An analysis of Information Security Governance in the Universities in Zimbabwe Essay

Abstract The complexity and criticality of information security and its governance demand that it be elevated to the highest organizational levels. Within a university setup, information assets include student and personnel records, health and financial information, research data, teaching and learning materials and all restricted and unrestricted electronic library materials. Security of these information assets is among the highest priorities in terms of risk and liabilities, business continuity, and protection of university reputations. As a critical resource, information must be treated like any other asset essential to the survival and success of the organization. In this paper the writer is going to discuss the need for implementing Information Security Governance within institutions of higher education. Further than that, a discussion on how to best practice Information Security governance within the universities in Zimbabwe followed by an assessment on how far the Zimbabwean universities have implemented Information Security Governance. A combination of questionnaires and interviews is going to be used as a tool to gather data and some recommendations are stated towards the end of the paper. Introduction Governance, as defined by the IT Governance Institute (2003), is the â€Å"set of responsibilities and practices exercised by the board and executive management with the goal of providing strategic direction, ensuring that objectives are achieved, ascertaining that risks are managed appropriately and verifying that the enterprise’s resources are used responsibly.† Information security governance is the system by which an organization directs and controls information security (adapted from ISO 38500). It specifies the accountability framework and provides oversight to ensure that risks are adequately mitigated as well as ensuring that security strategies are aligned with business and consistent with regulations. To exercise effective enterprise and information security governance, boards and senior executives must have a clear understanding of what to expect from their enterprise’s information security programme. They need to know how to direct  the implementation of an information security programme, how to evaluate their own status with regard to an existing security programme and how to decide the strategy and objectives of an effective security programme (IT Governance Institute, 2006). Stakeholders are becoming more and more concerned about the information security as news of hacking, data theft and other attacks happen more frequently than ever dreamt of. Executive management has been showered with the responsibility of ensuring an organization provides users with secure information systems environment. Information security is not only a technical issue, but a business and governance challenge that involves adequate risk management, reporting and accountability. Effective security requires the active involvement of executives to assess emerging threats and the organization’s response to them (Corporate Governance Task Force, 2004). Furthermore the organizations need to protect themselves against the risks inherent in the use of information systems while simultaneously recognizing the benefits that can accrue from having secure information systems. Peter Drucker (1993) stated: â€Å"The diffusion of technology and the commodification of information transforms the role of information into a resource equal in importance to the traditionally important resources of land, labor and capital.† Thus as dependence on information system increases, the criticality of information security brings with it the need for effective information security governance. Need for Information Security Governance within universities. A key goal of information security is to reduce adverse impacts on the organization to an acceptable level of risk. Information security protects information assets against the risk of loss, operational discontinuity, misuse, unauthorized disclosure, inaccessibility and damage. It also protects against the ever-increasing potential for civil or legal liability that organizations face as a result of information inaccuracy and loss, or the absence of due care in its protection. Information security covers all information processes, physical and electronic, regardless whether they involve people and technology or relationships with trading partners, customers and third parties. Information security addresses information protection, confidentiality, availability and integrity throughout the life cycle of the information and its use within the organization. John P. Pironti (2006) suggested that among many reasons for information security  governance, the most important one is the one concerned with the legal liability, protection of the organization’s reputation and regulatory compliance. With the university setup, all members of the university community are obligated to respect and, in many cases, to protect confidential data. Medical records, student records, certain employment-related records, library use records, attorney-client communications, and certain research and other intellectual property-related records are, subject to limited exceptions, confidential as a matter of law. Many other categories of records, including faculty and other personnel records, and records relating to the university’s business and finances are, as a matter of university policy, treated as confidential. Systems (hardware and software) designed primarily to store confidential records (such as the Financial Information System and Student Information System and all medical records systems) require enhanced security protections and are controlled (strategic) systems to which access is closely monitored. Networks provide connection to records, information, and other networks and also require security protections. The use of university information technology assets in other than a manner and for the purpose of which they were intended represents a misallocation of resources and, possibly, a violation of law. To achieve all this in today’s complex, interconnected world, information security must be addressed at the highest levels of the organization, not regarded as a technical specialty relegated to the IT department. Information security is a top-down process requiring a comprehensive security strategy that is explicitly linked to the organization’s business processes and strategy. Security must address entire organization’s processes, both physical and technical, from end to end. Hence, Information security governance requires senior management commitment, a security-aware culture, promotion of good security practices and compliance with policy. It is easier to buy a solution than to change a culture, but even the most secure system will not achieve a significant degree of security if used by ill-informed, untrained, careless or indifferent personnel (IT Governance Institute, 2006). In an interview the executive director and information security expert on IT Governance and cyber security with the IT Governance and Cyber Security Institute of sub-Saharan Africa, Dr Richard Gwashy Young has this to say â€Å"†¦remember in  Zimbabwe security is regarded as an expense not an investment† (Rutsito, 2012). Benefits of Information Security Governance Good information security governance generates significant benefits, including: The Board of directors taking full responsibility for Information security initiatives Increased predictability and reduced uncertainty of business operations by lowering information security-related risks to definable and acceptable levels Protection from the increasing potential for civil or legal liability as a result of information inaccuracy or the absence of due care. The structure and framework to optimize allocation of limited security resources Assurance of effective information security policy and policy compliance A firm foundation for efficient and effective risk management, process improvement, and rapid incident response related to securing information A level of assurance that critical decisions are not based on faulty information Accountability for safeguarding information during critical business activities. Compliances with local and international regulations will be easier Improved resource management, optimizing knowledge, information security and information technology infrastructure The benefits add significant value to the organization by: Improving trust in customer/client relationships Protecting the organization’s reputation Decreasing likelihood of violations of privacy Providing greater confidence when interacting with trading partners Enabling new and better ways to process electronic transactions like publishing results online and online registration. Reducing operational costs by providing predictable outcomes—mitigating risk factors that may interrupt the process The benefits of good information security are not just a reduction in risk or a reduction in the impact should something go wrong. Good security can improve reputation, confidence and trust from others with whom business is conducted, and can even improve efficiency by avoiding wasted time and effort recovering from a security incident (IT Governance Institute, 2004). Information Security Governance Outcomes Five basic outcomes can be expected to result from developing an effective governance approach to information security: Strategic alignment of information security with institutional objectives Reduction of risk and potential business impacts to an acceptable level Value delivery through the optimization of security investments with institutional objectives Efficient utilization of security investments supporting organization objectives Performance measurement and monitoring to ensure that objectives are met Best practices The National Association of Corporate Directors (2001), recognizes the importance of information security and recommends four essential practices for boards of directors. The four practices, which are based on the practicalities of how boards operate, are: Place information security on the board’s agenda. Identify information security leaders, hold them accountable and ensure support for them. Ensure the effectiveness of the corporation’s information security policy through review and approval. Assign information security to a key committee and ensure adequate support for that committee. It is critical that management ensure that adequate resources are allocated to support the overall enterprise information security strategy (IT Governance Institute, 2006). To achieve effective information security governance, management must establish and maintain a framework to guide the development and maintenance of a comprehensive information security programme. According to Horton, et al (2000), an information security governance framework generally consists of: An information security risk management methodology; A comprehensive security strategy explicitly linked with business and IT objectives; An effective security organizational structure; A security strategy that talks about the value of information both protected and delivered; Security policies that address each aspect of strategy, control and regulation; A complete set of security standards for each policy to ensure that procedures and guidelines comply with policy; Institutionalized monitoring processes to ensure compliance and provide feedback on effectiveness and mitigation of risk; A process to ensure  continued evaluation and update of security policies, standards, procedures and risks. This kind of framework, in turn, provides the basis for the development of a cost-effective information security program me that supports an organization’s goals and provides an acceptable level of predictability for operations by limiting the impacts of adverse events. In his article Kaitano (2010), pointed some characteristics of good corporate governance coupled with good security governance. These include and not limited to: Information security being treated as and organization wide issue and leaders are accountable. Leads to viable Governance, Risk and Compliance(GRC) Milestones It is risk-based and focuses on all aspects of security Proper frameworks and programs have been implemented It is not treated as a cost but a way of doing business Roles, responsibilities and segregation of duties are defined It is addressed and enforced by policy Adequate resources are committed and Staff are aware and trained It is planned, managed, measurable and measured It is reviewed and audited The overall objective of the programme is to provide assurance that information assets are protected in accordance with their value or the risk their compromise poses to an organization. The framework generates a set of activities that supports fulfillment of this objective. Principles for information security within the University In their article titled Information Security Policy: Best Practice Document, Hostland et al (2010) pointed out some guiding principles for information security within a university setup. The following are some of the principles they mentioned: 1. Risk assessment and management The university’s approach to security should be based on risk assessments and should be continuously done and the need for protective measures evaluated. Measures must be evaluated based on the university’s role as an establishment for education and research and with regards to efficiency, cost and practical feasibility. An overall risk assessment of the  information systems should be performed annually. Risk assessments must identify, quantify and prioritize the risks according to relevant criteria for acceptable risks. Risk assessments should be carried out when implementing changes impacting information security. Some recognized methods of assessing risks like ISO/IEC 27005 should be employed. Risk management is to be carried out according to criteria approved by the management at University. Risk assessments must be approved by the management and if a risk assessment reveals unacceptable risks, measures must be implemented to reduce the risk to an acceptable level. 2. Information security policy The Vice Chancellor should ensure that the information security policy, as well as guidelines and standards, are utilized and acted upon. He must also ensure the availability of sufficient training and information material for all users, in order to enable the users to protect the university’s data and information systems. The security policy should be reviewed and updated annually or when necessary, in accordance with principles described in ISO/IEC 27001. However, all important changes to university’s activities, and other external changes related to the threat level, should result in a revision of the policy and the guidelines relevant to the information security. 3. Security organization The Vice Chancellor is responsible for all government contact. The university should appoint CSO (Chief Security Officer). Each department and section should also be responsible for implementing the unit’s information security. The managers of each unit must appoint separate security administrators. The Registrar Academics has the primary responsibility for the information security in connection with the student registry and other student related information. The IT Director has executive responsibility for information security in connection with IT systems and infrastructure. The Operations manager has executive responsibility for information security in connection with structural infrastructure. He also has overall responsibility for quality work, while the operational responsibility is delegated according to the management structure. The Registrar Human Resources also has executive responsibility for information security according to the Personal Data Act and is the controller on a daily basis of the personal information of the  employees. The Registrar Academics and Research Administration have also executive responsibility for research related personal information. University’s information security should be revised on a regular basis, through internal control and at need, with assistance from an external IT auditor. 4. Information security in connection with users of University’s services Prior to employment security responsibility and roles for employees and contractors should be described. A background check is should also be carried out of all appointees to positions at the university according to relevant laws and regulations. A confidentiality agreement should be signed by employees, contractors or others who may gain access to sensitive and/or internal information. IT regulations should be accepted for all employment contracts and for system access for third parties. During employment, the IT regulations for the university’s information security requirements should be in place and the users’ responsibility for complying with these regulations is to be emphasized. The IT regulations should be reviewed regularly with all users and with all new hires. All employees and third party users should receive adequate training and updating regarding the Information security policy and procedures. Breaches of the Information security policy and accompanying guidelines will normally result in sanctions. University’s information, information systems and other assets should only be utilized for their intended purpose. Necessary private usage is permitted. Private IT equipment in the university’s infrastructure may only be connected where explicitly permitted. All other use must be approved in advance by the IT department. On termination or change of employment, the responsibility for termination or change of employment should be clearly defined in a separate routine with relevant circulation forms. The university’s assets should be handed in at the conclusion of the need for the use of these assets. University should change or terminate access rights at termination or change of employment. A routine should be present for handling alumni relationships. Notification on employment termination or change should be carried out through the procedures defined in the personnel system. 5. Information security regarding physical conditions IT equipment and information that require protection should be placed in secure physical areas. Secure areas should have suitable access control to  ensure that only authorized personnel have access. All of the University’s buildings should be secured according to their classification by using adequate security systems, including suitable tracking/logging. Security managers for the various areas of responsibility should ensure that work performed by third parties in secure zones is suitably monitored and documented. All external doors and windows must be closed and locked at the end of the work day. On securing equipment, IT equipment which is very essential for daily activities must be protected against environmental threats (fires, flooding, temperature variations). Information classified as â€Å"sensitive† must not be stored on portable computer equipment (e.g. laptops, cell phones, memory sticks). If it is necessary to store this information on portable equipment, the information must be password protected and encrypted in compliance with guidelines from the IT department. During travel, portable computer equipment should be treated as carry-on luggage. Fire drills should also be carried out on a regular basis. 6. IT communications and operations management Purchase and installation of IT equipment and software for IT equipment must be approved by the IT department. The IT department should ensure documentation of the IT systems according to university’s standards. Changes in IT systems should only be implemented if well-founded from a business and security standpoint. The IT department should have emergency procedures in order to minimize the effect of unsuccessful changes to the IT systems. Operational procedures should be documented and the documentation must be updated following all substantial changes. Before a new IT system is put in production, plans and risk assessments should be in place to avoid errors. Additionally, routines for monitoring and managing unforeseen problems should be in place. Duties and responsibilities should be separated in a manner reducing the possibility of unauthorized or unforeseen abuse of the university’s assets. Development, testing and maintenance should be separated from operations in order to reduce the risk of unauthorized access or changes, and in order to reduce the risk of error conditions. On system planning and acceptance, the requirements for information security must be taken into consideration when designing, testing, implementing and upgrading IT systems, as well as during system changes. Routines must be developed for  change management and system development/maintenance. IT systems must be dimensioned according to capacity requirements and the load should be monitored in order to apply upgrades and adjustments in a timely manner as it is especially important for business-critical systems. Written guidelines for access control and passwords based on business and security requirements should be in place. Guidelines should be re-evaluated on a regular basis and should contain password requirements (frequency of change, minimum length, character types which may/must be utilized) and regulate password storage. All users accessing systems must be authenticated according to guidelines and should have unique combinations of usernames and passwords. Users are responsible for any usage of their usernames and passwords. Data Gathering A structured questionnaire adapted and modified from previous questionnaires used by Corporate Governance Task Force, (2004) was used as the main instrument to gather data. Of the total 13 universities in Zimbabwe, 9 managed to participate in this research. The questionnaires were completed by the Executive Dean, IT Director, Operations Manager or Chairperson for the department. Section I: Organizational Reliance on IT The first section was designed to help in determining the institution’s reliance on information technology for business continuity. Table 1: Characteristics of Organization Questions Scores/Frequency 0 1 2 3 4 Dependence on information technology systems and the Internet to conduct academic, research, and outreach programs and offer support services 9 Value of organization’s intellectual property stored or transmitted in electronic form 2 7 The sensitivity of stakeholders (including but not limited to students, faculty, staff, alumni, governing boards, legislators, donors, and funding agencies) to privacy 2 3 4 Level of regulation regarding security (international, federal, state, or local regulations) 1 4 3 1 Does your organization have academic or research programs in a sensitive area that may make you a target of violent physical or cyber attack from any groups? 5 1 2 1 Total score 1 9 6 7 22 Scoring: Very Low = 0; Low = 1; Medium = 2; High = 3; Very High = 4 Section II: Risk Management: This section assesses the risk management process as it relates to creating an information security strategy and program. Table 2: Information Security Risk Assessment Questions Scores/Frequency 0 1 2 3 4 Does your organization have a documented information security program? 2 5 2 Has your organization conducted a risk assessment to identify the key objectives that need to be supported by your information security program? 2 4 3 Has your organization identified critical assets and the functions that rely on them? 2 2 5 Have the information security threats and vulnerabilities associated with each of the critical assets and functions been identified? 2 4 2 1 Has a cost been assigned to the loss of each critical asset or function? 1 3 3 2 Do you have a written information security strategy? 2 4 2 1 Does your written information security strategy include plans that seek to cost-effectively reduce the risks to an acceptable level, with minimal disruptions to operations? 4 2 2 1 Is the strategy reviewed and updated at least annually or more frequently when significant changes require it? 2 3 3 1 Do you have a process in place to monitor federal, state, or international legislation or regulations and determine their applicability to your organization? 2 2 3 2 1 Total 10 16 26 14 16 Scoring: Not Implemented = 0; Planning Stages = 1; Partially Implemented = 2; Close to Completion = 3; Fully Implemented = 4 Section III: People This section assesses the organizational aspects of the information security program. Table 3: Information Security Function/Organization Questions Scores/Frequency 0 1 2 3 4 Do you have a person that has information security as his primary duty, with responsibility for maintaining the security program and ensuring compliance? 4 3 1 1 Do the leaders and staff of your information security organization have the necessary experience and qualifications? 5 2 2 Is responsibility clearly assigned for all areas of the information security architecture, compliance, processes and audits? 3 4 1 1 Do you have an ongoing training program in place to build skills and competencies for information security for members of the information security function? 2 2 3 2 Does the information security function report regularly to institutional leaders and the governing board on the compliance of the institution to and the effectiveness of the information security program and policies? 2 3 3 1 Are the senior officers of the institution ultimately responsible and accountable for the information security program, including approval of information security policies? 3 4 2 Total 16 17 14 7 0 Scoring: Not Implemented = 0; Planning Stages = 1; Partially Implemented = 2; Close to Completion = 3; Fully Implemented = 4 Section IV: Processes This section assesses the processes that should be part of an information security program. Table IV: Security Technology Strategy Questions Scores/Frequency 0 1 2 3 4 Have you instituted processes and procedures for involving the security personnel in evaluating and addressing any security impacts before the purchase or introduction of new systems? 2 3 3 1 Do you have a process to appropriately evaluate and classify the information and information assets that support the operations and assets under your control, to indicate the appropriate levels of information security? 1 2 3 2 1 Are written information security policies consistent, easy to understand, and readily available to administrators, faculty, employees, students, contractors, and partners? 2 3 3 1 Are consequences for noncompliance with corporate policies clearly communicated and enforced? 1 3 2 3 1 Do your security policies effectively address the risks identified in your risk analysis/risk assessments? 2 3 4 Are information security issues considered in all important decisions within the organization? 3 2 3 1 Do you constantly monitor in real time your networks, systems and applications for unauthorized access and anomalous behavior such as viruses, malicious code insertion, or break-in attempts? 1 3 3 1 1 Is sensitive data encrypted and associated encryption keys properly protected? 2 3 2 1 1 Do you have an authorization system that enforces time limits and defaults to minimum privileges? 2 2 2 3 Do your systems and applications enforce session/user management practices including automatic timeouts, lock out on login failure, and revocation? 2 3 2 2 Based on your information security risk management strategy, do you have official written information security policies or procedures that address each of the following areas? Individual employee responsibilities for information security practices 4 3 1 1 Acceptable use of computers, e-mail, Internet, and intranet 2 3 2 2 Protection of organizational assets, including intellectual property 2 2 3 2 Access control, authentication, and authorization practices and requirements 1 2 3 1 2 Information sharing, including storing and transmitting institutional data on outside resources (ISPs, external networks, contractors’ systems) 2 1 3 2 1 Disaster recovery contingency planning (business continuity planning) 1 1 3 4 Change management processes 2 3 2 2 Physical security and personnel clearances or background checks 1 3 3 2 Data backups and secure off-site storage 1 1 3 4 Secure disposal of data, old media, or printed materials that contains sensitive information 2 3 4 For your critical data centers, programming rooms, network operations centers, and other sensitive facilities or locations: 2 3 4 Are multiple physical security measures in place to restrict forced or unauthorized entry? 1 2 3 3 Is there a process for issuing keys, codes, and/or cards that require proper authorization and background checks for access to these sensitive facilities? 2 1 3 3 Is your critical hardware and wiring protected from power loss, tampering, failure, and environmental threats? 1 4 4 Total 17 45 58 50 47 Scoring: Not Implemented = 0; Planning Stages = 1; Partially Implemented = 2; Close to Completion = 3; Fully Implemented = 4 Discussion As shown by the total scores on Table 1, a majority of the university has a very high reliance on the IT in their services. This is depicted by the structure and characteristics of the university. Information risk assessment and management leaves a lot to be desired by the universities. Most the universities have partially implemented such programs. A large number of employees in the IT departments of most universities do no have sufficient skills to implement good information security governance. Most universities lack the leaders who have the rightful know how on the subject. In addition  to that, there is no a representative in the council who will be an IT expert, hence most leaders lack interest and initiatives on information security. Due to lack of full responsibility of information security by the leaders, to implement processes for information security might also be a challenge especially to the IT department as normally is the department given the responsibility. Conclusion There is a need for institutions to start focusing on proper information security governance. For a start organization such as the Government, the Computer Society of Zimbabwe, Zim Law Society, POTRAZ, ICAZ, IIAZ, Zimbabwe Institute of Management and other industry governing bodies should put their heads together and define the appropriate legislations that mandates information security governance either by referring to existing international frameworks (PCI-DSS, SOX, COSO, ITIL, SABSA, Cobit FIPS, NIST, ISO 27002/5, CMM, ITG Governance Framework) or by consulting local information security and business professionals to come up with an information security governance framework. As the Zimbabwean economy is slowly sprouting, the art of information security governance in the universities should also take a leap. The adoption information security governance will ensure that security will become a part of any university and thus customers confidence will be boosted. References Drucker, P. ‘Management Challenges for the 21st Century’, Harpers Business , 1993. Corporate Governance Task Force, Information Security Governance: Call to Action, USA, 2004. IT Governance Institute, Board Briefing on IT Governance, 2nd Edition, USA, 2003, www.itgi.org. IT Governance Institute, Information Security Governance: Guidance for Boards of Directors and Executive Management, 2nd Edition, USA, 2006. ISO/IEC 38500: Corporate Governance of Information Technology, 2008. IT Governance Institute, COBIT 4.0, USA, 2005, www.itgi.org IT Governance Institute, COBIT ® Security Baseline, USA, 2004, www.itgi.org National Association of Corporate Directors, ‘Information Security Oversight: Essential Board Practices’, USA, 2001 John P. Pironti,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Information Security Governance: Motivations, Benefits and Outcomes,† Information Systems Control Journal, vol. 4 (2006): 45–8. 21. Rutsito, T. (2005) ‘IT governance, security define new era’ The Herald, 07 November. Kaitano, F. (2010) ‘Information Security Governance: Missing Link In Corporate Governance’ TechZim. http://www.techzim.co.zw/2010/05/information-security-governance-missing-link-in-corporate-governance [accessed 02 May 2013]. Horton, T.R., Le Grand, C.H., Murray, W.H., Ozier, W.J. & Parker, D.B. (2000). Information Security Management and Assurance: A Call to Action for Corporate Governance. United States of America: The Institute of Internal Auditors. Hostland, K, Enstad, A. P, Eilertsen, O, Boe, G. (2010). Information Security Policy: Best Practice Document. Corporate Governance Task Force, (2004). Information Security Governance: Call to Action, USA

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Critical Reflection Journal. Teachers and activism - Essay Example The second question illustrates the types of changes realized due to activism; for example, social equality in education process. 1) What is the impact of activism in education sector? 2) What are the categories of changes realized by education activism? Indeed, this article is quite informative. It has equipped me with lots of information about the development and roles of activism in the education sector. Besides, it has enabled me to know much about the reforms that still need to be introduced in education so as to make it accomplish its role of bringing social order in the society. As explained by the author, such transformations are necessary because of â€Å"our changing notions of freedom and the changing relationship between individuals and society and between individuals and government† (p65). During most of the twentieth century â€Å"social democratic liberalism became increasingly dominant as workers, women, and people of color pushed for and were able to extend their personal and political† interest (p 63). Activism has two major applications in the education sector. The first application involves enhancing equality in the education sector. All students must be treated equally, in terms of resource allocation, and instructional processes. Secondly, activism improves the relevance of education objectives and activities in the society. The education curriculum must aim at ensuring the people become self reliant. This is through acquisition of appropriate skills, knowledge and experience. The three critical questions for understanding education activism involve: What is the effectiveness of the education reforms? What is the opinion of the teachers and related education stakeholders on the illustrated education concept? What is the opinion of the parents on the new education concept? The research of the study

Existentialism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Existentialism - Essay Example Furthermore, the essence of incorporating the concepts of existentialism has adverse effects in life especially when there is less understanding of the mitigating beliefs of deaths. Moreover, it should be noted that the use of concepts helps in understanding the goals and aspirations of people and the state to attain happiness. There are several interesting issues pertaining to existentialism in the context of ethics and morality. Therefore, ethics in the view of existentialism includes the recommendation of concepts of wrong conduct and its succeeding concepts. On that account, there are different operational areas of ethics in the way that they apply in existentialism. This is in the form of the individual choices that people make especially in their conducts and rights in life. Morality on the other hand deals with the differentiation of actions, decisions and actions that determine whether something is either right or wrong. Similarly, it also reflects on the ethics of doing well in society that has varied choices in life (Earnshaw 177). Therefore, existentialism as noted by Jean Sartre on responsibility is based on the concepts such as the absurd, facticity and authenticity among others. This means that people are expected to live in accordance with the individual self without compromising on others rights and freedoms. Furthermore, there is also the aspect of the absurd that deals with deriving meaning from the structures of life especially in the maintenance of morality and ethics. There is also the perspective nihilism that explores the philosophical doctrines of life’s meanings and its objective meaning. On that account, there is existential nihilism that makes attempts at deducing meaning of life in terms of purpose, intrinsic value and meaning. Additionally, there is also the voice of moral nihilists who affirm the absence of morality in the realms of existence. They also insist that knowledge of what is wrong and right remains with the moral decisions of the individual especially on the given conditions of life. Therefore, according to Nietzsche, nihilism is the complete definition of emptying the world in order to find its meaning, essential value and comprehensible value (Earnshaw 174). By saying God is Dead; Nietzsche meant that there was over-reliance on religion to gain a moral understanding for the western world. On that account, in relation to absurdity as described by Camus, life is devoid of meaning and is defined by meaninglessness. Camus believes that life is characterized by absurdity that should not be defined by an over-reliance on God. However, there is also authenticity that pertains with discovering the self and living to those standards. This means people should avoid the acts of imitation in going about their duties on the grounds of finding a purpose in life. However, it differs from sincerity and honesty in the sense that there is no compatibility of goals in life. In other words, these two goals hi ghlight the case of finding for an authentic life that is closer to self-freedom. Freedom in this sense is defined in context of determining a uniqueness that is paramount in existing with others. Alternatively, it is not crucial to be a crowd-follower as espoused by Heidegger in the quest for a strong individuality. Instead, one should create his own path that is not controlled by the conventions of life such as normal morals and ethics (Earnshaw 173). Additionally, authenticity

Nagel, The Absurd Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Nagel, The Absurd - Essay Example Nagel’s first argument is that we lead our lives with such intense concern that we become unable to avoid seriousness. This unavoidability of seriousness adds to the absurdity of life. We always have to confront the discrepancy between our serious acts and the possibility of our acts coming true. We are so serious about our actions that any bend in the situation disturbs our minds. Nagel (1971, sec II, par.7) states that human beings â€Å"are prudent, they reflect, they weigh consequences, they ask whether what they are doing is worthwhile.† They have to weigh the choices and their decisions. This is what makes life all the more somber, and the seriousness cannot be avoided. The second is the inescapability of doubt. When we step back to have a look at our lives and goals, we come to know how petty like ants our goals are, and how unimportant our struggle is. He states: â€Å"humans have the special capacity to step back and survey themselves, and the lives to which they are committed, with that detached amazement which comes from watching an ant struggle up a heap of sand† (Nagel, 1971, sec II, par.9). This mismatch of what we do and our looking deeply into it, or comparing it to what others are doing, creates absurdity. Yet, Nagel agrees that we stay engaged to life, no matter we recognize that life is absurd because our perceptions that life and its goals are arbitrary in comparison to what we are actually doing in our lives. An objection to Nagel’s perspective is that: when we assess a situation and its outcomes, we do so by bringing into consideration some set of values and standards, which help us judge the situation, or determine whether it has been carried on in the right fashion. However, this cannot be applied while judging our lives. Stepping back to analyze our lives is like stepping into nothing, because there is no set of values and standards lying outside our lives, which could help to

Trace the pathway of bloodflow through the heart Essay

Trace the pathway of bloodflow through the heart - Essay Example gets the deoxygenated blood from the upper parts of the body such as the head and arms, and the other the Inferior vena cava that receives deoxygenated blood from the lower parts of the body such as the torso and the legs. The blood entering the right ventricle of heart through the tricuspid valve from these two major veins are filled with carbon – dioxide. From the right ventricle, the deoxygenated blood is carried through the pulmonic valve to the pulmonary artery into the lungs. Here the blood is cleansed by the removal of carbon – dioxide and the addition of oxygen and once again returns through the pulmonary veins and empties itself into the left atrium. The left atrium is the chamber that receives the oxygenated blood from the lungs through the pulmonary veins. Between the left atrium and the left ventricle is a valve called the bicuspid valve – also called the mitral valve, which regulates the blood flow into the left ventricle. Both the bicuspid valve and the tricuspid valve also called the atrio-ventricular (AV) valves simultaneously open and close producing a Lub – Dub sound, which is the heartbeat of a person. The Lub sound is the opening of the valves and the Dub sound is the closing of the valves. The fourth chamber is the largest and most important of all the four chambers, the left ventricle is the strongest pump which helps to discharge blood into the aorta through a valve called the aortic valve. Both the pulmonary and the aortic valve operate or work simultaneously with each other. The aorta then takes the oxygen – rich blood and passes it to all the different parts of the body. In the same way, the bicuspid and tricuspid valves also open up simultaneously allowing blood to flow into the ventricles. When this happens, they contract and eject blood into the lungs and the body. In the meantime, the atria relax and once again fill with

Architecture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Architecture - Essay Example Defining the various methodologies and looking at the research required then provides a different level of insight into creating the right approach in understanding and evaluating the architectural topics that are required. Qualitative Methods of Research The basis of qualitative methods of research is to associate with people or objects at a given level to collect data. Instead of using hard data, such as statistics and other formats of numbers, there is a relationship to the social aspect of data and how this alters in given situations. Social sciences, such as psychology and the arts, are able to use qualitative methods for specific interpretations and observations that are required. Surveys, interviews, observation and informal methods of collecting data are often combined with creating a relationship to various variables required. This is furthered with types of research that are used with qualitative studies. For instance, grounded theory takes the ideology of qualitative metho ds and proposes ways to move through the research process. This is inclusive of observing and gathering data as well as finding specific ways to analyze and interpret the method that has been used. This helps to explain the statements and actions with specific individuals while building meanings out of the observation. For this to work, there is the need to have grounding with theoretical ideologies, combined with the capacity of coding information into data that creates meaning (Charmaz, 2006: 3). For architectural alternatives, there is the ability to observe and analyze a variety of movements, actions and theories with the theory. This is combined with analyzing the outcome and observations associated with this. The strength in this is based on creating meaning for a social and cultural observation of society. However, there is also a specific interpretation which is made according to the researcher and the defining points of the observations made, as opposed to being based only on facts. A basis that is a part of research philosophies in architecture comes with the main topic area and how this influences the availability of studies. Architecture is considered a component of both the social sciences and an art form, both which create a broad range for study that can be considered. To further the research that is done according to subject matter is also the need to have a specific type of research to identify the architecture. Theory based data analysis becomes one of the main approaches to those studying the architectural forms. The theory data is provided with past theories of architecture, social movements, cultural affiliations and philosophies which are attributed to the buildings that are studied. The overview and observation that occurs with the form of theory based data analysis then offers a broad viewpoint of the architectural forms and how this links to the buildings and subjects that are a part of the research. In relation to this are formats suc h as the focal relationship, which takes at least two independent theories and compares them to identify the relationship with architecture to given theories. This provides a cause and effect theory, which shows the cause for building the architecture and the effect which this has had within the social sciences (Aneshensel, 2002: 11). The theoretical observation that takes place has strength in looking at the past theories and relating these to dependent

Budgets Forecast for Energy Drink Company Essay

Budgets Forecast for Energy Drink Company - Essay Example Marginal costing takes into account variable costs during production while Fixed manufacturing overhead is treated as period costs. It is believed that only the variable costs are relevant to decision-making and that the reason why they are considered in production. Fixed manufacturing overheads will be incurred regardless there is production or not. Appendix 1 illustrates a cost statement using marginal costing. The contribution margin is positive; therefore the plan of manufacturing an energy drink is a viable one. The fixed costs are not useful in the decision-making process that is why contribution margin is used as it excluded fixed costs. Break-even analysis is used in showing the relationship between selling prices, sales volume, variable costs, fixed costs and profits at various levels of activity. It is also referred to as cost-volume-profit analysis. It used in determining the break-even point. BEP is the level of activity where the total revenue equals the total costs. Therefore, no profits are realized at the BEP. However, break-even analysis has its limitations. To begin with, breakeven analysis assumes that fixed cost, variable costs and sales revenue behaves are linear. However, this is not the case since some overhead costs may be stepped in nature. As a result, the straight sales revenue line and total cost line tend to curve beyond a certain level of production Another limitation of break-even analysis is that it assumes that all the stock produced is sold. Therefore, changes in stock levels are not taken into account in the breakeven chart. Finally, breakeven analysis is only suitable for providing information to relatively small companies that produce one type of products. Thus it’s not suitable for companies producing a different product. Forecasting is used in estimating future performance of the business. It is useful in the financial planning process which entails assessing future financial needs.

Comparing news reports Essay Example for Free

Comparing news reports Essay On the day of 3rd February 1998, a Marine Corps EA-6B Prowler jet crashed into a wire, along which a yellow cable car was running along in the Dolomites area of Cavalese, Northern Italy. The car fell, killing 20 people. The victims were nine women, ten men, and one child. At least six of them were German, whereas two of them were Hungarian, and two Polish. The operator of the car, who was Italian, also died. Three newspapers. The Times, The Mirror, and the American Newsweek was very different from the rest. It contained no pictures, and was very much more biased towards the Americans, and was trying to shift the blame from them, to the Italians: pilots flight plan had been cleared by Italian authorities. The Americans treated the tragic accident, as a political affair with Europe attacking America: Europe questions Americas character. The Times contains a great deal more fact than The Mirror which also contains fact, but with some opinion: Regional President Carlo Andreotti should stop these war games The Times and The Mirror contained much more factual information about the incident, than Newsweek did. The Mirror and The Times both commented on how the cars fell 300ft and killed 20 people. They also both say that a second car was left dangling precariously on the wire. The Mirror goes on to describe who the casualties were (men, women, and children), whereas The Times talks about what time the accident occurred at, and that if it were to happen in the morning, that the car would have been packed with around 40 people, as it would have been peek time: If it had happened in the morning, the car would had been packed and the death toll would have been even higher. This is because a lot more tourists would have been going up the hill, in the morning. The Times also gives, what I consider, as useless facts at the end, such as that the mountains have become a popular tourist spot. It also goes on to talk about irrelevant things about the area of the incident: The area The Val di Fassa is renowned for the quality of its wood, from which Strdivarius violins are made. The Newsweek report, does still have some fact, but a lot more of it, is political facts, trying to shift the blame onto the Italians: We fly the routs they lay out Here, the Americans are clearly trying to shift the blame, by saying that the pilots flying the EA-6B prowler, exactly where the Italians had told them to fly. The main differences between the English papers The Times, and The Mirror and the American newsmagazine Newsweek, is that there is no pictures or diagrams, helping to explain the incident in the Newsweek report. These pictures featured in the two newspapers, not only to help to explain what happened in the incident, and where it took place, but they also made a welcome break, from reading large sections of text. The language used in each report also is very different in each report. The Newsweek report has a lot of American language in it: hot dogging clipped tumbling returned safely fighter jet clipped cherry pie These words are not only the type you would expect from a typical American, but they are also a lot softer and less dramatic types of words: fighter jet clipped skiers tumbling returned safely , compared to the harsher, more dramatic words found in The Mirror and The Times: warplane screamed dangling precariously plunged horror smashed open like a cardboard box Sliced screaming collided smashed crumpled bad jolt twisted The tone also differs dramatically between the two British newspapers, and Newsweek. The Newsweek report is very sceptical, and is constantly tying to shift the blame, or to change the subject: Overshadowed by anti-Americanism This time analysts found links violence is as American as cherry pie The English news reports are laid out much better than the Newsweek report. The English newspapers have at lest two pictures, with captions per report. Both article also maps, which describe where the incident occurred. There are no pictures, captions, or maps in the Newsweek report. The extract is determined as an article, due to how it is split up, with three columns. The most predominant point, or main clause, it the last four words, contained within the sub-headline. Europe questions Americas character This is the main point, which the Americans are trying to argue in the report, so it is the point that stays in the back of the readers mind, throughout the report. The article that explains the incident most effectively is the extract from The Times. This is because the report form The Mirror contains a lot of opinion however, this report gets the main points over quicker. The Times contains a great deal of facts, so you could get the most information from this. The Newsweek report is basically a political argument conceived by the Americans about the Europeans. 1

Debt Predictions Using Data Mining Techniques

Debt Predictions Using Data Mining Techniques

The Doppler Effect And Its Applications

The Doppler Effect And Its Applications Perhaps you have noticed how the sound of a vehicles horn changes as the vehicle moves past you. The frequency of the sound you hear as the vehicle approaches you is higher than the frequency you hear as it moves away from us. This is one example of the Doppler Effect. To see what causes this apparent frequency change, imagine you are in a boat that is lying at anchor on a gentle sea where the waves have a period of T =30s. This means that every 3.0 s a crest hits your boat. These effects occur because the relative speed between your boat and the waves depends on the direction of travel and on the speed of your boat. When you are moving toward the right in Figure 17.9b, this relative speed is higher than that of the wave speed, which leads to the observation of an increased frequency. When you turn around and move to the left, the relative speed is lower, as is the observed frequency of the water waves. Content Doppler Effect (Sound) and its Application Introduction In physics, the Doppler Effect can be defined as, The increase or decrease in the frequency of sound and also to other waves such as the source and observer moving toward or away from each other. Thus the effect causes the change in pitch which is clearly noticed in a passing siren or train horn, as well as in the red shift/blue shift. The Doppler Effect is familiar to us with everyday experiences. It explains us the change in the pitch of a fast moving car horn or any other fast moving sound source as it passes us. If the car is approaching us, the pitch of the cars horn will be greater than if the car were stationary and as the car passes us and begins to move away from us the pitch will be lower than if the car were stationary. In fact, whenever the source and observer of a sound are in relative motion, the observed frequency will be different than that of the emitted one by the source. For example: The Observer feel higher frequency, when the train is coming to the observer. The Observer feel lower frequency, when the train is going far from the observer. History: The Doppler Effect was discovered by a scientist named Christian Doppler, who gifted his idea to us in year1842. He thought, if sound wave coming from the source might have a greater frequency and if the source is moving toward or the observer so there will be lower frequency if the source is moving away from the observer. Though some doubted the existence of this phenomenon, it was experimentally verified in 1845 by C. H. D. Buys Ballot (1817-1890) of Holland. Buys Ballot examined the alteration in pitch as he was passed by a locomotive carrying several trumpeters, all playing a constant note. The Doppler effect is considered most often in relation to sound (acoustic waves) and light (electromagnetic waves) but holds for any wave. When the source and observer of light waves move apart, the observed light will be shifted to lower frequencies, towards the red end of the spectrum, while if the source and observer move toward each other the light will be shifted to higher frequencies, t owards the blue end of the spectrum. The Doppler Effect is the phenomenon to observe at a particular time when the wave is emitted by a source moving w.r.t. the observer .The Doppler Effect can be stated as the effect produced by a moving source of wave when there is an apparent upward shift in the frequency to be observed by the observer and the source which is approaching toward it and the downward shift in the frequency to which it when the observer and the source is contacting. Change in the wavelength due to the motion of the source For the waves which propagate in the medium, such as sound waves, the speed of the observer and the source are in relation with the medium to which the waves are transmitted. The Doppler Effect may result from the change in position of the source, relative motion to the observer. Each of the effect is analyzed singly. For the waves which do not require any medium for propagation, eg. Light and gravity in general relativity, for it the difference in velocity of the observer and that of the source needs to be considered. HOW DOPPLER EFFECT DOES OCCURS: TYPES OF DOPPLER EFFECT: Symmetrical: It implies that Doppler shift is same when the source of light moves towards/away from a stationary observer or the observer moves with the same velocity towards/away from the stationary source. Asymmetrical: It implies that apparent change in the frequency is different when the source of sound moves towards/away from a stationary observer or as that occurs, when the observer moves with the same velocity towards/away from the stationary source. DOPPLER FORMULAE: Now the observer is in motion and also the source is stationary, then the measured frequency is: (1) When the up sign correspond to the arriving observer and the lower sign correspond to a receding observer. Now the source is in motion and the observer is stationary, then the measured frequency is: , (2) Where the up sign correspond to the source arriving and the lower sign correspons to the source receding from the observer. When both the source and observer are in motion, then the measured frequency is: 3) Note that the sign in the numerator and denominator are not depending on each other. By using the general facts for the sign at the numerator, the up sign is to be used if the observer is moving toward the source and the down sign if moving away from the source; in the denominator, the upper sign is used if the source is in motion w.r.t the source towards the observer and the lower sign if moving away. A simple trick to remember the signs is to remind one when or not the observed frequency is becoming to increase or decrease and to use whenever sign is required. For eg, when an observer is moving away from a source, the wave are going to move across it at the slow rate rather than if it was still, which signifies that the observers frequency is decreasing. And also it can be for when the source is in motion w.r.t an observer, it will go to smoosh the wave together as it emit it, which means to say that the increase in the observed frequency. This will be covered by making the denominator in eq (3) smaller, which do requires using it again. Source moving with V source < V sound: In picture shows sound source has radiated sound wave at the const. frequency in the same medium. However, the sound source is turning to the right with a speed Vs = 0.7 V(In mach). The wave fronts are to be produced with the same frequency. Since the source is moving and the center of the new wave front is now slightly shifted to the right. As a result, the wave fronts start bunching on the right side (in front of) and spread further on the left side of source. An observer in the front of the sourceis made to hear it at higher frequency f ÂÂ ´ > f0, and then the observer back to the source will hear a lower frequency f ÂÂ ´ < f0. Source moving with V source = V sound: Here the source is moving with the speed of sound in the medium (Vs = V, Mach 1). The wave fronts in front of the source are all bunched up to the same point. An observer in front of the source will feel nothing until the source arrives to him. The front will be quite intense, due to all the wave fronts add together.The figure at right shows a bullet travelling at Mach 1.01. You can see the shock wave front just ahead of the bullet. Source moving with V source > V sound: The sound source has been broken through the sound speed barrier, and is traveling at the greater speed then the speed of sound. Here the source is moving faster than that of the sound waves it creates are really leading the advancing wave fronts. It is this intense pressure front on the Mach cone that causes the shock wave known as a sonic boom as a supersonic aircraft passes overhead. The shock wave advances at the speed of sound v, since it has been built up from all of the combined wave fronts, the sound heard to the observer will be of the quite intense. Application of Doppler Effect: Sirens: The reason why the siren slides or blow, is because it doesnt hit you. It can be says as, if the siren is approaching to the observer directly, the pitch of the sound would remain constant (we have, vs, r is the radial component) till the source hit the observer, and then jump to the lower pitch. Because of the vehicle passes from the observer, the radial velocity never remains constant, but instead to vary as a function of the angle between observer line of sight and the sirens velocity: Vr = Vscos ÃŽÂ ¸ Where vs is the velocity of the source w.r.t. the medium, and the angle ÃŽÂ ¸ is the angle between the objects forward velocity and the line of sight from the object to the observer. Radar:-In the radars Doppler Effect is widely used in some of the radar, to measure the velocity of the object. A sound with required wavelength, intensity is fired to a moving target as it approaches from the radar source. Each subsequent radar wave has to travel farther to reach the object, before being redetected near the source. As each wave has to move farther, the gap between each wave increases, increasing the wavelength. Calculations from the Doppler Effect accurately determine the observers velocity. Weather Analysis or prediction: -Doppler radar uses the Doppler Effect for electromagnetic waves to predict the weather. In Astronomy:-The Doppler shift for light is used to help astronomers discover new planets and binary stars. Echocardiography: A medical test uses ultrasound and Doppler techniques to visualize the structure of the heart. Radio Direction Finding Systems

Boxer vs. American Staffordshire Terrier Essay -- Animal Research

What makes these two dogs so similar is that they are two of the top most popular breeds here in the United States. It has been said that dogs is man's best friend, and because of this, it makes them great companions. These two breeds, the Boxer and the American Staffordshire terrier fit very easily into family life. When an owner tells his dog that he is a good boy, the dog happily wags its tail. Then, there are those times when an owner has to discipline his dog, the dog, then creeps away with that sad puppy dog look on its face. According to Jill Viers, "a dog will love you unconditionally; it will be there until the end. Doesn't it deserve the same when it is truly man's best friend" (Viers) Both of these breeds the Boxer, and the American Staffordshire terrier; have similar, but different in their ancestry, appearance, grooming and maintained; it is what makes both of these two breeds so desirable. For starts, the Boxer and American Staffordshire terrier were both first used to dogfights and bull-baiting until it was banned in the early 1900s. The Boxer was first breed in the early 19th century, they used them for dog fighting, bull-baiting and to run down and hold large game for their master. They received their name because of their ability to stand on their hind legs and bat at its opponent, appearing to box with its front paws, hence the name Boxer. Then, later in Germany, the Boxer became the breed for their intellect and muscular strength. Boxer is from a Mastiff and a bulldog breed together. Later in Germany, they were used guard and police dogs as they were very alert. After World War 1, the Boxer came to America, where their popularity in the states. Whereas, American Staffordshire terrier has a backgro... ... well as a good family pet. The Boxer also has another advantage over the American Staffordshire, and that it is excellent with all children. Finally, the Boxer also does well with other pets in the household. Not like the American Staffordshire terrier, where it needs raised with the family from puppy hood. Works Cited American kennel club-american staffordshire terrier. www.akc.org, n.d. Web. 21 June 2011. . American kennel club-boxer.www.akc.org, 2005 March 30. Web.21 June 2011.. Bulldog-Boxer. In bulldog breeds.com, 29 June 2010. Web. 21 June 2011. . Dog breeds american staffordshire terriers. In five star dog.com, n.d. Web. 21 June 2011. .

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome: AIDS :: AIDS disease

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) is a blood born disease that was first recognized in America in the early 1980’s, around the time Rock Hudson passed away. It is believed that it was first passed thru to humans by monkey’s in Africa. â€Å"The battle between humans and disease was nowhere more bitterly fought than here in the fetid equatorial climate, where heat and humidity fuel the generation of new life forms. One historian has suggested that humans, who first evolved in Africa eons ago migrated north to Asia and Europe simple to get to climates that were less hospitable to the deadly microbes the tropics so efficiently spread.† (Shilts, 5)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"HIV may already infect one to two million Americans and spreads to forty thousand more people each year.† (Klitzman, 7) This disease wreaks havoc in places like Africa, Europe, South America, Asia, and the United States, as well as countless other places around the world. â€Å"With Modern roads and jet travel, no corner of the earth was very remote anymore; never again could diseases linger undetected for centuries among a distant people without finding some route to fan out across the planet.† (Shilts, 5)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  AIDS is mainly a sexually transmitted disease, statistically attributed to the homosexual community, that is transferred by people who are unaware they are infected. It can also be transferred between people through tainted blood transfusions as well as the sharing of infected needles among users. AIDS is a devastating and debilitating disease that may not show up for a period of ten years or longer after the original contact. By this time it might be too late to do anything about it , although, there are various cocktails of drugs that could control the disease and extend life for a considerable length of time.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Western society has been able to arrest the spread of AIDS with sexual education and early testing but where the disease first started, in Africa, almost one third of the population is now afflicted with the disease. In order to combat this problem in Africa, the governments of the western world have shown a concentrated effort by sending billions of dollars in aid to educate and treat people who are infected with this disease.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  AIDS has reached many people from all different cultures, ethnic backgrounds, and areas around the world. This is a scary fact considering many of those people could be unaware they are infected with HIV.

Edgar Allan Poe Essay -- English Literature

Edgar Allan Poe Essay How does E.A. Poe explore the themes of horror and obsession in his short stories? In Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories the black cat and The Tell Tale Heart, both terrify the reader by making them believe they are the person going through these terrifying tales, as they believe they can hear the heart pound under the floor boards as in The Tell Tale Heart. Or they feel very cocky as showing the police round the basement 2 – 3 times until it all goes wrong, they feel it was them who committed these awful crimes. In the Black cat short story, it is the madness of the characters that creates the perfect scary story, the man trying to kill the cat and eventually killing his wife. Poe creates an atmosphere of horror by making the reader feel they are the main character, that they have just driven an axe in to there wives head. He wants the reader to feel scared and unsure, to be scared next time they hear a soft beating sound that is unexplainable, to remember the story and haunt you for as long as you live. The techniques he uses to do this are simple, but very, very affective, he repeats words and describes the most minute thing, for example, â€Å"It was open – wide, wide open – and I grew furious as I gazed upon it. I saw it with perfect distinctness – all a dull blue, with a hideous veil over it that chilled the very marrow in my bones: for I had directed the ray as if by instinct, precisely upon the damned spot.† That shows how he describes almost everything giving you a great idea of what was happening and how he repeated words to give a incredible sense of fear. Another method used by Edgar Allan Poe to illustrate the obsessions of his characters is that they all were slightly ... ...es the perfect horror story of his time. As the when the story’s are read in the present they do not scare us as we have seen horror films with people having objects rammed through there heads and horrible things that would scare the hair of a little child’s back. But even how descriptive the story is it wouldn’t scare you because of our modern day society. The techniques used by Edgar Allan Poe created tension and fear, wanting to know what happened next. And that is what happened. Edgar Allan Poe is successful through being able to reflect his life into his work, create new techniques for generations onwards to use, he gave some of the best examples of narrative stories and created some of the most describing pieces of work ever. In most peoples eyes he succeeded in being one of the top horror writers of all time, if not the most remembered and the best.

Inclusive Education Essay

In this assignment I will be critiquing a peer reviewed research article which explores an aspect of interprofessional practice. I will reflect on my practice and identify how the research discussed with in the article impacts and challenges my thinking and approach. By critiquing the journal – Early Years: An International Research Journal, I will show knowledge and understanding of other professional roles in early years under pinned by theory I have researched. My own understanding of inclusive practice in early years is that – â€Å"All children, irrespective of ethnicity, culture or religion, home language, family background, learning difficulties or disabilities, gender or ability should have the opportunity to experience a challenging and enjoyable programme of learning and development.† (Early Years Statutory Framework, 2014, 1.15) The journal focuses on 52 early years practitioners from England, their experience of interprofessional working, woven together and their level of confidence and competence also different settings such as children’s centres, preschool settings and private settings as well as community preschool as it has been the fore front of government policy in UK since the inquiry into Victoria Climbie I have focused on three prime aspects from the journal: training, communication with multiagencies and support which I think is key regarding my own reflection of my practice as well as the impact on my thinking approach. The writers of the journal are Jane Payler and Jan Georgeson (2009) but nowhere in the journal are their qualifications and backgrounds cited. It is unclear that the writers are professional s or have had any practical experience in early years. It does not tell you where the settings are located and which back ground the children and families are from. I believe if all this information was given it may have been clear to the readers why we believe that research done in the deprived area has a  huge impact on their achieving when it comes to budget training and skills. If it was a deprived area they might be struggling with the funds, resources and support. On page b385 it states that they sent the questionnaires out but I believe all the methods used had weaknesses as it does not say anywhere what language they were using and what sort of questions were asked. Throughout the journal the writers praise the efforts that are made from the children’s centre in terms of working with inter professionals. As a reader I felt they were biased towards the children centre as throughout their article they have mentioned several times about how well children centres are doing, in comparison to preschool and private nurseries. Even the tables indicate that the children’s centres are performing at the top and preschool and private settings are nowhere near their achievement and successes. On page 387 of the journal it states that during her research it clearly showed that the children’s centres showed a secure understanding of procedure as well as confidence in approaching other agencies. The first aspect explored was training needs. The Journal article states that â€Å"the survey done was completed by 52 early years practitioners who were either undergoing, or had recently completed training for early years professional status.† Due to the level of education, it is clear to me why most of them were confident when working with outer agencies and writing reports according to the NutBrown review of early education and childcare qualifications interim report (March 2012) – â€Å"Getting qualifications right will help to ensure that women and men enter the profession with the skills and experiences they need to do the best work with young children and their families. Well taught courses and learning routes that lead to reliable qualifications can help early year’s practitioners to improve their skills, knowledge and understanding, constantly developing in their roles.â€Å" This has made me reflect on my own training in regards to what I need to attend in terms of inclusive education and its importance as it is clearly shows in the journal on pg381 that the staff members with high qualifications and training were more confident in approaching and writing IEPS (Individual Educational Plan). As I was reading the journal one thing which really drew my attention was that it talked about the staff training being inconsistent. In some places staff seemed confident and in some places they were not. My  self being an early year’s practitioner and working in a private sector I can relate to the problems as staff are expected to go on training in their own time. Working within the Borough of Hounslow I have experienced first-hand cuts that have definitely been made in regards to training. According to the Guardian published in 2011 heading â€Å"The government is putting training out of reach of those who need it most in early years’’. (Th e Guardian, 2011) It goes on further to state thatâ€Å" From August colleges and training providers, in the main, will receive only half the cost of courses’’. This results in training being harder to gain. In order to go onto training you now have to firstly go onto a waiting list. Not only has that had an impact on your practice but also a staff member’s confidence with dealing with any situation which that training may have addressed. Another issue is that we now, as a setting, have to pay for the training. If a setting is low on funds the training cannot take place and so the staff members, as well as, children, parents and the setting, miss out. Covering the staff on training and courses exacerbates the situation.† It is also shown on page 390 of the journal that due to the cuts the speech and language therapist who will come to the setting one day fortnightly was reduced to once a week which impacts on the children having to refer somewhere else and not having an inc lusive service. I have been affected by this last year as I was told that there was no money left in Hounslow borough to give out for inclusion support staff which resulted on my having to use the staff I had already to support the child’s need . Despite the above and reflecting on my own practice, I believe early years practitioners do the best when it comes to identifying a child with a need, as they are the primary carers after the parents. In my belief, other agencies might have the qualifications but we as practitioners are the ones who identify the problem and so refer them on. As stated in the new EYFS (2014 3.20) â€Å"providers must support staff to undertake appropriate training and professional development opportunities to ensure they offer equality, learning and development that continually improves.† The second aspect which came to my attention was the different level of support throughout the children’s centre, preschool and private nursery. It was astonishing to see that the children’s centres were given the most support and due to this it is not a surprise that they were the most confident in approaching the  outside agencies and writing reports. This is clear due to their inter links with the outside agencies. According to the article they state that in every child’s centre in London they have family support, speech and language therapists as well as health visitors who are designated to each children’s centre. Due to that reason, I believe that they have far more support including regular meetings, interactions and support; however, private nurseries and preschools do not get that support and rely on communication based on letters as well as emails and phone calls, which is not always reliable and as effective as meetings. From my own experience I have noticed that once you identify a concern with a child’s speech and language, the referral takes over six months to completely get a response from a speech and language therapist. In Hounslow alone there is a long waiting list of children waiting to be seen by a speech and language therapist. Due to this, it is no doubt in my mind that having an in-house speech and language therapist or to even have a type of training in order to help and support children with their need as now out of? â€Å"Children coming to school are in need of some sort of speech and language support’’. (I CAN Talk Series – Issue 6) This has challenged my thinking and approach I would definitely like in my setting, as a manager, ascend a staff member to see how the speech and therapist works so they can come back and continue with the therapist approach. It was described by one of the practitioners that sitting with a child whilst seen by the therapist helped her to support the child page 389. I would love to be able to do so in my setting. I can support children with some support while the child is waiting to be seen by the speech and language therapist. Once the child has been seen by the speech and language therapist I make sure I have the copy of the recommendations and advice made by the therapist, so I can use the same strategies used by the therapist. According to I CAN, an organisation that helps children to communicate, ‘‘In some parts of the UK, particularly in areas of poverty over half of children start school with speech, language and communication needs.’’ â€Å"That means 2 to 3 students in every classroom have significant communication difficulties.’’ (I CAN Talk Series – Issue 6) One of the other aspects which came to my attention was that throughout the article it is c lear to me that there has been effective communication within the children‘s centre as there have been professional  staff on site; therefore all communication is face to face especially with speech and language therapists. Whereas private and other settings do not have this capacity and funds so all the communication involving outside agencies is on paper. It is clearly shown in figure 1 page387 that the children’s centres were 100 % on target when it comes to face to face contact with outside agencies. Other settings like independent preschools where I am employed are only doing 75% of face to face contact when it comes to communication and although it’s only 75% contact it is effective within that percentage. I agree with this as my own private setting has to rely on emails, phone calls and paper. This is also clearly stated in the journal on page 387. On page 395 it tells you about the need of the effective inter professionals practice in early years and their belief that it will be possible once the two year old check for disadvantaged children is extended. Since the 2 year check has been introduced I have experienced more regular contact with the health visitor. I have experienced di fferent types of response when it comes to effective communication. As in the document one part needs to be done by the practitioner one by the parents and one need to be done by the health visitor regarding any concern with the child. Some health visitors will be very particular in writing about the child’s health and on other hand some health visitors will write little information concerning the child and leave it as ‘no concerns’. Conclusion: The article helped me to reflect on my practice and identify key issues that impact and challenge my thinking and approach. For me, inclusion is not simply the toleration of all pupils, but the active provision of opportunities for all to feel good about themselves and to have the chance to flourish, whatever their individual needs and potential barriers to learn might be. Whatever difficulties may arise in dealing with the outside agencies ,distance between the professionals and resources and funds available as a particular I believe we have a legal duty to make sure we do the best when it comes to equality and diversity (inclusive and inclusion). In my setting and practice I have made sure that I provide and implement a clear policy and procedure to promote equality and support to every child in need as up held by the legal frame work in EYFS 3.66. It was also clearly stated in the journal on page 389 that settings doing their best when it comes to competence in developing their knowledge and network for inter-professionals over a period  of time were based on their knowledge and greater experience of integrated provision. Effective working practice with outside agencies should occur whatever the contact is, face to face or remote. As a practitioner it is our responsibility to make sure the child is covered within the inclusion policy. The second part of my assignment will be focusing on communication and the importance of communication in settings between other agencies, staff and parents/guardians. The word â€Å"communication† comes from the Latin word â€Å"communis,† meaning â€Å"to share.† (Communication studies). I believe sharing is a very important element when working within your practice, with parents and outside agencies. Personally I believe communication â€Å"is the act of conveying information for the purpose of creating a shared understanding. And includes verbal, non-verbal and electronic means† (Communication studies) According to Pietroni (1992) – â€Å"We should not underestimate the many factors that challenge working relationships between professionals. Most fundamental is communication.† â€Å"To achieve better integration of services and organisation, The Children’s Act 2004 required local authorities to enter into partnership arrangements with parents who, in turn, carried reciprocal duties to cooperate.† -Aubrey Carol. â€Å"As suggested by the Laming Report, the Common Assessment Framework(CAF) was introduced as a standardised approach to assessing children’s additional needs. CAF supports the identification of a child’s additional needs which are not currently being met at the earliest possible stage.† (How children learn, Pg. 59) As an early years professional it is very important that I use communication effectively regardless of the type of setting, the ability to communicate effectively is crucial for developing positive relationships with children, young people and their families, colleagues and other professionals. Not only does it pave the way for a happy working environment but it is also a core unit of study for most children and young people especially when working with inclusion. In my setting I am the manager and the SENCO. I believe we are at the stage of norming as described by Tuckman in his performing team development models. Consensus largely forms among the team, our team responds well to reinforcement by a leader. Roles and responsibilities are clearly defined and important decisions are discussed and agreed upon by the entire team. Smaller decisions may be delegated to  individuals or small teams within a group not only to empower the members of staff but to ensure each staff member understands how to handle decision making and help them to gain experience. Our team also discusses and develops our processes and working styles and are always adapting and evolving in parallel to new research and studies. There is overall respect for team leaders and leadership is shared by the team. Leader facilitates and enables (similar to the Situational Leadership ‘Participating’ mode). Working beside staff is very important to make sure we have an e ffective chain of communication which is strong and healthy. In support of this â€Å"Good communication practices need to be built into the policies and procedures of a setting† (Communication studies: what is communication) In our setting we make sure we work alongside parents as they are the â€Å"first educators† (Early Years Foundation Stage – EYFS, 2.2.) To help children achieve their full potential we make sure that practitioners investigate the experiences families and children receive when they attend our setting. Their feedback is essential to us as it helps us to further improve and meet the needs of parents more successfully. As part of gaining insight into the experiences of children and parents in our setting we send out surveys and questionnaires for parents to express their opinion through, this is especially effective if the parent does not feel comfortable expressing their opinion face to face with a member of staff. In addition to this our setting has an open door policy where every morning members of st aff are available to talk to; our staffs are multilingual and can communicate with a vast range of parents. We also have a text and email system in place for the parents who are working and don’t have time to complete surveys or get in touch with the staff. All these systems are in place to ensure effective communication. Coffee mornings are also in place and provide greater opportunities for parents to discuss their feelings in an informal atmosphere. Some settings invite parents to attend a short nursery rhyme performance and a chat about their experiences of the setting. We, at our setting take the ethos of â€Å"parents as partners†. Research tells us that the parents have the most influence over child development and so practitioners will serve children better by working in partnership with the parents. Practitioners also need to be mindful of the parents’ readiness to engage. There are many factors that should be considered when communicating or  attempting to communicate with parents such as communication barriers. Some of these barriers include time constrain ts regarding parents working hours, story time and language issues and if the parent may have special needs. Another communication barrier is if the engagement may be difficult due to family issues (such as a new baby, caring for a relative, domestic violence, health issues, and unusual working patterns.) It is only by understanding parents and valuing their input that practitioners will be able to acknowledge their readiness to engage with the setting. Strong and positive communication and relationships between staff, parents and children will help to develop an atmosphere of trust and comfort. Some children may receive additional support from agencies for their communication development. It is essential that practitioners work in partnership with these agencies to maximize the benefit for the child as it also states in EYFS â€Å"When parents and practitioners work together in early years settings, the results have a positive impact on children’s development and learning.† (EYFS, 2.2) Our setting works closely alongside outside agencies and take the multi-agency approach to make sure we provide the best care to the children. We also follow EYFS guide lines which states in i.16 – â€Å"Close working between early year’s practitioners and parents is vital for the identification of children’s learning needs and to ensure a quick response to any area of particular difficulty. Parents and families are central to a child’s wellbeing and practitioners should support this important relationship by sharing information and offering support for extending learning in the home†. – To make sure this is happening effectively we have implemented a key person system. Each child has a key person allocated before they start at the setting; it is established before the child starts the setting and on the basis of the initial meeting on induction day and the information gathered from paperwork. An example of this in practice is during introduction staff members meet all the parents and the children. If during the meeting we identify any information about the child’s specific needs such as speech/language/physical issues and the parents need e.g. parents first language is not English, the key person is chosen to suit the need of the child’s /parents so they have better communication and feel more comfortable and at ease. Parents can feel confident in communication with staff members and between their children and staff. The role of the key  person is too gather as much information as possible before the child starts the setting so that the settling in time can be arranged according to the child’s needs and interest. On the child’s first day the key person sets the activity of the child according to the child’s perceived interest and ability to ensure comfort and a sense of safety for the child. In addition to this the key person is responsible for noting and observing the activities of the child. After the initial meeting of the child and pare nts the SENCO of the setting (me) sit down and asses and evaluate any issues or concerns. An example of this is a child who attended my setting and during the induction day the mother had mentioned that the child is shy and an introvert. However upon observing the child during induction activities I learnt that the child may be more than just shy or anti-social. I came to this conclusion as I had noticed the child avoided eye contact and would only play with one toy, a toy car in which he would move it up and down in a continuous pose. The child also flapped their hands as a result of excitement. After the introduction I sat with my staff and talked about the day and mentioned the particular child. I then allocated myself as the child’s key person. I felt I had more rapport with the child and insight than any other member of staff. I then shared my thoughts and observations I had made during the day and offered some solutions and plans of action. During the first few weeks of the child attending the setting I conducted many observations and also got in touch with m y local SENCO and shared my concern over the phone. We then collectively arranged a day for her to come and observe the child. I double checked and ensured there was no further help I could provide and did all that was possible for the child e.g. the child enjoyed sticking doodles wherever he could and so I made a little post-box in each corner of the classroom and moved any hazards such as televisions as he loved sticking notes on the screens of television and computers. I also maintained daily contact with the mother and even asked her if it was possible to come earlier to pick him up as he became very upset when seeing other parents pick up their children. And made the mother aware of the assistance I was receiving from my local SENCO. I explained how it was vital to contact my area SENCO as they could provide advice which would further help me to support her child to the best of my ability. On the mothers agreement permission my area SENCO visited me and observed the child  she later introduced herself to the mother, she explained her role and what she could do for her child. We arranged a meeting to discuss the concern we have as a team and our plans to set up a IEP so that we are to help and support the child on confirming the date we made sure that all the people involved are available such as the mother, area SENCO and myself the setting SENCO. We explained everything to the mother for example what an IEP is and what we were trying to accomplish with it. My role was to arrange a support worker who would work alongside the child to support his needs. On our meeting day we all sat down together with all staff members who were going to support the child. Everyone shared their thoughts individually and expressed their opinions. In the end we set up IEP targets to help the child develop skills and improve, these targets were made in shared agreement. Each individual involved was given a copy of the IEP targets, this ensured that all staff members involved in relation to the child was aware of the child’s difficulties and aware of processes to help overcome them and that we all were all shared same vision to establish positive relation, both with each other and what’s best for the child. I personally believe â€Å"A trusting relationship between the practitioner and parents begins with the initial contact and it is crucial that from the start, parents appreciate that staff value their knowledge and understanding of their child.† (Working in partnership with parents, EYFS Principle) â€Å"a professional and honest approach by all staff will be the baseline in building the feeling of trust† as also reinforced in the government good practice guide as well as in Working Together to Safeguard Children, 2013 states – â€Å"all professionals contribute to whatever actions are needed to safeguard and pr omote a child’s welfare and take part in regularly reviewing the outcomes for the child against specific plans and outcomes;† according to the report published a HM inspector in 2007 talks about working together with professionals and has stated that it is important that we as a practitioner enable ‘’parents to play a stronger role as partners in their child’s learning and development.† The staff also share the IEP so all the other staff are also aware of what is our common goals as a team as I believe it is very important to work as an effective team and to have the common goals. For me teamwork is like an oil that makes the team work. It can enable smoother movement towards targets, can prolong forward momentum, and can help teams to overcome  obstacles. In my setting I make sure when I communicate to my staff, parents and professionals I perform as an adult as a model of Berne’s transactional analysis theory. As I believe if you talk like a child you will get a reaction like a child so it is very important that you make sure you come across as someone you want to be, as an adult or someone representing an accounting function or model. We need to be communicating like an adult. To make sure the staff is confident in doing the targets I arrange for the staff to go on training to be able to support the child as it is vital to me to make a â€Å"quality lea rning experience for children and this requires a quality workforce†¦ providers should regularly consider the training and development needs of all staff members to ensure that they offer a quality learning experience for children that continually improve† (Department of Education 2012). We also have professionals come to our setting to train the staff on the IEP targets such as bucket time. Intensive interaction and especial time in the setting – â€Å"the staff trained that share their experience and knowledge with less experienced staff, in order to ensure that continuing professional development takes place†. (EYE VOLUME 14) The professionals who train the staff come to the setting to work with the key person to see if they are using the training effectively. I have regular contact with the professional through phone, email, and through paper. We have regular interaction with the outside agency and termly meetings in which the child’s progress and next steps to take are addressed. During the meetings the child’s transition is also discussed as it is very important to make sure the child moves to the next setting with all the support and the hard work achieved by us at our setting is implemented and continued. I sat with the mum and the area SENCO to explain to mum the options she has to choose from as in the end it’s what she wants for the child that is important.as it is clearly stated in the SEN code of practice working in partnership with parents 2.2 â€Å"parents too have a vital role to play in supporting their child’s education.† They hold key information and have a critical role to play in their children’s education. It continues to state that parents have â€Å"knowledge and experience to contribute to the shared view of a child’s needs and the best ways of supporting them.† So I believe it is very important that professionals (schools, LEAs and other agencies) actively seek to work with parents and value the contribution they make. It  is my belief that â€Å"The work of professionals can be more effective when parents are involved and account is taken of their wishes, feelings and perspectives on their children’s development.â €  In the document it continues stating â€Å"When practitioners are friendly and have a genuine interest in the children, parents come to like and trust them, and mutual respect can flourish.† According to B Sandra who is the consultant and director of Early Years gives some recommendation on effective communication according to her recommendation we need to give full attention to the person who we were communication, we need to be aware of our body language, need to resist any ways to interrupt. We need to take account of individual need and be flexible in the way they communicate and be ready to ask for help when required, be honest about what we know and what we don’t know, one of the other recommendation is that we need to be sensitive to culture differences as in some cultures direct eye contact is class as been rude in other culture satin cultures certain gestures are classed as rude.so care is needed when communication. While communication with a person with English as a additional needs we need to use photos, and visual aid. Someone with hearing aid needs to be communicating visual aid as well as use of British sigh language to make sure effective communication is taking place. To conclude my assignment I believe that a happier, healthier and better-informed workforce leads to a better setting. And that engaging your workforce with the right kind of communication, delivered regularly and efficiently through appropriate channels and means can make a big difference to all involved, for example you, your staff, child, parents and outside agencies.