Thursday, October 31, 2019

Peer review Threats to Data Security (Virtual Lab Research Paper

Peer review Threats to Data Security (Virtual Lab - Research Paper Example In such an area, access to such gadgets can easily be monitored. The control not only restricts accessibility to the premises but also data, information and information systems. When such individuals gain access, they may alter network and system settings that may weaken the security system of the organization. Other physical threats not mentioned include direct break in by thugs. In such a case, we require CCTV cameras installed and warning systems to alert the security. The text did not also include the use of biometric systems for authentication to server rooms and rooms containing networking equipment’s (Special issue on trust in cyber, physical and social computer computing’, 2013). For example, authorized persons can have their fingerprints taken so that when they enter such rooms, they only use their fingers as a passkey. In addition, visitors need to be given badges, escorts for them and control entrance for such individuals. Further, it is wise to secure workstations with locks. Although Laptops can have locks, it is important to set alarm systems to restrict unauthorized persons from touching them. Printed documents that are the waste should be shredded to avoid their use elsewhere. It also means that information that is in the paper especially that which is very sensitive to the organization needs securing in cabinets using locks. Only authorized personnel should have accessibility to this

Monday, October 28, 2019

After high school Essay Example for Free

After high school Essay As we get older, more and more problems begin to form. When we reach our teenage years though, it becomes worse. One problem I think the hardest is for young adults is deciding what we want to do for the rest of our lives when we are so young. You can go to college, military or the working field depending on your preference. When we’re in high school, we have to raise our hand and ask to use the restroom, go to the office to make any phone call no matter how important it may be and have ridiculous dress code rules. You are treated like a child from kindergarten all the way up to senior year and yet they expect you to make the most important decision of your life then. One thing that people do straight out of high school is go directly to the work field. Although its normally in most people’s best interest not to, not everyone is made for college. Unless you are extremely lucky, it has been found that people who didn’t advance to other education after high school make 85% less than those with a college diploma. My brother has a roommate in college and his dad dropped out of college after his first year or two and he makes more money than most people will ever see. His wife doesn’t have to work and his kids have it made when it comes to the materialistic things in life. He owns his own real estate company in Pittsburgh and sells and rents houses to people. He does most of his own work so he doesn’t have to pay people to do it, which is very convenient for him. Although most people do not get as lucky as him, that’s okay for some people because money isn’t everything though. Sometimes it’s better to take time off of school instead of wasting all that money when you don’t even know what you are planning on doing for the rest of your life and going straight to college. There are many reasons why people decide to not go to college, not because they just don’t think that they can do it. Sometimes people have kids before they plan, family problems or even they just can’t get help to pay for it so it holds them back from attending. College is an expensive thing that most people don’t want to pay for. You have years of loans to pay back and for a lot of people; they end up miserable at their jobs after a few years. It is also very hard to get help to pay for you college education. When my cousin tried getting help for college, because she had a full time job and no kids she could get barely any money even though she wasn’t getting any help from her parents. If college still isn’t the right thing for you but you don’t want McDonalds to be your only  definite in for a job, the military is a great option. Although you have to work your butt off for it, the military gives awesome benefits. Of course it’s nothing that the NBA players make, which is ridiculous, but it is still a lot just for being in the military. A player in the NBA averages about $5.15 million per year and all the do is dribble and shoot a basketball for a living where people in the military have to work their tails off every single day to fight for our country and they only get about $70 thousand per year. There is a lot of schooling that they will pay for you so you can still get an education while being in the military. Not only will you get your schooling paid for, but also you can even get paid for going. Also, they have programs like ROTC where you can still train for the military but you are in an actual college getting your education. As well as getting your education paid for, you also get free medical care, financial security and you can retire around 20 years before other people do. If you get all of that stuff paid for, is there even anything left to buy? Food and housing. No worries, in the Army, you receive a regular paycheck and free housing including meals. If you live off of base, you will still receive a housing allowance. Even if the amount of free meals and the checks don’t cover all of the food you want, some restaurants and grocery stores offer military discounts, which will also save a lot of money. My dad owns houses and rent them out to people and the first thing he looks at is what kind of job they have to make sure they can keep up with rent. Last summer there was a guy from the Army that tried to rent of my dad and he told him that the monthly paying isn’t going to be a big deal because he gets checks from the Army specifically for his housing so it is totally free for him. Although college isn’t everyone’s best option, I believe it’s more worth it than working forever at a job that barely gets you by. Colleges can really help you out when you aren’t exactly sure what you want to do. Some even make you take a full year of general education classes just so you are sure that you want to be in that major. Nobody should waste thousands of dollars just to change their mind like 50-70% of college kids end up doing. Also, most colleges have classes that help you transition from high school to college and help get good study habits and things like that. For most kids, what they do for the school like sports, music, theatre and clubs is the most important part of high school. Proceeding to college gives you the opportunity to further  your career in things like that where there are plenty of sports, clubs, different bands and also sororities and fraternities. Although that would be going to college for the wrong reasons, a college education in general expands your knowledge base, makes you more organized and exposes you to a whole new world of learning. There are also so many different types of colleges though. Depending on your preference, you can go to school for a few months or 12 years. There are community colleges, tech schools, four-year schools and also schools that are totally based on what you want to do. At the four-year schools, you have to take a certain amount of general education courses where as a college with a certain amount of month program, all of your classes are dedicated for your major. Every school that you go to has a variety of majors to choose from which also make the college option hard. There are some things that people will never even hear of until they go to college and even then, there are thousands of jobs you can do with most majors that people will probably never even know throughout their entire life. A lot of people don’t realize that a really big benefit of going to both college and the military is the life long friends that you make. Of course you’ll always have your friends from high school, but college and the military both give you the opportunity to start over and make new friends. As you can see, there are benefits to every option you decide to do when you graduate high school. There are also a lot of cons to the option that you decide. It all depends on the person and what they are like. It’s just a very hard decision to make when you are barely old enough to stay outside past 11pm. We are very uneducated about the all the different majors in college and the benefits of or other options if we decided to not go to college. We have only lived about a quarter of our life and we are expected to decide what we want to do for three more quarters of our life. This decision is the one that is going to affect you for the rest of your life and I just don’t think that we are educated enough to make it.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Criminology Research Methods

Criminology Research Methods Using examples from published research, critically consider that way that choice of study design might influence research findings and conclusions.   A study design is a fundamental component of any piece of research, providing a structure within which to implement a suitable methodology for the collection and analysis of information and data. The choice of study design employed in criminological research will inevitably influence the findings and conclusions drawn, which may subsequently be used to shape the direction of future policies and interventions within the sphere of criminal justice. This is particularly the case in relation to domestic violence, which remains a socially and politically contested area with regards to the extent to which it merits and requires criminalisation. I therefore intend, with reference to published research, to critically examine how choice of study design may yield different findings and contributions to contemporary understandings of domestic violence. Before considering the various types of study design, it is necessary to provide a brief account of the nature and context of domestic violence. Academics highlight that it is a distinct phenomenon from other forms of conventional violence, often characterised by a series of ongoing violent episodes as opposed to one discrete event and a typical reluctance on the part of victims to recognise and voice their victimisation (Mirrlees-Black, 1999). Criminological research in this area has assumed heightened importance in recent years due to shifts in Government policy towards criminalisation  [1]  . It is therefore vital that any research in this area necessitates an appreciation of the contextual circumstances within which perpetrators and victims operate. A number of study designs are available for the purposes of criminological research, the primary distinction existing between experimental and non-experimental designs; which include randomised control trials, quasi-experiments, cross-sectional and longitudinal designs as well as ethnographic studies. The choice of design will affect the strength of both the internal  [2]  and external  [3]  validity of the findings and conclusions. Bryman notes that the study design chosen reflects a decision about the priority being given to an array of dimensions. These include articulating causal connections, generalising the findings, understanding behaviour in a specific context and having a temporal awareness of social phenomena (2008:35). In addition, certain designs may lend themselves more easily to quantitative or qualitative data, which may impact upon a researchers choice of design given the fundamentally diverse characteristics of both.  [4]   The true experimental design is often referred to as the gold standard (Bryman, 2008:38), despite being rarely employed in criminological research (Wesiburd, 2000:181) due to its potential to yield findings with strong internal validity, particularly if randomised control trials are employed. The experimental design involves the manipulation of the independent variable in order to elicit variation in the dependent variable, a classic example being Bushmans (1995) investigation into the impact of violent films on those pre-disposed to aggression. In randomly assigning subjects to control and experimental groups, he was able to control for rival causal factors, resulting in findings with strong internal validity. True experiments may be either laboratory experiments  [5]  or field experiments  [6]  , although it can be argued that conclusions drawn from laboratory experiments may not have the same level of generalisation due to their artificial setting. However, it is argued th at it is the theoretical principles that are being generalised, not the specific characteristics of the sample, setting or measure (Anderson and Bushman, 1997:22). The experimental design was utilised by Sherman (1984) in investigating the specific deterrent effects of arrest on perpetrators of domestic violence, whereby three types of police response (arrest, mediation ad separation) were randomly assigned to legally eligible cases. The dependent variable, in this case recidivism, was measured over the course of 6months following police intervention using both official data and victim reports. The studys conclusion, that swift imposition of a sanction of temporary incarceration may deter male offenders in domestic violence cases (Sherman, 1984:270), is often cited in support of mandatory arrest policies. However, given that experimental designs are notorious for their weaker external validity  [7]  , it is questionable whether Shermans findings lend themselves to such a sweeping generalisation. Indeed, follow up studies in other US cities revealed more mixed results, with some concluding that arrest had negative effects for victims (Garner et al. 1995). The findings and conclusions by Sherman have been attacked on a number of grounds. Dobash contends that the experiments were designed and carried out with little knowledge of existing and theoretical positions regarding violence against women (2000:254). Indeed, it can be argued that the failure to appreciate the possibility that the reason the arrest of perpetrators resulted in lesser recidivism was not due to its deterrent effects but a result of the victim failing to call the police again or to report their victimisation to interviewers due to fear of a repeated retaliation by the perpetrator that might have followed the initial arrest. This is particularly since qualitative studies have revealed the extent to which victims reluctance to involve the police are a direct product of their fear that an arrest will lead to an escalation of the violence (Felson et al.2002). In addition, Fagan highlights that the short follow-up period of 6months failed to take into account the episodic and cyclical patterns of family violence (1989:382). It therefore appears that Shermans pre-occupation with experimental form, in this case a randomised control experiment, precluded a proper consideration of the nature and contextual characteristics of domestic violence. A variation of the true experimental design is the quasi-experiment, commonly employed in the evaluation of criminal justice interventions due to the ethical difficulties associated with random assignment. Such experiments have been used to research the effect of rape law reforms on the number of rapes reported to the police.  [8]  However, due to the absence of random assignment, such a design may not yield findings that are considered as strong in terms of their internal validity due to the lack of control over intervening causal variables. The Violent Men Study (Dobash, 2000) employed a non-equivalent control group design to evaluate the impact of different criminal justice sanctions on domestic violence, involving the matching of subjects within the different groups. The qualitative data revealed much higher rates of re-offending than the quantitative arrest records portrayed, leading the authors to remark that these stark differences cast grave doubt on the veracity of criminal justice statistics as indicators of the levels of violence or of the effectiveness of interventions (Dobash, 2000:267). In addition, in contrast to the experimental study of arrest that merely speculated the reasons for reduced levels of recidivism following arrest (Sherman, 1984), the Violent Men Study was able to contribute to an understanding of both how and why certain interventions could lead to a cessation of violence (Dobash, 2000). Such findings were arguably facilitated by the fact that the study design was more attuned to the context and dynamics of domestic violence, such as the fact that it was longitudinal in nature, tracing victims experiences and perpetrators criminal involvement over a period of 12months at regular intervals and drawing a comparison between the two sets of data  [9]  . The advantages associated with this design have led to a replication of it in subsequent research.  [10]   An example of a non-experimental study design is the cross-sectional, involving the collection of information and data relating to a designated phenomenon at a particular instance in time. A classic example is the investigation of the effects of visible public and social order on evolving crime rates in Chicago (Sampson and Raudenbush, 2001). However, the problems associated with such a design relate to both the internal validity and the ambiguity of the direction of causality, which may therefore significantly influence any conclusions drawn, as was the case in the Chicago study which could not establish whether the high crime rates resulted before or after a variation in social control (Bachman and Schutt, 2007:154). A study by Hoyle and Sanders (2000) of victims within Thames Valley police force areas utilised a cross-sectional non-experimental design to investigate victims perceptions of the value of various criminal justice interventions. The non-experimental dimension facilitated a more in-depth exploration of victims experiences and beliefs and a deeper contextual understanding of the nature and effects of domestic violence, with the authors highlighting that the more powerful the controlling behaviour of their partners, the less likely it is women will seek to involve the criminal justice system (2000:21). However, a significant drawback of the cross-sectional design is that it results in findings that inevitably fail to capture the recurring and ongoing nature of domestic violence. By contrast, a longitudinal design, involves the collection of information and data at several points in time, which can also resolve any ambiguity concerning the direction of causal influence. Thus, academics assert that the value of longitudinal data is so great that every effort should be made to develop longitudinal research designs whenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦appropriate (Bachman and Schutt, 2007:155). A study by Sullivan and Bybee (2004) interviewed 278 women, who has just left a domestic violence shelter, at various intervals for three years. By collecting and analysing data over a substantial period of time, the study was able to provide a greater understanding of the unique trajectory of domestic violence. However, the problem of attrition is particularly salient for longitudinal designs, with Bachman and Schutt highlighting that those in greatest need are often the most likely to drop-out (2007:159). This has obvious implications for the validity of findings, since a drop-out of the most domestically victimised subjects could mask the extent and seriousness of domestic violence. An interesting study design that is rarely employed, but could nevertheless provide a valuable insight into the phenomenon of domestic violence, relates to ethnography. The purpose of which is to look more in-depth at the mechanisms underlying a social process and to gain an insight into the interpretations and perceptions of actors (Crow and Semmens, 2008:37). Such an approach was taken by Websdale, who provided a critical ethnography of how rural patriarchy shapes the perpetration and policing of domestic violence (Adelman, 2004:135). Although such findings and conclusions cannot obviously be generalised, ethnographic designs serve to reveal important details about the experiences of particular sub-groups of the population, which may not be adequately reflected in the findings of more conventional study designs. In conclusion, it is apparent that choice of study design in criminological research can have a marked influence on the findings and conclusions drawn. In relation to domestic violence, whilst it appears that true experiments yield results with the strongest internal validity, they nevertheless fail to account for the dynamic processes operating which trigger the variation in the dependent variable. The context-specific approach taken by other designs may have the potential to fill this gap by affording a greater emphasis on process as opposed to outcome. In addition, longitudinal designs are vital in capturing the intrinsic trajectory nature of domestic violence which is often ignored by cross-sectional designs. However, it is apparent that a deeper and proper understanding of domestic violence, in order to implement effective policies, necessitates the exploitation of the various strengths of both experimental and non-experimental study designs. To conclude otherwise would be to ig nore the inherent nature of domestic violence and to relegate it to the status of any ordinary violent crime, from which it is clearly distinct. Word Count: 1992

Thursday, October 24, 2019

History of the Marines Essay -- American History Military

History of the Marines What do Drew Carey, Gene Hackman, and Lee Harvey Oswald all have in common? They are all, The Few. The Proud. The Marines. Like these young men, many people after high school join one of the many branches of the military. From the U.S. Bureau of Labor, nine out of ten high school graduates go into the military. However with the Marine Corps being the smallest of the branches, only one-fifth of them become Marines. In 2006, according to the Recruit Depot Parris Island for Marines, 99.9% of the students there were high school graduates. Of the 4,420 recruits in 2006, the average age for a Marine was 19.6. Since the branches were formed, the Marine Corps has developed into a military branch that is greatly respected for its achievements and responsibilities. The Marines As A Whole Unquestionably, the marines were very basic and underdeveloped in their earlier days. The USMC, or better known as the United States Marine Corps, is one of the five main branches of the United States military. The Marines Corps started out being known as the Continental Marines ("United States Marine Corps" 4). The Continental Marines were born November 10, 1775 at Tin Tavern in Pennsylvania. Due to the act of July 11, 1798, the Marines were formed in place of them under the constitution. They were first formed because of America being in debt. At the time, the United States was in a naval war with France (Metcalf 343). The marines have many allies and foes throughout the branches of military. The United States Navy is said to be the "big brother" of the U.S. Marines out of the other military branches. Most of the support that the Marines get is from this fine group of men. Early marines served as gunners, mechani... ...g ("United States Marine Corps" 20). Since the day the Marines were formed, they have developed into a highly respected military branch, where they have accomplished many achievements and took on many responsibilities. The Marines have, and will always play an important role on how Americans fight in wars today. With all the help the United States gets from the Marines, it helps guide troops through ferocious battles like many they have gone through but faster and with more force. There are many famous and infamous people out in the world that served a good purpose fighting and helped them get where they are today. Last and foremost, the Marines take on far more responsibility than people can accredit for. Many people should be grateful for what they have because if it wasn't for, the few, the proud, the Marines, they might not have made it to where they are today.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Locke’s teachings on economic growth and material prosperity Essay

According to Locke, God gave man common ownership of everything under the sun (10). God at the same time gave man the reason, which He intended him to use so as to convert what was owned communally into individually. Man went ahead in using his God given reason and he reasoned that he can put in some labor – which is his by right, and in so doing, he attached the common property with his own property (reading labor) and in the process converted the ownership from communal to individual’s (Locke12). Man created ownership so as to make what is communally owned useful and at the same time avoid the process of gaining consent of all the other owners. One was only considered a rightful own if the item in his possession was for his enjoyment and not to be spoilt. This does not apply to plants and animals alone, but the same can be put in practice when dealing with land. To avoid conflict between men, God gave every man ability to work, so the piece of land one improved through labor was his for the taking, and the limit of how much one can own was to be determined by how much he can work and the number of his needs. Labor became something very important in that, it was through it that the value of land was measured against and also the more one labored the more his living standard improved. That is the reason as to why Locke proposed that the England day laborers lived well than American King, because the former knew how to increase the value of land through labor and this translated to a better life. What Locke is highlighting is that, among the three: land, nature and labor, the latter comes on top of the former two (16). Skills and inventions are the offshoots of labor and they came to make life even more comfy. With the increase in number of people and animal and the use of money, scarcity of land emerged which drove the value of the land up. Man decided to put some policies so as to avoid conflict that would have arisen due to scarcity of the land the same role played by industry and labor there before (17). To avoid wastage, man came up with the idea of trading of things which would otherwise spoil if not consumed fast and in the process of looking for something durable and valuable. This is how money came in being. The qualities of valuability durability and scarcity made money to be even more important than labor and it did what the latter could not have done: enabling man to expand his possessions. So it is true to say that reached his goal of economic growth and material prosperity through the advert of money. But this is not the only ingredient. As from the above discussion, land, government policies, nature and labor are other requirement. For one to be set on the way of wealth creation, it is paramount to balance all these factors. I do agree with all of Locke arguments for he is capturing the reality of today. The only important ingredient that he has not elaborated in a detailed way is market, which is another important pillar of wealth creation. Without the above ingredients, wealth creation will remain but a pipe dream. All these factors have contributed to unequal ownership of property. This situation has brought forth some challenges, one of it being the emergence of social classes: proletariats, bourgeoisies and aristocrats all of which are in constant conflict. This contributes to high crime rates, prostitution, corruption just to mention but a few vices. Works Cited Locke, John. Second Treatise of Government. 9 Mar. 2008. 11 Aug. 2010. http://www. earlymoderntexts. com/f_rights. html

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Chinas Grand Canal

Chinas Grand Canal The largest canal in the world, the Grand Canal of China, wends its way through four provinces, beginning at Beijing and ending at Hangzhou.   It ties together two of the greatest rivers in the world - the Yangtze River and the Yellow River - as well as smaller waterways such as the Hai River, the Qiantang River, and the Huai River. History of The Grand Canal Just as impressive as its incredible size, however, is the Grand Canals remarkable age. The first section of the canal likely dates back to the 6th century BCE, although Chinese historian Sima Qian claimed that it went back 1,500 years earlier than that to the time of the legendary Yu the Great of the Xia Dynasty.   In any case, the earliest section links the Yellow River to the Si and Bian Rivers in Henan Province.   It is known poetically as the Canal of the Flying Geese, or more prosaically as Far-Flung Canal. Another early section of the Grand Canal was created under the direction of King Fuchai of Wu, who ruled from 495 to 473 BCE.   This early portion is known as the Han Gou, or Han Conduit, and connects the Yangtze River with the Huai River. Fuchais reign coincides with the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, and the beginning of the Warring States period, which would seem to be an inauspicious time to take on such a huge project. However, despite the political turmoil, that era saw the creation of several major irrigation and waterworks projects, including the Dujiangyan Irrigation System in Sichuan, the Zhengguo Canal in Shaanxi Province, and the Lingqu Canal in Guangxi Province. The Grand Canal itself was combined into one great waterway during the reign of the Sui Dynasty, 581 - 618 CE.   In its finished state, the Grand Canal stretches 1,104 miles (1,776 kilometers) and runs north to south roughly parallel to the east coast of China.   The Sui used the labor of 5 million of their subjects, both men and women, to dig the canal, finishing work in 605 CE. The Sui rulers sought to connect northern and southern China directly so that they could ship grain between the two regions.   This helped them to overcome local crop failures and famine, as well as supplying their armies that were stationed far from their southern bases.   The path along the canal also served as an imperial highway, and post offices set all along the way served the imperial courier system. By the Tang Dynasty era (618 - 907 CE), more than 150,000 tons of grain traveled the Grand Canal annually, most of it tax payments from southern peasants moving to the capital cities of the north.   However, the Grand Canal could pose a danger as well as a benefit to the people who lived beside it.   In the year 858, a terrible flood spilled into the canal, and drowned thousands of acres across the North China Plain, killing tens of thousands.   This catastrophe represented a huge blow to the Tang, already weakened by the An Shi Rebellion.   The flooding canal seemed to suggest that the Tang Dynasty had lost the Mandate of Heaven, and needed to be replaced. To prevent the grain barges from running aground (and then being robbed of their tax grain by local bandits), the Song Dynasty  assistant commissioner of transport Qiao Weiyue invented the worlds first system of pound locks.   These devices would raise the level of the water in a section of the canal, to safely float barges past obstacles in the canal. During the Jin-Song Wars, the Song dynasty in 1128 destroyed part of the Grand Canal to block the Jin militarys advance.   The canal was only repaired in the 1280s by the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, which moved the capital to Beijing and shortened the total length of the canal by about 450 miles (700 km). Both the Ming (1368 - 1644) and the Qing (1644 - 1911) Dynasties maintained the Grand Canal in working order.   It took literally tens of thousands of laborers to keep the whole system dredged and functional each year; operating the grain barges required an additional 120,000 plus soldiers. In 1855, disaster struck the Grand Canal.   The Yellow River flooded and jumped its banks, changing its course and cutting itself off from the canal.   The waning power of the Qing Dynasty decided not to repair the damage, and the canal is still not entirely recovered.   However, the Peoples Republic of China, founded in 1949, has invested heavily in repairing and reconstructing damaged and neglected sections of the canal. The Grand Canal Today In 2014, UNESCO listed the Grand Canal of China as a World Heritage Site.   Although much of the historic canal is visible, and many sections are popular tourist destinations, currently only the portion between Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province and Jining, Shandong Province is navigable.   That is a distance of about 500 miles (800 kilometers).

Monday, October 21, 2019

The Myths of the Founding of Rome

The Myths of the Founding of Rome By tradition, the city of Rome was founded in 753 B.C.* The stories  about the founding of Rome are conflicting, but there are two main founding figures to look out for: Romulus (after whom the city may have been named) and Aeneas. It is also possible that Evander of Arcadia founded Rome. Much of the information on the founding of Rome comes from the first book of Livys history of Rome. Aeneas as Founder of Rome The Trojan prince Aeneas, an important figure linking the Romans with the Trojans and the goddess Venus, is sometimes credited with the founding of Rome as the culmination of his post-Trojan War adventures, but the version of the Roman foundation myth that is most familiar is that of Romulus, the first king of Rome.   The Romulus and Remus Myth Romulus and Remus were twin brothers, the sons of a vestal virgin named Rhea Silvia (also called Ilia) and the god Mars, according to legend. Since vestal virgins could be buried alive if they violated their chastity vows, whoever forced Rhea Silvia to enter the equivalent of an ancient convent assumed that Rhea Silvia would remain childless. The grandfather and great-uncle of the twins were Numitor and Amulius, who between them divided the wealth and kingdom of Alba Longa (a city founded by Aeneas son Ascanius), but then Amulius seized Numitors share and became sole ruler. To prevent retaliation by the offspring of his brother, Amulius made his niece a vestal virgin. When Rhea became pregnant, her life was spared because of the special pleading of Amulius daughter Antho. Although she kept her life, Rhea was imprisoned. Contrary to plan, the virgin Rhea was impregnated by the god Mars. When the twin boys were born, Amulius wished to have them killed, and so bid someone, perhaps Faustulus, a swineherd, expose the boys. Faustulus left the twins on the river bank where a she-wolf nursed them, and a woodpecker fed and guarded them until Faustulus took them into his care again. The two boys were well educated by Faustulus and his wife, Acca Larentia. They grew up to be strong and attractive. They say that his name was Faustulus; and that they were carried by him to his homestead and given to his wife Larentia to be brought up. Some are of the opinion that Larentia was called Lupa among the shepherds from her being a common prostitute, and hence an opening was afforded for the marvellous story.- Livy Book I As adults, Remus found himself imprisoned, and in the presence of Numitor, who determined from his age that Remus and his twin brother could be his grandsons. Learning of Remus predicament, Faustulus told Romulus the truth of his birth and sent him off to rescue his brother. Amulius was despised, and so Romulus drew a crowd of supporters as he approached Alba Longa to kill the king. The twins re-installed their grandfather Numitor on the throne and freed their mother who had been imprisoned for her crime. The Establishment of Rome Since Numitor now ruled Alba Longa, the boys needed their own kingdom and settled in the area in which they had been raised, but the two young men couldnt decide on the exact site and started building separate sets of walls around different hills: Romulus, around the Palatine; Remus, around the Aventine. There they took auguries to see which area the gods favored. On the basis of conflicting omens, each twin claimed his was the site of the city. An angry Remus jumped over Romulus wall and Romulus killed him. Rome was therefore named after Romulus: A more common account is that Remus, in derision of his brother, leaped over the newly-erected walls, and was thereupon slain by Romulus in a fit of passion, who, mocking him, added words to this effect: So perish every one hereafter, who shall leap over my walls. Thus Romulus obtained possession of supreme power for himself alone. The city, when built, was called after the name of its founder.- Livy Book I Aeneas and Alba Longa Aeneas, son of the goddess Venus and the mortal Anchises, left the burning city of Troy at the end of the Trojan War, with his son Ascanius. After many adventures, which the Roman poet Vergil or Virgil describes in the Aeneid, Aeneas and his son arrived at the city of Laurentum on the west coast of Italy. Aeneas married Lavinia, the daughter of a local king, Latinus, and founded the town of Lavinium in honor of his wife. Ascanius, son of Aeneas, decided to build a new city, which he named Alba Longa, under the Alban mountain. Alba Longa was the hometown of Romulus and Remus, who were separated from Aeneas by about a dozen generations. Aeneas was hospitably entertained at the house of Latinus; there Latinus, in the presence of his household gods, cemented the public league by a family one, by giving Aeneas his daughter in marriage. This event fully confirmed the Trojans in the hope of at length terminating their wanderings by a lasting and permanent settlement. They built a town, which Aeneas called Lavinium after the name of his wife. Shortly afterward also, a son was the issue of the recently concluded marriage, to whom his parents gave the name of Ascanius.- Livy Book I Plutarch on Possible Founders of Rome ... Roma, from whom this city was so called, was the daughter of Italus and Leucaria; or, by another account, of Telephus, Herculess son, and that she was married to Aeneas, or ... to Ascanius, Aeneass son. Some tell us that Romanus, the son of Ulysses and Circe, built it; some, Romus the son of Emathion, Diomede having sent him from Troy; and others, Romus, king of the Latins, after driving out the Tyrrhenians, who had come from Thessaly into Lydia, and from thence into Italy.- Plutarch Isidore of Seville on Evander and the Founding of Rome There is a line (313) in the 8th book of the Aeneid that suggests Evander of Arcadia founded Rome. Isidore of Seville reports this as one of the stories told about the founding of Rome.   A banishd band,Drivn with Evander from th Arcadian land,Have planted here, and placd on high their walls;Their town the founder Pallanteum calls,Derivd from Pallas, his great-grandsires name:But the fierce Latians old possession claim,With war infesting the new colony.These make thy friends, and on their aid rely.- Dryden translation from Book 8 of the Aeneid. Points to Note About the Roman Founding Legend Rome was founded on 21 April 753 B.C., according to tradition. It was celebrated in Rome with the festival of Parilia.Because a woodpecker tended to the twins, the woodpecker was sacred to Rome.In some versions of the story, Rhea was drowned and then married the river god Tiber.When Faustulus first let the twins go, they floated into the river and then washed ashore at the base of a fig tree. This was the site where they built their city.In some versions, Acca Larentalia was a prostitute.The stories of the founding of Rome are just that, stories. The legends, as a whole, are not confirmed by tangible evidence although they can be used to help interpret some bits of archaeological data. * 753 B.C. is an important year to know since some Romans reckoned their years from this beginning time (ab urbe condita), although the names of the consuls were more commonly used to pinpoint a year. When viewing Roman dates you may see them listed as xyz year A.U.C., which means xyz years from (after) the founding of the city. You might write the year 44 B.C. as 710 A.U.C. and the year A.D. 2010 as 2763 A.U.C.; the latter, in other words, 2763 years from the founding of Rome.