Friday, December 27, 2019

Essay from Jacqueline Marie Krantz †Second ThePensters Writing Contest Medalist #3

Virtually Realistic? Many children have watched movies and read books in which the characters pass notes in class, but hardly any have passed notes themselves. Texting has replaced note-passing. Most children have taken written notes in their classes, but as college approaches, notebooks are traded for computers or tablets. Gone are the days of note passing and note-taking solely on paper; technology is taking over. However, the chances of technology completely overtaking the traditional classroom are slim to none. Virtual reality (VR) applications in the traditional classroom setting will likely become widespread, but VR classrooms will never take over traditional education because of the overwhelming benefits of traditional classrooms and the inability to distribute the technology to everyone. While virtual reality in the classroom has already become an actuality, a VR class would be something completely different. The concept of a VR class involves generating a cooperative digital environment for people in separate locations. According to the Virtual Reality Society, virtual reality is â€Å"the term used to describe a three-dimensional, computer generated environment which can be explored and interacted with by a person.† [1] Pairing this term with the word â€Å"class† suggests that nothing about the classroom will be real, but the participants would be able to use the senses of sight, hearing, and touch to receive information as if the surroundings were real. VR has already been introduced to several classrooms around the United States for applications such as exploring World War I trenches [2] and creating visualizations of settings in books. [3] The difference between classrooms utilizing VR and VR classes is that, with the present-day applications, stu dents and teachers can take off the VR headsets, switch classes, and mingle with other students and teachers. In a VR class, students would never have to leave the comfort of their homes to see and socialize with others. If student education was limited to VR classes, many of the benefits of traditional education would be lost. For example, research has shown that subjects aged preschool through adult remember letters and shapes better if the symbols are learned via handwriting rather than typing. [4-6] This suggests that a student learning in a VR class would not retain as much information because note-taking would be virtual if it even existed at all. Another important consideration lies with children with special needs. Students with emotional imbalances would find it even harder to focus without someone physically there to keep them on-task, and those with severe disabilities may not want to wear any VR headset at all. For students of all ability levels, face-to-face learning is essential. Virtual reality classrooms would face another difficulty in distributing necessary materials. In many third-world nations, students do not have access to traditional classrooms, let alone VR technology. [7] Even the United States is still struggling to provide Wi-Fi, a â€Å"powerful tool for transforming learning,† to its schools, community colleges, and universities. [8] VR classrooms cannot be expected to exist in an environment where basic educational needs cannot be met. Before virtual reality classrooms became the norm in the US, the current financial and logistical problems of traditional classrooms would have to be solved. While the digitalization of many aspects of the world is inevitable, the complete shift to virtual reality classes from traditional education is neither feasible nor recommendable. Traditional classrooms already provide healthy, easily obtainable learning spaces for the youth of tomorrow just as they have since the dawn of education. Technology is certainly a useful tool that can be incorporated to enhance the traditional learning experience, and no school is perfect, but virtual reality classrooms would create more problems than they would solve. Sources https://www.vrs.org.uk/virtual-reality/what-is-virtual-reality.html https://www.weareteachers.com/virtual-reality-classroom/ http://www.arvrmagazine.com/vr-in-education-whats-already-happening-in-the-classroom/ http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001691804001167 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167945706000649 http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/154193120905302218 https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/worst-schools-world/ https://tech.ed.gov/what-we-do/

Thursday, December 19, 2019

New Century Financial Essay - 1435 Words

Case 3 – New Century Financial Corporation 1. Describe and evaluate New Century’s business model? New Century Financial Corporation, headed by founders Brad Morrice, Edward Gotschall, and Robert, was a firm which specialized in subprime mortgages. The company originated, sold, and serviced subprime home mortgage loans. New Century was structured as a real estate investment trust (REIT) and was composed of two operating divisions. The Wholesale Loan Division, known as New Century Mortgage Corporation, comprised 85% of the firm’s loan originations, while the Retail Mortgage Loan Division operated under Home123 Corporation. New Century Mortgage Corporation operated in 33 locations throughout 19 different states†¦show more content†¦As such, the company was exposed to risks related to internal controls in monitoring loan processing, underwriting, and closing which could cause a substantial loss in income due to increased kick-outs and repurchased loans. Further aggravating these risks were the company’s aggressive tactics in pursuing and closing subprime borrowers such as offering loans requiring only stated income and assets as opposed to full documentation loans. 3. What were New Century’s critical performance variables? How well was New Century performing with respect to these critical performance variables? New Century Financial had performance variables that critically affected its business and led to it’s eventual bankruptcy filing. These included liquidity, default rate, and forms of The overall rate of default is critical because of its compounding increase in liabilities with a decrease in assets. A default rate higher than the historic rate would adversely affect the valuation of many assets in the firm’s financial statements. It is also tied to the demand for mortgage backed securities, increased default reduces the demand for subprime securitization, thus reducing New Century Financial’s source of income at a time of increasing obligations. 4. What were the reporting errors identified by the bankruptcy examiner? The bankruptcy examiner noted several inconsistenciesShow MoreRelatedThe Solution of New Century Financial Corporation9605 Words   |  39 PagesCASE 1.11 New Century Financial Corporation It is well enough that people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning. Henry Ford From 1962 to 1992, Ed HAI LÚA served as the quintessential sidekick and straight man Johnny Carson to Johnny Carson on the long-running and popular television program The To- night Show. After leaving that program, HAI LÚA stayed in the television spotlight for 12Read MoreThe Solution of New Century Financial Corporation9616 Words   |  39 PagesCASE 1.11 New Century Financial Corporation It is well enough that people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning. Henry Ford From 1962 to 1992, Ed HAI LÚA served as the quintessential sidekick and straight man Johnny Carson to Johnny Carson on the long-running and popular television program The To- night Show. After leaving that program, HAI LÚA stayed in the television spotlightRead MoreEssay about New Century Financial Corporation768 Words   |  4 Pagesresult, they forced the repurchase policy of many mortgage agreements, and let the subprime lenders to take over their houses. Subprime lender like New Century became the bankrupt because of the high lost associate with the mortgage cancelation. To maintain earning, the management modify the estimate of its reserve. However, KPGM, the auditor of the New Century is question of their work. KPMG lost its independence due to its afraid of lost business. 1. The advantages include better understanding of theRead MoreKpmg Was Sued936 Words   |  4 PagesKPMG Sued by New Century Trustee Over Subprime Lender’s Demise By Sophia Pearson - April 2, 2009 00:36 EDT April 2 (Bloomberg) -- KPMG International, which oversees the fourth-largest U.S. accounting firm, was sued by the trustee for bankrupt subprime lender New Century Financial Corp. over claims it failed in its role as â€Å"gatekeeper.† Negligent audits and reviews by KPMG LLP, the U.S. member firm of KPMG International, led to New Century’s collapse, according to lawsuits filed yesterdayRead MoreFinancial Failure Of A Company1385 Words   |  6 Pagesfailure of a company as an inability to pay its obligations when they are due (Frederikslust, 1978). Cash flow problem Cash flow problems are a major cause of insolvency. Insolvency is when an individual or organization can no longer meet its financial obligations with its lender or lenders as debts become due. Insolvency can lead to insolvency proceedings, in which legal action will be taken against the insolvent entity, and assets may be liquidated to pay off outstanding debts. Cash flow planningRead MoreThe Academy Of Business And Entrepreneurship Charter School1408 Words   |  6 PagesI. SCHOOL DESIGN The Academy of Business and Entrepreneurship Charter School is a K-12 model school utilizing a unique combination of PA Common Core Standards aligned curriculum and specialized programming with a focus on developing 21st Century skills to prepare students for their post- secondary goals. It will open its doors in 2014, starting with 240 students in grades K-5 and add a grade a year to reach K-9 during the course of the initial charter. However, as the model is envisioned as a fullRead MoreIt has been said that pre-numerical counting systems pre-dated the written language. Business1500 Words   |  6 Pagesaround 3500 B.C, and developing throughout the 14th century in Europe, accounting has become one of the largest advancements in the Western world. This long standing form of collaborating financial data has evolutionalized the way we approach business in the 21st century. While todays accountants are involved in the analysis of financial data and the auditing of cash flow through a corporation, this hasnt always held true. The recording of financial transactions dates back to B.C with the use of clayRead MoreHow Investment Banking Is The Business Of Raising Capital, Increasing Profit, And Advising Essay1455 Words   |  6 PagesInvestment Banking is the business of raising capital, increasing profit, and advising on any financial transactions. Investment Banking is done on both the microscopic level with individuals looking to gain advisement as well as on the macroscopic level with large companies. The practice of Investment Banking in the United States developed around the 1800’s in New York. The first banks focused on the sale of government bonds and it wasn t until the 1860’s that bankers like J.P. Morgan began toRead MoreEssay on Marriage in the 19th century549 Words   |  3 PagesMarriage in the 19th Century Marriage is the joining of two people as husband and wives according to laws and customs. In our society today, women get married of their own free will and gain respect from their spouse. A dream of the 21st century is a story written by Winnifred Harper Cooly. It is about a young womens dream. She imagines that women in the 21st century will have a better place in the society. Ideal marriages in the 19th century were very hard to achieve and most of the timeRead MoreUk Banking System1082 Words   |  5 PagesUK Banking System - Banking and Finance A Summary Sophisticated commercial, financial and professional services developed in the City of London during the 19th century to support Britain s position as the world s largest trading nation. Today Britain has a wide variety of banking and financial institutions. Many of these offer specialised services to individuals, companies and other bodies, both in Britain and internationally. Bank of England The Bank of England was established in 1694 by

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Governance and Environmental Implications

Question: Discuss about the Governance and Environmental Implications. Answer: Introduction Ichthyosis is a rare skin disorder that can be identified by dry, thickened and scaly-like skin. This kind of disease is rare in nature and affects only a few people in the world. However, the most common of them is Ichthyosis vulgaris, which is known to affect one out of 250 people (Getz Page, 2016). The people who suffer from this disease have many social and psychological effects, as their skin tends to lose moisture and become dry and rigid. Some of the patients have trouble in closing their eyes as the skin around that place become very hard. It makes the eyelids to turn outward and expose the soft skin inside, which leads to irritation and impaired vision on a longer run (Chang Reyes, 2014). The event that was organized recently was a fund-raising charity event for the Ichthyosis disease. The location for this event was one of the main venues in Melbourne, which helped in attracting large number of audience. The event was held at The Royal Society of Victoria, which is located on La Strobe Street. The event was held on 9 May 2015. It has two hectares of open land that had easily hosted the audiences (Gofundme.com, 2017). The target market for the event was the executives and CEOs of small entrepreneurial enterprises and the big companies that were present in the locality. The event also acted as a host to a number of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) such as CARE Australia, ChildFund Australia, Oxfam Australia and Save the Children Australia. This helped in spreading awareness among children and the NGOs (Frew, 2014). Purpose of the Event The main objective of the event was to raise funds from the people that were supposed to come to the charity purpose. The amount that was collected was sent to the different hospitals and research centres where the disease is being researched. According to the event, the goal was to raise $3,700 out of which around $3,620 has been raised (Gofundme.com, 2017). Since there are no cure for the presently, it will be of great help in funding the researchers so that they can progress on finding a cure for it (Brown et al., 2015). Carly Findlay who is an appearance activist in partnership with Genetic Support Network (GSN) was present and hosted the event. This gave a chance to the persons and their families that are suffering from the disease to interact with numerous people who had gathered in the evening for that event. Since most of the patients were introvert in nature and avoided the public eye, this gave them a chance to explain the people about the daily problems they have to face to survive (Shiell, 2014). SWOT Analysis of the event Strengths Having a team to support the fundraising event Regular communication, which will help in updating the audience about the event (Scott, 2014) Inviting families, as they form a part of the audience Online sale of t-shirts and other merchandize that will help in creating awareness and raising funds Weakness Problem in targeting the effective donors for the event Little or no feedback on the emails and the phone calls to the target audience Getting the support in material supplies from the families (Pernecky Luck, 2013) Creating awareness of the event in the social media will take time and will lose precious time Opportunities Target the teenage group by maintaining proper communication skills Preparing questionnaires for the families and audience, which will provide valuable feedback to make the event successful Inviting the media to cover the entire event, which will help in spreading awareness Thanking the audience after the end of the event (Scott, 2014) Threats The voluntary time spend by the people is limited, which may hamper the success of the event Due to recession, the event may see a limited amount of fund There may be difficulty in getting access to the grants The media may not be interested in the event, which will limit the awareness opportunity (Pernecky Luck, 2013) (Source: Created by the Author) Analysis of the event The disease is so rare that many few people know about the conditions that the patients face. On a global basis, these kinds of events have been done in United Kingdom and United States, which has helped in raising awareness among the local people. On a regional context, this event was the first time that it is being held in Australia. The Melbourne event saw a gathering of around six hundred people, which helped in spreading awareness of the disease in that area (Shiell, 2014). The role of the event was to help in knowing the patients better in and around the area, as they were all invited to the event. The people had shared their experiences with the audience, which helped in spreading of knowledge about the disease. This gradually helped in getting to know more about the disease by the common people, which would in turn help in identifying the disease if it happens to their family members (Jones, Newsome Macbeth, 2016). Based on the SWOT analysis that has been done above, it is clear that a team was required to make the event successful. To make the events successful in the future, use of advanced technologies will provide a great boost. It will help in catering better to the audience as their individual demands can be well looked after. Events like these need to be crowd funded, which will show that they have interest in spreading awareness about the diseases in the society. The planning of the events need to be done in advance so that maximum exposure can be received, which will help in making the event a success. Conclusion Thus, it can be concluded that the event was a success in the Melbourne area and was able to collect a good amount of fund. This would help the research process to continue and find some remedy for the disease. As many people had attended the event in Melbourne, it helped in getting a good number of audiences along with the potential donors. In this way, the people in Australia got aware and came to know more about the disease, which helped them in spreading knowledge in the future. Reference List Brown, G., Lee, I. S., King, K., Shipway, R. (2015). Eventscapes and the creation of event legacies.Annals of Leisure Research,18(4), 510-527. Chang, L. M., Reyes, M. (2014). A case of harlequin ichthyosis treated with isotretinoin.Dermatology online journal,20(2). Frew, E. (2014). Volunteer fundraising: The motivation for involvement in a charity arts event.Leisure Reflections... No. 36 Experience as Knowledge: its Place in Leisure................ Robert A. Stebbins.... 33 And Now For A Few Words From... D avid Crouch, 201488. Getz, D., Page, S. J. (2016).Event studies: Theory, research and policy for planned events. Routledge. Gofundme.com,. (2017). Click here to support Australian Ichthyosis Meet by Carly Findlay. gofundme.com. Retrieved 30 March 2017, from https://www.gofundme.com/ausichthymeet Jones, C., Newsome, D., Macbeth, J. (2016). Governance and environmental implications of motorised events: insights from Australia and avenues for further inquiry.Current Issues in Tourism,19(7), 680-696. Pernecky, T., Lck, M. (Eds.). (2013).Events, society and sustainability: Critical and contemporary approaches. Routledge. Scott, M. A. (2014).Organisational factors that drive fundraising effectiveness in Australian health charities(Doctoral dissertation, Queensland University of Technology). Shiell, A. (2014).Fundraising, Flirtation and Fancywork: Charity Bazaars in Nineteenth Century Australia. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

Make Your Narrative Essay Writing Perfect

It is more challenging to write a narrative essay than to create regular articles. Information is the primary thing you need to have as you write a narrative essay. It is not possible to make narrative essays properly without knowledge. However, other things are also necessary. They include the following. Perfect Knowledge of Spelling and Grammar You can make grammar and spelling mistakes when writing a narrative essay, mainly if English is not your first language. If you lack good knowledge of grammar, you will not be able to write an essay perfectly. Grammar is essential. If your article has many grammar mistakes, your readers will not appreciate it. There are many kinds of grammar errors. Some can be referred as errors while others are just misprints. It is therefore important to ensure that your essays are a hundred percent grammatically correct as you write so that they will be something that deserves to be read. Good Flow of Sentences Failing to pay attention to logic and sentence structures is one of the major pitfalls of narrative essay writing. Writers who can keep a steady flow of sentences are good. If you create an informative article, but the words and sentences you have used do not flow, readers will criticize your article. Also, if the sentences are incoherent, they will influence the essay in a negative manner. Therefore, take care of these problems as you write a narrative essay. You may also seek assistance from an academic writing service to avoid problems with writing. However, bear in mind that finding a professional writing service is not easy. Therefore, be careful as you select a writing service. Correct Use of Punctuation Marks Punctuation is vital in essay writing. The purpose of punctuation marks is separating ideas to clarify meaning and to let ideas relate to each other. If you fail to use the right punctuation marks, your readers will become confused and frustrated rather fast. Using the right punctuation is probably the most neglected skill. It is much easier to notice spelling mistakes than a comma that is placed incorrectly. However, this still makes a poor impression on the reader. Proper punctuation is important in college essays. Therefore, make sure that you learn the rules of using apostrophes, commas, and hyphens so that you will not make punctuation mistakes. The other pitfalls to avoid when writing narrative essays include: An event that does not follow preceding events logically. A character that behaves in a manner that earlier actions did not suggest. A character that possesses facts or knowledge unexpectedly. An event that occurs for no good reason. An event which occurs impossibly in a world you have created. A character that says or does something which is completely out of character because the author wants him or her to do it in order to make the plot work. In such a situation, the demands of plot work against character integrity. Writing something which is contradictory; something that refutes what you said or took place earlier in the story. These are the common pitfalls of narrative essay writing. Students usually make them when writing their essays, resulting into poor quality work. If you take heed of these problems, you will improve the manner in which you write narrative essays.