5 Common Encryption Algorithms and the Unbreakables of the Future

5 Common Encryption Algorithms and the Unbreakables of the Future For the past twenty years, the Internet went from an invention to a recognized human right.That fact in and out of itself should speak about the exponential increase of its role in our lives. From being a luxurious technology, through window-to-other-worlds, to an information medium, and finally into a need-to-exist.We constantly find new ways to incorporate technology in every aspect of business, government, and human relationships. It bridges continents, brings people together, helps the environment, popularizes ideas that change the world.Users log on to read the news, learn skills, work, shop, vote, communicate and have fun.The internet houses large amounts of information and traffics a significant portion of it every day. The question of access is becoming crucial.When you live your life online, you need to protect your communication with the network.You probably largely leave your protection up to the creators of your operation system, your app, the default security protocols a nd devices you are using.Here is some news though: not every encryption method is equally reliable. Read the article to learn more about the most popular encryption methods and their relative security.THE IMPORTANCE OF ENCRYPTIONWith using more and more technologies in our lives we are generating large amounts of data, a great share of which is sensitive data. If someone else gets hold of that data you may be at risk of financial fraud or identity theft.Let us draw a parallel with real life.Let us say you are going shopping. You visit the store whenever you want, some of the staff may or may not know your name if you are a regular. You choose your products and proceed to the checkout. No one from the store can get a hold of your money until you draw out your wallet and you hand the cashier your cash. In this situation you are relatively safe.Only if you have a thief in your close vicinity, they may get a hold of your wallet. Stealing your wallet will give them access to your cash wh ich they can use with little consequence.In the digital world, you may visit the online store whenever you want, but if you have shopped there before they probably have your personal information already â€" name, address, and quite possibly your phone number. They have it regardless of whether you are logged in or you are not.If you have saved your credit card with that shop they have your financial information at all times, too (whereas when you shop in a brick and mortar store your wallet will only be at risk while you are there, shopping).Instead of your money being at risk only from people in your immediate vicinity, you are now at risk from any hacker, who has access to the network, and at all times.Encryption changes your information so that it is incomprehensible and therefore unusable to anyone who does not have the key.Let’s say someone tries to steal your personal information, your name, if it was encrypted. It would be the equivalent of going into the store and asking f or your name, but anyone who can give them your name speaks another, unknown language.If they get a hold of your digital wallet it would be the equivalent of acquiring your cash, but your banknotes are in a currency they cannot use unless they go to the exchange bureau that you own, to convert it.HOW ENCRYPTION WORKSEncryption works by manipulating a message via a rule to the point the original message is unrecognizable. The ‘rule’ is the key.Here is a very simple example of encryption:Let’s say you want to encrypt the message ‘Hello’. One rule you can use is substitute each letter with the next letter from the alphabet. Your message will then become ‘Ifmmp’. Because you are adding +1 to the alphabetical sequence, your keyword will be ‘1’. If you were substituting each letter with the letter standing 3 spaces behind it, your message would end up looking like ‘Ebiil’ and your key would be ‘-3’. If you consecutively applied both rules, your key would look lik e this ‘1-3’And while to you that change would be major and you cannot probably decipher that message immediately, when someone has an incentive to break your cypher, and they know anything about cryptography, they can get to your message in a few seconds, just by using pen and paper.What is more, there is software that will try the most popular keys (starting with 1-digit codes) to decipher your message.The point is, the more sensitive the information is, the more complex encryption is required. Especially if revealing the information bears financial risk.5 TOP ENCRYPTION ALGORITHMS(Triple) DESTriple DES or 3DES is the successor to the DES algorithm, or the Data Encryption Standard.DES is an obsolete symmetric-key method of data encryption. It was phased out because of its over-exploited vulnerabilities.Originally, DES used to be a very popular encryption method. It is a creation of the engineers in IBM, from back in 1970. In 1977 it was adopted by the government of the USA as an encryption standard â€" the Federal Information Encryption Standard. DES was used for protecting unclassified but sensitive data.It was the first algorithm approved by the federal government for public disclosure. It gained popularity fast among businesses dealing with confidential information â€" financial institutions, telecommunication companies, other software and Internet providers, etc.DES encrypts data by grouping it into blocks and encoding them simultaneously by applying the key to the entire block â€" instead of bit by bit. The blocks are always 64-bit.The key could be applied to all blocks simultaneously or another model could be used where the encryption of one block is made dependent on the result of the previous one.In DES, the same key is used to encipher and decipher the message. Decoding is nothing more than applying the same steps in reverse direction and reverse order.What is more, the key options are limited. The keys are always 64-bit, however, 8 parts of the key will be limited in variation in order to be used for key validation, which makes it an equivalent of a 56-bit key. Which means, the choice of encryptions keys is limited and therefore all information, encrypted via DES is prone to brute force attacks.Because of this serious flaw, scientists had concerns about DES being adopted as the standard even in the 1970’s. However, it remained a very popular encryption method until the late 1990’s.The progress in technology, and more specifically in processing power made it possible for a DES-encrypted message to be brute force hacked in less than 24 hours.It is important to state that some systems still rely on DES encryption only, and using those systems is to be avoided.3DES is one of the successors of DES, and the one which to the greatest extent preserves its original functionality. It was first made public in 1998 and is a simple variation of DES, where each block is encrypted via DES three times each. Triple DES uses three inde pendent keys, with three separate 56-bit DES keys, or a total of 168 bits. Because of the consecutive encryption, there is a meet-in-the-middle vulnerability, which decreases the protection to the equivalent to a 112-bit key.With its more complex way of working, the 3DES encryption method is slower.Still, the effectiveness of 3DES is considered to give enough security that it is approved to be used up until 2030.Triple DES is used for online payments, by apps in the Microsoft Office package, as well as by Mozilla’s Firefox and Thunderbird.RSAThe algorithm is named after its designers. In the 1970’s Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir, and Leonard Adleman: Rivest-Shamir-Adleman came up with the encryption method while working for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.In contrast to DES, RSA is asymmetric, which means the system is not using the same key for decryption and encryption. The algorithm works via generating a public and a private key. The public and private key are not identica l, but are linked to each other.There is no difference which key is used for encryption and which is used for decryption. Both the private and the public key can be used to encode the message and the opposite key will have to be applied to decode it.In fact, the difference is elsewhere: the public key, as its name suggests, can be introduced to the public, while the private key is the ‘secret‘.The high level of security RSA provides is ensured by the difficulty of factoring long strings, the product of factoring two large prime numbers.Both the private and the public keys are generated via multiplying two large numbers, creating a modulus. The modulus is used by both the public and the private key. The public key is created via the modulus, adding a public exponent, usually 65537. And the private key is created by the modulus, and a private exponent.The computational difficulty of large integers makes RSA significantly safer than DES. As explained earlier, DES works with keys, e quivalent to 56-bit, 3DES works with keys, equivalent to 112-bit, and RSA works with keys that are 1024- or 2048-bits long. Still, experts think 1024-bit keys are relatively vulnerable. The government and the IT industry recommend using 2048-bit keys only.RSA is used for SSH authentication, for SSL encryption, and for protecting sensitive data in various browsers.BlowfishBlowfish is considered an alternative to the DES and RSA encryption methods. It was designed back in 1993 by Bruce Schneier as a general-purpose algorithm, with that exact intend. The security of the cipher has been tested and proven in time.Like DES, the technology of Blowfish is symmetric, which means one private key (or just key) is used to encrypt an entire block of data. The size of the blocks is 64-bit, and he length of the key may vary from a 32-bits to a 448-bit key. A full encryption has never been broken.With the ability to use shorter keys, the Blowfish method is an alternative that is considerably faster than its two competitors. The exception is changing keys. Each change of the key requires a pre-processing, taking resources equivalent to encrypting 4KB of text.Blowfish is not patented. Its flexibility, speed and security gives it a competitive edge against its alternatives. It is can be used and explored free of charge. Therefore it is highly popular in cryptographic software.TwofishTwofish is a successor of another favorite encryption method â€" Blowfish. It is a brain-child of the same designer, Bruce Schneier, and it is another candidate to replace the Data Encryption Standard.Twofish, like its predecessor Blowfish, uses block cyphering. It symmetric, which again means the same key is used for enciphering and deciphering.   Twofish divides the message that needs encryption into 128-bit blocks and applies the key simultaneously to all blocks. The size of the block is yet another difference with Blowfish.Unlike its predecessor, Twofish only uses keys for the encryption of data of up to 256-bit. Each block’s encryption put into a complex relation to the result of the encryption of the previous block.‘The algorithm might look haphazard, but we did everything for a reason’. â€" says Bruce Schneier, the co-founder ‘Nothing is in Twofish by chance. Anything in the algorithm that we couldnt justify, we removed. The result is a lean, mean algorithm that is strong and conceptually simple.’Encoding with Twofish is popular for software and devices that have relatively low processing resources at their disposal, such as SIM cards.Brute-forcing a Twofish encrypted message is considered to be unreasonable and impractical. Meaning the efforts, resources and time the hacker would have to allocate would not be worth the end result.Twofish is considered to be fast, flexible, and at the same time, to have a conservative design.Just like Blowfish, the encryption method has not been patented and is free to use.AESThe Advanced Encryption Standard was originally nam ed Rijndael. It was designed by the Belgian cryptographers Vincent Rijmen and Joan Daemen back in 1998 and it is named after them.In 1997, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) opened a contest for cryptographers to come up with algorithms to substitute the so-far popular standard (DES) because of the increasing concerns of the level of protection it guarantees, with the raising level of processing power and its vulnerability from brute-force attacks due to the limited choice of encryption keys.NIST elected Rijndael as the new standard. It was declassified and was deemed ‘capable of protecting sensitive government information well into the next century’.It became popular for its easy implementation in hardware, as well as restricted environments.AES is yet another symmetric encryption algorithm. NIST’s requirements for the contest contributed to several specifics of AES. For example:Each contestant was supposed to be able to accept keys sized at 128, 192, a nd 256 bits.The algorithm was supposed to be open for public analysis and commentsIt was pre-tested for withstanding attacks. Each competitor was scored against the competition, with the security score having the heaviest weight for winning the contest.High computational and memory efficiency â€" if the algorithm was to be released as the standard it was supposed to come at low cost.Flexibility, easy implementation and simplicity.Rijndael was elected the winner and was suggested in 2000 to become the new federal government standard. Since 2002 Rijndael, Advanced Encryption Standard, became the new standard.AES is considered to be more effective than its predecessors, DES and 3DES, using a more complex algorithm and a longer key. The decryption works faster, which makes it a better alternative for a cypher in routers, firewalls, security protocols and in general any applications that use encryption.AES is similar to Twofish in the sense it is symmetric and it works with 128-bit block s. Each cypher â€" the AES-128, -192, and -256 uses respectively 128-, 192-, and 256-bit keys. Originally Rijndael could work with different block sizes and key sizes, but this flexibility was not included when it was introduced as the standard.AES works with enciphering rounds. Each round is a sequence of a number of processing steps, which could be a combination of  substitution, transposition and creating relationships between the input plaintext and output.The number of applicable rounds vary with 10 rounds applied with 128-bit keys, 12 rounds for 192-bit keys and 14 rounds for 256-bit keys.The AES encryption cipher is using table-based substitution of data by rows and columns. The substitution rule is dictated by different part of the encryption key.Ever since its recognition as the new standard, the AES has been explored for its vulnerabilities. Brute-force attacks and new techniques have been employed to discover new ways to attack the algorithm. Some attacks have been succe ssful against the more simple versions of Rijndael â€" shorter keys, fewer rounds.AES is widely accepted to be a reliable and practical. IDEA is a newer version of a previously used cipher the Proposed Encryption Standard (PES).Watch this fun video to learn more about the evolution of cryptography from simple substitution to the future of encryption quantum cryptography: HONORABLE MENTIONSIDEAThe International Data Encryption Algorithm (IDEA) was created by Xuejia Lai and James Massey and is another symmetric encryption algorithm, first described in 1991.It uses 64-bit blocks and 128-bit keys. Like AES, IDEA uses rounds of encryption. Unlike AES, IDEA also adopts a methodology called half-rounds. Each round uses 6 16-bit sub-keys. Each of the half-rounds uses 4 sub-keys. The first 8 sub-keys are directly extracted from the encryption key, while the other 8 are created based on rotation.Because of the essence of IDEA’s schedule, it naturally generates a certain amounts if zero-ri ch keys which lead to randomly weak encryption. Those are reasonably rare, which, in practice leave the algorithm pretty safe. The probability of generating a weak key is considered to be negligibly low.Bruce Schneier, the founder of Blowfish and Twofish agrees:‘In my opinion, it is the best and most secure block algorithm available to the public at this time.’Unlike most of our 5 winners, the IDEA algorithm has been patented and has only been available for free for non-commercial rules.SHA 1Secure Hash Algorithm 1 was created in 1995 but has never been implied as a standard because its vulnerabilities became well known as early as 10 years after its creation.The NIST, the same organization that applied AES as the standard, banned using SHA 1 by federal agencies back in 2010, and no digital signature agency can use the algorithm since 2016.As far back as 2012, researchers in cryptography have taken into account the raising level and decreasing price of processing power and estim ated that one practical attack against the algorithm could cost the hackers as little as $700 thousand simply using commercial cloud computing services in 2015 and $173 thousand in 2017 which makes the attack reasonably affordable. If the incentive holds a greater potential gain than, say, $200 thousand, one could argue it is worth the effort.As Computerworld reports,’ …despite these efforts to phase out the use of SHA-1 in some areas, the algorithm is still fairly widely used to validate credit card transactions, electronic documents, email PGP/GPG signatures, open-source software repositories, backups and software updates.’CONCLUSIONAccording to the Ponemon Institute and a study, including a survey, funded by IBM, stolen data has cost the companies an average of $3.5 million in 2014, which is a 15% increase from the previous 2013.The institute recommends implementing preventative measures and to be ready for incident response and crisis management.Most often, the source of t he damage would be an insider or a malicious attack. Malicious code and sustained probes are also becoming a popular concern because of the increased number of those threats.‘Companies estimate that they will be dealing with an average of 17 malicious codes each month and 12 sustained probes each month. Unauthorized access incidents have mainly stayed the same and companies estimate they will be dealing with an average of 10 such incidents each month.’When the respondents of the survey were asked about the amount of investment they are pouring into security, the response was it costs an average of $7 million a year, even though the companies would like to increase it to $14 million a year to experience more confidence in fulfilling their strategies and mechanisms.Complex encryption is a relatively easy way to bring down the cost and minimize the damages of data breaches.

Decision Making For A Successful Business - 1663 Words

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The Death Penalty Is Justified - 932 Words

Imagine receiving an unexpected call from the police, saying a loved one has been murdered. Every sixty seconds, someone’s life is taken from them by horrendous crime. Families and relatives are devastated. They are forced to sit through hours of police investigation and multiple court cases. Some families are allowed closure by convicting the alleged victim. Other families are not so lucky. Some are forced to forever wonder who the victim’s killer is and why they took that person from them. These and many other questions go unanswered, but they do not have too. The punishment for a convicted murderer is most likely life in prison without the possibility of parole, but in other states, the death penalty is enforced. While this might seem unethical to some, one must take into consideration the long term effects the victim’s family will endure. Losing a loved one by homicide can create traumatic effects. 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Summary and Critique of George F. Will’s View on Inaugural Addresses Free Essays

Wade Vierheller Professor Combs English 300 27 September 2012 ‘Let Us’†¦? No, Give it a Rest Summary and Critique George F. Will is a Pulitzer-Prize writer and an editor for Newsweek. He is well-known for his strong conservative political commentary. We will write a custom essay sample on Summary and Critique of George F. Will’s View on Inaugural Addresses or any similar topic only for you Order Now He discusses the history of Inaugural Addresses and how they reflect the way the country has changed throughout the years. He points out a number of differences such as sentence structure, tone, and topics. For example, he cites the numbering of words. He mentions George Washington’s second sentence of his address, which was 87 words. On the one hand, I was summoned by my country, whose voice I can never hear but with veneration and love, from a retreat which I had chosen with the fondest predilection, and, in my flattering hopes, with an immutable decision, as the asylum of my declining years–a retreat which was rendered every day more necessary as well as more dear to me by the addition of habit to inclination, and of frequent interruptions in my health to the gradual waste committed on it by time. Back then, the culture was much different, as most people learned to read were through difficult literature such as Pilgrim’s Progress and the King James Bible. Herbert Stein, â€Å"who for 60 years was an economist and connoisseur of American’s political culture,† discovered that the average number of words per sentence for Inaugural Addresses has steadily decreased: â€Å"from Washington through Buchanan the average number of words per sentence was 44; from Lincoln through Wilson, 34; since Wilson, 25. † Will believes that â€Å"the general shortening of sentences reflects, in part, a change in nature of Inaugural Addresses. He refers to Teddy Roosevelt who called the presidency â€Å"a bully pulpit. † Later addresses have had an incentive to tell Americans how to behave with phrases such as â€Å"The only thing we have to fear†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and â€Å"Ask not†¦Ã¢â‚¬  A more popular phrase which was used by Kennedy and Nixon was â€Å"Let us†¦,† which according to Will means, â€Å"For Pete’s sake, pull up your socks and shape up. † The content of the Inaugural Addresses has also changed. George Washington had to be much more modest, speaking about his personal problems and as much as he would like to rest, his country was calling him. In the beginning with Washington, the issue was that he would be able to turn the presidency into another monarchy. Around the time of Cleveland and Garfield, a major issue was polygamy. During the time of Monroe, the issue was coastal fortifications. As of today, these are no longer on the list of major issues. This progression shows how the country has grown over the many years. Though Will is happy that we do not have to talk about the issues of the past anymore, he does not like the shortening of sentences and how Presidents have become more like preachers. He shows appreciation of Washington’s modesty despite the amount of praise he was showered with, but understands how there were different problems during that time. Most of what Will says is backed up with some strong points, using factual information from past people such as Cleveland, Garfield, and Teddy Roosevelt. This greatly backs up his claims, making them hard to argue against. He makes strong arguments that clearly show how there has been quite a change throughout the history of the Inaugural Addresses. A significant point he brings up is the decrease in the word count per sentence over the years. It’s true there has been a major change in literature over the years. Personally, I had some trouble keeping up with the incredibly long sentence made by George Washington. It’s interesting how he partly blames it for the â€Å"change in the nature of Inaugural Addresses. † I’m not sure if I see much connection between the two. Also, though shorter sentences shows our reading mental muscles are weaker than our ancestors’, but this does not seem to have any major negative effect on society, unless Will’s statement about the changing in Inaugural Addresses in coordination with shortening of sentences is true. This leads us to another point about the context of Inaugural Addresses. Looking at the parts of Washington’s address or Lincoln’s address (â€Å"Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this might scourge of war may speedily pass away†¦ With malice toward none, with charity for all†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ), they show hope and love in their speeches. When looking at later ones, they’ve become much more preach-y. For Will, this does not seem to be a good adjustment, and I have to agree with him here. At least in the beginning, it’s never been the President’s job to tell us how to behave. It is true that he is our leader, but his part in leading the country is taking care of political matters such as federal law and diplomatic troubles. Another very interesting matter he brings up is the drastic change in subject matter from speech to speech. With Washington, it was the fear of monarchy. For Monroe, it was coastal fortifications. For Lincoln, it was slavery. For Garfield and Cleveland, it was polygamy. Throughout the years, the severity of the nation’s problems has declined. It’s really something to be proud about. It shows that despite the other reasons Will has pointed out, this country has grown for the better. We’ll always have problems and we’ll keep working to solve them. This gives us drive and displays our strength and motivation. In his article, Will has done a good job of backing up his opinions with strong factual information. While I do not completely agree with him, I’m able to understand and respect his views. Really the only problem I have with the paper is the assumption on how the shortening of sentences â€Å"reflects†¦ a change in the nature of Inaugural Addresses,† because I can’t understand how that exactly works. Works Cited Will, George F. â€Å"‘Let Us’†¦? No, Give it a Rest. † Newsweek 22 Jan. 2001: 64. Print. . How to cite Summary and Critique of George F. Will’s View on Inaugural Addresses, Papers

Social Entrepreneurship and Social Change

Table of Contents Background Social change in entrepreneurship The positive externalities theory Explanation of the positive externalities theory Criticisms of the positive externalities theory Conclusion References Background In the current world, increasing pressure from problems that arise due to daily changes in the business sector is driving businesses towards finding alternatives to abate the problem. In fact, businesses are drifting further away from the old forms of thinking and incorporating sustainability programmes to create new market (Elkington, Schwab, Hartigan, 2008).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Social Entrepreneurship and Social Change specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The changes witnessed in the current business world and the crazy search for new markets is driving entrepreneurship to have a new shift in leadership and management. Social entrepreneurship is like a hybrid that combines bo th commercial entrepreneurship and social aspects in an organization. Social change in entrepreneurship Failing governments and the lack of economic enterpreurship has driven the need for social entrepreneurship to rise (Wei-Skillern, Austin, Leonard, 2007). Social enterpreurship is a form of enterpreurship that incorporates facets of both economic and social aspects in a business idea (Martin Osberg, 2007). It is a venture that brings into account the activities that impact positively in a society bringing about social change. This shift in business paradigm occurred due to the existing suffocation of markets and the need for new markets. The urgency of these new markets has been brought about by the increasing competition faced by businesses. Although social entrepreneurship starts as a small venture or limited effort, it marks troubles with the local output but makes global significance. This includes provision of water, promoting micro-businesses, waste managing and the preser vation of the environment. For example, the escalating growth of micro-industries in the world is due to social entrepreneurship (Zahra et al., 2008). The development of such ventures and their success has turned them to the spotlight and they have received scholarly attention. This scholarly attention has led to the need to formulate theories that explain this phenomenon (Kuhn, 1962). The idea of social enterpreurship offers a platform for alleviating world poverty through promoting social good (Yunus, 2007) The positive externalities theory It is important that any theory that tries to define the concept of social entrepreneurship should address the issues of value creation and value appropriation (Mizik Jacob, 2003).Advertising Looking for essay on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The theory of positive externalities best explains the shift towards social enterpreurship. It is apparent that economic entrepr eneurship cannot exist in a vacuum. This theory suggests that economic enterpreurship is not valid in areas where there are strong positive externalities. Basically, the assertion is that the potentiality for value creation is not marched by the potential for value appropriation because the ensuing benefits to the society go much above the benefits accrued to the transacting parties. It is also observed that consumers are likely to reward businesses with positive externalities by consuming more of their goods. Further, it is perceived that government initiatives and economic entrepreneurship benefits those people with powerful access to resources neglecting the powerless societies. In this theory, powerless society benefits from social entrepreneurship and the entrepreneurs benefit from the powerless society by establishing markets that ensure sustainability. Although this venture brings forth an implication in the theory, it is not contrary to the definition of the terminology (Cam pbell Temple University, 2008). Explanation of the positive externalities theory The theory points that the externality notion cannot be clearly depicted by market operation or market price structure which leads to incompetent distribution of wealth, social remuneration, personal expenditure and communal expenses (Ying Guoli, 1997). Characteristics of positive externality hypothesis include transferring via other way and not through the price system, non-exclusive and inseparable part as a characteristic of end user, bringing other utilities expenses to decrease and the alleviation of costs to the beneficiary. The positive externality theory assumes that the allocation of social entrepreneurship is largely for the benefit of the society and not targeted towards the profit analysis. Therefore, the social enterpreurship system distributes benefits and costs based not on the market system of analyzing where profits can be maximized, but by targeting the neglected areas of the society .Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Social Entrepreneurship and Social Change specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Social entrepreneurship also targets areas where economic entrepreneurship has failed to venture, a characteristic that is not exclusive of any player in the society. It aims at creating societal value and not economic value. Social enterpreurship alleviates the standards of the economic as well as social conditions of a neglected or powerless society. In this quest, it aims at reducing the costs of certain provisions that would have been so costly if provided by the economic entrepreneurs. The positive externality theory aims to balance between value creation and value addition in cases where it ventures (Ellwanger, 1997). Criticisms of the positive externalities theory Social enterpreurship is an innovative change that is gripping the business world daily. It is apparent that what the social entrepreneu rs strive to achieve is becoming more complex and the desire to augment the costs incurred in creating social value is rising day by day. The costs also involved in the set up of the social entrepreneurship activities are proving hard to meet by the entrepreneurs thereby distorting the credibility of the theory. Furthermore, as inflation rises, due expenditures in these endeavors are becoming increasingly complex and are therefore neglected to be attended to by the government (Wei-Skillern, Austin, Leonard, 2007). This leaves a lot of unfilled gaps in the tenacity of the theory. Conclusion The idea of social entrepreneurship taking shape and being embraced by the business world requires a thorough consideration and thought before being implemented. It takes a different mindset from the one embraced by economic entrepreneurs in their profit maximization. Social entrepreneurship on the other hand aims at creating social value. In the wake of inflation and increased costs, social entr epreneurs need to have a re-consideration of the theories they use.Advertising Looking for essay on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More References Campbell, K. A. Temple University. (2008). Towards a general theory of entrepreneurship. London, UK: ProQuest. Elkington, J., Schwab, K. Hartigan, P. (2008). Power of Unreasonable People: How Social Entrepreneurs Create Markets that Change the World. New York, NY: Harvard Business Review Press. Ellwanger, G. (1997). The externality effects of transport, rail international. New York, NY: MacMillan Publishers. Kuhn, T. S. (1962). The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Chicago, IL: Chicago University press. Martin, R. L. Osberg, S. (2007). Social entrepreneurship: The case for definition. Stanford Social Innovation Review, pp.28-39. Mizik, N. Jacobson, R. (2003). Trading off between Value Creation and Value Appropriation: The Financial Implications of Shifts in Strategic Emphasis. Journal of Marketing, 67, pp. 63-67. Wei-Skillern, J., Austin, J. E., Leonard, H. (2007). Entrepreneurship in the Social Sector. London, UK: Sage Publications. Ying, Y. Guoli, O. (1997). St udy on the development strategy of urban rail transit based on externality. New York, NY: MacMillan Publishers. Yunus, M. (2007). Creating a world without poverty: Social business and the future of capitalism. New York: Public Affairs. Zahra, S. A. Rawhouser, H. N., Bhawe, N., Neubaum, D. O. Hayton, J. C. (2008). Globalization of social entrepreneurship Opportunities. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 2 (2), pp.117-131. This essay on Social Entrepreneurship and Social Change was written and submitted by user Derrick Price to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Americans Should Not Use Credit Cards Essay Essay Example

Americans Should Not Use Credit Cards Essay Essay Example Americans Should Not Use Credit Cards Essay Essay Americans Should Not Use Credit Cards Essay Essay Americans Should Not Use Credit Cards Com/156 Date: 08/31/2011 Instructor: Dierdre McKee Americans Should Not Use Credit Cards Why Americans should not use credit cards, throughout the United States,  credit cards  have become one of the most popular forms of payment in everyday shopping whether consumers are making a routine trip to the grocery store or  shopping online. There are various motives for not having a credit card and it is frequent for credit card companies to try to lure new or existing clients in by offering a zero percent interest rates and low fees. What they do not tell people is that there might be fees for doing so or that the rate only lasts for ninety days. These come in addition to  annual fees and late fees, which are insanely high. Sure, consumers can avoid them by finding cards without fees and paying on-line so that payment is not lost in the mail, but why go through that trouble? Interest Rates and Fees The one thing to dislike about credit cards is the  interest rates can be high if you do not choose the right one. To use a credit card correctly, one must make purchases he or she is able to pay off upon getting the monthly  bill, but some Americans  do not. Credit cards should be  only use as second-hand funds for emergencies only. A heavy user can be liable to abuse  credit cards. According to the Federal Reserve report, (2010), the total U. S. consumer revolving debt fell to $866 billion at the end of 2009, down from $958 billion at the end of 2008. About ninety-eight percent of that debt was credit card debt. Americans  who  utilize this financial tool are liable to spend more on transactions than those who purchase things with cash. As soon as the bills turn up, some people would pay only the minimum payment on their credit card. Keep in mind, small minimum expenditures just are not sufficient to cover finance charges. According to Mason, (2010), â€Å"Credit cards interest rates are at its highest in nine years. The average rate today is 14. 7% for every cardholder and last year interest rates was 13. 1% this is because of the new credit card regulations. In addition, new credit card rules may harm more than help. All of the credit card rules may force Americans to be more careful, but it is not going to help a struggling society pick up the pace,† (para. 2). Unpaid Balances No matter what the reason is for closing a credit card, it is imperative to make a note that not all credit cards should be closed. As a structure of damage control, some people decide to close a credit card when they have a high balance on it. According to Buttell,(2009) â€Å"This is not excellent because that balance will continue to build up high interest rate charges in the future and must pay off not only the remaining balance transfer but the purchase balance as well as any new balance transfers or purchases the consumer put on his or her card or cards. Before the cardholder can even touch his or her cash advance balance, which has the highest interest rate† (para. payment allocation details). What is an unpaid balance? An unpaid credit card is when a cardholder closes up a credit card account that has a  credit balance, the  credit card issuer credit limit  on that card is reduced to zero, and it comes across as if the cardholder has maxed out the card. According to Morah, (2009) â€Å"very high credit card interest rates are another reason why people close their accounts. If you still have an unpaid balance on a credit card with a high interest rate, closing the card. Beneath the existing state of affairs, it may possibly take customers years to pay off high interest rate balances,† (para. reasons for closing a credit card). What effect does an unpaid balance have on a cardholder? Having a maxed-out card, or even a card that simply appears to be maxed out, will have an unconstructive blow on the person’s credit score. â€Å"If someone has a horrible credit score, applying for a credit card is going to be agonizing. However, rates vary depending on the type of card he or she apply for, with a score below 599 the applicant will most likely be stuck facing an APR of 24% or higher. In fact, First Premier Bank offers a Gold MasterCard with a whopping 59. 9% rate for those people with less than perfect credit† (Ellis, 2011,para. 7). While creditors have no obligation to agree to negotiate the total sum a consumer owes, they have a legal responsibility to provide accurate information to the credit reporting agencies, as well as failure to make monthly payments. â€Å" In some instances, when creditors win a lawsuit, they have the right to garnish wages or put a lien on homes. That can result in a negative entry on credit reports. In certain situations, creditors may ave the right to sue to recover the money owed. Finally, the Internal Revenue Service may consider any amount of forgiven debt to be taxable income,† (Federal Trade Commission,  2011). Conclusion Consumers who are in a tight spot may find themselves needing to use credit cards. Today’s  society is  continuously  struggling to get rid of debt, although while attempting to eli minate debt we sometimes  generate extra debt. The one foremost trouble  we all encounter dealing with credit cards is debt. Anyone should not want to utilize credit cards because they may create a spending routine that is awful. Not having power over these bad habits will consolidate and lead to more debt for the near future. Credit cards allow people to go into debt. This is not the way to build wealth and become financially secure. Yes, the borrower has to pay the debt back within thirty to sixty days, depending on billing cycle, but no one can ever go into debt if relying on using cold, hard cash to buy everything. â€Å"There is no positive side to credit card usage. A person will spend more if they use credit cards. Even by paying all the bills on time, the credit card companies will never lose. However, most families do not pay on time. The average family in today’s society carries the burden of at least eight-thousand dollars in credit card debt according to the American Bankers Association† (Ramsey, 2009). There is no assurance that debt settlement services proposes are legitimate and there is no assurance a creditor will allow fractional payments of a legal debt. In actuality, if a consumer brings to a halt making expenditures on a credit card, late fees, and interest more often than not are added to the debt every month. If the cardholder exceeds his or her credit limit, additional fees and charges also can be added. This can cause the consumer’s original debt to double or maybe even triple and all these fees will put anyone further in the hole. References Ellis, B. (2011, January  28). Credit card rates at record highs near 15%. . Retrieved from http://money. cnn. com/2011/01/28/pf/credit_cards_interest_rates/index. htm Morah, C. (2009, June  20). Should you close your credit card. . Retrieved from investopedia. com/articles/pf/08/close-credit-card. asp#axzz1WfEy2qTU Federal Trade Commission. (2011). Facts for Consumers. Retrieved from ftc. gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre19. shtm Ramsey, D. (2009, August  4). The truth about credit card debt []. Retrieved from daveramsey. com/article/the-truth-about-credit-card-debt/ Mason, A. (2010, August  24). New credit card rules may harm more than help []. Retrieved from cbsnews. com/stories/2010/08/23/eveningnews/main6798896. shtml Tomasino, K. (2011, August  14). Credit card APRs unchanged for 3rd straight week . . Retrieved from reditcards. com/credit-card-news/credit-card-interest-rate-report-0817-1276. php Buttell, A. E. (2009, June  Day). Until then, use these strategies to cut down debt Read more: creditcards. com/credit-card-news/law-bans-credit-card-payment-allocation-trickery-1282. php#ixzz1WfoH9fyc Compare credit cards here CreditCards. com. . Retrieved from creditcards. com/credit-card-news/law-bans-credit-card-payment-allocation-trickery-1282. php Federal Reserve . (2011). C onsumer credit. Retrieved from federalreserve. gov/Releases/g19/20100305/

Spence v. Washington (1974)

Spence v. Washington (1974) Should the government be able to prevent people from attaching symbols, words, or pictures to American flags in public? That was the question before the Supreme Court in Spence v. Washington, a case where a college student was prosecuted for publicly displaying an American flag to which he had attached large peace symbols. The Court found that Spence had a constitutional right to use the American flag to communicate his intended message, even if the government disagreed with him. Fast Facts: Spence v. Washington Case Argued: January 9, 1974Decision Issued:  June 25, 1974Petitioner: Harold Omond SpenceRespondent: State of WashingtonKey Question: Was a Washington State law criminalizing the display of a modified American flag in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments?Majority Decision: Justices Douglas, Stewart, Brennan, Marshall, Blackmun, and PowellDissenting: Justices Burger, White, and RehnquistRuling: The right to modify the flag was an expression of freedom of speech, and as applied, the Washington State statute was in violation of the First Amendment.   Spence v. Washington: Background In Seattle, Washington, a college student named Spence hung an American flag outside the window of his private apartment - upside down and with peace symbols attached to both sides. He was protesting violent acts by the American government, for example in Cambodia and the fatal shootings of college students at Kent State University. He wanted to associate the flag more closely with peace than war: I felt there had been so much killing and that this was not what America stood for. I felt that the flag stood for America and I wanted people to know that I thought America stood for peace. Three police officers saw the flag, entered the apartment with Spence’s permission, seized the flag, and arrested him. Although Washington state had a law banning desecration of the American flag, Spence was charged under a law banning â€Å"improper use† of the American flag, denying people the right to: Place or cause to be placed any word, figure, mark, picture, design, drawing or advertisement of any nature upon any flag, standard, color, ensign or shield of the United States or of this state ... orExpose to public view any such flag, standard, color, ensign or shield upon which shall have been printed, painted or otherwise produced, or to which shall have been attached, appended, affixed or annexed any such word, figure, mark, picture, design, drawing or advertisement... Spence was convicted after the judge told the jury that merely displaying the flag with an attached peace symbol was sufficient grounds for conviction. He was fined $75 and sentenced to 10 days in jail (suspended). The Washington Court of Appeals reversed this, declaring that the law overbroad. The Washington Supreme Court reinstated the conviction and Spence appealed to the Supreme Court. Spence v. Washington: Decision In an unsigned, per curiam decision, the Supreme Court said the Washington law â€Å"impermissibly infringed a form of protected expression.† Several factors were cited: the flag was private property, it was displayed on private property, the display did not risk any breach of peace, and finally even the state admitted that Spence was â€Å"engaged in a form of communication.† As to whether the state has an interest in preserving the flag as â€Å"an unalloyed symbol of our country,† the decision states: Presumably, this interest might be seen as an effort to prevent the appropriation of a revered national symbol by an individual, interest group, or enterprise where there was a risk that association of the symbol with a particular product or viewpoint might be taken erroneously as evidence of governmental endorsement. Alternatively, it might be argued that the interest asserted by the state court is based on the uniquely universal character of the national flag as a symbol.For the great majority of us, the flag is a symbol of patriotism, of pride in the history of our country, and of the service, sacrifice, and valor of the millions of Americans who in peace and war have joined together to build and to defend a Nation in which self-government and personal liberty endure. It evidences both the unity and diversity which are America. For others, the flag carries in varying degrees a different message. â€Å"A person gets from a symbol the meaning he puts into it, and what is one manâ⠂¬â„¢s comfort and inspiration is another’s jest and scorn.† None of this mattered, though. Even accepting a state interest here, the law was still unconstitutional because Spence was using the flag to express ideas which viewers would be able to understand. Given the protected character of his expression and in light of the fact that no interest the State may have in preserving the physical integrity of a privately owned flag was significantly impaired on these facts, the conviction must be invalidated. There was no risk that people would think the government was endorsing Spence’s message and the flag carries so many different meanings to people that the state cannot proscribe the use of the flag to express certain political views. Spence v. Washington: Significance This decision avoided dealing with whether people have a right to display flags they have permanently altered to make a statement. Spence’s alteration was deliberately temporary, and the justices appear to have thought this relevant. However, at least a free speech right to at least temporarily â€Å"deface† the American flag was established. The Supreme Court’s decision in Spence v. Washington was not unanimous. Three justices - Burger, Rehnquist, and White - disagreed with the majority’s conclusion that individuals have a free speech right to alter, even temporarily, an American flag in order to communicate some message. They agreed that Spence was indeed engaged in communicating a message, but they disagreed that Spence should be allowed to alter the flag to do so. Writing a dissent joined by Justice White, Justice Rehnquist stated: The true nature of the State’s interest in this case is not only one of preserving â€Å"the physical integrity of the flag,† but also one of preserving the flag as â€Å"an important symbol of nationhood and unity.† ... It is the character, not the cloth, of the flag which the State seeks to protect. [...]The fact that the State has a valid interest in preserving the character of the flag does not mean, of course, that it can employ all conceivable means to enforce it. It certainly could not require all citizens to own the flag or compel citizens to salute one. ... It presumably cannot punish criticism of the flag, or the principles for which it stands, any more than it could punish criticism of this country’s policies or ideas. But the statute in this case demands no such allegiance.Its operation does not depend upon whether the flag is used for communicative or noncommunicative purposes; upon whether a particular message is deemed commercial or politica l; upon whether the use of the flag is respectful or contemptuous; or upon whether any particular segment of the State’s citizenry might applaud or oppose the intended message. It simply withdraws a unique national symbol from the roster of materials that may be used as a background for communications. [emphasis added] It should be noted that Rehnquist and Burger dissented from the Court’s decision in Smith v. Goguen for substantially the same reasons. In that case, a teenager was convicted for wearing a small American flag on the seat of his pants. Although White voted with the majority, in that case, he attached a concurring opinion where he stated that he would not â€Å"find it beyond congressional power, or that of state legislatures, to forbid attaching to or putting on the flag any words, symbols, or advertisements.† Just two months after the Smith case was argued, this one appeared before the court - though that case was decided first. As was true with the Smith v. Goguen case, the dissent here simply misses the point. Even if we accept Rehnquist’s assertion that the state has an interest in preserving the flag as â€Å"an important symbol of nationhood and unity,† this does not automatically entail that the state the authority to fulfill this interest by prohibiting people from treating a privately own flag as they see fit or by criminalizing certain uses of the flag to communicate political messages. There is a missing step here - or more likely several missing steps - which Rehnquist, White, Burger and other supporters of bans on flag â€Å"desecration† never manage to include in their arguments. It’s likely that Rehnquist recognized this. He acknowledges, after all, that there are limits to what the state may do in pursuit of this interest and cites several examples of extreme government behavior which would cross the line for him. But where, exactly, is that line and why does he draw it in the place he does? Upon what basis does he allow some things but not others? Rehnquist never says and, for this reason, the effectiveness of his dissent completely fails. One more important thing should be noted about Rehnquist’s dissent: he makes it explicit that criminalizing the certain uses of the flag to communicate messages must apply to respectful as well as contemptuous messages. Thus, the words â€Å"America is Great† would be just as prohibited as the words â€Å"America Sucks.† Rehnquist is at least consistent here, and that’s good - but how many supporters of bans on flag desecration would accept this particular consequence of their position? Rehnquist’s dissent suggests very strongly that if the government has the authority to criminalize burning an American flag, it can criminalize waving an American flag as well.