Midterm

Description: Preferred language style: English(U.S.) Please double-space the exam, 12 font, and send it to me thru the Assignment Drop Box. There are 3 questions worth a total of 50 points (about 16.6 points a piece). The questions have multiple-parts. Answer all of the parts for each question. 2. CJ experts know that it is difficult to evaluate just how risky an offender`s future behavior might be. What are some of the problems associated with measuring risk? Explain why it is important to try to measure an offender`s risk. How does measuring risk help the CJ system operate more effectively? http://www.francistimko.com/Risk/RISK%20ASSESSMENT.htm#TOC2_4 3. What does it mean to classify probationers? Why do probation departments classify the offenders on their caseloads? Imagine yourself as a probation officer – which classification of probationers would you prefer to supervise and why? HINTS: Write well, edit. DO NOT discuss prisoners, prisons, jails, incarceration. You aren`t in that class. You are in a community corrections class. All of these questions require some reading from you textbook. Don`t try to answer any of the questions without reading the appropriate section of your text. I expect and want you to read yout textbook as you prepare the mid-term. Answer the questions I asked. Don`t answer questions I didn`t ask. Intermediate Sanctions:   Range of sentencing options that, â€Å"fall somewhere between outright imprisonment and simple probationary release back into the community. Michael J. Russel, former director of the NIJ says that â€Å"intermediate punishments are intended to provide prosecutors, judges, and corrections officials with sentencing options that permit them to apply appropriate punishments to convicted offenders while not being constrained   by the traditional choice between prison and probation.   Rather than substituting for prison or probation, however, these sanctions, which include †¦ bridge the gap between those options and provide innovative ways to ensure swift and certain punishment. – From the introduction to James Austin, Michael Jones, and Melissa Boylard, The Growing Use of Jail 1. Some people argue that intermediate sanctions are the best new approach to sentencing offenders in the community.   Define what experts mean by ‘intermediate sanctions’ and what they are designed to do BOTH for offenders and the CJ system.   How do experts justify the need for intermediate sanctions?   Intermediate sanctions are controversial.   Why? â€Å"Intermediate sanctions† is a term used for punishments that bridge the spectrum between prison and probation.   They include intensive supervision probation, work release, house arrest, day fines, asset forfeiture, restitution, community service, boot camp and, occasionally, substance abuse treatment programs. These programs are intended to provide swift and certain punishment while decreasing the economic burden of the prison system, and simultaneously helping society feel that criminals are punished with something more than a slap on the wrist. They are also intended to provide low risk offenders with the intervention and assistance that they need in the hopes of reducing recidivism.   Intermediate sanctions also theoretically decrease the risk that a low level offender will become â€Å"hardened† during incarceration. IS is controversial, for the most part, because research has shown that it does not accomplish the goals that have been set.   Random experiments involving the assignment of offenders to ISP or probation showed no statistical differences in rearrest, but significantly increased technical violations of parole among the offenders enrolled in the intensively supervised program. From that experiment, it is assumed that although ISP programs cost MORE to run, they are no more effective in reducing recidivism than traditional probation programs.   Forfeiture judgments, in which the government confiscates property obtained with illegal money, have been successfully challenged in court.   NIJ department studies of boot camp programs have shown that the programs generally do not last long enough to reduce recidivism.   When the programs did last long enough to have that impact, they offered no real cost benefits to traditional incarceration. 2. CJ experts know that it is difficult to evaluate just how risky an offender`s future behavior might be. What are some of the problems associated with measuring risk? Explain why it is important to try to measure an offender`s risk. How does measuring risk help the CJ system operate more effectively? Although many assessments exist to evaluate an offender’s future risk, all assessments contain some flaws – They assess different values (which may vary, depending on the community’s needs), every prediction instrument contains hidden policy and value decisions, and anyone using a standardized assessment has to pay yearly fees to the proprietary vendor.   For the above reasons, several societies have elected to develop their own assessments – but with this choice comes the problems associated with working the bugs out and making sure that the assessments are accurately measuring that which is intended. It is important to measure an offender’s risk of recidivism as well as his risk of escalating the violence of his attacks in order to adequately protect society while keeping the cost of the criminal justice system to its absolute minimum.   Measuring offender’s risk and adjusting the conditions of probation or intermediate sanctions accordingly theoretically decreases the likelihood of a repeat offense, which physically protects society and assists in keeping the operating costs of the system lower due to NOT having to re-house this particular offender. 3. What does it mean to classify probationers? Why do probation departments classify the offenders on their caseloads? Imagine yourself as a probation officer – which classification of probationers would you prefer to supervise and why? Probationers are classified by risk and need within the first thirty days hat they are assigned to a PO.   The risk is the total of the scores for address changes, employment, substance abuse, attitude, age at first conviction, prior offenses and prior assault offenses.   Each item is weighted and totaled, and the result is combined with the need score. Need scores are based on vocational skills, employment issues, financial stability, family stability, emotional and psychological issues, substance abuse, health, sexual behavior, and officer’s impression.   Probationers are the classified into high, medium, and low categories using predetermined values.   A higher risk assessment is considered to correlate to an increased risk of probation violations.   Probation officers use this risk assessment to determine how to most effectively allocate their resources of time and energy, while attempting to insure that each offender receives sufficient amounts of each to prevent violations of the probation agreement, and to catch any violations that do occur. Although it may seem irrational, I believe that if I were a PO I would prefer to supervise medium to high level risks, simply because the research indicates that – regardless of risk assessment – there is an inverse relationship between repeat violations and the level of supervision offenders receive.   It is my opinion that officers who are assigned low risk offenders may be less vigilant about catching offenses, or that the offenders may feel like they have sufficient opportunity to engage in criminal behavior, which results in a greater danger to potential victims of these crimes.   An officer supervising a released rapist, for example, may find it easier to attain needed resources than one supervising an identity thief, despite the fact that the identity thief is as likely to re-offend – simply because rape is an assault crime. Midterm

Guiding students from cheating and plagiarism to honesty and integrity: Strategies for change Essay

In all academic institutions and related fields, it is required that all undertakings take place with one upholding academic integrity. Academic integrity is defined as the ethical policy or moral code of academia. The values include the aspects of avoiding plagiarism, avoiding cheating, being honest and rigorous in academic publishing and research as well as maintaining academic standards. These are the main aspects though the same will be presented in different formats by different institutions in their fight against any form of academic dishonesty (Bertram et al., 2008). Plagiarism is an integral part of academic integrity. It is demanded that all forms of plagiarism be avoided. Though still lacking clear definitions and clear rules, plagiarism is defined as the wrong appropriation as well as stealing and publicizing another writer’s ideas, thoughts, language or expression with the representation of the same as one’s own unique work. In the industry and academia, plagiarism is a major ethical offense that constitutes copyright infringement (Lancaster & Waryold, 2008). Plagiarism involves many aspects. The various components include the major one which is copying ideas or words from another without giving credit. Another plagiarism component is handing in someone else work as one’s own. Plagiarism also involves provision of incorrect information on a given source of quotation. Another aspect is failing to insert quotations on quotation marks. Plagiarism also involves the copying of many ideas or words from a given source making up majority of one’s work whether giving credit or not. Another component of plagiarism is the changing of words in a sentence but copying the sentence structure of the source without giving credit. Apart from academia, other components of plagiarism exist in art and journalism. It involves the use of video, image or pieces of music in some produced work without providing the appropriate citation or having received proper permission. Other aspects involve the scanning of a copyrighted image. The recreation of v isual work in a different medium is also considered as plagiarism. One is also said to plagiarize if they recreate some visual work in same medium. One is also not supposed to record video or audio with copyrighted video or music playing in the background or else it will be taken as plagiarism. The performance of another person’s copyrighted music in art is also labeled as plagiarism. Another component of plagiarism in art is composing pieces in music which borrow heavily from another person’s composition. With the rise of the internet, plagiarism on this platform has taken the form of content scraping which is the copying and pasting from blogs and websites (Lathrop & Foss, 2005). The most effective strategy to avoid plagiarism is to properly cite the sources. One needs to acknowledge that a part of their material is borrowed. One should then proceed to provide the appropriate audience with the necessary information to find the source. For art and journalism, the strategy to prevent the plagiarism of copyrighted items involves citing them in the proper way and confirming works usage permission. For the internet, to prevent copy-pasting, one of the strategy is to disable the right clicking option. The other is the placement of warning banners on copyrights on the web pages (Lathrop & Foss, 2005). To ensure academic integrity, there are various sources of assistance for students. One of the avenues is to ask for help from the course instructors. Students can also use graduate advisors or academic advisors in respective academic departments for assistance with any academic work. Faculty members can also provide assistance by approving any research assistance that will be accorded to the students. Some academic institutions also have academic resource centers to help students with research work (Lancaster & Waryold, 2008). References Bertram, G. T., In Ward, K., In Wolf-Wendel, L. E., & Association for the Study of Higher Education. (2008).  Academic integrity in the 21st century: A teaching and learning imperative. San Francisco, Calif: Jossey-Bass. Lancaster, J. M., & Waryold, D. M. (2008).  Student conduct practice: The complete guide for student affairs professionals. Sterling, Va: Stylus Pub. Lathrop, A., & Foss, K. (2005).  Guiding students from cheating and plagiarism to honesty and integrity: Strategies for change. Westport, Conn: Libraries Unlimited Source document

An integral part of teaching

An integral part of teaching How and why we assess our children has a massive impact on their life in education and consequently on how and what we plan and teach, and how children learn. The National Curriculum defines assessment as â€Å"an integral part of teaching and learning† (1999, p.17), emphasising the value of assessing the process of learning and teaching as well as the outcome. Suggestions on a range of assessment strategies and tools are included in the curriculum but to enable teachers and schools to continue the development of good assessment practice, more detailed guidance is necessary. To begin with it is perhaps necessary to define ‘assessment’ as any process used to inform teachers as to a pupils progress and learning. There are many different types of assessment, usually discussed as different purposes of assessment – while these assessments certainly differ in several significant aspects; they are united in their aspirations of making a positive contribution to b ringing about learning. There are two main forms of assessment; formative and summative. I have observed both types in the classroom, recognising that the key to excellent assessment practice is to understand what each form and their methods contribute. From these observations I understand that in order to become successful in my pedagogy I need to construct my teaching to maximise the success of both formative and summative assessment in my classroom. To allow me competently use both assessment for learning and assessment of learning I must develop a range and knowledge of assessment purposes and strategies which I will now discuss. Formative assessment can provide a snapshot moment by moment picture of the success of teaching and learning. It provides the two way dialogue between educator and child, the knowledge which enhances pedagogy allowing teaching to become relevant and timely. Assessment for Learning in particular will be a clear focus for me as I look for opportunities to strengthen my own teaching practice, having observed first hand the strong contribution AfL, which the National Strategies defines as â€Å"a natural, integral and essential part of effective learning and teaching and is a key element of personalised learning. Teachers and children continually reflect on how learning is progressing, see where improvements can be and identify the next steps to take† (2004), can make towards effective teaching. It makes the difference between self-assured and stimulated pupils, and disenfranchised pupils who are uncertain of the rationale behind the learning objective. The case for clearly communicating the learning outcome to the class is picked up on by Clarke (2006). In my own experience and observation, this results in making learning relevant especially when the learning intention is placed in the context of previous and future learning. It also helps to illuminate which areas of subject knowledge are required to teach at which time and h ow this information or teaching of skills is to be structured. Clarke also recommends that the teacher works with children to identify success criteria. These are used to supply feedback to both pupils and the teacher regarding the extent to which the learning objective has been met. Consequently, the use of formative assessment enriches the process of teaching, planning and curriculum development. It can inform not only the short term goals for the class, but also the negotiated curriculum, as children are encouraged to become active learners by reflecting on their own progress and motivation. It must be stressed that not all assessment needs to be quantitative, nor does it need to be recorded .The teachers’ own reflective process is a vital part of assessment. The purpose of summative assessment is to illustrate that pupils have met their learning goals or reached a certain standard of accomplishment.

Green Building and Sustainability Research Paper

Green Building and Sustainability - Research Paper Example The building life cycle entail; maintenance, design, renovation, operation and demolition. The United States green building council developed a set of rating system targeting operation, design and construction of such buildings. The rating system is called leadership in energy and environmental design (LEED). Green building focuses on finding the balance between sustainable and home building environment (Slessor & Linden, 2007).. The benefits of green buildings are unquestionable. The designers are able to develop harmless, environmentally friendly and energy efficient buildings. Unlike convectional building s which utilize too much of the natural resources, green building consumes renewable resources such as plants, rainwater and sunlight. Such buildings are usually certified by LEED. Some of the benefits of green buildings targets cost, energy efficient, water efficiency and material efficiency. Green buildings are usually expensive during construction period but many benefits are accrued during their usage. It has great benefit of reducing both the operating and embodied energy consumption (Gissen, 2003). Other forms of energy such as hydro and wind power are used to provide energy for consumption. Green buildings utilize rain water which is a renewable resource. The water used in the building is also recycled. On the other hand, green buildings present a number of limitations such as ineffective air cooling features. The materials utilized in building such houses are usually inadequate and may not be available in rural areas. The cost of constructing green buildings is usually high at the beginning even though it pays off during its lifetime (Engel-Yan et al,

Nursing - Health Promotion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Nursing - Health Promotion - Essay Example Theories and Models of Health Promotion There are a number of fundamental theories and models associated with health promotion. It is essential to differentiate between theories and models. Theories are an integrated set of proposed ideas that serve as an explanation for a phenomenon. Models are a sub-class of a theory. They provide a plan for investigation, and or addressing an event (Robinson & Hill, 1999). Below is a summary of the main theories and models utilized in health promotion: 1. The theories and models that attempt to expound health behaviour change and health behaviour by focusing on an individual. Examples include: †¢ Health belief model †¢ Theory of reasoned action †¢ Stages of change model †¢ Social learning theory 2. Theories and models that attempt to explain changes in communities and community actions for health. Examples include: †¢ Community mobilization; social planning, social action and community development †¢ Diffusion of inno vation 3. Models that attempt to explain the changes in organisations and the creation of health-supportive organisational practices such as theories of organisational change (Freire, 2002). Health Promotion Policy Documents There widely known policy documents on health promotion are the Ottawa Charter and the Jakarta Declaration. The Ottawa Charter outlines three basic tactics for health promotion. These are enabling all people to attain their full health potential; mediating between the various interests in society in the chase of health. The Jakarta Declaration identifies five health priorities. These are; promotion of social responsibilities for health, expanding partnerships for health promotion, increasing investments for health development, increasing community capacity and empowering individuals, and securing infrastructure for health promotion (Wallace & Appleton, 2011). Mental Health Promotion as an Aspect of Health Promotion Mental health promotion is vital for modern hea lthcare. Mental health nurses are a vital part of efficient and effective mental health services. In the past few years, they have participated in an absolutely crucial role in the transformation of mental health services. One of the most crucial aspects in health promotion is mental health promotion. Mental health nurses should focus on the broader needs of patients, applying their expertise to improve physical fitness through better health promotion activities and assessment, and by providing sufficient psychological therapy. Inpatient care delivery should be improved by extending the time mental health nurses spend in direct clinical contact with patients and minimising the time spent on administrative roles. Career structures for mental health nurses should be reviewed according to current needs and a wide range of new nursing roles developed and sustained. Mental health nurses should promote social inclusion for carers and their service users. Recruitment and retention of menta l health nurses should be improved through presenting positive messages on health to the media, linking colleges and schools and other initiatives. Case Study Michael is a 30-year-old man who lives alone in a bungalow in the outskirts of a city. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia when he was

Education Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Education Law - Essay Example The significance of the case is to show that school authorities should ensure that the off-campus rules they implement need clear wording, applied and interpreted for students who do not understand them. The case is an excellent example for school authority officials and for students showing what happens in instances when school rules get breached. The student was not suspended from carrying out other school activities and functions, but got suspended from the baseball team as punishment for being in possession of alcohol. The violation of school rules warrants different punishments. However, certain factors have to be considered before enforcing such punishments. The first factor is the seriousness of the offense. Other factors such as the student’s age, the student’s code adopted by the board, the attitude and how often the student commits the offense are also important to assess. Lastly, the other two factors include requirements of chapter 37 of the education code and the potential effect that the student’s misconduct has on the school environment. The first concept is that the state has to take action (Lesson 3). For example, a teacher from a private school who gets fired without getting a notice from the school’s board of team members has the right to complain for contractual breach. In such an instance the school becomes liable for a lawsuit because it violates its own policies. The second concept is that the person must have been dispossessed of his or her property or liberty by the state for the court to accept that there has been a violation of due process. In this case, the state is liable for violation of due process because of breaching the contract formed between it and the person. The third concept is that the nature of due process is dependent on how severe the problem is in a case. In a case where a person has killed another person and gets sentenced to life imprisonment or death penalty, the state is liable for

Human Growth and Developement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Human Growth and Developement - Essay Example From this paper, it is clear that big 5 personality traits are the five basic dimensions of any individual’s personality and are a broad classification of personality, whereby agreeableness refers to the ability to be trustworthy, kind and affectionate while neuroticism points emotional instability, anxiety, and moodiness. On the other hand, openness and conscientiousness refer to the ability to be insightful and thoughtful, respectively. For effective nursing, it is crucial to have an appropriate combination such as extraversion meaning excitability, sociability, and talkativeness, agreeableness, openness, and conscientiousness. These come in handy in nursing in terms of catering for the needs of their patients emotionally through social and high emotional expression.This paper highlights that  ageism is the term used to refer to discrimination against people based on their age, and stereotyping on the same. In the media, the issue of ageism has come up in recent times due to the practice of discriminating the aged, middle-aged, teenagers and children on various grounds related to their age.  This is where humorists and comedians avoid making jokes on racial, disability and sexist grounds, but feels okay to bare their bias and negative attitude to those they consider unworthy of their respect.  This is by attacking the target group with harsh comments. In nursing cases, ageism applies in employment and experience where some of the junior and senior members of the nursing profession deny one another respect.