Abstract for Choices, Values, and Frame Essay

Reading 2.2 Kahneman,D and Tvesky, A. (1984), ‘ Choices, values, and frames’. Ameriacn Psychologist, 39 (4) Abstract This article discuss when consumers feel a certain price which is bringing the â€Å"loss† rather than the â€Å"income†, they are more sensitive to price. Consumers are feeling a certain price more cost-effective manner and the other a less cost-effective. They will accord the cognitive psychological evaluation to exhibit a completely different personal attitude and decision making. Economic decision making theory has always been that people are fundamentally rational animal. However, human beings have irrational features in many aspects. One of the most attract somebody’s attention example is calling the â€Å"framing effect† In this effect, the positive or negative way to make a decision has had a dramatic effect on subsequent choice. The researchers found that integration from the decision system of emotional preference were potential causes of framing effect. With the potential risk benefit choices need to pay the cognitive effort than defined benefit choice; however, determining the damaged choice and risk selection potential damage to pay cognitive effort is the same. There are two fundamental analyze principles for rational choice theory: dominance and invariance. Dominance can be defined that project A in the worst case is better than project B, project A should be accept. Invariance requires that human describe selectivity problem for the same thing that will draw the common preference. Framing effect can be divide two types: positive and negative. The positive frame shows risk-averse preference for gains. On the other hand, the negative frame shows risk- seeking preference for losses. In addition, in mental accounting, money can be attributed to the different types of account which cannot replace each other. People are always divide outcomes into different mental accountings and use decision value and experience value, in order to evaluate the results whether can be accepted. EXAMPLE To discuss the cognitive psychology effects our daily life, I will give a  example of rent or buy a house in Sydney. If we want rent a house or apartment in Sydney which have two bedrooms, a living room and 2 bathrooms, according to my experience, we need to pay 600-800 dollar each week. Most of us may not feel pressure to rent an apartment for one or two years. If we spend 20000 or 30000 as down payment which is use for purchase an apartment. I think we could be hesitating. We analyze that purchase a apartment is better than rent in order to live one or two years in some place. We are willing spend less to live although we make sure loss 600-800 each week. However, it leads to a value of experience, and this experience value effect our decision. Finally, we would rather to rent an apartment although we know it not a rational investment. Reading 8.3 Abstract This article point out that the exercise of power in the process of development and implementation of organizational information systems are very expensive and time consuming. Accordingly, the theory of ‘sociology of translation’ provides corresponding solutions for the organization. According to the theory, there are two important features in the problemastisation. Firstly, actor or group should more specific in a general problem to find a mental to solving. Secondly, actors should be defined identities in a plan that will use their skill and experience precisely. The author point out an example that senior manager enjoy the IT program and analyze it to use reducing cost as a new tool. In addition, most of the consultants believe that organizations should make clear position, future goals and behavior before implement IT strategy. Meanwhile, consultants also believed that IT system is great significance strategy for organizations lead to successful. For another example, IT consultants try them best to make sure problematisation steady. The successive problematisations build an exercise of power and prevent other alternative problematisations from getting onto the agenda of the project team. In conclusion, the author solves the problems in the information technology process in the theory of concepts. Consultants adopted the theory of  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœsociology of translation’ to solve organizations’ problem. Discuss the nature of the relationship between external management consultants and customer or user groups. The author considers the other resource management role and differential access to its knowledge and skills, such as an important exercise of power relations. Example ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning): Enterprise resource planning system is basing on information technology. The use of information technology implementation of enterprise supply chain management, in order to realize scientific management of each link in the supply chain. ERP integrates information technology and advanced management ideas become the modern enterprise mode which reflecting the era of enterprise reasonable allocation of resources. It maximizes the creation of social wealth and become the cornerstone of corporate survival. In the company, the general management mainly includes three aspects: production control (planning, manufacturing, logistics (distribution), procurement, inventory management) and financial management (accounting, financial management); three systems are integrating and the importance of human resources constitutes the primary module of ERP system. The ERP system of business each module refinement, split, forming a relatively independent software syst em and the seamless connection, so that the enterprises of different scales can be freely combined according to need and make enterprise resource optimization configuration. Reading 1.3 Abstract The author claims a general make a strategic relate to several aspects. This article points out that your teammates or colleagues making decision will affect on yourself. Namely, the title of this article: â€Å"looking up and looking around†. Firstly, â€Å"looking up† is a basic human nature in any situation. In other words, when you meet a more experience and knowledge person (such as your manager and your boss) make a strategic, and then making decision follow how he/she would act. Secondly, ‘looking around’ is one of your opinions. When you work with your teammates or colleagues, you will find out how they deal with problems and what they make decisions. Then  you will follow their opinions to deal with yourself problems. The author also points out that â€Å"decision- making paralysis† always effect on everyone no matter you are middle manage or even the top manager and CEO. When face with a problem, human minds always goes blank. They want to find a solution to solve the problem. If not, they will look for someone to take the burden. On the other hand, they will afraid to make decision in any situation because they don’t want the decision bring fail. Most of managers suffer from anxiety that colleagues will find out their incapability. There is important problem that makes a rational strategic not only managers’ duty, it also relate to company’s structure and the project. Manager always are demanded to make a decision quickly which based on information transmits from primary levels. However, the information not particularly correct that leads to some wrong decisions in that situation. Obviously, the manager who makes the wrong decision in a organization should take the bl ame and be fired. This situation always happens in many companies. The author claims that a outstanding managers should have a rational analyze and quick thinking abilities. Example In my experience, when I worked at an international land sales company, my manager receives a project to help a China company find an office. Our team receive the order which needs a 300㎠¡ work place in shanghai CBD. Firstly, we should make a research to find out whether a suitable square. Our manager makes a decision to ask some building manager which is located in shanghai CBD. Finally, we find a suitable place for the China Company. However, when we check require with the company, our assistant told us we get wrong squares that is 400 ㎠¡. So our manager has to afresh contact to the building list. Fortunately, we found a 90 ㎠¡ near the former one. Our manager decides to connect the two work place to reach 400㎠¡. We successfully completed out task on time.

Personal Experience Essay

Life is full of adventures and experiences. The key to living well is making these experiences as meaningful as possible. I went through a very significant experience, which was actually more of a risk, about two years ago. I was 15 years old and I had to decide whether I would stay in my hometown or move to Monterrey, Mexico. As in every dilemma faced, there are pros and cons that will try to sway you. Time wouldn’t stop and the day of my decision was getting closer and closer; the less time I had to decide, the more confused and undecided I became. All I could do was imagine myself living the future in my hometown or in Monterrey. But, why was I put into this situation? Should I have stayed where I was born and where I’d lived my whole life or would the best thing be to move to an entirely new city? My family once consisted of my mom, my dad, two older brothers, and me. Unfortunately, my dad passed away in December of 2007 when I was twelve years old. Monterrey is a c ity characterized by having many foreign students because of the highly recognized university, Tec de Monterrey (ITESM). Both of my brothers decided to study there. This left a lonely house with only a widowed mother and a teenage girl. That was the moment I realized we needed to do something, having me make the decision of my life with the pressure of time. I was born and raised in Matamoros, Mexico, which is a border town with Brownsville, Texas. Having my student passport, I studied there my whole life. I had many friends living in both Matamoros and Brownsville. This was a major factor on my decision because I didn’t want to leave them and, in Monterrey, I didn’t know anyone. The thing was that in Matamoros, every corner of my house, every street, and every part of the city would only remind me of my dad who was already in Heaven. To me, this was a kind of torture. I had to either leave my friends and start a new life, or stay there with everyone’s support, but constantly having to deal with the suffering of not being able to let go of my dad because of my surroundings. I knew moving to Monterrey was a very good idea, but like everything, it had its negative views as well. It would be a good thing to move because my mom and I would now live with my brothers and we would all be united like we were before. This new beginning would help us overcome the death of my dad. The bad part was that, as I was about to enter high school, moving to Monterrey without knowing anyone would be very difficult. I had always studied in the USA, so attending a school in Mexico would probably lower my grades and make things more complicated. It was all about taking the r isk. Decision time was near. After I analyzed everything, I understood that the best thing I could was to move to Monterrey with my mom. This was a very significant experience because it really impacted me. The first semester was very hard as I felt all alone. As soon as I began making friends, however I realized I couldn’t have made a better decision. People in Monterrey are very humble and caring. They taught me many things, enabling me to become a better person with better feelings. These friends were the ones who pulled me closer to God when I most needed Him. There was no better feeling than getting home and seeing my brothers living with me again. My family was once again united, and I am very grateful for all of this. View as multi-pages

The negative effects of milk products on the human body Essay

The negative effects of milk products on the human body - Essay Example On the other hand, mothers' milk has six to ten times as much of the essential fatty acids, especially linoleic acid which cow's milk does not have. While animals stop taking in milk from weaning however, man is known to continue with his fill, and is in fact the only specie that drinks the milk of other species. On television healthy, beautiful people claim milk is good for the body. Dieticians insist that one has got to have milk to have calcium. Milk producers likewise advocate the benefits of calcium, vitamin D, and other nutrients. Meanwhile, mothers insist on their children to drink their milk, and schools include milk in their feeding programs. For many years also, people are taught that dairy products make up an "essential food group." And yet amidst this din, there are those who claim that milk is poison, and mention possible links to cancer or other diseases. Yet, people have grown so comfortable consuming milk and eating milk products, and for this, many do not give a second thought to the possible negative effects of milk. Worse still, they do not want to give up milk. ... n intestinal colic, intestinal irritation, intestinal bleeding, anemia, allergic reactions in infants and children as well as infections such as salmonella. There is the fear of viral infection with bovine leukemia virus or an AIDS-like virus as well as concern for childhood diabetes. Also discussed in these literatures is contamination of milk by blood and pus as well as a variety of chemicals and insecticides. Among children the problems were allergy, ear and tonsillar infections, bedwetting, asthma, intestinal bleeding, colic and childhood diabetes. In adults the problems seemed centered more around heart disease and arthritis, allergy, sinusitis, and the more serious questions of leukemia, lymphoma and cancer. According to Kradjian, none of the authors said milk was a perfect food. As if to concur to findings that milk is not good for the human body, its composition is now being sought to be altered but that it is accepted that only one institution is incapable of doing this venture.3 The following discussions include why milk and dairy products are bad, the effects of ingesting milk and dairy products, and the alternatives. It also includes the stand of the government on these products and the stand of doctors. A conclusion at the end repeats the paper's thesis that milk is bad for the body due to these named deficiencies and negative effects on the human body. Why milk and dairy products are bad Not a perfect food. That milk is a perfect food is a dairy industry myth.4 Outside of milk containing a wide range of disease-causing substances that can have a cumulative negative effect on all who consume it, milk lacks other elements.5 In 1930 Dr. G.O. Burr in Minnesota working with rats found that linoleic acid deficiencies created a deficiency syndrome. This

Perception Of Nurses Regarding Self-Harming Patients Literature review

Perception Of Nurses Regarding Self-Harming Patients - Literature review Example The people that have self-harmed them are found to be devoid of the needed sympathy and care from the medical staffs and nurses on being admitted to the emergency units. Nurses tend to avoid them on account of wrong perceptions making them feel more desolate. This in turn again contributes in enhancing his or her self-farming behaviour which sometimes turns out to be fatal culminating to suicide (Cleaver, 2006, p.148-151). The paper would tend to use research based articles tends to focus on the attitudes and attributes of the nurses pertaining to the self-harming patients and also on the process of bring about attitudinal changes in the nurses involved. Further it would also endeavour in using specific statistical techniques relevant to the topic to help enhance the understanding and also cites recommendations pertaining to the issue taken. Cleaver (2006) observes that the act of self-harm constitutes such actions where the person, either a male or a female either tends to position, bruise or burn oneself. In that, the person focuses on injuring his or her own body as a mark of punishment rendered on oneself. This sense of punishment alleviates and culminates to the act of self-harm where the individual feels that such act would help him or her to regain their position in the society. More specifically, the people rendering self-harm tend to suffer from a huge burden of desperation. They, in order to evoke the sense of fear in the minds of others or to reinstate their position tend to act in such forceful manner. Observation shows, that this act of self-harm gains more prevalence pertaining to people in their teenage years and also in adults. Children, though quite rare become the silent victims of self-harm. Again, the phenomenon of self-harm is more noticeable regarding women folk than in men. Men are more prone to acts of suicide than ceasing to causing only self-harm like in women. Thus, owing to the variance reflected in the above cases the nurses working in the emergency units are required to act accordingly to render effective services. Herein, Cleaver (2006) states that some nursing staffs feel the zeal to take to such challenging assignments that includes a large amount of variations. Nursing staffs need to be trained in subjects pertaining to psychoanalytic and risk assessments to effectively function in such traumatic departments. The nurses and palliative care staffs need to understand the potency of the risk associated in dealing with such patients and

Impact of collaborative learning Research Paper

Impact of collaborative learning - Research Paper Example I have examined the impact of collaborative learning on students by use of simple regression analysis. The results indicate that collaborative learning had a positive effect on the performance of students. The study shows the proportion of collaborative learning to performance. The study also highlights areas of further study. Although the traditional classroom learning has it advantages, it is very imperative for a school to adopt collaborative learning as this will develop the students academically and socially (Inaja & Eraywoke, 2010, p.46). Introduction Collaborative learning is a scenario where individuals engage in learning mutually through taking part in discussions. It involves individuals learning together and taking advantages of each other skills, experience and resources. Collaborative learning is also a tutoring technique in which learners at different performance stages learn together in small groups toward a universal objective. On the other hand, traditional classroom is the process of learning where teachers give knowledge by use of lectures. The students are passive in the classrooms, but they write the ideas down. The exchange of ideas in the discussion groups not only increase exchange of ideas, but also promote critical and creative thinking. Most of the research studies conducted have been concentrated on the primary and secondary levels. There is convincing proof that supportive groups attain at elevated levels of thinking and maintain information longer than students who labor as individuals. The mutual erudition provides learners with a chance to connect in argument, take accountability for their own knowledge, and hence become decisive thinkers. Collaborative learning is founded on the suggestion that knowledge is more proactive through social action where learners actively engage in the learning modules and learning materials. Learners will absorb knowledge more easily through connecting with each other in the group discussion. Collab orative learning will give learners an opportunity to get exposed to dissimilar and varied environment. Learners will communicate, present and support thoughts, and exchange principles that they feel need engagements (Wei-Fan & Chung-Pei, 2011, p.57). The system incorporates social interaction in studies and makes learning more enjoyable and easy to comprehend. The method takes place when students are dynamically occupied in an area where studying takes place through clear or inherent attempts. The method involves a cognitive process by which teachers act as facilitators and students as recipients of knowledge. Collaborative learning method involves the use of networks, virtual classrooms, periodic group tests, and the use of dialogue. Collaborative learning has been tested and analyzed through tools that are designed to offer students a grasp of the learning experience. Furthermore, the method ensures that students and teachers engage each other in the learning process and undertak e constructive dialogue in class. Although, the method does not

Impacts of natural disasters on tourism Research Paper

Impacts of natural disasters on tourism - Research Paper Example This proposal is a combined study that incorporates the aims and objectives that would be the basis for the research studies, discussion of relevant literature review of the concerned topic coupled to the overview of the themes, issues, theories, and/or concepts. The research methodology that comprises of the introduction with rationale for the research design and data collection methods is also an integral part of the proposal that ends with the research philosophy and approaches with ethical considerations as a conclusion. Background The natural disasters are the profound environmental impacts that not only bring huge losses to human lives but also subject to arouse immense financial losses such as property damage. In addition, the aftereffects of the natural disasters emerge the fact that underdeveloped nations are the worst hits of the natural adversities as they have the least resources to cope and recreate their lives back to originality (Mechler, 2004). The natural disasters h ave been one of the most unfavorable and devastating episodes have come under the experiences by the human kind of the globe in numerous instances in time. The statistical data and evidences have proved the fact that the natural disasters have made a strong influence and tragic impact on the civilizations around the world. In addition, plentiful states, territories, nations coupled to populace of the particular areas cause to undergo recurring and overwhelming natural disasters as the world in entering into the level of advancements and innovations. The natural disasters have not only affected the human lives but also made the coral reefs, tropical ecosystem, aquatic... The research describes natural disasters that are the profound environmental impacts that not only bring huge losses to human lives but also subject to arouse immense financial losses such as property damage. In addition, the aftereffects of the natural disasters emerge the fact that underdeveloped nations are the worst hits of the natural adversities as they have the least resources to cope and recreate their lives back to originality. The natural disasters have been one of the most unfavorable and devastating episodes have come under the experiences by the human kind of the globe in numerous instances in time. The statistical data and evidences have proved the fact that the natural disasters have made a strong influence and tragic impact on the civilizations around the world. In addition, plentiful states, territories, nations coupled to populace of the particular areas cause to undergo recurring and overwhelming natural disasters as the world in entering into the level of advancem ents and innovations. The natural disasters have not only affected the human lives but also made the coral reefs, tropical ecosystem, aquatic temperate climate and terrestrial or global ecosystem fragile and weak. Tourism industry is one of the departments of the country that comes under mammoth impact from the natural disasters. Indeed, there is a very close connection between tourism and natural disasters. This is because the occurrence of any natural hazard would lead to disruption and destruction of the tourism industry, which would then require re-development and modifications.

Case Analysis of Currency Risk Management Study

Analysis of Currency Risk Management - Case Study Example The organization has two key branches; the Study Abroad College branch, and the High School Travel branch. Archer-Lock is the controller and also the treasurer of the college branch. Tabaczynski manages the finances of the high school division. The college division sends students to worldwide universities for the semester duration activities. Also, the high school division sends students and teachers for trips lasting between one and four weeks (Mihir, Vincent & Anders 1)). The currency hedging measures protect the revenue and profitability of AIFS, from the negative effects of currency exchange rates. This is achieved through the currency forward contracts, in addition to other currency options. The organization hedged its predicted expenses duration for the next two year duration. The main financial challenge that AIFS experienced entailed, implementing the hedge before the full sales cycle and adequate determination of the required foreign currency. There are several basic hedging approaches for handling the foreign currency exchange rates. The techniques are; currency options, forward contracts, currency accounts and loans, and spot trading. All organizations that operate in the international market must analyze the effects of exchange rates changes, on their operations. This will result in determination of the most effective technique for minimizing the foreign exchange fluctuations (Mihir, Vincent & Anders 3). Currency accounts are the most basic hedging technique. The bank accounts are opened in foreign currencies. This is most suitable for organizations with continuous inflow and outflow of cash in foreign currencies. Currency involves borrowing money using a foreign currency. The loan will be serviced in future, through the same currency. Spot trading involves key foreign currencies transactions. Spot transactions are generally applied in

Liyuan Stanford 19970 5-6 days services Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Liyuan Stanford 19970 5-6 days services - Essay Example My determination kept inspiring me to get across the challenge and thus I identified a new trend in folk dance featuring a leader who was taller than others in which I could easily fit in. When it came to my passion in modeling, height turned to be a limiting factor once again, but this time in the reverse order. I identified my role as a coach and a team builder which helped others also to chase their dreams as I established university’s first modeling association. These experiences made me understand the necessity to search for higher values in each and everything you do in life. The endless competition in the job market has frozen the ethics behind the professional endeavors as many people experience a lifelong tug-of-war between professional success and these ethics. But for me career has higher purpose than mere money and reputation. I have always looked on to my mother who for ever stood for her values. .While she created profit-making enterprises during the open policy in the late 1970s, her prime aim was to help many middle aged Chinese women gain independence. It was the search for the higher values and morals which persuaded her to close her companies to rejoin the state-owned enterprise to help it survive a major transformation in the Chinese national economy. As being an early-driver of venture capital in China, I too believe that capital can be successfully combined with the search for social transformation .I have proved this by helping socially beneficial initiatives to have a higher growth by utilizing the possibilities of venture capital. More than money and economic sharing, charity should have a higher purpose. Since 2003, I assisted Net 263 CEO with his 10-year project, which had built 100 Hope Schools to ensure support and education to children who are deprived of the basic rights of schooling and other facilities. Rather than the capital involved in the charity, what

Is metaphor necessary in technical writing Essay

Is metaphor necessary in technical writing - Essay Example This is because humans are trying to do everything they can to control nature. Man cannot put up with indifferences that nature provide thus he is trying to press nature through science to do according to his will. Science that is required to manipulate nature is too much high and requires a lot of resourcefulness. It is unfortunate that what people think of science is not science but practical science; people often confuse the thought of science and what science can do (Laibichler & Chew, 2003). The constituent part that can speed up this is by the build up of a huge and an incredible credible machine that can only be controlled and interpreted by the physicists alone. The major question is that whether people will be able and are willing to bear the cost of these machines and whether they are willing to leave nature on the hands of physicists. This is because physicists use mysterious and secretive language that can only be interpreted by them and they are only going to be part of the complications of nature. People hope that physicist can come up with advanced and more simplified formulae that will be able to solve the world’s differences. It is at this point that people hope for a final formula that will explain the trends of nature thus make people understand God thinking (Baake, 2003). Suggestions and ideas of this kind from a prominent person are deemed as foolish and misleading. This is because they mislead people to think that the world has a meaning. Such characters mislead people by suggesting that the world has meaning because there is progress in our daily activities. Progress helps people to get closer to something and finally to uncover knowledge, just like the mathematical formulae tries to get close to infinity but it has never gotten there. The world has no meaning because somebody or something would have emerged and asked why there is something instead of nothing (Banville, 2011). Things and situations are perceived

The Last Unicorn And Song of Kali Essay Example for Free

The Last Unicorn And Song of Kali Essay Plot Summaries The Last Unicorn The Last Unicorn’ begins in a lilac wood where two hunters discuss the disappearance of unicorns from the world. One of them is convinced of the existence of a unicorn, because the forest they stand in has magical powers. He calls out to the unicorn to protect herself, as she is the last of her kind. The unicorn hears the entreaties, is moved by the hunter’s words. It leaves the safety of the forest to find the truth. The unicorn encounters a variety of characters including a band of outlaws, a butterfly and an old witch. Help comes in the form of a bumbling magician, aided by a weary kitchen maid and a love stricken prince. All these characters make the unicorn aware of what befell her kind and ways to save them. Song of Kali Bobby Luczac, an American poet, goes to India on an assignment for Harper’s magazine in search of a poetry manuscript supposedly penned by a man named M. Das, who is presumed dead since eight years. Now, the man is back and writes a new poem. Luczac is commissioned to travel to Calcutta, and on the visit, he is accompanied by his Indian wife and baby daughter. The assignment is to write an article on Das and negotiate translation rights for the poem. However, is Das really alive, or back from the dead? His new poem, quite uncharacteristically, proclaims the song of Kali – the Hindu deity of destruction.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Bobby soon discovers that he and his family face great danger in the city. The family gets entangled in a religious cult engaged in the worship of Kali, a cruel deity, whose doctrine is to gain power through violence. The book contains hair-raising descriptions of Calcutta and strange rites. Calcutta is the major character in the novel portrayed in sinister terms. This is an apt venue for someone to sing Kali’s song of pain and death. Fantasy elements An interpretation of fantasy makes it separate the â€Å"I† and non â€Å"I† and self from the other. What this means is that fantasy is elevated reality, which tends to draw one away from one’s immediate reality and be completely absorbed, instead, in the substance of the fantasy and the existence of the ‘other’. The best of fantasy draws one away from a sense of time and space, when complete detachment from one’s self is possible. These exotic descriptions will be understood if the experience with films or books is considered. Theatre may not fully deliver the experience of detachment, as there is a certain amount of objectivity. Fantasy’s theatre of sustenance is in the mind and that is why films and books can draw us into the realm of fantasy quicker. The involvement is intimate – the darkness of the cinema hall and the riveting power of the printed word, releases us from ‘being’, so to speak. While absorbed in the narration we are the ‘others’ in the story â€Å"I’ lives in the other. The mind draws the vivid emotions and scenes in a book and the compelling power of imagery in films has the same effect as the descriptions in a book. The supernatural in narration has more or less, the same impact. In its narration, the â€Å"I† is completely the servant of the narrator or the experience narrated. Part of us wants to believe completely while the real person is detached. The strongest enticement of fantasy is here – the elastic struggle between the two extremes of being – ‘I’ and the ‘other’ is really the delicious part of a fantasy. ‘Song of Kali’ The novel by Dan Simmons is a dark tale of the supernatural, which has compelling scenes of horror. There is yet another type of fantasy – the rendering of a horror story which almost deliciously,’ shocks us out of our wits† and we revisit horror gain and again to experience the thrill of being drawn beyond ourselves in a terrifying narration. In ‘Song of†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ the author wants us to be drawn willingly to the tiger’s lair in anticipation of what will come next. â€Å"The world is pain, O terrible wife of Shiva you are chewing the flesh; O terrible wife of Siva your tongue is drinking the blood, O dark Mother! O unclad Mother O beloved of Siva the world is pain’ (Simmons, 71). The terrifying invocation to the goddess Kali, while describing animal sacrifice to the deity and the nocturnal presence of the kali cult, draws a part of us willingly into the dark depths of the supernatural/fantasy/ horror story. There are of course three perspectives present in the narration: the author’s, ours and the lead character’s. Through an interweaving of these perspectives, we live the story in terrified anticipation of events unfolding. The references to blood and sacrifice leave us shocked while a part of us always prods us in disbelief at believing such nonsense. However, of course by now, the willing â€Å"I† has been completely hypnotized and taken away to realms deep within the depth of our subconscious. The detached eye of the author reports that the cult described in such ferociously evil terms was banned by the British and seems to have surfaced again or that, the cult members are criminals. Disregarding such warnings, we are one with the Luczacs caught up in the terrifying city. A philosophical theory presents the world as gigantic battlefield between Good and Evil forces – and this is used by the author of ‘Song†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ to create his own personal version of the Evil Forces as Calcutta itself. The descriptions of Calcutta (it would take a lot of willing disbelief to do so !) and inhabitants and dark rituals is portrayed in a form of ‘realism’ which is convincing to our ‘other selves’ by now completely immersed in the flight of the family through the winding lanes of the city – ‘the ceremonies in progress were most dignified. It was the day of the new moon in celebration of Durga and the head of an ox was on an iron spike†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Simmons, 71) Our ‘rational side’ says, completely ignore such nonsense – while the ‘other ‘self takes flight in supernatural alleyways. Calcutta itself being a major character is latter day hell on Earth – a place where different laws of reality apply- the tales of Kali could be cooked up by the cult members or could be true in this bizarre world of elevated religious superstition. People are almost apparitions – not even real beings. What happens to the main characters is realistic description to which our shell-shocked selves are frequently returned to savor slices of violence and reality. The foreboding tale of evil spun against the background of deeply entrenched religious superstition is not really a fantasy. It is not something we would like to learn a lot from, there are no heart tugging insights – no matter how well told the story. The Last Unicorn Two of the central themes of this book are those of being and not being. Most characters in it are part of the ‘not I’, they are trying to become something, to reach an ideal. With the exception of the unicorn character all, the main figures in the book are really trying to be people they are not. People in the book remember songs and stories of unicorns from days gone by however, they are unable to see a real Unicorn standing in their midst. The Unicorn also senses that she is encountering things that are not as they appear, and has a difficult time along with us as readers, making out the difference. â€Å"This is illusion, the unicorn told herself. This is Illusion – and raised a head heavy with death to stare into the deep of the last cage and see, not old age, but Mommy Fortuna herself. And the Unicorn knew she had not become mortal and ugly at all, but she did not feel beautiful again. Perhaps she was illusion too, she thought wearily† (Beagle, 25). The bumbling magician, Schmendrick is one example of characters trying to become someone else. The first time he meets the Unicorn, he nearly kills the enchanted animal while trying to free her from her cage (Beagle, 34). He goes on through the novel making a complete fool of himself. When he tries to entertain Captain Cully’s â€Å"merry men†, he is forced to use sleight of hand because he knows his spells are not reliable at all Throughout the book , Schmendrick constantly persists at trying to be a real wizard but fails. Molly Grue is a character who is trying to change from what she is. She is a poor man’s Maid Marian. Though she lives with an outlaw who rescued her from an evil baron, she does not fit the pat as the love of Robin Hood. She does not take on the sweetness and beauty of the fairy tale. Captain Cully professes â€Å"she is suspicious, pinched, dour, and prematurely old, even a touch tyrannical† (Beagle, 57). This middle-aged woman is cynical and broken. She even admits this to the unicorn â€Å"How dare you, how dare you come to me now, when I am this with a flap of her hand she summed herself up: barren face, desert eyes and yellowing heart† (Beagle, 70). Captain Cully is yet another example of a character that desperately wants to be much greater than he is. He wants to be remembered as a Robin Hood. He has his men write and sing songs about great deeds he never did. He lives the life of an outlaw stealing from the rich and giving to the poor and gives the rich a percentage. Even his ‘merry men’ lack enthusiasm: as one of them says â€Å"No offense, Captain, but we’re really not very merry, when all’s said† (Beagle, 61). Peter Beagle, the author, leaves many of the unfulfilled characters that way. The â€Å"good† characters – Shmendrick and Molly for example have come to be the people they want to be. Schmendrick is a great wizard and Molly is a fair and innocent maiden. Conclusion One can extend this theme to the two characters most alike to each other, the Unicorn and The Red Bull. It is clear through the novel that she is everything a unicorn is claimed.   She is immortal, has magical abilities and cannot be captured by mortal means. She is a magical being that cannot be seen by members of the ‘non being† world. The farmer who tries to capture her thinking that she is a mare, is part of this† non† being world. Because Molly Grue and Schmendrick so intensely want to change to much greater beings than what they are, they can see creatures from the other not so mundane world. The devotees of the Kali cult in ‘Song of Kali’ seem to be doing so but do they really ?, Why Beagle inserts themes of â€Å"being† and â€Å"non being† is perhaps because he felt that life is often based on perspective. What we want to see, hear and do depends on us. If we want to, we can settle for the lowest common denominator, like the simple farmer. Alternatively, we can push ourselves to be more than we are given, like Molly and Schmendrick. What the author says is we can either see magic and opportunity in our lives or ignore it. Works Cited: Beagle, Peter S. The Last Unicorn: (40th Anniversary Edition). Roc Trade. (January 1, 1991) Simmons, Dan. Song of Kali. Tor Books. First Edition edition (January 15, 1998)

Sql Injection Attacks Pose Computer Science Essay

Sql Injection Attacks Pose Computer Science Essay In recent years, SQL injection attacks pose a common and serious security threat to web applications: they allow attackers to obtain unrestricted access to the database underlying the applications and to the potentially sensitive information these database contain, and it is becoming significantly more popular amongst hackers. According to recent data, between Q1 2012 and Q2 2012, there has been an estimated 69 percent increase of this attack type. [1][2] As you can imagine, a hacker gaining administrator access to your server means that you will have effectively lost all of the data on that server to the invader. Worse yet there is now a beachhead behind your firewall from which attacks on other server and services can now be made. In this way SQL injection can provide access to all company or personal data. In the web environment, end -user privacy is one of the most controversial legal issues, therefore, all types of SQL injections which are dangerous for the components of the web application must be prevented. This article introduces the SQL injection in the first section then provides some techniques for defecting and preventing this kind of attack in the second section. Section 1: Introduction of SQL injection attack SQL injection is an attack technique which can be used by the attacker to exploit the web application; as a result the attacker may gain unauthorized access to a database or to retrieve information directly from the database. Attacker can exploit SQL injection vulnerabilities remotely without any database or application authentication. SQL injection attackers are straightforward in nature an attacker just passes malicious string as an input to an application for stealing confidential information. There are four main kinds of SQL Injection attacks [3]: SQL manipulation, Code injection, Function call injection and Buffer overflows. SQL manipulating usually involves modifying the SQL query through altering the WHERE clause. In this class of attack, amend the WHERE clause of the statement so the WHERE clause constantly results in TRUE [4]. In the case of code injection an attacker introduces new SQL statements into the input field instead of valid input. The classic code or statement appends a SQL server command to make SQL statement vulnerable. Code injection only works when multiple SQL statements per database request are supported or keywords like AND, OR are supported by the database. Function call injection is the addition of database functions or user defined functions into a vulnerable SQL queries. These function calls can be used to make internal calls or modify data in the database that can be harmful to the users. SQL injection of buffer overflows is a subset of function call injection. In several commercial and open-source databases, vulnerabilities exist in a few database functions that may result in a buffer overflow. Once an attacker realizes that a system is vulnerable to SQL injection, he is able to execute any SQL command including DROP TABLE to the database; hence the attack must be prevented. Protection Methods for SQL Injection attacks: To build secure applications, security and privacy must be carefully considered, and developer must be aware about it. The main goals of information security are Confidentiality, Integrity and availability. A single unprotected query can be harmful for the application, data, or database server; hence the SQL injection must be prevented. SQL injection attacks can be protected with simple changes in server site programming as well as client side programming. Developers must be aware of all types of attacks and take care for all possible attacks. Developers should authenticate user input against rules; ensure users with the permission to access the database have the least privileges; also do not leak any critical info in error log files. Taking user input from predefined choices: In this way the web application can be secured from malicious attacks. The attacker cannot insert custom queries or any type of harmful script which can disturb the integrity of the database. This is a simple yet effective way to curb web application attacks. This can be established by making simple changes into the server site code. Bind variables mechanism: Bind variable is another technique to control SQL injection attacks. Using bind variables helps in improving web application performance. The web application developer should use bind variables in all SQL statements. In Java language there is a mechanism called prepared statement, this implements the concept of bind variables mechanism. Input validation: This is the simplest method for defense against SQL injection attacks. User input should always be treated with care and there a number of reasons to validate all of the user input before further processing. Every passed string parameter ought to be validated. Many web applications use hidden fields and other techniques, which also must be validated. If a bind variable is not being used, special database characters must be removed or escaped. In most databases the single quote character and other special characters are a big issue, the simplest method to avoid them is to escape all single quotes. This can be established by using client side scripting language. Validation code can help to avoid wasting server resources by restricting requests that would not return useful results and they can provide much more helpful messages to the user than a SQL error message or empty result set would likely provide. Also, they can help stop SQL injection by rejecting, outright, any forms of input that could be used to perform a SQL injection. With the benefits that validation can bring, it is generally wise to validate all user input, even when fully parameterized database calls and uses and uses an account with limited permissions. Use only stored procedures The greatest value for using stored procedures in preventing SQL injection is that the DBA can set permissions for the application account so that its only way to interact with the SQL server is through stored procedures. This would mean that most SQL injection attacks would fail due to lack of permissions even if the calling program did not parameterize. This of course still leaves open the possibility of SQL injection working through dynamic SQL inside the stored procedures, but the stored procedures can be given an execute as clause which limits their permission to only those needed by the procedure. It is generally easier to verify that all stored procedures are written to guard against SQL injection then it is to check every place where the application interacts with SQL server. Limit permission The most important thing is that we should never user admin rights for web based application. The safe way is to give the user as little rights as possible in other word user rights should allow him to do only what is necessary and nothing more. If the account does not have permission to drop a table, then it will not be dropped even if the command is slipped to SQL server. Similarly, if the account has only read access, although the attack my have right to gain some information, he/she will be not able to modify or destroy the data, which is frequently worse. Even the read permission should be strictly limited by database, to limit which tables can be viewed. And if the application only needs selected columns from a table, then read permission on the view can be granted rather than the full table. Conceal error messages: Injection attacks often depend on the attacker at least some information about the database schema. [4] One common way for hackers to spot code vulnerable to SQL injection is by using the developers own tools against them. For example, to simplify debugging of failed SQL queries, many developers echo the failed query and the database error to the log files and terminate the script. In this case, error messages are useful to an attacker because they give additional information about the database that might not otherwise be available. It is often thought of as being helpful for the application to return an error message to the user if something goes wrong so that if the problem persists they have some useful information to tell the technical support team. Hence, the generated error becomes a literal guideline to devising more tricky queries. For example, applications will often have some code that looks like this: try { } catch (Exception exception) { MessageBox.Show(log on failed, exception.Message); } A better solution that does not compromise security would be to display a generic error message that simply states an error has occurred with a unique ID. The unique ID means nothing to the user, but it will be logged along with the actual error diagnostics on the server which the technical support team has access to. The code above would change to something like this instead: try { } catch (Exception exception) { int id = GetIdFromException(exception); MessageBox.Show(log on failed, id.ToString()); } Code review: Code review can be incredibly difficult to implement, especially in a team of old-timers who are not used to it. But once done, it will not only decrease the number of defects in your code, it will also increase the collaboration and help team building, improve brotherhood amongst developers and will propagate best practices and improvement of skill across an entire team or department. Use automated test tools: Even if developers follow the coding rules and do their best to avoid dynamic queries with unsafe user input, we still need to have a procedure to confirm this compliance. There are automated test tools to check for SQL injections and there is no excuse for not using them to check all the code of your database applications. To make a summary: Encrypt sensitive data Access the database using an account with the least privileges necessary Install the database using an account with the least privileges necessary Ensure that data is valid Do a code review to check for the possibility of second-order attacks Use parameterized queries Use stored procedures Re-validate data in stored procedures Ensure that error messages give nothing away about the internal architecture of the application or the database Conclusion SQL injection is one of the more common and more effective forms of attack on a system. Controlling the malicious SQL code/script on the web application and maintaining the end privacy is still a key challenge for the web developer. These issues must be considered seriously by the web developers involved in developing websites using databases.

Free Essays - Abuse in The Bluest Eye :: Bluest Eye Essays

Abuse in The Bluest Eye The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, is about an eleven year old girl, Pecola, who is abused by almost everyone in her life. Every day she encounters racism, not just from the white people, but also from the African American people. In her eyes, her skin is too dark, and the color of her skin makes her inferior to everyone else. The color of her skin makes her think that she is ugly. She feels that she can overcome this if she can get blue eyes. Pecola thinks that if she can be like the blue eyed Shirley Temple, everyone will love her. Pecola wishes to have blue eyes because she feels they will make her loved and accepted by the people in her life. Pecola is abused almost by everyone in her life. One day, she goes to Geraldine's house. Geraldine is a middle-class African American woman. Junior, Geraldine's son, harasses Pecola by throwing his cat around and eventually kills it. When Geraldine walks in, she says, "Get out. You nasty little black bitch. Get out of my house"(93). Geraldine thinks that her son does not kill the cat. She trust him more than Pecola. Pecola thinks that Geraldine called her "nasty" because of her appearance, dark skin. Also, calling an eleven year old girl a "bitch" is like killing committee a crime. A little girl does not really know what that word means, but she know it's horrible. Being called a "black beach", by an African American person hurts even more than being called by a white person because they are the same race. They go through the same types of things because of their skin color. They are suppose to support each other. This makes Pecola feel more ashamed of herself and want to change her appearance to be accepted and trusted by Geraldine's . Her family treated her the same way. Pecola's dad raped her. Mrs. Breedlove, her mother, did not pay attention to her. One day, Pecola decides to visit her mom at work. Mrs. Breedlove was a nanny for this white girl. Pecola accidentally knocks over a blueberry pie. Mrs. Breedlove says, " Crazy fool... my floor, mess... look what you... work...get on out. Hush, baby, hush. Come her. Oh, lord, look at your dress.

Memories of the Titanic :: Sinking of the Titanic

I remember my childhood years quite well. I had lived with my big brother, Colby Winston, ever since I was five, I don’t remember much before that though. We traveled all around Europe; Colby was a big gambler and loved to make bets. He lied, he cheated, everything was always changing. Colby promised me one thing though, â€Å"Reagan,† he would say, â€Å"one days it gunna be you and me, in the United States.† I really wanted to believe him, but I never saw it coming true. But then one day, one lucky day, Colby won the biggest hand of poker. Along with money, cigars, and a bracelet for me, he won two tickets to get aboard the Titanic! On April 10, 1912, Colby and I boarded the Titanic from the Southampton Harbor. It was my first time on a ship but I wasn’t that scared, Colby would describe me as a girl without fear. There were thousands of people lined up to board, Colby made me hold his hand so we wouldn’t get separated. After we put our bags into our third class room I wanted to explore. Colby didn’t mind that I wondered around but before I left he would always say, â€Å"If anything bad happens, you know where to find me.† He would be at one of the gambling tables testing his luck again. I loved to go watch the first class people through the ballroom windows. They were so proper and perfect. Sometimes I would wish that Colby would get rich so we could live like that, things would be a lot easier for us considering we didn’t have much money. The next day, Colby and I ate lunch on the deck with some of his gambling friends. It was really interesting to listen to their conversations, one of the guys they called Cash brought up that the Titanic was an unsinkable ship. â€Å"That’s not true,† I said, â€Å"no ship can be unsinkable, if it crashes it will sink.† They all just laughed at me, Colby said I just didn’t understand, and he was right, I didn’t. I went to bed early that night, after my walk around deck watching the sun set. I was so tired that I drifted into a deep sleep. â€Å"Reagan, wake up!† Colby was shaking me as if something terrible had happened â€Å"We got to go, get our shoes! Quickly!† I did as he asked, even though I didn’t know what was happening.

Dark count or Dark Current is one of the most important CCD specifications, :: Computer Science

Dark count or Dark Current is one of the most important CCD specifications, along with resolution, quantum efficiency and noise figure. Dark count or Dark Current is one of the most important CCD specifications, along with resolution, quantum efficiency and noise figure. Dark current causes an output to occur without the previous introduction of an input. This is caused by the thermal generation and then diffusion of charge. This Dark Current is generated at different locations in the CCD, but the cause of this charge generation is basically the same in all locations. This is because all cases are to do with irregularities in the fundamental crystal structure of the silicon present in CCDs. Examples of these irregularities include metal impurities such as gold, copper or iron, and crystal defects such as dislocations and stacking faults, all of which are known to be thermal generation sites of charge carriers in silicon. THE BEST EXAMPLE OF WHERE THIS DARK Current can be located is at the Silicon Oxide to silicon interface of the MOS capacitor (which is the main building block of a CCD) . This is due to the fact that this is where the largest irregularity in the silicon crystal structure occurs. However, it can also be located in the in the bulk of the silicon both inside and outside the depletion layer, which is defined by the CCD potential wells. To give an example of the amount of Dark Current, which is induced A Kodak KAF-0400 and KAF-1600 sensor is specified to have a Dark Current of 50 electrons being induced per second at 25 degrees c. Taking a one-minute exposure at this temperature would generate 3000 electrons of thermally induced charge, which is calculated by 60secs times 50 electrons. In theory the average Dark Current value can be subtracted from the output value to provide the signal due to photoelectrons. However in reality there are fluctuations in the Dark Current called Dark noise, and this cannot be accounted for in the same way. Noise occurs in different forms such as shot noise and trapping noise which both appear in the CCD channel. It also occurs at the input and output stages as KTC noise, but my main focus shall be on shot noise as it is closely associated with Dark Current. We know that the generation of Dark Current is a totally random process, due to the fact that the generation sites are randomly distributed and perhaps more importantly, the Dark Current generation process is random as a function of time. The number of electrons generated and then collected in a charge packet travelling through the

Judicial Precedent Essay

Judicial Precedent is another important source of law, it is an independent source of law, where there are no legislations on the particular point in statute Books, and Judicial Precedent works great. Judicial precedent has been accepted as one of the important sources of law in most of the legal systems. It is also a continuous, growing source of law. According to Salmond, the doctrine of precedent has two meanings, namely (1) in a loose sense precedent includes merely reported case-law which may be cited and follows by the court, (2) in its strict sense, precedent means that case-law which not only has a great binding authority. But must also be followed. There are variety of different views about the nature of judicial precedent. According to Jermy Bentham, Precedent is a judge-made Law while Austine calls it as judiciary’s law; Keeton holds precedents as those judicial pronouncements of the court which carry with them certain authority having a binding force. In simple wor ds precedent means judge-made decisions which are used in further cases. A judicial precedent is purely constitutive in nature and never abrogative. Means it can create law but cannot abolish it. The judges are not at liberty to substitute their own views where there is a settled principle of law. They can only fill in the gaps in the legal system and so we can say that precedent means a case decided previously. Or precedent is any set pattern upon which future conduct may be based. Judicial precedent is a decision by a competent court of justice upon a disputed point of view which becomes, not merely a guide but an authority to be followed by all courts of co-ordinate or inferior jurisdiction and administrating the same system until it has been overruled by a court of superior jurisdiction or by a statute of superior authority, e.g., an Act of Parliament. The justification of the binding rule of judicial precedent is based on the several reasons these are that, precedent is based on practical experience. Rather than logic, it is based on convenience in the sense that it is provided in settled law and thus saved the labour of judges. It prevents error of judgment by individual judges, it prevents partiality on the part of the judges It helps lawyers to take a cautious view of the development of law on the basis of past judicial experience because of above all factors precedents are become achieve important place as one of the important source of law. Precedents can be classified into two categories: (1) Authoritative and (2) Persuasive. The authoritative precedent is one  which has a binding force and the judge must follow it whether he approves it or not. Authoritative precedents are the decisions of superior court of justice which are binding on subordinate courts. For ex. Supreme Court, High Courts, Persuasive precedents, on the other hand, is on which the judges are under no obligation to follow but which they may take into consideration at the time of making decision. Now from all above discussion we are well able to understand precedent, how we discussed the position of precedent in real practice and its recent value in administration of justice. In the recent years, the value of the doctrine of precedent has become a debatable issue. In England the importance of precedent is much more than in any continental country, that is why it is often said that judicial precedent is an unique feature of common law countries because the great body of the common law or unwritten law is almost entirely the product of decided cases and common law of England has been created by the decision of English judges and precedent is not merely evidence of the law but a source of it and the courts are bound to follow the law that is so established. House of Lords is the highest Court in England, its decisions bind all the inferior courts, the House of Lords itself is bound by its own previous decision but this position after a long controversy and various debates become change after the famous classic case. Boys v. Chaplin, 1968 IAIIER 283 and it is finally decided that as the House of Lords is the highest court in England, its decisions are absolutely binding on all inferior courts. But House of Lords is now not bound by its own earlier decisions and so nowadays House of Lords is not bound by its own previous decisions. In continental countries like Germany France, Italy, judicial precedent has only instructive value and it is not authoritative. In these countries its importance is no greater than that of a textbook of law. In India judicial precedent has great value. The position of precedent becomes clear after 1950 and the doctrine of precedent gets a constitutional recognition. Art. 141 of the constitution provide that law declared by the Supreme Court to be binding on all courts, within the territory of India. It is clear from the wordings of Article 141 that the law declared by the Supreme Court is binding on all courts in India. But there after in various debates question arises that, whether the expression all courts include Supreme Court also. This question gives birth to various new views, that whether Supreme Court follows the British model of the House  of Lords of ‘be bound’ or the U.S.A. Supreme Court ‘not be bound’. This question was first discussed by S.C. in the famous case. Now it is finally concluded from all forgoing discussion that the position of precedent from past to presen t is changed in vast dimensions and importance. Value of precedent is now decreased to some extent and new concepts of prospective overruling has evolved to avoid the complications in vast changing society. In true sense precedents enable the judges to re-shape law according to the social need and at the same time the binding authority of the precedent acts as an effective check on the arbitrary discretion of the judges. Precedent helps common people to know about the intricate principles of law. Precedent helps Lawyers in their argument without waste of unnecessary time and energy whenever they want to cite any case-law. It also provides useful guidelines for the judges in deciding cases before them. But there are some contrary arguments towards precedent as Bentham did not recognize precedent as law at all because it lacks binding force of the state. Some critics argue that, statute law is more important than precedent, they say that, judicial precedents are published in law reports which are in such a large number that it becom es practically difficult to find out a particular case from such a voluminous legal literature and so it is very time consuming, they also contend that, at one time, different courts express conflicting opinions on the same point which renders the validity of precedent doubtful and uncertain and there is always a possibility of erroneous judgment in such a case. Another objection which is quite often raised against precedent is that development of law through case-law more or less depends upon chance, because there is no test available for determining the validity of law made by precedent. Sometimes erroneous decisions of S.C. create practical problems for the subordinate judges as they are bound to follow these decisions howsoever wrong or defective. This adversely affects the growth and development of law in the right direction. But despite the aforesaid critical argument, judicial precedent has been as one of the important sources of law in most of the legal systems particularly U.K., U.S.A., Australia, Afro-Asian countries and India as the merits of the binding effect of the precedent (decision) it must be stated that it gives certainty and uniformity to law and brings about its scientific development and precedents always remain an effective weapon of shaping and developing  law according to the needs of the changing society.

The Impact of Terrorism Enforcement on Individual Rights

The Impact of Terrorism Enforcement on Individual Rights Christine Gontarz Northern Virginia Community College Woodbridge Campus ADJ100 December 2, 2011 Professor: George DeHarde Table of Contents Introduction3 Terrorism and the First Amendment5 Early History7 The Alien and Sedition Acts of 17987 Habeas Corpus Act of 18638 World War I History9 Espionage and Sedition Acts of 1917 and 19189 Schenck v. US -9 Debs v. US10 World War II History11 Alien Registration (Smith) Act of 194011 Japanese-American Internment – Executive Order 9066 of 194211The History of Today12 Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 199612 U. S. A PATRIOT Act – 200113 Conclusion15 Works Cited17 Introduction During times of high crime, terrorism, war, and national crisis, citizens are willing to trade due process for a restriction of individual rights. At the heart of our individual rights are the first ten Amendments of the United States Constitution, the Bill of Rights. Although all the Ame ndments of the Bill of Rights were written to be of equal importance, to many Americans the most treasured is the First Amendment. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. † — The First Amendment to the U. S. Constitution Simply stated, the First  Amendment guarantees us the freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition. By examining the history of the United States, there have been times when incidents of crime, terrorism, terrorism threats, war, and national crisis have affected the rights of the people of the United States.There have been actions and reactions to those threats by the government. Restrictions were placed on citizens by limiting their rights; specifically the First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendments. Initially , the people of the United States understood the reasoning behind these limitations; however, as time went by, many felt the need to speak out about the injustices caused by the government and the restrictions of the freedoms of the people.Although the additional amendments in the Bill of Rights are of equal importance, it is the purpose of this paper to define examples of how the government has violated a the basic rights of the First Amendment during a presence or threat of terrorism in the United States. Terrorism and the First Amendment Freedom, as Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence, â€Å"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. — The Declaration of Independence is a God-given right provided to United States citizens. By declaring its independence from Great Britain and signing the Declaration of Independence, the Congress of the original thirteen colonies took its first steps to ensure its freedom from King George and British rule. Their goal, self-government and equal rights for the people (Fallon 14). It is because of British tyrannical rule that the United States Constitution was written.The United States Constitution outlined the rights of the government of the thirteen original colonies, but it was not until the Federalists and Anti-Federalists resolved their differences and adopted the Bill of Rights in 1791 that the people of the United States had the rights and freedoms they so desired to build this country. More than two hundred years later, on September 11, 2001, the United States was targeted by terrorists. This day is marked by atrocities beyond imagination. It is also on this day that many people of this generation say that the individual rights that our forefathers worked to provide have been changed forever.The attacks of September 11th have c aused the freedoms outlined in the Bill of Rights to be restricted by the enforcement of government rules and regulations; First Amendment rights limiting the freedom of speech, Fourth Amendment rights of illegal search and seizure, and Fourteenth Amendment rights of due process come to mind (although others feel that the Fifth and Sixth Amendments have also been affected). There are specific examples in United States history where the effects of terrorism enforcement have impinged individual rights.In order to relate the impact of government actions on individual rights for the sake of national security, in the name of terrorism, terrorism must be defined. According to the FBI, there is no one definition that is universally accepted by everyone (Office of Public Affairs iv). Their definition of terrorism from the Code of Federal Regulations can be defined as: â€Å"the unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives† (28 C.F. R. Section 0. 85). By observing a chronological history of the United States there is evidence of terrorism since the beginning of written history. References in the Bible refer to the cleansing of entire groups of people by eliminating the city of Jericho [ (Joshua 6. 1-27) ]. There are examples of terrorism during Greek and Roman times when the first known terror organization, the Zealots of Judea, formed campaigns and carried out assassinations of Roman occupation forces and Jews whom they felt collaborated with the Romans. (Early History of Terrorism) ] Although earlier instances of terrorism impacted the rights of individuals, it was not until the adoption of the Bill of Rights that there was recourse that could be taken by the people. It was then that citizens of the United States could declare that their individual rights were violated. Early History The Alien and Sedition Ac ts of 1798 From 1789 through 1799, during the French Revolution, the United States was forced to declare a policy of neutrality to avoid becoming involved in European conflicts and being dragged into another war.Because of an impending fear of war with France and a fear that â€Å"criticism of the government was destine to topple the Constitution,† (Willis 5) the Federalist-dominated Congress of President John Adams enacted the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 (Office of the Historian). Consisting of four acts, they introduced laws intended to suppress political opposition from Anti-Federalists. By enacting these laws, Adams was working to shield the United States from the French enemy and to protect the United States from opposition groups of Anti-Federalists.The four laws consisted of the Naturalization Act which raised the residency period of aliens from five to fourteen years, the Alien Act of 1798 which enabled the president to deport any alien (even during peacetime) if they were considered â€Å"dangerous to the safety of the US. † The Alien Enemies Act of 1798 enabled wartime arrest, imprisonment, or deportation of any alien for simply being from an enemy country. The last act, The Sedition Act made it a crime to â€Å"oppose any measure or measures of the government of the US. It also prohibited â€Å"writing, printing, uttering, or publishing any false, scandalous, and malicious writing or writings against the government of the US. It is evident that Sedition Act was the most controversial and most seriously punishable of the acts. Committing an offense against the Sedition Act was punishable by fines up the $5,000 and up to five years in prison and a second offenses were charged with a $2,000 fine and up to two years in jail.Most of those punished under the Sedition Act were journalists and politicians who aligned themselves with the Anti-Federalist party or the Jeffersonian Republicans (Willis 7). The grandson of Benjamin Franklin, B enjamin Bache who was the founder and editor of the Philadelphia General Advertiser, was the first to be charged under the Sedition Act because of his Anti-Federalist descent against John Adams and the Federalist party. Habeas Corpus Act of 1863 The presidency of Abraham Lincoln can best be described as a presidency of wartime.Just twelve hours after the president was elected, Major Robert Anderson sent Lincoln a dispatch requesting reinforcements of twenty thousand men to secure Fort Sumter from Confederate attack [ (Dirck 20) ]. It was Lincoln who set the tone for wartime presidents and he took full advantage of this power. During the height of the Civil War, Lincoln ordered a writ suspending Habeas Corpus. Lincoln’s primary focus by ordering the writ was to quell political opposition from pro-Confederate sympathizers.He justified his decision by stating â€Å"Even in such a case, would not the official oath be broken, if the government should be overthrown, when it was be lieved that disregarding the single law, would tend to preserve it? † [ (Dirck 25) ] referring to [ (Lincoln) ]. Lincoln believed that public safety was the cornerstone behind his decision. With public safety in mind, Lincoln authorized Winfield Scott to arrest anyone in â€Å"an insurrection against the laws of the United States. † [ (Dirck 25) ] referring to [ (Symonds) ] World War I HistoryEspionage and Sedition Acts of 1917 and 1918 Once again the United States and its people were preoccupied with war. In April 1917, the United States declared war on Germany and fears of espionage, anarchist activities, and the threat of terrorism loomed over the heads of the United States government. By establishing the Espionage and Sedition Acts of 1917 and 1918, the government prohibited the public from openly demonstrating or passing forth any information deemed to be detrimental to the military or the government during a time of war.Woodrow Wilson even gave the postmaster righ ts to restrict distribution of mail and documents that could be construed as harmful to the military of the United States . These offenses could be punishable by death. Because of the fear of harm to the nation and its citizens, the House and Senate almost passed the bill without any debate whatsoever even though the bill trampled on the freedom of speech and freedom of the press [ (Willis 14) ]. Schenck v. US – Led by Oliver Wendell Holmes, this would be the first case in which the Supreme Court handed down a ruling that constituted when the United States government could limit speech.Charles  Schenck, the general secretary of the Socialist party in Philadelphia was arrested for the distribution of political propaganda. These leaflets, which referenced the clause of the Thirteenth Amendment forbidding involuntary servitude, were directed at men who were drafted upon the passage of the Selective Service Act. Schenck encouraged draftees to â€Å"Assert Your Rights,† a nd that the people needed to stand up to the government for entering the war. The government claimed that these flyers contained â€Å"false† statements that could ultimately interfere with the effort to win the war.It was during this case that Oliver Wendell Holmes coined his most memorable rationale for the decision of the Supreme Court to be upheld in the Schenck case, noting that: â€Å"The question in every case is whether the words used are used in such circumstances and are of such a nature as to create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that Congress has a right to prevent. It is a question of proximity and degree. † Debs v. US Eugene Debs, a founder of the Socialist Party in 1901 and a strong opponent to the â€Å"Great War,† was no stranger to speaking his mind and being imprisoned because of his actions.Debs was sentenced to jail for his role as leader of a nationwide boycott of involving the Pullman Palace Car Company in 1894. After serving a two-year prison sentence, Debs held a Sunday afternoon picnic in Canton, Ohio. During his speech, Debs, phrasing his words carefully for fear of being prosecuted by the government for his â€Å"right to free expression,† encouraged the crowd to â€Å"turn their backs on the Republican and Democratic Party† and â€Å"fight for a cause [ (Debs) ]. † Debs was arrested for violating the Espionage Act and was accused of tampering with the recruiting services of the United States.He served a ten-year sentence for his speech. World War II History Alien Registration (Smith) Act of 1940 Representative Howard W. Smith introduced the Alien Registration Act of 1940. This act required aliens to register with the government of the United States within four months of their arrival in the United States. Although the prior acts were made during times of war, the Alien Registration Act was an act proposed and adopted during peacetime [ (Willis 26 -27) ]. The main objective of the act was to thwart any attempt by the American Communist Party to weaken the government of the United States.This act made it illegal to interfere with the loyalty of military personnel, to teach to violently overthrow the United States government, or to conspire to commit or to commit prohibited acts. The act also stated that the government could confiscate materials using the search warrant provision and that punishment of these offenses could result in a conviction of up to ten years in prison and a ten thousand dollar fine. In 1948, Harry Truman invoked this act to contain Soviet supporters and had eleven leaders of the Communist Party U.S. A. indicted for violations of the Smith Act. During the prosecution of the case of Dennis v. United States, the government used the works of Karl  Marx to prove that the eleven men violated the Alien Registration Act stating that they privately planned to overthrow the government of the United States. Japane se-American Internment – Executive Order 9066 of 1942 Eleven weeks after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Executive Order 9066 was signed by Franklin Roosevelt. â€Å"Relocation Centers† were set up across the United States.Approximately 110,000 Japanese-Americans were confined to no more than an American version of Hitler’s concentration camps. Japanese-Americans serving in the military were categorized as enemy aliens and discharged from the armed forces of the United States. Minoru Yasui was the first citizen to bring a case before the government during the time of the Internment. Yasui was denied active duty service by the United States military. Yasui purposely violated curfew orders in order to be arrested.His case, although initially based on a curfew law was brought to court and a unanimous conviction was handed down to Yasui claiming that his â€Å"racial attachments† to his Japanese roots posed a danger of espionage to the American people [ (Baker and Stack 66-68) ]. The History of Today Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 In the wake of the Oklahoma City bombing, the nation was traumatized by such a deplorable act of domestic terrorism. An overwhelming public fear guided the reactions of United States and the government set limitations of individual rights to protect its people.One week after the Oklahoma City bombing, President Clinton and members of Congress swiftly approved the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty of 1996 (AEDPA). First Amendment rights were again affected. By allowing the Secretary of State to selectively define its meaning of â€Å"material support† to foreign organizations, citizens were â€Å"guilty by association† based on the purpose of their monetary contributions (Brown et al. 17-20) . The belief was that monetary and logistical contributions to an organization showed support for that organization. This was enough ammunition for the government to hold ci tizens in violation of the AEDPA.In a case brought against the Attorney General by the Humanitarian Law Project (HLP), the HLP challenged the ruling that their humanitarianism, peacekeeping training, and support of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) was in violation of the constitutionality of the material support statute. The PKK was determined to be a â€Å"terrorist organization. † By supporting a terrorist organization, the HLP could have faced extensive prison sentences if they had continued to support their mission by providing monetary and logistical contributions even though the contributions were to support peaceful acts.Eventually the HLP ceased in their support of the PKK. U. S. A PATRIOT Act – 2001 With the attack of the World Trade Center and Pentagon and the takeover of Flight 93, the scope of terrorism in the United States had changed since even the bombings in Oklahoma  City. Once thought to be a crisis of foreign countries, the United States w as now faced with a new brand of terrorist attacks unlike ever before. As a result, acts aimed at preventing further attacks and protecting the security of society were invoked.The Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act (USA PATRIOT Act), was adopted in October 2001 to assist the government in gaining information on future terror attacks. Many feel that since the adoption of the PATRIOT Act, First Amendment rights have been violated in an unprecedented way. Not only does the government have the ability to limit the size and nature of demonstrations, conduct racial profiling, but they also may limit the information which can be publicized to the citizens of the United States claiming â€Å"national security interests. The National Archives and Records Administration states that â€Å"the number of classification actions by the Executive Branch rose 14 percent in 2002 over 2001 — and declassification a ctivity fell to its lowest level in seven years. † [ (Posner 220) ] Since September 11, Arab, Muslim, and South Asian populations of the United States have been profiled based on skin color and other physical characteristics. The government has the ability to â€Å"stop, interrogate and detain individuals without criminal charge †¦ on the basis of their national origin, ethnicity and religion. (American Civil Liberties Union 1) ]. By looking at the people who were rounded up just after September 11, it is evident that racial profiling based on religion and ethnicity had taken place by the Department of Justice; a clear violation of the First Amendment. In a more recent incident in The Washington Post on October 2008, Maryland State Police revealed that as a result of surveillance operations, the names of fifty-three nonviolent activists had been placed into an unknown federal database used for the purpose of tracking terrorist suspects.The judgment by the Maryland State Police to include the activists’ names in the terrorist database was met with disapproval and was criticized by senators noting that the â€Å"law enforcement officials were oblivious to their violation of the activists' rights of free expression and association. † [ (Rein, Lisa A1) ] Conclusion Through historical records, it is evident the intent of the government in times of war is to protect its citizens and prevent aggression on the homeland.The punishment and imprisonment of citizens for First Amendment violations are based on situations when governing bodies of the United States felt threatened by acts of anarchy, Communism, terrorism, or war. In most instances, the government has been proactive by halting contrary opinions from opposing parties or seeking peacetime acts as a precautionary measure. At other times, they have been reactive by enacting laws after terrorist attacks . In either case, they have adopted rules and laws based upon the fear of the people a nd the prevention of potential attacks.Their fears have limited free speech, free assembly, free press, and have punished those for freedom of religion. Historically, as time went by and threats declined, the people of the United States became more conscious of the limitations the government had set forth. In the referenced laws and actions of this paper, court cases brought to the Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of First Amendment limitations have been paramount in the repeal or retraction of these acts. The decisions in these cases prove that there is a need for a balance between individual freedoms and protection of the people.

Magic Toyshop Essay

The Magic Toyshop is the second novel of the feminist writer Angela Carter. It is one of the most popular of her early books. In Carter’s works mythological and Biblical themes often appear, and The Magic Toyshop is a good example of that. This essay is intended to discuss the introductory chapter of The Magic Toyshop, in which Carter rewrites a major Biblical story. The Magic Toyshop follows the story of a teenage girl, Melanie. She is one of three children, her younger brother is Jonathon and her five year old sister is Victoria. They live in the English countryside in a middle class family. Their house is spacious; they all have their own bedrooms. Their parents are rich, successful and the children have everything they need. The children have a middle aged governess Mrs. Rundle. She is overweight, was never married, only added the Mrs. title to her name a few years ago as a present to herself. Melanie has a fear of becoming someone like Mrs. Rundle. She does not believe in God but she prays that she would marry and have sex in her life. She is worried about her weight because she thinks she is too thin, but she would not eat too much either because then she might become fat and never marry. She already sees herself as someone’s wife; she looks at herself as a male would do. (Gamble 69) The novel tells the story of the children becoming orphans and having to leave their home. Their parents are killed in a plane crash and the three children must leave the countryside to live with their uncle in London. Uncle Phillip owns a toyshop and is a toymaker himself. The orphans do not know anything about him; Melanie’s only memory of him is that when she was a little girl he made her a jack in the box which was very scary. They do not know that the world they are about to enter is radically different from the one they lived in until now. At the beginning of the novel Melanie is a happy fifteen year old girl who is starting to discover herself. She explores her body, discovers it as a colonizer discovers the unknown land. She likes to pose in front of her mirror; she plays the roles of the characters of paintings (by male painters naturally). The novel uses the terminologies of explorers thus making us believe there is a male voice behind the words. Melanie’s only wish is to marry well. She is already getting ready for married life, she is making herself ready for a husband. She believes that marriage is the only way to have inancial and emotional security, the only way to be a respectable woman and to have a happy life. This is the only way she knows. This is what the culture, the social background of the age indoctrinated her to believe. She is dreaming of a perfect husband who is handsome, gentle, amiable, who has a good job and adequate financial background. Although she is a little worried about not getting this perfect life, not having sex, she genuinely believes that things are going to work out for the best. Melanie is planning to spend her adolescence preparing for the life that comes after. However soon enough she will realize that life is not a fairytale. She will meet and fall in love with a boy that does not fit in the image of the perfect husband she pictured for herself, a boy that she would have never thought to fell for under normal circumstances. She will realize how these circumstances can make her grow up in a few days – or even a few hours as on the train ride to London she realizes she has to be the mother of her little brother and sister – , and how they can suddenly take away all of her dreams and principles. However there is another way to interpret the beginning of the first chapter, the scene where she is exploring her body. Melanie is not only preparing herself for her future groom, but she is exploring her own sexuality too. She is in the age when she realizes that she is a woman, that she has not only grown mentally but physically too. â€Å"In Carter’s own words, Melanie ‘is very conscious of desire, she is filled with it. And that gives her power’. † (Gamble 69-70) One night Melanie decides to go further then posing in her own bedroom. Her parents are not home, they are in America. In the darkness of the night, when everyone in the house is asleep, she goes to her parent’s bedroom. She looks at their wedding photograph and starts thinking about her parents. How she cannot imagine her mother naked, as she never saw her that way – she even jokes about her mother being born with clothes on -, and how her father always wears the same suit. She wonders if her parents had sex before their wedding – this makes her believe she really is growing up if thoughts like this occur in her mind. She notices Uncle Phillip in the picture and thinks about the old jack in the box she was so afraid of. Then she goes over to her mother’s dressing table and looks into the mirror. She starts posing there too and feels that she looks different in her mother’s mirror. This moment can be understood again as a flesh of transition between childhood and becoming a woman. Being in her parent’s room is like pretending to be an adult just like they are. Posing in her mother’s mirror Melanie is trying to imagine how she will look like and feel as an adult, married woman. This moonlit night is the one when the fall happens†¦ Looking at her parent’s wedding picture Melanie decides to try on her mother’s wedding dress. She finds the dress and puts it on but it is too big. She is a little disappointed but still thinks she looks beautiful in it. She feels like a bride. â€Å"A bride. Whose bride? But she was, tonight, sufficient for herself in her own glory and did nor need a groom. † (Carter 16) Melanie decides to go out to the garden. She first feels free and excited; the night was so different from the one she imagined. The moonlit garden was like the Garden of Eden. â€Å"She was alone. In her carapace of white satin, she was the last, the only woman. † (Carter 17) This realization of loneliness soon turns into panic. She truly feels alone and feels what happening is too much. Crying she runs back to the front door but it is closed†¦ She forgot her keys. Suddenly the sweet, dark night turns into a scary land. Melanie realizes what she did was forbidden. She is frightened, she thinks there is something in the dark. After Mrs. Rundle’s cat appears in the garden, Melanie feels a little more comfortable. She starts to pull herself together and decides she will climb up the apple tree to her window. (The apple tree can be a symbol of Eden again). But she cannot do that in the wedding dress. The cat gives her so much comfort that she can take the dress off. Then something happens: she realizes her own nakedness as never before. â€Å"She was horribly conscious of her own exposed nakedness. She felt a new and final kind of nakedness, as if she had taken even her own skin off and now stood clothed in nothing, nude in the ultimate nudity of the skeleton. (Carter 21) This scene might be interpreted as the happenings in the Bible right after the Fall. The serpent deceives Eve so she and Adam both eat from the forbidden tree. â€Å"Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. † (New International Bible, Genesis 3:7) The naked Melanie puts down the dress and the cat climbs on it. It scratches the dress. Melanie starts climbing up the tree, she does not know how long it takes but she finally gets to her room. She bleeds form â€Å"hundreds of cuts† but does not mind the pain. She honestly regrets what she had done that night, but cannot take it back. She ate from the forbidden fruit and knows that she deserves the consequences. Right now pain seems to be the punishment. The morning has come and when Mrs. Rundle, Jonathon and Victoria leave the house Melanie is alone in the house with her sin. Somebody is knocking on the door. It is a messenger boy with a telegram in his hand. â€Å"As soon as she saw him, she knew what the telegram contained, as if the words were printed on his forehead. (Carter 24) She runs to the bathroom and vomits. She reads the telegram and realizes what she already guessed was true. Her parents were dead. Melanie’s childhood, her fairytale life ended in this moment. She committed a sin last night and now was expelled from Eden. â€Å"This ‘wedding dress night when she married the shadows’ (Carter 77) exiles her and her younger brother and sister from their comfortable, liberal, middle-class home in the country to live in a dark, narrow house above Uncle Phillip’s toyshop in south London. (Sage 15) And what was Melanie’s fault really? As Lorna Sage says it was the â€Å"stepping over the boundary between reality and fantasy† (Sage 15) Melanie, Jonathon and Victoria are taken to their Uncle Phillip’s house. Melanie soon realizes she will have to live there in terror, in constant fear of her uncle. She has to say good bye to the magical life she had in the countryside and has to grow up sooner then expected. We can understand Uncle Phillip’s house as Purgatory. She goes through a grueling rite of passage into the state of being a woman. Whatever way she might once have grown up is simply cancelled after she arrived at Uncle Phillip’s. † (Day 25) Melanie goes through hell until one day Uncle Phillips ends this story. When he learns that his wife has a sexual relationship with her own brother, he sets the house on fire. â€Å"In the end only Melanie and Finn are left standing amongst the wreckage staring at one another in wild surmise, Adam and Eve at the beginning of a new world. †

Heart of darkness Essay

   It is a description of Marlow’s initial impressions and observations of the Outer Station, and all the slave labour going on. As he sees the land around him, he notices many ‘mounds of turned up earth’, and ‘wastes of excavations’, he speaks of the land as if it has been ‘raped’ of all its resources, and left as a barren wasteland. His first impressions of the African slave workers seems racist, as he compares there black, naked bodies to ants, however, it is more likely that this is just a reference to the futility and uselessness of the work that is going on. His next observation is a boiler, and an undersized railway-truck. He describes them as ‘dead’ like the ‘carcass of some animal’. There are several interpretations for this scene. One is that he has ‘personified’ the machinery, giving them similar qualities to the slaves, describing the machinery as though it has been allowed to rest, and have its job taken over by slaves. Another interpretation is that the machinery is a symbol for the empire, as the machinery is slowly decaying and rusting, the empire is also declining. Another reference to the futility of this work appears a few lines down. ‘The cliff was not in the way or anything; but this objectless blasting was all the work going on’. It is as if the slaves have just been given something to do, to keep them from sitting around. As Marlow walks further on, he sees a guard carrying a gun, and wearing a ‘jacket with one button of’. This is a very deliberate observation, though the empire seems perfect from the outside, it has imperfections. On seeing Marlow, the guard raises his gun, and tries to see who Marlow is; Marlow is sarcastic at this point, joking about how white men all look the same at a distance, referring to how black people all look the same to him from a distance. As the guard recognises Marlow and smiles, there is more sarcasm from Marlow, describing the guards trust as being ‘exalted’, and describing himself as being a ‘part of the great cause of these high and just proceedings’. Marlow then descends down the hill, towards some trees. At this point, Marlow starts commenting some more on his pity for the slaves, and the pointlessness of the work going on. The first technique used to relay this to us is Conrad’s use of short sentences, like we are part of Marlow’s thought process. His first thoughts are about how futile and pointless all the work that is going on is. He describes one of the pits that has been dug, as ‘just a hole’. As he goes towards the trees for shade, he instantly regrets it, making a direct reference to ‘Dante’s Inferno’. Dante’s Inferno is one perception of what hell would be like. His vision of hell consists of seven rings, each ring containing people who have sinned a particular way, with the rings varying degrees of punishment. He looks around, noticing the slaves, ‘objectifying’ them as ‘black shapes’. He makes an ironic comment, calling the slaves ‘helpers’ and stating how they have ‘withdrawn to die’. He talks about how they have been abandoned in a very understating way. There is another reference to Dante’s Inferno here, as he notices the ‘black shadows of disease and starvation’. Marlow then leaves the trees, but looks down to see a black slave, who has a white thread around his neck. He is startled at how strange and out of place it looks on the black skin. This is symbolic of the white men of the empire being out of place in Africa. To conclude, the ‘Heart of Darkness’ within the play refers to the inner capability to commit evil acts in all men, and the evil of the empire underneath the front of ‘spreading civilisation and the light of Christianity’. The two sections of the novel which I have chosen to examine are full of symbolic imagery, referring to the title, and raising questions in the readers mind about the greatness of Britain.