Building Watson Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Building Watson - Case Study Example It would be advisable to further the research in order to achieve the benefits in that future. Although able to process information much faster, innately, than a human being it would be perceived to have an advantage, and yet it gave a completely inaccurate answer to a question posed, which means that there is still something lacking in the decision making skills as to when to answer. If a human being is not certain of an answer they would likely decline to offer an answer; however, Watson opted to answer and the answer delivered with low artificial intellectual certainty was absolutely wrong. Ultimately, Watson sets precedent and encourages the further study and investment in the research and development of these technologies. The unpredictability and sense of choice that human beings possess is still something that cannot be achieved synthetically (Shih, 2012). Computers possess none of the emotional motivations of humanity, at least not in this case or technology level, these infl uences create the ethical, logical, and moral uses of our knowledge and thought. There is a dynamic nature to human thought, organic thought, which has yet to be captured within the programming of artificial intelligence and computer technologies. ... on is a sophisticated computer and computers are beneficial for their ability to compute, calculate, retrieve, and analyze data at incredible speeds, far faster than a human brain (Shih, 2012).A trivia challenge of, both, common knowledge and specialized knowledge should be an ideal task for a computer to do decidedly well, ideally, better than any human opponent. However, there are a number of personality and psychological traits possessed by human beings that are completely irrelevant to computer intelligence, including compulsive liars to truth tellers and fair players and misdirecting ones. These traits are just a few, of what are easily, thousands of possible emotional, mental, and behavioral responses attributable to human beings; none of which are shared by artificial intelligence (Shih, 2012).Given these parameters, can a computer win a match of not only knowledge but, also, of strategy and skilled game play? Although, throughout the course of the game, Watson did quite well at answering many questions correctly, however when it gave one particular inaccurate answer that was not just wrong, it was unbelievably wrong. When asked to name the U.S. state had their largest airport named after a WWII hero and their largest city named after a WWII battle, Watson answered, â€Å"Toronto† (Shih, 2012). Toronto is not a U.S. city, in the United States at all, and has absolutely nothing to do with the questions involving WWII namesakes; the degree of wrong was surprising to designers and proved that greater study will need to be done to determine why it chose an answer so obviously incorrect and then choosing to share that answer with any â€Å"programming† common sense that allowed to think that the answer could be correct would be extremely important. Watson was

Fashion Retail Management - Personal Statement Essay

Fashion Retail Management - Personal Statement - Essay Example The paper "Fashion Retail Management - Personal Statement" is fashion retail management personal statement. In my teens, I would design my own cloths and oversee the tailoring. Soon after, I realized that I was becoming ‘an advisor’ to my friends and colleagues on matters of fashion. This led to my designing and selling of gowns and participation in the management of a few local fashion shows and events where some of my pieces were displayed. My first job was with Zara, a leading fashion retail outlet.Working in the sales department, I learnt how to interact with customers andhow to position and place stocks. Moreover, I learnt about the management of supply chain. My second job was as an intern at Azadea, a leading fashion retail company operating throughout the Middle East and Africa. I worked in the fashion department, mentored by the Brand Manager. During my internship, there were plans on extending Gymboree into an online virtual store. I attended meetings where I u sed my knowledge on online shopping to participate in decision-making. I also assisted the senior brand manager with the monthly reports and strategic decisions. We also attended meetings for new locations and potential brands possible to acquire under AZADEA, investigating competitors and traffic areas. Currently I am interning for a team that previously worked with the luxury designer Zuhair Murad. This experience has allowed me to gain multi-channel retail knowledge, supervisory skills and to work effectively .

Catherine Parker Essay Example for Free

Catherine Parker Essay There are a variety of different types of narratives used in literary texts and films. In the adaptation process from novel to film, the visual narrative of the film also needs to be considered, whereas the novel is solely dependant on the written word and the reader’s imagination. Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird and Lemony Snickett’s A Series of Unfortunate Events can be used to investigate the use of narrative in both text and film and the differences that occur in the adaptation process. When writing the novel, there is a greater opportunity to vary the style of narrative in order to provide the reader with as much information as possible, whereas in the film adaptation the addition of the visual narrative removes the opportunity to vary between different styles and it becomes much more definite. As a result of the visual information, the narrative is further affected by factors such as how something is said and the visual actions that accompany the words. ‘Film complicates literary narration by practicing two parallel and intersecting forms of narration: the verbal narration, whether through voice-over and/or the speech of characters, and the film’s capacity to show the world and its appearances apart from voice-over and character narration. † (Stam, 35) Lee’s novel employs the use of first person narrative through the female-child voice of Scout. However, in A Series of Unfortunate Events, the third person narrative used in the text has been maintained in the film via the use of voice-over, a technique often avoided by many directors and film producers. When adapting a novel, definite decisions have to be made, such as where and when the events are located and the exact time period in which events take place, and the narrative becomes a part of this. To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel concerned with time and at certain points in the story, time is presented as moving fairly slowly, even suspended at times as the characters themselves watch the action, â€Å"the spectators were quiet† (Mockingbird, 185). There is also a cyclical notion of time present as the story moves through the seasons and events take place over a number of years, shown through Dill’s annual summer visits to his Aunt Rachel, and the development of the children, particularly Jem. â€Å"When enough years had gone by to enable us to look back on them, we sometimes discussed the events leading to his accident† (Mockingbird, 9). Throughout both the novel and the adaptation, time is used as part of this narrative structure as there is a multi-layer of time as well as a multi-layer of narration. â€Å"in the motion-picture, a first-person angle of vision functions primarily to provide transitions and shifts in time and place† (Shackelford). The film becomes much more dependant on the narrative in order to portray this time span as the visual narrative will not show this development as effectively without using more than once actor to play the different ages of the children. The novel is written from the perspective of Scout, Jean Louise Finch, the youngest member of the Finch family. This use of the female child narrator may suggest that the narrative will be different to traditional, stereotypical novels of the time, due to the female-child narrator describing events involving rape and racial issues. However, what aids the text in being so successful is the fact that Scout doesn’t limit her narrative solely to events she has experienced herself, she also relays stories other people have told her and information she has overheard. â€Å"People said he existed, but Jem and I had never seen him. People said he went out at night† (Mockingbird, 15). Although it is through the voice of Scout that the story is being told, she does relay certain events as a watcher, giving the feeling of a third person narrative and enabling the audience to gain other people’s opinions and make their own judgements.

Background Of Apple Inc Commerce Essay

Background Of Apple Inc Commerce Essay Apple Inc. is a company that designs, manufactures and markets mobile communication and media devices, personal computers, and portable digital music players. Apple Inc. also sells a variety of related software, services, peripherals, networking solutions, third-party digital content and applications. The company sells products and services such as iPhone , iPad , Mac , iPod , Apple TV , a portfolio of consumer and professional software applications, the iOS and Mac OS X operating systems, iCloud , and a variety of accessory, service and support offerings. Furthermore, the company also sells and delivers digital content and applications through online stores the iTunes Store, App Store, iBookstore, and Mac App Store. The company sells its products globally through its retail stores, online stores, direct sales force, through third-party cellular network carriers, wholesalers, retailers, and value-added resellers. Not only that, the company sells a variety of third-party iPhone, iPad, Mac and iPod compatible products. The companys target market is end user consumers, small and mid-sized businesses (SMB), and education, enterprise and government customers. Steve Jobs, Ron Wayne and Steve Wozniak were the founder of Apple Inc. In 1976, they invented the first Apple computer which consists of not only circuit board with costs under $700 in Palo Alto, California. They improved the first Apple computer by adding one-megahertz processor and named Apple II became first mass-produced computer in year 1977.Apple officially became a public traded company in 1980. Apple Inc. continued developing a better computer in later years and the first personal computer with feature which has a mouse for navigating and desktop icons and folders called Lisa but this product unable to stay in the market due to high cost of production. On 2007, Apple had kicked off the era of the touch screen smartphone with the invention of first iPhone. This innovation has made a huge change in the smartphone market because it caught the attention of the consumers. On 2010, again Apple unveiled the iPad tablet computer and Apple has passed Microsoft as the largest US technology company in term of market value in May. On 2011, the co-founder Steve Jobs announced his resignation as Chief executive Officer of Apple due to health problem and the Chief Operating Officer, Timothy D. Cook took over his place as the new Chief Executive Officer of Apple. In 2012 September, Apple has introduced its new iPhone 5 which is the lighter, thinner and more powerful of its mobile devices. This new product captured the attention of the whole world by getting a pre-order of 2 million and it is twice than the previous iPhone 4S. Planning Apple is committed to to bring the best personal computing experience to different groups of people like students educators, creative professionals and consumers around the world through its innovative hardware, software and Internet offering.Retrieved from Apple, 2009 Annual Report. Apple Inc. is in a competitive and fast-paced business environment. Everything might change even in the next second. Therefore, it is important for Apple Inc. to be ahead of its competitors. In order to provide the best technology experience to customers, employees are given the freedom to improve products if they found any issues after they used product. Employees do not need to go under procedures that will consume a lot of times. The issues of the product might be the weakness of the company if it is not improve or solve. Apple Inc. plan to build brand loyalty in customers. The mission in Apple Store is to educate and build loyalty in customers. Apple Inc. believed that educates customers are important to build customer loyalty. Therefore, free workshops are offered to people with different level of experience to know more about their new Apple products. Basics of Apples product can be learnt in the workshop. Experiences are shared by those who really understand Apple products to the attendees of the workshop. A One-to-one training program is also offered to customers who have bought a new Mac. In the program, there are three types of training choices, which are personal training, group training and open training. If customers are having a technical problem of their Apple products, they may seek help from Genius Bar where geniuses are available there. The expertise of the geniuses can help customers to troubleshoot the problem of their Apple products. In 1990s, Apple Inc. began to concern about the environment. Efforts are made to minimize the impact of Apple products have on the environment. Chemicals were phased out in producing Apples products. Apple Inc. came out with mercury-free backlit display of Macbook Pro, bromine-free printed circuit board laminates, and more. In 2002, Apple Inc. achieved a recycling rate of 41.9% based on the percentage of weight from the 2002 sales. The introduction of Apple Battery Charger can help reduce the battery waste by 78%. Apple has introduced many application programmes like iTunes, Apps Store, iCloud, iBookstore, Newsstand and more. The introduction of these application programmes had reduced the traditional usage of CDs, DVDs as storage devices for multimedia; Papers for production of literary works. Apple Inc. does not play featured games with its competitors. Instead, Apple Inc. is more focused on its own business than its competitors. For the engineers of Apple Inc., their mission is to come out with great innovative products. The engineers of Apple Inc. are driven to innovation. They are encouraged to come out with products that can challenge the status quo. Organizing Apple Executive Team The organizational chart above clearly showed that Apple Inc. is a functional organizational structure which grouping employees by similar or related occupational specialties. Group employees by similar specialties can make them comfortable and satisfied because it gives them the opportunity to speak in the same language as their peers. The organizational chart also showed that all of the senior vice presidents are directly reporting to the CEO of the company, Tim Cook, because of the wide span of control of the company. Apple Inc. is operating under organic organization structure that has highly adaptive, loose and flexible, which allows company to change rapidly as required. Employees in the company own the freedom to go in and improve the product if they found an issue that bothered them by without having to deal with layers of bureaucracy to get approval. This freedom can make Apple Inc. responds quickly to problems and improves their products faster. On the other hand, if businesses managed their money as carelessly as they manage their people, most would be bankrupt. Recently, Apple Inc. has provided training program for the new hiring employees to improve their ability to perform on the job, thus, training can change employees certain skills, knowledge, attitudes or behavior. After this training, the company can easily put the right people into the right jobs to avoid waste both human and financial capital. Since there is no longer ecosystem to support manufacturing in United States, Apple Inc. decided to manufacture its products in China and cooperate with the worlds largest maker of electronic components, Foxconn. The main reason of Apple Inc. manufactures products in China is the efficiency but not about the cost. Chinas workforce is much hungrier and more frugal compare with United States. Foxconn can recruit 3000 of workers overnight and China also provides engineers to set up the assembly lines in order to expand the production of iPhone. Furthermore, Apple Inc. does not allow the use of underage labor. Suppliers of the company must follow the minimum age for employment in that country, or the age of completing compulsory education in that particular country. The company will require suppliers to return underage labors to school and pay for the educational expenses, living allowances, and lost wages for 6 months or until the labor reaches 16 years old if the company found out that suppliers use underage labor. Leading Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple Inc. and the Chief Executive Officer of Apple Inc. before 24 August 2011. He graduated from Homestead High in Cupertino, California in 1972.After that, he attended Reed College but he just studied for one semester and he was dropped out. In 1976, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne founded Apple. In 1985, Steve Jobs got kicked out of Apple Inc. by John Sculley. In 1997, Steve Jobs has returned to Apple Inc. and started to lead the Apple Inc. The first task was to make the Apple Inc. more focus on what product should be produced. He told all his team members to focus on four great products, one for each quadrant. By getting Apple Inc. focus on just making four computers, he saved the Apple Inc. He said that Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do. He is also cut down all the unnecessary products, services, marketing, packaging and more. On the last day of each year, he will stand in front whiteboard and ask What are the ten things should be doing next? He likes to hear what is the employees idea on the Apple Inc products, so that they can create more new products to the market. Next, Steve Jobs always warn the employees to simplify the device and software because the first marketing brochure of Apple Inc. declared that simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. This simplification can create competitive advantages among the competitors because the competitors products are much more complicated to use. Steve Jobs simplicity came not by ignoring complexity but rather by conquering it. On the innovation, Steve Jobs did not merely to catch up the competitors but is to leapfrog over them. For example, Steve Jobs was mortified when he found that the slot drive of his iMac could not burn CDs. When facing this problem, Steve Jobs has come out a solution which is create the iTunes store and iPod to reinventing access to music. On 24 August 2011, Steve Jobs has left his position as Chief Executive Officer due to the health problem he faced and his position was took over by Timothy D. Cook who was the Chief Operating Officer of Apple Inc. Now, Timothy D. Cook is the Chief Executive Officer of Apple Inc. He studied MBA in Duke University, and he was also a Fuqua scholar and Bachelor of Science Degree in Industrial Engineering from Auburn University. Today, Apple Inc. has almost 73,000 employees is under the leadership of Timothy D. Cook. Since he took over Apple Inc., Tim Cook successfully steered the company through controversies at Foxconn factories overseas and the success of release the iPhone 5 and iPad mini. The iPhone 5 was released on 21 September 2012 and it achieved pre-order of 2 million over 24 hours and it was double the 1 million the iPhone 4S. Besides, Tim Cook has used his leadership style to change the company environment. For example, the Apple Inc become more corporate, putting more focus on operational efficiency while still striving to maintain the unique culture Steve Jobs forged as the Chief Executive Officer. Timothy D. Cook is much more approachable compare to Steve Jobs. He has no problem to meet with the investors and sometimes he will have meal with his employees which is rarely did by Steve Jobs. Controlling In controlling, the task of manager is to monitoring performance, evaluate how well the organization has achieved its goals and to take corrective actions as needed to maintain or improve performance. The ex-CEO of Apple Inc., Steve Jobs monitors the performance of Tim Cook, the ex-COO of Apple Inc. when he was still around. In Steve Jobss resignation letter, he has named Tim Cook as the next CEO of Apple Inc. This backup plan makes Apple Inc. able to cope with uncertainty. To the Apple Board of Directors and the Apple Community: I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apples CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come. I hereby resign as CEO of Apple. I would like to serve, if the Board sees fit, as Chairman of the Board, director and Apple employee. As far as my successor goes, I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple. I believe Apples  brightest  and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role. I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you. Steve Retrieved from http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2011/08/24Letter-from-Steve-Jobs.html After the death of Steve Jobs, Apple Inc. hasnt release anything big and new. But it has built better iPhones and iPads. Apple Inc. announced that pre-order of its iPhone 5 topped 2 million in just 24 hours, and iPads sold 3 billion in 3 days. The quarterly profit of Apple Inc. climbed to $8.2 billion on revenue that rose to $36 billion on the backs of hot-selling iPhones and iPads. Within one year, Apple Inc. share increased and the companys value has almost doubled since Steve Jobs death. Apple Inc. manufacturers continually improve electronic technology so that company can offer more power in a smaller package. Apple continually offers smaller devices to the market before the competition. Macbook Air, the thinnest laptop on the market is the prime example of the product in the market. This idea introduced by Apple introduced idea before their competition, so they able to accomplish these feats in record time with streamline workflow processes and automation. Apple Inc. recently came out with Apple Supplier Responsibility 2012 Progress Report that details their effort to improve workers protection and factory condition. Apple Inc does not allow the use of underage labor, if workers had either left or reached legal working age by time of the audit, they will take immediate corrective action. On 28th September, 2012, the CEO of Apple Inc. Tim Cook has written an apologize letter on Apples website regarding with the Maps drama that been unfolding with the introduction of iOS 6. To our customers, At Apple, we strive to make world-class products that deliver the best experience possible to our customers. With the launch of our new Maps last week, we fell short on this commitment. We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers and we are doing everything we can to make Maps better. We launched Maps initially with the first version of iOS. As time progressed, we wanted to provide our customers with even better Maps including features such as turn-by-turn directions, voice integration, Flyover and vector-based maps. In order to do this, we had to create a new version of Maps from the ground up. There are already more than 100 million iOS devices using the new Apple Maps, with more and more joining us every day. In just over a week, iOS users with the new Maps have already searched for nearly half a billion locations. The more our customers use our Maps the better it will get and we greatly appreciate all of the feedback we have received from you. While were improving Maps, you can try alternatives by downloading map apps from the  App Store  like Bing, MapQuest and Waze, or use Google or Nokia maps by going to their websites and  creating an icon  on your home screen to their web app. Everything we do at Apple is aimed at making our products the best in the world. We know that you expect that from us, and we will keep working non-stop until Maps lives up to the same incredibly high standard. Tim Cook Apples CEO Retrieved from http://www.apple.com/letter-from-tim-cook-on-maps/ What make Apple Inc. success? Apple Inc. leads the market by introducing the first iPhone. Apple Inc. is growing day by day under the leading of Steve Jobs. Steve Jobss leading style that emphasizes perfection had produced iPhone series that is widely accepted by all market segment. Steve Jobs knew well about technology, market and art so he combined all together when thinking of new product. Engineers in Apple Inc. considered on the quality of the product rather only generates profit. Unlike other competitors, Apple Inc. does not simply come out with a product that is incomplete or dissatisfied. For example, competitors such as Samsung often come out with new products however its products always have problem. Apple Inc. concerns on environmental issue not only save the production costs while also build good image of corporate. Apple Inc. provides variety sources for consumers to solve their problem when they face any problem with the products. Free workshop and Genius Bar where geniuses can help customers to tro ubleshoot the problem of their Apple products. This will help consumers to understand better and know more advantages of Apples product. Challenges Apple Inc. faces challenge in Tim Cooks leadership. Since the way Tim Cook leads is different from Steve Jobs therefore employees need time to cope up with the new leading style. Steve Jobs emphasized perfect in production of products therefore employees are given pressure to maximize the perfection however Tim Cook is more flexible. This might cause the quality of Apples product to decrease. Technology is also a challenge for Apple Inc. Technology improvement is an uncertainty, no one will know when theres new technology will be invented. Apple Inc.s product is based on technology therefore if theres no technology advancement, Apple Inc. will not able to produce new product. Competitors are one of the major challenges faced by Apple Inc. Google new invention of operating system called Android had threatened Apple Inc.s iPhone Operating System. This is because Android can be used in various smartphones such as Samsung, HTC and Sony Ericsson but iOS can only be used in Apple Inc.s products. Android system and iOS system is quite similar, consumers whose purchasing power is low will choose to purchase other products this will eventually affect Apple Inc.s sales. Critique of Apple Inc. If you fail to plan then you plan to fail. Planning plays an important role in every organization and same goes to Apple Inc. The company gives employees the freedom to improve the product if they found any issues after they used product without approval needed. Planning has to accomplish with the companys mission. Apple Inc.s mission is to educate and build loyalty in customers. To achieve their mission, Apple Inc. conducts free workshops to people with different level of experience to know more about their new Apple products. Customers can learn basics of Mac, iPod, iPad or iPhone in the workshop. This will help to build customer loyalty however will consume a lot of time and might not work. Time is precious to the people nowadays therefore will people spend time to attend the free workshop? This is should be considered. Apple Inc. will not able to build customer loyalty if customers do not attend the workshop. Apple Inc. focuses on its own business rather than its competitors; thi s will help them produce a better product but too focus on its own business will cause them unable to compete with its competitors. Technology will improve day by day, if Apple Inc. only focuses on its business, the companys position as market leader will be taken by other competitors such as Samsung. Apple Inc. practices organic organization structure which will let the company to run more effectively. Employees are given freedom to improve the products when they found out any problem of the product, this will help the company to solve the products weakness faster. Yet this may also brings negative impact on company. Improvement done by employees does not require approval from top management, if the changes done by employees had made the product worst this will destroy companys reputation. For example, changes made on one of the apps had clash with another apps and cause the products certain function unable to function. Apple Inc. does not allow underage labor to participate in the production of their production but Apple Inc. unable to ensure that this will not happen. This is proven when Apple Inc.s largest contract manufacturer, Foxconn has acknowledged hiring labor who ranged in age from 14 to 16 in a Chinese factory. This is not against human rights while companys reputation will be affected as well. Apple Inc. is very successful under the leading of Steve Jobs however his leading is not perfect because no one is perfect. Steven Jobs emphasized simplification in creating its product however its product is still difficult to use especially for new user. Apples products dont come along with manual booklet therefore new user will find difficulty during their first time of using Apples products. This will cause users to switch to other brand due to inconvenience of the system. Besides, Jobs solution which is create iTunes store and iPod to reinventing access to music solved the problem of iMac that unable to burn CD however users cant transfer music to other devices. This became a weakness of Apples products. iPhone 5 s pre order is double from iPhone 4 because Apples user expecting a better version of iPhone however function of iPhone 5 didnt not change much where this disappointed the users and if iPhone 6 is introduced the pre order will drop where eventually will cause the sales to decrease too. Good controlling is required to manage a company. Without controlling, the company will close down any time. Steve Jobs named Tim Cook to replace his position as CEO of Apple Inc. after monitoring his performance, this will ensure the companys daily operation to go well. However, what will happen to Apple Inc. if Tim Cook resigns due to some reason? Who will be the next CEO of Apple Inc.? This will influence the companys market share. Apple Inc. should train few candidates that can take over the CEO position. Introduction of iOS 6 by Apple Inc. had problems with the Maps therefore the current CEO of Apple Inc., Tim Cook suggested others alternatives map apps that can be downloaded from Apps Store such as Bing and so on while the company is improving the maps. Tim Cooks suggestions help to solve customers problem however this also proved that their product can be replaced by others. Customers will not need to buy Apples product anymore since other product can replace it and Apples pro duct is much higher than the others. Conclusion Apple Inc. is a company that focuses on technology products. Steve Jobs was the important person who lead to the success of the company and currently replaced by Tim Cook. For Steve Jobs, the mission of Apple Inc. was his mission also. He planned to come out with extraordinary smart phone or technology gadget that will meet or doing better than the expectation of customers. Apple Inc. has organised well its resources to accomplish the goals of the company. If one of the resources fails to organise properly, Apple Inc. will not be so successful like today. Steve Jobs is a decision maker as he can make a correct decision that what product they should produce and what should not for their company products. After resignation of Steve Jobs, Timothy Cook has take over his position as new Chief Executive Officer. Timothy Cook is a person who can easily communicate and interact with his employees. This can make the employees work harder to the company. Managers of Apple Inc. always monitors the performance of the subordinates, provide backup plan to cope with uncertainty and evaluate how well Apple Inc. has achieved its mission. Tim Cook is able to take corrective action to overcome the problems that occur in Apples products. Managing an organization is a complex activities, effective manager must own many kind of skills, knowledge and ability. Management is an unpredictable activity. Making the right decision is difficult; even effective managers often take mistakes, but Steve Jobs learn from their mistakes and continually find way to increase companys performance. Planning, organizing, leading and controlling are essential parts of a managers job. Performing these four activities successfully is important for effective management. Management is very important for a successful company, Steve Jobss leading had proven this.

Preparing For Our Deaths :: essays research papers

Preparing for Death   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A lack of preparation for our deaths is a serious problem whether it is because we don’t know the exact time or just don’t want to face death. In a article in time magazine by John Cloud he writes â€Å"We will spend more time getting ready for two weeks away from work than we will for our last two weeks on earth† (Cloud,2000,p.60). We should prepare for our deaths to show our wishes concerning treatment and life support as well as other aspects. We should make choices while we are still well, so that we are treated properly before we die. Frank Ostaceski said â€Å"we have more preparation for how to operate our VCRs than we do for how we die†(Cloud,2000,p.60).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In today’s society we all try to prolong life as long as possible. Technology is finding new ways that we can stay healthier and lead productive lives longer. Governor Lamm said â€Å"we should be careful in terms of our technological miracles that we don’t impose life on people who, in fact, are suffering beyond our ability to help†(Collins,1991,p.540). That is the real issue at hand; are we in fact over stepping our boundaries by keeping people alive who are maybe beyond our help. â€Å"Machines can extend the length but not always the quality of life† (Cloud,2000,p.62). As doctors, they need to think about the well being of the patient and if any methods could really help the situation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is hard to let someone that is close to us die, but we need to look beyond the fact that you will miss them. You need to think about what is best for the patient and if they are terminal; prolonging their life is not the best thing. It is important to prepare for our own death and make our wishes known. A living will is one way of doing that. A living will is a document explains to your doctor what types of treatment you want if you become terminally ill. A living will only works when you are terminal, it does not come into effect if you are in an accident and need emergency treatment. Some people may feel that a living will is not for them, when in fact everyone should have a living will. Most people assume that a living will means that they are refusing treatment, which is not true. A living will just explains your wishes.

Sociology Concepts :: Sociology Essays

1. Social action is defined as day to day decisions and actions of individuals within the social world. Social actions both influence and are patterned and influenced by social structure. According to Marx’s theory, in order for the potential of social action occurring to take place a society must face resistance and revolution. According to Marx’s theory societies are already divided into two main groups, the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. The bourgeoisie are the upper class who are owners of capital and exploiters of labor, while the proletariat, or lower class, are the blue collar workers who use their hands or a certain skill to perform some sort of labor. The proletariat usually work and answer to the bourgeoisie. Marx’s theory states that a critical element of society is social control and that the social structure is based on the oppression of some people by others. According to Marx’s theory the class you are born in is very likely going to be t he class you die in. Furthermore, the class that your great grandparents belonged to is more or less going to be the class that your great grandchildren will belong to. Moving from class to class is very rare and is very difficult to accomplish. The only way for class movement is through resistance and or revolution. According to Marx’s theory the potential for resistance and revolution is present in all social situations because the less powerful can always, and are very likely to, act against the status quo. Due to the fact that the social structure is so well defined the only way to have any sort of social action is through some sort of radical means. Looking back on history at times where there were two very distinct class structures the only way that the social structure changed was through revolution. For example, the Civil War. Though the Civil War was not fought solely over slavery, slavery was a big issue. The only way the distinct class differences between slaves an d slave owners could come to an end was through war and revolution. Without radical resistance and revolution the class structure would have never changed and social action would have never occurred. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Social research is never a routine matter. There are so many different variables involved in each study that the same study could be done over and over and the response would differ slightly each and every time.

Breaking DES (Data Encryption Systems)

Data Encryption Standard (DES) is an algorithm for decrypting and encrypting unstipulated information in the United States administration standard. DES is derived from IBM’s Lucifer code and is depicted by the Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 46, with its current modification being FIDS 46-3 (Conrad, 2007). DES is a mass code that takes a plaintext sequence as a key in and generates a code transcript wording of the same measurement lengthwise.The mass of the DES obstruct is 64 bits which is also the same for the input dimension even though the 8 bits of the key are for the recognition of faults making the efficient DES input amount 56 bits. Because of the progressions in the authority of dispensation in workstations there are weaknesses in the 56-bit key extent presently (Conrad, 2007). In the company of proper hardware, there is a best chance assault on methodical efforts to all the 72 quadrillion hence, there is a possibility of dissimilar inputs.Advanced Encr yption Standard (AES) developed into an innovative FIPS-standard encryption average in 2001, 26th November to replace DES. Statistics Encryption Algorithm explains the definite algorithm as contested to the average. In such circumstances, TDEA is a short form for Triple DES. At the same time, there is a description of Triple Data Encryption Algorithm Modes of Operation ANSI X9. 52-1998 (Clayton & Bond, 2002). History of DES DES was proposed in 1975 and approved in 1977 as a federal information processing standard. It was criticized by the people who felt that it’s 56 key lengths to be insecure.In spite of this, DES remained a strong encryption algorithm until mid 1990. In the year 1998 summer, the insecurity of DES was demonstrated when a $ 250,000 computer which was built by the electronic frontier foundation decrypted a DES-encoded message in 56 hours. This was improved in the 1999 to 2002 hours through a combination of 100,000 networked personal computers and the EFF machi ne. DES remains a de facto standard unless a substitute is found (Landau, 2000, p. 341). A certified DES is obtained from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).This Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) works in three key lengths: 128, 192, and 256 bits. The publication of DES indicated a new era in cryptography. The development in the community of public cryptographers was enhanced by having an algorithm availability of study that the national security agent certified to be secure (Landau, 2000, p. 341). The (DES) Data Encryption Standard A system that encrypts quickly but is essentially what is impossible to break is all what cryptographers have always wanted. Public key systems have captured the imagination of mathematicians because of their reliance on elementary number theory.Public key algorithms are used for establishing a key because they are too slow to be used for most data transmissions. Private key system does the encryption because they are typically fa ster than public key ones (Landau, 2000, p. 341). The data Encryption Standard (DES) workhorse uses private key algorithm besides relying on cryptographic design principles that predate public key. The RC4 in web browsers and the relatively insecure cable TV signal encryption are an exception to DES. DES is the most widely used public cryptosystem in the world. It is the cryptographic algorithm which is used by banks for electronic funds transfer.It is also used for the protection of civilian satellite communications. Still, a variant of DES is used for UNIX password protection. There are three operation of the DES which involves XOR, substitution and permutation. The DES is an interrelated block cipher and a cryptosystem on a block of symbols that sequentially repeats an internal function which is called a round. It encrypts data by the use of a primitive that operates on a block of symptoms of moderate size. Self invert ability is also essential to enable one of the objects to enc rypt and decrypt. When encrypting ordinary text, DES begins by grouping the text into 64 bit block.A number of operations are performed by the DES on each block (Landau, 2000, p. 343). The transformation of how the block is to be carried out is determined by a single key of 56 bits. DES iterates sixteen identical rounds of mixing; each round of DES uses a 48-bit sub key. The DES begins with an initial permutation P and ends with its inverse. The permutations are of minor cryptographic implications but forms part of the official algorithm. The selection of sub keys starts by splitting the 56-bit key into two 28-bit halves and rotating each half one or two bits; either one bit in rounds 1, 2, 9, and 16 or two bits otherwise.The two halves are put back together and then 48 particular bits are chosen and put in order (Landau, 2000, p. 343). Attacks of DES The selection of DES was followed by protests in which case some of the researchers appeared to object to the algorithm small key spa ce. Investors in the key public cryptography claimed that a DES encoded message could be broken in about a day by a $ 20 million machine made up of a million specially designed VLSI capable of searching one key per microsecond while working in parallel.The use of a meet in the middle attack to break a four round version of DES did not extend past seven rounds (Landau, 2000, p. 345). This is evidence that, for all these attacks none of them posed a serious threat to the DES. Other attacks on the DES were performed to poke harder to the innards of DES. This brought anomalies which led to the first attacks that were seen to be more theoretically better than exhaustive search. The attacks were against the block structure system and the need of all block-structured cryptosystems needed to be designed to be secure against differential and linear cryptanalysis.There is a strong attack to DES which is differential cryptanalysis. This is apparently known to the algorithms designers. In order to design a secure cryptosystems, there is a need for a mixture of well known principles, some theorems and the presence of some magic. Attacks on a cryptosystem fall into two categories which are passive attacks and active attacks. The passive attacks are the ones which adversely monitors the communication channel. They are usually easier to mount although they yield less. The active attacks have the adversary transmitting messages to obtain information (Landau, 2000, p.342). The aim of the attackers is to determine the plaintext from the cipher text which they capture. A more successful attack will determine the key and thus compromise a whole set of messages. By designing their algorithms, cryptographer’s help to resist attacks such as cipher text only attack whose adversary has access to the encrypted communications. The known plain text attack which has its adversary has some plain text and its corresponding cipher text. The third attack which can be avoided is the chos en text attack and its adversary chooses the plain text for encryption or decryption.The plain text chosen by the adversary depends on the cipher text received from the previous requests (Landau, 2000, p. 342). Observations about DES The simplicity found in the DES amounts to some fully desirable properties. To start with it is the complementation. To illustrate, allow X to denote the bitwise complement of X. If C is the DES encryption of the plaintext P with key K, then P is the DES encryption of P with key K. In some cases the complementation can simplify DES cryptanalysis by basically cutting the investigating space in half.These properties do not cause serious weakness in the algorithm. The set generated by the DES permutations do not form a group. The group may have at least 102499 elements. There is strength in the DES when it lacks a group structure. It appears to be double encryption where this is twice by two different keys, EK2 (EK1 (P) and is not stronger than single encr yption. The reason is that when meeting in the middle attacks for a given plaintext cipher text pair, an adversary will compute all 256 possible enciphering of the plaintext i. e.EKi (P), and indexes the same. The adversary will then compute all possible deciphering of the cipher text (Landau, 2000, p. 345). Models of DES There are four forms of DES, which are accepted by FIPS 81. They include (ECB) Electronic Codebook form, code mass sequence form (CFB), productivity reaction form (OFB) and system response (CFB). The forms are used to with both DES and Triple DES. Within each form, there are main dissimilarities which are based on the fault proliferation and obstruct vs. tributary codes (Conrad, 2007). Electronic Codebook (ECB) ModeIn this form of encryption, there is sovereign encryption into respective blocks of codes text. It is done by means of Feistel code which generates 16 sub-inputs derived from the symmetric input and also encrypts the plaintext using 16 surroundings of co nversion. Similarly, the development is used in the conversion of code text reverse into simple text with the dissimilarity that, 16 sub inputs are contributed in overturn arrangement. The result of repeated blocks of identical plaintext is the repeated blocks of cipher text which is capable of assisting in the vault investigation of the code wording.In Appendix 1 there is an illustration of the result (Conrad, 2007). The first picture of SANS symbol is the bitmap layout. The second picture is the encrypted logo of SANS bitmap via DES ECB form. The visibility of the model is due to the recurring of masses of the simple wording pixels in the bitmap which are encrypted into masses which are repeated and are of particular code pixels. In this form, faults do not proliferate due to the autonomous encryption of each obstruct. Cipher Block Chaining (CBC) ModeThe CBC form is an obstruct code which XORs every original obstruct of simple wording with the previous block of code wording. This indicates that repeated obstructs of simple wording do not give rise to repeated obstructs of code wording. CBC uses a vector of initialization which is an arbitrary original obstructs used to make sure that two simple wordings result in different code wordings. In figure 2 of the Appendix there is a clear illustration of the same SANS symbol bitmap data, encrypted with DES CBC form. There is no visibility of any prototype which is true for all DES forms apart from ECB.Therefore, in this mode, there is proliferation of faults as each prior step’s encrypted output is XORed with the original obstructing of simple wording (Conrad, 2007). Cipher Feedback (CFB) Mode The Cipher Feedback Mode is a tributary code that encrypts simple wording by breaking into X (1-64) bits. This permits encryption of the level of byte or bits. This mode uses an arbitrary vector of initialization. The preceding elements of code wording are XORed with consequent components of code wording. Therefore, in this mode of CBC there is proliferation of faults (Conrad, 2007).Output Feedback (OFB) Mode Similar to CFB form, the productivity reaction form makes use of the vector of random initialization and also encrypts simple wording by shattering downward into a tributary by encrypting components of X (1-64) bits of simple wording. This form fluctuates from CFB form by generating a simulated-arbitrary tributary of productivity which is XORed with the plaintext during every step. Therefore, the productivity is fed back to the simple wording and because the output is XORed to the simple wording, faults there is no proliferation of mistakes (Conrad, 2007).Counter (CTR) Mode The oppose form is a tributary code similar to OFB form. The main disparity is the accumulation of contradict obstructs. The offset can be supplementary to an arbitrary importance that is used only once and then increased for each component of simple wording that is encrypted. The initial counter obstructs acts as a vecto r of initialization. Therefore, in each surrounding there is XORing of the offset obstructs with simple wording. Accumulation of offset obstructs permits disintegration of encryption into equivalent phases, improving presentation on a suitable hardware.There is no proliferation of mistakes (Clayton & Bond, 2002). (Table 1 in the Appendix summarizes the Data Encryption Standard). Triple DES (T DES) In anticipation of 2030, TDES can be used as FIPS encryption algorithm which is permitted in order to allow conversion to AES. There are three surroundings of DES which are used by TDES which have an input extent of 168 bits (56 * 3). There is a possibility of reduced effective key length of TDES to roughly 12 bits though beast might assaults against TDES re not realistic at present (Conrad, 2007).Architecture for Cryptanalysis All modern day practical ciphers both symmetrical and asymmetrical make use of security apparatus depending on their key length. In so doing, they provide a margin of security to cover from computational attacks with present computers. Depending on the level of security which is chosen for any software application, many ciphers are prone to attacks which unique machines having for instance a cost-performance ratio (Guneysu, 2006).Reconfigurable computing has been recognized as way of reducing costs while also acting as an alternative to a variety of applications which need the power of a custom hardware and the flexibility of software based design such as the case of rapid prototyping (Diffie & Hellman, 1977, pp. 74-84). What this means is that cryptanalysis of today’s cryptographic algorithms need a lot of computation efforts. Such applications map by nature to hardware based design, which require repetitive mapping of the main block, and is easy to extend by putting in place additional chips as is needed.However, it should be noted that the mere presence of resources for computation is not the main problem. The main problem is availab ility of affordable massive computational resources. The non-recurring engineering costs have enabled hardware meant for special purpose cryptanalysis in virtually all practicable situations unreachable. This has been unreachable to either commercial or research institutions, which has only been taken by government agencies as feasible (Diffie & Hellman, 1977, pp. 74-84).The other alternative to distributed computing with loosely coupled processors finds its base on the idle circles of the large number of computers connected through the internet. This method has considerably been successful for some applications. However, the verified detection of extraterrestrial life is considerably still a problem more so for unviable problems with power of computing in a particular organization (Guneysu, 2006). In cryptanalysis some algorithms are very suitable for special-purpose hardware.One main example for this is the search for the data encryption standard (DES) (FIPS, 1977). What this mean s is that a brute- force attack is more than twice the magnitude faster when put in place on FPGA’s as opposed to in software on computers meant for general purposes at relatively the same costs (FIPS, 1977). That notwithstanding, for many crypto algorithms the advantages due to cost-performance of hardware meant for special purposes over those meant for ordinary purposes is not really as dramatic as is usually the case of DES, more so for public-key algorithms (Guneysu, 2006).Arising from the advent of low-cost FPGA families with much logic approaches recently, field programmable gate arrays offer a very interesting way for the thorough computational effort which cryptanalysis needs (Lesnsta & Verheul, 2001, pp. 255-293). Many algorithms dealing with the most important problems in cryptanalysis is capable of being put in place on FPGAs. Code breaking though, requires more additional efforts as opposed to just programming a single FPGA with a certain algorithm (Electronic Fro ntier Foundation, 1998).Owing to the enormous perspectives of cryptanalysis problems, many more resources as opposed to FPGA are needed. This implies that the main need is massively powerful parallel machinery suited to the requirements of targeted algorithms. Many problems are capable of being put in parallel and are perfectly suited for an architecture distributed. Conventional parallel architectures for computing can theoretically be used for applications of cryptanalysis (Guneysu, 2006). An optical Architecture to Break Ciphers The targeted DES brute force attack has several characteristics.To begin with, expensive computational operations which are put in parallel. Next, there is no need of communication between single parallel instances. The next characteristic is the fact that the general expense for communication is not high owing to the fact that the stage of computation strongly outweighs the data input and output stages. According to Blaze et al, (1996), communication is almost entirely used for results reporting as well as initialization. A central control instance with regards to communication is capable of being accomplished by a conventional low cost personal computer, connected simply by an interface.This would imply that there is no need for a high-speed communication interface. The fourth characteristic is the fact that a DES brute-force attack and its following implementation require little memory. The final consequence of the above is the fact that the available memory on present day low cost FPGAs is sufficient (Guneysu, 2006). What this implies is that by making use of low-cost FPGAs, it is possible to develop a cost effective dynamic architecture which is capable of being reprogrammed which would be able to accommodate all the targeted architectures (Blaze et al, 1996).Realization of COPACOBANA Drawing back, the Cost-Optimized Parallel Code Breaker (COPACOBANA) meeting the needs available comprise of several independent-low prized FPGAs, connected to a hosting PC by way of a standard interface such as a USB. Moreover, such a standard interface permits to extend a host-PC with more than one device of COPACOBANA. The initialization of FPGAs, the control as well as the process of results accumulation is carried out by the host. Critical computations are carried out by the FPGAs, which meet the actual cryptanalytical architecture (Schleiffer, 2006).Developing a system of the above speculations with FPGA boards which are commercially available is certainly possible but at a cost. Therefore it is important to put into considerations the design and layout among others in coming up with the above kind of system (Schleiffer, 2006). This would therefore mean that our cost-performance design meant for cost optimization is only capable of being achieved if all functionalities are restricted to those required for code breaking. Arty the same time, many designs choices should be based on components and interfaces which are readi ly available (Guneysu, 2006).Conclusion In conclusion, cryptanalysis of symmetric and asymmetric ciphers is extremely demanding in terms of computations. It would be fair to hold the belief that breaking codes with conventional PCs as well as super-computers is very much costly. Bit-sizes of keys should be chosen in a way that traditional methods of code breaking do not succeed (Rouvroy et al 2003, pp. 181-193). This would mean that the only way to go through ciphers is to develop special-purpose hardware purposely meant for suitable algorithms.In the final analysis, traditional parallel architecture in the end equally appears to be too complicated and therefore not cost saving in finding solutions to cryptanalytical problems. As earlier observed, many of these problems can easily be put in parallel implying that the algorithms which correspond to them are equally capable of being parameterized to lower communication costs (Guneysu, 2006). A hardware architecture which is cost effec tive (COPACOBANA) is the end product of the algorithmic requirements of the intended problems of cryptanalysis.This work represents not only the design but also the first prototype of an effective design which meets the demands of the request. In the final analysis, COPACOBANA would be able to accommodate as many as 120 FPGAs which are less costly. At the same time, it is possible to break data encryption standard (DES) within a period of nine days. This would require a hardware design comprising of reprogrammable logic which could be adopted to accommodate any task, even those not necessarily in line with code breaking (Rouvroy et al 2003, pp. 181-193). References Blaze, M.. , Diffie, W. , Rivest, R. 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