The Diet of the First Colonists in the Americas

The Kelp Highway Hypothesis is a theory concerning the original colonization of the American continents. Part of the Pacific Coast Migration Model, the Kelp Highway proposes that the first Americans reached the New World by following the coastline along Beringia and into the American continents, using edible seaweeds as a food resource. Revising Clovis First For the better part of a century, the main theory of human population of the Americas was that Clovis big game hunters came into North America at the end of the Pleistocene along an ice-free corridor between ice sheets in Canada, about 10,000 years ago. Evidence of all kinds has shown that theory to be full of holes. The ice free-corridor wasnt open.The oldest Clovis sites are in Texas, not Canada.The Clovis people were not the first people into the Americas.The oldest pre-Clovis sites are found around the perimeter of North and South America, all dating between 10,000 and 15,000 years ago. Sea level rises have inundated the coastlines that the colonizers would have known, but there is strong evidentiary support for the migration of people in boats around the Pacific rim. Even though their landing sites are likely submerged in 50–120 meters (165–650 feet) of water, based on the radiocarbon dates of what would have been inland sites, such as Paisley Caves, Oregon and Monte Verde in Chile; the genetics of their ancestors, and perhaps the presence of a shared technology of stemmed points in use around the Pacific Rim between 15,000–10,000, all support the PCM. Diet of the Kelp Highway What the Kelp Highway Hypothesis brings to the Pacific Coast Migration model is a focus on the diet of the purported adventurers who used the Pacific coast to settle North and South America. That diet focus was first suggested by American archaeologist Jon Erlandson and colleagues beginning in 2007. Erlandson and colleagues proposed that the American colonizers were people who used using tanged or stemmed projectile points to rely on an abundance of marine species such as marine mammals (seals, sea otters, and walruses, cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises), seabirds and waterfowl, shellfish, fish, and edible seaweeds. Supporting technology required to hunt, butcher and process marine mammals, for example, must have included seaworthy boats, harpoons, and floats. Those different food resources are found continuously along the Pacific Rim: so as long as the earliest Asians to start out on the journey around the rim had the technology, they and their descendants could use it from Japan to Chile. Ancient Art of Sea Faring Although boat-building was long considered a fairly recent capability—the oldest excavated boats are from Mesopotamia—scholars have been forced to recalibrate that. Australia, separated from the Asian mainland, was colonized by humans at least 50,000 years ago. The islands in western Melanesia have settled by about 40,000 years ago, and Ryukyu islands between Japan and Taiwan by 35,000 years ago. Obsidian from Upper Paleolithic sites in Japan has been sourced to Kozushima Island—three and a half hours from Tokyo by jet boat today—which means that the Upper Paleolithic hunters in Japan went to the island to obtain the obsidian, in navigable boats, not just rafts. Peopling the Americas The data on archaeological sites scattered around the perimeters of the American continents include ca. 15,000-year-old sites in places as widespread as Oregon, Chile, the Amazon rainforest, and Virginia. Those similarly aged hunter-gatherer sites dont make much sense without a coastal migration model. The proponents suggest that beginning somewhere between 18,000 years ago, hunter-gatherers from Asia used the Pacific rim to travel, reaching North America by 16,000 years ago, and moving along the coast, reaching Monte Verde in southern Chile within 1,000 years. Once people reached the Isthmus of Panama, they took different paths, some northward up the Atlantic coast of North America and some southward along the Atlantic South American coastline in addition to the pathway along Pacific Southern American coast that led to Monte Verde. The proponents also suggest that Clovis large-mammal hunting technology developed as a land-based subsistence method near the Isthmus before 13,000 years ago, and spread back upward into southern-central and southeastern North America. Those Clovis hunters, descendants of Pre-Clovis, in turn, spread northward overland into North America, eventually meeting the descendants of the Pre-Clovis in the northwestern United States who used Western Stemmed points. Then and only then did Clovis colonize the finally truly Ice-Free Corridor to mingle together in eastern Beringia. Resisting a Dogmatic Stance In a 2013 book chapter, Erlandson himself points out that the Pacific Coast Model was proposed in 1977, and it took decades before the possibility of the Pacific Coast migration model was seriously considered. That was because, says Erlandson, the theory that Clovis people were the first colonists of the Americas was dogmatically and emphatically considered received wisdom. He cautions that the lack of coastal sites makes much of the theory speculative. If hes right, those sites are submerged between 50 and 120 m below mean sea level today, and as a result of Global Warming sea levels are rising, so without new undreamt-of technology, it is unlikely that we will ever be able to reach them. Further, he adds that scientists should not simply replace received-wisdom Clovis with received-wisdom pre-Clovis. Too much time was lost in battles for theoretical supremacy. But the Kelp Highway Hypothesis and the Pacific Coast Migration Model are a rich source of investigation for determining how people move into new territories. Sources Erlandson, Jon M. After Clovis-First Collapsed: Reimagining the Peopling of the Americas. Paleoamerican Odyssey. Eds. Graf, Kelly E., C.V. Ketron, and Michael R. Waters. College Station: Center for the Study of the First Americans, Texas AM, 2013. 127–32. Print.Erlandson, Jon M., and Todd J. Braje. From Asia to the Americas by Boat? Paleogeography, Paleoecology, and Stemmed Points of the Northwest Pacific. Quaternary International 239.1 (2011): 28–37. Print.Erlandson, Jon M., et al. Ecology of the Kelp Highway: Did Marine Resources Facilitate Human Dispersal from Northeast Asia to the Americas? The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology 10.3 (2015): 392–411. Print.Erlandson, Jon M., et al. The Kelp Highway Hypothesis: Marine Ecology, the Coastal Migration Theory, and the Peopling of the Americas. The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology 2.2 (2007): 161–74. Print.Graham, Michael H., Paul K. Dayton, and Jon M. Erlandson. Ice Ages and Ecological Trans itions on Temperate Coasts. Trends in Ecology Evolution 18.1 (2003): 33–40. Print.Schmitt, Catherine. Maines Kelp Highway. Maine Boats, Homes Harbors Winter 2013.122 (2013). Print.

Sandoval Family Essay - 1131 Words

Chicano written by Richard Vasquez is a novel that shows how the American culture affects the Mexican society as well as many other societies in our community. The Sandoval family migrates into California knowing that they have a chance to start their lives over and they want more than what Old Mexico had to offer. America is into consumption, and the Sandoval family was bombarded by it. They were aware of the fact when they arrived in America, but in Mexico they were not aware of the other cultures and traditions out there. The Sandoval family was content with what they had in Mexico. But upon arrival they realized that the more they step into the American culture, the more they want. One can see the detrimental effects of American†¦show more content†¦Both Neftali and Alicia live like his ideal traditional family that he imagined. Both Angie and Pete want more then their parents and they just aren’t content with the way their life is now. Angie is limited to opportunities because she is the first-born girl. Pete becomes more exposed to opportunities after going to the army. They want to get out of the country and live in the city. â€Å"I’ve had it and Im getting the hell out of here, and if you guys are smart, you wont come back† (88). They believe that they are becoming limited by the choices they have because they spent all of their time and money to make there parents happy and help run the invaluable store. Angie and Pete both want more in their life and not just to help support an unsuccessful shop with their hard earned money. Angie wants to become a businesswoman and not play the role of wife. She is the first generation of children born in America. Her family is very disappointed that their first child is a girl. Angie later marries Julio Salazar, a very abusive and controlling person. But the marriage is not a bonding of hearts but more of a business relationship. He is a very abusive man who has cheated many people. Angie sees that she has power over Julio. â€Å"Take him. The no-good-son-of-a-bitch. This isn’t the first time, or the second or third or fourth. He comes in smelling like a French perfume Factory every night, spending money, and slapping me around. Yes,Show MoreRelatedA Brief Note On The Oldest Son Of The Sandoval Family1262 Words   |  6 PagesDebster Sandoval, the oldest son of the Sandoval Family has just reached his 18th birthday. He is a taller, average athletically built young man with light skin, green eyes, and dark hair. The family are of middle class income and live in a single family home outside of Houston, Tx with access to a great public high school where Debster just graduated from. The family consists of father Elijah, mother Rachel, and middle school aged daughter Adrienne. 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Group Dynamics Essay Sample free essay sample

Working with my squad in Group Dynamics throughout the semester proved to be a rewarding. edifying position into how groups and squads work together. We encountered challenges along the manner but for the most portion we succeeded in puting out what we wanted to carry through this semester and were able to make our designated ends. One of the challenges I encountered foremost in my squad was the changing grades of trust and friendly relationship I shared with my group members. I had known Karen since we were in undergraduate categories together and had worked with her several times. Denise had been in a few of my categories before but we had neer worked together antecedently. Last. John and I had neer shared a category together so we maintained the least societal relationship compared to the remainder of my squad. The changing grades of our societal relationships worried me somewhat because societal relationships in squads can hold a profound affect on communicating. public presentation. and motive ( Levi. 2011 ) . In order for our squad to execute at its highest functional degree we each needed to work on developing our societal relationships with each other. We noticed some of our differences around the clip that our first assignment was about midway completed. During a category session we were asked to rank ourselves in footings of phase we thought our group was in from Tuckman’s Group Development Model ; organizing. ramping. norming. or executing. Interestingly. we all had different sentiments as to where we thought our group was within this theoretical account runing from the ramping to executing phases. This signified a job for us since we couldn’t hold on how developed we were and it caused some minor struggle amongst my squad members. At this point we worked on farther bettering our societal relationships which we realized were non every bit developed as they should be for a successful squad. We besides focused more on making specific functions for the group members to ass ist with organisation. time-management. and end maintaining. As the semester progressed we each completed the in category exercising to find our behaviour types based on Bolton and Bolton’s Behavior Styles. I discovered that I was a driver and focused largely on what needed to be accomplished and how to make that end. Karen turned out to be the analytic mind who was concerned with organisation. Denise discovered that she was the good-humored behavioural type significance that she tried to seek out determinations and methods. which would profit everyone. John. the expressive behaviourist. generated much of the motive for the group during the semester ( Bolton A ; Bolton ) . This exercising was really enlightening because it gave each of us greater incite into our single features and why we behave in certain ways. It besides helped us greatly in traveling past some of our differences and we referred back to it for the balance of the semester. We were now able to understand why we had dissensions on certain facets of our undertaking and why our work manners sometimes didn’t mesh good. Interestingly. the functions and norms we had antecedently established tied in good to our freshly discovered behavioural manners. For case. Karen had chosen to be the editor of our group. which was right in line with her analytic personality. Bing a driver. it came to no surprise to me that I chose to be the record keeper for our group and sent out hebdomadal update meetings to transcribe what we had discussed as a squad and what every member should be concentrating in the coming hebdomad. Throughout the semester I felt that my squad members and I were able to develop many of our teamwork and struggle declaration accomplishments by working together on our group undertakings. I noticed that our group communicating developed greatly from where it began in the beginning of the semester when my group members did non pass on really often and when we did it was frequently ill-defined. As our trust and societal relationships fostered the psychological safety within our group the members began to pass on much more efficaciously by inquiring inquiries and raising issues around each other ( Levi. 2011 ) . Similarly. the struggle declaration manners of my group members and I matured during the semester. When finishing our first assignment most team members used the turning away struggle declaration technique because we did non experience comfy being honest with one another. However. as our societal relationships improved. we each spoke up more about out sentiments in a respectful . tactful mode. This allowed us to join forces better when covering with struggle and helped us to make determinations that led to everyone ‘winning’ ( Levi. 2011 ) . Although we had been utilizing the consensus doing determination manner since the beginning of the semester we were besides able to better upon our disposal of it. This attack is clip devouring because it requires every group member to discourse an issue and all agree on it before it can be accepted ( Levi. 2011 ) . We found that it was taking excessively long for us to make group determinations because no 1 wanted to pique anyone else or offer their honest sentiment at first. The more we developed swear the better we could discourse issues candidly in a timely manner and do good thought out determinations rapidly. For the most portion I am happy with how my squad members and I progressed and developed our accomplishments throughout the semester. I feel that we were able to accomplish the ends we set out to accomplish in the beginning of category. I don’t think that I would alter the way we went on to make this point. but I would hold liked to carry through it earlier. If we h ad worked more on developing our societal relationships and trust in the beginning of the semester so we could hold moved on to the executing phase of group development quicker. Similarly. if we had set out to pattern good communications techniques ab initio so we would non hold encountered some of the procedure loss that we dealt with during the semester. We found that communicating was truly indispensable to the success of our group because once we dedicated more clip to making it good we truly saw an betterment in our public presentation. I’m really proud of the creativeness we exhibited when we ran into the job of how to carry on our group observation. Since all of us were working full clip and were really busy in our lives we knew it would be hard to all acquire together outside of category to execute the observation. Karen came up with the thought that we could watch a picture recording of her work group during a squad meeting to utilize for our undertaking. which we all thought was an first-class solution to our job. Unfortunately. the picture did non work when she tried to upload it to e-mail or Blackboard. Because of this we all had to run in to at Towson on a Sunday to watch the picture together. The fortunes were non ideal but I believe it gave us a opportunity to each show that we were so dedicated to the other members in our squad by giving up a weekend afternoon to work on our reciprocally held assignment ends. Additionally. I’m rather proud of the prosodies we developed to detect our group for the assignment. We all worked difficult to come up with what facets of the squad we should pay particular attending to and besides how best to hit those facets. It was besides interesting to see each of our separate prosodies score sheets because we each had differing sentiments in footings of hiting. Despite this we were able to average our tonss and unite them into one metric sheet. I feel that I was able to develop my squad accomplishments throughout the semester and worked to acquire out of my comfort zone a small spot. Bing a driver I am normally the 1 to take charge and voluntary to take on undertakings. In the yesteryear I have offered to take on several duties and do suggestions to other group members in an attempt to rush the procedure up. Since I knew much of this category was focused on squad edifice though I specifically set out to take a measure back and work with others to develop solutions as a group. I besides worked toward beging sentiments from everyone when I could alternatively o f simply working towards understanding on everything. It was hard at first because as a squad we were traveling at a much slower gait than I would hold usually felt comfy with. but I’m glad I took a measure back because it proved that we were still able to make our ends without holding to go at such a rushed gait. I am really thankful for the experiences and lessons I learned throughout the semester in this category because I believe that they all can be applied to existent life state of affairss. Working with squads is an indispensable portion of any occupation and cognizing how to work with different personalities comes along with that. I am happy that my squad consisted of one of each different sort of behavioural manner because it challenged me in a manner really much like I might meet in a work group. Not all of my coworkers will be drivers so it was a great experience for me to larn how to work good with different types of people in category. Similarly. non every work group I am a portion of will dwell of people I know good. My group ranged from person I had known for a few old ages and worked with before to person I had merely met at the beginning of the semester. This helped learn me how to equilibrate the disproportionate degree of societal relationships and besides how to cultivate and develop societal relationships with those who I am less familiar with. Reflecting back on the semester I am rather satisfied with the work my group and I were able to carry through. I feel that we all learned and grew in our ain ways separately and as a squad. As I continue on in my new company I hope to incorporate many of the things I have learned this semester into my work life in an attempt to retroflex the squad successes I experience in the schoolroom. Mentions Bolton. A ; Bolton. Working with Behavioral Styles.Levi. D. ( 2011 ) . Group Dynamics for Teams. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. Inc.

A Written Silhouette free essay sample

She has never been called captivating or fascinating. She does not always feel beautiful. Her brown eyes are sheltered by long lashes. Her brown hair slowly inches its way down her long back. She wears make-up daily to enhance the features she cannot see. She wears clothes that cover her flaws. She has an average frame that can withstand cruel remarks. She can take criticism but is not fully confident. She sometimes even cries for no reason at all. She laughs as things that aren’t funny. She likes to have fun and do crazy things. She likes to try new restaurants and attempt to use chopsticks. She loves to go to church and quietly pray on her knees. She loves to sing when she is alone and loves to dance when no one is watching. Her dream is to become a geriatric nurse and help the generation that made hers. We will write a custom essay sample on A Written Silhouette or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page She wants to take a random vacation and discover new land. She has no desire to become the first lady or to change things she can’t. She wants to save a life. She wants to be looked up to. She wants to swim with the whales and talk to the lonely kid at the lunch table. She wants to learn a new language and hug a stranger. After all the obstacles in her life, she can confidently tackle a new chapter in her story. After attending a funeral she can appreciate life. After being in a room full of strangers, she can step outside her comfort zone. After getting a job she can cherish the cost of possessions. After writing essays and doing lots of homework in high school, she can now take on college. Her name is Alexis Elizabeth.

Alexander Bain and the First Fax

Alexander Bain and the First Fax Faxing is by definition a method of encoding data, transmitting it over a ​telephone line or radio broadcast, and receiving a hard copy of the text, line drawings, or photographs at a remote location. The technology for fax machines was invented a long time. However, fax machines did not become popular with consumers until the 1980s. Alexander Bain The first fax machine was invented by Scottish mechanic and inventor Alexander Bain. In 1843, Alexander Bain received a British patent for â€Å"improvements in producing and regulating electric currents and improvements in timepieces and in electric printing and signal telegraphs†, in laymens terms a fax machine. Several years earlier, Samuel Morse had invented the first successful telegraph machine and the fax machine closely evolved from the technology of the telegraph. The earlier telegraph machine sent Morse code (dots and dashes) over telegraph wires that was decoded into a text message at a remote location. More About Alexander Bain Bain was a  Scottish  philosopher and  educationalist  in the  British school of empiricism  and a prominent and innovative figure in the fields of  psychology,  linguistics,  logic,  moral philosophy  and  education reform. He founded  Mind, the first ever journal of psychology and analytical philosophy, and was the leading figure in  establishing  and applying the  scientific method  to  psychology. Bain was the inaugural  Regius Chair  in Logic and  Professor of Logic  at the  University of Aberdeen, where he also held Professorships in  Moral Philosophy  and  English Literature  and was twice elected  Lord Rector. How Did Alexander Bains Machine Work? Alexander Bains fax machine transmitter scanned a flat metal surface using a stylus mounted on a pendulum. The stylus picked up images from the metal surface. An amateur clockmaker, Alexander Bain combined parts from clock mechanisms together with telegraph machines to invent his fax machine. Fax Machine History Many inventors after Alexander Bain, worked hard on inventing and improving fax machine type devices. Here is a brief timeline: In 1850, a London inventor named F. C. Blakewell received a patent what he called a copying telegraph.In 1860, a fax machine called the Pantelegraph sent the first fax between Paris and Lyon. The Pantelegraph was invented ​by Giovanni Caselli.In 1895, Ernest Hummel a watchmaker from St. Paul, Minnesota invented his competing device called the Telediagraph.In 1902, Dr. Arthur Korn invented an improved and practical fax, the photoelectric system.In 1914, Edouard Belin established the concept of the remote fax for photo and news reporting.In 1924, the telephotography machine (a type of fax machine) was used to send political convention photos long distance for newspaper publication. It was developed by the American Telephone Telegraph Company (ATT) worked to improve telephone fax technology.By 1926, RCA invented the Radiophoto that faxed by using radio broadcasting technology.In 1947, Alexander Muirhead invented a successful fax machine.On March 4, 1955, the first radio fax tran smission was sent across the continent.

Free Essays on Egocentrism In Children

LAB REPORT- EGOCENTRISM IN CHILDREN: ‘COPS & ROBBERS STUFF’ ABSTRACT This report sought to examine whether a change in the response required -given that the materials utilized remained constant- would effect the degree of egocentrism exhibited by children within, either the pre-operational (3-5 years old) or concrete (9-11 years old) phases of cognitive development. This experiment was designed to correct or reinforce Piaget’s theory of conservation of matter, and used a modified version of Hughes police and robbers task. This was achieved by changing the response required from a straightforward verbal response to a visual response in which cue cards were applied. It was able then to be contrasted with Piaget’s 3 mountains task. The results given by the 507 subjects (228 male and 279 female) showed on average that egocentrism became more evident, particularly in pre-operational age bracket when asked to view the object (robber) form an opposite perspective rather than a similar one. Despite this however the experiment dispeled Piagetâ₠¬â„¢s theory by suggesting that not all pre-operational children are egocentric. Throughout this century scientists have pondered on the egocentric tendencies of humans and have tried to pinpoint its prenuptial foundations by examining cognitive development in children. Donaldson (19) defines egocentrism as: â€Å"a self-centered viewpoint†(p.17) and suggests that this failure to realize the world form another stance leads to lack of knowledge. Although Piaget (1932) -the forefather of modern cognitive psychology- established a theory to explain this condition of egocentrism in children, the experimental data which he used to support this; namely the 3 mountains task, was somewhat flawed. This was because, it suggested that children participants aged between two and seven; which he categorized in a stage labeled the pre-operational stage, were egocentric because they fai... Free Essays on Egocentrism In Children Free Essays on Egocentrism In Children LAB REPORT- EGOCENTRISM IN CHILDREN: ‘COPS & ROBBERS STUFF’ ABSTRACT This report sought to examine whether a change in the response required -given that the materials utilized remained constant- would effect the degree of egocentrism exhibited by children within, either the pre-operational (3-5 years old) or concrete (9-11 years old) phases of cognitive development. This experiment was designed to correct or reinforce Piaget’s theory of conservation of matter, and used a modified version of Hughes police and robbers task. This was achieved by changing the response required from a straightforward verbal response to a visual response in which cue cards were applied. It was able then to be contrasted with Piaget’s 3 mountains task. The results given by the 507 subjects (228 male and 279 female) showed on average that egocentrism became more evident, particularly in pre-operational age bracket when asked to view the object (robber) form an opposite perspective rather than a similar one. Despite this however the experiment dispeled Piagetâ₠¬â„¢s theory by suggesting that not all pre-operational children are egocentric. Throughout this century scientists have pondered on the egocentric tendencies of humans and have tried to pinpoint its prenuptial foundations by examining cognitive development in children. Donaldson (19) defines egocentrism as: â€Å"a self-centered viewpoint†(p.17) and suggests that this failure to realize the world form another stance leads to lack of knowledge. Although Piaget (1932) -the forefather of modern cognitive psychology- established a theory to explain this condition of egocentrism in children, the experimental data which he used to support this; namely the 3 mountains task, was somewhat flawed. This was because, it suggested that children participants aged between two and seven; which he categorized in a stage labeled the pre-operational stage, were egocentric because they fai...

Research Enhanced Interpretation of a Short Story Paper - 1

Enhanced Interpretation of a Short Story - Research Paper Example Just like Grace dropped college in order to continue an affair with a married man, who was also much older than her, Hassan is a lazy, spoiled child who achieves his goals by cheating. Neither of them is able to accomplish the daring dreams of their parents. Although a character like Maureen would never admit it, she is pretty much similar to Hassan’s father, as she always tried to influence her daughter’s destiny and lead her to the ‘right path’, ignoring the child’s real wishes and intentions. Nonetheless, she has the wisdom to ultimately accept her daughter’s decisions. On the other hand, there is an interesting parent – child relation between Maureen and her old mother. Maureen hates all the similarities between her mother and herself, and is extremely jealous of her mother’s close relationship to her granddaughter. On her turn, her mother is obviously enjoying the fact that she was preferred to Maureen, and obviously never misses an opportunity to lecture her daughter. Therefore, due to unrealistic expectations and hurt feelings, each of these relationships is a living failure. Besides, there is a broader parent – child relationship generated by Maureen’s profession as a teacher, and her connection to each of her students – as it is obvious that her indulgence for Hassan’s idleness and lies is somewhat motherly – until the day she catches him cheating on the exam. Then, she decides to adopt a different attitude, by punishing him. Nando Pelusi says in the article ‘Parents and Children in Conflict’, published on the website Psychology Today: ‘I always suspected that my father had it in for me. My dad was a brilliant showman and comedian who turned angry and intolerant around me. Perhaps our most authentic exchange occurred when, as an adult, I finally confronted him about his feelings toward me. He admitted that he thought that his new opportunities had been quashed by parenthood. Harsh? Sure. But

Dunkins brands strategic performance Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Dunkins brands strategic performance - Article Example The growth rate is healthy due to lucrative returns for franchisee and surging sales in the Dunkin’ Donuts outlets in U.S. Answer: In the fourth quarter of 2013, the corporation announced an increase by 13.3% in terms of revenues to about $183.2 million. It is believed that the performance was optimistic due to rising sales of Dunkin’ Donuts same-stores which was about 3.5% and at Baskin-Robbins U.S. sales increased by 2.2%. Despite the decline in consumer spending power and harsh conditions of weather, Dunkin’ Brands appears to be doing extraordinarily satisfactorily. We are optimistic about future sales as we are expecting that our sales of Dunkin’ Donuts will increase in between 3-4% in U.S. and Baskin-Robbins in between 1-2% during the period of 2014. Moreover, dividends were also increased by 21% in the quarter which is a positive indication of our firm’s financial performance. Dunkin Brands Group Inc. is the well-known QSR Company which has more than 17,000 distribution points in more than sixty countries globally. It is recognised for being the world’s top ranked franchisors of QSR which is serving a unique range of baked goods, hot and cold coffees and ice creams. In order to effectively manage the business operations, it has four vital components classified as Dunkin’ Donuts, Baskin-Robbins, Nutrition Advisory Board and Culinary Dream Team. Since it has international operations, it is employing franchise model in global destinations. As of 2011, there are 100% franchised business models which comprise of about 10,500 restaurants of Dunkin’ Donuts and 7,000 outlets of Baskin-Robbins. For the period of 2012, Dunkin’ Brands reported sales of more than $8.8 billion generated from its franchisees. The corporation has its headquarters in Canton, Mass. Dunkin’ Brands is well-aware of the fact that the strength of a company lies in its skilled, loyal and experienced workforce and it strives to develop

Symptoms, transmission, treatments, and prevention of the HPV virus Research Paper

Symptoms, transmission, treatments, and prevention of the HPV virus - Research Paper Example It is indisputable that the greater the degree of abnormality the greater the risk of cancer. Cervical cancer develops due to various factors and HPV infection is a significant factor. As such, recurring HPV infections have been identified, as the chief cause for cervical cancer. Cervical cancer develops due to various factors and HPV infection is a significant factor. It claims a large number of female lives, all over the world. Immunization Practices (ACIP) it was stated that; â€Å"HPV is a necessary but not sufficient cause of all cervical cancers. Approximately three fourths of all cervical cancers in the United States are squamous cell; the remaining are adenocarcinomas† (Markowitz, March 23, 2007). Despite the fact that HPV causes cervical cancer, not all cervical cancers are caused by HPV. According to this study, HPV is not the only reason for cervical cancer, although on many occasions its presence was observed, while detecting cervical cancer. Thus, HPV is not the sole cause for cervical cancer. HPV is mainly transmitted through sexual contact. In some cases, the HPV infection persists even after several years have elapsed after sexual contact with an infected person. In accordance with these studies, HPV is not the only cause for Cervical Cancer. However, it was detected in the majority of the cases. In the US, squamous cell and adenocarcinomas have been seen to be the active cause for Cervical Cancers, in three – fourths of the cases. The following discussion makes it clear that Cervical Cancer can be prevented, if HPV infection is detected at an early stage. Nevertheless, such infection cannot be detected in the initial stages, on account of the absence of symptoms. A study conducted by Vanslyke, Baum, Plaza et al declared that â€Å"Cervical cancer is a preventable disease resulting from infection with high-risk types of sexually transmitted human papillomaviruses (HPVs). Public

Computer Forensics Investigation and Techniques

Computer Forensics Investigation and Techniques Introduction I am the student of International Advanced Diploma in Computer Studies (IADCS). In this course, I have to do Compute Forensic assignment. The assignment title is â€Å"Didsbury Mobile Entertainments LTD†. This assignment helps me understanding computer forensics investigation and techniques Before this assignment, although I am interested in computer forensic, I am hardly used computer forensics toolkit or done any investigation. Because of this assignment, I have learnt many techniques how to investigate computer and done it practically. So, by doing this assignment, I have gained in practical and much valuable knowledge in Computer Forensics.nd a heartfelt thanks to all the people in Myanma Computer Company Ltd. for their warmly welcome during the period of the IADCS course and this assignment developed. Task 1 i) Report DIDSBURY MOBILE ENTERTAINMENTS LTD No(5), Duku place, Singapore Jan 10, 2010 Introduction Computer forensics involves obtaining and analyzing digital information for figuring out what happened, when it happened, how it happened and who was involved. What is more, it is use as evidence in civil, criminal, or administrative cases. Reasons for a need for computer forensic investigation Computer forensics investigation can recover thousands of deleted mails, can know when the user log into the system and what he does, can determine the motivation and intent of the user, can search keywords in a hard drive in different languages and can gain evidence against an employee that an organization wished to terminate. For these reasons, in order to know whether Jalitha has been spending her time on her friend business or not, we need a computer forensic investigation. Steps to pursue the investigation In order to pursue the investigation, I would take the following steps: 1) Secure the computer system to ensure that the equipment and data are safe 2) Find every file on the computer system, including files that are encrypted, protected by passwords, hidden or deleted, but not yet overwritten. 3) Copy all files and work on this copy files as accessing a file can alter its original value 4) Start a detailed journal with the date and time and date/information discovered 5) Collect email, DNS, and other network service logs 6) Analyze with various computer forensics tools and software 7) Print out an overall analysis 8) Evaluating the information/data recovered to determine the case Conclusion After we know the reasons and steps for investigation, then we should move on to conduct the investigation. However, we should note that the first step of investigation is critical as if the system is not secure, then the evidence or data we found may not be admissible. ii a) Report for â€Å"The procedures to make sure the evidence holds up in court† DIDSBURY MOBILE ENTERTAINMENTS LTD No(5), Duku place, Singapore Jan 12, 2010 Introduction Evidence is any physical or electronic information (such as computer log files, data, reports, hardware, disk image, etc) that is collected during a computer forensic investigation. The purpose of gathering evidence is to help determine the source of the attack, and to introduce the evidence as testimony in a court of law. Procedures to make sure the evidence holds up in court In order to make the evidence admissible in court, we need to follow the following steps: 1) Before any evidence can be gathered, a warrant must be issued so that forensic specialist has the legal authority to seize, copy and examine the data 2) Have the responsibility to ensure that the law and the principles we used are met 3) Evidence must be obtained in a manner which ensures the authenticity and validity and that no tampering had taken place 4) Tracking the chain of custody is essential for preparing evidence as it shows the evidence was collected from the system in question, and was stored and managed without alteration. 5) Extracted/ relevant evidence is properly handled and protected from later mechanical or electromagnetic damage 6) Preventing viruses from being introduced to a computer during the analysis process 7) To ensure that original evidence must be described in complete details to present reliable evidence on the court 8) Must arrange to answer reliability questions relating to the software we have used Conclusion In gathering evidence, authenticity, reliability and chain of custody are important aspects to be considered. By following the above steps, we are proper in handling the evidence holds up in court. ii b) Evidence form Didsbury Mobile Entertainments Ltd IT Department Computer Investigation Case No.: 005 Investigation Organization: Gold Star Investigator: Win Pa Pa Aye Nature of Case: Companys policy violation case Location where evidence was obtained: On suspects office desk Description of evidence: Vendor Name Model No./ Serial No. Item #1 One CD Sony Item #2 A 4GB flash memory device Kingston 05360-374.A00LF Item #3 Evidence Recovered by: Win Pa Pa Aye Date Time: 10.12.2009 10:00 AM Evidence Placed in Locker: E2419 Date Time: 15.12.2009 11:00 AM Item # Evidence Processed by Description of Evidence Date/ Time 1 Win Pa Pa Aye Fully recovered deleted email on the drive which is sent to Radasas company, including data exchange between the businesses. 13.12.2009 3:00 PM 2 Win Pa Pa Aye Encrypted document hidden inside a bitmap file. Decrypted and saved on another media. 18.12.2009 9:00 AM 3 Win Pa Pa Aye Password-protected document covering the exchange of information with her friend. Password cracked and file saved on another media. 22.12.2009 2:00 PM Task 2 Report for â€Å"the way the data is stored, boot tasks and start up tasks for Windows and Linux systems† To effectively investigate computer evidence, we must understand how the most popular operating systems work in general and how they store files in particular. The type of file system an operating system uses determines how data is stored on the disk. The file system is the general name given to the logical structures and software routines used to control access to the storage on a hard disk system and it is usually related to an operating system. To know the way the data is stored in Windows XP and Linux, we need to get into file systems of Windows and Linux. The way the data is stored in Windows XP In Windows XP, although it supports several different file systems, NTFS is the primary file system for Windows XP. So, we will have a look in NTFS as the NTFS system offers better performance and features than a FAT16 and FAT 32 system. NTFS divides all useful places into clusters and supports almost all sizes of clusters from 512 bytes up to 64 Kbytes. And NTFS disk is symbolically divided into two parts MFT (Master File Table) area and files storage area. The MFT consumes about 12% of the disk and contains information about all files located on the disk. This includes the system file used by the operating system. MFT is divided into records of the fixed size (usually 1 Kbytes), and each record corresponds to some file. Records within the MFT are referred to as meta-data and the first 16 records are reserved for system files. For reliability, the first three records of MFT file is copied and stored exactly in the middle of the disk and the remaining can be stored anyplace of the disk. The remaining 88% of disk space is for file storage. Below is the partition structure of NTFS system. After we know the file system of Windows XP, then we will move on to the file system of Linux. The way the data is stored in Linux When it comes to Linux file system, ext2 has been the default file system as it main advantages is its speed and extremely robust. However, there is a risk of data loss when sudden crashes occur and take long time to recover. Sometimes the recovery may also end up with corrupt files. By using the advantage of ext2 and add some data loss protection and recovery speed led to the development of journaling file system ext3 and ReiserFs. Though ext2, ext3 and ReiserFs are the most popular file system, there are also some other file system used in the Linux world such as JSF and XFS. As Linux views all file systems from the perspective of a common set of objects, there are four objects superblock, inode, dentry and file. The superblock is a structure that represents a file system which includes vital information about the system. Moreover, it includes the file system name (such as ext2), the size of the file system and its state, a reference to the block device, and meta-data information. It also keeps track of all the nodes. Linux keeps multiple copies of the superblock in various locations on the disk to prevent losing such vital information. Every object that is managed within a file system (file or directory) is represented in Linux as an inode. The inode contains all the meta-data to manage objects in the file system. Another set of structures, called dentries, is used to translate between names and inodes, for which a directory cache exists to keep the most-recently used around. The dentry also maintains relationships between directories and files for traversing file systems. Finally, a VFS (Virtual file system) file represents an open file (keeps state for the open file such as the write offset, and so on). While the majority of the file system code exists in the kernel (except for user-space file systems), (2.3) shows the Linux file system from the point of view of high-level architecture and the relationships between the major file system-related components in both user space and the kernel. The boot task and start up task of Windows XP A good understanding of what happens to disk data at startup is also an important aspect as accessing to a computer system after it was used for illicit reasons can alter the disk evidence. First, we will discuss about the Windows XP startup and boot process, and then shift into the startup and boot process of Linux. Like any other PC system, Windows XP startup by running the POST test, performing an initialization of its intelligent system devices, and performing a system boot process. The boot process begins when the BIOS starts looking through the system for a master boot record (MBR). This record can reside on drive C: or at any other location in the system. When the BIOS execute the master boot record on the hard drive, the MBR examines the disks partition table to locate the active partition. The boot process then moves to the boot sector of that partition located in the first sector of the active partition. There, it finds the code to begin loading the Secondary Bootstrap Loader from the root directory of the boot drive. In NTFS partition, the bootstrap loader is named NTLDR and is responsible for loading XP operation system into memory. When the system is powered on, NTLDR reads the Boot.ini file. If boot.ini contains more than one operating system entry, a boot menu is displayed to the user, allowing the user to choose which operating system is to be loaded. Fig (2.4) shows Boot.ini contains two operating systems and allows user to choose. After the user has selected the desired mode to boot to, NTLDR runs Ntoskrnl.exe and reads Bootvid.dll, Hal.dll and the startup device drivers. After the file system driver has loaded, control is then passed from NTLDR to the kernel. At this time, Windows XP display Windows logo. Virtually, all applications we installed using the default installation decide that they should start up when windows starts. Under â€Å"Startup† tab in the system configuration utility, a list of programs that run when our system boots is listed. Fig (2.6) shows the listed program when our system boots. The boot task and start up task of Linux After we have get into the start up process of Windows XP, we will then shift into the startup process of Linux. In Linux, the flow of control during a boot is also from BIOS, to boot loader, to kernel. When you turn on the power, the BIOS perform hardware-platform specific startup tasks. Once the hardware is recognized and started correctly, the BIOS loads and executes the partition boot code from the designated boot device, which contains Linux boot loader. Linux Loader (LILO) is the Linux utility that initiates the boot process, which usually runs from the disks MBR. LILO is a boot manager that allows you to start Linux or other operating systems, including Windows. If a system has two or more operating systems, LILO gives a prompt asking which operating system the user wishes to initialize. When the user chooses the boot option, it then loads the choosing operating system into memory. The boot program, in turn, reads the kernel into memory. When the kernel is loaded, the boot program transfers control of the boot process to the kernel. The kernel then performs the majority of system setup (memory management, device initialization) before spawning separately, the idle process and scheduler and the init process which is executed in user space. The scheduler takes control of the system management. The init process executes scripts as needed that set up all non-operating system services and structures in order to allow a user environment to be created, and then presents the user with a login screen. We have described about the way the data stored, the boot task and startup task of Windows XP and Linux. After a thorough study of these areas, we can acquire or handle the evidence properly. Task 3 a) Features comparison of â€Å"EnCase, Access Datas Forensic and ProDiscover† Features of Guidance EnCase Forensic * In courts worldwide, forensically acquire data in a sound manner using software with an unparallel record * Using a single tool and investigate and analyze multiple platforms * With prebuilt EnScript ® modules such as initialized Case and Event Log analysis, it can automate complex and routine tasks, so it save time in analyzing * Find information despite efforts to hide, cloak or delete * Can easily handle large volumes of computer evidence, view all relevant files that includes deleted files, file slack and unallocated space * Directly transfer evidence files to law enforcement or legal representatives as necessary * Include review options that allow non-investigators to review evidence easily * Include report options that enable quick report preparation Features of Access Datas Forensic Toolkit * Provides integrated solution that is no need to purchase multiple tools to complete a case. * Provides integrated database that avoid application crashes, lost work and product instability. * Identify encrypted files automatically from more than 80 applications and crack those files. * Supports international language that allows us easily search and view foreign-language data in our native format * Include email analysis that can recover and analyze a wide range of email and web mail formats * Can generate different industry-standard report formats quickly and concisely * Collect key information from the registry that include user information, date of application installed, hardware, time zone and recently used information * While processing takes place, we can view and analyze data Features of ProDiscover * To keep original evidence safe, it create bit-stream copy of disk for analyzing that includes hidden HPA section * For complete disk forensic analysis, it search files or entire disk including slack space, HPA section and Windows NT/2000/XP alternate data streams * Without alter data on the disk, it can preview all files including metadata and hidden or deleted files * Support for VMware to run a captured image. * In order to ensure nothing is hidden, it examine data at the file or cluster level * To prove data integrity, it can generate and record MD5, SHA1 and SHA256 hashes automatically. * Examine FAT12, FAT16, FAT 32 and all NTFS file systems including Dynamic Disk and Software RAID for maximum flexibility. * Examine Sun Solaris UFS file system and Linux ext2 / ext3 file systems. * Integrated thumbnail graphics, internet history, event log file, and registry viewers to facilitate investigation process. * Integrated viewer to examine .pst /.ost and .dbx e-mail files. * Utilize Perl scripts to automate investigation tasks. * Extracts EXIF information from JPEG files to identify file creators. * Automated report generation in XML format saves time, improves accuracy and compatibility. * GUI interface and integrated help function assure quick start and ease of use. * Designed to NIST Disk Imaging Tool Specification 3.1.6 to insure high quality. AccessData FTK v2.0 Guidance EnCase Forensic 6.0 ProDiscover Forensic Report for Choosing Access Datas Forensic Toolkit I think Access Datas Forensic Toolkit is the most beneficial for our lab as it provides more forensic examination features than Encase and ProDiscover. In the evidence aspects, Access Data can acquire files and folders than others. So, it can be a powerful tool when we analyze files for evidence. Moreover, it uses database to support large volume of data that can avoid application crashes, lost work and product instability for our lab. As Access Data is a GUI-based utility that can run in Windows XP, 2000, Me, or 9x operating system and it demo version has most of the same features as full-licensed version, use multi-threading to optimize CPU usage, has task scheduler to optimize time and can view and analyze data while processing takes place, it meets the requirements of our lab. What is more, it supports international language so we can retrieve data no matter which languages they are using. On top of that, it is powerful in searching, recovery, email and graphic analysis. Because of these reasons and by viewing the above forensic tools comparison chart, I can conclude that Access Datas Forensic Toolkit is the most beneficial for our lab. b) Forensic Analysis Report for â€Å"Analyzing FAT32, NTFS and CDFS file system Using Access Datas FTK† Task 4 a) MD5 hash values of bmp, doc, xls files All hash values generated by the MD5 before modification is not the same with the hash value generated after modification. b) Why hash values are same or different A hash value is a numeric value of a fixed length that uniquely identifies data. Data can be compared to a hash value to determine its integrity. Data is hashed and the hash value is stored. At a later time or after the data has been received from mail, the data is hashed again and compared to the stored hash or the hash value it was sent to determine whether the data was altered. In order to compare the hash values, the original hashed data must be encrypted or kept secret from all untrusted parties. When it compared, if the compared hashed values are the same, then the data has not been altered. If the file has been modified or corrupted, the MD5 produces different hash values. In task 4 (a), first we created a doc file with data in this file, then we generated hash values of doc file with MD5. The hash value of info.doc file is da5fd802f47c9b5bbdced35b9a1202e6. After that, we made a modification to that info.doc file and regenerate the hash values. The hash value after modifying is 01f8badd9846f32a79a5055bfe98adeb. The hash value is completely different after modifying. Then we created a cv.xls file and generated the hash value. Before modifying, the hash value is ef9bbfeec4d8e455b749447377a5e84f. After that we add one record to cv.xls file and regenerated hash values. After modifying, ccfee18e1e713cdd2fcf565298928673 hash value is produced. The hash value changed in cv.xls file after data altered. Furthermore, we created fruit.bmp file to compare the hash value before and after modification. The hash value before modifying is 8d06bdfe03df83bb3942ce71daca3888 and after modifying is 667d82f0545f0d187dfa0227ea2c7ff6. So, the hash values comparison of bmp files is completely different after data has been modified. When we encrypted the text file into each image file, the text file is not visible in the image viewing utility and each image file is like its original image file. However, the comparison of the hash values of each image file before and after inserting short messages is completely different. As each image file has been altered by inserting short message, the regenerated hash value is totally different from the original hash values. On top of that, the original image file size has been changed after inserting short messages. The raster image file has slightly increased its file size after it has been modified. The raster image file size is increased from 50.5 KB to 50.7 KB. However, of the remaining three, two image files vector and metafile have decreased its file size a little sharply. The original file size of vector is 266 KB and has been decreased to 200 KB after modified. The metafile also decreased from 313 KB to 156 KB. Only the bitmap is remains stable as its file size does not increase or decrease. In a nut shell, we can conclude that the hash value would change if the file has been modified. However, depending on the file format, the file size can increase, decrease or remain stable. d) Report for â€Å"differences of bitmap, raster, vector and metafile† A bitmap image is a computer file and it is collected with dots or pixels that form an image. The pixel of bitmap is stored like a grid, tiny square. When we use the paint program, we can see the bitmap pixel is like a block and it is draw or clear block by block. A raster image is also a collection of pixels but the image stored pixels in rows to make it easy to print. And raster image is resolution dependent. It cannot scale up to an arbitrary resolution without loss of apparent quality. This is overcome by the vector image. Vector image is made up of many individual, scalable objects. These objects are defined by mathematical equations rather than pixels, so it always render at the highest quality. There are many attributes in vector like color, fill and outline. The attributes can be changed without destroying the basic object. Metafile is a combination of raster and vector graphics, and can have the characteristics of both image types. However, if you create a metafile with raster and vector and enlarge it, the area of raster format will lose some resolution while the vector formatted area remains sharp and clear. If we have lost an image file, before doing anything, we should be familiar with the data patterns of known image file types. Then the recovery process starts. The first step in recovery is to recover fragments file from slack space and free space. The fragment file can locate the header data that is partially overwritten. So, we use Drivespy to identify possible unallocated data sets that contain the full or partial image header values. To locate and recover the image header, we need to know the absolute starting cluster and ending cluster. If not, we could collect the wrong data. Using Drivespy, we can know started cluster number and file size of image that we want to recover. To know the exact ending cluster, add the total number of clusters assigned to the starting cluster position. As we have known the size of image file, we can calculate the total number of clusters. Then, we can locate the image file and retrieve image header. After we get the header value, open the file with Microsoft Photo Viewer. If the file has been opened successfully, then recovery of image file has been completed. If not, we need to use the Hex Workshop to examine the header of the file. Task 5 Report for â€Å"Investigation that prove Naomis innocence† Before we begin tracing an email, we should know which email is illegal and what constitutes an email crime. Illegal email includes selling narcotics, extortion, sexual harassment, stalking, fraud, child abductions, and child pornography. As Jazebel has received an offensive email, so we need to access the victim computer and copy and print the offensive email to recover the evidence contained in the email. Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express or any other GUI email programs supports for copying the email from inbox to the place that we want to by dragging the message to the storage place. When copying email, the header of the email must be included as it contains unique identifying numbers, such as IP address of the server that sent the message. This helps us when tracing the email. After copy and printing the message, we should retrieve the email header to get the sender IP address. Right click on the message and choose message options to retrieve the email header. The following shows the header information that retrieved from the mail of the victim computer. At line 1(10.140.200.11) shows the IP address of the server sending the e-mail, and provides a date and time that the offending e-mails was sent. Although when we see at line 5, the victim is seemed to be Jezebel, however, line 1 identifies that the e-mail that is sent from the IP address (10.140.200.11) is the same as the victims computer IP address. So, we can conclude that Naomi does not include in sending offensive e-mail. She is innocence and the victim, Jezebel himself, is the one who send the offensive e-mails. References: Computer Forensics Textbook http://www.computerforensicsworld.com/index.php http://www.crime-research.org/library/Forensics.htm http://ixbtlabs.com/articles/ntfs/ www.wikipedia.com Computer Forensics Investigation and Techniques Computer Forensics Investigation and Techniques Introduction I am the student of International Advanced Diploma in Computer Studies (IADCS). In this course, I have to do Compute Forensic assignment. The assignment title is â€Å"Didsbury Mobile Entertainments LTD†. This assignment helps me understanding computer forensics investigation and techniques Before this assignment, although I am interested in computer forensic, I am hardly used computer forensics toolkit or done any investigation. Because of this assignment, I have learnt many techniques how to investigate computer and done it practically. So, by doing this assignment, I have gained in practical and much valuable knowledge in Computer Forensics.nd a heartfelt thanks to all the people in Myanma Computer Company Ltd. for their warmly welcome during the period of the IADCS course and this assignment developed. Task 1 i) Report DIDSBURY MOBILE ENTERTAINMENTS LTD No(5), Duku place, Singapore Jan 10, 2010 Introduction Computer forensics involves obtaining and analyzing digital information for figuring out what happened, when it happened, how it happened and who was involved. What is more, it is use as evidence in civil, criminal, or administrative cases. Reasons for a need for computer forensic investigation Computer forensics investigation can recover thousands of deleted mails, can know when the user log into the system and what he does, can determine the motivation and intent of the user, can search keywords in a hard drive in different languages and can gain evidence against an employee that an organization wished to terminate. For these reasons, in order to know whether Jalitha has been spending her time on her friend business or not, we need a computer forensic investigation. Steps to pursue the investigation In order to pursue the investigation, I would take the following steps: 1) Secure the computer system to ensure that the equipment and data are safe 2) Find every file on the computer system, including files that are encrypted, protected by passwords, hidden or deleted, but not yet overwritten. 3) Copy all files and work on this copy files as accessing a file can alter its original value 4) Start a detailed journal with the date and time and date/information discovered 5) Collect email, DNS, and other network service logs 6) Analyze with various computer forensics tools and software 7) Print out an overall analysis 8) Evaluating the information/data recovered to determine the case Conclusion After we know the reasons and steps for investigation, then we should move on to conduct the investigation. However, we should note that the first step of investigation is critical as if the system is not secure, then the evidence or data we found may not be admissible. ii a) Report for â€Å"The procedures to make sure the evidence holds up in court† DIDSBURY MOBILE ENTERTAINMENTS LTD No(5), Duku place, Singapore Jan 12, 2010 Introduction Evidence is any physical or electronic information (such as computer log files, data, reports, hardware, disk image, etc) that is collected during a computer forensic investigation. The purpose of gathering evidence is to help determine the source of the attack, and to introduce the evidence as testimony in a court of law. Procedures to make sure the evidence holds up in court In order to make the evidence admissible in court, we need to follow the following steps: 1) Before any evidence can be gathered, a warrant must be issued so that forensic specialist has the legal authority to seize, copy and examine the data 2) Have the responsibility to ensure that the law and the principles we used are met 3) Evidence must be obtained in a manner which ensures the authenticity and validity and that no tampering had taken place 4) Tracking the chain of custody is essential for preparing evidence as it shows the evidence was collected from the system in question, and was stored and managed without alteration. 5) Extracted/ relevant evidence is properly handled and protected from later mechanical or electromagnetic damage 6) Preventing viruses from being introduced to a computer during the analysis process 7) To ensure that original evidence must be described in complete details to present reliable evidence on the court 8) Must arrange to answer reliability questions relating to the software we have used Conclusion In gathering evidence, authenticity, reliability and chain of custody are important aspects to be considered. By following the above steps, we are proper in handling the evidence holds up in court. ii b) Evidence form Didsbury Mobile Entertainments Ltd IT Department Computer Investigation Case No.: 005 Investigation Organization: Gold Star Investigator: Win Pa Pa Aye Nature of Case: Companys policy violation case Location where evidence was obtained: On suspects office desk Description of evidence: Vendor Name Model No./ Serial No. Item #1 One CD Sony Item #2 A 4GB flash memory device Kingston 05360-374.A00LF Item #3 Evidence Recovered by: Win Pa Pa Aye Date Time: 10.12.2009 10:00 AM Evidence Placed in Locker: E2419 Date Time: 15.12.2009 11:00 AM Item # Evidence Processed by Description of Evidence Date/ Time 1 Win Pa Pa Aye Fully recovered deleted email on the drive which is sent to Radasas company, including data exchange between the businesses. 13.12.2009 3:00 PM 2 Win Pa Pa Aye Encrypted document hidden inside a bitmap file. Decrypted and saved on another media. 18.12.2009 9:00 AM 3 Win Pa Pa Aye Password-protected document covering the exchange of information with her friend. Password cracked and file saved on another media. 22.12.2009 2:00 PM Task 2 Report for â€Å"the way the data is stored, boot tasks and start up tasks for Windows and Linux systems† To effectively investigate computer evidence, we must understand how the most popular operating systems work in general and how they store files in particular. The type of file system an operating system uses determines how data is stored on the disk. The file system is the general name given to the logical structures and software routines used to control access to the storage on a hard disk system and it is usually related to an operating system. To know the way the data is stored in Windows XP and Linux, we need to get into file systems of Windows and Linux. The way the data is stored in Windows XP In Windows XP, although it supports several different file systems, NTFS is the primary file system for Windows XP. So, we will have a look in NTFS as the NTFS system offers better performance and features than a FAT16 and FAT 32 system. NTFS divides all useful places into clusters and supports almost all sizes of clusters from 512 bytes up to 64 Kbytes. And NTFS disk is symbolically divided into two parts MFT (Master File Table) area and files storage area. The MFT consumes about 12% of the disk and contains information about all files located on the disk. This includes the system file used by the operating system. MFT is divided into records of the fixed size (usually 1 Kbytes), and each record corresponds to some file. Records within the MFT are referred to as meta-data and the first 16 records are reserved for system files. For reliability, the first three records of MFT file is copied and stored exactly in the middle of the disk and the remaining can be stored anyplace of the disk. The remaining 88% of disk space is for file storage. Below is the partition structure of NTFS system. After we know the file system of Windows XP, then we will move on to the file system of Linux. The way the data is stored in Linux When it comes to Linux file system, ext2 has been the default file system as it main advantages is its speed and extremely robust. However, there is a risk of data loss when sudden crashes occur and take long time to recover. Sometimes the recovery may also end up with corrupt files. By using the advantage of ext2 and add some data loss protection and recovery speed led to the development of journaling file system ext3 and ReiserFs. Though ext2, ext3 and ReiserFs are the most popular file system, there are also some other file system used in the Linux world such as JSF and XFS. As Linux views all file systems from the perspective of a common set of objects, there are four objects superblock, inode, dentry and file. The superblock is a structure that represents a file system which includes vital information about the system. Moreover, it includes the file system name (such as ext2), the size of the file system and its state, a reference to the block device, and meta-data information. It also keeps track of all the nodes. Linux keeps multiple copies of the superblock in various locations on the disk to prevent losing such vital information. Every object that is managed within a file system (file or directory) is represented in Linux as an inode. The inode contains all the meta-data to manage objects in the file system. Another set of structures, called dentries, is used to translate between names and inodes, for which a directory cache exists to keep the most-recently used around. The dentry also maintains relationships between directories and files for traversing file systems. Finally, a VFS (Virtual file system) file represents an open file (keeps state for the open file such as the write offset, and so on). While the majority of the file system code exists in the kernel (except for user-space file systems), (2.3) shows the Linux file system from the point of view of high-level architecture and the relationships between the major file system-related components in both user space and the kernel. The boot task and start up task of Windows XP A good understanding of what happens to disk data at startup is also an important aspect as accessing to a computer system after it was used for illicit reasons can alter the disk evidence. First, we will discuss about the Windows XP startup and boot process, and then shift into the startup and boot process of Linux. Like any other PC system, Windows XP startup by running the POST test, performing an initialization of its intelligent system devices, and performing a system boot process. The boot process begins when the BIOS starts looking through the system for a master boot record (MBR). This record can reside on drive C: or at any other location in the system. When the BIOS execute the master boot record on the hard drive, the MBR examines the disks partition table to locate the active partition. The boot process then moves to the boot sector of that partition located in the first sector of the active partition. There, it finds the code to begin loading the Secondary Bootstrap Loader from the root directory of the boot drive. In NTFS partition, the bootstrap loader is named NTLDR and is responsible for loading XP operation system into memory. When the system is powered on, NTLDR reads the Boot.ini file. If boot.ini contains more than one operating system entry, a boot menu is displayed to the user, allowing the user to choose which operating system is to be loaded. Fig (2.4) shows Boot.ini contains two operating systems and allows user to choose. After the user has selected the desired mode to boot to, NTLDR runs Ntoskrnl.exe and reads Bootvid.dll, Hal.dll and the startup device drivers. After the file system driver has loaded, control is then passed from NTLDR to the kernel. At this time, Windows XP display Windows logo. Virtually, all applications we installed using the default installation decide that they should start up when windows starts. Under â€Å"Startup† tab in the system configuration utility, a list of programs that run when our system boots is listed. Fig (2.6) shows the listed program when our system boots. The boot task and start up task of Linux After we have get into the start up process of Windows XP, we will then shift into the startup process of Linux. In Linux, the flow of control during a boot is also from BIOS, to boot loader, to kernel. When you turn on the power, the BIOS perform hardware-platform specific startup tasks. Once the hardware is recognized and started correctly, the BIOS loads and executes the partition boot code from the designated boot device, which contains Linux boot loader. Linux Loader (LILO) is the Linux utility that initiates the boot process, which usually runs from the disks MBR. LILO is a boot manager that allows you to start Linux or other operating systems, including Windows. If a system has two or more operating systems, LILO gives a prompt asking which operating system the user wishes to initialize. When the user chooses the boot option, it then loads the choosing operating system into memory. The boot program, in turn, reads the kernel into memory. When the kernel is loaded, the boot program transfers control of the boot process to the kernel. The kernel then performs the majority of system setup (memory management, device initialization) before spawning separately, the idle process and scheduler and the init process which is executed in user space. The scheduler takes control of the system management. The init process executes scripts as needed that set up all non-operating system services and structures in order to allow a user environment to be created, and then presents the user with a login screen. We have described about the way the data stored, the boot task and startup task of Windows XP and Linux. After a thorough study of these areas, we can acquire or handle the evidence properly. Task 3 a) Features comparison of â€Å"EnCase, Access Datas Forensic and ProDiscover† Features of Guidance EnCase Forensic * In courts worldwide, forensically acquire data in a sound manner using software with an unparallel record * Using a single tool and investigate and analyze multiple platforms * With prebuilt EnScript ® modules such as initialized Case and Event Log analysis, it can automate complex and routine tasks, so it save time in analyzing * Find information despite efforts to hide, cloak or delete * Can easily handle large volumes of computer evidence, view all relevant files that includes deleted files, file slack and unallocated space * Directly transfer evidence files to law enforcement or legal representatives as necessary * Include review options that allow non-investigators to review evidence easily * Include report options that enable quick report preparation Features of Access Datas Forensic Toolkit * Provides integrated solution that is no need to purchase multiple tools to complete a case. * Provides integrated database that avoid application crashes, lost work and product instability. * Identify encrypted files automatically from more than 80 applications and crack those files. * Supports international language that allows us easily search and view foreign-language data in our native format * Include email analysis that can recover and analyze a wide range of email and web mail formats * Can generate different industry-standard report formats quickly and concisely * Collect key information from the registry that include user information, date of application installed, hardware, time zone and recently used information * While processing takes place, we can view and analyze data Features of ProDiscover * To keep original evidence safe, it create bit-stream copy of disk for analyzing that includes hidden HPA section * For complete disk forensic analysis, it search files or entire disk including slack space, HPA section and Windows NT/2000/XP alternate data streams * Without alter data on the disk, it can preview all files including metadata and hidden or deleted files * Support for VMware to run a captured image. * In order to ensure nothing is hidden, it examine data at the file or cluster level * To prove data integrity, it can generate and record MD5, SHA1 and SHA256 hashes automatically. * Examine FAT12, FAT16, FAT 32 and all NTFS file systems including Dynamic Disk and Software RAID for maximum flexibility. * Examine Sun Solaris UFS file system and Linux ext2 / ext3 file systems. * Integrated thumbnail graphics, internet history, event log file, and registry viewers to facilitate investigation process. * Integrated viewer to examine .pst /.ost and .dbx e-mail files. * Utilize Perl scripts to automate investigation tasks. * Extracts EXIF information from JPEG files to identify file creators. * Automated report generation in XML format saves time, improves accuracy and compatibility. * GUI interface and integrated help function assure quick start and ease of use. * Designed to NIST Disk Imaging Tool Specification 3.1.6 to insure high quality. AccessData FTK v2.0 Guidance EnCase Forensic 6.0 ProDiscover Forensic Report for Choosing Access Datas Forensic Toolkit I think Access Datas Forensic Toolkit is the most beneficial for our lab as it provides more forensic examination features than Encase and ProDiscover. In the evidence aspects, Access Data can acquire files and folders than others. So, it can be a powerful tool when we analyze files for evidence. Moreover, it uses database to support large volume of data that can avoid application crashes, lost work and product instability for our lab. As Access Data is a GUI-based utility that can run in Windows XP, 2000, Me, or 9x operating system and it demo version has most of the same features as full-licensed version, use multi-threading to optimize CPU usage, has task scheduler to optimize time and can view and analyze data while processing takes place, it meets the requirements of our lab. What is more, it supports international language so we can retrieve data no matter which languages they are using. On top of that, it is powerful in searching, recovery, email and graphic analysis. Because of these reasons and by viewing the above forensic tools comparison chart, I can conclude that Access Datas Forensic Toolkit is the most beneficial for our lab. b) Forensic Analysis Report for â€Å"Analyzing FAT32, NTFS and CDFS file system Using Access Datas FTK† Task 4 a) MD5 hash values of bmp, doc, xls files All hash values generated by the MD5 before modification is not the same with the hash value generated after modification. b) Why hash values are same or different A hash value is a numeric value of a fixed length that uniquely identifies data. Data can be compared to a hash value to determine its integrity. Data is hashed and the hash value is stored. At a later time or after the data has been received from mail, the data is hashed again and compared to the stored hash or the hash value it was sent to determine whether the data was altered. In order to compare the hash values, the original hashed data must be encrypted or kept secret from all untrusted parties. When it compared, if the compared hashed values are the same, then the data has not been altered. If the file has been modified or corrupted, the MD5 produces different hash values. In task 4 (a), first we created a doc file with data in this file, then we generated hash values of doc file with MD5. The hash value of info.doc file is da5fd802f47c9b5bbdced35b9a1202e6. After that, we made a modification to that info.doc file and regenerate the hash values. The hash value after modifying is 01f8badd9846f32a79a5055bfe98adeb. The hash value is completely different after modifying. Then we created a cv.xls file and generated the hash value. Before modifying, the hash value is ef9bbfeec4d8e455b749447377a5e84f. After that we add one record to cv.xls file and regenerated hash values. After modifying, ccfee18e1e713cdd2fcf565298928673 hash value is produced. The hash value changed in cv.xls file after data altered. Furthermore, we created fruit.bmp file to compare the hash value before and after modification. The hash value before modifying is 8d06bdfe03df83bb3942ce71daca3888 and after modifying is 667d82f0545f0d187dfa0227ea2c7ff6. So, the hash values comparison of bmp files is completely different after data has been modified. When we encrypted the text file into each image file, the text file is not visible in the image viewing utility and each image file is like its original image file. However, the comparison of the hash values of each image file before and after inserting short messages is completely different. As each image file has been altered by inserting short message, the regenerated hash value is totally different from the original hash values. On top of that, the original image file size has been changed after inserting short messages. The raster image file has slightly increased its file size after it has been modified. The raster image file size is increased from 50.5 KB to 50.7 KB. However, of the remaining three, two image files vector and metafile have decreased its file size a little sharply. The original file size of vector is 266 KB and has been decreased to 200 KB after modified. The metafile also decreased from 313 KB to 156 KB. Only the bitmap is remains stable as its file size does not increase or decrease. In a nut shell, we can conclude that the hash value would change if the file has been modified. However, depending on the file format, the file size can increase, decrease or remain stable. d) Report for â€Å"differences of bitmap, raster, vector and metafile† A bitmap image is a computer file and it is collected with dots or pixels that form an image. The pixel of bitmap is stored like a grid, tiny square. When we use the paint program, we can see the bitmap pixel is like a block and it is draw or clear block by block. A raster image is also a collection of pixels but the image stored pixels in rows to make it easy to print. And raster image is resolution dependent. It cannot scale up to an arbitrary resolution without loss of apparent quality. This is overcome by the vector image. Vector image is made up of many individual, scalable objects. These objects are defined by mathematical equations rather than pixels, so it always render at the highest quality. There are many attributes in vector like color, fill and outline. The attributes can be changed without destroying the basic object. Metafile is a combination of raster and vector graphics, and can have the characteristics of both image types. However, if you create a metafile with raster and vector and enlarge it, the area of raster format will lose some resolution while the vector formatted area remains sharp and clear. If we have lost an image file, before doing anything, we should be familiar with the data patterns of known image file types. Then the recovery process starts. The first step in recovery is to recover fragments file from slack space and free space. The fragment file can locate the header data that is partially overwritten. So, we use Drivespy to identify possible unallocated data sets that contain the full or partial image header values. To locate and recover the image header, we need to know the absolute starting cluster and ending cluster. If not, we could collect the wrong data. Using Drivespy, we can know started cluster number and file size of image that we want to recover. To know the exact ending cluster, add the total number of clusters assigned to the starting cluster position. As we have known the size of image file, we can calculate the total number of clusters. Then, we can locate the image file and retrieve image header. After we get the header value, open the file with Microsoft Photo Viewer. If the file has been opened successfully, then recovery of image file has been completed. If not, we need to use the Hex Workshop to examine the header of the file. Task 5 Report for â€Å"Investigation that prove Naomis innocence† Before we begin tracing an email, we should know which email is illegal and what constitutes an email crime. Illegal email includes selling narcotics, extortion, sexual harassment, stalking, fraud, child abductions, and child pornography. As Jazebel has received an offensive email, so we need to access the victim computer and copy and print the offensive email to recover the evidence contained in the email. Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express or any other GUI email programs supports for copying the email from inbox to the place that we want to by dragging the message to the storage place. When copying email, the header of the email must be included as it contains unique identifying numbers, such as IP address of the server that sent the message. This helps us when tracing the email. After copy and printing the message, we should retrieve the email header to get the sender IP address. Right click on the message and choose message options to retrieve the email header. The following shows the header information that retrieved from the mail of the victim computer. At line 1(10.140.200.11) shows the IP address of the server sending the e-mail, and provides a date and time that the offending e-mails was sent. Although when we see at line 5, the victim is seemed to be Jezebel, however, line 1 identifies that the e-mail that is sent from the IP address (10.140.200.11) is the same as the victims computer IP address. So, we can conclude that Naomi does not include in sending offensive e-mail. She is innocence and the victim, Jezebel himself, is the one who send the offensive e-mails. References: Computer Forensics Textbook http://www.computerforensicsworld.com/index.php http://www.crime-research.org/library/Forensics.htm http://ixbtlabs.com/articles/ntfs/ www.wikipedia.com

Medical Analysis of The JFK Assassination :: John F. Kennedy American History Essays

Medical Analysis of The JFK Assassination Dr. Charles Crenshaw's book Conspiracy of Silence caused a minor sensation when it was released in 1992, even attracting the attention of the New York Times. Coauthored by Jens Hansen and Gary Shaw, it told several conspiratorial stories about the assassination, and especially about the role of Dr. Crenshaw, then a resident physician at Parkland Hospital, in the care of John Kennedy and Lee Harvey Oswald. It has since been reprinted as Trauma Room One. Among the "interesting" things that Crenshaw claims are: The back of Kennedy's head was blown out, clearly implying a shot from the Grassy Knoll in front of Kennedy. A small wound in Kennedy's throat was an entrance wound, proving a shot from the front, and not from the Sniper's Nest behind Kennedy. Parkland doctors, knowing there was a conspiracy, have feared to speak out. The President's body was altered between Parkland Hospital and the autopsy at Bethesda. And the most sensational: Lyndon Johnson called the operating room were Oswald was being treated and demanded a confession be extracted from the accused assassin. Conspiracy authors, wanting to push the idea of a shot from the Grassy Knoll, have lapped up Crenshaw's account. For example, Gary Aguilar quotes Crenshaw as follows: He, with co-authors, Jens Hansen and Gary Shaw, recently published a book, "Conspiracy of Silence" (Crenshaw, CA, Hansen, J, Shaw, G. "Conspiracy of Silence". 1992, New York, Signet). Crenshaw has claimed both in his book and in public interviews that the President's head wound was posterior on the right side. In "Conspiracy of Silence" he wrote, "I walked to the President's head to get a closer look. His entire right cerebral hemisphere appeared to be gone. It looked like a crater—an empty cavity. " Conspiracy writer Gary Aguilar accepts Crenshaw's account. His essay on supposed "back of the head" witnesses is useful and interesting — although many of his assessments of the testimony are to be treated skeptically. How does Crenshaw know such things? According to the book, he had a central role in treating Kennedy. Yet when the New York Times called up Crenshaw in reponse to his book, he backed away from the book's claims as to how central he was, saying that Hansen and Shaw "took poetic license" on this issue. Crenshaw "admitted . . .that the role he played in Kennedy's case was minor." See the Times of May 26, 1992. It hardly inspires confidence in the book when Crenshaw says things like this.

Beckett vs Satre Essay

Samuel Beckett’s vision of two lowly tramps in the middle of a derelict environment can be placed in direct contrast to the claustrophobic and eternal nightmare presented by Jean-Paul Sartre , but each playwright possessed objectives for their respective audiences and each shared a valued opinion on the theories of existentialism which can be established in the plays Waiting for Godot and No Exit. Beckett introduces the audience into a world of questioning and surrealist virtues and encourages the spectator to actually discuss the play and find the answer within. Sartre, however, presents his play as a placard for the virtues of existentialism and attempts to prove that â€Å"hell is other people†. When being asked about the sources for his ideas or advocating him as a pioneer for the Theatre of the Absurd, Beckett’s replies were often curt or dismissive. The Theatre of the Absurd was a term conceived by the critic Martin Esslin to describe the various playwrights who gave their artistic interpretations believing that human existence is futile and without meaning. According to Beckett himself the Theatre of the Absurd was too ‘judgemental’, too self-assuredly pessimistic: I have never accepted the notion of a theatre of the absurd, a concept that implies a judgement of value. It’s not even possible to talk about truth. That’s the part of the anguish. Sartre, however made his existentialist philosophies quite apparent. With his own theories he collaborated with the Dadaists and Surrealists after the Second World War and achieved to create his own ‘humanist’ way of thinking but with a prominent atheistic outlook. Sartre quoted rather proudly â€Å"L’homme est condamne a etre libre†¦l’homme est liberte. † Loosely translated he proclaims that â€Å"Man is condemned to be free†¦man is freedom. † Sartre firmly believed that man is nothing except his life and that consequently he is fully responsible for his actions. In Sartre’s existentialist world, man is committed to choose his own destiny without the help of any religion whether he wants to or not and he made this philosophy apparent in all of his works, unlike Beckett who used a more cryptic or absurd stance in his plays. With or without the use of absurdist ideals and other forms of the genre Beckett certainly portrayed the human values in his characters and considered the ideas of social conditioning and the existentialist notion of absolute freedom. Of all the ideologies written or philosophised over , existentialism seems to lend a lot of its virtues to Waiting for Godot. Ronan McDonald argues that absurdity and existence are fundamental to Beckett‘s work: There may be more affinity with another association of existentialism and Beckett’s beliefs, namely the idea of ‘absurdity’, though here (too) caution is advised. Without any grounding, without any reason for our being in the world, a certain strand of existentialist thought concludes that life is absurd, disordered and meaningless. The ‘absurd, disordered and meaningless’ which McDonald mentions is evident in the dialogue used in Waiting for Godot. Conversations between the two main characters of Estragon and Vladimir are often erratic and pointless and never seem to resolve at a natural climax. They bounce off each other instigating a retort which is unexpected and prompts an audience to laugh at the scenario with confusing intrigue. The dialogue in No Exit, on the other hand is logical and justified as it relates to the actual settings and situations of the characters. Beckett’s erratic streams of consciousness that materializes from his characters sometimes make no sense and compared to the confronting and direct speech in Sartre’s work, can sometimes be slightly confusing. Sartre’s characters all have a back story which can be deduced and discovered by the dialogue as opposed to the lack of any character history in Waiting for Godot. The audience can conclude that Estragon, Vladimir and Pozzo, although having different character traits, are all just waiting for Godot but do not know for how long or for what reason. Garcin, Estelle, and Inez in No Exit all have different traits, as does Beckett’s characters, but their characters are shaped from past despairs, sexuality or previous happenings in their lives which have evidently placed them in the hellish scenario in which they find themselves. Because of the situation in Sartre’s play, the audience can relate themselves to the characters on an empathetic level and create stronger opinions and less questionable virtues than that of Beckett’s enigmatic trio. The despair and degradation towards many civilians during the Second World War became an established influence in both Sartre and Beckett’s works during their most prolific period of writing after the conflict. The persecution of the Jewish people by the Nazi’s occupying Paris and Beckett’s personal actions within the French Resistance seemed to have spawned a firm principle and an underlying subtext within his plays. McDonald makes this apparent when he says: In his post-war career, though his work became ever less connected to a recognisable world, one could say, paradoxically, that it became more political, more shaped by exploitive power relations, edicts handed down from above, secrecy and inscrutability and descriptions of human torment. Many of these influences are indisputable in the relationship between Pozzo and Lucky throughout the first act in Waiting for Godot. During Act I of the play the abhorrent abuse Pozzo extends towards Lucky and the dismissive way in which he converses with the two slightly passive tramps creates a clear power divide between the characters. Beckett reverses the divide when in Act II Pozzo finds himself in distress and the power is redirected to the two tramps. As Pozzo is struggling helplessly on the floor like an up-ended beetle the two tramps, reminded of the chicken bone they received from him the day before, explain: VLADIMIR: He wants to get up. ESTRAGON:Then let him get up. VLADIMIR:He can’t. ESTRAGON:Why not? VLADIMIR:I don’t know. [POZZO writhes, groans, beats the ground with his fists. ] ESTRAGON:We should ask him for the bone first. Then if he refuses we’ll leave him there. VLADIMIR:You mean we have him at our mercy? By using Pozzo as the one in need and the two tramps as the one’s who can help, Beckett creates a pessimistic vision of human needs in a deliciously black pratfall. McDonald agrees when he says: Beckett’s work is notorious for it’s intense preoccupation with pessimism and human suffering, notwithstanding its bleak beauty and darkly acid comedy. Power and conflict can be found aplenty in Sartre’s hellish hotel room as all three characters seem to find themselves guilty of contraventions which have rendered them no better or worse for conscience in the eyes of the audience. Whereas Estragon and Vladimir use repetition and slapstick to form the basis of comic moments, Sartre’s characters use no such implements and keep the play solemn throughout. Garcin is the forlorn sadist, Estelle shrugs off her murderous past by being the conceited love-starved damsel and Inez stalks the room as the inert lesbian. Each character submits their own tales of woe and it is evident that none of them has the patience or understanding to cope with the others because as soon as a bond occurs between two characters, the third intervenes. Having one man and two women in the room (one of them being a lesbian with a keen eye on the other) sexual frustrations boil over to create various power struggles and along with the inept attempts to befriend or belittle and vexed attitudes on their morbid incarceration, the atmosphere becomes a tense hot-bed of conflict with each character in turn venting their grievance towards another. In Frederick Lumley’s New Trends In 20th Century Drama, he states; No love is possible in the presence of the third, no end is possible since the three must be together for eternity , â€Å"neither the knife, poison, rope† can enable them to escape this fact. With this fact constantly put forward by Sartre; the trio’s future looks bleakly endless and this inevitable outcome contributes to the rise in tension and conflict. Lumley continues; The play presents an endless repetition, a study in monotony which, far from being monotonous, is in fact intensely dramatic and most seducing. Beckett’s characters in Waiting for Godot all have their own motives and opinions but all seem to be quashed by the ever present threat of Godot appearing. The characters’ vivid streams of consciousness and erratic conversations take the audience along a confusing and often pointless narrative but Beckett seems to relish this as it makes the spectator question the morals and whole raison d’etre for the piece. Is Godot some sort of religious deity? Are the characters dead and living a life in endless purgatory? Is the story a tale of class and the power struggle that ensues from it? Beckett’s aims can be discussed and divulged for years to come and I believe that there is no one conclusive answer, but Eric P. Levy sums up his plays excellently when he says: â€Å"Beckett explores human experience as he finds it today: denied any explanations but desperately needing them. † I believe this to be the perfect description of what Beckett‘s aims were for the audience; being denied any explanation from Beckett himself and desperately wanting to know who or what Godot is. In stark contrast to Beckett’s surreal settings and arbitrary dialogue, Jean-Paul Sartre holds no blows when delivering his existentialist piece No Exit. The set itself is more representative of the hellish circumstances in which he has placed his characters as opposed to the stark emptiness of Beckett’s setting. The setting is just one room with no windows so characters and spectators alike have no sense of what time of day it is and a claustrophobic awareness is supported further by keeping the whole play within one act. In Waiting for Godot we observe all of the action in a sparse wilderness with just one solitary foliage-free tree as a visual representation of the outside world. The only hint of time passing is when the characters mention the previous days events or when the tree shows a mere sprouting of greenery in the second act of the piece. Along with the scenery the title of the play, No Exit, precedes dialogue and induces drama by giving a sense of inescapability and hopeless struggle to the play. Frederick Lumley describes the set beautifully in saying; †¦with it’s barren walls, it’s bricked up windows excluding daylight so that night and day are alike, the space where a mirror once hung (for in eternity one must look at others, not oneself anymore), is all part of a masochistic nightmare where continuity becomes an endless symphony of torture worse than any physical torture. With these points in mind it is evident that Sartre relied more on the situation in which his characters were based rather than the frivolities of Beckett’s characters and his absurdist approach. Although Beckett and Sartre shared the same philosophical outlooks on existentialism and the nature of human behaviour, Sartre used the theatre as his soap-box to create and present his philosophical views and tended to show the drama in the situation rather than the character based approach which Beckett utilized in most of his plays. Sartre himself states; As a successor to the theatre of characters we want to have a theatre of situation. The people in our plays will be distinct from one another – not as a coward is from a miser or a miser from a brave man, but rather as actions are divergent or clashing, as right may conflict with right. Sartre uses the situation in No Exit to create the dramatic conflict and tense atmosphere whereas Beckett uses the theatre of absurdity with sparse and stunning dialogue to create some form of dramatic tension in Waiting for Godot. Conclusively this makes Beckett’s play very much more ambiguous compared to the out and out existentialist views portrayed in No Exit. The characters in Sartre’s piece all seem familiar to an audience who after witnessing the play have no quandary in deciding where the play leads or where it leads from and the content from it’s start to it‘s twisted and violent conclusion definitely advocates Sartre‘s theory; â€Å"Hell is other people. † Waiting for Godot, however, leaves the audience perplexed at the outcome and offers various questions as to the origin of it’s characters along with their motivations and mundane existence. With the erratic lines of action and the surreal and often pointless conversation, the audience can derive that the whole point of Waiting for Godot is; there is no point. But is this correct? Only Samuel Beckett could have revealed that answer. Bibliography Beckett. S. Waiting For Godot. Chatham: Faber & Faber. 2006 ed. Sartre. J. P No Exit and three other plays. Vintage International. 1996 ed. McDonald. R. The Cambridge Introduction to Samuel Beckett. Cambridge: CUP. 2006. Levy. E. P. Beckett And The Voice Of The Species. Dublin: Macmillan. 1980 Knowlson. J & McMillan (eds. ) The Theatrical Notebooks of Samuel Beckett, vol I: Waiting for Godot. London: Faber & Faber, 1994. Unwin. S & Woddis. C. A Pocket Guide To 20th Century Drama. London: Faber & Faber. 2001. Lumley. F. New Trends In 20th Century Drama. London: Barrie & Jenkins Ltd. 1972 ed. References Styan. J. L Modern Drama in Theory and Practice2 (Symbolism, Surrealism and the Absurd) Cambridge: CUP 1998 Lenny Love 2007 ——————————————– [ 2 ]. Knowlson, Damned to Fame, p. 178. [ 3 ]. New Trends In 20th Century Drama, Ch10 p139 [ 4 ]. Cambridge Intro to S. Beckett [ 5 ]. Cambridge Intro to S. Beckett Ch2, p22 [ 6 ]. Cambridge Intro to S. Beckett ch2, p23 [ 7 ]. Levy. E. P. Beckett & the Voice of Species. p. 3. [ 8 ]. New Trends In 20th Century Drama. Ch10, p150 [ 9 ]. New Trends in 20th Century Drama. Ch10, p141.