Politics of Globalization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Politics of Globalization - Essay Example The increase in foreign inventory and trade deficit are blamed for the decrease in wages, decrease in incomes, and the exploitation of low income workers in developing nations. In addition, conservatives in the United States believe that government regulation affects the country’s economy, therefore recommending that the market should have the freedom to regulate itself. The conservatives argue that excessive government regulation leads to a crowd-out situation (test item 2, p.4). Globalization has also transformed the world, an issue that raises concern on the rising irregularities; for instance, illegal drug trade in Mexico, gang violence, human trafficking and the import of tainted drugs and food from foreign countries such as China. These are the negative effects of globalization, which could cost loss of innocent lives; Mendelson adds that the government should intervene through creating a balance in competition, and control globalization (test item 2, p. 3). In addition, the hunger for energy or natural resources leads to unfair competition, and global race, which may create instability of nations. Moreover, globalization can be viewed as a zero sum game, mainly because growth of jobs and opportunities in the fast developing nations like China makes them winners, while high levels of unemployment and poor living standards in some states like Indiana, in United States, result in such states being losers. In addition, globalization is said to create inequality among countries, as the developed nations continue to succeed.

Discuss 3 health promotion opportunities applicable Assignment

Discuss 3 health promotion opportunities applicable - Assignment Example The health problems that the patients were facing occurred due to excessive alcohol usage, excessive smoking, as well as obesity. A couple of patients underwent lung failure due to smoking whereas others were suffering from liver inflammation due to excessive alcohol usage and obesity. Fortunately, all the patients were in normal mental state therefore communication was easier. The patients primarily required counseling and amendments in daily habits. While entering a clinical placement, everything seems to take a completely different meaning. Life of patients depends upon the interventions and actions provided by healthcare professionals. During my interaction with all my patients, they began to express their experiences and medical history with me. The patients seemed to have fear of physical dependence and such fears must be addressed through communication, counseling, and compassion. Hope and moral support was vital in order to deal with such cases. When it comes to placement setting, if learners do not feel supported in the environment then it becomes difficult to participate in necessary communication for patients care and learning objective of students. The placement setting of ABC Nursing Home was more organized and the staff was very cooperative. The staff assigned wards and patients to us. Furthermore, they ensured that all learners receive handover sheets and tea breaks with other team members. Staff assigned responsibilities such as setting up the environment and trolley, comforting and positioning the patients, reviewing the policy and order etc. These two factors proved to be positive contributors in personal learning. Smoking is known to have severe effects on individuals. In UK, nearly 100,000 deaths are caused by smoking. The major health effects of smoking include coronary heart disease, cancer, cerebrovascular disease, as well as

Variable Length Hash Algorithm Using RC6

Variable Length Hash Algorithm Using RC6 Hash_RC6 Variable Length Hash Algorithm using RC6 Kirti Aggarwal Dr. Harsh K. Verma ABSTRACT In this paper, we present a hash algorithm using RC6 that can generate hash value of variable length. Hash algorithms play major part in cryptographic security as these algorithms are used to check the integrity of the received message. It is possible to generate hash algorithm using symmetric block cipher. The main idea behind this is that if the symmetric block algorithm is secure then the generated hash function will also be secure [1]. As RC6 is secure against various linear and differential attacks algorithm presented here will also be secure against these attack. The algorithm presented here can have variable number of rounds to generate hash value. It can also have variable block size. Keywords:  Cryptography, Symmetric Encryption, Asymmetric Encryption, Data Integrity, Authentication, Confidentiality, Non-Repudiation, Access Control, Hash, RC6 INTRODUCTION Cryptography is the ability of keeping message secure form others while sending information between participants (Confidentiality). There are many cryptographic algorithms categorized as symmetric encryption algorithm and asymmetric encryption algorithm. Symmetric encryption algorithm is the one that use same shared key from encryption and decryption, while asymmetric algorithm is the one that use different keys from encryption and decryption. With the Confidentiality cryptography also provide other services known as data integrity, authentication, non-repudiation, access control etc. Data Integrity is assuring that data received is same as sent by the sender. Authentication is the ability to assure that communicating party is who that it claims to be. Non-Repudiation is the prevention against the denial by entities involved in the communication. Access Control is the prevention against the unauthorized use of resources [2]. Figure 1. Fundamental of Cryptography Hash Function A cryptographic hash function is any algorithm or subroutine that maps large data sets of variable length to smaller data sets of a fixed length. The values returned by a hash function are called hash values, hash codes, hash sums, checksums or simply hashes. Where h has fixed length. An (accidental or intentional) change to the data will (with very high probability) change the hash value. For a hash function to be considered secure, it must be computationally infeasible to find has a predefined hash value and similarly it must be computationally infeasible to find two messages having same hash value. RC6 RC6 is a symmetric block cipher based on RC5 and designed by Rivest, Sydney, and Yin for RSA security [3]. Like RC5, RC6 is a parameterized algorithm where the block size, the key size, and the number of rounds are variable; again, the upper limit on the key size is 2040 bits [4]. RC6 was designed to meet the requirements of the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)competition. RC6 proper has ablock sizeof 128 bits and supportskey sizesof 128, 192 and 256 bits, but, like RC5. RC6 can be viewed as interweaving two parallel RC5 encryption processes. It uses an extra multiplication operation not present in RC5 in order to make the rotation dependent on every bit in a word. SHA-256 SHA-256 operates on eight 32-bit words. The message to be hashed is first padded with its length in such a way that the result is a multiple of 512 bits long, and then parsed into 512-bit message blocks M(1);M(2); : : :;M(N). The message blocks are processed one at a time: Beginning with a fixed initial hash value H(0), sequentially compute Where C is the SHA-256 compression function and + means word-wise mod 264 addition. H(N) is the hash of M [5]. SHA-512 SHA-512 is a variant of SHA-256 which operates on eight 64-bit words and block size of 1024 bits. It uses different shift amounts and additive constants, but its structure is otherwise virtually identical, differing only in the number of rounds, which are 80 for SHA-512[15]. HASH FUNCTION A cryptographic hash function is a mathematical transformation that takes a message of arbitrary length and computes a fixed length value also known as hash value, message digest, hash code, hash sum, checksum, etc. Where H is Hash Function, M is variable length message; H is fixed size hash value. Creating hash function is accomplished by iteration. Instead of using a hash function with variable-size input, a function with fixed size input is created and is used a necessary number of times. This fixed size input function is known as compression function. It compresses an n-bit string to create a m-bit string where n is normally greater than m. This scheme is referred to as an iterated cryptographic hash function [6]. These compression function fall into two categories: a function specially designed for the hash function or a symmetric block cipher [2]. Figure 2. Iterated Cryptographic hash Function Characteristics of one way Hash Function: Given M, it is easy to compute h. Given h, it is hard to compute M such that. Given M, it is hard to find another message, M’, such that The whole point of one way hash function is to provide a finger print of M that is unique. In some application one wayness is insufficient; we need an additional requirement called collision-resistance (It is hard to find two random messages, M and M’, such that [1]). Figure 3. Basic Hash Algorithm at sender and receiver Hash Function takes message and an initial value as an input and produces the hash value. The hash value is appended to the message at a time when the message is assumed or known to be correct. The receiver authenticates the message by generating the hash value with the same procedure and compares it with the hash value send by the sender. If both the value matches then the received message is same as it is send by the sender otherwise message has been tampered with. RC6 RC6 [7] is a fully parameterized family of encryption algorithms. A version of RC6 is more accurately specified as RC6-w r bwhere the word size is wbits, encryption consists of a nonnegative number of roundsr, andbdenotes the length of the encryption key in bytes. Since the AES submission is targeted atw= 32 andr= 20, we shall use RC6 as shorthand to refer to such versions. When any other value ofworris intended in the text, the parameter values will be specified as RC6-w r. Of particular relevance to the AES effort will be the versions of RC6 with 16-, 24-, and 32-byte keys [4]. Figure 4. RC6 Encryption For all variants, RC6-w r boperates on units of fourw-bit words using the following six basic operations. integer addition modulo integer subtraction modulo bitwise exclusive-or of w-bit words integer multiplication modulo Rotate to the left by the amount given by the least significant bits of Rotate A to the right, similarly parallel assignment Key Expansion Use two magic constants:- Where:- †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.(base of natural logarithm) †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..() is the odd integer nearest to . INPUT byte key that is preloaded into word array denotes the no of rounds. OUTPUT w-bit round keys . ALGORITHM For do Encryption Four w-bit registers A, B, C, D contain the initial input plain-text as well as the output ciphertext at the end of encryption. The first byte of plaintext is placed in the least significant byte of A; the last byte of plaintext is placed into the most significant byte of D [6]. INPUT Plaintext stored in four w-bit input registers Number r of rounds w-bit round keys OUTPUT Ciphertext stored in ALGORITHM C = C + S[2r + 3] Decryption For decryption of cipher-text load these cipher text into registers A, B, C, D Algorithm uses integer subtraction modulo 2w and right rotation on registers for getting plain text. INPUT Ciphertext stored in four w-bit input registers Number r of rounds w-bit round keys OUTPUT Plaintext stored in ALGORITHM HASH FUNCTION USING RC6 RC6 is a uses 44 words of key material making it more complex to break. RC6 parameterized cipher; the block size can be grown in a straightforward manner to 256 bits and beyond.RC6 has maximum key size of 2040 bits, making the corresponding hash function very fast.20 rounds using RC6 will have all these features which make the hash more efficient and secure. It is possible to use a symmetric block cipher algorithm as a hash function. If the block algorithm is secure, then the one-way hash function will also be secure. One approach is to encrypt the message with the algorithm in CBC mode, a fixed key and an initial vector (IV), the last cipher text block is the hash value. Another more better approach uses the message block as the key, the previous hash value as the output. Here we will use second approach. Algorithm presented here has variable parameters i.e. different parameter value can be taken according to the need. Block size (b), Number of rounds (r), length of hash value (l) are the different variable parameters that are the inputs of the algorithm. The length of hash value (l) should be multiple of 256. First of all padding is done. Message is padded with zeros in a way such that the padded message length is multiple of the block size (b). Then initial vector is needed to generate the hash value. Initial Vector is a piece of data is needed to begin running an algorithm, and is not secret. There are two initial vectors in this algorithm which are used to generate initial hash value. To generate the initial hash value combination of v (size of hash value divided by 256) 256 bits values calculated as follows: After generating initial hash value from initial vectors the message (M) is divided into number of small chunks (n). The size of message chunks should be equal to block size b, after that RC6 key generation is applied on each message block to generate keys that will be used to encrypt the previous hash value to generate next hash value. Initial 256 bits v hash values are encrypted via RC6 using RC6 keys generated from first message block (M1). This is then encrypted again from the keys generated from second message block (M2) and so on until all the message blocks (n) are used. At last all the v final hash values of length 256 bit each are concatenated to generate the final hash value of length l. Number of rounds (r) is divided in to two parts, 3r/4 rounds are used to generate the RC6 keys from the message block and r/4 rounds are used to encrypt the previous hash value to generate next hash value. Figure 5 shows the procedure for hash value of size 512 bits. Figure 5. Hash Value Generation using RC6 PSEUDO CODE INPUT Message M, Number of rounds r, Block size b, Length of hash value l; OUTPUT Final hash value h; ALGORITHM Pad 0s (zeros) at the end of the message so the message length is multiple of b; Divide message into chunks of size b; Repeat step 7 to 21 Load Repeat step 10 to 12 Repeat step 13 to 16 Repeat step 20 Repeat step 22 to 33 Load Repeat step 26 to 30 for do Load Concatenate to get final hash value h PERFORMANCE AND ANALYSIS This algorithm was implemented using java in NetBeans IDE 7.0.1. Following results were obtained on Intel(R) Core(TM) i3 CPU M 370 @ 2.40 GHz 2.39 GHz 32 bit system with 4 GB of RAM running Windows 7 Ultimate. Algorithm presented in this paper is compared with SHA-256 and SHA-512 respectively. Comparison between algorithm presented here and SHA are done on the basis of throughput of the algorithms and time to produce hash value for files of different sizes. To be more accurate the program is executed ten times for each input file and the average of those results are reported here. Results in Figure 6 to Figure 9 and Table 1 for Hash using RC6 are obtained for r=64, b=512, l=256 and these results are compared with SHA-256 which has same value for these parameters. Figure 6. Throughput of RC6_HASH and SHA-256. Figure 7. Bar Graph of Hash value generation time of RC6_HASH and SHA-512 Figure 8. Line Graph of Hash generation time of HASH_RC6 (256) and SHA-256 Figure 9. Execution time saving caused by Hash_RC6 Table 1. Comparison of Hash_RC6 (256) SHA-256 on the basis of Execution Time of different type of Files. Figure 6 shows the throughput of RC6_HASH and SHA-256 the algorithms in KB/sec. Figure 7 shows the Bar Graph hash value generation time (in millisec) of both the algorithms for the file of different sizes (in KB). Figure 8 shows the Line-Graph of execution time according to their file size for each file using algorithms Hash_RC6 (256) and SHA-256. Line graph is more convenient to show that Hash_RC6 (256) performs faster than SHA-256. This Graph also shows that for the file of small size both the algorithms performs approximately same i.e. there is not much of the difference but when the file size increases Hash_RC6 (256) performs much better than the SHA-256. Bar chart in Figure 9 shows the execution time saving caused by Hash_RC6 in percentage in comparison with SHA-256 for different file sizes. It’s greater than 30% for almost all the file sizes and for some of the file sizes its approx 50% that is greater advancement. The average percent execution time saving by Hash_RC6 for hash value of 256 bits over SHA-256 is 40.26. We compare the execution time of each algorithm on different file types like text file, audio file video files, for this purpose we mainly used 10 files and recorded their hash value generation time in milliseconds for these algorithms. List of Input files and their size are given in Table 1. Results in Figure 10 to Figure 13 and Table 2 for Hash using RC6 are obtained for r=80,b=1024,l=512 and these results are compared with SHA-512 which has same value for these parameters. Figure 10. Throughput of RC6_HASH and SHA-512. Figure 11. Bar Graph of Hash value generation time of RC6_HASH and SHA-512 Figure 12. Line Graph of Hash Generation Time of HASH_RC6 (512) and SHA-512 Figure 13. Execution Time saving caused by Hash_RC6 Table 2. Comparison of Hash_RC6 (512) SHA-512 on the basis of Execution Time of different type of Files. Figure 10 shows the throughput of RC6_HASH and SHA-512 the algorithms in KB/sec. Figure 11 shows the Bar Graph of hash value generation time (in millisec) of both the algorithms for the file of different sizes (in KB). Figure 12 shows the Line-Graph of execution time according to their file size for each file using algorithms Hash_RC6 (512) and SHA-512. Line graph is more convenient to show that Hash_RC6 (512) performs faster than SHA-512. This Graph also shows that the difference is not so much for file of small size but when it comes to file of larger size Hash_RC6 (512) is much better than the SHA-512. Bar chart in Figure 13 shows the execution time saving caused by Hash_RC6 (512) in percentage in comparison with SHA-512 for different file sizes. It’s greater than 15% for almost all the file sizes and for some of the file sizes its approx 35% that is greater advancement. The average percent execution time saving by Hash_RC6 for hash value of 512 bits over SHA-512 is 24.625. We compare the execution time of each algorithm on different file types like text file, audio file video files, for this purpose we mainly used 10 files and recorded their hash value generation time in milliseconds for these algorithms. List of Input files and their size are given in Table 2. CONCLUSION In this research paper a new algorithm for generating hash value is presented. This algorithm is generated on a symmetric block cipher known as RC6 and can generate hash value of different sizes. The algorithm can also operate on different block size and different number of rounds. The implementation of algorithm is done using JAVA in NetBeans IDE 7.0.1. on Intel(R) Core(TM) i3 CPU M 370 @ 2.40 GHz 2.39 GHz 32 bit system with 4 GB of RAM running Windows 7 Ultimate. Hash value generated using algorithm presented here are secure against many attack because when a hash algorithm is generated using symmetric block cipher it inherit the properties of underlying cipher. The idea behind this is that if the symmetric block algorithm is secure then the generated hash function will also be secure [1]. Then the algorithm is compared with SHA-256 and SHA-512 for same parameter and on the same environment. The results of comparison conclude that the algorithm present here has better throughput

Genetic Engineering Is Not Safe Essay -- Genetic Engineering Essays

Genetic engineering is the intended modification to an organism’s genetic makeup. There have been no continuing studies on this topic or action so there is no telling whether or not it is harmless. Genetic engineering is not safe because scientists have no absolute knowledge about living systems. Given that, they are unable to do DNA surgery without creating mutations. Any interference on an organism’s genetic makeup can cause permanent damage, hereditary defects, lack of nutritious food, or a spread of dangerous diseases. Even through the downsides of genetic engineering scientists have had a few breakthroughs. It can help us in our farming needs and also drugs for animals, and pesticides. For agriculture, engineering is used for herbicide tolerance which is the most commonly used form of alteration in plants, and it is also able to keep insects away. Drugs are also produced so that animals have healthier meat to eat. For example, chickens can be modified to produce more eggs and grow larger faster. Which is not a good thing but it is not necessarily bad. Also by doing this a person’s moral compass doesn’t exactly point due north. Biotechnology is when you produce something by using life sources. This process has an unlimited amount of possibilities. By forcing these changes on organisms and not letting them be, it can be helpful and or cause many dangerous risks to nature. By not letting the plants create their own pesticides naturally it can be helpful now but dangerous and regretful later on. Also, with the pesticide everywhere in a farm, it will lead to a tolerance to the pesticide on the part of the bugs and they will sooner or later be immune to it. For many people including myself who are against genetic eng... ... stop this process. Hopefully soon scientists will be able to minimize and control the amount of ‘beneficial’ genetic changes they make. Thus preventing any unwanted changes to our future society. Works Cited OMOTO, CHARLOTTE K. and LURQUN, PAUL F. Genes and DNA: A Beginners Guide to Genetics and It’s Applications. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004. LILLISTON, BEN and CUMMINS, RONNIE. Genetically Engineered Food: A Self-Defense Guide for Consumers. Marlowe & Company, 2000. SINGH, RAM J. and JAUHAR, PREM P. Genetic Resources, Chromosome Engineering, and Crop Improvement: Grain legumes. Volume 1 of Genetic Resources, Chromosome Engineering, and Crop Improvement, CRC press, 2004 â€Å"BIO Biotechnology Industry Organization†. June 2011. August 25 2011. http:bio.org/node/517. â€Å"Genetic mutation†. August 25 2011. http://www.environmeltalcommons.org/ctos/.

Operating Systems Essay

Interfaces that are graphical in nature are known either as Graphical User Interfaces(GUI) or WIMP interfaces (Windows, Icons, Menus and Pointer). Typically, these types of interfaces are available in multi-programming environments or in applications software that involve a considerable degree of complexity. In a GUI, there are: A ‘window’ for each open application. Many windows can be open at the same time but only one window can be active at any one time. There may be some way of indicating which one is active (perhaps by making the bar at the top of the active window blue). Menus and icons. Available functions can be selected in one of two ways, either by using pop-up menus or drop-down menus, or clicking on ‘icons’. An icon is simply a small picture that represents a specific function- clicking on it selects that function.   A pointing device, usually a mouse but in certain circumstances a graphical tablet and pen can be used. These are used to make selections.   The use of the keyboard to navigate through the application is minimized because it is relatively time-consuming way of working.   Natural language. Natural language interfaces are those that allow the user to communicate in their native language, such as English. It allows the user to instruct the computer without need for a particular ‘syntax’. The system needs to be able both to interpret inputs in natural language from the user, and to act upon them, and, also preferably to generate natural language statements in response to user input. Sometimes it is also referred as a conversational interface. The questions are displayed on the VDU and the answers are entered via the keyboard. For example, imagine a user has initiated a ‘save file’ request. The ‘conversation’ might be: COMP:What’s the file name? USER: chapter1. txt COMP:what folder? USER: userguide COMP:File already exists. Overwrite? USER:Yes COMP: Done. This kind of interface can be found on data entry terminals and other types of dumb terminals connected to a network where non-experts users are guided through the complex tasks they need to perform by the computer.   Command line Command based interface is one where the user types a series of commands at the keyboard which tell the computer what their intentions are. It is also known as linguistic manipulation. The characteristics of a command based interface are   the user needs to know what commands are available   the user needs to understand the commands Characteristics of a command based interface 1) The system is very much more open than in the other types of interface. Other interfaces restrict the options that the user has available to them. This can be particularly important for the system manager because different users can only be allowed to have access to specific parts of the system. 2) Command based interfaces can only be used by computer literate people because the user need to understand the commands and their uses. 1. Define what is meant by the term operating system. (2) 2. Give two reasons why an operating system is likely to be stored on backing storage rather than in the memory of the computer. (2) 3. Distinguish between a multi-programming and a multi-access operating system. (2) 4. State what is meant by a distributed system, and give an advantage of this type of multi-access system over a simple network of machines. (2) 5. A computer operator takes phone calls from the public who ring up asking whether a particular item in a catalogue is available. The operator needs to type in a series of responses to questions put to the caller, so that the computer can check the file and determine whether there are any of that item available. Design a screen interface that would be suitable for the operator to use. (4) 6. The technician responsible for maintaining the system in question 5, uses a command line interface. a) Explain what is meant by a command line interface. (2) b) Give two advantages and one disadvantage to the technician of using a command line interface rather than a menu based interface. (3) Answers: 1 A. -A (suite of) programs†¦-which run the basic functions of the computer†¦ -giving an environment in which to run application software. A question which begins with the word define, leaves very little room for manoeuvre because it is asking for a standard answer. This is not an opportunity to show your prowess by making up an answer that is original- there aren’t any. Note, also, the fact that three answers have been given. Always try to give one more answer than seems to be required by the question. If you look at a mark scheme for an examination paper, the mark points are listed as a set of bullet points so there is no reason why you should not do the same. This style of answer helps you to write down your thoughts easily without getting confused by the language. The purpose of this examination is not to test your ability with English, rather to test your knowledge of computing. 2 A. – A full operating system requires a large amount of storage space that is better utilised in the computer memory for applications – Storage of the operating system on backing storage allows for easy upgrading or changing from one system to a different one. Note that the temptation to call the operating system the O. S. has been resisted in the answer. In general, do not use abbreviations in your answers. There are exceptions, where the abbreviation is the accepted form, but your own versions may be ambiguous or, even, not understood by the examiner. If you do need to use an abbreviation, because the term is to be used a number of times, give the term in full with the abbreviation that you want to use in brackets after it. For example, the first time that you use the term operating system write â€Å"†¦ operating system (OS)†¦ † you can then use OS as often as you like in the rest of your answer. 3. A. – A multi-programming operating system is one where the user of the machine is given the impression that they can carry out more than one task at a time. – A multi-access operating system is one where it is possible for more than one user to access the system apparently at the same time. Note that there are a large number of points that could have been made about both of these operating systems, but most of them would not answer the question. It is important when answering a question starting with ‘distinguish’ to choose facts that show a comparison. 4 A. – A distributed system is one which uses many storage locations on different machines to store software and files. – Access to files can be speeded up because more than one file command can be carried out at a time. When an advantage is asked for it is normal to state in the question, either explicitly or implicitly, with what the comparison should be made. Be careful to give an advantage using this comparison and not a more generalised one. 5 A. – Form type interface – Catalogue number – Space for the description of goods which will be filled in by the computer itself – Spaces for computer to produce availability and price – Laid out with spaces for input. What is just as important here are the things that would not be on the screen. The question makes it quite clear that there is no ordering going on, so spaces for name and address, or method of payment, are not only going to score no marks, but will probably be penalised because they demonstrate that the candidate has not understood the question. In this type of question it is important to demonstrate that you have taken the situation into account. 6 A. a)-Series of commands typed at a screen prompt†¦ -which give specific instructions to the computer. b)Advantages: -Entire system is available to the technician -Access to the particular part of the system required is gained more quickly than using other types of interface. Disadvantage: -The technician needs to know the commands that are available -The technician needs to understand the way the system is designed so that it can be navigated efficiently. Note. The language used in this answer is not the sort of language that a candidate will use in an examination. Don’t worry about this. Answers like â€Å"so that you can get around the system† are perfectly acceptable. System Software James Leong Mook Seng.

To Kill a Mockingbird: Significance of the Title

Significance of the title: The title To kill a mockingbird is in a way a symbol of almost the entire book. From part 2 on Maycomb County and its people were all engulfed in the Tom Robinson rape trial. As Atticus and Miss Maudie said â€Å"it`s a sin to kill a mockingbird† and â€Å"Mockingbirds don’t do one thing except make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corn cribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird. †(p. 19) Tom Robinson can be seen as a mocking bird in the sense that he has never done anything to purposely hurt anyone, his only sin was that he tried to help people out of the kindness of his heart. Setting: The story takes place in Maycomb County Alabama in the 1930`s. Maycomb is the typical southern town, small square houses, everybody knows everybody, a feeling of hominess, only one of everything (post office , grocery store, school etc. ) Maycomb County is a bit of a special case because it is rather far from any other towns.When Maycomb was founded it was built a very long way upstream from the ocean on a small river which was unusual back in the day considering boat was the main mode of transportation then. Maycomb is a kind of boring uneventful town the most interesting thing to happen is what Miss Stephanie can manage to come up with and gossip about. The setting of Maycomb county relates to the main theme of the book in the way that Mood: In the first part of to kill a mocking bird Maycomb County is portrayed as a small, quiet southern town, nothing interesting ever happens.The town has a naive, innocent, immature and mischievous feel to it and everyone mostly keeps to themselves and you never really know much about anyone, except for a few characters. In the second part however everything and everyone changes. Once the Tom Robinson case comes to light you can say that everyone sho ws their true colors and who they really are deep down inside. The mood in the air shifts from nice and quiet to harsh, dangerous and hostile, every person in Maycomb is rattled to the bone with this case it will never be the same like it was before. Everyone loses their innocents