Thursday, September 3, 2020

A Game of Thrones Chapter Thirty-two Free Essays

string(37) went pitching past her, stumbling. Arya The one-eared dark tom angled his back and murmured at her. Arya cushioned down the rear entryway, adjusted daintily on the chunks of her uncovered feet, tuning in to the shudder of her heart, breathing moderate full breaths. Calm as a shadow, she let herself know, light as a plume. We will compose a custom exposition test on A Game of Thrones Chapter Thirty-two or then again any comparable theme just for you Request Now The tomcat watched her come, his eyes attentive. Getting felines was hard. Her hands were secured with half-mended scratches, and the two knees were scabbed over where she had scratched them crude in tumbles. From the start even the cook’s tremendous fat kitchen feline had the option to escape her, yet Syrio had kept her at it day and night. When she’d hurry to him with her hands dying, he had stated, â€Å"So moderate? Be snappier, young lady. Your foes will give you more than scratches.† He had touched her injuries with Myrish fire, which consumed so awful she had needed to chomp her lip to shield from shouting. At that point he sent her out after more felines. The Red Keep was loaded with felines: languid old felines resting in the sun, cold-peered toward mousers jerking their tails, snappy little cats with hooks like needles, ladies’ felines all brushed and believing, worn out shadows slinking the midden stores. Individually Arya had pursued them down and grabbed them up and brought them gladly to Syrio Forel . . . everything except this one, this one-eared dark villain of a tomcat. â€Å"That’s the genuine ruler of this mansion right there,† one of the gold shrouds had advised her. â€Å"Older than wrongdoing and twice as mean. Once, the ruler was devouring the queen’s father, and that dark charlatan bounced up on the table and grabbed a dish quail directly out of Lord Tywin’s fingers. Robert chuckled so hard he like to blast. You avoid that one, child.† He had run her most of the way over the mansion; twice around the Tower of the Hand, over the internal bailey, through the pens, down the serpentine strides, past the little kitchen and the pig yard and the dormitory of the gold shrouds, along the base of the stream divider and up more advances and to and fro over Traitor’s Walk, and afterward down again and through a door and around a well and all through peculiar structures until Arya didn’t know where she was. Presently finally she had him. High dividers squeezed close on either side, and ahead was a clear austere mass of stone. Calm as a shadow, she rehashed, sliding forward, light as a quill. At the point when she was three stages from him, the tomcat shot. Left, at that point right, he went; and right, at that point left, went Arya, removing his break. He murmured again and attempted to dash between her legs. Speedy as a snake, she thought. Her hands shut around him. She embraced him to her chest, spinning and chuckling out loud as his hooks raked at the front of her cowhide jerkin. Fast, she kissed him directly between the eyes, and jolted her head back a moment before his hooks would have discovered her face. The tomcat yowled and spit. â€Å"What’s he doing to that cat?† Frightened, Arya dropped the feline and spun toward the voice. The tom limited off in a matter of seconds. Toward the finish of the rear entryway stood a young lady with a mass of brilliant twists, dressed as beautiful as a doll in blue silk. Alongside her was a full minimal light kid with a dancing stag sewn in pearls over the front of his doublet and a smaller than usual blade at his belt. Princess Myrcella and Prince Tommen, Arya thought. A septa as extensive as a draft horse floated over them, and behind her two major men in blood red shrouds, Lannister house watches. â€Å"What were you never helping to feline, boy?† Myrcella asked again, harshly. To her sibling she stated, â€Å"He’s a worn out kid, isn’t he? Take a gander at him.† She laughed. â€Å"A battered messy foul boy,† Tommen concurred. They don’t know me, Arya figured it out. They don’t even know I’m a young lady. Little miracle; she was shoeless and messy, her hair tangled from the since a long time ago go through the mansion, clad in a jerkin tore by feline paws and earthy colored roughspun pants hacked off over her scabby knees. You don’t wear skirts and silks when you’re getting felines. Rapidly she brought down her head and dropped to one knee. Possibly they wouldn’t perceive her. In the event that they did, she could never hear its finish. Septa Mordane would be humiliated, and Sansa could never address her again from the disgrace. The old fat septa pushed ahead. â€Å"Boy, how could you come here? You have no business in this piece of the castle.† â€Å"You can’t keep this sort out,† one of the red shrouds said. â€Å"Like attempting to keep out rats.† â€Å"Who do you have a place with, boy?† the septa requested. â€Å"Answer me. What’s amiss with you, will be you mute?† Arya’s voice trapped in her throat. In the event that she replied, Tommen and Myrcella would know her beyond a shadow of a doubt. â€Å"Godwyn, bring him here,† the septa said. The taller of the watchmen began down the rear entryway. Frenzy held her throat like a giant’s hand. Arya couldn't have spoken if her life had held tight it. Quiet as still water, she mouthed quietly. As Godwyn went after her, Arya moved. Brisk as a snake. She inclined to one side, letting his fingers brush her arm, turning around him. Smooth as summer silk. When he got himself turned, she was running down the rear entryway. Quick as a deer. The septa was shrieking at her. Arya slid between legs as thick and white as marble segments, limited to her feet, bowled into Prince Tommen and jumped over him when he plunked down hard and said â€Å"Oof,† spun away from the subsequent gatekeeper, and afterward she was past them all, forcing full to leave. She heard yells, at that point beating strides, shutting behind her. She dropped and rolled. The red shroud went tilting past her, bumbling. You read A Game of Thrones Chapter Thirty-two in classification Article models Arya sprang back to her feet. She saw a window over her, high and limited, barely in excess of a bolt cut. Arya jumped, got the ledge, pulled herself up. She held her breath as she wriggled through. Elusive as an eel. Dropping to the floor before a frightened scrubwoman, she bounced up, forgot about the surges her garments, and was off once more, out the entryway and along a long corridor, down a step, over a concealed patio, around a corner and over a divider and through a low thin window into a black as night basement. The sounds developed increasingly more inaccessible behind her. Arya was winded and completely lost. She was in for it now on the off chance that they had perceived her, however she didn’t think they had. She’d moved excessively quick. Quick as a deer. She dug in obscurity against a moist stone divider and tuned in for the interest, yet the main sound was the thumping of her own heart and a removed dribble of water. Tranquil as a shadow, she let herself know. She pondered where she was. At the point when they had first come to King’s Landing, she used to have terrible dreams about becoming mixed up in the palace. Father said the Red Keep was littler than Winterfell, yet in her fantasies it had been enormous, a perpetual stone labyrinth with dividers that appeared to move and change behind her. She would wind up meandering down bleak lobbies past blurred embroidered works of art, diving unending round steps, shooting through patios or over extensions, her yells reverberating unanswered. In a portion of the rooms the red stone dividers would appear to dribble blood, and no place might she be able to discover a window. Once in a while she would hear her father’s voice, however consistently from far off, and regardless of how hard she pursued it, it would develop fainter and fainter, until it blurred to nothing and Arya was separated from everyone else in obscurity. It was dull at the present time, she understood. She embraced her exposed knees tight against her chest and shuddered. She would stand by discreetly and check to ten thousand. By then it would be alright for her to return crawling out and discover her direction home. When she had arrived at eighty-seven, the room had started to help as her eyes changed in accordance with the obscurity. Gradually the shapes around her took on structure. Immense void eyes gazed at her ravenously through the misery, and faintly she saw the rugged shadows of long teeth. She had lost the tally. She shut her eyes and bit her lip and sent the dread away. At the point when she looked once more, the beasts would be gone. Could never have been. She imagined that Syrio was close to her out of the loop, murmuring in her ear. Quiet as still water, she let herself know. Solid as a bear. Savage as a wolverine. She opened her eyes once more. The beasts were still there, yet the dread was no more. Arya got to her feet, moving attentively. The heads were all around her. She contacted one, inquisitive, thinking about whether it was genuine. Her fingertips brushed a monstrous jaw. It felt genuine enough. The bone was smooth underneath her hand, cold and hard to the touch. She ran her fingers down a tooth, dark and sharp, a blade made of obscurity. It made her shudder. â€Å"It’s dead,† she said so anyone might hear. â€Å"It’s only a skull, it can’t hurt me.† Yet by one way or another the beast appeared to realize she was there. She could feel its unfilled eyes watching her through the melancholy, and there was something in that diminish, huge room that didn't cherish her. She edged away from the skull and supported into a second, bigger than the first. For a moment she could feel its teeth diving into her shoulder, as though it needed a nibble of her substance. Arya spun, felt cowhide catch and tear as an immense tooth nipped at her jerkin, and afterward she was running. Another skull lingered ahead, the greatest beast of all, yet Arya didn't slow. She jumped over an edge of dark teeth as tall as blades, ran through hungry jaws, and hurled herself against the entryway. Her hands found an overwhelming iron ring set in the wood, and she yanked at it. The entryway opposed a second, prior to it gradually started to swing internal, with a squeak so uproarious Arya was sure it cou

Tuesday, August 25, 2020

There Is No Doubt That The Death Of Francisco Franco, Dictator Of Spai

There is no uncertainty that the demise of Francisco Franco, Dictator of Spain for thirty-nine years, was an incredible watershed in Spanish history. From 1939 to 1975 Francos system controlled religion, the media, instruction, the working and even the private existences of Spanish residents. His passing without a doubt prepared for the beginning of a progress to vote based system. Yet, so as to completely break down this change, and the degree to which it was one of bargain, we should look at both the years following his demise and the slow development of Spanish society in the years going before 1975. V?ctor M. P?rez-D?az contends that the progressive rise of liberal majority rule customs of establishments and qualities in common society went before, and arranged the path for, the political change of the 1970s (The Return of Civil Society, p.3). The fundamental driver of this move towards liberal law based customs began from a choice of the system itself. Following quite a while of being a separate society which endeavored to accomplish independence, Franco, under enormous tension from the Opus Dei, opened up the Spanish fringes to the universal markets. He didn't predict the sweeping outcomes this move would have. Outside capital filled the nation making the monetary wonder of the 1960s. This permitted Spain to create industry and administrations and to race through an example set by numerous nations before it. Agrarian workers became modern specialists. The workforce in general turned out to be increasingly urbanized and they appreciated a better quality of living. Instruction i n both country and urban zones improved and horticulture was modernized. While numerous Spaniards moved to other European nations, Spain encountered an enormous deluge of voyagers. Outside culture and just thoughts started affecting the individuals of Spain and they slowly started to receive the liberal thinking about their European partners. The entirety of this occurred inside the system of a military tyranny. That the extremist system permitted this change to happen was the main trade off of the progress. It was the start of the decrease in Francos control over society. In his last years Franco started to get ready for the certainty of his passing. He wished to guarantee the endurance of Fascism and named Luis Carrero Blanco as Prime Minister and the man who might ensure continuismo. The death of Carrero by ETA fear based oppressors in 1973 was without a doubt a key factor in the development of Spain as a majority rules system. Anyway Franco stayed sure that his system would persevere. This was to a limited extent due to Juan Carlos who had taken over from Franco when he turned out to be too sick to even think about ruling the nation. Franco had regulated the training of Juan Carlos as a youthful sovereign and Juan Carlos has promised in a TV service to help Francos political principals. Franco could be pardoned for accepting that everything was securely secured (atado y bien atado). Be that as it may, following Francos demise there was across the board vulnerability with regards to the heading which Spanish legislative issues would now take. The Francoist foundations remained, yet it was hazy to what extent they would last. The legislature, heavily influenced by Carlos Arias Navarro, flopped in its endeavors to present change and Navarro surrendered instantly a short time later. Adolfo Su?rez Gonz?lez then assumed control over the rules. Su?rez was just forty-three at that point and had worked in various capacities with regards to the system for his entire life. He appeared to represent everything that conflicted with the soul of the time. A paper article distributed at the hour of his designation summarized the response of the general population; ?Qu? blunder! ?Qu? inmenso blunder! (Los Nuevos Espa?oles, p.50) In any case, Su?rez developed as a government official of inconceivable aptitude and authenticity. He realized that if a progress were to occur, it must be inside the limits of Francoist legitimateness. This is the fundamental trade off of the Spanish progress. Rather than endeavoring to make a total separation from the current system, Su?rez started a meticulous procedure of change inside the Constitution of 1936. This move was an endeavor to guarantee that the military would not get included as, after numerous long periods of being viewed as the gatekeepers of the Francoist system and its Leyes Fundamentales (Constitution), it was dreaded they would step in if these were compromised. In his endeavors at change, Su?rez proposed the

Saturday, August 22, 2020

In group we shrink Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

In bunch we recoil - Essay Example I am glad to be a piece of that minority. I have experienced ample encounters in my own life in which I have encountered the marvel of â€Å"diffusion of responsibility† in the people’s conduct. I have myself shown this sort of conduct over a couple of events right off the bat in my life. Be that as it may, it was an awful inclination that I conveyed with myself later on when I considered back those encounters. I felt like remorseful for not having taken care of those occurrences while I could. Likely, it was the very acknowledgment that changed my conduct towards such episodes to improve things, with the goal that now, when I am a piece of a gathering, and something odd occurs before me, my reaction to the circumstance is not really any not quite the same as what it would have been had I been distant from everyone else. During my adolescence, I saw a little pup with a wrecked and draining leg limping a groaning aside the street. It had likely been trapped in some misha p and was draining severely. Just from its appearance, I had so sympathy for the little pup. I wish someone could deal with that, and I really trusted that that will occur. Around then, I was holding my mother’s hand, standing by to go across the street to arrive at the school. I was in a rush in any case, however I have not had the option to persuade myself since the time that I was unable to save a moment or two for the doggy. I saw individuals seeing that little dog, pointing their fingers at it, and passing by as they watched it. The picture of that draining pup was cut in my memory, and I felt terrible about not taking care of that. Most likely, just in the event that I had washed its leg with the water in my container and folded my hanky over its leg, I would have felt fulfilled. While I generally lamented not doing anything in this specific episode, this reflection and acknowledgment changed my conduct emphatically. Not many days prior, I saw two individuals battling w ith one another. One of them had knock his vehicle into the other’s and the different person’s vehicle was seriously harmed. He had escaped his detects, and had quickly got into a fierce verbal battle with him, that was at the skirt of changing into the physical battle, yet I mediated. At the area, around fifty individuals had assembled in the blink of an eye to watch the issue and had been remaining there watching the warmed verbal contention like a bazaar game. When I got look at the sight, I right away realized what feeling was keeping them down and what I expected to do about it. I ventured ahead and came in the middle of both of them. One of them was holding a block and was going to toss it over the other individual. I immediately took the block from him, and attempted to quiet him down. In the mean time, others additionally began to approach and mediate. Most likely, they were trusting that somebody will step up. I don't question their sentiments of compassion an d humbleness, yet it was surely the â€Å"diffusion of responsibility† that was keeping them down, as Tavris says in the article; â€Å"Most individuals don't act gravely on the grounds that they are characteristically terrible. They carry on seriously in light of the fact that they aren't focusing, or they leave it to Harry, or they would prefer not to cause trouble, or they would prefer not to humiliate themselves or others on the off chance that they're wrong† (Tavris). In any case, â€Å"diffusion of responsibility† isn't the main factor that keeps individuals down in such circumstances. A

Role of Mass Media in Earthquakes

Job of Mass Media in Earthquakes Lai Yuen Yau Choi Kiu Lok Kelly Chu Wing Yan Chu Lok Yin Law Shun Hei Presentation As we people are living on Earth, catastrophic events like seismic tremor are apparently unavoidable. We can just put forth our most prominent conceivable attempt to limit the misfortune in human lives and properties brought by the debacle. As indicated by Haddow (2008),â€Å"Communication is center to the achievement of debacle alleviation, readiness, reaction and recuperation. The media remains the absolute best methods for imparting convenient and precise data to the public.† It appears that the broad communications has an extraordinary commitment in diminishing the unfriendly impact of catastrophic events. Along these lines, it stimulated our interest towards the jobs that broad communications take during fiascos, and we will concentrate on late seismic tremors. In our report, we might want to explore on the jobs and elements of the broad communications, in particular paper, radio, TV and new media during tremor in three expressions: Mitigation Preparedness, Response and Recovery. Furthermore, we might want to investigate the connection between broad communications and seismic tremor. Meaning of broad communications Before presenting the jobs broad communications took during seismic tremor, it is better for us to characterize broad communications. Since broad communications encourages mass correspondence, Baran et al. (2004) recommended that correspondence alludes to a complementary and continuous procedure of making shared importance. Individuals make implications by encoding and interpreting messages. The encoded message is brought to the intended interest group through a medium. In the event that the medium doesn't just convey the messages to an individual however an enormous number of individuals, it is viewed as a mass medium. Papers, TV broadcasting, radio and new media, for example, the Internet, Facebook, Weibo, and Twitter are regular instances of new media. They all have their own qualities and satisfy various jobs of the broad communications during quake. Most people’s first knew about a debacle will be through the broad communications. (Harrison, 1999) Qualities of various broad communications 1) Printed Newspaper In spite of the fact that printed paper need instantaneousness, as per Harrison (1999), paper despite everything claims the physical bit of leeway that individuals can grasp it and read it again and again. It can give increasingly point by point portrayal of the occurrence with words and pictures. In addition, printed paper can be kept as references. 2) Television TV has a few jobs during a seismic tremor. Fry (n.d.) recommended that TV is â€Å"a purveyor of data, a narrator and now and then an operator of change.† Before the fiasco drew nearer, TV news can give out alerts or crucial data of the calamity to the individuals. By highlighting striking pictures and recordings in the TV news, it on one hand educates the individuals, yet on the other it draws associations with the crowd. It summons their feelings and stirs their consideration towards the quake. (Fry, n.d.) Besides, Television is regularly utilized as a stage to raise support for the people in question. 3) Radio Radio despite everything assumes a one of a kind job. It can quickly advise an enormous number regarding individuals in vehicles and at home. In contrast to paper, one doesn’t need to tune in to the radio proficiently. It is cheap to possess a radio recipient. The poor can likewise bear the cost of claiming it. Besides, radio recipients are convenient and don't depend on electric force flexibly. In this manner, if the seismic tremor chop down the electrical flexibly, the casualties can acquire the most current data through radio. Radio is being viewed as a one-chance medium that crowd may handily pass up a great opportunity the message brought by the radio. (Harrison, 1999) However, by rehashing the of significance message, support impact is come about. 4) New Media New media is regularly viewed as media that is identified with the Internet and the exchange between innovation, pictures and sound (Socha Eber-Schmid, n.d.). Facebook, Twitter, Weibo are normal instances of the new media. They have the most elevated instantaneousness among the media. Individuals can rapidly post data or spread messages on the Internet if seismic tremors out of nowhere happens. Since anyone can share their perspectives or remarks and post photographs to the Internet, data on the Internet may not be dependable. Some of them might be bits of gossip. Relief and Preparedness In this stage, it is imperative to send readiness messages to see people in general fully expecting the coming seismic tremor through various types of advances and media, so as to lessen the most extreme death toll and property. In many nations, for example, the United States and Japan, billions of cash is put resources into inquiring about and building up a tremor early admonition framework. It utilizes seismic systems to distinguish quake rapidly, with the goal that advance declaration and cautioning signs can be sent before the appearance of dangerous seismic waves to clear overall population. It targets alleviating seismic tremor related harms by permitting individuals to have more opportunity to make prompt defensive move after the notice signs (Earthquake Early Warning System, 2012) . Likewise it triggers programmed reactions to shield basic framework, for example, giving time to moving trains to back off and quit; opening lift entryways, halting arrivals and departures of trip at the air terminal. Take the case of 2011 Tohoku seismic tremor and wave. At the point when seismic tremor happened, Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) framework (Kinkyu Jishin Sokuho) enacted in a flash. This is an Earthquake Early Warning. If you don't mind plan for amazing tremors. Prompt admonition ready like this was reported quickly in the influenced districts. It likewise educated the open whether there would be a danger of an avalanche or tidal wave brought about by the tremor in the influenced territory. At the point when tidal wave alerts were given, it actuated an Emergency Warning Broadcast framework which naturally turned on all the radios and TVs in the cautioned territories. Declarations are then communicated in various dialects to arrive at a wide scope of individuals remembering the visitors for the area. During this stage, radio telecom assumes a compelling job. The particular ring tone from FM stations is naturally identified inside and turns on the radio and sounds a toll tone and EEW message to individuals for cautious consideration and wake up individuals in bed by an uproarious sound before any ruinous shaking happens. Radios, as a conventional media, are extremely normal and simple to get to. EEW radio waves can arrive at remote territories and can be gotten in zones where no broadband web is accessible. The overall population can in this way tune in to the declaration even with restricted electrical force, from anyplace and with gatherings. Portable Networks Warning System In current days, cell phone arranges possibly a superior medium to send mass notice message to the overall population, as the vast majority will have mobile phones by their sides. In Japan, notwithstanding media broadcasting, cell broadcasting is additionally another approach to caution the general population. With modern correspondence innovation, it permits a great many early admonition instant messages to be sent all the while to singular PDAs (Earth Systems gathering of organizations, 2012). After 2007, it is obligatory for Japanese cell phone makers and versatile system specialist organizations to help EEW early admonition notice in their telephones and administrations. What's more, NTT docomo, au (KDDI and Okinawa Cellular) and SoftBank Mobile, have built up the synchronous communicated frameworks adjusting Cell Broadcast to get EEW and furnished telephones with this administration since 2007 (NTT docomo, 2007). Reaction As per Haddow (2009), â€Å"the main role of correspondences exercises in a calamity reaction is to give precise and auspicious data to the public.† It gives notice, cautioning departure and circumstance investigates the progressing catastrophe to people in general. It likewise expects to portray what has occurred and is going on in the outcome of a catastrophe occasion; what sway the calamity occasion has had on people, the network, and the physical scene and what is being finished by the different associations reacting to the debacle to assist the inclined gatherings with recovering. Paper Paper has a lower need contrasted with TV and radio, so it can't give live reports to the perusers; rather, it gives top to bottom and point by point reports from alternate points of view on what has occurred and is going on after the debacle. It is engaged with the â€Å"response† expression, giving direct nitty gritty reports about the calamity. Columnists were sent to the hazardous situations, to uncover the salvage condition after the fiasco, and how is the on-going salvage progress. Take case of a news story from Reuters, dated 12 May 2008, â€Å"China tremor murders almost 10,000 in Sichuan†. It gives affirmed and authority data with respect to the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake, similar to the assessed loss of life and the annihilation of the offices. Perusers can get the direct data about the debacle and how the position handle the case and settle the people in question. Another article on 2008 Sichuan Earthquake from NBC News, dated 13 May 2008 likewise centers around the quantity of setbacks, entitled â€Å"Massive shudder executes almost 10,000 in China†. In spite of detailing the earnestness of the catastrophe, this article likewise investigates the effects from various points, giving sub-headings going from â€Å"thousands of understudies buried†, â€Å"panda asylum threatened†, â€Å"worldwide condolences† and â€Å"advice for the trapped†. The point by point depiction of the catastrophe shows the qualities of paper de tailing, and gives a full impression to the perusers on the shake. Sentiments from various gatherings and casualties were likewise detailed, just as the quick impacts brought by the shudder to different urban areas. In like manner, in the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake, comparable methods of reporti

Friday, August 21, 2020

Rationale free essay sample

The reason for this undertaking is composing a blog about my closely-held conviction about Eric Thomass discourse The Secret to Success. Eric Thomas dropped out of secondary school later on getting one of the most popular persuasive and inspirational orator around. His discourse was posted on YouTube and he composed a book clarifying the insider facts of arriving at progress. I for one turned out to be roused in the wake of tuning in to his discourse and this blog would incorporate my conclusion about his discourse and how it is inspirational. I will clarify the methods he used to interface with the audience and to have the option to move them to pursuing their objectives. The register of this blog would be casual however not slang. The purpose behind this register is a direct result of the focused on crowds which are the individuals who are looking for inspiration and the audience members of the discourse. I will investigate the tone and voice of the speaker. We will compose a custom article test on Method of reasoning or then again any comparable point explicitly for you Don't WasteYour Time Recruit WRITER Just 13.90/page Eric is a dark man and his idiolect and his pronunciation is of a cliché dark man. I will utilize Times New Roman content style with various sizes to right this blog. This blog identifies with the course since I will break down how his voice uncovered his personality and his utilization of language to associate with the focused on crowd. The discourse on YouTube was in a study hall brimming with understudies. The blog will focus on a similar crowd as the discourse just as some other individual needing to arrive at progress. This additionally identifies with the course since I will clarify how despite the fact that he got fruitful, he didn't lose his unique voice. No sites will be utilized since it is an assessment and individual investigation.

Monday, August 3, 2020

Checklist Do You Qualify for Veteran Benefits

Checklist Do You Qualify for Veteran Benefits There are many brave ex-soldiers who have fought in many different wars on the side of the United States of America, and while many have also survived the wars and horrors which such wars bring, not all came back perfectly healthy and ready to be taken in society again.That being said, we can’t even imagine what pain those people who risked their lives for their country are experiencing, not only physically, but also mentally.The purpose of this article is to explain what makes an ex-soldier a veteran, what benefits do they have and what qualifies them for getting benefits like health-care and federal jobs.We will be also making a checklist to see if you, a war veteran, can qualify for these kinds benefits that the government by law it ought to provide you with.Being a veteran in the United States is a special status and surely you will get the benefits you deserve for your commitment in the army and dont worry about any problems that you may have in the process of getting this sta tus because your rights need to be fulfilled by law.WHAT ARE THE QUALIFICATIONS OF THE STATUS AS A WAR VETERAN?First of all, this is a difficult question to answer, mainly because some people who are entitled to this status, for example, those with an honorable discharge, dont even know if they have the right to be called a war veteran, and this is usually because of lack of knowledge of federal law.Actually, it may shock you that there is no standardized definition of a military veteran in the federal law of the United States, even though veteran benefits have existed for more than two hundred years.The problem is they weren’t created all at one time, but actually one at a time and each time the Congress had to pass a new law authorizing a new veteran benefit which included eligibility requirements for that particular benefit.The definition of the Department of Veterans Affairs proclaims:“Under federal law, a veteran is any person who served honorably on active duty in the arme d forces of the United States. Discharges marked “general and under honorable conditions” also qualify. Other qualifying events are any person who served in the active military, naval or air service of the United States and was discharged from the service due to a service-connected disability or filed a claim and was service-connected for a disability sustained while in the service”.I would just add that in order to even be qualified to request the status of a veteran, you need to have at least 24 months of active military service to your name.This is the shortest as it gets when defining who can get the status of a war veteran, if you fall under this category, you are by law allowed to be given special benefits from the government.If you dont fall under this category or was dishonorably discharged, by federal law, you dont have the right to enjoy the benefits.It seems simple enough, but things could get complicated and getting the legal status of a war veteran isnt done overn ight.Also, keep in mind that it all depends on what veteran program and benefit you are applying to.Now that we did our best to define the status of a war veteran, let us see the benefits that come with this legal status.BENEFITSFrom free medical care to the entitlement of a burial in the National Cemetery, the benefits of being a military war veteran in the United States are surely honorable ones.The U.S. has one of the best laws that specify how a veteran applies for such benefits and are all regulated so that veterans with high disabilities or who were high in rank in the army have a preference over the others.The laws are constantly being altered in order to give anyone who has the status of a war veteran an equal chance of applying based on the type of veteran status.If you do fall into the category of a veteran, you will surely be given some of these benefits, keep in mind that there are millions of veterans in the U.S. and the agencies are doing their best to provide you thes e benefits as quickly and accurately as they can.1.  Home Loan Guarantee It is commonly referred to as VA Home Loan, ensuring every veteran with a house to his name during his pension days.This is a great deal for veterans who either dont have the money to buy a home or dont want to worry if they can pay the full extent of the loan.Military veterans are entitled by law to get home loan guarantee when they want to purchase a home, and the government, in this case, is a sort of a co-signer on the loan.This guarantees that the lending institution will cover the loan if the veteran isnt able to pay back the loan.The downside is that this can result in a substantial reduction in interest rates, and a lower down payment requirement and the government is very careful when they issue such loans.2.  Burial in a VA National Cemetery In order to qualify for the purposes of burial in a VA National Cemetery, you need to supply documentation of conditions and period of service in the army.Any mem ber of the Armed Forces who died on duty is eligible and will be given a proper burial following protocol.Other than that any veteran who wasn’t dishonorably discharged is also eligible to apply for this benefit, the only thing that is required is a minimum of 24 months or the full period of active duty in the service.Any type of dishonorable discharge such as undesirable or bad conduct doesn’t have the benefit of qualifying, but even that depends upon the decision of the VA Regional Office.3.  Military Funeral Honors The Department of Defense or DOD is responsible for providing war veterans military funeral honors, and the request is made by the veterans family.Upon issuing a request, every eligible veteran receives a military funeral honors ceremony which includes folding and presenting the United States burial flag and the playing of Taps either by a high-quality recording or by a bugler, all of this must be followed by the protocol.The federal law insists that at the funeral there must be at least two or more uniformed military persons, and at least one being a member of the veteran’s parent service of the armed forces, in order to give honors and respect to the deceased veteran. 4.  Active Duty Montgomery GI Bill Active Duty Montgomery GI Bill or ADMGIB grants the veteran $47,556 worth of education benefits, for his service of at least three years in active duty and expires after 10 years from the date that the veteran was discharged or retired.In order to be eligible for this benefit, besides the three years of service, you could also get it if you signed a four-year active duty contract.Some exceptions even consider 24 months of service5.  Service-Disabled VA Life Insurance For a veteran to be eligible to basic Service-Disabled Veterans Insurance, he must have been released from active duty on or after April 25, 1951. Dishonorably discharged veterans cant apply.The veteran needs to hold a rating for a service-connected disability and must be in go od health or cant have any disability which isnt service-connected in order to be eligible for this benefit.If you fall under this category, an application must be submitted within two years of the granting of service-connection disability status.Approximately 400.00 dollars are issued as life insurance in exchange for the documented verification of a service-connected disability.6.  VA Disability Compensation Disability compensation  is a benefit paid to war veterans for injuries or diseases that happened while on active duty or were made worse and caused by active military service.It is also paid to certain veterans disabled from VA health care and the number of benefits paid depends on the nature and cause of the disability.If you fall under the following categories, you may be paid additional amount:Severe disabilities or loss of limbs â€" paraplegia, quadriplegia or paralysisIf you have a spouse, children, or dependent parents who can’t offer you treatmentIf you have a seriou sly disabled spouse who obviously isn’t in shape to offer you treatment and care7.  VA Disability Pension Disability Pension is a benefit paid to war veterans with limited income who are no longer able to work due to either war-caused disabilities or mental disorders.You are eligible if you fall under the following criteria:If you were discharged from service for any reason but for bad conduct or violation of dutyIf you served at least 90 days or more of active duty with at least 1 day during a period of wartime, giving that you have either been injured or gotten a service-connected disability or don’t have enough income for basic living.If you are permanently and totally disabled or age 65 or older, giving you the advantage of getting a disability pension over other veterans.If your family income is below a yearly limit set by law, or you or your family have a loan which will be compensated by your pension8.  VA Medical Care The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) provides a v ariety of medical, surgical, and rehabilitative care to eligible war veterans and any veteran with such status, even if he/she is dishonorably discharged, may be eligible for medical care if he/she passes the VA application checklist and the VA will determine whether your discharge was considered to be dishonorable or not.The length of your service may also matter and it all depends on when you served your active duty, but there are no length service requirements for the following veterans:Former enlisted military personnel who started active duty before September 8, 1980.Former officers or generals who first entered their active duty before October 17, 1981.Keep in mind that the number of veterans who are enrolled in the medical care program is determined by Congress and their funds which they give the VA each year.Sadly the funds are limited so the VA is forced to set up priority groups to make sure that certain groups of veterans get enrolled before others.FEDERAL JOBS APPLICATIO N1.  Federal PreferenceFederal preference means that the veterans that are eligible to this status must have been discharged under honorable or general discharge.If you are a retired member of the Armed Forces, however, you cant apply for this program unless you are a disabled veteran, or you retired below the rank of major or its equivalent.Usually, when you apply to a Federal position there are two separate referral lists that you need to take into consideration:External with applicants who are not Federal employees; which means if there are a few veterans on this list a non-veteran can’t be selected.  Some agencies use a point system 5 or 10 points is added to the overall point total assigned to the applicant.  More often than not higher qualified applicants don’t make this list.Internal â€" with applicants who are current or prior Federal employees; practically meaning there is no veterans’ preference.  All applicants compete on a level playing field which is based on yo ur resume, interviews, past performance, and other criteria.There are two types of preference candidates:Candidates with a service-connected disability -formerly titled 10 point preferenceCandidates without service-connected disability -formerly titled 5 point preferenceWhen hiring veterans the point system is being replaced with a category rating system, but until hiring reform is fully established, the 5 and 10 point preference terminology still applies. Preference candidates are divided into four basic groups:CPS â€" Disability rating of 30% or more   10 pointsCP â€" Disability rating of at least 10% and less than 30% 10 pointsXP â€" Disability rating less than 10% 10 pointsTP â€" Preference with no disability rating 5 pointsThe higher your points are, the likelihood of you getting recruited in the program rises, but keep in mind that candidates with a higher disability rating have more eligibility.That being said the next step is the VRA, one of two major programs which will help you get the job you applied for.2.  VRAThe Veterans Recruitment Appointments or VRA is an application program to a job that is otherwise in the competitive service.After two years of satisfactory service in this program, the veteran is then sent to a career-conditional appointment in the competitive service.Veterans who are eligible to be appointed in this program include:Disabled veterans â€" take into consideration the previous disability ratings we talked about.Veterans who served on active duty in the armed forces during a war, or in a campaign for which a campaign badge has been issued and authorizedVeterans who, while serving on active duty in the armed forces, participated in a United States military operation for which they were awarded an Armed Forces Service MedalRecently separated veterans â€" keep in mind that some agencies are limiting VRA to those within three years of discharge in some casesThere are all sorts of clarifications and criteria that you need to foll ow in order to be included in the program so be careful and cautious when applying.The agency sometimes picks veterans who served in a specific war and in a specific year over the other, but either way, if you have a certain form of disability you still have a higher chance to be recruited.Like I said these are the two most known programs for your recruitment in the roles of federal jobs, other programs do exist as well but it all depends on your needs and expectations.CHECKLISTWhen applying for the status of a military war veteran you will be given a checklist to fill out, most of them are yes or no question, they also offer multiple choice questions which you can circle or fill in and also they ask will ask you to describe your experience where that is needed.The usual checklist contains questions which are listed below:Did you (or your spouse or family member) serve in the military?Did you serve on active duty?Did your service include combat, dangerous or traumatic assignments?Do you have a copy of your DD214 discharge papers?Did your spouse serve on active duty?Do you have any immediate family members that served or are serving the military?In which branch of the military did you serve?In which war era or period did you serve?Overall, how do you view your experience in the military?If available, would you like your hospice/staff to have military experience?Are you enrolled in VA?Do you receive any VA benefits?Do you have a service-connected condition?Do you get your medication from the VA?What is the name of your VA hospital/clinic?What is the name and contact information of your VA physician or Primary Care Provider?Would you like to talk to someone about benefits you or your family might be eligible to receive?Take your time when answering these questions and for any information ask a staff member to help you.Applying for veteran benefits is a big deal and you sure don’t want to make any mistakes while filling out the form, there are cases where people fill it out wrong and don’t get the status even though they are eligible.FINAL WORDTo summarize this article and all that has been said, you first need to get the status of a war veteran and collect all documentation of service and medical reports in order to apply for any of these benefits.Once you get that part done you will be directed to the program which best suits you and your needs.The government and the VA are by law responsible for providing you your documentation and programs to assure that you get your benefits and that your rights as a veteran are fulfilled. It may take some time to get all the benefits that you are entitled to but rest assured that eventually, you will get them.Every veteran who served in the military has the right to get his/her benefits if he/she falls under a specific category of a war veteran.You are a survivor and a witness of war which is a title given to soldiers who came back from the battlefield and went home to their country and their loved ones; stating this fact I hope you get your benefits as soon as possible and somehow get compensation for all the active time spent in the line of duty.

Monday, June 22, 2020

Equilibrium Price and Quantity Essay - 1375 Words

Equilibrium Price and Quantity (Essay Sample) Content: * Equilibrium Price and Quantity * Student NameUniversity NameGraphical Representation of the Supply and Demand Curves * The equilibrium price and quantity occurs at the point where the quantity supplied and the quantity demanded are equal (Broadstock, 2003). Where the supply and demand curves intersect. Hence, in this market, the equilibrium price is $6 and the equilibrium quantity is 81 pizzas. * If the market price is above the equilibrium price, the quantity supplied is more than the quantity demanded creating a surplus (Broadstock, 2003). The market price will hence fall. Therefore the surplus drives price down to equilibrium. * If the actual price in the market is below the equilibrium price, the quantity supplied is less than the quantity demanded creating a shortage (Broadstock, 2003). Therefore, the shortage will drive the market towards the equilibrium. 1 American and Japanese workers can each produce 4 cars a year. An American worker can produce 10 tons o f grain a year, whereas a Japanese worker can produce 5 tons of grain a year. To keep things simple, assume that each country has 100 million workers. * For this situation, construct a table analogous to Table 1.Country Workers needed to make one car Workers needed to make one ton of grain U.S 1/4 1/10 Japan 1/4 1/5 b. Graph the production possibilities frontier for the American and Japanese economies.With one hundred million workers and four cars per worker, if either economy was dedicated fully to cars, it would make four hundred million cars. Since each U.S. worker can produce 10 tons of grain, if the United States produced only grain it could produce one thousand million tons. Since each Japanese worker can produce five tons of grain, if Japan produced only grain it could produce five hundred million tons. These are the intercepts of the production possibilities frontiers. Since the tradeoff between cars and grain does not change, the production possibilities frontier is a strai ght line. These yields below:180911550546000 * For the United States, what is the opportunity cost of a car? Of grain? For Japan, what is the opportunity cost of a car? Of grain? Put this information in a table analogous to Table 1Since each U.S. worker produces either four cars or ten tons of grain, the opportunity cost of one car is two and a half tons of grain, which is ten divided by four. Since each Japanese worker produces either four cars or five tons of grain, the opportunity cost of one car is one and a quarter tons of grain, which is five divided by four. Equally, the U.S. opportunity cost of one ton of grain is 2/5 car (4 divided by 10) and the Japanese opportunity cost of one ton of grain is 4/5 car (4 divided by 5). This yields table below:Country Opportunity cost of 1 car in terms of tons of grain given up Opportunity cost of 1 ton of grain in terms of cars given up U.S 2 1/2 2/5 Japan 1 1/4 4/5 d. Which country has an absolute advantage in producing cars? In producing grain?Neither country has an absolute advantage in producing cars, since they are equally productive since they have the same output per worker; the United States has an absolute advantage in producing grain, since it is more productive in that it has greater output per worker.e. Which country has a comparative advantage in producing cars? In producing grain?Japan has a comparative advantage in producing cars, since it has a lower opportunity cost in terms of grain given up. The United States has a comparative advantage in producing grain, since it has a lower opportunity cost in terms of cars given up. * Without trade, half of each country's workers produce ...

Saturday, May 23, 2020

Defense Intelligence Agency And Military Intelligence

The Defense Intelligence agency is a United States intelligence agency that provides foreign military intelligence operating under the jurisdiction of the Department of Defense. According to its website it is â€Å"Department of Defense combat support agency that produces analyses and disseminates military intelligence information.† The foreign military intelligence like political assessments, troop movements, diplomatic changes etc. are distributed among the policy makers, defense officials, combat commanders and other intelligence agencies. The headquarters of the DIA is situated at Joint Base Anacostia Building, Washington DC and was formed in 1961. It employs approximately 7,500 staff worldwide. The Director of the DIA is at least a three star military general. The DIA was formed with the intention of creating a centralized single point access to all defense military intelligence information. Before the formation of the DIA the Department of Defense, Joint Chiefs of Staf f and the Military Intelligence board would do their own collection, analysis and distribution of information using both military and civilian intelligence officers (Defense Intelligence Agency, 2014). They would help in the deciding the defense intelligence policy. The function of DIA encompasses five main operations: 1. Gather human source information 2. Analyze technical information (crunching of information using computers) 3. Distribution of intelligence/ reports to intelligence agencies 4. ProvideShow MoreRelatedAnalysis of Defense Intelligence Agency999 Words   |  4 Pagesorganizational structure of the DoD and U.S. foreign intelligence came to a new shape with the establishment of DIA. It was Robert McNamara, then Secretary of Defense, who came up with the concept of DIA in 1961. DIA gathers human source intelligence, analyzes technical intelligence, distributes intelligence/reports to the intelligence agencies, provides advice and support to the Joint Chiefs of Staff with foreign military intelligence, and provides military intelligence to combatant commands as its operationalRead MoreCombat Support Agencies : Civilian Force Of The Future1440 Words   |  6 PagesCombat Support Agencies’ Civilian Force of the Future General Clapper, the United States Director of National Intelligence, recently briefed the Senate Armed Services Committee on the worldwide threat assessment. His brief addressed the implications of technology on national security, and characteristics of the nation’s leading threat actors that include China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, as well as non-state actors. The entirety of the briefing demonstrates that the United States will face numerousRead MoreTerrorism: Intelligence and National Security2760 Words   |  12 PagesTerrorism and Intelligence Framework HSM 433 Counter Terrorism Intelligence Analysis January 14, 2012 â€Æ' Counter Terrorism and Intelligence Framework Terrorism is the warfare of the future. The battlefield has changed and it will take professional intelligence agencies to gather information about these unorthodox combatants. To help fight the war on terror, intelligence corporations must be present. However, some of the agencies can be combined with others to make a â€Å"super agency†. Three agenciesRead MoreIntelligence, Terrorism, And Terrorism1481 Words   |  6 Pages It was apparent that the attacks of September 11, 2001 were lack of intelligence. Since then, the U.S. has given great emphasis of intelligence to prevent terrorist events such as 9/11 from happening again. Homeland security has emplaced variety of efforts in order for the U.S. to address safety and security issues as well as in addressing the ever-growing threats of terrorism both physical and cyber. Gathering intelligence is vital in preventing and responding to acts of terrorism and otherRead MoreIslamic State Of Iraq And The Levant Red Cell An alysis1685 Words   |  7 Pagesalso equate them to a military power. ISIL holds radical interpretation of Islam as a political philosophy and they seek to impose that worldview by force on Muslims and non-Muslims alike (Friedland 2015). When you compare a terrorist organization to a political and military power you would have to assume that there is structure within the organization that would resemble that of a military. ISIL does have an internal structure that resembles that of a traditional military. The leader or caliphRead MoreStrategic Management and Strategic Competitiveness Essay1696 Words   |  7 Pagesnation and the world, in national security, energy and the environment, critical infrastructure, and health. The Companys approximately 41,000 employees serve customers in the U.S. Department of Defense, the intelligence community, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, other U.S. Government civil agencies and selected commercial markets. Headquartered in McLean, Va., SAIC had annual revenues of approximately $10.6 billion for its fiscal year ended January 31, 2012. (About SAIC 2012) SAIC is rankRead MoreQuestions On The National Intelligence Program1799 Words   |  8 Pagesthree executive branch organizations that conduct intelligence oversight. The National Security Council’s Office of Intelligence Programs, President’s Intelligence Advisory Board, and the Department of Defense’s Intelligence Oversight Program all are executive branch organizations that conduct intelligence oversight. 2) The 17 members of the intelligence community are: †¢ The Office of the Director of National Intelligence †¢ Central Intelligence Agency †¢ Department of Energy †¢ Department of HomelandRead MoreEssay on My Air Force Experience 1050 Words   |  5 PagesForce career and current leadership characteristics have been molded by incidents in my life and career. These incidents include my grandfather’s influence, significant events in my Air Force career, and my contributions to Air Force and national intelligence objectives in my current job. These three things are the leading factors that have made me the leader I am today. Each of these things contributed to different traits like; dedication to hard work, honesty, goal setting, initiative, persistenceRead MoreIntelligence : Intelligence Data Collection Programs1632 Words   |  7 PagesIntelligence Data Collection Programs To effectively analyze programs, intentions and ideological motives of Hezbollah several collection programs of the five types could be utilized to gather intelligence on Hezbollah. Collected information must undergo further conversion before it reaches the analysis phase to be used against Hezbollah (Gay, 2005) First, Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) could be used to gather intelligence information from open sources such as websites, social media sources,Read MoreEssay on Intelligence Sharing: Intelligence and Law Enforcement1738 Words   |  7 PagesIntelligence versus Law Enforcement Intelligence collection and apprehension of criminals have occurred for many years; however, with the exception of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, these actions were performed by different organizations. Nonetheless, roles and responsibilities have changed since the attacks on September 11, 2001. Intelligence-led policing and the National Criminal Intelligence Sharing program were incorporated, and fusion centers were established to help gather intelligence

Monday, May 11, 2020

Government Regulating How Private Industries Organize Or...

In government businesses and agencies today, the architecture within their networks are rapidly changing and becoming more complex with new services, applications, servers, devices and connections. With the increase of vulnerabilities that can be exploited associated with the changes in the network architecture, data protection is a high priority. The government made the decision that private companies would build and own the key communication, transportation, and energy networks. Although, the networks are owned by the private sector, there is a need for the United States to protect their people from malicious attacks which include identify attack, cyber espionage and cyber acts of war. It is the government responsibility to protect the confidentially, availability, and integrity of all the data that relates to the U.S. and its people. In order to do this, the government believes they have to partake in ensuring the private sector networks are safe from unauthorized users. In this p aper, I will discuss the positives and negatives of the government regulating how private industries organize or improve their cybersecurity and how they justify it. The government has an obligation of ensuring that the national security is kept safe and that there are no security breaches. Cyber threats are the number one threat that the United States face today. Private industries have a huge role in the security of America. An attack against a private sector is an attack against the U.S. andShow MoreRelatedContemporary Issues in Management Accounting211377 Words   |  846 Pagesin the academic world as falling relative salaries and status have reduced the intake of talented academic entrepreneurs. But I also think it reflects the cumulative impact of regulatory and careerist pressures in the academic world itself. With government agencies pressing for ever more standardized and conventional research and with increasingly instrumental careerist vi FOREWORD behaviour by academics, there are fewer incentives to bridge the academic and practical spheres. No doubt this

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Adipogenesis And Nutrition - 1188 Words

According to our previous studies using the same dietary treatments, the expression of adipogenesis-associated factors was decreased in the AT of chicks fed the HF or HP diet compared with chicks fed the HC diet [13, 14]. Therefore, data from the present study were analyzed within each diet to focus on the effect of IP NPY injection. Based on mammalian studies, NPY stimulates adipocyte proliferation and differentiation [6]. Our group also reported that NPY promotes adipogenesis during the early and later stages of chicken preadipocyte differentiation [9, 15]. NPY exerts its functions by binding to a variety of NPY receptors (NPYRs), with the most well-known ones associated with appetite and adipose physiology being NPYR1, NPYR2 and†¦show more content†¦This supports that NPY enhances adipogenesis and triacylglycerol synthesis. However, NPY injection also decreased the expression of AGPAT2, ATGL, NPY and FABP4 in the clavicular fat of chicks fed the HP diet 3h post-injection and C/EBPÃŽ ±, FABP4 and PPARï  § in the abdominal fat of chicks fed the HF diet 1h post-injection. Our in vitro studies also reported that NPY treatment decreased the expression of C/EBPÃŽ ± and SREBP1 at day 4 post-induction of differentiation and PPARï  § at d 4 and 6 post-induction of differentiation, however, the expression of these genes was recovered at d 8 post-induction of differentiation [9, 15]. One may argue that the amount of NPY treatment time of the in vitro studies was substantially longer than the current study, therefore, 3 hours were simply not enough to see the effect of NPY treatment. However, another study of ours that performed IP NPY injection in a different chicken model showed that the effect of IP NPY injection on the expression of adipogenesis-associated factors was diminished at 12 h post-injection (Liu et al., 2017). Because the differences between the in vivo and in vitro studies, it is unclear how to compare the effective time of treatment. For example, in the in vitro study, NPY has direct access to adipocytes, however, NPY was injected into the peritoneum in the present study and it is unclear how much would have reached to the adipocytes, and how other cell types in the AT would affect the effect of NPY.Show MoreRelatedEffect Of Artificial Sweeteners On Body Weight And Caloric Intake1262 Words   |  6 Pagesbeverage can lead to reduced overall caloric intake. Finally, researchers Pandurangan, Park, and Kim (2014) studied the impact of aspartame on adipogenesis, or the formation of fatty tissue. When adipocytes were treated with aspartame, there was significantly reduced lipid accumulation as well as down regulation of chemical receptors critical for adipogenesis. Therefore, this information suggests â€Å"that aspartame may be a potent substance to alter adipocyte differen tiation and control obesity† (PanduranganRead MoreTurmeric Mouthwash4563 Words   |  19 Pageson a yellow silk thread around your neck References: 1. . Usha Lad amp; Dr. Vasant Lad. Ayurvedic Cooking for Self Healing(2006) 2. Duke, James, Ph.D. The Green Pharmacy Herbal Handbook 3. . Curcumin Inhibits Adipogenesis. (2009) The Journal of Nutrition: Our findings suggest that dietary curcumin may have a potential benefit in preventing obesity. Curcumin, a constituent of turmeric, acts by preventing the formation of fatty tissue. The study was conducted on mice fed a high-fat

Writing a Formal Letter/Example Free Essays

Dear Mr. Patel, According to your interview, we understand that you are strictly against the usage of cellphones despite the fact that there are many good reasons to use them . I wanted to say that I both agree and disagree with your opinions at different points. We will write a custom essay sample on Writing a Formal Letter/Example or any similar topic only for you Order Now At the beggining of the interview, you mentioned people’s attention was taken away from the substantial things in life and also claimed that the dissapointment of not recieving any texts made them upset or rather neurotic. Afterwards continued with remarking cellphones are somewhat compelling and said they threaten our lifes if used whilst driving. Also pointed out the common puctuation error which children make because of the language they use when they write a text and said there were distractions in classes and alleged the use of cellphones as a reason. You told the interviewer cellphones assaulted one’s privacy and solitude and people looked silly whilst talking with cellphones then declared that you would rather be without a cellphone. The interviewer stated some opinions of his, converse to your opinions. Disagreeing with the opinions againt the usage of cellphones, he affirmed that it was essential four communicating with one’s children and informing people if one’s car broke down or is going to delay. He added there were not many telephone land lines in some places such as Africa, which made cellphones useful. Then ended his words with saying cellphones have a great role in solving crime. Whilst I agree with half of your opinions such as texting and driving threatens lifes and they ruin our peace and solitude, I do not agree with you on your opinions of children distraction. Although most of the children use cellphone, not all of them are distracted or making punctuation mistakes. Before being this prejudiced about cellphones, please consider the advantages of them. It might be the best to try reduce the usage without utterly rejecting them. Yours sincerely Related essay: â€Å"Co Curricular Activities Letter† How to cite Writing a Formal Letter/Example, Essay examples

Understanding Organisations & Role of Hr-Prudential Public Limited

Question: Discuss about theUnderstanding Organisations and the Role of Hr for Prudential Public Limited Company. Answer: Introduction: Informational Factsheet About Prudential Plc Prudential Plc is a multi-national group offering financial services that have been servicing on the principles of integrity, security and prudence since its establishment in London in 1848. With an insurance customer base of 24 million and 509 billion worth of assets under management (Prudential, 2016), it is currently one among the leaders in the financial market. Products and Services Offered. Prudential is a provider of various financial products and services, such as life insurance, retirement-related services, annuities, mutual funds, and investment management services with significant operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America (Bloomberg, 2016). Key Customers. The main consumers are subdivided into three main segments: the US baby boomer generation that is transitioning into retirement and needs retirement income solutions; the growing and increasingly affluent middle class in Asia with its health and wealth protection needs; and the ageing population of the UK with its demand for savings products (Prudential Plc, 2016). Purpose and Goal. Prudentials vision is to establish itself as a market leader among financial services providers and become a trustworthy partner to customers in their aim to achieve financial prosperity by offering innovative solutions for the growth and protection of their wealth (Prudential Plc, 2016). The Impact of External Factors on Business. Prudentials is not independent of external factors which can affect its business in the following ways: Volatility in the market and adverse economic conditions which lead to uncertain and negative trends in interest rates, equity markets and in general investment can have adverse effects on Prudentials business and profitability (Prudential Plc, 2015). Prudentials business is exposed to foreign exchange rate fluctuations due its operations being spread across vast geographical areas. Exchange rate fluctuations can adversely affect the financial figures of its cross-border business units (Prudential Plc, 2015). Prudentials businesses are subject to government regulatory frameworks, and any change in the laws, policies and regulations in the country of operations can impact its competitiveness, range of products, channels of distribution, and capital requirements (Prudential Plc, 2015). Prudentials operates in highly competitive environments and any significant developments in demographic trends of changes in tastes and preferences of consumers can influence its sustainability in the long run (Prudential Plc, 2015). Structure and Functions. The Prudential Group is has an independence structure with a simple organizational form that support the independent activities of its 4 business units, namely: Prudential UK assists in delivering value for the Group by their determined focus on wealthy and affluent consumers in the UK who require life insurance and pension solutions (Prudential, 2016). Jackson National Life Insurance Company provides efficiently customised retirement products keeping the target consumer base of the United States 78 million-strong generation of baby boomers who are gradually proceeding towards the ebb of their work life (Prudential, 2016). Prudential Corporation Asia is a pioneer in providing health and protection insurance services to the emerging middle-class families of Asia. Eastspring Investments, Prudentials asset management unit based in Asia, assists in managing investments in 13 different markets across a diverse set of asset classes (Prudential, 2016). MG has now become the largest institutional and retail fund managers of Europe by offering its expertise knowledge of investment solution (Prudential, 2016). Coordination of Functions to Optimize Performance. Prudentials strategic units function based on a consistent strategy that utilises each of its capabilities, scale and outreach to provide value to its customers and offer the most optimal and effective savings and protection solutions for its stakeholders (Prudential Plc, 2016). Prudential UK, Prudential Corporation Asia and the Jackson National Life Insurance Company, helps earn insurance underwriting profits by providing financial protection solutions to customers in a way that satisfies their individual and meets their risk tolerance level. Whereas, Eastspring Investments and MG supplements this by providing investment and asset management services to shareholders, in the process helping to earn fee income generated by managing customers wealth. These strategic units collaborate their functions for a sustainable and efficient organizational performance. Organizational Culture. The organisational environment of Prudential Plc is one where each is treated with dignity and respect, and equal opportunities are provided to every employee. Prudential believes in fostering a culture that encourages behaviours that are consistent with the companys code of conduct while detecting, resolving and subsequently preventing any potential misconduct. The importance of having an employee base from various cultural backgrounds with diverse skill sets is recognised as an enrichment to the business. Active measures are taken to leverage each persons individual strength and capabilities to help contribute towards overall organisational success. Prudentials employees are trained to function within a framework of rules and regulations, while emphasising on the need to follow strict policies, procedure and high ethical standards. Hr Report To Board Of Directors Of Prudential Plc The human resource and learning development department of Prudential Plc have a vital role to play in rigorous and effective talent management of its huge employee base. The reduction in the size of the HR department or its complete closure can occur a situation of crisis, which must be avoided at all costs. Organizational Strategy. The organisational strategy of Prudential is to provide opportunities to their customers for saving and protecting their wealth. It aims at being a socially and economically advantageous force for the communities in which operates by creating job opportunities and delivering long-term value to investors (Prudential Plc, 2015). Prudential focuses on driving growth cycles by ensuring financial security, pooling their consumer's savings to make fruitful and high-yield investments. HR Activities that Support the Organizational Strategy. The essential HR activities that support the Organizational Strategy are: Diversity and Inclusion- This HR conducts non-discriminatory recruitment activities to give equal opportunities to all people from the community irrespective of their age, gender, religion, ethnicity, disability status or sexual orientation (Prudential Plc, 2016). These measures help to garner a workforce that has been selected based only on merit, aptitude and abilities. Apprenticeship Program- The HR department conducts an Apprenticeship program for those who to do not have the privilege to further their careers by opting for higher studies. Under this program, talented individuals are given a chance to attend the 13-month program that will help them to gain valuable experience and acquire the relevant skills and knowledge so that they can be included in Prudentials workforce (Prudential Plc, 2016). Community Participation- The HR department organises and encourages its staff to participate in various community development programs that support activities in the field of charity and donations; child and youth education; welfare of society and environment; and the protection of heritage (MG Investments, 2016). Support to Line Managers and their Staff from HR Professionals. HR professionals of Prudential assist line managers and their subordinates in the following ways: Affinity Networks - Prudentials HR department has established affinity networks such as its London-based Prudential Womens Professional Network (PWPN) to give equal opportunities to women in the organization and encourage the influx of female working professionals into the workforce; and the MG Pride network for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) which aims at providing a socially supportive environment to employees who identify themselves as LGBT to help avoid discrimination against them (Prudential Plc, 2016). Talent Development Programs - Line managers and their subordinates are provided with various training programs and on-the-job learning opportunities (Prudential Plc, 2016) to help review and update their knowledge base. These measures improve the employees competitiveness by keeping them abreast of technological and market developments relevant to their field of work. Rewarding Employee Performance A functional reward system is used for the motivation and retention of employees of high calibre across all organisational levels (Prudential Plc, 2016). The rewards and incentives are dependent on an employees ability to deliver their business goals and help line managers to keep a tab on expected behaviours and strive towards better employee performance. The Role of HR Function in the Overall Success of the Business. The HR department has a considerable contribution to the overall success of the business, by attracting, engaging and supporting a proficient and productive workforce. The most important of these measures are as follows: Attracting quality workers The HR department contributes to overall success by attracting top talent and reducing turnover of such employees. It helps in creating a conducive environment that enables employees to reach their professional and personal potential. Multiple resources are created to assist in improving employees skills and to aid in their learning and development. The dedicated Learning Talent Development team help in configuring and imparting the most appropriate training programs to increase every employees sense of job satisfaction (MG Investments, 2016). Employee Engagement The HR department fosters a work culture wherein employees are empowered by their work, and feel that they have positively contributed towards achieving organisational Initiatives such as colleague appreciation programs, employee focus groups and networking opportunities are done to encourage high employee engagement. These measures have received appreciation from external agencies and won the HR department many prestigious awards (Prudential Plc, 2016). Providing Continuous Support Prudential's Human Resource and Learning Development department offers continuous support to its employees through features such as its enterprise ethics office, Global Business Ethics Integrity Prudential, which helps in continuous training of employees in ethical business functioning (Prudential, 2016); and Jackson University, its e-learning community, which helps further employees education and training inside and outside the organization (Jackson, 2016). References Bloomberg, 2016. Company Overview of Prudential plc. [Online] Available at: https://www.bloomberg.com/quote/PRU:LN [Accessed 28 June 2016]. Jackson, 2016. Learning and Development. [Online] Available at: https://www.jackson.com/careers/whatweoffer/Learning.jsp?framework-guid=0700d6cc358e9ba755a701ea00fd0007 [Accessed 28 June 2016]. MG Investments, 2016. MG Life. [Online] Available at: https://www.mandg.com/en/corporate/careers/mg-life/ [Accessed 28 June 2016]. Prudential Plc, 2015. Corporate Responsibility Review, London: Prudential Public Limited Company. Prudential Plc, 2015. Risk Factors, London: Prudential Public Limited Company. Prudential Plc, 2016. Prudential Apprenticeship Programme. [Online] Available at: https://www.pru.co.uk/careers-at-pru/prudential-apprenticeship-programme/ [Accessed 28 June 2016]. Prudential Plc, 2016. Prudential plc Fact File 2016, London: Prudential Public Limited Company. Prudential Plc, 2016. Valuing Our People. [Online] Available at: https://www.prudential.co.uk/corporate-responsibility/valuing-our-people [Accessed 28 June 2016]. Prudential Plc, 2016. Working at Prudential. [Online] Available at: https://www.prudential.co.uk/who-we-are/working-at-prudential [Accessed 28 June 2016]. Prudential, 2016. BUSINESS INTEGRITY AT PRUDENTIAL. [Online] Available at: https://corporate.prudential.com/view/page/corp/31805 [Accessed 28 June 2016]. Prudential, 2016. Who We Are. [Online] Available at: https://www.prudential.co.uk/who-we-are/about-us [Accessed 29 June 2016].

Thursday, April 30, 2020

Zavier Bacote Essays (299 words) - Belief, Epistemology, Truth

Zavier Bacote REL-110-0902 Gaylyn Eddy 15 January 2018 First Reflection paper Writer Karl Marx beliefs in religion makes sense to a person like me. I have always thought of religion as a manmade system that all starts from a person with an idea and a certain belief system that he or she would like to share to many people. You could call is insane or even weird but for many years humans around the world have or will create their own religion or belief system that could help people figure there worth. Religion in many ways can help certain people out in life, religion can be that savoir that a person, that's how people start creating religions because of the need to find a worth in life and creating a certain god could help them do that. Many people in the world have not found there worth in life and it can become really hard when living if you don't know what you are living for, so that's when religion comes in. Religion comes in many ideas and forms, I can be evil or it could be good. But either way religion can help a lot of people in the world find things that they may or may not have found in life before. That's why me taking this class could help me understand the meaning of true religion and false religion, I want to know the good the bad or the weird in religion. There are hundreds of types of religion out in the world and hopefully taking this class I could figure out many of them and know what some of them consist of, and the different types of culture and people that are in these religions all across the world.

Saturday, March 21, 2020

The Satsuma Rebellion

The Satsuma Rebellion The Meiji Restoration of 1868 signaled the beginning of the end for Japans samurai warriors.   After centuries of samurai rule, however, many members of the warrior class were understandably reluctant to give up their status and power.   They also believed that only the samurai had the courage and training to defend Japan from its enemies, internal and external.   Surely no conscript army of peasants could fight like the samurai!   In 1877, the samurai of the Satsuma Province rose up in the Satsuma Rebellion or Seinan Senso (Southwestern War), challenging the authority of the Restoration Government in Tokyo, and testing the new imperial army. Background to the Rebellion: Located on the southern tip of Kyushu Island, more than 800 miles south of Tokyo, the Satsuma domain had existed and governed itself for centuries with very little interference from the central government.   During the latter years of the Tokugawa shogunate, just prior to the Meiji Restoration, the Satsuma clan began to invest heavily in armaments, building a new shipyard at Kagoshima, two weapons factories, and three ammunition depots.   Officially, the Meiji Emperors government had authority over those facilities after 1871, but Satsuma officials actually retained control of them. On January 30, 1877, the central government launched a raid on the arms and ammunition storage areas in Kagoshima, without any prior warning to the Satsuma authorities.   Tokyo intended to confiscate the weapons and take them to an imperial arsenal in Osaka.   When an Imperial Navy landing party reached the arsenal at Somuta under cover of night, locals raised the alarm.   Soon, more than 1,000 Satsuma samurai appeared and drove off the intruding sailors.   The samurai then attacked imperial facilities around the province, seizing weapons and parading them through the streets of Kagoshima.   The influential Satsuma samurai, Saigo Takamori, was away at the time and had no knowledge of these events, but hurried home when he heard the news.   Initially he was furious about the junior samurais actions; however, he soon learned that 50 Tokyo police officers who were Satsuma natives had returned home with instructions to assassinate him in the case of an uprising.   With that, Saigo threw his support behind those organizing for a rebellion. On February 13-14, the Satsuma domains army of 12,900 organized itself into units.   Each man was armed with a small firearm - either a rifle, a carbine, or a pistol - as well as 100 rounds of ammunition and, of course, his katana.   Satsuma had no reserve of extra weapons, and insufficient ammunition for an extended war.   Its artillery consisted of 28 5-pounders, two 16-pounders, and 30 mortars. The Satsuma advance guard, 4,000 strong, set out on February 15, marching north.   They were followed two days later by the rear guard and artillery unit, who left in the midst of a freak snowstorm.   Satsuma daimyo Shimazu Hisamitsu did not acknowledge the departing army when the men stopped to bow at the gates of his castle.   Few of them would ever return. Satsuma Rebels: The imperial government in Tokyo expected Saigo either to come to the capital by sea or to dig in and defend Satsuma.   Saigo, however, had no regard for the conscripted farm boys who made up the imperial army, so he led his samurai army straight up the middle of Kyushu, planning to cross the straits and march on Tokyo.   He hoped to raise the samurai of other domains along the way. However, a government garrison at Kumamoto Castle stood in the Satsuma rebels path, manned by about 3,800 soldiers and 600 police under Major General Tani Tateki.   With a smaller force, and unsure about the loyalty of his Kyushu-native troops, Tani decided to stay inside the castle rather than venturing out to face Saigos army.   Early on February 22, the Satsuma attack began, with samurai scaling the walls again and again, only to be cut down by small arms fire.   These attacks on the ramparts continued for two days, until Saigo decided to settle in for a siege.   The Siege of Kumamoto Castle lasted until April 12, 1877.   Many former samurai from the area joined Saigos army, increasing his force to 20,000.   The Satsuma samurai fought on with fierce determination; meanwhile, the defenders ran out of artillery shells, and resorted to digging up unexploded Satsuma ordinance and refiring it.   However, the imperial government gradually sent more than 45,000 reinforcements to relieve Kumamoto, finally driving the Satsuma army away with heavy casualties.   This costly defeat put Saigo on the defensive for the remainder of the rebellion. Rebels in Retreat: Saigo and his army made a seven-day march south to Hitoyoshi, where they dug trenches and prepared for the imperial army to attack.   When the attack finally came, the Satsuma forces withdrew, leaving small pockets of samurai to hit the larger army in guerrilla-style strikes.   In July, the Emperors army encircled Saigos men, but the Satsuma army fought its way free with heavy casualties. Down to about 3,000 men, the Satsuma force made a stand on Mount Enodake.   Faced with 21,000 imperial army troops, the majority of the rebels ended up committing seppuku or surrendering.   The survivors were out of ammunition, so had to rely on their swords.   Just about 400 or 500 of the Satsuma samurai escaped the mountain slope on August 19, including Saigo Takamori.   They retreated once more to Mount Shiroyama, which stands above the city of Kagoshima, where the rebellion began seven months earlier. In the final battle, the Battle of Shiroyama, 30,000 imperial troops bore down upon Saigo and his few hundreds of surviving rebel samurai.   Despite the overwhelming odds, the Imperial Army did not attack immediately upon arrival on September 8, but instead spent more than two weeks carefully preparing for its final assault.   In the wee hours of the morning on September 24, the emperors troops launched a three hour long artillery barrage, followed by a massed infantry assault that began at 6 am.   Saigo Takamori likely was killed in the initial barrage, although tradition holds that he was just gravely injured and committed seppuku.   In either case, his retainer, Beppu Shinsuke, cut off his head to ensure that Saigos death was honorable.   The few surviving samurai launched a suicide charge into the teeth of the imperial armys Gatling guns, and were shot down.   By 7:00 that morning, all of the Satsuma samurai lay dead. Aftermath: The end of the Satsuma Rebellion also marked the end of the samurai era in Japan.   Already a popular figure, after his death, Saigo Takamori was lionized by the Japanese people.   He is popularly known as The Last Samurai, and proved so beloved that the Emperor Meiji felt compelled to issue him a posthumous pardon in 1889. The Satsuma Rebellion proved that a conscript army of commoners could out-fight even a very determined band of samurai - provided they had overwhelming numbers, at any rate.   It signaled the beginning of the Japanese Imperial Armys rise to domination in eastern Asia, which would end only with Japans eventual defeat in World War II almost seven decades later. Sources: Buck, James H. The Satsuma Rebellion of 1877 from Kagoshima through the Siege of Kumamoto Castle, Monumenta Nipponica, Vol. 28, No. 4 (Winter, 1973), pp. 427-446. Ravina, Mark. The Last Samurai: The Life and Battles of Saigo Takamori, New York: Wiley Sons, 2011. Yates, Charles L. Saigo Takamori in the Emergence of Meiji Japan, Modern Asian Studies, Vol. 28, No. 3 (July, 1994), pp. 449-474.

Thursday, March 5, 2020

French Number Expressions - Confusing Pairs

French Number Expressions - Confusing Pairs There are several confusing pairs and difficult expressions related to French numbers. Floor System Differences The numbering system of the floors in a building may be difficult for American English speakers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  American English  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  British English Rez-de-chaussà ©e  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First floor  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ground floor Premier à ©tage  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Second floor  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First floor Deuxià ¨me à ©tage  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Third floor  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Second floor The meaning of premier changes depending on the preposition that precedes it. Au premier  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  At/On the first Au premier à ©tage  Ã‚  On the second floor  Ã‚  On the first floor En premier  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first in a sequence En premier lieu  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the first place, Firstly De premier/premià ¨re (prix, qualità ©)  The top (prize) or best (quality) Two Words for the Same Number in French There are two French words for the English ordinal number second (2nd): second  and deuxià ¨me. They are essentially interchangeable, but there is a general, not always followed guideline: Second  is often used when something is the second in a series of only two things. Deuxià ¨me tends to be used when theres a third, fourth, etc. Following this guideline allows you to add some interesting nuances to your words. La seconde guerre mondiale  Ã‚  World War II (the second and last) La deuxià ¨me guerre mondiale  Ã‚  World War II (the second of how many?) There are two words for third and fourth - one for the ordinal number and another for the fraction troisià ¨me  Ã‚   third (in a series) un tiers  Ã‚  Ã‚   one third quatrià ¨me  Ã‚  fourth (in a series) un quart  Ã‚   one fourth

Monday, February 17, 2020

Hegemony Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Hegemony - Essay Example According to the theory of hegemonic stability, â€Å"hegemonic structures of power, dominated by a single country, are most conducive towards the development of strong international regimes† so that the norms and rules of a liberal economic order that is characterized by free market principles of openness and non discrimination.1 Kindleberger states that â€Å"For the world economy to be stabilized, there has to be a stabilizer, one stabilizer.†2 As a result, hegemony is that state of international affairs where a single State assumes predominance and utilizes that predominance in order to manage world affairs and it is the hegemon that sets out to manage the world economy by setting out the rules which establish some order and predictability in international trade and finance. The hegemonic power has both the ability and the willingness to establish as well as to maintain the rules that exist in the international economic order. However, as Gilpin points out, it is not strictly necessary for a hegemonic power to exist in order for an international economy to survive and function; rather it is a liberal economic order that is based upon free market principles and non discrimination which would be unable to flourish and reach its full potential without the presence of a hegemonic power.3 The structure of the domestic economy of the hegemon as well as other countries must be geared such that there is a commitment to the market economy without which, it could lead to the emergence of imperial systems wherein the dominant power imposes political and economic restrictions on the lesser powers. There must also be a â€Å"congruence of social purpose† existing among the major economic powers; hence there are three important pre-requisites that must exist for the liberal system to expand and flourish – hegemony, liberal ideology and common interests4.(Gilpin, 1981, ch 3). The hegemonic system will also support the existence of other powerful

Monday, February 3, 2020

English Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 70

English - Essay Example ual living under the rule of Allah should behave, it can most certainly be understood that religion plays extraordinarily powerful role in defining the person I am and how I interact with others within society. Another powerful mechanism through which my own personal culture is defined has to do with the way in which I was raised. My father and my mother have always placed great deal of emphasis upon personal responsibility and the way in which I have made my own choices. Whereas many parents insist upon making each and every choice for their son/daughter, my parents instead focused upon an approach that the decision-making power mainly in my own hands. As a result of this, my own personal culture is one that is defined by a great deal of independence. Instead of looking to others and seeking out the way in which a particular situation can be resolved for a particular question can be answered, my own personal culture is one that places a great deal of trust and expectation in the belief that my instilled the virtues and problem-solving abilities will be able to tackle even the most difficult questions. It should not be understood that personal culture is something that is without change. Instead, there are many aspects of my personal culture that I am currently at work on as a means of improving them. For instance, I have recently become aware of the fact that I tend not to listen to individuals as much as I should. As a result of this inability or lack of concern, many people think that by merely dismiss the information that they might be providing me and choose to promote my own point of view first and foremost. This particular shortcoming is most likely the result of the fact that I grew up in a relatively large family and had to actively compete for attention and understanding with older siblings and/or my parents. However, in recognizing this shortcoming of personal culture, and seeking to address it, I hope to improve upon it in the very near

Sunday, January 26, 2020

Antivirus Research And Development Techniques

Antivirus Research And Development Techniques Antivirus software is the most booming product which has constant developments to be most up to date defensive detecting product competing with all other antivirus software products available in the commercial market. This thesis covers few techniques used by the antivirus products, a general background information about viruses and antivirus products, some research made on antivirus overheads which shows what overheads are introduced to the computer on using an antivirus products, a research made on one of the most important and common technique used by the antivirus software products to detect viruses which is signature based detection, also covers how antivirus software is updated and how new virus signatures are updated to the virus database. There is some research also on selected algorithms used by the techniques, here in this thesis it is explained how each selected algorithm works to detect the code or a file as an infected file or uninfected. In the experimentation, the expe riment is done to detect a virus using three selected popularly known antivirus software products, where reports shown by the three products are compared and concluded. Chapter 1: Introduction A life without computers cannot be imagined in the present life style where it plays a very important role though it might be any field one chooses from the millions. Computer is vulnerable to attacks which are most dangerous and hard to handle with. Just like humans even computers are attacked by viruses. A virus can be in a form of worm, malware or Trojan horses anything that infects the computer. The common source of these viruses is World Wide Web where a malicious person can spread the malware very easily. Many researchers found many methods or procedures to stop the attacks of virus that came up with many techniques or software to remove the viruses which are called Anti-Virus software. A computer virus spreads into the computer through emails, floppy disks, internet and many other sources. The spreading mechanism is usually from one computer to another where it corrupts data or deletes the data from the computer. The viruses mostly spread through internet or through emails which may have some hidden illicit software where the user unknowingly downloads the material into the computer. A virus can attack or cause damage to boot sector, system files, data files, software and also on system bios. There are many newer viruses which attack on many other parts of the computer. Viruses can spread by booting the computer using the infected file, executing or installing the infected file, or by opening the infected data or file. The main hardware sources can be floppy disks, compact disks, USB or external hard drives or a connection with other computer on an unsafe medium. This rapid growth of viruses is challenging the antivirus software in different fields like prevention of viruses, preparation, detection, recovery and control of viruses. Nowadays there are so many antivirus software tools that remove viruses from the PC and helps protect from future attacks. Antivirus raises privacy and security issues of our computers we work on which is a major issue. However, after taking so many safety measures the growth of viruses is rapidly increasing which are most dangerous and wider. In this thesis, a history on viruses and evolution of antivirus software is shown where I will explain about how viruses came into existence and what type of viruses evolved and antivirus software discovery. This general criteria of this thesis is mainly targeted on three selected techniques and is mostly concentrated one technique out of the selected three techniques and scanning methods of antivirus products and also gives a basic scenario of how an antivirus product adopts a framework to update the virus database and also gives some information about how a general computer gets an information to update the product to make it ready to defend against the zero-day viruses. A brief comparison of viruses based on types where the definitions and related threats of viruses will be explained and the working effects of each type of viruses are explained. The working of antivirus software on different types of viruses is explained. Analysis of the current antivirus techniques, showing both advantages and disadvantages. In chapter 2 gives you the general outline of the thesis in which you can know a general history of the viruses, evolution of the antivirus software. A definition to the virus, types of viruses, the most common methods or techniques used. In chapter 3 Literature Review, shows the research and review of some selected papers or literature that I found interesting about w antivirus software. In this chapter, there is research in which some antivirus products, techniques and algorithms compared according to the developments in the recent times. Chapter 4 Experimentation part of the thesis where the comparison of different commercial antivirus products based on their efficiency to detect a virus is shown and also the results are based on false positives, false negatives and hit ratios shown by each antivirus product. Chapter 5 Conclusion concludes the thesis summarizing research and experimentation done on antivirus products. Appendix holds relevant information about the undefined key words or frameworks used in this thesis. Chapter 2 Overview This chapter gives general information about the viruses and antivirus giving some basic information about the virus history and when the antivirus software evolved. There different types of viruses and are classified according to the attacking features. This chapter will lead to better understanding of the techniques used by the antivirus products and also gives you basic knowledge about different antivirus products. 2.1 History of Viruses The computer virus is a program that copies itself to the computer without user permission and infects the system (Vinod et al. 2009). Virus basically means an infection which can be of many types of malware which include worms, trojan horses, rootkits, spyware and adware. The first work on computer programs was done by John Von Neumann in 1949 (wiki 2010). In his work he suggested that a computer program (the term virus was still not invented) can self-reproduce. The first virus was discovered in early 1990s which is Creeper virus. Creeper copies itself to other computers over a network and shows messages on the infected machine: IM THE CREEPER: CATCH ME IF YOU CAN. It was harmless but to catch the Creeper and stop it the Reaper was released. In 1974 Rabbit a program that spreads and multiples itself quickly and crashes the infected system after it reaches a certain limit or number of copies. In 1980s the virus named Elk Cloner has infected many PCs. The Apple II computer which was released in 1977 loads its operating system from the floppy disks, using these characteristics the Elk Cloner installed itself to the boot sector of the floppy disk and was loaded already before the operating system. Â ©Brain was the first stealth IBM-compatible virus. This stealth virus hides itself from being known and when detected it attempts to read the infected boot sector and displays the original, uninfected data. In 1987 the most dangerous virus got into news was Vienna virus which was first to infect the .COM files. Whenever the infected file was called it infects the other .COM files in the same directory. It was the first virus that was successfully neutralized by Bernd Fix and which leads to the idea of antivirus software. Then there were many viruses which were Cascade virus the first self-encrypting virus, Suriv Family virus which was a memory resident DOS file virus. Extremely dangerous virus was Datacrime virus which destructs FAT tables and cause loss of data. In 1990s there was Chameleon Virus, Concept virus and then CIH virus and in 2000s there were ILOVEYOU virus, My Doom Sasser. (Loebenberegr 2007) Vinod et al. 2009 defines computer virus as A program that infects other program by modifying them and their location such that a call to an infected program is a call to a possibly evolved, functional similar, copy of virus. To protect from the attacks, the antivirus software companies include many different methodologies for protecting against the virus attacks. 2.2 Virus Detectors The virus detector scans the file or a program to check whether file/program is malicious or benign. In this research there will be usage of some technical terms and detection methods which are defined below. The main goal for testing the file/program is to find for false positives, false negatives and hit ratio.(Vinod et. al. 2009) False Positive: This takes place when the scanner detects a non-infected file as a virus by error. They can be a waste of time and resources. False Negatives: This occurs when the scanners fail to detect the virus in an infected files. Hit Ratio: This happens when the virus scanner scans the virus. Detections are based on 3 types of malware which are: Basic In basic type the malware attacks the program at the entry point as shown in the figure 2.2.1. The control is transferred to virus payload as the entry point itself is infected. Infected Code Main Code Entry Infected by virus Figure 2.2.1 Attacking system by basic malware. (Vinod et al 2009) Polymorphic Polymorphic viruses are viruses which mutates by hiding the original code the virus consists of encrypted malware code along with decrypted unit. They create new mutants very time it is executed. The figure 2.2.2 shows how the main code or original code is encrypted by infected file to produce a decrypted virus code. Virus Code Decrypted Code Main Code Entry Encrypted by infected file Figure 2.2.2 Attacking system by polymorphic viruses. (Vinod et al 2009) Metamorphic Metamorphic viruses can reprogram themselves using some obfuscation techniques so that the new variants are not same as the original. It sees that the signatures of the subsets are not same as the main set. Form B Virus A Form A S1 S2 S3 Figure 2.2.3 Attacking system by metamorphic viruses. (Vinod et al 2009) The above figure 2.2.3 shows that the original virus and form of that virus have different signatures where s1, s2 s3 are different signatures. 2.3 Detection Methods 2.3.1 Signature based detection Here the scanners search for signatures which are sequence of bytes within the virus code and shows that the programs scanned are malicious. The signatures are developed easy if the network behavior is identified. Signature based detection is based on pattern matching. The pattern matching techniques evolved from times when the operating system was DOS. The viruses then were parasitic in nature and used to attack the host files and most common executable files. (Daniel, Sanok 2005) 2.3.2 Heuristic based detection Heuristics describe a method of scanning a virus by evaluating the patterns of behaviors. It takes the possibility of the file or program being a virus by testing the uniqueness and behavior matching them to the database of the antivirus heuristic which contains number of indicators. It is helpful to discover those viruses which does not have signatures or hides their signatures. It is also helpful to detect the metamorphic viruses (Daniel, Sanok 2005) 2.3.3 Obfuscation Technique This technique is used by the viruses to transform an original program into virus program using some transformation functions which makes the virus program irreversible, performs comparably with original program and has the functions of the original program. This technique is used mainly by metamorphic and polymorphic viruses. (Daniel, Sanok 2005) Antivirus Products There are many antivirus products available in the commercial market. Some of the most commonly used antivirus products are: McAfee G Data Symantec Avast Kaspersky Trend Micro AVG Bit Defender Norton ESET Nod32 Chapter 3: Literature Review 3.1 Antivirus workload characterization A research done by (Derek, Mischa, David 2005) shows an antivirus software package takes many ranges of techniques to check whether the file is infected or not. But from the observations of (Derek, Mischa, David 2005) to best difference between some antivirus software packages compare the overheads introduced by the respective antivirus software during on-access execution. When running antivirus software there is usage of two main models which are: on-demand. on-access. On-demand involves the scanning of the user specified files where as on-access can be a process that checks the system-level and the user-level operations and scans when an event occurs. The paper discusses the behavior of four different anti-virus software packages which run on a Intel Pentium IV being installed with Windows XP Professional. Considering three different test scenarios: A small executable file is copied from the CDROM to the hard disk. Executing a calc.exe And also executing wordpad.exe. All these executable files are running on the Windows XP Professional operating system. The antivirus packages used in this experiment were Cillin, F-Port, McAfee and Norton. The execution of the files are done using the before mentioned antivirus packages. Figure 3.1.1 shows the usage of these packages introduces some overheads during the execution which increases the time of execution. Fig 3.1.1 Performance degradation of antivirus packages (Derek, Mischa, David 2005) Then a test was made to know about the extra instructions executed when the file system operations is performed and also when loading and executing a binary. Taking the both scenarios a small binary of very less size is involved. It is found that the execution is dominated by some hot basic blocks in each antivirus package. A basic block is considered hot if it is visited more than fifty thousand times. To detect the behavior of antivirus software packages the (Derek, Mischa, David 2005) used the platform which was majorly targeted by the virus attacks and also must have the existence of some of the commercial antivirus software. A framework of simulator is introduced here called Virustech Simics this has architectural structure as shown in table 3.1.1. Virustech Simics is a simulator that includes a cycle-accurate micro-architectural model and used to get cycle-accurate performance numbers. Table 3.1.1 Virustech Simics architectural structures (Derek, Mischa, David 2005) Processor Model Processor Operating Frequency L1 Trace Cache L1 Data Cache L2 Cache Main Memory Intel Pentium 4 2.0A 2GHz 12K entry 8KB 512KB 256MB The goal behind the model is to confine the execution of antivirus software on a system. To achieve metrics the stream executed is passed to the simulator. To simulate the micro-processor, simics are configured. The host (simulator) executes the operating system loaded via simulated hard drive. On top of the operating system the researchers have installed and run the antivirus software and also the test scenarios are taken (see figure 3.1.2). After this the comparison is done between the baseline configuration execution (without the antivirus software installed) and the systems that are installed with four different antivirus packages. L2 Cache Copy/execute process Antivirus Process L1 Inst Cache L1 data Cache Operating System (Windows XP) Inst Stream Simulate micro-architecture Simulated Architecture HOST Fig 3.1.2 Multi Level architectural Micro Architectural simulation environment (Derek, Mischa, and David 2005) The table 3.1.2 shows the summary of five configurations. For each experiment an image file is created and loaded as a CDROM in the machine. The execution of the utility (contains special instructions) at the start and end of each collection was done in order to assist accurate profile collection. Table 3.1.2: Five environments evaluated: Base has no antivirus software running (Derek, Mischa, David 2005) Configuration Anti-Virus edition Version Base NAV PC-Cillin McAfee F-Port Norton Anti-Virus Professional 2004 Trend Micro Internet Security McAfee Virus scan professional F-Port Antivirus for windows 10.0.0.109 11.0.0.1253 8.0.20 3.14b The three different operations invoke anti-virus scanning. In first, a file from the CDROM to the hard drive was copied, and then the operating system accessories: calculator and wordpad are run accessing through a shortcut. After experimentation it is found that there is less than one percent difference in the work load parameters throughout the profile runs. Then on doing the antivirus characterization it is seen that there is a gradual increase in the cache activity which shows that the overheads released is smallest for F-Port and highest for Norton. The impact on memory while running the antivirus software shows that Norton and McAfee have larger footprints that the Base case, F-Port Cillin. 3.2 Development techniques a framework showing malware detection using combination of techniques There are several developments in techniques used by antivirus software. These techniques must be able to detect viruses which were not detected by previous techniques and this is what we say a development in technique. Antivirus software not only does detect a virus but also worms, Trojan horses, spyware and other malicious codes which constitute malware. Malware is a code or a program which intents to damage the computer with its malicious code. We can filter malware by use of specific antivirus software that installs detection techniques and algorithms. Several commercial antivirus programs uses a common technique called signature-based matching; this technique must be often updated to store new malware signatures in virus dictionary. As the technology advances plenty of malware writers aim to employ better hiding techniques, importantly rootkits became a security issue because of its higher hiding ability. There is a development of many new detection methods which are used to detect malware, machine learning technique and data mining technique. In this research Zolkipli, M.F.; Jantan, A.,2010 have proposed a new framework to detect malware for which there is a combination of two techniques signature based technique and machine learning technique. This framework has three main sections which are signature-based detection, genetic algorithm based detection signature generator. Zolkipli, M.F.; Jantan, A., 2010 defines malware as the software that performs actions intended by an attacker without consent of the owner when executed. Every malware has precise individuality, goal attack and transmission method. According to Zolkipli, M.F.; Jantan, A., 2010 virus is that malware, which when executed tries to replicate itself into other executable code within a host. What so ever, as technology advances creating malware became sophisticated and extensively improved since early days. Signature-based matching technique is most common approach to detect malware, this technique works by contrasting file content with the signature by using an approach called string scan that search for pre-defined bit patterns. There are some limitations which needs to be solved to this technique though it is popular and very reliable for host-based security tool. The problem with signature-based matching technique I it fails to detect zero-day virus attack or zero-day malware attack. Zero-day malware attack are also called new launch malware. To store and capture a new virus pattern for upcoming use, some number of computers needs to be infected. Figure 3.2.1 shows an automatic malware removal and system repair was developed by F.Hsu et al. 2006 which has three important parts such as monitor, a logger, and a recovery agent. The framework solves two problems: Determines the un-trusted program that breaks the system integrity. Removal of un-trusted program Untrusted Process Trusted Process Logger Recovery agent Monitor Operating System Figure 3.2.1: Framework for monitoring, logging recovery by F.Hsu et al. 2006 The framework is used to monitor and enter logs of the un-trusted program. This framework is capable of defending known and unknown malware, though it does not need any prior information of the un-trusted programs. And from the user side there is no need of modifying any current programs and need not observe that the program is running in the framework as the framework is invisible to both known and unknown malware. A sample of this framework was used on the windows environment and shows that all the malware changes can be detected compared to the commercial tools which use the signature based technique. Machine learning algorithm was tested and applied on the malware detection technique. In order to classify the signature-based technique limitations that particular technique was using an adaptive data compression. The two restrictions of signature-based technique according to Zolkipli, M.F.; Jantan, A., 2010 are: It is not compulsory that all malicious programs have bit patterns which are proof of their malicious nature and are also not recorded in virus dictionaries. Many forms of bit patterns are taken by obfuscated malware that will not work on signature-based technique. Genetic Algorithm (GA) takes the full advantage of system limitations that are used to detect zero day malware or the day malware was launched. The algorithm was used to develop a detection technique called IMAD that analyzes the new malware. To oppose the restrictions of signature-based detection technique this technique has been developed. Data mining is another technique which was applied on malware detection much before. The standard data mining algorithm classifies every block file content as normal or used to categorize potentially the malware. To defeat the limitations of signature-based antivirus programs an Intelligent Malware Detection System known as IMDS was developed. This system used Object Oriented Association which adapts OOA_Fast_FPGrowth algorithm. A complete experimentation on windows API file sequence was done which re called PE files. The huge gathering of PE files was taken from the King Soft Corporation antivirus laboratory which is used to compare many malware detection approaches. The results show that IMDS system shows the best results than Norton and McAfee. The proposed framework has two techniques combined which are signature-based technique and GA technique. It was designed to resolve two challenges of malware detections. How to detect newly launched malware (Zolkipli, M.F.; Jantan, A., 2010) How to generate signature from infected file (Zolkipli, M.F.; Jantan, A., 2010) Signature Generator S-Based Detection GA Detection Figure 3.2.2: Framework for malware detection technique (Zolkipli, M.F.; Jantan, A., 2010) The main components are s-based detection, s-based generator and GA detection(see figure 3.2.2). The s-based detection acts first in defending the malware, then GA detection is the second layer which is another defense layer that is used to detect newly launched malware. After creating the new signature from zero-day malware these signatures are used by signature based detection technique. Signature based detection is a fixed examining method used on every antivirus product. This is also called a static analysis method. This decides whether the code is malicious or not by using its malware characterization. This technique is sometimes also called scan strings. In general every malware has one or more patterns of signature which has unique characters. Antivirus software searches through data stream bytes, when a program is executed. Database of antivirus software has thousands of signatures it scans through each signature comparing it with the program code which is executed. For comparing purposes searching algorithm is used, the comparison is usually between program code content with the signature database. The Zolkipli, M.F.; Jantan, A., 2010 chooses this technique at the beginning of the framework because of its effective detection of well known viruses. This technique was used in this framework in order to develop the competence of computer operation. G.A detection technique is one of the most popular technique that is used to detect newly launched malware. This is used to learn approaches to resolve algebraic or statistical research problems. This is a machine learning technique which applies genetic programming that learns a evolving population. Chromosomes are used for data representation which is used in this algorithm, chromosomes are bit string values, new chromosomes are developed from a bit string combinations from existing chromosomes. Basing the nature of the problem the solution for the problem is given. Crossover and mutation are 2 types of basic operations in GA, to solve the issues concerned with polymorphic viruses and new types of malware this technique was introduced in this framework. By using this technique codes of malware using hidden technique can also be detected which only because of its learning and filtering aspects of virus behavior.( Zolkipli, M.F.; Jantan, A., 2010) S-based generator generate string patterns are used by signatures which are used to characterize and identify the viruses. Forensic experts started creating signatures once a new virus sample is found, based on the virus behavior these signatures are created. All the antivirus products creates their own signatures and accessing records they are encrypted in case there are more than one antivirus software installed on the computer. As soon as a signature is created the signature database is updated with it. Every computer user requires updating the antivirus product with the database in order to defense against the new viruses. Signature pattern is 16 bytes and to detect 16 bit virus 16 bytes is more than enough.( Zolkipli, M.F.; Jantan, A., 2010) This generator takes the behavior of virus which identified by the GA detection. The signature pattern of the virus is generated and is added to virus database as a new signature for the signature based detection. To replace the forensic experts task this framework was proposed. This creation of framework was lot useful in detecting the new virus signature, and to improve the efficiency and performance of the computer. 3.3 Improving speed of signature scanners using BMH algorithm. This paper discusses about the problem of detecting viruses using signature scanning method that relies on fast pattern matching algorithm So basically in this technique the pattern is a virus signature which is searched for anywhere in the file. This algorithm is an expensive task which affects the performance frequently. Many users may find it impatient if the pattern matching algorithm does not work fast and consumes lot of time. So to avoid this faster pattern matching algorithm is used to the scanner which is Boyer-Moore Horspool algorithm when compare d to Boyer-Moore algorithm and Turbo Boyer Moore algorithm proved to be the fastest pattern matching algorithm. In technical terms, a virus has three parts which are trigger, infection mechanism and payload. The main mechanism which is infection mechanism part actually looks for fatalities and frequently avoids multiple infections. After looking for fatalities it might overwrite the fatalities or can attach itself at the beginning of the file or at the end of the fle. Trigger is actually a event which specifies when the payload has to be executed. The payload is the foundation of malicious behavior which actually can be corruption of boot sector or manipulating files. To detect a virus and to disinfect the infected file are two most important tasks of algorithms used by antivirus software. So defense system code of the algorithm must have a part that is able to detect any type of virus code. There are four types of basic detection techniques. Integrity Checking Signature Scanning Activity Monitoring Heuristic Method. Integrity checking technique: This program gives checker codes that can be checksums, CRCs or hashes of files that are used to check viruses. Regularly the checksum are re-computed and is compared against the previous checksums. In case the two checksums does not match it is indicated that the file is infected since the file is modified. This technique detects the virus presence by detecting the change in files and also is capable to detect new or unknown viruses. But this technique has several drawbacks. Firstly, the primary checksum calculation has to be performed on a virus less clean system so the technique can never detect viruses if system is infected. Secondly there are lots of false positives if the system is modified during execution. (Sunitha Kanaujiya, et., al 2010) Signature scanning technique: This technique is used on large scale to detect virus. This reads data from a system and to that it applies pattern matching algorithm to list of existing virus patterns in case it matches with the existing patterns it is a virus. This scanning technique is effective but the pattern database needs frequent updating which is very easy. There are several advantages of this scanner one of it is the scanning speed for this technique can be increased, it can also be used to detect other types of malicious programs like Trojan horses, worms, logic bombs, etc. So mainly for the virus it is only signature of the virus which is needed and update it to the database. This technique is used on many viruses due to this reason. Activity monitoring technique: This technique is used to monitor the behavior of programs executed by some other programs these monitoring programs are known as behavior monitor and they stay in main memory. The behavior monitors alarms or do some action to prevent the program when it tries to do some unusual activities like interrupting tables, partition tables or boot sectors. The database maintains every virus behavior that is supposed to be. The main disadvantage is when the new virus uses another infecting method that is not in the database and in this scenario finding virus is helpless. Secondly viruses avoid defense by activating earlier in the boot sequence prior to the behavior monitors. And also viruses modify the monitors