. Although there is still room for improvement in terms of accepting gay culture, strides are being made compared to earlier attitudes. To me the most significant change is understanding that homosexuality is not a disorder, it represents a person’s sexual orientation. References http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/news/20051012/study-same-sex-parents-raise-well-adjusted-kids

Inditex(Zara) Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Inditex(Zara) - Case Study Example The United States of America is acknowledged to be a graveyard for European retailers. Everyone who goes there is believed to have struggled with comparisons to Laura Ashley’s shutting down and Benetton’s declining. The US is believed to be a complex market as shopping malls are located in the middle of nowhere while the real fashionistas live around the East and West coasts. In addition, everyone nowadays is dressing in Wal-Mart, the Gap and T. J. Maxx. If one is to open a successful fashion retail stores in the US, they would have to open at least 300 and focus all their energy into it to make it work. Another problem causing the inability of Inditex (Zara) to break the US market is a matter of size. For starters, the store is European which means it makes European style clothes. The clothes just would not fit in the US fashion where most of the clothes are for small bodied people. Therefore, Inditex would have to ask themselves why make production more complex? More money would have to go into producing new clothes that fit the US market. Inditex is a pioneer in the fashion industry essentially imitating the latest fashion trends and speed the cheaper imitated versions into stores. Badia (2009) Every one of their brands follow the Zara brand: trendy, decent but inexpensive products sold to people in beautiful, high-end stores. Zara has similar prices to the Gap with coats going for $200, T-shirts at $30 and sweaters for $70. Inditex now makes 840 million clothes every year and has around 5,900 stores located in 85 different countries. Arnarsson (2009) stated those numbers keep changing as in recent years, the company has already been opening more than one store a day or about 500 every year. Recently, there are around 4400 stores located in Europe and about 2000 Spain only. The company’s roots go back in 1963 when the railway worker’s son, Ortega, started a company making robes and housecoats in La Coruna. Oshea (2012) reveals he opened his

Conservation and environmental management Assignment

Conservation and environmental management - Assignment Example ldlife Conservation and Solar Energy Development in the Desert Southwest article and evaluates the effects of USSEDO facility on wildlife and the environment (Lovich & Ennen, 2011, 982). Paradoxically, the use of the natural renewable resources in large scale is no longer considered environmental friendly; it has conflicted with conservation to wildlife. These alternatives of energy sources have impacted further given the current biodiversity of the arid condition of the South west region. Information published regards the potential effects and impacts direct and indirect of renewable energy on the wildlife. Several endangered species have been affected either directly or indirectly by the USSED. According to Kristan and Boarman area covered by Agassiz’s desert tortoise, is approximated to be 161,949 ha of land habituated has been affected directly by USSED. It has been further stated that an approximation of 769,230 ha has been affected given both direct and indirect impacts of the USSED (Lovich & Ennen, 2011, 983). Common impacts of utility scale solar energy are majorly caused by construction and decommission of energy facilities. Construction involves the ground excavation and disturbance of endangered animal species found in this region. Another effect caused by USSED is through its operation and maintenance of solar facility. These are factors that arise as a result of operation of the facility in the environ neighboring which causes mortality of the wildlife. Potential effects of construction and decommission of energy facility involve direct impacts of ground disturbance and indirect impacts of habitat loss and degradation of the wildlife. Construction activities in these wildlife inhabited areas causes large amount of dust emission while constructing road and other network in the region hence, causing environmental pollution. Mortality of Subterranean animals is directly affected by USSED. Activities involving movement of the motor vehicles entrap

Attend a meetong (zone,planning, etc) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Attend a meetong (zone,planning, etc) - Essay Example A Summary of the Meeting The meeting in point was held on September 24, 2013 and was formal and regular (not convened because of an emergency) in nature. The meeting was also a response to the need to replenish Pequannock Township’s reputation as the oldest Township in the United States, having been founded in 1695. It had been left tentatively in the previous meeting that equipping the town for disaster response, replenishing the city’s infrastructure and socio-cultural heritage. The Pequannock Township Mayor, the Deputy, clerk, Township historian and Township manager were the attendees, alongside me. Thus, the meeting was held with one single objective- improving and effecting the affairs of Pequannock Township, New Jersey as a way of strengthening the town’s reputation. The issues and problems that were raised include maintaining houses under the Planned Residential Development which was set in the early 1990s and alternatively known as the Glens; the maintena nce of Pequannock Township’s historic sites; generating more funds for running Pequannock Township more effectively; and strengthening Pequannock Township for emergency disaster response undertakings. ... Just as Colrick recommends, strengthening Pequannock Township for emergency disaster response undertakings would in turn involve using the initial sources of revenue and savings to raise funds for the same purpose. This would be followed up with educational programs that would be used as a tool to conscientize the public on disaster preparedness. The educational programs would involve the opening of community centers to target those above 18 years. Since it is most likely that high school students have not yet attained 18 years, resolutions were arrived at to integrate disaster management and preparedness to high school educational curriculum. Herein, Pequannock Township’s revenue will also go a long way in promoting disaster preparedness and emergency response, since it is robust enough; having been accrued from fees and levies exacted from utilities and enterprises such as stores, parking spaces and road levies (Colrick, 75). Personalities and Interests Represented At the Me eting The personalities and interests represented at the meeting are the Mayor of Pequannock Township, Richard Phelan, the deputy mayor, Melissa Florence-Lynch, the manager of Pequannock Township, David Hollberg, the town clerk, Jay Delaney, the Township historian, Ed Engelbart and other township officers such as Catherine Winterfield and Joel D. Vanderhoff. The extent of public discussion was far-reaching since the matters already mentioned as the main items to the meeting were to be thoroughly and exhaustively expounded on, and not be left tentatively. An Analysis Regarding Government and Politics at the Local Level in Pequannock NJ New Jersey According

Psychology of religion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Psychology of religion - Essay Example needs to acts in his own interests and to ward off things that will harm him.† (Retrieved from www.englishforums.com) Different communities maintain different religious beliefs, though attributes affiliated with the Supreme Being are similar to some extent. The same is the case with Christianity. Christianity is the most popular religion of the globe, as its followers are highest in number to all other faiths existing in the contemporary world. Christians have extracted the attributes of God from Biblical themes and stories. But the philosophers contain diversified opinion regarding the background, description, existence and executions of these characteristics. Hodgson & King (1985) have discussed the philosophical views of eminent theologian and philosopher Thomas Aquinas of 13th century with the work of contemporary thinker Gordon Kaufman, in a comparative way, in their famous work under the title â€Å"Readings In Christian Mythology.† The work concentrates on the religious aspects of Christianity with reference of religious themes and beliefs in order to show the relation of human characteristics with those attributed with Almighty God. St. Aquinas is of the view that the merit and demerit of all the qualities obtained and possessed by humans have been determined as good or bad by Almighty God. In other words, it is no t man that decides an action, an idea, a notion or a concept as good or bad; rather, these qualities have already been decided by the Lord, on the basis of which all the actions, activities and attitude of human beings are regulated and maintained. â€Å"All that man is, and can, and has†, Aquinas suggests, â€Å"must be referred to God; and therefore every action of man, whether good or bad, acquires merit or demerit in the sight of God, as far as the action itself is concerned.† (Quoted in Porter, 1997: 212) In the same way, Aquinas submits that no words in any language can portray the attributes of God. On the other hand, man has learnt and

Anti-Trust Laws Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Anti-Trust Laws - Essay Example The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), created in 1914 when President Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Trade Commission Act into law, is a US government agency tasked with protecting consumers by preventing anti-competitive business practices.In terms of public policy, the FTC has a broad regulatory mandate to reign in organizations judged to have engaged in activities that stifle industry competition, thus eliminating products or services from reaching the marketplace that are overpriced, substandard or lacking in the innovation that true competition would engender.FTC chairpersons have wide discretion regarding the cases pursued by the agency. For example, despite a global antitrust campaign mounted by computer chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices against rival Intel, which is supported by at least two FTC commissioners as well as by trade regulators in Korea and the European Commission, current agency head Deborah P. Majoras recently declined to open a formal investigation into the matt er (Labaton 1).In the FTC case against the Wisconsin Chiropractic Association (WCA), it was alleged that the organization and its executive director Russell A. Leonard violated Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C.  § 45 by conspiring to advise members of the more than 900-member association on how to increase prices for chiropractic services based on new billing codes and to boycott managed care plans in order to receive higher reimbursement rates (â€Å"Complaint†).

Gentrifying San Francisco Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Gentrifying San Francisco - Research Paper Example This involves poor residents being displaced by wealthy and resourceful people (Corbyn 1). Communities that experience gentrification are characterized by an increase in average income and a decrease in the average size of a family. Gentrification has the potential to affect the gay community in San Francisco through the displacement of people, economic shifts and social changes. One of the main challenges that the gay community in San Francisco, California is facing is gentrification. Gay leaders in influential gay neighborhoods such as Castro fear that these regions are quickly losing their identities. According to Associated Press (2007), these regions are being populated by heterosexual couples. An influx of heterosexual couples in these regions can be attributed to the forces of gentrification (Associated Press 1). Gay neighborhoods are increasingly becoming attractive to investors and developers. The gentrification debate is based on discussions around the uprooting of minority and poor individuals and families. These people are uprooted from their communities by government policies or developers. Different approaches or theories have been used to explain the cause of gentrification in San Francisco. There are five crucial factors that have been attributed to this trend. These are social-cultural, demographic-ecological, social movements, political-economic and community networks. In the case of demographic-ecological, gentrification has been attributed to demographic factors such as environment, social organization, population and technology. This approach explains the explosive increase in population of people aged between 25 and 35 years in the 1970s (Associated Press 1). As a result of this increase in population, demand for housing and amenities also increased. The second approach that is used to explain gentrification is the social-cultural approach. This approach expl ains gentrification based on sentiments, values, beliefs, ideas and

Refugees Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Refugees - Research Paper Example This process can be dated back 3 500 years ago to the times of the Hittites, ancient Egyptians, Assyrians and Babylonians (The UN Refugee Agency, n.p). Presently the UN refugee agency’s sole purpose is to protect refugees in the midst of a war in their motherland. The 1951 Geneva Convention is the main international agreement concerning the protection of refugees. It illustrates the definition of a refugee and the rights he is entitled to whilst in the guardianship of the country which signed the Geneva Convention agreement (The UN Refugee Agency, n.p). Refugees are people who are under threat for reasons such as, political opinion, religion, race, membership of a certain movement or nationality. These individuals can not return to their home country in fear of losing their lives. In the year 2005, Palestine, Somalia, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Iraq and Sierra Leone were among the leading sources of refugees (Rosenburg, n.p). Most refugees are accommodated in camps, which are usually highly concentrated with people. These camps are either built by the state or Non government organizations. These camps supply the refugees with food and the appropriate medical aid until it is safe for them to return to their own country. This can last for years and in a situation where the host country feels it will never be safe for these individuals to return home, they are resettled to another country known as the ‘third country’, which is different from their country of origin. However, refugees are rarely resettled and usually remain in their camps. As previously mentioned, the camps which refugees are settled are highly concentrated. They are also not sanitation friendly as the large number of people makes it difficult to maintain a hygienic environment. Whilst in these camps, refugees are prone to contracting many diseases. These include cholera, dysentery, tuberculosis and HIV Aids. Contagious diseases are likely to spread very fast in a refugee camp (The UN Refugee Agency, n.p). Refugees are also prone to sexual and physical violence from the guards in their camps or from individuals amongst them. This also enhances the spread of sexually transmitted diseases (Seagul, n.p). The also face problems with adjusting to the culture of the places they are relocated. In addition, it is also very difficult for them to find employment as many locals have a negative opinion about refugees. Due to the fact that they have no employment options to sustain themselves, they are prone to joining terrorist groups or other rec ruitment programs because they have no other choice. Many refugees are often put under the pressure from migrating form rural areas into urban centers of developed countries. In addition, they might not be familiar with the language and have difficulty in communication and expressing themselves. This can also lead to depression and suicide. Refugees are assisted by the government of the country which they are given asylum. They provide them with the basic necessities they require. They are also assisted by Non Governmental Organizations which are created by different charities and receive funds from donations. Volunteers also help the refugees, by bring food to the camps, teaching them the local language, giving them emotional support or giving monetary donations. Refugees can also be closely related to as homeless individuals. They have unstable housing and may require relocation at any time. They own no personal property in their place of residence. According to Hollister et al., refuges face many barriers when they are seeking for housing and are at great risk of homelessness (n.p). Most refugees are sett

Identifying Salmonella Choleraesuis Essay Example for Free

Identifying Salmonella Choleraesuis Essay The purpose of this study was to determine what an unknown bacteria was using several different microbiology lab techniques including an API test, an oxidase test, a gram stain, a hanging drop slide, and morphology identification. The unknown bacterium, which was contaminated with Serratia marcescens, was isolated by streaking the bacteria solution to single colonies. The isolated unknown white bacteria, had the appearance of circular form, convex elevation, entire margin, elongated cocci. The tests than showed that the bacteria was gram-negative, non-motile, and was identified as a Salmonella species bacteria, Salmonella choleraesuis. Introduction When applying biology to real world cases, it takes numerous tests to be able to identify exactly what a type of bacteria an unidentified bacterium is, whether it is a bacterium that is causing a person to be ill or a bacterium that is being studied in a laboratory. Often times a bacteria is taken from a contaminated sample that may contain more than one type of bacteria and therefore the specific bacteria that is to be identified has to be isolated. This can often be done by streaking the sample to single colonies. The individual colonies can then be put through several different tests that allow one to identify distinctive aspects of the bacteria. Some examples of these tests are a gram-stain and an API test. These tests allow one to figure out what properties a bacteria strain contains, such as gram negative or gram positive with the gram staining test, or what bacteria an unknown is based on positives and negative of the API test. The results of API tests, will show extremely accurately what a bacteria is based on previous tests performed. One such bacteria than can be identified is Salmonella choleraesuis. There have been many studies done where the particular strain of Salmonella needed to be identified so that a vaccine could be found. In one such study, the strain of Salmonella Choleraesuis had to be identified in order to then use live Salmonella choleraesuis to reduce the seroprevalence and the number of Salmonella carrier pigs at slaughter (Schwarz et al, 2011). By being able to identify the specific strain of the species Salmonella, scientists were about to prevent Salmonella from being passed on through pigs because of the Salmonella choleraesuis vaccine. Identification of a specific bacteria can help scientists make so many improvements in getting rid of deadly bacteria. Materials and Methods This lab was performed over several different days in order to utilize several different techniques in identifying the unknown bacteria. A tube that contained a red species S. marcescens and a white unknown bacteria was streaked to single colonies onto an agar plate using an inoculating loop. The plate was placed in the 37Â ° incubator for 24 hours. Once incubation had occurred the single colonies were used for the different microbiology lab techniques. The first of these techniques used was to determine what the morphology of the unknown bacteria was. The second of these tests was a gram stain. This test was done in order to determine if the unknown bacteria was gram negative or gram positive. The third technique used was a hanging drop slide, which was prepared using another single colony and a light microscope at 100x resolution, in order to observe the bacteria’s motility. The fourth test used was an oxidase test, which was also performed using another single colony of the unknown bacteria. This was done by placing the bacterial colony on filter paper and adding drops of oxidase reagent. The filter paper was then observed to see if it changed blue or not, in order to see if the bacteria produced cytochrome c oxidase. The final test used in the experiment was an API test. To begin the API test, a solution with bacteria and 5 mL of sterile saline, had to be made with a turbidity the same as the McFarland No. 3 (BaSO4) standard. This was done by adding loopfuls of bacteria to the saline solution, mixing the solution on the vortex, and then comparing the turbidity to the McFarland No. 3 standard, until the tubes were both at the same cloudiness. This created solution was then used in the API test by adding specified amounts to each of the microtubes on the API strip. For each of the microtubes whose names were not underlined or boxed, the tubes were filled to where the microtubes met the capsule. In the microtubes whose names were underlined, the microtubes were slightly underfilled, and then the capsule was filled with mineral oil in order to create and anaerobic environment. The last of the microbes were the ones whose names were boxed. In each of these the microtube and the capsule were filled all the way up with the bacteria. The API test strip was then placed in the 37Â °C incubator for 20 hours. After this time, observations were made about each of the different microtubes based on a given summary of results chart for the API test. A select number of microtubes had to have a few reagents added such as 10% ferric chloride, Barritt’s A and B solutions, Kovacs’ reagent, nitrate test reagent, zinc, and hydrogen peroxide, in order to see how the specific microtubes reacted at that time. Once the API test was performed, the negatives and positives found for each of the microtubes was used to identify the unknown bacteria using an identification table that showed the positives and negatives of many known bacterias. Results In the first part technique used in the lab, the morphology of the unknown bacteria colonies was found to be circular form, convex elevation, and entire margin. The second technique used, gram-staining, produced pink bacteria, which had the appearance of elongated cocci. The pink color indicated that the unknown bacteria was gram-negative. In the third technique, the hanging drop slip, there was not true motility and instead only Brownian movement. In the fourth technique, the oxidase test, the filter paper did not turn blue. In the final test, the API test, the results (Fig. 1) shows that the unknown bacteria being studied was Salmonella species, or more specifically, Salmonella choleraesuis. (Fig. 1) The API strip results after 20 hours of incubation at 37Â °C Discussion Through the use of the API test, the results most accurately showed that the bacteria was Salmonella species. This is what the bacteria was, however, it was a specific kind of Salmonella, S. choleraesuis. In the results of the tests, there were four different microtubes that contained different results than in the identification table. In each of the these cases, the API test showed positive results when the table showed negative results. Just because these didn’t match exactly, didn’t mean that the experiment didn’t work right. Each organism is different and because of this will have different reactions at times. In each of the cases, there was a small percentage that the results would be different than the identification table said it would be. With that, the Salmonella species all together was able to be identified better because, in general the different strains of Salmonella each come from the same species. There could also have been slight error when the mi crotubes were filled up. There may have been times when the tubes were overfilled or underfilled or air bubbles may have gotten into the tubes changing the results. Overall, the results were fairly accurate since the Salmonella species was able to be identified. The other tests used in the experiment were also useful in helping identify that S. choleraesuis was the unknown bacteria. It can be shown through previous tests that S. choleraesuis and Salmonella strains have similar characteristics to those found from the techniques used in this lab. In several cases it is shown that Salmonella strains are gram-negative (Kempf et al, 2012). The fact that S. choleraesuis fit the characteristics of previous studies helps show that bacteria was found correctly when preforming the different techniques. References Agbor, T. A., McCormick, B. A. (2011). Salmonella effectors: Imortant players modulating host cell function during infection. Cell Microbiology , 13 (12), 1858-69. Schwarz, P., Kich, J. D., Kolb, J., Cardoso, M. (2011). Use of an avirulentlive Salmonella Choleraesuis vaccine to reduce the prevalence of Salmonella carrier pigs at slaughter. Vet Rec , 21 (169), 553.

The Darknet And The Future Information Technology Essay

The Darknet And The Future Information Technology Essay People have always copied things. In the past, most items of value were physical objects. Patent law and economies of scale meant that small scale copying of physical objects was usually uneconomic, and large-scale copying (if it infringed) was stoppable using policemen and courts. Today, things of value are increasingly less tangible: often they are just bits and bytes or can be accurately represented as bits and bytes. The widespread deployment of packet-switched networks and the huge advances in computers and codec-technologies has made it feasible (and indeed attractive) to deliver such digital works over the Internet. This presents great opportunities and great challenges. The opportunity is low-cost delivery of personalized, desirable high-quality content. The challenge is that such content can be distributed illegally. Copyright law governs the legality of copying and distribution of such valuable data, but copyright protection is increasingly strained in a world of programmab le computers and high-speed networks. The dramatic rise in the efficiency of the darknet can be traced back to the general technological improvements in these infrastructure areas. At the same time, most attempts to fight the darknet can be viewed as efforts to deprive it of one or more of the infrastructure items. Legal action has traditionally targeted search engines and, to a lesser extent, the distribution network. As we will describe later in the paper, this has been partially successful. The drive for legislation on mandatory watermarking aims to deprive the darknet of rendering devices. We will argue that watermarking approaches are technically flawed and unlikely to have any material impact on the darknet. Finally, most content protection systems are meant to prevent or delay the injection of new objects into the darknet. Based on our first assumption, no such system constitutes an impenetrable barrier, and we will discuss the merits of some popular systems. We see no technical impediments to the darknet becoming increasingly efficient (measured by aggregate library size and available bandwidth). However, the darknet, in all its transport-layer embodiments, is under legal attack. In this paper, we speculate on the technical and legal future of the darknet, concentrating particularly, but not exclusively, on peer-to-peer networks. The rest of this paper is structured as follows. Section 2 analyzes different manifestations of the darknet with respect to their robustness to attacks on the infrastructure requirements described above and speculates on the future development of the darknet. Section 3 describes content protection mechanisms, their probable effect on the darknet, and the impact of the darknet upon them. In sections 4 and 5, we speculate on the scenarios in which the darknet will be effective, and how businesses may need to behave to compete effectively with it. 2 The Evolution of the Darknet We classify the different manifestations of the darknet that have come into existence in recent years with respect to the five infrastructure requirements described and analyze weaknesses and points of attack. As a system, the darknet is subject to a variety of attacks. Legal action continues to be the most powerful challenge to the darknet. However, the darknet is also subject to a variety of other common threats (e.g. viruses, spamming) that, in the past, have lead to minor disruptions of the darknet, but could be considerably more damaging. In this section we consider the potential impact of legal developments on the darknet. Most of our analysis focuses on system robustness, rather than on detailed legal questions. We regard legal questions only with respect to their possible effect: the failure of certain nodes or links (vertices and edges of the graph defined above). In this sense, we are investigating a well known problem in distributed systems. 2.1 Early Small-Worlds Networks Prior to the mid 1990s, copying was organized around groups of friends and acquaintances. The copied objects were music on cassette tapes and computer programs. The rendering devices were widely-available tape players and the computers of the time see Fig. 1. Content injection was trivial, since most objects were either not copy protected or, if they were equipped with copy protection mechanisms, the mechanisms were easily defeated. The distribution network was a sneaker net of floppy disks and tapes (storage), which were handed in person between members of a group or were sent by postal mail. The bandwidth of this network albeit small by todays standards was sufficient for the objects of the time. The main limitation of the sneaker net with its mechanical transport layer was latency. It could take days or weeks to obtain a copy of an object. Another serious limitation of these networks was the lack of a sophisticated search engine. There were limited attempts to prosecute individuals who were trying to sell copyrighted objects they had obtained from the darknet (commercial piracy). However, the darknet as a whole was never under significant legal threat. Reasons may have included its limited commercial impact and the protection from legal surveillance afforded by sharing amongst friends. The sizes of object libraries available on such networks are strongly influenced by the interconnections between the networks. For example, schoolchildren may copy content from their family network to their school network and thereby increase the size of the darknet object library available to each. Such networks have been studied extensively and are classified as interconnected small-worlds networks. [24] There are several popular examples of the characteristics of such systems. For example, most people have a social group of a few score of people. Each of these people has a group of friends that partly overlap with their friends friends, and also introduces more people. It is estimated that, on average, each person is connected to every other person in the world by a chain of about six people from which arises the term six degrees of separation. These findings are remarkably broadly applicable (e.g. [20],[3]). The chains are on average so short because certain super-peers have many links. In our example, some people are gregarious and have lots of friends from different social or geographical circles.. We suspect that these findings have implications for sharing on darknets, and we will return to this point when we discuss the darknets of the future later in this paper. The small-worlds darknet continues to exist. However, a number of technological advances have given rise to new forms of the darknet that have superseded the small-worlds for some object types (e.g. audio). 2.2 Central Internet Servers By 1998, a new form of the darknet began to emerge from technological advances in several areas. The internet had become mainstream, and as such its protocols and infrastructure could now be relied upon by anyone seeking to connect users with a centralized service or with each other. The continuing fall in the price of storage together with advances in compression technology had also crossed the threshold at which storing large numbers of audio files was no longer an obstacle to mainstream users. Additionally, the power of computers had crossed the point at which they could be used as rendering devices for multimedia content. Finally, CD ripping became a trivial method for content injection. The first embodiments of this new darknet were central internet servers with large collections of MP3 audio files. A fundamental change that came with these servers was the use of a new distribution network: The internet displaced the sneaker net at least for audio content. This solved several problems of the old darknet. First, latency was reduced drastically. Secondly, and more importantly, discovery of objects became much easier because of simple and powerful search mechanisms most importantly the general-purpose world-wide-web search engine. The local view of the small world was replaced by a global view of the entire collection accessible by all users. The main characteristic of this form of the darknet was centralized storage and search a simple architecture that mirrored mainstream internet servers. Centralized or quasi-centralized distribution and service networks make sense for legal online commerce. Bandwidth and infrastructure costs tend to be low, and having customers visit a commerce site means the merchant can display adverts, collect profiles, and bill efficiently. Additionally, management, auditing, and accountability are much easier in a centralized model. However, centralized schemes work poorly for illegal object distribution because large, central servers are large single points of failure: If the distributor is breaking the law, it is relatively easy to force him to stop. Early MP3 Web and FTP sites were commonly hosted by universities, corporations, and ISPs. Copyright-holders or their representatives sent cease and desist letters to these web-site operators and web-owners citing copyright infringement and in a few cases followed up with legal action [15]. The threats of legal action were successful attacks on those centralized networks, and MP3 web and FTP sites disappeared from the mainstream shortly after they appeared. 2.3 Peer-to-Peer Networks The realization that centralized networks are not robust to attack (be it legal or technical) has spurred much of the innovation in peer-to-peer networking and file sharing technologies. In this section, we examine architectures that have evolved. Early systems were flawed because critical components remained centralized (Napster) or because of inefficiencies and lack of scalability of the protocol (gnutella) [17]. It should be noted that the problem of object location in a massively distributed, rapidly changing, heterogeneous system was new at the time peer-to-peer systems emerged. Efficient and highly scalable protocols have been proposed since then [9],[23]. 2.3.1. Napster Napster was the service that ignited peer-to-peer file sharing in 1999 [14]. There should be little doubt that a major portion of the massive (for the time) traffic on Napster was of copyrighted objects being transferred in a peer-to-peer model in violation of copyright law. Napster succeeded where central servers had failed by relying on the distributed storage of objects not under the control of Napster. This moved the injection, storage, network distribution, and consumption of objects to users. However, Napster retained a centralized database  [1]  with a searchable index on the file name. The centralized database itself became a legal target [15]. Napster was first enjoined to deny certain queries (e.g. Metallica) and then to police its network for all copyrighted content. As the size of the darknet indexed by Napster shrank, so did the number of users. This illustrates a general characteristic of darknets: there is positive feedback between the size of the object library and aggregate bandwidth and the appeal of the network for its users. 2.3.2. Gnutella The next technology that sparked public interest in peer-to-peer file sharing was Gnutella. In addition to distributed object storage, Gnutella uses a fully distributed database described more fully in [13]. Gnutella does not rely upon any centralized server or service a peer just needs the IP address of one or a few participating peers to (in principle) reach any host on the Gnutella darknet. Second, Gnutella is not really run by anyone: it is an open protocol and anyone can write a Gnutella client application. Finally, Gnutella and its descendants go beyond sharing audio and have substantial non-infringing uses. This changes its legal standing markedly and puts it in a similar category to email. That is, email has substantial non-infringing use, and so email itself is not under legal threat even though it may be used to transfer copyrighted material unlawfully. 2.4 Robustness of Fully Distributed Darknets Fully distributed peer-to-peer systems do not present the single points of failure that led to the demise of central MP3 servers and Napster. It is natural to ask how robust these systems are and what form potential attacks could take. We observe the following weaknesses in Gnutella-like systems: Free riding Lack of anonymity 2.4.1 Free Riding Peer-to-peer systems are often thought of as fully decentralized networks with copies of objects uniformly distributed among the hosts. While this is possible in principle, in practice, it is not the case. Recent measurements of libraries shared by gnutella peers indicate that the majority of content is provided by a tiny fraction of the hosts [1]. In effect, although gnutella appears to be a peer-to-peer network of cooperating hosts, in actual fact it has evolved to effectively be another largely centralized system see Fig. 2. Free riding (i.e. downloading objects without sharing them) by many gnutella users appears to be main cause of this development. Widespread free riding removes much of the power of network dynamics and may reduce a peer-to-peer network into a simple unidirectional distribution system from a small number of sources to a large number of destinations. Of course, if this is the case, then the vulnerabilities that we observed in centralized systems (e.g. FTP-serve rs) are present again. Free riding and the emergence of super-peers have several causes: Peer-to-peer file sharing assumes that a significant fraction of users adhere to the somewhat post-capitalist idea of sacrificing their own resources for the common good of the network. Most free-riders do not seem to adopt this idea. For example, with 56 kbps modems still being the network connection for most users, allowing uploads constitutes a tangible bandwidth sacrifice. One approach is to make collaboration mandatory. For example, Freenet [6] clients are required to contribute some disk space. However, enforcing such requirements without a central infrastructure is difficult. Existing infrastructure is another reason for the existence of super-peers. There are vast differences in the resources available to different types of hosts. For example, a T3 connection provides the combined bandwidth of about one thousand 56 kbps telephone connections. 2.4.2 Lack of Anonymity Users of gnutella who share objects they have stored are not anonymous. Current peer-to-peer networks permit the server endpoints to be determined, and if a peer-client can determine the IP address and affiliation of a peer, then so can a lawyer or government agency. This means that users who share copyrighted objects face some threat of legal action. This appears to be yet another explanation for free riding. There are some possible technological workarounds to the absence of endpoint anonymity. We could imagine anonymizing routers, overseas routers, object fragmentation, or some other means to complicate the effort required by law-enforcement to determine the original source of the copyrighted bits. For example, Freenet tries to hide the identity of the hosts storing any given object by means of a variety of heuristics, including routing the object through intermediate hosts and providing mechanisms for easy migration of objects to other hosts. Similarly, Mnemosyne [10] tries to organize object storage, such that individual hosts may not know what objects are stored on them. It is conjectured in [10] that this may amount to common-carrier status for the host. A detailed analysis of the legal or technical robustness of these systems is beyond the scope of this paper. 2.4.3 Attacks In light of these weaknesses, attacks on gnutella-style darknets focus on their object storage and search infrastructures. Because of the prevalence of super-peers, the gnutella darknet depends on a relatively small set of powerful hosts, and these hosts are promising targets for attackers. Darknet hosts owned by corporations are typically easily removed. Often, these hosts are set up by individual employees without the knowledge of corporate management. Generally corporations respect intellectual property laws. This together with their reluctance to become targets of lawsuits, and their centralized network of hierarchical management makes it relatively easy to remove darknet hosts in the corporate domain. While the structures at universities are typically less hierarchical and strict than those of corporations, ultimately, similar rules apply. If the .com and .edu T1 and T3 lines were pulled from under a darknet, the usefulness of the network would suffer drastically. This would leave DSL, ISDN, and cable-modem users as the high-bandwidth servers of objects. We believe limiting hosts to this class would present a far less effective piracy network today from the perspective of acquisition because of the relative rarity of high-bandwidth consumer connections, and hence users would abandon this darknet. However, consumer broadband is becoming more popular, so in the long run it is probable that there will be adequate consumer bandwidth to support an effective consumer darknet. The obvious next legal escalation is to bring direct or indirect (through the affiliation) challenges against users who share large libraries of copyrighted material. This is already happening and the legal threats or actions appear to be successful [7]. This requires the collaboration of ISPs in identifying their customers, which appears to be forthcoming due to requirements that the carrier must take to avoid liability  [2]  and, in some cases, because of corporate ties between ISPs and content providers. Once again, free riding makes this attack strategy far more tractable. It is hard to predict further legal escalation, but we note that the DMCA (digital millennium copyright act) is a far-reaching (although not fully tested) example of a law that is potentially quite powerful. We believe it probable that there will be a few more rounds of technical innovations to sidestep existing laws, followed by new laws, or new interpretations of old laws, in the next few years. 2.4.4 Conclusions All attacks we have identified exploit the lack of endpoint anonymity and are aided by the effects of free riding. We have seen effective legal measures on all peer-to-peer technologies that are used to provide effectively global access to copyrighted material. Centralized web servers were effectively closed down. Napster was effectively closed down. Gnutella and Kazaa are under threat because of free rider weaknesses and lack of endpoint anonymity. Lack of endpoint anonymity is a direct result of the globally accessible global object database, and it is the existence of the global database that most distinguishes the newer darknets from the earlier small worlds. At this point, it is hard to judge whether the darknet will be able to retain this global database in the long term, but it seems seems clear that legal setbacks to global-index peer-to-peer will continue to be severe. However, should Gnutella-style systems become unviable as darknets, systems, such as Freenet or Mnemosyne might take their place. Peer-to-peer networking and file sharing does seem to be entering into the mainstream both for illegal and legal uses. If we couple this with the rapid build-out of consumer broadband, the dropping price of storage, and the fact that personal computers are effectively establishing themselves as centers of home-entertainment, we suspect that peer-to-peer functionality will remain popular and become more widespread. 2.5 Small Worlds Networks Revisited In this section we try to predict the evolution of the darknet should global peer-to-peer networks be effectively stopped by legal means. The globally accessible global database is the only infrastructure component of the darknet that can be disabled in this way. The other enabling technologies of the darknet (injection, distribution networks, rendering devices, storage) will not only remain available, but rapidly increase in power, based on general technological advances and the possible incorporation of cryptography. We stress that the networks described in this section (in most cases) provide poorer services than global network, and would only arise in the absence of a global database. In the absence of a global database, small-worlds networks could again become the prevalent form of the darknet. However, these small-worlds will be more powerful than they were in the past. With the widespread availability of cheap CD and DVD readers and writers as well as large hard disks, the bandwidth of the sneaker net has increased dramatically, the cost of object storage has become negligible and object injection tools have become ubiquitous. Furthermore, the internet is available as a distribution mechanism that is adequate for audio for most users, and is becoming increasingly adequate for video and computer programs. In light of strong cryptography, it is hard to imagine how sharing could be observed and prosecuted as long as users do not share with strangers. In concrete terms, students in dorms will establish darknets to share content in their social group. These darknets may be based on simple file sharing, DVD-copying, or may use special application programs or servers: for example, a chat or instant-messenger client enhanced to share content with members of your buddy-list. Each student will be a member of other darknets: for example, their family, various special interest groups, friends from high-school, and colleagues in part-time jobs (Fig. 3). If there are a few active super-peers users that locate and share objects with zeal then we can anticipate that content will rapidly diffuse between darknets, and relatively small darknets arranged around social groups will approach the aggregate libraries that are provided by the global darknets of today. Since the legal exposure of such sharing is quite limited, we believe that sharing amongst socially oriented groups will increase unabated. Small-worlds networks suffer somewhat from the lack of a global database; each user can only see the objects stored by his small world neighbors. This raises a number of interesting questions about the network structure and object flow: What graph structure will the network have? For example, will it be connected? What will be the average distance between two nodes? Given a graph structure, how will objects propagate through the graph? In particular, what fraction of objects will be available at a given node? How long does it take for objects to propagate (diffuse) through the network? Questions of this type have been studied in different contexts in a variety of fields (mathematics, computer science, economics, and physics). A number of empirical studies seek to establish structural properties of different types of small world networks, such as social networks [20] and the world-wide web [3]. These works conclude that the diameter of the examined networks is small, and observe further structural properties, such as a power law of the degree distribution [5], A number of authors seek to model these networks by means of random graphs, in order to perform more detailed mathematical analysis on the models [2],[8],[21],[22] and, in particular, study the possibility of efficient search under different random graph distributions [18],[19]. We will present a quantitative study of the structure and dynamics of small-worlds networks in an upcoming paper, but to summarize, small-worlds darknets can be extremely efficient for popular titles: very few peers are needed to satis fy requests for top-20 books, songs, movies or computer programs. If darknets are interconnected, we expect the effective introduction rate to be large. Finally, if darknet clients are enhanced to actively seek out new popular content, as opposed to the user-demand based schemes of today, small-worlds darknets will be very efficient. 3 Introducing Content into the Darknet Our analysis and intuition have led us to believe that efficient darknets in global or small-worlds form will remain a fact of life. In this section we examine rights-management technologies that are being deployed to limit the introduction rate or decrease the rate of diffusion of content into the darknet. 3.1 Conditional Access Systems A conditional-access system is a simple form of rights-management system in which subscribers are given access to objects based (typically) on a service contract. Digital rights management systems often perform the same function, but typically impose restrictions on the use of objects after unlocking. Conditional access systems such as cable, satellite TV, and satellite radio offer little or no protection against objects being introduced into the darknet from subscribing hosts. A conditional-access system customer has no access to channels or titles to which they are not entitled, and has essentially free use of channels that he has subscribed or paid for. This means that an investment of ~$100 (at time of writing) on an analog video-capture card is sufficient to obtain and share TV programs and movies. Some CA systems provide post-unlock protections but they are generally cheap and easy to circumvent. Thus, conditional access systems provide a widely deployed, high-bandwidth source of video material for the darknet. In practice, the large size and low cost of CA-provided video content will limit the exploitation of the darknet for distributing video in the near-term. The same can not be said of the use of the darknet to distribute conditional-access system broadcast keys. At some level, each head-end (satellite or cable TV head-end) uses an encryption key that must be made available to each customer (it is a broadcast), and in the case of a satellite system this could be millions of homes. CA-system providers take measures to limit the usefulness of exploited session keys (for example, they are changed every few seconds), but if darknet latencies are low, or if encrypted broadcast data is cached, then the darknet could threaten CA-system revenues. We observe that the exposure of the conditional access provider to losses due to piracy is proportional to the number of customers that share a session key. In this regard, cable-operators are in a safer position than satellite operators because a cable operator can narrowcast more cheaply. 3.2 DRM Systems A classical-DRM system is one in which a client obtains content in protected (typically encrypted) form, with a license that specifies the uses to which the content may be put. Examples of licensing terms that are being explored by the industry are play on these three hosts, play once, use computer program for one hour, etc. The license and the wrapped content are presented to the DRM system whose responsibility is to ensure that: The client cannot remove the encryption from the file and send it to a peer, The client cannot clone its DRM system to make it run on another host, The client obeys the rules set out in the DRM license, and, The client cannot separate the rules from the payload. Advanced DRM systems may go further. Some such technologies have been commercially very successful the content scrambling system used in DVDs, and (broadly interpreted) the protection schemes used by conditional access system providers fall into this category, as do newer DRM systems that use the internet as a distribution channel and computers as rendering devices. These technologies are appealing because they promote the establishment of new businesses, and can reduce distribution costs. If costs and licensing terms are appealing to producers and consumers, then the vendor thrives. If the licensing terms are unappealing or inconvenient, the costs are too high, or competing systems exist, then the business will fail. The DivX DVD rental model failed on most or all of these metrics, but CSS-protected DVDs succeeded beyond the wildest expectations of the industry. On personal computers, current DRM systems are software-only systems using a variety of tricks to make them hard to subvert. DRM enabled consumer electronics devices are also beginning to emerge. In the absence of the darknet, the goal of such systems is to have comparable security to competing distribution systems notably the CD and DVD so that programmable computers can play an increasing role in home entertainment. We will speculate whether these strategies will be successful in the Sect. 5. DRM systems strive to be BOBE (break-once, break everywhere)-resistant. That is, suppliers anticipate (and the assumptions of the darknet predict) that individual instances (clients) of all security-systems, whether based on hardware or software, will be subverted. If a client of a system is subverted, then all content protected by that DRM client can be unprotected. If the break can be applied to any other DRM client of that class so that all of those users can break their systems, then the DRM-scheme is BOBE-weak. If, on the other hand, knowledge gained breaking one client cannot be applied elsewhere, then the DRM system is BOBE-strong. Most commercial DRM-systems have BOBE-exploits, and we note that the darknet applies to DRM-hacks as well. The CSS system is an exemplary BOBE-weak system. The knowledge and code that comprised the De-CSS exploit spread uncontrolled around the world on web-sites, newsgroups, and even T-shirts, in spite of the fact that, in principle, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act makes it a crime to develop these exploits. A final characteristic of existing DRM-systems is renewability. Vendors recognize the possibility of exploits, and build systems that can be field-updated. It is hard to quantify the effectiveness of DRM-systems for restricting the introduction of content into the darknet from experience with existing systems. Existing DRM-systems typically provide protection for months to years; however, the content available to such systems has to date been of minimal interest, and the content that is protected is also available in unprotected form. The one system that was protecting valuable content (DVD video) was broken very soon after compression technology and increased storage capacities and bandwidth enabled the darknet to carry video content. 3.3 Software The DRM-systems described above can be used to provide protection for software, in addition other objects (e.g. audio and video). Alternatively, copy protection systems for computer programs may embed the copy protection code in the software itself. The most important copy-protection primitive for computer programs is for the software to be bound to a host in such a way that the program will not work on an unlicensed machine. Binding requires a machine ID: this can be a unique number on a machine (e.g. a network card MAC address), or can be provided by an external dongle. For such schemes to be strong, two things must be true. First, the machine ID must not be virtualizable. For instance, if it is trivial to modify a NIC driver to return an invalid MAC address, then the software-host binding is easily broken. Second, the code that performs the binding checks must not be easy to patch. A variety of technologies that revolve around software tamper-re