Films and the American History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Films and the American History - Essay Example From this paper it is clear that the United States of America under the presidency of George Bush had a major role in the Gulf War. In the movie, we see that Major Archie Gates and Chief Elgin cannot believe what the inhabitants go, though. They find out that the government incited the citizens to fight the rule of Saddam Hussein with a promise to support them. They later find out that the government did not give them the support they promised. The United States government is highly involved in the business in the Middle East. The new evidence of nonsupport from the government makes them think deeply about their role in the fight.As the discussion stresses the movie shows the weakness of the American president because the directors show the affair between Bill and Monica. The relationship is a depiction of real life events that occur in the real-time events. Historically, the United States and Britain fought each other during the American Revolution. On the other hand, during the Wor ld War, the nations were strong allies and the United States protects Britain. In addition to the World War, the two nations were strong allies during the Cold War and Gulf War. There are moments historically when the only superpower country to give United States support in the Iraq war was Britain.  The relationship the two countries are strong, and both leaders work towards a general goal. The wives of both leaders also have a strong relationship showing that there is a special kind of relationship.

The Importance of Performing Close Out Activities Before Essay Example for Free

The Importance of Performing Close Out Activities Before Essay The importance of performing close out activities before closing the project and the business risks associated with skipping these activities John Constance MSc in Project Management, University of Liverpool Week 5 Discussion Question Abstract Most projects are initiated, planned, executed and monitored and controlled with the full cognizant of executives and clients. However, once the project has been considered an overall success, a part from preparing and conducting opening event with ribbon cutting and extensive speeches, little attention is paid to formal close out documentation. This often leads to incomplete information for use by facility operations and maintenance team or the next project team to implement a similar project. According to Ed Naughton, Director General, Institute of Project Management Ireland (www. projectmanagement. e, 2011) â€Å"without a project close out plan it will is difficult to know if the project was completed as planned, and how this information can assist the team in the next project as there will be no information on lessons learned therefore providing no assurance that past mistakes will not be repeated in another future project†. Introduction In my nine years of project management I have learned that to start a project is difficult; but to close a project is both difficult and at times seemingly impossible. In order to close a project smoothly without undergoing stress even at celebration ceremonies, it is very important a plan is initiated during the planning phase. The key activities, processes and procedures, and acceptance conditions and documentation must be agreed and documented and this plan tracked and updated during execution and executed during closure, meeting not only the project team expectation but also the acceptance of the client. If this does not happen the project runs the risk of not being completed on schedule, within budget and targeted quality, also making future operations and maintenance difficult. Experts View Robert K. Wysocki (Wysocki: pp 283-288) explained how â€Å"an effective project close out plan gets client to accept or reject deliverables through several applied approaches; it records all changes made in the life of the project; it keeps project records that can assist in estimating duration and cost of future projects; the lessons learned and best practices from past projects can be used to provide training for new project managers and project team; and the performance evaluation reports from functional managers can also be used as a guide for the next project†. Wysocki also explained how â€Å"end of project impact or post-implementation audit helps the team and client determine if project goals and activity were achieved as planned, budgeted, scheduled and according to quality targets, specifications and client satisfaction† (Wysocki: pp 289). Other experts that support the importance of preparing close out plan before the project closure include, Robert P. Walsh (2004, pp. 1) who wrote that â€Å"the close-out phase includes final testing and cleaning, occupancy approval from local authorities, punch list walk through, staff training, turnover of final documents, and move-in of furniture, fixtures, and equipment; thereby making planning ahead and outlining the close-out requirements at the onset of the project certain of a smooth start to occupying the new workplace†. Dimitrios Litsikakis (The Importance of Project Closeout and Review in Project Management, 2007) said â€Å"projects managed with no close out plan continue to fail on new projects because management forgets to records past actions as they did not have the time to think and conduct a post implementation review to determine what went wrong and what should be fixed next time†. Conclusion The risk of skipping planned project activities as listed by Robert Wysocki (2009, pp. 83-288) is a big threat for the likelihood of future problems. This is the case with 2 projects in South Sudan. The first had close out problems because client condition of satisfaction for deliverables was not documented at the start of the project, nor was it tracked, updated, discussed and agreed. During close out, senior management from the client and contractor blamed each other for not having a plan making close out a war of words to be settled by an Arbitrator. Also, another project, although with a documented close out plan that was reviewed and updated on a monthly basis, did not include an agreement as to who would be the receptor of project asset. This brought chaos during closure when government claimed all assets should be turn over to them and the donor refused, simply because there was no indication of this in the close out document.

The Introduction And History Of Istanbul Tourism Essay

The Introduction And History Of Istanbul Tourism Essay Istanbul is the largest city of Turkey. It is the financial capital of Turkey, making it the busiest city in Turkey. It is located in the northwestern side of Turkey. In the Marmara region having a total area of 5,343 square kilometers (2,063 sq mi). The Sea of Marmara is connected to the Black Sea by the Bosphorus strait, which divides Istanbul into European that is the Thracian side, which is the economic and historic side, and Antolian side that is the Asian side. It has a population of 13.5 million due to which it is listed in one of the largest cities in the world for population in city limits. In the year 2008 in the terms of gross domestic product Istanbul was ranked 34th because of its GDP being US$182 Billion. 27 percent of Turkeys GDP is contributed by Istanbul. Two- fifths of the Turkish economy of the nations tax revenue, is contributed by Istanbul. INTRODUCTION TO THE DESTINATION The university of California, Berkley in the year 2008, September said that Istanbul is the Cultural capital of Europe. In the year 2010, The New York Times rated Istanbul on number 19th for the list of The 31 places to go in 2010. In the year 2010 around 7 million foreign tourists visited Istanbul, which made it worlds tenth- most visited city in the world. Istanbul itself has 17 palaces, 49 churches and 64 mosques, which makes it the most ideal place for cultural tourism. Istanbul is the city of history, culture and diversity. It is now being considered even as a place for educational tourism, as it has one of the worlds oldest universities. The administrative capital of Turkey has always been Istanbul. The worlds busiest waterway is Bosphorous, which is in Istanbul. It is located between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea. Sarayburnu had found Istanbul around 600 BC. Istanbul is a muslim dominated country. After the end of Ottoman Empire this city has become for cosmopolitan. A fter muslims this city is dominated by orthodox Christians. This city has always been considered as the cultural hub. In the 19th century it was considered the artistic center for regional purposes. Istanbul has a lot of shopping centers from the modern period as well as the historic period. The city has a Mediterranean climate. The northern part of the city has a lot of humidity due to the water bodies and the sea. Fog is a common site in the city. Winters are very cold. During winters black sea faces lake effect snow.Exhibition conducted in Tate Modern in the city of London on Global Cities on 27th August 2007 had Istanbul featured along with London, Cairo, Shanghai and Los Angeles. In which it was compared to all these cities for their size, speed, form density and diversity. The slogan that the Tourism board of Turkey uses to promote Istanbul is also Historically Dynamic. Making it the most apt city for foreigners to feel close to the culture and history. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In the entire world, cultural and historical heritage and tourism have had many links throughout. According to the economic justification given by people tourism is a tool used for the preservation of heritages, artifacts and the folk life of the destination (Hall, 1994). This report summarizes and focuses on the kind of tourism in Istanbul. It is known for its cultural tourism, since the government of Turkey also promotes Istanbul as the most historically sound city. LITERATURE REVIEW OF ISTANBUL John Cleave in the year 2008 described Istanbul as the city of two continents. The mayor of Istanbul Kadir Topbas explains that Istanbul is a country not a city. In the year 1980 Istanbul did not even have enough electricity supply for the famous skyline. Few years back Istanbul had midnight curfews and even the supply of Turkish coffee had gone down. Today Istanbul is not just an immigrant city, it is much more than that, says Murat Guvenc, city planner and curator of Istanbul 1910- 2012. Kirsten Stamn in his online blog carry on in the year 2011 describes that, when some one thinks of Istanbul, people only think of the mosques, the bazaars and the architecture. But he discloses a fact that Turks love jazz. The biggest Jazz Festival every year is held in Istanbul. It is Istanbul where 15 million people come and visit the Grand Bazaar every year (Appleton. K, 2012). Istanbul has always had an East meets west history, due to the Bosphorous strait. The main selling point of Istanbul h as always been bridge between Asia and Europe. According to a survey done in April 2012 by PortTurkey.com the nationalities that visit this city the most re Germans. They took the top spot with 10.4 percent. According to Istanbuls Culture and Tourism Director Ahmet Emre Bilgili, Istanbul is a city, which has a very old history, culture and art, which a lot of people want to experience. It has a very diversified tourism, which makes it the most visited city by the tourists. PART 2 MAIN FORM OF TOURISM Tourism in Turkey mainly focuses on the various historical sites that the city has. In 2011 Istanbuls mainly attracted form of tourism was for culture, spa and health care, which helped it rank the 6th most popular tourist destination in the world. Istanbul just does not have vacationers tourist but even visiting professional literates, for its cultural grounds on literature. Istanbul even caters to the leisure travellers. The shopaholics can have a feast in this city, as Cevahir mall is the biggest mall in Europe and the seventh largest shopping center in the world. Peter Sommer describes that while describing Istanbul it is very hard for people not to speak in superlatives. Istanbul has one of the most finest architectural and art around the world. Istanbul is Turkeys commercial hub, which is also the social, and art capital. In the year 1970 the population of this city was 3 million, which has grown to around 11 million today. The head of Cultural and Social Affairs Department, Nu man Guzey shares that Istanbul has been the capital for three empires in the past that is Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman, which makes it a center of history and culture having a history that is 3,000 years old. The mission statement of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipalitys Directorate of Tourism is that it is the city that has a lot of vibrancy, since a lot of cultures here have crossed and encountered in the centuries that have passed by. Their mission is to promote Istanbul more as a cultural destination known for its heritage making it the most visited and vibrant tourist destinations in the world. CHARACTERISTICS OF TOURISTS In the year 2012 the number of tourists that visited Istanbul increased at a very large scale. Istanbul Culture and Tourism Directorate released the figures of tourists visiting the city has increased by 18 percent compared to the year 2011. Around 4.2 million tourists visited Istanbul. Around 4 million tourists visited Istanbul by plane and the rest by ferries or ships. Wizard Istanbul is a travel guide developed by the Ministry of Culture and tourism is an online website which is available 24 hours to help the foreign tourists. Istanbul had a whooping number of 4,231,000 tourists. Around 26.8 percent of the tourists that entered Turkey visited Istanbul. 4,052,908 tourists arrived by plane and the rest 178,511 came by sea. The majority of tourists who visited Istanbul were from Germany, which was then followed by Russia, America, France, England and Iran. This year there was a decline in the tourists form Israel. Since the year 2007 Spaniards have visited Istanbul a lot more frequen tly. Istanbul has made Turkey the top 10 biggest revenue generators in the world due to tourism. Spending Capacity The Turkish Lira was not stable for quiet some years; euros and dollars are a common currency in most of the hotels and tour operators. Earlier it was a bargain destination, it still has a god value for money when it comes to travelling. A room for two people in three star hotels would cost around $80 per night in Sultanahmet. A decent meal would cost around TL20 to TL25. Public transportation is very cheap and efficient and some of the citys historical places people can visit for free. If the non-residents buy any expensive item from Istanbul they can participate in the national Global Refund. This means that at the time of departure the tourist can present the refund receipt at the airport tax return. This way the tourists get their tax back. DURATION OF STAY Tourists, who generally visit Istanbul, prefer staying there for 5 to 6 days. Tourists, which travel to Istanbul even travel to Cappadocia, which is not very far from Istanbul. The cultural tourists travel for 10 days since they visit the blue mosque. TIME AND SPACE Specific type of Tourist In the year 2004, the maximum people who visited Istanbul were travelling only for cultural perspective. Hence Istanbul had a very high amount of cultural tourism. In more recent years the cultural tourism in this city has increased to 30 percent. 40 percent of the tourists visit the museums and the mosques. The major target markets for Istanbul are cultural tourists. The total amount of visitors every year to the Istanbul museum is 3,932,852 (Ministry of Culture and Tourism, 2008). Lot of tourists visit this city for the festivals as well. After the year 2000 the government has taken important steps to celebrate festivals publically, so that not only the residents can take part but also the tourists can be a part of it. The European Union supports the cultural tourism, making this city more convenient for the culturally inclined tourists. The cultural tourists are generally rich and highly educated. The cultural tourists are generally known as upper level tourists. Cultural tourists who travel to Istanbul are dived into two groups according to the attractions they visit. The first groups of attractions are monuments, museums. Theme parks, architectural and sculptures. The second group of attractions is music and dance, events, theatre language, festivals. CONTRIBUTION TO GDP Turkey has become the 15th greatest economy of the world in the year 2012. Having a GDP of $729 billion. Istanbul has always been the economic center for Turkey, contributing a GDP of $174 billion. It generates 22 percent of the GDP just through tourism and 40 percent is generated through the travel and tourism tax. Istanbul has made carved a niche for itself and is now listed in the Global cities of the world. Due to the high GDP in Istanbul, it has started creating more jobs, further improving the countrys balance overall. THE GLOBAL CONTEXT OF CONTEMPORARY TOURISM Travelling is something that everyone enjoys. Travelling makes life interesting, and can bring a new view of living life. The purpose of everyones travelling can be different like some people travel for rich culture, history and some to meet and come across interesting people. A lot of people travel and yet they would not be able to travel the whole world, as they might not have the correct resources. Travelling around the world gives people a better understanding of what is going around in the different parts of the world, and how different is every countries culture and heritage. Traveling even changes a persons perspective towards life. Travelling broadens a persons mind and soul. In basic words it has always been a human desire to travel to different places. Travelling changes a person inside out. Travel for people will always be an invaluable asset. Most of the common reasons why people travel is to try out new things. Different places have different things to see and try, and t his is the motivation which most of the people have. GLOBALIZATION- EFFECT ON TOURISM

Compare and contrast the three portrayals of London in Blake’s :: English Literature

Compare and contrast the three portrayals of London in Blake’s London, Wordsworth’s Composed Upon Westminster Bridge and Johnson’s Inglan Is A Bitch. ============================================================== In â€Å"London†, Blake creates the image that London is a very grim place. He describes it, as having mapped out streets, even the river Thames is not flowing along its natural route, the whole place is unnatural, and false. All Blake can see is misery everywhere. This is made very clear by the repetition of the word â€Å"every†: â€Å"In every cry of every man, In every infant’s cry of fear, In every voice, in every ban, The mind-forg’d manacles I hear.† He uses repetition to get the message across that he sees real misery everywhere he looks, and in everything he hears. It gets the message into your mind. Also, â€Å"in every ban† is a public declaration, saying that everything about the place is made so that people are miserable. Blake goes on to say how London is a very dirty place; â€Å"black’ning church appals† creates the image of dirt being everywhere, even on churches, which are normally seen as places that are not left to get dirty. Clearly, Blake does not like London, and uses imagery to show this. With use of repetition, vivid images of the dirty, and miserable place he sees are created. Wordsworth however, has a very different approach to London. He sees it as the finest place on Earth, and that never before has he seen a place that really is so beautiful as London. He says that if you don’t see London as being like this, then you have no soul, no feelings. There is a very positive approach to the poem. â€Å"The beauty of the morning† and â€Å"majesty† used to build a picture of what he sees. â€Å"Like a garment† is a simile used to make it sound alive. Here you see a complete contrast to the way Blake sees London. Blake's misery and dullness, now seen as happiness and beauty. Wordsworth describes the Thames as being very natural, as flowing at its own will. Blake describes it as chartered, and unnatural. A complete contrast. In Wordsworth’s poem, there is no dirt, just clean â€Å"smokeless† air. The buildings are alive in Wordsworth’s poem, but not in Blake's. It is as if the two poets, are writing about a completely different place, even though they are writing about the same place at around the same time, the 19th century. However, and important factor we can take into account, is the time of day that the poems are describing. Wordsworth’s poem is written early in the morning, just as the sun is rising.

Evaluate the Evidence for Human Impacts on Downstream Flood Risk in Rural Catchment Areas in Temperate Regions

Evaluate the evidence for human impacts on downstream flood risk in rural catchments in temperate regions. Before we can evaluate human impacts on flood risk we must first establish what is meant by temperate regions and also rural catchments. Temperate regions are generally regarded as lying between the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic Circle or the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle and therefore rivers investigated in this essay will fall within these parameters. Rural catchments are slightly harder to define, as today very few large rivers do not have some form of urban development within their catchments area. In this essay a river that is still in a predominantly rural catchment will be discussed even if there are areas of urban land within the catchment. Humans impact on flood risk falls into one of two categories. The first is deliberately and directly, through floodplain restoration, construction of dams and channel rehabilitation and all of these have fairly obvious positive effects on reducing flood risk. However it is when humans indirectly affect the flood risk, through deforestation, land use change and climate change (which all have a negative effect on flood risk) that there is less certainty into the extent of the impact that humans have. Overall though it is clear that human activity has resulted in ‘major changes’ (Goudie, 2006) in downstream flood risk in temperate regions and rural catchments. The most obvious way in which humans impact downstream flood risk is through direct adaptation of the river itself and this is also arguably also the most important way in which humans can have an impact on flood risk (Mrwoka, 1974). Damming is probably the most widespread example of how humans seek to control peak flows on rivers and the construction of dams in the UK has led to significant decreases in flooding. The reservoir created on the River Avon occupies 1. 38% of the catchment but reduces peak flow by 16% and even more impressively the reservoir on the Catcleugh in the Cheviots occupies 2. 72% of the catchment and reduces peak flow by 71% (Petts and Lewin, 1979). The creation of dams clearly reduces the flood risk overall, however, dams have a much smaller effect on rare flood events of high magnitude, due to the fact that there is a finite amount of water a dam can hold during times of high, prolonged precipitation (Goudie, 2006). On the River Avon the ratio of pre-dam discharges to post-dam discharges is a mere 1. 02 in a once-in-10 year event (Petts and Lewin, 1979). However, despite this, man’s construction of dams still has a large impact in reducing peak flood and therefore flood risk in downstream catchment areas. Floodplain restoration is another example of humans deliberately impacting on flood risk. It has been calculated that the flood reduction function of 3800 hectares of floodplain storage on the Charles River, Massachusetts saved US$ 17 million worth of downstream flood damage each year (US Corps of Engineers, 1972). Restoration has taken place on the River Cherwell between Oxford and Banbury. Here the embankments were removed and the channels restore to their pre-1900 dimensions. As a result of the rehabilitation of the channel peak flow was reduced by between 10-15% and the embankments which had been removed were shown to have been increasing peak flow by between 50-150% (Acreman et al, 2003). This clearly shows the extent to which humans can actively work to reduce the flood risk in a rural catchment area, and shows how important the role of floodplain restoration and channel rehabilitation is when reducing peak flows. A prime example of human activity indirectly affecting flood risk patterns is through deforestation. The principle here is that by removing vegetation, you remove the capacity for a significant percentage of precipitation to be intercepted by the vegetation and then evaporated before it reaches the stream. Therefore, if humans remove the vegetation in a catchment area this can increase run-off and therefore flood risk. An experimental study was conducted in 1910 to investigate the extent to which vegetation coverage affected peak flow in Colorado. Stream flows from two watersheds of approximately 80 hectares in size were compared over 8 years, before one valley was clear-felled. The catchment area which had experienced clear felling experienced 17% greater annual flow and also significantly higher peak flows (Goudie, 2006). In 1998 the Yangtze River experienced its worst floods for over 40 years, with high water remaining in some areas for 70 days. Although the precipitation over that time period was extreme, the extent of the flooding (which caused over $20billion in damages) has also been linked to the widespread deforestation that had taken place upstream of the floods. In 1957 the forest coverage of the river basin was 22% but by 1986 this figure had been reduced to 10% (Yin et al, 1998). Despite this, it has been argued that during times of prolonged rainfall, vegetation loses its ability to reduce peak flow as there is a finite limit to how much water vegetation can hold. A study on the Yangtze showed that under 90mm of heavy rainfall, surface run-off was 65mm in forested areas and 35mm in non-forested areas and therefore the forest does not retain more run-off (Cheng et al, 1998) and therefore flood risk is no greater. However, there can be no doubt that deforestation reduces seepage losses and therefore increases the convergence of seepage water and that deforestation increased the seriousness of the flooding that the Yangtze experienced in 1998 (Yin and Lee, 1999). The type of vegetation in a river basin can also have an influence on flood risk, and human activity can indirectly affect this. The principle here is that some types of vegetation retain more water than others and therefore their presence reduces flood risk. The catchment area of the Coweeta River in North Carolina was converted from deciduous hardwood forest to pine (which is evergreen) over a period of 15 years, from 1940 onwards, and as a result stream flow was reduced by 20% (Swank and Douglas, 1974). However, although certain types of plant may indeed significantly reduce stream flow, the impact they have on flood risk is often considerably smaller. It has been estimated that a forest of Ash juniper trees intercept around 40% of the precipitation that falls on them each year (Owens et al, 2006). This figure is so high as Ash juniper trees are evergreen and therefore absorb water all year round however, during storms, this figure is reduced to around 10%. This figure remains fairly similar for most vegetation during high storms. We can therefore say that although humans adapting the type of vegetation in a catchment area does have an impact on overall stream flow, the extent to which this reduces the flood risk downstream is negligible (Wilcox et al, 2006). Land use change is another example of human activity which, although it is not done with the intention of altering river flow characteristics, still has an impact on downstream flood risk. Developing urban areas in formerly rural ones is now widely acknowledged to have a ‘considerable’ hydrological impact, mainly thorough the ways in which it alters runoff (Hollis, 1988). Essentially this urbanization produces a tapestry of impermeable surfaces that increase run-off and therefore discharge during times of high precipitation (Graf, 1977). However, Hollis (1975) argues that whilst urbanization may increase the recurrence interval of small floods, in rare large scale floods, land use change has little effect on the overall peak flow, due to the fact that during large storms, rural areas become saturated quickly and then behave in much the same way as urban areas. Despite this, we can still say that land use change from urban to rural does increase the flood risk, even if this increase in risk is only during smaller events. Although we are examining flood risk in rural catchment areas, development of urban pockets in these areas must still be considered, as even catchments with only some urbanization are still more likely to suffer flooding (Wilson, 1967). Climate change is another way in which man indirectly can have an effect on flooding risk although this is a hotly contested topic, as no completely acceptable explanation of climate change has been presented before (Goudie, 2006). However, some climate models have still predicted that climate change over the next 100 years will lead to higher flood risk. This is due to the fact that in a warmer climate, the air can hold more water, which increases the potential for latent heat release during low pressure systems and therefore increased precipitation is likely (Frei et al, 1998). A model in 2002 produced by the EU group PRUDENCE compared summertime precipitation in mainland Europe from 1961-1990 and the forecast for 2071-2100 based on the climatic predictions made in the IPCC report. This found that although overall precipitation may slightly decrease over the summer, precipitation events in the 95th percentile for intensity would significantly increase (Christensen J and Christensen O, 2003). This would obviously increase the flood risk downstream in rural catchments. However, although climate change may, in the coming century, prove to have a significant impact on flooding, currently the topic is too heavily debated to draw any concrete conclusions on the extent to which human induced climate change increases flooding risk. We can therefore see that humans impact on flood risk in a variety of ways, some positive and some negative and all to varying degrees. It is worth bearing in mind that in some areas man may be impacting on flood risk in both a negative and positive way and therefore having an even larger impact on the stream than would at first be obvious. The evidence for man impacting on flood risk downstream in rural catchments is often disputed; however, it is clear that man is impacting on streams and flood risk. It is worth remembering that flooding is a perfectly natural event however rivers and the floods they can potentially unleash are in a delicate balance, and man is more than capable of upsetting that balance in a variety of ways.

George Orwell and Arthur Miller essays

George Orwell and Arthur Miller essays Arthur Miller and George Orwells writings are perceptive of Biblical views concerning social flaws and political corruption. The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, is based on the McCarthy trials, which caused the errors of the society to be revealed. These trials were a difficult time in America. Many innocent people were persecuted because they did not conform to the harshness of society. In Animal Farm, George Orwell figuratively uses symbolism to display the dominating politics in Russia at that time. Animal Farm is filled with examples of political corruption. One example is when the animals over throw the owner of the farm so they can set up their own government. They wish to set up a communist government. Napoleon and Snowball, the competing leaders of Animal Farm, both fight for the controlling position, but Snowball proves to be less powerful and falls under the rule of Napoleon. Within this government are many flaws. A communist government is one that has only one absolute ruler. A problem naturally occurs in society when one person is allowed too much power. In Animal Farm, Napoleon makes himself the sole ruler. Orwell displays Napoleon so well that the reader understands his character on a literal level (Meyers 131). The satiric allegory Orwell uses to subtlely describe communist Russia is evident in every detail (Meyers 133). At the beginning of the book, Major gives a speech expository of orthodox Marxism. Napoleon represents Stalin and Snowball symbolizes Trotsky, beca use of their opposite personalities and beliefs (Meyers 136). The major events in Russias history described in Animal Farm are Stalins forced collectivization, the Great Purge Trials, and the diplomacy with Germany that ended with Hitlers invasion in 1941 (Meyers 139). Napoleon is deceived when Frederick gives him forged bank notes, which represent the Hitler-Stalin non-aggression pact of August 1939 (Meyers 141). The conf ...

KK essays

KK essays The film A Fish Called Wanda is on the AFIs (American Film Institute) Greatest 100 Comedies list. Although this film features talented actors like John Cleese and Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline easily steals the show. Kline gives a brilliant performance as the pseudo-intellectual Otto. What makes Kline so remarkable is the way that he moves and makes his character dance across the screen. Right from the outset, in one of the films first scene, we see that Klines Otto is no normal jewel thief. Even though Otto is supposed to be working under the guise that he is Wandas (Jamie Lee Curtis) sister, he quickly gives her breast a squeeze in full view of Ken, one of the other robbers. What makes this movement work comically is that Kline does it so lightening fast and that if you blinked you might miss it. He has such control over his arm that he is able to extend it, and withdraw it in a matter of maybe a second. This allows for the suspended disbelief that Ken does not see him do it. Another movement that Kline makes also speaks volumes about his body control. Otto and Wanda are together in what I take to be Ottos quarters. They are speaking excitedly about something and he leaps into the air, grabs a pipe that is suspended from the ceiling, lifts himself completely off the ground and sails on to the bed with the grace of a ballerina. This is so interesting because Klines Otto is supposed to a be a vulgar American bank robber. His graceful movement is evidenced again when Otto and Wanda go to the garage to claim the jewels the stole from a safe. Otto is angered by the fact that the jewels are not there. He goes over to kick a car out of anger. Rather then just kicking the tire, or burying his foot into the car door, Kline leaps into up and kicks the car twice while he is in the air. He takes what is just a simple movement and makes into something much more. While Kevin Kline is not a big man i...

Bahrain Geography, History, Culture, Economy

Bahrain Geography, History, Culture, Economy Population: 738,004 (July 2010 estimate)Capital: ManamaArea: 293 square miles (760 sq km)Coastline: 100 miles (161 km)Highest Point: Jabal ad Dukhan at 400 feet (122 m)Bahrain is a small country located in the Persian Gulf. It is considered a part of the Middle East and it is an archipelago that is made up of 33 islands. The largest island of Bahrain is Bahrain Island and as such it is where most of the countrys population and economy is based. Like many other Middle Eastern nations, Bahrain has recently been in the news due to increasing social unrest and violent anti-government protests. History of Bahrain Bahrain has a long history that dates back to at least 5,000 years ago, at which time the region served as a trading center between Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley. The civilization living in Bahrain at that time was the Dilmun civilization, however, when trade with India declined around 2,000 B.C.E, so too did their civilization. In 600 B.C.E, the region became a part of the Babylonian Empire. According to the U.S. Department of State, little is known about Bahrains history from this time until the arrival of Alexander the Great  in the 4th century B.C.E.During its early years, Bahrain was known as Tylos until the 7th century when it became an Islamic nation. Bahrain was then controlled by various forces until 1783 when the Al Khalifa family took control of the region from Persia.In the 1830s, Bahrain became a British Protectorate after the Al Khalifa family signed a treaty with the United Kingdom which guaranteed British protection in the event of a military conflict with Ottoma n Turkey. In 1935, Britain established its main military base in the Persian Gulf in Bahrain but in 1968, Britain announced the end of the treaty with Bahrain and other Persian Gulf sheikdoms. As a result, Bahrain joined the eight other sheikdoms to form a union of Arab emirates. However, by 1971, they had not officially unified and Bahrain declared itself independent on August 15, 1971.In 1973, Bahrain elected its first parliament and drafted a constitution but in 1975 the parliament was broken up when it tried to remove power from the Al Khalifa family which still forms the executive branch of Bahrains government. In the 1990s, Bahrain experienced some political instability and violence from the Shia majority and as a result, the government cabinet underwent some changes. These changes initially ended the violence but in 1996 several hotels and restaurants were bombed and the country has been unstable off and on since then. Government of Bahrain Today Bahrains government is considered a constitutional monarchy and it has a chief of state (the countrys king) and a prime minister for its executive branch. It also has a bicameral legislature that is made up of the Consultative Council and the Council of Representatives. Bahrains judicial branch consists of its High Civil Appeals Court. The country is divided into five governorates (Asamah, Janubiyah, Muharraq, Shamaliyah, and Wasat) that is administered by an appointed governor. Economics and Land Use in Bahrain Bahrain has a diversified economy with many multinational firms. A large part of Bahrains economy depends on oil and petroleum production, however. Other industries in Bahrain include aluminum smelting, iron pelletization, fertilizer production, Islamic and offshore banking, insurance, ship repairing and tourism. Agriculture only represents about one percent of Bahrains economy but the main products are fruit, vegetables, poultry, dairy products, shrimp, and fish. Geography and Climate of Bahrain Bahrain is located in the Middle Easts Persian Gulf to the east of Saudi Arabia. It is a small nation with a total area of just 293 square miles (760 sq km) spread out over many different small islands. Bahrain has a relatively flat topography consisting of desert plain. The central part of Bahrains main island has a low elevation escarpment and the highest point in the country is Jabal ad Dukhan at 400 feet (122 m). The climate of Bahrain is arid and as such it has mild winters and very hot, humid summers. The countrys capital and largest city, Manama, has an average January low temperature of 57ËšF (14ËšC) and an average August high temperature of 100ËšF (38ËšC).​ References Central Intelligence Agency. (11 February 2011). CIA - The World Factbook - Bahrain. Retrieved from: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ba.html Infoplease.com. (n.d.). Bahrain: History, Geography, Government, and Culture- Infoplease.com. Retrieved from: infoplease.com/ipa/A0107313.htmlUnited States Department of State. (20 January 2011). Bahrain. Retrieved from: state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/26414.htmWikipedia.com. (27 February 2011). Bahrain - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahrain

Strategic Analysis of Loreal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Strategic Analysis of Loreal - Essay Example Organizational culture in L’Oreal: L’Oreal has adhered to strong organizational cultures over the years. Since its inception, the organization has aimed to deliver its best to fulfill the needs of the people. It has maintained transparency in maintaining high quality of the products. In the development of the product, the organization has been careful in maintain the safety and the efficacy. The organization maintains a high level of ethics as a part of their corporate culture. Fairness in every action of the organization is found to exist. There is maintenance of good practice of the corporate governance. The organization maintains strong relationships with customers and suppliers. Every employee in the organization is provided with equal opportunities based on their positions. (Ethics, n. d) The organization also maintains long term value for the share holders by protecting their interest and utilizing the company assets. The organization maintains honesty and clarity to wards the customers and the claims they make about the products are all proven by scientific data. As a part of the organization culture, the organization also carries out with their ethical practices in accounting and reporting and does not tolerate any level of corruption. The privacy of the employees is also maintained at a high level and the employees are provided with an environment in which they fell motivated to deliver their best for the organization. The employee participation is also allowed to a large extent in the organization and thy employees also contribute with their ideas and suggestion (Diversities, n. d). The efficiency of the employees are recognized and rewarded and respect towards the culture of the employees is maintained. The organization also tries to take care that no level of biasness creeps in the organization. As a part of the culture, the organization also tries to deliver its best for the overall development of the society and maintaining its respo nsibility towards the society. It promotes the human rights of the people and makes contribution towards the development of the children in various societies. It also carries out awareness program for the maintenance of biodiversity. Organizational structure of L’Oreal: In the consideration of the organizational structure of a multinational organization like L’Oreal the most significant thing which comes into notice is the fact that the organization maintains decentralized structure. The organization has various divisions which are controlled by the respective departmental heads. The overall workings of the organization are maintained by the CEO. The CEO is responsible for the direct supervision of various departments which includes marketing, finance and the human resource (The official board, n. d). The overall decentralization of the organization poses as a weakness in the overall management of the organization. There are also no modes of intercommunication between the departments in the organization. The organization also has a management committee who are in charge of the different sectors. In spite of the decentralization of the overall organizational, the presence of review committee which are supervised by the board of directors of the organizat

Aggregate Planning Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Aggregate Planning - Assignment Example ay decide to offer different services and products to a specific multitude of clients or rather offer different multitudes with the same product and services. This leads to profit maximization to a company (Paley, 2007). Once a collective strategy is effectively applied, a business acquires a competitive advantage over the rival competitors by having a wider variety of goods and services to offer to the customers. This makes the customers have a choice to make regarding the goods that they strongly believe suits their satisfaction. Pet Smart Company is a company that supplies pets and offers all the services for their healthier living. The company supplies its clients with different types of pets regarding the clients’ option (petsmart.com). The pet is usually the customers’ preference and they are supplied according to the orders made. Due to the extensive number of varieties, the company has been able to cater for the rising number of customer demands who are demanding different types of pets. If the rising demand is adequately catered for, it results in profit maximization for the company. Offering the pets at an affordable price makes them more appealing to the clients with different economical background as well as their financial status. Wider pet variety also favors the miscellaneous population with different religious beliefs thus satisfying them with their pet preferences. PetSmart Company also offers pet services such as clinics for the sick pets and pets’ checkup. The company gains profits through the services as they are often charged to the pet owners thus increasing the company’s financial

Criminal justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Criminal justice - Essay Example These topics have been chosen as a function of their interconnected nature as well as the fact that it is this authors belief that each of these situations works to exponentially complicate and compound the primary issue that the US criminal justice system faces; namely overcrowding in its penitentiary system. The first issue that this analysis will consider relates to the issue that has evolved from what this author will deem â€Å"incarceration for profit†. Although few individuals in the United States are aware of this practice, the fact of the matter is that it has grown from an isolated incidence to a multi-million dollar a year industry. The central issue can be explained as a system whereby overburdened municipalities cannot immediately afford the massive expense that is called for in order to build a new penitentiary system. As a way to bridge this gap while making a substantial profit, private firms enter into the equation and offer the municipality a joint venture wh ich is oftentimes hard to resist. These firms offer to front the necessary capital to build the facility as well as staff it with private contracting security firms. The catch then comes as the municipality agrees to an extended lease of the facility. Although at face value this may seem an ingenious way for a private firm to work to alleviate the strains that a municipality may have with relation to prison overcrowding, it is however slightly more sinister than one would at first presume. Due to the fact that a private firm now has stake in the criminal justice system, a system that arguably the state and the state alone should have prevue over, the interests of rehabilitation and reform are placed as secondary to overall profit. Such a situation is counter to the very foundations of what the criminal justice system is supposed to provide to society. In this way, incarceration has become the primary focus of policy makers and local leaders whereas the needs of those incarcerated as well as the secondary objectives of rehabilitation and reform are all but forgotten in a drive to provide more â€Å"bed space† for existing and incoming offenders. This issue has been compounded by a host of policy decisions; some of these are beyond the scope of this individual analysis. However, two of the complicating factors will be discussed at greater length within this analysis. Likewise, the second challenge which faces the current criminal justice system is the result of the failed War on Drugs. The â€Å"war on drugs† began in 1971 as a mandate from President Richard M. Nixon. Rather than engage in a thesis length discussion as to the nature of drug usage and whether it is a victimless crime in society, this paper will focus on the obscenely high costs that are associated with the unsuccessful prosecution of this war on drugs. In 2010 alone, the United States federal government expended in excess of 15 billion USD to combat the drug problem in the United St ates.1 This figure expands when one considers the fact that taken on aggregate, state and local governments expended a further 25 billion dollars during the very same period. The expenditure alone however is only a portion of the problem. Drug related arrests account for in excess of 13% of all arrests that are made; more than any other crime with respect to

Fra Angelico and di Lorenzo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Fra Angelico and di Lorenzo - Essay Example To start with, the setting of the painting plays important role in understanding of the artwork context. In case of Fra Angelico, the most part of the space takes a porch with visible garden on the background. In his artistic vision, the act of telling Virgin Mary the good tidings takes place outdoor in the porch. On the contrary, the setting in The Annunciation in di Lorenzo’s version takes place in the limited space of closed room. Spectators can easily recognize the walls, columns, and the pieces of furniture. Because of these surroundings, it is relevant to state that that the selected two paintings are mostly different. At the same time, this opposition reveals similarities, if to look closer to the details. In particular, the pillars appear in both cases of Annunciation imaging. In the painting di Lorenzo, he inserted pillars into the front view of his room. In detail, their function in the artwork is to divide the overall image in two registers. In the setting of Fra An gelico’s The Annunciation, six pillars bear the porch where postures sit. In the same manner, he uses three pillars to draw the line between angel Gabriel and Virgin Mary. Moreover, the appearance of the columns is similar. In this context, both Fra Angelico and di Lorenzo supplemented the columns with Corinthian capitals. At the same time, differences between two paintings appear in the scape and function of the above-mentioned pillars. In the painting of di Lorenzo, scape of pillars has three visible lines that form the chief linear dimension.

Achieving Community Awareness and Commitment Coursework

Achieving Community Awareness and Commitment - Coursework Example In this regard, the leaders are required to increase efficiency along with quality of different sustainable community activities (Bagin et al., 2012). Based on the current policy statements and communication formats, the proposed coursework tends to focus on discussing about the operationalized practices of the educational system of Rome City School District (RCSD), New York based on two major parts. The first part of the discussion incorporates the provisions of providing report card information of the school to a heterogeneous group of community members. In this regard, the discussion analyses the report card information by considering major areas of the school and possible questions that might be occurred relating to the current report cards and communication formats of the institution. The second part of the proposed coursework identifies and evaluates activities to be performed in the assessment that can help RCSD to accomplish its marketing and promotional goals of different academic courses successfully. According to the communication formats of the current educational system in the US, there are a number of guiding principles and policies duly accepted by the regulatory departments in order to increase efficiency of the reporting functions. In this regard, the report card information format of RCSD includes a clear structure of presenting the current educational procedures of the schools with adequate standards, which can be interpreted easily by a heterogeneous group of the community members (Bagin et al., 2012). In order to assess critically the key areas in the current report card information format of the institution, the following three key areas are considered that can differentiate the roles and significance of the RCSD to communicate to the existing community members efficiently. According to an in-depth understanding of the current report card format, compliance with the standards can be considered as a major key aspect that enable RCSD to

Austens Growing Feminism in Emma Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Austens Growing Feminism in Emma - Essay Example Rarely was it possible to attain both and often it was found, too late, that it was possible to attain neither. Even in the very early 1800s, though, many of these ideas were beginning to surface in the literature produced. Writers such as Jane Austen emerged as proto-feminists, planting the seeds of a new day while still remaining ‘acceptable’ to the old. This careful blending of feminist ideals with traditional behaviors can be found in such novels as Emma, in which critics have found support both for the traditional role of women as well as encouragement for a new way of thinking about women. Women’s lives were often strictly contained within rigidly defined terms. Women who formed the upper class enjoyed ample time for leisure activities in their lifestyles and once a woman married, her role was to simply to manage the home and the household. Though the life of the upper class woman might seem easier and more secure than that of a lower class woman, this was not always the case. Land, titles, and money were inherited by the closest male relative – typically the older son, but if there was no older son then it would go to a more distant relation. Only the small amount of money set aside as a woman’s marriage dowry went to an unmarried woman after the death of her father. In addition, many women were married nominally against their will in arranged marriages, by the Victorian age positioning the woman herself as commodity (Levine-Clark, 1991). As a result, many mothers and daughters were left extremely poor after the death of their husband and fathers. At the same time, the activities they were permitted to take part in remained relatively sedate and home-bound.

Fra Angelico and di Lorenzo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Fra Angelico and di Lorenzo - Essay Example To start with, the setting of the painting plays important role in understanding of the artwork context. In case of Fra Angelico, the most part of the space takes a porch with visible garden on the background. In his artistic vision, the act of telling Virgin Mary the good tidings takes place outdoor in the porch. On the contrary, the setting in The Annunciation in di Lorenzo’s version takes place in the limited space of closed room. Spectators can easily recognize the walls, columns, and the pieces of furniture. Because of these surroundings, it is relevant to state that that the selected two paintings are mostly different. At the same time, this opposition reveals similarities, if to look closer to the details. In particular, the pillars appear in both cases of Annunciation imaging. In the painting di Lorenzo, he inserted pillars into the front view of his room. In detail, their function in the artwork is to divide the overall image in two registers. In the setting of Fra An gelico’s The Annunciation, six pillars bear the porch where postures sit. In the same manner, he uses three pillars to draw the line between angel Gabriel and Virgin Mary. Moreover, the appearance of the columns is similar. In this context, both Fra Angelico and di Lorenzo supplemented the columns with Corinthian capitals. At the same time, differences between two paintings appear in the scape and function of the above-mentioned pillars. In the painting of di Lorenzo, scape of pillars has three visible lines that form the chief linear dimension.

Austens Growing Feminism in Emma Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Austens Growing Feminism in Emma - Essay Example Rarely was it possible to attain both and often it was found, too late, that it was possible to attain neither. Even in the very early 1800s, though, many of these ideas were beginning to surface in the literature produced. Writers such as Jane Austen emerged as proto-feminists, planting the seeds of a new day while still remaining ‘acceptable’ to the old. This careful blending of feminist ideals with traditional behaviors can be found in such novels as Emma, in which critics have found support both for the traditional role of women as well as encouragement for a new way of thinking about women. Women’s lives were often strictly contained within rigidly defined terms. Women who formed the upper class enjoyed ample time for leisure activities in their lifestyles and once a woman married, her role was to simply to manage the home and the household. Though the life of the upper class woman might seem easier and more secure than that of a lower class woman, this was not always the case. Land, titles, and money were inherited by the closest male relative – typically the older son, but if there was no older son then it would go to a more distant relation. Only the small amount of money set aside as a woman’s marriage dowry went to an unmarried woman after the death of her father. In addition, many women were married nominally against their will in arranged marriages, by the Victorian age positioning the woman herself as commodity (Levine-Clark, 1991). As a result, many mothers and daughters were left extremely poor after the death of their husband and fathers. At the same time, the activities they were permitted to take part in remained relatively sedate and home-bound.

Plantation agriculture Essay Example for Free

Plantation agriculture Essay Plantation agriculture is a kind of commercial arable farming in the world. It is especially important in humid tropics with luxuriant growth of vegetation. Its economic effectiveness is always emphasized, bringing both positive and negative impacts. In recent decades, crop diversification is introduced and the ecological balance of the natural environment is greatly conserved. Plantation agriculture refers to the growing of cash crops on large foreign owned estates in countries of tropical environment. It is usually practiced in a large scale with monoculture, in which only a certain type of plant is dominant. Take Papua New Guinea as an example, in the area, cacao, coffee and rubber are mainly grown in the region for export to other countries. Under this kind of farming, there are positive impacts to the economy. Firstly, due to its large scale of operation and being export-oriented in Papua New Guinea, the supply of products is regular and of uniformly high quality. With high demand for the products, this attracts large amount of investment of capital from the foreign countries, such as Europe and North America, thus allowing the farmers being financially able to provide the expensive machinery capable of turning out a high grade product. Benefiting from economies of scale, this enables both the transportation cost and production cost to be lowered. Secondly, plantations are also able to undertake greater scientific research and the eradication of pests and diseases. For example, one large sugar company in the former British colony of Guyana was able to employ a large research staff to produce a strain of sugar cane resistant to leaf-scald disease. Besides, government assistance has brought improved crop varieties, scientific research, new pesticides and fertilizers and effective marketing, The government of Papua New Guinea launched The Cape Hoskins Oil Palm Scheme to solve land disputes of many small holdings, strengthening national self-reliance. With increasing demand for the plantation, the employment rate of Papua New Guinea is greatly increased as there are more needs for personnel to manage crop growing and researching. Some crop processing and manufacturing industries are set up to satisfy the demand for crops. The farm productivity is increased as well. As people can earn more income from this kind of farming, this stimulates the rate of urbanization, hence the development of infrastructure and improvement of public facilities, such as roads, railways, ports, towns, schools, hospitals and the supply of electricity and water. As a result, the living standard of the labour is greatly improved. Despite the economic benefits, plantation farming somehow brings negative impacts to Papua New Guinea. First is the reliance upon the protected markets in Australia. At present, about one-third of the copra, 40 percent of the coffee, most of the cocoa and rubber is exported to Australia, which is assigned to admit duty free. In return, Papua New Guinea has to pay taxes for any imports. This leads to outflow of capital to foreign countries because this kind of farming is highly export-oriented. Second is the problem of labour. Plantations require large amount of cheap labour, but the wage rate is progressively higher because of the rising living standard and commercialization of the country. This increases the cost of production and thus reduces the competitiveness among other countries for the same kind of farming. Apart from this, the risk of crop failure is an important factor for consideration. As plantation agriculture is highly specialized. People highly rely on monoculture to earn a living. When the price of cash crops falls drastically or there is a sudden of crop failure, the income of farmers will fall as well. As a result, the earning of farmers tend to be unstable and badly affected the national income of Papua New Guinea. Besides, people have to import other necessities from other countries instead of planting within their own country, self-sufficiency cannot be achieved. In this way, there is no other source to safeguard the return of farmers. To overcome the negative impacts, crop diversification is a good method to reduce the over-reliance on certain types of cash crops. Ecologically, this method can also be beneficial to the environment. Since different types of crops are grown, the risk of crop failure decreases. This can stop the spread of diseases and pests for a particular type of crops. The population of pests decreases. This in turn reduces the use of pesticides. Hence, the chance of stream pollution is smaller, the sea organisms will not be poisoned or suffocated so easily, the nutrient flow can be more stable. There will be greater diversity of species of biomass, so the ecosystem will be more stable. Furthermore, diversification of crops increases the vegetation cover. There will be less surface runoff and soil erosion, yet infiltration increases. The nutrients of the soil can be preserved. Crop diversification also reduces the exhaustion of certain type of nutrients, fertility can be maintained and thus the use of fertilizer will be less common as well. Climatically, because of less crop failures, the amount of biomass increases. The evapotranspiration rate and wind speed can be more stable, so the microclimate can be maintained constant, the risk of global warming will not be getting serious so fast. In conclusion, plantation of cash crops is significant in Papua New Guinea for economic development. Though crop diversification may not be as profitable as plantation agriculture, ecological environment should not be ignored. In long-term, diversification of crops is a good way to safeguard the natural environment and brings more stable income to the farmers as well.

Analysis of Lease Accounting Standards

Analysis of Lease Accounting Standards Abstract The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) are reviewing their guidelines on lease accounting this year. This paper provides background information on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), FASB and IASB including what their role is in accounting. It details the history of lease accounting for them, changes that have occurred since the original guidelines were issued, and why the FASB and IASB are looking to update the current standards. History and Future of Lease Accounting for Leases The history of lease accounting provides numerous changes to the standards. FASB 13 is the last major change that has been made and that was 30 years ago. The financial community describes the changes that could arise from the FASB and IASB as an effort to bring transparency to company balance sheets. This is a continuing reaction to Enron and certain happenings earlier in the decade that brought off-balance sheet items to the forefront. There is a lot of focus on off-balance sheet obligations now. Users of financial statements depend on the statements to provide important information about a companys performance, financial condition, and the cash flow. Financial statement users include bankers deciding whether to lend money or renew a loan to a company, suppliers deciding to extend you credit. â€Å"The FASB and IASBs conceptual framework objective is to provide a common framework that provides useful and complete accounting information† (Monson, 2001). Standard Setting Bodies Security and Exchange Commission The Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) was established in 1933 after the Crash of 1930. Prior to this time there, no standard setting body existed. Even after its formation, the SEC encouraged the private sector to set them. In 1934, the SEC received the authority to establish financial accounting and reporting for publicly held companies. Committee on Accounting Procedures In 1939, the SEC suggested that the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) create a formal standard setting body. The AICPA established the Committee on Accounting Procedures (CAP). During its reign from 1939 to 1959, they issued 51 Accounting Research Bulletins. CAP was not as successful as had been hoped. CAP only issued standards on problems as they occurred. These standards are known as Accounting Research Bulletins or ARBs. Accounting Principles Board The Committee on Accounting Procedures was replaced with the Accounting Principles Board (APB) in 1959. They issued 31 opinions and 4 statements over the next 14 years. They are credited with the development of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) from the opinions and statements they issued. Financial Accounting Standards Board The APB was replaced by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), which was formed in 1973. FASB is an independent board with full-time members who no longer work in private firms or their employers. FASB establishes standards for businesses in the private sector. As part of the FASB mission statement it states that, â€Å"standards are essential to the efficient functioning of the economy because investors, creditors, auditors, and others rely on credible, transparent, and comparable information† (Financial, 2007.). In Facts about FASB (2007), the FASB seeks to accomplish their mission by acting to keep standards current to reflect any changes in methods of doing business, to improve the usefulness of financial reporting by focusing on relevance, reliability, comparability, and consistency, and to promote the international convergence of accounting standards. International Accounting Standards Board The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) established in 2001 is based in London. It succeeded the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC), which was founded in 1973. The IASB develops a solitary set of global accounting standards that provide transparent and comparable information in financial statements. The IASB works with national accounting standards bodies to accomplish a united set of accounting standards to be used around the world. Original Standards for Leases ARB 43, Chapter 14 In 1949, the Committee on Accounting Procedures issued ARB 43, Restatement and Revision of Accounting Research Bulletins, Chapter 14 Disclosure of Long-Term Leases in Financial Statements of Lessees. ARB 43, Chapter 14 only provides guidance for leasing land and buildings. ARB 43 (1953) requires that the lessee assumes all the expenses and obligations of ownership, such as taxes, insurance, and repairs. These types of arrangements differed from conventional long-term leases but the principles of disclosure were intended to be applied to both types of arrangements. The disclosures that need to be reported included the amount of annual rent to be paid, the period for which the payments are payable. The disclosure is to be reported for the life of the lease not just the first year. In the first year of the lease, the disclosure needs to detail the transaction (FASB, 1953). APB Opinion No. 5 The Accounting Principles Board issued Opinion No. 5, Reporting of Leases in Financial Statements of Lessees in September 1964 and supercedes ARB 43, Chapter 14. Since ARB 43 had been issued, leases had been disclosed on financial statements but not in a consistent manner. The information disclosed was often not enough for investors to get a clear picture of a companys financial position. According to APB Opinion No. 5 (1967), there had been very few instances of capitalization of leased property and recognition of the related obligation. In Accounting Principles Boards Opinion No. 5, rental (lease) payments for services, property taxes, utilities, maintenance, etc. are to be treated as an expense. Having the right to use property and paying a specific rental amount over a period are not considered an asset or liability. An operating lease should disclose relevant information about the lease or rental agreement and the information disclosed will vary from one situation to another. Lessees were to disclose the minimum annual payments and length of time at the least. The maximum they should disclose was the type of property leased, the obligation assumed, requirements of the lease. APB No. 5 (1967) states a capitalized lease may require a note or schedule to disclose the details of the lease agreement. Lease arrangements that are similar to an installment purchase should be listed on the balance sheet and depreciated accordingly. For a lease agreement to be capitalized there should be material equity in the purchase. IAS 17 The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) issued IAS 17, Accounting for Leases, in September 1982. A lease is classified either as a finance lease or an operating lease. A finance lease is classified as such â€Å"if it transfers substantially all the risks and rewards† (International, 2003) to the lessee. Leases are classified as an operating lease if they do not meet the criteria of a finance lease. The following situations would lead a lease to be classified as a finance lease: Transfer of ownership of the asset to the lessee at the end of the lease The lessee has the option to purchase the asset at an amount that is sufficiently lower than the fair value The lease term is for most of the assets life At the beginning of the lease, the present value of the minimum lease payments is equal to the fair value of the asset. (International, 2003) IAS 17 (2003) requires that the following accounting principles be applied to finance leases. The finance lease should be recorded as an asset and a liability, lease payments should be distributed between finance charges or interest expense and the principle amount of the liability, and depreciation should be calculated using the same method as that of the companies owned assets. The International Accounting Standards Board (2003) defines the disclosure requirements lessees of finance leases must follow. Lessees of finance leases disclose the carrying amount of the asset, reconciliation between total minimum lease payments and the present value, amounts of minimum lease payments as of the balance sheet date, and the present value for the next years, years 2 through 5 combined, and beyond 5 years and a general description of the lease arrangement. In section 35 of IAS 17, the International Accounting Standards Board (2003) provides disclosure details for lessees of operating leases. Lessees must recognize lease payments as an expense on the income statement. They should provide in the financial statement disclosure a description of the lease arrangement, including any provisions, whether there is a purchase option, and any restrictions that are imposed. Also, lease payments as of the financial statement date for the next year, years 2 through 5 combined, and beyond 5 years. Changes to Original Standards APB Opinion No. 31 The Accounting Principles Board issued Opinion No. 31, Disclosure of Lease Commitments by Lessees, on June 1972 with an effective date of January 1, 1974. Opinion No. 31 was developed because investors, grantors, and users of financial statements acknowledged that at the time the disclosures did not provide all the information they deemed important. The APB issued it to clarify and now require the disclosure requirements of APB Opinion No. 5. The Board did not want to establish any disclosure requirements because the FASB had placed leases as a subject on its agenda at the time this was issued. The Board was hesitant because they did not want to bias the decision. The Board reworded its requirements for the disclosures of operating leases. A lease that is for one year or more needs to provide the total rental expense. The minimum rental payments should be disclosed for each of the five succeeding years, each of the next three to five year periods, and the remainder should be listed as a single amount. Additional disclosures that should be included are whether the payments are dependent upon any factors other than time, if so what is the basis for calculating the payments, is there a purchase or renewal option, and any restrictions. (FASB, 1973) FAS 13 In November 1976, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued FAS 13, Accounting for Leases. The issuance was to provide detailed criteria that other statements had supplied for classifying leases that would prevent many different interpretations. This statement superseded APB Opinion No. 5, Reporting of Leases in Financial Statements of Lessees and APB Opinion No. 7, Reporting of Leases in Financial Statements for Lessors. FAS 13 established standards of financial reporting for both lessees and lessors. The standard provided a definition of leases, how leases should be classified, and what needed to be disclosed. The Financial Accounting Standards Board (1976) defined a lease as â€Å"an agreement conveying the right to use property, plant, or equipment usually for a stated period of time†. This definition includes agreements that although may not be identified as a lease but falls under the definition. FAS 13 (1976) states that a lease is classified either as an operating lease or as a capital lease. Capital leases meet one or more of the criteria FASB established for a capital lease. The criteria for classifying leases as a capital lease are: The lease transfers ownership of the asset at the end of the lease term. The lease contains a bargain purchase option The lease is longer than 75% of the products economic life The present value of the lease is more than 90% of the asset value using the lessees incremental borrowing rate. (FASB, 1976) FAS 13 provided the following accounting principles that are applied when it is determined that a lessee is involved in a capital lease. The lessee records a capital lease as an asset and liability for the amount equal to the value of the lease payments. If the lease has a bargain purchase option or if the property transfers ownership at the end of the lease term, the asset is depreciated according to the lessees normal depreciation for owned assets. If the lease does not contain a bargain purchase option or if the property does not transfer ownership at the end of the lease, the asset is depreciated for the life of the lease. Leases that do not meet the criteria of a capital lease are classified as an operational lease and are treated as an expense for the term of the lease on the income statement. (FASB, 1976) Capital leases should disclose the gross amount of the asset and the future minimum lease payments. Operating leases should disclose the future minimum rental payment required, a general description of the terms of the lease agreement to include how the rental payments are determined, terms of renewal or purchase option, any restrictions that may apply. FASB and IASB to Update Lease Standards In July 2006, the FASB and IASB announced that it had added a leasing project to its agenda to reconsider all aspects of lease accounting. One reason for the project is to harmonize lease accounting standards with the IASB. â€Å" The IASB and FASB currently have substantial differences in their treatment of leases; particularly notable is that the â€Å"bright line† tests of FAS 13 (whether the lease term is 75% or more of the economic life, and whether the present value of the rents is 90% or more of the fair value) are not used by the IASB, which prefers a â€Å"facts and circumstances† approach that entails more judgment calls† (Open, 2006). Both the FASB and IASB have the finance and operating lease concept. However, their criteria are different for classification. Another reason is a request from investors and other authoritative bodies who have been criticizing that similar lease transactions were still being accounted for in different ways. In the SECs 2005 report in response to Sarbanes-Oxley the SEC stated that too many leases were being kept off the balance sheet. â€Å"The commissions staff estimated that the standards allow publicly traded companies to keep an undiscounted $1.25 trillion in future cash obligations off their balance sheet† (Leone, 2006). Therefore, the current accounting standards are failing to provide the necessary complete and transparent information. FASB and IASB hope to have an exposure draft available in 2009. Solutions There are two solutions to the lease problem. The FASB and IASB can either recommend leases to be reporting on a companys income statement only as an expense or on a companys balance sheet only as an asset and liability. Income Statement Only Using the income statement only solution, companies would report their leases as operating lease. An operating lease recognizes the lessees payments as rent expense or lease expense on the income statement. Balance Sheet Only Using the balance sheet only solution, companies report their leases on the balance sheet as an asset and liability. It will also allow for depreciation and interest expense on the income statement. Capitalization of all leases will bring previously unreported assets and liabilities onto the balance sheet Analysis When companies lease an asset, the way it is accounted for depends on whether it is categorized as an operating or capital lease. How a lease is categorized may be different for tax purposes then for accounting purposes. The GAAP standards and Internal Revenue Service can have different sets of criteria. According to IRS Revenue Ruling 55-540 the IRS is wary of lease arrangements used to accelerate depreciation deductions. The IRS has no general rule for leases and each case is decided on an individual basis. However, from decisions previous made the following factors indicate a sale instead of a lease. If the asset meets one or more of the factors, it is considered a sale NOT a lease. A portion of the payments are specifically allocated as interest or it is obvious that is what is intended. The title is transferred at the end of the â€Å"rental† term. The lessee may purchase the asset at the end of the lease term for a bargain purchase price. When a lease qualifies as an operating lease, there are major consequences for the net income or loss and the return ratios of that company. In general, both the operating and net income of the firm will be decreased and the assets and liabilities for the firm will be understated. Debt management ratios are important to creditors and stockholders. Creditors want to make sure funds are available to pay interest and principal and are therefore particularly interested in short-run coverage ratios. Stockholders are concerned about the impact of excessive debt and interest on long-term profitability. Lenders and investors use such ratios as debt to equity, current ratios, and return on assets to evaluate the credit risk of current or prospective businesses. Ratios are used to measure the effectiveness that a company uses its assets and to compare a companys current performance. As shown below in the comparison of ratios in an operating or capitalized lease, the financial ratios can be misleading just by reporting leases off the balance sheet. By reporting the lease of ABC Restaurant, Inc. (Figures 1-4) as an operating lease or ABC Restaurant, Inc. (Figures 5-8) as a capitalized lease, the companys financial statements are affected. The financial statements of both are identical except for the accounts that were affected by the relative lease. The financial statements are not as accurate as investors and lenders are demanding. The current ratio is a quick indication of whether or not the company will have the means to pay its bills during the next year. It is clear to remain solvent, a company must have at least as much money coming in as it has going out. The current ratio is .31 for the operating lease and .30 for the capitalized lease. A current ratio over 1.5 to 2.0 is generally required for comfort. The debt ratio for the operating lease is 1.68%. In comparison, the debt ratio for the capitalized lease is 1.64%. A high debt ratio is generally viewed as risky by lenders and investors. The debt to equity ratio equals -1.32 and their return on assets is 38.45%. In relation to the capitalized lease which had a debt to equity ratio of -1.40 and their return on assets is 34.05%. The effect of a capital lease on net income is different then that of an operating lease because capital leases are treated the same as if assets are bought by the company. The company is allowed to claim depreciation on the asset and the interest payments on the lease are a tax deductions. By reporting assets on the balance sheet, this provides an increased level of information to lenders. This is especially useful to lenders of non public business or the small (S Corporations) who elect to omit disclosures on the financial statements. When a company does this those who review their financial statements will be misled because there will be no evidence of a lease existing. The payments will be accounted for on the income statement as rent expense or lease expense. Thereby, reducing the net income of those companies income statements. The AICPA issues Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services. The FASB issues standards for the public. The process for both the AICPA and the FASB starts with deliberations that are open to the public; the proposed Statements are then issued as Exposure Drafts, which allows the public to comment on them prior to the final pronouncement issued. Many accountants issued their opinions on what they feel should be done about this 30-year-old standard. Conclusion Currently, the lease standards are outdated. â€Å"Lease arrangements have evolved considerably over the past 30 years and the standards are outdated† (Miller, 12). FAS 13 was suppose to force leases to be capitalized but it did nothing but help lease companies create more cunning operating leases. The misclassification of leases affects not only the balance sheet but also the income statement and cash flow statement.

Dr. Diver as Rosemarys Father-Figure in Tender is the Night :: Tender is the Night Essays

Dr. Diver as Rosemary's Father-Figure in Tender is the Night      Ã‚  Ã‚   Parents are the basic role models for their children. Both parents play an important role in raising their children, but it is the father whom is normally portrayed as the protector, advisor, and provider of the family. He is the person whom the children look up to when they are young and whom the daughters compare all men to when they become older. The father sets the standards for his children. If there is no father, children must look other places for this type of comfort and information. Sometimes they might turn to their mother who would take over the father's place as best she could. The only role that the mother cannot fulfill, however, is the comparison that daughters need when looking for a husband. To try and fulfill this need, the daughters might find a male whom they trust and believe would be a good role model and father-figure and then base their future ideals on the qualities that he portrays.    Rosemary, from Tender is the Night by Fitzgerald did not have a father figure for a good portion of her life. She had been raised by her mother, a twice widowed woman, and the boarding school in France which she had attended when she was younger. Rosemary had never really known her father when he was alive so Mrs. Speers was both father and mother to her. Mrs. Speers did a good job of being both while Rosemary was growing up, but once she became old enough to begin looking for a husband, Mrs. Speers was not quite the right person to compare men to. Mrs. Speers attempted to counteract this need by forcing Rosemary to become a more independent person. Then she would not have to rely on her or anyone else, including a man. By gradually realizing that she can make her own decisions, Rosemary also realized that she did want to have a man in her life and that she needed that father-figure for comparison. She also realized that she was missing the comfort, protection, and advice that comes from a male. It was not until she went to the French Riviera that she finally found the father-figure she had never had before, in Dr. Dick Diver.    After meeting Dr. Diver, Rosemary was left with the impression that "he would take care of her, and .

Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) Model Essay -- essays research pape

Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) Model This memorandum will attempt to explain the Open Systems Interconnection Model, known more simply as the OSI Model. The OSI Model has seven levels, and these levels will be discussed in detail. Particular mention will be made to which level TCP/IP functions with the OSI Model. The seven levels of the OSI Model are as follows: 7) Application: Provides different services to the applications. 6) Presentation: Converts the information. 5) Session: Handles problems which are not communication issues. 4) Transport: Provides end to end communication control. 3) Network: Routes the information in the network. 2) Data Link: Provides error control between adjacent nodes. 1) Physical: Connects the entity to the transmission media. In simple terms, the OSI model defines a networking framework for implementing protocols. Is defines seven levels to accomplish this. Control is passed from one level to the next, starting at the Application level (Level Seven) and working its way through the levels until it reaches and completes Level One, the Physical level. Once this cycle has been completed, control moves to the next station on the network and back up the hierarchy. Since the process begins at the seventh level, the Application level, it will be detailed first. As its name implies, this Application level supports applications, but it also supports other end-user processes. User authentication and privacy on the network is consid...

Internetworking End-to-End Requirements Essay

– Hence such characteristics as: performance, reliability, scalability, mobility, and QoS of DS are impacted by the underlying network technology and the OS ? Principles of computer networking – Every network has: ? An architecture or layers of protocols ? Packet switching for communication ? Route selection and data streaming ? Comm Subsystems (network technologies rest on): – Transmission media: wires, cables, fiber, wireless (sat, IR, RF, mwave) – Hardware devices: routers, switches, bridges, hubs, repeaters, network interfaces/card/transceivers. – Software components: protocol stacks, comm handlers/drivers, OS primitives, network-focus APIs ? Hosts – The computers and end-devices that use the comm subsystem – Subnet: A single cluster or collection of nodes, which reach each other on the same physical medium and capable of routing outgoing and incoming messages – The Internet is a collection of several subnets (or intranets) ? Networking issues for distributed systems – Initial requirements for DS applications: ftp, rlogin, email, newsgroup – Subsequent generation of DS applics. : on-line shared resources. – Current requirements: performance, reliability, scalability, mobility, security, QoS, multicasting ? Performance – Key: time to deliver unit(s) of messages between a pair of interconnected computers/devices – point-to-point latency (delay) from sending out of outgoing-buffer and receiving into incoming-buffer. Usually due to software overheads, traffic load, and path selection – Data transfer/bit rate: speed of data transfer between 2 computers (bps). Usually due to physical properties of the medium. ? Message trans time = latency + length/bit-rate ? Bandwidth vs. bit-rate. – The total system bandwidth (volume of data sent and received in a unit time, e. g. , per sec. ) is a measure of its throughput – Bit rate or transfer rate is restricted to the medium’s ability to propagate individual bits/signals in a unit time – In most LANs, e. g. , Ethernet’s, when full transmission capacity is devoted to messaging (with little or no latency), then bandwidth and bit-rate are same in measure – Local memory vs network resources: ? Applications access to shared resources on same network usually under msec ? Applications access to local memory usually under msec (1000x faster)? However, for high speed network web-server, with caches, the access time is much faster (than local disk access due to hard disk latency) ? Scalability (Internet and DSs) – Future growth of computing nodes of Internet (hosts, switches) in 109’s (100’s of 106 hosts alone) – Requires substantial changes to routing and addressing schemes (more later! ) – Current traffic (load) on Internet approx. measured by the latencies (see www. mids. org), which seem to have reduced (with advances in medium and protocol types). – Future growth and sustainability depend on economies of use, charge rate, locality/placement of shared resource? Reliability – Failures are typically, not due to the physical medium, but at the end-end (at host levels) software (application-level), therefore, error detection/correction is at the level – Suggesting that the communication subsystem need not be error-free (made transparent/hidden to user) because reliability is somewhat guaranteed at the send/receiver ends (where errors may be caused by, e. g. , buffer overflow, clock drifts causing premature timeouts) ? Security – Most intranets are protected from external (Internet-wide) DSs by firewall. – A firewall protects all the resources of an organized from unlawful/malicious access by external users, and control/monitoring of use of resources outside the firewall – A firewall (bundle of security software and network hardware) runs on a gateway – the entry/exit point of the corporate intranet – A firewall is usually configured based on corporate security policy, and filters incoming and outgoing messages. – To go beyond firewalls, and grant access to world- or Internet-wide resources, end-to-end authentication, privacy, and security (Standards) are needed to allow DSs to function – E. g., techniques are Cryptographic and Authentication – usually implemented at a level above the communication subsystem – Virtual Private Network (VPN) security concept allows intranet-level protection of such features/devices as local routers and secure links to mobile devices ? Mobility – Need wireless to support portable computers and hand-held devices – Wireless links are susceptible to, e. g. , eavesdropping, distortions in medium, out-of-sight/range transmitters/receivers – Current addressing and routing schemes are based on ‘wired’ technologies, which have been adapted and, therefore, not perfect and need extensions? QoS (Quality of Service) – Meeting deadlines and user requirements in transmitting/processing streams of real-time multimedia data – E. g. , QoS requirements: guaranteed bandwidth, timely delivery or bounded latencies, or dynamic readjustments to requirements ? Multicasting – Most transmissions are point-to-point, but several involve one-to-many (either one-to-all – broadcast or selective broadcast – multicast) – Simply sending the same message from one node to several destinations is inefficient – Multicasting technique allows single transmission to multiple destination (simultaneously) by using special addressing scheme 3. Multimedia Transmission and Internetworking Heterogeneous Systems ? Types of Networks – LANs: (confined to smaller, typically, 2. 5km diameter spread) ? higher speed, single medium for interconnection (twisted pair, coax, opt), no routing within ‘segments’ – all point-to-point (from hub), inter-segment connections via switches/hubs, low latency, low error rate ? E. g. , Ethernet, token ring, slotted ring protocols, wired. (1) Ethernet: 1970 with bandwidth of 10Mbps, with extended versions of 100/1000Mbps, lacking latency and bandwidth QoS for DSs: (2) ATM – using frame cells and optical fills the gap but expensive for LAN, newer high-speed Ethernets offer improvement and cost-effective – MANs: (confined to extended, regional area, typically, up to 50km spread) ? Based on high-bandwidth copper and fiber optics for multimedia (audio/video/voice), ? E. g. , technologies: ATM, high-speed Ethernet (IEEE 802. 6 – protocols for MANs), DSL (digital subscriber line) using ATM switches to switch digitized voice over twisted pair @ 0. 25-6Mbps within 1. 5km, cable modem uses coax @ 1. 5Mpbs using analog signaling on TV networks and longer distances than DSL – WANs: (worldwide, lower speeds over sets of varying types of circuits with routers) ? High latency (due to switching and route searching) between 0. 1-0. 5s, signaling speed around 3x105km/s (bounds latency) plus propagation delay (round-trip) of about 0. 2s if using satellite/geostationary dishes; generally slower at 10-100kbps or best 1-2Mbps – Wireless: (connecting portable, wearable devices using access points) ? Common protocol – IEEE 802. 11 (a, b, and now g) (WaveLAN) @ 2-11Mbps (11g’s bandwidth near 54Mbps) over 150m creating a WLANs, some mobiles connected to fixed devices – printers, servers, palmtops to create a WPANs (wireless personal area networks) using IR links or low-powered Bluetooth radio network tech @ 1-2Mbps over 10m. ? Most mobile cell phones use Bluetooth tech. e. g. , European GSM standard and US, mostly, analog-based AMP cellular radio network, atop by CDPD – cellular digital packet data communication system, operating over wider areas at lower speed 9. 6-19. 2kbps.? Tiny screens of mobiles and wearables require a new WAP protocol – Internetworks ? Building open, extendible system for DSs, supporting network heterogeneity, multi-protocol system involving LANs, MANs, WLANs, connected by routers and gateways with layers of software for data and protocol conversions – creating a ‘virtual network’ using underlying physical networks ? E. g. , the Internet using TCP/IP (over several other physical protocols) – Comparisons ? Range of performance characteristics: ? Frequency and types of failures, when used for DS applics? Packet delivery/loss, duplicates (masked at TCP level to guarantee some reliability and transparency to DSs; but may use UDP – faster but less reliable and DS applic’s responsibility to guarantee reliability) Diagram 3. 2 Network Principles †¢ Packet Transmission †¢ Packet transmission superseded telephone/telegraph switched network †¢ Messages are packetized and packets are queued, buffered (in local storage), and transmitted when lines are available using asynchronous transmission protocol †¢ Data Streaming †¢ Multimedia data can’t be packetized due to unpredicted delays. AV data are streamed at higher frequency and bandwidth at continuous flow rate †¢ Delivery of multimedia data to its destination is time-critical / low latency – requiring end-to-end predefined route †¢ E. g. networks: ATM, IPv6 (next generation – will separate ‘steamed’ IP packets at network layer; and use RSVP (resource reserv. protocol) resource/bandwidth prealloc and RTP play-time/time-reqs (real-time transp protocol) at layers 3 & 1, respectively) to work ? Switching Schemes – 4 Kinds of switching methods typically used. – Broadcast – no switching logic, all nodes ‘see’ signals on circuits/cells (e.g. , Ethernet, wireless networks) – Circuit Switching – Interconnected segments of circuits via switches/exchange boxes, e. g. , POTS (Plain Old Telephone System) – Packet Switching – Developed as computing tech advanced with processors and storage spaces using store-and-forward algorithms and computers as switches. Packets are not sent instantaneously, routed on different links, reordered, may be lost, high latency (few msec – msecs). Extension to switch audio/video data brought integration of ‘digitized’ data for computer comm. , telephone services, TV, and radio broadcasting, teleconferencing. – Frame Relay – PS (not instantaneous, just an illusion! ), but FR, which integrates CS and PS techniques, streams smaller packets (53 byte-cells called frames) as bits at processing nodes. E. g. , ATM – Protocols – – Protocols – implemented as pairs of software modules in send/receive nodes, – Specify the sequence of messages for transmission – Specify the format of the data in the messages – Protocols Layers – layered architecture, following the OSI suite – packets are communicated as peer-to-peer transmission but effected vertically across layers by encapsulation method over a physical medium Protocols Suites – The 7-layered architecture of the ISO-OSI †¢ Each layer provides service to the layer above it and extends the service provided by the layer below it †¢ A complete set of protocol layers constitute a suite or stack †¢ Layering simplifies and generalizes the software interface definitions, but costly overhead due to encapsulations and protocol conversions Diagram 3. 3 4. Service Provider Management On the Internet, a management service provider (MSP) is a company that manages information technology services for other companies. For example, a company could hire an MSP to configure and administer its business computers and related systems on a continuing basis, saving the company. An MSP is a service provider that offers system and network management tools and expertise. An MSP typically has its own data center that runs advanced network management software such as HP OpenView or Tivoli. It uses these tools to actively monitor and provide reports on aspects of its customer’s networks, including communication links, network bandwidth, servers, and so on. The MSP may host the customer’s Web servers and application servers at its own site. The services provided by MSPs have been called â€Å"Web telemetry† services. The MSP Association defines MSPs as follows: Management Service Providers deliver information technology (IT) infrastructure management services to multiple customers over a network on a subscription basis. Like Application Service Providers (ASPs), Management Service Providers deliver services via networks that are billed to their clients on a recurring fee basis. Unlike ASPs, which deliver business applications to end users, MSPs deliver system management services to IT departments and other customers who manage their own technology assets. TriActive is an example of an MSP. It provides management and monitoring of PCs, servers, networks, and Web sites from its own NOC (network operations center), which is hosted by Exodus Communications. Exodus ensures that the NOC has fully redundant power, network connectivity, routing, and switching to ensure maximum reliability and integrity. A â€Å"microagent† interacts with customer systems to provide system management. The agent is lightweight and designed for use over the Internet. It acts as a universal agent invoking and managing other agents and programs as required for specific actions. The service is delivered via the Web through a secure Internet portal that lets customers view management information, based on their role in the organization. For example, CIOs can view overall management information while help desk technicians can check call queues, escalations, and open ticket status. Systems analysts can conduct asset inventories and view virus reporting. Objective Systems Integrators is another management service provider that provides software solutions for unified network, service application, and process management. OSI was recently acquired by Agilent Technologies. A list of other MSPs may be found at the MSP Association Web site. Web application and infrastructure monitoring and management have suddenly become critical, yet the tools to do them are lacking. Management service providers (MSP), the latest addition to the current slew of service providers, claim to offer products and services that will oversee your Web operations. Companies staking claims as early MSPs include Candle Corp. in Santa Monica, Calif. ; InteQ Corp. in Burlington, Mass. ; and Nuclio Corp. in Skokie, Ill. What makes MSPs distinctive is that their products and services are provided over the Internet on a subscription basis. That means â€Å"MSPs can achieve economies of scale that companies who license software cannot,† says Christopher Booth, head of technical operations at FreightWise Inc. , a Forth Worth, Texas-based online transportation exchange. Though he declined to say how much his company is paying to use Nuclio’s MSP, Booth did say that the service has been â€Å"very advantageous. † The cost savings that MSPs can pass on may help them catch on with corporate customers. Gartner Group Inc. in Stamford, Conn., estimates that the $90 million MSP market will balloon to more than $3. 25 billion by 2005. 5. Programmable/Cognitive Networks A key strength of the Internet has been to reduce the intelligence within the network to that required placed at strategic places within the network such as at administrative boundaries, or at locations where there is a large mismatch between bandwidth, or where the certain location specific services can be used. Others believe that the entire architecture should be rethought as a computational environment, in which everything can be programmed, and the entire network becomes active. The research in this area is aimed at discovering how viable it is to open up such elements of the communications architecture as the routing table. A fundamental question raised by both the active service and the active network approaches is how to ensure that the shared resource of the network remains safe and is protected from misbehaving programs. Programs can abuse the network by generating packet explosions and can abuse the shared processor by using all the memory and the processor cycles. Worse, they may subvert the working of correct programs so that they too break. If network programmability is going to be available to the application designers, we need to ensure that they do not break things by accident, let alone by intention. Traditional systems approaches to protection are based upon what a program should be able to do, then using runtime checks to ensure that the program doesn’t exceed these bounds. This leads to the sandbox model of protection, as used in Java and enhanced to provide protection for Active Networks. However, there are major problems with this approach. First, each runtime check reduces the performance of the system, increasing the overhead of each use of system resources. Second, it is very difficult to ensure that the protection mechanisms are correct, and cannot be subverted in any way. An alternative approach is to use compile time checks upon what the program is doing. This uses the type system to represent predicates about program functionality and if a program is well-typed, then it proves the program to obey the policies implemented in the type system. This approach has been used to allow users to run programs within the kernel as in Spin, and in protecting access to router functionality in the Switchware project. †¢ To provide a network programming language based on Internet `best effort’ communication. †¢ To provide scaleable high-level communication based on `remote spawn’ from which other communication can be built. †¢ To make use of types as safety properties, to ensure that the safety and security policies of the network are maintained. †¢ To rapidly prototype tools such as compilers and simulators in order to drive the development of the language by examples. Best-effort distributed programming In the Internet, an application transmits a packet, which is sent to the next router on the way to the destination. At this router, the arrival of the packet causes code to run, which calls other code dependent upon the fields in the header of the packet. This code may access and modify local state stored in the router and then copy or create one or more packets to be sent out from the router. These packets are then routed on output links depending upon the destination for each packet, and so on until the packets reach their destination, or are destroyed within the network for whatever reason. In our programming model, we have attempted to replicate this basic structure of packet transmission. In the Internet, the arrival of a packet initiates some thread of control which uses the data within the packet to decide upon the disposition of the packet. In our model, a packet becomes a thread of control, carrying the code to be run and the names or values of any data referenced within that code. When a thread arrives at a Safetynet-aware router or end system, the thread code is instantiated within the runtime and runs within a de_ned scheduling class. The thread of control may call other code to be run on its behalf. The other code is encapsulated within classes, which are either present in the router, or are dynamically loaded from elsewhere. Threads can spawn other threads, either locally or on the next hop to some destination. 6. Design of an Internetwork We will discuss about the networking especially the internetworking. In this case we will need to discuss some topics related with the Internet Infrastructure, Internet routing, domain name and address resolution, internet protocol and the applications. Internet Infrastructure: The Internet backbone is made up of many large networks which interconnect with each other. These large networks are known as Network Service Providers or Naps. Some of the large Naps are UUNet, Cerf Net, IBM, BBN Planet, Sprint Net, PSINet, as well as others. These networks peer with each other to exchange packet traffic. Each NSP is required to connect to three Network Access Points or NAPs. At the NAPs, packet traffic may jump from one NSP’s backbone to another NSP’s backbone. NSPs also interconnect at Metropolitan Area Exchanges or MAEs. MAEs serve the same purpose as the NAPs but are privately owned. NAPs were the original Internet interconnects points. Both NAPs and MAEs are referred to as Internet Exchange Points or IXs. NSPs also sell bandwidth to smaller networks, such as ISPs and smaller bandwidth providers. Below is a picture showing this hierarchical infrastructure. Diagram 4 This is not a true representation of an actual piece of the Internet. Diagram 4 is only meant to demonstrate how the NSPs could interconnect with each other and smaller ISPs. None of the physical network components are shown in Diagram 4 as they are in Diagram 3. This is because a single NSP’s backbone infrastructure is a complex drawing by itself. Most NSPs publish maps of their network infrastructure on their web sites and can be found easily. To draw an actual map of the Internet would be nearly impossible due to its size, complexity, and ever-changing structure. The Internet Routing Working: It is general phenomenon that No computer knows where any of the other computers are, and packets do not get sent to every computer. The information used to get packets to their destinations is contained in routing tables kept by each router connected to the Internet. The Routers are called the packet switches. A router is usually connected between networks to route packets between them. Each router knows about its sub-networks and which IP addresses they use. The router usually doesn’t know what IP addresses are ‘above’ it. Examine Diagram 5 below. The black boxes connecting the backbones are routers. The larger NSP backbones at the top are connected at a NAP. Under them are several sub-networks, and under them, more sub-networks. At the bottom are two local area networks with computers attached. Diagram 5 When a packet arrives at a router, the router examines the IP address put there by the IP protocol layer on the originating computer. The router checks its routing table. If the network containing the IP address is found, the packet is sent to that network. If the network containing the IP address is not found, then the router sends the packet on a default route, usually up the backbone hierarchy to the next router. Hopefully the next router will know where to send the packet. If it does not, again the packet is routed upwards until it reaches a NSP backbone. The routers connected to the NSP backbones hold the largest routing tables and here the packet will be routed to the correct backbone, where it will begin its journey ‘downward’ through smaller and smaller networks until it finds its destination. Domain Names and Address Resolution. But what if you don’t know the IP address of the computer you want to connect to? What if the you need to access a web server referred to as www. anothercomputer. com? How does your web browser know where on the Internet this computer lives? The answer to all these questions is the Domain Name Service or DNS. The DNS is a distributed database which keeps track of computer’s names and their corresponding IP addresses on the Internet. Many computers connected to the Internet host part of the DNS database and the software that allows others to access it. These computers are known as DNS servers. No DNS server contains the entire database; they only contain a subset of it. If a DNS server does not contain the domain name requested by another computer, the DNS server re-directs the requesting computer to another DNS server. Diagram 6 The Domain Name Service is structured as a hierarchy similar to the IP routing hierarchy. The computer requesting a name resolution will be re-directed ‘up’ the hierarchy until a DNS server is found that can resolve the domain name in the request. Figure 6 illustrates a portion of the hierarchy. At the top of the tree are the domain roots. Some of the older, more common domains are seen near the top. What is not shown are the multitude of DNS servers around the world which form the rest of the hierarchy? When an Internet connection is setup (e. g. for a LAN or Dial-Up Networking in Windows), one primary and one or more secondary DNS servers are usually specified as part of the installation. This way, any Internet applications that need domain name resolution will be able to function correctly. For example, when you enter a web address into your web browser, the browser first connects to your primary DNS server. After obtaining the IP address for the domain name you entered, the browser then connects to the target computer and requests the web page you wanted. The Disable DNS in Windows If you’re using Windows 95/NT and access the Internet, you may view your DNS server(s) and even disable them. If you use Dial-Up Networking: Open your Dial-Up Networking window (which can be found in Windows Explorer under your CD-ROM drive and above Network Neighborhood). Right click on your Internet connection and click Properties. Near the bottom of the connection properties window press the TCP/IP Settings†¦ button. If you have a permanent connection to the Internet: Right click on Network Neighborhood and click Properties. Click TCP/IP Properties. Select the DNS Configuration tab at the top. You should now be looking at your DNS servers’ IP addresses. Here you may disable DNS or set your DNS servers to 0. 0. 0. 0. (Write down your DNS servers’ IP addresses first. You will probably have to restart Windows as well. ) Now enter an address into your web browser. The browser won’t be able to resolve the domain name and you will probably get a nasty dialog box explaining that a DNS server couldn’t be found. However, if you enter the corresponding IP address instead of the domain name, the browser will be able to retrieve the desired web page. (Use ping to get the IP address prior to disabling DNS. ) Other Microsoft operating systems are similar. Internet protocols: As hinted to earlier in the section about protocol stacks, one may surmise that there are many protocols that are used on the Internet. This is true; there are many communication protocols required for the Internet to function. These include the TCP and IP protocols, routing protocols, medium access control protocols, application level protocols, etc. The following sections describe some of the more important and commonly used protocols on the Internet. Higher-level protocols are discussed first, followed by lower level protocols. Application Protocols: HTTP and the World Wide Web One of the most commonly used services on the Internet is the World Wide Web (WWW). The application protocol that makes the web work is Hypertext Transfer Protocol or HTTP. Do not confuse this with the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). HTML is the language used to write web pages. HTTP is the protocol that web browsers and web servers use to communicate with each other over the Internet. It is an application level protocol because it sits on top of the TCP layer in the protocol stack and is used by specific applications to talk to one another. In this case the applications are web browsers and web servers. HTTP is a connectionless text based protocol. Clients (web browsers) send requests to web servers for web elements such as web pages and images. After the request is serviced by a server, the connection between client and server across the Internet is disconnected. A new connection must be made for each request. Most protocols are connection oriented. This means that the two computers communicating with each other keep the connection open over the Internet. HTTP does not however. Before an HTTP request can be made by a client, a new connection must be made to the server. When you type a URL into a web browser, this is what happens: If the URL contains a domain name, the browser first connects to a domain name server and retrieves the corresponding IP address for the web server. The web browser connects to the web server and sends an HTTP request (via the protocol stack) for the desired web page. The web server receives the request and checks for the desired page. If the page exists, the web server sends it. If the server cannot find the requested page, it will send an HTTP 404 error message. (404 mean ‘Page Not Found’ as anyone who has surfed the web probably knows. ) The web browser receives the page back and the connection is closed. The browser then parses through the page and looks for other page elements it needs to complete the web page. These usually include images, applets, etc. For each element needed, the browser makes additional connections and HTTP requests to the server for each element. When the browser has finished loading all images, applets, etc.the page will be completely loaded in the browser window. Retrieving a Web Page Using HTTP: Telnet is a remote terminal service used on the Internet. Its use has declined lately, but it is a very useful tool to study the Internet. In Windows find the default telnet program. It may be located in the Windows directory named telnet. exe. When opened, pull down the Terminal menu and select Preferences. In the preferences window, check Local Echo. (This is so you can see your HTTP request when you type it. ) Now pull down the Connection menu and select Remote System. Enter www. google. com for the Host Name and 80 for the Port. (Web servers usually listen on port 80 by default. ) Press Connect. Now type GET / HTTP/1. 0 And press Enter twice. This is a simple HTTP request to a web server for its root page. You should see a web page flash by and then a dialog box should pop up to tell you the connection was lost. If you’d like to save the retrieved page, turn on logging in the Telnet program. You may then browse through the web page and see the HTML that was used to write it. Most Internet protocols are specified by Internet documents known as a Request for Comments or RFCs. RFCs may be found at several locations on the Internet. See the Resources section below for appropriate URL’s. HTTP version 1. 0 is specified by RFC 1945. Application Protocols: SMTP and Electronic Mail: Another commonly used Internet service is electronic mail. E-mail uses an application level protocol called Simple Mail Transfer Protocol or SMTP. SMTP is also a text-based protocol, but unlike HTTP, SMTP is connection oriented. SMTP is also more complicated than HTTP. There are many more commands and considerations in SMTP than there are in HTTP. When you open your mail client to read your e-mail, this is what typically happens: The mail client (Netscape Mail, Lotus Notes, Microsoft Outlook, etc.) opens a connection to its default mail server. The mail server’s IP address or domain name is typically setup when the mail client is installed. The mail server will always transmit the first message to identify itself. The client will send an SMTP HELO command to which the server will respond with a 250 OK message. Depending on whether the client is checking mail, sending mail, etc. the appropriate SMTP commands will be sent to the server, which will respond accordingly. This request/response transaction will continue until the client sends an SMTP QUIT command. The server will then say goodbye and the connection will be closed. Transmission Control Protocol: Under the application layer in the protocol stack is the TCP layer. When applications open a connection to another computer on the Internet, the messages they send (using a specific application layer protocol) get passed down the stack to the TCP layer. TCP is responsible for routing application protocols to the correct application on the destination computer. To accomplish this, port numbers are used. Ports can be thought of as separate channels on each computer. For example, you can surf the web while reading e-mail. This is because these two applications (the web browser and the mail clien.