Essay in Accounting Complete Writing Guide

Essay in Accounting Complete Writing Guide Looking for effective strategies to approach an accounting essay? Digital technologies have changed the role of accounting and now computers do a lot of bookkeeping work which we used to think as â€Å"accounting†. Being an expert in the financial theory is not enough to become a good accountant and have a successful career. These days, finance and accounting professionals devote significant time to documenting the results of research, analysis, and procedures they performed. Written communication is vital in accounting and finance, and companies value employees that are experts in effective business writing because even a well-executed analysis that is based on general accounting principles and laws and done with appropriate tools can lose its value if the findings were not effectively summarized and communicated in a final document. That’s why written assignments are incorporated into accounting courses and include different types of essays and research papers. The main purpose of written tasks for accounting students is to teach them to communicate in writing in a manner that is appropriate to the business. When writing essays in accounting, students learn important skills that are necessary for success in their professional careers such as selection of relevant information, synthesis, description, summary, answering a question, explanation, argument, proper structure, formal style, and more. These skills will be useful in business writing that may include writing memos, emails, letters, audit reports etc. In this article, you will find a complete guide on how to write an essay in accounting. We will discuss how to analyze your prompt and how to choose a topic for your essay, suggest some good topic ideas, give advice on how to organize each stage of the research and writing process and explain how to structure your essay and make an outline. Besides, we will provide you with some useful tips on writing accounting essay parts, editing, and proofreading. Steps in Writing an Accounting Essay An accounting essay is a piece of writing that answers a certain prompt or a question. It shows how well you understand your basic course material, how deep was your research on the essay’s topic, and how analytical you were in choosing information and evidence for your essay and in evaluating the material that you used. When writing your essay, you should follow the following key steps: Analyze the prompt given by your instructor or choose your topic; Do a research and gather information; Write your thesis statement and make an outline; Write a draft of your essay; Revise your essay (edit and proofread). How to Analyze Your Prompt If the topic for your essay or essay prompt was given by your professor, you should analyze it to understand what kind of essay you have to write and what to focus your reading on. It’s a very important step that will help you in doing research and making a working outline. You should read the essay prompt and underline the process words to understand what you are required to do, for example, discuss, outline, analyze, explain or compare and contrast etc. Then, you should analyze the key concepts of your prompt to understand what you are to write about. Some essay questions may also have limiting words that will tell you what material is relevant to your writing. How to Choose a Good Topic for an Essay in Accounting Choosing a topic for an essay might be challenging for the majority of students but this essential step has a great impact on the outcome of your writing. The easiest way to find topic ideas is to consult a textbook for your accounting class and look through a table of contents to find some topics or key terms that you can use for searching the databases in the university library or online. You can also look for ideas in online daily sources and try to find some interesting information that may spark your own imagination. A good idea is to find a topic that is not familiar to you but you wish to know more about it. Try to find a topic that you are interested in because, in this case, you will enjoy doing research and writing and will work more productively. You should evaluate the potential topic and determine if you can find enough sources to do a research and gather relevant examples to prove your arguments. If your topic is too broad, you should narrow it to a manageable size that you can address in your essay (here you should take into account the essay’s length). Accounting Essay Topics Here are some interesting accounting essay topic ideas for your inspiration. Decision Making Approaches in Accounting What is the Difference between Financial Accounting and Management Accounting? Credit Risk Assessment Strategies Pros and Cons of IFRS Tax Concessions for Small Companies Disadvantages and Advantages of Budgeting Formats of Financial Statements for Different Businesses Factors that Influence Dividend Policy Risks of e-Banking Types of Earnings Management Doing Research and Planning your Essay in Accounting After you have chosen your topic it’s time to do a research. You should do a lot of reading for your research because the content of your essay, particularly your thesis statement and your arguments, rely on scientific works of other researchers and writers. You can start with reading your lecture notes and relevant chapters in your textbook as well as use recommended reading list given by your instructor. You can also check the catalog of your university library and look for the latest information on the internet. You should manage your time productively and use skimming and scanning techniques to determine if the texts are useful and are worth reading them in detail. Use scanning when you need to find a specific term, a date or a name. When scanning, you don’t actually read the text, but look for some specific item. In this way, you can also identify which sections of longer texts are important for your research. The purpose of skimming is to get an overall impression of the text. To do that, you should read the title, the first and the last paragraphs, and the first sentence in several body paragraphs. You can also look at some tables or graphics to decide if the text is relevant to your topic and prepare yourself for a detailed reading to make it more meaningful. These techniques will save you a lot of time and help you immerse in your topic. After you have defined the most relevant sources, you should read them carefully and make notes of the most valuable ideas which you can cite or paraphrase in your essay with proper referencing. At the end of the research process, you will have a comprehensive understanding of your topic and will be able to express your own ideas, give arguments and criticism. How to Organize Your Accounting Essay There is no specific template for an accounting essay and like many other business papers, your essay should have a standard structure that includes an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. Plan your essay and make a working outline. First, you should write a thesis statement to define the idea that you are going to argue in your essay. Then think about the structure of the body paragraphs. Each paragraph should contain one main point and consist of: a topic sentence which states the subject of a paragraph; supporting sentences that define and explain the major point and support it with relevant examples; concluding and linking sentences that introduce the subject of the next paragraph and give your readers an idea of where the discussion will lead them. Last, you should think about the conclusion where you will sum up your argument and give an answer to your research question. When making an outline, you need to structure sections of your future essay in detail because it will help you develop your argument when you start writing. How to Write a Strong Thesis Statement A strong thesis statement is important for your readers because it helps them understand your main point and it is crucial for you because it helps you organize your argument more effectively. Practically any essay needs a thesis statement – the exception is the taxation essay where you are asked to explain how a particular tax issue works. In this case, you may just provide a summary of the necessary information. Most essay assignments in accounting include a question that your instructor is asking you to address. When developing a thesis statement, you have to provide an answer to this question. Your thesis should summarize the most important points of your accounting essay clearly and in a simple way. You should also present your original opinion about the essay’s topic and establish a tone appropriate to your purpose, topic, and audience. Structure of an Accounting Essay Introduction The introduction of an accounting essay should begin with more general points and end with more specific points. The length of this part of an essay depends on the total word limit and generally, it is about 10-20% of the whole essay’s length. First, you should grab your reader’s attention and present the exact subject of your essay, explaining its significance and specifying author’s goals. You should include a thesis statement (hypothesis) and present a brief description of what you intend to argue. You should also briefly outline the structure of your essay. Body In the body of your essay, you need to present your argument in a series of linked paragraphs logically and coherently. In this part, you show the results of your research, authoritative quotes, relevant examples, and convincing evidence. If your research question has more than one part, you should answer each part of the question in a separate paragraph. Conclusion The conclusion should provide your audience with a summary of the key moments of your argument and create a feeling of closing or rounding the discussion by giving a broad statement about the future implications or giving a recommendation about future directions for research. Never present any completely new ideas or information in your essay’s conclusion. Remember that it is a final review of the essay. Reference List Any academic essay must contain references to all works that you have cited or paraphrased in your essay. You have to give credit to authors whose ideas you use in your own writings to avoid plagiarism. You should organize your references according to the citation style specified by your instructor. Editing Your Essay Editing and proofreading are necessary stages of the writing process. When your first draft is ready you should revise and rewrite some parts of your essay to improve your content and make sure that you have answered your topic question. You may need to perform an additional research if you feel that you need more evidence to strengthen your argument. When you feel that you are satisfied with your draft, you need to make a final check. Reread your draft and make sure that you have followed instructions and guideline and answered the research question supporting your argument with relevant evidence. Check the logic and the flow of your essay and make sure that you use transitions words between the paragraphs. Eliminate repetitions and unnecessary words and improve word choice to make your essay clear and concise. Check the sentence structure and fix fragments and run-on sentences. Make sure that you didn’t overuse the passive voice and verb tenses are used correctly. Check punctuation and spelling and consult a good dictionary and reference grammar. You can also use a good online spelling and grammar checker. Check reference style and fix inconsistencies. It’s crucial that all your paraphrases and quotes were properly referenced (check all the required information, full stops, commas, italics, and question marks). Proofread your final draft to fix minor grammar and spelling mistake and typos. Make sure your accounting essay is formatted correctly (check margins, spacing, font etc.) Some Easy Tips for Effective Writing from Our Writing Experts When planning your essay, keep balance and include various viewpoints. Examine and evaluate opposing views and arguments and explain why some arguments are more convincing. First, write the body paragraphs of your essay. It is much easier to write the introduction and the conclusion when you already know what your essay is about. Avoid excessive quoting. Use only relative part of the quotation to provide evidence and always explain the relationship between the quotation and your claim that you want to support with it. Avoid wordiness and try to be as concise as possible but make sure you don’t omit the important content. Use active voice when it is possible because, typically, active voice is more lively and concise. Have a break for at least a couple of days before doing the final check and proofread of your accounting essay. Don’t leave your essay in accounting to the last minute. Start early and you will have enough time to read over your work and edit as you rewrite.

The Black Catâ€Plot, Symbols, Themes, and Key Quotes

The Black Cat- Plot, Symbols, Themes, and Key Quotes The  Black Cat, one  of  Edgar Allan Poes  most memorable stories, is a classic example of the gothic  literature genre that debuted in the Saturday Evening Post on August 19, 1843. Written in the form of a first-person narrative, Poe employed multiple themes of insanity, superstition, and alcoholism to impart a palpable sense of horror and foreboding to this tale, while at the same time, deftly advancing his plot and building his characters. Its no surprise that The Black Cat is often linked with The  Tell-Tale Heart, since both of Poes stories share several disturbing plot devices including murder and damning messages from the grave- real or imagined. Plot  Summary The nameless protagonist/narrator begins his story by letting the readers know that he was once a nice, average man. He had a pleasant home, was married to a pleasant wife, and had an abiding love for animals. All that was to change, however, when he fell under the influence of demon alcohol. The first symptom of his descent into addiction and eventual madness manifests with his escalating maltreatment of the family pets. The only creature to escape the mans initial wrath is a beloved black cat named Pluto, but one night after a serious bout of heavy drinking, Pluto angers him for some minor infraction, and in a drunken fury, the man seizes the cat, which promptly bites him. The narrator retaliates by cutting out one of the Plutos eyes. While the cats wound eventually heals, the relationship between the man and his pet has been destroyed. Eventually, the narrator, filled with self-loathing, comes to detest the cat as a symbol of his own weakness, and in a moment of further insanity, hangs the poor creature by the neck from a tree beside the house where its left to perish.  Shortly thereafter, the house burns down. While the narrator, his wife, and a servant escape, the only thing left standing is a single blackened interior wall- on which, to his horror, the man sees the image of a cat hanging by a noose around its neck. Thinking to assuage his guilt, the protagonist begins searching out a second black cat to replace Pluto. One night, in a tavern, he eventually finds just such a cat, which accompanies him to the house he now shares with his wife, albeit under greatly reduced circumstances. Soon enough, the madness- abetted by gin- returns. The narrator begins not only to detest the new cat- which is always underfoot- but to fear it. What remains of his reason keeps him from harming the animal, until the day the mans wife asks him to accompany her on an errand to the cellar. The cat runs ahead, nearly tripping his master on the stairs. The man becomes enraged. He picks up an ax, meaning to murder the animal, but when his wife grabs the handle to stop him, he pivots, killing her with a blow to the head. Rather than break down with remorse, the man hastily hides his wifes body by walling it up with bricks behind a false facade in the cellar. The cat thats been tormenting him seems to have disappeared. Relieved, he begins to think hes gotten away with his crime and all will finally be well–until the police eventually show up to search the house. They find nothing but as theyre headed up the cellar stairs preparing to leave, the narrator stops them, and with false bravado, he boasts how well the house is built, tapping on the wall thats hiding the body of his dead wife. From within comes a sound of unmistakable anguish. Upon hearing the cries, the authorities demolish the false wall, only to find the wifes corpse, and on top of it, the missing cat. I had walled the monster up within the tomb! he wails- not realizing that in fact, he and not the cat, is the actual villain of the story. Symbols Symbols are a key component of Poes dark tale, particularly the following ones. The black cat:  More than just the title character, the black cat is also an important symbol. Like the bad omen of legend, the narrator believes Pluto and his successor have led him down the path toward insanity and immorality.  Alcohol: While the narrator begins to view the black cat as an outward manifestation of everything the narrator views as evil and unholy, blaming the animal for all his woes, it is his addiction to drinking, more than anything else, that seems to be the true reason for the narrators mental decline.House and home: Home sweet home is supposed to be a place of safety and security, however, in this story, it becomes a dark and tragic place of madness and murder. The narrator kills his favorite pet, tries to kill its replacement, and goes on to kill his own wife. Even the relationships that should have been the central focus of his healthy and happy home fall victim to his deteriorating mental  state.  Prison: When the story opens, the narrator is physica lly in prison, however, his mind was already imprisoned by the shackles of madness, paranoia, and alcohol-induced delusions long before he was apprehended for his crimes.   The wife: The wife could have been a grounding force in the narrators life.  He describes her as having that humanity of feeling. Rather than saving him, or at least escaping with her own life, she becomes a horrible example of innocence betrayed. Loyal, faithful, and kind, she never leaves her husband no matter how low he sinks into the depths of depravity. Instead, it is he who is in a sense unfaithful to his marriage vows. His mistress, however, is not another woman, but rather his obsession with drinking and the inner demons his drinking unleashes as symbolically personified by the black cat. He forsakes the woman he loves- and eventually kills her because he cant break the hold of his destructive obsession. Major Themes Love and hate are two key themes in the story.  The narrator at first loves his pets and his wife, but as madness takes hold of him, he comes to loathe or dismiss everything that should be of the utmost importance to him. Other major themes include: Justice and truth:  The narrator tries to hide the truth by walling up his wifes body but the voice of the black cat helps bring him to justice.Superstition:  The black cat is an omen of bad luck, a theme that runs throughout literature.  Murder and death:  Death is the central focus of the entire story. The question is what causes the narrator to become a killer.Illusion versus reality:  Does the alcohol release the narrators inner demons, or is it merely an excuse for his horrendous acts of violence? Is the black cat merely a cat, or something embued with a greater power to bring about justice or exact revenge?Loyalty perverted: A pet is often seen as a loyal and faithful partner in life but the escalating hallucinations the narrator experiences propel him into murderous rages, first with Pluto and then with the cat the replaces him. The pets he once held in highest affection become the thing he most loathes. As the mans sanity unravels, his wife, whom he also purports to love, becomes someone who merely inhabits his home rather than shares his life. She ceases to be a real person, and when she does, she is expendable. When she dies, rather than feel the horror of killing someone he cares for, the mans first response is to hide the evidence of his crime. Key Quotes Poes use of language enhance the storys chilling impact. His stark prose is  the reason this and other of his tales have endured. Key quotes from Poes work echo its themes. On reality vs. illusion: For the  most wild, yet most homely narrative which I am about to pen, I neither expect nor solicit belief.   On loyalty: There is something in the unselfish and self-sacrificing love of a brute, which goes directly to the heart of him who has had frequent occasion to test the paltry friendship and gossamer fidelity of mere Man.   On superstition: In speaking of his intelligence, my wife, who at heart was not a little tinctured with superstition, made frequent allusion to the ancient popular notion, which regarded all black cats as witches in disguise.   On alcoholism: ...my disease grew upon me- for what disease is like Alcohol!- and at  length  even Pluto, who was now becoming old, and consequently somewhat peevish- even Pluto began to experience the effects of my ill temper.   On transformation and descent into insanity: I knew myself no longer. My original soul seemed, at once, to take its flight from my body; and a more than fiendish malevolence, gin-nurtured, thrilled every fiber of my frame.   On murder: This spirit of perverseness, I say, came to my final overthrow. It was this unfathomable longing of the soul to vex itself- to offer violence to its own nature- to do wrong for the wrongs sake only- that urged me to continue and finally to consummate the injury I had inflicted upon the unoffending brute.   On evil: Beneath the pressure of torments such as these, the feeble remnant of the good within me succumbed. Evil thoughts became my sole intimates- the darkest and most evil of thoughts.   Questions for Study and Discussion Once students have read The Black Cat, teachers can use the following questions to spark discussion or as the basis for an exam or written assignment: Why do you think Poe chose The Black Cat as the title for this story?What are the major conflicts? What types of conflict (physical, moral, intellectual, or emotional) do you see in this story?What does Poe do to reveal character in the story?What are some themes in the story?How does Poe employ symbolism?Is the narrator consistent in his actions? Is he a fully developed character?Do you find the narrator likable? Would you want to meet him?Do you find the narrator reliable? Do you trust what he says to be true?How would you describe the narrators relationship with animals? How does it differ from his relationships with people?Does the story end the way you expected it to?What is the central  purpose of the story? Why is this purpose important or meaningful?Why is the story usually considered a work of horror literature?Would you consider this appropriate reading for Halloween?How essential is setting to the story? Could the story have taken place anywhere else?What are some of the controversial elements of the story? Were they necessary? What is the role of women in the text?Would you recommend this story to a friend?If Poe had not ended the story as he did, what do you think might have happened next?How have views on alcoholism, superstition, and insanity changed since this story was written?How might a modern writer approach a similar story?

Frederick Taylors Management Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Frederick Taylors Management Theory - Essay Example This research is being carried out to look at the various criticism against the theory and concludes by a reflection on this theory and how it has impacted the field of management. This was among the first management theories that started the era of modern management. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, Taylor was decrying the awkward, inefficient or ill-directed movements of men at the place of work as a national loss. Taylor sought consistently to overthrow the â€Å"rule of the thumb† and replace this with actual timed observations leading what he termed as the one best practice. He advocated for the application of the scientific method in the management of workers because it improved productivity to a large extent. The scientific method he proposed called for the optimization of the way tasks were performed and the simplification of these tasks so that all workers could be trained to perform their specialized sequence of motions in the one â€Å"best† way. Taylor while working in the steel industry made some observations purposely operating below their capacity. This he termed as soldiering. Taylor saw this aspect as a result o f the following three causes: (1) The workers had a near universal belief that if they became more productive in their work, fewer of them would be required to perform jobs and therefore jobs would be eliminated; (2) The non-incentive wage systems encourage low productivity among the employees, if the employee will receive the same pay regardless of how much is produced. He observed that employees take great care not to work at a faster pace because of the fear that the pace will set a new standard; (3) workers are seen to waste much of their effort through the reliance on rule of the thumb methods instead of optimal work methods that could be determined by scientific study of the involved task.

Socially Desirable Merit Goods Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Socially Desirable Merit Goods - Essay Example This report declares that the private sector primarily operates under the dynamics of the free market system. Many individuals in the society would miss enjoying the benefits of merit goods if left to the private sector because they would appropriate a high price for the good or service, limiting the individuals who can have access to the good. Therefore, many people would be unwilling to access the merit goods at a high cost. The inaccessibility would lead to underproduction of the good, and ultimately leading to underutilization of the good or service. In most cases, government institutions are tasked with handling the provision of merit goods. This paper makes a conclusion that education is usually considered a merit good, and especially the basic education from early childhood to the university or college. An educated society results in reduced cases of hard crime, increased productivity, higher rates of employment and a growing economy because of direct input of high-quality labour. An educated society also translates into strong governmental and non-governmental institutions and interests from foreign companies who would thrive with good quality employment. The government would also benefit directly from increased tax collection from employed individuals. The present secondary education system in the UK is an improvement of an older system that allotted students at the age of 11 years to either of the three school types through performance and selection examinations.

Integrated Marketing Communication Project Essay

Integrated Marketing Communication Project - Essay Example The designed questionnaire was taken to the chosen set of respondents who were necessarily consumers who had purchased an Apple product. In response to a question on the main aspects that influences brand evaluation by the customers it was observed that the main aspects that influences them particularly in the customer segment of Apple was quality. Customers often perceived a product on the basis of product features and reputation of the brand as they felt it added value to their social status as well. A certain section of the respondents also stated the importance of price as a crucial aspect while undertaking a purchase decision. The survey findings also stated that brands that become a hit with the consumers are normally those that have a good brand image. This brand image is built mainly on the basis of product attributes, service quality and reputation of the brand in the market. Quality is one area that seems to have been the most important factor stated by the respondents as main criteria that makes brands popular and hit in the market. The respondents stated that brands that had a good reputation with quality standards as well as customer service were more likely to be the chosen brand by the customers. It was perhaps for the reason that most of the respondents felt that quality and product features were the most important criteria for decision making by the customers. In the course of the survey it was also found that brand image also depended on the business profile of the organization. Brands like Google and Apple score high with regard to brand image by virtue of the robustness of their business mod els. The survey also revealed that customer service as well as the marketing communication strategy also plays a major role in the development of brand image of an organization as most respondents felt that the manner in which an organization communicated with the customers had a very lasting and comprehensive effect on the overall positioning and brand image of an organization. In response to a question on the ways customers evaluate as brand it was observed that most customers used a cost benefit analysis to analyze a brand. Most of the respondents were of the view that if the cost of a product tends to satisfy their demands then they perceive it to be a good brand. In addition to this respondents also stated that product features and additional facilities like loyalty points, rewards and bonuses also played a major role in the perception of brands among the customers. In summation it was found that most of the respondents stated the importance of the elements of the marketing mix as the essential

A Remote Desktop Application For Android

A Remote Desktop Application For Android The aim of this project is to develop a simple-to-use remote desktop application which enables users to remote view contents of their desktop and view, create, edit and delete files and folders remotely. The application runs on a portable device (such as a cell-phone or tablet) which fully supports the Android mobile platform and is equipped with features like WiFi, touchscreen, document editor etc. An important goal of this endeavour is to keep the application user-friendly and easy-to-use. The application uses the same protocol as Microsoft Windows for file sharing. Thus, implementing and using the application in a domain environment where each user has access to specific files and folders makes sense. This also enables true mobility and control over the user-account in a university or office setting. In conclusion, the application works perfectly when the target remote machine is in the same network as the mobile device. For accessing a domain share, the device needs to be connected to the domain via VPN (Virtual Private Network). The application is expected to work in the same fashion with a VPN like it does over an actual network. Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Motivation In computing, the term remote desktop refers to software or an operating system characteristic which allows applications, often including graphical applications, to be run remotely on a server while being displayed locally (1). In practise, the term remote desktop has a very broad meaning which could pertain to any of the specific uses of this feature. Also, each implementation of programs that enable remote access is different as the services provided by each of them vary. Applications of remote desktop are numerous and depend on the setting in which it is used. An important use is in the domain environment where a central server machine (or group of servers) controls all the other clients that are connected to it. In such a situation, certain programs which need a lot of resources are run on the server and are accessed by the client computers via remote sharing. This approach eliminates the need for multiple licenses or expensive client machines. Network administrators can also use remote desktop to maintain and when required, troubleshoot a remote client machine. This reduces the need for a large number of technical support staff (2). Remote desktop also serves as a handy utility for the end-user. It allows an employee to work from home by making available the same set of software and settings which are provided at office. A student can access all their important files and documents stored at the university computer without being physically present anywhere near the campus. A novice user can get help with installation of particular software remotely from an expert (3). To use remote desktop, one needs specialised software. Though there are a plethora of remote desktop clients available for the desktop on all major operating systems, the options for mobile platforms are quite scarce. This is majorly due to a variety of operating systems in use and restricted resources available in mobile devices. In addition to it, the few usable solutions are either quite expensive or are no longer supported. This prompted me to take up the challenge of developing a practical, easy-to-use remote desktop application for the ultra-portable platform which needs no technical know-how to setup and run. Chapter 2 Literature Survey 2.1 The Android Platform Today, there exist a number of operating platforms for mobile devices. A majority of them are proprietary and are adopted by a handful of device manufacturers. Thus, developing for such platforms would provide little in way of commercial value to the application. Also, it will be available to only a small section of smartphone users. Porting the app to other mobile platforms is also not an alternative as this would require drastic changes in its code which would require additional man hours. An exception to the above mentioned problem is the Android platform for mobile devices. Android is a software stack for mobile devices that includes an operating system, middleware  [1]  and key applications (4). Android was originated by a group of companies known as the Open Handset Alliance, led by Google. Today, many more companies which involve cellular service providers, OEMs and developers have invested in Android and have adopted it for their products (5). As can be seen from the following figure, the architecture of the platform is no different from traditional PC architectures. Figure 1: The Android Architecture (Source: Wikimedia Commons) The lowest layer of the architecture consists of the Linux kernel which has all the drivers needed to communicate with the hardware. This layer is also called the Hardware abstraction layer. The layer above it has android core libraries written in C/C++. It also has the Dalvik virtual Machine which provides inter-process abstraction. On top of the libraries is the API  [2]  layer which enables component re-use and better application design. The topmost layer has all core applications which ship with the OS. An important attribute of the Android platform is that it is open-source. Thus, its source code is freely available which enables developers to use readily available APIs for developing robust applications quickly. Also, as the system requirements of Android are quite less, it is suitable for mid-range to ultra-high-end devices. As a result, Android can be seen in mobile phones, e-readers, PDAs and even netbooks (6). There is also an active developers community for Android which provides support via e-mail and web forums. Thus, it is not hard to see why Android provides an ideal platform for application development. Figure 2: A typical home-screen for Android devices (Source: developers.android.com) The screenshot above shows a home screen of an android device. This device is a mobile phone and thus has applications such as contacts, phone and messaging on the home screen. A variety of tablet computers, electronic book readers and netbook computers also use android and have icons relevant apps on the home screen. The white bar on the top is the notification bar which works the same way as the notification area in Microsoft windows. It displays battery level, signal strength, time and current network connection. 2.2 Android Application basics Applications for the android platform are written in the JAVA programming language. For deploying an application to a device, the java code is first compiled and then bundled into an android package which is in the .apk format. The latter operation is done by the Android Asset Packaging Tool or aapt. In Android, every application runs in its own Linux process. Android starts the process when any of the applications code needs to be executed, and shuts down the process when its no longer needed and system resources are required by other applications. Each process has its own virtual machine (VM), so application code runs in isolation from the code of all other applications. No other application is aware about the existence of the other. By default, each application is assigned a unique Linux user ID. Permissions are set so that the applications files are visible only to that user and only to the application itself. 2.3 Application components A unique feature of the android platform is that each application can use a feature provided by some other application without having to actually implement it. This encourages code-reuse and saves precious man hours spent in development. Unlike applications on most other systems, Android applications dont have a single entry point for everything in the application (no main() function, for example). Rather, they have essential components that the system can instantiate and run as needed. There are four types of components: 2.3.1 Activities An activity is a visual representation for any task that application intends to fulfil. For example, an activity could be a list of images in a gallery, a menu with settings for the user or a phonebook with contacts. An activity can spawn another activity whenever an event occurs. In the phonebook activity, when a user clicks on a contact, another activity is created which allows the user to either call or send a text message to that contact. Each activity has a view associated with it. This view provides visual elements such as text fields, buttons, checkboxes etc. These elements might have some listeners associated with them which trigger an action when interacted with. 2.3.2 Services A service might not be visible to a user but it runs indefinitely in the background and could be used by an activity. For example, a service might play background music as the user attends to other matters, or it might fetch data over the network or calculate something and provide the result to activities that need it. A prime example is a media player playing songs from a play list. The player application would probably have one or more activities that allow the user to choose songs and start playing them. However, the music playback itself would not be handled by an activity because users will expect the music to keep playing even after they leave the player and begin something different. To keep the music going, the media player activity could start a service to run in the background. The system would then keep the music playback service running even after the activity that started it leaves the screen. Like activities and the other components, services run in the main thread of the application process. So that they wont block other components or the user interface, they often spawn another thread for time-consuming tasks (like music playback). 2.3.4 Broadcast receivers A broadcast receiver is a component that does nothing but receives and reacts to broadcast announcements. These announcements can be anything that are meant to inform user about occurrence of an event such as email arrival, low battery indication, change of track in the music player and so on. Applications can also initiate broadcasts for example, to let other applications know that some data has been downloaded to the device and is available for them to use. An application can have any number of broadcast receivers to respond to any announcements it considers important. Broadcast receivers do not display a user interface. However, they may start an activity in response to the information they receive, or they may use the Notification Manager to alert the user. Notifications can get the users attention in various ways flashing the backlight, vibrating the device, playing a sound, and so on. They typically place a persistent icon in the status bar, which users can open to get the message. 2.3.5 Content providers A content provider makes a specific set of the applications data available to other applications. They basically provide for interprocess communication. The content provider extends the ContentProvider base class to implement a standard set of methods that enable other applications to retrieve and store data of the type it controls. However, applications do not call these methods directly. Rather they use a ContentResolver object and call its methods instead. A ContentResolver can talk to any content provider to manage communication with processes. Whenever theres a request that should be handled by a particular component, Android makes sure that the application process of the component is running, starting it if necessary, and that an appropriate instance of the component is available, creating the instance if it is necessary. 2.4 A typical Android project directory structure Figure 1 shows the directory structure of an android project named filegetter. Here, the first folder src holds the java source files for the project. These files contain actual java code which is written by the developers. In this case, the source files are held in a package named hardik.test.browse. The package helps to keep the source files together allowing easy access to data and variable within the project. Figure 3: Directory structure of an Android project The next folder is gen which consists of auto generated java files. These files are generated when the project is build/compiled. Information about variables, strings and layouts are stored in these files. Android 1.6 is the build of the android platform against which the application is being created. This is important as each build has some special classes which may not be present in an earlier one. Referenced Libraries consists of list of all third party or external libraries used for our project. In our case, it will consist of the JCIFS library (explained later). The assests folder in generally unused and it may hold required files if needed. The res folder has drawable, layout and values subfolders. Drawable consists of icons and other graphical elements of the application and is divided into three subfolders according to resolution of target device. The layout folder holds .xml layout files which decide elements like button, text box, list etc. for the application. The values folder is used for providing id for different components of the application. The AndroidManifest.xml is an important element of an android project. In this file, all the activities and services of the application are described. Other elements such as application permissions for the application are also described. Finally, the default.properties file has an entry for the build of target devices for which the application is being developed. 2.5 Android in the Market According to a May report by market research group NDP, the Android operating system performed quite well in the first quarter (Q1) of 2010, moving past Apple to take the number-two position among smartphone operating systems. NPDs wireless market research reveals that based on unit sales to consumers last quarter the Android operating system moved into second position at 28% behind Research In Motions Blackberry OS (36%) and ahead of Apples OS (21%) (7). These figures indicate a rise in popularity in the android platform. Also a large range of available handsets means that consumers will be able to choose according to their needs and budgets. This increase in market share also means that more developers will be willing to develop for Android making it a competitive, mainstream product. 2.6 Remote Desktop Implementation Currently, there exist a variety of applications for PC which use either proprietary or generic/open-source protocols for remote desktop implementation. All of these applications are based on the server-client model where the server side of the software operates on the target machine and the client application is run on the remote host. Either of the machines may function as client or server provided both of them are equipped with required software. Figure 4: Implementation of a traditional client-server model (Source: acm.org) Various protocols can be used for remote access. Each of these provides a specific set of functionalities that may be common to another protocol or unique to that particular protocol. Listed below are some of the protocols used for remote access and file sharing. These are widely used in several desktop clients in the market today. 2.6.1 RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) It is a proprietary protocol developed by Microsoft which provides remote display and input capabilities over network connections for windows-based applications running on a server (8). The RDP is encapsulated within the TCP layer and uses separate virtual channels for carrying data, licensing information, encrypted information and so on. All versions of windows after windows XP support Remote Desktop via RDP. But only the professional and ultimate versions come with the Remote Desktop Server program which enables a user to share their screen (9). 2.6.2 RFB (Remote Framebuffer) Protocol RFB is a simple protocol for remote access to graphical user interfaces. Because it works at the framebuffer level it is applicable to all windowing systems and applications, including Linux, Windows and Macintosh. It is primarily used by the VNC (Virtual Network Computing) software and its derivatives. By default, it uses TCP port 5900 for the client and port 5500 for the server (10). 2.6.3 SMB (Server Message Block) The Server Message Block (SMB) Protocol is a network file sharing protocol which allows a client application in a network to read and write files on and request services from the server on the same network. The SMB protocol requires a secure and encrypted authentication method and is thus more secure than other file sharing methods. Microsoft provides an SMB client and server with its Windows operating system. For Linux based systems, a utility called Samba is freely available for using the protocol (11). Chapter 3 Design One of the major hurdles faced in designing a remote access client is to decide upon the protocol to be used. Out of the available ones mentioned before, the RDP and SMB protocols allow screen-capturing of the remote machine onto the client device. This allows the user to interact with the desktop in real-time. Both these protocols have been implemented successfully in a variety of programs for all three popular (Windows, Mac OS and Linux) desktop platforms. Upon deciding the project, the intent was to use one of these protocols for the application. But the following difficulties were experienced during the development phase. 3.1 RDP and RFB Implementation issues 3.1.1 Absence of library classes While implementing either RDP or RFB, one can use the Robot class present in Java which can mimic the mouse, simulate keyboard interactions and capture the screen of a remote host over the network (12). This class is unfortunately absent in android and thus cannot be used. This makes it difficult to perform the above mentioned functions in android as no alternative classes exist. Current RFB and RDP implementations on Android have made use of similar projects on the desktop environment by forking  [3]  the source code from these projects. These existing projects use external libraries without proper documentation and at times are written in a non-java programming language. Thus, comprehending the original code and then forking it would take a lot more time than the projects duration. 3.1.2 Need for server side installation Both the protocols (RFB and RDP) required a server side program running on the target machine. This program is bundled with server editions of most operating systems but require purchase on all other editions. Also, there may be compatibility issues if the server is running a RDP implementation and the device has a client using the RFB protocol. This will result into failed communication between the server and the client. Due to the aforementioned issues, remote access will be implemented by using the SMB protocol. 3.2 Benefits of the SMB protocol An enhanced version of the SMB called CIFS  [4]  (Common Internet File Sharing) has been in place since Windows 2000 and it provides a host of features when compared to other such protocols (13). 3.2.1 Greater accessibility The SMB protocol for resource sharing has been used by Microsoft for their operating systems since Windows 95. In a domain environment, SMB is used to provide access to relevant resources to every user. In Linux too, a free utility called Samba which uses the SMB protocol, comes with most distributions. Thus, out-of-box functionality can be provided to any client requiring remote access. 3.2.2 Added security CIFS provides flexibility to allow anonymous transfers as well as secure, authenticated access to resources. Policies can also be easily managed and changed whenever required 3.2.3 Support for slow connection Access to shared resources and transfer of resources is also supported on slower connections. Thus, using a 3G or EDGE connection from a device will not be an issue while accessing remote files. 3.2.4 Performance and scalability CIFS servers are highly integrated with the operating system. Thus they function as part of the OS and not third party programs. This guarantees maximum system performance at all times (13). 3.3 SMB Authentication Method Authentication over SMB occurs mainly through the NTLM (NT Lan Manager) that works on systems using windows and on Linux/Unix distributions via the Samba server (14). NTLM is a challenge-response authentication protocol which uses three messages to authenticate a client in a connection oriented environment, and a fourth additional message if integrity is desired (15). The following figure shows exchange of messages between the client and server during authentication. Figure 5: Message sequence to authenticate an SMB session As seen in the above figure, the client negotiates protocol-specific options using the SMB_COM_NEGOTIATE request and the server replies with similar response messages as shown by (1) and (2) respectively. The client then sends an SMB_COM_SESSION_SETUP_ANDX request message. In cases where NTLM authentication is negotiated, within this message an NTLMNEGOTIATE_MESSAGE is embedded. The server responds with an SMB_COM_SESSION_SETUP_ANDX response message within which an NTLM CHALLENGE_MESSAGE is embedded. The message includes an 8-byte random number, called a challenge that the server generates and sends in the ServerChallenge field of the message. The client then extracts the ServerChallenge field from the NTLM CHALLENGE_MESSAGE and sends an NTLM AUTHENTICATE_MESSAGE to the server (embedded in an SMB_COM_SESSION_SETUP_ANDX request message). If the challenge and the response prove that the client knows the users password, the authentication succeeds and the clients security context is now established on the server. To acknowledge this, the server sends a success message embedded in an SMB_COM_SESSION_SETUP_ANDX response message. 3.4 SMB Packet Exchange The following lists an example of a packet exchange between a client and a server via the SMB protocol (16). The client and the server establish a NetBIOS  [5]  connection. The client and server negotiate the Microsoft SMB Protocol dialect. The client logs on to the server. The client connects to a share on the server. The client opens a file on the share. The client reads from the file The connection being full-duplex, file transfer can occur from both ends. Chapter 4 Implementation 4.1 Flowchart In any application, the flow diagram is an important figure that helps one visualize the interactions a user might have with the application and the possible outcomes of these interactions. Figure 6: Flowchart 4.2 UML Use Case diagram Use cases are used to identify and partition system functionality. They separate the system into actors and use cases. Actors represent roles that can are played by users of the system. Those users can be humans, other computers, pieces of hardware, or even other software systems. The only criterion is that they must be external to the part of the system being partitioned into use cases. These actors can interact with the system in a variety of ways which create various outputs. The outputs may be for the users or for other components of the system. Figure 7: Use cases The figure above shows a users interaction with the application. The user can access the Remote resources provided they are logged in to the remote share. Similarly, they can download a file to the local resources only if the file is present in the remote share. Chapter 5 Results 5.1 Experimental Setup For evaluating the results, the application was used on an android handset with Android platform version 2.2. The remote server was a laptop running windows 7. Files and folders were shared using the SMB protocol with mandatory authentication to all shared resources. The target machine and the mobile device were both connected to the same wireless network. 5.2 Application Screenshots Figure 8: On Start-up As seen above, the user is presented with a tabbed view with local file system selected. Different icons are used for various datatypes. Figure 9: Local Photo folder Seen above is the photo folder located on the memory card of the device. The two green arrows on the top represent up and back buttons which are used for navigation. Figure 10: Login screen Login screen on clicking the Remote tab. Figure 11: Unsuccessful login (pop-up appears) Figure 12: Remote download Downloading remote file to memory card on click. Figure 13: Operations on remote file Bibliography 1. Remote Desktop Software. Wikipedia. [Online] [Cited: 25 June 2010.] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remote_desktop_software. 2. Remote desktop. TopBits Tech Community. [Online] [Cited: 25 June 2010.] http://www.topbits.com/remote-desktop.html. 3. 5 Best Remote Desktop and administration application. TechieZone. [Online] [Cited: 25 June 2010.] http://techiezone.in/reviews/5-best-remote-desktop-and-administration-application/. 4. About the Android Open Source Project. Android. [Online] [Cited: 26 June 2010.] http://source.android.com/about/index.html. 5. Philosophy and Goals. Android. [Online] [Cited: 26 June 2010.] http://source.android.com/about/philosophy.html. 6. List of Android Devices. Wikipedia. [Online] [Cited: 26 July 2010.] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Android_devices. 7. Android shakes up U.S. smartphone market. NDP. [Online] [Cited: 7 July 2010.] http://www.npd.com/press/releases/press_100510.html. 8. MSDN Remote Desktop Protocol. MSDN. [Online] [Cited: 4 July 2010.] http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa383015.aspx. 9. Understanding the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP). Microsoft Support. [Online] [Cited: 5 July 2010.] http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q186607. 10. Richardson, Tristan. The RFB Protocol Version 3.8 (2009-11-24). RealVNC. [Online] [Cited: 10 July 2010.] http://www.realvnc.com/docs/rfbproto.pdf. 11. Server Message Block Protocol. Search Networking. [Online] [Cited: 25 July 2010.] http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid7_gci214214,00.html. 12. Java Remote Desktop Administration. The Code Project. [Online] [Cited: 21 July 2010.] http://www.codeproject.com/KB/IP/RemoteAdminJava.aspx. 13. CIFS. Protocol Base. [Online] [Cited: 20 July 2010.] http://www.protocolbase.net/protocols/protocol_CIFS.php. 14. Integrating additional services. Samba.org. [Online] [Cited: 2 August 2010.] http://www.samba.org/samba/docs/man/Samba-Guide/DomApps.html. 15. Microsoft NTLM. MSDN (Microsoft Developers Network). [Online] [Cited: 5 August 2010.] http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa378749(VS.85).aspx. 16. Microsoft SMB protocol packet exchange scenario. Microsoft Developers Network (MSDN). [Online] [Cited: 10 August 2010.] http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa365236(v=VS.85).aspx.

Uranus (not finished) :: essays research papers

Because Uranus is the 7th planet from the sun, not only is it cold, but it's barely visible too. During the night the only way you can see it is through binoculars or telescope; sometimes on a clear night it's visible to the naked eye. Even from the planet it is dark. Only 15moons are able to be seen, the rest is too dark to tell. Uranus was discovered with a telescope, by William Herschel. Uranus reaches a maximum brightness of magnitude 5.5 and can be seen by the naked eye as a faint point of light in a clear, moonless sky. In Voyager 2 photos, Uranus appears as a generally featureless disk, except for considerable darkening toward the edges. Faint banding is seen in contrast enhanced images, which are clouds. Uranus's average distance from the Sun is 2.875 billion km, and the planet takes 84.01 Earth years to make one revolution about the sun. The inclination of Uranus's orbit is 0.742. Its period of rotation was determined by Voyager 2 to be 17.24 hours. One weird aspect of Uranus is that its ration axis inclined 97.54 degrees from its orbital plane. The circumference of Uranus is 160,454km. This means that the poles of Uranus lie nearly in the plane of its orbit path. Uranus has an equatorial diameter of 51,100km; almost precisely four times that of the Earth. The volume is approximantly 67 times greater than Earth. The gravity is 1.17 times greater than that of Earth. The dark bands discovered in 1869 in the red part Uranus were identified in 1932 as being caused by methane gas in Uranus's atmosphere. This red "spot" of Uranus is the major cause of the blue green color of the planet; the methane absorbs much of the red light from the impinging white sunlight, leaving a bluish green color in the reflected sunlight. Measurements by Voyager 2verified that hydrogen is the main constituent, about 15% in terms of molecular weight, which is a larger percentage than in the atmospheres of either Jupiter or