Mono Basin Volcanism Essay -- Geology Volcanoes Volcano Papers

Mono Basin Volcanism The last basin in the Basin and Range before the Sierra Nevada Mountain range is the Mono Basin. The Mono Basin consists of landforms such as the Mono-Inyo Craters, Black Point, Negit Island, Paoha Island, Mono Lake, Devils Punch Bowl, Panum Crater, and some others (Hamburger et al; 2004). All of these landforms were created by volcanism. Actually, the Mono Basin is in one of the most volcanically active places in the world (Forest Service; 2004). Paoha Island, Negit Island, and Panum Crater are the most recent volcanoes to erupt, which are the furthest north in the basin. The volcanoes' ages tend to get older the further south they are from Panum Crater; with the exception of Paoha. Eruptions in the Mono Basin have tended to occur in five hundred year intervals over the past two thousand to three thousand years (Molossia; 2004). Hot springs and fumeroles and other signs show that this area is still active (USDA; 97). Though there has not been any volcanic eruptions in the las t six hundred years, there is still evidence of volcanic unrest in the Mono Basin area. (The Picture above compliments of USGS). The Mono Craters were all formed within the last forty thousand years. These craters are localized on a north-trending fissure system that starts at the south of Mammoth Mountain up through the western moat to the north shore of Mono Lake; this system extends about fifty kilometers (USGS;2004). There are thirty domes that formed together (Molossia;2004). They were originally formed by the intrusion of a dike. About six hundred years ago when the magma began rising in the southern end of the Mono-Inyo Craters there was a series of eruptions and ground cracking. The dike was spreading both hor... ...is Panum Crater that is six hundred and forty years old (Topinka:2001). (Picture below compliments of USGS). Sources Molossian Institute of Volcanology. Long Valley Caldera. 2004 http://www.molossia.org.org/volcanology/longvalley.html Topinka, Lyn. Mono-Inyo Craters. Last updated 11/09/01. http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/livingwith/volcanicpast/places/volcanic_past_long_valey.html. U.S. Department of Agriculture. Mono Basin. National Forest Scenic Area. Inyo National Forest. 11/97. U.S Geological Survey. Long Valley Observatory Website. Mono Lake Area, California. 2004. http://lvo.wr.usgs.gov/Inyoeruptions/inyoflows.html http://lvo.wr.usgs.gov/history.html Wood and Kienle, 1990, Volcanoes of North America: United States and Canada: Cambridge University Press, 354p.,p.256-262. http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/volcanoes/nevada/description_nevada.html

Variable Pay Plan: Gain Sharing

Employers are often faced with the challenge of looking for ways to boost productivity and profitability while at the same time, motivating employees to accomplish organizational goals. For many employers, variable pay plans have risen to meet this challenge. A variable pay plan ties pay increases to increased performance and productivity. One of the more popular group variable pay plans is called gain sharing. Under gain sharing pay programs, both the employer and the employee benefit from increased productivity. Therefore, gain sharing has often been referred to as a win-win pay program since it is an incentive strategy that ties pay to productivity. Gain sharing is a type of incentive plan designed to increase productivity by linking pay directly to specific improvements in a company†s performance. Gain sharing is used primarily when quantitative levels of production are important measures of business success. Gains are shared with unit/department employees on a monthly, quarterly, semiannual or annual basis according to some predetermined formula calculated on the value of gains of production over labor and other costs. The plan lets employees reap some of the rewards of their efforts through teamwork and cooperation and by working smarter and harder. Gain sharing plans offer the following:  · Directly ties pay to some important measure of company performance  · Results in productivity improvements when installed  · Appropriate for all groups of employees  · Improves communications and teamwork among employees  · Increases employee awareness of â€Å"the big picture†  · Improves job satisfaction and employee relations  · Increases employee participation through involvement in the system Gain sharing pay programs have the following disadvantages:  · Time consuming to design, implement and administer  · Requires employee orientation, education and training  · Accurate and timely production and cost data must be available  · If not already in place, gain sharing requires a shift to participative management and employee involvement Once you decide to add a gain sharing plan to your company you must pick the type of plan you wish to implement into your company. The following is a description of different types of plans a company could implement. A Value Added Plan is the cost of materials and services is subtracted from sales to determine a value added figure. Employee costs are then compared to this figure to arrive at a value added index. This index is compared to value added for future periods to determine if there has been an improvement in productivity. To the extent that employee costs are less than would be the case by applying a value added index to a value added, there is a productivity gain to be shared. A major challenge with this type of plan is removing the effects of automation from productivity gains. The Rucker Plan, essentially, this is a value added plan that contains special adjustments to account for base wage and other price changes, capital expenditures, and other costs unrelated to employee productivity. The Scanlon Plan is one of the more familiar gain sharing plans. It involves calculating total payroll costs and dividing by sales plus finished inventory figures to determine a plan ratio. Employee shares of productivity gains are determined by improvements of this ratio. The Improshare plan tells that increased productivity is determined by looking at the number of working hours that are saved in producing a number of finished units in a given period of time as compared to a base period. Its proponents stress that this measure leads to less waste and better quality control since only finished products are used in measuring the gains. The next is the Par Plan. This plan goes beyond other gain sharing plans by rewarding any successful effort to improve productivity. It does not single out gains solely from a productivity improvement standpoint. A â€Å"par† figure is determined based on all manufacturing costs compared to sales. Any improvement in this ratio determines the gain to be shared. The Gallway Plan gives employee incentives. The incentives under this plan are based solely on reduction in labor costs. The labor value of each product is determined and becomes a basis for determining the gain in productivity that is shared with employees. The first step in designing a gain sharing program is to determine what is to be accomplished by instituting a gain sharing plan. Is the objective to improve productivity? To reduce costs? To maintain or increase market share? Is the objective to improve organizational communication, employee relations or to promote employee participation in the organization? Is the objective to replace a compensation structure that no longer reinforces organizational goals such as improved product quality or customer service? The next stage is to determine how employees will be grouped under the program. Will employees be grouped by geographic location, product or service line, organizational group, payroll category or other employee characteristics? However the group is defined, it is important that it be self-contained and able to function as a â€Å"team. † The third step in developing a gain sharing plan is to determine what measures of performance are necessary to meet the stated objectives of the gain sharing plan. Measurements may be financial, operational or a combination of financial and operational. The fourth step in developing a gain sharing plan is to design the key elements of the program. Key issues at this stage include how do you measure productivity measures and award bonuses, handling variations in performance, and allocating or sharing the gains. After the plan has been developed and administrative issues addressed, the next step is to implement the plan and get employees actively involved in a team approach to performance improvement. This step might be accomplished by using formal or informal suggestion systems, quality circles, training sessions or set managed work groups with regular meetings. The final step after the plan is implemented is to ensure that it stays current with the development of the organization. During this phase of the process, a clear statement of plan documents outlining conditions under which the plan may be suspended, terminated or modified should be developed.

Strictly Ballroom Belonging

Belonging or not belonging is the feeling of being included or excluded by a certain group, person, place or community. This is conveyed very well in the film â€Å"strictly ballroom† produced by Baz Luhrmen and the picture book â€Å"The Sneetches† by Dr suess. In stictly ballroom, this concept is primarily conveyed by Scott Hastings struggle with the dance community to find where he truly belongs. In ‘The Sneetches is refers to the group belonging of the two seperate types of sneetches and their journey to belong as a community and individually. In â€Å"Strictly Ballroom† the beginning scenes of the film Baz established the conventional, elegant atmosphere of the ballroom dancing world. Using a combination of techniques such as graceful music, the traditional â€Å"blue Danube†, the silhouette and highly illuminated shots of the dancers waltzing, dressing in exaggerated and ostentatious costumes, hair and make-up along with big cheesy smile and facial expressions as they dance gracefully around the floor. However, the sense of community and belonging is soon fractured as it switches to a shot of Shirley screaming â€Å"Come on team 100!†. Scott and Liz become blocked in by another dance couple and Scott chooses to dance his own steps to escape, deviating from the usual steps that the judges are programmed to. The reaction of the judges and audience shows that Scott's actions were not excepted by the federation. Barry fife leans over to Lez and mutters â€Å"what the hell is going on here?† representing the shock of the judges. The restrictive and competitive nature of the â€Å"strictly ballroom† world is further shown by Barry Fife, the president of the dance federation who is conveyed as an ugly, evil man ruling the dance community. His irrational and controlling nature is emphasised in the scene of the first competition here we see there is no true loyalty or belonging because when Ken and Pam cheat and block out Scott and Liz in the corner they are rewarded and are still given first place. Clearly conveying that the individual or group who wishes to belong to this specific world must be prepared to follow orders and conform to their rules. To find a true sense of belonging within a set world, one must have the courage to stay true to themselves. The protagonists in this film Scott and Fran gradually challenge and redefine the order of this community. Scott â€Å"the up and coming star† of the ballroom world becomes frustrated with only dancing the old traditional steps and wants permission to introduce his own kind of steps. In the illustrated story ‘The Sneetches' illustrated and written by Dr. Suess he demonstrates individuals within a group desperately seeking approval of another group they are made to believe are more elite. Not belonging may not be a permanent state. Doug, Scott's father is portrayed as a very quiet charter who rarely speaks. He is often seen in the dance studio improvising his movements, which is similar to what Scott did earlier on in the film. However he is often captured through a high angle shot and very limited lighting making it appear as though the audience is secretly overlooking his dancing which no one is meant to see. This image suggests that he too wants to express his passion through dance, but he can only do it in the dark alone as if he is too afraid of confronting those who oppose it. The darkness around Doug lets him express himself as an individual and shed his previous conformed life. This is clearly conveying the main idea, that it is very important to belong but only if an individual can first belong to oneself.

Federal Government of the United States and Sequestration

Understanding Sequestration Christine Miller Webster University Author Note Christine A. Miller, Webster University. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Christine Miller, 21356 89th Street, California City, CA 93505. E-mail: [email  protected] net Abstract Understanding sequestration can be overwhelming. What are government sequestration and the Budget Control Act (BCA) of 2011 and how do they impact us? Which government agencies will feel the impact the most? Are there agencies that are exempt from the sequestration?And finally, is there a way to prevent the sequestration? A budget sequester is when money under current law is used to fund the budget deficit. President Barack Obama signed into law on Aug 2, 2011 a federal statute titled The Budget Control Act (BCA) of 2011. This federal statute will impose limits on discretionary programs by more than $1 trillion over ten years from 2012 through 2021. These limits are based on the Congressional Budget Offi ce baseline from 2010 (Kogan, 2011). Sequestration was technically triggered when Congress failed to reach an agreement by Jan. 5, 2012, but because the cuts do not begin until 2013, Congress really has until the end of this year to enact new legislation that would cancel or delay the cuts (OMB Watch, Nov 6, 2012). As an employee on a military installation, the impacts of the sequestration could cause short and long term effects on our contractor support. Understanding Sequestration Sequestration can be broadly defined as the action of taking legal possession of assets until a debt has been paid or other claims have been met. In government terms, a sequestration is an attempt to reform Congressional voting procedures.This is an effort to make the size of the Federal government's budget deficit a matter of conscious choice rather than simply the outcome of an appropriations process. A process in which no one ever looked at the cumulative results until it was too late to change them. If the appropriation bills passed separately by Congress provide for total government spending in excess of the limits Congress earlier laid down for itself in the annual Budget Resolution, and if Congress cannot agree on ways to cut back the total, then an automatic form of spending cutback takes place.This automatic spending cut is what is called sequestration (Johnson, 2005). What are the major elements of the BCA of 2011? First, it allowed the President to raise the debt limit by $2. 1 trillion. This limit is estimated to be enough through early 2013. Second, established limits on annual appropriations bills which cover discretionary or non-entitlement programs such as defense, education, national parks, the FBI, the EPA, low-income housing assistance, medical research, and many others; the limits reduce projected funding for these programs by more than $1 trillion through 2021.Third, it required the House and Senate to vote in the fall of 2011 on an amendment to the Constitutio n to mandate a balanced budget every year. Fourth, it established a Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to produce legislation to reduce projected deficits by at least an additional $1. 2 trillion through 2021 (beyond the savings generated by the discretionary caps). And finally, the BCA established a contingency mechanism to ensure that $1. 2 trillion in deficit reduction would be achieved if the Joint Select Committee failed.This provided for automatic, across-the-board budget cuts in many programs in 2013 and reductions in each year from 2014 through 2021 in the annual caps on discretionary appropriations as well as automatic cuts in selected entitlement programs (Kogan, 2011). Which government programs will feel the impact the most? If sequestration does take place the cuts will be divided evenly between the defense and non-defense programs, approximately $55 billion each.Non-exempt non-defense programs like Head Start and education programs will have an 8. 2% cut, appro ximately $38 billion. Non-exempt non-defense mandatory programs like agricultural disaster relief will have a 7. 6% cut, approximately $5. 6 billion. Payments to Medicare providers and health insurance plans will have a 2% cut, approximately $11 billion. In addition, non-exempt defense discretionary programs will have a 9. 4% cut, approximately $54. 6 billion (OMB Watch Nov 2, 2012).This includes keeping military bases open, paying salaries and research and development. The approximately $55 billion in 2013 defense cuts will be imposed in a similar but not identical manner. The defense cuts will occur through across-the-board, proportional reductions in the funding provided for defense accounts in the appropriations bills. War costs within the National Defense function are subject to sequestration, as are defense unobligated balances carried over from prior years.Although military personnel are not exempt from sequestration the President can exempt some or all military personnel fun ding from the sequestration. This is because the funds for fiscal year 2013 will already have been appropriated by Congress. However, if he chooses that option, the cuts in other defense funding would have to increase. As of Nov 13 the President did exempt military personnel from sequestration (OMB Watch Nov 2, 2012). Which government programs are exempt from automatic cuts?A number of programs are exempt to include Social Security benefits, all programs administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs, interest on the federal debt, refundable tax credits, and several low-income programs. Low-income programs that are exempt include food stamps, child nutrition programs, Medicaid, foster care, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, mandatory funding under the Child Care and Development Fund, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and the Supplemental Security Income program (OMB Watch Nov 2, 2012). So what are the expectations for 2014 and beyond?The process for 2014 and out is quite different. The required defense funding cut of approximately $55 billion in each year from 2014 through 2021 will occur through reductions in the annual statutory caps on defense funding that the Budget Control Act sets for each of those years if sequestration is triggered. Unlike in 2013, there will be no automatic cut of all affected defense programs by the same percentage; instead, the Appropriations Committees will decide how to live within the newly reduced defense funding caps (Kogan, 2011).For non-defense programs the process will be the same as in 2013 for entitlements but different for non-defense discretionary programs. Medicare payments to both providers and health insurance plans will continue to be cut by 2 percent. However, because Medicare costs are projected to rise through 2021, the dollar amount saved will increase from $11 billion to approximately $18 billion in 2021. In years 2014 through 2012, the remaining amount of the approximately $55 billion i n non-defense cuts will be applied proportionally to other non-exempt mandatory programs and overall non-defense discretionary funding.Because Medicare will take a progressively larger share of the $55 billion non-defense cut, other non-defense programs cuts will continue to decline (Kogan, 2011). One of the biggest concerns of the sequestration is the possibility of prompting a recession in 2013. The combination of expiring tax cuts and the reductions in spending on discretionary government programs, known as the ‘fiscal cliff’, could throw the country back into recession. However, the hopes are that a budget deal would be reached in early 2013 that would retroactively cancel the sequestration.Within the Department of Defense (DoD) there is a lot of concern with sequestration and the automatic cuts that would be implemented in fiscal year 2013 if Congress fails to reach an agreement on the deficit reduction plan. The Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) is working with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to ensure the Department is ready to implement sequestration in January if it occurs. In the meantime, consistent with OMB guidance, a memo titled Guidance on Fiscal Year 2013 Joint Committee Sequestration has been issued stating that DoD needs to continue normal spending and operations.The memo states to not let our programs, personnel, and activities to begin to suffer the harmful effects of sequestration while there is still a chance it can be avoided. The memo has directed that all commanders and managers in the DoD continue the defense mission under current laws and policies, without taking any steps that assume sequestration will occur (A. B. Carter, personal communication, Sep 25, 2012). In other words, the DoD is to continue business as usual. Although it is business as usual, government contractors may feel the greatest impact.In conclusion, sequestration would have long enduring and painful effects on all aspects of government agencies, DoD and non-DoD alike. If Congress does not meet the requirements imposed by the Budget Control Act of 2011 DoD government contractor layoffs and potential government shutdowns may occur and non-DoD government programs, like education and Medicare, will have long term consequences. Sequestration can only be prevented if Congress passes legislation that undoes the Budget Control Act of 2011 before January 2, 2013. References Johnson, P. (2005). A Glossary of Political Economy Terms.Retrieved from http://www. auburn. edu/~johnspm/gloss/sequestration Kogan, R. (2012). How the Across-the-Board Cuts in the Budget Control Act Will Work. Retrieved October 30, 2012, from http://www. cbpp. org/cms OMB Watch (Nov 2, 2012). Mitigating the Impact of a Temporary Sequester. Retrieved November 4, 2012, from http://www. ombwatch. org/mitigating-impact-of- automatic-spending-cuts OMB Watch (Nov 6, 2012). White House and Federal Agencies Could Manage Effects of Automatic Spending Cuts in E arly 2013. Retrieved November 10, 2012, from http://www. ombwatch. org/node/12266

The role of bureaucracy in economic development in Argentina Essay

The role of bureaucracy in economic development in Argentina - Essay Example Though bureaucracy in administration whether public or governmental has always given rise to many problems, but still there are hopes that a "brand new" bureaucracy has a long way to go towards economic development and consolidation of its institutions (Ducote, World Governance Survey) In circumstances where the slow process of Argentina's economic decline which intensified after World War II remained unable to get back to the colonial times, after 1853 was modernized. The early 20th century was the most favourable time when amazing progress was carried out at the political and economic level. Despite attaining independence from Spain, Argentina after spending many decades under the influence of Spanish democratic government continued with constitution with the old colonial features which began to reappear in Argentine administration (Hamilton, 2005). The integrated formulation predicts that the shift from populist authoritarian rule (1952) and to bureaucratic-authoritarian rule (1966) should not have produced fundamental policy changes in certain areas. These areas comprised of military in ad hoc provision, welfare and public works programs and a depoliticized system. By the early 1950s, cabinet instability had become chronic with a large scale development of a highly unionized public bureaucracy. The bureaucracy caused many problems like development of the cyclical balance-of-payments, foreign exchange. The economic inflation problems along with a combination of the cumbersome and inefficient public bureaucracy caused drainage of the resources elites had at their command (Most & Rienner, 1991, p. 67). Despite the impressive economic achievements since Independence, the re-emergence of colonial practices condemned Argentina to a trajectory of underdevelopment that could not be reversed by the democratic administrations of the 1990s. Background - The role of Military in Bureaucracy Military organizations were complex bureaucracies that uphold functional divisions. Those divisions affect not only the ways in which the military organizes work but also the ways in which it may fracture in the face of other kinds of challenges. (Norden, 1996, p. 108) The ad hoc military's role in the government should have been largely provisional. The size and complexity of the government should have increased as a result of the initiation and expansion of a variety of welfare and public works programs during the populist period without any concerted efforts to reorganize or control the growing bureaucracy. The impact of such developments on the bureaucratic-authoritarian coalition of the post-1966 period should have attempted to establish an exclusionary and depoliticized system. The military members of the bureaucratic authoritarian coalition should have unified themselves and taken control of the government with a view to establishing a more or less permanent military dictatorship. The technocrats of the bureaucratic authoritarian coalition should have rejected the political bargaining, electioneering, and pressure group politics that distorted earlier efforts at objective policymaking. The technocrats therefore decided to reorganize the sta te, increase its operating efficiency, and 'rationalize' its policymaking. The shift from the autocratic to bureaucratic Government was not supposed to have produced fundamental

Global Investement Strategies Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Global Investement Strategies - Research Paper Example Globalization has been defined comprehensively by the IMF as a historical process that is the result of human innovation and technological process and encompasses the increasing integration of economies around the globe especially through trade and financial flows (IMF, 2000). The phenomenon of globalization has touched markets, nation states, corporations, businesses and individuals alike. There are advantages and disadvantages that have resulted from this change to all involved stakeholders (Friedman, 1999) but this change has affected businesses like never before. On the positive side businesses have been able to access more markets than ever before as markets are becoming more and more integrated. This has allowed businesses to reach greater audiences and this in turn has increased their revenues to newer levels. Market integration has also meant that businesses can now distribute their functions to around the globe depending on specialties. For example it is common for electroni c businesses to have manufacturing facilities located in China, to have marketing facilities in North America and Western Europe and to have operational offices and retail centers all across the globe. This kind of market integration has meant that businesses have been able to lower their operational costs as each specific business function is handled by the most economically feasible option. Lower costs of labor and other inputs have meant that relocating manufacturing facilities to developing nations would reduce base costs. This reduction in base costs has enabled businesses to lower overall production costs which in turn are encouraging businesses to expose their products to larger audiences. The lowered costs have in turn allowed consumers all over the world to purchase goods and services from manufacturers and service providers which has meant increasing revenues for business around the globe. This can simply be seen as the creation of a singular world market which is the ulti mate object of the globalization regime (Shirakawa et al., 2000). While on the one hand these changes have allowed businesses to reap the wide benefits of integrated markets but difficulties in financial transactions have intensified as a result. Although the entire globe is more connected than ever before but the movement of capital has become far more intricate given the large number of interfaces involved to make these transactions possible. The financial markets around the globe have been integrated using modern electronic communication but this has represented a new constraint on the already developed systems. It is essential for a business to increase its workforce to encompass people with requisite IT skills and expertise to support the system required to carry out such financial transactions. The use of these systems has also exposed businesses to new menaces such as online attacks and chances at fraud. It is not uncommon for internationally integrated businesses to become v ictims of DOS (denial of service) attacks as well as being victims of unethical hacking activity. In turn the consumers of these businesses have also been victim to such actions and certain nations have been blacklisted for transactions in order to protect both consumers and businesses.

The Trial Process Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Trial Process - Essay Example The statements made during the opening statement are not to be considered as part of the evidence. Rather, they serve to build a connection between the two sides to the case and set straight the plot that the case is going to take, while trying to influence the juries with the arguments and the evidence available. Even though there is no argument of the case at this phase, the stage, as one of the component of the trial process serves to set the stage for the actual process of case trial (Wayne, 2003). The next component in the trial procedure is the prosecution’s case presentation, where the prosecutor presents the evidence and all the information necessary to the case, in an attempt to prove that the defendant is guilty before the court (Sadakat, 2005). The prosecutor has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty of all the charges aligned with him. If he fails to do this amicably, then the defense can request that the case be dismissed at this stage, w ithout the need to proceed to offer the case defense. If the prosecutor provides sufficient evidence to prove that the defendant is guilty, then the next stage follows. The next component of the case is the direct and the cross examination of witnesses. Under this component, the witnesses are sworn under oath to give true and only facts regarding the case. Each side to the case will then examine the witnesses through a question and answer session, where the counsels of both sides asks the witnesses questions to unearth some facts and prove the allegations already given (Zuckerman, 2012). During the cross examination, all attempts are made to indicate the inconsistencies and the loopholes that are left unsealed by the witness testimonies. The need for this component as part of the trial process is to have each side to the argument discredit the other, based on the testimonies given (Wayne, 2003). The next component that follows is the defense’s case, where the counsel represen ting the defendant will present their case, indicating how the case presented by the prosecutor does not qualify to make the defendant guilty before the court (Zuckerman, 2012). The defense can also seek to show the court that the prosecutor lacks sufficient evidence to prove the case against the defendants. In doing this, the defense counsel may cite the weaknesses made by the witnesses during the testimony session. The need for this component of the trial process is to indicate how the prosecution’s evidence fails to meet the threshold of conviction that the defendant is guilty. At this stage, the defense calls their witnesses who also give the testimony, opposing the guilt of the defendant. After the defense makes their case, the prosecution can react to this, though only in relation to new suggestions that defense has noted which were not addressed by the prosecution (Sadakat, 2005). The next component of the trial process that follows is the closing argument. Here, the p rosecution presents their final arguments, addressing any relevant details to the case that they could have forgotten, in a summary manner. This is followed by the closing arguments given by the defense, summarizing their main points and giving any relevant information they could have skipped during the preceding stages (Wayne, 2003). Of importance is