California Utility :: essays research papers

Chris Parker482.004Dr. SingerIn 1996 deregulation allowed California utility companies to sell power plants and collect over 19 billion dollars in ratepayer subsidies. The money was used to purchase plants in other countries, reward executives with huge pay raises and buy back stock. A handful of unregulated companies withheld power, causing shortages to get on wholesale prices. Deregulation led many consumers to believe that open markets would bring in an array of choices and lower prices. Consumers will have to settle for a wholeness power provider at higher prices. Rates are nearly 150 percent higher than last spring. Power companies are exploiting the market for their have got advantage. Some companies have jacked rates up to 200 percent than offer a deal at a 50 percent hike.Utility companies promised to modernise the electricity market and reduce business and residential bills. The California public utilities commission is caving in to pressure to make the investor owned u tilities look good on Wall Street. Utilities are to use their markups to pay investors for stranded assets incurred during regulation. Utility companies lobbied to pass a law that suited their needs, and now the situation has changed it is trying it again. In 1998 banging utility companies lobbied Proposition 9 buy paying a local consumer reporter 106,000 dollars to create a campaign. Proposition 9 would decrease electric bills and bring forward modernization of the industry. Also, many agency boards are stacked with officials with ties to energy companies, creating conflicts of interest. A member of Public Utilities Commission is being sued for an overseas investment. Taxpayers are paying for his statutory bills. The investment was in a company his commission regulated.A recent study has found incriminating information on the California utility industry. make up operators would skip maintenance routines. These errors would cause machines to break down and force power cut back. The plants would have sudden shutdowns with no justifiable reason. Shutdowns were calculated to shrink the measure of power available driving up the price. They would hold back power until the state is desperate and vulnerable. They could sell power at super high rates. They sell power to other states. Selling to other states allowed for an increase in wholesale prices. The California utility companies had planned to make a large amount of pelf off of deregulation.

Televised Violence is Here to Stay :: Media Argumentative Persuasive Argument

Televised Violence is Here to Stay One of the most heated issues debated, ever since the invention of the video, is the effects of media abandon on society. Many get a line to wipe it out,but ordain undoubtedly fail. It has great educational and entertainment value.There have even been studies showing that viewing television violence willactually relieve stress. For these reasons, televised violence, including fights,with or without weapons, resulting in bloodshed, will never diminish. Many parents try to shelter their kids from the violence portrayed ontelevision. They only look at the negative aspect because the parents complainby saying the violence only teaches their children how to kill and to get awaywith it (Leonard 92). Television is the most credible and believable root system of information onthe reality of the world. It teaches that the world is a violent anduntrustworthy place (Bennett 168). It reports on how the world really works.Televised violence cultivates domina nt assumptions about how battle and powerwork in the world. Violence is an important fact of life (Howitt 17). It is very much partof the human condition. The media cannot pretend that violence does not exist. Televised violence orients people to their environment. It helps themunderstand their world. It serves as a mirror in which people examine themselves,their institutions, and their values (Comstock 357). The exposure of children to televised violence is functional to theextent that it prepares them to cope with reality. bout is important forchildren to grow up with. It is part of their life. Kids should not be lead tothink that nothing is going to happen to them (Comstock 354). Exposure toviolence in childhood is not a bad idea. Ghetto children see violence unknown toother children. They have to live with it, and because it is so hateful, they donot get influenced by it. hatful who grew up in a tough ghetto situation regardothers who did not as patsies, naive, and easy to u se. Children learn a good deal of their societys culture by viewing theviolent television shows. People acquire definitions of appropriate behavior andinterpretations of reality from the mass media. Lower income persons often thinkthey are learning the air and etiquette of middle-class society fromtelevision programs (Ball 305). The viewing of televised violence helps children academically, as wellas socially. One study shows that children entering school, raised on theviolent television shows, picked up a one-year advantage in vocabulary overchildren whose parents prohibit the viewing of violence (Clark 136).

Apartheid In South Africa Essay -- South African Apartheid 2014

Segregation is a concept as old as time, and it is not unique to the United States. due south Africa still suffers from the personal effects of an organized and government mandated system of segregation called apartheid that lasted for over a quarter of a century. Apartheid, literally translated from Afrikaans, means apartness (Mandela 40). It is defined as a policy of racial segregation and political and economic discrimination against non-European groups in the Republic of South Africa (Apartheid). According to Robin Cohen, South African apartheid was based on four underlying premises white monopoly of political power, the manipulation of space to achieve racial segregation, the control of black labor, and urban social control (qtd. in Massie 385). Apartheid was widely back up by powerful nations, including the United States. However, the validity of the arguments and actions that those supporters used was questionable and not based in fact. History The brief history on South Af rican apartheid that follows is essential to understanding the whole picture. The 1940s Apartheid began as an implied law in the seventh century with the start of the slave trade where an estimated 25 million blacks were sell into slavery over a period of 12 centuries (Stock 65). However, it was not until 1948 that the South African government actually passed apartheid laws (Timeline). The Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act of 1949 strictly prohibit people of different races marrying and having offspring (Stock 21). The 1950s The 1950s were the era of Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd, the Minister of Native Affairs, and later, Prime Minister of South Africa. The Population Registration Act of 1950 take all people to be designated and registered by a specific race white, black, or of mixed decent, considered colored (History). This designation was primarily based on appearance, often by means of the pencil in the hairs-breadth test. Officials would begin by placing a pencil in a persons h air. If the hair was curly enough to hold the pencil while bending over, the person was black, and if the pencil fell out, the person was colored (Massie 21). In 1951 homelands, or bantustans, were established (Timeline). The homelands were South Africas equivalent to Americas reservations. Blacks, who had no rights outside their h... ...brary, Powell, WY. 7 Nov. 2004 . Allied with Apartheid Reagan Supported Racist South African Gvt. Democracy Now. 11 June 2004. Lexis Nexis. NWC Library, Powell, WY. 7 Nov. 2004 . Apartheid. Merriam Websters Collegiate Dictionary. 10th ed. 1994. Geyer, A.L. The Case for Apartheid, 1953. Modern History Sourcebook. 19 Aug. 1953. EBSCOhost. NWC Library, Powell, WY. 7 Nov. 2004 . The History of Apartheid in South Africa. Stanford Students. 7 Nov. 2004 . Justice for South Africa ease up the Debt. TransAfrica Forum. 2004. Lexis-Nexis. NWC Library, Powell, WY. 7 Nov. 2004 . Mandela, Nelson. Mandela An Illustrated Autobiography. Boston Little, Brown Compa ny. 1994. Massie, Robert K. Loosing the Bonds The United States and South Africa in the Apartheid Years. New York Bantam. 1997. Stock, Robert. Africa South of the Sahara. New York The Guliford Press. 1995. Timeline of South African Apartheid. Northstar K-12. 7 Nov. 2004 .

Graduation Speech: Be Perfect in Christ Jesus :: Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

As I was pondering what to speak slightly tonight, I started thinking about what has been the main influence in my school experience. I realized that what has shaped me most has been my teachers. What is a teacher? After 13 years of school, believe me, I have an extremely good idea of what a teacher is. Two teachers began to teach me, my father and my mother. The poet Ann Taylor wrote, Who taught my infant lips to pray, And love Gods holy tidings and day, And walk in acquaintances pleasant way? My Mother. This year as we were challenged to give our hearts to God and our minds to our teachers, we learned more of their goals to see us grow as Jesus did in wisdom, stature and favor with both God and man. Col. 128 encourages teachers to warn and teach in all wisdom to present each man perfect in Christ Jesus. Mr. Murrys attitude For Jesus led the way for other teachers. Who could forget Mr. Jones daily quotes? more or less(prenominal) you say, Mr. Livesay was a rhyming line. Mrs. Be ars, a Spanish translator for the court system, was able to translate her students effort to learn a foreign language. Mrs. Gabby said annual/Marketing Media was her favorite class this year. Of course it was her only class. The firefighting stories of Mr. Doof caught our attention. The musical Mrs. Buyers and artistic Mrs. Williams pulled off an outdoor Christmas program, and Mrs. Sholer , in the midst of planning her sons wedding, put together the time to take her PE class on a volleyball field trip. Looking back from this past year to my earlier school days, one of the teachers that boldly stands out in my memory is Mrs. Miner. No one else has named me as her daughter, Joanie Miller. While at Grace Academy, art class at the end of the day with Mrs. lark about still makes my sides ache from giggling. During the days when there were no art classes, Mr. Petersons enthusiasm for hockey brightened the gymnasium, as he and my father practiced rapid-fire slapshots on some unsuspectin g ninth grader. But, through all the memories, I was trying to think of one characteristic of teachers that has shown through the many years. I thought about their dedication, application and guidance but decided that these wouldnt do.

Reading and its Effects on Development Essay -- Early Childhood Develo

Reading and its Effects on DevelopmentOver the years the attention focused on children from birth to three years has increased dramatically. Actually, it was in the 1970s that researchers began to believe that reading to infants would help to stimulate their growth and development. Up to the decade of the 1970s numerous people believed that infants lacked any intellectual abilities. Some people also believed that an infants hearing and vision were not operative in the first a couple of(prenominal) months of life. But, over the years studies have proven otherwise. The first three years of life have been proven to be the most slender years in a childs development. One area looked at by researchers and teachers are is how reading to infants and toddlers affects their development. Researchers and child development specialists advocate that parents begin reading to their children, blush from birth, because it helps the childs brain to develop more quickly and aids in the develo pment of langu come on skills. Brain development is very crucial in the first three years of life. Experts now say its the first three years of a childs life that may adapt the key to the future (Phillips, 1998). Infants are born with about one hundred billion brain cells, and when the child is not stimulated the brain cells die off. The critical period of brain development is within the first six months of life the sensitive period of brain development includes birth to three years of age (Murray, n.d). At three months the brain has the potential to distinguish several hundred spoken sounds. Over the next few months the brain organizes itself to recognize only the sounds it hears (Phillips, 1998). This shows that if a child is not exposed to literature and other ... ...We Make a Difference? Pediatrics. Retrieved April 22, 2003, from http//www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m0950/4_105/62023007/print.jhtml Maxcey, M.(1998, April 29). Reading to Children Stimulates Early Brain Devel opment. Retrieved April 20, 2003, from http//www.agnews.tamu.edu/stories/CFAM/Apr2998a.htm Murray, B. (n.d). Understanding brain development and too soon learning New research better inform the nature vs. nurture issue. FACSNET. Retrieved April 23, 2003, from http//www.facsnet.org/tools.sci_tech/biotek/eliot.php Phillips, A. (1998, April 27). Babys brain First three years of life may hold the key to childs future. Courier. Retrieved April 22, 2003, from http//www.wcfcourier.com/life98/980426first.html Porter, P. (2003, April 6). Early Brain Development. Retrieved April 20, 2003, from http//www.educarer.com/brain.htm

Bulimia Nervosa and Antidepressant Drugs :: Causes of Bulimia, Eating Disorders

Bulimia Nervosa and Antidepressant DrugsWHAT IS BULIMIA NERVOSA? Bulimia nervosa afflicts mostly women (about 6% of adolescent girls, and 5% of college women). Most individuals with bulimia engage in compensatory activities such as vomiting, laxative abuse, strict dieting, and vigorous exercise (Alexander). PRIMARY SYMPTOMS OF BULIMIA The direct symptoms of bulimia ar recurrent episodes of binge eating and compensatory measures to purge the calories. There is an excessive influence of the importance of the body and weight on ones self-evaluation (Negri). Symptoms of bulimia drop be quite invisible because the bulimic nates maintain normal weight. Occasionally, patterns of behavior may signal a problem Do they restrict sure food? Do they eat in a ritualistic way? Are they overly concerned with diet? Do they weigh themselves every mean solar day? Do large quantities of food disappear from the refrigerator? Do they visit the bathroom soon after meals or frequently? (Negri). Some bulimics have a telltale scar on the first two knuckles of their hand from inducing vomiting. Some purge themselves up to several times a day. This can lead to serious medical consequences dental cavities, electrolyte imbalances, disturbances in heart rhythm and dangerously low blood pressure (Negri). ANTIDEPRESSANTS AND THE TREATMENT OF BULIMIA Psychiatrist Linda Gochfield, who teaches picture psychotherapies to mental-health professionals, maintains that if people have a problem that responds to medication, that can be the briefest and most effective therapy of all (Davis). While bulimia often occurs with comorbid mood disturbances, the treatment pull ahead found for antidepressants in bulimia may not be merely alleviation of depressive symptoms the increased serotonin levels also help reduce food intake. tone at results of 14 studies of treatment of bulimia with antidepressants, it has been noted that administration to bulimics agents that increase the availability of serotoni n virtually always produces better results than placebo, regardless of the presence or absence of depression (Alexander). There is now compelling evidence from double-blind, placebo-controlled studies that antidepressant medication is useful in the treatment of bulimia nervosa. What is less clear is which patients are most likely to benefit from antidepressant medications and how to best sequence the various therapeutic interventions available. The utility of antidepressant medications in bulimia nervosa has led to their evaluation in binge eating disorder. The limited information currently available suggests that antidepressant treatment may be associated with a reduction in binge absolute frequency in obese patients with binge eating disorder, but does not lead to weight reduction.