Kerry Group Case Analysis Essay -- essays research papers

The Kerry Group started more than thirty years back in the south west locale of Ireland. Starting as a dairy and fixings plant the organization has now thrived into a worldwide innovator in the food fixings and flavor items territory. Kerry Group is headquartered in Tralee, Ireland and through its assembling, deals, and specialized revolves far and wide, utilizes more than 20,000 individuals. The organization supplies more than 10,000 food, food fixings and other flavor items to clients in more than 140 nations. Kerry Group additionally has assembling and deals offices in more than 20 nations. At the point when Ireland joined the EEC or European Economic Community in 1973 numerous little dairies started to converge so as to contend with the bigger dairy creating organizations. Kerry likewise partook in the mergers with assistance from the milk providers of the County. Kerry obtained the State possessed milk preparing organization alongside its creameries. The Group likewise held a 42.5% stake in the NKMP Company for an aggregate of 1.5 million Euros. Simultaneously, six of the eight free Co-operations, which claimed the other 42.5% stake, were procured and turned into another auxiliary of the Kerry Co-employable Creameries Ltd, which started exchanging 1974. Kerry started as the littlest of six rural centers, a place that was soon to change. As Kerry started developing they built up some key qualities in the SWOT (qualities, shortcomings, openings, and dangers) investigation that are the spine for the accomplishment of the Kerry Group. The significant quality of the Kerry Group is acquisition. Acquisition permits Kerry to utilize accessible worldwide assets in claim to fame fixings, seasonings, covering frameworks, sweet fixings, dietary frameworks, and forte proteins; by doing this they can obtain the most excellent crude materials. Another quality of Kerry is mechanical turn of events. Through mechanical improvement Kerry can create flavors and addition a bit of leeway over the opposition. Kerry gains this mechanical favorable position through innovative work and acquisitions. The shortcomings of Kerry Group incorporate the firm foundation. The Group’s obligation to-value proportion is excessively high for an organization of Kerry’s size. Another shortcoming is in Kerry’s Human Resource Management division. The executives urges the representatives to think â€Å"Kerry† or in sense be â€Å"Kerryized,† if workers don't follow this style of reasoning they are ... ...pioneer in its chose showcases through imagination and predominant client care. The Group is proceeding to center numerous endeavors to extend its quality in worldwide food and fixings markets and its purchaser nourishments organizations in Europe and abroad. The Kerry Group has as of late put without hesitation intends to buy a claim to fame nourishments organization in China that is relied upon to arrive at an extra 1.3 billion new clients. This endeavor will be a colossal advance for Kerry Group since it will be totally confined (a multi-local technique), in that all business activities are relied upon to be gone over to the new offices in China before the finish of 2006.      Today, Kerry has risen into a pioneer in the food handling and fixings business, arriving at its objective set in the mid 1980’s. The gathering has five essential regions of business; which incorporate Kerry Ingredients, Kerry Bio-Science, Kerry Foods, Kerry Agribusiness, and Mastertaste. On the off chance that Kerry bunch keeps on working from their corporate and business level methodologies and keeps on assessing their SWOT investigation they will remain in front of the opposition and keep on staying an innovator in the food fixings and preparing segment.

How to Get on the New York Times Bestseller List ( What to Know First)

Step by step instructions to Get on the New York Times Bestseller List ( What to Know First) Step by step instructions to Get on the New York Times Bestseller List Would you like to figure out how to jump on the New York Times Bestseller list?If soyou may have the basic desire to turn into a top rated creator. The glory, the title, and the credibilty are on the whole super temptingBut theres more to arriving on the NYT Bestseller list than simply composing a book and trusting it gets there.Heres how to jump on the New York Times Bestseller list:Understand what the NYT Bestseller list is looking forObtain quick and differing salesEstablish an enormous writer platformHave a pre-request list before your launchGet paid for talking in mass book purchasesIf you need to avoid directly down to these means, click right here.Otherwise, stay with the goal that you can increase a further comprehension of what it really implies and what it genuinely takes to jump on the New York Times Bestseller list.NOTE: If you need to turn into a top of the line writer in a manner that is genuinely effective, look at our VIP Self-Publishing Program to figure out how to g et it going. Study it hereWhy would creators like to jump on the New York Times Bestseller list?Getting distributed in the New York Times Bestseller list is generally viewed as the best quality level in the distributing scene. While numerous striking blockbuster records exist in the distributing scene - The Wall Street Journal hit list for business-themed books, for example the New York Times Bestseller list, distributed week after week since 1931, is the most seasoned and most renowned rundown. To that degree, getting your work distributed on the rundown is a significant arrangement. Getting distributed on the Times’ list not just raises your profile as a set up writer yet can offer a lot more opportunities.Here are a few advantages of turning into a NYT Bestselling author:Land future composing contracts with built up printing housesBroader industry recognitionEstablish you as a significant idea pioneer and expertProvide expanded deals especially on the off chance that you a re a lesser-known writerLend a decent arrangement of boasting rights. Hit Lists are EvolvingPerhaps the most significant thing to comprehend about the New York Times Bestseller list is that it is a developing rundown. It generally has been and, as recorded and later patterns appear to recommend, most likely consistently will be. To be reasonable, it isn't just the Times. Just as later as 1995 did the Los Angeles Times start to tally soft cover books again on its smash hit list. Further back in time, in 1961, the Chicago Tribune all the more scandalously denied certain high-selling books that it viewed as â€Å"sewer composed by filthy fingered writers for grimy disapproved readers† from showing up on its Bestseller list. Different sorts and exemplary works of writing have verifiably not showed up on the New York Times Bestseller list.  The ongoing blast of E-books (The Times started including them in 2010), independently published books, and book recordings have likewise ad ded to an all the more developing list.How do smash hit records work?The New York Times Bestseller list is comprised of different records isolated by various classifications, for example, fiction and true to life, hardcover, soft cover, Ebooks, book recordings, and different book genres.For you, the hopeful author whose objective it is to be distributed in the their Bestseller list, presumably the most significant thing to know is what merits composing in the event that you are to get your work distributed on the rundown. Once more, The New York Times doesn't consider different classes for their blockbuster list. A supportive article distributed on their site about their different rules and scoring technique explains the issue. Here is the thing that those rules state: â€Å"Among the classifications not effectively followed as of now are: enduring merchants, required homeroom perusing, course readings, reference and test planning guides, digital books accessible only from a solita ry seller, diaries, exercise manuals, calorie counters, shopping aides, periodicals and crossword puzzles.†Cookbooks, in opposition to prevalent thinking, are incorporated, as are religion, otherworldliness, and confidence books. The NYT Bestseller â€Å"List† is certifiably not a True Measure of Bestselling StatusIt may appear to be conflicting and still stays disputable to state yet it is in any case obvious: The New York Times Bestseller list doesn't speak to a genuine blockbuster listthat is, when representing real complete deals. Exactly what establishes â€Å"Bestseller† status has been the decades-long fight lawful, political, business, and in any case between-the Times, different writers, and book distributers. Like any conventional watchman, the Times has its arrangement of rules, principles, and systems. Accordingly, they hold the â€Å"keys† as to â€Å"who† gets in. It is ideal to consider New York Times Bestseller status as something th at is abstract in nature. A book that turns into a New York Times Bestseller doesn’t fundamentally need to sell a great many duplicates, or several thousands, so far as that is concerned. While book deals do meet the abstract measures that the Times utilizes, it is a particular sort of â€Å"book sale† that tallies toward New York Times Bestseller status. In addition, given the blast of online deals and the decreasing number of conventional physical book shops (and, subsequently, book shop deals) the business strategy behind how books are tallied has impacted which books show up or don't show up on the rundown. As clarified in an ongoing article about how to turn into a top of the line writer and how to show up on a blockbuster list, its expressed that the New York Times specifically, when counting books for hit status, considers:Books that sold in an unmistakable timeframe: The Times doesn't follow combined deals. Consequently, why the Bible, the top rated book ever, won't show up on the rundown. Books like Don Quixote and The Tale of Two Cities, overall cherished works of art that have sold millions throughout the years, likewise won't show up. Dan Brown’s Davinci Code, in any case, will show up, as it accomplished for quite a while somewhere in the range of 2003 and 2006. Books sold at unmistakable spots: certain book deals are â€Å"weighted† all the more well contingent upon where they begin. Mass deals, under specific conditions, are checked toward smash hit status; digital books distributed by a sole merchant are not, etc.Again, the Times clarifies this in more detail on their site. What Writers Need to Know About the New York Times Bestseller ListEven however it holds its renowned notoriety, The New York Times Bestseller list has been the subject of much debate. Charges of â€Å"curated elitism,† an overreliance on books distributed by the major New York distributing houses, faulty strategies, pay off, article and pol itical inclination have incited claims and extreme discussions among writers, book distributers, and industry executives.A 1983 claim by William Beatty, an American essayist most popular for his novel The Exorcist and 1973 film by a similar name, is an a valid example. While his book Legion sold numerous duplicates during its underlying distribution enough to gain an agreeable spot for some time on the Times’ Bestseller list-his book showed up on the rundown just for one week.Sensing inclination and guaranteeing that by it not staying on the Times’s list his deals were being harmed, Beatty prosecuted his case. In Court, the Times safeguarded itself on grounds that â€Å"The list didn't indicate to be a target arrangement of data however rather was a publication product.† The Court agreed with the Times, excusing a $3 million claim. Consider it like this: The New York Times is the paper proportionate to a lofty college and stylish top of the line attire brand. Wi th regards to jumping on their hit list, similarly all things considered for picking up admission to, state, an Ivy League School, few get in.For those that do, they did their due persistence, buckled down, made incredible contacts, kept the principles, fulfilled the article guidelines, among other things.How to Get on the New York Times Bestseller ListIf you truly have your hearts set on turning into a New York Times top rated writer, here are a portion of the things youll need to do so as to make it happen.#1 Know What the NYT List wantsA Stanford Business Schoolanalysis done years back finished up by saying that most of book purchasers appear to utilize the Times list as a sign of whats worth reading.Knowing what the Times views as a blockbuster is significant in light of the fact that it gives an accommodating window into this fragment of the top rated distributing world. It assists with comprehending what is as of now going for a New York Times Bestseller.Simply start with the classification in which you might want to be distributed: fiction, true to life. Past that, type: history, political, dream, sci-fi. It encourages too to know who the Big Players are.The Times is known to support the Big New York distributing houses. Who are these? What are their accommodation rules? Who are a few operators known for working with them?Do you have the stuff to turn into a top of the line creator? Take our test to discover out!Click Here to Save Your Spot#2 Obtain quick and differing deals In the time of computerized self-distribution and advancement, the conventional distributing course is for all intents and purposes a relic of times gone by. Not so for a New York Times Bestseller. Not at all like selling on computerized mediums where you can turn into a Bestseller by selling your book on, state, Amazon, to whomever, any place, turning into a New York Times Bestseller follows an alternate system.To accomplish success status on the Times in addition to the fact that you have to sell in any event 5,000 10,000 duplicates in a single week, yet these deals must be various sales.That is, you can't offer 10,000 books to a prior rundown of devotees through an individual site or thousands from just a single commercial center like Barnes and Noble.Rather, these deals must spill out of retailers the nation over and in various geological areas everything from Big-Box chains like Barnes and Noble and Walmart, little indepe

IELTS - Discussion Essay IELTS Samples

IELTS - Discussion Essay IELTS SamplesThe need for discussion essay tests samples that show the correct way to prepare is an in-demand feature. However, most students who are trying to understand about these topics do not have any idea how to approach the topic. Well, in the following article, we are going to talk about the discussion essays that would help you a lot.Before we start talking about the samples, you need to understand something. As a student, you should always write well-thought and well-written essays. The secret of good essay writing is to get the right information about it, especially, on what to include and what to leave out.That is the reason why there are different topics to be explored. It does not matter if it is politics, math, science or history. There are plenty of discussion essays that you can choose from and they all will be given in its sample.It is necessary to prepare discussion essay tests samples before starting. This way, you will know what to includ e and what to leave out. There are lots of topics to choose from, but let us start with geography. In discussing about geography, it is necessary to talk about the geography of any country and how different countries have their own cities, mountains, etc.Aside from that, the area of the world that has great topic is the country where you are currently living. Just remember to talk about the history of this country, what country is your current country and if you are aware of the history of your country, you can talk about the history of your country's part.Many students really think that discussing the theme of any topic will not matter but this is wrong. As much as possible, you need to include the topic because it is very vital. Remember that no matter how bad the topic may sound, you must make sure that it was stated.Writing about topics in an essay is not as easy as it sounds. You need to be clear and precise in your writing to convince readers. In writing, even though there are some facts that are based on studies, many people are skeptical so the truth will not be convincing to them.If you want to know more about discussion essays, then you can browse on the internet. You can find some topics to discuss and also the discussion essays that you can take as your own examples. This way, you will be able to write good essays.

Potential For Renewable Energy Generation - 1515 Words

Potential for Renewable Energy Generation: Edgecomb, ME is surrounded by many sparsely populated towns, this factor along with it’s location at the delta of both the Sheepscot and Damariscotta rivers leads to a high potential for utilizing renewable energy. Such conditions allow for potentially using many different kinds of renewable energy sources: tidal, hydro, biomass, solarvoltaic, wind, and geothermal. While all of these renewable energy sources have potential for use in Edgecomb, there’s a lot of different combinations of renewables that could power Edgecomb as well as the entire Sheepscot and Damariscotta valley. In Maine, just like any other place with the capabilities and potential to take advantage of renewable resources there†¦show more content†¦Mainers are well aware of the asset inherent hydropower to control the flow of energy for optimal use, and generally share a conservative attitude toward industrial shifts, due to historic industrial collaps es of small Maine communities, thus, they would tend to favor hydropower over tidal energy. Maine as a state, the Sheepscot and Damariscotta valleys, and the community of Edgecomb have massive potential for biomass energy production, due to sparsely populated communities and an above average proportion of land use dedicated to agriculture. These conditions would allow for the expansion of biomass production, however Maine does not currently take advantage of biomass energy production on a mass scale; thus, the infrastructure to take advantage of this biomass potential on a mass scale would be a huge cost to incur. Additionally, biomass energy production inherently includes burning biomass, which directly emits carbon dioxide. In an effort to cut greenhouse gas emissions by shifting to renewable energy biomass production is an improvement over burning fossil fuels, but not enough to make the infrastructure worth the investment unless carbon capture systems are implemented as well. Ca rbon capture systems capture carbon dioxide at the emission site, compress the carbon dioxide then transport in order to inject it into the ground, aptly named geologicalShow MoreRelatedThe Future of Potential Energy Sources633 Words   |  3 PagesFuture of Potential Energy A lot of factors must be considered when it comes to assessing the potential of renewable energy for economic sustainability bearing in mind that the energy sector is continuously growing. It is imperative that available information on Department of Energy DOE, lands and solar and wind renewable energy resources are gathered. 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Ipad Preliminary Marketing Report - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 10 Words: 3115 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2017/09/15 Category Advertising Essay Did you like this example? Executive Summary This Preliminary Marketing Report has been prepared upon being commissioned by Apply to provide the company with an analysis of the market and an overview prior to launching the iPad product into the Australian market. The report will give an overview of the current situation along with strategies for the future. It looks at observing the current competitors that are aimed against the iPad and defining the industry in which the product is planned to be launched in. The analysis includes a macro economic analysis environment for the Apple iPad which includes the political-legal, economic, socio-cultural and technology factors along with reviewing the way consumer behave in regards to their decision making process. Insights into further marketing research Apple can undertake to help ensure a successful product launch has been instigated. It has also been decided that Apple should focus the demographic segment in general but more specifically be targeting their product primarily to the 18-35 yr old age group along with the secondary target of 6-17 yr old. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Ipad Preliminary Marketing Report" essay for you Create order By targeting marketing stimuli etc to these age groups, Apple can make the most of their competitive advantage and be able to position the product as a high priced high quality product Table of Contents Executive SummaryPage 1 Introduction/OverviewPage 3 Industry DefinitionPage 4 Competitor OverviewPage 5 -Macro Environmental AnalysisPage 6 †¢ Political/legalPage 6 †¢ EconomicalPage 7 †¢ Socio – CulturalPage 7 †¢ TechnologicalPage 8 Consumer Behaviour AnalysisPage 8 Further Marketing Research RequiredPage 9 Market Segmentation Page 10 Justification for choice of segmentation base Page 11 Profile of Segments Page 11 Target Market Choice and Justification Page 12 Proposed Positioning Strategy Page 13 References Page 15 Introduction/Overview The purpose of the following Preliminary Marketing Report is upon being commissioned by Apple, to provide the company with a report in relation to its new product, the iPad. The report will look at conducting an initial analysis of the Australian market in which the iPad is planned to being launched into. Recommendations that are to be made in this report will allow for Apple to decide whether it is appropriate to launch at the moment or whether further research is required, prior to expanding into this market. The report will discuss the marketing environment, target audience, positioning, consumption habits of the Australian public and the longer term viability and adoption rates of this new item. In addition to that mentioned previously, there will be an overview of the industry undertaken, analysis of the current market situation i. e. environment and consumer behavior nalysis and also identification of a segment of the market that Apple should be aiming at targeting along with a recommendation for its positioning strategy. Industry Definition With technology booming faster than ever, it is getting hard to keep up with the rather rapid advancements in this field. Nowadays more people than ever, own some form of personal computing and with ever changing lifestyles, the average pers on is always in the need for something that is adaptable, flexible and complements their way of life without holding them back. As a result of this, portable devices have now seen a boom in the market over the past few years to meet consumer needs. â€Å"Demand for laptop or notebook computers experienced considerable growth between 1999 and 2004. Once regarded as a luxury item only purchased by traveling business people, laptops have become a frequent household item†(IBIS 2010). The iPads falls under this bracket of portable devices with alternative options to it being that of the tablet pc, laptops and smart phones. The iPad effectively contains all that is found in a laptop however with its touch screen keyboard, allows for the iPad to be much more portable due to its slim and lightweight nature in comparison to the average laptop. The iPad allows for consumers to read e-books which are being regarded as the most important transformation within the book industry since the introduction of publication houses (IBIS 2010). Added to all of this, the iPad runs almost 150,000 applications which were made for iPods and iPhones. (IBIS 2010) Competitor Overview To aid in a successful launch of the iPad, it is necessary that analysis is done of the iPad’s competitors. By doing so it will help identify and utilise any strengths and weaknesses of the competitors. The competition can be divided into two categories; direct and indirect competitors. Direct competitors can be regards as those which compete in the same product category and offer identical or near identical products or services, whereas on the other hand indirect competitors would be classified as those that offer similar but not identical products or services. As the competitor overview will only be focused on analyzing the Australian market, it has been established that there are a number of products which could be considered as direct competitors. However for the purpose of the report, only three major direct competitors will be mentioned. These are as follows: †¢ Hewlett Packard’s Slate †¢ Amazon’s Kindle †¢ Asus’s Eee Tablet Apple has always placed a major emphasis on the marketing and the brand awareness of its products. It has prized itself on its glamorous advertising campaigns which include presentations by the CEO and various other channels of marketing. This presents both the direct and indirect competitors with a challenge in marketing their products over the iPad. This also provides Apple with a competitive advantage over the other competitors as their products and services are well established. This will enhance the buyer decision making process and will put Apple in a dominant spot in the market. The main indirect competitors for Apple iPad are desktop computers, MP3 players and smart phones. These products are offering similar features to what the iPad is offering. The iPad’s advantage over these products is that they offer several different features in one product. So converging all the new technology into one product is the route apple is seeking. It’s making life easier for their consumers by being able to conduct many applications in the one product. On the other hand it could be perceived as a strength for the indirect competitors who only specialize in certain products and services. P Dixon, 2010 states â€Å"convergence can be boring, destroys variety, breeds monopoly, kills invention, adds unwanted options, makes life more complicated and robs consumers of choice†. Macro Environmental Analysis It is crucial for a macro environmental analysis of the situation is undertaken as it will help Apple respond to any opportunities and minimize the impact of possible threats. There are unlimited amounts of macro environmental factors that could be imposed onto Apple, however it is crucial to prioritise and carefully monitor those factors that are important to Apple. Analysis could be undertaken by looking at demographical factors, economic factors, natural factors, technological factors, political factors, cultural factors and social factors. Political/legal Apple needs to abide by the Australian Fair Trading acts to successfully release and continue to sell the iPad in Australia. Trading regulations and tariffs is something they need to consider before commencing business in Australia. Another issue they need to consider is the pricing regulations to provide everyday Australians the chance to purchase the product. Economical There are 2 main factors affecting the release of the iPad, which are the unemployment rate and the other being the disposable income. According to Australian Bureau of Statistics the unemployment rate stands at 5. 2%. Australia experienced significant real income growth during the past decade. Between 1997-98 and 2007-08, real net national disposable income per person grew by 2. 8% a year on average, appreciably faster than during the preceding 20-year period (ABS 2010). [pic] Figure 1: ABS Net Disposable Income June 2010 This indicates that an average Australian will have enough disposable income to invest in materials for interest being potential customers to Apple. Socio-Cultural Education is a major factor affecting the Australia’s acceptance of the Apple iPad. The people need to have sound literacy and education rates to be aware of new upcoming technology. ABS, June 2010 states Approximately 96% (2. 6 million) of people aged 15-64 years who were enrolled in a course of study were enrolled in a course for a qualification (Table 1). The proportion of people aged 15-64 years who were enrolled in a course for a qualification increased from 17% in 2001 to 18% in 2009. The indication of a well-educated country only shows signs of a new product being accepted rather than rejected. Apple also needs to consider the attitudes people have towards accepting latest technology. Luckily Australia is one country, which encourages a culture where new technology is accepted and widely used. SME’s use new technology is enhancing their workplace making working easier. Technological Technology affects the iPad immensely as it is used in every aspect to advertise and promote the new product. Apple takes pride in using high quality and to the point advertising to create brand and product awareness. The growing trend of consumers using the Internet and television to find out about new products is a perfect reason for Apple to invest in technological advertising putting themselves on the net, TV, Radio and most importantly hand held devices Consumer Behaviour Analysis To be able to perform an effective consumer behavior analysis, the consumer market and the buying behaviour must first be defined. Consumer market can be defined as â€Å"all the individuals and households who buy or acquire goods and services for personal consumption† and consumer buying behaviour can be defined as â€Å"the buying behaviour of final consumers, individuals and households who buy goods and services for personal consumption† (Kotler et al. 2009). By undertaking this analysis it is possible to understand more about what consumers like to buy, who buys these items, how they go about buying these items, when they buy these items, where they buy these items and the most important query to address is why they buy these items. |Stage |Explanation |Internal Influence |External Influence |Strategic Implications | |Need Recognition | | | | | |Information Search | | | | |Evaluation of | | | | | |Alternatives | | | | | |Purchase | | | | | |Post Purchase Behaviour | | | | | Further Marketing Research Required For Apple to be able to market the iPad and provide its consumers with a remarkable product, superior value and customer satisfaction, they must do research and develop strategic plans by obtaining information in relation to their customers, the macro and micro environment and government regulations (Lancaster 2010). Marketing research can be defined as â€Å"the function that links consumer, customer and public to the marketer through information that is used to identify and define marketing opportunities and problems; to generate, refine and evaluate marketing actions; to monitor marketing performance; and to improve understanding of the marketing process† (Kotler et al. 2009). To start the research process, the problem must be defined and from here a research plan must be developed. This is one of the most challenging parts to the research process and Apple can start by gathering both primary and secondary data (Polaris 2009). Primary data can be split into qualitative and quantitative data. Qualitative data can take the form or conducting focus group sessions on behalf of Apple or in-depth interviews. By doing this it is possible for Apple to get a broader understanding, based on the questions asked, to find out more about the consumers wants, needs and personal opinions in regards to decision making. Here questions can be tailored and modified as the interviews and sessions are conducted with regards to the responses the general public or particular individuals provide. Quantitative data can take in the form of conducting surveys or sending out mailed or electronics surveys for the public to perform. In this, questions make be asked of the person completing the survey about the personal preferences in relation to portable devices, their lifestyle habits, what they perceive to be important to them and from this further insight can be obtained into appealing to the consumer. In addition to the above, secondary data can also be utilized. This can take the form of internal and external secondary research. Internal research data can be that of sales revenues, customer demographics, purchase patterns and other information that has been collected for other purposes by Apple but can be applied to the iPad (Polaris 2009). External research data can be that of financial performance data, expert opinions and analysis, competitive intelligence firms and corporate executive interview just to name a few which can be sourced from industry reports, newspapers and government publications which are only a few (Polaris 2009). Lastly Apple will need to implement the research plan by putting the various plans into action which involves collecting, processing and analysing the information. Data collection can be carried out by the market research staff or by an outside agency. This stage of data collection can prove to be quite expensive and most prone to error. Here the collected data can be processed by machine reading or checked and coded manually for computer analysis. (Lancaster 2010) Market Segmentation Market segmentation is the process which groups or links individuals according to similarities in needs, wants, characteristics or behavior (Lancaster 2010). A market segment can be defined as being a group of people who share some similarities and who will be likely to respond in a similar way to a given offer. Apple has to come to the understanding that they will not be able to win over everyone with the iPad and will need to make use of market segmentation to tailor their marketing programs to the needs and ants of a narrowly defined geographic, demographic, psychographic or behavioural segments (Lancaster 2010). By doing this, Apple will benefit by being able to improve allocation of marketing resources, identify opportunities for new product development and help design effective marketing programs (Lancaster 2010). Justification for choice of segmentation base For the iPad the base that has been selected for segmentation is demographics. Under this segment there are a number of things to consider such as age, gender, family size, family life cycle, income, occupation, education, race, nationality and religion. Demographics will allow for an effective segmentation as it allows for measurable, accessible, substantial and actionable data (Lancaster 2010). Understanding the demographics would be best suited to the iPad, as it has more subcategories that would benefit the marketing of the iPad if focused on such as age, income and occupation. This segment base will also allow for easier and more relevant understanding in regards to consumers as demographics entails factors which can be closed related to the iPad products. By this it is possible to target the appropriate factors through these factors such as age and gender by observing what age groups are likely to use the product or which age category is more flexing in adapting to changes in technology or to even evaluate who would be more interested in these sorts of products. It allows for a better explanation of the factors behind wanting to purchase an iPad. Profile of Segment |SEGMENT |BUILD A PROFILE | |Age Group |Usage Rate |Lifestyle |Attitude to product | |6-17 |Medium Users |Highly active |Seeking Fun | |18-35 |Heavy User |Highly social and active at work|Seeking Fashionable, Fun and | | | |Practical | |36+ |Light – Medium Users |Highly active at work and |Seeking Practical | | | |Moderately social | | Target market choice and justification After evaluation of the above segments, it has been decided to primarily target the iPad at the 18-35 year old generation. This age group is particularly open-minded in regards to technology and considered to be ‘tech savvy’. The group includes those who are considered to be students ranging through to the corporate professionals. They are well informed with advancements in technology and always competing with their peers to be at the frontline in relation to these portable devices. The Apple brand has also become a fashion statement in comparison to the product itself. The image perception behind owning Apple products outweighs the functionality of the product itself in some instances. For this age bracket, self conscious attitudes and behaviour are quite influential in the decisions these consumers make in relation to technological products and Apple would benefit in marketing the product in a way that would create an image within the consumer that the iPad is an accessory, more than an electronic product. The secondary target will be the six to seventeen year old generation. It is not a prominent market as the primary target however it is definitely a rapidly emerging target. Children and teenagers nowadays are constantly being exposed to these portable devices to aid their learning slope and other forms of entertainment. The days of learning the basics from books and physical toys are becoming a distant memory with more and more companies aiming electronics learning aids at children for the more interactive experience. With many consumers in this age group quite easily influenced by marketing material seen on the television, or peers having purchased similar items, consumers in this bracket more often then ever are convincing their parents and elders to purchase these items as it becomes a must have possession to them. |PRIMARY TARGET AUDIENCE |SECONDARY TARGET AUDIENCE | |AGE SEGMENT |18-35 yr old |6-17 yr old | |Size of Market |Large |Medium | |Brand Awareness |High |Medium | |Price Sensitivity |High |Medium | Proposed Positioning Strategy Apple needs to create an identity in the target market’s minds, which will enable to see where apple stands compared to the alternatives. Apple should categorize them in the high quality range and set their prices high due to the quality and amount of feat ures they offer. The consumer’s should see the iPad as a worthy product and be willing to pay the high price, as it’s an all in one product. The consumers need to see the significance of converging of all the latest technology in one product. The perception of being high priced means high quality that’s what Apple is trying to achieve. References †¢ Australian Bureau of Statistics 2010, ‘6523. 0 – Household Income and Income distribution, Australia, 2010’ ABS, viewed on 20th July 2010 †¢ Denning, D 2010, ‘Australia has highest household debt to disposable income ratio in world’, The Daily Reckoning, viewed on 21st July 2010 †¢ Dixon P 2010, ‘Technology Innovation: Future Trends’, Global Change, viewed on 22nd July 2010 †¢ IBISWORLD 2010, ‘G5236 – Computer and Software Retailing in Australia’, IBIS, viewed on 22nd July 2010 †¢ Kotler, P, Adam, S, Denize, S, Armstrong, G 2009, ‘ Principles of Marketing – Fourth Edition’, Pearson Education, NSW 2008 Lancaster ,N 2010, ‘HBN110N – Fundamentals of Marketing – Lecture Five: The MIS and Marketing Research’, Swinburne University of Techn ology, Blackboard, 30 June, viewed on 18th July 2010 †¢ Lancaster ,N 2010, ‘HBN110N – Fundamentals of Marketing – Lecture Six: Market Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning’, Swinburne University of Technology, Blackboard, 5 July, viewed on 18th July 2010 †¢ Net MBA 2010, ‘Pest Analysis’, Net MBA, viewed on 21st July 2010 †¢ Polaris 2009, ‘Understanding the six steps in marketing research’, Polaris Marketing Research, viewed on 22nd July 2010 High Quality Portable Devices iPad Tablets Laptops Portable Devices Computer Computing Home Appliances Entertainment High Price Low Price Low Quality †¢ Kindle †¢ Asus Eee pad †¢ HP Slate †¢ iPad Consumer Electronic Goods

Essay on Cry the Beloved Country - 595 Words

Cry the Beloved Country â€Å"Cry for the broken tribe, for the law and the custom is gone. Cry, the beloved country, these things are not yet at an end (Paton, 105).† In Cry, the Beloved Country, it is 1946 and the land reserved for blacks in Ndotsheni, a part of South Africa, is drying up. In the novel written by Alan Paton, young men and women begin to leave Ndotsheni for the new city Johannesburg. One of those gone is John Kumalo, a businessman in Johannesburg and younger brother of Stephen Kumalo, a reverend in Ndotsheni. Stephen and John Kumalo differ in their regards for family, religion, and corruption. Stephen has a brother, sister, and son that left him years ago, none of which writes to him. Yet, he still misses them†¦show more content†¦He tells Stephen that it cannot be proven that his son was there with Absalom when Absalom killed Jarvis. John only rescues his son but leaves his nephew to hang dry. When Stephen confronts John after the trial, John becomes enraged and th rows Stephen out. He has no more need for his family, just as years ago. Stephen is the Zulu reverend of St. Marks Church in Ndotsheni. He is proud that he is a pastor. Stephen is a good man and is respectful of others, even to the white man. Though being a reverend does not pay much, it is Stephen’s humbleness and sufferings that make him remain being a reverend. He helps others in their time of need and sufferings. He uses religion to bring his people together. During the time in Johannesburg, he becomes upset at the immoral ways of his loved ones. He speaks out and later repents for forgiveness. When it is time for Absalom’s execution, Stephen goes up to the mountains to pray. Therefore, his faith in God remains strong even after all his trials. While Stephen praises the Church, John openly denounces it. John no longer belongs to the Anglican Church. He criticizes the bishops who complain about the Natives labor laws but does not do anything to change th em. John believes that the time to take action is now. He thinks one cannot wait for God to take charge. As a result, John’s morals sway toward the white man’s ways, in which he condemns. Corruption runsShow MoreRelatedCry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton838 Words   |  3 Pagesthis problem in Cry, the Beloved Country. Throughout the story, Paton adds specific personalities to his characters to contribute to change. Characters in Cry, the Beloved Country went through hardships that changed them to realize reality and its outcomes. Paton accordingly creates a picture throughout his story to explain the problems in South Africa. There are many contributing factors of Paton’s idea to identify as being important for change to occur in Cry, the Beloved Country. In Paton’s bookRead MoreEssay on Racism Exposed in Cry, the Beloved Country1121 Words   |  5 PagesRacism Exposed in Cry, the Beloved Country      Ã‚  Ã‚   The purpose of Cry, the Beloved Country, is to awaken the population of South Africa to the racism that is slowly disintegrating the society and its people.   Alan Paton designs his work to express his views on the injustices and racial hatred that plague South Africa, in an attempt to bring about change and understanding. The characters that he incorporates within his story, help to establish a sense of the conditionsRead More Cry the Beloved Country Movie versus Film Essay1055 Words   |  5 Pages Cry, the Beloved Country is a moving story of the Zulu pastor Stephen Kumalo and his son Absalom. They live in an Africa torn apart by racial tensions and hate. It is based on a work of love and hope, courage, and endurance, and deals with the dignity of man. The author lived and died (1992) in South Africa and was one of the greatest writers of that country. His other works include Too Late the Phalarope, Ah, but Your Land Is Beautiful, and Tales from a Troubled Land. The book was madeRead MoreFamilies Breaking Apart in Alan Patons Cry: The Beloved Country 754 Words   |  3 PagesIn Cry, the Beloved Country, Alan Paton shows us how two families are breaking apart. The natives are suffering but they are not the only one who are suffering. A white person’s family is also falling apart. Stephen Kumalo is a native from Ndotsheni and he has trouble with his family from the start. John Jarvis is a white person and he is also experiencing trouble with his family. Stephen Kumalo’s family is in a bad condition. His sister, Gertrude, and his son, Absalom, left Ndotsheni a long timeRead MoreTurmoil in South Africa in Cry the Beloved Country by Alan Paton626 Words   |  2 PagesAgitation and turmoil of whites and blacks filled South Africa. A major theme that Alan Paton develops throughout the novel, Cry, the Beloved Country is the importance of acting with kindness. The author promotes the idea that kindness is a part of the solution to the problems in South Africa. Being able to be kind helps people understand one another which can help bring reform and hope to the small community of Ndotcheni. Alan Paton through the novel teaches the idea of love thy brother as yourselfRead MoreCry, The Beloved Country994 Words   |  4 PagesJohn Harrison in Cry, The Beloved Country While a subsidiary character in Alan Paton s Cry, The Beloved Country , John Harrison offers a glimpse into the attitude of the younger generation toward the black population in South Africa, one that seeks change but isn t always willing to exert the necessary effort. Who is John Harrison? People enter our lives all the time. Some become close friends. Others are here one day and gone the next. There are some with whom we rarely speak, but when weRead MoreCry, The Beloved Country1710 Words   |  7 Pages Alan Paton’s Cry, the Beloved Country takes place during the late 1940’s in Southern Africa. Specifically, in High Place, Ndotsheni, and Johannesburg. It takes place during a time of social change. There is racial inequality taking place during the late 1940’s. The novel shows what it was like to be living during this time. Cry, the Beloved Country has an urban and crowded feeling for most of the novel. This novel is written in past-tense, third-person omniscient point of view. Occasionally, theRead MoreCry, The Beloved Country1145 Words   |  5 PagesCry, the Beloved Country as a Quest Novel Human nature compels everyone to quest after things they have lost. In Alan Paton’s Cry, the Beloved Country Stephen Kumalo goes out in search of his family when his tribe is being torn apart by family members leaving and never coming back. He leaves Ndotsheni in search for his sister and his son, prompted by a letter from Reverend Msimangu in Johannesburg. Upon arrival in the great city, Kumalo meets Msimangu who leads him to to Gertrude. Kumalo reconcilesRead MoreCry, the Beloved Country1064 Words   |  5 PagesEssay Question #2 It has been said that the land is itself another character in Patons novel, Cry, the Beloved Country. What role does the landscape play in the novel? What does the valley surrounding Ndotsheni represent? Keep it, guard it, care for it, for it keeps men, guards men, cares for men. Destroy it and man is destroyed (Paton 33). In Cry, the Beloved Country, this bold statement reflects both the beauty of the land of South Africa and the peace and harmony of men. Both of their relationsRead MoreCry, The Beloved Country953 Words   |  4 Pageschanges when a horrific event happens. Take September 11, 2001, for example. America was forever changed on that sunny, fall day. It was only after the fact that America started to implement actions against its enemies. In Alan Paton’s story Cry, The Beloved Country, there are people who are changed after a terrible event happens. James Jarvis, a white farmer living in South Africa, goes through a transformation in his life after his son is killed by a black man. After his son is killed, instead of being

Case Study on Constant Change of Consumer Purchasing Behavior Nike

Question: Discuss about the Constant Change of Consumers Purchasing Behavior? Answer: Introduction The research illustrates the concept of the constant change of consumers purchasing behavior and its impact on the business of Nike Inc. Consumers buying behavior is the prime concern of any business in constructing marketing strategies and acquiring competitive advantages over the competitors (Bolton and Mattila 2015). The introduction chapter provides the basic knowledge of this particular research topic. Background of the company Figure 1: Logo of the company (Source: about.nike.com/ 2016) Nike Inc. is an well known multinational corporation of United States that are engaged in designing, developing, manufacturing, and marketing the of footwear, apparel, and accessories (about.nike.com/ 2016). As per the record of 2015, the net income of the organization was $3.273 billion (NASDAQ.com. 2016). It has been found that the net income, revenue, and profit margin has been declining since the third quarter of 2015 (NASDAQ.com. 2016). Rationale of the research. What is the issue? The main issue of this research is that presently the organization is facing some difficulties in generating more revenue as well as profit. The management body of the company fails to identify the expectations of its customers from their business. Thus, they fail to enhance their sales as well as revenue and profit. In 2012, revenue was increased from 20.89B to 24.12B and in the next year the growth was slowed down. In 2013, it was 25.33B and 27.79B in 2014 (NASDAQ.com. 2016). Nike failed to identify exactly which factors make constant change in customers purchasing behavior. The company confronts complex situation in retaining its customers and attract the new ones (Mahdi et al. 2015). In the present situation, they fail to meet the customers expectations and hence most of the customers break their loyalty with this brand and shift to consume other products. Why it is an issue? Presently, the company fails to identify the choices and expectations of its consumers and hence fails to provide customer satisfaction to the fullest extent. This is the reason that the organization fail to obtain comparative advantages over its major competitors (Mahdi et al. 2015). Why it is an issue now? In todays modern market, the consumers have more options in their hand to make the purchasing decision. It becomes more complicated to identify their preferences and predict their expectations as well. What could this study shed light on? This particular research study will help to analyze how the purchasing behavior of the consumers changes over time. Further, the study concentrates on the impact of the constant change of their choices on the business. Research Aim The aim of the research is to analyze various factors that affect the purchasing decision of the customers and the reason that the Nike business is facing certain issues due to the change of its customers choices. Research Objectives The objectives of this particular research are: To analyze different factors that influence the consumers buying decision To determine the impact of consumers purchasing behavior on the business of Nike Inc. Research Questions The research questions for this particular study are: What are the different factors that influence the consumers buying decision? What is the impact of consumers purchasing behavior on the business of Nike Inc.? Summary The introduction chapter creates the backbone of the current research that elaborates the entire research paper. The research rationale, aim and objective describe the requirements of the research. Further, the researcher has framed some research questions in order to proceed to the right direction. Literature Review Introduction The researcher conducts the study on the research topic of the impact of the constant change of consumers purchasing behavior on the business performances. For this research, the researcher has gathered the secondary data and information from various academic books, journals and relevant websites. Some previous research works have been done on the same topic that helps the researcher to gather knowledge and include additional viewpoints. Through analyzing the gap between the previous research works and the current research study, the researcher brings out the uniqueness of this paper. Importance of consumers behavior to the business Consumers purchasing behavior is the most important factor that the businesses considers before launching their products. The design of the products along the amount of supply is formulated by determining the purchasing behavior of the consumers (Zhang 2015). Different consumers have different minds and attitudes to the products available in the market. However, Ahmed, Parmar and Amin (2014) explained that most of the customers are influenced by the visual representation of the products. Thus, the organizations focus more on the advertising process to grab the attention of the buyers. Through promoting the products, the organizations analyze the response of the consumers and take further steps to enhance their sales. The prime purpose of identifying the customers choices and preferences is to deliver the highest possible satisfaction to the consumers. It is important for the business to understand the likes and dislikes of the customers to produce their products accordingly. More specifically, the organizations value the customers behavior in order to enhance their sales and business market. The large volume of customer satisfaction increases the number as well as amount of goods purchases. This way, the organizations enhance their business by valuing the consumers needs and attitudes as well. Influential factors of consumers purchasing behavior As opined by Thompson and Prendergast (2015), consumers purchasing behavior and their ultimate decision of selecting a product depends on some factors that influence them regarding their choices and preferences. In this context, Teng and Wang (2015) stated that the consumers make their purchasing decision as per their personal factors. The personal factors of the individuals vary in terms of differences in age, lifestyle, occupation and income of the consumers. The choice of a teenager in purchasing a product, say apparel, is different from the choice of an aged person. Moreover, people lead different lifestyles and thus their preferences also based on that. Solomon, Russell-Bennett and Previte (2012) added that the buyers are mostly influenced by their psychological factors where they make their decisions as per their beliefs and attitudes. Suppose a neighbor of a person has purchased a branded television, it will influence the person to buy the same one or something better than thi s. Here, the attitude of the person changes due to their beliefs about the available products (Javadi et al. 2012). Thompson and Prendergast (2015) added a different viewpoint where the cultural factors get highest importance in purchasing decision. The culture of the society where a person lives put highest impact on their needs and choices. For example, suppose the consumer lives in a culture where old aged people prefer sophisticated and simple dress and teenagers funky dresses with bright color. Suppose, the consumer's age is 36, thus he would start to shift to purchase more light dresses. Apart from this, the family needs and preferences also influence a persons buying decision (Teng and Wang 2015). If the family of a person likes to consume latest fashionable products, then the person also tend to buy the products as per the choices of his family. Gensler, Verhoef and Bhm (2012) stated the economic factor is the prime influential factor that influences the purchasing decision of the customers. If a persons income or the income of his family increases, then he would increase its consumptions. Apart from this, future income expectation also affected todays buying decision (Lin and Huang 2012). Impact of consumers changing behavior on business In todays modern technology world, people have more options to choose between. The firms confront more competition in both the domestic as well as the world market (Solomon 2014.). The organizations produce their products by analyzing its customers requirements and expectation from the organization. Here, the study has analyzed that Nike business fails to identify the expectations of the customers from their brand. Because of failing to recognize customers expectation, they fail to provide customer satisfaction. Thus, the sales have slowed down and as a result the company generates less revenue in the present situation (Mahdi et al. 2015). The factors discussed above influence the buying behavior and hence the choices and preferences of the consumers changes over times. Among the factors, the personal and psychological factors influence the consumers most in purchasing the products of Nike. Further, it has been found that the market position of its major competitors strengthens more and hence the respective organization is facing more challenges from the business market (Mahdi et al. 2015). Now, the consumers have more alternative products to shift to another brand and make purchase. This is the reason of constant changes in their purchasing decision. Gap analysis between current and previous research studies It has been found that most of the research works are done on how the consumers buying decision changes and how they affect the business and marketing strategies. The researcher experiences that the choices and preferences of the consumers changes constantly as well as rapidly in the present market. Therefore, the researcher has considered elaborating this in the present study with the help of the contemporary issues faced by Nike. Summary In this particular chapter, the researcher has analyzed the research topic along with the viewpoints of the researcher who have done research work on the same topic. Here, the researcher has elaborated the concept of consumers buying behavior and its influential factors. Apart from this, it is demonstrated how consumers changing decision of purchasing a product affect the business of Nike. At the end of the chapter, the researcher has analyzed a gap between the previous research studies and the current research work. This helps to understand the importance of doing this research study. Reference List about.nike.com/ 2016. [online] Available at: https://about.nike.com/ [Accessed 17 Mar. 2016]. Ahmed, R.R., Parmar, V. and Amin, M.A., 2014. Impact of product packaging on consumers buying behavior. European Journal of Scientific Research, 120 (2), pp.145-157. Bolton, L.E. and Mattila, A.S., 2015. How does corporate social responsibility affect consumer response to service failure in buyerseller relationships?.Journal of Retailing,91(1), pp.140-153. Gensler, S., Verhoef, P.C. and Bhm, M., 2012. Understanding consumers multichannel choices across the different stages of the buying process.Marketing Letters,23(4), pp.987-1003. Javadi, M.H.M., Dolatabadi, H.R., Nourbakhsh, M., Poursaeedi, A. and Asadollahi, A.R., 2012. An analysis of factors affecting on online shopping behavior of consumers.International Journal of Marketing Studies,4(5), p.81. Lin, P.C. and Huang, Y.H., 2012. The influence factors on choice behavior regarding green products based on the theory of consumption values.Journal of Cleaner Production,22(1), pp.11-18. Mahdi, H.A.A., Abbas, M., Mazar, T.I. and George, S., 2015. A Comparative Analysis of Strategies and Business Models of Nike, Inc. and Adidas Group with special reference to Competitive Advantage in the context of a Dynamic and Competitive Environment.International Journal of Business Management and Economic Research. NASDAQ.com. 2016. NKE Income Statement. [online] Available at: https://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/nke/financials?query=income-statement [Accessed 18 Mar. 2016]. Solomon, M., Russell-Bennett, R. and Previte, J., 2012.Consumer behaviour. Pearson Higher Education AU. Solomon, M.R., 2014.Consumer behavior: buying, having, and being. Engelwood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Teng, C.C. and Wang, Y.M., 2015. Decisional factors driving organic food consumption: generation of consumer purchase intentions.British Food Journal,117(3), pp.1066-1081. Thompson, E.R. and Prendergast, G.P., 2015. The influence of trait affect and the five-factor personality model on impulse buying.Personality and Individual Differences,76, pp.216-221. Zhang, Y., 2015. The impact of brand image on consumer behavior: a literature review. Open Journal of Business and Management, 3, pp.58-62.

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ENDANGERED SPECIES essays

ENDANGERED SPECIES essays Endangered species are living things whose population is so reduced that they are threatened with extinction. Thousands of species are included in this category. The International Union for the Conservation of nature and Natural Resources publishes a list of threatened mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and (many people donÕt consider them) plants. Millions of years before humans, extinction of living things was linked to geological and climate, the effects of which were translated into major alternation of the environment. Environmental change is still the primary cause of the extinction of animals, but now the changes are greatly accelerated by humans activity. Clearing land for farms and towns, lumbering, mining, building dams, and draining wetlands all alter the environments so extensively that ecosystems may be completely destroyed. With a burgeoning human population requiring food, shelter, and clothing and constantly demanding more energy-using devices, the temperation to exploit land for human use without regard for consequences is great. Frequently, several forms of environmental change are responsible for the disappearance of species. For example, as tropical forests are cut down, primates have progressively smaller feeding and living spaces. They also become more accessible to hunters, who kill monkeys for food and trap many primates for sale as pets, research animals, and zoo specimens. Some animal species may move into human communities when their own are destroyed. Extermination of marauding monkeys, roaming tigers, or foraging deer is easy to justify by people whose livelihood is threatened. Pollution is another form of environments change. Forty species of birds in the United States, including peregrine hawk, bald eagle, pelicans, and roseate terns, lay thin-shelled as a result of ingesting degradation products of and some other chlorination hydrocarbon insecticides that make ...

Professor Interview Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Professor Interview - Essay Example I am interested in finding out the about the specific strategies that help college students achieve proper management of their time, life and scarce resources. The current task will require me to create a plan to meet the emotional, psychological, and spiritual needs of college students. The information from the interview will be beneficial to college students because at the end I will prepare a PowerPoint presentation to teach college students to teach them about time management, self-management, and learning strategies. Concerning time, what do you understand by the phrase â€Å"time management†? Professor : Human beings are required to live in two time dimensions at once; that is, the present and the future (Forsyth, 2010). People need to manage their time effectively if they desire to realize their goals as scheduled. This inevitably creates a conflict between focusing on the pressing demands of the day while creating some space to make strategic plans for future. The conc ept of time management deals with planning time utilization in such a manner as to perform effectively and efficiently all planned activities. Allen (2005) argues that the fundamental objective of time management is to organize strategically a person’s activities in order to increase the possibilities of achieving the intended objectives. Time is money; therefore, time that is not used well translates into wastage of critical resources. Owning a watch does not promise a lasting solution to time management defects; however, people need to understand time management techniques in order to counteract the barriers to time management. Student : What are the primary strategies that college students can apply to ensure proper management of time at their disposal? Professor : Time management techniques that are used frequently include time budgeting, daily planner and time log. I will explain to you what each of them means and show you how students should apply them to ensure they do not waste their time in unnecessary activities. Felton and Sims (2009) defines time budgeting as the setting of standards for spending the available time effectively and efficiently. College students need to budget for their time since it helps to minimize chances of time wastage. Levin (2007) proposed the procedure for accomplishing time budget incorporating dividing the available tasks into unit projects, assigning priorities to project units in order to determine the level of urgency, deciding the amount of time to be spent on each project unit and spreading the available time over specified days required to complete the task. The second strategy of time management is the daily planner. The daily planner enables college students to plan for their daily activities in order of urgency. Time planners should be based on realistic deadlines to avoid unnecessary frustrations. The third strategy is the time log. The time log is a chart that allows a student to keep track of the time sp ent on each activity by connecting both regular and unexpected activities of the day (Felton & Sims, 2009). A review of the time log at the end of the day enables students to trace the loopholes for time wastage and eliminate them accordingly. Time management techniques are foundations for both personal and organizational prosperity. Student : What are the most common barriers to time management that college students need to avoid in order to stop time wastage? Professor : The crucial part of any time management endeavor is identifying potential barriers to

Thinking Blues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Thinking Blues - Essay Example This ‘first encounter’ as he calls it and the many that followed brought on the realization that there was a palpable tension between the author and other nighttime pedestrians especially women just because he was black. He became ‘thoroughly familiar’ with ‘the language of fear’ within a year of his coming to Chicago. He learned to expect car-drivers stopped at traffic lights to hurriedly lock their car doors as he crossed in front of their cars on dark, lonely intersections. He learned to deal with pedestrians preferring to cross to other side of the street rather than have to pass him. He suffered ‘unpleasantries’ with people like policemen, bouncers etc whose job it is to keep troublemakers at bay. To keep his peace of mind the author has learned to control his anger at being mistaken for a criminal every now and then. In actual fact he makes it a point to make elaborate gestures of being peaceful and on the right side of the law likening his various ways of assuring his ‘victims’ to the cowbell worn by hikers in bear country. Through his essay the writer brings forth very clearly the dilemma and dangers that are faced in public spaces in urban America by black men who do not conform to the stereotype of being themselves dangerous or outside the law. Black Men and Public Space, by Brent Staples is an essay that illustrates the above thesis very poignantly. His hurt more than indignation at being perceived as dangerous simply because he was big, burly and black is palpable through out the essay. The essay begins with the words, â€Å"My first victim was a woman- white†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . (Staples, para1) In actual fact, it is the author himself who was victimized. Soon after he arrived in Chicago as a young graduate who by his own admission was timid, a ‘softy’, a ‘good boy’ and one who ‘doubted the virtues of intimidation’ got wrongly suspected of being a mugger

History of furniture Essay Example for Free

History of furniture Essay The meaning of domesticity in The Middle Ages took on a variety of interpretations. It typically encompasses anything from the family unit, their dwelling house and their friends and neighbors to rulers and their castles. The home, as the axis of domesticity could be viewed as a structure together with its contents and lay out. Naturally the growth and development of furniture runs parallel to the growth and development of domesticity throughout The Middle Ages. Nomadic culture was prevalent during The Middle Ages and domestic furniture was constructed to reflect the demands of transient lifestyles. Wealthy landowners together with nobility rarely remained in one place for an extended period as they often traveled between their domains. Heavy, bulky furniture was entirely undesirable in the circumstances. Therefore the furniture was designed for mobility and easy disassembly. The chest was perhaps the most common item of household furniture and reflected the nomadic culture of The Middle Ages more effectively than any other item of furniture. The chest proved to be a diverse item of domestic furniture. It was ideal for storing and transferring goods from one destination to another. Upon arrival at a destination the chest could be used as a table or a mantle. The Middle Ages which stretched over a period of about one thousand years commencing with the fall of Rome in 476 A. D and ending with the conquest of the Turk’s Constantinople in 1453 B. C. ‘It was the age of monasteries and convents, of religious persecutions and of heroic struggles of the Christian Church. ’ (Litchfield. 2004) The period was also marked by a progression of feudalism and war as well as chivalry. However, ‘towards the close, a time of comparative civilization and progress, of darkness giving way to the light which followed; the night of the Middle Ages preceding the dawn of the Renaissance. ’ (Litchfield. 2004) Constantinople, the capital city of the Eastern Empire began to grow in popularity and as a result the migration to the capital city, of families of respectable means grew. When they left their homes for Constantinople they carried with them all of their valuable possessions. The wealth homeowners gravitated toward more ornamental household furnishings and fittings. This represented a departure from the early Classic Greek to a more Byzantine style. (Rowling. 1973 p 17) The dictates of a prevalent Christianity significantly influenced the role of women in The Middle Ages. Ladies were permitted ‘to be seen in chariots and open carriages, the designs of which, therefore, improved and became more varied. ’(Litchfield. 2004) And there was a cessation of the old tradition of ‘reclining at meals’ (Litchfield 2004) was replaced by having guests occupying benches. Until the turn of the fourteenth century the ordinary dwelling house was simplistic in its furnishing, reflecting a slow growth in domesticity with the emergence of the well off merchant mentality. In France, for instance, the main room in a given home contained a ‘bedstead and a prie dieu chair, a table with plain slab supported on shaped standards. ’(Litchfield 2004) The rest of the furniture featured in the main room would typically be comprised of the signature Middle Age’s chest which would have been carved from oak or chestnut with a series of benches or stools. A basic table resembling a supported and elevated slab of wood also formed a typical part of the furniture arrangement in an ordinary dwelling house of The Middle Ages. It was around thirty inches in diameter permitting guests to sit on one side while the other side was reserved for the issuing of the meal. While there would be no family discussions across the table, family members and guests would be in a position to rub elbows, so to speak. This is indicative of socialization and explains the origins of the social term ‘rubbing elbows’. The period spanning the 11th -13th centuries was the hallmark of civilization in The Middle Ages. Religious reform fortified the pope’s position in the church and Medieval society but conflict between the pope and the emperor was unavoidable. Towns and farms witnessed a population explosion with the resulting merchant or middle classes. An unmistakable growth and development in culture and economics prevailed. By the thirteenth century Gothic architecture reflecting the religious culture and a shift toward education and the university had reached its peak. The Medieval peasant however was slow in domesticity although he formed a large part of the noble lord’s domestic make-up. The peasant population, primarily made up of farmers comprised about nine-tenths of the Medieval population and were serfs and villeins. ( Nurmiainen 1998) A typical peasant village was comprised of anywhere from ten to sixty families. (Morrison. 1970 p. 57) Their accommodations were dreary and rather dank in appearance, to say the very least. Their dwelling houses were usually consisted of a ‘dark, dank hut made of wood or wicker daubed with mud and thatched with straw or rushes. ’(Litchfield 2004) Sharing their homes with livestock such as pigs and chicken, the straw/reed layered floors were often defiled by livestock droppings. Dried leaves and straw represented a typical bed and animal skins were utilized as blankets. The stove was merely a fire made of wood and sometimes peat which burned continuously on a dirt patch which was cleared out on the floor of a hut. The stagnant domesticity among the peasants reflected resonantly in the typical furnishing of the village huts. It was a simple ‘plank table on trestles, a few stools, perhaps a chest, and probably a loom for the women to make their own cloth. ’ (Litchfeild 2004) If peasants did anything for the growth of domesticity throughout The Middle Ages, they did it for the nobility. They existed for the sole purpose of supporting their lord and master who in turn illustrated a steady growth toward domesticity as evidenced by the unwavering commitment of the peasant. ‘They gave about half their time to work in his fields, cut timber, haul water, spin and weave, repair his buildings, and wait upon his household. In war, the men had to fight at his side. ’ (Litchfield 2004) The idea and values of domesticity are saliently present in the development and retention of the domestic servant. In this vein, the peasantry can be viewed as a founder of the latter day domestic servant. Arguably, the dictates of the master/servant mentality takes its roots back to the feudalism system that reached its peak in The Middle Ages. (Keen. 2006) Demonstrative of domesticity was the ever present table. It was a shrine to refuge and an escape from the abrasive outside world. The table represented a coming together of family and friends at the end of a day primarily dedicated to bringing meals home. The Anglo-Saxons were no exception. Often a hall which was usually dimensionally off balance because its height was disproportionate to its width and length was occupied by a long table made of oak. The table was ‘formed of planks rough hewn from the forest, and which had scarcely received any polish—stood ready prepared for the evening meal. ’(Litchfield 2004) A typical Anglo-Saxon apartment had walls adorned with war relics, a representation of triumph and defeat as well as a desire to be reminded of those events within the snug confines of a domestic setting. The Anglo-Saxon decorum was simple with a floor made up of a earth and lime concoction not unlike today’s barn floorings. It might even be viewed by modern standards as harsh and crude. Be that as it may, it was the Anglo-Saxon taste and they obviously saw it differently. The Anglo-Saxon dwelling house contained a floor which had a raised step about a quarter of the length of the apartment. This dais was reserved for important visitors and family members and represented the hub of domestic activity. Typical of Medieval domestic leaning, ‘a table richly covered with scarlet cloth was placed transversely across the platform, from the middle of which ran the longer and lower board, at which the domestics and inferior persons fed, down towards the bottom of the hall. (Litchfield 2004) The entire setting of the Anglo-Saxon apartment was reflective of an escape from the outside world. It represented a warm and dry refuge and the T shaped table reflected domestic harmony and socialization in the home. The dais functioned to harvest a coming together, a calming of the minds and an escape from toil. Huge chairs occupied the dais and a cloth canopy hung over the collection of chairs and tables as a means of protection from leaks as rain often escaped the poorly built roof tops. (See figure 2) The dais was domesticity personified. At the upper level of the hall, the walls were shrouded by curtains and the floor was covered by carpet of some embroidery or tapestry, although the color was rather harsh on the eyes. This color choice by no means operated to keep occupants out of the home. It was merely a matter of the fashion of the times. Its primary function was to make the home a fashionable and comfortable place as more and more time was spent at home with the emphasis on the family unit and fostering close relations with ones friends, relatives and neighbors. See figure 3) The table is deserving of further comment in that it speaks to the importance of feudalism and its infiltration of domesticity. Litchfield observed that ‘over the lower range of table the roof had no covering, the rough plastered walls were left bare, the rude earthen floor was uncarpeted, the board was uncovered by a cloth, and rude massive benches supplied the place of chairs’ (Litchfield 2004) More telling however was the tw o chairs that occupied the upper table’s center. These two chairs were elevated more so than the other chairs and was reserved for the male female heads of the household. ‘To each of these was added a footstool curiously carved and inlaid with ivory, which mark of distinction was peculiar to them. ’ (Litchfield 2004) The Norman civilization began to infiltrate Medieval times and the citizens found themselves warring with neighboring communities. This, together with the move toward trade and migrant farming obviated the need to change residence from time to time. As noted previously this nomadic lifestyle encouraged light furnishings and the ability to travel lightly if one wanted to secure valuable possessions. The Anglo-Saxons were adamant in their perception of the necessity for a bed. The bed was reserved for royalty and ladies of nobility. However, as the Medieval period settled into a more stable state the gradual growth into domesticity became more grounded. Ladies began to dress more formally, and the upper classes became more polished. New and more pronounced domestic furnishings sprung up in the Medieval home. For instance, upper floors were added and stairs would follow this alteration. Domestic socialization reached its peak with the introduction of ‘the parloir’ or ‘talking room’. (Gella 2002 pps 5-10) Completing this domestic setting fire places made of brick or stone were inserted refining the overall decorum where previously a gaping hole was utilized for escaping smoke. Even the sleeping quarters took on a new look, one of domestic harmony and comfort. ‘Bedsteads were carved and draped with rich hangings. Armoires made of oak and enriched with carving, and Presses date from about the end of the eleventh century. ’(Litchfield 2004) Medieval France was no different from Anglo-Saxon decor. The domestic chamber was similar to that of the Anglo-Saxons and typical European knight and lady ‘bedroom’ settings. (Kauper 1996 p 146) ‘The prie dieu chair was generally at the bedside, and had a seat which lifted up, the lower part forming a box-like receptacle for devotional books then so regularly used by a lady of the time. (Litchfield 2004) As the fourteenth century came to a close Medieval France and much of Europe witnessed a propensity toward loud colors. A typical room in a castle or palace was adorned with ‘cloth of gold, bordered with vermilion velvet embroidered with roses. ’(Litchfield 2004) A Duke’s room would contain trimmings of gold material of embroidered windmills whereas a Duchess’s room would contain similar trimmings of an em broidered crossbow. Carpets were generally glossy and cushions of gold or some other rich coloring were typically placed on the floor during summer months. The time spent at home was evidenced by the detail and attention given to arm chairs of the time. Litchfield describes a typical chair for a princess as . a chamber chair with four supports, painted in fine vermilion, the seat and arms of which are covered in vermilion morocco, or cordovan, worked and stamped with designs representing the sun, birds, and other devices bordered with fringes of silk and studded with nails. (Litchfield 2004) As commerce developed through the Empires of The Middle Ages there was a development of the middle classes. The domestic values of the middle classes are also manifested by the furnishings and fittings of a typical home of a dealer. The retail dealer’s wife dressed in silk and was provided pillows adorned with buttons made of Oriental pearls for resting her arms and head. (Boissonnade 2002 pp 3-8) The chair which represents comfort and stability is prominent throughout Medieval Europe also had a place in the German community. (See figure 1) Litchfield pays homage to a typical chair of German construction of the times. ‘The famous choir stalls in the Cathedral of Ulm, which are considered the finest work of the Swabian school of German wood carving. The magnificent panels of foliage on the front, the Gothic triple canopy are adorned with the busts of Isaiah, David, and Daniel. ’(Litchfield 2004)

Hollowness in Emily Dickinson’s Poetic Discourse Essay example -- Biog

Hollowness in Emily Dickinson’s Poetic Discourse Much has been said about Emily Dickinson’s mystifying poetry and private life, especially during the years 1860-63. Allegedly it was during these years that the poetess, at the most prolific phase of her career, withdrew from society, began to wear her â€Å"characteristic† white dress and suffered a series of psychotic episodes. Dickinson tended to â€Å"theatricalize† herself by speaking through a host of personae in her poems and by â€Å"fictionalizing† her inner life as a gothic romance (Gilbert 584). Believing that a poem is â€Å"the best words in the best order† (to quote S.T. Coleridge) and that all the poems stemming from a single consciousness bring to surface different aspects / manifestations of the same personal mythology, I will firstly disregard biographical details in my interpretation of Dickinson’s poems 378, 341 and 280 and secondly place them in a sort of â€Å"continuum† (starting with 378 and ending with 280 ) to show how they attempt to describe a â€Å"plunge† into the Unconscious and a lapse into madness (I refrain from using the term â€Å"journey,† for it implies a â€Å"telos,† a goal which, whether unattainable or not, is something non-existent in the poems in question). Faced with the problem of articulating and concretizing inner psychological states, Dickinson created a totally new poetic discourse which lacks a transcendental signified and thus can dramatize the three stages of a (narrated) mental collapse: existential despair, withdrawal from the world of the senses and â€Å"death† of consciousness. In poem 378 the reader is introduced to the mental world of a speaker whose relentless questioning of metaphysical â€Å"truths† has led her to a state of complete â€Å"faithlessness†: l... ...son’s Poetry: Stairway of Surprise. New York: Holt, 1960. Eberwein, Jane Donahue. Dickinson: Strategies of Limitation. Amherst: U of Massachusetts P, 1985. Feit Diehl, Joanne. â€Å"’Ransom in a Voice’: Language as Defense in Dickinson’s Poetry.† Feminist Critics Read Emily Dickinson. Ed. Suzanne Juhasz. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1983. 156-75. Gilbert, Sandra M., and Susan Gubar. The Madwoman in the Attic: The Woman Writer and the 19th Century Literary Imagination. New Haven: Yale UP, 1979. Homans, Margaret. â€Å"’Oh, Vision of Language’: Dickinson’s Poems of Love and Death.† Feminist Critics Read Emily Dickinson. Ed. Suzanne Juhasz. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1983. 114-33. Miller, Cristanne. â€Å"How ‘Low Feet’ Stagger: Disruptions of Language in Dickinson’s Poetry.† Feminist Critics Read Emily Dickinson. Ed. Suzanne Juhasz. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1983. 134-55.

Putting the Enterprise Into the Enterprise System

Davenport’s article â€Å"Putting the Enterprise into the Enterprise System† discusses the pros and cons of Enterprise Systems. These systems gather data—manufacturing, sales, logistics, financial, etc. , and then pull this data into a central warehouse that helps companies make informed business decisions. However, the Article’s main theme is, that while these can be powerful tools for an organization, the adoption of a cookie cutter solution may be counterproductive.The part that most interested me was the Article’s discussion that very often a software system designed by the software experts may, in fact, remove the competitive edge of that company. While we tend to think of computing systems as enhancing operations and making them more efficient through faster communication, automation, removing the need for people, etc. , I had never thought of them as having the potential to remove a company’s competitive advantage.Competitive advantage , of course, is doing something different that makes your company better than the others. The difference, as cited in the Article, is typically the service, speed of delivery, etc. , and not the product itself. If, however, you and your competitor all sign up for the same or similar systems that define your business methods, then you begin to operate the same. Now all you have to compete on is price, which is going to squeeze margins.Of course there is a way around this, as the Article discusses, and that is to customize the system to match your existing processes and differentials so that you get the benefits of the efficiencies where you want them, but still maintain the uniqueness that makes your customers continue to come to you. This Article should be read by any company that is about to embark on the integration of an Enterprise System into their organization.The Article gives a lot of good pointers, particularly on the last page of the items to consider and the need for peopl e who truly understand the company’s methods of operations and DNA to ensure that these carry on even after the software is introduced. For the cost investment of such software, it is vitally important that an organization comes out with a product that makes them better and stronger and doesn’t get pulled down to be just another one of the pack.

Adding security against insider - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 32 Words: 9467 Downloads: 4 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Internet Essay Type Research paper Did you like this example? Abstract Mobile ad hoc networks are collection of wireless mobile nodes forming a temporary network without the aid of any established infrastructure. Security issues are more paramount in such networks even more so than in wired networks. Despite the existence of well-known security mechanisms, additional vulnerabilities and features pertinent to this new networking paradigm might render the traditional solutions inapplicable. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Adding security against insider" essay for you Create order In particular these networks are extremely under threat to insider attacks especially packet dropping attacks. It is very difficult to detect such attacks because they comes in the category of attacks in mobile ad hoc networks in which the attacker nodes becomes the part of the network. In this research work we have proposed a two folded approach, to detect and then to isolate such nodes which become the part of the network to cause packet dropping attacks. First approach will detect the misbehavior of nodes and will identify the malicious activity in network, and then upon identification of nodes misbehavior in network other approach will isolate the malicious node from network. OMNET++ simulator is used to simulate and verify the proposed solution. Experimental results shows that E-SAODV (Enhanced Secure Ad hoc On Demand Distance Vector protocol) performs much better than conventional SAODV (Secure Ad hoc On Demand Distance Vector Protocol) Chapter 1 Introduction Overview Mobile Ad-hoc networks are a new paradigm of wireless communication for mobile hosts. As there is no fixed infrastructure such as base stations for mobile switching. Nodes within each others range communicate directly via wireless links while those which are far apart rely on other nodes to transmit messages. Node mobility causes frequent changes in topology. The wireless nature of communication and lack of any security infrastructure raises several security problems. The following flowchart depicts the working of any general ad-hoc network. Features of Mobile Ad hoc Networks Based on the characteristics, Mobile Ad hoc Networks has following main features. Because of the limited energy supply for the wireless nodes and the mobility of the nodes, the wireless links between mobile nodes in the Ad hoc Network are not consistent for the communication participants. Due to the continuous motion of nodes, the topology of the mobile ad hoc network changes constantly, the nodes can continuously move into and out of the radio range of the other nodes in the ad hoc network, and the routing information will be changing all the time because of the movement of the nodes. Lack of incorporation of security features in statically configured wireless routing protocol not meant for Ad hoc environments. Because the topology of the Ad hoc Networks is changing constantly, it is necessary for each pair of adjacent nodes to incorporate in the routing issue so as to prevent some kind of potential attacks that try to make use of vulnerabilities in the statically configured routing protocol. Mobile Ad hoc Network Routing Protocols Routing in Mobile Ad hoc Networks faces additional challenges when compared to routing in traditional wired networks with fixed infrastructure. There are several well-known protocols that have been specifically developed to cope with the limitations imposed by Ad hoc networking environments. The problem of routing in such environments is aggravated by limiting factors such as rapidly changing topologies, high power consumption, low bandwidth and high error rates [1]. Most of the existing routing protocols follow two different design approaches to confront the inherent characteristics of Ad hoc networks namely Proactive Routing Protocols, Reactive Routing Protocols. Proactive Routing Protocols Proactive ad hoc routing protocols maintain at all times routing information regarding the connectivity of every node to all other nodes that participate in the network. These protocols are also known as Table-driven Ad hoc Routing Protocols. These protocols allow every node to have a clear and consistent view of the network topology by propagating periodic updates [1]. Therefore, all nodes are able to make immediate decisions regarding the forwarding of a specific packet. Two main protocols that fall into the category of proactive routing protocols are Destination-Sequenced Distance-Vector (DSDV) protocol [2] and the Optimized Link State Routing (OLSR) protocol [3]. Reactive Routing Protocols An alternative approach to the one followed by Proactive Routing Protocols also known as source-initiated on-demand routing, is Reactive Routing Protocols. According to this approach a route is created only when the source node requires one to a specific destination. A route is acquired by the initiation of a route discovery function by the source node. The data packets transmitted while a route discovery is in process are buffered and are sent when the path is established. An established route is maintained as long as it is required through a route maintenance procedure. The Ad hoc On-demand Distance Vector (AODV) routing protocol [4], Temporally Ordered Routing Algorithm (TORA) [5] and the Dynamic Source Routing protocol [6] are examples of this category of protocols. Security issues in Mobile Ad hoc Routing Protocols Any routing protocol must encapsulate an essential set of security mechanisms. These are mechanisms that help prevent, detect, and respond to security attacks. We can classify these major security goals into five main categories, which need to be addressed in order to maintain a reliable and secure ad-hoc network environment. Confidentiality Confidentiality is the protection of any information from being exposed to unintended entities. In ad-hoc networks this is more difficult to achieve because intermediates nodes receive the packets for other recipients, so they can easily eavesdrop the information being routed. Availability Availability means that a node should maintain its ability to provide all the designed services regardless of the security state of it . This security criterion is challenged mainly during the denial-of-service attacks, in which all the nodes in the network can be the attack target and thus some selfish nodes make some of the network services unavailable, such as the routing protocol or the key management service. Authentication Authentication assures that an entity of concern or the origin of a communication is what it claims to be or from. Without which an attacker would impersonate a node, thus gaining unauthorized access to resource and sensitive information and interfering with operation of other nodes. Integrity Integrity guarantees the identity of the messages when they are transmitted. Integrity can be compromised through malicious and accidental altering. A message can be dropped, replayed or revised by an adversary with malicious goal, which is regarded as malicious altering while if the message is lost or its content is changed due to some failures, which may be transmission errors or hardware errors such as hard disk failure, then it is categorized as accidental altering. Non-Repudiation Non-repudiation ensures that sending and receiving parties can never deny their sending or receiving the message. In order to achieve the overall goal of Mobile Ad hoc Network security, above five mechanisms must be implemented in any ad-hoc networks so as to ensure the security of the transmissions along that network. Secure Ad hoc Routing As discussed earlier over the past decade, many Ad hoc routing protocols have been proposed in literature. Among them the most widely used are AODV (Ad hoc On Demand Distance Vector) [4] and DSR (Dynamic Source Routing) [2] which comes in the category of re-active routing protocols of Ad hoc Networks. All of these protocols have been studied extensively. But as there were no security considerations in the original design of these protocols, these protocols remain under threat from the attackers. The main assumption of these protocols was that all participating nodes do so in good faith and without maliciously disrupting the operation of the protocol. However the existence of malicious entities can not be disregarded in the systems especially the environment used for Ad hoc Networks. To overcome the security vulnerabilities in existing routing protocols, many security enhancements in these protocols have been proposed but unfortunately these secure Ad hoc Routing Protocols were eith er designed for a particular protocol or to address a specific problem operation of the protocol. For example SAODV (Secure Ad hoc On Demand Distance Vector Protocol) [7] was proposed to secure AODV (Ad hoc On Demand Distance Vector) protocol, Ariadne [10] was proposed to protect DSR (Dynamic Source Routing) protocol, ARAN [7] was proposed to protect the Ad hoc Routing in general while SEAD [8] was proposed to protect the DSDV (Destination Sequence Distance Vector Routing) protocol. The purpose of SAR [9] (Security Aware Routing) was also to protect the Routing in Ad hoc Networks. Problem definition Thus ongoing studies on MANETs pose many challenging research areas including MANETs security. Since MANETs are made up entirely of wireless mobile nodes, they are inherently more susceptible to security threats compared to fixed networks [11]. Access to wireless links is virtually impossible to control thus adverse security events such as eavesdropping, spoofing and denial of service attacks are more easily accomplished. These security risks must be reduced to an acceptable level while maintaining an acceptable Quality of Service and network performance. However, in order to work properly, the routing protocols in MANETs need trusted working environments, which are not always available. There may be situations in which the environment may be adversarial. For example some nodes may be selfish, malicious, or compromised by attackers. Most of the work done regarding network security in MANETs focuses on preventing attackers from entering the network through secure key distribution an d secure neighbor discovery [10],[12]. But these schemes become ineffective when the malicious nodes have entered the network, or some nodes in the network have been compromised. Therefore, threats from compromised nodes inside the network are far more dangerous than the attacks from outside the network. Since these attacks are initiated from inside the network by the participating malicious nodes which behave well before they are compromised, it is very hard to detect these attacks. Keeping in view the security threats faced by MANETs we focus on Packet Dropping Attack which is a serious threat to Mobile Ad hoc Networks. Although many research efforts have been put on secure routing protocols but the attacks like packet dropping is not adequately addressed. We study the packet dropping attack in which a malicious node intentionally drops the packets they received. Unlike all previous researches which attempt to tolerate Packet Dropping Attacks, our work makes the first effort to detect the malicious activity and then identify the malicious or compromised nodes in the network. Research Objective The fundamental objective of this research is to discuss the security attacks faced by Mobile Ad hoc Networks specially insider attacks and to review the security in existing routing protocols especially secure routing protocols in MANETs. We particularly focus on packet dropping attack which is a serious threat to Mobile Ad hoc Networks. A novel security enhancement scheme to address packet dropping attack has been proposed. Thesis Organization Chapter 2 provides a brief introduction of security threats faced by Mobile Ad hoc Networks and secure routing to address these attacks. Chapter 3 discusses about the related work and flaws identified in the related work. Chapter 4 presents the possible solutions to address the packet dropping attack in Mobile Ad hoc Networks. Chapter 5 includes the implementation of proposed mechanisms and Results of the proposed mechanism and the thesis is concluded in Chapter 6. Chapter 2 Security Threats and Secure Ad hoc Routing Protocols Introduction This chapter includes the threats and types of attacks faced by Mobile Ad hoc Networks. Secure Ad hoc routing protocols like SAODV [7] (Secure Ad hoc On Demand Distance Vector), SAR [16] (Security Aware Routing), and ARAN [9] (Authenticated Routing for Ad hoc Networks) etc and how these protocols are still vulnerable to attacks, are discussed in this chapter. Types of attacks in MANETs There are numerous kinds of attacks in the mobile ad hoc networks, almost all of which can be classified into two types, External Attacks and Insider Attacks. External Attacks External Attacks are those attacks, in which the attacker aims to cause congestion, propagate fake routing information or disturb nodes from providing services. External attacks are similar to the normal attacks in the traditional wired networks such that the adversary is in the proximity but not a trusted node in the network, therefore, this type of attack can be prevented and detected by the security methods such as authentication or firewall, which are relatively conventional security solutions. Internal or Insider Attacks Due to the invasive nature and open network media in the mobile ad hoc network, internal also known as insider attacks are more dangerous than the external attacks because the compromised or malicious nodes are originally the legitimate users of the Ad hoc network, they can easily pass the authentication and get protection from the security mechanisms. As a result, the adversaries can make use of them to gain normal access to the services that should only be available to the authorized users in the network, and they can use the legal identity provided by the compromised nodes to conceal their malicious behaviors. Therefore, more attention should be paid to the internal attacks initiated by the malicious insider nodes when we consider the security issues in the mobile ad hoc networks. Internal or insider nodes when become part of the network can misuse the network in the following ways Packet Dropping A malicious node can attack at its level or at lower levels. Particularly in the context of Packet Dropping Attack, within a trust level, a malicious node or any other node which aims at saving its resources or intentionally launching a attack can successfully drop packets without being noticed and can get services from other nodes for forwarding its own packets. Node Isolation An internal malicious node can prevent nodes from communicating with any other node. Route Disruption A malicious node can break down an existing route or prevent a new route from being established. Route Invasion An inside attacker adds itself between two endpoints of a communication channel. Attacks based on modification A very simplest way for a malicious node to disturb the operations of an ad-hoc network is to perform an attack based on modification. The only task the malicious or compromised node needs to perform is to announce better routes than the ones presently existing. This kind of attack is based on the modification of the metric value for a route or by altering control message fields. There are various ways to perform this type of attacks; some of them are discussed below Altering the Hop Count This attack is more specific to the AODV [4] protocol wherein the optimum path is chosen by the hop count metric. A malicious node can disturb the network by announcing the smallest hop count value to reach the compromised node. In general, an attacker would use a value zero to ensure to the smallest hop count. Changing the Route Sequence Number When a node decides the optimum path to take through a network, the node always relies on a metric of values, such as hop count delays etc. The smaller that value, the more optimum the path. Hence, a simple way to attack a network is to change this value with a smaller number than the last better value. Altering Routing Information This type of attack leads network toward Denial of Service (DoS) attack. For example in a situation where a node M wants to communicate with node S. At node M the routing path in the header would be M-N-O-P-Q-R-S. If N is a compromised node, it can alter this routing detail to M-N-O-P. But since there exists no direct route from O to P, P will drop the packet. Thus, A will never be able to access any service from P. This situation leads the network towards a DoS attack. Impersonation Attacks Impersonation is also known as spoofing. In this type of attack the malicious node hides its IP address or MAC address and uses the addresses of other nodes present in the network. Since current ad-hoc routing protocols like AODV [4] and DSR [6] do not authenticate source IP address. By exploiting this situation a malicious node can launch variety of attacks using spoofing. For example in a situation where an attacker creates loops in the network to isolate a node from the remainder of the network, the attacker needs to spoof the IP address of the node he wants to isolate from the network and then announce new route to the others nodes. By doing this, he can easily modify the network topology as he wants. Fabrication Attacks Fabrication attacks can be classified into three main categories. Detection is very difficult in all of these three cases. Routing table poisoning Routing protocols maintain tables which hold information regarding routes of the network. In routing table poisoning attacks the malicious nodes generate and send fabricated signaling traffic, or modify legitimate messages from other nodes, in order to create false entries in the tables of the participating nodes. For example, an attacker can send routing updates that do not correspond to actual changes in the topology of the ad hoc network. Routing table poisoning attacks can result in selection of non-optimal routes, creation of routing loops and bottlenecks. Route Cache Poisoning This type of attack falls in the category of passive attacks that can occur especially in DSR [6] due to the promiscuous mode of updating routing tables. This type of situation arises when information stored in routing tables is deleted, altered or injected with false information. A node overhearing any packet may add the routing information contained in that packets header to its own route cache, even if that node is not on the path from source to destination. The vulnerability of this system is that an attacker could easily exploit this method of learning routes and poison route caches by broadcast a message with a spoofed IP address to other nodes. When they receive this message, the nodes would add this new route to their cache and would now communicate using the route to reach the malicious node. Rote Error Messages fabrication This attack is very common in AODV [4] and DSR [6], because when nodes move these two protocols use path maintenance to recover the optimum path. The weakness of this architecture is that whenever a node moves, the closest node sends an error message to the other nodes so as to inform them that a route is no longer accessible. If an attacker can cause a DoS attack by spoofing any node and sending error messages to the all other nodes. As a result malicious node can separate any node quite easily. Eavesdropping Eavesdropping is another kind of attack that usually happens in the mobile ad hoc networks. The goal of eavesdropping is to obtain some confidential information that should be kept secret during the communication. This information may include the location, public key, private key or even passwords of the nodes. Because such data are very important to the security state of the nodes, they should be kept away from the unauthorized access. Secure Ad hoc Routing Protocols Many solutions have been proposed for secure routing in ad hoc networks, in order to offer protection against the attacks discussed earlier. These proposed solutions are either completely new stand-alone protocols, or in some cases incorporations of security mechanisms into existing ones (like DSR [6] and AODV [4]). In order to analyze the proposed solutions and how they are still vulnerable to attacks we classified them into two main categories based on asymmetric cryptography and symmetric cryptography. Asymmetric Cryptographic Solution Protocols that use asymmetric cryptography to secure routing in mobile ad hoc networks require the existence of a universally trusted third party. This trusted third party can be either online or offline. The trusted third party issues certificates that bind a nodes public key with a nodes persistent identifier. Authenticated Routing for Ad hoc Networks ARAN [9] falls in this category of secure Ad hoc routing protocols; many of the other protocols presented in other categories that use asymmetric cryptography operate in a similar manner and have similar requirements. Authenticated Routing for Ad hoc Networks ARAN The Authenticated Routing for Ad hoc Networks (ARAN) proposed in [9] is a standalone solution for secure routing in ad hoc networking environments. ARAN use digital certificates and can successfully operate in the managed open scenario where no infrastructure is pre-deployed. The basic mechanism used in ARAN is certification that is achieved through the existence of a trusted certification authority (CA). All nodes are supposed to know their public key from the certification authority and also the public key of server. Prior to entering into the network, each node has to apply for a certificate that is signed by the certificate server. ARAN accomplishes the discovery of routes by a broadcast message from source node which is replied in a unicast manner. This route discovery of the ARAN protocol begins with a node broadcasting to its neighbors a route discovery packet (RDP). The RDP includes the certificate of the initiating node, a nonce, a timestamp and the address of the destinat ion node. Furthermore, the initiating node signs the RDP. Each node validates the signature with the certificate, updates its routing table with the neighbor from which it received the RDP, signs it, and forwards it to its neighbors after removing the certificate and the signature of the previous node (but not the initiators signature and certificate). The signature prevents malicious nodes from injecting arbitrary route discovery packets that alter routes or form loops [13]. The destination node eventually receives the RDP and replies with a reply packet (REP). The REP contains the address of the source node, the destinations certificate, a nonce, and the associated timestamp. The destination node signs the REP before transmitting it. The REP is forwarded back to the initiating node by a process similar to the one described for the route discovery, except that the REP is unicasted along the reverse path. The source node is able to verify that the destination node sent the REP by ch ecking the nonce and the signature. Figure 2 illustrates the process of route discovery in ARAN. All messages are authenticated at each hop from source to destination as well as on the reverse path. Due to heavy computation involved with the certificates, ARAN is vulnerable to many attacks e.g. DOS attacks. In situation when there are no malicious nodes in the network the load involved in the routing process force the legitimate nodes to drop the packets in order to save their resources. Symmetric Cryptography Solutions Symmetric cryptographic solutions rely solely on symmetric cryptography to secure the function of routing in wireless ad hoc networks. The mechanisms utilized is hash functions and hash chains. A one-way hash function is a function that takes an input of arbitrary length and returns an output of fixed length [14]. As hash functions are especially lightweight when compared to other symmetric and asymmetric cryptographic operations, they have been extensively used in the context of securing ad hoc routing. Secure Ad hoc On-demand Distance Vector Protocol (SAODV) The Secure Ad hoc On Demand Distance Vector (SAODV) [7] addresses the problem of securing a MANET network. SAODV is an extension of AODV[4] routing protocol that can be used to protect the route discovery mechanism by providing security features like authentication, integrity and non-repudiation. It uses digital signatures to authenticate the non-mutable fields of the message, and hash chains to secure the hop count information (the only mutable field in message) in both RREQ and RREP messages. The SAODV scheme is based on the assumption that each node possesses certified public keys of all network nodes . In order to facilitate the transmission of the information required for the security mechanisms, SAODV defines extensions to the standard AODV message format. These SAODV extensions consist of the following fields. The hash function field identifies the one-way hash function that is used. The field max hop count is a counter that specifies the maximum number of nodes a packet is allowed to go through. The top hash field is the result of the application of the hash function max hop count times to a randomly generated number, and finally the field hash is this random number. When a node transmits a route request or a route reply AODV packet it sets the max hop count field equal to the time to live (TTL) field from the IP header, generates a random number and sets the hash field equal to it, and applies the hash function specified by the corresponding field max hop count times to the random number, storing the calculated result to the top hash field. Moreover, the node digitally signs all fields of the message, except the hop count field from the AODV header and the hash field from the SAODV extension header. An intermediate node that receives a route request or a route reply must verify the integrity of the message and the hop count AODV [4] field. The integrity requirement is accomplished by verifying the digital signature. The hop count field is verified by comparing the result of the application of the hash function max hop count minus hop count times to the hash field with the value of the top hash field. Before the packet is re-broadcasted by the intermediate node the value of the hash field is replaced by the result of the calculation of the one-way hash of the field itself in order to account for the new hop. In SAODV route error messages (RERR) that are generated by nodes that inform their neighbors that they are not going to be able to route messages to specific destinations are secured using digital signatures. A node that generates or forwards a route error message cryptographically signs the whole message, except the destination sequence numbers. Although SAODV provides reasonable security to MANETs routing, but it is still vulnerable to distance fraud attack [15] in which the forwarding node fails to increment the route metric because in SAODV there is no enforcement to do so. Further there is no method to detect the malicious nodes and DOS attacks because in SAODV it is assumed that DOS attacks are restricted to physical layer, but this assumption failed when colluding malicious nodes drop packets during the route discovery process. Security Aware Routing (SAR) SAR [16] (Security Aware Routing) is an extension to existing on demand routing protocols and used where nodes are grouped on the basis of trust level. In SAR each node has different security level which assigns them different trust levels. Two nodes can only communicate with each other if they have equal or greater trust values. If a node has lower security level it simply discards the packet. In case there is no node in the network with the desired level then communication cannot take place or we can say that, that particular packet cant be forwarded unless its security level is lowered. By exploiting this condition a malicious node can attack at its level or at lower levels. Particularly in the context of Packet Dropping Attack, within a trust level, a malicious node or any other node which aims at saving its resources or intentionally launching a attack can successfully drop packets without being noticed and can get services from other nodes for forwarding its own packets. SAR also fails in the situations of secure routing in general because it only focuses on the situations in which certain groups are assumed to be trustworthy. Conclusion From the above discussion, we observe that all Secure Ad hoc routing protocols are still vulnerable to many attacks. Although proposed techniques provide security against external attacks, insider attacks are still an open issue in MANETs. Chapter 3 Literature Review Introduction Many solutions have been proposed to prevent selfishness in MANETs. The main goal of all the schemes proposed in the literature is to make decisions regarding trustworthy entities and to encourage behavior that leads to increasing trust. In this section we discuss some of the solutions presented in the literature in order to detect the malicious nodes in the network in context of packet dropping attack. Watchdog and Pathrater In [17] Marti el al, proposed a mechanism called as watchdog and pathrater on DSR[6] to detect the misbehavior of nodes in MANETs. Nodes in this scheme operate in a promiscuous mode. The watchdog monitors one hop neighbor by overhearing the medium to check whether the next neighbor forwards the packet or not. It also maintains a buffer of recently sent packets. If a data packet remains in the buffer too long, the watchdog declares the next hop neighbor to be misbehaving. Every node that participates in the ad hoc network employs the watchdog functionality in order to verify that its neighbors correctly forward packets. When a node transmits a packet to the next node in the path, it tries to promiscuously listen if the next node will also transmit it. Furthermore, if there is no link encryption utilized in the network, the listening node can also verify that the next node did not modify the packet before transmitting it . The watchdog of a node maintains copies of recently forwarded packets and compares them with the packet transmissions overheard by the neighboring nodes. Positive comparisons result in the deletion of the buffered packet and the freeing of the related memory. If a node that was supposed to forward a packet fails to do so within a certain timeout period, the watchdog of an overhearing node increments a failure rating for the specific node. This effectively means that every node in the ad hoc network maintains a rating assessing the reliability of every other node that it can overhear packet transmissions from. A node is identified as misbehaving when the failure rating exceeds a certain threshold bandwidth. The source node of the route that contains the offending node is notified by a message send by the identifying watchdog. As the authors of the scheme note, the main problem with this approach is its vulnerability to blackmail attacks. The pathrater selects the path with the highest metric when there are multiple paths for the same destinati on node. The algorithm followed by the pathrater mechanism initially assigns a rating of 1.0 to itself and 0.5 to each node that it knows through the route discovery function. The nodes that participate on the active paths have their ratings increased by 0.01 at periodic intervals of 200 milliseconds to a maximum rating of 0.8. A rating is decremented by 0.05 when a link breakage is detected during the packet forwarding process to a minimum of 0.0. The rating of -100 is assigned by the watchdog to nodes that have been identified as misbehaving. When the pathrater calculates a path value as negative this means that the specific path has a participating misbehaving node. The authors suggest that negative node ratings should be slowly incremented in order to avoid permanent isolation of nodes that suffer from malfunctions or overloads; however such a mechanism has not been implemented. But watchdog technique may fail to detect misbehavior in the presence of ambiguous collisions, receiv er collisions , limited transmission power, false misbehavior and partial dropping [17]. CONFIDANT In [18] Buchegger proposed a protocol CONFIDENT which also attempts to detect the malicious nodes in ad hoc networks. Monitor, Reputation System, Path Manager and Trust Manager are main components of CONFIDANT protocol. Monitor observes all of its neighbors for any malicious behavior. If any one of them is misbehaving, the reputation system is invoked. The Reputation System is responsible for managing a table which holds the entries for each node and its ratings. These ratings can change according to a function that assigns different rates to the type of behavior detected. If the rating of a malicious or misbehaving node exceeds from certain threshold value then Path Manager takes action against such node. Path Manger deletes this misbehaving node and generates an ALARM to Trust Manager. ALARM messages are forwarded to other friends and route initiators. The problems in CONFIDANT protocol comes with the Trust Manager that how he will maintain the friends list and what will be the c riteria for threshold value. The attacker can also exploit this overall situation and can generate false ALARMS. Further there is no criteria if two friends declare each other misbehaving through ALARM messages. Moreover, CONFIDANT protocol only supports the negative experiences associated with a node and each entry in identified attackers list maintained by a node is associated with a timer. When this timer expires this node again becomes legitimate node in network. Conclusion From above discussion it is obvious that all the solutions proposed in the literature still lack deficiencies. Most of these approaches are either designed for a specific protocol or to address a particular problem. Further, node misbehavior in MANET environment is still an open issue. Thus, there is a strong need to pay attention in this area to mitigate node misbehavior. Chapter 4 Proposed Solution Introduction Many defense mechanism have been proposed against malicious node behavior detection, however from previous discussion it is obvious that these approaches still lack some deficiencies. Thus with our observation that all the previously discussed protocols are incapable of protecting against insider attacks such as malicious packet dropping, we propose our solution to address these kind of attacks.. This chapter discusses our proposed security mechanism that how we can detect and then isolate these kind of misbehaving nodes from the network. A two folded solution has been proposed to first detect and then to isolate the misbehaving node from the network. Proposed Methodology In this section, proposed solution to address the Packet Dropping Attack in MANETs is described. This proposed mechanism can be implemented on top of any source routing algorithm e.g. AODV [4] and SAODV [7]. With the observation that SAODV [7] is unable of protecting insider node misbehavior such as packet dropping, we propose an enhancement to SAODV routing protocol. Since in SAODV, all RREQ, RREP and RERR packets are signed by the sender so malicious node cannot forge them. The only possible attack that will substantially affect propagation of these packets is to drop the packet. Malicious activity detection and isolation The proposed solution is two folded. Malicious activity detection and Identification of malicious node. Proposed mechanism makes the first effort to detect the malicious activity in the network and then identify the malicious or compromised nodes in the network. This new mechanism does the malicious node misbehavior detection using information from the other neighboring nodes. Assumptions The assumptions of proposed scheme are, All the nodes in the network will be in promiscuous mode. Attackers do not work in the form of groups as it is assumed that there is no more than one misbehaving node on an active path. Malicious activity detection In order to find the malicious or compromised node in the network it has to be identified that is there any malicious activity took place in the network or not. Based on this malicious activity detection the other approach will identify that exactly which node is misbehaving. D-ACK In order to find a malicious or compromised node in the network we assume that there is an active route established between source node S and destination D using the intermediate nodes say N1, N2,N3 and N4 and all the necessary steps require to establish this route has been performed as shown in the figure below. Now during packet forwarding every intermediate node is responsible for con?rming that the packet was received by the next hop. In order to ensure that every intermediate node has received data packet successfully a Data Acknowledgement mechanism has been introduced which we called here D-ACK. D-ACK Operation Now when source node S forwards a packets for destination D through intermediate nodes N1,N2,N3 and N4 , source node S has no way of knowing that packet reached at destination D or not and if that packet is dropped by any intermediate node, exactly which intermediate node has dropped that packet. In our proposed mechanism when source node S forwards any data packet for destination D, all intermediate nodes will send back a D-ACK packet to its source node. For example if at first step source node forwards a packet to N1, it will send back a D-ACK packet to source node S. Further when packet will reach at N2, it will also send back an D-ACK packet to Source node S through N1. Case-I In an ideal situation when there is no malicious node present in the active route path , all intermediate nodes will send back their D-ACK packets to source node to inform that data packets has reached successfully up to that node. Thus source node S will remain updated until packet will successfully reach to its destination D. This operation is shown in figure 4.2. Case-II Suppose in a situation, when packet reaches at intermediate node N1, it sends back its D-ACK to source node S informing that data packet has reached successfully. Source node thus source node S will never receive a D-ACK packet from N2. Upon not receiving a D-ACK packet source node S will retransmit that packet after a specific interval of time which we call here T-interval. Since node N2 is behaving maliciously, it will again drop the packet. Source node S will retransmit the packet again after T-interval up to a certain threshold which we call here Tmax (maximum threshold value). After this maximum threshold value Tmax, now source node S will broadcast a packet to declare the malicious activity in the network because until now source node S upon not receiving D-ACK packet comes to know that one of its intermediate nodes is misbehaving. Scenario in which N2 drops packets and not sending its D-ACK to source node S is shown in the figure 4.3. Case III In another situation in which when a packet is forwarded to its destination D by source node S through its intermediate nodes N1, N2, N3 and N4. When this packet reaches at N1, it forwards the packet to its next hope N2and sends back its D-ACK to source node S. Node N2 receives the packet, forward it and send back its D-ACK to source node S via N1. Now source node expects D-ACK from N3 but when this packet reaches at N3 , it sends back its D-ACK for source node, at this point say node N1 starts behaving as a malicious node , it will drop the D-ACK packet of node N3 which it receives from N2. As source node was expecting D-ACK from N3, upon not receiving D-ACK he will assume that node N3 is behaving as malicious or compromised node but actually node N1 is doing this activity. Although source node S cannot confirm that exactly which node is misbehaving, it can still observe an activity that one of its intermediate node is misbehaving. This whole scenario is shown in the figure below. Discussion We have discussed three different scenarios in which a malicious or compromised node can drop a data packet or a D-ACK. Although source node S do not know that exactly which node is misbehaving , through this proposed activity detection mechanism source node S comes to know that there is some malicious activity took place in the network. Based on this activity, second approach will detect exactly which node is compromised or behaving intentionally as malicious node. Identification of malicious node Since a malicious activity has already been observed in the network, our second approach will detect exactly which node is misbehaving. Detection mechanism As all the nodes in the network are in promiscuous mode , nodes like N8, N9, N11, N19 lie in the transmission range of active route can hear all the packets coming into and out of the nodes of active route as shown in the figure below. For example as shown in Fig, there is an active route between source node S and destination D with N1, N2, N3 and N4 as intermediate nodes. Some nodes near to the active path like N8, N9,N11, N19 lie in the intersection of ranges of node N1 and N2. These nodes can receive all packets sent by N1 to N2 because they are in transmission range of N1 and can also receive every packet forwarded by N2, since they also lie in the transmission range of N2. From our assumptions that all the nodes in the network lie in promiscuous mode and will be ready to receive any packet. These nodes count number of packets coming into and going out of N2. Every node in this same range maintains a list of sent and dropped packets. Once the total number of dropped packets reaches the maximum threshold (Tmax), the monitoring node will broadcast a packet to all their neighbors. This packet contains malicious nodes id, senders id with senders signature. Broadcast message format Format of the broadcast message to declare any misbehaving node as malicious node is shown below. This message contains sender ID (i.e. monitoring node), misbehaving node ID, and monitoring node signature. Blacklist maintenance The purpose of this notification packet is to advertise a malicious node in the network and hence to make this node as Blacklisted in routing table of all its neighbor nodes. This notification message is sent to neighbors of the nodes in range, which in this case are node N8, N11 and N19. Assume node N8 found node N1 crossing the threshold of dropped packets (Td), so it sends a notification packet to all its neighbors. Similarly node N11which is also in the same range as of N8 will see the same behavior from N1 and forward a same notification packet to their neighbors. When all the neighbors of N1 receive this notification packet signed by either N8 or N11, these neighboring nodes will break their links with N1 and isolate it from the network. In future all the nodes in the network before establishing a new route will consult their blacklist to add any node into active route. Benefits of malicious activity detection Now at this stage we can justify the benefit of using malicious activity detection before using the second approach which actually detects that which node is misbehaving. Suppose in a situation when there is no malicious node is present in the path of active route, any malicious node which actually is not the part of active route but it is in the transmission range of nodes of active route can broadcast a packet to declare a legitimate node as malicious node. In this situation source node S has no way to decide and check the authenticity of that node, but in the presence of malicious activity detection mechanism, source node already knows that there is some activity took place in the network, thus if source node did not notice such activity and secondly any other node in the same range of active route did not broadcast such packet , source node S and other nodes present in the network will consider that node as malicious node. Conclusion A novel approach to detect malicious nodes in the network has been proposed. This approach makes its best effort to detect malicious activity and then isolate the malicious node from the network. Our proposed mechanism can be deployed on top of any source routing algorithm like SAODV. As digital signature and hash chain mechanism is already developed in SAODV, this approach will mitigate the threats of insider attacks e.g. packet dropping attack in MANETs. Chapter 5 Results and Analysis Introduction This chapter describes the implementation and effectiveness of our proposed scheme. The primary purpose of the simulation is to verify the contents of our proposed mechanism, described in Chapter 4. It is an important contribution for security issues in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks that will be used as a basis for further development work and experimentation on the behavior of malicious nodes present in MANETs. Simulator Several simulators are available for simulation and testing of protocols and algorithms. We discuss some of them here. Network Simulator2 (NS-2) Ns-2 is probably the most popular and network simulator; however, it does need advanced skills to perform a meaningful simulation. It focuses on the ISO/OSI model simulation. GloMoSim GloMoSim stands for Global Mobile Information Systems Simulation Library that currently provides only protocols for the simulation of pure wireless networks. SENSE SENSE is a specific simulator for the simulation of sensor networks. The simulation capacity depends on the communication pattern of the networks, which could drop to an upper limit of 500 nodes. Shawn Shawn is a new simulator developed for the simulation of large scale networks, which currently needs to be further developed, and provide more technical supports and contributed models. OMNeT++ OMNeT++ is a frequently used simulator for Mobile and Sensor networks, can run on both Microsoft Windows and Unix OS using various C++ compilers. The modular simulation model allows users to reflect the logical structure of an actual system in the flexible hierarchical modular structure. Various module parameters allow users to control every module using either the command line interface or the graphical user interface (GUI). The simulator also provides abundant base function modules called simple modules that are programmed in C++ using the simulation library. An advanced GUI makes the inside of modules and the process of simulation execution visible and controllable by users. Components of OMNeT++ simulation The following components are the basic elements to run an OMNeT++ simulation. The configuration file, usually called omnetpp.ini, is firstly processed by the program when a simulation is run. This file contains the settings needed for the execution of a simulation, values of model parameters, etc. Module and topology properties are described in .ned files, which are parameters, gates etc. Message definitions are user-defined and will be translated into C++ classes. Simple modules sources are programmed in C++ files, which are the functioning modules of a simulation. The decision to select OMNeT++ as the simulator in the present work is supported by the following considerations. Object-oriented Language C++ C++ is probably the most popular object oriented language that just caters to the concept of modular simulation; in addition, C++ is one of the fundamental computer languages, easy to start and use. Modular Simulation Structure Modular structure is highly flexible; modules from different model packages can be modified and combined to function freely, as well as your own modules. Excellent Technical Support There are abundant models on OMNeT++ website contributed by the users all over the world. The forum and the news group of OMNeT++ provide effective interaction, help and support. Free Software OMNeT++ is currently free for academic and non-profit use. The commercially supported licensed version, OMNEST, can be purchased from OMNEST Global, Inc. Simulation Methodology We simulated SAODV routing protocol with the security enhancement of our proposed mechanism to protect intermediate packet dropping attack. Simulation is carried out with 50-200 mobile nodes moving in a 500 x 500 m flat area. Each node transmission range is 250 m. The IEEE 802.11 MAC layer is used. A random way point mobility model is assumed with a maximum speed of 20 m/sec. For the communication, CBR transfers between pair of nodes. Table below summaries the parameters used for simulation. Modification The SAODV standard provides many optional operations to make the protocol as adaptable and flexible as possible. However, implementing all of the operations is complicated and unnecessary. In our simulation we modified the basic options suitable for an ad hoc network. HELLO Message HELLO messages are exchanged between neighbors to check the status. In this simulation, a self HELLO message is scheduled to initiate the simulation. ACK Message We call this ACK messages as DACK which is used to confirm the correct delivery of both DATA message, while SAODV standard uses it only for a RREP confirmation. D-ACK Message Format On successful reception of a data packet, an intermediate node replies with a DACK packet to its source node containing digital signature and sequence number informing that it has successfully received the DATA packet. Blacklist A blacklist is used to block misbehaving neighbor nodes. A node inserts a misbehaving node in the blacklist if it can not receive any acknowledgment after a number of tries. This blacklist is used as a reference in future to establish any new route. Results and Analysis We conduct several tests in order to analyze the effectiveness of proposed mechanism. Total dropped packets At first we carried out a simulation to determine the amount of packets that are dropped by malicious nodes from the total number of packets. Packet drop ratio with no malicious nodes In scenario-I, we simulated standard SAODV, with no malicious nodes present in the network. Simulation is carried out with the variation of different time intervals. Packet delivery ratio vs simulation time graph shows that almost all the packets delivered to their destination successfully. Packet drop ratio with malicious nodes In scenario-II, we simulated standard SAODV in the presence of malicious nodes present in the network. Traffic analysis was done for both TCP and UDP. UDP achieved better results as compared to TCP because there is no form of flow control or error correction. Performance analysis of SAODV and E-SAODV In scenario III , we compared percentage of packet loss after implementing our security enhancement to SADOV. Below graph shows the packets received after the proposed security mechanisms are incorporated in the routing protocol. Since routing protocol detects the misbehaving nodes and isolates them from the network, most of the active paths will be free of malicious nodes and hence packet transfer will be done effectively till the destination. There is a clear decrease in percentage of packet loss in E-SAODV (Enhanced SAODV) as compared to standard SAODV. Throughput In scenario IV, comparison for throughput between standard SAODV with no malicious nodes present in the network, SAODV in the presence of malicious nodes and E-SAODV in the presence of malicious nodes is performed. Graph below shows that E-SAODV performs much better than standard SAODV in the presence of malicious nodes in term of throughput. Conclusion With above experiments, it can be seen that the performance of our proposed mechanism is more effective as compared to traditional SAODV in terms packet loss ratio and through put. The addition of control overhead is justified by successfully transmitting data packets. This also proves that these security extensions are not expensive to implement over a routing protocol. Chapter 6 Conclusion and Future Work Overview This research was aimed at to study the insider attacks in Mobile Ad hoc Networks. The objective was to address the packet dropping attack in MANETs and to modify current Ad hoc routing protocol like SAODV to make Ad hoc Networks more resilient against these types of attacks. This contribution has identified unique challenge offered by MANETs environment. A comprehensive analysis of Packet Dropping Attack was made to develop a security module that would meet the security goal. Achievements In this thesis, effective and practicable improvements have been proposed to SAODV to challenge the packet dropping attack. Unlike other approaches proposed in the literature which attempt to tolerate the packet dropping attacks, a comprehensive approach to detect and then to isolate the malicious nodes present in the network have been proposed. Proposed DACK (Data Acknowledgement) mechanism successfully detects the malicious activity in the network and then upon detection of malicious activity, second approach with the collaboration of other nodes in the network detects that exactly which node was misbehaving. A black list is maintained, to keep track misbehaving nodes for future reference. Black list is checked before allowing any node to be a part of active route. We have successfully implemented our proposed mechanism in OMNET++ to show the effectiveness of our security enhancement against packet dropping attack. Previous chapter depicts different scenarios like performance of SAODV with and with out the presence of malicious nodes in the network. Further comparison of standard SAODV and E-SAODV (Enhanced SAODV) is performed to show the effectiveness of proposed mechanism. This research work presents initial work in detecting misbehaving nodes and isolating such nodes from ad hoc networks. The success of MANETs in many applications demand adequate security for routing protocols. This contribution has identified unique challenge offered by MANETs environment. A comprehensive analysis of Packet Dropping Attack was made to develop a security module that would meet the security goal. Limitations The proposed mechanism has been tested on OMNET++. Due to higher node mobility and hardware costs, it is practically not possible to test these implementations on a large network testbed. However, the baseline protocol has vastly been researched for performance and scalability by many researchers. Secondly, being a novel approach E-SAODV (Enhanced SAODV) works with one malicious node per active route. Simulation results also shows that there is always possibility of false detection, consequently, a node can immediately accuse another node as selfish when detecting that a packet has been dropped. So the value of threshold must be chosen in a careful manner to avoid this situation. Future Work During the course of this work a number of future directions have been identified. As perspective, we plan to improve the solution and decrease its overhead. We also plan to improve our research work for partial dropping and increasing the number of malicious nodes per active route. 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