Formative Assessment Essay Example for Free

Formative Assessment Essay Assessment is regularly conducted by classroom teachers to determine whether students learn the lessons or have acquired the skills they have been taught. However, the prevailing concept of assessment is that it is given after lessons. It is also viewed as extra work that consumes time that would have been better spent in teaching. Some teachers do not even have the adequate knowledge as to how to assess properly having focused more on how to teach (in contrast with how to assess) during their years in teacher training school. As a consequence, assessment results tend to function as a periodic â€Å"snapshot of student progress and as predictors of student performance on the end-of-year statewide tests (Heritage, 2007) rather than a tool to help teachers during instruction. This need is the reason why formative assessment should be implemented. Heritage defines formative assessment as â€Å"a systematic process to continuously gather evidence about learning. The data are used to identify a student’s current level of learning and to adapt lessons to help the student reach the desired learning goal (2007). † It involves strategies which can be categorized into three types: On-the-fly-assessment which requires the teacher to provide quick â€Å"pop-up† lessons right during discussions to correct students’ misconceptions; Planned-for-interaction which requires teachers to think of questions beforehand which would make students think and explore ideas during discussion time; and, Curriculum-embedded assessment where the teacher solicits feedback by talking with the students about ongoing classroom activities like seatwork, board work or students’ notes. There are four core elements of formative assessment (Heritage, 2007). First, it is a means for teachers to identify the gap between the students’ current status in learning and the desired educational goals. Second, it is designed to provide feedback at multiple levels. Third, it encourages student involvement in the daily classroom discussion. Finally, it aims to help teachers develop learning progressions. To use formative assessment successfully, however, teachers also need to possess certain knowledge and skills. Teachers must have domain knowledge of their subject area of expertise; pedagogical knowledge; knowledge of their students’ previous learning; and assessment knowledge or knowing a variety of proper assessment strategies. With regards to the required skills, the successful implementation of formative assessment can only occur if teachers are able to create classroom conditions where learners feel a sense of community and can critique each other without fear. They must also help students learn how to assess themselves. Teachers must be skilled in analyzing student inferences. Finally, they must be able to match instruction to the gap in the present skill level or knowledge of the learner. Heritage’s article provides a convincing argument for formative assessment as it points out the ineffectiveness of current assessment methods to actually help the learner. When students perform poorly in periodical and annual exams, it becomes too late to do something about things. Students either get low grades or are not promoted to the next level. Something could have been done halfway through the school year had formative assessments been conducted. However, formative assessment can only be seen today as an alternative to the existing views since year-end statewide assessments, for example, would be a hard practice to do away with. The present school system, specifically the public schools, have been practicing traditional assessment methods for decades, even the new curriculum and programs do not change things. Nevertheless, the article introduces a challenge to educators and administrators to try this alternative if it is being lamented that the quality of the aptitude skills of the students has been regressing every year. School administrators should mind the rationale behind formative assessment, which is placing more emphasis towards reforming student performance rather than the punishment-reward system that the traditional method offers. Of course, this would mean additional training for teachers who are not used to employing formative assessment in their own classrooms and changes in the curricula of teacher training schools. Then again, the benefits of formative assessment as enumerated in the article far outweigh all cost considerations. Reference: Heritage, Margaret. (2007, October). Formative Assessment: What do teachers need to know and do? Phi Delta Kappan, pp. 140-145.

Royal Selangor IT System And Cloud Computing

Royal Selangor IT System And Cloud Computing 1. Introduction This report is commissioned by the request of Royal Selangor International (RS) for the purpose of analyzing existing IT infrastructure and draw out recommendations for RS to adopt to cloud computing technology. The current IT infrastructure that operates RSs business processes are analyzed. Data for the analysis are collected through interviews with RS management representatives. Based on these data and comparison with available cloud computing solutions, recommendation on the adoption of cloud computing are derived for RSs considerations. 1.1. Background Royal Selangors core business is retailing pewter artifacts and jewelleries. RS is a private owned company manufacturing and retailing fine quality pewter artifacts products worldwide and is now the largest pewter artifacts producer in the world. Founded in 1885 and based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, RS has expanded leaps and bounds to international recognition and has won several prestigious awards. The company recently celebrated its 125 years anniversary. The homepage URL of the Royal Selangor is http://www.royalselangor.com RS currently operates 3 brands under the company. RS on its own crafts and retails the pewter artifacts, Selberan which retails fine jewellery and Comyns, a brand that has 350 years old legacy in silversmiths. (Bernama 2011) RSs products are marketed through 3 channels as follows; RS owned flagship stores which are located at prominent shopping districts around the world, including London, Tokyo, Melbourne and Toronto. Distribution network to reputable retailers around the world. Online shop that serves both distributors and customers. The major part of RSs success is through the online retailing. RS are the pioneer in setting up its business for online shopping. It has enabled RS to spread its business internationally to distributors and also directly to end users. RS was awarded the CIO award in 2001 which recognizes the genius is IT implementation and strategy. (International 2001) The online shop has also provided RS channel to communicate with the customer and improves its services. RS has also established worldwide offices with warehousing facilities in major markets such as Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Britain and North America.   1.2. Corporate Structure RS is a family run business since it was first founded in 1885. Through 4 generations, the business has been passed on to succeeding family members. RS organization structure for the manufacturing business is as per Attachment A. The Managing Director is supported by two General Managers, managing and overlooking the entire operations from raw materials, production, research and development, marketing, e-commerce up to distribution and international marketing. Each section operates on its IT system for reporting and thorough tracking of the raw materials up to storage and distribution. Further detail analysis of the IT system of RS will be captured in Part 2. RSs Company Policy states the ambition of the company to maintain its status among the forerunners of the industry and to strive for excellence by being ahead of competition. In align with this policy, RS has adapted well with new IT systems to further improve its services to the customers. This is proven when RS opened its online store 10 years ago in 1996 while many industry players are still skeptical about online store. (Yee 2007) RS has structured its operations to run on a systematic IT infrastructure. Business processes of the group include the following: Financial department Human resource management Manufacturing Distribution Marketing Warehousing Customer relation management. 2. IT Infrastructure With over 1000 different products to be manufactured and distributed across local branches in Malaysia and also to 20 other countries directly, RS requires a system that could provide up-to-date and accurate information to the people involved. RS had embarked on various marketing strategies to expand the organisation and in the year 1996, ventured into the e-commerce with RS online shop and website promotion and advertising (International 2001). The subsequent business strategies, marketing, e-commerce system and web development have since been developed in-house to the specific needs of the organisation and RS wanting more control in its development and deployment. (Yoon Kit, Yong 2011, pers. comm., 1 April) Critical business processes especially for manufacturing and the retailing are being integrated and streamlined for speedier processing and better performance for the organisation. For the manufacturing department, integration and real-time updating of information for raw materials, work-in-progress and final goods are vital for the organisation to be leaner. Enterprise applications have the capability to provide accurate buying trends of customers and the information gathered have translate into a better inventory management for the organisation and also to the customers. As for the design team, IT is needed to speed up the design period and can help to transform new ideas into great products. Design information can be used for quick and clear generation of manufacturing ready drawings and used for virtual prototyping. All this can offer distinct advantage to RS over their competitors such as new products were created in pewter with an additional animated storybook. (Bao Shan, Yip 2011, pers. comm., 3 April) Retailing staff will benefit from the information on customers and also inventory to better serve the customer. Fast response and also delivery scheduling can help the retail staff to close sales deal quicker. Besides that, online marketing tools such as social networking are used to promote products actively. For RS, the strategic role of IT is very clear and it is for creating a competitive advantage over their competitors. (Yee 2007) 2.1. Computer Hardware Platforms For the routine tasks, desktop computers and laptops from Dell and HP running on Intel or AMD processors are provided. For the design team, Apple IMac is used as it is more suited for the modelling and designing purposes.   The mainframes are located in-house and consist of HP and Dell servers. These are dedicated for the critical applications such as the enterprise resource planning system (ERP), Storage Area Network, private automatic branch exchange (PABX) and the network systems between the offices and also the online shop. Cashiers at the respective branches are utilizing Point of Sales (POS) Terminals connected to the main servers for daily transaction processing. 2.2. Operating System Platforms For the general desktop computing or client level, RS is using Windows based operating system to manage the resources and activities of the computers. The Apple computers are supported with IMac OS X system. For the servers, RS is using Samba / Linux Server OS systems which are open sourced and it is easily adaptable to different servers and software. Centralised updates and patches are provided in-house by RS IT staff. 2.3. Enterprise Software Application RS is currently using the Baan ERP system and it was deployed in the year 1999. The system is used mainly in manufacturing, finance, human resource and warehousing. The Baan Client is running on the Windows based operating system. The selection of Baan was based on the capability of the manufacturing module of the Baan ERP system. 2.4. Networking / Telecommunication RS requires a reliable network and telecommunications setup because of the global presence and extensive distribution channels to more than 20 countries such as Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, China, Australia, United Kingdom, Canada and United States of America. Locally, there are about 21 outlets nationwide. They are using Unifi fibre optics broadband services provided by Telekom Malaysia. This is for the standard activities such as internet and correspondences and the network is managed via Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) suite. As for the dedicated leased line, it is connected to the offices and branches via the Cisco Networks. Cisco Core Switch provides the entire organisation connectivity for their Enterprise Data Routing and with the switching capability of the Intelligent Bandwidth helps to ensure optimum availability to their office and branches worldwide. Inter-office communication is using Lotus Notes as the integrated desktop client option for accessing e-mail and calendaring. The main office is utilizing PABX phone system which is able to support an enterprise wide phone and fax machines where as the branches are connected via standard public switched telephone networks. 2.5. Data management and Storage The Data management and storage for RS is quite large as it is to ensure that all product designs are archived and kept for future reference. The other requirement of the organisation is to provide a shared folder running on the server as the depository of the new product designs in use by the organisation. The major usage of a 20 tetrabyte space is for the designs of the products and the accessibility of the information by various departments. Baan ERP application and database usage accounts for about 200 gigabyte space and the Lotus Notes application takes up about 150 gigabyte space. The physical hardware for the storage comes from various original equipment manufacturer (OEM) sources and the main supplier is Dell. The hardware components are Dell / EMC CX3 which is utilizing Small Computer System Interface (SCSI)/Fibre hard disk for key production system. 2.6. Internet Platforms The key internet sites for RS are the online shop/e-commerce and the visitor center homepage. The other sites under the group are Comyns and Selberan which is also under the support of RS IT department. The web site was built with customers in mind it is to be used as a two-way communication channel for customers, as well as a one-to-one marketing and fulfilment tool. The web hosting of these sites has been outsourced to CSC to ensure service availability and network latency. These webhosting servers are running on the latest iteration of Microsoft IIS Servers. The website are maintained with Linux / Apache / MySQL / Perl/PHP/Python package as it is open-source and it is easily adaptable to suit RS applications. 2.7. Consultants and System Integrators Most of the system integration work is done in house leveraging on the knowledge available. Currently, RS is getting external consultant support for the Baan ERP systems when required. The e-commerce system initially was out sourced but due to the specific needs of the organisation, it is now fully developed and maintained in house. Others system integrators or consultants are being appointed when necessary. Issues that were identified are as follows:- To ensure interoperability between each systems. RS have basically two systems to ensure its interoperability which are the CRM and the ERP applications. As for the other platforms such as servers and data center, the software used are open source whereby customisation would be easier. Ensure constant communication and connection between shared information worldwide. The need to access to data and inventory in real-time and reliably. Maintain a well integrated and smooth supply chain especially for the online shop. It needs to be updated constantly and best practices are to be employed and cascade down to the operation levels. Implementation will be a major stumbling block due to the manufacturing processes being labour intensive. Maintenance of software and hardware systems 24/7. For storage, the challenge is managing the data and managing the systems that house the data. Software tools that track and manage storage resources efficiently are in high demand for these reasons. IT staff retention proved to be difficult. Internally, the IT department is supporting on hardware troubleshooting whereas the service or troubleshooting support will be provided by the external team of consultants. The current staff skill is sufficient to maintain and operate the system effectively. However, the staff education at the operator level is still lacking. Constant training and retraining is required. Cost reduction is actively pursued whenever there is chance as budget is always constrained. Since data storage continues to grow at 40% to 60% per year, the challenge is amplified to try to get the most from any new storage purchase. Challenges that are constantly faced by RS are listed below and a few are being actively pursued by RS. To maintain operation excellence in the whole value chain design, manufacture, distribution and retailing not only locally but also worldwide. Leaner production and shorter processing time and delivery schedules are key focus area for continuous improvements. (International 2001) To innovate and re-invent the â€Å"wheel† for the retailing and marketing of the products by using IT. Constantly RS need to find ways to market their products as the current marketing channel in local and overseas retail shops, on-line shop, corporate customers and the visitor center / showroom is not adequate. Currently each competitor in pewter ware has their very own website and they are promoting their products on line, retails shops and also at their main showroom (Tumasek 2011). RS have to look at the industry of premium giftware as well which would consider a worldwide market. Search Engine Optimisation programs, partnership with search engines and partnerships with other websites are areas to focus more in order to penetrate further into the international market. (Shankar 2003) To retain customers and to attract new customers are important. Major competitors such as Tumasek, Oriental Pewter, Mariwasa and Pewter Arts are constantly challenging RS. New designs and faster production and roll-out of products would ensure a greater market share. Providing better and more personal touch to customer service will benefit in the long run as customers would have greater perception of the product not only in terms of quality but also the service that comes with it. (Shankar, 2003) To constantly review the business strategies and if necessary upgrade or adapt the current system based on the specific needs of the organisation. The final call is that any new product or system purchased should move towards lower costs, better processes and common management.(Yee 2007) Strategies such as using setting up websites in native languages of the country they are going to market the product. Open source plays an important role with the servers in RS. (Yoon Kit, Yong 2011, pers. comm., 1 April) Most of the infrastructure servers are on Linux which gives flexibility in rolling out new servers as well as replicating our administration. RS uses a lot of the virtual machine ware so it is now easier to deploy new test and production servers on demand without having to submit capital expenditure and commission new machines. Constant updating of information and also skills related to open source would be vital for RS. 3. Cloud Computing   Cloud computing obtained its name from the metaphor for internet which represents an area on the network that resides outside (cloud) but is required to make the network complete. The control of the cloud is an external partys concern which is hosted and maintained by other parties and does not need the interference of the internal parties (Velte et al. 2010, p. 3). Examining the Cloud computing, it is basically a model for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources. These resources include networks, servers, storage, applications, and services that can be provided to the customers to assist its daily operations. As explained in NIST document, Cloud computing consists of five essential characteristics, three service models, and four deployment models (Mell Grance January 2011, pp. 2-3). The 5 Essential Characteristics On-demand self-service. Services are available to the customer at all times and without any need for intervention by the service provider. Broad network access. The system is web based and can be accessed from any internet enabled device such as through mobile devices, thin or thick client platforms. Resource pooling. The provider of the cloud computing services uses physical or virtual resources to serve multiple customers with different needs. The customer generally has no control or knowledge over the exact location of the provided resources. Rapid elasticity. Customers can scale up or scale down according to their own requirements. Additional services can be purchased at any time. Measured service. Customers accessing the system are easily tracked and controlled by means of storage, processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts. The 3 Service Models Cloud Software as a Service (SaaS). The provider offers an application that the customer can be accessed by different client platforms such as a normal client computer. The software is web based and does not reside in the customers computers. The devices only need to interface via a thin client interface such as the Web browser. The consumer does not need to physically install the software. Cloud Platform as a Service (PaaS). The capability provided to the customer to develop applications using the programming languages and tools provided by the provider. The customer will only have control of the application developed using the platform provided. Cloud Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). The provider only provides the infrastructure to the customer. The customer controls its own software and applications but has no control over the cloud infrastructure. The 4 Deployment Models Private cloud. The cloud services are provided to only one organization. Community cloud. The cloud services are shared by few organizations Public cloud. The cloud services are made available to the general public or a large industry group and are owned by an organization selling cloud services. Hybrid cloud. The mixture of two or more cloud deployment models which runs on a standard or propriety technology. To summarize the definition of cloud computing, it is where software, platform or infrastructure services that are made available to the customers at all times. The customers have relieved itself from the concerns of operating and maintaining the physical aspects of the system and enable them to focus on its core competencies.  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Before exploring the adoption of Royal Selangor with cloud computing, the advantages and disadvantages of cloud computing will be explored in following chapters below to examine further the key positives that will help the company. Figure 3.1 illustrates the advantages and disadvantages of Cloud Computing. 3.1. Advantages of Cloud Computing 3.1.1. Financial Benefits Cloud computing provides new solutions for all sizes of businesses and industries. When modern businesses looks for ways to cut operating cost without losing much productivity, cloud computing serves to be a key part to assist the business to achieve the target. By improving server utilization and decreasing the number of servers, significant cost reductions can be seen and additionally, future capital expenditure can be controlled. Normally servers are designed to have redundancy as well as spares for future expansions. This translates to capital expenditures spent for facilities that are not utilized. Cloud computing provides enables the customer to only pay the amount of usages utilized which translates to cost reductions.   Also, theres a reduction in physical server depreciation cost. As pointed out above, fewer servers maintained by the company means less depreciation costs. In addition, it also directly reflects to energy consumption and facilities cost. Reduced servers require less energy to operate and smaller facilities. When a true comparison is done, using a fully cost model, the decision weighs more favourably towards cloud computing. And when the other advantages are taken into account then cloud computing can really stack up as a viable option (Group 2009, p. 6) . 3.1.2. Technological benefits Cloud computing has the ability for the system to expand and contract automatically based on the demand of the customer. For software, new users can be assigned to the system and start using almost immediately without much complications. The resource platforms such as storage, networks and servers are available on-demand and again do not require much intervention or effort by the customer to prepare the system. More significantly is the redundancy and back-up system available to the customer, ensuring that the data are safe and protected. 3.1.3. Operational benefits In terms of operations benefits, this can be referred as outsourcing the IT system and delegating the risk management. Service providers have to ensure that the system is available at any time and redundancy provided. The problems that have been concerns for companies running physical hardware, servers and data centers can now shift the risks to the service provider. Access to the system is also improved as it can be accessed from anywhere through an internet enabled device. This improved operation excellence as data are always available at anywhere, anytime to the users of cloud computing. 3.1.4. Environmental Benefits By using lesser servers through servers consolidation, energy consumption of the IT system is drastically decreased. This translates to lower and more efficient energy consumption. 3.1.5. Competitive Advantage Businesses can be more competitive by adopting to cloud computing. Cloud computing provide a quick and efficient start up for any small or medium size businesses. This enables them to have almost similar capacity as larger established companies in terms of IT systems. Also, with data easily available, it enables businesses in general to be more agile and response quicker to market. 3.2. Disadvantages of Cloud Computing While the advantages of cloud look promising, there are also disadvantages to the cloud services such as below:- 3.2.1. Security issues There is a need to look at the security aspect for cloud. The security risks that come with cloud computing ranges from user access, recovery, regulatory compliance and long term viability.   Sensitive data processed/stored externally brings with it an inherent level of risk, because outsourced services bypass the physical, logical and personnel controls† from in-house programs. The controls of user access and also content management access would need to be transparent and clear so customers are not worried about their data being compromised. (Brodkin 2008) 3.2.2. Lack of control For cloud computing, the hardware and software could be based in multiple locations all around the world compare to in-house systems. The control on the storage and security of the data will be the under the jurisdiction of the cloud vendor and users do not have much control over it. Performance and upgrading of the applications and data protection will be relying on the timeliness or scheduling of the vendors to update their software. 3.2.3. Lock-in to cloud vendors Users should be aware of the risk of lock-in to the cloud vendors. The consideration will be on whether in the future there is the need for changes or replacement of the software/platform/infrastructure selected initially and thus switching cost will be incurred. Based on the three types of cloud computing, the service and platform will have some sort of impact and difficulty if there is a need to change vendors. Selection of vendors that provide minimum lock-in should be preferred. (Petri 2010) There is also the need to ensure that the data that is held with the vendor will remain available even if they have been acquired or merge with other larger vendors. 3.2.4. Reliability on cloud functionality Cloud vendors based their business on providing high up-time and downtimes should be kept to a minimum. Overall hardware and network reliability from cloud vendors are considered to be at par or above par comparing to the average data center. However, there are instances when there is downtime and this would be considered to be unacceptable if it is too long and economic losses are being factored in. A few vendors will have strict service level agreements (SLAs) that provide themselves with a method of controlling the downtime. (ENKI 2011) Besides the downtime from servers, we need to look at the downtime created due to non internet service such as connection and bandwidth availability. There might be problem when the internet connection is not available or not sufficient to support the functionality of the applications. This would totally render the cloud application a total failure. 3.2.5. Data segregation Data stored in the cloud is generally in a shared environment and it is placed within the same location as other users. There is the need to ensure that the data is fully secured and only the authorised user can access it and the cloud provider should proof that encryption schemes were designed and tested by experienced specialists. Data can be totally unusable if there is complication during the de-cryption procedure. (Brodkin 2008) 3.2.6. Recovery of Data and Services There would be difficulty in accessing the data and service provided in the cloud as the user would not have any information on where the data is or how it is being stored. In the event of disaster, the cloud provider would need to setup a proper data recovery or restoration. There would be question on when can be data be ready for use once they initiate the recovery process. (Brodkin 2008) 4. Recommendation of cloud computing adoption/adaption The findings from above are analyzed against the factors that forms the Competitive Forces Model for IT Infrastructure (Laudon Laudon 2010, p. 223). This will provide an outline of RSs requirement to adopt cloud computing as its IT infrastructure. 4.1. Market demand for organisations services Internet sales have always been the forefront business of RS. 80% of RSs sales are from the online shop. (Yee 2007) Considering future trends, the e-commerce will keep on expanding and improving. The market demand is and has proven to be in abundance for RS to venture. With cloud computing, RSs operation can be more streamlined and improved and meet customers demands. 4.2. RS business strategy RS strive to be the best pewter manufacturer in the world and maintain its competitive edge over competitors. (Khay Chong, Saw 2011, pers. comm., 5 April) 4.3. RS IT strategy, infrastructure and cost RS plans to use IT to gain competitive edge over their competitors and to maintain their market position. The strategy has proven to be useful as it was acknowledge by the CIO Asia Award in 2001 and Intelligent Enterprise: Asias Intelligent 20 award for the E-commerce operations.(International 2001) Ventures into social media marketing and web collaboration with overseas online shop have provided the exposure and advertising advantage for them such as partnership with John Lewis (http://www.johnlewis.com) or Wesell Royal Selangor (http://www.wesellroyalselangor.co.uk/). 4.4. RS Information technology assessment Current setup is very centralized and all located within the main HQ. From the IT infrastructure study, we find that the hardware and software used within the organization are considered to be reasonable and commonly used in all industries. The use of open source have also help in ensuring that the system can be modified and be made better as they use it with constant upgrading. However the weakness could lie with the staff availability. With cloud computing, it is a perfect IT infrastructure for RS to adopt. Switching to cloud computing provides a feasible solution for RS to maintain its businesses outside of Malaysia with the same IT infrastructure. 4.5. Competitors IT Services In evaluating RSs competitors IT services, two main competitors namely Tumasek Pewter and Oriental Pewter are analyzed. Both Tumasek Pewters (http://www.tumasek.com/home.htm) and Oriental pewters (http://www.orientalpewter.com.my/home.htm) website does not have online shop. RS is the leader in pewter industry as its main competitors are not having the same IT services as RS. This is even more a reason for RS to adopt cloud computing. As the start-up of IT system are faster through cloud computing, the competitors will definitely offer the same services in the near future. By adopting cloud computing first, RS can be ahead of competition. 4.6. IT infrastructure investment in pewter/retail industry For retail industry, capital spending in 2008-09 at John Lewis (RS partner) was  £404m, compared with  £363m in the previous year. About  £30m represents investment in efficiency projects such as new Oracle finance systems recently implemented in Waitrose and the firms head office, and investment in maintaining and modernising its IT set-up. (Mari 2009) Investment into IT for manufacturing is continuing to grow for Asian manufacturer and focus is on cloud based applications capability to increase the efficiency of the organization such as gaining insight on customer behaviour, improve efficiency and productivity of manufacturing operations and in the supply chain from supplier and also to customers. (Yap 2011). Under the Malaysias Economic Transformation Programme, the wholesale and retail and tourism industry are place in the forefront of Malaysias economic development. Few key areas were earmarked for development and the key area with IT investment would be the globalisation of our products by means of virtual retail platform or malls. Investment of about RM 1.3 billion will be spent on this area which can help competitors of RS to develop their online shop. (PEMANDU 2010) RS is well aligned to adopt to cloud computing. Moving into cloud for an established firm like RS requires a strong management vision statement and support for the migration. Strategies had to be developed to enable the migration to be completed flawlessly and most important, without hampering any existing business processes. Strategies to be taken by RS are as follows; Business Review To establish the key objectives, tools that can be use is SMARTA objectives which is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timely and Agreed. ( Williams 2010, p. 102 ) Project Management To setup a Project management team to manage the migration and keep all stakeholders satisfied. An Implementation plan will provide the necessary clear procedures for the migration. ( Williams 2010, p. 113 ) Adoption to cloud system shall be done according to recommended solutions as below; For the routine communications and content management, RS would be wise to look at the various applications offered from cloud computing. This would probably relieve some of the bottleneck for support currently faced by RS IT departments staff. Part of the RS marketing channel to corporate users would be beneficial if there was an application similar to what is being offered by Sales.Force.com. The sales value chain from i

Criminology Essays Punishing Treating Preventing

Criminology Essays Punishing Treating Preventing Punishing Treating Preventing Punishing, treating and preventing crime An obvious question to pose regarding offenders is, how can they be prevented from recidivism? Examining the effectiveness of ways in which the judicial system responds to offenders will only enhance the understanding of how reoffending can be removed. One of the many ways in which a judicial system can respond to crime is by imprisoning an offender. Imprisonment can serve a number of possible functions including; retribution, incapacitation, deterrence and reform (Putwain and Sammons, 2002). Whether or not prison works is under constant review and there is much disagreement on which of the possible functions should serve its purpose (Bottomley and Pease, 1986; Home Office, 1994; Zamble, 1990). Together with questioning if it is an effective response to crime, there are numerous psychological effects of imprisonment (Dooley, 1990; Heather, 1977; Rasch, 1981; Zamble and Porporino, 1988). Besides imprisonment, legal systems all over the world have a variety of other means of punishing and rehabilitating offenders. Different countries favour different methods but in Britain and the US, the most common forms of non-custodial sentences are fines (Caldwell, 1965; Feldman, 1993; Walker and Farringdon, 1981), probation (Oldfield, 1996; Roshier, 1995) and community service (Evans and Koederitz, 1983; Schneider, 1986). There is evidence that, for some offenders, these forms of sentence are at least as effective as imprisonment and have a number of additional benefits. In particular, they are cheaper to administer than custodial sentences. You can get expert help with your essays right now. Find out more The various custodial and non-custodial measures employed by judicial systems are designed to serve a number of purposes of which rehabilitation is only one. The failure of judicial sanctions to make a significant difference to crime rates (Lipsey, 1992) has prompted a number of psychologists to put forward rehabilitation programmes based on psychological principles. These differ from judicial sanctions in two important ways (Putwain and Sammons, 2002). Firstly, their aim is solely to reduce the probability of reoffending, rather than exacting justice on the offender. Secondly, they are based on psychological theories of offending instead of the notions of ‘human nature’ on which judicial sanctions are often based. A large number of these interventions have been tried, however those behavioural and cognitive treatments for offending have had the most success for instance; token economies (Ayllon and Milan, 1979; Cohen and Filipcjak, 1971; Hobbs and Holt, 1976), social skills training (Blackburn, 1993; Goldstein, 1986; Spence and Marzillier, 1981) and anger management (Ainsworth, 2000; Novaco, 1975). All such measures, both judicial and psychological are forms of crime prevention insofar as they aim to prevent offenders from committing further crimes. However, this is only one approach to preventing crime and is not what is usually meant by crime prevention. Brantingham and Faust (1976) have made a useful distinction between primary, secondary and tertiary crime prevention. Primary prevention refers to reducing opportunities for crime without reference to the individuals who commit it. Zero tolerance (Bratton, 1998; Sherman, 1997; Wilson and Kelling, 1982) together with environmental approaches such as closed circuit television surveillance (Burrows, 1980; Horne, 1996), target hardening and defensible space (Newman, 1973; Feldman, 1993; Wilson, 1980) are examples. Secondary prevention refers to measures directed at those at risk of becoming involved in crime to prevent them from doing so. Tertiary prevention refers to preventing further criminal behaviour by those who have already offended such as anger management. It is evident that that the utility of judicial measures in preventing reoffending is limited. In particular, for most offenders, imprisonment seems to be no more effective than non-custodial sentencing, which may be seen as preferable, as it is cheaper for the authorities and less detrimental to the offender. There has been inadequate success with psychological interventions, though cognitive-behavioural techniques appear to be more effective than purely behavioural techniques. Finally, it appears that the large range of crime prevention strategies that reduce the incidence of offending have a key impact in decreasing crime in a particular area. Nevertheless, there is evidence that such crime is simply displaced to other areas. Rigorous enforcement of the law, even for minor offences suggests a reduction in crime but only if used in conjunction with other measures to improve the quality of policing in a particular area. Whilst all such measures have some impact albeit minimal in many cases, none can justifiably be called a solution to the problem of crime. References: Ainsworth, P. B. (2000) Psychology and Crime: Myths and Reality. Harlow: Pearson Education Ayllon, T. and Milan, M. A. (1979) Correctional rehabilitation and management: a psychological approach. New York: Wiley. Blackburn, R. (1993) The Psychology of Criminal Conduct. Chichester: John Wiley and Sons Bratton, W. J. (1998) ‘Crime is down to in New York City: Blame the police’ in N.Dennis (ed.) Zero Tolerance: Policing in a Free Society. London: IEA Health and Welfare Unit. Cohen, H. L. and Filipcjak, J. (1971) A new learning environment. San Francisco: Jossey Boss. Bottomley, K. and Pease, K. (1986) Crime and punishment: interpreting the data. Milton Keynes: Open University Press. Brantingham, P. J. and Faust, F. L. (1976) ‘A conceptual model of crime prevention’ Crime and Delinquency, 22, 130-146. Burrows, J. (1980) ‘Closed circuit television and crime on the London Underground’ in R.V.G. Clarke and P. Mayhew (eds) Designing Out Crime. London: HMSO. Caldwell, R. G. (1965) Criminology (2nd Ed). New York: Ronald Press. Evans, R. C. and Koederitz, G. D. (1983) ‘The requirement of restitution for juvenile offenders: an alternative disposition’ Journal of Offender Counselling, Services and Rehabilitation, 7, 1-20. Feldman, P. (1993) The Psychology of Crime. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Heather, N. (1977) ‘Personal illness in lifers and the effects of long-term intermediate sentences’ British Journal of Criminology, 17, 378-386. Hobbs, T. R. and Holt, M. N. (1976) ‘The effects of token reinforcement on the behaviour of delinquents in cottage settings’ Journal of Applied Behaviour Analysis, 9, 189-198. Home Office (1994) Criminal Statistics. London: Home Office. Horne, C. J. (1996) ‘The case for: CCTV should be introduced’ International Journal of Risk, Security and Crime Prevention, 1, 317-326. Lipsey, J. W. (1992) ‘Juvenile delinquency treatment: a meta-analytical enquiry into the variability of effects’ in T. Cook (ed.) Meta-Analysis for Explanation: A Casebook. New York: Russel Sage Foundation. Newman, O. (1973) Defensible Space: crime prevention through urban design. New York. Macmillan. Novaco, R. W. (1975) Anger Control. the development and evaluation of an experimental treatment. Lexington: D.C. Health. Oldfield, M. (1996) The Kent Reconviction Survey. Maidstone: Kent Probation Service. Putwain, D. W. and Sammons, A. (2001) Psychology. London: Letts Educational Rasch, W. (1981) ‘The effects of indeterminate detention: a study of men sentenced to life imprisonment’ International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 4, 417-431. Roshier, R. (1995) A comparative study of reconviction rates in Cleveland.Middlesbrough: Cleveland Probation Service. Schneider, A. L. (1986) ‘Restitution and recidivism rates of juvenile offenders: results from four experimental studies’ Criminology, 24, 533-552. Sherman, L. (1997) ‘Policing for crime prevention’ in L. Sherman, D. Gottfredson, D. MacKenzie, J. Eck, P. Reuter and S. Bushway (eds) Preventing crime: what Works, what doesn’t, what’s promising. Report to the United States Congress prepared for the National Institute of Justice http://www.preventingcrime.org/ Spence, S. H. and Marzillier, J. S. (1981) ‘Social skills training with adolescent male offenders: II Short term, long term and generalisation effects’ Behaviour Research and Therapy, 19, 349-368. Wilson, J. Q. and Kelling, G. W. (1982) ‘Broken Windows’ Atlantic Monthly, 249 (3), 29-38. Walker, N. and Farringdon, D. P. (1981) ‘Reconviction rates of adult males after different sentences’ British Journal of Criminology, 21, 357-360. Zamble, E. (1990) ‘Behavioural and psychological considerations in the success of prison reform’ in J .W. Murphy and J. E. Dison (Eds) Are Prisons any better? 20 years of prison reform. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Zamble, E. and Porporino, F. J. (1988) Coping, behaviour and adaptation in prison inmates. Berlin: Springer-Verlag.

English Should be Americas Official Language Essay -- Essays Papers

English Should be America's Official Language The government implementing English as the official legal language of America is imperative because a conformity of communication within our borders is needed to unify the vast diversity. Our mighty country was founded on providing all citizens with equality including inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The United States is a progressive nation that welcomes people from far and wide to come and savor the God-given freedoms enjoyed by all. With all of the diversity from the countless immigrants coming in to our port cities, looking for a more prosperous future, a necessary tie is needed to bring the people of the nation together. Interaction with others --communicating-- is what gets everyone through their days and is essential to living. Without communication between people daily, the lack of communication would bring consequences throughout the world. Transactions among businesses would not be completed, sharing a story with a friend would never happen, the difficulty of understanding a problem of a neighbor, all of these and other necessities in daily life would never happen. The country, which we as citizens have created, needs to implement conformity among ethnicities to lessen the large variances of society to unite the entire nation. The people of America need to reshape the country in which we live, to show off the patriotism expressed so warmly after the horrific attacks of September 11. American citizens must come to unison with the most vital tool we can use to combat those problems, our communication between different dialects. Senator Hayakawa writes in his essay, The Case for Official English, that ?[i]t is with a common la... ...ies, speaking little or no English, cannot make it through High School? (450-451). The democratic process that is the embodiment of the country needs to be the determining factor in the English Only laws, not some power-driven Hispanics that want recognition. The real necessity is a connection through communication between every person in America, every person in America to keep the society together instead of tearing it apart by fighting with legislation over the laws. Works Cited - Hayakawa, S.I. The Case for Official English. Edit. Ann Dobyns & Patsy Callaghan Boston: Longman Publishers, 2004. - Will, George. ?Bilingual Ballots Provide a Sense of Reality.? The Times Union 2 May 2006: A11. - Rodriguez, Richard. Public and Private Language. Edit. Ann Dobyns & Patsy Callaghan. Boston: Longman Publishers, 2004. English Should be America's Official Language Essay -- Essays Papers English Should be America's Official Language The government implementing English as the official legal language of America is imperative because a conformity of communication within our borders is needed to unify the vast diversity. Our mighty country was founded on providing all citizens with equality including inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The United States is a progressive nation that welcomes people from far and wide to come and savor the God-given freedoms enjoyed by all. With all of the diversity from the countless immigrants coming in to our port cities, looking for a more prosperous future, a necessary tie is needed to bring the people of the nation together. Interaction with others --communicating-- is what gets everyone through their days and is essential to living. Without communication between people daily, the lack of communication would bring consequences throughout the world. Transactions among businesses would not be completed, sharing a story with a friend would never happen, the difficulty of understanding a problem of a neighbor, all of these and other necessities in daily life would never happen. The country, which we as citizens have created, needs to implement conformity among ethnicities to lessen the large variances of society to unite the entire nation. The people of America need to reshape the country in which we live, to show off the patriotism expressed so warmly after the horrific attacks of September 11. American citizens must come to unison with the most vital tool we can use to combat those problems, our communication between different dialects. Senator Hayakawa writes in his essay, The Case for Official English, that ?[i]t is with a common la... ...ies, speaking little or no English, cannot make it through High School? (450-451). The democratic process that is the embodiment of the country needs to be the determining factor in the English Only laws, not some power-driven Hispanics that want recognition. The real necessity is a connection through communication between every person in America, every person in America to keep the society together instead of tearing it apart by fighting with legislation over the laws. Works Cited - Hayakawa, S.I. The Case for Official English. Edit. Ann Dobyns & Patsy Callaghan Boston: Longman Publishers, 2004. - Will, George. ?Bilingual Ballots Provide a Sense of Reality.? The Times Union 2 May 2006: A11. - Rodriguez, Richard. Public and Private Language. Edit. Ann Dobyns & Patsy Callaghan. Boston: Longman Publishers, 2004.

Garden State, Cool Hand Luke, and The Last Samurai Essay -- Film, Movi

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the movie Garden State, Natalie Portman‘s character is trying to get Zach Braff‘s character to do something really stupid and silly, and says â€Å"This is your one opportunity to do something that no one has ever done before and no one will copy through-out human existence. And if nothing else you'll be remembered as the one guy who ever did this†¦ this one thing.† It’s movies like this, movies that are written with great meaning, that I walk away from with just this warm unexplainable feeling. Movies that have the creator’s blood, sweat, and tears in the soul of the movie, not just thrown together at the end just to make the quick buck are the ones worth seeing. Movies that are made up from filmmakers not money hungry producers, like Garden State, Cool Hand Luke, and The Last Samurai are the ones you remember. These movies to me were movies made with a particular purpose and not just to make as much money as possible, eve n though they did.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Garden State is a movie that is about a troubled twenty-something-year-old kid coming back home after the tragic death of his mother. He hasn’t been home in nine years, because of some fallouts with his parents. While he is home, he runs into old friends from high school and meets this girl he eventually falls in love with. Now that’s the typical Hollywood storyline and typical movie formula, but the purpose of this movie is underneath the sheets. Zach Braff directed this movie and had the lead role. It was his first doing both...

Dbq for Apush

In the early nineteenth century the United States began to split, but as mid-century came around, people became more polarized in their views and the union started to separate drastically. During the period of 1850, until 1861 when the Confederate States of America was formed, the union was clearly divided between the North and South. Although the Constitution was not the only factor leading to sectional tension in America, there are many strong points in the North and South favoring the statement, â€Å"By the 1850’s the Constitution, originally framed as an instrument of national unity, had become a source of sectional discord and tension and ultimately contributed to the failure of the union it had created. † Northerners, during mid-century America believed in the preservation of the undissolvable Union. When the Constitution was framed in 1787, the founding fathers were concerned about leaving Britain and becoming a Union, as opposed to the issue of slavery that would later prevail. Henry Clay created the Compromise of 1850, which helped solve the problem of slavery in the territories (Document A). This was not included in the Constitut . . . When the Missouri Compromise was ruled unconstitutional under the Dred Scott decision, the due process clause, for the first time, was interpreted to state that people could not be denied their property, displaying that Calhoun was right all along. It is evident that although the Constitution is the supreme law of the land, many Northerners depicted its flaws. An anonymous Georgian, although somewhat contradictory, explained, â€Å"Two Constitutional provisions are necessary to secure Southern rights upon this important question,–the recognition of slavery where the people choose it and the remedy for fugitive slave† (Document B). Sectional difficulties that lead to the break up of the Union can be traced to flaws in the Constitution, although there are other factors as well. In events such as John Brown’s Raid, the North solemnly respected Brown, holding commemoration services in his memorial. This shows that the founding fathers thought well ahead of their time and created a Constitution that included answers to many questions, although, in general, this document eventually contributed to the collapse of the Union. President Jefferson Davis of the Confederate States of America, believing that states were sovereign over the Union, stated, The separate and independent sovereignty of each State was merged into one common government and nation† (Document H). The Constitution includes the three-fifths clause, along with and end to the African slave trade. After the fugitive slave law was enacted, many personal liberty laws were created in the North and colored people were notified, â€Å"You are hereby respectfully CAUTIONED and advised, to avoid conversing with Watchmen and Police Officers of Boston† (Document C). Just as Northerners saw flaws in the Constitution, Southerners viewed it not to be perfect as well. President James Buchanan, a northern man with southern sympathies clarified, â€Å"As sovereign states, they and they alone, are responsible before God and the world for the slavery existing among them† (Document G). Regarding the Fugitive Slave Law, a Bostonian Transcendentalist, Ralph Waldo Emerson stated, â€Å"As soon as the Constitution ordains an immoral law, it ordains disunion†¦The Union is at an end as soon as an immoral law is enacted† (Document D). The constitutionality of the protective tariff was questioned during the panic of 1857, which Northerners blamed on the South. Yet another Bostonian, William Lloyd Garrison, an abolitionist reformer exclaimed, â€Å"The Constitution which subjects them [slaves] to hopeless bondage is one that we cannot swear to support† (Document E). Although the Constitution is clearly flawed because extremist on both sides had problems with it, this document, which is the supreme law of the land, does have positive aspects. ————————————————- By the 1850’s the Constitution, originally framed as an instrument of national unity, had become a source of sectional discord and tension and ultimately contributed to the failure of the union it has created. This was shown by ambivalent interpretations of the constitution and other important documents when assorted together. It is known that the union did not last, for there was the Civil War. If everyone could agree on what the constitution implied, then there probably would not have been a civil war. From several of the documents, there are arguments about what the constitution states. (Document E), â€Å"To the Argument, that the word ‘slaves’ and ‘slavery’ are not to be found in The Constitution, and therefore it was never intended to give any protection or countenance to the slave system, it s sufficient to reply, that no such words are continued in the instrument, other words were used, intelligently and specifically, to meet the necessities of slavery. † This indicates that the constitution CAN be interpreted differently, and when used with other pertinent documents, can be incongruous. Those views that differentiated were of those in the North and South. The Constitution can be interpreted in many different ways, which leads to sectional discord and tension. For many reasons, the South evidently did not like what the constitution said. There were many conflictions with the compromise of 1850, map shown in (Document A) and the fugitive slave act. Certain northerners were so against slavery and the fugitive slave act that they even posted warnings for the slaves. (Document C), [shows how kidnappers were being sent after the slaves, and how Northern abolitionists were revolting against the South’s rules and regulations. ] This fugitive slave act also helped drive the tension deeper into the Un-United States. With drama now rumbling in the American underbellies, the small weight of anything slightly bad could set off a secession bomb. A freesoiler does not want to spread slavery, but he is okay with keeping it in a state it is already in. When the idea of popular sovereignty came about with the compromise of 1850, map shown in (Document A), those freesoilers in office were pushed harder into complex decisions over the popular sovereignty issue. (Document F) â€Å"FORCING SLAVERY DOWN THE THROAT OF A FREESOILER,† illustrates this in a very blatant text and disturbing political cartoon. All of the tension gathering, even authors were predestining the Civil War. Ralph Waldo Emerson believed that the Constitution, (when assorted with others like the fugitive slave law or the compromise of 1850) were contradictory, and that they aid to the now inevitable seeming end of the union. (Document D) â€Å"What kind of legislation is this? What kind of constitution which covers? †¦ I suppose the union can be left to take care of itself†¦. But one thing appears certain to me, that , as soon as the constitution ordains an immoral law, it ordains disunion. The law is suicidal, and cannot be obeyed. The union is at an end as soon as an immoral law is enacted. And he who writes a crime into the statute-book digs under the foundations of the capitol to plant there a powder-magazine, and lays a train† This proves that By the 1850’s the Constitution, originally framed as an instrument of national unity, had become a source of sectional discord and tension and ultimately contributed to the failure of the union it has created. This was shown by ambivalent interpretations of the constitution and other important documents when assorted together

HSP3M Essay: Nature vs. Nurture Essay

Your essay must have a well-defined and debatable thesis. Your position on the topic must be consistent and clear. An argumentative essay does not merely assert an opinion; it presents an argument, and that argument must be supported by data, verifiable facts, and historical references, all of which must be from nonbiased sources. In addition to your assigned readings, you must have a minimum of three additional sources. Only one source from the Internet is permitted. All Internet sources must be nonbiased from a reputable website. A source that fails to meet this criterion will be rejected. Format: The essay must follow proper essay style and structure. Introductory Paragraph †¢Introduce the topic to the reader †¢Present a clear, precise thesis statement †¢Briefly outline the 3 main criteria used to prove your thesis †¢A closing sentence Body Paragraphs †¢Topic sentence which clearly introduces on of the criteria that you briefly outlined in your introduction †¢Use specific evidence to support your first proof †¢Follow the point-proof-commentary model †¢Explicitly connect your commentary to your thesis statement †¢A closing/transition sentence Conclusion †¢Briefly outline the three criteria that were used in each body paragraph †¢Restate your thesis †¢Provide your reader with some additional point to consider †¢Do not introduce new material Works Cited †¢Refer to your class notes and your student agenda †¢You need to include a minimum of seven sources †¢You are permitted to use only one source from the Internet †¢Failure to submit a Works Cited page will be considered an act of academic dishonesty and you will receive a mark of zero. Style Your essay should be between 1000 and 1200 words. Your essay must be typed and double-spaced using 12 pt. Times New Roman font. Page margins must be standard. Failure to meet this criterion could result in a mark of zero. I do not want a title page. Instead, in the upper left hand corner of the first page, write your name, the date, the course code, and your instructor’s name. You must submit the attached rubric with your final essay. Assigned Readings â€Å"The Boy Who Was Raised As A Girl† â€Å"My Genes Made Me Do It† â€Å"Major Personality Study Finds That Traits Are Mostly Inherited† â€Å"A Flawed Warmed – Over Idea† Due Date: Tuesday, October 27th