Real Life Example for Money Rules the World free essay sample

With the advent of the World Wide Web and fast Internet connections, the data contained in these databases and a great many special-purpose programs can be accessed quickly, easily, and cheaply from any location in the world. As a consequence, computer-based tools now play an increasingly critical role in the advancement of biological research. Bioinformatics, a rapidly evolving discipline, is the application of computational tools and techniques to the management and analysis of biological data. The term bioinformatics is relatively new, and as defined here, it encroaches on such terms as computational biology and others. The use of computers in biology research predates the term bioinformatics by many years. For example, the determination of 3D protein structure from X-ray crystallographic data has long relied on computer analysis. In this book I refer to the use of computers in biological research as bioinformatics. Its important to be aware, however, that others may make different distinctions between the terms. We will write a custom essay sample on Real Life Example for Money Rules the World or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In particular, bioinformatics is often the term used when referring to the data and the techniques used in large-scale sequencing and analysis of entire genomes, such as C. elegans, Arabidopsis, and Homo sapiens. What Bioinformatics Can Do Heres a short example of bioinformatics in action. Lets say you have discovered a very interesting segment of mouse DNA and you suspect it may hold a clue to the IT-SC 4 development of fatal brain tumors in humans. After sequencing the DNA, you perform a search of Genbank and other data sources using web-based sequence alignment tools such as BLAST. Although you find a few related sequences, you dont get a direct match or any information that indicates a link to the brain tumors you suspect exist. You know that the public genetic databases are growing daily and rapidly. You would like to perform your searches every day, comparing the results to the previous searches, to see if anything new appears in the databases. But this could take an hour or two each day! Luckily, you know Perl. With a days work, you write a program (using the Bioperl module among other things) that automatically conducts a daily BLAST search of Genbank for your DNA sequence, compares the results with the previous days results, and sends you email if there has been any change. This program is so useful that you start running it for other sequences as well, and your colleagues also start using it. Within a few months, your days worth of work has saved many weeks of work for your community. This example is taken from real life. There are now existing programs you can use for this purpose, even web sites where you can submit your DNA sequence and your email address, and theyll do all the work for you! This is only a small example of what happens when you apply the power of computation to a biological problem. This is bioinformatics. About This Book This book is a tutorial for biologists on how to program, and is designed for beginning programmers. The examples and exercises with only a few exceptions use biological data. The books goal is twofold: it teaches programming skills and applies them to interesting biological areas. I want to get you up and programming as quickly and painlessly as possible. I aim for simplicity of explanation, not completeness of coverage. I dont always strictly define the programming concepts, because formal definitions can be distracting. The Perl language makes it possible to start writing real programs quickly. As you continue reading this book and the online Perl documentation, youll fill in the details, learn better ways of doing things, and improve your understanding of programming concepts. Depending on your style of learning, you can approach this material in different ways. One way, as the King gravely said to Alice, is to Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop. (This line from Alice in Wonderland is often used as a whimsical definition of an algorithm. ) The material is organized to be read in this fashion, as a narrative. Another approach is to get the programs into your computer, run them, see what they do, and perhaps try to alter this or that in the program to see what effect your changes have. This may be combined with a quick skim of the text of the chapter. This is a common approach used by programmers when learning a new language. Basically, you learn by imitation, looking at actual programs. IT-SC 5 Anyone wishing to learn Perl programming for bioinformatics should try the exercises found at the end of most chapters. They are given in approximate order of difficulty, and some of the higher-numbered exercises are fairly challenging and may be appropriate for classroom projects. Because theres more than one way to do things in Perl, there is no one correct answer to an exercise. If youre a beginning programmer, and you manage to solve an exercise in any way whatsoever, youve succeeded at that exercise. My exercises may be found at suggested solutions to the http://www. oreilly. com/catalog/begperlbio. I hope that the material in this book will serve not only as a practical tutorial, but also as a first step to a research program if you decide that bioinformatics is a promising research direction in itself or an adjunct to ongoing investigations. Who This Book Is For This books is a practical introduction to programming for biologists. Programming skills are now in strong demand in biology research and development. Historically, programming has not often been viewed as a critical skill for biologists at the bench. However, recent trends in biology have made computer analysis of large amounts of data central to many research programs. This book is intended as a hands-on, one-volume course for the busy biologist to acquire practical bioinformatics programming abilities. So, if you are a biologist who needs to learn programming, this book is for you. Its goal is to teach you how to write useful and practical bioinformatics programs as quickly and as painlessly as possible. This book introduces programming as an important new laboratory skill; it presents a programming tutorial that includes a collection of protocols, or programming techniques, that can be immediately useful in the lab. But its primary purpose is to teach programming, not to build a comprehensive toolkit. There is a real blending of skills and approaches between the laboratory bench and the computer program. Many people do indeed find themselves shifting from running gels to writing Perl in the course of a day—or a career—in biology research. Of course, programming is its own discipline with its own methods and terminology, and so must be approached on its own terms. But there is cross-fertilization going on (if youll pardon the metaphor between the two disciplines). This books exercises are of varying difficulty for those using it as a class textbook or for self study. (Almost) all examples and exercises are based on real biological problems, and this book will give you a good introduction to the most common bioinformatics programming problems and the most common computer-based biological data. This books web site, http://www. reilly. com/catalog/begperlbio, includes all the program code in the book for convenient download, including the exercises and solutions, plus errata and other information. [1] IT-SC 6 [1] Program code, or simply code, means a computer program—the actual Perl language commands a programmer writes in a file. Why Should I Learn to Program? Since many researchers who describe their work as bioinformatics dont program at all, but rather, use programs written by others, its tempting to ask, Do I really need to learn programming to do bioinformatics? At one level, the answer is no, you dont. You can accomplish quite a bit using existing tools, and there are books and documentation available to help you learn those tools. But at another, higher level, the answer to the question changes. What happens when you want to do something a preexisting tool doesnt do? What happens when you cant find a tool to accomplish a particular task, and you cant find someone to write it for you? At that point, you need to learn to program. And even if you still rely mainly on existing programs and tools, it can be worthwhile to learn enough to write small programs. Small programs can be incredibly useful. For example, with a bit of practice, you can learn to write programs that run other programs and spare yourself hours sitting in front of the computer doing things by hand. Many scientists start out writing small programs and find that they really like programming. As a programmer, you never need to worry about finding the right tools for your needs; you can write them yourself. This book will get you started. Structure of This Book There are thirteen chapters and two appendixes in this book. The following provides a brief introduction: Chapter 1 This chapter covers some key concepts in molecular biology, as well as how biology and computer science fit together. Chapter 2 This chapter shows you how to get Perl up and running on your computer. Chapter 3 Chapter 3 provides an overview as to how programmers accomplish their jobs. Some of the most important practical strategies good programmers use are explained, and where to find answers to questions that arise while you are programming is carefully laid out. These ideas are made concrete by brief narrative case studies that show how programmers, given a problem, find its solution. Chapter 4 In Chapter 4 you start writing Perl programs with DNA and proteins. The programs transcribe DNA to RNA, concatenate sequences, make the reverse complement of DNA, read sequences data from files, and more. IT-SC 7 Chapter 5 This chapter continues demonstrating the basics of the Perl language with programs that search for motifs in DNA or protein, interact with users at the keyboard, write data to files, use loops and conditional tests, use regular expressions, and operate on strings and arrays. Chapter 6 This chapter extends the basic knowledge of Perl in two main directions: subroutines, which are an important way to structure programs, and the use of the Perl debugger, which can examine in detail a running Perl program. Chapter 7 Genetic mutations, fundamental to biology, are modelled as random events using the random number generator in Perl. This chapter uses random numbers to generate DNA sequence data sets, and to repeatedly mutate DNA sequence. Loops, subroutines, and lexical scoping are also discussed. Chapter 8 This chapter shows how to translate DNA to proteins, using the genetic code. It also covers a good bit more of the Perl programming language, such as the hash data type, sorted and unsorted arrays, binary search, relational databases, and DBM, and how to handle FASTA formatted sequence data. Chapter 9 This chapter contains an introduction to Perl regular expressions. The main focus of the chapter is the development of a program to calculate a restriction map for a DNA sequence. Chapter 10 The Genetic Sequence Data Bank (GenBank) is central to modern biology and bioinformatics. In this chapter, you learn how to write programs to extract information from GenBank files and libraries. You will also make a database to create your own rapid access lookups on a GenBank library. Chapter 11 This chapter develops a program that can parse Protein Data Bank (PDB) files. Some interesting Perl techniques are encountered while doing so, such as finding and iterating over lots of files and controlling other bioinformatics programs from a Perl program. Chapter 12 Chapter 12 develops some code to parse a BLAST output file. Also mentioned are the Bioperl project and its BLAST parser, and some additional ways to format output in Perl.

Budget Comparison Analysis

Budget Comparison Analysis The Federal Budget: Issues for FY2011 and FY2012 The federal budget is an important instrument used by the Congress to distribute resources and influence federal policies. The budget cycle for a single year takes about three calendar years to be completed. The managerial agencies open the budgetary procedure by assembling complete budget requests in the fiscal year before the President’s budget obedience.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Budget Comparison Analysis specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Usually, numerous agencies commence working on their budget estimates during the summer before the onset of the fiscal year. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) supervises the development of budget estimates from these agencies. The president is then expected to present a budget before the Congress on the first Monday of February (Levit, 2011, p.1). Budget Baseline Projections Financial plan Baseline projections review the brunt of future legislation on the budget. The CBO calculates current law baseline projections based on the postulations outlined in the budget enforcement legislation. Estimates based on these postulations usually produce superior revenue projections and slower growth of discretionary expenditure relative to scenarios autonomous forecasters perceive as likely. There are certain assumptions incorporated by CBO baseline projections: that the 2001/2003/2010 tax reliefs expire after 2012; that discretionary expenditure stays unchanged in inflation-adjusted terms; that sharp cutbacks in Medicare’s payment rates for doctors’ services will commence at the end of 2011 as planned; and that protraction of unemployment benefit will end on 31st, 2011 as planned. Nonetheless, CBO offers estimates of these overheads independently from its baseline (Levit, 2011, p.2). Federal Spending and Revenue Trends The federal spending accounted for about 21.2% of the gross domestic product (GDP) whereas federal revenues were estimated at 18.1% of GDP over the last four decades. Since FY2000, the US has experienced a budget deficit as a result of imbalances between spending and revenues (Table 1 in the appendix). For instance, in FY2010, the regime used up over $3.49 trillion in contrast to the $2.2 trillion in proceeds during this time. In addition, between the fiscal years 2008 and 2010, expenditures grew by $472.8 billion whereas revenues shrank by $362.1 billion (Levit, 2011, p.3).Advertising Looking for report on public administration? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Federal Spending Federal expenditures are usually split into: mandatory, discretionary, and net interest categories. Mandatory expenditure includes expenditure on entitlement programs such as Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid. The Congress enacts laws that stipulate eligibility requirements for entitlement programs. The C ongress usually sets asides funds for entitlement programs based on the number of people who qualify. Optional expenditure on the other hand is a matter of yearly congressional appropriations laws. Net interest encompasses interest payments made by the government on the debt held by the public. In the fiscal year 2010, discretionary expenditure was about 9.28% of GDP. Discretionary expenditure, as a percentage of GDP, has been rising by 8.2% every year since FY2000. Increases in discretionary expenditures during this period (FY2000-FY2010) are mainly attributed to the US’ overseas military operations, especially in Afghanistan and Iraq (Levit, 2011, p.5). During the fiscal year 2010, mandatory expenditure was estimated at 55.2% of the aggregate spending, discretionary expenditure totaled 38.9% of aggregate spending, and net interest was about 5.6% of aggregate expenditure. Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security alone make up 42.9% of aggregate federal expenditure. Given that discretionary expenditure is slightly above 33% of the aggregate federal spending, a number of budget experts propose that any major federal outlay cuts must take into account reductions in mandatory spending. However, other experts argue that reductions in mandatory expenditures would have a negative impact on many households. Nonetheless, since CBO projects that the mandatory expenditure will increase to 14% of GDP in FY2021, action is required to reduce projected deficit levels and reinstate long-term fiscal health (Levit, 2011, p.6). Federal Revenue In the fiscal year 2000, total revenues were 20.5% of GDF. However, in FY2010, total revenues collected were 14.8% of GDP, the lowest level ever in the last six decades. Federal revenues have remained low for several years due to tax relief provision and economic recession. It is projected that federal revenues will remain low in FY2011. The long-term federal revenue prospects are dependent on the legislative actions of Congress on p otential tax reform and speed at which the economy recovers from the 2008 financial crisis. According to the CBO baseline projections, revenues are expected to increase to 20.7% of GDP in FY2021. These projections are based on the assumptions that some specific tax provisions end as planned under the current law.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Budget Comparison Analysis specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Consequently, tax rates will increase hence boost revenue collection. â€Å"The major source of federal revenues has long been individual income taxes. For example, individual income tax revenues in the fiscal year 2010 were estimated at 6.3% of GDP† (Levit, 2011, p.6). Federal Response to Economic Crisis The federal government adopted exceptional remedial measures to address the 2008 financial crisis. For example, in February 2008, the Congress approved a $150 billion package (Economic Stimulus Act, 2008) to boost consumption levels through reimbursements to taxpayers and allowing business organizations devalue capital investments. Furthermore, the head of state signed into law the ARRA ACT of 2009, a second incentive package that is intended to kindle economic growth. The ARRA enclosed provisions that are now approximated at $820.8 billion in augmented mandatory and optional expenditure and decreased tax revenue for the FY2009-FY2019 period. â€Å"CBO projects that over 86% of ARRA’s direct effect on the deficit will take place the FY2011 ends† (Levit, 2011, p.10). These economic stimulus packages aim to bolster several state and local government programs such as: school funding, Medicaid, tax rebates, prolonged unemployment benefits as well as increased funding for transportation projects (Levit, 2011, p.10). Appropriations in the 2011 Fiscal Year The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act 2010 were signed by the President into law on D ecember 17th, 2010. This law had many provisions, such as the reinstatement of the estate tax up to 2012, the expansion of the 2001 and 2003 Bush tax rebates up to 2012 and patching the optional minimum tax up to the expiry of FY2011. In addition, the emergency unemployment benefits were prolonged under this law (Office of Management and Budget, 2011, p.16). The employee share of the payroll tax was also reduced by 2% until the expiry of FY2011. According to the present law, CBO projected that the expenditure and revenue actions in the bill would amplify the deficit by over $389 billion in FY2011 and by $467.9 billion during the FY2012-FY2020 (Levit, 2011, p.12).Advertising Looking for report on public administration? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More California’s State Budget In recent years, the state of California has been compelled to make hard choices to plug the budget gaps, for example, taxes were increased provisionally. In addition, the Proposition 98 Guarantee was decreased from $56.5 billion to about $49 billion. Overall, $103.5 billion in budgetary cuts were implemented between FY2008 and FY2010 (Brown, 2011, p.1). Even though the financial crisis has been the main cause of California’s budget deficit, the state had structural budget deficit prior to the economic recession. The budget gap for California State is projected to increase to $25.3 billion in the FY2011-12. This gap is composed of a budget-year deficit of $17.3 billion and a current-year deficit of $8.1 billion. There are several factors that contributed to the anticipated shortfall in FY2011-12. For example, the budget plan implemented in FY2010-2011 was based on impractical assumptions, such as financial assistance from the federal governmen t and on expenditure cuts that were not implemented. In total, these factors ($3.5 billion in federal assistance and $1.8 billion cuts) increase the budget gap by $5.3 billion (Brown, 2011, p.4). Bridging the Budget Gap In order to reinstate the power of local government to make sound decisions, increase efficiency in government operations and ensure the sustenance of core services, the governor proposed several remedial measures to bridge the budget deficit. As illustrated in Table 2, the budget consists of $ 26.4 billion in revenues, expenditure cuts and other measures to reduce plug the deficit in FY2010-11 and beyond. The budget decreases expenditure by about 12.4 billion. It comprises considerable cuts to several key programs, for example, $1.4 billion to California’s welfare-to-work program, $1.6 billion to Medi-Cal, $1billion to the California State University and University of California, over $579 million to employee reimbursement and state operations, and $750 milli on to the Department of Development Services (Brown, 2011, p.5). The California’s budget also contains some elements of borrowing and savings. â€Å"These consist of $1.6 billion in property tax shifts, $1.7 billion in borrowing from special funds, $0.9 billion from Proposition 63 moneys to finance community mental health services and $1 billion from Proposition 10 reserve to finance children’s programs†(Brown, 2011, p.6). Implementing the budget’s long-term solutions is the best way to purge the structural gaps in the future. As a result, the proposed budget demands for a hastened timeline to reinstate balance to the State’s budget. The proposed budget assumes that all relevant legislative amendments will be passed by the legislature and signed into law to implement budget solutions (Brown, 2011, p.6). Revenue Estimates California is currently recovering from the 2008 economic crisis. This recovery is apparent in the underlying revenue estimates f or the majority of California’s key revenue sources. The recently passed legislation has altered the pattern of California’s General Fund revenues. For instance, the Business Act [2008] limited the use of business tax credits (by 50%) to compensate taxpayer’s pre-credit responsibility for big businesses in FY2008-09. the impact of this restriction was to augment revenue by about $352 million in the FY2008-09, by $274 million in FY2009-10, and by about $7.9 million in FY2010-11. in addition, the Budget Act [2008] allowed corporations to share their credits with members in their association, commencing in FY2010. The impact of this provision was not evident until the FY2009-10 when the anticipated revenue is $54.9 million (Brown, 2011, p.36). This provision is projected to cause a revenue loss of about $235 million and $340 million in FY2010-11 and FY2011-12 respectively (Brown, 2011, p.37). Employee Compensation and Retirement In FY2011-12, salaries for state emp loyees are estimated to cost about $6.9 billion while other benefits such as retirement contributions and health care are estimated to cost $3.3 billion General Fund. Consequently, reducing salaries and benefits outlays continues to be critical to closing the budget gap. There are several proposals outlined in the General Fund budget to bridge the deficit. The first proposal relates to Personal Leave Program. The proposed budget mirrors savings of $71.5 million accruing from the personal leave program and extending into FY2011-12. The second proposal relates to the Reduced Employee Compensation Costs. A decrease of $308.3 million attained via a 10% reduction in take-home reimbursement for the 6 bargaining units without agreements. These savings will be realized via joint bargaining. Core Health Care Option is the third proposal outlined in the budget. In FY2010-11, healthcare benefit outlays for retirees and active employees are projected at 2.3 billion (Brown, 2011, p.177). In orde r to reduce healthcare expenditures for retirees and state employees, the budget incorporates an additional core health plan to the present plan options in order to save over $71 million from the anticipated rise in the FY2012 health rates. The core health plan would grant essential healthcare insurance at a lower premium. The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) will be empowered by the legislation to: bargain and append a core healthcare plan option to the current range of healthcare plans; and include a state agent in the healthcare contract consultations for the purpose of making adjustments to the core healthcare plan option and promoting the inclusion of cost-effective options within the current plans (Brown, 2011, p.178). Lancaster County: Budget Estimates FY2010 The management staff of the Lancaster County prepared a comprehensive budget estimates on the financial activities of the county for the FY2010. Since FY2004, the County of Lancaster has ne ver experienced a budget deficit (Table 3). For example, in FY 2004-05 total revenues were estimated at $16.6 million while total expenditures were $16.3 million during this period. In spite of the 2008 financial crisis, the total revenues collected in the County of Lancaster in FY2009-10 was the highest ($23.5 million) since FY2004-05 (Russell, 2010, p.61). In FY2010, unemployment rate for the County of Lancaster was 8.5%. In addition, revenues from taxable sale reduced by 3.5% during the 2010 fiscal period. As a result, the County’s budget for FY2011 decreased by about 2.3% (Russell, 2010, p.9). Priority of Funding The Lancaster County offers government services in eight key operational areas. These areas and percentage of total funding are: Judicial Administration- 3.2%; General Government Administration- 6.1%; Public Works-5.7%; Public Safety- 19.5%; Education- 50.7%; Health and Welfare- 11.8%; Community Development- 2.1%; and Parks, Recreation and Cultural-0.9% (Russell, 2010, p.3). Overview of the Lancaster’s Budget The budget statement for the County of Lancaster has three key aspects: Government financial reports; Fund financial reports; and Notes to the financial reports. The government financial reports provide general overview of the financial status of the County. Moreover, the government financial reports differentiate roles of the Lancaster County that are mainly financed through taxes and intergovernmental revenues obtained from user fees and other charges. The governmental activities of the Lancaster County include: courts; general government; sanitation; police services; social services; and education. The Fund financial reports are a cluster of accounts that are used to manage the manner in which the Counties resources are distributed for certain activities. The notes to the financial reports provide supplementary information that is critical to a full comprehension of the data contained in the government and fund financial repo rts (Russell, 2010, p.5). The government statement reflects activities such as public works, public safety and welfare services, which are financed through general government revenues (sales tax, property tax, fines, permits, etc). The statement of activities decreases gross expenditure via contributions, related program revenues and capital grants. The legislative fund fiscal reports are prepared using the attuned accrual basis of secretarial and the present fiscal resources extent benchmark. Revenues are acknowledged on the basis of their availability. They are treated as available only if they are collectible in the present financial period in order to be used to offset current expenditures. Accordingly, the County of Lancaster deems revenues to be available if they are collectible within 60 days after the expiry of the current financial period. â€Å"Expenditures are usually recorded when an expense is incurred. Nevertheless, debt service spending and spending related to compen sated claims, absence and judgments are documented only when imbursement is due† (Russell, 2010, p.20). The fiduciary funds of the Lancaster County are documented in the financial reports by type. Given that these resources cannot be used finance activities of the local government, they are not included into the government financial reports (Russell, 2010, p.20). Franchise taxes, property taxes and licenses related to the current fiscal year are perceived to be subject to accrual and are thus documented as revenues in FY2010. Consequently, personal and real taxes are documented as receivables and revenues when payable. Utility and sales taxes, which are amassed state agencies and forwarded to the County of Lancaster are treated as receivables and revenues if they are collectible within 60 days after the expiry of the FY2010. In addition, permits, licenses, rents and fines are documented as revenues when collected. Intergovernmental revenues- from state, federal and other grant s to be used to fund specific outlays- are documented in the fiscal period to which the funding applies. All other sources of revenues are perceived to be available and measurable the moment they are received by the government (Russell, 2010, p.20). Governmental Fund The County of Lancaster uses the General Fund to finance its operations. The fund is mainly used to document all financial resources and transactions of the County. The main sources of revenues are: local taxes; property taxes; licenses; federal grants; service charges; permits; and income interests. A major segment of the General Fund is mainly used to fund the activities of the Component Unit School Board. Capital Projects Funds is used to finance the construction or procurement of major capital assets. Special Revenue Funds are used by the County to document incomes from specific sources of revenues (except major capital projects) and requires different documentation as stipulated by the current legislative provision s (Russell, 2010, p.21). Long-term Obligations In the government financial reports, long-term obligations are documented as expenditures in the relevant business-type activities and governmental activities. With esteem to the fund fiscal reports, legislative fund sorts deed bond premiums as well as issuance costs of the bonds during the current fiscal period. The nominal value of debt issued and payments on debt issuances are documented as other sources of financing whereas concessions on debt issuances are documented as other expenditures incurred. The costs of bond issuances are documented as debt service outlays (Russell, 2010, p.24). Appendix Table 1: Federal Budget: Total Expenditure and Revenues, FY2000-FY2010 (As percentage of GDP) Fiscal Year 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 Expenditure 20.6 18.4 19.8 20 19.8 24 Revenues 18.1 18.4 16 18 18.4 15 Source: Levit, M.R. (2011). The Federal Budget: Issues for FY2011, FY2012, and Beyond. Washington, D.C., Congressional Resear ch Service Table 2: California’s State Budget: Budget Estimates (Dollars in millions) Fiscal Year 2010-11 2011-12 Total Percentage Expenditure Reductions 420 12,076 12496 47 Revenues 3162 8863 12025 46 Others 505 1378 1883 7 Total 4087 22317 26404 100 Source: Brown, E.G. (2011). 2011-12 Governors’ Budget Summary. Sacramento, California, State Capital. Table 3: Lancaster County: Total Revenues and Expenditures, Fy2004-FY2010 (Dollars in millions) Fiscal Year Total Expenditure Total Revenues 2004-05 16372 16614 2005-06 18260 16903 2006-07 19431 18944 2007-08 21109 21544 2008-09 21323 23550 2009-10 21534 23521 Source: Russell, J. (2010). County of Lancaster, Virginia: Annual Financial Report. Virginia, County of Lancaster. References Brown, E.G. (2011). 2011-12 Governor’s Budget Summary. Sacramento, California, State Capital. Levit, M.R. (2011). The Federal Budget: Issues for FY2011, FY2012, and Beyond. Washington, D.C., Congressiona l Research Service. Office of Management and Budget. (2010). Fiscal Year 2012: Budget of the U.S. Government. Washington, D.C., U.S. Government Printing Office. Russell, J. (2010). County of Lancaster, Virginia: Annual Financial Report. Virginia, County of Lancaster.

The Picture of Dorian Gray Book Review

'The Picture of Dorian Gray' Book Review Oscar Wildes  only novel The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891) is a classic instance of the aestheticism of the late 19th centurys  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹Ã¢â‚¬â€¹English literature. The maxim of aestheticism art for arts sake is reflected in the opening of the novel, which specifies arts aim to reveal the art and conceal the artist. For greater emphasis, Wilde defines the artist as free of ethical sympathies and morbidity. Even books are seen as only well written or badly written and not as moral or amoral. Following this prelude on art and beauty, Wilde weaves a  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹plot that explores the issue to its core. The plot of The Picture of Dorian Gray, if seen apart from the wit and epigrams of Lord Henry is serious and, at times, even somber. Dorian Gray is a young and handsome man whose well-off friend Lord Henry takes him to an art-loving painter, Basil Hallward. The painter makes a picture of Dorian Gray, a fascinating piece that makes Dorian wish to stop aging. His wish is fulfilled and the picture starts aging instead of young Dorian. The consequence is a disaster. Oscar Wilde has created an amusing tale that does not end very happily but ends beautifully with our easy-going Lord Henry still chirping. Style and Setting Anyone who has read dramatic fiction (Oscar Wilde in particular) will not find it hard to see the style of the storys narrative as closer to drama than a novel. Wilde is not obsessed with describing settings in detail as a novelist with a constructive bent would be. But the brevity of description is masterfully covered in the warm and witty conversations that fill most of the novel. The epigrams of Lord Henry shoot arrows of gentle satire on different elements of society. Women, America, faithfulness, stupidity, marriage, romance, humanity, and weather are just some of the numerous targets of Wildes criticism, which the readers receive from the sharp but sweet tongue of Lord Henry. The twittering lord is thus made an indelible  character for his ease of expression and his envied indifference. Yet, the author does not rely solely on spoken words to impart his impression. He describes some scenes in words that evoke a vivid image in the readers mind. Perhaps the best of these is Dorian Grays brief journey through the dark and filthy streets that stand in an obtrusive contrast to his luxurious entourage but which also bear a remarkable resemblance to the kind of life he has embraced. Characters in The Picture of Dorian Gray Like his stories and plays, Oscar Wilde does not employ many characters to run the story of his novel. Nearly the entire plot is nucleated around Dorian, Lord Henry, and the artist Basil. Minor characters like the Duchess of Harley serve the purpose of initiating or furthering topics that would ultimately be the butt of Lord Henrys repartees. The character description and motivation are again left mainly to the perceptual capacity of the readers. Wilde is always testing the aesthetics of his readers and the easier you go with his characters disposition, the greater insight you gain. Self-Love and the Vulnerability of Beauty The Picture of Dorian Gray addresses more than one theme. The primary appeal of the subject of beauty, as it appears to eyes, is the main focus of the novel. Wilde reveals the tenderness of self-love, or narcissism, which sometimes fails to find an object outside itself. Dorians beauty, unlike Basils art and Lord Henrys social status, is more vulnerable to decay with time. But it is not this weakness of beauty to age that brings the disaster upon our protagonist. It is the consciousness of the owner of beauty to his own wealth that triggers the boundless fear of perishingfear that causes his doom. Unlike Lord Henrys ease about his rank, Dorians angst about the ephemeral nature of his beauty is shown as the true enemy of a persons self. The philosophical boundaries of Oscar Wildes The Picture of Dorian Gray are too deep to track to their ends. The novel addresses the issue of self-concept as portrayed in art. Further, it connects a persons emotional response to his/her own image. While Dorian remains young and beautiful, the mere sight of an aging picture of him is unbearably painful. It would be too presumptuous to conclude that The Picture of Dorian Gray is a work of beauty with no moralistic purpose. Wilde was not a moralist (as many of us already know) and within the book, there is not much to emphasize a moral code or right conduct. But the novel, in its covert meaning, is not without a moral lesson. We can easily see that beauty is ephemeral and any attempt to deny this fact is amoral. It brings ruin as shows the case of Dorian Gray.

Technical Solutions to Ensure the Building Is Energy Efficient and Research Paper

Technical Solutions to Ensure the Building Is Energy Efficient and Consistent with the Planets Ecosystem - Research Paper Example According to Speigel and Meadows (2012, p 16), most corporations and investors are seeking green solutions and want energy efficient materials to be present in their buildings. This study aims to highlight sustainability and usefulness of such products and their relevance at the end of the corporation. This paper entails the innovative and technical solutions that are necessary to ensure the building is energy efficient and consistent with the planet's ecosystem. Nowadays numerous buildings are expected to accomplish the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) ratings when constructing. Speigel and Meadows (2012, p.58) assert these standards are meant to advance the sustainability goals, diminish energy utilization, and encourage sustainability of the buildings and renewability. Replenishment of Insulation and energy deficiencies in a building can be through the introduction of high-performance windows that are thick and can guarantee diminution loss of warmth during win ter. Moreover, the windows with low E have capabilities of keeping heat either in or out (Simmons 2010, p.62). These windows can be put in the rooms where workers will spend a large proportion of their time. It is essential for the internal thermal conditions to be conducive for the inhabitants to be comfortable. This windows can be initially expensive but eventually, the will be cost saving. This is because an alternative mode will be utilizing electricity to increase the thermal levels of the rooms. In addition, there are solar windows that are transparent but encompass qualities that enable them to absorb the sun’s beam. This is a renewable resource, and it will accumulatively harness energy that is clean and comparably efficient as electricity.

Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing - Essay Example However, it is common sight for the law keepers to have a red light burn the moment they find unaccounted money getting passed down somewhere. Money laundering in today's world happens mostly through the banks. Banks were expected to tighten their money movement specifications. But with the wide open internet all around it becomes tougher for the banks to manage and monitor what is the nature of movement and who is sending what to whom. The following section identifies the various methods adopted by the banks to ensure fair movement of money. Three points were the money laundering and terrorism related monetary transactions can be identified and monitored are: 1) entry of cash into the financial system 2) transfers to and from financial system and 3) cross border flows of cash. The following processes are adopted by the banks in order to monitor these three and control them: 1. 'Know your customer' rule. This was brought in during the heights of terrorist bombings on the aircrafts that every customer should be known and identified by the financial institutions. This would ensure that the customers are monitored and they are known if there is an uncanny behavior in any it is identified and monitored for further action1. This is for the existing customers. 2. 2. Movement of any transaction over PDS 10000/- in UK and an equivalent in other countries are monitored and suspicious cases are reported to the legal authorities for further action. This is a statutory requirement in most countries and stipulated in UN charter for fighting drug and crime2. 3. For the new customers, a proper identification should be established before any transaction with the intended person is made by a financial institution3. This should be an official identification document like a passport, birth certificate or such other means of identification. If the person is acting on behalf of a company or another person, then the identity of this person on whose behalf the transaction is being done is to be clearly established and identified to the maximum extent possible by the financial institution. 4. All financial institutions and cash dealers should establish a clear internal and hierarchical reporting structure of such occurrences in their office or during the course of their business. This should be implemented and followed up on a daily basis. 5. Under no circumstances should a financial company or a cash dealer shall allow opening and operating of an account in a false name. Even if no offence was committed by the account operator, the financial institution has committed an offence according to the law. 6. Countries are coming in heavily on cash movement either for import or for export or for any other purpose. Countries have made it clear that cash handling beyond a specific value is not accepted and can be seized at any port or place. It is essential that all the financial institutions abide by these laws. Now UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime) has issued a comprehensive legal framework for the member countries to follow to counter crimes including terrorism. 3. Lacuna in Controls Whatever be the methods that are adopted by the banks to identify such variations in the transactions, it is always found that people committing the

Alexander the Great :: essays research papers fc

Alexander the Great Introduction Alexander III was born on July 20th, 356 BC to King Philip II and Olympia’s. He was born in Pella, Macedonia. In 343 BC Aristotle was hired to educate Alexander at the age of 13. In 338 he commanded for the first time the Calvary during the battle of Chaeronea. Alexander ascends the throne of Macedonia in 336 BC after the murder of his father, King Philip II. 336-323 BC is when he started his empire, conquering kingdom after kingdom. Why was Alexander the Great? Alexander III was known as Alexander the Great to his people from 336-323 BC. Why to this day do we still look at Alexander the Great as one of the greatest rulers of the world? Even though Alexander ruled for only 13 years as king of Macedonian what made him gain the title as Alexander the Great? Should he be known for it because of his military skills, his popularity with his people or his leadership skills? Why did Alexander deserve to be called â€Å"the Great†? He was not the first of his time to be called it. There were two others before him that were called the Great, the Persian King Cyrus the Great and the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses the Great. To this day his leadership skills are still considered by military experts as being the most outstanding commanders of all time. Alexander was able to motivate and inspire his troops to fight any battle for him by leading his troops, talked to every single troop and received the same wounds that they did. One thing that can only be marveled at is the over whelming factor, his charisma. He was the only individual that was able to hold together an empire together. After his death the empire fell apart into competing kingdoms. Alexander III is known to have helped shaped the world the way we know it today. Persians, Egyptians, Babylonians were eastern cultures that dominated the world until Alexander came into rule. He changed the focus on civilization from the eastern to the western societies, Greece and Rome. Alexander took the gold reserves of the Persian Kings and minted it into currency, using his resources to build new cities while continuing his conquest of other kingdoms. This enabled the Greek civilization to spread through out the known world and improving trade relations and activities. Alexander established an economic system that remained active until the industrial revolution in the 18th century.

The Scarlet Letter

The minister hips himself â€Å"Laughing bitterly at himself the while, and smiting so much MO re pitilessly, because of that bitter laugh† (120). Timescale is miserable and pathetic that while he is torturing himself for his sin, he laughs at himself. By laughing bitterly at himself If he shows weakness and knows how pitiful he is, understanding that he is a true disappear ointment to everyone including himself. Though with all this torture it â€Å"Typified the constant NT introspection wherewith he tortured, but could not, purify himself' (120).These punishment TTS reveal the examination of Damselfly's mental and emotional processes, which explain his constant internal struggle. After he tortures himself, Timescale is still not purified. H e can only become wholesome when he exposes the sin to the townspeople. In the forest scene, Timescale decides to run off with Hester, but on the path home his mind becomes controlled by the evil. While passing by young Puritan children, the minister had to restrain himself from â€Å"uttering certain blasphemous jugs sections† (179).Timescale wants to teach them unholy words. By doing this he is corruption g the minds of these innocent, pure children when he is supposed to be a role model for them. As a Puritan minister, Timescale would never be having these thoughts, he was a different man. T he minister had â€Å"Stupefied all blessed impulses and awakened into vivid life the whole brother hood of bad ones† (182). Timescale was tempted by a dream of happiness that he became too eager envisioning a better life than the one he has now.All of his â€Å"blessed senses† had become â€Å"SST updated†, and he is not thinking the way he was before. By using the word â€Å"vivid† it makes the BRB therefore of all the bad impulses more clear and striking. Timescale is now startled at him self of thinking these thoughts and quickly tries to recover himself. Damselfly's confession in the l ast scene on the scaffold is the action that pr vides his salvation. The minister stood on the scaffold with a â€Å"Flush of triumph in hi s face, as One who in the crisis of acutest pain, had won a victory' (209).He has a triumph express Soon on his face in which he appears that he had just accomplished a great victory and achieved .NET. During the time when the minister had kept his sin a secret, he was a miserable man, who WA s pained and distressed from the guilt of suppressing the sin from the rest of the townspeople pale. However, now hat Timescale has confessed the sin his wretched self can now be freed FRR mom the torturing remorse he went through, and can now finally come clean.The minister then finishes his sermon by saying † Had either of these agonies been wanting, [He] had been lost for e eve (210). He is saying his final goodbye, and says that God had brought him there to die in trip unmeant shame in front of all the people. God gave him the burning mark on his chest, and the d ark and terrible Chlorinating to always keep the torture redroot. Without any of these agonies s Timescale would have been lost forever, God's will has been done. Timescale had pop red his heart into this sermon, using all his energy until his spirit departs. The Scarlet Letter I would like to focus on the key points with adultery which is the consequences for adultery all around the world, religion and the media. To begin with, different areas around the world consider adultery to be illegal and other places do not. Adultery's. Org cites that consequences of adultery can be between divorce, criminal actions or even silver lining (â€Å"Adultery Laws†). Just in the united States, our states treat adultery different. Slate. Com notes that Colorado, Georgia, Nebraska and North Dakota andUtah punishes the married person when committing adultery. Also, the District of Columbia, and Michigan says that if the man is married and he commits adultery with a unmarried women he is guilty but if the women is married and she commits adultery with an unmarried man than they are both at fault. In Massachusetts, Michigan, Idaho and Oklahoma treat adultery as a felony. Then in Pennsylvania the adulterer is punished two years in prison or eighteen months of treatment for insanity Acidulate†).Knowing that there are many diverse types of consequences of committing adultery can be valuable especially when Hester Prone committed adultery and she was looked down upon and judged. In my perspective, Hester could've gotten treated worse, such as living in Pennsylvania where you go to prison for a couple years or eighteen months of getting treated for insanity. In Europe, between the fifteen and sixteen century, they would be put in court by the church which would impose good morals.