Monday, September 30, 2019

Geography and the Development of Human Civilization Essay

A. Without argument, the most significant geographic or environmental factor of Ancient Egypt to shape early civilization is the Nile River. The Nile has been referred to as life’s blood for the Egyptian civilization. (Fassbender, 2008). To begin understanding how the Nile River was the greatest factor, one must understand a few facts about the River itself. It starts from two separate sourcesÍ ¾ first the lakes of central Africa, called the White Nile, and second the Blue NileÍ ¾ that comes from the mountains of Ethiopia. The Blue Nile and the White Nile come together and flow northward to the Nile delta, starting the 4,000 mile length of the life blood of EgyptÍ ¾ finally spilling into the Mediterranean Sea. The Egyptian climate does not offer much in rainfall, averaging less than 2 inches per year in some areas and non existent in other areas. The early human civilizations were able to farm near the banks of the Nile River with much success compared to the outlying harsh climates of the Sahara and Arabian deserts on both sides of Egypt. Each summer the Nile River would swell as the rain fell and the snow melted in the mountains. Overflowing its banks and lightly flooding the land with fresh water and thick rich deposits of alluvial soil created a land that could â€Å"yield two harvests before winter† (Kreis, 2006)Í ¾ creating an ideal location for early human civilizations to settle and prosper. This flooding of the Nile River did more than create agriculture wealth for the early Egyptians, it also helped create some very early inventions such as the calendarÍ ¾ (Keita, n.d.) created from the expected annual nature of the floods, the end of the second harvest and the 2 winters. The Nile River also gave the people a sense of direction, creating the north, south , east and west concepts we now use. The flow of the Nile is basically south to north and the daily rising and falling of the sun from east to west created a concrete sense of direction for the Egyptians. (Fassbender, 2008). Egypt offered easy access to most of the resources it needed for survival and success which guaranteed the development of a large population. The promise of a harvest climate, new inventions, security of the deserts on both sides, transportation provided by the river into the sea, the Nile River was the greatest factor creating early civilization for Ancient Egypt. B. Tea is the most popular drink in the world, second only to waterÍ ¾ got it’s start in China as nothing more than a mere accident and has since traveled the world, started wars, and created millions of dollars for governments and plantation owners. The origin of tea dates back â€Å"around 4,000 years ago† ( History & Future  ­ When did people start having tea?, n.d.). According to legend â€Å"the Chinese Emperor Shen Nong discovered tea in 2737 BC while he was boiling water in the shade of a tree† †¦ when a â€Å"light breeze caused some leaves to fall into the water† (Origins of Tea, 2012). The emperor tasted it and thought it was delicious, and so began the tea adventure. At that time, tea was bitter and mostly used for it’s health properties as a medicine for problems such as eyesight and stomach issues. At the end of the fifth century, tea was traded and exported with Mongolian and Turkish merchants. By the eighth century it was exported to far regions like Japan, Central Asia and Tibet. Tea began to spread further west with other foreign traders, missionaries, and ambassadors that were given samples and gifts of it to try and take home for others to try. The first agreement to export and trade tea was between China and 3 Russia. In the mid 1850’s, Chinese immigrants heading to Taiwan would bring tea seedlings, tea growing and processing skills and the tea culture with them. In the seventeenth century, green tea was exported into Europe and was mostly used as a medicinal drink due to the bitter taste and the health properties it offered. The Dutch started to buy tea in Japan and China and then shipped it and sold it in France, Germany, and England. The Dutch also introduced tea to New Amsterdam in the 1650’s. During this time tea was usually only for the very wealthy because it was so expensive, until the 1750’s when it became a more modern drink with more av ailability for larger groups of people. (Saberi, 2010), (Origins of Tea, 2012), and ( History & Future  ­ When did people start having tea?, n.d.). In the eighteenth century tea became popular in countries like North America and EuropeÍ ¾ however, China was the only country selling tea to other countries. China’s tea business was soaring until India stepped into the tea business. When the British started ruling India, they found some tea plants in Assam (found in the North Eastern area of India) and decided that these tea plants had a sweeter taste. Tea plantations started growing in Assam, then Ceylon (now known as Sri Lanka), Sumatra, Java and Formosa. It was discovered that the plants in China grew 5 meters shorter in height than those in IndiaÍ ¾ so the tea business naturally shifted there. This was very good for the British because their demand for the drink was huge, creating a huge deficit for them with China. The British government now had the surplus of tea, from the plantations in India (and the areas around there) and the trade agreements with China. The British now sold to other countries, like North America  ­ only they levied a sales tax on the tea leaves that they couldn’t sale anywhere else and try to sale to the new American coloniesÍ ¾ this was faced with a fierce resistance  ­ known as the â€Å"Boston Tea Party†. (The Spread of Tea from 4 China, 2012). Tea was first created with a leaf in boiling water, then it was dried and steeped, then as the drink was being traded and sold  ­ tea leaves and buds were dried, pressed and packaged for shipping, including bricks of dried, crushed tea leaves. Each time the seedlings were taken to a new climate or country, new flavors were established and new ways of serving the drink were created. For instance, â€Å"the Chinese sip it from tiny cups, the Japanese whisk it. In America they serve it iced. The Tibetans add butter. The Russians serve with lemon. Mint is added in North Africa. Afghans flavour it with cardamom. The Irish and the British drink it by the gallon with milk and sugar. The Indians boil it with condensed milk. In Australia it is brewed in a ‘billy’ can† (Saberi, 2010). The diffusion of tea may have started as a bitter, medicinal emperor’s drink, yet it has traveled the world, been raised or farmed in multiple corners of the globe, transformed from a drink for the wealthy to a world ­wide drink of choice for all classes and races  ­ from bitter to sweet, from medicinal to being a part of the social sceneÍ ¾ including having restaurants, tea rooms, and clubs created just for the enjoyment of those that want a cup of the world’s most popular drink†¦Tea. C1. One of the environmental factors that contributed to the expansion of the United States was the devastating Dust Bowl of the 1930’s. The Dust Bowl, also referred to as the â€Å"dirty thirties†, â€Å"Black Roller† or the â€Å"Black Blizzard†, (Buonanduci, 2009 and Baumhardt, 2003) happened when a severe drought in 1930 to 1936 (to 1940 in some areas) caused extreme dust storms over the prairie lands of Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, and the border areas of Colorado and New Mexico. When the dust storms hit, visibility was reduced to a few feet or less and millions of farmland became uselessÍ ¾ the storms caused major ecological and agricultural damage to over 5 100,000,000 acres of farmland (Buonanduci, 2009). In addition to a severe drought, the people had over farmed without needed crop rotation or other farming techniques to prevent erosion which then created the inevitable wide ­spread disaster. This coupled with the Great Depression left the government without a lot of options to help the people of the prairie lands who were suffering from extraordinary financial difficulties. In a span of about five years over 500,000 Americans were forced to flee the area. About half of those people headed west to California where many settled into farming the Central Valley and Los Angeles areas. (Simkin, 1997). In response to the devastation of the Dust Bowl, President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s first 100 days in office (in 1933), were spent creating government programs designed to â€Å"restore the ecological balance by encouraging diversified agricultural crop production using tested practices and improved tools† (Baumhardt, 2003) The Dust Bowl created expansion of the U.S. when hundreds of thousands moved west to California bringing the lessons learned from farming successes and failures with themÍ ¾ it also contributed to the development of the U.S. as the entire country took the essential agricultural lessons learned and established programs to ensure the same mistakes would not be repeated again. C2. The Irish Potato Famine of 1845  ­ 1849 also cont ributed to the development and expansion of the United States because of the â€Å"nearly a million Irish† that arrived in the United States (Gavin, 2000). The large number of people helped literally develop our county through the blood, sweat, and tears that hard work and desire brings to those making a home of peace and happiness for their families. In the early 17th century, the Irish were quite dependent on food exported from other 6 countries  ­ mainly the potato from America. However, by the 19th century about a third of Ireland was dedicated to potato farming, â€Å"turning this into Ireland’s primary crop†¦the potato supported massive population expansion within Ireland. Within that time, the population doubled from four million to eight million citizens† (Hawkes, 2012). The first report of the potato blight was recorded on August 20, 1845, and by October one ­third of the potato crop was lost to the blight. At first there was still enough food for the Irish people despite the potato blight, the problem for most of those who had the diseased crops was the fact that they didn’t have enough money to b uy other food. The blight reduced the Irish potato harvest by about 30%. This drastic loss caused many farmers to eat the potato seedlings that they were going to plant in the upcoming year. Now the starving people resorted to slaughtering their pigs and cows to keep from starving through the harsh winter, they also knew they wouldn’t have food to feed their starving their animals. The situation in Ireland became grim, by this time the blight wasn’t spreading any longer, but the farmers weren’t planting or harvesting enough potatoes to have enough food to feed the people of their country. Lasting about six years, the Irish Potato Famine had killed over a million people from a combination of starvation and diseaseÍ ¾ causing another million people to migrate to the United States (Smith, 2011), (Gavin, 2000) and (Hawkes, 2012). The Irish immigrants came to America to escape the certain death that they faced there, and for a promised future of the American dreamÍ ¾ however, it was not a welcoming place for many, instead it was a brutally hard, unkind and unwelcoming place for many. Boston might have been the hardest and most cruel place for those comi ng from Ireland, but New York wasn’t that much easier in the end. One of the turning points for the unwelcomed Irish people was the Civil WarÍ ¾ â€Å"over 140,000 enlisted in the Union Army, while those in the South enrolled in the 7 Confederate ranks† (Gavin, 2000) and (Hawkes, 2012). The Irish immigrants provided many laborers needed for the backbreaking work that was needed for the American expansion that was happening at that time. The immigrants saw this move to America as permanent and â€Å"brought over several hundreds of thousands of Irish immigrants during the following decades† (Smith, 2011). Politically the Irish now had the numbers to influence votes, welcome at first or not, the Irish people could no longer be ignored. The Potato Famine started as a deadly killer in Ireland, turning into a large exodus of people immigrating to the United StatesÍ ¾ changing the face of the American laborers and changing who was running and winning political offices. The Anti ­Irish sentiment would be quieted at last when an Irish Potato Famine immigrant’s descendant was elected President of the United States  ­ President John F. Kennedy was that person. â€Å"He is the great ­grandson of Patrick Kennedy, a farmer from County Wexford who had left I reland in 1849† (Gavin, 2000). The Irish are considered the first large group of poor refugees to come to the United States and they paved the way for all the many refugees and immigrants that would follow their footsteps. Today, after years of hard work to overcome numerous amount of obstacles to find freedom, peace and happiness  ­ Americans of Irish descent are the third largest ethnic group in the country. Unfortunately, Ireland stayed a very sad place after the famine for decades. (Gavin, 2000). References Baumhardt, R. L. (2003). USDA  ­ The Official Website for The Conservation and Production Research Laboratory DUST BOWL ERA. Retrieved June 16, 2014, from http://www.cprl.ars.usda.gov/ Buonanduci, M. (2009, April 27). Dust Bowl. Retrieved June 16, 2014, from http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/151818/ Fassbender, M. (2008, September 11). Physical Geography Ancient Egypt by Michael Fassbender | Humanities 360. Retrieved June 15, 2014, from http://www.humanities360.com/index.php/physical ­geography ­ancient ­egypt ­50663/ Gavin, G. (2000). The History Place  ­ Irish Potato Famine. Retrieved June 16, 2014, from 9 http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/famine/ Hawkes, S. (2012, August 28). Fatal Potatoes: The Nineteenth ­Century Irish Potato Famine | US History Scene. Retrieved June 16, 2014, from http://www.ushistoryscene.com/uncategorized/fatalpotatoes/ History & Future  ­ When did people start having tea? (n.d.). Retrieved June 15, 2014, from http://humantouchofchemi stry.com/when ­did ­people ­start ­having ­tea.htm Irish Potato Famine. (n.d.). Retrieved June 16, 2014, from http://courses.soomopublishing.com/ Keita, M. (n.d.). Rise of Civilizations and Empires in Mesopotamia. Retrieved June 15, 2014, from http://history ­world.org/rise_of_civilizations.htm Kreis, S. (2006, October 11). Lecture 3: Egyptian Civilization. Retrieved June 15, 2014, from http://www.historyguide.org/ancient/lecture3b.html Origins of Tea. (2012). Retrieved June 15, 2014, from http://www.higgins ­burke.com/About ­Our ­Tea/Pages/Origin ­of ­Tea.aspx PBS (2009, November 15). Video: Surviving the Dust Bowl | Watch American Experience Online | PBS Video [Video file]. Retrieved from http://video.pbs.org/video/1311363860/?starttime=1200000 Saberi, H. (2010). Chapter 2 China. In Tea: A global history (pp. 27 ­41). Retrieved from http://lrps.wgu/provision/8539375 Saberi, H. (2010). Chapter 5 Tea Comes to the West. In Tea: A global history (pp. 85 ­124) . 10 Retrieved from http://lrps.wgu/provision/8539375 Simkin, J. (1997, September). The Dust Bowl. Retrieved June 16, 2014, from http://spartacus ­educational.com/USAdust.htm Smith, A. F. (2011). Potato: A global history. Retrieved from http://lrps.wgu.edu/provision/8539677 The Spread Of Tea From China. (2012, September 13). Retrieved June 15, 2014, from http://thespreadofteafromchina.blogspot.com/

Sunday, September 29, 2019

An Education and History Boys Comparative Film Essay Essay

Through the analysis of where an education originates, The History Boys and An Education have two vastly contradictory viewpoints. The History Boys demonstrates both academic education and an education on life gained within school grounds. An Education, however, illustrates a young Jenny Mellor (Carey Mulligan) as she gains her education far from her school environment – despite much attempted intervention. In both The History Boys and An Education the teachers play an integral role in shaping the educational path for our protagonists. Hector (Richard Griffiths) bases his teachings on the principle of educating the boys in regard to life and not purely academic learning. When the viewers are first introduced to Hector, they are made aware of the high regard with which the boys view him. During the scene when the boys celebrate their final marks, they bow down to Hector as if they are not worthy. If the manner in which Hector teaches the boys is considered, it becomes evident that he understands the idea of literature perhaps having an impact on his students later in life – â€Å"all knowledge is precious whether or not it serves the slightest human purpose†. He seems to be concerned with how the boys utilise their learning within everyday life; how they apply ideas and philosophies concealed in knowledge at a standard worthy of Oxford and Cambridge. Within Hector’s classroom, there are many literary references present on the walls – more than once the viewer’s eyes are drawn to a photograph of W H Auden – who can be considered similar to Hector in that both had homosexual inclinations. During the boys’ outing to an old monastery, Hector advises the boys on knowledge, and the transfer thereof, with the words, â€Å"pass it on†. In this, he is able to teach the boys a lesson more important than any taught in the classroom. In An Education, Miss Stubbs as well as the Headmistress (Emma Thompson) allude to an education coming from within a school and being purely academically centred. The Headmistress reminds Jenny that neither herself nor Miss Stubbs would be where they are if it were not for their decent school and university education. Miss Stubbs admits to Jenny that she attended Cambridge – only to be offended by Jenny, who could no longer see the benefit of an academic education. Within Miss Stubbs’s classroom, we are  able to see that the walls are fairly empty and her desk uncluttered. This stands in contrast with the Hector’s vibrant classroom. In the opening scene of An Education the camera tracks the movement of the overlays into Miss Stubbs’s classroom and to a group of girls who look stricken with boredom and later on read with that same unenthusiastic demeanour. Continually throughout the movie, we are reminded of the popular 1960s belief that education meant almost everything if one was to attend a prestigious university and find a job that provided a salary, but that was not necessarily fulfilling. The History Boys proves to the viewers that life lessons can be and are taught within school parameters. Although much of the focus is centred on the Ox-Bridge examinations, Hector and Irwin, specifically, are able to teach the boys life lessons over and above the syllabus. Hector teaches the boys the importance of knowledge, even if it has no obvious use. To Hector, language, literature and music are to be considered in high regard with the intent of creating a cultured being rather than one only able to regurgitate useless ‘gobbets’, as referred to by Irwin. The question, â€Å"how does History happen?† is asked more than once throughout the film’s duration. As the film progresses, the answer emerges – history is merely one thing after another. When the boys are confronted with Hector’s death, they are able to realise how fleeting life is. Death calls for introspection and a deeper consideration of what it is in life that is truly important. Hector is able to teach the boys that education is indispensable in whichever form and from whichever source it comes, which, as well as the idea that one must pass knowledge along, is a most crucial aspect to the film. In An Education, it is clear that Jenny receives her education outside of school parameters – despite the objections posed by Miss Stubbs and the Headmistress. Although Jenny is a dedicated student, who in the beginning tries to gain her education within school and from her teachers, she inevitably gains it from her relationship with David (Peter Sarsgaard). During the opening scene, the students dancing with books on their head appeals to the formal environment they attended school in. David was able to show Jenny the other side of this spectrum – he introduced her to art,  music, wine and lavish restaurants. David travelled to Oxford and Paris with Jenny, where everything was tinted with a blue haze and made to seem flawless. He provided her with a life where she could speak French and surround herself with art and culture; the life she had so longed for. However, when Jenny discovered that David was a married man, she was also able to learn that a lifestyle such as the one David and his friends led often hid many secrets. He was a dishonest man – and it taught Jenny that trust should not just be given, but rather earned. When she visits Miss Stubbs, her words, â€Å"I feel old, but not so wise† prove that when one is young, they can so easily be deceived by materialism and the idea of love – a lesson no school would be able to teach. Both The History Boys and An Education demonstrate how education has no set definition. It can be defined as learning fact, or as learning about life. Both also prove to us that education does not have to come from an educational institute and its employees. Life can sometimes prove more educational than the classroom.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Criminal justice Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Criminal justice - Thesis Example There have been a number of issues however that have been raised when dealing with medical experimentation especially when the test subjects are human beings. This has to do with medical ethics and the right of going about seeking test subjects as well as the process of the experiments themselves. One of these issues is the matter of using prisoners to conduct medical experiments on various diseases such as AIDS and Hepatitis C when seeking cures. The argument behind the use of prisoners for the conducting of medical experiments in these areas is the fact that there is a higher prevalence of these diseases in the prison populations as compared to other groups and thus it is generally a convenient approach whilst seeking test subjects (Epstein, 2009, pg38). However, it has to be considered whether it is right to use prisoners as guinea pigs for medical experiments, or is it a type of discrimination on the part of the medical researchers (Tauber, 2005, pg18). This subject can be said to have both pros and cons when put into, and the issue is if the pros outweigh the cons considerably enough to win the day. There are a number of advantages to be considered by using prisoners as test subjects for new drugs to combat these diseases. These advantages have to do with the situation at hand and the potential positive outcome should the drugs be successful. They include: Situational advantage – Prisoners are in a position where they reside in a controlled environment and thus this would make it easier for researchers to ensure that the test subjects are placed in a conducive environment for the conduction of the research (Lakhan et al, 2009, pg 12). For example, this is to say if the subject is not supposed to take any alcohol during the test period, this would not be a problem as they have no access to any liquor. Since the test subjects are all located in one area for the entirety of the test period, observation also becomes a simpler process as

Friday, September 27, 2019

Economic issue Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Economic issue - Assignment Example This is counterproductive to the developing nations whicgh are increasingly implementing free and voluntary education and healthcare provision. This has led to civil unrest due to increasing unemployment and pay cut in an effort to restore IMF’s proposed economic targets. The interest paid back by the borrowers to IMF translates to increased taxation against constant wage rate leading to higher and unaffordable living standard. This forces the citizens to go on strike for increades wages and lower commodity prices. 3. a) There is no European Monetary Union without fiscal union. The micro-economic imbalance in Euro cannot be managed without fiscal union. It is efficiency.it will make the union stable satisfactory finances. The European Monetary Union makes the union greater. Fiscal union is a major move to create great political union. The federal bodies will be administered and a central tax would become a great idea in Europe. With fiscal union the European union will have a united stand, to stop Europe’s decline in global market, an economic union must be formed. This will result to fiscal union that will otherwise raise the Europe

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Shopster Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Shopster - Case Study Example The retailers make this business to be what it is. They form the customer base, thus making the business to be vibrant. The customer base is the single most important entity in the business. Thus, retailers sustain the business by shopping for products online, hence boosting the capital base of the business. Retailers also help in reaching other customers who with time get to know this online business entity. The strength of this business entity is that it does not face a lot of competition from other businesses. This makes it capitalize on sales in the absence of other business entities. The business also uses less capital to operate, thus being able to maximize on profits. The business should be able to perfect their businesses through proper and serious marketing. Through marketing, the business becomes well known thus it does not struggle to have customers come on board. Branding should also be done to make the business more unique and versatile. This should not only be on the products, but also on the online

Initial Site Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Initial Site Plan - Essay Example Initial Site Plan The about us webpage will provide information specific to church and all the staff information with their email link. It is important aspect to think about interested newcomers children. This section will provide information related to kids programs such as Pre-School, Elementary, and Grade Classes, and family lodges. It is important to provide a separate section for website users so that they can easily contact. This webpage will provide contact form to website users. In addition, phone number and fax will be available in this page so that interested newcomers get answer for their queries instantly. For navigation, website user can use navigation links provided on the left of the website. Using these navigation links, the user can move from any page to any page. The link for the home page will be included in all pages so that user can return to the home page from any page. Background color (table) selected is dark red that will be selected (displayed) through graphic image. In addition, whole pages (where content will be not displayed) background color selected is Sandy Brown. The text colors are yellow (body text) and salt gray (footer, etc). The visual design elements selected complement each other. Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) will be used for consistent look across all WebPages. The main content will come from daily to daily-church activities (news, events, etc). The other content such as contact us, what to expect, kids program, and contact us that will probably not change frequently will be made after discussion with staff members of the Syracuse Vineyard Church.

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Discussion Paper - APEX Event Specficiations Guide Research

Discussion - APEX Event Specficiations Guide - Research Paper Example I think the APEX Event Specifications Guide is thorough, which is essential for covering all sorts of events and planning practices. In addition, an all-inclusive guide fulfills the CIC’s goal of concentrating the conferences, settlements, and exhibitions sector. Meeting a common target of raised efficiency and streamlined procedures is possible through this guide as long as the planner adheres to it where needed (CIC, 2004). I would use the APEX Event Specifications Guide to save time and expenses, make communication simpler, share information, improve customer service, modernize protocols and systems, and raise operational productivity. However, understanding the APEX Event Specifications Guide was not easy because of its length. However, as a student, I would exploit he guide’s broken down nature learn about specific aspects that industry players in developed nations require of event planners in varied settings or with varied agendas. I would introduce the guide still as a student to event professionals through a research about its effectiveness in particular sectors in the United States and possibly Canada. I think event professionals would need statistical proof about the effectiveness of the guide with respect to collaboration in terms of practices carried out by industry

Monday, September 23, 2019

Vandelay Industries, Inc Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Vandelay Industries, Inc - Case Study Example Group/ICS, Elaine Kramer has been given the responsibility of helping the organization in implementing the system properly so that it can make use of the system appropriately and manage all the operations with utmost ease. The management of Vandelay has been able to respond positively with the changing environment and have made sure that they are flexible enough to incorporate the changes happening in their industry and provide the customers with the best solution. In order to make sure that it had all the latest processes implemented in its premises, the management decided to revamp the technologies and machines; the production method was changed to lean production and machines were much simpler and cheap. It still continues to expand its product lines with careful market survey and ensures that it gives tough competition to its competitors. The inefficiency was found in their manufacturing and order fulfillment processes alongwith the Human Resource department. Although the new machines were technologically advanced but the lead time was longer; the careful analysis of the process revealed that the major hurdle was found in the information processing and information transfer processes. The employees lacked the training as well to work with R/3 system and that is why the whole process was suffering. Hence, the major area of concern is the efficient management of ERP process so that everything is well-integrated in the organization. The ERP/MRP system is the best system for the manufacturing concerns and with the help of this system, the production process will be enhanced as the information flow regarding the order placement, progress and fulfillment will be easily recorded. The management will be able to ensure that the production methods are well-coordinated and customers are satisfied as well. In addition, all the systems of the organization will be well-integrated as financials, logistics, human resource, order management and manufacturing functions will

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Wild Style Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Wild Style - Assignment Example t in the film depicts how the development of modern culture struggled during their birth and corruption of such at that age would mean no culture today. There is more than just music to be learned from the film of Wild Style that is highly attractive even today. Many more people can learn from the characters that were used, their behavior and so forth. This after all is the purpose of creating films, to educate people about a certain subject that is familiar to the eye but understood differently by the minds. Culture is a fashioned way of doing things that define a certain group of people. In this case, the culture is Hip hop that can be described as having minor subcultures that define it in the entity; Graffiti, Djing, Break dancing and MCing (Gale). In the film, Lee Quinones acting as the character of Zoro is a graffiti artist whose neighborhood, the Bronx, is the source of hip hop culture. In fact, Hip hop was confined to the generation region, that is, the Bronx (Staff). The Dixie Club was featured in the (Wellman) film and was where the performers would showcase their talents or show (Rosen). This is the same way that people come to form a community, and the result is the birth of a culture. In the film, the culture was already there, it was only developing with the exchange of ideas. The streets of the Bronx are can-sprayed all over by unknown graffiti artists who take to the walls and windows for their exhibition. The environment created by the neighborhood creates a harboring pl ace for such talents as was realized in the case of Zoro. Indeed, the culture of Hip Hop has come a long way from back then where it was in a small region. Now this culture has grown into an international style that has been transformed through factors of time and different environment. Music is more than just a mere hobby for passing time or appeasing the mind; it is a way of expression and a tool of communication (music 1). Rap scenes at the Dixie Club by various talents

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Trinitarian Theology of Prayer and Healing Essay Example for Free

Trinitarian Theology of Prayer and Healing Essay There has been considerable reflection more recently on the nature of Trinity and its place in church life and theological thinking. Feminists, liberationists, process thinkers, and more traditionalist Catholic and Protestant theologians as well as Eastern Orthodox desire to free the Trinity from its isolation in traditional statements with the consequent lack of relation to practical Christian faith and life. The realization that in the economy of salvation we have to do with God as he is in himself has radically focused thought in a new way on the being and act of God as triune. The double context of salvation and liberation in relation to the Trinity has been the prime reason for renewed interest in the doctrine today and in its practical implications. Recent rejuvenation of the Trinity has owed much to the efforts and success of theologians in laying out a wide range of trinitarian implications. It is as we properly understand God as triune that we win have a right view of the faith, of its doctrines, and of the relevance of all this for every sphere of human life and activity. It is in many ways remarkable that this insight, always latent in our traditions, has now, almost suddenly and unexpectedly, emerged as a central aspect of current theology. Current thinking is very varied; here the work will concentrate on that which relates directly a trinitarian basis and the implication for our understanding of the nature and goal of healing. Before we go on to do this in some detail in the work, we must say something about the Trinity itself as the general framework for understanding religious diversity. After discussing that general framework, we will indicate some of its implications for Christianitys internal life. Trinity means the reality of one God who is three persons. There are not three Gods somehow joined together, which would be explicit tritheism, nor can one envisage the three persons as together making up the Deity. This would reduce the â€Å"persons† to partial gods and mean that the Trinity was some kind of mathematical conundrum. Nor can the unity in Trinity be seen as simply a variety of attributes or perfections which constitute the being of God. Rather, the Trinity affirms that while each person is wholly divine both per se and in relation to the others, there is only one God. Gods being is a unity in Trinity and not otherwise. This naturally excludes the view that one can begin with a different conception of unity to which the Trinity must in some measure conform. It also indicates that the being of God as one can only be known as mystery in the actions of his grace and salvation in Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit or, to put it otherwise, in revelation and reconciliation. But if God is the one God as the Father sending the Son by the Holy Spirit, how do these three persons or ways of Gods being in action express his unity? That is the question. Two main answers have been given but elaborated in various ways. The first favored by the Orthodox East and by many Western theologians today is summarized cryptically as â€Å"being in relationship† or â€Å"being as communion† or â€Å"ontorelational unity† (Vanhoozer 188). The second traditional Western view sees the persons as inhering in the being of God as the focus of unity. Christians believe God is intrinsically relational. Salvation is communion with the triune God. Salvation is not a realization of pure identity, the unity of one absolute Self, a one without a second. That religious end would be relationless, because there is nothing outside the One with which to relate. Any relation of the One to something outside it could only be a diminishment or contamination of the divine perfection. Salvation is also not emptiness, the dissipation of any continuing consciousness of being at all. This too is a relationless end. In the first case there was one absolute with nothing/no one to relate with. In this case it is not the absence of an other that rules out relation, but the radical insubstantiality even of one. Instead of one without a second to relate with, we might regard this end as pure relation, with no â€Å"ones† — distinct persons or entities — to have the relation. These religious ends differ from salvation because they exclude relation itself, seeing it as extrinsic to religious fulfillment. In that light, salvation appears too interactive, too wedded to difference. Christians believe that the understanding of God as Trinity, the understanding whose catalyst is the incarnation of Christ, allows us to grasp key features of Gods character and Gods relation with us. If relationship itself is an impossible, unnecessary, or counterproductive religious aim, then this belief is in error. But if relation is truly an irreducible component of the religious end, then characterizations of God are not only passing tools. They are in some measure constitutive of that end. Salvation is shaped by a particular vision of the God with whom we are in relation. Here we glimpse the way in which Christ is integral to salvation, both embodying the relation with God that constitutes salvation and distinctively representing to us the nature of the God with whom we have communion in salvation. The Trinity is not about levels of divine being but about dimensions of God. Height, length, and width are features of a whole body and of every part of it, and yet the three are not the same. If emanations from God or acts of God are put on a ladder of being, then humans, who are farther down the ladder of creation, can relate only to the rungs immediately above or below them. Ultimate divinity lies further above and beyond. If the three divine persons of the Trinity are treated in this way, they become levels of being. But in fact no person of the Trinity is a lower or earlier step, and none is â€Å"less far in† to God. For the Christian, salvation is not passing beyond the Spirit to the Son or the Son to the Father. Salvation is participation in the divine life that is the communion among the three persons. The doctrine of the Trinity has its basis in Gods self-revelation in Israel and in Jesus Christ his Son by the Holy Spirit. In other words, it is to be found exclusively in this revelation as the Scriptures bear witness to it. This positive affirmation carries a negative within it. Since the unity of God is a unity in trinity no other conceived or supposedly proven unity of God is a Christian conception of the true God. Traditional doctrine has sometimes been at fault here. It brought a division into the whole conception of God beginning with a general doctrine of the one God and his attributes on the basis of some biblical material or philosophical proofs and then went on to speak of God as triune. This clearly has various dangers which are being recognized today. It could lead to the Trinity being subordinated to an already preconceived idea of God with a consequent weakening and undermining of its true nature in a modalistic way. Again, it could be seen as a creator God as Father being largely divorced from Son and Holy Spirit so that the Father was known otherwise than by faith, whereas Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit were the true objects of our belief and worship. This could bring a serious division into our conception of the Trinity, endangering the equality and nature of the persons and misunderstanding their mutual relationships. This dichotomy in the doctrine of God meant a real difficulty too in relating it to Christian life, faith, and worship. Augustine considers what is involved in the perfection of the image of God in humanity when through exercise of the trinity of faith the mind is purified and comes to contemplate God the Trinity. The image of God in the soul is memory, understanding and love, which is manifested (and can never be ultimately lost) when the mind remembers itself, loves itself and knows itself, but which is truly the image because it is the capacity the soul has to remember, know and love God and it is in such cleaving to God that the image is perfected: When its cleaving to him has become absolute, it will be one spirit with him . . . The mind will be raised to the participation of his being, truth and bliss, though nothing thereby be added to the being, truth and bliss which is its own. In that being, joined to it in perfect happiness, it will live a changeless life and enjoy the changeless vision of all that it will behold (Cavadini 103). What is happening here is less the souls ascent to God than the souls submitting to be refashioned by God: â€Å"the beginning of the images reforming must come from him who first formed it. The self which it was able to deform, it cannot of itself reform† (Cavadini 115). It is a process which begins in the moment of baptism, and is perfected in a long gradual process of penitence and endurance: â€Å"the cures beginning is to remove the cause of the sickness: and that is done through the forgiveness of sins. Its furtherance is the healing of the sickness itself, which takes effect by gradual progress in the renewal of the image† (Cavadini 121). The souls return to God is the perfecting within it of the image of God in which it was created. It is a movement away from the â€Å"land of unlikeness† in which it finds itself as a result of the fall. But Augustine emphasizes in the last book (XV) of De Trinitate that the likeness to God we have discovered in humanity is no equality: it is a likeness between two utterly different beings, God and the creature, and so he says, foreshadowing the language of the fourth Lateran Council, that we must â€Å"rather discern in its measure of likeness a greater unlikeness too† (Cavadini 122). For the love of God, beware of illness as much as you can, so that as far as possible your self is not the cause of any weakness . . . For the love of God, control your body and soul with great care, and keep as fit as you can. Here speaks the positive, life-affirming voice of Christian spirituality, in this case from plague-ridden England of the fourteenth century. The voice is also realistic: â€Å"should illness come in spite of everything, have patience and wait humbly for Gods mercy† (Peel 255). Between the twin poles of the passive acceptance of unavoidable suffering and the active care of health and work for healing, Christian spirituality moves with varying emphases, first in one direction, then in the other. In the twentieth century, Christian spirituality in its literature and practice has moved in the second direction, showing a more challenging attitude towards disease, and a wider concern for human development, personal and social. Wholeness in body, mind and spirit is presented as a goal to which ascetics need not run counter, and should indeed subserve. Wholeness and holiness, if not precisely synonymous, are regarded as related. â€Å"Properly understood, prayer is a mature act which is essential for the complete development of the personality . . . It is only in prayer that we can achieve the complete and harmonious union of body, mind and spirit† (Dr Alexis Carrel, quoted in H. Caffarel 20). The incarnation is seen to have implications for the redemption of every aspect of the worlds activity. At the same time, in society generally, a larger concept of health has begun to take hold, as meaning not merely the absence of sickness, but the realization of human potential. Advances in clinical medicine, pharmacology and psychiatry have helped to create a new climate of expectation. Partly through the growth of nuclear physics and a changed scientific and philosophical outlook, some writers have questioned the very distinction between the physical and the spiritual, as hitherto understood. It is in this changing atmosphere that the Christian ministry of healing, as distinct from forms of faith-healing which deny the value of scientific medicine, has been renewed in the churches. A fruitful meeting-point between spirituality and medicine lies in the fact that it is the vis medicatrix naturae, the recreative power of nature, which brings healing. Physicians and surgeons do not directly heal anybody: they seek by their skills to remove obstacles to natures healing energies, as when they correct chemical imbalances in the body, or take away diseased tissue. Means which touch the human spirit, such as are employed in the ministry of healing by prayer and sacrament, may equally be seen as seeking to liberate and quicken by grace the God-given forces within human nature. Three aspects of the subject attract attention, and developments in each can be expected. Christian Science arose at a time when Protestantism left little room for the teaching and practice of spiritual healing (Kelsey 69). It offered a unique product blend of metaphysics with an unorthodox interpretation of Christian scriptures that appealed to a large number of people during the late 19th century. With the inception of the Pentecostal movement early in the 20th century and its spillover into historic Christian denominations since 1950, healing was once again incorporated with orthodox Christian theology. Despite some obvious similarities between Christian Science and mainline Christian healing groups, very little rapport exists between the two approaches to religious healing. Christian Science accepts as an assumption that illness is a form of evil, and all evil is an illusion (Peel 254). Each person has it within her/himself to counter illusion with truth. As Christian Science foundress Mary Baker wrote: â€Å"That which [God] creates is good, and He makes all that is made. Therefore the only reality of sin, sickness or death is the awful fact that unrealities seem real to human, erring belief, until God strips off their disguise† (Peel 256). Faith in Gods power to heal has to reckon with the fact that there appear to be blocks in a disordered world and within human personality to receiving Gods healing energies. Such obstacles may be moral, in the form of unrepented sin. They may also be due to emotional disturbances caused by past wounds to the spirit. Inner healing is concerned to bring to light the causes of the inner pain; to help the sufferer to interpret them correctly; and to release the person from the emotional grip of the past. Prayer and meditation play a crucial part in this exodus from captivity. Deeper levels of the mind are reached in contemplative prayer, when the focus is upon God alone, and the soul waits upon him. Inner healing comes also in corporate worship, when the gaze is Godward and the worshipper is lifted by the Spirit out of self-centredness or narrowness of vision. Closer union with God in the depth of the spirit thus brings an integration of the whole person around the new Centre, and it is quite usual for physical health to be improved. Diseases are caught in a diseased society. Environment counts, for better or for worse. â€Å"It is cruel and false to brand every sufferer as a sinner: much suffering and sickness is due to the sin either of other persons, or of society in general† (Peel 269). There is in some churches a growth of less formal kinds of reaching out to minister to the sick in the name of Christ, alongside the sacramental ministries of Eucharist, anointing, laying on of hands, reconciliation of penitents, and occasionally exorcism. The dedicated use by every member of Christ of his or her personal gift of the Spirit enables the local church to become an actively healing community. Where some have a physical gift of healing through the hands (a phenomenon still little understood, though real), they may use it as members of a parish team, and are sometimes licensed by a bishop for a wider ministry. I believe that Jesus Christ is in fact constitutive of healing. Christ is constitutive of healing for all people who attain it. Christ is constitutive in this way not as some separate and additional actor besides God, but precisely as an expression of the triune life of God. Christ is one who comes from the triune life into human life but also one who brings human life into its fullest participation in the triune life. Christ is not extrinsic to the love of God, not only a representation of it, but also the working of it. Christ is in such unity with God that communion with God involves a fundamental relation with Christ. Healing is constituted solely by Gods everlasting love. Christ does not constitute healing; Christ represents the God who does. Ordinary Christian sacraments and preaching can only symbolize God by representing Christ. Christ represents God by constituting these lesser representations. Whereas they represent Gods love by also representing him, he represents Gods love by also constituting them. Christs special role is not to constitute healing but to constitute the Christian symbols for it. Other religions may have their own representations.   The problem with this analysis is that it makes â€Å"Gods everlasting love† an abstract quality and agent, some kind of prior decision in the mind of God, and downplays its personal nature. That love is precisely a feature of the personal communion that is the divine life, of which the second person of the Trinity is a constitutive member. Prior to being an idea or a decision, this love is an event. And Christ, the divine Word, is participant in that event, constitutive of that everlasting love. Likewise the extension of this love to humanity which constitutes healing is not an abstract possibility. The path for human participation in the triune communion is laid in the unity of God and humanity in Christ. Though Christ is certainly the way, in the Christian view, Christ is also the life and the truth in whom we rest and grow while on the way and at the end of the way. The proposition that Christ is the sole savior of the world is not adequately translated by saying that everyone must make use of Christ for at least one crucial moment, long enough to negotiate part of the passage to the promised land of â€Å"salvation,† after which time Christ can be discarded or replaced. In inviting his followers into a relation with God like his own, Jesus presumed that those in such relation were one body that they lived in him and he lived in them, just as Christ lived in God and God in him. Jesus did not counsel his followers to go out and independently approach God as Jesus did. Jesus invited them to share in that relationship by virtue of their connection with him. There is nothing purely instrumental about this: the images and substance are all organic. Communion is the way Christ saves, and it is the salvation that results. Healing seems to be restored as a normal part of the Churchs ministry and of the Christian experience, wherever the Church is alive with faith in Christ. But, as with the mission to evangelize the world, so with the healing work of Christ in his Church, opposition abounds and the story is one of failure as well as success. God reigns, and the word is preached with signs following. But the end is not yet, and in Christian perspective the total healing of people and nations waits for the consummation of all things, when God shall be all in all. Deep dialogue with others can begin with prayer, the deepest dialogue with the Ultimate Other. Within this deepest dialogue, active and receptive prayer processes proposed by the Relational Prayer Model have been related to eastern and western historical descriptions of the prayer of the Holy Name. A comparison of the method and function of the prayer of the Holy Name has revealed several similarities between eastern and western spiritual traditions. These points of common ground between spiritual traditions support the expansion of the original Interpersonal Christian Prayer Model to account for more than a solely western spiritual tradition. In addition, intercultural religious dialogue and prayer between eastern and western spiritual traditions has been developed with several examples. Such religious enculturation could lead to further development and/or revisions of the Relational Prayer Model. Most modern perspectives on the Trinity and worship see prayer as a central aspect of this relationship. The passages in the New Testament that distinguish most clearly between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are those that deal with prayer. Christ as our reconciler and peace giver is the one through whom we have access by one Spirit to the Father. â€Å"It was when he was thinking about prayer that Paul also thought about how in their different ways the Son and the Spirit enable us to approach the Father† (Thompson 70). While all three persons in the Trinity are necessary properly to speak of God as one it is primarily to the Father that the Son and the Spirit lead us in prayer. This is summed up by Paul when he says, â€Å"God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts crying Abba, Father† Thompson 65). Central to this is the Son, who reveals the Father, and whom, when we see, we see the Father. This leads us back to our Lords Prayer and his relation to God where the distinctive name he gives him is â€Å"Father.† Prayer is â€Å"through Jesus Christ our Lord,† that is, through all he was and said and did in his fife, death, and resurrection. He is the way, as well as the truth and the life. If prayer is to the Father and through the Son, it is enabled by the Spirit. Only the Spirit enables us to know God as Father or to confess Jesus as Lord or to pray to the Father in a way that is acceptable to him. The role of Son and Spirit in this is profoundly expressed in Romans. â€Å"Christ who died for us is now our great High Priest and Intercessor by his presence with the Father in the power of his finished work on the cross† (Thompson 96). Yet we can know this and be able to enter into its meaning only by the Holy Spirit. He is the One who lays hold upon our weaknesses by his strength and intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words. Through Christ we become children of God and this relationship is made possible, continued, and brought to its completion by â€Å"his Spirit which dwells in you† (Thompson 98). He is the gift and power of the present and the hope of immortality. It is the Spirit (who is divine) who intercedes for us. God the Father who knows us and our weaknesses knows his own Holy Spirit and God, speaking to us through God, as it were, prays for us and with us as the Spirit, as God wants and as prayer ought to be. At the same time, paradoxically, it is not simply the Spirits prayer but ours as well. So close is the work of Son and Spirit in bringing us to the Father that each is spoken of as Advocate and Intercessor. The trinitarian aspect of prayer has profound significance for worship. It is not seen primarily as our work but Gods own gift through Christ and the Holy Spirit. Thus â€Å"prayer and worship are not primarily hard tasks that God sets us; they are gifts that through his Son and in his Spirit he shares with us† (Thompson 99). The triune God in his life is both one and three in his being and relationships. This insight is applied in relation to the church in two areas, the local and the universal. The New Testament speaks not only of the church but also of the churches. By this is not meant denominations in our modern sense of the term, but the various ecclesiae, the various local communities wherever found. In this sense the churches represent the universal church. Each particular congregation shares in this fullness and totality in both locality and universality. In the diversity of churches or communities the one church appears in each place. One can put it in picture form by saying that the whole universal church looks out in the local church. The Conference of European Churches (C.E.C.) made the point clearly: â€Å"The whole church of Christ is constituted not by adding together part church to part church, but is expressed by the communion of local churches in mutual interpenetration. Conciliar community of churches is thus an integral part of the concept of the trinity† (Bockman 89). By this it means not that church can and should seek to live by and for itself   but, by its very basis and existence, is one with the church universal and must express that relationship analogous to the Trinity, in concrete structured form, however one may interpret this. â€Å"The primary goal of the participation of the church in the mission of God is, as expressed by Christ in his missionary mandate, to make disciples† (Bockman 89). Put otherwise, it is to bring men and women into living fellowship with the triune God and with one another through him. The church is thus not a static product of the Spirits work, but a dynamic instrument in the service of others. â€Å"You are Gods own people that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light† (Bockman 89). The church is, on the one hand, the provisional result of mission but, on the other hand, it is Gods agent of it. The goal of the church is thus not itself but the world. The church participates in Gods mission to bring to humankind righteousness and salvation and to reconcile a broken creation. There are many avenues for the interpretation of religions. The distinctively Christian way passes through the trinitarian dynamic we have been describing, the heart of a Christian theology of religions. We saw that Trinity is a non-reductive religious ultimate, in whom the three persons and their unique relations subsist as co-equal dimensions of a single communion. This is like a musical polyphony, a simultaneous, non-excluding harmony of difference that constitutes one unique reality. Each voice has its own distinctive character by virtue of its relation with the others. We can equally well say that each receives its special voice by participation in the oneness of the whole musical work. In the trinity we are dealing with three subjects who are reciprocally conscious of each other by reason of one and the same consciousness which the three subjects possess, each in his own proper way. This means that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are conscious of one another through their united consciousness and possession of the one divine essence and therein lies the unity of God. This does not go as far as either the Eastern tradition or the statement of Torrance. It is impossible to overemphasize the importance of the Christian doctrine that God is one in three persons. This has correctly been called the teaching distinctive of the Christian faith, that which sets the approach of Christians to the â€Å"fearful mystery† of the deity apart from all other approaches. To be human is to be separated from God in some degree. To be Christian, the Christian believes, is to be separated from him least. The knowledge of the Trinity which we have from the New Testament is above all personal. We are introduced to the Three and invited to share the happiness of the divine company. This is truly the great mystery of Christianity, the mystery of love. In the New Testament there is none of the remoteness in conceiving God which today tends to separate Christians from their triune Lord. Bibliography Bockman, Peter Wilhelm â€Å"Trinity, Model of Unity Relationship between Unity and Communion the Universal and the Local,† in The Reconciling Power of the Trinity, p. 89. Cf. Moltmann. Cavadini, John â€Å"The Structure and Intention of Augustines De Trinitate,† Augustinian Studies 23, 1992. Dr Alexis Carrel, quoted in H. Caffarel, The Body at Prayer. London, SPCK, 1978. Kelsey, Morton T.   Psychology, Medicine Christian Healing. San Francisco: Harper Row, 1988. Peel, Robert.   Spiritual Healing in a Scientific Age. San Franciso: Harper Row, Publishers, 1987. Thompson, John. Modern Trinitarian Perspectives. Oxford University Press: New York, 1994. Vanhoozer, Kevin J. The Cambridge Companion to Postmodern Theology. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, England, 2003. Endnotes Bockman, Peter Wilhelm â€Å"Trinity, Model of Unity Relationship between Unity and Communion the Universal and the Local,† in The Reconciling Power of the Trinity, p. 89. Cf. Moltmann. Cavadini, John. â€Å"The Structure and Intention of Augustines De Trinitate,† Augustinian Studies 23 (1992), 103-23. Dr Alexis Carrel, quoted in H. Caffarel, The Body at Prayer ( London, SPCK, 1978), 20. Kelsey, Morton T., Psychology, Medicine Christian Healing, (San Francisco: Harper Row, 1988), 69. Peel, Robert, Spiritual Healing in a Scientific Age, (San Franciso: Harper Row, Publishers, 1987), 254-69. Thompson, John, Modern Trinitarian Perspectives, (Oxford University Press: New York, 1994), 69-85. Vanhoozer, Kevin J., The Cambridge Companion to Postmodern Theology, (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, England, 2003), 188.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Developing an Online Banking Application

Developing an Online Banking Application This report details the importance of securely developing a software and the best practices to implement throughout the development lifecycle. Using the Microsoft Secure Development Lifecycle Model, a software can be developed with sufficient security measures throughout each stage from the beginning of development until its eventual release and even responding to incidents that may follow its release. Creating an online banking application without thoroughly considering the security of the banks assets and customers information would be virtually impossible. Due to the vital importance of the assets a bank contains, large security measures while developing any aspect of its services must always be implemented. Developing this online banking application must include various steps as can be seen in the Microsoft Security Development Lifecycle (Such as Security Requirements, Risk Assessment and Threat Modelling). Banks and financial businesses are large targets for malicious attackers who target the online services provided by these companies. It is for this reason that the threats posed to a bank with an online banking service are vast and development of such an application should be treated as such. Considering the OWASP Top 10 is a good initial security measure as mitigating the threats of the top 10 most common vulnerabilities found in web applications will give a good foundation in avoiding attacks. The application works by having the user access the website through their browser, navigating through the two step authentication and then gaining access to various options relating to their account such as viewing statements, transferring money to other accounts and viewing the amount currently in their account. The first of the two step verification is an 8 digit pin that the user will have decided upon earlier when first creating their account for their online banking service. The second step verification will either be the users date of birth or occasionally it will be the users contact number. This second step verification will change randomly so as to avoid use of an automated tool attempting to access a users account. When the user creates an online banking account, they will be required to give their home address and account number. A letter will then be sent to the user giving them a code that is specific to them which they can then use to verify their identity on their first use of the online banking application and complete creating their account. This means that the only people who can use the service are those who already have full access to the users account details and their post. This is an effective security measure as implementing security into a software that can be compromised simply by having any person impersonate another user signing up for the service would be redundant. Another way that the login process will be secured is by using a counter in which if a user enters details incorrectly three consecutive times then they will be unable to make another attempt for a short period of time. The reason behind this two step verification process is to hinder the use of tools that would continuously attempt to crack the login system, possibly with the use of a tool such as John the Ripper or THC Hydra. The limited amount of login attempts is also used to avoid brute-force attacks from occurring. Having already been authenticated, a user will then have access to their account details including their balance, their previous statements and also they will be able to transfer funds from their account. All of this information will be stored in a database which will be encrypted and salted meaning that a leak of this information should not cause for the information to be decipherable by an attacker. The Secure SDL (Software Development Lifecycle) as implemented by Microsoft is a development process which assists developers in creating secure software and looks at complying with security requirements whilst reducing the overall development cost. The Lifecycle is separated into 7 different SDL practices as can be seen in the figure below. These practices are used to highlight security implementations in the various stages of a softwares development. For example, in the designing of a developing software, it is necessary to create accurate threat models which can be used to easily locate different possible vulnerabilities that the software may be subject to. (stan.gr, 2012). (Microsoft, 2016). Establishing Security Requirements One of the first steps to be taken in developing the banking software is to establish what security and privacy requirements will be implemented in the software. This will make it easier to identify the direction of the development and assist in keeping to the schedule. The team developing the banking software will primarily look at the OWASP Top 10 as the main vulnerabilities that may occur in the application and attempt to secure against these. One of the security requirements that will be present in the software is to secure the software against Injection. As the information that is shown when a user logs in is sensitive, the software must protect against malicious users attempting to login by using injection. In order to avoid SQL injection, the software will be developed using prepared statements in order to sanitise the input of the user. Validation methods will be included in the software to ensure that each user has the correct authority to use the functions that they attempt to use and that all inputs that are entered into the application will be acceptable so as to avoid cross site scripting and other such threats. Create Quality Gates / Bug Bars In the early stages of development, deciding what the minimum acceptable level of quality should be present in the security of the software is vital. Without this step, oversights may exist such as users private information not being totally secure as the development team did not focus on protecting this over a different area. Having a minimum acceptance level also helps the development team to correct security bugs as they are to follow the standard set and will be given some concept as to what risks are associated with various issues. For this software, it will not be acceptable that any bug that could be related to the leaking of information may be present. Strict security measures will be put in place to ensure that the privacy of the banks customers will be protected. Security Privacy Risk Assessment This stage of the development will involve examining the software design and locating areas that are potentially prone to more threats or perhaps possess more risks than other areas. For example, the database being protected, as it contains vital information, is of higher risk of a malicious attack than the website hosting the application. Identifying these risks and what they are susceptible to will improve the security of the software. This will be further developed in the threat modelling step as this step determines which parts of the project will require threat modelling. This stage is vital in the development process as the likelihood of protecting against a risk that has been overlooked in the development of the software is far less than if it had been analyzed throughout the development. Design (Microsoft, 2016). Establish Design Requirements Establishing the Design Requirements will ensure that the software will function in the intended way while also allowing to minimise cost and improve security throughout the development. This stage will guarantee that the software will be user friendly and will also assist in ensuring that there is no way that a user may accidentally gain access to information that they are not authorised to do so. Analyze Attack Surface This step involves analyzing which parts of the software presents opportunities for attackers and can assist developers in reducing these vulnerabilities. This may involve disabling or restricting certain access to services. This stage is another stage that will be a large part of the threat modeling stage in that it will allow the developers to identify aspects of the software that are viable to be attack targets. Threat Modeling This step will allow the developers to look at exactly what happens when a user is using the service and to anticipate what aspects are vulnerable to threats. From here, developers can decide the feasibility of reducing these threats and how this may be achieved. This can be done by identifying vulnerable areas and ensuring that they are secured against the attacks that they are susceptible to. The importance of this stage is highlighted by the importance of protecting the sensitive information that the application will be using. The figure below shows a threat model created with the Microsoft Threat Modelling Tool 2016 in regards to the online banking service. (Microsoft, 2016). Use Approved Tools Using approved tools throughout the development process will assist in ensuring that correct security procedures will be used in the software. This includes using a compiler which will flag security warnings if the software is being compiled and contains a known security risk. These tools may include the IDE (Integrated Development Environment) for the developers to programme the software on, such as Eclipse. Deprecate Unsafe Functions Banning functions that are deemed to be unsafe will reduce potential bugs in the software. Detecting these can be done by using automated tools or manually checking the code and ensuring that none of the functions are present on the banned list which can be found at https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb288454.aspx>. Static Analysis Analyzing the source code before compiling it is a good way of ensuring that the code has been developed in a secure manner. This stage will involve the developers to look at the code and check that the correct security protocols have been put in place such as prepared statements and sanitisation of inputs. (Microsoft, 2016). This stage of the Software Development Lifecycle involves testing the software to ensure that the software is functioning as it is intended and also allows for web application penetration testing to be carried out in order to confirm that the security functions put in place are working correctly. This penetration testing can be done by the business if they have their own department or it can be outsourced to an outside specialist company such as Offensive Security. Offensive Security offers more accurately simulate real-world hacking situations to audit network, web, and application security programs (Offensive Security, 2016). (Microsoft, 2016). Perform Dynamic Analysis Using various tools to monitor things such as user privilege issues will assist in verifying how secure the software is when being used. It is at this stage that the software can be looked at for any possible security oversights. This stage is similar to the testing stage and can be used to verify what devices the web application works on and also if there are any errors with how to application performs. An example of this would be that the application may work as intended on a Firefox browser from an android device but may not work entirely as intended on Safari on an iOS device. Fuzz Testing This step involves attempting to make the program fail by introducing random data. This testing is used to verify how the software handles errors and if there is any weakness in the security of how the software does this. This may involve an error occurring which gives sensitive data about the softwares database. This testing will ensure that the sanitisation of the user inputs is working correctly by handling these errors rather than executing code that is input. Attack Surface Review Reviewing the attack surface when the code has been completed will help ensure that any future changes to the design or functionality of the software has been considered and that these changes will not compromise the security of the software. An example of this could be that considering making the web application into a mobile device application may present difficulties as different vulnerabilities may be present. (Microsoft, 2016). Create an Incident Response Plan Creating an Incident Response Plan is crucial in order to combat any threats that may appear over the softwares lifecycle. It involves identifying security emergency contacts in the event that a security breach occurs. The incident response plan can be broken down into six phases: Preparation Detection Containment Investigation Remediation Recovery The Preparation phase involves having implemented the correct controls in order to recover following an incident. It states the policies, tools and contact information that is necessary in order to respond efficiently to an incident. Detection is a phase which involves the discovery of the incident. This can be through use of logging or may come in the form of a consumer alerting the business. In this phase, the incident will be declared and the severity of it will be determined. The containment phase will be where the affected part of the software will be isolated or mitigated if possible. If the incident affects the software in its entirety, it must be determined whether or not the entire software is to be taken offline so as to avoid any more users to be affected by it. The investigation phase will involve looking at the incident and attempting to identify the source, the scope and the priority of the incident. The remediation phase will be where it is decided which parties to inform about the incident and will confirm that the threat has in fact been contained. The recovery phase will be the phase in which it is determined how the software will ensure that the incident does not happen again and will confirm whether it is necessary to review any of the softwares policies. (Raderman, L. 2015) Conduct Final Security Review Reviewing all of the security checks and measures prior, throughout and post release of the software helps to ensure that they were carried out correctly and that none had been left out. This step can be assisted by using an automated tool such as Vega to scan the application and determine if any known vulnerabilities have been overlooked. Ensuring that the utmost has been done to protect the security and privacy of its users should be one of the banks largest priorities in developing this software as without the trust provided by this, the bank will surely suffer with a loss of assets in the form of customers and finances. Certify Release and Archive Certifying the software before it is released will help to ensure that all of the correct security requirements were met. Archiving the data will allow the developers to do roll backs and to review any future security or privacy breaches in relation to the original software. Without certifying the software upon its full release, the credibility of the software may be questioned and it may cause negative public relations for the business. As a bank, it is important that customers are confident in the security and privacy provided by the business. (Microsoft, 2016). Execute Incident Response Plan The capability of implementing the Incident Response Plan from the Release step will assist in helping users to avoid severe security and privacy breaches and allow for the company to have a quicker response to any exploits that may arise. This step is important as users should feel confident that the bank has their best interests in mind and will ensure that their security, being one of the business key assets, is being frequently and effectively protected. Developing an online application for a bank could prove extremely beneficial and convenient for its customers. However, the importance of the information that a bank retains in regards to its customers and their finances is high and with the nature of cyber security and its ever increasing attacks, especially to a high profile target such as a bank, the development of such an application should be assessed with security in mind throughout the process. Following the Microsoft Secure Development Lifecycle is a very effective way of ensuring that a software is thoroughly analyzed for security threats and vulnerabilities and ensures that a business will have reasonable plans in place in the event that any breach of security may happen. It is also beneficial when developing a software to be secure, to refer to the OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities and ensure that the software is as secure against these vulnerabilities as possible. Microsoft (2011) Security Development Lifecycle (SDL) Banned Function Calls [online] available from:ÂÂ   https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb288454.aspx [accessed 27th December 2016]. Microsoft (2016) What is the Security Development Lifecycle? [online] available from: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/sdl/ [accessed 27th December 2016]. Offensive Security (2016) Advanced Penetration Testing Services [online] available from: https://www.offensive-security.com/offensive-security-solutions/penetration-testing-services/ [accessed 2nd January 2017]. OWASP.org (2015) Top 10 2013-Top 10 [online] available from: https://www.owasp.org/index.php/Top_10_2013-Top_10 [accessed 27th December 2016]. Raderman, L. (2015) Computer Security Incident Response Plan. Carnegie Mellon Information Security Office [online], 13th Febuary 2015, (pg 8-9), available from: https://www.cmu.edu/iso/governance/procedures/docs/incidentresponseplan1.0.pdf> [accessed 2nd January 2017]. The phases of Microsoft SDL.(2012) [online image] available from: http://www.stan.gr/2012_11_01_archive.html>,[accessed 27th December 2016].

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Chaucers Canterbury Tales - The Modern and Mediaeval Merchants Tale :: The Merchants Tale

The Modern and Mediaeval Merchant's Tale  Ã‚   "The Merchant's Prologue and Tale" is mainly concerned with the infidelity of May while she is married to Januarie. Infidelity is undoubtedly a popular topic for discussion in modern times and is often the subject of magazine or television stories. Despite the concern with marriage and the status of men and women within such a relationship keeping the story applicable to the audience even more than 600 years later, there are many elements of the Prologue and Tale which root them in a mediaeval context. The reasons to marry and the opinions cited show the attitudes of the mediaeval period as do the references to mythological figures such as "Ymeneus, that god of wedding is". Symbolising how the mediaeval and modern aspects of the Tale can be easily combined is the story of Pluto and Proserpina. Although Pluto captures his wife, she is able to spend much of the year away from Hades. This is symbolic of the greater liberty that many women can enjoy in the modern world. Opposing this modern link is the relationship between Januarie and May which is shown to have followed mediaeval tradition to a greater extent concerning the actual marriage and the mercantile nature in which it is brought about. Rather than the freedom for Proserpina agreed between herself and Pluto, Januarie desires a wife of "warm wex" that he can control, ultimately causing May to betray him. Januarie's reasons for marrying are seen as improper both in the mediaeval and modern contexts. He wishes to be married simply because he is old and society seems to say that he should. There is no consideration of love, only of lust as he declares, "I wol noon oold wyf han in no manere". A mediaeval audience would have been aware that an emphasis on carnal pleasure was displeasing to God, while this would be less of an issue to a modern audience. As marriage was considered by the mediaeval audience to be an embodiment of Christ's devotion to the Church, the theme of infidelity would be apparent to the modern audience, but without the ironic details obvious to the earlier audience. In addition to this, the simple fact that Januarie's friends are prepared to find "to whom [he] may be wedded hastily", rather than let Januarie look for himself roots the Tale in a mediaeval context as such an idea is almost inconceivable in the year 2000.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

History of False Teeth :: Dentures Dental

False teeth, which are known today as â€Å"dentures†, are bony plates which are installed into a patient’s mouth by means of adhesion to the fleshy mandibular or maxillary arch. Although these are now relatively inexpensive and their requirement is often taken for granted, they have not always been so easy to come by. A look at the history of false teeth shows a pain-staking and quirky evolution: Though it is assumed that primitive versions of false teeth have been around since the 700s B.C., the first concrete evidence of false teeth emerges from the 15th century. These were carved of bone or ivory, or they were made from random assortments of teeth that had been dug up from graveyards. However, these had no self-contained method of attachment, but rather were fastened to any remaining teeth by means of metallic or silk thread. This attachment was visible to the observer, resulting in a smile that was not only extremely uncomfortable, but also unattractive. Thus, false teeth were originally intended to serve the sole purpose of aid in eating, not aesthetic purposes. The biggest shortcoming of these archaic appliances was the fact that they were subject to decay in the wearer’s mouth. Thus, installed false teeth would have to be replaced on a regular basis, resulting in a very costly procedure. However, this problem was rectified in 1774 by Duchateau and Dubois de Chemant with their invention of the first full set of dentures that would not rot. This was due to their porcelain composition – a material that was much more conducive to the everyday wear and tear of one’s teeth. Although an incredible improvement, even the porcelain version had its difficulties. Unable to produce anything less than a full set of teeth (the surrounding porcelain was required to keep each tooth in place), patients who were missing only one or two teeth were out of luck, unless they were willing to have the rest of their teeth removed as well. And yet, in 1808, Giuseppangelo Fonzi developed the first individual appliance – a single porc elain tooth that could be held in place by a pin drilled into the jawbone. Finally, in 1845, Claudius Ash, known as the official â€Å"inventor of dentures†, produced the porcelain version that is now used today. His contributions included a suction method of adhesion for a full set of dentures, so that no form of attachment could be seen by an onlooker. History of False Teeth :: Dentures Dental False teeth, which are known today as â€Å"dentures†, are bony plates which are installed into a patient’s mouth by means of adhesion to the fleshy mandibular or maxillary arch. Although these are now relatively inexpensive and their requirement is often taken for granted, they have not always been so easy to come by. A look at the history of false teeth shows a pain-staking and quirky evolution: Though it is assumed that primitive versions of false teeth have been around since the 700s B.C., the first concrete evidence of false teeth emerges from the 15th century. These were carved of bone or ivory, or they were made from random assortments of teeth that had been dug up from graveyards. However, these had no self-contained method of attachment, but rather were fastened to any remaining teeth by means of metallic or silk thread. This attachment was visible to the observer, resulting in a smile that was not only extremely uncomfortable, but also unattractive. Thus, false teeth were originally intended to serve the sole purpose of aid in eating, not aesthetic purposes. The biggest shortcoming of these archaic appliances was the fact that they were subject to decay in the wearer’s mouth. Thus, installed false teeth would have to be replaced on a regular basis, resulting in a very costly procedure. However, this problem was rectified in 1774 by Duchateau and Dubois de Chemant with their invention of the first full set of dentures that would not rot. This was due to their porcelain composition – a material that was much more conducive to the everyday wear and tear of one’s teeth. Although an incredible improvement, even the porcelain version had its difficulties. Unable to produce anything less than a full set of teeth (the surrounding porcelain was required to keep each tooth in place), patients who were missing only one or two teeth were out of luck, unless they were willing to have the rest of their teeth removed as well. And yet, in 1808, Giuseppangelo Fonzi developed the first individual appliance – a single porc elain tooth that could be held in place by a pin drilled into the jawbone. Finally, in 1845, Claudius Ash, known as the official â€Å"inventor of dentures†, produced the porcelain version that is now used today. His contributions included a suction method of adhesion for a full set of dentures, so that no form of attachment could be seen by an onlooker.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Ferdinand Prosche: Life And Achievements Of A Pioneer :: essays research papers

Ferdinand Prosche: Life And Achievements of A Pioneer German engineer Ferdinand Porsche is certainly one of the most important figures - if not the most imporant and influent-in the history of automobile making. This outstanding Teuton was born on September 3rd, 1875 in Mafferdorf, Germany. One of the most remarkable accomplishments of his carrer was that his work was not limited to one factory, but instead he worked in many of the most renowned car-making factories of the time. His life as an engineer started early, at the age of 22, when he designed an electric engine. In 1900 he was hired by a carmaker of the time, Lohner. He installed one of his engines on a Lohner and showed it in the Paris World Fair. The car was the show-stopper of the event, and later obtained positive results in several races. Other less important events happened between 1900 and 1923, when he was hired by the most important carmaker of the time, Daimler Motoren A.G. (Which in 1926 would join Benz to form Daimler-Benz A.G.) During this time, first with Daimler and then with Daimler-Benz, he became member of the board of directors, and designed the famed S (Sportlich) and SS (Super Sportlich). Prizes and university degrees did not take long to appear, and in the same year he joined Daimler, 1923, he was named Sir Ferdinand Porsche by the Italian government and recieved an Honoris Causa from the Stuttgart Technical Institute. Porsche worked in the design of Mercedes-Benz cars until 1928, when he left because of disagreements the other other chief engineer of the factory, Hans Nibel. But his last development in the factory was probably one of the most important: The curious, exotic and fast SSKL. After Porsche left Mercedes, he was soon hired to design the now extint Austria cars, and later joined another very important German auto maker, Auto Union. In this factory he designed the famous and complex 16-cylinder race cars. While working in Auto Union, he formed with his son "Ferry" an independent factory that had their last name, Porsche, as name. Ferry worked as design head. In another example of versatility and excellence, he won the contract for building the Volkswagen, a car that, according to the beliefs of Adolf Hitler, was going to put every German citizen on wheels. And it did. With help form the Nazi government, he started building the Volkswagen plant. Finally, the car hit showrooms on 1939, but the war postponed it's full production until 1945.The Volkswagen became more then a car, it became a symbol of easy, reliable

People Are Getting Overly Dependent on Technology

Running head: IS IT BECOMING OUR PRIMARY NECESSITY? 1 Is information technology becoming the primary necessity of our existence; as we are getting dependent on it? Raisa Sadat Sharmin Brac University IS IT BECOMING THE PRIMARY NECESSITY OF OUR LIFE? 2 Abstract This paper explores four published articles that surveys and gathered information on about the usage of information technology. the articles, however gives various data about the statistics of using internet from different groups of peoples. Another reflected the development of Google within last ten years, and also about the expenditure on information technology. One of the article deals with the facts that young students are addicted towards sexting. And lastly one paper deals with the decrease of printed materials. In fact this paper is a research work on the dependency and independency of humans on the information technology. IS IT BECOMING OUR PRIMARY NECESSITY? 3 Is information technology becoming the primary necessity of our existence; as we are getting dependent on it? â€Å"Could you please hurry up? I’m getting late† a customer in a renowned super shop is becoming restless due to the long queue in the payment desk. But what happened? Why has everything halted suddenly? It was just a case of system failure, which stopped all the works inside the shop and the cashier was unable to make the bills, as the bar code reader and all other software were not responding. As a result, the waiting list got longer and created chaos inside the shop. Look, how such a simple system failure is creating so much of distraction in our life. The above situation was just an example from a super shop, but it is not the only thing based on information technology. In fact, most of the things in our country are now based on information technology. Even if the world recognizes Bangladesh to be a poor, developing country with many people living below the poverty line, the usage of technology is considerably high. In a report published in Internet world statistics, the author (2010) stated that the number of mobile phone usage increased from 100,000 to 995,560 with the rate expanding from 0. 1% to 0. 6%, during 2000 to 2010. Nowadays, cellular phone usage has become very common amongst the lower class in our country. Also offices and stores are relying on technology for storing their records and dealings. Moreover, students have become dependent on the Internet for searching essential information. Why are we using this information technology? Because these technology makes our life easier, for example it enables us to communicate with others at a distance within a second, IM and video conferencing are allowing us to be in touch with our relatives staying abroad, and that also for free; only the line rent is enough to let us exchange few words with our relatives. In addition information on the Internet are allowing us to get updates in a matter of seconds. Even if it is providing us with ample benefits, it is giving rise to dependency. I strongly believe that people are getting over dependent on technology, as these facilities are making us inefficient in manual work procedure, handicapped without technology, and it is also becoming a main reason for wastage of money in the case of the young generations, though IT is providing us a less time consuming lifestyle, low cost communicating facility and a digital way of refreshment. IS IT BECOMING OUR PRIMARY NECESSITY? 4 Just recall the previous times, when we were not touched by the digital life system; what happened in that time? Students did not got any help from the internet for their assignments, in spite of that they did their assignments and other works, they were not thrown out of the institutes for getting bad grades. Scientists, doctors, engineers were born previously; they also did their research works, as well as new inventions. They worked hard, without looking for something simpler they went through the printed books, to gather information for themselves; but nowadays students cannot even think of doing their papers without the help of the technology, they are becoming inefficient to go through the manual working procedure. As time changes, we are getting new technologies to improve our lifestyle, as for example, now assignments, projects and other brainstorming works are easier today. Just type the word and click to search anything about the related topic in Google (the most efficient search engine). According to Dingle (2010), Google did a revolution in the business sector by starting its journey of giving free service to search information in its sites, and day-by-day Google is expanding its services. Google obviously makes our life easier, and that is why students tend to rely upon it for their academic purpose. Zillien and Hargittai (2009) did a survey on different types of Internet usage on the various classes of people in the society; the most common usage amongst all the group of peoples was email and search engine usage. From higher class to lower class, everyone is dependent on Google, as almost 86% of the sample replies to it, and above 90% responds to the email usage. Karen et al. (2010), says students are getting dependent on the electronic and search engine sources mostly within 1996 to 1999, as between those years, the number of printing sources like books decreases. All these experts are telling us about the efficiency of IT in our lives, where we are actually becoming more inefficient. Most of the companies and offices are using IT to maintain all their documents, records and dealings. They said that IT is helping them to maintain all the complex works in a simpler way. For example, Apollo Hospital is a worldwide chain hospital, which has opened in to our country recently. An employee of the hospital was asked about the system maintenance of the hospital, and he answered that from the appointment to pharmacy billing, every single thing are maintained by the IT system. They have interred linkage within the computers throughout the hospital, and everything is monitored centrally. All the patients and staff have got different ID IS IT BECOMING OUR PRIMARY NECESSITY? 5 numbers and servers where all information about them is saved. Then the question arises, what would happen if the system fails for one day? The employee become silent, and says we cannot even think the system failure for one hour, and it is impossible to run a day without these systems. The employee was also asked whether there is manual system, in case of emergency in the hospital, he says no; by chance if there is any system failure, nothing can run on that building, patients would have to wait for getting prescription as well as their appointment. He also said that, â€Å"we are handicapped without technology†, as they cannot perform any of the action without computers. Though IT allows them to maintain all the things very swiftly, it also makes them to be dependent o it. The most surprising fact is that, humans invent technology, and now they cannot proceed without the technologies. Nowadays, almost every people confess his or her dependency on IT, while in a survey people of different ages were asked about this dependency, and according to the figure 7, 62. 5% of the people said that they are dependent on the information technology; and figure 5 says that 100% of the people cannot imagine themselves without their cell phone or laptop. So, we can say that IT is making us handicapped, as often we cannot work on their unavailability. The young generations of today are now up to date with all the latest technology available. They are getting dependent, and wasting money to buy different gadgets. Dingle (2010) gathers information from the research firm Gartner, where the author found that Global IT has spent US$1,4 trillion, from where a huge amount of money went for both hardware and software, which in turn helps us by increasing the availability of computers in almost every corner of our lives. We are progressing, and new inventions are coming everyday; companies like Apple, Nokia, Blackberry and etc. are contributing a lot to serve the necessity of the young generations. Dingle (2010) cites the research of Gartner who expects that the customers will spend quiet about US$6 billion to get mobile applications. Teenagers and also adults are now using huge amount of money to satisfy their hunger for getting latest technology. As in figure 5, while in a survey, 96. 7% people said that they spend money on IT, whereas only 3. 3% said that they do not spend money for the usage. Many students, who lives abroad, works for hours to receive extra payments, by which they can fulfill their needs. All this factors are pointing out that IS IT BECOMING OUR PRIMARY NECESSITY? 6 our young generations are getting dedicated towards the IT, and wasting lots of money to get their needs. Computer invention is believed as a revolution in world, it was made for human beings, to make their life easier, faster and more comfortable. Many people believed that before we wasted most of our times by being in a manual system, where as those works can be done within a moment. From figure 7, we can see that 76% of the people said that information technology is making our life easier and faster. Students from different universities and institutes say that without information technology it would be much harder for them to complete the assignments and other research works. These technology are allowing them to communicate experts throughout the worldwide, whenever they need they can go to the web sites and gather their required information. The students argued that, they have lots of works to do, for which they need to be multi tasking. And information technology is giving them a route to be successful in their live. But if we consider about the ancient times, people were also successful at that times, scientists, engineers, researchers also did their challengeable jobs at those times. Without the help information technology, they did work hard and become successful in their lives. Again students said that on that time, life was not that much competitive, and for this current and present situation no one can work without the help of IT. While aged peoples said that, young generations do not want to work harder as they can get anything they want within a second. Nowadays it is familiar to get everything done by sitting in a computer, even products can be ordered in internet, so our young generation is becoming lazy and inefficient because of IT. From Figure1 we can see that, 64% of the people surveyed says that information technology is making us inefficient. What is the use of that life, which is making us unproductive to work of our own? â€Å"Time and tides wait for none†, especially in this competitive world of ours, we cannot even think about wasting a single second from our lives. Everyone is in the struggle to do well in their life and in order to get establish, people are getting away from their close ones, sometimes they are going abroad to study or for job. Information technology helps us to communicate with our loved ones from a long distance, and that is also with a very lower cost. Facebook, twitter, all other IM and video conferencing services do not even let us to feel that we are away from our IS IT BECOMING OUR PRIMARY NECESSITY? 7 connections. Though it is letting us to communicate freely, it is also hampering teenagers and even the adults. Corbett (2009) concludes the popularity of cell phone amongst the teenagers and young adults. A survey conducted by the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA) amongst 2000 teens, were found that, their parents gave them mobile phone for their safety, and specially to be in contact with the teens while they are out of their house. But quiet about 57% of the teenagers said that they use cell phone to communicate with their friends. Not only that, the awesome features of taking pictures in cell phone and uploading instantly in Facebook or Twitter is quiet famous among them. Text message and multimedia message are also a very popular way of communicating with peers. Corbett (2009), says about â€Å"sexting†, that is, while in a relation, girls send their nude pictures to their boyfriends, and after they break up, the boy upload those pictures on the internet, and in this way teenagers are affected by the impact of technologies. Usually it is seen that, adolescents use IT for most of their works, most of them are unaware of the intentions of their friends, and this is how IT is affecting our teenagers and adults. Lastly, adults and teenagers cannot even think of themselves without their mobile, computers, and all other entertaining devices. They believe that, life is becoming so busy, they did not get extra time to communicate with others, and there are also no extra time to play outdoor games, or to hangout with friends randomly. As from Figure 3, we can see that 75% of the people says that they use IT also for their personal purpose rather than academic or officials, and in Figure 4, 82. 5% people said that in this current situation IT is needed in every step of our life. Due to the lack of time, most of the peoples are now relying on the digital form of entertainment. As I have mentioned above that, students are willing to spend money for buying gadgets for them. Movies, games music is now considered as a form of entertainment. Students are found to do chatting in messenger, while they are in class. In order to get all this facilities they often buy expensive mobile phones. Many people believe that this way of communication is decreasing the intimacy and values between ones relation. Expenditure on the technologies is increasing, which in fact is reducing the development of all other sectors. For example, Bangladesh is a poor country, we have an unequal distribution of wealth, many times higher class people supports the lower class peoples for their survival. But as they are now up to new technologies everyday, they are spending much money for their own. Even the students and IS IT BECOMING OUR PRIMARY NECESSITY? 8 workers in abroad, they work hard to get all the latest inventions, they are not concern about their future, instead of saving money for themselves they are wasting money by buying devices. We really feel proud to be Bangladeshi, after a long struggle, we became independent, and only within a age of 40 years we developed a lot. May be the development is much less compared to the outside world, but we cannot deny that we recovered a lot. Most of the companies and systems in our country, rather than the public ones are running with the help of information technology. So, I think that IT is taking over humans, by working more efficiently, making us â€Å"handicapped† and also because we love to spend money for it, though it needed in our life for less time consuming lifestyle, for giving more options for interacting on the go, and also for our recreations. Small stores to big ones are using IT for their convenience; according to the example mentioned earlier IT can also create chaos for us. Human being can be rectified with in a moment, but a system failure cannot be adjust within a few seconds. We need time to fix certain types of error. So we can use IT for our convenience, but there should be an alternative for a system failure. If the super shop had a manual operating system, then that would not cause that much harm to them. Also IT is hampering our young generations, while asking the solution of this problem, 17% people answered that there should be more restrictions on the teenagers, and 83% says that there should not be any misuse of technology, this results are shown in Figure 10. We invented information technology, and it is for our convenience. Human being are considered as the most prominent creation of God, no other thing can be compared with us, but all the above research and survey says that people are now getting inefficient. So I think people should use IT, but should not be that much dependent on it that it will be making them handicapped when there are no facility of IT. We should not consider ourselves incapable of doing any work that IT can do for us, it is us who makes computers, and no computer can work like humans. IS IT BECOMING OUR PRIMARY NECESSITY? 9 Reference list: Corbett, Don. (2009. ) â€Å"Let’s talk about sext: the challenge of finding the right legal response to the teenage practice of â€Å"sexting†. Journal of Internet Law 13, no. 6: 3-8. Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed March 20, 2011). Internet world statistics (2011) from (http://www. internetworldstats. com/asia/bd. htm). Retrieved: 20th march, 2011. Naufel, Karen Z. , Katherine E. Briley, Lacey K. Harackiewicz, Amanda S. Johnson, Kristin P. Marzec, and Michael E. Nielsen. (2010. ) â€Å"How do Psychology Students Use Web-Based Information? Trends and Implications from a Descriptive Study. † North American Journal of Psychology 12, no. 1: 1-14. Academic Source Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed March 20, 2011). Zillion N. and Hargittai E. (2009) â€Å"Digital distinction : Status-Specific types of internet usage† Social Science Quarterly, 90, 284. Dingle S. (2010) â€Å"Clean state† Finweek 14-19. Sample questionnaire: Name: _______________________________ Sex: ____________ Age: ____________ 1. Do you support or like the invention of information technology for communicating? a. Yes- its excellent b. Yes – its good c. Yes – its needed d. Yes- but it is making us inefficient e. No – it is not needed 2. How many times do you use your mobile, email or browser in a day? a. Never b. 1-5 times c. 6-10 times d. 11-15 times e. More than above 3. Do you use technology only for official or academic purpose? a. Yes b. No 4. Do you agree that, in this stage of life we need information technology in every step? a. Strongly agree b. Agree c. Neutral d. Disagree e. Strongly disagree 5. Do you think that it is necessary to spend money for on the use of information technology? a. Yes b. No 6. Can you imagine yourself without your cell phone or laptop? a. Yes b. No c. No comment 7. What is your opinion about the contribution of information technology in our daily life? ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ______________________ 8. Do you think that you are getting overly dependent of this technology? ———————————————— ____________________________________________________________ __________ 9. In your point of view, what are the impacts of information technology that are affecting our society and the young generations? ____________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ____ ______________________ 10. Give your suggestion regarding the issue of getting dependent and other impacts of information technology. ____________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ _____________________ Thank you for your participation and cooperation Survey result 1. Do you support or like the invention of information technology for communicating? FIGURE: 1 2. How many times do you use your mobile, email or browser in a day? FIGURE: 2 3. Do you use technology only for official or academic purpose? FIGURE: 3 4. Do you agree that, in this stage of life we need information technology in every step? FIGURE: 4 5. Do you think that it is necessary to spend money for on the use of information technology? FIGURE: 5 6. Can you imagine yourself without your cell phone or laptop? FIGURE: 6 7. What is your opinion about the contribution of information technology in our daily life? FIGURE: 7 8. Do you think you are getting overly dependent on this technology? FIGURE: 8 9. In your point of view, what are the impacts of information technology that are affecting our society and the young generations? FIGURE: 9 10. Give your suggestion regarding the issue of getting dependent and other impacts of information technology. FIGURE: 10