Goyas Ghost's Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Goyas Ghost's - Movie Review Example As the French were allies, their troops were welcomed with open arms despite the diplomatic unease that was transpiring between the two countries. The official warfare started when in February 1808, Napoleon ordered the French commanders to capture key fortresses which would allow the country to gain dominance over its former ally. On 29th February, Barcelona was conquered by French and soon the Spanish power began to decline. Whenever there is a war, there are crimes, atrocities, some of which are recorded while the others are lost in time. There were innumerable incidents of bloodshed, torture, and rape along with other war crimes. Much of this was captured in the art of printmaker Francis Goya. The ‘Disasters of War’ is a collection of 82 prints made by Goya, which depicts the war along with its gory details. The prints are seen by many as a protest against the war. Another collection of Goya, painted between 1819 and 1820 represents his desolate outlook of humanity d ue to the things he had seen and experienced during the Peninsula war. These paintings became the inspiration for a movie released in 2006 by the name of Goya’s Ghosts. The movie Goya’s Ghosts directed by Milos Forman in 2006 presents the Spanish region during the War. The most important characters of the movie are Lorenzo, Ines, and Goya. Out of the three characters, only Goya existed in reality. The others are fictitious characters created only to present the movie through Goya’s perspective. Most of the focus during the movie is, however, not on Goya but rather on Lorenzo, Ines and other characters through which lives of the people during the war are represented. The movie depicts how the lives of even those who were not directly linked with the warfare were deeply affected. The whole generations were swept into poverty which forced them to enter the professions which they would not normally dream of. This is shown by the character of Ines who is first impris oned by the Catholic Church, which inflicts pain on her while she is naked.           

The Idea Of Corporate Social Responsibility Marketing Essay

The Idea Of Corporate Social Responsibility Marketing Essay Nowadays, the idea of Corporate Social Responsibility is not new to the business industry. The society and corporations have been paying more and more attention on the initiatives of CSR, which is if a particular corporations business processes are producing an overall positive influence on society. In other words, CSR is defined as a firms sense of responsibility towards the environment and community in which it operates (Crane Matten, 2010). The increasing attention that paid to CSR has not been entirely voluntary. Many businesses only realised their CSR after being shocked by public responses to the issues they had not previously put in mind, and which were part of their business responsibilities (Porter Kramer, 2006). However, if companies could foreseen their CSR and react in advance, it would not only create competitive advantages for them, but it could also improve their brand images (Banerjee, 2008). Starbucks Corporation is a famous brand which sells coffee and has opened a massive number of stores all over the world. This essay will firstly focus on analysing Starbucks efforts of CSR, followed by identifying and discussing different stakeholder groups of Starbucks. Finally, whether the stakeholder analysis of Starbucks provides useful framework for the development and assessment of CSR will be discussed and a conclusion will be drawn. 2.0 Starbucks CSR efforts 2.1 Historical CSR efforts of Starbucks In 1992, Starbucks established the Starbucks Environmental Mission Statement, which committed that the company will positively contributed to the environment. Since then, Starbucks has been expanding their definition of their environmental responsibility within the context of their company growth and their business which has become more complex. Starbucks CSR report (2006) has included their several positive contribution to the environment. As Starbucks is concerned about the climate change will effect the quality of coffee beans, the company has been evolving and implementing an environmental strategy focused on the climate change. What is more, in 2006, Starbucks established a three-year climate change mitigation strategy. This strategy includes purchasing renewable energy, joining with other organisations to raise the awareness of climate change in order to save more energy together. At the same time, Starbucks introduced a new strategy for producing their cupts in order to reduce the negative impacts on environments. This strategy includes three main actions: a) by eliminating most double-cupping, 60 per cent of post-consumer recycled fiber; b) customers who use their own reusable cups are offered a $0.10 discount, this allowed Starbucks to save 674,000 pounds of paper from going to the landfill in 2006; c) Starbucks introduced the hot beverage paper cups which received a positive safety review from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the U.S. What is more, the company improved its environmental footprint by greening the store through design, operations and waste and recycling management. In recent years, apart from maintaining the established strategies, Starbucks have began to focus on other social responsibilities such as donations to charity or reducing tissue waste in stores. According to the Starbucks official website, the company pays a minimum of $1.26 per pound for Fair Trade certified ingredients in order to buy Fair Trade CertifiedTM coffee for the companys supply chain strategy (Businessgreen, 2010). Heath (2006) argued that even though firms are not entitled to solve all the worlds social issues, nor could they do so. Each individual firm can identify their own set of societal issues that it is able to solve. By doing so, the firm could gain the greatest competitive advantages. Moreover, Starbucks supply chain strategy has helped the company to gain the advantage of high-quality products, which also improved Starbucks brand image (Maloni Brown, 2006). Harnrungchalotorn and Phayonlerd (2005, p35) stated that: Starbucks has ran its business by driving Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as a tool that covers the company in every sector of their business. Therefore, Starbucks have indeed identified their social responsibilities and have put much effort into the issues, and these efforts have been realised by the society. This is one of the reasons why Starbucks have created a such successful brand image (Thompson A rsel, 2004). 2.2 Stakeholder Groups of Starbucks Stakeholder theory is a organisational management and business ethics theory. It addresses values and morals in managing a business. Edward (1984) was the first author to detail this theory, and he identified the stakeholders groups of a corporation. Traditionally, the stockholders and shareholders are considered as the owners of the business, and their needs and interested were ought to be put in the first place. However, stakeholders theory suggests that apart from them, there are other parties need to be considered as well. These include political groups, trade unions, governmental bodies, trade associations, financiers, communities, suppliers, customers and employees. In some cases even the competitors are considered as stakeholders as well. In this section, the following three stakeholder groups of Starbucks will be analysed and discussed: customers, suppliers (farmers) and employees (Friedman, 1970). 2.2.1 Customers Nature of Interest and Power The customer stakeholder group is very important to all firms, because customers have the power of purchasing goods or services from firms. In other words, customers provide huge contribution to firms revenue and profits. Not only that, customers also have the power of boycotting firms who provide unsatisfactory goods and services, or whose company policies are unacceptable (Griseri and Seppala, 2010). All these apply to Starbucks. In order to make customers feel good about the Starbucks places and the coffee they drink, Starbucks have been aiming to provide long-term high quality coffee. Starbucks strategies to achieve sustaining coffee quality include sustainable trade and quality assurance and product recall. Starbucks always make sure that they purchased high-quality materials agriculture and manufactured goods, as well as their non-coffee products such as Cocoa, Tea, Bakery and Dairy etc. Starbucks also use high quality water to produce their drinks including Ethos water. The ap proach of quality assurance and product recall allows Starbucks to control their overall product quality and to reduce the amount of customer complains, hence to increase customers level of satisfactory. In fact, Starbucks have never stopped travelling worldwide to look for high-quality coffee beans in order to always provide coffee that has premium quality (Mystarbucksidea, 2010). In 2004, Starbucks established a guideline which is known as Coffee and Farmer Equity (C.A.F.E.), which is used to ensure the sustainable supply of high-quality coffee. What is more, Starbucks have considered other aspects to achieve higher customer loyalty (Findarticles, 2010). Customer loyalty can be obtained through high quality products, friendly workers, excellent customer services, good location of the stores that are easy to access, and comfortable environment in the stores (Crane and Matten, 2010). Starbucks have more than 16,000 stores in more than 60 different countries. Customers are able to fi nd a Starbucks store easily even they are in a foreign country. Workers are productive and friendly as they enjoy their work. What is more, Starbucks are designed to be a place for customers to relax, so the comfortable space in the stores have attracted many customers (Michelli, 2007). Therefore, Starbucks see customers as a very important group of stakeholder and as a famous brand name in the coffee industry, Starbucks have been able to raise the values that customers are interested in. 2.2.2 Suppliers (Farmers) Nature of Interest and Power Like customers, as one of the stakeholder groups, suppliers also have their own nature of power and interests. Suppliers have the power of selling same products to a firms competitors at a different rate. At the same, like customers, suppliers also have the same power of boycotting a firm and stopping providing a firms any materials, if they are unhappy about the firms policy and quality of products. Suppliers interests are to receive regular order of goods from a firm, and to be paid promptly for goods that they delivered (Scott Lane, 2000). For Starbucks, their main suppliers are farmers who have direct influence on Starbucks product quality. Starbucks always make sure that premium prices are paid to suppliers if coffee that are linked to premium quality is provided. The company also sees economic transparency as a very important approach for evaluating whether their suppliers or farmers receive equitable payment for their crops and other products. Starbucks have established stron g relationships and direct engagement with their suppliers and coffee farmers, which will keep Starbucks in touch with all the suppliers issues and progress (Starbucks Corporation, 2006). Farmers have access to credit and resources which are provided by Starbucks, this will help farmers to improve their products quality hence to strengthen their businesses as well as Starbucks business. What is more, Starbucks provide certification labels, including organic and Fair Trade CertifiedTM in order to achieve sustainable coffee farming. Therefore, the evidences show that Starbucks treat suppliers and farmers as another important stakeholder group, and have successfully raised the values they are interested in. Starbucks have achieved high loyalty of suppliers and farmers by providing on time payment, fair rates of payment and practice fair trade with them (Starbucks, 2010). 2.2.3 Employees Nature of Interest and Power The last group of stakeholders will be analysed is employees. Workers have the power union bargaining, work actions or strikes. As human capitals are very important assets to a company, their interests have to be considered carefully as well. Employees are looking for a firm that could provide stable employment and fair rate of pay for them. Also, employees want to work in a safe and comfortable environment (Friedman and Miles, 2006). According to Starbucks official webise: Starbucks believe every person deserves to be treated with respect and dignity, and is entitled to a fair, safe and humane work environment. This is deeply held value at Starbucks and one of our Guiding Principles. Our commitment to this value applies as much to our own workforce as it does to the workers employed by our suppliers (www.starbucks.com). Starbucks also take international labour standards and principles related to working conditions into consideration, including employees health and safety, minimum wa ge, freedom of association and security etc. As part of C.A.F.E. Practices, Starbucks developed a comprehensive system to verify the companys coffee suppliers compliance with international labour standards, including forced labour and child labour practices as well as other environmentally and socially responsible practices. Starbucks goal is to provide the best possible working environment for their employees in order to attracts and retains talented workers and make them love their jobs. Starbucks regularly collect surveys from employees to review their feeling and opinions, and to offer workers competitive benefits including international benefits. What is more, Starbucks often reward workers with excellent performances and recognise employees efforts. Training opportunities are regularly provided in order to give the workers more chance to improve. At Starbucks, workers rights are respected and workplace policies are always upheld. Finally, Starbucks always ensures employees are working in a safe and healthy work environment (Scribd, 2010). 3.0 Stakeholder Analysis and CSR Stakeholder theory is a way of clarifying and responding to the demand and expectations placed on companies, and this is why stakeholder management has been seen as something that companies can do to become more socially responsible. (Griseri and Seppala, 2010, p44). It is true that Starbucks have considered employees interests thus paid more attention to reducing child and forced workers; and customers demand of high-quality coffee have let Starbucks to consider the environmental issues and so on. Therefore, from this point of view, stakeholder analysis do help firms to further assess and develop their corporate social responsibility such as workers rights, environmental sustainability and obligations to the broader community. However, Griseri and Seppala (2010) also suggested that there is no clear relationship between stakeholder interest and CSR. This is because currently the stakeholder analysis does not offer ways to analyse stakeholders interests based on CSR principles, but b y taking wider range of values into considerations, stakeholder analysis should to some extent help firms to make better decisions (Scherer Palazzo, 2010). 4.0 Conclusion In conclusion, this essay has defined CSR and introduced Starbucks historical CSR efforts for environmental issues, climate change and broader community issues etc. These analysis have showed that as a famous and successful brand name, Starbucks have contributed much efforts to its obligated CSR. These efforts have been realised by the society and hence helped Starbucks to further strengthen its brand image. By carrying out stakeholder analysis, three different group of stakeholders were outlined in the essay, and their interests were discussed. Starbucks have concerned these stakeholders power and interests and have been reacting to their requirements and demands. The analyses showed that Starbucks have successfully improved the values that different stakeholders are interested in. Finally, the relationship between stakeholder analysis and CSR was discussed, which concluded that even though there is no clear relationship between them, but stakeholder analysis should allow firms make decisions with higher quality (Scherer Palazzo, 2010).

The Metamorphosis of Bertha in Katherine Mansfield’s Bliss Essay

The Metamorphosis of Bertha in Katherine Mansfield’s Bliss Katherine Mansfield’s â€Å"Bliss† is quite an interesting story full of underlying meanings and themes. Upon a first reading, it seems to be a simple story of a woman who feels uncontainable bliss one day, only to have it end when she discovers her husband is having an affair. Although this is a correct interpretation, after a second reading, much more is apparent. â€Å"Bliss† is a story of the revelation of a vibrant young woman, of criticism of society, and of sexual revolution. In order to fully comprehend the work, we see that significance comes from small details. A tree is the major symbol in this piece, and the details assist in understanding why the pear tree is so important. The method of seeing details as they occur allows readers to relate new details to those in the past. A whole and complete picture can be obtained this way with the details clearly laid out chronologically. The story opens by presenting the audience with Bertha Young, a thirty-year old woman who feels as if she is a child again as she â€Å"wanted to run instead of walk, to take dancing steps on and off the pavement, to bowl a hoop, to throw something up in the air and catch it again, or to stand still and laugh at--nothing—at nothing, simply (143).† As she moves down the street, a feeling of absolute bliss overcomes her. This is where the reader begins to believe that he/she will receive an account of this woman’s wonderful day and of something fabulous that happened to her. Quite the contrary is true, however. Bertha walks into her home, and the first negative images of the story are felt. Her dining room is described as â€Å"dusky† and â€Å"quite chilly (143).†... ...e fulfilled. Bertha is a woman who has no desire, and Mansfield feels sympathy for her. Bertha is, however, evolving into a feeling, sexual person as she discovers her want to be with her husband physically. The pear tree is the dominant symbol of this story. Although it shows Bertha’s sexuality, it also shows her resilience. She is able to weather storms and still be beautiful, as is the tree. At the end of the story, the tree is cast in the light of the moon. Since it has already been discussed that the moon symbolizes truth, the moon showing on the pear tree that is still healthy, Bertha will be able to move on and survive. The tree shows that life will go on, as will Bertha, even though she has taken this devastating blow. Work Cited Mansfield, Katherine. The Short Stories of Katherine Mansfield. New York: A.A. Knopf, 1937.

How Lennie Is Portrayed in the First Chapter Essay

To begin with, Steinbeck describes Lennie’s physical features to be very animal-like. He states that he walked â€Å"the way a bear drags his paws†. The use of animal imagery in this quote illustrates an image of a huge man heavily dragging himself, not only suggesting his size but also suggesting his immense strength. Due to his physicality, he is unable to carry out tasks normal people would be able to do. He is unable to control himself, specifically his strength—thus easily breaking things. Steinbeck emphasizes this as he brings up incidents of Lennie having killed mice and other small, fragile animals, while petting them. Lennie is also described to have an animal’s mental state, leaning towards animal instincts rather than human instincts. Steinbeck states he’d â€Å"drink out of a gutter if [he] was thirsty†, displaying Lennie’s rash behaviour. His urge to satisfy his immediate desire would overpower the need to be cautious and aware of his surroundings. Many people think before they act. In Lennie’s case however, he doesn’t think at all as George does it for him. Lennie was â€Å"snorting into the water like a horse† which also proves his uncivilized manner. Furthermore, Lennie’s animal instincts prevent him from being able to learn. Like wild animals, he is uncontrollable and unpredictable; though he may be trained and taught not to do some things, they are bound to commit the same mistakes over and over again. Steinbeck states that George had â€Å"hopelessly† warned Lennie about the water he was drinking, proving that George’s warnings will not affect Lennie in any way as he is bound to forget—he will never learn. Not only is Lennie’s mental behaviour similar to an animal, but it is also similar to a child. Lennie is described to be â€Å"puzzled† and thathe â€Å"giggled happily† at some parts of their conversation, showing that he is unaware and immature. He constantly forgets everything very easily and doesn’t sense the seriousness in some of their conversations—showing that his maturity is like of a 6 year-old, who needs constant reminding and explaining of almost every matter discussed. Steinbeck states that after Lennie created ripples in the water with his fingers, he said â€Å"Look George, look what I done. He is easily impressed at the ripples he made and notifies George of his work to make him proud. Lennie’s child-like character also depicts a father/son relationship between Lennie and George. Earlier in the book, it is stated that â€Å"Lennie’s closed hand slowly obeyed† after George had commanded Lennie to hand over a dead mouse. The adverb â€Å"slowly† shows that though Lennie was reluctant to follow George’s orders, he had no choice but to obey him. Like an obedient son who must follow his father, Lennie fears George—the paternal figure—conveying George’s authority over Lennie. Supporting this, Lennie’s timid behaviour towards George is constantly portrayed as he is described to be speaking â€Å"slowly† and â€Å"cautiously† to George—indicating Lennie’s high level of respect for George. As a son would look up to his father, Lennie also sees George as his role model and a leader. Steinbeck portrays Lennie as submissive—giving him the role of the follower between the two main characters. Lennie is said to have â€Å"imitated George exactly† proving that he sees George as a role model. He â€Å"imitates† George, depicting his respect for him. Lennie also prioritizes him and whatever he says. This is seen when he tries to recall a memory from the past saying, â€Å"and you says†¦you says†. It is conveyed through this quote that he is dependent on George as he values George’s opinions more than his opinions. Supporting the fact that Lennie is dependent on George, George says, â€Å"think I’d let you carry your own work card? † This proves that George is much more responsible than Lennie, who constantly forgets things. Steinbeck also states in the beginning of the book that they walked in a â€Å"single file†, conveying that one is the leader and the other is the follower. Their relationship evidently highlights George’s authority over Lennie.

Counselling: Learning and Active Listening

Counselling is to help the client to open up about there feeling inside and thoughts when the client has no one to talk to and is in need to talk to someone. Core counselling skills are†¦ Paraphrasing Reflecting Summarising Focussing Active listening Empathy SOLERParaphrasing is focusing on the main facts.Reflecting and paraphrasing are similar it’s reporting back to the client what’s been said it is a way of indicating that we are listening, Reflecting refers to the skill of communication. Summerising, summerising is the process of trying to put everything what’s been said during the session. Focusing, focusing is important because it shows the client that you’re showing an interest on what’s been said. Active listening, active listening is important because you’re listening to the client and the client knows your showing an interest. As a councillor it’s important to listen and give full attention to the client. Empathy, empathy SOLER. S: square, sit facing opposite the client O: open in your posture (not closing yourself such as folding arms and legs) L: leaning forward E: eye contact R: relaxed (don’t fidget)Its important to have SOLER as a skill because it makes the client feel comfortable and the client knows that there being herd also there’s know the councillor is showing an interest and there feel more comfortable while using this skill.Counselling skills and attitudes Being a good listener, so the client knows there being herd Having patience with your self by not getting irritated.Good body language to the show the client you are active listening and paying attention on what’s been said. Good communication by not interrupting and by reflecting the client’s point of view without being judgemental. Showing empathy is to show the client that someone understands her giving the client closure. Being genuine to show the client that you’re being real and not putting ac a ct on.What counselling skills are not Advising the client Being judgemental Caring in a particular way Befriending Treating or healing someone like a doctor Instructing or teaching Giving guidance

20 Examples of How to Ask for a Customer Review (Plus Templates)

20 Examples of How to Ask for a Customer Review (Plus Templates) Does anyone buy anything these days without reading *at least* a handful of customer reviews first? The answer is no†¦ or very  few. 90%, actually – that’s the percentage of consumers who read online reviews before visiting a business or purchasing a product. It stands to reason†¦. People trust each other more than they trust companies. But how can a company encourage current or former customers to leave reviews? This post covers *a ton* of real-life examples of how companies have encouraged customer reviews for better credibility and conversion rates. Before you dive into all these examples, here are a few free templates to help you along. You’ll find: 5 â€Å"Ask for a Review† Templates to help you communicate with your customers. An Email Marketing Calendar  to plan all your outgoing drip campaigns. A Best Time to Send Email Kit to ensure you’re emailing at optimal times. Email Marketing Bundle  to get your email marketing strategy in order.21 awesome examples of how to ask for customer reviews.Reviews and the Customer Lifecycle You’ve made a sale – which is awesome. BUT, the sales funnel  doesn’t end when someone makes a purchase. The customer lifecycle and funnel extends beyond the sale – where customers are made into loyal advocates. Recommended Reading: The Best Way to Set Up and Troubleshoot Your Sales Funnel Great service makes for happy customers; happy customers leave reviews; customer reviews make for better product pages; better product pages make more sales. It’s one big circle. So just sit back and wait for all those great reviews to come pouring in, right? Well, you could†¦ OR you could take a more proactive approach. Post-purchase emails which encourage customer feedback play an important role in building loyalty and advocacy. You may be wondering... What’s the best way to get someone to leave a review of your product? How can I find some examples of what other companies do? Are there different approaches to this and is one better than the other? I got you. This post contains 20 real-life examples of how to ask customers to leave a review... so you can decide what approach you want to try and how to layout your email for the best results. Reviewing the Product or the Company This first thing you’ll want to consider when asking someone to leave a review is if you want them to review the product they purchased or your company as a whole. You will likely want to choose the individual product  if†¦ You’re selling on an external site like Amazon. Your company sells many different products. The item the customer purchased is a new release. The products you sell aren’t big-ticket items. It’s probably best to ask for a company review  if†¦ Your company only sells a few products. The products you sell are big-ticket items. You’re a new company. Asking for a Product Review s Here are a handful of examples of companies that ask for customers to review their products. J. Crew Here’s a simple example of how to ask customers to leave reviews for products they recently purchased. The company has a dynamic email that auto-populates with the recently purchased products. The customer can easily leave a review by simply clicking on the â€Å"share your thoughts† CTA. What’s good about this? It’s straight forward; no beating around the bush here. As a customer, you know exactly what the purpose of the email is. It’s easy to navigate. The links make it easy to navigate to the review page. It’s short. Review emails don’t have to be lengthy. Do like J. Crew and keep them short and sweet. Barkbox Subscription service, Barkbox, reaches out to customers to rate their most recent box. The email is a good example of how to ask for a product rating when your company only offers one or two services. Since the customer is receiving a curated box of products, Barkbox can use the customer feedback to continually improve its offering. What’s good about this email? Again, this is a very simple email that gets right to the point. The scale rating makes it easy to rate the product without a ton of thought. By allowing the customer to rate the product directly in the email, you can increase the likelihood of someone leaving a review. Crate Barrel Crate Barrel takes it one step further by combining a review email with a plug for a current promotion. This makes sense since the individual has already purchased from the company, but it could also distract from the purpose of the email. If you’re going to insert a promotion into your review emails, make sure it is only one and it is included after the leave a review section. What’s good about this email? The copy is clever and is a play on interior design. Combines a promo to encourage further sales. Takes you directly to the review page. Gap Gap takes a more personal approach by including a personalized intro paragraph. This takes a more indirect approach compared to some of the earlier examples, but it does a good job of making the reader feel like Gap’s customer service cares about their opinion. What’s good about this email? It’s personalized. The headline makes it clear what the company is asking for. Includes the recent order number as a reminder. Etsy Etsy’s product review emails are written in a way to make it seem like there is a necessary task waiting for completion. The emails highlight the need for a review with a large, prominent CTA that stands out from the text. What’s good about this email? The button is prominent. The copy is compelling and makes the reader feel like there is something that still needs to be completed. Includes a short sentence about why it’s important to leave a review. Under Armour Here’s another example that is very straight forward. The reader knows exactly what the company is asking for, but also why reviews are important to the company’s mission. What’s good about this email? The headline stands out in highlighted yellow. The CTA’s are clearly marked with large buttons. The vertical layout makes it easy see each product available for review. L'Occitane French skincare brand, L’Occitane, combines both a personalized intro paragraph and easy to find CTA buttons to make sure the reader can easy navigate to the product review page. What’s good about this email? It has a short personalized intro paragraph. The vertical layout is easy-to-read. There are buttons vs just linked text. Sephora Sephora has a truly unique way of collecting customer reviews. The company offers users a special area of their site called, My Beauty Bag. My Beauty Bag is a personalized area that collects the user’s favorite products and organizes recent purchases as well as product reviews. What’s good about this email? It informs the receiver of what My Beauty Bag is. Has links to go directly to each product review. Michaels Michaels’ leave a review email is a fun play on arts and crafts and fits the company’s brand perfectly. What’s great about this email? The branding is on point for the company’s product offering. The copy offers a fun play on words. The products are clearly laid out with an image and CTA. Society 6 Society 6 offers the ability to do the entire product review directly in the email. They make it easy by including the ability to leave a star rating for the product AND write your text comments without navigating away from the email. They also highlight their Instagram hashtag to help the company curate user content. What’s good about this email? Readers can leave a review without navigating away. Incorporates their social media strategy. Offers two different review styles. Target Target’s customer review email is a good mix of all the best elements listed above. It has a clear title that stands out from the rest of the text; It offers an easy-to-see star rating that can be done directly in the email; and a bold CTA if you want to leave a more in-depth review. What’s good about this email? It’s short and sweet. The star rating makes it easy to rate without navigating out of the email client. The headline and the CTA button stand out.

Catholic Relief Service essays

Catholic Relief Service essays Catholic Relief Service in Afghanistan The Catholic Relief Service (CRS) is an agency created by the catholic community, funded by the US government and donations, to help communities that are in need. In order to better understand the CRS, there has to be an understanding of what is CRS, what programs CRS offers, what programs CRS is offering to Afghanistan, and are those programs effective. Catholic Relief Services was founded in 1943 by the Catholic Bishops of the United States to assist the poor and disadvantaged outside the country. The fundamental motivating force in all activities of CRS is the Gospel of Jesus Christ as it pertains to the alleviation of human suffering, the development of people and the fostering of charity and justice in the world. CRS provides direct aid to the poor, and involves people in their own development, helping them to realize their potential. And CRS educates the people of the United States to fulfill their moral responsibilities toward our brothers and sisters around the world by helping the poor, working to remove the causes of poverty, and promoting social justice.(1) The programs that CRS offer to communities are very vast, but have a narrow goal. The programs help the community get back on there feet and become self-sufficient. Some of the programs that CRS offer are: agriculture and environmental programs, health programs, education programs, emergency response and transition programs, HIV/AIDS programs, microfinance, peace building programs, and safety net programs. These programs help the needy communities to reestablish itself and become self-sufficient. The agriculture and environmental programs provide the community with tools and seed to plant crops and harvest them. The health programs provide necessary health care to children and adults to improve health among the community. The education programs focus on access and equity, quality education, and community par ...

Civil Wars Wet Plate Collodion Photography

Civil War's Wet Plate Collodion Photography The wet plate collodion process was a manner of taking photographs which used panes of glass, coated with a chemical solution, as the negative. It was the method of photography in use at the time of the Civil War, and it was a fairly complicated procedure. The wet plate method was invented by Frederick Scott Archer, an amateur photographer in Britain, in 1851. Frustrated by the difficult photography technology of the time, a method known as calotype, Scott Archer sought to develop a simplified process for preparing a photographic negative. His discovery was the wet plate method, which was generally known as the â€Å"collodion process.† The word collodion refers to the syrupy chemical mixture which was used to coat the glass plate. Numerous Steps Were Required The wet plate process required considerable skill. The required steps: A glass sheet was coated with chemicals, known as collodion.The coated plate was immersed in a bath of silver nitrate, which made it sensitive to light.The wet glass, which would be the negative used in the camera, was then placed in a light-proof box.The negative, in its special light-proof holder, would be placed inside the camera.A panel in the light-proof holder, known as the dark slide, along with the lens cap of the camera, would be removed for several seconds, thereby taking the photograph.The â€Å"dark slide† of the light-proof box was replaced, sealing the negative up in darkness again.The glass negative was then taken to the darkroom and developed in chemicals and â€Å"fixed,† making the negative image on it permanent. (For a photographer working in the field during the Civil War, the darkroom would be an improvised space in a horse-drawn wagon.)The negative could be coated with a varnish to ensure the permanence of the image.Prints would later be generated from the glass negative. The Wet Plate Collodion Process Had Serious Drawbacks The steps involved in the wet plate process, and the considerable skill required, imposed obvious limitations. Photographs taken with the wet plate process, from the 1850s through the late 1800s, were almost always taken by professional photographers in a studio setting. Even photographs taken in the field during the Civil War, or later during expeditions to the West, required the photographer to travel with a wagon full of equipment. Perhaps the first war photographer was a British artist, Roger Fenton, who managed to transport cumbersome photographic equipment to the battlefront of the Crimean War. Fenton had mastered the wet plate method of photography soon after it became available and put it into practice shooting landscapes of the British midlands. Fenton took a trip to Russia in 1852 and took photographs. His travels proved that the latest photographic method could be utilized outside of a studio. However, traveling with the equipment and the necessary chemicals to develop the images would present a formidable challenge. Traveling to the Crimean War with his photographic wagon was difficult, yet Fenton managed to shoot impressive photographs. His images, while praised by art critics upon his return to England, were a commercial failure. Roger Fentons photographic van used in the Crimean War, with his assistant posing on its bench. Library of Congress While Fenton had transported his ungainly equipment to the front, he purposely avoided photographing the ravages of war. He would have had many opportunities  to depict wounded or dead soldiers. But he probably assumed his intended  audience in Britain did not want to see such things. He sought to portray a more glorious side of the conflict, and tended to photograph officers in their dress uniforms. In fairness to Fenton, the wet plate process made it impossible to photograph action on the battlefield. The process allowed for a shorter exposure time than previous photographic methods, yet it still required the shutter to be open for several seconds. For that reason there could not be any action photography with wet plate photography, as any action would blur. There are no combat photographs from the Civil War, as people in the photographs had to hold a pose for the length of the exposure. And for photographers working in battlefield or camp conditions, there were great obstacles. It was difficult to travel with the chemicals required for preparing and developing the negatives. And the glass panes used as negatives were fragile and carrying them in horse-drawn wagons presented a whole set of difficulties. Generally speaking, a photographer working in the field, such as Alexander Gardner when he shot the carnage at Antietam, would have an assistant along who mixed the chemicals. While the assistant was in the wagon preparing the glass plate, the photographer could set up the camera on its heavy tripod and compose the shot. Even with an assistant helping, each photograph taken during the Civil War would have required about ten minutes of preparation and developing. And once a photograph was taken and the negative was fixed, there was always a problem of a negative cracking. A famous photograph of Abraham Lincoln by Alexander Gardner shows damage from a crack in the glass negative, and other photographs of the same period show similar flaws. By the 1880s a dry negative method began to be available to photographers. Those negatives could be purchased ready to be used, and did not require the complicated process of preparing the collodion as required in the wet plate process.

American Atrocities in Vietnam Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

American Atrocities in Vietnam - Research Paper Example According to Anderson, D (2002), atrocities such as the killing of noncombat civilians or the torture of prisoners occur in all wars but that it became a particular issue in the Vietnam War. Violence against the civilians of Vietnam by the American military was an intentional act of war and they acted with indifference to the destruction of noncombatants and to that of their property. Most of the military commanders of the United States were aware of the laws governing ground warfare that had been established by various international agreements but atrocities were still committed by some American soldiers and officers. Throughout the entire war, only two hundred and seventy eight soldiers and marines were convicted of murder, rape, and other violent crimes by the military justice system but many more incidents went unpunished or were not even reported. The policy of heavy bombing by in South Vietnam with high explosives and napalm by American forces to support ground operations in an d around villages and the widespread use of artillery for the same purpose generated many accidental civilian casualties. Martin, M F (2011) states that the United States military used herbicides and defoliants as part of its herbicidal warfare in Vietnam, and one of these, known as Agent Orange, was used extensively from 1961 to 1971 in South Vietnam and in portions of North Vietnam. At the time the herbicides were being used, there was little consideration within the American military about the potential long term effects of the widespread use of Agent Orange towards the Vietnamese population. It is further unclear exactly where in Vietnam the Agent Orange herbicides were sprayed and the amount sprayed at each location and this has ensured that virtually every aspect of the effects of this herbicide in Vietnam is infused with uncertainty. These herbicides were used on the crops of the Vietnamese civilians so that the crops could die causing mass starvation. The American army comma nders mistakenly believed that starvation would force the Vietnamese population to support the American backed South Vietnamese regime but this turned out to be counterproductive because instead the people lost all confidence in the southern government and secretly supported the North. Another major result of the use of these herbicides was the mass starvation that occurred after their use and a lot of the civilian population, which had nothing to do with the war, died in the resulting famine. Anderson, D L(2011) declares that it was the fear, anger, and incentive for promotion or commendation for a high body count (which was a requirement by the military at the time) that led the American soldiers to an over application of their weaponry which constituted atrocities against the civilian population. Individual Vietnamese and sometimes even entire villages could be killed because they were suspected of being the enemy or in certain incidents; they were simply killed just because they got in the way. Leahey, C R (2007) states that the Vietnam war, with its tactical use of high altitude bombing and artillery fire, and the search and destroy missions resulted in mass killings. These weapons were used indiscriminately by the American mili

Prospects of Utilization of Solar Energy For Thermal Desalination Dissertation

Prospects of Utilization of Solar Energy For Thermal Desalination Technologies in Saudi Arabia - Dissertation Example The paper describes about the current scenario about water resources in Saudi Arabia and how existing demand supply gaps can be filled with the use of thermal desalination technology in the years to come. Introduction The world population including the population in Saudi Arabia is growing at a rapid pace. The established and known reserves of fossil fuel is depleting fast. It has been imperative on the part of scientist and engineers to think of alternate sources of energy to meet the increasing demand. With the rising population demand of water is increasing too. Saudi Arabia has no natural sources of water supply except the water stored in aquifers. For these reasons, the Saudi Arabia has undertaken several projects for the development of renewable sources of energy. This study explores the possibility of harnessing solar energy for the purpose of desalination of water in Saudi Arabia. Radiation Measurement in Saudi Arabia According to one research report, the average solar radiat ion in Saudi Arabia is noticed as 5591 Watt hour on unit square meter area. The data collected are from 41 stations in the period of 10 years. (Mohandas et al, 1999) The solar radiation measurement in Saudi Arabia is now available for 10 major towns namely Tabuk, Al-Ula, Unayxah, Shaqra, Dawdami, Yabrin, Turabah, Heifa, Kwash, and Najran. Though all the locations offer promising solar radiation but the area of Najran is found to be the best. The method used is called radial basis function neural networks. (Mohandas et al, 1999) Solar energy and duration of sunshine is not the same throughout the year. As per the Solar Radiation Atlas the radiation is found to be in the range of 4.1 and 6.7 kilowatt-hour /sq. meter / day. (Alnaser et al., 2004) An Overview of Desalination Process in Saudi Arabia The current market share of the Saudi Arabia in the production of desalinated water is about 30 percent when viewed with respect to the global capacity installed. In last 80 years the Saudi A rabia has spent almost $25 billion on building and operating desalination plants. The kingdom now has 30 desalination units and the country has more than quadrupled its food production. It can be said that Saudi Arabia has turned into a modern nation in the last 25 years. A more than 50 percent water need of a resident in any city of the kingdom is met through Desalinated technology. (Water Demand, 2010) Supply and Demand Scenario of Water in Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia is mostly desert area devoid of any lakes or rivers. Saudi has limited water resources. The groundwater, stored in several aquifers across the country, is the main source that satisfies more than 90% of its water demand. Available Water Resources in Saudi Arabia, 2010 Source of Water In Million Cubic Meters Surface water (Renewable) 5000 (2230 available for use) Groundwater resources 2,269,000 (84,000 renewable water in shallow aquifers) Groundwater recharge (Renewable) 3,958 (1,196 in shallow aquifers and 2,762 in dee p aquifers) Desalination 1050 Treated Wastewater 400 Source: http://www.miahona.com/upload/publications/2010_Walid_SWPF-2010_Jeddah.pdf (p 18) The government of Saudi Arabia has been making great efforts to secure the water supplies for all purposes; some of them include such as dams, distribution systems, wastewater collection and treatment facilities in most cities and towns of the kingdom along with large sea

History of jazz Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

History of jazz - Essay Example The next brass band was formed in 1884 and it consisted of a Creole cornet player called Manuel Perez who was an addition to the group. Different bands continued forming after that as well and they consisted of Creoles up until 1898. Jazz consisted of several different kinds of music such as blues music, ragtime and the brass band fanfares. Religious music was however not included in the mix of music during formation of jazz. White music which was popular was also missing at the beginning of the jazz music formation but was later on incorporated to add a commercial sense to the music and enable it to sell widely. In 1898 immediately after US defeated Spain and liberating Cuba, troops who had been in the war landed in New Orleans on their way to other locations. They brought brass instruments with them and they sold them on the black market which was adopted quickly. These brass instruments were unlike what was used before as they were European instruments and hence the music played from then incorporated European aspect into the Creole jazz blending the two up1. This new form of jazz with both African and European music and instruments in it was soon picked up across New Orleans and it formed the basis of the present jazz as it is known to date. New Orleans was a city which was filled with people of different races. There were Africans who were slaves, the Spanish from Cuba and who were at war with the US as well as other races such as the French, Germans and even Italians all whom were in South America but some also resided in New Orleans. Even though they had different cultures and languages, they shared a commonality which was the love for music. Each race had its own form of music which they sang in different places. It is these different genres of music that combined together to form jazz. The most renowned historian of jazz was

WALES Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

WALES - Essay Example According to the BBC report dated 14 Nov 2012, Wales had an employment rate of 8.2% in November 2012 whereas the rate was 7.8% in the case of the whole UK for the same period. Deprivation index: - while analyzing the Wales’ deprivation index 2012, it seems that the country has satisfactory living conditions. Wales as a Tourist Destination According to BBC report dated Sep19, 2012, Wales is a rapidly emerging tourist destination in the United Kingdom with an annual industry turnover of ?3.5 billion. Statistical reports indicate that 8,078,900 people visited National Trust and Welsh Tourist Board destinations in 2002 (Wales Information, n.d.). Tourism industry plays a key role in boosting the economic growth of the Wales. To illustrate, in 2005 the tourism industry supported the economy of Wales by providing more than 100,000 service sector jobs which accounted for the country’s 8% of the workforce (ibid). The major tourist activities in Wales are mountain hiking; visitin g historic places, museums, and galleries; and shopping. Another report indicates that foreign tourists made over 1.1 million trips to Wales in 2006 (Countryside Council for Wales). Mainly, overseas tourists to Wales are from Republic of Ireland, Germany, and the United States. According to statistical information, tourism-related employment in Wales increased from 59,000 in 2000 to 78,000 in 2007 (Cultural tourism, 2012). Cardiff, the capital of the Wales, is the most popular tourist destination in the country. As Alford (2010) reports, the Cardiff tourism sector provides over 26,300 jobs and it had 14.6 million visitors in 2009. In 2004, the three cities, in term of tourists spent the most money, were Cardiff, Conwy, and Gwynedd. Wales offers improved accommodation and leisure amenities to visitors. Successes and Weaknesses While analyzing Wales’ tourism sector, it is clear that the country’s history and distinctive culture, natural environment, and attractive scener y and heritage significantly contribute to its success. The Museum of Welsh Life is the most popular tourist attraction in the country, attracting more than 600,000 tourists annually (Wales vacation packages). In addition, many castles like Caernarfon Castle and Caerphilly Castle attract visitors having historical interests. The varied landscape is another major tourist attraction in Wales. The country has three national parks including the Snowdonia National Park, the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, and the Brecon Beacons National Park. Wales is prominent for its extreme sports activities like downhill cycling, surfing, and hang gliding. The Wales Rally GB is organized in the country annually. It has been estimated that nearly 1.8 million US citizens have Welsh ancestral roots (webarchieve.com). Hence, genealogy is major reason why many US citizens visit Wales each year. Well developed infrastructure is another reason making Wales one of the world’s popular tourist destin ations. The country has also developed improved road, rail, and air travel facilities, which are crucial to the success of the tourism industry. Wales’ proximity to all other UK markets contributes to the success of the Wales tourism industry. The country can offer a wide range of leisure activities including walking, mountaineering, and fishing (Sports and leisure activities in Wales). Wales Tourist Board (WTB) is a well established and financially sound entity.

The Impact of U.S Mortgages Crisis on the Saudi Financial Market Dissertation

The Impact of U.S Mortgages Crisis on the Saudi Financial Market - Dissertation Example The investors in US withdrawn money from the market and the US economy entered into a financial recession. Most of the countries which are related with the US economy also got affected by the US mortgage crisis. Countries who were exposed to the mortgage securities were the first one to get adversely affected like European countries were badly affected by the financial crisis as they were also involved in the mortgage securities. Most of the financial institutions across the world suffered because of their purchase of bonds which were supported by the risky home loans and collateralised debt obligation commonly known as CDO. Once the subprime crisis offset in USA, the investors who invested in these instruments incurred loss. More the investors lost trust in the financial instruments and hence the financial markets got affected by the crisis (New York Times, 2007). The default of the subprime loans caused a ripple effect which first hit the mortgage companies and the lenders which in turn affected the real estate sector as they were not able to sell the more houses as they use to sell during the boom of the subprime loans. Loss of the real estate sector in turn affected the US financial markets and the US economy. With the era of globalisation almost all the countries’ economy are related to one another because of the financial and trade ties. Hence most of the countries around the world felt the heat of the credit crunch of the US economy. But, the extent of the affect of US mortgage crisis is different to different countries. As per the CEO and MD of Citi Group Asia Pacific (Markets and Banking) the effect of the US financial crisis has been limited. As per him the investors may concentrate more in emerging markets for long term growth (Rina Chandran, 2007). As per the chief economist of the World Bank for South Asia Shantayanan Devarajan, the countries in the South Asian region will not be adversely affected by the US mortgage crisis because the count ries in that region are not much exposed to the mortgage securities of the US. More over the countries have enough liquidity available in their domestic markets (World Bank, 2011). There are also reports that the equity markets of the Arab countries faced very less impact of the US financial crisis. The main reason behind the immunity of the Arab markets is cited as the major market players of the Arab financial markets have least expose to the global markets. More over it is also cited that the Arab banks have performed quite well in the past

Analysis of alka seltzer commercial from 1950 and alka seltzer Essay

Analysis of alka seltzer commercial from 1950 and alka seltzer commercial from 2010 - Essay Example Moreover, the world of men in action and women indulging in feminine parties depicted in the 1950s version gives way to that of a woman in the office – a clear change that took place in the post-War Western world, but took time to get depicted in cultural products. The 1950s version begins with Speedy introducing the tablet as a significant factor that keeps the energetic life of USA, especially Washington DC intact. He starts singing the jingle about how Alka- Seltzer gives comfort to congressmen who are distracted from their work by headaches, and those fairy-like women in a fancy party who have the morning hangover. Apart from the visuals related to these two major ideas, it’s mainly Speedy who walks along throughout the commercial, followed by boxes of Alka-Seltzer, awhile singing the jingle in the all-too familiar voice of Dick Beals. The 2010 version is much more brief and swift. Speedy is given voice in the new commercials by Debi Derryberry. The stop-motion pupp etry effect of older times is recreated in the commercial by CGI effects. There’s an office secretary who is summoned by someone who says â€Å"clients are here†, soon after she sneezes into a paper napkin. She makes a gesture of tiredness, but is enlivened by Speedy who appears in a clearer, colour version and sings the jingle about Alka-Seltzer. Soon afterwards, the secretary is all ready to meet the clients. Before she leaves her cabin, she just pretends to punch Speedy, and he walks back and keeps smiling. Alka-Seltzer commercials focus more on creating a cult-effect than talking about the properties of the product. The appearance of Speedy in all the commercials is an effort to tap on the immense popularity that the earlier versions of their commercials had on people from all walks of life. There is even a pseudo-effect of a child’s presence in them, since Speedy is a midget figure with the voice of a child. The painstaking efforts to create his amicable ap pearance, even with the Alka-Seltzer tablets that form both his torso and hat, pay off well. The colour version of 2010 shows clearly that the hat carries the name Speedy and the torso is inscribed Alka-Seltzer. Moreover, there is more scope in the new commercial to make the features of speedy clearer. He has brown hair and eyebrows, large grey eyes and vivid expressions, complete with a baby smile. In the black and white commercials, the details were not so clear, and it were the captivating visuals, the voice of speedy and the animation effects that held them together. The drastic reduction of time in the new commercials call for a demand to stick to one major idea and present it in the best way possible. The drastic change in man-woman relationships in the public sphere is made clear while analyzing the two commercials. While the earlier versions showed clearly that men belonged to the tough outer world and women had a fairy-tale existence indoors. The recent version makes it cle ar that the woman has much more responsibilities than the household chores or appearing and acting good in parties. In continuation of the concept of a ‘super-mom’, the woman in the 2010 commercial manages to meet her responsibilities with a captivating smile. Speedy cures her of the brief period of inertia, by the magic tablet. Her worries fizzle out as the ‘plop, plop, fizz, fizz’ of the tablet in water. The 1950s commercial focuses more on the manliness of men and the femininity of

The Impact of U.S Mortgages Crisis on the Saudi Financial Market Dissertation

The Impact of U.S Mortgages Crisis on the Saudi Financial Market - Dissertation Example The investors in US withdrawn money from the market and the US economy entered into a financial recession. Most of the countries which are related with the US economy also got affected by the US mortgage crisis. Countries who were exposed to the mortgage securities were the first one to get adversely affected like European countries were badly affected by the financial crisis as they were also involved in the mortgage securities. Most of the financial institutions across the world suffered because of their purchase of bonds which were supported by the risky home loans and collateralised debt obligation commonly known as CDO. Once the subprime crisis offset in USA, the investors who invested in these instruments incurred loss. More the investors lost trust in the financial instruments and hence the financial markets got affected by the crisis (New York Times, 2007). The default of the subprime loans caused a ripple effect which first hit the mortgage companies and the lenders which in turn affected the real estate sector as they were not able to sell the more houses as they use to sell during the boom of the subprime loans. Loss of the real estate sector in turn affected the US financial markets and the US economy. With the era of globalisation almost all the countries’ economy are related to one another because of the financial and trade ties. Hence most of the countries around the world felt the heat of the credit crunch of the US economy. But, the extent of the affect of US mortgage crisis is different to different countries. As per the CEO and MD of Citi Group Asia Pacific (Markets and Banking) the effect of the US financial crisis has been limited. As per him the investors may concentrate more in emerging markets for long term growth (Rina Chandran, 2007). As per the chief economist of the World Bank for South Asia Shantayanan Devarajan, the countries in the South Asian region will not be adversely affected by the US mortgage crisis because the count ries in that region are not much exposed to the mortgage securities of the US. More over the countries have enough liquidity available in their domestic markets (World Bank, 2011). There are also reports that the equity markets of the Arab countries faced very less impact of the US financial crisis. The main reason behind the immunity of the Arab markets is cited as the major market players of the Arab financial markets have least expose to the global markets. More over it is also cited that the Arab banks have performed quite well in the past

Capital Punishment College Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Capital Punishment College - Essay Example Finally, the Roman law of twelve tablets codified it in the fifth century BC (Death Penalty Information Center). As far as 437 BC, the usefulness of the capital punishment was questioned. By arguing its non-deterrent effect, Diodotus persuaded the Athenian assembly to reverse its decision to execute all adult males of the city of Mitylene. In the eighteenth century, various philosophers called for the abolition of the capital punishment. Montesquieu, for example, called for its restriction to murder, attempted murder, certain types of manslaughter and some offences against property. Beccaria, on the contrary, did not call for its limitation but rather for its complete abolition. The writings of Beccaria ended the distinction in the application of the capital punishment between poor and nobles, and his ideas led to the promulgation of a penal code in Tuscany that eliminated it entirely. The main debate surrounding the issue of capital punishment is its constitutionality. Capital punishment proponents believe that the capital punishment is an integral part of our criminal justice system and reserved for offenders who commit the most heinous of crimes, while death opponents believe in the sanctity of life for any reason. Capital punishment has been applied to both genders at all levels of competency. It has affected the lives of adults, juveniles and nearly all races of mankind. The continuation of the capital punishment raises several arguments. Capital punishment was a volatile issue in 20th century and continues to be a morally divisive topic in the 21st century. The underlying ideology of those who support capital punishment appears to be the notion of retribution and the concept of a safer society based on the theory of general deterrence. The following questions need to be examined when determining the validity of that premise: (a) is the capital punishment a general deterrence to future criminal activity, (b) is it morally acceptable to take a life in the name of justice, (c) is the capital punishment a form of cruel and unusual punishment And (d) should an offender with a mental deficiency be a candidate for execution The surveys conduced by the Pew Research (Robert, 2007) reveal that public now support the capital punishemnet more than ever before (see table 1 below) Source: Pew Research Although the arguments offered against the capital punishment have some weight and logic, it must be remembered that there is another party besides the murderer involved in every murder, and that is the victim. By the unjustified taking of another's life, the murderer has forfeited his own. Hence, we are not obligated to support murderers for the rest of their natural life. If one murderer is granted life in prison while another is executed, it is only because of the extraordinary degree of leniency that we have in our American system of jurisprudence, and not because of any intrinsic unfairness. It is also argued that there is no visible deterrence effect of capital punishment visible. This argument does not seem to be based on any factual grounds as it is impossible to prove the effect of something that didn't happen. On the other hand, it is a matter of common sense that some people would refrain from killing another person due to the fact that they fear death themselves. Similarly, many others refrain from murdering because they consider it socially reprehensible and they consider it

The Rise Of The Papacy In Rome

The Rise Of The Papacy In Rome The ascendancy of the bishop of Rome over the whole of the Catholic Church, an institution recognized as the papacy, took centuries to grow. During the first few hundred years of the church, the title pope, which denotes father, was applied for any important and esteemed bishop. Furthermore, the bishop of Rome was one of a number of significant bishops in Christendom. Rome had always been treasured for her relationship with Paul and Peter and her stand as the Church in the Empires capital. This was particularly noticed after Christianity was made legal under Constantine which made the importance of that office grow further with each passing roman bishop. The dogma of the authority of the pope ultimately reached its height in the late 13th century, when Pope Boniface VIII asserted full religious and non-religious authority over every human being.  [1]   Rome prior to Pope Gregory In 535 it was invaded by an army sent by the emperor Justinian to bring it back under the control of the Roman Empire, the capital of which was now Constantinople.The war between the Ostrogoths and the Empire lasted for some twenty years, devastating the countryside and disrupting social organization.546 the city lay uninhabited for forty days. The final victory of the imperial forces left Italy dangerously open to the attentions of another Germanic group, the Lombards. In 568, under their king Alboin, they made their way into Italy, and by force of arms steadily established themselves over most of the peninsula. During Pope Gregory regin Gregory the Great whos life culminated in his holding the office of pope (590604). line of popes whom assumed office after Pelagius I (556-561) who was unworthy Pope but was forced on the Church by Justinian.He is generally regarded as one of the outstanding figures in the long. The empire was unstable and Byzantine power had greatly subsided.[1] This was the world into which Gregory, who was drawn to monasticism, was born. Gregory had an interesting and refreshing outlook on missions. He was spurred on to his first missions project in response to the king of Lombard refusing baptism for his subjects. He renewed the church using Benedictine principles. The Bishop of Rome had an immediate impact on believers by reformed congregational worship by introducing choirs in order to read liturgy, he raised the standard of education of the clergy, and an emphasized in preaching. He took the task of protecting Rome from the Lombard threat that lasted in treaty that lasted for a short time period. This was only one treaty of many since Gregory negotiated treaties with several barbarian kings which helped take political steps to protect the Christian community by being destroyed by war. This helped him become the first Pope to act as a temporal ruler which eventually came part of the Papal States. Gregory the Great established the pattern of church government in England that had everyone being supervised by someone higher. He also started missionary work that spread out of his region.Part of the reason was he was labeled the Great had to do with his influential writings that impacted the Middle ages.[7] Also, during his time as pope, he was an advocate of clerical celibacy.[8] Furthermore, he was instrumental in the conversion of the Visigothic King Recared to Nicene Catholicism in SpainThrough research we have discovered that the position of Pope gained great influence and power something that has yet to stop. It must be noted that Gregory was the first Pope with a monastic background; he made a mark in history. Gregory used strategies such as connections with the Byzantine elite, which caused him to become well known among the upper class Bishops in the Early Church During the early periods of Christianity, five cities arose as significant core of Christianity. These were Rome, Jerusalem, Antioch, Constantinople and Alexandria. Even though the Roman Church was highly regarded, the Churches in the East in general had more influence and numbers than those of the West. Following the granting of legal status to Christianity by the Decree of Milan, the church took up the same governmental structure as the Empire whereby geographical provinces were ruled by bishops. These bishops of key cities therefore rose in power.  [2]   Rome wasnt only the city that could profess to have had a unique responsibility in Christs Church. Jerusalem had the reputation of being the city of Christs death and resurrection. Furthermore, a significant church council took place there in the first century. Antioch was the location where the followers of Jesus were first called Christians. Alexandria was an important early center of Christian belief. Constantinople developed into a very significant city after Constantine shifted his capital there in 330 AD.  [3]   Nevertheless, by the fifth century, the bishop of Rome started claiming his superiority over all other bishops. Moreover, several church fathers made this claim for him as well. Why Rome? Romes association with Peter was the main spiritual reason its ultimate dominance. According to customs, Peter visited Rome all through his life and, more significantly, was martyred there. This is affirmed by the belief that his remains are below the St. Peters Basilica in Vatican City. St. Paul was thought to have been martyred in Rome as well. The majority of the claims for the popes authority are supported by one major argument- the so called Petrine theory. Affirmed by the Council of Florence in 1439, outlined as a subject of faith by the First Vatican Council in 1870, and approved by the Second Vatican Council in 1964, Jesus Christ bestowed the position of Primacy in the church upon Peter only. The First Vatican Council based their claim on a classical New Testament text long linked with it. In Mathew 16, Jesus inquires from his disciples who they believe he is. Peter says, You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Jesus responds: Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.   [4]   Given that the word Peter stands for rock, the above stated verse has been taken by the Roman Catholic Church to mean that Peter was charged with the task of overseeing the formation of Gods Church, had spiritual power over it which he passed on to successive Popes (Protestants disagree that the rock signifies not only to Peter but to his admission of faith.) Additional biblical support for their claim has been found in the Gospel of John, whereby the resurrected Jesus directs Peter to feed my sheep. An imagery of St. Peter watching over the gates of heaven has its origin from the Matthew 16 passage.  [5]   The Bishop of Rome was one of the most significant Bishops of Western Europe up until the Reformation due to a number of factors. Being the city which lay claim to having the first martyr, (Peter), Rome was the historical capital of the empire and a politically key city, so it was expected that the bishop of the city would in addition be important. Furthermore, the pope was the most dominant figure that remained in Rome after the capital of the empire was moved to Constantinople by Constantine. The Bishop of Rome claimed control over all other bishops and Christians based on biblical passages, but some of it was as a result of political and cultural realities. In Western Europe, there existed no other cities to rival Rome giving the Roman Bishop automatic prestige. In the east however, there were rivals such as Alexandria, Antioch, Constantinople and Jerusalem. The bishop of Constantinople never did stoop to Roman claims. Additional prestige on Rome was as a result of tradition. It w as a city of martyrs. The earliest persecutions, initiated by Nero, occurred at Rome. In addition, Peter was martyred at Rome. As earlier observed, Rome was the solitary city in the Western hemisphere of the Empire while the rest (four) were found in the Eastern region of the Empire. As the two areas became increasingly culturally and politically advanced, the eastern region was in charge of decisions concerning the church and political life whereas Rome was sought out regarding decisions of vital nature, whether it be of political or religious side.  [6]   In addition, the barbarian attacks of the fifth century were significant. Leo I, considered by many as the first pope in the modern sense, was influential in convincing Attila the Hun not to attack Rome in 452. When it finally fell to the Vandals in 455, Leo persuaded their leader not to set the city on fire. These endeavors further added to the prestige to the bishop of Rome. Besides, when Rome fell to the barbarians in 455 AD, the church grew to be the defender of order, justice, and the remainder of civilization. The bishop of Rome was active in recapturing the harmony and steadiness that had been crushed by the attacks. Compared to the West, the Eastern side of the empire endured for another 1000 years, hence the bishops there didnt match the political significance as their Roman counterparts.  [7]   The reality of Rome being the center of political and religious power within Western Europe had some positive ramifications. Firstly, the Christian cause was broadened and Rome was viewed by not only Western Europe as the key voice and head of Christianity, owing in large part to the Catholic Church, but in addition accepted by the people who lived in the Eastern region of Europe. Rome accorded the bishops the chance to petition resolutions that were made, in regarding their standing and duty as men of faith. Many bishops that were given judgment that they sensed were unfair petitioned their case to the Roman Spiritual authority at the time.  [8]   The reality of Rome being the center of political and religious power within Western Europe had also negative positive ramifications. In time, the lines started to blur and it became difficult to differentiate between the responsibility of the church and government. There existed the feudal system that echoed the spiritual chain of command that had been advocated for by earlier theologians. This practice gave rights to landowners, allowing their servants to till the land in exchange for imbursement of wages or debt. In spite of this, wealthy persons arose who had servants that were obliged to them. This reached a point where it became a never-ending cycle of assistance with little to no possibility of ever being set free of their gained obligations. The church as well started to function in a way that was not planned by the founding fathers, for instance abbots being married. The lowest point of the Papacy occurred when at some point in when Stephen VI was in office, a trial took pla ce where his predecessor, who had passed away 3 days earlier, was taken before a council, found guilty and dragged through the city. After the ordeal, he was buried in a common grave. Subsequently his papal robes were taken and his fingers cut off.  [9]   Whereas Rome was the key voice of the Catholic Church, the church faced many challenges leading up to the Reformation.

puddnhead wilson :: essays research papers

This section is the heart of both the farce and the tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson. The action is fast-paced, often absurd, and accompanied by convoluted plot twists. Yet it is always intimately tied to the central problem of the story: Roxy's failure to "save" her son, whose racial heritage seems to damn him inescapably. Roxy herself seems to agree with racist sentiments when she tells "Tom" that his black blood is to blame for his behavior. She also takes the opportunity to make claims for her own heritage, telling her son that she is descended from Pocahontas and Captain John Smith, and is thereby of as high quality Virginia stock as the judge or anyone else. While Roxy may seem to be a sort of "Uncle Tom" figure here, Twain avoids this interpretation by making her as much of a victim as her son. Her claims about her ancestry are pathetic and ridiculous, but they show how deeply entrenched the white hegemony is. Roxy's comments point to the fact that b lack blood is the problem: black labor has made the white masters wealthy and thus enabled both "Tom"'s upbringing and the kind of rhetoric that the judge and Roxy use about their fine old families. Concepts of "honor" in this novel have little to do with standards of behavior but are instead ways to uphold an exploitative system. Aside from the more profound issues at stake, this section also contains some of Twain's finest comic writing. The scene at the anti-temperance meeting is theatrical and amusing. It also makes reference to one of the major figures to whom Twain sought to compare himself: Benjamin Franklin. Franklin was the first to set up fire companies in the United States, and the Dawson's Landing fire brigade is similar in its bumbling to the companies Franklin describes in his Autobiography. The comment about the townspeople insuring themselves against the firefighters rather than against fire is obviously Franklin-esque: wry, practical, and linguistically aware. Franklin is the epitome of the self-made man in American literature and history, and by making reference to him Twain means to challenge the idea of self-constructed identities in a world where race is so powerful a determinant that it can erase all else. Pudd'nhead, the most Franklin- like of the characters in this novel, has so far fai led to become who he wants to be, and is left, like Franklin, conducting experiments that are ridiculed rather than appreciated. puddnhead wilson :: essays research papers This section is the heart of both the farce and the tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson. The action is fast-paced, often absurd, and accompanied by convoluted plot twists. Yet it is always intimately tied to the central problem of the story: Roxy's failure to "save" her son, whose racial heritage seems to damn him inescapably. Roxy herself seems to agree with racist sentiments when she tells "Tom" that his black blood is to blame for his behavior. She also takes the opportunity to make claims for her own heritage, telling her son that she is descended from Pocahontas and Captain John Smith, and is thereby of as high quality Virginia stock as the judge or anyone else. While Roxy may seem to be a sort of "Uncle Tom" figure here, Twain avoids this interpretation by making her as much of a victim as her son. Her claims about her ancestry are pathetic and ridiculous, but they show how deeply entrenched the white hegemony is. Roxy's comments point to the fact that b lack blood is the problem: black labor has made the white masters wealthy and thus enabled both "Tom"'s upbringing and the kind of rhetoric that the judge and Roxy use about their fine old families. Concepts of "honor" in this novel have little to do with standards of behavior but are instead ways to uphold an exploitative system. Aside from the more profound issues at stake, this section also contains some of Twain's finest comic writing. The scene at the anti-temperance meeting is theatrical and amusing. It also makes reference to one of the major figures to whom Twain sought to compare himself: Benjamin Franklin. Franklin was the first to set up fire companies in the United States, and the Dawson's Landing fire brigade is similar in its bumbling to the companies Franklin describes in his Autobiography. The comment about the townspeople insuring themselves against the firefighters rather than against fire is obviously Franklin-esque: wry, practical, and linguistically aware. Franklin is the epitome of the self-made man in American literature and history, and by making reference to him Twain means to challenge the idea of self-constructed identities in a world where race is so powerful a determinant that it can erase all else. Pudd'nhead, the most Franklin- like of the characters in this novel, has so far fai led to become who he wants to be, and is left, like Franklin, conducting experiments that are ridiculed rather than appreciated.

Managing Diversity Essays -- International Management

International management refers to the pursuit of organizational objectives in more than one nation. International management has evolved as a discipline of increasing importance in recent years. The underlying reason is that the corporate community is becoming more and more diverse. Improvements in transportation and communications and lower production costs in many countries around the world have made global markets more accessible. Although United States-based firms have immediate access to huge domestic markets, they have steadily increased the proportion of their foreign markets. It has been estimated that about 10 percent of all jobs in North America are dependent upon export and import trade. Other indicators, including foreign investments, profits earned overseas, and fees and royalties paid to firms abroad, point to an increase in corporate internationaliza ¬tion. Next we will look at some of the challenges facing managers who work in an international environment. CHALLENGES AND PROBLEMS FACING THE INTERNATIONAL MANAGER A host of interacting and overlapping forces create problems for the manager in an international setting that are infrequently faced by the manager who works for a company doing business in only one country. The term infrequently is chosen because some countries are so large geographically that they contain radically different subcultures within their own boundaries. We will summarize 11 factors that the international manager may have to m...

Cisco case Essay

1. What are the challenges faced by Cisco in introducing a major product like Viking? There are four main challenges encountered by Cisco: Time-to-Market pressure: Cisco has only one year to launch Viking. Since the development of technology accelerates information exchange and boost customers’ demand, only companies that can catch the market transitions quickly can survive in the rapidly-changing society. Cost pressure: Price competition in hi-tech market is rather fierce. E.g. bandwidth prices were constantly dropping while customers expected continuous improvement in price-performance on their equipment. Immense technical complexity and concern on outsourcing production: For example, Viking contained some 300,000 components, which is 30 times more than in a small business router. So this requires a high ability for the contract manufacturer and a close cooperation between Cisco and the manufacturer. Uncertainty in NPI’s effectiveness and efficiency: This newly introduced mechanism requires substantial global operation collaboration among far-flung teams, which contains considerable uncertainties. 2. In selecting Foxconn and involving it from the start, what were the potential risks and values to Cisco? Risks: Lack of experience in handling technical complexity: Foxconn has never made complex product like Viking before. Excessive dependence on vertical integration: Overly depending on a single manufacturer will run a great risk of whatever financial and operational constraints it has. Meanwhile, Cisco may lose the opportunity to select the most appropriate suppliers. Values: Low cost: Selecting Foxconn can dramatically decrease the cost due to the cheaper labor force and materials from China and other Asian countries, as well as reduction in transition. Efficient supply chain: A single site and its vertical integration create an agile structure, which promotes the efficiency greatly. Long-term incentive to develop the contract manufacturer: If Foxconn performed well in making a high-end router in a low-cost manufacturing environment, Cisco would have more flexibility for  further products. 3. What should Cisco do to ensure successful development and launch of the Viking router? There are three major ways for Cisco to ensure success: Engaging supply chain partners early on to help simplify product design and manufacturing processes. Getting Foxconn closely involved early in development to lower risk. Utilizing technology to execute global, cross-functional teamwork, and to ensure smooth collaboration with Foxconn. Adopting innovative and intensive marketing strategies.

An Approach to Detect and Prevent Sql Injection Attacks in Database Using Web Service

IJCSNS International Journal of Computer Science and Network Security, VOL. 11 No. 1, January 2011 197 An Approach to Detect and Prevent SQL Injection Attacks in Database Using Web Service IndraniBalasundaram 1 Dr. E. Ramaraj2 1 Lecturer, Department of Computer Science, Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai 2 Director of Computer Centre Alagappa University, Karaikudi. Abstract SQL injection is an attack methodology that targets the data residing in a database through the firewall that shields it. The attack takes advantage of poor input validation in code and ebsite administration. SQL Injection Attacks occur when an attacker is able to insert a series of SQL statements in to a ‘query’ by manipulating user input data in to a web-based application, attacker can take advantages of web application programming security flaws and pass unexpected malicious SQL statements through a web application for execution by the backend database. This paper proposes a novel specification-ba sed methodology for the prevention of SQL injection Attacks. The two most important advantages of the new approach against xisting analogous mechanisms are that, first, it prevents all forms of SQL injection attacks; second, Current technique does not allow the user to access database directly in database server. The innovative technique â€Å"Web Service Oriented XPATH Authentication Technique† is to detect and prevent SQLInjection Attacks in database the deployment of this technique is by generating functions of two filtration models that are Active Guard and Service Detector of application scripts additionally allowing seamless integration with currently-deployed systems. General TermsLanguages, Security, Verification, Experimentation. Keywords Database security, world-wide web, web application security, SQL injection attacks, Runtime Monitoring changes to data. The fear of SQL injection attacks has become increasingly frequent and serious. . SQL-Injection Attacks are a cl ass of attacks that many of these systems are highly vulnerable to, and there is no known fool-proof defend against such attacks. Compromise of these web applications represents a serious threat to organizations that have deployed them, and also to users who trust these systems to store confidential data. The Web applications hat are vulnerable to SQL-Injection attacks user inputs the attacker’s embeds commands and gets executed [4]. The attackers directly access the database underlying an application and leak or alter confidential information and execute malicious code [1][2]. In some cases, attackers even use an SQL Injection vulnerability to take control and corrupt the system that hosts the Web application. The increasing number of web applications falling prey to these attacks is alarmingly high [3] Prevention of SQLIA’s is a major challenge. It is difficult to implement and enforce a rigorous defensive coding discipline. Many olutions based on defensive coding ad dress only a subset of the possible attacks. Evaluation of â€Å"â€Å"Web Service Oriented XPATH Authentication Technique† has no code modification as well as automation of detection and prevention of SQL Injection Attacks. Recent U. S. industry regulations such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act [5] pertaining to information security, try to enforce strict security compliance by application vendors. 1. Introduction 1. 1 SAMPLE – APPLICATION Information is the most important business asset in today’s environment and achieving an appropriate level of Information Security. SQL-Injection Attacks (SQLIA’s) re one of the topmost threats for web application security. For example financial fraud, theft confidential data, deface website, sabotage, espionage and cyber terrorism. The evaluation process of security tools for detection and prevention of SQLIA’s. To implement security guidelines inside or outside the database it is recommended to access the sensitive databases should be monitored. It is a hacking technique in which the attacker adds SQL statements through a web application's input fields or hidden parameters to gain access to resources or make Application that contain SQL Injection vulnerability.The example refers to a fairly simple vulnerability that could be prevented using a straightforward coding fix. This example is simply used for illustrative purposes because it is easy to understand and general enough to illustrate many different types of attacks. The code in the example uses the input parameters LoginID, password to dynamically build an SQL query and submit it to a database. For example, if a user submits loginID and password as â€Å"secret,† and â€Å"123,† the application dynamically builds and submits the query: Manuscript received January 5, 2011 Manuscript revised January 20, 2011 198IJCSNS International Journal of Computer Science and Network Security, VOL. 11 No. 1, January 2011 SELECT * from FROM loginID=’secret’ AND pass1=123 user_info WHERE If the loginID and password match the corresponding entry in the database, it will be redirect to user_main. aspx page other wise it will be redirect to error. aspx page. 1. dim loginId, Password as string 2. loginId = Text1. Text 3. password = Text2. Text 3. cn. open() 4. qry=†select * from user_info where LoginID=’† & loginID & â€Å"’ and pass1=† & password & â€Å"† 5. cmd=new sqlcommand(qry,cn) 6. rd=cmd. executereader() 7. if (rd. Read=True) Then 8. Response. redirect(â€Å"user_main. spx†) 9. else 10. Response. redirect(â€Å"error. aspx†) 11. end if 12. cn. close() 13. cmd. dispose() b. Union Query In union-query attacks, Attackers do this by injecting a statement of the form: UNION SELECT because the attackers completely control the second/injected query they can use that query to retrieve information from a specified table. The result of this attack is that th e database returns a dataset that is the union of the results of the original first query and the results of the injected second query. Example: An attacker could inject the text â€Å"’ UNION SELECT pass1 from user_info where LoginID=’secret – -† nto the login field, which produces the following query: SELECT pass1 FROM user_info WHERE loginID=’’ UNION SELECT pass1 from user_info where LoginID=’secret’ — AND pass1=’’ Assuming that there is no login equal to â€Å"†, the original first query returns the null set, whereas the second query returns data from the â€Å"user_info† table. In this case, the database would return column â€Å"pass1† for account â€Å"secret†. The database takes the results of these two queries, unions them, and returns them to the application. In many applications, the effect of this operation is that the value for â€Å"pass1† is displayed along with the account informationFigure 1: Example of . NET code implementation. 1. 2 Techniques of SQLIA’S Most of the attacks are not in isolated they are used together or sequentially, depending on the specific goals of the attacker. a. Tautologies Tautology-based attack is to inject code in one or more conditional statements so that they always evaluate to true. The most common usages of this technique are to bypass authentication pages and extract data. If the attack is successful when the code either displays all of the returned records or performs some action if at least one record is returned. Example: In this example attack, an attacker submits â€Å" ’ or 1=1 – -†The Query for Login mode is: SELECT * FROM user_info WHERE loginID=’’ or 1=1 – AND pass1=’’ The code injected in the conditional (OR 1=1) transforms the entire WHERE clause into a tautology the query evaluates to true for each row in the table and returns a ll of them. In our example, the returned set evaluates to a not null value, which causes the application to conclude that the user authentication was successful. Therefore, the application would invoke method user_main. aspx and to access the application [6] [7] [8]. c. Stored Procedures SQL Injection Attacks of this type try to execute stored procedures present in the database.Today, most database vendors ship databases with a standard set of stored procedures that extend the functionality of the database and allow for interaction with the operating system. Therefore, once an attacker determines which backend database is in use, SQLIAs can be crafted to execute stored procedures provided by that specific database, including procedures that interact with the operating system. It is a common misconception that using stored procedures to write Web applications renders them invulnerable to SQLIAs. Developers are often surprised to find that their stored procedures can be just as vulner able o attacks as their normal applications [18, 24]. Additionally, because stored procedures are often written in special scripting languages, they can contain other types of vulnerabilities, such as buffer overflows, that allow attackers to run arbitrary code on the server or escalate their privileges. CREATE PROCEDURE DBO. UserValid(@LoginID varchar2, @pass1 varchar2 AS EXEC(â€Å"SELECT * FROM user_info WHERE loginID=’† [email  protected]+ â€Å"’ and pass1=’† [email  protected]+ â€Å"’†);GO Example: This example demonstrates how a parameterized stored procedure can be exploited via an SQLIA. In the example, we assume that the query string constructed at ines 5, 6 and 7 of our example has been replaced by a call IJCSNS International Journal of Computer Science and Network Security, VOL. 11 No. 1, January 2011 to the stored procedure defined in Figure 2. The stored procedure returns a true/false value to indicate whether the u ser’s credentials authenticated correctly. To launch an SQLIA, the attacker simply injects â€Å" ’ ; SHUTDOWN; –† into either the LoginID or pass1 fields. This injection causes the stored procedure to generate the following query: SELECT * FROM user_info WHERE loginID=’secret’ AND pass1=’; SHUTDOWN; -At this point, this attack works like a piggy-back attack.The first query is executed normally, and then the second, malicious query is executed, which results in a database shut down. This example shows that stored procedures can be vulnerable to the same range of attacks as traditional application code [6] [11] [12] [10] [13] [14] [15]. d. Extended stored procedures IIS(Internet Information Services) Reset There are several extended stored procedures that can cause permanent damage to a system[19]. Extended stored procedure can be executed by using login form with an injected command as the LoginId LoginId:';execmaster.. xp_xxx;-Passwo rd:[Anything] LoginId:';execmaster.. p_cmdshell'iisreset';-Password:[Anything] select password from user_info where LoginId=†; exec master.. xp_cmdshell ‘iisreset'; –‘ and Password=† This Attack is used to stop the service of the web server of particular Web application. Stored procedures primarily consist of SQL commands, while XPs can provide entirely new functions via their code. An attacker can take advantage of extended stored procedure by entering a suitable command. This is possible if there is no proper input validation. xp_cmdshell is a built-in extended stored procedure that allows the execution of arbitrary command lines. For example: exec master.. p_cmdshell ‘dir' will obtain a directory listing of the current working directory of the SQL Server process. In this example, the attacker may try entering the following input into a search form can be used for the attack. When the query string is parsed and sent to SQL Server, the server wi ll process the following code: SELECT * FROM user_info WHERE input text =† exec master.. xp_cmdshell LoginId /DELETE'–‘ 199 Here, the first single quote entered by the user closes the string and SQL Server executes the next SQL statements in the batch including a command to delete a LoginId to the user_info table in the database. . Alternate Encodings Alternate encodings do not provide any unique way to attack an application they are simply an enabling technique that allows attackers to evade detection and prevention techniques and exploit vulnerabilities that might not otherwise be exploitable. These evasion techniques are often necessary because a common defensive coding practice is to scan for certain known â€Å"bad characters,† such as single quotes and comment operators. To evade this defense, attackers have employed alternate methods of encoding their attack strings (e. g. , using hexadecimal, ASCII, and Unicode character encoding).Common scanning an d detection techniques do not try to evaluate all specially encoded strings, thus allowing these attacks to go undetected. Contributing to the problem is that different layers in an application have different ways of handling alternate encodings. The application may scan for certain types of escape characters that represent alternate encodings in its language domain. Another layer (e. g. , the database) may use different escape characters or even completely different ways of encoding. For example, a database could use the expression char(120) to represent an alternately-encoded character x†, but char(120) has no special meaning in the application language’s context. An effective code-based defense against alternate encodings is difficult to implement in practice because it requires developers to consider of all of the possible encodings that could affect a given query string as it passes through the different application layers. Therefore, attackers have been very succe ssful in using alternate encodings to conceal their attack strings. Example: Because every type of attack could be represented using an alternate encoding, here we simply provide an example of how esoteric an alternativelyencoded attack could appear.In this attack, the following text is injected into the login field: â€Å"secret’; exec(0x73687574646f776e) – – †. The resulting query generated by the application is: SELECT * FROM user_info WHERE loginID=’secret’; exec(char(0x73687574646f776e)) — AND pass1=’’ This example makes use of the char() function and of ASCII hexadecimal encoding. The char() function takes as a parameter an integer or hexadecimal encoding of a character and returns an instance of that character. The stream of numbers in the second part of the injection is the 200 IJCSNS International Journal of Computer Science and Network Security, VOL. 11 No. , January 2011 ASCII hexadecimal encoding of the strin g â€Å"SHUTDOWN. † Therefore, when the query is interpreted by the database, it would result in the execution, by the database, of the SHUTDOWN command. References: [6] f. Deny Database service This attack used in the websites to issue a denial of service by shutting down the SQL Server. A powerful command recognized by SQL Server is SHUTDOWN WITH NOWAIT [19]. This causes the server to shutdown, immediately stopping the Windows service. After this command has been issued, the service must be manually restarted by the administrator. select password from user_info whereLoginId=';shutdown with nowait; –‘ and Password='0' The ‘–‘ character sequence is the ‘single line comment' sequence in Transact – SQL, and the ‘;' character denotes the end of one query and the beginning of another. If he has used the default sa account, or has acquired the required privileges, SQL server will shut down, and will require a restart in order to f unction again. This attack is used to stop the database service of a particular web application. Select * from user_info where LoginId=’1;xp_cmdshell ‘format c:/q /yes ‘; drop database mydb; –AND pass1 = 0 This command is used to format the C: drive used by the ttacker. 2. Related Work There are existing techniques that can be used to detect and prevent input manipulation vulnerabilities. 2. 1 Web Vulnerability Scanning Web vulnerability scanners crawl and scan for web vulnerabilities by using software agents. These tools perform attacks against web applications, usually in a black-box fashion, and detect vulnerabilities by observing the applications’ response to the attacks [18]. However, without exact knowledge about the internal structure of applications, a black-box approach might not have enough test cases to reveal existing vulnerabilities and also have alse positives. 2. 2 Intrusion Detection System (IDS) Valeur and colleagues [17] propose the use of an Intrusion Detection System (IDS) to detect SQLIA. Their IDS system is based on a machine learning technique that is trained using a set of typical application queries. The technique builds models of the typical queries and then monitors the application at runtime to identify queries that do not match the model in that it builds expected query models and then checks dynamically-generated queries for compliance with the model. Their technique, however, like most techniques based on learning, can generate large umber of false positive in the absence of an optimal training set. Su and Wassermann [8] propose a solution to prevent SQLIAs by analyzing the parse tree of the statement, generating custom validation code, and wrapping the vulnerable statement in the validation code. They conducted a study using five real world web applications and applied their SQLCHECK wrapper to each application. They found that their wrapper stopped all of the SQLIAs in their attack set without g enerating any false positives. While their wrapper was effective in preventing SQLIAs with modern attack structures, we hope to shift the focus rom the structure of the attacks and onto removing the SQLIVs. 2. 3 Combined Static and Dynamic Analysis. AMNESIA is a model-based technique that combines static analysis and runtime monitoring [1][7]. In its static phase, AMNESIA uses static analysis to build models of the different types of queries an application can legally generate at each point of access to the database. In its dynamic phase, AMNESIA intercepts all queries before they are sent to the database and checks each query against the statically built models. Queries that violate the model are identified as SQLIA’s and prevented from executing on the database.In their evaluation, the authors have shown that this technique performs well against SQLIA’s. The primary limitation of this technique is that its success is dependent on the accuracy of its static analysis f or building query models. Certain types of code obfuscation or query development techniques could make this step less precise and result in both false positives and false negatives Livshits and Lam [16] use static analysis techniques to detect vulnerabilities in software. The basic approach is to use information flow techniques to detect when tainted input has been used to construct an SQL query. These ueries are then flagged as SQLIA vulnerabilities. The authors demonstrate the viability of their technique by using this approach to find security vulnerabilities in a benchmark suite. The primary limitation of this approach is that it can detect only known patterns of SQLIA’s and, IJCSNS International Journal of Computer Science and Network Security, VOL. 11 No. 1, January 2011 because it uses a conservative analysis and has limited support for untainting operations, can generate a relatively high amount of false positives. Wassermann and Su propose an approach that uses stati c analysis combined with automated reasoning to verify that he SQL queries generated in the application layer cannot contain a tautology [9]. The primary drawback of this technique is that its scope is limited to detecting and preventing tautologies and cannot detect other types of attacks. 3. Proposed Technique This Technique is used to detect and prevent SQLIA’s with runtime monitoring. The solution insights behind the technique are that for each application, when the login page is redirected to our checking page, it was to detect and prevent SQL Injection attacks without stopping legitimate accesses. Moreover, this technique proved to be efficient, imposing only a low overhead on the Web pplications. The contribution of this work is as follows: A new automated technique for preventing SQLIA’s where no code modification required, Webservice which has the functions of db_2_XMLGenrerator and XPATH_ Validator such that it is an XML query language to select specific part s of an XML document. XPATH is simply the ability to traverse nodes from XML and obtain information. It is used for the temporary storage of sensitive data’s from the database, Active Guard model is used to detect and prevent SQL Injection attacks. Service Detector model allow the Authenticated or legitimate user to access the web applications.The SQLIA’s are captured by altered logical flow of the application. Innovative technique (figure:1) monitors dynamically generated queries with Active Guard model and Service Detector model at runtime and check them for compliance. If the Data Comparison violates the model then it represents potential SQLIA’s and prevented from executing on the database. This proposed technique consists of two filtration models to prevent SQLIA’S. 1) Active Guard filtration model 2) Service Detector filtration model. The steps are summarized and then describe them in more detail in following sections. a. Active Guard Filtration Mod elActive Guard Filtration Model in application layer build a Susceptibility detector to detect and prevent the Susceptibility characters or Meta characters to prevent the malicious attacks from accessing the data’s from database. b. Service Detector Filtration Model Service Detector Filtration Model in application layer validates user input from XPATH_Validator where the Sensitive data’s are stored from the Database at second 201 level filtration model. The user input fields compare with the data existed in XPATH_Validator if it is identical then the Authenticated /legitimate user is allowed to proceed. c. Web Service LayerWeb service builds two types of execution process that are DB_2_Xml generator and XPATH_ Validator. DB_2_Xml generator is used to create a separate temporary storage of Xml document from database where the Sensitive data’s are stored in XPATH_ Validator, The user input field from the Service Detector compare with the data existed in XPATH_ Val idator, if the data’s are similar XPATH_ Validator send a flag with the count iterator value = 1 to the Service Detector by signifying the user data is valid. Procedures Executed in Active Guard Function stripQuotes(ByVal strWords) stripQuotes = Replace(strWords, â€Å"‘†, â€Å"†Ã¢â‚¬ ) Return stripQuotesEnd Function Function killChars(ByVal strWords) Dim arr1 As New ArrayList arr1. Add(â€Å"select†) arr1. Add(â€Å"–â€Å") arr1. Add(â€Å"drop†) arr1. Add(â€Å";†) arr1. Add(â€Å"insert†) arr1. Add(â€Å"delete†) arr1. Add(â€Å"xp_†) arr1. Add(â€Å"‘†) Dim i As Integer For i = 0 To arr1. Count – 1 strWords = Replace(strWords, arr1. Item(i), â€Å"†, , , CompareMethod. Text) Next Return strWords End Function IJCSNS International Journal of Computer Science and Network Security, VOL. 11 No. 1, January 2011 202 Figure 2: proposed Architecture Procedures Executed in Service D etector navi. Compile(â€Å"/Main_Tag/Details[LoginId='† & userName & â€Å"‘ and Password=† & Password & â€Å"]†) _Public Sub Db_2_XML() adapt=New SqlDataAdapter(â€Å"select LoginId,Password from user_info†, cn) Dim nodes As XPathNodeIterator = navi. Select(expr) Dim count2 As Integer = nodes. Count. ToString() Return count2 dst = New DataSet(â€Å"Main_Tag†) End Function adapt. Fill(dst, â€Å"Details†) dst. WriteXml(Server. MapPath(â€Å"XML_DATAXML_D ATA. xml†)) End Sub Procedures Executed in Web Service _ Public Function XPath_XML_Validation(ByVal userName As String, ByVal Password As Integer) As Integer Dim xpathdoc As New XPathDocument(Server. MapPath(â€Å"XML_DATAX ML_DATA. xml†)) Dim navi As XPathNavigator = xpathdoc. CreateNavigator() Dim expr As XPathExpression = . Identify hotspot This step performs a simple scanning of the application code to identify hotspots. Each hotspot will be verified with the Active Server to remove the susceptibility character the sample code (figure: 2) states two hotspots with a single query execution. (In . NET based applications, interactions with the database occur through calls to specific methods in the System. Data. Sqlclient namespace, 1 such as Sqlcommand- . ExecuteReader (String)) the hotspot is instrumented with monitor code, which matches dynamically generated queries against query models. If a generated query is matched with Active Guard, then it is onsidered an attack. 3. 1 Comparison of Data at Runtime Monitoring When a Web application fails to properly sanitize the parameters, which are passed to, dynamically created SQL statements (even when using parameterization techniques) it is possible for an attacker to alter the construction of back-end SQL statements. IJCSNS International Journal of Computer Science and Network Security, VOL. 11 No. 1, January 2011 When an attacker is able to modify an SQL statement, the statement will execute with t he same rights as the application user; when using the SQL server to execute commands that interact with the operating system, the rocess will run with the same permissions as the component that executed the command (e. g. , database server, application server, or Web server), which is often highly privileged. Current technique (Figure: 1) append with Active Guard, to validate the user input fields to detect the Meta character and prevent the malicious attacker. Transact-SQL statements will be prohibited directly from user input. For each hotspot, statically build a Susceptibility detector in Active Guard to check any malicious strings or characters append SQL tokens (SQL keywords and operators), delimiters, or string tokens to the legitimate command.Concurrently in Web service the DB_2_Xml Generator generates a XML document from database and stored in X_PATH Validator. Service Detector receive the validated user input from Active Guard and send through the protocol SOAP (Simple Obj ect Access Protocol) to the web service from the web service the user input data compare with XML_Validator if it is identical the XML_Validator send a flag as a iterator count value = 1 to Service Detector through the SOAP protocol then the legitimate/valid user is Authenticated to access the web application, If the data mismatches the XML_Validator send a flag as a count alue = 0 to Service Detector through the SOAP protocol then the illegitimate/invalid user is not Authenticated to access the web application. In figure 3: In the existing technique query validation occur to validate a Authenticated user and the user directly access the database but in the current technique, there is no query validation . From the Active Guard the validated user input fields compare with the Service Detector where the Sensitive data is stored, db_2_XML Generator is used to generate a XML file and initialize to the class XPATH document the instance Navigator is used to search by using cursor in the selected XML document.With in the XPATH validator, Compile is a method which is used to match the element with the existing document. The navigator will be created in the xpathdocument using select method result will be redirected to the XPATH node iterator. The node iterator count value may be 1 or 0, If the flag value result in Service Detector as 1 then the user consider as Legitimate user and allowed to access the web application as the same the flag value result in Service Detector as 0 then the user consider as Malicious user and reject/discard from accessing the web application If the script builds an SQL query by concatenating hard-coded trings together with a string entered by the user, As long as injected SQL code is syntactically correct, tampering cannot be detected programmatically. String concatenation is the primary point of entry for script injection Therefore, 203 we Compare all user input carefully with Service Detector (Second filtration model). If the user input and Sensitive data’s are identical then executes constructed SQL commands in the Application server. Existing techniques directly allows accessing the database in database server after the Query validation. Web Service Oriented XPATH Authentication Technique does not allow directly to ccess database in database server. 4. EVALUATIONS The proposed technique is deployed and tried few trial runs on the web server. Table 1: SQLIA’S Prevention Accuracy SQL Injection Types Unprotected Protected 1. TAUTOLOGIES Not Prevented Prevented 2. PIGGY BACKED QUERIES Not Prevented Prevented 3. STORED PROCEDURE Not Prevented Prevented 4. ALTERNATIVE ENCODING Not Prevented Prevented 5. UNION Not Prevented Prevented Table 2: Execution Time comparison for proposed technique Total Number of Entries in Database Execution Time in Millisecond Existing Proposed Technique Technique 1000 1640000 46000 2000 1420000 93000 3000 1040000 6000 4000 1210000 62000 5000 1670000 78000 6000 1390000 107000 T he above given table 2 illustrate the execution time taken for the proposed technique with the existing technique. 4. 1 SQLIA Prevention Accuracy Both the protected and unprotected web Applications are tested using different types of SQLIA’s; namely use of Tautologies, Union, Piggy-Backed Queries, Inserting additional SQL statements, Second-order SQL injection and various other SQLIA s. Table 1 shows that the proposed technique prevented all types of SQLIA s in all cases. The proposed technique is thus a secure and robust solution to defend against SQLIA’sIJCSNS International Journal of Computer Science and Network Security, VOL. 11 No. 1, January 2011 204 4. 2 Execution Time at Runtime Validation The runtime validation incurs some overhead in terms of execution time at both the Web Service Oriented XPATH Authentication Technique and SQL-Query based Validation Technique. Taken a sample website ETransaction measured the extra computation time at the query validation, th is delay has been amplified in the graph (figure: 4 and figure:5) to distinguish between the Time delays using bar chart shows that the data validation in XML_Validator performs better than query validation.In Query validation(figure:5) the user input is generated as a query in script engine then it gets parsed in to separate tokens then the user input is compared with the statistical generated data if it is malicious generates error reporting. Web Service Oriented XPATH Authentication Technique (figure: 4) states that user input is generated as a query in script engine then it gets parsed in to separate tokens, and send through the protocol SOAP to Susceptibility Detector, then the validated user data is sequentially send to Service Detector through the protocol SOAP then the user input is ompared with the sensitive data, which is temporarily stored in dataset. If it is malicious data, it will be prevented otherwise the legitimate data is allowed to access the Web application. 5. C ONCLUSION SQL Injection Attacks attempts to modify the parameters of a Web-based application in order to alter the SQL statements that are parsed to retrieve data from the database. Any procedure that constructs SQL statements could potentially be vulnerable, as the diverse nature of SQL and the methods available for constructing it provide a wealth of coding options. 1800000 Execution time in Milli Sec 1600000 1400000 1200000 000000 Proposed Technique Existing Technique 800000 600000 400000 200000 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 Total Number of Entries in Database Figure4: Execution Time comparison for proposed technique (data validation in X-path) with existing technique The primary form of SQL injection consists of direct insertion of code into parameters that are concatenated with SQL commands and executed. This technique is used to detect and prevent the SQLI flaw (Susceptibility characters & exploiting SQL commands) in Susceptibility Detector and prevent the Susceptibility att acker Web Service Oriented XPATH Authentication Technique hecks the user input with valid database which is stored separately in XPATH and do not affect database directly then the validated user input field is allowed to access the web application as well as used to improve the performance of the server side validation This proposed technique was able to suitably classify the attacks that performed on the applications without blocking legitimate accesses to the database (i. e. , the technique produced neither false positives nor false negatives). These results show that our technique represents a promising approach to countering SQLIA’s and motivate further work in this irection References [1] William G. J. 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In Proceedings of the 14th Usenix Security Symposium, pages 271–286, Aug. 2005. [17] F. Valeur and D. Mutz and G. Vigna â€Å"A Learning-Based Approach to the Detection of SQL Attacks,† In Proceedings of the Conference on Detection of Intrusions and Malware Vulnerability Assessment (DIMVA), July 20 05. [18] Kals, S. Kirda, E. , Kruegel, C. , and Jovanovic, N. 2006. SecuBat: a web vulnerability scanner. In Proceedings of the 205 15th International Conference on World Wide Web. WWW '06. ACM Press, pp. 247-256. [19] Sql injection – HSC Guides – Web App Security Written by Ethical Hacker sunday, 17 February 2008. http://sqlinjections. blogspot. com/2009/04/sql-injection-hscguides-web-app. html. Prof. E. Ramaraj is presently working as a Technology Advisor, Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai, Tamilnadu, India on lien from Director, computer centre at Alagappa university, Karaikudi. He has 22 years teaching experience and 8 years esearch experience. He has presented research papers in more than 50 national and international conferences and published more than 55 papers in national and international journals. His research areas include Data mining, software engineering, database and network security. B. Indrani received the B. Sc. degree in Computer Science, in 2002; t he M. Sc. degree in Computer Science and Information Technology, in 2004. She had completed M. Phil. in Computer Science. She worked as a Research Assistant in Smart and Secure Environment Lab under IIT, Madras. Her current research interests include Database Security.