Unpacking the 2023 Africa agriculture assessment report (CNBC Africa) 

CNBC Africa interviewed John Ulimwengu, IFPRI Senior Research Fellow and the technical editor and lead researcher of the Africa Agriculture Status Report 2023, launched on September 6 at the Africa Food Systems Forum (AGRF). .  The Report titled “Empowering Africa’s Food Systems for the Future” highlights the ways in which Africa is uniquely positioned to redefine its future and […]

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Olympus now distributes Creaform’s Pipecheck Analyze software.

Accurate assessments of military and defense assets, especially ballistics, are crucial for battlefield success. Advanced CT X-ray nondestructive testing (NDT) and robotic systems integration have revolutionized inspections, enhancing quality control and safety.

The CareerTech Testing Center (CTTC) works closely with instructors, industry representatives and credentialing entities to identify and develop assessments and assessment preparation materials that are aligned with recognized industry standards.

It's unbelievable that 2016 is here and the school year is half over, but that also means we are closer to the busiest time of year for those of us in the assessment industry.

I hope everyone has created and follows a secure assessment policy, but if not, John Kleeman, founder of Questionmark, created Ten tips for Securing Your Assessment System, which provides a secure foundation for your assessment system.  It seems security breaches most often occur as we get busy and are more prone to creating shortcuts in our work, but a "system" should help minimize these errors.  Please read John's post in its entirety and address any weaknesses in your assessment security:

What can you do to make your assessment system more secure? How can you avoid a disruptive data breach where people’s personal information is disclosed? Using a vendor who takes security seriously reduces risk, as I wrote in my blog article Eight ways to check if security is more than skin deep. But security involves both vendor and user. This post gives ten good practice tips on how you as a user or administrator of an assessment system can reduce the risk of data breaches.

1. Don’t give yourself or other administrators unnecessary privileges. Follow the principle of least privilege. It may sound counter-intuitive, but most administrative users don’t need access to all capabilities and data within your system. Limiting access reduces the impact of a data breach if an account is compromised or someone makes a mistake. If you are using Questionmark, allocate appropriate roles to limit people to what they need.

2. When someone leaves the project or organization, remove their access. Don’t allow someone who has left your team to still have access to your assessment data.

3. Follow good password security. Do not share passwords between people. Do not use the same password for two accounts. Choose strong passwords and change them periodically. If someone asks you for your password, never, ever give it. And if a web page doesn’t look right, don’t type your password into it.

4. Install all the patches and secure the system. A common cause of security breaches is failing to install the latest versions of software, and attackers exploit known vulnerabilities. You need to be proactive and always install the latest version of system and application software, set up good technical security and follow the vendor’s recommendations.

If you haven’t got the time or resources to do this properly, move to a cloud solution. In a cloud SaaS solution like Questionmark OnDemand, the vendor is responsible for updating Windows, updating the application, monitoring security and ensuring that everything is up to date.

5. Install good quality antivirus / anti-malware software. Reportedly there are nearly a million new or variant malware and viruses produced each day. Protect your computer and those of your co-workers with up to date, professional software to address this threat.

6. Protect any downloaded data. Questions, assessments and reports on results are generally safer on a server or in an on-demand service than on a workstation. If you need to download data locally, set up security procedures to protect it and try to ensure that any download is temporary only.

7. Dispose of data properly. Deleting a file on a computer doesn’t erase the data, it simply erases the index to it. If you use a reputable service like Questionmark OnDemand, if a disk is repaired or reaches end of life, it will be securely destroyed for example by degaussing. But if you download data locally or use installable software to manage your assessments, you need to do this yourselves. A recent study suggested that about half of used hard drives sold online contain residual data. Make sure this is not your assessment data!

8. Be careful about clicking on a link or attachment in an email. Phishing attacks use email or malicious websites (clicking on a link) to collect sensitive information or infect your machine with malware and viruses. Such attacks could even be aimed at your organization or assessment activity directly (this is called spear phishing!). Think before clicking.

9. Be aware of social engineering. Social engineering is when someone tries to trick you or someone else into a security breach. For example someone might ring up and claim to be a student who wants their results, but really is an imposter. Or someone might spoof an email from your boss asking for the questions for the next test to review. Be wary of strange phone calls or emails that ask for something urgent. If something seems suspicious, clear it with a security professional before you give them info or ask a caller to hang up and call them back on an official number.

10. Conduct security awareness training. If you’re not already doing this, organize training sessions for all your authors, proctors, administrators and other users to help them be security aware. if you can, deliver tests after the training to check understanding. Sharing this blog article with your co-workers would be a great way to start.

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These new technologies will help to significantly increase the efficiency and precision of environmental analysis.

Drugs and Supplements from MedlinePlus - A service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health.

Search JCAHO accredited mental health, substance abuse and foster care facilities, American Hospital Directory facilities, and licensed healthcare providers.

National-international psychological associations online.

Addresses, telephone numbers, and websites of state psychological associations.

Find e-mail addresses of psychologists and mental health practitioners.

Illusions of visual perception - a perceptual motion illusion.

A visual perception illusion by Edward H. Adelson.

Evidence-based psychotherapy resources for psychologists and mental health practitioners.

A brief summary of major personality theories, including trait, psychodynamic, cognitive, and humanistic theories, and typologies and taxonomies of individual differences.

American Mensa, The High IQ Society, with questions and answers on Genius by Abbie F. Salny, Ed.D.

Universal Geniuses and the Renaissance Man. Definition and examples.

Pantheon of Geniuses: The Apotheosis of Homer by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres with a legend of names of individuals depicted.

Genius: A psychologist's overview by William E. Benet, Ph.D., Psy.D.

Rank order tables of estimated IQs of 301 geniuses of the 15th-19th centuries, based on Catharine Morris Cox's The Early Mental Traits of Three Hundred Geniuses in Genetic Studies of Genius, edited by Terman.

Psychologist Dr. Frank Froman on neuropsychology, managed care and diagnostic nomenclature.

Psychological art, Louis Wain and the art of madness, and quotations by psychologists.

Discussion list forums of the American Psychological Association and PsyUSA.

Psychology humor featuring psychologists Gunborg Palme and Frank Froman.

Intelligence of dogs and brightest breeds by Stanley Coren, Ph.D.

Comparative intelligence of animals, cognition in animals, and most intelligent animals.

Intelligence - Definitions, controversies, fallacies, psychometric assessment and testing.

Estimated IQs of 301 geniuses of the 15th-19th centuries, based on The Early Mental Traits of Three Hundred Geniuses by Catharine Morris Cox.

IQ Hoaxes, including hoax IQs of George W. Bush and U.S. Presidents for the Past 50 years, plus Einstein's IQ, with commentary by Dr. William E. Benet.

Abstracts from the Journal of Clinical Psychology, Journal of Clinical Experimental Neuropsychology, and other journals about estimating premorbid intelligence.

Regression equations for estimating premorbid intelligence.

Estimating premorbid intelligence and determining change in cognition following brain injury.

Psychometrics - origins, definitions, theory, instruments and procedures.

Assessment Tools and Measures - Appendix A - Suggestions for Pre-Surgical Psychological Assessments of Bariatric Surgery Candidates - American Society for Bariatric Surgery - 2004.

American Society for Bariatric Surgery suggestions and Veterans Administration Bariatric Surgery Workgroup standards for pre-surgical psychological assessment of bariatric surgery candidates.

Information on IQ classifications in educational and psychiatric use and classifications no longer in use.

List of psychological tests in the Center for Psychological Studies, Nova Southeastern University.

Selected topics in malingering from PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health.

Selected topics in chronic pain from PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health.

Digests, abstracts and articles on topics in psychological testing and psychometrics, including the development of intelligence theory and testing.

Eminent psychologists of the 20th Century and presidents of the American Psychological Association.

Test developers and historical influences important in exploring, assessing and understanding human intelligence.

Geriatric rating scales for psychologists, psychiatrists and mental health practitioners.

Adaptive and maladaptive behavior scales, including the Scales of Independent Behavior - Revised (SIB-R), the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, the AAMR Adaptive Behavior Scales (ABS) and the Inventory for Client and Agency Planning (ICAP).

WWI IQ test taken by 1.7 million American soldiers.

Gifted and impaired - Tests approved for evaluating students for Exceptional Student Education services, Florida Department of Education.

Personality tests approved for evaluating students for Exceptional Student Education services, Florida Department of Education.

Adaptive behavior tests approved for evaluating students for Exceptional Student Education services, Florida Department of Education.

Processing tests approved for evaluating students for Exceptional Student Education services, Florida Department of Education.