10 Geographic Facts About Sichuan Province, China

10 Geographic Facts About Sichuan Province, China Sichuan is the second largest of Chinas 23 provinces based on its land area of 187,260 square miles (485,000 sq km). It is located in southwestern China adjacent to the countrys largest province, Qinghai. Sichuans capital city is Chengdu and as of 2007, the province had a population of 87,250,000 people. Sichuan is an important province to China because of its abundant agricultural resources which include such Chinese staples as rice and wheat. Sichuan is also rich in mineral resources and is one of Chinas main industrial centers. The following is a list of ten things to know about Sichuan Province: 1) Human settlement of Sichuan Province is believed to date back to the 15th century B.C.E. In the 9th century B.C.E., Shu (what is present-day Chengdu) and Ba (todays Chongqing City) grew to become the largest kingdoms in the region. 2) Shu and Ba were subsequently destroyed by the Qin Dynasty and by the 3rd century B.C.E., the area was developed with sophisticated irrigation systems and dams which ended seasonal flooding of the region. As a result, Sichuan became the agricultural center of China at the time. 3) Because of Sichuans location as a basin surrounded by mountains and the presence of the Yangtze River, the area also became an important military center throughout much of Chinas history. In addition, several different dynasties ruled the area; among them are the Jin Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty, and the Ming Dynasty. 4) An important note about Sichuan Province is that its borders have remained mostly unchanged for the last 500 years. The largest changes occurred in 1955 when Xikang became a part of Sichuan and in 1997 when the city of Chongqing broke away to form a part of the Chongqing Municipality. 5) Today Sichuan is divided into eighteen prefecture-level cities and three independent prefectures. A prefecture-level city is one that is below a province but ranks higher than a county for administrative structure. An independent prefecture is an area that has a majority of ethnic minorities or is historically important for ethnic minorities. 6) Sichuan Province is within the Sichuan basin and is surrounded by the Himalayas to the west, the Qinling Range to the east and the mountainous parts of Yunnan Province to the south. The area is also active geologically and the Longmen Shan Fault runs through part of the province. 7) In May 2008, a magnitude 7.9 earthquake occurred in Sichuan Province. Its epicenter was in the Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture. The earthquake killed over 70,000 people and numerous schools, hospitals and factories collapsed. Following the earthquake in June 2008, severe flooding from a lake formed by a landslide during the earthquake occurred in low-lying areas that had already been significantly damaged. In April 2010, the region was again impacted by a magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck neighboring Qinghai Province. 8) Sichuan Province has a varied climate with a subtropical monsoon in its eastern portions and Chengdu. This region experiences warm to hot summers and short, cool winters. It is also typically very cloudy in the winters. The western part of Sichuan Province has a climate affected by the mountains and high altitude. It is very cold in the winter and mild in the summer. The southern part of the province is subtropical. 9) Most of Sichuan Provinces population is Han Chinese. However, there is a significant population of minorities such as Tibetans, Yi, Qiang, and Naxi in the province as well. Sichuan was Chinas most populous province until 1997 when Chongqing was separated from it. 10) Sichuan Province is famous for its biodiversity and the area is home to the famous Giant Panda Sanctuaries which consist of seven different nature reserves and nine scenic parks. These sanctuaries are UNESCO World Heritage Sites and are home to more than 30% of the worlds endangered giant pandas. The sites are also home to other endangered species such as the red panda, the snow leopard, and the clouded leopard. ReferencesNew York Times. (2009, May 6). Earthquake in China - Sichuan Province - News - The New York Times. Retrieved from: http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/news/science/topics/earthquakes/sichuan_province_china/index.html Wikipedia. (2010, April 18). Sichuan - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sichuan Wikipedia. (2009, December 23). Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sichuan_Giant_Panda_Sanctuaries

Learn How Marital Status Can Affect Your Financial Aid

Learn How Marital Status Can Affect Your Financial Aid The significance of your marital status in the financial aid process has a lot to do with whether or not you can claim dependent or independent status on the FAFSA. If you are married, regardless of age, you will have independent status when the government calculates your ability to afford college. Below youll see situations in which marriage can have a positive or a negative effect on your financial aid: Situations in which Marriage Improves Your Financial Aid Eligibility Marriage will usually have a positive impact on your financial aid eligibility if you are under 24 years of age and your spouse does not have high income. This is because you can then claim independent status, and your parents income and assets will not be considered in your financial aid calculations. Your spouses income, however, will be considered.If you are 24 years of age or older, you will have independent status whether married or not. Here again, your marital status will be a benefit assuming your spouses income is relatively low. Situations in Which Marriage Lessens Your Financial Aid Eligibility Marriage will often have a negative impact on your financial aid reward if you are 24 or over and your spouse has significant income. The reasons for this are two-fold: if you are 24 or over, you are considered to have independent status for financial aid. Thus, only your own income and assets are used to calculate your financial aid eligibility. If, however, you are married, your spouses income will be part of the calculations.If you are under 24 and from a family with modest income, your spouses income will determine whether or not marrying helps or hurts you. In general, the higher your spouses income, the less aid you will receive.If your parents dont have high income and they are supporting several other dependents, it is quite possible that your financial aid eligibility will actually decrease when you get married. This is especially true if you have brothers or sisters who are also in college. In a situation such as this, your parents qualify for significant financial aid, and that could actually decrease if you have independent status. This can be true even if your spouse doesnt have high income.   More Issues to Consider Related to Marital Status If you submit your FAFSA when you are single but then you marry, you can submit an update to the form so that your ability to pay for college is accurately reflected by the government calculations.You can submit a change to your FAFSA should you or your spouse lose your income or have a reduction in income during the academic year.You need to report your financial information and your spouses information on the FAFSA even if you file taxes separately.  Keep in mind that you and your spouses assets, not just your income, are used to calculate your aid eligibility. Thus, even if you and your spouse have low income, you might find that your expected contribution is high if you or your spouse has significant savings, real estate holdings, investments, or other assets.

Financial risk management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Financial risk management - Essay Example man Sachs bank saw its profits decline due significant losses being realized from large subprime write downs which were followed by mortgage crisis meaning beneficiaries were unable to pay. The short selling of subprime mortgage securities to Lehman Brothers is blamed to have worsened the financial crisis to the detriment of both institutions. As a result, the bank approached the federal government for a bailout under the troubled asset relief programme (TARP). Since the loan came with high interest rates and short repayment period, the bank’s financial condition worsened and become highly geared. In summary, Goldman Sachs financial crisis can be classified as threefold, that is, financial malpractices among traders and top executives in trading mortgage securities (operational risk), mortgage industry crisis/ risks and high financial leverage. Risk management theories that can be used to explain the crisis an offer insights into possible solutions are discussed hereunder. Weinberg (2007) noted that the bank relied on incomes from trading to maintain its profit growth which was risky. Therefore, the bank should have maintained a prudent model to monitor the value at risk (VaR) for securities being traded. VaR model shows the maximum estimated loss for a portfolio factoring market related risks at a given time horizon (Esch, Kieffer and Lopez, 2005). Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) would also have helped the bank to understand the behavior of capital markets and possibilities of excess, negative and optimal return on a portfolio by analyzing the securities market line (Elton et al., 2010). Brownian motion model of financial risk management though highlights useful risk strategies useful under normal circumstances was found to fail in providing rational understanding of financial turmoil (Borma and Sharma, 2011). Boma, S. & Sharma, D. (2011). â€Å" How much trust should risk managers place on â€Å"Brownian Motions† of financial markets?† International Journal

The Marketing Mix Promotion Strategies Case Study

The Marketing Mix Promotion Strategies - Case Study Example This strategic plan saturated the market making it more difficult for newer entrants to gain a step hold in the huge market. This move was also aimed at rivaling the sporting wears giant Nike. The acquisition was done in order to make the company more viable for consumers where they can create a synergy between both the companies so that they can challenge the rival. However, the acquisition led to mixed responses from the consumers resulting in a share value decline as well. Just before the Olympics fever gained momentum, Adidas took the initiative to launch another promotional campaign where they have highlighted their products and the ambassadors. This massive promotional campaign was launched in Europe and one could see huge structures of either Adidas shoes being loaded on a truck, or football players standing in a circle. All these initiatives were highlighting the presence of the brand in the forefront of such a major even in sporting history, whereby players are supporting their attire etc. The combination of the two big brands present in the shoe industry can termed to be a positive sign for the company. They can combine their efforts; match their strengths together in order to create a new level of a brand. However, there are threats of brand cannibalization which led to the main slump in prices when the merger news was spread around.

The Selection and Preparation of Mathematics Teachers :: Education Teaching Essays

The Selection and Preparation of Mathematics Teachers Teacher preparation is a vital component of any educational system. Evidence from research shows that there is a 39% difference in the achievement levels of students who have most/least effective teachers. The federal government also recognizes the importance of the classroom teacher. The recent No Child Left Behind legislation emphasizes the role that teachers play in achievement. In order to meet the requirements of NCLB, states and universities will have to change the way that teachers are prepared. Carefully selecting and properly training teachers and then giving them the authority to teach students as they see fit will go a long way to resolving the low achievement of American students. On the flip side, giving low ability and poorly trained individuals the opportunity to teach has produced several decades of low student achievement. Many of these academically unmotivated teachers demonstrate little content knowledge or curiosity and have been among the most flagrant violators of scientific application of educational research. Witness the indiscriminate use of trivial tests (learning styles, right/left brain, multiple intelligences, etc) that pretend to classify students in scant minutes. Worse still is that the learning theory behind these fads may in fact be even more suspect than the test. The current generation of American teachers firmly believes that lecture is a universally poor method of instruction, standardized tests are fatally flawed and the group learning is much superior to individual learning, all without scientific justification. If America is to close the achievement gap with other industrialized nations it must be willing to set aside political correctness and educational faddism to place competent teachers in the classroom. There is constant pressure for education departments to find new pedagogy, criticize the old pedagogy and generally churn the academic waters so that their existence can be justified. Teacher preparation programs need to focus on only those aspects of educational research which have been proven to produce achievement gains and stop experimenting on prospective teachers and their dependent students. The primary reason I am pursuing a doctorial degree in mathematics education is to have the credentials needed to teach mathematics pedagogy courses to prospective teachers at a four year institution. I feel strongly that my experience as a teacher and the intellectual training I am now acquiring will let me make a positive contribution to the cause of producing competent teachers. The area of teacher preparation is being extensively researched and is currently a high profile issue in education.

The Background and Methodology of Childhood Obesity

Over the years childhood obesity has grown by more than 9 million, and this number is expected to grow by even more. Parents are not always heard, and often schools are not run the way they would prefer. In this article parents are given a voice and a chance to be heard on what they feel is important for their children’s health. In this article the researchers survey the parents and get their opinions on what they feel needs to be done to help the fight against childhood obesity. Problem to solve: Childhood obesity is the main focus in this article.This paper helps to give the parents their view of how schools are dealing with childhood obesity. Childhood obesity has been on a steady rise over the past few years. Approximately over 9 million children are obese and that number continues to rise (Murphy & Polivka, 2007). Schools play a very important role in children’s lives. There are many health issues that can arise due to obesity if it is not treated. Treating this di sease can be as easy as more physical activity and a healthier diet. Unfortunately, children are eating more unhealthy foods and are engaged in less physical activities.Myers and Vargas decided to survey 200 people to get their views on childhood obesity (Murphy & Polivka, 2007). In this article there is discussion on how the parents feel and what they think can be done to try and help fix this issue. Health Care Administrators: With all the money that is spent helping to treat childhood obesity, it is very important that health care administrators study this issue. There was $127 million spent for hospital cost in 1999 alone, and this number is still on the rise.By 2025 it is estimated that the cost will raise $100 billion (Murphy & Polivka, 2007). Schools can help and play a huge role in the way children choose to live their lives. Children spend a huge part of their day at school, and by providing healthier lunches and more exercise we can help to decrease the amount of children that are going to the doctor because of issues from obesity. Health care administrators can come up with plans for the doctors to suggest to parents who bring their children in for check-ups.Making suggestions for healthier lifestyles should be a priority in many physicians’ offices and health care administrators can help to make that happen. Purpose: It seems as though the purpose of this study is to inform or let the reader know about the statistics behind childhood obesity. They wanted the reader to be aware of the risks of childhood obesity and what parents think schools can do to help their children by offering programs to teach about healthier lifestyles and more physical activities.Many students feel as though gym and physical activities can cause embarrassing moments from their peers, and they also stated that the school lunches were low quality, so the vending machines were more convenient (Murphy & Polivka, 2007). School nurses are responsible for creating these cha nges and this paper tells ways that these changes can be made. Research Question: A research question is basically the first step the researcher must conduct before starting their research.It is known as the methodological point and any questions that are asked should be answered during the research (Colorado State University, 2012). It should be defined clearly as well as accurately. It can be used for quantitative research. This step allows the researcher to figure out what he or she wants to know the most (Colorado State University, 2012). This article did not clearly state a question, but if there were to be a question it would probably be, do parents view schools as having a big impact on their child’s health and if so what can be done to provide a healthier environment?Hypothesis: A research hypothesis is a statement that is created by the researcher and it is a speculation of what they believe the outcome will be. This article does not have a hypothesis directly stated ; the authors only provide statistics within each paragraph. If there were to be a hypothesis it would probably state that the parents who will partake in the survey will mostly all agree that schools play a big role in their child’s life and providing healthier foods and more exercise would be a positive change.Independent and Dependent Variables: An independent and dependent variable are two different variables. An independent variable is a variable that can be wielded by the researcher. It is basically a hypothesized in order to influence or affect the dependent variable. The independent variable is measured from the researcher. The researcher assigns an experimental or a controlled condition to the participants. The independent variables would be the surveys and what they say prior to the participants taking the survey (Murphy & Polivka, 2007).The dependent variables would be the participants that partake in the survey (Murphy & Polivka, 2007). Theoretical Framework: The theoretical framework is used in research to give details or to create an outline of what the possible actions may be. It is used to try and connect the aspects of the topic. The theoretical framework that was conducted in this article was what the relationship between a parent’s perception of their child’s BMI and obesity and what the schools role is in preventing as well as treating the children’s obesity issues (Murphy & Polivka, 2007).Literature Review: Literature review is important because it allows the researcher to find out what has already been discovered and what has not. It gives them a chance to create a research strategy that works best for them. It gives them a chance to avoid other researcher’s mistakes. Instead of surveying the school nurses or random people, the researchers in this article asked the parents how they feel and what they feel is important to keep their children on a healthy track so that they do not become obese (Murphy & Po livka, 2007).Study Design: There are many research designs that can be used. Descriptive design, correlation studies, semi-experimental designs, experimental designs, reviewing other research, and test study before conducting full-scale study (Experiment-Resources. com, 2012). This article is more of a descriptive design because it was based off of surveys. There was one subject studied which was childhood obesity and how schools affect children’s health (Murphy & Polivka, 2007). It was not clearly stated how long the study took.Childhood obesity is a growing issue and there are many contributions to this problem. Children spend most of their lives at school, so changing the ways that schools handle health issues is important. By removing vending machines, providing healthy programs, and allowing more physical activities can be a positive change. When the school nurses, parents, and children are all on the same page healthier changes might start to show and the level of child hood obesity may start to decrease.

How Enron Was A Company - 1900 Words

Enron was a company that was known by many people and corporation not only in the United States but also around the world. It grew to be one of the largest companies, so as imaged a lot of people were affected by the fall of the company. Over 210000 employees lost there jobs without even knowing what was coming to them and what was going on behind the doors by the people who were running the company. Apart from losing their job, their form of income for their families, they also lost any money that they had invested in shares of the company and their pension funds, because the company encouraged their employees to invest their money in its own shares and also closer to the end they wanted their employees to invest even more money. Good business decisions are based in financial statements that are prepared by the accounting firms or accountants within a company. 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