Discrimination and Human Rights Act Essay Example for Free

Discrimination and Human Rights Act Essay Introduction You have been asked by your Head Teacher to produce a document that promotes the importance of promoting equality and diversity in work with children and young people. This is aimed for new members of staff and volunteers. Legislation and codes of practice 2.4 – 1.1 Identify at least two current legislation and codes of practice relevant to the promotion of equality and valuing of diversity. You must include the correct title and date (where appropriate) and then provide a summary of each piece of legislation or code of practice that is identified. This could include: Equality Act, Human Rights Act, Inclusion policy. The Equalities Act (2010) This act is a combination of many old acts (race relations, sex discrimination and disability discrimination etc.) its two main purposes – to harmonise discrimination law and to strengthen the law to support the progress on equality. It is the most significant development in equality and discrimination for years. It sets out that everyone regardless of race, sex, religion or disability is entitled to fair treatment. The Human Rights Act (1998) This act sets out the rights and fundamental freedoms of each and every human being. All public bodies (courts, schools etc.) have to comply with the act. The act has a principal that everyone should have protection from discrimination; this has a wide range of grounds including sex, race, colour, language, religion and political or other opinions. Inclusion policy (our lady mother of the saviour catholic primary school 2011) This policy sets out that the school its self aims to be inclusive and remove barriers to learning and participation that could discriminate pupils or groups of pupils.it states in the policy that the achievements, attitudes and well-being of all children matter. Equal opportunities policy (our lady mother of the saviour catholic primary school 2011) This policy is set out in accordance with the Equalities Act 2010. It is there to promote anti-discrimination and the principle of fairness and justice for all through the education that is provided from the school. The policy also recognises that by doing this it may from time to time have to treat some pupils differently (a child with a disability will be treated as fair as possible but in situations cannot be treated the same as other pupils) 2.4 – 1.2, 1.3 Describe the importance of supporting the rights of all children and young people to participation and equality of access. Unfortunately studies have shown that children from poorer backgrounds attain less in school than children from higher professional families, this in its self supports the importance of supporting children in school to participation and equality of access. Ignoring these rights could lead to children having low self-esteem, a feeling of inferiority and lower levels at school. Supported in the right way children could all have a greater chance of attaining a higher level at school and a greater chance of becoming more â€Å"all rounded† as adults. Describe the importance and benefits of valuing and promoting cultural diversity in work with children and young people. By promoting cultural diversity and valuing any type of difference in work this will reflect on the children so that they themselves will pick up these attitudes and behaviours. The importance of this is that failure to promote diversity through your own actions could result in discrimination within the children and young people. The advantages of valuing and promoting diversity are that it opens the children up to learn about new things, such as cultures and improves their knowledge and understanding. By doing this it will lead to them being more tolerant and creative adults and therefore less likely to discriminate later in life.

Password Management System Advantages and Disadvantages

Password Management System Advantages and Disadvantages Project Aim: Passwords management is an important aspect of computer security, it’s the front line of protection for user terminals and it is by far the most common user authentication method within the largest multinational organizations. A poorly chosen password will increase the probability for an information system to be compromised. As such, all organization employees are responsible for taking the appropriate steps, to select good password security policies. Does that happen in reality? No, that’s why software password generators are activated to handle password management problems and enforce password management policies requested from the organization in order to comply with national standards, and undertake problems of selecting strong passwords. So the aim of this project is to analyze and test a standard password generator system and propose a technique for helping people to remember strong passwords easily. Project Objectives: According to the above facts the objectives that must be undertaken and strongly research in this Bachelor project report are the following: Identify the importance of passwords as it concerns the advantages and disadvantages in their daily use in home and corporate environments. Identify the weaknesses raised from these poorly chosen passwords and describe the modern attacking techniques against these passwords. Besides propose possible countermeasures to address and eliminate these attacks. Examine the characteristics of an effective password policy which can be applied in a corporate environment in order to establish and manage the appropriate defenses to eliminate the dangerous posed by insecure passwords systems. Conduct a critical analysis of different techniques used to facilitate users to remember strong passwords easily. Propose a mnemonic system which is based on users’ favorite passphrases. Analyze the operating principles of the Password Mnemonic System (PA.ME.SYS) and the processes that it enforces in order to produce â€Å"safe passwords†. Test this password generator system (PA.ME.SYS) for the strength of all passwords it generates. In order to achieve the above purposes of this project a series of logical steps were taken: In order to achieve the first and second objective of this project, a survey was conducted in the Internet, in books and in the Web application design 1 and Web application design 2 lecture notes. This survey was concerned with the importance of passwords in an organization’s security framework, the reasons they are widely used in today’s businesses and the catastrophic consequences posed by the exposure of insecure passwords to unauthorized people. Another survey in books and in the Internet was necessary to identify the weaknesses raised from these poorly chosen passwords, the attacks which are forced by modern attackers to gain unauthorized access to users passwords and the possible defense mechanisms used to address and eliminate such attacks. For the third objective of this report, a survey was conducted in the Internet and in books. The aim of this survey was to find and understand different password policies which can be applied in an organization’s global security policy to establish and manage the defenses used to eliminate the dangerous posed by insecure passwords. A university password policy analyzed for the rules they apply in order to define the secure creation and storage of strong passwords. In addition the relationship between the users and the password policies was examined together with the risks that businesses face due to the implementation of inadequate password policies. For the fourth objective, which defines the added value of this project report, it was important to conduct a search on the Internet for different techniques used to help users to remember strong passwords easily. These techniques were analyzed for their operation and the disadvantages they have. For fifth objective, it was important to propose a mnemonic system which is based on users’ favorite passphrases. The proposal of this mnemonic system was based on the research we made of different mnemonic techniques described on the previous chapter. For the sixth and seventh objective which also defines the added value of this project report it was to analyze and test the proposed Password Mnemonic System (PA.ME.SYS). After the end of the survey a mnemonic system based on users’ favorite passphrases was developed and implemented. For the development analysis and design data flow diagrams were used to clearly show the processes and data that make up the system. For the implementation and testing visual basic language was used which shows in a graphical environment how this mnemonic system works 1. Introduction to Authentication and â€Å"Something you know† 1.1 Identification and Authentication Techniques Controlling access to system resources is an important aspect of computer security. Access control is about managing which users can access which files or services in an organization’s computer system. All entities involved with receiving, accessing, altering or storing information in a computer system, are separated to active and passive ones. The term â€Å"active entities† is used to describe all subjects (users, processes, threads) that are accessing, receiving or altering information in a system. The term â€Å"passive entities† is used to describe all objects (files, database) that actually hold or store information accessed by subjects. Without having access control mechanisms it is not possible to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability (CIA triad) of system resources.   Access control is used to force users to provide a valid username and password to gain access to a system resource. The two vital components of access control are the identification and authentication processes. In the identification process the user is obligated to present an identity to a computer system. The information provided by the user trying to log on could be a username or by simply placing his/her hand/face to a scanning device. This action triggers the start of the authentication, authorization and accountability processes.  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Today, authentication processes are usually classified according to the distinguishing characteristic they use. These characteristics are classified in terms of the three factors described in the following section. Each factor relies on a different kind of distinguishing characteristic used each time to authenticate people in a system. 1.2 Authentication Factors In a typical system, there are basically three ways for human users to authenticate themselves to a client such as a computer, a mobile phone, a network, or an ATM machine. These three authentication factors are the following. ÃÆ'ËÅ" Anything you know: a password The distinguishing characteristic is private information that only authorized people know. In modern computer systems, this characteristic might be a password, a Personal Identification Number (PIN), lock combination or a pass phrase. It is the least cost effective factor and most popular method that can be employed easily in any modern system to authenticate authorized users within the organization. They are simpler and cheaper than other, secure forms of authentication but also because they do not require to spend large amounts of money for the implementation of them in comparison with other more modern security mechanisms. Additionally, Users don’t have to spend time and effort learning how to use them. The passwords are the only user-friendly way to identify a user in a network or computer system and it is believed that they can provide the same level of strong security as a more modern security mechanism. However the usage of passwords as an authentication technique presents some disadvantages that are directly connected to the way that users are managing these passwords. In more specific the users On the other hand, there are also some disadvantages that need to be taken into consideration such as the need to create complex and strong passwords,, the obligation to change their passwords frequently and the instructions and guidelines on how to keep their passwords secret. ÃÆ'ËÅ" Anything you have: a token The distinguishing characteristic is that authorized people own and present a specific item to be authenticated. This characteristic is enclosed in a token device such as a magnetic card, smart card, a memory card or a password calculator. ÃÆ'ËÅ" Anything you are: a biometric The distinguishing characteristic is some physiological feature (static) that is always present in a person, or a certain behavior pattern (dynamic) that is unique to the person being authenticated, and is measured and recorded once in the enrollment process. When the same person requires access entry the biometric identifier compares the current characteristic provided by the user with the previously collected pattern from the original authentic person. This characteristic could be a voice print, fingerprints, face shape, written signature, iris/retina pattern or hand geometry.   2. Attacks on Passwords 2.1 Introduction Passwords are a very important aspect of computer security. They are the front line of protection for user terminals and it is by far the most common user authentication method within the largest multinational organizations However the usage of passwords as an authentication technique increases the probability for an information system to be compromised. That happens because these passwords are directly connected to the way that users are creating, remembering, storing and distributing them. In fact passwords are the weakest element inside the security chain of an organization’s network system and are susceptible to different types of attacks. The next section presents the weaknesses on users’ passwords and modern attack techniques performed by malicious attackers to gain unauthorized access. 2.2 Attacks on Passwords Easily Guessed Passwords: The first weakness lies in the composition of the password itself. Most attackers rely on the fact that most people do a bad job in creating passwords and keeping them secret. Most passwords that people select depend on the following: Favorite football player and actor names, Simple strings, such as passwords consisting of the same character (e.g. 11111). Job titles and nicknames. Important numbers, such as insurance numbers, home addresses, telephones, credit card numbers, driver license, birthdays, or vehicle tags. Favorite words found in dictionaries. Children, family or relative names. The most common attack on passwords is that where malicious hackers exploit human nature and try to guesswhat passwords people select. In this case, hackers build a list with all information related to the victim and make attempts to log on hoping to find out the victim’s password quickly.  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Brute-force Attacks: In cryptography, a brute force attack or exhaustive key search is the strategy that can in theory be used against any encrypted data by an attacker who is unable to take advantage of any weakness in an encryption system that would otherwise make his task easier. It involves systematically checking all possible keys until the correct key is found. in the worst case, this would involve traversing the entire search space. The key length used in the encryption determines the practical feasibility performing a brute force attack, with longer keys exponentially more difficult to crack than shorter ones. Brute force attack can be made less effective by obfuscating the data to be encoded, something that makets it more difficult for an attacker to recognize when he has cracked the code.one of the measures of the strenth of an encryption system is how long it would theoretically taken an attacker to mount a successful brute force attack against it. Consequence of this attack is that all users cannot use the network recourses and must wait until system administrator reserts or unlock that account. It is obvious that this kind of attack causes confusion and big delays to user’s critical job tasks. Dictionary Attacks: In cryptanalysis and computer security, a dictionary attack is a technique for defeating a cipher or authentication mechanism by trying to determine its decryption key or passphrase by searching likely possibilities. (Shape1.1). Shape1.1 Dictionary attack A dictionary attack uses a targeted technique of successively trying all the words in an exhaustive list called a dictionary. In contrast with a brute force attack, where a large proportion key space is searched systematically, a dictionary attack tries only those possibilities which are most likely to succeed, typically derived from a list of words for example a dictionary (hence the phrase dictionary attack) or a bible etc. Generally, dictionary attacks succeed because many people have a tendency to choose passwords which are short (7 characters or fewer), single words found in dictionaries or simple, easily-predicted variations on words, such as appending a digit. Social Engineering Attacks: Another weakness lies on the fact that people are not capable to remember and keep their passwords secret. In computer security social engineering is described as a non technical intrusion that is based on the psychological characteristics of the human nature. It is the art of persuading people to reveal vital secrets or to perform actions that comply with the hacker’s wishes {Shape 1.2}. Social engineering can be conducted into several forms. Reverse Engineering: In this method, a legitimate user is induced into asking an attacker questions to obtain information. The attacker poses as a person of higher authority and tries to deduce the needed information from the questions, which are asked by the user. [emailprotected]: This mode of social engineering involves sending an e-mail to a user asking confidential information. The e-mail is meant to trigger an emotional response from the user. It makes the user unwittingly participate in the hacking by disclosing the confidential information. Webpage’s: False Webpage’s, that require users to enter e-mail addresses and passwords, are created by attackers. Hackers hope that users will enter the same passwords at the false websites, as they use at their organization’s computer systems. Shoulder surfing: In this type of attack a malicious attacker could look over a user’s shoulder and watch him while he is typing his/her password to grant access to a system. However shoulder surfing attacks are not always successful but can give important information and strength to a malicious attacker to achieve his goal. Dumpster diving: One of the most intelligent techniques to retrieve users’ passwords within large commercial organizations is the dumpster diving attack. In this type of attack malicious attackers search through discarded material to find passwords, credit card numbers, confidential records or other useful information related to security policies and passwords. Sniffing Attacks: Except brute-force guessing, dictionary and social engineering attacks today’s hackers are using more clever programs and methods to retrieve users’ passwords. These methods include software sniffer programs which are used to capture and sniff passwords either a) when they are typed during the authentication phase of a network login session (Trojan Login, Van Eck Sniffing, Keystroke sniffing, hardware key loggers) or b) when they are transmitted across complex networks via email and other document delivery systems (network sniffers). {Shape 1.1}. Shape 1.1 Sniffing Attacks The next paragraphs describe in more detail each of these techniques used to sniff user’s passwords: ÃÆ'ËÅ" 1.Network Sniffing: Net sniffer is a program, who capable of capturing all traffic made available to one or more network adapters. ÃÆ'ËÅ" 2. Trojan Login: A Trojan Login sniffer program is a software tool used to capture users’ passwords during the authentication phase of a network login session. A malicious user who has access to a personal computer connected to a network can easily install a Trojan Login program. The strength of this malicious program is that it has the ability to display perfectly imitations of the operating system’s standard login program. As a consequence the user enters his/her username and password without any knowledge of the situation, while the Trojan login program saves this authentication information in a secret file. ÃÆ'ËÅ" 3. Van Eck Sniffing: These signals, which are called Van Eck radiation, are visible from as far away as 1 kilometer. It is obvious that a malicious hacker using the appropriate    equipment and without specialized skills could easily sit outside a building and eavesdrop passwords and other secrets displayed on any nearby user’s video screens and monitors.   ÃÆ'ËÅ" 4. Keystroke Sniffing: Shape 1.2 shows clearly a classic keystroke sniffing attack associated with most modern operating systems. In this type of attack usernames and passwords are captured directly from the keyboard input buffer. When the user enters the required authentication information in order to gain access to a computer system, this information is stored in a special area of memory RAM.   While the user enters information, another malicious attacker could run a sniffer program and retrieve the contents of the keyboard input buffer. As a result the user’s username and password is obtained by the hacker and can be used for later attacks {Shape 1.2}. Shape 1.2: Keystroke Sniffing ÃÆ'ËÅ" 5.Hardware Key Loggers: A key logger is a hardware device that intercepts and stores strokes of a keyboard. This type of attack can be conducted very easily by a social engineer. The social engineer simply walks into the location of interest and plugs very professionally this small piece of hardware between the keyboard port and the keyboard.Assuming that most users place PC towers under their desks and most of them are unaware of hardware technology, key loggers can record all typed keystrokes and store them to their internal memory without user knowledge.   Attacks on Password Storage: Passwords have often been vulnerable to different kind of attacks when they are stored in huge databases and password files.Most modern operating systems ask from the user trying to grant access to systems resources, to enter his/her valid username and password. Then the operating system searches on the system’s password file for an entry matching the username. If the password in that entry matches the password typed by the user, then the login procedure succeeds and the user is authorized by the system. Shape 1.3 shows clearly how the password checking procedure works [1.3]. Shape1.3 Password Checking The storage of any password immediately breaks one important rule concerned with password security: â€Å"Do not write passwords down†. If the password file containing all users’ passwords is stolen then automatically the intruder has direct access to all system’s passwords. The primary arguments against password storage can be stated as: Single Point of Failure:If the password file is compromised then all passwords are compromised. Compromise of password file can happen due to: Poor encryption mechanisms or use of a weak master password, so its contents are easily accessed by a malicious hacker. Poor protection of the file itself. Poor Audit Trails:Most operating systems keep logs used to review login failed password attempts. Usually these logs contain a large number of wrong usernames and passwords typed by users while they are trying to login on a computer or network system. If these logs are not well protected ,then attacks become easier. For example, a malicious attacker who sees an audit record with a nonexistent username of 7rs or eri67 can be sure that this string is a password or a part of the password for one of the valid users. Software Bugs: One important reason for the success of password attacks is sometimes based on badly designed operating systems and application programs running on them. These badly designed features because software bugs which do all the hard work for malicious hackers and continue to be a major source of many security problems.  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   One recent software bug was found in the Solaris operating system. Users with low level privileges could force a network application program to end abnormally. As a result this program dumped its memory contents to the hard drive in a file available to all users. This file contained copies of the hashed password values that were normally stored and protected in a shadowed file. As a consequence this file could be used as input to Crack software for an off-line brute-force attack. 2.3 Countermeasures against these Attacks Assuming all the above, it is obvious that attackers use several techniques to capture users’ passwords. In this section countermeasures against all attacks on passwords (describesin section2.2 Attacks on Passwords) are analyzed and listed in order: Countermeasures against brute-force attacks: A possible solution against login guessing attacks (or on-line brute-force attacks) is to have a password policy which specifies the maximum number of login failed attempts. System administrators by configuring the operating system could limit the number of failed login attempts allowed for each user. If the threshold is reached then the account should be locked and users will not be able to log until the system administrator arrives to reactivate the login process for the specific account. It must be mentioned that using such defenses against login guessing attacks will only delay a hacker from accessing a system and gaining access to confidential information. Failed login thresholds will not prevent a brute force attack from occurring but will identify the attacking attempt to the security administrator. This defense method will deter a malicious attacker from initiating a brute force attack and increase the level of difficulty for executing this attack. There is no actual defense mechanism against an off-line brute-force attack. This type of attack can be applied to any given password database. There are many cracking software’s available on the Internet which are capable of generating character sequences and working through all possible character combinations until the user’s password is found. The only defense mechanism against this type of attack is to have users that select and use â€Å"strong† password. Countermeasures against dictionary attacks: This type of attack could be eliminated by having a policy which simply prohibits the use of common words found in dictionaries or attacker’s word lists. If all generated passwords do not appear in such lists, then dictionary attacks will not succeed. Besides system administrators should perform themselves dictionary attacks to test users’ passwords within an organisation. If any passwords are compromised, then they must inform the users directly of the results and obligate them to change their passwords to more secure ones. Countermeasures against Social Engineering attacks: Education and user awareness must be supported by the organization’s global security policy. The users should understand the importance of keeping their passwords secret and be familiar with the different ways that a social engineering attack can be conducted against them. In this case, people are able to take the necessary steps to react accordingly when such a situation occurs. Besides this, companies shouldshred all printouts having usernames, passwords and other similar confidential information in order to prevent dumpster diving attacks. Countermeasures against Network sniffing attacks: Today’s hackers are using many network sniffing programs to retrieve users’ passwords, while they are transmitted over distant networks or inside organization’s corporate network. Most businesses facing this threat and considering the consequences due to this type attack implement and use different network protocols for the secure transmission of confidential information. More often organizations indicate detailed security policies that specify ways, encryption methods and protocols to be used for the secure transmission of any important information. The most important defense mechanism against network sniffing attacks is the use of well-known secure network protocols such as SSL/TLS and IPSec protocols. These protocols have the ability to build secure channels based on cryptographic keys, shared between trusted parties, for the safe transfer of passwords and other confidential information in any system’s network Countermeasures against Trojan Login: A defense mechanism against Trojan Logins is to have a trust path for all functions that require users to enter or present authentication information for purpose of authentication. This trusted path must be established between the user trying to login and the operating system. Secure Attention Sequence (or SAS) is a trusted path mechanism used in many modern operating systems such as Windows 2000. When user requires to log on, by executing the sequence Ctrl+Alt+Del is guaranteed that he is communicating with the operating system and not malicious software such as Trojan Login. Another important countermeasure against this type of attack is the installation of commercial available anti-virus software programs (such as Norton Antivirus and MacAfee Antivirus). These anti-virus softwares have the ability to detect and prevent sniffing attack programs such Trojan Logins to be installed, downloaded and operate in operating systems. 9 Countermeasures against Van Eck sniffing attacks: The types of countermeasures used to protect against Van Eck Sniffing attacks are known as Transient Electromagnetic Pulse Equipment Shielding Techniques (TEMPEST). The U.S TEMPEST standard is one guideline that manufacturers have to follow in order to reduce electromagnetic signals and prevent these types of attacks against passwords and other secrets displayed on video screens and monitors. TEMPEST mechanisms include Faraday cages, white noise and control zones. A Faraday cage is a box, a room or an entire building that is designed with an external metal skin that fully surrounds an area on all six sides. As a result all electromagnetic signals transmitted from PC’s monitors are blocked inside the building, preventing eavesdroppers from revealing users passwords.  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Countermeasures against Keystroke sniffing attacks:.   A good defense mechanism against keystroke sniffing attacks is to protect CPU’s memory. In particular the keyboard input buffer is the exact location where keystrokes typed by users are stored. It is clear that this area should be protected using various encryption techniques in order to become impossible for an intruder to retrieve its contents in plaintext form when they are intercepted.   Countermeasures against Hardware Key Loggers: There are not well-known defense mechanisms against Hardware Key Loggers. The only countermeasure against them is to state clearly in the organisation’s password policy that all sides of electronic equipment, and especially computers, should be visible to users and security officers. Moreover system administrators may be obligated to check all hardware and electronic devices plugged on users’ computers, or forced to check all hardware connections in computers rooms periodically.  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Countermeasures against Password Storage attacks: The types of defense mechanisms against password storage attacks include the use of various encryption and hashing techniques. These techniques are used to encrypt password files and never leave passwords exposed in plaintext form. Usually modern operating systems (Windows, UNIX) use one-way encryption systems to encrypt users’ passwords. In one-way encryption systems the password is transformed in such a way that the original password can not be recovered. When a user is logging onto such a system, the password that is entered by the user is one-way encrypted and compared with the stored encrypted password. The same encryption method and key must be used to encrypt the valid password before storage and to encrypt the entered password before comparison. Besides the use of one-way encryption, strong access control mechanisms (such as Role-Based and Clark-Wilson access control models) should be enforced and applied to the files that keep system’s hashed passwords. Without implementing tough access control mechanisms, the operating system is unable to check who is accessing these files. As a consequence an adversary could easily copy them and mount different kinds of attacks on them. Countermeasures against Software Bugs: As was mentioned in the previous section (section 2.2 software bugs), sometimes badly designed features in operating systems and applications can lead to software bugs which do all the hard work for malicious hackers. A defense mechanism to prevent such software bugs is to have a good software design. Software should be designed in an organized way keeping procedures simple, reviewed periodically for vulnerabilities and threats, and hardened with the latest patches.   Where a software bug is found in any operating system or application, people discovering it should report this problem directly to the security officer and the correspondent company selling and providing licenses for this specific product should be informed to solve this problem. 3. Password Policies 3.1 Introduction Password policies are necessary to protect the confidentiality of information and the integrity of systems by keeping unauthorized users out of computer systems. Usernames and passwords are the fundamental protection of computers and networks against intruders. Password policies specify rules about the secure administration of usernames, rules used to define valid passwords and the type of protection needed for secure password storage. Α password policy is a good place to start to build the security of a company’s network and protect its assets. The next sections discuss issues related to the secure usage and management of both usernames and passwords. 3.2 Administration of Usernames The front gate within an organization’s network is where the user or the service identifies themselves and presents some type of authentication information only known to them in order to grant access. The failure to have a reliable Login Security Policies activated is like having a big building with the best guards and security mechanisms around it with the main front gate open to anyone. 3.2.1 Login Security Policies and Usernames Within a secure system, the first thing that should be expected for any login attempt is to identify who is the person requesting entry. Regardless of the protocols used, you need to know who is trying to access the network services and who they want the network services to think they are. In high-security military environments the user identifications are assigned based on a random sequence of characters. Other organizations, such as commercial, use something that can uniquely identify the user without worrying about how to create usernames. If the usernames can give away information about the organization, then the implementation of random names could be a good solution. Although by using these random

Does Punishment Deter Crime?

Does Punishment Deter Crime? Does punishment really deter crime? One could say no since the rate of crime is stable instead of declining. The interaction between crime and punishment is certainly a complex one. In simple terms, one might anticipate that, if crime rates increase, there should be a corresponding increase on prison populationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦On the other hand, if punishment levels increase, crime control theory suggests that deterrence and incapacitation should show themselves in a corresponding reduction in crime rates (Blumstein, 1998). Over the past few decades, crime rates have fluctuated, but have been fairly stable numbers. We have not seen the decline in crime that one would expect to with the growth in prison or jail inmates. What type of punishment deters crime most effectively? Retribution is the oldest form of punishment. Retribution is an act of moral vengeance by which society makes the offender suffer as much as the suffering caused by the crime (Macionis, 2006). With retribution, we assume that society is morally balanced. When a crime is committed, it upsets that balance. Retribution is thought to restore the balance by granting a punishment that fits the crime; for example, and eye for an eye. Another thought is that if the punishment is severe enough, it would discourage anyone from committing the crime. This justification is known as deterrence. Deterrence is the attempt to discourage criminality through the use of punishment (Macionis, 2006). Deterrence came about during the eighteenth century and was a renewed form of punishment from retribution. Retribution had become harsh punishment, such as mutilation and death. People began to believe that criminals could be punished effectively and accordingly through lesser punishment. Along the lines of thinking that a person can be punished effectively through lesser punishment came the act of rehabilitation. Rehabilitation; however, didnt come around until the 19th century. Rehabilitation is a program for reforming the offender to prevent later offenses (Macionis, 2006). Society came to believe that criminal deviance was learned and could be a result of ones upbringing, financial status, or even the lack of positive role models. The thought was that if one had learned these bad traits earlier in life, they could also be taught good traits if given the opportunity. In other words, they could be reformed or rehabilitated. Rehabilitation takes work on the part of the offender; however, it does not include suffering such as that involved with retribution and deterrence. Rehabilitation is also customized to the fit the needs of the deviant. The final justification for punishment is societal protection. Societal protection means rendering an offender incapable of further offenses temporarily through imprisonment or permanently by execution (Macionis, 2006). Like deterrence, the primary focus of societal protection is protecting society. The intent is to render a punishment that leaves the deviant incapable of committing the crime again. Currently, there are 2 million people imprisoned in the United States. This population has tripled since 1990 and continues to rise. America imprisons more of its population than any other country (Macionis, 2006). Everyone agrees that punishment deters crime, but which form of punishment is the most effective? Unfortunately, deterring crime through punishment is difficult to measure. It is difficult to say what form of punishment might work best for every crime and every criminal. Generally speaking, one would think that the death penalty would be an excellent deterrent to crime; however, that is not exactly the case. It is questionable whether the death penalty actually deters others from committing the crime. Additionally, there have been individuals put to death who were later found innocent of committing the accused crime. Because the threat of punishment as a deterrent for crime has long been debated, many have attempted to measure the effectiveness. In most models, the optimal amount of deterrence does not mean eliminating the crime all together. Instead, the optimal amount of deterrence comes from balancing the costs, the benefit to society, and the deterrence to the deviant. Every justification is controversial and debatable. Personally, I am not a proponent of the death penalty; however, I think the evidence may show that it is an effective deterrent to crime. My issues with capital punishment are moral. I do not feel that it is morally right to take the life of another human being, even if they have taken the life of another. I am also concerned about the fact that an innocent person may be put mistakenly put to death. Although I have moral issues with the death penalty, this does not mean that it is not an effective deterrent to crime. Nothing says do not do it like the fear of death for doing it. In other words, I do not think there is a better way of getting the attention of a criminal than by letting them know that they will be put to death if they commit certain criminal acts. According to an article in USA Today, In New York, the death penalty has turned the tables on fear and put it back where it belongs-in the hearts of criminals. Within just one year, the death penalty helped produce a dramatic drop in violent crime. Just as important, it has restored New Yorkers confidence in the justice system because they know their government genuinely is committed to their safety. (Pataki, 1997) So although I may not be a proponent of the death penalty, I think the evidence speaks for itself. Capital punishment is a form of deterrence and it does seem to be a deterrent to crime. The benefits to society outweigh that that of retribution, rehabilitation, and societal protection. I personally support rehabilitation, but I believe that it is very expensive and does not always work. When looking for the optimal justification for punishment, I lean more towards deterrence when looking for that balance between cost, benefit to society and deterring the deviant. Deterrence seems to be the best overall solution for preventing crime. Ultimately, our desire to alleviate crime is only as tough as the laws we enforce to punish deviants. By enforcing the death penalty as the law of the land, we demonstrate our determination and strengthened the idea that our children and future generations can grow up in a country that is free of violence (Pataki, 1997).

The Growth of American Government from the End of Reconstruction and th

In the past, the nation’s government took the â€Å"laissez-faire† approach to dealing with the economy and/or free market affairs. The government intervened as little as possible, asserting the belief felt that if left alone, economic problems would be resolved without government interference. However, this approach was not guaranteed, and at times, the government had to put aside the â€Å"laissez-faire† approach of the past. The government had no other choice but to intervene in these instances to return balance to the economy and protect its citizens it served. The government changed both its approach and its size through programs initiated by the Industrial Revolution, New Deal programs during and following the Great Depression, and World War II, forever changing the relationship between Americans and their Government. During the Industrial Revolution with the massive railroad production across the country, the railroad executives were clever, strong-minded, mostly dishonest men who bribed congressmen, and conducted crooked financial deals who became known as â€Å"robber barons†. 1 As railroads expanded transportation across the country, it opened up a vast market for competition and over production of farm products. The railroad executives took advantage of the fact that the railroad was the only transportation that some farmers had to ship their products. Since the railroads had formed monopolies, they were free to charge whatever rates they saw fit and took full advantage of this by price discrimination. They offered discounts and rebates to big corporations with large loads which the individual farmer did not have. Nor did farmers have the political influence to fight the railroads on these matters.2 Therefore, in 1877, t... ... 11. American A Narrative History 8th Edition, George Brown Tindall and David Emory Shir, W. W. Norton & Company Ltd., New York 2010 book pg 1086-87 12. HI 1073 United States History 1877-Present Discussion Manual Spring 2011 CH 5 – The Interwar Years, 58. Social Security Act (1935). 13. American A Narrative History 8th Edition, George Brown Tindall and David Emory Shir, W. W. Norton & Company Ltd., New York 2010 book Page 1197 14. HI 1073 United States History 1877-Present Discussion Manual Spring 2011 CH 6 – World War II, 70. The GI Bill of Rights (1944). 15. American A Narrative History 8th Edition, George Brown Tindall and David Emory Shir, W. W. Norton & Company Ltd., New York 2010 pg 1209 16. American A Narrative History 8th Edition, George Brown Tindall and David Emory Shir, W. W. Norton & Company Ltd., New York 2010 page 1218

The Progression of the Medium Change between the Painting with the Digi

The Progression of the Medium Change between the Painting with the Digital Image Albert Borgmann, in his Technology and the Character of Contemporary Life, devises the â€Å"device paradigm† as an illustration of the pattern into which the stuff that defines technological existence falls. Even though Borgmann writes his book in 1984, it is of value to examine the paradigm in context of current developments of technological society. It becomes a question of whether the device paradigm is still applicable to the current technological setting, or if it is truer now than even before. It is thus taken into consideration in light of the specific instance of the thing, as Borgmann uses it, that is a painting prior to the modern period. The specific thing of a painting is contrasted to the technological device of a digital image. The progression of the medium change between the painting to the digital image will be examined as well as the skill it takes to produce them. Availability of these is observed, along with the consequence of such a metamorphosis in the essence of the thing and device. First, however, Borgmann states the thing as a pretechnological object in the Heideggerian sense. The thing gathers the fourfold, being earth, sky, mortals, and divinity. Thus it is something which reveals the world in all its aspects. In this case, a painting of the medieval times is one which is created by a master. The master has undergone a lifetime of training under another master, and the business of the arts is under the guild system. A single painting would take many weeks to complete, and all instruments in its creation are known instinctively to the master. The pigments are hand ground and prepared, as are the brushes and th... ...into a commodity of affluence, and that is what produces disengagement. Affluent commodities disengage in their diversion from focal things, which result in detachment from reality and detachment from the world. As the world is revealed through technological devices, it is no longer a world of humanity, but a world of technology and its devices. Such an existence deteriorates into loneliness and depression, both of which are detrimental to the being of humanity. In truth, it can be said, by line of the preceding argument, that technological existence may well bring about the extinction of the human race, unless it is counteracted. This counteraction, may, as Borgmann claims, lie in a counterbalance of focal things and practices. Works Cited Borgmann, Albert. Technology and the Character of Contemporary Life. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 1984.

Kite Runner Reflection Essay

Narrated by Amir, a novelist living in California, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini tells the riveting story of a young friendship destroyed by jealousy, fear, and the kind of ongoing evil that develops at some point during politics. A parallel joining the loss and redemption in this novel is the story of today’s inhospitable environments in Afghanistan and of Amir’s guilt-ridden relationship with the rundown city of his birth. â€Å"If you went from the Shar-e-Nau section to Kerteh-Parwan to buy a carpet, you risked getting shot by a sniper or getting blown up by a rocket-if you got past all the checkpoints, that was. You practically needed a visa to go from one neighborhood to the other. So people just stayed put, prayed the next rocket wouldn’t hit their home.† (Hosseini 256). In the modern world, Afghanistan is just as it is portrayed in this novel. The climates have not changed and the community acceptance has diminished. The Kite Runner begins in the final days of an Afghan king’s 40-year reign and traces the country’s fall from a loving community to a tasteless, inhospitable environment controlled by the Russians, followed by the trigger-happy Taliban. When Amir returns to Kabul to rescue Hassan’s orphaned child, the personal and the political get tangled together. Today’s laws are based for majority on past ones. Laws and regulations in Afghanistan have merely gotten worse over the past few decades and there doesn’t seem to be any hope for any betterment in the future. It’s very heart wrenching when I see on television pictures of children, much younger than us, that have significantly nothing compared to what we have today. It makes me think and appreciate everything that’s been given to me in my lifetime. I know it is much more than most and I am very appreciative of it. There are a few similarities between Canada and the Middle East, but very few. There are laws; yes, however the severity of the punishment only worsens. In this novel, we see that when the Taliban are ruling Kabul, they are very persistent when it comes to abiding the law. If you look at them the wrong way, your life could be taken very easily without them thinking twice. They will never regret it. In the novel they are monsters who thrive on the punishment of others. No regrets hang over them. No matter what, it will always be that way.

The Dog Who Wanted To Die Plot Graph Attachment

The average neighborhood. Exposition: The Clashes, two crazy people and their revolting dog are introduced as moving into the neighborhood of David Parker. David Parker has just lost his father and the Clashes are creating quite a riot in the neighborhood, and their dog Monty, is the dirty dog that just seems to mope around. Rising Action: The Clashes take very bad care of Monty, feeding him potato peels and craps that make him ill.He is also covered in infectious scabs and other bits of filth. David notices that Monty, the dog, has attempted many suicide attempts due to his depressing life with the Clashes. David is going through his own troubles as his father has moved away. His grades are dropping, he is always in a sour mood, and is easily aggravated. His mother worries very much about him. Eventually, though, the Clashes moved away, leaving their dog behind. David decides to take him into his own home one day, as Monty avoids yet another suicide attempt. Climax:Burglaries are oc curring the neighborhood where David lives, and Monty, during a burglary at Davit's own home, saves Davit's life. Falling Action: After this life-changing event, David comes to love and take care of Monty like never before. Month's condition changes wonderfully; he is not the only one. David starts to take responsibility for his own life. He gets a job and takes care of his dog, his grades go up, and he is in a generally better mood.