Processed Foods and Its Link to the Increasing Obesity Epidemic

Processed Foods and its Link to the Increasing Obesity Epidemic Savannah Eisert English 214-54 Melanie Wise 15 April 2013 Eisert 1 Processed Foods and its Link to the Increasing Obesity Epidemic Lunchables, Twinkies, potato chips, chocolate chip cookies, or even a trip to McDonald’s after school are just few of the memorable foods as a child that always seemed so exciting and delicious. As a child, I wondered why these scrumptious foods were always just a treat, but never an every day meal on my diet that I could enjoy. But what I did not know was the dirty truth behind these foods: what they are really made out of.Behind food corporation doors lies the truth about processed foods, what they are really made out of, and why these corporations keep producing these foods. Through the years, scientists have found different ways to transform this corn so it becomes more useful and cheaper to produce. As the corporations became more and more money hungry, the less they cared about t he health of Americans and more about how much processed foods they could sell. Ultimately, this leads to the most increasing health issue America has been facing over the years, and to this day: obesity.According to HBO’s â€Å"The Weight of the Nation: Confronting America’s Obesity Epidemic,† over one-third of American adults (roughly about 36%) are obese, and about 12. 5 million children and adolescents (ages 2-19), or 17%, are obese. Over the years, as processed food production increased, so did obesity because of money hungry food corporations increasing this productivity and government doing nothing to help stop the unhealthy lifestyles processed food has created. Background Information on Processed Food Before figuring out why processed foods are a main factor to obesity, one must know what processed foods are and why they are bad.So what exactly are processed foods made out of? Michael Pollan goes into deep research about what these processed foods are m ade out of within his nonfiction book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma. According to Michael Pollan, an average American consumes about one ton of corn per year, but not before being heavily processed by a processing plant, and then reassembled as soft drinks, breakfast cereals, or snacks (85). As Eisert 2 science progressively grew, so did the certain ingredients within processed foods. For example, high-fructose corn syrup is used in a majority of foods because it tastes exactly as sweet as sucrose.Pollan’s research states that high-fructose corn syrup today â€Å"is the most valuable food product refined from corn, accounting for 530 million bushels every year† (89). Because high-fructose corn syrup is easy to use and cheap to get, most food corporations use it to create the perfect masterpiece. For example, Pollan talks about how that the third age of processed foods â€Å"push[es] aside butter to make shelf space for margarine, replace fruit juice with juice drinks and then entirely juice-free drinks like Tang, cheese with Cheez Whiz, and whipped cream with Cool Whip† (91).With the help of high-fructose corn syrup, food alternatives can easily be made for the same satisfaction. Because of these processed foods, obesity begins to increase. But how exactly does processed food cause obesity? Michael Pollan investigates the truth behind food science and it’s ways to get people to eat more. Pollan states, â€Å"The power of food science lies in its ability to break foods down into their nutrient parts and then reassemble them in specific ways that, in effect, push our evolutionary buttons, fooling the omnivore’s inherited food selection system† (107).Since an average adult can eat only about fifteen hundred pounds of food a year, food corporations are trying to find ways to â€Å"get people to spend more money for the same three-quarters of tof a ton of food, or entice them to actually eat more than that† (Pollan 95). So if a person eats more than normal, his or her weight will increase as they are intaking more of these processed foods that entices people to eat more. But what specifically triggers a person’s body to eat more than they naturally should?Food systems in a person can â€Å"cheat by exaggerating their energy density, tricking a sensory apparatus that evolved to deal with markedly less dense whole foods† (Pollan 107). So by increasing this energy density in processed foods, obesity problems seen within America continue to rise. Eisert 3 The Increase in Processed Food and Obesity Over the Years The beginning of processed food did not recently happen, but has been around since the mid-1800’s. In Michael Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dilemma, he explains the journey of how corn developed to what it is today. In 1866, â€Å"corn syrup . . . ecame the first cheap domestic substitute for cane sugar† (Pollan 88). Then as corn refining started to be perfe cted, high-fructose corn syrup became quite popular. Pollan states that high-fructose corn syrup â€Å"is the most valuable food product refined from corn, accounting for 530 million bushels every year† (89). Once these different food processes were discovered, processed foods began making their way into the country. At first, the point of having processed food was to free â€Å"people from nature’s cycles of abundance and scarcity,† so to have food preserved longer (Pollan 91).But as time went on, the goal changed from â€Å"liberating food from nature† (Pollan 91) to â€Å"improve[ing] on nature† (Pollan 91). Since processed foods began to be so easy to make with the help of high-fructose corn syrup, the cost to make it was relatively cheap compared to the natural farmers. Pollans statistics show that â€Å"a dollar spent on a whole food such as eggs, $0. 40 finds its way back to the farmer . . . by comparison, George Naylor will see only $0. 04 of every dollar spent on corn sweeteners† (95). So ultimately, the increase in processed foods have to do with its easy and cheap ingredients.Based on Michael Pollan’s studies, he found out that many of the reasons why obesity has increased so much is due to the increased use of high-fructose corn syrup in the foods people eat. Pollan begins by saying that â€Å"corn accounts for most of the surplus calories we’re growing and most of the surplus calories we’re eating† (103). With today’s advanced technology, the country has gone from being able to process corn into two different things, to now creating over hundreds of things with the help of a processor and corn.Pollan’s statistics show that â€Å"since 1985, an American’s annual consumption of high-fructose corn syrup has gone from Eisert 4 forty-five pounds to sixty-six pounds† (104). On top of the high-fructose corn syrup people intake, the other sugars also must be accounted for. Therefore, this excessive amount of sugars in processed food is the main cause to the increase of obesity in America. Who is to Blame? Behind all the corn, the processing, and the food that results, is the man in charge: food corporations. Because of food corporations greed for money, processed foods have escalated out of control, causing a serious health epidemic: obesity.Michael Pollan, also author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, wrote an article for the New York Times called â€Å"Unhappy Meals. † Pollan makes a very convincing point at the beginning of the article that gives a serious blame to the people who created and have been continuing the making of processed foods: These novel products of food science often come in packages festooned with health claims, which brings me to a related rule of thumb: if you’re concerned about your health, you should probably avoid food products that make health claims. Why?Because a health claim on a food product is a good indication that it’s not really food, and food is what you want to eat (1). His claim is very much true because these food corporations try to trick the customers into thinking food products are okay to eat, when in reality, they are terrible for a person’s health in the long run. Food corporations have come to a point where they are more interested in how well their company is doing rather than the country’s health. So ultimately, the rise in obesity is because of these food productions little interest to care about the health of the country.In Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma, he proves that food corporations are only interested in the money rather than the well-being of the country. He says that a â€Å"cheaper agricultural commodities [are] driving food companies to figure out new and ever more elaborate ways to add value and so induce us to buy more† (Pollan 96). So if these companies are driven by the Eisert 5 cheap f ood productions, they will make sure sales to the people of the country increase, therefore increasing the obesity epidemic. Why blame these food corporations for the obesity epidemic?Aren’t they just trying to help the economy by selling the food they produce? Yes, this is very true, but that does not mean these corporations have the right to sell the country unhealthy, life threatening foods. According to Michael Pollan’s research in The Omnivore’s Dilemma, American’s high-fructose corn syrup intake has gone up from forty-five pounds to sixty-six pounds (104). Basically, Pollan states that Americans are â€Å"eating and drinking all that high-fructose corn syrup on top of the sugars we were already consuming† (104).Just because big corporations, like Coca-Cola and Pepsi figured out high-fructose corn syrup was a few cents cheaper than sugar, they completely switched from sugar to high-fructose corn syrup because â€Å"consumers didn’t see m to notice the substitution† (104). Pollan’s research shows that soda is most of the sixty-six pounds of high-fructose corn syrup that American consume, and by using the ingredient that causes obesity into one of the most popular drink is just cruel because food corporations target that area of consumption.So it is quite obvious the corporations do not care about the rise in obesity because they keep using high-fructose corn syrup in most of the foods consumed by Americans. In another study, George A Bray from The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition makes interesting connections in his article â€Å"Consumption of High-Fructose Corn Syrup in Beverages May Play a Role in the Epidemic of Obesity† between the rise in obesity and the rising intake of high-fructose corn syrup in America.His studies show that â€Å"the consumption of HFCS increased > 1000% between 1970 and 1990, far exceeding the changes in intake of any other food or food group† (Bray 537). With the rise in consumption of high-fructose corn syrup, the increase of obesity in America connects with these statistics. Bray also concludes that Eisert 6 â€Å"collective data suggest[s] that overconsumption of beverages sweetened with HFCS, [or high-fructose corn syrup,] and containing > 50% free fructose and the increased intake of total fructose may play a role in the epidemic of obesity† (542).Bray’s statistics support Pollan’s beverage assumptions because it goes to show that food corporations are willing to increase high-fructose corn syrup even if the epidemic of obesity increases with its increase in production. Resolution As more people become aware of the obesity epidemic in America, they wish to change their lifestyles in order to be healthy again. Even though these people know what is going on, they still do not change their lifestyles. But they have good reasons, according to Michael Pollan’s reasonings in The Omnivore’s Dilemma. Pollan explains how the food corporations have â€Å"push[ed] our evolutionary buttons, fooling the omnivore’s inherited food selection system â€Å" (107). Even though humans are not meant to eat these foods, the sensory apparatus in within humans have evolved to always crave these processed foods. It has even gotten to a point where â€Å"people with limited money to spend on food would spend it on the cheapest calories they can find† (Pollan 108). These are perfect examples to why the processed food lifestyle continues, and why the epidemic of obesity continues to increase. So the real question is how does America resolve the epidemic of obesity?Yes, food corporations are to blame, but they will keep producing processed foods to help their economic success. So as a country, alternatives and powerful influences must be introduced in order to decrease obesity. Michael Pollan’s article â€Å"Unhappy Meals† in The New York Times, has lots of certain advi ce to steer away from the tricks of processed foods and have America move into a healthier lifestyle. He suggests that processed foods imply they are based around important nutrients to help support human health, when in reality it gives the opposite effects to the body.Eisert 7 Pollan does in fact state that the healthy lifestyle is â€Å"harder to do in practice, given the food environment we now inhabit and the loss of sharp cultural tools to guide us through it† (11), but he gives readers simple ways to start a healthy lifestyle. Some of the most simple advice includes â€Å"eat[ing] according to the rules of a traditional food culture† (Pollan 12). By eating natural foods that are locally grown and produced, one will know how it is being made and by whom, so there are no mysteries or health questions within these foods.Lastly, â€Å"avoid food products containing ingredients that are a) unfamiliar, b) unpronounceable c) more than five in number — or that c ontain high-fructose corn syrup† (Pollan 11). Just by following these two simple steps, a person can make their health that much better by doing the little things to help themselves. Yes, there are other alternatives, but they become confusing and technical. If a person is simply aware of what is being put into their body, then a healthy lifestyle can be achieved. Even though people are personally trying to become healthier, what about the people that are not?They need influential and powerful support in order to avoid the obesity epidemic. The government would be the perfect influence to helping change the obesity epidemic. But in Michael Pollan’s book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, the government does little to help even though they are aware of the issue: While the surgeon general is raising alarms over the epidemic of obesity, the president is signing farm bills designed to keep the river of cheap corn flowing, guaranteeing that the cheapest calories in the superma rket will continue to be the unhealthiest (108).So if the government won’t even help, who will? That is where the people come in. Becoming aware of the problem and knowing what a person is putting into their bodies will be the only way to end the increase in the production of processed food, and to furthermore decrease obesity. In conclusion, as processed food production increased, so did obesity because of money hungry food corporations increasing this productivity and government doing nothing to Eisert 8 help stop the unhealthy lifestyles processed food has created.Through the statistics found in the research it shows how the increases simultaneously occurred at the same time, therefore processed food is a major factor to an increase in obesity. Work Cited Bray , George A, Samara Joy Nielsen, and Barry M Popkin. â€Å"Consumption of high-fructose corn syrup in beverages may play a role in the epidemic of obesity. † 2004 American Society for Clinical Nutrition. 79. 4 (2003): 537-543. Web. 11 Mar. 2013.. Ebbeling, Cara, Dorota B Pawlak, and David S Ludwig. â€Å"Childhood obesity: public-health crisis, common sense cure. † Lancet. 360. 331 (2002): 473–482. Web. 11 Mar. 2013. . Pollan, Michael. Omnivore's Dilemma. New York City: A Penguin Book, 2006. Print. Pollan, Michael. â€Å"Unhappy Meal. † New York Times. 28 01 2007: 1-12. Web. 19 Apr. 2013. . Research Paper Feedback In reading your research paper, I have considered the following features of the document. Any areas that need work are highlighted oIntroduction – grabs the readers’ attention; introduces the topic; contains a clear, strong thesis oContent – covers the topic fully; supports assertions with information from reliable sources; includes a reference page Organization – is logically organized; ideas are grouped and sequenced to aide the readers’ understanding oParagraph Development— ¶s contain specific examples/evidence (in the form of quotes and paraphrases) and explanations oTopic Sentences—introduce the subject of each paragraph; create idea bridges that link  ¶s to each other and/or thesis oTransitions—logical connections between ideas are clear & smooth oSentence Fluency—sentences are fluent and varied in construction and length (not choppy); quotes are smoothly incorporated oMLA Format—sources are cited; both inline citations and reference page citations conform to MLA style Proofreading—free of usage, punctuation, and grammatical errors. Here are the grades and what they mean: oAn â€Å"A† paper excels in all the areas listed above. The paper covers the topic fully and answers the readers’ questions. The paper uses evidence from multiple, credible sources to back up claims. Sources are cited according to MLA style guidelines. The writing is clearly organized, excellently developed, fluent, and nearly error free. oA â€Å"B† paper does a good job in all the areas above. The paper offers a thoughtful, complete response to the prompt. It is clearly organized and well developed.The sentences are consistently readable and fluent with few usage errors. Areas that need work are highlighted above. oA â€Å"C† paper is a competent response to the prompt, but may have weaknesses in one or more of the areas listed above. The weaknesses interfere with the successful communication of the writer’s ideas. Areas that need work are highlighted above. oA paper earns an â€Å"NP† if it does not answer the prompt and/or is seriously weak in one or more of the areas listed above. The paper’s weaknesses make it very difficult to read and/or understand. Areas that need work are highlighted above. Comments and Grade:

New Look Jackets Inc. : Variance Analysis Essay

Introduction New Look Jackets Inc. (NLJ) is a well-established manufacturing company that makes leather and nylon jackets. The company has many long standing customers due to their excellent service and quality of products. In 2012, they had some difficulty with quality and filling orders on time due to the increase of demand to the leather jackets. A variance analysis has been completed and this report will break down the results. Sales Volume Variance Analysis The sales volume for NLJ is favourable as a whole because 10,000 more jackets were sold then budgeted. The sales volume for the nylon jacket is unfavourable because 1,500 fewer jackets were sold then budgeted. However the leather jackets sales volume is favourable because 11,500 more jackets were sold. After taking a closer look at the sales volume and breaking the variance into sales mix and sales quantity. The leather jackets have a favourable sales mix but the nylon jackets have an unfavourable mix; the overall sales mix is favourable. The overall favourable sales mix is favourable because of the high increase in leather jackets sold. The sales mix was budgeted at 95% Nylon and 5% Leather but the actual was 85% Nylon and 15% Leather. The actual sales mix was a composite unit consists of 0.85 units of sales to the Nylon jackets and 0.15 units of sales to the Leather jackets. The reason for this favourable variance is due to the increase in demand of leather jackets. The marketing t eam did not foresee this trend therefor did not include the increase of leather jackets in the 2012 budget. NLJ has a favourable sales quantity variance due to the total jackets sold exceed the budgeted jackets. They have a $139,625F sales quantity variance because sold 10,000 more jackets then what was budgeted. It can also be stated as 10,000 X $13.9625 (see appendix 1) = $139,625F. The 13.9625 (11.6375 Nylon + 2.2350 Leather) is the sum of budgeted CM per unit for  budgeted mix. The nylon jackets make up 83.3% of this favorable variance because 77,000 more jackets were sold. This is a more affordable product therefor sales more. The sales quantity variance can be further broken down into market-share variance and market-size variance. The market-share is $349,063 unfavourable; the company did not achieve the 40% of the leather jacket market because of the major increase to demand. The budgeted leather jacket market was 12,500 but the actual market was 125,000, the market increased 10 times. This oversight was the reason for the unfavourable market-share. The nylon jackets were budgeted at 20% market-share and actually were 22% of market-share. The market-size variance is favourable, as the total market-size was greater than expected. The budgeted market unit was 487,500 but the actual size was 550,000, an increased demand of 62,500 units. The market increase is because of the leather jacket demand. In 2012, the nylon jacket market decreased by 50,000 units. Flexible Budget Variance Analysis For the nylon jackets all budgeted amounts were achieved expected the variable selling and administration. The variable selling and administration was favourable by $14,025. The favourable variance was because budget was 15 cents higher than actual. The decrease in the selling and administration cost was due to the decrease in demand for 2012. The leather jackets flexible budget variances were all unfavourable excluding the direct labour rate. The direct labour rate was favourable due to the inexperience workers hired to produce the leather jackets. The leather jacket market increase significantly so the demand for skilled workers increased. NLJ had to resort to hiring unskilled workers to keep up with demand. This resulted in a favourable direct labour rate but at the cost of sale returns increasing to 8% from 1%. The flexible budget variance is made up of the efficiency (usage) variance and price variance. The leather jacket price variance is 44,550U because the price was understat ed in the budgeted by 2.70 per unit. The efficiency (usage) variances for the leather jackets are both unfavourable for direct materials and direct labour. The standard labour usage was 2 hours, NLJ actual labour usage was 2.5 hours. This resulted in a 165,000U variance ((2-2.5)*20*16,500). The direct materials efficiency variance was 66,000U. NLJ used 0.2 metres more a jacket then production  standards ((2.5m – 2.7m)*20*16,500). These unfavourable variances are due to the inexperienced workers that were hired because of the unforeseen demand in leather jackets. Break-Even Analysis The sales mix is budgeted for 2013 as 77% Nylon jackets and 23% Leather jackets. With this sales mix the break-even outlined in Appendix 2 is 53,561 Nylon jackets and 16,068 Leather jackets. For both products, this is 53.56% of the actual budgeted amounts therefor break-even should be reach by 2nd quarter. If the expected market size of either jacket decreases demand, NLJ will still be in the black for 2013. Operating Budget 2013 Outlined in Appendix 3 is the draft operating budget for 2013. The nylon jacket costs are expected to increase by 5% and leather jacket costs have increased from 2012. The production and marketing managers researched the expected conditions for 2013 and the draft budget reflects that. This year, total production is expected to increase by 18.2% and net income by $766,400. Recommendation NLJ knows the Nylon market well so the variances were minimal. The leather market is where the company has to spend more time researching and developing the budget to reduce the unfavourable variances. The markets and future trends should be researched in a more detailed matter for 2013. Conclusion NLJ is a profitable company and can stay profitable by keeping their long standing customers. They need to research the market and know the trends coming up so they can budget and plan more efficiently. The big swing in unfavourable variances was mainly due to the unforeseen increase in demand to leather jackets. In 2013, NLJ will not see this variances as workers will be fully trained and the marketing and production data is including the upcoming trends.

Human Resource Management Roles/Hcs 341

Human Resource Management Roles Human Resource Management (HRM) is the function within an organization that focuses on recruitment of, management of, and providing direction for the people who work in the organization. Human Resource Management can also be performed by line managers (Heathfield, S. M. ). Human Resource Management is the organizational function that deals with issues related to people such as compensation, hiring, performance management, organization development, safety, wellness, benefits, employee motivation, communication, administration, and training. Human Resource Management is also a strategic and comprehensive approach to managing people and the workplace culture and environment. Effective HRM enables employees to contribute effectively and productively to the overall company direction and the accomplishment of the organization's goals and objectives (Heathfield, S. M. ). Planning Human resources managers try to project how many employees will be necessary. They look at how many good workers are staying with the company and how many leave. Ideally, they want a low turnover ratio, where more people are staying than leaving. Planners try to identify good workers from the applicant pool, and use them to replace people leaving the company. The ultimate goal is to increase highly skilled and experienced personnel each time there is turnover. If a company is going to reduce employee numbers, planning tries to look for positions that could be trimmed without harming the company. Pay People in human resources management keep updated on pay and employee tax laws. They negotiate salary and wages with an applicant as well as bonuses, merit-based awards and commissions. Other pay areas they work with include retirement, life insurance, health insurance, vacation time, sick leave, disability insurance and stock ownership plans (Felix, J. ) Training Human resources personnel coordinate employee orientation; new hires learn their rights, responsibilities and the company's physical and organizational structures. Training and development builds new hires into proficient workers. As employees gain experience, they receive supervisor, management and leadership trainings. Training happens both on the job and in formal classroom instruction. Employees can end up at a leadership or management academy outside their company (Felix, J. ) Laws and Regulations Employees receive manuals and handbooks as soon after they're hired. These books contain the company's laws affecting the employee; and the company's expectations for the employee. Human resources personnel review and process firing requests, as some states make it hard to easily fire an employee. Some states are â€Å"at will† employment states; employers can terminate employment for any reason. The employee can also quit for any reason. Human resources personnel coordinate ethics training and enforcement. They hold this kind of training to reduce business fraud, mismanagement, and insensitivity toward other cultures, races, religion and gender (Felix, J. ) Wellness The Human Resources department coordinates wellness programs such as drugs, diet, exercises, health, ergonomics, diversity, spirituality and employee harmony. Reducing mishaps in the workplace, and reducing diet and habit-based sickness, helps improve productivity. An organization has to pay worker compensation and health insurance. Wellness programs reduce sickness and injury in the long run, saving the company money while getting more out of the worker (Felix, J. ) In conclusion, human resource management is very vital in any job field that you go to. Human resources are forever changing as we develop new technology, new laws and regulations, new innovative ways to deal with employees, health and wellness, etc. The greatest future challenge for the field will be the continued integration of management with other theories to address socially relevant issues as life becomes more complex and diverse. References Felix, J. (n. d. ). About Human Resource Management. Retrieved from http://www. ehow. com/about_4796612_human-resource-management. html Heathfield, S. M. (n. d. ). What is Human Resource Management? Retrieved from http://humanresources. about. com/od/glossaryh/f/hr_management. htm

Critical Case Study Exploration Using Gibbs Model Essay

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Paulson Statement on Regulation - Essay Example He reiterated his confidence in the strength and resiliency of the country's capital markets, and that the country would be able to work its way out of the situation. In his introduction, the Secretary remarked that the most pertinent priority of the government was to limit the actual effects of this crisis on the country's real economy. He advised that the key to keeping the country's economic state above water was to maintain liquid and stable financial markets, and that banks must put in their fair share by making credit readily available both to ordinary citizens and businesses. He added that there must be vigilant efforts introduced in order to dilute the destructive effects of the recent housing downturn on the economy. In addressing the importance of orderly financial markets, Paulson stated that the recent turmoil the capital markets have been facing were largely in part to the reduced access to short-term funding, which in turn caused widespread liquidity issues even with the biggest investment banks. As a result of these volatile conditions, Bear Sterns, the country's 5th largest investment house, found itself in bankruptcy. He justified the Federal Reserve's intervention leading to the JP Morgan buyout, stating that market stability was the primary concern of the government and the issue warranted prompt resolution. In light of the Bear Sterns fiasco, the Federal Reserve took a leap of faith by putting forth a temporary program which is meant to provide short-term liquidity to primary dealers. From a historical perspective, such bold moves by the country's central lending institution had not been propagated since the 1930's. While Paulson praised the Federal Reserve for its creativity in dealing with a potentially crippling situation, he chided that such drastic measures also have corresponding repercussions which need to be addressed. He argues that while commercials banks have traditionally had access to the Federal Reserve's liquidity facilities, these have been accompanied by strong regulation and supervision to avoid and potential pitfalls. Hence, the same measures should be enacted this time around if only for the sake of prudence. Paulson suggests that in opening the discount window temporarily to non-insured and non-depository institutions, tighter measures must be enacted in screening these institutions, which will enable them to make better informed lending decisions. In explaining the current mortgage crisis, he admits that its rapid free-fall has adversely affected both financial institutions and capital markets alike. Far from putting the blame on the inherently flawed sub-prime mortgage system, he argues that unsustainable home price appreciation in certain key areas was the primary driver behind the crisis. Also, once stability is restored to the housing sector, this will lead to a much more favorable situation for institutions involved with mortgage-backed securities. Paulson admits that with the current housing crisis, the availability of mortgage financing has been almost non-existent, due largely in part to the crippling liquidity problems that have beset lending institutions. He offers that in order for the housing and mortgage industry to get back on its feet, government-backed institutions such as Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac should be willing to

Letter to an Extra-Terrestrial Alien Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Letter to an Extra-Terrestrial Alien - Essay Example So, he asked help from the king and queen of Spain who eventually agreed to support him. During his search, he accidentally found land which he thought was Asia but was really the Caribbean islands as they are called now. Columbus eventually made three more trips to the â€Å"New World† and established a settlement on one of the islands. He was made Governor but his abusive rule caused the loss of his reputation, title and wealth. Hernando Cortes or Cortes also came from Spain but his expedition brought him to Mexico. Here, Cortes built a settlement and made friends with the inhabitants, people called the Aztecs. The natives thought that Cortes was part of a prophecy and so they accepted him warmly. Later on, the two groups disagreed with each other. While Cortes was away to fight another Spanish group who was trying to capture him, the Aztec revolted in the capital, Tenochtitlan and eventually the Spanish left the city. In 1521, Cortes and his men returned to Tenochtitlan, conquered the Aztecs and established a new settlement which is now known as Mexico. As you may have noticed when Columbus and Cortez came to the â€Å"New World† there were already people living on the islands. It is believed that groups of people called the Paleo-Indians were already inhabitants of the â€Å"New World† before the Europeans came. The Paleo-Indians were hunters. There are two theories of how they came to America. One is that they supposedly followed mammoths, their source of food, using a land bridge when the sea level was very low. Another theory is that they came using very primitive boats. Either way, this theory is the most commonly used explanation now for the discovery of America. So, people from Europe started to come and live here in America with the natives. Among these was a group supported by the Virginia Company of London. The group arrived at Cape Henry and explored the area of Chesapeake Bay. Part of the people who

The Lands of Bolivar Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Lands of Bolivar - Essay Example The Latin American governments including Columbia have been strongly pressured by the U.S to enhance their drug management efforts. Strained diplomatic ties resulted in the process. This paper examines the role of the United States in the drug issues that are facing Columbia. It also looks at the militarization of the drug control efforts that have been put in effect by the United States and the effects that such programs are likely to have on Columbia. During the reign of Reagan in the United states administration, the war against drugs gained it momentum. Political pressure for drug eradication was mounting in Columbia. Decriminalization and the legalization movements were marginalized by a tough approach to the war on drugs. It became apparent that this war will be militarized. The speech that was delivered by Reagan in 1982 focused on drug prohibition and eradication. In addition to that, the major of the United States war on drugs as put into practice in Columbia included eradication projects through crop substitution strategies and the prohibition of the trafficking routes. It is worth noting that though much of the efforts were militarized, the objectives in Columbia were believed to be counter narcotics. The prospect of maintaining this distinction was critical in upholding the support of public wary of a possible involvement of the U.S in a counter revolution that could ‘Vietnamize’ the overall state of affairs in Columbia. The effectiveness of the US in this situation can attributed to the fact that there was a reduction in the amount of drugs entering the United States and a subsequent growth of a drug-free economy. With better economic opportunities at stake, the farmers in Columbia could grow nutritious food crops rather than the drugs. Additionally, with drug elimination the country has a lot to offer which includes

Minority Groups Self Determination In California Essay

Minority Groups Self Determination In California - Essay Example The United States Government was a target of their dismay. In response to the 'Black experience' Huey Newton and Bobby Seale founded a group called the Black Panthers. The Black Panthers adopted a socialist agenda that included establishing community based programs that focused on Blacks helping Blacks. Membership in the Black Panthers was limited to African-Americans and purposely did not allow Whites or Hispanics entry to their group. The reason for not allowing membership to Whites was based on the premise that Whites changed how African-Americans behave and act. Their presence was considered a hindrance because the atmosphere, and what Blacks spoke about at meetings, was altered by their mere presence. The Black Panthers argued that if Whites were allowed membership society would assume that the Blacks can't do it alone and the group would fall prey to old stereotypes such as 'Blacks are dumb' and 'Blacks are not able to effectively run and organization without the help of the Wh ites. Also, Blacks argued that Whites do not understand the Black experience so therefore could not relate to the problems faced by Blacks. The Black Panthers focused on the struggle for "ethnic minority and working class emancipation." (USA History Archives). The Bl The Black Panthers were considered a threat to the U.S. Government and were monitored closely by the FBI. But, this did not hinder the party's attempts at social reform. The Blacks were successful in showing that they alone could run and organization successfully and create social programs that met the needs of the Black population. The Black Panthers were responsible for the creation of a feeding program that served breakfast every morning before school to 10,000 Black children across the United States. The Black Panthers also created a medical outreach program in California that conducted health screenings for sickle cell anemia and other diseases that disproportionally affect Black Americans. If we fast forwarded and placed the Black Panthers in the California of today we might find that they would not be tolerated because of the recent history of terrorism. Much of what the Black Panthers did in the 1960's and 1970's would be classified as terrorism today. Their desire for a socialist reform of American society would be misinterpreted as terrorism rather than self-determination. 2. The American Indian Experience. In California history American Indians have a similar experience of discrimination and domination by their White counterparts. Indigenous populations in California have a history that is wrought with domination by outside forces - specifically by Spaniards and the French. Early California history consists of the Spaniards military domination and subjugation of the indigenous population. Although stories of Spanish missions include taking care of the Indians and converting them to Christianity, what's not included is the incarceration type environment that the Indians were held in. Their Anglo cousins took great pride in dominating and teaching these 'savages' to live and behave like 'normal' human beings. These labor camps benefited the conquerors more than the indigenous

What do you understand by the term management style in employee Essay

What do you understand by the term management style in employee relations How useful is the term in understanding the dynamics in employee relations - Essay Example All employees at the workplace tend to share some sort of relationships with the colleagues they work with, with their subordinates and with their supervisors. The relationships can be good or bad depending on the attitudes of everyone at the workplace (Towers, 2003). Theoretical Management style in UK The report from the Chartered Management Institute state that the mostly used management styles in the UK are the authoritarian style 21%, the bureaucratic management style 16% and the third one is categorized as a secret management style 12.5%. The research also depicted that the percentage of employees believing that they are able to access their manager is only around 10 % (Employers criticise UK management style, 2010). The chief executive of the Chartered Management Institute, Ruth Spellman, states that the working lives of people improve with the goodwill element and engagement element amongst the employees. The productivity rate, the retention rate and the loyalty factor of the customers improves with goodwill (Employers criticise UK management style, 2010). Issues with the typologies There are certain issues present with the typologies of the management styles being implemented in organizations. The employment relations may depict a static picture of the firm. The relationship between the employee and the employer may be facing changes but they may be depicted in a static way. Management has certain expectations and intentions from and for the employees respectively but there are strong chances that the employees may not work according to the expectations of the organization. From certain employees hard work and dedication may not be observed at work. The strategies of management may at times be implemented according to the consensus of the employees and other times as a compulsion whether employees like the idea or not. There are different styles of management according to the occupational groups working in the firm. The top management may have a differe nt management style; the middle management may adopt different style for dealing with the employees under them. Lastly, the issues pertaining with typologies are that when managers are outsourced are hired on a contract basis, the management styles that they may implement will be different. Employees have the chances of getting frustrated due to many reasons. The reasons can be both personal and professional and the management therefore needs to ensure that all activities at workplace are taking place according to requirements so that workplace frustration of employees can be avoided. A healthy work environment and atmosphere will make the work experience of the employee a pleasant experience (Gay et al, 2005). Marketisation of the employment relationship There are certain organizational forms to market based regulation of Employee Relations. The employee relationships with the organization need to be carefully reviewed by the firm and accordingly the employee relationships are hand led in the firm. The short term market pressures such as increasing sales, increasing the market share, gaining edge from the competitors have affected the relationship of the employer with the employees. The internal employment structures are observed to be displaced in the organizations. The organizational culture has changed for many organizations along with the goals and objectives of the firm. The benefits and perks that are offered to employees have faced changes in the modern

Five Trends that Will Shape the Global Luxury Market Essay

Five Trends that Will Shape the Global Luxury Market - Essay Example A watch is more than a timepiece and forms part of an individual’s appearance and jeweler. The watches have been made through careful craft as an integral allure of mechanical watches. The brands share a tradition and cultural prestige derived from centuries of innovation and expertise that is not readily reproduced. The design aesthetic is central to the selection of watches, but it requires cultural capital so as to make artistry worth the price tag. This dissertation explores how the art value of timepieces stirs up consumers to have a desire to purchase luxury watches, especially in reference to Cartier watches, which embrace art element and normally manifest a story behind them. The high reputation that Cartier enjoys can be linked to the art value of Cartier timepieces, especially owing to the history, meaning, and the story behind the Cartier watches collection. Cartier produces watches and jewelry that are typified by an understated, timeless style with a harmonious co mbination of personality and discretion, aristocratic touch, and elegance (Barrett 2000, p.349). Cartier watches also have other strengths dwelling on functionality and easy accessibility, which means that the products can be accessed by anyone across the globe (Barrett 2000, p.350). Cartier watches can be regarded as the ambassador of luxury owing to the high relation that the brand enjoys in prestige watch-making. Presently, Cartier brand is proud of its private collection comprised of collector watches, the company’s range of fine jeweler’s watches, its extravagant timepieces that perfectly embody the Cartier dream and sports and products that have won a place for the brand in history. On the other hand, Vacheron Constantin incorporates personality to the brand and human interaction. The products can be regarded as have an alluring packaging, intriguing ads, and its sensuous looking appearance.

Health and Social Care Essay Example for Free

Health and Social Care Essay P2: Describe the Origins of Public Health Policy in the UK from the 19th Century to the Present Day. 1837- The law started registering births, marriages and deaths and began to notice differences in areas. This was because of diseases going round and many people were dying. They wanted to figure out where about the illnesses were most common. 1848- The Liberal government brought the Public Health Act into law. 1849- Unfortunately, a massive amount of 10,000 people died from the disease cholera. 1853- Vaccination for smallpox was made compulsory and started by Edward Jenner; this was because a great amount of people were getting ill and dying from it. 1870- The government forced local authorities to educate people about diseases, so that they then knew and could learn about them and help to prevent any more. 1875- Public Health Act forced local authorities to provide clean water, have proper drainage and appoint medical offices for each area. This was to improve deadly diseases and illnesses which were continuing to harm people. 1906- In this year free school meals law came about. 1907- Medical school examinations for children were introduced. 1918- The British Prime Minister Lloyd George promised soldiers returning home from the war, ‘Homes fit for Heroes’. It was important for people to have a good home environment. 1921- The local authorities were required to set up TB clinics. 1934- The government passed the free school milk act and local councils were encouraged to give poor children free school meals. This was because they were unfortunate and were not getting the correct amount of food and drink and it could have affected their health. 1942- Sir William Beveridge published a report on the best way of helping people on low income. 1944- Clement Attlee created the NHS based on the proposals of the Beveridge Report white paper published. 1948- On the 5th July the new NHS was launched. 1970- Margret Thatcher became the new Secretary of State and demanded cuts on four main areas: further education fees, library book borrowing charges, school meal charges and free school milk. 1980- Black Report came about, discussing inequalities in health between the rich and poor. It aimed to reduce child poverty, reintroducing free schools meals and milk, improving housing, employment, schools and more. 1998- Acheson Report, Acheson was asked to review inequalities in England and identify priority ones for the development of health. 1999- â€Å"Saving Lives Our Healthier Nation† this was what the Labour government released as a health strategy. P1: Describe key aspects of public health strategies. There are many strategies that have been used and have had a positive and a negative outcome when tried out in cities. Firstly, monitoring the health status of the population, this is where tracking changes and alerting people to potential problems would happen. An example for this would be ‘Census’ this where every 10 years since 1801 the nation chooses one day to do the census survey. In the survey it consists counting all people and households. Overall it’s the most complete information source that the population that the nation has. The most recent census survey was held on the Sunday 27 March 2011. Identifying the health needs of the population is a strategy that can and has been used within the population. In this strategy we are identifying implications of trends and patterns to services. A good example is in schools or any type of educating/studying places or just general talks where people are being taught about diabetes, better dieting and exercise. This would help peoples health increase more by having the knowledge about this. In addition, another strategy that has been used around the population is to develop programmes which would then try and reduce risks and screen for diseases. Doing this would reduce ill health by looking at and identifying people that are at risk and then promoting health. Years gone by the population have tried this strategy; for example, doing cancer research, advertisement programmes to let people know and smear tests. Controlling communicable disease, this is where programmes and schemes are made and brought out that are immunisation programmes which are there to reduce the impact of diseases. The nation for many years and are continuing on doing the same have TB injections. This is an example of controlling the communicable disease. These injections are there to immune human bodies to illness and disease which is called Tuberculosis. Furthermore, another strategy when it comes to public health is promoting the health of the population. Many companies and groups of people have experimented on trying to accomplish this. By doing this they have been promoting health activities to improve their health and their fitness. A lot of the programmes are basically trying to engage people so they understand they need to improve their health so they don’t turn obesity and generally just too improve and increase their fitness level. Planning and evaluating health and social care provision this is where the nation is accessing and impacting of health services. In every city there needs to be health services to help anyone that is in need. One of the services that are in many cities is the contraception service. These are companies that give tips and advice to young people that are sexually active. They also hand out free condoms so young girls don’t get pregnant when they are not ready and don’t want too. Finally, target setting, this is where targets are all set to reduce disease and to improve health. For example, pregnancy is a target where the nation wants to reduce how many young girls get pregnant. To reduce this contraception is purchasable in every supermarket, pharmacy’s etc†¦ In addition, there are companies that give away free contraception to reduce teenage pregnancy. Not only does contraception help prevent pregnancy but prevents people catching sexually transmitted diseases like HIV, Chlamydia and syphilis. M1: compare historical and current features of public health. Things that happened years ago have all changed to nowadays; either by a few changes but still very similar or dramatically changed in a positive way. Firstly, access to medical care. Years ago medical care in the 19th century was not very good. The hospitals were very basic, many beds in a large room (ward) there were very rarely curtains around the beds for privacy because in those days clothes were short and extra material would be made into clothing. Also, they may not have been very clean, they were hygienic to work in but for people that were very ill they may of made that person more poorly. Clinics were similar; they had the basic bed to check patients on and the small amount of medicines. Not all the time did they have the correct suitable medication for patients. So some patients may have had to suffer for longer than what they should off because it was hard to get medication that was going to cure what the patients had. They had doctors but not many; there would probably be one in each area. For them it would be hard work because if hundreds of people became ill they would have to try and cure and help all of them as soon as possible before anything spread to others or if it became worse. Nowadays, everything has improved since the 19th century. Hospitals are extremely huge with thousands of beds and many nurses and Doctors that are there to help and make people better. The beds and wards are much more advanced now; each bed is a medical bed than can be adjusted electrically. There are also curtains and clean beddings on each bed and gets changed more regular than what it would of years ago. Millions of pounds have been spent on machinery in the hospitals that help prevent patients getting more ill than what they are. For e.g. Ventilators they help people breathe if they are not capable to do so themselves while there body is mending itself. Clinics that we have in the days have improved over the years. If anyone has a problem they can walk in to a clinic or make an appointment at the Doctors/Pharmacy to be checked out. Most often, people that need medication are prescribed for their medicines and can get it straight away. Or if not straight away, within in the next day or so if it is needed to be ordered in. There are many more Doctors in each area, so it is easier for people to be seen to when they have a problem or not feeling very well. This is good because if there was an illness going round and a lot of people were getting it, the Doctors could help prevent other people catching it by asking them to come in and be immune with medicine so they do not become ill. Housing in the 19th century was extremely poor. In March 1840, the government were so concerned about sanitation and living conditions that they set up a Parliamentary Health Select Committee to report on Health of Towns. Its findings revealed the scale of overcrowding; this was causing extreme filth and diseases that resulted up in a widespread death. There would be a bunch of houses probably in a group of 10 that were in a block, usually with a down stairs and upstairs. For middle class people families would be living in 1 room together or if they had enough money and they were lucky they would get half of a house. All the houses would share the toilets which were outside the buildings. This caused a lot of disease because of all the natural waste of other people that others had to be around and had to use the toilet after when they wasn’t clean at all. People would become very ill and then it would spread to others which caused a large amount of people in an area to have a serious illness which most probably would lead to death. These days, housing has increasingly changed. They are much cleaner and people own them there self and do not have to share unless it isn’t their property and it’s a home that holds many people. People also rent houses that they can then say its there’s until they move out and is then owned by someone else. People have money for cleaning products to clean their house which is good because if nothing was cleaned people could become poorly from filth that can cause infection’s and diseases that people could then catch. Each and every house has either 1 or more toilets within the household. Neighbours do not have to share a toilet outside the house like they used too, they all just share within their house mates, which is so much cleaner. However, even though the housing conditions have improved by a lot in the past years, there are still some areas that are poorly looked after which affect people living around there. There are council houses all over each city that people live in but they do not own it it’s the councils and usually these houses are not in the best condition because people in it cannot afford to look after it properly. Many new drinks were invented in the 19th century and early 20th century. India Pale Ale was first made about 1820. Pimms was invented in 1823. The first golden lager was invented in Bohemia (Czech Republic) in 1842 by a man named Joseph Groll. The widget for beer cans was patented in 1985. Back in the day there were quite a few drinks about and people would happily drink them. Even if they didn’t know what was inside of them. It was mainly work men that consumed the most. After work they would head to a bar of somewhere that sells alcohol and they would have a few people they went home to see their family. Through the 1800’s young children could drink there was no law to say there was a restricted age on drinking alcohol. However in 1923 a law was passed in Britain banning the sale of alcohol to people under 18. People may not of known how much they could drink until it would become dangerous. People were drinking non-stop at some points a then became very poorly. In Britain these days, the same law is around for the no drinking unless 18 years or over. However, when buying alcohol now if the person looks under the age of 25 years the person that is selling the alcohol needs to ask for an ID to make sure they are not selling it to someone that is under aged. Britain has also been known to be called ‘Binge Britain’ this is because so many people binge drink every week. Every night and especially on the weekends a lot of people end up in hospital getting their stomach pumped because they have consumed too much alcohol and have passed out because they are so dehydrated and their body cannot handle any more of the bad liquid. Income from the 19the century to now has changed massively. Years ago people would work hard and for long hours of the day and get paid such small amounts. In the 1800’s wages and average living standards were extremely low and 45% would actually amount to very little. In 1834 the weekly wage of an average agricultural worker was nine shillings. Its the equivalent of 45p and would be worth just under  £48 today. A lone mother would get just over four shillings a week, roughly the equivalent of 20p, which would be worth an estimated  £19 today. This could of and most probably effected peoples health because they may not off been able to afford certain products for themselves or their family. Someone may have been poorly and needed particular items to make them better and if they couldn’t be bought then that person would have to suffer, Nowadays wages are different to what they used to be.

Cryptographic Techniques For Network Security Cryptography Computer Science Essay

Cryptographic Techniques For Network Security Cryptography Computer Science Essay The rapid growth of electronic communication means that issues in information security are of increasing practical importance. Message exchanged over worldwide publicly accessible computer networks must be kept confidential and protected against manipulation. Cryptography provides solutions to all these problems. Cryptography, a word with Greek origins means secret writing. We use the term to refer to the science and art of transforming messages to make them secure and immune to attacks. Cryptography is the practice and study of hiding information. In modern times, cryptography is considered to be a branch of both mathematics and computer science, and is affiliated closely with information theory, computer security, and engineering. Cryptography is used in applications present in technologically advanced societies; examples include the security of ATM cards, computer passwords, electronic commerce, which all depend on cryptography. SECURITY GOALS Availability Integrity Confidentiality Security goals CONFIDENTIALITY Confidentiality is probably the most common aspect of information security. We need to protect our confidential information. An organization need to guard those malicious actions that endanger the confidentiality of its information. In the military, concealment of sensitive information is the major concern. In industry, hiding some information from competitors is crucial to the operation of the organization. In banking, customers account need to be kept secret. Confidentiality not only applies to the storage of the information, it also applies to the transmission of information. When we send a piece of information to be stored in a remote computer or when we retrieve a piece of information from a computer, we need to conceal it during transmission. INTEGRITY Information needs to be changed constantly. In a blank, when a customer deposits or with draws money, the balance of her account needs to be changed. Integrity means that changes need to be done only by authorized entities and through authorised mechanisms. Integrity violation is not necessary the result of a malicious act; an interruption in the system, such as a power surge, may also create unwanted changes in some information. AVAILABILITY The third component of information security is availability. The information created and stored by an organization needs to be available to authorized entities. Information is useless if it is not available. Information needs to be constantly changed. Which means it must be accessible to authorised entities. The unavailability of information is just as harmful for an organization as the lack of confidentiality or integrity. Imagine what would happen to a bank if the customers could not access their accounts for transactions. SECURITY SERVICES It is easy to relate one or more of these services to one or more of the security goals. It is easy to see that these services have been designed to prevent the security attacks that we have mentioned. Data confidentiality It is designed to protect data from disclosure attack. The service as defined by X.800 is very broad and encompasses confidentiality of the whole message or part of a message and also protection against traffic analysis. That is, it is designed to prevent snooping and traffic analysis attack. Data integrity It is designed to protect data from the modification, insertion, deletion, and replaying by an adversary. It may protect the whole message or part of the message. Authentication This service provides the authentication of the party at the other end of the line. In connection oriented communication, it provides authentication of the sender or receiver during the connection establishment. In connectionless communication, it authenticates the source of the data. Non repudiation Non repudiation services protects against repudiation by either the sender or the receiver of the data. In non repudiation with proof of the origin, the receiver of the data can later prove the identity of the sender if denied. In non repudiation with proof of delivery, the sender of data can later prove that data were delivered to the intended to the intended recipient. Access control It provides protection against unauthorised access to data. The term access in this definition is very broad and can involve reading, writing, modifying, executing programs, and so on. CRYPTOGRAPHIC TECHNIQUES SYMMETRIC KEY ENCRYPTION It is also called as secret key cryptography is a cryptographic technique where the two parties share a secret key. Data are encrypted and decrypted using the same key. The sender encrypts data using the key. Once transmitted, the receiver should use the same key to interpret the message. C:UsersmadhuDesktopsyymm.PNG Figure 1. Symmetric encryption algorithm Symmetric encryption is computationally fast, meaning that it can occur in real time on content that is unknown previously. All securely transmitted live traffic today is encrypted using symmetric encryption algorithms for example such as live telephone conversation, streaming video transmission, high speed data link. Asymmetric Key Encryption In asymmetric key encryption, different keys are used for encrypting and decrypting a message. The asymmetric key algorithms that are most useful are those in which neither key can be made public while the other is kept secure. There are some distinct advantages to this public-key-private-key arrangement, often referred to as public key cryptography; the necessity of distributing secret keys to a large numbers of users is eliminated. And the algorithm can be used for authentications as well as for cryptography. Asymmetric cipher algorithms are based on heavy mathematical operations, thus they are not efficient at processing large blocks of data. They are often used to safely exchange small session keys. C:UsersmadhuDesktopasymm.PNG Figure 2: Asymmetric Encryption Algorithm Cryptanalysis As cryptography is the science and art of creating secret codes, cryptanalysis is the science and art of breaking those codes. In addition to studying cryptography techniques, we also need to study cryptanalysis techniques. This is needed, not to break other peoples codes, but to learn how vulnerable our cryptosystem is. The study of cryptanalysis helps us create better secret codes. There are four common types of cryptanalysis attacks Cryptanalysis attack Chosen ciphertext Chosen plaintext Known plaintext Ciphertext only Figure 4: cryptanalysis attacks Ciphertext Only Attack In ciphertext only attack, Eve has access to only some cipher text. She tries to find out the corresponding key and the plain text. The assumption is that Eve knows the algorithm and can intercept the cipher text. The cipher text only attack is the most probable one because Eve needs only the cipher text for this attack. To thwart the decryption of a message by an adversary, a cipher must be very resisting to this type of attack. Various methods can be used in ciphertext only attack. Brute force attack In the brute force method or exhaustive key search method, Eve tries to use all possible keys. We assume that Eve knows the algorithm and knows the key domain. Using the intercepted cipher, Eve decrypts the cipher text with every possible key until the plain text makes sense. Using brute force attack was a difficult task in the past; it is easier today using a computer. To prevent this type of attack, the number of possible keys must be very large. Statistical attack The cryptanalyst can benefit from some inherent characteristics of the plain text language to launch a statistical attack. For example we know that the letter E is the most frequently used letter in English text. The cryptanalyst finds the mostly used character in the cipher text and assumes that the corresponding plain text character is E. After finding a few pairs, the analyst can find the key and use it to decrypt the message. To prevent this type of attack, the cipher should hide the characteristics of the language. Pattern attack Some ciphers may hide the characteristics of the language, but may create some patterns in the ciphertext. A cryptanalyst may use a pattern attack to break the cipher. Therefore, it is important to use the ciphers that make the ciphertext look as random as possible. Known Plaintext Attack In a known plaintext attack, Eve has access to some plain or ciphertext pairs in addition to the intercepted ciphertext that Eve wants to break. The plain or ciphertext pairs have been collected earlier. Alice has sent a secret message to bob, but Alice later made the contents of the message public. Eve has kept both the cipher and the plaintext to use them to break the next secret message from Alice to Bob, assuming that Alice has not changed her key. Eve uses the relationship between the previous pair to analyze the current ciphertext. The same methods used in the ciphertext-only attack can be applied here. This attack is easier to implement because Eve has more information to us for analysis. However, it is less likely to happen because Alice may have changed her key or may have not disclosed the contents of any previous messages. Chosen Plaintext Attack The chosen plaintext attack is similar to the known plaintext attack, but the plaintext or ciphertext pairs have been chosen by the attacker. This can happen, for example, if Eve has access to Alice computer. She can choose some plaintext and intercept the created ciphertext. Of course, she does not have the key because the key is normally embedded in the software used by the sender. This type of attack is much easier to implement, but it is much less likely to happen. Chosen Ciphertext Attack The chosen ciphertext attack is similar to the chosen plaintext attack, except that the Eve chooses some ciphertext and decrypts it to form a ciphertext or plaintext pair. This can happen if Eve has access to Bobs computer. TRADITIONAL CIPHERS We can divide traditional symmetric key ciphers into two broad categories substitution ciphers and transposition ciphers. In a substitution cipher, we replace one symbol in the cipher text with another symbol; in a transposition cipher, we reorder the position of symbols in the plaintext. Substitution ciphers A substitution cipher replaces one symbol with another. If the symbols in the plaintext are alphabetic characters, we replace one character with another. For example, we can replace letter A with letter D, and letter T with letter Z. If the symbols are digits (0 to 9), we can replace 3 with 7, and 2 with 6. Substitution ciphers can be categorized as either monoalphabetic ciphers or polyalphabetic ciphers. Monoalphabetic ciphers We first discuss a group of substitution ciphers called the monoalphabetic ciphers. In monoalphabetic substitution, a character in the plaintext is always changed to the same character in the ciphertext regardless of its position in the text. For example, if the algorithm says that letter A in the plaintext is changed to letter D. In other words, the relationship between letters in the plaintext and the ciphertext is one to one. Example: we use lowercase character to show the plaintext; we use the uppercase characters to show the ciphertext. The cipher is probably the monoalphabetic because both 1s are encrypted as 0s. Plaintext: hello ciphertext: khoor Caesar cipher Caesar cipher is a special case of substitution techniques wherein each alphabet in a message is replaced by an alphabet three places down the line. Caesar cipher is susceptible to a statistical ciphertext only attack. Julius Caesar used this additive cipher to communicate with his officers. For this reason additive ciphers are referred as Caesar cipher. Caesar cipher used a key of 3 for his communications. P a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u C A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 v w x y z V W X Y Z 21 22 23 24 25 For example: let the message hello is encrypted with the key of 15. Then all the characters in the ciphertext will be shifted from 15. Then the answer is hello= WTAAD Mathematically C (ciphertext) = (P+K) mod 26 (K= key) P (plaintext) = (C-K) mod 26 To encrypt message hello Plaintext h= 7 encryption (7+15)mod 26 C= 22=> W Plaintext e= 4 encryption (4+15)mod 26 C= 19=> T To decrypt WTAAD Ciphertext W=22 decryption (22-15)mod 26 P= 7=>h Ciphertext T=19 decryption (19-15)mod 26 p= 4=>e Cryptanalysis Caesar ciphers are vulnerable to ciphertext only attacks using exhaustive key searches (brute force attack). The key domain of the Caesar cipher is very small; there are only 26 keys. However, one of the keys, zero, is useless (the ciphertext is same as the plaintext). This leaves only 25 possible keys. Eve can easily launch a brute force attack on the ciphertext. Caesar cipher using cryptool Working the same example using cryptool, first of all, to acquaint ourselves with the Caesar encryption algorithm we will open a document, encrypt it and then decrypt it again. We will then try to get the computer to work out the key with which a plaintext is encrypted. This plaintext document is encrypted using the Caesar encryption algorithm by selecting the menu crypt/decrypt. C:UsersmadhuDesktopcaseaer 5.PNG Then the following dialog box appears. The key we enter is the number 15. Additionally, we change the options how to interpret the alphabet characters. The first alphabet character is set to 1 (if we set the character to 0 and use A as key, then the resulting ciphertext is the same as the plaintext). C:UsersmadhuDesktopcaesar 3.PNG Clicking on the Encrypt button opens a new window that contains the encrypted text. It becomes apparent that the letters have been shifted by 15 positions. So the word hello, is now wtaad C:UsersmadhuDesktopcaeser 6.PNG The plaintext version of this encrypted document can now be obtained by selecting crypt/decrypt again. In this dialog box which appears we now enter the key with which the document was encrypted (15). This time it has to be decrypted so decrypt button must be selected. Now the next step is to find the key using cryptanalysis. The plaintext window is made active by clicking on it. Now the entropy is selected via the menu selection Analysis/General/Entropy) C:UsersmadhuDesktopentropy.PNG Now the frequency distribution of the letters is calculated. The histogram of the encrypted document letter frequencies have been shifted by 15 positions. That means the encryption algorithm is not secure. Moreover Z shifts the text by 26 positions so that the encrypted text is actually identical with the unencrypted text. Hence there are really only 25 keys. The Caesar encryption algorithm can be broken easily by a ciphertext only attack. To perform such an attack, restore the window containing the encrypted text to the window and select Analysis/ciphertext only/ Caesar. The text will automatically be analyzed. By analyzing the superposition it is possible to discover the key which was used to encrypt this document. In this case it was the letter P. When the decrypt button is clicked the plaintext appears, i.e. the text that has been decrypted with the key p that was discovered. So the cryptool successfully found the key with which the document has been encrypted. C:UsersmadhuDesktopcaesar 8.PNG Analysis of Caesar Cipher Advantages Very easy to use The encryption and decryption can be done very quickly Disadvantages The encryption and decryption algorithms are known There are only 25 keys to try The language of the plaintext is known and easily recognizable. Applications It was used biblical times can be found on the back of Mezuzah where it encrypts the name of the god. During the First World War the Russian army used this method to relay messages to troops. It is used as an application in the Android version 1.4.0 Polyalphabetic Cipher In polyalphabetic substitution, each occurrence of a character may have a different substitute. The relationship between characters in the plaintext to a character in the ciphertext is one-to-many. For example, a could be enciphered as D in the beginning of the text, but as N at the middle. Polyalphabetic ciphers have the advantage of hiding the letter frequency of the underlying language. Eve cannot use single letter frequency statistic to break the ciphertext. To create a polyalphabetic cipher, we need to make each ciphertext character dependent on both the corresponding plaintext character and the position of the plaintext character in the message. This implies that our key should be stream of subkeys, in which each subkey depends somehow on the position of the plaintext character that uses that subkey for encipherment. In other words, we need to have a key stream k= (k1,k2,k3.) in which ki is used to encipher the ith character in the plaintext to create the ith character in the ciphertext. Playfair Cipher Playfair cipher is the example of polyalphabetic cipher. The secret key in this cipher is made of 25 alphabet letters arranged in a 55 matrix (letters I and J are considered the same when encrypting). Different arrangements of the letters in the matrix can create many different secret keys. One of the possible arrangements is shown below L G D B A Q M H E C U R N I/J F X V S O K Z Y W T P Before encryption, if the two letters in a pair are the same, a bogus letter is inserted to separate them. After inserting bogus letters, if the number of characters in the plaintext is odd, one extra bogus character is added at the end to make the number of characters even. The cipher uses three rules for encryption If the two letters in a pair are located in the same row of the secret key, the corresponding encrypted character for each letter is the next letter to the right in the same row (with wrapping to the beginning of the row if the plaintext letter is the last character in the row). If the two letters in a pair are located in the same row of the secret key, the corresponding encrypted character for each letter is the letter beneath it in the same column (with wrapping to the beginning of the column if the plaintext letter is the last character in the column). If the two letters in a pair are not in the same row or column of the secret, the corresponding encrypted for each letter is a letter that is in its own row but in the same column as the other letter. The playfair cipher meets the criteria for a polyalphabetic cipher. The key is a stream of subkeys in which the subkeys are created two at a time. In playfair cipher, the key stream and the cipher stream are the same. This means that the above mentioned rules can be thought of as the rules for creating the key stream. The encryption algorithm takes a pair of characters from plaintext and creates a pair of subkeys by following the above mentioned rules. We can say that the key stream depends on the position of the character in the plaintext. Position dependency has a different interpretation here the subkey for each plaintext character depends on the next previously neighbour. If P= P1, P2, P3 C= C1, C2, C3. K= [(k1, k2), (k3, k4) ] Encryption: Ci = ki Decryption: Pi = ki Example: keyword is PLAYFAIR P L A Y F I R E X M B C D G H J K N O S T U V W Z ENCRYPT: hide the gold underground plaintext HI DE TH EG OL DU ND ER GR OU ND ciphertext BM ND ZB XD KY CV VN XE CX KW VN DECRYPT: DMYRYKEVGHWGNGPXM ciphertext DM YR YK EV GH WG NG GP XM plaintext HE LX LO AN DG OX OD BY EX Message: Hello and Goodbye. Cryptanalysis of a Playfair Cipher Brute force attack on a playfair cipher is very difficult. The size of the key domain is 25! (Factorial 25). In addition, the encipherment hides the single letter frequency of the characters. However, the frequencies of diagrams are preserved. So a cryptanalyst can use a ciphertext-only attack based on the diagram frequency test to find a key. Analysis of playfair Advantages The main advantage of the system is it robs a cryptanalyst as they are no longer looking for recurring encoding as in an letter e can be encrypted as different letter each time. Playfair was long time considerably unbreakable. There are 26 letters so it is 26*26=676 diagrams which are quiet difficult to break. Disadvantages Still leaves much of the language structure Frequency distribution of letters Few 100s of ciphertext letters are enough for cryptanalysis. Applications Playfair cipher was used by British army during World War 1. When John F. Kennedys PT-109 was sunk by a Japanese controlled plum pudding island and was able to send an emergency message in playfair from an allied coast watchers hut to arrange the rescue of the survivors from his crew. Playfair crossword by Beetlejuice is an example puzzle using playfair as a gimmick. Vigenere Cipher Vigenere cipher made an immediate success as a field cipher. This type of polyalphabetic cipher was designed by Blaise de Vigenere, a sixteenth century French mathematician. A vigenere cipher uses a different strategy to create the key stream. The key stream is a repetition of an initial secret key stream of length m, where we have 1 P= p1p2p3.. C= c1c2c3 K= [(k1,k2,k3km),(k1,k2,k3km),] Encryption: Ci= Pi+Ki Decryption: Pi= Ci-Ki One important difference between the vigenere cipher and the other polyalphabetic ciphers is that the vigenere cipher key stream does not depend on the plaintext characters; it depends only on the position of the character in the plaintext. In other words the key stream can be created without knowing what the plaintext is. Example mathematically She is listening this message should be encrypted using the keyword PASCAL. plaintext s h e i s l i s t e n i n g P values 18 7 4 8 18 11 8 18 19 4 13 8 13 6 key 15 0 18 2 0 11 15 0 18 2 0 11 15 0 C values 7 7 22 10 18 22 23 18 11 6 13 19 2 6 Ciphertext H H W K S W X S L G N T C G Another way to look at viginere ciphers is through what is called a Vigenere Tableau. The first row shows the plaintext character to be encrypted. The first column contains the characters to be used by the key. The rest of the tableau shows the ciphertext characters. To find the ciphertext for the plaintext she is listening using the word pascal as the key, we can find s in the first row, p in the first column, the cross section is the ciphertext character H. We can find h in the first row and A in the second column, the cross section is the ciphertext character H. The same method should be followed until all the ciphertext characters are found. C:UsersmadhuDesktoptable.PNG Vigenere Tableau Cryptanalysis of Vigenere Cipher Vigenere ciphers do not preserve the frequency of characters. The cryptanalysis here consists of two parts for finding out the length of the key and finding the key itself. Several methods has been devised to find the length of the key but one method called kaisiski test, the cryptanalysis searches for repeated text segments, of atleast three characters, in the ciphertext. Suppose that two of the segments are found and the distance between them is d. The cryptanalyst assumes that d/m where m is the key length. If more repeated segments with distances d1,d2,d3.dn then gcd (d1,d2,d3,..dn)/m. This assumption is logical because if two characters are the same are k*m (k= 1,2,) characters part in the ciphertext. Cryptanalyst uses segment of at least three characters to avoid the cases where the character in the key are not distinct. After the length of the key is found, the cryptanalyst uses the idea of dividing the ciphertext into m different pieces and applies the method used to crypt analyze the additive cipher, including the frequency attack. Each ciphertext piece can be decrypted and put together to create the whole plaintext. Vigenere Cipher Using Cryptool To perform vigenere cipher encryption a new document is opened and then the encryption and decryption is performed. C:UsersmadhuDesktopvin1.PNG This plaintext document is encrypted using the vigenere encryption algorithm by selecting the keys crypt/decrypt/vigenere following which another dialog box appears. C:UsersmadhuDesktopvin3.PNG By clicking on the Encrypt button opens a new window that contains the encrypted text. C:UsersmadhuDesktopvin2.PNG The plaintext of this document can now be obtained by selecting crypt/decrypt/vigenere. In the dialog box which appears then where the key with which the document was encrypted. This time the document is to be decrypted. Therefore the decrypt button must be selected. C:UsersmadhuDesktopvin3.PNG By clicking on the decrypt button the plaintext document appears immediately. C:UsersmadhuDesktopvin4.PNG To find the key with which the document was encrypted. Restore the encrypted document window and then select analysis/ciphertext only/vigenere, following with which the text will automatically be analyzed. C:UsersmadhuDesktopvin5.PNG It is possible to work out the key length from the regular peaks in the autocorrelation. It is correctly calculated at 6 characters. C:UsersmadhuDesktopvin6.PNG When the continue button is clicked, another dialog box opens to display the key that has been computed. C:UsersmadhuDesktopvin7.PNG By clicking on the decrypt button the dialog box disappears and another window opens which contains the plaintext. C:UsersmadhuDesktopvin8.PNG Hill Cipher Hill cipher is invented by Lester S. Hill. This polyalphabetic cipher divides the plaintext into equal size blocks. The encrypted one at a time in such a way that each character in the block contributes to the encryption of other characters in the block. Hill cipher belongs to the category of ciphers called block ciphers. C1= (+ + ) mod 26 C2= (+ + ) mod 26 C3= (+ + ) mod 26 The encryption algorithm takes m successive plaintext letters and substitute for them m ciphertext letter. The substitution is determined by m linear equations in which each character is assigned a numerical value (a=0, b=1,c=2, ..z=25). This can be expressed in terms of column vectors and matrices = mod 26 C = KP mod 26 where C and P are column vectors representing the plaintext and ciphertext. K is the encrypting key. Example for Hill Cipher: Plaintext: pay more money Key (K) = C = KP mod 26 = mod 26 = = LNS For plaintext pay, ciphertext is LNS. The entire ciphertext is LNSHDLEWMTRW. For the decryption of the hill cipher is done using the inverse of the matrix K. Cryptanalysis of Hill Cipher Ciphertext-only attack on hill cipher is difficult. Even brute force attack on a hill cipher is extremely difficult because the key is an m*m matrix. Each entry in the matrix can have one of the 26 values. At first glance, this means that the size of the key domain is. Secondly the hill ciphers do not preserve the statistics of the plaintext. Frequency analysis cannot be run on single letters, diagrams and trigrams. A frequency analysis of words of size m might work, but this is very rare that a plaintext has many strings of size m that are the same.

Tajikistan labour migration and its implications

Tajikistan labour migration and its implications Introduction Background Labour migration and remittances are one of the most evident globalisation phenomena in Tajikistan. According to UNDP Human Development Report (2005) and World Bank (2008) from 600,000 to 1,500,000 Tajik citizens migrated overseas for work in 2005 and remittances being sent by them constitute staggering 36% of national GDP of Tajikistan. Remittances are proven to be large source of external finance stimulating consumption which in turn has a very positive effect on economy, especially on services sector. According to World Bank (2005) remittances are considered as the second biggest source of development finance after foreign direct investment. While remittances serve as an important social stabilising factor, they can also act as means of internal investment and boosting in this manner local development. My analysis will focus on the role of remittance savings either in leveraging to borrow from banking systems to invest in activities such as small businesses, or in directly financing them, which as the result improve the economic welfare of migrant households in both rural and urban areas. This dissertation will be based on analysis of data sources coming from various researches conducted by international organisations and research centres about Tajikistan labour migration and its implications. I will also examine the dynamic strategic aspects of interaction between the migrant and the remittance-receiving relatives and asses the benefits of particular types of motives under remitting. Furthermore, I would like to model hypothetical usage of savings out of remittances to business opportunities and asses the implications. The Republic of Tajikistan Tajikistan is the smallest country in the Central Asia and situated in south-east part of that region. 93% of Tajikistan consists of mountains, and more than half of the country lies on an altitude higher than 3000 meters above sea level. This leaves the countrys population of approximately 7 million people to reside and produce mainly in the remaining 6.52% of arable land, struggling with landslides, earth quakes, mudslides and unreliable access to clean water.. What is more, the countrys mountainous areas not only challenging for agriculture, but also contributing to a regionalisation and division of the country as the mountain ranges separate east from west, and north from south. These regional complications became particularly pertinent during the 1992-97 Civil War where, according to the International Crisis Group (ICG), between 60,000 and 100,000 people died, approximately 600,000 were internally displaced and 80,000 left the country, including a significant amount of the Slav population. The ICG estimates the cost of the war to U.S. $7 billion, and in this way significantly slowing the countrys modest attempts for post-Soviet recovery. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the devastating Civil War, the country has experienced a significant decline in living standards through a rise in unemployment and poverty, and a deterioration of infrastructure, health care and education. Furthermore, the country lost its previously established export markets, sources of supplies and subsidies from Moscow (accounted to almost 40 percent of government revenue) (European Observatory on Health Care Systems, 2000). According to Trade and Investment Division (2001), â€Å"Between 1991 and 1997, the level of GDP diminished by more than 60 percent which significantly reduced the living standards of the less protected part of the population.† (p. 252). All these above mentioned factors urged Tajikistan to accumulate foreign debt, which reached $880 million US dollar by 1998. It is worth state that Tajikistan has comparative advantage in growing of cotton, which is considered as cash crop and main source of foreign exchange (World Bank Poverty Assessment Tajikistan Update). Namely the export of cotton coupled with aluminum helped the country to restore external balance. Although cotton is strategically important, the growing of that crop entails difficulties with extensive irrigation and profitability nowadays. FAO (2008) claimed cotton growers in Tajikistan were indebted about 100 million US dollars due to dramatic drop in prices for raw cotton in 2000. All these difficult situations have encouraged considerable labour emigration and a return to a more patriarchal society based on religious beliefs and old traditions as survival strategy when the traditional mans role as the main bread winner of the family is being challenged. Poverty and Migration Tajikistan was the poorest among the Soviet Union republics and nowadays, it remains the poorest country in Europe and Central Asia region. According to World Bank Poverty Assessment Tajikistan Update, Tajikistans mean per capita income by 1989 was less than half of that in Russia. Its national income per capita was less than 200 US dollars. After gaining of independence, figures were even deplorable; 81 percent of population lived under poverty line in 1999 (less than 2.15 US dollars per day at purchasing power parity). (Source TLSS 2003 and TLSS 2009). The unofficial unemployment rate was around 30%. After the end of civil war and some years of stability and peace Tajikistan experienced substantial improvements in poverty rates, which dropped to 64 percent in 2003. However, still, this is the highest rate of poverty when compared to that of poor countries in Commonwealth of Independent States, like Kyrgyzstan (54 percent in 2001) and Moldova (45 percent in 2002). (Source: Poverty A ssessments for respective countries.) Poverty rates in rural areas are higher than in urban areas. In 2003, the proportion of poor people was 65 percent in rural areas against 59 percent in urban. (World Bank Poverty Assessment Update). Provided that 73 percent of the population of Tajikistan lives in rural areas the poverty can be considered overwhelmingly rural. (World Bank Poverty Assessment Update). Given that Tajikistan has the youngest population structure of the former Soviet countries with 70 percent aged under 30, poverty is overwhelmingly among young and economically active part of the population. Lack of income means lack of opportunities: not only loss of access to food, health care and education, but also the loss of the ability to choose and control ones own life. Poverty destroys human capital and has an adverse impact on social relations, leading to violence and instability. (Saodat Olimova) Furthermore, in 2007, Tajikistan experienced the hard consequences of strong rise in international food and fuel prices; especially it is felt by people of Tajikistan. While the impact of the higher fuel and food prices and misguided market interventions of the government have been felt by everyone, many households in rural and mountainous areas seemingly are on the verge of destitution. While many vegetable prices have increased between 20-30% in the last 11 months, wheat flour has increased 81-131%, and cooking oils from 118-139%. All the while, real wages for unskilled laborers (which are too low to cover household costs to begin with) have increased by a mere of 20% (by 6% in KT). In short, wages are not keeping pace with the dramatic increases in food and fuel prices. Traditional lepeshka now cost 1 somoni of the 44.61 somoni an average teacher or nurse earns a month. Clearly, people have to find ways to survive and migration seems the only plausible way to do so. Thus, it is hard to improve ones living conditions in Tajikistan, and many find themselves forced to seek employment abroad. Furthermore comparatively improved economies of Russian Federation and other CIS countries create an appropriate environment for migration from Tajikistan. According to a year 2006 International Organization for Migration (IOM) survey on trafficking from Tajikistan, 96.9% of the approximately 1 million migrants from Tajikistan go to Russia in search of work. 1.4% of the migrants work in Kyrgyzstan, 0.7% in Kazakhstan, and another 0.7% in Ukraine. Also, according to an IOM report conducted amongst 2000 migrants in 2002, with follow-up amongst 4000 migrants in 2003, these migrants were 85% men and 15% women in 2002. Amongst men, the age groups 18-29, 30-39 and 40-49 all make up approximately one third of the migrant mass each. Olimova and Bosc divide these age groups into two, corresponding to the traditional life cycle in Tajikistan: â€Å"sons† of 18-29 years, and â€Å"fathers† of 40-49 years. The first group migrates mainly to make money to establish his own family, whereas the second group goes abroad to be able to feed his family and organize the traditional ceremonies for his children. In average, 68.5% of the migrant s are married, and 22.6% live together as in marriage in Tajikistan, but without official registration. The last group consists mainly of youth between 15 and 19 years of age. Theoretical Background GREGORIAN, D. MELKONYAN, T. (January 2008) Microeconomic Implications of Remittances in an Overlapping Generations Model with Altruism and Self-Interest, IMF Working Paper, WP/08/19. This publication illustrates the dynamic strategic aspects of interaction between the migrant and remittance receiving relatives and shows the various microeconomic implications under each particular circumstance of interaction. Gregorian and Melkonyan analyse the plethora of motives for remit in terms of altruistic and self interest behavior of the remitter. In addition, they consider the scenario where two parties could work out self-enforcing contracts to implement choices that maximise their total surplus. They also discuss both the migration and the remittance patterns in Armenia with a particular focus on push and pull factors. The main part of the paper contended an empirical estimation of the microeconomic impact of migration and remittance in Armenia on hours supplied to the market, education spending, savings and borrowing behaviour from commercial banks. In the words of Gregorian and Melkonyan, â€Å"this evidence [of the paper] suggests that the benefits of remittances might be overstated and emphasises the importance of measuring their impact in a general rather than a partial equilibrium context†. In conclusion, the authors suggest that there is a need for either direct or indirect policy measures in shaping the remittance flows and their impact on the behaviour of remittance receiving households. This article inspired me to deepen my research of the dissertation topic in terms of analysis of not only the quantitative pattern of remittances but also the behavioral aspects of this phenomenon. That is, whether the remitter has altruistic or self-interest motives while sending money back home and what the possible outcomes are under each circumstance. I will also consider models and regression methods used in the paper to estimate possible impacts of remittance on labour supply, education spending and saving/borrowing behaviour in Tajikistan. Furthermore, the above paper put forward a vague, but at the same time, ambitious notion of potential policy measures that should be taken in order to promote remittance saving for the creation of small business and entrepreneurial activities in households, which I believe will be a crucial part of my dissertation. GIULIANO, P. RUIZ-ARRANZ, M. (March 2006) Remittances, Financial Development, and Growth, Journal of Development Economics, doi: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2008.10.005 This paper examines the relationship between remittances and growth, and in particular the influence of local financial sector development on a countrys capacity to take advantage of remittances. Giuliano and Ruiz-Arranz underline the importance of remittances in promoting economic growth whilst looking specifically at the interaction between remittances and the financial sector. This publication is considered to be the first paper to provide evidence for both complementarity and substitutability between remittances and financial development in promoting economic growth. The authors make use of newly constructed data for remittances covering 100 developing countries and illustrate that remittances boost growth in countries with less developed financial systems by providing an alternative way to finance investment and helping to overcome liquidity constraint. They also suggest that there could be an investment channel through which remittances could promote growth especially when the financial sector does not meet the credit needs of the population, where remittances act as a substitute for financial services. I plan to make substantial use of the concept of interaction between remittances and the financial sector in growth in my dissertation, as the issue of leveraging and borrowing from banking systems by remittance-receiving households is central to my dissertation topic. In particular, I want to look at the possibility of commercial banks opening lines of credit for remittance-receiving households, based on the earning of the migrant. Additionally, I will consider this papers analysis of cyclical properties of remittances to assess whether they are procyclical and predominantly profit-driven or countercyclical. Accordingly, I aim to analyse the relationship of Tajikistan GDP and capital flows and see if they are correlated. PALEI, L.V. KOROBKOV, A.V. (2007) Migrant Remittances in the CIS: The Financial and the Socio-Economic Impact, Paper presented at the International Studies Association 48th annual meeting, Chicago, IL. This paper studies the current labour migration trends in the countries of the CIS and analyses the role of remittances as a means of socio-economic stabilisation in labour migrant source countries. It also provides the core causes of migration and its aspects in the context of a globalising world. Moreover, the authors examine how remittances could play an important role in the development of the country and what policies governments should adopt in order to better utilise the development potential of remittances. The paper is valuable as a source of background information on the causes and nature of migration processes in countries of the CIS. It also provides figures on the total number of migrants and remittances sent by them. Moreover, the authors identify remittances as one of the major stabilising factors of an economy and justify this by presenting statistics on remittances as a percentage of national GDPs. The important thing about this paper was that it focused very much on Tajikistan as one the major labour migration source countries. UNDP (2005) Central Asia Human Development Report, UNDP Regional Bureau for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States. This report studies the level of human development in Central Asian Republics. Throughout the report, the importance of increased regional cooperation in economic and other spheres of activities is repeatedly underlined. While mentioning some of the significant vulnerabilities of the region as being, for example, largely landlocked- the report also highlights the newly emerging opportunities availability of natural resource and being surrounded by fast developing countries. In conclusion, the report stresses the necessity to continue the process of reform in different sectors of economy. This report is a good source of so called country â€Å"baseline data†. It provided statistics on economic, demographic, social, and environmental aspects of a countrys development. Additionally, it looks specifically at the issue of labour migration and its economic, social, and cultural aspect. Being prepared by UNDP an organization, particularly active in Tajikistan- the report gains additional reliability and accuracy. AMUEDO-DORANTES, C. (2006) Remittances and Their Microeconomic Impacts: Evidence from Latin America, Journal of Proceedings, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, 187-197. Amuedo-Dorantes provides an overview of the remitting patterns of migrants, from Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Mexico, Nicaragua and Peru, working and residing in the United States. She summarizes the microeconomic impacts of remittances, particularly on spheres of employment, business ownership, education and health care investments. Furthermore she emphasises the importance of remittances as a resource for the accumulation of human capital investments in education and health and as a determinant of employment patterns in remittance-receiving households in developing economies. This publication gave me the idea concerning the appropriate categorisation of purposes of remitting into two broad groups; consumption, which consists of food/maintenance, purchase of a vehicle, recreation/entertainment expenses and debt payment; and asset accumulation/investment, which consists of construction, repair or purchase of a house, purchase of tools, livestock, agriculture inputs, start/expand of business, education and health expenses and savings. BORJAS, G.L. (1999) The Economic Analysis of Immigration, in the Handbook of Labor Economics, Vol 3a, 1698-1757. This particular paper investigates labour market affects of immigration in both the host and home country. Borjas emphasises the measuring of relative skills of immigrants and evaluation of implications of relative skill differentials on economic outcomes. The author focuses on different environments and premises where the human capital of the source country influences the labour market of the host country. That is, an analysis of the factors that determine the skills of immigrants; a discussion of the implications of the income-maximization hypothesis for the skill composition of the self-selected immigrant flow, an estimation of how the skills of immigrants compare to those of natives -both at the time of entry and over time as immigrants adapt to the host countrys labor market, an examination of the concept of economic adaptation with analysis of the relationship nature of an immigrants â€Å"pre-existing† skills and the skills that the immigrant acquires in the host countr y, and finally, an evalution of the impact of immigration on the wage structure in the host country. This paper provides an important and basic understanding of the affect that immigration has on the economy of a host country. I will use the models and generalisations found in Borjas paper to analyse the migration pattern between Tajikistan and the Russian Federation. Furthermore I will use them for policy recommendation and measures in my dissertation. LEE-NAH, H. (2007) Outcome evaluation of HIV program in Tajikistan, Final report, Retrieved July 12, 2008 from http://www.undp.tj/files/ev/ev_report.pdf. The evaluation study outlined in the report was commissioned by UNDP, Tajikistan and is aimed at assessing the impact of two HIV related programs which were implemented in the country. These programs dealt with working on HIV prevention and mitigation in the following target groups: labour migrants and their families, prisoners, habitual drug users, sex workers, school youth, etc. The evaluation methods used included the thorough review of relevant documents and statistics, interviews, and site visits. The report provided an in depth analysis of the current situation with AIDS/HIV in Tajikistan and an indication of the success rate of the implemented programs, concluding with a set of recommendations on different levels of intervention and target groups. The report presented a very good source as a synthesized analysis of different documents and statistics available on HIV in Tajikistan. Specifically, it provided statistical data on the overall official number of people infected in the population (while also citing unofficial estimates), prevalence figures, and broke down the infected persons into different groups (including labour migrants). It also outlined the efforts which are being made to prevent the proliferation of HIV among labour migrants and recommendations to improve this process. The report, however, did not specifically feature any future projections of HIV infection spreading due to increasing number of labour migrants and their exposure to countries with much higher prevalence figures than those in Tajikistan. Remittances and Financial Sector in Tajikistan â€Å"Migration from Tajikistan and the consequent remittances have been unprecedented in their magnitude and economic impact.† IMF, Alexei Kiriyev, page 4-5 The measuring of remittances magnitude is still not definite: