Network Security Analysis Essay Example for Free

Network Security Analysis Essay This article is concerned about network security. It mentions about the present situation of network security and an analysis of the reason that lead to unsafe network environment. Then the article introduces two frequently used protocols in network security: HTTP (Hypertext Transport Protocol) and HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol over Secure Socket Layer), then compare them and give a brief conclusion. On the other side, the article introduces how firewall protects network security in hardware aspects. Keywords: Network; Security; Analysis; Countermeasures 1. Introduction As technology develops, network is getting more and more mature. It is known to all that security is the second step after that a successful network has been deployed. 1.1 Situation of Computer Network Security With the rapid development of the Internet and the widespread application, the number of computer viruses, Trojan horses is explosive growth. According to Jinshan drug gangsters cloud security center monitoring statistics show that in 2008, Jinshan drug gangsters were intercepted more and more new viruses, Trojans, which grew up 40% compared with 2007. The center statistics also show that 90% of the virus infected users, this attachment web pages that humans are enjoying the network information with the great wealth and convenient at the same time, also be the severe beset by problems of network information security. The lure of wealth that hackers attack is no longer a kind of personal interest, but more and more become an organized, interest driven career crime. Its main means has: online professor viruses, Trojan horses production technology and various network attack technology; Online exchange, trafficking and rental viruses, Trojan horses, zombie network; Online customized viruses, Trojan horses; Internet theft behavior (account Numbers game, bank accounts, QQ number, etc.), sell the trumpets; Internet fraud and extortion; Through the network business platform money laundering profit, etc. Attackers need technical level gradually decrease, means more flexible, joint attacks increase rapidly. Trojan viruses, Trojan virus writers, professional hack personnel, sales channels, professional players have been formed complete gray industrial chain. 1.2 Threats to Computer Network Security The threat to computer network security includes attacks by hackers and computer virus. It mostly presents in the following aspects. Firstly, send fake E-mails to users. It is a common way to cheat the account and password by posing as legitimate websites. Secondly, damage caused by viruses is also a common phenomenon. For e.g. when virus gets into computer, it will cover our hard disk with useless data. Thirdly, it’s about unauthorized accessing. This mainly refers to the normal use or oversteps their authority to use the network equipment and information resources. Fourthly, damage the integrity of the database. Fifthly, interfere with the normal running of the systems. Finally, communication lines are tapped and people are not familiar about safety of network security. The first situation doesn’t occur in common. However, awareness of maintain computer network security is really important. In the article, it mainly analyzes several common situations and introduces what the threat is and how it works. 1.3 Countermeasures of Network Security As network security has a lot of loopholes, people create a lot of methods to protect network. On the side of hardware, people begin to use firewall to protect network. On the side of software, a lot of tools and technologies have been used in this area, such as router filtering. The article introduces how firewall works and two similar protocols: HTTP and HTTPS. By comparing these two protocols, we will find the development of technology. 1.4 Importance of the Study of Network Security It’s important for securing ones computer, keeping important data and profile information protected. Careful web surfing habits may keep you from being a victim of virus attacks and malware, however this is an intensely risky activity and very often people may end up with an infected computer. Some good anti-virus programs will help to keep your computer protected and safe, but users must remember to keep this updated regularly for better protection over new viruses. 2. Related Work 2.1 Network Security Network security consists of the provisions and policies adopted by a network administrator to prevent and monitor unauthorized access, misuse, modification, or denial of a computer network and network-accessible resources. Network security involves the authorization of access to data in a network, which is controlled by the network administrator. Users choose or are assigned an ID and password or other authenticating information that allows them access to information and programs within their authority. Network security covers a variety of computer networks, both public and private, that are used in everyday jobs conducting transactions and communications among businesses, government agencies and individuals. Networks can be private, such as within a company, and others which might be open to public access. Network security is involved in organizations, enterprises, and other types of institutions. It does as its title explains: It secures the network, as well as protecting and over seeing operations being done. The most common and simple way of protecting a network resource is by assigning it a unique name and a corresponding password. 2.2 ISO/OSI model The International Standards Organization (ISO) Open Systems Interconnect (OSI) Reference Model defines seven layers of communications types, and the interfaces among them. (See Figure 1.) Each layer depends on the services provided by the layer below it, all the way down to the physical network hardware, such as the computers network interface card, and the wires that connect the cards together. People develop a lot of protocols to each layer. Such as PPTP/L2TP to linked layer, IPSEC to network layer, TLS/SSL to transfer layer. Each protocol includes security information that helps network transfer safer and safer. 2.3 IPV4 protocol The protocol contains a couple aspects which caused problems with its use. These problems do not all relate to security. They are mentioned to gain a comprehensive understanding of the internet protocol and its shortcomings. The causes of problems with the protocol are: 1. Address Space 2. Routing 3. Configuration 4. Security 5. Quality of Service The lack of embedded security within the IPv4 protocol has led to the many attacks seen today. Mechanisms to secure IPv4 do exist, but there are no requirements for their use. IPsec is a specific mechanism used to secure the protocol. IPsec secures the packet payloads by means of cryptography. IPsec provides the services of confidentiality, integrity, and authentication. This form of protection does not account for the skilled hacker who may be able to break the encryption method and obtain the key. 2.4 Types and Sources of Network Threats Denial-of-Service, unauthorized access, executing commands illicitly, confidentiality breaches and destructive behavior are common type of threats to network security. The sources of network threats include 3 aspects. Firstly, the invasion of bad information and pollution. Network is open, even borderless space information network of people in the rich cultural life, but also to the illegal dissemination of information or indecent information provided soil British Middlebury Seck Griffith University, Professor Di Mulai study found that in non-academic information on the Internet, 47% of pornography on These content without restriction for people feel free to browse, not only seriously jeopardize the health of young people, and poison the social atmosphere and hinder the building of a harmonious society in China. In addition, the networks openness and freedom are often some criminals use, or dissemination of endangering national security, to subvert the government, disrupting social order and security of information, or information network organizing rallies and other anti-social activities. Secondly, Internet hackers and computer crime. Hacker wanton rampage information networks, technology and the consequences of its invasion of escalating their use of technical means, or attacks on government sites or military organizations Web site and endanger national security interests, undermine government image; or steal business, financial institutions, business information to profit illegally, endangering the economic order; or steal personal confidential information, violation of privacy or stolen cash. These acts seriously impede the normal operation of information networks. In addition to outside hackers the use of the Internet, the rampant crime and tort. The use of computer information network system to implement theft, fraud or corruption, embezzlement and other crimes than the traditional criminal methods and tools more subtle complexity, and violation of trade secrets with the network, electronic communications freedoms, civil Privacy and damage the reputation of others and other events are also frequent. Online pyramid schemes, online fraud, etc. These crimes have been on the network posed a serious threat to network security. Thirdly, the existence of their own network security vulnerabilities and risks. Freedom to share and open spirit of the Internet, but also the charm of the Internet The Internet is based on TCP / IP protocol, network devices, operating systems with networking capabilities and openness about the existence inherent vulnerability In addition, the software in the design, it is inevitable there are some defects or flaws, which has become a prime target for hackers, while software programmers deliberately left the back door has become a major network security risks network These weaknesses of their own existence, to bring the work of anti-hacker considerable difficulty: on the one hand difficult for scientists to develop a common and effective network security for the protection of technical means on the other hand the lack of implementation of these measures sufficient to protect the social environment. 3. Methods 3.1 Analysis of Network Security System and network technology is a key technology for a wide variety of applications. Security is crucial to networks and applications. Although, network security is a critical requirement in emerging networks, there is a significant lack of security methods that can be easily implemented. There exists a â€Å"communication gap† between the developers of security technology and developers of networks. Network design is a well-developed process that is based on the Open Systems Interface (OSI) model. The OSI model has several advantages when designing networks. It offers modularity, flexibility, ease-of-use, and standardization of protocols. The protocols of different layers can be easily combined to create stacks which allow modular development. The implementation of individual layers can be changed later without making other adjustments, allowing flexibility in development. In contrast to network design, secure network design is not a well-developed process. There isn’t a methodology to manage the complexity of security requirements. Secure network design does not contain the same advantages as network design. When considering network security, it must be emphasized that the whole network is secure. Network security does not only concern the security in the computers at each end of the communication chain. When transmitting data the communication channel should not be vulnerable to attack. A possible hacker could target the communication channel, obtain the data, decrypt it and re-insert a false message. Securing the network is just as important as securing the computers and encrypting the message. When developing a secure network, the following need to be considered: 1. Access – authorized users are provided the means to communicate to and from a particular network. 2. Confidentiality – Information in the network remains private. 3. Authentication – Ensure the users of the network are who they say they are 4. Integrity – Ensure the message has not been modified in transit 5. Non-repudiation – Ensure the user does not refute that he used the network Here we mainly discuss fake websites. Fake websites means phishing. Phishing is attempting to acquire information (and sometimes, indirectly, money) such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Communications purporting to be from popular social web sites, auction sites, online payment processors or IT administrators are commonly used to lure the unsuspecting public. Phishing is typically carried out by e-mail spoofing or instant messaging, and it often directs users to enter details at a fake website whose look and feel are almost identical to the legitimate one. Phishing is an example of social engineering techniques used to deceive users, and exploits the poor usability of current web security technologies. Attempts to deal with the growing number of reported phishing incidents include legislation, user training, public awareness, and technical security measures. Once a victim visits the phishing website, the deception is not over. Some phishing scams use JavaScript commands in order to alter the address bar. This is done either by placing a picture of a legitimate URL over the address bar, or by closing the original address bar and opening a new one with the legitimate URL. An attacker can even use flaws in a trusted websites own scripts against the victim. These types of attacks (known as cross-site scripting) are particularly problematic, because they direct the user to sign in at their bank or services own web page, where everything from the web address to the security certificates appears correct. In reality, the link to the website is crafted to carry out the attack, making it very difficult to spot without specialist knowledge. Just such a flaw was used in 2006 against PayPal. A Universal Man-in-the-middle (MITM) Phishing Kit, discovered in 2007, provides a simple-to-use interface that allows a phisher to convincingly reproduce websites and capture log-in details entered at the fake site. To avoid anti-phishing techniques that scan websites for phishing-related text, phishers have begun to use Flash-based websites. These look much like the real website, but hide the text in a multimedia object. 3.2 Firewall’s Protection A firewall can either be software-based or hardware-based and is used to help keep a network secure. Its primary objective is to control the incoming and outgoing network traffic by analyzing the data packets and determining whether it should be allowed through or not, based on a predetermined rule set. A networks firewall builds a brigade between an internal network that is assumed to be secure and trusted, and another network, usually an external (inter)network, such as the Internet, that is not assumed to be secure and trusted. In general, some functions that can be done by the firewall are: 1. Doing a packet filter firewall can make the decision whether to accept or reject the incoming data packets. 2. Hiding Network Address (NAT) IP addresses can be used on the internet is a public IP. So to create a client that uses private IP can be translated into public IP. These functions are performed by a firewall, known as NAT. 3. Monitoring and Logging to improve network security and logging on the terms monitoring by a firewall. 3.3 Protocols of Network Security Network security protocols are used to protect computer data and communication in transit. The primary tool used to protect information as it travels across a network is cryptography. Cryptography uses algorithms to encrypt data so that it is not readable by unauthorized users. Generally, cryptography works with a set of procedures or protocols that manage the exchange of data between devices and networks. Together, these cryptographic protocols enhance secure data transfer. Without cryptographic network security protocols, Internet functions such as e-commerce would not be possible. Secure communication is necessary because attackers try to eavesdrop on communications, modify messages in transit, and hijack exchanges between systems. Some of the tasks networks security protocols are commonly used to protect are file transfers, Web communication, and Virtual Private Networks (VPN). The most common method of transferring files is using File Transfer Protocol (FTP). A problem with FTP is that the files are sent in clear text, meaning that they are sent unencrypted and therefore able to be compromised. For example, many webmasters update their sites using FTP; an attacker using a packet sniffer and the website’s IP address can intercept all communications between the webmaster and the site’s server. Here we mainly discuss two similar protocols: HTTP and HTTPS. The Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is an application protocol for distributed, collaborative, hypermedia information systems. HTTP is the foundation of data communication for the World Wide Web. Hypertext is a multi-linear set of objects, building a network by using logical links (the so called hyperlinks) between the nodes (e.g. text or words). HTTP is the protocol to exchange or transfer hypertext. The standards development of HTTP was coordinated by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), culminating in the publication of a series of Requests for Comments (RFCs), most notably RFC 2616 (June 1999), which defines HTTP/1.1, the version of HTTP in common use. Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) is a combination of the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) with the SSL/TLS protocol. It provides encrypted communication to prevent eavesdropping and to securely identify the web server with which you are actually communicating. Historically, HTTPS connections were primarily used for payment transactions on the World Wide Web, e-mail and for sensitive transactions in corporate information systems. In the late 2000s and early 2010s, HTTPS began to see widespread use for protecting page authenticity on all types of websites, securing accounts and keeping user communications, identity and browsing history private.

Social Work Intervention | Race and Poverty

Social Work Intervention | Race and Poverty CHAPTER FOUR Evidence suggests that contemporary social work practice is faced with the dilemma of how to direct its efforts primarily to the poor and needy in the UK and at the same time to engage in social welfare policy to help promote social change. According to Okitikpi and Aymers (2003) social work professionals working with African refugees are often frustrated and poorly resourced to manage families who suffer from difficult lifestyle experiences due to poverty and social exclusions. Also Okitikpi and Aymer (2003) are of the view that problems of poverty and working in partnership with African families alleged of child abuse or maltreatment would be better and easier managed should social workers engage in open direct interventions. Bernard Gupta (2008) highlights the difficulties social workers face when assessing and making interventions regarding African children and their families whose cultures differ from the majority white population in the UK. Therefore the argument that the miss ion of social work is to promote social change and alleviate poverty in society by engaging with social welfare policy rather than interventions at family levels is currently the pivot of strong debate. The term social work intervention as defined by IFSW: Usually describes work undertaken with individuals, families, groups and communities. In this context the term is to cover the use of social work knowledge and skills when using it within a social care organisation to facilitate the provision of services and practice consistent with the Codes of Practice and with standards of service and practice, and to promote social inclusion and life opportunities of people using the services IFSW (2000). Types of Social Work Intervention According to Elde-Woodward (2002), there are three fundamental methods or stages of intervention. The first method of intervention, Elde-Woodward describes as macro social work intervention which involves directing social work practice to society or communities as a whole. This type of social work practice includes policy forming and advocacy on a national or international scale. The second method of intervention is mezzo social work practice, which involves working with agencies, small organizations, and other small groups directly or indirectly related to social work practice to make policies or developing programs for a particular community. The third method of intervention is the Micro social work practice which involves offering direct service to individuals and families. Hartnett et al (2005) research on the role perceptions of social workers and social work students shows that only very few actually engage in policy-practice that focus on social policy formulation and advocacy . There are a wide variety of activities that falls under the category of social work practice and social work professionals works in many different settings of employment. Basically social workers engage in clinical practice, find themselves working with individuals or families. However, social workers who serve in community practice are engage with the mezzo or macro stages of social work. Spratt et al (2004) findings shows that social work intervention with individuals or families is the most popular and effective method of intervention that bring about social change in individual lives. Social work intervention aims to help children or families to identify, and to establish appropriate relationships with social workers that will enhance their livelihood. The purpose of the intervention is diverse and ranges from increasing life skills or changing behaviour to increase life options and to cope with changing life situations and transitions (Smale, Tuson and Statham, 2000). Identifying and acknowledging child abuse Many schools of thought argue that social workers could assist families living in poverty to identify issues of child abuse by showing empathy, establishing working relationships and engaging in appropriate interventions. In any of the situations there are a number of factors making African families living in poverty to be alleged of maltreating or abusing their children. Some of these factors are poor parenting practices, lack of knowledge about the laws pertaining in the country of residence and ethno-centric discrimination and racism (Elder-Woodward, 2002). Child abuse cases referred by other agencies for the attention of local authority social services may result in interventions that usually draw children into child protection system. Such interventions do not always consider the financial and social situations such parents find themselves, but used by social work professionals in manner to comply with government legislation and the responsibility of protecting or safeguarding c hildren. For instance, parents living on meagre income hardly could sustain the family financial commitments, or such parents may not consider the legal implications of living children alone in the house for work, as often such children are seen wandering the streets or become school dropouts due to poor parental care and support. Social workers distinctive contribution for families living in extreme poverty and experiencing social exclusion is o employ empathy, communication and relationship skills to help identify and to acknowledge issues of child abuse (Spratt et al 2004). Intervention within the social work process is not a static, snapshot or a holistic process whereby social workers arrives at definitive answer to protect vulnerable children from further harm. However, the fundamental interpersonal skills require of social workers is the key to identifying the possible causes of child abuse or maltreatment in a family setting, through the building of appropriate relationship with the families and collaborating with other interested agencies (Lloyd and Taylor, 1990). Most often than not social workers take ethnocentric and prejudice approach at the initial contact with African families accused of child abuse and consequently arrive at a judgemental decision. With the right relationship with African families involve in child abuse cases social work professionals are positive to understand the needs of such families and what type of intervention is appropriate to help address their problems. Intervention skills used by social workers fits most easily i nto the traditional frameworks in which social work is usually taught to qualifying students, but less easily recognized as intervention by most social workers once in practice. Arguably, the core skills of intervention have not been grasped in its entity practising social workers and hence are not consciously transferred across situations where is most needed. Intervening child abuse Social work involves intervening children and familys situation and problems through appraisal of what information is available and what information is gathered from the family after initially assessing the familys financial and social status, with collaboration with other organisations and professionals working with the family. Many authors argue that social worker should lead families alleged of child abuse through the intervention process, highlighting and explaining the importance of working together to agree on the most appropriate intervention needed to bring social change. Furthermore, social workers use a range of knowledge, models and frameworks to decide what method of intervention is needed to achieve the desired result. To ensure that collated information from all quarters leads to informed intervention, social workers need to establish working relationships of trust with African families and other professionals. They must be able to understand the socio-economic status a nd parenting practices of African families, through their own knowledge and skill, or by drawing on that of others. Social workers recognition and understanding of parents behavioural patterns, complicated with poverty, understanding of diverse cultures and building of good working relationships are vital to successful interventions. There is evidence in the literature to suggest that social workers and other related professionals have difficulty fostering good working relationship with black African families alleged of child abuse cases as such families have no trust in the child protection system. Therefore social workers need to develop the requisite skills and behaviours to understand the problems of African families living under the poverty line, and who may have little or no knowledge of the child protection system in the UK. In recognition of the difficulties inherent in deploying effective interventions the Department of Health introduced the Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families ( DH 2000). Macdonald (2002) notes the pitfalls that arise when conducting assessments leading to social work intervention. It is not just simple to follow a framework setting out the areas to be investigated, as social workers need to exercise professional judgement and be alert to unconscious bias which may creep into the work, distorting assessments and the degree of interventions. Social Work Intervention and environmental influences Bernard Gupta (2008) literature review on black African children and child protection system emphasize the adverse effects of poverty and social exclusion on parenting capacity and childrens development, which have been identified as a major factor in most families involved in care proceedings (Brophy et al, 2003). African families are proportionally more likely to live in poverty than majority whites in Britain as many undertake low-income paid jobs (Kyambi, 2005), have their rights to support services withdrawn under section 17 of the 1989 Children Act, (Kholi, 2006) and income, employment opportunities and access to support services are determined by their immigration and asylum status (Bernard Gupta, 2008). The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, recognises the need to protect children who experience a deprived childhood due to families living in poverty, and requires governments to ensure all children have an adequate standard of living as a basic right. The UN recognizes that deprivation during childhood undermines the fundamental rights which children, as well as adults, should enjoy, including access to key services such as health, education and social services (Monteith McLaughlin, 2005). Available evidence shows that poverty and social deprivation during childhood has adverse effects on children developments and limits their capacity to reach full potential and will perpetuate social inequalities across generations within populations. The Labour government pledge to reducing poverty in the country was a step forward to achieve social change among families, but did not explicitly define the target groups that are mainly living in extreme poverty. The Labour governments anti poverty strategy involves policies to increase the incomes of poor families by improving child-related benefits and tax credits and the introduction of a national minimum wage. The governments Sure Start initiative and the National Childcare Strategy in the UK provide affordable childcare provision for working parents. Moreover, the publication of the document Every Child Matters set outs the government approach to the wellbeing of children and young people (McLaughlin Monteith 2005). The sure start initiative provides a lot of support to parents struggling to care for their children, but the limited number of branches across the country only seems to assist the majority white families. Bradshaw (2001) and Stewart Hill (2005) argue that the go vernments child poverty reduction strategies may be easier to achieve in short-term basis but not achieving much in long term. The main official working document for many British child protection social workers is the Department of Health (DoH), 1988 document, Protecting Children: A Guide for Social Workers undertaking a Comprehensive Assessment, but has its limitations when working with black African families (Chands, 1999). It is arguable to say that taking children into public care because their parents are not capable of providing adequate care may be due to the withdrawal of all support services in accordance with section 9 of the 2004 Asylum an Immigration Act (Kelly Meldgaard, 2005). Evidence shows that basic physical care that families are expected to provide for children becomes limited by inadequate housing, unemployment, poverty, and social exclusion particularly with black African families living in poverty. It is argued that any assessment process that reflects the inadequate provision of care as the failure of black people and as indicator of child abuse rather than the effects of racial inequality is in itself racist. Furthermore, as black African families are disadvantaged in many circumstances, it is arguable that they will face higher levels of risk from the harmful effects of inappropriate social work intervention and misjudgement (Chands, 1999). Social Work Intervention and parental behaviours The history of over-representation of black children in the child protection system, according to Chand (1999) dates back to the 1960s. Research shows that black children are quick to enter into the child protection system than their white counterparts, for reasons such as parenting behaviours, culture and social and economic problems. Many research work relating to the differences in child-rearing and poverty in the UK show that black African families are often at risk of being stereotyped as not capable of parenting children in the most appropriate way. Therefore, social workers have a responsibility to understand issues framing the experiences of African children at risk of significant harm, ad not to create the general impression that all African families are not capable. According to Chand (1999) despite the very obviousness of the diversity of childhoods, we live and work in a society which tends to assume that there is just one kind of childhood that is normal and ordinary (Rogers, 1989, p. 97). The issues of punishment, parental behaviour and discipline, complicated with poverty are controversial concepts among black African families living in the UK, which often draw them into the arena of child protection system. According to Bernard Gupta (2008), the literature that exists focuses on the African families where their parenting is deemed to be below the threshold of what is considered proper. This dysfunction within African families can risk reproducing stereotypes of this group as deficient, thus fostering a pathological viewpoint of African family relationship. It is widely accepted that black African family relationships with white social workers working with them, is always strained with mistrust and non-acceptance. Available research shows that (Chands, 1999), different child-rearing practices, as a result of socio-economic status permeates different cultures and social workers working with families of different cultural values and beliefs may experience difficulty i n understanding what parental behaviours are acceptable and not acceptable. Thus, to distinguish whether a particular child-rearing practice is deviant to societal norm, social workers will always have to dwell on the knowledge acquired from both formal and informal training, experiences and their moral judgements, to employ the most appropriate intervention process applicable to the family. Bernard Gupta (2008) claims that African family relationships, like those of many minority ethnic groups, are often constructed differently from the conventional nuclear family model that exist in the majority culture in contemporary Britain. Cultural values and more importantly poverty influence the lives of many black African children and their families involved in the child protection system (Thorburn et al, 2005). In order for social workers to establish a good working relationship when working with black African families and children living in poverty, Chands (1999) argues that it is param ount for social workers to have a sound knowledge and understanding of what is acceptable and unacceptable parental behaviours within the cultural background of the families. If not, social workers may intervene in alleged child abuse cases inappropriately. There are a few data on the impact of poverty and cultural values in influencing expectations, motivations, roles and approaches to parenting and perceiving what constitutes harmful behaviours (Barn et al., 2006). It is debatable to define in specific terms how children should be discipline from the view points of parents and professionals and what type and degree of punishments are deem appropriate for a misbehaving child. Barn et al (2006) findings show that African families do not punish their children any different from the majority white families and that there is no evidence of using more severe physical punishment (Thorburn et al., 2005). However, research shows that working-class white families presumably employ more smacking, which is a form of physical punishment, in an attempt to manage children behaviours and corporal punishment is still practise in schools outside the state sector, which are mainly occupied by middle-class children. Yet in general, as the vast majority o f African parents use physical punishment as a form of discipline to manage their children behaviours, they are inevitably alleged of abusing their children (Chands, 1999). These are related to their cultural background, their socio-economic status, and their own personalities (Phillips Dutt 2000). For example, Ellis (2006) maintained that in African culture there is little fondling and kissing of infants and any kind of caressing stops when the child is toddling. Black Africans express their affection and love in a different way, through good physical attention, such as bathing, skin-care and hair-care (Chands, 1999). This illustrates the necessity to understand different cultures in order to guard against misinterpretations of parenting behaviour, and to ask why a black African parent may not be showing any obvious signs of affection towards their child. Moreover, the unrealistic expectation by white social workers should be understandably measured in the light of the parents anx iety about their childrens future considering the poverty levels of many black African children living the United Kingdom (Beranard Gupta 2006). With regard to responsibility and independence, many research shows that most white social workers seem to adopt euro-centric approach when working with black African children and their families (Chands, 1999). In effect black African children are either not protected because they are seen to be able to cope with situations not deemed appropriate for white children, or where black African children are not taking on similar responsibilities to their white counterparts they are deemed to be at risk of abuse or deprivation (Chands, 1999). For instance, the issue of older siblings caring for younger ones in the case with many black African families may be decisive in the workers assessment of risk of significant harm to the child. According to Chands (1999) there is the need to question why this should be when a high level of both responsibility and independence by the older sibling can be clearly demonstrated. It must be emphasized therefore that although child abuse occurs in all races and cultures, workers must guard against viewing suspected abuse through the norms and values of their own background. A further point is that black African families unwillingness or resistance to the assessment and intervention process employ by social workers working on alleged child abuse cases should not be seen as evidence of guilt, as the system may be new to them or a good working relationship is not there. Finally, Chands (1999) explains that in order to make the intervention process fairer for all black African families, it is necessary for majority white workers and institutions to understand that most black African parents may be less aware of child protection procedures, may be living in poverty, and their experience in the UK make them more susceptible to the child protection system. Some researchers have identified the importance of understanding how poverty complicate different cultural values, which in many cases explains the motivation behind parental actions when managing unacceptable behaviours of their children (Barn et al, 2006) and in their research on normative parenting there is no significant differences between ethnic groups with regard to physical punishment of children (Bernard Gupta, 2008). CHAPTER FIVE IMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE There is some evidence in the literature to suggest that social workers and other professionals struggle to manage the complex needs and social circumstances of many African families (Bernard Gupta, 2008). According to Hayes Spratt (2008), social workers are more engage with child protection work, but not in way that is readily understood by those who legislate, set policy and measure performance. Social workers may lack the necessary tools to adequately differentiate borderline cases from high-risk cases, couple with poor collaboration with other professionals, classifying certain parenting practices as politically and ethically unacceptable and their own personal cultural values, they turn to route all borderline child abuse cases through the child protection processes. It might seem paradoxical that in recent years social workers, who are seen as the force for conformity, are frequently criticized for acting more in the interests of society than in the interests of service users . However, when social workers relate more with families than just aiming to achieve governments target, they build good working relationships with those they serve and help liberate them from oppression, poverty and social deprivation. Thus, social workers engaging more with methods of intervention which liberate children and their families from poverty, deprivation and social exclusion are really working to the principles and ethics of social work practice as defined by IFSW in contemporary Britain. Social work professionals almost always draw exclusively on sociology and political science knowledge base, believing that individuals can be wholly human only within the context of a benign environment and a just social order. Evidence shows that changing the social system of African families who suffer oppression through poverty and social exclusion by empowering them, not only means liberating them from social injustice, but also promoting family dignity and happiness. According to Bernard Gupta (2008) the poverty and social circumstances experience by many African families pose challenges for parents and children, as well as social work professionals working to safeguard and promote children welfare. Therefore, it is the requirement of the social workers to consider African families poverty and social circumstances before deciding on what intervention process will most help change their life. Recent governments efforts to change the objective social work from perhaps overemphasi zes on child protection agenda to a more preventative approach in alleged child abuse cases, have not entirely favoured African families living in poverty who are accuse of being deficient in their child-rearing behaviours. Social workers invariably experience the dilemma of choosing between directing efforts to child welfare process or child protection process and not see children suffer further abuse under the context of poverty. The broader development of the new theoretical perspectives based on systems theory will assist social work professionals working with children and African families to consider a more specific view of their roles and to help develop effective relationships with African families with the view of understanding their individual, emotional as well as social needs. A lack of good relationship with African families will adversely impact on social workers ability to understand their parenting behaviours so as to employ the appropriate method of intervention (Bernard Gupta, 2008). There are four main reasons for the need for a new perspective. Policy changes resulting in a change in method of intervention The policy environment to which social work practice relates continues to change to bring about the necessary social change. According to Platt (2006) persistent demands on social workers from the government and including inadequate staff, the bureaucracy and central government targets, and policies on refugees and asylum seekers, creates difficulty for social work to offer a wide range of family support services. Research shows that many African families may benefit more when they are routed away from child protection system towards child welfare services (Hayes Spratt, 2008). However, the governments response to Lord Lamings Report in Every Child Matters following the death of Victoria Climbie, has strengthen child protection and increase the number of cases routed through child welfare processes. Therefore it is important for social workers to subject parenting practices influenced by poverty to thorough scrutiny during assessment process to help achieve better outcomes for Afric an children. Poverty can create forms of disempowerment for children when it is used to justify parental behaviours and practices that violate their right (Bernard Gupta, 2008). Further to this point, social workers sometimes face resistance when assessing parenting problems, and more importantly their judgements about what should be consider as significant harm, when parents use poverty as a yardstick for their behaviours. Chand (1999) argue that due to the large number of cases of child abuse and child protection issues among black African children and families, social workers should take the initiative and be proactive by liaising with the families they serve, informing them about where they draw their boundaries. Changes in the knowledge and skill base As with any profession there are both new approaches and new understandings about the effectiveness of specific interventions. Investment in research and the dissemination of knowledge and skills in health remains vast greater than in social care. But the strengthening of these resources in social work and social care should result in more knowledge based practice and management in the medium and long term. The case for recognising different sources of knowledge has been made and the multiplicity of information collected in various departments need to include that produced through the experience and expertise of people using the services and front line workers as well as from research. According to Chand (1999) training either formally or informally, is important for social workers working with black African families with child-rearing issues since it can raise the issue of how black African families meet their children needs differently. The training should be integrated into the so cial work training syllabus in higher education and this would broaden the understanding of students which may dispel some of the myths around black African families and their child-rearing practices and alleviate the potential of pathologizing them in child care practices (Chand, 1999). Technological and structural changes Recent technological changes, identification of gaps in knowledge and skills new areas of working are emerging which is resulting in the provision of services falling behind service demands. For instance global movements have necessitated the need for social workers to work with African children and families migrating to the UK with existing poor backgrounds, to work with asylum seekers or refugees escaping from own countries in political turmoil or at war (Newburn, 1993). New technologies and the growing familiarity of the public in using social welfare services opens up new forms of interventions particularly to assist African families living poverty in the UK. In areas where there is rapid development or new issues with social work practice there is the necessity in advance of theory. Strategies in these circumstances may include transferring existing knowledge and skills to the new area, drawing on any international experience and expertise, networking to share and learn from exp erience and research on needs and effective responses. Initially these may need to be done separately to structure a different perspective before it is possible to bring experience and learning together in new ways. Multi organisational or Partnership Intervention For intervention to meet the required target, it all depends on proper initial assessment, but many of the assessment tools that are employ such as DoH (2000) Framework for the Assessment of children in need and their families may disadvantage black African families due to the eurocentric approach of social workers. Research shows that partnership is needed to embrace both good working relationships and appropriate intervention process (Chand, 1999). Against this background, children in need may be given preventative supports and will prevent vulnerable children from abuse or maltreatment. Therefore greater attention should be given to support professional social work practice, and safeguarding the value base, the relationship and the process of good practice, expertise of social workers and related professions. Implications and issues for considerations Recent studies on African families and the child protection system show that these families are disproportionately represented at different levels in the child care system. The existing intervention tools for social work practice are grounded within ethnocentric epistemologies and, as the foundation for social work theory and practice, are not well equipped for the task of nurturing and developing African families and their children. This is evident, for example, in the sustained over-representation of black children in the care system and in the lack of supportive social work services designed to meet their needs. It is therefore important for the development of new theoretical perspectives based on systems theory to help social workers who work with African children and families. This will enable social workers to take a broader view of their role and to develop a vivid perception of parenting behaviours and practices of these families which are complicated with poverty so that a m ore appropriate method of intervention are employed in their judgement. The extreme poverty experience by many African families pose challenges for social workers working to safeguard and promote childrens welfare (Bernard and Gupta, 2008). The Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families (Department of Health, 2000) based on the ecological approach places a requirement on social workers to also consider the low income status of parents when intervening cases of child abuse. These approaches provide an essential framework for work with African children and families, both in terms of the context of their lives and the process of the work being undertaken. In order to safeguard and promote the welfare of West African children, a starting point must be an acknowledgement of sources of maltreatment of children in the context of poverty (Bernard and Gupta, 2006). The dissertation highlights the importance of social workers considering the poverty situations of many African families who have immigrated to the United Kingdom, particularly those who have recently arrived into the country. Most of the African families may be asylum seekers or refugees with insecure social status and may have very limited understanding of the child protection or welfare state system in the UK (Bernard Gupta, 2008). Therefore only throug

Essay --

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE This account mainly focuses in brief on my intention, aspiration and objectives of why I want to get admitted in MS under the department of Economics, especially in South Dakota State University, as most the people of a developing country like Bangladesh, are afflicted with poverty, ignorance and lack of economic management that are like a rift in the lute in our social, economic and political arena. These problems always haunt me and my thoughts like Pluto in the deathbed. I want to contribute in a widespread way in these zones that will have far-reaching effect on the development, growth and advancement in our poverty-stricken society. For making up my dream fruitful and pragmatic, I am in a crying need for acquiring more knowledge and understanding in Economics to bring about a radical change in economic management and development. To me South Dakota State University is unique in the sense that, here Master of Science in Economics focuses on relevant topics on economics and also encompasses rigorous study in economic theory, agricultural and resources economics, research methods, quantitative techniques etc. which are essential to make my foundation stronger enough to imply this knowledge on emerging economic issues. The department of Economics offers courses with theoretical analysis and real world application and also work on a broad range of issues, such as Personnel and Labor Relations, Farming and Food Systems Economics, Economic Development, Economics of the International Sector which fit with my area of interest. By getting an opportunity of doing course work and carrying out research on my preferred area I am confident of building up myself befitting for higher studies as well as for contributing t... .... By involving myself in this project work, I enriched my knowledge on the impact of energy subsidy in Bangladesh. The probability of worsening the economic growth due to giving subsidy on that particular sector was our finding. As I am in persuasion for master degree, I have come to know about the South Dakota State University by searching in internet. I firmly believe that the chance to do my master degree in this university will be the turning move towards accomplishing my desired goal. I am confident of not only upholding the academic excellence and dignity of the institution but also make remarkable contribution. I believe that I will be able to contribute considerably to the research in your university. I also believe the education from your institution and other opportunities that come to my way will facilitate me obtaining my objectives. Thank you.

Cultural Values in The Left Hand of Darkness, The Fellowship of the Rin

Shaping of Cultural Values Through Environment in The Left Hand of Darkness, The Fellowship of the Ring, and Dune      Ã‚   Ursuala K. LeGuin's The Left Hand of Darkness was written after J.R.R. Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring and Frank Herbert's Dune. One of the most interesting comparisons between the three novels is how the authors treat the issue of cross-cultural misunderstandings. All three works contain many incidents where people of one race or planet encounter people of a different race or from a different planet. Tolkien treats this issue in a 'specisitc' or physiological manner. The cultural misunderstandings and clashes that arise in The Fellowship of the Ring are due to the differing physiology of the characters. Herbert deals with cultural misunderstandings in an environmental manner. In Herbert's world, cultural values depend less on which species a character belong to (because all characters seem to be "roughly" human) and instead depend on environmental variables. In The Left Hand of Darkness, LeGuin combines both approaches. The cultural misunderstandings betwe en Genly Ai and Gethenians are due both to difference in physiology and different cultural values imprinted by environmental factors .   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Tolkien's physiological approach is best seen by examining the hobbits attitude towards the outside world. The hobbits are suspicious of, and generally do not understand, non-Hobbits. This can be seen by the Shire's constant suspicion of Bilbo's past adventures. The miller Sandyman comments on Bilbo's adventures: "Elves and Dragons! I says to him. Cabbages and potatoes are better for me and you. Don't go getting mixed up in the business of your betters, or you'll land in trouble too... ...iologically different from the Gethenians and comes from a planet with a totally different environment. Both of these factors lead to numerous misunderstandings in LeGuin's novel. The difference in the three authors approaches may be seen in the debate between genetics and environment may be the broader issue. Tolkien seems to take the genetics side, Herbert takes the environmental side, and LeGuin, being the daughter of an anthropologist, realizes that both genetics and environment determine cultural values. These values often come into conflict, and when they do, misconceptions and misunderstandings are almost inevitable.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚   Works Cited Herbert, Frank. Dune: 1984, Chilton Book Company LeGuin, Ursula L. The Left Hand of Darkness: 1969, Ace Book Company Tolkien, J.R.R. The Fellowship of the Ring: 1993, Houghton Mifflin Company  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Martin Eden :: essays papers

Martin Eden Jack London, prestigious author of Martin Eden writes his opinions into his work. Aspects of different societies are prevalent throughout his work and the class struggle between different classes of characters is apparent in his writing. Although not an autobiography much of his writing can appear to include his personal views on life. Martin Eden, the protagonist created by London begins as a petty seaman works his his way to the upper class of society. Through self-determination and self-education he is able to become a member of the bourgeois. Writers with styles similar to London in that they all write in the same style in that shows the struggle of the poor and their climb to the upper class only to see that it reveals a faux ideal. Alice Hoffman author of Here On Earth appears to hold many of the same beliefs as Martin which are seen throughout her novel. Martin Eden was forced to make his own living. Eden was never given anything and had to work to gain everything he wanted. Everyday struggles included finding the simple necessities of food and shelter. As a poor sailor, Eden looked around and saw the ideals of the bourgeois. Through the eyes of Eden the Bourgeois were the educated, wealthy, and were what Martin desired to become. He dreams of becoming educated and belonging to the upper class; ultimately he finds one small connection that opens up a new world to the once struggling seaman. Although later disproved, his first impressions of this class were seen from an outsider^s view as perfect. ^Here was intellectual life, he thought, and here was beauty, warm and wonderful as he had never dreamed it could be.^ (p. 40) Martin comes into contact with a family that introduces him to this new world. The Morse family was all Martin dreamed of, he viewed them, as them part of a perfect society and Ruth was the focal point of it.! Ruth was heavenly like a flower; her culture and sophistication stimulated him. Introduction to this new class surprised Martin. The library, a new idea to him, becomes his new haven. Although he lacked both the time and money necessary for a traditional education between sailing he began his way to self-education. In the beginning Martin was separated from Ruth because of their class difference, but as this yearning for education developed he and Ruth become involved. ^He wasn^t of their tribe, and he couldn^t talk their lingo was the way he put it to himself. He couldn^t fake being their kind.^ (p. 51) Although he wasn^t born any with any of these ^privileges^ he made it his business

Management is an art and a science

Management can be defined as the effective and efficient coordination of resources in order to achieve desired objectives. It is the process of planning, organizing, coordinating, directing and controlling resources such as human beings, material, time and money to accomplish organizational mission. All organizations have objectives that are the desired targets that the manager hopes to achieve. The primary purpose of management is to convert resources into results.A resource by itself is nothing, it remains sterile until it is managed to provide the results. A result is the consequence of purposeful activity, which is management. A manager must therefore, plan, organize, direct and coordinate activities to convert the sterile and inert resources into product resources (the desired objectives). Management is therefore, the action of getting things done through people. It means optimizing the use of human and material resources for the attainment of desired objectives. In its effort t o fulfill its functions of planning, organizing, leading and controlling, the field of management has borrowed extensively from different disciplines namely psychology, sociology, mathematics and decision sciences.Management as an art Art refers to the way of doing specific things. It is the skill in conducting any human activity. Art indicate how an object can be achieved. According to George R.Terry 1980 Art is bringing about of a desired through the application of skill. Art is therefore, a skilful application of knowledge which entirely depends on the inherent capacity of a person and is learned from practice and experience. Art is concerned with the understanding of how a particular work can be accomplished. In this sense, management is certainly an art as manager uses his skill, knowledge and experience in solving various problems that arise in the working of his enterprise successful. Earnest Dale ().Management is considered as an art rather than science mainly because manage rial is personal profession and intuitive. Therefore, management is an art, simple because managing requires certain skills which are a personal possession of the managers. In additional, management is an art of getting things done through others in dynamic and mostly non-repetitive situations. The resources of men, machine and money  have to be coordinated against several constraints to achieve given objectives in the most efficient manner. This requires skill.Management as a science Science can be described as a systematical body of knowledge based on proper findings and exact principles and is capable of verification. It is a reservoir of fundamental truths and its findings apply in all the situations. Science is knowledge as of facts and principles; knowledge gained by systematic study or observation and experimentation. The methods used in scientific inquiries are systematic and empirical. Moreover, information can be ordered and analyzed and the result or findings of scienti fic studies are cumulative. Based on this, management is a science because it has developed some systematized knowledge.Like other sciences management has also developed certain principles, laws and generalization which are universal in nature and applicable wherever the efforts of the people are to be coordinated. Managers often use a specific body of knowledge consisting of principles, generalization, approaches and concepts to apply in certain situations. These principles of management have been developed an formulated on the basis of observation, research, analysis and experimentation and also based on the relationship of cause and effect like other sciences. Furthermore, management deals with people and it is very difficult to predict their behavior accurately.Management empirical studies the man and the factors affecting him to understand human behavior in the work place. It is therefore a behavioral science. Managers when faced with managerial problems usually expect that the re is a rational an objective way to determine the correct course of action. Lastly, early management researchers subscribed to the vision of managers as scientists. The scientific management movement was the primary drive of this perspective.The scientific management emphasis on both reducing the inefficiencies and on understanding the psychology of workers, changed managers and employee attitudes towards the practice of management. This is evident with the development of early scientific theories of management such as the classical and scientific management theory by Fredrick Taylor, neo – classical approach, Weber’s Theory of Bureaucracy, behavioural approach and others which emphasized the scientific approach to management.Conclusion In conclusion, management is an art as well as a science. It involves both the elements of art and science. It is considered an art because managing requires application of certain skills and a science because it has an organized body of knowledge which contains certain universal truths. The science provides the knowledge and the art deals with the application of knowledge and skills. According to the American society of mechanical Engineers, management is the art and science of preparing, organizing and directing human efforts to control the forces and utilize the material of nature for the benefit of men. Thus, it has now been accepted that management is both an art and a science.

America Needs Its Nerds Essay

The socially and physically inept, the outcasts, often associated with computers and books- these characteristics constitute the stereotype of the average geek. Students are afraid to reveal their identities in an environment among their peers because of the fear of being an outcast among the idolized jocks. In an excerpt from â€Å"America Needs Its Nerds† Harvard student and writer Leonid Fridman expresses his disgust for the unjust treatment of individuals who are essential to our country- the geeks. He addresses the American public with a call to action to put geeks into their deserved positions, giving them hope and motivation to express their own identities. Fridman utilizes irony when discussing how even Harvard students are being picked on, as well as the compare and contrast between America’s discouraging treatment of the nerd to East Asia and China’s praising of them, to represent how the fear of social rejection has forced these mistreated intellects t o hide their academic capabilities. Leonid Fridmen is disappointment with the fact that even at Harvard, one of the top Ivy League colleges, students are still picked on because of their levels of intellect. It is ironic that even at one of the top colleges in America where nerds and geeks dominate the realm of the school that â€Å"anti-intellectualism is rampant†. Social standing competes with intelligence even at the most academic institution, showing America that students are â€Å"ashamed† of their intellect because of the negative stereotypes society degraded them with. Fridman also employs irony when referring to â€Å"get[ting] wasted at parties† by describing how nerds avoid damaging their brain and bodies, but are punished socially for not  physically hurting themselves. Fridman’s call to action addresses the American public as being erroneous in their actions of idolizing the nonintellectual while demeaning the studious intellectuals when he compares America’s academic values to those of East Asia’s. In America, athletes and celebrities are rewarded and more prevalent in society then those interested in pursuing academics. With these characteristics of our society, it is impossible to â€Å"compete in the technology rate† or be a â€Å"leading political and cultural force† with other countries who encourage academics rather than reject the individuals who excel in it. Fridman’s belief of demeaning the intellectual is a continual paradigm in our society today. In 2003, Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected to be the Governor of California; however, it was primarily for his name recognition as a body builder and film star, lacking any experience working in government. Although Schwarzenegger lacked the intellectual knowledge he needed, he was elected because the public idolized him. The public is more interested in the media and athletics and neglect to realize the important impact researchers and intellects have on our world. Colleges pay college athletic coaches more than the professors working at an institution. Americans pay more on professional sports then they do to fund cancer research or education. As USA Today wrote, â€Å"You can get a Nobel Prize at your university and you won’t get anywhere near that attention. And so I think between the public and the media, they are telling us what they value.† The public is involved, and often times addicted, to athletes or social media and reject the academically motivated as outcasts from the ideal society. Unfortunately, this public is unaware of the capabilities of academic achievement and the progress it has brought us in our world.