Moral Permissibility of Torture

To most, torture is seen as action with a single definition that defines it, but in fact there are different types of torture that Henry Shue discusses in one of his articles. According to Shue there are rare conditions under which torture could be morally justified, but he does not endorse neither the interrogational torture not the terroristic torture. Although Shue agrees with illegality and morally wrongness of torture, he explains how one may go about defending torture and how it could possibly be morally justified. Henry Shue begins his article discussing torture with constraints which allows the victim to â€Å"surrender† and comply with the demands of the torturer. According to the Constraint of Possible Compliance (CPC), â€Å"the victim of torture must have available an act of compliance which, if performed, will end the torture† (Shue 427). With the aim of interrogational torture being to extract information from a person with holding it, this torture appears to satisfy the constraint of possible compliance, since it offers an escape, in the form of providing the information wanted by the torturers, which affords some protection against further assault. In practice there are evidently only a few pure cases of interrogational torture. For the most dominant type of torture that occurs today is considered to be terroristic. Terroristic torture is meant to put fear in not only the victim, but also all those who oppose that government. The victim’s suffering is being used as a means to end over which the victim has no control over. Terroristic torture cannot satisfy the constraint of possible compliance because its purpose, intimidation of persons other than the victim of the torture, cannot be accomplished and may not even be capable of being influenced by the victim of the torture. If terroristic torture were actually to be justified, the conditions would of course have to be met. The first condition Shue defines is the purpose being sought through the torture would need to be not only morally good, but also supremely important. These purposes would then have to be selected by criteria of moral importance which would themselves need to be justified. The second condition described is that the torture would presumably have to be the least harmful means of accomplishing the supreme goal. With the terrible pain and harm that is associated with terroristic torture, this condition could rarely be the case in this type of torture. The last condition Shue defines is it must be absolutely clear for what purpose the erroristic torture was being used, what would constitute achievement of that purpose, and when the torture would end. Henry Shue believes these three conditions will never be met primarily because terroristic torture tends to become a routine procedure in methods of governing and once it is set in motion by that government it would gain enough momentum to become a standard operating procedure within the government. Shue also describes how governments to choose to try and prove themselves to other nations, over eliminating themselves from the fight.

One of the Most Important Moment in Your Life

The terrible car accident occurred to me ten years ago threatened my life, only a few flashback memories are what is left in my head. It was summer in June and a Saturday night; the rain was pouring like I have seen very few times before. I had just left my mother’s house after a delicious meal along with some of our homemade red wine. In getting ready to go to work I realized that it was late, my Jazz music band, was supposed to start to play music at 10pm in a nightclub twenty miles west from my house.But the pleasant dinner, and mostly the wine, inadvertently caused me to be extremely late. Once on the highway I tried to reduce the lateness by increasing and maintaining high velocity, in several occasions the speedometer was above 130 MPH. When the crash happened I was not wearing the seatbelt; in fact I found myself on the passenger seat. The windshield and the side glasses were reduced in thousands of pieces, many of which were all over me. The absence of glass also facil itated the rain getting inside the vehicle and created more discomfort.The front of the automobile, where the engine was located, had been pushed so much inward that it almost reduced the length of the car in half. I was so furious about the damages that I didn’t even care of my health conditions. The car went down the side of the highway; it was hidden by trees and quite difficult to reach. In fact, the police report stated that I had been unconscious for more than half an hour before someone found me. When I came to senses I did not remember anything, not even what day it was, or why I was in the car. As minutes went by I began to consider the gravity of the situation, as my despair as well.Fully awake and angry still I could not move, my shoulder was hurting and something was obfuscating my sight and it was not the rain—I later discovered that it was my own blood. At some point I turned my head to the right and saw an old man standing right outside my car’s b roken window pushing a piece of fabric against my head. I guess he was trying to stop the blood flow. Thanks to this person, who despite the difficulty, came down almost 30 feet to reach my car I was found, and thanks to this man I was able to receive immediate assistance from the paramedics and be carried at a nearby hospital.Nevertheless, sadness embraces me when I think of him; unfortunately I missed the chance to express to him my gratitude. That night he simply vanished in the darkness. Once the paramedic took me off the car, the race to the hospital was almost pleasant. In the ambulance I will never forget the beautiful face of a relatively young female doctor who gave me the first aid—she came very close to my face several times in order to check my eyes and wounds on my head.At the destination, I was transported in the emergency room where other people immediately started to cut my clothes off with a pair of scissors, in order to check the integrity of my whole body. Even though it was summer I recall being very cold in that room, and thirsty as well. The numerous and small pieces of glass inside the upper-part of my body required an extensive amount of time to be taken out. During this long procedure—conducted by only one doctor—something funny happened. One of the nurses approached the surgery table, came close to my face and said, â€Å"Today boy is your lucky day. â€Å"Why? † I asked, â€Å"Well, at the moment the plastic surgeon is still at the hospital, he was supposed to leave an hour ago but something happened and kept him here† was her response—a couple of days later it was explained to me that these specialized doctors are not found frequently in the emergency room. Usually, generic doctors perform these surgeries with significantly poorer results. â€Å"He will fix your ear so well that you would not even notice the scar† she added—I had a deep cut behind my right ear, which fortunate ly enough did not damage any nerves.After those loud nurse’s last words, the anesthetic took over because I don’t remember anything else. As a result, every time I go back with my thoughts to that night I realize how irresponsible I acted. During the days prior to the accident I had a very poor sleep; that combined with the high speed and heavy rain caused the crash. This traumatic and unique experience will always accompany me. Still, today those memories affect my decision-making processes in order to prevent similar circumstances from occurring again. In the end I surely admit to have learned my lesson.

Macbeth: The Role of Gender and Position Essay

In Macbeth, many elements that affect the story’s plot and outcome; however, gender and position of power play the most important role of the story. For example, Lady Macbeth continuously wants to be changed into a man in order to get certain duties done that Macbeth is hesitant to do. Also, Lady Macbeth uses the power of belittling Macbeth’s masculinity to further drive his actions in the play. Lastly, the witches’ predictions of Macbeth’s future affect and change him through the position of power he will soon possess. Overall, many aspects of the play foreshadow and affect the ending of the play; however, sex (gender) and power have the biggest impact. Throughout the course of the play, Lady Macbeth constantly exerts the fact that she does not want to be a female. Lady Macbeth wants to be changed into a man because she would hold more power, and be able to escape the stereotypes associated with being a female. Such stereotypes include, not being capable to do certain activities men can, being fragile, and having a frail attitude about oneself. One example of Lady Macbeth wanting to become a male is when she states â€Å"Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here . . .† (Shakespeare 33) Lady Macbeth’s statement implies the obvious, which is, due to her being a female she is unable to murder Duncan (aside from his resemblance to her father) and wants to be â€Å"unsexed†. Another example of Lady Macbeth despising being a female is when she states â€Å"That no compunctious visitings of nature shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between th’ effect and it,† (Shakespeare 33). Lady Macbeth’s statement basically states that she wants to be ridden of the â€Å"visitings of nature† because they distract her from her purpose and goal. Lady Macbeth’s gender affects her role in her husband’s life, and she despises the fact. Lady Macbeth continuously despises being a female. In Macbeth, Lady Macbeth constantly manipulates her husband Macbeth by testing his masculinity. In order to manipulate Macbeth and get him to do certain actions, Lady Macbeth simply makes comments testing his masculinity such as â€Å"When you durst do it, then you were a man . . .† (Shakespeare 43). In the passage, Lady Macbeth convinces Macbeth to kill Duncan because the murder will prove himself being a man. Lady Macbeth constantly uses Macbeth being a male against him. Mark Lugris states â€Å"Influenced by his wife, Lady Macbeth, the general kills the reigning King and steals the throne,† (Lugris). Lugris’ statement best explains the reason Macbeth murders Duncan. Without his wife’s influence, Macbeth probably wouldn’t have killed Duncan. Mahatma Gandhi states â€Å"Man’s nature is not essentially evil. Brute nature has been known to yield to the influence of love. You must never despair of human nature,† (Gandhi). Gandhi’s statement applies to Macbeth’s situation because, like the quote states, Macbeth is not essentially evil; however, his love for his wife influences his decisions; furthermore, the only reason Lady Macbeth has influence on Macbeth is because of her constant testing of his manhood. Lady Macbeth is able to have influence on Macbeth and his decisions because she uses his manhood against him. Throughout the play Macbeth, Macbeth’s attitudes and goals change all because of his strive for power. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is loyal, and trustworthy. Towards the end of the play, however, Macbeth is power-hungry, delusional, and disloyal. Macbeth states â€Å"I know I am thane of Glamis, but how of Cawdor?† (Shakespeare 19). At the moment when Macbeth makes his comment doesn’t believe the witches’ predictions because he is loyal to Duncan and would never kill him; however, Macbeth ends up committing the murder of Duncan because of his crave for power. Macbeth eventually lets his new position of power get to his head and orders for Banquo, who was once his best friend, to be killed. After Banquo is murdered, Macbeth tells the murderers â€Å"Thanks for that. There the serpent lies,† (Shakespeare 101). Macbeth’s statement shows the fact that he only cares about himself. Abraham Lincoln states â€Å"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power,† (Lincoln). Lincoln’s statement applies to Macbeth because Macbeth is only corrupt when given power. Also, Jimmy Hendrix states â€Å"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace,† (Hendrix). Jimmy’s statement demonstrates Macbeth because if Macbeth would have chosen his love for his friends and family, he wouldn’t have become corrupted by his power. Lastly, the young siward states â€Å"The devil himself could not pronounce a title more hateful to mine ear,† (Shakespeare 183). The Young Siward’s comment is a realization in the play because towards the end of Macbeth, Macbeth has built a bad reputation for himself. He was noble and just in the beginning, but now, people are fearful and hateful towards him. Macbeth has now become a tyrant due to his position of power. Overall, power greatly influences the play Macbeth. Throughout the play Macbeth, the fact is vividly clear that many themes and ideas play a role in the outcome; furthermore, the most influential factors of the play are gender, and position of power. The factors, gender and power, evolve into conflicts amongst the characters. Such conflicts include, Macbeth killing Banquo, and Lady Macbeth influencing Macbeth. Gender and power are the key elements of the play.

Midterm Analysis about an specific articles regarding Humen Rights Essay

Midterm Analysis about an specific articles regarding Humen Rights - Essay Example However as time passed by it came to the attention of all the human beings that their fellow beings had exactly the same feelings that they themselves possessed and these feelings should be respected. If this principle is understood we can further elaborate on this topic by going back to times when human rights did not even evolve. Thus it can be said that human rights evolved only because of the created awareness about the feelings and sentiments of human beings which helped all humans to realize about the inner self of their fellow human beings (Bourke 2007 & Langwith 2008). In this world atrocious and despicable acts of killing, looting, raping, and torturing can be traced back to the times of the Jesus Christ himself and even before than that. These acts are still widely prevalent even now and because of these very acts the humans are not being provided with the dignity and rights that they rightly deserve. Thus to counter act all these acts a broad phenomena has been developed which is known as Human Rights. Human Rights are the rights which the human beings rightly deserve for living in this world. These human rights have been created over time as more and more became known about the nature of the human beings. These human rights urge individuals to treat every human as equal to them whether he is of a different class, gender or race. Human Rights have been officially recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the UN Assembly (Bourke 2007 & Langwith 2008). Joanne Burke in her article Sentimental Education tells that a revolution took place in the subject of human rights in the 17th century when the National Assembly of France itself stated the natural, unalienable and sacred rights of man. This was the beginning of the evolution of the concept of human rights which was further followed by other individuals who brought forward the message of human nature to the whole world (Bourke

Human and Animal Interrelationships from Domestication to Present Term Paper - 4

Human and Animal Interrelationships from Domestication to Present - Term Paper Example Theories have been advanced to give an in-depth explanation of the scope of animal ethics as they try to explain the boundaries within which animal ethics should exist and what human beings are expected to do in order to ensure their moral obligation as far as animal ethics is concerned. There are three groups of theories that have been advanced so far that try to explain issues concerning animal ethics and morality. They include; indirect theories, direct moral theories and moral equality theories (Beauchamp). Therefore, this paper examines issues concerning animal ethics and morality by examining the above theories. Indirect theories are against animal ethics as they argue that animals are not entitled to any form of moral status or equal considerations to man since they lack consciousness (Beauchamp). This means they are not able to make sound decisions, moreover they cannot think independently hence they should be treated less of human beings are they do not form part of the moral community hence they have no rights to be protected (Palmer). Despite that, the theories do not encourage animals to be harmed as they possess a sense of sentiment thus their feelings should be respected. Direct theories are those that accord animals moral considerations but the moral status that is accorded to animals is limited in nature since animals are unable to recognize the rights of other agents and respect them thus they cannot be included in the moral community (Palmer). The theories argue that actions by human beings should not harm animals directly but whenever conflict of interest between animals and hu man beings sets in the interests of human beings always supersedes as human beings are always supreme over all other animals. The moral equality theories, on the other hand, argue that animals and human beings ought to be treated equally. The theories ignore the special characteristics that are often associated with human

Exam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 6

Exam - Essay Example Only children, especially the sons, from the well of families went to school. During this time, there existed three different categories of schools: fist was the elementary song school. This school was established in a big church in a town, and they taught boys to sing some Latin hymns and songs. The other type was the monastic schools, where the boys were undergoing training for the church. Here, the lessons were conducted by monks and they purely taught religious education. Finally is the grammar schools, that were concerned with teaching the boys Latin language. During 1100s, Europe experienced a lot of dynamic changes. People found other activities that they could engage in for their survival. Agricultural improvement created a steady food supply and traced revived, leading to increased prosperity in the towns. This led to the growth of middle class people, improving the political and economic conditions, thereby expanding the need for education. The churches demanded better educated clergy as the kings wanted there bureaucratic environments to be full of educated men and as a result the town life demanded education. After the recovery of Aristotle’s works, there were some intellectual development such as the rise of medieval universities, medieval culture, new learning ideas and scholasticism. The translation of Arabic works into Latin led to the improvement in the Scientific Method and Rationalism, Humanism and Philosophy, Mathematics, Astronomy, Medicine and Material Culture. During the reign of Edward I, he conducted some of his meetings in the parliament. He called his first parliament in the year 1275. Here, he summoned the nobles and some of the religious leaders present at that time. He gave orders for the election of some representatives of each county and other representatives from the towns, to be attending some of the summons he will be issuing in the parliament. This first parliament

Academic Journals Exercise of Social Goegraphy Essay

Academic Journals Exercise of Social Goegraphy - Essay Example e articles published during the past few years in the selected journal will be reviewed and methodological approaches of the journal will be discussed in the paper. ACME: An International E-Journal for Critical Geographies is the journal that will be analyzed and scrutinized in this paper. (ACME, 2009) In specific, social, spatial, and political analyses are welcomed and encouraged in the abovementioned journal; however, a significant importance has been given to the critical and radical approaches for such analyses. As the name suggests, different geographies have been analyzed in this journal critically with its relation with social sciences. Some of the social-scientific aspects, such as feminist, Marxist, anarchist, post-structuralism, and a number of other perspectives have been used by the authors to provide an understanding of such socialist aspects in terms of geography. It is believed that the abovementioned perspectives play a crucial role in the development of geographies, and thus, different political structures, such as nationalist, liberalism, fascism, etc. have been investigated and challenged in a critical and radical manner. One of the major reasons of choosing this journal is its international perspective and scope that allows contribution from academic, as well as, non-academic providers and contributors. Besides this, articles have been published in English, Spanish, German, Italian, and French in the journal that provides an overview of its diversity. Journal includes review essays, as well as, a variety of empirical based research articles that have critically analyzed socialist issues with respect to geography by debates, literature reviews, and poetry as well. Until now, ACME: An International E-Journal for Critical Geographies has published fifteen volumes since its first volume in the year 2002. Since its first volume, different topics, such as critical cartographies, sexuality and gender, mediated places, class struggles and geography,

Division and Classsification Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Division and Classsification - Essay Example the wedding planners and participants such as the Groomsmen, best man, Bridesmaids, flower girls among others; however, these are not guests because of their roles. Decisively, most people have attended weddings and observed the type of different guests there based on their behavior, contributions in certain areas and their dialogue. There is certain group of guests that one can point out in almost every wedding ceremony no matter how carefully or executive the couple does the event planning. Some of the brides complain that most of these guests are from the groom’s side of the family but even some are from the bride’s side and there is no single person to blame. Comparatively, this essay focuses on evaluating and analyzing the different types of guests commonly found in weddings based on behavior, reception by the other guests, dialogue and other unusual traits. Relatives are probably the first people on the guest list of every wedding because they are the most supportive. However, in every group of relatives there is that one person who is either incongruous or random based on their dialogue around other guests and behavior around the couple. The random or inappropriate has very poor social skills because they say anything that comes to mind and to anyone. Additionally, they tend to sit around people that they have nothing or very little common with, which makes them inappropriate and weird; their conversations are out of place and generally painful, matter of fact, very people opt to sit the next to them, especially the relatives. The only time the inappropriate relatives are fun is when they meet with the group of the couple’s friends that likes to party; however, they are only hilarious to these friends when they are all drunk. Remember the only reason that they attend the ceremony is because they overheard people talking about the wedding and decided to attend. Most of the time, they are introduced to the couple during the

Personal statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 8

Personal Statement Example I still remember the way our backyard junked garage soon turned into a teeming workshop with brilliant ideas and we had spent the entire summer recess into the junkyard that year. My first step into the world of machines was thus initiated. With passing days, I learnt the intricate details about all the cars and their engines at our junkyard and soon one day I was able to start up the failed engine of my dad’s car, when I discovered that actually the problem was in the battery and not in the engine of the car. Later in the school itself, I joined Asian Engineering club where my ideas about machines, transistors and basic functioning of light and sound gained more shape. A class by a veteran scientist and scholar at the engineering club at school on analysis of design and manufacturing provoked me to a great extent and boosted up my desperation for taking up the stream of mechanical engineering as my major. And, the most fascinating part of the entire discipline for me was the circuits, its design and analysis of those circuit designs and how it operates within many machines just bowled me out. I indulged myself into reading more and more science journals. At my upper division level at school itself and before pioneering upon the subject through milestone institution of SBCC, I had attended a seminar on thermodynamics and many discussions and seminars on the subject of electricity and its modern circuit designs and analysis where I understood the profanity with which modern mechanical engineers and scientists are working at various levels to shape the modern system and enable the mankind to take the optimum benefit out of modern technologies. Volunteering at different science exhibitions and participation at various science fairs at school level presenting circuits and various mechanical dynamics enabled me to fasten my seat belt more intact through the journey of mechanical world. My involvement with the aerodynamics was clear from my childhood days and an active participation of three days’ workshop with aerodynamics helped and intrigued passion within me for taking plunges into the field of mechanical engineering. Prompt 2 One of my unique talents or virtues which I believe is the talent of inquisitiveness. This inquisitive pursuit enabled me to ponder upon various complex and unorganized dynamics and helped me to solve the complex circuit turning them into a simpler one. After attending classes at SBCC, I found that all my past experiences and scientific expeditions have enabled me to comprehend more intricately about various dynamics and subtleties associated with the faculty of Mechanical Engineering. I already had enough exposure as a member of science club and after participating in various events related with machines, thermodynamics and aerodynamics. In science and field of scientific research, the application and implementation of the theories which we come across everyday pitted in black words against the white pa ges of our weighty books need space for practical understanding. These practical understandings of the theories finds completion only when first hand implementation of those theories are experienced in practicality, which I have received in abundance throughout my career in schools at both junior and senior levels. The little theories of mechanics starting from the revolving of fans to movement of a car engine, every little or big machines around has helped me to grow and

An International Marketing Plan for Bright Eyes to Enter the Market of Research Paper

An International Marketing Plan for Bright Eyes to Enter the Market of Brazil and Denmark - Research Paper Example It is critical to understand that choosing right mode of entry as well as designing right marketing mix. Since each market carries its own dynamics and peculiar factors, therefore, the strategic outlook would require developing appropriate market entry strategy, deciding on which approach to take while designing marketing mix, detailing the elements in marketing mix as well as organization and coordination of marketing activities. This report will present an international marketing plan for Bright Eyes to enter the market of Brazil and Denmark. This plan will detail as to what market entry strategies should be adopted by the firm in each market besides discussing as to what marketing mix approaches to be undertaken. This plan will also detail as to how the overall marketing activities will be coordinated across both the markets and how Bright Eyes should approach both these markets in order to achieve its strategic objectives. Brazil’s economy is considered as the sixth largest economy in the world in terms of nominal GDP1. Brazil is also part of what is called BRIC, a group of four top emerging economies in the world suggesting that Brazil is one of the key markets to look for growth. What is important to note that Brazil has relatively opened its markets and is transitioning towards the free market economy. Such approach, therefore, would critically allow any international firm to easily set its feet on the ground and capture the market without significant hurdles. The Brazilian economy is also considered as the largest economy in Latin America and is believed to be one of the fastest growing economies in the world. The increasing competitiveness of the economy, the rise of an affluent class within Brazilian society as well as globalization forces have made Brazil as one of the lucrative markets in the world.

Essay 1 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 14

1 - Essay Example More importantly, immigration had a significant impact on cultural identity for the Chinese family struggling to make a living in an American culture. Therefore, since this engaging story was systematically written by an immigrant, Tan, who uses her experiences and that of her mother to explain real life situations, makes this story a magnificent piece of writing. Globalization has merged the world into one small global village eliciting the need for accommodating cultural diversity. The case of Tan moving from a Chinese cultural background to an American culture provides a good example of cultural integration. Cultural background determines the language we speak, how we speak it as well as expectations from others. More importantly, cultural beliefs are best reflected through language as people communicate. For instance, whereas Tan may shake hands and bow down as a show of respect, an American might not understand the meaning. Moving into a new cultural territory, like Tan’s family did when they moved to America, presents a myriad of challenges not only cultural difference but in communication as well. In this story, Tan places an emphasis on the theme of alienation and discrimination, through focusing on the various prejudices that she and her mother went through as a result of language imperfection. For instance, Tan shows how her mother has for long been looked down due to the fact that she spoke â€Å"limited† or â€Å"simple† English, most of which quite ironically could be understood by most people (Tan 59). Moreover, Tan also shows how her mother is a victim of prejudice by explaining how doctors had presumably said that her CAT scan results could not be found. But later, when Tan arrives and talks in perfect English, the doctors admit that the scan results would be found and offers apologies for any sufferings that her mother had

Mathematics of the Greeks and the Mayans Essay Example for Free

Mathematics of the Greeks and the Mayans Essay Mathematics is the study of time, space, structure, and quantity which is used to calculate almost anything in the world from the amount of atoms in an element to calculating the air pressure in a room. Although levels of math such as calculus are not taught until college, the use and study of mathematics have been around since the beginning of time and the world wouldn’t be able to function without it. The term â€Å"mathematics† comes from the Greek word mathema which means study, knowledge, or learning. Along with philosophy and astronomy, the ancient Greeks were well known for their development and contribution as brilliant mathematicians. Despite their widely spread fame as the world’s first greatest mathematicians, the Greeks had competitors. My contention is that the Mayans were one of the top mathematicians of the ancient world and were even more advanced than the Greeks. Ancient Greek mathematics has been developed since the early seventh century B.C. which could also be called the period during the Hellenistic Mathematics. Some of the greatest Ancient Greek mathematicians were Pythagoras, Aristotle, Anaxagoras, Euclid, Archimedes, Thales, and Aristarchus. These Greek mathematicians were big on the development of geometry which is a subdivision of math that focuses on shapes, size, and the relativity of space. Although their number system was based on letters of the alphabet and used units of five and ten, they therefore were not big on the processes of Algebra. However the Greeks became the masters of calculating solutions concerning volume, lengths and areas using geometric methods and theorems to solve algebraic equations. Despite contributions to modern day arithmetic such as the Pythagorean Theorem and Euclidian Geometry the Greeks were missing one essential part of math, one number that modern day civilization mathematics would not be able to f unction without. The Mayans included this number in their mathematic system which in turn made them the greatest mathematicians of the ancient world, this number was zero. Along with ancient Greece, Egypt, Rome and Babylonian history did not have or use the number zero. Although the Greek number system worked fairly well for their arithmetic, they were very limited to what they could do because of their limitations of their numbers. For example, the number zero and irrational numbers did not exist and were not possible from the doubt of how nothing could count as something. It was not until 150 A.D that Greek astronomer Ptolemy was the first to put a zero at the end of a number represented by the letter O which was well over a thousand years after the Mayans. Maya civilization was established in Mesoamerica in current day Yucatan Peninsula from about 2,000 B.C to 250 A.D during the Pre-Classic era to the classic era up until the settlement of the Spanish conquistadors and its collapse. Similar to Greece, Maya was not a unified kingdom and consisted of many smaller city states and they were also known for the uniqueness of their astronomy, original art and architecture which was all built and based by math. Contrasting from the Greeks instead of using units based on five and ten, the Mayans used a base number of twenty. In the Mayan number system, a dot represented one while a horizontal bar represented five. During the Hellenistic period in Europe, many astronomers arose when they applied their knowledge of math to astronomy. Some well-known astronomers of ancient Greece are Anaxagoras, Thales, and Ptolemy all of which who discover that the Earth was round, Earth revolved around the son and that the weather was not controlled by God. Due to these marvelous discoveries, Ancient Greece is often referred to as the Father of astronomy however this is not quite accurate. These findings were based on grounds that were built upon by civilizations in other parts of the world such as Mesoamerica. Because of the geographical distance from the Maya civilization to the Greek civilization, they were not influenced by the Greek’s findings and instead came across almost the same discoveries but with their own methods. Not much is known about Maya history due to the destruction of Maya texts and writings by the Spanish church and government officials in the 16th century; however three books miraculously survived which are the Dresden Codex, Madrid Codex, and the Paris Codex. These books contain the last written information about Maya history, art, rituals, astrology, zodiac, calendar, and math. One significant item in these books was a drawing of a shell which was on the first representations of the number zero. The codex also contained recorded meticulous observations of the sky and space. In the codex were diagrams that displayed an eclipse table that calculates times when eclipses might happen, a Venus table that calculates the times when Venus appears as morning star, and a Mars table that records the times when Mars goes into reversing motion. The Maya pursued to apprehend the repetitive sequences of motions of the moon and planets to be able to forecast when these objects in the sky would be in a certain place in the sky during a certain time. For example, they used the movement of the sun in the sky to calculate the number of days in a year. Due to the tilt of the Earths axis, the sun shows up at different locations in the sky depending on the time of year which causes the change in seasons. The Mayans were able to calculate the number of days in a solar tropical year from the equation, 1507 tropical years = 1508 haabs or 365 multiplied by 1508 days which equals out to be 365.242 days which is very precise and accurate to the actual modern calculations of 365.24198 days as compared to the Greeks calculations of 365.24667 days. The Mayans have proven to be at the top of the ancient world’s mathematics and astronomy from their discoveries that are established as accurate even to this day by using their own methods written on their codex stripping ancient Greece of their title of the fathers of mathematics and astronomy.

Evaluation Task-Centered and Crisis Intervention Theories

Evaluation Task-Centered and Crisis Intervention Theories Select a social work intervention, evaluate its theoretical roots and influences and compare it to at least one other approach. Describe briefly how you would apply your chosen approach in work with a service user or carer group and evaluate its effectiveness. Use at least one piece of research to inform your evaluation. You will need to demonstrate the ability to detect, understand and evaluate potential for discrimination generally with particular emphasis on two specific areas. This paper will evaluate the theoretical roots and influences of two psychological social work intervention theories task-centred and crisis intervention. They will be applied to practice with a children and family setting. The potential for each intervention to discriminate on the grounds of age and race will be demonstrated and evaluated. Both theories will be contrasted and evaluated in terms of their strengths, weaknesses and effectiveness, by use of informed literature and research. Theories can provide social workers with a safe base to explore situations and understand complex human behaviour (Coulshed and Orme 2006). Used wisely, they can promote effective, anti-oppressive practice (Wilson 2008). Theory underpins the social work degree (Coulshed and Orme) and the growing emphasis on evidence-based practice ensures theory is at the heart of the profession (Corby 2006). The most significant theory within social work is Freuds psychodynamic theory (Daniel 2008). Payne (2007:80) goes say far as to suggest that psychodynamic work is social work. It was the original theory social workers drew upon to understand complex human behaviour (Coulshed and Orme 2006). It is also the theory from which many others have been developed or as Payne (2005) suggests, opposed. For these reasons, it can be difficult to understand other theories without knowledge of psychodynamic (QUOTE, QUOTE). Psychodynamic is a major underpinning base of crisis intervention, more specifically, ego psychology, developmental psychology, and cognitive behavioural approaches and systems theory (McGinnis 2009). These theories provide an understanding of the particular psychological characteristic of people in such situations (Beckett 2006, p110). By contrast, task-centred was established within social work. Stemming specifically, from Reid and Shynes (1969) research into the profession (McColgan (Lindsay ed.) 2010). Reid and Shyne claim the roots and influences of task-centred were not derived or borrowed from any other discipline (Parker and Bradley, 2010; Watson and West, 2006). Therefore, Trevithick (2005) suggests task-centred should be referred to as a work or practice, rather than an approach. However, many writers contest this, including Doel (2009) and Marsh (2008) who assert association lies with behavioural and problem-solving approaches to social work. On reflection there are stark similarities between problem-solving tool and behavioural. Crisis intervention was developed by Caplan from Lindeman and Caplans work into loss and grief (QUOTE). It is not a single model in the way that task-centred casework is a single model, but rather a group of models for short-term work with people at points of acute crisis (Beckett 2006, p110). A crisis is a precipitating hazardous event which is meaningful or threatening to oneself (Payne 2005:104). Crises are often caused by sudden loss or change (McGinnis 2010:39). However, it is not the event that defines a crisis, but rather the service users perception and emotional interpretation (Parker and Bradley 2010). What may present a crisis for one may be considered a challenge for another because people have different life experiences, cultural backgrounds, coping strategies and levels of resilience. Crises can be predicable, as in Eriksons psychosocial model (which views developmental conflicts as part of the life course), or unpredictable crises which cannot be foreseen for instance, a natural disaster, ill health and poverty or even a burglary (Hamer 2006) (ONLINE). Crises reduce the psychological coping ability by challenging the homeostasis (normal equilibrium) (Thompson 1991). When ones usual coping resources are unsuccessful in responding to their problem and they cannot adopt alternative internal strategies or find another way to cope, they are likely to find themselves in crisis (Hamer 2006). Caplan argued, that people act as self-regulating systems (Trevithick 2005:267), in that they strive to retain homeostasis. He believed that in addition to the occasional crises caused by unpredicted events people experience developmental crisis throughout the life course. He further argued that preventative work, offered at the time of such developmental crises, might be effective in reducing symptoms of psychiatric illness (Wilson et al. 2008: 361). Unsuccessfully resolved crises can lead to psychologically incapacitating experiences such as regression, mental illness, feelings of hopefulness and inadequacy, or destructive action (Wilson et al. 2008:362). Equally, crises can stir up repressed feelings (Coulshed and Orme 2006). For example, a marriage breakdown may reactivate repressed feelings of rejection and loss from being taken into care as a child. This can add to the sense of feeling overwhelmed and overburdened (a double dose) (Coulshed and Orme 2006:135). While this may provide the opportunity to address a repressed event, the more unresolved crises one has, the more vulnerable they are to future crises (Hamer 2006). Similarly, if unhelpful coping mechanisms are employed during a crisis, this has the potential to create another crisis (Watson and West 2006). Crises produce biological stress responses whereby the fight or flight mechanism is activated. CHINESE MODEL This energy can be fuelled into developing new coping strategies and resilience for now and the future (Thompson 1991, p20). Thompson (1991:10 citing Caplan 1961) uses to his three stage model to understand the characteristics of a crisis. The impact stage is short-lived and characterised by stress and confusion where the event can appear unreal. The second is the recoil stage. This is characterised by disorganisation and intensity of emotion. For example, emotions can be directed externally (anger), internally (guilt) or both concurrently. There may be psychical symptoms as well such as, fatigue, headaches (and) stomach disorder. The final stage is adjustment and adaption. Crises take on average four to eight weeks to resolve and it is during this final period that a crisis can be resolved as a breakthrough or breakdown (Thompson 1991:10). If unhelpful coping mechanisms are used during this stage, they have the potential to create another crisis (Watson and West 2006). As such, skilled crisis intervention during this time can lead to a breakthrough (Thompson 1991:10). For application to practice, Roberts 2000 cited in Wilson et al 2008:366 Uses a seven stage model: Assess risk safety of service user Establish rapport and appropriate communication Identify and define major problems Deal with feelings and provide support Explore possible alternative responses Formulate action plan Provide follow up service IN APP: Try to find trigger but dont get lost in it What is happening to them? How do they normally cope internally/externally? Do they use just psychological or social and community resources to good effect? Opp to help back to homeo but also to improve Min danger enhance risk Mobilise support system advocate Calm, reassure, rapport, interest Develop new techs of coping thro counselling Remember person open for limited period Get SU to set goals give beginning and sense of control Short term incremental to build confidence and new learning Dont set up for failure If using the example given above, the situation does not constitute a crisis, but rather a series of/or large problem, task-centred can be utilised to address these. Task-centred practice involves five structured steps which are essential to its effectiveness (HOWE BOOK): The first step is for the social worker to understand the problems faced, the methods used to respond to the problem and the preferred situation. These are defined and expressed by the service user (Thompson, 2005). Anna expresses she is feeling low since the recent birth of her son, she is worried she does not have the natural mothering ability and cannot remember the last time she last had an adult conversation. She doesnt know where to turn for help. The social worker explores cultural and structural XXXXX it becomes clear that Anna cannot tell her family how she is feeling because it is frowned upon by her culture. She would love to feel happy and in control again. Using feminist perspectiveà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. Her cultureà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. Ageà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. During the next stage the social worker encourages Anna to prioritise which parts of the problems she would like to work on first. With support she breaks the problem down in manageable chunks. This process helps Anna to see that her problem is not insurmountable; it gives her hope and a focus. It is essential during this time that the social worker remains empathetic and builds Anna hopes. The following stage is based upon negotiation in partnership. Together, Anna and social worker agree a maximum of three problems for desired change. Each goal must be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound (Doel AND WHO YEAR p36) to ensure Anna is not set for failure. The first of task might be for Anna will visit the local Childrens Centre next week to find out what services they offer. The second step could be attending a session as the Childrens Centre. A timeline for the tasks (usually 12 weekly sessions), together with agreement of who will complete which tasks will form a written contract, signed by both parties. The agreed contract is implemented and monitored until evaluation or termination. This allows for flexibility should this be required (such as extension of time or reorganisation of problems). Anti-oppressive practice lies at its core of task-centred and the values of social work practice are integrated. Partnership working promotes social justice and seeks to reduce the power imbalance between worker and service user. Thompson (2007, p50) agrees stating user involvement and partnership working are part of a political commitment to promoting social justice, social inclusion and equality. These aspects are further supported by the British Association of Codes of Practice, Codes of Ethics for Social Work (DATE) (24 October 2010). The promotion of choice for service users by their own identification of the problem and prioritisation of their goals empowers. It also views the service as an expert in their situation. The nature of breaking down problems (often considered insurmountable) builds a sense of hope for service users to overcome them (QUOTE) The simplicity of the model means it is easy to understand and apply and enables service user to use it for future problem solving (Doel and Marsh 1995). This builds resilience and empowers service users. The model recognises and builds upon service users strengths because it considers they have the personal resources to solve their problems with limited support. This empowers by enabling service users to take control and ownership (McColgan, (Lindsay ed.) 2010). A contract provides transparency and clarity. It places the focus on the problem, rather than the individual. It also allows for flexibility for the level or duration of support to be increased or goals to be reorganised. Because the model is time-limited it decreases the risk of dependency and creates motivation to respond to tasks (Doel AND WHO, DATE, p36). The successful completion of tasks, lead to personal growth of the service user, in terms of confidence and self-esteem for now and for the future. For the worker and agency it offers a time and cost effective intervention. It also saves on future resources by building service users to solve their own problems in the future. A note of caution is that it would be oppressive and ineffective if used with service users with limited cognitive functioning (such as poor mental health, learning disability or dementia). The model is also incompatible where there are complex underlying issues because it cannot address them. Additionally, it may not consider structural oppression such as class, poverty, ill health, gender or racial oppression. Because of the nature of partnership, service users need to be willing to participate for the model to be effective (Trevithick 2005). A written, signed contract may encourage a power imbalance between social worker and service user, placing the social worker as the expert. Marsh (Davies ed. 2008) warns that while task-centred practice may be the most popular theory among social work students, perhaps owing to its simplicity. The quality of its application is often undermined. Many believing they are carrying out task-centred practice work, when actually they are not. PAGE 121 BBB In applying crisis intervention the social worker must establish a rapport with Anna using skills of empathy and active listening, while also assessing the risk of harm to Anna and her child (Mc Ginnis 2010). Importance should also be given to the non-verbal communication of the service user. Anna should be supported in exploring the problem (the objective facts) and her emotional response to the problem (the subjective) (Beckett 2006). The social worker can assist by asking sensitive open questions (to ensure it remains Annas story) and responding by showing acceptance. McGinnis (2010, p45) claims showing acceptance is key to effective relationship building. It can also promote anti-oppressive practice and social justice by not judging the service user. The information collected should focus upon the here and now, although the past should be acknowledged. The social worker should find out the attempts Anna has made to respond to her problem, while at the same time reassuring Anna. McGinnis (2010:45) suggests achieving reassurance by gently reframe(ing) the clients perception of self and events into a more realistic understanding of the situation. Therefore, the social worker could say I imagine you feel isolated; It sounds as if you have had a lot to cope with one you own. Empathy should be shown the entire intervention by the social worker, by use of lexis and non-verbal communication. If the service user is assessed as being in crisis the social worker can explain the concept of crisis intervention and agree the nature of the work to be carried out. Arguably crisis intervention is also anti-oppressive. It seeks to effect positive change in behaviour now and for the future, through the building of resilience and coping mechanisms. It can also release service users from their past by addressing repressed issues. All of which results in empowerment of service user.   Integrates with codes of practice WHAT CODES Active listening and empathy Crisis intervention provides a safe structure of intervention for social worker, service user and use by voluntary agencies in addition to statutory. QUOTE The time limited nature is anti-oppressive because it reduces the risk of dependency for the service user. Additionally, it provides an economical intervention for the social worker and agency. This is supported by research undertaken by the NCHà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. (QUOTE) Factors such as individual culture, values, gender, race, class and age can be taken into account because the service user is the expert and defines their own experience. (QUOTE) Crisis intervention can be applied to many situations, namely, predictable crises in line with Eriksons ego psychology model and unpredictable crises. (QUOTE) Conversely, there are many criticisms. The service user must be committed to working with the social worker to effect change (QUOTE) The very nature of the word crisis can lead to the theory being used inappropriatelyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. sw may assume su in crisis due to event There is an imbalance in the power dynamic between social worker and service user because of the vulnerable nature of the service due to the crises. Moreover, the social work is considered the expert. This can leave room for unethical behaviour on the social workers part (QUOTE) As crisis is short-lived, many social work agencies may not be able to respond fast enough to take full advantage of this window (Wilson et al. 2008). KEYWORD the brevity of the intervention may not be long enough to resolve a service users issues fully (QUOTE) Research suggests that people respond to crises differently and at varying speeds, due to age, culture and cognitive impairments. Thus the model may need to be adapted to suit the service user and the situation, although, adaptation may render it unsafe for practice (Wilson et al 2008). The theory involves active listening and empathy on behalf of the social worker. As the intervention involves use of active listening and empathy on behalf of the social worker, this may provoke many emotions. The social worker must remain empathetic and professional with an awareness of self. Crisis intervention is also criticised as being Eurocentric. Ignoring different traditions and cultures and being concerned simply with fixing the problem as quickly as possible (Wilson et al. 2008). This can lead to oppressive practice. In conclusion Psychodynamic as discussed, was the theory of the day. It provided according to Howe (2009), complex, inefficient, open-ended intervention. In comparison, task-centred offered an effective, simply structured, easy to understand, time-limited approach, which dealt with the here and now (Howe, 2009). Reid and Shynes concluded through their research, that short-term intervention was effective (Trevithick 2005), and that problem-solving was more likely to be successful if a deadline was in place (Marsh Davies ed. 2008). SUMMARY While both interventions are suitable for differing situations, there are several similarities. Both are individualistic-reformist in that neither truly addresses social change. Both have the potential to oppress and discriminate, but this can be overcome if assessments are sensitive to anti-oppressive practice (Wilson et al. 2008:366). They are both time-limited. Payne (2005:105) quoting James and Gilliland (2001) purports there are three crisis intervention models: The equilibrium model Caplans (1965) original approach. Individuals are seen as experiencing disequilibrium. The focus is upon return them to equilibrium enabling them to respond effectively to their problems. Secondly, The cognitive model Associated with Roberts (2000) Ego psychology developed by Erikson, views the course of life as a series milestones through which conflicts occur. Developmental psychology considers early experiences shape personalities in adulthood. (Daniel ed-Davies 2008); cognitive behavioural approaches and systems theory (McGinnis 2009:37). 3.3 Strengths (pay attention to AOP and values) Time limited reduces risk of dependency In line with codes of practice WHAT CODES SU more open to help and change at a time of crisis (for a limited period)

Key Consumer Behavior Issue Marketing Essay

Key Consumer Behavior Issue Marketing Essay The brief overview of the article is about Jet Star as Australian low cost airlines that going to spend more budget in social media marketing instead of using high price conventional way. Jet Star is facing an issue in how to compete with other airlines company and whether Jet Star can be success in changing consumer attitude toward its new plan in advertising. This becomes the key issue in consumer behavior raised by the reporting. An explanation of how the article relates to consumer behavior theory So basically this article is relevant to be selected since it is related with theory of consumer nature of attitudes and also changing the cognitive component of attitudes through the way Jet Star advertise in social media. The first theory is about the nature of attitudes. While on the attitude there were two components which are cognition and emotion. Cognition is about beliefs of attitude, while emotion is about consumer feeling to an entity. Also there is hierarchy of effects exists that relates consumer emotion, thought, and behavior together with marketing communication. The first one is standard learning hierarchy (learn-feel-do); the next is the low-involvement hierarchy (learn-do-feel) and finally is the experiential hierarchy (feel-do-learn). (Solomon, Russel-Bennet, and Previte, 2010). Based on that theory, Jet Star is applying the standard learning hierarchy. This is similar to process where consumer attitudes are being constructed. Consumer sees their preference in decision making as a problem solving process. The first step is they collecting the knowledge about the product, in this case is airline ticket, about the price and the differences among other airlines and in feeling stage, consu mer evaluate whether the price is suitable for them and finally consumer begin to realize the decision by real action in choosing to buy the Jet Star ticket flight. It seems that from this hierarchy, consumer tends to be bonded with the product instead of buying other product. This hierarchy makes consumer to have high involvement by discovering any knowledge of the product and then come out with a conclusion. (Solomon, Russel-Bennet, and Previte, 2010). Again based on Solomon, Russel-Bennet, and Previte (2010), the aim of marketer in attitude change is to make consumer go through their product, or go in opposition to competitors product. There are two ways in changing consumer attitudes, by changing the cognitive component of learn and by changing the emotional component of feel. In changing cognitive component of attitudes, marketer can use any message that constructing the argument, drawing conclusion, or use comparative advertising. While on the other hand to change emotional component of attitudes, marketer can use any feeling such as humor or fear to change consumer attitudes. Apparently in this case based on the nature and consumer relationship with the product, Jet Star is using changing the cognitive component of attitudes to influence the attitude of its potential consumer. The way they choose is constructing the argument in which Jet Star try to argue and persuade the consumer about the advantage of them by choosing Jet St ar as flying partner. So basically in this case, Jet Star wants to change the attitude instead of consumer feeling through this kind of social advertisement. There are two kind of measuring argument, the first one is supportive argument, and the other is refutational argument (Lecture slide, 2010). Using Twitter and YouTube as well, Jet star is presenting all of positive characteristics that they can offer in their service. It always does promotion in twitter and show how great they are on their service in the flight and mainly what they sell is their super cheap price. However, Jet Star can be considered as having refutational argument as well when the negative issues is raised and then solve it. This case appear from twitter, in which Jet Star is being asked by people or potential consumer who followed Jet Stars account about negative thing, such as complaining, and then effectively, Jet star could solve the problem directly to the consumer. Implications for marketing or advertising in the category, or industry, or sector discussed by The article In order to compete and win the consumer with the new plan in advertising, Jet Star should stick with their plan to invest more in social media and online advertising. This is based on evidence that from previous year in 2009 where they had try to launch the advertisement in social media, the result came into a huge success as the cost of doing advertisement in conventional media is became more costly and fragmented. Moreover, with the usage of social media, Jet Star could minimize the cost of using conventional media and get higher ability in reaching the consumer. Using social media as tool for reaching consumer, could makes Jet Star to reach hundred from thousand prospective consumer, just with one uncomplicated online message. (Reed Group, 2010). Hopefully consumer is required to change their attitudes in choosing a service from Airline Company, and in order to do this, the consumer needs to adapt with this kind of advertising in social media. Only little adaptation that they needed, as this kind of new way in advertising is now part of consumers social daily life. In conclusion, using YouTube which is open video sharing site as medium for advertising representation of the future (Incisive Media, 2010) and twitter that has many users out there and searches on trending topics are to be anticipated place for mass advertise ads (Bernoff, 2010), will make Jet Star to successfully change consumer attitude from using another airlines into using Jet Star flight service. In addition if people using twitter and have to go through direct link into Jet Stars main page, they will come up to website that have predicate as the fastest homepage load time of Australian airlines website (Marketing Mag, 2009). Furthermore, in the future Jet St ar could change consumer attitude in getting information about their service from conventional way, into adapting up to date information of service offered to consumers social daily life. And the reason of their future success is based on the fact that they will shift 40% of their marketing budget into social media that had been proved before, in which this idea is getting phenomenal responses (Incisive Media, 2010). Main article Reed group, 2010, JETSTAR to shift 40% of spends online, viewed 15th April 2010, . Secondary article Bernoff,J., why you should advertise on twitter, viewed 15th April 2010, . Incisive Media Investments Limited, 2010, YouTube hailed as advertising medium of the future, viewed 15th April 2010, . Marketing Mag, 2009, Tiger and Jetstar big winners online, viewed 15th April 2010, . Solomon, M. R., Russell-Bennett, R., Previte, J, 2010,  Consumer Behaviour: Buying, Having, Being. Prentice Hall/Pearson Education, Australia. Lecture slide, 2010, Consumer behavior; attitudes and attitude change, University of Queensland Attitude and Attitudes Change Benno Arsanto 41953734 Faculty of economic, University of Queensland

Conformity Essay -- essays research papers

According to Leon Mann, conformity means ‘yielding to group pressures’. Everyone is a member of one group or another and everyone expects members of these groups to behave in certain ways. If you are a member of an identifiable group you are expected to behave appropriately to it. If you don’t confirm and behave appropriately you are likely to be rejected by the group. Like stereotypes, conforming and expecting others to conform maintains cognitive balance. There are several kinds of conformity. Many studies of conformity took place in the 1950’s which led Kelman to distinguish between compliance, internalisation and identification. Compliance is the type of conformity where the subject goes along with the group view, but privately disagrees with it. Internalisation is where the subject comes to accept, and eventually believes in the group view. Identification is where the subject accepts and believes the group view, because he or she wants to become associated with the group. Leon Mann identifies normative conformity which occurs when direct group pressure forces the individual to yield under the threat of rejection or the promise of reward. This can occur only if someone wants to be a member of the group or the groups attitudes or behaviour are important to the individual in some way. Apart from normative conformity there is informational conformity which occurs where the situation is vague or ambiguous and because the person is uncertain he or she turns to others for evidence of the appropriate response. Thirdly, Mann identifies ingratiational conformity which occurs where a person tries to do whatever he or she thinks the others will approve in order to gain acceptance (if you make yourself appear to be similar to someone else, they might come to like you). The first major research into conformity was conducted in 1935 by Sherif who used a visual illusion, known as the auto-kinetic effect. Sherif told his subjects that a spot of light which they were about to see in a darkened room was going to move, and he wanted them to say the direction and distance of the movement. In the first experimental condition the subjects were tested individually. Some said the distance of movement wasn’t very far in any directio, others said it was several inches. Sherif recorded each subjects response. In the second experimental condition, Sherif gathered his subject... ... and Willis give some criticisms of the early research into conformity. Firstly the studies do not identify the motive or type of conformity. Do the subjects conform in order to gain social approval? Are they simply complying? Do they really believe that their response is correct? Secondly Hollander and Willis claim that the experiments do not identify whether the subjects are complying because they judge that it’s not worth appearing to be different, or because the actually start to believe that the groups judgement is correct. Hollander and Willis also claim that the studies cannot show whether those who do not conform do so because they are independant thinkers or because they are anti-conformists. And Lastly, they claim that the studies seem to assume that independance has to be good and conformity has to be bad. However conformity is often benificial. Sherif and Asch have each conducted fairly artificial laboritory experiments which showed that about 30% of responses can be explained by the need or desire of the subjects to conform. These experiments may not accurately reflect real life when conformity might be benificial and sometimes contribute to psychological well-being.

Free Hamlet Essays: Interpretation of Hamlet :: The Tragedy of Hamlet Essays

Keys to Interpretation of Hamlet William Shakespeare's Hamlet is, at heart, a play about suicide. Though it is surrounded by a fairly standard revenge plot, the play's core is an intense psychodrama about a prince gone mad from the pressures of his station and his unrequited love for Ophelia. He longs for the ultimate release of killing himself - but why? In this respect, Hamlet is equivocal - he gives several different motives depending on the situation. But we learn to trust his soliloquies - his thoughts - more than his actions. In Hamlet's own speeches lie the indications for the methods we should use for its interpretation. Hamlet's reason for suicide is the death of his father, the late King Hamlet - or at least this is what he tells the world. He claims his father's death as the reason in his first soliloquy (1.2.133-164), but we are led towards other reasons by the evidence he gives. In the famous "to be or not to be" soliloquy, he says: "For who would bear... the pangs of despised love... when he himself might his quietus make/with a bare bodkin?" (3.1.78-84). The word "despised" is glossed as "unrequited" - and thus we are led to speculation that Ophelia, not the late King, is the true cause of his suicidal urges. The claim that he is mourning his father seems to me to be at best an excuse - in the public eye as he is, Hamlet cannot sink so low as to be moved to kill himself by a woman. This is an example of a phenomenon that we note throughout Hamlet - the separation of what is stated on the surface from the implications a few layers beneath. The play works on two levels - the revenge drama works as a backdrop for Hamlet's internal psychodrama. It is clear that Shakespeare intends for Hamlet's thoughts to be superior to his outward actions in interpretation of the play. After listing all the outward signs of his depression, he tells his mother that he would prefer to be considered on the basis of his thoughts: "These indeed 'seem'/For they are actions that a man might play;/But I have that within which passes show/These but the trappings and the suits of woe" (1.2.86-89). Yet Hamlet, for all the disdain for played action that he shows here, also appreciates its power, in his remarks on the player's soliloquy on Hecuba (2.

Save Our Children

Saving our children On average at least five children die everyday as a result of child abuse and neglect. Approximately 80% of children that die from abuse are under the age of four. A report of child abuse is made every ten seconds. The children of America are suffering from a hidden epidemic of child abuse and neglect. What is child abuse? Federal legislation states that child abuse is the physical, sexual or emotional mistreatment of children. Neglect, or not providing for a child’s needs, is also a form of abuse.The different types of child abuse are neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological maltreatment, and medical neglect. The story of Bethany Loerke is one haunted by memories of her early abuse as a child. Bethany was 2 when Child Protective Services removed her and her infant sister from a trailer of deplorable conditions. She was partially blinded because of pink eye and shingles, which were not improving because of neglect and a home full of filth.Loerke had two older brothers who had been previously removed and returned three times. Police once found them during a mistaken drug bust, unsupervised and living with dogs, no electricity and no running water. The parents eventually lost their parental rights. The girls however were kept together through most of Loerke’s 10 foster placements in the following year. When Bethany was 5 she was adopted by James and Beth Loerke and life seemed better, at least on the surface. Bethany began getting molested by James Loerke almost immediately.However she stayed silent believing in the threats that no one would believe her and she would be cast out a home again. Eventually on her 11th birthday Bethany came forward and told her mother of the abuse. James Loerke has been in jail or prison since September 2002. More than 90% of sexual abuse victims know their perpetrator is some way. That is just one case of abuse where justice was served most cases aren't so lucky. Child abuse occurs at ev ery socioeconomic level, across ethnic and cultural lines, within all religions and at all levels of education. Read also: How Different Types of Transitions Can Affect Children

Causes and Consequences of Corruption in India and How to Counter It

DEFINITION OF CORRUPTION Corruption is defined as the use of public office for private gain, or in other words, use of official position, rank or status by an office bearer for his own personal benefit. Following from this definition, examples of corrupt behaviour would include: (a) bribery, (b) extortion, (c) fraud, (d) embezzlement, (e) nepotism, (f) cronyism, (g) appropriation of public assets and property for private use, and (h) influence peddling. Activities such as fraud and embezzlement can be undertaken by an official alone and without involvement of a second party.While others such as bribery, extortion and influence peddling involve two parties –The giver and taker in a corrupt deal. The two party type of corruption can arise under a variety of circumstances. Often mentioned are concerned with the following: (i) Government contracts: bribes can influence who gets the contract, the terms of the contract, as well as terms of subcontracts when the project is implemente d. (ii) Government benefits: bribes can influence the allocation of monetary benefits such as credit subsidies and favoured prices and exchange rates where price controls and multiple exchange rates exist.Bribes can also be important in obtaining licenses and permits to engage in lucrative economic activities such as importing certain goods in high demand and in short supply. Moreover, bribes can be employed to acquire in-kind benefits such as access to privileged schools, subsidized medical care, subsidized housing and real estate, and attractive ownership stakes in enterprises that are being privatized. (iii) Government revenue: bribes can be used to reduce the amount of taxes, fees, dues, custom duties, and electricity and other public utility charges collected from business firms and private individuals. iv) Time savings and regulatory avoidance: bribes can speed up the granting of permission, licenses and permits to carry out activities that are perfectly legal. This is the so- called â€Å"grease money† to turn the wheels of bureaucracy more smoothly, speedily and hopefully in the right direction. It is also not difficult to think of a really awful situation where rules and regulations, and the way they are applied, are so complex and burdensome that the only way left to get things done is to pay money to avoid them. (v) Influencing outcomes of legal and regulatory processes: bribes can be used to provide incentives to regulatory uthorities to refrain from taking action, and to look the other way, when private parties engage in activities that are in violation of existing laws, rules and regulations such as those relating to controlling pollution, preventing health hazards, or promoting public safety as in the case of building codes and traffic regulations. Similarly, bribes can be given to favour one party over another in court cases or in other legal and regulatory proceedings. Causes:- 1) Lack of effective management and organisation: Due to mis management and disorganisation, there is a weak control on various departments and their working.This leads to lack of coordination and control among departments and levels of organisation. This uncontrolled and unsupervised administration gives rise to corruption on large scale. Besides, appointment of inefficient and incapable managers and executives on various levels of hierarchy also leads to mismanagement and disorganisation. The only cause of this wrong appointment is corruption. Hence, corruption breeds corruption. 2) Lack of economical stability: Economical crisis and price hike are major causes of corruption. Economical crisis leads to unemployment and change in standard of living.It develops a feeling of insecurity in the minds of affected people. Most of the people do not have patience and courage to face this situation. In order to regain their employment and to maintain standard of living and status, this affected people engage themselves in illegal and immoral activiti es. They do not want to work hard again for achieving the same position and post. They use various illegal short cuts for achieving them. 3) Lack of effective leadership: Good leaders can only lead people towards growth, development and progress. They play significant role in eradication of social evils.In India, there is tremendous shortage of good leaders. Leaders convey message of citizens to the administration and government. They lead the people against corruption and social evils. A country cannot survive without honest and sincere leaders. There is urgent need of leaders like Mahatma Gandhiji. We need more Anna Hazares and Medha Patkars. 4) Lack of support: There are few good leaders in India. They strive hard to eradicate corruption from the society. But due to lack of support and cooperation from people, the voice and efforts of these great leaders are often suppressed.People of India are more concerned with their life than the development and protection of their country ag ainst social evils. Many citizens have accepted corruption as a part of their life. They think, it is useless and waste of time, to support leaders against corruption. 5) Lack of values: Home and educational institution play a significant role in character building of citizens. Moral values are only taught in most of these institutions. But, they are not properly inculcated in individual. This is the basic cause of corruption. Many parents and teachers do not practise what they preach.Hence, their preaching does not bring out desired results. Children imitate parents. If parents are corrupt, it is more likely that children will also become corrupt. 6) Lack of love for country: Due to rapid modernisation and globalisation, people are becoming more and more selfish. They are only concerned with self enrichment and wealth accumulation. The only objective of many Indian is to become rich as soon as possible. They consider themselves as patriotic just by celebrating independence and repu blic day. They do not know the actual meaning of patriotism. They are not concerned with development of nation and rights of others.Due to this attitude, they easily get involved in corruption and immoral activities. During strike and protests, many politically affiliated citizens damage and destroy public property. 7) Lack of proper system: In India, corruption exists in all levels and areas of system. Very few honest people survive in this corrupt system. Those who raise their voice against corruption are killed or forced to resign. This accelerates the growth of corruption. Most of the people involved in Indian system have take corruption as part and parcel of their duties. They don't have hatred or ill feeling towards corruption.They think that without it, we cannot survive and sustain in this system. Besides, systems are interrelated and interdependent. As a result, corruption spreads like tumour in all the systems. 8) Lack of satisfaction: Greed results from non-satisfaction. People are not satisfied with their current status, position and wealth. They want to become millionaire in a short span of time. Growth and richness is not bad. But it is sad to see that the Indian are adopting illegal and immoral ways to achieve them. Many Indians are engaged in unhealthy competitions of wealth accumulation (with relatives, colleagues and neighbours). ) Lack of autonomy: Establishment and expansion of private and business sector depend on approval of politician. Many politician misuse their authority and power. They have only one criterion for approval â€Å"Pay us otherwise you will not get paid†. Entrepreneurs consider bribery as tax like other official taxes. Bribery has become necessary for the establishment of organisation. Companies and contractors secure contracts and government projects due to bribe. Good quotations and work of company does not considered to be criteria for securing contracts. 0) Lack of good control and vigilance: In India, some ag encies are working day and night to stop corruption. But some officials of these agencies get tempted towards illegal commissions and leave corrupt people without any penalty and punishment. Corruption breeds corruption. To keep a check on crores of people, more agencies and more honest officials are required. Hence, there is a tremendous shortage of these agencies and officials in India. This results in lack of control and vigilance on illegal activities. 11) Lack of good remuneration: In private sector, employer decides salary and employment benefits.He has complete freedom and there is no pressure on him from government. Due to this fact, many employers pay less for more work. They exploit employees of their companies. Even the working conditions in most of the establishments are worse. Employee does not have any social security and retirement benefits. Employees get frustrated and adopt illegal means to make their earnings better and future secure. 12) Lack of employment: Many u nemployed educated youth fall prey to corruption. They are willing to pay huge amount for jobs. Many employer take undue advantage of this situation. They take bribe and give appointment letters.The appointed employee uses all means (legal and illegal) to recover his lost money as early as possible. Hence, Corruption breeds corruption. When these employees achieve power and authority. They take bribe from candidates for jobs. These traditions of corruption continue from generation to generation without any check and control. 13) Lack of seats and educational institutions: In order to fulfil dreams and ambitions of their children, parents pay huge donation to secure admission for their children. Hence, the basis of admission is not merit but money. Management use maximum utilisation of quota granted to them.Every year there is a increase in donation amount. Affluent students who secured less percentage in examinations, easily gets admissions by paying huge donations. Poor students wh o secured good percentage struggle day and night to get admissions. Many a time their efforts go in vain due to lack of seats and more number of applicants. Consequences:- 1) Loss of National wealth: This is the greatest loss for the people of India. Since independence, India is showing tremendous growth in corruption (Jeep deal to 2 G spectrum scams). India lost billions and billions dollars of money in various scams.Instead of becoming independent affluent nation, India is dependent on international loans, grants and favours due to this tremendous of wealth in corruption. 2) Hindrance and obstruction in development: Corruption is the only obstruction in the way towards development. We cannot become a developed and self sufficient nation until corruption is not eradicated from our country. Many developmental projects are taking unnecessary time for their completion due to corruption. Since, many officials consider these projects as special hens(hens which lay golden eggs every day) . If project will get completed, these special hens will die.Hence, they take proper care of these hens. 3)Backwardness: Due to corruption, India is behind in almost every field- sports, inventions, health, medicine, research, education, economy, defence, infrastructure, technology and so on. Many scientists do not have latest equipments and technology for research and development. Sportsmen do not have proper facilities, equipments, coaching and training. There are scams and corruption in defence deals. Many doctors lack specialised and modern skills of treatment and diagnosis. 4) Poverty: Due to corruption, government is unable to eradicate poverty.Rich are becoming richer by snatching the rights and wealth of poor. Various packages, reservations and compensations for poor people, minorities and backward community are announced by government from time to time. But these disadvantaged sections of society hardly get any benefits. Since, affluent people freely consume benefits meant for poor. 5) Authority and power in wrong hands: Ineligible and incapable candidates are selected for various important positions. They pay and get selected. Due to their inefficiency, there exist many faults and weaknesses in system and management. These faults get easily hidden through corruption.The deserving and creative candidates satisfy themselves with unsuitable jobs and positions. 6) Brain drain: Corrupt employers and mediators offer jobs to unskilled and incapable candidates by taking bribe. They get their share of wealth. But nation loses its valuable share. Due to lack of good opportunities in India, many creative and talented Indian are serving developed nations. This is a tremendous loss for India. Since, we cannot become a developed nation without the contribution of talented and creative people. Talented people who serve other countries are actually cheating with their own nation.They are made capable and efficient by their own nation. But they use their capabilities for increasing the efficiency of other nation. This is also considered as corruption. 7) Rise in terrorism and crimes: One of the reasons for rise in crimes is corruption in police administration. Police departments grant security and protection to the citizens. When this departments get engaged in corrupt activities. Then there is no control on crimes and brutal killings. Since, criminals are given freedom and victims are tortured. Besides, corruption also leads to injustice. Injustice gives birth to crimes and anti social activities.Citizens take up arms for securing justice. 8) Rise in suicide cases: Suicide cases are increasing in India by leaps and bounds. One of the major causes in several suicide cases is injustice resulting from corruption. Government announces various schemes and help packages for farmers but most of the time this financial help does not reach to the farmers due to corruption in administration. This leads to rise in suicides cases among farmers. Candidates fulfil all necessary criteria for jobs or admissions, but then also they fail in their attempt to secure it because they do not have political contacts and money.This leads to hopelessness and depression which ultimately results in suicide. 9) Psychological and social disorders: Due to corruption in judicial system and police administration. Culprits are left free and victims get punishments and injustice. Due to this injustice, many victims suffer from depression and serious psychological disorders. Many victims get frustrated with judicial system and develop feeling of revenge against culprits. As a result, the victims become culprits by engaging themselves in anti-social activities. It corrodes the healthy social fabric of nation. How to counter Corruption:- ) Value education: Parents and teachers should inculcate moral values in children. Practice is more persuasive than preaching. The best way to inculcate values in children is not only to preach but to set an example by actua l doing. They should set themselves as a model of good behaviour. They should narrate stories based on moral values. Teacher should not only teach morals in value education period but they should inculcate values in pupils by correlating value education with various subjects and activities. They should not leave any stone unturned for achieving this great purpose. ) Effective and regular vigilance: Strict action should be taken against lazy and corrupt officials. Number of agencies and officials should be increased. They should be properly trained in the latest investigative skills. Government should supervise and monitor these agencies. They should be quick and active in their duties. They should not delay their investigation and inspection . Since, these delays is the cause for loss of tremendous wealth of nation. 3) Responsible citizen: If an individual is corrupt, he cannot expect those in power to be free from corruption.Hence, it is essential for every citizen to perform his d uties faithfully and to the best of their abilities. Every citizen should strive hard to eradicate corruption. People of India should report cases of corruption to vigilance department immediately without delay. They should follow up the cases of corruption. Since, merely reporting the evil practice is not sufficient for its complete eradication. 4) Strong and Effective leadership and administration: All those who are granted powers and authority by people should fulfil their promises and pledge.They should strive their utmost to eradicate corruption from systems and administrations. They should give up hypocrisy. Government and vigilance agencies should keep a check on their source of income and bank accounts. If any leader is not performing his duties properly, then he should be immediately terminated from the position. It should be performance based position. Government should do performance appraisal of leaders regularly. 5) Media: Media has wider coverage and impact. It plays a n important role in changing the life of people. It should frequently expose the cases of corruption.It should educate people against corruption on regular basis. Journalists and editors should give complete information about the issues related to corruption in their newspapers. Reporters should give more importance to the news and information on corruption; they should report corruption cases immediately. 6) Legislation: Government should frame strict and stringent anti-corruption laws. Severe punishments and penalties should be imposed on corrupt people. The justice and proceedings should not be delayed. Immediate action should be taken against corrupt people. The punishment should act as a good lesson for other corrupt people. ) Social organisation: Non government organisations should work in coordination with people and vigilance departments for prevention of illegal activities. They should devise and plan innovative strategies and methods against corruption. 8) Declaration of w ealth and assets: It should be made mandatory for political leaders and government officials to declare their wealth and assets. Investigation agencies should strictly and properly check their claims and declaration. 9) Transparency: Every process of selection, dealing and appointments of different fields should be made transparent.People should be made aware of reasons and merit for selection of candidates, contracts, tenders, etc. 10) Advertising: Advertising and marketing agencies should educate and aware people against corruption. There should be appealing ads on internet, vehicles, bus stops, railway stations, sign boards and television. 11) Serials and films: Films are powerful medium of mass communication. Films have powerful influence and widespread appeal. Films can be used to create public opinion against corruption. Producers should make certain popular serials and movies against corruption.Serials should have different episodes dealing with various types of corruption an d their cures. 12) Appointment and admissions: Selection of students, managers, officers and executives should only be based on merit. It is the responsibility of candidates and parents to critically examine the selection and appointment procedures. They should report irregularities to the higher authorities without delay. 13) Religious sermon: In India, people show very strict adherence to their faith and belief. They are very sensitive towards religion, place of worship and religious leaders.They have deep attachment and great respect for preachers and spiritual orators. They try to adopt the teachings of their spiritual leaders in day to day life. Hence, religious leaders should give sermons against corruption. 14) Loyalty and patriotism: Every citizen of India should become patriotic in true sense. He should give priority and preference to the development of his nation. He should always remain loyal to their beautiful culture, ethics and country. Social workers, political leader s, media and teachers should inculcate true patriotism in the citizens of India. 5) Dedicated and diligent leaders: There should be more dedicated, devoted and diligent leaders like Medha Patkar and Anna Hazare. These leaders dedicated their whole life for eradicating corruption. It is the responsibility of every citizen of India to support and cooperate with leaders who are sincerely striving against corruption. 16) Coordination and control: All government and non government agencies should work in coordination with media, educational institutions and corporate sectors to control and eradicate corruption. They should be united in their efforts against corruption. 17) Creative writers: Pen is mightier than sword.Creative writers should write appealing articles and books against corruption. They should write interesting short stories based on honesty. 18) College and Universities: These institutions should educate and train the youth against corruption. They should organise symposium , debates, group discussion, seminars and lectures for this purpose. 19) Gratitude: We Indian should show gratitude towards all those honest people who sacrificed and laid their lives for eradicating corruption from our beautiful country. It is now our turn to take this greatest responsibility and make our nation free from corruption.

Software Security Risk Analysis Using Fuzzy Expert System

| | |Software Level of Security Risk Analysis Using Fuzzy | |Expert System | |[ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENT] |UNIVERSITI TEKNIKAL MALAYSIA MELAKA FACULTY OF INFORMATION & COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY SESSION 2 – 2010/2011 |NURUL AZRIN BT AIRRUDIN – B031010343 | |SITI NURSHAFIEQA BT SUHAIMI – B031010313 | |NUR SHAHIDA BT MUHTAR – B031010266 | | | |LECTURE NAME: DR ABD.SAMAD HASSAN BASARI | | | |[12th APRIL 2011] | SOFTWARE LEVEL OF SECURITY RISK ANALYSIS USING FUZZY EXPERT SYSTEM ABSTRACT There is wide concern on the security of software systems because many organizations depend largely on them for their day-to-day operations. Since we have not seen a software system that is completely secure, there is need to analyze and determine the security risk of emerging software systems.This work presents a technique for analyzing software security using fuzzy expert system. The inputs to the system are suitable fuzzy sets representing linguistic values for software secu rity goals of confidentiality, integrity and availability. The expert rules were constructed using the Mamdani fuzzy reasoning in order to adequately analyze the inputs. The defuzzication technique was done using Centroid technique. The implementation of the design is done using MATLAB fuzzy logic tool because of its ability to implement fuzzy based systems.Using newly develop software products from three software development organizations as test cases, the results show a system that can be used to effectively analyze software security risk. ANALYSIS AND DESIGN The design is basically divided into four stages: 1) DESIGN OF THE LINGUISTIC VARIABLES The inputs to the system are the values assumed for the software security goal thru confidentiality, integrity and availability. The goals are assumed to be the same weight and a particular valued is determined for each of them based on questions that are answered about the specific software.Also the values determined for each of the inpu t are defined as a fuzzy number instead of crisp numbers by using suitable fuzzy sets. Designing the fuzzy system requires that the different inputs (that is, confidentiality, integrity, and availability) are represented by fuzzy sets. The fuzzy sets are in turn represented by a membership function. The membership function used in this paper is the triangular membership function which is a three point function defined by minimum, maximum and modal values where usually represented in 1. [pic]Figure 1: Triangular Membership Function 2) THE FUZZY SETS The level of confidentiality is defined based on the scales of not confidential, slightly confidential, very confidential and extremely confidential. The level of integrity is also defined based on the scales very low, low, high, very high, and extra high. Also, the level of availability is also defined by the scales very low, low, high, very high and extra high. The levels defined above are based on a range definition with an assumed int erval of [0 -10]. The ranges for the inputs are shown in tables 1 and 2. DESCRIPTION |RANGE | |Non-Confidential |0-1 | |Slightly Confidential |2-3 | |Confidential |4-6 | |Very Confidential |7-8 | |Extremely Confidential |9-10 | Table 1: Range of inputs for Confidentiality Very Low |Low |High |Very High |Extra High | |0 – 1 |2 – 3 |4 – 6 |7 – 8 |9 – 10 | Table 2: Range of inputs for Integrity |Very Low |Low |High |Very High |Extra High | |0 – 1 |2 – 3 |4 – 6 |7 – 8 |9 – 10 |Table 3: Range of inputs for Availability |DESCRIPTION |RANGE | |Not Secure |0 – 3 | |Slightly Secure |4 – 9 | |Secure |10 – 18 | |Very Secure |19 – 25 | |Extremely Secure |26 – 30 | Table 4: Level Of Security RiskThe fuzzy sets above are represented by membership functions. The corresponding membership functions for confidentiality, integrity and availability are presented in figures below [pic] Figure 1 : Mem bership functions for Confidentiality Similarly, the output, that is, the level of security risk is also represented by fuzzy sets and then a membership function. The level of security risk is defined based on the scales: not secure, slightly secure, secure, very secure, and extremely secure within the range of [0- 30].The range definition is shown in table above. The membership function for the output fuzzy set is presented in figure below. [pic] Figure 2 : Membership functions for Integrity [pic] Figure 3 : Membership functions for Availability [pic] Figure 4 : Level Of Security Risk 3) THE RULES OF THE FUZZY SYSTEM Once the input and output fuzzy sets and membership functions are constructed, the rules are then formulated. The rules are formulated based on the input parameters (confidentiality, integrity, and availability) and the output i. e. level of security risk.The levels of confidentiality, integrity, and availability are used in the antecedent of rules and the level of sec urity risk as the consequent of rules. A fuzzy rule is conditional statement in the form: IF x is A THEN y is B. Where x and y are linguistic variables; and A and B are linguistic values determined by fuzzy sets on universe of discourses X and Y, respectively. Both the antecedent and consequent of a fuzzy rule can have multiple parts. All parts of the antecedent are calculated simultaneously and resolved in a single number and the antecedent affects all parts of the consequent equally.Some of the rules used in the design of this fuzzy Systems are as follow: 1. If (Confidentiality is Not Confidential) and (Integrity is Very Low) and (Availability is Very Low) then (Security Risk is Not Secure). 2. If (Confidentiality is Not Confidential) and (Integrity is Very Low) and (Availability is Low) then (Security Risk is Slightly Secure). 3. If (Confidentiality is Extremely Confidential) and (Integrity is Extra High) and (Availability is High) then (Security Risk is Slightly Secure). †¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 125.If (Confidentiality is Not Confidential) and (Integrity is Very Low) and (Availability is high) then (Security Risk is Extremely Secure). The rules above were formulated using the Mamdani max-min fuzzy reasoning. DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION The linguistic variables were determined with the extent of the positive and negative responses to a well constructed security questions that are presented in form of on-line questionnaire. As it was mentioned earlier, MATLAB was used for the implementation. The linguistic inputs to the system are supplied through the graphical user interface called rule viewer.Once the rule viewer has been opened, the input variables are supplied in the text box captioned input with each of them separated with a space. a) THE FIS EDITOR The fuzzy inference system editor shows a summary of the fuzzy inference system. It shows the mapping of the inputs to the system type and to the output. The names of the input variables and the processing methods for the FIS can be changed through the FIS editor. Figure 5: The FIS editor b) THE MEMBERSHIP FUNCTION EDITOR This can be opened from the command window by using the plotmf function but more easily through the GUI.The membership function editor shows a plot of highlighted input or output variable along their possible ranges and against the probability of occurrence. The name and the range of a membership value can be changed, so also the range of the particular variable itself through the membership function editor. [pic] Figure 6: The Membership Function editor c) THE RULE EDITOR The rule editor can be used to add, delete or change a rule. It is also used to change the connection type and the weight of a rule. The rule editor for this application is shown in figure 7. pic] Figure 7: Rule Editor d) THE RULE VIEWER The text box captioned input is used to supply the three input variables needed in the system. The appropriate input corresponds to the number of YES answer in the questionnaire for each of the input variables. For example, in the figure 8, all the input variables are 5 and the corresponding output is 13. 9, which specified at the top of the corresponding graphs. The input for each of the input variables is specified at the top of the section corresponding to them, so also the output variable.The rule viewer for this work is presented in figure 8. [pic] Figure 8: The Rule editor e) THE SURFACE VIEWER The surface viewer shown in figure 9 is a 3-D graph that shows the relationship between the inputs and the output. The output (security Risk) is represented on the Z-axis while 2 of the inputs (Confidentiality and Integrity) are on the x and y axes and the other input (Availability) is held constant. The surface viewer shows a plot of the possible ranges of the input variables against the possible ranges of the output. 4) EVALUATIONThe security risk analysis system was evaluated using three newly completed software products from three different s oftware development organizations. The output determines the security level of software under consideration. The summary of the evaluation is given in figure 11. For product A, 5 is the score for confidentiality, 5 for the integrity and 5 for the availability. |Software |Input |Output |Significance |Security Level | |Product A |5 5 5 |13. |45% slightly secure, 55% secure |46. 33 % | |Product B |8 7 8 |24. 2 |20% secure, 80% very secure |80. 60 % | |Product C |10 10 10 |28. 4 |35% very secure, 65% extremely secure |94. 67 % | Table 5 : Evaluation of Different Input Variables [pic] Figure 9 : The Surface Viewer [pic] Figure 10 : Histogram & 3D CONCLUSION AND FINDINGThus, this work proposes a fuzzy logic-based technique for determination of level of security risk associated with software systems. Fuzzy logic is one of the major tools used for security analysis. The major goals of secure software which are used as the inputs to them system are the preservation of confidentiality (preven ting unauthorized disclosure of information), preservation of integrity (preventing unauthorized alteration of information) and preservation of availability (preventing unauthorized destruction or denial of access or service to an authentic user).It might be necessary to redesign this system in a way that it will be deployable and will be without the use of MATLAB. It might also be necessary to use an adaptive fuzzy logic technique for security risk analysis. We have been able to design a system that can be used to evaluate the security risk associated with the production of secure software systems. This will definitely help software organizations meet up with the standard requirements. A technique for assessing security of software system before final deployment has been presented.The result of this study shows that if the software producing companies will incorporate security risk analysis into the production of software system, the issue of insecurity of software will be held to the minimum if not eliminated. This study has also revealed that if each of the software security goals can be increased to the maximum, then the level security will also be increased and the risk associated will be eliminated. Finally, security risk analysis is a path towards producing secure software and should be considered a significant activity by software development organizations.