Hardware analysis Essay Example for Free

Hardware analysis Essay If any mistakes are found, he has assured them more work for less pay by making them enter all data twice, after which the computer will check for errors (Double-entry verification). This will also show who is to blame for mistakes. Output The website should be viewable on the 17inch CRT monitor. A large high spec TFT monitor is not needed, as it will only be used to see the end product of the produced website, and how it will look like to viewers on the internet. This display would be sensible to use, as the majority of internet users will be using a similar output. A standard set of speakers will be needed to test the audio files that shall be put on the website. A top of the range sub-woofer system will not be necessary, as the main purpose of the speakers will be testing. A regular set of 230w speakers should be more than fit for the purpose. A top-quality colour laser printer will not be needed to print out pages from his website. Instead the HP DeskJet 620 printer that will come with the PC he will purchase will be more cost-effective, and is adequate for its purpose as only a few pages are going to be printed on the odd occasion. It will allow him to print out pages in black or in colour from his website when and so he pleases, to see what they would look like to customers if they were to print out the same pages. Backup\Security Strategy The website file containing the final system will be too large to be backed up on disk, as it could be well over a 100MB, due to images and video audio files. Instead, backups shall be made at least once a week onto to as many recordable compact discs (CD-R) as needed. This process will usually take 8 minutes per recordable disc as Mr Murray is lucky enough to be receiving a 32x CD rewriter with his pc. All backup in a different location to where the computer containing the main system is, in case there is a fire, theft or flood. To make sure nobody can manipulate the website design, the computer with the website on it, and the website itself are both going to be password-protected. This will be very useful, as Mr Murray can protect the database from any unwanted intruders, and choose who he wants to have the responsibility of knowing the password. Even so, Mr Murray needs to remember to frequently change his password, in case someone finds out the password and gains access to the database. Most important of all, Mr Murray and whomsoever he chooses to tell the password to, must not write the password anywhere as this increases the risk of an impostor tampering with the design of the website. Although, the software package is quite costly, as mentioned in the identify section cost is not a huge problem for Mr Murray, as he has some family members who are ready to invest in the business. On the other hand, Mr Murray does not want to be paying large amounts of money, for a system which is not 100% guaranteed to work. Therefore Mr Murray has to find a balance, and go with the software package which he thinks is the most likely to work. After some discussion, Mr Murray and I decided that MS Publisher would be the most suitable software package for Mr Murray to use. in relation to the user requirements mentioned in the identify section. Microsoft Word could be used. As mentioned in the Identify section, it can be used to insert pictures video clips, however it cannot be edited with as much ease as a true desktop publishing package. Front page Express would be a good choice, as it is specifically written for producing web sites. However, staff will need training, and the software package does not come cheep. Mr Murrays advertising employees currently use Microsoft Works to produce their material. Microsoft Works is a very simple version of its bigger brother Microsoft Word. This means that staff may not need training. Microsoft Word not only includes graphics and fancy headings, but can also be used to insert video clips. Nevertheless, the cost needed to buy the program will be an issue, as Mr Murray is currently in debt from a bank loan. A desktop Publishing program could also be purchased. This would be a considerable package to consider, as it is specifically written for publishing, and can be used to publish a web site, which is accessible from anywhere in the world. Even So, there is the cost of buying the program to consider (as mentioned earlier), as well as the money and time needed to train staff. include data collection evaluation methods [In each section (e. g. video , dvd etc.. ) the best title will have a video clip of it attached on that section of the website. ]

Exercise of Universal Jurisdiction Critique

Exercise of Universal Jurisdiction Critique This Research will critically discuss the problems associated with the exercise of Universal Jurisdiction with regard to Internal Crimes by National courts The bases upon which Jurisdiction can be assumed under International Law are: 1. Territorial Principle 2. Protective or Security Principle 3. Nationality Principle 4. Passive Personality Principle 5. Universality Principle. UNIVERSAL JURISDICTION Unlike the territorial principle where jurisdiction is assumed based on the place where the crime is committed, the protective principle which permits jurisdiction to be assumed when the interest of the state is threatened, Nationality principle which looks to the nationality of the offender and the passive personality principle which looks to the nationality of the victim of the crime, Universal jurisdiction looks solely to the crime and jurisdiction is assumed on this basis. King-Irani stated that Universal jurisdiction is based on customary law as well as an international consensus, that some crimes are so heinous that they threaten the entire human race.[1] Perpetrators of such crimes are considered to be enemies of all mankind and in that lies the right and authority of all states to prosecute perpetrators of such crimes. This really is the foundation of the Universal Jurisdiction principle. The International Council on Human Rights Policy in its booklet on Universal Jurisdiction explained Universal Jurisdiction to mean a system of international justice that gives the courts of any country jurisdiction over crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes, regardless of where or when the crime was committed, and the nationality of the victims or perpetrators. It allows the prosecution of certain crimes before the courts of any country even if the accused, the victim, or the crime, has no link to that country.[2] Universal Jurisdiction is usually invoked over International Crimes. Problems associated with the exercise of Universal Jurisdiction frustrate prosecution of international crimes on the basis of Universal jurisdiction; they threaten the continued prosecution of international crimes by states and can undermine the effective administration of justice at the international level. Some of these problems are: UNCERTAINTY AS TO THE SCOPE OF UNIVERSAL JURISIDCTION Uncertainty of the scope of Universal Jurisdiction takes different forms; uncertainty as to its true meaning, mode of its application and the crimes over which it applies are issues that have made the scope of Universal Jurisdiction uncertain. Luc Reydams in a paper written for the European Parliaments Subcommittee on Human Rights (DROI) stated that Most..agree that Universal Jurisdiction exists but everyone has a different understanding of what it means[3] Reydams further states that the problem with Universal Jurisdiction starts with its definition; its definition is too broad, and it leaves so much undefined thus failing to satisfy the legal requirement of certainty. There is no consensus on the offences in respect of which Universal Jurisdiction can be exercised and there also exists differing views on the true meaning of Universal Jurisdiction. Universal jurisdiction arose in the context of piracy, and it remains the most longstanding and uncontroversial Universal Jurisdiction crime.[4] David Stewart in identifying one of the challenges of Universal Jurisdiction stated that Difficulty lies in knowing exactly which crimes qualify for unilateral prosecution by any and all states. Even if one accepts that, as a matter of international law, jurisdiction must be limited to crimes of universal concern, there is no means for determining exactly which offenses fall into that category.[5] The Princeton Principles on Universal Jurisdiction states the fundamentals of Universal Jurisdiction as its first principle; under this it states that Universal Jurisdiction should be asserted with reference to the crime only; such crimes should be serious crimes.ÂÂ   In its second principle, it states that the serious crimes over which Universal Jurisdiction should be asserted are piracy, slavery, war crimes, crimes against peace, crimes against humanity genocide and torture. The Princeton principles further states that the exercise of jurisdiction in respect to the above listed crimes is without prejudice to other International Crimes under International Law. This raises a fundamental question; what are the parameters for determining the crimes over which Universal Jurisdiction may be asserted? It is generally agreed that while Universal Jurisdiction may be asserted over International crimes, it is not every International crime that can be subject to Universal Jurisdiction? Dr. Oner states that some International crimes are subject to Universal Jurisdiction as a matter of Customary International Law and some others as a result of treaty.[6] He opines that those are the two ways of ascertaining what crimes are subject to Universal Jurisdiction.[7] He traces the history of how different crimes came to be recognised as International crimes over which Universal jurisdiction could be asserted, his work would be relied on in tracing the history of those crimes. Piracy is the oldest recognised crimes over which Universal Jurisdiction can be assumed, the basis of asserting Universal Jurisdiction over this crime lies in the fact that it is committed in a place which cannot be categorised as the territory of any state; the High Seas. It was an offence that affected every state; hence all states had the authority to combat it. This is the only crime over which it is generally accepted that Universal Jurisdiction can be asserted over. Jurisdiction over this crime arose under customary law and it was later recognised by treaties. Jurisdiction was later extended to Hijacking by virtue of Article 4 of 1970 Hague Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft and the 1982 Convention of the Law of the Sea. After the Second World War and the application of Universal Jurisdiction to the prosecution of War crimes, Genocide and Crimes against Humanity, they gained acceptance as International Crimes over which Universal Jurisdiction could be asserted both under Customary International Law and treaties which created an obligation on states to either prosecute or extradite.[8] With time more Conventions on certain other offences also placed an obligation on states to either prosecute or extradite persons who have committed certain crimes; Universal Jurisdiction was therefore extended to certain other offences such as Torture.[9] Another arm of this problem is national legislation of states on Universal Jurisdiction. The scope of such legislation determines the extent of Jurisdiction that can be assumed over International Crimes, and crimes over which Universal jurisdiction may be asserted. Some states have expanded the scope of crimes over which Universal Jurisdiction may be assumed under their laws, some others have tried to maintain the scope asÂÂ   has been ascertained by them Under International Law, while some others have conferred jurisdiction on their national courts in a very limited manner. States have delimited the scope of Universal Jurisdiction in their respective jurisdictions by their respective laws. Mark Ellis stated that As much of the international community promotes universal jurisdiction, state practice is limiting the scope and use of it. AND this is being done without much notice. [10] Ellis further opined that The propensity of states retaining a more expansive view of jurisdictional reach is ending. The discernible trend is moving towards a more restrictive interpretation and application of universal jurisdiction.[11] The absence of uniformity in the legislation of states conferring jurisdiction on their respective courts to assert Universal Jurisdiction poses a problem to the exercise of Universal Jurisdiction because the exercise of jurisdiction by one state may be opposed by another, especially when its nationals are involved. One factor which is closely related to the uncertain scope of Universal Jurisdiction is uncertainty as to the factors which must exist before a state can assume jurisdiction. One of such factors is whether the Accused or the person over whom jurisdiction is sought to be asserted is within the territory of the prosecuting state; this is referred to as Jurisdiction in Absentia. Zemach in defining Jurisdiction in Absentia adopted the definition of Colangelo thus: Universal jurisdiction in absentia can be roughly defined as the conducting of an investigation, the issuing of an arrest warrant, and/or the bringing of criminal charges based on the principle of universal jurisdiction when the defendant is not present in the territory of the acting state. This definition does not include adjudication of the case.[12] Many states are reluctant to assert Jurisdiction unless the accused is within their territory. This is consistent with the extradite or prosecute obligation imposed on states by quite a number of Conventions which permit the exercise of Universal Jurisdiction; the obligation to prosecute or extradite only arises when the offender is within the territory of the state. It could therefore be argued that the implication of this is that the Conventions which place an obligation on states to prosecute or extradite do not envisage the exercise of Jurisdiction in absentia. This problem is further compounded by the absence of consensus on whether Jurisdiction in absentia is permitted under International Law.ÂÂ   Judges Higgins, Kooijmans, and Buergenthal observed, in their Joint Separate Opinion as follows: is it a precondition of the assertion of universal jurisdiction that the accused be within the territory?ÂÂ   Considerable confusion surrounds this topic, not helped by the fact that legislators, courts and writers alike frequently fail to specify the precise temporal moment at which any such requirement is said to be in play. Is the presence of the accused within the jurisdiction said to be required at the time the offence was committed? At the time the arrest warrant is issued? Or at the time of the trial itself? .. This incoherent practice cannot be said to evidence a precondition to any exercise of universal criminal jurisdiction. [13] Rabinovitch, echoes the position of proponents of Universal Jurisdiction in Absentia when he stated that State practice in recent years has increasingly supported the view that States may exercise universal jurisdiction in absentia if they so desire,[14] provided there are safeguards to prevent an abuse of the accused rights. Judge Ranjeva in his Declaration held a contrary view; he stated that developments in International Law did not result in the recognition of Jurisdiction in absentia.[15] All of these uncertainties surrounding the principle and practice of Universal Jurisdiction pose a problem to the exercise of Universal Jurisdiction. THE CONFLICT BETWEEN UNIVERSAL JURISDICTION AND THE SOVEREIGNTY OF STATES One major problem which affects the exercise of Universal Jurisdiction is the perceived and actual breach of the sovereignty of a state. I use the word perceived to mean this; most times the exercise of Universal Jurisdiction by a state may be looked upon by the state whose national or official is tried as an affront or threat to its sovereignty. This might not necessarily be the case. While in a case of actual breach of a nations sovereignty, it is the case that exercise of jurisdiction may actually amount to a breach of a nations sovereignty. The Democratic Republic of the Congo V. Belgium[16] popularly known as the Arrest Warrant case illustrates this. In this case, Belgium issued an International Arrest warrant on 11 April 2000, for the arrest of Congos Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Abdulaye Yerodia Ndombasi. The Democratic Republic of Congo was highly displeased with the issue of the warrant for the arrest of its minister, and accordingly instituted an action at the International Court of Justice praying the court that Belgium recalls and cancels the Arrest warrant. Belgium had issued the warrant on the grounds that Mr. Yerodia had breached the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and protocols I and II; such breach Belgium claimed was punishable under its laws. Congo prayed the International Criminal Court to order Belgium to cancel the warrant on the ground (amongst other grounds) that [t]he universal jurisdiction that the Belgian State attributes to itself under Article 7 of the Law in question constituted a [v]iolation o f the principle that a State may not exercise its authority on the territory of another State and of the principle of sovereign equality among all Members of the United Nations[17]. In essence, Congos contention was that Belgiums exercise of Its Universal Jurisdiction amounted to a violation of its sovereignty. The Court found that the issue of the Warrant of Arrest for Congos Minister for Foreign Affairs amounted to a breach of Congos Sovereignty. Kontorovich has stated that the New Universal Jurisdiction[18] is perhaps the most controversial development in contemporary international law, precisely because it encroaches on or qualifies nations jurisdictional sovereignty[19] whileÂÂ   Kings-Irani opines that Universal jurisdiction casesusually raise troubling questions about state sovereignty. Hawkins opines that when states established universal jurisdiction, they created a decentralized mechanism for the erosion of sovereignty[20] It is not likely that the constant clash between the exercise of Universal Jurisdiction and the violation or the alleged violation of the sovereignty of a state would come to an end in the nearest future. This is attributable to the political element in the definition of the crimes over which Universal Jurisdiction can be assumed; that is the fact that most crimes against humanity and war crimes are most times not committed independent of the state and its agencies, rather they are sometimes committed by state officials with the aid of state agencies. The principle of Universal Jurisdiction has no inherent principles which can tackle the clash between assumption of jurisdiction on this basis and the sovereignty of a state. CLASH BETWEEN THE EXERCISE OF JURISDICTION AND IMMUNITY It is a principle of Customary International Law that State officials are immune from the jurisdiction of foreign courts in certain instances.[21] The immunity enjoyed could be as a result of the position occupied; this is Immunity ratione personae or it could be enjoyed as a result of the official acts carried out in furtherance of the office occupied; this is immunity ratione materiae.[22] The challenge that the issue of sovereign immunity poses is a multi-faceted one. This challenge raises quite a number of questions. What exactly is the law on the immunity of sovereigns of states, both current and past and what is the extent of the immunity in relation to the acts of the sovereign? What acts of the sovereign are covered by immunity? This difficulty arises primarily because the position of International law on the immunity of Sovereigns of States or Heads of States remains unclear.[23] Indeed the authors of the article The Future of Former Head of State Immunity after ex parte Pinochet[24] borrowed the words of other authors to describe the position of International Law on the immunity of Heads of States as lacking coherence[25], problematic and ambiguous[26] and in Re Doe[27] the United States Court of Appeal described it as been in an amorphous and Undeveloped state. This issue came up for consideration In the Arrest Warrant Case[28]; Congos contention was that ÂÂ  the non-recognition, on the basis of Article 5 of the Belgian Law, of the immunity of a Minister for Foreign Affairs in office constituted a [v]iolation of the diplomatic immunity of the Minister for Foreign Affairs of a sovereign State, as recognized by the jurisprudence of the Court and following from Article 41, paragraph 2, of the Vienna Convention of 18 April 1961 on Diplomatic Relations[29] The court came to the decision that a Minister of Foreign Affairs enjoyed Immunity which was inviolable for as long he remained in office. I will reproduce a portion of the Courts decision as this sheds some light on the position of International Law on the Immunity of Sovereigns; The Court has carefully examined State practice, including national legislation and those few decisions of national higher courts such as the House of Lords or the French Court of Cassation. It has been unable to deduce from this practice that there exists under Customary International law any form of exception to the rule according immunity from criminal Jurisdiction and inviolability to incumbent Ministers for Foreign Affairs, where they are suspected of havingÂÂ   committed war crimes or crimes against humanity. Jurisdictional immunity may well bar prosecution for a certain period or for certain offences; it cannot exonerate the person to whom it applies from all criminal responsibility[30] What this translates to is the fact that there may be times when a National Court could have jurisdiction to try a person subject to immunity, however, it might be impossible to exercise jurisdiction because of the immunity that such a person enjoys; the risk in this is that it could lead to impunity, even though this is a situation the Law seems to want to avoid or it could just lead to a situation of delayed justice. In senator Pinochets case,[31] the House of Lords held that Pinochet, a former Head of State of Chile was not entitled to immunity for torture, as torture was not an official act carried out in furtherance of his official duties. The position of International Law on the Immunity of High level officials of states remains uncertain, and there is no uniformity in state practice in recent years which can help in ascertaining the position of International law in this regard. In November 2007, France dismissed a complaint filed against Former secretary of Defence of the United States and the reason for the dismissal wasÂÂ   given by the prosecutor, Jean Claude Marin, he stated in an open letter that according to rules of customary international law established by the International Court of Justice, immunity from criminal jurisdiction for Heads of State and Government and Ministers of Foreign Affairs continues to apply after termination of their functions, for acts carried out during their time of office and hence, as former Secretary of Defense, Mr. Rumsfeld, by extension should benefit from this same immunity for acts carried out in the exercise of his functions.[32] There was an outcry against the position of France, particularly because the Prosecutor, Jean Claude Marin had some years earlier personally signed an order calling for General Pinochet to appear before the Paris Court of Appeal. Human Rights organisations felt he should have known better. The Human Rights Organisation also felt greatly disappointed that the dismissal of the complaint was largely due to the position taken by the French Foreign Ministry which is headed by Bernard Kouchner, a fellow who had distinguished himself in the fields of Human Rights. This goes to illustrate the inconsistency in state practices when it comes to the issue of exercising Universal Jurisdiction and the Immunity of State officials. Perhaps one logical explanation for this inconsistency might not be unrelated to the need to preserve good relations between states. THE ALLEGATION OF BIAS Selective approach in the prosecution of International Crimes on the basis of Universal Jurisdiction has posed a great challenge to the Universal Jurisdiction regime. The outcry against the selective approach of some states in the prosecution of crimes using Universal Jurisdiction has been loudest in Africa, where African leaders allege that they have been the primary target of Western Countries. This allegation of bias is not without any merit, neither is it entirely true. Ian Brownlie has been quoted by Zemach as stating that [p]olitical considerations, power, and patronage will continue to determine who is to be tried for international crimes and who not.[33] Dr. Oner captured an aspect of this problem aptly when he stated that: Universal jurisdiction gives powerful nations a means of politically influencing less powerful ones. Indeed, thus far, weak countries with little to no political leverage have not exercised universal jurisdiction over powerful people from powerful countries through their courts.[34] It is important that states have faith in the exercise of Universal Jurisdiction by any state that chooses to prosecute using Universal Jurisdiction. There should be transparency and good faith when arriving at the decision to prosecute; and this should as clearly as possible be seen by all to be fair. POLITICAL PRESSURE AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS IMPLICATIONS Nations usually want to maintain good relations with their allies; however, the exercise of Universal Jurisdiction could pose a threat to this. In order to maintain good relations with other states, a state may give in to political pressure which would in turn affect its exercise of Universal Jurisdiction. The case of Belgium and Spain illustrate this. Belgiums Universal Jurisdiction laws were so broad that anybody could be tried by Belgium courts without having any link at all to Belgium The American society of International Law Commenting on the Belgian law stated that: The Belgian law was widely recognized as the most far-reaching example of a state exercising universal jurisdiction. During the first decade of the laws existence, some thirty legal complaints were filed against a variety of government officials worldwide, including against Rwandans for genocide, General Augusto Pinochet of Chile, Cuban President Fidel Castro, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon[35] The United States uncomfortable with the possibility that its officials could be victims of Belgiums law threatened and coerced Belgium until Belgium finally amended its laws in August 2003, thus finally removing the Absoluteness from the Universal Jurisdiction law of Belgium. ÂÂ  U.S. Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld stated authoritatively at the time: Belgium needs to realize that there are consequences to its actions. This law calls into serious question whether NATO can continue to hold meetings in Belgium and whether senior U.S. officials, military and civilian, will be able to continue to visit international organizations in Belgium Certainly until this matter is resolved we will have to oppose any further spending for construction for a new NATO headquarters here in Brussels until we know with certainty that Belgium intends to be a hospitable place for NATO to conduct its business.[36] The new Belgian Law now requires a link with Belgium for the Belgian courts to be able to exercise jurisdiction. All pending cases in Belgium against U.S Officials were dismissed in September 2003 because of Belgiums new law. When Belgium ruled that Israels Prime Minister Ariel Sharon could stand trial for War crimes under its Universal Jurisdiction laws, but only after he leaves office, Israeli public television quoted an unnamed official as calling the court decision scandalous and warning that it threatened to open a serious crisis between the two countries.[37] And Israel in protest was reported to have recalled its Ambassador to Belgium for consultation The case of Spain is quite similar to the Belgium experience. After Spain gave in to pressure from Israel, the United States and China, Spain amended its Universal Jurisdiction law; the new law now requires a link to Spain before Spanish Courts can assume jurisdiction.[38] Clearly political considerations and interactions between states pose a problem to the exercise of Universal jurisdiction. DIFFCULTY OF OBTAINING EVIDENCE AND WITNESSES Stewart is also of the opinion that In some measure, the lack of actual prosecutions based on universality must result from practical difficulties in obtaining evidence and witnesses regarding crimes committed in other countries.[39] Most International Crimes are usually prosecuted many years after the offences have been committed. The chances of gathering quality evidence with the passage of time reduces, when that is added to the long distance and legal difficulties that it might entail, it becomes even more difficult to obtain evidence. Language barrier could also further compound this problem. Where it is difficult or impossible to obtain evidence it might be difficult to proceed with prosecution on the basis of Universal Jurisdiction. COMPETING JURSIDCITION It is always the case most times, if not always that where jurisdiction is asserted on the basis of Universality, jurisdiction could also be asserted on other bases. Where more than one state decides to assert jurisdiction, whether on the basis of Universality or other principles, it might pose a problem, especially when extradition is requested by the competing states. To reduce the conflict that this situation may create, it is usually best that in the prosecution of International crimes, exercise of jurisdiction on the basis of Universal Jurisdiction should be the last resort, states with stronger connections to the crime should first be given opportunity to prosecute the crime, where they fail to or where they are unable to do so, then a state with no connection or a weaker connection can then prosecute on the basis of Universal Jurisdiction. COST One of the problems associated with the exercise of Universal jurisdiction is cost. A state expends its resources in prosecuting crimes, when the prosecution of crimes serves the states interests, there would be no problem with it but where it serves no practical purpose that is when the difficulty arises. The argument and view held in some quarters, that a nation that prosecutes a crime that does not threaten it in any way and which it has no interest in prosecuting stands to gain nothing from it, rather, it expends its resources and the benefits of prosecuting the crime is enjoyed by other states is one problem that militates against the exercise of Universal Jurisdiction. Kontorovich stated that ÂÂ  A nation exercising Universal Jurisdiction expends scarce resources to punish crimes that have not injured it; thus it bears all the costs of enforcement while the benefits are enjoyed primarily by other nations. Rational choice models of state behaviour suggest that nations will generally not undertake such activities.[40] David Stewart also opined that Depending on the facts, prosecutors and ministries of justice may have little enthusiasm for devoting time, money, and resources to prosecutions having little enough to do with their own countries, citizens, and direct national interests.[41] Kontorovichs position is actually a true reflection of what is currently going on at the international scene, nations decline to prosecute or even investigate where their interests are not affected, and this runs contrary to the principle of Universal Jurisdiction. One of the underlying principles governing Universal Jurisdiction is that crimes such as torture, genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes are so serious that they harm not just a particular state but the international community and should therefore be prosecuted by all states.[42] Kontorovich opines more articulately that many of the crimes subject to the universality principle are so heinous in scope and degree that they offend the interest of all humanity, and any state may, as humanitys agent, punish the offender. . . [43] DOMESTIC LEGISLATION AND STATE POLICIES It is not sufficient that International Law establishes an obligation to prosecute on the basis of Universal Jurisdiction. There must exist national legislation which authorises the courts of a state to assert jurisdiction, where this is absent, a court might not be able to assert Universal Jurisdiction. Senegal had to enact a law vesting jurisdiction in its courts before it could prosecute Hissene Habre, former Chad president. State practice is limiting the scope and use of Universal Jurisdiction. [44] Universal Jurisdiction can only be used to the extent that a states mun

Sony Company Limited

Sony Company Limited Business Environment Analysis 1.0 Introduction Sony Company Limited is a manufacturer and distributor of digital cameras and other electronic devices in the region. The company has been established in 2005 by its owner The primary competitive advantages of Sony is its OEM capability, broad experienced in its research and development department, reliability, large product line and good reputation. The brand name of the company is known as ECA and it is currently exported in major countries like North America, Mid-East/Africa, Asia, Central/South America, and Western Europe. Sony Company Limited is an ODM and OEM manufacturer to produce different ranges of electronic devices like digital cameras, MP4 and mp3 player, mobile phone, GPS car navigator and digital camcorder. The main objective of this company is to provide quality products and services to the global market. 2.0 Strategic Analysis The description of the industry above suggests its strength in the Malaysia setting. However, a more detailed analysis is necessary in order to determine the real strengths and possible problems that surround the industry. For this purpose, various tools will be used to analyze the electronic industry of Malaysia. 2.1 PESTLE PESTLE analysis is in effect an audit of an organizations environmental influences with the purpose of using this information to guide strategic decision-making. The assumption is that if the organization is able to audit its current environment and assess potential changes, it will be better placed than its competitors to respond to changes.To help make decisions and to plan for future events, organizations need to understand the wider ‘meso-economic and ‘macro-economic environments in which they operate. (The meso-economic environment is the one in which we operate and have limited influence or impact, the macro-environment includes all factors that influence an organization but are out of its direct control). An organization on its own cannot affect these factors, nor can these factors directly affect the profitability of an organization. But by understanding these environments, it is possible to take the advantage to maximize the opportunities and minimize the threats to the organization. Conducting a strategic analysis entails scanning these economic environments to detect and understand the broad, long term trends. A PESTLE analysis is a useful tool for understanding the ‘big picture of the environment in which an organization is operating. Specifically a PESTLE analysis is a useful tool for understanding risks associated with market (the need for a product or service) growth or decline, and as such the position, potential and direction for an individual business or organization. A PESTLE analysis is often used as a generic orientation tool, finding out where an organization or product is in the context of what is happening outside that will at some point affect what is happening inside an organization. The six elements form a framework for reviewing a situation, and can also be used to review a strategy or position, direction of a company, a marketing proposition, or idea. 2.1.1 Political The political aspect of the country has less impact to its business sector, or more specifically, to the electronics industry. The Basic Law of the country actually protects it from major transitions in law in spite of its transfer to Thailand. Through this basic law, the way of life as well as the capitalist system of the country will remain the same for fifty years since the transfer. Thus, political factors have minimal effects on the electronics industry. The production, export and import of materials for digital cameras will not be affected for the next ten years due to this political agreement. Hence, the production facilities for digital products situated in Thailand will not be forced to relocate back to Malaysia due to regulative measures. Hence, Malaysia enterprises in the industry can continue to benefit from low cost production in Thailand. 2.1.2 Economic The economy of Malaysia is highlighted by the status of its international trade. The country is one of the leading trading nations worldwide; hence, it is one of the important aspects of the countrys economy. Malaysia market has been favorable to trade and has been efficient in balancing its exports and imports. The significance of trade in the country suggests the richness of its other related fields such as the electronics industry. This has been evidenced by the high contribution of digitalized products to individual company sales and overall economic development. The important role of the electronics industry in Malaysia suggests that there are several similar businesses that exist in the country. Due to high levels of competition, the companies operating in this industry are placed under much stress of offering the very best. This also implies the significance of strategic management among these companies not only to contribute to the economy, but most importantly to maintain strong business foundation as well as combat competition. Assuming that the prosperity of the economy in Malaysia improves for the next ten years, the electronics/AV equipment industry will then continue to improve and acquire various developments. But then of course, economic status is among the most unpredictable aspects of a country; hence, the industry must be prepared for future challenges that may arise. These future challenges include economic crisis, price fluctuations and problems on international trade. 2.1.3 Social The societal and cultural background of the country is mainly influenced by the Eastern and Western influences. This perhaps, is partly due to the status of the country as a major center for business and trade. Although the country is greatly influenced by a number of different cultures, the country still has its old features intact. While keeping old traditions and cultural practices, the country is also open to changes brought about by international influences. This in turn makes the nations culture rich and varied. The prosperity of Malaysias economy is significantly reflected in its citizens lifestyle. Compared to other Asian countries, the people in Malaysia are among those who live with the highest standards. This implies that the people of Malaysia have access to some of the finer things in life, including technology. 2.1.4 Technological Malaysia is a melting pot of both Western and Eastern backgrounds. The Western and Eastern influences that make up the countrys socio-cultural background play a significant role to its current technological status. Considering that Malaysia has direct access to technological developments from different countries worldwide, these can be adapted in the country quite easily. Moreover, the high standards of living among the countrys citizens imply the ability of the people to support technology as well as their ability to apply or implement them. The exposure to technology of both local and international market makes digital products, like camera, a marketable product. 2.1.5 Legal Locally, the political aspect mentioned previously does not seem to affect the electronic industry in Malaysia. In international trade, the laws on open trade and free port allow the industry to exports its digital products to foreign markets. Though the Malaysian industry can distribute its digital products freely abroad, the openness of trade as well as the globalization aspect further worsens the competition among similar companies under the same industry. If competition will affect businesses in the industry, it is likely for other nations to implement legislations that will control the entry of imported products. This will greatly affect the status of the Malaysia industry if this will occur. 2.1.6 Environmental One of the major issues under the environmental aspect that directly affects the industry is probably its location of production building and facilities in Thailand. The cost of labor and land in Thailand, particularly in the province of Bangkok, is significantly cheaper than in Malaysia. Thus, it is more practical to conduct the core activities of the electronics industry in Thailand. However, products produced by the AV industry require skills among its work force. Thus, cheaper labor cost may no longer be possible as companies would have to pay larger salaries for skilled and highly educated employees. Moreover, a number of manufacturing companies are also relocating to Thailand, thus land costs tend to be higher as compared before. 3.0 Competitors Analysis The production of digitalized products falls under the electronics company, specifically under the audio-visual equipment category. In Malaysia, the competition in electronics industry is considered as one of the most vigorous and tough. The manufacturing companies of digital cameras and other electronic devices in Malaysia are made up of SMEs or small and medium sized enterprises. The production facilities however of most companies are located in mainland Thailand. Thus, offices in Malaysia concentrate more on product development, quality assurance and marketing. One of the competitors of Sony Company Limited in Malaysia market is the Canon industry and other industries that offer digital cameras and electronic products all over the world such as JVC, Panasonic and others. According to the NSTP (2007), digitalization trends paved the way for the industrys significant development which makes it digital camera and electronic industry more competent. In addition, the company has many rivals since there are many other competitors which provide a wide range of digital and electronic devices to meet the increasing demands of these products. Players have increased considerably. This business trend led to the increased profit derived from high sales of digital products, suggesting the strong chances of success in the industry. Moreover, profits from exported digitalized products are high in Hong Kong as well. This then implies that international market strongly supports the industry. 4.0 Porters 5 Forces Model Michael Porter (Harvard, Competitive Strategy 1980) developed the so called 5 Five Forces Analysis model to better identify factors that shape the character of competition, to assess the structural attractiveness and business value of any industry and to pinpoint strengths and weaknesses in a company. In addition to and in combination with the SWOT analysis, the Five Forces model by Michael Porter provides another analysis tool to identify opportunities and risks when entering untapped territory in any industry or market. Porters Five Forces model, other than a SWOT analysis, provides clear action and thus does not rely solely on subjective judgment. If the actions that derived from the Five Forces model are synchronized with business requirements and goals it can become a substantial business driver in the competitive environment. Porters Five Forces Model is used for analysis of an industry or pure competition within a market. It is likely the best model to be used in decisions of entry or change within a market, and should always be considered during the business planning stage in a company life cycle. The Porters Five Forces model proposes that an industry is influenced by five forces. An executive can use the model to understand the industry competitive landscape, to determine how and where the firm should operate. The model is also used to analyze the attractiveness of an industry structure. Porters Five Forces Model is also known as Porters Competitive Forces model, probably one of the most often used business strategy tools. It has proven its usefulness on numerous occasions. Porters model is particularly strong in thinking in a competitive mindset from external forces to inside the company. 4.1 Methodology The strength of each of the five forces affecting competition in the chosen industry is to be assessed. The companys position compared to the underlying causes of each force is also assessed. A plan of action is devised that may includes of positioning the organization to provide the best defense against competitive forces, influencing the balance of the forces through strategic moves and other pro-active measures and anticipating shifts in the forces and positioning the organization and its goals and actions accordingly. Exhibit 4.1 Michael Porters Five Forces Model Sources from: Supplier Risk Management and the Automotive Supply Chain From the Exhibit 4.1, Porter explains that there are five forces that determine industry attractiveness and long-run industry profitability. These five competitive forces includes the threat of entry of new competitors (new entrants), the threat of substitutes, the bargaining power of buyers, the bargaining power of suppliers and the degree of rivalry between existing competitors. While the Porters Five Forces model in regards to decision making, is to collect, analyze and present data for the decision maker, Porter identifies three generic strategies to address industry rivalry. Strategies can be formed on three levels such as corporate, business unit and functional or department level. The Strategies are cost leadership, differentiation and competitive advantage. The best decision will position the firm to leverage strengths and defend against adverse effects of the five forces. 4.1.1 Competitive Threat of New Entry The percentage contribution of the industry to the Malaysian economy suggests the huge number of businesses manufacturing digital products. This then suggests that barriers of entry for new business entrants are low. New business could easily operate locally; moreover, the Malaysian industry offers multiple product lines under different brand names. Hence, competition is rather strict. Moreover, most of the business in the electronics industry is considered SMEs, implying that the levels of small businesses or new entrants are high. With the high availability of digital production facilities, new entrants could easily start manufacturing and marketing digital products. 4.1.2 Competition from Substitute Products With the rise of technology, alternative options for gadget and similar products are very much available. Digital cameras and other products are no exception. At present, cellular phones are manufactured with camera features, allowing consumers to use the phone not only for calling or sending text messages, but also in capturing and storing images. Other video camcorders have camera features as well; thus, some consumers would prefer to but an item where all features are already integrated. Web cameras are also alternative products for digital cameras. In addition, some of these alternative products are less expensive and more practical as compared to buying a digital camera alone. 4.1.3 Bargaining Power of Customers Buyers are the people or organizations who create demand in an industry. Buyers are also the people who compete with the supplying industry by bargaining down prices and forces higher quality. Customers have access to multiple alternatives for AV equipment and products, thus, the customers have greater control over which item to purchase. The high competitiveness within the industry allowed consumers to have access to a number of options, from brands to types and prices of products. Thus, consumers have a high bargaining power over the electronics industry. In this case, the smaller enterprises are greatly affected. Although consumers have different purchasing behaviors, in most cases brand names greatly influences the preferences of buyers. If there will be other options, consumers is likely to buy known brands even if they will have to pay extra. Additionally, online shopping through this company website has also increased the bargaining power of buyers and buyers are more price sensitive and demand for high quality. 4.1.4 Bargaining Power of Suppliers Suppliers are the businesses that supply materials other products into the industry. The cost of items bought from suppliers (e.g. raw materials, components) can have a significant impact on a companys profitability. If suppliers have high bargaining power over a company, then in theory the companys industry is less attractive. For this electronic industry, suppliers actually exert power in the industry by threatening to rise in prices or to reduce its quality and furthermore powerful suppliers can squeeze industry profitability if the company is unable to recover the cost increases. In the case of the Malaysian electronics industry, the bargaining power of the suppliers is high. Most of the materials used for producing AV equipment are imported from suppliers, thus they have greater control over the prices of supplies as well as the delivery. 4.1.5 Rivalry The rivalry within the electronics industry comes in two categories. Locally, the main competition is between the small and large enterprises. Major companies in the electronics industry have stronger brand names and have greater capabilities of reaching the international market. This is a significant factor as brand names in digital products represent the overall quality of the item which consumers are after. Major companies also have more resources to promote the product through more expensive forms of media advertisement. Thus, smaller companies are directly affected. In the international level, the rivalry exists between the Hong Kong companies and the major AV equipment companies of other countries. 5.0 Evaluation Based from the environmental and competitive analysis done for the electronics industry, the findings will then be evaluated. In this section, the possible developments of the industry for the next ten years will be considered. Factors that could affect this progress, both positively and negatively, will be cited. 5.1 Optimistic Based on the analysis done, the Sony Company Limited is likely to succeed and progress in ten years time due to two important factors. One of these factors is the market of the industry. At the local level, the consumers are very much aware and exposed to highly technological gadgets such as the digital camera. In other foreign markets of the Malaysian industry, such trend is also evident. In ten years time, technology will continue to grow and introduce high-tech gadgets and products that people will patronize. Thus, the future development of digitalized products made by Sony Company Limited will be supported by the market due to their openness to technology. Moreover, this market patronage will naturally result to continuous profit generation and market growth. Another factor that will contribute to the success of the Sony Company Limited ten years from now is the continuous rise and development of globalization and open trade. Through these aspects, Malaysia will have greater market access abroad, leading to better market and business outcomes. Furthermore, free port will allow the Sony Company Limited access to more modern technologies that can be useful for manufacturing and marketing digitalized products. This in turn will make the Sony Company Limited more competitive against foreign brands. 5.2 Pessimistic While there are great opportunities that the Sony Company Limited can use for future progress, certain obstacles could hinder it from development. For instance, the use of technology is highly accessible to all potential business operators in the industry, increasing the problems on competition, less distinct products and brands. In addition, technological gadgets like digital cameras lose value at a fast rate; thus, it is likely that such innovations would lose their worth to the market, or worse, this product could be phased out totally form the industry and be replaced with better substitutes. Problems in the economy are also a challenge. Crisis in the economic aspect is omnipresent and difficult to predict; hence, it is always a problem for all industries and business sectors. Due to these problems, prices for labor, land, production and other business activities could increase, making it difficult for the industry to succeed. 5.3 Prediction Based on business outcomes in the past, the pessimistic scenario is the one that is likely to occur in the future. Old electronic products like mobile phones, cameras and computers for instance, had been easily replaced by digital ones due to fast-phased development in technology. At present, several companies in the electronics industry are still conducting researches in order to introduce new technologies that the market demands. In addition, economic crisis is a natural occurrence, though an unpredictable one. Thus, even without predicting when this will happen in the future, businesses attempt to overcome the effects of economic challenges by preparing themselves in advance. Although it is likely for the optimistic scenario to occur as well, businesses in this industry must focus themselves on overcoming the worst scenarios. By preparing in advance, the businesses can prevent further problems in the future as well as maintain the progress of the industry. 6.0 RECOMMENDATIONS In my opinion, this electronic industry is still able to make some improvements in order to achieve better profit margins or great success in future. Those improvements includes the following, 1) Diversification This electronic industry (Sony Company Limited) can actually possible to concentrate more on electronic knows how in the non-consumer business and todays, this industry is very competitive as the competitors are able to copy the product in a very short time. Therefore, in order to create larger profit margins, Sony should focus more on the business sector and industries and also more advanced equipment as well as the parts. Besides, it would create the strongest advantage if the Research and Development (RD) department in this company able to cut down the price in technology adaptation to fit the demands of nowadays market. 2) Cost Cutting Sony Company Limited should take cost cutting into consideration as it is the only way to improve the profit margins. Research and Development (RD) plays an important role in this as its part in success of this company and it cannot be cut even though it gobbles up to ten percent of the sales. The products in this company should be refined instead of reinvented in order to have less in set up cost and also helps in achieving the greater automation. 3) Combination of Production, Design and Marketing There are many ways of separating the designing and developing of a product from the production and marketing even though there is job rotation which the design stage backed up by experience rather than research and analysis in nowadays market. Often, this kind of concept does not help much in improving the business as it does not meet the consumer needs. Todays, RD should focus more on the consumer needs and innovate based on the needs of the market and not creating new markets all the while. Besides, the designing team should make the product to fit the current production pattern and marketing aims as the designing team is the one who responsible to the profit and loss of certain product. Therefore, empowering these groups can create conflict but it does bring the efficient groups together in achieving the synergy. 7.0 Conclusion In spite of the apparent success of the Sony Company Limited in Malaysia, certain factors in its environment can cause its possible failure in the years to come. Economic challenges, competition and varying consumer trends are just some of the external factors that the industry must overcome in order to ensure future progress. Although these matters may appear inevitable, certain actions could help the industry to succeed, locally and internationally. Continuous product enhancement and development for instance, can help in countering fast-paced technology. Conducting consumer studies on the other hand can facilitate the challenge on changing consumer behaviors. These actions in turn can help in combating business competition and globalization issues. 8.0 References Internet References 1. http://technu.nst.com.my/Current_News/techNu/Monday/CoverStory/20081102144739/Article/print_article 2. http://logisticsviewpoints.com/2009/07/31/supplier-risk-management-and-the-automotive-supply-chain/ Books Aguilar, Francis (2006), Scanning the Business Environment, New York: Macmillan. 2. Armstrong. M. (2006). A handbook of Human Resource Management Practice (10th ed.). London: Kogan Page. ISBN 0-7494-4631-5. PIERCE, C. (2001), The Effective Director: The Essential Guide to Director and Board Development, London: Kogan Page. Cheverton, Peter. (2004), Key Marketing Skills Strategies, Tools Techniques for Marketing Success, Kogan Page, Limited. Formisano, Roger. (2003), Managers Guide to Strategy. McGraw-Hill Trade SIM337 Contemporary Developments in Business and Management, Version 5.0, University of Sunderland, United Kingdom Jones, G.R. George, J.M. (2003), Contemporary Management, McGraw Hill (Third edition) Worthington, I. and Britton, C. (2003), The Business Environment, FT Prentice Hall (4th Edition) Journal Articles GRUNDY, T. (2006) Rethinking and reinventing Michael Porters five forces model. Strategic Change. Vol 15, No 5, August. Pg 213-229. Prepared by : Ting Wan Ping (Jenny)

Macbeth: Describe Macbeth As A Tragic Hero :: essays research papers

MACBETH AS A TRAGIC HERO Tragic heroes are within everyone, but cannot be fully exposed or understood without the essential tragic qualities. One must be a potentially noble character who endures heroic qualities and has respect and admiration from the society. Consequently, they must be essentially great. Also within the character must be a flaw or weakness that leads to a fall. Lastly, one is required to possess an element of suffering and redemption. Remorse and regret is a necessity for ones wrong doings or deeds. One’s pays for their wrong doings because of failure to find happiness and regrets for actions taken. Therefore they die heroically. In the play â€Å"Macbeth† this quality of a tragic hero is portrayed though the character Macbeth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The quality of a tragic hero in Macbeth is portrayed first by his position in society and his establishment of greatness. Macbeth is appreciated as a noble character and endures a high rank in the country of Scotland. He aided King Duncan in several victorious battles and his ranking was increased as a result of this. He was crowned Thane of Cawdor in addition to the Thane of Glamis. Macbeth’s position was also seen as high to the Scotish citizen’s because of his relation to the king. However, Macbeth’s bravery on the battlefield was great. â€Å"Till he unseamed him from the nave to the chops, and fixed his head upon the battlements.† (Act 1, Sc.2) And for his victory he receives lavish praise in reports from the Captian and Ross, a Scotish Nobleman. â€Å" †¦As sparrows eagles, or the hare the lion. I must report they were as cannons overcharged with double cracks.† (Act 1, Sc. 2) Macbeth is shown as extravagant on terms o f what they say. He was also complemented several times by the Thane of Fife, Macduff. Furthermore, he was labeled several strong and brave animals on the battlefield, throughout the play. These many assessments and evaluations contribute greatly towards Macbeth’s appearance as a hero.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Macbeth’s relationship with his wife, Lady Macbeth, also confirms his innate goodness and suggests well for him. Lady Macbeth highly respects and admires her husband as the Thane of Cawdor and refers to him as â€Å" †¦my dearest partner of greatness.† (Act 1, Sc.5) She constantly demands that she understands Macbeth more than any other. This results in the others being expected to believe her. However, she incessantly declares that he is much too kind, â€Å"Yet I do fear thy nature; It is too full o’ the milk of human kindness†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Act 1, Sc 5) Lady Macbeth acknowledges that he has ambition but maintains that he lacks the evil that should attend it. Macbeth: Describe Macbeth As A Tragic Hero :: essays research papers MACBETH AS A TRAGIC HERO Tragic heroes are within everyone, but cannot be fully exposed or understood without the essential tragic qualities. One must be a potentially noble character who endures heroic qualities and has respect and admiration from the society. Consequently, they must be essentially great. Also within the character must be a flaw or weakness that leads to a fall. Lastly, one is required to possess an element of suffering and redemption. Remorse and regret is a necessity for ones wrong doings or deeds. One’s pays for their wrong doings because of failure to find happiness and regrets for actions taken. Therefore they die heroically. In the play â€Å"Macbeth† this quality of a tragic hero is portrayed though the character Macbeth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The quality of a tragic hero in Macbeth is portrayed first by his position in society and his establishment of greatness. Macbeth is appreciated as a noble character and endures a high rank in the country of Scotland. He aided King Duncan in several victorious battles and his ranking was increased as a result of this. He was crowned Thane of Cawdor in addition to the Thane of Glamis. Macbeth’s position was also seen as high to the Scotish citizen’s because of his relation to the king. However, Macbeth’s bravery on the battlefield was great. â€Å"Till he unseamed him from the nave to the chops, and fixed his head upon the battlements.† (Act 1, Sc.2) And for his victory he receives lavish praise in reports from the Captian and Ross, a Scotish Nobleman. â€Å" †¦As sparrows eagles, or the hare the lion. I must report they were as cannons overcharged with double cracks.† (Act 1, Sc. 2) Macbeth is shown as extravagant on terms o f what they say. He was also complemented several times by the Thane of Fife, Macduff. Furthermore, he was labeled several strong and brave animals on the battlefield, throughout the play. These many assessments and evaluations contribute greatly towards Macbeth’s appearance as a hero.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Macbeth’s relationship with his wife, Lady Macbeth, also confirms his innate goodness and suggests well for him. Lady Macbeth highly respects and admires her husband as the Thane of Cawdor and refers to him as â€Å" †¦my dearest partner of greatness.† (Act 1, Sc.5) She constantly demands that she understands Macbeth more than any other. This results in the others being expected to believe her. However, she incessantly declares that he is much too kind, â€Å"Yet I do fear thy nature; It is too full o’ the milk of human kindness†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Act 1, Sc 5) Lady Macbeth acknowledges that he has ambition but maintains that he lacks the evil that should attend it.

Children, Television, and Violence Essay -- Children Effect Violence M

Children, Television, and Violence TV violence may influence children more than most people are aware of. The amount of violence on TV is an important topic in today's society. One of the reasons it should be so important to all of us is because almost everyone in America today has a television set, and because of it's availability, children are viewing disturbing images everyday from the comfort of their own homes. Television is all about ratings. To keep the viewers from changing the channel, networks will try to do anything. Even the news is displaying more bloody details than people need to see. If there isn ¡Ã‚ ¯t a murder, rape, or shoot-out on the news, people are let down. They may get bored with the broadcast and change the channel. That is the main reason why kids can be exposed to view acts of violence even while watching a comedy. By putting violence into the equation, networks become more confident that you are not going to change the channel. The networks don ¡Ã‚ ¯t give a damn about the affects it m ay have on the children watching, just as long as the ratings are high and the money keeps rolling in. The network broadcasters need to decrease the violence because it often confuses children, and as we all know children are visual learners. This may cause young kids sometimes blur things with the real world that they see on TV. It helps makes this happen by shaping an altered reality. Children do not seem to have a full grasp of the real world and the situations it m...

Network VPN and Web Security Cryptography Essay

Securing Internet commercial transactions and sensitive banking data is increasingly becoming critical as threats to computer networks continue to cause significant financial losses resulting from data damage, loss or corruption by spy ware, viruses and other data corrupting hostile codes (Mogollon, 2007). The consequences of having weak security system administration become enormous and companies should step up their security measures to protect sensitive data by cryptographic methods. In online transactions, the secure Web server communicates with the client’s computer by authenticating each other. They do this by enciphering the data which is transmitted by means specific protocols such as transport layer security (TLS), Internet protocol security (IPsec) and secure socket layer (SSL). All Web browsers such as Internet Explorer and Netscape have in-built TLS and SSL protocols. To make internet transactions safe, the problems associated with end-user certificate distribution have to be solved and this was the challenge that led to the fall of secure electronic transaction (SET) technology after its introduction in 1990s (Mogollon, 2007). This paper will discuss important technologies behind VPN SSL and website encryption paying critical attention to algorithms which make encryption in financial systems such as the Internet commercial transactions possible and secure. In particular, the paper addresses advanced and critical issues in online transactions as one of the areas applying cryptography and network security. The Need for Network Security in Financial Systems The modern online commerce and financial systems are rapidly growing partly because several protocols for Web encryption are often implemented hence ensuring secure transactions. In a practical scenario, online clients buying commodities enter the credit card number online and then hit the â€Å"Submit† button. While this information is provided online and can be deciphered by hackers, the Web browser commits to secure this online transaction by enciphering the transmitted data (Mogollon, 2007). Secure communication between the client and the server requires client-server authentication which is a cryptographic key exchange involving an agreement of both parties. The client and the server will agree on a common pre-master secret code or key. Data is then enciphered using the keys which are generated from the agreed pre-master key. This communication agreement between the client and server also involves the decisions on which versions and protocols to use such as SSL2, SSL3, TLS1. 0, and TLS 1. 1 (Mogollon, 2007). They will also agree on which cryptographic algorithm to use and whether to authenticate to each other or not. The use of certain techniques of public-key encryption which generate the pre-master secret key will also be agreed on. Both have to make an agreement that session keys are to be created to help in the enciphering of the messages. Virtual Private Network (VPN) A virtual private network (VPN) serves as an extension of a private network which encompasses links across public or shared networks such as the Internet (Mogollon, 2007). VPN enables users to send data between two interconnected computers across a public or shared network in a way that it emulates point-to-point private link properties. Virtual private networking is the technique of creating and configuring VPN and it emulates point-to-point links (Mogollon, 2007). There should be data encapsulation or wrapping with headers to provide routing information thus allowing it to traverse the public or shared transit internetwork and attain its endpoint. At the same time, to emulate private links, the sent data must be encrypted for security and confidentiality (Microsoft Corporation, 2003). The packets intercepted on public or shared networks cannot be deciphered without the use of encryption keys. Private data is encapsulated in a connection portion known as the tunnel and it is encrypted in a connection portion known as the VPN connection (Microsoft Corporation, 2003). Fig 1. 1 Figure 1. 1: Virtual private network connection (Microsoft Corporation, 2003) The VPN connection provide the capabilities for remote users while at homes, branch offices or even while traveling to securely connect to remote organizations’ servers by the use of routing infrastructure which is provided by a shares or public network like the Internet(Microsoft Corporation, 2003). Since the creation of VPN connection is facilitated by the Internet from anywhere, these networks require strong security mechanisms to avoid any unwelcome private network access and to protect private data while traversing the public network (Microsoft Corporation, 2003). These security mechanisms include data encryption and authentication as well as other advanced VPN security measures such as certificate-based authentication. Virtual private network security (VPNs) is provided by the Internet Protocol security (IPsec), TLS and SSL (Mogollon, 2007). IPsecVPN are commonly used in several enterprises but they are not as easy to use as SSLVPN. Another difference between IPsec VPN and SSL VPN is that IPsec VPN works at Layer 3 and creates a tunnel into networks. This way, IPsec allows for devices to log on as if they have physical connections to the local area network (LAN) (Mogollon, 2007). On the other hand, the SSL VPN work at the application Layer 4 and users can have access to individual applications through the Web browser. In SSLVPN, the administrators can dictate the access by applications instead of providing entire network access. VPN emulates the facility of private wide area network (WAN) by the use of private Internet Protocol (IP) and public internet backbones (Mogollon, 2007). Secure Socket Layer Virtual Private Network (SSLVPN) Security networks particularly those used in online transactions demand increasingly complex cryptographic systems and algorithms (Lian, 2009). Therefore, there is need for individuals concerned with the implementation of security policies in companies to use technical knowledge and skill in information technology in order to implement critical security mechanisms. Unlike the traditional IPsec VPN which requires the use of special client software on computers of end users, the SSL VPN such as Web SSL VPN requires no installation of such software (Lian, 2009). SSLVPN is mainly designed to provide remote users access to various client-server applications, Web application as well as internal network connections. SSL VPN authenticates and encrypts client-server communication (Lian, 2009). Two types of SSL VPNs are recognized: the SSL Portal VPN and SSL Tunnel VPN (Lian, 2009). The SSL Portal VPN usually allows a single SSL to connect to the website while allowing secure access to a number of network services by end users. This common website is known as the portal because it serves as a single door leading to a number of resources. The site is usually a single page having links to other pages. The second example of SSLVPN is the SSL Tunnel VPN which allows Web browsers, and thus users to safely access a number of multiple network services as well as protocols and applications which are not Web-based (Lian, 2009). Access is mainly provided via a tunnel which runs under SSL. The SSL Tunnel VPN requires all browsers to have the capacity to support active content that makes them to have more functionality not possible with SSL Portal VPN. The active content supported by SSL Tunnel VPN includes Active X, Java, JavaScript and plug-ins or Flash applications (Lian, 2009). Secure Socket Layer (SSL) provides a standardized communication encryption deployed for the purpose of protecting a number of protocols (Lian, 2009). For instance, most online transacting sites such as PayPal, AlertPay and MoneyBookers have their Universal Resource Locator (URL) address beginning with â€Å"https://† instead of â€Å"http://. † This means that the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (Http) is wrapped inside the SSL (Lian, 2009). Cryptography and Encryption Cryptography is concerned with the development of algorithms where data is written secretly thus the names, crypto-meaning secret and –graphy, meaning writing (Li, n. d). Cryptography basically provides a number of ways to confirm data security during VPN communication. These various means or algorithms include hash, cipher, digital signature, authentication and key generation (Lian, 2009). Cryptography endeavors to conceal the actual context of data from everyone except the recipient and the sender hence maintaining secrecy or privacy. Cryptography also verifies or authenticates the correctness or validity of data to recipients in virtual private network. As a result of this, cryptography has been the basis of a number of technological solutions to problems such as communication and network security in share networks such as that in VPN. In general, cryptography can be defined as the technique exploiting the methods and principles of converting intelligible data into unintelligible one and then changing it back to the original form (Li, n. d). SSL VPN encryption involves the adoption of traditions and novel algorithms of encryption in the protection of sensitive data such as the one exchanged during online transactions. The original data is transformed into secure data with specific algorithm of encryption by the use of the encryption key. At the same time, the encrypted data can be decrypted back into its original state with the help of algorithms of decryption. Sometimes, attacks to data are common in networked systems where hackers break into systems to obtain the original data which has not been encrypted. The present research focuses on the efficient algorithms of encryption and decryption which are secure against these attacks (Lian, 2009). Typical VPN Encryption Algorithms VPN encryption utilizes a number of encryption algorithms to secure flowing traffic across a shared or public network (Malik, 2003). The encryption of VPN connections is done so as to allow VPN and Web traffic to traverse share or public network like the Internet. Example of encrypted VPN is the SSL VPN and IPsec which uses encryption algorithms to safely allow traffic across shared or public network such as the Internet (Malik, 2003). Apart from classifying VPN in terms of encryption, classification of VPN can also be based on the model of OSI layer which they are constructed in. this is an important classification as the encrypted VPN only allows specific amount of traffic which gets encrypted and the degree of transparency to VPN clients (Malik, 2003). Classification of VPN based on the OSI model layers recognizes three types of VPNs: data link layer, network layer and application layer VPNs (Malik, 2003). Algorithms used for encryption can be classified into partial encryption, direct encryption and compression-combined encryption (Lian, 2009). According to the number of keys used, algorithms can also be classified into asymmetrical and symmetrical algorithms. In general, different encryption algorithms encrypt data volumes hence acquiring different efficiency and security. It therefore remains a decision of system security administrators to select which algorithm to use which will provide the best VPN security (Microsoft Corporation, 2005). There is no single encryption algorithm which is efficient to address all situations (Microsoft Corporation, 2005). However, there are basic factors to consider when selecting the type of algorithm to use in VPN security. Strong encryption algorithms always consume more resources in computer systems compared to weaker encryption algorithms. Long encryption keys are considered to offer stronger securities than the shorter keys. Therefore, Chief Security Officer (CSOs) should decide on longer keys to enhance system securities (Microsoft Corporation, 2005). Asymmetric algorithms are also considered stronger than the symmetric ones since they use different keys (Microsoft Corporation, 2005). However, asymmetric algorithms of encryption are slower compared to symmetric ones. Experts also prefer block ciphers as they use loner keys hence offer stronger security compared to stream ciphers. Passwords that are long and complex seem to offer better security than shorter and simpler passwords which can be broken easily by hackers. It should be factor to consider the amount of data which is being encrypted. If large amounts of data are to be encrypted, then symmetric keys are to be used to encrypt the data and asymmetric keys should be used to encrypt the symmetric keys. It is also critical to compress data before encrypting because it is not easy to compress data once it has been encrypted (Microsoft Corporation, 2005). Direct encryption involves the encryption of data content with either traditional or novel cipher directly. Partial encryption involves the encryption of only significant portions of data and other parts are left unencrypted (Microsoft Corporation, 2003). Compression-combined encryption involves the combinations of encryption operation with compression operation which are simultaneously implemented. Comparably, direct encryption offers the highest data security as it encrypts largest volumes of data. However, this method has the lowest efficiency as it takes much time encrypting all data volumes. The reduction of data volumes in partial and compression-combined encryptions result to lower security but with highest efficiency (Lian, 2009). There are specific examples of ciphering algorithms used by most online companies to protect sensitive and private data such as business data, personal messages or passwords for online banking. The commonly used ciphering algorithms include the DES/3 DES, RC4, SEAL and Blowfish (MyCrypto. net, n. d). Data encryption in VPN client-server communications is critical for data confidentiality. This is because data is passed between VPN clients and VPN servers over a public or shared network which often poses risks of illegal data interception by the hackers. However, VPN servers can be configured to force communication encryption. The encryption will force VPN clients connecting to VPN servers to encrypt their data or else be denied connections. Microsoft Windows Server 2003 employs two different types of encryptions: the Internet Protocol security (IPSec) encryption that uses the Layer Two Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) and Microsoft Point-to-Point Encryption (MPPE) which used Point –to –Point Tunneling Protocol (Microsoft Corporation, 2005). In telephone communication or dial-up clients, data encryption is not necessary between the clients and their Internet Service Providers (ISP) since the encryption is always carried out with VPN client-VPN server connections. This implies that mobile users using dial-up connections to dial local ISPs need not to encrypt anything since once the Internet connection has been established, the users can create VPN connection with corporate VPN servers. In case VPN connections are encrypted, there is no need for encryption between users and ISPs in dial-up connections (Microsoft Corporation, 2005). VPN encryption generally allows for the attainment of the highest possible security standards made possible by key generation in a certified centre using the RSA, 1024 bit (MyCrypto. net, n. d). Smart card technology especially the TCOS-2. 0 Net Key SmartCard OS (operating system) grant a safe mode for key storage which complies with the evaluation criteria of information security systems (Li, n. d). Different types of encryption algorithms employ proprietary specific methods to generate the secret keys and thus the encryption algorithms become useful in different types of applications (MyCrypto. net, n. d). The length of keys generated by these algorithms determines the strength of encryption. The most common algorithms, DES/3DES, BLOWFISH, IDEA, SEAL, RC4 and RSA have different qualities and capabilities which network security administrators may choose to use in providing VPN security (MyCrypto. net, n. d). The RSA algorithm, developed in 1979 was named after its developers Ron Rivest, Shamir and Adleman hence the name RSA (Riikonen, 2002). RSA supports digital signatures and encryption and it is therefore the most widely used type of public key algorithm. RSA takes advantage of the problem of integer factorization to enhance security and it utilizes both private and public keys. It is one of the algorithms which is easy to understand and it has been patent-free since the year 2000 (Riikonen, 2002). RSA is commonly used for securing IP data, transport (SSL/TSL) data, emails, terminal connections and conferencing services. Its security entirely depends on the randomness of the numbers generated by the Pseudo Random Number Generator (PRNG). Data Encryption Standard/ Triple Data Encryption Standard (DES/3DES) has widely been used as a standard in banking institutions in Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) as well as in UNIX OS password encryption (MyCrypto. net, n. d). DES/3DES allows the authentication of Personal Identification Number (PIN) to be made possible. While DES is basically a 64-bit block cipher, it uses 56-bit keys in encryption and most users don’t regard it as advances in computer technology continue to transform the banking and online industry (MyCrypto. net, n. d). DES has been found to be vulnerable to some cyberattacks and experts have now recommended 3DES as the stronger option. 3DES has the ability to encrypt data 3 times hence the name 3DES. It uses different keys for all the three passes and this gives it a total cumulative of 112-168 bit key size (MyCrypto. net, n. d). IDEA (International Data Encryption Algorithm) is another type of algorithm first developed by Prof. Massey and Dr. Lai in the wake of 1990s in Switzerland (MyCrypto. net, n. d) . It was meant to replace DES algorithm but one of the weaknesses of DES is that it uses a common key for both encryption and decryption and it only operates on 8 bytes at every incident. The success of IDEA in enhancing security lies on the length of its 128-bit key which makes hackers difficult to break especially those who try out every key. To present, there are no known means of breaking the IDEA 128-bit key other than trying each key at a time which is also difficult (MyCrypto. net, n. d). This then makes the algorithm better for security. Since it is a fast algorithm, IDEA has been implemented in most hardware chipsets to male them run faster (MyCrypto. net, n. d). Just like IDEA and DES, Blowfish represent another type of a symmetric block cipher which tales a varying key length ranging from 32 to 448 bits (MyCrypto. net, n. d). This makes it ideal for both exportable and domestic use. Developed in 1993 by Bruce Schneier, Blowfish became not only a fast alternative but also a free option to the other existing algorithms of encryption. Blowfish is now becoming more accepted by many experts because of its strong encryption properties (MyCrypto. net, n. d). Software-optimized Encryption Algorithm (SEAL), developed by Coppersmith and Rogaway is an example of a stream cipher where data is encrypted continuously (MyCrypto. net, n. d). Stream ciphers represent a group of algorithms which are faster compared to block ciphers such as IDEA, Blowfish and DES. However, stream ciphers have an extended initialization phase whereby a secure harsh algorithm is used to complete the set of tables (MyCrypto. net, n. d). It is considered a very fast algorithm as it uses 160 bit key for the purpose of encryption. In addition, SEAL is considered one of the safest algorithms used to protect data from hackers and thus, it can be used in managing passwords in financial systems (MyCrypto. net, n. d). Ciphers and Encryption Ciphers transform plaintext into secured ciphertext and then recover it back from ciphertext with the help of keys (Li, n. d). This way, data is kept private during client-server communication this providing maximum VPN and Web security. The transformation into plaintext and the recovery from ciphertext is commonly known as encryption and decryption respectively. During the decryption process, a key is required and without the key, correct plaintext recovery is not possible. There are several types of ciphers widely known and have been classified according to their properties. Ciphers can be classified as to either symmetric or asymmetric ciphers (Li, n. d). In symmetric ciphers, the decryption key used in cryptography is the same as that used in encryption. The operation for decrypting is often symmetric to the encrypting operation in symmetric ciphers (Li, n. d). In asymmetric ciphers, the decryption operations are never symmetric to encryption operations hence the keys used might differ (Lian, 2009). A simple model for showing asymmetric and symmetric ciphers is as shown below in Fig 2. 1 (a) and (b). Fig 2. 1(a) and (b) (a) Symmetric cipher (b) Asymmetric cipher Fig 2. 1 (a) and (b): Symmetric and asymmetric ciphers (Lian, 2009) In the models shown above, symmetric cipher use same key (K0) in encryption and decryption while asymmetric cipher use different keys (K1) and (K1) for encryption and decryption respectively (Lian, 2009). Since in asymmetric cipher the key is similar in both encryption and decryption operations, the key is known both to the sender and the receiver but not to the third party and it should always be kept private. Otherwise, the third party can decrypt the ciphertext and expose the ciphertext as plaintext. This is why the asymmetric cipher is also known as the private cipher. However, symmetric ciphers such as Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), Data Encryption Standard (DES) and International Data Encryption Algorithm (IDEA) have widely been used despite some vulnerabilities of ciphertext decryption by third parties (Lian, 2009). Asymmetric ciphers offer advanced security as the encryption key (K1) can securely be made public but the decryption key (K2) is safely kept private only made known to the receiver. This means that if the sender and the third party only knows one key (the encryption key), he is not able to decrypt the ciphertext hence maintaining maximum network security. The asymmetric cipher is therefore known as the public cipher and the symmetric cipher, private cipher. Asymmetric cipher or public ciphers are regarded more suitable particularly for key exchanges in online communications and internet commercial transactions. The reasons which make public ciphers suitable for VPN securities are for instance the difficulties in large number factorization in RSA cipher. The problem of the discrete logarithm is the concept behind the suitability of Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC). The ElGamal encryption is also regarded to offer suitable securities because of the problem with complex computing of discrete logarithms as the encryption is always defines over a wide range of cyclic groups. Cryptanalysis and Security Attacks Cryptanalysis techniques allow hackers to break easily into cipher systems in VPN. According to Kerckhoffs principle, the hacker clearly knows the cipher per se and the security of the cipher is largely depended on the private key (Lian, 2009). Cryptanalysis techniques employed by attackers aim to get access to the cipher’s private key with the aim of knowing the information as plaintext, ciphertext or even encryption algorithm. Cryptanalysis methods can be grouped into four categories according to the information best known to the attackers (Lian, 2009). The attack based on only ciphertext means that the attack only progresses after the attacker has known ciphertext collection. This method is known as ciphertext-only attack (Lian, 2009). Known-plaintext attack is another cryptanalysis method which means that the attack method will only be successful when the hacker has obtained pairs of plain-text-ciphertext sets. Another attack method is the chosen-plaintext attack which progresses only when the hacker has ciphertexts which correspond to arbitrary plaintexts sets. The last possible method of attack is the related-key attack which works after the attacker has obtained ciphertext which are encrypted using two dissimilar keys (Lian, 2009). Encryption algorithms security is determined by the resistance to cryptanalysis techniques including attacks like differential analysis, statistical attack and relate-key attacks. Ciphers used for network VPN and Web security should be analyzed thoroughly before they can be used, otherwise, attackers will break into systems when ciphers don’t provide the required maximum network security. Simple metrics can be employed in measuring resistance to cryptographic analysis and common attacks of ciphers. These metrics include plaintext sensitivity, key sensitivity and ciphertext randomness (Lian, 2009). It can therefore be said that the cryptographic algorithm is of high security only when the encryption algorithm is heavily secured against cryptographic analysis and attacks. In case the algorithm doe not provide this essential requirement, the encryption algorithm is then considered to be of low security. Key sensitivity refers to changes in ciphertext as a result of changes in keys. Good ciphers will recognize the slightest difference in keys and cause significant changes in ciphertext. Plain text sensitivity is almost similar to plaintext sensitivity and is defines as the alteration in ciphertext as a result of plaintext changes. Good ciphers should also be able to recognize any slight difference in plaintext changes and therefore cause significant ciphertext changes. Ciphertext randomness basically differs from the plaintext. In good ciphers, the ciphertext always has good randomness which makes it hard for attackers to establish holes in statistical properties of ciphertexts (Lian, 2009). Ciphers transform original intelligible data into a form which is unintelligible by the help of keys. This method is used to secure data confidentiality. Hash always uses the original data to generate short strings used to protect data integrity. Digital signatures employ the key-based hash in the generation of hash values for the data which is to be protected. Digital signatures are often used in the detection whether operations are done by the authenticated owner or not. This is critical in online transactions such as those involving online payment methods such as AlertPay, PayPal and MoneyBookers. Key generation and authentication provide critical methods which help in the generation and distribution of multiple keys during communication. Hackers use cryptoanalytical methods to analyze and break into networked systems through cryptographic means. Cryptoanalysis provides some special or common means to analyze hash, cipher, digital signatures or key generation and authentication algorithms securities. The best cryptographic methods in VPN and Web security should be immune to cryptoanalytical methods before they can be applied in system network security. Conclusion Encryption algorithms offer secure communication against cryptanalysis used by attackers such as known-plaintext attack, ciphertext-only attack and select-plaintext attacks. Complete encryption offers security to traditional and novel ciphers against cryptanalysis by hackers. Partial encryption allows some parameters to be encrypted using ciphers which are immune to cryptographic attacks. Compression-combined encryption involves the combination of encryption and comprension operations which make it secure from the perspective of cryptanalysis. VPN encryption utilizes basic encryption mechanisms which secure the traffic flowing across shared or public network. The encryption is critical in allowing VPN traffic to traverse public or shared network like the Internet. Banking systems have always employed complex security measures such as SSL VPN and IPsec VPN to encrypt traffics by the use of encryption algorithm in shared VPN connections. References: Malik, S (2003). Network security principles and practices. Indianapolis, IN: Cisco Press. Mogollon, M (2007). Cryptography and security services: mechanisms and applications. Hershey, New York: Cybertech Publishing. Lian, S (2009). Multimedia content encryption: Techniques and applications. New York: Taylor & Francis Group. Li, X (n. d). Cryptography and network security. Retrieved July 31, 2010 from, http://www. cs. iit. edu/~cs549/lectures/CNS-1. pdf. Microsoft Corporation (2005). Data encryption between VPN server and client. Retrieved August 4, 2010 from, http://technet. microsoft. com/en- us/library/cc778013%28WS. 10%29. aspx Microsoft Corporation (2003). Virtual private networking with Windows Server 2003: Overview. Retrieved August 1, 2010 from, http://www. microsoft. com/windowsserver2003 MyCrypto. net (n. d). Encryption algorithm. Retrieved August 4, 2010 from, http://www. mycrypto. net/encryption/crypto_algorithms. html Riikonen, K (2002). RSA algorithm. Retrieved August 4, 2010 from, http://www. cs. uku. fi/kurssit/ads/rsa. pdf

An Examination of Bias in Focus on the Family’s Website Essay

Part of the problem with criticizing religion is the fact that any attempt to criticize yields a label of bigotry. In other words, if you question or criticize a religious movement the response is that the person putting forth the criticism is an anti-Semite or anti-Christian. While in many cases, this is true, but in other cases, that is simply not the case. But, because of the emotional attachment to religious beliefs – particularly the beliefs of individuals who hold strong fundamentalist beliefs – any attempt to question is met with anger. This is even when the issue being questioned is something that is pure opinion open to debate and not a fact that is set in stone. Dr. James Dobson, the head of the Evangelical group Focus on the Family, is hardly an unintelligent man. He is a published author and charismatic leader of a large denomination of conservative Christian groups. While there will be those who are dismissive of Christian conservative merely because they are, well, Christian conservatives, is childish. Criticism about political or sociological issues derived from bias and opinion, however, is fair game for debate. One such issue of contention on the website involves the assertion that homosexuality can be â€Å"cured. † To this regard, the website states: Homosexuality is more likely to be related to one or more of the following: (1) confusion of role models seen in parents, including, but not limited to, a dominant mother and a weak or absent father; (2) serious family dysfunction that wounds and damages the child; (3) early sexual abuse; (4) the influence of an older homosexual during a critical period of adolescence; (5) conscious choice and cultivation; and/or (6) homosexual experimentation, such as mutual masturbatory activity, by boys in early adolescence. How do these and other forces interplay in individual circumstances? I don’t know. I don’t think anyone knows. An Examination of Bias in Focus on the Family’s Website Page 2 On the other hand, I am certain that homosexuality does not result from irresistible genetic influences, as some would have us believe. (Dobson) To say these statements are biased and agenda driven would be an understatement. While Dobson is entitled to his opinions, the operative word here is opinion. The statements made in that excerpt are presented as fact when, in reality, there is no empirical proof that they are factual. Instead, the statements are presented to provide circular logic credibility to a socio-political agenda. Now, it is well within Dobson’s right to present his side of the issue. However, it is not a balanced examination of the issue and it contradicts a wealth of psychiatric and sociological study on the issue. Because of this, there is a great deal of intellectual dishonesty in these statements of homosexuality. A more proper examination would present Dobson’s opinion while acknowledging there are other opinions on the matter from professional fields, include a quote from a peer reviewed journal on the subject and then provide a link to a website that provides an alternate point of view. This does not mean that Dobson should abandon his beliefs nor should Focus on the Family retract their statements, but the organization would be far better served presenting an unbiased look at the subject and avoid presenting opinion as fact. Bibliography Focus on the Family. (2007) http://listen. family. org/daily/A000000198. cfm Dobson, James. (2006) â€Å"Do You Believe Homosexuality is Inherited. † Retrieved 4 February 2007. http://family. custhelp. com/ cgi-bin/family. cfg/php/enduser/std_alp. php? p_sid=6n4Jcohi