Dubaya Essays - Bush Family, Livingston Family, Schuyler Family

Dubaya He brought his father's sterling name, degrees from Yale and Harvard, some $13,000 left in his trust fund, and his strongest personal asset an exuberant charm spiked with wisecracks. Bush never found much oil in Texas, but he slowly found his way. He married and fathered twin girls, quit drinking, began studying Scripture, and made his an unsuccessful foray into the family business by running for Congress. He learned to court friends and political supporters of his father, the vice president. And he hooked up with the oil investors who would eventually help him become managing partner of the Texas Rangers baseball team. Bush used the Rangers post to cultivate celebrity status and prepare for a gutsy, winning challenge to Democratic Gov. Ann Richards in 1994. The Rangers deal also made him a multimillionaire. George Walker Bush was born July 6, 1946 in New Haven, Conn., where his father, already a flying hero of World War II, was charging through Yale. When he was 2, his parents moved West to chase the oil boom. But young George also endured great sorrow at age 7, when his little sister Robin died of leukemia. The next child, now Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, was seven years younger. Three others followed: Neil, stung by the S Marvin, a venture capitalist; and Doro, wife of a Washington lobbyist and mother of four. None seems to have felt the weight of their father's successes as much as the eldest, often called ``Junior'' although he's one name short of George Herbert Walker Bush. He followed his father's path to prep school in Andover, Mass., and then Yale, but failed to live up to his legacy in academics or sports. Instead, he's remembered at Andover for organizing stickball tournaments and lavish pep rallies that brightened an otherwise rigid campus. At Yale, like his father, he was tapped for the secret Skull and Bones society and became president of Delta Kappa Epsilon. Fraternity brothers remember him as ``the life of the party'' among a group preoccupied by beer, sports, soul music and, of course, girls. Friends say Bush avoided the nascent Vietnam War protests at Yale and didn't brook criticism of his father, then a Texas congressman supporting the war. Shortly before graduation in 1968, Bush signed up for pilot training in the Texas Air National Guard, where it was unlikely he would be sent to Vietnam. Bush says he wanted to learn to fly like his father; he denies allegations that family connections helped win a coveted slot and avoid the draft. Thus began what Bush calls his ``nomadic period.'' He moved to a singles complex in Houston, chased women, drank bourbon, tooled around in a sports car and flew F-102 fighters on weekends. He bounced through several jobs, helped with his father's congressional campaign, and worked for a year at a charity that mentored poor black boys. He was trying to ``reconcile who I was and who my dad was, to establish my own identity in my own way,'' Bush said in a 1989 interview. Unsure what to do next, he enrolled in Harvard, earning a master's of business administration. At age 29, Bush returned to the town where he was raised, to grow up. For him, it was ``entrepreneurial heaven.'' On the heels of the Arab oil embargo, prices were skyrocketing and fortunes were blossoming. With guidance from his father's local friends, Bush began as a ``land man,'' putting together deals to buy mineral rights. No one would have known from his worn jeans and hand-me-down shirts that his father was ambassador to China. Friends introduced Bush to Laura Welch, a reserved librarian who had attended junior high with him in Midland. They were married three months later. She became a stabilizing influence. The marriage started on the campaign trail in an unlikely bid for an open congressional seat. Bush staged an upset in the '78 GOP primary but he lost the general election after Democrat Kent Hance successfully branded him a carpetbagger. Buoyed by investments from family friends back East, his oil exploration business performed modestly well until prices plummeted in 1981. Two Cincinnati investors gave

Information Technology Acts

Information Technology Acts Children’s Internet Protection Act, 2000 Almost every home, library and school in the US has computers as well as access to the internet. These have become very important to children’s success in their academic work. However, the internet can expose them to online predators as well as inappropriate material. The increase in use of the internet by children especially teenagers brought in concerns about the need to prevent illegal activities over the internet.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Information Technology Acts specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The US Congress enacted the Children’s Internet Protection Act, 2000 to address access to offensive content through the internet. The Act requires schools as well as libraries to put content filters on their information systems to prevent minors from accessing inappropriate sites and contents (Reynolds, 2006). Content devices are placed to block obsce ne and child pornography pictures, as well as, any other material deemed to cause harm to minors. The passing of this Act was prompted by the increase of global network which enabled minors to chart or communicate through email and chart rooms. This was deemed to pose risks to minors who can still be easily deceived by those who pretend to have good intent. Besides, software for hacking and spyware had become very common, meaning that anybody could easily illegally gain access to minors’ information if they wanted to for any reason. Hacking allows unauthorized access, disclosure as well as dissemination of personal identification information about children and teenagers. This posed great risks to minors who access the internet. There were concerns that some of these software companies develop software which enable them track minors’ web-surfing activities, and as a result sell the information to market research companies (Reynolds, 2006). This is illegitimate and again st the Privacy Act. Marketing companies and other firms use such information to send email advertisements by use of ardware through minors’ email addresses, regardless of their ages and the risks associated with the products or activities. Again, the internet allows those who develop pornography movies and pictures to distribute them online. Some of these contents are freely available online and always attract minors’ attention. Such inappropriate contents contribute to minors being involved in immoral activities which include sex when they are not yet mature. The internet also allows drug gangs to make attractive advertisements which allow them to easily recruit teenagers into their drug and gang activities. Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, 1986 The Act was passed to help reduce cracking of information systems as well as to deal with federal computer-related offenses. It governs cases where information systems are used to carry out crimes involving interstate as well as foreign commerce. It also covers the use of computers to commit crimes related to illegal access or use of computers of financial institutions or the federal government.Advertising Looking for essay on it? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The act was passed as a result of the development of electronic funds transfer systems, hacking software, spyware, virus and the increase in adoption of information systems in institutions. The adoption of electronic funds transfers created real concerns about fraud or illegal transfer of funds from financial institutions. Fraudsters are able to maliciously access data and use various techniques to steal money from financial institutions or individual accounts. The development of credit cards, ATM cards and automated machines has increased the risks of fraud. Criminals skim credit card details by swiping them through card reader to copy the information contained in their magnetic str ip, and use them to generate cloned cards (Stamp Walker, 2007). Companies have developed handheld skimmers which can fit into pockets and hands, which allow fraudsters to secretly swipe cards without the knowledge of the owners. Some of these skimmers are attached to ATMs in the card slot. They are used in combination with pinhole cameras to record customers entering PIN. Fraudsters can also take advantage of their powerful encrypting software to encrypt passwords of employees in a financial institution to transfer funds from the institution to a financial institution in another country. The development of online financial transactions has also increased fraud risk. Hackers can hack financial details of an individual or institution through unauthorized leaks in the system and use it carry out fraud activities, which includes illegal transfer of funds and assets across countries. Software companies and individuals continuously develop password hacking software which hackers and crac kers use to view activities of other remotely connected computers. They are therefore able to spy activities of institutions of the federal government or monitor the financial activities of financial institutions. There also software which enables them to capture the activities of these institutions or damage vital data belonging to these institutions (Wienbar, 2004). These software enable them crack passwords since they are stronger than firewall and other filters. They can therefore illegally gain access to confidential information and use it to achieve their own personal interest. Spyware and viruses have been developed to cause damage and to gain unauthorized access to federal information. They can be used to hack, delete files or information stored in protected computers vital to the federal government or institutions. New technologies such as spyware can be used to collect information from corporate or public institutions without the knowledge of the computer users. They can b e used to monitor computer users, collect personal information and take control of the computer of computer systems.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Information Technology Acts specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More They can install additional software which may include virus, and interfere with functionality of other computer programs. The development of webcams also poses great risks. Individuals remotely activate webcams embedded in computers used in institutions to secretly capture activities, and therefore illegally monitor activities of individuals and institutions. Reference List Reynolds, G. (2006). Ethics in information technology, 2nd Ed. St Peter Port: Course Technology Inc. Stamp, J., Walker, J. (2007). Money laundering in Australia, 2004: Trends and issues in crime and criminal justice. Australian Institute of Criminology, 342. Wienbar, S. (2004). The Spyware Inferno. News.com. Web.

With reference to the UK, examine and discuss the methods open to a Essay - 1

With reference to the UK, examine and discuss the methods open to a government to control the rate of inflation within an economy - Essay Example According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) inflation in the UK rose to 2.2 per cent in January 2008, 0.2 per cent above the governments two per cent target. Retail price index (RPI) inflation rose to 4.1 per cent in January, up from four per cent in December. Although rising utilities bills and an increase in producer price index (PPI) inflation will keep upward pressure on inflation, the drop in demand for consumer products - such as clothing, footwear and electricals - seen in January could offset the higher food and fuel prices, analysts believe (Office of National Statistics 2008). Balancing the state budget is viewed by the economists as the way to help ease inflation. More efficient way is to keep the state budget ath the surplus and to hold expenditures at a low level. Budget can also be balanced by cutting taxes, and then trimming expenditures enough to make outgo match income. Tight money is probably the anti-inflationary weapon that is most widely used by capitalist economies today all around the world. By tight money it is meant holding down the ability of banks to make additional loans, so that household or businesses borrowers find it much more difficult--and much, much more expensive--to take out a loan. Tight money certainly slows down the pace of economic buying and producing. To a lesser extent it also slows down inflation, although there is no iron law that says prices must fall just because less is being produced or bought. Mainly the result of tight money is to intensify competition in a sluggish business setting, and that may bring prices down or stop them from going up: the bargains in air fares may be an example of this. The difficulties with tight money are is that the impact of credit stringency is very uneven--dealing serious blows, even death blows, to small business; leaving big business, with its powerful credit sources, relatively unscathed. Another problem is

Deontological Ethics Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Deontological Ethics - Case Study Example The second ethical problem is how the external auditor would perform his function in the conduct of external audit.. Deontological framework takes a normative ethical position that judges the morality of action based on latter’s conformity to rules or rules. It is sometimes called duty-based ethics or rule-based ethics because a person is bound to ones duty (Hartman, 2004). It is differentiated with consequentialism where the rights are determined by the consequences. The primacy or importance of the rules is clear in deontological. The validity the rules would have to relate them with what is universal and rational man ought to do under the circumstances. Thus, Kant ethics which will be used in this is paper since it is deemed to under this type of ethics because of the principle of universalism (Weiss, 2008). This should be deemed accomplished as found in section 2.1. The first issue is on the interpretation of accounting rules in the preparation of the financial statements. Case facts provide in the preparation of its financial statements, that WorldCom used a liberal interpretation of accounting rules. Interpretation could of course be liberal, strict or just be neural enough to balance the two extremes. Since the company has a purpose in having a liberal interpretation which is make it appear that its profits were increasing, the company must have reason for doing so. It has done the same by writing down in one quarter earnings the cost of company expenses expected in the future so that is it would have bigger losses in the current quarter but smaller ones in the future quarters (Moberg, 2010). The idea was to show trend of constant growth in the profit of the company as a sign of growing or sustainable company. In other instance involving its acquisition of MCI, WorldCom had the accounting opportunity to reduce the book value of some MCI

The Public Needs to Know Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

The Public Needs to Know - Essay Example Adams and Brantner (2006) reveal that cancer is the number one killer disease in the United States today. The research showed that over one million people in the U.S. are diagnosed with the cancer every year. This is a worrying statistics considering the fact that no drug has been developed that can cure the disease today. The only hope currently is for one to obtain regular screening to aid early detection, which research shows to increase survival chances if treated immediately with the available drugs. Despite this being the case, cancer treatment is very expensive and many American citizens lack the health insurance. Therefore, to arrest the situation, there is urgent need to develop drugs capable of treating this killer disease. The aim of this discourse is to explore the major issues that might arise due to the development of a cancer treatment drug. The issues to be discussed include economic issues and the special needs of the population being served. In addition, the paper w ill describe the processes that will be involved in the development of the program and its benefits to the population. Economic issues Cancer treatments are the most expensive medical treatment in the United States today. ... Analysts argue that this cost is not only worrying, but is also unrealistic in this day and age when the American economy is struggling to recover from recession. Furthermore, everyone involved in this problem is left wondering how we will be able to afford the cost of cancer in the next decade. It is believed that doctors will only recommend treatments depending on the out-of-pocket spending by patients. Currently almost everyone in the country is worried of how the cost of cancer treatment will be met in the future. As a result, the company’s intention to develop a new cancer treatment drug will be of immense benefit to economically. It will result in a reduction in the cost of healthcare, which would lead to a reduction in the government spending on cancer-related treatments (Jonsson and Wilking 2011). Special needs Currently physicians depend use mainly chemotherapy and radiography to treat cancer. However, patients are concerned that these treatment methods are not only e xpensive and not affordable to many, but are also painful. As a result, patients need a new treatment method that is not only cheap and affordable, but also safe and does not involve a painful experience. This special need can only be addressed through the development of a new treatment drug for cancer. Developing the drug will make the treatment of cancer easier and safer than the methods used today. Furthermore, it will enable the treatment of cancer possible even if cancer is diagnosed very late (Adams and Brantner, 2006). The image shows a patient diagnosed of cancer of the skin. Process involved in the development of the program The process involved in the development of a cancer treatment drug is normally cumbersome and takes from 7 to

Changing Attitudes of Stakeholders Towards CSR

Changing Attitudes of Stakeholders Towards CSR I. Introduction: Today, the businesses are more sensitive than with the problems affecting communities and their field activities. A narrow ideological is just only the benefits and the profits of the enterprise itself, which is not longer relevant. The capacity building and awareness for businesses are the driving force to help them accelerate the process of consideration and attention to social aspects when making business decisions. Increasingly, businesses must not only gain competitive advantage, reap the profits, but to create confidence for consumers through the implementation of social responsibility Consumers are not only pay attention to quality and price of goods, they have paid more attention to the effects of production on the environment.. Therefore, to further enhance corporate social responsibility is seen as essential requirements to ensure the sustainable development of the economy. Businesses increasingly interested in corporate social responsibility activities because society increasingly poses more requirements for enterprises. Businesses benefit from the resources from the community so they must be responsible for contributing to the community. It does not mean companies do corporate social responsibility is really responsible that actually bring many benefits for businesses that typically enhance business reputation. Derived from the roots of corporate social responsibility, it means that a business should consider other things more out of profits if the business wants to protect his reputation and more for increased competitive advantage for Business. II. The role of international multilateral organization and media in corporate social responsibility 1. Social responsibility of enterprises: Social responsibility of enterprises includes many issues. Firstly, businesses must ensure their activities do not cause harm to the environment, which means to show the friendliness with environment in the production processes and their business activities. Wastes from the production process must be handled through a process safe and friendly to environment. Hygiene of staff is also a matter of concern. Employees need to learn to raise awareness of environmental protection work around them. To ensure a clean environment will also contribute to raising productivity and improving work efficiency. The following is a typical example for the successful implementation of environmental safety issues of the business. Corporation Pharmaceutical and veterinary supplies (HANVET) was established on 01/10/1988. Over 20 years of construction and development, to date, the company has become one of the veterinary Drug Business in Vietnam. With over 400 employees, including professors, doctors, veterinarians skilled professional, plus the force skilled workers, equipped with mechanical systems, modern equipment, advanced technology, the company has been continuously offering quality products, giving practical effect to farmers and environmentally safe. The company soon plans and programs to implement environmental protection, regularly organizes periodic training on the knowledge of occupational safety for officers and employees. Every year, the company maintains the observation impact on the environment, timely corrective plan for repair and upgrades to ensure products meet sanitation standards. Domestic wastewater has high organic matter content, so the company has used methods for microbiological water treatment. Domestic wastes from offices, restaurants, public toilets are estimated to be 12m3/day is processed by methods of anaerobic (septic tank) before being discharged into the receiving source. Wastewater of production is including cooling water, sanitation closed bottle of medicine in liquid formà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦company is using biological methods combined physicochemical to ensure the entire process and inorganic solids in wastewater. Through various water treatment systems intermediary, the water was given the biology lake to deposit sediment. The water in lake discharge standards TCVN 5945 1945, level B, will follow the sewage system spilled sewage system area. HANVET product veterinary drug so solid waste mainly containing packaging material, empty medicine bottles closed form solution, peel packages containing pills, powders, equipment replacement, sludge from wastewater treatment systems, slag, Therefore, the company has built warehouses to hold all types of solid waste. For solid waste can be recycled, collected, classified for use, solid waste is not recyclable, the company signed a contract with the company to collect and transport units arrive with hygienic treatment. In addition to the waste treatment measures, a technology that the company is more focused investment in research and applications contribute to environmental protection that is oil sludge processing technology using biodegradable of system. Through this system, the toxic sludge on the environment has become a useful fertilizer for crops. In 2004, at Green Week Fair International in Haiphong, HANVET was awarded the Cup of sustainable development for the Green Industry of Vietnam by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. (Source hanviet.com Website: www.hanvet.com.vn) Secondly, enterprises must take care to employees, who serve not only materially but also spiritually. They produce directly products, serve their labor power for the development of the company. The Company need care to workers, such as annual health check, social welfare, trade unions, safety in production Third, enterprises shall respect the equality between men and women, not employment discrimination about gender and salaries that must be based on equality of each persons capacity. Some countries such as China, Indiaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦or more than as South American countries, the U.S. still exists gender discrimination issues. Next, may not discriminate in ethnic group, not discriminating between normal and impaired body, their past. Another one, providing good quality product, not harm the health of consumers. Continue, to a portion of their profits to the aid community, because enterprise exists in the heart of a community that they can not just be know themselves. Last one, they must enjoy contribute the peace and security of the country and world. Through that, we can see at least four groups that businesses are been responsible behavior, including: +Market and consumers +Employees +Community in the region and in society +Living Environment The benefits of building good social responsibility of business was express clearly by: Constructions reputation and brand value Strengthen the commitment of workers and enterprises Improve the financial capacity through cost-saving activities of the business and increase share value Ensure the sustainable development of enterprises Risk management and crisis better Increase productivity, ethics and dedication of worker Increased ability to attract a quality workforce Establish good relationships with government and community A good tool to integrate Over the world, the leading large companies have adopted corporate social responsibility plan successfully such as: Burgerville is a chain of restaurants serving quality fast efficiently, saving time. They have invested $ 1.4 millions in health insurance to care for employees. That investment was paid off, work productivity of employees increased dramatically higher. Burgerville began paying over 90% of each of its 1,050 hourly employees premiums in January 2006 as part of Holland Inc. s (the parent companys) mission statement of Serve with Love. To qualify, employees are required to have already worked in the restaurant for 20-plus hours a week for 6 months and agree to pay a monthly $15 for coverage. (Feel good fast food. January 21, 2008 http://www.feelgoodfastfood.org/wordpress/?p=327) Some enterprises have put corporate social responsibility into their business strategies. Typically, these social programs such as 6 million cups of milk for children Vietnam and funds scholarships fireflies light of the big brands like Vinamilk, Dutch Lady has resonated and consumer support households. Vinamilk will be awarded 6 million cups of milk which the equivalent of $ 25 billion for a total of 48,000 children throughout Vietnam. Each child was selected who will be drank Vinamilk 2 times/day throughout months. The main objective of the program are 18,000 primary school pupils from 15 provinces who have difficulties about economic of the 15 provinces and 30,000 thousands of disabled children, orphans, have special circumstances around the country. (Source http://www.dutchlady.com.vn and http://dantri.com.vn/c167/s167-316631/khoi-dong-quy-6-trieu-ly-sua-cho-tre-em-viet-nam.htm HYPERLINK http://dantri.com.vn/c167/s167-316631/khoi-dong-quy-6-trieu-ly-sua-cho-tre-em-viet-nam.htm 31/03/200931/03/2009) 2. Social responsibility of media: Beside companies, media also plays an important role in corporate social responsibility (CSR). The first role is to support an efficient way for businesses to promote corporate social responsibility programs. Enterprises can use mass media to inform the community and other stakeholders which are aware of CSR activities of their company. This is a useful tool for people who do PR for brand development and image of a product or an organization while ensuring the professional ethics of the PR industry which has met the wishes of the owner Industry. Especially in industries where the quality and price of products is almost equal, consumers will become more disturbed in making decisions, their choices. In that cases, users often choose products according to sensory and their liking so that CSR can be seen as an effective method to increase business reputation, or otherwise increase feelings of consumers to brand your product or business, it is increasing revenue for the company. The media has a direct influence thinking and actions of people and politicians. If used appropriately, the media can perform tasks inform, educate, reassure, make connections and understanding, suggesting the optical center, favorites, or create the ability to accept a situation that occurs when out. More and more people realize that all organizations whether large or small, public or private, limited liability or joint stock, which has more responsibility in their activities. Today, the media and the public are always interested in optical their activities than ever before. The communication principle is similar in scope to apply different organizations bloc private organizations, voluntary, charitable or non-charitable. The significant increase in number and frequency of operation of the charitable organization has led to public demand for domestic and international recognition and appreciation are higher. This is the cause of the appearance of a series of media activities. The role of me dia is to inform and guide the public and the media reports, make them known to your organization, explain the nature of work and general activities of the organization. III. Recommendation: In the 21st century, in the globalization economy, when human consciousness about the risks to the environment, the demand for social responsibility increased as required to control emissions of cars circulating on the streets, controlling dust levels in residential areas, etc. To sum up, corporate social responsibility social responsibility is seen as committed for mental, moral, cultural, for families, local communities and society, employees and environment. In market economies, individuals and businesses are actions that are best for them under the law permits. CSR is committed to the companys behavior in line with the advantage of society in activities related to the advantage of customers, suppliers, employees, shareholders, communities and environment. SCR is considered a category of business ethics (Business Ethics) relating to all business activities of enterprises. Media is a part important of SCR which contributes to the formation of peoples thinking and success of the bus iness. The media is grower, the faster, more sensitiveà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ IV. REFERENCES: Feel good fast food. January 21, 2008 http://www.feelgoodfastfood.org/wordpress/?p=327 Source http://www.dutchlady.com.vn and http://dantri.com.vn/c167/s167-316631/khoi-dong-quy-6-trieu-ly-sua-cho-tre-em-viet-nam.htm HYPERLINK http://dantri.com.vn/c167/s167-316631/khoi-dong-quy-6-trieu-ly-sua-cho-tre-em-viet-nam.htm 31/03/200931/03/2009) Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_social_responsibility The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits by Milton Friedman. In The New York Times Magazine, September 13, 1970 http://www.colorado.edu/studentgroups/libertarians/issues/friedman-soc-resp-business.html Media SCR Forum http://mediacsrforum.org/ Why Social Media Is Vital to Corporate Social Responsibility http://mashable.com/2009/11/06/social-responsibility/

We Should Allow Drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR)

Over the last thirty years the United States has been faced with the problem of dependence on foreign countries for oil and the tight control that these exercise on the energy policies and economics of America. Many of these instances include: the oil embargos of the 1970s, the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990, and the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in 2001. Since the 1970s, one solution offered to reduce our nation's dependence on foreign countries for oil has been opening up drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Proponents say that drilling in ANWR would make the United States more self-sufficient in the area of energy, while at the same time not doing excessive damage to the environment of the area. Opponents of drilling in ANWR cite the environmental problems of off-shore drilling and maintain that this land should be left alone and allowed to stand as an environmental wonder. Given that some environmental groups do not mind allowing technology to i nvade the environment when it profits them and given the threats of global terror and the ever-increasing dependence our nation has on foreign oil, I believe it is in the best interests of the United States to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil drilling.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Before stating both sides of the argument, I would like to make two observations that I found interesting while researching from the book, Taking Sides. The first thing that I found interesting was that in an environmental science class and in an environmental science textbook, the two articles used to present the pros and cons of opening up oil drilling in ANWR were not written by environmentalists or scientists or even oil technology experts, but rather by an economist, a physicist and a lawyer. The second thing that ran through my head as I was reading both articles was the time at which both were written. ?To Drill or Not to Drill: Let the Environmentalist Decide,? written by Dwight R. Lee, a professor of economics, and ?Fools Gold in Alaska,? written by physicist Amory B. Lovins and lawyer L. Hunter Lovins, were both written in the months prior to the September eleventh terrorist attacks in the United States and the subsequent United States invasion of both A fghanistan and Iraq. As I read both articles, especially that of the Lovins, which opposes oil drilling in ANWR, I could not help but wonder if ... ... we may see a serious act in the near future to start the process of drilling. With a solid combination and profitability factor the U.S. could prevent the rising gasoline prices. We need to however, continue our search for other alternatives do to our limited resource of oil. For this reason, I am in favor of opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling and also the exploration of alternative fuel sources, as well as ways to conserve fuel. This combination should provide the United States with an energy policy that is both financially stable and environmentally sound.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Works Cited Cunningham, William P. Cunningham, Mary Ann and Saigo, Barbara. Environmental Science, A Global Concern. McGraw-Hill. New York, NY. 2005. Easton, Thomas A. and Goldfarb, Theordore D. Taking Sides. McGraw-Hill/Dushkin. Guilford, Connecticut. 2004. Hayek, F.A. Individualism and Economic Order. The University of Chicago Press. Chicago and London. 1948. Lee, Dwight R. ?To Drill or Not to Drill: Let the Environmentalists Decide.? The Independent Review. Fall 2001. Lovins, Amory B and Lovins, L. Hunter. ?Fool's Gold in Alaska.? Foreign Affairs. July/August 2001.

What Was the Main Cause of the Financial Crisis in 2007-2009?

The intention of this essay is to provide an in depth and critical analysis of the financial crisis that took place between 2007-2009, in particular focusing on some key issues raised by the Foote, Gerardi and Willen paper ‘Why did so many people make so many Ex Post bad decisions? ’ Whilst there were many contributing factors, it is clear that a specific few played a particularly dominant role, primarily the ‘Bubble Theory’, irresponsible regulation, toxic CDO’s and $62 trillion of CDS’s. ‘That’s what bubbles are: they’re examples of mass delusions’ (Norcera, 2011).Bubble theory’s are by no means a new school of thought, in fact they date back to the Dutch Tulip bubble in the 1630’s and it is these types of bubble that are believed, by many economists, to be the primary cause of the foreclosure crisis. The bubble theory explains the crisis as a natural progression of overly optimistic price expectations for a particular asset class, recently the US housing market. When the housing bubble began to enlarge, lenders were lulled into a false sense of security, which lead to large amounts of credit being extended to ‘sub prime’ borrowers, people who had shady or uncertified credit history.However due to the inflating house prices the banks seemed to have little concern towards the credit being repaid. Although this credit was issued to subprime borrowers through the securitised credit market, securitisation was not necessarily the definitive cause of the crisis, but what it did was act as a catalyst allowing borrowers and investors to undertake their desired transactions. With this appetite for risk from lenders and interest rates being cut to 1% by the Fed, institutional investors were eager to chase higher returns.The opportunity encouraged investment banks to anti up their leverage and create a higher yielding product which was directly linked to an ‘ever rising h ousing market’. The emergence of Special Purpose Vehicles (SPV’s) allowed banks to over leverage and buy mortgages which were then bundled together into a special purpose vehicle, proportions of these were then subsequently sold off as a Collateralised Debt obligations (CDO’s), ‘an investment-grade security backed by a pool of bonds, loans and other assets’. The theory behind this SPV was to reduce the lenders liability by pooling hundreds of supposedly ndependent mortgages, meaning that in the event of any mortgage defaults the loss would be contained rather than having a simultaneous effect on the other mortgages pooled within the CDO. Given that house prices were expected to continue along the bubble’s growth path, any losses from mortgage defaults would be naturally offset by house price inflation, or so they thought. Once the Investment banks had packaged these mortgages they then sought to diversify their liability by selling off the mu tual funds to external investors, some more bullish than others and hence the segregation of tranches within the CDO packages.The riskiness of each tranche was determined by the rating agencies, Standard and Poor/Fitch, which ranged from AAA (the lowest risk, but highest price) to CCC (the highest risk, but lowest price). In the event of any mortgage defaults, the highest rated tranche, the senior tranche, was paid out first and any subsequent losses were absorbed by the junior tranches, ie junior tranches were only paid once the other tranches had been paid. Given that the Fed had cut interest rates to 1%, the opportunity proposed by these CDO’s became increasingly more attractive.The excessive demand chasing CDO’s forced banks to lower their credit requirement standard, which inevitably lead to subprime lending. This access to the credit markets for those who ordinarily would have been declined credit meant that CDO’s were becoming filled with comparatively hi gh risk mortgages. This became increasingly problematic when borrowers began to default on their mortgage payments, the domino effect lead to the collapse of house prices and over 2million foreclosures.This left worldwide investors and banks with failing CDO’s who in turn also defaulted on their payments and lead to a global ‘credit crunch’. Even the largest of investment banks such as Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley were so confident in their products that they too maintained large holdings of ‘super senior’ tranches on their balance sheets, thus wiping billions of dollars of their balance sheets too. However whilst it is true that the bankers over zealous nature and thirst to maximise profits lead to the breaching of standards and forfeit of reliable credit checks, they were still allowed to do it.This leads to the plausible involvement of the credit rating agencies and the Governments lack of regulation and in some cases irresponsible regulation. A major concern surrounds the actions of US credit rating agencies, namely Standard & Poor and Fitch. Whilst they may not have anticipated the financial crisis, they, to a large extend suffered from institutional failure. The mathematical models that had been developed and used by the credit rating agencies were inadequate to deal with and provide accurate data concerning the riskiness of sub prime mortgages.The mathematical modelling teams continued to use traditional out-dated 30 year mortgages to asses the likelihood of default. Mortgages issued after 2004 were based on a different credit rating tool, know as FICO. A FICO score takes into account 5 factors to help determine a borrowers credit risk, length of credit history and the various types of credit used, the current level of personal debt, credit history, amount of new credit and passed payment history.These new mortgages were typically non documented adjustable rate mortgages and relied on the FICO score. It became appare nt that the agencies had minimal concern towards the investors. The rating analysts within the agencies expressed their levels of apprehension towards the reliability of certain ratings, but they were cut short and dismissed. The credit rating agencies were simply concerned with maintaining or increasing their market influence by doing their job and providing the ratings that their clients employed them to generate.In many cases these ratings were later downgraded within 6 months implying that their original job was either done with a lack of due diligence or there was an ulterior motive behind providing a flawless AAA rating. This was highlighted in the residential mortgage backed security Delphinus case study where 26 dummy loans were issued that were clearly not of AAA standard, yet sailed through as AAA. This leads us to the issue of the Government and their irresponsible lack of regulation towards preventing a financial crisis.The neoliberalist argument suggests that the US Gov ernment was a big player in the demise of the financial sector. The Governments irresponsible regulation of banks allowed the passing of the Community Reinvestment Act from 1977, ‘the law was designed to encourage commercial banks and savings associations to help meet the needs of borrowers in all segments of their communities, including low and moderate income neighbourhoods’ (Wikipedia). The law actively encouraged low income earners to take out mortgages to buy a house, which in reality they could not afford.To really tempt fate congress later allowed the act to be amended, allowing potential borrowers to opt out of income screening, therefore meaning that no credit worthiness was required to take out a mortgage. It is this link to the CDO market which allowed for such disaster to unravel, had this act not been so irresponsibly been amended, the banks would not have been able to bundle toxic debt and sell it as a repackaged CDO. In fact George Bush Junior actively en couraged it in 2002 when he campaigned for an additional 5. 5million low income homeowners by 2010.By actively holding interest rates below the well-known monetary guide lines it encouraged mass risk taking, not only was money cheap but low interest rates also offered very little return in the banks so investors sought alternatives which lead them to junk CDO’s and CDO2’s. However these junk CDO’s were only half the problem, whilst they were being actively encouraged they were also being bet on and against, implying a magnitude of leveraged risk. In the 1990’s J. P. Morgan developed a strategy to hedge their loan risks know as credit default swaps (CDS’s).Essentially a CDS is a bilateral contract between two parties that provides a level of insurance. A buyer would pay a yearly premium in order to protect the face amount of the particular bond or loan, but the CDS’s unlike a traditional insurance policy were subject to counter party risk onl y. This implication meant that if the counterparty was unable to pay or had gone insolvent then essentially the buyer was no longer covered. What it also allowed for was speculators to gain exposure to markets where they didn’t actually own the underlying assets or credits, which they were now betting on.The crux of the problem arose when CDS’s were taken out on the subprime mortgage securities, which had been largely over rated by the ratings agencies, therefore providing false information upon which the investment decision and insurance policies were taken. When the defaults started to roll in the likes of AIG and Bear Stearns had billions of dollars wiped off their books. To exacerbate the problem almost all the major investment banks and investment houses had insurance underwritten by Bear Stearns, which of course was now insolvent. This domino effect lead to multi billion dollar losses across the globe.The general belief amongst economists was that financial deriv atives and their purpose was to dilute individual risk through risk sharing amid investors. In theory it should create a more efficient allocation of capital and price transparency, it is the mass trading of these derivatives that became problematic and raised a cause for concern. However whilst it is true that CDS’s, CDO’s, a vast lack of regulation and inaccurate credit ratings all facilitated the collapse in the financial sector, it is not clear that they were the actual cause of the financial crisis.What is more evident of the actual cause is the fact that financial institutions and investors, as a whole did not foresee a collapse of housing prices. The collapse of house prices created mass negative equity and consequent defaults on subprime mortgages and also the falling face value of the subprime mortgage securitisations. Investment banks were particularly caught by surprise when the ‘super superior’ AAA rated tranches of CDO’s collapsed in va lue, given that they had relatively few defaults.Another factor which points to the root cause of the financial crises was the levels of excessive leverage combined with large holdings of subprime securitisations. The rapid and unexpected losses from these large investment houses lead to the markets questioning their solvency and so a mass culture of hoarding developed along with a fire sale of assets in order to deleverage their exposure. All this combined resulted in a squeeze of cash flow due to market uncertainty and lenders became unwilling to lend. This unfolding of events lead to the CDS and CDO market getting wrapped up and associated with large losses.It is for these reasons that the financial crisis developed and continues to develop implications for the future of the financial industry. References Nocera, Joe. 2011. â€Å"Inquiry is Missing Bottom Line. † New York Times, page B1. January 29 Journal of Economic Perspectives—Volume 24, Number 1—Winter 2 010—Pages 73–92 Credit Default Swaps and the Credit Crisis Rene M. Stulz Cordell, Larry, Yilin Huang, and Meredith Williams. 2011. â€Å"Collateral Damage: Siz- ing and Assessing the Subprime CDO Crisis. † Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Working Paper Money morningFinancial Crisis Inquiry Commission. 2010. â€Å"Credit Ratings And the Financial Crisis. † Pre- liminary Staff Report, June 2, 2010 The Credit Rating Agencies and TheirContribution to the Financial Crisis MAUR ICE MULLARD http://www. investopedia. com/terms/c/cdo. asp#ixzz2BqfZ28TI Brunnermeier, Markus K. 2008. â€Å"Bubbles. † In The New Palgrave Dictionary of Eco- nomics, eds. Steven N. Durlauf and Lawrence E. Blume, second edition Foote, Christopher L. , Kristopher Gerardi, and Paul S. Willen. 2008. â€Å"Negative Equity and Foreclosure: Theory and Evidence. †

Vinyl Siding essays

Vinyl Siding essays I chose to do my paper on vinyl siding because it is the most durable, yet inexpensive, exterior finish. Vinyl siding also is available in many different textures and colors allowing each house to have a unique finish. Another reason I chose this topic is because vinyl siding is easy to install and maintain. According to an article in This Old House, consumers harp on the fact that it never needs painting. Compared to other building material, siding is rather new. It was introduced in the 1950s as a replacement for aluminum siding. However, when it fist came out it had a bad reputation for buckling, sagging, and cracking. Another problem people had was that the paint would fade. Technology has further advanced the products chemistry and installation techniques and consumers have given it a second chance. In fact, over 32 percent of new homes in the U.S. use vinyl siding. One of the big reasons that homebuilders chose vinyl siding is because of its low cost. A mid-grade vinyl costs about $1.60 per square foot to install, not including the necessary trim pieces, while the installed price of mid-grade cedar clapboard, exclusive of trim and paint, is about 2.5 times higher. Thisoldhouse.com/exteriors/vinylsiding Another reason why people chose vinyl siding is because it is easier to install and low-maintenance to keep up with. From reading the article I learned that vinyl siding is more cost-efficient and easier to install. This article makes me want to recommend vinyl siding to be placed on a customers home. I also learned how vinyl siding is formed and that the thicker the vinyl doesnt always mean the more impact resistant. It is all in the chemical make-up of the siding, which is never known to the consumer. Some siding, if installed properly, can handle winds of up to 180 miles per hour. The only benefits I really feel that I have gained through reading this article wa...

Greek Sculpture essays

Greek Sculpture essays TASK: A STRAIGHTFORWARD DISCUSSION PAPER EXAMINING THE REQUIREMENTS FOR A SUCCESSFUL RELATIONSHIP, USING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VIC AND INGRID AS A REFERENCE POINT. Love makes the world go round but what must a successful relationship consist of in order for this incredible love to take place and develop between two people? There are several fundamental ingredients to a successful relationship, the three most important ones being communication, commitment and common interest. The following are also important: honesty, trust and respect. Victors and Ingrid's relationship lacked all of these aspects at one time or another and therefor suffered greatly. A relationship will not thrive with out communication; it is the most important factor. Communication usually stops when the couples relationship becomes more physical rather than intimate. This is what happened with Vic and Ingrid at the start they had a strong physical attraction which later proved to be a constraint to their communication. A good example of this is when Ingrid falls down the stairs and isnt even informed by Ingrid or her mother and Vic finds out from a neighbour who just happened to walk into his store. Vic and Ingrid did talk at the beginning when they were getting to know each other, but that is inevitable. After getting to know the person the communication needs to continue with thoughts, concerns, encouragement, discussions etc. When communication exists in a relationship, any troubles and problems which may intervene can be faced, talked through and sorted out promptly. Whereas if the communication is lacking then the problem will not be raised and will drag on and grow causing arguments and misunderstandings. Mr. Rothwell is one who had the right idea about communication. After he is asked to pass on a message from Vic to Ingrid he replies with Im not carrying any messages, Vic. If you want to say any...

Family Counseling and Gender Differences Assignment

Family Counseling and Gender Differences - Assignment Example The gender difference is important in the family to be able to have dynamics in the interaction and the roles being played. One experience that exhibited the importance of gender roles and gender differences in the family is having different perspectives in decision making. The mother can offer a different view from the father, thus as an offspring, I can make decisions wisely. II. Homeostasis in the Family Homeostasis means stability within the family, thus, it defines the different processes and actions undertaken by the members of the family to achieve this state. There are different instances when this had occurred in the family. One example is when one of my parents needed to work far from home. The habit of seeing and having my father at home to ask advice from became one of the deprivations when he worked in a place far from home. Adjustments to such situation and achievement of homeostasis can be considered as long and tiring journey (Goldenberg and Goldenderg, 2008, p.84; Wo rden, 2002, p.3) III. Marital Skew, Marital Schism, and Emotional Divorce There are different situations in the life of the family that can affect each member. Examples of these situations can be classified to marital schism, marital skew, and emotional divorce. Marital schism can be defined as the failure of the parent to fulfill his or her role in the family due to preoccupation in his or her own problems, e.g. work, which can ultimately result to the undermining of the role of the other parent in the eyes of the children. This can negatively affect the family relationship and dynamics (Goldenberg and Goldenderg, 2008, p.104). Marital skew is the situation wherein problems and stress are encountered in the family but not enough to threaten the marriage. One of the main examples that define the concept is having one psychotic parent who is continuously dependent and weak. One negative effect of such a situation is the development of denials and distortions in the reality being view ed by the children just to cope with the situation (Goldenberg and Goldenderg, 2008, p.105) Emotional divorce or emotional distance is a stage in the relationship of parents in the family which occurs between the periods of over closeness and over distance. It is similar to the situation within the family experiencing marital skew. This leads to the situation when the distance between the two parents balances out and stabilizes to the point where there is the least amount of anxiety in their relationship and w0ithin the family (Goldenberg and Goldenderg, 2008, p.105-6) IV. Symptomatic Family member A symptomatic behavior of an identified patient includes motives of improving family relationships by expressing that the conflict is caused by other family members. This is expected behavior, thus, the main method of intervention is talking to the whole family and then to each member of the family to fix any conflict. The main target is to let the patient feel at ease first prior to the intervention that can help the symptomatic member of the family (Goldenberg and Goldenderg, 2008, p.20; Worden, 2002, p.3). Thus, when this happens, other members of the family should cooperate and prevent from making negative reactions toward the intervention to be able to help a family member in need.  

Female Identity in school Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Female Identity in school - Research Paper Example It is possible to consider the way the challenges are manifested at school, as this is one of the most important periods in a person’s life, the period of the individual’s personality formation. Halim and Ruble (2010) claim that yearly years are the most important for development of the gender identity. Stereotypes become a part of children’s life at early ages as well. Therefore, educators have to be careful when choosing materials to discuss and provide to learners. Aina and Cameron (2011) also underline the importance of handling the issue of stereotypes in early childhood education. It is essential to make sure that young children develop unbiased worldview, which is free of stereotypes concerning gender. It is possible to start with the analysis of censorship concerning gender roles. It is noteworthy that similar issues can be traced in different countries of the world. Thus, the US education is characterized by certain censorship when it comes to gender education. Curwood, Schliesman and Horning (2009) note that the curriculum does not include discussion of ‘controversial’ issues. Thus, when working with some literary works, educators deliberately avoid certain issues that are seen â€Å"an unsafe space† (Curwood et al., 2009, p. 38). In other countries, censorship can be much stricter. Thus, Morton (2013) stresses that censorship in education is used as a tool to form a society of people sharing certain values. In these societies, females are assigned inferior roles and are taught to be submissive. It is important to note that apart from censorship, media contribute significantly to development of bias and prejudice as well as stereotypes in the societies. At this point, it is important to add that Hollywood and pop culture play central role in this process. Thus, Hollywood films create a specific image of a woman. For instance, women in science are depicted as females following latest fashion trends (Steinke, 2005). Even though female