Website for Marketing Firm Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Website for Marketing Firm - Research Proposal Example Another advantage that online advertising has is its capability to reach a global audience at a fast rate. This enables extensive exposure of the products, brands or services being advertised, resulting to a high success rate (Online Advertising - Advantages and disadvantages 2005). With these facts, the creation of a website would definitely be a great help to promote a business at a very reasonable cost. Websites now reach a greater audience than the traditional advertising vehicles. Moreover, websites represent a kind of dynamism that makes the product or brand being advertised looking very competitive and updated. The purpose of this website is mainly to promote the Marketing Firm, its company profile and most importantly, its products and services to the market. It would be a user-friendly site, in which interested clients could browse through to search on needed information regarding their required service. It basically aims to capture its target market and eventually lead to sales.

Human Rights Essay Example for Free

Human Rights Essay Human rights and the concepts concerning the treatment of man have received much publicity since 1948 during the formulation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Protection of human rights goes way back to the early society of humans and continues to evolve with time as a leading factor in revolution and politics of any given government (Symonides 2003 p. 15). Power limitation for most governors based on the concept of human rights, which provided the foundation for judgment of the rulers’ leadership standards. United States also adopted this concept in their Bill of Rights that later developed, and through stress put on the need for international rights for human beings, the Universal Declaration got formulated too( Maddex 2000 p. 60). Currently, the human rights concept closely relates to the political organization of a society and the relationship between the government and its people. This entails the right of the citizens’ participation in politics, freedom that people should be entitled to, responsibility of the government to the people and the preservation of the people’s human rights in the process of practicing contemporary politics. Governments and states owe the people their prime dedication to maintaining and protecting the human rights; which involves their participation, recognition and expansion of the basic rights of people without necessarily infringing on meeting their basic needs. In order for a state to ascertain success in practicing contemporary politics, they need to strategize on the importance of maintaining the human rights of the people in the process of legitimizing their power and command for obedience. This paper aims to analyze the depth of concern that maintenance of human rights should receive in relation to practicing contemporary politics. The international body’s concern on rights issues dwells entirely on the policies that countries develop, their politics and the respect they maintain in regards to the rights of human beings. For instance during the end of antagonism in the East-West the United Nations strengthened their policies and stand on protecting human rights (Eade Williams 1995 p. 3). In their view of politics, in the contemporary world, they formulated ways to protect such rights; such as offering humanitarian assistance to governing bodies, team inspections in relation to weapon destruction and an effort to fight for the internally displaced citizens. The four duty levels of a state in politics require that they respect the rights regime by protecting, respecting and meeting the rights of the people. Therefore in order to achieve this fundamental objective and obligation to the people, the state needs to resist in interfering with the people’s rights, respect them, allow the freedom of sharing resources, taking part in political action and participating in political autonomy, as well. In respect to the rights of the people, the view on socio-economic rights comes into play because for the political government to be able to dispose the resources equally and satisfy the peoples needs; they face an obligation to respect the people’s rights to free utilization of resources. Regarding a collective group, let’s say the family, an association the governing bodies and the contemporary political leaders need to respect the resources belonging to these groups in relation to their rights to the use of basic resources to satisfy their needs; this is what strengthens the human relations arm of politics in any governing state (Eade Williams 1995 p. 42). Additionally, in an effort to increase and enhance machinery for rights actualization the state has to ensure they meet their obligation in committing to protect the rights of the people. In contemporary politics, the state has to make sure they put measures in place to protect the rights of the people against political, social or economical interference to avoid cases of political wrangles and conflict between the citizens and the arm of the government. This tertiary duty practicality involves establishing and maintaining a legal framework; by effectively implementing laws and regulations that would give the common man avenues to realize and enjoy their freedom and rights. On the hand, human rights form the pivot of moral doctrine that gives political order to the contemporary practice of politics. Hence the observation of human rights in reference to the international bill of rights determine the direction, scope and content usable in contemporary politics in relation to the moral norms of the people. Maintaining this moral doctrine of the rights of human beings in contemporary politics requires the application of convention measures issued in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to rights of the people to quality health care and fair, legal attention; with the aim of improving lives. While the safest way to secure favourable conditions necessary for people to live exemplary lives still stands out as human rights activism; the public authorities remain best suited to secure those conditions for the people (Carey, Gibney Poe 2010 p. 32). Therefore, the much needed importance placed on maintaining the doctrine of human rights by most national institutions and international politics; in an effort to primarily avoiding interfering with the interests of the people. Moreover, the human rights doctrine in contemporary politics contributes to the ideological and geo-political order with a clear framework defining the basis of social, political and economic conditions required to lead better lives. Thus, the importance of practically monitoring and maintaining human rights through legal recognition and validation of the doctrine. Additionally, the human rights moral justification defines the sovereignty considerations made by a nation. Since human rights direct the legitimate criteria to be followed by individual nations, any appeals made by through politics should not by any means otherwise deter the nation-states from committing fully to maintaining the basic human rights. Thus, the human rights doctrine should be highly maintained because this determines the effective way of evaluating the contemporary legitimacy of the national and international political authorities (Shawki Cox 2009 p. 36). Another subject to consider in justifying the importance of maintaining human rights in contemporary politics cuts across the identity role it plays in a community of people. Human rights define the political identity of people living in a certain community; therefore any the political authorities need to be more careful in handling matters bearing the interest of the rights of a people because, in turn this reflects on their moral jurisdiction and legitimacy of order over a sovereign state (Shawki Cox 2009 p. 0). The morality of logic and justification of the individual rights and the community as a whole adds more weight to the extent of attention paid in maintaining human rights. Authorities in the contemporary politics have an understanding that human rights imposes positively to their control of power and effectiveness in law implementation; hence most of the leaders should formulate legislative laws that grant the people the freedom and the right to universal vision and contri bution in political issues. Also, in an effort to legitimize authority in current politics, the state will have to stand up and defend the universality and morals of human rights; indicating that their political concern is not entirely based on position and power, but emanates from their primary concern to retain the dignity and rights of the human beings. Considering the legislative role that humanity assumes in politics, the authorities should embrace the concept of human rights doctrine and pursue to promote high maintenance of human rights; to present the people with better living conditions. This is because human rights initiate the orientation and demand certain goods that lack political justification hence guiding the actions undertaken in contemporary politics. Furthermore in the past, human rights took the leading role in revolution activism; the same case applies to contemporary politics whereby the positive the authorities influence put on maintaining human rights the faster they will be able to expand their democratic control and command audience of the people. Therefore, since democracy in politics and human rights directly relate, democratizing the lives of the people and establishing lasting protective measures would go into creating political order and eliminating the ambiguity that politics has on the identity of humans (Neocleous 2006 p. 135). Alternatively, obligation to establishing and maintaining human rights should be emphasized, not just as for upholding the values of the society and mankind but leaders in the contemporary political world need to view human rights as political so that they will continue to defend and formulate new ones in favour of the people they govern. Satisfaction of the people through human rights- oriented politics involves the authorities appreciating the diversity of the peoples culture, understand people’s views, realize the other value of an individual apart from political persuasion and commit to the democracy of the community; allowing them to contribute to the overall contest for political power(Nash 2010 p. 53). The best response and support showed by the people to their political leaders emerges from their willingness to evaluate their own values, their role in the community, listen to the plight of the people, exclude favouritism and exploitation in their political hierarchy and utilize their personal privileges’ in power to improve the lives of the people. This practically justifies how deep the importance of human rights relates to contemporary politics; and so the need to deduce stringent policies that govern the authorities in dispersing their duties in the political setting. The Human Rights council and the International Criminal Court fall under the few international bodies established to direct and penalize the actions of contemporary political leaders; in an effort to maintain the rights of humans. Abuse of human rights results to tension between the authorities and the people; further disrupting the already acknowledge international rights and laws governing the same hence political instability (Baehr 1994 p. 60). Consequently the probing of the ICC, leads to positive change in the doctrine of human rights as the government and political body abusing the rights of man face tough penalties. Despite these changes emanating from negative political conduct, many ascertain their success and relevance in ensuring that peoples protection from greedy and selfish governance; thus ICC has gone further to increase the penalties tied to the practice of politics in the contemporary setting to reduce the political crime against humanity and the common cases of genocide. Despite the cry, for better leadership authorities through contemporary politics continue to violate the rights of humans; leaving humanity the remedy to seal the gap between the political reality and the democracy of a secure future for the people. Addressing the depth of this issue reflecting back to the controversies in United States of the Abu Ghraib Prison and The Guantanamo Bay prisoners (Johari 1991 p. 26); there’s need to address the relevant problems surrounding the fight for human rights and public display of political awareness through varied avenues like websites. Moreover, the common man can initiate the activism to retain the rights of humans through the family unit and the community which ultimately give rise to the leaders in the contemporary world. Direct campaigns on equality and importance of human rights need more boost in creating educative awareness and affirmative action; guiding the conduct of authorities in the modern world politics in relation to protecting the interests of the common helpless man. Since poor humanity directly reflects on global change, there’s need to cultivate the spirit of togetherness between the community and the political structures present in order to improve the living conditions of people and the growing generation(Symonides 2003 p. 8). Other motivating factors that push for the maintenance of human rights arise from the fear of denial from existence. The denial of human rights supports brutality in the regime of contemporary politics, therefore, to counteract this fear from becoming reality there should be incorporation of human rights policies in political debates; in the contemporary politics paired with their respective penalties in case of violation (Baehr 1994 p. 6). Political lea ders in contemporary politics continue to source out dubious avenues to evade observing such rights hence the need for the United Nations Program on human rights to effect change in contemporary politics through legitimate arguments and conferences with the relevant political bodies, humanitarian representatives and authorities. Conclusively, without pressure on appeals made to effect and maintain human rights, authorities, in the democratic political world, would continue to argue and ignore the desirable quality of human existence. Subsequently freedom and equality in terms of speech and sharing of resources respectively, would become less meaningful in comparison to the benefits that human rights induces in politics; hence instead of politics contributing to nation building the result would only push for the eradication of human existence. Therefore, despite the efforts made by international bodies to promote and maintain human rights, the common man also needs to start human rights activism from the grass root level to merge the two(the family or community with the political unit). This will go into fostering a positive political weather and educative awareness of self protection against abuse (Steiner Alston 2000 p. 55); that ultimately sums up to the minimum efforts towards maintaining human rights to sustain humanity.

Analysis Of RSA Algorithm Communications Essay

Analysis Of RSA Algorithm Communications Essay To protect and hide data from malicious attacker and irrelevant public is the fundamental necessity of a security system. So for this reason for hiding data many cryptographic primitives like symmetric and asymmetric cryptography, digital signatures, hash functions etc. The symmetric cryptography consists of same key for encrypting and also for decrypting the data. Where as asymmetric cryptography takes advantage of a pair of keys to encrypt and decrypt the message. These keys are public key and a private key. The key which is distributed to other and which is publicly known is known as a public key and the key which is kept secret is known as private key. These two keys are needed simultaneously both for encrypting and decrypting the data. Public key will encrypt the data where as private key is used to decrypt the data. Asymmetric cryptographic should satisfy following properties. They are: Key generation process must be computationally efficient. By using the public key of the receiver the sender must be able to process the cipher text for any given message. By using the private key the decryption of cipher text into plain text should be done by the receiver. It will be impossible to compute like encrypt or decrypt the data without either of the key. RSA was designed by Ronald Rivest, Adi Shamir, and Len Adleman. It is an asymmetric cryptographic technology. As in asymmetric cryptographic encryption the public key is known by everyone where as the private key is kept undisclosed. For decryption of data which is encrypted with the public key, private key must only be used. Integers between 0 to n-1 where n is the modulus are taken as cipher and plain text. This n is generally 1024 bits. But the suggested length of n is 2048 bits instead of 1024 bits because it is no longer secure. Algorithm of Key generation: The following steps describe how a set of keys are generated. Two different prime numbers are selected which are not equal. Say p and q. this numbers are of same bit length. Determine modulus n where n=p.q Process or calculate à Ã¢â‚¬  (pq) =(pà ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢1)(qà ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢1). Here à Ã¢â‚¬   is totient. Select an integer which is public exponent e, such that 1 Calculate d. This can be calculated by using modular arithmetic. This should satisfy de=1. Now this ed-1 should be evenly divided by (p-1)(q-1) . Here (n,e) is the public key which is used for encryption and (n,d) is a private key which is used for decryption. Encryption: The following steps describe the how encryption is done in RSA algorithm. It is illustrated with an example where in two imaginary characters are described Alice and Bob. As we know that public key is (n,e) this is transmitted by Alice to Bob by keeping her private key secret. A message say M is wished by Bob to send to Alice. Before sending the message M it is converted into an integer 0 Get the public key which is (n,e) Plain text integer is represented by m. Calculate cipher text as shown c=me Cipher text c is send to the receiver. Decryption: Now when Alice receives the message sent by Bob, she regains the original message m from cipher text c by utilizing her private key exponent d. this can be done by cd=m (mod n). Now she can recover M once she regains m by using Padding scheme. This is shown as cd = (me)d = med (mod n). Since , med = m1+kq(n) =m(mq(n))k =m (mod n) . By this we get the original message back. This can be shown in following steps. Private key (n,d) is used by receiver to calculate m=cd mod n. The plaintext m is extracted. Computational issues of RSA: Selection of the two prime numbers p q: In the very first step p is selected from a set of random number. After this it is ensured that p is odd by setting its highest and lowest bit. Finally p is made prime by applying a Miller Rabin algorithm. Choosing the value of e: By choosing a prime number for e, the mathematical equation can be satisfied. That is gcd(e,p-1) = q. Among these three numbers which are 3, 17 and 65537 e is chosen for fast modular exponentiation. Calculating the value d: It is determined by Extended Euclidean Algorithm which is equivalent to d = e-1 (mod q(n)). Modular exponentiation algorithm: This step of RSA is calculated by following mathematical equation: AB mod n = ( Security of RSA: RSA cryptosystems security system is not so perfect. Many attacks are present like Brute Force attack, Timing Attack, chosen Ciphertext attack and Mathematical attack are some prominent attack. Brute Force Attack: In this attack the attacker finds all possible way of combinations to break the private key. If the length of the key is long then it will be difficult for Brute force attackers to break the key as the possible combinations will exponentially increases rather then linearly. RSA uses a short secret key to avoid the long computations for encrypting and decrypting the data. If the key is long the process will become little slow because of these computations. Since RSA uses a short secret key Bute Force attack can easily break the key and hence make the system insecure. Mathematical Attacks: Since RSA algorithm is mathematical, the most prominent attack against RSA is Mathematical Attack. In the following way an attacker can attack the mathematical properties of RSA algorithm. * By finding out the values of p and q which are prime factors of modulus n, the à Ã¢â‚¬  (n)= (p-1)(q-1) can be found out. By finding out this it will be easy to find d = e-1(mod à Ã¢â‚¬   (n)). d = e-1(mod à Ã¢â‚¬   (n)). Can be directly calculated by determining the value of totient à Ã¢â‚¬  (n) without figuring the values of p and q. d can be figured out directly without first calculating the à Ã¢â‚¬  (n). This attack can be circumvented by using long length of key. By doing this it would be difficult to find out prime factors. That is the reason why it was recommended to use size of modulus as 2048 bits. Timing Attack: one of the side channel attack is timing attack in which attackers calculate the time variation for implementation. Attackers can easily determine d by calculating the time variations that take place for computation of Cd (mod n) for a given cipher text C. Many countermeasures are developed against such timing attacks. Following explains the way which this attack can be counteracted: If the time for all computations is made constant this attack can be counteracted but the problem in doing this is it can degrade the computational efficiency. By artificially showing noise to the attacker which can be produced by including a random delay to the exponentiation algorithm. This noise is virtual but appears real to the attacker. If we multiply a random number to the cipher text it will prevent the attacker from bit by bit scrutiny. Chosen Ciphertext Attack: RSA is susceptible to chosen cipher text attack due to mathematical property me1me2 = (m1m2)e (mod n) product of two plain text which is resultant of product of two cipher text. For example c = me (mod n) which is cipher text is decrypted in following steps: Calculate x = (c x 2e) mod n. Receive y = xd (mod n) by submitting x as a chosen cipher text. Multiplicative property is then applied which is: x = (c mod n) x (2c mod n) = (mc mod n ) x (2c mod n) = (2m)c mod n. By this attacker can calculate m by using y = (2m). By padding the plain text at the implementation level this restraint can be easily solved. Several versions of RSA cryptography standard are been implemented. PKCS Public Key Cryptography standards are latest version. The previous version was proven to be porn to Adaptive Chosen Ciphertext attack (CCA2). This adaptive chosen cipher text can be prevented by latest version which is Optimal Asymmetric Encryption Padding (OAEP). Bellare and Rogway introduced this OAEP. To process the plain text before encryption the OAEP uses a pair of casual oracles G and H which is Feistel network. Following two goals are satisfied by OAEP. OAEP PADDING PROCEDURE Due to addition of random numbers the probabilistic scheme are being replaced instead of the deterministic encryption scheme. If the attacker is unable to invert the trapdoor one way permutation then the partial decryption of the cipher text is prevented.

Is He or isnt She - Original Writing :: Papers

Is He or isn't She - Original Writing I reach my destination, not really convinced how I should feel, or what I should anticipate! A mid terraced house, unsure of the area, but seems calm. A cold October evening, 5 pm and already the streets are dimly lit, a clear sky above, evidently displaying the dazzling stars that gleam beyond. I approach the house to a very inviting welcome, are they really friendly people or do they not get many visitors? I make my way to the lounge and take a seat, a small table in the corner draped in a lace cloth, a bookshelf that covers one entire wall and bursting to the brim with books. I'm immediately offered refreshments before given the chance to proceed with the interview, "A cup of tea would be great, thanks". Where do I start? A very complicated person, whose life is full of twists and turns. Kris, 5ft 8in tall, medium built with shoulder length hair, the kind of hair I would describe a 60's rock star to have, like Mick Jagger's, the rough and ready look. Born in London, but you wouldn't know by her accent, she has more of a neutral tone. She grew up with the feeling of not belonging! It all started when schooling began, nursery then infants. She just didn't fit in and her parents didn't know what to do. "Send her off to boarding school, that'll change things." I sit there, listening to every word that is spoken to me. She's obviously very wounded and distraught by the whole circumstances, as her parents were going through a divorce at this time, but did her mother really feel that this would be the best option, or was it that she didn't know what else to do, maybe she needed to escape? She sits opposite me, fidgeting, almost non-stop, legs crossed to one side and then instantaneously switching over to the other, arms folded, and the only time they unfolded is to remove the hair in her eyes, or to twiddle uncontrollably with her fingers.

Jeanne Lewis at Steples

Harvard Business School 9-400-065 Rev. July 24, 2000 Jeanne Lewis at Staples, Inc. (A) (Abridged) op YO INC Six months from now, on February 1, 1998, Jeanne Lewis (HBS '92) would become the senior vice president of marketing at Staples, Inc. (Staples), a nationwide office supplies superstore. After 10 months working side by side with Todd Krasnow, the current executive vice president of marketing, Lewis was becoming familiar with the department. Her initial assessment led her to wonder if the department's operating style was suited to evolving competitive realities.As KrasnoWs heir apparent, Lewis anted to be involved in shaping the department's priorities for the upcoming year. The strategic planning process traditionally began around this time in August, and Lewis wondered if the time to start taking action had arrived. Thus far, 1997 had been a trying year for the company: the Federal Trade Commission had challenged Staples' proposed merger with Office Depot, and the two companies had recently abandoned 10 months of merger efforts.At that time, Chairman and CEO Tom Stemberg reaffirmed his commitment that Staples would grow from a $5 billion company to a $10 billion company by the turn of the century. Staples not only had to grow bigger, it also had to grow better, as analysts had become accustomed to the company's 14 consecutive quarters of earnings-per-share growth in excess of 30%. The theme of the upcoming year was twofold: strong growth and more effective execution. c Lewis believed that Stembergs pronouncement to look for the â€Å"silver lining† in the failed merger and to take to heart the lessons of the merger could serve as a call to action for the marketing department. Marketing, which served as both an architect and driver of the brand, would play a critical role in Staples' continued success. Lewis knew that Staples could survive only if it was prepared to get rid of outmoded ideas and replace them with new ones†a philosophy shared b y Krasnow. But Lewis also knew that it could be trigntening to give up the ideas that nad made the company successful.Furthermore, the marketing staff was understandably apprehensive about KrasnoWs planned departure, and many were already mourning his loss. Lewis explained: No While the merger distractions were going on, things that maybe should have been dealt with, weren't. Now, I wanted to make it clear that a new person was coming on oard in this area, and fgure out how we could get back to business. We needed to refocus on building our business, because it was as competitive as ever, and we had lost a couple of beats in a few marketing areas while busy with the merger.We were at a turning point in the marketing department, as opposed to being long past it. Because of the confluence of external events as well as our own internal complexity, if we didn't change, then I was concerned it would start to show eventually in sales. Research Associate Jennifer M. Suesse prepared this ca se under the supervision of Professor Linda A. Hill as the basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation. It is an abridged version of an earlier case, â€Å"Jeanne Lewis at Staples, Inc. (A),† HBS No. 499-041, prepared by Research Associate Kristin C.Doughty under the supervision of Professor Linda A. Hill. Some names have been disguised. Copyright 2000 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, call 1-800-545-7685, write Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston, MA 02163, or go to http://www. hbsp. harvard. edu. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means†electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise†without the permission of Harvard Business School. This document is authorized for use only by Harutyun Gevorgyan at HE OTHER until November 2014. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [email  protected] harvard. edu or 617. 783. 7860. 400-065 Lewis knew the marketing department's role in ensuring success was twofold: maintaining the delicate balance between meeting short-term financial objectives ith appropriate promotional tactics and building customer loyalty and retention witn an ettective marketing strategy; and investigating ways to leverage Staples' brand and broaden its franchise.She also had specific questions about some of the department's structures, systems, and staffing. She was eager to get started, but recognized the risks of doing too much, too fast: My style is that I want things to happen quickly. When I see things†either a new problem someone has never had to fgure out before, or where theyVe Just had a different sense of timing†I Jump in and say, â€Å"here's the way to do it,† and that makes hange happen quickly. But that could l imit my ability to work across and with the organization.I could end up spending too much time managing down and not enough time making broader, more expansive impact by managing across the organization as well. Staples' Background (1985-1991)1 In 1985, Tom Stemberg (HBS '73), known for his marketing sa'. n. y and innovations in the staid supermarket industry (as vice president of sales at Star Market, and president of First National Supermarket), pioneered the concept of the office supplies superstore. A â€Å"Toys ‘R' Us† of office supplies, â€Å"Staples, the Office Superstore† would provide completeness, convenience, informed assistance as well as attractive prices†¦ overing everything from coffee to computer software† for the small-business customer. 2 Initial customer research indicated that most small businesses did not track their total expenditures for office products closely, nor were they aware that they were paying on average 40% more for t hem than large corporations. To communicate the savings and increased convenience of its new way of procuring office supplies, Staples' management was prepared to invest heavily in marketing. Staples' message would emphasize discounts and convenience, leaving customers free from the hassles† of dealing with long lines, order forms, and multiple suppliers.For the pivotal role of director of marketing, Stemberg hired Todd Krasnow, a 28-year- old HBS graduate who had worked in marketing at Star Market with Stembergs new VP of operations. In the early days, Stembergs team of five (himself, Krasnow, CFO, VP of operations, VP of merchandising) each had their own primary spheres of responsibility, but they all worked very closely together, doing whatever it took to get the Job done. They began the mornings with a 7:00 0'clock meeting, reconvened for a orking lunch, and generally worked through the evening until 10:00 0'clock.

The eNotes Blog Ruh Roh, JK Rowling Upsets Middle England and SikhCommunity

Ruh Roh, JK Rowling Upsets Middle England and SikhCommunity It seems that when beloved Harry Potter author JK Rowling departed Hogwarts with her latest novel, she strayed a little far from her adoring public, too. The new book, A Casual Vacancy, has been published for all of a week and is already shrouded in controversy. Though it  was never intended to be for a young audience, its mature content was the first apparent no-no that sent some readers over the edge. Next, she offended her home county of Gloucestershire by depicting its inhabitants as snobby bigots.  Now, the author battles allegations that her novel is offensive to Sikhs, and may actually face a nation-wide ban in India. Deary me. Before were all caught up in the sensationalism of these allegations, here are the straight facts of the book: 1. This is NOT Harry Potter and the Casual Vacancy, people. Anyone expecting this book to be a follow-up to the Harry Potter series, or even in the same vein, has quite the shock coming. Clearly, when she wrote The Casual Vacancy Rowling was looking to her next project as a departure from the world of fantasy that she dwelt in before. I think I would be too if I had been writing in the same world for nearly two decades. She has been quite clear from the start that this is not one for the kiddies. Unfortunately, the writer will have a hard time shaking the identity associated with her name, as parents now have the tough task of explaining to their kids that they cant read the latest Jo Rowling creation. For one thing, her self-described rural comedy of manners has some quite mature content. While the most deplorable word uttered in Harry Potter was b****, in this one Rowling gets a little more, um, creative In fact, some of the scenarios and colorful vocab seem to have been heightened by the sheer fact that Rowling couldnt write them in her first seven published novels. She explains her need to write the rude bits in an interview with The New Yorker: She was ready for a change of genre. â€Å"I had a lot of real-world material in me, believe you me,† Rowling said. â€Å"The thing about fantasy- there are certain things you just don’t do in fantasy. You don’t have sex near unicorns. It’s an ironclad rule. It’s tacky. Quite right. In any case, youve been forewarnedthis one is rated R. 2. This book should be placed under the Fiction section. Rowling comes from a small village in the English countryside called Tutshil. While she probably used the quaint Gloucestershire surroundings as inspiration for the backdrop of her story, I doubt the plot of a parish council election gone haywire is anything but the figment of her imagination. However, the books fictional town of Pagford, a hotbed of cruelty and snobbery,  has tongues wagging all over Middle England, saying Rowling has shed an unflattering light on her home county, probably for the novels  bleak subject matter, which includes child abuse, prostitution and drugs. Does nobody read that fine-print reminder that everything and everyone contained in the book is a work of fiction, and not based on facts or real people? I suppose that message flies out the window when your hometowns feelings are hurt. Still, this is a little blown out of proportion. 3. The characters thoughts do not reflect the authors. This goes for any book. One doesnt read American Psycho and assume Bret Easton Ellis shares the views of deranged serial killer Patrick Bateman. But for some reason, perhaps because of the grand scale that this novel has debuted on, readers are offended by the derogatory views expressed by a select group of unsavory characters in The Casual Vacancy. In particular, the language used in reference to an Indian girl in the novel has members of the Sikh community in an uproar. In the novel, Sukhvinder is a young Sikh girl who is bullied by some of her peers. In the dialogue (NOT in the third-person objective narration) she is meanly called the Great Hermaphrodite, a hairy man-woman, and finally mustachioed yet large-mammaried. Its these descriptions of her that out of context have Sikh spokesman Avtar Singh Makkar  calling for a widespread ban of the novel. Note: the important words to reiterate there are  out of context. From The Telegraph, Rowling has said she included Sukhvinder’s experiences as an example of â€Å"corrosive racism†. She has spoken of her admiration for the Sikh faith and said she was fascinated by a religion in which men and women are â€Å"explicitly described as equal in the holy book†. A spokesman for Hachette, Rowling’s publisher, said the remarks were made by a character bullying Sukhvinder. â€Å"It is quite clear in the text of the book that negative thoughts, actions and remarks made by a character, Fats, who is bullying Sukhvinder, are his alone. When described in the narrative voice, the depiction of Sukhvinder is quite different to this,† the spokesman said. However, Rowlings statement of defense may not be enough to prevent a country-wide boycott of The Casual Vacancy in India, if the members of the  Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee deem it derogatory once theyve finished reading it.                                                                                          Ã‚   The whole controversy surrounding this novel has obviously been brought on by the massive expectations set for Rowling. She certainly wouldnt have had to face such scrutiny had this novel been published before her famed fantasy series. I cant help but think that its not really fair for her to be accused of such things; its as though everyone holds Rowling to a higher standard than other fiction writers. Is it possible for her to shake the Harry Potter image and create a new fan base? Mixed reviews for the content of the book aside, do you feel this criticism is warranted or not?

Chapter Summaries for CORN RAID by James Lincoln Collier

Chapter Summaries for CORN RAID by James Lincoln Collier Chapter 1About: Richard Meets the Indian BoyDetails:*Richard is working in the tobacco field when an Indian boy comes up and runs off with his hoe.*Richard chases after the Indian boy when he corners him and they get into a fight.*Laydon comes and breaks it up and takes the Indian boy named Weetoppin home with him.Point: Metal stuff was valuable in those days.Statement: I think Laydon will make Weetoppin work for him.Chapter 2About: Laydon Brings Home WeetoppinDetails:*They get home and they meet Susan.*Susan asks what happened and Richard tells her that he got in a fight with Weetoppin because he stole the hoe. Then Laydon asks her to make dinner.*At dinner, Laydon tells Weetoppin that he wants him to work for him, so they bargain and Weetoppin finally agrees to work for him for a knife, a blanket, a shirt, and some pants.the gang + Richard DawkinsPoint: Indians could live with English and English could live with Indians.Statement: I think Weetoppin will run away.Chapter 3About: Wee toppin Gets Used to English LifeDetails:*Weetoppin and Richard work in the field, and they start to get to know each other.*On Sunday, they go to church, but Weetoppin sleeps during most of it.*After church, Henry Spofford comes up and talks to them and notices Weetoppin.Point: Indians didn't like the English life, ways, or religion.Statement: Richard will look for his Indenture paper.Chapter 4About: Weetoppin is IndenturedDetails:*Weetoppin's father comes and talks to Weetoppin. Then he goes into Laydon's house and comes out with a blanket and hatchet. Laydon then explains that Weetoppin has been indentured.*Richard tries to talk Weetoppin into telling him what happened, but Weetoppin refuses. They go inside and Susan explains to...