SecondaryScience

The problems of using webmail have recently hit me and my Hotmail account was hacked recently and email have been sent out to everybody in my contacts list.  A full scan of my home PC has revealed that it is virus & malware free (scanned with both Trend Micro Antivirus & Kaspersky).  As I also access my email on other computers – such as those in my workplace this suggests that the security breach may have occured elsewhere.  As my email password was very secure (i.e. it includes non-alpha numeric characters such as ^, &, %, )  and is not based on a dictionary word or name,  it suggests that malware on a computer was responsible for the account being accessed.

Fortunately I have managed to reset the password on the account and I have also reset the security questions.  A check through the settings show that the hackers have not altered anything else such as the signature file associated with my messages.

Accessing webmail accounts on public computers can expose you to risks.  Therefore it is important that your email password is different to your bank, Paypal, Amazon or other passwords.

It appears that any damage has been limited at this time but I will be keeping a close eye on all of my accounts – including this one – to ensure my online security has not been compromised.

During the Half term break we visited London to take in a couple of shows.  We went to see Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new production of the Wizard of Oz at the London Palladium and Wicked at the Apollo Victoria.  We were expecting to be blown away by the Wizard of Oz but sadly it didn’t happen for me.  The new songs, in particular the Wicked Witch song, do help to move things along and the production is nicely staged with some spectacular special effects – the sequence when Dorothy is uprooted by the twister and transferred to Oz is very well done.  I think the main problem with the production is you do not connect with the characters.  I feel Danielle Hope will go on to have a great theatrical career; however, the real star of the show was Toto.  During our performance he enjoyed looking under Glinda’s dress and had great fun trying to tear it to pieces.  Sadly he was picked up by a Munchkin and deposited in a barrow before he could do any real damage.   During the show we we surrounded by a large number of young children whose behaviour was abysmal.  I was repeatedly kicked in the back and other children were very restless.  Poor behaviour at theatre performance is increasingly becoming a problem in London and it is something the theatres need to sort out.

The following day we went to see Wicked.  The show is staged very well at the Apollo Victoria.  Unlike the Wizard of Oz we found the story engaging (you connect with the main characters, Elphaba and Glinda)  and the show was well acted.   The production was fabulous and it was a great night out.   During this production we were also surrounded by lots of young children.  However, unlike our experience at the Palladium they were all exceptionally well behaved and seemed to be engrossed in the production.

Many online companies appear to have non-existent customer service.  The exception seems to be the companies with which I host my web accounts.  Not only do they offer excellent value for money compared to some of the larger companies but the response to any questions is almost immediate.  Today I had a small problem with my wife’s website and a quick email to the company led to the problem being resolved within five minutes.  Unusually Vidahost are contactable by freephone or by email and I have never waited more than five minutes to get a problem sorted.  Their hosting fees are also some of the best in the business.  Vidahost will also give you a 10% discount if you enter the code ‘drparry’ when you order a hosting package.

The Russell Group (the top Univerities in the UK) have recently published a booklet called ‘informed choices’ which can be downloaded by clicking here.  The booklet gives clear guidance on the subjects students should study at A Level to gain a place on courses at the top Universities.  Needless to say there is a heavy emphasis on more academic A Levels (Science, Maths, Languages, English, History etc.) than on ‘studies’ A Levels (e.g. film studies).  Students could be harming their chances of gaining a University place if they choose to study more than one ‘soft’ A Level.  Unfortunately many schools often give poor guidance at this crucial stage leading to many students not having the required A Levels to gain a place on the course of their choice.  Even more worrying is the low take up of languages at GCSE and some Universities (for example, Edinburgh) still require a GCSE in a language to gain admittance.

The news that my former University, Imperial College, is to charge fees of £9000 [BBC, Daily Telegraph] makes it seem likely that all Universities in the elite ‘Russell Group’ are likely to follow suit.  This means students are likely to accumulate debts of well over £40000 after a maintenance loan to cover living costs is added to the course fees.  At present there is little detail on the new loans which will have to repaid once the student is earning more than £21 000 per year.  [Martin Lewis].  What is worrying is the loans will attract a ‘real rate of interest’.  At the time of writing this is likely to be over 4%.  Hence upon graduation a student will accumulate interest of  around £150 per month (4.5%  interest on £40000 student debt)  until they are able to start repaying the loan.  If repayment rates were to be set at a realistic 15% of income above £21000 the student would need to earn over £33 000 per year to cover the interest alone (assuming the loan is repaid out of pretax income).  This is more than a teacher would earn at the top of the main pay scale [NASUWT].  With the median UK salary at around £26 000 per year [National Statistics] it seems that the majority of students will be facing a lifetime of debt.

Once again, England have underperformed in a major championship.  The only time I’ve felt genuine euphoria about an England performance is when I flew back from South Africa after a fabulous holiday to be greeted with the headlines ‘Germany 1 – England 5′  upon landing in Amsterdam.  I once had the misfortune of following the England team in an overseas adventure watching them lose every match in the 1988 European Championships in Germany.  It’s strange how vividly you can remember things when you were actually there.  I hope the fans who have spent large amounts of money travelling to South Africa will bring back beautiful memories of the country (like we did) rather than the awful football they have watched the England team produce on the pitch.

As somebody who loves Africa, I am getting increasingly worried about the impact of climate change on East Africa.  In particular, the seasonal rains upon which many countries in East Africa depend are becoming much less reliable and we are once again seeing another drought in countries such as Ethiopia, Kenya and parts of Uganda.  Whilst increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere may be contributing to global warming, the main contributary factor to climate change in East Africa must be due to deforestation.  In Kenya large number of settlershave moved into the Mau forest complex.  This is a valuable ‘water tower’ that acts as a water source for millions of people in Southern Kenya and also feeds the Mara River (which flows through the Maasai Mara game reserve) and Lake Victoria – the source of the Nile.  The scale of deforestation can be seen in the pictures below.

Deforestation in the Maasai Mau

A report out today by ‘Ofqual’ has indicated that standards in Science exams have fallen.  The report looked at the General Science and Physics GCSEs.  There is now a large disparity between the schemes of work offered by the various examination boards and this is making comparisons difficult.  Once again QCA are reviewing Science GCSE syllabuses, with a view to introducing new specifications for teaching in 2011.  This will be just five years after the introduction of the previous specifications meaning schools will have to invest in new books and other materials.

Ofqual has ordered immediate changes for 2009 with tighter marking criteria for the forthcoming summer 2009 exams. 

A news story about this itme can be accessed from the BBC’s website.

It was great to see the amount of money raised by Comic Relief this year.  I spend a lot of time in Africa and much of the money is very well spent on projects that benefit local communities.  I’m looking forward to returning to Africa this year – I will be visiting Uganda which is a major beneficiary of the money raised through Comic Relief.

Each year more and more people climb Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and the Comic Relief film reminded me of the fabulous time I had climbing the mountain ten years ago.  I still remember standing on Uhuru peak just after sunrise and looking down upon the clouds that covered the plains below.  It was magical to see the mountain again when we visited Amboseli National Park in Kenya a few years ago.  It now costs around US$110 per day in fees to climb the mountain to which must also be added the wages for porters, cooks and guides.  The money raised is essential for the maintenance of other National Parks in Tanzania.

Photographs of me on the mountain are posted below.

It was interesting to see the article in today’s Sunday Times about students at Monkseaton Community High School, studying for degrees whilst still at school.  There are many benefits of studying for a degree with the OU and the ability to study at your own pace is one of them.  However, the costs given in the article were huge underestimates.  It will cost around £3700 to complete a degree with the OU plus the cost of attending summer schools at around £440 per week, giving a total cost of around £6000 for a Science degree which would normally be spread over 6 years.  OU studies also include all of the materials required for completing the course.  This compares very favourably with the cost of attending a ‘traditional’ University where tuition fees are at least £3000 per year plus the cost of lodgings, books, etc.

I think there is a lot of benefit from school students studying OU modules whilst in the sixth form, in particular learning the study skills necessary to undertake a degree course.  However, I feel this should not be at the expense of students studying for A Levels or experiencing full time University Study.

I have found the Open University a great way to develop my own subject knowledge and I have been studying Physics for the past couple of years with them.  I have now gained the Diploma in Physical Science and in the course of my studies I became more interested in the OU as an institution.  I am now an Associate Lecturer on the the general science course, S104, for the Open University and I believe this course gives an excellent general introduction to the study of science at degree level.  The materials provided for the students are all exceptionally well produced.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/education/article5907465.ece