• Home
• About

Subscribe

Incorporate Health Education Into Your Life

Staying healthy is extremely important in this modern world. However, many people find that despite their best efforts they just cannot stay as fit as they should be. Many people dream of change in their bodies, though the best way to do this is simply to learn more about health and about the human body. Health education is extremely important, and an often overlooked factor when it comes to maintaining optimum levels of fitness.

Whilst many people are interested in staying healthy, recent surveys have suggested the American population are actually extremely unaware of what it really takes to keep us healthy. This could be due to the fact that not enough information is available on health, or it could be down to the fact that people just don’t know how to interpret the information that is there. Many modern illnesses are a result of stress, of our diet, of our environment, and most importantly of our attitude. There are many unhealthy behaviors which we need to try change order to stay healthy. The only way we can do this is to learn exactly what is healthy and what is detrimental to a whole.

Health education is not something that will come to us, it is something that we have to actively seek. Many of us are connected through the Internet to a vast amount of information at our fingertips (this includes a over its 60% of the population of America). However, whilst there are hundreds of websites detailing information on health and the human body, many people are not actively seeking out this information. These sites or just not for medical students, they’re for anyone who is willing to learn about the health of their bodies. For example there are images, videos, articles, and the regularly updated blogs detailing many, many ways in which to lead a healthier lifestyle.

Health comes from many different sources. We should learn about what is a healthy diet in order to keep our bodies healthy, but we should also combine this with creating an exercise regimen that works for us as an individual and learning about possible risks. Understanding cardiac physiology it helps us to understand about the heart, and therefore about the blood that shows throughout our bodies. Heart problems are one of the most common killers in today’s society, so this is just one way in which you learn about health in order to prevent problems in later life.

Health education is not difficult. You can either choose to read about the specific health problems, or you can learn about human health in general. Whether your family has a history of illness, or you are just interested to know how you can prevent yourself from getting one, the information is all there at your fingertips if you choose to look for it. Staying healthy does not have to be difficult, and health education is just part of a process by which we can incorporate health into everyday lives. Our body is complex, but learning about how to look after it is not.

Kentaro Konika To Good Health Through Feng Shui Health Tips and Education Tax Credits For Higher Education

3 Tips to Boost Your Knowledge of Spanish

Spanish language learning resources:

Learning a foreign language requires the acquisition of multiple skills in various domains. The capacity to speak with a good accent, to be able to understand, read and write. The syntax and the grammatical structures must be mastered, the vocabulary and orthography must be memorised, the Hispanic culture must be apprehended.

As a student you may need some resource to promote your learning language process and achieve a sufficient level of knowledge. Here are a few of them that you may enjoy.

Learning Spanish watching a DVD movie:

At my opinion, this is one of the most proficient method to consolidate and improve your language skills. Pay a visit to your local movie rental store and look after movie in the original Spanish language with English subtitles.

Follow the story,listen to the dialogue and focus at the same time on the English translation, trying to fit in what you hear with what you read. This is a very powerful system that work by associating the voice with the written words. By the end of the movie you will be amazed by the numbers of new words you learned while enjoying the story.

It is a great way to attune your ear to the Spanish pronunciation, or to get used to different accents, slang and dialects.

If you are a more advanced student you can also choose the Spanish subtitles option, this way you read exactly what you hear. This is quite handy because the actors can speak sometimes very fast and it is usually difficult to understand much of the language in the movie.

A third way to practice your Spanish while watching a DVD, is to rent your favorite English speaking film, the one you saw a hundred times and know by heart. The trick is then to play it in the dubbed Spanish version. In fact you listen to the Spanish language but in your head you make a virtual translation of the lines you know by memory. Once again the underneath working principle is association, consciously and unconsciously.

Learning Spanish while eating Mexican Specialties:

By visiting a Mexican restaurant you will not only enjoy great food, but you will be connected to native Spanish speakers with no need to travel thousands of miles. You can try to read and order your menu in Spanish while starting a conversation with the waiter.

You will learn new words in the process and generally the people will greatly appreciate your efforts to speak their language and will grant you a special care!

Of course, the Mexican restaurant is only an example, you can visit any Hispanic or Spanish place for the same purpose, according to your taste.

Learning Spanish with a pen pal:

Literally a pen pal is a friend made and kept through correspondences. Originally pen pals communicated by regular mail. However today, thanks to internet, all the process goes online, by e-mail, text or voice chat and video conferencing.

It is a genuine cultural exchange where both partners benefit of each other knowledge. The possibilities of learning opportunities are countless. There are a lot of free online services that will allow you to find a suitable pen pal, according to your age, your interests, your tastes and your language needs.

In conclusion, the key is to maximize your language exposure by increasing in all possible ways the amount of connections you have with the Spanish language. By applying those three methods, you will not only enjoy good movie, tasty food, social and cultural contacts but also experience an immersion in the Spanish language that will boost and rocket your Spanish learning.

Arik Nitsan is a professional writer, publisher and musician. Start learning Spanish now and receive your six days free Spanish course

Guardian Angels – Are They Real?

Angels can be defined by a person depending on how he views it. Some people believe that they are heavenly beings. Some think that they are spiritual guides, while to some; they are people who are special and were able to bring something beautiful into their lives.

There is a teaching that was passed on to us by our elders that each of us has a guardian angel. They are assigned to us to serve as our guides, to give us a hand whenever we need their assistance and to save us whenever we are in danger. The truth however is that, there are many angels around us. Therefore, it means that we do not only have one guardian angel. They are there to give spiritual assistance and back us up. The problem is that most of us do not know how to connect with them. They might be around but we do not feel their presence.

Our guardian angels want to get in touch with us. In fact, they reach out to us all the time; it’s just that we are not aware of it. We do not see, hear nor feel them. They may be around but there is nothing they can do because in order for them to take some actions, we need to make the request. We need to tap them. They are just there, waiting for the moment where they can assist you. Below are some tips on how a person can connect with his guardian angels:

1. You should have a good intention. If your intention in tapping them will not bring any spiritual outcome, you won’t be able to do it. Your reasons should not be self-centered.

2. Get rid of negative feelings. They serve as hindrances to a clear connection with your guides. All sorts of negative energies block them. What you can do shake off negative energies is to relax, meditate, do deep breathing exercises and feel the love around you. When you start feeling the calmness and peace within you, then you are plugged. Afterwards, you can ask what you want them to do for you.

3. Do not forget to be thankful. Although you do not really have to utter the words, your guardian angels know that you are. Just show in your actions that you highly appreciate them. This is one of the secrets of keeping them connected to you.

It is quite advantageous to have an open connection with the angels around us. They can be a big help. We only need to know how to open our doors and give way to them. Being connected with them does not always mean you will see them standing in front of you or you will literally hear their voices. There will be signs that they are around. There are also times where in they will communicate with you via telepathy. It will take time to learn how to discern if certain messages are coming from them or from a different source.

Be a part of Global Oneness Community and learn more about Psychic development, Psychic abilities and much more.

Understanding Phase Contrast Microscopes

In 1953, the world recognized the scientific genius that is the phase contrast microscope. Forget high useful - it wasn’t just useful, it was crucial for actual live observations of intra-cellular processes like cell division.

Medical and biological sciences research are now focused on the real time, real life observation of living organisms to analyze its components and understand life better than we already do. Specifically designed for live specimens, this type of microscope enables observation of virtually invisible occurrences within a cell.

Obviously more advanced than the typical light microscope, this instrument uses the various refractive abilities of different objects to heighten the contrast between colorless and transparent structures. Under this powerful type of microscopy, specimens remain alive as they do not need to be stained - colored or dyed - to distinguish characteristics.

Light Waves and Visible Contrasts

Light waves peak and valley in regular intervals. The moment they line up, they’re said to be in phase; otherwise they’re said to be out of phase. This basic understanding of light waves is the key to how a phase contrast microscope works – it influences the optical path of light through transparent or colorless objects under observation.

Light waves passing through transparent portions of the specimen is slower then the uninfluenced light. To cause a difference in brightness, a transparent phase-plate mounted on the microscope increases the phase to half a wavelength, making the transparent object outshine its surroundings. This unique feature of phase contrast microscope makes it an indispensable tool in medical and biological observations of living cells.

How It Works

A phase contrast microscope makes use of two light sources – one under your specimen and another that is reflected off your specimen. Now, light passes through any transparent object but gets reflected off the surface of a solid, colorless object. When these light waves condense on a lens placed just above your specimen, it is easy to see if the light waves are in or out of their phase. This phase condenser lens on this type of microscope is analogous to the fluorescent filters in fluorescence microscopes; both make light differentiation possible.

Advances in Biomedical Microscopy Technologies

The latest in biomedical microscopy is the introduction of infinity-corrected phase contrast microscopes. Over the last decades, the largest manufacturers of research and/or professional grade microscopes have introduced this new type of optical system into various microscopy modules. This technology places another lens between the objective and the eyepiece and sets the object image to infinity. This correction makes it possible to introduce auxiliary components in the microscope.

This integrated capability makes imaging a an exciting part of the research. Now, you can capture, store, display – virtually do anything – with images of your specimen. With the flexibility of integrated digital technology, you can capture full color photographs or videos of your specimen and display, store and retrieve them from your computer. These capabilities produce virtually the same images on eyepieces and photo ports, allow you to hook up various types of cameras on to the microscope, which would definitely make training and demonstration more real life.

Looking for infinity corrected phase contrast microscopes? Whether you need that, a fluorescent filter, or something else, Canscope.ca has something for you. Check them out!

Homeschooling Tips For Teaching Biology With Biological Microscopes

The number of parents choosing to homeschool their children are rising. Besides being a very economical option, it allows parents to actively participate in their child’s education. However, some parents worry about their competence, especially when it comes to teaching upper grade courses like the more specialized science of Biology. The mere mention of the subject brings to mind biological microscopes in antiseptic-smelling laboratories and white coats – definitely something that would intimidate a parent without a degree.

But beyond this preconceived notion of difficulty (and perhaps the fear of using biological microscopes), teaching your child high school biology is challenging but definitely doable. Here are some useful tips to help you through the rigors of biological studies with your teen:

1. Get access to a laboratory.

Either you set up one at home, look up possibilities at the local library, or ask your local school district for help, it’s very important to have access to one. You probably don’t need to use it very often, especially if you’re using the nature study approach. But you will definitely need use of at least student-grade biological microscopes. To spice lessons up, try getting the more powerful stereo microscope fitted with cameras or video monitors.

2. Try nature study to keep it fun.

Biology is a boring subject to those who are not especially gifted. And because your child is mostly studying from home, it’s important to fan the interest despite the boring nature of the subject. How do you do this? Be creative!

Instead of just using charts and color photographs, take your teen outdoors and study nature outside. The trip can be a combination of fun and learning if you bring sturdy biological microscopes along with your digital camera, and put learning objectives on your itinerary.

3. Know what to use, when, and how.

Biological microscopes are great tools for learning. But there are other equipment you can use as well. Visuals are very important because recall is better if lessons come in graphic, colorful images. Toss in the fact that the organism appears truly alive under a microscope and it becomes unforgettable to a curious teen’s mind. How light plays on different substances is rarely visible to the naked eye. But with polarized light microscopes, you can distinctively see optical properties of both isotropic (usually liquids and gases) and anisotropic materials (about 90% of solids).

Distance education programs are also excellent tools you may want to add to your repertoire as an educator. The materials in an online course are wonderfully illustrated and you’ll find detailed explanations for each lesson. In biology classes, you’re likely to find clear color photographs of what you’d see under a biological microscope when you’re instructed to do so. It won’t only give you the help you need for homeschooling your child, it also gives you the opportunity to learn. You can use an online program as a tutor and real life laboratory work to see it for yourself.

CanScope - complete solution for all your microscopy needs.

Contact: 1-877-56SCOPE(72673) or info@CanScope.ca

Biological microscopes are wonderful tools for discovery. Check out CanScope.ca’s selection of stereo microscope, polarized light microscope, and more today!

Understanding the Power of a Compound Microscope

Probably a common apparatus at most high school science laboratories, the compound microscope use the popular combination of dual lenses and light reflection. In a world becoming infinitesimally smaller in each generation, microscopes of all types, caliber, sizes and capabilities can be found virtually everywhere – from laboratories in high school campuses, colleges, universities, to research and development laboratories of pharmaceutical companies and a host of other manufacturers.

Getting to Know Microscopes

The compound microscope has more than one lens – usually two – to do its job. The most basic of all types – the simple microscope uses a single lens. Impliedly, it offers a better view and more capabilities. Here are basics of microscopy:

1. Light Source.

Illumination is a basic requirement in microscopy. Some microscopes have mirrors that reflect light from sources outside of the microscope. Others, like the fluorescence microscope have their own specific sources of illumination, in its case a mercury-vapor lamp or a xenon arc lamp. Those using specific light sources are generally more powerful as these lights are more intense than generic day or lamplights used by ordinary compound microscopes.

2. Objective Lens.

All microscopes have objective lens – the lens closest to the object under probe; not all microscopes have eyepieces. Although the common image the word conjures is that of an ocular device, there are highly advanced microscopes that do not have an eyepiece. Some microscopes have three eyepieces for normal viewing and for mounting a camera, like the trinocular microscope. Instead, there are mounted on cameras and or video displays for a state-of-the-art, 3D view of microscopic objects or organisms. If you follow popular American TV, you would have already seen this in shows like House, MD.

3. Magnification Controls.

Yes, the term sounds impressive but it’s also very basic. Microscopes, regardless of power and/or grade, allow you to control magnification levels with adjustment knobs. Usually, the magnification power is a factor of the objective lens and the eyepiece. In all cases, the maximum magnification is 2000x.

Practical Applications

Compound microscopes are used in many fields and for various purposes. The type of compound microscope you need and the magnification levels you require is determined by what you want to see, the specimen you’re using and what you want to do with the images. Incidentally, manufacturers have developed a range of microscopes with specific applications and users in mind. It’s now common to find different grades of one type of microscope. Student-grade compound microscopes – probably an inexpensive tool – are found in virtually all high school laboratories across the globe. Professional-grade compound microscopes can be found in research laboratories where you usually find white coats. Fortunately, manufacturers of this equipment like Meji Techno, Nikon, and Olympus make customizing microscopes possible with a range of selections that come with various accessories. You can configure your own microscope to suit your specific application.

But wait! That’s not all. Working closely with its user base, these companies are constantly working toward improving their existing line with creative and imaginative input from people who use their products the most. So, have you and your compound microscope met?

CanScope - complete solution for all your microscopy needs.

Contact: 1-877-56SCOPE(72673) or info@CanScope.ca

A compound microscope can get you started on the road to discovery. Check out CanScope.ca’s selection of Trinocular microscope, flourescent microscope, and more!

See the Invisible With a Fluorescent Microscope

Have you ever wondered how doctors and scientists seem to know exactly how cell divides, what they look like, and what they do? At some point in your life, you may have peeked under a microscope in a biology class. You probably felt the images weren’t that interesting or colorful. But if you had done the looking through a fluorescent microscope, you would have whistled a a different tune. Why?

Light and Colors

Contrary to the common field microscope that uses reflection and absorption techniques to create magnified images of specimen, the fluorescent microscope uses light to excite specimens to emit light of longer wavelength. Fluorescence is an intrinsic property of substances where it becomes luminescent when excited by a radiation. Simply put, a fluorescent microscope is a light microscope with extended capabilities and added features. A more intense light is used in microscopy that excites fluorescence in the specimen which then emits a longer light wave length. Scientists use markers to distinguish emitted wavelengths by different colors. This technology shows digitally clear color images of microscopic organisms under probe. This technique of using transmitted light through a specimen is known as Kohler illumination, after the brilliant mind who sought to overcome the limitations of previous technologies, August Kohler.

Fluorescent Microscope in Life Sciences

Unlike metallurgical microscopes used for inspecting ceramics, metals and other inorganic materials, the fluorescence microscope finds its best uses in biology and life sciences. Rapidly expanding observation technique in medicine and biology, a range of more sophisticated techniques has evolved from it. More advanced technologies such as the multiphoton and canfocal microscopies are now combined with chromophore and flourophore advances now make intracellular observations even in unicellular molecules possible. Where the cell was acknowledged to be the smallest biological unit a few decades past, components of the human DNA are no distinguishable observations under these powerful tools.

Some have an inverted frame most suitable for viewing tissue cultures and similar applications. These designs provide illumination using an episcopic optical pathway.

Examples of Fluorescence Microscopes

Olympus BX51 Upright Microscope is a modern design of an epi-flourescent microscope with a vertical illuminator. The illuminator houses a xenon or mercury arc lamp and a turret of filter cubes. Source light travels through the lamp house through two diaphragms and into the cube holding the excitation and emission filters, as well as a dichroic mirror

Olympus IX70 Inverted Microscope. This inverted frame uses epi-illumination from an internal lamphouse. Light travels from the lamphouse via a collector lens into a cube holding the filters and a dichroic mirror

Both these examples are professional or research grade equipment. These both show the full range of capabilities a basic illuminating microscope is capable of. There are even more powerful microscopes with far more advanced features using highly advanced techniques. One of the more popular ones, confocal microscopy, now offers point-scanning capabilities with the latest from Olympus, the FluoView Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopy.

Other highly advanced techniques like Multiphoton Excitation Microscopy combine multiple techniques to capture high-definition, three-dimensional, and full color images of specimens. These are the best there is in research equipment, and these will change your life from the very first instant that you use them.

CanScope - complete solution for all your microscopy needs.

Contact: 1-877-56SCOPE(72673) or info@CanScope.ca

Yes, you can see the invisible with a fluorescent microscope. Get started using one - or a metallurgical microscope - and learn more about Kohler illumination! Visit CanScope.ca today.

Flexibility With Inverted Microscopes

Inverteds (as they are called) got their name because the recognized standard - the upright microscope - works in a specific way, and is the most easily recognized orientation of a microscope. Upright microscopes look down at specimens with light source below it. These are the types of microscopes usually used by medical technologies doing your blood work; inverted ones, on the other hand, look up the specimen with light sources above the specimen.

Although the equipment was first introduced in the 19th century, it saw use in the observation of marine life only during the first years of the 20th century. During World War II, the inverted microscope was used to analyze solid, heavy metals like iron and steel. These days, inverteds are useful in many types of research that use large, heavy or otherwise bulky samples requiring a wide berth of geometry.

Aquatic Research and Sciences

Although the ecology in deep seas can be recreated for observation of a small bowl or a miniature aquarium, the container holding the specimen requires a relatively wide staging. Additionally, aquatic live and living organisms are prone to gravity and tend to settle down the base of the container. This makes it ideal to place the sample or its container above to allow for more flexibility and to be able to conduct observations in more natural circumstances.

Modern Microscopes

By now, you’d have surmised that inverteds are useful in several fields, particularly in research observations. Besides aquatic and materials research, inverteds are also useful in observing tissue culture on petri dishes – a common method used in biological sciences and medicines research. Modern inverted microscopes however, are designed for flexibility, with the user in mind.

Today, most modern microscopes are able to multi-task, with the whole ensemble being a collection of interchangeable parts that can be fitted together to serve a purpose. Manufacturers have worked hard and are working hard to meet the demands of the various sectors and users of microscopes. They are also integrating microscopy techniques to create separable modules.

In this day and age, the more modular a microscope is, the more economical it is. Manufacturers make a wide range of modules to suit many purposes across disciplines, users, and even across different microscopy techniques. So, if you find an inverted microscope with an epi-flourescent attachment, don’t be surprised. That’s evolution at work.

Technology Integration

Besides the modularization of inverted microscopes, new designs include internal light sources that are below or parallel to the specimen. Most viewing and recording controls are still below the sample. This new design allows you to put specimens directly on top of the microscope. This, in turn, allows you to manipulate sample placement in a wide geometry of choices for total flexibility.

More advanced models integrate video capabilities for specimen scanning and direct digital or analog data recording. This is very useful in various laboratories that require fast, data analysis. Often, these video microscopes are integrated into the laboratories digital or automated systems for sample analysis.

CanScope - complete solution for all your microscopy needs.

Contact: 1-877-56SCOPE(72673) or info@CanScope.ca

Looking for an inverted microscope? Whether it’s an inverted or upright microscope you need or an epi-fluorescent attachment, Canscope.ca can provide what you need, when you need it.

Camp School Activities - Colegio Luso Internacional do Porto - A Study by Artur Victoria

Residential camp school activities lasting for a couple of days or, more commonly, for about a week, provides pupils with an opportunity of studying the natural environment and people’s life and activities away from the locality where their school is situated. Thus these activities are an integral part of regular teaching and provide a valuable supplement to ordinary school work. At the start of a new school level, they provide teachers and pupils with a good opportunity of getting to know one another.

In its narrower sense, the term working method denotes the method employed in pursuit of a goal, e.g. the acquisition or transmission of knowledge and skills.

Sometimes the working method to be used is obvious. Co-operation cannot be learned without practice, nor can one learn to plan an assignment and report on it plainly and coherently without applying a working method which makes this necessary, and one can never learn to assume responsibility for the common satisfaction unless responsibility is conferred and the appropriate demand is made.

In a number of cases the working method employed is a means of attaining something else, e.g. certain skills or insights. As a means to an end, the working method employed must be subjected to constant appraisal, so as to ascertain what is most efficient in different contexts, for different age groups, in different school environments, for different teachers and for individual pupils.

Experience hitherto has suggested that, for the sake of efficient learning, the working method employed should be governed by the following principles.

Work on different fields of subject matter should take as its starting point the pupils’ image of reality. The teacher must try to build on the pupils’ innate curiosity, allowing them to formulate and seek the answers to their own questions, and presenting problems which arouse their spirit of inquiry. Work should therefore start with something topical or near at hand. But it is equally important that teaching should then take the pupils further and broaden their apprehension of reality in time and space. Reality is not confined to society and the natural environment; it also includes emotional experience, cultural life, questions of belief, and ideals of different kinds.

If work in many cases can emanate from problems posed by the pupils themselves, schools will have good prospects of training the pupils in problem solving. They should realize the importance of acquiring sound knowledge as a means of making further progress, selecting the important knowledge in the context, drawing logical conclusions, testing each other’s arguments and, finally, putting forward a solution.

Alternation between observations, theory and practice is often the best working method. In this way the pupils can acquire knowledge by investigating, observing and experiencing for themselves. They can learn to sift their observations critically, to range and deploy them in wider contexts. They can endeavor to draw conclusions from them, and they can learn to perceive relationships in society and the natural environment. They can then be given an opportunity of testing their theories and applying what they have learned.

With a working method of this kind, the teacher plays an active part in inducing the pupils to work critically, to realize the value of their observations, to reflect, to ask questions, to learn to sift, arrange and present subject matter. The teacher must also play an active part in directing the pupils’ investigations into essential fields and in preventing them from getting bogged down in minutiae.

The active role allotted to the teacher highlights the importance which should be attached to discussions and co-operation between teacher and pupils. The teacher must not limit his contribution to merely organizing the work situations and then allowing activities to be guided by previously produced assignments. A working method of this impersonal kind is foreign to the aim of compulsory school to help its pupils achieve a process of all round development. But a working method involving alternation between observations, theorization and practice does not by any means suit every situation. Nobody can obtain direct experience of everything, and pupils must therefore also be familiarized with a working method whereby they share the experience of others. They must learn to make use of books, libraries and various media.

One should, however, beware of the tendency for verbal information to get the upper hand. Schools have sometimes limited observations and experiments and omitted practical exercises in order to save time. A one sided working method of this kind can easily cause school fatigue where many pupils are concerned. Practical exercises must be given generous scope in ordinary school work, in projects and in depth studies. The knowledge which the pupils acquire must be applicable to concrete tasks of different kinds or to discussion, creative activities and personal development. Practical exercises are the only way in which pupils can make knowledge their own property and acquire consolidated and meaningful insights.

Courses must therefore not be encumbered with general introductions covering wide fields of knowledge and leaving the pupil with no time for applying their new-found knowledge to assignments of different kinds.

http://sites.google.com/site/arturvictoria/ http://sites.google.com/site/cliparturvictoria/

Educational Sustainability and Measure - Colegio Luso Internacional do Porto - A Study by Artur Victoria

The first metric of sustainability is demand, both by the university lecturers, as well as by students, career professionals, and governments. If demand is high and is seen to be usefully met, the institutional, human and financial resources needed to meet it are more likely to be mobilized over time.

The capacities to sustain such efforts are fostered by involving the institutions and key staff in the knowledge creation and organizational learning process from the outset.

Interventions in capacity raising are nonetheless often costly. The knowledge that is contained in the events often decays quite rapidly unless regular resources sustain it.

Educational approach addresses this problem partly by working with the existing organizations that provide education and training to the target groups most influential to the reform process. In this way funding volatility does not undermine the survival of the capacity raising activity.

Educational networks provides a series of services and products to the networks that lower the cost to the network of developing new capacity raising tools and shared teaching resources.

Educational works in an area of social reform that has traditionally been resistant to attempts at measurement of the quality and effectiveness of its activity. Outputs are often measured only in terms of the programmed logic itself or in vague terms. Part of this is due to the complexity and cost of measuring the impact of capacity raising initiatives, part perhaps a negative incentive not to address the issue for many apparently good reasons.

Educational activity is developed from an analysis of the reform agenda that asserts that more knowledge needs to be disseminated in order to advance the reform agenda globally. In order to do this codified knowledge must be fused with tacit knowledge and appropriated and developed by the communities seeking reform.

This approach is consistent with the underlying approach that knowledge rather than information needs to be disseminated to support pro-integrity reform.

It is not practical to base indicators of own effectiveness on the levels of education or reform in a given country. The causal Links are too blurred for this to be possible. What education can do is to base an assessment of its performance based on the logic of its activities and the extent to which its activities are consistent with that logic and are measurable in outputs. Indicators also have to be methodologically meaningful and practically realizable.

The Key Performance Indicators (for network partners are the cases of the Application of knowledge and skills to education work in defined settings.

As an organization concerned with knowledge management indicators the work need to answer some key questions concerning activities and the impact they have on knowledge:

1. What is the degree of the activity? Has education been active in the number of initiated projects ? What has been the activity in terms of end-user outputs of these projects? How widely have the results of the activities been disseminated?

2. What is the quality of the knowledge generated by these activities? To what extent is the process of developing knowledge from information and the blending of tacit and codified knowledge achieved through educational networks activities?

3. What is the sustainability of the knowledge management process? How well has the transition to local ownership been achieved, which is also a good indicator of demand? Is the process shallow or deep (Le. what sort of network and organizations are supporting the initiative locally)?

The measurable indicators are the following:

i) Quantity

No. of partners.

No. of courses developed (in-country and stand alone).

No. of scholarships attributed.

No. of policy papers co-ordinate.

No. of commissioned papers.

No. of countries of activity.

No. of dissemination activities and resources.

No. of users of the website.

No. of replications, adaptations of Tiri courses.

No. of websites referencing and containing educational materials.

No. of partnership organizations.

ii) Quality

No. of codified sources employed.

No. of types of codified sources employed.

No. of tacit sources of knowledge introduced.

No. of new sources of tacit and codified knowledge created.

No. of institutions of high standing seeking assistance.

iii) Sustainability

Type of organizations involved.

Range of engaged actors and organizations.

Declining long term input.

Knowledge retention.

Local sources of funding.

Double loop learning in practice.

Influence on policy.

None of these indicators are sufficient in themselves. But together they represent a coherent response to the motivation for the organization and thus a satisfactory goal for the development of an index. Each of these indicator themes will be displayed in spiderdiagram, to indicate relative strength and weakness.

http://sites.google.com/site/arturvictoria/ http://sites.google.com/site/cliparturvictoria/

Next Page »