A Summary of Four Articles on Finance from the Internet

This article furnishes its readers with relevant tips for parents who want to successfully send their children to school as they reach for some higher level of scholastic learning. It begins with the basic problematic most countries the world over is beset: government subsidies to defray the expensive cost of education for students (and parents at that) do not seem to cover that much.The case in point, at least specifically for this write-up, addresses how the government has stopped its subsidies for â€Å"student fees† which in turn makes it quite difficult for both parents and students to cope with.The article submits certain proposals to help both parents and students address the mounting task of university education.Among the choices include availing of loan packages such as: Student Loans (managed by Student Finance Direct), which allows a student to borrow money at a modest 9% interest, to be subsequently paid after graduation; Student Grants† – the more â⠂¬Å"generous† type of grant given to financially challenged families, or to single parent students, as even to those whose financial income is below 17,000 per annum.The article ends with alternative proposals that touch on some more means to get this whole university education going. Whichever the readers choose though, the bottom line remains: sending one’s children to school may appear to be an insurmountable task, but it is not impossible nevertheless.1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Top tips for first time buyers[1]The central concern of this write-up is to guide first time homeowners on important issues, which can either make or break their whole experience of buying a house. True enough, the first premise of the article is telling enough to even dismiss or set aside – buying a house is a big commitment and entails having to shoulder a lot of responsibilities in the years to come.First up, it is by right of commonsense that buyers are given this Bible-piece of advice : do not buy what you cannot afford. The initial temptation to procure a property based on the impulse to acquire an ideal house can at times blur the fact that there are some financial considerations that cannot be left out – these include, among others, â€Å"duty, solicitor and/or estate agent fees, a valuation report†. To be sure, this does not even include transfer and renovation costs.The article also gives vital information on the remaining important things that should not be missed. Among others, buyers have to be fully aware of the stipulations of the contract, the mortgage deals that they are agreeing to put up with and payment methods. Still, some other concerns that include insurance policies, procurement of home appliances, the suitability of the house location vis-à  -vis one’s work or children’s school are to be considered.2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Savings and investments for your children[2]â€Å"Children don’t come cheap† is t he statement that commences this short yet very insightful article which deals with an effective and forward-looking ways to invest for one’s children. In this times when managing one’s finances rightly becomes more and more difficult to do, it is certainly with a great sense of love and concern that one is called for to save for his/her children’s future and not compromise their wellbeing in the process.There are a few things that can be noted to help achieve this task. First up, the article proposes that parents should open a â€Å"bank account† for their children. It may seem like it is too early children to actually save. But the whole point of the exercise is to start saving regularly when one finds some time and resources to do it. As in a case of a habit, saving little pennies for one’s children can â€Å"accumulate quickly† without actually being noticed.Another proposal that the article gives is for parents to set aside some tax rel ief that the government provides for parents who raise children. But this can only happen if one is willing to actually avail of the tax allowance in the very first place.As it stands, tax reliefs for parents raising their children is one hefty source of cash, and it defrays the cost of the children’s living expenses in many ways. It may be wise to check on the availability of this type of resources, as the article would implicitly suggest.The article ends by elaborating how a parent can opt to open a trust fund for his/her children. This is a real investment for the children, yet it comes in a variety of choices. One may opt to simply save straightforwardly to a company for the children. Another option is to invest as though one does in stocks or shares. The third can be a combination of both. It really is up to the parents to choose the most viable alternatives to ensure that their children’s needs in the future will be secured and protected.[1] Top tips for first ti me buyers, retrieved 14 May 2008, http://www.financialarticles.info/article_50.html [2] Saving and investments for your children, retrieved 14 May 2008,   http://www.financialarticles.info/article_45.html

Stat 200 Exam 2

Top of Form Points Awarded| 34. 00| Points Missed| 6. 00| Percentage| 85. 0%| 1. The level of significance associated with a significance test is the probability A)  of rejecting a true null hypothesis. B)  of not rejecting a true null hypothesis. C)  that the null hypothesis is true. D)  that the alternative hypothesis is true. Feedback:  This level of significance, commonly set to ? equal to 0. 05, is used to set the cut-off as the maximum probability a researcher would use in order to reject a true null hypothesis. Points Earned:| 1. 0/1. 0| | Correct Answer(s):| A| 2.A null hypothesis is that the average pulse rate of adults is 70. For a sample of 64 adults, the average pulse rate is 71. 8. A significance test is done and the p-value is 0. 02. What is the  most  appropriate conclusion based on ? of 0. 05? A)  Conclude that the population average pulse rate is 70. B)  Conclude that the population average pulse rate is 71. 8. C)  Reject the hypothesis that the p opulation average pulse rate is 70. D)  Reject the hypothesis that the sample average pulse rate is 70. Feedback:  Since the p-value is less than ? we would reject the Ho the null hypothesis that the population average pulse rate is 70.Points Earned:| 1. 0/1. 0| | Correct Answer(s):| C| 3. If the result of a hypothesis test for a proportion is statistically significant, then A)  the null hypothesis is rejected. B)  the alternative hypothesis is rejected. C)  the population proportion must equal the null value. Feedback:  When a hypothesis test is statistically significant then we reject Ho the null hypothesis Points Earned:| 1. 0/1. 0| | Correct Answer(s):| A| 4. Which of the following conclusions is  not  equivalent to rejecting the null hypothesis? A)  The results are statistically significant. B)  The results are not statistically significant.C)  The alternative hypothesis is accepted. D)  The p-value < ? (the significance level) Feedback:  All are eq uivalent conclusions for rejecting Ho except when results are  not  statistically significant (i. e. we do  not  reject Ho) Points Earned:| 1. 0/1. 0| | Correct Answer(s):| B| 5. Determine if the statement is a typical null hypothesis (Ho) or alternative hypothesis (Ha). There is no difference between the proportion of overweight men and overweight women in America. A)  Null hypothesis B)  Alternative hypothesis Feedback:  Ho refers to no difference or change or equal to.Ha will be the research hypothesis that involves either a difference, greater than, or less than. Points Earned:| 1. 0/1. 0| | Correct Answer(s):| A| 6. A safety officer wants to prove that ? = the average speed of cars driven by a school is less than 25 mph. Suppose that a random sample of 14 cars shows an average speed of 24. 0 mph, with a sample standard deviation of 2. 2 mph. Assume that the speeds of cars are normally distributed. What are the appropriate null and alternative hypotheses? A)  Ho: ? = 25 and Ha: ? < 25 B)  Ho: ? = 25 and Ha: ? > 25 C)  Ho: ? = 25 and Ha: ? ? 25 D)  Ho: ? ? 25 and Ha: ? = 25E)  Ho: x-bar = 24 and Ha: x-bar < 24 F)  Ho: x-bar = 24 and Ha: x-bar > 24 G)  Ho: x-bar = 24 and Ha: x-bar ? 24 H)  Ho: x-bar ? 24 and Ha: x-bar = 24 Feedback:  The word  less  is the key term in determining the correct Ha expression. Exceeds implies that the investigator is only interested in whether the true  population  mean is  less  than 25. The value of 24 is the  sample  mean. Points Earned:| 1. 0/1. 0| | Correct Answer(s):| A| 7. An ESP experiment is done in which a participant guesses which of 4 cards the researcher has randomly picked, where each card is equally likely. This is repeated for 200 trials.The null hypothesis is that the subject is guessing, while the alternative is that the subject has ESP and can guess at higher than the chance rate. The subject actually gets 70 correct answers out of the 200 trials. Whi ch of the following describes the probability represented by the p-value for this test? A)  The probability that the subject has ESP B)  The probability that the subject is just guessing. C)  The probability of 70 or more correct guesses if the subject has ESP. D)  The probability of 70 or more correct guesses if the subject is guessing at the chance rate. Feedback:  The null hypothesis would be that the subject is guessing, i. . Ho: ? = 1/4. Then the p-value is the probability that if the subject were guessing that they would get 70 or more right Points Earned:| 1. 0/1. 0| | Correct Answer(s):| D| 8. Suppose the significance level for a hypothesis test is ? = 0. 05. If the p-value is 0. 049, the decision is to A)  reject the null hypothesis. B)  accept the null hypothesis. C)  not reject the null hypothesis. Feedback:  With p-value <e; ? our decision is to reject the null hypothesis Ho Points Earned:| 1. 0/1. 0| | Correct Answer(s):| A| 9. Which statement is tr ue about x-bar and ? -hat? A)  They are both parameters. B)  They are both statistics.C)  x-bar is a parameter and ? -hat is a statistic. D)  ? -hat is a parameter and x-bar is a statistic. Feedback:  Both x-bar and ? -hat represent statistics. Points Earned:| 0. 0/1. 0| | Correct Answer(s):| B| 10. Which of the following statements is correct about a parameter and a statistic associated with repeated random samples of the same size from the same population? A)  Values of a parameter will vary from sample to sample but values of a statistic will not. B)  Values of both a parameter and a statistic may vary from sample to sample. C)  Values of a parameter will vary according to the sampling distribution for that parameter.D)  Values of a statistic will vary according to the sampling distribution for that statistic. Feedback:  The population parameter does not vary, however, the values of the statistic will vary based on the sampling distribution of that statistic P oints Earned:| 1. 0/1. 0| | Correct Answer(s):| D| 11. For a random sample of 10 men, the mean head circumference is x = 57. 3 cm and the sample standard deviation is s = 2 cm. The standard error of the sample mean is A)  0. 200 B)  0. 447 C)  0. 500 D)  0. 632 Feedback:  The standard error equals S/Sq. Rt. of N = 2/3. 16 = 0. 632 Points Earned:| 1. 0/1. 0| |Correct Answer(s):| D| 12. Suppose that a 95% confidence interval for the proportion of first-year students at a school who played in intramural sports is 35% plus or minus 5%. The margin of error for the confidence interval is A)  5% B)  35% C)  95% Feedback:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"plus or minus† indicates the margin of error which is 5% Points Earned:| 1. 0/1. 0| | Correct Answer(s):| A| 13. In a past General Social Survey, a random sample of men and women answered the question â€Å"Are you a member of any sports groups? † Based on the sample data, 95% confidence intervals for the population proportion who wou ld answer yes are 0. 3 to 0. 19 for women and 0. 25 to 0. 33 for men. Based on these results, you can reasonably conclude that A)  at least 25% of American men and American women belong to sports clubs. B)  there is no conclusive evidence of a gender difference in the proportions of men and women who belong to sports clubs. C)  there is conclusive evidence of a gender difference in proportions of American men and American women who belong to sports clubs. Feedback:  Since the two confidence intervals do not overlap there is conclusive evidence that a difference in the proportions exists Points Earned:| 1. 0/1. 0| |Correct Answer(s):| C| 14. In a past General Social Survey, 87% of a random sample of n = 990 respondents answered yes to the question â€Å"Would you approve of an adult male punching a stranger if the stranger had broken into the man's house? † A 90% confidence interval for the proportion of all Americans who approve of punching an intruder is A)  0. 852 to 0. 888 B)  0. 849 to 0. 891 C)  0. 845 to 0. 895 D)  0. 842 to 0. 898 Feedback:  A confidence interval is found by sample statistic  ± Zmultiplier*StandardError. With p-hat of 0. 87, Zmultiplier of 1. 65 and n = 990, the 90% confidence interval is 0. 49 to 0. 891 Points Earned:| 0. 0/1. 0| | Correct Answer(s):| A| 15. A randomly selected sample of n =51 men in Brazil had an average lifespan of 59 years. The standard deviation was 10 years and the standard error was 1. 400. Calculate a 98% confidence interval for the average lifespan for all men in Brazil. A)  (55. 6, 62. 4) B)  (56. 2, 61. 8) C)  (35. 0, 83. 0) Feedback:  Using degrees of freedom equal to 51 – 1 gives a t* of 2. 40 for confidence level of 98%. The standard error is equal to s/vn = 10/v51 = 1. 400 [given! ]. The interval then is 59  ± 2. 40*1. 400 = (55. 6, 62. 4) Points Earned:| 1. /1. 0| | Correct Answer(s):| A| 16. In a random sample of 1000 students, 80% were in favor of longer hour s at the school library. The standard error of ? -hat is approximately: A)  0. 013 B)  0. 160 C)  0. 640. D)  0. 800 Feedback:  The standard error is found by taking the square root of [(0. 80)(0. 20)/1000] = 0. 013 Points Earned:| 1. 0/1. 0| | Correct Answer(s):| A| 17. A researcher wants to assess if there is a difference in the average age of onset of a certain disease for men and women who get the disease. Let ? 1  = average age of onset for women and ? 2  = average age of onset for men.A random sample of 30 women with the disease showed an average age of onset of 83 years, with a sample standard deviation of 11. 5 years. A random sample of 20 men with the disease showed an average age of onset of 77 years, with a sample standard deviation of 4. 5 years. Assume that ages at onset of this disease are normally distributed for each gender, do not assume the population variances are equal. What are the appropriate null and alternative hypotheses? A)  ? 1  = ? 2   and Ha: ? 1  ? ?2 B)  ? 1  ? ?2  and Ha: ? 1  = ? 2 C)  ? 1  = ? 2  and Ha: ? 1  < ? 2 D)  ? 1  = ? 2  and Ha: ? 1  > ? 2Feedback:  Since the researcher is interested in detecting only a  difference  this would imply that any difference will do, thus the Ha is ? Points Earned:| 1. 0/1. 0| | Correct Answer(s):| A| 18. It is known that for right-handed people, the dominant (right) hand tends to be stronger. For left-handed people who live in a world designed for right-handed people, the same may  not  be true. To test this, muscle strength was measured on the right and left hands of a random sample of 15 left-handed men and the difference (left – right) was found. The alternative hypothesis is one-sided (left hand stronger).The resulting t-statistic was 1. 90. This is an example of A)  a two-sample t-test. B)  a paired t-test. C)  a pooled t-test. D)  an unpooled t-test. Feedback:  Since two measurements were taken per individ ual (i. e. for each man sampled muscle strength was measured on his right hand then his left hand) this would be a study using paired data. Points Earned:| 1. 0/1. 0| | Correct Answer(s):| B| 19. It is known that for right-handed people, the dominant (right) hand tends to be stronger. For left-handed people who live in a world designed for right-handed people, the same may  not  be true.To test this, muscle strength was measured on the right and left hands of a random sample of 15 left-handed men and the difference (left – right) was found. The alternative hypothesis is one-sided (left hand stronger). The resulting t-statistic was 1. 90. Assuming the conditions are met, based on the t-statistic of 1. 90 the appropriate decision for this test using ? = 0. 05 and using  T-Table  is: A)  df = 14, so p-value < 0. 05 and the null hypothesis can be rejected. B)  df = 14, so p-value > 0. 05 and the null hypothesis cannot be rejected. C)  df = 28, so p-value < 0. 05 and the null hypothesis can be rejected.D)  df = 28, so p-value > 0. 05 and the null hypothesis cannot be rejected. Feedback:  From  T-Table  and degrees of freedom equal to 15 ? 1 = 14 and a t-statistic of 1. 90, the p-value is between 0. 025 and 0. 050 which is less than 0. 05 making the appropriate decision to reject Ho. Points Earned:| 1. 0/1. 0| | Correct Answer(s):| A| 20. A shoe company wants to compare two materials, A and B, for use on the soles of boys' shoes. In this example, each of ten boys in a study wore a special pair of shoes with the sole of one shoe made from Material A and the sole on the other shoe made from Material B.The sole types were randomly assigned to account for systematic differences in wear between the left and right foot. After three months, the shoes are measured for wear. Let Ho: ? d  = 0 versus Ha: ? d  ? 0. From this random sample of 10 boys, the sample mean difference was 0. 41 and Sd  was 0. 387. If the p-value for this t est is 0. 009, then for a significance level of alpha = 0. 05, are the results statistically significant? A)  No, results are not statistically significant because the p-value < 0. 05. B)  Yes, results are statistically significant because the p-value < 0. 05.C)  No, results are not statistically significant because the p-value > 0. 05   D)  Yes, results are statistically significant because the p-value > 0. 05. Feedback:  Yes, results are statistically significant because the p-value < 0. 05. Points Earned:| 1. 0/1. 0| | Correct Answer(s):| B| 21. The maximum distance at which a highway sign can be read is determined for a sample of young people and a sample of older people. The mean distance is computed for each age group. What is the most appropriate  null  hypothesis about the means of the two groups? A)  The population means are different.B)  The sample means are different. C)  The population means are the same. D)  The sample means are th e same. Feedback:  The null hypothesis, Ho, would indicate that there is no difference and that this would take place in the population. The sample is used to test for a population difference. Points Earned:| 1. 0/1. 0| | Correct Answer(s):| C| 22. The p-value for a one-sided test for a mean was 0. 04. The p-value for the corresponding two-sided test would be: A)  0. 02 B)  0. 04 C)  0. 06 D)  0. 08 Feedback:  When we go from a 1-sided test of hypotheses to a 2-sided test we would double the p-value.Conversely, going from a 2-sided to a 1-sided we would cut the p-value in half. Points Earned:| 1. 0/1. 0| | Correct Answer(s):| D| 23. A shopper wanted to test whether there was a difference in the average waiting times at the check-out counter among 5 different supermarkets. She selected a random sample of 20 shoppers from each of the five supermarkets. What is the alternative hypothesis for this situation? A)  The average waiting time to check out is 25 minutes for all f ive supermarkets. B)  The average waiting time to check out is the same for all five supermarkets.C)  The average waiting time for each of the 100 shoppers is different. D)  The average waiting time to check out is not the same for all five supermarkets. Feedback:  The alternative hypothesis for an ANOVA test is that all the means are not the same, i. e. the means are not all equal. Points Earned:| 1. 0/1. 0| | Correct Answer(s):| D| 24. Which one of the following choices describes a problem for which an analysis of variance would be appropriate? A)  Comparing the proportion of successes for three different treatments of anxiety. Each treatment is tried on 100 patients.B)  Analyzing the relationship between high school GPA and college GPA. C)  Comparing the mean birth weights of newborn babies for three different racial groups. D)  Analyzing the relationship between gender and opinion about capital punishment (favor or oppose). Feedback:  The dependent (response) v ariable needs to be continuous and the different levels of the independent variable need to be mutually exclusive and categorical. This leads to the correct answer of mean birth weights (continuous response) across three racial groups (mutually exclusive, categorical). Points Earned:| 0. /1. 0| | Correct Answer(s):| C| 25. A study compared grade point averages (GPA) for students in a class: students were divided by 6 locations where they usually sat during lecture (i. e. left or right front, left or right center, left or right rear). A total sample size of 12 students was studied (2 students from each section) using one-way analysis of variance. What are the numerator and denominator degrees of freedom for the ANOVA F-test? A)  6 for numerator and 12 for denominator. B)  5 for numerator and 11 for denominator. C)  5 for numerator and 6 for denominator.Feedback:  The numerator degrees of freedom are found by taking the number of group levels minus 1 (this case 6 ? 1 = 5) and the denominator degrees of freedom are found by taking the total sample size minus the number of group levels (12 ? 6 = 6) Points Earned:| 0. 0/1. 0| | Correct Answer(s):| C| 26. A study compared testosterone levels among athletes in four sports: soccer, track, Lacrosse, and water polo. The total sample size was n =30 (10 soccer, 10 track, 5 Lacrosse, and 5 water polo). A one-way analysis of variance was used to compare the population mean levels for the four sports.The sum of squared errors is SS Error = 100. What is the value of the Mean Square Error (MS Error)? A)  10 B)  3. 45 C)  3. 85 Feedback:  The MS Error is equal to the SS Error divided by the Error degrees of freedom (which are equal to the total sample size minus the number of group levels: 30 ? 4 = 26). Therefore, the answer is 100/26 = 3. 85 Points Earned:| 1. 0/1. 0| | Correct Answer(s):| C| 27. On a survey conducted at a university, students were asked how they felt about their weight (about right, overweight , or underweight), and also were asked to record their grade point average (GPA).There were 235 responses, with 160 saying their weight was about right, 50 said they were overweight, and 17 underweight. The question of interest is whether mean GPA is the same or differs for different weight attitude populations. The test F-statistic value is 4. 98. The p-value of 0. 008 is found by calculating: A)  the area to the right of 4. 98 under an F-distribution with 2 and 232 degrees of freedom. B)  the area to the right of 4. 98 under an F-distribution with 2 and 234 degrees of freedom. C)  the area to the right of 4. 98 under an F-distribution with 2 and 231 degrees of freedom.Feedback:  The p-value is the probability of being greater than the F-statistic or simply the area to the right of the F-statistic with the corresponding degrees of freedom for the group (number of group levels minus 1, or 3 ? 1 = 2) and error (total sample size minus the number of group levels, or 235 ? 3 = 232) Points Earned:| 1. 0/1. 0| | Correct Answer(s):| A| 28. Ninety people with high cholesterol are randomly divided into three groups of thirty, and a different treatment program for decreasing cholesterol is assigned to each group.The response variable is the change in cholesterol level after two months of treatment. An analysis of variance will be used to compare the three treatments. What null hypothesis is tested by this ANOVA F-test? A)  The sample variances are equal for the three treatment groups. B)  The population variances are equal for the three treatments. C)  The sample means are equal for the three treatment groups. D)  The population means are equal for the three treatments Feedback:  The null hypothesis for an ANOVA test is that all population means are equal. Points Earned:| 0. 0/1. 0| | Correct Answer(s):| D| 29.A study done by the Center for Academic Integrity at Rutgers University surveyed 2116 students at 21 colleges and universities. Some of the sch ools had an â€Å"honor code† and others did not. Of the students at schools with an honor code, 7% reported having plagiarized a paper via the Internet, while at schools with no honor code, 13% did so. (Sacramento Bee, Feb 29, 2000, D1. ) For this study, which of the following statements about percent increase in risk is correct? A)  There is a 185. 7% increase in the risk of plagiarism at a school with no honor code, compared to a school with an honor code. B)  There is an 85. % increase in the risk of plagiarism at a school with no honor code, compared to a school with an honor code. C)  There is a 53. 8% increase in the risk of plagiarism at a school with no honor code, compared to a school with an honor code. D)  There is a 6% increase in the risk of plagiarism at a school with no honor code, compared to a school with an honor code. Feedback:  The percentage increase is found by taking the difference in risks between one group minus the baseline and then dividi ng this difference by the baseline risk. Here the answer that makes sense is one using the â€Å"with honor† as the baseline.Doing so produces: (13%-7%)/7% = 85. 7% increase in plagiarism from â€Å"with honor† to â€Å"without honor†. Points Earned:| 1. 0/1. 0| | Correct Answer(s):| B| 30. Which of the following variables  COULD  be used in a Chi-Square analysis? A)  Gender B)  Political Party Affiliation C)  Race D)  Age E)  Course Section Number F)  All of the above Feedback:  All are possible as you could categorize age. Points Earned:| 1. 0/1. 0| | Correct Answer(s):| F| 31. A survey looked at the opinions of 321 respondents from the General Social Survey by whether they owned a gun (or not) and whether they favored (or opposed) a law requiring a permit to own a gun.What is the correct  null  hypothesis for this survey? A)  There is  no  relationship  in the population  between gun ownership and opinion regarding gun law perm it   B)  There is  no  relationship  in the sample  between gun ownership and opinion regarding gun law permit   C)  There  is  a relationship  in the population  between gun ownership and opinion regarding gun law permit   D)  There  is  a relationship  in the sample  between gun ownership and opinion regarding gun law permit Feedback:  There is  no  relationship  in the population  between gun ownership and opinion regarding gun law permit Points Earned:| 1. /1. 0| | Correct Answer(s):| A| 32. Based on the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, the percentage of 17-year olds who ever tried cigarette smoking is 56. 2%. The relative risk of ever smoking for a 17-year old versus a 12-year old is 3. 6. What is the risk of smoking for a 12-year-old (i. e. what was the percentage of 12-year olds who ever tried smoking)? A)  14. 1% B)  15. 6% C)  50. 0% D)  56. 2% Feedback:  You need to use algebra to solve: Relative risk (3. 6) = one group of interest (17 year olds who tried smoking = 56. %) divided by another group of interest (12 year olds who tried smoking and is unknown). Solving for the unknown comes to (3. 6)*(0. 562) = 0. 156 or 15. 6% Points Earned:| 1. 0/1. 0| | Correct Answer(s):| B| 33. A survey examined the opinions of 321 respondents from the General Social Survey by whether they owned a gun (or not) and whether they favored (or opposed) a law requiring a permit to own a gun. What is the correct  alternative  hypothesis for this survey?A)  There is  no  relationship  in the population  between gun ownership and opinion regarding gun law permit   B)  There is  no  relationship  in the sample  between gun ownership and opinion regarding gun law permit   C)  There  is  a relationship  in the population  between gun ownership and opinion regarding gun law permit   D)  There  is  a relationship  in the sample  between gun ownership and opinion regard ing gun law permit Feedback:  There  is  a relationship  in the population  between gun ownership and opinion regarding gun law permit Points Earned:| 1. 0/1. 0| |Correct Answer(s):| C| 34. A survey examined the opinions of 1447 respondents in the General Social Survey to the question â€Å"Do you favor or oppose the death penalty for persons convicted of murder? † The purpose of examining the data is to see if there is a gender difference in how people would respond to this question. State the  null  hypotheses for this study. A)  There is  no  relationship  in the population  between gender and opinion on the death penalty. B)  There is  no  relationship  in the sample  between gender and opinion on the death penalty.C)  There  is  a relationship  in the population  between gender and opinion on the death penalty. D)  There  is  a relationship  in the sample  between gender and opinion on the death penalty. Feedback:   The null hypothesis speaks of no relationship between the variables in the population. Points Earned:| 1. 0/1. 0| | Correct Answer(s):| A| 35. A regression was done for 20 cities with latitude as the explanatory variable (x) and average January temperature as the response variable (y). The latitude is measured in degrees and average January temperature in degrees Fahrenheit.The latitudes ranged from 26 (Miami) to 47 (Duluth) The regression equation is * y = 49. 4 – 0. 313x The city of Miami, Florida has latitude 26 degrees with average January temperature of 67 degrees Fahrenheit. 1. What is the estimated average January temperature for Miami, and  2. based on the regression equation, what is the residual? A)  Estimated January temperature is 36. 88 and the residual is – 11. 88   B)  Estimated January temperature is 36. 88 and the residual is 11. 88   C)  Estimated January temperature is 41. 3 and the residual is – 25.    D)  Estimated January te mperature is 41. 3 and the residual is 25. 7 Feedback:  The estimated January temperature is 41. 3 degrees Fahrenheit. The residual is 25. 7 degrees (residual = observed minus predicted) Points Earned:| 0. 0/1. 0| | Correct Answer(s):| D| 36. Which of the following correlations indicates a stronger linear relationship between two variables? A)  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ 0. 90 B)  0. 75 C)  0. 50 D)  1. 25 Feedback:  The correct answer is -0. 90. Recall that the  value  of the correlation indicates the strength and this value cannot be less than – 1 nor greater than + 1 (thus ruling out 1. 5 as an answer). The negative sign just indicates the direction of the relationship (positive or negative) and has no bearing on the strength of the relationship. Points Earned:| 1. 0/1. 0| | Correct Answer(s):| A| 37. What is the effect of an outlier on the value of a correlation coefficient? A)  An outlier will always decrease a correlation coefficient. B)  An outlier will always increa se a correlation coefficient. C)  An outlier might either decrease or increase a correlation coefficient, depending on where it is in relation to the other points.D)  An outlier will have no effect on a correlation coefficient. Feedback:  See the lecture notes! Points Earned:| 1. 0/1. 0| | Correct Answer(s):| C| 38. A group of adults aged 20 to 80 were tested to see how far away they could first hear an ambulance coming towards them. An equation describing the relationship between distance (in feet) and age was found to be: * Distance = 600 – 3 ? Age Based on the equation, what is the direction of the association between distance and age? A)  Positive B)  Negative C)  ZeroD)  Direction can’t be determined from the equation. Feedback:  The direction of an association can be ascertained by considering the sign of the slope. Since the slope is negative then so is the association. Points Earned:| 1. 0/1. 0| | Correct Answer(s):| B| 39. Past data has shown t hat the regression line relating the final exam score and the midterm exam score for students who take statistics from a certain professor is * final exam = 50 + 0. 5 ? midterm For a student with a midterm score of 50, the predicted final exam score is: A)  50.B)  50. 5. C)  75. D)  100. Points Earned:| 1. 0/1. 0| | Correct Answer(s):| C| 40. Which of the following is a possible values of R2  indicates the strongest linear relationship between two quantitative variables? A)  -90% B)  0% C)  80% D)  120% Feedback:  Remember that the range of R2  is from 0 to 100%. Thus 80% would indicate the strongest linear relationship, i. e. correlation, based on the square root of 0. 8 is greater than the square root or 0. Points Earned:| 1. 0/1. 0| | Correct Answer(s):| C| Bottom of Form

Does Television Viewing Affect Academic Performance

The insights and understanding about of this study will serves as reference to the behavior of 4th and 5th graders of Mill Creek Intermediate School watching television and its relationship to their academic performance. The approach conducted to come up with the resolutions for this topic was made through survey method. The sample size used to acquire data of the normal percent of the group was 50 respondents for 4th graders and 50 respondents for 5th graders. The equal number size of respondents for this survey will be able to compare the subject level of differences and rationalization of the selective topic.To acquired weighing result for this paper, the following determining factors were used for this survey: the profile of respondent, the program watched, duration of television viewing, and the timeslot usually watched in television. For evaluating the academic performance, the overall grade, grade per subject and overall performance in school was considered. Impression for thi s topic will answer the reader’s interest of the school age behavior towards their study and leisure moments by watching television. Data Television is one of the powerful tools of the generation.It was invented to give entertainment, to educate and delivers information of the things around us. Television carries message through variety of programs that evolves significant impression to the viewer’s way of life. For children, television is a mechanism that creates connection to their personal and social values at home and with their environment. Children also can rely on the as parents guidance in the program content they were watching. It explained that children were able to acquire learning through adults. Wherein, adults can define the level of literacy in providing right topics to be discussed for the children (Media Form, 2007).Through television, the audio-visual interpretation operates to psychological impact obtaining the high degree of recall acquired from the message being watched and it was cited in Psychological Operations Field Manual No. 33-1(1979) and Psychological Operations (PSYOP) Media Sub course PO-0816 (1983). The medium communication delivers to the viewers give impressions to what the personality that a child could be acquired and learned. As Dimitri Christakis cites studies in which more than 5,000 children also found that â€Å"pro-social† programs (think â€Å"Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood†) make children kinder and more tolerant.In fact, the linkage between good behavior and watching good programming is as strong as the link between bad behavior and bad programming. (Christakis, 2007) Based on the conducted survey, Table 1 shows that male respondent of the 4th graders answers that program with actions, suspense, adventures and violent cartoon programs in Animax appeals to them. However, female respondents prefers program that are bubbly funny in character, fiction and fairy tale programs like Disney Channel. Mo st of them render time of 3-4 hours watching television after classes which is in the afternoon. About their academic performance, both genders are doing well.As compared to 5th graders, they are more likely focus on their class standing. (See figure 1). RESPONDENTS 4th Grade 5th Grade Male 35 29 Female 15 21 Frequency of watching television 50 50 PROGRAM WATCHED Nickelodeon 5 7 Cartoon Network 13 11 Disney Channel 11 16 Animax (Japanese Anime) 19 13 Others 2 3 DURATION OF TELEVISION WATCHING 1-2 hrs. 12 28 3-4 hrs. 26 17 5-6 hrs. 10 4 7-8 hrs. 2 1 TIMESLOT USUALLY WATCHED Morning (5am-11am) 7 5 Afternoon (3-5pm) 39 43 Evening (6-8pm) 4 2 Watching TV before studying lessons in school 31 21 Studying lessons in school before Watching TV 19 29 SUBJECTS WITH THE HIGHEST GRADESEnglish 15 15 History 15 19 Math 12 13 Science 12 13 Others 8 3 Table 1. Television viewing habits of 100 respondents for both 4th & 5th graders Figure 1. 5th Graders excel more in academic than 4th Graders Based o n the conducted survey as well as interviews on both respondents, children who watched television before studying their lessons, and sleep after studying their lessons made them recall their lessons in the morning class. On the other hand, children who studying their lessons before watching television and sleep after that, made them remember the programs they have watched in the morning class. (See table 1).Since television viewing can interfere with the completion of homework assignments and reduce the amount of sleep a child gets as it shows in the duration of television watching (See table 1), excessive viewing could affect the child's grades and alertness in school, this can be showed on the lowest grades acquired by both graders in the Figure 1. However, through this survey, research found out that the amount of time which children spend on homework or studies after watching television is significantly related to how they performed in school which can be seen on the highest gra des of the respondents (See figure 1).Through performing activities (Refer table 1) done by the respondents (4th & 5th graders) showed how the affect of television viewing formed and make significance to their academic performance. Through the kind of programs that the respondents were watching as it showed to this study, connects understanding to the kind of attitude and values they have and hold as they get along with their everyday life. Research tells also that 5th grader respondents were more motivated in performing homework assignments/studies before watching television. (See table 1). They are also aware of their academic performance as compares to 4th grader.According to the Human Development biology, this is the stage wherein the child to this previous phase is called schoolchild (schoolboy or schoolgirl), when still of primary school age of 10-12. (2007), this may also the reason, of having erratic emotional transformation with regards to personal sets of values about his/ her environmental viewpoints as well as social relationship. As connoted by Clark Hull â€Å"humans have internal biological needs which motivate us to perform a certain way†. These needs, or drives, are defined by Hull as internal states of arousal or tension which must be reduced.(Hull 1943, 1952) Like in my opinion, television for children surface as need for them. Television is an art, a way to entertainment and makes fantasies of the social approvals as what they see on advertisement move along with the programs their viewing. From television viewing, it creates impressions on the programs that significantly affected to their values as they growing up. The need for providing quality-oriented programming for children is obvious. It is the responsibilities of parents or significant member of the family to give information same with guidance of things that the children viewing on television.Conclusion This paper has discussed vitality role of television viewing, which creat es affect on the academic performance of the children if not guided by their parents or significant people in their lives. Evidences and data pertains to the scope of this study also explained that the range of television viewing in long hours can make too much effect on the education of the children. It also affirmed to the idea that the relations of television viewing in the academic skills depend primarily on the content of the programs viewed.Television content brings good and bad effects in manner if not in used accordingly by the viewers. As it discussed on survey results and interviews (See table 1 and figure 1), more of the graders said that their habitual pattern on the activities like television viewing between studying lesson showed emphasis like this: watched TV ? then studying their lesson ? after that sleep. As they attend to the morning class the retention of the studied lessons appeared to be the first chance of recalling than the programs they have watched on televi sion.Though, we cannot completely deny the fact that they still remembered the programs they have watched but when they are in class, the subjects and lessons surface than TV programs. Then again, because the topic discussed were about the subjects/lessons which possible studied before sleep. In spite of that, if the other pattern goes like this: studying their lesson ? watched TV ? after that sleep. The type of TV program that was watched before sleeping, have this probability to recall than the studied lesson. Still, we cannot deny the fact that it’s a school setting, wherein the topic to be discussed is related to lessons.However, we cannot also deny that sometimes we captivated on the TV programs we watched before sleep. The order of habit in television watching sometimes affects recall. It also sometimes the reason that children have absent-minded as they say, â€Å"physically present but mentally absent†. Therefore this research concluded that, having academicall y excellence in education for 4th and 5th graders depend on the significant people like parents who can give proper guidance and training as the habits of television viewing is primarily concerned.Likewise, the attention learned from television viewing can manifest to the values of children as they grow old and matured. Recommendations The lessons thought from this study, can enlightened the following people’s concern: 1. For TV avid viewers, this study will give you insights about the system of prioritizing, organizing and knowing the value of scheduling in terms of TV viewing and studying. 2. For the future reader of this research, allow this to be your reference in the continuance of discovering more about this conducted study. 3.For my respondents who participated well to make this study explain the kind of behavior we showed in regards of relationship in television viewing as well as our performance as student in school. 4. For parents and guardian, this is a good readin g tool for having recognized our role for our children as they make television viewing a habit. 5. For my fellow classmates, may this work effort explain well and be another idea for understanding the cause and effect of television in our education. 6. For the teachers, educators and trainers, this paper will serves as an additional input for widening the virtue of education to the lives of students.

HSBC Outline Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

HSBC - Outline Example The aims and purpose of the paper in addition to the thesis statement will be presented within the introduction. The background of the company will be presented in this section. This includes the services it offers, corporate strategy, goals, objective, vision and mission of the company. In addition, an internal environment analysis of the company will be given in this section of the paper through a SWOT analysis approach. The role of globalization in the contemporary banking and financial services industry will be discussed in this section of the paper in relation to the internationalization processes of companies. The impact of globalization in the company’s corporate strategies such as human resource management and management of a global value chain through technology will also be discussed. The strategies used by the company in entering new markets in a foreign country will be discussed in this part of the paper. The entry strategies into the Chinese banking and finance market will be specifically discussed. Justifications for each of the foreign market entry strategies will also be given with an analysis and discussion of pitfalls of these strategies. The following strategies will be discussed The external business environment will be analyzed and discussed in this part of the paper. This will involve a critical analysis of the political, economic, legal, social cultural, ecological and technological environment within the Chinese banking and finance industry and how it affects the operations of HSBC. This analysis represents the application of the PESTLE analysis model for a specific market or industry. The business strategies used by HSBC in achieving competitive advantage within the Chinese banking and finance market will be given here. This includes a discussion of international business strategies of the company such as marketing, human

Individual projects- movie review or consumption Journal Essay - 2

Individual projects- movie review or consumption Journal - Essay Example CIA official James Woolsey waxes ominous concerning the American practice of large-scale borrowing in terms of money and resources, such as aluminum thru zinc, to the tune of eight-hundred billion dollars in order to finance our oil trade, with implications for disaster looming amidst the suggestion of a house-of-cards-like strategy. A series of experts deliver what are referred to as Time-capsule interviews. David Suzuki, geneticist/biologist who expounds on his theories of the importance of understanding all of mankinds needs in terms of living systems, while the iconic mathematician-scientist Stephen Hawkins delivers warnings on a myriad of ways in which we might destroy ourselves, and predicts the necessity of colonization of other planets as the only means to survive our abuse of this one. Gloria Flora exhorts us to vote, and not just in a ballot box, but vote in the way in which you use and buy products in your daily lives. In so doing, we approve of everything that goes into a product when we put our money on a counter to purchase it. Health guru Andrew Weil weighs in on his own awareness of the problem and willingness to help averting catastrophe. The founder of the Greenbelt Movement, and Nobel Prize winner Wangari Maathai informs us that it takes ten trees to process the carbon dioxide of each individu al, and for each of us to ensure such vegetation remains. A central prediction of the theme is that industrial civilization has caused irreparable damage to the planet; by way of the assumption that carbon dioxide output creates a warming climate that leads to hurricanes, such as Katrina, and various climactic disasters. An interesting premise is that the problem is primarily one of leadership, rather than technology. That is a principle that deserves further discussion and examination. For years we have heard that solar power, and wind power are just not sufficiently effective to give us profitable industry and

Executive Level Report - Financial Analysis of AMD Research Paper

Executive Level Report - Financial Analysis of AMD - Research Paper Example This report is structured in such a manner that first section of this report describes brief description of the company which includes its history, comparison of the company with its industry and the ratio analysis with some other financial indicators. Section two mainly describes the stock performance of the company which emphasizes upon the fluctuations in the share prices along with the earning and dividends analysis of AMD. Recommendation is the last section which briefly highlights as whether HTC should go for making long-term contracts with AMD or not in the light of financial analysis conducted above. Description of Company Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) is a listed entity in New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: AMD). The company started off its operations in 1969. The company mainly deals in semiconductor industry such that it manufactures microprocessors which are used in computers, mobile phones, tablets, gaming consoles, networks etc. Financial Ratio Analysis The best way to asses s the financial performance of any company is to make a financial analysis of the company through ratio analysis as it covers most of the parts of the financial statements in a very comprehensive and meaningful form. Under the following paragraphs, the ratio analysis of AMD is conducted in which the financial performance of AMD is analyzed and compared with that of the industry averages and its own previous years’ performance in respect of liquidity, profitability and efficiency of the company. Liquidity Analysis The current ratio describes as in order to pay a current liability of $1, how much current assets the company has. Overall, the current ratio of the company has increased from 1.07 to 2.15 i.e. it has become double in three years. The company still way behind from the industry average which has been around 3.4 in the last three years. If the stock is ignored from the current assets of the company, then the quick ratio of the company has also become quite strong incre ased from 0.64 to 1.65 such that it is heading toward the industry ratio of 1.84 quite smoothly. Leverage Analysis As far as the financial leverage of AMD is concerned, it can be observed that the financial leverage of the company has dropped from 14.01 to 4.9 in the 2009 and 2010. But the financial leverage of the industry is still quite high and moves around 15. The debt ratio of the company has decreased from 6. 56 to 2.16 which is a very good as the company has become less risky but still the company is quire risky as compared to the industry average which is still below 0.5 cumulatively in the three years. Efficiency Analysis Efficiency ratios mainly involve the movements of particular current assets and liabilities which include receivables, inventory and payables. The average collection period of the company has increased from 30 days to around 48 days in the last three years. The industry average revolves around 49 days. This suggests that the company’s performance ha s remained consistent with that of the industry. Inventory turnover of the company has also increased such that it has increased from 4.72 to 5.89, which is still lower than the industry averages of 7 to 8 turnovers per year in last three years. Profitability Analysis Profitability is the core area in which every stakeholder to the company is directly involved. Mainly three profitability ratios have been analyzed which are return on sales (net profit margin), return on assets and

The Skylark Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Skylark - Essay Example This poem is studied and interpreted a number of times for analysis. Although an atheist himself, the Skylark is quite remarkable for its hints of a supreme being, although a bit indirectly only. He was also a fierce idealist who refused to compromise. He led an unconventional bohemian lifestyle representative of most people who are very creative. He traveled a lot and moved his residence several times, depending on his whims. Shelley’s â€Å"To a Skylark† is considered one of the greatest poems during the romantic English period. In this poem, Shelley used the poem to transform a reader’s consciousness by use of metaphor and simile to a great extent. The language used conveys the message which is at once active and urgent as expressed in the bird’s upwards flight (Shelley xlii). In the first few stanzas of the poem, the poet addressed the lark for the extreme noise it is making, efforts to distract potential predators because it nests on the ground and is therefore very vulnerable. Its noise is actually designed to distract predators from its nest and it continues to sing even while it is mostly unseen. Shelley compares it similarly to the human spirit that is unseen too. The purpose of the similes used by Shelley is to enhance the reader’s appreciation of the seemingly simple joys of a skylark. Shelley himself believed that poetry is essentially just a series of metaphors which utilize language’s vitality to demonstrate something abstract into something more concrete (ibid.). â€Å"To a Skylark† actually addresses a number of recurrent but important human themes such as joy, inspiration, idealism and aspirations which are largely intangibles but real nonetheless for all of us. The way to appreciate the poem’s merits is to fully realize that a poem is vitally metaphoric in nature. It is now up to the reader to use his imagination and creative thoughts to capture what the poet is trying to convey. All of these literary

Bhakti and Karma in the Bhagavad Gita Research Paper

Bhakti and Karma in the Bhagavad Gita - Research Paper Example In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Shri Krishna specifies another path for the human race to achieve salvation: â€Å"The Path of Bhakti† or â€Å"Bhakti Yoga†. The term â€Å"Bhakti† refers to devotion. In other words, deep and intense love is known as â€Å"bhakti† and the devotees who worship the Supreme Lord through the expressions of bhakti are called â€Å"bhaktas†. Spiritual seekers who are able to maintain their focus fixed on the Lord and who always worship Him with undaunting devotion and concentration, are able to attain perfection in their pursuits. In the words of the Lord â€Å"Those who worship Me as the Indestructible, the Undefinable, the Unmanifest, the Omnipresent, the Unthinkable, the Primeval, the Immutable, and the Eternal,†.Restraining their senses, if these devotees are able to maintain their composure in all circumstances of life and consistently work for the betterment of mankind, they are successful in attaining the Supreme Lord.Persons who submit their actions to Lord Krishna, who sincerely meditate on him, pray religiously to Him, whose minds are concentrated upon Him and whose thoughts center only around Him, are blessed with the mercy of the Lord. Lord Shri Krishna advises Arjuna and thus to the entire mankind to practice concentrating his mind and intellect only upon the Lord. If a person is unable to focus his mind following this method, but instead dedicates his life to the service of the Lord and performs all his actions for the sake of the Lord, he will still be able to attain the Supreme Creator.... The Lord gives his own example by saying that there is no action in this Universe which He is compelled to perform neither is there anything left for Him to achieve, yet he is consistently active. If the Lord were to abstain from action, the human race would be faced with chaos and would ultimately be destroyed. A person who does his duties following the Karma Yoga is ultimately able to attain the Supreme Creator. (Klostermaier, 122-123) In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Shri Krishna specifies another path for the human race to achieve salvation: â€Å"The Path of Bhakti† or â€Å"Bhakti Yoga†. The term â€Å"Bhakti† refers to devotion. In other words, deep and intense love is known as â€Å"bhakti† and the devotees who worship the Supreme Lord through the expressions of bhakti are called â€Å"bhaktas†. (Meher Baba). Spiritual seekers who are able to maintain their focus fixed on the Lord and who always worship Him with undaunting devotion and concentrati on, are able to attain perfection in their pursuits. (Klostermaier, 185-186) In the words of the Lord â€Å"Those who worship Me as the Indestructible, the Undefinable, the Unmanifest, the Omnipresent, the Unthinkable, the Primeval, the Immutable, and the Eternal,†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. (S. p.99; 12.3) Restraining their senses, if these devotees are able to maintain their composure in all circumstances of life and consistently work for the betterment of mankind, they are successful in attaining the Supreme Lord (S. p.99; 12.3). Persons who submit their actions to Lord Krishna, who sincerely meditate on him, pray religiously to Him, whose minds are concentrated upon Him and whose thoughts center only around Him, are blessed with the mercy of the Lord. The Supreme Creator rescues them from the cycle of life and death. Lord Shri

Abyssinian crisis 1935-1936 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Abyssinian crisis 1935-1936 - Essay Example Benito Mussolini, the fascist ruler of Italy, had a vision for Italian Empire, similar to the Roman Empire, to rule over the Mediterranean and to also take revenge of the Italian defeat at the Battle of Adwa which happened in Ethiopia on March 1, 1896. Mussolini pledged the Italian people "a place in the sun," as England and France who both had large empires at the time had colonial possessions. Ethiopia was a main candidate of this expansionist ambition for several reasons. Following the rush for Africa by the European imperialists it was one of the few remaining independent African nations, and it would serve to merge the Italian-held Eritrea to the north-west and Italian Somaliland to the east. It was thought to be militarily vulnerable, and abundant in resources.Britain's interest lay around Lake Tana and the headwaters of the Abay (Blue Nile). Italy's main interest was in linking Eritrea with Italian Somaliland. France's interest was the territory to be crossed by the railroad f rom Addis Ababa to Djibouti in French Somaliland.France and other Europeans were not much concerned at the thought of an Italian conquest of part of Abyssinia, given that their own interests were secured. Thus Italy eventually came out as a victor in the Abyssinian War with the major booty with other countries having their trivial share in the pursuit.The Italo-Ethiopian Treaty of 1928 that drew up the boundaries between Italian Somaliland and Ethiopia stated the border was 21 leagues parallel to the Benadir coast. The Italians re-interpreted this to mean 21 nautical leagues, rather than 21 standard leagues, which then gave them greater territory. Acting on this, they built a fort at the Walwal oasis in the Ogaden desert in 1930. In 1934 Ethiopian territorial troops, along with the Anglo-Ethiopian boundary commission, disputed Italy's invasion. The British members of the commission soon withdrew to avoid an international incident. The tensions resulted in a clash that left 150 Ethiopian and 50 Italians dead. The issue was the Abyssinia Crisis tabled at the League of Nations. The League of Nations absolved both the warring parties in September 1935. Italy then started to build its forces on the borders of Ethiopia in Eritrea and Italian Somaliland. With an eminent attack, the Emperor Haile Selassie ordered a general mobilization. His new recruits consisted of around 500,000 men, many of whom were armed with primeval weapons such as spears and bows. Others were equipped with more new weapons, including rifles, but many of these were from the late 19th century and as such were often obsolete (Pankhurst, 605-608)1. Abyssinian Crisis 1935-1936: An Introduction The Second Italo-Abyssinian War was a brief war between the Kingdom of Italy and Ethiopia in the early 1930s. It resulted in the occupation of Ethiopia into Italian East Africa. It resulted in the Abyssinia Crisis at the League of Nations, which is often seen as a manifestation of the incompetence of the organization. In 1935, Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia while addressing the League of Nations attacked the Italian invasion. On October 3, 1935, Marshal Emilio De Bono moved into Ethiopia from Eritrea without declaration of War. He had 100,000 Italian soldiers and 25,000 Eritrean soldiers under his command. A smaller force, under the command of General Rodolfo Graziani, moved into Ethiopia from Italian Somaliland. By October 6, Adwa fell to De Bono's forces. By October 15, De Bono's forces moved on to capture the capital of Axum. The occupying Italians plundered the Obelisk of Axum after annexing the city. On October 7 although the League of Nations declared Italy as the aggressor however was unable with effective sanctions. The British and French drafted the Hoare-Laval Plan; it highly favored the Italians, and was

Asian American History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Asian American History - Essay Example The paper explores Southeast Asian migration to the US in the wake of the Southeast Asian crisis and their subsequent experiences in the alien land and how they coped up in a given situation. Early Migrations Takaki dates Asian migration back to 1835 when a sugar mill owner began his sugar business in Hawaii. Local workers were not efficient enough to carry on his sugar mill operations. When he replaced them with Chinese workers, he found them more efficient. Perhaps, that was the first time when Chinese or Asian workers got its due recognition so much so that during laying of transcontinental railroads in 1834, it was decided to employ Chinese workers. By 1867, there were more than twelve thousand Chinese workers employed at the Central Pacific Railroad Soon stories of Hawaii were reaching to other shores. Between 1903 and 1920, in their bid to escape from the clutches of Japanese, more than eight thousand Koreans migrated to the US. The migration to the U.S. from other Asian countr ies such as Korea, Philippines, and India continued unabated (Takaki 21, 53). The Global Cold War and Hot Wars of Southeast Asia The end of World War II marked a new beginning of Asian migrations in the US. The global cold war between the Soviet Union and the US intensified after the end of World War II and Asia became a battleground in a process to leave an imprint on many underdeveloped and poor Asian countries by the two diametrically opposite economic and political ideologies – namely the USSR and the US. Cambodia which was a French colony until 1953 had a major political upheaval thereafter. Chandler mentions the radical thinking of Pol Pot: â€Å"We all carry vestiges of our old class character, deep-rooted for generations† (44). He believed in destroying these things in order to achieve socialism. The fight between Lon Nol's Khmer Republic supported by the U.S. and the Khmer Rouge supported by communists from North Vietnam brought an extraordinary turmoil within the country. Communism was exported to Cambodia via Vietnam during the time when both were under French rule. The Civil war in 1970-75 took the toll of more than 500,000 people and displaced more than three million people from its place. Khmer Rouge's ideology had several facets. As Chan puts it, "Fearing pollution or contamination, they savagely went about eradicating all those whom they deemed impure" ("Cambodia’s Darkest Hour" 14). Khmer Rouge believed more in the concept of race overthrowing the concept of class. It was neither a peasant revolution nor a revolution meant for working class. That is why Khmer Rouge began evacuating Phnom Penh on the same day after capturing it. In a most pathetic incident, the patients from the largest civilian hospital from the Phnom Penh were evacuated first. In a few days, the city's entire population was asked to move on the plea that Americans might bomb. In a bizarre and well-thought out move, approximately 2.5 million people were as ked to leave their houses and places. Some of the Khmer leaders, such as Hou Yuon who opposed the evacuation, were removed from the scene. The citizens were completely baffled and wandering without shelter and food. Thousands of them died of illness, thirst, and starvation. The former military officers and government officials who were called to take specific instructions never returned.

Dog Training Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Dog Training - Essay Example Other dogs elsewhere in the world were lovingly inherited by their own masters. Even Oprah Winfrey had written a will endowing $30 million to her 5 dog pets ensuring that they will be pampered throughout their lives even if she has already passed away, Woman's Day reported (Woman's Day, Sept. 10, 2007). Ordinary people care for their dogs as if they're caring for their own children, sleeping, eating and even traveling with them. This hardly can be considered a phenomenon because dogs among all creatures in the universe evince qualities and traits that are even difficult to find in humans and these are purity of heart, unconditional love and devotion, the absence of malice and hidden motives or sincerity, unfathomed fidelity and loyalty and the adherence to his master in all adversity and through all vicissitudes. When one loves his or her dog 50% in intensity, his or her dog returns it 100%. The dog's love is consistent and unfailing. While spouses show affection only in the early years of the marriage, dogs show affection day in and day out, year in and year out. The dog's warmth, devotion and obedience know no barrier nor limits. We often hear of stories of dogs pining for their master's presence even after the latter's death. In Edinburgh, Scotland a Skye Terrier named Greyfriars Bobby spent 14 years guarding his master's grave until his own demise. His saga was immortalised in the Disney movies Greyfriars Bobby (1961) and The Adventures of Greyfriars Bobby (2006) (Atkins 2005, pp.52-256). War stories such as those from World War I are even more replete with stories of dogs refusing to leave their masters' corpses even if they were already in a state of decomposition. Then there was the story of Heidi, the Russell Terrier who sought out her Scottish master, Graham Snell who fell in a cliff and died. Finding him, she traversed down the 500 foot ravine and stayed with Snell until they were reached by a rescue team (dogsinthenews.com). All of these stories are endless, all earning for the dog the sobriquet, 'man's best friend'. Dogs' Natural Instincts Researchers have always claimed that dogs trace their lineage from gray wolves (canis lupus) some tens of thousands of years ago. As a priori evidence, many have adduced as evidence the similarity of structures and the period of gestation between the two species (Richardson 1857, p,18). They were ostensibly domesticated when wolves' pups were taken 3 and bred and tamed by early men and successfully socialized. By the process of intentional cross-breeding, the tamed domestic dog (canis lupus familiaris) emerged (Scott & Fuller 1974, p.140). Since then they had been

Morris Kent Jr. vs. the United States Essay Example for Free

Morris Kent Jr. vs. the United States Essay At the age of 14 years in 1959 he was reported to have committed several offenses on housebreakings and attempted purse snatching. He was placed under probation on his mother’s care with corresponding social services. At the age of 16 in 1961 he was reported to have committed housebreaking, stealing the house owner’s wallet, and raping her. After which he admitted committing several offenses of the same manner. The waiver Kent’s mother, a lawyer, and a case worker from the juvenile court filed a petition to consider waiving the case while he was placed at the District of Columbia Receiving Home for children for a week. The trial and verdict He was convicted to six counts on housebreaking and robbery but was acquitted on two rape counts by reason of insanity. The appeal Objections to fingerprinting proceeding, absence to notification of parents, and courts denial to the access on his social services file. Petitioner also questioned the validity of the one week detainment at the District of Columbia which if an adult is already considered unlawful. The validity of the waiver which denies the petitioner the benefits of the juvenile courts parens patriae capacity (Howell 1998). Schall vs Martin The history At the age of 14 in Dec. 13, 1977 Gregory Martin was arrested with first degree robbery, second degree assault, and criminal possession of a weapon. Martin with two others allegedly hit a youth on the head with a loaded gun. They then stole the victim’s jacket and sneakers. The procedure Martin evidenced of lack of supervision was based on possession of a loaded weapon, lateness of the hour, and false information on his address given to the police. He was detained for a total of fifteen days between the initial appearance and the completion of the fact finding. The trial and verdict Martin was found guilty on robbery and criminal possession charges. Since he was adjudicated as delinquent, he was placed on two years probation. The appeal Objections were made on the pretrial detention of juveniles implying greater abuses of law and power. Re Gault, re Winship, Mckeiver vs the State of Pennsylvania The cases Winship was a twelve year old boy in 1970 who entered into a locker and stole $112. 00 from a woman’s pocketbook. He was ordered placed in a training school for an initial period of 18 months subject to annual extensions from the basis of preponderance of the evidence. Gault was 15 years old in 1967 when taken into custody as a result of a complaint that he had made lewd telephone calls. He was ordered to perform as a juvenile delinquent until he should reach maturity at the State Industrial School. Mckeiver was charged together with a group of 11 to 15 years with various acts of misdemeanors which arose from several demonstrations protesting school assignments and a school consolidation plan. The public was excluded from the hearing for major reason that the juvenile proceeding might make the trial into a fully adversary process. Each member of the juvenile group was considered a delinquent while placing each of them under probation. Analysis and recommendations The Juvenile Justice Services Administration is responsible for the effective administration of the juvenile justice programs for delinquent and incorrigible youths which is being done in coordination with the juvenile courts. The identification of the needs of children facing delinquency leads to the invention and creation of the juvenile courts to go easy on young criminals. The rapid increased of juvenile crime and young people identified as at risk has created a furor on shocking juvenile crime statistics which resulted to a public outcry on the need for change in the management of young offenders in all of US states nationwide. This practically litigated some offenders in adult criminal courts. The argument details on young children who had committed violent crimes like assault, rape, murder and armed robbery which are often adjudicated in the same court as non violent offenders charged with shoplifting, burglary, and petty theft to drug offenses. The growing disillusionment of the therapeutic and ineffective approach of the juvenile justice system has resulted to appeals for a modification of its due process to transfer young offenders to adult courts and prisons. It has been the present society’s desire to oppose rehabilitation and effect punishment. They firmly believed that the framework of the juvenile justice system has permitted young offenders to avoid accountability which led to its nonadversarial, decriminalized process where violent offenders were never separated and categorized according to the severity of their crimes. The court subsequently measures to provide guidance and rehabilitation of the child and protection for society not to fix criminal responsibility, guilt and punishment according to their parens patriae capacity. It seems that US is now caught up with its own policy which seems to produce a rapid increase of juvenile offenders who are not amenable to rehabilitation who acts as criminals who happens to be children. The courts are now dealing on the crossroads of empowering themselves to consider amenability between children who err and those children who commits an isolated criminal offense against the mandates of the juvenile justice court system. There is a marked dependency issues within the jurisdiction of the court and for young offenders otherwise involved in the judicial system. The system which serves to pose as an integral part of the national development process to protect the young and maintain peaceful order in the system has created chaos because of its policy and practice of informal justice for issues of social control. Most common practice is the treatment of every youth who violates the law is not labeled as a juvenile delinquent unless they were officially processed through the juvenile courts and officially adjudicated. But how can they be properly processed if at the start police interventions are already placing lax policies at stake? Is it a matter of policy makers and policies implementation? Or is it a matter of family emotional and authority interconnections that created the young person as he is today? The purposes and procedures of juvenile courts have become immerse on public reactions reflecting opinions on the system. To protect the rights of the young offenders, there must be a classification on matters of the crime that was committed. It is necessary to redesign a new youth justice system before it does more public harm. Young offenders caught in the web of the existing criminal justice system shall be classified according to the severity of the crime that was committed through individualized assessment and proactive case management. There shall be a diverse menu of options where the institution shall be created solely for the young offenders. This is the day that the court will treat crime as a crime regardless of the offender’s age and the appropriate time that young offenders will hold accountability and experience the consequences of their acts. Young people who violate the law are no longer guaranteed special treatment simply because they are young but must be disciplined according to the severity of the violations they had committed on separate juvenile institutions. The separate institution is still a form of special treatment where the facilities and the education and training of the young offenders are to be thoroughly studied. Amidst the severity of the crime, young offenders will still continue to be cognitively, emotionally and socially different from adults. Therefore the separation and the creation of a unique institution for them where they shall attend training and education inside and still receive diplomas for their education continues to serve them as citizens and young offenders. There must be a mother image or model assigned to a particular group of five or six children who will monitor their personal needs and really pose as a parent to them. Screening for the recruitment of mothers on this process must be very thorough and well maintained. When we say that young people are vulnerable to negative influences, we can justify the mother or parent issue by the model parent who constantly monitors and cares for them and teaches them basic family values that may be more than what their biological parents could give largely dependent on the nature and characteristics of the model parent screening recruitment process. Why not try hiring Asians? Maybe a change of culture introduction will work for these offenders. When you are out of ideas on how to control them, we might as well try other cultures to experiment the effect. We might as well try blending policies and practices on the care management of these juvenile delinquents. There shall be no lapses over the rights of the child being tried in an adult court regardless of age on the basis of the severity of the crime because the institution to where he goes is not a mix adult one but a newly created institution that caters juvenile criminals for this matter. No fear of any adverse effect on social issues and negative adult influences because they interact with people of the same violent crimes and same age bracket. Or to modify court proceedings, since we already have classifications on the severity of offenses then it can move to create law appropriate for these juveniles who were criminally charged. However, the trials shall be done under and within the umbrella of the juvenile justice system with no act of favoritism on matters of age. So waivers on matters of jurisdiction may not pose a threat to committing mistakes on putting the child into the adult institution. The issue here is the willingness of the State to provide such juvenile penitentiary. The cost and the budget appropriations will more or less equal to the budget on their drug abuse intervention offers. But if young offenders will be criminally hold accountable for their offenses then they will absolutely stop and start to manage their baby instincts which results from baby court policies and treatment of their offenses and age. The court is not justifying the act but is more on protecting the age which contributes to these young people’s confidence in passing time making crimes and getting away with it because they are young which is very unreasonable and not applicable either in the family system more on the justice court system. The issue that serves to balance the recommendation is the factors that made this young delinquents abused their rights. Maybe there were too many rights given to them that the court cannot invade to create justice for the victims in that system anymore. They have made a perfect firewall on their policies that even them cannot manage to hack their own system to change. There shall be a modification with the justice system classification on young people’s offenses and put them right back on their tracks without getting their rights off. For once in their lives they should know the harm and damage they had done to their victims and make them pay for it in their unique form of institution. It is a matter of psychological warfare with these young people. The psychological warfare of which is already in their own advantage because of the juvenile justice system policies and practices. We love our children but we need to rear them right. Love does not only mean making them babies in treatment and in policies, they also need a little spanking when they err to understand the severity of their act. Love means caring for their needs but still punishing them when they do things that poses harm to themselves, harm to their families and harm to the society. We have to stop the notion of making them think that what they are doing is still acceptable because of the governing family policies and juvenile justice system methods of treatment and rehabilitation. It is a matter of breaking their confidence now that they were made indestructible in court because of their age. The idea is to make them realize what they have done is immaterial to age but a direct violation of love and God. The institution will serve them right because they are properly taken cared of depending on the administration. Since national policy has been taking children out of their families because they don’t trust parents to be effective anymore, which is due to their policy also, then putting then in a juvenile institution consisting of a large land, mother models, equip with schools for education and training when they err will put them in their places without taking out their right. It is a midway and the last recourse for these children. There will be no fear on part of the parents and no fear on part of the justice system. The kids now will serve their time studying and learning skills to get a life after serving their sentences. Some grave offenses will require them to work within the institution as part of the training like foundry or what Don Bosconian students are doing. If you don’t want to work and get trained 8 hours a day, then don’t commit grave offenses. Just be a youth and live how a youth is supposed to live. It is a matter now of choice for these juvenile offenders. The knowledge itself that they have an institution to go won’t make them go easy on their impulse acts and imaginations. It is like the idea of over feeding the child which makes him obese, overprotective policy will make him a criminal because nobody can touch him. It seems that the idea lies on the thought that the victim will fear more of being killed and raped by a juvenile offender because no justice can be absolutely derived from it. How can a nation maintain peace and order then when it disrupts respect for law and of the rights of the victim in the first place? We want to see the situation objectively. Reversing orders by judges is just not applicable but modifications on the juvenile justice system are what we have to look into deeply. It is time for a change and that change shall start now before certain events will turn to future abolition of the ineffective juvenile justice system. We just have to look at the flow chart and analyze the policies and procedures involved in each processes. The theme is objective analysis and not favors. The only thing that will hold them from waivers and transfers to adult courts are the negative consequences of adult institutions for their age and shall not be based on their ages. Figure 1. Juvenile justice flow chart (Arizona 2006) References Arizona Supreme Court. (2006). Juvenile justice flow chart. Retrieved May 19, 2007 Website: http://www. supreme. state. az. us/jjsd/jolts/FlowChart. htm Howell, J. C. (1998, January). NCCDs Survey of Juvenile Detention and Correctional Facilities. Crime Delinquency. Retrieved May 19, 2007 Website: http://law. jrank. org/pages/12936/Kent-v-United-States. html

The Rise Of Green Vehicles Marketing Essay

The Rise Of Green Vehicles Marketing Essay Introduction A green vehicle is a motor vehicle that has less dangerous and less deadly effects to the environment than any regular gasoline or diesel powered vehicles. The major inspiration of the development of alternative fuels and green engineering are to reduce the harmful environmental impacts and to create the mentality of reducing dependency to oil. Based on what customers majority demand in automobile industry: low fuel consumption, low cost, low noise pollution, state-of-the-art technology, and environmentally friendly, manufactures are significantly are transforming their technology to the green vehicle technology. Green vehicles are powered by alternative fuels and include hybrids, electric cars, ethanol, hydrogen cars, natural gas, plug-in hybrids, biodiesel, and air powered vehicles. Latest trend of the green vehicles popularity was significantly caused by the rise of oil prices. People are trying to find other ways to save their money from purchasing gas for their gas/diesel powere d cars. Tax saving also contributes to the rise of green vehicles popularity in various countries such as United States and European Union. According to IRS website, The Energy Policy Act of 2005 replaced the clean-fuel burning deduction with a tax credit. A tax credit is subtracted directly from the total amount of federal tax owed, thus reducing or even eliminating the taxpayers tax obligation. The tax credit for hybrid vehicles applies to vehicles purchased or placed in service on or after January 1, 2006 (www.irs.gov). This paper will answer several questions that people might be curios about. First, I will discuss the causes of the booming market of green vehicles in the last decade. Secondly, I will discuss the controversies of GMs electric vehicle EV1 and its relation to the conspiracy theories with Oil Company. Background As mentioned before, green vehicles include hybrids, electric cars, ethanol, hydrogen cars, natural gas, plug-in hybrids, biodiesel, and air powered vehicles. Hybrids combine two or more different propulsion systems, typically a gasoline engine and one or more electric drive motors. Most hybrids on the road today compliment their gas engines by charging a battery when breaking. Engines running on diesel or other alternative fuels can also be used in hybrids. A hybrid drive is fully scalable, which means the drive can be used to power everything from small commuter cars to large buses and even locomotives. Hybrids get more MPG or miles per gallon than most non-hybrids, and usually have very low tailpipe emissions (greencar.com). Electric cars produce zero localized emissions since theyre propelled by electric motors that run on batteries charged at home, or special electric vehicle charging stations. Electric cars are extremely efficient and run for pennies per mile, much cheaper than any other alternative fuel. Ethanol (ethyl alcohol) is the same type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages. As a fuel, ethanol can be used in more than 30 flex fuel vehicle models that have been designed to run on alcohol, gasoline, or any combination of the two fuels from the same tank. Most ethanol today is produced from corn or sugar cane, although this will change as cheaper cellulosic ethanol made from fast growing woody grasses and other biomass becomes a reality. Hydrogen cars perhaps the cleanest of all alternative fuels, burning with nearly zero emissions in an internal combustion engine and with emissions of only water vapor and heat in an electro-mechanical fuel cell. Natural gas, the cleanest-burning fossil fuel, is being used by an increasing number of medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles like refuse trucks and delivery vans. Natural gas is stored and used in its liquefied or compressed states. It is most commonly abbreviated as LNG for Liquefied Natural Gas, a nd CNG for Compressed Natural Gas. While a variety of light-duty natural gas cars were once available, the only factory-produced natural gas car made today in the U.S. is Hondas Civic GX. Plug-in hybrids boast great potential for improving fuel economy. Plug in hybrid technology allows gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles to be recharged from the grid and run many miles on battery power alone. A gas engine provides additional driving range as needed after the battery power is gone. Plug in hybrids may never need to run on anything but electricity for shorter commutes. The combination of gas and electric driving technologies can already achieve up to 150 mpg. Biodiesel is a renewable alternative fuel made from various sources ranging from waste vegetable oil to soybeans. It can often be used seamlessly in diesel engines of all kinds. Biodiesel is a cleaner fuel than standard petroleum diesel. Since it can be produced locally, biodiesel has the potential to decrease our dependence on for eign countries for oil, and enhance local economies where biodiesel production is taking place. Air powered cars are relatively new to the green car scene. Compressed air is currently being explored as a viable alternative fuel to efficiently power car engines with little or no environmental impact (greencar.com). Going back to the history of green vehicles, they have been around for around almost 120 years. Jake Richardson in his article 9 Electric Cars 100 Years Old or More explains that the first green vehicle ever made was 1891 Morison. Made by William Morrison in 1891, some say the Morrison was the first electric vehicle in America. It  had a four horsepower engine, and could  carry 6-12 passengers. Top speed was about 20 mph. The batteries needed to be recharged every 50 miles. It has been said the car was actually completed in 1887 and was driven in a Des Moines parade in 1888. If that is true, the Morrison was first built 122 years ago, and it was built in America, where today they are  almost no electric cars on the roads. Next is electrobat, produced from 1894-1899.   Electrobats were made for several years in Philadelphia. The first ones were very heavy and used steel  tires to support a large lead battery. They employed twin 1.5 hp motors and  had a top speed of 20 mph. They could go 25 miles on one charge. Next is the 1900 Riker. Riker is a bulky enclosed cabin four passenger sedan that was made about the turn of the century; the Riker featured electric side lamps, wooden-spoked wheels, and a voice tube so passengers could communicate with the driver. Cabin windows could be raised and lowered. 48 battery cells were onboard, with an electric engine near each rear wheel.  The drivers seat was about 6-7 feet in the air.   Next is 1901 Riker torpedo. Andrew Riker, the founder of Riker Electric Vehicles, made the Torpedo in 1901 to be the fastest car on the road. Next is the 1902 Studebaker, 1906 Krieger, 1909 Babcock, and 1909 Bailey (http://gas2.org). It hasnt been seriously developed until the 1973 when the oil crisis strikes. Paul Lucas in his article The History of Green Motoring explains that in the 1980s, attempts to develop the green car concept reached new heights. In Switzerland for example, there was an annual race for solar-powered veh icles called the Tour de Sol. This ran from 1985-1995. In 1991, BMW created a pair of battery powered E1 concepts that failed to get past the concept stage. In the same year, the Citroen Citela was born with a range of 130 miles and top speeds of 70mph. GM also introduced its first purpose-built electric vehicle, the EV1, from 1996-1999. Since the turn of the millennium the concept of green cars has expanded at a phenomenal rate. This is because of the contribution of the expansion of hybrid cars, which effectively plug the gap between electric cars and conventional vehicles. Popular models include the Toyota Camry, which was once acclaimed as the top-selling passenger vehicle in America, and the Toyota Prius which in 2007 was the number-one selling hybrid vehicle worldwide. The concept has even been introduced into larger vehicles such as the Lexus RX400h, an off-roader. The Volkswagen BlueMotion Polo, which became available in 2007, cut CO2 emissions even further. Hydrogen fuelled cars arrived in 2006 through the BMW 7 Series, while the Ford Airstream was introduced in 2007 with a lithium battery that was topped up by a hydrogen fuel cell (www.thegreencarwebsite.co.uk). Major Reasons So, what exactly encouraged the rise of green vehicle popularity? One of the major contributors to the popularity of green vehicle is the increase of oil prices all over the world. The advancement of technology is causing the green vehicles to consume less gas. Ricky Lim in his article 3 Advantages Of Hybrid Cars Over Conventional Cars explains that Combining the cleaner energy of an electric motor with the long range capacity of a gasoline engine allows a hybrid car to save as much as 30 miles a gallon (http://ezinearticles.com. One of the technologies of hybrid cars is that they will only use the gasoline engine during constant speed such as highways speed. During the stop and go traffic, the electric engine will be functioned thats resulting in saving fuel. People always wonder on why hybrids cars are extremely quiet during idle. It is because the gasoline engine is turned off. The electric engine doesnt produce any noise at all. Here are the data of gas consumption on some of the hybrid cars: Ford Escape 31.9 mpg; Honda Accord 29.4 mpg; Honda Civic 46.2 mpg; Honda Insight 55.3 mpg; Lexus GS 450H 23.5 mpg; Lexus RX 400H 25.3 mpg; Mercury Mariner 29.5 mpg; Nissan Altima 34.3 mpg; Saturn Vue 25.9 mpg; Toyota Camry 36.5 mpg; Toyota Highlander 26.4 mpg; Toyota Prius 47.5 mpg (www.greenhybrid.com). Based on www.green-energy-efficient-homes.com, Hybrid car sales statistics have shown steady growth over most of the last five years, but sales peaked in early 2008 (at 45,000 vehicles) and showed a steady decline in the second half of 2008 with sales starting to recover somewhat in spring 2009. Considering the spike in oil and gasoline prices up to about July of 2008, and their rapid decline once the economic downturn hit later in 2008, its not surprising that sales show a peak followed by a steady drop. Fortunately for hybrid car manufacturers, gasoline price increases in the second through fourth quarters of 2009 have been accompanied by a return to high er hybrid car sales (http://www.green-energy-efficient-homes.com/hybrid-car-sales-statistics.html). Take a look at this chart, which shows three data series: hybrid car sales statistics by month, a 12-month moving average of hybrid car sales, and average US gas prices per gallon, from January 2004 to December 2009: (www.green-energy-efficient-homes.com) According to carsdirect.com, the August 2009 hybrid car statistics show that of the more than 200,000 hybrid cars sold in the U.S. year-to-date (YTD), the Toyota Prius is the top selling vehicle. There were 93,810 Prius sales through August 2009, with 18,886 units being sold in the month of August alone. Behind the Prius were the Toyota Camry, which sold 17,630 YTD, Honda Insight, selling 14,045 YTD, Honda Civic at 14,014 units sold and Ford Escape in the top 5 at 11,222 units sold YTD. In the month of August, Toyota Prius sales were 49% of all August U.S. hybrid sales. Camrys August sales made up 5% of hybrid sales, Insights comprised 11%, Civics 2% and Escape sales were 4% of all August hybrid car sales.   There were 38,701 hybrid cars sold in the United States in August 2009. Sales of the Toyota Prius were 1% of all car sales in the month of August.   All hybrid sales were 3% of the car sales that were made in the month. The number of hybrids sold in the month is up 48.6% over the same time period in 2008, showing a rise in the popularity of these vehicles by American drivers. Toyota, Honda and Ford are the largest makers of hybrid vehicles, with the most sales and models.  Toyota features the top-selling Prius, Camry and Highlander models. Honda has the Insight and Civic while Ford produces the Escape and Fusion hybrid vehicles (www.carsdirect.com). Based on www.mixedpower.com, from the states hybrid sales statistics in 2008, California sold the most hybrid cars with 39,830 units followed by New York: 8,810; Florida: 8,612; Texas: 8,255; and Illinois: 6,107 (www.mixedpower.com). The increasing of environmental awareness also contributes to the rise of green vehicles popularity. Alexandria Haber in his article The Facts About Hybrid Car Emissions and Global Warming explains that hybrid cars emit far lower levels of pollutants in the air than conventional cars, resulting decreased pollution and reduced effects of global warming. Because no two people drive the same way, it is therefore difficult to estimate, but emissions can be reduced from 25% to 90%, when comparing hybrid cars to conventional gas-powered vehicles (www.buzzle.com). Ricky Lim also in his article explains that hybrid cars emit lower toxic emissions compared to conventional gasoline-powered cars due to less gasoline being burned (www.buzzle.com). It is environmentally friendly, causes less pollution and releases less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere (http://ezinearticles.com). Peak oil theory also emerges and causes people to be more aware to consume more oil. Peak oil theory states: that any finite resource, (including oil), will have a beginning, middle, and an end of production, and at some point it will reach a level of maximum output as seen in the graph: (www.peakoil.com) This is the graph of world oil production from 1900-2080 taken from www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net It indicates that in the future we will have no more oil to be consumed, and the productivity of green vehicles has to be increased to decrease the dependency of oil. The last contributor to the rise of green vehicles is the tax incentives for the green vehicles buyers. It was in 2005 that Energy Policy Act of 2005 was passed by the United States congress and passed by President George W.Bush. The act, described by proponents as an attempt to combat growing energy problems, changed US energy policy by providing tax incentives and loan guarantees for energy production of various types. Consumers can itemize purchases on their federal income tax form, which will lower the total amount of tax they owe the government. In addition to federal tax incentives, some consumers will also be eligible for utility or state rebates, as well as state tax incentives for energy-efficient homes, vehicles and equipment (www.energy.gov). According to www.hybridcars.com, the exact amount of credit given by the government may vary: Current Models Make Model Tax Credit Audi A3 TDI (Clean Diesel) $1,300 Audi Q7 TDI (Clean Diesel) $1,150 BMW 335d (Clean Diesel) $900 BMW X5 xDrive35d (Clean Diesel) $1,800 Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid $1,300 Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid $2,200 Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid $2,200 Ford Escape Hybrid (2wd) $3,000 Ford Escape Hybrid (4wd) $2,200 Ford Fusion Hybrid $3,400 GMC Sierra Hybrid $2,200 GMC Yukon Hybrid $2,200 Honda Civic Hybrid $2,100 Honda 2005 Civic Hybrid (auto) $1,700 Lexus GS 450h $1,550 Lexus LS 600hL $450 Lexus RX 400h $2,200 Mazda Tribute Hybrid (2wd) $3,000 Mazda Tribute Hybrid (4wd) $2,200 Mercedes GL 320 Bluetec (Clean Diesel) $1,800 Mercedes R320 Bluetec (Clean Diesel) $1,550 Mercedes ML 320 Bluetec (Clean Diesel) $900 Mercedes S400 Hybrid $1,150 Mercury Mariner Hybrid (2wd) $3,000 Mercury Mariner Hybrid (4wd) $2,200 Mercury Milan Hybrid $3,400 Nissan Altima $2,350 Toyota Camry Hybrid $2,600 Toyota Highlander Hybrid $2,600 Toyota Prius $3,150 Volkswagen Jetta TDI (Clean Diesel) $1,300 Volkswagen Touareg TDI (Clean Diesel) $1,150 Despite of its cons, green vehicles have the cons as well. Phillip Dunn in his article Hybrid Cars Pros and Cons explains that all this new technology comes at a price: a hybrid car is complex and expensive. It has two motors and all the ancillary systems to manage them plus a heavy battery and a regeneration system used to produce electricity during breaking. Hybrids are the most gasoline efficient of all cars they typically get 48 to 60 mpg (claimed). Not bad, but only about 20% to 35% better than a fuel efficient gasoline powered vehicle like the Honda Civic, for example, that gets 36 mpg. But, when comparing prices hybrids cost from $19,000 to $25,000 and gas saver cars cost $14,000 to $17,000 the justification to buy becomes less clear. Much of the fuel efficiency comes from improvements in aero dynamics, weight reduction and, the biggest change: a smaller, less powerful gas engine. In fact, any car will get substantially better mileage just by reducing the engine size. The main reason this is not done has to do customer demand they want the extra power and zippiness (www.physorg.com). EV1 Controversies. Since the rise of green vehicles popularity, have the oil industries been affected tremendously? In the 1990s oil was getting scarcer and the pollution produced by combustion engines was becoming recognized as a very serious problem. Consumers began to demand some solutions that would save their world, their bank accounts and their breathing from gasolines bad effects. Like mentioned earlier, electric cars have been around for 110 years from the first time its been made. Alexandra Paul in her article Who Killed my Electric Car? explains that in 1900, electric cars outsold both gasoline and steam vehicles because electric cars didnt have the vibration, noise and dirtiness associated with gas vehicles. But soon afterward with the discovery of Texas crude oil that reduced the price of gasoline, the invention of the electric starter in 1912 that eliminated the need for a hand crank, and the mass production of internal combustion engine vehicles by Henry Ford the electric vehicle went t he way of the horse and buggy (www.cnn.com). In the 1990s oil was getting scarcer and the pollution produced by combustion engines was becoming recognized as a very serious problem. Consumers began to demand some solutions that would save their world, their bank accounts and their breathing from gasolines bad effects. In 1990 California passed the ZEV, requiring 2% of new vehicles sold in California to be emission-free by 1998, 10% by 2003. In response to ZEV, GM launched their revolutionary car EV1. The EV1 required no gas, no oil changes, no mufflers and rare brake maintenance. The success of electric vehicles would have threatened the status quo and core business models of two of the worlds biggest industries oil and automobile. Electric cars are a threat to the profitability of the conventional gas-powered auto industry. GM said that it spent more than $1 billion to market and develop the EV1 (www.ecosherpa.com). Not only would a successful electric car program cannibalize sale s of conventional cars, but the electric car costs the auto industry in other ways: lacking an engine, it saves the driver the cost of replacement parts, motor oil, filters, and spark plugs. The EV1s regenerative braking system, in which the cars electronic controls handled much of the work of slowing down the car, spared the cars mechanical brake system from wear. Brake parts and repair is a billion-plus dollar industry alone. The EV1s efficiency was a winner for consumers but a loser for the auto industry. Despite of its advantages, EV1 still had its disadvantages: it was only available to be leased to the public; it was only available for three year leases with no option for renewal or purchase at the end lease period. Leases ranged from $299 to over $574 monthly which was pretty expensive at that time. EV1 also had a short range (around 80 miles) and no backup system. It took 12 hours to fill up the battery. All in all, GMs EV1 has brought pros and cons to the public. It was thr eatening the oil industry, yet it also had major weaknesses to sustain its existence. In conclusion, the popularity of the non-traditional energy sources is increasing since more than two decades. People have realized the importance of the green vehicles for the environment. The rise of green vehicles has been encouraged by the uncontrollable increases on gas prices, the awareness trend to save the environment, and also the tax incentives that is given by the government. The electric cars need to be existed for one more time because with the advancement of technology, it wouldnt be difficult to produce a better car than GMs EV1. Electric vehicles will help tremendously to conserve the oil that has been consumed uncontrollably.