Criminal Orginizations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Criminal Orginizations - Essay Example No wonder that the same device which socially is a help may bring about new social trouble when groups clash with groups, or when minor units, families, crowds, or neighborhoods run counter to the demands of the supreme unit, the state. It is not always easy to reconcile conflicting codes and loyalties. The reading suggests that organized crime can be explained as illegal activities aimed to gain financial profits with the help of unlawful actions of disciple; Ned groups of people. The code is acknowledged and the state sets its categorical claims aside. Again group loyalty is permitted to assume the first place. Organized crime group life and structure are subject to other forces which do not stand still. They are deeply affected by technological innovations, the machine age, the age of birth control, the age of ideologies. Through the medium of nascent and dying units all these basic factors of human development and reversion bear on criminal behavior. A group comes into existence when at least one other person enters into relations with a given individual. Organized crime life presupposes interaction. The contact should therefore be not completely ephemeral or one-sided. A passer-by who happens to be knocked down in a dark street does not form a unit with the robber. He may be d runk and scarcely aware of the aggressor. He may even fight back. In no case has a group been set up. Yet there can be beginnings of organized crime with the policeman on his regular beat, with the boss, with a teacher or a priest. Imaginary partners and a person's sincere belief may constitute a social unit, fanciful, it is true, but operative (Lunde and Morton 2004). In general, organized crime groups require some continuity, intimacy, and emotional content. There are certainly group relations between father and son, between two friends, two lovers. Hate and fear are not absolutely group-preventing when compulsive nearness in a prison, in an office, in a neighborhood establishes a contact that otherwise would be avoided. Such units, of course, by necessity live on compromises, private nonaggression pacts, and methods of cooperation. Yet they may have a bearing on both partners' behavior. The "good" prisoner and the warden often live for years in the interdependence of this relationship and act accordingly. Much more often we think of a plurality of persons when we speak of social units. But the simple aggregate is not yet a group sociologically. It does not matter that they meet by chance in a certain square or room. This is just a multitude. But as soon as they go into the streets to show their love or their hate for the same man or the same cau se a metamorphosis has taken place. For a short time at least they have fallen in line psychologically; among all the remaining disparities one identity has made its appearance, which takes command of the multitude and suddenly makes it one, "unum," an organized crime unit. The permanence of these groups does not mean that behind their rigid structure individuals do not come and go. Young people leave their families and set up their own homes. In a highly competitive world, Organized crime groups are designed to substitute for individual competition. The strength of the organized crime u

international business environment Legal considerations Essay Example for Free

international business environment Legal considerations Essay The legal aspects are important for the business choice. Laws are different in every country. Laws would regulate business practice, define the manner and set down the rights and obligations. This made business have to run within the border set by law and definitely affects the efficiency and profitability when running business in that country. The type of legal system. The legal system in Spain and Korea is based on civil law, while court precedents are not granted official status as law. The Spanish legal system is based on comprehensive legal codes and laws rooted in Roman law, as opposed to common law, which is based on precedent court rulings. Because Japan occupied Korea from 1910 to 1945, the Korean legal system resembles the Japanese system. After the occupation however, there were attempts to adopt many aspects of the American legal system. It must be remembered that the first civilian government commenced only in 1992, and thereafter, increasingly more democratic reforms have taken place.1 Both countries use contracts and they are important for doing business in both countries. Neither Korea or Spain has advantage to the type of legal system. The protection of property right The definition of property right: In economics, property usually refers to ownership (rights to the proceeds of output generated) and control over the use of the means of production. They may be owned privately, by the state, by those who use it, or held in common by society.2 The world property right index 2012 shows the differences between the countries and the country’s world ranking. South Korea and Spain are both in the top 40 of the index. Spain ended this year on the 35th place and South Korea on the 40th place. The overall score off all the points together we can say that Spain compared with Korea is better in protection of property rights. In the figure on the next page we compare South Korea with Spain. The higher the score the better protection of property right. Property right is important for running a business because the better protect the better is the stability of the company. Overall score South Korea vs. Spain in the international world index 2012 The protection of intellectual property Intellectual property is a juridical concept which refers to creations of the mind for which exclusive rights are recognized. Under intellectual property law, owners are granted certain exclusive rights to a variety of intangible assets, such as musical, literary, and artistic works; discoveries and inventions; and words, phrases, symbols, and designs. Common types of intellectual property rights include copyright, trademarks, patents, industrial design rights and in some jurisdictions trade secrets. 4 South Korea has an government organization called KIPO. This is the governmental authority in charge of intellectual property in Korea. The mission of KIPO is to help Korea become an advanced country by providing legal and institutional administration for the creation and utilization of highly creative, value-added intellectual property and by promoting technological innovation and industrial development. In Spain the main law regulating intellectual property protection is the 1996 Int ellectual Property Law. With regard to industrial property, no single law covers all aspects. Instead, this is regulated by a package of different laws, including the Patent Law, trade mark law and the law on the legal protection of industrial designs5 In the international property right index, South Korea and Spain score exactly the same and ends on the 27th place. There are 130 countries in the index so the both are trustful countries. Corruption A country where corruption is low is a really important factor to choose for a country. Corruption costs a lot of money and affects the company negative. Korea has an independent commission against Corruption. The Korea Independent Commission Against Corruption is an independent commission that reports to the President in its fight against corruption and the consequent promotion of the clean administration of South Korea. In a coordinated  effort with other monitoring agencies, also known proverbially as watchdogs, the KICAC is involved in producing policies and orchestrating preventive activities.6 Spain has different organisations to fight against corruption. The Special Attorney General’s Office for the Repression of Economic Offences related with Corruption(ACPO) is the biggest and well known organisation in Spain. 7 According to the Corruption perception index Spain scores better than South Korea. The Corruption Perceptions Index ranks countries/territories based on how corrupt a country’s public sector is perceived to be. It is a composite index, drawing on corruption-related data from expert and business surveys carried out by a variety of independent and reputable institutions. The difference between the two countries is not that big but Spain would be a saver option. Labour law Spain and South Korea have both a minimum wage8. The minimum wage in Korea is lower than in Spain which is positive for the production costs. The maximum and average working hours in Spain are also lower than in South Korea. The maximum working hours in Spain are 40 hours a week and in South Korea 48. This is positive for the production because you can have longer days and the costs are lower as well. Forced labor and child labor are prohibited in both countries. In Korea children under the age of 18 may work under certain conditions. In spain the minimum age is 16. To do so, in Korea they require a special employment certificate from the Labor Ministry, which is rarely issued because education is compulsory until the age of 14. Children under the age of 18 who wish to work require written approval from their parents or guardians. Environmental law South Korea is connected with the AECEN. This is the Asian Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Network and there is an agreement between 16 Asian countries dedicated to improving cooperation with environmental laws in Asia. The mission of the Ministry of Environment in South Korea is to protect the national territory from threats of environmental pollution and  to improve the quality of life for the public. This includes ensuring the people of South Korea can enjoy the natural environment, clean water and clear skies. Furthermore, the Ministry aims to contribute to the global efforts to protect the Earth. In February 2008, the Korea Meteorological Administration became an affiliate of the Ministry of Environment to facilitate countermeasures against climate change In Spain the central government represents Spain in the European Union and transposes European legislation into Spanish law. It is responsible for adopting national legislation on the basic and common aspects of the environment. Both countries take the environment more than serious because it can effect business and people. The better and stricter the environmental law in the country the better and more effective you can produce your products. Nowadays the mission of most companies is to be green and fight against global warming. The regulations in Europe / Spain are more strict than in Asia what can be a reason to choose for Spain. The investment in expensive machinery and products to produce is maybe higher at the start but with better machinery companies can produce more cleaner and more effective. References http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judiciary_of_Spain http://www.korealaw.com/sub/information/boardView.asp?brdId=overviewbrdIdx=1gotopage=1search=search_string= http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Asia-and-the-Pacific/Korea-South-WORKING-CONDITIONS.html

Cryptography: Theories, Functions and Strategies

Cryptography: Theories, Functions and Strategies Abstract Digital signing is a mechanism for certifying the origin and the integrity of electronically transmitted information. In the process of digitally signing, additional information called a digital signature is added to the given document, calculated using the contents of the document and some private key. At a later stage, this information can be used to check the origin of the signed document. The mathematical base of the digital signing of documents is public key cryptography. This work presents the theory behind digital signatures, signature schemes and attacks on signatures and provides a survey of application areas of the digital signing technology. Moreover, there are lab exercises developed in Mathlab, to reinforce the understanding of this technology. 1. Introduction The Concise Oxford Dictionary (2006) defines cryptography as the art of writing or solving codes, however modern cryptography does not met this definition. Therefore, this work starts with a literature review defining some key concepts, like what cryptography and cryptographic system are and the different types of cryptographic system are presented. The other interesting and preliminary concept is the notion of cryptosystem functions which are also discussed in the introductory section. Furthermore, it is stated that public-key encryption represents a revolution in the field of cryptography, and this work poses some basic definitions on this topic trying to explain the theory behind. The rest of the literature review is concentrated on public key cryptography and it focuses on the theory behind digital signatures, signature schemes and attacks on signatures. And finally, the literature review presents a survey of application areas on digital signatures. One part of the contribution of this work, is an overview of the secure hash standard (SHS) and implementation of the secure hash algorithm (SHA-1), required for use with digital signature algorithms. The main part though, is the implementation of AES and RSA by utilizing Mathlab. The code of all these implementations is thoroughly discussed and explained in this work. Moreover, a comparison is also presented subsequently. 2. Cryptography The Greek words â€Å"krypt ´os† standing for â€Å"hidden† and the word â€Å"l ´ogos† that means â€Å"word†, are in essence the base from where the word cryptology was derived. As these words denote, cryptology can be best explained by the meaning â€Å"hidden word†. In this context, the original purpose behind cryptology is hiding the meaning of some specific combination of words which in turn would insure secrecy and confidentiality. This is a very limited viewpoint in today’s perspective and a wide range of security applications and issues now come under the term of cryptology (rest of the portion of this section will clarify this point of view). As field of mathematical science, Cryptology includes the study of both cryptanalysis as well as cryptography. On one hand, cryptography is a very broad term and represents any process used for data protection. On the other hand, the study of security related issues and the probabilities of breaking the cryptographic systems and a technique is known as cryptanalysis. By making reference to (Shirey, 2000), the field cryptanalysis can be best described as the â€Å"mathematical science that deals with analysis of a cryptographic system in order to gain knowledge needed to break or circumvent the protection that the system is designed to provide.† In simple words, cryptanalyst can be regarded as the opponent of the cryptographer i.e. he/she has to get around the security which cryptographer devised on his/her part. (Buchmann, 2004) claims that a cryptographic system (or in short a cryptosystem) describes â€Å"a set of cryptographic algorithms together with the key management processes that support use of the algorithms in some application context.† This is a diverse explanation that includes all sorts of cryptographic algorithms as well as protocols. However, hidden parameters like cryptographic keys may or may not be used by a cryptographic system (Delfs, 2007). Similarly, participants of the undergoing communication may or may not share those secret parameters. Thus, cryptographic can be classified into following three types: a cryptographic system in which no secret parameters are employed (called an un-keyed cryptosystem); a cryptosystem which makes use of secret parameters and at the same time shares the parameters between the participants (known as a secret key cryptographic system); and a system that utilizes the secret parameters, but not sharing them with the participants (call ed a public key cryptographic system) (Shirey, 2000; Buchmann, 2004). Cryptography aims at designing and implementing cryptographic systems and utilizing such systems which are secure effectively. The first a formal definition about the term cryptography dates from relatively past time. Back then, the approach known by the name â€Å"security through obscurity† was being used (Dent, 2004). There are a lot of examples based on this approach by which security of the system was improved by keeping internal working and design secret. Majority of those systems do not serve the purpose and security may well be violated. The Kerckhoffs’ principle is a very famous cryptographic principle which states that (Kerckhoffs, 1883): â€Å"Except for parameters clearly defined to be secret, like the cryptographic keys, a cryptosystem must be designed in such a way as to be secure even with the case that the antagonist knows all details about the system†. However, it might be noted that one important aspect is that a cryptosystem is perfectly securing theoretically grounds, but it may not remain the same when implemented practically. Different possibilities of generating attacks on security of such systems can arise while having the practical implementation (Anderson, 1994). Attacks which make use of exploitation of side channel information are the examples of such attacks. If a cryptosystem is executed, it can result in the retrieval of side channel information with unspecified inputs and outputs (Anderson, 1994). In encryption systems, the input is plaintext message plus the key, while the specific output is the cipher text. Thus, there are chances on information leakage. Power consumption, timing characteristics along with the radiation of all types are some examples in this regard. On the other hand, side channel attacks are the types of network attacks which extract side channel information. Since the mid 1990s there were many di fferent possibilities have been found by the researchers in order to build up side channel attacks. A few examples in this regard are the differential power analysis (Bonehl, 1997), and fault analysis (Biham, 1997; Kocher, 1999) as well as the timing attacks (Kocher, 1996). It is a very practical statement that any computation performed on real computer systems represents some physical phenomena which can be examined and analyzed to provide information regarding the keying material being employed. Cryptography does not help to cope with this situation because of the inherent nature of this problem. 2.1 Cryptosystem functions Other than the usual random bit generators as well as the hash functions, there are no secret parameters that are used in cryptosystem functions. These are the junketed functions that characterize the cryptographic system functions. In cryptographic functions, the elements used are usually one-way and it is difficult or almost impossible to invert them. This follows that it is easy to compute a cryptographic function whereas it is hard to invert the functions and also to compute the results of the relationships (Kerckhoffs, 1883). It is difficult to apply any mathematical method for inverting the cryptographic system functions in a way that will be coherent and meaningful. For example, a cryptographic system functions such as F: X → Y is easy to comfortably use mathematical knowledge to compute while it is hard to use the same to invert (Buchmann, 2004; Shirey, 2000). There are many examples of one-way functions that we can use to demonstrate the meaning of the cryptosystems. In a situation where one has stored numbers on the cell phone, computation of the same is possible and easy due to the fact that the names are stored in an alphabetical manner (Garrett, 2001). If one inverts the relationship of these functions, it will be impossible to compute because the numbers are not arranged numerically in the storage phonebook. It is notable that a lot of other things that we do in daily life are comparable to cryptosystem function in the sense that you cannot invert or undo them. For example, if one breaks a glass, the process is one way because it is not possible for these pieces to be restored together again (Goldreich, 2004). Similarly, when one drops something into water, it is not practically possible to reverse the action of dropping this item (Mao, 2003). The English corresponding action would be to un-drop the item as opposed to picking it. Cry ptosystem functions cannot be demonstrated as purely one-way and this is the branching point between cryptosystem functions and the real world of things and circumstances. The only one-way functions in mathematics can be exemplified by discrete exponentiation, modular power and modular square functions. Public key cryptography uses these functions in its operations but it has not been well documented whether they are really one-way or not. There has been debate in practice whether one-way functions really exist in the first place or not (Garrett, 2001). In the recent day cryptographic discussions a lot of care should be applied when referring to the one-way functions so as not to interfere or make false claims to the functional attributes of these parameters. There is a need to look for extra information and knowledge concerning one-way functions so that efficient and meaningful inversions are possible and mathematically coherent. Therefore, functions such as F: X → Y is considered to be a one-way function (Koblitz, 1994; Schneier, 1996). This follows that if F can successfully and coherently inverted, the need for extra information is needed. This will hence bring the notion of the meaning of the other parameters in relation to F. Computer science uses the hash functions in its operations. This is because these functions are computable and generates output dependent on the input that was used (Katz, 2007; Koblitz, 1994). 3. Digital signatures The public-key encryption presents a revolution in the field of cryptography and until its invention the cryptographers had relied completely on common, secret keys in order to achieve confidential communication (Smart, 2003). On the contrary, the public-key techniques, allow for the parties to communicate privately without the requirement to decide on a secret key in advance. While the concept of private-key cryptography is presented as two parties agree on a secret keyk which can be used (by either party) for both encryption and decryption; public-key encryption is asymmetric in both these respects (Stinson, 2005). Namely, in public-key encryption: One party (the receiver) generates a pair of keys (pk, sk), where pk is called the public key and ps is the private key, The public key is used by a sender to encrypt a message for the receiver, and The receiver uses the private key to decrypt that message. There three parts of information form part of public key certificate: Some naming information A Public key Digital signatures (this can be one or more) Encryptions and digital signatures were introduced to make the web transactions secure and manageable. The use of cryptographic techniques was applied to enhance and provide security layer such that the encrypted information and files would remain secure and confidential. Very frequently, a digital signature is mistaken with the inverse of a public-key encryption, but this is not entirely true. In the history, a digital signature could be obtained by reversing, but today in the majority of the situations this process would be impossible to be performed. Basically, a digital signature is a form of a mathematical scheme for signifying the genuineness of a digital message. A valid digital signature would provide a proof to the person that receives the message or the document that these information is indeed created by a specified sender. Moreover, it would prove that message or the document was not altered during the transportation. Digital signatures are usually used for software distribution or mainly money transactions, where it is very important to detect the possibility of forgery. As a part of the field in asymmetric cryptography, it might be noted that a digital signature is somehow equivalent of the traditional handwritten signatures. On the other hand, in order to be effective, a digital signature should be correctly implemented. Another very important concept is the notion of non-repudiation. This means that if somebody signs a document by using a digital signature, they can not say that it was not signed by them, even though their private key remains as a secret. On the other hand, there is a time stamp, so that even if the private key of a sender is compromised in future, the digital signature will remain valid. Examples of such messages are: electronic mail contracts messages sent via some cryptographic protocol A digital signature usually is comprised of: An algorithm for producing a key. This algorithm would find a private key by chance from all the possible private keys available. Then it will output that private key with a matching public key. A signing algorithm that, given a message and a private key, produces a signature. A signature authenticating algorithm that, given a message, public key and a signature, it will accept or reject the message. Primary, a signature produced from a fixed message and a private key verifies that the genuineness of that message is ok, by means of the matching public key. Then, it has to be computationally infeasible to make an appropriate signature for a party that doesn’t have the private key 4. Algorithms 4.1. Introduction to SHS This section provides an overview of the secure hash standard (SHS) and implementation of the secure hash algorithm (SHA-1), required for use with digital signature algorithms. SHA-1 is used for computing a compressed version of a message or a data file. If that data has a length smaller than 264 buts, then the output will be 160-bit and is called a message digest. The message digest used for an input to the Digital Signature Algorithm (DSA). This algorithm will verify the signature for the message. Signing the message digest instead of the originall message itself, might advance the effectiveness of the procedure. This is since the message digest is usually much slighter in size than the original message. Very important is that the same hash algorithm should be used by both the verifier and the digital signature creator. The usage of the SHA-1 with the DSA can be presented as follows: Interesting for SHA-1 is that it is computationally impossible to discover a message which matchs to a given digest. Moreover, it is also impossible to find two dissimilar messages which create an identical message digest. 4.2. Implementation of SHA-1 The following functions were implemented for the SHA-1 algorithm: Name of source file: secure_hash_algorithm.m. Function in the source file: secure_hash_algorithm (message). This function takes an input a string of characters. Example: Hello, How are you? How is it going on? Output is the message digest, the hash value of the message. Thus, the hash value of the above message is F418F52AE6DC208599F91191E6C40FA876F33754. Name of source file: arithematic_shift_operations.m. Function in the source file: arithematic_shift_operations (number, position, op). The inputs are: number: it is a hexadecimal large number of any size. The number is represented in base 16 and is stored as a string. Ex: ‘FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF’ position: the number of positions to be shifted by. It is a decimal number in base 10. Op: it is the type of operation done. Inputs are ‘SRA’ -> shift right arithematic and ‘SLA’ -> shift left arithematic. For example, the function: arithematic_shift_operations(‘FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF’, 3, ‘SRA’) would return ‘1FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF’, and arithematic_shift_operations(‘FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF’, 3, ‘SLA’) would return ‘FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF8’. Name of source file: bi2hex.m. Function in the source file: bi2hex (number). The input to this function is a vector of ones and zeros and the result is a hexadecimal output represented in string. For example, for the input â€Å"Number = [1 1 1 1]† bi2hex (Number) returns ‘F’ and for â€Å"Number = [1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 ]† bi2hex (Number) returns ‘F1’. Name of source file: hex2bi.m. Function in the source file: hex2bi (number). The input to this function is a number stored in form of a string in base 16 and the result is a vector containing the binary representation of input string. For example, for the input â€Å"Number = ‘F’ †, hex2bi (Number) returns â€Å"[1 1 1 1]† and for â€Å"Number = ‘F1’ â€Å", bi2hex (Number) returns â€Å"[1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1]†. Name of source file: hexadecimal_big_number_adder.m. Function in the source file: hexadecimal_big_number_adder (number_one, number_two). The inputs to this function are numbers stored in hexadecimal string format. Output is the result, a hexadecimal string and carry, a decimal number. After using this function, it has to be checked if the carry is generated, Incase if it is generated then the carry has to be appended in the beginning to the result. For example: Number_one = ‘FFFFFFFF’ Number_two = ‘EEEEEEEE’ [result, carry] = hexadecimal_big_number_adder (Number_one, Number_two) Result = ‘EEEEEEED’ , carry = 1; Hence the real sum is Result = strcat(dec2hex(0), Result); this results to ‘1EEEEEEED’ Name of source file: hexadecimal_big_number_subtractor.m. Function in the source file: hexadecimal_big_number_subtractor(number_one, number_two). The inputs to this function are numbers stored in hexadecimal string format. Output is the result, a hexadecimal string and sign, a decimal number. If sign is -1, then the result generated is a negative number else is a positive number. . For example: Number_one= ‘EEEEEEEE’ Number_two= ‘FFFFFFFF’ [result, sign] = hexadecimal_big_number_subtractor(Number_one, Number_two) Result = ‘11111111’ Sign = -1. Name of source file: hexadecimal_big_number_multiprecision_multiplication.m. Function in the source file: hexadecimal_big_number_multiprecision_multiplication(multiplicand, multiplier). The input is a multiplicand stored in string format is a hexadecimal number. And so is multiplier. The output is a result and is stored in form of a string. For example: multiplicand= ‘EEEEEEEE’ multiplier= ‘FFFFFFFF’ hexadecimal_big_number_multiprecision_multiplication(multiplicand, multiplier) result is ‘EEEEEEED11111112’ Name of source file: comparision_of.m. Function in the source file: comparision_of(number_one, number_two, index). This function compares two numbers in hexadecimal format stored in form of strings. Always input index as decimal 1. Therefore, it: Returns 1 if Number_one > Number_two, Returns 0 if Number_one = Number_two, and Returns -1 if Number_one For example, if Number_one= ‘EEEEEEEE’ Number_two= ‘FFFFFFFF’, the result would be: comparision_of(Number_one, Number_two, 1) returns -1. Name of source file: hexadecimal_big_number_modular_exponentiation.m. Function in the source file: hexadecimal_big_number_modular_exponentiation (base, exponent, modulus). This function calculates (power(base, exponent) % modulus). Here the input base, exponent and modulus are hexadecimal strings of any size. For example: Base = ‘FFF’ Exponent = ‘EEE’ Modulus = ‘AAAA’ hexadecimal_big_number_modular_exponentiation (Base, Exponent, Modulus) returns ‘8BAB’ Name of source file: hexadecimal_big_number_multiplicative_inverse.m. Function in the source file: Z = hexadecimal_big_number_multiplicative_inverse(number_one, number_two). This function returns multiplicative inverse of number_two modulo number_one. If az = 1 (mod m) then z is the multiplicative inverse of a mod m. Here â€Å"number_one = m†, â€Å"number_two = a†, â€Å"number_one = ‘FFFF’ †, â€Å"number_two = ‘1235’ â€Å" andresult is ‘634D’, which in turn is the multiplicative inverse of number_two.Hence : (result * number_two) mod number_one = 1 Name of source file: hexadecimal_big_number_test_for_primality.m. Function in the source file: hexadecimal_big_number_test_for_primality(number). The input to this function is an ODD number stored in hexadecimal format as a string. This function returns 1 if the input is a prime and returns -1 if input is composite. Name of source file: power_of_two_conversion_to_hexadecimal.m. Function in the source file: power_of_two_conversion_to_hexadecimal(power). The input is the number, the power to which two has to be raised to. It is a decimal number and the output is a hexadecimal number in form of string. For example, power_of_two_conversion_to_hexadecimal(4) returns ‘10’ i.e 16 in decimal system. Name of source file: hexadecimal_big_number_division.m. Function in the source file: hexadecimal_big_number_division (dividend, divisor). This function returns quotient and remainder both in hexadecimal string format. The inputs to this function are strings of hexadecimal format. This function uses other two functions in turn which are defined in source file Get_multiplier.m, multiplication_by_single_digit_multiplier.m. Name of source file: remove_leading_zeros.m. Function in the source file: remove_leading_zeros (number). This function takes number in hexadecimal string format as input and removes the leading zeros in the string and returns it. For example, if â€Å"Number = ‘000000012345’ â€Å", then the function returns ‘12345’. Some of the most prominent functions are presented in Appendix A. 4.3. Introduction to MD5 The MD5 Message-Digest Algorithm is a extensively utilised in cryptographic hash functions. Basically this is the case for cryptographic hash functions with a 128-bit (16-byte) hash value. MD5 is used in many security applications, and in addition it is frequently used to check data integrity. An MD5 hash is typically expressed as a 32-digit hexadecimal number. The following figure represents a schematic view of the MD5 Message-Digest Algorithm. 4.4. Implementation of MD5 This algorithm would compute MD5 hash function for files. For example, if as input is given the d = md5(FileName), then the function md5() will computes the MD5 hash function of the file specified in the string FileName. This function will returns it as a 64-character array dwhere d is the digest. The following methodology that the MD5 algorithm was implemented: Initially, the function Digestis called. This function would read the whole file, and will make it uint32 vector FileName = C:\md5InputFile.txt [Message,nBits] = readmessagefromfile(FileName); Then, it would append a bit in the last one that was read from that file: BytesInLastInt = mod(nBits,32)/8; if BytesInLastInt Message(end) = bitset(Message(end),BytesInLastInt*8+8); else Message = [Message; uint32(128)]; end Consequetly, it will append the zeros: nZeros = 16 mod(numel(Message)+2,16); Message = [Message; zeros(nZeros,1,uint32)]; And a bit length of the original message as uint64, such as the lower significant uint32 first: Lower32 = uint32(nBits); Upper32 = uint32(bitshift(uint64(nBits),-32)); Message = [Message; Lower32; Upper32]; The 64-element transformation array is: T = uint32(fix(4294967296*abs(sin(1:64)))); The 64-element array of number of bits for circular left shift: S = repmat([7 12 17 22; 5 9 14 20; 4 11 16 23; 6 10 15 21].,4,1); S = S(:).; Finally, the 64-element array of indices into X can be presented as: idxX = [0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 1 6 11 0 5 10 15 4 9 14 3 8 13 2 7 12 5 8 11 14 1 4 7 10 13 0 3 6 9 12 15 2 0 7 14 5 12 3 10 1 8 15 6 13 4 11 2 9] + 1; The initial state of the buffer is consisting of A, B, C and D. such as: A = uint32(hex2dec(67452301)); B = uint32(hex2dec(efcdab89)); C = uint32(hex2dec(98badcfe)); D = uint32(hex2dec(10325476)); The message is reshaped, such as: Message = reshape(Message,16,[]); The look between the blocks, such that X is an extraction of the next block: for iBlock = 1:size(Message,2) X = Message(:,iBlock); The buffer states are stored as: AA = A; BB = B; CC = C; DD = D; The buffer is transformed by utilizing the X block from above, and the parameters from S, T and idxX k = 0; for iRound = 1:4 for q = 1:4 A = Fun(iRound,A,B,C,D,X(idxX(k+1)),S(k+1),T(k+1)); D = Fun(iRound,D,A,B,C,X(idxX(k+2)),S(k+2),T(k+2)); C = Fun(iRound,C,D,A,B,X(idxX(k+3)),S(k+3),T(k+3)); B = Fun(iRound,B,C,D,A,X(idxX(k+4)),S(k+4),T(k+4)); k = k + 4; end end The old buffer state is also being added: A = bitadd32(A,AA); B = bitadd32(B,BB); C = bitadd32(C,CC); D = bitadd32(D,DD); end The message digest is being formed the following way: Str = lower(dec2hex([A;B;C;D])); Str = Str(:,[7 8 5 6 3 4 1 2]).; Digest = Str(:).; The subsequent functionality is performed by the following operations: function y = Fun(iRound,a,b,c,d,x,s,t) switch iRound case 1 q = bitor(bitand(b,c),bitand(bitcmp(b),d)); case 2 q = bitor(bitand(b,d),bitand(c,bitcmp(d))); case 3 q = bitxor(bitxor(b,c),d); case 4 q = bitxor(c,bitor(b,bitcmp(d))); end y = bitadd32(b,rotateleft32(bitadd32(a,q,x,t),s)); And the bits are rotated such as: function y = rotateleft32(x,s) y = bitor(bitshift(x,s),bitshift(x,s-32)); The sum function is presented as: function sum = bitadd32(varargin) sum = varargin{1}; for k = 2:nargin add = varargin{k}; carry = bitand(sum,add); sum = bitxor(sum,add); for q = 1:32 shift = bitshift(carry,1); carry = bitand(shift,sum); sum = bitxor(shift,sum); end end A message is being read frm a file, such as: function [Message,nBits] = readmessagefromfile(FileName) [hFile,ErrMsg] = fopen(FileName,r); error(ErrMsg); Message = fread(hFile,inf,ubit32=>uint32); fclose(hFile); d = dir(FileName); nBits = d.bytes*8; Lastly, the auto test function is the following: function md5autotest disp(Running md5 autotest); Messages{1} = ; Messages{2} = a; Messages{3} = abc; Messages{4} = message digest; Messages{5} = abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz; Messages{6} = ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789; Messages{7} = char(128:255); CorrectDigests{1} = d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e; CorrectDigests{2} = 0cc175b9c0f1b6a831c399e269772661; CorrectDigests{3} = 900150983cd24fb0d6963f7d28e17f72; CorrectDigests{4} = f96b697d7cb7938d525a2f31aaf161d0; CorrectDigests{5} = c3fcd3d76192e4007dfb496cca67e13b; CorrectDigests{6} = d174ab98d277d9f5a5611c2c9f419d9f; CorrectDigests{7} = 16f404156c0500ac48efa2d3abc5fbcf; TmpFile = tempname; for k=1:numel(Messages) [h,ErrMsg] = fopen(TmpFile,w); error(ErrMsg); fwrite(h,Messages{k},char); fclose(h); Digest = md5(TmpFile); fprintf(%d: %sn,k,Digest); if ~strcmp(Digest,CorrectDigests{k}) error(md5 autotest failed on the following string: %s,Messages{k}); end end delete(TmpFile); disp(md5 autotest passed!); 4.4.1 Results This algorithm is tested with the input: university of Portsmouth department of electronic and computer engineering. This was written on the file: â€Å"C://md5InputFile.txt†. The outpus results are as in the following fugures: Textual description of the output results follows: OUTPUT FileName = C:\md5InputFile.txt Running md5 autotest FileName = C:\md5InputFile.txt 1986621045 1769173605 1864399220 1867522150 1836282994 1752462703 1885692960 1836348001 544501349 1696622191 1952671084 1768845170 1851859043 1868767332 1953853549 1696625253 1852401518 1769104741 26478 1: 3129b41fa9e7159c2a03ad8c161a7424 FileName = C:\md5InputFile.txt 1986621045 1769173605 1864399220 1867522150 1836282994 1752462703 1885692960 1836348001 544501349 1696622191 1952671084 1768845170 1851859043 1868767332 1953853549 1696625253 1852401518 1769104741 26478 2: 3129b41fa9e7159c2a03ad8c161a7424 FileName = C:\md5InputFile.txt 1986621045 1769173605 1864399220 1867522150 1836282994 1752462703 1885692960 1836348001 544501349 1696622191 1952671084 1768845170 1851859043 1868767332 1953853549 1696625253 1852401518 1769104741 26478 3: 3129b41fa9e7159c2a03ad8c161a7424 FileName = C:\md5InputFile.txt 1986621045 1769173605 1864399220 1867522150 1836282994 1752462703 1885692960 1836348001 544501349 1696622191 1952671084 1768845170 1851859043 1868767332 1953853549 1696625253 1852401518 1769104741 26478 4: 3129b41fa9e7159c2a03ad8c161a7424 FileName = C:\md5InputFile.txt 1986621045 1769173605 1864399220 1867522150 1836282994 1752462703 1885692960 1836348001 544501349 1696622191 1952671084 1768845170 1851859043 1868767332 1953853549 1696625253 1852401518 1769104741 26478 5: 3129b41fa9e7159c2a03ad8c161a7424 FileName = C:\md5InputFile.txt 1986621045 1769173605 1864399220 1867522150 1836282994 1752462703 1885692960 1836348001 544501349 1696622191 1952671084 1768845170 1851859043 1868767332 1953853549 1696625253 1852401518 1769104741 26478 6: 3129b41fa9e7159c2a03ad8c161a7424 FileName = C:\md5InputFile.txt 1986621045 1769173605 1864399220 1867522150 1836282994 1752462703 1885692960 1836348001 544501349 1696622191 1952671084 1768845170 1851859043 1868767332 1953853549 1696625253 1852401518 1769104741 26478 7: 3129b41fa9e7159c2a03ad8c161a7424 md5 autotest passed! 4.5. Introduction to Caesar cipher The Caesar cipher in cryptography, is in essence a shift cipher. It represents as one of the simplest and most widely known encryption methodologies. The Caesar cipher is a kind of substitution cipher. It means that each letter in a given plaintext is replaced by another letter. This is done due shifting by some fixed number of positions down the alphabet. Julius Caesar was the first to use this ci

The Great Depression and World War II Shaped My Grandmas Life Essay

The Great Depression and World War II Shaped My Grandma's Life My grandma, Alma Jean, was born in 1935 in Silo, Oklahoma, just outside of Durant. Her birth certificate says she was born in Durant because Silo was too small to be considered a real town. She lived there on a farm with her parents, Orval and Maggie Dale. It was the middle of the Great Depression, and they were a farming family at a time when it seemed like no one could make a living off the land. To supplement their income, Orval and his father worked for the Works Progress Administration (WPA). President Roosevelt set up the WPA the same year that my grandma was born (Divine 760). The WPA was similar to other work relief programs such as the CCC, PWA, CWA and NYA. All were established to provide jobs for the unemployed. However, the WPA was unique because it was the first program to also address the needs of artists, writers, and actors. These people were employed by the WPA to capture and portray the culture and events of the United States at that time (761). As a result of the Depression, Americans learned to be resourceful. People would make clothes out of flour sacks and homes out of cardboard and metal scraps (Conlin 686). They grew gardens and hunted for their food instead of buying it at the store. Some people even sold apples in the city streets to earn money (Current 731). One of the weirdest things about my grandma is that she likes to eat squirrel brains. But it makes sense. When she was little they didn't have money to buy meat, so her dad would go hunting all the time. He'd catch jackrabbits and squirrels and whatever else he could find, and that's what they ate. So my grandma grew up eating squirrels (and their brains). It was normal to h... ... of the war. The day the war ended she was in school. When they found out it was over, they let all the kids go home early. Everywhere she went, she said she could feel a sense of relief. Everyone was happy and excited. My grandma grew up and married Henry Fordge. They now have six grown children and a lifetime of wonderful memories. Her first memories, though, were shaped by two of the greatest events in American history: The Great Depression and World War Two. Works Cited Conlin, Joseph R. Our Land, Our Time: A History of the United States. Orlando: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1991. Current, Richard N., et al. American History: A Survey. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1983. Divine, Robert A., ed. America Past and Present. Illinois: Scott, Foresman and Company, 1987. Jordan, Killian, ed. Our Finest Hour. Time Inc. Home Entertainment. 2000.

Genetically Modified Foods †Friend or Foe Essay

In 1998 the first genetically modified (GM) food was approved for public consumption. Since then GM foods have become part of the world’s food supply and are produced in several countries. While horror stories in the 90s promised dire consequences for introducing GM foods to the populace most of those problems have failed to arise as promised. Some scientists say that GM foods are completely safe and the proof might be that we are all still here to debate the point. GM foods are not labeled in the United States and chances are that most Americans have already eaten GM foods. Still, how much is known about the GM foods that Americans are unknowingly feeding to their families? Is managing to survive the experiment the only yardstick we should use to measure risk? Genetically modified foods might be dangerous and more testing is desperately needed to avoid health hazards. While the FDA and their scientists say that GM foods are safe, the U. S. government is already aware that there have been problems with GM foods. Even before genetic modification became the industry it is today there were problems linked with hormonally enhanced foods. Small changes in our food supply can cause large results. Of course, the problems are just a small percentage of the whole. In 1998 Harvard Medical School released a study (as cited by Larsen, 1998, Â ¶ 1) showing evidence that a product known as Recombinant Bovine Somatotropin (rBST) increased the chances of humans developing cancer. Bovine Somatotropin is a hormone produced by cattle which is also known as Bovine Growth Hormone. The Recombinant status means it was synthetically produced using recombinant DNA technology. The synthetic chemical is injected into cows to stimulate milk production. Milk cows in the United States and England were once treated with this chemical but England banned its use after the link between rBST and cancer was shown (Larsen, 1998). The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) says that the chemical is safe and not only approves of its use but does not allow labeling of the products that come from the cows that are injected with rBST (Epstein, 1996; FDA Consumer, 1999). Of secondary concern when dealing with rBST injected cattle is the worry of infection. The more milk a cow produces the more likely it becomes that she will suffer from udder inflammation. This inflammation is regularly treated with antibiotics to which the cows are developing a resistance to over time. Not only can this resistance be passed along to the humans who drink the milk but humans can also have allergic reactions to the antibiotic traces left in the milk (Epstein, 1996). In 1989 approximately 5000 individuals became suddenly ill. This illness was later traced back to a health food supplement that had been created using GM enhanced bacteria. Of those 5000 people, 37 later died and 1500 were permanently disabled. The toxin which caused the problem was present in only 0. 01% of the product. One percent is below the level that would have caused concern or a halt of production. In 1996 a company created a B2 vitamin to be sold with GM bacteria and the FDA approved it as long as any contaminants were not found at greater than 0. 01%. With that standard in place the 1989 toxin problem would not be detected even if it happened today (Antoniou, 1996, Â ¶ 5-6). While the FDA does set the standards there is very little actual oversight of the biotech companies. As of 1992 (as cited by Whitman, 2000) the FDA policy is that biotech companies may voluntarily ask for a consultation with the FDA. The consultation is not compulsory and even if used the company does not have to follow the FDA recommendations. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has the power to quarantine crops that are a danger but the biotech companies do not require a permit from the USDA as long as their product meets a short set of standards created to ensure the safety of the crop itself. To put it simply, the FDA is responsible for food safety and the USDA is responsible for plant and crop safety (Whitman, 2000, Â ¶ 32-35). The FDA sets the requirements that GM foods must meet to be declared safe. The main requirement for safety is that the modified food being judged is substantially equivalent to the original non-modified food (Physicians and Scientists for the Responsible Application of Science and Technology [PSRAST], 2006). For example, if a biomed modified potato is found to still be substantially equivalent to a regular potato then no further testing is needed. The theory is that being substantially equivalent gives them the same level of safety. For a food to be judged substantially equivalent it must be similar on several points, which are chosen by the manufacturers themselves. There must be no overt difference between the GM food and the non-GM food in regard to taste, appearance, and several points selected by the manufacturer in the areas of chemical composition and nutritional composition. The only other test required is to do an analysis looking for allergen markers. If the computers find no reason to believe that the product can cause allergies then the product is approved. Human testing is never required (PSRAST, 2006, Â ¶ 20-25). If genetically altering foods is an inherently safe procedure then the above tests are a perfectly logical way to test GM foods. If the foods are as unsafe as some claim then it is a dangerous policy for the biotech companies and the U. S. government to decide upon. In 1994 the FDA stated that modified foods were as safe as their non-modified counterparts and policy decisions have been based on that statement. The government believes so strongly in the safety of GM foods that they do not require labeling of any kind to differentiate GM foods from non-modified food sources (Whitman, 2000, Â ¶ 38-43). Since there is no way to differentiate GM from non-GM products there is no way for Americans to know if they are eating GM foods. In 2003 six countries produced 99% of the transgenic crops, also known as GM crops, sold in the world. Of these six countries the United States sold, by far, the largest percentage of these crops (James, 2003). The chart below lists the acreage of these crops by millions. Figure 1 Obviously, not all is doom and gloom when looking at the above figures. Although biotechnology can do harm it can also help the world, maybe. According to Raney, Pingali, T. R, & R. R. in 2007 a new variety of rice named Golden Rice was modified to produce beta-carotene. The rice was developed specifically to help the starving and poor in third world countries who become ill from vitamin A deficiencies (p. 108). Three servings of Golden Rice a day will provide an adult with 10% of their daily requirement of Vitamin A. While this does not seem earth shattering it shows a company attempting to use biotech to help others. Of course, even assuming the FDA is right and the problems caused by GM foods are an aberration there is the USDA’s bailiwick to ponder. Are the crops safe for the biosphere itself? That is a difficult question to answer, as well. Just like the food safety issue there are people on both sides of this argument who are convinced that they are right. On one side are the scientists who fully believe that the creation of GM foods cannot harm the biosphere and on the other are the scientists who believe that cross pollination will cause problems. According to the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences at Colorado State University (2004) a list of recommended separation distances for GM crops was released by the USDA. According to the USDA if the separation distance is maintained and divider crops are planted then the risk for migration or cross pollination is minimal. Divider plants are tall plants that will block the flow of pollen from wind caused migration. With these precautions in place biosphere damage is supposed to be minimal. A photo taken by Percy Schmeiser and provided by The Nature Institute in 1994 shows that even if the worry of cross pollination or plant migration is overblown it is not an unproven phenomena. The field in the picture was planted with wheat in 1999. In the year 2000 they allowed it to lie fallow, in layman’s terms they did not plant anything so to regenerate the soil. They sprayed the soil twice with a weed killer known as Round Up but somehow an herbicide resistant strain of canola plants migrated into the field. The bushes in the below picture are all a GM crop that was never planted by the farmer. No one is sure how it appeared in the field (Holdrege, 2004, Â ¶ 11). Figure 2 Even discounting the possibility of seed migration via accident or wind there is always the chance of cross pollination. With cross pollination one plant can pollinate or breed another plant via insect help or wind that it was not scheduled to pollinate. In this way a plant type that was supposed to be non-GM can be infected with GM genes without the farmer or company being aware of the problem. This has happened before to rice crops that were sold to Europe from the U. S. and caused the temporary halt of rice exports to certain companies in Europe. The rice in question was not approved for human consumption and no one is sure how it appeared either in the field or the food supply (Vogel, 2006). Besides cross pollination and migration one other crop issue needs to be addressed. Monsanto has produced crop plants that either target the RNA in insects to kill off their larvae, are tolerant of herbicides like Round Up to kill off weeds, or produce pesticides of their own to kill predatory insects (Whitman, 2000, Â ¶ 4-5; Webb, 2007). While these functions are beneficial to farmers in that they save money and protect the crops, there are some concerns with these changes. There is always the possibility of cross breeding or cross contamination affecting a species for which these changes were not intended. There is also the chance that the insect killing modifications will kill off non-pest insects like butterflies. Lastly, there is a chance that plants that produce pesticides will be toxic to the humans or animals that ingest it (Whitman, 2000, Â ¶ 18-22). While opinions still vary on GM food safety, what becomes obvious is that there are more questions than answers. More testing and more rigorous safety and control laws are needed to protect the populace from unmeant harm. While GM foods can be a boon to the world they can just as easily become a curse. Disease, poisonings, and even dangers to the biosphere itself are just some of the risks we currently run. The best way to safeguard our future is to demand that congress takes our safety seriously. References Antoniou, M. (1996). Is GM food devoid of DNA safe. Retrieved January 21, 2008, from http://www. purefood. org/ge/noDNA. htm Department of Soil and Crop Sciences at Colorado State University. (2004). Concerns about current farming practices. Retrieved January 28, 2008, from http://cls. casa. colostate. edu/TransgenicCrops/croptocrop. html Epstein, Samuel S. (1996). Unlabeled milk from cows treated with biosynthetic growth hormones: a case of regulatory abdication. International Journal of Health Services, 26(1), 173-185. Holdrege, C. (2004). The trouble with genetically modified crops. Retrieved January 15, 2008, from http://www.natureinstitute. org/pub/ic/ic11/gmcrops. htm James, C. (2003). Preview: Global status of commercialized transgenic crops: 2003. Ithica,NY: International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications [ISAAA]. Larsen, H. (1998). Milk and the cancer connection. Retrieved December 27, 2007, from http://www. vvv. com/healthnews/milk. html Physicians and Scientists for Responsible Application of Science and Technology [PSRAST]. (2006). Inadequate safety assessment of GE foods. Retrieved January 18, 2008, from http://www. psrast. org/subeqow. htm Raney, T. , Pingali, P. , T. R. , & P. P. (2007, September). Sowing a gene revolution. Scientific American, 297(3), 104-111. Retrieved December 7, 2007, from EBSCOhost database. Safety of rbST Milk Affirmed. (1999, May). FDA Consumer, 33(3), 4. Retrieved January 23, 2008, from EBSCOhost database. Vogel, G. (2006, September). Tracing the transatlantic spread of GM rice. Science, 313(5794), 1714. Webb, S. (2007, November 10). Silencing pests. Science News, 172(19), 292. Retrieved December 7, 2007, from EBSCOhost database. Whitman, B. (2000). Genetically modified foods: harmful or helpful. Retrieved January 23, 2008, from http://www. csa. com/discoveryguides/gmfood/overview. php.

Free Essays on William Moraley

William Moraley disembarked from the ship Bonetta in Philadelphia a week before Christmas, 1729. Like Benjamin Franklin who had arrived six years earlier, Moraley landed in the City of Brotherly Love as a poor man. While Franklin was a runaway apprentice, Moraley was a bound servant awaiting purchase. Wearing a dilapidated red coat, coarse checkered shirt, bad shoes, and a dirty wig, Moraley, like the similarly ill attired Franklin, bought bread with his last pennies, and then explored the town on foot. After that, the two men’s initial hours and days in the city diverged sharply. Franklin gave his leftover bread to a friendless woman and child, attended a Quaker meeting, and sought out a reputable inn for lodging; the following day he applied for work. On the other hand Moraley sold his clothes to buy rum and contemplated the wonders of Philadelphia. While the Bonetta docked on Market Wharf, at least forty more ships were docked along the Delaware River. In Philadelphia, the Bonetta unloaded its cargo of servants and coal, took on a shipment of flour, and in early January set sail for Lisbon. Other vessels were just clearing the port for Barbados, Madeira, Antigua, and the Isle of Man. This sea traffic formed the foundation for Philadelphia’s economy. The urban center was an epicenter through which European manufactured goods flowed to be sold throughout the Delaware Valley, while the region’s abundant grain and livestock products were carried into the city for shipment abroad. Most residents, directly or indirectly, depended on commerce with people scattered throughout the Atlantic World, from Native Americans in the backcountry, to small farmers and storekeepers in the neighboring countryside, to planters, manufacturers, and merchants operating from the West Indies to Portugal to Britain Housing construction like wise formed a vital component of the economy as carpenters and laborers built structures in response to the cityï ¿ ½... Free Essays on William Moraley Free Essays on William Moraley William Moraley disembarked from the ship Bonetta in Philadelphia a week before Christmas, 1729. Like Benjamin Franklin who had arrived six years earlier, Moraley landed in the City of Brotherly Love as a poor man. While Franklin was a runaway apprentice, Moraley was a bound servant awaiting purchase. Wearing a dilapidated red coat, coarse checkered shirt, bad shoes, and a dirty wig, Moraley, like the similarly ill attired Franklin, bought bread with his last pennies, and then explored the town on foot. After that, the two men’s initial hours and days in the city diverged sharply. Franklin gave his leftover bread to a friendless woman and child, attended a Quaker meeting, and sought out a reputable inn for lodging; the following day he applied for work. On the other hand Moraley sold his clothes to buy rum and contemplated the wonders of Philadelphia. While the Bonetta docked on Market Wharf, at least forty more ships were docked along the Delaware River. In Philadelphia, the Bonetta unloaded its cargo of servants and coal, took on a shipment of flour, and in early January set sail for Lisbon. Other vessels were just clearing the port for Barbados, Madeira, Antigua, and the Isle of Man. This sea traffic formed the foundation for Philadelphia’s economy. The urban center was an epicenter through which European manufactured goods flowed to be sold throughout the Delaware Valley, while the region’s abundant grain and livestock products were carried into the city for shipment abroad. Most residents, directly or indirectly, depended on commerce with people scattered throughout the Atlantic World, from Native Americans in the backcountry, to small farmers and storekeepers in the neighboring countryside, to planters, manufacturers, and merchants operating from the West Indies to Portugal to Britain Housing construction like wise formed a vital component of the economy as carpenters and laborers built structures in response to the cityï ¿ ½...

Beauty and the Beast Anorexia essays

Beauty and the Beast Anorexia essays It seemed to me that the older I got, the more obsessed people seemed about their bodies. Whether it was the diet soda boom of the 80's, or the fact everyone has always been unhappy with his or her natural bodies; it just took me a while to comprehend. It always seemed like there were diets here, diets there; these drugs can do this, or these herbs can do that... "Stop the insanity!" This paper is going to discuss anorexia nervosa, an alarming disease that is usually developed during puberty of both boys and girls. Like bulimia, in which the subject binges and then disposes of ingested food by purging or use of laxatives, those suffering anorexia nervosa have an obsession with the amount of fat on her body (although one of every ten suffering this disease are male, I will use the female pronoun since they are the majority). This results in the loss of appetite completely and dangerous weight loss. More than thirty years ago one of this century's major sex symbols sang, "Happy Birthday, Mr. President," on television. With her size fourteen to sixteen figure, it is doubtful that society's standards would approve Marilyn Monroe today. Back in those days men and women alike ate what tasted good or what the body needed and simply bought clothes that would hide any unwanted weight gain. Today the story is different. Psychologists that study the influence of television on children say that television is the most influential medium in our "visually orientated" society (Velette, 1988, p.3). With the influence of television and celebrity role models, children don't care that they see a variety of sizes outside of their home, what they care about are the majority of people shown on the television set, perfect. Teenagers have typically watched 15,000 hours of television in their lifetime (Valette, 1988, p.4), absorbing the opinions on the shows or the commercials burning into their retinas. The message transmitted: "To be successful, beautif...