Friday, November 8, 2019

The eNotes Blog Not At This Time Rejection Letters to FamousWriters

Not At This Time Rejection Letters to FamousWriters Why is dad so sad?   Probably because he just checked his mail and found his self-addressed stamped envelope in his box, his manuscript inside, and the dreaded form letter saying, We are sorry, but your manuscript does not currently meet our specific needs.   The first dozen or so times, Dad wanted to believe the closing line promising to review his work in the future but Dr. Seuss (aka Theodore Geisel) knew the feeling.   His now-classic childrens book   And to Think I Saw It on Mulberry Street  was rejected a whopping twenty-seven times before it was finally accepted by Vanguard Press.   This may be your fate as well. Putting your work out in the world is scary. Rejection sucks. It can make you afraid to do it again.   But you have to try.   Because the twenty-seventh or twenty-eighth time might just be the one. Novelist Barbara Kingsolver (The Poisonwood Bible, The Bean Trees)  offers this advice to writers feeling wounded:   This manuscript of yours that has just come back from another editor is a precious package. Don’t consider it rejected. Consider that you’ve addressed it ‘to the editor who can appreciate my work’ and it has simply come back stamped ‘Not at this address’. Just keep looking for the right address.† To give you hope, here are ten rejections of famous writers as well as a some of their reactions and advice about coping with rejection: 1.   The  Left Hand of Darkness  Ã‚  by Ursula Le Guin 2.   Saul Bellow   â€Å"I discovered that rejections are not altogether a bad thing. They teach a writer to rely on his own judgment and to say in his heart of hearts, ‘To hell with you.’â€Å"   (Source) 3.   Tim Burton     Ã‚   A ripe, 18-year-old Burton, still in high school, submitted his illustrated children’s book to Walt Disney Productions for consideration. That was 1976, and T. Jeanette Kroger, author of his rejection letter, didn’t see inThe Giant Zlig  what the Academy of Motion Picture Arts, BAFTA, Cannes, and, it’s fair to say, the majority of humanity saw in him in later years. Kroger thanked Burton for his mail and made no mention of the possibility of publication but did give the artist some tips.   (Source) 4.   Anita Shreve â€Å"To ward off a feeling of failure, she joked that she could wallpaper her bathroom with rejection slips, which she chose not to see as messages to stop, but rather as tickets to the game.†   (Source) 5.   Sylvia Plath    Plaths novel  The Bell Jar  was also rejected: The Knopf editor â€Å"jbj† knows all too well what difference a name drop can make; Plath originally submitted her novel under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas, whose work received the original, terse in-house review printed below. When it was revealed that Victoria Lucas was in fact Sylvia Plath, an embarrassed jbj took a greater interest in the work, although he ultimately still rejected it. Plath’s only novel eventually became an American classic and staple of every high school curriculum, but before that, the rest of the Knopf staff seem to have agreed with jbj - unpublishable.   (Source) 6.   Ã‚  Chuck Wendig Rejection has value. It teaches us when our work or our skillset is not good enough and must be made better. This is a powerful revelation, like the burning UFO wheel seen by the prophet Ezekiel, or like the McRib sandwich shaped like the Virgin Mary seen by the prophet Steve Jenkins. Rejection refines us. Those who fall prey to its enervating soul-sucking tentacles are doomed. Those who persist past it are survivors. Best ask yourself the question: what kind of writer are you? The kind who survives? Or the kind who gets asphyxiated by the tentacles of woe?   (Source) 7.   Hunter S. Thompson Expresses His Displeasure to His Biographer, William McKeen    8.   Neil Gaiman â€Å"Remember: when people tell you something’s wrong or doesn’t work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong.†   (Source) 9.   Kurt Vonnegut     Ã‚   A decade and a half later, a writing sample by Vonnegut would have been accepted without a look beyond the author name, but in 1949, Kurt Vonnegut was a nobody, and the editors at  The Atlantic Monthly  had no big plans to lift him out of anonymity. After mailing the magazine three samples of his work, he received the above letter of rejection from editor Edward Weeks, which now hangs, framed, in Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library in Indianapolis. The following decades of Vonnegut’s career were characterized by a prolific output of award-winning novels, including  Cat’s Cradle  and  Slaughter-House Five, the latter of which is rumored to have developed out of one of the rejected samples. (Source) 10.   On the Road by Jack Kerouac Now heralded as the beat bible, Jack Kerouac’s magnum opus  On the Road  was finally published by Viking Press in 1957, six years after it was written. But in 1951, given its provocative content and untraditional style, publishing houses wouldn’t touch it. Knopf was just one of many whose editors reviewed the manuscript harshly and reported it as untouchable to their editors.   (Source)

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Implicit Social Norm Essays

Implicit Social Norm Essays Implicit Social Norm Paper Implicit Social Norm Paper Rules used by a group for appropriate or inappropriate behaviors, beliefs, values and attitudes can either be explicit or implicit. Explicit norms outline clearly the rules and purpose of a group and the expected behavior is codified and documented, while implicit norms are the informal expectations which emerge from daily interactions within a group. Although they are not documented, members of a group are expected to abide by them since they are embedded in the fabrics of the society with time. Explicit rules in nursing can describe the proper ways of wearing a uniform while in a clinical setting, implicit norms can for example be â€Å"the way a ward manager likes it done. † Norms can simply be classified as roles that are applicable to members of a certain group instead of different concepts. Explicit norms can be compared to FAQs documents and user agreements of a specific group. The difference between these norms and rules is that norms, such as shaking hands after a tennis match may not invoke sanctions but rules, such as using a standard tennis racket may invoke sanctions. An example of an implicit norm is facing the door after entering the elevator. Whereas both explicit and implicit norms are necessary for a group to function efficiently and effectively, different types of punishments are given for violation (Terry, Hogg, 2000). Governing official use laws and regulations to enforce explicit norms and violation can lead to permanent disbarment from the group. Violation of implicit norms attracts stares from the public and members of a group can offer opinions to enable an individual to abide by the rules. Indirect benefits of group participation and methods of enforcement or punishment. Member participation in group activities usually varies in terms of efforts provided by individual participants. When a group is working together, some members end up doing more work while others conceal their laziness and tend to joy-ride. This is mainly cased by lack of group standards; anonymity of blame or success; and individuals expecting that other people will slack off. To ensure that group activities become productive, it’s important to establish rules of conduct and individual accountability so that group’s work is equally shared. Group sizes must be appropriate and members are supposed to be loyal to its vision (Pettit, 2002). A team contract is essential in setting group expectations and peer evaluation is important so that team members can compliment the strengths and weaknesses of other group’s members. Each individual should have specific tasks according to their skills and should grade their contributions so that group achievement can be evaluated. People who deter productivity can be dwelt with in a number of ways. Private and group confrontation can be used to inform the social loafer that his sluggish behavior will not be tolerated. When both options fail in changing the individual, the group leader can seek superior assistance either from an authoritative figure, a teacher or the boss. When possible, documented evidence should be provided concerning the laziness of the person (Dubois, 2002). Moreover, a last resort of trying to change a sluggish individual is exclusion from group activities. When the above options do not bare fruits, circumvention is the best option where the group can be reconstituted and each member given new responsibilities.

Monday, November 4, 2019

Web Server Application Attacks Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Web Server Application Attacks - Assignment Example This keeps the web application safe from malicious user inputs. Session Security Vulnerabilities. When session ID’s are sequential and persistent or when session tokens are not protected, one user may access another user’s data through assuming the other user’s identity. To mitigate this, session ID’s must be random and must expire when a user logs out of the session. Session tokens must be protected and invalidated when the user logs out. 3. Authentication Vulnerabilities When server does not authenticate a user before giving him access to a web application, he may gain access to sensitive information and mishandle it. To counter this problem, the user must apply authentication rules like HTTPS. User must ask for authentication after specified intervals. Access control must also be implemented. Part 2 Protecting Web Servers from Denial of Service (DoS) Attacks Denial of Service (DoS) attacks prevent web servers from serving websites to genuine users. These attacks are, mostly, targeted toward professional websites run by political or other important organizations, in order to hinder their web presence to their clients and users (AppliCure Technologies, 2013). However, small businesses are also not free of such threats. The websites cease to operate partially or fully. A DoS intrusion detection architectural design is a must-use in order to prevent such attacks. Mell, Marks & McLarnon (2000) have discussed this architecture in their article, in which intrusion detection software (IDS) components are hidden from the attacker. In case the attack is successful, IDS components are shifted from the attacked host to functional host, where they counter with the attack successfully. This is done by by using mobile agent technology and network topology features. The communication bet ween various IDS components is also restricted (Mell, Marks & McLarnon, 2000). Part 3 a. Basic motivation behind the attack on the Justice Department, as hackers themselves stated, was that they wanted to â€Å"release government data† (Zabarenko, 2013, para.1). They were also outraged over the death of the late computer prodigy Aaron Swartz, who had committed suicide on January 11 this year. He had been facing trial for stealing millions of online JSTOR articles. b. I would have used Ping of Death, as it is a dummy ICMP packet receiving fragments of ping, and resembles the real packet. It becomes too big for the buffer once reassembled, which starts overflowing, and thus, the system hangs (Canavan, 2001, p.39). I would use this because there are freely available source code examples on the internet for Unix to create large ping packets. It is very easy to ditch the user through fake ping packet. c. Web server application attacks are not as easy as they may seem, because ther e are many different kinds of anti-virus softwares, intrusion detection softwares, and user input detection and encoding softwares that are being implemented nowadays. These special softwares make it very hard for the attackers to succeed in their attacks. Part 4 To maintain a secure web presence, Federal government organizations need to maintain special mitigation strategies. Designing an information security policy is the first step towards the implementation of information security (Danchev 3). A security policy acts as a centralized crucial document that will help in eliminating the risk of security breaches by securing the confidential information stores from getting disclosed to unauthorized persons. It defines the importance of a

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Illustrate how a positive communication climate contributes to Essay - 3

Illustrate how a positive communication climate contributes to sustaining social, personal, and professional relationships - Essay Example This paper will review the importance of a positive communication climate to individuals irrespective of the relationship that they may be having. In sustaining personal relationships, positive communication climate enables one to feel valued in a relationship. This means that for those in a relationship, the purpose of open communication leads to a better understanding. This creates an avenue for the sharing of intimate thoughts, and ideas for the relationship to blossom (Segrin, 2005). Often, they communicate in a manner that shows affection to the person they are communicating with, and the language is often courteous. The interaction between them could be verbal and/or non-verbal, but it has to be very respectful. Professionally, a good communication climate can lead to the formation of a very conducive working environment. Being involved in the decision making process can enable the subordinate stuff, or employees to feel appreciated, and valued. There, however, should be a line between the employer, and the employee (Troester, 2007). This ensures that each and every organization has effort accountability. Showing support and encouraging fellow workmates can improve this professional relationship. Socially, people will get to communicate, and interact much more often. Approaching someone can be a very hard task, especially if they are new to you. However, all this can change if people were confident enough, and exhumed an aura of good nature around them. Everybody wants to know, and find a loveable person. This is hard nowadays as everyone is interested in doing their own thing, and finding means, and a way of survival (Troester, 2007). Considering personal relationships, it is very easy to meet new people (Wood, 2010). This is due to technological advances made over the past decade. Friendships have been made in social networking sites that exist today. Friendships grow

Thursday, October 31, 2019

Gathering Information in Marketing Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Gathering Information in Marketing - Term Paper Example The macro trend analysis involves an understanding of the market environment in six areas and these include the demographic environment, socio-cultural, technological, natural, economic and regulatory. Information from this analysis will show the big picture of the market and what to expect when moving in such a market (BPP, 2010, p. 55). After a careful analysis of the market it is important to consider the industry in which the organization is located and this is important in order to know its attractiveness. Porters five forces model is one of the most used models in examining an industry attractiveness. It begins with an analysis of rivalry among the present competitors, and then examines the threat of new entrants, the bargaining power of suppliers, the bargaining power of buyers and the threat of substitute products. All this provide relevant information concerning the industry an organization is thinking of venturing into. After understanding the market and the industry it is important to estimate the market demand and market growth (BPP, 2010, pp. 55-60). Market demand therefore represents what all of the buyers within a market are willing and able to buy at alternative prices during a given time period, holding all demand determinants constant. This is affected by many factors which include: individual preferences and tastes, buyer expectations, income, complementary goods and substitute goods (Mullins & Walker, 2010, p.70). Three techniques have been put forward for estimating market demand and these include consumer surveys, consumer focus groups and market experiments. Market growth on the other hand can be estimated by examining historical records and extrapolating the results into the future (McGuigan, Moyer, & Harris, 2011). Memorandum Sanitex has continued with its presence in west London commanding a big proportion of the market. With its continued presence in the market it is continuing to expand and may just cover the whole of London. The est imated market size of Sanitex can be seen as small because of the limited number of potential customers that use pest control products. The diversification of the company’s product portfolio into other areas such as carpet cleaning and distribution of sanitary products should increase the market size. It is difficult to estimate the size of the company’s market but the following sources could be used by Sanitex to find out the approximate size of its market. These sources include: customer surveys, government data such as census data and trade associations. The current demand for Sanitex products is still low and this is because of the following reasons: first is because Sanitex is still not known and therefore the existence of strong competitors reduces the demand of Sanitex products. Secondly is the one product that has been on their portfolio. The company has tried to publicise itself making it known to the greater London and therefore the demand of their products i s likely to increase because of the increased market size. The improved product portfolio will also work to their advantage as it will increase demand because of the uniqueness of their services. Customer Satisfaction Organizations find it difficult to manage customer’s satisfaction efficiently. There are many tools that are employed in measuring customer satisfaction and each method has to be defined appropriately in order to meet desired norms. There are two primary ways of measuring custome

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

The Great Leap Forward launched by Mao in 1958 Essay Example for Free

The Great Leap Forward launched by Mao in 1958 Essay When the Communist party came to power in 1949 after a brutal war against the Nationalists, China was in a devastated state. War against Japan had resulted in the destruction of many of its cities including Beijing. Chinas people were left scared with the horrific memories of the Japanese armys horrendous acts. Rescuing China from the gutter was to prove to be a difficult task for Mao Zedong and his communist comrades. In order to understand the fundamental problems with the Great Leap Forward, previous reforms must be considered in order to fully assess the reasons for the its failures. One of Chinas most notorious problems was land ownership. Most of Chinas land was owned by cruel landlords. Peasants were being exploited and were forced to work long hours for poor pay and terrible living conditions. Mao used this in order to take a fundamental step in assuring that he had total control over the people. He introduced the policy of land reform. Mao re-distributed 40% of Chinas land and gave it to the peasants. This proved to be a truly brilliant political decision as he swept the hearts of the peasants on his side. He realised that as 90% of Chinas population were peasants, he needed to appeal to the masses. This policy was considered a success as an estimated 60% of the entire population benefited form the reform. However, this was to be a sign of Maos disregard for human life as this policy resulted in the death of 2 million landlords, by means of public execution during struggle meetings. Mao also started an early form of collectivisation, by 1952, 40% of peasants were collectivised. The next step was the encouragement of cooperatives, these favoured central management of land under private ownership, and by 1956 80% of peasants were part of cooperatives. The important factor of the land reform policy is that Mao was able to gain support from the peasants, the same peasants he would later use to conduct the Great Leap forward. Despite claiming to be a Marxist, Mao considered rural peasants to be the seeds of agricultural success but thought that industrial peasants were the backbone of the economy. The Great Leap Forward was to be the second economic reform Mao was to launch in China. Inspiring himself from Stalins economic model, in 1953 Mao launched the first 5 year plan. This plan was to be extraordinarily successful. The first of his 5 year plans set high production targets in oil, steel, pig iron and chemical fertiliser. Most of these targets were achieved, notably steel production quadrupled. Mao was able to cut inflation down from 1000% to only 15% by introducing a new currency the Yuan. Maos reforms were all interlinked. He used his social reforms to back up his economic reforms. Mao made revolutionary changes to womens lives in modern China. New sets of laws were introduced giving women the right to work, education and custody rights over their children. This was a significant improvement from the harsh days of foot binding. Mao also deemed it important to educate the Chinese population, another success was his improvement of literacy, and by his death 90% of China was literate. Not only did Mao revolutionise Chinese social life, but he put an end to corruption the government. However, these changes were to contribute to the launch of the great leap forward in a crucial way, by giving women the right to work Mao had significantly enlarged his work force which was important considering his beliefs in mass mobilisation. By the time the he announced the launch of the great leap forward 70% of women were employed. The success of the first 5 year plan can be explained by several factors. The targets set were plausible and most importantly Mao had the help of Russian economic and agricultural experts. However Mao deeply mistrusted experts. Some may argue that this was one of the main reasons for launching the hundred flowers campaign. In order to lure out intellectuals and opposition Mao gave a speech in 1957. During this speech Mao encouraged the intelligentsia to constructively criticize the communist party. At first the movement was slow to take of but once Mao forced the media to get behind it, people started speaking their minds about Maos regime. Communist party members were being heavily criticized and the Chinese people demanded reform. Mao, not uncharacteristically decided to reverse the policy in May 1957. This was to result in a crackdown on the intelligentsia known as the anti rightist campaign. Over 300,000 people were sent to labour camps. The hundred flowers was not simply a way at removing the intelligentsia, it was a way of removing Maos opponents, and this was to make the launch of the Great leap forward less difficult and certainly less questioned for the few experts that remained would be too terrified of speaking against the communist party chairman. The scene is now set for the introduction of the Great Leap Forward. Mao dreamed of transforming China into one of the worlds leading economic powers. Maos dream was to become Chinas nightmare with the launch of the great leap forward in 1958. Maos goal was to transform China into an economic superpower overnight. Many peasants knew little of what the Great Leap forward was for, most thought it was simply a plan to overtake major capitalist countries. However, to serve a higher purpose, Mao saw nuclear power as an essential element to become a superpower. However Maos secrete ambition was expensive. In order to mobilise labour, Mao had to further collectivise cooperatives in the rural parts of China. Mao believed that industry and agriculture were equally important, hence the slogan walking on two legs. However, the first 5 year plan had been beneficial to industry but agriculture had stagnated. One of Maos main concerns was Chinas population was outgrowing food production. In 1957 food production had grown 1% whilst the population had grown by 2%. Mao was distraught by the fact that the countrysides production was being used up in by the rural population. This posed a real economic problem for China. It meant that industry was not going to be sufficiently supported by agriculture and thus meant that Maos ambitions could not be realised. Maos answer to this problem was to decentralise control and enable enlarged agricultural units produce food and industrial products. These new super collectives would be known as Peoples Communes. These communes were under the control of local cadres whos main order were to extract as much labour as possible from the peasants. These cadres forced peasants were forced to hand over their property, thus reversing his policy of Land reform. The first of people communes was created in Henan in April 1958. It was composted of 27 collectives with over 9369 households joined together, by December 1958, 740,000 cooperatives had been turned into 26,000 communes. Mao had successfully militarised Chinas society, militia units squads were formed and were composed of everyone between 15 to 20 years of age. Living conditions in the communes were nothing short of appalling. Peasants eat, slept and washed together. All privacy was swept away from them, Mao even considered getting rid of peoples names and replacing them with numbers. According to Jung Chang and Jon Halliday Mao aim was to dehumanise Chinas 550 million peasants and turn them into the human equivalent of draft animals Mao had betrayed the peasants and was going to trade the peasants life for economic growth. Mao expected far too much from these communes. This may explain why the harvest predictions were astronomically high. Mao would have done well to examine the previous harvesting results. The normal yield was a ton per acre. The previous harvest of 1957 yielded a poor 195 million tons of grain. In 1958 Mao announced that the harvest figures for that year had been 430 million tons, western experts place this figure around 200 million tons. This demonstrates how much the production figures were exaggerated. Mao s political secretary Chen Boda told Mao that China was accomplishing in a day what it took capitalist states 20 years to accomplish. Production actually decreased during the Great Leap Forward by significant amounts, the harvest of 1959 was yielded a disappointing 170 million tons the CCP reported it at 282 million tons. This figure was to get even lower in 1960 when it fell to 143 million tons. This can be attributed to poor agricultural techniques. Close planting and deep ploughing were considered to be at the hear t of agricultural success. During these years Mao was asked how he intended to pay for his newly ordered soviet heavy machinery. Mao answered by claiming that China has unlimited food supplies. Consequently China increased its food exports towards Russia.

Sunday, October 27, 2019

The morality of toture: Suspected Criminals And Terrorists

The morality of toture: Suspected Criminals And Terrorists The principle of torture has been brought back into the forefront of philosophical debate following the September 11th 2001 terrorist attacks in New York bringing about the War on Terror. So much so, that torture has been considered as a way of combating problems with suspected criminals and terrorists. The matter of torture has been the centre of legal discussion, often being juxtaposed against the human rights issue. Cases such as Abu Ghraib, the prison in Iraq and the detainees held at Guantà ¡namo Bay, have increased the publics awareness of issues surrounding torture, and have fuelled debates concerning the true liberalness of democratic countries; which countries like the US are supposed to encapsulate. What is more, should these democracies be condemning morally wrong topics like torture, or should their prime concern be the safety and security of its citizens? Furthermore, how can these two ideas be reconciled, and what implications will this have for the law? Why Is Torture Morally Wrong? It is fundamental to the understanding of this debate to recognise why torture is seen as inherently wrong with strong moral objections, and why it is regarded as a violation of rights. Only then, can we unravel its significance when posed with questions of terrorist threats and its repercussions on the legal system. If we are unable to dispel what it is about torture that we find morally inconceivable then it is hard to assess under what circumstances it can be practiced or even legitimised. Cesare Beccaria, wrote in his paper, Moral Protest, the impression made by pain may grow to such an extent that having filled the whole of the sensory field, it leaves the torture victim no freedom to do anything but choose the quickest route to relieving himself of the immediate pain. Thus, torture can be seen as posing two areas of concern, not only does it involve the application of extreme amounts of pain and suffering; it also infringes on a persons right to a fair trial. These both amount to why torture is morally wrong in its means of interrogating suspects. Within Western democracies, a key concept is the principle of human autonomy. Therefore, torture aims to completely disregard one of the essential foundations upon which democracy was built. It reduces a human to such a degree that they destroy all traces of individuality so that they are unable to make decisions. A tortured being is only capable of comprehending one thing; that being the urgency to be released from pain. It is this power that allows the torturer to gain the information or confession he wishes. In The moral wrongness of torture, Fatima Kola describes this state as an attempt to annihilate agency. Torture can annihilate agency because it seeks to lower the person to a standard in which they cannot make rational choices, being subject to physical or psychological torment. Hence, it is understandable why torture is considered morally wrong, and how anyone who accepts this as a means of interrogation must be able to justify the degradation of personal autonomy and human rights. We must also consider why it would be so morally repulsive to be tortured. Henry Shue believes that one of the main reasons for this is that it constitutes as an attack on the defenceless. This idea is furthered by Sussman who has a unique argument as to why torture is so repugnant. He states in, Whats Wrong with Torture? So construed, torture turns out to be not just an extreme form of cruelty, but the pre-eminent just an extreme form of cruelty, but the pre-eminent instance of a kind of forced self-betrayal. Thus torture is a distinctive kind of wrongness not often found in other acts. As what is embedded in the core of torture is the form of self-betrayal that it harbours. The victim if forced into a state of defencelessness and powerlessness. They are broken down until they lack all personal autonomy and rationality. Whats more, Sussmen believes that the victim is lowered to such a degree that their own body becomes their main attacker, leaving them to feel debased. Such a view t hen naturally finds the physical and emotional strains of torture as abhorrent, rendering it morally wrong in all circumstances. Alternative Arguments That Justify Torture Perhaps it is because society is no longer as shocked at images of torture that is has become more accepted within legal discussions. Exposure to scenes of pain and brutality in culture has allowed for people to be more open minded about the debate of torture. Yet, amongst this, two distinct arguments exist. There are those that believe torture can be morally justified where it prevents a greater devastation from occurring, that it is the lesser of two evils. Arguments from this standpoint are utilitarian, which allow the torturing of one life to save many innocent lives. The main focus for utilitarians is the end goal and the idea that torture can be justified according to the circumstances at the time. This is particularly important in terrorist cases, where utilitarians argue that a terrorist has lost his claim to a normal standard of human rights by endangering the lives of innocents, and therefore cannot expect to have the same amount of protection as an ordinary citizen. Henry Shue, gives a further explanation to justify acts of torture in that, since killing is worse than torture, killing is sometimes permitted, especially in war, we ought sometimes to permit torture. However this argument is flawed as there are other more important factors that need to be considered rather than just the degree of harm done. If we are to compare the acts of killing that take place in war to the torture of a suspected terrorist, then the most obvious difference is that in warfare, both parties have equal opportunities to kill or be killed. Whereas a terrorist or criminal who is being tortured is subject to the whim of the torturer. Thus, I do not believe this creates a valid argument to justify torture. On the other hand, there are those who believe torture should be absolutely prohibited, and that under no circumstance can it be morally justified. These arguments are based on a deontological view. Utilitarians claim this view is morally self-indulgent and sometimes it is acceptable to sacrifice your morality for the greater good. However, deontologists are criticised for their lack to reconcile with what is known as the ticking bomb scenario. One should consider the hypothetical example of where a man is aware of the location of a bomb that has been planted in a large shopping centre. He knows it will be detonated within the next few hours and the police have him detained. In this situation is it morally wrong to torture one person to find out the location of the bomb, in order to save the lives of many? In this most extreme situation, even the strictest deontologists cannot deny that torture may be justifiable to such a threat, despite it been inherently wrong. In this context the re are two conflicts at play. There is the moral consequence that exists in torturing someone; however this has to be balanced against the moral consequence of the death of many people, (it seems to be a simple matter of numbers.) Thus it is vital to consider this moral dilemma as a whole and as not individual parts. In this way, deontological morality is not completely lost by rendering utilitarian views as applicable. Moral deliberation can thus be settled by balancing the deontological objections of torture with the justification given by utilitarians, as Sussman argues, torture constitutes a moral wrong that requires more justification than killing. Thus, by focussing on the morality of the act, we are allowed to mediate between absolute prohibition and utilitarian ideas. However each circumstance gives rise to different issues on morality and torture, as not all situations will follow the ticking bomb scenario. At which point can you draw the line between appreciating the opposing demands and upholding moral integrity? As stated earlier, it is vital to look at the situation as a whole, made up of constituents, in order to weigh up where the morality lies. Only then is it possible to make credible conclusions and allow us to make a morally right decision. Implications For The Law For the law to include a provision for torture would be very brave, and require an act of moral courage. In Torture and Positive Law: Jurisprudence for The White House, Waldron argues that legalising torture will have negative ramifications on our legal system, leading to eventual malfunction. The basis of negating torture into law finds it origins in morality. The morally wrong nature of torture is reflected and reinforced by the law. The laws represent its regard for the superiority of human rights and its belief in personal autonomy. It embodies the concept that human life is sacred and must be shown respect. Therefore by including torture within the law it gives the impression that it is not disapproved in the same way and the moral integrity of the legal system becomes undermined. Promoting respect amongst your fellow citizens becomes a hypocritical concept, as torture is one of the worst offences against a person. This gives a tainted message to society as the law no longer pro hibits torture as a method of interrogation. Legalising torture will also have further international repercussions, especially for countries like the US and UK. These countries have a firm approach in not tolerating torture in other countries that do not give enough weight on the importance of human rights. By legitimising torture, these countries will be sending the wrong message to the rest of the world, implying that they encourage the State to use torture as a means to a way. R. Dworkin, in Laws Empire, believes that legalising torture could affect public morality. The law is a mechanism which guides citizens through their everyday lives, telling them the correct way to behave and what is acceptable conduct in society. In this way, prohibiting torture from the law mirrors the message of mutual respect and harmony that we wish to permeate through society. This could be compromised with the inclusion of torture within the legal system, lowering peoples standards of morality. The recognition of torture could have further affects on society through its interpretation; that people may find it suitable to be violent to those who they feel deserve it, thus generally increasing levels of crime. There is a risk that torture may not encompass a sense of inherent wrongness and taboo as it does now. As people become more open to its implications and practice, being confronted by its affects on a daily basis, so torture will become part of what is accepted. Therefore, the strength of the law will be severely undermined with the prohibition of torture no longer upheld to symbolise actions that can be regarded as morally wrong. As torture is claimed to be one of the most appalling acts that can be committed, its justification will lead to questions such as why other wrongs, which are considered as a lesser wrong than torture are not also legalised. Waldron concisely summarises this concept as the unravelling of the surrounding law. Sangeeta Mandhir, in Basing arguments for legalising torture on moral justifications, describes this as having a domino-type effect. In that once the prohibition of torture is challenged, it will be harder to justify why other acts such as battery, which is considered less offensive than torture, is not also made legal by law. Furthermore, if torture becomes legitimised, than the supposed guilt felt by the torturer is weakened. Since the act is no longer illegal it will justify his actions and so reduces the level of guilt, and in turn this is converse affects for what is seen as moral. If no guilt is felt then one cannot feel he has committed an immoral act. Indeed what makes torture worse for society is the justification in that it serves to benefit the community. This implies that society gives torture a mandate in which it can be implemented by allowing it into the legal system. As the torture is being carried out in the name of societys security and safety, citizens can be said to hold a shared responsibility for the shocking acts performed upon the victims of torture. Therefore, the State has multiple factors that are intrinsic when considering the legalising of torture. Consisting of not only of the end result, that being security for the nation; but also the upholding of liberal democratic values upon which society is based, so not to compromise principles such as liberty, integrity and human rights. Conclusion It is clear that for a debate on torture it is impossible not to consider morality, as the two concepts are inextricably linked. Torture, by definition in this essay is regarded as morally wrong and inherently abhorrent. Yet there seems to be circumstances for which people believe it could be the only course of action. Thus, if there are situations in which torture can be justified, should the State consider reversing the absolutist prohibition stance on torture within the legal system that exists today? In my opinion, the answer is no. Torture is fundamentally abusive to our morals and ethics. Its existence in society risks undermining the humanitarian principles that also exist. Despite the utilitarian views concerning the welfare of the greater good, what needs to be remembered is that the short term benefits for legalising torture for situations such as the ticking bomb scenario have to be measured against the long term consequences of legalising such a morally detested act, for its effects on society. I believe these two polar concepts can be reconciled through reasonable deontology. This approach allows for torture to occur in a situation that poses a serious threat to society, yet it does not justify the act and still remains firm on the view that torture should be legally prohibited in the law. As Jens David Ohlin in The Bounds of Necessity, believes, legalising torture opens a Pandoras Box of unsavoury consequences, especially for society. Society should not be allowed to excuse torture as a morally right way of interrogating criminals or suspected terrorists, for if this is allowed we stand to lose the fundamental principles that the law is supposed to uphold, thus changing the nature of societys moral commitments.