A Reflection Paper on Night by Elie Wiesel Essay

Night, an autobiography by Eliezer Weisel, recounts his experience of being a Jew in the Holocaust during the early 1840’s. The story explores the escalation of fear in the Jews and its overriding presence in their lives, Eliezer’s crisis of faith, and the loss of humanity in the Jewish people including the numerous images of death put forth in the book. Weisel portrays their fears in ways we could never dream of and makes us look at how people are affected spiritually in the wake of dehumanizing suffering. Also, he portrays in the story how the Jews were stripped of everything in the Holocaust including their human dignity and self worth. The escalation of fear is a common thread throughout this book. In the beginning, when all foreign Jews were expelled from their town of Sighet, the remaining Jews pretended that those exported were better off wherever they were now. Then, when Moishe the Beadle (an exported Jewish foreigner) returned to Sighet one day and told the Jews how he had escaped by pretending he had been killed along with the others, he was titled as a madman who only wanted their pity. The Jews refused to even listen to Moishe the Beadle let alone accept anything he said as the truth. The Jews lived in denial and in a state of pretending up until the point in which they were transported and brought to the concentration camp at Birkenau. At that point fear became real in the eyes of the Jews for they saw for themselves the flames from the crematorium and the smell of burning flesh. From then on fear guided their every waking moment for it enveloped their common sense and being. It began to control them and it made them act in unimaginable ways. Eliezer feared losing everything he had. This was in a way a driving force that kept him alive. For example, when the alarm at the concentration camp sounded and everyone had to stay in their barracks, a couple of pots of soup were left unguarded. Even though they were starving, fear overcame hunger. However, there was one Jew who was bold enough to risk his life for an extra ration of soup and who ended up with a bullet in his back. This scene cemented their fear of death in everyone’s mind. One of the main conflicts in Eliezer Wiesel’s life is his struggle with his faith. Before the Holocaust, Eliezer was a deeply observant scholar who had devouted much of his time towards his faith and studies. His faith in God  was unconditional and seemed unchangeable up until the moment he left his train car and arrived at the death camp. It was at that point in his life when he would never regard his faith with the same view again. He did not understand why the God he had spent so much time on throughout his life would just suddenly desert him and the whole Jewish race. He felt deeply betrayed because God has let Jews be taken from their homes, brought to concentration camps, and be left to be tortured and even cruelly killed. These events are permanently embedded in his mind and caused his faith to prove not so unshakable after all. One particularly scarring event for Eliezer was when a little boy was hung because his barrack was found to be in possession of many weapons. Eliezer felt God’s complete abandonment in that He would allow such a young and innocent boy to be hung. Eliezer’s loss of faith makes one think how easily one might lose his own faith if put in Eliezer’s same position. For it is easy to love the Lord in times of peace, but the real challenge is keeping one’s faith in God and in His unconditional love for us when profound suffering comes knocking at the door. Through seeing Eliezer’s shaken faith, we learn that the Jews did not only suffer physically, emotionally, and mentally in the Holocaust but also spiritually. A third common theme in the story is one of death and the loss of the Jews’ humanity through their suffering in the concentration camps. The amount of torture and cruelty and stark images of death the Jews encounter in the Holocaust is unfathomable. Take for example the instance when Eliezer and his father were being transported for the last time to Buchenwald concentration camp. When their open train car passed through a town, the townspeople thought it would be entertaining to throw bread into their cars and then witness the savage pandemonium that would ensue. The Jews in those cars were at the point of dying. Frozen and starved they would lose all human decency and actually fight to the death over a piece of bread. At this point there were no morals left among the Jews for their suffering was so profound that they began to lose their humanity and act like animals. This dehumanization of the Jews can be further demonstrated in comparing their corpses to sacks of flour. When dead bodies were thrown out of the train  cars or into the crematoria, no respect was shown to the humanity of that Jew. The concluding image of the corpse in the mirror succinctly sums up the themes in the book. The Jews’ fear of death prevented them from acting rashly which might have gotten them killed but it also prevented them from taking bold steps to ensure their survival (for example, stealing food). The corpse image represents Eliezer’s loss of faith because by denying the existence of a loving and merciful God he is denying his dignity in being created in the image of God. And thirdly, the corpse is a clear representation of death and one’s loss of humanity in the wake of immense suffering that strips you of your dignity and worth. In conclusion, the suffering of the Jews in the Holocaust was so profound that they were affected on all levels beginning with being physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually affected to being treated like animals stripped of all self dignity and humanity. Bibliography for Pride and Prejudice Reflection Paper 1. Weisel, Elie, Weisel, Marion. Night. New York: Hill and Wang, 2006. Print.

Sound and Sense

By: Alexander Pope Alexander Pope’s â€Å"Sound and Sense† explains true poetry stems from the use of both meter and diction to reinforce the meaning and theme of the poem. Pope demonstrates his point of view by meticulously creating loud and soft phonetics to echo the sense of the poem and evoke realistic imagery. Alexander Pope explains in â€Å"Sound and Sense† that â€Å"The sound must seen an echo to the sense†, this advice is reflected in lines 9-12. When Ajax strives some rocks vast weight to throw† describes a sense of Ajax’s powerful and athletic composition. The 10 syllable line displays the strength in iambic pentameter which reflects Ajax’s balanced poise. The hard vowel sounds in the line â€Å"Ajax†, â€Å"weight†, â€Å"strives† and â€Å"throw† alludes to vigor and force. These words characterize the bruteness of Ajax, a Greek warrior, who is glamorized for his powerful physique. Pope’s use of sound to create sense gives evidence of his advice.Pope’s utilization of rough phonetics is juxapostioned against his use of soft sounds to describe Camilla. Camilla, a legendary queen renowned for her swiftness of feet, is reflected through the implementation of soft sounds and limited punctuation in these lines â€Å"when swift Camilla scours the plain, Flies o’er the unbending corn, and skims the main. † Words such as â€Å"swift† and â€Å"skim† evoke smooth, light and quick movements. The audience fluently reads over the lines, reflecting the athletic grace of Camilla.Pope’s purposeful diction indicates a transition in the imagery from hard to soft. Therefore, the reader can observe that Pope follows his advice. Alexander Pope’s â€Å"Sound and Sense† is written with intricate detail challenging his fellow colleagues to expand their poetic techniques. Each word and punctuation is meant to evoke an emotional sense i nto the reader, creating deeper symbolism in the poem. Sound is essential in the interpretation of theme in the poem. Pope illustrates his point of view by displaying skilled phonetic techniques.

Maya Angelou Essay

As a woman you are created with a special gift, it’s like little extra ingredients that all women have within them. The poem â€Å"Phenomenal Woman† by Maya Angelou, she speaks about the elegance of a woman, her inner being the way she glow without saying a word Maya expressed how men are amazed by her presence â€Å"men themselves have wondered what they see in me† (line 31-32). It’s hard to put your finger on it all women were born with the power. In the poem â€Å"Still I rise† by Maya Angelou she described the struggles of life trials and tribulations you face in society and the way people may judge you. As if she was writing about a woman â€Å"does my sassiness upset you? †She also wrote in another stanza â€Å"does my sexiness upset you? †She used this comparison to show she is a sexy woman who demands respect. Maya’s attitude in this poem is portraying a confident black African American woman. She is really laughing at men challenging them. They cannot stop her from rising above all expectation. This poem gives you not only inspiration encouragement to be fearless; to the end of it all you must believe you still rise above it all. The title gives a sense of entity and power. This masterpiece the poem â€Å"phenomenal woman† has also empowered women to get more in touch with their inner beauty. Maya describes in great detail the mystery of women and the behavior of men and their reaction. It shows women to not only love your-self but to embrace every aspect of your mind, body and soul. Maya show that sexuality isn’t only related to outer beauty, or by the way you dress it more about how you feel within your own skin . she shows you instead of hating your body love it from the crown of your head to the sole of your feet. In society today women enhances their body by doing plastic surgery to feel accepted. She feels inferior clearly stating that every part of a woman is beauty. In comparisons to â€Å"Phenomenal Woman† and â€Å"Still I Rise† both poems Maya speaks about not bowing to the â€Å"oppressor†. You can feel her compassion in every word in Phenomenal Woman â€Å"now you understand why my head’s not bowed† (lines 47). Still I Rise forth stanza â€Å"with head bowed and eyes lowered? †Within these lines she stresses that she will not conform to what society made her out to be, that she will soar above and beyond everyone expectations. The little gives a sense of entity and power. In conclusion these two poems have few similarities; Maya characterized the strength of an African American woman. By using powerful words she described the emotional aspect of inner beauty, standing proud professing no one will ever bring her down not by the color of her skin nor the fact of being a woman that there’s more within.

Week #6 Learning Activity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Week #6 Learning Activity - Essay Example Allegra gains various benefits from its strategic planning commitment. Specifically, these benefits are the following: (1) Better communication and relationship with franchisers who are attracted to and appreciate Allegra’s Profit Mastery Program; (2) Efficient time management outcomes that reduce error rates; (4) Lower error rates that reduce production costs and increase profits;(5) Higher customer satisfaction because of reduced error rates; and (6) Improved quality management dedication and outlook (â€Å"Chapter 13† 34) inside the company and among franchisers. Many small businesses fail to do strategic planning because of the following reasons: (1) Business owners do not know or apply the process of strategic planning; (2) They do not have time management skills that can help categorize different tasks by urgency and importance (â€Å"Chapter 13† 5); and (3) They have not built the needed relationships and connections with important stakeholders who will help them in the strategic planning process. Buying a franchise decreases the need for strategic planning because the franchisor designs the strategic plan, since the latter owns the franchise. Nevertheless, franchisers should and can still contribute to the strategic planning process by offering ideas/suggestions and informing the franchisor of issues and problems. In addition, being a franchisee changes the strategic planning process because the franchisee has less autonomy and control over the decision-making process. Franchisers are more of participants than the final decision-makers, especially when compared to sole

A Solution in Search of a Problem Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

A Solution in Search of a Problem - Assignment Example The essay will show the differences occurring in the affirmative plan and how they have come about. The purpose of affirmative action is very different from what it is assumed to be. It does not aim to merge varying groups of people in educational institutes and places of work just to create a mixed group. Instead the affirmative action program is set to reduce discrimination and increase the economy of the region. This allows the region to prosper as groups which have been previously marginalized are given an equal standing. This can be applicable not only to various ethnicities but also gender. Women and African Americans are particularly affected by prejudice. If given the right kind of education and professional background, these groups can succeed, socially and economically, enormously. Thus there are two types of concepts working to create equality. Equal employment opportunity law works to get rights of work for all. The affirmative action policy removes social obstacles facing these groups. Thus, while one works to improve the economy, the second ensures that the group has social mobility. The first factor that has molded affirmative action is the target population. The number of members giving their public opinion has been lessened with variations in their race. Courts have made the decision that race and population are vital components for reaching a policy on affirmative action. Thus, it is vital to have a group that is conscious of race before reaching a decision on any affirmative action. Yet, with a change in attitude, the number of opportunities given to blacks and women in the affirmative action plan has been reduced greatly. Instead, greater concentration is paid to those who have suffered economic problems. Thus a smaller group is now considered for this plan. Another aspect of reducing the rates of discrimination is by making the process of reduction in schools and other public institutes, open to scrutiny. Because hiring and pay are not open to the public which can lead to unintentional inequity. The affirmative action plan aims to keep policies of wage, employment and promotions open to examination. But it also distributes opportunity, income and status which can be considerably harmful in its move to achieve equality. Affirmative action poses to redistribute the wealth paid in by tax payers to those who need it. This creates challenges by those who do not agree with this distribution of wealth. Thus, this policy needs to explain not only where the money goes but also where how the decisions of this distribution are made. Personal details of the individual are observed to find employment. This means that an individual needs to interact with fellow members of society. These networks help ensure that the individual is given a balanced redistribution according to their needs. This aspect assists in discrimination according to race and gender being removed because of the communication between the different groups. Class is seen as an essential component to better understand the affirmative action plan. It is seen as a tool to which the problems of race can be better understood. Yet, this is

Assignment 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Assignment 2 - Essay Example Considered as one of the best living American writers, McCarthy has written 10 novels in the span of four decades, but never once was he interviewed on television. This is what makes this Oprah interview special. Because this is a first for McCarthy (Winfrey, 2008), we might expect that he will be uncomfortable and might find it difficult to answer some of the questions. To prevent this from happening, Oprah went to Santa Fe where McCarthy is working so that he will be in a familiar setting and reduce the anxiety since there are no other people in the room (except for the camera man, of course). Moreover, Oprah chose to open the interview with the obvious question: Why did McCarthy never had any TV interview? This was something that the world renowned author can easily address this because he probably rehearsed this a number of times in different interviews before. From this question, Oprah went on to ask subtle, more personal questions so as to understand how McCarthy works and what inspires him to do what he does. Oprah’s interview had a good combination of direct, open-ended questions. The progression of her questions were well timed, starting with question pertaining to the author’s work before going into details which will force the interviewee to â€Å"think deep† and â€Å"reach into the heart† to find the answers. Aside from the questions, Oprah also showed a real interest in the information being provided by the interviewee. She looks directly at McCarthy and she provides her own reactions to his responses. While I am pretty sure that she had an interview agenda, she does not have it written down, she has remembered all the questions she wants to ask, but she phrases it in the same language used by her interviewee. This way, she improves the communication between them, and it also allows the interviewee to feel that Oprah was really listening to what he

Medecine Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Medecine - Essay Example Every disease has a cause, although the causes of some remain to be discovered. Every disease also displays a cycle of onset, or beginning, course, or time span of affliction, and end, when it disappears or it partially disables or kills its victim. An epidemic disease is one that strikes much person in a community. When it strikes the same region year after year it is an endemic disease. An acute disease has a quick onset and runs a short course, an acute heart attack, for example, often hits without warning and can be quickly fatal. A chronic disease has a slow onset and runs a sometimes years-long course. The gradual onset and long course of rheumatic fever makes it a chronic ailment. Moderate exercise is necessary to health, but athletes who do vigorous exercises have not been noted for longevity. Fresh air is stimulating, but, where actual breathing is concerned, it's no better than the air in most rooms. General quality of air affected by pollution is indeed a concern. A balanced diet containing correct amounts of the basic food substances is essential, but there is no evidence that when or at what intervals one eats makes the slightest differences -unless one is a sufferer of stomach ulcer, in which case the interval between meals should be narrowed down. The concept of having meals at fixed intervals is nothing but a social convention and in a modern life obviously a matter of convenience. Sleep, too, is a necessity. But different people require vastly different amounts of sleep. In a number of studies of men and women who lived to a ripe old age it was found that the commonality they had was balanced diet of healthy food, contented minds, their interest in something which gave them a focus in life and partly their heredity. Health is defined as a state of complete physical, mental and social well- being and not merely the absence of diseases or infirmity. The main rules of health are- (a) Do not abuse your body -i.e., exercise, it, feed it sensibly and in moderation and don't poison it with cigarette smoke (your's or anyone else's), with alcohol or with other drugs (b) Think positively about health-make it a purpose for living (c) Turn your thoughts away from those bodily functions (digestion, circulation, breathing and so on), which can look after themselves. Introspection leads to hypochondriasis, and Social Medicine Medicine has come a long way from the time when disease was considered as punishment from the gods to a time where the society is looked on as the patient (society being responsible for them). Its treatment requires lot of tenderness and care. The field of medicine became more and more truly scientific, and the 20th century saw the-most rapid advances ever known, marked by the discovery of germs by Pasteur, of antiseptics by Lister, of vaccination by Jenner and anaesthetics by well sand Scot Simpson, the use of the microscope by Vuirchoe (German) brought great advance in the understanding of diseases and Ehrlich (German) conceived the brilliant idea of 'magic bullet' -drugs aimed at the real cause of the disease which would attack the germs at the root of the disease without hurting the patient. Edwin Chadwick, one of the greatest names, revolutionised the social control concept by so dealing with the causes of disease (like proving safe drinking water, controlling pests, lice, files , mosquito, etc.) that they were prevented form arising at all. A population riddled with

Clinical Intervention Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Clinical Intervention Paper - Essay Example Arc of Westchester is the most extensive care-giving agency in the county of Westchester. The agency cares for both children and adults who have been affected by autism coupled with other developmental problems or disabilities. It was founded in 1949 and has over 800 employees serving over 1000 special-needs individuals. Other services provided by the agency include family services, education services for its occupants and employment for persons with disabilities. The agency receives the funds necessary for its operations from donations. The Westchester Arc understands that some families who have a child with intellectual disabilities have difficulties in coping with the unique behavioral problems of their children with special needs. Medicaid Service Coordination helps individuals and their families who are eligible for Medicaid, to coordinate a wide range of services. These include access to government services and advocacy for services, including medical assessments and appointment, training and professional development, educational, recreational resources and housing. The county experienced a population growth of 3%, that is, from 923,459 to 949,113 according to the census conducted in 2010. The population growth was as a result of the increase in the number of people of Hispanic and Latino origin in the county. The increase in the Hispanic population was registered as 62,908 and now accounts for 22% of the total population in the county. The Chester port and Sleepy Hollow are majorly occupied by People of Latino and Hispanic origins. The Hispanic and Latino population constitutes 59% of the total population in Port Chester and 51% in Sleepy Hollow. Katonah defines a minute town within New York. The people of Katonah reside within small settlement schemes and their population density is low because the city is considered as being a hamlet. According to the US Census 2010, the Katonah

Equal Opportunities and Diversity Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Equal Opportunities and Diversity - Case Study Example The business case chosen for review is Tesco Ireland. This is one of the leading employers in Ireland and is also a classic example of an organisation that has to deal with diversity. Among its eleven thousand employees, the Company has a large percent of them coming from different parts of the world like America, Africa, Asia and other parts of Europe. The Company has a fair representation of people from various age groups that start from fifteen to eighty five. Besides this, the Company has also recruited and managed people with disability, different religious beliefs among others. Correspondence/similarities between equal opportunities and diversity have been demonstrated even in customer care by Tesco Ireland. The Company has made some changes that make shopping easier for persons with disabilities; first the Company has wide aisles that enable a person on a wheelchair or any device that helps in movement to use their stores easily. Secondly, Tesco has installed shelves that can easily be reached by children, undersized people or those on wheel chairs because those shelves are lower in height. Besides this, the Company has also incorporated wide ranges in its stores. All these changes were made after surveying Customers in a routine program managed by the Company called Customer Question Time Panels. (Mckillion, 1999) However, differences between equality and diversity were shown in the treatment of Polish Immigrant Workers during the year 2005. In the month of August, there were some agency workers of Polish origin who felt that they were not being granted equal opportunities in comparison to other workers. They engaged in a strike that highlighted the following discrepancies; Unequal salary payments between non-Polish workers and them Minimal chances of permanent employment for Polish Workers Poor working conditions These Polish workers were engaged in the distribution section of the Company. The Company tried to stand up for itself but their words to the press had already tarnished their image. In light of this strake, Tesco Ireland demonstrated that it did not treat its diverse workforce in an equal manner. (Berry, 2005) Equal opportunities and diversity in recruitment In the year 1999, Tesco Ireland worked hand in hand with North side Partnership to hire a number of employees perceived to be needy. These included; Travellers People with disability Recovered drug addicts Former prisoners (Thomas, 1990) These groups of people were hired to work in a new supermarket that would be opened five years from that time. The Company did not decide to hire these needy persons because there was lack of a better alternative; it did this because it wanted to grant equal opportunities to people in that area-Clare Hall. In actual sense, there were very many other people in need of employment in that area as unemployment was at a record high of sixteen percent in Clare Hall. By so doing, Tesco Ireland has shown that equal opportunities can be available to a diverse workforce thereby demonstrating that there are similarities in the latter two concepts. Similarities between equal opportunity and diversity have also been demonstrated by the Company by recruitment of people who have exceeded the official

Safe Travel Essay Example for Free

Safe Travel Essay These days, we Geeks don’t travel anywhere without our laptops. It’s a given that we need to have them on us! How would we survive?! Thankfully, Seth sent in the following tips to help us keep them safe while we are on the road. Pad The Laptop: Make sure the laptop bag or carrying case you transport your laptop in provides adequate padding. As you move about the airport or shove the laptop under the seat in front of you or into the overhead storage compartment, the laptop can be jarred and jostled quite a bit. Keep It On You: It is not uncommon for someone to set their luggage down while standing in line for a muffin, or to sit down while waiting for a flight. With all luggage, it is important to keep an eye on it and ensure nobody tampers with it or steals it. Because of their size and value though, laptops make prime targets and a thief can snatch the laptop bag and keep walking while you are unaware with your back turned. You should keep the laptop bag on your shoulder or keep it in sight at all times. Back Up Data: Perform a backup of all critical or sensitive data before departing. Just in case your laptop does become damaged or lost, you don’t want to also lose your important files and information. You can buy a new laptop, but it is much harder to replace lost data. Encrypt Your Data: Just in case your laptop should fall into unauthorized hands, you should make sure your hard drive is encrypted. Laptops with Windows Vista Enterprise or Ultimate come equipped with BitLocker drive encryption. If you aren’t using one of these versions of Windows Vista, and your company has not implemented any other sort of enterprise-wide encryption solution, you can use an open source solution such as TrueCrypt to protect your data. Document Identifying Information: In case your laptop does end up lost or stolen, you should be able to provide detailed information about the make, model, serial number and any other identifying information. You may need the information to file a claim with the airline or your insurance company, or to provide law enforcement. Use Strong Passwords: Follow the advice in Passwords and How to Make Them to make sure that your passwords can not be easily guessed or cracked if your laptop falls into the wrong hands. An excellent program for helping to secure and manage your passwords is Password Vault, which works for both Windows and Mac OS X. Use a BIOS Password: Protecting your laptop with an operating system login and password is a good idea, but there are ways to circumvent that protection and gain access to the data still. For better protection, you should enable password protection at the BIOS level so that the laptop can not even be turned on without the correct password. Implement Remote Data Protection: Another step you can take to make sure your data does not fall into the wrong hands is to look into products that will allow you to remotely destroy or erase the data on your laptop if it is lost or stolen. These products generally require that the unauthorized user connect to the Internet first in order for them to do their work though, so they are not a guarantee. Use Portable Storage: To make sure you have the business critical PowerPoint presentation or Excel spreadsheet that you need to show your business partners in order to seal the multi-million dollar deal (or whatever other important files and documents might be on your laptp) you should carry a copy on a USB thumb drive or some other type of portable storage that you can carry separate from the laptop in case it becomes lost or stolen. Just Leave The Laptop At Home: When it comes to all of the hassles and all of the issues that can arise from traveling with your laptop, you should also consider whether you really need to take it. You can carry your data or files on portable storage such as a CD, DVD or USB drive, or you can just email or FTP the data ahead of you. Then, you can borrow a desktop or laptop system once you are safely on the ground and at the office site you are visiting.

Tuberculosis (TB) in Prisons and Immigration Removal Centres

Tuberculosis (TB) in Prisons and Immigration Removal Centres An evidence-based partnership approach to tackling Tuberculosis in Prisons and Immigration Removal Centres in London Abstract Background The World Health Organization (WHO) have declared TB as a global emergency with 8.6 million cases of active TB and 1.3 million deaths. The incidence of TB in the UK remains high compared to most other Western European countries, with 8,751 cases reported in 2012, an incidence of 13.9 per 100,000 population. London accounts for the highest proportion of cases in the UK (39%) and the highest rate of disease (41.8 cases per 100,000). Left untreated, one person with pulmonary TB may infect around 10–15 people every year. People in prison and IRCs represent a population who are at particular risk. National estimates for TB prevalence in the prison population are 208 per 100,000 and amongst Londons 10,000 or so prison population we would expect 20 cases, but we are seeing more than double. The cost of treating ‘normal’ TB is around  £5000 and is much greater for more socially complex cases (estimated at  £50,000– £70,000). There is considerable variation in the delivery of some aspects of TB services. A co-ordinated national TB strategy is required to support locally designed and implemented services, and monitor achievements against national standards. This paper presents findings from a partnership between NHS England, PHE and NOMS to tackle TB across its prison population in the overall approach to the overall TB strategy in London. Aims/objectives To establish whether national NICE guidance for TB in prisons and immigration removal centres is being met. Methods Target population included all 9 prisons and 3 IRCs for which NHS England (London region) are responsible. Methods used: 1) An organisational clinical audit during January 2014 using the NICE baseline assessment tool; 2) Stakeholder engagement through a steering group and a wider reference group. Results Effective stakeholder engagement contributed to a 100% completion rate. All establishments had referral pathways in place and a named contact within the local Multidisciplinary TB team and the local Public Health England health protection team. 2/12 establishments did not screen for TB within 48 hours of arrival. 3/12 did not have a local TB policy. 2/12 did not have a named TB lead. None of the DH funded x ray machines were being used in line with NICE recommendations. Latent TB was not being diagnosed or managed. Conclusions Active and systematic case finding is needed within a prison and IRC setting as well as more rigorous and standardised contingency and follow up care plans after release (or transfer). Introduction The World Health Organization (WHO) have declared TB as a global emergency with 8.6 million people with TB and 1.3 million deaths due to TB (World Health Organisation, 2013). The six point Stop TB Strategy (World Health Organisation, Europe, 2013b) explicitly addresses the key challenges facing TB with the goal to dramatically reduce the global burden of TB by 2015 by ensuring all TB patients benefit from universal access to high-quality diagnosis and patient-centred treatment. However, there have been challenges in developing and implementing program-wide interventions in both high income(Migliori, Sotgiu, Blasi, et al., 2011) as well as middle and low income countries(Cobelens, van Kampen, Ochodo, et al., 2012). England and Wales have responded to the need to tackle TB where the NHS and the Department of Health have developed a national Action Plan for ‘Stopping Tuberculosis in England’(Department of Health, 2004). NICE have also developed a set of National guidance fo r the identification and management of TB across a number of settings(NICE public health guidance, 2011) which highlights the need for a multi-agency approach. There has been little evidence evaluating the implementation of these guidance. What is TB? TB is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which spreads in airborne droplets when people with the disease cough or sneeze. Most people infected with M. tuberculosis never become ill as their immune system contains the infection. However, the bacteria remain dormant (latent) within the body, and a latent TB infection can cause active disease many years after the initial infection if immunity declines. The symptoms of TB include a persistent cough, weight loss, and night sweats. The BCG vaccine (Bacillus Calmette-Guà ©rin vaccine) protects against TB and it was thought possible to wipe out TB through a vaccination programme. The BCG vaccine is made from a weakened form of a bacterium closely related to human TB. Because the bacterium is weak, the vaccine does not cause any disease but it still triggers the immune system to protect against the disease, giving good immunity to people who receive it. In the past, the BCG vaccination programme was delivered to all teenagers in the UK but as TB is a difficult disease to catch because it requires prolonged exposure to an infected person, it was changed so that now only people inat-risk groups are given the vaccination. The vaccine is 70-80% effective against the most severe forms of TB, such as TB meningitis in children but It is less effective in preventing respiratory disease, which is the more common form in adults(Trunz, Fine Dye, 2006). Even with the high coverage now achieved, BCG is unlikely to have any s ubstantial effect on transmission. Risk factors that seem to be of importance at the population level include poor living and working conditions associated with high risk of TB transmission, and factors that impair the hosts defence against TB infection and disease, such as HIV infection, malnutrition, smoking, diabetes, alcohol abuse, and indoor air pollution. Preventive interventions may target these factors directly or via their underlying social determinants. The identification of risk groups also helps to target strategies for early detection of people in need of TB treatment(Là ¶nnroth, Jaramillo, Williams, et al., 2009). How common is TB in the UK? It has been difficult to eradicate TB both globally and in the UK. Vaccination programs and improvements in housing, nutrition and access to treatment have been largely the reason for a global decrease in TB. However, TB is still rife in less developed countries where poor conditions are still present. Several strains of TB bacteria have developed a resistance to one or more anti-TB medications, making them much harder to treat. Theglobal epidemic of HIV that began in the 1980s has also led to a corresponding epidemic of TB cases. This is because HIV weakens a persons immune system, making them more likely to develop a TB infection. The rapid growth of international travel has allowed people to travel widely and this has helped to spread of the disease. Although the rates of TB have stabilised in the UK over the past seven years, following the increase in the incidence from 1990 to 2005, the incidence of TB in the UK remains high compared to most other Western European countries(Hayward, Darton, Van-Tam, et al., 2003). There were 8,751 cases reported in 2012, an incidence of 13.9 per 100,000 population (Health Protection Agency, 2013b). The majority of TB cases (73%) occurred among people born in high-incidence countries and are generally concentrated to large urban areas with a high proportion of people born outside the UK where the rate of TB among the non UK-born population is almost 20 times the rate in the UK-born (Health Protection Agency, 2013b). London accounts for the highest proportion of cases in the UK (39%) and the highest rate of disease (41.8 cases per 100,000), followed by the West Midlands (12%; 19.3 cases per 100,000). Left untreated, one person with pulmonary TB may infect around 10–15 people every year (Department of Health, 2004). TB in prisons It is important to identify settings where the risk of TB transmission is particularly high. Groups at risk not only include people born in high prevalence areas (e.g. sub-Saharan Africa, South East Asia, Eastern Europe), but also people with reduced immunity (e.g. HIV, diabetes, renal failure), those with alcohol or drug problems and people who are homeless or living in overcrowded conditions (Story, Murad, Roberts, et al., 2007). These risk factors are over represented in prison populations with high levels of social and health needs. A systematic review on the incidence of TB in prisons globally (largely in the USA), showed that TB was about 26x higher than in the general population(Baussano, Williams, Nunn, et al., 2010). In the London prison population, the incidence of TB has been estimated at about 208 per100,000 (Story, Murad, Roberts, et al., 2007). Figure 1: Incidence of TB in different locations and settings[A1] Across the London prison and IRC estate, prisons are at or very close of operational capacity (ranging from 72% 103%) and with the high churn rate which increases the risk of TB transmission and poses significant challenges for TB identification and management (see Table 1). In addition, a significant proportion of the prison population are of a foreign nationality (up to 44% in one prison) and on average, just over one quarter (27%) of the prison population are foreign nationals. The majority of the prison and IRC population are under the age of 39 years old, representing another TB risk factor. Table 1: Summary of Prison Establishments Individuals at high risk for TB are typically unwilling or unable to seek and comply with medical care, and are therefore hard to reach. Individuals at high risk are also more likely to be diagnosed at a late stage of the disease and are less likely to adhere to treatment(Health Protection Agency, 2013b). In prison and IRC settings, overcrowding, late detection, barriers to adequate treatment, and poor implementation of infection control measures might also increase the TB transmission rate and improving prison conditions is a priority for any programme to control TB and reduce its spread back into the community (Levy, Reyes Coninx, 1999). TB has been identified as a key health concern where the need for greater TB control in the prison setting was highlighted in the Chief Medical Officer’s (CMO) action plan for England (Department of Health, 2004). The Department of Health (DH) announced that they were to fund the installation of static Digital X-Ray (DXR) machines in large local prisons receiving people from areas with a high prevalence of TB. This led to the installation of DXR machines in 5 London prisons (and 3 out of London). All participating prisons had their machines signed off and handed over by March 2012 but due to changes in commissioners and providers during the lifetime of the project, the impact of the programme to date has been variable. More recently, the new national partnership agreement(Anon, n.d.) just signed between Public Health England (PHE), NHS England (NHSE) and the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) also draws particular focus and commitment to the epidemiology of TB in pris ons, particularly in those that have access to DXR machines. The agreement sets a priority for this year (2013-14) as: â€Å"Priority 11: Improving the detection and management of TB among prisoners at or near reception.† The commitment in the partnership agreement is to ensure that by April 2014, NHSE, NOMS and PHE will ensure that all fixed digital X-ray machines are fully operational and being used as part of an active care pathway in those prisons where they are currently installed. TB in IRCs Robust data relating to TB in IRCs is not routinely collected or available so there are no estimates of the incidence of TB in these settings. However, a sample of detainees in a single IRC within Southern England identified prevalence rates of 3% for TB (McLaren, Baugh, Plugge, et al., 2013) which is considerably higher than those found among the migrant population in England (Health Protection Agency, 2013b). Detainees at Harmondsworth and Colnbrook are men mostly aged 20-40 (see Table 1) and from disadvantaged areas of the world where TB is still rife. The average length of stay is around 2 weeks; although some have been detained for over 1 year. Guidance for best practice NICE have developed national guidance on the ‘Clinical diagnosis and management of tuberculosis, and measures for its prevention and control(NICE public health guidance, 2011), as well as more specific guidelines for identifying and managing TB among hard to reach groups (NICE public health guidance, 2012). This guidance, consistent with World Health Guidance(World Health Organisation, Europe, 2013a), aims to improve the way tuberculosis (TB) among hard-to-reach groups is identified and managed and makes specific reference to using prison and IRC settings to target these groups. NICE recommend that early identification and effective treatment of active TB provides the best outcomes, reduces onward transmission and reduces the development of drug-resistant forms of the disease. The identification and management of latent TB infection is also highlighted. The NICE guidance is based on the evidence resulting from four large systematic reviews(NICE, 2012a, 2012b, 2012c, 2012d) which informed the key recommendations relating to TB in prisons and IRCs. These include the best ways to identify TB, manage TB, organisational factors and identifying and managing latent TB. Identifying TB There are several approaches to identify latent and/or active TB in different populations. The Mantoux test is a widely used test for latent TB. It involves injecting a substance called PPD tuberculin into the skin and those that are sensitive to PPD tuberculin will develop a hard red bump at the site of the injection, usually within 48 to 72 hours of having the test. This is indicative of a latent TB. A very strong skin reaction may require a chest X-ray to confirm if this is an active TB infection(NHS Choices, 2013). The interferon gamma release assay (IGRA) is a newer type of blood test for TB that is becoming more widely available and can also help diagnosis latent TB. It can be used after a positive Mantoux test or as part of a screening or health check process. An active TB infection is usually diagnosed from a chest X-ray and samples of mucus and phlegm which are checked under a microscope for the presence of TB bacteria. A CT scan, MRI and/or biopsy will also be taken if an extra-pulmonary TB is suspected. A lack of information and awareness about TB services has been highlighted as a barrier to successful identification of TB (Brent Refugee Forum, 2007). Studies have highlighted that members of hard-to-reach groups frequently report incomplete or inaccurate information about the cause and transmission of TB with misconceptions included dirty or wet environment, sharing of domestic objects, and punishment from God (Brent Refugee Forum, 2007). Smoking(Brent Refugee Forum, 2007; Brewin, Jones, Kelly, et al., 2006; Gerrish, Ismail Naisby, 2010), poor diet and malnutrition(Brewin, Jones, Kelly, et al., 2006; Gerrish, Ismail Naisby, 2010), poverty (Brewin, Jones, Kelly, et al., 2006) however, were correctly perceived to affect susceptibility to TB. The fear of medical services as well as anxiety around the associations of TB with death have also been highlighted as barriers to diagnosing TB in high risk groups (Gerrish, Ismail Naisby, 2010; Marais, 2007; Brent Refugee Forum, 2007). Stigma is also highlighted as a major issue when diagnosing and screening for TB. Most studies with hard to reach groups describe a sense of shame and forced or voluntary isolation resulting from a TB diagnosis, although stigma was expressed differently in different groups. Homeless participants in London reported that being diagnosed with TB was embarrassing and rarely discussed among the homeless community because of the stigma attached to TB in this population(Whoolery, 2008). TB patients often face dual stigma—from their own communities and their wider communities. Most studies looking at the barriers to identifying TB have been conducted in immigrant groups in community settings and there is a lack of research into the barriers to identifying TB in prison or IRC populations. In addition, there are limited studies that focus on how to improve these passive case detection approaches or contact tracing approaches. With the difficulties in identifying TB in these hard to reach groups, researchers have sought to evaluate the effectiveness of active screening for TB rather than a passive approach where it is up to the individual to make contact with health services. Active screening has been found to be an effective and cost-effective strategy in immigrants and new entrants (Laifer, Widmer, Simcock, et al., 2007; Monney Zellweger, 2005; Verver, Bwire Borgdorff, 2001), homeless and intravenous drug users(Watson, Abubaker, Story, et al., 2007) in identifying active TB cases are an early stage. In particular, the â€Å"FindTreat† service, which is a Department of Health-funded initiative, aims to strengthen tuberculosis (TB) control among hard-to-reach populations through active case finding using a mobile X-ray unit (MXU)(Jit, Stagg, Aldridge, et al., 2011). In addition, the FindTreat service follows up closely those on treatment and provides support in completing treatment. Although the s ervice used to screen a large number of prisoners, it had mostly stopped since the introduction of DXR machines in prisons for active case finding in new inmates. On average, each year the find and treat service identified 16 people with TB in the hard-to-reach population, who may not have been identified and treated and also managed and supports the treatment for a further 100 or more cases. Despite these studies, there is limited direct evidence for the best methods for screening for TB in prisons(NICE, 2012b). Puisis et al conducted an innovative program of high speed radiographic screening for pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) at a large American correctional facility. The case finding rate for active disease with radiographic screening was approximately double the rate previously achieved with Mantoux skin testing. (Puisis, Feinglass, Lidow, et al., 1996). However, the findings are unclear how much of the difference in prevalence is caused by the different screening strategies and how much reflects different baseline disease prevalence. Another retrospective cohort study, compared the potential impact of limiting screening with mobile X-ray units to prisoners in the UK with symptoms of TB, compared with universal screening regardless of symptoms. Restricting screening just to prisoners with any of the five symptoms would have missed 36.7% of TB cases and more cases of TB would have been missed if screening was limited to a smaller range of symptoms. (S Yates; A Story; AC Hayward, 2009). The st udy is limited because although these symptoms may have been present at the time of screening, it is not known if professionals would have screened for TB based on these symptoms in real practice. Mobile X-ray unit (MXU) screening in those that are homeless, drug users or in prison have also been found to reduce diagnostic delay compared with passive case-detection and cases were less likely to be contagious on diagnosis compared with passive case-detection (Watson, Abubaker, Story, et al., 2007). However, the main limitation of this study is that results for different sub-populations were not reported separately, so it remains unclear whether any one hard-to-reach group benefited significantly from mobile x-ray screening. Chest X-ray screening has also been shown to be more cost-effective than the Mantoux test in immigrants and in prisoners(Jones Schaffner, 2001). However, the start-up costs of implementing the miniature chest radiograph screening were not taken into account. Cons idering the technology and training necessary to implement such a tool in a prison setting, this information could have had an effect on the costs. Active screening seems to increase identification of latent and active TB infection across hard-to-reach groups who are at high risk of infection, compared with passive case-detection, and leads to earlier diagnosis and reduced infective periods in those with active TB. Although the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of mobile X-ray screening is limited in prisons settings, NICE recommend that in prisons housing populations from high incidence areas and where the start-up costs had been largely funded by the DH, it was judged that X-ray screening would be cost effective. For other prisons, initial, symptom-based screening was adequate(NICE public health guidance, 2012). Managing and treating active TB Although TBcan be a very serious disease, it is possible to make a full recovery from most forms of TB with treatment. TB can usually be cured by taking several powerful antibiotics daily for several months. However, the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains and the poor adherence to treatment has kept TB high up on the international health agenda with WHO declaring a crisis of multidrug resistant TB (World Health Organisation, 2013). The Health Protection Agency has found that only 79% of people with TB in the UK completed treatment which is below the World Health Organisation target of 85% (Health Protection Agency, 2013c). The mix of drug regimes, treatment isolation and length of time of treatment presents a number of challenges to ensure patients adhere to treatment regimes. Adherence can be particularly difficult in those with multiple needs, e.g. homeless and seeking substance abuse treatment (Whoolery, 2008). Directly Observed Therapy Short course (DOTS) is one method used to increase adherence to TB treatment. DOT is not just the direct supervision of therapy but also considers distinct elements of political commitment; microscopy services; drug supplies; surveillance and monitoring systems and use of highly efficacious regimens (World Health Organisation, Europe, 2013b). It can be difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of DOTS as a complete strategy to increase adherence and the focus of studies have evaluated the direct supervision of therapy. For example, significantly more people adhered to more than six months of treatment when they received DOT in substance misuse(Alwood, Keruly, Moore-Rice, et al., 1994) and in foreign born individuals (MacIntyre, Goebel, Brown, et al., 2003). However, there have been limited studies into prison populations with some suggestions of improved adherence with DOT(Rodrigo, Caylà  , Garcà ­a de Olalla, et al., 2002) and other findings showing no sign ificant differences (Dà ¨ruaz Zellweger, 2004). The effectiveness of DOT across prison and IRC populations still remains unclear. The views of treatment and management of TB can be particularly important when considering adherence. For example, the views on traditional and modern medicine can also vary between different groups which can impact the management of TB. The Brent Refugees Forum reported that Somalis in the UK reported a preference to try traditional medicine as a first choice (Brent Refugee Forum, 2007) whereas Somalis in New Zealand would prefer modern medicine first in response to their experiences of TB related deaths in their home country(van der Oest, Chenhall, Hood, et al., 2005). Some groups preferred approaches to treatment that included both traditional and modern medicines(NICE, 2012a). Talking to the patient to find out their preferences can help patients to make decisions about their treatment based on an understanding of the likely benefits and risks rather than on misconceptions (Nunes V, Neilson J, O’Flynn N, Calvert, N, Kuntze S, Smit, hson H, Benson J,, et al., 2009). Very li ttle is known of the impact of TB treatment on jobs, family and children (NICE, 2012a) and in particular, the psychological impact of isolation. TB treatment should be provided on a voluntary basis and the WHO highlight the importance of â€Å"engaging with patients as partners in the treatment process and respecting their autonomy and privacy† (World Health Organisation, 2013). This can be a particularly important issue when concerned with isolating an individual with a suspected or confirmed case of TB, which should be undertaken on a voluntary basis and involuntary isolation should only be used as a last resort. Few studies have explored the potential benefits that patients may experience when seeking TB treatment. A small number of homeless participants reported that TB treatment helped make further lifestyle changes that improved their health in general. For example, improved living conditions and regaining relationships with family (Whoolery, 2008). Another study reported that immigrants reported a ‘social responsibility’ to seek TB treatment although this was anxiety provoking (Brewin, Jones, Kelly, et al., 2006). Evidence suggests that discussing with the patient why they might benefit from the treatment can improve patient engagement and adherence(Nunes V, Neilson J, O’Flynn N, Calvert, N, Kuntze S, Smit, hson H, Benson J,, et al., 2009). Organisational factors Delays in identifying and successfully managing TB can be the result of individual and service provider factors. The provisions used to deliver care and support can determine how services should be structured to manage people with TB in hard-to-reach groups. These organisational factors can include the settings used to identify and manage TB as well as the type and needs of the healthcare worker. A lack of specialist services and coordination of care can be a major difficulty in TB service provision, since most GPs see few cases of TB a year (Belling, McLaren, Boudioni, et al., 2012; Gerrish, Ismail Naisby, 2010). The complex social and clinical interactions surrounding a patient with TB can be a challenge to participation and adherence and there is a need for TB link workers to facilitate coordination of services (Brent Refugee Forum, 2007; Belling, McLaren, Boudioni, et al., 2012). Healthcare workers may find it challenging to meet the complex care needs of hard-to-reach groups with TB, especially where there are cultural and language barriers that make it difficult to interpret symptoms and explain about the disease and its treatment (Moro, Resi, Lelli, et al., 2005). In addition, service providers can also be afraid of the consequences of contracting TB, including becoming stigmatised. Non clinical healthcare workers may also have limited knowledge about TB, the need for screening and the implications of a positive test result (Joseph, Shrestha-Kuwahara, Lowry, et al., 2004). There is considerable variation in the delivery of some aspects of TB services and more research is needed in the UK on the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of different service structures to manage TB(NICE, 2012d). In addition to the NICE national guidance, Public Health England have produced London specific guidelines on the management of TB in prisons (Health Protection Agency, 2013a) based on pilot work across a number of London prisons. This guidance aims to minimise the risk of transmission of TB within the prison environment through efficient systems to detect ca

What Is Cyber Forensic Information Technology Essay

What Is Cyber Forensic Information Technology Essay Cyber forensics is the process of acquisition, authentication, analysis and documentation of evidence retrieved from the systems or online used to commit the crime. The systems could be from computers, networks, digital media or storage devices that could contain valuable information for the investigators to examine. From online, it could be from e-commerce domains or other websites. In cyber forensics, file or data carving techniques are most commonly used to extract digital evidence from the source; hard drive or online domain (Ibrahim, 2011, p. 137). Computer forensics is important not just because it does recover files hidden or deleted away from storage devices and systems but it can also tell forensics experts whether are there any suspicious activities going on or had the systems been tampered with. Computer forensics had helped solved the issue of recovering information from files where file system is unavailable or file system structure is corrupted. Files may be intentional ly deleted or worse formatted to the interest of the suspect to conceal his actions. In todays modern era where technology plays a part in almost all the electronic devices, it is important to know when required, how a trained forensics specialist can perform up to expectation, in collecting and present his evidence findings to corresponding agencies (Ibrahim, 2011, p.138). History of Cyber Forensics The uprise of cyber forensics started as early as 1984, in response to the growing demand from law enforcement agencies like FBI (John, 2003, p. 366). However digital forensics has been around as early as nearly the first birth of computer (Greg, 2012, p. 1). Since 1980s, forensics applications are developed by relevant law enforcement agencies to examine computer evidence. Due to forensics growing needs, FBI set up CART; also known as Computer Analysis and Response Team. CART was tasked with the role of analysing computer evidence. CART functions and techniques were so greatly used and performance by them was so great; other law enforcement agencies outside the country quickly emulated them by establishing the same cyber forensics department (John, 2003, p. 366). Examinations of forensics evidence are normally held in forensics laboratories or clean rooms by computer forensics investigators. A good and knowledgeable forensics expert is best preferred to be in the process of examination, as it is always vital to perverse the integrity of the data and not destroy it. Many forensics experts have their own standards and procedures on how computer forensics examinations are conducted which can be a big issue. Having double standards could jeopardize the integrity, creditably and validity of the digital evidence which could result in serious implications along the way. Therefore, as early as 1991, suggestions were made to streamline and standardise the examination processes and protocols had been raised. The purpose was to smoothen out rough edges approach used in evidence finding. Eventually, all these led to the formation of International Organization on Computer Evidence and Scientific Working Group on Digital Evidence (SWGDE). It became a world wide effort to help law enforcement agencies around the globe to work together more closely with regards to forensics examinations (John, 2003, p. 366). Over the years as modern technology advances, so have the criminal activities on the Net, using these technologies. Crimes not only doubled with the advance of technology but showed no sign of slowing down with the current situation. Criminals cracked their brains how to bypass security flaws in the systems while security teams brainstormed on how to improve security systems to keep criminals off. Billions of dollars were lost to cybercrime which part of it went into criminal pockets and fund illegal activities. It will always be a cop and thief game to see who stepped up to the task of stopping each other from doing crime on the Internet first (John, 2003, p. 367). What is Digital Evidence? Digital evidence is evidence in the form of soft copy but not hardcopy as the term suggested so. It can be in any type of data format, it can be part of texts, images, audio or video. Digital evidence is not quite similar to physical crime evidence. Evidence from physical crime scene is durable to a certain extent, it can be kept and took down with camera and explained. However, this is not the case for digital evidence, any wrong move to examine the evidence might alter or destroy the evidence without able to rollback (Eoghan, 2011, p. 7). Digital evidence is so fragile, it can be easily damaged, modified or destroyed purposely. That is why most of the time, original evidence are often duplicated and analysis is carried out on the duplicated copy to prevent any mishap of damaging the original copy. Scope of digital evidence examination can be very broad, it can be either online or offline. Examples of them are credit card transactions, Internet communications history, hard drives and other storage devices (Barry, William, Catherine, 2009, p. 295). Digital evidence is very critical to an investigation because the information on the evidence can tell the investigator what really happened and pieced together the whole picture. Forensics experts are looking for any form of metadata, suspicious content and other data residing in the hard drive. Every single click by the user on the computer was recorded by the system and a trained forensics expert can tell from one look what types of activity and desire the user was engaged in. better than anyone else. The recorded logs act like a behavioural database; documenting every single movement on the laptop used by anyone (Eoghan, 2003, p. 8). The consequences will be unthinkable in this revolution age of technology, if digital evidence is not available. It means criminals, terrorists and law breaking offenders are using technology to commit their cybercrimes and avoid apprehension due to the lack of evidence, or worst, bring arresting those using legal means to a whole new level for law enforcement agencies. If this is the case, it will mean these criminals will get away scot-free. Digital evidence can tell judges or investigators the truth, it can also prove ones innocent in a crime. Digital evidence speaks the truth. Digital evidence can also unveil a bigger crime plot in the making, like murder, drug dealing, credit card theft, or planned terrorist attacks However, sometimes forensics expert can meet their match, people who are technically knowledgeable in forensics and know how to hide their tracks. This will make uncovering ones track of dirty doing more tedious and difficult. (Eoghan Casey, p. 6 8) Evidence Preservation The very first step of starting an investigation on the crime scene itself is to preserve the digital evidence in the way itself. It is a critical step because of the fragility of digital evidence and procedures are needed to be in placed to avoid contamination or loss of the evidence. Contamination can also mean altering, damaging or destroying the digital evidence. It is important to minimise any chances of corrupting the digital evidence at the point of seizure and whole of the investigation process (Boddington, 2011, p. 4). There are methods and techniques out there to aid fellow forensics experts to prevent digital evidence from being unintentionally tampered with. Experts can utilise method such as Imaging and Write-block. Imaging is equivalent to ghosting a backup copy of the whole computer hard drive (evidence) into a soft copy. So investigators work on the ghosted copy of the hard drive and the original hard drive is kept one side. In any case, if the ghosted copy is corrupted; investigators can pull out the original hard drive and create another copy to work on. Write-block is another good way to prevent original evidence being altered. The evidence media is connected with a special machine that can prevent any attempt to overwrite the data on the device. Thus, the evidence on the hard drive cannot be altered as any attempt to write on the media had been blocked by the special machine (Barry, William, Catherine, 2009, p. 301). The reason behind preservation of digital evidence is simple. When submitting digital evidence for documentations or legal purposes in any court or legal department, legitimate proof is required to show correct findings on the investigation. It had to show the same as the exhibit seized at the crime scene. This phenomenon is also commonly known as chain of custody. For example, in a cyber-forensics crime environment, such exhibits would be media storage devices, a copy of digital evidence from the hard disk seized and so on (Boddington, 2011, p. 5). Chain of custody basically is a map that clearly depicts the process of how digital evidence were processed; collected, analysed and preserved in order to be presented as digital evidence in court. A chain of custody will also be needed to showcase whether the evidence is trustworthy or not. To meet all the requirements for chain of custody, three criteria are essential. Firstly, no alteration must be done to the evidence from the day of seizure. Secondly, a duplicate copy needed to be created and it had to be functional; not corrupted. Lastly, all evidence and media are secured. Able to provide this chain of custody is unbroken is an investigator primary tool in authenticating all the electronic evidence (John, 2005, p. 247). If the chain of custody is broken, digital evidence collected from the scene submitted to the court can be denied as the evidence might had been altered and might not tell the truth of the evidence. This is a prosecutor worst nightmare. In any situation, chain of custody is best followed to prove that evidence does not get contaminated and stayed in original state. However, there are occasions where collecting evidence without altering the data is not possible, especially when forensics tools were used. Such act will prove to be a serious implication to justify the evidence is intact and submission of such evidence will be challenged by the opposing team (Boddington, 2011, p. 6). Locate Evidence Once preserving the evidences is done, its time to locate relevant evidence that can make a difference in the legal battle (Boddington, 2011, p. 8). The general first rule of thumb when locating the evidence is do not rush, as one is eager to get the investigation started, wants to find as many evidences as possible. However, the more one rushes the more mistakes the one is likely to make. Rushing into an investigation can have dire consequences, consequences like causing evidence to be lost prematurely or altered unintentionally (John, 2005, p. 249). Besides locating evidence, investigators must also maintain high integrity and reliability of the digital evidence, doing so, will minimise metadata being altered and destruction of important evidence (John Rudolph, 2010, p. 126). Digital evidence can be in any file format; email, notepad or video or it can have no file format due to the fact that it had been encrypted. Forensics experts need to browse through thousands of files in the computer system or network to spot and collect suspicious files. Forensics experts are trained and taught to focus on area of interests within the system. Examples of such areas are like Recycle bin, Windows Registry and Internet Temp Folder. Focusing on these areas saved tremendous hours of searching. These areas will tell the investigators what took had happened and who did it (Boddington, 2011, p. 8). To examine such a wide range of file types after taking consideration the area of interests. The process of examination gets whole lot tougher and te dious. Investigators will bring in tools to help facilitate them with locating and collecting of the evidence. Forensics experts often use tools like OSforensics, XYR tools, Quick Stego or other sophiscated toolkits to aid them in the finding. All these tools will help investigators to decide whether they are looking at the correct areas or not and whether did they missed out anything important. Such equipment not only uncovers hidden or deleted files, it can also reveal the importance of the file whether it is relevant to the case or not (John, 2005, p. 249). Select and Analyse Selecting evidence is often referred to the same meaning as analysing the evidence. Select and analyse the evidence that is going to be part of a legal lawsuit. Investigators do not just select all evidences and submit for lawsuit. Things like attribution and documents authentication played a part in the selecting of evidence. Suspects can lie but not the evidence. Attributing a crime to an individual is hard but with the help of forensics analysis, investigators can narrow down to an Internet account or User account that had been used to commit the crime. For instance, access to e-commerce domains makes it difficult for suspects to deny responsibility for the activities he did using the computer around the time reported. Alternatively, sources like credit card usage, CCTV footage or mobile phone messages can be used against him as well. Selecting evidence found across the hard drive to be used on suspect is tedious work as it got to match perfectly with the time of his illegal act, creating a timeline with it (Eoghan, 2009, p. 27). Checking of metadata on documents for authentication may seem like a small properties of the file but it capture one of the most important aspect of forensics evidence. From the metadata, investigators are able to see when the file was created, last accessed and last modified. Using of date-time stamp on files and logs file will be able to determine whether documents that are documented falsely or fabricated by looking into consistencies in log files. These methods will help investigators to authenticate the validity of the digital evidence (Eoghan, 2009, p. 31). Meticulously selecting and analysing the evidence found in the crime scene will help piece together the whole timeline of the act. Investigators might be able to tell from it the motive and intention of the suspect. Using evidence across the crime scene and cross referencing it accurately will piece together a series of event that can help to locate the suspect and prove his crimes. However, in the same situation doing it wrongly might twist the fact from fiction and caused inaccurate judgement on the crime (Eoghan, 2009, p. 21 23). Evidence Validation Investigators need to have the confidence to draw inference from evidence picked up from the crime itself, whether can it be used in a legal argument or not. Validating digital evidence requires verification of relevant parts of the digital domain where the evidence is created, processed and transferred, including the evidence file itself. No doubt that the job of an investigator is tough, preserve, locate and validate digital evidence, however, legal practitioners have greater challenge, to construct logical legal arguments (Boddington, R., Hobbs, V.J. Mann, G, 2008, p. 3 5). Task of the investigator is to determine the credibly, validity and namely if the claim drawn from the evidence can be verified. For example, the assertion that an important word document was deleted would require confirmation of the existence of the deleted file through forensics tools. Incomplete or improper scanning of the available digital evidence during validation process of the investigate might jeopar dise the evidence and people involve in the crime. In a more dire case, investigation can come to a halt and come to a standstill. (Boddington, R., Hobbs, V.J. Mann, G, 2008, p. 7- 10). In some cases, investigators might missed out key piece of digital evidence and resort to cherry- picking when selecting or discarding evidence to gain an upper hand in legal battle; sometimes an absence of evidence of evidence does not necessarily show evidence of absence a phenomenon of the digital domain. To sum up how evidence is validate and presented in legal suit, its all up to the skill and knowledge of the investigators accumulated all of the years (Boddington, R., Hobbs, V.J. Mann, G, 2008, p. 14). Evidence Presentation Having selected and validated the digital evidence, the next step is to present the evidence found in an orderly manner in court (Boddington, 2011, p. 14). The digital evidence submitted can be in any format. It can be photo, CCTV footage, video or word processed document. Through digital presentation, it enables the case to be heard in court in a way such that it is faster and easier for the jury to judge and digest the information (The Stationery Office, 2007, p. 48). The fundamental in a courtroom is to administer justice and give a fair verdict. The role of investigators is to present digital evidence found and other relevant supporting documents to the court. It is always an investigator duty to present the evidence in an accurately, clear and non-bias view to the court. This is a rightful thing as a investigator should do. An investigator judgement must not be shaken by others in court and must not jump to conclusion, giving a clear and proper presentation. It is investigator p rofessionalism by doing so. (Eoghan, 2011, p. 49) Forensics Tools Forensics tools played an important role in digital forensics, without the use of such high tech software in this modern era; it will put digital investigation back into primitive age. They had been developed for a single purpose in the past to aid forensics experts in the investigations of digital crime. They can be classified into three categories; Imaging Tools, Analysis Tools and Forensics toolkits (Panagiotis, 2006, p. 62). The sole purpose of the imaging tools is to image a hard drive, making a bit-by-bit copy. This bit-by-bit copy image file is often known as the analysis drive. During this process of creating a copy of the suspects hard drive, it is important that no additional data was inserted. It will alter not just the integrity and the validity of the evidence resided in the hard drive. Out in the open market, there are a few trustworthy and easy to use imaging tools developed for forensics examinations. One of them is Norton Ghost. Symantecs Norton Ghost 9.0 has been out in the market for quite some time. It is a backup and restoration utility that can work on Windows, Linux and DOS systems. Its prominent function featured the creation of backup images without having to restart the system. Other features of Norton Ghost include Ghost Server, cloning back a machine with the image created earlier on. It also featured Ghost Explorer. This function allows creator to view the files inside the image where the hard drive was cloned (Panagiotis, 2006, p. 63). Tools that fall into analysis category have a wide range. Tools like Quick Stego and DriveSpy are good examples of analysis tools. DriveSpy was designed to emulate and improve the capabilities of DOS to meet the needs of forensics examinations. It can be used to analyse DOS and non-DOS partition using a built in sector hex viewer (Panagiotis, 2006, p. 63 64). Software like Quick Stego detects hidden text message inside a larger message. Such text is not available through the naked eye of a human; it requires software like quick stego, which can detect it. The term for detecting hidden text is known as stenography. The hidden information can be in plain texts or images. This technique is often useful for hiding particular messages not wanted to be seen by people, expect those who know they are receiving information embedded with stenography. Quick stego is simple and easy to use software. It helps forensics experts to dig deeper into the system with the help of it, it might lead to uncover a bigger plot not yet found by the investigators (Lech Andrew, 2008, p. 60). Forensics tools can make a difference for forensics experts. It helped forensics experts to better analysis the system and gather more evidence. In another words, it is like post mortem forensics. Tools like OSforensics and ProDiscoverTools have the ability to do, it gives the investigator the ability and capability to process recent activity and logs of the system to better understand the suspect movements. It also features the capability to recover deleted file and discover delete activities, intended to hide from the examiner. Besides the features mentioned, both tools had other functions like email analysis or index search analysis, which give a more straightforward and easier format to understand (Lech Andrew, 2008, p. 61 65). Hypothesis and alternative hypotheses After finding evidences in a crime scene, investigators might have their own hypothesis that fit the crime. Many predictions may follow through, forming other hypotheses, some are correct to a certain extent while others are wrong. Part of the forensics experts is to figure out which hypothesis is the right one by eliminating the others. Success of the analysis lies on how carefully and thoroughly the hypothesis is being questioned. Therefore, it is critical to consider other reasons and explanations to cross out wrong hypotheses. Once all the hypotheses had been reviewed and only one of them have been established as the most reasonable, fit closest to the series of event relating to the crime according to evidence found and timeline. Investigators can then convey their work to decision makers to make their final decision (Eoghan, 2009, p. 24). On occasions, if initial hypothesis had been disapproved, a new one must be formed and analysed until one hypothesis is found to be concreted and able to withstand questions asked by the court. This is to ensure hypothesis gets it full support from the evidence themselves and able to tell the story of the real crime (John, 2005, p. 66). Conclusion Cyber crime is evolving from day to day and it is getting more and more sophiscated. Criminals are using more and more innovating and creative ways to commit crimes and hide their tracks. Measures and policies were in placed to prevent from bypassing the system flaws from causing impact to the businesses and the societies (John, 2005, p. 182). The demand for forensics examination on crime systems had surged greatly in the 21st century, where technology plays a part in all electronic devices. It has helped law enforcement agencies in the identification of cyber and computer-assisted crime. Organisations are stressing the importance on the need to have capabilities and abilities using computer forensics tools to identify misuse of organisation systems in the office (Greg, 2012, p. 6). Computer forensics was initially designed and developed to assist in the practical application of the technology. However, in the recent years, it spark off a new sensation in academic research, exploring new ways to better obtain forensic evidence, every new research done is a new insight gained by the investigators. However, as technology advances, so have the criminals, law enforcement agencies, organisations and indivulas needs to know basic protection measures to safeguard their own asset from falling into the wrong hands. (Nathan Clarke, 2010, p58)

Chef :: essays research papers

Chef This epic tale of love and deception takes us back in time to the year nineteen hundred and eighty seven. Early one morning in London, England, we find ourselves in the kitchen of Chef. This sweet mouthwatering scent of Salisbury steak fills the room. This was to be the finest steak Chef had ever prepared. He planned to enter a contest with this masterpiece, the prize being a cruise to Greenland. To Chef, this was the land of paradise. He would be the only man there to seduce and womanize the native females. The oven bell rang. The Salisbury steak was done to perfection. He rushed it to his finest Tupperware to the judges mouths. They chewed and gagged, but due to lack of contestants he won. He now had earned his passage to Greenland, and broke out in song. Time passed and the day of the cruise had arrived. It was time to board the ship. Dressed in his finest crushed velvet robe and lucky Chef’s hat, he set off. As the ship set away the Chef wandering the decks, taking in all of the sights and sounds. There on the main deck, he found his favorite spot. Shedding his robe, he stood in his fluorescent pink G-string. He approached a beautiful women sunning herself. He seductively blurted out “Woman your body is screaming for the oily touch of my strong black hands.'; At that moment she bursts into tears. He asked, “What’s wrong baby?'; She then explained to him that her name was Cartman, Mrs. Cartman. She had been forced into engagement with not only Mr. Garrison but Mr. Hat as well. The sorrow this caused her was too great, so she planned to end her life. The Chef then uttered back to her “Woman that would be a crime to ugly up a fine body like yours, let me take your picture and send to a fine quality, readin g periodical.'; Surprised at the offer she accepted. The Chef then escorted her to a more proper setting of his room. As he properly positioned her upon the couch, the Chef realized that he had no camera. Thinking quickly, he remembered the colored pencil he had in pocket. He knew it would be perfect, but still he asked, “Would mind if I traced the curves of your body with my dark colored pencil.'; She replied with an exciting giggle.

Scholarly Discourse Paper -- Sociology

In the views of society today children are taught by example. Monkey see, monkey do. The Saturday morning cartoons, parents, the latest video games, teachers, and the media all showed kids that you can be anything you want to be, as long as you set your mind to it. The majority of little girls wanted to be a princess and little boys wanted to be a super hero when they grow up. In reality, the princesses didn’t grow up to be aristocrats and the super heroes are not fighting the cities’ latest crimes. Children are told to use their imagination and creativity, but in todays society their imaginations and life aspirations are refocused by their social class. . Considering the research done by C.H Knoblauch, Johnathan Kozol, and Jean Anyon, the education system specifically prepares each student for his or her future based on their parents’ income level, social class, and zip code. Parents’ income level and where they live directly correlates with what type of education their children will receive. Anyon argues that the students’ curriculum is either modified or enhanced based on the different areas of social class, and parental salary. â€Å"One’s social class, then, is a result of the relationships one has, largely ‘work,’ ‘capital and power,’ and ‘activity’† (Anyon 398). By living in a wealthier neighborhood, the property funds and taxes the residents pay are able to provide more funding to the surrounding schools. When living in a poor and underprivileged neighborhood, the taxes are significantly lower; therefore, the school system is left with a small amount of funding available to them.. The working class students live in the underprivileged neighborhoods. They read textbooks; when it rains water leaks from the ceiling into the ha... ...s. All of those toddlers in tiaras are going to be heartbroken when they are pushed off the throne and onto their hands and knees just like Cinderella. For some reason the pumpkins stay pumpkins even after midnight. As for the cape and tights, the boys would not last more than a minute in a high school without someone calling them a derogatory name. Whatever happened to the cliche saying, ‘dreams really do come true?’ They should probably put a disclaimer on it next time. Work Cited Page Anyon, Jean. "Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work." Journal of Education, Vol. 162, no. 1. Fall 1980. Kozol, Jonathan. â€Å"Still Separate, Still Unequal.† Journal of Education, Vol. 162, no. 1. 2005. Knoblauch, C. H. "Literacy and the Politics of Education." The Right to Literacy. Ed. Andrea A. Lunsford, Helene Mà ¶glen, and James Slevin. New York: MLA, 1990.

Latinos and their History in the United States

Although loosely united by a common heritage as native Spanish speakers from the Americas or their descendants, the numerous Latino groups in the United States are ethnically, racially, and socio-economically heterogeneous; each Latino subgroup representing a distinct culture and geographical area of the Americas. Using the terms â€Å"Latino† and the more official â€Å"Hispanic,† which the U.S. Census Bureau adopted in 1970, to describe the cultures of peoples from Mexico and the countries of Central and South America and the Caribbean is problematic in several respects.The term â€Å"Hispanic† is rejected by many authors as too reductive in its association with Spain and Spanish culture, thereby ignoring the indigenous and African heritage of many Latin American and Caribbean people. The term â€Å"Latino,† based more neutrally on an identity shared through the use of language, is perceived as more useful, if still an unsatisfactory label. â€Å"Chican o† and â€Å"Nuyorican,† more recent terms, are occasionally interchangeable with â€Å"Mexican American† and â€Å"Mainland Puerto Rican,† although the former in particular reflects a political expression of ethnic pride and the latter is now geographically limiting.The distinctions between these terms, even after being outline, remain in many situations vague.   Indeed, even the US Census fails to make accurate and definitive definitions:People who identify with the terms â€Å"Hispanic† or â€Å"Latino† are those who classify themselves in one of the specific Hispanic or Latino categories listed on the questionnaire—†Mexican,† â€Å"Puerto Rican,† or â€Å"Cuban†Ã¢â‚¬â€as well as those who indicate that they are â€Å"other Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino.† Origin can be viewed as the heritage, nationality group, lineage, or country of birth of the person or the person's parents or ancestors before t heir arrival in the United States. People who identify their origin as Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino may be of any race.   (US Census, Subject Definitions, 2000)Current statusToday the Latino presence has emerged, as a fact of American life – this diverse group has come to the United States and themselves become â€Å"Americans.† In fact, Latinos comprise the largest minority in the US today according to US Census studies. Furthermore, their data shows that â€Å"the estimated Hispanic population of the United States as of July 1, 2005 [was 42.7 million] making people of Hispanic origin the nation’s largest ethnic or race minority. Hispanics constituted 14% of the nation’s total population†Even today, this group continues to endure obstacles of racism in public policy and wide spread discrimination in the US.   Being grouped together has made the situation for many of what can loosely be considered Latino sub-groups both challenging and difficul t.   From the anti-Cuban sentiment in Florida to the anti-Mexican wall that has been proposed by President Bush, despite being the largest minority group in the US, these types of incidents and policies ensure that they remain just that – in the minority.FutureAs the next U.S.-born generations of Latinos come of age, the barriers and pain of systemic racism could be attacked more openly.   Many young people will start to openly reject the assumptions and generalizations that perpetuate stereotypes and keep Latino people in the grip of racism.Historically, in the organized pursuit of civil rights and equality in the United States black Americans have usually led the way. Since at least the early 1900s they have forced the passage of all major civil rights laws and the majority of the pivotal executive orders and court decisions protecting or extending antidiscrimination efforts. Latinos as well as Native and Asian Americans have been able to make some use of these civil ri ghts mechanisms to fight discrimination against their own groups, and this will likely continue in the future.Census data shows that in 2004, 21.9% of Latino people in the US were living in poverty and a further 32.7% lacked adequate health insurance.   Yet conversely, the same studies show that there were1.6 million businesses owned by Latino people in 2002 and that from 1997 to 2002, the rate of growth for businesses owned by Latino people was 31% compared to the national average of 10%. According to 2004 data, 2.7 million Latinos over the age of 18 had at lest a bachelor’s degree.   This means that things could well be shifting in the right direction.   Education and business savvy could well be conquering the effects of poverty and poor medical care. While these people continue to experience racism and ethnic stereotyping, there is an underlying spirit of perseverance that keeps them going and will no doubt pave the way for a brighter future.ReferencesAgosà ­n Marj orie. â€Å"Literature.† Latinas of the Americas. Ed. K. Lynn Stoner. Westport: Greenwood Press, 2000.Everett C. Ladd, â€Å"Moving to an America beyond Race,† The Public Perspective 7 (February/March 2003)Harry J. Brill, Why Organizers Fail ( Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001).John H. Bunzel, â€Å"Words that Smear, Like ‘Racism,’ Provoke Polarization,† San Francisco Chronicle, July 26, 2000U.S. Census Bureau. Hispanic Americans By the Numbers. Retrieved November 15, 2006 from http://www.infoplease.com/spot/hhmcensus1.htmlUS Census Bureau. Hispanic Population of the United States. Retrieved November 15, 2006 from http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/hispanic.html

The Categories of Value

It’s easy to assign Importance factors or risk categories to inanimate objects such as buildings, bridges, airplanes, dams, cars, and buses. It is agreeable to say that the structural integrity of a hospital is more important than that of a single family residence; especially, in the case of an emergency. When assigning importance or value to individual lives, we are confronted by an overwhelming social dilemma: How does society assign value to someone’s life?The essence of life or simply living and given the opportunity to become a contributing member of society is priceless and has an unsurmountable monetary value; however, within the constraints of the society we live in, we are forced to assign a monetary value to an individual life. If we strip away what makes us human – our souls— we can assign value and categorize human life by the sum of their contributions to society and the impact their absence would make. Those that commit horrible crimes and co ntribute negatively to society belong to the first category.Those who contribute very little or haven’t had the chance to contribute to society belong to the second category. Those contributors whose sudden absences affect a small amount of people belong to the third category. Those whose sudden absence affects many people belong to the fourth. Finally, those whose sudden absence can affect an entire society for generations to come belong to the fifth category. Murderers and individuals who wish harm on innocent people belong in the first category. They are in the first category due to their lack of contribution and harm to our society.Truly without them there would be less damage and fear in today’s world. You can easily distinguish the difference between the first and second category in the perspective of comparing them to someone in the second category, such as children and individuals whose lives were cut short, and sadly unable to even begin to contribute to socie ty; the ones in the first category are the ones who usually end up in prisons for violent crimes or serious violations, while the ones in the second category generally contains young people who haven’t had a chance to make a difference in society.Individuals in the third category would be the ones whose deaths would affect a small amount of people such as a blue collar worker who supports their family with their salary. The sudden loss of this person would be saddening but only the immediate family will typically need monetary compensation to cover any expenses left behind. In comparison, the ones in the fourth category whose deaths would affect a much larger amount of people such as, owners of important businesses whose death may result in the layoff of many employees.The individuals in the fifth category are the ones who have a huge contribution to our society, such as individuals who find cures to devastating diseases, physicist on the verge of making a great breakthrough, world leaders, and important policy makers. Without them our society let alone the whole world, would not be the same, they are the ones who make a difference in people’s lives. In the article, â€Å"What Is the Value of a Human Life? † by Kenneth Feinberg, he explores the moral problem with assigning different values to different members of society.The author finds it troubling that the compensation for someone’s death be related to that person’s financial situation. For example, someone in the fourth category mentioned above will most likely be a wealthy business owner while the person in the third category may be a modest middle class individual and would receive compensation accordingly. At the end of the article he states that in the future, he will provide equal compensation regardless of the person’s financial circumstances or status in society.I believe that monetary compensation should only cover funeral expenses and enough income to allo w their immediate families time to adjust to the loss and become self-sustaining. It is okay for a society that is based on capitalism to compensate and assign a monetary value to individuals. It is our souls and humanity that will always be in conflict with manmade laws and forged societies. That is why this debate will never end. The day that currency becomes obsolete will be the day that society will truly discover that the only thing worth valuing is life itself, not money.

Motivating Middle School Boys

Motivation of Middle School Boys in Math Class Abstract Middle school is a time of physical, emotional and social change for boys. When students hit middle school, academics tend to take a back seat to all of the new activity in their lives. For boys, middle school is increasingly difficult. In addition to the physical and emotional changes, the academic curriculum becomes more challenging and rigid. This does not align with a typical boy's learning style. Many boys in middle school are struggling through hard times at home.Situations may include challenges such as little to no parental support, poverty, and malnutrition. With all of the possible circumstances disrupting their home lives, it is hard for these boys to concentrate on how to solve an equation in math class. Teachers need to motivate boys by providing relevant, hands-on curriculum. Three ways that teachers can do this is by including family members in the classroom, using friendly competition in the form of games and con tests, and by relating mathematical lessons and material to real-life situations and interests that the boys might have. IntroductionBy seventh grade, most students have had years of poor attendance, little parental support, and many other issues related to poverty. They simply do not see the importance of mathematics in everyday life and how math can lead to better things for them. Males, in particular, want to continue the lifestyle they were raised in; showing little to no effort when it comes to the math classroom. This paper discusses three reasons why mathematics teachers should incorporate meaningful motivation strategies as a tool to motivate middle school males in the mathematics classroom. Including Family in the ClassroomOne way that teachers can help to motivate boys in the middle school classroom is to include their families in the classroom. The relationship between family and school influences the academic achievement of middle school students. These family relationsh ips and parental involvement mold students’ educational development drastically. Murdock and Miller (2003) refer to family as a major influence in how middle school boys deal with learning, peers, and motivation. They state â€Å"families play the most important role in students’ lives as they transition from elementary school to middle school†.The absence of a parent can play a very important role in the success of a student, so when the student sees that there is a connection between the classroom and their family, they are motivated to succeed. Middle school math teachers should try their best to create a sense of family cohesion and teamwork in the classroom. Teachers can do this by always making sure parents are aware of what is happening in the classroom, keeping the lines of communication open, and even incorporating projects that might need the student to work with a member of their family to complete it.Haim Ginott’s theory of congruent communica tion states that teachers should always use communication that is harmonious with students’ feelings about situations (Charles, 2008). This can be applied to idea of including families in the classroom because teachers need to keep the lines of communication open not only with their students, but with their students’ families. By taking the time to talk to students about situations arising in the classroom, it will be easy for teachers to communicate with parents about similar situations and the lack of motivation within the classroom.When students know that their families are involved in their academics, they are more inclined to succeed in the classroom. Introduce Competition Next, a second way that teachers can help to motivate middle school boys while in the classroom is to include the use of different games and contests. Most boys respond well to competition with their peers. They will force one another to greater speeds, improved accuracy and higher achievement i n the name of winning. Boys thrive on competition, so any type of game or activity that allows them to go against a peer in a competitive manner will motivate them to perform.In the following quote, Conti explains why he believes that competitions in the math classroom can spark an interest in math for boys. â€Å"Mathematics competitions are probably the extracurricular academic programs with the widest participation. The most immediate value of these math contests is obvious – they pique students’ interest in mathematics and encourage them to value intellectual pursuits. Boys love games, and many will turn just about any activity into a contest, or in other words, something to get good at.Math contests thus inspire them to become good at mathematics just like sports encourage physical fitness. Eventually, students put aside the games. By then, hopefully an interest in the underlying activity has developed† (Conti, 2001). Teachers should create competitions by having students race against one another to solve math problems or turning a test review into a basketball game, allowing students to shoot a basket for every correct answer. The teacher could also place students in groups and award points based on certain behaviors and completed tasks.A prize would be awarded to the group with the highest score at the end of the week. Jacob Kounin would agree with this point based on his theory of lesson momentum and withitness. Kounin believes that classroom teachers should be able to do a multitude of things at one time, including presenting motivating and engaging lessons, managing the class, and being aware of the classroom surroundings (Charles, 2008). He states that good teachers keep students from getting bored or otherwise frustrated with lessons.By including competition in the form of games and contests in the classroom, the teacher is able to keep the boys motivated with a lesson while still controlling the needs of the class. When boys k now they have a chance to show off their skills by winning something, they will immediately become engaged and motivated to participate. Provide Connections to Real-Life Therefore, a third way that middle school math teachers can motivate boys within the classroom is to connect the material to real-life applications.Students, particularly those who come from backgrounds that undervalue education, will benefit from this strategy. Stein (1993) expressed his belief in real-world connections revolving around math lessons by stating â€Å"Because students often feel that mathematics is the subject least relevant to their daily lives, it is an important arena in which teachers can attempt to incorporate students’ funds of knowledge in the context of culturally relevant mathematics instruction†. For middle school boys, school itself is often the least important factor in their lives.Teachers can tap into their focus by relating topics to important interests in their lives. On e way for teachers to do that is to use democratic teaching; a theory of Rudolf Dreikurs. Democratic teaching occurs in a classroom in which the teacher and students work together to make decisions about how the class will function (Charles, 2008). This applies to the idea of connecting math with real-world situations. Students want to know how what they are learning will benefit them in their future lives.By brainstorming different topics and careers that the students are interested in, the teacher can then develop lessons that explain how those interests or careers are affected by mathematics. Teachers should show boys how math affects their everyday lives in areas such as: household maintenance, calculating car mileage, budgeting, making larger purchases (cars and houses), or solving problems that are important to them. Connecting math to future careers can also help to motivate boys in math class.Many unmotivated boys do not realize the importance of math for success in college or the role that math plays in careers that are not overtly math-oriented. Stein also claimed that by using problems that interest and excite the students' curiosity, students are keen to develop important problem-solving strategies. These strategies can be applied in everyday situations, not just in the mathematics classroom. Conclusion The use of meaningful and male-related motivational strategies in middle school mathematics classrooms are a great way to motivate and help boys succeed.Most boys are very intelligent when it comes to numbers and math, however it may seem â€Å"too cool† to get good grades and to apply yourself. Middle school is where students generally begin to find themselves, and a determined teacher can help to motivate students to choose the right path. A teacher’s responsibility is to make sure they have done everything in their power to help their students succeed. This means reaching out to parents, changing lessons to fit the needs of the unmo tivated students in the classroom, and changing your classroom management strategies to help engage and excite the students.With little to no parental support or guidance for many boys in the classroom, a male math teacher may be exactly what these boys need. But will these same strategies work with a female math teacher? References: Charles, C. M. (2008). Twentieth-Century Pioneers in Classroom Discipline. Building Classroom Discipline (Ninth Edition). Boston: Pearson. Conti, R. , Collins, M. A. , & Picariello, M. L. (2001). The impact of competition on intrinsic motivation and creativity: Considering gender, gender segregation nd gender role orientation. Personality and Individual Differences, 31(8), 1273- 1289 Grossman, H. (2004). Classroom behavior management for diverse and inclusive schools. (3rd edition). Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. Murdock, T. , Miller, A. (2003). Teachers as Sources of Middle School Students’ Motivational Identity: Variable-Centered and Person-Ce ntered Analytic Approaches. The Elementary School Journal, 103(4), 383-399. Stein, S. L. (1993). Young's vision. The Mathematics Teacher, 86, 330-333.