Saturday, August 31, 2019

Antigone Romeo and Juliet

Allusion between Romeo and Juliet and Antigone For years there have been discussions if in fact Shakespeare re-created material found in previous literature. Though, whether or not, he did Shakespeare created an effective allusion to Sophocles’ Antigone, the Greek tragedy. In Romeo and Juliet we see the love of two people, and the ones who pull them apart, then we see their final fate. In Atigone we see a lot of the same context which brings us to the main three ideas that make up the themes of these marvelous plays, love, government, and fate. One of the biggest parts of what makes these plays so intriguing is love.Love can be a very gripping theme in any type of literature, which is why Romeo and Juliet is known as one of the greatest novel of all time. What many people do not know is the similarities between Romeo and Juliet and Atigone. In Romeo and Juliet they are definitely meant to be together but their families’ controversy makes it very difficult which makes th em go behind their families’ backs. In Antigone, Antigone and Hamion are also meant to be together but, because of the controversy between Antigone’s brothers one was left without a proper burial.King Creon declared that no one must bury him, and Antigone decided to go against him for the love of her brother. Antigone was then caught and sentenced to death which separated Antigone and Hamion’s love. In Romeo and Juliet there is also a crime that separates their love, Romeo avenges the death of a friend and ends up killing Tybalt, which is then sent into exile. As you can see in both plays there is a dramatic action that sends a love one away. In Antigone Hamion is deeply saddened by what has happen to Antigone so he visits her dead body in the cave and takes his life. Before he does though he says, â€Å"

Friday, August 30, 2019

The Little Match Girl

THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL -Hans Christian Andersen- Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) is a Danish author, fairy tale writer, and poet noted for his children’s stories. Although during his lifetime he was acclaimed for having delighted children worldwide, his stories were always meant for adults as well. His poetry and stories have been translated into more than 150 languages. They have inspired motion pictures, plays, ballets and animated films. However, fairy tales take the most important role in his writing career. Andersen used the colloquial style that disguises the sophisticated moral teachings in his fairy tales. Therefore, his tales became the favorite ones of both children and adults. Some of the most famous tales of Andersen are â€Å"The Little Mermaid†, â€Å"The Ugly Duckling† and â€Å"The Little Match Girl†, etc. Especially, â€Å"The Little Match Girl† which is famous for its humane quality has shaken the hearts of millions of readers in the world. The story is firstly published in 1845. This one begins with a little girl who appears to be alone and very cold at New Year’s Eve. She is a poor girl who tries to sell matches at the cold night. She doesn’t come back home because she is very afraid of her father who let her out to sell matches. After finding a place between two houses’ wall, the poor girl starts to light matches to warm herself. When matches are burning, she can see many things which make her very happy. Such as: a Christmas tree, a holiday feast, a shooting star, etc. Then, the little girl sees a vision of her grandmother, the only person to have treated her with love and kindness. Therefore, she lights other matches to keep her grandmother stay nearby as long as she can. Finally, she can go together with her grandmother to the heaven. The next morning, people find her dead on the snow but there is still the smile on her red cheek. In the story, there are two significant literature elements are character and the symbol. They are the most important factors that make the story become so successful. Firstly, the story has only one main character: the poor little match girl. Andersen didn’t give her a specific name in order to emphasize her hard life. Through the way writer introduce the main character, readers can see that the little girl is also one among many poor children like her. In fact, there are also three other characters. They are her family members: grandmother, dad and mom. However, all of them are indirectly described through the girl’s appearance, thought and imagination. At the beginning of the story, she appears to be bareheaded and barefoot in a terribly cold night. She is sent out to sell matches in the snow with a pair of ill-fitting slippers which used to belong to her mother. However then she loses one when she is running across the road and when a boy take up the rest. The father appears in her thought as a very irresponsible father. Although she is very hungry and cold, she doesn’t dare to go home. With just a line of thought, a father who doesn’t love his daughter is introduced clearly. Finally, her last family member, her grandmother, is mentioned affectionately through her short time life of each burning match. In the story, there are nothing related to the mother except for her ill-fitting slippers. However, the little match girl have no memories about her mother. While she fears the most is her father, grandmother is the one she does love who died for such a long time ago. The way Andersen indirectly introduces about these three characters highlights the loneliness and the unhappiness of the poor little girl. There is no one in the world that cares for her, they just try to step as quickly as they can to avoid the cold, late night without noticing of a lonely poor girl. Secondly, the story has a significant symbol which is always in readers’ mind. It is the light of match. After each time the poor girl strikes match against the wall, the match burns brightly and she is immersed in  the illusion  of happiness. Firstly she imagines that she was sitting before a great iron stove. The next time, the girl sees a table with spread snow-white cloth and a lot of delicious food prepared for the dinner. Then, the most beautiful Christmas tree seems to be right beside her. After that, she meets her beloved grandmother and finally, she continuously strikes the whole bundle of matches in order to keep the grandmother stay with her. After each time the flame go out, everything is vanished rapidly. Therefore, she has to come back to the hard reality. It can be said that the light in this story is the symbol of dreams of happiness. Everything she needs at the present becomes clearer than ever in the light of the match flame. She just dreams of many things which are normal to almost everyone but very luxury to her. The light is the bridge of her hard reality and the happy dreams. Therefore, the appearance of the light throughout the story highlights the emotions, wishes and dreams of the poor little girl. She always dreams of the good things even though the life has treated her so hard. Is the light also the wish of the author to the little girl and all of other poor people? Through the little girl’s dream, he expresses his mercy to these unfortunate. Using metaphor device through the light image, Andersen successfully describes the dreams of happiness, the little girl’s short life and even the humane value message he want to send to readers. This symbol greatly contributes to the vitality and humane quality of the story. To sum up, the story â€Å"The Little Match Girl† has the great reality and humane value. It indirectly reflects tragic fate of the poor in the current Danish society. Moreover, through the story we can see clearly the compassionate heart of the author and his talent as well. REFERENCES: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Hans_Christian_Andersen http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/The_Little_Match_Girl http://www. online-literature. com/hans_christian_andersen/981/

Thursday, August 29, 2019

A Gothic novel Essay

‘How far can we accept Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein as a typical example of the Gothic Tradition? Focus on specific examples of the genre to illustrate your answer. ‘ Many critics have named Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein as a Gothic novel. A traditional Gothic novel can be described as, ‘ tales of the macabre, fantastic and supernatural. ‘ In the beginning, the word Gothic implied ‘medieval’, but with time its meaning altered, until its emphasis lay on the macabre. Many of the best gothic novels show examples of invention and produce moments of horror far greater than pieces that are less emotive. Frankenstein fits into this category. Victor Frankenstein is an ambitious, although misguided inventor, looking to solve the secret of life. In her introduction, Mary Shelley declares her desire to ‘curdle the blood and quicken the beatings of the heart. ‘ This type of language immediately signals to the reader that Frankenstein should be placed in the gothic genre. Gothic novels are generally said to include some of the following elements. They should be set in a castle with an atmosphere of suspense and mystery, there should be supernatural or otherwise inexplicable events, am ancient prophecy, omens, portents, visions, high or overwrought emotion, women in distress or threatened by a powerful, impulsive, tyrannical male, and finally the metonymy of gloom and horror. Frankenstein does not really include any of these points to the excess. It is not set in a castle and the language cannot really be said to be mysterious, as we are narrated clearly throughout. Can it still be said to be a gothic novel, even without any of the conventional gothic traits? The term gothic covers a wide variety of texts and is by no means easy to define. It is not that straightforward to therefore relate Frankenstein to other gothic novels. However, some certain elements of Frankenstein can be determined as gothic, even though other parts may not fit the pattern.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Presentation,Practice and Production approach to language teaching Dissertation

Presentation,Practice and Production approach to language teaching between the critiques and the proposed alternative methods - Dissertation Example Cook (2011) maintained that the term foreign language refers to â€Å"a language acquired in a milieu where it is normally in use† (p. 140). Meanwhile, a second language may be defined as â€Å"one that becomes another tool of communication alongside the first language †¦ [and] is typically acquired in a social environment in which it is actually spoken† (Cook, 2011, p. 140). The aforementioned distinction, therefore, is grounded on two dimensions: social and location. The social dimension deals with meeting the communicative need of the learner whereas the location dimension has something to do with the usage of the language in the native locale of the learner (Cook, 2011). Richards and Rodgers (2001) emphasized that current issues in language teaching has been around for centuries and has remained unchanged. Throughout the centuries, the study of foreign languages has shifted importance from one language to the next. In a world where six out of ten individuals sp eak a language which is different from their mother tongue, speaking two or more languages has become the norm rather than an exception. Five hundred years ago, Latin was the prominent language used for education, commerce, religion, and government, particularly in the Western World. During the 16th century, other languages rose to prominence such as French, Italian, and English. These languages eventually supplanted Latin as the language of choice for verbal and written communication (Richards and Rodgers, 2001). Though Latin was relegated as a subject of study in schools, it has become a model for instruction for foreign languages. Instruction was composed of grammar rules, declensions and conjugations, translation, and writing sample sentences. In addition, parallel bilingual texts and dialogues are utilized in teaching. For modern languages, the mode of instruction remained the same in most aspects. Students are provided textbooks on abstract grammar rules, vocabulary lists, and sentences for translation. However, this approach was grounded on the grammatical system of the language, limiting its ability to facilitate genuine communication. This traditional approach to foreign language instruction was referred to as the grammar-translation method (Richards and Rodgers, 2001). In the United States, the grammar-translation method was known as the Prussian method, due to its German scholarly origins. This method has seven characteristics: (1) the goal of foreign language study is grounded on mental discipline and intellectual development; (2) reading and writing is prioritized over speaking or listening; (3) vocabulary instruction is confined to reading bilingual word lists, dictionary study, and memorization; (4) the sentence is the basic unit of teaching and practice; (5) accuracy is prioritized; (6) grammar instruction is deductive in nature; and (7) the speakers native language is utilized as the medium of instruction (Richards and Rodgers, 2001). The gram mar-translation method was widely used for European and foreign language instruction until the 1940s. However, it has been subject to much criticism, mainly on the grounds that its approach to teaching foreign languages mostly involved pointless memorization of vague grammar rules and vocabulary, and translation of stilted or literary prose, much to the frustration of countless students. Mounting opposition to this approach led to the development of new methods of

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Second topic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Second topic - Essay Example A shift in population away from rural areas and into city areas appears to be one of the most common human behaviors in this situation, and there are many reasons why this is so. The consequences are not always positive for the people who migrate, however, and there is also an impact on those already in the cities who then have to share their urban environment with increasing numbers of immigrants. This paper explains the factors which drive this migration to cities, and enumerates the potential hazards which can arise in urban environments. The especial vulnerabilities of the poor in this situation are highlighted, along with a number of strategies which can be followed to improve the standard of living of the urban poor. This paper contends that the best strategy to address urban poverty is to invest in environmental infrastructure such as waste disposal, clean water provision, transport systems and renewable energy sources but that the detail of such a strategy will be different f or each major city in the world. . Third world countries traditionally have large proportion of people who make their living by subsistence farming. This is a hard and unpredictable way of life which wears people out and makes them dissatisfied. One important factor is the tendency of families to have many children, which ensures the security of the older generation in the short term, but creates an ever greater pressure on basic resources in the countryside like food, fuel, and water. This is what creates the so called ‘population problem’ of the third world. (Anand and Morduch, 1998) Over time it becomes harder and harder to maintain the large families and so people drift to the cities to find ways of supporting themselves and their relatives. Weather catastrophes, wars and competition for scarce resources also drive people out of rural environments and these can occur suddenly, encouraging rapid and chaotic immigration to cities. Additionally there are factors which pull people towards cities, such as the possibility of new employment opportunities, a steady wage and broader horizons for personal development. The lure of products and services from the developed world is also very powerful, but often the aspirations of the migrants are not met by the reality of urban poverty. The economic effects of migration to cities can be very severe, as for example when the number of workers in an area rises, the level of wages is driven in a downwards direction, and the overall poverty in the area for long-term urban dwellers and new arrivals increases. These demographic effects have a different effect on women than on men, with women often suffering a hidden burden because of the demand to bear children, and pressure to produce sons causing lower survival rates in girls. (Anand and Morduch, 1998) It is the men who are able to migrate and take up new possibilities in the cities while women and girls are confined to domestic roles and are less able to benef it economically and culturally. Empirical studies on megacities, defined as cities which have a population of at least 10 million in 2000, have shown that the poor are at risk from many hazards. (Cohen, 1993) Size in itself is not necessarily an impoverishing factor, since civilizations who possess appropriate technologies sustain wealthy megacities such as Tokyo and New York. In Mexico city, however, the expansion has

Heart of Darkness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Heart of Darkness - Essay Example He says: He has to live in the midst of the incomprehensible, which is also detestable. And it has a fascination, too, that goes to work upon him. The fascination of the abomination—you know. Imagine the growing regrets, the longing to escape, the powerless disgust, the surrender, the hate. This quote serves as pre-emptive explanation for why Marlow could not deny the power Kurtz held over other humans, despite his barbarity. Marlow then goes on to establish his love of reason and things that are real. In describing the appearance of several natives along the shore, Marlow relates: It was something natural, that had its reason, that had a meaning. Now and then a boat from the shore gave one a momentary contact with reality. It was paddled by black fellows. You could see from afar the white of their eyeballs glistening. They shouted, sang; their bodies streamed with perspiration; they had faces like grotesque masks—these chaps; but they had bone, muscle, a wild vitality, an intense energy of movement, that was as natural and true as the surf along their coast. They wanted no excuse for being there. They were a great comfort to look at. For a time I would feel I belonged still to a world of straightforward facts; but the feeling would not last long. Something would turn up to scare it away. The love of the real and tangible, of work, effort and improvement are themes Conrad returns to again and again through Marlow. The character Marlow likes belonging to a world where things really are as they appear. He does not like intrigues, rumors, or deviousness. He likes steel plates and rivets, honest emotion and truthfulness. The honest work, the seat and effort of the natives was solace to Marlow as he was surrounded by plotting privateers. Marlow’s distain for intrigues and falsehood is embodied by the station manager. Of him, Marlow says: He was obeyed, yet he inspired neither love nor fear, nor even respect. He inspired uneasiness. That was it! Uneasiness. Not a definite mistrust—just uneasiness—nothing more. This character is so loathsome to Marlow that he doesn’t even inspire a single honest emotion. The manager is held in contempt in every way by Marlow. The only possible complement that can be said of the man is that he survives, but even that is not attributed to any sort of effort on his part. It is simply a result of his constitution. In fact, the whole of the station is repugnant to Marlow. He states: There was an air of plotting about that station, but nothing came of it, of course. It was as unreal as everything else—as the philanthropic pretense of the whole concern, as their talk, as their government, as their show of work. The only real feeling was a desire to get appointed to a trading-post where ivory was to be had, so that they could earn percentages. The station was a mash of plots and intrigues that were so contrived as to never even come to any account. The inhabitants of the station held titles but acted in no manner to accomplish the work associated with the title given. Work, and the importance of it is mentioned by Marlow on several occasions in telling his story. This is important because it is a vital link between himself and Kurtz. Marlow reveals his feelings towards work when he stated: I don't like work—no man does—but I like what is in the work,—the chance to find yourself. Your own reality—

Monday, August 26, 2019

The World of Teachers - Child Protection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The World of Teachers - Child Protection - Essay Example The behavior of students is largely influenced by the community from which they come from. It is important to understand the connection between the students and their cultural background, which is among the factors that influence student behavior. To accomplish this understanding, communities need to be involved in developing strategies regarding child protection, which are important in promoting diversity in schools as well as a supportive environment for learning. Schools have been brought into the child protection landscape. This essay is a critique of the factors that have contributed to this development. It presents the school as an institution where children spend most of their life time. Teachers are described as the most appropriate professionals to identify the needs of children since they have the necessary skills that enable them to associate effectively with students. Schools have also been highlighted as significant institutions through which the government can channel resources for child protection. The essay also describes the key elements of good practice whereby guidelines for protection of children are viewed to be significant. Professional training of teachers regarding child protection has been highlighted as a significant element amongst others. The value of a whole school approach has also been discussed. The fact that students spend less time with their parents than they do in schools justifies the integration of child protection in learning institutions. The teachers have regular contact with students and therefore they are in a position to learn the needs of students than parents can. This is one of the factors that generated the interest of incorporating child protection in schools (Chris 2007). There is also a possibility of child abuse in school by people who are directly involved in the student’s life, such as other students, teachers as well as subordinate staff. Incorporating child

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Database Design and data security breeches Essay - 1

Database Design and data security breeches - Essay Example The information with de-identified status can be given to the researcher. This is the information that gives details about a particular group off patients but cannot be narrowed to a specific patient. Such information is exempted from the HIPAA regulations since it is in a general format (Wilson, 2010). Such information do not have any hint of that links the information to a particular patient, such as contacts, names, job number, geographical information, official documents, account number, e-mail and medical record number. The current rules and regulation governing health information is HIPAA. This stands for health insurance portability and accountability act. The laws were put in place in the year 1996 by the congress. The rules are meant to give the mandate to transfer and link health insurance coverage and reduce heath information abuse and fraud. It also give rules on the confidentiality and protection of health information. Giving access to the restricted areas has to involve some consultations first with the senior administrators. Later the researcher is given access using MySQL 5.1 version which can access different databases. The privileges to be accorded to the academic researcher include being allowed to be a member of the data reader so that he or she can access the data easily. The database system should only avail the information needed by the researcher. Other information should be kept private. The SQL statement used should be able to sort the data according to the limited privileges. Such statements include GRANT PRIVILEGE_NAME option. Creation of restricted views of the data are to be created using SQL. The statement retrieves the information that can be accessed by any user. The user name specifies the type of information that is being given. For this case, the user can read and modify (Andrews, 2012). The department of health of Utah had their system accessed and personal information stolen. This is where a hacker made the figures

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Literature- Discussing Questions 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Literature- Discussing Questions 1 - Essay Example She appears plain and hard-working in this first scene. Henry and Elisa seem to be a â€Å"settled† couple. He cares how she feels and she cares for him also, but there seems to be no passion there. Instead they are good friends, but not intimate in the sharing sense of the word. She does not want him to know about the mums. He seems to value her skills and strength, rather than her femininity, and he says she looks â€Å"nice†, not beautiful. The salesman takes and interest in order to establish rapport, and to get some work from her, plus a flowerpot he can sell. She is taken in, believes his story and thinks he has a genuine interest in her flowers. It is her specialty and she loves feeling like she is sharing it. (Ten inch mums are huge.) The first paragraph describe Elisa’s feeling about her life: closed in, grey and damp, waiting for something to change. She is isolated and her life is quite limited and simple, as opportunities for women of that time were very limited.The valley is ready to sleep through the coming wionter in anticipation of spring, but Elisa has passed her chance at spring and new blooms. She lives that part of her life through her flowers. 5 How might Elisas preparations for going out for dinner be likened to her care for the chrysanthemums? Explain Elisas response after seeing her seedling chrysanthemums have been tossed out onto the road. Elisa’s preparations for going out to dinner are meticulous and thorough. She does not only care for her own body, but for her husband’s clothing too. When she is done bathing she surveys the results and then dresses. She is as careful with her flowers, as we see in the first scene and she tells us with her directions to the salesman for taking care of them. She packed the seedlings with great care for him to take to the fictional client. She realizes that he has manipulated her and just wanted the money and the flower pot, which she notes that he

Friday, August 23, 2019

Peak Oil Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Peak Oil - Essay Example This essay declares that peak oil is a state in which the maximum oil production is recorded. After peak oil, the production may start to decline which is not a good sign for either the oil producers or the users. Global economy is heavily dependent on oil prices. Automobiles are essential for the transportation of goods to keep a balance between the supply and demand. Supply and demand determines the economic growth of the global community. Substitutes for oil must be researched and developed without any time delay. At the same time new technologies must be developed in order to utilize the distant offshore oil resources economically, which are expensive at present because of lack of feasible technologies to utilize it. Oil is the blood of global economy. As our body or life cannot survive without blood, the global economy also cannot survive without oil or alternative energy sources. This paper makes a conclusion that peak oil is not a good scenario either of the oil producing countries or others. Though peak oil may bring temporary benefits to the oil producing countries, their economy will be suffered in the long run. For example, most of the Gulf countries are depending oil revenue for their economic growth. These countries don’t have much other resources and the oil resource exhausting may not be a good sign for them. Even though, most of the global community are anxious about the future of the world because of the exhausting oil resources, environmentalists consider the peak oil situation as a blessing to the human population.

Thursday, August 22, 2019

History of Djing Essay Example for Free

History of Djing Essay How to DJ History of DJing: DJing began with the invention of the phonograph in 1857. It allowed people to create and record sounds on the device to let others listen to. In 1906, Reginald Fessenden played the first music record over the air. Then shortly after, came the disk jockey. As music became more popular, night clubs began to spring up creating a social environment around the uprising. Then came the implementation of music in school dances and other small venues, however, the quality of the equipment meant that the sound quality was often unbearable and distorted. As equipment began to get better, the rise of the modern DJ began. (Dave) In general terms, a DJs job is to play a series of records or music in front of an audience for their enjoyment. However, a club DJ is one who approaches the music in a much more creative way by carefully hand picking certain tracks to create a seamless, flowing mix, otherwise known as a set. Every DJ has his or her own technique that they apply when mixing. (Nelo) To be a DJ, one must be a true performer and have the ability to feel the crowd. The DJ should be able to feel the music and have the necessary skills to blend tracks together. Armin van Buuren is perhaps the most famous DJ worldwide. In his early years, his DJ career did not work out so he set out to get a traditional degree. In his last years of school, his productions took off. After creating chart topping remixes, he wanted to try being a DJ. He has used his talent to create the phenomenon known as A State of Trance which is at its 500th episode. He has DJed at the biggest venues in the world and has had countless sell out raves. Armin van Buuren is just one of the many DJs in the world who have taken the art to the masses. How to DJ: For my first DJ set, I chose to do a multiple genre mix, the hardest type of mixing. To create a set, you need a pair of turntables and a mixer. To use effects and to be able to create a more creative mix, you need software such as Traktor or Serato on your computer. I am going to use the Traktor S4 (Figure 1) which is a top of the line DJ controller. First, I chose a track list that I felt would create a good vibe in a club or party environment. The genres range from Pop, RnB, to Drum and Bass. I started the mix using a custom intro blended with a remix of a Katy Perry song. Then, I blended in the next track by beat matching the two tracks and adding a swoosh sound while transitioning to the next track making sure to keep the flow the same. (Figure 2) I then brought in a beat that slowly raised the bass creating a hard beat. Nearing the end of the track, I transitioned into a remix of a classic club song that everyone would know how to dance to making sure that everyone in the crowd would enjoy the music. After the classic, I transitioned into a portion of Satisfaction by Benny Benassi that had an electro vibe that would allow me to seamlessly transition into another dance classic that had a vastly different beat, keeping the flow going. After Bonkers by Dizzy Rascal, I transitioned to a intermission drum and bass beat, building the beat for the future track. This track would be used to pump up the crowd and get them ready to dance to the high paced final track. For the final track, I chose a drum and bass remix of a UK chart topper, Pass Out by Tinie Tempah remixed by Netsky. (Figure 3) Nearing the end of the set, I made sure to end the song by slowly dropping the bass levels, then trebles, and finally the mids. This allowed me to slowly fade out the track without creating a messy set. To create the set, it took four hours.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Vaccines and Autism Essay Example for Free

Vaccines and Autism Essay The measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine is used to immunize children against diseases that can cause major disabilities and fatal illnesses. In 1994, the vaccine was mandated for all school children and since then a spike has been seen in the diagnosis of autism. Many of those diagnosis falls within a few months of the MMR vaccine and in 1998, Andrew Wakefield published a study indicating a relationship between the MMR vaccine and autism (Rudy, 2009). Intense media coverage followed and many parents refused to give their children the MMR vaccine, believing their children would develop autism. The study was later retracted due to the lack of evidence but many children are still not receiving the MMR vaccine. The public health field has tried to raise awareness about the benefits of the MMR vaccine but many are still skeptical about the vaccine. Efforts have now been focused towards increasing awareness about the vaccine and trying to encourage parents to get their children vaccinated. In February 1998, The Lancet published an article entitled â€Å"Ileal-Lymphoid-Nodular Hyperplasia, Non-Specific Colitis, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder in Children,† which suggested that the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine could contribute to the development of autism. Dr. Andrew Wakefield, a gastroenterologist, suggested the link between the MMR vaccine and autism. Wakefield proposed that the virus could â€Å"have a negative impact on a child’s immune system, lead to persistent infection in the gastrointestinal tract and lead, in the long run, to possible brain damage and autism† (Rudy, 2009). Eight of the twelve children had severe intestinal inflammation, with symptoms emerging six days after receiving the MMR vaccine. The vaccine had damaging effects on the intestines and caused serious inflammation, â€Å"allowing harmful proteins to leak from the gut into the bloodstream and from there to the brain, where they damaged neurons in a way that triggered autism† (Begley, 2009). Wakefield’s study was later called fatally flawed due to the fact that Wakefield was studying children who had pre-existing gastrointestinal problems. The group size was also very small, 12 children, and â€Å"no proof was offered that the measles virus found in autistic children’s’ guts was causally connected to their autism† (Rudy, 2009). The researchers lastly suggested that the MMR vaccine caused bowel problems in children which lead to autism. In the children studied, symptoms of autism appeared before the symptoms of the bowel disease, proving that the bowel symptoms, as a result of the MMR vaccine, did not cause autism. In 2004, The Lancet published a retraction submitted by 10 of the 13 original authors that stated that there was no connection between the MMR vaccine and autism: We wish to make it clear that in this paper no causal link was established between MMR vaccine and autism, as the data were insufficient. However, the possibility of such a link was raise† (Immunization safety review vaccines and autism, 2004). There were many things found flatulent with the Wakefield study. Details of the medical histories of all the children used in the study were later revealed to the public and journalist Brain Deer interviewed several parents whose children participated in the study. Deer outlined major problems with the study including that the children were not randomly selected for the study and one came from as far as California when the study was conducted in the United Kingdom. All of the children were found to be recruited through anti-MMR vaccine campaigners (DeNoon, 2011). Wakefield was a paid consultant to a lawyer who was suing MMR vaccine makers for damages caused to children who contracted autism months after the vaccine. Wakefield received a sum of about $668,000 to publish the study from the lawyers and was published biased results. Five of the children had evidence of developmental problems before receiving the MMR vaccine and this is a significant number of children since only twelve children were studied. Only one of the children had regressive autism, despite the fact that the studied reported nine of the children had the condition. Three of these nine children were never diagnosed with autism (DeNoon, 2011). â€Å"At least five were clients of an attorney who was working on a case against vaccine makers alleging that the MMR caused the childrens autism† (Begley, 2009). Lastly, all twelve children’s medical records and parent’s accounts contradicted the case descriptions in the study. All of these discrepancies proved that Wakefield deliberately faked the study and was paid to publish these false, biased results. Wakefield had multiple conflicts of interest, had manipulated the evidence, and broke numerous ethical codes (DeNoon, 2011). Wakefield defamed his reputation and later had his medical license revoked, no longer able to practice medicine. There is no evidence that links the vaccine to autism and the overall benefits outweigh the risks. Wakefield’s theories have raised controversy due to the fact that autism arises around age two to three, the exact same age children receive the MMR vaccine, the chicken pox vaccine, and other shots (Rudy, 2009). Some parents state that their children respond with autistic regression after receiving the MMR vaccine. Other research has correlated the MMR vaccine with brain injury, making parents more wary about giving their children the vaccine. In 1998, Dr. Vijendra Singh and Dr. Victor Yang correlated the MMR vaccine to brain injury. Their findings suggest that exposure to the measles virus may trigger an autoimmune response that interferes with the development of myelin†¦ If myelin in the brain doesn’t develop properly, nerve fibers won’t work as they should. This could be one way that the brain abnormalities associated with autism arise (Rudy, 2009). Many studies have been conducted proving that autism is not a direct result of the MMR vaccine including the 1999 study conducted by Taylor, â€Å"Autism and Measles, Mumps, Rubella Vaccine: No Epidemiological Evidence of for a Causal Association. † The study showed that the number of autism cases has increased since 1979, but no significant increase since the introduction of the MMR vaccine in 1988 (Autism and the MMR Vaccine, 2001). Children exhibiting symptoms of autism were diagnosed with autism at the same age of the onset of the symptoms. This is important because if the MMR vaccine really did result in autism, the children who were vaccinated would show symptoms before and after the vaccination, not just after like the 1998 study concluded (Begley, 2009). The vaccination rate for children with autism was at the same rate for children who did not have autism. If the MMR vaccine resulted in autism then the vaccination rate for children with autism would be higher than the rate for children who do not have autism; there would be a greater percentage of children with autism who received the MMR vaccine than children who do have autism. Lastly there is no definitive time frame for the onset of the symptoms of autistic behavior. The symptoms can occur at any given time and are not more likely to occur after the MMR vaccine (Autism and the MMR Vaccine, 2001). The Wakefield study resulted in large longitudinal effects across the globe. After the study was published, MMR vaccination rates decreased in the United Kingdom, Europe, and in the United States. MMR vaccine peaked in 1996 at 92% and after the study was published the MMR vaccination dropped in the United Kingdom to 84% in 2002 (Miller, 2009). By 2006, the MMR vaccine was only given to 85% of children aged 24 months. In London, the rate was estimated at 61% in 2003, far below the expected rate for the vaccination (Miller, 2009). The study continues to have merit in those parents who believe the vaccination results in autism. Despite the fact that the study used twelve children, it led to widespread fear regarding the vaccine. After the study was published, measles became endemic in the United Kingdom and vaccination rates dropped sharply, leading to an increased incidence of measles and mumps (DeNoon, 2011). This in turn led to more deaths and injuries from measles and pumps and physicians have made statement tying this study to various epidemics and deaths. In 1998 there were 56 cases of measles in the United Kingdom and by 2006 there were 449 cases in the first five months (Does the MMR Vaccine Cause Autism, n. d. ). Each of these cases occurred in children who did not receive the vaccination due to widespread fear evoked from the Wakefield study. Mumps also began to rise in 1999 and by 2005 there were 5000 cases within the first month in the United Kingdom. Measles and mumps continued to rise and in 2006 rates were 13 to 37 times higher than the 1998 levels† (Does the MMR Vaccine Cause Autism, n. d. ). In the United States there was a sevenfold increase in measles outbreak (Begley, 2009). This study had widespread consequences and in 2000 an Irish outbreak lead to three deaths and 1,500 cases which occurred due to a decrease in the vaccination rates of the MMR vaccine following the Wakefield study (Does the MMR Vaccine Cause Autism, n. d. ). Lastly in 2008, measles was declared an endemic in the United Kingdom due to the high rates of the disease. The Wakefield study has had serious repercussions, even after its retraction, and many parents are still convinced that there is a link between the MMR vaccine and autism. After the publication of the Wakefield study parents became very skeptical about the effectiveness of the MMR vaccine. The perceived risks of the vaccination outweighed the risks and parents refused to give their children the vaccine out of fear. The one shot approach was also very fearful since it was thought that children’s immune systems were too young to receive the vaccine in one dose. Concerns regarding the MMR vaccine were never a large issue; it was the fear of autism as a result of the vaccination that led parents to reject the MMR vaccine (Shan, 2011). Parents look to the internet for reliable information and any parent coming across the Wakefield study would be wary about allowing their children to receive the vaccine. The media is a major contributor to the public’s opinion and the public listens to the media regarding risks and what to avoid. Since the retraction of the study more parents are opting for the MMR vaccine but more needs to be done to raise the vaccination rates. Educating the public regarding the benefits of the MMR vaccine is crucial to increase vaccination rates; this is where the public health sector is needed (Shan, 2011). Educational efforts are needed to increase MMR vaccination rates and parents need to be educated about the MMR vaccine to increase overall rates of vaccination. The decreased vaccination of MMR in children following the Wakefield study has occurred due to a decrease in public confidence in the safety of the MMR vaccine. This has resulted from the incorrect assertions that the vaccine results in autism, as demonstrated in the fraudulent study conducted by Wakefield. No credible evidence supports the claim that MMR causes autism and more than 20 studies have been conducted since the Wakefield study that found no evidence that links the MMR vaccine to autism (Poland, 2011). The media’s role in fostering fear in parents has led to an overall decrease in vaccination which is detrimental to children who have an increased risk of developing life-threatening diseases. Autism is now a public health concern that must be addressed by â€Å"enhancing research funding and directing that funding toward studies of credible hypotheses of causation† (Poland, 2011). Money needs to be funded in an attempt to disprove the connection between the MMR vaccine and autism and money needs to be funded for studies that provide information on the benefits of the MMR vaccine. Another important public health concern is to insist on â€Å"responsible and scientifically informed media reporting† (Poland, 2011). Widespread fear occurs when conspiracy theories and other misinformation is given to the public. Uninformed reporting increases fear and mistrust about vaccines, leading to parental confusion and reduced vaccination to children. It is the responsibility of the public health sector to ensure reliable information is given and to continue funding scientific research regarding the MMR vaccine and autism (Poland, 2011). The reluctance of parents to immunize their children has become a public health threat in that it can lead to vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles. Viruses spread quickly among children who are not vaccinated and it is a threat to the public health when children are not receiving the appropriate vaccinations. Measles is a life-threatening disease and parents are putting it off due to fear. Vaccines are the foundation in the public health field as â€Å"vaccines are one of the greatest achievements of biomedical science and public health† (Miller, 2009). The reduction of any vaccination is of major concern to the public health arena and in response to the reduction in the MMR vaccine the CDC examined the major safety issues regarding the vaccination. The CDC rejected the link between the MMR vaccine and autism based on the following, â€Å"a lack of epidemiologic evidence linking autism and MMR vaccine, case reports of children with autism and bowel disorders that did not address causality, and a lack of biologic models linking ASD and MMR vaccine† (Miller, 2009). Vaccine phobias become a public health threat and it is the responsibility of the public health arena to educate the public on the benefits of such vaccinations (Grant, 2010). There is an urgent need for research on the causes and treatment for autism as well as better support services for families caring for an autistic child. â€Å"One in 110 American children are considered to fall somewhere along the autism spectrum, a stunning 57% increase in prevalence since 2002† (Park, 2009). Autism is a significant public health concern and researches continue to discover new information linked with the condition. Public health officials need to make available more services and knowledge regarding autism in the schools, families, and community (Park, 2009). Public health experts endorse the safety of the MMR vaccine and advise parents to give their children the MMR vaccine. Since 1995, the Department of Health and Human Services has increased its focus on ASDs (Autism Spectrum Disorders). From 1995 to 2001, â€Å"research funding for autism has quintupled from $11 to $56 million. At the same time, both the CDC and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have developed new initiatives, building a federal foundation for the public health response to autism† (Newschaffer, 2003). Autism now includes a broad spectrum of affected individuals and more individuals have been seeking â€Å"educational, medical, and social services to help confront the formidable challenges of autism† (Newschaffer, 2003). The Center for Disease Control supports ASD surveillance projects to provide accurate information regarding risk factors of autism. The Disabilities Education Act also provides funding for screening and early intervention to infants and toddlers. Early detection is important to the public health and a new emphasis is now placed on providing training and consultation to physicians about detection and diagnosis of autism. Resources are more being directed towards assessment of autism and has led to a more informed public health response to autism. Making the decision to not immunize children with the MMR vaccine due to fear places children at great risk and is an irresponsible decision. When fewer people are immunized, diseases begin to increase in numbers and in order to protect everyone the population must be immunized. Regardless of the overwhelming data, parents still continue to refuse vaccinating their children. Parents are ill-informed and because signs of autism arise around the same time as children receive the MMR vaccine, some parents link the MMR vaccine to the development of autism. The current research provides evidence that the MMR vaccine is safer than not getting vaccinated and the CDC agree that the MMR vaccine is not responsible for the onset of autism.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Wireless Local Area Networks and Security Mechanisms

Wireless Local Area Networks and Security Mechanisms WLAN Wireless Local Area Network LAN Local Area Network IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers WEP Wired Equivalent Privacy WPA Wi-Fi Protected Access NIC Network Interface Card MAC Media Access Control WAP Wireless Access Point AP Access Point NAT Network Address Translation SSID Service Set Identifier IV Initialization Vector IDS Intrusion Detection Systems Wireless local area networking (WLAN) has swiftly become very popular technology all over the world. The WLAN protocol, IEEE 802.11, amongst other associated technologies enable secure access to a wireless network infrastructure. Before the development of wireless networking, clients had to use physical media such as wiring to connect to the network. With the rapid increase in demand and usage of wireless networking, it is vital that secure communication is provided. Since the creation of wireless networks, the security alongside has gone through many different stages of development, from MAC address filtering, to WEP, leading to WPA/WPA2. 2.1 Wireless Communication Wireless communication provides wireless networking between client devices, without the need for a physical connection between them (Obrien, 2008). In order to transmit via wireless signals, radio waves are used. The basic process of communication using radio waves is as follows: A transmitter sends data by turning electrical signals into radio waves A receiver listens for the radio waves and turns them back into electrical signals, which can create the desired output. Figure 1 below shows an illustrated example of this. The use of this communication process enables different scenario requirements to be met, for instance short and longer distances can be achieved simply by altering the strength and size of the transmitter/reciever. It also contains various types of fixed and mobile applications including: mobile phones, two-way radios, computer hardware, GPS units, amongst others. 2.2 Wireless Internet Access Wi-Fi is the term denoted to the functionality in which devices can be connected to the internet without the need of a physical cable. Wi-Fi technology has become the standard for internet access in homes, workplaces and in place spaces. Regardless of the environment, the core setup consists two key components, an access point and wireless devices. 2.2 WLAN Components Within WLAN, two modes of operation exist: ad-hoc and infrastructure. The ad-hoc mode enables a small wireless workgroup to be quickly setup (no access point required), whereas the infrastructure mode is utilized in cooperation with an existing LAN infrastructure; to incorporate wireless clients into the network (Netgear, 2014). Within these two operation modes there are two key components: access points and wireless clients. 2.2.1 Access Points An access points is used to link wireless clients into an existing traditional wired LAN (Netgear, 2014), it doesnt however interconnect two networks (Wallace, 2011). A basic WLAN topology with a Wireless Access Point (WAP) is shown in figure 2. The topology shows an access point connected to the wired LAN, and the wireless clients that connect to the wired LAN via the access point are on the same subnet as the access point (note that no Network Address Translation (NAT) is being performed). Depending on the chosen technology (802.11 a/b/g) and its implementation, a single access point is capable of handling up to several hundred wireless clients (Intel, 2017). The security associated with access points have some special considerations. Many traditional wired networks base the security on physical access, entrusting users currently on the network, whereas anyone within the range of the access point can attach to the network; provided no password is attached. Another concern is if a h acker still manager to bypass the password security, the ability to packet-sniff and intercept data being sent over the wireless network. There are a few security solutions available to address these issues (see section 2.3). 2.2.2 Wireless Clients A wireless client can include a range of devices, including a desktop, laptop, tablet, or mobile phone with a wireless network interface card that enables that device to communicate with an access point. For the client to communicate with the access point, it needs to be configured so that it uses the same SSID (Service Set Identifier) as the access point. An SSID is a case-sensitive alphanumeric string of up to 32 characters (Beal, 2017), and is often referred to as the network name (Intel, 2017). Most access points broadcast their SSID to advertise themselves to wireless clients within its range by default. 2.3 Wireless Security Security is a major concern in wireless networks, where the radio waves carrying the frames can propagate far beyond the confines of the desired area of the wireless access point and hosts; increasing the chances for an unwanted client to connect to the network and intercept data. Within this section, security mechanisms available to address issues surrounding wireless networking including SSID broadcasting, MAC address filtering, Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) and Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) will be covered. 2.3.1 SSID Broadcasting As mentioned above it is very common for an access point to broadcast themselves to wireless clients within its radius. This results in clients being able to see all available access points (SSIDs) and choose which one to join, meaning users can easily attach to the network; provided no password is attached. Disabling SSID broadcasting makes it much harder for access points to be identified (Farshchi, 2003). However, this results in the clients having to remember and manually enter the SSID to join a specific access point. Whilst being the simplest security measure available, it by the most ineffective method as it provides very little protection against anything but the most casual intrusion (Ou, 2005). 2.3.2 MAC Filtering Another simple security feature available on many access points in MAC (Media Access Control) Address Filtering. This method utilizes the 48-bit address assigned to each network interface card (NIC) and adds them to either a whitelist or blacklist (Cisco, 2008). The restriction of network access through the use of lists is straightforward, however an individual is not identified by a MAC address, rather a device. The method means that an authorized administrator would need to whitelist or blacklist an entry for every device a client may want to use on the network. The process of specifying the approved and rejected MAC addresses can be controlled through the administrator page of the access point (provided it comes with admin tools available), see Figure 3 above. This form of security may be suitable for small home use, it isnt practical for a business level as it provides a massive overhead for the administrator, as they need to manually add each address. Relying on the security fea ture alone isnt enough, as an individual can easily spoof their MAC address to imitate another device (InfoExpress, 2017). 2.3.3 Wired Equivalent Privacy The IEEE 802.11 WEP protocol was introduced as the privacy component of the original 802.11 specification created in 1997, and was initially designed to provide confidentiality comparable to that of a traditional wired network (IEEE, 1997). Both WEP authentication and data encryption use two types of shared secret keys: 40-bit and 104-bit. To create the total encryption key is a combination of the base shared secret key and a 24-bit parameter called the Initialization vector and is used by both the client and server to decrypt the messages sent. The resulting length of the encryption key is 64-bit for the 40-bit shared key, and 128-bit for the 104-bit shared key (Schenk, 2001). The WEP protocol doesnt provide a key management algorithm, so it assumes that the access point and client have agreed on the shared key via another prior method. With each message sent, the IV component of the encryption key can be changed. The original 802.11 specification doesnt standardize how the new IV s hould be created, with the implementation depending on the chosen algorithm. As the IV component of the key can change, it is sent as clear text with the encrypted message (cipher text), as the recipient needs to know the IV component for them to generate the new encryption key also (see figure 4 for the process overview). By having to send the IV as clear text, this means that if these packets were to be intercepted, an unwanted user could easily gain part of the encryption key and potentially access the data. WEP also has its own authentication process (before the data transfer process can commence) consisting of two distinct modes, Open System, and Shared Key (Qnx, 2017). The Open System mode does not require a key for the authentication process, therefore the client is always authenticated; which also means the same configuration for authentication is not required to match. An illustrated process of the Open System authentication is shown in figure 5 below. The steps to authenticate when using Open System mode (Kurose et al, 2013): The client sends an authentication request to the access point. The access point will then authenticate the requesting client. The client connects to the network. The Shared Key authentication method however, requires an encryption key for the authentication process. Unlike the Open System mode, the Shared Key authentication requires both the client and access point to use the same authentication configuration. An illustrated process of the Shared Key authentication mode is shown in figure 6 below. The following steps occur when using Shared Key Authentication (Kurose et al, 2013): The client sends an authentication request to the access point. The access point sends challenge text to the station. The client uses the pre-configured default key to encrypt the challenge text received, and sends the encrypted text to the access point. The access point decrypts the received text using its own pre-configured key that corresponds to the clients key. The text is compared, and if it matches, then the client is authenticated. The client connects to the network. When WEP was initially created, it performed the job it was designed and intended for; however as technology become more readily available and advanced; the security issues in the WEP protocol began to show. The WEP protocol was contains three major problems which make wireless networking more unsecure. The first major disadvantage is that the shared key needs to be sent to every single user on the network and this isnt an easy task. Another disadvantage is that the encryption key size is only 40-bit or 104-bit; which is a very small size and can easily be hacked with open source software. Due to the security flaws, WEP was deprecated in 2004 with the introduction of WPA and WPA2 to more a more reliable and robust security service. 2.3.4 Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 The 802.11i WPA2 protocol was introduced in 2004, as an improvement upon the intermediate WPA protocol and original WEP protocol. The WPA protocol increases security by introducing two new protocols: 4-way handshake, and the group key handshake. The two protocols use authentication and port access services in WPA2 to create and alter the encryption keys (IEEE, 2004). Add something here The four-way handshake is an authentication process that occurs between an access point and the client. It is method used for them both to prove to one another that they both know the Pairwise Master Key (PMK), without ever needing to disclose any part of the key; already providing more security over WEP. The process of sending encrypted message between the client and access point is still adopted from the WEP protocol, and if they successfully decrypt the message; then it proves they are knowledgeable of the PMK (Chaudhary, 2014). This process is vital in protecting the PMK from malicious and unwanted users, even if an attackers network id (SSID) was impersonating a real access point, the PMK would still never have to be disclosed. Amongst the content in the aforementioned sections, there are other aspects that also relate to both wireless networking and wireless security. The most relevant aspect to consider is operational security, which includes three sub components: firewalls, intrusion detection systems (IDS), and intrusion prevention systems (IPS). These systems provide an extra layer of security to attempt to block, detect and resolve security issues. 3.1 Firewalls A firewall is a combination of software and hardware that isolates an organizations internal network from the internet, controlling which packets are allowed to pass through, and those that are blocked (Boudriga, 2010), by scanning the header fields of each packet to check if it passes the defined criteria. Figure 8 shows an illustrated example of where a physical firewall would sit within a networking infrastructure. Firewalls are often categorized as either network firewalls or host-based firewalls (Vacca, 2009). A network firewall controls the traffic flow between two or more networks, and are typically the form of a software application, but dedicated physical devices are also used. Host-based firewalls on the other hand only controls the traffic for an individual machine (PersonalFirewall, 2017). Both types of firewalls use a set of pre-defined rules that are defined by an administrator through the use of either built in or third party software (see figure 9). Utilizing a firewall as an extra layer of security is a must for many individual computers and networks, as they provide many strengths including: enforcing security and policies for an organizations infrastructure, restricting access to specific services, removes the need to compromise between usability and security, and provides the ability for an administrator to monitor the traffic that flows through the network. Whilst providing many strengths, it does however also have some weaknesses including: only being capable of stopping the traffic that passes through the firewall itself, no ability to protect against an approved item, and they cannot protect against issues created from within the network. 3.2 Intrusion Detection Systems Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) are another method used to detect network activity. These systems can take the form of either a device or software application that monitors networks/systems for malicious and/or policy violations (Kurose. 2013); and is logged and handled by management software. IDS systems can be categorized into two types: signature-based and anomaly-based. A signature based IDS maintains a database of known attack signatures. Each signature is simply a set of rules retaining characteristics about a known packet(s), such as port numbers, protocol types, string of bits. Signatures are normally created by network security engineers, however customizations and additions can be made. Despite Signature-based IDS systems being widely deployed, they do have limitations. Most notably, they require previous knowledge of the attack to generate an accurate signature. An anomaly based IDS on the other hand creates a traffic profile as it observes during normal operation, seeking packets that are unusual statistically. The one major benefit about anomaly-based IDS systems is that they dont rely on previous knowledge about existing attacks, as they can potentially detect new attacks on the go. On the other hand, it is an extremely challenging problem to distinguish between normal traffic and simply unusual traffic. In conclusion, it is clear from the literature reviewed that wireless networking has become an extremely popular and sophisticated technology, but brings many security issues along with its use over traditional wired connectivity. As wireless networks utilize electromagnetic waves to transfer data, it is much easier for unwanted users to gain access to the data being transferred between a client and access point. Therefore, resulting in a combination of security features being required, including encrypted authentication and data transfer; along with extra layers such as a firewall and intrusion detection/prevention systems. With new technologies being developed and standards updated, it is vital that these technologies are used to provide the best security when using wireless networking. References Al Tamimi, A. (2006). Security in Wireless Data Networks : A Survey Paper. [online] Cs.wustl.edu. Available at: http://www.cs.wustl.edu/~jain/cse574-06/ftp/wireless_security/index.html Boudriga, N. and Boudriga, N. (2010). Security of mobile communications. Boca Raton: CRC Press. Beal, V. (2017). What is Service Set Identifier (SSID)? Webopedia Definition. [online] Webopedia.com. Available at: http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/S/SSID.html Cisco. (2008). Network VirtualizationAccess Control Design Guide. [online] Available at: http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/solutions/Enterprise/Network_Virtualization/AccContr.html Cisco. (2008). Authentication Types for Wireless Devices. [online] Available at: http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/routers/access/wireless/software/guide/SecurityAuthenticationTypes.html Farshchi, J. (2003) The Essential Components of a Wireless Policy. Wireless Network Policy Development. Part Two. Symantec Corp. 10 October 2003. URL: http://www.securityfocus.com/printable/infocus/1735 IEEE Standard for Information Technology- Telecommunications and Information Exchange Between Systems-Local and Metropolitan Area Networks-Specific Requirements-Part 11. (1997). [Place of publication not identified]: [publisher not identified]. IEEE 802.11i-2004: Amendment 6: Medium Access Control (MAC) Security Enhancements (pdf), IEEE Standards Intel. 2017. Wireless Ethernet LAN (WLAN). (2017). 1st ed. [ebook] Intel. Available at: http://www.intel.com/content/dam/www/public/us/en/documents/faqs/wireless-ethernet-lan-faq1.pdf InfoExpress. (2017). Detecting and Preventing MAC Spoofing. [online] Available at: https://infoexpress.com/content/practical/142 Kurose, J. and Ross, K. (2013). Computer networking. Boston: Pearson Mitchell, B. (2016) Wireless Internet Service: An Introduction Microsoft. (2003). How 802.11 Wireless Works. [online] Available at: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc757419(v=ws.10).aspx Netgear. 2014. Wireless Access Points. [ONLINE] Available at: https://kb.netgear.com/235/What-is-a-wireless-access-point?cid=wmt_netgear_organic Netgear. (2016). How to configure Access Control or MAC Filtering (Smart Wizard routers) | Answer | NETGEAR Support. [online] Available at: https://kb.netgear.com/13112/How-to-configure-Access-Control-or-MAC-Filtering-Smart-Wizard-routers?cid=wmt_netgear_organic Netgear. (2017). WEP Open System Authentication. [online] Available at: http://documentation.netgear.com/reference/nld/wireless/WirelessNetworkingBasics-3-08.html Ou, G. (2005). The six dumbest ways to secure a wireless LAN | ZDNet. [online] ZDNet. Available at: http://www.zdnet.com/article/the-six-dumbest-ways-to-secure-a-wireless-lan/ OBrien, J. Marakas, G.M.(2008) Management Information Systems PersonalFirewall. (2017). What is a Firewall? | How does a Firewall Protect your Computer. [online] Available at: https://personalfirewall.comodo.com/what-is-firewall.html Qnx.com. (2017). Help QNX SDP 6.6 Documentation. [online] Available at: http://www.qnx.com/developers/docs/660/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.qnx.doc.core_networking%2Ftopic%2Fwpa_background_Connecting_WEP.html Schenk, R. Garcia, A. Iwanchuk, R. Wireless LAN Deployment and Security Basics. (2001). ExtremeTech.com. URL: http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,3973,1073,00.asp Sheridan (2017). Printing Services Optimizing Client Printing at Sheridan. [online] Available at: https://it.sheridancollege.ca/service-catalogue/printing/printing-optimization.html Chaudhary, S. (2014). Hack WPA/WPA2 PSK Capturing the Handshake. [online] Kali Linux Hacking Tutorials. Available at: http://www.kalitutorials.net/2014/06/hack-wpa-2-psk-capturing-handshake.html Vacca, J. (2009). Computer and information security handbook. Amsterdam: Elsevier. Wallace, K. (2011). CompTIA Network+ Cert Guide: Connecting Wirelessly | Foundation Topics | Pearson IT Certification. [online] Pearsonitcertification.com. Available at: http://www.pearsonitcertification.com/articles/article.aspx?p=1773082 NIST, 2007 Guide to Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems (IDPS) (PDF).

Ku Klux Klan :: American History KKK

Ku Klux Klan During the nineteenth century, black people were treated as slaves. White governments introduced many laws to control their freedom. They could not vote. They were denied access to good jobs and to worthwhile education and well into the twentieth century they suffered great poverty. People from the USA wanted to prevent them from voting and holding office. They were called the Ku Klux Klan, it was organized in Pulaski, Tennesee, during the winter of 1865 to 1866 by six former confederate army officers who gave their society a name adapted from the Greek word Kuklos.The KKK used violence and intimidation to keep blacks segregated. They used parades, beatings, lynching, and other violent methods to intimidate blacks. The Ku Klux Klan, or KKK as known today, was started in the spring of 1866. Six Confederate veterans formed a social club in Pulaski, Tennessee. This KKK only lasted a short six years, but left tactics and rituals that later started in generations. (Ingalls, 9) The Klan was a small group very much in secrecy at first. The exact date of the beginning is unknown. Despite all of the secrecy the six KKK members initiated new members to join their social club. (Ingalls, 9) The Klan now started to spread across Tennessee. At first the Klan used tricks to keep blacks "in their place". At first, the Klan would ride around on horses, and with their white robes, and white pointed masks, try to scare blacks. They would try to act like ghost with their white uniforms. Unfortunately, the Klan quickly moved to more violent pranks. (Ingalls, 12) In 1869, General Forrest, the Grand Wizard of the KKK ordered Klansmen to restrict their activities. The Klan was getting out of control, and Congress passed a Ku Klux Klan Act in 1871. By the end of 1872, the federal crackdown had broken the back of the KKK. Because of the restriction and the Act passed violence was isolated but still continued. The KKK was dead, and Reconstruction lived on in southern legend . This would not be the last of the KKK. On the night of Thanksgiving in 1915, sixteen men from Atlanta, Georgia climbed to the top of Stone Mountain and built an altar of stones on which they placed an American flag. They then stood up a sixteen foot long cross and burned it. One week later, this group applied for a state charter making it "The Knights of the KKK, Inc.

Monday, August 19, 2019

Bad Or Good :: essays research papers

Bad or Good We live in a world in which our primary food is the information. We perceive the outside world through images, and each image has an echo in our brain, generating feelings, attitudes and sometimes questions. Although we belong to the same specie, thousands of differences or similarities divide and classify us. Each of us perceives in his own way the information he receives. For some of us, something could be beautiful, for others the same thing could be ugly. Behind these two words, beautiful and ugly, we can see another words or, better said, concepts: good and bad. But what do good and bad mean? Do they really exist? On one hand, good and bad are two words that express our opinion in terms of perceived images. We give the images values, which can be, as I already said, good or bad. On the other hand, being so many types of human beings, it is normal to be different kinds of perception and interpretation of information. Therefore, having many people who can interpret things in different ways, it is difficult for somebody to say what is good or bad, and in the same time to have his opinion shared by everyone. Trying to classify, we might come up with a result that might be true or not, depending on the point of view. In other words everything is relative. Paradoxically, when we start thinking we, we discover that we actually know almost nothing, or that there are many things left, to be known. On the other hand, the more we know, the more we want to know. This desire of knowing more and more might be expressed through questions. One big difference that separates the human beings from animals is that

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Essay examples --

10. Conclusion Generally, a strong conclusion to a business plan will be a great support to grow your business while unmotivated conclusion can leave bad impressions to the suppliers and customers. Therefore, my company, Sweet Child Bready Enterprise is confident that I could compete wisely with other food manufacturers around that area. I will provide a fast, efficient yet convenient service to the customers. I hope to be one of the leading company in Malaysia food industry. I ensure the customers to get what they want by providing them with on time delivery to their houses. In addition, I really take care of the hygienic aspect of the factory. I provide masks and gloves to the workers during working hour. I also place a few fire extinguishers in case there is fire in the factory. Next, I have also installed three CCTVs in the factory to avoid any robbery. Finally, I hope that the customers will put 100% trust to my product and I promise that they will get the best quality of breads than the others. I also hope they will support me by buying the breads as they are healthy yet delicious and nutritious. 11. Appendices Research Finding Research study confirms profit potential of bread ingredient innovations July 18, 2013 Clabber Girl Corp., Terre Haute, Ind., which produces chemical leavening systems for the food industry, has released the results of an independent research study by the Kansas State University Department of Grain Science. The study confirms that with the use of Clabber Girl’s Encapsulated Fumaric Acid, the amount of calcium propionate in yeast bread recipes can be cut in half and yeast reduced by 10%, findings that have significant cost implications for the price-sensitive baking industry. The KSU stu... ...rise Jalan 6/91, Taman Shamelin Perkasa, 56100, Cheras, KL Dear Ms Nurzatulshira, QUOTATION NUMBER E542 Thank you for your enquiry of 15 July. I am pleased to quote as follows: Plain Breads RM 1.30 each Sausages RM 1.80 each This is current catalogue price, and we would allow you to trade a discount of 15%. Price include packing and delivery to your premises. It is our usual practice to ask all new customers to trade references. Please let us have the names and addresses of two suppliers with whom you have had regular dealings. Subject to satisfactory replies, we shall be glad to supply the goods and to allow you the two months’ credit requested. As there may be other items in which you are interested, I enclose copies of our current catalogue and price list. I look forward to working with you. Yours sincerely, Siti Sarah Binti Harun Sales Manage Essay examples -- 10. Conclusion Generally, a strong conclusion to a business plan will be a great support to grow your business while unmotivated conclusion can leave bad impressions to the suppliers and customers. Therefore, my company, Sweet Child Bready Enterprise is confident that I could compete wisely with other food manufacturers around that area. I will provide a fast, efficient yet convenient service to the customers. I hope to be one of the leading company in Malaysia food industry. I ensure the customers to get what they want by providing them with on time delivery to their houses. In addition, I really take care of the hygienic aspect of the factory. I provide masks and gloves to the workers during working hour. I also place a few fire extinguishers in case there is fire in the factory. Next, I have also installed three CCTVs in the factory to avoid any robbery. Finally, I hope that the customers will put 100% trust to my product and I promise that they will get the best quality of breads than the others. I also hope they will support me by buying the breads as they are healthy yet delicious and nutritious. 11. Appendices Research Finding Research study confirms profit potential of bread ingredient innovations July 18, 2013 Clabber Girl Corp., Terre Haute, Ind., which produces chemical leavening systems for the food industry, has released the results of an independent research study by the Kansas State University Department of Grain Science. The study confirms that with the use of Clabber Girl’s Encapsulated Fumaric Acid, the amount of calcium propionate in yeast bread recipes can be cut in half and yeast reduced by 10%, findings that have significant cost implications for the price-sensitive baking industry. The KSU stu... ...rise Jalan 6/91, Taman Shamelin Perkasa, 56100, Cheras, KL Dear Ms Nurzatulshira, QUOTATION NUMBER E542 Thank you for your enquiry of 15 July. I am pleased to quote as follows: Plain Breads RM 1.30 each Sausages RM 1.80 each This is current catalogue price, and we would allow you to trade a discount of 15%. Price include packing and delivery to your premises. It is our usual practice to ask all new customers to trade references. Please let us have the names and addresses of two suppliers with whom you have had regular dealings. Subject to satisfactory replies, we shall be glad to supply the goods and to allow you the two months’ credit requested. As there may be other items in which you are interested, I enclose copies of our current catalogue and price list. I look forward to working with you. Yours sincerely, Siti Sarah Binti Harun Sales Manage

Saturday, August 17, 2019

What Lay Behind the Horrors of the Slave Trade

What Lay Behind The Horrors Of The Slave Trade? In this essay I would be examining what lay behind the horrors of the slave trade. This essay will include the countries that were involved in the slave trade, how they benefited from it and the power they had over the enslaved Africans. The slave trade worked in a triangle, between four continents: Europe, Africa, South America and North America.Slave ships leave ports like London, Bristol and Liverpool for West Africa carrying manufactured goods like guns, alcohol, iron bars, which are traded for African men, women and children who had been captured by slave traders or bought from African chiefs on the West African coast. From Africa a ship full of slaves leaves to America and the West Indies, where they are sold to the highest bidder and that’s where families are separated. Once they have been bought, after that they belonged to the plantation owner.Some refused to be enslaved and took their live, others run away and pregnant woman preferred to have an abortion than to raise their children into slavery. With the money made from the sale of enslaved Africans, goods such as sugar, coffee and tobacco were bought and taken back to Britain for sale. The ships were loaded with produce from the plantations for the voyage back home. For over 300 years, European countries forced Africans onto slave ships and transported them over the Atlantic Ocean but how did the people back in Britain get involved in the slave trade?As the slave trade grew, numerous of people began to get involved or simply benefited from it. Banks and finance houses in Britain began to grow from the fees and the interest they earned from merchants who borrowed money for their voyages. Bristol and Liverpool became major ports for slave ships, handling cargoes they brought back and between 1700 and 1800, Liverpool’s population dramatically rose from 5,000 to 78,000. Others worked in factories that had been set up with the money from the s lave trade.The slave trade also provided various jobs back in Britain, many worked in factories which sold their goods to West Africa, and these goods will then be traded for slaves. Birmingham also included itself by having 4,000 gun makers with 100,000 guns a year People in Britain weren’t the only one who benefited from the slave trade, West African leaders involved in the trade also benefited by capturing and trading Africans to the Europeans because they are the one who got all the manufactured goods that were traded for slaves. The African chiefs were also benefited themselves with all the money that they got from trading Africans.My view is that because of the benefits they had, it means that they were also involved and I think without them the trade wouldn’t of happened because they are the one who captured slave for the Europeans, therefore they made a path for the slave trade to happen. Lastly, the West Indies and the Americans were obviously involved because they are the ones who bought and owned the slaves for their plantations. Plantation owners who used slave labour to grow their crops and the fact that they didn’t have to pay the slave made them vast profits.Often planters retired to Britain with the profits they made and had grand country houses already built for them. Some planter used their money wisely, to become MPs and others invested their profits in new factories and inventions wish helped to finance the Industrial Revolution. I would like to conclude that for me the biggest horrors that lay behind the slave trade is how other African traded their own kind for manufactured goods, how cruelly the Africans were treated on the slave ships and plantations and the power that the Europeans , the Americans, and some other Africans had over the slaves.I also think that the slave trade was unnecessary, but all those four continents that were involved benefited from it one way or another as they all played important roles beca use without one, let say the West Indies and Americans, who would of bought all those slave? Or which plantations would the slaves have worked on? And the slave trade wouldn’t have been so successful or benefiting without one side of the triangle. Or without the slave we wouldn’t have what we have today but I still think the way they treated black people was out of order and shouldn’t had to happen in order for the countries to have wealth.

Friday, August 16, 2019

Angels Demons Chapter 51-54

51 BBC reporter Gunther Glick stared at the cell phone in his hand for ten seconds before he finally hung up. Chinita Macri studied him from the back of the van. â€Å"What happened? Who was that?† Glick turned, feeling like a child who had just received a Christmas gift he feared was not really for him. â€Å"I just got a tip. Something's going on inside the Vatican.† â€Å"It's called conclave,† Chinita said. â€Å"Helluva tip.† â€Å"No, something else.† Something big. He wondered if the story the caller had just told him could possibly be true. Glick felt ashamed when he realized he was praying it was. â€Å"What if I told you four cardinals have been kidnapped and are going to be murdered at different churches tonight.† â€Å"I'd say you're being hazed by someone at the office with a sick sense of humor.† â€Å"What if I told you we were going to be given the exact location of the first murder?† â€Å"I'd want to know who the hell you just talked to.† â€Å"He didn't say.† â€Å"Perhaps because he's full of shit?† Glick had come to expect Macri's cynicism, but what she was forgetting was that liars and lunatics had been Glick's business for almost a decade at the British Tattler. This caller had been neither. This man had been coldly sane. Logical. I will call you just before eight, the man had said, and tell you where the first killing will occur. The images you record will make you famous. When Glick had demanded why the caller was giving him this information, the answer had been as icy as the man's Mideastern accent. The media is the right arm of anarchy. â€Å"He told me something else too,† Glick said. â€Å"What? That Elvis Presley was just elected Pope?† â€Å"Dial into the BBC database, will you?† Glick's adrenaline was pumping now. â€Å"I want to see what other stories we've run on these guys.† â€Å"What guys?† â€Å"Indulge me.† Macri sighed and pulled up the connection to the BBC database. â€Å"This'll take a minute.† Glick's mind was swimming. â€Å"The caller was very intent to know if I had a cameraman.† â€Å"Videographer.† â€Å"And if we could transmit live.† â€Å"One point five three seven megahertz. What is this about?† The database beeped. â€Å"Okay, we're in. Who is it you're looking for?† Glick gave her the keyword. Macri turned and stared. â€Å"I sure as hell hope you're kidding.† 52 The internal organization of Archival Vault 10 was not as intuitive as Langdon had hoped, and the Diagramma manuscript did not appear to be located with other similar Galilean publications. Without access to the computerized Biblion and a reference locator, Langdon and Vittoria were stuck. â€Å"You're sure Diagramma is in here?† Vittoria asked. â€Å"Positive. It's a confirmed listing in both the Uficcio della Propaganda delle Fede – â€Å" â€Å"Fine. As long as you're sure.† She headed left, while he went right. Langdon began his manual search. He needed every bit of self-restraint not to stop and read every treasure he passed. The collection was staggering. The Assayer†¦ The Starry Messenger†¦ The Sunspot Letters†¦ Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina†¦ Apologia pro Galileo†¦ On and on. It was Vittoria who finally struck gold near the back of the vault. Her throaty voice called out, â€Å"Diagramma della Verita!† Langdon dashed through the crimson haze to join her. â€Å"Where?† Vittoria pointed, and Langdon immediately realized why they had not found it earlier. The manuscript was in a folio bin, not on the shelves. Folio bins were a common means of storing unbound pages. The label on the front of the container left no doubt about the contents. Diagramma Della Verita Galileo Galilei, 1639 Langdon dropped to his knees, his heart pounding. â€Å"Diagramma.† He gave her a grin. â€Å"Nice work. Help me pull out this bin.† Vittoria knelt beside him, and they heaved. The metal tray on which the bin was sitting rolled toward them on castors, revealing the top of the container. â€Å"No lock?† Vittoria said, sounding surprised at the simple latch. â€Å"Never. Documents sometimes need to be evacuated quickly. Floods and fires.† â€Å"So open it.† Langdon didn't need any encouragement. With his academic life's dream right in front of him and the thinning air in the chamber, he was in no mood to dawdle. He unsnapped the latch and lifted the lid. Inside, flat on the floor of the bin, lay a black, duck-cloth pouch. The cloth's breathability was critical to the preservation of its contents. Reaching in with both hands and keeping the pouch horizontal, Langdon lifted it out of the bin. â€Å"I expected a treasure chest,† Vittoria said. â€Å"Looks more like a pillowcase.† â€Å"Follow me,† he said. Holding the bag before him like a sacred offering, Langdon walked to the center of the vault where he found the customary glass-topped archival exam table. Although the central location was intended to minimize in-vault travel of documents, researchers appreciated the privacy the surrounding stacks afforded. Career-making discoveries were uncovered in the top vaults of the world, and most academics did not like rivals peering through the glass as they worked. Langdon lay the pouch on the table and unbuttoned the opening. Vittoria stood by. Rummaging through a tray of archivist tools, Langdon found the felt-pad pincers archivists called finger cymbals – oversized tweezers with flattened disks on each arm. As his excitement mounted, Langdon feared at any moment he might awake back in Cambridge with a pile of test papers to grade. Inhaling deeply, he opened the bag. Fingers trembling in their cotton gloves, he reached in with his tongs. â€Å"Relax,† Vittoria said. â€Å"It's paper, not plutonium.† Langdon slid the tongs around the stack of documents inside and was careful to apply even pressure. Then, rather than pulling out the documents, he held them in place while he slid off the bag – an archivist's procedure for minimizing torque on the artifact. Not until the bag was removed and Langdon had turned on the exam darklight beneath the table did he begin breathing again. Vittoria looked like a specter now, lit from below by the lamp beneath the glass. â€Å"Small sheets,† she said, her voice reverent. Langdon nodded. The stack of folios before them looked like loose pages from a small paperback novel. Langdon could see that the top sheet was an ornate pen and ink cover sheet with the title, the date, and Galileo's name in his own hand. In that instant, Langdon forgot the cramped quarters, forgot his exhaustion, forgot the horrifying situation that had brought him here. He simply stared in wonder. Close encounters with history always left Langdon numbed with reverence†¦ like seeing the brushstrokes on the Mona Lisa. The muted, yellow papyrus left no doubt in Langdon's mind as to its age and authenticity, but excluding the inevitable fading, the document was in superb condition. Slight bleaching of the pigment. Minor sundering and cohesion of the papyrus. But all in all†¦ in damn fine condition. He studied the ornate hand etching of the cover, his vision blurring in the lack of humidity. Vittoria was silent. â€Å"Hand me a spatula, please.† Langdon motioned beside Vittoria to a tray filled with stainless-steel archival tools. She handed it to him. Langdon took the tool in his hand. It was a good one. He ran his fingers across the face to remove any static charge and then, ever so carefully, slid the blade beneath the cover. Then, lifting the spatula, he turned over the cover sheet. The first page was written in longhand, the tiny, stylized calligraphy almost impossible to read. Langdon immediately noticed that there were no diagrams or numbers on the page. It was an essay. â€Å"Heliocentricity,† Vittoria said, translating the heading on folio one. She scanned the text. â€Å"Looks like Galileo renouncing the geocentric model once and for all. Ancient Italian, though, so no promises on the translation.† â€Å"Forget it,† Langdon said. â€Å"We're looking for math. The pure language.† He used the spatula tool to flip the next page. Another essay. No math or diagrams. Langdon's hands began to sweat inside his gloves. â€Å"Movement of the Planets,† Vittoria said, translating the title. Langdon frowned. On any other day, he would have been fascinated to read it; incredibly NASA's current model of planetary orbits, observed through high-powered telescopes, was supposedly almost identical to Galileo's original predictions. â€Å"No math,† Vittoria said. â€Å"He's talking about retrograde motions and elliptical orbits or something.† Elliptical orbits. Langdon recalled that much of Galileo's legal trouble had begun when he described planetary motion as elliptical. The Vatican exalted the perfection of the circle and insisted heavenly motion must be only circular. Galileo's Illuminati, however, saw perfection in the ellipse as well, revering the mathematical duality of its twin foci. The Illuminati's ellipse was prominent even today in modern Masonic tracing boards and footing inlays. â€Å"Next,† Vittoria said. Langdon flipped. â€Å"Lunar phases and tidal motion,† she said. â€Å"No numbers. No diagrams.† Langdon flipped again. Nothing. He kept flipping through a dozen or so pages. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. â€Å"I thought this guy was a mathematician,† Vittoria said. â€Å"This is all text.† Langdon felt the air in his lungs beginning to thin. His hopes were thinning too. The pile was waning. â€Å"Nothing here,† Vittoria said. â€Å"No math. A few dates, a few standard figures, but nothing that looks like it could be a clue.† Langdon flipped over the last folio and sighed. It, too, was an essay. â€Å"Short book,† Vittoria said, frowning. Langdon nodded. â€Å"Merda, as we say in Rome.† Shit is right, Langdon thought. His reflection in the glass seemed mocking, like the image staring back at him this morning from his bay window. An aging ghost. â€Å"There's got to be something,† he said, the hoarse desperation in his voice surprising him. â€Å"The segno is here somewhere. I know it!† â€Å"Maybe you were wrong about DIII?† Langdon turned and stared at her. â€Å"Okay,† she agreed, â€Å"DIII makes perfect sense. But maybe the clue isn't mathematical?† â€Å"Lingua pura. What else would it be?† â€Å"Art?† â€Å"Except there are no diagrams or pictures in the book.† â€Å"All I know is that lingua pura refers to something other than Italian. Math just seems logical.† â€Å"I agree.† Langdon refused to accept defeat so quickly. â€Å"The numbers must be written longhand. The math must be in words rather than equations.† â€Å"It'll take some time to read all the pages.† â€Å"Time's something we don't have. We'll have to split the work.† Langdon flipped the stack back over to the beginning. â€Å"I know enough Italian to spot numbers.† Using his spatula, he cut the stack like a deck of cards and lay the first half-dozen pages in front of Vittoria. â€Å"It's in here somewhere. I'm sure.† Vittoria reached down and flipped her first page by hand. â€Å"Spatula!† Langdon said, grabbing her an extra tool from the tray. â€Å"Use the spatula.† â€Å"I'm wearing gloves,† she grumbled. â€Å"How much damage could I cause?† â€Å"Just use it.† Vittoria picked up the spatula. â€Å"You feeling what I'm feeling?† â€Å"Tense?† â€Å"No. Short of breath.† Langdon was definitely starting to feel it too. The air was thinning faster than he had imagined. He knew they had to hurry. Archival conundrums were nothing new for him, but usually he had more than a few minutes to work them out. Without another word, Langdon bowed his head and began translating the first page in his stack. Show yourself, damn it! Show yourself! 53 Somewhere beneath Rome the dark figure prowled down a stone ramp into the underground tunnel. The ancient passageway was lit only by torches, making the air hot and thick. Up ahead the frightened voices of grown men called out in vain, echoing in the cramped spaces. As he rounded the corner he saw them, exactly as he had left them – four old men, terrified, sealed behind rusted iron bars in a stone cubicle. â€Å"Qui etes-vous?† one of the men demanded in French. â€Å"What do you want with us?† â€Å"Hilfe!† another said in German. â€Å"Let us go!† â€Å"Are you aware who we are?† one asked in English, his accent Spanish. â€Å"Silence,† the raspy voice commanded. There was a finality about the word. The fourth prisoner, an Italian, quiet and thoughtful, looked into the inky void of his captor's eyes and swore he saw hell itself. God help us, he thought. The killer checked his watch and then returned his gaze to the prisoners. â€Å"Now then,† he said. â€Å"Who will be first?† 54 Inside Archive Vault 10 Robert Langdon recited Italian numbers as he scanned the calligraphy before him. Mille†¦ centi†¦ uno, duo, tre†¦ cincuanta. I need a numerical reference! Anything, damnit! When he reached the end of his current folio, he lifted the spatula to flip the page. As he aligned the blade with the next page, he fumbled, having difficulty holding the tool steady. Minutes later, he looked down and realized he had abandoned his spatula and was turning pages by hand. Oops, he thought, feeling vaguely criminal. The lack of oxygen was affecting his inhibitions. Looks like I'll burn in archivist's hell. â€Å"About damn time,† Vittoria choked when she saw Langdon turning pages by hand. She dropped her spatula and followed suit. â€Å"Any luck?† Vittoria shook her head. â€Å"Nothing that looks purely mathematical. I'm skimming†¦ but none of this reads like a clue.† Langdon continued translating his folios with increasing difficulty. His Italian skills were rocky at best, and the tiny penmanship and archaic language was making it slow going. Vittoria reached the end of her stack before Langdon and looked disheartened as she flipped the pages back over. She hunkered down for another more intense inspection. When Langdon finished his final page, he cursed under his breath and looked over at Vittoria. She was scowling, squinting at something on one of her folios. â€Å"What is it?† he asked. Vittoria did not look up. â€Å"Did you have any footnotes on your pages?† â€Å"Not that I noticed. Why?† â€Å"This page has a footnote. It's obscured in a crease.† Langdon tried to see what she was looking at, but all he could make out was the page number in the upper right-hand corner of the sheet. Folio 5. It took a moment for the coincidence to register, and even when it did the connection seemed vague. Folio Five. Five, Pythagoras, pentagrams, Illuminati. Langdon wondered if the Illuminati would have chosen page five on which to hide their clue. Through the reddish fog surrounding them, Langdon sensed a tiny ray of hope. â€Å"Is the footnote mathematical?† Vittoria shook her head. â€Å"Text. One line. Very small printing. Almost illegible.† His hopes faded. â€Å"It's supposed to be math. Lingua pura.† â€Å"Yeah, I know.† She hesitated. â€Å"I think you'll want to hear this, though.† Langdon sensed excitement in her voice. â€Å"Go ahead.† Squinting at the folio, Vittoria read the line. â€Å"The path of light is laid, the sacred test.† The words were nothing like what Langdon had imagined. â€Å"I'm sorry?† Vittoria repeated the line. â€Å"The path of light is laid, the sacred test.† â€Å"Path of light?† Langdon felt his posture straightening. â€Å"That's what it says. Path of light.† As the words sank in, Langdon felt his delirium pierced by an instant of clarity. The path of light is laid, the sacred test. He had no idea how it helped them, but the line was as direct a reference to the Path of Illumination as he could imagine. Path of light. Sacred test. His head felt like an engine revving on bad fuel. â€Å"Are you sure of the translation?† Vittoria hesitated. â€Å"Actually†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She glanced over at him with a strange look. â€Å"It's not technically a translation. The line is written in English.† For an instant, Langdon thought the acoustics in the chamber had affected his hearing. â€Å"English?† Vittoria pushed the document over to him, and Langdon read the minuscule printing at the bottom of the page. â€Å"The path of light is laid, the sacred test. English? What is English doing in an Italian book?† Vittoria shrugged. She too was looking tipsy. â€Å"Maybe English is what they meant by the lingua pura? It's considered the international language of science. It's all we speak at CERN.† â€Å"But this was in the 1600s,† Langdon argued. â€Å"Nobody spoke English in Italy, not even – † He stopped short, realizing what he was about to say. â€Å"Not even†¦ the clergy.† Langdon's academic mind hummed in high gear. â€Å"In the 1600s,† he said, talking faster now, â€Å"English was one language the Vatican had not yet embraced. They dealt in Italian, Latin, German, even Spanish and French, but English was totally foreign inside the Vatican. They considered English a polluted, free-thinkers language for profane men like Chaucer and Shakespeare.† Langdon flashed suddenly on the Illuminati brands of Earth, Air, Fire, Water. The legend that the brands were in English now made a bizarre kind of sense. â€Å"So you're saying maybe Galileo considered English la lingua pura because it was the one language the Vatican did not control?† â€Å"Yes. Or maybe by putting the clue in English, Galileo was subtly restricting the readership away from the Vatican.† â€Å"But it's not even a clue,† Vittoria argued. â€Å"The path of light is laid, the sacred test? What the hell does that mean?† She's right, Langdon thought. The line didn't help in any way. But as he spoke the phrase again in his mind, a strange fact hit him. Now that's odd, he thought. What are the chances of that? â€Å"We need to get out of here,† Vittoria said, sounding hoarse. Langdon wasn't listening. The path of light is laid, the sacred test. â€Å"It's a damn line of iambic pentameter,† he said suddenly, counting the syllables again. â€Å"Five couplets of alternating stressed and unstressed syllables.† Vittoria looked lost. â€Å"Iambic who?† For an instant Langdon was back at Phillips Exeter Academy sitting in a Saturday morning English class. Hell on earth. The school baseball star, Peter Greer, was having trouble remembering the number of couplets necessary for a line of Shakespearean iambic pentameter. Their professor, an animated schoolmaster named Bissell, leapt onto the table and bellowed, â€Å"Penta-meter, Greer! Think of home plate! A penta-gon! Five sides! Penta! Penta! Penta! Jeeeesh!† Five couplets, Langdon thought. Each couplet, by definition, having two syllables. He could not believe in his entire career he had never made the connection. Iambic pentameter was a symmetrical meter based on the sacred Illuminati numbers of 5 and 2! You're reaching! Langdon told himself, trying to push it from his mind. A meaningless coincidence! But the thought stuck. Five†¦ for Pythagoras and the pentagram. Two†¦ for the duality of all things. A moment later, another realization sent a numbing sensation down his legs. Iambic pentameter, on account of its simplicity, was often called â€Å"pure verse† or â€Å"pure meter.† La lingua pura? Could this have been the pure language the Illuminati had been referring to? The path of light is laid, the sacred test†¦ â€Å"Uh oh,† Vittoria said. Langdon wheeled to see her rotating the folio upside down. He felt a knot in his gut. Not again. â€Å"There's no way that line is an ambigram!† â€Å"No, it's not an ambigram†¦ but it's†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She kept turning the document, 90 degrees at every turn. â€Å"It's what?† Vittoria looked up. â€Å"It's not the only line.† â€Å"There's another?† â€Å"There's a different line on every margin. Top, bottom, left, and right. I think it's a poem.† â€Å"Four lines?† Langdon bristled with excitement. Galileo was a poet? â€Å"Let me see!† Vittoria did not relinquish the page. She kept turning the page in quarter turns. â€Å"I didn't see the lines before because they're on the edges.† She cocked her head over the last line. â€Å"Huh. You know what? Galileo didn't even write this.† â€Å"What!† â€Å"The poem is signed John Milton.† â€Å"John Milton?† The influential English poet who wrote Paradise Lost was a contemporary of Galileo's and a savant who conspiracy buffs put at the top of their list of Illuminati suspects. Milton's alleged affiliation with Galileo's Illuminati was one legend Langdon suspected was true. Not only had Milton made a well-documented 1638 pilgrimage to Rome to â€Å"commune with enlightened men,† but he had held meetings with Galileo during the scientist's house arrest, meetings portrayed in many Renaissance paintings, including Annibale Gatti's famous Galileo and Milton, which hung even now in the IMSS Museum in Florence. â€Å"Milton knew Galileo, didn't he?† Vittoria said, finally pushing the folio over to Langdon. â€Å"Maybe he wrote the poem as a favor?† Langdon clenched his teeth as he took the sheathed document. Leaving it flat on the table, he read the line at the top. Then he rotated the page 90 degrees, reading the line in the right margin. Another twist, and he read the bottom. Another twist, the left. A final twist completed the circle. There were four lines in all. The first line Vittoria had found was actually the third line of the poem. Utterly agape, he read the four lines again, clockwise in sequence: top, right, bottom, left. When he was done, he exhaled. There was no doubt in his mind. â€Å"You found it, Ms. Vetra.† She smiled tightly. â€Å"Good, now can we get the hell out of here?† â€Å"I have to copy these lines down. I need to find a pencil and paper.† Vittoria shook her head. â€Å"Forget it, professor. No time to play scribe. Mickey's ticking.† She took the page from him and headed for the door. Langdon stood up. â€Å"You can't take that outside! It's a – â€Å" But Vittoria was already gone.