Tuesday, August 6, 2019
End of Year Speech Essay Example for Free
End of Year Speech Essay Good evening everyone. I hope everyone is having a good time, and has eaten their fill. Please eat all the food, weââ¬â¢ve spent a lot of money on that to be put to waste, and youââ¬â¢ll make the caterers job a lot easier (if the food is catered) Ladies please, help yourselves. Come on, itââ¬â¢s the end of the year, youââ¬â¢ll have a whole year ahead of you to start your dietâ⬠¦anyway Vegas buffet rules apply ladies and gentlemen, NO TAKEOUTS! So please keep your Ziplocs where they are. (of course parts like these are jokes and should be said well, as a joke). But seriously, good evening everyone and welcome to our year end dinner. It has been another successful year for us. Thanks mainly to the summer blockbuster heroes, in a sense, they did save our lives, well, at least made our company earn more money, thanks also to the mom and dads that keep bringing their kids in our store, may they be blessed with more kids, and of course, kudos to all of you for helping make another year a successful one. It has been another heroic year for us, both for the toys that we have sold and our efforts to make our company better. First we were introduced to a wealthy scientist turned super hero, who would have thought that the cousin of the tin-man would be a successful toy. Yes, Iron Man is one of our most successful toys this year, if not all of all time. The fact that Iron Man is a robot,( well, technically a bionic suit, but thatââ¬â¢s how Iron Man is perceived) makes him subject for a lot of modifications, and thus a lot of action figure variants. Seven year old kids were just half of the market of Iron Man, toy collectors of all ages had a field day hoarding Iron Man toys from our store. Action figures sales have never been higher since the come back of comic book adaptations into the silver screen. Thank you Stan Lee! You made a lot of toy companies such ourselves very happy, we hope for more new movies and sequels to your comic books. I hope I can say the same to your reality show. Batmanââ¬â¢s appeal has not dropped, Batman Toyââ¬â¢s have virtually not stopped production since the franchise came to being way back. I think only X-men and Spider Man toys have achieved a similar feat, which makes Batman the most successful comic book hero without having any super powers. Spider Man was bitten by a radio active bug, and the X-Men are mutants. Batman is just a plain dude with a fancy belt, well, a dude that can kick all our butts in one passing. If I was a kid, I would definitely be a good boy (at least for a while) to get the latest Batman action figure. I bet if we just sold action figures of Batman or an equally popular comic book superhero, we wouldnââ¬â¢t go out of business and still keep the store. Thatââ¬â¢s how big these toys have become, and how big theyââ¬â¢ve been to our companyââ¬â¢s progress. What would be a hero without an arch enemy? Not only do the heroes need a bad guy to beat up, toy companies also need villains as a source of income. Chances are, when kids buy their action figures, they want something to tests its weapons on something, might as well be the actual enemy of the hero. The Joker has been the most popular action hero as of late, thanks to the films success and all these talks about the death on Heath Ledger, the actor that played Joker in the Dark Knight. This toy has suddenly become a limited edition because it is one of the last characters the actor has played before he died, for some reason, I donââ¬â¢t think Mattel would buy the idea of making an action figure out of Brokeback Mountain, but thatââ¬â¢s just me, Iââ¬â¢ve seen stranger toys made it into production. Spider ââ¬â Man toys have been around almost as long as Batman toys, especially after the new Spider Man films came out. They did not leave our shelves even if the franchise has been on a hiatus from the silver screen for a while. Actually there have not been a major Spider ââ¬â Man film until the recent films and yet Spider Man toys are one of our popular toys of all time After I thank the toys, sorry guys, they do come first you know, these toys pay our bills. I would like to thank the staff of our company for doing a job well done throughout the year. Our company would be nothing if not for your efforts. Thank you for maintaining a harmonious working environment and for keeping our customers happy, your service is much appreciated. Thank you also for an outstanding team performance in all departments. It is always good for any company to work together as a team. More than working as a team, weââ¬â¢ve worked together, and treated each other as family. Iââ¬â¢m not saying exactly who the mom and dads are, letââ¬â¢s just say we are all the children of the company okay? Special thanks to the marketing people for actively promoting our products to the buying public. They managed to sell our toys to kids who, for some reason did not go to the toy store with a particular toy in mind. Their persuasive skills have managed to squeeze some extra cash out of mommy and daddy to spend on their kids toys. Now, if they can only sell our (name unpopular toy) we would give them a big fat raise! On a serious note, thank you guys for a job well done and keep up the good work, weââ¬â¢ll talk about that raise deal later okay? (of course with still a sense of candidness) This party would not have been possible if had not worked hard last year. So if you guys still want the free food, we have to do just as well next year or even better. Either way, we would still have a party for sure, but our party would definitely much better if we raise our bar even just a little. So I encourage everyone to work just as hard or even harder this coming year and I promise you, our hard work would be rewarded if we have good sales next year. Incentives and other privileges would be available for us if we exceed what is expected of us, so letââ¬â¢s keep it up guys! The boss expects nothing less than what has already been established this year. I know we have done a good job this year but why aim for good when we can do better? The boss expects for exciting and new ideas from our staff, especially from the marketing department. Donââ¬â¢t be afraid to pitch in ideas even if you are not from the marketing department or if you think your ideas are too crazy. We all love new ideas. Again, thank you everyone for being part of this end of the year party and for a job well done this year. More fruitful years to come for our company! Cheers, and enjoy the rest of the evening. Letââ¬â¢s give a hand to ourselves! Thank you.
Monday, August 5, 2019
Cryptography: Theories, Functions and Strategies
Cryptography: Theories, Functions and Strategies Abstract Digital signing is a mechanism for certifying the origin and the integrity of electronically transmitted information. In the process of digitally signing, additional information called a digital signature is added to the given document, calculated using the contents of the document and some private key. At a later stage, this information can be used to check the origin of the signed document. The mathematical base of the digital signing of documents is public key cryptography. This work presents the theory behind digital signatures, signature schemes and attacks on signatures and provides a survey of application areas of the digital signing technology. Moreover, there are lab exercises developed in Mathlab, to reinforce the understanding of this technology. 1. Introduction The Concise Oxford Dictionary (2006) defines cryptography as the art of writing or solving codes, however modern cryptography does not met this definition. Therefore, this work starts with a literature review defining some key concepts, like what cryptography and cryptographic system are and the different types of cryptographic system are presented. The other interesting and preliminary concept is the notion of cryptosystem functions which are also discussed in the introductory section. Furthermore, it is stated that public-key encryption represents a revolution in the field of cryptography, and this work poses some basic definitions on this topic trying to explain the theory behind. The rest of the literature review is concentrated on public key cryptography and it focuses on the theory behind digital signatures, signature schemes and attacks on signatures. And finally, the literature review presents a survey of application areas on digital signatures. One part of the contribution of this work, is an overview of the secure hash standard (SHS) and implementation of the secure hash algorithm (SHA-1), required for use with digital signature algorithms. The main part though, is the implementation of AES and RSA by utilizing Mathlab. The code of all these implementations is thoroughly discussed and explained in this work. Moreover, a comparison is also presented subsequently. 2. Cryptography The Greek words ââ¬Å"kryptà ´osâ⬠standing for ââ¬Å"hiddenâ⬠and the word ââ¬Å"là ´ogosâ⬠that means ââ¬Å"wordâ⬠, are in essence the base from where the word cryptology was derived. As these words denote, cryptology can be best explained by the meaning ââ¬Å"hidden wordâ⬠. In this context, the original purpose behind cryptology is hiding the meaning of some specific combination of words which in turn would insure secrecy and confidentiality. This is a very limited viewpoint in todayââ¬â¢s perspective and a wide range of security applications and issues now come under the term of cryptology (rest of the portion of this section will clarify this point of view). As field of mathematical science, Cryptology includes the study of both cryptanalysis as well as cryptography. On one hand, cryptography is a very broad term and represents any process used for data protection. On the other hand, the study of security related issues and the probabilities of breaking the cryptographic systems and a technique is known as cryptanalysis. By making reference to (Shirey, 2000), the field cryptanalysis can be best described as the ââ¬Å"mathematical science that deals with analysis of a cryptographic system in order to gain knowledge needed to break or circumvent the protection that the system is designed to provide.â⬠In simple words, cryptanalyst can be regarded as the opponent of the cryptographer i.e. he/she has to get around the security which cryptographer devised on his/her part. (Buchmann, 2004) claims that a cryptographic system (or in short a cryptosystem) describes ââ¬Å"a set of cryptographic algorithms together with the key management processes that support use of the algorithms in some application context.â⬠This is a diverse explanation that includes all sorts of cryptographic algorithms as well as protocols. However, hidden parameters like cryptographic keys may or may not be used by a cryptographic system (Delfs, 2007). Similarly, participants of the undergoing communication may or may not share those secret parameters. Thus, cryptographic can be classified into following three types: a cryptographic system in which no secret parameters are employed (called an un-keyed cryptosystem); a cryptosystem which makes use of secret parameters and at the same time shares the parameters between the participants (known as a secret key cryptographic system); and a system that utilizes the secret parameters, but not sharing them with the participants (call ed a public key cryptographic system) (Shirey, 2000; Buchmann, 2004). Cryptography aims at designing and implementing cryptographic systems and utilizing such systems which are secure effectively. The first a formal definition about the term cryptography dates from relatively past time. Back then, the approach known by the name ââ¬Å"security through obscurityâ⬠was being used (Dent, 2004). There are a lot of examples based on this approach by which security of the system was improved by keeping internal working and design secret. Majority of those systems do not serve the purpose and security may well be violated. The Kerckhoffsââ¬â¢ principle is a very famous cryptographic principle which states that (Kerckhoffs, 1883): ââ¬Å"Except for parameters clearly defined to be secret, like the cryptographic keys, a cryptosystem must be designed in such a way as to be secure even with the case that the antagonist knows all details about the systemâ⬠. However, it might be noted that one important aspect is that a cryptosystem is perfectly securing theoretically grounds, but it may not remain the same when implemented practically. Different possibilities of generating attacks on security of such systems can arise while having the practical implementation (Anderson, 1994). Attacks which make use of exploitation of side channel information are the examples of such attacks. If a cryptosystem is executed, it can result in the retrieval of side channel information with unspecified inputs and outputs (Anderson, 1994). In encryption systems, the input is plaintext message plus the key, while the specific output is the cipher text. Thus, there are chances on information leakage. Power consumption, timing characteristics along with the radiation of all types are some examples in this regard. On the other hand, side channel attacks are the types of network attacks which extract side channel information. Since the mid 1990s there were many di fferent possibilities have been found by the researchers in order to build up side channel attacks. A few examples in this regard are the differential power analysis (Bonehl, 1997), and fault analysis (Biham, 1997; Kocher, 1999) as well as the timing attacks (Kocher, 1996). It is a very practical statement that any computation performed on real computer systems represents some physical phenomena which can be examined and analyzed to provide information regarding the keying material being employed. Cryptography does not help to cope with this situation because of the inherent nature of this problem. 2.1 Cryptosystem functions Other than the usual random bit generators as well as the hash functions, there are no secret parameters that are used in cryptosystem functions. These are the junketed functions that characterize the cryptographic system functions. In cryptographic functions, the elements used are usually one-way and it is difficult or almost impossible to invert them. This follows that it is easy to compute a cryptographic function whereas it is hard to invert the functions and also to compute the results of the relationships (Kerckhoffs, 1883). It is difficult to apply any mathematical method for inverting the cryptographic system functions in a way that will be coherent and meaningful. For example, a cryptographic system functions such as F: X ââ â Y is easy to comfortably use mathematical knowledge to compute while it is hard to use the same to invert (Buchmann, 2004; Shirey, 2000). There are many examples of one-way functions that we can use to demonstrate the meaning of the cryptosystems. In a situation where one has stored numbers on the cell phone, computation of the same is possible and easy due to the fact that the names are stored in an alphabetical manner (Garrett, 2001). If one inverts the relationship of these functions, it will be impossible to compute because the numbers are not arranged numerically in the storage phonebook. It is notable that a lot of other things that we do in daily life are comparable to cryptosystem function in the sense that you cannot invert or undo them. For example, if one breaks a glass, the process is one way because it is not possible for these pieces to be restored together again (Goldreich, 2004). Similarly, when one drops something into water, it is not practically possible to reverse the action of dropping this item (Mao, 2003). The English corresponding action would be to un-drop the item as opposed to picking it. Cry ptosystem functions cannot be demonstrated as purely one-way and this is the branching point between cryptosystem functions and the real world of things and circumstances. The only one-way functions in mathematics can be exemplified by discrete exponentiation, modular power and modular square functions. Public key cryptography uses these functions in its operations but it has not been well documented whether they are really one-way or not. There has been debate in practice whether one-way functions really exist in the first place or not (Garrett, 2001). In the recent day cryptographic discussions a lot of care should be applied when referring to the one-way functions so as not to interfere or make false claims to the functional attributes of these parameters. There is a need to look for extra information and knowledge concerning one-way functions so that efficient and meaningful inversions are possible and mathematically coherent. Therefore, functions such as F: X ââ â Y is considered to be a one-way function (Koblitz, 1994; Schneier, 1996). This follows that if F can successfully and coherently inverted, the need for extra information is needed. This will hence bring the notion of the meaning of the other parameters in relation to F. Computer science uses the hash functions in its operations. This is because these functions are computable and generates output dependent on the input that was used (Katz, 2007; Koblitz, 1994). 3. Digital signatures The public-key encryption presents a revolution in the field of cryptography and until its invention the cryptographers had relied completely on common, secret keys in order to achieve confidential communication (Smart, 2003). On the contrary, the public-key techniques, allow for the parties to communicate privately without the requirement to decide on a secret key in advance. While the concept of private-key cryptography is presented as two parties agree on a secret keyk which can be used (by either party) for both encryption and decryption; public-key encryption is asymmetric in both these respects (Stinson, 2005). Namely, in public-key encryption: One party (the receiver) generates a pair of keys (pk, sk), where pk is called the public key and ps is the private key, The public key is used by a sender to encrypt a message for the receiver, and The receiver uses the private key to decrypt that message. There three parts of information form part of public key certificate: Some naming information A Public key Digital signatures (this can be one or more) Encryptions and digital signatures were introduced to make the web transactions secure and manageable. The use of cryptographic techniques was applied to enhance and provide security layer such that the encrypted information and files would remain secure and confidential. Very frequently, a digital signature is mistaken with the inverse of a public-key encryption, but this is not entirely true. In the history, a digital signature could be obtained by reversing, but today in the majority of the situations this process would be impossible to be performed. Basically, a digital signature is a form of a mathematical scheme for signifying the genuineness of a digital message. A valid digital signature would provide a proof to the person that receives the message or the document that these information is indeed created by a specified sender. Moreover, it would prove that message or the document was not altered during the transportation. Digital signatures are usually used for software distribution or mainly money transactions, where it is very important to detect the possibility of forgery. As a part of the field in asymmetric cryptography, it might be noted that a digital signature is somehow equivalent of the traditional handwritten signatures. On the other hand, in order to be effective, a digital signature should be correctly implemented. Another very important concept is the notion of non-repudiation. This means that if somebody signs a document by using a digital signature, they can not say that it was not signed by them, even though their private key remains as a secret. On the other hand, there is a time stamp, so that even if the private key of a sender is compromised in future, the digital signature will remain valid. Examples of such messages are: electronic mail contracts messages sent via some cryptographic protocol A digital signature usually is comprised of: An algorithm for producing a key. This algorithm would find a private key by chance from all the possible private keys available. Then it will output that private key with a matching public key. A signing algorithm that, given a message and a private key, produces a signature. A signature authenticating algorithm that, given a message, public key and a signature, it will accept or reject the message. Primary, a signature produced from a fixed message and a private key verifies that the genuineness of that message is ok, by means of the matching public key. Then, it has to be computationally infeasible to make an appropriate signature for a party that doesnââ¬â¢t have the private key 4. Algorithms 4.1. Introduction to SHS This section provides an overview of the secure hash standard (SHS) and implementation of the secure hash algorithm (SHA-1), required for use with digital signature algorithms. SHA-1 is used for computing a compressed version of a message or a data file. If that data has a length smaller than 264 buts, then the output will be 160-bit and is called a message digest. The message digest used for an input to the Digital Signature Algorithm (DSA). This algorithm will verify the signature for the message. Signing the message digest instead of the originall message itself, might advance the effectiveness of the procedure. This is since the message digest is usually much slighter in size than the original message. Very important is that the same hash algorithm should be used by both the verifier and the digital signature creator. The usage of the SHA-1 with the DSA can be presented as follows: Interesting for SHA-1 is that it is computationally impossible to discover a message which matchs to a given digest. Moreover, it is also impossible to find two dissimilar messages which create an identical message digest. 4.2. Implementation of SHA-1 The following functions were implemented for the SHA-1 algorithm: Name of source file: secure_hash_algorithm.m. Function in the source file: secure_hash_algorithm (message). This function takes an input a string of characters. Example: Hello, How are you? How is it going on? Output is the message digest, the hash value of the message. Thus, the hash value of the above message is F418F52AE6DC208599F91191E6C40FA876F33754. Name of source file: arithematic_shift_operations.m. Function in the source file: arithematic_shift_operations (number, position, op). The inputs are: number: it is a hexadecimal large number of any size. The number is represented in base 16 and is stored as a string. Ex: ââ¬ËFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFââ¬â¢ position: the number of positions to be shifted by. It is a decimal number in base 10. Op: it is the type of operation done. Inputs are ââ¬ËSRAââ¬â¢ -> shift right arithematic and ââ¬ËSLAââ¬â¢ -> shift left arithematic. For example, the function: arithematic_shift_operations(ââ¬ËFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFââ¬â¢, 3, ââ¬ËSRAââ¬â¢) would return ââ¬Ë1FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFââ¬â¢, and arithematic_shift_operations(ââ¬ËFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFââ¬â¢, 3, ââ¬ËSLAââ¬â¢) would return ââ¬ËFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF8ââ¬â¢. Name of source file: bi2hex.m. Function in the source file: bi2hex (number). The input to this function is a vector of ones and zeros and the result is a hexadecimal output represented in string. For example, for the input ââ¬Å"Number = [1 1 1 1]â⬠bi2hex (Number) returns ââ¬ËFââ¬â¢ and for ââ¬Å"Number = [1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 ]â⬠bi2hex (Number) returns ââ¬ËF1ââ¬â¢. Name of source file: hex2bi.m. Function in the source file: hex2bi (number). The input to this function is a number stored in form of a string in base 16 and the result is a vector containing the binary representation of input string. For example, for the input ââ¬Å"Number = ââ¬ËFââ¬â¢ â⬠, hex2bi (Number) returns ââ¬Å"[1 1 1 1]â⬠and for ââ¬Å"Number = ââ¬ËF1ââ¬â¢ ââ¬Å", bi2hex (Number) returns ââ¬Å"[1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1]â⬠. Name of source file: hexadecimal_big_number_adder.m. Function in the source file: hexadecimal_big_number_adder (number_one, number_two). The inputs to this function are numbers stored in hexadecimal string format. Output is the result, a hexadecimal string and carry, a decimal number. After using this function, it has to be checked if the carry is generated, Incase if it is generated then the carry has to be appended in the beginning to the result. For example: Number_one = ââ¬ËFFFFFFFFââ¬â¢ Number_two = ââ¬ËEEEEEEEEââ¬â¢ [result, carry] = hexadecimal_big_number_adder (Number_one, Number_two) Result = ââ¬ËEEEEEEEDââ¬â¢ , carry = 1; Hence the real sum is Result = strcat(dec2hex(0), Result); this results to ââ¬Ë1EEEEEEEDââ¬â¢ Name of source file: hexadecimal_big_number_subtractor.m. Function in the source file: hexadecimal_big_number_subtractor(number_one, number_two). The inputs to this function are numbers stored in hexadecimal string format. Output is the result, a hexadecimal string and sign, a decimal number. If sign is -1, then the result generated is a negative number else is a positive number. . For example: Number_one= ââ¬ËEEEEEEEEââ¬â¢ Number_two= ââ¬ËFFFFFFFFââ¬â¢ [result, sign] = hexadecimal_big_number_subtractor(Number_one, Number_two) Result = ââ¬Ë11111111ââ¬â¢ Sign = -1. Name of source file: hexadecimal_big_number_multiprecision_multiplication.m. Function in the source file: hexadecimal_big_number_multiprecision_multiplication(multiplicand, multiplier). The input is a multiplicand stored in string format is a hexadecimal number. And so is multiplier. The output is a result and is stored in form of a string. For example: multiplicand= ââ¬ËEEEEEEEEââ¬â¢ multiplier= ââ¬ËFFFFFFFFââ¬â¢ hexadecimal_big_number_multiprecision_multiplication(multiplicand, multiplier) result is ââ¬ËEEEEEEED11111112ââ¬â¢ Name of source file: comparision_of.m. Function in the source file: comparision_of(number_one, number_two, index). This function compares two numbers in hexadecimal format stored in form of strings. Always input index as decimal 1. Therefore, it: Returns 1 if Number_one > Number_two, Returns 0 if Number_one = Number_two, and Returns -1 if Number_one For example, if Number_one= ââ¬ËEEEEEEEEââ¬â¢ Number_two= ââ¬ËFFFFFFFFââ¬â¢, the result would be: comparision_of(Number_one, Number_two, 1) returns -1. Name of source file: hexadecimal_big_number_modular_exponentiation.m. Function in the source file: hexadecimal_big_number_modular_exponentiation (base, exponent, modulus). This function calculates (power(base, exponent) % modulus). Here the input base, exponent and modulus are hexadecimal strings of any size. For example: Base = ââ¬ËFFFââ¬â¢ Exponent = ââ¬ËEEEââ¬â¢ Modulus = ââ¬ËAAAAââ¬â¢ hexadecimal_big_number_modular_exponentiation (Base, Exponent, Modulus) returns ââ¬Ë8BABââ¬â¢ Name of source file: hexadecimal_big_number_multiplicative_inverse.m. Function in the source file: Z = hexadecimal_big_number_multiplicative_inverse(number_one, number_two). This function returns multiplicative inverse of number_two modulo number_one. If az = 1 (mod m) then z is the multiplicative inverse of a mod m. Here ââ¬Å"number_one = mâ⬠, ââ¬Å"number_two = aâ⬠, ââ¬Å"number_one = ââ¬ËFFFFââ¬â¢ â⬠, ââ¬Å"number_two = ââ¬Ë1235ââ¬â¢ ââ¬Å" andresult is ââ¬Ë634Dââ¬â¢, which in turn is the multiplicative inverse of number_two.Hence : (result * number_two) mod number_one = 1 Name of source file: hexadecimal_big_number_test_for_primality.m. Function in the source file: hexadecimal_big_number_test_for_primality(number). The input to this function is an ODD number stored in hexadecimal format as a string. This function returns 1 if the input is a prime and returns -1 if input is composite. Name of source file: power_of_two_conversion_to_hexadecimal.m. Function in the source file: power_of_two_conversion_to_hexadecimal(power). The input is the number, the power to which two has to be raised to. It is a decimal number and the output is a hexadecimal number in form of string. For example, power_of_two_conversion_to_hexadecimal(4) returns ââ¬Ë10ââ¬â¢ i.e 16 in decimal system. Name of source file: hexadecimal_big_number_division.m. Function in the source file: hexadecimal_big_number_division (dividend, divisor). This function returns quotient and remainder both in hexadecimal string format. The inputs to this function are strings of hexadecimal format. This function uses other two functions in turn which are defined in source file Get_multiplier.m, multiplication_by_single_digit_multiplier.m. Name of source file: remove_leading_zeros.m. Function in the source file: remove_leading_zeros (number). This function takes number in hexadecimal string format as input and removes the leading zeros in the string and returns it. For example, if ââ¬Å"Number = ââ¬Ë000000012345ââ¬â¢ ââ¬Å", then the function returns ââ¬Ë12345ââ¬â¢. Some of the most prominent functions are presented in Appendix A. 4.3. Introduction to MD5 The MD5 Message-Digest Algorithm is a extensively utilised in cryptographic hash functions. Basically this is the case for cryptographic hash functions with a 128-bit (16-byte) hash value. MD5 is used in many security applications, and in addition it is frequently used to check data integrity. An MD5 hash is typically expressed as a 32-digit hexadecimal number. The following figure represents a schematic view of the MD5 Message-Digest Algorithm. 4.4. Implementation of MD5 This algorithm would compute MD5 hash function for files. For example, if as input is given the d = md5(FileName), then the function md5() will computes the MD5 hash function of the file specified in the string FileName. This function will returns it as a 64-character array dwhere d is the digest. The following methodology that the MD5 algorithm was implemented: Initially, the function Digestis called. This function would read the whole file, and will make it uint32 vector FileName = C:\md5InputFile.txt [Message,nBits] = readmessagefromfile(FileName); Then, it would append a bit in the last one that was read from that file: BytesInLastInt = mod(nBits,32)/8; if BytesInLastInt Message(end) = bitset(Message(end),BytesInLastInt*8+8); else Message = [Message; uint32(128)]; end Consequetly, it will append the zeros: nZeros = 16 mod(numel(Message)+2,16); Message = [Message; zeros(nZeros,1,uint32)]; And a bit length of the original message as uint64, such as the lower significant uint32 first: Lower32 = uint32(nBits); Upper32 = uint32(bitshift(uint64(nBits),-32)); Message = [Message; Lower32; Upper32]; The 64-element transformation array is: T = uint32(fix(4294967296*abs(sin(1:64)))); The 64-element array of number of bits for circular left shift: S = repmat([7 12 17 22; 5 9 14 20; 4 11 16 23; 6 10 15 21].,4,1); S = S(:).; Finally, the 64-element array of indices into X can be presented as: idxX = [0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 1 6 11 0 5 10 15 4 9 14 3 8 13 2 7 12 5 8 11 14 1 4 7 10 13 0 3 6 9 12 15 2 0 7 14 5 12 3 10 1 8 15 6 13 4 11 2 9] + 1; The initial state of the buffer is consisting of A, B, C and D. such as: A = uint32(hex2dec(67452301)); B = uint32(hex2dec(efcdab89)); C = uint32(hex2dec(98badcfe)); D = uint32(hex2dec(10325476)); The message is reshaped, such as: Message = reshape(Message,16,[]); The look between the blocks, such that X is an extraction of the next block: for iBlock = 1:size(Message,2) X = Message(:,iBlock); The buffer states are stored as: AA = A; BB = B; CC = C; DD = D; The buffer is transformed by utilizing the X block from above, and the parameters from S, T and idxX k = 0; for iRound = 1:4 for q = 1:4 A = Fun(iRound,A,B,C,D,X(idxX(k+1)),S(k+1),T(k+1)); D = Fun(iRound,D,A,B,C,X(idxX(k+2)),S(k+2),T(k+2)); C = Fun(iRound,C,D,A,B,X(idxX(k+3)),S(k+3),T(k+3)); B = Fun(iRound,B,C,D,A,X(idxX(k+4)),S(k+4),T(k+4)); k = k + 4; end end The old buffer state is also being added: A = bitadd32(A,AA); B = bitadd32(B,BB); C = bitadd32(C,CC); D = bitadd32(D,DD); end The message digest is being formed the following way: Str = lower(dec2hex([A;B;C;D])); Str = Str(:,[7 8 5 6 3 4 1 2]).; Digest = Str(:).; The subsequent functionality is performed by the following operations: function y = Fun(iRound,a,b,c,d,x,s,t) switch iRound case 1 q = bitor(bitand(b,c),bitand(bitcmp(b),d)); case 2 q = bitor(bitand(b,d),bitand(c,bitcmp(d))); case 3 q = bitxor(bitxor(b,c),d); case 4 q = bitxor(c,bitor(b,bitcmp(d))); end y = bitadd32(b,rotateleft32(bitadd32(a,q,x,t),s)); And the bits are rotated such as: function y = rotateleft32(x,s) y = bitor(bitshift(x,s),bitshift(x,s-32)); The sum function is presented as: function sum = bitadd32(varargin) sum = varargin{1}; for k = 2:nargin add = varargin{k}; carry = bitand(sum,add); sum = bitxor(sum,add); for q = 1:32 shift = bitshift(carry,1); carry = bitand(shift,sum); sum = bitxor(shift,sum); end end A message is being read frm a file, such as: function [Message,nBits] = readmessagefromfile(FileName) [hFile,ErrMsg] = fopen(FileName,r); error(ErrMsg); Message = fread(hFile,inf,ubit32=>uint32); fclose(hFile); d = dir(FileName); nBits = d.bytes*8; Lastly, the auto test function is the following: function md5autotest disp(Running md5 autotest); Messages{1} = ; Messages{2} = a; Messages{3} = abc; Messages{4} = message digest; Messages{5} = abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz; Messages{6} = ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789; Messages{7} = char(128:255); CorrectDigests{1} = d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e; CorrectDigests{2} = 0cc175b9c0f1b6a831c399e269772661; CorrectDigests{3} = 900150983cd24fb0d6963f7d28e17f72; CorrectDigests{4} = f96b697d7cb7938d525a2f31aaf161d0; CorrectDigests{5} = c3fcd3d76192e4007dfb496cca67e13b; CorrectDigests{6} = d174ab98d277d9f5a5611c2c9f419d9f; CorrectDigests{7} = 16f404156c0500ac48efa2d3abc5fbcf; TmpFile = tempname; for k=1:numel(Messages) [h,ErrMsg] = fopen(TmpFile,w); error(ErrMsg); fwrite(h,Messages{k},char); fclose(h); Digest = md5(TmpFile); fprintf(%d: %sn,k,Digest); if ~strcmp(Digest,CorrectDigests{k}) error(md5 autotest failed on the following string: %s,Messages{k}); end end delete(TmpFile); disp(md5 autotest passed!); 4.4.1 Results This algorithm is tested with the input: university of Portsmouth department of electronic and computer engineering. This was written on the file: ââ¬Å"C://md5InputFile.txtâ⬠. The outpus results are as in the following fugures: Textual description of the output results follows: OUTPUT FileName = C:\md5InputFile.txt Running md5 autotest FileName = C:\md5InputFile.txt 1986621045 1769173605 1864399220 1867522150 1836282994 1752462703 1885692960 1836348001 544501349 1696622191 1952671084 1768845170 1851859043 1868767332 1953853549 1696625253 1852401518 1769104741 26478 1: 3129b41fa9e7159c2a03ad8c161a7424 FileName = C:\md5InputFile.txt 1986621045 1769173605 1864399220 1867522150 1836282994 1752462703 1885692960 1836348001 544501349 1696622191 1952671084 1768845170 1851859043 1868767332 1953853549 1696625253 1852401518 1769104741 26478 2: 3129b41fa9e7159c2a03ad8c161a7424 FileName = C:\md5InputFile.txt 1986621045 1769173605 1864399220 1867522150 1836282994 1752462703 1885692960 1836348001 544501349 1696622191 1952671084 1768845170 1851859043 1868767332 1953853549 1696625253 1852401518 1769104741 26478 3: 3129b41fa9e7159c2a03ad8c161a7424 FileName = C:\md5InputFile.txt 1986621045 1769173605 1864399220 1867522150 1836282994 1752462703 1885692960 1836348001 544501349 1696622191 1952671084 1768845170 1851859043 1868767332 1953853549 1696625253 1852401518 1769104741 26478 4: 3129b41fa9e7159c2a03ad8c161a7424 FileName = C:\md5InputFile.txt 1986621045 1769173605 1864399220 1867522150 1836282994 1752462703 1885692960 1836348001 544501349 1696622191 1952671084 1768845170 1851859043 1868767332 1953853549 1696625253 1852401518 1769104741 26478 5: 3129b41fa9e7159c2a03ad8c161a7424 FileName = C:\md5InputFile.txt 1986621045 1769173605 1864399220 1867522150 1836282994 1752462703 1885692960 1836348001 544501349 1696622191 1952671084 1768845170 1851859043 1868767332 1953853549 1696625253 1852401518 1769104741 26478 6: 3129b41fa9e7159c2a03ad8c161a7424 FileName = C:\md5InputFile.txt 1986621045 1769173605 1864399220 1867522150 1836282994 1752462703 1885692960 1836348001 544501349 1696622191 1952671084 1768845170 1851859043 1868767332 1953853549 1696625253 1852401518 1769104741 26478 7: 3129b41fa9e7159c2a03ad8c161a7424 md5 autotest passed! 4.5. Introduction to Caesar cipher The Caesar cipher in cryptography, is in essence a shift cipher. It represents as one of the simplest and most widely known encryption methodologies. The Caesar cipher is a kind of substitution cipher. It means that each letter in a given plaintext is replaced by another letter. This is done due shifting by some fixed number of positions down the alphabet. Julius Caesar was the first to use this ci
Six Markets Model Of Relationship Marketing Marketing Essay
Six Markets Model Of Relationship Marketing Marketing Essay An Organization must exceed customer expectations in order to retain them and develop a healthy relationship with them. The methods and tactics involved to develop long term relationship with the customers in order to retain them is termed as Relationship Marketing. (http://www.learnmarketing.net/relationshipmarketing.htm) To attract and retain its customers the company must put into place some tactics and methods which may include promoting the product and brand, offering good quality product/services at competitive prices. At the same time its very difficult to keep the customers 100% satisfied reasons could be any as needs and wants of the customers change. So its a good practice to keep monitoring them in a number of ways. Internal Markets: The process of bringing support for a company and its activities within its own employees, in order to encourage them to promote its goals is defined as Internal Market. Internal Marketing did not play a vital role in traditional marketing but relational marketing sees the importance and treats the employees as an enabler to enhance external market place performance. If internal market is neglected external market would collapse. Its always the employees who create the trust and build the relationship with the customers. Therefore the firm must meet the needs of the employees are the basis to meet the customer needs. Customer MarketsSupplier Markets: Establishing long term relations with suppliers is a departure from traditional supplier positions. This development means that suppliers are seen as collaborators or partners in improving quality and managing costs.Relationships with suppliers is the main focus in recent years in relationship marketing. In traditional marketing the suppliers were unable to invest in the new plants and technologies which allowed them to deliver better products and services, faster and more cheaply. In relationship marketing manufacturers choose to build less exploitative relationships with fewer suppliers creating integrated and relatively stable supply chains thus allowing quality and flexibility in the system with low costs. Recruitment Markets: Recruitment marketing is the vital area for any organization to conduct strategic and effective partnerships with intermediaries in order to expose the company and capture the best trained and experienced workforce. Getting and retaining best people to work in the profession to build sustainability with the customers. Referral Markets: Developing relationships in referral markets means to link up with those people or institutions that have the power to direct business to the company. Key existing customers are often referral sources, and so are intermediaries, third party buyers, agencies and business networks. This is often the most effective part of an overall marketing plan and the best use of resources. (http://www.economicexpert.com/3a/Relationship:marketing.htm) Influence Markets: Influence markets are important to an organization in terms of relationship marketing as members of this market include bodies that directly impact on the organization. They involve sub markets like government regulators, stockholders, venture capitalists, financial analysts, stockbrokers, consumer associations, environmental associations, and labor associations. Developing relationships in referral markets means to link up with those people or institutions that have the power to direct business to the company. These activities are typically carried out by the public relations department. Customer Markets: The goal of customer markets is to get the customers and retain them. Sustained growth in business usually depends upon the same customer coming back again and again. Existing relationships with customers cost less to sustain than new ones. Traditional marketing: Marketing is the process to identify and retain the customer i.e. to know what products or services are of interest to the customer. In order to stay profitable companies should shift focus from production and build strong customer relationships. These factors are considered as the cutting edge over its competitors. Traditional marketing is a marketing mix with Four Ps. They refer to the four factors that a marketer has to consider comprising of Product, Price, Promotion and Placement. The first is the Product its production and management; second is the price; and the third is its promotion with advertising and branding etc finally the fourth is the placement or the distribution of the product. Before launching any product these four elements are to be well planned by any organization. (http://ezinearticles.com/?Overview-of-Traditional-marketingid=374128 ). Limitations of Traditional Marketing: Traditional marketing is company focused and product based with the intension to increase the visibility of the company and its brand. Its a failure since brand recall is very minimal as customer is exposed to many brands. The company becomes the active participant while the customer becomes inactive. Traditional marketing uses USP (Unique selling proposition) which is exclusive to a particular product from a particular brand. In todays world every brand is has all the features offered by its competitors therefore the USP marketing is becoming passive. Advertising is the main strategy for any business to give product visibility and boosts its sales. Traditional marketing uses Above the line advertising method which uses media as the main source like Newspapers, Magazines, TVs, all kind of mailers and leaflets. Its a drawback since the online marketing is offering a lots of hope to the marketer reaching out to a prospective customer at a faster pace. Internal Marketing is given little or no attention. Market share is taken as customer satisfaction indicator. Commitment to customers is very limited. (http://ezinearticles.com/?Overview-of-Traditional-marketingid=374128 ). Market Segmentation: Examples to evaluate the effective use of relationship marketing: New use of technology as marketing tools: To maximise organizations goals the companies have to adopt latest technologies and developments such as the Internet, Social Networks, Intelligent commercial websites, Media / Advertising using Billboards, Networking and Direct mail etc. (http://appreciativeinquiry.case.edu/uploads/E%20J%20Pullicino%20-%20MBA.pdf) Promoting the products through internet is termed as E-Commerce it is a network enabled business for selling products and services on the website. It is a practical medium for realizing the benefits of Relationship marketing. Consumers get greater and easier access to the market because information about competing offers is searchable and marketers are provided with the information they need to do their job more effectively. Email marketing strategy is used to build business through email marketing campaigns and online surveys. Advertising using Billboard is most common in 21st century. The use of signs along roadways to advertise a wide range of products, services etc. The signs used in these roadside advertising campaigns must be over a certain size in order to be referred to as a billboard and must be large enough for a driver or passenger in a vehicle to be able to clearly read the lettering while navigating the vehicle along a road. The effectiveness of these advertisements led to creating an entirely new branch of the advertising industry, as clients demanded newer and more attractive ads that would catch the eye and entice the traveler to stop and spend money. (http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-billboard-advertising.htm) An integrated social media marketing strategy can help ecommerce site increase brand visibility, improve customer loyalty, and gain important insights about the markets served. (http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/961-Ecommerce-Know-How-Social-Media-as-a-Marketing-Tool) Mobility Marketing: Universal mobility programs are marketed through Mobility Marketing. Mobility programs consist of public, private, and human services modal alternatives. Mobility program is a success by implementing developing Techniques, Strategies, and Public Relations tools. Viral Marketing: A strategy that facilitates and encourages individuals to pass along a marketing message is termed as Viral Marketing. It depends on a high pass-along rate from person to person. If a large number of recipients forward something to a large number of friends, the overall growth rises very quickly. If the pass-along numbers get too low, the overall growth quickly falls down. Hotmail is cited as the first example of viral marketing. (http://www.marketingterms.com/dictionary/viral_marketing/) Its been referred as word of mouth, creating a buzz. Effortless and instant inexpensive communications to people is done through internet which is working out well in Viral Marketing. Another way to propagate the message is use others websites like placing text, graphics etc basically giving adverts in various websites to pass on the message. (http://www.wilsonweb.com/wmt5/viral-principles.htm) Guerrilla Marketing: Guerilla Marketing is unconventional marketing intended to get maximum results from minimal resources and it is specifically used in small business and entrepreneurs. Marketing is done in an unusual way at public places, street giveaways etc. In order to sell a product or a service, a company must establish a relationship with the customer build trust and support and understand the customers needs, and it must provide a product that delivers the promised benefits. Guerilla Marketing uses several tactics as follows: Providing service which is beyond customer expectations. Aiming efforts to impress the customers. Working hours that matches the customers requirements. Use of extreme specialization skills to market a product. (http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/guerilla-marketing.html) Importance of Social Networks in Marketing: Social Networking is defined as grouping of individuals into groups like communities to make new friends and connect with old ones. Professionals use social networking to improve their career. In 21st century social networking is mainly done online through websites termed as Social sites. They function as online communities for internet users. Depending on the websites the users share their experiences, hobbies, politics etc thus socializing themselves from home. Another benefit is diversity because the internet gives individuals from all around the world to access the social sites. These sites are designed focusing on the interest of the individual. The websites without a main focus are referred to as traditional social networking sites and have open memberships. At the same time there are hidden dangers associated with these sites like data theft and viruses. These crimes are termed as cyber crimes. Depending on the cyber surrounding proceed with caution online conversations, marke ting etc. There are several Forums and groups such as Friendwise, Friendfinder, Facebook, Orkut, Twitter and many more. (http://www.whatissocialnetworking.com/) Promoting Products and Services using Social Networks: Facebook: Businesses large and small are actively connecting with customers through Facebook which has a number of tools that make it powerful helping them to spread brands by attract potential customers. It also helps business to review ways to make it better. Facebook is the second largest website with more than 321 million people. Ways Facebook can help business: Facebook Pages: Businesses can create their own profiles on Facebook using Pages. These pages help the business to give an identity by publishing companys information, photos, videos etc. When a individual is interested in a certain brand a note is written in those pages. These pages are posted back for all the friends to see thus promoting the product. Individuals are spreading the good word about products they are using making it easier for companies to market their products through word of mouth. People can know instantly about any news that they have to share. Applications: With powerful API developers write software helping to promote business on Facebook. For instance Visa Business Network application which takes information about users and allows them to better network with small business owners. Advertising: Facebook is a free application but gets its revenue through its powerful advertising engine that enables businesses to specify a specific demographic target, see how many people that demographic will hit, and advertise to that demographic. It also has advertising links at the bottom promoting products and services. Polls: Its a boon for marketers looking to get a quick answer about a particular feature theyd like to implement, or just to find out information and opinions. (http://www.insidefacebook.com/2008/07/28/facebook-for-business-what-it-needs-what-it-has/) Twitter: Twitter is one of the fast growing free online platforms that is being used for communication and conversation with over 1 million users and broadcasts over 3 million messages everyday. It can be used as a marketing tool, but the users must do it right by following the Twitter etiquette in order to be effective. (http://marketing.about.com/b/2008/10/07/twitter-a-marketing-tool.htm) Twitter is an application that allows to tweet with individuals. Search queries can be performed and notified if someone is searching for us. Its a great tool that can consistently run on the desktop. With the help of Twitterfeed one can post blog posts directly into ones Twitter account. Ubertwitter is a tool to get blogs on cell phone the users can reply and direct messages. Twitter is used as a media outlet by posting news and updates of the company or products. Ultimately Twitter provides an excellent source of free publicity. Twitter marketing is all about talking to the prospective customers, interacting with them thus providing optimal customer service. Its a fantastic tool giving the brand a voice and identity. It can be made as a best marketing tool by following unique style while twittering.
Sunday, August 4, 2019
Creative Story: Day The World Turned Black :: essays research papers
Creative Story: Day The World Turned Black Everyday the sun would rise and the moon would set and everybody would wake up to a new morning. Today was a special day in October, for the sun did not rise and the moon did not set and everyone woke to a full moon. During the night the sun had mysteriously vanished and this inscrutable incident enervated the most brilliant of minds . This caused aberrant behavior throughout the globe. Nevertheless there were a few vivacious individuals brave enough to find out what happened. They start their adventure by taking off in a space shuttle destined for outer space. As they reach orbit they witness the most amazing thing that any of them have ever seen. They watched the sun being sucked into nothing and something pushing it in. They change their course and follow the sun. As they get there, they realize that they are also being pulled in along with the sun and that their decision is at this point irrevocable. The funny thing was that the sun emanated no heat and that the moon started to glow much brighter than normal. It turns out that the moon was now supplying the earth with the heat that was needed to keep most happy. The sun, and both ships are now closed up in the thing and are increasing their velocity as they head for some minuscule object way in the distance. The team of explorers decide to catch the other ship but it is on the opposite side of the sun. It takes them a few days but they finally reach the other ship. The only thing that they cannot figure out is how to make contact with the other ship. They have exhausted every possibility and the only thing they have done is wasted time. They are floating in nothing, the scenery looks black and the only thing that they can see are the sun, the other ship, and the thing that they are flying towards. The ship surroundings are so amazing that they would whet your imagination beyond belief. Nevertheless, they are anxious to reach it in order to find out what it is. After doing nothing for two days they finally receive some contact with the other ship via Morse code. Using this to talk, they establish audio communication. Talking for a few hours they realize that both sides have no idea where they are headed. The only instructions that the other ship had received, were to push the sun into the hole and wait till they reach the end of the tunnel.
Saturday, August 3, 2019
Human Companionship in Mary Shellyââ¬â¢s Frankenstein :: Mary Shelly, Frankenstein
Human companionship is one of the most basic needs of humans that can be seen in the Creation story. It is tricky for any human to find the perfect companion especially if one is one of a kind. In Mary Shellyââ¬â¢s Frankenstein two characters exemplify this need. Dr. Victor Frankenstein and The Creature are in search of companionship, and they will go to great lengths to achieve it. The classic theme of perversion of family is a major component in Frankenstein. Dr. Frankenstein comes from a good family but in his adult life he longs for a new companion this is mainly found in the Creature and Elizabeth. The development for the need for the Creature starts when he falls in love with knowledge and is furthered when he leaves to study. In his child hood he has ââ¬Å"Natural philosophy is the genius that has regulated my fate; I desire, therefore, in this narration, to stat those facts which led to my predilection for that scienceâ⬠(Shelley 36). This passion develops into his obsession in his adult life when he gains more accesses to knowledge and equipment. Then it climaxes with start of the creation of the Creature because his accesses to bodies and tools. (quote Intro) ââ¬Å"I read with ardour those works, so full of genius and discriminationâ⬠¦ it easily conceived that my progress was rapidâ⬠(48). His description of the creation makes it seem like he is mothering a child into birth. He distorts the sanity of child birth by creating a human in a lab. This also makes him the mother and father of the Creature. (quote intro) ââ¬Å"When I found so astonishing a power placed within my hands, I hesitated a long time concerning the manner in which I should employ itâ⬠¦ my first success to permit me doubt of my ability to give liveâ⬠¦Ã¢â¬ (51). This illustrates his power that he has that was never meant to be any humans. With the successful test my can create life, strengthens his bond with this impending birth of Creature, who embodies all of his scientific achievement. (quote Intro) ââ¬Å"How can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe, or how delineate the wretch whom with such infinite pains and care I had endeavored to from?â⬠(55). Frankenstein shuns his own creation, whom he should be the loving parents of. The culmination of all of Frankensteinââ¬â¢s education led to creation his own companionship; he can not bear to see his hideous creation.
Friday, August 2, 2019
Perception Ppt Essay
Details: Imagine you are an expert on critical thinking. A local high school wants you to present your knowledge to its seniors and asks that you create a PowerPoint presentation to specifically explain perception and critical thinking. 1. Create a PowerPoint presentation that explains the concepts of perception and critical thinking to high school seniors. In your explanation, address the following: * How all five senses impact perception. * The role of perception in critical thinking. For directions on how to create a PowerPoint presentation, refer to the ââ¬Å"How to Create a PowerPoint Presentation Resource.â⬠* Your PowerPoint presentation should include the following: 1. 8 slides (1 title slide, 6 content slides, and 1 reference slide). 2. Put key points in bullets. The bullets are what the audience would see during a presentation. Remember not to overcrowd each slide. 3. Elaborate on the bullet points in the slide notes for all 6 content slides. The slide notes section is where the speaker documents what he/she would say during the presentation. While GCU style format is not required for the body of this assignment, solid academic writing is expected and in-text citations and references should be presented using GCU documentation guidelines, which can be found in the GCU Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. This assignment uses a grading rubric that can be viewed at the assignmentââ¬â¢s drop box. Instructors will be using the rubric to grade the assignment; therefore, students should review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the assignment criteria and expectations for successful completion of the assignment.
Thursday, August 1, 2019
Educational Policies and Practices Essay
ââ¬Å"Change is a process, not an event. It can be planned or unplanned and can be influenced by forces inside and outside of the schoolhouse. â⬠(http://wps. prenhall. com/chet_green_practicing_2/23/6137/1571248. cw/index. html). Current education reform has stressed the urgency of teacher learning in improving classroom education and expanding student success. Current education reform in the United States has increasingly described standard levels of mastery for learners and focused on holding schools responsible for student outcomes. As one approach for increasing student attainment, officials have zoned in on improving the quality of public school educators (Parise & Spillane, 2010). Certain policy plans concentrate on the dimension involved in refining the quality of educators coming into the area of teaching through state accreditation exams, more rigorous degree requirements, and recruitment efforts. In addition to the aforementioned, increased responsibility and stress on schools involve learning and modification for many of the educators already working within this capacity, as they are pushed to apply new instructional methods and advances in order to promote and foster student achievement (Parise & Spillane, 2010). Assessing the Condition: Loris High School Trevor Strawderman, principal of Loris High School, Horry County, South Carolina, reorganized educational structure to benefit the school. In 2005, Loris High School ranked in the bottom percentile among high schools, scholastically, in the state of South Carolina. Principal Strawderman knew that issues in the area of literacy plagued the schoolââ¬â¢s academic performance. Assessment statistics revealed that 74 percent of the 9th and 10th graders of the school were reading below grade level. As a result of this issue, dropout and class failings soared to extremely high figures (http://www. nassp. org/Content. aspx? topic=59746). Strawderman, the newly appointed principal at the time, and other leaders of the school were aware of this issue, but did not realize the severity until results were revealed from student assessments. It was determined that the majority of the 9th and 10th graders at the time were reading way below grade level. After examining the textbooks utilized in the school, it was discovered that the 9th and 10th grade level books were written for 10th/ 11th grade reading comprehension. Upon the discovery of the low reading skills, Strawderman met with faculty to inform them that changes were necessary to improve reading skills of the students. Data collected about the student reading assessments was Mr. Strawdermanââ¬â¢s proof as he provided information for this needed change (http://www. assp. org/Content. aspx? topic=59746). Implementing Necessary Change The schoolââ¬â¢s leadership team began to read and study about ways to improve on reading. Through the study it was discovered that providing more reading would be the best solution. The leadership team identified a process that could be utilized to achieve the vision. Through the vision of Strawderman and the leadership team, a ho meroom reading initiative was put in place immediately. Two days for 50 minutes a week have been designated for this activity. Students were grouped by grade level and lexile level. Strawderman and his team stressed the importance of steering away negative connotations with this activity, and felt that grouping by lexile level was pertinent (http://www. nassp. org/Content. aspx? topic=59746). Challenges and Rewards As with change, Mr. Strawderman faced defiance by some faculty members. Comments like, ââ¬Å"Some students are going to think this is stupid and childish,â⬠were used to discourage this new activity. As the process began, aproximately $70,000 was spent on high interest inventory reading. Strawderman and his committee did all of the work, not putting the strain on the teachers with implementing this program. This process was made easy as possible for the teachers. After the program began, it was discovered that the students loved the program. The majority of the at-risk students enjoyed it the most. What was also discovered, is that every student may act is if they do not like to read, but they all want to know how to read (http://www. nassp. org/Content. aspx? topic=59746). Within this program celebrations were rendered and awards are given as incentives. This program provided an additional 33 hours of reading in the school for the year and has provided a positive outlook for the schoolââ¬â¢s reading deficit. Since Strawderman became principal, the school has made noteworthy and substantial cultural and meaningful changes that have led to effective progress for each student. Strawderman understood that the necessary changes implemented could not done by him solely. Along with making improvements for students, Strawderman also realized the importance in providing leadership and support for his staff members. ââ¬Å"He envisioned a school of professional learning communities in which teachers worked together ââ¬Ëto choose every day to make a difference in the lives of our studentsââ¬â¢ (http://www. assp. org/Content. aspx? topic=59746). First Order or Second Order Change? First and second order change are natural occurrences involved within settings of change. It has been reported that uninterrupted, first order change happens without interference to the system in place. Within this particular order of change the leader is involved in pushing for improvement within the productivity an d value of a school or program without making major alterations to what has been established among teachers and students. In addition, this conflict often faces less confusion and divergence (Green, 2013). Second order change, on the other hand, faces uneasy transitions because of change and interruption to the system in place. In this particular order of change the existing order is taken in another direction for the good of the school or program. Furthermore there are new objectives, as well as changes in structure and programs in which individuals are asked to function differently within their role (Green, 2013). Becoming principal of Loris High School, opened doors of opportunity for Trevor Strawderman to make necessary changes for the betterment of the school. Strawderman initially took some matters in his hand to push for this change by presenting data figures to faculty as proof of the situation in need. As a result of this new change every teacher was given a task to apply ââ¬Å"student lexile levels from the Measures of Academic Progress -Reading (MAP-R) computerized assessments to gauge studentsââ¬â¢ mastery of basic reading skillsâ⬠(http://www. nassp. org/Content. aspx? topic=59746). Because implementing these changes required disruption to the already established program curriculum, Strawderman and his team faced some defiance. This situation is reflective of the second-order change. The Good and the Bad Although the reading program at Loris High School has brought forth much success, negativity surfaced at the beginning stages of implementing this program. Mildly disgruntled teachers gave notion of their dislike of changing their already established curriculum without consulting them fully. Before allowing the situation to escalate with these faculty members, Mr.à Strawderman could have met with the teachers to answer questions and to address concerns about the immediate change once he brought it forward. (http://www. nassp. org/Content. aspx? topic=59746). Working collaboratively with faculty could have also presented a variety of innovative ideas. Michael Fullanââ¬â¢s reports on research indicates that institutionalization of modification and change is extremely challenging. Moreover, additional reports reveal that school improvements that are substantial and long-term rarely can be set, authorized or guided by organizations or individuals (Fullan, 1993). When change occurs in a school setting the following attitudes may arise: ââ¬Å"teachers may feel a sense of in adequacy or lack of preparation, or they may fear the unknown or perceive a loss of power or controlâ⬠(Green, 2013). Conclusion Through this assignment an abundance of useful information was grasped regarding leadership and instructional change. Due to the changes in time, it is pertinent for all leaders to foster the ideas of bringing forth instructional change in a school setting. The way children are educated must change because children, the world, and economics are changing daily. At times change is considered taboo and frightening. However, when handled effectively and efficiently, it may be the cure to an ailing situation. There is much confidence among the reorganizers of school and researchers in the field of education that enhancing the learning opportunities of practicing teachers will boost and develop teacher performance and progress to developmentally improved student outcomes (Parise & Spillane, 2010).
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