Renewable EnergyExplore the United States history of renewable energy, Essay

Renewable EnergyExplore the United States history of renewable energy, where the country stands currently and its future outlook. Examine the problems with re - Essay Example Though there is no shortage of any non-renewable fuel, critics of their use point out that it is logically possible to use up nonrenewable fuels" (Pimental, et.al, 1994, pg. 1). If something does not change, the United States has the potential to encounter serious energy shortages before too long. The purpose of this paper is to explore the United States' history of renewable energy, where the country stands currently, its future outlook, implement current government issues and social issues on the topic, and to examine the problems with renewable energy (National Center for Policy Analysis Idea House, 2008). Water-powered systems have been used for centuries. Today, water power is used mainly to generate electricity. "For many centuries, wind power like water power has provided energy to pump water and run mills and other machines. In rural America windmills have been used to generate electricity since the early 1900s" (Pimental, et.al, 1994, pg. 1). Harvested from forests, biomass energy currently provides the United States with 4.2% of its energy supply. It is used even more prominently in other countries, especially developing countries. The sun's energy is converted into heat through solar thermal energy systems and then is used in houses, in different industrial settings, and to generate electricity. ... current usage of renewable resources is passive heating and cooling of buildings although it is not being used to its full extent as of yet (Pimental, et.al, 1994). Its Future Outlook "The use of solar energy is, however, expected to grow. Renewable energy technologies that have the potential to provide future energy supplies include: biomass systems, hydroelectric systems, hydrogen fuel, wind power, photovoltaics, solar thermal systems, and passive and active heating and cooling systems" (Pimental, et.al, 1994, pg. 1). The use of alternative liquid fuels such as ethanol, methanol, and hydrogen are also likely to pick up in the future (Bruce and Pickering, 2008). The Problems with Renewable Energy Just like non-renewable resources, renewable energy sources have their own conflicts and these are likely to increase along with the increased usage of renewable resources in the future. Some problems that are likely to occur are limited availability of land, limited abilities to harvest forest resources within the United States forcing these resources to be imported, and a growing population (Pimental, et.al, 1994). Social and Political Concerns "The first priority of a sustainable US energy program should be for individuals, communities, and industries to conserve fossil energy resources. Other developed countries have proven that high productivity and a high standard of living can be achieved with considerably less energy expenditure compared to that of the United States. Improved energy efficiency in the United States, other developed nations, and even in developing nations would help both extend the world's fossil energy resources and improve the environment" (Pimentel et al. 1994). Conclusion The purpose of this paper has been to explore the United States'

Grades inflation in the US Annotated Bibliography

Grades inflation in the US - Annotated Bibliography Example Students and the citizens have been worried about the criteria the professors use when they are grading different students from different races. The problem has been noted since many students have graduated and only a few numbers haven’t. This has been noted. In this article they explain further about grade inflation and the problems that it has caused to the students. The article talks of the act of discrimination in the grading process. You will also find the comparison between different institutions and the policies put in place for the grading process. The article also presents its argument in a diagrammatic way and gives statistics of the same. The article broadly explains on the issue of the grades but for this one is deeper. It tries to overlook the problem and the reasons behind it. It also has a diagram that helps the learner even understand more. The article is very interesting and gives the learner a good experience. It tries to see through the possibilities and the impossibilities of schools applying grade inflation as a way of competition. The article also tries to lay the differences link between school choice and grade inflation. It also goes ahead and talks about empirical strategy The article goes straight to discuss the matter and in this case the article talks about the parents in another dimension where they get to choose the best schools for their children without having in mind the gradation process. The source is very relevant and has good arguments on the matter. This is an article that tries to review whether the credibility of data would affect the data inflation.They get their research from the US law schools admissions. They base their argument onthe reliability and the sincerity of the data that they get. They also give prior research and also have diagrammatic explanations to explain further with the use of examples. There is a lot of data analyzing in this case

The Securities and Exchange Commission Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Securities and Exchange Commission - Essay Example The International Monetary Fund approximated â€Å"more than $1 trillion on toxic assets and from bad loans† were lost by big western banks â€Å"from January 2007 to September 2009† (Reuters 1). The individual losses and exposures were undisclosed by these institutions in order â€Å"to prevent ‘runs’ on their banks or trading against their positions by their competitors in the markets† which can further escalate their losses (Dobbs & Minyard 1). Hence, what the banks and other companies/institutions did was to refrain from lending money â€Å"among themselves or to other businesses† since they were uncertain as to their trading partners’ financial health and considered that â€Å"the risk of loss was too high,† opting to preserve their cash to compensate for any probable future losses (Dobbs & Minyard 1). The â€Å"sources of liquidity† was said to have desiccated for a number of companies with capital markets failing to perform properly (Dobbs & Minyard 1). This resulted to breakdown and bankruptcies of influential companies or â€Å"land-rich/cash-poor situation† for energy companies (Dobbs & Minyard 1). The global economy then was said to be in recession as â€Å"the financial markets seized† (Dobbs & Minyard 1). ... SEC 1). The federal statutes and rules require companies to have â€Å"full disclosure and transparency† whenever it â€Å"sells stocks or bonds to the public† (Johnson 993), or to supply â€Å"a detailed public disclosure document† to both â€Å"investors and regulators† (Securities Act of 1933  §Ã‚ § 5, 10, 15 U.S.C.  §Ã‚ § 77e, 77j (2006); 17 C.F.R. pt. 230 (2011), whenever private businesses make public offerings (Johnson 993). The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reviews â€Å"these disclosure documents,† which in the case of Groupon, the SEC they required the latter to revise its disclosures in order to improve their accuracy (U.S. SEC, Letter from Larry Spirgel 1-14). This requirement however is not applicable to private placements wherein â€Å"a company sells an investment outside of the normal public securities markets† (Securities Act of 1933  § 4(2), 15 U.S.C.  § 77d(2); 17 C.F.R.  § 230.506 (2011)), which often times evade examination by federal and state regulatory bodies (Johnson 151). Because these placements are private, they are concealed (Johnson 993) and the issuers tend to divulge â€Å"far less information to investors† than that required for public offerings (SEC v. Ralston Purina Co., 346 U.S. 119, 125-26 (1953) and SEC rule 506 under 17 C.F.R.  § 230.506). Issuers also divulge this information â€Å"only to qualified investors† (17 C.F.R.  § 230.506 and 17 C.F.R.  § 230.501(a) (2011)). â€Å"Regulators and even academics have little or no access to the private placement disclosures† (Johnson 993). Private placements are also said not to be liquid, â€Å"difficult to price,† and bear significant risks (Johnson

The Melancholy In John Steinbecks Books Essay Example for Free

The Melancholy In John Steinbecks Books Essay The melancholy hussar was set in the 19th century in 1801. This was a time were woman had no lives of there own and this shows the character of Phyllis in melancholy hussar. Phylliss father treats her as an object. She is not free to do what ever she wants because she is a woman. Thomas hardy illustrates the role of woman in the melancholy hussar (1801). Woman had no role in society and women were very unimportant. Steinbeck had written his story during the American depression in the 1930. Life was very hard for men and woman because of migration, unemployment, rootlessness and instability. All these had made people very angry and this had caused racism. Crooks in of mice and men also had a very hard life because he was black. Crooks wasnt wanted near the white men, which had led to racism. On page 100, crooks says to Lennie I aint wanted in the bunkhouse and u aint wanted in my room, Lennie replied why aint you wanted in the bunk house BECAUSE IM BLACK. This had shown through text that racism was very natural. Both of these books had inequality in their texts. Curly had the most power over every one in of mice and men. In melancholy hussar Phyllis father had power over Phyllis. In melancholy hussar, the Napoleonic war was going on. The Napoleonic war was when France was at war against England. Germany were allies with England so Germany had sent some of their soldiers but the German soldiers had felt upset and lonely because they did not no English and they had no English friends to communicate with. This is what also had made them very homesick.

The Politics Of The Reproducibility Cultural Studies Essay

The Politics Of The Reproducibility Cultural Studies Essay Reproducibility is the ability of something to be accurately reproduced or replicated by another individual working independently. It relates to the agreement of the results with different operators using different tools at a different location. The results are always reported as a standard deviation from the original plan. In Benjamin works of art, reproducibility is a process that occurs slowly and may take a long time. Benjamin discusses the reproducibility in the works of art and the entire world of photography and film. It is all about the modern age and its effects on the work of arts. How art has been changed by the perception of the humans through time. Reproducibility changes the original piece of art through the change of the originality or aura of the artistic image, the real message put across and the cult value of the original art. The reproduction of pieces of art causes a total change in the perception of the art and can send a total different meaning to the observer. Reproducibility is an inevitable process that takes place over time and it serves to bring a lot of change in the meaning of art. It overshadows the concepts of originality and creativity of art. It can therefore be said that reproducibility is one big enemy to the world of art and the divine talent requirement to be artistic. A look at the photography of today, there is so much reproducibility of photographs of various places and features that the real image or the original item cannot be defined. It is not easy to tell anymore if the items in photographs are really as represented. Photography can be said to leave out a lot of details of the original thing. For example details such as the distance, vegetation and the color are completely distorted. With the advances in technology photographs can be used to represent an image of a certain thing just like in a painting. This also leaves out a lot the originality of the image displayed. For example the photographs of the mountain like the Alps remove the concept of space and time. According to (Blunden ii), even the most perfect pieces of art that are reproduced are lacking in the element of space and time. The technology of the modern times in photography renders the work of art impure. While some pictures will want to portray the mountains to have peaks that are slightly steep and have very green vegetation others show complete different imagery of steep peeks and no vegetation. This technology of photography renders the works of art impure and changes the original forms of the art. Photography can be said to make the work of art loose the aura or the authenticity through the mechanical production. While the photograph of the mountain will be representing an image of another image, a painting will be the original mountain. Paintings would capture the concentration and contemplation of the viewer unlike photography. The paintings would be fascinating and inviting to the observer. The cult value that would have been in a painting is replaced by the exhibition value in photography. The cult value does not disappear suddenly but in a shadowy manner. The cult value is still represented in photography but in a far distant manner because just like the portraits, photography is also meant as storage of memories. Photography as a replacement of painting brings out a distant political significance through the creation of memories. The images of photography also bring out a very different side of the original. The photographs are meant to capture what the original person and the photographer want to portray to the viewer; therefore the original thing is not what the viewer sees but the viewer is subjected to a totally different concept. Photography has led to the shift between the original, authentic value of what the viewer is subjected to, to a more modern way of view. The paintings displayed the original view of the items with the same color, creativity and authenticity were also very much a part of the paintings, but with photography most of these aspects are lost in the modernity part. Photography values the exhibition value more than the cult value. The photographs do not evoke the free contemplation that a painting will. They both portray the past events but paintings have the free flowing contemplation and concentration in the viewer compared to a photograph that will carry less of such value. Photography is a reproduction of the paintings and therefore fails to achieve the original basis of paintings. The photographs shape the original political meaning of paintings through randomness storage. Unlike the historical times when the paintings were done according to specific occasions or factors, photography is done at any particular time with little consideration to reasons. Photography also presents a distraction with mixed ideas and presents the perception of avoidance of difficult tasks. The works of art will generally capture the most difficult of tasks and will aim at the presentation of the most important factors of an item. Art is able to bring the masses together; it acts to mobilize the people through getting their attention to a particular thing. Photography on the other hand falls below these perceptions and always takes the easiest way of artistic representation. The photographs tend to present a distraction instead of a pull and these shows that the master of the art is just but a habit than really the creativity and talent in it. The public is therefore made as an observer but only absent mindedly without the proper concentration that the works of art expects. The idea is to capture and satisfy the human interest which could simply be the removal of the special function from the field of view. The images of photography therefore leave out a lot of the important details of art meaning the concept of reproducibility leads to the distortion of the original concept. The mechanical change noted in the photography means that the reproduction of the works of art leads to the change in the method of exhibition. Photographs simply change the reaction of the public to works of art and change the perception of the works of art. It gives the masses an option of critics. The historical work of arts like the paintings and the portraits were easily accepted by the masses but the photography technology of the modern day has been faced with a lot of critics. For example in Blunden essay, he says that the 19th century disputes to whether photography is a work of art, (part 7). This shows that there is doubt in people at the authentic value of photography in comparison with art. Photography fails to create the subtle effect in the viewers that a simple portrait would. On the other hand, this mechanical production of the works of art is bound to change the public reaction to the particular piece of art, (part 12). It can therefore be concluded that the effects of reproduction are adverse to the work of arts. It is quite unfortunate that reproducibility is inevitable especially with the new technologies that come daily with the modern world. The technology is bound to change the works of art and bring a different representation of art. The political significance shifts with every new introduction to the original piece of art. The works of art space and time concept are totally changed in the same manner. s

My Philosophy of Education :: Teaching Education Essays

My Philosophy of Education Philosophy of education helps educators understand the purpose of education, what should be taught, and how students learn. All teachers must think about these important questions. A philosophy helps integrate understanding into the educational process. My philosophy is that all children should be educated, because it makes our society better as a whole. I believe that if we can educate all children, we can improve our society in many ways. In my opinion, the best way to educate children is using the pragmatism theory. Pragmatism is knowledge that is obtained and developed through experiences and interactions with the environment (Tanner 1997). This is important in education because children learn more through actual experiences. They learn from their actions, some even being mistakes. Pragmatism is a practical approach and it will work well when teaching children. Pragmatists believe that we should improve society through means of education that are geared toward problem solving and must be ongoing (Encarta Online 1995-2000). This is a great point because learning is a continuous process throughout life and it is all about solving problems. A teacher who is a pragmatist will help students understand what is known is changeable, there are a number of ways to interpret events, and there is no absolute truth (Crooner, Knight, and Wiseman 1999). Pragmatism has been around for a long time. It was developed by the 19th century by American philosophers, one of them being John Dewey. To him pragmatism implied that education should represent growth in individual capacity to deal with situations, should be a continuous process that cannot be terminated by the completion of course requirements, and demands self-direction as opposed to authoritarian imposition (Wyett 1998). This led to using the interests of students and their desires to learn as a main point in curriculum. I believe this helps in the classroom. If the children are interested in what they are learning, they will most likely learn that subject matter better. Along with this the classroom should also be democratic. In this process students will have their values respected, and their insights made available to fellow students and professors (Beck 1993). A philosophy in education is very important for a teacher to have.

Financial Analysis of Microsoft Corp. Essay

This report is issued in order to inform the public about Microsoft Corporation. We analyzed the profitability and liquidity of this company. In addition, we were able to provide recommendations for investments or credits in Microsoft for the best interest of the public. Profitability ratios refer to the relative measure to what an actual created profit. Through these ratios the company is allowed to see how profitable the company. In addition it can serve as an examination of the overall performance of the company’s operations and how do these compare to past performances or other companies. The ratios in which accounting measures the profitability of a company are Profit Margin, Price over Earnings, Return on Equity and Return on Assets. In terms of Profit Margin it has a high ratio, which means that our company is turning 76.3% more of each dollar that we sell. The results of this could be the increase in the quantity sold, increase in the price, and decrease in costs. Compared to Apple, whose profit margin ratio is 46.2%, Microsoft is able to be more profitable in terms of profit margin. The Price over Earnings ratio helps to determine how much does a share cost is compare to how much the company is earning and it is interpreted as how long it will take you to earn back what you invested in a company. In this case for someone who invests in Microsoft it will take them approximately 15.3 years, compare to Apple’s 13.5 years, to earn back the amount that they will invest. The Return on Equity ratio helps to measure the profitability of a company for the investor and how it manages its equity. In this case, Microsoft experiences a 10.3% of Return on Equity. Ideally, a company would like to have a higher Price over Earnings ratio; compared to Apple’s 51.5% Return o n Equity, Microsoft stands at a lower percentage which might not attract others to invest in the company. Return on Assets ratio evaluates how a company is able to produce a profit before being on debt; it reflects on the efficiency of the management. In this case Microsoft’s 5.9% was again below Apple’s 33.4% in its ratio. Cash Flows are the inflows and outflows of cash in a company, which are directly related to the revenues and expenses in Microsoft’s income statement. The Net Income that Microsoft recorded for 2012 was $16,978.00 and its Cash Flows from Operating Activities equaled to 31,626.00. In this case the company recorded higher cash flows from operating activities compared to its net income. This was a result of the company’s management on its current liabilities and its current assets. Also, the addition in depreciation and amortization, goodwill, and stock-based compensation; these accounts are not part of the cash flows yet they still make an impact on the income of the company. Liquidity being, that which represents how fast the company is able to convert its assets into cash, is denoted with various ratios. The current ratio (D) takes the current assets of a firm and divides them by the firm’s current liabilities. Currently Microsoft’s current ratio is 2.9, showing that its current assets exceeds its current liabilities. Apple Inc., which is Microsoft’s contender, has 1.6 for its current ratio indicating that it’s not as quick in converting its assets into cash. Another liquidity ratio is the quick ratio (E); this ratio is calculated by subtracting inventory from current assets and dividing that difference by the firm’s current liabilities. Microsoft’s quick ratio is 2.6, showing that the company is still doing well in converting its assets into cash even after removing its most liquid asset –inventory. Apple’s quick ratio is 1.1, which shows how much inventory constructs the company’s current assets. Microsoft has been doing very well within its liquidity measures and meets its obligations as they become due. When discussing solvency, we analyze ratios that measure the long-term liability of a business to pay off its debts. The times interest earned ratio (H) is a solvency ratio; taking earnings before interest and tax, and dividing that total by the interest expense. Microsoft’s times interest earned ratio is 87.7, showing that this firm is very successful especially before any interest or tax is deducted from its overall earnings. Apple’s times interest earned ratio could not be calculated due to the fact that their data didn’t indicate a specific interest expense to complete the equation. Another solvency ratio is the debt to equity ratio (I); taking the firms total liabilities and dividing that total by owners’ equity. Currently Microsoft’s debt to equity ratio is 0.8, showing that there is less risk among the firm’s financials. This also means that the company doesn’t rely too much on external lenders. Apple’s debt to equity ratio seems to also be within good standing because it is .5, so it doesn’t rely too much on external lenders either. Overall, both liquidity and solvency ratios represent how financially stable this company is within converting its current debt into cash as well as its long-term debt. In most cases Apple Inc. falls behind Microsoft Corp. within its short and long term debt solvency. When analyzing Microsoft’s capital structure the percentage of liabilities that construct the firm’s total assets is 42.87%. Showing that less than half of the firm’s total assets are represented by liabilities. Now the percentage of the total assets that are represented by stockholders’ equity is 57.12%. Showing that stockholder’s equity represents slightly more than half of Microsoft’s total assets. When analyzing the capital structure of Microsoft’s competitor Apple, there are distinct differences. The percentage of liabilities that construct the firm’s total assets is 36.06%. Showing that unlike Microsoft’s percentage of liabilities to assets, there are a lot fewer liabilities representing the total assets of the firm. Now the percentage of stockholders’ equity that constructs the total assets of the firm is 64.93%. Showing that more than half of the firm’s total assets are constructed out of its stockholders’ equity. Apple seems to have fewer liabilities supporting its total assets and a higher percentage of stockholders’ equity. Overall, it seems that Microsoft Corp. has a significantly different capital structure than that of its competitor Apple Inc.. IFRS refers to the International Financial Reporting Standards; it is a set of accounting standards constructed by an independent, not-for-profit organization called the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). IFRS provides regulation for the company to prepare its financial statements off of, rather than setting rules for industry-specific reporting. The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) is an independent, private-sector body based in London that currently develops and approves International Financial Reporting Standards. The IASB is thoroughly responsible for all technical matters of the IFRS Foundation including, the full discretion in developing and pursuing its agenda, subject to certain consultation requirements with the Trustees and the public, and exposure drafts, following the approval and issuing of Interpretations developed by the IFRS Interpretations Committee. Some of the differences between IFRS and GAAP is that IFRS is considered to be more of a principles based accounting standard whereas in contrast the U.S. GAAP is considered more of a rule based accounting standard. Under IFRS, the LIFO method for accounting for inventory costs is not allowed. Under U.S. GAAP, either LIFO or FIFO inventory can be used. The move to a single method of inventory costing could potentially enhanced similarities between countries, and removes the need for analysts to adjust LIFO inventories in their comparison analysis. The reporting for each would differ. For instance the treatment of intangible under U.S. GAAP is recognized at fair value, while under IFRS, it is only recognized if the asset will have a future economic benefit and has measured reliability. Under IFRS, if inventory is written down, the write down can be reversed in future periods if specific criteria are met. Under U.S. GAAP, once inventory has been written down, any reversal is prohibited. The potential adoption of IFRS is likely to impact not only reporting structures but also how individual transactions are captured and processed. In many cases, operating leases under GAAP could become finance leases under IFRS. Impacts could be mostly identified on taxes and balance sheet ratios. IFRS may generate running obligations sooner than under GAAP due to the â€Å"more likely than not† principle. Contracts would need to be evaluated carefully under GAAP. Based on the previous analyses of the company’s data I can say I would definitely loan money to Microsoft Corp. short-term and long-term. The liquidity of the company calculated using current ratio and quick ratio represents how fast the company is able to convert its assets into cash. Seeing that the firm showed signs of quick asset to cash turnover within both current and quick ratio, shows that they are able to pay off any loans they might incur. In contrast to Apple its contender, which had low ratios depicting negative signs of asset to cash turnover. When looking at the solvency measures, we can see the long-term viability of a business to pay off its debts. We used the times interest earned ratio and the debt to equity ratio to depict what trend this firm had with balancing debt. Microsoft seemed to show very high earnings before interest and taxes, which resulted in a high times interest earned ratio overall. This high ratio means that this firm has great ability in paying off its interest and debt; this serves to be another viable reason for Microsoft to be approved for a loan. Another solvency measure that was taken was through the debt to equity ratio, which represents the degree to which the assets of the business are financed by the debts and the shareholders’ equity of a business. This ratio showed that Microsoft’s overall business doesn’t rely too much on the external lenders of the company. It shows it can attain profit through its own activities, and therefore has overall less risk. Overall, due to the fact that Microsoft has quick asset to cash turnover, increasingly high earnings before interest and tax, and a low debt to equity ratio; Microsoft would be an ideal candidate for short and long term loans. When discussing whether an individual should buy, sell, or hold on the stock of this company, I would recommend the hold on stocks. Based on the profitability ratios, which help us calculate how a firm is performing, Microsoft, compared to its competition Apple, is behind in terms of profitability. Microsoft has a higher profit margin then Apple does; however, its price over earnings, returns on equity and returns on assets fall below its competition. This can be a discouragement for anyone who is interested in the company. Yet, even though Microsoft’s overall profitability is not as good as Apple’s profitability, there could be still a chance in which the company can provide investors with more profitable income since the company is not at risk. Thus, this could take longer then expected, that is why it is better to hold on the stocks of this company. So, I recommend this individual hold on their stocks and see how the turnout ends for the most recent advancements Microsoft has made as a company, and from those figures on either decide to sell or buy more stocks.