The Wise Fools of Shakespeare

â€Å"Infirmity that decays the wise doth ever make a better fool† – though uttered by one of his own characters Shakespeare does not seem to conform to this ideal. The fools carved by Shakespeare in his plays showed no resemblance to the mentally and physically challenged people who were treated as pets and used for amusement during the medieval period. Rather Shakespeare’s fools appear to be in the best of their wits when they are in possession of the wisest minds. Fools whether in their rustic vigour displaying grotesque humour or in the forms of the sophisticated court jesters with their polished puns occupied a substantial position in his plays. Not only they added the element of humour but often alluded a deeper context under their apparent comic facade. Shakespeare’s plays embodied a varied range of comic characters whose treatment obviously differs in those produced by the mature playwright to those depicted in his earlier works. In which we find certain nonsensical clowns appearing just to create ludicrous entertainment. In ‘Love’s Labour Lost’ we find three such characters Costard, Dull and Adrian de Armado who are of very little importance to the plot but as we move on to the ‘Mid Summer Night’s Dream’, Bottom the daft artisan though intended to project humour for his supreme vanity, we see this same attribute of his being exploited by Oberon the king of the fairies to teach his queen a lesson. In this way we notice in Shakespeare’s comic characters a gradual pattern of upgradation from those included just for the sake of insipid humour to the ones actually taking part in the plot. As Shakespeare proceeds to incorporate his oeuvres with further comic elements he chooses humorists over clowns. His comic characters reveal more contemplative and methodical homour which actually camouflages underneath the unsavoury truths. These personas were not only part of his comedies but also his tragedies. In ‘Hamlet’ the two Grave-diggers despite of being represented as clown figures hides beneath their playful conversations the graver insights of the playwright himself. By questioning the justness of Ophelia’s receiving a ‘Christian burial’ they asses the legitimacy of suicide in terms of religious beliefs. Moreover their nonchalant attitude towards death marks its inevitability contrasting it to Hamlet’s vacillating views of ‘to be or not to be’. A similar prudence can observed in the reckless speeches of the Porter in ‘Macbeth’. The Porter in his drunken frenzy claims to be the â€Å"Porter of the Hell Gate† indicating that the horrid incident of Duncan’s murder has equated Macbeth’s castle to the infernal dungeon. Though these characters makes their appearance for a brief period on stage and it is generally apprehended that their foremost purpose is to provide a moment of respite to the audience from the dark and tense moments of the play, their significance in these dramas are no less. A character that cannot remain unmentioned while talking of Shakespeare’s comic characters is that of Sir John Falstaff. Usually acclaimed to be Shakespeare’s greatest comic character Falstaff first makes his appearance in ‘Henry IV Part 1’ and reappears in ‘Henry IV Part 2’ as well as ‘The Merry Wives of Windsor’. Recognized for his easy ways and buffoon like appearance Falstaff is actually a knight though his conduct speaks contrarily when he marks honour as valueless – â€Å"Can honour set-to a leg? No. Or an arm? No. Or take away the grief of a wound? No. . . . What is honour? A word†. It is the fact that we find a cunning, fraudulent, corrupt in bulk under the banner of knighthood that is suppose to represent chivalry and honesty is what primarily projects the humour. But yet again arousing laughter is not the only purpose served by this character, along with remaining the unfailing companion to prince Hal until he grows up only to leave him behind as a sign of stepping towards a path of integrity, Falstaff also acts as a foil to the character of Hotspur. A lively person who has abandoned morality and yet displays unconditional affection for the Prince, Falstaff is indeed one of Shakespeare’s typically twisted comic figures who earned himself a place in the audiences’ heart large enough to make him reappear more than once. However the most mesmerizing of Shakespeare’s fools touches his pieces in the form of the court jesters with their precise and caustic wit fabricated by their well bred minds. These fools it is often presumed were sketched from the models of the contemporary court jesters particularly influenced by Tarlton and Armin the royal fools who were not only popular to the audience but also favorites of the Queen herself. One of the foremost reasons of introduction of these jesters in his plays was to impart them with the role of social-critics in the guise of their iridescent costumes. The royal fools in spite of their acerbic tongue that blurted out many a comment against royalty were forgiven for the obvious reasons of those statements being wrapped under their fooleries. Thus the jesters in his plays acted as the representatives of Shakespeare, through whom he can show a glimpse of the real face of the contemporary society to his audience. The first professional fool who made his way into Shakespeare’s plays is Touchstone in ‘As you Like it’ who is probably the most buoyant of his jesters. From his pert speeches it can be assumed that he is serving his namesake, a touchstone giving a peek of the real world in mid of all the dreamy romanticism. In the play upon their arriving in Arden when Rosalind complains â€Å"O Jupiter, how weary are my spirits! † Touchstone is quick to add â€Å"I care not for my spirits, if my legs were not weary†. His decision to marry the country lass Audrey seems more rational than romantic. Again his effortless feat in the brief battle of wits with William in order to win his lady love contrasts his uncomplicated affection from that of the central characters. Touchstone can be best described by the compliment the Senior Duke adorns him with – â€Å"swift and sententious†. After Touchstone the Royal Jesters made their appearances in many of Shakespeare’s following plays but the two most prominent characters identified for their exuberance are Feste of ‘Twelfth Night’ and the Fool in ‘King Lear’. Feste though walking in the shoes of his literary hierarchy Touchstone in his mannerisms, his wits seems to be more targeted at the characters than the generalized views of the former. He appears to be the most mature character in ‘Twelfth Night’ analyzing and realizing the practical mode of the world. In his easy humour he expresses his experienced views when he taunts Olivia – â€Å"The more fool, Madonna, to mourn for your brother’s soul, being in heaven. Take away the fool, gentlemen†, trying to make her understand that death is a course of nature and the fleeing time is equally mortal and thus valuable. Like his own statement â€Å"Foolery, sir, does walk about the orb like the sun – it shines everywhere† Feste’s genial humour spreads a glimmer of intellect all over the play. Feste with his acerbic wit and reflective wisdom not only outshines the insignificant characters of the lewd Sir Andrew and the puritanical Malvolio but also the brooding Duke Orsino, surmising his own point or rather â€Å"Quinapalas’† – â€Å"Better a witty fool than a foolish wit†. The third in the contingent, the Fool in ‘King Lear’ is in fact the most outstanding. Unlike Touchstone and Feste he lacks the comfortable ambiance and yet he balances his foresight, wisdom and shrewdness underneath his playful conduct. The Fool here lacks any specific identity and even his age and background remains unknown because of which it is supposed that his purpose is not just to lighten up the sardonic atmosphere of the play but also to serve as a foil to Lear. Despite of being a fool he identifies Lear’s impetuous decision and thus when Goneril talks of ceasing Lear from having any attendants the Fool sings – â€Å"The hedge-sparrow fed the cuckoo so long/ That it had its head bit by its young†, while the prejudiced king is still encircled by his misconstrues. The Fool remains by the side of Lear throughout the play until he mysteriously disappears at the end of Act III, scene vi. This is why it is believed that the Fool acts as Lear’s conscientious alter ego as once he enters the world of lunacy his conscience parts from him altogether. But even after his sudden exit from the stage in the middle of the play, the Fool remains the most significant comic character of Shakespeare’s tragedies. There are other professional fools who only makes shadowy appearances in some other plays, like Lavancha in ‘All is Well that Ends Well’, the Clown in ‘Othello’, Trinculo in ‘The Tempest’ who along with Stephano and Caliban imparts a slapstick humour to the play and at the same time introduces the theme or usurpation by plotting against Prospero. There are numerous such personalities that keep emerging throughout Shakespearean plays who despite of not being elevated characters somehow manages to leave their touch in the play. As Shakespeare’s clowns whether they do or do not occupy much of the stage space have always exhibited through their pert observations a superior intellect and rational understanding of the worldly life. The most noticeable factor is that these characters, be it the rustics, the Grave-diggers, the Porter, the jesters or a spoilt knight were basically modeled on a class of people who were placed in a social rank lower than that of the prime characters. This is perhaps because the most esteemed playwright himself held this ideal, that the practical knowledge of life gained by the commoners from the hazards of their ordinary lives imparts them with a feasible outlook towards it. Unlike those from the superior classes whose shielded lives behind the walls of their enormous castles embodied them with fragile minds. Thus the matters that appears to be of graver importance to the main characters, especially those of romanticism and idealism are treated as a recurring part of life by the wise fools. These individuals to some extent serve as the representatives of Shakespeare himself, what he cannot make his gaudy characters say is exactly what these commoners enacts on his behalf. Their social status which could make the contemporary audience belonging to the ordinary stratum identify with the same and their easy flamboyancy of wit was the exact combination the author required to reach out to his audience and alert them about the social conditions. But whatever purpose these characters might serve or whoever they might have been inspired by, they were transformed into soulful personalities by the dramatist. It was the ingenuity of Shakespeare that turned them into literary figures that were capable of leaving their impression not only in the mind of the contemporary audience but are continuing to do so until the present date.

Illegal Immigration to Australia Essay

MORE than 11 illegal immigrants are arrested in Victoria every week and the numbers are expected to continue to rise. In the past financial year 612 people were arrested – up from 429 the year before. Few of the illegal workers were likely to be asylum seekers who arrived by boat, with 517 arrested after overstaying their visa. A further 95 were on the run following their visa being cancelled. The figure was revealed last month as the Department of Immigration and Citizenship prepared to deport 13 illegal farm workers located in northwestern Victoria. Nine men and four women, all Malaysian nationals, had been employed on farms as pruners. They were caught in a 48-hour operation chasing illegal workers in the Mallee. The detainees were transferred to Melbourne’s Maribyrnong Immigration Detention Centre and nine to the Adelaide Immigration Transit Accommodation facility, pending their removal from Australia. All had overstayed their visas and were living here unlawfully, according to the department. Two other foreign nationals were given warnings, including a Malaysian national who was in Australia on a student visa but had not been studying. The employer faces fines of $13,200 and two years’ imprisonment per illegal worker. In Australia there are an estimated 19,540 people who have overstayed their visa – an increase of 4430 from the 2009-10 financial year. In response to the growing numbers of people overstaying their visas, last month the Federal Government announced a crackdown. Immigration Minister Chris Bowen promoted the dob-in line and encouraged anyone with information about illegal workers, visa over stayers or visa fraud to call 1800 009 623 Accessing the law Migrants coming to Australia face various difficulties when accessing the law. Such dilemmas are brought about by various factors including the inability to communicate due to language restrictions and lower standards of income levels limiting access to appropriate facilities. Furthermore, the lack of knowledge of the Australian legal system and their own rights further restricts their ability to access a fair and just outcome. Due to these multiple factors an evident divide is apparent between the ability of inherent Australians and migrants in accessing the Australian legal system A major reason migrants are unable to access the law is because of the distinctive language barrier. Statistics as recorded in 2006 indicate that  74% of migrants cannot speak English well or cannot speak English at all (abs.gov.au). This has had a major impact on their ability to access the law. As they are illiterate in the English language they are unable to interoperate any possible help. This places them at a disadvantage as it is fundamental to know English when coming across the law. As shown in the case more than 11 illegal immigrants are arrested each week, meaning that most are unable to speak English, each of these illegal immigrants need legal representation to appear in court, as the majority of these immigrants cannot speak English they will need an interpreter. This makes it more difficult on the immigrant as they are not communicating directly with the judge, thus their opinion may be ‘lost in translation’. Due to their inability to communicate, their knowledge of the Australian legal system is further restricted as simple tasks such as reading, writing and communicating in English cannot occur. Due to such issues migrants may be unaware of information and assistance programs available to them, and so they are incapable of accessing the legal syst em in such a way where their needs and wants are met. This is made evident through recent statistics that indicate 49% of migrants have come to Australia with post school qualifications, leaving the other 51% without a proper education. (abs.gov.au) However, this statistic can be ambiguous as illegal immigrants are not accounted for. Every legal system around the world is different, most migrants who come to Australia are unaware of their rights and do not understand what the law is asking of them. As shown in the case, 517 immigrants were arrested, this further justifies their lack of knowledge as they may have been un aware of when they were scheduled to depart from Australia. Migrants who flee to Australia come with little money or no money at all. This creates a barrier when trying to access the law as money is what places the migrant at an advantage. As most these migrants did not receive a proper education their level of skills may be limited and so obtaining work is another challenge. The income levels of migrants are likely to have only just been sufficient for their daily needs, whereas those who have achieved higher levels of education are exposed to a wider range of job opportunities allowing them to obtain better access to legal representation. Exemplified  in the case 612 people were arrested, due to their low socio economic status legal aid is provided during court. Legal aid can be ineffective in some aspects as some are not as experienced and can be placed at a disadvantage when up against those who can afford barristers and QC’s. Communication can also be a barrier due to the lack of understanding and the immigrant unable to speak E nglish. Accessing the law Every person in this world has rights, rights to access the law in a fair, just an equal way. However, there are various groups in Australia who face difficulties in accessing the law, in particular migrants. There are many outstanding factors which contribute to this problem; language barriers, discrimination, low income and lack of recognition of cultural differences, each play a major role in how migrants are faced with difficulties when trying to access the law. The purpose of this report is to show awareness and educate the people on how the Australian legal system can help migrants facing issues regarding accessing the law. Effectiveness of the legal system Over time, the legal system has become aware of the unsettled issues in society regarding various groups who are put at a disadvantage in retrieving equal access to the law. One major issue which most groups face (in particular migrants) is regarding the language barrier. As many of these groups are from ethnic backgrounds, the ability to interoperate legal documents and understand their rights as a migrant is very difficult. As the government has taken this into consideration, the adult migrant English program was created. Migrants are able to have equal access in learning the English language by either sitting a class, taking tutoring lessons, doing the class online or by a distance learning program. However the end result of this program was not effective as in 1993, the funds to this program were cut, and the classes were limited. This affects many of the migrants as their only way of learning English in Australia has been terminated, therefore they are faced at a disadvantage when accessing the law. In 1992, a report called multiculturalism and the law was released it stated there was a need for interoperates, this relates to the migrants who are unable to speak English. With the representation of the interpreter the migrant will be able to express themselves and then in return not only will migrants  understand what the legal system is asking of them, they will also be able to acknowledge their rights and responsibilities. Statistics show that 20.1% of NWS residents speak another language than English at home.(abs.gov.au) Therefore, there are capable people of performing this job. Although it is virtually impossible to enforce and control discrimination, there are acts which help assist in discontinuing the use of discrimination to people , especially the indigenous Australians. A recent program called ‘close the gap’ was created to basically close the gap between the Australians and the indigenous Australians meaning both are the same and both share the same rights and responsibilities. Studies show that indigenous earn around $460 a week whereas the average non indigenous earns around $740 a week (http://www.abs.gov.au) Mean Equivalised Gross Household Income, As shown in the above graph non indigenous earn more than an average indigenous person. As part of the close the gap program, the government has implemented housing commission (2011), where a person with a low income (indigenous) are able to live in a house and only pay a small amount of money to maintain the house and the rest is funded by the government. This is very effective as it gives those indigenous who are struggling a place to live and therefore, they do not have to seek refuge in a shelter or temporary housing. Shelters may have limited space and therefore there may not be enough room at all times. In 1995, the racial discrimination act was re written along with the introduction of the racial hatred act 1995. This act forbids any form of offensive behaviour based on racial hatred. This act states it Is illegal to offend anyone in public about their race, colour, ethnic or national origin. This is a very effective act as it forbids any type of discrimination; this will put a stop to many disputes about groups especially the indigenous Australians and migrants who believe to be discriminated against. Conclusion In conclusion, all groups in society will face a barrier or obstacle in accessing the law, mainly regarding the main factors of language barrier, lack of recognition and low income. Although these groups are disadvantaged the government has implemented many acts which assist these differences, some are effective and some are ineffective compared to others. Overall, it  is important to promote an environment where all groups in society are equal and able to achieve equal access to the law no matter who the group is. Bibliography White, Alex, A.w. â€Å"Illegal Immigrant Arrests Are on the Rise across Victoria.† NewsComAu. Herald Sun, 7 Sept. 2012. Web. 8 Mar. 2013. Law and Justice Foundation. EdDesk, 9 Aug. 2010. Web. 12 Mar. 2013.

Lab Report (resit) 400 words. 1st question of two Essay

Lab Report (resit) 400 words. 1st question of two - Essay Example One of the parameters for IPAQ is calculation of Resting metabolic rate (RMR), incorporating fraction of inspired O2 and expired CO2 and O2 (2). Understandably, in the given experiment as the metabolic activity increased also did the minute ventilation values. However, in my opinion, the experimental design and statistical analysis need improvement to arrive to any conclusion. In table 1a, for groups 1 and 2 subject characteristics are not defined. The SD values were quite large (> 10% of mean), meaning inconsistency in the values among the subjects. An explanation to this is gender difference in respiratory response during exercise (3), assuming that both males and females are considered as subjects. Besides, moderate/low IPAQ groups are clubbed as one in the statistical treatments but there could be variation between the individual groups as well. Instead of the "t" test, which is the test of significance between a pair, it would have been appropriate to carry out one way-ANOVA. Based on the figure 1, a significant finding is that while in rest or warming up the inhalation of air is nearly similar, but during exercise, eit her the volume of air inhaled, or the number of breaths in low/moderate IPAQ group increases by far that of the high IPAQ group. Hyperventilation is an attribute set by three factors: me

Love Using specific artistic examples define Neoclassicism Essay

Love Using specific artistic examples define Neoclassicism - Essay Example To a certain extent, the assertion that neoclassicism was a representation of a reaction against optimistic, energetic, and passionate renaissance view could be true. This view perceived man as a being fundamentally good, with an infinite potential for both spiritual and intellectual growth. However, theorists of neoclassical view considered man as imperfect and inherently sinful, with a limited potential. The renaissance view gave facts from imagination, invention, and experimenting, but was replaced by neoclassical view. This view gave emphasis on order and reason, on common sense, on restraint, and on religious, economic, philosophical, and political conservatism. A famous neoclassical painter Jean-Auguste-Dominique Igres, who lived from 1780 to 1867 made outstanding paintings (154). One of his paintings, The Apotheosis of Homer, which symbolizes the belief of Ingres in a hierarchy of timeless, is a good example since it based its work on classical precedent. Baron Pierre-Narcisse Guerin is also a famous French artist of the neoclassical period who made a painting known as Aurora and Cephalus and appears as shown below. In essence, neoclassicism concentrated on the fact that man was the most accurate subject of art, perceiving art as fundamentally pragmatic. In addition, to the theorists, art was valuable since it was useful, and properly intellectual, but not emotional (198). The main aim of neoclassical was to substitute overall design with the new ideas of symmetry, proportion and the like. In literary forms, they gave emphasis on essays, letters, satire, and such. Though neoclassicism seemed replaced later, it is work noting that artistic movements do not really die. This is evident because aesthetics of neoclassicism reappeared later in the 20th

Violence Among American Youths Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Violence Among American Youths - Essay Example ates, homicide resulting from violence committed by or suffered by the youth has been identified as being identified as the second leading cause of death among American people aged between 15-24 years old. The increasing violence has also been identified as having a number of negative economic effects on the country’s economy. By exploring the different causes and effects of increasing levels of violence among the youth and children, this paper will seek to show that increasing violence among children and youth across the entire United States is having an adversely negative impact on the country’s economy. Media Exposure and Aggressive and Violent Behavior: There has been an intensely raging debate over the years as to the extent to which media violence has served to contribute as a major cause of children and youth violence and aggression. The exposure youth and children in the United States get to violent media has been noted to be extremely high. Different bodies have presented reports and advisories against media violence but these have largely been ignored. Some of these bodies include the AMA and the APA (Escobar-Chaves & Anderson, 2008). There have been numerous empirical studies conducted that have been able to establish links between aggression and media violence. These studies have all managed to reach the conclusion that media violence definitely increases aggressive behavior among youth and children. Poor Parenting: Various aspects of parenting have been identified as possibly contributing to the increased violent behavior among children and youth in the United States. These include poor supervision, parental disharmony in the home, limited involvement by parents in a child’s activities such as school plays and games, erratic and harsh discipline as well as the rejection of a child (Seifert, Ray & Schmidt, 2012). The effect of these poor parenting traits is that parents who exhibit these behaviors often tend to engage in various parent-child

Charlie Sheen Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Charlie Sheen - Case Study Example Part B: Personality Charlie Sheen has an extraversion individuality that is indicated by his life that is full of energy and happiness around people and is full of vigor and stamina. This scenario of Charlie Sheen’s individuality is reflected in Sigmund Freud’s theory of Psychoanalysis. This is evident in the case of Charlie Sheen who grew in a family of actors who helped him nurture his career from babyhood. Openness to experience is a cognitive style that differentiates between resourceful people from the introverts. Charlie Sheen as evidenced in this style remarks that his intellectual abilities have a symbolic thinking that is in the form of performance and artistic cognition. The three theories of Freud, Adler and Erikson explain similar behaviors. These occur at birth and up to five years, while Erikson concurs with Freud assumption but suggests that development occur even after infancy. Adler emphasized the quintessence of developing equal interests and the same family structures when raising children. He stated how feeling inferior can affect a person’s self-esteem and can affect a person’s health. He is also of the opinion that a person should have a holistic life that will improve a person’s development. I believe that the MBTI type of Charlie Sheen is that of Extroversion, as characterized by his choices and actions. His upbringing has played a major role in the choice of his career and has used his ego to achieve what and make the choices he has made in life. Charlie Sheen has taken and grown in the culture of the parents having brought up in a family that has long been known for the acting career. He is gifted and a swift thinker as evidenced in his steady growth and success in his media career. He has had Psychosocial Development because... Psychological theories are useful in understanding of personality because one is able to distinguish between dissimilar aspects of personality. One is able to appreciate why an individual behaves the way he does. Psychological theories are vital when bringing up children to help them realize their full latent and advise them accordingly. From the study of these theories, it shows that trust starts at an early stage in life when a child feels that it can stay for some time without the presence of the mother. Every individual has a different personality from another. Finally, the development of one’s behavior that is morally and emotionally squarely lies with the family. A family determines the future of a person by pressing out the positive traits and nurturing them.

The document will be a one-page critical summary of the five (5) Essay

The document will be a one-page critical summary of the five (5) handouts - Essay Example In ‘Man vs Machine’ this debated is also considered, visually indicating the specific elements the man and machine disagree on in terms of what is legitimate. This article indicates the specific parts of the art that have been disagreed upon by the art historian and the machine (namely, the original painting of a number of human figures). Ultimately, it’s clear that the technology is in need of further development, and may always fall short of human conceptual ability. In ‘The Van Gogh Project’ this analysis is furthered in terms of wavelet analysis on Van Gogh paintings. While similar to the previous articles, this article is notable for its potential contribution to art history, as it hints that the computer technology may be able to detect stylistic shifts through the artist’s different periods. The next article examined was ‘‘7: Decimel Numeration and the Place Value System.’ This essay examined the historical nature of a number of mathematical elements, most notable the decimal system as an Indian invention. In these regards, it argues that the question is much more complex than simply being related to the development of a decimal system, but a complex process of evolution. Within this spectrum of development a number of cultural influences are demonstrated to be part of decimal system.

Accounting in Society Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Accounting in Society - Case Study Example There comes the question of consideration whether the presence of the accounting standards is a good or bad thing. There have been several arguments, in though of Baxter, regarding the presence of the accounting standards because there can be commands as well as regulations which help to run life more smoothly while there is the requirement of flexibility in dealing with certain aspects. It should be considered about the benefits that prevail through the presence of the accounting standards because the standards lay emphasis on what should be done rather than why and how it should be done. Therefore, it is quite important to consider whether having the accounting standards is good or bad because at one side they may make life easy by providing a set of rules and on the other hand it may create life difficult by taking away the flexibility of an accountant. The history of the accounting standards began in the late 1930’s when the idea of accounting based on the standard came to light. United States and the United Kingdom were among the countries which were thoroughly involved in the development of the accounting standards at the start and gave the accounting standards some initial touches. The history of both the countries which brought us the accounting standards today is outlined below with their levels of development in both the United States and United Kingdom. The US based standards took a series of stages to develop and come into a shape. In the beginning, the process was initiated by the committee on accounting procedures in 1939 who issued Accounting research bulletins. The committee worked for around 20 years and issued 50 Accounting Research Bulletins. There was a lot of criticism on that committee and their work because they were accused of not relying on the research that much. Therefore, in its place an Accounting Principles Board came in

GCSE Girl Anachronism Essay Example for Free

GCSE Girl Anachronism Essay In this essay I will be comparing my Girl Anachronism play with my year 9 dialogue Dealers Choice. I will be comparing the deference between the character I was, the style of the play, the mood, the place and whether it is Stanislavski or Brecht. Brecht belied in breaking the fourth wall and trying to make the play as unrealistic as possible by using flash backs, monologues, freeze frames, placards ect. But on the other hand Stanislavski belied in making the play as realistic as possible by having every thing in chronological order and making it as naturalistic as possible making the actors think like their character would. The play Girl Anachronism was developed to the stimulus of the song girl anachronism by the Dresden Dolls. It has a very angry and upset mood throughout, it is in the style of a melodrama and it is like a Brecht play because it breaks the fourth wall, using monologues and flash backs which are theatrical devices used in Verfemdungseffect to remind the audience that it is not real. In the play we used a variety of music to show the emotions of each scene for example at the beginning of our play we played the stimulus of the play, and before our flash back we played past music to show that we had gone back in time. In this play I have adopted the main role where I am crazy teenager that has just been released from a mental institute and have just gone back to my 3 bedroom house with my family which all hate me, and I am also suicidal. All I want is to be left alone and not too be told what to do. My Year 9 play Dealers Choice was a scripted piece about two friends who work in a restaurant and meet once a week for an all-night poker game. Its mood is very happy and funny. It corresponds with Stanislavskis ideas about keeping it as real as possible, building up the fourth wall, and having every thing in chronological order. When we preformed this play we used no music no flash backs and no monologues. The style was a friendly comedy. In this play I was one of the main characters, I was a mid thirtys waiter working in a restaurant I have worked there for years with my mate Sweeny, Sweeny and I and a few other gather once a week to play poker in the restaurant. The play is set in a London restaurant in the kitchen area. These plays are totally different one is a Brecht like play the other is a Stanislavski. One is unrealistic the other is realistic. They are both very good but I like Girl Anachronism better, because it was more interesting to act and I had more freedom, and I liked improvising.

Protestants funeral customs Essay Example for Free

Protestants funeral customs Essay A Protestant is a member of any of the several church denominations that denied the universal authority of the Pope and supporting the reformation principles which believed in justification by faith, universal priesthood of believers, and the supremacy of the bible as the basic and the guidelines for the Christian journey in life. They emerge around 16th century and strongly support evangelism. All these are in opposition to the Roman Catholics doctrine. Protestant funerals take different forms. Some believe in the act of burial while some believe in cremation. Family involvements, denomination, circumstances surrounding such death are factors affecting the form of funeral that the family will embark upon. Most times the whole process is design by the pastors in conjunction with the family. Most protestant clergy don’t follow a particular book of worship during the funeral. The Corpse is usually prepared before the final event. This serves as a mark of passage from life to death and the mode of preparing a corpse by protestant is usually by embalmment. After embalming the corpse, the clothes and the body are usually washed. The clothes worn on the corpse has no restriction on the type or the shape. The time and removal of the deceased varies, depending on the family and the day of removal is not also restricted by the church. The clergy must be notified as soon as possible because courtesy mandated the quick notification. The role of the clergyman is very in important in the final passage and burial. The functions of the clergy are to visit the family, friends so as to discuss with them and also gather more information about the deceased. The plan and the request of the family in regards to what they want and how they want the funerals to be done must be discussed during such clergy visits. Casket is another important aspect, this is because what each family want differ and there’s no restriction on the type. The caskets can either be open or closed and most times it is usually closed before the concluding aspect of the funeral. When the deceased is placed in the casket there are some protestant that allows visit to sides of the casket by the friends and other family members to pay a last respect to the deceased. Among the respects include the sending of gifts and flowers to indicate their feeling towards the deceased. The sermon and the final funerals either in the church or other place as required by the family usually involve preaching of the sermon that focus mainly on the meaning of death and Christian view of resurrection. The message can also talk about the life, achievement and lessons from the deceased. The sermon can then be followed by prayers and songs before the burial or cremation. The funeral cortege usually also depend on the family but most cortege is as follows, escort, followed by the clergy, then the casket bearers, casket coach, family of deceased and finally the friends. The final aspect is the Committal service and it is also determine by most family or the clergy. The order of services is as follows, procession to the graveyard, placement of the caskets in the grave by the bearers and the use of sand by the clergy and the children, lastly the benediction and dismissal. Cremation is an act of burning the corpse of the deceased and it is usually carried out by the Greeks and the roman in an open pyre. Protestant with the belief that God can resurrect easily a bowl of ashes support cremation but their participation involve the building of modern crematoriums.

Antivirus Research And Development Techniques

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

The Gifted and Talented Essay -- Essays Papers

The Gifted and Talented The term â€Å"gifted† can mean many things. Up until recently it was the word used to describe people with profoundly high intelligence. Now, adding the words â€Å"creative† and â€Å"talented†, the category of giftedness has been extended to include not only exceptionally intelligent people, but also people with extraordinary ability in other areas, not just with IQ tests (Drew, Egan, & Hardman, 2002). The identification and definition of giftedness have been controversial for many, many decades. Originally, IQ test scores were the only way of determining giftedness. An IQ test would be given and some number score, such as 12-, would be the point of cut-off (Cook, Elliott, Kratochwill, & Travers, 2000). More recently, intellectual giftedness is usually identified and defined by the specific school systems’ ideas and perspectives. There is no generally accepted definition of giftedness, but the Javits Gifted and Talented Education Act defines it as: â€Å"Children and youth with outstanding talent perform or show the potential for performing at remarkably high levels of accomplishment when compared with others of their age, experience, or environment. These children and youth exhibit high performance capability in intellectual, creative, and/or artistic areas, possess an unusual leadership capacity, or excel in specific academic fields. They require services or activities not ordinarily provided by the schools. Outstanding talents are present in children and youth from all cultural groups, across all economic strata, and in all areas of human endeavor† (Drew et al., 2002). It is obvious there is practically no limit on who can be gifted. The problems lie in the wide range of definitions and the acce... ...fted education. Retrieved March 4, 2004, from http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content4/ legal.rights.gifted.ed.html Magnet/center and special programs. (n.d). Retrieved March 4, 2004, from http:// www.mcps.k12.md.us/departments/eii/eiispecialprogramspage.html#The%20Program Parke, B. (n.d.). Challenging gifted students in the regular classroom. Retrieved March 1, 2004, from http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content/Challenging_gifted _kids.html Shaunessy, E. (2003). State policies regarding gifted education. Gifted Child Today Magazine, 26. Retrieved March 7, 2004, from http://search.epnet.com/direct.asp?an=10445176&db=f5h Winebrenner, S. (2003). Teaching strategies for twice-exceptional students [Electronic version]. Intervention in School and Clinic, 38. Retrieved March 4, 2004, from http://search.epnet.com/direct.asp?an=EJ659359&db=eric

Liberal Education: Why is it important in todays workforce? Essay

Why do college students need courses in the liberal arts? Is it beneficial or just a waste of time? Will it make them or influence them to become better workers once they graduate or will it just go down the drain and be useless? Student loans are increasing every year, and each student just wants to finish their degrees at a lesser price and a quicker pace, so they can start working and pay for those debts. In today’s society where some to most students are very much career – driven, they decide to specialize early on their degrees which means taking all the classes that are required in their respective majors. Students are only required to take minimal courses or subjects in the liberal arts such as humanities, philosophy, communication, etc. Also, students are more keen to focus on what they think or believe can offer high salary base pays professions especially in this current state of our economy. Even though students specialize early in the degree that they have chosen has its advantages, college students would benefit more if they are required to take core classes in the liberal arts to develop not only a well – rounded education but also prepare them for the real world. By taking subjects in the liberal arts along with their field of specialty, students will develop strong critical thinking skills that will be beneficial in problem solving once they have a job. They will also have competent oral and written communication skills that are necessary in any organization, and their creativity and innovation will be enhanced. Now, let us define liberal arts or liberal education. According to Michael Lind, liberal arts should be understood in its original sense as â€Å"elite skills† (54). We all know that liberal arts include cour... ...ergraduates Specialize?† The Chronicle of Higher Education. 2006. Rpt. in Current Issues and Enduring Questions. Sylvan Barnet and Hugo Bedau. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2011. 555-557. Print. Jones, Roberts T. "Liberal Education For The Twenty-First Century." Liberal Education 91.2 (2005): 32. MasterFILE Complete. Web. 24 May 2012. Lemann, Nicholas. "Liberal Education & Professionals." Liberal Education 90.2 (2004): 12. MasterFILE Complete. Web. 24 May 2012. Lind, Michael. "The Global Race for Knowledge: Why the Liberal Arts Still Matter." Wilson Quarterly Vol. XXX, No. 4. Autumn 2006: 52-58. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 24 May 2012. Menand, Louis. â€Å"Re-imagining Liberal Education.† Education and Democracy. 1997. Rpt. in Current Issues and Enduring Questions. Sylvan Barnet and Hugo Bedau. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s , 2011. 571-574. Print.

Rebel Without a Cause Essay

In the late hours of the night Jim Stark, the main character of Nicholas Ray’s, Rebel Without a Cause, can be found resting his head against a piece of crumpled wrapping paper, lying on the cold pavement, droning out all his troubles with the sound of a toy monkey’s clamour. Throughout the entirety of the film Jim constantly seems to be droning out his problems, whether it be with a toy monkey of with a rebellious facade, which subconsciously distracts him from his true issues. Jim Stark’s defiant nature is rooted at his angst and eagerness in which he holds within himself. The only manner in which he feels he can accurately expose his emotions is through rebellion. In the beginning of the film when Jim shouts to his arguing parents in despair, â€Å"You’re tearing me apart! You say one thing, he says another, and everybody changes back again,† he is unleashing the built up confusion that is festering inside of him. Being that Jim is a somewhat complicated teenager his thoughts often seem to be consumed with questions. Jim questions his masculinity, his choices, the meaning of his life and his purpose. This confusion within him leads him to become desperate for answers and since his parents do not seem to offer him a solution he rebels in order to find one on his own. Jim chooses to rebel in various different manners. The most dramatic forms of rebellion involve his parents and his peers, Judy, Plato, Buzz and Buzz’s gang. With his parents Jim questions their roles, specifically his fathers feminine mannerisms. Being that Jim’s mother seems to play a more masculine role while Jim’s father plays a more feminine role, Jim becomes confused and attempts to correct this problem through rebellion. A clear depiction of this is when Jim encounters his father in a frilly yellow apron cleaning up a tray of spilled food. At the sight of this Jim becomes infuriated with his father and tells him to stand up and be a man. This scene is later repeated later in the film when Jim returns home after the death of Buzz. After asking his father for guidance as to whether of not he should go to the police Jim’s father is unable to offer him a straight answer and resorts to everything that Jim’s mother has to say. This leads Jim’s mother to contemplate moving again and Jim responds by saying, â€Å"Dad, stand up for me. † At this point Jim is practically begging his father to be more of a man and to stand up for him against his mother. Jim’s father does not respond, propelling Jim to yank him up shouting, â€Å"Stand up. † This scene is a clear representation of Jim’s rebellion against his father. Jim feels as if he is lacking a fatherly figure and will resort to being violent towards his father in order to â€Å"man him up. † Another moment in which Jim’s rebellion shines through is in the deadly chicken game with his rival Buzz. Wearing a bright red jacket, to represent his destructive nature, over his pristine white shirt, that represents his true purity, Jim heads out the cliff where him and Buzz will drive stolen cars close to the water and jump out beforehand, the winner being the one who jumps out last. Buzz, who sports a yellow shirt representing his true cowardly ways, seems to push Jim into doing this strange activity. When Jim asks, â€Å"Why do we do this? † Buzz says â€Å"You got to do something. † In this moment it becomes obvious that Jim feels that by rebelling through the participation in this chicken game, he is developing some sort of meaning to his life. This game will create a name for himself amongst his peers and this influences him to participate. Because Jim is vulnerable and wants to fit in he gives in. His rebellious nature in this scene is derived from the need to fit in, which all teenagers go through. Often adolescents will attempt to prove themselves to their friends by doing something risky in order to be one with the crowd. Even though Jim knows that this is wrong, he is rebelling against his uncertainties and the unanswered questions he has within him because he views rebellion as the only viable answer. His overpowering emotions and his desire to fit in create a wicked mutineer out of him. Film critic Leo Goldsmith from Reverse Shot says in reference to the film, â€Å"Under Ray’s dissecting eye, the suburban home itself becomes a battleground where parent and child must scream over each other to be heard. † The beginnings of all of Jim’s problems seem to rest on the warzone in which he is living at home. This angst, resentment and anger that he feels towards his father translate throughout everything his does in his life and lead him to rebel. Because Frank is unable to fulfill his role of guiding Jim, Jim feels that he must find his way on his own, making his a rebel with a very good cause.

Human Wildlife Conflicts

ANIMAL ‘RIGHTS' OR HUMAN ‘DUTIES'? – A JURISPRUDENTIAL QUAGMIRE ON ANIMAL RIGHTS (HUMAN RIGHTS vs. ANIMAL RIGHTS- JURISPRUDENTIAL FRONTIERS) ABSTRACT Our ecosystem is a sophisticated organization which includes multitude of flora and fauna that coexist harmoniously without disrupting the sacred equilibrium. Homo-sapiens have topped this ladder of species by virtue of the sixth sense of thought. Even though humans do possess this exceptional faculty of reason, they cannot thrive in solitude but can only sustain by placing them amongst the rest of the organization. When humans started organizing themselves, attained civilization and improved their standards of living, they unfortunately undermined the relative importance of the co-organisms which make up the system, thus giving rise to the emergence of an anthropocentric society. The Research Problem The jurisprudential quagmire is the question whether animals too require ‘rights' analogous to that of human rights. Human rights are those inalienable, universal and egalitarian fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled merely by reason of his or her birth as a human. In the light of this definition, â€Å"animal rights† is an absolute misnomer. In jurisprudential terminology, a right is an interest recognized and protected by law. A right unlike an interest is a valid claim or potential claim, made by a moral agent under principles that govern both the claimant and the target of the claim. It presupposes two legal persons, viz., the subject of the right and subject of the duty. Animals cannot be the bearers of such rights because the concept of rights is essentially human; it is rooted in and has force only within a human moral/legal world. Moreover, by no stretch of imagination, animals can be regarded as legal persons. In fact, it is not the interes t of the animal but the interest of the human beings that animals should also coexist with them. According to Leon Duguit, your ‘right' is a byproduct of the other person preforming his duty towards you. He says there is no right but only duty. If the other has a duty towards you, you feel like having a ‘right'. Viewed in the light of Duguit's theory, the mounting problem of protection of wildlife is actually a human rights issue and not an issue of animal rights. Animalright is, in fact, an illusion created by human beings performing their duties to animals, to the ecosystem, to the nature and to the society effectively. If law is about balancing of conflicting interests as pointed out by Rudolf Von Ihering and later developed by Roscoe Pound, the conflict involved here is the conflict between the interests of those who indiscriminately destruct the ecosystem for personal motives and of those who are concerned about the mother earth. The Scheme of the Article This article seeks to explore the true nature of the jurisprudential basis of the legal protection of wild life and endeavors to put in correct perspective the need for eco-governance. It argues that animals cannot have ‘rights' in the jurisprudential sense; that right of an animal is an illusion created because of the presence of human duty to protect it; that if human beings acquire human rights by birth, they also incur absolute human duties by birth; that the ultimate objective of wild life protection law is to save and protect the ‘animals' and not their ‘rights'. It concludes that human beings are reckoned to be morally upright species and causing pain and suffering to animals puts them in a position much lesser than that of human. ADHEENA BIJU IVth Semester B.Com., LL. B (Hons) School of Legal Studies CUSAT Kochi-22

Process Design Essay

Design Improvement Product/service design Planning and control Nature and purpose of the design activity Products, services and the processes which produce them all have to be designed Decisions taken during the design of a product or service will have an impact on the decisions taken during the design of the process which produces those products or services, and vice versa Design of products / services and design of processes are interrelated and should be treated together Designing the product or service Designing the process Products and services should be designed in such a way that they can be created effectively Product / service design has an impact on the process design and vice versa Processes should be designed so they can create all products and services which the operation is likely to introduce Design of the Product Design of the Process In manufacturing operations overlapping the activities of product and process design is beneficial In most service operations the overlap between service and process design is implicit in the nature of service Process mapping symbols derived from ‘Scientific Management’ Operation (an activity that directly adds value) Inspection (a check of some sort) Transport (a movement of something) Delay (a wait, e. g. for materials) Process mapping symbols derived from Systems Analysis Beginning or end of the process Activity Input or output from the process Direction of flow Storage (deliberate storage, as opposed to a delay) Decision (exercising discretion) Manufacturing process types Process tasks Diverse/ complex Process flow High Intermittent Project Jobbing Variety Batch Mass Continuous Low Volume High Repeated/ divided Continuous Low Specially made, every one ‘customized’ Defined start and finish: time, quality and cost objectives Many different skills have to be coordinated A project process with a small part of the process map that would describe the whole process Jobbing processes Very small quantities: ‘one-offs’, or only a few required Specially made: high variety, low repetition, ‘strangers’, every one ‘customized’ Skill requirements are usually very broad Skilled Jobber, or team, completes whole roduct Batch processes Higher volumes and lower variety than for Jobbing Standard products, repeating demand. But can make specials Specialized, narrower skills Set-ups (changeovers) at each stage of production Mass (line) processes Higher volumes than batch Standard, repeat products (‘runners’) Low and/or narrow skills No set-ups, or almost instantaneous ones A mass process – a packing process Continuous processes Extremely high volumes and low variety: often single product Standard, repeat products (‘runners’) Highly capital-intensive and automated Few hangeovers required Difficult and expensive to start and stop the process A service shop – This health club offers some variety within a standard set of facilities and processes A mass service – This call centre can handle a very high volume of customer enquiries because it standardizes its process Source: Royal Bank of Scotland Group Deviating from the ‘natural’ diagonal on the product-process matrix has consequences for cost and flexibility Manufacturing operations process types S ervice operations process types None More process flexibility than is needed so high cost Project Jobbing Batch Mass Continuous None Less process flexibility than is needed so high cost Professional service Service shop Mass service The ‘natural’ line of fit of process to volume/variety characteristics Flow (layout), technology and Job design are all influenced by process positioning Flow Unorganized Technology Little / general Jobs Varied / high discretion Volume Custom furniture maker Machine tool maker Automobile factory Predictable Specialist Routine / low discretion Petrochemical refinery Investment banking Customer service branch Bank call centre Credit card processing Customized sandwich – old process Raw materials Assembly Stored sandwiches Move to outlets sell Take payment Standard sandwich process Customer request The operation of making and selling customized sandwiches Prepare Sandwich materials and customers Assemble as required Take payment Customers ‘assembled’ to sandwiches Bread and base filling Assemble whole sandwich Use standard ‘base? No Yes Outline process of making and selling customized sandwiches Detailed process of assembling customized sandwiches Customized sandwich – new process Assemble whole sandwich Assembly of ‘sandwich bases’ Use standard ‘base? Take ayment Fillings Bread and base filling Stored ‘bases’ Yes Customer request Assemble from standard ‘base’ No Little’s law (a really quite useful law) Throughput (TH) = Work in process (WIP) x Cycle time (CT) Cycle time = 2 minutes WIP = 10 Throughput time = ? Throughput time = 10 x 2 minutes = 20 minutes time (CT) 500 exam scripts need to be marked in 5 days (working 7 hours a day). It takes 1 hour to mark a script. How many markers are needed? What is designed in a product or service? The understanding of the nature, use and value of the service or product A concept A package The group of ‘component’ products and services that provide those benefits defined in the concept The way in which the component products and services will be created and delivered A process The product and service design activity is a process in itself Transformed resources, . g. Technical information Market information Time information The product / service design process whose performance is measured by its Quality Speed Dependability Flexibility Cost Fully specified products and Outputs services Inputs Transforming resources, e. g. Test and design equipment Design and technical staff The stages of product / service design Concept generation Concept screening Preliminary design Evaluation and improvement Prototyping and final design Ideas from customers formally through marketing activities Listening to customers – n a day-to-day basis Ideas from competitor activity – for example reverse engineering Ideas from staff – especially those who meet customers every day Ideas from research and development Broad categories of evaluation criteria for assessing concepts Feasibility – how difficult is it? What INVESTMENT, both managerial and financial, will be needed? What RETURN, in terms of benefits to the operation, will it give? Overall evaluation of the concept Criteria for screening concepts Acceptability – how worthwhile is it? Vulnerability – what could go wrong? What RISKS do we run if things go wrong? Design involves progressively reducing the number of possibilities until the final design is reached CONCEPT Choice and evaluation ‘screens’ Large number of design options Uncertainty regarding the final design TIME One design FINAL DESIGN SPECIFICATON Certainty regarding the final design Design evaluation and improvement.

Cirque Du Solleil- Strategic Management Essay

Executive Summary Cirque du Soleil is an entertainment firm from Montrà ©al, Canada and was founded in 1984. The company started as a small business and gradually grew into a successful organisation with an established presence in the entertainment industry. This report deals with the ways in which the organisation became successful. Therefore, it is necessary to analyse different factors. The first part enumerates the stakeholders which contribute profits for Cirque du Soleil. Conversely, this section will cover the considerations the organisation must take into account for the welfare of its stakeholders. The second part illustrates the organisation’s uniqueness and how they differ from their competitors, which is a result of several innovations and business strategy. In the last part, the mission statement will be illustrated and discussed. Analysis of the mission statement will show the principles, philosophy, and beliefs that take high priority for their business. Furthermore, suggestions for the future will be listed. 1.Stakeholders & the success of Cirque du Soleil A stakeholder is a person or a group who has an input in an organisation. It can affect the achievement of company’s objectives, activities and the behaviour of its member. (Mullins, 2005:163) 1.1.Cirque du Soleil’s stakeholders Cirque du Soleil, like all other organisations, has many stakeholders which include managers, employees, customers, government, etc. Every stakeholder has its particular interests to support an organisation. 1.1.1.Managers Managers have particular interests in an organisation e.g. in job security, size and growth of the organisation or prestige. (Mullins, 2005: 164) Additionally, the managers achieve a self fulfilment because they have career prospects due to the variety of jobs e.g. in environment issues. (Cirque du Soleil, 2012) Hence, the managers are able to learn different stages of work and also have job possibilities in non-circus work. 1.1.2.Employees Like managers, employees have interests in job security and in learning because the shows are always differentiated. Therefore, employees can also experience a self fulfilment. It is believed that employee’s salary is above the average circus industry salary because the shows are upscale and successful. Thus, employees can build up a reputation and also expand career options e.g. by retraining for a second career or by changing the industry like transitioning to musical theatre for example. (Cirque du Soleil, 2012) 1.1.3.Customers The customers of Cirque du Soleil are the audiences and they are of prime importance for the organisation. The benefit that Cirque du Soleil gives to the audience is an escape from the stress of their daily lives. In other words, they can get away from it all for a short while. The audience gets a unique experience from the spectacular performance. Due to the multiple shows, customers may come frequently which brings travel possibilities because the organization is touring around the world. An adult experience can be fulfilled due to the fact that the show is more elegant and rich than loud like in a traditional circus. (Pawar, 2007: 8-10) 1.1.4.Government The government’s purpose in helping the organisation might be to enhance their image. Especially for tourism, the organisation enlarge government’s cultural offering. Therefore, a new target group can be achieved e.g. those who are not interested in historical sights. As a result, this benefit supports the local industry due to taxes. Hence, the city can pursue other projects like the construction of parks as public service. Cirque du Soleil has an agreement with the Government of Canada to serve 25 years with entertainment to support the cultural program in Canada. (Canadian Heritage, 2010) 1.1.5.Suppliers & Distributors Suppliers and distributors are committed in long term relationships with Cirque du Soleil and bring prestige to the stakeholders due to frequent orders and demand. It may also be possible that the stakeholder gets new customer groups due to references. 1.1.6.Investors & Sponsors For these groups, cooperating with Cirque du Soleil brings a prestige to the  locals. In the case of Arab investors, the cooperation brings business in tourism, regional development and support for the local industry. Dubai firms bought 20% of Cirque du Soleil which brought profit. Last year 10000 visitors watched Cirque du Soleil’s performances and the company owns a stake in casinos where Cirque’s shows are shown. (The star, 2008) Sponsors want to enhance their image and in addition, get new target groups. Besides, return on investment is a benefit for sponsors. Nevertheless, sponsors are a low key stakeholder because they also use the event for fundraising opportunities. (De Wit, 2004: 931) 1.1.7.Community The province of Quebec and its community share almost the same interests as the government. Quebec wants to enhance their image and enlarge their cultural offering and in doing so, hope to achieve new target markets. The global community looks for funding and developing e.g. for projects like charity. Cirque du Mond is a special project for youth who have HIV or victims of sexual violence. Cirque offer them workshops to express themselves. (Cirque du Soleil, 2012) 1.2.Stakeholders & financial performance The aforementioned stakeholders bring their expectations to the organisation and the organisation tries to fulfil their expectations which may simultaneously lead to the organisation accomplishing its own goals. If the requirements and expectations are reached, high performance can be achieved. (Manowong, 2010: 131) 1.2.1.Superior financial performance through serving stakeholders’ interests In the interests of the stakeholder, managers will be rewarded for their performance. When expectations are met, managers build commitment and loyalty and thus, cause a positive contribution from each member of the organisation. This in turn, lowers the cost for recruitment and training. Satisfied employees provide inputs for creativity for new shows. If they perform excellently they can bring more possibilities in creating new and spectacular acts. Hence, better shows can be offered. As a result more tickets can be sold for high prices which lead to high turnover and profits. Furthermore, new target groups can be tapped into by attracting those who  are watching the shows for the first time out of curiosity. By giving the audience unique experiences of its shows, Cirque may receive frequent and repeated business. As a result, and similar to the effect that employees have on the organisation, the audience brings the organisation turnover and profit due to high ticket sales. (Kim, 2005: 15) The government supports the organisation. One example can be given from 1985 where Cirque du Soleil was in debt. The Quebec government granted funds to the organisation to sustain their business which brought the organisation slowly back into a stable condition. (Pawar, 2007: 4) Due to long-term relationships to suppliers, the stakeholders build trust after a long collaboration. As a result, the stakeholder supports the organisation with lower and better prices. Concerning investors, they support Cirque du Soleil with projects for example. Therefore, Cirque du Soleil has lower financing costs and has a better financial reputation and position. Cirque du Soleil attracts investors and thus, they have a financial backup. (TheStar, 2008) Through the community, Cirque du Soleil achieves a reputation e.g. by giving tickets to charitable organisations. Having a positive impact on the greater community and society in general can help Cirque boost their ticket sales. (Pawar, 2007: 9) Corporate social responsibility became important where companies take responsibility towards community and environment and operate in social and ecological aspects. As a result, the organisation may increase customer retention, enhance relationships (customer, supplier) and differentiate from competitors. (Sims, 2003: 43-44) 1.3.Serving stakeholders’ interests through superior financial performance Good financial performance of Cirque enables the organisation to better serve the stakeholders in more ways than simply revenues and profit. As a consequence of superior financial performance, a further aspect is important to how Cirque du Soleil satisfies their stakeholders. Due to the high  turnover and profit in business, better shows are offered where the expenditure is spent on modern technology or venues. Suppliers are charged with new tasks and build trust. Besides, the bigger the company size, the bigger the orders because the company may have the ability to manage the delivery. Hence, the studios get seller’s attention. (Hollensen, 2005: 296-297) Additionally, better training can be provided for employees in circus school and career transition program support artists when they step out of the organisation. Furthermore, Cirque du Soleil offers their employees health benefits like medical plan and travel benefits due to shows in different countries. (Cirque du Soleil, 2012) Communities can be provided with new projects beside environment issues like environmental pollution. According to Cirque du Mond Cirque du Soleil can provide new projects. So besides Africa and Australia they could also operate in Asia. (Cirque du Soleil) 2.Operational innovations at Ciruqe du Soleil Operational innovation is about creating new ways in business e.g. in new projects or providing customer service to achieve success. Consequently, success is not only based on the working performance of a company. (Hammer, 2004) 2.1.Operational innovations & the unique Cirque experience Cirque du Soleil distinguishes themselves from traditional circuses by eliminating and adding factors. (Kim, 2005: 36) Eliminate Star performance Animal shows Aisle concession sales Multiple show arenas 3 ringsRaise Unique venue + Touring location Reduce Fun and humour Thrill and dangerCreate Theme + Multiple shows Refines environment Multiple productions Artistic music and dance Music first than shows Production e.g. film, TV, retail, corporate shows Unique combination of performing act Table 1 Eliminate- Reduce- Raise- Create Grid (Source by Kim, 2005: supplemented by author) Furthermore, it is said that less successful companies followed usual strategic logic and successful companies used value innovation. Value innovation differs from the basic strategy and does not focus on rivals. It focuses more on the values customers have in common and new processes. (Kim, 1998: 25-26) Moreover, by eliminating certain elements, costs can be reduced e.g. by reducing advertising because value innovation causes word-of-mouth. Thus, a part of differentiation is also value at a lower cost. (Kim, 1998: 28-30) As illustrated below (see Figure 1), the key factors for the value curve are focus, divergence and a compelling tagline to achieve and exceed the value for both buyers and the organisation which Cirque du Soleil manages to do. Evidently, it is shown in Strategy Canvas that Cirque du Soleil differs from other competitors. The Circus Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Value Curves are similar to a traditional circus and Cirque du Soleil is the total opposite of it thr ough alternatives with new factors. (Kim, 2005: 37-41) Proceeding on the assumption, the operational innovation leads to value innovation and as a result, those unique strategies such as new concepts and process create unique experiences. (Waltz, 2003: 86) For example they attract audiences with lighting effects, original music and new and appealing costumes. (Pawar, 2007: 4) In general, a mature industry has a greater chance of success and rewards than industries which appear profitable because mature industries have a  greater creativity in business and higher level of innovation. Customers are especially attracted by the creativity of industries which can cause unique experiences. These industries are also difficult to compete because of the market niche they create. (Baden- Fuller, 1992: 18) These criteria fit Cirque du Soleil’s business model and is carried out by its Blue Ocean strategy in which the organisation builds a new and uncontested market which made the competition irrelevant due to creative innovations. (Kim, 2005: 4&18) 2.2.The influence of operational innovations on the financial dynamics of Cirque du Soleil Financial dynamics reflect results of an organisation’s decisions which are important for the cash flow. Increasing the productivity means not reducing costs. Nevertheless, it creates options which may lead to turnovers. The effect of increasing output or input may enhance profit for the business. (Yu- Lee, 2002: 136&138) In general the circus industry comprises high costs and most of the circuses incur increasing costs without rising revenues. (Kim, 2005: 13) Based on the innovation in 2.1 the author identifies the reducing cost and the turnover due to the organisation’s elimination and addition of elements which lead to profit. 2.2.1.Turnover Cirque du Soleil has various factors which attract customers and leads to turnover. For example, they have unique venues with comfortable seats instead of hard benches like in traditional circus. (Kim, 2005: 15) Cirque du Soleil started to perform in different continents like Asia and Europe and people all over the world have the chance to take part in the events. Moreover, the organisation creates themes which have impressive storylines and multiple shows with new acts. Additionally, artistic dance and music make it more unique. A special feature of the shows is how they create music first and then adapt the acts to the music. All in all, the unique entertainment created a new form of entertainment and combined circus art with theatre and ballet. (Pawar, 2007: 3-6) This generates turnover because creativity causes a great ambience and introduces an intellectual element into the shows which impress audiences and increase demand. (Kim, 2005: 15) In general, Cirque’s shows are sold out or well frequented with occupancy of  85-95%. (Williamson, 2004: 931) By other ventures like audio, videos, t-shirts and masks Cirque can increase their revenue. (Pawar, 2007: 3) In addition, less than 10% of revenues come from concessions at shows. Nothing is sold inside the tent and also not during performances. Therefore, Cirque du Soleil offers VIP packages which include food in a separate tent. Hence, the customer can get better beverages for a higher price. (Williamson, 2004: 931) 2.2.2.Reducing Cost Reducing costs are achieved by significantly eliminating elements. By eliminating circus animals reduce one of the most expensive expenditures. This consists of training, insurance, medical care and transportation, and transportation expenses are especially costly because Cirque du Soleil tours around the world. Moreover, star performances in traditional circuses are expensive and Cirque does not include these performers in its programs. Instead of three-ring venues Cirque reduces it into one which reduces e.g. the effort of decoration costs. (Kim, 2005: 14) Besides touring shows they have permanent shows which take place in Las Vegas, Orlando and Walt Disney World. (Pawar, 2007: 3) 2.2.3.Profit In terms of profit, operational innovations develop improvement for better market performance. It enables Strategic, Marketplace and Operational benefits. (Hammer, 2004) The results of Cirque du Soleil’s innovations can be gathered from â€Å"A Powerful Weapon† (see appendix: table 2). Applicable to Cirque du Soleil, they achieved strategic benefits which lead to higher customer retention, ability to execute strategies and to enter new markets due to their new entertainment business. Their marketplace benefits are based on greater customer satisfaction, differentiated offerings and stronger relationships due to offering unique experiences. Operational benefits are acquired with lower direct costs and more added values. 3.Cirque du Soleil’s corporate mission The corporate mission is an element of the organisation’s business plan. It is a function for the strategic planning which gives a specific direction to the business process. Therefore, the organisation has a purpose and business principles to form the firm’s identity. (Bierce, 2004: 592) 3.1.Components  of the corporate mission The corporate mission consists of three elements. First of all, in organisational beliefs the members have the same strategic beliefs and share a common understanding which makes decision making easier in business processes. It results in a more confident and driven group. (Bierce, 2004: 592) Secondly, the organisational values guide the actions in a business and are an integral part of the company but each person has her own value in what they believe to be good. Therefore, by sharing common values e.g. in ethical behaviour or worthwhile activities, reaching aims can be supported. Lastly, an organisation has a specific business definition which creates a direction for the organisation to follow and thereby attain success. Through this guideline, members focus on opportunities and efforts to expand their business. (Bierce, 2004: 593) 3.1.1.Business definition According to the mission, Cirque du Soleil places high importance on artistic performances and creative productions. (Cirque du Soleil, 2012) Based on the research of the author, their mission is not a precise business definition of Cirque du Soleil because there is no clear direction how they want to develop. For example, they do not define themselves as a traditional circus. Not having a business definition points to a weakness in the organisation. On the other hand, not having a definition is a strength because there is no other organisation which is similar with Cirque du Soleil’s business (exemplified in 2.1.). 3.1.2.Organisational purpose Cirque du Soleil’s purpose â€Å"[..] is to invoke the imagination, to provoke the senses and to evoke the emotions of people around the world.† (Cirque du Soleil, 2012) The organisation is trying to do everything to impress their customers but to fulfil their needs they do not use market research for their shows. By following trends the organisation will lose their unique presence. Instead, the organisation’s culture is to create new shows to update previous shows. (Pawar, 2007:8-9) 3.1.3.Organisational beliefs Cirque du Soleil is breaking the market boundaries of circus and theatre (Kim, 2005: 14) which points to a new form of live entertainment with a  combination of circus art, ballet and theatre. (Pawar, 2007: 3) Coherent with this finding, the non-existent business definition is contradictory because it is said that Cirque du Soleil tried from the beginning to differentiate itself from the traditional circus in business perspectives. (Pawar, 2007: 6-7) Moreover, to achieve this belief by breaking market boundaries, innovations enabled steps to be taken in a specific direction. 3.1.4.Organisational values The value of this organisation is to keep their creativity in business and try to exceed their limits. In addition, the organisation tries to empower its people and promote the youth. Furthermore, every member of the organisation respects every contribution of one person. (Cirque du Soleil, 2012) 3.2.Mission function & statement The mission functions devote strategic measures for the future and thus, represent the purpose of a unit. Moreover, a mission statement defines customers, products and services. (Entrepreneur Media, 2012) 3.2.1.The future development of the business & mission of Cirque du Soleil For the future, Cirque du Soleil is planning to build more entertainment complexes in major cities like Sydney, London and New York. The complexes would include art galleries, nightclubs and restaurants for people to dine. In addition, Cirque wants to include hotels in which artists perform in the waiting area and clowns are doing the room services. (Pawar, 2007: 10) Based on the mission of Cirque du Soleil, the author analyses the factors of mission. The aforementioned organisational values are definite such as the purpose has a clear understanding of what the organisation wants to offer their customer. In contrast to the business definition, there is an indistinct clarification. In particular, Cirque’s intentions for the future blur the business identity and make it even more vague than it already is. A suggestion would be to take preference and choose between the hospitality or entertainment industry and commit resources accordingly. Thus, they can also assure stakeholders of what specific business they are partaking in and the stakeholders have a clear understanding what purpose the organisation is. 3.2.2.Renewed mission statement To modify the mission statement the author extracts parts of the exciting mission of Cirque du Soleil (see appendix: Figure 2) and adds purposes: â€Å"Cirque du Soleil is an international organization and puts a high value on creation, production and performance of artistic work which will impress the audience to evoke the emotions. The organisation will torch people over the world with unique experiences of their performance which differentiate from other entertainment. â€Å" In the modified mission, value on creativity like production will be retained because it highlights the features of Cirque’s business. Furthermore, members of the organisation have a clearer understanding of their aim or purpose. Moreover, Cirque du Soleil should expand in more countries so that everyone, even people in developing countries, can take part in the unique experiences. Cirque could design smaller shows because the usual tickets are expensive. The mission clearly states that they differentiate from others and still hold their accurate business in the background. In summary, audiences might show a continued curiosity with promises. Strategic BenefitsïÆ'ËœHigher customer retention Greater market share Ability to execute strategies Ability to enter new markets Marketplace benefitsïÆ'ËœLower prices Greater customer satisfaction Differentiated offerings Stronger customer relationship Greater agility Operational benefitsïÆ'ËœLower direct costs Better use of assets Faster cycle time Increased accuracy Greater customization or precision More added value Simplifies processes Table 2 A Powerful Weapon (Source: Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation, 2004) â€Å"Cirque du Soleil is an international organization founded in Quebec dedicated to the creation, production and performance of artistic works whose mission is to invoke the imagination, to provoke the sense and to evoke the emotions of people around the world.† Figure 2 Mission (Source: Cirque du Soleil 2012, online) Bibliography Baden- Fuller, C. (1992). Rejuvenating the Mature Business: The Competitive Challenge. Routledge Bierce, A. (2004). 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