The Computer Underground Essays (9957 words) - Hacker Culture

The Computer Underground THE BAUDY WORLD OF THE BYTE BANDIT: A POSTMODERNIST INTERPRETATION OF THE COMPUTER UNDERGROUND Gordon Meyer and Jim Thomas Department of Sociology Northern Illinois University DeKalb, IL 60115 (5 March, 1990) An earlier version of this paper was presented at the American Society of Criminology annual meetings, Reno (November 9, 1989). Authors are listed in alphabetical order. Address correspondence to Jim Thomas. We are indebted to the numerous anonymous computer underground participants who provided information. Special acknowledgement goes to Hatchet Molly, Jedi, The Mentor, Knight Lightning, and Taran King. ABSTRACT The criminalization of "deviant acts" transforms social meanings into legal ones. Yet, legal meanings are not necessari- ly social meanings. The legitimacy of statutory social control generally requires that one accept the realist textual readings of those with the power to interpret and stigmatize behaviors as inappropriate. "Moral crusades" that lead to definitions of criminalized deviance tend to reduce the meanings of polysemic acts to unidimensional ones that limit understanding of both the nature of the acts and their broader relationship to the culture in which they occur. This has occured with the criminalization of computer phreaking and hacking. In this paper, we examine the computer underground as a cultural, rather than a deviant, phe- nomenon. Our data reveal the computer underground as an invisi- ble community with a complex and interconnected culture, depen- dent for survival on information sharing, norms of reciprocity, sophisticated socialization rituals, and an explicit value sys- tem. We suggest that the dominant image of the computer under- ground as one of criminal deviance results in a failure to appre- ciate cultural meaning. We conclude by arguing that there are characteristics of underground activity that embrace a postmoder- nist rejection of conventional culture. - ii - THE BAUDY WORLD OF THE BYTE BANDIT: A POSTMODERNIST INTERPRETATION OF THE COMPUTER UNDERGROUND Hackers are "nothing more than high-tech street gangs" (Federal Prosecutor, Chicago). Transgression is not immoral. Quite to the contrary, it reconciles the law with what it forbids; it is the dia- lectical game of good and evil (Baudrillard, 1987: 81). There ain't no sin and there ain't no virtue. There's just stuff people do. It's all part of the nice, but that's as far as any man got a right to say (Steinbeck, 1939:31-32). The criminalization of "deviant acts" transforms and reduces social meanings to legal ones. Legal meanings are not necessari- ly social meanings. Most deviancy research tends to reproduce conventional social ideology and operative definitions of normal- ity within its concepts and theories. On occasion, these mean- ings represent a form of "class politics" that protect the power and privilege of one group from the challenge of another: Divorcing moral crusades from status group competition while denying that cultures are linked to social class- es has undermined attempts to link lifestyle politics to group struggles (Beisel, 1990: 45). Once a category of behaviors has become defined by statute as sanctionably deviant, the behaviors so-defined assume a new set of meanings that may obscure ones possessed by those who en- gage in such behaviors. "Computer deviants" provide one example of a criminalized type of "lifestyle politics." The proliferation of computer technology has been accompa- nied by the growth of a computer underground (CU), often mistak- enly labeled "hackers," that is perceived as criminally deviant by the media, law enforcement officials, and researchers. Draw- ing from ethnographic data, we offer a cultural rather than a criminological analysis of the underground by suggesting that it reflects an attempt to recast, re-appropriate, and reconstruct the power-knowledge relationship that increasingly dominates the ideology and actions of modern society. Our data reveal the com- puter underground as an invisible community with a complex and interconnected cultural lifestyle, an inchoate anti-authoritarian political consciousness, and dependent on norms of reciprocity, sophisticated socialization rituals, networks of information sharing, and an explicit value system. We interpret the CU cul- ture as a challenge to and parody of conventional culture, as a playful attempt to reject the seriousness of technocracy, and as an ironic substitution of rational technological control of the present for an anarchic and playful future. Stigmatizing the Computer Underground The computer underground refers to persons engaged in one or more of several activities, including pirating, anarchy, hacking, and phreaking[1]. Because computer underground participants freely share information and often are involved collectively in a single incident, media definitions invoke the generalized meta- phors of "conspiracies" and "criminal rings," (e.g., Camper, 1989; Zablit, 1989), "modem macho" evil-doers (Bloombecker, 1988), moral bankruptcy (Schwartz, 1988), "electronic trespas- sers" (Parker: 1983), "crazy kids dedicated to making mischief"

Environmental Factors and Human Activity

Environmental Factors and Human Activity Introduction A growing population will generally put pressure on the available resources. These resources include land, social infrastructure and even employment.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Environmental Factors and Human Activity specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More As a result the expansion of these resources and addition of new ones will be called for and this will in return have a negative impact on the environment as the natural ecosystem will be tampered with as people try to get land and building materials for these expansions. The environmental impact is even worse when the population involved cannot afford the basic services that help minimize the effect of such human activities. This is the scenario when the rate of rural to urban migration is so high that the resources available in urban centers cannot cater for the fast-growing urban population. In this essay, the causes and impact on the environment and the human population will be discussed. The question of who is vulnerable and why will also be answered. Over the years, urban centers have played a major role in provision of employment, shelter and better social facilities such as heath care facilities, schools and cultural centers. Opportunities for income generation as well as centers for technological development are better founded in urban centers. These together with other factors such as; the high rate of population growth, conflict, exhaustion of natural resources and land degradation particularly in the third world have led to an extremely high rate of rural to urban migration (UNEP 2000). This migration exerts pressure on the available resources such as housing facilities, hospitals, schools and other social facilities, leading to increased unemployment, environmental degradation and lack of basic services (UNCHS 2001b).This calls for expansion to cater for the growing population which is a major challenge due to the hig h urban population growth rate.Advertising Looking for essay on environmental studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More A larger portion of the urban population lives in dire poverty. This group of people lacks the ability to compete for the limited resources and due to the state of living they cannot even protect themselves from natural or human climatic hazards. The housing market fails to incorporate the poor in their housing plan (UNCHS 2001a); the provisions are mainly for the top and middle class earners hence making the situation even worse. The mismatch between income and cost of housing for the low-income earners has forced poverty to be localized in some locations where it is affordable. Quite often these settlements are informal, situated in the outskirts of major towns and cities or in marginalized land within cities. In most cases these areas are at a higher risk of natural disasters such as floods, lands lides and earthquakes. This means that the poor are more vulnerable to such calamities. In the event that a natural disaster strikes, there is no way to escape because they lack the means. Hazards such as floods can be reduced by proper drainage systems which are not available in these settlements. These settlements lack basic services like sanitation and clean water supply and the effect is higher risk of infection and disease outbreaks. Dense population pattern also increases these risks. The fact that they are poor makes the slum dwellers victims of other people’s mistakes. Garbage collectors use the environs of slums for dumping, industrial effluent, sometimes end up in rivers and the same water is used here for domestic chores. As the economic and demographic growth goes upslope, negative environmental impact is recorded; trees are cut down to give room for more buildings and provide fuel, rivers are destroyed by dumping and building along the banks, quarrying on the lar ge scale as more and more building materials are on demand each day, dumpsites emit poisonous gases into the atmosphere and greenhouse gas emission by cars and industries. The outcome of these and many more is human health complications, global warming and destruction of the natural ecosystem. Air pollution causes respiratory illnesses, while water pollution leads to water borne disease outbreaks such as cholera, typhoid and diarrhea, intestinal worms and as a result, high mortality rates especially in children (Satterthwaite 1997).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Environmental Factors and Human Activity specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More These effects are particularly felt by the urban poor (Hardoy, Mitlin and Satterthwaite 1992) whose direct exposure to harsh conditions such as lack of access to clean water, poor waste disposal and dense population (Listorti 1999). Lack of compensatory resources such as money to buy water from clean water vendors increases the vulnerability among the poor. The poor bear the lion’s share of the negative impact of urbanization; however, the scenario can be changed by employment of a few strategies; first to reduce the negative environmental impact and second to alleviate poverty among the urban population. As a first step, Good urban planning techniques should be employed. These include planning of settlement areas to hold large populations yet offering the basic services effectively. This will greatly reduce the conversion of wetlands, agricultural and forest lands to settlement areas (Hardoy, Mitlin and Satterthwaite 2001). Reuse of certain materials will be made possible and less costly, social infrastructure and other services can be provided more efficiently, thus cutting down the cost of distribution making them more affordable. Water resources should be conserved by introduction of strict legislation laws and proper waste management. Secondly the p oor should be supported in an effort to improve their living status and alleviate poverty. By encouraging micro financing and micro enterprise funding, credit services are made available to the poor who are otherwise excluded from credit financing programs. This helps them to establish businesses that will earn them livelihoods and reduced the number of the unemployed. By subsidizing social services such as healthcare for the poor, the respective government ensure that a larger number of people get access to these services. The informal sector should also be encouraged as this creates employment while raising the living standards of the people involved. Also by upgrading the informal settlements the government can provide quality and affordable housing to the slum dwellers thus improving their social placement and their welfare.Advertising Looking for essay on environmental studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More By developing infrastructure in the urban periphery, the cost of planned subdivision is reduced; minimum standards should be set to affordable requirements that can be afforded by the majority. A mortgage and housing market that recognizes the poor should be developed. Good governance practices where the parties are actively involved are a key factor (Tuts and Cody 2000). Financing and expertise provision without proper planning and democratic participation by the key players is useless. Conclusion As the urban population continues to grow at a very high rate, sustainable development of these centers is critical. With proper planning, this can be achieved and it will greatly minimize the environmental impact and the disastrous outcomes associated with it. Also if proper strategic measures are put in place, poverty will be reduced. This will lead to positive economic growth, environmental conservation and low mortality rates. Urbanization is here to stay and so the question should be how to manage it not how to eliminate it. References Hardoy, E., Mitlin, D. and Satterthwaite, D. (1992). Environmental Problems in Third World.  London, Earthscan. Hardoy, E., Mitlin, D. and Satterthwaite, D. (2001). Environmental Problems in an Urbanizing  World. London, Earthscan. Listorti, J. A. (1999). Is environmental health really a part of economic development – or only an  afterthought? Environment and Urbanization, 11(1) 9-12 Satterthwaite, D. (1997). Sustainable cities or cities that contribute to sustainable development?  Urban Studies, 34(10) 1667-1691. Tuts, R. and Cody, E. (2000). Habitat’s experience in Local Agenda 21 worldwide over the last years: approaches and lessons learned. UNEP Industry and Environment, 23(2) 12-15. UNCHS (2001a). Cities in a Globalizing World: Global Report on Human Settlements 2001. London: Earthscan. UNCHS (2001b). State of the World’s Cities 2001. Nairobi: United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) . UNEP (2000). The urban environment: facts and figures. UNEP Industry and Environment,  23(2): 4-11.

Emotional Appeal in McCarthys On Immortality Article

Emotional Appeal in McCarthys On Immortality - Article Example The paper analyses ‘On Immortality’. McCarthy extensively uses figurative language as an emotional appeal to present immortality as an immature and unwise idea. The author uses the metaphorical comparison, terming it as a highway of immortality, to show the carefree life that immortality would be. With the wideness and the smoothness associated with a highway, the author suggests that immortality does not have checks. Indeed, McCarthy further uses figurative language in arguing that this kind of life does not have a weigh station of wisdom. It therefore portrays the lack of wisdom associated with immortality where humans lack the maturity to handle the challenges that come with it. This has been used to further solidify the author’s stand against immortality. This comes out vividly when McCarthy talks of the possibility of a rise of unstoppable mortal species that would eliminate the immortal beings due to natural selection. The author thus persuades the reader of longevity as being more favored by nature than immortality which is not well thought about. Similes in the essay have been used to discredit immortality as a form of lifestyle that would objectify human life. McCarthy (546) compares immortality to a car, where in order to keep it going, then, there would be the need to keep replacing its parts. This intends to make the reader appreciate that immortality would turn humans into objects. It would make their operations resemble that of objects such that in order to keep them going, then worn out parts of their bodies would be replaced with new ones, just as worn out parts of a car get replaced to enable them keep moving. This, therefore, means that immortality would make humans lose their humanness, an aspect which they treasure, and adopt a new objectified life. It is this loss that the author uses to portray the unattractiveness of immortality. The author’s use of irony enables her convince the reader of the advantage that com es with mortality. It is ironical that humans admire long life more than they seek for â€Å"long healthy life† while they â€Å"want to be 100 years old and dewy fresh† (McCarthy 547). Since aging is inevitable, McCarthy indicates that the immortal life would be a source of pain to humans, who only seek to live without considering the quality of life. Human longevity, on the other hand, considers the duration and quality of life, appreciating the need for human health. After execution of the required assignment, which McCarthy (547) notes is to bring forth the future, they then pave way for the fresher generation, thus creating room for the new generation, space being an important component of quality life. This way, the quality of li