Privatization of National Parks free essay sample

Privatization Vernita Lewis Regis University Abstract Privatization is the transfer of enterprise ownership in whole or in part from state to private hand. In this scenario the potential privatization of U. S. National Parks, Yellowstone and Grand Teton, National Parks is discussed and outcomes of such measures are explored. The U. S. National Parks decided to conduct a study to explore how privatization of various park services such as; rangers and scientific work would fare. The studies were conducted in an effort to create greater efficiency, accountability and cost effectiveness. Opponents of privatization of national parks urged that privatization of national parks would create a greater emphasis being put on the bottom line and not the good of the parks. Opponents chased legislation and collectively attempted to prevent privatization of national parks. Privatizing National Park Services Background The National Parks Service was established in 1916 by President Theodore Roosevelt and Congress through the National Park Service Organic Act. We will write a custom essay sample on Privatization of National Parks or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The National Park Service (NPS) is the U. S. ederal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations. â€Å"The NPS grew out of concerns for preservation of public lands during a time of widespread plundering of Indian ruins, looting of Civil War battlefields and the degradation of historic buildings and sites†, (Scenario). Tremain states that, â€Å"Congress gave authority of conserving the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wildlife in the parks and providing for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them nimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations (2003)†. In 2003 there was a 2 year study proposed to find out if privatization could be an effective means of saving the government money. This idea came upon the hells of the national debt increasing. The idea behind privatizing the care of national parks was that pri vate organizations might be able to deliver the same quality of services more efficiently and would result in a 30% annual savings to the national government. Privatization, or sometimes referred to as denationalization or disinvestment, is the transfer of ownership from the public sector to the private sector. The term sometimes used to refer to a government subcontracting a service or function to a private team†, (Scenario). Proponents believe that â€Å"private market actors can more efficiently deliver services because free market competition will lead to lower costs, improved quality, more choices for those served, less corruption, less red tape and quicker delivery of services† (Scenario). While opponents of privatization believe that certain social programs of government services should be off limits for the free market to â€Å"protect them from ruthlessness and unpredictability of the market†, (Scenario). Several environmentally friendly Third Sector agencies collectively explored the challenges that privatizing the National Parks Service would bring about. The study looked at two national parks in particular; the study looked at Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park. Issues U. S. National Parks provide 1,800 people with jobs. The concern or issue that arises is, will those 1,800 people lose their jobs to outsourcing if privatization of the national parks does occur? 123 of those jobs would be from Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks alone. Another issue that rises out of privatization of national parks is, how will the public be able to hold private organizations accountable for caring for the parks? Currently, the public pays for National Parks Services through tax dollars and appoints those in control to their positions through elections. That power might be lost through privatization. Proposed Course of Action Scenario’s course of action The scenario’s course of action included the government applying a two year study that would examine the potential effectiveness of privatizing National Park Services. The government of the Unites States attempted also, to provide stakeholders with answers. The studies provided the following information, positions being considered included; ranger duties and scientific work (biologist would not be considered), archaeologist would also be considered. Employees could compete for positions, and scientific studies would not be allowed to be compromised during the study. Alternative course of action proposed The government could be required to continue oversight of the national parks and acquire the responsibility of overseeing or monitoring the private organization selected to carry out the given task of providing certain park services for Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. The government would have the private organizations interested in obtaining the role of providing private services for the parks provide the government with proposals that clearly define and outline their budget and have a clear plan of action. The proposals would then be evaluated thoroughly by a committee that would evaluate the proposals. The private agency would be selected based on having the best plan and not just the cheapest plan. The chosen plan should also include a plan for keeping at least 50% of the current employees intact at the parks as a stipulation. The agency chosen would also have a limited amount of time, I would suggest 3-5 years, for their contracts to be active and upon expiration of the contract the bid would then again be open to other private agencies. This would assist in a checks and balances system for the government to have over the private agency. If the agency doesn’t perform up to the agreed upon contract in a manner that is conducive for the national parks , then other agencies would have the opportunity to provide national park services. Gillroy suggests that, â€Å"The government would also clearly outline the expectation of high performance standards through making sure measurable performance standards are built into the contracts and sanctions or penalties for underperformance† (2011). The standards would include maintaining the preservation of the parks, continuing valuable scientific studies and, but not limited to providing current picture data when requested. Alternative course of action evaluation The alternative plan of action would assist in the elimination of some of the concerns held by opponents of privatization of national parks. It would allow privatization, but would severely limit the power of the private agency and would still hold the government responsible for ultimately overseeing the preservation of national parks. Through limiting contract lengths, the private organization would not be allowed to sit back and just focus on the bottom line cost of providing services to the national parks, but make them accountable for the services they deliver. This would provide taxpayers with the benefit of being able to free the public of an organization that does not meets standards set before them concerning the preservation of national parks. Best course of action â€Å"Modern civil society is the sum of institutions, organizations and individuals located between the family, the state, and the market, in which people associate voluntarily to advance common interest†, (Anheier, 9). Using Anheier’s definition of civil society I propose that the best course of action would be to incorporate the government, private organizations and the citizens of the nation to create the best situation that will ensure continuous preservation of national parks. The Third sector has several organizations that have missions to ensure that the preservation of the environment ensues. The best course of action would be for the government to enlist the services of one of those organizations who could meet the performance standards and has a proven zeal for the environment to provide services for the national parks. The government would still be responsible for monitoring the organizations work to ensure that performance standards are being met. The Third sector organization would potentially bring with it its own following and steady volunteer base and because the national parks aligns with its mission it will have a vested interest in ensuring success. Again the organization would be subject to a limited term contract that could be revoked or not renewed if standards and expectations are not met. Through this plan of action the government would be responsible for providing supervision, while the Third sector organization would be able to further its mission and the public interest concerning national parks would be preserved. Anheier, H. K. (2005) Nonprofit organizations: theory, management, policy. New York: Routledge. Gilroy,L. (2011, April 4). Is privatization a bad deal for cities and states: competition brings savings. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www. nytimes. com/roomfordebate/2011/04/03. Scenario:The Privatization Scenario

NaN, Infinity, and Divide by Zero in VB.NET

NaN, Infinity, and Divide by Zero in VB.NET Beginning programming books usually include this warning: Dont divide by zero! Youll get a runtime error! Things have changed in VB.NET. Although there are more programming options and the calculation is more accurate, it isnt always easy to see why things happen the way they do. Here, we learn how to handle division by zero using VB.NETs structured error handling. And along the way, we also cover the new VB.NET constants: NaN, Infinity, and Epsilon. What Happens If You Run 'Divide By Zero' in VB.NET If you run a divide by zero scenario in VB.NET, you get this result: Dim a, b, c As Double a 1 : b 0 c a / b Console.WriteLine( _ Have math rules _ vbCrLf _ been repealed? _ vbCrLf _ Division by zero _ vbCrLf _ must be possible!) So whats going on here? The answer is that VB.NET actually gives you the mathematically correct answer. Mathematically, you can divide by zero, but what you get is infinity. Dim a, b, c As Double a 1 : b 0 c a / b Console.WriteLine( _ The answer is: _ c) Displays: The answer is: infinity The value infinity isnt too useful for most business applications. (Unless the CEO is wondering what the upper limit on his stock bonus is.) But it does keep your applications from crashing on a runtime exception like less powerful languages do. VB.NET gives you even more flexibility by even allowing you to perform calculations. Check this out: Dim a, b, c As Double a 1 : b 0 c a / b c c 1 Infinity plus 1 is still infinity To remain mathematically correct, VB.NET gives you the answer NaN (Not a Number) for some calculations such as 0 / 0. Dim a, b, c As Double a 0 : b 0 c a / b Console.WriteLine( _ The answer is: _ c) Displays: The answer is: NaN VB.NET can also tell the difference between positive infinity and negative infinity: Dim a1, a2, b, c As Double a1 1 : a2 -1 : b 0 If (a1 / b) (a2 / b) Then _ Console.WriteLine( _ Postive infinity is _ vbCrLf _ greater than _ vbCrLf _ negative infinity.) In addition to PositiveInfinity and NegativeInfinity, VB.NET also provides Epsilon, the smallest positive Double value greater than zero. Keep in mind that all of these new capabilities of VB.NET are only available with floating point (Double or Single) data types. And this flexibility can lead to some Try-Catch-Finally (structured error handling) confusion. For example, the .NET code above runs without throwing any kind of exception, so coding it inside a Try-Catch-Finally block wont help. To test for a divide by zero, you would have to code a test something like: If c.ToString Infinity Then ... Even if you code the program (using Integer instead of Single or Double types), you still get an Overflow Exception, not a Divide by Zero exception. If you search the web for other technical help, you will notice that the examples all test for OverflowException. .NET actually has the DivideByZeroException as a legitimate type. But if the code never triggers the exception, when will you ever see this elusive error? When You'll See DivideByZeroException As it turns out, Microsofts MSDN page about Try-Catch-Finally blocks actually uses a divide by zero examples to illustrate how to code them. But theres a subtle catch that they dont explain. Their code looks like this: Dim a As Integer 0 Dim b As Integer 0 Dim c As Integer 0 Try   Ã‚  Ã‚  a b \ c Catch exc As Exception   Ã‚  Ã‚  Console.WriteLine(A run-time error occurred) Finally   Ã‚  Ã‚  Console.ReadLine() End Try This code does trigger an actual divide by zero exception. But why does this code trigger the exception and nothing weve coded before does? And what is Microsoft not explaining? Notice that the operation they use is not divide (/), its integer divide (\)! (Other Microsoft examples actually declare the variables as Integer.) As it turns out, integer calculation is the only case that actually throws that exception. It would have been nice if Microsoft (and the other pages that copy  their code) explained that little detail.

Museography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Museography - Essay Example he same meaning as globalisation, these terms are far from the present definition of globalisation and far from appropriately expressing the status of contemporary art. Globalisation at present is defined as the growth of the relationship of nations beyond territories (Scholte 42) which in if examined further, means a relationship that is not limited by territorial boundaries of countries. The global relationship that is free from the restrictions of territory gives way to the further exploration of cultures, customs and economic practices of other nations while also providing the chance of explorative collaboration of nations with a common goal of improving bonds and creating innovations among nations. Moreover, globalisation in this sense means crossing even the boundaries set by society on matters that are socially acceptable and those considered taboo by the public. After clearly defining the term globalisation in relation to Hou Hanru’s statement, it is now easy to analyze the effects of the contemporary definition globalisation to the art world relative to Hou Hanru’s statement on promoting different cultures and fusing these cultures through art. Analyzing the effects of globalisation to the art world would mean looking into every perspective of the connection between the concept of globalisation and art. Some angles that would help in better understanding of the interrelation between globalisation and art are the readiness of nations to accept differences in cultures and art ideas; the willingness to fuse art concepts; and the openness to incorporate new ideas and elements into concepts of art. The preparedness of nations in accepting cultures and concepts of other nations taking into consideration that some cultures and ideas may have some conflict points with each other would be an area of concern because this may cause misunderstanding among nations. For instance, an incident in the Interpol art exhibition in Sweden wherein the art event was to

Textbook Reading Strategies Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Textbook Reading Strategies - Research Paper Example Also, the individual needs to think about any prior knowledge or information about the subject matter before reading. In the second step of question, the individual should read the subject as an exercise of critical thinking. The reader should prepare some questions about what information is required to be retrieved from the reading material and accordingly while reading the questions should be put up. Questions can be taken from end of chapter exercise; this allows the process of reading to be done with concentration as one is finding the answers to the question while reading. The third step is to read. The individual should carefully read all the material of the chapter paragraph by paragraph and ensure that nothing is missed. All the sections that are not clear in the first attempt of reading should be re-read. When unclear sections are re-read, the paragraph becomes clear and the reader understands what the section is about The fourth step is to record, once the individual has thoroughly read the chapter then now it is time to make notes for each section. The notes can be made for each of the headings of the chapter. Notes should be formed of the main points being discussed in each section. Notes should be such that when the reader reviews the notes, it should not be necessary to read the section again as all the main points of the section should be included in the notes. The fifth step is to recite. In this step, the individual should recite aloud the information gathered from each section of the chapter. By reciting the reading material aloud, one is able to store the information for a long term in their memory. Also the individual should explain the concepts of the chapter to someone else as this would ensure that the reader has understood everything. While explaining it to other, the reader would be able to recall many other things

Assess the hierarchical structure of the court system in England and Essay - 4

Assess the hierarchical structure of the court system in England and Wales. To what extent does the common law doctrine of binding precedent engage with this structure - Essay Example The structure of the courts that lie along all the three jurisdiction are always arranged in accordance to the cases subject matter that have been brought before the court instead of the source of the laws that will be applied in making rulings to the cases. The latter formed a strong basis for a great deal in the whole court structure in England and wales until towards the end of the nineteen-century, but some influence is still seen to date. All the other courts in the hierarchical structure of the legal system are bound to any decision and judgments made by the House of Lords. Despite this bond, the decision is only exempted to the House of Lords rulings itself. Previously, the House of Lords used to be bound to its decisions that were made in previous rulings until the practice was changed back in the year nineteen sixty-six. The old practice rationale was that the decision made by the highest court in the country was meant to be final so that certainty in the law would be and henceforth finality in litigation. However, due to changes seen in the social conditions, the law was changed. The current practice, therefore, enables the highest court that is the House of Lords to adapt to the laws of England and wales so that it can be able to meet the ever-changing social conditions. In addition, to enable the structure to be able to pay its attention to the decisions made by the superior courts within the commonwealth. The freedom bestowed upon the House of Lords currently to change its decision that it made previously creates recognition that law, whether it has been expressed in cases or printed in statutes, is considered to be living. Because of this, institutions must change to adapt to the circumstances under which these laws apply if practical relevance of the laws is to be retained. The court of appeal lies second in the ranking of the courts.

The effect of exercise on blood pressure

The effect of exercise on blood pressure Introduction: The Cardiopulmonary System is the system in the body that is responsible for collecting and distributing oxygen to all parts of the body for use in cellular respiration and is also for removing the waste carbon dioxide that the body produces after burning the oxygen. This system is comprised of the respiratory and circulatory systems which include the heart, lungs, veins, arteries, and capillaries. The respiratory system is what collects the oxygen from the outside environment and expels CO2 through breathing. When someone breaths they inhale oxygen into their lungs and exhale CO2 out of their lungs. The circulatory system is the organ system that transports the bodys blood throughout itself. The blood carries important materials like oxygen and carbon dioxide to every inch of the body. The heart is a muscle about the size of a clenched fist and weighs approximately 10.5 ounces (Science Clarified 2010). It is the control center of the circulatory system and moves the blood to the lun gs and the other parts of the body through contracting and relaxing itself in a rhythm that keeps blood constantly traveling in the body. The way the cardiopulmonary system works is the heart is always pumping blood through its 4 chambers (right and left atrium and ventricles) and out through arteries out to the body. The right atrium and right ventricle pumps CO2 rich and O2 poor blood to the lungs, where thinner blood vessels called capillaries absorb oxygen from the lungs and releases its CO2 into the lungs. The oxygen rich blood returns to the heart through veins into the left atrium and then the left ventricle. The oxygen rich blood is then pumped out into more arteries that take the blood to other organs and parts of the body. The oxygen is released into the cells through thin capillaries again, and then return as oxygen poor and carbon dioxide rich blood returns to the heart. The functions of the cardiopulmonary system can be measured by taking a humans heart rate and blood pressure. The heart rate or pulse is how many times a humans heart beats per minute. The heartbeat can be measured only through arteries, because when the heart contracts, the forced blood causes pressure that can be felt in the arteries, known as arterial pressure. Veins traveling back to the heart have much thinner walls and therefore dont have enough pressure from the heart pumping to be used to measure pulse. The pressure within veins is affected by conditions outside the vessels themselves, such as contraction of surrounding skeletal muscles (Weedman and Sokoloski 2009). Blood pressure is taken by measuring a persons diastolic pressure and systolic pressure. The diastole is the period of the hearts pumping cycle when the atria and ventricles fill and the heart relaxes. The systole is when the heart contracts and forces the blood out of the heart. The total elapsed time for a compl ete cycle of both the atria and the ventricles is 0.8 second (Fredrick and Pauline 1987). In this lab, the question for the experiment was how exercises will affect your blood pressure and pulse. The hypothesis tested was walking up or down four flights of stairs will increase blood pressure and pulse, unlike the null hypothesis that blood pressure and pulse after walking up or down the stairs will not be affected. We hypothesized that blood pressure and pulse will increase because walking up or down stairs requires more energy than a body at rest. This exercise requires the heart pump blood faster in order to supply more oxygen to the body to provide the energy to walk up and down the stairs. The importance and relevance of this experiment is that someone who is unhealthy and prone to a heart attack may be at risk of suffering an attack while walking up flights of stairs if it raises blood pressure and heart rate. Methods and Materials: The experiment was done in a building with four flights of stairs, with 24 participants from our class separated into groups of two. The two partners had a sphygmomanometer that measured blood pressure and pulse, and a pencil and paper to record pulse and blood pressure. The heart rate and blood pressure was tested for walking up and down the stairs by making partner one walk up four flights as partner two waited at the top of the stairs. When partner one reached the top, partner two was there too measure partner ones heart rate and blood pressure using the sphygmomanometer. The inflatable cuff on the device was attached to the partners upper arm and inflated. The cuff was then deflated as the sphygmomanometer analyzed the blood pressure and pulse from the partners artery running down their arm. Partner two measured the blood pressure and pulse once after partner one reached the top of the stairs, then again after two minutes passed, and after four minutes passed. The same process wa s taken for the other partner walking down the stairs. The independent variable was the subject either walking up or down the stairs. The dependent variable was each partners heart rate and blood pressure. After the experiment, we gathered the data from everyone in the class and averaged their results and compiled the data into tables and graphs for interpretation. Results: The results from the participants of the experiment were that on average, after each partner did their exercise, their blood pressure and heart rate increased. Comparing walking up the flights of stairs to walking down however, our results showed that walking up stairs increased blood pressure and pulse more than walking down the stairs. Our classs averages are compiled in the data table below. The data from the table is also displayed on graphs to show the trend of blood pressure and pulse. T-tests were done on the data from the basal reading to 0 minutes after walking up or down the stairs and from 0 minutes after to 4 minutes after walking up or down the stairs. The t-tests show the probability that the results from walking up or down starts are based on chance, or if there is significance to the results. If the P value of each t-test is greater than .05 then the results are based on chance and are insignificant. Data Table: Pulse (bpm) Down Up Basal 71.5 67.7 0 min post 72.6 88.6 2 min post 73.6 67.2 4 min post 73.9 70.3 Systolic BP (mm Hg) Basal 113.3 119.3 0 min post 121 141 2 min post 119 122 4 min post 112 123 Diastolic Bp (mm Hg) Basal 71.3 71 0 min post 76 91 2 min post 77 81 4 min post 78 78 T-Tests: T-Test T-Test Down T-Test Up Pulse Rate Basal- 0 Min. 0.646774259 0.021762917 0 Min. 4 Min. 0.628728428 0.032305937 Systolic Blood Pressure Basal- 0 Min. 0.04246026 0.002469184 0 Min. 4 Min. 0.017651827 0.000671518 Diastolic Blood Pressure Basal- 0 Min. 0.074034579 0.000739125 0 Min. 4 Min. 0.567643162 0.001016322 Graphs: According to the averages in blood pressure and pulse, the graph and data tables show that walking up stairs increases the blood pressure and pulse more than walking down the stairs. The T-test for each measurement says that in the majority of the data Discussion: Before the experiment, I hypothesized that when someone walks up or down the stairs, it would increase the persons blood pressure and pulse. The experiment results instead only supported the hypothesis that walking up the stairs increases blood pressure and pulse, but the data and t-tests showed for walking down stairs showed that it wasnt a significant increase. My hypothesis wasnt fully correct and a more appropriate hypothesis would have been that walking up the four flights of stairs would increase blood pressure and pulse more than walking down the same amount of stairs. This is because while walking upstairs the body has to work against the force of gravity which is more energy consuming than walking down stairs. This explains our results that after walking up the stairs, the subject tested had a higher blood pressure (141/91) and pulse (89) than the subject who walked down the stairs (BP 121/76 Pulse 72). The heart had to pump faster and with more force going up the stairs to move oxygen faster to the parts of the body and thus raised the bodys blood pressure and pulse. Some errors that manipulated the results were the two being tested had different features like height, weight, shape, and health. These differences would lead to different results because someone that is in better physical condition would not have as high a blood pressure and pulse than someone who isnt as fit. This is because their heart is stronger and doesnt need to work as hard to supply the body with the right amount of oxygen. The entire class also had a range of body types all in different physical shape that also could have affected results. Also the partner who walked down the stairs did not get measured on time for the 2 minute and 4 minute measurements and the sphygmomanometer didnt always properly read the subjects blood pressure and pulse properly. If this experiment was to be repeated it would be better if only one person walked up and down the stairs, and that there was a control measurement of the persons pulse and blood pressure before they walk up the stairs and are at rest. Cited Literature: Cornett D. Frederick, Gratz Pauline. 1987. Modern Human Physiology. United States: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Publishers. p 337. Science Clarified, Circulatory System, http://www.scienceclarified.com/Ci-Co/Circulatory-System.html, Sept. 7, 2010. Weedman, Sokoloski. 2009, Biology of Organisms A Laboratory Manual for LIFE 103. Mason OH: Cengage Learning. p 176.

Social Criticism in the Hollywood Melodramas of the Fifties Essay

Social Criticism in the Hollywood Melodramas of the Fifties In the early 1950s the films of Douglas Sirk led the way in defining the emerging genre of the Hollywood melodrama. "Melodrama" strictly means the combination of music (melos) and drama, but the term is used to refer to the "popular romances that depicted a virtuous individual (usually a woman) or couple (usually lovers) victimized by repressive and inequitable social circumstances" (Schatz 222). Sirk's films were commercially successful and boosted the careers of stars like Lauren Bacall, Jane Wyman, and Rock Hudson, who was in seven of Sirk's thirteen American films (Halliday 162-171). Although critics in the fifties called the films "trivial" and "campy" and dismissed them as "tearjerkers" or "female weepies" (Schatz 224), critics in the seventies re-examined Sirk's work and developed an "academic respect for the genre" and declared that the films actually had "subversive relationship to the dominant ideology" (Klinger xii). Douglas Sirk's Magnificent Obsession (1954) and Imitatio n of Life (1959) are representative of the techniques melodramas used to address relevant fifties issues like class, gender, and race. One characteristic of melodrama is the "lavishly artificial and visually stylized scenery (Schatz 234) which is exploited in Magnificent Obsession. Numerous scenes take place in moving convertibles, where the motion of the car is out of synch with the motion of the scenery. Whenever possible, rooms have large picture windows showing magnificent, but obviously fake outdoor landscapes. At one point a scene on the lakeshore cuts directly from a shot of Helen (Jane Wyman) sitting in front of a real horizon to a close-up of her sitting in front of a brightly c... ...ltural form" (Klinger xii). Works cited Aull, Felice. "Magnificent Obsession". http://mchipO0.med.nyu.edu/lit-med/lit-me...cs/webfilms.magnificent.obses3-film-.html Ellison, Ralph. Shadow and Act. Vintage International: New York, 1953. FilmFrog Archives: Lecture given at Sonoma State University (1995), Imitation of Life (1959). http://yorty.sonoma.edu:80/filmfrog/archive/Imitation_of_Life.html Halliday, Jon. Sirk on Sirk: Interviews With Jon Halliday. New York: Viking, 1972. Imitation of Life. Dir. Douglas Sirk. Universal, 1959. Klinger, Barbara. Melodrama and Meaning: History, Culture, and the Films of Douglas Sirk. Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1994. Magnificent Obsession. Dir. Douglas Sirk. Universal, 1954. Schatz, Thomas. Hollywood Genres: Formulas, Filmmaking, and the Studio System. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1981.