Principles of Banking and Finance Essay Example for Free

Principles of Banking and Finance Essay What does Sub-Prime Crisis means? Sub Prime lending which is also known as near-prime, non-prime and second chance lending, means lending to people who might have trouble repaying the loan due to income ability or credit ratings which previously would not have been available to them. Credit ratings that might be not favorable to them with the standards set up initially by Financial Institutions slowly dwindle to less strict under-writing of loans. which could also due to an influx of foreign capital making lending easier to these group of people, the investment banks that sold the repackage mortgages to the consumers which is one of the way to fund for capital, and the Housing Urban Development of America policy to ensure that its citizens has access to mortgage loans easily. The cheaper interest rate packaged by the Financial Institutions which seems more affordable for the consumer for the first 1 to 5 years and the thereafter interest rate would have jumped significantly. The loans here generally referred to mortgage loans. The Crisis started or snowball into what it was in 2007 in my opinion was due to greed. Greed into thinking that the property boom would continue in perpetuity so that the borrowers could cash out more from their current property market valuation, with this cash out in terms of personal loan they could fund or finance their lifestyle be it buying a new property for investment purposes, to flip or for rental. For the luxury in life they choose to enjoy now, spending future money. As the economy slowed, jobs are being taken away from corporation in America to other countries which have a cheaper source of overhead expenses and manpower. People are being retrenched thus causing them to start defaulting on their loan repayments. A statistic done has shown that the American households do not have any savings but was laden with debt instead. The housing bubble burst, the market does not have that much capital as it used to have to continue to push property prices up anymore, thus causing the market to slow overall, foreclosures of their properties was happening. Consumers was also unable to obtain a refinancing which they had planned previously to lower their interest rate again when it went up, as financial institutions feel the pinched and controlled its lending. How did the Financial Institutions played a part in this? In the past banks have financed their mortgage lending activities through the deposits they receive from their customers. This has confined the amount of mortgage lending they could do. In recent years, banks have designed a new model where they repackage these mortgages to be sold to the bond markets. This has made it a lot easier to fund additional borrowing from the investors and interest rate was low. But it has also led to abuses as banks no longer have the incentive to check carefully the mortgages they issue to the lenders. The failure to check and curb lending in return for the possibility of profit was one of the causes. The first sign of the sub-prime crisis was as early as 2007 when HSBC Finance which is part of the banks north American subsidiary has to write off 880 million in sub-prime lending. The business has become unsustainable as borrowers started to default. The new model which we have come to know is known either as Mortgaged backed Assets or Collateral Debts Obl igations. The repackage mortgages are being sold to the bond markets, before they can be sold, credit rating agency will determine and give the model a rating. A credit rating for an issuer takes into consideration the issuers credit worthiness example its ability to pay back a loan, and affects the interest rate applied to the particular security being issued. These MBS or CDOs as it has come to know are usually marketed to countries which has a surplus in its balance sheet as it was generally known that Asians believe in savings rather than spending future money thus the products were usually marketed in Asia, It is allege that the rating agencies experienced from conflicts of interest, as they were paid by investment banks and other firms that organize and sell these structured securities to investors. If there are not to give favorable ratings to these products they risk the underwriter of these securities to another rating agency. It would be hard to sell these products if they are not being given a rating to begin with. Once they are sold the banks have in a way diverted part of the risk to the consumers. Investors should not rely too heavily on these ratings agencies opinions but instead carry out their own homework in the safeness of debt level as well as others related securities. Probably the opinions of the agencies enable them to get a conclusion, however based on past decade of event, it can only be consider as off base when it comes to the risk of credit event. Investors should try to put themselves in the shoes of the product pushers, asking themselves very important points like, why do you need to sell these products? Do you own any of these products yourself? If it is as good as you mention have the private investors bought and participated a substantial amount of their savings in it? Perhaps there need to be some form of intermediaries whereby no conflict of interest will affect their opinion and report of these products. A case study in Singapore itself which has made headlines during this crisis was the minibond saga which was being sold in Singapore by a couple of Financial Institutions. The originator of this series of structured products was the now defunct Lehman Brothers. The Minibond was being illustrated to the local consumer as a bond which is not the case it is actually a Collateral Debts Obligations. The relationship managers in banks are eager to sell the product because of the high commission and the consumer who are eager to buy because the returns are much higher than the fixed deposit being offered by the banks. An estimated of 500 million Singapore dollars was purchased for the Minibonds by consumers. It stirred a series of conflicts with the Financial Institutions that sold these products, the consumers cried fouled into being mis-sold of it, some of the consumers managed to get back part of their investment and vowed not to touch these structured products ever again. We can take a look back into the 1990s where one of the policy set up and enforce by the Housing and Urban Development of America, was one of the cause of the sub prime crisis. With the support of the government, HUD has less mortgage restriction requirements on its borrowers. The mandate was that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac which was regulated by HUD, was to generate up to 8 million more homeowners in America. It was known as the â€Å"National Homeownership Strategy†. No down payment was required, 100% financing for the property was the norm. This was partly possible due to the influx of cheap money in the market, wit h this cheap money consumers speculated with the market, they kept buying new homes thus the good years of where the appreciation of the property keep going up. Financial Institutions dare to lend due to the market confidence that it can only keep going up, borrowers confidence that the market too can only keep going up. A check with HUD official website, apparently the US government is still supporting home ownership program without first addressing a stable income issue. Only with a stable income can a person make regular commitment to his or her housing loan commitment. Kudos to the Singapore government for taking appropriate actions during the last few years when their economy was recovering, the measures taken to prevent over speculation of the property market in Singapore. Homebuyers with the extra cash were snapping up properties, either for owner’s occupation or for investment purposes. The government either learned from the Sub-prime crisis or foreseen that if it continues the way it is going, a market crash might be imminent or the crash will be too fast and hard, no soft landing for the consumers. As they knew that property market have its up and down. Steps was taken, it used to be 90/10. Whereby the buyer have to come up with 10% cash and the remaining 90% can be financed through a financial institutions regardless of the number of property they currently owned. It was changed to 80/20 rule, 20% of which is the owner’s own cash an 80% through financing. Surprisingly it did not deter the consumers, the market still kept soaring. The next rule implemented was the 80/20 rule for first time buyers, meaning buyers without any current mortgage loan, for buyers with an existing mortgage which was not yet paid up; they are only eligible for 60/40. 60% financing for their new property and an increased in the stamp duty to be paid for to the government if it was their 3rd property for Singaporean. The hardest hit was the foreigners who are seeking to invest their money in Singapore properties as they have to pay additional 10% stamp duty which is likely to deter most of them. P rices still kept going up, the latest ruling was much more complex than the previous few. If one is looking at 80% financing one can only borrow up to the age of 65 years old and tenure of not more than 30 years. Which was not the case previously, in previous scenario it was dependent on different Banks guideline in Singapore, they could lend up to the age of 70, 75 or 80. They stepped in and put a cap at 65 as they believe that is the retirement age. If you want to extend your loan tenure your financing amount will drop to either 60% or 40%. I believe the government did this as they knew that the US is going ahead with Quantitative Easing 3, they want to prevent too much hot money from landing in Singapore shore. To sum up, we learned from our mistakes and grow not to make the same mistake twice. A healthy economy is based on real economic goods with value. Hopefully US can still continue to create innovative products like Apple and keep their manufacturing production in US soil, get employment rate up. The citizens have to maintain their expectations in terms of salary wise and spend within their means. Tighten up their way of lending and controlling Banks to a certain extent, a culture that is profit driven but with ethnics. Can heed the investment guru jim roger’s advice to focus on farming as there will be a food shortage in time to come. Induce good saving habits in everyone to save up for a rainy day. http://www.ethicalquote.com/docs/SubprimeMortgageCrisis.pdf http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7073131.stm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_policies_and_the_subprime_mortgage_crisis http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/09/AR2008060902626.html http://www.thetruthaboutmortgage.com/mortgages-with-no-money-down/ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/2816291/HSBC-hit-by-sub-prime-crisis.html

Humanities Today Essay Example for Free

Humanities Today Essay The academic discipline known as humanities is the study of how man interprets the world around him. The study of humanities has been around since mankind began investigating and questioning the world they lived in. According to the article What are the Humanities?(2000), when the National Endowment for the Humanities was established in 1964, Congress created the following definition of humanities which included the study of:history; literature; philosophy and ethics; foreign languages and cultures; linguistics; jurisprudence or philosophy of law; archeology; comparative religion; the history, theory, and criticism of the arts; and those aspects of the social sciences. In this definition the key point for distinguishing humanities from other modes of human inquiry is the fact that humanities are based on historical and expressive interpretation rather than theory and logic. Humanities inquire about the humans interpretation of his or her surroundings. The inquiries come from the general population or an individuals own expression of human reaction to historical events and the way that it is expressed through art, science, politics, literature, music, architecture, and religion. Other modes of human inquiry are based off of proven facts and scientific theories. A persons interpretation has little to do with science (What are the Humanities, 2000). ArtOne of the more controversial ways that the arts have been affected by modern humanities is the showcasing of human bodies as art. An exhibition called Gunther von Hagens BODY WORLDS: The Original Exhibition of Real Human Bodies is now touring the United States. This exhibition displays human bodies that have been plasticized, doing various normal human activities. Some displays have cadavers in the middle of making a shot in basketball, while others displays a family sitting around a kitchen table. In this day of rapid technological advances, it is sometimes hard to distinguish pure art from criminal activity. At fist glance most people are amazed to see that technology has allowed a concept like this to be possible. Many people feel that there is much to be learned about the human body through this display of art. On the other hand many people are outraged by the exhibit calling it a denigration of the human spirit. Others have  called it a criminal act. The companies that process these human bodies are currently being investigated by the U.S. government. Many fingers have been pointed at China for having a black market for cadavers. No one knows for sure how the companies even come across so many cadavers and if the persons permission was given. One thing is for sure that this form of art represents the mind set of the world today. This tiny fraction of the art world represents the change in religious beliefs, technology, and artistic expression today (Cattani, 2008). MusicMusic is definitely an area that changes through the attitudes and expression of past generations, especially in the African-American community. During the time of slavery music was a way for slaves to capture some of the heritage that was so violently taken away from them. Similar to musicians today, one of the way slaves used music was as a way to express the way they felt about the environment around them. Many songs from those days represented oppression and sorrow. Some other songs represented times of joy or the hope of overcoming oppression. Slaves also used music for celebration, communication, and mourning (Slave Songs, n.d.). Todays African-American community still uses music in some of the same ways. Times have changed. Slavery has been abolished but from slavery there arose racial separatism, feelings of hate between the races, and distrust of Caucasians by other races. This is where the harshness and intentionally angry voice of gangsta rap is derived. This genre of music is an outlet for young African American males to voice the inequality and unjust behaviors that they feel from society. ArchitectureFrank Lloyd Wright is one the foremost fathers of modern American architecture. He believed that past methods for architecture were relied too heavily. Wright made it a point to reject the 19th century European architecture that people were used to. His style was attributed to the blocks he played with as a child and from modern Japanese architecture. Since the world was going through a new industrial period, Wright felt is was necessary to include materials that emphasized the world around him. He began to use materials such as steel and glass in his architecture. Open  floor plans with few walls separating rooms were also a turn from traditional architecture (Modern Architecture, 2007). PhilosophyOne of the noted pioneers of modern philosophy is John Dewey. Among other branches of philosophy, Dewey was relentless on the subject of experimental education. Dewey believed that the current method of education was more concerned with feeding children information rather then learning from the childs experiences. Dewey believed that it is the educators responsibility to facilitate learning in a way which accounts for each students uniqueness. Today, many school philosophies are still based on Deweys theory of experience (Neill, 2005). LiteratureThe information age has had a lasting effect on modern literature. Through T.V., the internet, and the media information is capable of being exchanged over long distances in a very short period of time. Mankind has shown a hunger for information in modern years. In the 21st century literature related to true events have become very popular. Because of this, the status of celebrities has somewhat fallen. The people who used to be held as iconic figures have become as human as everyone else today. Instead of the imaginative fiction literary works that used to be the norm, today autobiographies and tabloid magazines are flying off the shelves. The situation only reflects the information driven society from which it comes. The study of humanities is an ever changing journey. Humanities will changes with the questions and expression about every generation to come. Humanities are unique in that a quest for the purpose and meaning of the human life is being sought. As time goes on, the study of humanities will be become broader, taking with it all the questions of yesterday. References Cattani, T. (2008). Human cadavers on displayas an attraction?. Retrieved February 22, 2008,from Living Lake Country Web site: http://community.livinglakecountry.com/blogs/from_another_side/archive/2008/02/15/human-cadavers-on-display-as-an-attraction.aspxModern Architecture, (2007). Retrieved February 22, 2008, from Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia Web site:

UK Mixed Economy: Advantages and Disadvantages

UK Mixed Economy: Advantages and Disadvantages OBJECTIVES England is a country of 63.7 million people. Her economy is the largest economy of the four countries of the UK. UK has importance in textiles and chemical products, beside these the automobiles, locomotives and aircrafts are also the important industrial products. UNITED KINGDOM has the the 3rd in the Europe and 6th largest national economy in the world by the nominal GDP. ENGLAND is a mixed economy’s country, beside other country such as ICELAND, SWEDEN, FRANCE UNITED STATES, RUSSIA, CHINA and HONG KONG. These are the countries’ economy is mixed, in those economy society some of the part is manged by the government and the rest it controlled by the private firms and the individuals. Being the mixed economy the ENGLAND has to face some advantage and the some disadvantage. In below we will find its total idea. Definition of pure command, free market and the mixed economy Pure command economy: When any economy is fully controlled by the government, the government decide the allocation of the resourses and they answer the three questions of allocation. This type of economy is theoretical extreme example of economy, it the real world it does not exits, we just use this type of theoretical example for the comparison of the real world economy. Through laws, restrictions, regulations and the involuntary taxes the government force all allocation. In this type of economy the Government set the rules for the people, and if they do not follow the rules they will be punished. The communistic CHAINA and the former SOVIET UNION are the good example for the pure command economy. Five characteristics of the pure command economy According to the need of the nations the government provides the goods The government regulated the all price and moreover the public good will be the available for the public needs The salaries, wealth will be the same for every body There will be common goals, the technology will be seen the greater advantage because of the resources are being allocated correctly to achieve the goal No unfinished project, no inflation and the low unemployment. Free market: This type of economy is based on with the little or without any government control on the supply and the demand. In this type of economy market, the buyers and the sellers are allowed to business freely, where the mutual understanding on price is found and we will not find any form of taxes, subsides or regulations. In the simple way a full free market is summary term for an array of exchanges that take place in society, here the agreement is free and mutual understanding for service or good between two parties . Mixed economy: In the mixed economy system we will see variety of the government and the private control, its looks like the combination of the socialism and the capitalism. We can’t find a single mixed economy’s definition, where we will find a degree of the government regulation of the markets and the a degree of the economy freedom. We can describe the mixed economy as the market economies with the strong administrative overlooking. England as a mixed economy England has the one of the biggest economics of the world, in this economy the Private and the Public contribution is same. Here the public ownership has been reducing since last two decades. While England was first industrialization in the 1800, the economy of England has shifted towards the service sectors over the years.While the industrialization was growing up rapidly, the service sectors were also developing significantly. Under the government of Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s, the most of the state owned enterprises in the service and the industrial sectors were privatised since it was nationalised at 1940s. Now UK government owns very few of the industries such as the Royal mail. Advantages of Mixed Economy There are many reasons why many country choose the mixed economy for the economic development. In below we can see some discussion about that. (1) Job security To maximise the profits is the aim of the private firms, they are sensitive to the market.During the boom time, when the demand of service and the goods are going up, the employment of the job market rise quickly, but when the market is down like the recession period the private company will not keep the excess labour as it will increase the production cost, for this reason the private workers works in a higher risk of unemployment. On the other hand the government sector, they have to follow the labour and the laws, in the government sector they have to appointment new employees every year, and the certain number of workers will get the promotion every year. As in the government invested company the chance of unemployment is very slim, people are not in risk in the retrenched. Therefore in the mixed economy, it is very important to have the part of government involvement for the security of the people’s life style. (2) Avoid exploitation As we know that, the private enterprise is always oriented for the profit, so they never give the priority about the basic rights of human being, such as education, health care, may be they give very few concentrations about those matters. If this problems and negligence always continuing, it will widen the gap of literacy rate and income inequality between the two society of lower and the upper social class. For this reason in the mixed economy society, the government setup the many facilities such as NHS and the various higher institution to narrow the gap. (3) Regulation of monopoly firms When there is a single seller for the service or the goods in the market we called it monopolist, if a company has the control on the market over than 25% we can consider it as a monopoly, it is the example of the classic market failure, by the business sense. The cost efficient has less of incentive as in the monopoly market the monopolist don’t have that much competition or no competitions, to over come this problems the government can make the product market bigger. To do this, the government can breaking down the barriers to entry and to make the other firms encourage the government can make contest in the market, this type of tape can boost the market supply and in this way the consumers can get the service or the goods in the cheaper price, the competitions, productivity and the investment can be increase by this type of actions. In UK there are some regulators such as Ofwat.ORR, Ofcom who are doing the privatising . (4) Economic policy In many responsibilities of government the economic policy is the one of the biggest. As  the Government and the state economic advisers are overlooking the economic conditions of the country, they can propose or invest more money for the public sectors, such as they can invest money for the road constrictions, repairing or making building or the bridge, in these ways they can make more job opportunities for the betterment of the public economy or we can say to make more jobs. On the other hand the government can lower the tax for the increase the buying power of the people. We can give here a good example, THE BANK OF ENGLAND has reduced the interest rate for the people as they can borrow more money and can setup more business, that will be increase the job sector. On the other side we can see that the private sectors are only invest for make the money, they are not involving their money for the economy development of the society, in the other way they are not capable to over come the government’s financial capability. (5) Regulation of water and air pollution In aspect environmental matter, the private companies are acting as â€Å" Environmental Villain†, for their own profit the private enterprise always using the dear natural resources, continuously. They are consuming the natural resource and then eject the smoke, dumping the polluted solid wastes insensibly and also pouring out the nature destroying liquid . This type of private enterprise producers are said to be only concern about the MPB (Marginal Private Benefits) and the MPC (Marginal Private costs) in their decision making. This way the government should be mediate, could be set some type of the agreements with the private companies. For paradigm, the UK government is in a agreement to the Global and the European for the reducing target of the emergence of carbon dioxide by 80% in the time of 2050. In the year 2002 the European government introduced a scheme named ETS (Emission carbon trading), in the aim of limiting the outflow of the carbon from the big industries such as the energy, glass, brick making, steel and others. As this emission carbon trading has the positive effect on the nature, many other countries are introducing this type of the program in there country. (6) Narrowing income inequality If we see the in the pure capitalist economy society, we will see that the rich people are getting more richer and the poor are getting more poor. As less or no intervention in this type of economy after a certain time we will see the pyramid of the income distribution, in this pyramid, a large proportion of the people’s wealth and the GDP is control by the very few of the rich people. The income can be distributed by the involving of the state, first is the introduction of the dynamic tax system, where the rich people have to pay greater amount of the tax, beside this the national minimum wage also have the great effects on the economic development. In UK the minimum wage is increasing every year, on the other hand the unemployment, sickness benefits also help to reduce the distance and the bad effects of the economic deference between the poor and the rich people. More over this type of the government involvement can balance the national economy in the mixed economic states. (7) Provision of public goods dynamic there are two features of the public goods, the 1st one is the non rivalry, it means that the amount of the goods for the other users will not decrease even though whatever the consumption of the public goods. Beside this non-excludability is the another one. If one time this type of facility provided, no one will be slipped from the benefit. The private company will not be interested fro this type of the benefits of the free riders or the publics. For the definition of the free rider we know that he who get the benefits from a area but not doing any contribution to it, actually if we count the end result of having the benefited, no one will pay for the facilities. Here the government has to pay it from the money of the taxpayers’, for the example of this type of the benefits is the public road, bridge, lighting on the streets and also we can mention here national defense. Disadvantages of Mixed Economy Even though there are many economic facilities in the mixed economy policy but besides this we can see some of the economic crisis what England have to face for being mixed economy country. In below there is some discussion about the coming disadvantage What collisions could be happen In the mixed economy we can see the balance between the capitalism and the socialism, the mixed economy tries to help for the advantage of the capitalism and the socialism, this aim can be understood if there is good combination and the understanding but the real situation is, there is continuous encounters going on between the two sectors. This can make the situation more bitter and the noncompliance. Some time the private sectors can think that the public sectors are having more priority than them. It could be happen some time that the public sectors tries to avoid their worthleness and the wastefulness to the private sectors. In a one word the faithfulness and the mutual understanding none can really works perfectly in this situation, Insubstantial The mixed economy is base on the two inimical ideologies, those are absolutely opposite to each other. Though the mixed economy tries to combine the two different ideology together but mixed economy can be find doing less to both of them. For the conflict in terms, the mixed economy has been criticized. For detail, there can’t be the middle way in between the central direction and the atomistic competition. For the mixed economy there will be the mixed of the central direction and the competition but the mixed economy can not works good. If they are incomplete, the competition and the central direction become poor, and than they used the inefficient tools. After this, they used the alternative principles to minimized the problems, and the mixer of the two meaning that none of them will work properly. If the two systems relays on each other the result will be worse. Nature of short live From the above discussions we can see that the mixed economy always runs on the risk of the nature of the short lived. As the time passes by, a violent struggle chases between the two sectors for the name of the supremacy. The state may be fall into fail to regulate the private sector properly when this sector is flourishing. On the other hand if the public sector loses the power, the mixed economy can turn in to a capitalist economy, and it can be a socialist economy if the public sectors become more powerful. The symbol of the weakness Some people says that the mixed economy has a disease as the capitalist, and the â€Å"Socialisation of investment† is one of the attempts to restore it. In this way of view the mixed economy is the diseased phase of the capitalist economy, for this reason it called as â€Å" Capitalism in the oxygen tent. By this sense the mixed economy is the spurious capitalism. Endangers freedom Capitalism. It could be happen that a mixed economy can go into or lead to abridgement of freedom of the individual. It also feared that the control of the economic life and the problems into the planning can lead the mixed economy in such a position where the individual could lose the identity. Inefficiency of the public sector There is a record of the poor performance in the mixed economy. Redtapism, waste, corruption and the inefficiency is the main point ; by those, the mixed economy suffers with. Therefore the public sectors suffer from two reason, To increase production volume or Reducing the cost. Failure for pluck up the economic inconstancy The theory of mixed economy has become popular in many countries, spatially in the capitalist; as this economic policy is believe to be the good solution for pluck up the economic inconstancy, but somehow the economic problem still goes all the way. The economic inconstancy can be cut out only when the central plan can cover the entire economy, but in the mixed economy, the kind of regimentations those are assigned on the private sector leaves much to be intention.

term insurance Essay examples -- essays research papers

Why buy life insurance? Many financial experts consider life insurance to be the cornerstone of sound financial planning. It is generally a cost-effective way to provide for your loved ones after you are gone. It can be an important tool in the following ways: Income replacement For most people, their key economic asset is their ability to earn a living. If you have dependents, then you need to consider what would happen to them if they no longer have your income to rely on. Proceeds from a life insurance policy can help supplement retirement income. This can be especially useful if the benefits of your surviving spouse or domestic partner will be reduced after your death. Pay outstanding debts and long-term obligations Consider life insurance so that your loved ones have the money to offset burial costs, credit card debts and medical expenses not covered by health insurance. In addition, life insurance can be used to pay off the mortgage, supplement retirement savings and help pay college tuition. Estate planning The proceeds of a life insurance policy can be structured to pay estate taxes so that your heirs will not have to liquidate other assets. Term Life Insurance Term life insurance provides a death benefit only if death occurs during the "term" or coverage period of the policy. If you outlive your term or quit paying premiums, your policy lapses and is of no value. Term life insurance plays a vital role in proper financial planning. People who buy term may do so for several reasons such as: Temporary need - They have a temporary need, which lends itself to a temporary solution, i.e., raising children, education, paying off a mortgage, a business buy/sell agreement. Affordability - Term premiums are very affordable. If you're in excellent health, you can get a lot of coverage for very little cost. The Gamble 95% of all term policies go unpaid. In other words, if you took a random sample of 100 people who purchased term insurance, 95 of them would outlive their terms. The insurance companies know this. That is how they can afford to offer a 45 year-old male $250,000 worth of coverage for a 20-year term for only $375 per year. They've crunched the numbers and are willing to bet that you and a whole lot of other people are going to outlive your policies. Because term is inexpensive, there is much less commitment. When you want o... ... investment performance, especially with variable life. Unlike stocks or mutual funds, tracking sub-account and overall investment performance is quite complicated because one must consider all of the charges, which are changing constantly. The following are some guidelines we use to help determine what type of insurance you should buy: You Should Buy Term If You: only need coverage for a specific period of time, - like a house mortgage or until your children are independent. need a lot of coverage and can't afford permanent have low cash flow - if you're living paycheck to paycheck and don't think you can keep up with the permanent payments, triggering surrender charges. have other investments and are committed and self-disciplined to make regular deposits. don't want the commitment required from permanent insurance You Should Buy Permanent Insurance If You: have a high net worth and are seeking a tax-advantaged investment don't want to risk outliving your term and having nothing to show for it understand that permanent insurance is a long-term commitment need insurance for estate planning purposes want forced savings want guaranteed life insurance for life

Mt.Vesuvius and its 79 AD Eruption Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Volcano: A hill or mountain formed around and above a vent by accumulations of erupted materials, such as ash, pumice, cinders or lava-flow. The term refers both to the vent itself and to the often cone-shaped accumulation above it. (Scarth, 1994.) This definition can do Mt. Vesuvius no justice. Instead, I would describe it as one of the most hellish and population decimating volcanoes. Vesuvius lives†¦or lived! In its prime, Vesuvius covered and demolished two of Italy’s biggest cultural and artistic cities of its time. In this paper, I will be discussing volcanoes in general. In addition, Mt. Vesuvius, in particular, will be thoroughly looked at, as well as its 79 AD eruption.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Volcanoes have long been depicted as nature’s killer. In movies, Volcanoes are seen as mountains of fire and spitting lava; their only purpose seems to be to kill and destroy everything in their path. Never is the background of volcanoes discussed. How are volcanoes formed? Are there different types of volcanoes? What happens during an eruption? The basic questions to aid understanding of volcanoes might change the public’s opinion.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First, I will begin with the creation of volcanoes. Volcanoes are formed in different ways. In a short version: the earth’s plates shift and move. After the plates collide into each other, one plate is pushed down into the mantel below the crust and melts. Hot magma from the mantle breaks through a weak spot in the crust. As the   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ziehm 2 magma shoots out of the crust, the cooling magma called lava becomes hard. After significant time, the hard lava forms a volcanic mountain. Volcanoes can form in many different sizes and shapes. They can look like a cone, have steep looking flanks, or look as if they were long cracks in the earth’s crust. (Plummer et al., 2000). If the mountain is very tall, then there is a greater chance that it was formed from past eruptions. When the lava cools, it makes the mountain bigger and higher. Depending on the type of volcano, layers can differ in lava/ash content. (Plu... ...p;  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ziehm 6 Mt.Vesuvius is just one of several active volcanoes throughout the world. They have wiped out populations in the past and have the potential to decimate more in the future. Geologists are predicting that a volcanic eruption will occur that will dwarf eruptions such as Vesuvius and Mt. St. Helen’s. (http://www.ph_heidelburg.de/stud/EGGERTT/vesuvio.html) The only thing we can do is sit and wait†¦nature will take its course.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   List of Refrences Morris,C. 1902: The Volcano’s Deadly Work: From the Fall of Pompeii to the Destruction of St. Pierre. The Dan Waugh Collection of Nature Books. Washington, D.C. 236-254. Plummer, C.C., McGeary, D. & Carlson, D.H., 2000: Physical Geoloy. Updated eigth ed..Mcgraw-Hill Companies, Inc., NY. 81-82,88-89. Rittman, A & L. 1976: Volcanoes. G.P. Putnam’s Sons, NY. 20-22 Scarth, A.1994: Volcanoes: An Introduction. Texas A&M University Press College Station. 56-57, 74, 259. [ http://www.volcano.und.nodak.edu] [ http://www.harcourtschool.com] [http://www.ph_heidelburg.de/stud/EGGERTT/vesuvio.html] Mt.Vesuvius and its 79 AD Eruption Essay -- essays research papers   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Volcano: A hill or mountain formed around and above a vent by accumulations of erupted materials, such as ash, pumice, cinders or lava-flow. The term refers both to the vent itself and to the often cone-shaped accumulation above it. (Scarth, 1994.) This definition can do Mt. Vesuvius no justice. Instead, I would describe it as one of the most hellish and population decimating volcanoes. Vesuvius lives†¦or lived! In its prime, Vesuvius covered and demolished two of Italy’s biggest cultural and artistic cities of its time. In this paper, I will be discussing volcanoes in general. In addition, Mt. Vesuvius, in particular, will be thoroughly looked at, as well as its 79 AD eruption.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Volcanoes have long been depicted as nature’s killer. In movies, Volcanoes are seen as mountains of fire and spitting lava; their only purpose seems to be to kill and destroy everything in their path. Never is the background of volcanoes discussed. How are volcanoes formed? Are there different types of volcanoes? What happens during an eruption? The basic questions to aid understanding of volcanoes might change the public’s opinion.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First, I will begin with the creation of volcanoes. Volcanoes are formed in different ways. In a short version: the earth’s plates shift and move. After the plates collide into each other, one plate is pushed down into the mantel below the crust and melts. Hot magma from the mantle breaks through a weak spot in the crust. As the   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ziehm 2 magma shoots out of the crust, the cooling magma called lava becomes hard. After significant time, the hard lava forms a volcanic mountain. Volcanoes can form in many different sizes and shapes. They can look like a cone, have steep looking flanks, or look as if they were long cracks in the earth’s crust. (Plummer et al., 2000). If the mountain is very tall, then there is a greater chance that it was formed from past eruptions. When the lava cools, it makes the mountain bigger and higher. Depending on the type of volcano, layers can differ in lava/ash content. (Plu... ...p;  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ziehm 6 Mt.Vesuvius is just one of several active volcanoes throughout the world. They have wiped out populations in the past and have the potential to decimate more in the future. Geologists are predicting that a volcanic eruption will occur that will dwarf eruptions such as Vesuvius and Mt. St. Helen’s. (http://www.ph_heidelburg.de/stud/EGGERTT/vesuvio.html) The only thing we can do is sit and wait†¦nature will take its course.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   List of Refrences Morris,C. 1902: The Volcano’s Deadly Work: From the Fall of Pompeii to the Destruction of St. Pierre. The Dan Waugh Collection of Nature Books. Washington, D.C. 236-254. Plummer, C.C., McGeary, D. & Carlson, D.H., 2000: Physical Geoloy. Updated eigth ed..Mcgraw-Hill Companies, Inc., NY. 81-82,88-89. Rittman, A & L. 1976: Volcanoes. G.P. Putnam’s Sons, NY. 20-22 Scarth, A.1994: Volcanoes: An Introduction. Texas A&M University Press College Station. 56-57, 74, 259. [ http://www.volcano.und.nodak.edu] [ http://www.harcourtschool.com] [http://www.ph_heidelburg.de/stud/EGGERTT/vesuvio.html]

Wind Power in the United States Essay -- The Physics of Wind Turbines

I personally do not like windy days. However, wind could be helping us more than we realize. We could be using the wind to produce energy. This is what wind turbines do and now I will be researching them to determine the physics involved with them and how they work, their history, along with some statistics from the United States. Then I will go in-depth for the wind turbines of Texas, Washington, and Kansas and compare them. The Physics of Wind Turbines There is physics involved in these wind turbines as they change wind into mechanical energy and then into electricity. The energy produced depends on the volume of the air, the density, and the wind speed. The mass per unit time is the mass times the density times the wind speed or m = mass, p = density, A = area, and v = wind speed; m = pAV. Because the function of the wind turbine is to transform the wind’s kinetic energy into electricity the equation for kinetic energy is needed; KE =  ½ mv2 or kinetic energy equals one half the mass times the velocity squared. Then, using substitution, the power in the wind depends on the density of the air, area swept out by rotors, and the cube of the velocity or  ½ pAV3. Using Betz’ law the theoretical energy model for extracting 59% of the energy is power = 16/27( ½ pAV3) . The power passing through or created by the wind power is  ½ pAv3. All the power cannot be captured though, because that would mean the wind had to be still, absolutely no wind, which is impossible when the wind starts the whole process. Thus, one needs to find the maximum theoretical power output. To find the power, take the kinetic energy in through the wind turbine minus the kinetic energy out. Then using three different areas one can find the constant rate of ... ...issued on 2009 Aug 11, cited 2010 Oct 3]. [about 5 paragraphs]. Available from: http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/11/raising-wind-output-with-longer-blades/ American Wind Energy Association [Internet]. AWEA c 2009. U.S. Wind Energy Projects-Kansas [updated 2006 June 1, cited 2010 Oct 2]. [about 3 lines]. Available from: http://www.awea.org/projects/Projects.aspx?s=Kansas Unrhuh C, Leiker D. [Internet]. cJ.S. S.W. Aber. Kansas wind power. [last update 2009 Nov, cited 2010 Oct 3]. [about 1 paragraph]. Available from: http://www.geospectra.net/kite/ks_wind/ks_wind.htm McDermott M. [Internt]. TreeHugger.com:c 2010. Largest wind farm in Kansas. originally from Science and Technology [posted 2008 Oct 3, cited 2010 Oct 3]. [about 1 paragraph]. Available from: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/10/largest-wind-farm-kansas-built-by-italian-developer.php

Multicultural Education Essay

Multicultural Education is becoming important in our society, because of the big social change in the United States; Americans have been forced to look at the cultural change in the schools. We have had to address multicultural education and the educational needs of our students which continue to be a struggle for educators. Multicultural education programs could be put into three categories. Content-focused, student focused, and socially focused. Content-focused is known to be the most common type of multicultural educational. The students are taught in the curriculum about different cultures. For example holidays. Student-focused programs address the academic needs of the minority groups of students. This approach helps the students integrate into the main stream of the school system. Socially focused programs are designed to develop knowledge among the different cultures in our schools. There are different learning Styles. Every student that comes in your classroom gains and uses the information in different ways: this is done by seeing, hearing, touching, analyzing. As our students are different so are the teaching styles which also may vary from person to person. I have learnt that if a teacher does not try to understand the students in their class there will be a problem passing on the knowledge to their students. and the students will become bored if they are not interested in the subject, it is up to the teacher to make it interesting so they can reach all students. I feel as a teacher you should try to incorporate a variety of different teaching styles into your lessons to help engage all students that will enable them to learn more effectively. Philosophy of Education  I believe that each child is special and they need a secure, caring, and stimulating environment in which to grow and mature emotionally, intellectually, physically, and socially. As an educator it is my duty to help students meet their full potential, and this can be done in by providing an environment that is safe, orderly, and invites a sharing of ideas. There are three ways that will help create such an environment in the classroom. †¢ the teacher acting as a guide †¢ allowing the child’s natural curiosity to direct his/her learning †¢ Promoting respect for all things and all people. The teacher’s role is to guide their students. If we give our student’s access to hands-on activities and allow them enough time to use materials that will reinforce the lesson we are teaching it will creates an opportunity for the students to find the information for themselves. Student life in school and at home Students usually separate their lives into different areas, doing the same things they do at home, and school. The things students learn during these various life stages will eventually be the foundation from which they can build their careers. Most students need to develop the skills they learn that they will use in their future professions. Almost every student in school will learn that the only way to get assignments done on time is by managing their time effectively. The Transition from elementary school to college is difficult for students, as they have to become independent quickly. Today’s classroom Class sizes have become too big in the America school system, and the people making the decisions are taking out the paraprofessionals that help the teachers in the classrooms. In my personal opinion I feel that the classrooms are overcrowded and this extends from the elementary schools to the high schools. Classes used to be smaller and the student teacher ratio helped achieve greater academic success. Some benefits of small class sizes are that the students receive more personal attention. Smaller class sizes will help a student that has a learning disability, and the needs of the other students would be met. A small number of students in the classroom can also help with less noise and disruptive behavior. Tracking Tracking seems to be a common practice in the United States, and allows a teacher to work with students that are on the same academic level. The Students are placed together in classrooms by using test scores. Tracking has been around for about a century and is used in most schools across the United States. I found out in my research that there are different types of tracks. For example there is high or low tracking, all the students in each class are on the same level. Tracking seems to be a good idea, but in reality it seems to be very complicated. One of the main problems is that the students in low tracks are largely populated with minority students, and the low tracks are not good for a student’s development. I also found out that it affects the teachers in different ways. Teachers teach in different styles to educate their students. The students in high track classrooms are taught the content of the curriculum and the students in the lower track classrooms just briefly cover different subjects. In other words the high track students are challenged and the low track students are not. Low track teachers seem to have low expectations of their students (Callahan 2005) and high track classrooms have a positive attitude which helps the students desire to learn (Hotter 2004) The classroom has become very culturally diverse with students from all over the world. I found out that the students who were in the low tracks were predominately minorities, and the high track students were Caucasians and Asians. The text book states† In a classic study done in the 1970s, Ray Rest Observed a kindergarten class in an all-black urban school. By the eighth day Of class, the kindergarten teacher, apparently using such criteria as physical Appearance, socioeconomic status, and language usage, had separated her students Into groups of â€Å"fast learners† and â€Å"slow learners. † She spent more time With the â€Å"fast learners† and gave them more instruction and encouragement. The â€Å"slow learners† got more than their fair share of control and ridicule. The children soon began to mirror the teacher’s behavior. As the â€Å"fast learners† Belittled the â€Å"slow learners,† the low-status children began to exhibit Attitudes of self-degradation and hostility toward one another. This teacher’s Expectations, was formed during the first eight days of school, and this shaped the Academic and social treatment of the students in her classroom for the rest of the school year. Records of the grouping that had taken place during the first week of kindergarten which was then passed on to the teachers in the upper grades, providing the basis for further differential treatment. † (Sadker, Zittleman pg. 106. ) This is true because working in the school system you here teachers telling other teachers about the students they have in their classrooms, and what to expect if they come into their classrooms. In conclusion I found out that tracking is not the main problem it has its positive and negative points. I believe that if all students had the equal opportunity of a good early education there would be more students excelling in our schools. For example if all students had the opportunity to attend preschool it would help the students from being put into high or low track groups as all children would have the same opportunity in education my opinion is that detracking would help all students work and learn from each other no matter what their level is in the classroom.