Website comparison

In looking at the sites for Departure and Rubberier, the greatest distinction I saw was that one was intended more for selling their item and the other was planned for obtaining their clients to sell for them. When survey Rubberneck's site I saw that it is very easy to use. In the event that you are hoping to buy their items, there is a connection for that. Inside this connection is each sort of arrangement you are searching for, from restroom to kitchen to carport and even outside stockpiling. It's all very accessible.Once you click on the item you are searching for it gives you the cost and permits you to get It at that moment. They likewise have joins for â€Å"Tips and Solutions†. This gives you Ideas on the most proficient method to all the more likely sort out yourself and what others have done. Presently with respect to advancements, they do have a connection however you need to initially enlist. This is a decent strategy to keep you educated on everything Rubberier. Th ey get you to join to get a coupon or unique arrangement, however they will keep on sending you messages with updates on anything Rubberier brings to the table. It keeps Rubberier new in your mind.I imagine that Rubberneck's objective market is the purchaser and how they can best serve them. When rating Rubberier on a mouse click size of 1 TTT, I would give them a 4. Likewise on an individual shopper level I would stay with that 4. They had all that you were searching for and made it simple to locate the following item or advancement. It even made me need to keep looking for things I didn't require. In general I would state that Rubberier has worked superbly at actualizing the racketing blend and attempting to consolidate the entirety of their clients' needs and wants.It was extremely simple to move through their site and I continually needed to scan for additional things and see what items I could utilize. While assessing Departure's site, I came a lot of various resolution. The si te appeared to be increasingly equipped to getting me to join to be a specialist and additionally have a get-together at that point to really sell me the Departure itself. It is unquestionably an alternate methodology. I was as yet ready to look and purchase their item, yet it wasn't as simple. I needed to mind the correct inventory and once I did that It wasn't the place I could buy their product.Once I found the connection to get It despite everything appeared to be a bunch of items. It was scarcely separated Into segments however increasingly dependent on list end times and deals. It was significantly simpler to â€Å"Host† a gathering and discover a specialist or even to turn into an expert at that point to really purchase their item. They do anyway offer decent advantages for facilitating a get-together. Contingent upon how much individuals would spend for your sake would decide how much free item or limited item you would receive.Free consistently seems like a decent nu mber. Anyway I don't think Departure comes to the same number of expected shoppers as they could. Other than having the option to join to be an advisor I didn't see a spot to enroll for new advancements or get email warnings, or if there was a spot it was difficult to get to. They are relying upon new enlistment to get the message out. Despite the fact that Departure has been around for quite a while, I have had not many communications with its products.In giving a Departure a rating for mouse clicks I would need to give it a 4 since I tried to explore a greater amount of the organization and item yet my general rating would have been Overall I believe that Departure focuses on the business visionary rather than the buyer. They despite everything actualize the advertising blend approach however in a totally different manner than Rubberier. They need the buyer to sell the item for them and spread the item by listening in on others' conversations and in home deals, though Rubberier co ncentrated on advantageously selling and for the most part from nearby stores. Flight was intriguing yet I figure Rubberier made a superior Showing.

Guilt in Macbeth Essay -- Macbeth essays

Blame in Macbeth   â â â There is an enormous weight of blame conveyed by Lady Macbeth and Macbeth in Shakespeare's disaster Macbeth. How about we take a gander at this circumstance intently in the accompanying paper.  Fanny Kemble in Woman Macbeth affirms that Lady Macbeth was oblivious to her blame, which in any case murdered her:  A truly capable article, distributed a few years back in the National Review, on the character of Lady Macbeth, demands much upon a sentiment that she passed on of regret, as some whitewashing of her violations, and alleviation of our aversion of them. That she kicked the bucket of mischievousness would be, I think, a juster decision. Regret is cognizance of blame . . . what's more, that I think Lady Macbeth never had; however the unrecognized weight of her incredible blame murdered her. (116-17)  In Memoranda: Remarks on the Character of Lady Macbeth, Sarah Siddons makes reference to the blame and aspiration of Lady Macbeth and their impact:  [Re I have given suck (1.7.54ff.)] Even here, awful as she may be, she shews herself made by desire, yet not naturally, an impeccably savage animal. The very utilization of such a delicate inference amidst her loathsome language, convinces one unequivocally that she has truly felt the maternal desires of a mother towards her darling, and that she considered this activity the most colossal that at any point required the quality of human nerves for its execution. Her language to Macbeth is the most intensely expressive that blame could use.â (56)  Clark and Wright in their Introduction to The Complete Works of William Shakespeare clarify how blame effects Lady Macbeth:  Having supported her more vulnerable spouse, her own quality gives way; and in rest, when her will can't control her musings, she is ... ...1957.  Frye, Northrop. Morons of Time: Studies in Shakespearean Tragedy. Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press, 1967.  Kemble, Fanny. Woman Macbeth. Macmillan's Magazine, 17 (February 1868), p. 354-61. Rpt. in Women Reading Shakespeare 1660-1900. Ann Thompson and Sasha Roberts, eds. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 1997.  Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Macbeth. http://chemicool.com/Shakespeare/macbeth/full.html, no lin.  Siddons, Sarah. Memoranda: Remarks on the Character of Lady Macbeth. The Life of Mrs. Siddons. Thomas Campbell. London: Effingham Wilson, 1834. Rpt. in Women Reading Shakespeare 1660-1900. Ann Thompson and Sasha Roberts, eds. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 1997.  Wilson, H. S. On the Design of Shakespearean Tragedy. Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press, 1957.

Using Anger Management Techniques to Manage PTSD

Using Anger Management Techniques to Manage PTSD PTSD Coping Print Effective Anger Management Techniques for People With PTSD By Matthew Tull, PhD twitter Matthew Tull, PhD is a professor of psychology at the University of Toledo, specializing in post-traumatic stress disorder. Learn about our editorial policy Matthew Tull, PhD Medically reviewed by Medically reviewed by Steven Gans, MD on August 05, 2016 Steven Gans, MD is board-certified in psychiatry and is an active supervisor, teacher, and mentor at Massachusetts General Hospital. Learn about our Medical Review Board Steven Gans, MD Updated on July 31, 2019 Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Overview Symptoms & Diagnosis Causes & Risk Factors Treatment Living With In Children Daniel Ingold / Getty Images People with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) commonly experience anger, but they can use a variety of techniques and strategies to better manage this emotion. In fact, because the experience of anger is so common among people with PTSD, it is considered one of the hyperarousal symptoms of the disorder. If you have PTSD, you may find that the anger you experience is very intense, and as a result, it may be very difficult to manage. This intense anger can lead to a number of unhealthy behaviors, such as substance use or some other kind of impulsive behavior. Therefore, it is very important to learn some healthy ways of releasing the tension that accompanies intense anger. Specific emotion regulation strategies for intense anger are described below. These anger management techniques are likely going to be helpful in dealing with other emotions as well. Considering this, they can be put to use in all areas of your life. General Anger Management Techniques Given that anger is often associated with high levels of tension and arousal, it is important to utilize a coping strategy that is going to provide some sense of release or bring on a state of relaxation and peace. Listed below are some strategies that may be helpful in this regard. When youre feeling angry, try crying, exercising, practicing mindfulness or connecting with someone who is supportive to help soften the impact of this emotion. Call a friend when youre feeling out of sorts or have a talk with an empathetic family member. In addition to these strategies, dancing, journaling or using self-soothing coping strategies or distraction can help you get through the moment. You can also create artwork, punch a pillow or throw soft objects (for example, stuffed animals or pillows) into a laundry basket or onto a bed to make it through your next angry episode. If these strategies dont provide the release youre looking for, consider screaming into a pillow, tearing up a piece of paper (that is not important), crumbling up paper or hitting a punching bag. You can also scribble on a piece of paper until it is black or talk things through -- in a non-confrontational manner -- with the person who upset you. Make sure youre no longer steaming mad when you have the confrontation, though. If not, it might be too tempting to engage in conduct that youll later regret or let your anger get the best of you. Finding What Works for You and When Anger can be a very destructive emotion. Therefore, it is important to find a number of different ways of managing anger when it occurs. Some strategies may work better in some situations than others. The more prepared you are, the less off-guard you will be when you experience intense anger. There are many more anger management techniques than those listed here. Try to figure some out on your own and try them out. If youre in a support group for people with PTSD, you can ask the members which methods work for them. If youre receiving counseling, ask your mental health treatment provider for more ideas. The 7 Best Online Anger Management Classes

Leadership in Business Free Essay Example, 1500 words

It is evidently clear from the discussion that the current competition in the business world needs business leaders who can come up with modern ideas of business administration because things have changed and the more a business leader turns innovative, the more the business becomes competitive in the market. The CEO of Intuit , Brad Smith, brings out an example of innovation. Intuit is an organization that provides mid-sized businesses, institutes of finance, consumers, and accountants with solutions to financial management. Through his innovativeness, Intuit s CEO brought the idea of the consumer tax- preparation software that has substituted the traditional methods of financial management. Quick books and other financial management systems are most common in today s business world due to their effectiveness. It is only through being innovative that a business leader will come up with new business ideas that can improve the success of a business. Perseverance is the ability to w ithstand challenges. Any business leader who wishes to be successful has to be able to face any challenge they encounter. The competition in the market does not need a leader who would close their business in case they face challenges, instead of fighting back. We will write a custom essay sample on Leadership in Business or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now Anne Mulcahy, the CEO of Xerox Company displayed perseverance when the company was facing high economic inflation. The company was making very low profits but its expenses were relatively high. She came in as a CEO at this time when she had little knowledge about finances. When she asked for advice, her advisors told her to declare the company bankrupt. She instead chose to restore the company. Although the company had many debts and almost collapsed, even the advice given were all negative, she chose not to follow the advice and later rescued the company and restored it to its original status but under new management. It calls for a lot of patience and perseverance for a business to succeed and if the leader lacks the quality, they will definitely quit.

Religion Is An Act Of Power, By Durkheim, Karl Marx, And...

Religion in the contemporary world Introduction Sociology of religion is the study of the views, practices and structural forms of religion using the tools and methods of the discipline of sociology. Religion and power are both inseparable, as defining religion is an act of power. Academics, political figures, lawyers and religious leaders all have their followers, who all have interests of how religion is defined. This essay will follow up on sociological religion from the views of Emile Durkheim, Karl Marx, and Ulrich Beck last but not the least Edward Burnett Tylor. These sociologists searched for comparable views and practices in all groups of cultures, especially those from basic backgrounds, irrespective to the moment and where it was based. They mainly depend on finding that were made by preachers, inventers, and also majestic servants. These were all individuals who had a religious background themselves, this is because they could look at religion from the inside. Main body Emile Durkheim Durkheim was an academic sociologist, he was born on April 15, 1858. He was the son of a Jewish leader who also descended from a long line of Jewish leaders, after a few years of thought he decided that he would follow the custom that has been going for years of being s rabbi. He then studied Hebrew, the Old Testament, and the Talmud, and also at the same time following the regular course of instruction in schools. After his custom Jewish confirmation at the age of thirteen,Show MoreRelatedGlobalization and It Effects on Cultural Integration: the Case of the Czech Republic.27217 Words   |  109 Pagesglobalization as â€Å"to render global† or â€Å"the act of globalizing† cited in Malcolm Walters (2001:2). The concept globalization has now being use by many academics and there has been a debate on when the concept of globalization actually began. There are some who have perceived the concept of globalization has been in to existence before this period. Thus, the below mentioned are some of the definitions of globalization posed by various social science theorists. Marx (1977) is considered by social theoristsRead MoreOrganisational Theory230255 Words   |  922 Pagespearsoned.co.uk First published 2007  © Pearson Education Limited 2007 The rights of Joanne Duberley, Phil Johnson and John McAuley to be identified as authors of this work have been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without either the prior written permission

Mathematics in Cryptology Free Essays

Cryptology is the procedure of writing by means of a variety of methods to keep messages secret and includes communications security and communications intelligence. The cryptologic (code making and code breaking) and intelligence services provide information to both tactical forces and Navy commanders. Shore-based intellect and cryptologic operations engage the compilation, handing out, analysis, and reporting of information from a lot of sources, from communications intelligence to human intelligence. We will write a custom essay sample on Mathematics in Cryptology or any similar topic only for you Order Now This information is used to assess threats to the Navy and to the protection of the United States. Tactical intelligence, more often than not provided by ships, submarines, and aircraft, gives combat commanders indications and warning of impending opponent activity and assessments of ongoing hostile activity and capabilities. The start of the 21st century is a golden age for applications of mathematics in cryptology.   The early stages of this age can be traced to the work of Rejewski, Rozycki, and Zygalski on breaking mystery. Their employment was a breach in more than a few ways.   It made a marvelous realistic input to the conduct of Word War II.   At the same time, it represented a major increase in the sophistication of the mathematical tools that were used.   Ever since, mathematics has been playing a progressively more important role in cryptology. This has been the result of the dense relationships of mathematics, cryptology, and technology, relationships that have been developing for a long time. At the same time as codes and ciphers go back thousands of years, systematic study of them dates back only to the Renaissance.   Such study was stimulated by the rapid growth of written communications and the associated postal systems, as well as by the political fragmentation in Europe. In the 19th century, the electric telegraph provided an additional spur to the development of cryptology. The major impetus, despite the fact that, appears to have come with the appearance of radio communication at the beginning of the 20th century. This technical development led to growth of military, diplomatic, and commercial traffic that was open to non-intrusive interception by friend or foe alike.   The need to protect such traffic, from interception was obvious, and led to the search for improved codes and ciphers.   These, in turn, stimulated the development of cryptanalytic methods, which then led to development of better cryptosystems, in an endless cycle.   What systems were built has always depended on what was known about their security, and also on the technology that was available. Amid the two world wars, the need for encrypting and decrypting ever-greater volumes of information dependably and steadily, combined with the accessible electromechanical technology, led many cryptosystem designers towards rotor system.   Yet, as Rejewski, Rozycki, and Zygalski showed, the operations of rotor machines created enough regularities to enable effective cryptanalysis through mathematical techniques.   This was yet another instance of what Eugene Wigner has called the â€Å"unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics,† in which techniques developed for abstract purposes turn out to be surprisingly well-suited for real applications. The sophistication of mathematical techniques in cryptography continued increasing after World War II, when attention shifted to cryptosystems based on shift register sequences.   A quantum jump occurred in the 1970s, with the invention of public key cryptography. This invention was itself stimulated by technological developments, primarily the growth in information processing and transmission.   This growth was leading to explosive increases in the volume of electronic transactions, increases that show no signs of tapering off even today, a quarter century later. The large and assorted populations of users that were foreseen in developing civilian settings were leading to problems, such as key management and digital signatures that previously had not been as severe in smaller and more tightly controlled military and political communications.   At the same time, developments in technology were offering unprecedented possibilities for implementing complicated algorithms.   Mathematics again turned out to provide the tools that were used to meet the challenge. The public key schemes that were invented in the 1970s used primarily tools from classical number theory.   Yet as time went on, the range of applicable mathematics grew.   Technology continued improving, but in uneven ways.   For example, while general computing power of a personal computer grew explosively, there was also a proliferation of small, especially wireless devices, which continued to have stringent power and bandwidth limitations.   This put renewed emphasis on finding cryptosystems that were thrifty with both computation and transmission. At the same time, there was growth in theoretical knowledge, which led to breaking of numerous systems, and required increases in key sizes of even well trusted schemes such as RSA. The outcome of the developments in technology and science is that today we are witnessing explosive growth in applications of sophisticated mathematics in cryptology.   This volume is a collection of both surveys and original research papers that illustrate well the interactions of public key cryptography and computational number theory. Some of the systems discussed here are based on algebra, others on lattices, yet others on combinatorial concepts.   There are also some number theoretic results that have not been applied to cryptography yet, but may be in the future.   The diversity of techniques and results in this volume does show that mathematics, even mathematics that was developed for its own sake, is helping solve important problems of our modern society.   At the same time, mathematics is drawing valuable inspiration from the practical problems that cryptology poses. The recent breakthrough discovery of public key cryptography has been one (but not the only) contributor to a dramatic increase in the sophistication and elegance of the mathematics used in cryptology. Coding theory enables the reliable transmission and storage of data. Thanks to coding theory, despite dramatic increases in the rates and volumes of bits transmitted and the number of bits stored in computers or household appliances, we are able to operate confidently under the assumption that every one of these bits is exactly what it is supposed to be. Often they are not, of course, and the errors would be catastrophic were it not for the superbly efficient detection and correction algorithms clever coding theorists have created. Although a number of incessant mathematics has been employed (notably, probability theory), the bulk of the mathematics involved is discrete mathematics. Nevertheless, in spite of the strong demonstration that cryptology and coding theory provide, there is little understanding or recognition in the mainstream mathematics community of the importance of discrete mathematics to the information society. The core problems in applied mathematics after World War II (e.g., understanding shock waves) involved continuous mathematics, and the composition of most applied mathematics departments today reflects that legacy. The increasing role of discrete mathematics has affected even the bastions of the â€Å"old† applied mathematics, such as the aircraft manufacturers, where information systems that allow design engineers to work on a common electronic blueprint have had a dramatic effect on design cycles. In the meantime, mathematics departments seem insulated from the need to evolve their research program as they carry on providing service teaching of calculus to captive populations of engineering students. However, the needs of these students are changing. As mathematicians continue to work in narrow areas of specialization, they may be unaware of these trends and the appealing mathematical research topics that are most strongly connected to current needs arising from the explosion in information technology. Indeed, a great deal of important and interesting mathematics research is being done outside of mathematics departments. (This applies even to traditional applied mathematics, PDE’s and the like, where, as just one example, modeling has been neglected.) In the history of cryptology and coding theory, mathematicians as well as mathematics have played an important role. Sometimes they have employed their considerable problem-solving skills in direct assaults on the problems, working so closely with engineers and computer scientists that it would be difficult to tell the subject matter origins apart. Sometimes mathematicians have formalized parts of the problem being worked, introducing new or classical mathematical frameworks to help understand and solve the problem. Sophisticated theoretical treatments of these subjects (e.g., complexity theory in cryptology) have been very helpful in solving concrete problems. The probable for theory to have bottom-line impact seems even greater today. One panelist opined, â€Å"This is a time that cries out for top academicians to join us in developing the theoretical foundations of the subject. We have lots of little results that seem to be part of a bigger pattern, and we need to understand the bigger picture in order to move forward.† However, unfortunately, the present period is not one in which research mathematicians are breaking down doors to work on these problems. Mathematicians are without a doubt needed to generate mathematics. It is less clear that they are indispensable to its application. One panelist pointed out that there are many brilliant engineers and computer scientists who understand thoroughly not only the problems but also the mathematics and the mathematical analysis needed to solve them. â€Å"It’s up to the mathematics community,† he continued, â€Å"to choose whether it is going to try to play or whether it is going to exist on the scientific margins. The situation is similar to the boundary where physics and mathematics meet and mathematicians are scrambling to follow where Witten and Seiberg have led.† Another panelist disagreed, believing it highly desirable, if not necessary, to interest research mathematicians in application problems. â€Å"When we bring in (academic research) mathematicians as consultants to work on our problems, we don’t expect them to have the same bottom-line impact as our permanent staff, because they will not have adequate knowledge of system issues. However, in their effort to understand our problems and apply to them the mathematics with which they are familiar, they often make some unusual attack on the problem or propose some use of a mathematical construct we had never considered. After several years and lots of honing of the mathematical construct by our ‘applied mathematicians,’ we find ourselves in possession of a powerful and effective mathematical tool.† During the late 1970s, a small group of bright educational cryptographers proposed a series of elegant schemes through which secret messages could be sent without relying on secret variables (key) shared by the encipherer and the decipherer, secrets the maintenance of which depended upon physical security, which in the past has been often compromised. Instead, in these â€Å"public key† schemes, the message recipient published for all to see a set of (public) variables to be used by the message sender in such a way that messages sent could be read only by the intended recipient. (At least, the public key cryptographers hoped that was the case!) It is no exaggeration to say that public key cryptography was a breakthrough â€Å"of monumental proportions,† as big a surprise to those who had relied on conventional cryptography in the sixties as television was to the public in the fifties. Breaking these â€Å"public key† ciphers requires, or seems to require, solutions to well-formulated mathematical problems believed to be difficult to solve. One of the earliest popular schemes depended on the solution of a certain â€Å"knapsack† problem (given a set of integers and a value, find a subset whose constituents sum to that value). This general problem was thought to be hard (known to be NP- complete), but a flurry of cryptanalytic activity discovered a way to bypass the NP-complete problem, take advantage of the special conditions of the cryptographic implementation and break the scheme, first by using H. Lenstra’s integer programming algorithm, next using continued fractions, later and more effectively by utilizing a lattice basis reduction algorithm due to Lenstra, Lenstra and Lovasz. Although many instantiations of public key cryptographies have been proposed since their original discovery, current cryptographic implementers seem to be placing many of their eggs in two baskets: one scheme (Rivest-Shamir-Adleman, RSA), whose solution is related to the conjectured difficulty of factoring integers, the second, (Diffie-Hellman, DH), which is related to the conjectured difficulty of solving the discrete logarithm problem (DLP) in a group. The discrete logarithm problem in a group G, analogous to the calculation of real logarithms, requires determination of n, given g and h in G , so that gn = h. Each of the past three decades has seen momentous improvements in attacking these schemes, although there has not yet been the massive breakthrough (as predicted in the movie â€Å"Sneakers†) that would send cryptographers back to the drawing boards. The nature of these attacks leads some to suspect that we may have most of our eggs in one basket, as most improvements against RSA seems to correspond to an analogous idea that works against the most common instantiations of DH (when the group is the multiplicative group of a finite field or a large subgroup of prime order of the multiplicative group) and vice versa. Asymptotic costs to attack each scheme, although each has declined as a consequence of new algorithms, continue to be comparable. These innovative algorithms, along with improvements in computational power, have forced the use of larger and larger key sizes (with the credit for the increase split about equally linking mathematics and technology). As a result, the computations to implement RSA or DH securely have been steadily increasing.Recently, there has been interest in utilizing the elliptic curve group in schemes based on DLP, with the hope that the (index calculus) weaknesses that have been uncovered in the use of more traditional groups will not be found. It is believed, and widely marketed, that DLP in the group of points of non-super singular elliptic curves of genus one over finite fields does not allow a sub-exponential time solution. If this is true, DH in the elliptic curve group would provide security comparable to other schemes at a lower computational and communication overhead. It may be true, but it certainly has not yet been proven. There are connections between elliptic curve groups and class groups with consequences for the higher genus case and extension fields. In particular, Menezes, Okamoto and Vanstone showed how the Weil pairing gave a better method for solving DLP for a particular class of elliptic curves, the supersingular ones. These are curves of order p+1, and DLP is reduced to a similar problem in GF(p2), where it can be more effectively solved. Work continues in an effort to extend these results to the general curve group. A related problem in elliptic curve cryptography focuses attention on another possible exciting interplay between theoretical mathematics, computer science (algorithms) and practical implementation. Calculation of the order of the elliptic curve group is not straightforward. Knowing the order of their group is very important to DH cryptographers, since short cut attacks exist if the order of the group factors into small primes. Current elliptic curve cryptosystem proposals often employ a small class of curves to circumvent the counting problem. Even less progress has been made on the more general problem of whether there exist any groups whose DLP is exponential and, if so, characterizing such groups. Another interesting problem is whether solving DLP is necessary as well as sufficient for breaking DH. There are some groups for which this is known to be true, but determining whether this is true for all groups, or characterizing those groups for which it is true, remains to be done. A third interesting general DH problem is â€Å"diagnosis† of the DH group (when one has intercepted both ends of DH exchanges and does not know the group employed). For this reason, cryptology is a traditional subject that conventionally guaranteed (or sought to undo the guarantee of) confidentiality and integrity of messages, but the information era has expanded the range of applications to consist of authentication, integrity and protocols for providing other information attributes, including timeliness, ease of use of service and protection of intellectual property. Cryptology has at all times been a charming and an exciting study, enjoyed by mathematicians and non-mathematicians the same. How to cite Mathematics in Cryptology, Essay examples

Television And Race Essays - Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Homer And Apu

Television and Race Matchmaker.com: Sign up now for a free trial. Date Smarter! Television and Race Race Televised: America's Babysitter At some point in the course of human events, America decided that the television was their Dali Lama, their cultural and spiritual leader. Overlooking its obvious entertainment based purpose, Americans have let the television baby-sit and rear their children. I do not recall a manifesto from the television industry, but society put television in a role it does not have authority in. The only thing television set out to do was provide the passive entertainment American society wants. True, television does not accurately reflect race in America, but it is not the job of the television industry to do so. Too much importance has been put on television to provide guidance and information that American society has grown too lazy and too indifferent to find for themselves. When society finds that their information is wrong or tainted they blame television instead of finding truth and accuracy for themselves. Although television does not reflect race accurately, Americans have become too dependent on television to provide everything they know. In one of this generation's most popular TV shows, The Simpsons, it is easy to find stereotypes. There are numerous examples throughout the series, mostly toward Apu, the Indian storekeeper. For example, in episode 1F10, Homer and Apu, the writers do not overlook a single Indian stereotype. First of all they have an Indian man as a convenience storekeeper. The episode starts with Apu committing the usual convenience store stereotypes. For example he sells a $0.29 stamp for $1.85, $2 worth of gas for $4.20, etc. Next he changes the expiration dates on rancid ham and sells them. When his customer gets sick from it, he offers a 5 pound bucket of thawing shrimp. Later he picks up a hotdog that he dropped and puts it back on the hotdog roller. A news team catches him on hidden camera and Apu's boss fires him. In this scene we find out Apu has a stereotypical Indian surname, Nahasapeemapetilan. His boss also makes a joke about the Hindu religion. "Ah, true. But it's also standard procedure to blame any problems on a scapegoat or sacrificial lamb." [Daniels] The stereotypes continue redundantly. Jokes about Indian films, food, and other things fill the script. Then there is the grand finale, where Homer, the main character, and Apu go to India to ask for Apu's job back at the main office. The president and CEO very closely resembles a Hindu leader, making Indian and convenience store clerk appear synonymous. Other minorities are also misrepresented in The Simpsons. In the same episode, for example, Homer is watching an African American comedian who stereotypically stereotypes "white" guys. "Yo, check this out: black guys drive a car like this. [Leans back, as though his elbow were on the windowsill] Do, do, ch. Do-be-do, do-be-do-be-do. Yeah, but white guys, see they drive a car like this. [Hunches forward, talks nasally] Dee-da-dee, a-dee-da-dee-da-dee." [Daniels] Reverend Jesse Jackson says that the media depicts African Americans in "5 deadly ways: less intelligent...less hardworking...less universal...less patriotic...and more violent than we are." [Gibbons, 65] Gibbons, documenting Jackson's 1988 presidential campaign and the media coverage of it, also said: "American journalism - excellent when it reports the facts, but is literally incapable of informed opinion without bias when dealing with matters concerning race." [80] Indians and African Americans are not alone. All minorities are depicted inaccurately. Asian Americans, for example, are represented "as perpetually foreign and never American." They are depicted"as murderous and mysterious, as amorous or amoral... symbols of danger, refuge, inspiration, and forgiveness." "[Lipsitz] Lipsitz finds this "degrading, insulting, and implicated in the most vicious and pernicious form," as he is expected to. The problem is television ridicules everyone, and it is a source of entertainment, not culture and politics, which is what seems to be expected of TV by society. TV is even criticized for not taking sides in ideological debates, "Preferring instead to assert that an unlimited potential for new achievement and wealth in America can overcome contradictions or conflict." [Baker 163] The reason being that it is not TV's job to tell people what to believe. That is each individual's responsibility to develop themselves. Television is entertainment and entertainment is escapism. Television was originally created to provide an escape from life's trials and tribulations. America watched TV to slip into a world better than their own; not to develop their stance on the current political platform "du jour." As society's pace quickened, and TV's popularity grew, it became a member of the family. TV told the family everything that happened that day. Soon

LAW Surname Meaning and Origin

LAW Surname Meaning and Origin The Law surname has several possible meanings: A diminutive of the given name Laurence, from the Roman cognomen Laurentius, meaning of Laurentum, a city in ancient Italy.A surname for someone who lived near a hill,  derived from the Old English hlaw or hyll,  meaning small hill or burial mound; which became low in the south, but law in the north. Alternate Surname Spellings:  LAWE, LAWS, LAWES Surname Origin: English Where in the World Do People With the LAW  Surname Live? According to surname distribution data from Forebears, the Law surname is most prevalent in China and most dense in Hong Kong, likely a derivation of the common surname Lu,  Loh, or Luo. Within England, the Low last name is most common in Northamptonshire, where it ranks as the 72nd most common last name. It is also fairly prevalent in Essex (196th), Cambridgeshire (231st), Yorkshire (243rd) and Lancashire (249th). WorldNames PublicProfiler  indicates that within the United Kingdom, Law is most commonly found in Scotland, especially the Scottish Borders, Midlothian, South Lanarkshire, Fife and Angus. It is also fairly common throughout eastern England. Famous People Bonar Law - Prime Minister of Great Britain, 1922–23Jude Law  - British actorEvander M. Law  - Confederate  general in the American Civil WarWilliam Law  - important figure in the early history Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Genealogy Resources Law DNA ProjectThis DNA project is open to all individuals with the Law surname and variations (including  Carlaw, Castellaw, Crinklaw, De Lauriston, Drentlaw, Emlaw, Fallaw, Lauriston, Lawand, Laware, Lawes. Lawhorne, Lawhead, Lawhon, Lawill, Lawin, Lawing, Lawley, Lawlis, Lawman, Lawnicki, Lawshe, Lawter, Lawver, MacLaw, MacLaws, McLaw, McLaws, Nicklaw, Saslaw, Shullaw, Whitelaw, Wordlaw)  interested in working collaboratively to combine genealogy research with DNA testing to sort out Law  family lines. How to Research English  AncestryLearn how to research your English family tree with this guide to genealogical records in England and Wales. Includes information on both online and offline records including birth, marriage, death, census, military and estate records. Law Family Crest - Its Not What You ThinkContrary to what you may hear, there is no such thing as a Law  family crest or coat of arms for the Law surname.  Coats of arms are granted to individuals, not families, and may rightfully be used only by the uninterrupted male line descendants of the person to whom the coat of arms was originally granted.   LAW  Family Genealogy ForumSearch this popular genealogy forum for the Law surname to find others who might be researching your ancestors, or post your own Law genealogy query. FamilySearch - LAW  GenealogyExplore over 1.4  million  historical records which mention individuals with the Law surname, as well as online Law family trees on this free website hosted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. GeneaNet - Law  RecordsGeneaNet includes archival records, family trees, and other resources for individuals with the Law  surname, with a concentration on records and families from France and other European countries. DistantCousin.com - LAW  Genealogy Family HistoryExplore free databases and genealogy links for the last name Law. The Law  Genealogy and Family Tree PageBrowse family trees and links to genealogical and historical records for individuals with the last name Law  from the website of Genealogy Today.- References: Surname Meanings Origins Cottle, Basil.  Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967. Dorward, David.  Scottish Surnames. Collins Celtic (Pocket edition), 1998. Fucilla, Joseph.  Our Italian Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 2003. Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges.  A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989. Hanks, Patrick.  Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Reaney, P.H.  A Dictionary of English Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1997. Smith, Elsdon C.  American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997.

Versus and Its Abbreviations

Versus and Its Abbreviations Versus and Its Abbreviations Versus and Its Abbreviations By Maeve Maddox A reader wants to know more about the use of the word versus and its abbreviations: I have seen â€Å"versus† spelled out and abbreviated as both â€Å"vs.† and â€Å"v.† Is there any rhyme or reason to this word? The earliest citation of versus in the OED is in a legal context dated 1447: â€Å"John Husset versus John Notte.† The word comes from the Latin verb vertere: â€Å"to turn, turn back, be turned, translate.† Versus is the past participle of vertare. Its meanings in English include â€Å"against† and â€Å"as opposed or compared to†: The Parties Versus the People: How to Turn Republicans and Democrats into Americans Researchers examine autism differences in boys versus girls Depending on context, versus may be spelled out or abbreviated. The abbreviated form vs. is pronounced â€Å"versus.† The abbreviation for versus in the title of a case at law is the letter v followed by a period: Brown v. Board of Education Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission This legal abbreviation is usually pronounced like the name of the letter: â€Å"vee,† but I’ve heard lawyer characters on Law and Order say â€Å"versus.† Note: The title of a court case, like the title of a book, is italicized, including the v. In other contexts, the word versus and abbreviation vs. are not italicized. In British usage, the period after vs. is omitted. Versus, vs. and vs, are often used in headlines: Steelers hope breakout versus Colts only the start Dogs versus cats: Take the quiz! Minnesota launches deer vs. trees debate Babies vs Pets in Viral Advertising The Associated Press Stylebook recommends spelling out versus â€Å"in ordinary speech and writing† and abbreviating it as v. in court cases. According to AP, the abbreviation vs. is acceptable â€Å"in short expressions,† as in â€Å"The issue of guns vs. butter has long been with us.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:15 Terms for Those Who Tell the FutureAcronym vs. Initialism20 Names of Body Parts and Elements and Their Figurative Meanings

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory - MMPI Essay

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory - MMPI - Essay Example The MMPI has assessed in a variety of areas, such as: Criminal justice and corrections; evaluation of disorders; screen candidates for high safety positions; assess medical patients; evaluate participants in substance abuse programs; support college students and counseling; marriage and family counseling; and, screen international adoption parent. The MMPI is not sold and has been replaced by the MMPI-2 (Wikipedia, 2007). Scale 2 Depression, it identifies poor morale, the lack of hope in the future, and general dissatisfaction with ones own life. The high scores are identified as clinical depression and the low scores as unhappiness with life. Scale 5 Masculinity-Femininity was originally used to detect homosexuals but was not accurate. It is used to measure traditional masculine or feminine roles prior to 1960 and it is related to intelligence, education, and socioeconomic status. Scales 8 Schizophrenia assesses bizarre thought processes and peculiar perceptions, social alienation, poor familial relationships, difficulties in concentration and impulse control, lack of deep interests, disturbing questions of self-worth, and sexual difficulties. Hunt (2000) wanted to test that low iron status or other nutritional deficiencies are associated with symptoms of depression in premenopausal women of child bearing age. The author associated the blood indices of iron status to scores on the MMPI and responses to a mood adjective checklist. This took place during the women ´s menstrual cycle. There were 365 women who seemed healthy participants from Grand Forks, North Dakota. They found that the frequency of the elevated MMPI Depression scores did not relate to the frequency of low hemoglobin, transferrin saturation, or ferritin. The results did not support the hypothesis of low iron status contributing to symptoms of depression in women. According to Butcher et al. (ND) both the MMPI and

Human employes vs Robot employes Research Paper

Human employes vs Robot employes - Research Paper Example The paper tells that using human employees versus robot employees is a controversial subject. As there are several advantages and disadvantages to using both types of employees in the workforce. it is sometimes hard to choose which is actually better for the economy, the society and individuals themselves. The history of robot use for roles that human employees once carried out exists for a period of at least the last two centuries. Humanity has arrived at a whole new level of existence because of the use of robots and their employable functionalities. Even though robot employees have not affected the human employee force to the degree that there are severe job shortages occurring, some experts fear that there may be an upper limit as to how many robot employees the economy can sustainably employ before human labour losses are experienced and people are negatively affected. For more than two centuries the effect that using robotic employees has had on the work force has created a pos itive overall economic benefits to society. Although in theory, jobs that were once performed by humans are now being performed by robots, does not fully reflect the true circumstances of the labour market. What has happened is that jobs that have been transferred to robot employees have now freed the previous labourers from simpler tasks so they can do other jobs, and put a greater focus on the development of new aspects of technology and business. This effect has actually created more jobs due to an increase in the production of new industries, technologies and businesses. The standard of living has risen in many areas in the world. Jobs that were lost in one particular sector or niche were in number replaced by jobs that were able to have been created in other areas. The use of robots as employees has led to an increase in gained employee time for companies to use their workers; to focus on other tasks that have allowed for the development of new aspirations. Since the labour for ce has not been devastated by the use of robots over such a long period of the last two centuries, it is more than likely it will not happen in the near future. The use of robotic employees was first evident in the textile industry around the year 1811. A group of textile workers called the Luddites first proposed the idea to economists that their jobs would be taken over by robotic employees or more simply put, by automated processes. The traditional weaving jobs that they were doing were being taken over by the automated weaving machine. In the 1930’s it was predicted that in a time frame of about one thousand years, the new work week would be approximately 15 hours long. There was expected to be a problem that people would have too much leisure time on their hands rather than having to work long hours. This was proposed by John Maynard Kennedy, however in the future years that have already come and past, this theory has obviously been inaccurate. The world wars did see a d isruption in employment, however post world wars actually proved to be economically expanding. Between the years of 1950 to 1990, again fears arose which were similar to those of the Luddites that again human labour forces would be taken over by robot employees (Rifkin 1995). Companies experienced a large degree of resistance from their employees to preserve their jobs and create contracts that were protective in the event that a job was lost to an automated machine. Smaller companies that were not subject to unions did not have to

Stopping By Woods On A Snowy E :: essays research papers

"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" and "Mending Wall" An Analysis of Two Robert Frost Works. James Allen once said, 'You are today where your thoughts have brought you; you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you.'; After reading the two Robert Frost poems, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening and Mending Wall, one can not help to wonder what kinds of thoughts inspired these two poems. It becomes clear that the underlying theme in both of these poems is simply freedom of thought. These free thoughts give a person the capability to live how he chooses. In the first poem, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, Frost vividly describes a freedom that many of us take for granted. He tells how he has decided to take the time to stop what he is doing and admire the snow as it falls in the woods and on a frozen lake. The man who owns these woods lives in the town and is ignorant of the beauty that they contain. He has not taken the time to notice how beautiful they are as the snow comes down. The owner of the woods, we'll call him Bob, lives in the town and is busy living his life in the town. Bob will not notice because he takes for granted the fact that he is able to go look at the woods much like the author. 'Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village, though; He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill up with snow.'; The persona is saying that he knows who owns the woods, but he won't see him looking at the woods because he lives in the town. The author knows that Bob will not visit because he only owns the woods, he lives in the town and does not appreciate the beauty they possess or he would be there visiting them himself. The author is appreciating life and the freedom that he has while observing his own winter or the last stanza of his life as he watches the woods as they fill will snow. It is clear that the author (the persona of the poem) has chosen a life different from that of Bob. Bob has chosen the city life of materialistic things while the author has decided to take in the beauty of the world.

How We Are Teaching Children to Think Inside the Box Essay

When children come home from school, parents usually sit down with them, go through their homework folders and ask their child, â€Å"so, what did you learn at school today?† Twenty years ago, the child may have commented on what they learned in art, music, social studies or geography. Now, a child will comment only on what they learned in their reading circle or in their math book. The fault for this lies within the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. Standardized testing has turned teachers into test proctors and schools into testing facilities. Students are no longer receiving a broad education that covers many subjects; instead, their learning is streamlined to fit the content that is on the standardized tests. The NCLB Act is not working as it was intended, and as a result the American children are falling even further behind other developed nations. In fact, American students are ranked 19th out of 21 countries in math, 16th in science and last in physics (DeWeese 2). The No Child Left Behind Act needs to be tossed out before we do irreversible damage to the education system. It is not too late – we can turn everything around by getting rid of costly standardized tests, ensure students receive a broad education that includes classes in arts and music, which will better prepare them for higher education, and give control back to the individual states. In 2002, the No Child Left Behind Act was enacted by Congress, which was intended to close the learning gap between Caucasian students and minority students. The NCLB promised to promote accountability amongst teachers and school administrators, as well as assuring that all children would be proficient – according to standards set by the individual states – in reading and math by the end of the 2013-2014 school year (Ravitch 2). In addition, NCLB stated that by the end of the 2005-2006 school-year every classroom in America would have a highly qualified teacher (Paige 2). The most reliable way that the drafters of No Child Left Behind proposed collecting the data that they needed in order to keep track of accountability and proficiency was by mandating that each state issue their  students in grades 3 through 12 a standardized test annually that covers the subjects of reading, writing and math (Beveridge 1). The test that is issued is given to all students, whether they are Caucasian, African American, Hispanic, disabled, etc. and schools are graded based on the proficiency of their students. Each state sets a yearly goal that increases each year based on the mandates of the NCLB Act, in which all students will be 100 percent proficient in those three subjects by the year 2014 (Ravitch 2). On paper, the NCLB Act looked like a blessing to schools that are located in areas of low-income, minority areas and advocates for children with learning disabilities because these tests were meant to highlight the schools that are doing poorly and ensure they receive funding and training in order to turn the scores around (Darling-Hammond 1). In a letter that is addressed to parents on their website, the U.S. Department of Education explains that the NCLB Act provides â€Å"more resources to schools† through funding and â€Å"allows more flexibility† when allocating the funds (3). According to Linda Darling-Hammond, a Professor of Education at Stanford University, â€Å"the funding allocated by NCLB – less than 10 percent of most schools’ budgets – does not meet the needs of the under-resourced schools, where many students currently struggle to learn† (2). Another way schools get their funding is through the taxes that we pay. It makes sense that schools located in an area that has higher income would receive more funds than schools located in a low-income area. What happens is that with the limited funding, schools in low-income areas need to prioritize funding to raise the standardized test scores of their students because once a school fails to show improvement in their standar dized test scores, they are placed on probation the second year and parents are given a choice to leave the failing school, taking their child and the funding attached to that child to a school that is rated better. â€Å"In the third year of a school’s failure, students are entitled to free tutoring after school† according to Diane Ravitch, a research professor of education at New York University (2). The funding provided by NCLB is supposed to help pay for the free tutoring, but, like was stated before, the funding provided is not enough. What happens when a school is mandated by law to provide resources, but it cannot find room in their budget? That’s  right, they cut funding elsewhere. In an article written by Angela Pascopella, the Austin Independent School District superintendent Pascal D. Forgione explains that â€Å"NCLB also requires that schools in need of improvement set aside 10 percent of their local Title 1 funds for professional development †¦ this creates no flexibility in budgeting† (1). When schools need to restructure their budget in order to pay for tutoring and retraining teachers, the arts and music programs are the ones that suffer most. NCLB places so much emphasis on the outcome of the standardized tests. Can you really blame the school districts for re-emphasizing the importance of standardized tests when their funding relies on it? States were put in charge of providing their own assessment tests in order to provide a more focused education to their students and ensure that the students meet the state’s standards of proficiency. Tina Beveridge explains that â€Å"in 2007, the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) cost the state $113 million †¦ [and] many districts eliminated teaching positions as a result, despite the use of stimulus money. As budgets are cut nationwide, the funding for nontested subjects are affected first† (1). The fact that the distribution of funds is based on the outcome of the standardized test scores mea ns that we are blatantly failing the inner-city schools. A school will be placed on probation if they fail just one category ranging from proficiency of Caucasian students all the way down to the proficiency of the students who are just learning the English language. Schools located in higher income areas don’t really have to worry as much about budget cuts because those schools are located in areas that are predominately white and with parents who are active in their children’s education. On the other hand, schools in low income areas have to provide tutoring and other mandated actions in order to improve their proficiency rates, all the while their students are learning in â€Å"crumbling facilities, overcrowded classrooms, out-of-date textbooks, no science labs, no art or music courses and a revolving door of untrained teachers† (Darling-Hammond 2). After a few years of a school not showing improvement through their test scores, their entire teaching staff could be fired. We just saw this happen last year in Providence, Rhode Island. The school board terminated 1,976 teachers because of insufficient results and the need to make budget cuts (Chivvis 1). The turnover rate for  teachers is already extremely high, as much as 50 percent leave within 5 years in urban areas (McKinney et al 1) and the pressure of working in a low-income school district where schools are lacking basic teaching necessities is not all that appealing. The inability of low-income schools to offer teachers incentives because of funding, and with the added stress of job security, it makes one wonder how any highly qualified teachers are in the classroom. On top of that, the curriculum for students has gotten so narrow that it has taken a lot of the creativity and individualization that once attracted the best of the best to the teaching profession. Susan J. Hobart is an example of one of those teachers who used to love doing her job because she was leaving her mark on her students, in a positive way. In Hobart’s article, she tells of a letter she received from one of her students prior to the NCLB Act. The letter explained that Hobart was â€Å"differen t than other teachers, in a good way. [They] didn’t learn just from a textbook; [they] experienced the topics by ‘jumping into the textbook.’ [They] got to construct a rainforest in [their] classroom, have a fancy lunch on the Queen Elizabeth II, and go on a safari through Africa† (3). The student goes on to explain that the style of teaching she experienced during that time is what she hopes she can do when she becomes a teacher too. Unfortunately, that student’s dream will most likely not come true because the fact is that when schools are placed on probation, like Hobart’s school, they â€Å"teach test-taking strategies similar to those taught in Stanley Kaplan prep courses †¦ and spend an inordinate amount of time showing students how to ‘bubble up’† (1). With all the time and energy being placed on teaching children to read and write, you would think that they would be proficient by the time they enroll in college, right? Wrong. â€Å"42 percent of community college freshmen and 20 percent of freshmen in four-year institutions enroll in at least one remedial course †¦ 35 percent were enrolled in math, 23 percent in writing, and 20 percent in reading,† according to the Alliance for Excellent Education (1). Scho ols are so reliant on the standardized tests in order to gauge how students are understanding material that they have slacked-off in other areas like teaching basic study skills and critical thinking skills. When most of these kids graduate from high school and enter into a college setting, especially the ones who need to take remedial courses to catch-up to where  they should be when they graduate, they’re taken completely off guard with the course load and they will either succeed in managing it or struggle for the first few semesters, but the majority will drop out without a degree (Alliance for Excellent Education 1). High school is meant to prepare students for higher education or to enter the workforce, but the government is spending millions of dollars in order to remediate students and doing what high school teachers were meant to do (Alliance for Excellent Education 3). So, who is to blame? The supporters of No Child Left Behind acknowledge that there are some faults to the Act, but those like Kati Haycock believes that â€Å"although NCLB isn’t perfect, the Bush administration and Congress did something important by passing it. They called on educators to embrace a new challenge – not just access for all, but achievement for all †¦ there are no more invisible kids† (1). Supporters feel as though benefits such as holding teachers accountable for all students, including those with disabilities, and weeding out the schools that have a long history of doing poorly outweighs the negatives and that with time, the NCLB Act can be reformed to work as efficiently as it was enacted to work. Ravitch disagrees, stating that â€Å"Washington has neither the knowledge nor the capacity to micromanage the nation’s schools† (3). We have to agree with her as concerned citizens and parents. While the NCLB Act meant well when it was passed, it’s time to acknowledge that the government has spent billions of dollars trying to improve the education of America’s youth, yet 10 years later American students are still falling behind the mark set by other industrialized nations and the 201 3-2014 school year is quickly coming upon us. Not only are we falling behind globally, but minorities are still struggling behind Caucasian students. The gap between Caucasian students and minority students, that was intended to close through the NCLB Act, has remained just as far apart. E.E. Miller Elementary School, located here in Fayetteville, NC, just released their annual report card to parents. The chart below shows the break-down of students who passed both the reading and math tests provided at the end of the 2010-2011 school year. African American children, Hispanic children, and children with disabilities are still lagging far behind their Caucasian peers. African American children passed at 49.4 percent, 25.5 percent of students with disabilities passed and Hispanic children passed at rate of  56.9 percent. Remember that the NCLB expects this school, along with every other school in the Nation, to be at 100 percent proficiency by the end of the 2013-2014 school year. Source: Education First NC School Report Cards, E. E. Miller Elementary: 2010-11 School Year, Public Schools of North Carolina State Board of Education, Web, 26 Oct. 2011. In order to put this chart more in perspective, below is the 3-year trend for E.E. Miller. [pic] Source: Education First NC School Report Cards, E. E. Miller Elementary: 2010-11 School Year, Public Schools of North Carolina State Board of Education, Web, 26 Oct. 2011. While math scores are steadily improving, reading scores (the solid line) are declining. E.E. Miller has been on probation for at least 3 years, having provided tutoring to children who were struggling last year. Even with those efforts, the end of the year test suggests those students are still struggling in reading. These mandates are not working. States are spending millions of dollars per year to fulfill all of the required obligations without any fruition. We need to put education spending back into the hands of the states with more substantial federal funding. The federal government cannot expect every public elementary school, middle school and high school in this nation to fix a problem that has been prevalent for many, many years with this one-size-fits-all approach to learning. It will not happen with No Child Left Behind, and it definitely will not happen by the end of the 2013-2014 school year. We can no longer sit and watch while students in America struggle to compete o n a global level in nearly all subjects. Teachers are not educating our nation’s students to think critically and to form their own ideas or opinions; instead, teachers in failing schools are stuck teaching a curriculum that directly corresponds to what is being tested, and we are failing to prepare them for higher education. The future citizens we are molding will be of no use to society if they cannot think for themselves, which will happen if they remain in the current system. We need to undo this one-size-fits-all curriculum and re-broaden our children’s education to include subjects that will teach them think outside the box. Works Cited Alliance for Excellence in Education. â€Å"Paying Double: Inadequate High Schools and Community College Remediation.† Issue Brief: August (2006). All4Ed.Org. Web. 30 Oct. 2011. Beveridge, Tina. â€Å"No Child Left Behind and Fine Arts Classes.† Arts Education Policy Review 111.1 (2010): 4. MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO. Web. 20 Oct. 2011. Chivvis, Dana. â€Å"Providence, RI, School Board Votes to Lay Off All Teachers.† AOL News (2011). Web. 28 Oct. 2011. Darling-Hammond, Lisa. â€Å"No Child Left Behind is a Bad Law.† Opposing Viewpoints. Web. 14 Oct. 2011. DeWeese, Tom. â€Å"Public Education is Failing.† Opposing Viewpoints. Web. 14 Oct. 2011. Education First NC School Report Cards. â€Å"E. E. Miller Elementary: 2010-11 School Year.† Public Schools of North Carolina State Board of Education. Web. 26 Oct. 2011. McKinney, Sueanne E., et al. â€Å"Addressing Urban High-Poverty School Teacher Attrition by Addressing Urban High-Poverty School Teacher Retention: Why Effective Teachers Persevere.† Educational Research and Review Vol. 3 (1) pp. 001-009 (2007). Academic Journals. Web. 28 Oct. 2011. Paige, Rod. â€Å"No Child Left Behind: A Parent’s Guide.† U.S. Department of Education (2002). PDF File. 28 Oct. 2011. Pascopella, Angela. â€Å"Talking Details on NCLB.† District Administration 43.7 (2007): 22. MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO. Web. 28 Oct. 2011. Ravitch, Diane. â€Å"Time to Kill ‘No Child Left Behind’.† Education Digest 75.1 (2009): 4. MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO. Web. 20 Oct. 2011.

Profile of Rachel Maddow, MSNBC Journalist

Rachel Maddow is the outspoken, energetic host of MSNBCs The Rachel Maddow Show, a political news and commentary weeknight program. The show first aired on September 8, 2008, urged by viewers impressed with Maddows frequent guest hosting of MSNBCs The Keith Olbermann Show. Ms. Maddow is an avowed liberal who enjoys the feisty thrust-and-parry of debate. A self-described national security liberal, Rachel Maddow is known for sharp intelligence, wit, work ethic, and reliance on well-researched facts, rather than party-line talking points, to inform her independent viewpoint. Before MSNBC 1999 - Won an open-casting call for a radio co-hosting job on WRNX in Massachusetts. Soon moved to WRSI, where she hosted a program for two years.2004 - Landed a co-hosting gig on new liberal radio network, Air America.2005 - Accepted Air Americas offer to host her own liberal politics radio show, The Rachel Maddow, which continues in late 2009. The program has changed time slots several times, and currently airs each weekday at 5 am EST.2006 - Regular contributor to CNN (Paula Zahn) and MSNBC (Tucker Carlson) programs.January 2008 - Signed exclusive TV contract with MSNBC. Educational Path A 1989 graduate of Castro Valley High School where she was a three-sport athlete, Rachel Maddow earned a B.A. in Public Policy from nearby Stanford University, where she won the John Gardner Fellowship for public service. After a year in San Francisco working for the AIDS Legal Referral Panel and with ACT-UP, an AIDS non-profit, Rachel Maddow was awarded a prestigious Rhodes Scholarship to study political science at Oxford University. She completed an Oxford doctorate in politics in 2001 after several delays, including a stint at the AIDS Treatment Project in London and a 1999 move to Massachusetts. Personal Data Birth - April 1, 1973 in Castro Valley, California, near San Francisco, to Robert Maddow, an attorney and former Air Force captain, and Elaine Maddow, a school administrator.Family - Linked with partner Susan Mikula, an artist, since 1999. The couple reside quietly with their labrador retriever in a rural Massachusetts home built in 1865. Rachel Maddow came out as gay at age 17 when a Stanford freshman. She was the first openly gay American to be awarded a Rhodes Scholarship, and the first openly gay journalist to anchor a major U.S. news program. Accolades and Honors For her efforts as a political journalist, Rachel Maddow has been awarded: 2010 Walter Cronkite Faith Freedom award. Past recipients include Tom Brokaw, Larry King, and the late Peter Jennings.2009 - Nomination for Outstanding Achievement in News and Information by the Television Critics Association, the only cable news program accorded the honor2009 - Gracie Award by the American Women in Radio, TelevisionMarch 28, 2009 - Proclamation of Honor from the California State Senate Maddow has also been lauded for her work by myriad  gay and lesbian organizations, including GLAAD, AfterEllen, and Out magazine. Quotes On Being a Liberal I am a liberal. Im not a partisan, not a Democratic Party hack. Im not trying to advance anybodys agenda. Washington Post, August 27, 2008 On Her Appearance Im not that pretty. Women on television are over-the-top, beauty-pageant gorgeous. Thats not the grounds on which I am competing. Washington Post, August 27, 2008 Im not Anchorbabe, and Im never going to be. My goal is to do the physical appearance stuff in such a way that it is not comment-worthy. The Village Voice, June 23, 2009 On Fox News The one time Fox News ever asked me to be a guest was when Madonna made news by kissing another famous female, Britney Spears. They thought I had expertise, maybe. I said, No, duh. The Guardian UK, September 28, 2008 On Being a Political Commentator I do worry if being a pundit is a worthwhile thing to be. Yeah, I’m the unlikely cable news host. But before that I was the unlikely Rhodes scholar. And before that I was the unlikely kid who got into Stanford. And then I was the unlikely lifeguard. You can always cast yourself as unlikely when you’re fundamentally alienated in your worldview. It’s a healthy approach for a commentator. New York Magazine, November 2, 2008

Characteristics Of Culture And International Business

I. Introduction What is culture? In the textbook the authors give a simple definition, which is, â€Å"The sum of the beliefs, rules, techniques, institutions, and artifacts that characterize human population.† Though this is a good definition it needs expanded, there is a vast amount of culture in this world and one cannot simply put culture into a few sentences. Many people have dedicated their time to studying culture, these people can be referred to as anthropologists. Thus far they have discovered that culture is something that is acquired through personal experiences. Anthropologist have also hypothesized that many characteristics of culture are connected. These characteristics of culture create the distinction between various social groups. Culture is something that is very important to several different fields. Since culture is subjective, a deeper look at what it entails and the role it plays in global business is essential. II. Culture and International Business To be involved in international business, it takes a special type of person. This is the rare moment in business when it is essential to have the openness and ability to acquire knowledge about other culture besides our own. It is believed that culture cannot be simply studied; one has to be there to experience it. This phenomenon can be referred to as sociocultural. The longer someone is subjected to a culture, the better business official they will be. Before a business official leaves their home country,Show MoreRelatedTypes Of Company Traits That Builds And Sustain Companies Growth1459 Words   |  6 Pagescauses companies to disappear. This is to support the positive traits that are recommended for companies to follow and improve chances for survival. Multiple studies on business success have found similar traits shared by successful companies. A global quantitative research is suggested for more accurate results of successful characteristics. Companies’ Success and Failure Based on Traits A study by Kelly (1997), surveyed 30 companies that have survived for over 75 years. The study showed that organizationsRead MoreThe Issue Of Language Boundaries838 Words   |  4 Pageswhen everybody enter to new culture. Everybody need struggle to communicate what they want to get necessary information regarding new culture. The findings suggest that the language barrier generates negative emotional. There are so many differences like Body languages, eating food, Cloths wearing, communication. This paper describes the most well known and accepted new cultural with international language. These theories consider relations between new people And new culture. Introduction The pointsRead MoreUnderstanding Cultural Dimension : Strategy For Globalization Business1596 Words   |  7 PagesGlobalisation Business The maritime industry is a kind of vast business, which usually develop into multinational business. 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There is an inequality among the international business field and the entrepreneurship field, Read MoreCultural Dimensions Of Brazil And China1501 Words   |  7 Pages GCIM International Business and Management Assignment 1 Cultural Dimensions of Brazil and China Nouran AlSahhaf @00413902 â€Æ' Table of Contents Executive summery†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..3 Cultural Dimensions†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.4 Power Distance†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.4 Power Distance in China†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦................................................†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..4 Power Distance in Brazil †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.5 Uncertainty Avoidance†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.5 Uncertainty Avoidance in China†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Read MoreIntroduction To International Commercial Arbitration915 Words   |  4 Pages Introduction to International Commercial Arbitration Producers of goods and services have grown their business activities up to transacting their items across various nations of the world. Many business people or entrepreneurs have expanded their properties and businesses to an international level. This has largely contributed to the crossing of large amount of goods from various countries to others, an activity which is commonly described as importation and exportation of products, propertiesRead MoreEffect of Culture in International Business Essay1492 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction Culture is an important part of International Business. Culture is defining the collection of values, beliefs, behaviours, customs and attitudes of the member in the society. Culture is the behaviour that people act in the community. The characteristic of culture is also reflects learned behaviour that is transmitted from one member to another in society. There are also basic elements cultures such as social structure, language and religious. So the foreigner who wants to operateRead MoreUnderstanding National Culture And How Relevant Is Important Essay841 Words   |  4 Pagesapproaches to understanding national culture and how relevant is such an understanding to an internationalising firm. â€Æ' Index 1.- Introduction 3 2.- Aproaches to National Culture 4 2.1.- Hall’s Context Culture Model 5 2.2.- Hofstede s Cultural Dimensions Theory 5 2.3.- Trompenaars Model of National Culture Differences 5 3.- Conclusion 6 4.- Bibliography 7 â€Æ' 1.- Introduction According to Hofstede definition, it is possible to develop the idea of national culture as a culture for a particular group of humansRead MoreLink Between Emotional Intelligence and Cross-Cultural Leadership1033 Words   |  5 PagesReilly, A.H. and Karounos, T.J. (2009), â€Å"Exploring the Link between Emotional Intelligence and Cross-Cultural Leadership Effectiveness†, Journal of International Business and Cultural Studies, Vol. 1, Feb. 2009, pp. 1 – 13. Introduction Along with the globalization of business, many corporations are facing the challenge of operating in a different culture. The writers made a connection between emotional intelligence and cross-cultural leadership effectiveness to deal with this situation, this articleRead MoreUncertainty avoidance997 Words   |  4 Pagesthan principles. People in cultures with high uncertainty avoidance tend to be more emotional. They try to minimize the occurrence of unknown and unusual circumstances and to proceed with careful changes step by step by planning and by implementing rules, laws and regulations. In contrast, low uncertainty avoidance cultures accept and feel comfortable in unstructured situations or changeable environments and try to have as few rules as possible. People in these cultures tend to be more pragmatic,

My Sons Story By Nadine Gordimer Themes and issues in...

Throughout her career, the South African novelist Nadine Gordimer has wanted to explore the terrain where personal interests, desires and ambitions encounter (and, not rarely, contend with) the demands and trials of a politically active life. She has had a keen eye for the exceedingly precarious moral situation of her own kind - the privileged white intelligentsia that abhors apartheid, detests the exploitation of 25 million unfranchised, economically vulnerable citizens at the hands of five million people who, so far, have had a powerful modern army at their disposal, not to mention the wealth of a vigorous, advanced capitalist society. To oppose the assumptions and everyday reality of a particular world, yet be among the men and women†¦show more content†¦For Aila, his wife, for Baby, their daughter and first child, for Will, named after Shakespeare (how do some of us jaded folk, schooled for years, ever recapture the innocence and heartfelt sincerity of such a parental decision?), Sonny, the low-paid, earnest, hard-working civil servant and educator, once had an almost infinite supply of concern and affection. He attended them in every way - a sturdy householder, no matter the constant, terrible shadow of apartheid. But gradually Sonny got connected to his peoples political struggle, an exceedingly dangerous one in a country whose ruling class for decades ruthlessly punished any and all activist dissent: a democracy for a white minority, a harsh totalitarian regime for a black majority. Gradually, too, he found less and less time for his family. He shows up now and then, but hurriedly leaves. To call upon a well-known biblical polarity, he is trying to gain a whole new world for others, yet his own familys world, maybe his soul, too, are in grave jeopardy. Sonnys political ascent is a major topic for the novels one narrator (who is obviously horrified by apartheid and anxious to see it ended, and is struggling to find the self-respect that goes with a principled observers persistent dissent). It is this narrator who gives us a rather conventional, well-told account of a familys ups and downs, its transition from social and emotional ordinariness to a

Nixon’s Policies Versus the Strategies of Cold War Free Essays

It is at the peak of The Cold War that Richard Nixon assumed his position. He felt the need to change the country’s foreign policy because it is at this time that thousands of American troops were sent to Vietnam. Then, there was a strong urge to win The Cold War over and stop communism at any cost, Nixon rather wants to divert it to another way that points to a productive initiative that basically highlights cooperation. We will write a custom essay sample on Nixon’s Policies Versus the Strategies of Cold War or any similar topic only for you Order Now Nixon believed that the only key to a more stable world is a stronger America. He then emphasized the bigger importance of partnership to win back not the war but peace between countries. Nixon even stated to provide shield to those countries in alliance to them in case of nuclear threats. He even said that the United States would also keep its commitments to other nations, as well as manpower to those who needs defense. His strategy turned out to be more civil and diplomatic than that of the heated cold war policies. He engaged more on changing the approach so as to better see the problem and make it into something more favorable to everyone (Nixon’s Foreign Policy: A Global Balance Of Power ). Reference Nixon’s Foreign Policy: A Global Balance Of Power . (n.d.). Retrieved october tuesday, 2007, from free essays: http://www.freeessays.cc/db/38/pbk80.shtml    How to cite Nixon’s Policies Versus the Strategies of Cold War, Essay examples

Evidence of Segmentation

Question: Write an essay on "Evidence of Segmentation". Answer: The financial technology also known as Fin Tech is a speedily growing line of trade that is transforming the monetary services sector and troublemaking existing monetary service suppliers. It brings together both finance and technology in order to introduce the innovative ways to distribute the financial services. Under Fin Tech, the peer to peer lending is the most well-known. The lender under the peer to peer category follows a diverse trade model to that of the financial organizations (Harwood et al. 2012). The banking industry in Australia is dominated by 4 main banks with a joint market share of 75 percent in the segment of mortgages of retail banking. The major banks and other incumbents place a superior importance on mortgages and deposits than on customer unsecured lending given remote larger income and earnings pools in those districts and their importance in establishing the consumer relationship (Frisoni et al. 2015). Lending to businesses in Australia was ~A$777 billion as of December 2014. Based on RBA data, individual loan balances below A$500,000 account for ~A$120 billion of lending, while balances between A$500,000 and A$2 million make up another ~A$130 billion of loans. The four-year compound growth rate since 2010 has been ~1.9% for the former and ~3.4% for the latter (Peguero-Pina et al. 2015). Segmentation lies somewhere near the middle of a continuum of marketing strategies that range from mass marketing in which a solitary product is obtainable to all customers in a marketto one-to-one marketingin which a diverse product is specially intended for each individual consumer. As per the evidence, the demographical factors like education, income, size of the household affects the choice of the financial outlet and the choices of brand. The evidence corroborates theories that are emphasizing the dynamics of resources investment, monetary services reformation and the financial incentives (Chahine et al. 2015). In the base case, it is assumed that P2P SME lending balances will cultivate from approximately zero today to ~A$11.4 billion (~12% of the TAM) in 2020. It is factored that in 2020 balances of ~A$15.2bn (~16% of the TAM) under the bull case and ~A$4.8 billion (~5% of the TAM) under the bear case (see Exhibit 114). In the viewpoint, SME lending via P2P will mature sooner than consumer unsecured provide because way in to credit from the banks is more unnatural in this section and it is thought that SME borrowers are more possible to search for substitute sources of credit. As per the IBIS report, in Australia the peer peer lending is still under its infancy. As estimated the loans that was issued in the year 2014 was approximately US$500 million. Presently, in Australia the majority of investments supplied for the Australian peer-peer lender are only available to complicated investors. Degree of Market Competition by Segment Concentration is the vital element that is considered vital in the evolution of competition. As per the traditional structure, a concentrated lending industry implies a lower degree of competition due to the undesirable exercise of market power. The authoritarian impediments to competition also create a desirable environment for a few powerful banks in order to hinder competition (Kim et al. 2016). The lack of significance in the market structure implies that the competition policy in the lending industry is more intricate than expected. However, the competitiveness in the industry cannot be measured only by the structure of the market. In order to determine the competition in the lending industry, the organizational quality as well as the amount of inter-industry competition plays a vital role. A concentrated lending industry endangers the competitiveness in the developing financial system. The degree of market competition in the lending industry is behind many other sectors. Competition is viewed quite often as an essential ingredient in the development strategy of the lending sectors. According to the conventional point of view, an augment in attentiveness fosters conspiracy and impairs competition. However, it is tricky to moderator whether concentration diminishes competition among lending industry, based on the experiential findings, where the case for using attentiveness as an alternative for competition is seriously doubtful. The market competition in the lending sector often leads to the lowering of costs and this in turn improves the efficiency of the fiscal intermediation, greater innovation of manufactured goods. Thus, the market competition leads to greater improvement, lower costs, enhanced competence as well as greater and broader supply. The link between competition and the lending sector performance leads to more complexity of the financial system. However, more competition leads to more entrance and in turn leads too weaker lending standard (Cheng et al. 2013). In case of the competition in the lending financial industry, the structure of the ownership seems to matter. By controlling the traits of the lending industry, it is robust to model condition and unusual measures of competition. References Chahine, C., El Berbari, R., Lagorre, C., Nakib, A. and Petit, E., 2015, September. Evidence theory for image segmentation using information from stochastic Watershed and Hessian filtering. InSystems, Signals and Image Processing (IWSSIP), 2015 International Conference on(pp. 141-144). IEEE. Cheng, P., Man, P. and Yi, C.H., 2013. The impact of product market competition on earnings quality.Accounting Finance,53(1), pp.137-162. Frisoni, G.B., Jack, C.R., Bocchetta, M., Bauer, C., Frederiksen, K.S., Liu, Y., Preboske, G., Swihart, T., Blair, M., Cavedo, E. and Grothe, M.J., 2015. The EADC-ADNI Harmonized Protocol for manual hippocampal segmentation on magnetic resonance: Evidence of validity.Alzheimer's Dementia,11(2), pp.111-125. Harwood, M.L., Ziegler, G.R. and Hayes, J.E., 2012. Rejection thresholds in chocolate milk: Evidence for segmentation.Food quality and preference,26(1), pp.128-133. Kim, K., Gopal, A. and Hoberg, G., 2016. Does Product Market Competition Drive CVC Investment? Evidence from the US IT Industry.Information Systems Research. Peguero-Pina, J.J., Sancho-Knapik, D., Martn, P., Saz, M.., Gea-Izquierdo, G., Caellas, I. and Gil-Pelegrn, E., 2015. Evidence of vulnerability segmentation in a deciduous Mediterranean oak (Quercus subpyrenaica EH del Villar).Trees,29(6), pp.1917-1927.

Credit Crunch in Usa-Causes and Solutions Essay Example

Credit Crunch in Usa-Causes and Solutions Essay Contents Credit Crunch in USA2 Causes of the Credit Crunch2 Housing Bubble2 Financial Product Innovations5 Sub Prime and Alt-A Lending5 Shadow Banking System6 Other Factors7 Solutions for the Credit Crunch7 Nationalization7 Regulation of the Shadow Banking System8 Regulations on Mortgage Lending8 Capital Reserve Requirement9 Government Initiatives10 Conclusion11 References12 Appendix14 Glossary14 Table of Charts Federal Funds vs Mortgage Rates3 USA Home Price Indices4 USA Property Foreclosures 20075 USA subprime Market Share6 Mortgage Foreclosures Factors.. 9 Credit Crunch in USA â€Å"USA† is facing a shrinking supply of credit in the credit market which is often termed as a â€Å"Credit Crunch†. A credit crunch has made it difficult for companies to borrow because lenders are scared  of bankruptcies or defaults, which results in higher rates. The credit crunch has done a lot of damage to the US economy by stifling economic growth through decreased capital liquidity and the reduced ability to borrow (Keara, 2009). This crunch coupled with the  recession, has led to many corporate  bankruptcies. Causes of the Credit Crunch Housing Bubble The central element in the Credit Crunch was the â€Å"Housing Bubble†. The real estate prices in US were unchanged for almost a century until 1995(Baker, 2008). The period between 1995 till 2002 showed an increase of 30 % in the house prices which grew up to 124% by 2006 (The Economist, 2007). The house prices were being driven by a speculative bubble rather than the fundamentals of the housing market (Baker, 2008). We will write a custom essay sample on Credit Crunch in Usa-Causes and Solutions specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Credit Crunch in Usa-Causes and Solutions specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Credit Crunch in Usa-Causes and Solutions specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Adding fuel to the fire were the lower interest rates offered by the Federal Reserve System. The country was grappling back to normalcy after the 2001 recession. To ease out the pressures on the potential home buyers, the federal fund rates were slashed drastically to 1. 0 percent by the end of 2003, which was a 50 year low. The 30 year fixed rate was also reduced to 5. 25 %. Chart 1 gives us the trends for the 30 Year fixed rates and the mortgage rates across 2001-2008. Chart 1. Federal Funds vs Mortgage Rates(Freddie Mac,2008) These extra ordinarily low interest rates accelerated the house prices. Alan Greenspan, the Federal Reserve Board chairman encouraged people to buy adjustable rate mortgages instead of fixed rate mortgages (Baker, 2008). This  housing bubble also resulted in quite a few homeowners refinancing their homes at lower interest rates, or financing consumer spending by taking out  second mortgages  secured by the price appreciation. This bubble began to burst in 2007, as the construction boom led to so much over-supply that prices could no longer be supported. By the end of 2007, the housing prices had started to fall in most parts of USA. The prices had declined to almost 20 % of their peak value since mid 2006(Standard`s Poor`s, 2008). This dramatic fall in the house prices put the borrowers in a ‘negative equity’ where the appraised value of the mortgage was far lower than the actual amount owed to the financial institution. Chart 2 shows the Home Price trend in USA until 2008. Chart 2. USA Home Price Indices(Standard Poor`s,2008) The Federal fund rates were raised significantly between July 2004 and July 2006  . This contributed to an increase in 1-year and 5-year  adjustable-rate mortgage  (ARM) rates, making ARM interest rate resets more expensive for homeowners(Mastrobatista,2009). People were unable to cope with the higher interest rates offered by the adjustable rate mortgages in the latter periods. Refinancing became more difficult, once house prices began to decline. Borrowers who could not afford the higher monthly payments by refinancing began to default. During 2007, lenders started the foreclosure proceedings on nearly 1. million properties, a 79% increase over 2006 (RealtyTrac, 2008)  which further increased to 2. 3 million in 2008, an 81% increase vs. 2007 (RealtyTrac, 2009). A survey by MBA (2008) showed that 9. 2% of all mortgages outstanding were either delinquent or in foreclosure. The Economist (2009) predicts that up to 9 million homes may enter foreclosure over the 2009-2011 periods leading to a loss of more than $450 billion. Chart 3 shows the U. S. Household Prope rty Foreclosure in 2007. Chart 3. USA Property Foreclosures Chart 2007(Realty Trac,2009) Financial Product Innovations The housing bubble was supported by a variety of financial product innovations such as; 1. Adjustable Rate Mortgages in contrast to Fixed Rate Mortgages which were more common before. 2. Mortgage Backed Securities. 3. Collateral Debt Obligations. 4. Credit Default Swaps. The use of these products expanded dramatically in the years leading up to the crisis. Sub Prime and Alt-A Lending Sub Prime Lending refers to loans issued to people who have poor credit histories. Owing to government and competitive pressures, the sub-prime mortgage market exploded during the housing bubble. Most of the major investment banks and government sponsored agencies such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were involved with this high risk lending (Wallison Calomiris, 2008). Before 2004, the Sub Prime market accounted for less than 10 % but increased to 20 % by 2006 (Alexander et al, 2008). The relaxation of â€Å"Net Capital Rule† encouraged the investment companies to increase their financial leverage and aggressively promote the Mortgage Backed Securities (Labaton, 2008). In addition to this the issuance of Alt-A loans also aggravated the problems for the nations` economy (Baker, 2008). These loans were of a questionable quality and came up with incomplete documentations. Many of these loans were falsely purchased for the sake of investments. These loans had high loan to value ratio. In some cases, buyers got the full value of their purchase price. The subprime and Alt-A categories together comprised more than 40 percent of the loans issued at the peak of the bubble (Baker, 2008). Chart 4 shows the US Subprime Market share and the Home Ownership percentages. Chart 4. USA Sub Prime Market Share(US Census Bureau,2008) The delinquency rates for the Subprime loans had reached 25% by the end of 2008 (Bernanke, 2008). Shadow Banking System Lack of regulatory controls over the parallel or shadow banking system played a major role in the credit collapse. The parallel banking systems are nothing but the securitization markets. These entities were vulnerable because they borrowed short-term in liquid markets to purchase long-term, illiquid and risky assets (Geithner, 2008). This meant that disruptions in credit markets made them subject to rapid deleveraging, selling their long-term assets at depressed prices. Major USA conglomerates, Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers are the examples of parallel banking systems whose collapse signalled the start of the financial crisis. These financial institutions benefited from the existing easy credit conditions . They borrowed and invested large sums of money through a practice called as leveraged lending (The New York Times, 2010). The high leverage ratios of these organizations put them under heavy debts. Blackburn (2008) in his research article â€Å"The Subprime Crisis† reveals that the debts for these Organizations were 113. 8% of the GDP in 2007. Such high financial leverages made these organizations highly susceptible to the market setbacks. Other Factors In addition to the above mentioned factors, the lenders were also involved in unscrupulous activities of advertising risky loans. Countrywide Financials was actively involved in unfair business practices and advertising low interest rates for home refinancing. Incorrect appraisals of the owners’ property, inaccurate credit ratings by agencies, extremely low down payments offered to the borrowers, NINJA mortgaging also contributed to the downslide of the economy. Solutions for the Credit Crunch The credit crunch could have been avoided if the regulatory bodies had taken the necessary precautionary measures. The early signs of a crunch were ignored and not paid attention to which led to a very aggravated condition. Leading financial advisors worldwide have recommended some key solutions to safeguard the economy in the future. Nationalization Nationalization has been a very rare occurrence in the economic history of USA. But it is one the best possible solutions for the Credit Crunch. The failing companies must be bailed out by the government and exercised control upon. All the insolvent financial institutions must be injected with fresh capital from private investors in an order to survive. Roubini(2009), a popular economist also advocates a temporary takeover of the financial organizations which are on the verge of bankruptcy by the government. Regulation of the Shadow Banking System The Shadow Banking Systems do not follow the rules and regulations which are applicable to banks. The financial regulations and the safety nets should also be extended to these organizations. Krugman (2010) suggests that the regulators must have the authority to take control of the falling shadow banks. The  FDIC  has the authority to takeover a struggling depository bank and liquidate it but it lacks this authority for non-bank financial institutions. Geithner (2009) testifies that the FDIC needs to expand its regulation to these non bank financial institutions also. Stiglitz (2008) advocates that there should be strict regulations with regards to the financial leverages that these intuitions undertake in order to get short term benefits. He suggests that companies must not be allowed to grow very big and must be broken into smaller entities. Financial institutions must not be allowed to go rampant in selling the riskier products such as the mortgage backed securities and CDOS`. Regulations on Mortgage Lending During the period preceding the credit crunch, there were minimal regulatory acts for mortgage lending. As a result there was an increase in subprime mortgages which were one of the major causes of the crisis. The following regulations should be put in place in order to avoid the recurrence of this situation, 1. Minimum down payment amount. Buffett (2008) suggests of doing the â€Å"Income Verifications† and maintaining minimum 2 down payments of 10 % for every loan which is issued. 2. A strong credit history check of the borrower. Only clients with a high FICO score should be granted loans. 3. Maintaining a strong documentation for all the loan cases. This will keep a check on the Alt-A category of loans. 4. Less performance pressure on the appraisers. This will enable them to assess the property correctly and come up with realistic value for the same. 5. Less pressure on the borrower for purchasing the ARM. Economist Stan Leibowitz (2009) states that the positive equity of a home owner determines foreclosures. His study reveals that 2008 saw 47% of homes which had negative equity to face foreclosures. He has advocated a relatively high minimum down payment. He is of the opinion that the intensity of the housing bubble could have been minimised if substantial down payments had been acquired. This would have also led to a very small negative equity existing amongst the home buyers. Chart 6 highlights the fact that negative equity was the major cause of all the mortgage foreclosures. Chart 6. Mortgage Foreclosures Factors (Wall Street Journal,2009) Capital Reserve Requirement The investment banks had limited capital reserves to deal with the declines in mortgage backed securities and other innovative financial products such as collateralised debt obligations. Limited financial cushion meant that these companies couldn’t support themselves in the credit default derivative insurance contracts which led to their downfall. Leading economist Stiglitz (2008) suggests a Minimum Capital Reserve Requirement Strategy to overcome the crisis. Raghuram (2009) suggests institutions to maintain a contingent capital. This will include paying insurance to the government when the economy is on an upswing. This same insurance amount can be used during the downslide. Greenspan (2009) advocates a stronger capital cushion for banks and a more regulatory capital requirement. Government Initiatives The Federal Reserve System has taken steps in association with  other central banks  around the world to increase the liquidity in the market. It has introduced various programs such as TALF which focuses on providing short-term funding to various institutional borrowers. The Fed can expand the money supply through open market operations  which provides cash to member banks for lending. The Fed can also provide loans against various types of collateral to enhance liquidity in markets. The Troubled Asset Relief Program  (TARP) proposal initiated by the government for purchasing the toxic assets of a company was a failure because of the long timeline involved in successfully valuing, purchasing, and administering such a program. The government is also focussing on bail outs of large organizations facing bankruptcy. The famous AIG bailout has been described by Bernanke (2009) as a necessary step in protecting the stability of the economy. Conclusion The solutions outlined above aim to establish a proper regulatory system for the global finances. We have to progressively transform the very nature and functioning of the financial organizations worldwide. There should be a global system of financial regulations. The shadow banking system must be controlled and regulated to put new rules and principles in place. The G-20 leaders worldwide should take the necessary steps in order to evade another financial crisis. The costs incurred and the time required for the changes in the system are high, but these have to be incorporated considering the potential future setbacks. The global economic meltdown has already hit the countries badly. The non-depository banking institutions have had a major hit to their market standings. At the end of the day it is the human psyche and the greed which needs to be controlled. Practicality needs to be prevailed and a more radical and transformative approach be taken to tackle the hurting consequences of the â€Å"CREDIT CRUNCH†. All Central Banks are responsible for internal stability and external stability of the currency. They have a variety of means at their disposal to achieve those aims, including interventions, changes in key interest rates or fixing reserve requirements for private banks (Lietaer, 2001). CDO CDOs, or Collateralized Debt Obligations, are sophisticated financial tools that repackage individual loans into a product that can be sold on the secondary market. These packages consist of auto loans, credit card debt, or corporate debt. They are called collateralized because they have some type of collateral behind them (Amadeo,2010). CDOs are called  asset-backed commercial paper  if the package consists of corporate debt and  mortgage-backed securities  if the loans are mortgages. If the mortgages are made to those with a less than prime credit history, they are called  subprime mortgages. CDS CDS are a financial instrument for swapping the risk of debt default. Credit default swaps may be used for emerging market bonds, mortgage backed securities, corporate bonds and local government bond The buyer of a credit default swap pays a premium for effectively insuring against a debt default. He receives a lump sum payment if the debt instrument is defaulted. The seller of a credit default swap receives monthly payments from the buyer. If the debt instrument defaults they have to pay the agreed amount to the buyer of the credit default swap (Economicshelp,2010). Credit Crunch Credit Crunch is defined as an economic condition  in which  investment capital is difficult to obtain. Banks and  investors become wary of lending funds to corporations, which drives up the price of debt products for borrowers(Investopedia,2010). A  credit crunch  occurs when there is a  lack of funds available  in the credit market, making it  difficult for  borrowers to obtain  financing. This happens when lenders have limited funds available to lend or are unwilling to lend additional funds, or have increased the cost of borrowing to a  rate  that is unaffordable to most  borrowers. Credit  crunches are usually considered to be an extension of recessions. A credit crunch makes it nearly impossible for companies to borrow because lenders are scared  of bankruptcies or defaults, which results in higher rates. The consequence is a prolonged recession (or slower recovery), which occurs as a result of the shrinking credit supply (Investopedia, 2010). Credit market Investopedia (2010) explains a credit market as the broad market for companies who are looking to raise funds through debt issuance. The  credit market encompasses investment-grade bonds and junk bonds, as well as short-term commercial paper. The credit market also involves the debt  offerings as seen by investors of bonds, notes and securitized obligations such as mortgage pools and collateralized debt obligations (CDOs). Fannie Mae The Federal National Mortgage Association or Fannie Mae is a government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) chartered by Congress with a mission o provide liquidity, stability and affordability to the U. S. housing and mortgage markets which operates in the U. S. secondary mortgage market. (Fannieaae, 2010) FDIC The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) preserves and promotes public confidence in the U. S. financial system by insuring deposits in banks and thrift institutions for at least $250,000; by identifying, monitoring and addressing risks to the deposit insurance funds; and by limiting the effect on the economy and the financial system when a bank or thrift institution fails. An independent agency of the federal government, the FDIC was created in 1933 in response to the thousands of bank failures that occurred in the 1920s and early 1930s. Since the start of FDIC insurance on January 1, 1934, no depositor has lost a single cent of insured funds as a result of a failure. The FDIC receives no Congressional appropriations – it is funded by premiums that banks and thrift institutions pay for deposit insurance coverage and from earnings on investments in U. S. Treasury securities. The FDIC insures more than $7 trillion of deposits in U. S. banks and thrifts – deposits in virtually every bank and thrift in the country. Federal Reserve System The â€Å"Federal reserve System† or â€Å"The Fed† is the central bank of the United States of America. It was originally conceived in the year 1910 and enacted in 1913 with the passing of the Federal Reserve act (Whitehouse, 1989). This was a result of the previous financial panics that the country had experienced. Its duties today, according to official Federal Reserve documentation, fall into four general areas(Federal Reserve , 2010): * Conducting the nations monetary policy by influencing monetary and credit conditions in the economy in pursuit of maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term interest rates. Supervising and regulating banking institutions to ensure the safety and soundness of the nations banking and financial system, and protect the credit rights of consumers. * Maintaining stability of the financial system and containing systemic risk that may arise in financial markets. * Providing financial services to deposit ory institutions, the U. S. government, and foreign official institutions, including playing a major role in operating the nations payments system. Financial Leverage Financial leverage (FL) is a  loan  or other  borrowings  (debt), the proceeds of which are (re)invested with the intent to earn a greater rate of return than the cost of interest. It is the degree to which an  investor  or  business  is utilizing borrowed  money. Companies  that are highly leveraged may be  at risk  of  bankruptcy  if they are unable to make payments  on their  debt; they may also be unable to find new  lenders  in the future. Financial  leverage  is not always bad, however; it can increase the shareholders’ return  on their  investment  and often there are  tax advantages associated with  borrowing. Fixed Rate Mortgage A fixed Rate Mortgage has a fixed Interest Rate for the entire tenure of the loan. Freddie Mac The  Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation  (FHLMC), known as  Freddie Mac  is a  government sponsored enterprise (GSE) of the  United States federal government. Freddie Mac has its headquarters in Virginia (Freddiemac, 2010)   Freddie Mac buys mortgages on the secondary market, pools them, and sells them as a  mortgage-backed security  to investors on the open market. This secondary mortgage market  increases the supply of money available for mortgage lending and increases the money available for new home purchases. Net Capital Rule. GDP Gross Domestic Product or GDP refers to the value of all the goods and services consumed in a particular economy (Lietaer, 2001). Greenspan Alan Alan Greenspan was the former chairman of the federal reserve system of United States of America from 1987 to 2006. He is currently working as a consultant and private advisor for firms through his company Greenspan Associates LLC. Krugman Paul Paul Krugman is an American economist and author. He is currently working as a professor in Economics and international affairs at the Princeton university (krugmanonline, 2010) Liquidity Market liquidity refers to the assets ability to be sold without much depreciation in its value and without much price discounts. Liquidity refers to how quickly and cheaply an asset can be converted into cash. Money in the form of cash is the most liquid asset. Assets that generally can only be sold after a long exhaustive search for a buyer are known as illiquid (Investopedia, 2010). Loan to Value Ratio The Loan to value ratio refers to the amount of loan issued to the total appraised value of the mortgage. MBA The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) is the national association representing the real estate finance industry, an industry that employs more than 280,000 people in virtually every community in the country. Headquartered in Washington, D. C. , MBA invests in communities across the nation by ensuring the continued strength of the nations residential and commercial real estate markets; expanding homeownership and extending access to affordable housing to all Americans and supporting financial literacy efforts (MBAA,2010). MBS Mortgage-backed securities (MBS) are debt obligations that represent claims to the cash flows from pools of mortgage loans, most commonly on residential property. Mortgage loans are purchased from banks, mortgage companies, and other originators and then assembled into pools by a governmental, quasi-governmental, or private entity. The entity then issues securities that represent claims on the principal and interest payments made by borrowers on the loans in the pool, a process known as securitization (US Securities and Exchange Commission, 2010). Most MBSs are issued by the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), a U. S. government agency, or the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac), U. S. government-sponsored enterprises. Nationalization Nationalization is a process when the government takes over the privately owned  corporations,  industries, and  resources  with or without compensation. Common  reasons for nationalization include (1)  prevention  of unfair exploitation and large-scale  labour  layoffs, (2) fair  distribution  of  income  from national resources, and (3) to keep  means  of generating  wealth  in  public  control. Nationalization may include the complete changeover of the management of the organization. Once the organization is back on the positive side of the fence, the business is completely handed over to the management (BusinessDictionary,2010) Negative Equity Negative Equity is a situation in which the value of the collateral falls below the outstanding balance of the loan. This usually occurs when loan payments are less than the interest. NINJA. Any type of mortgage loan requires the borrower to show sufficient income proofs and documentations. NINJA refers to â€Å"No income No job No assets†. Such a type of lending ignores the verification process and is considered a part of sub-prime lending. In NINJA mortgages the borrowers are often offered very low initial interest rates which are later adjusted to the market rates. Subprime lending Subprime lending refers to lending to borrowers having a poor credit history. The FICO score of these borrowers is usually very less which doesn’t qualify them for having loans. Subprime loans are issued with higher interest rates and are considered to be more risky than the subprime loans. Securitization Securitization is defined as the process of gathering a group of debt obligations such as mortgages into a pool, and then dividing that pool into portions that can be sold as securities in the secondary market. Shadow Banking System The Shadow banking system is also known as the parallel banking system. This system usually consists of the financial institutions and investment banks which run like a bank but are not subjected to the same regulatory acts like banks. They are more involved in dealing with riskier financial products