Importance of Statistics in Educational Management Essay

To accomplish set goals in an organisation, the school manager or administrator must plan, implement such plans and evaluate success. To do so, the use of statistical data is crucial. In this paper the writer is going to discuss the importance of statistics in her area of study which is Educational Management. According to Kendrick (1997:1) statistics are, â€Å"numbers that help us find patterns in data, such as averages and medians.† Thus statistics looks at how to collect, organise, analyze and interpret numerical information from data. Aczel and Sounderpandian (2002:15) say, â€Å"results from a good statistical analysis are always concise, often precise and useful.† In that light the collection, analysis and storage of statistical data on the educational system become very important to the school manager for the following reasons. The school managers have a responsibility to plan ahead for the system and to do so it calls for him or her to be in the possession of some past and present data. For a manager to plan adequately for the future he or she needs the data on what the past was and what the present is like. Also, for the day to day decision making, the educational managers need data to guide their decisions. For instance, to make purchases for textbooks or furniture the school manager uses data on class sizes and the age of students so as to arrive at the quantities to be purchased. Moreover, data collection, analysis and storage are very important to the school managers in the assessment of the growth and progress of the educational system (Hardy and Bryman, 2009). Data on enrolment, class size and number of teachers will enable a school manager to establish if the school is growing or reducing in size. Also data on enrolment will enable a school manager to see the level of competition around his/her institution. Decrease in enrolment figures may signal stiff competition from a nearby school. Educational data are very vital tools for planning. Kendrick (2000:2) says, â€Å"the better we understand statistics, the better we will be at assessing what is going on in the world around us.† The data on yearly performance of students in the external examinations such as Grade Seven National Exams and Ordinary Level National Exams will show if the school is progressing or not academically. Further,  statistical data collection enables the school manager to identify areas of staff training and retraining needs. For example the data on student’s performance in Mathematics may point to a need to retrain the Mathematics teacher. If such teacher is an NCE holder it may be a pointer for a need to recommend him for in-service training for a degree in Mathematics. In addition, statistical data collection is important in the educational system because it aids accountability in the system (Kendrick, 2000). Periodically, inspectors from the Ministry of Education as well as auditors do visit the schools to monitor how the managers are utilizing the human and material resources. They call for data on these from the school head teacher. The head teacher may also be requested to give such account to Parents Teachers Association or Schools Board of Governors. Another importance of data collection, analysis and storage in the educational system is that it aids projection of resource requirement. This assertion is in line with Levin and Rubin (1998:8) when they say, â€Å"Data can assist decision makers in educated guesses †¦ in given situations.† For the school manager to project the amount of fund that would be needed for the next session there is a need to have data on quantities of stationery needed by both learners and teachers, the number of ancillary staff paid from the school coffers and (3)other running costs. The collection of statistics is important in educational management as highlighted above as it enables one as a school manager to perform duties with precision using calculated guesses. It also aids a school manager to work effectively and efficiently to meet set goals. REFERENCES Durosaro, D.O. (2004) Statistical needs for educational management, Ibadan, Regina sons Book Publishers Kendrick J.R. (1997) Social Statistics: An Introduction using SPSS for Windows, Boston, McGraw-Hill. Levin, R.I. and Rubin, D.S. (1998) Statistics for Management. USA, Prentice-Hall International. Lockhart, R.S. (1998) Introduction to Statistics and Data Analysis for the Behavioural Sciences, New York, W H. Freeman & Company.

Secondary Youth Perspective On Dropping Out Of School Education Essay

The rate at which pupils are dropping out of school is a quandary and has become a serious job for school territories across the state. The intent of this survey is to reap penetrations from the dropouts themselves, sing their determination to go forth school before completion and to codify their perceptual experiences, beliefs and attitudes toward dropping out of school. This paper examines the attitudes, beliefs, and perceptual experiences through interviews and will be conducted on 10 participants in Penang. A qualitative research method was used to concentrate on the significance that people make of their lives, their experiences, and their environment. Secondary Youth Perspective on Droping Out of School Concern for dropouts is non new. Mohamad Kamal Haji Nawawi ( Bornep Post Online, 2012 ) , general director for Malayan Talents Development of Talent Corporation Malaysia Berhad said that: â€Å" between Form One and Form Five, out of the 400,000 pupils that enrolled in Form One, some 44,000 would go forth school yearly before finishing their Form Five, or Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia. † â€Å" Some 80,000 pupils are estimated to hold dropped out of secondary schools from 2006 to 2010, † said Deputy Education Minister Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong ( The Malaysian Insider, 2011 ) . He speculated that some factors for dungs out may be for wellness grounds, to come in the work force and because of deficiency of involvement in instruction ( The Malaysian Insider, 2011 ) . Previously parents can state they have five or six kids and can non afford to pay school fees. â€Å" Now, the authorities is taking attention of that. If they do non hold the money, they will be given RM100 and for h apless households, we give RM500 one-off, † said Dr Wee ( The Malaysian Insider, 2011 ) . â€Å" We are working towards that, intending policy-wise we want to do everyone finish Form Five, at least complete the secondary instruction, † he said when asked if the ministry will see doing secondary school registration as mandatary. † said Dr Wee ( The Malaysian Insider, 2011 ) . Before looking at the grounds for dropping out from school, it is necessary to specify what is means to drop out. We use term â€Å" dropout † refer to youth whom leave secondary school before graduation, including those who leave but return subsequently, and those who after complete some signifier of equivalency sheepskin ( Audus & A ; Willms, 2001 ) . Droping out of school is a serious job, and society is eventually admiting the profound societal and economic effects for pupils, their households, the school and the community. Leaving school without a sheepskin can hold permanent negat ive effects on the individual socially and economically, doing terrible disadvantages come ining into big life. Understanding why pupils drop out of school is the key to turn toing this major educational job. A figure of theories have been advanced to understand the particular phenomenon of the saging out ( Audas & A ; Willms, 2001 ; Finn & A ; Zimmer, 2012 ; Rumberger & A ; Lim, 2008 ) . The theorical model to be used in this survey will be the Rumberger ‘s ( 2011 ) model that use single factors associated with pupils themselves, such as their attitudes, behaviours and educational public presentation. The other frameworks focal point on the contextual factors found in pupils ‘ households, schools, and communities. Both models are utile and, necessary to understand this complex phenomenon. It is of import for the community to cognize why pupils are dropping out of school. There are figure of grounds. Individual position Individual factors that predict whether pupils drop out or alumnus from high school autumn into four countries: ( 1 ) behaviours, ( 2 ) attitudes, and ( 3 ) educational public presentation. ( 1 ) Behavior. A broad scope of behaviours both in and out of school have been shown to foretell dropout and graduation. One of the most of import is student battle, which includes pupils ‘ active engagement in academic work ( e.g. , coming to category, making prep ) and the societal facets of school ( e.g. , take parting in athleticss or other extracurricular activities ) . Misbehavior in high school and delinquent behaviour outside of high school are both decidedly associated with higher dropout and lower graduation rates. Adolescents who drink and fume are more likely to originate sex earlier than their equals ; those who engage in these behaviour forms frequently have a history of troubles in school ( Rumberger, 2011 ) . Having friends who engage in condemnable behaviour or friends who have dropped out besides increases the odds of dropping out ( Rumberger, 2011 ) . ( 2 ) Attitudes. The dropout literature has by and large focused on a individual indicator- educational outlooks ( how far in school a pupil expects to travel ) and has found that higher degrees of educational outlooks are associated with lower dropout rates. ( 3 ) Educational public presentation. Droping out represents one facet of three interconnected dimensions of educational public presentation: ( 1 ) academic accomplishment, as reflected in classs and trial tonss, ( 2 ) educational stableness, which reflects whether pupils remain in the same school ( school stableness ) or remain enrolled in school at all ( enrollment stableness ) , and ( 3 ) educational attainment, which is reflected by old ages of schooling completed and the completion of grades or sheepskin ( Rumberger and Lim, 2008 ) . The model suggests that educational attainment is dependent on both educational stableness and academic accomplishment. That is, pupils who either interrupt their schooling by dropping out or altering schools, or who have hapless academic accomplishment in school, are less likely to graduate or finish that section of schooling. Research Question The research inquiries examined in this paper are: Cardinal inquiry: What are the grounds for pupils ‘ detachment from school? Subquestions: What factors contributed to their determination to go forth? Can the dropouts themselves reveal the critical junctions in their determination to disrupt their instruction? What can school decision makers and pedagogues do to forestall pupils from dropping out? The chief focal point of treatment will be around the grounds for dropping out of school and cognizing why they make such determination. The 3rd research inquiry is to understand either they still can endorse into some educational scene. Finally, the 4th inquiry is looks at illustrations of good pattern, seek to forestall this procedure happens once more. Significance of the Study Keeping pupils in school is really of import for the wellbeing of the pupils and society as a whole. Objective of this paper is to understand the attitudes, beliefs, and perceptual experiences of the dropout pupils through interviews. The participant reply will assist schools develop plans or policies for cut downing the school bead out rate. What helps in accomplishing this nonsubjective must be studied so that suited intercessions and policies may be drawn out and implemented by the relevant governments. To cut down the dropout rates of pupils in the long tally, the issue of school battle must be given due consideration. Schools can besides profit from the findings of the survey. School disposal can analyze how existing school patterns, the school atmosphere and instructors affect pupils ‘ school attitude. Research Paradigm Droping out of school can non be understood merely by analyzing the conditions of households and schools, or even the behaviours of pupils. The research worker takes a societal constructivism base as the research worker is seeking to understand by analyzing the positions and readings of those conditions and behaviours by dropouts themselves. Phenomenology surveies of dropouts are based on this premiss. Methodology Approach This research will be taking a phenomenalogical attack as the research worker will be analyzing their lives, their experiences, and their environment. A qualitative research can assist understand the grounds for dropping out of school. Interview and interact with a little group of school dropouts. Main interview types that qualitative research workers use are in-depth, one-on-one interviews. Interview Questions What factors contributed to their determination to go forth? What can school decision makers and pedagogues do to forestall pupils from dropping out? Was dropping out of school a good determination or a bad determination for you? Explain why. Describe your grounds for go forthing school early. When you think back over the old ages, depict any specific events that lead up to your dropping out of school. Would you make anything otherwise if you had the chance? Is there anything else you would wish to state? Sample The participants will be obtained utilizing a convenience trying method. The first participant will be introduced by an familiarity and the participants are asked to propose other participants who qualify.10 participants will be interviewed for this research. These interviews were typically 30 to 1 hr in continuance. The participants were asked a set of semi-structured open-ended inquiries in a prearranged order. Perticipant of the survey should be above 18, no specific pick of gender or ethnicity, must be an grownup who has dropped out from school. Procedure The interview will be conducted on 10 participants with the presence of research worker. Throughout the session, the participants will be asked inquiries about the attitudes, beliefs, and perceptual experiences. It will wholly be done in a maximal clip of 1 hr, and a lower limit of 30 proceedingss, and merely be a erstwhile interview, this is so that the participants would non be excessively tired after the interview. The interview will be recorded in audio format so that a written text can be done. The interview will be done in a closed room so that the privateness and the confidentiality of the participants will be protected with the best attempts of the experimenter. Participants can decline to reply any inquiry. Participant replies to all inquiries are private and confidential. Dependability and Validity To guarantee dependability of the consequences for this research, pilot trial will be conducted on one of the participant before the existent research begins. The pilot trial will be used to guarantee that the inquiries are capable of acquiring the needed replies and to look into whether a certain interview location would be suited for this interview every bit good as to cognize the estimated clip an interview will take. After the complete aggregation of informations the consequences will be taken back to the participant to corroborate that there was no misunderstanding of the participant ‘s words. A equal reappraisal will besides be conducted among the researches class mates to guarantee that the research worker had non do any errors.

Assessment of Qatari Traditional Architecture Responsiveness to the Research Paper

Assessment of Qatari Traditional Architecture Responsiveness to the Environment - Research Paper Example This is not usually the case in most places. Therefore, the architecture has evolved to take the roaring winds into the equation (Mohamed &Bourennane 34). The main environmental challenge that the people and even the architecture have had to adapt to is the desert conditions. There is rarely any vegetation growing by itself. Even in cases where there is vegetation, it is because of the great care that is paid to it. The buildings are today being designed so as to be sustainable. This means they have to take the environment into account. The buildings now are therefore more ‘green’. They make good use of the limited resources i.e water and energy (Mohamed &Bourennane 34). These winds must meet something in the form of a windbreaker or a tree, in places with ordinary environmental conditions. This is not the case in Qatar. The walls of the buildings have been built to be very tall and firm. This means that they play the role of windbreakers even as they provide shelter for the residents of the gulf. This is an important function because wind can be a major irritant as well as a great utility. In this way, architecture has responded to the need for shelter from the winds (Mohamed & Bourennane 37). People have responded to the danger posed by strong winds by living in walled cities and close to one another. They indeed seem to draw their strength from their numbers. This way, they fortify themselves against the winds that can otherwise carry isolated structures with them. Architecture has also responded to this by providing communal models to houses. As a result, shops, mosques and schools are located close to one another (Mohamed & Bourennane 37). Another climatic condition of the gulf that is well recognized is the hot sun. Of course the climatic conditions in the gulf are desert like. This means that the sun is very hot for very long hours of the day. While the sun is hot during the day, the nights are extremely cold. The architecture has responded to this by coming up with the sort of buildings that are thick-walled, and in most cases the roofing is made from materials that are poor conductors of heat. This is to protect the occupants from the hot rays, as well as retain necessary heat for the cold nights (Mohamed & Bourennane 45). Challenges encountered An inquiry of this kind is, admittedly, best carried out in the field. The reasons are simple. It is better to find out about all the different details that are talked about when the object stands physically in front of you. The immediacy of the object also makes you appreciate the tiny nuances that are hard to grasp when explained on paper. Therefore, the first challenge faced was explaining the importance of the study and what it was all about to non-architecture students. They did their best to appreciate architecture. However, beforehand knowledge looked like something that was sorely needed even for the brightest students. This compelled the need to enlighten the student s before the questions were asked. This greatly slowed down the interviews (Groat & Wang 24). Another challenge worth mentioning is that some of the students who were interviewed were of the age where appreciation of architecture is not fully developed. There were students of up to the age of fourteen. The task was extremely hard for those who were of this young age. Consequently, the problem was compounded by the fact that they were non-architecture

Being Apple Steve Jobs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Being Apple Steve Jobs - Essay Example Though Jobs did not express command-and-control leadership style, though he is known to have been quite abrasive, he does take accountability for Apple’s success by modelling his behaviours against very high standards and then visibly trying to live up to them. Charismatic attitude and inspiration for the rest of the organisational culture is where Jobs maintains transformational leadership style. This style is about building a harmonious, dedicated organisation through ethical behaviours and social charisma. By establishing Apple’s vision to be revolutionary and innovative, he uses his personality as a means to gain support and dedication to achieving greatness for the company. His rock star-modelled speeches at Apple conventions is another aspect of his transformational leadership style that defies the norms of business and puts the company as a leader in change management. Jobs’ leadership style can be analysed using many different leadership templates, such a s change management, innovation management, and many other qualitative tools associated with management theory. Jobs is a people-centred individual when it comes to their autonomous roles at Apple, thus empowering individuals through transformational interactions. Jobs also utilises the public relations word-of-mouth about Apple values, vision and principles as a means to measure his leadership style as a benchmark against other companies that follow these same leadership standards. His transformational leadership style is evident in nearly all of his values and beliefs and how he goes about representing them in all of his interactions with subordinate employees and peers. He even looks to the external markets for opinion and better labour to ensure that the company is equipped to handle ongoing change, another factor that drives transformational style. Jobs should be considered a benchmark for transformational style by other company leaders. Jobs and culture His style can be compar ed to other companies that have more rigid, centralized hierarchies of control where information is disseminated from the top layers without much employee feedback or innovation involvement. Steve Jobs’ leadership style transcends the normal business structure which builds a better organisational culture. Even though he provides an informal and innovative-minded environment to empower his managers and employees, he still maintains strict standards by which employees must live up to. They are either rewarded for their successes or punished (a transactional approach) if they fail to meet his performance standards. This is somewhat duplicitous, a blend of transformational and transactional leadership that is contingent on success. The freedoms he provides, such as casual dress and environments where free movement is tolerated, build more dedication and loyalty to meeting performance and innovation goals. Jobs is able to build a positive organisational culture by taking personal accountability for actions and then applying these same standards to everyone else. Jobs, himself, recognises that his standards include firing individuals who do not meet up to Apple performance obligations, however humanely. This shows that even though individuals experience these considerable

Compair the Matrix, Cathedral, and Billy Slaughterhouse 5 to the one Essay

Compair the Matrix, Cathedral, and Billy Slaughterhouse 5 to the one who ascends from in The Allegory of the Cave - Essay Example On the hand, the blind man’s view of life comes from an open perspective and he is ready to learn new things about life (Carver, 2002). The narrators view on blindness (life), changes when the blind man asks him to describe the cathedral for him. When he lacks words to do this, he is forced to show him by drawing, by catching his hand. Communication through symbolism helps him to understand the world through the blind man’s point of view. The blindness that separated them at the beginning brings them together. This is achieved through seeing the world from others perspective. Slaughter house- five basically explores the illogical nature of human beings, free will and fate. This book explores the concept that we are powerless and can do only what we can actually do. Billy Pilgrim is an anti-war character, who trains as a chaplain assistant, earning him disgust from his friends. Despite being the main character of the book, he gets on the nerves of everyone because of his dreams, weak body and fecklessness. He still manages to survive one of the main human atrocities, where others have failed. Nothing in Billy’s life happens out of his own will, but he watches as his life unfolds in front of him for example he is recruited to the war without his consent and gets married to a woman he does not love. In most of the novel, his character is not one the narrator could call a â€Å"character†, and only does so when he becomes â€Å"crazy† and breaks out of hospital to a radio talk show to tell about â€Å"Tralfamadore†. This is a place where he was abducted to by aliens, and this could either be in his head or reality. Events in this place take place simultaneously, so nothing happens before or after the other. In this situation, a person can choose only the good memories of life. Some can argue that the events in his life are due to the post traumatic disorder he has suffered in his life. We all can agree that human life invol ves suffering, and in his case, this seemed to be happening a lot. The old ways of explaining this suffering; religion and patriotism, do not seem to work. In the end, Billy awaits death without fear and is in control, something he was not able to do throughout his life. He ends up being the most unlikely war heroes. In Matrix the movie, Thomas Anderson, is one of the many billions of people connected to the Matrix unaware that they live in a virtual world. Despite being a respectable programmer for a software company, he is also a hacker with an alias†Neo†. This is when he gets to know about the Matrix. He has a choice to forget all about it and live his normal life, or gather information on the Matrix. Neo chooses to liberate humanity from the virtual fate, and there begins his journey to enlighten and being a hero. This is despite warnings from those who know the truth. He embraces his role and even learns fighting skills quite first, in the journey of being savior of the universe, where he gets his other name, â€Å"the one†. This is when we start to see his messianic like qualities and belief from other characters such as Morpheus and the Oracle, towards human liberation. There are several similarities between this character and Jesus Christ, for example Jesus was both earthly and godly, which can be compared to Neo’s ability to go through realms. The name Thomas can also be compared to doubting Thomas in the New Testament, who doubted the resurrection of Christ. Similarly, Neo doubted his abilities at

Applied decision methods Speech or Presentation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Applied decision methods - Speech or Presentation Example t, I can use Linear Programming to come up with an optimal production programme to determine the production level of the processes so that the customers’ orders are met and the total production costs are minimal. TQM calls for continuous improvement of the quality of the products and services through proper feedbacks and research (Management Guide, 2013). Consequently, in my current job as customer service of YMCA, I will pay attention to customers’ (current and potential customers) feedback of any kind by listening to them, analyzing their response to the advertisements, checking their comments on social media and directly interacting with them to get what they have to say about our products and services. Then I will do research on how realistic the feedback is before recommending appropriate changes to my colleagues. This will enable us to meet customers’ needs thus meeting their expectation as we expand the YMCA’s portfolio. Besides, TQM admonishes for planning and checking on the proceedings of a strategy (Management Guide, 2013). Thus I will plan how to achieve customers’ satisfaction of a certain level, collect relevant data on how to achieve the goal and th en strategize. Thereafter, I will keep on checking on the suitability of our methods. From the QM, the optimal solution is to ship 800 units from Houston to Dallas, 600 Units from Phoenix to Atlanta and 200 Units from Memphis to Denver. The total cost involved using the above combination is 13000

Contemporary Issues in Information Systems Research Paper

Contemporary Issues in Information Systems - Research Paper Example Additionally, at the present there are numerous CASE tools which can be used by software development teams. These tools offer rigid policy and standards about implementation and design of the systems (Lamb, 2012; VisualCase, 2012). In addition, a number of the advantages offered by CASE and other similar techniques are that, by making the client element of the software development process (for instance by analyzing the marketplace and focus groups); a product is further possible to convene real-world requirements and features. In view of the fact that software development process heavily relies on redesign and testing, hence the price of servicing an application over its lifetime can be reduced considerably. In this scenario, a carefully established technique to development offers assurance for the code and design reuse, minimizing expenditures and improving value. Ultimately, quality software products are likely to develop a company’s image, offering a competitive edge in the market (Rouse, 2005). This report presents a detailed analysis of two major market leaders of CASE tools. Basically, this report presents an analysis of two major applications IBM Rational Software and Oracle Designer. These tools contain wonderful features and provide an excellent support throughout the software development process. This report will present the comparison of these two applications and specification of major features for more enhanced performance management of the application development. In this scenario, this research will assess these two products on the basis of different features and quality parameters. Analysis This report presents a detailed analysis of two leading CASE tool applications by comparing their features and attributes. In this scenario, I will compare and contrast IBM Rational Software and Oracle Designer on the basis of Repository (it demonstrates how the selected tools is using repository), Forward engineering features, Reverse Engineering feat ures and Modeling tool features. I will assess both applications of above stated characteristics to suggest a most excellent application. Repository IBM Rational The IBM Rational Case tools offer information that is able to improve quality of software development groups to function more efficiently and productively. Additionally, IBM Rational Rose permits development teams to uphold, capture and take benefit of software knowledge by means of a repository available to people through a web and Eclipse interfaces as well as to programming through a RESTful web based interface (IBM, 2012). In this scenario, Eclipse plug-in integrated in Rational Developer for System development connects the software developer to local as well as remote RAA repositories. In fact, it as well scans software application source files from local and remote workplace IDE software development projects into a local RAA system repository (IBM, 2012). In addition, the capability to scan symbols in some kind of fil e scanned by the Rational Asset Analyzer representation scanner, including the results into the Rational Asset Analyzer repository and comprising the data and information in the inquiry and analysis services. Moreover, it integrates information from a wide

Company Analysis ( MGM Resorts) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Company Analysis ( MGM Resorts) - Essay Example There is a significant dependence on the ability of the standard resorts to generate the operating cash flow to repay the fund capital expenditures, financial debts and the provision for the excess cash flow for future economic growth and development. In the MGM resorts, there have been significant investments in standard procedures for adding entertainment, new restaurants, nightlife promotions, as well as other new characteristics and facilities. Moreover, there has been a regular capital investment to maintain the standard qualities of the hotel rooms and the civic spaces. The generation of cash flows by the standard domestic resorts of MGM in the year 2012 advanced than the previous year and the year 2010 and there is an expectation that the efficient and effective trend will continue into the coming years despite the constant economic declines. The visitation to the Las Vegas rose significantly up to 2 percent in the year 2012, and the room inventory has been optimum with inadequate new rooms supply planned in the recent years. . Despite the constant concerns, concerning the economic instability in the state of China, and the accomplishment of the latest smoking limitations in Macau there is an expectation that the Macau market platform should continue to expand or rather grow. In the year 2012, the speed of growth declined a little bit but the casino revenue for the Macau market still raised over 14 percent in the year 2011. It shows that over the years of the development of the MGM resort it has been consistently making profits no matter the challenging conditions of the current market. It is due to the competence of the top management that strives to maintain a competitive advantage. The competitive advantage is constant at the MGM resort due to the facts that it actually considers the welfare of its customers (Vogel, 2001). Most of the customers at the MGM resort prefer value to the price

John Van Hamersveld Art style Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

John Van Hamersveld Art style - Essay Example In the late 60s, John boosted his portfolio after he assumed the role as an art director at the Capitol Records. This position, gave him an edge in designing more posters for famed musicians (Surfing Heritage & Culture Centre Web). John has designed more than 300 album covers and the most popular ones according to Surfing Heritage & Culture Centre were, â€Å"The Beatles’  Magical Mystery Tour  and  The Rolling Stones’  Exile on Main St† (Web). In the present, embodied legacy of John Van Hamersveld is located in the Coolhouse Studio. John Van Hamersveld has exemplary art works that are likeable. The digital print on the canvas ‘Waiting on the Storm’, of 2009, ‘Johnny Girl’ of 1972, and ‘Pipeline’ on digital print on Vinyl 2009 are the remarkable drawing that the essay will describe. John Van Hemersveld drawing "Waiting for the storm" digital print on canvas 2009 was a classical drawing that I saw. Though the drawing is simple, a person can derive some information from the design. The design emphasizes the ideas that the drawing brings forth in the mind of the viewer. John Van Hemersveld drawing was insightfully done to differentiate the background from the foreground. The foreground print of the drawing has numerous clouds that were blue at the base and white at the top. The blue color in the drawing generally creates a calm and peaceful environment in my mind. The clouds with the blue base was capturing to my eyes. The drawing indicated to me that the storm is not necessarily detrimental as most people think. Hence, the drawing depicts that when I prepare for the storm, the calm moment is likely to be experienced. †Waiting for the storm† by John Van Hemersveld illustrates that a storm can yield time for meditation and a quiet moment of peace. According to the drawing, I learn that my preparation for challenges in life determines the peace I can experience throughout the moment. Typ ically, blue is a color for calmness signifying that in my life I really need to prepare for the storm all round to always have a calm state. Another drawing that also captured my attention was â€Å"Johnny Girl† which was John Van Hemersveld digital print of canvas 1972. The drawing was of John who was all smiles and very happy. Johnny Girl drawing showed a boy who had typically gotten a girlfriend for the first time. Therefore, the drawing depicted Johnny’s achievement, which to him the achievement was something out of the ordinary in his life. Although the drawing may have brought out the feelings a person encounters when in a relationship for the first time, I did not like it at all. The drawing reminded me of my first relationship in High School which did not last for long. The amazing moments I had and the thought of a beautiful future were the ideas going through my mind. Despite the insightfully designed canvas, my past memories were the reason of my dislike fo r the photo. The 2009 Vinyl print of â€Å"Pipeline† drawing was generally amazing. A person who is keen to understand the drawing could only appreciate the remarkable design. I also became a victim of bypassing the drawing because the drawing was not as striking as the drawing of â€Å"Waiting in the Storm.† The â€Å"Pipeline† drawing was showing a sharp wave with high amplitude and a narrow front. The wave looked dangerous than

Pe pep on swimming Essay Example for Free

Pe pep on swimming Essay have chosen the activity swimming because I am very interested in it. I have been doing it since early primary school and have continued onto now the end of secondary school. I think that it is the sport I no most about and I am most interested in doing. I swim in school and also out, I have progressed through out the years in my level of performance and I believe completing a personal exercise programme will improve my performance in all areas even more to a higher level. I have swam with people at higher standards than myself and also lower. I have been swimming for 12 years and it has developed to become one of my favourite physical activities. This has included watching England swim and participating with high level people my self. I personally enjoy this sport so much because of the techniques needed. It is a very exciting activity and does need a lot of taking part. Your body has to be thinking in different ways and working at high standards. I like the involvement that is expected from you in training sessions and the exciting in races and competitions. It is an individual activity and you must focus on you and only. I dont just like to swim I also take part by swimming very frequently. I previously swam for the school team and have also took part in outside of school teams. I would also like to now proceed further into swimming and sign on to a local team. This will hopefully help me to become a stronger swimmer as I will be around others with a lot of skill and devotion. I have training once or twice a week and competition come up quite often. My most preferred lane when racing is the outside left lane To be successful in Swimming   A swimmer needs to have the following qualities and components of fitness as with out these they wont be able to play up to the standards of the other competators and this is essential to win.Another one of my strong components would be agility. I believe coming out strong in half of my tests is a good because then I can focus on the other three and hopefully improve my performance in swimming. I have pointed out my weak areas and they are speed endurance and especially strength. I think strength is my main area that I need to work on. Even though the other components relate into swimming more this area still needs improving on to make my swimming standards higher.  I have decided I am going to use the school fitness suite at least three times a week for five weeks. This is as well as doing my usually training and sports. I am going to start of by building up my body on a cardiovascular machine. This would be a bike, a treadmill, a steeper machine, or a cross trainer. I will start on the first day by completing 10 minutes on a medium speed and then push my self to the faster level my body will take me for the last two minutes. I will then go onto another cardio vascular machine mentioned above different machine to what I started on and complete 10 minutes on a medium speed and also in the remaining two minutes push my body to the limit.  As I am working on me strength I am going to focus on the weight machines in my arms. The more power I can build up in my arms the stronger my strokes will become. I am going to start at around 20 reps per machine. I am going to begin my weight work out by using an arm weight machine then changing to my legs then finishing once again on an arm. This is making me work more on arm machines which will hopefully lead to an improvement in my weak area. I will then end each session by warming my body down once again on a cardiovascular machine. One of which I listed earlier. I will start by working on a steady speed for 10 minutes and then pushing the speed to the highest my can take for five minutes. I will go up a km each 40 seconds until my body reaches the limit.  Each time I go into the fitness suite I am going to build on my goal. On my first session the work out plan will be what I have explained above. Then the following I will add more reps and more machines. This is to push my body gradually to the limit. This will also help on my endurance because I am pushing my body more and more each time making myself work harder and for longer periods of time. Training Programme.  The following is what I did in the fitness suite for five weeks. As I went in three times I week I completed the same work out in the same week. As I went in to the next week I then pushed my self harder. This was so I wasnt building up my body to fast and to prevent injury.

Examining Prison And Its Alternative Institutions Criminology Essay

Examining Prison And Its Alternative Institutions Criminology Essay Prisons systems around the world have been pursuing an expansionist course for decades. There are more than 9.8 million people held in penal institutions around the world (Walmsley, 2008). Prison systems are having an increasingly difficult time dealing with the number of offenders that are sentenced to imprisonment as evident in the overcrowded living conditions and understaffed institutions. At a time when public expenditure is under pressure, governments are faced with the daunting task of finding funding to build new prisons and manage existing ones. Not surprisingly, prison is increasingly becoming regarded as a scarce and expensive resource. Some theorists have argued that there prisons should be abolished altogether given that they do not fulfil the justifications for punishment. Other theorists have contended that prisons are the only solution for the most serious crime but they are used much too often and for minor offences. The term reductionist refers to significant reductions in prison population size (Rutherford, 1984). While there have been recent increases in the incarceration rate in Scandinavia and the Netherlands, they have traditionally been regarded as successful examples of a reductionist policy. This essay will argue, not for the abolition of prisons, but for a drastic reduction in their use by using strategies proposed by Rutherford (1984) applied universally. Strategies to reduce the use of prison should start with the prison itself and substantially reduce the capacity of the prison so that prison is a scarce resource. Only then will alternatives to prison be used instead of prison and not in addition to prison. America has the highest incarceration rate in the world at 748 per 100,000 of the population (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2009). There are approximately 2,297,400 people held in state and federal prisons and local jails throughout the U.S Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2009). This is almost a quarter of the worlds prisoners and yet America is home to less than five-percent of the worlds population (Adam Liptak, 2008). The state of California houses around 171,275 prisoners which is more than any other U.S state Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2009). California is a prime example of the countrys growing prison population and the unsustainable prison costs. In California alone, the prison system costs the government $10 billion a year (Trachtenberg, 2009). By 2012, the government will be spending more money on its prison system than its university system (Trachtenberg, 2009). The construction of new prisons has not reduced the unprecedented level of overcrowding or improved conditions in California prisons. There are 33 adult prisons in California and each prison is holding many more inmates than it was intended for (Specter, 2010). Some are reaching 300% of their capacity. The extreme overcrowding has meant that prison gymnasiums, hallways and cafeterias are being used to house inmates, and in some cases the inmates are triple-bunked (Specter, 2010). The inmates sleep in close confinement with one another, and there is nothing that protects them from being sexually and physically abused by fellow inmates. The crowded and unhygienic conditions, mean inmates are more likely to get sick, stay sick, and pass illnesses onto others. Prison overcrowding is directly related to the inhumane conditions that prisoners live in inside many of the worlds prisons. England and Wales also have a high prison population rate of 153 per 100,000 of the national population. Although the prison population rate in England and Wales is much lower than in America, many countries have rates of below 150 per 100,000. There are 83,392 people in prison in England and Wales and new and existing resources will need to accommodate a planned prison population of 96,000 by 2014 at an enormous cost (Walmsley, 2008; House of Commons, 2010). Recent research shows that prison expenditure in England and Wales increased dramatically between 2003 and 2009 from  £2.868 billion to  £3.982 billion respectively (Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, 2010). A large number of prisoners are sharing cells that were only intended for single use (Millie, Jacobsen Hough, 2003). If this forecast is realised then England and Wales will have the highest imprisonment rate in Western Europe at 169.1 per 100,000 people (House of Commons, 2010). The public expenditure is under great pressure in England and Wales and the government needs to decide if it will continue with its prison building programme or invest in the prevention of crime (House of Commons Justice Committee, 2009). Overcrowded prisons like in America and England and Wales are a symptom of the expansionist movement. The prison population rates are likely to increase annually and because it takes years to bring a new prison into commission the existing prisons are filled over and above their capacity (Rutherford, 1984). To deal with the expected increase in the prison population rate expansionist systems tend to have prison-building programmes in place to increase the size of their existing prisons and build new ones (Rutherford, 1984). Rutherford (1988) argues that serious overcrowding can attract political attention and lead to closer inspection of the prison system. In California, attention has been drawn to the state of Californias prisons by the various lawsuits that have been filed against the governor and corrections officials by prisoners. In the case of Plata v. Davis in 2002, the state acknowledged that it had not been providing adequate medical care to meet the needs of prisoners throu ghout the prison system (Specter, 2010). Based on this and other cases, a court was set up to address Californias prison crisis which concluded that overcrowding in the prisons prevented the state of California from providing adequate mental and medical health care to its prisoners (Specter, 2010). Following the investigation, the court imposed a population cap of 137.5% of the prisons capacity (Specter, 2010). According to Rutherford (1984), these types of orders can have several types of consequences. First, prison overcrowding can initiate a reductionist movement. Policy makers could be encouraged to make use of early release mechanisms or set-up more community-based punishments. For example, in California the state has launched a programme to trial shortening the period of time that parolees remain under intensive supervision which can last for years following their release from prison (Muradyan, 2008). The strict parole conditions mean that offenders are often returned to prison for parole violations such as missing their appointments (Muradyan, 2008). If minor-offenders are able to stay clean for six-months after their release from prison then their supervision will end early (Muradyan, 2008). In England and Wales, a report on the overcrowding of prisons strongly recommends that the government reinvest in community based sanctions for prisoners who are only sentenced to prison for a short time to reduce the prison population and reduce re-offending (House of Commons Justice Co mmittee, 2009). Second, prison overcrowding can encourage officials to make use of prison facilities in neighbouring jurisdictions (Rutherford, 1984). When the court imposed a population cap on Californias prisons the state began to transfer around 8,000 of its prisoners to facilities outside of California. This solution only succeeds in shifting the problem of overcrowding elsewhere and as we will see in the case of California, it is a short-term solution to a larger problem. The authorization to transfer Californias inmates to facilities in other states expires in July of 2011 (Muradyan, 2008). Third, overcrowding can contribute to the expansion of prison systems. When resources are stretched it can help to secure more resources for the expansion of existing prisons and the creation of new ones (Rutherford, 1984). In response to the prison crisis in California, the state borrowed $7.4 billion make room for 40,000 more prisoners in state prisons and to create 13,000 new county jail beds (Muradyan, 2008). This was a controversial move because the government obtained the financing through lease-bonding, a move that saves the state from having to gain voter approval and costs more than other types of bonds (Muradyan, 2008). It is clear from this example that there is big money involved in the expansion of prison systems. Most prisons are built with borrowed money like in California. The funding for prisons can produce big profits for the private companies that are involved in prison systems throughout the world in one way or another (Christie, 1994). Health care, food services and construction are all sectors that are expanding fast and providing big profits for private firms (Christie, 1994). Private sector involvement can also be seen in the private-prison itself. In his book, Crime Control as a Product (1994), Nils Christie raises the important point that with this amount of interplay with private profit interests, even up to the level of private prisons, we are building an important growth factor into the system (pg. 111). The profits associated with private prisons mean big money for private companies who are able to build and run prisons for a fraction of what it costs the government and the gover nment is able to avoid asking the voters permission to build a new prison (Christie, 1994). Christie warns that an expansionist policy will lead to private prisons and in turn, a focus on financial rather than humanitarian aims. Although Governments have been geared towards expansion for decades, a large number are becoming increasingly aware that prison is a scarce resource that is too expensive to maintain. In some countries, this perception is based on the understanding that prison is not fulfilling its key aims of punishment. Perhaps other countries are not comfortable using the restriction of liberty as the main form of punishment. But for a lot of countries, it would seem that a reductionist policy makes more sense than an expansionist one in economic terms. For example, in the Netherlands the judiciary believe that prison is ineffective as a punishment and should be used as a last resort (Downes, 1988; 81). The Netherlands has maintained a low prison population in the post-war period, a time when other prison populations have sky-rocketed. This is likely due to the short length of sentences compared with countries like America (Downes, 1982). There are a number of factors that are likely to have helped to maintain a certain level of penal capacity in the Netherlands. First, penal sentencing and criminal justice policy in The Netherlands has traditionally enjoyed a culture of tolerance. The culture of tolerance lead to less prejudice, less discrimination, and reduced the need for harsh punishment (Downes, 1988). A glance at the history of the Netherlands illustrates the long tradition of Dutch tolerance towards minority groups, deviants, and religious beliefs and points of view that strayed from the norm. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries The Netherlands was less inclined to use capital and corporal punishment than its European counterparts and notably fewer wartime collaborators were killed after the war compared with countries such as Belgium and France (Downes, 1988). Second, the culture of tolerance in The Netherlands was allowed to operate in the setting of a politics of accommodation. Criminal justice policy, for the most part, operated out of the public eye and was free from public opinion. Criminal justice policy was largely determined by a small group of professional elites who made accommodations with other smaller groups to support tolerant policies. A range of different groups, even those that supported abolitionism, were a part of the penal reform. Although criminologists with extreme views such as Bianchi, would have been excluded from advisory roles in England and Wales or the United States, in The Netherlands radical views on criminal justice are welcomed and the participation of elites with such views serves to lead debates in a direction that would not have been considered otherwise. The criminal justice process also remained free from unnecessary public interaction. The criminal justice system was run by a small number of highly pr ofessional and well educated practitioners. Other theories assert that a combination of social developments contributed to the sentencing trends in the Netherlands. There are five major social developments that may have impacted on the situation; the comprehensive range of social services, a large number of youth centres, a large number of client-oriented welfare and social-service agencies, responsible reporting by the mass media, and the pressure group activities on behalf of the penal reform by the social service agencies (Hulsman, as cited in Downes, 1988; 344). Another factor could be that many Dutch people were imprisoned during the War and that this made the Dutch less inclined to administer sentences of imprisonment as they understood the pains that imprisonment can cause (Downes, 1988). Downes (1988) argues that these factors occurred alongside the sentencing trends but that they did not necessarily influence the trends. The trends in the sentencing policy of the Netherlands have remained rather constant. The mild reactions of the Dutch to crime and the co-operation of political parties made it easier for a small group of elites to implement criminal justice policies free from public opinion. welfare However, maintaining such a stable prison population would not have been possible without the co-operation of the judges. The legal training which places a negative value on imprisonment seems to be important in maintaining the use of imprisonment as a last resort. The reductionist policy was not peculiar to The Netherlands at this time. Scandinavian countries have also enjoyed low levels of imprisonment and humane prison conditions. Although the levels of imprisonment in Scandinavia are also on the rise, the rate of 66 per 100,000 of the population is still significantly lower than many countries around the world (Pratt, 2008; Walmsley, 2008). Pratt (2008) attributes the low prison population rates and humane prison conditions to a culture of equality and generous welfare state. The Scandinavian welfare state provided support for anybody that needs it. There were no limits to who could apply for assistance and no shame involved in asking for it (Pratt, 2008). The people of Scandinavia afforded the state a large amount of power and paid high taxes in exchange for high levels of security. The state provided security for its people by guaranteeing work and unemployment benefits, social services (medical care, care for the elderly, and improved li ving conditions for its citizens (Pratt, 2008). Peoples individual interests were secondary to shared common and political goals (Pratt, 2008). In Scandinavia, there was a generally held belief that a strong welfare state could reduce the problem of crime the way it had reduced other social problems (Pratt, 2008). Crime was viewed as an illness that could be treated like any other illness and so the rehabilitation of offenders was an important part of the criminal justice process (Pratt, 2008). The job of the criminal justice system was to treat offenders and then reintegrate offenders back into the community. While in prison, offenders were treated humanely and there was no need for further degradation because the loss of liberty was the punishment (Pratt, 2008). Furthermore, the social solidarity in Scandinavia meant that offenders were not seen as a dangerous class, merely as another group of welfare recipients (Pratt, 2008). The Scandinavian public seem to be an exception to the increasingly punitive attitudes and policy towards offenders that exists in many countries around the world. Although the support for the rehabilitation of offenders is on the decline, while the use of sentencing and the length of sentences is increasing they are still more inclined than their European counterparts to believe that prevention programmes can reduce crime (Demker, Towns, Duus-Otterstrà ¶m Sebring, 2008. In addition, less than half of the Swedish public still believe that tougher jail sentences can reduce crime (Demker et al., 2008). The Netherlands and Scandinavia demonstrate that prison populations can be reduced and sustained at low levels. Some general themes have emerged: the criminal justice policies are expert and research driven; the criminal justice system is not influenced by public opinion or political motives; a strong welfare state. Perhaps the most important conditions for a successful reductionist approach are a questioning of the prison system and the purposes it serves and an understanding that the prison population is less to do with the amount of crime that occurs than the response to crime by the criminal justice system (Rutherford, 1984). According to Rutherford (1984) the reductionist policy can be applied more universally. Before looking at the ways Rutherford (1984) has proposed to reduce the prison population it is important to acknowledge that the items on the agenda need political support. Politicians need to acknowledge that there are alternatives to prison available, as demonstrated in Scandinavia and the Netherlands. Instead of forecasting an increase in the number of people in prison, new low targets should be set. In addition, there must be a desire to push forward with the reductionist agenda even during hard times (Rutherford, 1984). Rutherford (1984) acknowledges that the ideological concerns of officials within the criminal justice system significantly influence the policies and procedures that are made. In many countries, there is a political consensus that an approach to crime and criminality should be tough. For example, in England and Wales, the prison system has expanded under both the Labour and Conservative governments. Both Labour and Conservative governments seems to ascribe to the Great Expectations  [1]  ideology as illustrated by their investment in the prison system. To gain political support for the reductionist agenda, people must be made not to like the great expectations approach so that it loses its vote-winning potential. Before any items on the reductionist agenda can be introduced there is a lot of work that will need to be done. Rutherford (1984) proposes nine ways to reduce the prison population according to the reductionist approach (Rutherford, 1984). They are as follows: The physical capacity of the prison system should be substantially reduced. There should be a precise statement of minimum standards as to the physical conditions of imprisonment and these should be legally enforceable. The optimal prison system staff-to-prisoner ratio should be determined and implemented. The prison system should have at its disposal early release mechanisms and use these to avoid overcrowding. Certain categories of persons sentenced to imprisonment should, if the space be not immediately available, wait until called-up by the prison system. Sentencing discretion should be structured towards use of the least restrictive sanction. Breach or default of non-custodial sanctions should only exceptionally be dealt with by imprisonment. The range of non-imprisonable offences should be widened to include certain categories of theft. The scope of the criminal law should be considerably narrowed (Rutherford, 1984: p. 175-176) To control overcrowding, Rutherford (1984) encourages the use of early release mechanisms. Parole as a form of early release can play a major part in determining sentence length and the size of the prison population. Parole is already being used in places like Australia, United Kingdom, Canada, and New Zealand (Ministry of Justice, 2010). Generally speaking, parole is the release of an offender on the grounds that they adhere to conditions decided upon prior to their release and that these conditions are in effect until the full term of their sentence is up. Narrowing the scope of the criminal law and widening the range of non-imprisonable offences is important because the majority of people in prison are not serious offenders, they are people who have committed minor crimes or created a social nuisance (Rutherford, 1984). Rutherford (1984) argues that as long as prison is used instead of providing welfare to these people, governments will not try to find more effective ways of dealing with this behaviour. At one point in time, social nuisances such as sleeping on the streets and begging were imprisonable offences. According to Rutherford (1984) certain categories of theft should also be made non-imprisonable. He proposes that: On economic and philosophic grounds, property offences where the amount involved is less than, say  £100, should be non-imprisonable. (Rutherford, 1988: 182). Perhaps the value of the property stolen is not the best way to decide whether an offence is serious or not especially when it is as random and subjective as Rutherford (1984) has suggested. It would make more sense to make all minor thefts non-imprisonable and would also be likely to have a more significant effect on the size of the prison population. An alternative suggestion is decriminalisation. Decriminalisation has the potential to reduce the prison population substantially if it is applied to drug use. In 2000, a report blamed the US drug contol policies for the soaring incarceration rate (Schiraldi, Holman Beatty, 2000). In that same year, nearly a quarter of people imprisoned were imprisoned for a non-violent drug-related offence (Schiraldi, Holman Beatty, 2000). These findings suggest that the decriminalisation of drugs and perhaps other minor non-violent offences could significantly reduce the number of people that enter the criminal justice system. Rutherford (1984) advocates the structuring of sentence discretion towards the use of the least restrictive sanction. To achieve this, Rutherford suggests a commission be set up to determine sentencing guidelines. A sentencing commission would have the difficult task of determining the seriousness of offences. The judiciary are generally given a lot of discretion when it comes to deciding sentences. For sentencing policy to have an impact on the prison population it requires the co-operation of the judiciary. Despite the introduction of non-custodial sentences prison populations have continued to rise. This raises doubts about whether non-custodial sentences are being used in the ways that they were intended. In some cases non-custodial sentences are used in addition to imprisonment or in instances where a custodial sentence would not have been handed down in the first place (Rutherford, 1984). Another concern is that strict conditions often accompany alternative sanctions. If the strict conditions are breached then the person can end up in prison anyway. An example of this is the suspended prison sentence which was introduced into English law in 1967 (Bottoms, 1981). The suspended prison sentence was supposed to be used instead of a prison sentence but it was largely used in cases where a fine or probation would have been previously handed out (Bottoms, 1981). Only about half of the people who received the suspended prison sentence would have actually been sentenced to prison if it were not for the suspended sentence (Bottoms, 1981). In addition, judges began to hand out longer sentences to people that received the suspended sentence than they would have if the same person was actually sentenced to prison (Bottoms, 1981). These figures provided a strong argument for the removal of the use of the suspended sentence in England. However, the suspended sentence was implemented in Japan and the Netherlands more successfully. An important difference is that in Japan and the Netherlands, a breach of the suspended sentence does not result in imprisonment (Rutherford, 1984). Rutherford (1984) suggests that this difference might explain why the suspended sentence has contributed to the prison population in England but not in the Netherlands or Japan. The inherent danger of alternative sanctions is that they will supplement rather than replace sentences of imprisonment. Rutherford (1984) recommends establishing a clear understanding of when the non-custodial sentence should be used and what will happen if further offending occurs while the non-custodial sentence is in place. Failure to pay attention to these important issues can have the unintended consequence, as seen in England, of widening the scope of the criminal justice system. Often, strategies to reduce the prison population focus on decisions at the rear of the criminal justice process that deal with the prosecution stage. It is important to note that the decision of who enters the criminal justice system is largely outside the control of the government (Rutherford, 1984). The police are involved in crime prevention, recording of crime, and investigating crime. They are the gatekeepers of the criminal justice system and are afforded a great deal of discretionary power in deciding who enters the criminal justice system and who does not. In England, the police decide who to stop and search, who is guilty, and who to prosecute (Poyser, 2004). The decisions that they make have a huge impact on prison practice and policy. Perhaps the best way to restrict the reach of the criminal justice system is to significantly reduce the physical capacity of the prison system. There are three main ways to reduce the prison capacity; cease new prison building, phased closing of existing prisons, and refurbish existing prisons. In the Netherlands, prior to 1975, there was a large reduction in the prison population from 6,500 inmates to less than 2,500 inmates. The decrease in prison population size was associated with the closure of sixteen of the countrys prisons. If prison capacity is reduced and no new prisons are built, provided countries do not tolerate overcrowding, prison will be a scarce resource that should be reserved for the most serious crime. A logical extension of the reductionist argument is that prisons should be abolished altogether. Although it may seem a radical idea, a glance at the history of the death penalty tells us that abolition is indeed possible (footnote). This idea has received considerable attention within the field of criminology especially by criminologist Thomas Mathiesen. Over the years, arguments in defence of prisons have focused on claims about the purposes of punishment and prison. According to these arguments the purposes of punishment are: rehabilitation, general prevention, collective and selective incapacitation, and justice (Mathiesen, 2000). Mathiesen addresses each one in turn in his book Prison on Trial (2000). First, Mathiesen (2000) examines recent research on rehabilitation in prisons. The CDATE project is a review of a large number of studies on the rehabilitation of offenders in prison and the effects of interventions on drug use and recidivism (Mathiesen, 2000). The project found that correctional interventions were not effective in reducing recidivism (Mathiesen, 2000). Interestingly, community based sentences such as parole and probation did not do much better at reducing recidivism. Some of the programmes included in the study actually produced more problems. It is worth noting that a number of studies on interventions with an emphasis on developing social skills found positive results (Mathiesen, 2000). However, these studies are few and far between. Rutherford (1984) and Matheisen (2000) both express concern over the use of correctional interventions in the prison context. The kind of ideology that supports the use of prison to rehabilitate offenders ignores the history of resear ch on the topic. Rutherford (1999) is also concerned that rehabilitation is based on the idea that prison works and that offenders can be diagnosed and then treated. Then, Mathiesen (2000) addresses the idea that prison serves the function of general prevention. The effectiveness of prisons in producing enough fear in people to convince them not to commit crimes has been hotly debated in criminology. Mathiesen refers to Richard Wrights (1994) review of studies on deterrence. Wright (1994) concludes that the greater a persons perceived and actual chances of getting caught are, the less likely they are to commit crime (Wright, 1994). This is also true for later crime. Changes in policy that increase the perceived chances of being caught will reduce crime in the short-term but will not have a lasting effect (Wright, 1994). Furthermore, the expected and actual severity of crime has no effect on offending (Wright, 1994). Taken together, these findings provide no evidence of a preventative effect of the severity of punishment. Next, Mathiesen (2000) looks at incarceration. There are two ways that prison can be used as incapacitation; collective incapacitation and selective incapacitation. Collective incapacitation refers to the use of prison to incapacitate offenders based on the seriousness of the crime and to a lesser extent, their prior convictions (Wright, 1994). Selective incapacitation refers to the use of prison to incapacitate certain offenders who continually offend and pose a risk to law-abiding citizens (Wright, 1994). Wright (1994) argues that a small group of chronic offenders are responsible for the majority of crime committed. Although, prisons do not deter the offenders from committing crime, it can atleast incapacitate them and protect society from the crime of the chronics (Wright, 1994: 112). On the other hand, Mathiesen (2000) contends that research provides no support for incapacitation in defence of prisons. Incapacitation does not have a significant effect on the rate of crime nor do es it increase the safety of citizens (Mathiesen, 2000). In a review of the related literature, prison and more specifically incapacitation only had marginal effects on crime (Mathieson, 2000). It is also important to note that even though new generation of criminals will only replace those that are incarcerated and incapacitated. To lock the new chronic offenders away would only serve to swell the prisons more. The idea of selective incapacitation is even more controversial. Selective incapacitation raises methodological, legal, and moral concerns about the accuracy of predictive measures used to estimate the probability of future behaviours. The problem of false positives (people predicted to continually reoffend that do not) is central to these arguments. The number of false positives, from prediction instruments, is still very high (Mathiesen, 2000). If the various instruments were put into practice despite their inaccuracy, they would influence the decision making process in co urt. The chance that a person will re-offend is only one feature that the courts take into account when making their decisions. Courts also need to consider mitigating circumstances, fairness, and history amongst other things. Finally, proponents of the prison system endorse retribution as an ethical and fair goal for prisons. These beliefs date back to the influential writings of Cesare Beccaria (1964) in On crimes and Punishments. Beccaria disagreed with the barbaric and extreme punishments that were so commonly used in 18th century Europe. Retributivists believe that punishment should be proportionate to the crime. In this case, offenders are punished not for rehabilitation, or to prevent them commiting more crimes, but to give them their just desserts. The just desserts model requires that crimes are ranked according to severity, punishments are ranked according to severity, and then the crimes and punishments are matched (Wright, 1994). Ranking punishment