Social Theories of Development and Learning Essay

Social Theories of Development and Learning - Essay Example Asthe report stresses classroom and behavioral management is the study which provides a number of theories of child development and learning as well as a range of various practical tips of how to make teaching-learning process in classroom settings the most productive. Classroom management is basically a set of classroom rules that help to make the studying process safe and effective avoiding any disciplinary disruptions. This paper discusses despite the great number of strategies and techniques which have been developed to assist a teacher, a today’s educator often feels frustrated because of the inability to control his/her learners and/or teach them the required material. Knowledge of classroom and behavior management is essential for having a well-structured and effective study session. The relationship based on mutual respect and understanding between a teacher and a child is essential part of good instructional program realization. A teacher can take up various roles, but the major one would be that of an instructional leader and classroom manager. It has to be stressed that effective classroom managers are not born, but made. Learning a second language in dual language program is different from that of regular learning a foreign language which can be found in regular school. This program can give much more than mere acquisition of vocabulary, a set of grammar rules or practical syntax. T he language is learned and practiced in real life context which requires critical thinking and problem solving using a second language. A study made by neuroscientists proves that bilingual children have better mathematical skills. Besides, Kovelman, Baker, and Petitto claim that bilingual brain develops a kind of a â€Å"neural signature† which is absent in the monolingual brain (153). Finally, such second language acquisition may lead to revelation of â€Å"the biological extent of the neural architecture underlying all human language† (Kovelman, Baker, and Petitto 154). However, teachers have to be trained and taught how to apply the bilingual program in the classroom settings of because of peculiarities of instructions and task of the program. Observations Analysis The instruction within Dual Language Program which I have observed proved to be very effective. Children of each

Stress and Anger Management and Communication Styles Essay Example for Free

Stress and Anger Management and Communication Styles Essay College Education is the end of uphill battle for students. These vital and rigorous educations provide greater opportunities in life. A lot of hardships are faced by college students and stress is one major factor that contributes to it. Mismanagement of stress causes burnouts. Common factors of stress are time management, financial problems, sleep deprivation, social activities, health, etc. Hatcher and Prus (1991) named these stress factors as academic situational constraints. Their study accounts these factors that decrease academic performances. Being in a new environment may be a cause for students to encounter different problems while going through their college life. These problems may involve the inability to fit in or to mingle with the people around them, difficulties in managing time or their schedules easily, coping up with the new knowledge that is being given to them. Experiences such as the ones mentioned may cause stress to the students. Stress, which may affect their dealing with other people and their ability to manage the things around them. Even in the midst of facing these  problems, students are still able to adapt or think of ways to cope up with them. It takes time to be comfortable around new people or environment but once someone gets the hang of it, eventually, they will find it easier. Skills with time management may be develop through the days or weeks that students have to go through. Learning, though different in styles in all individuals, could eventually adapt. These problems that they encounter and their adaptability to them are natural to humans. The behavior toward others falls somewhere on a spectrum between toxic effect and nourishing effect. Toxic behavior makes people feel devalued, angry, frustrated, guilty or otherwise inadequate. Nourishing behavior makes people feel valued, respected, affirmed, encouraged or competent (Albrecht, 2000). It is an ability that is termed as social intelligence. Such ability â€Å"includes an awareness of situations and the social dynamics that govern them and a knowledge of interaction styles and strategies that can help a person achieve his or her objectives in dealing with others†. Stress and anger possess threats that may put our health in danger. Today, there are increasing level of stress in both men and women. The mishandled anger of teenagers may result from further problems like being involved in scandalous acts, declining of mental health, deviant behavior, etc. The researchers believe that individuals possess the unique blend of intelligences. The researchers want to find out how our intelligence with intrapersonal and interpersonal affects the control of stress and anger. The study may provide enlightenment with the ability to understand ourselves and the ability to interact with other people. Other studies focus only on communication styles, stress management or anger management individually. Some correlates the communication styles to the stress management while some focus on the correlation of stress to the anger management. Studies of anger management are rarely focused on. This study focuses on the accumulation of communication styles and the stress and anger management and their correlation to each other. It relates to other studies in a way that the results are already combined and compared to one another. Statement of the Problem The main purpose of the study is to compare the difference of the interpersonal and intrapersonal ability scores and determine if it affects  the stress and anger management of PLM Freshmen Psychology students. Specifically, the researchers aim to answer the following questions: 1. What is the level of stress management of the students under? 1.1Intrapersonal 1.2Interpersonal 2. What is the level of anger management of the students under? 2.1Intrapersonal 3. Is there a significant difference in the level of stress management of the students under. 3.1Intrapersonal 3.2Interpersonal 4. Is there a significant difference in the level of anger management of the students? 4.1Intrapersonal 4.2Interpersonal Hypotheses The study was designed to test the hypotheses: 1) There is no significant difference in the level of stress and anger management of respondents under the communication styles, intrapersonal and interpersonal. Significance of the Study Students, teachers, guidance counselors and other researchers interested in the field of social science may find this study useful for their own work. The results of this study can provide students with information regarding the ideal communication styles in order to manage their stress. This study can also provide teachers and counselors with the background to help their students with their relation to their studies and other researchers with literature for their related research undertaking. The study is predicted to provide information that can be used in understanding and improving the stress management of students. Scope and Limitations The study was focused on determining the difference of interpersonal ability  and intrapersonal ability of Bachelor of Science in Psychology freshmen student this School Year 2012-2013 in dealing with stress and anger management. The study area was limited only at Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, Intramuros, Manila. The researchers decided to choose freshmen, since first year students are new in college and are more prone to stress and feel difficult to handle situations because of the new environment, responsibilities and friends to adhere in college years. In gathering the data needed, three sets of questionnaire were used. The test for stress management, anger management and multiple intelligence tests but only the social intelligence where the interpersonal and intrapersonal ability are considered. Though different, the concepts however of each questionnaire are related and useful to combine all the supported data for the study. Also the researchers did not include and emphasi ze the relationship of intrapersonal ability and interpersonal ability. CHAPTER TWO THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK Review of Related Literature and Studies Interpersonal and Stress In a new environment, people will learn to adapt eventually. But while in the process of adaptation, these people will experience stress, anxiety, and anger from their surroundings. Even in an academic setting, instances about adapting also happen especially when it is the start of a school year or when someone has reached a new or high grade level. This study focuses on the ability of the students to adapt in a new environment in the college level. The CS Translator (2000) mentioned that college life is full of new experiences and anxieties. It can be the best of times and the worst of times. Meeting new people, learning, and being on their own are the best. Falling behind in class, pulling an â€Å"all-nighters† and final exams can be the worst; sometimes the best of times leads to the worst of times. Students who spend too much time meeting new people and â€Å"socializing† find themselves skipping class, falling behind on assignments and â€Å"bombing† exams. Orino (2011) added that College life is also a time of enormous stress – a time of confusion,  loneliness and uncertainty and never to be experienced again from the vantage point of a young adult whose perspective is clouded by inexperience, insecurity and the struggles of discovering a separate identity. Being in the adolescent stage, the college freshman’s adjustment to college highly depends on the personal quality he possess in order to cope up with the various demands of college life. This is where stress plays a big role. It affects an individual in many ways – even in the little things. Stress is something that is never to be missed in college life. It is defined as the nonspecific response of the body to any pressures made by it. In other words, any reaction or response your body makes to a new situation is stress (Barcase, 2007). Socializing with the people in the surroundings and getting to know them can be a source of stress. There are cases when people who don’t have high interpersonal ability get stressed when interacting with others. Merely meeting and talking to a stranger, an acquaintance, or even a friend can be stressful if we don’t know what to say or how to act (Barcarse, 2007). When stress gets in the way of interacting, the interpersonal aspect of the life of a student affects their academic performance and therefore be stressed when they struggle to cope with new lessons or when they are loaded with lessons to be reviewed before taking exams. Students are also very stressed and anxious when they are experiencing new educational settings. In college, many students are experiencing changes in grading standards, course load, teaching practices, peer group, and parental contact. Some have difficulty adapting to the changes of college transition and revealed that high school is very much different from college (Sison, 2008). It is during these times when students feel amotivation. Amotivation is a state in which individuals cannot perceive the relationship between their behaviour and that behaviour subsequent outcome. Amotivated individuals cannot predict the consequence of their behaviour nor can they see the motive behind it. They feel disintegrated or detached from their actions and will thus invest little effort or energy in its effectuation (Green-Demers, et. al, 2006). When these individuals are amotivated, there will be changes in their  behaviour, in their point of view or even the way they view things. Some noticeable changes whether sudden or gradual can include changes in mood, eating, and sleeping habits, substance use, increased isolation, peer pressure, identity crisis, and feeling helpless or hopeless. In the long run, such symptoms, as well as the pressure of life’s demands if not handled properly, can lead to poor adjustment to university and ultimately, to experiencing a crisis situation, low self-esteem, suicidal thoughts or severe anxiety or depression, to the point that everyday activities become difficult to accomplish and academic performance was affected (Sison, 2008). Patrick, Ryan and Kaplan (2007) examined perceptions of the classroom social environment as it relates with engagement in classroom. It was found that when students feel a sense of emotional support from teacher, academic support from peers and encouragement from teacher to discuss their work, students are more likely to use self-regulatory strategies and engaged in task-related interaction. This shows that social environment affect student’s academic and social beliefs about themselves, which in turn affects their behaviour and cognitive engagement in class and then their achievement. This shows that even when stress affects the students’ interaction with other students; they may still be able to handle it well if they have a good feel about their surrounding and the people around them. One way to resist stress is to have a good interpersonal relationship with the people around or to have a good feel about oneself. Learning how to handle or control the things around an individual makes him or herself more confident. Self-confidence and feeling in control of life are immensely valuable when it comes to fending off negative stress. Something as apparently flimsy as attitude and self-esteem has a very big impact. One of the strands found in the techniques is looking at building self-esteem (Clegg, 2000). Aside from the interpersonal aspect, students can also experience stress in the intrapersonal aspect. Stressing themselves or sometimes it’s when their emotions are flared up or when their angry. According to Remedios Alcazaren-Ureta (2011), anger management is simply an aspect of managing  stress, since anger is a symptom of stress. O’Neil (2006) emphasized that â€Å"It is widely assumed that anger occurs as a result of frustration, perceived threat or a belief that a personal injustice has occurred. Common triggers are social or interpersonal in nature†¦ The individual’s appraisal of a situation, including expectation of himself or herself and others†. Synthesis The researchers believe that each and every stated in this research is related in this study. The literature and studies supported each concept in the study by depicting actual and normal situations of a college student at home and in school. The literature and studies also emphasized the importance of stress and anger management to the improvement of the communication styles of students. The related literature and studies stated in this research did not entirely support the correlation in the difference of scores in the stress and anger management of students, it only shows that these justifies both side of the study. Theoretical Framework Freshmen students, as becoming new to the university they tend to have difficulties in coping with the new environment. Becoming friends with other students need skills in communicating their feelings and thoughts these pertains to their Intrapersonal and Interpersonal abilities. These pertain to the Social Intelligence theory which is the ability to get along well with others, and to get them to cooperate with you. Sometimes referred to simplistically as people skills, SI includes an awareness of situations and the social dynamics that govern them and knowledge of interaction styles and strategies that can help a person achieve his or her objectives in dealing with others. It also involves a certain amount of self-insight and a consciousness of ones own perceptions and reaction patterns. (Dr. Karl Abrecht, 2004) Handling stress and anger means controlling yourself in order to be in harmony with the environment. In students, stress can decline your mental  process, health and the relationship towards other people. Friends can be a stress towards you or your friends can be affected by your stress. Same as anger, it brings trouble to students when they cannot control their negative feelings to others. By being new to the environment, stress and anger mishandle may arise and that the â€Å"people skill† is needed for adaptation in the environment. It all comes to one’s self to overcome stress and anger. College life brings new experiences as well as frustrations. Freshmen college students are more prone to face these. A new freshman college student must learn to balance his social and emotional skills in order to cope up with the demands of college life. The stress and frustrations caused by the new adjustments made by the students may test their social or interpersonal abilities for they make new friendships and interact simultaneously with people not familiar to them. It is also assumed that these new companions have different personalities which can make interacting with them more stressful for students. Since they are also pressured and overwhelmed by the heavy loads of work, freshmen students become aggressive and frustrated when their efforts results to failure. With these instances given, the interpersonal abilities of the students can be correlated to their stress and anger management in school because students with high social skills can handle stress caused by the people around them. As Dr. Albrecht (2004) stated, that Social Intelligence (SI) is the ability to get along well with others, and to get them to cooperate with you. It is also referred to simplistically as people skills,† SI includes an awareness of situations and the social dynamics that govern them and knowledge of interaction styles and strategies that can help a person achieve his or her objectives in dealing with others. The frustrations brought by the pressure of school works and requirements may also trigger anger to students. The emotional intelligence of students is challenged in these situations and these can be correlated in their anger management. Students who are insightful can handle frustrations and they will not always resolve to aggression or anger. According to Salovey and Mayer’s (1990), emotional intelligence is the ability to monitor one’s own and others’ feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them and to use  this information to guide one’s thinking and actions. In a new environment, people will learn to adapt eventually. But while in the process of adaptation, these people will experience stress, anxiety, and anger from their surroundings. Even in an academic setting, instances on adapting also happen especially when it is the start of a school year or when someone has reached a new or higher grade level. This study focuses on the ability of the students to adapt in a new environment in the college level. The CS Translator (2000) mentioned that college life is full of new experiences and anxieties. It can be the best of times and the worst of times. Meeting new people, learning, and being on their own are the best. Falling behind in class, pulling an â€Å"all-nighters† and final exams can be the worst; sometimes the best of times lead to the worst of times. Students who spend too much time meeting new people and â€Å"socializing† find themselves skipping class, falling behind in assignments and â€Å"bombing† exams. Stress is inevitable part of daily life of every individual. Most especially in college students who are more prone with it. New places to acclimate, major subjects that will drive you crazy, sleepless nights due to exams, reports and assignments and lastly strangers who’ll you meet and eventually will become one of your friends or the reason of your stress. By this, stress can trigger our well-being inside and out. This may also lead to the point where we can’t restrain anymore and get a strong feeling of displeasured namely anger. By knowing and realizing the situation your own, we have this efficiency in dealing with our everyday problems. It may come to our inner strength where we have this certain control of our emotion or to the environment and people around us whom we get this urge to stay calm and be reserve. Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligence has a great influence in the research to be performed by the researchers in this thesis. Gardner’s MI (Multiple Intelligence) determines the intelligence of an individual including the Intrapersonal ability and Interpersonal ability. With this theory the researchers will determine the Social Intelligence of an individual (Interpersonal and Intrapersonal). This theory will be the  researcher’s basis to determine whether which kind of personality will be the greatest in case of handling stress and anger management. According to Gardner; Intrapersonal persons are the ones who are independent and happy spending time alone, they find it easier to learn by thinking and working quietly on their own. Intrapersonal has a determined character who might not be as at risk to peer pressure, they also has a good idea of their own strengths and weaknesses. On the other hand Interpersonal are considerate persons, they enjoy mixing and talking with lots of friends, they also enjoy playing team games and share thoughts and feelings to others. They also has a good ability to tell how others are feeling by their tone of voice or body language, people often come to this kind of persons for support and advice. Lastly they genuinely care about others and finds it easy to get on their own way. Social Intelligence is the ability to get along with others this includes the awareness of situations, knowledge of interaction styles and strategies that can help a person achieve his/her objectives in dealing with others. It also involves a certain amount of self-insight and a consciousness of one’s own perceptions and reaction patterns. SI (Social Intelligence) will serve as a way of determining a person’s interaction with others. A low level of SI may connote the inability to connect with people and influence them effectively. This happens to be a characteristic of a person with a high Intrapersonal Ability. Conversely, a high level of SI may connote the ability of a person being much more effective in dealing and interacting with others, this is a characteristic of a person with a high level of Interpersonal Ability. Freshmen Psychology Students Conceptual Paradigm Multiple Intelligence Test INTRAPERSONAL INTERPERSONAL Anger Management Stress Management Anger Management Stress Management To be able to accomplish the study, the researchers made an organizational chart or framework on how the study will flow. The respondents, will be given the Multiple Intelligence Test. The test will identify the ability to which an individual is greatest, either Interpersonal or Intrapersonal. After identifying the ability of the student, the researchers will administer the next test, the Burn out Test. This test will determine the Stress Management and likewise, the Anger Management Test will determine the level of anger management of an individual with of Interpersonal and Intrapersonal ability. Definition of Terms Stress Management it is the ability of BS Psychology freshmen to handle stress caused by external factors. Anger Management – it is the ability of BS Psychology freshmen to handle frustrations within oneself. Interpersonal ability – ability to communicate effectively with people around the individual. Intrapersonal ability – ability to handle emotions effectively, particularly anger. Correlation – refers to how communication styles related to stress and anger management Communication Style – refers to the intrapersonal and interpersonal ability of an individual Mismanagement – inability of the person to organize emotions or situations such as stress and anger Interpersonal and Intrapersonal Ability Scores- Data or result gathered from the social intelligence category under multiple intelligence test of the BS Psychology freshmen.

Neuropsychological and Neurobiological Ageing

Neuropsychological and Neurobiological Ageing By the year 2075, more than 50% of the European population will be aged 60 or more, and there will be a three-fold increase in individuals aged 80 or more, relative to the present day. It is important that our society prepares for this demographic change and endeavours to enable older adults to optimise their quality of life and autonomy for as long as possible. To the extent that age-related cognitive decline is one of the biggest threats to independent living and well-being for this cohort, the field of cognitive neuroscience is arguably the discipline with the most potential to help in this regard. Non-pathological ageing is accompanied by several cognitive and brain changes that are a product of the natural ageing process, one’s environment, and one’s ability to compensate for them. These changes become evident in multiple cognitive dimensions. On the one hand, older adults have improved regulation of emotion, better vocabulary, better culture-related knowledge, and have better life satisfaction, compared to younger adults. On the other, they have reduced acuity of the senses, they require more time to both process, and respond to, sensory information, and invariably, they undergo declines in a number of other important physical and cognitive capacities. As the deterioration of older adults’ cognitive capacities begins to occur, the ability to monitor and evaluate the success of their cognitive processes is of paramount importance for detecting errors, and calibrating their daily activities to suit their strengths and weaknesses. Yet, the extent to which these metacognitive monitoring processes are affected by the natural ageing process has rarely been considered in the literature. A wealth of evidence from research on clinical populations indicates that metacognitive capacities are highly susceptible to disruption in several diverse neurological conditions, particularly those with damage to right frontal regions. Considering there is m uch evidence to suggest that the frontal lobe is one of the brain regions that undergoes the most extensive age-related changes (Dempster, 1992; Mosocovitch Wincour, 1992; Raz, Gunning, Head et al., 1997; West, 1996), the question follows whether metacognitive capacities are also vulnerable to disruption due to the natural ageing process. The present chapter is organised in six main sections. In the proceeding section, an overview of different perspectives on ageing at the neuropsychological and neurobiological level is provided. The third section introduces the topic of metacognition and draws on the clinical literature surrounding anosognosia to highlight the importance of metacognitive abilities, how they are measured, and what is known about their neuropsychological and neuroanatomical bases. The fourth and fifth sections provide more focussed reviews of the cognitive neuroscience literature on performance monitoring and conscious error awareness, respectively, which in the context of this thesis, are hypothesised to be critical to the accuracy of many metacognitive abilities. The sixth and final section provides an overall summary and an outline of the objectives of this thesis. Age-Related Cognitive and Cerebral Decline A robust, and positive, finding to emerge from cognitive ageing research is that age-related losses are not necessarily seen across all cognitive functions. Patterns of relative preservation versus decline are usually particularly apparent for what are known as crystallized versus fluid intelligence domains (Horn Cattell, 1967). These two clusters of intellectual abilities have also been discussed in terms of the pragmatics and mechanics of cognition (Baltes, Lindenberger, Staudinger, 1998). The former constitutes a culture-related knowledge base that is accumulated through experience, whereas the latter constitutes content-free information processing that relies on fundamental biological processes, and therefore mainly on the integrity of the central nervous system. Both cross-sectional (Lindenberger Baltes, 1995) and longitudinal studies (Schaie 1996; 2005) have indicated that processes in the fluid intelligence domain begin to decline from middle adulthood on, whereas capacitie s in the crystallized domain improve from childhood right through to adulthood and then either remain stable or continue to improve until very late in life. As such many authors have described cognitive ageing as a multi-dimensional and multi-directional process.   Perspectives on cognitive ageing at the behavioural level Many theories have been proposed to explain age-related declines and individual differences in cognitive functioning. Given that it is not within the objectives of this thesis to test any particular theory of cognitive ageing, this section provides a brief overview, as opposed to a comprehensive review, of the main perspectives on cognitive ageing at the behavioural level. This section is then followed by an overview of literature on cognitive ageing at the neurobiological level. The cognitive control hypothesis Common to many of the processes that witness age-related declines is a reliance on cognitive control. Cognitive control is critical to a range of higher order processes that allow for the regulation of sensory information and behaviour in accordance with one’s goals. These processes include monitoring, sequencing, initiation of action, inhibiting pre-potent responses, formulating goals, focusing attention and generating response alternatives (Fuster, 2000; Miller, 2000; Miller Cohen, 2000). These higher order control processes are also frequently referred to as executive functions (Baddeley, 1986; Norman Shallice, 1986; Shallice, 1998), and are predominantly mediated by the frontal lobes. Age-related differences are consistently observed on tasks that place high demands on cognitive control, including working memory (Borella, Ghisletta, de Ribaupierre, 2011; Hasher Zacks, 1988; Salthouse, 1994), attention (McAvinue; McDowd, 1986; Milham, Erickson, Banich et al., 2002; Hawk ins, Kramer, Capaldi, 1992; West, 2004), multi-tasking (Clapp, Rubens, Sabharwal Gazzaley, 2011; Jimura Braver, 2010), as well as episodic and source memory (Craik, Morris, Morris, Loewen, 1990). In contrast, older adults’ performance on measures of non-declarative or implicit memory, which are believed to rely on more automatic and less control demanding processes, has been found to be largely age invariant (Bergerbest, Gabrieli, Whitfield-Gabrieli et al., 2009; Fleischman Gabrieli, 1998; Light Singh, 1987; La Voie Light, 1994). Such observations have prompted many authors to propose that age-related cognitive decline may arise from impaired or inefficient deployment of cognitive control processes due to age-related degeneration of frontal lobe structures (Braver Barch, 2002; Crawford, Bryan, Luscez, Obonsawin, Stewart, 2000; Glisky, 2007; Greenwood, 2000; West, 2000; Rodriguez-Aranda Sundet, 2006). This general idea has been variously termed the â€Å"cognitive c ontrol hypothesis† (West, 1996; 2000; Gallo, Bell, Beier, Schacter, 2006; Koutstaal, 2006) â€Å"frontal lobe hypothesis† (West, 2000), â€Å"frontal ageing hypothesis† (Greenwood, 2000), â€Å"executive decline hypothesis† (Crawford et al., 2000), and â€Å"frontal hypothesis† (Rodrà ­guez-Aranda Sundet, 2006). In support of this idea  executive functions have been found to mediate the relationship between age and general cognitive capacities (Salthouse, Atkinson, Berish, 2003) and have explained age-related differences in learning and memory (Brooks, Kempe, Sionova, 2006; Crawford et al., 2000). Furthermore, when young and older adults’ performance on putative tests of frontal, temporal, and parietal functions were compared, the strongest correlation to emerge was between age and frontal measures, with advancing age being predictive of decreasing performance on frontal lobe measures (Mittenberg, Seidenberg, O’Leary, Digioulo, 1989). The processing-speed hypothesis Salthouse (1996) has argued that age-related deficits in controlled processing are secondary to a generalised reduction in the processing speed of underlying cognitive operations. Behavioural slowing has long been considered a primary concomitant of the ageing process. Christensen Kumar (2003) have suggested that processing speed peaks in the early 20s and then declines by approximately 20% by the age of 40, and by up to 40-60% by the age of 80. Age-related declines in processing speed have been attributed to a general slowing of information processing (Birren Fisher, 1995) or increased neural noise (Welford, 1965) within the central nervous system with advancing age. In support of the processing-speed theory it has been observed that age differences on several capacities in the fluid domain, such as abstract reasoning, working memory, and problem solving were attenuated after statistically controlling for processing speed (Bors Farrin, 1995; Salthouse, 1996; Salthouse Babcock, 1 991; Zimprich Martin, 2002). Speed of processing was also found to be the main predictor of age-related changes in memory and spatial ability (Finkel McGue, 1993). The inhibitory deficit hypothesis Hasher and Zacks (1988) advanced that a selective deficit in inhibitory control processes may constitute a global cognitive ageing phenomenon. More specifically, this theory assumes that in order for goals to be fulfilled effectively, automated responses to non-goal relevant information need to be suppressed. However, age-related reductions in inhibitory control enable non-goal relevant information to vie for attentional resources, which results in greater distractibility, slowed and error-prone behaviour, and greater forgetting rates (Lustig, Hasher Zacks, 2007; Hasher Zacks, 1998). Age-related declines in inhibitory control and increased susceptibility to distractors have been found to explain a considerable proportion of age-related variance in working memory capacity (Hasher, Zacks, May, 1999). In a more recent study, both processing speed and inhibition were identified as independent mediators of age differences in working memory capacity (Borella, Ghisletta, de Ribaupierre, 2011). Dedifferentiation and cognitive permeation Many studies have reported that the statistical correspondence between sensory and sensorimotor abilities such as vision, hearing, balance, and gait, and intellectual abilities in both fluid and the crystallized domain is significantly greater in older adults than in young adults (e.g. Baltes Mayer, 1999). Moreover, it has been found that for older adults sensory functioning is a stronger predictor of capacities in the fluid domain than a comprehensive set of sociobiographic factors (Baltes Lindenberger, 1997). This apparent loss of domain specificity with increasing age has been termed â€Å"dedifferentiation.† A number of authors have proposed that this apparent dedifferentiation of functions may be attributable to sensory and sensorimotor functions placing greater demands on attentional control resources. This has become known as the cognitive permeation hypothesis (e.g. Lindenberger, Marsiske, Baltes, 2000; Schà ¤fer, Huxhold, Lindenberger, 2006). According to this hypothesis, resource overlap and competition amongst domains increases with advancing age, and compensation in the form of resource allocation trade-offs become more frequent (Li Lindernberger, 2002; Schà ¤fer et al., 2006). In accord with this, Li et al. (Li, Lindenberger, Freund Baltes, 2001) have shown that balance during walking was preserved at the expense of performance of a simultaneously executed cognitive task. Such findings suggest that age-related declines in cognitive domains could be attributable to increased allocation of attentional resources to processes that were previously automated. Cognitive Reserve Another important conceptual framework labelled ‘cognitive reserve,’ concerns how older adults may be able to draw on a pool of accumulated resources to maintain cognitive function. The notion of cognitive reserve emerged from recurrent observations that levels of cognitive impairment did not always manifest to the extent that would be expected from a given brain pathology (Stern, 2002). For instance, Katzman et al. (Katzman, Terry, DeTeresa et al., 1998) have reported that older adults can be cognitively intact up until they die, but exhibit advanced AD-related cerebral pathology at post-mortem. Such discrepancies have also been observed in a range of other conditions including stroke (Ojala-Oksala, Jokinen, Kopsi et al., 2012) and traumatic brain injury (TBI; Kesler, Adams, Blasey, Bigler, 2003). This apparent elevation of threshold for cognitive impairment appears to be promoted by factors such as high levels of education, occupational complexity, and participation in cognitively stimulating leisure activities (Mortimer, 1997). It has been proposed that cognitive reserve may mediate individual differences in non-pathological cognitive ageing by fostering more efficient utilisation of brain networks or an enhanced ability to recruit alternate networks (Stern, 2002). Summary The natural ageing process is associated with myriad cognitive changes. Some of the most pronounced and consistently reported are on tasks that challenge cognitive control processes and working memory, or that require long term working memory (Hedden Gabrieli, 2004; Piguet Corkin, 2007). Several hypotheses about cognitive ageing at the behavioural level have been advanced, and each hypothesis described above continues to feature prominently in recent literature. However, it is difficult to arbitrate between these theories in the absence of neural evidence. The next sub-section will outline how the increasing availability of neuroimaging technologies has provided important new insights into the relationship between age-related changes in brain structure and function, and concomitant changes in cognitive abilities. Perspectives on cognitive ageing at the neurobiological level In the same way that ageing does not have an equal impact on all cognitive domains, ageing does not result in a general deterioration of the brain. Rather, the ageing brain is characterised by a ‘patchwork pattern of differential declines and relative preservation,’ not only at the structural level, but also at the functional level (Raz, 2000). Structural changes Grey matter integrity Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) based studies consistently show a global age-related reduction in grey matter volumes, but considerable regional differences exist in terms of the magnitude and relative rate of change. In a longitudinal study, which spanned five years, Raz et al. (Raz, Lindenberger, Rodrigue et al., 2005) found a significant negative association between age and volume in the lateral prefrontal cortex, the orbitofrontal cortex, the cerebellum, the caudate and the hippocampus. These associations were found to be stronger  after five years for the prefrontal regions, the cerebellum, the caudate and the hippocampus, indicating age-related accelerations in the shrinkage of these regions. Conversely, volumes in areas such as the primary visual cortex, the fusiform cortex and the inferior parietal lobes were not significantly associated with age, and there was no change in these associations over the course of five years. Several other studies using a variety of methods h ave reported similar findings, and in particular, an ever-growing literature documents the most dramatic age-related grey matter

Essay --

In â€Å"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,† Huck and Jim both endure many hardships, and they struggle daily in search of their freedom. Huck is a young free spirited boy that loves adventure and lacks the necessity of civilization; his partner in crime is Jim, a runaway slave. As Huck and Jim float down the Mississippi River they are faced with an overwhelming amount of difficult situations and circumstances. Some of the struggles that Huck and Jim experience are slavery, society, civilization, nature, and villainess behavior. Huck also has many moments where he is at unease with his conscience, and often wonders if the decisions that he is making are made with the right intentions. While Huck and Jim are on the search for their freedom, the two grow stronger as individuals and as friends. Although, Huck and Jim face conflict in the novel, the novel itself has many conflicts with society too. Many may say it is racist, while others argue that because of Huck’s chara cter the novel is â€Å"coarse.† Throughout my paper, I will discuss and analyze Huck and Jim’s struggles, and the struggles in which the novel may face on its own. Throughout, the novel you begin to realize that every time Huck or Jim go ashore, they end up in trouble. Despite their troubled times ashore, they also encounter difficulties on the river as well. For example, the flooded river makes navigating the river challenging, The Walter Scott almost cost Huck and Jim their lives, the fog causes them to miss to Ohio River, and the two villainous cons forced Huck to be involved in their malicious schemes. Huck and Jim begin realizing they are not completely free from the evil influences of the towns along the river’s banks. Regardless of the rivers challenges, it still of... ...reedom. They battled against Mother Nature, evil villains, and society, but in the end they conquered them all. Regardless of society’s ways like, religion and slavery Huck and Jim made their own perceptions on life. Huck and Jim fought to ensure their freedom, and it made them stronger as individuals and closer as friends. Also, I would like to point out that conflict between right and wrong exists within all of humanity; it is something that we cannot escape no matter how hard we try. What matters is that we remain true to who we are and our values. Many of the decision that Huck made were made from his heart; he didn’t let society change the person that he wanted to become. Huck is a strong character and so is this novel. I enjoyed it from the beginning and would say that anyone who criticizes this novel is overlooking what this novel is truly about, â€Å"by and by.†

Cyber Security India Essay

†¢After China and the U.S., India has the highest number of Internet users. There are also an estimated over 381 million mobile phone subscriptions with Internet connectivity. In the list of online infection risk India ranks 9th and in personal computer across the globe, India ranks 7th. †¢A recent survey by McAfee named India next to Brazil, Romania and Mexico the least able to defend against cyber attacks. †¢Cyber security threats and hacking attempts in India rose to 22,060 in 2012 from 23 in 2004 What it means †¢Cyber terrorism is the convergence of terrorism and cyberspace. It is generally understood to mean unlawful attacks and threats of attacks against computers, networks, and the information stored therein when done to intimidate or coerce a government or its people in furtherance of political or social objectives. Cyber Threats Cyber threats can be disaggregated, based on the perpetrators and their motives, into four baskets: cyber espionage, cyberwarfare, cyberterrorism, and cyber crime. Cyber Warfare – attacking the information systems of other countries for espionage and for disrupting their critical infrastructure. Why Cyber Security is needed †¢Third most populous country after China and India is not any geographical entity but a ‘virtual state’ called facebook! †¢The same computing DNA that produced the communications revolution has also created acute vulnerabilities – and attractive terror targets – for societies that depend on cyberspace for national security and economic survival. †¢The growing dependency on the information technology (IT) makes cybersecurity a vital component of the India’s national security infrastructure. Lately, data collection, processing, storage, transmission capabilities, mobile, wireless, and cloud computing are increasing in huge numbers and make cyber attacks easily to occur. †¢Considered the newest domain in modern warfare, cyberspace has now joined the ranks of traditional areas assessed by militaries all over the world. And this is exactly how cyberspace should be assessed, since an effective terrorist attack against a nation’s power grid, for example, could result in massive loss of life, crippling damage to infrastructure and a blow to the economy that could take years to repair. Stuxnet has carried out what in the past could only be accomplished by directly bombing a country’s infrastructure or sending in human agents to plant explosives. †¢It can affect Infrastructures like banking system, air traffic control, power infrastructure and gas pipelines. †¢Destruction now can bypass the military force and attack via â€Å"cyber-brute-force† suppressing a country’s military control systems, navigation, communication system, shutting down or paralysing critical infrastructure and affecting the country’s economy, cyber-weapons linking nuclear weapons †¢Most common usage of Internet is by designing and uploading websites on which false propaganda can be pasted. This comes under the category of using technology for psychological warfare. †¢The web can promote and support acts o f terrorism by means of propaganda, promotion, instructional dissemination and execution, financing, training, recruiting and can also facilitate specific attacks. †¢Non-state actors have the technology to create cyber attacks or endanger the cyber environment of the global socio-political system. The 2011, Arab Spring revolution in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya was successful to use cyberspace to pass its message. †¢Threats abound: cyber crime, cyber espionage, cyber war and cyber terrorism, all represent genuine risks to nations, firms and individuals around the world. Experts reckoned it is a matter of time before cyberspace becomes an â€Å"independent theatre of war†. †¢With the rapid march of technology, such attacks will only become more widespread as the use of Internet for manipulating things increases. â€Å"We have now entered into a new phase of conflict in which cyber weapons can be used to create physical destruction in someone else’s critical infrastructure. And there is a distinct possibility that the disruptions and dislocations it causes are permanent and severe.† E.g †¢The Flame virus (which has been circulating for more than five years and has yet to be claimed by an owner, although speculation centres around Israel) has turned the computer into the ultimate spy, gathering data files, turning on PC microphones to record nearby conversations, logging instant messaging chats, taking screen shots and even remotely changing settings on other computers. †¢Moreover, hacker groups, such as Anonymous and Lulz Security (Lulz Sec), have executed distributed denial of service (DDOS). Under that process, they were successful to deface websites to various governmental and corporate interests. They hacked NASDAQ and International Momentary Fund (IMF). †¢Internet’s capabilities dictate the rules of engagement in cyberspace to initiate on-ground battles and at the same time create a fertile ground for new, aspiring jihadist. †¢In the recent past, the case of Stuxnet virus which attacked centrifuges. While the targeted victim was the Natanz nuclear site in Iran, other organisations across the world, including in India, operating with the Siemens system suffered from collateral damage from the attack. †¢Since 2000-01, there have been regular reports of Pakistani cyber criminals defacing Indian websites and writing derogatory messages against India. On the other hand, China has become a formidable adver sary in cyber space. Recent cases of Chinese hacking into many Indian government establishment computers and even the highly secure national security domains provide enough evidence of its capability in waging cyber warfare. Since 2003, the People’s Liberation Army has trained more than 30,000 cyber warriors and another 150,000 in the private sector. According to several reports available in the public domain, the Chinese goal is to build the world’s best ‘informationised armed forces’. †¢ Existing Counter Cyber Security Initiatives. Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (Cert-In). Cert-In is the most important constituent of India’s cyber community. Its mandate states, ‘ensure security of cyber space in the country by enhancing the security communications and information infrastructure, through proactive action and effective collaboration aimed at security incident prevention and response and security assurance’. National Information Security Assurance Programme (NISAP). (a) Government and critical infrastructures should have a security policy and create a point of contact. (b) Mandatory for organizations to implement security control and report any security incident to Cert-In. (c) Cert-In to create a panel of auditor for IT security. (d) All organizations to be subject to a third party audit from this panel once a year. (e) Cert-In to be reported about security compliance on periodic basis by the organizations. Indo-US Cyber Security Forum (IUSCSF). Under this forum (set up in 2001) high power delegations from both side met and several initiatives were announced for intensifying bilateral cooperation to control cyber crime between the two countries. To mitigate supply-chain risks emanating from telecom equipment manufactured by companies belonging to China, the telecom and home affairs ministry have issued guidelines mandating service provides to secure their networks and induct equipment that has been tested as per international standards. CCTNS taking help of ISRO for making project fully indigenous Warned by intelligence agencies that using a foreign satellite in the proposed nationwide Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) could make critical databases vulnerable to eavesdropping by other countries, the Union Home Ministry has decided to take the help of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to make the project fully indigenous. Since the intelligence agencies raised objections to the proposed use of the IPSTAR satellite managed by Thaicomm in the project, the BSNL diverted to this project some 400 VSATs that it had for other services. Fact Box: National Cyber Coordination Centre (NCCC) Indian government will establish its own multi-agency body — National Cyber Coordination Centre (NCCC) — that would carry out â€Å"real-time assessment of cyber security threats† and â€Å"generate actionable reports/alerts for proactive actions† by law enforcement agencies. NCCC , to be set up at a cost of Rs 1000 crore, would be a multi-agency body under Department of Electronics and IT. It will function in sync with other government agencies. These agencies include: †¢National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) †¢Intelligence Bureau (IB) †¢Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) †¢Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) †¢National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) †¢Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) †¢DIARA (Defence Information Assurance and Research Agency) †¢Army, Navy, Air Force †¢Department of Telecommunications What will be its functions? †¢It will be India’s first layer for cyber threat monitoring and all communication with government and private service providers would be through this body only. †¢The NCCC would be in virtual contact with the control room of all Internet Service Providers to scan traffic within the country, flowing at the point of entry and exit, including international gateway. †¢Apart from monitoring the Internet, the NCCC would look into various threats posed by cyber attacks. †¢ The agency will provide law enforcement agencies direct access to all Internet accounts, be it e-mails, blogs or social networking data. DRDO doesn’t uses any US based company services in its organization. Challenges In India, we need to create an environment within which security is built into our cyber and communications working methods. While it is the government that correctly takes a lead in evolving a coherent picture of what constitutes vulnerability in our cyber domain and a strategy on how to counter attacks, the private sector needs to recognise the real threat it faces. And this is not a future threat or a prospective threat that we need to prepare ourselves against; this is an ongoing, current threat.Cyber threat will continue to grow due to the fast evolution and development of internet and related technologies. At the global level, nations are stepping up their cyber defence efforts. The U.S. was one of the first countries that considered this to be a strategic problem in 2006, both in terms of national security and their future economic wellbeing. †¢The major concern when dealing with Cyber threats is ubiquity and anonymity. What other international medium is highly accessible, far-reaching, ridiculously inexpensive, whereby information is transferred at the speed of light, the attacker invisible and untraceable? Unlike a missile trajectory, IP (Internet Protocol) pathways can be masked and the locations appear opaque. Implicating a source and assigning blame to the attack progenitor is extremely difficult. †¢the extreme difficulty of producing timely actionable warning of potential cyber attacks †¢the extreme complex vulnerability associated with the IT supply chain for various India’s networks †¢India’s approach to cyber security has so far been ad hoc and piecemeal. A number of organisations have been created but their precise roles have not been defined nor synergy has been created among them. †¢ Lack of awareness and the culture of cyber security at individual as well as institutiona l level. †¢ Lack of trained and qualified manpower to implement the counter measures. †¢Too many information security organisations which have become weak due to ‘turf wars’ or financial compulsions. †¢A weak IT Act which has became redundant due to non exploitation and age old cyber laws. †¢ No e-mail account policy especially for the defence forces, police and the agency personnel. †¢Cyber attacks have come not only from terrorists but also from neighboring countries inimical to our National interests. Recommendations. International Co-operation †¢Acknowledging that better indigenous snooping capabilities may not be enough to protect India’s cyber security, National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon has advocated formulating a set of â€Å"standard operating procedures† (SOPs) — ground rules for cooperation which would help India succeed in obtaining Internet information from major powers that control much of cyber space. †¢Given the cyber reality, ‘sensible’ powers should work towards a globally acceptable cyber regime to bring in a set of rules, build transparency and reduce vulnerabilities. †¢Agreements relating to cyber security should be given the same importance as other conventional agreements. †¢The government should also consider joining the European Convention on Cyber crime. †¢A 24Ãâ€"7 nodal point for international cooperation with cyber authorities of other countries should be set up. Critical Infrastructure †¢Cyber security should be mandatory in computer science curriculum and even separate programmes on cyber security should be contemplated. Government should initiate a special drive of implementing practices in the critical infrastructure sectors and provide necessary budgetary support for such implementation. †¢ Government should establish a mechanism for measuring preparedness of critical sectors such as security index, which captures preparedness of the sector and assigns value to it. †¢Government should incorporate IT Supply Chain Security as an important element of e-security plan to address security issues. †¢Government should promote R&D in private industry through active government support for industry-led research projects in the areas of security. Establish enabling mechanisms to facilitate this. †¢Emphasis should be placed on developing and implementing standards and best practices in government functioning as well as in the private sector. Cyber security audits should be made compulsory for networked organisations. †¢Capacity building in the area of cyber crime and cyber forensics in terms of infrastructure, expertise and availability of HR and cooperation between industry, LEAs and judiciary. †¢Cyber security education, R&D and training will be an integral part of the national cyber security strategy. †¢PPP model should be explored for taking security to the regions and industry sectors. †¢Strengthening telecom security – one of the key pillars of cyber security, especially through development of standards and establishment of testing labs for telecom infrastructure(equipment, hardware). †¢More investment in this field in terms of finance and manpower. †¢The impact of the emergence of new social networking media, and convergence of technologies on society including business, economy,national security should be studied with the help of relevant experts, Legal †¢Procedural laws need to be in place to achieve cooperation and coordination of international organisations and governments to investigate and prosecute cyber criminals. †¢Government must put in place necessary amendments in existing laws or enact a new legislation like a Data Protection/Privacy Act so as to safeguard against the misuse of personal information by various government agencies and protect individual privacy. †¢Need for trained and qualified experts to deal with the highly specialised field of cyber security and laws related to it. †¢ Govt Machinery †¢Make it a mandatory requirement for all government organisations and private enterprises to have a designated Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) who would be responsible for cyber security. †¢Establishment of a cyber range to test cyber readiness. †¢ More powers to sectoral CERTs. †¢Establish an online mechanism for cyber crime-related complaints to be recorded. †¢Policymakers need to recognise this and put in place structures that allow the sharing of cyber security information through both formal and informal cyber exchanges. That requires a fast, unified action between government agencies and the private sector. †¢Indian agencies working after cyber security should also keep a close vigil on the developments in the IT sector of our potential adversaries. †¢Joint efforts by all Government agencies including defence forces to attract qualified skilled personnel for implementation of counter measures. Awareness Need to sensitize the common citizens about the dangers of cyber terrorism. Cert-in should engage academic institutions and follow an aggressive strategy. Conclusion †¢Defining how we deal with Cyber threats and attacks internationally is crucial to peace and security. If Cyber weapons are treated with indifference in comparison to other weapons then it can open the doors to multifaceted retaliation if a nation is provoked †¢Enforcing the right policies to amalgamate security of governments and law-abiding citizens is critical. The safety of individuals outweighs commercial piracy. Sophism and intellectual rhetoric redirects focus on eliminating irrefutable threats like violence and terrorism. Instead, diluted versions of policies are implemented and lives are put at risk. †¢. â€Å"India must take an early lead in creating a framework where the government, the national security experts and the industry catering to strategic sectors of economy, can come together, to pursue the goal of cyber security in the larger national cause †¢Need to prepare cyber forces . The United States was the first country to formally declare this as the fifth domain warfare after land, sea, air and space. It has also formally classified the use of cyberspace as a â€Å"force†, a euphemism for offensive capability. The Chinese adopted the concept of â€Å"informationalisation† in the mid-1990s and have relentlessly built up structures and operations in this domain. Cyber Security Dilemma †¢John Herz, an American scholar of international relations and law is credited for coining the term â€Å"security dilemma†. †¢ The dilemma expresses how both the strong and weak states can upset the balance of power that could eventually become a catalyst for war. The security dilemma could arise from the state’s accumulation of power due to fear and uncertainty about other states’ intentions. †¢ Post-9/11, successive US administrations have mostly attempted to handle global disorder by accumulating more â€Å"power†. Not surprisingly, since 2007, the US has been collecting and analysing significant amount of data available in the cyber space. †¢Cyber security dilemma of the US was recently exposed by the US whistle-blower Edward Snowden, giving details about the US National Security Agency’s controversial Prism programme. †¢ The US, clearly has been monitoring the global e-traffic covertly and in the process checking on c yber activities on Google, You Tube, Skype, Facebook, etc. This has resulted in a huge amount of metadata (a data about data). †¢ US administration has been spoofing on the rest of the world. †¢In the 21st century, with the number of computer and internet users is increasing significantly, the cyber environment has almost become fundamental to a nation’s ‘existence’. †¢ Over the years Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have become central to various sectors from social, economic, political to defence. The fillip side to it is that various unauthorised, illegal, criminal, anti-national and terrorist activities have also become rampant. Astonishing as it may sound, but the third most populous country after China and India is not any geographical entity but a ‘virtual state’ called facebook! †¢The human rights activists and states who are under the US surveillance consider it an anti-democratic act that undermines the civil liberties and individual privacy. The absence of a globally accepted cyber regime and legal structure adds further to the commotion. †¢ The excessive dependence on cyber tools has given rise to various vulnerabilities. Recently the US National Security Agency chief Gen Keith Alexander, who also heads the US military’s Cyber Command, has expressed concerns and is of the opinion that on a scale of 1 to 10, the US critical infrastructure’s preparedness to withstand a destructive cyber attack is about 3, this in spite the US having established a major defence infrastructure to defend against foreign hackers and spies. This assessment would push the US to strengthen its defences further. However, since the nature of the threat is extremely dynamic it may not be possible to build any foolproof defensive mechanism. †¢Any cyber architecture can be viewed as a doubled edged sword – either ignore it and be exposed or use it to one’s advantage. Cyber espionage is here to stay. Today, the US is upfront because of its technological superiority and ability to ‘manage’ the ICT industry and prevent few acts of terrorism from actually happening. More importantly, the data gathered would have u tility in other fields too. Conclusion: †¢Snowden has clearly exposed the US but it is hard to imagine that the US would halt its cyber activities. As a leading power, the US is accustomed to international criticism, lawsuits and questioning and at the end of the day cyber spying and spoofing actually strengthens their intelligence gathering capability. †¢It is important to note that cyber expertise offers significant amount of asymmetric advantage to the user. In the future, it is not only the US but many other states that are also likely to use this method (mostly covertly). †¢States would support a cyber regime essentially because intelligence collection is not the sole purpose for possessing cyber assets. ITC also leads to empowerment and its importance for socioeconomic development s undisputed. †¢In general, the norms of privacy in a cyber-era world would remain a constant subject of debate since the nature of technology presents a challenging task to catch the actual offender. Technologically superior power would always have an advantage. The time has come to recognize that in the future we would always be watched and mostly against our own wishes! India-US collaboration in Cyber Security Indian officials and security officers would soon be visiting the U.S. for training in an array of courses — from cyber security, megacity policing and forensics, to critical infrastructure protection, financial terrorism and anti-terrorism intelligence. â€Å"The list of training programmes include ‘Land Transportation Anti-terrorism’; ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’; ‘Seaport Security’; ‘International Border Interdiction Training’ and ‘International Sea Interdiction Training’ to check smuggling and trafficking; ‘Handling of equipment for screening men against radiological, chemical and explosive materials’ and ‘Handling of intrusive detection at airports and seaports.’ With the growing population in cities and increasing threat perception, the U.S. has also offered India to help develop the concept of megacity policing, a step it has been promoting since the 9/11 attacks. â€Å"An advance course in surveillance, control room design and its operation by various security agencies and police authorities are key elements of this concept. Balancing vigilance and privacy As the government steps up its surveillance capabilities, the entire social contract between the state and citizens is being reformulated, with worrying consequences The Indian state is arming itself with both technological capabilities and the institutional framework to track the lives of citizens in an unprecedented manner. A new Centralised Monitoring System (CMS) is in the offing, which would build on the already existing mechanisms. As The Hindu reported on June 21, this would allow the government to access in real-time any mobile and fixed line conversation, SMS, fax, website visit, social media usage, Internet search and email, and will have ‘unmatched capabilities of deep search surveillance and monitoring’. Civil society groups and citizens expressed concern about the government’s actions, plans, and intent at a discussion organised by the Foundation for Media Professionals, on Saturday. The context Usha Ramanathan, a widely respected legal scholar, pointed to the larger political context which had permitted this form of surveillance. It stemmed, she argued, from a misunderstanding of the notion of sovereignty. â€Å"It is not the government, but the people who are sovereign.† Laws and the Constitution are about limiting the power of the state, but while people were being subjected to these restrictions, the government itself had found ways to remain above it – either by not having laws, or having ineffective regulators. States knew the kind of power they exercised over citizens, with the result that ‘impunity had grown’. â€Å"There is also a complete breakdown of the criminal justice system,† Ms Ramanathan said. This had resulted in a reliance on extra-judicial methods of investigation, and ‘scape-goating’ had become the norm. ‘National security’ had been emphasised, re-emphasised, and projected as the central goal. â€Å"We haven’t paused to ask what this means, and the extent to which we have been asked to give up personal security for the sake of national security.† It was in this backdrop that technology had advanced by leaps, and made extensive surveillance possible. The implications are enormous. The data is often used for purposes it is not meant for, including political vendetta, keeping track of rivals, corporates, and digging out facts about a citizen when he may have antagonised those in power. Pranesh Prakash, director of the Centre of Internet and Society (CIS) looked back at the killing of Haren Pandya, the senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader in Gujarat. Mr Pandya was using the SIM card of a friend, and it was by tracking the SIM, and through it his location, that the Gujarat government got to know that Mr Pandya had deposed before a commission and indicted the administration for its role in the riots. Eventually, he was found murdered outside a park in Ahmedabad. The Gujarat Police had accessed call details of 90,000 phones. It is also not clear whether mining this kind of data has been effective for the national security purposes, which provide the reason for doing it in the first place. Saikat Datta, resident editor of Daily News and Analysis, and an expert on India’s intelligence apparatus, said a core problem was the absence of any auditing and over sight. â€Å"There needs to be a constant review of the number of calls, emails under surveillance, with questions about whether it is yielding results. But this does not happen, probably because a majority is not for counter-terrorism. There would be trouble if you build accountability mechanisms.† When he sought information under RTI around precisely such issues, he was denied information on the grounds that it would strengthen ‘enemies of the state’. Anja Kovacs, who works with the Internet Democracy Project, said this form of â€Å"mass surveillance† criminalised everybody since it was based on the assumption that each citizen was a â€Å"potential criminal†. She also pointed out that having â€Å"more information† did not necessarily mean it was easier to address security threats – there was intelligence preceding the Mumbai attacks, but it was not acted upon. She added, â€Å"Most incidents have been resolved by traditional intelligence. Investing in agencies, training them better could be more effective.† Bring in the caveats Few argue that the state is not entitled to exercise surveillance at all. In fact, a social contract underpins democratic states. Citizens agree to subject some of their rights to restrictions, and vest the state with the monopoly over instruments and use of violence. In turn, the state – acting within a set of legal principles; being accountable to citizens; and renewing its popular legitimacy through different measures, including elections – provides order and performs a range of developmental functions. This framework, citizens and civil liberty groups worry, is under threat with governments appropriating and usurping authority to conduct unprecedented surveillance. Citizen groups, technology and privacy experts came together globally to draft the International Principles on the Application of Human Rights to Communication Surveillance. It prescribed that any restriction to privacy through surveillance must be ‘legal’; it must be for a ‘legitimate aim’; it must be ‘strictly and demonstrably necessary’; it must be preceded by showing to an established authority that other ‘less invasive investigative techniques’ have been used; it must follow ‘due process’; decisions must be taken by a ‘competent judicial authority’; there must be ‘public oversight’ mechanisms; and ‘integrity of communications and systems’ should be maintained. (Full text available on www.necessaryandproportionate.org)Mr Prakash of CIS, which has done extensive work on surveillance and privacy issues, said, â€Å"An additional principle must be collection limitation or data minimisation.† Giving the instance of Indian Railways seeking the date of birth from a customer booking a ticket, Mr Prakash said this was not information which was neces sary. But it could be used by hackers and many other agencies to access an individual’s private transactions in other areas. The UPA government is finalising a privacy Bill, but its final version is not yet public, and it is not clear how far the government would go in protecting citizen rights. National cyber security Policy 2013 National Cyber Security Policy 2013 This policy aims at facilitating creation of secure computing environment and enabling adequate trust and confidence in electronic transactions and also guiding stakeholders actions for protection of cyber space. †¢ The National Cyber Security Policy document outlines a road-map to create a framework for comprehensive, collaborative and collective response to deal with the issue of cyber security at all levels within the country. †¢ The policy recognises the need for objectives and strategies that need to be adopted both at the national level as well as international level. †¢ The objectives and strategies outlined in the National Cyber Security Policy together serve as a means to: i. Articulate our concerns, understanding, priorities for action as well as directed efforts. ii. Provide confidence and reasonable assurance to all stakeholders in the country (Government, business, industry and general public) and global community, about the safety, resiliency and security of cyber space. iii. Adopt a suitable posturing that can signal our resolve to make determined efforts to effectively monitor, deter & deal with cyber crime and cyber attacks. Salient features of the policy †¢The Policy outlines the roadmap for creation of a framework for comprehensive, collaborative and collective responsibility to deal with cyber security issues of the country. The policy has ambitious plans for rapid social transformation and inclusive growth and India’s prominent role in the IT global market. †¢The policy lays out 14 objectives which include creation of a 5,00,000-strong professional, skilled workforce over the next five years through capacity building, skill development and training. †¢The policy plans to create national and sectoral level 24Ãâ€"7 mechanisms for obtaining strategic information regarding threats to ICT infrastructure, creating scenarios for response, resolution and crisis management through effective, predictive, preventive, proactive response and recovery actions. †¢The policy will also establish a mechanism for sharing information as well as identifying and responding to cyber security incidents and for cooperation in restoration efforts. †¢The policy identifies eight different strategies for creating a secure cyber eco-system including the need for creating an assurance framework apart from encouraging open standards to facilitate inter-operability and data exchange amongst different products or services. †¢There is in place a plan to operate and strengthen the national Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) to operate 24Ãâ€"7 and to act as a nodal agency for all efforts for cyber security, emergency response and crisis management, as an umbrella agency over CERTs. †¢It is expected that he policy w ill cater to the cyber security requirements of government and non-government entities at the national and international levels. The policy will help in safeguarding the critical infrastructure like Air Defence system, nuclear plants, banking system, power infrastructure, telecommunication system and many more to secure country’s economic stability. National Nodal Agency †¢The National Cyber Security Policy, in order to create a secure cyber ecosystem, has planned to set-up a National Nodal Agency. The nodal agency will be coordinating all matters related to cyber security in the country. †¢The nodal agency has a wide mandate as it will cover and coordinate security for all strategic, military, government and business assets. This is distinctive, since, so far, national security regimes have been divided among the Ministry of Defence (for securing India’s borders) and the Ministry of Home Affairs (for national and internal security across States). Public-private partnership to protect national assets †¢Another defining aspect of the policy is the level at which it envisages public-private partnership to protect national assets. †¢There is a clear recognition in the policy that, apart from India’s IT, technology and telecommunications services, large parts of financial & banking services, airline & transportation services, energy and healthcare assets are not only owned by the private sector but, in fact, remain vulnerable to cyber-attacks, both from state and non-state actors. Protection centre †¢A crucial aspect of the policy is building resilience around the Critical Information Infrastructure (CII) by operationalising a 24Ãâ€"7 Nation Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC). The Critical Information Infrastructure will comprise all interconnected and interdependent networks, across government and private sector. †¢The NCIIPC will mandate a security audit of CII apart from the certification of all security roles of chief security officers and others involved in operationalising the CII. Operationalisation †¢The policy will be operationalised by way of guidelines and Plans of Action, notified at national, sectoral, and other levels. While there is a recognition of the importance of bilateral and multilateral relationships, the policy does not clearly identify India’s position vis-à  -vis the Budapest Convention even though government delegations have attended meetings in London and Budapest on related issues in 2012. Why does India need a cyber security policy? †¢Cyber security is critical for economic security and any failure to ensure cyber security will lead to economic destabilisation. †¢India already has 800 million active mobile subscribers and 160 million other Internet users of which nearly half are on social media. India targets 600 million broadband connections and 100% teledensity by 2020. Internet traffic in India will grow nine-fold by 2015 topping out at 13.2 exabytes in 2015, up from 1.6 exabytes in 2010. †¢The ICT sector has grown at an annual compounded rate of 33% over the last decade and the contribution of IT and ITES industry to GDP increased from 5.2% in 2006-7 to 6.4% in 2010-11, according to an IDSA task force report of 2012. †¢Given the fact that a nation’s cyber ecosystem is constantly under attack from state and non-state actors both. It becomes extremely critical for India to come up a coherent cyber security policy. †¢One of the key objectives for the government is also to secure e-governance services where it is already implementing several nationwide plans including the â€Å"e-Bharat† project, a World Bank-funded project of Rs. 700 crore. Criticism The release of the National Cyber Security Policy 2013 is an important step towards securing the cyber space of our country. However, there are certain areas which need further deliberations for its actual implementation. The provisions to take care security risks emanating due to use of new technologies e.g. Cloud Computing, has not been addressed. Another area which is left untouched by this policy is tackling the risks arising due to increased use of social networking sites by criminals and anti-national elements. There is also a need to incorporate cyber crime tracking, cyber forensic capacity building and creation of a platform for sharing and analysis of information between public and private sectors on continuous basis. Creating a workforce of 500,000 professionals needs further deliberations as to whether this workforce will be trained to simply monitor the cyberspace or trained to acquire offensive as well as defensive cyber security skill sets. Indigenous development of cyber security solutions as enumerated in the policy is laudable but these solutions may not completely tide over the supply chain risks and would also require building testing infrastructure and facilities of global standards for evaluation. Indian Armed forces are in the process of establishing a cyber command as a part of strengthening the cyber security of defence network and installations. Creation of cyber command will entail a parallel hierarchical structure and being one of the most important stakeholders, it will be prudent to address the jurisdiction issues right at the beginning of policy implementation. The global debate on national security versus right to privacy and civil liberties is going on for long. Although, one of the objectives of this policy aims at safeguarding privacy of citizen data however, no specific strategy has been outlined to achieve this objective. The key to success of this policy lies in its effective implementation. The much talked about public-private partnership in this policy, if implemented in true spirit, will go a long way in creating solutions to the ever-changing threat landscape. Central Monitoring System (CMS) project – Justified †¢Indian government’s own Central Monitoring System (CMS) project. †¢roughly 160 million users are already being subjected to wide-ranging surveillance and monitoring, much of which is in violation of the government’s own rules and notifications for ensuring â€Å"privacy of communications†. †¢ While the CMS is in early stages of launch, investigation shows that there already exists — without much public knowledge — Lawful Intercept and Monitoring (LIM) systems, which have been deployed by the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DoT) for monitoring Internet traffic, emails, web-browsing, Skype and any other Internet activity of Indian users. †¢While mobile operators deploy their own LIM system, allowing â€Å"interception† of calls by the government, only after checking â€Å"due authorisation† in compliance with Section 5(2) of the Indian Telegraph Act read with Rule 419(A) of the IT Rules †¢In the case of the Internet traffic, the LIM is deployed by the government at the international gateways of a handful of large ISPs. The functioning of these secretive surveillance systems is out of reach of these ISPs, under lock and key and complete control of the government.

Identity Thesis Essay

Over the course of history, different theories have been formulated to help explain the complex relationship between the mind and the body. One of the theories elucidating the mind-body relation is dualism—the view that mental states are independent from physical states. Mental states are ones of thinking, feeling, and believing whereas physical states are those outlined by physical and biological sciences. In contrast to dualism, physicalism insists that mental states are somehow physical states. The most straightforward version of physicalism is the identity thesis—the theory that every type of mental state is identical to some type of physical state (Reasons and Responsibility, 285-286). Dualists and physicalists have disputed over the validity of the identity thesis; dualists denying its claim and physicalists defending it. The biggest problem facing physicalists and the identity thesis is the concept of qualia, the phenomenal quality of a mental state (Reasons and Responsibility, 281). Philosopher Frank Jackson offers what he calls the â€Å"Knowledge Argument† for qualia. Jackson’s knowledge argument presents that nonphysical facts can be devised from facts about phenomenal quality. Through the concept of qualia, Jackson’s knowledge argument shows that the identity thesis is false. The identity thesis holds that mental events are simply identical with brain processes—identical in the same manner that sounds are identical with density waves in the air. The thesis bases on the idea that mental states of thought, sensation, and awareness are alike those of physical states (such as those of the brain and central nervous system). An example of identity thesis is that lightning and an electric charge are two of the same thing. In other words, lightning is an electric charge. An advocate of the identity thesis is materialist Peter Carruthers. Carruthers argues that everything (including mental states) exists through physical causes. Carruthers’ argument for the identity thesis can be summarized from the beliefs that some conscious states and events are casually necessary for the occurrence of some physical ones, and that there will be no need to advert to anything other than physical-physical causality in a completed neuro-physiological science. Thus, some conscious states and events are identical with physical brain states and events (Reason and Responsibility, 301-302). However, the concept of qualia refutes the idea of physicalism, and is the foundation of Jackson’s knowledge argument against identity thesis. As a believer of dualism, Jackson uses the concept of qualia to support that the mind and matter are distinct and independent substances capable of existing without the other. Qualia are the subjective, felt qualities of experiences. For example, one may know all the physical properties of the color red and the physics behind why some things are red; however it is qualia that allows one to experience what it is like to actually see red. Jackson constructs his knowledge argument around the ideas of dualism and qualia. To further illustrate Jackson’s argument for qualia (and dualism), the case of Fred and his unique color vision will be presented (Reasons and Responsibility, 298-299). For some reason, Fred has the ability to see two colors where others only see one. His retina is capable of distinguishing between two wavelengths of red in which others familiarizes with only one. He tries to explain the difference between the two reds. However he fails in doing so because others do not comprehend the difference. Therefore it is concluded that Fred can visually see one more color than everyone else. Despite having all the physical information about Fred and his special trait, one cannot know what it actually feels like to see two different types of red. Thus, Jackson believes that the physicalist left something out in the theory of physicalism—the qualia or what it feels like to actually experience something. Consequently, quale explains how dualism is valid and physicalism is incomplete. The existence of knowledge through qualia (mental state) and that of physical facts (physical state) demonstrates the idea of dualism—the view that two fundamental concepts exist. Jackson’s knowledge argument derives mainly from his thought experiment of Mary; the brilliant scientist who has spent her life confined within a black-and-white room and has never seen colors. Mary learns all the physical facts relevant to the mind. She becomes an expert on the neurophysiology of vision and knows all there is to know about color. When Mary is released from her room, she experiences color for the first time. One would think intuitively that her color experiences provide her with knowledge she previously lacked, and that what she learns includes certain facts about what color experiences are like. The facts she learns upon her release cannot be physical facts because she already knew all physical facts before leaving the room. Therefore, the new knowledge comes from the concept of qualia, which indicates that not all facts are physical facts (Reason and Responsibility, 298-299). Thus physicalism is false. Jackson reaches his conclusion that the identity thesis is false by proving that mental states are not physical states. According to the identity thesis, states and processes of the mind are identical to states and processes of the brain. The concept of qualia refutes the validity of the identity thesis by presenting subjective forms of experiences. The knowledge acquired from subjective forms of experiences differs from those of physical knowledge about experiences. Since physicalism requires that all aspects of knowledge are the same, physicalism cannot be sound. Thus the identity thesis must be false. The cases of Fred and Mary show that physicalism doesn’t amount to all knowledge. The summation of Jackson’s knowledge argument can be illustrated by the following: before Mary leaves the room, she knows all the physical facts about color experiences. When Mary leaves the room, she learns new facts about color experiences—facts about what it’s like to see in color. Therefore, there are nonphysical facts about color experiences. Furthermore, the identity thesis is false because Jackson’s knowledge argument reveals that there is something about the experience of color (in Mary’s case) that cannot be captured by the physicalist view. So, physicalism is incomplete. Physicalism lacks the phenomenal quality of the mental state—the ability to experience something regardless of physical knowledge. Qualia and the mental experience can never be achieved from the premises of physicalism and the identity thesis. Thus, the phenomenal quality of experiences cannot be accounted for through physical properties of the brain. In conclusion, the identity thesis is false because nonphysical properties, like phenomenal properties, exist.