A Shadow in the City

â€Å"A Shadow in the City: Confessions of an Undercover Drug Warrior† is a well-known book written by Charles Bowden. As evident by the name, the book deals with drugs, the drug war and an under cover drug warrior.The author of this book has touched a subject which has generally always been considered dark by many; and for that he has put forward the picture of a man who has worked extremely hard nearly all his life to put an end to the war against drugs.The author has gone deep into the mind of a person namely Mr. O’Shay and has put forward many such things which go by ignored by a vast number of people. The reason behind writing this book evidently is to gain awareness and make the people give attention to the problems faced by the people who work on the front end of this problem.These are the people who begin working as people with good hearts and even better intentions, and then they are forced to consign acts of pure evil or just simple lose at their work. Every s ingle evil act wounds the mind and the soul of that person to the extent that nothing is left except pain, wounds, and a guilty feeling that agonizes a man who at his heart may be a good person.Another thing which the author has tried to convey is the fact that anyone involved in the drugs business would either go up or go straight down. He will loose all signs of humanity along with all his morals and values (Bowden, 2005).Summaryâ€Å"Joey O'Shay is not the real name of the narcotics agent in an unnamed city in the center of the country. But Joey O'Shay exists. The nearly three hundred drug busts he has orchestrated over more than two decades are real, too; if the drug war were a declared war, O'Shay would have a Silver Star†.–Charles BowdenThis well-known book which has been written by Charles Bowden presents an image of the life of an undercover drug agent and the effects of his work on the agent’s sanity and sense of right and wrong. In this book the author has presented to his readers the unseen world of the drug wars where wicked crimes occur nearly all the time; where unfaithfulness and dishonesty are the only two things that one can depend on; and where alcohol and drugs are the only thing that people are concerned about.In the book, the author has archived a career-making drug deal for pure Columbian heroin which is being coordinated by Joey O’Shay, a drug agent who has been working under-cover for more than twenty years.The drug agent has made a vast number of drug deal busts without ever being identified by any of his targets; nevertheless, his purpose as an agent and that of America’s war on drugs has grown more difficult to understand with each bust. O’Shay is at a point where he wishes to retire from his job. He wants to walk away from what he has been doing since a very long time—getting close to his enemies and then destroying them, but the way out is not easy.He stands at a point where he does not know himself; he has become an entity trying to understand his own self. In the words of the author, â€Å"he becomes a shadow in the city. He remains unknown to the life moving around him. He answers no questions. He grows, thrives, slides silently down the streets.He acts. He loves. He loses. He kills. He is the law but few remember this fact. Sometimes, he forgets himself† (Bowden, p.5). The problems faced by O’ Shay, him losing his personality, losing interest in his work and doubting his line of work, O’ Shay trying to find ways to get out of this drug business but failing at it and also failing at dying is what this book is basically about.While working for the war on drugs, the police men or let’s say the drug agents face a lot of things which play with their minds. Horrific images, brutal realities, harsh lies are all part of the game. These things make the person doubt his own job just like O’ Shay doubts his by thinking whether this w ar is ever going to end or not.Friendship and loyalty play a major role in this field. In the book, Bobbie is a girl who owns a hotel and has always been helping O’ Shay. She always listens to him and according to the author, â€Å"Bobbie obeys no one, she is proud of this fact. But she always obeys Joey. Even in her dreams† (Bowden, p.7).The author also addresses the problem of cops having to face crimes being committed in front of their eyes in order to remain under cover. At times, these people see so much of these crimes being committed that they become unsympathetic and get used to it just the way O’ Shay does in the book, but deep down inside, as the author has tried to portray, these people are anxious to undo all the things they have ever seen and known throughout their lives and careers. Yet, the author also goes on to remind the reader that such a thing is nearly impossible.These under cover agents go through a number of personal changes in the way the y think and perceive events and things around them. The war against drugs perhaps is a never ending war, as according to the author, the people who the under cover agents put away are immediately replaced by their successors, hence getting to the root of the problem is the main task here, which is not easy to be done.Author’s position on the Drug WarAs evident by the portrayal of O’ Shay as a man who wishes to give up on his job, the author certainly believes that the war against drug is not as easy as some of us may think it is.   It is a tough job which requires nerves. The author believes that the war on drugs might even turn out to be never ending, which is extremely bad.This issue must be dealt with great strategy. Not only should small drug deals be busted, but the bigger much worst deals should be dealt with as well, but for that the under cover agents must be fully prepared and should not weary of their jobs just as O’ Shay and a vast number of other u nder cover agents in real life do so. The war on drugs is a hard task and would take a long period of time to finish if it ever does. But as stated earlier, it requires thinking and strategic planning for the war to end and bringing about an end to drugs.Influence of the book on my personal views of the drug warReading this book has brought about a slight change in the way I had previously perceived the war against drugs. I had thought that perhaps the life of an under cover agent is not all that scary or disturbing, but this text proved me wrong.I thought that maybe if the authorities worked harder the problem would be finished in a very short period of time, but no; the text changed my view over that as well. I now think that the war against drugs might not end but even if it does it would require a very strategic plan.ConclusionIn the light of the above discussion we can hereby culminate that â€Å"A Shadow in the City: Confessions of an Undercover Drug Warrior† is a well- known book written by Charles Bowden. The book deals with drugs, drug deals, under cover agents and the way busting drug deals and dealing with thugs effects the way they think and perceive things and at times they also wish to retire from their jobs.BibliographyBowden, Charles. (2005). A Shadow in the City: Confessions of an Undercover Drug Warrior.   United States of America. Harcourt. ISBN: 0151011834.   

The Silver Linings Playbook Chapter 39

An Episode Seems Inevitable I rise before dawn on Christmas morning and begin my weight-lifting routine. I am nervous about being reunited with Nikki today, so I double-time my exercises in an effort to work off my anxiety. I realize the note Tiffany gave me last night suggests that Nikki might not be interested in meeting me at that special place once dusk rolls around, but I also know that in the movies, just when the main character is about to give up, something surprising happens, which leads to the happy ending. I'm pretty sure that this is the part of my movie when something surprising will happen, so I am trusting in God, who I know will not let me down. If I have faith, if I go to that special place, something beautiful will happen when the sun sets – I can feel it. When I hear Christmas music, I stop lifting and go upstairs. My mother is cooking eggs and bacon. Coffee is brewing. â€Å"Merry Christmas,† Mom says, and gives me a little kiss on the cheek. â€Å"Don't forget your pills.† I take the orange bottles from the cabinet and twist off the lids. As I swallow my last pill, my father comes into the kitchen and throws the newspaper's plastic cover into the waste bucket. When he turns and heads for the family room, my mother says, â€Å"Merry Christmas, Patrick.† â€Å"Merry Christmas,† Dad mumbles. We eat eggs and bacon and toast together as a family, but no one says much. In the living room we sit around the tree. Mom opens her present from Dad. It's a diamond necklace from some department store – tiny diamonds in the shape of a heart on a thin gold chain. I know for a fact that Mom has a similar necklace, because she wears it almost every day. My father probably gave her the same thing last year, but Mom acts really surprised and says, â€Å"Patrick, you shouldn't have,† before she kisses my father on the lips and then hugs him. Even though Dad doesn't hug Mom back, I can tell he is happy, because he sort of smirks. Next, we give Dad his present, which is from both Mom and me. He tears off the wrapping paper and holds up an authentic Eagles jersey, not one with iron-on decals. â€Å"Why doesn't it have any numbers or a name on it?† he asks. â€Å"Since McNabb went down, we thought you'd want to pick a new favorite player,† Mom says. â€Å"So when you do, we'll have the correct number and name sewn onto the jersey.† â€Å"Don't waste your money,† Dad says, putting the jersey back into the box. â€Å"They won't win today without McNabb. They're not going to make the play-offs. I'm done watching that lousy excuse for a football team.† Mom smiles at me because I told her that Dad would say as much, even though the Eagles have been playing pretty well. But Mom and I both know Dad will be watching the Eagles play the Cowboys later today and will pick a new favorite player late next summer – after watching one or two preseason games – at which time he will say something like, â€Å"Jeanie, where's my authentic Eagles jersey? I want to get those numbers sewn on before the season starts.† A few dozen presents are for me, all of which Mom bought and wrapped. I get a new Eagles sweatshirt, new running shoes, workout clothes, dress clothes, a few ties, a brand-new leather jacket, and a special running watch that will help me time my runs and will even calculate the calories I burn while running. And – â€Å"Jesus Christ, Jeanie. How many presents did you buy the kid?† Dad says, but in a way that lets us know he is not really all that mad. After we eat lunch, I shower and put on underarm deodorant, some of my father's cologne, and one of my new running outfits. â€Å"I'm going to try out my new watch,† I tell Mom. â€Å"Caitlin and your brother will be here in an hour,† Mom says. â€Å"So don't be too long.† â€Å"I won't,† I say just before I exit the house. In the garage, I change into the dress clothes I hid there earlier in the week – tweed pants, a black button-down shirt, leather loafers, and the expensive overcoat my father no longer wears. Next, I walk to the Collingswood PATCO stop and catch the 1:45 train to Philadelphia. It begins to rain lightly. I get off at Eighth and Market, walk through the drizzle to City Hall, and catch an Orange Line train headed north. Not many people are on the train, and underground it does not feel like Christmas at all. But the trash-smelling steam that wafts in at every stop when the doors open, the marker graffiti on the orange seat across from me, the half-eaten hamburger lying bunless in the aisle – none of it brings me down, because I am about to be reunited with Nikki. Apart time is finally about to end. I get off at Broad and Olney and climb the steps up into North Philly, where it is raining a little harder. Even though I remember being mugged twice near this subway stop when I was a college student, I do not worry, mostly because it's Christmas and I am a lot stronger than I used to be when I was an undergraduate. On Broad Street I see a few black people, which gets me thinking about Danny and how he always used to talk about going to live with his aunt in North Philly just as soon as he got out of the bad place – especially whenever I mentioned my graduating from La Salle University, which is apparently close to where Danny's aunt lives. I wonder if Danny ever made it out of the bad place, and the thought of him having Christmas in a mental institution makes me really sad because Danny was a good friend to me. I stick my hands into my dad's overcoat pockets as I walk down Olney. With the rain, it is sort of cold. Soon I am seeing the blue-and-yellow flags that line the campus streets, and it makes me feel happy and sad at the same time to be back at La Salle – almost like looking at old pictures of people who have either died or with whom you have lost contact. When I get to the library, I turn left and walk past the tennis courts, where I make a right and stroll past the security building. Beyond the tennis courts is a walled-in hill, with so many trees you'd never believe it was in North Philly if someone had led you here blindfolded and then removed the blindfold and asked, â€Å"Where do you think you are?† At the bottom of the hill is a Japanese teahouse, which is as picturesque as it is out of place in North Philly, although I have never been inside to have tea – because it is a private teahouse – so maybe the inside has a city feel to it; I don't know. Nikki and I used to meet on this hill, behind an old oak tree, and sit on the grass for hours. Surprisingly, not many students hung out in this spot. Maybe they did not know it was there. Maybe no one else thought it was a nice spot. But Nikki loved sitting on the grassy hill and looking down at the Japanese teahouse, feeling as though she were somewhere else in the world – somewhere other than North Philadelphia. And if it weren't for the occasional car horn or gunshot in the distance, I would have believed I was in Japan when I was sitting on that hill, even though I have never been to Japan and don't really know what being in that particular country is like. I sit down under a huge tree – on a dry spot of grass – and wait. Rain clouds swallowed the sun a long time ago, but when I look at my watch, the numbers officially make it dusk. My chest starts to feel tight; I notice that I am shaking and breathing heavily. I hold my hand out to see how bad the shakes are, and my hand is flapping like the wing of a bird, or maybe it is as if I am hot and trying to fan myself with my fingers. I try to make it stop, and when I can't, I shove both hands into my father's overcoat pockets, hoping Nikki will not notice my nervousness when she shows up. It grows darker, and then even darker. Finally, I close my eyes, and after a time, I begin to pray: Dear God: If I did something wrong, please let me know what it was so I can make amends. As I search my memory, I can't think of anything that would make You mad, except for my punching the Giants fan a few months ago, but I already asked for forgiveness regarding that slip, and I thought we had moved on. Please make Nikki show up. When I open my eyes, please let her be there. Maybe there was traffic, or she forgot how to get to La Salle? She always used to get lost in the city. I'm okay with her not showing up exactly at dusk, but please let her know that I am still here waiting and will wait all night if I have to. Please, God. I'll do anything. If You make her show up when I open – I smell a woman's perfume. I recognize the scent. I breathe in deeply to ready myself. I open my eyes. â€Å"I'm fucking sorry, okay?† she says, but it's not Nikki. â€Å"I never thought it would lead to this. So I'm just going to be honest now. My therapist thought you were stuck in a constant state of denial because you were never afforded closure, and I thought I might afford you closure by pretending to be Nikki. So I made up the whole liaison thing in an effort to provide you closure, hoping you would snap out of your funk and would be able to move on with your life once you understood that being reunited with your ex-wife was an impossibility. I wrote all the letters myself. Okay? I never even contacted Nikki. She doesn't even know you're sitting here. Maybe she doesn't even know you are out of the neural health facility. She's not coming, Pat. I'm sorry.† I'm staring up into Tiffany's soaking-wet face – wet hair, runny makeup – and I can hardly believe that it's not Nikki. Her words do not register at first, but when they do, I feel my chest heating up, and an episode seems inevitable. My eyes burn. My face flushes. Suddenly I realize that for the past two months I have been completely delusional, that Nikki is never coming back and apart time is going to last forever. Nikki. Is. Never. Coming. Back. Never. I want to hit Tiffany. I want to pound her face with my knuckles until the bones in my hands crumble and Tiffany is completely unrecognizable, until she no longer has a face from which she can spew lies. â€Å"But everything I said in the letters was true. Nikki did divorce you, and she is remarried, and she even took out a restraining order against you. I got all the information from – â€Å" â€Å"You liar!† I say, realizing that I am now crying again. â€Å"Ronnie told me that I shouldn't trust you. That you were nothing but a – â€Å" â€Å"Please, just listen to me. I know this is a shock. But you need to face reality, Pat. You've been lying to yourself for years! I needed to do something drastic to help you. But I never thought – â€Å" â€Å"Why?† I say, feeling as if I might vomit, feeling as though my hands might find Tiffany's throat at any moment. â€Å"Why did you do this to me?† Tiffany looks into my eyes for what seems like a long time, and then her voice sort of quivers like my mom's does when she is saying something she really truly means. Tiffany says, â€Å"Because, I'm in love with you.† And then I am up and running. At first Tiffany follows me, but – even though I am in my leather loafers and it is raining pretty steadily now – I am able to find the man speed she does not have, running faster than I ever have before, and after taking enough turns and weaving through enough traffic, I look back and Tiffany is gone, so I slow my running a bit and jog aimlessly for what seems like hours. I sweat through the rain, and my father's overcoat becomes very heavy. I can't even begin to think about what this all means. Betrayed by Tiffany. Betrayed by God. Betrayed by my own movie. I'm still crying. I'm still jogging. And then I'm praying again, but not in a nice way. God, I didn't ask for a million dollars. I didn't ask to be famous and powerful. I didn't even ask for Nikki to take me back. I only asked for a meeting. A single face-to-face conversation. All I've done since I left the bad place was try to improve myself – to become exactly what You tell everyone to be: a good person. And here I am running through North Philly on a rainy Christmas Day – all alone. Why did You give us so many stories about miracles? Why did You send Your Son down from heaven? Why did You give us movies if life doesn't ever end well? What kind of fucking God are You? Do You want me to be miserable for the rest of my life? Do You – Something hits my shin hard, and then my palms are sliding across the wet concrete. I feel kicks landing on my back, my legs, my arms. I curl up into a ball, trying to protect myself, but the kicking continues. When it feels as though my kidneys have exploded, I look up to see who is doing this to me, but I only see the bottom of a sneaker just before it strikes my face.

Business integration of offline and online retailing

Business integration of offline and online retailing Offline and online retailing will soon become completely integrated into one. This will mean that one will not be able to do without the other. In the fast-moving world, Alibaba Group has been able to emerge as the biggest e-commerce company in the world. They made the shift to data company due to the integration of online and offline retailing. Data is a powerful tool used to help businesses understand their consumer preferences and to alter their products to make better ones while improving the customers’ experience. This is what the Alibaba Group strives on. Uni-Marketing During the Cannes Lions Innovation festival, Alibaba unveiled some marketing tools that allowed the use of real-time data to target Chinese customers and their preferences. One that I fond interesting was Uni Marketing. It analyses real-time data from the Alibaba Group ecosystem to be able to provide brands with accurate insight into the customers’ preferences and behaviors. This is helpful to the b rands to be able to segment the customers while creating ample room for communication among them and their customers. It is able to target more clearly than other similar tools because it uses the whole Alibaba’s ecosystem data to be able to provide references of customers all across China. Publicis Groupe has been the first to adopt this strategy, which it targets to use and understand its luxury customers better. Uni Marketing is based on four strategies. The first one is exhausting the ‘Brand Databank’, which is an online dashboard providing data from customers and suggesting actionable steps. The second is Uni Strategy with help in efficiently categorizing its customers; learn its behaviors, which eventually provides a complete picture of how different customers behave. The third is Uni Communication. It is an ad-serving tool, which gathers information from all leading Chinese media and feeds it to the Databank. This way allowing agencies to improve market capabilities and support brands. The fourth is the Uni Operation, which finally enables brands to personalize and create content for customers building relationships effectively across the board. Potential Business Value of Using Data It has been predicted that by the year 2020, the Chinese cloud market could reach $20billion. Consider that two years ago it was only $1.5billion (Clark, 2018). Alibaba is tapping into the offline market in China and eventually worldwide by integrating its immense online retail with the offline one. This means tapping into new ventures in the group. It has consistently shown improvement in its revenues. Its computer networks and massive data it contains gives it advantages in the technological innovations. It still continues to come up with technological advances that co-integrate the customers to the sellers. This friendly environment creates trust which turns into increased value on the business side of things of the group. Alibaba is the most diverse and complex Internet-based company in the world. Through personalizing their data and making it more secure, more customers will prefer a friendly interface while shopping which is a source of value addition to the Alibaba Group. The Relationship Between the Use of Data and the Analytic Value Escalator Gartner’s Analytic Value Escalator is a framework used in business to integrate platforms, people and processes to align them to give or be able to strategically approach business in a smooth approach. The company has been able to do this through its immense collection of data helping them learn and understand the preferences of their customers. Through online and offline integration, the company has been able to effectively use the framework. This clearly indicates that Alibaba fits in the Analytic Value Escalator and keeps using it to provide better services to its customers.

Cross-cultural management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Cross-cultural management - Assignment Example Others have also become economically successful after venturing into business activities. Most of the earlier Lebanese immigrants who came to Australia were Christians though this has changed in recent years with more Muslims immigrating to the country (Mansour, 2010). According to reports, the 2006 Australian census revealed that the number of Lebanese Australians living in the country stood at 125, 564 people. Out of this number, 52.5% of the population were comprised of males whereas the remaining 47.5% were comprised of females. These people are mostly found in the states of Victoria (20%) or New South Wales (75%) (Chapman, 2007). Results, Findings and Discussion There are various concepts that may help in understanding the relationships that exist within the Lebanese groups living within Australia. A few Lebanese Australians stick to the concepts of individualism which imply that they either act on their own or decide on their choices alone (Jamal & Chandab, 2005). According to previous reports, these Lebanese Australians also interact with other members of their community as though they were individuals (Mansour, 2010). On the other hand, the majority of the Lebanese Australians follow the notions of collectivism. They usually stand by the values and principles upheld by the groups they interact with and leave their individual values out of these groups (Aslan, 2009). The concepts of collectivism that are followed by most Lebanese immigrants have many disadvantages for this CALD (Culturally and linguistically diverse) community (Hage, 2002). These concepts do not allow a Lebanese individual to pursue his own desires and they also destroy the group’s ability of making proper ethical judgments. The issues of collectivism among the Lebanese have also been discouraged since they encourage vices like racism among their workers who may be working in culturally diverse organizations. This is mainly because they do not mix with people from other cultures a s they work (Mansour, 2010). The Lebanese Australians, following the concepts of collectivism, think as groups and do not have time to socialize and appreciate the diverse values and beliefs that other cultures have (Hage, 2002). This tendency may eventually reduce the productivity and efficiency of their workers thereby reducing a company’s profitability (Jamal & Chandab, 2005). In Australia, there are many linguistically and culturally diverse communities that work within their organizations. These communities have different values, attitudes and beliefs, which therefore implies that they have many differences among them (Mansour, 2010). The formation of groups by the Lebanese Australians prevents them from socializing with other communities and the lack of communication eventually tends to create animosities between these workers. This is mainly because none of them seems to understand or appreciate the differences that exist in their different cultures or backgrounds (Hag e, 2002). According to previous studies, most of the current crop of Lebanese Australians are very well educated and have professional jobs (Jamal and Chandab, 2005). However, there are other native communities that live within Australia and are not as well educated as they are. In order for the

History of Climatology of Tornadoes in the St. Louis Metropolitan Area Essay

History of Climatology of Tornadoes in the St. Louis Metropolitan Area - Essay Example Drawing evidence from the studies’ statistics, the loss caused by F4 tornado despite having highest magnitude was one death and nil value of property damage. Additionally, most of the tornadoes experienced in St. Louis Metropolitan region usually take place in the afternoon hours where the damage increases as the time of the day shifts towards in the evening (National Weather Service, 2012). For illustration, the highest PRPDAM values reported entailed those occurring from 1600hrs to 2200hrs. Mostly, these encompass 50,000,000 (1815hrs), 5000000 (2035), 2500000 (1645), 30,000,000 (1859hrs) and 25,000,000 (2110hrs) except for few cases occurring towards the noon. Hence, tornadoes experienced in this region have similar characteristic trends. This is because its climatic conditions are the same despite being in the tornado’s alley (Forbes, 2011). In addition, studies show that Illinois’ most places experience numerous tornadoes during the onset days of the month (f rom 1St to around 12Th), which is contrary to Missouri’s regions. Missouri’s tornado occurrences redistribute themselves all through the month (St. Louis County Missouri, 2010). Forbes, Greg. â€Å"Tornadoes in St. Louis, Mo. (1950-2011)†. The Weather Channel, LLC weather.com. 2012. http://www.weather.com/outlook/weather-news/severe- weather/articles/tornadoes-by-month-saint-louis_2010-03-25. Stoos, James. â€Å"St. Louis Tornado Highlights Aprils Wild Weather; Spring Tornado Facts† Yahoo! Inc. Accessed 8 November 2012.

DISCUSS THE IMPORTANCE OF USING GIS IN DISASTER MANAGEMENT AND THE Essay

DISCUSS THE IMPORTANCE OF USING GIS IN DISASTER MANAGEMENT AND THE HIGHLIGHT THE PROBLEMS OF MAPS FOR DISASTER MANAGEMENT - Essay Example While natural disasters are those that result due to natural calamities and human beings have lesser degree of control over, for example, earthquakes and hurricanes. Disasters can disrupt the whole routine and activities of the affected country, nation or city. It can result in serious accidents, mishaps and calamity. Therefore, it is essential that the disasters are processed, managed and useful steps be taken to ensure that the routine of the affected place can get back to normal (Mishra, pp. 172-173, 2002). Geography Information System, also known as GIS, is one of the effective methods of disaster management. This ensures that least of the wastages happen once after the disaster have taken place, or it completely tries to curb the foreseen disasters from happening altogether. GIS, is a method of looking into the geography, topography, of the affected place, or the vulnerable places to disaster so that effective methods of preserving the areas could be brought up to handle the sit uation in the best possible manners. GIS allows the Disaster Management Departments to closely look into the issues, recognize, examine and make trends of the issues that are occurring, through high technology softwares that helps the investigators to come up with the best possible and accurate results.

Review on the Principles of Economics Research Paper

Review on the Principles of Economics - Research Paper Example Three discuss how the economy works as a whole; trade, interaction of households and firms in market economies, government intervention in the economy. The last three discuss how people interact; nation’s standard of living depends on its capacity to produce goods and services, prices rise when government increases the money supply and the economy faces a short-run tradeoff between inflation and unemployment. This topic gained my attention as I realized that economics is all around us and plays a vital role in our daily life activities. It not only exists in situations like visiting the bank to deposit money or taking out cash from an ATM machine but also conditions like buying a small gift from our savings or watching the soccer match and not doing homework. My favorite topic was the concept of Opportunity Cost which is basically with reference to what is seen in opposition to what is unseen. This concept has a lot of depth attached to it. We are all aware of the direct costs of life. We experience them whenever we take out our wallet to pay for something like when we dine out and pay the bill, buy a drink, pay for the bus ticket, pay for our tuition etc. However, we tend to ignore the unseen or the hidden costs that we have to pay for and the choices that we make regarding them. For example if a person buys a car for $10,000 there are many other things he could’ve done with that much amount of money. He could’ve invested it, or spent on travelling etc. But its on him to make the decision and choice as to what he has to give up in order to achieve something. So basically opportunity cost is spending our capital, time and energy on one thing in substitute of another thing. In order to decide this, our decision making skills and preferences come into account. I have learnt that every choice or decision that I make always has an opportunity cost attached to it and it is not necessary that the cost is easily seen. The cost can be unseen as wel l. Like I had saved $100 and could not decide as to where should I spend them. It could be spent either on partying with my friends, or shopping for me or buying books to read. I can even save them up instead of using them all. Furthermore this concept taught me how to measure the benefits of every activity that I decide to do. Like when I have a couple of hours relaxing time I have to make choices as to what should I do? Whether I should read, sleep, watch TV, listen to music or talk with the family. Then I calculate the advantages that I obtain from each activity. This process exercises my brain and helps me decide as to what I should carry out. I learned that the option which brings the most overall benefits to my life is the finest choice and the accurate thing to do. Most importantly, by studying this concept I have learned to value time and I have realized its significance. In every situation I find myself calculating and thinking as to what can be the best thing I should be d oing right now? Am I spending time in the right place? By developing this mindset I have learned to take improved decisions that facilitate me in making my life and lifestyle healthy. I intend to study and become acquainted with the economic concepts that work at macro level. I want to improve my knowledge and understanding about the global affairs and how economic activities dominate and regulate all the

Assessment of the Moral and Legal Responsibilities and Rights of Case Essay

Assessment of the Moral and Legal Responsibilities and Rights of Case Parties - Essay Example First we determine the moral and legal responsibilities of Rick Reynolds. In essence he acted in bad faith, acting for his own benefit and gain, and to the detriment of the interests of Mr. McLean. That there was an agreement between the two is verified in the beginning of the case. Rick acted in bad faith in the construction of the facilities, cutting corners and under the table deals to enrich himself, with the end result being that the facilities were subpar, and caused harm to a resident, when faulty wiring caused a fire that in turn caused the injury to the resident. Rick likewise acted in bad faith in procuring medical equipment and supplies, enriching himself by selling some of the procured goods and keeping the proceeds. Morally he is culpable for fraud and deceit. Legally he is liable for a host of crimes. Under the law, Rick can be considered as either a substituted agent or a sub-agent, and as such, there are legal precepts that can hold Rick accountable for his crimes as if he were the primary agent or principal, acting alone. He can thus be held liable for misrepresenting himself as a manager of the company, and for intentionally duping the pharmacies into providing the goods to the company, where some of the goods ended up being sold by Rick for his own financial gain. Where there is a contractual agreement between Mr. McLean and Rick, moreover, Rick is answerable for his acts to Mr. McLean, who under the law can sue Rick for his fraudulent activities, under the legal precepts concerning the legal rights of the principal towards his substituted agent. In particular, there was fraud in the way Rick went about contacting the different parties involved in building the facility, and for such fraud Rick can be sued by Mr. McLean (The Lectric Law Library, 2012; PreserveArticles.com, 2011). Mr. McLean himself can be said to be morally and legally liable for some of the acts of Rick, such as those that pertain to the acquisition of supplies. While it may be true that Mr. McLean may not have authorized the procurement of the goods on credit from the pharmacies, there are legal precepts that may hold Mr. McLean accountable for the acts of Rick. In other words, though there may have been fraud in the way Rick procured the supplies, Mr. McLean may be sued by the pharmacies if the former does not honor the supply contracts and reneges on the payment for the goods bought on credit. For one, a case may be made for the way Rick's actions procuring the supplies may be construed as constituting part of his job responsibilities, and part of the roles that he was authorized to play as an agent of Mr. McLean. There are clear legal principles that may prevent Mr. McLean from running away from the legal consequences of the actions of Rick, such as those that pertain to the company paying for the goods that Rick bought on credit and with intent to commit fraud. Clearly the law in some instances stipulate that even when an agent commits acts that ar e criminal, and without the express consent of the principal, the principal, in this case Mr. McLean. The pharmacies may argue that there would have been no way for them to discern that Rick was acting on his own behalf rather than on behalf of Mr. McLean, given that Rick, to them, seemed to have the

The Soul and its Importance to Theology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Soul and its Importance to Theology - Essay Example We nourish our bodies' thorough proper diet and our minds through education and learning, but how do we nourish our souls As a society, we have been desensitized to the virtue of a human beings' soul. This is evident in the wide use of the term "soul-mate" and the over use of the word in the songs we hear on the radio. Most of us, rarely describe how we behave or the manner in which we live our lives, as nourishing our souls. Most of us, cannot even give a definition or description of a soul if asked. Throughout history, the definition, composition and purpose of the human soul have been heavily debated and are often referred to as the Mind/Body argument. In some theologies, it is believed that if the soul only exists in the mind and if the soul does in fact, exist in the mind then it too dies when the brain ceases to function at death. In other theologies, the soul is described as an immaterial part of our physical beings and is without physical bounds. It does not die when our physical bodies die, but transcends from our bodies at death. The objections raised in this theory point to the fact that if the soul is immaterial, that is to say that it is not composed of matter, how then, is it said to exist In his The Summa Theologica, Saint Thomas Aquinas attempted to answer this objection and other questions raised regarding the existence of the human soul. In part one of The Summa Theologica the section titled "The Treatise of Man" the objection to the composition of a soul is argued that "nothing gives what it is not; for instance what is not hot does not give heat" (Aquinas section 75 article 1 The Summa Theologica). This goes to say that if the soul is the force that moves the body, and then the soul is the body. Aquinas countered the objection to say that the soul is not the body, but an act of the body. Aquinas goes on to state that the body and soul work in conjunction to create one entity. The body, working through the material by way of its' physical senses, converts the material to the immaterial. For instance, by sight a human being attains knowledge through reading. Through hearing, a human being attains knowledge by listening. By reading words on paper and listening to words through conversation and lecture the mind converts the material to the immaterial. This cognitive soul is dependant upon sensory experiences in order to form mental images or what is referred to in ancient texts as phantasms. Therefore, Aquinas argued, the body and soul are one. This theology by Aquinas raised the next objection: If the body and soul is indeed one unit, what happens to the soul when the body dies It is often noted that Saint Thomas Aquinas found the basis for his theology through the study of Aristotle's philosophies. The division from Aristotelian for Aquinas' occurs when the Saint answers the questions as to what becomes of the soul when the physical human body no longer exists. Aquinas theorized that the soul and the body are separated at death. The continued survival of the immaterial soul after the death of the material body is based on God's will. Steeped in his belief that the body and soul exist as one unit, Aquinas states ""...it is better for the soul to be united to the body than not to be united to it, since it is

Chinese Business Essay Example for Free

Chinese Business Essay Introduction It is often argued that when business persons of different cultures negotiate commercial deals, there is bound to be a culture clash. I disagree with this view. It is true that cultural differences influence business negotiations but with the appropriate approach to deal with the differences, culture clash is to be least expected in any business negotiations, especially with the Chinese. As Sun Tzu would advised in his book The Art of War â€Å"Know your enemy and know yourself and you will win all battles† (Sun Tzu 1913). According to Newstrom and Davis (2002) there are many striking differences across countries, just as there are some surprising similarities. Clearly, residents of each country have their own preferences for clothes, food, recreation, and housing. In his research about national cultures of sixty countries, Hofstede (1993) revealed that cultures differ in five key factors namely, individualism/collectivism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity/femininity, and time orientation. Among these factors, the Chinese have the culture that value clarity and have the kind of orientation that accent values such as necessity of preparing for the future, the value of thrift and savings, and the merits of persistence. Literatures on different cultures also classify China as high-context culture which tends to emphasize personal relations, place value on trust, focus on non-verbal cues, and accent the need to attend to social needs before business matters (Newstrom and Davis 2002). Culture is very important in certain country such as China. Huntinghon (2000) as cited by Fellner (2008) defined culture as the values, attitudes, beliefs, and underlying assumptions prevalent among people in a society. He stressed that culture is dynamic, interactive, and synergistic, and intermixes with all the elements of the society such as business and economic development (Huntinghon 2000; Fellner 2008). Huiping (2009) stated in her article entitled Understanding Chinese culture leads to business success with China’s growing significance as an economic superpower  understanding the Chinese psyche becomes very helpful and useful in business negotiations management of supplier relations and many other business situations. As emphasized by Uthaisangchai (n. d. ), Chinese history and culture has impact on the way they do business and each of the many elements of the Chinese culture has a role to play in today Chinese business world. In Hofstede’s (1980) theory of individualism-collectivism as cited by Jones (2009), the individualism and collectivism dimensions differs on the degree a culture is committed to an in-group such as extended family, company or village. In the individualistic society, people are less attached to an in-group (that is, people are more self-centered and in pursuit of their own self-interests). Meanwhile in the collectivist society, people are more attached to an in-group, that is the interests of the in-group come first. Jones (2009) also noted from Hofstede and Bond (1988) that such value of collectivism likely stems from a deep rooted, ingrained culture based on the traditional philosophy of Confucianism. Uthaisangchai (n.d,) gave emphasis of the teachings of Confucius in the development of the culture of Chinese. In the article entitled Connecting Confucianism, Communism and the Chinese Culture of Commerce, Keller and Kronstedt (2005) explained that Confucianism is a very important component of the Chinese culture. â€Å"In a Confucian society, everyone has a role to play, and the key relationship is built around the family†¦ Chinese cultures value family connections and protecting relationships (saving face). Developing ‘family-like’ relationships takes time and patience, not merely a contractual deal based solely on money. If one has to do business in a Chinese culture, it is critical to understand and respect Confucian values† (Keller and Kronstedt 2005). Keller and Kronstedt (2005) further emphasized the significance of connections-Guanxi. In Confusian-based society like China, guanxi or proper connections are more crucial than price, product, place, etc. According to Jones (2009), China is known for being loyal to their in-group’ and favoring them in business related decision. As given emphasis by Li (2008) as cited by Jones (2009), understanding the guanxi is critical for conducting business in China and it involves cultivating trust, credibility and reciprocity. One way to understand cultural differences is through the concepts of high-context culture and low-context culture. The notion of ‘context’ can be understood as the social environment in which a business transaction takes place. Edward T. Hall’s theory of high- and low-context culture explains the powerful effect culture has on communication. The countries classified as high-context cultures include China, Korea, Japan, Middle East, Africa, Italy and South America in which people are characterized as collectivists, relational, contemplative and intuitive. This implies that the people in these societies put emphasis on good relationship between members of the society. In relation to business transactions, the development of trust is a very important step. Hall (1976) argued that the people in high-context cultures prefer harmony in group and agreement for the achievement of individual members; also individuals make decisions based on their feelings or intuition. The theory further emphasized that individuals focus on non-verbal cues, that is, words are not so significant in communication as compared to context; rather, more is given emphasis on context which include facial expression, tone of voice of the speaker, posture, gestures, and family history and status of the individual. The communication in the high-context culture is depicted as formal and indirect, which suggests that flowery humility, flowery language, and apologies that are often too elaborated are common. Also, communicators in this type of culture do not depend on language precision and legal documents. Meanwhile, the countries classified as having low-context culture include Germany, North America, Finland, Canada, Norway, Denmark, and Sweden are linear, logical, action-oriented, and individualistic. Individuals in the low-context countries value facts, logic and they prefer directness. Finding solutions to problems involves identifying and enumerating all the facts and evaluating each of the options. Also, each decision is based on facts; more often each discussion ends with an action. Communicators in this type of culture are anticipated to be concise, straightforward, and efficient in conveying the action that is expected. According to Hall (1976), communicators have to be precise in the words used in communicating to be absolutely understood. All negotiations are always concluded with definite contracts. Summing up the differences, on the one hand, high-context cultures tend to emphasize personal relations, place high value on trust, focus on nonverbal cues, and accent the need to attend to social needs before business matters. On the other hand, low-context cultures tend to interpret cues more literally. Individuals tend to rely on written rules and legal documents, conduct business first, and value expertise and performance. With these classifications of cultures, it is apparent that when Americans negotiate with Chinese, a failure in negotiation if not a culture is more likely if the former group is not familiar with the latter. As noted by Minor and Lamberton (2010) from an interview with intercultural communication expert ray Ruiz: â€Å"Countries in Latin American and Asia value the building of relationships, but each in their own unique way. Before traveling to another country, I would recommend reading appropriate materials and speaking with foreign nationals residing in the U. S. in regards to the customs and business practices in their country of origin. I would also suggest that, once in a foreign country, it is important to observe your host’s mannerisms and responses and respectfully respond in a like manner. Be well versed on acceptable and unacceptable behaviors. For example, when in Asia, do compliment and share your impressions of their country. Do not decline any food or drink because this is viewed as an insult. In Latin America, do begin all meetings with friendly conversation regarding family or other social topics. Do not begin a meeting delving directly into the business objective. The lesson many American business people fail to learn is that â€Å"it is all in the relationships† (Minor Lamberton 2010). In his article Doing Business In and With China: The risks are great, but so are the rewards, Atkinson (2004) noted from Stephen Nelson, the partner and co-head of the China practice group for the Hong Kong-based law firm Baker McKenzie, that when acquiring businesses in China, it is important to realize that there are perceived cultural differences. One of the important lessons in making business in China is that foreigners simply cannot enter a venture in China with only a cursory understanding of its terms and conditions. Atkinson (2004) cited an example of a US company that recently decided to make an investment in China by setting up a joint company through its Hong Kong manufacturing agent. The US company sent over $3 million worth of equipment, then came to us with documentation written in Chinese and asked ‘Can you look at this and tell us whether we really own 50 percent of this company? ’ Akgunes et al (2012) identified several points to consider for successful negotiations. According to Zhao (2000) as cited by Akgunes et al (2012), negotiations become successful when the participating parties are cooperative with one another; this can be done by applying the cooperative Confucian tactics. Also, for a western company like a US company, such company has to show that they have government support which is an indication that they are reliable, stable and credible to do business with. According to Fang (2006) as noted by Akgunes (2012), trust will lead to much better performance and being patient will be more beneficial to you than any other attribute you might possess. Bredin (1998) as cited by Akgunes (2012) also suggested that a foreign business negotiator should not give in to pressure from superiors to hurry up and complete the deal because can cause problems because the Chinese are not greatly concerned with the time dimension. There are companies that also failed to successfully negotiate business deals with the Chinese. According to Fang (2006) as cited by Akgunes (2012), the most common reason for failure is that the Chinese firm lacks the funds to go through with a deal. Also, sending a low-ranking employee to make the negotiation will be viewed as very impolite and the Chinese may find it insulting and insincere, in this case failure is also almost certain. Moreover, it is important to note from Sebenius (2002) as cited by Akgunes (2012) that Chinese law says that one cannot leave a contract unless both sides approve dissolution. Fang (2006) as cited by Akgunes et al (2012) also emphasized that Failure to say no to a Chinese negotiator who is using a Sun Tzu-like strategy could be detrimental to the deal, but on the other hand, saying â€Å"no† to a Confucian gentleman could cause a loss of face. This also will be very harmful, if not fatal, to a successful deal. The Chinese have regional areas just like the United States and there are very different cultures, traditions and sometimes languages in these regions. Not acknowledging these regions can cause you to have limited success in one area and a complete failure in another (Fang 2006; Akgunes 2012). Conclusion In conclusion, like what Sun Tzu have said in his book The Art of War â€Å"Know your enemy and know yourself and you will win all battles† (Sun Tzu 1913). This means that for companies to be successful in making business deals, having the capital is not enough to close a business deal. Knowledge and understanding of the culture of the prospect business partner is very important. Other than this, Sebenius (2002) emphasized that culturl allegiances are often not as simple as they appear. Designing the right strategy and tactics in reaching the right people, with the right arguments, will result to a sustainable deal. References Fellner, Amira 2008, ‘Role of Culture in Economic Development: Case Study of China and Latin America’, Graduate School Theses, University of South Florisa Schoalr Commons, viewed from http://scholarcommons. usf. edu/cgi/viewcontent. cgi? article=1235context=etd Hall, Edward 1976, Beyond Culture. Hofstede, Geert 1993, ‘Cultural Constraints in Management Theories’, Academy of Management Executive, pp. 81-94. Jones, Gwen 2009, ‘Differences in the Perceptions of Unethical Workplace Behaviors among Chinese and American Business Professionals, Competition Forum, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 473-480. Keller, G. Kronstedt C. 2005, ‘Connecting Confucianism, Communicsm, and the Chinese Culture of Commerce’. Journal of Language for International Business, vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 60-75. Minor, Leslie Lamberton, Lowell 2010, ‘High-Context Low-Context Cultures’, viewed from http://www.cascadebusnews. com/business-tips/networking/154-high-context-a-low-context-cultures. Newstrom, JW. Davis, K. 2002, Organizational Behavior: Human Behavior at Work, McGraw-Hill Sun Tzu 1913, The Art of War. Uthaisangchai, Prasong (n. d. ), ‘The Importance of Understanding Chinese Culture’, viewed form http://www. bangkokbank. com/download/Week%2012%20Culture%20intro. pdf Huiping, Iler 2009, ‘Understanding Chinese Culture Leads to Business Success, Canadian HR Report, vol. 22, no. 12, pp. 18.

Capital Shape Alphabet Encoding Based Text Steganography

Capital Shape Alphabet Encoding Based Text Steganography A Capital Shape Alphabet Encoding (CASE) Based Text Steganography Approach Abstract Steganography is the art and science of writing hidden messages in such a way that no one, apart from the sender and intended recipient, suspects the existence of the message. Steganography is a form of security through obscurity. Steganography algorithms uses cover media such as text, image, audio and video etc. to hide the data. User relies on change in the structure of these mediums and features of the target medium in such a manner as is not identifiable by human. In this paper we also present and evaluate my contribution to design the new approach for text Steganography and named it as CASE (Capital Alphabet Shape Encoding) approach. This approach is a combination of random character sequence and feature coding method. Keywords- Steganography; features; encoding; decoding; cover text. Steganography means conceal communication. It is derived from a work by Johannes Trithemus (1462-1516) titled Steganographia. The word Steganography comes from Greek and meaning of steganography is concealed writing. Steganography is used to transmit a message through some innocuous carrier i.e. text, image, audio or video over a communication channel in order to effectively conceal the existence of the message. Text steganography is a process to hide the secret information within text (i.e. character based) messages. Text steganography is the most difficult kind of steganography [1]. Text steganography is considered as difficult one is due to the lack of redundant information in a text file, while there is a lot of redundancy in a picture or a sound file, which can be used in steganography [1] [2]. For text steganography there are many methods available [3] [4]. Some method change format of text while some method change actual word to hide secret data. White space is used to hide secret data, in open space methods [5], while in syntactic method punctuations are used to hide secret data [5]. In acronyms method [2] and semantic method [4], actual word or phrase replacement is used to hide secret data. By using characteristics of that particular language data is hidden in Persian/Arabic Text steganography [4] and Hindi Text steganography [6]. If we use open space methods [6] or feature coding method [4] in text steganography, and if somehow format of file is changed then it results in data loss. In acronyms and semantic method, meaning of information can be changed because these methods use actual word replacement or punctuation to hide secret data. So a method is needed by which secret data survive after changing format of file and meaning of text will not changed. So considering some problems like format changing, changing meaning of secret data, etc. in existing text steganography methods; we have proposed new CASE approach for text steganography. We have used text features of English letters to hide secret data. Letters of English alphabet based on kind of round shape or curve, vertical and horizontal line are grouped in first approach. Like some letters in English language contains kind of close round shape or curve. Like some letters in English contains only one straight vertical line. In second approach, we are grouping numbers and symbols. In CASE categorization, based on different text features of English letters we categorize English letters into eight groups. We have studied the implementation some existing methods mentioned in paper [4] and we have compared these methods with proposed CASE approach. In the proposed CASE approach randomness is used but it aids to provide more security to secret information. For various existing method s and proposed CASE approach we have measured number of bytes hide, time overhead and memory overhead. Our results shows that, very less time overhead and memory overhead is required to implement proposed CASE approach compared to existing methods, and also we can hide more number of bytes using proposed approach. Required cover text size is also very small in proposed approach. In this approach, we introduce new encoding technique to hide the secret message in cover text. We will call this technique Capital Alphabet Shape Encoding (CASE). In this method every character of secrete message is encoded in the form of 8-bit binary number after that the equivalent ASCII character is replace the original character. In this the left most 0th bit will represent the alphabet group or digit/symbols group (0 value for alphabet set and 1 value for digit or symbols). In case of alphabet we made eight groups of English letters based on features of letters. While making group we consider only Capital letters of English alphabet. The left most 1st, 2nd, 3rd bit of 8 bit number represents the group number. The next 4th bit will represent the sentence case of letter. If it is 1, than it represents upper case letter and if its 0 than letter will be lower case letter. Table I, II, III shows eight bit encoding format of alphabets, digits and symbols. In this approach all alphabets are divided into groups and every alphabet has its position in corresponding group. This position will represent the last three bit of 8-bit number. By using this approach, we can hide all eight bits of one letter of secret message into one letter of cover text at a time. Table1. 8-Bit encoding format in case of alphabet 0th bit 1st bit 2nd bit 3rd bit 4th bit 5th bit 6th bit 7th bit Alphabet (0) Group no. Case Group position in alphabet Group. Table2. 8-Bit encoding format in case of digit 0th bit 1st bit 2nd bit 3rd bit 4th bit 5th bit 6th bit 7th bit digit (1) Group Position in Digit Group Always 0 Always 0 Always 0 Table3. 8-Bit encoding format in case of symbols 0th bit 1st bit 2nd bit 3rd bit 4th bit 5th bit 6th bit 7th bit Symbol (1) Always 0 Always 0 Always 0 Group Position in Symbol Group. As shown in Table1, in first group, we include neither those letters which have round shape or any curve and nor vertical and horizontal straight line. We can use any letter from this group to hide 000 bit. Candidates for this group are V, W, X, Y. In second group, we include those letters which have one or two vertical straight line. We can use any letter from this group to hide 001 bit. Candidates for this group are K, M and N. In the third group, we include those letters which have only one or more horizontal straight line. We can use any letter from this group to hide 010 bit. Candidates for this group are A and Z. In forth group, we include those letters which have both one and more than one straight vertical and horizontal line. We can use any letter from this group to hide 011 bit. Candidates for this group are E, F, H, I, L and T. In fifth group, we include those group, we include those letters which have only curve or round shape. We can use any letter from this group to hide 100bit. Candidates for this group are C, O, Q, S and U. In sixth group, we include those letters which have both curve and straight vertical line. We can use any letter from this group to hide 101bit. Candidates for this group are B, D, P and R. In seventh group, we include those letters which have curve and straight horizontal line. We can use any letter from this group to hide 110 bit. Candidate for this group is G. In last but not the least eighth group, we include those letters which have curve, and both straight vertical and horizontal line. We can use any letter from this group to hide 111 bit. Candidate for this group is J. For example if the secret letter is H then by using CASE approach it will be encoded as 00111010 and its ASCII equivalent is 58 which is given by :. After encoding, now letter : will be mixed up with the cover text. And this letter will hides all the 8 bits of original letter H into cover text. 2.1. Hiding the Message In the CASE text stenography approach, first we encode all the characters of the secret message with new proposed encoding technique which is based on the shape of the alphabet characters. Second we hide this message with the cover text by mixing it with the contents of cover text, i.e. first we encode the secret character and then we perform process of finding the ASCII equivalent of the 8-bit format of the secret character and hide it with the contents of cover text. To hide it or embed it with the cover text, we made a new technique. In this technique we encode the first three letter of the cover text by using CASE approach and then count the bits having value 1. This count value is the key value for hiding the data. After calculating the key value message is mixed up, one character of message comes after key number character of cover text and this process of embedding are repeated until whole message is hidden in the cover text. For implementation of CASE approach we develop two algorithms for hiding and retrieving which are implemented in JSP using NetBeans IDE. 3.1. Pseudo code for message hiding Procedure CASE_steno_hide (String msg, String covertext) begain; For i=0 to msg.length() ch=msg(i); encode_msg=encode_msg+char(encode(ch)); End For key_msg=covertext.substring(0,3); For i=0 to key_msg.length() ch=key_msg(i); en_key=en_key+encode(ch); End For keyarray []=en_key.toByteArray(); key=0; For i=0 to keyarray.length() IF keyarray[i] == 1 then key++; End IF End For IF key key=5; End IF For i=0,j=0 to i hidden_msg=hidden_msg+covertext.substring(i,i+k)+encode_msg(j); i=i+k+1; j++; End For return hidden_msg; End Procedure 3.2. Pseudo code for message retrive Procedure CASE_steno_unhide(String hidden_msg) begain key_msg=hidden_msg.substring(0,3); For i=0 to key_msg.length() ch=key_msg(i); en_key=en_key+encode(ch); End For keyarray []=en_key.toByteArray(); key=0; For i=0 to keyarray.length() IF keyarray[i] == 1 then key++; End IF End For IF key key=5; End IF For i=key to hidden_msg.length() encode_msg=encode_msg+hidden_msg(i); i=i+key; End For For i=0 to encode_msg.length() orignal_msg=orignal_msg+decode(encode_msg(i)); End For return orignal_msg; End Procedure Fig. 1: Numbers of bytes hide by particular method Fig. 2: Maximum cover text required to hide 200 bytes and 1000 bytes Fig. 3: Time and memory overhead of all methods. In this paper, we have proposed new approach for text-based steganography for English language texts. In this approach, we exploit the shapes of the English characters to hide secret bits. Based on our survey of the existing Text Steganography approaches, we show that our proposed approach can hide more number of bytes, it has very small cover text and required very less time overhead as compare to other techniques. Our analysis reveals that our approach imparts increased randomness in encoding because of which the same cannot be attacked easily. This approach is applicable to the soft-copy texts as well as hard-copy texts. In addition, the proposed approach is also immune to retyping and reformatting of text. However, one of the weaknesses of the proposed approach is that once known about their applicability, they can easily be attacked. Hence, it is essential to keep the application of a particular approach to a particular data set secret, while using them. 5. References M. Shirali-Shahreza, Text steganography by changing words spelling, In 10th International Conference on Advanced Communication Technology, Korea, 2008. M. Shirali-Shahreza, and M. Shirali-Shahreza, Text Steganography in SMS, In International Conference on Convergence Information Technology, 2007. F. Khan, Enhanced Text Steganography in SMS, In 2nd International Conference on Computer, Control and Communication, 2009. M. Shirali-Shahreza, and M. Shirali-Shahreza, A New Approach to Persian/Arabic Text Steganography, In 5th IEEE/ACIS International Conference on computer and information science (ICIS COMSAk06), 2006, 310-315. W. Bender, D. Gruhl, N. Morimoto, and A. Lu, Techniques for data hiding, In IBM Systems journal, vol. 35 (Issues 3 4), 1996, p.p.313-336. Available: http://www.informatik.unitrier.de/~ley/db/ journals/ibmsj/ibmsj35.html. K, Alla, and Dr. R. Shivramprasad, An evolution of Hindi text steganography, In 6th International Conference on Information Technology, 2009. B. Dunbar, A Detailed look at Steganographic techniques and their use in an Open-systems environment, SANS Institute, 2002. K. Bennett, Linguistic Steganography: Survey, Analysis, and Robustness Concerns for Hiding Information in Text, Purdue University, CERIAS Tech. Report 2004-13, 2004. A. Gutub, and M. Fattani, A Novel Arabic Text Steganography Method Using Letter Points and Extensions, World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology, 2007. L. Robert, and T. Shanmugapriya, A Study on Digital Watermarking Techniques, In International Journal of Recent Trends in Engineering, Vol. 1, No. 2, May 2009. J. Brassil, S. Low, N. Maxemchuk, and L. OGarman, Copyright protection for the electronic distribution of text documents, In Proceedings of the IEEE, VOL. 87, NO. 7, July 1999. J. Brassil, S. Low, N. Maxemchuk, and L. Oà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸Gorman, Electronic marking and identification techniques to discourage document copying Text Steganography, IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications, VOL. 13, NO. 8, October 1995, p.p. 1495-1504. Shraddha Dulera et.al.Experimenting with the Novel Approaches in Text Steganography published on International Journal of Network Security its application (IJNSA), Vol.3, No.6, November 2011, pp 213-225.

Lorraine Hansberrys A Raisin In The Sun Essay -- Lorraine Hansberry

A Raisin in the Sun A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry, illustrates the timeless struggle for the furtherance of family values and morals with extreme clarity. The play follows the life of a small black family’s struggle to keep their dreams from tenants to owners alive. These dreams, and the struggles necessary to reach them, as well as coming to terms with the dreams that are out of reach, are the focus and driving force behind this story of every persons struggle to achieve goals that are not always in tune with societies thoughts or ideas on a persons place in life. The internal difficulties of the family, and the detrimental effects of these problems, are major themes in the play. In the opening scene; a husband, Walter, and wife, Ruth, are seen having a fight over Walter’s dream to become a â€Å"mover and shaker† in the business world by using an incoming insurance check for his mother as a down payment on a potential liquor business. Walter tells his wife, â€Å"I’m trying to talk to you ‘bout myself and all you can say is eat them eggs and go to work.† This is the first sign of Walter’s recurring feelings, that if someone in the family would just listen to him and put forth their trust, his dreams wou ld come to life. Following this argument, Walter goes off to his job as a chauffeur which is the job he so longs to be done away with. As Walter dreams bigger and bigger he seems to leave the smaller things such as his family behind. This movement away from the famil...

Measuring the Cost of Living - The Impact of Technology on our Standard

Measuring the Cost of Living - The Impact of Technology on our Standard of Living Measures of the cost of living, like the retail price index (RPI), are inadequate, failing to reflect fully the impact of technological advances on our standard of living. This leads to a substantial upward bias in our estimates of inflation, perhaps as much as 1.6% a year. That is the contention of Professor William Nordhaus of Yale University. If he is right, then we may have to rewrite history: l Increases in the price of lighting services since 1830 may have been overestimated by as much as a thousandfold! l US real wage growth between 1959-95, currently measured at a very modest 10%, should be revised to a healthier 70%. l And estimated average annual rates of US productivity growth of 0.6% between 1973-95 should nearly be tripled. Nordhaus notes that consumer price indices like the RPI are some of the most important measurements generated by economists and statisticians. Ideally, they are designed to measure the cost of attaining a given level of economic well-being. In practice, statisticians take a ‘basket of goods’, which represents the consumption patterns of the ‘average consumer’, and measure how the cost of this fixed basket changes over time. This statistic is used to define ‘inflation’, and hence determines changes in a wide range of inflation-indexed state payments and benefits, as well as setting the background for pay settlements. It is also crucial for measuring the real growth of the economy, a key statistic in assessing the economic and political performance of the economy and government policies. Nordhaus argues that the current methods for measuring the cost of living are inadequate and fail to refl... ...s and output. Over the period 1959-95, the increase in real wages is currently measured at a very modest 10%: it should be revised to a healthier 70%. Estimates of productivity growth over the period 1973-95 indicate an average annual rate of 0.6%: this should nearly be tripled. ‘The fact that we may be getting such an important statistic as the RPI wrong by so much indicates that we really need to look again at the way it is calculated in the UK’, claims Professor Huw Dixon of the University of York and CEPR. ‘Since so much depends on the inflation rate measure, we need to make sure we are getting it right’. Note: ‘‘Traditional Productivity Estimates are Asleep at the Technological Switch’ by William B. Nordhaus is published in the Controversy section of the Autumn 1997 issue of the Economic Journal. Nordhaus is Professor of Economics at Yale University.

Glorifying the Tudor Dynasty: Shakespeares Richard III and the Perfect

Arts in England flourished and prospered during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Furthermore, â€Å"The Golden Age† was characterized by the Queen’s patronizing of theatre, which lead it to gain popularity among England. The sixteenth and early seventeenth century witnessed a period of English nationalism, evidently shown through diffused texts in the English language, rather than in Latin. Additionally, the Queen supported playwrights such as William Shakespeare, which lead to depictions of Elizabethan society in his plays. Consequently, influences from London and the royal family influenced plays such as Richard III. Specifically, the play affected the glorification of the Tudors, leading to the villanization of former king Richard III. This paper discusses and argues the effects of Elizabethan England on the plot, villain, and gender roles- all leading to the glorification of the Tudor dynasty. Firstly, Niccollo Machiavelli’s influences on England during the Elizabethan Era transmit in the plot of the play. Machiavelli, an Italian politician, published Il Principe, which established guidelines on how a prince could get and secure his power. Machiavellian ideas diffused among the political elite of England during Elizabeth’s reign (â€Å"The Influence of Machiavelli on Shakespeare†). Consequently, Shakespeare adapted these influences to produce the character of King Richard III. The principal influence of Machiavelli on Shakespeare’s version of Richard is the Machiavellian concept of â€Å"the ends justify the means† (â€Å"The Influence of Machiavelli on Shakespeare†). When Richard outlines his plans that will lead him to the throne of the kingdom, Shakespeare shows the influence of this concept because he shows willingness to do anything in ord... ... plot, the characters, and the overall conflicts. Culturally London is present in the events and characters of the play, since Shakespeare manages to take influences from historians and his patron to target a historical figure. Finally, while embedding historical events in his plot, Shakespeare manages to legitimize the rule of the reining dynasty. Works Cited Mclean, Ralph. â€Å"The Influence of Machiavelli On Shakespeare.† Britain In Print, n.d. Web. 6 Apr. 2014 Preis, Dorothea. â€Å"Richard III Society of NSW.† Richard III Society of NSW RSS. HSC History Extension, 7 Nov. 2012. Web. 6 Apr. 2014 Shakespeare, William. Richard III. Cambridge: U, 1954. Print. Shapiro, Susan. â€Å"Feminism in Elizabethan England.† History Today. History Today, n.d. Web. 6 Apr. 2014 â€Å"The Richard III Society.† Richard III Society of NSW RSS. HRH. The Duke of Clougester, n.d Web. 07 Apr. 2014

Change: Discovering the Leader

Introduction:This paper seeks to prepare a book report for Deep Change: Discovering the Leader Within by Robert E. Quinn. The paper will discuss the perceived purpose of the author in writing the books and how he tried to support his claims. The paper hopes to either confirm or deny what the author tries to impart on the basis of the relevance of the author’s claims to reality and the personal experience of writer of this paper.The purpose of the authorThe purpose of the author (Quinn) in writing the book is to challenge the reader to recognize that everyone is a potential change agent. The author believes that people are capable of deep changes if they willing to take the difficult but essential steps to experience the same.   He built his thesis on a strong foundation by first contrasting   between deep change and incremental change. He argues that in general, most change that takes place in the life of an individual is incremental due to the fact that people are uncomfo rtable with major changes.   Incremental changes just involved movement in small steps that most people would like to take.The authors provided possible exception to the choice of incremental change and that this occurs when a person is faced with a major crisis.   To explain the author’s position, the case of a person who experienced a heart attack may be used as an example of major crises. It is common knowledge that people would like to survive and would do everything to prevent another attack after the first one. Under this scenario the person who suffered attack would be motivated to make deep lifestyle changes in habits.These changes could include changes such as stopping smoking and become choosy about dietary requirements.   The same major crises may also be observed when a family marriage is on the brink of divorce. Under said situation, marriage partners will be forced to make comprehensive changes in these communicate or handle conflict. But, when there are n o major crises in the life of during periodic times many people will agree that people typically make changes in a slow and incremental manner instead of making needed deep change.The observable fact that was illustrated above on a personal level can also be could also be observed in the life of organizations. The tendency towards small incremental change rather deep change happens because people are normally resistant of change of big changes in their personal lives.   It could be argued that such is observation is a natural phenomenon since people in their individual capacities are still the same people when they find themselves in organizations.   It could also be argued that leadership needs to be mindful of bringing people along in the midst of change, but in the life of organizations there are really times that organizations need to experience deep change to survive.This could be observed in the case of joint ventures and mergers.   These business combinations are someti me reactions to economic changes in the environment.  Ã‚   Managers need to have better returns and they find the expected synergy that would be created from mergers and joint ventures. If companies would stay as they are, there are possibilities that the they have reached their points of stagnancy. This could be observed in the case of cell phone companies.Sony are Ericsson are separate companies until they see the need to compete with other mobile companies there companies that dominate the market. Seeing the profitability of the industry, Sony and Ericsson combined in a joint venture (Steinbock, 2002) to product to produce Sony Ericsson cell phones. If one analyses however what happened, one could see that the cause was external to the organizations.   Without the mergers, the separate companies might be just earning much to sustain operations and before they know it, they would have forgone the great opportunities that they are now enjoying after the merger.   In this cont ext, author Quinn is correct in stating that without deep change, habitual patterns may just make organizations to move continuously toward decay and stagnation (Quinn, 1996).While it may be argued that organizations must react to changes in the  environment, there seems to be more wisdom in the belief that organizations must anticipate changes by doing strategies that would help the company make use of is internal strengths to taking advantage of its opportunities.   In other words organizations must have its plans for the future implemented by considering what it has internally and not just reacting to external events. The latter makes the company responsible and control of its purposes while in the first the companies by analogy just get swayed by waves of external changes.The logic of task pursuitWhat could be keeping organization to seek their chances for deep changes for growth without the external factors?   In answer to this question, Quinn has discussion of the logic of task pursuit.   A good number of people, when under pressure for task completion, simply manifest lack of chance to consider routine maintenance. This could be illustrated by the fact that if a person does not take time to experience physical regeneration by resting and exercising, his or her body will experience exhaustion.This is applicable with the spiritual life of such person. People need to spend some time to detach themselves from the pursuit of tasks to spend time alone. Solitude could generate strength in character. If applied to an organization, it would appear that each person in management needs to set aside time to revisit its company’s mission and to ensure that the work of the company is in alignment with that mission. The failure to set aside the logic of pursuit to visit the company’s mission and vision provided the grounds for Quinn's observation that organizational change doesn't take place. He posits that that the leading coalition in an organi zation is rarely interested in considering deep changes of this logic of task pursuit.   He supported his theory by the fact of pressures within most organizations to conform to the prevailing structure (Quinn, 1996).Based on this, the author could be credited for a wonderful job of identifying the barriers of bureaucratic culture, ingrained conflict, and personal time restrictions. The author is therefore very much meaningful to suggest to management of companies to give time for managers to develop deeper relationships within themselves to prepare to be ready and willing to that deep change.   Ã‚  In opting for the need to reflect, it could be argued that in most cases people do not need new skills and competencies.   What these people really need is a new perspective that permits them to act as empowered leaders in a changing organization. This new perspective must come from within the personal reflections of the organizational leaders who have renewed their commitment to t he company.There is therefore basis to agree with the author that that personal deep change must come before deep change within a system or organization. He argues while normally if not most of the time organizational change must come from the top as it flows down below, he strongly the author believes that it can also happen to start from the bottom towards the top.   In subscribing to the fact that deep change requires a personal evaluation of the ideologies that under bind the organizational culture, the author saw that in the final analysis it is still the people who will make the decision. Thus Quinn believed that as people desire to see change in the lives of others, from many areas like in parenting, marriage or work relationships, these same people must examine first what changes need to happen in themselves.   He observed that it is true that people do not easily recognize the part that they play in the problem; this it is really very hard to realize that one is part of the problem (Quinn, 1996). It is easier for people to blame others that to accept the responsibility for the error. If is easier to judge people by looking at the speck in one’s eye than to not one plank in is his or her own eye.ConclusionThe author believes in deep changes that people experience when under major crisis in their lives. His observation that people normally choose incremental change   over deep is very much validated in the lives of people The   fact that he also has observed deep changes in cases of   major crises among people has helped him to discover that deep changes do happen the same way in organizations in case of external events. Such external events are normally challenges for survival for these organizations.In explaining the reason why changes could not happen with out the external changes to organizations, the author found the logic of task pursuit with out routine maintenance.   In arguing therefore that the organizations need to go back to its mission and vision to redirect its efforts toward the proper direction, the author appears convincing in his position that personal deep change must precede deep change within a system or organization. Based on authors claims and supporting examples this paper humbly confirms the validity of the claims made as discussed in the text.Reference:Quinn, R. (1996) Deep Change: Discovering the leader within, Jossey-BassSteinbock, Dan (2002) Wireless Horizon: Strategy and Competition in the Worldwide Mobile Marketplace, AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn

Childhood Obesity Essay Introduction Essay

Introduction Obesity is a serious and major health complication contributing to 112,000 deaths annually most of which are preventable. Obesity is to a condition where excess fat has collected in the body has to the level of adversely affecting one’s health. There is no general agreement on the lowest explanations of obesity in adolescents and children. Therefore, most professionals accept the guidelines published on body mass index (BMI) to measure cases of overweight in children and adolescents. The increase of obesity among children in 2008 increased from 5 percent to 17 percent in the same year. This paper will focus to explore the causes of obesity in children and give methods on how it can be prevented. One is considered as obese or overweight when his or her body mass index BMI exceeds 30 kg/m2) (Flegal, 2000). Body mass index is obtained by measuring an individual’s weight in kilograms relative to his or her height in meters. Presently obesity is the widest spread medical problem affecting children and teenagers in developed countries like the United States. Other measure of obesity include: a) Weight-to-height tables- These tables define being overweight and give ranges for a healthy weight based on the height of a teenager or child. b) Body fat percentage- Fat a percentage of body weight, is a strong indicator of obesity. Boys are regarded obese when their body fat is above 25 percent and girls over 32 percent. Obesity has profound effects on the life of a patient by increasing the possibility of contracting variety of diseases. The following are health consequences of obesity according to Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Cancers (breast, endometrial and colon) Coronary heart disease Hypertension Stroke Type 2 diabetes Dyslipidemia Osteoarthritis Gallbladder and liver and disease Gynecological problems (infertility, abnormal menses) In addition to the health consequences above, obesity can also create social, as well as, emotional problems to an individual or patient due to the stigma associated with one being overweight. Causes of obesity Physical exercise and dieting are among the best ways for treating obesity. One can improve his or her diet quality by reducing the intake foods rich in energy, e.g. those high in sugars and fat and increasing the consumption of dietary fiber. Drugs such as anti- obesity medication drugs may be taken to lower appetite or inhibit the absorption of fat. A gastric balloon may enable one lose weight if exercise, medication and diet are not effective. Surgery may also be performed to lower stomach volume and or bowel length. This leads to earlier satiation and reduced ability to absorb nutrients from food. Below are some of the major causes of obesity (Ferry, 2011). Physical inactivity- The increased use of computers, video games and televisions have largely contributed to an inactive lifestyle for many teenagers and children in developed countries like the U.S. On average, teenagers and children in the United States of America spend three hours daily watching television. This form of recreation not only uses little energy but also encourages eating of snacks. Only one-third of children in the United States have daily physical exercise education in school. Dietary habits- The eating habits of teenagers and children have shifted away from healthy foods such as vegetables and whole grains to enormous reliance on fast foods, sugary drinks and eating processed snacks. These foods tend to contain high levels of fat or calories but low in essential nutrients. Unhealthy eating habits include eating when not hungry, watching television while eating or eating while doing homework e.t.c. Genetic factors- Some families tend to have obesity. Parents who are obese tend to have obese children. It is very  crucial to note that obesity does not occur through genetics alone, but when one eats more calories than he or she uses. Socioeconomic status-Non working parents or families with low incomes are more likely to consume excess calories for a given level of activity. Specific medical conditions can cause obesity but are rare. This includes inherited disorders of metabolism, hormone or chemical imbalances. Certain medications can alter how the body stores fat or processes food, thus resulting to weight gain. There is limited evidence to support the fact that some people who are overweight eat little yet gain weight due to a slow metabolism. Obese people require more energy expenditure than people who are thin due to the energy required to maintain their massive body mass. Conclusion Obesity is considered a major cause of deaths worldwide with increasing prevalence in children, teenagers and adults. The American Heart Association has guidelines for healthy children and families. It recommends that one should eat adequate calories and eat a wide variety of foods to obtain adequate nutrition. It also recommends that the total cholesterol taken per day should be less than 300mg. These guidelines are only applicable to children above two years of age. It is necessary for everyone in the family to apply these guidelines and not just those who are obese. Schools should introduce anti bullying campaign to assist overweight children. The biggest responsibility falls on parents to ensure their children observe healthy eating tips. References American Heart Association. â€Å"Dietary Recommendations for Healthy Children.† Apr. 19, 2012. . Ferry Jr., R.J., ed. Nutrition and Health: Management of Pediatric Obesity and Diabetes. New York: Springer Science+Business Media, 2011: 416. United States. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. â€Å"Childhood Overweight and Obesity.† Apr. 27, 2012. .

Brand and Proper Branding

Branding Meaning of Branding: The word â€Å"brand† is derived from the Old Norse â€Å"brandr† meaning â€Å"to burn. † It refers to the practice of producers burning their mark (or brand) onto their products. Branding is the practice of giving a specified name to a product or group of product of one seller. Branding is the process of finding and fixing the means of identification. In other word, naming product, like a naming a baby, is known as branding. Parents have children and manufactures also are eager to know the character and the capacity of their names. Thus branding is management process by which product is name; i. . branding. Proper branding can result in higher sales of not only one product, but on other products associated with that brand. For example, if a customer loves Wai Wai Noodles and trusts the brand, he or she is more likely to try other products offered by the company such as Kwiks Cheese Balls or Kwiks Potato Chips. Definition of Brandin g According to the American marketing Association, â€Å"A brand is name, term, sign, symbol or a combination of them, intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competition. According to William j Stanton, â€Å"All trademarks are brands and thus include the word, letter or numbers which may be pronounced; they may also include pictorial designs. † Threes of Cs of Branding 1. Clarity: Strong bonds are clear about what they are & what they are not. They understand their unique promise of value. And this promise of value sets them apart from their competitors. It differentiates them and allows them to attract and built loyalty among a desirable set of consumers. 2.Consistency: In addition to being clear about who they are, strong brands are also consistence. They are always what they say they are. 3. Constancy: It is not enough to be clear and consistent if you are not always visible to your target aud ition. Strong brands are constant, they are always there for their customers and prospects. A brand can convey up to six level of meaning 1. Attributes: Mercedes brings to mind expensive, well built, well engineered, durable, high prestige automobiles. 2.Benefits: The attributes â€Å"Durable† could translate into the functional benefits and the attributes â€Å"Expensive† translates into the emotional benefits. 3. Values: Mercedes stands for high performance, safety and prestige. 4. Culture: Mercedes represents German culture; organized, efficient and high quality. 5. Personality: Mercedes may suggest a no nonsense boss â€Å"person†, reigning lion â€Å"animal† or an austere palace (object). 6. User: Suggest the kind of consumer who buys or uses the product. A top executive behind the wheel of a Mercedes and not a young secretary.Purpose of Branding 1. Brand is a massive asset. 2. Brand is a promotional tool. 3. Brand is a weapon to protect market. 4. B rand is antidote for middle man survival. 5. Brand is a means of identification for customers. Significance/advantage of branding 1. Advantage to producers a. Easy to advertise. b. Easy to identify the products. c. Creation of separate market. d. To get more price. e. Easy to expand the product mix. f. Personal contacts with consumers. 2. Advantage to middle man g. Easy to understand needs and wants of consumers. . Less risks. i. No need of advertisement and sales promotion. j. Increase in sales. k. Increase in profit. 3. Advantage to consumers l. Easy to recognize. m. Availability of quality product. n. Minimum fluctuation in price. o. Mental satisfaction. p. Improve packing. Branding decision Branding of products are mainly done under following criteria: 1. Founder’s names. 2. Blanket family names. 3. Separate family name for all products. 4. Corporate names combined with individual product name.

Traditional Sports in Assam

Traditional sports in N-E Games soon| A STAFF REPORTER| | A traditional sport in progress during the recent Bihu festivities. A Telegraph picture | Guwahati, May 22: The newly-formed Assam Traditional Sports and Dragon Boat Association claimed that efforts were being made to include some traditional sports of Assam in the North-East Games in near future.Addressing the media, regarding the proposed traditional sports carnival — Amar Khel, Amar Utsav — on Saturday, one of the founder office- bearers of the association, Subhash Basumatary, said he was making efforts to get a few disciplines included in the North-East Games, organised annually by SAI. Basumatary is also the director-in-charge of the SAI regional sub-centre, Guwahati. Boat racing, one of the most popular traditional sports, is all set to be the first from among a dozen traditional deciplines which could make it to the North-East Games.The Dragon Boat carnival, to be held here on Saturday, will include 10 oth er disciplines apart from boat racing at Dighalipukhuri. The field events at the carnival at Latasil ground include dhop khel, koni juj, ghila khel, malla juddha, rashi tana, tel khuta, tangon tona, kelah loi dour, tekeli bhonga and dighal thengia dour. â€Å"The idea is to conserve the traditional sports and bring them out of the remote villages to the urban areas. We hope to get co-operation from the government too in organising the event.So far, the tourism department, the State Sports Council of Assam, the Kamrup (Metro) district administration and few others have already come forward to help us in the noble venture,† the association’s president Taher Ahmed said. | Dhopkhel The most popular indigenous game in the state of Assam is Dhopkhel. An ancient game, it is closely related with the development of the state as such. The game requires absolute physical fitness – speed, stamina and acrobatic skills. Dhop is a seasonal game, played during the state's Sprin g Festival, known as Rangoli Bihu.The game really flowered under the royal patronage of the Ahoms. There are two types of Dhop, one played by men and the other by women. The game, which uses a rubber ball, is played by two teams comprising 11 players each, in an open field, 125 m in length and 80 m in breadth, with a central point in the right middle of the arena. Two lines called kai are drawn at a distance of 12 ft on each side of the point at the centre. At the four points where the kai meets the 125 m lines, four flags are planted. Similarly, four flags are planted in the four corners, known as chukor nishan.Parallel to the central point in each half of the field, is one point each, at a distance of 13'6†³ from the centre, and circles surrounding them known as gher. The game begins with the dhop i. e the ball being thrown in the air, by a player. If the ball does not fall in the opponent's court, it is to be thrown again. The dhop has to be caught by the opposing team, and if they fail, then the other team takes the throw. If caught, the player who takes the catch proceeds to the gher of the court, and throws it to the katoni, who stands on the other gher.If the thrower fails on either count, his team forfeits the chance of a throw at the katoni, and the guilty player is requested to deliver a high lob to the opposing team, like the lob which started the game. The opposing team thus gets a chance once more for a catch and throw, at the opponents' katoni. If the katoni is hit below the waist, it is considered a kota, and the katoni becomes a hoia or a bondha, and automatically loses his status of a ghai – a name initially used for all the players. The bondha goes over to the opposing side and tries to prevent the players of the team from catching the dhop. This move is known as aulia.If a bondha succeeds in catching the dhop in the opponents' court and can recross over to his original side without being touched by any of the opponents, he become s a ghai, and this move is known as hora. However, he has to cross both kais and he cannot leave the court in the process of crossing over, or catching the dhop in the zone between two kais. If a team loses ten ghais as hoia or bondha, then the last ghai will be named ghai katoni, and if a kota can be done to him, then it is known as piriutha, which signifies victory for the side. If at the end of the game, there are equal number of ghais, the game is pronounced a draw. Rang GharLocation: Joysagar, 4 km to the west of Sibsagar town Built By: Ahom King Pramutta Singha Built In: 1746 AD Highlights: Oldest amphitheatre in Asia Rang Ghar is one of the major attractions of the state of Assam. It is said to be the oldest amphitheatre in the whole of Asia and has often been referred to as the ‘Colosseum of the East'. Situated to the northeast of the Tolatol Ghar, in the Joysagar area of the Sibsagar district; is the two storied Rang Ghar, which was the royal venue for witnessing a nu mber of games, like buffalo fight, bull fight etc. This ancient amphitheatre was constructed by the Ahom ruler Swargadeo Pramutta Singha.Rang Ghar dates back to 1746 AD, when it was basically built for the purpose of amusement and fun. The theatre is a double storied building and on the roof, there is a design of an Ahom royal long boat. It is overall oval in shape, unlike the multi-storied Tolatol Ghar situated just adjacent to it. Every year, during the occasion of Rongali Bihu, Rang Ghar used to be the royal sports pavilion, from which the Ahom kings and nobles witnessed games in the Rupahi Pathar below. The Rupahi Pathar is a vast field, where various activities like bull fighting and other such traditional games used to be organized for the entertainment of the royalty.The Rang Ghar was even the symbol of the recently concluded 33rd National Games, which was held in February (9th to 18th) 2007, in Guwahati, Assam. In case you are planning to visit Sibsagar district of Assam in the near future, do make sure to pay a visit to the Rang Ghar as well. Rang Ghar (Assamese: , rong ghor) (meaning â€Å"Amusement House†) is a two-storied building, which was the royal sports-pavilion from which the Ahom kings and nobles witnessed games like buffalo fights and other sports at the Rupahi Pathar (pathar meaning field in Assamese) specially during Rangali Bihu festival in the Ahom capital, Rangpur.On the roof of the Rang Ghar is a design of an Ahom royal long boat. The building was constructed during the reign of Swargadeo Pramatta Singha in 1746. It is located north east to the Talatal Ghar a multi-storied royal complex in Joysagar west of Sivasagar town, on the other side of the Assam Trunk (AT) Road in Sibsagar district in Assam, India . The Rang Ghar is said to be the oldest amphitheater in Asia[citation needed]. The base of the monument has a series of arched entrances and atop the roof is a decorative pair of carved stone crocodiles.In many of these, only the brick framework exists with vestiges of sculptural adornments here and there. The Ahoms, who used special thin baked bricks, did not have the use of cement and, therefore, used a paste of rice and eggs as mortar for their construction. They also made use of powdered mixed lime and bricks to cover the surface of the inner walls. It is said that this layer of powder used to keep the inside of Ranghar cool. The entrance to Sankardev Kalakshetra at Guwahati is made in the style of the Rang Ghar.The Rang Ghar was the logo of the recently concluded 33rd National Games that was held from 9 to 18 February, 2007 in Guwahati, Assam. About a kilometer towards the north east of Rangh Ghar is the Jaysagar Pukhuri. It is a manmade tank, encompassing an area of about 120 Bighas of land. It was dug in memory of Rani Joymati, the mother of Rudra Singha, the most illustrious of the Ahom kings. Guwahati, Apr 6 (PTI) Seisimic survey work by the ONGC is posing a threat to Assam's 18th century amphi theatre, ‘Rang Ghar† at Gargaon in Sibsagar district, perhaps the largest stadium in Asia, which has proudly stood the ravages of time.Lesser known than the internationally famous `Colosseum' in Italy, the ‘Rang Ghar' bears mute testimony to the state's chequered history. The most potent symbol of the glorious 600 year rule of the Tai-Ahom kings hailing from Thailand, the monument constructed in 1746 AD, has been in the news after a report carried by PTI on cracks appearing on its facade. The report prompted the Assam government to constitute a seven-member expert committee to examine the damages on the walls of the heritage site.The damages to the protected monument have prompted the Archaelogical Survey of India (ASI) which maintains it, to threaten legal action against the public sector Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) The ASI move comes after eight 10 metre cracks have appeared on the Rang Ghar walls following blastings in the seismic survey work at nearby Rupohipathar, an open oil field. The ONGC officials when contacted refused to comment on the matter and only maintained â€Å"that precaution had been taken not to harm the heritage sites and historic monuments during survey works†.The damages have created a public outcry with a local students body, All Assam Tai Ahom Students Union (AATASU), calling an ‘indefinited ONGC bandh' from March 5 and the proscribed ULFA issuing a warning to the ONGC to stop all seismic work or face dire consequences. The Rang Ghar, stated to be the oldest outdoor stadium in Asia, bears mute testimony to Assam's history. The medieval Tai-Ahom kingdom (1228-1826) was founded by Sukapha in the 13th century establishing its suzerainity over the Brahmaputra valley and putting paid to Mughal expansionism in the North-East seventeen times sucessfully.The monument also saw the annexation of Assam by the British Empire through the historic Treaty of Yandaboo in 1826 paving the way for the advent of t he Britishers into the state and the end of the 600 year old Ahom rule. The monument at Gargaon was the crucible of the proscribed ULFA movement with its leaders congregating under Rang Ghar's portals on April 7 nearly 30 years ago to script one of the most violent chapters in the annals of the state in its fight for an independent homeland.The original ampitheatre was constructed with wood and bamboo by King Rudrasingha, also known as Siukapha who ruled between 1696-1714, but was rebuilt into a permanent structure by King Pramatasinha (1744-1751). With no knowledge of modern day cement, the Ahoms used a paste of rice and eggs as mortar and special thin bricks for construction of the Rang Ghar, that has withstood decades of neglect till Independence. As its name suggests, ‘Rang Ghar' was a `merriment house or a place of joy'. It was in this sports pavilion that elephant, buffalo, bullock and hawk fights, wrestling, besides Bihu (Assamese cultural festival), etc. were held. The Mongolian style oval-shaped two-storyed pavilion is 10 metres high, 11 metres across and 27 metres long with a steep flight of steps leading to the higher elevation from where the royal patrons and nobles are presumed to have watched the contests on the Rupohi Pathar (field) below surrounded by a huge meadow meant for the royal subjects. The monument's base has a series of archways with vestiges of sculptural adornments, and its roof is designed like a royal long boat with a pair of carved stone crocodiles on either ends.The ampitheatre is located north east to the royal palace `Kareng Ghar' in modern day Sibsagar town in Upper Assam. The Ahom kingdom with a successful multi-ethnic polity made major advances under king Susengpha Pratap Singha who revamped the administration and established the first military and diplomatic contact with the Mughals. Under King Gadadhar Singha, Mughal influence was, however, completely removed from the Brahmaputra valley and the Ahom Kingdom achieved its golden period under his son Rudra Singha.The Ahom rule declined with the rise of the Moamoria rebellion and subsequently fell to a succession of Burmese invasions. The defeat of the Burmese after the Anglo-Burmese War and the treaty of Yandaboo on Fewbruary 24, 1826, control of the once glorious Ahom kingdom passed into the British hands. Though during the colonial and subsequent times the Tai- Ahom rule was called the `Ahom Kingdom', the Ahoms called their kingdom `Mong Dun Shun Kham (casket of gold), while others called it Assam. The Rang Ghar was the logo of the 33rd National Games held in Guwahati from February 9 to 18 last year.