technical writing course singapore"technical writing course singapore" I want to take up a preschool training course in singapore.?
I have a work experience of over 6+ years in the field of technical writing and technical editing and I hold a post-graduate degree in botany. I am currently taking a break because of my baby and wish to pursue a course in the field of preschool training. Is it OK to switch over the career path at this point and does this line suit me?
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별 Byul (Star) original English ver. by 웡루벤 (Reuben Wong)
how to prepare report writing"how to prepare report writing" How do I write a Weather report?
For a school project I was assigned a natural disaster and we had to write a report on how it formed (mine was avalanches), how to prevent it, and all sorts of things like who are effected and things like that. And for the oral part of the whole project we must create a weather report and around 2-3 minutes somehow incorporating how to prepare and stuff like that. like here is a example kind of thing...
In Whistler BC, heavy amounts of snow and rain had been coming down hard since 11pm last night. Many of the slopes are closed due to the risk of avalanches but their are still some remaining open. -talk about how to dress and prepare for an avalanche-.
so if someone can really help me out im stuck. I need help and ideas!! please help me. thanks.
change "their" to there.
You may want to talk about the devices some skiers use, like a beacon
I will write, rewrite, prepare content, prepare ebook or report...
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Why Your Blog Need Blog Writing Services From Professionals?
Blogs at first used to be avenues for talks of social and political issues. In the recent past, we have come to witness a trend where blogs are now used for commercial reasons. Blogs have been instruments employed by affiliates to sell services or products that they are assigned by different online firms.
To get the maximum out of blog, a company must have blog content that is original, informative and convincing to the patron or an analyst out there. Bloggers have the creative writing talent, and as a business you may need to tap this potential for your company's success.
You need to hire a blog writing service to enable your site or blog attract the traffic that is required for you to do business.
It does not require much effort to try a hand that you don't have that comparative advantage to make use of. If you don't have the writing and promoting abilities that will be badly needed in your blog, try getting a blog writing outsourcing company.
A blog company may bring together a variety of skilled persons who include doctors, engineers, marketers, economists, editors, Scientists, etc.
A number of technical writing services for blogs can be outsourced. These include:
1. Blogs that need technical reviews of products may need expert writers in the field. 2. Blogs reviewing books and movies 3. Blogs used to support a site or other blogs for marketing purposes. 4. Blogs focusing on niche markets e.g. Health, games, education, technology, etc.
For your blog to assist you in business, it may need knowledgeable in SEO to draft for easy recognition by the search engines. Plenty of researchers are largely directed to blogs when searching for vital information in their niche areas.
Writing a 'traffic driving intentioned blog' will require well analyzed articles.
Perhaps you may have the writing skills but lack the time or vise versa. That is why it is necessary to get a blog writing service. With that, you can sit down and watch the business grow with the help of the experts. Be in close contact with your blog writers for them to get what you want.
About the Author
Blog writing services needs to be done by professionals. SKG Technologies provided excellent blog writing services and they are writing for several blogs. Visit their website www.skgtechnologies.com
Proposal writing isn't recording as much as 1 knows about a given specialized or programmatic topic. Too generally, specialized staff who are assigned to write proposal sections merely present a voluminous quantity of material that does not address the particular components contained within the RFP, nor does it mesh successfully with the narrative and graphics prepared by the other authors. Quantity alone is totally inadequate to yield a winning response. Crisp, distilled writing that follows the RFP precisely complemented by proper graphics and photographs can be a major step within the correct direction.
1 aim of pre-proposal intelligence gathering is to have assembled a hard-copy or CD-ROM specialized library of documents relevant to the procurement at hand. Your proposal writers really should consult this resource material in advance from the release from the RFP. In addition, the government
Usually offers contractors with access to a specialized library of project documents once the RFP is released. These resources can produce the basis for the detailed, client-and program-specific narrative that's a requirement for successful proposals. Papers and technical paperwork will support illuminate the kinds of specialized difficulties of interest and concern to your consumer. You'll wish to demonstrate an understanding of these problems.
Writers need to also keep in mind that within the case of multi-year projects, they should prepare a response that factors in evolutionary system growth and change, as well as technology insertion, the addition of advanced technological modules or components into an existing infrastructure.
Oftentimes, proposal writers have to have extra insights into the customer's mission, vision, leadership, strategic plan, and programmatic organization. This is where the Net is so valuable in today's proposal procedure. Each federal government organization maintains an extensive repository of this sort of details at its agency Internet internet site, and many agencies publish and make public essential and insightful publications, such as the Area and Missile Occasions (http://www.vandenberg.af.mil/ space-missile-times/story_4/story4.htm) at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the Navy's Mayport Mirror (Mayport, Florida; http://www. mayportmirror.com), and the Army Times (http://www.armytimes.com/). What can you learn and use from this kind of Web-based details?
In particular, it is possible to begin to see patterns within your customer's presentation of itself and its actions-patterns that consist of repeated keywords, images, icons, color schemes, phrases, and priorities. Then, as suitable, based on distinct marketing insight into this customer, these patterns might be driven into your proposal across various key areas these kinds of because the Executive Summary and oral presentation. Your target? To let your consumers see themselves inside your proposal. When an evaluator reviews your submittable, she ought to be able to look at it and say, "Yes, I can see my program in here. And this firm actually understands the troubles which are critical to me and gives meaningful solutions in words and graphics that I recognize."
To continue, the Internet gives extra important sources for proposal writers. Often, writers require some enable acquiring started with their sections that goes above and beyond the "elevator speech," annotated outline, and populated "pain table". Visit http://businessproposaltemplate.org/ for more info.
About the Author
Author Bio
Business & Creative Writing : Writing a Convincing Business Plan
Applicant tracking, coordinating vendors, scheduling interviews while compiling recruiting metrics and analyzing the resulting data can result in an over burdened HR team, especially when utilizing a manual system. Extravagant amounts of time spent tracking position status and calculating time-to-fill and vendor performance metrics can deter HR staff from fulfilling other important strategic initiatives. For large and small businesses, the utilization of VMS (Vendor Management System) technology streamlines the recruiting process, from position requisition to on-boarding of a new hire, data is tracked, compiled and available not only to the HR team, but for the hiring manager on demand.
The question is not whether to utilize VMS technology, but instead, where to find a premier provider. Optimally, you want more than just access to the technology. The goal is to find a service organization that not only employs state-of-the-art VMS technology, but combines that with expertise in the area of Human Resources and a proven track record of recruiting pools of high-quality talent. In a global market, you need a business partner who can provide not only the technology, but also manage your talent searches for you on the global platform.
Creek Systems is such an organization. They meld HR expertise and recruiting specialists with advanced VMS technology that can alleviate burdensome, mundane recruiting tasks from your in-house HR team and hiring managers. A briefing with several of Creek's clients revealed the following benefits of utilizing Creek Systems when recruiting for executive, technical and general management positions:
Setting standards for vendor billing and rates
Reduction in time from requisition to on-boarding new hires
Ability to track vendor performance at a glance
Managing recruiting expenses and hiring manager spending
Streamlining the requisition process
Efficiency in attaining approvals and candidate processing
Vendor base optimization
Contingent labor spending reductions and cost savings
The goal is to optimize your in-house HR functions, relieving HR teams of mundane data tracking, talent searches and calculation of recruiting metrics. Once these burdens have been eliminated, your HR team can primarily focus on strategic initiatives, such as benefits architecture, worker's compensation costs, HR risk management and mission essential goals. During sluggish economic times, a high functioning, efficient HR team is essential for business revitalization. Partnering with a premier VMS solution provider may be the best strategic move a company can employ.
About the Author
Precise Authoring Services - Where creative writing is a passion and clients are a priority! If you need 100% original copy, creatively composed by professional US/UK writers that is grammatically correct, well researched and makes for an enticing read, then P.A.S. can deliver your project on time and at affordable rates.
Questions to ask before recruiting a technical author
how to write a reflective report"how to write a reflective report"
Writing Proofreader - You Better Read This !
Even though you might think you don't really need one, a writing proofreader can be a convenience you ought to look into. Your writing reflects what kind of person you are and what you are achieving in any profession you happen to be in. If you want to improve the way you write, this quick report will achieve its purpose of making a believer of you.
We should all put effort into writing correctly, as it is an absolutely essential way to share information and ideas in these present times. In recent years there seems to be considerable and helpful improvements in the technical aspects of what we call the writing process. A group of quite ambitious software developers came up with a program which can reproduce any given text in a similar way that our brain works. Think of the benefits of a program that instantly lets you know about any grammar or punctuation errors as soon as you make them. With regard to the many who don't understand the proper use of its and it's, to choose a prickly grammar point, this can be of great assistance.
Students and professionals alike who are looking for the best way to upgrade their english would be wise to introduce this type of program to their list of software essentials. Designed to make writing faster, easier, and better, it's a fact that this program can enable you to produce written work that's less of a chore. Is this a tool that anyone can profit from? what types of people? Engineers, lawyers, students - people in any walk of life. Writing english like a pro can be a difficult and time-consuming endeavor - there are many grammar and spelling rules and exceptions to remember; with this technology you can save that effort.
The minute you check out a writing proofreader you'll clearly see the incredible support that it brings you. Is writing clearly and correctly your goal? first you'll need to detect any errors and also understand how you can not keep making the same ones. The evidence is in: regular text writing programs just don't offer enough in the line of grammar proofing and vocabulary help. After you've read this brief introduction, You really should see for yourself how helpful this technology is - you can be up and running right away, and your readers will thank you. No doubt investigating and trying out new ways of doing things has become easier and fascinating at the same time via the power of the internet.
importance of report writing"importance of report writing" The Importance of Marriage in Dante's Inferno?
I'm writing a report on the importance of marriage in Dante's Inferno. Any ideas or suggestions? I can compare/contrast or just write straight out. LOL @ life in hell. That's kinda where I am going with it. Dante went through hell for his wife (literally). I was looking a little more for something to expand my paper though.
Marriage = Life in Hell........ What more do you need to know.......?
English 2010 Report Writing - part 1
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The paper explores the role of Pass word, Anti virus and data encryption in computer security. It has been discussed that passwords is known to be ancient. Sentries would challenge those wishing to enter an area or approaching it to supply a password or watchword. Sentries would only allow a person or group to pass if they knew the password. In modern times, user names and passwords are commonly used by people during a log in process that controls access to protected computer operating systems, mobile phones, cable TV decoders, automated teller machines (ATMs), etc. Data encryption refers to mathematical calculations and algorithmic schemes that transform plaintext into cyphertext, a form that is non-readable to unauthorized parties. The recipient of an encrypted message uses a key which triggers the algorithm mechanism to decrypt the data, transforming it to the original plaintext version.
Lastly the paper discusses another important computer security software, computer virus which is a computer program that can copy itself and infect a computer without the permission or knowledge of the owner. The term "virus" is also commonly but erroneously used to refer to other types of malware, adware, and spyware programs that do not have the reproductive ability. A true virus can only spread from one computer to another (in some form of executable code) when its host is taken to the target computer; for instance because a user sent it over a network or the Internet, or carried it on a removable medium such as a floppy disk, CD, DVD, or USB drive.
MAIN BODY
A password is a secret word or string of characters that is used for authentication, to prove identity or gain access to a resource (Example: An access code is a type of password). The password must be kept secret from those not allowed access.
The use of passwords is known to be ancient. Sentries would challenge those wishing to enter an area or approaching it to supply a password or watchword. Sentries would only allow a person or group to pass if they knew the password. In modern times, user names and passwords are commonly used by people during a log in process that controls access to protected computer operating systems, mobile phones, cable TV decoders, automated teller machines (ATMs), etc. A typical computer user may require passwords for many purposes: logging in to computer accounts, retrieving e-mail from servers, accessing programs, databases, networks, web sites, and even reading the morning newspaper online.
Despite the name, there is no need for passwords to be actual words; indeed passwords which are not actual words may be harder to guess, a desirable property. Some passwords are formed from multiple words and may more accurately be called a passphrase. The term passcode is sometimes used when the secret information is purely numeric, such as the personal identification number (PIN) commonly used for ATM access. Passwords are generally short enough to be easily memorized and typed.
For the purposes of more compellingly authenticating the identity of one computing device to another, passwords have significant disadvantages (they may be stolen, spoofed, forgotten, etc.) over authentications systems relying on cryptographic protocols which are more difficult to circumvent. The original password concept has been proven to be insecure. There have been cases where passwords have been compromised without a users knowledge, through coersion, or because they were conned into revealing it. The core problem with legacy passwords is that it is very difficult or impossible for an administrator or a computer system to differentiate between a legitimate user and illegitimate user gaining access through the same password. Because of this inherent flaw in the original password system, Two Factor Authentication was invented.
A password is "something you know." This information is understood to be known by a single individual. Two-factor authentication systems add in another factor, "something you have", electronic card key, electronic token, dongle, fob or some other physical item you keep in a secure place when not in use. A common stand in replacement for this second factor when higher levels of security are needed is "something you are". A biological fingerprint, retina pattern, person's weight, specific vital signs or a combination of these items is used in place of the electronic device. The biological factor for authentication and authorization has been found to be unreliable, but not in that it permits those that should not be permitted when used properly, but because there is a tendency for it to deny legitimate users access due to sickness, physical body changes, or other physical impairments.
There are two common methods of authentication when users use electronic components for two-factor authentication, response-only, and challenge-response systems.
Response-only systems require a user to present your electronic device to an electronic reading system, or for you to enter data displayed on the electronic device without user input. The user must provide a username or pin that is not known to outsiders, and then enter specific credential data generated by the electronic device when prompted. In many cases, this mechanism returns the user back to a single factor authentication, where the user does not need to know something, but just posseses the item in question. An example of this is the standard electronic card key used to enter a facility or building perimiter. The user need not provide any other factor to prove their identity.
Challenge-response systems require the user to enter a specific passphrase or pin into the electronic device first, before the device responds with the proper access credentials data. This varient is always considered two-factor authentication, since the user must provide both "something they know" (the pin), and use "something they have" (the electronic device).
Both the response-only and challenge-response systems can be defeated if the user both reveals the private information they keep secret, such as their username or pin code, and the attacker takes ownership of the electronic device. Due to this weakness, the bioligcal factor was invented.
Biological factors have been in use for several decades, and have proven to be reliable and secure ways to prevent unauthorized users from gaining access to secure systems or environments, regardless of the privacy of their passwords used. Systems monitor fingerprints, eye retina patterns, weight, ambient temperature, and other biological signs to determine the authenticity of the user requesting access. Movies have been touting methods of defeating these systems by cutting off body parts, using retinal masks, or forcing legitimate users into bypassing the authentication mechanisms for the attacker. These are largely Hollywood schemes and rarely work in the real world. In most cases where this level of security is required, local or remote monitoring of entry points through cameras and security personnell is common. Deadlock portals, remote activated magnetically controlled entranceways, and visual idenfitication are the norm.
Many simple methods have been devised to defeat weakly designed biological factor systems, so be sure you thoroughly test the security measures you plan to put in place before implementation.
The easier a password is for the owner to remember generally means it will be easy for a hacker to guess. Passwords which are difficult to remember will reduce the security of a system because (a) users might need to write down or electronically store the password, (b) users will need frequent password resets and (c) users are more likely to re-use the same password. Similarly, the more stringent requirements for password strength, e.g. "have a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters and digits" or "change it monthly", the greater the degree to which users will subvert the systemIn Jeff Yan et al. examine the effect of advice given to users about a good choice of password. They find that passwords based on thinking of a phrase and taking the first letter of each word, are just as memorable as naively selected passwords, and just as hard to crack as randomly generated passwords. Combining two unrelated words is another good method. Having a personally designed "algorithm" for generating obscure passwords is another good method.
However, asking users to remember a password consisting of a “mix of uppercase and lowercase characters” is like asking them to remember a sequence of bits: hard to remember, and only a little bit harder to crack (e.g. only 128 times harder to crack for 7-letter passwords, less if the user simply capitalises the first letter). Asking users to use "both letters and digits" will often lead to easy-to-guess substitutions such as 'E' --> '3' and 'I' --> '1', substitutions which are well known to crackers. Similarly typing the password one keyboard row higher is a common trick known to crackers.
Factors in the security of a password system
The security of a password-protected system depends on several factors. The overall system must, of course, be designed for sound security, with protection against computer viruses, man-in-the-middle attacks and the like. Physical security issues are also a concern, from deterring shoulder surfing to more sophisticated physical threats such as video cameras and keyboard sniffers. And, of course, passwords should be chosen so that they are hard for an attacker to guess and hard for an attacker to discover using any (and all) of the available automatic attack schemes. See password strength, computer security, and computer insecurity.
Effective access control provisions may force extreme measures on criminals seeking to acquire a password or biometric token. Less extreme measures include extortion, rubber hose cryptanalysis, side channel attack,
DATA ENCRYPTION
Data encryption refers to mathematical calculations and algorithmic schemes that transform plaintext into cyphertext, a form that is non-readable to unauthorized parties. The recipient of an encrypted message uses a key which triggers the algorithm mechanism to decrypt the data, transforming it to the original plaintext version.
Before the internet, data encryption was seldom used by the public as it was more of a military security tool. With the prevalence of online shopping, banking and other services, even basic home users are now aware of data encryption.
Today's web browsers automatically encrypt text when making a connection to a secure server. This prevents intruders from listening in on private communications. Even if they are able to capture the message, encryption allows them to only view scrambled text or what many call unreadable gibberish. Upon arrival, the data is decrypted, allowing the intended recipient to view the message in its original form.
Types of Data Encryption
There are many different types of data encryption, but not all are reliable. In the beginning, 64-bit encryption was thought to be strong, but was proven wrong with the introduction of 128-bit solutions. AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) is the new standard and permits a maximum of 256-bits. In general, the stronger the computer, the better chance it has at breaking a data encryption scheme.
Data encryption schemes generally fall in two categories: symmetric and asymmetric. AES, DES and Blowfish use symmetric key algorithms. Each system uses a key which is shared among the sender and the recipient. This key has the ability to encrypt and decrypt the data. With asymmetric encryption such as Diffie-Hellman and RSA, a pair of keys is created and assigned: a private key and a public key. The public key can be known by anyone and used to encrypt data that will be sent to the owner. Once the message is encrypted, it can only be decrypted by the owner of the private key. Asymmetric encryption is said to be somewhat more secure than symmetric encryption as the private key is not to be shared.
Strong encryption like SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) and TLS (Transport Layer Security) will keep data private, but cannot always ensure security. Websites using this type of data encryption can be verified by checking the digital signature on their certificate, which should be validated by an approved CA (Certificate Authority).
Encryption with a variable key
A more advanced method is the use of simple encryption to encipher the virus. In this case, the virus consists of a small decrypting module and an encrypted copy of the virus code. If the virus is encrypted with a different key for each infected file, the only part of the virus that remains constant is the decrypting module, which would (for example) be appended to the end. In this case, a virus scanner cannot directly detect the virus using signatures, but it can still detect the decrypting module, which still makes indirect detection of the virus possible. Since these would be symmetric keys, stored on the infected host, it is in fact entirely possible to decrypt the final virus, but that probably isn't required, since self-modifying code is such a rarity that it may be reason for virus scanners to at least flag the file as suspicious.
An old, but compact, encryption involves XORing each byte in a virus with a constant, so that the exclusive-or operation had only to be repeated for decryption. It is suspicious
COMPUTER VIRUS
A computer virus is a computer program that can copy itself and infect a computer without the permission or knowledge of the owner. The term "virus" is also commonly but erroneously used to refer to other types of malware, adware, and spyware programs that do not have the reproductive ability. A true virus can only spread from one computer to another (in some form of executable code) when its host is taken to the target computer; for instance because a user sent it over a network or the Internet, or carried it on a removable medium such as a floppy disk, CD, DVD, or USB drive. Viruses can increase their chances of spreading to other computers by infecting files on a network file system or a file system that is accessed by another computer. ( Fred Cohen) The term "computer virus" is sometimes used as a catch-all phrase to include all types of malware. Malware includes computer viruses, worms, trojan horses, most rootkits, spyware, dishonest adware, crimeware, and other malicious and unwanted software), including true viruses. Viruses are sometimes confused with computer worms and Trojan horses, which are technically different. A worm can exploit security vulnerabilities to spread itself to other computers without needing to be transferred as part of a host, and a Trojan horse is a program that appears harmless but has a hidden agenda. Worms
Methods to avoid detection
In order to avoid detection by users, some viruses employ different kinds of deception. Some old viruses, especially on the MS-DOS platform, make sure that the "last modified" date of a host file stays the same when the file is infected by the virus. This approach does not fool anti-virus software, however, especially those which maintain and date Cyclic redundancy checks on file changes.
Some viruses can infect files without increasing their sizes or damaging the files. They accomplish this by overwriting unused areas of executable files. These are called cavity viruses. For example the CIH virus, or Chernobyl Virus, infects Portable Executable files. Because those files have many empty gaps, the virus, which was 1 KB in length, did not add to the size of the file.
Some viruses try to avoid detection by killing the tasks associated with antivirus software before it can detect them.
As computers and operating systems grow larger and more complex, old hiding techniques need to be updated or replaced. Defending a computer against viruses may demand that a file system migrate towards detailed and explicit permission for every kind of file access. (T Matsumoto.)
Avoiding bait files and other undesirable hosts
A virus needs to infect hosts in order to spread further. In some cases, it might be a bad idea to infect a host program. For example, many anti-virus programs perform an integrity check of their own code. Infecting such programs will therefore increase the likelihood that the virus is detected. For this reason, some viruses are programmed not to infect programs that are known to be part of anti-virus software. Another type of host that viruses sometimes avoid is bait files. Bait files (or goat files) are files that are specially created by anti-virus software, or by anti-virus professionals themselves, to be infected by a virus. These files can be created for various reasons, all of which are related to the detection of the virus:
Anti-virus professionals can use bait files to take a sample of a virus (i.e. a copy of a program file that is infected by the virus). It is more practical to store and exchange a small, infected bait file, than to exchange a large application program that has been infected by the virus.
Anti-virus professionals can use bait files to study the behavior of a virus and evaluate detection methods. This is especially useful when the virus is polymorphic. In this case, the virus can be made to infect a large number of bait files. The infected files can be used to test whether a virus scanner detects all versions of the virus.
Some anti-virus software employs bait files that are accessed regularly. When these files are modified, the anti-virus software warns the user that a virus is probably active on the system.
Since bait files are used to detect the virus, or to make detection possible, a virus can benefit from not infecting them. Viruses typically do this by avoiding suspicious programs, such as small program files or programs that contain certain patterns of 'garbage instructions'.
A related strategy to make baiting difficult is sparse infection. Sometimes, sparse infectors do not infect a host file that would be a suitable candidate for infection in other circumstances. For example, a virus can decide on a random basis whether to infect a file or not, or a virus can only infect host files on particular days of the week.
Stealth
Some viruses try to trick anti-virus software by intercepting its requests to the operating system. A virus can hide itself by intercepting the anti-virus software’s request to read the file and passing the request to the virus, instead of the OS. The virus can then return an uninfected version of the file to the anti-virus software, so that it seems that the file is "clean". Modern anti-virus software employs various techniques to counter stealth mechanisms of viruses. The only completely reliable method to avoid stealth is to boot from a medium that is known to be clean.
Self-modification
Most modern antivirus programs try to find virus-patterns inside ordinary programs by scanning them for so-called virus signatures. A signature is a characteristic byte-pattern that is part of a certain virus or family of viruses. If a virus scanner finds such a pattern in a file, it notifies the user that the file is infected. The user can then delete, or (in some cases) "clean" or "heal" the infected file. Some viruses employ techniques that make detection by means of signatures difficult but probably not impossible. These viruses modify their code on each infection. That is, each infected file contains a different variant of the virus.
code that modifies itself, so the code to do the encryption/decryption may be part of the signature in many virus definitions.
Polymorphic code
Polymorphic code was the first technique that posed a serious threat to virus scanners. Just like regular encrypted viruses, a polymorphic virus infects files with an encrypted copy of itself, which is decoded by a decryption module. In the case of polymorphic viruses, however, this decryption module is also modified on each infection. A well-written polymorphic virus therefore has no parts which remain identical between infections, making it very difficult to detect directly using signatures. Anti-virus software can detect it by decrypting the viruses using an emulator, or by statistical pattern analysis of the encrypted virus body. To enable polymorphic code, the virus has to have a polymorphic engine (also called mutating engine or mutation engine) somewhere in its encrypted body. See Polymorphic code for technical detail on how such engines operateSome viruses employ polymorphic code in a way that constrains the mutation rate of the virus significantly. For example, a virus can be programmed to mutate only slightly over time, or it can be programmed to refrain from mutating when it infects a file on a computer that already contains copies of the virus. The advantage of using such slow polymorphic code is that it makes it more difficult for anti-virus professionals to obtain representative samples of the virus, because bait files that are infected in one run will typically contain identical or similar samples of the virus. This will make it more likely that the detection by the virus scanner will be unreliable, and that some instances of the virus may be able to avoid detection.
Metamorphic code
To avoid being detected by emulation, some viruses rewrite themselves completely each time they are to infect new executables. Viruses that use this technique are said to be metamorphic. To enable metamorphism, a metamorphic engine is needed. A metamorphic virus is usually very large and complex. For example, W32/Simile consisted of over 14000 lines of Assembly language code, 90% of which is part of the metamorphic engine.
Conclusion
As more users come to understand the internet's open nature and the dangers of web surfing, applying data encryption to common communications such as emailing and instant messaging is likely to become more popular. Without this security mechanism, information transferred over the internet can be easily captured and viewed by anyone listening. This critical data can be compromised in a number of ways, especially when stored in servers that might change hands over the years. When considering how detrimental crimes like are identity theft are on the rise, data encryption is well worth pursuing.
About the Author
Sarah Maddox, technical writer in Sydney
technical writing course sydney technical writing course sydney
New to tech-writing, or thinking about starting? The key to success is recognising that tech-writers are a necessary evil.
Tech-writers are necessary because someone has to write the user doco. The programmers and managers sure as hell don't want to. This is actually part of the reason that you're evil, too. In my experience, most programmers and managers think that they could write the manuals if they wanted to... they just don't want to. They might not write all "flowery" like the tech-writers, but what they write is correct.
Unfortunately, that's quite often all that's important to programmers and managers. There is a feeling within the software environment that accuracy = quality. Audience analysis, doco readability, consistency, usability, active and passive voice, commas in a list of three or more items... All of these things are relatively unimportant to everyone but the tech-writer. Oh... and the user.
In a world where accuracy is all important, a lot goes over the head of the dummy. I don't know if it's intellectual snobbery, but programmers and managers seem to think that if they understand it, so should the user. It doesn't matter whether or not they do... they SHOULD! Stupid users! Maybe it's the geek's ultimate revenge...
Your document can be 100% accurate, but if the audience can't read it, you've wasted your time.
So why doesn't anyone acknowledge this? They do! That's the weird part. In theory, everyone agrees with you, it's just in practice that you find yourself out in the cold. I don't know why this happens. Maybe it's because most of these guys have never done tech-writing.
So tech-writers spend too long worrying about unimportant things. And they bother programmers and managers with unimportant things. But they're necessary things. Otherwise why would you be employed. Maybe the absence of simple logic short circuits their brains. Who knows?
What we can get out of this is that there's a feeling that tech-writers waste time, and as a result, they're pretty much at the bottom of the heap in the software world. I think a good analogy is the way some rich see the poor. Dirty little creatures... if only we could do without them...
But there is an up-side. I don't want you thinking it's all bad.
Being at the bottom of the heap has its advantages. You can go unnoticed for years if you want. If you haven't seen the movie, Office Space, you should hire it. There's a little ferrety bloke in that who was "let go" years ago. Problem is, no one ever told him, and because of a glitch in payroll he still got paid. No one ever noticed.
Being a tech-writer's a bit like that.
When I was managing doco teams, my favourite saying was "All we have to do is manage their expectations and our commitments". Because programmers and managers resign themselves to the fact that they don't know what's going on in the doco team, there's sometimes a temptation to slacken off. Don't give in to this temptation!!! If you ever get caught, doing it, it'll be like the boy who cried wolf - they'll never believe your estimates again!
The other risk is that you'll lose your sense of urgency. And that's a big part of what makes a good worker. You should be very strict about managing your commitments. This requires discipline, because sometimes it seems you're the only one that cares, but you have to do it.
One thing you should be aware of though, is that your average tech-writer in software spends only about 50% of his or her time writing. The rest of your time is spent planning, problem solving, fixing your computer, researching, interviewing the programmers, writing work pracs...
I always found it was a good balance, though.
It was when I started managing teams that the bottom really fell out. Then the percentage dropped to about 10-20%. There were times when I'd go months without writing any help at all. That can be very frustrating, especially if you don't particularly like managing.
Now managing tech-writers in software is an interesting thing. As with most technology management positions, you kinda fall into it, because you're the most senior/experienced person in the company. Unfortunately, that doesn't qualify you to be a manager. Software companies are renowned for dumping people into management roles without any real training or support.
I don't really have any advice for you here. If it's gonna happen, it'll happen. Just be aware of it, and know that if you fall into a management role, it's gonna be difficult. (That's not to say that it can't be rewarding though...)
The ironic thing is that the most difficult aspect of it is that your staff are screaming at you to change the system. "The programmers don't answer our questions!" "None of my work has been reviewed for the last 2 months!" "The project manager just told me to forget about quality!"
Unfortunately, the inexperienced tech-writer is often naïve enough to think they can change the system. Once you become a manager, you know you can't. Hold on a minute... Maybe apathy is what qualifies you to be a manager... Hmmmm.
In any case, my advice is not to push too hard. You'll make life hard for your manager, and give yourself a bad reputation. Recognise you're a necessary evil, and work within those constraints.
Tech-writing can be a lot of fun. And don't let anyone tell you it's not creative. Trying to think of a way to describe what goes in the Name field without just saying "Enter the name" is a real mind-boggler!
report writing on global warming"report writing on global warming"
Turning Global Warming to Your Advantage
Bad weather may be heading our way. Many very smart voices have raised their volume over the number of alarming red flags pointing to a worldwide environmental catastrophe coming in a few years or decades hence. One voice, coming from the sharp mind of James Lovelock is resounding across the world's media nearly every day. His solution: get more nuclear reactors online and sequester the carbon dioxide emissions as fast as possible.
What's the alternative? Move to the Arctic Circle, where you may someday bask year around with temperatures pleasantly at 74 degrees Fahrenheit. According to findings recently published in the journal Nature. About 55 million years ago, there was something called the Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM). In this PETM phenomenon, the entire Earth was heated up by a gigantic release of greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide. Lovelock has insisted we may see that kind of hot later this century.
Now, another brainy man, with whom we have many chats this year, has issued a special 56-page report, entitled "Investment Implications of an Abrupt Climate Change." Co-authored by Market Strategist Kevin Bambrough and Eric Sprott, Chief Executive and Portfolio Manager of the world-famous money management firm which bears his name, they present a compelling argument as to why and how global warming and climate change is going to dramatically impact our financial world. You are well advised to read it.
Take Your Pick: Nuclear Energy or Cheap Arctic Land
Aside from optioning to buy vast tracts of land near the Arctic Circle, as Dr. Lovelock's conclusions force us to briefly consider, what can we do to protect our finances? Global warming, climate change and an apocalypse soon to dawn on the horizon are probably too much reality for the here and now. But, what will you do ten to thirty years from now? This past week, we interviewed Julian Steyn, author of A Brighter Tomorrow, which he co-wrote with U.S. Senator Pete Domenici. A conservative and rational man, even he admitted in an email, "I am afraid I do agree with his (Lovelock's) concerns."
If one finds logic within the statistical analysis presented by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a rational mind would want to start protecting his finances today in order to ensure future survival for his family and lineage. Esteemed scientists have picked their way through mountains of statistics, charts and projections about what is happening with melting glaciers, rising temperatures, higher sea levels and so forth. They do not like what they see, they are not alone, and the better minds are not endorsing wind farms or solar panels as "the solution." They see nuclear fission reactors as mandatory, and the faster these go online, the less we will later have to sweat (literally).
Eric Sprott and Kevin Bambrough have laid out a possible solution, a cogent thesis as to why we must stop fooling around now. They didn't write the report to alarm and cajole you to lynch the next environmentalist or anti-nuke whom you come across. Messrs. Sprott and Bambrough provided a blueprint of what must be done by governments and decision-makers. More importantly, they have given us extremely provocative advice on HOW to protect our finances during the brewing crisis.
Remember, it won't just be some meteor hitting the earth (although that might happen, too). Global warming is tantamount to boiling water on your stove. First, it gets warm, then warmer and warmer. Eventually, it gets hot. Then, the water boils. In other words, the catastrophe will brew for a while, causing political and economic instability, and a host of other ills, probably better described in biblical terms. Most of us, unfortunately, will wait until the next Hurricane Katrina is a few miles down the road before waking up.
Through the first half of the report, the authors cover global warming and climate change, in just about every way imaginable. Messrs. Sprott and Bambrough found nooks and crannies which may alarm you. Did you know the world's largest aquifer, the Ogallala aquifer in the United States, is drying up because the glaciers, which created this aquifer, are receding? Fresh water is already in short supply for one-third of the world's population. We may be surrounded by water, but could lack a glass of fresh water to drink. Ask the Saudis why they are building desalination plants as fast they can. Imagine if those arid conditions prevailed across more than 90 percent of the landmass of earth.
What happens as the earth's temperature goes up? Increased urbanization, growing GDPs and demand for all the niceties that come with "civilization" have a price: more CO2 emissions. Deadly CO2 emissions, which raise the earth's temperature, poison our air and kill our plants (and us), are very likely going to turn this earth into a potboiler before the century ends.
Nuclear Expansion Needs More Uranium
"This IS the perfect storm," Kevin Bambrough warned, not as the abused cliché the term has become, but as an angry voice demanding decision-makers take to heart the gravity of CO2 emissions. "We need more nuclear reactors now," he told us. He directed us to environmentalist Patrick Moore's contention that the U.S. should reverse its energy source mix from an 80-percent dependence upon fossil fuels, relying instead upon nuclear energy for 60-percent of our electrical power supply.
Under the former Greenpeace co-founder's scenario, Bambrough extrapolated the World Nuclear Association (WNA) projections for 2030. Nuclear power demand is then expected to soar from the current 368 Gw, produced by the world's 441 nuclear reactors. He computed, using Moore's premise of a 60-percent nuclear-reliance, that nuclear reactors would produce 18,900 Twh of the total power demand in 2030, which the WNA estimates might reach 31,500 Twh. To produce that much electricity, Bambrough calculated that by 2030, nearly 2700 nuclear reactors will be required across the planet. Envisioning the "potential" of a 600-percent increase in nuclear reactors online, about 25 years from now, Bambrough also calculated how much uranium would be required to fuel those reactors.
According to Bambrough, current global uranium mining production rests at about the 100 million-pound level. By 2030, if nuclear energy expands as Moore insists it should, then the world's utilities will require on the order of about 1.3 billion pounds every year. With regards to a planetary build-up of nuclear energy, Bambrough wrote, "The supply of uranium may well be the most limiting factor."
This may become the new case for a sustained rally in the spot uranium price. Bambrough wrote, "Much higher uranium prices will be required to attract enough investment capital to meet the growth in demand." This has already begun, as uranium prices have skyrocketed for the past six years. Long-term uranium recently traded as high as $46/pound, exponentially higher than the spot price of $6.40/pound in late 2000. Bambrough is correct in his conclusion. Building an underground uranium mine costs far more than it did in the glory days of uranium in the 1950s. Environmental regulations force miners to spend more and take longer in constructing any uranium-producing facility, including an ISL operation.
"Marginal mines will become price setters," wrote Bambrough. This helps explain why the Sprott Asset Management funds have invested heavily in companies such as Strathmore Minerals (TSX: STM; Other OTC: STHJF), Energy Metals (TSX: EMC) and others. When we first interviewed Strathmore Minerals Chief Executive, Dev Randhawa, in June 2004, he told us his strategy was to capitalize upon a sustained rally in the uranium price by acquiring properties which were uneconomic at the sub-$20/level. His strategy has rewarded shareholders and continued to do so with each uptick in the spot uranium price. If Bambrough's conclusion is accurate, the junior uranium developers could very well become the Internet high-fliers. That conclusion was reached by newsletter writer James Dines, this past November, and repeated numerous times in multiple reports by others.
"Large low-cost producers may be able to reap Middle East-like oil profits for decades," wrote Bambrough. If the spread between production costs and spot uranium keeps widening, the smaller uranium companies are going to hit it big. Those companies, which postponed uranium mining, will be selling their uranium production at the kind of profits-to-production spread ExxonMobil or ChevronTexaco now enjoy.
Rising uranium prices are probably more of an irritation for fuel traders than the utilities, who worry about construction costs. The actual fuel cost to operate a nuclear power plant borders on the absurd. Bambrough wrote in his report, "Fuel costs (for nuclear) are merely 4.5 percent of total costs, even with uranium at $40 per lb. If uranium rises to $100 per lb (a further 150 percent increase), the cost of nuclear power would only rise by approximately 6.75 percent." Fuel costs for coal and gas are 35 and 73 percent, respectively. And they release massive doses of CO2 into the air.
What else can be done aside from a worldwide, unanimous endorsement of nuclear energy? There may still be difficulties ahead. Lovelock told us the CO2 emissions problem should have been addressed 50 years ago. It takes between 50 and 100 years for the atmosphere to cycle through those emissions.
The Sprott report co-authors concluded there will be supply problems for food, water and energy. They envision problems with national security, soaring grain prices, and greater investments needed to provide water and energy to those who aren't buried ten feet deep in their indebtedness. They foresee a currency collapse as central banks flood the money system to provide liquidity. And, of course, gold will resume the role it has always held during times of overpowering economic calamity.
Is this too much reality for you? Should we just wait a while and see what transpires? We might not be so lucky. Some experts, such as the Chief Claims Strategist for Swiss Re, wrote in a March 2006 CERES report, "Global warming has accelerated from a problem that might affect our grandchildren, to one that could significantly disturb the social and economic conditions of our lifetime."
In other words, Messrs. Sprott and Bambrough are correct in their assumptions and conclusions. The time to get moving is today, not thirty years from now.
For a second opinion, before completing this column, we forwarded the Sprott report to David Miller. He wears many hats, including a consultancy to the International Atomic Energy Agency, third-term Wyoming legislator, president of Strathmore Minerals (TSX: STM) and a walking encyclopedia on uranium, geology, nuclear power and politics. He responded quite bluntly, "The fuel of the 19th century was coal. The fuel of the 20th century was oil. Both have run their economic course. Uranium is on its way to becoming the energy fuel of the 21st century. The crescendo of countries clamoring for nuclear energy has been growing louder in each year of this new millennium." Perhaps, we may yet see Moore's energy mix come to pass, or at least dramatic growth in the nuclear sector to more closely approach his targeted percentage level.
One key question remains unanswered, during our two-year investigation into uranium and nuclear energy. Sure, we've gotten a lot of answers, but we remain unconvinced. No one has satisfactorily answered this question: "Will there be sufficient supplies of 'already mined uranium' and current mining production available to the world's nuclear reactors to meet the anticipated global demand for electricity?" The make-break word in the above question is "available." Uranium is nearly everywhere. There are about 1.7 billion pounds of 'already mined uranium' in the world's inventories. But will there be enough uranium made available to the utilities when the time comes?
If there is not, today's spot uranium price could look comparable to gasoline prices, circa 1965, at some future point.
About the Author
A quick guide to pain in the lungs can be found at the Lung Pain website. Visit the Meaning Of Roses website for a short guide to symbolism of roses. Interesting info on good lab values can be found at the Normal Lab Values website.
Energy and Global Warming Solutions for Vulnerable Communities
report writing on global warming report writing on global warming report writing on global warming
technical writing canada_2"technical writing canada" I live in India, can i travel worldwide as: 1)technical writer 2)business english/EFL trainer 3)translator?
Hi evone
I live in Bangalore, India, I have a degree in Business administration (BBA), I am 29 yrs old and currently pursuing a freelance career in writing (copy/article/essay) entirely for and through an online environment.
1> I want to know if i can travel worldwide as a technical writer with a base in Bangalore, India? like, can i travel on contract to countries like New Zealand, USA, Canada, UK, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, etc?
2> What are the worldwide travel opportunities for a professional pursuing a career in Business English/EFL/ESOL/TEFL while keeping a base in Bangalore, India?
3> Can i travel worldwide as a translator from Bangalore, India?
Thanks for all answers Best Regards
Your biggest problem is getting visas for all the countries that you mentioned. All 1st world countries require visas and they are very difficult to obtain. You need to prove economic solvency and somehow convince them that you are only going to visit and that you will not stay there and work.
ENG 352 Technical Writing - 21 - Wonderful Pt. 3 Find Answers, Understand, Learn
technical writer i"technical writer i" Should I become a magazine Journalist and Freelance as a Technical Writer?
I want to write for interior design magazines because i love it so much, but i know it won't pay well.
I love to write and have gained technical writing skills and Journalism skills in college.
Should I write for a magazine and Freelance as a technical writer on the side??
How?
This is a terrible time for journalism in general, unfortunately. Magazines are going under right and left. Good luck finding any paying job at all in journalism.
For the record, I have a tremendous amount of respect for good writers.
ENG 352 - Technical Writing - 04 - Communication Pt 1 Transmission Defined
The calls usually begin with an apologetic "never needed a programmer resume" admission: "I've never had to urge a skilled resume before." Or, "I never dreamed of hiring a skilled resume writer. I've invariably been in a position to land a programming job." Or, "I never even had to look for jobs. They found me."
Software wizards have seldom needed help from resume wizards. Programmers have a desired set of skills that has usually created it easier for them to seek out a job than several others. Not like the rest of us, several programmers have seldom had to pay much time developing their technical software engineering resume. The thought of hiring a resume writing professional never entered their minds, until the recent economic crisis.
When it comes to a programmer's resume and cover letter, the standard advice applies: Highlight accomplishments, write clearly, design the document rigorously, avoid spelling errors, organize the resume in reverse chronological order unless you have a compelling reason to arrange it functionally. List your technical skills, making sure you cover the skills that are most in demand nowadays.
However there are more special job search tips for software programmers/engineers. Sharpen your skills also your resume. If you have got key skills that are in demand, then today will be just like those good recent days. Firms are trying for specific skill sets: For instance, accomplishments and expertise in the world of hard core algorithms, pattern recognition, statistics, and applying algorithms to planet data. If you've got these skills you're doubtless to possess a smart chance to seek out an opportunity. You may even realize you will get multiple offers.
You would like to create this tough core algorithmic experience clear on your resume. Not all skilled resume writers are qualified to handle technical resumes. Build sure you ask regarding their experience in the technology field. Creating technical accomplishments clear and to the purpose requires special expertise.
Other timely skills you do not need to leave out embrace: AJAX/JavaScript, Objective C, Java, PHP or Ruby on Rails.
If you lack these skills and if you're having a powerful time finding a job, you should start studying. Realize a good book that can facilitate your build these skills and begin putting them to work. Contemplate getting concerned in an open source project; or start collaborating in some discussion groups that permit you to let others grasp that you are enhancing your skills.
Sharpening specific talent sets is a good plan, in fact. If you'll be able to seem like a drawback solver to companies that are trying to figure out how to handle the tons of information they face, then you'll be an appealing candidate. Businesses do not recognize how to investigate knowledge well. Things like laptop vision, data mining, collaborative filtering, machine learning, video processing: Of these specialties can be hot for many years at least. Enhance your skills. Learn the vocabulary. Determine recent innovations and the businesses associated with them.
Managers hiring programmers are impressed if you have contributed to open source projects. If you are a Java programmer and participated in an open supply Java project then you have an advantage over other job candidates. Another approach is to create your own open supply project. It will cause individuals to pay attention to you because not everybody does this and it demonstrates a certain special interest and keenness for the field.
It's a good plan for programmers to possess a website. But, build positive it is a clean, well-designed website. Again, the writing should be crisp. Likewise, some managers can take a look at the HTML code on your site thus build positive you've got clean code. Place your resume on your website. Make sure it's cleanly coded. Not simply a converted Word file.
Also, show off a number of your code from a project on your website. Managers appreciate the chance to review some sample code.
Use the networks: Facebook and Linkedin, for example. Create positive you have endorsements on LinkedIn. Work your LinkedIn networks. Participate in groups that share your interests. You'll notice people these teams are at companies that are hiring.
If you are curious about mobile computing, design an iPhone application. Get it reviewed. Get individuals talking concerning it. Facet comes like this are effective techniques to induce noticed.
This could appear like a heap to try and do however the good news is that these job-search ways together with a professional resume <http://www.ShimmeringResumes.com> work and in today's economy effective job-search methods are the envy of many.
About the Author
Writers Room has been writing articles online for nearly 2 years now. Not only does this author specialize in Job Search Techniques, you can also check out his latest website about:
Indian Writers and Writers about India: An Introduction for Potential Lovers of a Rich and Colorful Literature
A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance (excerpt from the speech of Jawaharlal Nehru, first prime minister of India, 1947-64, on the eve of the country's birth, August 14, 1947).
My eyes were first opened to the wealth of literature about India when I saw that "jewel" of British TV series The Jewel in the Crown (Granada, 1984), based on the epic four-volume novel TheRaj Quartet (1966−75),byPaul M. Scott. Set mainly against the tumultuous backdrop of the final years of the British Raj, World War II, and the Indian independence movement, it explores a range of political, social, and moral issues of the time through the intricate webs of relations developed between British and Indians, between Hindus and Muslims, between young and old, and between members of Britain's class system, and through a complex of plots and sub-plots involving a variety of strong, memorable characters.
Scott (1920−1978) was captivated by India when he served there as a British commissioned officer from 1942 during World War II. His work imbued me with a fascination for India, which in turn led me to native Indian authors such as Rohintin Mistry, Vikram Seth, Salman Rushdie, Sujit Saraf, Vikas Swarup, Jhumpa Lahiri, David Davidar, Manil Suri, and others. What is common to all these writers is a depth of feeling for a country whose history, diversity, cultural richness, and immense problems are reflected with great perception and sensitivity in their fiction. Like Scott, a number of western writers, too, such as Gregory David Roberts, were ensnared by their India experiences and created some excellent works set in India.
This essay offers a taste of some of the wide array of contemporary fiction about India available in the English language by Indian and other writers, its characteristics, and its dominant motifs. It will also touch on some works by Indian writers centering on places and subjects outside of India.
Characteristics and Motifs
Perhaps the most outstanding trait of much Indian writing is its combination of humor and pathos. The cruel post-independence realities of such a vast, largely poor, diverse, corrupt, and conflict-ridden country seem to lend themselves to the tragic-comic situations many of them describe. Take, for example, the humble chai walla (street tea seller) in The Peacock Throne, by Sujit Saraf (2007), who suddenly finds himself on the brink of political fame and fortune, an innocent pawn in the cynical manipulations of corrupt petty politicians and businessmen; or the memorable opening line of Manil Suri's The Death of Vishnu (2001),
"Not wanting to arouse Vishnu in case he hadn't died yet, Mrs Asrani tiptoed down to the third step above the landing on which he lived, teakettle in hand."
his sentence sets the tone for the rest of the story, about an untouchable dying in his "home," the steps of an apartment block in Bombay, while the dramas of the families living in the building swirl around him.
The corruption rampant in India is a dominant theme in many novels. In Vikas Swarup's who-done-it Six Suspects (2008), the venal home minister of one of India's states ("the Politician") is one of the suspects in the murder of his own son who, unsurprisingly, was acquitted after murdering a bar girl. Swarup is also the author of Q&A (2005; known also by its film name Slumdog Millionaire), in which a penniless waiter who answers all the questions correctly in the equivalent of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" is thrown into prison, accused of cheating, because of who he is, and because the producers don't have the million rupees he won to give him. In similar vein, Aravind Adiga demonstrates that crime does pay in modern India in his prize-winning novel The White Tiger (2008). Balram, the protagonist, is a poor, low-caste but bright boy (hence his nickname "The White Tiger") from a village in "the Darkness," of rural India, who emerges to "the Light" as a wealthy member of a top caste in India's urbanized, high-tech society.
Family, tradition, and the inequities of the caste system are themes that run throughout the narrative in all the books outlined above, as well as in much other literature about India. The four disparate characters of different castes and backgrounds in Rohintin Mistry's very fine A Fine Balance (1995) are thrown together and struggle to survive during the turbulent times from independence to the period of the Emergency Laws under Indira Gandhi in the 1970s. Mistry does not flinch from painting a grim picture of the fate of the poor and the downtrodden in India under Gandhi (such as forced sterilization). One of the most sensitive books on family and family relations in India is his Family Matters (2002), a painful look at a troubled Parsi family, whose problems are compounded when the 79-year-old patriarch is forced to move in with his daughter, son-in-law and children, after becoming bed-ridden.
Hindu mythology, too, plays an important role in Indian literature. Vishnu, the name of the dying untouchable in the abovementioned book by Suri, is, symbolically, also a god in Hindu mythology, the protector and preserver of the universe, while in the complex and wide-ranging Red Earth and Pouring Rain (1993), Vikram Chandra mixes Hindu myth, Indian history, a typewriting monkey, and life in contemporary America.
The sheer vastness and diversity of India also seem to demand a long and complex narrative peopled with memorable characters. How else to explain the length of many of these books? It seems as though the authors are willing us to try to understand the growing pains of this colorful, but troubled country.
The following is the opening line of Vikram Seth's wonderful A Suitable Boy.
"You too will marry a boy I choose"
An Indian variant of Pride and Prejudice? Not quite, but like Jane Austen's early nineteenth century novel, A Suitable Boy is an epic Indian take by Vikram Seth (1993) on matchmaking, finding-a-suitable-husband, pride, prejudice – and much more. Set in a fictitious town in early post-independence India, the story revolves around the search for love of 19-year-old Lata and her struggles with her opinionated mother who is intent on finding her a suitable match. In the background, but also discussed in great detail, are India's own post-colonial political and social struggles: Hindus versus Muslims, land reform, and the empowerment of Muslim women. With its vastness (over 1,4,00 pages; it's one of the longest books ever written in the English language) and Seth's inclusion of such a range of subjects, this is one of my favorite books. Those who could read another thousand plus of Seth's pages will be pleased to know that he is writing a sequel, A Suitable Girl, due out in 2013.
Another epic novel in similar vein, though somewhat more flawed, is David Davidar's The House of Blue Mangoes (2002) which, unlike most of the others, takes place in the first half of the 20th century. His themes include the Indian's strong attachment to place, family ties, caste wars – and, as the title suggests, mangoes.
Also a hefty tome, but in a more modern style than those of Seth, Mistry, and Davidar, is Gregory David Roberts' Shantaram (2003). Shantaram is the name given to Roberts, a convicted bank robber, in India, to where he fled after breaking out of a prison in Australia. It purportedly tells the real tale of his adventures there: living in a hut in a shanty town and setting up a health clinic for the poor, working for the mafia, being worked over in an Indian jail, and acting in Bollywood. Although a Westerner, while relating his story, he, like the aforementioned Indian writers, succeeds in conveying to the reader the colors, smells, and traditions, as well as the diversity and conflicts of India.
One cannot write a piece on Indian literature without mentioning the renowned Salman Rushdie. Rushdie has been compared to Gabriel Gárcia Márquez in his use of fantasy, myth, and magical realism. The book for which he won his infamy (Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomenei issued a fatwa – Islamic religious verdict – condemning him to death) was The Satanic Verses (1988). The book is based partly on the life of the Prophet Muhammad, but only a discerning Westerner with knowledge of the Islamic religion would understand what roused the ire of many devout Muslims.
As an introduction to Rushdie, the reader would be better advised to try one of his more "conventional" (relatively speaking where Rushdie is concerned) novels, such as The Moor's Last Sigh (1995). The book could be interpreted allegorically. The protagonist "Moor" is misshapen and grows physically at twice the rate of a normal human being (does he represent India?); his origins are hybrid – South Indian Jewish, Spanish Muslim, and Portuguese Christian (perhaps representing the Indian sub-continent?). The book's poetic title refers to two paintings titled The Moor's Last Sigh, one painted by Aurora, his mother, the other by one of her former admirers and subsequent nemesis, Vasco Miranda.
If all the above sounds too outrageous, another possibility is the acclaimed Midnight's Children (1981), which tells the tale of Saleem Sinai, born "at the stroke of midnight" − representing in Jawaharlal Nehru words, the time that independent India itself was born, between August 14-15, 1947. This novel, too, can also be seen as an allegory, combining actual historical events with magical realism. Saleem discovers that all children born at about the time the state came into being were possessed of magical powers, and he uses his own such powers to convene a Midnight's Children's Conference. Like all great novels about India, the country's immense problems as it declares independence are intertwined inextricably with the narrative: prominently among them, the resultant Partition, and acute political, cultural, religious, and linguistic differences.
Novels Set outside India
Some novels by Indian writers are set in other countries. Most of those that feature Indian characters highlight the cultural gap between Western and Indian values. Lima, the heroine in Anjali Banerjee's comic novel Imaginary Men, for instance, is a professional matchmaker in San Francisco, but is forced to develop a strategy to avoid the traditional matchmaking efforts of her aunt from Kolkata, who is horrified that she is still unmarried.
The excellent short stories in Unaccustomed Earth (2008), by Indian American writer Jhumpa Lahiri, underline the cultural conflicts and differences between first-, and second- and third-generation Indian immigrants, as the younger family members struggle to break away from their parents' close traditional community lives and assimilate into Western society. Lahiri is also the author of the prize-winning short-story collection Interpreter of Maladies (1999) and the novel The Namesake (2003), both of which, in addition to cultural differences, address sensitive issues such as marital difficulties and miscarriage.
Another novel by Vikram Seth who is also a librettist, focuses neither on India nor on Indians but on music. An Equal Music (1999), which was hailed by music critics for its musical accuracy, centers on the affair between Michael, a professional violist, and Julia, a pianist. Julia's approaching deafness and the affair itself affect their respective careers.
The multitalented Seth also wrote a biography/memoir, Two Lives (2005): the astonishing story of the marriage of his Indian great-uncle to a German Holocaust refugee, who met in Berlin in the early 1930s when the former was a student. This complex work, covering almost a century, also includes many autobiographic details.
Amitav Ghosh is an Indian-Bengali writer living in the U.S. Although his books center mostly on post-colonial India, his interest also extends to other countries in the East, such as Burma and Malaya, as well as to Egypt. His sweeping historical fiction The Glass Palace (2000) is set largely in Burma, beginning in late nineteenth century Mandalay, but it also visits India, to where the exiled Burmese king is exiled, as well as Malaya. For those tempted to step outside India to learn about another Eastern country, Ghosh offers plenty of historical and cultural information, as well as romance.
Afterword
I would like to conclude with a caution, encapsulated in a quote from Michael Wood (London Review of Books, http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/ 2001/ apr/12/ londonreviewofbooks/print) − which should be borne in mind when reading this survey, as well as English-language novels about India, in general:
"Some 5 per cent of the [Indian] population can read English… Readers and writers of English are thus a tiny minority… The privilege and the proportion [of this minority] exclude so much of what is there… that I'm not sure where this leaves non-Indian readers of Indian English fiction, except with a huge reminder of everything we don't know and perhaps can't know. We should remember, too, that much Indian fiction in English is written for readers abroad, or indeed written abroad."
Authors and books mentioned in this essay
Aravind Adiga, The White Tiger (2008)
Anjali Banerjee, Imaginary Men (2005)
Vikram Chandra, Red Earth and Pouring Rain (1993)
David Davidar, The House of Blue Mangoes (2002)
Amitav Ghosh, The Glass Palace (2000)
Jhumpa Lahiri, Interpreter of Maladies (1999)
The Namesake (2003)
Unaccustomed Earth (2008)
Rohintin Mistry, A Fine Balance (1995)
Family Matters (2002)
Gregory David Roberts, Shantaram (2003)
Salman Rushdie, Midnight's Children (1981)
The Satanic Verses (1988)
The Moor's Last Sigh (1995)
Sujit Saraf, The Peacock Throne (2007)
Paul M. Scott, The Raj Quartet
1. The Jewel in the Crown (1966)
2. The Day of the Scorpion (1968)
3. The Towers of Silence (1971)
4. A Division of the Spoils (1975)
Vikram Seth, A Suitable Boy (1993)
An Equal Music (1999)
Two Lives (2005)
Manil Suri, The Death of Vishnu (2001)
Vikas Swarup, Q&A (2005)
Six Suspects (2008)
Others worth reading (some of older vintage)
E.M. Forster, A Passage to India (1924)
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Heat and Dust (1975)
M.M. Kaye, The Far Pavilions (1978)
John Masters, Bhowani Junction (1954)
Ian McDonald, River of Gods (2004; unusual in that it is science fiction, set in India in 2047)
V.S. Naipul (1932- ), Trinidadian-British writer who has written various works about India
R.K. Narayan (1906-2001), various works
Arundhati Roy, The God of Small Things (1996)
Indu Sundaresan, The Splendor of Silence (2006)
Paul M. Scott, The Alien Sky (or: Six Days in Marapore, 1953)
About the Author
I am a graduate in Far Eastern Studies from the Australian National University. Currently, I work as an academic editor. Some of my essays are collected at http://beryl-pieces-asia.blogspot.com/.
