Monday, December 23, 2019

High School Dropout Rates And Incarceration Rates

Introduction The public education system has always been a controversial topic in America. Many different approaches have been taken to resolve the issues; however, the federal and state governments have yet to find a balance between school safety and education performance. Sociologists have studied the relationship between high school dropout rates and the increasing incarceration rates, that have been occurring within the last few decades. According to Thompson (2011; 23), â€Å"the nation’s public school system has been criminalized over the last forty years† resulting in poor academic performance of both students and teachers. In addition, Schept, Wall, and Brisman (2015; 96), focus on the negative impacts of federal legislation that has resulted in â€Å"racialized punishment† throughout public schools in the United States. In order to understand the relationship between high school dropout rates and incarceration rates, I will first touch upon a few laws specificall y passed to improve school safety, for example the Safe School Act of 1994 (Schept, Wall, and Brisman, 2015; 96), the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Ellis, 2007; 221), and the Gun-Free School Act 1994 (Essex, 2000; 37). Next, I will discuss how the policies lead to increased school suspensions (Schept, Wall, and Brisman, 2015; 96), increased crime rates (Thompson, 2011; 23), and race bias (Simmons, 2009; 215 and Marable, 2008; 59). This paper intends to explore the various factors in an educationalShow MoreRelatedComparison Between Schools And Prisons1732 Words   |  7 PagesSchools Vs Prisons The United States prison population has grown from approximately 500,000 to 2.3 million people in three decades. The us spends almost $70 billion dollars yearly to put adults in prison and jails. They also put 7.3 million people on probation and parole. California has the largest prison population rate in the country, with more than 170,000 people behind bars. More than a billion dollars is spent every year to incarcerate people from a community in Los Angeles . 40% of studentsRead MoreEssay On Dropout Age To 18864 Words   |  4 PagesKentucky, Maryland and Rhode Island all considered raising the high school dropout age to 18, yet Rhode Island was the only state that proved successful (Lewin, 2012). Only a year later, President Barack Obama urged all states to move the dropout age to 18 in his State of the Union Address. This was the first time Washington directly addressed an issue that many state legislators found difficult to present (Ho, 2017). In the past, the dropout age was set at 16 in a majority of the nation. Some statesRead MoreIs American Education Getting Worse Or Better?. One Of1378 Words   |  6 Pagesless money on war and inmates and lower the high school dropout rates. First, Americans are willing to put more money toward war than education. Education should be the number one priority instead of war. Americans pay 21% of their taxes to the military. â€Å"In fiscal year 2015, the federal government spent $3.7 trillion, amounting to 21 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP)† (Policy Basics: Where do our federal tax dollars go?). Some school will need new materials, such as books andRead MoreThe Results Of Raising The Dropout Age1517 Words   |  7 PagesKeys 1 The Results of Raising the Dropout Age Obtaining an education is essential in today’s society. Most students who attend school on a regular basis usually succeed in life. On the other hand, many students fail to attend school every day which can lead to problems in schools. However, some students have acceptable reasons for dropping out. As a result, a student’s punctuality can ultimately alter his or her education. On that note, dropping out of high school can affect an individual in manyRead MoreCriminalization at School: Zero-Tolerance Discipline Policies Might Be Damaging to Students1309 Words   |  6 Pagesindefinite suspension with a recommendation for expulsion because his school administrators believed he flashed a gang sign although he was simply putting up three fingers to represent his football jersey number. (NPR Isensee, 2014). This kind of criminalization of young people contributes to suspension, dropout, and incarceration, and too often pushes students into what is referred to by many education scholars and activists as the â€Å"school-to-prison pipeline,† a term that refers to â€Å"the policies and practicesRead MoreA Community Mapping Of The Little Village And Pilsen Communities1338 Words   |  6 Pagespublic schools, historical churches, parks, and recreation areas. In addition, the vibrant Mexican culture found on just about every block of the community. All of these factors contributed to what I would classify as a closely knit community. As with all communities, the Pilsen and Little Village areas are also dealing with a few challenges. Among these, a few were attempting to enhance image of Mexican culture, making Pilsen self reliant and family oriented, gang issues, and high high school dropoutRead MoreWhy Students Should Drop Out Of High School1268 Words   |  6 Pages Music Literacy in Schools High school literacy is linked to the high school dropout rate. While the high school dropout rates have declined over the past decade, the facts that influence this phenomenon continue to be consistent. There are multiple reasons for why students would drop out of high school. The following are just some of the reasons to why kids might dropout, including that they missed too many days, they thought they could not complete the course requirements, they didn’t feel safeRead MoreIs American Education Getting Worse Or Better?. One Of1638 Words   |  7 Pagesless money on war and inmates and lower the high school dropout rates. First, Americans are willing to put more money toward war than education. Education should be the number one priority instead of war. Americans pay 21% of their taxes to the military. â€Å"In fiscal year 2015, the federal government spent $3.7 trillion, amounting to 21 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP)† (Policy Basics: Where do our federal tax dollars go?). Some school will need new materials, such as books andRead MoreThe, Jim Crow And Mass Incarceration1056 Words   |  5 PagesMichelle Alexander writes and speaks about the 3 caste systems slavery, Jim Crow Laws, and mass incarceration. She asserts that racial separation has not gone away but rather morphed into present mass incarceration. Racial segregation has taken a new form and exists in prison systems and in socio-economic ways Caste system locks people up literally virtually. Alexander writes, â€Å"Jim Crow and mass incarceration have similar political origins. As described in chapter 1, both caste systems were born, inRead More Raising the Dropout Age Essay1421 Words   |  6 PagesChildren are told from a young age that it is mandatory for them to graduate from high school, but it’s not until they are on the verge of dropping out that they hear the importance for staying in school. It is also when they hear how high school students who dropouts learn the incredible price to pay in the future when they give up on an education. Thinking with a teenage state of mind and trying to take the easy way out they go straight for a GED, which is told to be an equivalent earning of a

Sunday, December 15, 2019

The Purchase of Alaska Free Essays

There are many states in North America. Formally known as the United States of America. From New York to California, you could find millions of different types of people, and cultures from around the world. We will write a custom essay sample on The Purchase of Alaska or any similar topic only for you Order Now But how about a state that is so isolated from them all, that many people forget it was even added as the 49th state to the country? The lone state of Alaska is to the north west of the major states and if laid on top of the other states, would cover about two-thirds of the land. And for a state that is so large, it is surely simply thought of as the coldest state.Alaska is much more then that, and has a lot of history behind just a land of snow and mountains. Alaska was discovered in 1741 by Russian settlers and had been colonized by them in 1784. With over 660 thousand square miles, Alaska was surely a big find by the Russian settler Vitus Jonassen. Not much was done at the time with Alaska, for the living conditions were really rough and treacherous. It took about forty years for the first settlements to come about in Alaska. Grigorii Shelikhov and his wife Natalia came to the Kodiak Islands along the coasts of Alaska and made a settlement along with hundreds of their kind.This was the first settlement of Alaska. From then on, settlers from Russia, Britain, the Spanish, and even American explorers and adventurers all settled in Alaska. Russia was going through financial issues and did not have sufficient funds for their country. â€Å"In 1867 United States Secretary of State William H. Seward offered Russia $7,200,000, or two cents per acre, for Alaska† (3). This was Seward’s most pronounced achievement as Secretary of State, and kept the British from taking over Alaska.This brought much more land into the United States at an extremely cheap price of 7. 2 million dollars. This purchase increased the value of America as a whole and offered many more revenues and resources. There were resources such as the huge line of seafood and fishing. Most of the seafood at the time and currently for America is brought out from the waters that surround Alaska. Most of Alaska was not explored during the time of purchase and the full benefit of Alaska was not known. After many years of exploring and the tate becoming close to what it is today, there was a discovery of oil in 1968 and this would, â€Å"have the most recoverable oil of any field in the United States† (5). After such a find, the purchase of Alaska seemed like an amazing idea, even though Seward had no idea at the time of purchase. In 1977, a pipeline for the oil recovery was laid down, and is now able to draw over eighty thousand barrels within only one hour, and the pipeline runs eight hundred-eighty miles from the top of Alaska to the bottom, going straight thru mainly the middle of the state.Even though America was bought off of Russia back in 1867, it was not a state instantly. In fact, it wasn’t even close. The population was far to low for it to become a state and also needed proper governing to be taken into consideration of being a state, â€Å"†¦wor ried that Alaska’s population was too sparse, distant, and isolated†¦too unstable for it to be a worthwhile addition to the United States† (5). Under president Eisenhower, Alaska was signed on as a state by the Alaska Statehood Act on July 7th, 1958.Overall, Alaska has brought many new and useful resources into America since it was bought and turned out to be more then just a beautiful place, but a place with plenty to offer. From food, to oil, Alaska has proved to the United States that it has helped tons with the nations economy.Works Cited 1. ) Library of Congress. â€Å"Treaty with Russia for the Purchase of Alaska† LOC. 4 August 2010. Web 16 Sept. 2010.http://www. loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/Alaska. html2. ) America’s Library. Purchase of Alaska: March 30, 1867† America’s Stories. 9 July 2004. Web 16 Sept. 2010. http://www. americaslibrary. gov/jb/recon/jb_recon_alaska_1. html3. ) 50 States. com. â€Å"Alaska Facts and Trivia† 2010. Web 24 Sept. 2010. http://www. 50states. com/facts/alaska. htm4. ) Thinkquest. â€Å"The first Settlement in Alaska† Web 26 Sept. 2010 http://library. thinkquest. org/22550/1784. html#5. ) Wikipedia. â€Å"Oil discovery, ANSCA, and the Trans-Alaska Pipeline† 25 September 2010. Web 25 Sept. 2010. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/History_of_Alaska How to cite The Purchase of Alaska, Papers

Saturday, December 7, 2019

International Energy Policy Industrial Revolution in Global Perspecti

Question: Using the PESTER analytical tool, critically analyse the impact of the Renewable energy policies of any developed economy on any OPEC member states energy policy. Answer: Introduction The fossil fuel reserves are continually depleting due to excessive exploitation all over the world. This is due the greater dependence of masses on conventional energy sources for meeting their daily needs. This is resulting in a high emission of greenhouse gases, which are mainly responsible for the global warming. Presently, about 74% of the global energy requirements are met by fossil fuel (Bauger et al. 2015). However, many alternate sources of energy have been discovered, but they are not sufficient meeting the growing energy requirement. The focus of the developing countries has shifted towards exploring the alternate clean and renewable energy sources. They are also framing strict rules and regulations for reducing the emission of the greenhouse gases. Developed countries are looking for energy security with a focus on climate change mitigation (Zhang et al. 2012). The UK is also discovering the renewable and unconventional sources of energy for achieving energy sustainabilit y. It is capitalizing on solar energy and wind energy to meet the energy requirement marginally. All these developments in the UK and other developed countries have serious implications for the OPEC, which need to revisit its energy strategy for future. Current Global Energy consumption scenario Currently, the most of the countries are heavily dependent on the fossil fuel for meeting their energy requirement. According to Lior (2013), this has resulted in the global warming caused due to the emission of greenhouse gasses. Therefore, the focus of developed nations is the exploitation of existing and emerging sources of renewable energy. Since the reserve of fossil fuel is limited, it is the biggest responsibility of our generation to invent and explore the new forms of energy. The challenge is to ensure energy sustainability while mitigating the effects of global warming at the same time. OPEC has complete control over the trade of crude oil and its byproducts (Zhang et al. 2012). It decides the prices o oil and petroleum products in the international market. WTO, which is the regulatory body for controlling all the cross-border trade between two nations, has no jurisdiction over the trade of crude oil in international market. The situation is changing with the country like the US and the China developing their capacity for producing crude oil for meeting their energy requirements partially (Asif and Muneer 2014). Because of this, OPEC is also under pressure to lower the prices of crude oil products. (Source: www.energytribune.com) Prospect of renewable energy sources for the UK The UK is also heavily dependent on the fossil fuel for meeting its energy requirement. It is bringing incremental changes in moving towards energy efficiency by exploring the unconventional and renewable sources of energy. According to Allen (2013), the UK government has prepared a roadmap for meeting 15% of its energy requirement by renewable energy sources. To achieve this challenging and ambitious target the UK government is investing heavily in renewable and nonconventional forms of energy such as wind energy, solar energy, tidal energy, marine energy, biomass energy and hydro energy (Mitchell and Connor 2014). UK produces 20% of its total electricity from the nonrenewable sources. It has set a target of stretching it to 30% by the end of 2020 (Foxon et al. 2015). The UK government is trying to achieve the energy efficiency with sight on reducing the carbon emission. The government aims is to make a clean and green UK for the future generation. The geographic position of the UK is very fruitful for the generation of wind energy at both offshore and onshore (Twidell and Weir 2015). The government has made a huge investment in the offshore and onshore wind energy projects. The total installed capacity of windmills of the UK is almost equal to combined capacity of the rest of the world. Figure: Share of renewable sources of energy in UK (Source: www.carbonbrief.com) PESTEL Analysis of energy sector The environment in which an industry or organization operates is directly or indirectly affected by the external and internal factors. The microenvironment directly affects any particular organization whereas; macro environment affects all the organizations operating in any particular industry. PESTLE stands for Political, Economical, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental respectively. Political Factors Crude oil is the most sought after commodity, which drives the economies of the world. Any fluctuation in crude oil prices has severe economic implications for all the countries due to their dependence on the fossil fuel for meeting their energy requirements. Currently, crude oil prices registered a monumental 70% increase from the prices last year (Asif and Muneer 2014). Like any other commodity, crude oil prices are also determined by the principle of demand and supply. Rising prices of crude oil of have a lasting impact on the economy of the developing countries. The demand for crude oil products is expected to be rising shortly while the production from existing sources is reduced by 4% because of social and political turbulences going in the Middle East region (Mitchell and Connor 2014). Economic Factors The oil and petroleum industry drive the global economy. The oil reserve of OPEC countries is the backbone of their economies. Any minor change in the rate of production of oil has a major effect on the economy of the rest of the countries of the world. This is due to a high dependence of energy requirements of domestic and commercial users. The oil and petroleum industry has production industry in the upstream and refinery industry in the downstream. The crude oil prices are affected by demand situation, the rate of production and discovery of the new oil reserves. Apart from this, demand for the large number of byproducts of crude oil such as plastic, insecticides, rubber, paint also affect the crude oil prices to a great extent. Social Factors The social factors too have a major impact on the production of oil in the OPEC countries. Currently, middle-east countries are undergoing through a lot of social and political turbulence mainly caused by terrorist activities in the neighboring countries. The oil and petroleum industry have brought significant changes in the lives of people of these countries. The social scientists think that the excessive exploitation of oil reserves is resulting in the accumulation of wealth in the hands of few people while there no major changes in the lives of the ordinary people (Twidell and Weir 2015). The oil companies are involved in the exploitation of basic human right of the workers from the Asian countries. This is also affecting the environment and eco-system in the middle-east countries. The environment activists are demanding to frame strict rules in this regard. Technological Factors The OPEC countries are continuously upgrading the techniques of oil exploration, production, processing, and distribution. All these technological developments are resulting in the higher production of crude oil. This increase is not sufficient to match the ever-growing demand for oil and petroleum products of the global population. The latest technologies are also focusing on the environmental protection and sustainable development of the population residing around oil fields (Farret and Simoes 2013). The latest techniques of logistics are resulting in the minimum loss during transportation and distribution. The satellite imaging is used in the exploration of the new oil reserves, which is leading to the discovery of many virgin oil fields (Grubb 2012). Environmental Factors The excessive exploitation of the existing and emerging oil fields is bringing environmental degradation in the OPEC countries. It has mostly affected the marine species, and many of them are reported to become extinct. This is having an adverse effect on the eco-system and ecology of these countries. The temperature is also growing rapidly in these countries, which are bringing change in the climate (Bauer 2015). There is a frequent outburst of natural disasters such as storms, tsunami, tornados, earthquakes, etc. There is a lack of robust rules and regulation for the protection of the environment, which is giving free rum to the companies for continuing their environmental derogatory work practices. Legal Factors The OPEC is the sole regulatory authority in the world, which has complete control over the exploration, production, supply and distribution of oil and petroleum products in the member countries. It has the monopoly over the trade of oil products in the global market and decides the prices of oil and petroleum products at its convenience. The WTO, which is a UN body formed for regulating the global trade also has no jurisdiction over the trade of crude oil products (Fischer, Gately and Kyle 2015). The UN is trying to impose some legal obligation on OPEC for addressing the issue of basic rights of workers, environmental protection, and consumer protection (Grubb 2012). Long-term Strategy of OPEC According to Ghadar (2105), OPEC is revisiting its existing strategy for oil exploration and production for alignment with the developments going on in the developing countries, which may affect the dynamics of oil trade in the future. They may not be in the driver seat of the oil and petroleum industry in the countries like China, UK, US and India developing their capacity for oil exploration and production (Twidell and Weir 2015). They are also keeping a close tab on the discovery of new renewable sources of energy in the developed countries. They know that the quest of the developed nation like UK to become energy efficient by using their natural resources could have lasting and serious financial implications for the OPEC countries. Therefore, a comprehensive change in the policy of OPEC is required to meet the upcoming challenges (Fischer et al. 2015). The future strategy of OPEC is to bring stability in the prices of oil and petroleum products as too high or too low prices are n ot in the favor of producer as well as consumers (www.opec.org). Recommendation The role of OPEC becomes very crucial in the wake of the ongoing energy crisis, climate change and global warming. OPEC has enjoyed the monopoly in the trade of oil and petroleum products for a long time. It is high time that the OPEC should make significant changes in the work procedures to address the issues of climate change, environmental protection, sustainable development, energy security and prosperity of the people. The latest scientific discovery in the developed country is focused towards finding new renewable sources of energy, which do not cause environmental degradation. The next century may be the century of clean, renewable, and unconventional energy. The OPEC cannot keep the issue of global warming, pollution, carbon emission, and sustainable development at bay any longer. Conclusion The world is heading towards a major energy crisis due to high dependence on the fossil fuel for meeting its energy requirements. As the reserves of coal and crude oil are limited, they may become depleted in the next century. According to energy experts, it is high time to look for the new unconventional and renewable sources of energy to avoid a likely energy scarcity in the coming future. The excessive use of fossil fuel for fulfilling energy requirements is causing severe damage to the environment. The ongoing crisis of global warming is the result of carbon emission caused due to the burning of fossil fuel. The most countries are setting an ambitious target of reducing the carbon emission to bring the situation under control. There is a growing emphasis on increasing the capacity of existing alternative energy projects and setting new plants to produce the electricity using solar energy, wind energy, tidal energy, biomass, and hydroelectricity. The UK has made a significant impr ovement in the production of offshore and onshore wind energy with having capacity almost equal to rest of the world combined. These developments are forcing the OPEC to make necessary changes in their strategy to come to terms with these. They have overlooked the impact of high oil exploration and production but are recognizing the fact that balance is needed to maintain for addressing the issue of climate change. This may isolate the OPEC in the international community if it continues to overlook theses issues, which may have a long-term impact on the economy of the OPEC countries. They also need to explore the unconventional techniques for oil exploration and production for minimizing the damage to the eco-system of the region. Reference List Allen, R.C., 2013.The British industrial revolution in global perspective(pp. 135-181). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Asif, M., and Muneer, T., 2014. Energy supply, its demand and security issues for developed and emerging economies.Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews,11(7), pp.1388-1413. Bauer, G.H., 2015. Global Energy Situation. InPhotovoltaic Solar Energy Conversion(pp. 5-8). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Department Of Energy Climate Change - GOV.UK. Gov.uk. N.p., 2016. Web. 30 July 2016. Farret, F.A. and Simes, M.G., 2013.Integration of alternative sources of energy(pp. 112-127). IEEE press. Fischer, D., Gately, D. and Kyle, J.F., 2015. The prospects for OPEC: a critical survey of models of the world oil market.Journal of Development Economics,2(4), pp.363-386. Foxon, T.J., Gross, R., Chase, A., Howes, J., Arnall, A. and Anderson, D., 2015. UK innovation systems for new and renewable energy technologies: drivers, barriers, and systems failures.Energy Policy,33(16), pp.2123-2137. Ghadar, F., 2015. Evolution of OPEC strategy. Grubb, M.J., 2012. The integration of renewable electricity sources.Energy Policy,19(7), pp.670-688. Lior, N., 2013. Energy resources and use: The present situation and possible paths to the future.Energy,33(6), pp.842-857. Mitchell, C. and Connor, P., 2014. Renewable energy policy in the UK 19902003.Energy Policy,32(17), pp.1935-1947. OPEC: Brief History. Opec.org. N.p., 2016. Web. 30 July 2016. Twidell, J., and Weir, T., 2015.Renewable energy resources. Routledge. Zhang, N., Lior, N. and Jin, H., 2012. The energy situation and its sustainable development strategy in China.Energy,36(6), pp.3639-3649.