RETELL BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE AMAZON RAINFOREST AND OTHER RAIN

RETELL: BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE AMAZON RAINFOREST AND OTHER RAINFORESTS The Amazon rainforest is the world's largest tropical rainforest. It covers approximately 2 million square miles in the Amazon River Basin of South America (Lyman 1998, 61) About two-thirds of the rainforest lies in Brazil. The forest also covers parts of Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Columbia, and Venezuela (Lyman 1998, 32) In the Amazon rainforest it contains a wider variety of plants and animal life than any other place in the world. It supports millions of plant, animal and insect species it is a virtual library of chemical invention. Deforestation is a vital issue that is playing a great role all around the world today. Deforestation robs the world of countless species, destroying crucial biodiversity and losing species with potential uses in medicine, agriculture, and industry. Over half of the world's tropical rainforest is being destroyed, most of which are in Brazil, and they are continuing to be destroyed today (Silver 1998,11). The topic of rainforest destruction raises the thought of biodiversity and cures for cancer, both of these thoughts are very important reasons to end deforestation but it has not yet come to and end. Global climate and the greenhouse effect both have an impact on the atmosphere and as well as the biosphere. Due the rainforest it has found drugs for quinine, muscle relaxants, steroids and cancer drugs (Hadden 1995, 27). Tropical forest are destroyed for several reasons, there is an increasing demand for both farm and grazing land which results in burning and clearing of the rainforest for agriculture production. Unbelievably over 200,000 acres of rainforest is burned every day in the world ( Silver 1998, 29). Another reason of deforestation is the continued urbanization of the world and the need for construction of roads and industrialization. The need for fuel and timber for construction is another major factor leading to the destruction of the rainforest (Hadden 1995,45). Deforestation has serious effects on the planet. These effects have negative consequences on the Earth's biosphere, the biodiversity of the planet, and greatly threatened the physical survival of people who heavily rely on the forest. Effects of deforestation are too great to continue destroying the forest. Deforestation by burning lets out carbon dioxide, which accounts for at least half of the greenhouse effect, in which atmospheric gases, mostly produced by human activities, trap the sun's heat, slowly warming the Earth. At least three-quarters of deforestation in the tropics are due to burning, which release about 2.4 billion tones of CO 2 into the atmosphere each year ( Lyman 1998, 16). The greenhouse effect will have several affects on the Earth. One problem is that it will cause a rise in sea levels due to the melting of glaciers. This could cause frequent flooding. Also greenhouse gases can also have an affect on climate change which can also affect the future agriculture (Silver 1998, 32). Also some studies have showed that there may be a decrease in rainfall and an increase in surface temperature. In the rainforest the trees protect the soil against erosion and reduce the risks of landslides and avalanches. Soil erosion then leads to greater amounts of run off and increases sedimentation in the rivers and streams. Besides, protecting the soil from erosion, the trees create a canopy that regulates how much rainfall and sunlight reaches the rainforests floor (Hadden 1995,22). When trees are cleared high sunlight and heavy rainfall quickly damages the topsoil. Tragically, rainforests once covered 14% of the earth's land surface. Now they cover 6%. In less than 50 years, more than half of the world's rainforest has been burnt down with fire and cut down with chain saws (Silver 1998, 44). Experts claim that the current rate of destruction, the last remaining forests could be consumed in less than 40 years. Experts also claim that they are losing approximately 130 species of plants, animals and insects every single day as they become extinct from the loss of rainforest land and habitats. How many possible cures to devastating diseases have we already lost? ACTION PLAN This project has made me realize the true value of how important our rainforest and any other forest is to our planet. I have learned a great amount of

Geography essays

Geography essays Every community has a means of production and consumption for goods and services. The amount of goods and service in a community or town vary depending on where the town is located and what manufacturing features the particular town has, including the number of people who help to manufacture and sell the services. By surveying towns, such as Ottawa, Ontario and Aylmer, Ontario, one can discover the underlying economic base of these towns. They are two very distinct towns with very different economies, yet are both located in the province of Ontario, Canada. Ottawa a metropolitan area located in Canada lies near the Ontario and Quebec border. Its early economic staple was a result of the Ottawa River, which allowed for explorers and traders to use it to travel. Shortly after, Ottawa became the fastest growing political city in eastern Canada. However, today Ottawas economic base has drastically changed. Ottawa, being the capital of Canada has now become a tourist attraction and computer related industry. The federal government is its major employer. 17.9% of the Ottawa labour force works in public administration, which is almost 3 % of Canadas total labour force in public administration. As a result, many commercial and financial associations are located in Ottawa. In addition, Ottawas information and culture industry, as well as the science and technology industry have a high labour force. Within the province, 12.3 % of Ottawas labour force is employed in the science and technology industry. Therefore, this industry, along with pub lic administration is considered to be important in benefiting Ottawas economy. Moreover, Ottawa has a very good education system resulting from the 3 major universities that are situated there. In conclusion, Ottawa is mainly a city where business is its primary staple industry. Its physical geography did not influence its economic industry, but rather people have shaped ...

How to Create a Rubric in 6 Steps

How to Create a Rubric in 6 Steps How to Create a Rubric: Introduction Perhaps you have never even thought about the care it takes to create a rubric. Perhaps you have never even heard  of a rubric and its usage in education, in which case, you should take a peek at this article: What is a rubric? Basically, this tool that teachers and professors use to help them  communicate expectations, provide focused feedback, and grade products, can be invaluable when the correct answer is not as cut and dried as Choice A on a multiple choice test. But creating a great rubric is more than just slapping some expectations on a paper, assigning some percentage points, and calling it a day. A good rubric needs to be designed with care and precision in order to truly help teachers distribute and receive the expected work.   Steps to Create a Rubric The following six steps will help you when you decide to use a rubric for assessing an essay, a project, group work, or any other task that does not have a clear right or wrong answer.   Step 1: Define Your Goal Before you can create a rubric, you need to decide the type of rubric youd like to use, and that will largely be determined by your goals for the assessment. Ask yourself the following questions: How detailed do I want my feedback to be?  How will I break down my expectations for this project?Are all of the tasks equally important?How do I want to assess performance?What standards must the students hit in order to achieve acceptable or exceptional performance?Do I want to give one final grade on the project or a cluster of smaller grades based on several criteria?Am I grading based on the work or on participation? Am I grading on both? Once youve figured out how detailed youd like the rubric to be and the goals you are trying to reach, you can choose a type of rubric. Step 2: Choose a Rubric Type Although there are many variations of rubrics, it can be helpful to at least have a standard set to help you decide where to start. Here are two that are widely used in teaching as defined by DePaul Universitys Graduate Educational department: Analytic Rubric: This is the standard grid rubric that many teachers routinely use to assess students work. This is the optimal rubric for providing clear, detailed feedback. With an analytic rubric,  criteria for the students work is listed in the left column and performance levels are listed across the top. The squares inside the grid will typically contain the specs for each level. A rubric for an essay, for example, might contain criteria like Organization, Support, and Focus, and may contain performance levels like (4) Exceptional, (3) Satisfactory, (2) Developing, and (1) Unsatisfactory.​ The performance levels are typically given percentage points or letter grades and a final grade is typically calculated at the end. The scoring rubrics for the ACT and SAT are designed this way, although when students take them, they will receive a holistic score.   Holistic Rubric:  This is the type of rubric that is much easier to create, but much more difficult to use accurat ely. Typically, a teacher provides a series of letter grades or a range of numbers (1-4 or 1-6, for example) and then assigns expectations for each of those scores. When grading, the teacher  matches the student work in its entirety to a single description on the scale. This is useful for grading multiple essays, but it does not leave room for detailed feedback on student work.   Step 3: Determine Your Criteria This is where the learning objectives for your unit or course come into play. Here, youll need to brainstorm a list of knowledge and skills you would like to assess for the project. Group them according to similarities and get rid of anything that is not absolutely critical. A rubric with too much criteria is difficult to use! Try to stick with 4-7 specific  subjects for which youll be able to create unambiguous, measurable expectations in the performance levels. Youll want to be able to spot the criteria quickly while grading and be able to explain them quickly when instructing your students. In an analytic rubric, the criteria are typically listed along the left column.   Step 4: Create Your Performance Levels Once you have determined the broad levels you would like students to demonstrate mastery of, you will need to figure out what type of scores you will assign based on each level of mastery. Most ratings scales include between three and five levels. Some teachers use a combination of numbers and descriptive labels like (4) Exceptional, (3) Satisfactory, etc. while other teachers simply assign numbers, percentages, letter grades or any combination of the three for each level. You can arrange them from highest to lowest or lowest to highest as long as your levels are organized and easy to understand.   Step 5: Write Descriptors for Each Level of Your Rubric This is probably your most difficult step in creating a rubric.Here, you will need to write short statements of your expectations underneath each performance level for every single criteria. The descriptions should be specific and measurable. The language should be parallel to help with student comprehension and the degree to which the standards are met should be explained. Again, to use an analytic essay rubric as an example, if your criteria was Organization and you used the  (4) Exceptional, (3) Satisfactory, (2) Developing, and (1) Unsatisfactory scale, you would need to write the specific content a student would need to produce to meet each level. It could look something like this: 4Exceptional 3Satisfactory 2Developing 1 Unsatisfactory Organization Organization is coherent, unified, and effective in support of the papers purpose andconsistently demonstrateseffective and appropriatetransitionsbetween ideas and paragraphs. Organization is coherent and unified in support of the papers purpose and usually demonstrates effective and appropriate transitions between ideas and paragraphs. Organization is coherent insupport of the essays purpose, but is ineffective at times and may demonstrate abrupt or weak transitions between ideas or paragraphs. Organization is confused and fragmented. It does not support the essays purpose and demonstrates alack of structure or coherence that negativelyaffects readability. A holistic rubric would not break down the essays grading criteria with such precision. The top two tiers of a holistic essay rubric would look more like this: 6 Essay demonstrates excellent composition skills including a clear and thought-provoking thesis, appropriate and effective organization, lively and convincing supporting materials, effective diction and sentence skills, and perfect or near perfect mechanics including spelling and punctuation. The writing perfectly accomplishes the objectives of the assignment. 5 Essay contains strong composition skills including a clear and thought-provoking thesis, but development, diction, and sentence style may suffer minor flaws. The essay shows careful and acceptable use of mechanics. The writing effectively accomplishes the goals of the assignment. Step 6: Revise Your Rubric After creating the descriptive language for all of the levels (making sure it is parallel, specific and measurable), you need to go back through and limit your rubric to a single page. Too many parameters will be difficult to assess at once, and may be an ineffective way to assess students mastery of a specific standard. Consider the effectiveness of the rubric, asking for student understanding and co-teacher feedback before moving forward. Do not be afraid to revise as necessary. It may even be helpful to grade a sample project in order to gauge the effectiveness of your rubric. You can always adjust the rubric if need be before handing it out, but once its distributed, it will be difficult to retract.   Teacher Resources: Creative Writing Prompts for High School Students14 Ways to Write Better in High SchoolThe Top Reading Skills to Teach Your StudentsGreat Books to Recommend To Teens

David Dabydeens Rewriting of Turners Painting Essay

David Dabydeens Rewriting of Turners Painting - Essay Example st enjoys the self-acclaimed freedom of distorting the reality in order to work out another reality that is greater and that lies beyond the capability of plain eyesight. J. M. Turner’s (who was an abolitionist) primary purpose was to draw the viewers’ sympathy for the slaves. But either because the limitation of visual art or simply because he is not one of the slaved society, he has failed to delve deep into the core of a slave’s existence that is his cultural identity. But Dabydeen has to focus primarily on this particular but relative truth or meaning of the art, rather than simply rewriting it, while overcoming Turner’s limitation. Yet since a visual art is often subjected to multiple interpretations depending on the multiplicities of individuals’ viewpoints, throughout the whole rewriting the painting Dabydeen has to maintain a poetic abstraction of the visual imagery of the his poem. Indeed, for Dabydeen Turner’s art is not more than an objective reality, of the 19th Century, and a part of history that he interprets from his own viewpoint. Hence what Dabydeen deals more with the reality of Turner’s art is his subjective interpolation that evokes picture and imagination of a civilization out of an instantaneous portrayal of a singular reality that might have evaded Turner’s eye, that is, J. M. Turner as well as his society fails to perceive the cultural identity of the slaves. Dabydeen has tried to evoke a cult ural identity out of the forgotten past. Dabydeen views that the slave thrown into the sea is floating for â€Å"centuries†, and his memory of his origin has faded away, though not completely.

Family Violence Prevention and Services Act Research Paper

Family Violence Prevention and Services Act - Research Paper Example They formed movements through which they spoke in one voice about the evils that were going on in their lives. Quite a number of acts were proposed, including the â€Å"Domestic Violence Prevention and Services Act† but they did not see the light of day. The Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA) was officially enacted in 1984. It was later â€Å"reauthorized and amended† in 2010. The act can be regarded as a life-saving financial measure driven by an objective to offer emotional support to the victims2. The main idea behind such programs is to effectively secure mental stability and safety of the respective victims in addition to preventing incidences of violence in future. The act was focussed on providing the necessary awareness and prevention of domestic violence. It should be noted that this act is the sole source of funding that is meant to support life-saving initiatives through domestic violence programs. These programs include hotlines, counselling , emergency shelters and relevant legal services3. The act has made tremendous steps in relation to curbing sexual and domestic violence. Consequently, increased awareness of the above mentioned crimes and a developed justice system have led to swelling demand for the services. In the United States alone, up to 2 million children and women succumb to domestic violence save for approximately 15 million children who are exposed to physical abuse and torture by their parents/guardians.4 The effects of the current state of the economy are being felt by victim service agencies as they try to handle the ever increasing demand by the American population. It is evident how the existing resources are being stretched to the limit. Situations of job loss and eviction cases of either the victim or the abuser have been factors that have contributed to the increasing demand for the respective services5. FVPSA is important in the sense that it is at the forefront of sustaining or rather maintainin g crisis hotlines, effective safety planning, appropriate preventive education to victims, counselling and emergency asylums.6 This act is necessary to bridge the gap between the limited available resources and the ever increasing demand for these services. Many regard this act as the heart and soul of the country’s response to pertinent issues of domestic violence, thus its importance. The act ensures that community resources are well coordinated and distributed through effective and comprehensive programs. In relation to the impact of this legislation, the funding has been able to assist many victims despite the limited resources. Many lives have been saved through various programs. A typical example of this scenario was in September 2008 where up to 60,800 victims benefited from the respective program. In essence, when a victim is provided with shelter it means that he or she is at a safer place far away from the abuser, thus a life-saving initiative. Another impact of the act is that the demand for these services has significantly increased. The government has, in turn, realised that closer attention should be paid especially in the area of funding so that more people can benefit from the program. The act has created significant awareness about what it can do so that in the event of an incident like an emergency, the victims know where to turn to for

After the Ratification of the Declaration of Independence Essay Example for Free

After the Ratification of the Declaration of Independence Essay After the ratification of the Declaration of Independence, establishing the united colonies as Free and Independent States, the Continental Congress set to work on the task of drawing up a document that would provide a legal framework for that Union, and which would be enforceable as the law of the new land. The Articles were written during the early part of the American Revolution by a committee of the Second Continental Congress of the now independent thirteen sovereign states. The head of the committee, John Dickinson, who had refused to sign he Declaration of Independence, nevertheless adhering to the will of the majority of the members of the Continental Congress, presented a report on the proposed articles to the Congress on July 12, 1776, eight days after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Dickinson initially proposed a strong central government, with control over the western lands, equal representation for the states, and the power to levy taxes. Because of their experience with Great Britain, the 13 states feared a powerful central government. Consequently, they changed Dickinsons proposed articles rastically before they sent them to all the states for ratification in November 1777. The Continental Congress had been careful to give the states as much independence as possible. The Articles deliberately established a confederation of sovereign states, carefully specifying the limited functions of the federal government. Despite these precautions, several years passed before all the states ratified the articles. The delay resulted from preoccupation with the revolution and from disagreements among the states. These disagreements included quarrels over boundary lines, conflicting ecisions by state courts, differing tariff laws, and trade restrictions between states. The small states wanted equal representation with the large states in Congress, and the large states were afraid they would have to pay an excessive amount of money to support the federal government. In addition, the states disagreed over control of the western territories. The states with no frontier borders wanted the government to control the sale of these territories so that all the states profited. On the other hand, the states bordering the frontier wanted to control as much land as they could. Eventually the states agreed to give control of all western lands to the federal government, paving the way for final ratification of the articles on March 1, 1781, Just seven and a half months before the surrender of Lord Cornwallis and his British Army at Yorktown, October 19, 1781, the victory ended fighting in the War of Independence and virtually assured success to the American cause. Almost the entire war for five long years had been prosecuted by the members of the Second Continental Congress as representatives of a loose federation of states with no resources and reputations. Under the Articles, on paper, the Congress had power to regulate foreign affairs, war, and the postal service and to appoint military officers, control Indian affairs, borrow money, determine the value of coin, and issue bills of credit. In reality, however, the Articles gave the Congress no power to enforce its requests to the states for money or troops, and by the end of 1786 governmental effectiveness had broken down. Nevertheless, some solid accomplishments had been achieved: certain state claims to western lands were settled, and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 established the undamental pattern of evolving government in the territories north of the Ohio River. Equally important, the Confederation provided the new nation with instructive experience in self-government under a written document. In revealing their own weaknesses, the Articles paved the way for the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and the present form of U. S. government. The Articles were in force from March 1, 1781, to March 4, 1789, when the present Constitution of the United States went into effect. During those years the 13 states were struggling to achieve their independent status, and the Articles of Confederation stood them in good stead in the process and exercise of learning self- government. The articles created a loose confederation of independent states that gave limited powers to a central government. The national government would consist of a single house of Congress, where each state would have one vote. Congress had the power to set up a postal department, to estimate the costs of the government and request donations from the states, to raise armed forces, and to control the development of the western territories. With the consent of nine of the thirteen states, Congress ould also coin, borrow, or appropriate money as well as declare war and enter into treaties and alliances with foreign nations. There was no independent executive and no veto of legislation. Judicial proceedings in each state were to be honored by all other states. The federal government had no judicial branch, and the only Judicial authority Congress had was the power to arbitrate disputes between states. Congress was denied the power to levy taxes; the new federal government was financed by donations from the states based on the value of each states lands. Any amendment to the articles required the unanimous approval of all 13 states. In attempting to limit the power of the central government, the Second Continental Congress created one without sufficient power to govern effectively, which led to serious national and international problems. The greatest weakness of the federal government under the Articles of Confederation was its inability to regulate trade and levy taxes. Sometimes the states refused to give the government the money it interstate commerce. The government could not pay off the debts it had incurred uring the revolution, including paying soldiers who had fought in the war and citizens who had provided supplies to the cause. Congress could not pass needed measures because they lacked the nine-state majority required to become laws. The states largely ignored Congress, which was powerless to enforce cooperation, and it was therefore unable to carry out its duties. After the Colonial victory in the Revolutionary War, it became obvious to the Founding Fathers that the original attempt would not be equal to the task of providing the equitable law which they sought. Congress could not force the states to adhere to the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1783 ending the American Revolution, which was humiliating to the new government, especially when some states started their own negotiations with foreign countries. In addition, the new nation was unable to defend its borders from British and Spanish encroachment because it could not pay for an army when the states would not contribute the necessary funds. Leaders like Alexander Hamilton of New York and James Madison of Virginia criticized the limits placed on the central government, and General George Washington is said o have complained that the federation was little more than a shadow without substance. On February 21, 1787, Congress called for a Constitutional Convention to be held in May to revise the articles. Between May and September, the convention wrote the present Constitution for the United States, which retained some of the features of the Articles of Confederation but gave considerably more power to the federal government. The new Constitution provided for executive and Judicial branches of government, lacking in the Articles, and allowed the government to tax its citizens.

The Dilemma of Cloning Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive Topics

The Dilemma of Cloning      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Man is quickly approaching the reality of cloning a human being. Once regarded as a fantastic vision dreamed up by imaginative novelists, the possibility of creating a person in the absence of sexual intercourse has crossed over the boundaries of science fiction and into our lives. While genetic engineering has helped improve the quality of life for many people, it poses many ethical and moral questions that few are prepared to answer. The most current and volatile debate surrounding human cloning seemed to surface when the existence of Dolly, a clone-sheep, was announced on February 23, 1997 by Ian Wilmut and colleagues at the Roslin Institute in Scotland. The cloning technique, which had never been successfully performed in mammals before, involved transplanting the genes of an adult male sheep with a differentiated somatic cell and transferring them into a female sheep's egg, of which the nucleus had been removed. Since Dolly contained the DNA of only one parent, she was deemed the "delayed" genetic twin of a single adult sheep (1). Since the spring of 1998, several other genetic clones have been announced, including the Massachusetts cell research firm's claim of "designer cattle" and the talk of a cloned mouse in June (2). Skeptics wondered, if such animals as mice and sheep can be cloned, what frontiers remains except for.....us? Recent legislation by the Clinton Administration, following the announcement of Dolly's birth put a ban on any funding whatsoever in support of science dictated toward human cloning. "Personally, I believe that human cloning raises deep concerns, given our cherished concepts of faith and humanity", the President said in a June 1997 national radio address (3)... ... of doing so, and the prospect of cloning a human being is an issue which must be carefully weighed by scientists and legislators alike. It is an event that can shape the history of mankind, but it is also an event that can create history in itself.    Works Cited (1) http://bioethics.gov/pubs/cloning1/executive.htm (2) http://www.reason. com/biclone.html (3) http://www.reson.com/biclone.html (4) http://www.reason.com/opeds/eibert.html (5) http://www.nejm.org/content/1998/0338/0013/0905.asp#tref-6 (6) http://www.nejm.org/content/1998/0338/0013/0905.asp#ref-6 (7) "Cloning: Legal, Medical, Ethical, and Social Issues". Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Health and Environment of the Committee on Commerce. Serial n. 105-70. February 12, 1998. Pp. 14 (8) http://cgi.pathfinder.com/time/magazine/articles/0,3266,17681,00.html

Family Therapy Essay

The whole issue of preferred family structure in the United States is complex with potential debates ranging from human rights issues to personal preferences and compliance with societal requirements. Several issue under lies this interest in a human context. For instance, the perception that the nuclear family is the best family structure which should feature in all human societies and is the only family structure that can fulfill the requirements and functions of a family is facing a lot of challenges in the modern society (McGoldrick, & Carter, 2005) this paper is written. It identifies and discusses the reasons why single parented family is more preferable to nuclear family in the United States. Nuclear family is defined as a traditional family which is made up of father, mother and children (McGoldrick, & Carter, 2005). It was traditionally conceived after marriage and developed ties across generation to an extended family, which accommodated cousins, uncles, aunts and grand parents. The nuclear family is associated with many advantages which range from emotional to social and economical support. However, numerous studies indicate that in the recent past, the nuclear family structure has lost the originality and substance it deserved and alternative family structures are becoming more prevalent (McGoldrick, & Carter, 2005). Several proposals have been put forth to explain this transformation top on the list being high divorce rates, same sex marriages and adoption of children. Current sociological statistics shows that nuclear family is losing prevalent in the United States because of its inadequacy to accommodate the diversified modern family arrangements. Available research shows that single parent family structure is increasingly high and 75% of all children in the United States spend a considerable amount of their life time in a single family (Stebbins, 2001). In a single family, there is only one parent in the family raising the children. In many a time, single parent family consists of a mother and the children. But to avoid being branded a feminist, the author of this paper finds it important to mention here that the number of single male parents is on the hike and cannot be ignored in this discussion. Several reasons have been put forth to explain why many people in United States prefer single parent family structure. From available statistics, many of the single parents are women who have never been married (Stebbins, 2001). The modern society has given women equal opportunities to pursue their careers. This is evidenced by the increasingly high number of women who have excelled in different careers including the male dominated ones. These women spend a considerable amount of their life time nurturing their careers to a point where if they have to wait until they get a potential partner, it mate be late for them to bear children. Advance in technology has enable women to bear children in absence intimacy with there male partners through artificial insemination (Sharp, & Yarber, 2010). They are given a chance to select a male partner who is willing to father the child without being emotionally attached. They raise the children according to their plans, values and standards and they stands to benefit from their parenting effort. The high rate of divorce in the United States has contributed heavily to the increased number of single parent families (Stebbins, 2001). Psychological research result indicates that conflict between parents creates the worst environment for the well being of children. Children built their characters from their parents and therefore domestic violence, for instance is emotionally and psychologically destructive to the children. Divorce and hence single family gives a solution to this problem and may guarantee the children a good future. Available information shows that despite the emotional feelings of loneliness, single parent families have many opportunities for the growth of children than in a two parent family (McGoldrick, & Carter, 2005). References McGoldrick, M., & Carter, B. (2005). The Expanded Family Life Cycle: Individual, Family, and Social Perspectives. Boston, Massachusetts: Allyn and Bacon. Sharp, P., & Yarber, A. (2010). Focus on Single-Parent Families: past, present, and Future. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. Stebbins, L. (2001). Work and Family in America: A Reference Handbook. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO.

Decoding Apple’s Balance Sheet Apa Format Essay

Decoding Apple’s Balance Sheet In March of 2009, Apple had its best March quarter revenue and earnings in Apple history (Apple). In order to see how this occurred, it is important to look over the financial statements of Apple. There is a lot of information available to investors who are interested in investing in a company. By looking specifically at the balance sheet of Apple I am going to determine if investing in Apple is a good idea or a bad idea. Some things I am going to consider are Apple’s assets, liabilities, and shareholder’s equity. These areas should give me insight to how the best quarter in Apple history ame to be. Looking at the current assets of Apple, cash and cash equivalents went down from 1 1. 8 billion dollars to 4. 4 billion dollars. This may look bad at first, but all of the other assets must be added to this in order to get an overall picture of the assets. Short- term marketable securities went up from 10. 2 billion dollars to 20. 5 billion dollars. This helped Apple’s assets grow tremendously. Accounts receivable fell to 1. 9 billion dollars from 2. 4 billion dollars. With the rest of the current assets fgured in, inventories, deferred tax assets, and other current assets, the total current assets ose to 33. billion dollars from 32. 3 billion dollars. That was a rise of 1. 5 billion dollars (Apple). It is important to take into account the rest of the assets. For example, long-term marketable securities rose 1. 5 billion dollars, property, plant and equipment rose 0. 91 billion dollars, goodwill stayed the same, acquired intangible assets fell 0. 017 billion dollars, and othe r assets rose 0. 56 billion dollars. Now that we know how each asset was affected during this quarter, we come to the final numbers, which are total assets rose 3. 6 billion dollars. Apple grew its assets substantially during this quarter. I would think Apple would be a good company to invest in. Before I made any decisions I would investigate the balance sheet further in order to compare liabilities and shareholder’s equity with the previous quarter. This will give me a better understanding of the financial situation of the company (Apple). Current liabilities are in the first section of liabilities and shareholder’s equity. The following accounts are current liabilities and how they fared. Accounts payable went down from 5. 5 billion dollars to 3. 9 billion dollars. Accrued expenses went down 1 billion dollars. Deferred revenue went up from 4. 8 billion dollars to 7 billion dollars. The total change in current liabilities was a decrease of 0. 4 billion dollars. The other two liabilities categories, deferred revenue (non-current) and other non-current liabilities, rose collectively 0. 7 billion dollars. This gives the total liabilities a rise of 0. 3 billion dollars. This amount compared to current assets is not as significant. So far Apple is still looking like a good investment because the assets of Apple rose 1. 5 billion dollars whereas their liabilities only rose 0. billion dollars. It is now time to take a look at the final category of the balance sheet, the shareholder’s equity (Apple). The value of shareholders equity, common stock, rose from 7. 1 billion dollars to billion dollars. Accumulated other comprehensive income rose . 07 billion dollars. Total shareholder’s equity rose 3. 3 billion dollars. So adding together the rise of 0. 4 billion dollars in liabilities with the 3. 3 billion dollar rise of the shareholder’s equity, we get the same amount, 3. 7 billion dollars, as we got for the rise in total assets. The balance sheet balances (Apple). With the rise in assets, which led to the rise in retained earnings, I think Apple would be a good company to invest in because they are growing their business. I would want to look at past financial statements, specifically the balance sheets, in order to compare assets, liabilities, and shareholder’s equity from past quarters, but from the information presented on the balance sheet from this quarter I would be willing to invest in Apple. References Apple reports second quarter results. (2009, April 22). Retrieved August 29, 2010, from http://www. apple. com/pr/library/2009/04/22results. html

Impressionism and Postimpressionism essays

Impressionism and Postimpressionism essays Impressionism was a form of art in the late nineteenth century that used luminosity, subtlety of tone and preoccupation with sensation. The impressionist subject matter preserved the romantic fascination with nature and the realist preoccupation with late century French society. An example of an impressionist work would be Claude Monet's Impression: Sunrise. Impression: Sunrise is a seascape that shows more of what one sees than the sea. The painting had no real strong lines because there were no lines in nature. Postimpressionism describes the western artists who followed the impressionist. They believed in art for arts sake aestheticism, they prized pictorial invention. An example would be Van Goghs The Starry Night. This is a landscape view of the small French town of Saint-Remy. The paintings sky rolls like ocean waves. The moon appears to burn like the sun. He uses color to express his vision of nature. ...

Periodicity Definition in Chemistry

Periodicity Definition in Chemistry Periodicity Definition In the context of chemistry and the periodic table, periodicity refers to trends or recurring variations in element properties with increasing atomic number. Periodicity is caused by regular and predictable variations in element atomic structure. Mendeleev organized elements according to recurring properties to make a periodic table of elements. Elements within a group (column)  display similar characteristics. The rows in the periodic table (the periods) reflect the filling of electrons shells around the nucleus, so when a new row begins, the elements stack on top of each other with similar properties. For example, helium and  neon are both fairly unreactive gases that glow when an electric current is passed through them.  Lithium and sodium both have a 1 oxidation state and are reactive, shiny metals. Uses of Periodicity Periodicity was helpful to Mendeleev because it showed him gaps in his periodic table where elements should be. This helped scientists find new elements because they could be expected to display certain characteristics based on the location they would take in the periodic table. Now that the elements have been discovered, scientists and students used periodicity to make predictions about how elements will behave in chemical reactions and their physical properties. Periodicity helps chemists predict how the new, superheavy elements might look and behave. Properties That Display Periodicity Periodicity can include many different properties, but the key recurring trends are: Ionization Energy  - This is the energy needed to completely remove an electron from an atom or ion. Ionization energy increases moving left to right across the table and decreases moving down a group.Electronegativity - A measure of how readily an atom forms a chemical bond.  Electronegativity increases moving left to right across a period and decrease moving down a group.Atomic Radius - This is half the distance between the middle of two atoms just touching each other. Atomic radius decreases moving left to right across a period and increases moving down a group. Ionic radius is the distance for ions of the atoms and follows the same trend. Although it might seem like increasing the number of protons and electrons in an atom would always increase its size, the atom size doesnt increase until a new electron shell is added. Atom and ion sizes shrink moving across a period because the increasing positive charge of the nucleus pulls in the electron shell.Electron Affinity - This is a measure of readily an atom accepts an electron. Electron affinity increases moving across a period and decreases moving down a group. Nonmetals usually have higher electron affinities than metals. The noble gases are an exception to the trend since these elements have filled electron valence shells and electron affinity values approaching zero. However, the behavior of the noble gases is periodic. In other words, even though an element group might break a trend, the elements within the group display periodic properties. If youre still confused or need additional information, a more detailed overview of periodicity is also available.

Martin Luther and the Lutheran Reformation Research Paper

Martin Luther and the Lutheran Reformation - Research Paper Example Martin Luther, the German monk, initiated reformatory ideas into the context of Christian faith in Europe. One can see that the Lutheran Reformation or Protestant Reformation provided ample importance to the concept of salvation and individual faith in god. On the other side, the Christian church considered that donating money to the Church as a proof of one’s faith can help one to attain salvation. These differences between the Christian Church and Lutheran ideas related to faith and salvation eventually led to Lutheran Reformation. To be specific, Martin Luther was not ready to agree with the concept of the sale of indulgences as the source of revenue to the Church. Instead, his aim was to inculcate innovation to Christian faith in Europe. Thesis statement: The Lutheran Reformation unveiled the difference between individual faith and religious salvation, it bridged the wide gap between the believers and the Christian Church, and it is important because it’s socio-poli tical, religious and cultural impact unleashed the possibilities of individual faith in god, especially in Christianity. Martin Luther and Lutheran Reformation One can see that Martin Luther’s influence is not limited to the sphere of religious reformation because it extends to other fields like education, culture and literature. His deep knowledge in Latin was helpful to translate works in Latin to German language. Luther’s graduation and post-graduation were at the University of Erfurt. Later, he decided to study law, but lost interest in the same and joined a monastery in Erfurt. But he was not ready to give up his education and became a professor of Theology. John Scott makes clear that, â€Å"The one is, that his learning, genius, and capacity, were of the first magnitude: the other, that his life was without blemish.†1 While he was serving as a professor, he became interested in the idea of salvation and faith in Christianity. Besides, Luther made use of his acceptability as a professor to spread his ideas among the mass. Alister E. McGrath states that, â€Å"The Lutheran Reformation was initially an academic mo vement, concerned primarily with reforming the teaching of theology at the University of Wittenberg.†2 For instance, in the year 1517, Luther declared his opinion on the difference between salvation and faith in Christianity. The Lutheran interpretation of faith in God was entirely different from the interpretation of same by the Christian Church in Germany. This difference in interpretation of faith forced Luther to undergo excommunication from the Pope (say, in the year 1521) and disagreement from the Emperor Karl V. All these factors eventually led to the initiation of Lutheran Reformation as an attempt to reform the Protestant Church in Germany. Martin Luther’s role as a religious reformer Martin Luther’