Professor Questions Essay Example for Free

Professor Questions Essay 1. Discuss how astronomers compare the stars. There may be several terms astronomists use to compare stars, including luminosity, flux, energy flux, apparent magnitude and absolute magnitude. Luminosity is the total amount of energy given from a body every second, measured in Watts Energy flux is the flow of energy out from a particular surface area and is measured in Watts per meter square. Observed flux – As the radius of the circle placed around the radiating object increases, the flow of energy per meter square would decrease.    The observed flux would be higher if the radius of the circle is less (inverse square law) Apparent Magnitude is the amount of light that is received from a particular star.   It is determined using the luminosity of the star and the distance from us.   The apparent magnitude would be low for a brighter object. Absolute magnitude is the amount of light that is received from a particular object when the object is placed at a distance of 10 par secs (AB’s Astronomy Lab, University of Columbia, 2002). 2. From nebulae, stars are formed. Discuss the factors that affect the gestation time for the birth of protostars. The nebulae from which clouds form are nothing but clouds of dust and gas.   They slowly begin to contract to begin the process of star formation.   The mass is known as the ‘protostars’ and it would continue to condense and slowly heat up.   Once it reaches a critical mass phase, the nuclear fusion reaction takes place hydrogen atoms fuse together to form helium, two protons and tremendous amounts of energy.   Once this phase begins, the star is born. Factors that affect gestation time for the birth of protostars †¢ Gravity of the passing star (external energy to help star formation) †¢ Shockwave from a nearby supernova (external energy to help star formation) †¢ Heating by contraction (Giant molecular clouds need to contract to heat up and begin the thermonuclear processes) †¢ Magnetic fields available (helps in contraction) †¢ Rotation or angular momentum of the protostars †¢ Size of the star (smaller stars live longer than larger stars as they take longer to burn their fuel) (Sea Sky, 2008, UNT, 2008) 3. Discuss how a stars life affected by its `fuel`? Once the protostar gets heated up, nuclear fusion reaction begins (thermonuclear processes), and the star now enters its stable phase.   The star would be combating gravitational collapse by fusing atoms together and forming energy.   The star’s life span depends on how much of matter it actually contains.   The process of nuclear fusion in the stars would involve conversion of hydrogen to helium, helium to carbon, until iron is formed.   Once iron is formed, the energy required to fuse iron is much higher and hence the reaction stops.   Larger stars tend to use up larger amounts of fuel compared to smaller stars, and hence would live much shorter. Several large stars in the universe live for about a few hundreds of thousands of years.   As smaller stars would be spending their fuel much more slowly, they would live for billions of years.   Once a star’s fuel gets exhausted, it would transform into a red supergiant (expanding in size), and would be present for sometime.   The star would then collapse, as the force of the nuclear reactions is not effective to combat the force of gravity.   Some of the stars blow away, to form planetary nebulae.   The core of the star would contain some amount of fuel which would burn as white dwarf.   Once they completely burn away, they would remain as a dark ball known as a ‘black dwarf’.   Some massive stars may trigger a violent explosion, known as ‘supernova’ (Airty Nothing, 2008 Sea Sky, 2008). 4. Discuss basic ideas of the main sequence chart (Hertzsprung-Russell (HR) Diagram). The HR diagram is basically a graph in which the luminosity of the stars (absolute magnitude) is charted against the surface temperature (color).   This chart was discovered separately by Ejnar Hertzsprung and Henry Norris Russell in the 1910’s.   This was following several scientists query whether the temperature of the object could be determined from the color of radiation it emitted.

Essay --

With the turning point of the American Revolution in the favor of the Americans being the Battle of Saratoga in 1777 and the eventual surrender of British General Cornwallis to George Washington in 1781, the Americans finally earned and gained the freedom they desired from the British. From the beginning when the Articles of Confederation were ratified by all thirteen colonies in 1781 through 1789 when the Constitution was ratified by nine states, the Articles of Confederation provided the United States with an effective government. This experimentation with new government was very new in every sense of the word. New things are not always perfect just as new computer programs may have glitches but as with new computer programs; the Articles of Confederation could have been developed and improved to a stronger government. The Americans did not leave any room for improvement and development for the Articles of Confederation, which contributed to its downfall. Americans were fearful of trying something new and with the Constitution. They were afraid of turning back to a government extremely similar of the British government. As a result the Articles provided an effective government politically, economically, and diplomatically from 1781 to 1789. The political effectiveness of the Articles of Confederation is obvious in that it was written in the spirit of independence from the British government and was, as a result, written as a different government as opposed to the government of the British. The Articles explained that the union of the states as a confederacy, a loose group of independent states. This guaranteed that their new government would not include the politics of the past British government. â€Å"They said States hereby sever... ... the Constitution that it was necessary. Opponents to the new plan, anti-federalists, criticized it most on it creating a strong central government that will be abusive to individual liberty. It wasn’t even until the Bill of Rights was drafted by James Madison that people started to accept the Constitution. The Articles of Confederation may have extended much power to the states, which can be interpreted as a way of separating the states; the unity of the states under the Articles of Confederation should be interpreted as Aristotle observed that â€Å"the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.† The Articles of Confederation never got its fair chance to spread its wings as a government and show the world how high it could actually soar. However, during its term from 1781 to 1781, the Articles of Confederation provided the United States with and effective government.

Butler Lumber Company Essay

I. Statement of Financial Problem Butler Lumber Company is facing the internal risk of not having enough borrowing power to continue operations as desired. The owner of the company has established a relationship with a new bank to increase their borrowing power, however, based on Butler Lumber Company’s past Operating Statement and Balance Sheet, the company is expecting to continue substantial growth without considering external risks that may affect their business. Currently the company requires debt to maintain daily operations and growth. II. General Framework for Financial Analysis A company should maintain higher liquidity ratios that will sustain operating activities and desired growth, as well as allow the company to pay any short-term debt obligations. One way to maintain higher liquidity ratios is to collect on receivables timely, and use cash obtained to take advantage of discounts offered on inventory purchases. Additionally, a company’s inventory should turn several times per year. As sales are forecasted a company should increase their inventory to accommodate forecasted sales on a monthly basis, but keep as little as possible on hand. Ideally, inventory would turn 10-12 times per year. III. Application of the Financial Framework Butler Lumber Company has experienced significant growth over the last few years. Their pricing has remained competitive compared to similarly available product. The company expects to continue growing at this level and to do so, requires the availability of credit from their bank to maintain current and increased inventory levels and to cover operating expenses. Butler Lumber Company maintains a high level of inventory. Essentially, the company is leveraging their credit and using that to maintain their high inventory levels. As the company grows, their inventory purchases should be  based on their forecasted monthly sales. In 1990 their inventory was turning 4.67 times per year, or every 2.5 months. While continued growth may make this feel necessary, the company has failed to consider external risk factors that could affect their business drastically. While they’re sales are driven by not only new home construction, but home repairs as well, in the event of an economic crisis home repairs would likely decrease. As a result, Butler Lumber Company would have a substantial amount of wasted inventory on hand. Butler Lumber Company’s sales have increased, however so have their receivables. With receivables sitting uncollected for 42 days, the company is unable to use that cash to pay their outstanding payables with discounts or cover their operating costs without incurring debt. Finally, the company’s liquidity ratios support their need for better cash management. Their current ratio suggest the company is solvent and would be able to cover their short-term liabilities if needed. However, the quick ratio for the company is very low year after year. Their cash on hand would not cover their short-term liabilities. IV. Assumptions and Special/Mitigating Circumstances No assumptions were made in this analysis. The company’s financial statements clearly state their condition. Recommendations are based on that information. V. Conclusions and Recommendations Butler Lumber Company should monitor their inventory levels closely and maintain only the inventory required to get them through 1 to 1.5 months of sales. They should also employ an aggressive collections team to assist with collecting within the terms of payment outlined in customer agreements.

Bank Supervision in Nepal Essay

Banks are the pillars of economy in real capitalistic market of a nation. They are prime sources of investment that play vital role in mobilizing resources to an optimum level in business world. The role of banking sector in economic growth and stability requires continuous and reliable service. In Nepal, Nepal Ratra Bank (NRB) is only an authorized body responsible for the monetary regulation and supervision of all banks and financial institutions licensed by it. It regulates price and balance of payments stability, manage liquidity, develop a sound payment system, and promote financial services and financial stability of the nation. The use of information technology (IT) by financial sector creates numerous challenges of managing and governing it in today’s context. Issues of tackling with changes in technology, migrating system from one to another, maintain adequate internal control system and managing other IT related risks are emerging in banking sector. Frauds through debit and credit cards, ATM, internet banking, mobile banking have increased the risk of financial loss along with other banking risks. Technology risk is not only concerned with operation risk of the bank, other banking risks like credit risk, reputation risk, compliance risk, market risk, strategic risk are also increased due to it. In this scenario, there must be a guideline to regulate sound and robust risk management technology that strengthens system security, reliability, availability and business continuity. Banks licensed by NRB should maintain the prescribed level of capital fund while opening branches only at prescribed locations. Every NRB reports submitted by bank should be transparent and must be properly reviewed and verified by NRB. Credit information bureau of every client must be recorded and submitted to the concerned authorities for any credit or loan functionalities. To defend illegal users from accessing banking system, it is essential to well educate customers to conduct banking operation securely. Similarly, it is also important to educate other stakeholders including its employees to create effective information security practice. Summarizing up, NRB being an apex body, it should seriously pursue various policies, strategies and actions to maintain the stability in price and consolidate the balance of payments for sustainable development of the economy of Nepal. The increasing complexity of IT in banks creates significant risk to which comprehensive risk management comprising of various standard internal control framework, bank’s own requirement and NRB requirement must be implemented. To ensure effectiveness of implemented control framework and adequacy of the adopted security plan and procedures, banks should conduct Information System (IS) audit annually. They should clearly provide information about the services, cost, security features, risk and benefits of electronic banking environment.

Temporal Lobes in the Cerebral Cortex

Temporal Lobes in the Cerebral Cortex Temporal Lobes The temporal lobes are one of the four main lobes or regions of the cerebral cortex. They are located in the largest division of the brain known as the forebrain (prosencephalon). As with the three other brain lobes (frontal,  occipital, and parietal), there is one temporal lobe located in each brain hemisphere. The temporal lobes play an important role in organizing sensory input, auditory perception, language and speech production, as well as memory association and formation. Structures of the limbic system, including the olfactory cortex, amygdala, and the hippocampus are located within the temporal lobes. Damage to this area of the brain can result in problems with memory, understanding language, and maintaining emotional control. Function The temporal lobes are involved in several functions of the body including: Auditory PerceptionMemorySpeechLanguage ComprehensionEmotional ResponsesVisual PerceptionFacial Recognition Limbic system structures of the temporal lobe are responsible for regulating many of our emotions, as well as forming and processing memories. The amygdala controls many of the autonomic responses associated with fear. It regulates our fight or flight response, as well as helps us develop a healthy sense of fear through fear conditioning. The amygdala receives sensory information from the thalamus and other areas of the cerebral cortex.  In addition, the olfactory cortex is located in the temporal lobe. As such, the temporal lobes are involved in organizing and processing sensory information. Another limbic system structure, the hippocampus, aids in memory formation and connecting our emotions and senses, such as smell and sound, to memories. The temporal lobe aids in auditory processing and the perception of sound. They are also vital to language comprehension and speech. An area of the brain called Wernickes Area is found in the temporal lobes. This area helps us to process words and understand spoken language. Location Directionally, the temporal lobes are anterior to the occipital lobes and inferior to the frontal lobes and parietal lobes. A  large deep groove known as the Fissure of Sylvius separates the parietal and temporal lobes. Temporal Lobes: Damage Damage to the temporal lobes can present a number of issues. Damage resulting from a stroke or seizure can produce an inability to understand language or to speak properly. An individual may have difficulty hearing or perceiving sound. Temporal lobe damage may also result in the development of anxiety disorders, impaired memory formation, aggressive behavior, and hallucinations. In some cases, patients may even develop a condition called Capgras Delusion,  which is the belief that people, often loved ones, are not who they appear to be.

Assignment 1 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

1 - Assignment Example Dell states, in their SEC Form 10-K, that their business strategy â€Å"combines its direct customer mood with a highly efficient manufacturing and supply chain management organization and an emphasis on standard-based technologies. This strategy enables Dell to provide customers with superior value; high-quality, relevant technology; customized systems; superior service and support; and products and services that are easy to buy and use.† From just looking at the business strategy it shows that Dell, Inc. is a business which thrives off customer intimacy with the ability to make the right product for the customer, and the customer alone. As with any company there are risks that will threaten their ability to appease their stockholders. Some of these risks include: drops in the economy which affect net revenue; drop in international sales; infrastructure failures; loss of government contracts; wars, terrorism, natural disasters, and public health scares. There are controls out there for every one of these situations. Keeping prices reasonable here and overseas will make sure that even a dip in the global economy will not affect the sales too terribly bad. Furthermore, evaluations of personnel, equipment, and property will also ensure that there are no infrastructure failures. For government contracts, keep your bids a little lower than the competitors, this will also help out when wars, terrorism, natural disasters, and public health scares threaten profits. The SOX Act of 2002 definitely affects every major corporation basically stating that everybody on the board is held accountable with the CEO, Chairman of the Board signing off on the finalized SEC 10-K Forms each year. This affects the disclosures by telling Dell that they must report accurately since a third party will audit the records to see if they are off. Furthermore, it affects the disclosures by making sure that Dell keeps everything on the

Summary of NY Times article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Summary of NY Times article - Essay Example This includes the local immigrant community and government officials Mexican families are exceptionally closely associated with each other according to the article. It is a cultural reality which is well demonstrated by this network of people and agencies that ensure the bodies of immigrants are buried in their Mexican homeland. It seems that any family in any country would want the remains of a family member to be returned home from a foreign country, that this is not unique to Mexican families. The government of Mexico, through agencies located in the U.S., assists with paperwork and some or all expenses in the transport of the deceased but most countries do the same. In addition, it seems that the Mexican community, family and friends in the U.S. help out less because of the traditionally strong family bonds present in Mexican society but more so as a result of the new bonds that were generated as a result of being part of a small group of immigrants. They speak the same language thus are drawn tightly together in the unfamiliar new culture. The article suggests that most Mexican immigrants to not intend to stay in the U.S. permanently which is evidenced by the fact that they are sent home to be buried after they die. This may be true but the reasoning given lacks credibility. The tradition of being sent home when one dies does in no way indicate that this was their intention when alive. Many would argue that most immigrants have no intention of crossing back over the border as evidenced by the 12 to 20 million people who are living in the U.S. illegally at present. Measuring intent is difficult at best but the latter argument is more substantive. The ‘industry rising’ Porter refers to in the headline of the article suggests that a new economic opportunity has arisen from transporting the bodies of deceased immigrants back to Mexico yet no where in the article is this inference substantiated. The Mexican