Book Riots Deals of the Day for July 19th, 2017

Book Riots Deals of the Day for July 19th, 2017 Book Riot Deals is  sponsored by Orbit: Todays Featured Deals Night Film by Marisha Pessl for $1.99. Get it here or just click the cover image below: Shogun by James Clavell for $1.99. Get it here or just click the cover image below: In Case You Missed Yesterdays Most Popular Deal: The Notorious RGB for $1.99. Get it here or just click the cover image below: Previous daily deals that are still active (as of this writing at least). Get em while theyre hot. The Valley of Amazement  by Amy Tan for $1.99. The Girl with All the Gifts  by M.R. Carey for $1.99. Graceling  by Kristin Cashore for $1.99. The Rules of Civility  by Amor Towles for $3.99. Ayiti by Roxane Gay for $1.99 Dawn by Octavia E. Butler for $1.99. The Looking Glass War by John Le Carre for $1.99. The Complete Stories by Clarice Lispector for $1.99. Too Like the Lightning by Ada Palmer for $2.99. Mothers Sons by Colm Toibin for $1.99. The Birthday of the World and Other Stories by Ursula K. Le Guin for $1.99. Galileos Daughter by Dava Sobel for $1.99. Brown Girl, Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson for $1.99. An Edible History of Humanity by Tom Standage for $1.99. Tell the Wolves Im Home by Carol Rifka Brunt for $1.99. Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury for $1.99. After Henry by Joan Didion for $1.13. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller for $1.99. The Toughest Indian in the World by Sherman Alexie for $1.99. The Last Samurai  by Helen DeWitt for $1.99. The Last Policeman  by Ben H. Winters for $1.99. Notes of a Native Son  by James Baldwin for $1.99. Labyrinths  by Jose Luis Borges for $1.99. All the Birds in the Sky  by Charlie Jane Anders for $2.99. A Study in Scarlet Women  by Sherry Thomas for $1.99.. The Inexplicable Logic of My Life  by Benjamin Alire Sáenz for $2.99. We, The Drowned  by Carsten Jenson for $2.99 Big Fish  by Daniel Wallace for $1.99. The Terracotta Bride  by Zen Cho for $1.40. The Geek Feminist Revolution  by Kameron Hurley for $2.99. The Girl at Midnight  by Melissa Grey for $1.99. Cloudsplitter  by Russell Banks for $1.99. Queenpin  by Megan Abbott for $0.99. The Good Lord Bird  by James McBride for $4.99. The Comet Seekers by Helen Sedgwick for $2.99 Frog Music by Emma Donoghue for $1.99 Bitch Planet, Vol 1 for $3.99. Monstress, Vol 1 by Liu Takeda for $3.99 Paper Girls, Vol 1. by Vaughn, Chiang, Wilson for $3.99. Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova for $1.99 The Wicked + The Divine Volume 1  for $3.99 The Inheritance Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin for $9.99 The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith for $0.99 We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie for $2.99 Sign up for our Book Deals newsletter and get up to 80% off books you actually want to read.

The War Was Going On America - 1606 Words

Introduction In 1914, militarism, alliances, imperialism, and nationalism began a war in Europe between the Allies (Britain, Russia, Italy, and France) and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria). This war would later be known as the First World War and only lasted four years, yet it destroyed Europe’s economy and ravished its terrain. While the war was going on America claimed a neutral stance. Mostly for the fact that many Americas were isolationist and did not care what was going on in the other side of the world. The United States also had a large number of immigrants from Europe which made it difficult to pick a side because many had cultural ties to countries that were either part of the Allies or the Central Power and refused to fight their own people. For example, the Germans who were a large immigrant group during that time. However, as time went by, America’s view slowly started to change because of the fear of a possib le economic collapse, unrestricted submarine warfare and the Zimmerman telegram which all led to the United States entrance into the Fist World War. A Possible Economic Collapse One reason America entered the First World War was because many feared an economic collapse. In the initially months of the First World War many businessmen saw this war as an economic boom. On September 4, 1914, in a personal letter to President Wilson, banker Jack Morgan states, â€Å"The war should be a tremendous opportunity forShow MoreRelatedThe Cold War and the War on Terror987 Words   |  4 Pagesthat during the Cold War and the War on Terror, many of the feelings that citizens felt were the same, but what America called the enemy was different. Following the September 11th attacks, there was a feeling of paranoia felt throughout America similar to the paranoia felt during the Cold War. Americans did not feel safe, and an attack could come at any time. The fight on the home front looked different during the Cold War and the War on Terrorism. During the Cold War there was more of a correlationRead MoreThe Crazy Effects of a Hockey Game983 Words   |  4 Pagesthat a ho ckey game could have such a crazy effect on the world and America. The medal round game between the United States of America and The Soviet Union would prove to be much more then just a game. The United States was getting more then just a victory and an upset, but our country was getting a much-needed moral boost in the fight against the Soviet Union in the Cold War. This wasn’t just a potential gold medal on the line, it was how we lived and our lifestyle compared to theirs. You want a trueRead MoreSeptember 11, 2001, And The United States1064 Words   |  5 Pages It was a day that brought shock, anger, disbelief, and sadness to everyone. On that day, thousands of innocent people lost their lives due to an act that was unthinkable. It was the day that the United States of America was attacked by nineteen terrorists part of Al-Qaeda. That day was classified as the worst terrorist attack in America. September 11, 2001 changed America forever: in a way that we were not prep ared for. September 11, 2001 started out as a normal day for most. Everyone was goingRead MoreThe United States Involvement During The Vietnam War947 Words   |  4 Pagesthose conflicts have turned out into wars. Looking back at America’s â€Å"track record† with war, America has a worthy past of having its citizen’s support. Obviously the two World Wars we not controversial. The United States in the Korean War was criticized, fairly, for its strategy, but the need to defend South Korea was never questioned. In only the Vietnam War was the United States’ very participation criticized. This is such a gigantic change with prior wars that it bears study as to why it happenedRead MoreTaking a Look at the Cold War786 Words   |  3 PagesThe Cold War The Cold War was a time after World War II, so from 1945 to 1991, where the USA (United States of America) and the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) had very different views on what the new world should be like. The Cold War drew international interest for decades. Many major conflicts occurred. The conflicts consisted of the Vietnam War, the Korean War and many others. For most people though, the Cold War was about the creation and the use of weapons of mass destruction,Read MoreA Neutral America in the War in the Film Casablanca893 Words   |  4 Pages In the film, â€Å"Casablanca†, it showed us that America was neutral in the war as Rick said, â€Å"I stick my neck out for nobody.† Rick is portrayed as America, although he seemed as if he was neutral he started to show that he was caving in for the underdog, just as America did when we started to get involved in the War. During the film when the Germans come into Rick’s cafà ©, Rick shows that he is aware of what is going on in the War, just as we Americans knew about all the concentration camps. AlsoRead MoreThe United States And The World War I932 Words   |  4 Pageschoice but to enter World War I to protect the American people and our way of life. Sometimes it is necessary to stay neutral and to not engage. Other times it is our duty to engage the enemy to protect our families, our freedom, and our way of life. President Wilson did all he could to remain diplomatic and finding a solution other than going to war with Germany and its allies. In the end he made the right choice to fight for this nation and the other nations Germany was trying to tear apart. Read MoreThe War Of The United States974 Words   |  4 Pageswith troops, the United States was backed by the american war machine, what almost seemed like an endless supply of industry, manufacturing, and the capital for both. This represented the power shift to the other side of the Atlantic. Britain’s financial resources were in a desperate situation, and their unquestionable international supremacy was going along with it. Going into the end of 1941, XXX reflected on this shift on the horizon. â€Å"‘Our War’ had become the world war, in which we were a tremendouslyRead More America And The War On Drugs Essay1216 Words   |  5 Pagescountries with problems. Why does America care about what is happening in other countries like Columbia, when they have their own problems with drugs? The Untied States of America has a rather large drug trafficking problem but compared to Columbia it is fairly small. To help Columbia solve their problem the U.S. senate has d ecided to send troops over there and take control. This new involvement will have many consequences in and what can you make for instance the cost of a war, the loss and gain of jobsRead MoreCauses Of The American Revolution1418 Words   |  6 PagesThe American Revolution was not just a spontaneous revolt over taxes some may think . There were many things that led up to the outbreak of the American Revolution, such as the Navigation Act, the Enlightenment, the Great Awakening, the French and Indian War, the Boston Massacre, and the Coercive Acts. It took many years for it to take place. This all started previously before 1775 with the first major event being the Navigation Acts of 1651. The Navigation Act of 1651 was an attempt to put more

The Secret to Secondary Essay Samples Medical School Describe Yourself

The Secret to Secondary Essay Samples Medical School Describe Yourself If you've heard a good deal about a specific medical school, then be sure its ratings match the talk that's going around in connection with it. Having information about all these things allows students and parents to make an educated choice. In your search for superior understanding and to help make certain you pick the right option for your requirements, you ought to make use of U.S. medical school rankings. Again, ladies, if you are searching for the ideal doctor husband, this is another terrific place to go. So very good luck and be certain your credentials are proper. In spite of the days bygone, as soon as the students had very little help from others to be able to comprehend what's perfect for them, in the current situations lots of doors have opened up for the students to seek out assistance and ease the whole procedure for choosing where and how to apply. This campus is called the house of health sciences. Explain why you wish to go to Medical School. Learning Spanish truly provides you an edge in Texas medicine, so I feel this would likewise be a rather solid selection of medical school. Students can receive a wide education here to really concentrate on what medicine they wish to practice. Completing medical school isn't just a key academic undertaking but in addition a considerable financial commitment. Naturally, since it's different! You will have the ability to ch oose the program and school that's ideal for you bearing in mind your circumstances. Elsewhere, as in the uk, students may enrol on clinical undergraduate degrees and keep on the course for the length of their studies. It's the oldest and among the finest medical schools in the usa. People from all around the world come here in order to study and live. On newsstands annually, you can discover the previously mentioned U.S. News report on the greatest medical schools in the nation. In addition, it has many hospitals and health care centers. Make a decision as to what schools you would want to visit and what score you'll want to acquire in. It is among the Top 50 medical schools. The school that you want to enroll will determine how knowledgeable you'll be in the region you are studying and that is the reason we are listing out the greatest medical schools in New york. Choosing Secondary Essay Samples Medical School Describe Yourself Is Simple There's no sensible means to judge a health school based on a single student, one particular graduate from an entire category of students. Therefore, you'll have to make sure your application is as superior as possible if you would like to obtain admittance. This change may impact the typical MCAT scores for medical schools, but it's too early to discover how. Actually, the draw of these rankings on perspective students is among the main facets in the equation. My top idea is to answer the question the interview er provides you. Naturally, there are many other facets in such a decision, including your application and secondary program, along with the interview. The Argument About Secondary Essay Samples Medical School Describe Yourself To help you to find out which school is the correct fit for you, it is necessary to think about medical school rankings that help you make your list of health school for your application. A health school doesn't have to be on the surface of the list to do that. Picking a school isn't a part of cake. Apart from its location, it is a fantastic medical school. You are going to have substantial number of essays to write in a short period of time, and therefore don't focus too long on a single school essay. Whether you're a pre-med wondering what sorts of prompts you'll receive later on or whether you're a present applicant taking a look at the broad selection of essays, have a look at our list of health school secondary application essay prompts for the 2016-2017 application cycle. One particularly delicate issue is the way to approach diversity. The application process also comprises an interview.

Final Exam Hrdv 5700 Free Essays

Final Exam HRDV 5700 Career Management Recommendation 1. Executive Summary A brief summary of your recommendation and key points 2. Recommendation I am recommending a restructuring of employee mentorship and incentive programs to increase employee morale and decrease turnover. We will write a custom essay sample on Final Exam Hrdv 5700 or any similar topic only for you Order Now a) Mandatory Employee Goal Statements b) Upper Management Mentorship Twice a Quarter Upper Management team members will provide employees with Goal feedback and assessment * Twice a Quarter Mini Management Training Seminars c) Goal Completion Incentive Packages for Sales Team Members * Sales workers will receive predetermined incentives for meeting company sales goals d) Employee Commitment Bonus for Hourly Employees * Predetermined completion incentives will be set to encourage superior employee practices. Ie 90 days of time arrival will earn you an extra hour of lunch breaks, which can be saved to total up to one full day off then the record, will restart. . Justification This recommendation is being offered due employee evaluations that overwhelming viewed employer involvement in career management as almost non-existent. e) Employee Evaluations * Employees were interviewed and asked a standard set of questions to determine their view on employee Career Management. 4. Background f ) History of the Issue: * Blanks Family Paper Company: midsize paper company located in the Midwest. * Current Employee Career Management Practices: None * Current Rational: Work and Get Paid Only Feature Article Fin 486 Final Exam Current Basis for hourly employees is work 40 hours and get paid for 40 with no incentives. Current incentive for sale worker: 8% of sales. With no sales incentives. g) Symptoms vs. Causes: * Blanks Family Paper Company current increased turnover from 2010 to 2011, increase in HR Complaints, overall moral is all what have called a need for Employee Career Management standards. * Increased turnover, and decrease in sales have been the major sparks for change. * After interviews, employee surveys, and irrefutable turnover percentage have all been used to gauge this need for change. ) Cost Implications: * Cost and Benefit Statement * What are the annualized costs and benefits? * Do the benefits outweigh the costs? * What will be the impact on the HR budget? i) Legal Implications: * There are no foreseen legal implications. But all newly implement practices will be evaluated annually by an outside law firm to check for any discrepancies. j) Relationship Implications: * The employees have voiced their concerns thoroughly and responding positively to all suggest forms of Career Management Reform. Supervisors and Managers should be ready and willing to implement these changes. Implementations of the new changes will prove to be beneficial to all employees. Increased company moral is always a positive * These changes will have a positive effect on retention and recruiting. Employees will be willing to stay at a company who values more than the time on the clock but also the lives that are developing. Furthermore, increased company moral and proven healthy and positive Employee Career Management Program will be an huge selling point in company recruitment. It is a major seller of college graduates who desire a career and not just a job. * Outside critics should likely be impressed by our company’s new direction and involvement in the wellbeing of our employees. * Will it impact recruiting and retention. k) Other company practices: * Solutions for Boosting Moral According to Forbes. com: a) Greenbacks are nice, of course, but barring those, Nelson discovered that most employees crave communication, involvement and autonomy. While a hearty pat on the back always feels good, extra attention and sense of ownership feel even better. ) â€Å"Every employee should be given the chance to determine how best to do their jobs, as well as increased authority and leeway in the handling of company resources,† says Nelson. c) Arbill, a Philadelphia-based workplace-safety consultancy, takes that observation to heart. The company boosts morale by giving the troops more responsibility. â€Å"We created employee committees to do things lik e set up a health fair, a food co-op and other [projects],† says chief executive Julie Copeland. d) But the extra work doesn’t just make people feel good. Watching how employees manage these committees helps us create a great bench of leaders for the company,† says Copeland. e) Taking an interest in your employees also means investing in their future. That’s why training and development opportunities are energizing perks. Check out the local community colleges and university-extension departments for affordable classes, and foot part or all of the tuition for eager employees. f) Company picnics? Chuck them. Employees don’t care–in fact, they find them a burden. Better to grant the flexibility for personal time to handle family obligations. Four-day work weeks are becoming popular (though they come with their own  complications). If possible, consider letting people work from home one day a week–with gas at $4 a gallon, that savings will feel a like a holiday bonus. * Solutions for Battling Employee Turnover According to NFIB. com a) Surveys Employee satisfaction surveys can get to the root of workplace dissatisfaction. You might find that some people are leaving for better pay or benefits, whereas others feel they haven’t received sufficient training. Surveys set an expectation that management will act on the findings, so be sure to publish a follow-up plan of action afterwards. b) Happiness Assessments Mary Miller, CEO of janitorial services company JANCOA, says annual turnover at her company used to be over 360%. â€Å"Come 5 o’clock every day we were trying to figure out how we were going to get buildings cleaned,† she recalls. But Miller found that addressing employees’ happiness outside of the workplace trumped other methods for improving retention at her Cincinnati-based company. She started holding group conversations with employees to discuss what problems they faced in their personal lives—and what would make them happier overall. The company created a program called Dream Manager, whereby teams use creative ways to help employees achieve their dreams. In one case, two workers temporarily swapped schedules so that one could take a music production class. â€Å"Studies show that turnover rarely has anything to do with money,† Miller says. Through this program, Miller says she’s lowered the turnover rate to 45%. c) Hiring Practices â€Å"Most companies don’t track their quality of hire,† says Quinn. They fail to examine retention among their best people, and so they don’t determine why their top performers are leaving. Revisit your employee selection process. Maybe conducting better interviews could weed out people who aren’t a good fit. Miller says she avoids hiring people who are concerned solely with money or don’t have any future vision for themselves. d) Consultants An outside consultant may help get more honest responses from employees and uncover blind spots in your practices. They may do on-site interviews to get to the source of dissatisfaction, and then propose solutions. They’ll also review human resources data such as exit interviews and performance metrics to look for areas for improvement. 5. Timing: * These implementations can be presented and started almost immediately. However, I would Sales Employees a month to make any adjustments to their sales tactics that they deem necessary. 6. Evaluation of Alternatives * Alternative: Keeping the Current Employee Career Management as is. * Advantages: * No new investments will have to be made. * Employees will not have to restructure their current method of work * Disadvantages The very obvious dissatisfaction from employees will have not been address * Turnover will also not be addressed and will continue to be an issue and a non-selling point for recruitment. 7. Implementation * Specific Actions to be Taken and Time Table: * Complete Analysis of Verbal Surveys: 1 Month * Management Training for Mini-Management Training Seminars: 2 Months * Introduction of New Career Management Program to Hourly Workers and Sales Team: 1 Staff Meeting * Begin New Program: 1 Month after Introduction 8. Appendices (samples of forms used) How to cite Final Exam Hrdv 5700, Essay examples

Stream of Consiousness in To the Light House free essay sample

Stream of Consciousness in Virginia Woolfs To the Lighthouse Virginia Woolf’s novel To the Lighthouse delves into the minds of its characters in a stream of consciousness approach. The characters’ thoughts and feelings blend into one another, and the outward actions and dialogue come second to the inward emotions and ruminations. In the dinner party sequence, for instance, Woolf changes the point of view frequently, with transitions often marked by the sparse dialogue. While shifting the point of view from person to person, Woolf develops her characters through their thoughts, memories, and reactions to each other. An illustration of point of view in a scene Chapter XVII of The Window begins with Mrs. Ramsay wondering what she has done with her life, as she directs guests to their seats and ladles out soup. She sees her husband at the far end of the table, frowning. â€Å"What at? She did not know. We will write a custom essay sample on Stream of Consiousness in To the Light House or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page She did not mind. She could not understand how she had ever felt any emotion or affection for him† (83). As she thinks about her displeasure and disconnectedness with Mr. Ramsay, Mrs. Ramsay notes that she would not speak out loud her inner feelings. There is a strict difference between her actions and her thoughts: Raising her eyebrows at the discrepancy—that was what she was thinking, this was what she was doing—ladling out soup—she felt, more and more strongly, outside that eddy. (83) Being outside of the eddy is her sense of â€Å"being past everything, through everything, out of everything† (83). Completely out of touch with Mr. Ramsay and everyone else at the table, she instead focuses on how shabby the room is, how sterile the men are, and how she pities William Bankes. Finding meaning and strength again in her pity, she gets past her mental weariness enough to ask him an innocuous question about his letters. | | The point of view shifts abruptly to Lily Briscoe, who is watching Mrs. Ramsay intently and imagining her thoughts. Lily is able to read Mrs. Ramsay pretty clearly: â€Å"How old she looks, how worn she looks, and how remote† (84). She wonders why Mrs. Ramsay pities William Bankes, and she realizes that â€Å"the life in her, her resolve to live again, had been stirred by pity† (84). Lily does not find Bankes pitiable, but she recognizes that Mrs. Ramsay is fulfilling some need of her own. Lily thinks about how Bankes has his work, then her thoughts switch to her own work, and she starts imagining her painting and the adjustments she will make. As if to remind the readers of the setting, Woolf has Lily take up â€Å"the salt cellar and put it down again on a flower in pattern in the table-cloth, so as to remind herself to move the tree† (84-85). After all of Lily Briscoe’s thoughts, Mr. Bankes finally responds to Mrs. Ramsay’s inquiry as to whether he has found his letters. What damned rot they talk,† thinks Charles Tansley, as the point of view shifts to him very briefly (85). Lily observes how he lays down his spoon â€Å"precisely in the middle of his plate, which he had swept clean, as if, Lily thought†¦he were determined to make sure of his meals† (85). As if she can read people’s thoughts, Lily’s attention turns to Charles Tansley, as she makes observations about him. She notes that his appearance is meager and unlovely, but she is still drawn to his blue, deep set eyes. Mrs. Ramsay pities him as well, as she also asks him about his letters. Tansley’s response is incorporated into the text, not as a direct quotation, as if he does not wish to join in the banal conversation but instead wallow in his thoughts. â€Å"For he was not going to talk the sort of rot these people wanted him to talk. He was not going to be condescended to by these silly women† (85). Tansley holds the women and their ways in disdain; he finds them silly and superficial. Why do they get dressed up for such occasions? He is wearing his ordinary clothes. Women â€Å"did nothing but talk, talk, talk, eat, eat, eat†¦Women made civilization impossible with all their ‘charm,’ all their silliness† (85). By portraying his inner frustrations, Woolf lets the reader know exactly how Charles Tansley feels about dinner parties, women, and civilization as a whole. By shifting the point of view from character to character, Woolf shares each character’s thoughts and feelings, opinions and reactions to one another. The dynamics between the characters are expressed more fully by their thoughts than by their words. The light dialogue serves to break up the transitions in perspective. By blending people’s inward feelings and keeping dialogue to a minimum, Woolf develops her many-dimensioned characters in a unique and memorable way.

The American Government and the US Education System

The American Government and the US Education System Introduction Perhaps the American education system can be alleged to be one of the most controversial education systems in the world. With diverse standards of education spreading across the American states, the education system has become a common challenge for the government. Some educators allege that this problem has been cultivated by the government’s lack of proper commitment and control over education policies. Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The American Government and the US Education System specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Consequently, the objectivity of the American education system has been blurred and as a result, many of the students and American population feel that the education system has failed them. Education should be a national agenda, and this had previously been demonstrated by the commitment of the federal government in subsiding education in the country. However, the federal governme nt has no control over the education once the states government takes over education funds. While the failure of the education system in the United States is continually blamed on the cost, drop-out rates, declining tests, health problems and social problems, there remains the issue of government inattention. The American government has remained inattentive towards education in various ways as can be demonstrated below. Government monopoly First, the government practices a monopoly over the education system. From this aspect, the government is the sole financer of education in the country. As a result, the government can only provide funds for education through taxes. The lack of other pertinent stakeholders like the private sector in financing education has lowered the standards of education in the country. Only a fewer private schools that are expensive do exist. This complicates the procedure and the establishment of good education policies from relevant government agencies. Te achers unions The American government allows the monopoly of teachers through their union. Major unions such as the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association have been an obstacle towards changes in the education system. Like any other unions in other industries, unions’ main objective is to protect the interest of the members. In this aspect, teachers have always wanted to maintain a status quo and oppose major changes in the education sector. The unionization of the teachers has made it difficult for the government agencies responsible for education to implement important changes. For example, the unions do not allow dismissal of teachers on the basis of their behavior. Moreover, unions always seek better payment for their members, thus jeopardizing the government effort in using more funds to employ teacher and expand education.Advertising Looking for essay on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Outdated technology The American government has demonstrated its inattentiveness in education, by continuing to subscribe to outdated technology. This can be evidenced in the government inability to improve the use of technology-based learning techniques in public schools. This is outrageous considering that education renders a nation to be competitive in an industrialized economy that requires advanced skills and expertise. This could be the reason why the America economy is constantly importing human resource for its industries. This can also be evidenced by the growing economic competition from European and Asian counties, which have invested heavily on education. Misuse of funds The general American government has had problems with governance and management of public funds. The lack of proper allocation of funds on the basis of priority has always been a hindrance to effective education system in the country. An example of such was exhibited during the America occupation of Iraq. The American government used billions of dollars on security and war on terror and neglected other important sectors such as education. In such instances, the government agencies responsible for education cannot be exempted from misuse of funds. This also indicates that governmental agencies lack proper planning, and this can be justified from their lack of flexibility in the education budget. Standardization The standardization policies by the government in the education sector sometimes exhibits lack of understanding. For example, the enacting of the recent No Child left Behind Act is an example of how standards can ruin education. Although, the act is directed to ensure education is accessible to all children. The act does not consider the fact that education provision requires the quality aspect. In the recent years, there has been declining performance among the students, since teachers are not allowed by the new act to provide personalized lesson s and teaching techniques. The United States Department of Education does not oversee the use of a national curriculum among public and private school across the states. In this aspect, education is diversely structured among the states. This becomes a challenge for the government to instill regulations on how education budget among the states are used in relation to provision of education. Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The American Government and the US Education System specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More As a matter of fact, it becomes a problem for students who may want to transfer schools from one state to another. This sometimes exhibits unfair competition among states, especially when the students graduate and want to seek employment in any of the states. Accreditation Lack of proper accreditation by the United States Department of Education is one major reason as to why education is failing in America. Some o f the education institutions in the country lack proper amenities to offer credible education. Their approval by the department of education is as a result of corruption. Once such institutions are enlisted for education funds, their allocation is sometimes unorthodox and may not achieve its purpose. Bureaucracy The government has remained bureaucratic as can be evidenced by its expenditure on education. The government has constantly been spending 14% of its total expenses on education for several years. This renders the government to spend merely $600 billion on education in a single year. Nonetheless, the number of students in public schools cannot be sustained by such an amount considering there is wastage of funds through corruption in the department of education. The problem of bureaucracy is a universal phenomenon that affects all governments across the world. In this aspect, any change required in the education sector undergoes thorough lobbying, debating and procedures befo re its implementation. Although such may be perceived as the legal procedure of conducting government activities, such drags behind important sectors in terms of growth and development. School district boards School district boards have been another failure in the America education system. The board is always comprised of members, who sometimes do not look at the interest of the students. In any case, such school district boards prefer to save on education budget, by streamlining education through employing incompetent teachers at lower cost. Thus eventually affects the quality of education in the entire state. The same school districts are also given the mandate to control education funds. In most scenarios, such board members embezzle funds, since they lack managerial skills in finance management.

400 Million Years of Shark Evolution

400 Million Years of Shark Evolution If you went back in time and looked at the first, unremarkable prehistoric sharks of the Ordovician periodabout 420 million years agoyou might never guess that their descendants would become such dominant creatures, holding their own against vicious marine reptiles like pliosaurs and mosasaurs and going on to become the apex predators of the worlds oceans. Today, few creatures in the world inspire as much fear as the Great White Shark, the closest nature has come to a pure killing machineif you exclude Megalodon, which was 10 times bigger. Before discussing shark evolution, though, its important to define what we mean by shark. Technically, sharks are a suborder of fish whose skeletons are made out of cartilage rather than bone; sharks are also distinguished by their streamlined, hydrodynamic shapes, sharp teeth, and sandpaper-like skin. Frustratingly for paleontologists, skeletons made of cartilage dont persist in the fossil record nearly as well as skeletons made of bonewhich is why so many prehistoric sharks are known primarily (if not exclusively) by their fossilized teeth. The First Sharks We dont have much in the way of direct evidence, except for a handful of fossilized scales, but the first sharks are believed to have evolved during the Ordovician period, about 420 million years ago (to put this into perspective, the first tetrapods didnt crawl up out of the sea until 400 million years ago). The most important genus that has left significant fossil evidence is the difficult-to-pronounce Cladoselache, numerous specimens of which have been found in the American midwest. As you might expect in such an early shark, Cladoselache was fairly small, and it had some odd, non-shark-like characteristicssuch as a paucity of scales (except for small areas around its mouth and eyes) and a complete lack of claspers, the sexual organ by which male sharks attach themselves (and transfer sperm to) the females. After Cladoselache, the most important prehistoric sharks of ancient times were Stethacanthus, Orthacanthus, and Xenacanthus. Stethacanthus measured only six feet from snout to tail but already boasted the full array  of shark features: scales, sharp teeth, a distinctive fin structure, and a sleek, hydrodynamic build. What set this genus apart were the bizarre, ironing-board-like structures atop the backs of males, which were probably somehow used during mating. The equally ancient Stethacanthus and Orthacanthus were both fresh-water sharks, distinguished by their small size, eel-like bodies, and odd spikes protruding from the tops of their heads (which may have delivered jabs of poison to bothersome predators). The Sharks of the Mesozoic Era Considering how common they were during the preceding geologic periods, sharks kept a relatively low profile during most of the Mesozoic Era,  because of intense competition from marine  reptiles like ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs. By far the most successful genus was Hybodus, which was built for survival: this prehistoric shark had two types of teeth, sharp ones for eating fish and flat ones for grinding mollusks, as well as a sharp blade jutting out of its dorsal fin to keep other predators at bay. The cartilaginous skeleton of Hybodus was unusually tough and calcified, explaining this sharks persistence both in the fossil record and in the worlds oceans, which it prowled from the Triassic to the early Cretaceous periods. Prehistoric sharks really came into their own during the middle Cretaceous period, about 100 million years ago. Both Cretoxyrhina (about 25 feet long) and Squalicorax (about 15 feet long) would be recognizable as true sharks by a modern observer; in fact, theres direct tooth-mark evidence that Squalicorax preyed on dinosaurs that blundered into its habitat. Perhaps the most surprising shark from the Cretaceous period is the recently discovered Ptychodus, a 30-foot-long monster whose numerous, flat teeth were adapted to grinding up tiny mollusks, rather than large fish or aquatic reptiles. After the Mesozoic After the dinosaurs (and their aquatic cousins) went extinct 65 million years ago, prehistoric sharks were free to complete their slow evolution into the remorseless killing machines we know today. Frustratingly, the fossil evidence for the sharks of the Miocene epoch (for example) consists almost exclusively of teeththousands and thousands of teeth, so many that you can buy yourself one on the open market for a fairly modest price. The Great White-sized Otodus, for example, is known almost exclusively by its teeth, from which paleontologists have reconstructed this fearsome, 30-foot-long shark. By far the most famous prehistoric shark of the Cenozoic Era  was Megalodon, adult specimens of which measured 70 feet from head to tail and weighed as much as 50 tons. Megalodon was a true apex predator of the worlds oceans, feasting on everything from whales, dolphins, and seals to giant fish and (presumably) equally giant squids; for a few million years, it may even have preyed on the equally ginormous whale Leviathan. No one knows why this monster went extinct about two million years ago; the most likely candidates include climate change and the resulting disappearance of its usual prey.