Formative and Sumative Evaluations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Formative and Sumative Evaluations - Essay Example The methods of actual teaching and of evaluating teachers are also affected by these advancements. With the changing world, the need to adapt methods of measuring teachers' performance was seen as necessary. "As the technological age continues to render traditional classroom practices obsolete, many educators are still untrained and apprehensive when it comes to technology integration. Therefore, a paradigm shift is needed that requires more than just a quick-fix staff development solution, especially since the No Child Left Behind Act stipulates that educators must be "highly qualified" by the end of the 2005-06 school year. This leads to the expectation that teachers will create learning environments which challenge and broaden their students' comprehensive use of technology" (Janice M. Hinson, 2005). However, recent studies show that although computers and internet are highly accesible to the teacher, with the figure reaching 99%, only 39% are found to have integrated the use of technology in their lesson. Of these figure, only 33% feel that they are preapred to integrate technology tot heir teaching, while the other 66% felt that they are somewhat prepared or not at all.(NCES). "So, it should come as no surprise that while many principals want to improve technology integration in their schools, they just do not know how or where to begin. They realize that to promote meaningful technological changes, their teachers must be given opportunities to acquire the skills needed to use technology and then apply them in the context of the curriculum" (Multimedia Schools, 2003). "However, technology professional development is usually delivered by district-level personnel as "one-size-fits-all" workshops that focus on techniques for using software packages and management tools. These workshops often are not part of a cohesive improvement plan; thus, instructional changes are not adopted or sustained over time" (Janice M. Hinson, 2005). Teacher Evaluation is a very important practice that helps ensure this development among teachers. It is very important so that ineffective teacher evaluation systems are seen to be more costly than effective ones. (Sawa, 1995) This statement edifies the importance of a sound and truthful evalutation technique. A Brief History It has been known that the appraisal of teachers is as old as teaching itself (Sawa, 1995). However, formal teacher's evaluation was traced to have begun at the turn of the 20th century to about 1980 (Robert F. McNergney). It's history might be divided into three overlapping categories: (1) The Search for Great Teachers; (2) Inferring Teacher Quality from Student Learning; and (3) Examining Teaching Performance (Robert F. McNergney). "Arvil Barr's 1948 compendium of research on teaching competence noted that supervisors' ratings of teachers were the metric of choice. A few researchers, however, examined average gains in student achievement for the purpose of Inferring Teacher Quality from Student Learning. They assumed, for good reason, that supervisors' opinions of teachers revealed little or nothing about student learning. Indeed, according to Medley and his colleagues, these early findings were "most discouraging." The average correlation between teacher characteristics and student learning, as measured most often by achievement tests, was zero. Some characteristics related positively to student

Colombian Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Colombian Entrepreneurial Ecosystem - Essay Example The armed conflict in Columbia had drastic effects on all sides: the government forces, the guerillas, and even the civilians. A large number of people, approximately 90,000, lost their lives with millions of people being forcibly displaced. Several other people were kidnapped with many being disabled by landmines and explosion of bombs. Properties such as buildings, roads, and other infrastructures were destroyed in the process of the soaring conflict, hence leading to massive physical destructions. The armed conflict started because of protest for the rights of the poor Columbians with the desire to be protected by government against social injustices and unequal distribution of resources including land and wealth, which made the people of Columbia dissatisfied. Out of these, there came up strategic protests to forcefully demand these rights by taking over governance by force and violence (Acs &Szerb 113). This struggle was undertaken by different groups at regional and subdivision levels through conflicts. Their anger was directed to state utilities, infrastructure and regions perceived to be beneficiaries of public resources, such as those in strategic routes of transportation of weapons, drugs and food. Other areas attacked are those seen to harbor state forces or those which provide them with resources. This Columbian conflict had far-reaching effects on the business sector in Columbia and its environments. It affected the entrepreneurial performance, which includes the regulatory framework, access to capital, access to R&D technology, entrepreneurial capabilities, market conditions and culture. By affecting these determinants, the conflict changed and determined how entrepreneurship is carried out in Columbia. Entrepreneurs were affected both directly and indirectly by the conflicts in Columbia. Entrepreneurs faced high transactional cost because of the unfavorable business climat e resulting from the conflicts. Merchandizing was spoiled due to the disrupted network and infrastructure since goods and services relying on them could not reach their destination. Businesspersons also lost international partners because the conditions were unfavorable for business. This led to loss of business opportunities, which made many companies close their business. Entrepreneurs could not invest freely for fear of being victimized and kidnapped, extorted or attacked. The room for expansion was limited by competition for territory, which was managed by guerilla groups. With high insecurity, finance meant to be used in business was invested to cover for security and insurance of their investments. Huge amounts of finances were spent in efforts to control conflicts with development projects and peace initiatives started in Columbia. This strained businesses and even led to closure of some. The entrepreneurship culture was eradicated and individuals were stopped from investing because of insecurity in the market. Prices of natural and industrial goods increased because of decreased production as demand increased; the low production was witnessed as a result of insecurity and instability in the country during the war. Regulatory Framework in Colombia Whereas laws have been enhanced, the implementation approaches in Colombia are weak because of mainly the idea that defense spending is exploiting the civilian economy and entrepreneurial growth. During the 1990s, defense budget averaged 1.36% of the total GDP. Even up to early 2000s, the

Caring for Mentally Disordered Offenders Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Caring for Mentally Disordered Offenders - Essay Example The abnormality in the brain functioning is evident in many people. World Health Organization (WHO) statistics show 33% of people living in most countries has this problem (Lindstedt et al. 2006, p.334). Mental disability leads people to commit crimes without their knowledge. Causes The main causes of mental disorder are not clear. Theories trying to explain the causes exist but the truth is that there is no one known cause. The circumstances under which people suffer from mental disorder cut across biological factors such as inheritance, psychological factors, for example, depression and the environment in which people live (Rodriguez et al., 2006). In order to control or effectively care for affected people in the society, it is essential to know the cause of the illness to the person. Understanding ones, psychology will ease the way one relates with the affected people. Therefore, it is essential to elaborate on the causes of mental illness. Biological factors Studies show that ab normal balance of some chemicals found in the brain known as neurotransmitters causes the illness (Rodriguez et al. 2006, p.413). The chemicals enable communication in the brain. Any kinds of injury to these essential devices lead to mental problems. The spread of mental disorder can pass down family generations. ... Other factors include prolonged substance abuse and poor nutrition (Mason et al., 2008). Psychological and environmental factors When a child is growing, proper care is necessary to prevent it from any form of physical abuse or emotional. Sexual abuse may also cause problems in the future. Neglecting the children at a premature age is not recommendable as this may make them not to relate with others. The environment the people live in is crucial (Mason et al. 2008, p.122). Mental illness may arise due to stress caused by death or divorce, family wrangles and any other condition that may lead to low esteem. Having high expectations may lead to depression if the expectations are not achievable. Stress arises due to failure to fulfill the societal high expectations. During pregnancy, the mother may expose the unborn child to the risks of having mental problems in his old age (Mason et al., 2008). If the mother has exposure to stress, trauma of any hardship lifestyle during pregnancy, th e effects may later cause mental illness to the child. Care for offenders Following the review of the causes for mental disorder, the care of the affected is necessary. The attendance to the victims depends on the initial cause and demand for different treatment. From the overview of the causes of mental illness, it is evident that a good number of the cases may not be the fault of the affected people (Bowring-lossock, 2006). It is, therefore, unfair to treat the offenders unfairly since they are under the effects of the illness they suffer. Studies show that most of the offenders face unfair treatment in many institutions. Implications arising from caring for mentally disordered offenders One of the areas to consider in understanding the treatment that mentally ill

Communication Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Communication Management - Essay Example This document particularly relate to the development of Communication Management Strategy for Digital Training Program at Wal-mart Corporation. Wal-mart has always given importance to the employee training and development programs as it has been an integral part of its employees’ career path (Working At Walmart: Training and Development, 2013). However, due to the advancing technology and increasing size of Wal-mart’s business the corporation now requires establishing a digital learning and training program in order to better improve its customer services and overall employee relationships. Following are the most significant objectives of Communication Management Strategy for Wal-mart’s Digital Training Program (Corporate Communications Policy, 2012). The scope of this document is actually restricted to different aspects of Wal-mart’s Digital Training Program which basically includes its unique business approach. This is further related with the organization’s ongoing communication procedures with all the stakeholders. This document will be helpful in evaluating the progress and effectiveness of the entire project while making a strict stakeholder analysis and the impacts of digital training project on the organization’s global image. Additionally, the communication management strategy aims to combine the organizational mission to its capabilities and resources (Tripathi, 2009). Formal business communication is based upon a comprehensive process which primarily emphasizes over message i.e. the actual content which has to be delivered. It can be either in verbal words or symbols (Means, 2009). For instance, in case of Wal-mart’s Digital Training Program the stakeholders would have to be informed about the training needs of employees, their skills, competencies etc. At a later stage the message might also be directed towards employees in order to gain their content regarding training strategies.

How a Guitar Works Essay Example for Free

How a Guitar Works Essay A guitar can be defined as a musical instrument having â€Å"a long, fretted neck, flat wooden soundboard, ribs, and a flat back, most often with incurved sides† (Kasha, 1968) and believed to exist over 4000 years ago. The instrument was believed to be derived from the Greek instrument kithara, â€Å"a square-framed lap harp or lyre† (Guy, 2001). Today the guitar comes in many different forms but still follows the same dynamics to create beautiful melody. Music classifies a guitar as a chordophone or a string instrument. Physics describe a chordophone is any â€Å"instrument whose standing wave constraint is that at each end of the medium there must be a node† (Lapp, p. 61). A guitar has four essential components namely its hollow body, its neck, the head and its six strings. The body is the enclosed part of the guitar composed of the soundboard, a flat wooden piece that comprises the front of the body, supported by the wooden ribs and braces connected to the back board of the guitar to form the body cavity where air vibrates. The soundboard is etched with the sound hole, the hole where which the sound from the vibration travels out into the air. The bridge, which is mounted on the lower part of the soundboard, anchors each of the one ends of the six strings of the guitar. A thin piece is attached to the bridge, which is called the saddle, on which the strings rest. The guitar neck is made up of the fingerboard, the face of the neck where the fingers of the player are placed while pressing on a string. Frets, pieces the separate the fingerboard at definite intervals, are also part of the neck of the guitar. The end of the neck is made up of the nut, on which the other end of the strings rest, functioning similarly as the saddle. The head of the neck are where the ends of the string are affixed. The strings are tied onto a string post which can be freely rotated through worm gears. The tuning knobs provide for the control of the movement of the worm gears. Turning these knobs, enables the player to increase or decrease tension in the strings. The strings are the one who provides the tone that the guitar plays. Guitars have strings with different thickness for steel string guitars or densities for nylon string guitars, having its thickness or density increase gradually from top to bottom. The vibration of the strings determines the sound that the guitar plays. The vibrating strings alone are hardly audible. In order for the sound produced to be recognizable, the structure of the guitar is made as such in order to transfer the string vibrations to the plate of the soundboard through the bridge and saddle. The body then vibrates in all directions; however the ribs inside the body cavity keep the plate flat, despite these disturbances. Amplification, in the strictest definition of the word, is never the function of the guitar body. The small volume of sound produced due to string vibration is mostly due to the inefficient conversion of the energy from the plucking of the string into sound energy. The guitar body provides an efficient medium for this energy conversion due to its large surface area. The simple schematic below, cited as Fig. 1, demonstrates the transfer of energy as a guitar string is plucked. Figure 2. Energy Transfer in the Guitar Physics in Guitars Sound is any fluctuation is pressure resulting from the displacement of matter. However, what men recognize as being heard are tones, which are sounds that are repeated at a specific frequency. Humans can only recognize tones with frequencies between 20Hz and 20kHz. Musical notes, however, are collection of tones with specific frequencies that were found pleasing to one’s senses. The basic notes of the musical scale and their specific frequencies are as follows: 264Hz is middle C or middle do; 297Hz is D or re; 330Hz is E or mi; 352Hz is F or fa; 396Hz is G or so; 440Hz is A or la; 495Hz is B or ti; and 528Hz is the higher C or higher do. The masterful combination of these basic set of frequencies by musical composers enabled the conception of melodic harmony and symphony. The vibration of the strings of the guitar can be characterized as standing waves. The standing wave condition needs that the ends be terminated by a fixed node. The frequency of the vibration is determined by the length of the string and the tension experienced by the string. Therefore, in order to produce the different musical notes, the different frequencies of vibration should be achieved by the strings. The first mode of vibration or the fundamental harmonic of the string can be illustrated by the Fig. 2, where L is the length of the string and ? represents the wavelength, the length of one cycle of vibration, an upward movement and its corresponding downward movement along the string. Figure 2. Fundamental Harmonic of String (Lapp, p. 62) ? can be found to be twice of the string length, L. Since frequency is the ratio of the speed of vibration and the wavelength and the tension of the string is the product of the mass density or mass per unit length of the string and the speed of vibration, an expression of the frequency of vibration, expressed as f, in terms of the string tension, expressed as T, mass density of the string, expressed as ? , and L can be derived, thus the expression: These factors determine the frequency of the vibration, thus the tone that is played. An increase in ? and L decreases f, which results in a lower pitch. On the other hand, an increase in T, increases f, resulting in a higher pitch. The guitar provides control for all these factors. The difference in the density of the strings from top to bottom provides control for ?. The tuning knobs manage T while L is controlled by the player by pressing on the string against the fret. However, as the guitar string is struck, it does not vibrate solely on its fundamental frequency. Instead overtones are formed, which are harmonics with frequencies that are integer multiples of the fundamental frequency, which can be demonstrated by Fig. 3. These overtones provide the richness of sound, which seem to reverberate in one’s ears, instead of a flat sound of a tone with only a single harmonic. Figure 3. (from top to bottom) 1st, 2nd, and 3rd overtones (Hokin, 2001) â€Å"The guitar can be considered to be a system of coupled vibrators† (Fletcher Rossing, 1998, p. 240). Along with the vibration of the string as it is plucked, all other parts of the guitar vibrates, and with it energy is transferred through them as demonstrated in Fig. 1. A significant part of the production of tones of a guitar is the vibration of the body along with air inside its cavity. The movements and modes of vibration of the guitar body and the air inside it, in response to the string being plucked, are referred to as internal resonances, which provides for the increase in volume of the tone produced similar to hitting a snare. The frequency of thses internal resonances of the guitar body are determined by the volume of air that the body encloses and the size of the sound hole, one of which that has lowest frequency is termed as Helmholtz resonance. These modes of the vibration can be observed through the use of lasers in holographic interferograms, as exemplified by Fig. 4, wherein the vibrations are manifested as ripples in the guitar body. Figure 4. Guitar Body Resonances (Fletcher Rossing, 1998, p. 246) However, these resonances can affect the quality of the tone produced when its frequency is close to harmonics that the plucked string produces. Certain harmonics are attenuated further than usual resulting in higher or lower pitches. The appropriate placement of the ribs and braces inside the guitar body, aside from supporting the soundboard, keep these resonances at a minimum. The ribs and braces of the guitar are illustrated below. Figure 5. Bracings of a Guitar (Billington, 1999) The masterful combination of the components of a guitar through its development has enabled it to be a source of beautiful melody throughout generations. The guitar is concrete evidence how man can create harmony from chaos. References Flectcher, N. H. Rossing, T. D. (1998). The Physics of Musical Instruments. 2nd ed. New York. Springer Science+Business Media, Inc. Billington, I. (1999). The Physics of the Acoustic Guitar. Retrieved from http://ffden-2. phys. uaf. edu/211. web. stuff/billington/main. htm. University of New South Wales. Guitar Acoustics. Retrieved from http://www. phys. unsw. edu. au/music/guitar/. Hokin, S. (2002). The Physics of Everyday Stuff. Retrieved from http://www. bsharp. org/ physics/ stuff/guitar. html. Lapp, D. R. The Physics of Music and Musical Instruments. Retrieved from http://www. tufts. edu/as/wright_center/workshops/workshop_archives/physics_2003_wkshp/ book/pom_book_acrobat_7. pdf. Brain, M. How Acoustic Guitars Work. Retrieved from http://entertainment. howstuffworks. com/guitar. htm. Guy, P. (2001). A Brief History of the Guitar. Retrieved from http://www. guyguitars. com/eng/ handbook/BriefHistory. html Parkkali, R. (2006). A Well Compensated Guitar. Retrieved from http://www. newmillguitar. com/ millen2. htm

Analysis of SIF Intrinsic Dynamics

Analysis of SIF Intrinsic Dynamics Abstract. It was recently found that spectral solar incident flux (SIF) as a function of the ultraviolet wavelengths exhibit 1/fà ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ­type power-law correlations. In this study, an attempt was made to explore the SIF intrinsic dynamics versus a wider range of wavelengths, from 115.5nm to 629.5nm. It seemed that the intermittency of SIF data set was very high and the revealed DFA-n exponents were very close to unity. Moreover, the power spectral density was better fitted algebraically than exponentially with exponent very close to unity. Eliminating the fitting of three different types of Planck formula from SIF data set, scaling exponents very close to unity were derived, indicating that the 1/f scaling dynamics concern not the Planck’s law but its variations. 1. Introduction As it is well known, electromagnetic radiation is continuously emitted by every physical body. This emitted radiation is adequately described by Plancks law near thermodynamic equilibrium at a definite temperature. There is a positive correlation between the temperature of an emitting body and the Planck radiation at every wavelength. As the temperature of an emitting surface increases, the maximum wavelength of the emitted radiation increases too. Smith and Gottlieb (1974) re-examined the subject of photon solar flux and its variations versus wavelength and showed that variations in the extreme ultraviolet (UV) spectrum and in the X-ray of solar flux may reach at high orders of magnitude causing significant changes in the Earth’s ionosphere, especially during major solar flares (Kondratyev et al. 1995; Kondratyev and Varotsos 1996; Alexandris et al. 1999; Melnikova 2009; Xue et al. 2011). Simon (1978) examined the solar irradiance fluxes from 120 to 400 nm and suggested that the internal scaling properties of solar radiation during the eleven-year cycle is still unknown, as the cause of the available solar data discrepancies can not be attributed to solar activity. Solanki and Unruh (1998) proposed simple models of the total solar irradiance variations versus wavelength showing that variations on solar flux are mainly caused by magnetic fields at the solar surface. Solar observations may be reproduced by a model of three parameters: the quiet Sun, a facular component and the temperature stratification of sunspots. Tobiska et al. (2000) developed a forecasting solar irradiance model, called SOLAR2000, covering the spectral range of 1–1,000,000 nm. Using this tool, the authors attempted to describe solar variation versus wavelength and through time from X-ray through infrared wavelengths, in order to predict the solar radiation component of the space environment. Very recently, Varotsos et al. (2013a,b) suggested the existence of strong persistent long-range correlations in the solar flux fluctuations versus UV wavelengths. More precisely, by applying the detrending fluctuation analysis (DFA) to the initial SIF versus UV wavelengths data set power-law correlations of the type 1/f, which is omnipresent in nature, was found. In the present study, we examine whether the scaling feature of 1/f noise is apparent in a wider spectrum of SIF, namely for wavelengths (WL) between 115.5 and 629.5nm. 2. Data and analysis As mentioned just above solar incident flux data for WL ranging from 115.5nm to 629.5nm with a step of 1nm were employed. The spectrophotometric data of spectral extraterrestrial solar flux have been taken from the book by Makarova et al. (1991) (see also Makarova et al. 1994; Melnikova and Vasilyev 2005). Fig. 1a depicts SIF values for the wavelength range of 115.5-629.5nm. The principal feature shown in this figure is the existence of non-stationarities into the solar spectral distribution and the strong upward trend. The detrending of this data set was accomplished by applying linear as well as polynomial best fit. To eliminate the non-stationarities of this data set and to detect the intrinsic self-similarity, we applied the well-known DFA method (Peng et al. 1994; Weber and Talkner 2001; Varotsos 2005; Skordas et al. 2010). Furthermore, we calculated the power spectrum for the initial SIF-WL data set, using Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) algorithm as well as the maximum entropy method (MEM) of the TISEAN package (http://www.mpipks-dresden.mpg.de/~tisean/TISEAN_2.1/index.html). For comparison reasons, we used the Planck formula taking into account the effective temperature obtained from NASA (http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/sunfact.html). A brief description of DFA-tool may be given as follows: Consider the SIF data set x(i) of length N which is integrated over WL. In more detail, to integrate the data, we calculate the à ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡uctuations of the N observations x(i) from their mean value xave, notably: x(i) xave. Therefore, the integrated data set, y(i), is consisting of the following points: y(1) = [x(1) − xave], y(2) = [x(1) − xave] + [x(2) − xave], . . . , y(i) = (1) We split the integrated data set into non-overlapping boxes of equal length, Ï„. In each box, a best polynomial local trend (of order n) is à ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ tted in order to detrend the integrated profile (by subtracting the locally fitted trend). The root-mean-square fluctuations Fd (Ï„) of this integrated and detrended profile is calculated over all scales (box sizes). The detrended fluctuation function F is defined by: k = 0, 1, 2,†¦, , (2) where z(i) is a linear least-square fit to the Ï„ data contained within a box (Kantelhardt et al. 2002). In case the signals involve scaling, a power-law behavior for the root-mean-square à ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡uctuation function Fd (Ï„) is observed: Fd (Ï„) ∠¼ Ï„a (3) where ÃŽ ± is the scaling exponent, a self-afà ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ nity parameter that represents the long-range power-law correlation (Ausloos and Ivanova 2001). It is worthy of note that a is a generalized Hurst exponent (H) being equal between them for the case of a fractional Gaussian noise (FGN) data set, where 0 1. For a fractional Brownian motion (FBM) data set (1 2) the relation between these exponents is H = a − 1 (Ausloos and Ivanova, 2001). For uncorrelated data, the scaling exponent is ÃŽ ± = 0.5. An exponent ÃŽ ± ≠  0.5 in a certain range of Ï„ values implies the existence of long-range correlations in that time interval. If 0ÃŽ ±ÃŽ ± ≠¤1.0 (and if again the data set is nonintermittent), then persistent long-range power-law correlations prevail (the case ÃŽ ± = 1 corresponds to the so-called 1/f noise) (Weber and Talkner 2001). Finally, the scaling properties of SIF-WL data set were also studied using Haar analysis (Lovejoy and Schertzer, 2012a,b). According to Haar analysis the variation of X parameter fluctuations ΔX with scale Δt can be defined using the â€Å"generalized† qth order structure function Sq(Δt) = ÃŽ §(Δt)q >, where the symbol stands for ensemble averaging. In a scaling regime, Sq(Δt) ≈ ΔtÃŽ ¾(q), where the exponent ÃŽ ¾(q)= qH K(q) and K(q) indicates the scaling intermittency (satisfying K(1) = 0). 3. Discussion and results Varotsos et al. (2013a) studying the high-resolution observations of SIF reaching the ground and the top of the atmosphere, suggested that SIF versus ultraviolet WL exhibit 1/fà ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ­type power-law correlations. This result was derived by applying the DFA method on the SIF dataset obtained from the Villard St. Pancrace station of the Lille University of Sciences and Technology and was based on the slope (i.e., 1.02 ±0.02) of the log – log plot of the root mean square fluctuation function of SIF versus the WL segment size Ï„. In order to further establish the power-law scaling mentioned before, Varotsos et al. (2013b) employed the two criteria suggested by Maraun et al. (2004), notably the rejection of the exponential decay of the autocorrelation function and the constancy of â€Å"local slopes† in a certain range towards the low frequencies. The results showed that the power-law fit on the power spectral density (of the detrended SIF-WL versus logÏ„) was much better than exponential one, for scales higher than Ï„ ≈ 1.4 nm, while the method of local slopes exhibited â€Å"constancy† with constant threshold (a ≈ 0.92) at the same range, Ï„ > 1.4 nm. Therefore, the two criteria of Maraum et al. (2004) were satisfied ensuring the 1/fà ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ­type power-law correlations in SIF versus WL suggested by Varotsos et al. (2013a). In the present study, the scaling dynamics of a wider spectrum of SIF-WL data set was studied, for wavelengths between 115.5 and 629.5nm. Firstly, DFA-n seemed to can take care of the trends revealing a DFA-exponent close to unity (after DFA-2), as shown in Fig. 1b. In the following we plotted the power spectral density (using FFT) of the linearly detrended SIF data set. The derived power spectral density showed that the power-law fitting gives coefficient of determination, R2, higher than the exponential one (see Fig. 2a). This was confirmed by F-test, at 95% confidence level. From the other hand, the DFA-1 exponent was 1.24, while by applying the multiple DFA on the linearly detrended SIF data, the derived exponents ranged from 0.94 to 1. Similar results were derived when we repeated the above mentioned analysis for the polynomially (of 6th degree) detrended SIF data set. The derived power spectral density was, once more, better fitted algebraically than exponentially (a result which was confirmed by F-test, at 95% confidence level), while the linearly DFA-exponent was 1.01 (see Fig.2b). In other words, it seemed that no detrending is needed for the studied data set. Next, to resume our results we analysed the initial SIF-WL data set by using Haar analysis (Lovejoy and Schertzer, 2012a,b). According to Haar analysis, as also mentioned in the Section 2, the variation of SIF fluctuations versus wavelength Ï„ can be defined using the â€Å"generalized† qth order structure function Sq(Ï„) = RF(Ï„)q >, for which it holds that in a scaling regime Sq(Ï„) ≈ Ï„Î ¾(q), where the exponent ÃŽ ¾(q)= qH K(q) and K(q) illustrates the scaling intermittency (satisfying K(1) = 0 and ÃŽ ¾(1) = H). Fig. 3b shows that the intermittency of SIF data set is very high (C1=0.20), hence the RMS exponent = ÃŽ ¾(2)/2=0.60 is quite different from the q=1 exponent (H) and the data are far from Gaussian. In the classical quasi-Gaussian case, K(q) = 0 so that ÃŽ ¾(q) is linear. More generally, if the field is intermittent – for example if it is the result of a multifractal process – then the exponent K(q) is generally non linear and co nvex and characterizes the intermittency. The physical significance of H is thus that it determines the rate at which mean fluctuations grow (H > 0) or decrease (H Ï„. According to Fig. 3a,b, the exponent ÃŽ ¾(2) of the structure function equals to zero (at scales below 10 nm), a fact which means that the power spectrum exponent ÃŽ ²=1+ÃŽ ¾(2) equals to 1 (1/f structure). On the other hand, at larger scales, the exponents ÃŽ ¾(2) and ÃŽ ² seem to equal to 1.2 and 2.2, respectively. To clarify this aspect, we calculated the power spectrum for the initial SIF-WL data set, using the MEM. Then, we plotted in Fig. 4a the power spectral density versus frequency and we compared these results with 1/f and 1/f2.2 structure, following the exponent ÃŽ ¾(2)= 1.2 shown in Fig. 3. Interestingly, the results lied in between these two lines. Furthermore, we calculated the power spectrum for the initial as well as for the polynomially (of 6th and 7th degree) detrended SIF data set, using again the MEM. We plotted in Fig. 4b the power spectral density versus WL and the corresponding algebraically fitting in the range from 10 to 100 nm. In the latter fitting we found exponent very close to unity. However, Varotsos et al. (2013a) tried to formulate the above-shown finding, i.e., that the solar spectral irradiance obeys 1/f power-law as a function of UV wavelength, using the well-known Plancks law: which, in the limit of small wavelengths tends to the Wien approximation: , where I(Ï„,ÃŽ ¤) is the amount of energy emitted at a wavelength Ï„ per unit surface area per unit time per unit solid angle per unit wavelength, T is the temperature of the black body, h is Plancks constant, c is the speed of light, and k is Boltzmanns constant. By applying the DFA method on the various values of I(Ï„,ÃŽ ¤) Varotsos et al. (2013a) showed that the calculated I(Ï„,ÃŽ ¤) values do not obey the 1/fà ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ­type scaling. In an effort to clarify this aspect, we firstly applied on the initial SIF data set a fitting that was based on the Planck formula: Planck(Ï„)= and the derived exponents were a1 = 6799.86 ± 45.39(0.6674%) and b1= 2754.38  ± 15.85 (0.5755%) (see Fig. 5). Next, we applied the formula: p(Ï„)= which releases the exponent in front of the Bose-Einstein distribution giving a possible explanation for the different distribution of photons. The derived exponents were a= 3250.17  ± 90.65 (2.79%), b= 4456.26  ± 121.3 (2.72%) and c= 8.81914  ± 0.2589 (2.94%). Our last step was to use the Planck formula taking into account the effective temperature obtained from NASA. However, since hc = 1.986à ¯Ã†â€™-10-25 Jm and k = 1.38à ¯Ã†â€™-10-23 J/K, the Planck formula gives ÃŽ ¤sun = 5224.3 K while the p(Ï„) formula gives ÃŽ ¤sun = 3229.5 K. Furthermore, the Wien displacement law: Ï„max à ¯Ã†â€™-T = b, where Ï„max = 450 nm is the peak wavelength and b = 2.898à ¯Ã†â€™-10−3mK is a constant of proportionality called Wiens displacement constant, gives ÃŽ ¤sun = 6440K. The analysis based on Planck and Wien laws gives ÃŽ ¤sun = (5224 + 6440) / 2 K = 5832 K which is less than 1% from the effective temperature obtained from NASA. Finally, the application of DFA method on the detrended SIF data, eliminating the fitting of Planck, p(Ï„) and Plank(Ï„, Tef) formula, gave again DFA-exponents very close to 1 (ranging from 1.01 to 1.08) as shown in Fig. 6. All the previous discussion indicates that the 1/f scaling dynamics observed in solar flux concerns not the Planck’s law but its variations. 4. Conclusions The main conclusions of the present survey were: DFA-n applied on the initial SIF data set revealed DFA-exponents very close to unity (after DFA-2). Power spectral density for the linearly detrended SIF data set showed that the power-law fitting gives coefficient of determination, R2, higher than the exponential one, while DFA-1 exponent was 1.24 and DFA-n exponents ranged from 0.94 to 1. Similar results were extracted when we repeated the above mentioned analysis for the polynomially (of 6th degree) detrended SIF data set and it seemed that no detrending is needed for the studied data set. To resume our results we analysed the initial SIF-WL data set by using Haar analysis. As ÃŽ ¹t was derived, the intermittency of SIF data set was very high and the data were far from Gaussian. At scales below 10 nm, the power spectrum exponent ÃŽ ² was almost 1 (1/f structure), while at larger scales, the exponents ÃŽ ¾(2) and ÃŽ ² seemed to equal to 1.2 and 2.2, respectively. The results of the power spectral density for the initial SIF-WL data set (using the MEM) versus frequency seemed to lie in between 1/f and 1/f2.2 structure. The power spectral density versus WL for the initial as well as for the polynomially (of 6th and 7th degree) detrended SIF data set (using again the MEM) revealed also exponent very close to unity. Eliminating the fitting of three different types of Planck formula from SIF data set, scaling exponents very close to unity were derived Finally, the 1/f scaling dynamics observed in solar flux concerns not the Planck’s law but its variations.

View Of Politicians Police And Criminal Nexus Criminology Essay

View Of Politicians Police And Criminal Nexus Criminology Essay The various crime syndicates/mafia organizations have developed significant muscle and money power and have established linkages The existing criminal justice system, which was essentially designed to deal with the individual crimes, is unable to deal with government functionaries, political leaders and others to be able to operate with impunity. The tragedy is not that the evils afflicting society and the emerging system are not known, but the indifference of the leaders across the spectrum to the damage they are doing to the political system is abysmal. Enjoyment of power is wrecking the system from within. There is a need to nip the budding criminal in early stages which will be helpful in ending nexus considerably. INTRODUCTION The rule of law is a hallmark of democracy. To put it simply, it means order and stability in the society.  [1]  Politicians need money and muscle power to maintain their positions of power and authority. Criminals thrive on wrongdoings and need some help to keep the police personnel out of their way. Police is dependent upon the politicians for promotions and smooth service in business. So there exists a mutual benefit relationship between police, politicians and criminals. Once the politician reaches a particular stature and develops a clout, he dictates terms to Police and Bureaucracy much to the delight of the criminal elements. The bonds become stronger and either finds it difficult to survive without the help of the other and the point of no return is reached.  [2]   POLITICAL POLICE AND CRIMINAL NEXUS The police are a foundation of rule of law and play an essential role in establishing it. They maintain the law and order in the society and protect the right and freedoms of the citizens. The rule of law presumes that police should serve the citizen and remain free from the influence of political establishment  [3]  . Police has varied duties from serving the people to protecting the state. The local in India, are corrupt by and large and the reality is often disputed. Most police officers associate themselves with criminals in their locality as the police are often involved in the same crimes and/or in many cases seek to claim a share of the money collected by the criminals.  [4]  The police provide assistance to the criminals by refusing to register a case against them. Police are considered to be criminals in uniform who work according to the wishes of the political parties in power at the expense of state funds. Most police officers associate themselves with criminals in their locality as the police are often involved in the same crimes and/or in many cases seek to claim a share of the money collected by the criminals. The police assist the criminals by ei ther refusing to take any action against them or, if under pressure, by registering cases but failing to properly investigate them. Some policemen have not got over their old colonial mentality and are persisting in barbaric acts in a free country which claims to be run by democratic constitution and rule of law. The nexus between criminal gangs, police, bureaucracy and politicians has come out clearly in various parts of the country.  [5]  The history of police and criminal nexus is very old. Report on the nexus between the Bombay City Police and the Bombay under-world was prepared by CBI in 1986 which shows that police and criminal nexus is not new. An organized crime syndicate or mafia generally commences its activities by indulging in petty crime at the local level, mostly relating to illicit distillation/gambling/organized satta and prostitution in the larger towns. In port towns, their activities involve smuggling and sale of imported goods and progressively graduate to narcotics and drug trafficking. In the bigger cities, the main source of income relates to real estate forcibly occupying lands/buildings, procuring such properties at cheap rates by forcing out the existing occupants/tenants etc. Even in the smaller towns and rural areas, muscle-men have become the order of the day . Hired assassins have become a part of these organizations. The various crime syndicates organizations have developed significant muscle and money power and have established linkages with government functionaries, political leaders and others to be able to operate with impunity. The existing criminal justice system, which was essentially designed to deal with the individual crimes, is unable to deal with the activities of the Mafia; the provisions of law in regard economic offences are weak; there are insurmountable legal difficulties in attaching/confiscation of the property acquired through Mafia activities. In certain States, like Bihar, Haryana and UP, these gangs enjoy the patronage of local level politicians, cutting across party lines and the protection of governmental functionaries. Some political leaders become the leaders of these gangs and, over the years, get themselves elected to local bodies, State Assemblies and the national Parliament. Consequently, such elements have acquired considerable political clout seriously jeopardizing the smooth functioning of the administration and the safety of life and property of the common man, causing a sense of despair and alienation among the people. The big smuggling Syndicates, having international linkage s, have spread into and infected the various economic and financial activities, including Havana transactions, circulation of black money and operations of a vicious parallel economy causing serious damage to the economic fibre of the country. These syndicates have acquired substantial financial and muscle power and social respectability and have successfully corrupted the government machinery at all levels and wield enough influence to make the task of Investigating and Prosecuting agencies extremely difficult; even the members of the Judicial system have not escaped the embrace of the Mafia. Certain elements of the Mafia have shifted to narcotics, drugs and weapon smuggling and established narco-terrorism networks, specially in the States of JK, Punjab, Gujarat and Maharashtra. The Bombay bomb blast case and the communal, riots in Surat and Ahmedabad have demonstrated how the Indian underworld has been exploited by the Pak ISI and the latters network in UAE to cause sabotage, subv ersion and communal tension in various parts of the country. The investigations into the Bombay bomb blast cases have revealed extensive linkages of the underworld in the various governmental agencies, political circles, business sector and the film world. It is evident that the muscle power of the crime Syndicates is sustained by their enormous financial power which, in turn, is, secured by the Mafia elements by committing economic offences with impunity. the various economic intelligence/investigative/enforcement agencies under Secretary (Revenue) operates are Central Board of Excise Customs (CBEC) it is responsible for the prevention of smuggling, In this and other tasks, it is assisted by the by the Director General of Revenue Intelligence (DGRI) and the Directorate General of Anti-Evasion (DGAE). The DGRI deals with the evasion of customs duties; the DGAE with Excise duty evasion. Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), Central Economic Intelligence Bureau (CEIB) The CEIB is res ponsible for coordinating and strengthening the intelligence gathering activities and the investigative and enforcement actions of the various agencies responsible for investigation into economic offences and the enforcement of economic laws. Its main tasks are Identification of major sources generating black money; directing and developing intelligence about such sources; planning and coordinating action and operations against such sources. Enforcement Directorate This Directorate is concerned with the enforcement of the investigation and penal provision of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act; collection of intelligence relating to foreign exchange offences; enquiries into suspected violations of the provisions of FERA, etc. Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) The NCB is responsible for the administration of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. It is responsible for coordination with different Central and State Government Departments/Ministries and the various Central and State law enforcement agencies for the implementation of the NDPS Act. These are the main agencies to tackle the crimes related to the tax and narcotic substances but the functioning of these agencies is hampered by the pressure which is result police political and criminal nexus The linkages developed by crime Syndicates get generally confirmed when pressure is mounted on the concerned agencies not to take action against the offenders or to go slow in the cases against them. Such pressures are mounted either immediately after a raid is conducted or at the time when prosecution is about to be initiated. Pressures are also exerted whenever corrupt and undesirable officers are shifted from sensitive assignments (Preventive Customs Divisions at the Airports, sensitive Collect orates in the Central Excise etc.) In the narcotics arena, which includes cultivation of opium, manufacture of alkaloids, prevention of narcotics, smuggling etc. the financial stakes are astronomically high. Consequently, the level of corruption is of a very high order in this area of functioning and enormous pressures are brought to bear even when subordinate officials are posted away especially when the shift of an officer adversely affects the interests of those who are making easy money. Narcotics trade has a world-wide network of smugglers who also have close links with terrorists. Terrorists indulge in narcotics trade to amass huge funds, in various foreign currencies, from which they source their procurement of weapons etc. the consequences of the this nexus between criminal and politicians is very harmful and to deal with the consequences we have to empower these agencies with the more effective power and machinery. The tragedy is not that the evils afflicting society and the emerging system are not known, but the indifference of the leaders across the spectrum to the damage they are doing to the political system is abysmal. Enjoyment of power is wrecking the system from within. It is matter for most serious concern that an increasing number of police officers are serving jail terms or facing trials for serious offences There is an emergence of the politico-bureaucratic-criminal nexus which has assumed command in several parts of the country. It is indeed a matter for utmost concern that many functionaries, who are elements of the criminal nexus, may also be occupying sensitive positions in the security management apparatus. According to a recent study the present Lok Sabha has the unique distinction of having as many as 125 members with criminal background.  [6]  There are serious charges of rape, murder, kidnapping and extortion pending against many of the honorable members. They have not been convicted yet and there is no chance for it in the near future. Cases against them have been pending since ages and can never be disposed off. Saner elements in civil society and concerned citizens are beginning to be worried at the spectre of full-fledged criminalisation of politics and politicisation of criminals to use the formulation of one of our Prime Ministers.  [7]  If the present trend of criminalization among the elected representatives continues, the doomsday of rule of law in India would soon arrive. The present day politicians have proved late Churchill right when he said that scoundrels would rule India. Rather the situation today is far worse. The language of politics has changed over the years. Celebrations over, the politicians will now be back at the games they play in the pursuit of power and all that goes with it.  [8]  Politicians are busy , they cannot spare time for the people and are engrossed in the chase for power. They do not have a moment to ponder over what they have done to the Constitution. In fact, politicians of all sorts have hijacked the democratic system to run it for their own convenience and not for serving the people. If any organ of the State chooses to block their way, they try to bend it to their will by means fair and foul.  [9]  In the past two decades and more there has been a growing increase in complaints of corruption, particularly at the levels which hurt the common man the most. Consequently, people have lost trust in the commitment and capacity of the governments, at the Centre and in the States, to promote their welfare.  [10]   Elections involving money and muscle power have failed to produce desirable results. The communalisation and criminalisation of politics, endemic corruption and ineffectiveness of the governmental machinery have tarnished the image of governance and severely eroded its effectiveness.  [11]  White collar criminality is fairly prevalent in Politics. The standards of conduct are high among politicians as they are in commercial life. White-collar crimes violate trust and create disgust, which lowers social morale and produces social disorganization on a large scale. Other crimes produce relatively little effect on social institutions or social organization.  [12]  Some people believe that there are still innocent and honest politicians in the country, but nothing is being done by these honest people to control the pervasive corruption in the country. The politicians are busy playing blame games. There is hesitation to call a spade a spade. The rule of law is a legal maxim that states no person is immune to law. it means that law is equal for every man and no one is above the law is supreme this is purely a concept of democracy where peoples will are supreme and laws are made to meet the expectations of the public. India is the democratic country and rule of law is the hallmark of it we have a vast machinery to protect the rule of the law in our country we have CBI, IB and other investigating agencies they are there to protect the rule of law but because of the police political and criminal nexus the functioning of these agencies are affected very much because agencies like CBI, CID and other investigating agencies start their investigation on the recommendation of state government or central government or SC or HC state governments which are dominated by the MLAS who have their glorious criminal records generally not preferred to give investigation charge to CBI and they preferred to give the matter to CID which is a p uppet at the hands of state government which has made them useless. The functioning of these agencies are dominated by the political masters who hamper it at every level for the primary information of the crime as well as information of the local activity. These agencies are dependent upon the police which corrupt in the present time. they are the criminals in uniform who provide every facility to criminals and help them at every level from the time of registration of the complaint inside the police stations, prisons and even the courts. Sometimes they are involved in escape of criminals from the lockup As the Supreme Court rightly observed that if the protector becomes the predator, the civilized society would cease to exist. This phrase can be to describe the current scenario of India. CONCLUSION At present, there is no mechanism which is specifically designated to collect and collate intelligence pertaining to the linkages developed by criminals with the governmental set up. Nonetheless, the  various intelligence agencies collect, in the  normal course of their functioning, information about the nexus between  the bureaucracy and politicians with the Mafia gangs, smugglers and the  underworld. These agencies use such available inputs only within the  narrow confines of their work charter and choose not to take undue  cognisance and follow-up action, leave alone sharing with any other  agencies. Thus, all these agencies function within their own cocoons,  with the result that a plethora of information fails to get specific and  purposeful attention needed for the exposure of the linkages. It is,  therefore, necessary to immediately have an institutionalized system  which while giving total freedom to the various agencies to pursue their  charter of wor k, would simultaneously cast on them the onus of sharing  such inputs to a nodal outfit whose job will be to process this information  for attention of a single designated authority. This will enable the  nodal Group to provide useful leads to the various agencies and, over  time, a progressive database will get generated to facilitate periodic  reviews and analysis which could then be passed to a designated body Fighting the nexus between the politicians and criminal elements should become a National agenda transcending party politics. Conscious efforts should be made by all parties to prevent infiltration of criminal elements in their ranks. They should lend their support to amend the Representation of Peoples Act to deny opportunities to people with criminal records of moral turpitude and violence, to contest the elections. They should also lend support to pass legislation to deal firmly with organized crime. . There is need for a special legislation like other countri es to deal with this menace. We need special courts and suitable modifications in the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Acts to make justice swifter. A stitch in time saves nine. The inability of the criminal justice system to deal firmly with infractions like gambling, prostitution, drugs lead to development of organized crime. Yesterdays petty criminals are todays dons. Hence, there is a need to nip the budding criminal in early stages which will be helpful in ending nexus considerably.