Technology Used By Drug Dealers Information Technology Essay

Technology Used By Drug Dealers Information Technology Essay The Report discuss about the case of an arrested drug dealer who is suspected of the operations which are running with the help of laptop. In the first part of the report it gives the details about main technologies which the suspect makes use in order to communicate with his co-conspirators, it also points out the problems posed by the technologies in carrying out the forensic investigation. In the second part the report discuss about the possible sources of evidence which could be obtained from the laptops file system. 2. Computer Forensics: Computer forensics is a branch of forensic science permitting to legal evidence found in computers and digital storage media, it is also known as digital forensics. The goal of computer forensics is to explain the current state of a digital artefact; where as the term digital artefact can includes computer system, storage medium and an electronic document. The subject of computer forensics has evolved into major field in the legal systems around the world, in the year 2002 the FBI stated that fifty percent of the cases the FBI now opens involve a computer[1].similar to the pathological forensic which is called the forensic medicine where as the body temperature cuts and marks etc are looked for, clues and marks are looked within the system memory to get the detail description which effects to the relationship of the crime, these are looked by the digital forensic. We can make a challenge for the digital forensic which involves retrieving the data from the existing or from the deleted files. The challenge of the digital forensic examiner is to To determine what type of pasts have been produced the evidence before us. To understand what type of pasts could not have produced the evidence before us. Able to give a demonstration on the value of the assessment to the third parties which it should be understanding to them. 3. Technology used by drug dealers: According to the current analysis we have to find the answers for the questions that are critical which are the possible key technologies that the drug dealer could possible uses it, There are three questions: Qno1: what is the need for the illicit drug dealers to turn on the computer technologies to run their business? Qno2: What are the attractive technologies that a drug dealer uses to perform his communication with co-conspirators without being caught by the police? Qno3: How and what possible conclusions can be obtained from the analysis? 4. about the new technology: Ans1: answer to the first one is twofold. Ans2: the latest communication technologies used by the drug dealers are To reach the larger audience and to expand the base of the business To run the operations as secretly as possible And not to leave any evidence to the police. According to the current situation the dealings and the business runs by using the mobile phones, mobile phones are the most widely used by the drug dealers for the communication but this trend is changing because now a days the mobiles can be tapped on the network and even if the phone is misplaced or lost then the contacts of all the drug dealers can be revealed and by using the mobile phones they cant communicate in the crowded places. Hence the selection of the new ways of communication is imminent. The advent of modern network technologies like computer to computer communication technologies and social networking websites had made the communication strong and had opened the new ways to communicate through the various places for the each individual. The technologies adopted by the drug dealers for the communication is Spamming net drug dealer gets 30years in prison revealed by CNET news in the year 2007 2nd august Italian drug dealers as early adapters of innovative communications technology revealed by Experiential in the year 2008 23rd august. Google site used by drug gang revealed by BBC news in the year 2005 22nd July. 5. Key technologies used for communications by drug dealers: Listed below are some of the key communication technologies that a drug dealer is believed to be using to perform his operations. 1. Instant messenger programmes 2. Social networking websites 3. VOIP programs 4. Email encryption programs and spamming. 5. Content sharing websites. 6. Private online chat rooms. 7. Blogging and micro blogging websites. Instant messenger Programmes: Instant messenger programmes had been the main source because these are fast and easy and they are available in the market for a quite while now, popular programmes like Google talk, yahoo messenger, windows live messenger, meebo and many other are used by a large number of users. These instant messenger programmes can be linked with free instant messenger chat encryption software which is used to available easily in the internet. IM ENCRYPTO is one such software which can be used in conjunction with the yahoo messenger and establish the secure connections which can only be deciphered by the computer which is having the correct encryption key. Having installed the program need to be generated a key pair which is used for the encryption and decryption, this type of operation is performed on the second stage of IM Crypto configuration wizard, and one more important point about the software is that the others cannot see the chat messages and they only see the garbled set of characters, but this software must be installed by the two parties where the communication is done. Social networking websites: There are so many social networking websites like face book, orkut, Hi5, Friendster MySpace, net log etc, The social networking sites also serve the qualitative purpose of the drug market as majority of the consumers of illegal drugs happen to be teenagers who are also largest spenders of time on the social networking websites and hence they have a great probability of being contacted by a drug dealer. The drug dealer could also use these social networking sites to keep in contact, exchange information, advertise his products, recruit new drug peddlers, and get information on events and student gatherings all at the easy and privacy offered by these websites. Orkut is one such popular website which it is to be operated by the Google which it is on the news on the recent days for the wrong reasons. Criminals such as the drug peddlers establish members-only groups on popular social networking websites and then exchange messages and information with other members. And also the advent of 3G mobile communications ensured mobility and faster connectivity to the internet. Hence the drug dealers can communicate through social networking websites right from their mobile phones using unsecure wifi hot spots and hence get away un-detected. Similar to Instant messenger programmes, the social networkings websites can also used on the 3G phones and hence pose a danger of highly secure communication channel to the drug peddlers. VOIP programmes: VoIP programmes could very well be the most popular and useful communication between the drug dealers because softwares like Skype is so useful in the communication because it offers with the less cost and even it is the secured communication Skype has been the most used software in the VoIP programmes which are followed by windows messenger and yahoo messenger. These VoIP programmes is that which it helps the drug dealers to communicate by the voice and by the video with their customers through the internet, it is the most secure communication to the drug dealers and these conversations cannot be intercepted by the police. According to the Reports in BBC website, officers in milian say organised crime, arms and drug traffickers, and prostitution rings are turning to Skype in order to frustrate investigators. www.bbc.com stated that on 20/05/2010 that the Italy police warn of Skype threat Skype programme is secure because it uses the encryption system and it is easily available in the market where as the encryption system the company keeps the issue confidential and even it does not discloses to the law enforcement agencies. So according to the sources available in VoIP programmes the drug dealers uses this communication to perform their operations. Email encryption programmes and spamming: Data encryption is the source where it is done in a process because nobody can read the data or message expects the person whom the data is addressed. Drug dealers will very well make use of the different email encryptions like pipeline exchange, certified mail, read notify, which these encryptions work with the e-mail clients like Microsoft-outlook. Drug dealers send the spam messages to the people through email about their business, they use the email communication as the source to their advertisements in free off costs we have seen so many spam messages appear in Google mail accounts. Recently a famous website named www.pcworld.idg.com stated on 17/05/2010 that drug dealing spammers hits the Gmail accounts Encryption is a technique that it changes the data into a gibberish value by using the mathematical algorithms this helps the drug dealers to communicate the data to the addressed person, and no other can read the data, gibberish value means the data will be written in technical word or in the meaningless sentences, if the recipient has the confidential key needed to decrypt the message the date will be changed back to the original message. The increasing phenomenon taking place in the internet is that if the criminals hiring the spammers and the specialists in IT, because the can promote the website where the drugs can be sold illegally. But these types of spammed websites can be quickly discovered, but the drug tracking dealers use the different multiple layers. 5. Content sharing websites: Content sharing websites like mega upload, rapid share, Z Share etc are used by the drug dealers for communication and also torrent sharing websites are used for the communication. Websites like p2p sharing programmes and client softwares are also used by the drug dealers for the communication. Drug dealers use this because these types of websites can share the more content and can uses to upload or download for minimum of 10mb for free off cost. Whereas the lime wire, bit torrent, u torrent helps to upload or download the torrent files in the internet which these comes under the p2p sharing programmes. But compared to the other communications used by the drug dealers this is little bit slower but is secured. 6. Private online chat rooms: Private online chat rooms offer drug dealers and other criminals such as terrorists with secure communication channels where exchange of information can only be understood by the communicating end users this is a form of synchronous conferencing which it exchanges text messages on the internet. Encryption technologies like SSL are applied by the private chat rooms because to make it impossible to access their conversations to any interceptor and even makes impossible to build evidence. 7. Blogging and micro blogging websites: Similar to the social networking websites the drug dealers uses the websites like twitter they form the members in groups, where they can make messages and information and this information can be made updated daily and it can reach all the members and in the groups in that network, this way of communication is secure and fast. Which it provides a most secure and fast mode of communication to the drug dealers, and no large chunks of data will be transferred as in a VoIP call or no packet sniffers can be used to intercept keywords in emails and in instant messages. Drug dealers places their advertisements in the famous websites like they simply put an option to click if the button is clicked it directly goes to the websites of the drug dealers and it is accessed , using these type blogs by drug dealers develop their drug business. 6. Conclusions: As per the above analysis the most secure and used communication by the drug dealers is the VoIP programme softwares because this uses the Skype software and it is used with free of cost and secure of all the communication because it provides video calling and then the drug dealers can be sure that they are talking to the right person and the information that they are transmitting is reaching the right person and the Skype software is easy to access and is easy for the installation. The most important plus point in Skype is the impenetrable security aspect which the drug dealers can understand very well and hence use the system without putting their identities and information. Another key observation from the above analysis is that the drug dealers mainly follows the encryption techniques as the mode of communication, because they largely dependent on the encryption techniques .Be it the encrypted email, encrypted instant messenger programmes etc. All these technologies use method of encryption system that makes the flowing information gibberish to anyone other than the person with the right key to decrypt the message. Hence the computer forensics experts can easily find out the cracks and codes for those type of encryption and decryption methods and nab the criminals and can mount an evidence against them. 7. Analysis of possible sources evidence in the laptop file system: Extraction of evidence from a computer file system and from other digital devices like mobile phones and PDAs usually deals with the extraction of the contents of the files and the folders which are available in the laptop file system. It also deals with the extracted content from the files and folders as the interpreted data where as the interpreted data can be used for the process of the ongoing investigation to complete the digital forensic. Even though it reveals all the data, it is difficult and hard to the digital forensic expert to find out and it poses the real challenge. This section of the report deals with the discussion on the possible places where evidence may be found on the laptop file system. It also deals in finding the relative importance of the evidence by classifying it on the basis of the evidence obtained and the sources of the evidence obtained. 8 .Sources of evidence in the laptop file system: In order to understand the possible places in the file system we have to understand the file system and the technologies used for it They should have a technical knowledge on Software packages present on the laptop The operating system of the laptop The file systems in the laptop The type data organization that is available in the laptop. The forensic analysis on the seized laptop of the drug dealer would certainly contain thousands if not millions of files. Each of these files can be broadly classified into either user created files system files There may be a number of locations to look for on the file systems and therefore it is important to make a note. Possible locations of finding digital evidence: Email files. Calendars. Address books. Documents or text files. Bookmarks and favourites Text and document files. Image or graphic files Compressed files. Hidden files. Audio files Video files. Spread sheet files. Shared files. Downloaded files Uploaded files. The possible locations under the system created files are Log files Swap files History files Temporary files Back up files System files Cookies Printer files Hidden files Configuration files Storage files Large files Data files Drive files Apart from the user created files and the system files there are number of other places to look for evidences such as Computer date Computer time Computer password Deleted files Slack space Free space Bad clusters Unallocated space System areas Lost clusters Meta data. Deleted files Reserved areas Software registration Other partitions Software information The most popular types of file systems are two types FAT type NTFS system FAT stands for file allocation table, an understanding of the file system is important for the effective forensic analysis. NTFS system allows the file encryption and folder encryption where as it is not possible in the FAT32 system. The disk organisation is also an important concept to be understand for the effective analysis File allocation tables, adding and deleting files, partitions and master boot records and the patterns behind them can give a very useful insight to the investigation. The recovery of deleted files is another aspect of digital forensic investigation. The recovery of deleted files can be obtained by using debugging. 9. Conclusions: As discussed earlier even though a large amount of data can be obtained from a digital device such as laptop and from a PDA that is seized from drug dealer. But the problem for the forensic expert is to find the authentic evidence which can be presentable in the court. The common and known challenges to authenticity of digital evidence are Authenticating content. Alterations Authorship. Authenticating content: So many several cases have considered that to authenticate at the same time what foundation is necessary for the contents and appearance of a website. Web pages which are having URL and having date stamp are not self-authenticating. So, according to the analysis courts require testimony of a person with knowledge of the websites appearance to authenticate images of that website Alterations: As per the analysis the computer electronic records are easy to alter, even the opposing parties often allege that computer records lack the authenticity. Courts have rejected arguments that electronic evidence is inherently unreliable because of its potential for manipulation. Authorship: Although handwritten records may be penned in a distinctive handwriting style, computer-stored records do not necessarily identify their author; there is a particular problem with the internet communications. For example internet technologies permit users to send effectively anonymous emails, and internet relay chat channels permit users for communication without revealing their real names.

Relationships Essay -- essays research papers

Whether it occurs in the home, at work, or many other places, human beings maintain relationships everywhere they go. People have different types of relationships. A person keeps a relationship with their mother, pastor, friend, and boss, but those relationships are all different. There are many different elements to analyze when discussing a relationship. Many factors are involved, such as amount of time spent, amount of intimacy, types of activities participated in, and dependability of the relationship.The first type of relationship a person typically has, are ones that are formed within a religious setting, such as a church, temple, or synagogue. The amount of time spent within this relationship varies depending on how much type an individual devotes to his or her religion. However, the amount of intimacy is usually very high, as one divulges most, if not all, of their personal problems and issues. The relationships formed within the religious setting is usually dependable in that one can rely of the people within the religious circle for advice and counsel, through the bond of a common faith. One participates in limited activities within this relationship, ones that are exclusive to activities that are in the religious setting, such as church bake sales and Sunday mass.Secondly, another type of a common relationship are formed within a club setting such as athletics and parties. The people one encounters in these types of settings may be very close to them, but only within the boundaries of a club. For example, two people on a football team may shed blood, sweat, and tears for each other, but not necessarily be the best of friends after the season. In sports, the time spent with each other is usually a lot, a couple of hours every day at the very least. The amount of intimacy shared within athletics is not always abundant. The information shared between usually shared between teammates stays within the boundaries of the particular sport in which they are participating. Likewise, dependability is not required for purposes other than those related to athletics. For example, a football player can depend on his teammates to block for him in the game, but not to pay off his mortgage. Activities shared with teammates are most often limited to athletic practices, games, and gatherings related to the particular sport.In comparison to athletics, party fri... ...huge factor. Nobody knows and cares for a person better than their family. Likewise, when someone is trouble or needs some advice, the family is usually the most dependable people to go to. One's family will help them get through mostly everything. From monetary problems to marital problems, one's family will always be there for a shoulder to lean on. Activities shared within a family are just about anything that is family-related, like a nightly dinner or family reunions.Throughout one's life, many types of relationships are developed, each with their own guidelines and elements. It is impossible for a person to go through life withouthaving at least one type of relationship. Even hermits like the Unabomber had relationships here and there. He had teachers, family, friends, and co-workers, just like the rest of the population. Whether it occurs at someone's workplace, church, school, or in their home, people maintain relationships wherever they go. Just as there are many factors involved, such as amount of time spent, intimacy, types of activities, and dependability of the relationship, all different types of relationships are a necessity for one to live a normal, healthy life.

Conselling in Schools Essay

A critical examination of Person Centred Counselling and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy applied to a secondary school context. This piece of work will aim to also consider how aspects of these two approaches of counselling could be applied to support students during their journey through adolescence as well as secondary education. The role of the teacher is one that is very complicated. Often the person who stands before a class of students must wear many different hats if they are to be regarded as a good teacher. OfSTED have tried numerous times over the last two decades to describe what an outstanding teacher is. These judgements have often been based on an impromptu visit to a school once every three to five years where they visit a teacher for up to 20 minutes. Although the inspection criteria have changed somewhat since its initial implementation, it still remains, in my view as a teacher, very staged. In a review of Counselling in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, William Baginsky comments in retrospect that the Education Reform Act 1988, has resulted in teachers and pupils being valued in terms of performance indicators and a move away from a concern with pupils’ personal and social development. Robson et al. (1999), Teachers are acutely aware of the emphasis on the academic side of the curriculum-their (students) whole life seems to be pressure, course work, test, homework. McLaughlin (1999) The role of the teacher often extends beyond lesson observation criteria where they can be labelled one of four levels. What OfSTED are unable to measure in a quantifiable manner is the complex relationship between the member of staff and the students. Often in my practice I wondered how come some teachers were just better at controlling a class or they seemed more â€Å"liked† by the students. I would listen in amazement in the staffroom how some teachers had a wonderful working and purposeful relation with some students yet I had very little success with them. Having reflected on these stories I found a similar pattern. These teachers were displaying counselling skills that allowed them to build up a trust and understanding with the students. What I was not sure of was whether they were using these skills naturally or if they had developed them. I have a belief that with time teachers do develop sound counselling skills in order to support the students they work with. In the paper by McLaughlin (2007) her literature review discusses evidence to suggest that that all teachers should have first-level counselling skills, i. e. should be able to listen to pupils and to react to and respond in the emotional domain (Lang, 1993; Hamblin, 1978). Others would suggest that teachers sometimes use the word counselling to encompass activities that professional counsellors would surely not consider to be counselling at all. These include careers interviews, ad hoc advice, and crisis conversations in the corridor (Mosley, 1993) The purpose of this paper is to consider two types of counselling approaches and consider how elements of these approaches could be developed in my role as a secondary school teacher. To Carl Rogers counselling is about a special relationship that is established between the counsellor and the client- where two people sitting in the same room, the client ‘struggling to be himself’. Rogers C (1942) Rogers then goes on to suggest that counselling is about ‘the intricate, delicate web of growth which is taking place with the emergence of a self, person’. This idea of growth and actualisation was based on the humanistic approach of Maslow who is famous for his hierarchy of needs. The Actualising Tendency complements Maslow’s hierarchy of needs by attempting to explain the motivation behind a person’s desire to better their self. Rogers stated that the person-centred approach is built on a basic trust in the person (It) depends on the actualizing tendency present in every living organisms’ tendency to grow, to develop, to realize its full potential. (Rogers, 1986) Rogers’ strong belief in the actualising tendency is evident in client-centred therapy, where the client is free to choose any directions, but actually selects positive and constructive pathways. This can only be explained in terms of a directional tendency inherent in the human organism-a tendency to grow, to develop, to realize its full potential. (Rogers, 1986) The aim of the Person Centred Therapy approach it can be argued is to create the right conditions for someone to feel actualised during therapy. There is a parallel between the work of the therapist in such a condition and the classrooms within which teachers operate. Education aims to develop the skills of the students in order for them to be able to fulfil their ambitions, or to strengthen this actualising tendency which lives within every child. As many of my colleagues will agree, the desire to self-actualise is stronger in some children than others. As a result of certain episodes in their personal lives some students become more engaged with education while others seem to become less engaged the older they get. This phenomenon can be in part explained by the Rogers’ explanation of Conditions of Worth. This is when a person alters their true self in order to receive positive regard from others. According to Rogers in order to become a fully functioning person we need to experience unconditional positive regard: feeling loved and worthy no matter what. â€Å"Conditions of worth† are the â€Å"requirements’ set forth by parents or significant others for â€Å"earning† their positive regard (love). A person that has received unconditional positive regard is confident in his/her value and can live a healthy existence. Throughout school and students are always victims of what teachers create as conditions of worth. As a teacher I am guilty of creating such an environment. Education seems to only be concerned with the high achievers. This is clearly seen in the standardised measure of success for schools which is the A*-C headline figure. For those students who do not fall in this bracket their self-esteem takes an irreparable dent. The worry is that these students have spent the whole of the secondary schooling in a state of anxiety. Unable to seek help or reassurances that the imposed condition of worth by the education system is not a true reflection of their inner self and they have become disengaged with education. The benefits of schooling can be surprisingly long lasting. It is crucial to appreciate that these long-term benefits rely on both effects on cognitive performance and effects of self-esteem and self-efficacy. School experiences of both academic and non-academic kinds can have a protective effect for children under stress and living otherwise unrewarding lives. Schools are about social experiences as well as scholastic learning. Rutter (1991) As a teacher I faced an inner conflict when dealing with students who I knew were disengaged. I wanted to reflect an Unconditional Positive Regard for the student allowing myself to positively regard the individual (though not necessarily the individual’s behaviours) unconditionally, but I was governed by the culture of the school and the education system. I was forced to sanction one student for the wrong behaviour and reward another for the correct behaviour thus doing a disservice to both students. For one student I was reinforcing a condition of worth which alters the true self in order to receive positive regard from the teacher, while for the other student I was further disengaging them by sanctioning their behaviour rather than having the time to fully discuss and support them to better themselves and as a by-product their behaviour also. Often as a teacher when dealing with students I would often offer the opportunity for them to make their own choices. This was particularly evident during option evenings where students would be accompanied by their parents. It is a common theme amongst these events that majority of the time the parents and the student’s do not always agree on what subjects to choose, or the student chooses a subject which they have been unknowingly pressured into by wanting to please their parents to satisfy a condition of worth. As Rogers would suggest the external pressure on the person is overbearing on their inner trust to do what they want. This phenomenon Rogers explained through the Locus of Evaluation. Some students with a strong internal locus of evaluation would be confident in choosing the subject that they truly wanted to choose. Often t I observed that students would prefer creative subjects such as Art, Music or Drama. The parents would suggest otherwise opting for what they felt was more appropriate disregarding what the student truly wanted to do. For those students with a strong external locus of evaluation they would succumb to the pressures by those they wanted to please the most, their parents. As an adolescent undertaking the transition from childhood towards adulthood, it can be one of discovery. These discoveries are not always pleasant or hard to come to terms with. The fully functioning person is one who has achieved openness to feelings and experiences and has learned to trust inner urges and intuitions Rogers (1961). Learning to trust these inner feelings is difficult at such a young age. Indeed I would argue adults would struggle with such a concept. According to Rogers, experiences that match the self-image are symbolised (admitted to consciousness) and contribute to gradual changes in the self. Information or feelings inconsistent with the self-image are said to be incongruent. For example it would be incongruent for a student to think of themselves as good at Art when all of their class colleagues keep telling them how poor their work is. Such experiences which are seriously incongruent with the self-image can be threatening. By denying these experiences it prevents the young adult from changing and creates a gap between their inner self image and reality. As a result the incongruent person becomes confused, vulnerable and dissatisfied. The complex social interaction between students during the school day can have a lasting effect on life and academic success. Some students would greatly benefit from support with dealing with the anxieties and pressures of the school day. Counselling into schools is not a new phenomenon. In the review by William Baginsky (2007) he suggested that in 1963 the Newsom Report, looking at education for children in the lower streams of secondary schools, recommended the appointment of school counsellors. In the same year, the National Association for Mental Health held a seminar at which the relationship between schools and counselling was discussed (King, 1999). There followed, from 1965, the establishment of courses at the Universities of Keele and Reading to train people with a minimum of five years’ teaching experience to be school counsellors (Bor et al. , 2002). Such initiatives are very commendable but the person centred counselling approach requires the client to want to change. The client has to want to come for counselling in order to face their anxieties and therein enter the Core Conditions as Rogers explains. Students cannot be forced into counselling in mainstream education. But for some it seems that they would value someone who is prepared to engage with them under the Core Conditions. The following quote is taken directly from a study in a secondary school which demonstrates the need for Person Centred Approach and how suitable it is in this context. ‘Students did want to talk about problems at home but they had no real expectations of staff being able to solve them. On the whole they just needed to air them. (McLaughlin et al. , 1995). In afore mentioned review by William Baginsky his review suggests that Rogers’ Person Centred Model easily lends itself perfectly to the school context because of its understanding of conflict between the ‘real self’ and the ‘self-concept’ and the positive experiences provided for clients through ‘empathy, congruence and unconditional positive regard’. This was also the approach adopted by school counsellors of the 1960s and 1970s (McLaughlin, 1999) If teachers were to truly embrace the fundamentals of PCT they would have to face a crisis of their own. A helper who engages with a client under the core conditions of PCT are expected to remain completely impartial. By this I mean that they must not guide the client towards what they feel is the right route. For example when dealing with poor behaviour there should be respect and no judgment, however bad the behaviour, thus separating the person from the bad behaviour Gatongi (2007). Potentially this could lead to a situation where bad behaviour is not sanctioned and consequently send out wrong signals to other students. Not to mention parents and local authorities. It is also interesting to mention Rogers’ view on education. Rogers applied some of the experiences he learned from his work with adults to form a view on the way education should be practised. His humanistic views on education claimed that a person cannot teach another person directly; a person can only facilitate another’s learning (Rogers, 1951). This is a result of Rogers’ work on Personality Theory. This states that we as human beings exist in a constantly changing world of experience where we are at the centre. Rogers believed that what the student does is more important than what the teacher does, meaning that the individual experiences of the learner is essential to what is learned. The instructor should be open to learning from the students and also working to connect the students to the subject matter. Frequent interaction with the students will help achieve this goal. The instructor’s acceptance of being a mentor who guides rather than the expert who tells is instrumental to student-centred, nonthreatening, and unforced learning. (Rogers 1951). Reflecting on these paragraphs remind me that these are the reason why I initially entered into this profession. I value above all else the relationship between myself as the teacher and the student. In a very similar way in which the relationship between the client and person centred therapist is so crucial to the wellbeing of the client and valued above all else by the therapist. In a dialogue by Haugh and Paul it is discussed that it is accepted beyond doubt that the therapeutic conditions developed by Rogers are important factors in the success of all approaches. Furthermore it is suggested that client motivation is a much more significant predictor of outcome than therapist attitude or use of methods, Cooper (2008). For some clients they feel that the work by Rogers does not offer them the ability to measure progress in terms of their wellbeing or ability to change their behaviour. Cognitive-behavioural therapies for works in schools because its theoretical underpinning and therapeutic process are consistent with what pupils are already familiar with in school in approaches to the handling of ideas and study, Platts and Williamson (2000) Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) is derived from Aaron Beck’s cognitive model in 1976. This work has been developed to cater for many different situations and conditions. It is the most widely used method of counselling therapy in the National Health Service. According to the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCP) CBT can help how an individual thinks (cognitive) and what they do (behaviour). Unlike Psychodynamic counselling therapy which focusses on causes of distress in the past, it searches for ways to improve the clients’ state of mind in the present moment. CBT circles around what is described by the RCP as a vicious circle of four elements. The first of these elements is the situation. For some people a simple encounter in a street can trigger off Automatic Negative Thoughts. This leads to the person feeling low, sad and rejected. These feelings can then be manifested through physical pain such as stomach cramps. The final element is the action which is the person becoming more withdrawn and avoiding situations similar to the trigger incident. For some this simplified sequence can lead to depression. Aaron Beck recognised this pattern of events in his studies concerned with depression. Beck’s work claims that emotions are not produced by events but rather by interpretation of events. Through the interpretation of these events our minds begin to build up beliefs about ourselves. Beck found that depressed patients tended to avoid the situations that involved rejection or disapproval Squires (2001). For students this could mean truanting or the avoidance of school altogether. The beliefs that an individual then builds up about themselves can direct behaviour. It can cause an individual to enter an unconditional state of mind where they think of themselves as worthless. This can lead to medical implications which are manifested both physically and mentally. For many school children they are conditioned by culture and the education system that â€Å"I must do well in everything I do, otherwise I will be a failure†. This perception is one that I have witnessed first-hand on the numerous results day with which I have been involved. The tears and anxiety that was evident across the faces of these young adults was in essence my doing as a teacher. I had unwillingly conditioned them to value results above all else and for those who did not achieve I also set them up for a situation where they have to face their academic shortcomings. This situation can be described as a critical incident and is said to activate a dysfunctional belief which then produces negative automatic thoughts. The young adults are then left feeling â€Å"I am a failure, there’s no point doing anything! † This attitude occurs in every lesson. Student’s often lack the resolve to improve their own learning is not down to them not wanting to learn but more the fear of failure and the situation where their own dysfunctional beliefs produces negative thoughts. The frustration of these students is then exhibited through poor behaviour. Research indicates that CBT can be applied to students for whom behaviour is regarded an issue. One of the main strength of CBT is that it is very much lead by the therapist. There is a strict time limit where there are outcomes to be achieved and targets to be met before the next session. This is different to the therapy offered by the work of Carl Rogers which has also been identified as successful in a school context Baginsky (2004). Goals are clearly specified, decisions are made on how to best meet those goals and how to measure progress towards the goals to provide feedback Squires (2001). This approach is beneficial to school as it allows them to measure progress of the students. The progress can be measured through the amount of behaviour referrals one student may face throughout the school day. Bush (1996) suggests that CBT works because it sticks to the point, it is structured and it is focused. The main advantage of CBT is its adaptability to a number of situations. In schools its use is not only concerned with dealing or supporting poor behaviour of students. As the education system is resistant to migrate from the rigid examination process, I believe that CBT would be very useful in helping students to deal with the anxieties and pressures of exams. In such an instance it could be argued that the aim of CBT is to help the child to identify possible cognitive deficits and distortions, to reality-test them, and then to teach new skills or challenge irrational thoughts and beliefs, and replace them with more rational thinking (Kendall 1990). The CBT model is particularly useful as it involves the young adult to: (a) Recognise anxious feelings and bodily reactions to anxiety, (b) it helps to clarify thoughts or the mental process in anxiety provoking situations, (c) it allows the young adult to develop coping skills such as modifying self-anxious talk into coping self-talk (d) it allows to evaluate outcomes. The training methods involve realistic role plays where the client and counsellor are able to model actual life situations. The behavioural treatment is based upon the belief that fear and anxiety are learnt responses, that have been conditioned, and therefore these can be unlearned. CBT has been particularly helpful in helping students to deal with their own behaviour. Teachers would argue that there may be the link (although a weak one) between poor student behaviour and teacher wellbeing Hastings and Bham (2003). As a result school resources are often implemented to correct poor behaviour. There is also numerous research to justify that poor behaviour effects overall academic achievement. Poor academic performance is related to the onset, frequency, persistence, and seriousness of delinquent offending in both boys and girls. Higher academic performance, conversely, is associated with refraining or desisting from offending (Maguin & Loeber, 1996). In one study by squires he states that CBT can be used to support students with behavioural problems. In this research he concluded that with a six hour period of CBT counselling there had been improvements in the student behaviour. The students selected portrayed the necessary anxieties that would benefit from a period of CBT. Although this study is not conclusive it does support the belief that CBT can be used to improve self-control for students with behavioural difficulties. One particular quote from the study I believe demonstrates the benefit of CBT counselling: â€Å"I am able to talk about my feelings†. This for the student was a sign of real progress, which is one of the main advantages of CBT. Despite such quotes out of the 23 students that embarked on the counselling six did not complete the full sessions. This demonstrates that for some CBT is not their preferred type of counselling so it’s not a case of one method suits all. It is worth noting that these students were selected by their teachers rather than volunteering. Overall it can be argued that the research was successful in demonstrating that counselling can have a positive impact on student behaviour. I am certain that if more of the students that I worked with had the access to counselling or the opportunity to chat to members of staff then they may have had more rewarding experience of school. I am not suggesting that staff did not offer their support when students came knocking on the classroom door, but rather that they were not encouraged to do so. Teacher training I believe is in part to blame for this culture. As teachers we have been trained to teach in a very prescriptive manner focusing on the final products which in all cases are exam results. In order to achieve these exam results and avoid any external pressures and inquisitions we develop a routine of lessons which are planned to endure the students is prepared to achieve a target grade in that particular subject. Students are supported in school in order to achieve this singular objective. As a form tutor I valued the pastoral support that I was able to offer to my students. I indeed loved this role enormously as it was a rare opportunity to talk to students about what they wanted and not about what I had to cover in my syllabus. In a very cynic viewpoint, I believe that pastoral support was provided in order to support students to pass their exams and secondly to help with the day to day school life. It has been suggested that the psychological climate of many schools is now more akin to frightened organisations. These organisations live in fear of public punishment which stifles risk-taking despite hard work and the introduction of new initiatives. Watkins (1999) I am aware that for some students Person Centred Therapy may not work while for others they may be more responsive to Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. I am confident that counselling has a very important role to play in education. There have been many models of counselling implemented in schools over the last half century. Twelve different models of counselling service provision are mentioned in a review commissioned by the Welsh Assembly Group when reviewing counselling into schools. Of the twelve mentioned I am familiar with three of the models mentioned. The school where I was employed had access to the services provided by the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. Their support was mainly accessed primarily through referrals from the school although the procedures were not always clear. Form tutors would not always be informed of tutees who would be working with the CAMHS group. Multi agency teams similar to the Behaviour and Education Support Teams also operated in conjunction with the local authority but it was again unclear how a child was referred to these sorts of support schemes. Although the school nurses made themselves known to the students counselling was not always a service that they readily advertised. This lack of awareness of counselling opportunities in my previous school does not seem to be an isolated incident. Indeed this is a recurring pattern, possibly explained by the findings of Welsh Assembly Group’ Review. During their research it became apparent that some school offered very little in terms of counselling. In quite a number of cases the counselling was covered by teaching staff or an external agency. Of the recommendations offered by the review the following statement is one that I can draw comparisons with from my previous experience. The lack of awareness on behalf of the teaching staff and also students made counselling almost a forgotten form of support. â€Å"Information about services must be readily available and informative, and referral systems must be developed that ensure the service is easily accessible to potential clients and their referrers. A school ethos in which counselling is understood as a professional activity and which regards counselling as an important part of its student support services is essential† As a teacher I value above all else the support that I am able to offer the student. Having embarked on this particular module I discovered that my profession required for me to display counselling skills. These were taken for granted that if I was to work with children that I should somehow possess these skills. These personal feelings were echoed before I embarked on my PGCE by researcher where it was claimed that in recent years there has been more concern in schools about cognitive, rather than psychosocial, development Lloyd (1999), I am a firm believer that skills can be taught and I begin to question why I was never offered the opportunity to develop counselling skills during my PGCE or further in my career in CPD sessions. The Welsh Assembly Group allude to budgets and lack of finance as a possible reason as to why these opportunities were never offered in schools. Budget allocations are the responsibility of the headmasters and above all else what they are most concerned with are grades. In the meantime all I can offer a student is guidance and an opportunity to listen to them and to not hijack the conversation or steer it away from their chosen topic. So therefore it would be foolish of me to expect sudden changes once I return to secondary teaching. Indeed I do not expect to see school counsellors in whichever school I will teach in. As with many education innovations it seems that there are pioneers full of good intention but lacking the support and strategies to get them to the Promised Land Robinson (1995) References Baginsky, M. (2004). Peer support: expectations and realities. Pastoral Care in Education, 22 1: 3-9. Baginsky, W. (2004): School Counselling in England, Wales and Northern Ireland: A Review: NSPCC Information Briefings Beck, A. T. (1976) Cognitive Therapy and Emotional Disorders. New York: New American Library Bor R. , Ebner-Landy J. , Gill S and Brace C (2002) Counselling in schools. London: Sage Publications. Bush, J. W. (1996). CBT—The Therapy Most Likely to Reward Your Hopes for a Better Life http://www. cognitivetherapy. com/ last accessed 21. 02. 2012 Cooper M, (2008) Essential research findings in counselling and psychotherapy: The facts are friendly. London: Sage. 2008: 307-390 Gatongi. F(2007) : Person-centred approach in schools: Is it the answer to disruptive behaviour in our classrooms? Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 20:2,pp 205-211 Hamblin D (1974) The teacher and counselling. Oxford: Blackwell. Hastings, R. , P. & Bham M, (2003) The Relationship between Student Behaviour Patterns and Teacher Burnout School Psychology International 2003 24:1pp 115-126 Kendall P, C. , (1996) Long-term follow -up of a cognitive-behavioural therapy for anxiety-disordered youth. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology; 64:7 pp24–30 King G (1999) Counselling skills for teachers: talking matters. Buckingham: Open University Press. Lang P (1999) Counselling, counselling skills and encouraging pupils to talk: clarifying and addressing confusion. British Journal of Guidance and Counselling 27:1 pp 23-33. Lloyd G (1999) Ethical and supervision issues in the use of counselling and other helping skills with children and young people in school. Pastoral Care September 1999 Maguin, E. , & Loeber, R. (1996). Academic performance and delinquency. In M. Tonry (Ed. ), Crime and justice: A review of research (Vol. 20, pp. 145-264). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Marsick, J. , V. ,Watkins, E. , K. , (1999) â€Å"Looking again at learning in the learning organization: a tool that can turn into a weapon! â€Å", The Learning Organisation, 6: 5, pp. 207 – 211 McLaughlin, C (1999) Counselling in schools: looking back and looking forward. British Journal of Counselling and Guidance 27:1 pp 13-22. Mosley, J (1993) Is there a place for counselling in schools? Counselling May 1993 pp 104-105. Platts J and Williamson Y (2000) The use of cognitive-behavioural therapy for counselling in schools. In N Barwick Clinical counselling in schools. London: Routledge. Robinson B D (1996) School counsellors in England and Wales, 1965-1995; a flawed innovation? Pastoral Care in Education 14:3 pp 12-19. Robson M, Cohen N and McGuiness J (1999) Counselling, careers education and pastoral care: beyond the National Curriculum. British Journal of Guidance and Counselling 27:1 pp 5-11. Rogers, C. (1942). Counseling and psychotherapy. Boston, MA, Houghton Mifflin Rogers, C. (1951). Client Centred Therapy. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Rogers, C (1961) On becoming a person. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Squires G (2001) Using cognitive behavioural psychology with groups of pupils to improve self-control of behaviour. Educational Psychology in Practice 17:4 pp 317-327. Trower, P. Casey, A. Dryden, W. (1999) Cognitive-Behavioural Counselling in Action. London: Sage.

The Legal Drinking Age Act - 1179 Words

The Contentious Dilemma on the Restrictions of the Legal Drinking Age A highly controversial topic that continues to rise is the debate of the legal drinking age and whether it should lower from twenty-one, or remain. On July 17, 1984, Ronald Reagan was in office when the National Minimum Drinking Age Act was passed, prohibiting anyone under the age of twenty-one from publicly possessing and purchasing alcohol. After the Act was passed in 1984, the states that failed to abide by Ronald Reagan’s National Minimum Drinking Age Act were withheld from federal highway construction funds. By creating this punishment, states were almost forced to comply with the new legal addition. Every state adopted the new law by the year of 1988 (Underage Drinking). The act itself did take away the majority of drinking privileges, but did not take away the entirety of them. Omissions within the National Minimum Drinking Age Act included consumption for: religious purposes, educational functions, g uardian consent, and employment. Some states are stricter on alcohol consumption for minors, while some allow the exceptions within the act. With this new controversial issue put into effect across the entire United States, the population immediately took sides. Although many individuals believe once someone becomes eighteen, and is officially an adult, they should hold the right and responsibility to drink as they please, evidence reveals early alcohol consumption correlates with detrimental healthShow MoreRelatedThe Legal Drinking Age Act Of 19841758 Words   |  8 PagesAlcohol is a legal, soothing drug which changes how an individual feels. Drinking level for men and women are different. 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With the legal drinking age being so high, while intending to avoid harmful situations, brings many repercussions that are equally as harmfulRead MoreLowering The National Drinking Age1698 Words   |  7 PagesLowering the National Drinking Age Winston Churchill was infamous for his one liners and occasional drunken outbursts. One night at a party, he shocked a rather prominent woman with his drunken atrocities. Insulted, she turned to him and said, â€Å"Mr. Churchill, you are as drunk as a dog.† The Prime Minister returned, â€Å"Madam, I may be very drunk, but you are very ugly. But tomorrow,† he added, â€Å"I shall be sober† (Churchill, W). The use and abuse of alcohol is a centuries old vice that has circumnavigated