Software Security Risk Analysis Using Fuzzy Expert System

| | |Software Level of Security Risk Analysis Using Fuzzy | |Expert System | |[ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENT] |UNIVERSITI TEKNIKAL MALAYSIA MELAKA FACULTY OF INFORMATION & COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY SESSION 2 – 2010/2011 |NURUL AZRIN BT AIRRUDIN – B031010343 | |SITI NURSHAFIEQA BT SUHAIMI – B031010313 | |NUR SHAHIDA BT MUHTAR – B031010266 | | | |LECTURE NAME: DR ABD.SAMAD HASSAN BASARI | | | |[12th APRIL 2011] | SOFTWARE LEVEL OF SECURITY RISK ANALYSIS USING FUZZY EXPERT SYSTEM ABSTRACT There is wide concern on the security of software systems because many organizations depend largely on them for their day-to-day operations. Since we have not seen a software system that is completely secure, there is need to analyze and determine the security risk of emerging software systems.This work presents a technique for analyzing software security using fuzzy expert system. The inputs to the system are suitable fuzzy sets representing linguistic values for software secu rity goals of confidentiality, integrity and availability. The expert rules were constructed using the Mamdani fuzzy reasoning in order to adequately analyze the inputs. The defuzzication technique was done using Centroid technique. The implementation of the design is done using MATLAB fuzzy logic tool because of its ability to implement fuzzy based systems.Using newly develop software products from three software development organizations as test cases, the results show a system that can be used to effectively analyze software security risk. ANALYSIS AND DESIGN The design is basically divided into four stages: 1) DESIGN OF THE LINGUISTIC VARIABLES The inputs to the system are the values assumed for the software security goal thru confidentiality, integrity and availability. The goals are assumed to be the same weight and a particular valued is determined for each of them based on questions that are answered about the specific software.Also the values determined for each of the inpu t are defined as a fuzzy number instead of crisp numbers by using suitable fuzzy sets. Designing the fuzzy system requires that the different inputs (that is, confidentiality, integrity, and availability) are represented by fuzzy sets. The fuzzy sets are in turn represented by a membership function. The membership function used in this paper is the triangular membership function which is a three point function defined by minimum, maximum and modal values where usually represented in 1. [pic]Figure 1: Triangular Membership Function 2) THE FUZZY SETS The level of confidentiality is defined based on the scales of not confidential, slightly confidential, very confidential and extremely confidential. The level of integrity is also defined based on the scales very low, low, high, very high, and extra high. Also, the level of availability is also defined by the scales very low, low, high, very high and extra high. The levels defined above are based on a range definition with an assumed int erval of [0 -10]. The ranges for the inputs are shown in tables 1 and 2. DESCRIPTION |RANGE | |Non-Confidential |0-1 | |Slightly Confidential |2-3 | |Confidential |4-6 | |Very Confidential |7-8 | |Extremely Confidential |9-10 | Table 1: Range of inputs for Confidentiality Very Low |Low |High |Very High |Extra High | |0 – 1 |2 – 3 |4 – 6 |7 – 8 |9 – 10 | Table 2: Range of inputs for Integrity |Very Low |Low |High |Very High |Extra High | |0 – 1 |2 – 3 |4 – 6 |7 – 8 |9 – 10 |Table 3: Range of inputs for Availability |DESCRIPTION |RANGE | |Not Secure |0 – 3 | |Slightly Secure |4 – 9 | |Secure |10 – 18 | |Very Secure |19 – 25 | |Extremely Secure |26 – 30 | Table 4: Level Of Security RiskThe fuzzy sets above are represented by membership functions. The corresponding membership functions for confidentiality, integrity and availability are presented in figures below [pic] Figure 1 : Mem bership functions for Confidentiality Similarly, the output, that is, the level of security risk is also represented by fuzzy sets and then a membership function. The level of security risk is defined based on the scales: not secure, slightly secure, secure, very secure, and extremely secure within the range of [0- 30].The range definition is shown in table above. The membership function for the output fuzzy set is presented in figure below. [pic] Figure 2 : Membership functions for Integrity [pic] Figure 3 : Membership functions for Availability [pic] Figure 4 : Level Of Security Risk 3) THE RULES OF THE FUZZY SYSTEM Once the input and output fuzzy sets and membership functions are constructed, the rules are then formulated. The rules are formulated based on the input parameters (confidentiality, integrity, and availability) and the output i. e. level of security risk.The levels of confidentiality, integrity, and availability are used in the antecedent of rules and the level of sec urity risk as the consequent of rules. A fuzzy rule is conditional statement in the form: IF x is A THEN y is B. Where x and y are linguistic variables; and A and B are linguistic values determined by fuzzy sets on universe of discourses X and Y, respectively. Both the antecedent and consequent of a fuzzy rule can have multiple parts. All parts of the antecedent are calculated simultaneously and resolved in a single number and the antecedent affects all parts of the consequent equally.Some of the rules used in the design of this fuzzy Systems are as follow: 1. If (Confidentiality is Not Confidential) and (Integrity is Very Low) and (Availability is Very Low) then (Security Risk is Not Secure). 2. If (Confidentiality is Not Confidential) and (Integrity is Very Low) and (Availability is Low) then (Security Risk is Slightly Secure). 3. If (Confidentiality is Extremely Confidential) and (Integrity is Extra High) and (Availability is High) then (Security Risk is Slightly Secure). †¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 125.If (Confidentiality is Not Confidential) and (Integrity is Very Low) and (Availability is high) then (Security Risk is Extremely Secure). The rules above were formulated using the Mamdani max-min fuzzy reasoning. DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION The linguistic variables were determined with the extent of the positive and negative responses to a well constructed security questions that are presented in form of on-line questionnaire. As it was mentioned earlier, MATLAB was used for the implementation. The linguistic inputs to the system are supplied through the graphical user interface called rule viewer.Once the rule viewer has been opened, the input variables are supplied in the text box captioned input with each of them separated with a space. a) THE FIS EDITOR The fuzzy inference system editor shows a summary of the fuzzy inference system. It shows the mapping of the inputs to the system type and to the output. The names of the input variables and the processing methods for the FIS can be changed through the FIS editor. Figure 5: The FIS editor b) THE MEMBERSHIP FUNCTION EDITOR This can be opened from the command window by using the plotmf function but more easily through the GUI.The membership function editor shows a plot of highlighted input or output variable along their possible ranges and against the probability of occurrence. The name and the range of a membership value can be changed, so also the range of the particular variable itself through the membership function editor. [pic] Figure 6: The Membership Function editor c) THE RULE EDITOR The rule editor can be used to add, delete or change a rule. It is also used to change the connection type and the weight of a rule. The rule editor for this application is shown in figure 7. pic] Figure 7: Rule Editor d) THE RULE VIEWER The text box captioned input is used to supply the three input variables needed in the system. The appropriate input corresponds to the number of YES answer in the questionnaire for each of the input variables. For example, in the figure 8, all the input variables are 5 and the corresponding output is 13. 9, which specified at the top of the corresponding graphs. The input for each of the input variables is specified at the top of the section corresponding to them, so also the output variable.The rule viewer for this work is presented in figure 8. [pic] Figure 8: The Rule editor e) THE SURFACE VIEWER The surface viewer shown in figure 9 is a 3-D graph that shows the relationship between the inputs and the output. The output (security Risk) is represented on the Z-axis while 2 of the inputs (Confidentiality and Integrity) are on the x and y axes and the other input (Availability) is held constant. The surface viewer shows a plot of the possible ranges of the input variables against the possible ranges of the output. 4) EVALUATIONThe security risk analysis system was evaluated using three newly completed software products from three different s oftware development organizations. The output determines the security level of software under consideration. The summary of the evaluation is given in figure 11. For product A, 5 is the score for confidentiality, 5 for the integrity and 5 for the availability. |Software |Input |Output |Significance |Security Level | |Product A |5 5 5 |13. |45% slightly secure, 55% secure |46. 33 % | |Product B |8 7 8 |24. 2 |20% secure, 80% very secure |80. 60 % | |Product C |10 10 10 |28. 4 |35% very secure, 65% extremely secure |94. 67 % | Table 5 : Evaluation of Different Input Variables [pic] Figure 9 : The Surface Viewer [pic] Figure 10 : Histogram & 3D CONCLUSION AND FINDINGThus, this work proposes a fuzzy logic-based technique for determination of level of security risk associated with software systems. Fuzzy logic is one of the major tools used for security analysis. The major goals of secure software which are used as the inputs to them system are the preservation of confidentiality (preven ting unauthorized disclosure of information), preservation of integrity (preventing unauthorized alteration of information) and preservation of availability (preventing unauthorized destruction or denial of access or service to an authentic user).It might be necessary to redesign this system in a way that it will be deployable and will be without the use of MATLAB. It might also be necessary to use an adaptive fuzzy logic technique for security risk analysis. We have been able to design a system that can be used to evaluate the security risk associated with the production of secure software systems. This will definitely help software organizations meet up with the standard requirements. A technique for assessing security of software system before final deployment has been presented.The result of this study shows that if the software producing companies will incorporate security risk analysis into the production of software system, the issue of insecurity of software will be held to the minimum if not eliminated. This study has also revealed that if each of the software security goals can be increased to the maximum, then the level security will also be increased and the risk associated will be eliminated. Finally, security risk analysis is a path towards producing secure software and should be considered a significant activity by software development organizations.

Boston Tea Party Essay

On December 16, 1773, a monumental event took place that was crucial to the growth of the American Revolution. This event was known as The Boston Tea Party, taking place in Boston, a city in the British colony of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Patriots were in immense disapproval on how parliament was trying to monopolize the market on American tea importation granted to the East India Company (Boston Tea Party). The East India Company was a failing British corporation. This Company was on the verge of bankruptcy. They had millions of pounds of unsold tea that sat in warehouses. The idea was to persuade English and colonial consumers to buy East India Company tea to save one of Britain’s largest corporations. In order to make this happen, British Parliament proposed the Tea Act of 1773. The Tea Act allowed the East India Company to sell through agents in America without paying the taxes normally collected in Britain, which allowed the company to undersell even smugglers in the colonies (David Goldfield). What drew major controversy with the Tea Act was that it retained the three pence Townshend duty on tea imported to the colonies. The colonists objected to the Tea Act. They believed that this act violated their rights to â€Å"No taxation without representation,† which meant that they would only be taxed by their own elected representatives and not by the British Parliament that did not represent them. Regardless of what the colonists thought, consignees were selected in Boston, New York, Charleston, and Philadelphia, and then 500,000 pounds of tea were shipped across the Atlantic in September. The first tea ship, Dartmouth, reached Boston November 27, and two more were sent shortly after that. There were several meetings held demanding that the tea be sent back to England with the duty not paid for. Tension was rising when patriot groups tried to persuade the consignees and the governor to accept this approach. On December 16th, citizens, some disguised as Mohawk Indians, pushed toward Griffin’s Wharf and boarded the tea ships (Boston Tea Party). In a course of three hours they dumped three hundred and forty two chests of tea into the harbor, turning it into a teapot (Boston Tea Party Historical Society). The chests held more than 90,000 pounds of tea, which would cost nearly $1,000,000 dollars today (Boston Tea Party). There were certainly several participants and witnesses to the accounts of what occurred at the Boston Tea Party. Although all of the participants were taking part in the same event, their memories of their accounts do seem to differ. The first thing that I noticed was the number of participants. David Kinnison, the longest surviving participant from the Boston Tea Party, claims that there were only 24 men involved (Boston Tea Party Historical Society). His statement matches up well with Samuel Cooper, a participant that was just 16 at the time, who claims that there were around 20 men (Boston Tea Party Historical Society). Then you have John Andrews, claiming that there were around 200 citizens dressed as Indians. Another thing that seems unclear is the way the ships were taken over (Boston Tea Party Historical Society). George Hewes, a Boston shoemaker and participant, states that they were divided into 3 groups, one for each ship. Joshua Wyeth, also a participant, who was only just 16, also states that they took to the three ships at the same time. On the other hand, the Massachusetts Gazette states that they worked their way from ship to ship, after emptying one ship they would move to the next. There are many differences in the accounts of what exactly happened at the Boston Tea Party, which I think helps decipher the truthful accounts from the fabricated ones (Boston Tea Party Historical Society). Most of the witnesses that were actually a part of the Boston Tea Party had testimonies that were exceptionally similar. I believe the only thing that may have caused them to be slightly different would be the fact that it was a little over half a century later when they were trying to recollect the events. I also think that the participants swearing to secrecy had an impact on some of the misleading information, such as the discrepancy on the number of participants. Most of the participants had mentioned around 20 men being involved, when in fact the number was found to be a lot greater than that. The participants in the destruction did not even acknowledge each other even when boarding the ships, breaking open the chests and dumping the tea, so of course they are not going to be truthful about how many citizens were actually involved. I also believe that some of the information misinterpreted for fabrication might be due to the participant not writing their story themselves. George Hewes account of what happened was written by him, Joshua Wyeth’s account was recorded from his words, Samuel Cooper’s came directly from him also. All of these accounts seemed to be relatively similar; where as accounts that were retold by biographers may have changed along the way. Also, participants stories did not coincide on what time the event was actually over. John Andrews wrote that before nine o’clock every chest was destroyed, but Samuel Cooper’s account placed the end of the destruction at ten o’clock (Boston Tea Party Historical Society). Considering that Samuel Cooper had a role in this momentous event, I would give him the benefit of the doubt as to telling the truth of when the event actually came to an end (Boston Tea Party Historical Society). Another person who played an interesting role in the Boston Tea Party was Paul Revere. Revere felt strongly about the movement toward political independence from Great Britain. He was a very well rounded artisan and intellectual. Revere was a silversmith whose work brought him in close contact with patriots like John Hancock and Samuel Adams. He used his talents to support the colonial struggle against Britain. Revere soon assumed the role of a leader, along with Adams, of the Sons of Liberty. The Sons of Liberty were a secret patriotic organization formed in 1765 to prevent the Stamp Act (Paul Revere). The Sons of Liberty also organized the Boston Tea Party. Revere was also one of the many patriots who dressed up as an Indian and took part in the Boston Tea Party Protest against parliamentary taxation without representation (Boston Tea Party Historical Society). After the Tea Party, Revere was sent by the citizens of Boston to deliver news of the party to the other colonists in New York and Philadelphia. When he returned, he was appointed one of 25 men by the citizens of Boston to stand guard over the tea bearing vessels, in order to prevent the overexcited townspeople from doing further damage to the ship (Facts on Paul Revere). I would say Paul Revere played a significant role in the Boston Tea Party; he played the part of a ringleader and was a very influential role model. The acts that he participated in would not be condoned by Britain. The Boston Tea Party ultimately captured the attention of Parliament and produced a furious reaction. A lot of people in America and also in Britain were surprised about the destruction of property in the Tea Party. Parliament decided that this epic event demanded an immediate display of power. In the spring of 1774, parliament passed a series of totalitarian measures to be known as the Coercive Acts. These acts included the Boston Port Act, which closed the port of Boston until Bostonians paid for the tea and uncollected duties. The Massachusetts Government Act, this act stated that members of the governor’s council and sheriffs would be appointed rather than elected and limited the number of town meetings that could be held without the governor’s prior approval. The Administration of Justice Act, which allowed any British soldier or official who was charged with a crime to be tried in England, where they would most likely receive a slap on the wrist. The Quartering Act of 1774 permitted the army to lodge soldiers in any civilian building if necessary. All of these acts were in response to the Boston Tea Party and attempts of Britain to gain royal control. Most colonists referred to these acts as the Intolerable Acts rather than the Coercive Acts, they viewed these acts as a threat to liberty in the colonies. The spirit of protest began to spread, more and more colonists became politicized. They began to realize their common interests as Americans and their differences from the British. America was starting to rebel, but had not yet launched a revolution (David Goldfield). Although, the acts they were taking were starting to have a major influence on America. The Boston Tea Party effected America in many ways. There were a lot of different factors and rebellious acts that eventually snowballed into war, but I would say the Boston Tea Party was the most significant. The passing of the Coercive Acts and parliaments refusal to revoke them led to a great deal of disgruntlement from the colonists. The Boston Tea party most definitely sparked the Revolution, which may have otherwise been delayed or never happened at all.

Alma Ata Declaration

Alma Ata Declaration   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1978 the Alma Ata Declaration affirmed health as a human right with health being defined as a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing. The Declaration proclaimed that communities should adopt the principles of primary health care to achieve better health for all (WHO 2008). The principles of primary health care are based on a social justice approach where community health focuses on empowering individuals enabling them to make informed health decisions (Green 2004).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The aim of this essay is to discuss primary health care in the Alma-Ata Declaration and how attitudes towards primary health care have changed over time. Furthermore, it will discuss the relevance of primary health care today according to the WHO report, Primary Health Care ? Now more than ever, focusing on Australian Indigenous children?s health in the Western region of Melbourne.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the Alma-Ata declaratio n, primary health care is essentially healthcare based on practical, evidence based and socially acceptable methods that are made accessible to all individuals within a community through full participation. The principles form the integral part of the health system, providing health care at the first level with an overall focus on the communities and countries socio-economic development (Awofeso 2004).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Primary health care was criticised as soon as the Alma-Ata conference concluded, politicians did not accept that communities would be responsible for planning and implementing health care services. As a result, political commitment was not sustained nor was it backed with necessary reforms (Hall & Taylor 2003).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Government agencies lacked any provisions for ensuring equity to accessing services especially for the poorer and disadvantaged communities. Furthermore, experts and politicians refused the principle of primary hea lth care which allowed communities to plan and implement their own health care services (McMurray & Param 2008).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Internationally, resources for public health were diverted from primary health care to aid with the management of high-mortality emergencies. This included the resurgence of tuberculosis, increases in malaria and the emergence of HIV/AIDS (WHO 2008).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  World events impacted on the development of primary health care, an oil crisis, a global recession and the introduction of structural adjustment programs by development banks shifted governments? budgets away from health and social services (WHO 2008).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Inadequate funding and training for healthcare professionals resulted in a lack of services for communities with people choosing to by-pass the primary level of services being provided. Inaccessibility, limited resources and poor equipment left primary health care services limited in coverage and quality (Hall & Taylor 2003).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Inaccessibility, limited resources and poor equipment left primary health care services limited in coverage and impact. Due to poor levels of service, primary health care workers lost motivation and resigned as a result of under-staffed centres and inadequate delivery of service.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In some countries primary health care continues to be inadequately supported and resourced due to lack of structure and investment within health organisations leading to poor coverage and quality of services (Hall & Taylor 2003).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1994, the World Health Organisation (WHO) review of world changes in health development since Alma-Ata bleakly concluded that the goal of health for all by 2000 would not be met (WHO 2008).

How did British settlers, officials and experts understand the Mau Mau Essay

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Marx Communist Ideals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

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GSA Wants You Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

GSA Wants You - Essay Example As per the Small Business Act of 1953, small businesses should get a â€Å"fair percentage† of federal contracts and that small business should be provided with the â€Å"maximum practicable opportunity â€Å"to engage in federal contracting. Further, the above, act established the â€Å"SBA to help small businesses and to make sure that they receive a â€Å"fair percentage† of federal contracts. Further, Congress has established a twenty-three percentage of government-wide goal for awarding of contracts to small businesses. GSA strongly back the participation of small business concerns in the GSA Schedules Program. GSA, in this case, may use notice of service-Disabled Veteran –Owned Small Businesses Set-Aside, and in such cases, an order can be reserved for a single firm to be declared as qualified firm.GSA maintains a separate portal for submission of bids by small business electronically. Every probable GSA contractor must complete a chain of steps and cert ifications before the agency award access to the portal. A small-business owner should enroll for the compulsory GSA â€Å"Pathways to Success† online training course else he may also attend a workshop in person. A small business has to obtain DUNS number and Dun number recognizes the small business by its actual location by employing a uniform 9-digit credential code. The small business has to obtain an electronic digital signature. It is advised that the small business should create an electronic copy of the bid submitted to GSA eOffer portal

Thomas Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase Essay

Thomas Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase - Essay Example First, the Louisiana Purchase served to double the size of the United States and consequently reduce the size of France territory (Nugent, 15). This has defined the size of the USA to present day, which would otherwise be smaller in size, while France would by now be an enormous territory (Blumberg, 22). Secondly, considering the enormous size of the territory that was purchased, and further considering the strategic position of the land, which had the greater control of the Mississippi River as well as Port Orleans, which is a strategic facility for commerce and transport, the purchase has defined the status of the United States, as a major economy in the world, and also as a superpower (Burgan, 11). However, the occurrence is also a major influence in the shift of the previous stance held by President Thomas Jefferson, who was initially an anti-federalist, thus opposed to the unification of the different State under one federal government (Cerami, 108). It is the need to have the L ouisiana territory co-joined as a part of the whole American union, owing to its strategic position for transport infrastructure and commerce that influenced President Thomas Jefferson to change is perception, and opt to have the whole territory united under one jurisdictional control, to enhance the economic prosperity of America (Lewis, 85). Nevertheless, there are two major factors that define the Louisiana Purchase as one of the pragmatic decisions ever made in the history of the USA.... Secondly, considering the enormous size of the territory that was purchased, and further considering the strategic position of the land, which had the greater control of the Mississippi River as well as Port Orleans, which is a strategic facility for commerce and transport, the purchase has defined the status of the United States, as a major economy in the world, and also as a superpower (Burgan, 11). However, the occurrence is also a major influence in the shift of the previous stance held by President Thomas Jefferson, who was initially an anti-federalist, thus opposed to the unification of the different State under one federal government (Cerami, 108). It is the need to have the Louisiana territory co-joined as a part of the whole American union, owing to its strategic position for transport infrastructure and commerce that influenced President Thomas Jefferson to change is perception, and opt to have the whole territory united under one jurisdictional control, to enhance the econ omic prosperity of America (Lewis, 85). Nevertheless, there are two major factors that define the Louisiana Purchase as one of the pragmatic decisions ever made in the history of the USA. First, the Louisiana Purchase was marred by controversy, considering that there was internal and external resistance from the white settlers in the USA and the inhabitants of the French territory respectively, but President Thomas Jefferson still went ahead and implemented the decision (Nugent, 13). This happened despite the fact that it caused the aggravation of secession move that was being advocated by the white settlers, to move out of the Union, poising their argument on the fact that; the purchase

Fast food Essay Example for Free

Fast food Essay 1 Departm ent of Clinical Biochem istry , Gentofte Hospital Univ ersity of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denm ark of Hum an Nutrition, Centre for Adv anced Food Studies, Faculty of Life Sciences, Univ ersity of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denm ark 2 Departm ent Correspondence: A Astrup, Departm ent of Hum an Nutrition, RVA Univ ersity , 1 9 58 Frederiksberg C, Denm ark. Em ail: ast @kvl. dk Abstract. Although nutrition experts might be able to navigate the menus of fast-food restaurant chains, and based on the nutritional information, compose apparently healthy meals, there are still many reasons why frequent fast-food consumption at most chains is unhealthy and contributes to weight gain, obesity, type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease. Fast food generally has a high-energy density, which, together with large portion sizes, induces over consumption of calories. In addition, we have found it to be a myth that the typical fast-food meal is the same worldwide. Chemical analyses of 74 samples of fast-food menus consisting of French fries and fried chicken (nuggets/hot wings) bought in McDonalds and KFC outlets in 35 countries in 2005–2006 showed that the total fat content of the same menu varies from 41 to 65 g at McDonalds and from 42 to 74 g at KFC. In addition, fast food from major chains in most countries still contains unacceptably high levels of industrially produced trans-fatty acids (IP-TFA). IP-TFA have powerful biological effects and may contribute to increased weight gain, abdominal obesity, type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease. The food quality and portion size need to be improved before it is safe to eat frequently at most fast-food chains. Key words: trans-fat t y acids, fast food, energy densit y Introduction In the documentary film Super Size Me, the character Mr Spurlock ate McDonalds food three times a day for 30 days and gained 11 kg. It is quite obvious that one can purposely overeat on almost any diet, but the film raises the question of whether fast food poses a special health risk. To what extent this behaviour is a realistic trait in the general population, and to what extent fast-food consumption contributes to obesity and other morbidities such as type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease, is still debatable. Before drawing any conclusion as to whether there are causal links between intake of fast foods and disease, ideally randomised trials should be conducted to provide robust evidence on this issue. However, it is highly unlikely that such trials comparing frequent and infrequent fast-food consumption will ever be carried out. We therefore have to rely on observational epidemiology and on mechanistic studies. www. nature. com/ijo/journal/v31/n6/full/0803616a. html 1/5 1/3/14 International Journal of Obesity Fast food: unfriendly and unhealthy Epidemiological studies A number of observational studies have assessed the association between frequent fast-food intake and weight gain. The American population study Cardia suggests that frequent fastfood consumption is positively associated with weight gain and risk of insulin resistance over 15 years. Individuals who had meals at fast-food restaurants more than two times a week gained 4. 5 kg more weight and had a 104% greater increase in insulin resistance, at both baseline and follow-up, than individuals who ate less than one fast-food meal per week. 1 This study was the first long-term project to find that people who frequently expose themselves to fast foods are at increased risk of weight gain over time and of developing type 2 diabetes. The study had several limitations such as the population size of only 3000 individuals and the fact that self-reported information about diet, physical activity and other lifestyle factors has inherent measurement errors. These factors, however, would normally tend to underestimate the strength of the identified associations. Other observational studies have to some extent supported the existence of a causal link. However, observational studies cannot prove that the association between fast-food consumption and weight gain is causal. It remains possible that frequent fast-food consumption is simply a marker for a generally unhealthy lifestyle (e. g. , less restrained eating behaviour, fatty and sweet food preferences, and a sedentary lifestyle), factors which are the real culprits in weight gain and in the increased risk of diabetes. Although every effort is made to adjust for potential confounders, one cannot adjust for unmeasured or unmeasurable lifestyle factors. Mechanisms by which fast food can be obesogenic Portion size. Despite the above-mentioned limitations in epidemiological observational studies, most of us would accept that the link between intake of fast foods and weight gain is causal because there are several mechanisms whereby fast foods could produce weight gain. At least two important features of fast food could explain why fast food is fattening, namely, large portion sizes and high-energy density. It is well established that the bigger the portion size, the more we consume. 2 Portion sizes of burgers, fried potatoes, pizzas, and soft drinks at fast-food outlets have all increased 2–5-fold over the last 50 years. 3 Energy density In addition to large portion sizes, fast food is also characterised by high-energy density, that is high energy-content/food-weight ratio. The energy density of the entire menu at fast-food outlets is typically 1100 kJ/100 g. 4 This is 65% higher than the average British diet ( 670 kJ/100 g) and more than twice the energy density of recommended healthy diets ( 525 kJ/100 g). Humans have only a weak innate ability to recognise foods with high-energy density and to downregulate the bulk eaten to meet energy requirements appropriately. 4 Industrially produced trans fat. French fries and fried meat from fast-food outlets contain high amounts of industrially produced trans-fatty acids. Trans fats are fats in margarines, spreads, and frying oils, produced by industrial hardening of vegetable or marine oils, to make the product more stable and robust for handling and storage. The hardening results in the creation of a so-called trans double bonds in the fatty acids of the lipids, in contrast to the normally occurring cis double bonds. This increases the melting points of the fats, thereby increasing shelf-life. Trans-fatty www. nature.com/ijo/journal/v31/n6/full/0803616a. html 2/5 1/3/14 International Journal of Obesity Fast food: unfriendly and unhealthy acids are also found naturally in meat from ruminants and in dairy products, but not nearly to the same extent as in industrially produced trans fat (up to 5%, as compared to up to 60% in fats), and not of the same types as in IP-TFA. In a worldwide study of the content of IP-TFA in fast foods, biscuits, and snacks, we found contents of IP-TFA ranging up to 50% of the fat in the products, enabling consumers to ingest 36 g of IP-TFA in a single meal in the US. 5 A daily intake of 5 g trans fat, corresponding to 2 energy percent, is associated with an approximately 30% increase in CHD risk. 6 Observational studies have found that a high intake of IP-TFA is stronger associated to the risk of weight gain and gain in abdominal fatness than to the intake of other fat sources. 7 Although unaccounted residual confounding cannot be ruled out, other sources of research support that the relationship is causal. First, IP-TFA serves as ligands for the PPAR- system and can exert a biological effect that promotes abdominal obesity. 6 Second, a recently reported long-term randomised trial in monkeys delivers robust evidence that IP-TFA induces weight gain and abdominal obesity. Kavanagh et al. 8 reported their findings at the 66th ADA meeting in Washington, D. C. For over 6 years monkeys were fed two different isocaloric, western-style diets that contained either 8% of their calories from trans fat or the same amount of fat calories as cis-monounsaturated fat. After 6 years, the IP-TFA fed monkeys had gained 7. 2% in body weight, compared to a 1. 8% increase in body weight in monkeys fed with cis-monounsaturated fats. CT scans showed that the monkeys on the trans-fat diet had deposited 30% more abdominal fat than the monkeys on the cismonounsaturated fat diet. Taken together these studies suggest that IP-TFA is obesity promoting, and that they particularly facilitate the deposition of the harmful abdominal fat associated with CHD. These findings can contribute to explaining why high intakes of IP-TFA may increase the risk of type 2 diabetes. 9 Fat content in fast-food menus To select more healthy choices at the fast-food restaurants, nutritional labelling must be both available and accurate. While most chains provide nutritional information about total calories, calories from macronutrients, and fibre content of their products, we do not think that the average consumer who eats at a fast-food chain has the time or ability to make a reasonable estimate of health consequences of such meals or their contribution to the days caloric intake. The results of our analyses of total fat and trans fat in 74 French fries and fried chicken (nuggets/hot wings) samples bought in McDonalds and KFC outlets in 35 countries during 2005–2006 are given in Figure 1. The figures represent the total fat and trans fat content in 160 g of chicken meat and 171 g of French fries, corresponding to a large serving at an American McDonalds outlet. In these meals the total fat content varies from 41 to 65 g at McDonalds and from 42 to 74 g at KFC; the trans fat content varies from 0. 3 to 10. 2 and 0. 3 to 24 g, respectively. The differences in total fat content can – at least in part – be due to local taste preferences, but this is not the case for trans fat, which does not add a special flavour to the food. The results show that the same product, by the same provider, can vary in fat calorie content by more than 40%, and in trans fat content by several orders of magnitude. This demonstrates that the same product, unknown to the consumer, can vary substantially in its compliance with recommendations for healthy food. Figure 1. The entire length of the bar (both colours included) indicates the am ounts of total fat in a large fast-food m eal consisting of 1 7 1 g French fries and 1 6 0 g chicken nuggets. The darker colour indicates the am ounts of industrially produced trans fat. The v alues in parenthesis are the am ounts of trans fat as a percentage of total fat. www. nature. com/ijo/journal/v31/n6/full/0803616a. html 3/5 1/3/14 International Journal of Obesity Fast food: unfriendly and unhealthy Full figure and legend (305K) Conclusions Fast-food restaurant chains may argue that the evidence linking their products to the supersizing of their customers is too weak. But should not the customer be given the benefit of the doubt? Appropriate actions would include reducing portions to normal sizes, eliminating industrially produced trans fat, and selling burgers of lean meat, whole grain bread/buns, fatreduced mayonnaise, more vegetables, lower-fat fried potatoes, reduced-sugar soft drinks, etc. Moreover, reliable nutritional information should be given by the chains, which requires better standardisation of the foods used. 10 Although these measures may raise prices, such changes in fast-food meals would have no adverse health effects but quite the opposite! References 1. Pereira MA, Kartashov AI, Ebbeling CB, Van Horn L, Slattery ML, Jacobs Jr DR et al. Fast-food habits, weight gain, and insulin resistance (the CARDIA study): 15-year prospective analysis. Lancet 2005; 365: 36–42. | Article | PubMed | ISI | 2. Diliberti N, Bordi PL, Conklin MT, Roe LS, Rolls BJ. Increased portion size leads to increased energy intake in a restaurant meal. Obes Res 2004; 12: 562– 568. | PubMed | 3. Young LR, Nestle M. Expanding portion sizes in the US marketplace: implications for nutrition counseling. J Am Diet Assoc 2003; 103: 231–234. | Article | PubMed | ISI | 4. Prentice AM, Jebb SA. Fast foods, energy density and obesity: a possible mechanistic link. Obes Rev 2003; 4: 187–194. | Article | PubMed | ChemPort | 5. Stender S, Dyerberg J, Bysted A, Leth T, Astrup A. A trans world journey. Atheroscl Suppl 2006; 7: 47–52. | Article | 6. Mozaffarian D, Katan MB, Ascherio A, Stampfer MJ, Willett WC. Trans fatty acids and cardiovascular disease. N Engl J Med 2006; 354: 1601– 1613. | Article | PubMed | ChemPort | 7. Koh-Banerjee P, Chu NF, Spiegelman D, Rosner B, Colditz G, Willett W et al. Prospective study of the association of changes in dietary intake, physical activity, alcohol consumption, and smoking with 9-y gain in waist circumference among 16 587 US men. Am J Clin Nutr 2003; 78: 719–727. | PubMed | ISI | ChemPort | 8. Kavanagh K, Jones K, Sawyer J, Kelly K, Wagner JD, Rudel LL. Trans fat diet induces insulin resistance in monkeys. Diabetes Care 2006. Proceedings of 66th Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association: Abstract 328-OR. www. nature. com/ijo/journal/v31/n6/full/0803616a. html 4/5 1/3/14 International Journal of Obesity Fast food: unfriendly and unhealthy 9. Salmeron J, Hu FB, Manson JE, Stampfer MJ, Colditz GA, Rimm EB et al. Dietary fat intake and risk of type 2 diabetes in women. Am J Clin Nutr 2001; 73: 1019– 1026. | PubMed | ChemPort | 10. Astrup A. Super-sized and diabetic by frequent fast-food consumption? Lancet 2005; 365: 4–5. | Article | PubMed | Acknowledgements SS and JD declare no conflict of interest. AA is medical advisor for Weight Watchers, and is member of several advisory boards for food producers. The Department of Human Nutrition receives/has received research funding from over 50 Danish and international food companies. Otherwise, I declare no conflict of interest. International Journal of Obesity This journal is a m em ber of and subscribes to the principles of the Commit t ee on Publicat ion Et hics. ISSN 03 07 -056 5 EISSN 1 4 7 6 -54 9 7 About NPG Privacy policy Nat urejobs Cont act NPG Accessibilit y st at ement Use of cookies Legal not ice Nat ure Asia Nat ure Educat ion Help Terms RSS web feeds Search: go  © 2 0 1 4 Na t u r e Pu blish in g Gr ou p, a div ision of Ma cm illa n Pu blish er s Lim it ed. A ll Rig h t s Reser v ed. pa r t n er of A GORA , HINA RI, OA RE, INA SP, ORCID, Cr ossRef a n d COUNT ER www. nature. com/ijo/journal/v31/n6/full/0803616a. html 5/5.

Positive And Negative Impacts Of Tourism Tourism Essay

Positive And Negative Impacts Of Tourism Tourism Essay GENERAL INTRODUCTION PROS AND CONS There are both positive and negative effects resulting from tourism.Positively it creates employment and economically enables the conservation of valuable space;restrains a migratory tendency within the home population improving their socio-cultural education.It encourages support of local commercialisation resulting in the free interchange of ideas,customs and sensitization of issues concerning the eco-environment.The reduction of working hours,the ever present threat of unemployment because of technological advancement and the globalisation process enables the tourism industry to provide an interesting and stimulating intensive alternative. Just as significant are the effects of the rising cost of natural resources,water,energy.The spoiling of landscapes with land reclamation;rising levels of waste disposal;alterations to ecosystems;the extinction of rare species of animals and plants;the loss of traditional values and rising levels of prostitution,that is sex tourism.There is the narcotics trade,forest fires,together with the rising cost of housing. There are rising levels of carbon dioxide and other contaminating gases from increasing frequencies of airflights with ozone erosion and acid rain.All kinds of ecosystems are becoming affected.Thailand is littered with golf courses that consume large amounts of pesticides and water.There is hardly anywhere in the world not affected by tourism impact .Tourism is an aspect of globalisation most sensitive to any repercussion.In the eastern region of Spain for example,Benidorm has a great concentration of hotels,accommodating nearly half a million tourists in August within an area of little more than 12 kilometres.There is also a large proportion of the population of many countries who do not participate in tourist flows but who nevertheless will become part of such flows with the emergence of new markets in Latin-America and Asia. NEGATIVE IMPACT AND DIVERSIFICATION There is no one clearly acknowledged method of analysing the impacts of tourism and there are a number of different criteria for its measurement.Most studies are able to display the benefits generated and contributive to the balance of payments and deployed income supplied by the government.Yet few have included the analysis of negative effects.Negative economic impact has an effect on the local scale with destinations suffering economically when dependent on tourism.Diversification if applied to the local economy is able to positively reverse such consequences with the development of tourist goods and services replacing the previous gains from traditional activities.Yet there is fragility, with instability ever present due to alteration of tourist routes,ineffective publicity,and influence from ever changing tourist fashions in response to seasonal variation of production.An inflationary spiral frequently develops.This inflationary aspect is sublimative with prices and taxes affecti ng the local population.It has no regard for anything existant before and it becomes patently obvious in the escalation of food prices and that of goods etc.Those who are directly involved in the industry experience improved benefit but not the local population. There occurs disruption of traditional productive sectors of capital destinations within areas of tourist development.Foreign capital is not limited to a local effect as it leaves the receiving country thereby contributing to a loss of currency.Some authorities assert that for the long term,low potential productivity from a tourist company has a depressive effect on local economic growth. Possible inflation may occur from tourist activity,the purchasing potential being greater than that of the resident population therefore leading to escalating prices for food and services.There is loss of potential economic benefits with a high dependency on foreign capital.resulting in distortion of the local economy.Concentration of econo mic activity becomes channeled into one type of activity,with a resultant fluctuating impact upon the level of employment. FURTHER FACTORS It appears that tourism development within a country relates to an assumption of economic gain.Only tourism management with its application of various methods and principals can determine whether any economical gain will outweight the cost factor.There are staffing costs,overheads and utilities to take into account.The decision to reduce costs to a minimum might involve improved staffing rotas,and energy saving programmes. FURTHER POSITIVES There can be a number of positive impacts of tourism such as contributing towards a favourable balance of payments,facilitated competition with foreign banking,provision of input to the GNP(Gross National Product) and the spending multiplier.Also there are job creation opportunities and increased revenues for the government from direct taxation.There are negative impacts including costs for infrastructure development;and the over-dependence of the destination on tourists;also the aspect of low skilled work. It seems clear there is a simple principle involved here, namely that of minimising costs and maximising profits.High leakage is most likely to occur with multi national enterprises,where there is the need to promote tourism.In order to do so there has to be importation of food and beverages and capital technology accompanied by repatriation of staff. A capital outflow occurs as a result of capital investment for infrastructure from the host government. It may be argued that with restriction/control of such multi national enterprises there will be reduced capital outflow,reduced repatriation,together with switching on of a multiplier effect stimulating more spending by the tourists in the local economy.Again debatable,there is the hiring of as many local residents as possible for staff,ensuring proper salary levels with provision of training to support promotion opportunities.With the resulting reduction of staff repatriation there will occur an increase in the levels of local staff remuneration and immediately contributing to a multiplier effect with the possibility of enhancing the destinations socio-cultural aspect.Economic choice should be accompanied by preferential influence and guidance With the diminishment of seasonality there is a need for professional marketing expertise at destinations to increase the average length of stay,the daily expenditure per head .Yet very searching evaluation is required here for such actions, while producing economic be nefits which may in fact harm the environmental,socio-cultural aspects of the destination causing indirect costs. POSITIVE SOCIAL IMPACTS Social impacts again consist of both positive and negative effects.Positively there is the recovery and conservation of cultural values that but for the visiting tourists would have disappeared.Funds as a result are made available for preservation of artefacts and restoration of forgotten historical monuments.Local communities would be unable to provide such resources.Various tactics are applied in such privileged places of tourist interest.Many local customs have been revitalized and tourist resources are being made available for the reappearance of folklore,festivals,craft pursuits and gastronomy.There has occurred marked improvement in facilities and services such as sanitary,modes of transport,parks etc. NEGATIVE SOCIAL IMPACTS Nevertheless again negative impacts exist.The immediate negative factor is that of the social disparities between the indigenous population and that of the visitors.For some destinations essentially those to be found in the underprivileged countries there is a kind of imperialistic relationship with the inhabitants becoming servants of the tourists.Inevitably there arises social tension and resentment.A new kind of colonialism appears with dependency upon the foreign currency.Outside workers with better qualifications obtain the contracts.With such clear indications of the socio-economic differences the negative impact takes effect.Gaming,increasing prostitution and drugs make their appearance where previously they had not existed.Tourist arrivals are therefore linked to such manifestations.Loss of culturization occurs as a result of such negative impacts.The local population observes the tourists and then seeks to adapt to their customs paving the way for the destruction and disappe arance of the very thing that the tourists originally arrived for. DOXEYS IRRIDEX MODEL The socio-cultural effect therefore becomes measurable with reference to the crime rate .A management method used to measure the level of socio-cultural impact is Doxeys Irridex Model.The model has a four stage process wherein there are diminishing returns in the local inhabitants attitude towards the visitors.Firstly there is the exploration stage where contact between both parties is of frequent occurrence and here the attitude is referred to as euphoria.There is a welcoming of contact with the outside world and there is the possibility of supplementing the household income as a result of such inflow.With increasing tourist arrivals there occurs diminishing contact with the early arrivals.The tourists become part of everyday business concerns that transforms the initial attitude into one that seeks contact and liaison for personal gain.Those residents of such a destination develop an apathetic attitude to such matters. A further development of the model presents annoyance.The significant inflow of tourism disrupts everyday life with developing queues experienced in the local shops,traffic jams.Local business accommodates to souvenir promotion emanating a sense of alienation to the local population.A subtle inbalance is occurring subconsciously activating antagonism towards the tourists.There is a loss of control within the community because they have now become dependent upon such tourist inflows.Destination facilities as a result of increasing volume deteriorate and contribute to the attraction of a down-market visitor.The tourists now become the focus of blame for such developments.The increasing deterioration in attitude becomes a mirror of reflection and comparison of the effect of such tourism influx. TOURISM AND DAMAGE TO THE ENVIRONMENT The tourism impact to the environment is the most negative aspect.Wholesale damage has been caused to large areas that will be very difficult indeed to reclaim.Tourism,tourist activity as a phenomenon of mass flows requires substantial infrastructure supported by intricate service networks.Careful planning has not always been applied with a resulting deterioration of the natural and social environments.There has been a transformation of infected zones with the destruction of ecosystems;diminution in the quality and quantity of water;soil contamination;the extinction of many species of fauna;severe infection of flora,fishing depletion and the contamination of the sea. Destruction of ecosystems arises with a massive presence of visitors.Originally the mass influx promised a get-rich-quick attitude.Those destinations with an image of a tourist paradise have become victims to ecosystem destruction.Natural clean water has been severly affected and reduced with tourist arrivals.In many instances the amount of tourists arriving has been unsustainable to local resources.The many many golf courses and residential swimming pools all affect agricultural development and the zonal ecological balance. Soil contamination arises in many instances with substances derived from human activity that alter the chemical environment and reduces crop yield. Many species of fauna are becoming extinct;tree populations are becoming severely depleted;there is unregulated city-planning,and uncontrolled hunting presenting an overwhelming danger to an increasing number of species.The mighty oceans yield of fish is becoming seriously affected.Population along the coasts has mushroomed together with second residences.To prevent an ecological disaster careful and superior planning is necessary;beyond local expertise.An overwhelming presence in the natural zones is affecting/impacting the flora in the same way.The presence of tourists in natural zones with a deluge of sporting activity such as motorbikes,mountain bikes,all land vehicles causes severe erosion of surface land inevitably affecting the flora. PROSPECTIVE SOLUTIONS Are there solutions to such problems? Or is tourism an impact generator advancing to disaster? A global entity that is attaching attention to such problems and attempting to fulfil objectives for a sustainable tourism is the European Union.The EU with its agenda 21 has invited the local administrations to act.It recommends the following:Promotion of local production,offering ecological foods of the region containing no additives.Reduction of waste garbage and separation of the various categories for possible recycling.Usage of various technologies to save water.Purification of residual waters for irrigation and agriculture.The saving of energy with efficient washing machines,heat insulation.Respecting the environment and landscape.Promotion of public transport and bicycling.Establishment of pedestrian zones in areas of historic value.The promotion of local tourism and the support to reduce air schedules of the flight industry thereby reducing carbon emissions.Planning to facilitate contact between the visiting tourists and the local inhabitants but to deter the formation of an y tourism ghettos.Planning to benefit all the local population. MAXIMIZE AND MINIMIZE All the factors noted above seem to suggest that the main aims concerning tourism management strategy are to maximise economic,environmental and socio-cultural benefits but to minimise associated costs. The physical and cultural environments comprise the essential attractions for the visiting tourist to the destination.It is the responsibility of tourism management to minimize environmental damage so ensuring future business.There are a number of methods that may be applied to diminish environmental impacts.Energy saving measures eg light bulbs,toilet flushes,cleaning detergents that are environmentally friendly.The limiting of visas thereby reducing immediately the number of visitors.Educational programmes of awareness both for the visiting tourists and the locals.An increase in profit may result with the reduction of costs,applied to utilities. Even if the limitation of visas does significantly affect profit it may be considered a better option so that there is still existent the possibility of future gains with the preservation of the destinations natural resources that are there to attract the tourists in the first place. TO CONCLUDE;;one of the main ingredients for success of environmental policies is government involvement itself.Again it may be arguable there should be laws on land usage and the extent of building construction for the destination with the necessary infrastructure being installed to meet anticipated volume of tourist flow together with protection of natural heritages. Tourism management methods applied to assist in maximizing positives and minimising negatives of impact for the socio-culture consist of educating about tourism;promotion of cross-cultural exchange;imposition of visitor codes;ensuring that locals have access to cultural facilities;preservation of local architecture;maintenance of authenticity;providing for the more sensitive cultural tourist with appropriate marketing;limitation of tourist numbers. One principal that has gained attention is the carrying capacity assessment.It may be used to control and implement frontline sustainable tourism.There is a variety of applications such as the determination of a tourism development limit for a particular place and the limitation of actual visitor numbers. Hopefully it attempts to achieve sustainable tourism development as a working reality.It has not met with the anticipated success because of unrealistic expectations,faulty assumptions and misplaced value judgment with an inadequate legal support system. It perhaps has become clear to the reader that tourism management should not function alone in these matters,but work together with local government and public bodies.Legal implementation is a central issue because if there is to be a restriction of visas for example there has to be assistance from such a quarter.Success breeds success and so tourism management and government will hum the same tune. The methods referred to above all have the same principal;that of protection for the host destination rather than a focus upon tourism demand.Obviously the demand has to be considered but it is the design of the tourist product that should be the main focus.Application of such principals referred to in the foregoing discussion will hopefully result in sustainable tourism for the future.

In Praise of Jared Diamonds Guns, Germs, and Steel Essay -- Wealth En

In Praise of Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel Jared Diamond's bestseller Guns, Germs, and Steel (GG&S) is an attempt to explain why some parts of the world are currently powerful and prosperous while others are poor. Diamond is both a physiologist and a linguist who spends a good deal of his time living with hunter gathers in Papua New Guinea. As a researcher and as a human being, he is convinced that all people have the same potential. Hunter gatherers are just as intelligent, resourceful, and diligent as anybody else. Yet material "success" isn't equally distributed across the globe. Civilization sprung up in relatively few places and spread in a defined pattern. I should emphasize that Diamond doesn't equate material prosperity with well-being or virtue. He's just curious about the global distribution of bling bling. Diamond's hypothesis is that geography gave certain groups big initial advantages. Specifically, some places are more conducive to domestication of plants and animals. Most people think that domestication is just a matter of capturing animals and breeding them in captivity. This is a misconception. Domesticated species of plants and animals have undergone major genetic changes through years of selective breeding. Compared to their wild ancestors, the major cereal crops are more nutritious, quicker to germinate, and easier to sow and harvest. Domestic animals are more docile, easier to train, and generally more suited to life in captivity. Diamond's key point is that not every wild species is equally susceptible to domestication and that domesticable species are not evenly distributed across the globe. Wild horses and camels had the "right" stuff, reindeer not so much. As modern attempts to domesticat... ...ccupied with gathering and child rearing. In other societies, some people can devote their time to science, technology, philosophy, politics, finance and the other cultural roles that define state societies. There's nothing in Diamond's book to suggest that he is anything but a friend of the Enlightenment. He's a practicing scientist who attempts to analyze historical trends in scientific terms. He is also a sympathetic interpreter who respects and admires human diversity. He believes in progress, but he doesn't assume that technologically advanced people are superior or even uniformly better off. Finally, he affirms the values of the Enlightenment by suggesting how we can use history and science to build more prosperous, stable, and just societies. Source Cited Diamond, Jared M. Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fate of Human Societies. New York: Norton, 1997.

Compare the predicament of women in society as described in Cousin Essa

Compare the predicament of women in society as described in Cousin Kate and The Seduction. How far do you sympathise with them? ‘The Seduction’ and ‘Cousin Kate’ are similarly concerned with the predicament of women in society. They are both poems which end up in a negative position, and are following the trails of a young girl, wanting to be loved, in some way. They also similarly carry the theme of betrayal. In ‘The Seduction’, the girl is betrayed by the teenage magazines promising her the romantic love story she always wanted and, in ‘Cousin Kate’, the young girl is betrayed by her cousin, who steals the man she loves. These are the predicaments that both the girls have. Both poems contain lines which question their actions, ‘Why did a great Lord find me out?’ and ‘For where, now, was the summer of her sixteenth year?’. This shows the regret that they had in that period in their lives, and also how betrayed they feel and the problems they have now of losing their childhood. ‘Cousin Kate’ tells us the story of how she was seduced, used and cast away, much like ‘The Seduction’. As ‘The Seduction’ begins, it uses a lot of imagery to prepare the reader for what may happen. ‘Far past the silver stream of traffic through the city, far from the blind windows of the tower blocks’. The ‘blind’ windows portrays an image of not seeing, and that because something ‘bad’ may happen, no-one is meant to see or hear anything. Also, when the poem refers to the girl knocking back the vodka, it shows an uncertain situation, ‘He handed her the vodka, and she knocked it back like water’. Both girls at the start of the poem are virgins but lose their virginity and fall pregnant. The girl in ‘Cousin Kate’, is refer... ...magazines she was reading to have sex, but there was probably pressure from her friends, as I know that there is today, and the poem was not written that far from today. Not only was there great pressure before she had sex, but the shame and feelings that she was put through from society was extreme, and this, in my opinion, should not have been placed upon her. Although similar things happened in ‘Cousin Kate’, I don’t think they did to the same extent, and, at the very least, the ‘Cottage Maiden’ was left with something to treasure and that she was proud of. Although abortions were not a regular occurrence, I still think she was in a better position to keep the baby. Whereas, in ‘The Seduction’, I think she would have been forced to have an abortion, or if she had kept the baby, she would have been under great emotion and also financial difficulties.

Virginia Woolf’s Between the Acts Essay examples -- Between the Acts E

Virginia Woolf’s Between the acts Virginia Woolf uses many images in the Between the Acts. Like the other novels I read in the class, the images in the Between the Acts cannot be separated with the story development, and the images themselves construct the story in the book by dismantling the conventional expectation for the novel. However, Woolf uses common and conventional words and images with an experimental way in this novel. This novel constructs the images and the representation with their conventional words and actions of the characters. I think Woof explores how the communal use of the words like songs and clichà © makes another meaning or another reversion in their daily life here. The characters in the novel are in the between representative words and their intentions which are overlapped into the words or erased and hidden by the words. The acts in the title of the novel are not only the acts in the play, but also the motion which the characters make and expect, and the motion of the natural sounds and t he silence which the people cannot control the interruption from them. I want to look at how Virginia Woolf uses the words from the people, sounds from the things, and the images of clothes and history for her story in her last novel, Between the Acts. Virginia Woolf's words are not just the tools for her writing but the words themselves are constructing and de-constructing a main plot of the novel. And I think to look the gap between the words and the character's representations who is using the words is the one of the ways to read this novel. Especially, in this novel, she uses words and actions for showing and erasing the gap between the absence and the presence which is prevalent in this novel. Between th... ... Newman, Fashioning Femininity & English Renaissance Drama , from the footnote of chapter 6,(Chicago, Chicago University Press) I think the concept of heteroglossia is the good word for this book. The characters voice is not only dispersed, but the dispersed voice is making the novel. Works Cited Virginia Woolf, Between the acts, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992) Jacques Derrida, "Structure, sign, and play in the discourse of the human science," Modern criticism and theory, ed. David Lodge (New York: Longman Inc.,1988) Michel Serres, "Platonic Dialogue," Hermes, Literature, Science, Philosophy, ed. Josuà © V. Harari and David F., Bell (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1982), 67. Karen Newman, "Chapter 6, Englishing the other: Le tiers exclu & Shakespeare's Henry V," Fashioning Femininity, (Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1991)

Large Schools vs. Small Schools: Which perform better?

Small schools perform better than large schools in more than one aspect. A study finds that small rural communities with a school have significantly higher housing values, more new housing, smaller income variability, fewer households receiving public assistance, lower poverty and child poverty rates, more workers in professional and managerial jobs, and more workers employed within the community. (1) The existence of schools even in small rural areas proves many benefits, but there is a larger question posed, would it be more beneficial to have a small school or a large one? This paper aims to find which category offers more to the quality of students. It may be true that large schools may have grander facilities like television and radio stations but there is more than behind the curtain of facilities. An extensive body of research demonstrates numerous positive benefits of small schools and small learning communities, especially for those students who are at greatest risk of educational failure. Indeed, in a synthesis of research on small schools, Raywid (1997/1998, p. 35) concludes, â€Å"there is enough evidence now of such positive effects—and of the devastating effects of large size on substantial numbers of youngsters—that it seems morally questionable not to act on it.† (2) This is more or less the same stand that this paper takes. In a small school there would be more benefits. As you will see throughout the paper, there have been studies that point out the benefits of a small school over that of a large one.   There is almost 40 years of existing research and literature on small schools which indicates that students in small schools have higher attendance and graduation rates (1), fewer drop-outs, equal or better levels of academic achievement (2), higher levels of extra-curricular participation (3) and parent involvement, and fewer incidences of discipline and violence (4). (3) Wasley, et al (2000, pg 4) says small schools increase student attendance across all types of small schools: schools-within-schools (SWS), freestanding small schools, and multi-school small schools. Lakhman (1999), on the other hand found that between 1988 and 1998, DeWitt Clinton high school developed 10 small schools. During that time, they reduced their dropout rate by 8.5% and increased their on-time graduation rate by almost 50%. Thus, proving that small schools have the ability to improve attendance and graduation rate. Moreover, researchers observe that the effects of smallness on achievement are indirect, being mediated through other small-school features as quality of the social environment and students' sense of attachment to the school. Mitchell (2000) reminds us that in the studies conducted by Howley and others, school size had such a powerful positive effect on the achievement of poor students that it even trumped the beneficial effects of class size (Cotton, 2001). This can also be credited to the fact that in a small school, they can focus more on the need of each student. Sometimes, students does not need a large school with lots of reference books but a school that encourages a lot of help, from peers and teachers. There are several studies whose findings reveal that students at all grade levels learn more in small schools than in large schools. Several researchers have also examined middle-grades schools with interdisciplinary teams and found that students in this type of small learning community outperform similar students in schools without such organizational arrangements (Mertens and Flowers, 2003; Mertens, Flowers, and Mulhall, 2001; George and Lounsbury, 2000; Lee and Smith, 2000; Felner et al., 1997; Lee and Smith, 1993). (2) In addition from improved attendance, higher graduation rates and improved academic achievement in small schools, another factor that is considered is the students’ level of participation.   Take for example Mitchell’s (2000) observation where in a school of 2,000 students, only the most talented will be recruited for the basketball team or the drama club. The result is that a small number of gifted students dominate the sports and activity rosters, while the vast majority are relegated to spectator status. In small schools, sports teams, musical groups and clubs depend on broader participation. The number of extracurricular opportunities does increase with school size. But a twentyfold increase in population produces only a fivefold increase in opportunities. That is, as the school expands, an increasingly smaller percentage of students are needed to fill the available slots. In short, more students produce less participation. Most students will not be required to participate because there will be others who would. In a small school every student will have the opportunity to hone and improve their talents and interests. Researchers point out that, in small schools, everyone is needed to populate teams, offices, and clubs; thus, even shy and less able students are encouraged to participate and made to feel they belong. In addition to the factors mentioned, another advantage of a small school over a large one involves more personalized approach where levels of parent involvement and parent satisfaction are greater in small school environments than in large ones. Communication between parents and teachers tends to be more substantive given the fact that the teachers often know the students better in the smaller learning environment (Cotton, 2001). This is a positive reinforcement of discipline for the students.   In a smaller learning environment, the students’ activities can be monitored and can be reported to parents, whether a violation or a perceived improvement. Among the advantages mentioned, the fewer incidence of violence is perhaps the most important. â€Å"There is less violence in small schools, less vandalism, a heightened sense of belonging, and better attendance,† the KnowledgeWorks report states. (4)   Another research also showed that â€Å"In urban schools with less than 300 students, 3.9% of the schools reported serious violent incidents compared with 32.9% of schools over 1,000 students (Gregory, 2000).† Small schools are better positioned to detect and help hurting students, and to address disruptive behavior before it escalates into tragic violence and abuse. When teachers know virtually all students in a school community by name, it fosters a culture of belonging, accountability, and support. The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (2000) studies show that small learning environments are characterized by fewer incidents of violence and disruptive behavior, less school graffiti, lower crime levels, and less serious student misconduct. The association attribute this to what they term as â€Å"human-scale schooling† which reduces isolation and increasing the sense of belongingness. Indeed, a closer community will bring more familiarity and less hostility. Hence, with all the aspects considered in the paper, it can be deduced that in a school of smaller quantity, we can focus more on the students’ quality. From this standpoint, the performance of a small school is better. Even policy makers have noted these benefits leading to   the development of some new rules. These includes: Florida Small School Law which recognizes the benefits of small schools and prohibits, as of July 2003, the construction of large schools. As of that date, new elementary schools will be limited to 500 students, middle schools to 700, and high schools to 900. Another is the Vermont Funding for Small Schools which in 1997, Vermont adopted a new system of funding education under Vermont Act 60 – The Equal Educational Opportunity Act (EEOA). Unlike most states, Vermont choose to provide additional funding to cover the higher costs of the state's smallest school districts. An extra $1 million per year was allocated to districts with fewer than 100 students. (5) This paper believes as far as, the future can depend on small school more than large ones, and to borrow Daniel Kinnaman’s title, the future will be filled up by small schools (with) big benefits.

An Analysis of Witi Ihimaera’s Whale Rider Essay

In Witi Ihimaera’s novel â€Å"Whale Rider† we follow Rawiri as he goes through his life watching the growth, incidents and magic of his niece Kahu. Kahu is destined to be the next chief of the Maori in Whangara, New Zealand, a tribe that has descended from the legendary â€Å"whale rider.† However, Kahu is, as Nanny Flowers says, â€Å"Hungry for [her grandfather’s] love,† (Ihimaera 34) and struggles to receive it because she is a girl. The author presents this story through Kahu’s Uncle Rawiri’s point of view, and this outside view of Kahu is brilliant because it creates tension between what the reader, author, Rawiri and Kahu are thinking and allows the reader to fill in the gaps themselves. The story would lack suspense and motivation if we knew Kahu’s thoughts and would lose all aspects of mystery. Whale Rider creates a distorted medium between reality and the character’s minds, which is what keeps the reader guessing, second-guessing and questioning all the way up until the moment of truth in the end. Ihimaera makes it the reader’s job to presume Kahu’s thoughts as opposed to actually providing them. Rawiri comes into play in that that he has had a special connection with Kahu since her birth, and being in a first-person perspective with Rawiri makes Rawiri like the reader in that they mutually want all of the answers. If the novel were from the point of view of Kahu, the main focus, the plot would lose all curiosity. It was thought provoking and interesting to see Kahu strive for her grandfather’s acceptance from before she could even walk. If Kahu narrated then we wouldn’t be able to experience her development from birth, and would lose all of her toddler years. Those years keep Kahu a â€Å"question† and make us, like Rawiri, unable to wait for her to come of age and either become the whale rider or not. Whale Rider carries itself primarily on motivation towards â€Å"the end†. For the readers it is for the book’s climax. For Rawiri, Nanny Flowers, and even Kahu herself, it is for the end of Kahu’s childhood and for the answers to be revealed. Ihimaera does a great job of manipulating the motivation of the reader and intertwining it with the motivation of the characters while also leaving a prism in the middle of reality and literature where some of the  gaps and missing pieces are left to be filled with the reader’s empathy, curiosity and imagination.

Assessment in Schools Essay

1. Reasons for Assessment Diagnosis: helping young people to establish a baseline and understand their progress, strength and develop needs. Recognition and motivation: recording and rewarding learners’ progress and achievement. Standard setting: confirming levels and thresholds of achievement Differentiation and selection: enabling employers and higher education providers to understand what young people have achieved, and how individuals compare with their peers. 2. Purpose of Assessment. Selection Standards Teachers feedback Motivation Assess readiness for future learning. Preparation for life- â€Å"life is like this† Evaluate curriculum effectiveness Information to others Statement of curriculum Attainment Record of progress- over time 3. Baseline and benchmarking Purpose of baseline scheme Characteristics of a baseline scheme Chapter 4. Target Setting 6. Assessment for learning. Assessment for learning is about supporting classroom learning and teaching. It connects assessment and learning/teaching. What is assessment for learning? Assessment for learning. is part of effective planning focuses on how students learn is recognized as central to classroom practice  is a key professional skill is sensitive and constructive fosters motivation promotes understanding of goals and helps learners know how to improve develop the capacity for assessment recognizes all educational achievements Key Issue: 1. Involvement, discussion and feedback Sharing criteria Discussion Feedback Involvement 2. Planning and evidence Gathering evidence Recording personal learning plans Planning for individuals 3. Partnership Partnership with parents and pupils 7. Assessment as learning Assessment as learning is about learning how to learn. It connects learning/teaching and curriculum. What is Assessment as learning? Key issues: 1. Pupils as learners Reflection Reporting Self/peer assessment Motivation 2. Teachers as learners Developing assessment policy Interpreting evidence Collaboration 3. Management of learning Management supports Manageability 8. Assessment of Learning Assessment of learning is about gathering and interpreting the evidence. It connects curriculum and assessment. Gathering and interpreting evidence Teacher assessment is first and foremost about helping pupils to learn. Fundamental principles Developing Assessment Instruments  Application of assessment instrument Assessment as an end-of-key-stage process Management and monitoring of assessment, recording and reporting Recording and evidence Planning Reporting to parents and guardians Assessment as an ongoing process. Transferring Marking and providing feedback to pupils Using assessment information to monitor progress towards meeting targets Internal/External Assessment Grading Systems Chapter One(1) 1. Reasons for Assessment Diagnosis: helping young people to establish a baseline and understand their progress, strength and develop needs. It is a more detailed type of evaluating the learner to find out their ability, skills, level of performance, knowledge, understanding, intelligence quotient etc. Diagnosis helps the teacher to be able to find out the areas of weakness of the students and their areas of strength. It is from these that the teacher will together with the student plan on a possible course of action to taken in order to assist the students to meet the educational they may have. The teacher may select the students who need further examination by the specialist to confirm if they are faced with a learning difficulty that the teacher may not be able to diagnose. All this is done in the interest of the student i. e. to assist him/her overcome the areas of weakness and try to catch up with the rest of the students. The assessment tasks should be varied in strength to be able to find out the different abilities of the students. Recognition and motivation: recording and rewarding learners’ progress and achievement. Assessment is also carried with an aim of rewarding student according to their performance. In some schools badges are designed and made to be worn by the top achievers in particular subject area and in the overall performance at each grade or stage. The prestige that goes with walking around the school wearing such a badge motivates students to compete for the badges and feel recognized by their peers as good performers in a particular area of study say science, mathematics, languages or even in humanities and applied subjects. If one manages to win two three or more badges they are held in honour by their fellow students and given a lot of recognition both within the school and out. This recognition serves as a motivating factor for the learners to work hard to achieve in their studies and other field like in sports. Similarly, such recognition encourages students to maintain their high standards always for fear of ruining the image they may have created for themselves hence it helps in shaping their character. Unfortunately, some of those low achievers may want to be recognized in a different way hence may resort to unwanted behaviour. Standard setting: confirming levels and thresholds of achievement. Assessment helps the teacher to set standards of performance in his/her class at particular stages or levels of learning. Thus the students will be made aware of the expectation by their teachers with regard to performance hence they will strive to meet the set standard. Unless the standard of performance is set many people tend to relax and very little effort will be made to achieve the goals and objectives. The setting of standards will help to drive away laziness from among the students and the teachers. If the learners and teachers know they have a standard of performance they need to measure to, it will definitely create a sense responsibility in them. It is important to have standard of performance set and made clear both to the learners and the teacher. Differentiation and selection: enabling employers and higher education providers to understand what young people have achieved, and how individuals compare with their peers. Assessment differentiates learners at all levels whether it is the prime purpose for the assessment or not. Somehow, there those who will emerge at the top of the whole group. It is this differentiation that will determine the intake of students into the next level of their education. Most selection is done based of the assessment that has already been carried out at the previous level of study. At the end their course most of the students are usually awarded with certificates of merit. It is based on these certificates that their prospective employers base their consideration of selecting possible employees and inviting them for interviews. Generally, the higher the qualification one has, the more skill or tasks he has gone through to achieve what he has achieved. Consequently, the more the knowledge one is deemed to have acquired and therefore more competent on the job market. Thus the rating of the individuals against the performance of their peers which implies how they are likely to fair at the job market. Chapter two(2) 2. Purpose of Assessment. Assessment is carried for various reasons some of which are discussed below. Selection Institutions base their selections and admission of students on national examinations done by the students at end of level examination. Usually assessment outcomes are used to rank students in terms of performance and ability regardless of the different conditions under which they took their examinations. The institutions proceed to choose those they feel qualify to meet their requirements for enrolment into specific courses. Thus a list of prerequisites is drawn to aid the selectors choose those who fall within the already set limits. Standards The standards of an assessment are determined by the educational system of a country and the stakeholder of the education system. The standards set in the country will determine allocations from the budgetary kit at national level. For instance, to improve and maintain a high level of performance in the education sector the teacher-student ratio should be small, resource made should be available to the students especially science oriented subjects. The standards are set at the national level, then at the school level and finally at the classroom level. The standards of performance will reflect the student ability to progress on with their academics to a higher level. Teachers’ feedback Teachers use assessment to get feedback from students to enable them in the planning for further instruction to the students. The feedback help the teachers to know whether the set objectives of learning are being met or not. This means that every teacher has to carry out assessment at one time or another in the course of instructing the students for learning. They will be able to know if they are making progress, and if not what could be the possible reasons for their failure to meet the set objectives. These may mean that their means of instruction be adjusted to suit the learner educational need within the class. Motivation Feedback from assessment can be used as a motivator to the students and the teacher especially when the results indicate that positive learning is being achieved. The teacher feels that his effort have not been wasted after all while the students will feel that their efforts have been rewarded by being able to measure to the standards of the teachers or examiners. As a result both groups will set out for their work and duty with a lot of enthusiasm hence positive assessment outcome are a motivation. The parents will on the same hand feels that their funds are being utilized by their sons and/or daughters and will be motivated to make more investment. Assess readiness for future learning. Assessment helps educational planners to determine the ability of students to progress in higher education or take more specialized courses such as accounting, engineering, medicine, teaching among others. The level of performance at a particular stage will display the learner ability, skills, level of performance and interests. The outcomes of an assessment will therefore form a basis for planning courses, selection and entry point into some designated courses. Most institutions admit students basing on their performance in the terminal examinations sat at end of the previous stage or level. Similarly, selection into the courses that students wish to pursue is usually based on the performance of the examination at the on national level. Preparation for life- life is like this Assessment can be used to find out the skills, knowledge and understanding the students are graduating with. This will prepare them to face life as people with ability to transform their environment so as to be able fit in the wider society. The learners are made aware of the skills they are carrying with them into the society to face life as it really is. Evaluate curriculum effectiveness When a new curriculum is designed, the aim of curriculum planners is to be able to meet the needs of the society and those of the individual learners. Thus the purpose of assessment in this context is to evaluate the effectiveness of the curriculum being implemented to the learners and to the larger society at large. The outcomes of learning are reflected in how students handle assessment tasks presented to them by the curriculum planners and the examiners. Where the curriculum has failed to meet the set objectives, adjustments be made to it so that the predetermined objectives are met or attained. Information to others Assessment is used to obtain information to be related to others interested in education. The ministry of education, for instance, needs to make educational decisions regarding curriculum, performance of teachers, attainment of educational goals both at national and international level, allocation of funds from the treasury, performance of graduates from the education system in relation to the needs at job market among others. The educationists need to take statistics of those who graduate from the systems e. g. basing on the gender, region etc. Statement of curriculum Attainment Assessment helps assessors to get a statement of current attainment as compared to performance in the previous years. The posted outcomes can be used to find out areas that continually been showing poor performance from students e. g. science and mathematics. This statement can be used to draft proposals for future plan of improvement in the course of uplifting performance of areas showing weakness or needs. Record of progress- over time Assessment is carried out for various reasons which ever time have been state differently by different authors of various textbooks. It is important to note that the choice of the method of assessment should be made on the basis of judgment about â€Å"fitness for purpose†. Before making a decision on what to assess, how to assess and who is best fit to carry out the assessment, it is necessary to be clear why assess and achievement expected. The purposes of assessment can be grouped by: Balancing internal and external purposes There are purposes of assessment that are useful within school setting. For example, feedback to students and teachers, students grouping, curriculum improvement and individual target setting. Similarly, there are other purposes that are useful to stakeholders outside the school setting e. g. certification and accountability. This helps to evaluate the balance of assessment activities carried out within the school. In the recent past a lot of external pressure has been mounted on schools in increasing measures with regard to accountability through the publication of performance tables etc. The result has been emphasis on assessment data collection for monitoring, evaluation, marketing and accountability purposes. This may cause internal purpose to be underrated or treated as secondary to external purposes. The schools should thus be watchful of this because their aims for education of their students are unlikely to be well served if they only pay regard to external demands. Another way of viewing assessment purposes is to cluster them according to whether they have a development/learning functions or a public/accountability function. (To some extend, this clustering aligns to internal/external distinction because internal tend to have developmental whereas external tend to focus on accountability. ) TGAT’s formulation of assessment purposes After the Government announced, in 1987, its intention to introduce a National Curriculum, it first set up a Task Group on Assessment and Testing (TGAT) to advice on an associated assessment framework. TGAT’s remit was to propose a system for serving formative, diagnostic, summative purpose. The TGAT report distinguished these purpose in the following way: †¢ Formative So that the positive achievements of a student may be recognized and discussed and the appropriate next steps planned; †¢ Diagnostic through which learning difficulties maybe scrutinized and classified so that appropriate remedial help and guidance can be provided; †¢ Summative for the recording of the overall achievement of a student in a systematic way; †¢ Evaluative by the  means of the aspect of the work of a school, an LEA or other discrete part of the education service can be assessed and/or reported upon. This established two new terms- formative and summative- in the lexicon of assessment purpose. The formative/summative distinction was first used by Micheal Scrivenin 1967 in an American Educational Research Association monograph on The Methodology of Evaluation, which was primarily concerned with the evaluation of educational programmes. It proved to be a helpful distinction and it was increasingly used in a variety of contexts. TGAT used the distinction in the context of assessment of students’ learning. In the context, the formative purpose is served if evidence and judgments about students’ present learning are used to decide what teachers and learners need to do so that further progress in learning may be made. 3. Baseline and Benchmarking Purpose of baseline scheme The problem with taking output alone as indicators of schools effectiveness, even when more than one measure is considered, is that comparisons made on this basis rarely compare like-with-like. However, this has been the practice for a long time in most the education system. This is the familiar argument against the publication of league tables of ‘raw results’ that take no account of the different contexts and intakes of schools. Whilst the actual grade a student achieves will be of vital importance to him or her, aggregated results which take no account of background factors may be crude and fair measure of the relative effectiveness of the school as a whole. This is the argument for value-added measures. It is important, therefore, to collect information about input as well as output so that the two sets of information can be considered together in any judgement of school effectiveness. The intake characteristics usually considered are: Prior attainment as measured in earlier tests and examinations; Ability as measured on standardized tests; ? Prior attitudes to school; ? Gender; ? Ethnicity; ? English as an additional language; ? Special educational needs; ? Socio-economic status and aspects of home background such as single parent families. It is known that some schools achieve great things in disadvantaged circumstances but, since they start from a lower base, the socio-economic status of their intake should be taken into account when measuring their effectiveness or setting targets. It is interesting therefore that in its proposal for target setting and benchmarking, the government has indicated that benchmarks for individual secondary schools will be constructed on the basis of data on free school meals. If output measures are analyzed in relation to input, we would still expect to find some variability in results. In other words, some schools will perform relatively better or relatively worse than others with similar intakes. In order to find out what makes the difference one has to open the black ‘black box’ between input and output to investigate school processes. These process variables are likely to provide some of the answers. Since carrying out this research on a national scale will not be practicable, schools have to take the initiative to find out for themselves data in order to explain their own results and to identify areas of improvement. This is intended to form a basis for further guidance to schools. Thus the responsibility of identifying the process variables that are likely to be most relevant, lies on the shoulders of the schools. Two kinds of processes need to be considered: ? Classroom processes; ? School management processes. Characteristics of a baseline scheme In order to set appropriate targets, government, through QCA, now publishes benchmarking information. This is intended to enable schools to evaluate their own standard of performance by measuring it against standards achieved by other schools with broadly similar characteristics. Benchmark data do not set targets but, by showing what the best schools with similar intake characteristic achieve, benchmarks are expected to set challenges for less successful schools. Although there are strong arguments for grouping schools according to a variety of background factors such as those used in multi-level modeling, which takes account of student-level, school-level and ward-level factors, the government has opted for benchmarking system based on existing national data sets such as the school census (Form 7). Although schools will be placed in a group for the purpose of drawing up the benchmarks, they will not be told which group they belong to. Thus, when they receive the benchmark information from QCA they have to decide themselves which group best represents their characteristics. 4. Target Setting Section 19 of the 1997 Education Act makes a Provision for legislation to require targets to be set and published by the governing bodies of maintained schools. Setting targets to raise standards: What works A five stage cycle for school improvement in target setting has been put to use. These involve: 1. How well are we doing? This requires the school to analyze student performance and audit its teaching and management. It also calls for the analysis of data about students outcomes. To achieve this objective, the school will need to relate outcomes to intake variables of a given student to give value-added measures. However, in order to explain the patterns in performance and identify areas for action, it is necessary to collect data about processes, such as teaching and management. The statistical analysis will then be supplemented by observational data to provide evidence in relation to input, output and process indicators (perhaps in the lines of the OFSTED Framework of Inspection). 2. How well should we be doing? This requires the school to compare its own results of similar schools n order to identify strengths and diagnose weaknesses as a basis for establishing priorities for improvement. The benchmarking information to be supplied by the DFEE and LEAs is intended to help with this task. 3. What more should we aim to achieve this year? This requires the school to set clear, specific and measurable targets which focus in particular on raising standards of attainment in national tests and examinations. 4. What must we do to make it happen? This requires the school to integrate improvement targets into the school development plan through focused action planning. 5. How successful have we been? This requires the school to take action to implement the action plan and to monitor and evaluate the impact of the action against the success criteria. TARGET SETTING REQUIREMENTS The initial proposals from government indicate that regulations are likely to require schools to set targets in the following terms; a) a single target to be set for each of the three are subjects at the end of each key stage; b) these targets should be measured by National curriculum tests in English, Mathematics and Science at age fourteen and GCSE examination results or equivalent at age sixteen; c) at the end of key stage 3, targets to be expressed, subject by subject, in terms of the proportions of students reaching Level 5 and above; d) At key Stage 4, targets to be expressed in terms of the proportion of students achieving a grade C or better in GCSE English, Mathematics and Science (either single or double award, or in an individual science subject). e) An additional indicator, at key Stage 4, is likely to be the proportion of students attaining a number of A*- C and A* – G grades in GCSE. The proposal also suggested that schools and LEAs should agree or targets covering three year period in which review of results of the previous autumn term and setting targets for the following academic year by January are carried out. PROCEDURES FOR SETTING TARGETS The governments 1997 White Paper Excellence in Schools made it clear that setting school targets was the responsibility of each school’s governing body, working with senior management team. The White Paper tests sets out how the government, LEAs and schools are expected to work together. Chapter 3 paragraph 13 of the paper provides that; 1. The government sets national targets and publishes national performance and benchmark data. 2. Each LEA provides benchmarking data and guidance to all its schools to help them set targets. 3. Each school sets draft targets, taking account of the comparative data and their own previous best performance, for discussion with its LEA. 4. Schools and LEAs agree targets, covering a three-year period and subject to annual review. 5. Where, exceptionally, an LEA cannot reach agreement with a school on its targets, the LEA may invoke the early warning system. 6. The individual school targets are included within each LEA’s Education Development Plan. 7. The DFEE and OFSTED monitor and contribute to the process to ensure targets are high and ambitious enough. Strategies Directly Involving Students and Classroom Process 1. Introducing new commendation and certificate systems to reward achievement and increase motivation and self-esteem; 2. Introducing academic mentoring for borderline C/D GCSE candidates; 3. Reducing the number of GCSE subjects taken per student to encourage quality instead of quantity in performance; 4. Introducing paired reading or literacy tutoring schemes (older with younger students) to improve reading and writing skills; 5. Adopting a ‘Pacific Rim’ approach by assuming that all can succeed if they are prepared to make great efforts; 6. Instituting a ‘cardinal rule’ that students should not interfere with the learning of others 7. Giving special attention to the least motivated groups (of boys especially) by introducing a ten-hour weekly homework contract in Year II; 8. Introducing one-to-one review on a regular basis; 9. Providing a two-day residential, run by teachers and employers, for potential Year II under-achievers with the aim of improving motivation through a series of challenges; 10. Providing students with templates to help them structure their written work; 11. Providing an enrichment programme of generic skills, especially study skills, group work and exam technique. 12. Target setting for effort and attainment with individual students followed up with one-to-one review with allocated tutors. School need to realize, however, that this does not preclude them from setting other goals and targets as well. This will be important if they regard education as having wider functions, such as promoting human flourishing and participatory citizenship. Internal review through data analysis: Progress indicators. Using indicators to monitor performance and set target in primary schools Using indicators to monitor performance Involving parents. The role of the national targets CHAPTER 5 5. a. Types of Assessment Assessment is one of the most potent forces influencing what teacher should concentrate on in their teaching and what students should concentrate in their learning. Assessment sends a message to students about what is important to learn. It is with this in mind that this section seeks to discuss the various types of assessments. In an effort to classify assessment therefore, the following are some of the types of assessment. i) Formative Formative assessment is taken to refer to the process of identifying what students have, or have not, achieved in order to plan the next steps in teaching. It will usually involve the diagnosis of learning difficulties, although this is not synonymous with the kind of standardized, psychometric, diagnostic assessments, within formative assessment, the term ‘diagnosis’ usually possess a more colloquial and less technical meaning. Formative assessment is also distinguished from other forms of assessments in that it is, by definition, carried out by teachers. This is important if it is to inform the decisions teachers make in the classroom. The aspiration is that assessment should become fully integrated with teaching and learning and therefore part of the educational process rather than a ‘bolt-on’ activity. It is important to note that in formative assessment feedback is a key element with two main audiences the student and the teacher. Feedback to the student, mediated by the teacher, is particularly important because no learning can take place without the active involvement of the student. ii) Summative Summative assessment refers to the examinations that are taken by the learners at the end-of-unit or end-of-term and their purpose is to fulfill the public expectation of the schools and form of accountability to parents who have a right to know what progress their children are making. However, this poses a danger in that they assume such importance that it undermines the formative assessments that have been made on a regular basis throughout the period. Just like the giving of grades on ordinary class work can affect self-esteem in such a way as to ‘blind’ students to the substantive advice given in comments, so also can the giving of grades and marks in end-of-unit tests have similar effects. The public usually places allot of emphasis on the assessment as they seem to project what the learners have gained in the course of their studies and skills they possess and are able top demonstrate. Thus entry into higher learning institutions and specifically into particular courses is pegged on the results of summative assessments. iii) Informal Informal assessment is an assessment in which the teacher neither follows a specified timetable drawn by the administration for purpose of assessment nor predetermined questions directed to the learner. It is some kind of impromptu. The teacher in the course of performing his duty may reach a concept that requires prior knowledge of particular concepts on the part of the learner; therefore he may decide to carry out an informal assessment to determine what the learners know. Similarly, a new teacher who wants to understand the ability and level of performance of learners may decide to carryout an informal assessment. There is no general standard set for performance or attainment i. e. the administrator determines the standard as deem fit for his purpose of assessment. Thus an informal assessment is at the discretion of the person administering it. iv) Formal Formal assessment refers to the mode of assessment that follows a specified timeframe and format. Usually most of the learning activities are suspended to allow teachers time to administer the assessment to the learners. Formal assessment therefore has a set standard, to which all assessment items must adhere to. Generally, there is time set aside for which both students and the teachers know well in advance that assessment is going to be carried out. The teachers will this case prepare assessment items inline with the set standards of the particular institution in question or adapt on that has already been set by an assessment agency. The students on their part will concentrate on preparing for the assessment tasks that they are going to encounter. In most institutions this time if known as examination time. The environment is controlled so as to allow students an ample time when tackling the assessment items. For example, in most schools during this time silence is observed at all costs, students are spaced so as to allow for individual work unlike during the normal learning days when corporate work can be tolerated, teachers police the students to check on cheating by cheeky students. v) Continuous Continuous assessments are assessments that are carried out by the teacher in progressive way. The test items are drawn from what has been done in the recent past by the learner which means their strength and complexity increases with the increasing complexity in the content being taught. The teacher designs a test to suit particular content that the learners have learned at a particular level. Generally it focuses on a given concept and they are more narrow and intense in their approach. Once a learner has passed the assessment at a given level they are given chance to progress to the next level of learning. vi) Terminal As the name suggests these are tests that administered at the end of a given course, they act as a point of end into the next level or the job market. They are designed in such a way as to include a cross-section of what the learners have attained by the time they are stepping out of the education programme they have been undertaking. They are in most cases designed by an independent body external to the institution of learning in which they are going to be administered. Similarly, their marking is centralized and carried by few selected people. Grading and ranking is the done from an external point, statistics are drawn to show attainment of schools and individual student in comparison to other schools and students from other places. They are usually standardized tests and the awarding of grades is done an already established scale by the administering body. vii) Coursework While going through the curriculum every teacher would want to ascertain that the course objectives are being met every now and then. Thus where possible assignments are given to students at the end of the lesson, marked and feed back given to the students to assist in the process of learning. Cour