Forensic Accountants Essay - 1744 Words

Forensic Accountants Helene M. Snyder Dr. Ann Pohir-Vieth Contemporary Business 508 August 8, 2012 Determine the most Important Five Skills that a Forensic Accountant Needs to Possess and Evaluate the Need for each Skill Students interested in the Forensic Accountant profession are required to possess many skills because this is the hottest career in accounting. People who work in this career investigate white collar crimes such as business fraud, incorrect financial reporting, and illegal investment schemes. Certain government agencies have established core competency frameworks that a forensic accountant student’s must demonstrate. Some of these skills include strategic critical thinking, problem solving/decision making,†¦show more content†¦A person should demonstrate self-control, self- confidence, attention to details, and be able to work independently and with ambiguity. In the business world, professionalism earns respect from other professionals in various careers. Professional people are inclining to support one another; therefore, a person must present themselves in an appropriate manner to be a part of this group. Technology is also a significant skill used by forensic acc ountants because they use databases to research information and prepare spreadsheets to illustrate their evidence. Describe the Role of a Forensic Accountant within a Courtroom Environment The role of forensic accountant in the courtroom is in the insurance and litigation markets, and expert testimony, and fraud auditing/ investigative accountancy. People in this field need accounting, auditing, and investigation skills. These skills are utilized to communicate financial information clearly and accurately. Technical skills are needed to prepare reports with visual aids to support trial evidence. An example is financial evidence is analyzed and presented in computerized applications that are presented to the clients. The analysis and opinions of the forensic accountant are the basis of legal cases and claim settlements. The litigation support is an extensive areaShow MoreRelatedThe Career Field Of A Forensic Accountant Essay900 Words   |  4 Pagescollege. The following information informs you about what must be done in order to become a Forensic Accountant and how life is as a Forensic Accountant in today’s society. Introduction I was asked to research a job in the career field I plan to work in after graduating, then write an informal report on the information I gathered. The job I chose for my report is a Forensic Accountant. A Forensic Accountant is when one uses accounting skills to investigate fraud or embezzlement and to analyze financialRead MoreSkills of a Forensic Accountant1348 Words   |  5 PagesForensic Accountant Skills Forensic accountants need many skills, but the top five most important skills are analytical ability, a desire to be ethical, an interest in being detail oriented, being insightful, and being responsive. All of these skills are seriously needed by those who are focused on forensic accounting, since these individuals must look into fraudulent and suspicious activity that is seen in a company (Buckhoff Schrader, 2000). Additionally, some companies hire forensic accountantsRead MoreThe Role and Responsibilities of a Forensic Accountant1605 Words   |  6 Pagesadvantage, but forensic accounting can help bring justice and peace of mind for many others by illuminating financial processes that can help explain criminal actions and behaviors. The purpose of this essay is to describe the five most important skills a forensic accountant may possess in order to become successful. This essay will describe each one of these traits and describe its application to business operations. Next the essay will describe the role of the forensic accountant within a courtroomRead MoreForensic Paper1628 Words   |  7 PagesRunning head: Forensic accountant 1 Forensic Accountant Dr. Gina Zaffino Bus 508, Contemporary Business 11/16/2012 Running head: Forensic Accountant 2 Determine the most important five (5) skills that a forensic accountant needs to possess and evaluate the need for each skill. Be sure to include discussion regarding the relationship between the skill and its application to business operations. Although forensic accounting is not a new field, it has become more talkedRead MoreInvestigation Of Funds Earmarked For Public Projects945 Words   |  4 Pagesaccounting and forensic accounting. Additionally, the author did not appreciate the value provided by forensic accountants. The following addresses both of these information gaps. Forensic accounting began as just a necessary solution to the age old problem: what arrows does someone have in their quiver to avoid, detect, and address fraud? Since then, forensic accounting has spun off from its brother, professional independent audit, and become its own profession. Although forensic accounting hasRead MoreForensic Accounting Research Proposal647 Words   |  3 PagesRESEARCH PROPOSAL 1. Scope of Research Forensic Accounting and Financial Criminology 2. Proposed Research The Needs of Good Forensic Accounting Skills in Public Sector Working Environment 3. Research Background Forensic accounting may not be a new field in accounting. However it becomes so important recently and has been an interest to various stakeholders, from the government, investors, and practitioners to regulatory bodies. In public sector, the incrementRead MoreThe Ethical Guidelines Provided By The Cima Provides Different Conflict Resolutions1143 Words   |  5 PagesProfessional Conduct of the Institute of Chartered Accountants (Australia) say concerning what standards should be used by its members working overseas? The Chartered accountants of Australia have to act with integrity, competence and confidentiality while dealing in their Professional Assignment. On this baseline The Accounting Professional and ethical standard board, for New-Zeeland Australia had issued APES 110:† Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants which states every member working outsideRead MoreThe Aadit Report and Internal Control Evaluation Essay1087 Words   |  5 PagesTo: Management From: / Staff Accountant Date: December 19, 2012 Re: Internal Accountant’s Report to Management ------------------------------------------------- This report contains the supporting information to perform a full financial status review of our company, before the upcoming government contract bid. This report will cover the possible impacts that occupational fraud and abuse will have on theRead MoreHow The Impact On Accounting? Manual Tasks Are Being Automated At A Fast Pace?1045 Words   |  5 Pages(AIS) as a critical component to execution. Data analytics, if accurate and relevant to the business, can be an effective tool to enhance performance in most business aspects, including accounting, operations, internal audit, external audit, and forensic accounting. The future opportunities in accounting are in forward-looking, analytical roles. â€Æ' Data Analytics and Accounting Analyzing data is not a new phenomenon in accounting. The accounting function was mainly a recording of the history ofRead MoreFasb1244 Words   |  5 Pagesthe Securities and Exchange Commission as the Chief Accountant. c. Daryl E. Buck, Board Member. Mr. Buck worked at Reasor’s Holding Company for 18 years. It is a privately-owned retail grocery company. d. Thomas J. Linsmeier, Board Member. Mr. Linsmeier was a professor at Michigan State University. He also worked for the Securities and Exchange Commission as the Special Consultant to the Office of the Chief Accountant. e. Harold Schroeder, Board Member. Mr. Schroeder

Essay on The Role of Nature vs Nurture - 632 Words

The Role of Nature vs Nurture We used to think our fate was in our stars. Now, we know, in large part, that our fate is in our genes. ---James Watson While social research has been steady and ongoing, our biological knowledge has advanced disproportionately in recent times. As we discover more about the role of genes in pre-determining who we are, the nature versus nurture debate seems headed for a tilt of the biological over the environmental. Nature, or our biological aspect, does matter a lot. From the point of fertilization, genes guide the growth of cells, the embryo and eventually the fetus. The physical configuration of the newborn, from the positioning of the limbs right down to dimples, is almost entirely charted by†¦show more content†¦Nowhere do genes exhibit their vital role more dramatically than in the case of genetic disorders. Genetic scientists have uncovered an increasing number of genes that code for diseases such as sickle-cell anemia, Turner syndrome, and many others. It has further been shown how the slightest alteration of the human genome leads to exaggerated, often disastrous results. The role of nurture, on the other hand, is sometimes neglected behind the bustle of scientific discoveries. Though human growth in the womb is guided by strict genetic instructions, external factors are equally capable of influencing growth. Expectant mothers who smoke give birth to infants with lower birth-weight, while drugs and other teratogens are known to affect infant physical and cerebral development. Cases of children abandoned in the wilderness have shown that without social interaction and practice, language does not develop on its own, despite the universal signs of linguistic pre-wiring. In the Rhesus monkey study, the researcher discovered that although some monkeys are by nature more temperamental, leaving them in the care of patient and devoted mother monkeys ameliorates their fiery temper. Likewise, for humans, Urie Bronfenbrenners ecological model of human development argues that human development is influenced by a spectrum of external factors from the closest - the family, up to culture and social milieu. For example, research has shown that children brought up in anShow MoreRelatedNature vs. Nurture1117 Words   |  5 PagesThe nature versus nurture debate is one of the oldest issues in sociology (Davidson, 1991, n.p.). The debate centers on the relative contributions of genetics and environmental factors to human behavior (Davidson, 1991, n.p.). Today, the majority of experts believe that behavior and development are influenced by both nature and nurture (Macionis, 2009, p. 73). The biggest question now is which one affects human development more: nature or nurture? According to Macionis (2009, p. 72), in the pastRead MoreNature Vs. Nurture : Addiction1102 Words   |  5 Pages Nature vs. Nurture: Addiction Introduction Psychology is a developing science which studies the mental functions, processes, and behaviors of an individual. In the science of psychology, many debates arise; nature vs. nurture is one of the most popular ones. These psychological debates are followed by research, backing up either nature or nurture or both. Nature suggest heredity impacts human psychological development; nurture suggests the environment impacts our psychologicalRead MoreNature Vs. Nurture in Mary Shelley ´s Frankenstein1008 Words   |  4 PagesNature vs. Nurture Francis Galton, the English Victorian polymath first coined the term, Nature vs. Nurture in 1871, when he considered how much influence our upbringing had on our fate, and whether or not our destiny was preset. Long before the term Nature vs. Nurture was coined, Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel, Frankenstein, explored the idea of nature vs. nurture in the context of creation. The greatest exemplification of Nature vs. Nurture in Frankenstein is explored in the fate of the Creature, whoRead MoreNature Vs Nurture Essay882 Words   |  4 PagesNature vs Nurture The discussion about nature and nurture can be considered one of the oldest problems in psychology, the main question of which is: Are human traits present at birth or are they developing through experience? (Meyers, 2013). The natural side of the discussion asserts that the facial features and the way of their development strictly through DNA and genetics are transmitted by parents and grandparents. The nurture side of the debate argues that we are born with a clean list andRead MoreNature vs Nurture: Do Genes Or Environment Matter More? Essay1300 Words   |  6 PagesNature versus nurture has emerged as one of the most heated debates in the 21st century. It is more aligned towards the internal and external factors that comprise human beings behavior. The internal factors are innate and perceived to be genetically revolved as opposed to the external factors that are influenced by the environment and individuals’ experiences. However, scholars in different fields have researc hed on the relationship between nature and nurture without due success and this has createdRead More Nature vs Nurture: Genes vs Environment Essay1490 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction A debate between psychologist, scientists and philosopher thinkers on the spectrum of ‘nature vs. nurture’ arose concerning human development. In the nature versus nurture debate, the term nature refers to the genes we inherit while the term nurture refers to our outside environment (Nature vs. Nurture: Twin and Adoption Studies). This debate of ‘nature vs. nurture’ has existed for centuries and up to now it is still a topic of major discussion although at present time. Human developmentRead MoreNature vs. Nurture: Parents or Environment Essay example571 Words   |  3 Pageshave multiple influences, but the genes passed down by parents play a huge role in developing how their offspring will turn out to be. Being unable to properly test whether certain characteristics of a person come from genetics or the influences of the environment makes this theory very difficult to understand, thus making the topic of nature vs. nurture extremely controversial. The deb ates always show that nature and nurture contrast but then there may be evidence that suggest that the two are linkedRead MoreAdoption and Nature vs Nurture1028 Words   |  5 Pagesall adopted. Adoption plays a large role in the development of an individual. Adoption plays a role in the long time psychological debate of â€Å"nature vs. nurture†. This paper will address the nature vs. nurture debate, how adoptions plays a role in the debate, give a history of adoption, and tell the story of a personal friend who was adopted and overcame the tragedy of his nature and was able to triumph through his solid nurturing. The nature vs. nurture debate is one of the longest in the fieldRead MoreNature vs Nurture: Do Genes Or Environment Matter More? Essay936 Words   |  4 Pagesbeen an on-going debate between nature and nurture. T.H. White, author of The Once and Future King, explores the debate through many of the book’s characters. The issue clearly appears in the relationship of Queen Morgause and her sons, the Orkney brothers. The debate caused people to pick a side, to pick nature over nurture, or nurture over nature. However, it does not have to be one or the other. Nature and nurture work together to determine who we are. Nature does not simply determine our physicalRead MoreThe Theory Of Nature Vs. Nurture1680 Words   |  7 PagesThe theory of nature vs. nurture, or inherited vs. acquired, is a complex psychological theory that questions how people develop, as a person, in life and how they act. Their impact determines your personality traits, values, morals, and behavior in life. The idea of nature is the belief that people develop into who they are based on genetic traits given to them at birth. For example, some children inherit a musical talent from their parents along with eye color, hair color, and race. These traits

Curious Dog in the Night time free essay sample

Challenges Faced by Christopher Boone Christopher Boone is an autistic child who is the main character of the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon. An individual must overcome difficult challenges in order to gain a sense of maturity. This will be demonstrated by examining Christopher Boones ability to learn to be persistent and to learn from his mistakes. He learns to be persistent by finding the killer of Wellington. He learns from his mistakes by taking a train to London to live with his mom. Christopher father and the murder of Wellington make Christopher persistent o investigate and find the killer. We will write a custom essay sample on Curious Dog in the Night time or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page After leaving the police station Christophers dad constantly told Christopher to stop investigating. His dad says, l said leave it, for Gods sake (Haddon, 21). This quote shows that Christopher Just wants to help find the killer, since he likes dogs and Wellington was a friend and is persistent to find the killer. To escape the promise that his dad made him make, he starts a conversation with someone that knows about Mr. Shears or Wellington, so that the person can talk about it themselves in the conversation. After Mrs. Alexander asks Christopher to alk with her in the park he thinks, And I thought that she might tell me something about Wellington or about Mr. Shears without asking her, so that wouldnt be Shaikh 2 breaking my promise (Haddon, 54). Clearly, Christopher does not want to obey his father and wants to find the person who killed his friend, which shows him being persistent, since his dad already told him not to investigate about the murder. After his dad tells twice not to investigate on the murder of Wellington, Christopher continuously looks for the killer and investigates even though his father told him not o. For the third time after finding Christophers book, his dad says, What else did I say, Christopher? Not to go around sticking your fucking nose into other peoples business (Haddon, 82). This shows that Christophers dad had already told Christopher also not to stick his nose into other peoples business, but he also kept sticking his nose into other peoples business, regardless of what is dad said. All of this information shows that Christopher is persistent and wants to find out who killed his friend, even if his dad constantly tells him to stop. Christopher going to London to live with his mother by himself makes him learn from his mistakes. Being autistic is it very hard to handle too many people near you. On the train there were too many people, due to the number of people wanting to go to London. Christopher says, There were lots of people on the train, and I didnt like that, because I dont like lots of people I dont know and I hate it even more if I am stuck with lots of people I dont know, and a train is like a room and you cant get out when its moving (Haddon, 158). Christopher also relates to a memory where he is in car with two other kids. He says, But I started screaming in the car because there were too many people in it (Haddon 158). Later on he also says, l tried to get out of the car, but it was still going along and I fell out onto the road (Haddon 158). This and Polly. To prevent Shaikh 3 himself from throwing himself out of the train and getting hurt he stood very still and didnt move. Christopher says, So I stood very still in the train carriage and didnt move (Haddon, 158). This quote shows that he doesnt want to touch anybody, and cream, or toss himself out of the train and get hurt. Christopher learned from his mistakes because he thought about the injuries and then decided whether he would jump off or not. After Christopher got out of the car while it was still going he said, l had to have stitches in my head and they had to shave the hair off and it took 3 months for it to grow back to the way it was before (Haddon 158). This shows that he knows what is going to happen if he Jumps off the rain because of the number of people on the train. All of this information shows that Christopher learns from his istakes because this time on the train he thought about what will happen if he does jump off the train. An individual must overcome difficult challenges in order to gain a sense of maturity. This will be demonstrated by examining Christopher Boones ability to learn to be persistent and learn from his mistakes. He learned to be persistent, because he kept on investigating to find the person that killed Wellington, even though his dad constantly told him not to. He learned from his mistakes, by thinking about the injuries from the last time and then decided whether or not to Jump off. Christopher has gained a sense of maturity by being persistent and learning from his mistakes. Being persistent allowed Christopher to have more insight on things, such as finding his moms letters and going to London. Learning from his mistakes allowed Christopher to let others know about his mistakes, which made him confident. Before getting onto the train to London Christopher encounters a policeman and Christopher says, mfou mustnt touch me (Haddon, 150), because Christopher knows he will fght and scream like he did with the last cop that touched him.

My Unrealist Dream free essay sample

Dear Judges ,professors teachers and my beloved schoolmates, good afternoon. When the topic came out I assumed that everyone were brought back to the time when Martin Luther King Junior gave the Inspiring speech: I Have A Dream, and I am not exception. Certainly everybody has a dream or more likely to have different dreams in different period of time. And usually what people have achieved are not the things they really wanted from the start. Consequently, they chose their realistic dreams over unrealistic dreams. A realistic dream is the way of life you are pursuing r probably the life you are conducting currently. However, an unrealistic dream is the life that you once wanted really bad but you never had a chance to realize It and live It. In my words, your unrealistic dream reveals the specific type of life you truly want . Today, I want to talk about my unrealistic dream. We will write a custom essay sample on My Unrealist Dream or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page My dream is to be a pop musician. What is a pop musician, and what do they do? Young fellows cannot be more familiar with pop music and a pop musician is the person who produce pop music. They are artists who make music. Everyone Is fond of different kind of music, classical music, Instrumental music,rock music , pop music and such on. I feel more relaxed when I am listening to music and I would sing along with it. I sometimes go to clubs with my friends and I really enjoy myself when I see Des scratching the records while people dance with music. I even have a picture in my mind that one day I will be standing on the stage giving a performance and do what DC does. It must feel good. You may wondering why It Is unrealistic for me? I would tell you that I am computer major student yet I onto have the capability to make music even I am enthusiastic about pop music.When we are young as students, we always dream about being the straight A student with perfect scores. To many people in many cultures, music is an important part of their way of life. Some people defined music as tones ordered horizontally as melodies and vertically my ears point to the notion that music is often ordered and pleasant to listen to. Different cultures are engaged to different types of music. When it comes to the United States, the stereotypical music is rock music, and you will hear people shout loud: Rock and Roll in lots of different occasions.While China is the other way around. Chinese classical the traditional art music of China, has a history stretching over around three thousand years. It has its own unique systems of musical notation, as well as musical tuning and pitch, musical instruments and styles or musical genres. Chinese music also played a role of communication in its early stage. Such as Sister Lie, known as Lie San Joe in China, young men express their admires to women in terms of music.

Advances in medical technology Essays

Advances in medical technology Essays Advances in medical technology Essay Advances in medical technology Essay Advances in medical technology continue to transform the healthcare delivery system. And although the benefits resulting from new technological innovations profoundly enhance our lives, the cost to acquire, provide and maintain the new technologies increasingly place a strain on the health care system. These rising costs are an important reason why the number of uninsured has soared. So what factors influence the growth of new medical technology? One factor is the demand on citizens for top quality care. In other words consumer demand is a major influence. Another is hospitals via for newer top of the line innovations to entice physicians and patients, bringing in an increase of revenue. This in turn forces the closure of many smaller hospitals that cannot afford these newer products. Geographically,this causes many in rural areas to seek alternate care and are not able to access these newer advances in technology. In comparison to other countries, the United States spends more money on technology than any other country. Many countries wait until the U. S. Develops new technology and then implement the new technology into their own system. As a result of this practice, European and other economies get a free ride on U. S. Biomedical R D and obtain nearly all of the benefits of U. S. Medical technology at much lower health care costs. If technology development was slowed by a modest amount in the United States, it would likely have serious health consequences globally. Patients demand these newer innovative services. And knowing that insurance will cover the cost, many physicians will not hesitate in delivering these services. Ultimately insurance premiums continue to rise and the rate of uninsured citizens as ell. Also the hiring and training of personnel to operate these new systems contribute to the cost. In addition, facilities may require refurbishing to accommodate the new equipment. All factors that contribute to the cost of newer technology However not all technology increases health care costs. In fact many have actually reduced costs. Some have indirectly eliminated costs by reducing the amount of stay in a hospital, reduced the amount of procedures and any further testing. Others have allowed doctors to access and apply patient care through the internet. Remote lath services ( RASH) involve patient care interactions that are geographically disparate and enabled by telecommunications, information technology, and sensor technology. And yet advances in medical technology also raise moral and ethical concerns. Nowadays, however, we have the technology to keep life going. This reality necessitates that doctors and families make difficult decisions about when to pull the plug. And since f inances are always an issue, these decisions become more difficult. When do you allow a patient to die naturally and when do you allow

Annotations in Reading, Research, and Linguistics

Annotations in Reading, Research, and Linguistics An annotation is a  note, comment, or  concise statement of the key ideas in a text or a portion of a text and is commonly used in reading instruction and in research. In corpus linguistics, an annotation is a coded note or comment that identifies specific linguistic features of a word or sentence. One of the most common uses of annotations is in essay composition, wherein a student might annotate a larger work he or she is referencing, pulling and compiling a list of quotes to form an argument. Long-form essays and term papers, as a result, often come with an annotated bibliography, which includes a list of references as well as brief summaries of the sources. There are many ways to annotate a given text, identifying key components of the material by underlining, writing in the margins, listing cause-effect relationships, and noting confusing ideas with question marks beside the statement in the text. Identifying Key Components of a Text When conducting research, the process of annotation is almost essential to retaining the knowledge necessary to understand a texts key points and features and can be achieved through a number of means. Jodi Patrick Holschuh  and Lori Price Aultman  describe a students goal for annotating text in Comprehension Development, wherein the students are responsible for pulling out not only the main points of the text but also the other key information (e.g., examples and details) that they will need to rehearse for exams. Holschuh and Aultman go on to describe the many ways a student may isolate key information from a given text, including writing brief summaries in the students own words, listing out characteristics and cause-and-effect relations in the text, putting key information in graphics and charts, marking possible test questions, and underlining keywords or phrases or putting a question mark next to confusing concepts. REAP: A Whole-Language Strategy According to  Eanet Manzos 1976 Read-Encode-Annotate-Ponder strategy for teaching students language and reading comprehension, annotation is a vital part of a students ability to understand any given text comprehensively. The process involves the following four steps: Read to discern the intent of the text or the writers message; Encode the message into a form of self-expression, or write it out in students own words; Analyze by writing this concept in a note; and Ponder or reflect on the note, either through introspection or discussing with peers. Anthony V. Manzo and Ula Casale Manzo describe the notion in Content Area Reading: A Heuristic Approach as among the earliest strategies developed to stress the use of writing as a means of improving thinking and reading, wherein these annotations serve as alternative perspectives from which to consider and evaluate information and ideas.

White Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

White Paper - Essay Example Next, David DeVore notes the importance of identifying fans and amplifying the digital brand. Some important objectives in this case include provision of relevant and useful content to engage fans, using email to share previous content with fans, and enlisting the help of brand fans. Rishi Shah identifies the shares five steps that digital marketers can use to grow their email lists successfully. These include offering gifts to website visitors in exchange for their email address, offering relevant gifts, creating their own unique gifts, hosting their files, and collecting leads. Jen Ribbie observes that content marketing does not have to be an expensive undertaking. She picks out commitment to content, using engaging, entertaining and/or educational content, recycling success stories in other formats, involving the audience, and focus on quality as key to creating content. Phil Daniels suggests that responsive design is essential to ensuring user-friendly experience on the mobile browser. To develop a responsive site, sufficient investment, strategic planning around the organization and content, enhancing technical support, and monitoring mobile trends on the site are necessary. Aaron Lee talks states that mobile phones have become a major communication tool, as shown in figure 1. about how social media can help brands gain a competitive edge by listening and responding to consumer expectations, creating trust, value, and community around their brand, and personalizing the consumer’s experience. The email list is important in deepening relationships with the consumer. The data collected from the digital marketing audience should be used to create value by turning it into smart data. The data can be used to improve the brand’s engagement, meaning, and relevance to the consumer in their online experience, email correspondence, and advertising. Trevor Yager

Literature review Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Literature review - Research Paper Example In this regard, he points out that today, solar power is used even in residential homes for the production of energy used for opening gates, lighting and heating. In addition, he also noted that some cars today are powered using solar energy. Watson also pointed out that solar power also has a lot of benefits. In this regard, he argues that the use o solar power helps in reducing cost since to reduce dependency on traditional sources of energy. Moreover, Watson (2012) pointed that solar energy is eco-friendly and is, therefore, a good move towards conserving the environment. Part 2: The origin, potential, and importance of solar energy. http://solarword.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-origin-potential-and-importance-of.html. In this article, Haluzan (2012) explores the origin, potential, and importance of solar energy. He argues that the sun’s radiation is one of the most important natural resource provided free and is limitless. Haluzan (2012) argues that without the sun, the plant where we live cannot support life. He reveal that projection by the International Energy Agency announced in 2011, showed that, with the invention of new technologies, the solar radiation will provide at least a third of energy by the year 2060 based on the fact the world is currently moving towards the use of renewable sources of energy of which solar is one of them. However, Haluzan (2012) is quick to point out that many countries have not yet embraced the adoption of energy from solar fully because the technologies used in solar lack the cost-parity with fossil fuel. Nevertheless, he also points out that many countries continue to adopt the use of solar technologies by installing solar panels on buildings for both domestic and industrial use. In addition to providing energy for domestic and industrial use, Haluzan (2012) also pointed out that the use of solar power will help reduce the amount of greenhouse emissions to the environment. This will help mitigate the impacts o climat e change and make the world a good place to live. Part number 3: The advantage and disadvantage of solar energy http://exploringgreentechnology.com/solar-energy/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-solar-energy/. In this article, Whitburn (2012) discusses the advantages and disadvantages of solar energy. The advantages in this case according to Whitbun (2012) include the fact that solar energy does not pollute the environment. This is because it does not produce greenhouse gases like fossil fuels. He also noted that this is the main resource behind the advocacy for solar under the green energy technology as countries attempt to mitigate the impacts of climate change caused by greenhouse emissions. Secondly, solar energy is natural and provide free. Further, it does not require expensive raw materials, as is the case with fossil fuel. Thirdly, Whitbun (2012) notes that the use of solar power is advantageous because it offers decentralization of power since it create self-reliance in socie ty. In addition, he points out that solar power, unlike other sources of energy can be produced on or off the grid (powersourcesolar.com, n.d). Other advantages pointed out by Whitbun (2012) include that fact that its production helps in job creation, as well as saving the ecosystem and people among others. However, Whitbun

Racism in Philosophy of Hume and Kant Essay Example for Free

Racism in Philosophy of Hume and Kant Essay During the Age of the Enlightenment in European history there was high emphasis on the ideals of reason and individualism. Scientists and philosophers pushed reason as an ultimate guideline to reforming society and challenging its old traditions and faith. This was the philosophers’ attempts to further advancing our knowledge through scientific method. Things like skepticism and intellectual interchange were highly promoted during this period. The true way to gain rational thought was through the process of using logic to make tests and conclusions out of clear evidence rather than superstitious ideas. There are two important enlightenment thinkers, David Hume and Immanuel Kant who despite their high praise of reason and logic, share clearly racist views in their philosophies. Could these two enlightened thinkers actually be capable of contradicting their entire philosophy or could it just be pure ignorance? We are going to discuss what sort of racist views Hume and Kant share and how they possibly created the idea of racial differences. First we must discuss what the idea of reason truly is and what it has to do with human thought. Reason is ultimately what separates us human beings from animals. Animals physically cannot express reason. Reason is the mental capacity to be able to make sense of something. It is how we are able to apply logic to help create facts. Understanding of academics like math, science, and philosophy are attributes only humans possess. The ability to understand and appreciate art and beauty are examples of reason that animals have never shown. Animals may show desire for certain things, but that is not the same as appreciating the beauty of it. David Hume believes that all human beings share similar moral feelings. He does however believe that animals can feel sympathy which is one of the essential foundations of morality. Hume also believes that morality is entirely independent of religion and that morality is found deep in true human nature itself. He states that the belief in God is irrelevant to morality. This is similar to Immanuel Kant’s belief in human autonomy. He believes that human beings have their own free will and can think independently without being governed. Humans can be moral and free without the need of God’s divine support. Hume and Kant believe we have a right to faith but also in the possibility that it limits knowledge to make room for faith. They believe we can have faith in ourselves and be governed by reason rather than our animal impulses. The racism of Hume and Kant are most definitely reflected in their philosophic views. Hume believes in the idea of causation, which is the understanding between two events (one being the cause, the other being the effect) that the second event is always the consequence of the first event. Hume whole-heartedly believes that Europe is the model of all humanity and culture, that blacks are an inferior race. He considers their supposed inferiority to whites to be natural. He states that he has never witnessed any black manufacturers, artists, or scientists and that they are simply a barbaric breed of man. Hume falls into a fatal error of his own causality by saying that there is a causal relation between a person’s skin color and their intelligence. He is identifying that simply the color of one’s skin makes a constant difference between two races of men. This is horribly contradictory and morally wrong. Kant, despite all of his beliefs in that all humans can understand morality and reason, he singles out blacks as totally inferior in these very human attributes. Kant has actually dismissed a person’s statement and position as stupid without a moment of analyzing the content because the person was black. This is extremely contradictory to the sorts of logic and reason a true philosopher should have when regarding any human being whether white or black. The two philosophers show a huge lack in open-mindedness when it comes to anyone non-white. The supposed racial differences that Hume and Kant seem to believe there are have no real proof or logic behind them. This is truly ignorant of both Hume and Kant and it’s surprising that two important philosophers in history could actually believe in ideas that are so close-minded and completely illogical. There is simply no morality or rational thinking behind these false judgments. Kant stating that he has never seen black artists or scientists just sounds like he hasn’t looked beyond his backyard window. Although Kant does indeed believe that all humans are born free and that level of intelligence does not determine who deserves to be a slave to another. Despite this positive belief, he still believes blacks are inferior. As intelligent as their ideas of sharing knowledge for the advancing of mankind sound at first, it is truly sad that they are only speaking for one single race rather than ‘all’ human beings equally. Their racism does indeed cast much doubt on their Enlightenment understanding on what a person was. There should not be such a disregard for the possibility of equal opportunity among all human beings. Peoples’ idea of race is purely subjective and there really are no significant differences. The only true racial differences are geographical. Skin color has nothing to do with one’s mental capacity and ability. Works Cited Denis, Lara. Kant and Hume on Morality. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. The Metaphysics Research Lab, Center for the Study of Language and Information (CSLI), Stanford University, 26 Mar 2008. Web. 7 Mar 2014. http://plato. stanford. edu/entries/kant-hume-morality/. Maduka, Enyimba. Racism and Philosophy. Racism, Philosophy, and African Thought . izuchukwu, 20 Apr 2005. Web. 10 Mar 2014. http://www. frasouzu. com/Issues and Papers/Enyimba Maduka etc on Racism, Philosophy and African Thought. pdf.

Behold, The Molly Maguires Mystified :: Movie Movies Film Essays

Behold, The Molly Maguires Mystified Based on the testimony of James McParlan, he was convicted along with four others of the shooting death of Thomas Sanger and William Uren. Hung on June 21, 1877 in Pottsville. Buried in Pottsville, PA. [1] Since the dawning of the industrial revolution, producing the stratification of socioeconomic status into a competitive class hierarchy never before seen, conflict theorists have appeared to define the unjust. From William Blake’s poetry to Karl Marx’ manifestos, from Bethlehem steel strikes to the current Labor Party, from Fidel Castro to the Mexican Zapatista movement, from Lenin to Mao Tse Tung, from the Molly Maguires to Jimmy Hoffa, the desire to upgrade the conditions of the working class have had a continual role in justifying violence, providing an equilibrium to keep capital interests in check, motivated whole countries to gain newly instituted political leaders and formats of rule, even in offering some form of purpose for, identity with, and release of violent rage inside the tribal nature of humans in a world of disintegrating, or disintegrated, tribes. The question of the new millennium might very well be whether or not humans can live without ene mies. In a country, if not a world, with creature comforts easily secured, labor issues becoming obsolete, where will modern man direct his barbaric energy? Neither law, nor philosophy, nor reason, nor spiritual counsel has prevailed against this primitive element in man’s nature [revenge]. The upward path of civilization, and it has been upward, is twisted by it, leaving grim milestones in appalling quantity. (Lewis viii) [2] The Molly Maguires were one such labor voice, if perceived this way, one such tribe (both causally and ethnically), and one such milestone, active from the 1860’s to the 1870’s. It is this period in the Pennsylvania anthracite coal regions which the 1970 movie is based. Long before child labor laws, a minimum wage, suitable standards on working conditions, or any form of labor union (the first geographically encompassing the Pennsylvania coal region was the shabbily organized, often squabbling, General Council of the Workingmen’s Associations of the Anthracite Coal Fields founded on March 17, 1869 [Aurand 69]), the Molly Maguires were an active labor force, if one views them as such, or a marauding group of renegades, thugs, and Godless anarchists, if one is persuaded to perceive them in that light.

Nicole Kidman is Now Pregnant with Keith Urban’s Baby

The life of celebrities has always been an open book to the public. How they spend their free time and the milestones they experience are also being followed by the swarming people. Nicole Kidman, being one of the most sought after actresses, was not excluded from this. Her pregnancy at the age of 40 was sort of a shock for the viewing public. We all know that this is Nicole's first biological child, even if she was married to Tom Cruise for a period of time. She had two adopted children, one was aged 15 while the other was 12 years old.Speculations arose during her marriage to Tom Cruise as to why they never had their own children. Those speculations were never proven and everything else vanished after some time. After reading the article, I contemplated on the fact that the feature was somewhat biased. Come to think of it, when you write a specific article, one should bear in mind to show both sides of the story. In this case, all that we can see were the good points in their relat ionship and what were in the news. Nothing much was mentioned as to why she never had biological children even before she reached the age of 40.Even her feelings as a â€Å"mom-to-be† again were not disclosed. Another point that should be emphasized is the fact that the article did not dwell much on her pregnancy. The article was short and lacked more information that could have made the feature much more interesting to the viewers. It should have focused more on specific details, such as to why Keith and Nicole did not have the baby immediately after their wedding, and so forth. References: (January 7, 2008). Nicole Kidman is Pregnant. Retrieved January 9, 2008 from

How the American Legal System and Business is impacted

1. Introduction This paper seeks to examine the economical effect, if any, upon what the legal system requires of business in America, from a sole proprietor, to a corporation. The paper will also have to look at the costs imposed on operating a business for obtaining a business license, advertising, filing fees paid to the State, and all such costs and within a State, City, and County. 2. Analysis and Discussion The conduct of any business in any part of the world is regulated by the government and therefore business activities are governed by laws locally and on the state level. As to why the government impost cost to conducting business is based on basically two state powers, which are the police power (Lee, 1973) and the power of taxation.   In regulating the business entities and the latter are activities, the government has the best of intentions of promoting public welfare. Hence, under the local level of government, there can be imposed local permits fees and license fees that must be paid by business operators whenever these entities are sole proprietorship, partnership or corporations are to start in operating their business.     Ã‚  Since these fees are being imposes to recover the cost of government in allowing the conduct of business, such power of the state from local to national is being imposed by the exercise of police power of the state by the local level government. Being therefore cost of regulation, the amount of cost is rather fixed and rates may be more or less the same for the group of similar type of business industry. Still pursuant to the police power of the state, the government enforces the laws of business and administers justice where business entities complain of violations of commercial laws. To illustrate the point, business entities enter into contracts and in certain cases it could happen there could refusal to comply with the obligations created out of contracts.   The parties cannot put the law into their hands, thus there must be a court systems that must settle the issues between the parties.   One may therefore clearly see the relevance of the legal system which is part of doing business.   Since legal system entails services rendered by government, it should not be a surprise when government courts require the payment of filing fees as cost of pursuing justice on the part of business entities. But since government does not only interfere from the local level but also at state level, another form of charges are imposed under the state’s power of taxation.   Since the power of taxation (Goode, 1951) involves the revenue generating power of the government, the government may impose several forms of taxes such as income taxes and value added tax. Income tax (Goode; 1976; Smith, et. al, 1958) is a tax based on the financial earning capacity of the business entities, which may include sole proprietorship, partnership and corporation. Under this kind of taxation, the state is charging taxes on the basis of an assumed obligation of the taxpayer-entities to the state in return for the service given by the state to the business entities in the form of security and protection and other services by reason for its being a government that needs funds to defray its expenses. Another form of taxation which may also be imposed by the local levels of government if provided in their city charters, are the business taxation. This may take the form of sales tax or the more familiar business taxes. As distinguish from income taxation, business taxation, charges the taxpayer for having been given the privilege of operating a business. Such kind of taxes is normally based on the amount of gross receipts, or sales revenues as basis for output tax but subject to certain deductions for claims like input taxes to reduce the taxes payable to the government. Surely the effect of these charges economically could just be huge that could affect the operation of doing business. Since business entities operate under the idea of being profitable to be able to recover cost expended in business, the amount of taxes, charges and licenses should not be too prohibitive as to discourage business from doing business. This might be apparent for business taxes in the form of excise tax (Fossen, 2002) on cigarettes and wines or the so called ‘sin taxes’. This kind of taxes are also in the nature of excise taxes and therefore part of the business taxes like the sales tax or value added tax. It may be observed that the higher amount of taxes imposed on certain taxes like ‘sin taxes’ manifests the intention of the government to control the consumption of said good because these products may not be essentially be good to people because of health effects. To illustrate the point, the government prohibiting smoking in public place may have already prohibited TV advertising of the industry’ products because of the effect of the industry on public health only that the government cannot completely ban the sale of these products. Hence, being tied with its hands to limit production without violating the laws of commerce, the government resort to higher taxes to discourage consumption. 3. Conclusion It may be concluded that there are indeed effects of the legal system on how the business entities operates in a certain place.   To such the extent of these economic effects must be viewed in the context of the objective of governments in terms of its paramount purpose of encouraging entrepreneurship while ensuring compliance with laws that are conducive to protecting the life, health, employment and other need of its people. Since business entities could not be avoiding this government interference on business operations, they may just as well comply since these laws are also meant to protect them. Without regulation there could be chaos in society as privileges to operate business could be subject to abuse. Imposing charges to regulate is therefore justified in the exercise of the police power of the state. On the other hand, it is necessary to emphasize that governments also need to defray its expenses and the means to the attain the same is to impose several kind of taxes from business entities and individuals.   When viewed on a wider concept, business entities also need the government in terms of regulation and protection of its interest. Without the government administering the laws on commerce, business entities would be in dangerous situation since they would be operating as if they are playing basket ball without a referee who will tell them who is wrong and who is right in case one of the teams abuses its rights. If therefore the are no government to charge regulation cost and taxes, the law will just be useless because there would be no agent to implement the same. Hence, business entities are to accept the reality of these charges and taxes and factor them in computing profits. References: Fossen   (2002) Norfolk Island and Its Tax Haven; The Australian Journal of Politics and History, Vol. 48, 2002 Goode (1951) The Corporation Income Tax; Wiley Goode (1976) The Individual Income Tax; Brookings Institution Lee   (1973) A History of Regulatory Taxation; University Press of Kentucky, 1973 Smith, et. al (1958) Income Tax Differentials; Tax Institute of America

10th Grade Science Fair Project Ideas

10th Grade Science Fair Project Ideas 10th-grade science fair projects can be fairly advanced. By 10th grade, most students can identify a project idea on their own and can conduct the project and report on it without much assistance, but they can still seek help from parents and teachers. 10th-grade students can use the scientific method to make predictions about the world around them and to construct experiments to test their predictions. Environmental issues, green chemistry, genetics, classification, cells, and energy are all appropriate 10th-grade topic areas. 10th Grade Science Fair Project Ideas Test products for impurities. For example, you could compare the amount of lead in different brands of bottled water. If a label says a product does not contain a heavy metal, is the label accurate? Do you see any evidence of leaching of hazardous chemicals from plastic into water over time?Which sunless tanning product produces the most realistic-looking tan?Which brand of disposable contact lenses last the longest before a person decides to switch them out?Which brand of rechargeable batteries delivers charge the longest before needing to be recharged? Does the answer depend on the type of battery-operated device?Test the efficiency of different shapes of fan blades.Can you tell how much biodiversity is in a water sample by how murky the water is?Determine whether ethanol really does burn more cleanly than gasoline.Is there a correlation between attendance and GPA? Is there a correlation between how close to the front of the classroom a student sits and GPA?Which method of cooking destroys the most bacteria? Which disinfectant kills the most bacteria? Which disinfectant is safest to use?Examine the effect of growing one plant species near another.Can you build your own electrochemical cell or battery? Test its output and efficiency.Try to see if there is a correlation between two different factors, such as sunspot activity and mean global temperature or skipping lunch and low test scores. How valid would you expect such a correlation to be?What type of cooling mat is most effective at removing excess heat from a laptop computer?What is the best way to store bread to preserve its freshness?Which types of produce induce ripening or premature rotting in other produce?

Becker Last Name Origin and Meaning

Becker Last Name Origin and Meaning The surname Becker, which ranks 8th among  most common German last names,  has several possible origins: From the German becker, meaning baker, or one who bakes bread.One who created wooden vessels such as cups, mugs, and pitchers, derived from Middle High German becher, meaning cup or goblet, from Greek bikos, meaning pot or pitcher.A derivative of the Old English becca meaning mattock - used to denote a maker or user of mattocks, digging tools with a flat blade set at right angles to the handle. Surname Distribution Today, the Becker surname is by far most commonly found in Germany, followed by Luxembourg, and then the United States and Canada according to the World Names Public Profiler. Within Germany, the Becker surname is most prevalent in the Saarland region, followed by Rheinland-Pfalz, Hessen and Nordrhein-Westfalen. Because most last names originate in multiple areas, the best way to learn more about your Becker last name is to research your own specific family history. If you are new to genealogy, try these steps to begin tracing your family tree. Surname Origin: German, English Alternate Surname Spellings:  BAECKER, BEKKER, BECKERDITE, BUCHER Famous People With the BECKER Last Name Howard S. Becker: American sociologistPaula Modersohn-Becker: German expressionist painterAaron Becker: American childrens book authorBoris Becker: Former German tennis star Genealogy Resources for the BECKER Last Name The Bucher, Beecher, Becker, etc. DNA ProjectThis Y-DNA testing project is open to all families with the Becker last name and variations (B260 soundex surnames), from all locations. The purpose of the project is to help members use a combination of  yDNA  testing, paper trails, and additional research to identify common Becker ancestors. BECKER Family Genealogy ForumSearch this popular genealogy forum for the Becker last name to find others who might be researching your ancestors, or post your own Becker query. FamilySearch - BECKER GenealogySearch and access records, queries, and lineage-linked online family trees posted for the Becker surname and its variations. FamilySearch features over 2.5 million results for the Becker last name. References: Surname Meanings Origins Cottle, Basil. Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967. Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989. Hanks, Patrick. Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Smith, Elsdon C. American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997.

Training and development 6 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Training and development 6 - Essay Example With this in mind, this trend will affect my personal career development as I would have to take several measures to promote my own career development. Some of these steps would include, I would need to develop several sources of income to supplement my main income. I would also need to attend career improvement and development conferences, seminars, workshops and symposiums to ensure that I am always abreast with the current developments in my chosen career and hence always remain ahead of most competitors. In an attempt to be able to be favorably placed in the event that new opportunities happen to arise, I would need to ensure that I diversify the range and breath of my experience by ensuring that I always engage in new projects when given the chance to do so (Kakabadse et al 50). As the protean career trend continues to develop, job security is fast becoming a thing of the past and I would need to ensure that I extensively network with other professionals in an attempt to ensure that I am always kept in the loop on the events taking place in my industry. Networking will also potentially provide new employment

Human Society's Impact on Ecosystems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Human Society's Impact on Ecosystems - Essay Example Human society engages in various activities that negatively affect the ecosystem. These include overhunting, deforestation, creating pollution, overpopulation and non-native species introductions. Overhunting affects the animals’ targeted leading to in extreme cases, extinction. Indirectly, it affects the ecosystem of other species of animals or plants that may have been dependent on the threatened animal for food or as a way to keep their population in check. An example is a white rhino in Africa because of overhunting by poachers the species is nearly extinct (Morgan, 2012). Deforestation directly affects plant life and indirectly affects other forms of life. Human society needs wood for different purposes. However, the overexploitation of forests and woodlands is detrimental to the ecosystem. Apart from plant life being destroyed, habitats are also affected. According to Butler (2005), Nigeria has the world's utmost deforestation pace. The country of Brazil, on the other hand, loses the biggest area of forest annually, while the Congolese consume more bushmeat than any other humid country all due to human activity. Overpopulation puts undue stress on the ecosystem thus forcing human society to compete with other members for limited resources. Pollution of the ecosystem is another negative impact of humans on the ecosystem. Pollution kills plants and animals and at the same time destroys habitats. Humans also introduce non-native species to new habitats for their own purposes. An animal may be introduced to a new area where it did not exist before to hel p cut down on an existing pest problem. Soon the new animal begins to have its own impact on the new area, and often it results in problems for other native species. The same may happen in the case of plants (Morgan, 2012). Grim as it sounds so far, the human society has some positive effects on the ecosystem. Environmental management and preservation, global water management, pollution control and environmental awareness are some of the ways human society positively affects the ecosystem. Although some activities in the list are forced on by human beings, they all have a positive impact (Dinesen, 2012).

Corporate Social Responsibility and Mass Media Essay

Corporate Social Responsibility and Mass Media - Essay Example The Story of Corporate Social Responsibility (2006), Dunne said that corporate social responsibility has eventually come to mean â€Å"responsiveness†. â€Å"Responsiveness† does not imply any particular action but a range of actions or range of possible responses based on a company’s perception of social or consumer needs and the company’s role in responding either to society’s or the consumers’ needs. Carroll (1999, p. 268) explained that meaning of corporate social responsibility has undergone an evolution from its â€Å"beginning in the 1950s, which marks the modern era of CSR.† Carroll (1999, p. 268) pointed out that the â€Å"alternative themes† in corporate social responsibility â€Å"included corporate social performance (CSP), stakeholder theory, and business ethics theory.† Against the Dunne (2007) viewpoint, the Carroll (1999, p. 268) viewpoint is that corporate social responsibility is â€Å"a core construct that yields to or is transformed into alternative thematic frameworks.† On investigating whether corporate social responsibility adds to financial return, Cardebat & Sirven (2010) concluded that the results of their study do not provide evidence that the adoption of corporate social responsibility improves corporate financial performance. Cardebat & Sirven (2010) used statistical and econometric methods in testing hypotheses on the role of corporate social responsibility on company financial performance. On the other hand, the work of Ali et al. (2010) indicated that the practice of social responsibility may or may not promote the retention of consumer. Based on the study, it can nevertheless be argued however that the practice of corporate social responsibility can promote the retention of the customer base. In my study, I have chosen two cases: the case of the Aviva plc and the case of Thames Water Company. For reasons that will be explained later, Aviva appears to be a lead ing example of a company based in the United Kingdom that espouse corporate social responsibility consistently and diligently for the last several years and has gained additional prominence for the espousal as well as practice of that responsibility. Aviva claims to have â€Å"300 years of insights† which can be interpreted as having 300 years of engagement in the same or similar business (2011). Alternatively, the company â€Å"300 years of insights† is also described as â€Å"300 years of heritage† (2011). In contrast, Thames Water, a water company appears to have experienced a period in which its public image was at its worst. Lately, however, data are suggesting that Thames Water has invested in corporate social responsibility and may be profiting today in the said investment. Nevertheless, it appears that there are still avenues through which Thames Water’s practice of corporate social responsibility can be improved and which the company can exploit for greater profitability. II. Case 1: Aviva plc Aviva claims to the â€Å"world’s sixth largest insurance group and the biggest in the UK, with 36,100 serving around 44.5 million

Land Vegetation Ethiopia

Land Vegetation Ethiopia 1. Project Summary Land cover/use Study projects provide policy makers, industry and community interest groups, and landholders with accurate information on  woody vegetation cover, information on changes in the cover, mapping and providing statistical information. In earlier times the northern Ethiopian highlands were characterized by humid climate and denser vegetation (Bard et al., 2000). Significant human impact on the land resource resulted in 65 per cent of the total land mass to be a dry land. Land clearing for agricultural activity has become an increasingly main topic in the natural resource debate that contrasts the economic aspects of land development to the people dependent on it and with the ecological need to conserve. This project is a one of the initiative to investigate the land cover and its respective slope of the study site and to recommend technologies applicable to the overall land cover study projects in the dry high lands of Ethiopia. The study combines field verification  and computer processing using state-of-the-art remote sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) technologies. The study specifically applies and eexplore the potential of Visible and Near Infrared (VNIR) bands of the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer ASTER images to discriminate land use categories where the land is fragile with mixed uses villages, patches of forest, patches of grazing land, crop land, wasteland, etc. the study will also explore the potential of ASTER images to provide stereo images for DEM generation of the scene that can be used to generate the Slope. The DEM generation task will investigate developing a rational polynomial function model. At last integration of the land cover and the DEM together with other GIS data can be used as input data to classify the suitability of land for specific land use. 2. The Problem Statement and Justification for the Research More than 63% of all smallholders in Ethiopia have less than 1 hectare of land. Population is growing rapidly and, although in the northern parts of the country the average rural population density is only 33 persons per square km, the population density per unit of arable land is much higher (138 persons per square km). Land fragmentation is common and the more fragmented holdings are, the more time it takes to manage them, with potential consequences for productivity. The national average is 3.2 parcels per smallholder, though districts averages vary from a little over 1 to more than 5. The broadest areas of high fragmentation are in eastern Amhara and Tigray, although there are also districts with high average fragmentation in Gambella, parts of SNNP, and the eastern highlands. (Ethiopian Agricultural Sample Enumeration, 2001/02. Central Statistical Authority.). As a result of fragmentation, farm sizes are very small and the use of fallow is rapidly disappearing, causing problems of declining soil fertility and erosion. Population growth increases the demand for land and contributes to farming on steep and fragile soils, also leading to erosion problems. It increases demand for biomass as a source of fuel, leading to deforestation and increased burning of dung and crop residues, thus increasing the problems of erosion and nutrient depletion. Population growth increases demand for livestock products and therefore leads to increased livestock numbers, causing overgrazing and consumption of crop residues by animals. In such situation Land degradation is a great threat for the future and it requires great effort and resources to improve. The major causes of land degradation in Ethiopia are the rapid population increase, severe soil loss, deforestation, low vegetative cover and unbalanced crop and livestock production. Inappropriate land-use systems and land-tenure policies enhance desertification and loss of biodiversity. The balance between crop, livestock, and forest production is disturbed, and the farmer is forced to put more land into crop production. The government has envisaged long- and short-term strategies to reduce the pressure on land and land fragmentation. Among the short term strategies are providing technical and vocational training to the landless youth to enable them to find off-farm employment and encouraging emigration to urban centers and to other parts of the region for resettlement. These strategies recommended allocation and reallocation of land to be based on the land use classification to be done in detail study. Understanding the current status of land use is very important and this project will come up with important elements of current land use study using remote sensing technologies to provide reliable information that help to prepare a complete land use plan. Justification Land Cover/ Slope Study To approach the growing problems of natural resource management, spatially explicit information about physical, biotic, and human factors must be available in a variety of geographic and temporal scales (USFWS 1976). Local planners and managers require detailed knowledge of the region for which they have responsibility as well as information on the regional, state, and national levels. Land cover data are essential at several scales. Current land cover data are vital to many applications including: making basic habitat assessments, delineating specific vegetative communities, calculating soil loss, and evaluating water quantity/quality within and between watersheds. The list of categories to be mapped is determined through the objectives of the mapping effort. This thesis describes such a mapping effort, one of presenting a basic land cover/Slope map, along with methods useful for land use planning applications. The conventional methods in producing DEMs need large campaigns that result in land surveying teams using analogue or analytical techniques. In the last decades satellite stereo image based topographical map production is turned into operational state from its experimental state. Recently many local scale landscape or topographical monitoring requirements are maintained by high resolution satellite images (Kanab 2002, Zomer et al. 2002, Baily et al. 2003, Su ¨zen and Doyuran 2004a, b, Liu et al. 2004). Advantages of ASTER for land evaluation The ASTER sensor is carried on board the Terra satellite that was launched in December 1999. The sensor has 14 spectral bands; three for Very Near Infra Red (VNIR) at 15 meters resolution, six for Short Wave Infra Red at 30 meters resolution, five for Thermal Infra Red at ninety meters resolution. Graphic 1 (below) shows the band coverage of the ASTER sensor. Thus with such resolution and number of bands it is possible to discriminate small fragile lands typical of Ethiopian highlands. In addition ASTER imagery has an extra channel of image data that is created by the sensor capturing a backwards looking image for the third VNIR band. So for image band three there exists one (nadir) image channel and also a backwards looking (off nadir) image channel. This creates an along-track stereo effect that provides DEM generation capability to be used for slope study. Scope This thesis presents a small watershed land cover/Slope map representing for the northern region of the country. It will provide information just beyond the local watershed by demonstrating feasibility of using selected satellite imagery for regional planning as well. It is known that Land suitability analysis is the process of matching demand, crop requirement, and supply, the quality of the land. Where it is necessary to specify the type of specific land use (e.g for forest plantation, maize, rangeland, etc.) so as to match with crop requirement, basic land characteristics, such as depth of soil, climate, amount of pH, level of soil nutrient, depth to ground water, etc.. Thus the scope of this thesis is limited to generating parameters necessary for the land suitability analysis. Project Objectives General objective To demonstrate the feasibility of Advanced Space borne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) imagery to provide base line data for land use planning for sustainable land management Specific objectives Investigating discriminating power of ASTER Imagery in studying land cover in highly fragmented high lands of northern Ethiopia. To develop rational polynomial function model to generate a DEM that will be further processed to develop slope information. 4. Description of Project Activities and Methodology Selecting Study Area The landscape of Ethiopia is extremely diverse. In order to map land cover on a regional scale, it is necessary to understand the structure and dynamics of land cover on a local scale. To this end, the study area will be located to approximately represent throughout the northern part of the region. Thus the site will include major physiographic regions, i.e., predominantly mountains, valleys, and plains. On top of that the study site will be chosen on the following criteria: ease of access to allow comparison of actual land cover to images in hand, availability of current digital cover maps, and representation of regional land cover. Classification Scheme The first step in land cover mapping is to determine a classification system, i.e., to list the land categories to be mapped. Several items will be considered in this process: The objectives The characteristics of the data And the accuracy requirements. As in most well planned mapping efforts, the objectives determine the classes and the procedures used. Since the objective of this study is to identify fragmented land use types rather than classifying different vegetation types, emphasis will be placed on land impacted by human activities. The data available also determined the level of detail. ASTER imagery is assumed to be the best data currently available. The relatively high spatial resolution and the number of spectral bands of this imagery offers the best opportunities for discriminating a variety of cover types among any available satellite data such as Landsat. Imagery ASTER imagery with 15m spatial resolution, which is taken in the dry season of 2003, is the basic dataset from which land cover and Slope will be mapped. The data to be used for land cover study will be the VNIR bands (Band 1: 0.52-0.60 Lm; Band 2: 0.63-0.69Lm and Band 3N: 0.76-0.86Lm) of and 3N and 3B bands for the Slope study. A DEM created from ASTER level 1A (L1A) imagery can be expected to have a vertical accuracy of approximately 25 meters. Although in areas with less vegetation or man made features, this can rise to approximately 11 meters. It is therefore useful for small to medium scale mapping applications, 1:50,000 to 1:100,000. Only the near-infrared (NIR) channel of ASTER image has stereoscopic view capability as another NIR sensor is located as back view on board Terra satellite. Therefore, one NIR sensor collects image in nadir direction while another NIR sensor gets image in back-looking direction. Using two different looking directions, stereo imaging and DEM generation can be attained (Welch et al. 1998, Toutin 2002, Hirano et al. 2003). Training Data for image classification Since this study applies supervised classification, training data are needed at the start of classification. To this effect training data will be acquired from a variety of sources such as available maps, aerial photography of the same year and expert knowledge and review. Image Classification One scene for the land cover study and another nadir scene for the Slope study will be used for classification. To georeference the image, Ground Control Points (GCPs) will be collected from easily identifiable points using Geographic Positioning System (GPS). Image classification will be done either using pixel based supervised image classification or with object-oriented image classification depending on the accuracy to be achieved. ILWIS 3.3 software format will be the major image processing tools that will be used. Ground Truth and Classification Accuracy Assessment Before a map should be used, it is necessary to know its accuracy (Congalton1996). Accuracy assessment will be made using ground truth points to be collected from the major land use/cover types using GPS. It is recommended to have a ground truth at the same time of data acquisition, or at least within the time that the environmental condition does not change. A general rule of thumb is 75 to 100 reference points per category for a large image (Congalton 1996). However; for such a small scale study quite less number of reference points will be feasible. Statistics The Confusion Matrix In order to determine the errors in the classification, the following model called confusion matrix: (IDRISI module CONFUSE.) will be applied where: Matrix columns = ground data (assumed ‘correct) Matrix rows = map data (classified by the automatic procedure) Cells of the matrix = count of the number of observations for each (ground, map) combination Diagonal elements = agreement between ground and map; ideal is a matrix with all zero off-diagonals Errors of omission (map producers accuracy) = incorrect in column / total in column. Measures how well the map maker was able to represent the ground features. Errors of commission (map users accuracy) = incorrect in row / total in row. Measures how likely the map user is to encounter correct information while using the map. Overall map accuracy = total on diagonal / grand total Statistical test of the classification accuracy for the whole map or individual cells is possible using the kappa index of agreement www.sc.chula.ac.th/courseware/2309507/lec_content.htm). Users and producers accuracy measure the correctness of each category with respect to errors of commission and omission. Accuracy of each class cannot be completely stated in one statistic; both accuracies are needed for a valid assessment. Users accuracy is obtained by dividing the number correctly classified by the total number of pixels, within the classified image, of that class assessed. A low users accuracy represents a high error of commission. Producers accuracy is calculated by dividing the number of pixels correctly classified by the total number of reference points within that class (bottom row of error matrix). A low Producers accuracy represents a high error of omission. The Kappa statistic describes the degree of superiority (expressed as a proportion), that the classification results have as compared to a random classification. DEM Generation Developments in computers, broadening of visualization applications and the availability of geospatial data, made the use of digital elevation models (DEM) an indispensable quantitative environmental variable in most of the research topics. The landscape change and process-based studies in digital Earth sciences require the excessive use of DEM (Ka ¨a ¨b 2002, Zomer et al. 2002, Baily et al. 2003, Su ¨zen and Doyuran 2004a, b, Liu et al. 2004), for landslide susceptibility/hazard assessment, erosion susceptibility, glacier monitoring, geomorphological mapping, etc., in order to quantitatively represent or to analyse the morphology or the landscape. Within this study, the major steps that will be performed are (1) pre-processing and (2) The first step in pre-processing is the orthorectification of raw L1A images. The whole scene ASTER L1A image will be orthorectified using available 1: 50,000 scaled topographic maps. DEM generation from stereoscopic imagery is dependent on establishing the mathematical model relating the scene coordinates of conjugate points to the ground coordinates of the corresponding object point. Either rigorous or approximate models can be used to establish such a relationship. Rigorous modeling necessitates a full understanding of the imaging geometry associated with the involved sensor. Moreover, it involves the external characteristics (as represented by the Exterior Orientation Parameters EOP) and the internal characteristics (as represented by the Interior Orientation Parameters IOP) of the imaging sensor. Such characteristics are derived with the help of control information, which might take the form of a calibration test field, ground control points, and/or onboard navigation units (e.g., GPS/INS). However, the derivation of these parameters might not be always possible due to: the lack of sufficient control; weak imaging geometry (especially for satellite imaging systems with narrow angular field of view); and/or intentional concealment by the data provider (e.g., Space Imaging does not release the IOP and the EOP for their commercially available imagery). Therefore, there has been an increasing interest to investigate approximate models, which do not explicitly involve the internal and external characteristics of the imaging system. (A. Habib, E. M. Kim, M. Morgan, I. Couloigne, 2005). There has been an increasing interest within the photogrammetric community to adopt approximate models since they require neither a comprehensive understanding of the imaging geometry nor the internal and external characteristics of the imaging sensor. Approximate models include Direct Linear Transformation (DLT), self-calibrating DLT (SDLT), Rational Function Model (RFM), and parallel projection (Vozikis et al., 2003; Fraser, 2000; OGC, 1999; Ono et al., 1999; Wang, 1999; Gupta et al., 1997; El-Manadili and Novak, 1996). This thesis will apply RPF; it is based on the ratios of polynomials with different degree which can vary from 1 to 3. The coefficients are estimated using a large number of Ground Control Points (GCPs). In general, the procedure for DEM generation from stereoscopic views can be summarized as follows (Shin et al., 2003): †¢ Feature selection in one of the scenes of a stereo-pair: Selected features should correspond to an interesting phenomenon in the scene and/or the object space. †¢ Identification of the conjugate feature in the other scene: This problem is known as the matching/correspondence problem within the photogrammetric and computer vision communities. †¢ Intersection procedure: Matched points in the stereo-scenes undergo an intersection procedure to produce the ground coordinates of corresponding object points. The intersection process involves the mathematical model relating the scene and ground coordinates. †¢ Point densification: High density elevation data is generated within the area under consideration through an interpolation in-between the derived points in the previous step. The image orientation with rational polynomial functions involves general transformation to describe the relationship between image and ground coordinates. They provide a generic representation of the camera object-image geometry. The RPF provided with the high resolution satellite images connect image space and object space by: Row or column = rpf (ÃŽ », Ï•, h) Where row/column is the image coordinates and ÃŽ », Ï•, and h are longitude, latitude and ellipsoidal height in geographic coordinates of WGS84 datum (Grodecki et al., 2004). Direct solutions use rational function coefficients and sensor parameters information without any control points and refinement the original coefficients. Indirect solutions use ground control points for computing coefficients without using sensor parameters (Tao, Hu 2001). Our solution is based on ground control points without any initial values of coefficients. First approximate values of parameters extract and then precise values compute with using ground control points. Rational Function Model with 20 parameters (Valadan, Sadeghiam 2002) is used in this paper as follow: Where : are the normalized row and column of pixel in image. : are the normalized coordinates of the image point in the Conventional Terrestrial (CT) coordinate system. : Rational Function Coefficients (RFCs). Estimating the RFM coefficients The method by which the RFM coefficients are recovered depends on the availability of a physical sensor model. In cases where a physical model is provided a terrain independent scheme can be applied. This scheme is based on the generation of a 3D grid in object space, using the physical sensor model. The 3D grid should contain several layers of points and its characteristics are determined by the coverage of the image and the terrain relief differences. Then, a Least Squares solution of the RFM coefficients can be derived. Finally, an estimation of the quality of the derived RFM coefficients should be carried out based on an evaluation of the residuals in a higher density 3D grid. When a physical model is not available, a terrain dependent scheme is used. As in this scheme it is not possible to generate a 3D grid, the solution is highly sensitive to the terrain relief, as well as to the distribution, number, and quality of the GCPs used. Generation The generation process involves four steps: primitive extraction, primitive matching, space intersection, and interpolation. Primitive extraction: At this stage, a decision has to be made regarding the primitives to be matched in the normalized scenes. Possible matching primitives include distinct points, linear features, and/or homogeneous regions. The choice of the matching primitives is crucial for ensuring the utmost reliability of the outcome from the DEM generation process. In this research, point features are chosen. Fà ¶rstner interest operator (Fà ¶rstner, 1986) will be used to extract distinct points from the imagery. The operator identifies points with unique grey value distribution at their vicinity (e.g., corner points).The next section discusses the matching procedure of these points. Primitive Matching: The matching criteria deal with establishing a quantitative measure that describes the degree of similarity between a template in the left scene and a matching window, of the same size, within the search space in the right scene. Either correlation coefficient or least squares matching could be used to derive such a similarity measure Space Intersection: Following the matching process, conjugate points undergo an intersection procedure to derive the ground coordinates of the corresponding object points. The RPF equation will be used for such computation. Interpolation: So far, the ground coordinates of matched interest points, which passed the consistency check, are derived through space intersection. These points are irregularly distributed and are not dense enough to represent the object space. Therefore, they need to be interpolated. In this research, Kriging will be used to interpolate the resulting object space points into regular grid. The Kriging methodology derives an estimate of the elevation at a given point as a weighted average of the heights at neighboring points. 5. Project Milestones and Expected outputs 5.1. Expected output Following are the expected outputs from this research; Based on the success of ASTER imagery in demonstrating land cover classification and slope generation, the result herein may be used as basic data to assist slope management, land use planning, and other land management efforts such as land suitability, and landslide susceptibility mapping when combined with other GIS data. Provides a procedure based on the rational polynomial function model for generating DEM directly from a stereo ASTER images, and other experimental results. In particular, the method can be quickly and easily applied to areas with little map data, and at low cost. Based on the success it can be extended for all the northern high lands of Ethiopia. 5.2. Dissemination plan The immediate users of the research result are policy makers, teaching institutes and other planning and development organization in their programming of land use management. It will also assist the local government in the design and making of policy issues. The small holder farmers are the ultimate users of the research results through well designed land management projects that are effective in ensuring sustainable development of the resources they are dependent on. 6. Work Plan 7. References Fraser, C. S., H. B. Hanley (2003). Bias compensation in rational functions for Ikonos satellite imagery. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing, 69(1): 53-57. Ganas, A. E. Lagios, N. Tzannetos (2002). An investigation into the spatial accuracy of the Ikonos2 orthoimagery within an urban environment. Int. Journal of Remote Sensing, 23(17): 3513-3519. Grodecki, J. and G. Dial (2003). Block adjustment of high resolution satellite images described by rational polynomials. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing, 69(1): 59-68. Hu, Y., C.V., Tao (2002). Updating solutions of the rational function model using additional control information. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing, 68(7): 715-724. MARCAL, A.R.S., BORGER, J.S., BOMES, J.A. COSTA, P.J.F. (2005) Land cover update by supervised classification of segmented ASTER images. International Journal of Remote Sensing 26, 1347-1362. www.sc.chula.ac.th/courseware/2309507/lec_content.htm YAN, G., MAS, J.F., MAATHUIS, B.H.P., XIANGMIN, Z., VAN DIJK, P.M. (2006) Comparison of pixel-based and object-oriented image classification approaches—a case study in a coal fire area, Wuda, Inner Mongolia, China. International Journal of Remote Sensing 27, 4039-4055.

The Killer Angels :: essays research papers

The novel starts out when Harrison, a Confederate spy, reports to James Longstreet that 80,000 to 100,000 Union soldiers have marched within 200 miles of Lee's position near Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Harrison also bears news of a change in Union leadership. Major General George Meade had replaced "Fighting Joe" Hooker as commander of the Union Army. Lee sees this change as an opportunity to strike while the new commander gets his bearings. He decides to concentrate on Gettysburg, the small town where several roads in the area converge, where he intends to cut the Union army off from Washington, D.C. First shots are fired at dawn as Rebels attack Buford's dismounted cavalry. Later that day Lee orders Ewell to take control of Cemetery Hill. Ewell did not follow orders and the union gained control of the Hill instead. Late in the afternoon, on the second day, Colonel Chamberlain's 20th Maine regiment is moved into the woods. Colonel Vincent orders Chamberlain not to withdraw from his new position at the left flank of the Union line. The Confederates engage with the Union troops and Chamberlain’s 20th Maine time and time again. Finally when ammunition is low Chamberlain gives the order to â€Å"fix bayonets,† and charges down the hill driving the rebels back. That same day Lee orders Longstreet to attack the Union center, and Longstreet advises against it. â€Å"They will break," Lee insists. He directed Longstreet to take three divisions. Longstreet passes the order along to his generals Pickett, Pettigrew, and Trimble. Pickett and other commanders lose mos t of their men in the battle. As the survivors pull back, Lee finally admits his error to Longstreet, who gives his order to retreat. The two personalities that stand out the most in my mind are Robert E. Lee and Joshua Chamberlain. Lee and Chamberlain share many similarities. They are idealistic, optimistic, and have faith and pride in their men. Both care about their men, yet do not hesitate to use them, including Chamberlain’s own brother, for the sake of the cause. The men under Lee and Chamberlain show them a great deal of respect. Chamberlain is somewhat of a father figure to his men, as is Lee to James Longstreet. Joshua Chamberlain is an unusual man, formerly a college professor, and views the war and the men around him more as a philosopher then a military man. On his march toward Gettysburg he sees a row of dead confederates from a previous battle, and wonders whether the town’s people will give them a decent burial or leave them for the buzzards.

Education in the Philippines Essay

The system of education in the Philippines was patterned both from the educational systems of Spain and the United States. However, after the liberation of the Philippines in 1946, the systems have changed radically. The Department of Education (or DepEd) administers the whole educational system, which also includes the allocation of funds utilized for school services and equipment (such as books, school chairs, etc.), recruitment of teachers for all public schools in the Philippines, and the supervision and organization of the school curricula. The former education system of the Philippines is composed of 6 years of elementary education starting at the age of 6 or 7, and 4 years of high school education starting at the age of 12 or 13. In this system, education is not compulsory. However, since June 4, 2012, DepEd started to implement the new K-12 educational system,[3] which includes the new curricula for all schools (see the section). In this system, education is now compulsory. All public and private schools in the Philippines must start classes from a date mandated by the Department of Education (usually every first Monday of June for public schools only), and must end after each school completes the mandated 200-day school calendar of DepEd (usually around the third week of March to the second week of April). The implementation of the K-12 program is â€Å"phased†. The first phase of the implementation will start on SY 2012-2013. During this school year, universal kindergarten will be finally offered, and will now be a part of the compulsory education system; and a new curriculum for Grade 1 and Grade 7 students would be introduced. By SY 2016-2017, Grade 11/Year 5 will be introduced, and Grade 12/Year 6 by SY 2017-2018; with the phased implementation of the new curriculum finished by the SY 2017-2018. Students in 2nd year to 4th year high school this SY 2012-2013 are not included in the program. It is only applicable to students from Kinder to 1st year high school which is now called Grade 7. However, during the new educational cycle, from 2016 to 2018, college enrollment could slow down because of the entrance of the lower-year students to the new educational system. Primary Education Elementary school, sometimes called primary school or grade school (Filipino: paaralang elementarya, sometimes mababang paaralan), is the first part of the educational system, and it includes the first six years of compulsory education (grades 1-6). These grades are further grouped (informally) accordingly into: primary level, which includes the first three grades (grades 1-3), and intermediate level, which includes the last three grades (grades 4-6). The elementary school education covers a smaller but wider than the junior and senior high school because of the spiral approach educational technique. In public schools, the core/major subjects that are introduced starting grade 1 include mathematics, Filipino, and Makabayan (until grade 3, this subject is synonymous to social studies, but also incorporate values education and the fundamentals of political science). English is only introduced after the 2nd semester of grade 1. Science is only introduced starting grade 3. Heograpiya (geography), kasaysayan (history), and sibika (civics) (abbreviated as HEKASI), is only introduced starting grade 4 (similar also to social studies but focuses more on the subjects earlier stated). Minor subjects then include music, arts, physical education, and health (abbreviated as MAPEH). In private schools, subjects in public schools also include those of the public schools, with the additional subjects including: computer education and HELE (stands for home economics and livelihood education; while in Christian schools or in Catholic schools, religious education. International schools also have their own subjects in their own language and culture. From grades 1-3, students will be taught using their mother tongue, meaning the regional languages of the Philippines (also called as dialects) will be used in some subjects (except Filipino and English) as a medium of instruction. It may be incorporated as a separate subject. But from grade 4, Filipino and English as a medium of instruction will then be used. On December 2007, Philippine president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo announced that Spanish is to make a return as a mandatory subject in all Filipino schools starting in 2008 but it didn’t come into effect. DECS Bilingual Policy is for the medium of instruction to be Filipino for: Filipino, Araling Panlipunan, Edukasyong Pangkatawan, Kalusugan at Musika; and English for: English, Science and Technology, Home Economics and Livelihood Education. Article XIV, Section 7 of the 1987 Philippine constitution mandates that regional languages are the auxiliary official languages in the regions and shall serve as auxiliary media of instruction therein. As a result, the language actually used in teaching is often a polyglot of Filipino and English with the regional language as the foundation, or rarely the local language. Filipino is based on Tagalog, so in Tagalog areas (including Manila), Filipino is the foundational language used. Philippine regional languages are used in the provinces in the teaching of Makabayan. International English language schools use English as the foundational language. Chinese schools add two language subjects, such as Min Nan Chinese and Mandarin Chinese and may use English or Chinese as the foundational language. The constitution mandates that Spanish and Arabic shall be promoted on a voluntary and optional basis. Following on this, a few private schools mainly catering to the elite include Spanish in their curriculum. Arabic is taught in Islamic schools. Until 2004, primary students traditionally sat for the National Elementary Achievement Test (NEAT) administered by the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS). It was intended as a measure of a school’s competence, and not as a predictor of student aptitude or success in Secondary school. Hence, the scores obtained by students in the NEAT were not used as a basis for their admission into Secondary school. During 2004, when DECS was officially converted into the Department of Education (DepEd), and also, as a result of some reorganization, the NEAT was changed to National Achievement Test (NAT) by the Department of Education (DepEd). Both the public and private elementary schools take this exam to measure a school’s competency. As of 2006, only private schools have entrance examinations for Secondary school. The DepEd expects over 13.1 million elementary students to be enrolled in public elementary schools for school year 2009–2010. Though elementary schooling is compulsory, latest official figures show 27.82% of Filipino elementary-aged children either never attend or never complete elementary schooling, usually due to the absence of any school in their area, education being offered in a language that is foreign to them, or financial distress. In July 2009 DepEd acted to overcome the foreign language problem by ordering all elementary schools to move towards mother-tongue based learning initially. The order allows two alternative three-year bridging plans. Depending on the bridging plan adopted, the Filipino and English languages are to be phased in as the language of instruction for other subjects beginning in the third and fourth grades. Secondary education PSHS Main Campus. Note the disparity between rural and urban education facilities in the Philippines. Secondary school in the Philippines, more commonly known as â€Å"high school† (Filipino: paaralang sekundarya, sometimes mataas na paaralan), consists of four levels largely based on the American schooling system as it was until the advent of the comprehensive high schools in the US in the middle of last century. The Philippine high school system has not moved much from where it was when the Philippines achieved independence from the US in 1946. It still consists of only four levels with each level partially compartmentalized, focusing on a particular theme or content. DepEd specifies a compulsory curriculum for all high schooling, public and private. The first year of high school has five core subjects, Algebra I, Integrated Science, English I, Filipino I, and Philippine History I. Second year has Algebra II, Biology, English II, Filipino II, and Asian History. Third year has Geometry, Trigonometry, Chemistry, Filipino III, and World History and Geography. Fourth year has Calculus, Advanced Algebra, Physics, Filipino IV, Literature, and Economics. Minor subjects may include Health, Music, Arts, Technology and Home Economics, and Physical Education. In selective schools, various languages may be offered as electives, as well as other subjects such as computer programming and literary writing. Chinese schools have language and cultural electives. Preparatory schools usually add some business and accountancy courses, while science high schools have biology, chemistry, and physics at every level. Secondary students used to sit for the National Secondary Achievement Test (NSAT), which was based on the American SAT, and was administered by DepEd. Like its primary school counterpart, NSAT was phased-out after major reorganizations in the education department. Now the National Achievement Test is administered to second year students. Higher education institutions, both public and private, administer their own College Entrance Examinations (CEE). Vocational colleges usually do not have entrance examinations, simply accepting the Form 138 record of studies from high school, and enrolment payment. Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Philippines