How My Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife Essay Example for Free

How My Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife Essay My brother Leon was returning to Nagrebcan from far away Manila, bringing home his young bride who had been born and had grown up in the big city. Father would not accept her for a daughter-in-law unless he taught her worthy to live in Nagrebcan. Father devised an ingenious way to find out, and waited for the result. She stepped down from the carretela of Ca Celin with a quick, delicate grace. She was lovely. She was tall. She looked up to my brother with a smile, and her forehead was on a level with his mouth â€Å"You are Baldo. † She said and placed her hand lightly on my shoulder. Her nails were long, but they were not painted. She was fragrant like a morning when papayas are in bloom. And a small dimple appeared momentarily high up on her cheek. â€Å"And this is Labang, of whom I have heard so much. † She held the wrist of one hand with the other and looked at Labang, and Labang never stopped chewing his cud. He swallowed and brought up to his mouth more cud, and the sound of his inside was like a drum. I laid a hand on Labang’s massive neck and said to her: â€Å"You may scratch his forehead now. â€Å"She hesitated and I saw that her eyes were on the long curving horns. But she came and touched Labang’s forehead with her long fingers, and Labang never stopped chewing his cud except that his big eyes were half closed. And by and by, she was scratching his forehead very daintly. My brother Leon put down the two trunks on the grassy side of the road. He paid Ca Celin twice the usual fare from the station to the edge of Nagrebcan. Then he was standing beside us, and she turned to him eagerly. I watched Ca Celin, where he stood in front of his horse, and he ran his fingers through its forelock and could not keep his eyes away from her. Maria—â€Å" my brother Leon said. Read more:  How My Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife by Manuel Arguilla Essay He did not say Maring. He did not say Mayang. I knew then that he had always called her Maria; and in my mind I said, â€Å"Maria,† and it was a beautiful name. †Yes,Noel† Now where did she get that name? I pondered the matter quietly to myself, thinking Father might not like it. But it was only the name of my brother Leon said backwards, and it sounded much better that way. â€Å"There is Nagrebcan, Maria† my brother said gesturing widely toward the west. She moved close to him. And after a while she said quietly: You love Nagrebcan, don’t you, Noel? Ca Celin drove away hi-yi-ing to his horse loudly. At the bend of the camino real where the big duhat tree grew, he rattled the handle of his braided rattan whip against the spokes of the wheel. We stood alone on the roadside. The sun was in our eyes, for it was dipping into the bright sea. The sky was wide deep and very blue above us; but along the saw-tooth rim of the Katayaghan hills to the southwest flamed huge masses of clouds. Before us the fields swam in a golden haze through which floated big purple and red and yellow bubbles when I looked at the sinking sun. Labang’s white coat, which I had washed and brushed that morning with coconut husk, glistened like beaten cotton under the lamplight and his horns appeared tipped with fire. He faced the sun and from his mouth came a call so loud and vibrant that the earth seemed to tremble underfoot. And far way in the middle of the fields a cow lowed soflty in answer. â€Å"Hitch him to the cart, Baldo,† my brother Leon said, laughing and she laughed with him a bit uncertainly, and I saw he had put his arms around her shoulders. â€Å"Why does he make that sound? † she asked. â€Å"I have never heard the like of it. † â€Å"There is not another like it,† my brother Leon said. I have yet to hear another bull call like Labang. In all the world there is no other bull like him. † She was smiling at him, and I stopped in the act of tying the vinca across Labang’s neck to the opposite end of the yoke, because her teeth was very white, her eyes were so full of laughter, and there was a small dimple high up on her right cheek. â€Å"If you continue to talk about him like that, either I shall fall in love with him or become very jealous. † My brother Leon laughed and she laughed and they looked at each other and it seemed to me there was a world of laughter between them and in them. I climbed into the cart over the wheel and Labang would have bolted for he was always like that, but I kept firm hold on his rope. He was restless and would not stand still. , so that ny brother Leon had to say â€Å"Labang† again, my brother Leon lifted the trunks into the cart, placing the smaller one on top. She looked down once on her high heeled shoes, then she gave her left hand to my brother Leon, placed a foot on the hub of the wheel, and in one breath she had swung into the cart. Oh, the fragrance of her! But Labang was fairly dancing with impatience and it was all I could do to keep him from running away. Give us the rope, Baldo,† my brother Leon said. â€Å" Maria , set on the hay and hold on to anything. † Then he put a foot on the left shaft and that instant Labang leaped forward. My brother Leon laughed as he drew himself up to the top of the side of the cart and made the slack of the rope hiss above the back of Labang. The wind whistled against my cheeks and the rattling of the wheels on the pebbly road echoed in my ears. She sat up straight on the bottom of the cart, legs bent together to one side, her skirt spread over them so that only the toes and the heels of her shoes were visible. Her eyes were on my brother Leon’s back; I saw the wind on her hair. When Labang slowed down, my brother Leon handed me the rope. I knelt on the straw inside the cart and pulled on the rope until Labang was merely shuffling along, then I made him turn around. â€Å"What is it you have forgotten now, Baldo? † my brother Leon said. I did not say anything but tickled with my fingers the rump of Labang; and away we went back to where I had in hitched and waited for them. The sun had sunk and down from the wooded sides of the Katayaghan hills shadows were stealing into the fields. When I sent Labang down the deep cut that would take us to the dry bed of the Waig, which could be used as a path to our place during the dry season, my brother Leon laid a hand on my shoulder and said sternly: â€Å"Who told you to drive through the fields tonight? â€Å"His hand was heavy on my shoulder, but I did not look at him or utter a word until we were on the rocky bottom of the Waig. â€Å"Baldo, you fool, answer me before I lay the rope of Labang on you. Why do you follow the Waig instead of the Camino real? † His fingers bit into my shoulder. â€Å"Father- he told me to follow the Waig tonight, Manong. Swiftly his hand fell away from my shoulder and he reached for the rope of Labang. Then my brother Leon laughed, and he sat back, and laughing still, he said: â€Å"And I suppose Father also told you to hitch Labang to the cart and meet us with him instead of the Castano and the calesa. † Without waiting forn me to answer, he turned to her and said, â€Å"Maria, why do you think Father should do that, now? † He laughed and added, â€Å"Have you ever seen so many stars before? † I looked back and they were sitting side by side, leaning against the trunks, hands clasped across the knees. Seemingly but a man’s height above the tops of the steep banks of the Waig, hung the stars. But in the deep gorge the shadows had fallen heavily, and even the white of Labang’s coat was chirped from their homes in the cracks in the banks. The thick, unpleasant smell of dangla bushes and cooling sun-heated earth mingled with the clean, sharp scent of arrais roots exposed to the night air and of the hay inside the cart. â€Å"Look, Noel, yonder is our star! † Deep surprise and gladness were in her voice. Very low in the west, almost touching the ragged edge of the bank, was the star, the biggest and brightest in the sky. I have been looking at it,† my brother Leon said. â€Å"Do you remember how I would tell you that when you want to see stars you must come to Nagrebcan? †. â€Å"Yes, Noel,† she said. â€Å"Look at it she murmured, half to herself. â€Å"It is so many times bigger than it was at Ermita beach. †The air here is clean and free of dust smoke. † So it is Noel,† she said,drawing a long breath. â€Å"Making fun of me, Maria? â€Å"She laughed then, and they laughed together and she took my brother Leon’s hand and put it against her face. I stopped Labang, climbed down, and lighted the lantern that hung from the cart, and my heart sang. Now the shadows took fright and did not crowd so near. Clumps of andadasi and arias flashed into view and quickly disappeared as we passed by. Ahead, the elongated shadow of Labang bobbled up and down and swayed drunkenly from side to side, for the lantern rocked jerkily with the cart. â€Å"Have we far to go yet, Noel? † she asked. â€Å"Ask Baldo,† my brother Leon said,†we have been neglecting him. † â€Å"I am asking you, Baldo,†she said. Without looking back, I answered, picking my words slowly: â€Å"Soon we will get out of the Waig and pass into the fields. After the fields is home – Manang. â€Å"So near already. † I did not say anything more, because I did not know what to make of the tone of her voice as she said her last words. All the laughter seemed to have gone out of her. I waited for my brother Leon to say something, but he was not saying anything. Suddenly he broke out into song and the song was â€Å"Sky Sown with Stars† –the same that he and father sang when he cut hay in the fields of nights before he went away to study. He must have taught her the song because she joined him, and her voice flowed into him like a gentle stream meeting a stronger one. And each time the wheel encountered a big rock, a voice would catch in her throat, but my brother Leon would sing on, until, laughing softly, she would join him again. Then we were climbing out into the fields, and through the spokes of the wheels the light of the lantern mocked the shadows. Labang quickened his steps. The jolting became more frequent and painful as we crossed the low dikes. â€Å"But it is so very wide here,† she said. The light of the stars broke and scattered the darkness so that one could see far on every side, though indistinctly. You miss the houses, and the cars, and the people and the noise, don’t you? † My brother Leon stopped singing. â€Å"Yes, but in a different way. I am glad they are not here. † With difficulty, I turned Labang to the left, for he wanted to go straight on. He was breathing hard, but I knew he was more thirsty than tired. In a little while , we drove up the grassy side onto the camino real. â€Å"-you see,† my brother Leon was explaining, â€Å"the camino real curves around the foot of the Katayaghan hills and passes by our house. We drove through the fields, because- but I’ll be asking father as soon as we get home† â€Å"Noel,† she said. Yes, Maria. † â€Å"I am afraid. He may not like me. † â€Å"Does that worry you still, Maria? † my brother said. â€Å"From the way you talk, he might be an ogre, for all the world. Except when his leg that was wounded in the revolution is troubling him, Father is the mildest tempered, gentlest man I know. † We came to the house of Lacay Julian and I spoke to Labang loudly, but Moning did not come to the window, so I surmised she must be eating with the rest of her fam ily. And I thought of the food being made ready at home and my mouth watered. We met the twins, Urong and Celin, and I said â€Å" Hoy,† calling them by name. And they shouted back and asked if my brother Leon and his wife were with me. And my brother Leon shouted to them and then told me to make Labang run; their answers were lost in the noise of the wheels. I stopped Labang on the road before our house and would have gotten down, but my brother Leon took the rope and told me to stay in the cart. He turned Labang into the open gate and we dashed into our yard. I thought we would crash into the bole of the camachile tree, but my brother Leon reined in Labang in time. There was light downstairs in the kitchen, and Mother stood in the doorway, and I could see her smiling shyly. My brother Leon was helping Maria over the wheel. The first words that fell from his lips after he had kissed Mother’s hand were: â€Å"Father – where is he? † â€Å"He is in his room upstairs,† Mother said, her face becoming serious. â€Å"His leg is bothering him again. † I did not hear anything more because I had to go back to the cart to unhitch Labang. But I had hardly tied him under the barn when I heard Father calling me. I met my brother Leon going to bring up the trunks. As I passed through the kitchen, there were Mother and my sister Aurelia and Maria, and it seemed to me they were crying, all of them. There was no light in Father’s room. There was no movement. He sat in the big armchair by the eastern window, and a star shone directly though it. He was smoking, but he removed the roll of tobacco from his mouth when he saw me. He laid it carefully on the windowsill before speaking. â€Å"Did you meet anybody on the way? † â€Å"No, Father,† I said. â€Å"Nobody passes through the Waig at night. † He reached for his roll of tobacco and hitched himself up in the chair. â€Å"She is very beautiful, Father. â€Å"Was she afraid of Labang? † My father had not raised his voice, but the room seemed to resound with it. And again I saw her eyes on the long curving horns and the arm off my brother Leon around her shoulders. â€Å"No, Father, she was not afraid. † â€Å"On the way-â€Å"â€Å"She looked at the stars, Father And Manong Leon sang. † â€Å"What did he sing? † â€Å"Sky Sown with Stars. † She sang with him. He was silent again. I could hear the low voices of Mother and my sister Aurelia downstairs. There was also the voice of my brother Leon, and I thought that Father’s voice must have been like it when he was young. He had laid the roll of tobacco on the windowsill once more. I watched the smoke waver faintly upward from the lighted end and vanish slowly into the night outside. The door opened and my brother Leon and Maria came in. â€Å"Have you watered Labang? † Father spoke to me. I told him that Labang was resting yet under the barn. â€Å"It is time you watered him, my son. † My father said. I looked at Maria and she was lovely. She was tall. Beside my brother Leon, she was tall and very still. Then I went out, and in the darkened hall the fragrance of her was like a morning when papayas are in bloom.

Levels Of Pollution In The Brisbane River Environmental Sciences Essay

Levels Of Pollution In The Brisbane River Environmental Sciences Essay River Brisbane is the longest river in the southeast Queensland of Australia. It originated from the foothills of the great dividing and flows through Brisbane city before releasing its water into Moreton bay. The river was named after Thomas Brisbane, New South Wales Governor, by John Oxley in 1823. The river provided and still provides a main form of transport between the city of Brisbane and Sydney. Before the European settlement Brisbane River was very clean and unpolluted. It was then used as a source of food and also for recreational purposes. For quite a long time the growth and settlement of people around river Brisbane has adversely affected the quality of its water as well as the life that it supports (Straughan 1972 p.93). As the town of Brisbane grew the river became very unclear and polluted and by 1928 the water quality had deteriorated to the extent that it was not safe even for bath. However the government of Australia decided to protect the river from pollution and by adopting antipollution acts as well as educating the public on the importance of protecting the environment. The river was used the source for agricultural water and also provided sand used in the construction around the growing city. The river faced so many risks of pollution from the growing industries and from the waster vessels that transported petroleum products and other substances. Nitrogen from sewage treatment and phosphorous from industrial discharge as well as other metals, were and still are among the main pollutants (MacKey, Hodgkinson Nardella 1992). However the data taken on the nitrogen and phosphorus levels in the river shows that the efforts of protecting the river have bared some fruits. In 2000 the average nitrogen levels were about 2.2mg/l while in 2009 the average level had dropped to 0.5mg/l. A graph plotted for both nitrogen and phosphorous show a decrease in their concentr ation in the river. Introduction For more than 400 million years now, the Brisbane River has been flowing. Its catchments have endured a number of floods and droughts seasons while its origins have continuously shifted as the surrounding land kept changing from time to time. In 1823 when John Oxley entered River Brisbane for the first time, the river was very clean and unpolluted. After a while Oxley realized that the river could be used as a new site for new settlement and through his suggestion, the city of Brisbane was developed alongside the River in 1825. The Brisbane River, whose origin is at the base of Great Dividing Range, has a catchment area of about 30,000km square and it releases its water into the bay of Moreton (National Library of Australia 1988). The once pure water of Brisbane was mostly used for drinking and for recreational purposes like swimming and the like. However as the city of Brisbane developed, industries started growing in it. At that time industries took the river as an efficient and cheap point for waste disposal. The Brisbane River was the only means of transport between Brisbane town and Sydney until when the road links were established. This river has for long been the most important asset for of Brisbane city as its still used for transportation, recreational and relaxation purposes. For the better part of the twentieth century, this river has been polluted and overused as its basin provided grazing grounds as well as fertile lands for agriculture (Institution of Engineers, Australia, 1986). According to AsiaRooms.com, the river basin also provided suitable catchment areas which could be used for damming purposes. The river presented several advantages which for the town and its people but the people exploited these advantages so carelessly such that self reparation appeared unfeasible. Today the Brisbane River has undergone considerable modifications to meet the requirements of the citys population which is increasing. Through diverse public awareness on the need to protect the environment, the river has gained significant political support in form of anti-pollution acts and policies that were adopted by the government (Doyle Kellow 1995 p.180). Currently the duty of checking pollution levels and water quality of river Brisbane is currently on the Queensland parliament. The parliament has so far made a lot of progress in its efforts of maintaining the quality of the river by establishing two anti-pollution acts. These acts comprise the 1971; Clean Waters Act and the Pollution of Waters by Oil of 1973. Due to the current public awareness on environmental protection and by the help of these acts, the quality of River Brisbane has significantly improved although its not yet at the safe levels. According to Doyle Kellow (1995), the River is currently supporting a population of 2 million people while transport and industries and still dependent on the river, which then helps to understand why its pollution level is still above the safe levels (p.180). The aim of this essay is to give a report on the levels of pollution of Brisbane River from the year 2001 to 2010. For the 150 years that the Europeans have occupation the region, River Brisbane has seen a number of modifications. The river has survived waves of exploration including agriculture, grazing, urbanization and settlement, etc. the urbanization and settlement required flood mitigation strategies and water storage for drinking purposes (Straughan 1972 p.94). Shipping channels and flood prevention measures also needed to be taken as the river was the main means of transport between the city and Sydney. Sand dredging along the river has been the main activity as sand was highly needed for construction in the city. Between the year 1900 and 1970 approximately 12 million cubic meters of sand were extracted from the banks of River Brisbane. Extraction reached its peak latter in mid 70s when about 1.45 million cubic meters of sand were being extracted annually. The extraction later dropped to 1 million per year and eventually ceased in 1996/7. The riches of the river between mt Crosby and Wivehoe are most pleasing aesthetically because of their cool atmosphere. Between Jindalee and mt. Crosby the river widens and then flows through rural and residential areas. In this area pollution by human beings is very evident and likely. Currently the Brisbane port is accountable for extraction of sand in the lower reaches of the river so as to maintain deep channels for water vessels. This long time dredging has considerably deepened the river hence making its banks quite unstable (Olafson 1978). Strong urban development has been evident throughout the city and on the south bank reach. As this river proceeds towards the Pinkenba, commercial and industrial areas dominate while further down from Murarie to the mouth, the river passes through mangrove lined region which is dominated by commercial shipping activity (MacKey, Hodgkinson Nardella 1992 p 418-420). The speed of water in this region is often determined by season. In this region the river reaches its highest flow speed during summer when there is high rainfall while the minimum flow is in winter when rainfall is minimal. Due to the slow flow of water in this region, there is likelihood of pollutants accumulation and overall deterioration of water quality. However this accumulation of pollutants can be cleaned by the release of water from storage dams situated in the river upstream. Wivenhoe and Somerset dams release certain amounts of water that are satisfactory to the water needs of the people of Brisbane. These two dams enable a more even water flow throughout the year thus maintaining and improving the qu ality of water in the river. The dams are also used as a means for flood prevention by reducing water flow from the range. Analysis of the past and current pollutants of river Brisbane According to Connell Shaw (1980), the major sources of pollutants of the river comprise the many large scale discharge points where wastes from industries and treatment plants discharge into the river (p.356-358). Currently the discharge from sewage is treated to a safer secondary standard with only a small portion of it being left in the primary standard. The small portion of primary standard sewage discharged into river Brisbane does not only contribute considerably to the toxicant load in the river but also to the nutrient load and increased demand for oxygen. This pollution leads to the contamination of fish and other aquatic life by such substances. Sewage discharge around the city of Brisbane is usually chlorinated hence causing a negative impact to the river. The most common discharges to river Brisbane resulted from the highly industrialized section of the river. The city of Brisbane has two main treatment plants for waste water as well as Gibson Island on the Southside and a luggage point on the North side both of which are found at the industrialized section of the river. Moreover River Brisbane faces other risks of pollution from the BP and Caltex oil refineries which discharge into the river discharge streams from potentially contaminated areas. Other discharges into the river such as runoff from the urban and industrial parts, and from upstream parts of the catchment, discharge substantial toxic pollutants into the river (Wong Tam 2005). Sometimes accidents occur resulting to spills of petroleum and insecticides among other substances. This often results to contamination of the river leading to fish death and other water lives. For instance in April 1998, a tanker known as Barrington was docked at White Island in Brisbane collided with a local boat named Austral Salvor. This accident resulted to a spill of 8 tonnes of heavy fuel into the river. Conclusion In order to recommend any possible measures that can help improve the quality of River Brisbane one must understand the past and the current pollutions characteristics of the river. In this paper, the pollution analysis of river Brisbane is based on the data provided by Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management. Nitrogen and phosphorous which are the main pollutants of the river have been measured and their levels in the river minimized. Nitrogen is found in fertilizers and it usually reaches the river when rain water passes through agricultural fields where fertilizer has been applied. Its also produced during sewage treatment processes. Phosphorous is produced in the waste treatment plants in Brisbane and from confined livestock operations. According to Cambridge Scientific Abstracts (1997), both nitrogen and phosphorous are can be harmful and toxic to aquatic life since their enhance growth of aquatic plants which then depletes the water of oxygen hence posing d anger to fish and other organisms (p.35). The graph below shows the levels of nitrogen and phosphorous in River Brisbane from the year 2000 to 2009. The concentration of these pollutants was measured in milligrams per litre of water. Fig.1 graph of nitrogen and phosphorous concentration against years From the graph we see that in 2000 the level of nitrogen in river Brisbane was quite high with more than 2mg of nitrogen in every litre of water. However due to the extensive public awareness and the anti-pollution measures taken by the government these levels reduced drastically between 2000/1 to below 1.5 mg/l. the downward trend in decrease of nitrogen continued until 2008 when the average level was about 0.5 mg/l. in 2009 the levels appeared to be rising again which shows that the government as well as the general public of Brisbane may have relaxed in its efforts to maintaining the quality of the river. On the other hand phosphorous levels have been low all through with level of below 0.4mg/l in 2000. The phosphorous levels have also shown a general downward trend and show a likely hood of reaching zero levels within the next few years if the same trend is maintained. The analysis of the past and the present pollution situations of river Brisbane indicate the government as well as the local authorities have done tremendous work in controlling the water quality of the river. If the efforts are maintained, the river will reach its old clean levels within a few years.

A Feminist Analysis of Perceval, Tristan and Isolt, and Aucassin and Ni

A Feminist Analysis of Perceval, Tristan and Isolt, and Aucassin and Nicolette  Ã‚   Currently, there is a debate among feminists as to whether the demeaning portrayal of women in popular media causes or is caused by negative attitudes in modern culture. A similar debate exists among historians of the late middle ages as to whether the rise in popularity of the cult of the Virgin, her portrayal in art, and the code of chivalry caused or was caused by changing attitudes towards women. Many factors in the late middle ages coincided to create an entirely new role for women: contact with the Muslim world in Spain, the rising popularity of religious life, and the aforementioned cultural changes. All of these factors are intertwined with the new attitudes that arose around women. Virginity became exalted, femininity was lauded, courtly love turned women into objects of devotion rather than objects of desire. In short, women were placed on a pedestal. The cultural paradox of this shift in attitudes is that by being placed on that pedestal, women became objects rather than individuals. This dichotomy between respect for women as a group and respect for individual women is clearly shown in three Medieval Romances. Perceval, Tristan and Isolt, and Aucassin and Nicolette may vary greatly in plot, tone and style, but the underlying assumption is the same. In the Medieval Romance, women may be objects of devotion, but they are still merely objects to earned, won, owned and do minated. The first example of this attitude is the saga of the damsel whom Perceval boorishly assaults. This woman, never named, is utterly enslaved and abused by men. Perceval, not heeding her protests, forces her into a compromising situation and then robs he... ...band is a Muslim. The Christian king of Biaucaire, by contrast, does not honor her right to self-determination. The Muslim roots of Nicolette's relative freedom serve as one answer to the question of whether this literature is derivative of the culture or whether it shaped the culture. From this evidence, it seems that the former is true. The pervasiveness of the oppressive attitudes demonstrated in these texts show clearly the dichotomous view of women in the late middle ages. The respect of womanhood which was so central to the chivalric code did not translate into greater freedom for women themselves. Modern opponents of feminism claim that the Women’s Movement has reversed this dichotomy, namely that individual freedoms have devalued women as a group. Perhaps we should ask why our culture has a problem with valuing womanhood and valuing women concurrently. A Feminist Analysis of Perceval, Tristan and Isolt, and Aucassin and Ni A Feminist Analysis of Perceval, Tristan and Isolt, and Aucassin and Nicolette  Ã‚   Currently, there is a debate among feminists as to whether the demeaning portrayal of women in popular media causes or is caused by negative attitudes in modern culture. A similar debate exists among historians of the late middle ages as to whether the rise in popularity of the cult of the Virgin, her portrayal in art, and the code of chivalry caused or was caused by changing attitudes towards women. Many factors in the late middle ages coincided to create an entirely new role for women: contact with the Muslim world in Spain, the rising popularity of religious life, and the aforementioned cultural changes. All of these factors are intertwined with the new attitudes that arose around women. Virginity became exalted, femininity was lauded, courtly love turned women into objects of devotion rather than objects of desire. In short, women were placed on a pedestal. The cultural paradox of this shift in attitudes is that by being placed on that pedestal, women became objects rather than individuals. This dichotomy between respect for women as a group and respect for individual women is clearly shown in three Medieval Romances. Perceval, Tristan and Isolt, and Aucassin and Nicolette may vary greatly in plot, tone and style, but the underlying assumption is the same. In the Medieval Romance, women may be objects of devotion, but they are still merely objects to earned, won, owned and do minated. The first example of this attitude is the saga of the damsel whom Perceval boorishly assaults. This woman, never named, is utterly enslaved and abused by men. Perceval, not heeding her protests, forces her into a compromising situation and then robs he... ...band is a Muslim. The Christian king of Biaucaire, by contrast, does not honor her right to self-determination. The Muslim roots of Nicolette's relative freedom serve as one answer to the question of whether this literature is derivative of the culture or whether it shaped the culture. From this evidence, it seems that the former is true. The pervasiveness of the oppressive attitudes demonstrated in these texts show clearly the dichotomous view of women in the late middle ages. The respect of womanhood which was so central to the chivalric code did not translate into greater freedom for women themselves. Modern opponents of feminism claim that the Women’s Movement has reversed this dichotomy, namely that individual freedoms have devalued women as a group. Perhaps we should ask why our culture has a problem with valuing womanhood and valuing women concurrently.

A Group of Investors

Executive Summary: A group of investors (Arundel group) is looking into the idea of purchasing the sequel rights associated with films produced by one or more major movie studios. Movie rights are to be purchased prior to films being made. Arundel wants to come up with a decision to either purchase all the sequel rights for a studio's entire production during a specified period of time or purchase a specified number of major films. Arundel's profitability is dependent upon the price it pays for a portfolio of sequel rights. Our analysis of Arundel's proposal includes a net present value calculation of each movie production company.In order to decide whether Arundel can make money buying movie sequel rights depends on whether the net present value of the production company's movies is higher than the estimated 2M per film required to purchase the rights. 1. Why do the principals of Arundel Partners think they can make money buying movie sequel rights? 2. Why do the partners want to bu y a portfolio of rights in advance rather than negotiating film-by-film to buy them? 3. Estimate the per-film value of a portfolio of sequel rights such as Arundel proposes to buy. You may use all or parts of Exhibits 6 to 9.You may also find it helpful to consult the Appendix that explains how these numbers were prepared. Assume an annual discount rate of 12% for risky film cash flows, and a risk-free rate of 6%. a) First, simply compute the value of the portfolio (i. e. at the time Arundel pays for the rights) using the traditional NPV approach, ignoring embedded options. Based on this method, how much should Arundel be willing to pay per sequel right? As can be seen in exhibit to solution 2, we have estimated the per-film value of each production company.MCA Universal, Warner Brothers and Walt Disney Co are the only production companies that provide a positive per film value, with values of 9. 89, 1. 92, 12. 56 million respectively. This value is calculated by dividing the net pr esent value of all the movies by the total number of movies. We also calculated the average value of each production company based upon their share of the total number of movies produced. The companies with positive values were MCA Universal, Warner Brothers and Walt Disney Co is also the only production companies that provide a positive per film value, with values of 1. 0, 0. 37, 1. 40 million respectively. These values are based on the average value per film multiplied by the companyæŠ ¯ average share of the industry. b) Second, modify the NPV approach to account for the embedded option(s), explaining the nature of the option(s) you focus on. What is the implied value per right? 4. What problems or disagreements would you expect Arundel and a major studio to encounter in the course of a relationship like that described in the case? What contractual terms and provisions should Arundel insist on?

Benefits of a Healthy Workforce Essay

Organisational health programmes are essential to the survival of companies. Undoubtedly, a healthy workforce would work wonders for any business by reducing absenteeism and turnover, and increasing employee motivation, productivity and revenues. Lowe (2004) writes that hundreds of studies have already documented the direct as well as indirect advantages of â€Å"healthy work environments† to employees in addition to their organisations (p. 7). Indeed, healthy workplaces as well as jobs contribute to the well-being of employees. These benefits may be realized by the whole organisation through lower absenteeism, lower turnover, higher job satisfaction, improved performance on the job, lower rates of accident, in addition to â€Å"reduced health benefit and worker compensation costs (Lowe, p. 7). † Moreover, research has revealed that the largest gains in productivity may be realized by the organisation that changes the entire work environment to make it healthier for all employees (Lowe). Research has also revealed that the impact of poor health is keenly felt in the work environment, so therefore managers require an improved understanding of the dangers of allowing minor symptoms to escalate. Four in ten managers who participated in a recently conducted survey related to workplace health complained that they often become angry with others and feel humorless due to pressure. More than fifty percent of the managers complained of physical pain, at the same time as forty four percent reported experiencing frequent headaches. Moreover, fifty five percent complained of constant tiredness, fifty seven percent complained of insomnia, while twenty percent simply stated that they found it difficult to make decisions because of ill health (Poor Health 2006). Unsurprisingly, these results demand organisations to put effective health programmes in place for all employees. Sick employees are not likely to be highly productive in any case. In the United States, businesses are known to spend at least U. S. $450 billion every year on direct health care. Poor health costs around U. S. $225. 8 billion to American businesses each year through absenteeism as well as productivity losses that are related to the health problems of employees and their families. Hence, insurers as well as employers have started to create a large number of health promotion and prevention programmes that have already started to pay handsome dividends. According to a study, American employers may â€Å"reap the average of [U. S. ] $3. 48 in reduced health care costs and [U. S. ] $5. 82 in lower absenteeism costs for every dollar invested in employee wellness (Toomey 2006, p. 13). † Of course, these benefits can be realized anywhere in the world. In the United Kingdom, three quarters of a million workers are known to take time off work each year due to work-related illnesses (Firman 2006). These illnesses are further known to cost businesses as much as ten percent of their total payroll costs. Indeed, by promoting health in the workplace and preventing illnesses through effective health programmes in the organisation, absenteeism and costs related to the same may be drastically lowered. The money that is saved thus may be used by the organisation to update its equipment; on marketing; as well for the provision of training to employees. Organisations may also be able to increase the number of employees with the cost savings realized through effective health programmes (Jim 2006). Indeed, the benefits of health management programmes in the organisation are aplenty. Healthy employees add value to the organisation. The care shown by employers can boost the morale of the workers. The entire organisation benefits from this, as it becomes more efficient with a healthy and therefore productive workforce. REFERENCES Firman, C. 16. 11. 2006 â€Å"Health Matters. † Motor Transport available at EBSCO Host database. Jim, N. 9. 6. 2006 â€Å"Health and Safety Assessments Cut Costs and Boost Productivity. † Electronics Weekly 2256 available at EBSCO Host database. Lowe, G. S. 2004 â€Å"Healthy Workplace Strategies: Creating Change and Achieving Results. † The Graham Lowe Group available at http://www. grahamlowe. ca/documents/93/Hlthy%20wkpl%20strategies%20report. pdf. Poor Health 2006: â€Å"Poor Health Leads to a Humorless, Angrier Workforce† article in Occupational Health (Jun 2006), 58(6) available at EBSCO Host database. Toomey, D. 18. 12. 2006 â€Å"Wellness and Prevention Programs Generate Healthy Outcomes. † Executive Health & Wellness Guide available at EBSCO Host database.

Todays Cartoon Effects

Introduction In today’s society children and teens are positively and negatively influenced by many things including what they watch on television. In this argument I will be highlighting the television shows that they see today verses the shows, specifically cartoons, that were on television in the 80’s and 90’s and which ones have or have not had a better influence on the children and teens of the era that they were broadcast, and which era’s television shows have taught children and teens more about morals and good judgments.Research Question Were the cartoons that were on in the 80’s and 90’s teaching children and teens more than the ones that are on television today? Research Problem Today's cartoons seem to have no meaning. They don't teach you anything at all. What happened to the meaning behind each show, teaching us what's right and wrong? Everything a child should know and not to try to do, they don't have that anymore. Some of the cartoons that they have out right now; not only do they not teach you anything, they have no meaning at all.We have mindless, disrespectful brats being brought up in this generation because they aren’t learning from their parents, but from what they watch on television instead and what they are watching is doing nothing to instill good values or help them to learn how to make good moral judgments. Some people seem to think that the new cartoons that are weird and wacky and associated with comedians or voice actors that we have grown up with are the new great thing, but not for all of us, and certainly not for our children Thesis The cartoons of today are crude, distasteful, and unsuitable for children.

Is3440 Project Part 1 Essay

First World Savings and Loan is a financial institution that processes credit card transactions and loan applications online. We are currently considering implementing an open source infrastructure. This could potentially save us over $4,000,000 per year in licensing fees for the software we are currently using. However, due to our business needs; we must still comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), Payment Card Industry – Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS), and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA). We must comply with SOX, because we are a publicly-traded financial institution; PCI-DSS, because we process online credit card transactions; and GLBA, because we are a financial institution. All of the regulations of these three compliancy laws must be met, while still maintaining the Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability (CIA) triad. All security requirements for SOX, PCI-DSS, and GLBA can be achieved using Linux and open source infrastructure. Some examples of open source software that we might use are: Web Server – Apache Web Filtering – DansGuardian Network Firewall – Turtle Firewall VPN – Endian Firewall Community IDS/IPS – Suricata Database – MySQL File Server – Samba SMTP Server – hMailServer I would recommend that we use a â€Å"Defense in Depth† strategy, having multiple layers of access protection. We need to have an IDS/IPS on both sides of our edge firewall. The inside IDS/IPS will be used as additional protection for our network and the outside IDS/IPS will serve as an early warning system from attacks. We will also use the outside IDS/IPS for additional protection and to monitor what types of attacks are occurring. Our web server and mail server should be completely separated from the rest of our network in a de-militarized zone (DMZ). We need to have a network firewall between our DMZ and our internal network, between the outside world and our internal network, and between our DMZ and the outside world. There should also be a local firewall enabled on each local machine. Also, since our physical servers will be hosted at a third party location, we must have VPN access to these servers to manage them. All private data will need to be encrypted, as well as all data transitions. To go along with the previously mentioned physical and software based security measures, we will also apply multiple policies to maintain this security. Acceptable Use  Policy – This policy will describe how the companies IT assets should and can be used. As well as what is not acceptable to do on company assets. Password Policy – This policy will explain what parameters a password must meet to be accepted. For example; a password must be at least 15 characters long have at least on capital letter, have at least one lower case letter, have at least one number, and have at least on symbol. Privacy Policy – This policy describes what information must remain confidential. Training employees on the proper way to use (and how NOT to use) company assets is a major key to ensuring the CIA triad remains intact and our network secure. In this part of the executive summary, I am going to be explaining, and making recommendations on what the best options are for the open source software that is needed for the management of the First World Savings and Loan financial institute’s various web and application servers. F or each of the servers, I recommend using the Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system for a number of reasons. The main ones being that it is one of the most secure, It’s backed by years of technical support, It’s supported by a vast number of different hardware, and It is one of the most, if not the most, popular and used server OSs that one can get today. I would rather go with software that has been vigorously tested to its breaking point and still remains at the top tier of server software options that’s readily available today, than one that has just come out with all of the bells and whistles. So on that note, let’s get started on what I recommend to be the best of the best in terms of specific software and service needs. There are numerous great open source software solutions for database servers, like, H2, HyperSQL, MySQL, mysql, Oracle, and PostgreSQL, just to name a few. They all offer topnotch functionality, performance, scalability, and security. As far as which one is the best, I recommend PostgreSQL. PostgreSQL is an object-relational Database softwar e solution that offers some of the most feature rich options as compared to the bigger commercial manufacturers like Oracle, IBM, Sybase and Informix, and the best part of it, it’s free. It’s also one of the first database software that was released, and it has a proven track record with over 23 years of active development. It was created back in 1989. The only other DB software that came out before it is Oracle, which was created back in 1979. Now PostgreSQL might not be the fastest, but It more than makes up for it with its functionality. It allows the use of two  different types of interfaces, a GUI (for those who like the point-click style) and a SQL. It works on most OSs like windows, Linux, Mac, Unix, etc. It has a vast array of services and tools that is included to streamline the administration of the Database. Here are just some examples; Full ACID (Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, & Durability) compliancy, commercial & noncommercial support, triggers support, user defined data type support, stored procedure support, online backup, multiple index type input support, embedded access controls, encryption, etc. Here is a comparison of the top DB software available I got from the unbiased, data-driven comparison website; www.findthebest.com/database-management-sytems: —————— Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€- Specifications Product | MySQL | Oracle | PostgreSQL | Architecture | Relational Model | Relational Model | Object-relational Model | Software License | * GPL * PostgreSQL * Proprietary | * GPL * PostgreSQL * Proprietary | * GPL * PostgreSQL * Proprietary | Operating System | * Windows * Mac OS X * Linux * UNIX * z/OS * BSD * Symbian * AmigaOS | * Windows * Mac OS X * Linux * UNIX * z/OS * BSD * Symbian * AmigaOS | * Windows * Mac OS X * Linux * UNIX * z/OS * BSD * Symbian * AmigaOS | Demo? | | – | | Interface | * GUI * SQL | * GUI * SQL | * GUI * SQL | Website | MySQL (mysql.com) | Oracle (oracle.com) | PostgreSQL (postgresql.org) | First Public Release Year | 1995 | 1979 | 1989 | Lastest Stable Version | 5.5.19 | 11g Release 2 | 9.1.3 | ————————————————- -Price Price | $0 | $180 | $0 | Purchase Page | MySQL (https) | Oracle (https) | – | ————————————————- -General Features Features | * ACID * Backup * Custom Functions * Database Imports * Export Data * Extensibility * High Availability * Highly Scalable * Import Data * Java Support * Multi-Core Support * See more†º | * ACID * Backup * Custom Functions * Database Imports * Export Data * Extensibility * High Availability * Highly Scalable * Import Data * Java Support * Multi-Core Support * See more†º | * ACID * Backup * Custom Functions * Database Imports * Export Data * Extensibility * High Availability * Highly Scalable * Import Data * Java Support * Multi-Core Support * See more†º | Indexes | * Bitmap * Expression * Full-text * GIN * GiST * Hash * Partial * R-/R+ Tree * Reverse | * Bitmap * Expression * Full-text * GIN * GiST * Hash * Partial * R-/R+ Tree * Reverse | * Bitmap * Expression * Full-text * GIN * GiST * Hash * Partial * R-/R+ Tree * Reverse | Database Capabilities | * Blobs and Clobs * Common Table Expressions * Except * Inner Joins * Inner Selects * Intersect * Merge Joins * Outer Joins * Parallel Query * Union * Windowing Functions | * Blobs and Clobs * Common Table Expressions * Except * Inner Joins * Inner Selects * Intersect * Merge Joins * Outer Joins * Parallel Query * Union * Windowing Functions | * Blobs and Clobs * Common Table Expressions * Except * Inner Joins * Inner Selects * Intersect * Merge Joins * Outer Joins * Parallel Query * Union * Windowing Functions | Partitioning | * Composite (Range + Hash) * Hash * List * Native Replication API * Range * Shadow | * Composite (Range + Hash) * Hash * List * Native Replication API * Range * Shadow | * Composite (Range + Hash) * Hash * List * Native Replication API * Range * Shadow | Access Control | * Audit * Brute-force Protection * Enterprise Directory Compatibility * Native Network Encryption * Password Complexity Rules * Patch Access * Resource Limit * Run Unprivileged * Security Certification | * Audit * Brute-force Protection * Enterprise Directory Compatibility * Native Network Encryption * Password Complexity Rules * Patch Access * Resource Limit * Run Unprivileged * Security Certification | * Audit * Brute-force Protection * Enterpr ise Directory Compatibility * Native Network Encryption * Password Complexity Rules * Patch Access * Resource Limit * Run Unprivileged * Security Certification | Tables and Views | * Materialized Views * Temporary Table | * Materialized Views * Temporary Table | * Materialized Views * Temporary Table | Other Objects | * Cursor * Data Domain * External Routine * Function * Procedure * Trigger | * Cursor * Data Domain * External Routine * Function * Procedure * Trigger | * Cursor * Data Domain * External Routine * Function * Procedure * Trigger | Support Features | * Email * FAQ * Forums * Live chat * Mailing List * On-site * Phone * Tips and hints * White papers | * Email * FAQ * Forums * Live chat * Mailing List * On-site * Phone * Tips and hints * White papers | * Email * FAQ * Forums * Live chat * Mailing List * On-site * Phone * Tips and hints * White papers | ————————————————- -Product Description Product Description | MySQL is a relational database management system (RDBMS) that runs as a server providing multi-user access to a number of databases. MySQL is officially pronounced /maÉ ªÃ‹Å'É›skjuË Ã‹Ë†Ã‰â€ºl/ (â€Å"My S-Q-L†), but is often also pronounced /maÉ ªÃ‹Ë†siË kwÉ™l/ (â€Å"My Sequel†). It is named for original developer Michael Widenius’s daughter My. | Oracle Database 11g Release 2 provides the foundation for IT to successfully deliver more information with higher quality of service, reduce the risk of change within IT, and make more efficient use of their IT budgets. By deploying Oracle Database 11g Release 2 as their data management foundation, organizations can utilize the full power of the world’s leading database to:ï‚ · Reduce server costs by a factor of 5ï‚ · Reduce storage requirements by a factor of 12ï‚ · Improve mission critical systems performance by a factor of 10ï‚ · Increase DBA productivity by a fa ctor of 2ï‚ · Eliminate idle redundancy in the data center, andï‚ · Simplify their overall IT software portfolio. | PostgreSQL is a powerful, open source object-relational database system. It has more than 15 years of active development and a proven architecture that has earned it a strong reputation for reliability, data integrity, and correctness. It runs on all major operating systems, including Linux, UNIX (AIX, BSD, HP-UX, SGI IRIX, Mac OS X, Solaris, Tru64), and Windows. It is fully ACID compliant, has full support for foreign keys, joins, views, triggers, and stored procedures (in multiple languages). It includes most SQL:2008 data types, including INTEGER, NUMERIC, BOOLEAN, CHAR, VARCHAR, DATE, INTERVAL, and TIMESTAMP. It also supports storage of binary large objects, including pictures, sounds, or video. It has native programming interfaces for C/C++, Java, .Net, Perl, Python, Ruby, Tcl, ODBC, among others, and exceptional documentation. | ———â₠¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€- -Contact Information Contact Link | MySQL (mysql.com) | Oracle (oracle.com) | PostgreSQL (postgresql.org) | Phone | 1 (866) 221-0634 | 1 (800) 392-2999 | – | ————————————————- -Limits Max Blob/Clob Size | 4 GB | Unlimited | 1 GB (text, bytea) – stored inline or 2 GB (stored in pg_largeobject) | Max CHAR Size | 64 KB (text) | 4000 B | 1 GB | Max Column Name Size | 64 | 30 | 63 | Max Columns per Row | 4096 | 1000 | 250-1600 depending on type | Max DATE Value | 9999 | 9999 | 5874897 | Max DB Size | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Max NUMBER Size | 64 bits | 126 bits | Unlimited | Max Row Size | 64 KB | 8KB | 1.6 TB | Max Table Size | MyISAM storage limits: 256TB; Innodb storage limits: 64TB | 4 GB | 32 TB | Min DATE Value | 1000 | -4712 | -4713 | ————————————————- -Data Types Type System | * Dynamic * Static | * Dynamic * Static | * Dynamic * Static | Integer | * BIGINT (64-bit) * INTEGER (32-bit) * MEDIUMINT (24-bit) * NUMBER * SMALLINT * SMALLINT (16-bit) * TINYINT (8-bit) | * BIGINT (64-bit) * INTEGER (32-bit) * MEDIUMINT (24-bit) * NUMBER * SMALLINT * SMALLINT (16-bit) * TINYINT (8-bit) | * BIGINT (64-bit) * INTEGER (32-bit) * MEDIUMINT (24-bit) * NUMBER * SMALLINT * SMALLINT (16-bit) * TINYINT (8-bit) | Floating Point | * BINARY_DOUBLE * BINARY_FLOAT * DOUBLE (64-bit) * DOUBLE PRECISION * FLOAT * REAL | * BINARY_DOUBLE * BINARY_FLOAT * DOUBLE (64-bit) * DOUBLE PRECISION * FLOAT * REAL | * BINARY_DOUBLE * BINARY_FLOAT * DOUBLE (64-bit) * DOUBLE PRECISION * FLOAT * REAL | Decimal | * DECIMAL * NUMERIC | * DECIMAL * NUMERIC | * DECIMAL * NUMERIC | String | * CHAR * NCHAR * NVARCHAR * TEXT * VARCHAR | * CHAR * NCHAR * NVARCHAR * TEXT * VARCHAR | * CHAR * NCHAR * NVARCHAR * TEXT * VARCHAR | Binary | * BFILE * BINARY * BINARY LARGE OBJECT * BYTEA * LONGBLO B * LONGRAW * MEDIUMBLOB * RAW * TINYBLOB * VARBINARY | * BFILE * BINARY * BINARY LARGE OBJECT * BYTEA * LONGBLOB * LONGRAW * MEDIUMBLOB * RAW * TINYBLOB * VARBINARY | * BFILE * BINARY * BINARY LARGE OBJECT * BYTEA * LONGBLOB * LONGRAW * MEDIUMBLOB * RAW * TINYBLOB * VARBINARY | Date/Time | * DATE * DATETIME * TIME * TIMESTAMP * YEAR | * DATE * DATETIME * TIME * TIMESTAMP * YEAR | * DATE * DATETIME * TIME * TIMESTAMP * YEAR | Boolean | * BOOLEAN * Unknown | * BOOLEAN * Unknown | * BOOLEAN * Unknown | Other | * ARRAYS * AUDIO * BIT * CIDR * CIRCLE * DICOM * ENUM * GIS data types * IMAGE * INET * MACCADDR * See more†º | * ARRAYS * AUDIO * BIT * CIDR * CIRCLE * DICOM * ENUM * GIS data types * IMAGE * INET * MACCADDR * See more†º | * ARRAYS * AUDIO * BIT * CIDR * CIRCLE * DICOM * ENUM * GIS data types * IMAGE * INET * MACCADDR * See more†º | I think it’s pretty obvious that the data speaks for itself. You can’t get any better option unless you want to pay big money for these specific services. When it comes to deciding on which open source web server software to utilize, there are a lot of different options, such as, Apache, LightTPD, NGiNX, Boa, Cherokee, etc. The one that stands out the most is Apache. Apache is the most popular web server to date. It is the leading web server that is used most over all others including open source and non-open source options, such as, Microsoft’s IIS, Google’s proprietary custom servers, NGiNX, AOL, IBM, etc. according to the website www.makeuseof.com. Here is a graph table I found (it’s a little dated) to give you an idea: Apache is the leader because of its functionality, performance, price (it’s free), stability, and security. It has top notch cross-plat forming capabilities so it can be used on numerous operating systems like, Microsoft’s Windows platform, Linux and UNIX based platforms, Macintosh platforms, BSD platforms, IBM platforms, HP platforms, etc. It can basically run on just about all OS platforms. This is ideal in today’s ever evolving business needs and requirements. Some of the best features that an Apache web server offers are as follows: Basic access authentication & digest access authentication, SSL/TLS HTTPS, virtual hosting, CGI, FCGI, SCGI, Java, SSI, ISAPI, runs in user space versus kernel space, Administration console, and IPv4 & IPv6 addressing. Now these are just some of the feature sets that Apache uses. It helps that most, if not all, of these features are security based; which is most important when dealing with IT in any aspect of today’s business world and society itself. There are a lot of different options when it comes to file servers. Some examples are, FileZilla, Samba,  HFS, TurnKey, Cerberus, VSFTPD, etc. As far as what’s the best file server software options it boils down to the company’s needs. I recommend using Samba or FileZilla for a number of reasons. Samba has over 20 years of development and FileZilla has over 10 years of development, They both offer amazing cross-plat forming capabilities on several different operating systems, They are both pretty easy to setup and administer, they both offer great security, and best of all they are free. This is extremely important for a modern business. Also the fact that they are free helps in cutting down company costs and drives up financial gains throughout the entire company. Plus, Samba speaks natively with Microsoft Windows machines and these are typically what most end users use for their operating systems. Now for the open source SMTP server software I recommend using iRedMail. iRedMail offers two different options, iRedMail (which is free) & iRedMailPro (which is a paid version for $299 per server per year) with amazing fully fledged features. The feature include: blazing fast deployment (less than 1 minute), easy to use, security and stability, mind-blowing productivity (uses a very little resources to run), top notch support, absolute control over data (all personal data is stored on company’s hard disk versus some third party storage medium), supports virtualization and non-virtualization software (VMware, Xen, VirtualBox, KVM, OpenVZ, etc. with i386 and x86/x64/ amd64 compatibility), low maintenance, unlimited accounts, stores mail in openLDAP, MySQL, and PostgreSQL, Service and access restrictions, throttling, Anti-Spam & Anti-Virus by de fault, Webmail, backup support, and security (forced password change policy for every 90 days, uses SSL/TLS connections for sending and receiving mail, etc.). The support offered for iRedMail is among the best and in the business world, this is a must. The LDAP server I recommend is Red Hat Directory Server because it offers some of the best features to date. It’s also has some of the best support in the business. It has an amazing reputation as well. Here is a list of the features that it offers: cost-savings, tremendous scalability (Allows 4-way multimaster replication of data across the entire enterprise while providing centralized, consistent data, and allows extranet applications), enhanced security (provides centralized, fine-grained access controls, and utilizes strong certificate-based authentication & encryption.), and amazing productivity (centralizes user identity and  applications for ease of access for administration), you can’t go wrong with using softw are from a nationally known and reputable company like Red Hat Linux. Each user will be put into groups; this will be done to control access to the file system. Each user on the network will have to meet the standards below. Having each user in groups will help manage them, and what they have access and are allowed to do on the server. Each user will have their own partitioned /home directory to reduce impact of the file system. No user should be without a group, any users without groups will only have access to only their home directory. The following is the password policy they will be using: User account Standard users: Restrict reuse of passwords to once per 18 months Set min day for password expire Set max day for password expire every 30 days Set password complexity to require 1 capital letter, 1 lower case letter, 1 number, 1 symbol and must be at least 15 characters long Enforce password policies Ensure all users do not have access to sudo, or su rights  Create groups for all users, and give them allow sups or admins to maintain rights to those groups, and allow them specific path use on sudo (only if needed). This will allow users to access the data they need to complete their jobs. Also with this password system in place, it will ensure they do not use simple passwords or recycle passwords too often. Super users: Rights to manage groups Specific path use of sudo Restrict reuse of passwords Set min day for password expire Set max day for password expire Set password complexity Enforce password policies These will help super users to manage groups and have access to the tools that they need. This also prevents the users from having too much access to the systems. This helps the admin manage groups by allowing them to move users into the correct group or give them access to specific files that they may need access to. Su will only be used by top level admins, and only if something is truly not working. Lower level admins will have sudo access to files they need to have access to. Users will only have read/write access to the files they need access to; the rest will be read only access. Kernel will be locked down and will need admin permission to access. Passwd file will not be accessible by anyone other than top level admins Firewall and iptables will only be accessible by top level admins and super users. Configuring our network in this manner and applying these user access control permissions will cost less money and add a greater level of security. Using this â€Å"Defense in Depth† strategy, we will have multiple layers of security that an attacker will have to penetrate to break the CIA triad.