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Discussion 1: Democracy

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Discussion 1: Democracy

According to Somin (2013), democracy is a kind of governance that is supposed to be administered by, for, and on behalf of the people. However, humans need political knowledge to govern efficiently. Inadequate public understanding of government makes it hard to hold politicians responsible. Unfortunately, there is an alarming lack of political knowledge among the general population. This state of affairs has persisted despite increased access to information and higher educational levels. Rational behavior is the leading cause of this problem, and such persistent and extensive political ignorance and foolishness reinforces the case for decentralizing and reducing government power. There is a high level of political illiteracy in America, resulting in the current government shutdown.

The general lack of political awareness among Americans has been caused by the general public’s lack of interest in politics. For example, despite Obama Care being at the center of this fight and other numerous political controversies, nearly half of the American population is unaware of whether the Obama care is still in place or not. Also, according to Somin (2013), a recent poll by Kaiser found that 80 % of the American population has heard little or nothing concerning the contentious insurance exchanges, which are the central part of the legislation. The debate surrounding the shutdown is the most recent example of a much older political struggle regarding federal spending. However, most citizens know nothing about the actual allocation of federal funds.

Political ignorance among Americans is not a recent development, and education is the most apparent solution to the problem of political illiteracy. Unfortunately, despite the increased educational attainment among Americans and access to info through cable news, the internet, and other contemporary technologies, political literacy remains low. In the United States, democracy has still survived despite low levels of political literacy among its citizens. Because American citizens are allowed to elect their government officials, the US remains a representative democracy. The elected officials by the citizens represent the peoples’ concerns and ideas in the government (Neblo et al. 2018).

References

Neblo, M. A., Esterling, K. M., & Lazer, D. M. (2018). Politics with the people: Building a directly representative democracy (Vol. 555). Cambridge University Press.

Somin, I. (2013). Democracy and Political Ignorance. Cato Unbound. Retrieved 30 August 2022, from https://www.cato-unbound.org/2013/10/11/ilya-somin/democracy-political-ignorance/.

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15595603293745Money and Banking

0Money and Banking

Introduction

A central bank, store bank, or fiscal power is an establishment that deals with a state’s money, cash supply, and premium rates. Central banks likewise normally manage the business managing an account arrangement of their individual nations. As opposed to a business bank, a central bank has a syndication on expanding the measure of cash in the state, and generally additionally prints the central currency,[ which normally serves as the state’s lawful delicate (Mishkin, 2007).

The essential capacity of a central bank is to deal with the country’s cash supply (money related approach), through dynamic obligations, for example, overseeing premium rates, setting the store necessity, and going about as a moneylender of final resort to the managing an account division amid times of bank indebtedness or monetary emergency. Central banks generally additionally have supervisory forces, proposed to counteract bank runs and to lessen the hazard that business banks and other budgetary establishments participate in rash or deceitful conduct. Central banks in most created countries are institutionally intended to be autonomous from political obstruction. Still, restricted control by the official and administrative bodies typically exists

Functions of the central bank

Issue notes and coins and guarantee individuals have confidence in notes which are printed, e.g. secure against phony.

Target low inflation, e.g. the Bank of UAE have a swelling focus of 2% +/ – 1. See: Bank of England swelling target. Low swelling serves to make more prominent financial soundness and jam the estimation of cash and funds.

Growth and Unemployment. And low swelling a Central Bank will consider other macro monetary targets, for example, financial development and unemployment. Case in point, in a time of provisional expense push expansion, the Central Bank may acknowledge a higher rate of swelling in light of the fact that it would like to push the economy into a subsidence.

Set interest rates to target low inflation and maintain economic growth. Case in point, in a liquidity trap, lower investment rates may be lacking to help using and financial development. In this circumstance, the Central Bank may turn to more flighty fiscal strategies, for example, quantitative facilitating. This includes making cash and utilizing this cash to purchase securities; the point of quantitative facilitating is to diminish premium rates and help bank loaning (Aruoba & Chugh, 2010).

Use other monetary instruments to achieve macro-economic targets. For instance, in a liquidity trap, lower investment rates may be inadequate to support using and monetary development. In this circumstance, the Central Bank may depend on more offbeat financial arrangements, for example, quantitative facilitating. This includes making cash and utilizing this cash to purchase securities; the point of quantitative facilitating is to decrease premium rates and support bank giving.

Ensure stability of financial system, In the event that banks get into liquidity deficiencies then the Central Bank has the capacity loan the business bank sufficient trusts to maintain a strategic distance from the bank running short. This is a paramount capacity as it aides keep up trust in the saving money framework. On the off chance that a bank used up cash, individuals would lose certainty and need to withdraw their cash from the bank. Having a moneylender of final resort implies that we don’t expect a liquidity emergency with our banks, thusly individuals have high trust in keeping our funds in banks. Case in point, the US Federal Reserve was made in 1907 after a bank frenzy was turned away by mediation from J.p.morgan; this prompted the production of a Central Bank who would have this capacity.

Lender of Last Resort to Government. Government obtaining is financed by offering securities on the open business. There may be a few months where the administration neglects to offer sufficient bonds along these lines has a deficiency. This would result in frenzy among security financial specialists and they would be more inclined to offer their administration securities and interest higher investment rates. Notwithstanding, if the Bank of England intercede and purchase some legislature bonds then they can maintain a strategic distance from these ‘liquidity deficiencies’. This gives security financial specialists more certainty and helps the legislature to acquire at lower investment rates.

Independence of Central Banks

In the 2000s there has been a pattern towards expanding the autonomy of central banks as a method for enhancing long haul monetary execution. On the other hand, while a substantial volume of monetary examination has been carried out to characterize the relationship between central bank autonomy and financial execution, the results are vague.

Supporters of central bank freedom contend that a central bank which is so defenseless it is not possible political heading or weight may energize monetary cycles (“blast and bust”), as government officials may be enticed to help financial movement ahead of time of a race, to the impairment of the long haul wellbeing of the economy and the nation. In this setting, autonomy is normally characterized as the central bank’s operational and administration freedom from the legislature.

Types of independence.

Legal independence

The unconventionality central bank is cherished in law. This sort of freedom is restricted in a vote based state; in very nearly all cases the central bank is responsible at some level to government authorities, either through an administration pastor or specifically to a governing body. Actually characterizing degrees of legitimate freedom has turned out to be a test since enactment regularly gives just a system inside which the legislature and the central bank work out their relationship.

Goal independence

The central bank has the right to set its own approach objectives, whether swelling focusing on, control of the cash supply, or keeping up a settled conversion scale. While this sort of autonomy is more regular, numerous central banks like to report their approach objectives in association with the suitable government divisions. This expands the straightforwardness of the arrangement setting methodology and subsequently builds the validity of the objectives picked by giving affirmation that they won’t be changed without notice. Moreover, the setting of basic objectives by the central bank and the legislature serves to keep away from circumstances where money related and financial arrangement are in clash; an approach blend that is obviously problematic (Arellano & Heathcote, 2010).

Operational independence

The central bank has the autonomy to focus the most ideal method for attaining its arrangement objectives, including the sorts of instruments utilized and the timing of their utilization. This is the most well-known type of central bank autonomy. The giving of autonomy to the Bank of England in 1997 was, truth be told, the allowing of operational freedom; the expansion target kept on being affirmed in the Chancellor’s yearly plan discourse to Parliament.

Management independence

The central bank has the power to run its own operations (selecting staff, setting plan, etc.) without inordinate association of the administration. Alternate types of autonomy are impractical unless the central bank has a critical level of administration freedom. A standout amongst the most well-known measurable pointers utilized as a part of the writing as an intermediary for central bank freedom is the “turn-over-rate” of central bank governors. On the off chance that a legislature is in the propensity for selecting and supplanting the senator oftentimes, it obviously has the ability to micro-deal with the central bank through its decision of governors.

References

Arellano, C., & Heathcote, J. (2010). Dollarization and financial integration.Journal of Economic Theory, 145(3), 944-973.

Aruoba, S. B., & Chugh, S. K. (2010). Optimal fiscal and monetary policy when money is essential. Journal of Economic Theory, 145(5), 1618-1647.

Mishkin, F. S. (2007). The economics of money, banking, and financial markets. Pearson education.

Assignment # 1

Module 03 Content

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Imagine you have been asked to speak to a group of parents about promoting self-esteem in school-age children. You need to research the topic and prepare a visually appealing PowerPoint slideshow to accompany your presentation. Your PowerPoint slideshow will need to:

Have a title slide.

Contain 5-10 content slides that include Speaker Notes which provide supporting details to use when elaborating on the slide contents.

Address the following questions:

How does level of self-esteem typically change during middle childhood? What factors contribute to this change?

What are some influences on school-age children’s self-esteem?

Does very high self-esteem always have positive effects on children’s adjustment? Why or why not?

What are the typical consequences of low self-esteem?

What are some other strategies that parents and teachers can use to promote children’s self-esteem? What behaviors should adults avoid, and why?

Be written using proper spelling/grammar.

Cite at least 3 academic references and present the sources in APA format on a References slide.

For information about creating PowerPoint presentations or how to add Speaker Notes, consult the resources below.

Writing Guide: PowerPointsHow do I add speaker notes to my PowerPoint presentation slides?Submit your completed assignment to the drop box below. Please check the Course Calendar for specific due dates.

Save your assignment as a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation. (Mac users, please remember to append the “.pptx” extension to the filename.) The name of the file should be your first initial and last name, followed by an underscore and the name of the assignment, and an underscore and the date. An example is shown below:

Jstudent_exampleproblem_101504

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Assignment 2 Due 10/30/21

As societal-norms evolve, a variety of popular entertainment media (books, movies, TV shows, etc.) feature stories of characters who are a part of traditional and non-traditional family or relationship structures. Examples include but are not limited to: traditional families, cohabitation, single-parent households, blended families, same-sex couples, and grandparents as the primary care-givers for their grandchildren.

In a 3-page paper, written in APA format using proper spelling/grammar, address the following:

Describe a book, movie, or TV show that you are familiar with which features characters in families or personal relationships.

Select at least two families/relationships from your chosen story and explain the relationship characteristics and dynamics between individuals.

Apply terminology presented within the module when analyzing the relationships. Be sure to include APA citations for any resources you used as references.

Rasmussen’s Library and Learning Services team has developed a variety of Guides to help support students’ academic endeavors. For this assignment, the Writing Guide and APA Guide may both be helpful. Also consider submitting each assignment to the online Writing Lab for feedback on your draft prior to submitting it for grading. You will find links to these Guides as well as other writing resources and services on the Resources tab.

Submit your completed assignment to the drop box below. Please check the Course Calendar for specific due dates.

Save your assignment as a Microsoft Word document. (Mac users, please remember to append the “.docx” extension to the filename.) The name of the file should be your first initial and last name, followed by an underscore and the name of the assignment, and an underscore and the date. An example is shown below:

Jstudent_exampleproblem_101504

Assignment 3

Module 04 Content

Top of Form

In a 3-page paper, written in APA format using proper spelling/grammar, research the topic of eating disorders and address the following:

Compare and contrast anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.

Who is more likely to suffer from anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa? Why?

What are the causes contributing to anorexia nervosa?

What are the consequences of eating disorders?

How can one diagnose eating disorders?

What are the treatment and support options for a person who has eating disorders?

Be sure to include APA citations for any resources you used as references.

Rasmussen’s Library and Learning Services team has developed a variety of Guides to help support students’ academic endeavors. For this assignment, the Writing Guide and APA Guide may both be helpful. Also consider submitting each assignment to the online Writing Lab for feedback on your draft prior to submitting it for grading. You will find links to these Guides as well as other writing resources and services on the Resources tab.

Submit your completed assignment to the drop box below. Please check the Course Calendar for specific due dates.

Save your assignment as a Microsoft Word document. (Mac users, please remember to append the “.docx” extension to the filename.) The name of the file should be your first initial and last name, followed by an underscore and the name of the assignment, and an underscore and the date. An example is shown below:

Jstudent_exampleproblem_101504

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MODULE 3 ASSIGNMENT

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MODULE 3 ASSIGNMENT

Question 1

Factors that Impede Advance Planning

One factor that hinders advance care planning is the patient’s failure to recognize the significance of advance care planning (Hong et al., 2018). Some patients do not see the need for advance care planning since they think it will never reach a point where they will be unable to make decisions independently. To a greater extent, people’s ignorance of the necessity of advance care planning programs has affected the advance care planning programs since the programmers lack enough people to motivate to get planning. Also, some patients might be in denial of terminal illness, which may hinder the person from seeking advance care planning.

In addition, some people may plan to use their savings to seek treatment for potentially terminal illnesses instead of advance care planning. For example, a family may choose to use their real estate savings to finance the risk of long-term care expenditure. Other people may choose to cater to their long-term care needs based on their financial assets, income, and home equity (Bonnet et al.,2019).

Another factor that impedes advance care planning is avoidance of discussions relating to advance care planning. Fulmer et al. (2018) reveal that many individuals do not take part in conversations concerning advance care planning for various reasons, such as feeling uncomfortable or fear of losing hose. By avoiding such conversations, individuals fail to understand the importance of advance care planning from other people’s perspectives, which impedes their advance care planning.

Effective Measures to Raise Awareness among Americans about Advance Planning

One of the effective measures that can be used to raise awareness among Americans about advance planning is use of mass media campaigns tailored to inform the audience about the benefit of advanced care planning. Stead et al. (2019) reveals that mass media campaigns assist in exposing message to a larger proportion of people through the use of media. The ability of the mass media campaign to reach wider population makes it an effective tool for creating awareness among Americans about advance planning.

Another effective measures that can be used to raise awareness among Americans about advance planning is use promoting open discussions in social media (Mack & Dosa, 2020). Social media should be brought to the forefront of health care information. Social media gives space for people to discuss medical problems outside the healthcare facilities. Since many families with sick relatives use social media to share their experiences and findings of a particular disease, we can use that opportunity to create awareness on these families on the importance of advance care planning.

In addition, government, NGOs, and healthcare organizations can collaborate to educate the public on advance care planning. The government can support different initiatives by healthcare organizations to create awareness on advance care planning. Collaborative efforts are vital in promoting advance care planning, allowing different organizations to link (Mack & Dosa, 2020).

Question 2

Factors that Have Led to Shift in Utilization of Ambulatory Care Services

One of factors that have led to a shift from inpatient hospitalization to the use of ambulatory care services is cost (Sultz & Young, 2017). Building ambulatory care units in areas that are considerably cheaper to operate than in hospitals has increased the number of patients seeking healthcare services in these ambulatory care units since the services offered is affordable (Vogenberg & Santilli 2018). A reduction in outpatient care costs leads to more patients choosing to be treated at ambulatory care units. The patient can go home after the treatment instead of being admitted to the hospital overnight. To ensure effective utilization of outpatient services, ambulatory care units should be built in low-income areas.

Another factor that has resulted in the shift from inpatient hospitalization to ambulatory care services is patient expectation. Ensuring that ambulatory facilities provide convenient and easy access motivates more patients to choose to get medical services from these units since the services are readily available and easily acquired. Besides, ambulatory facilities giving patients shorter visiting lengths have shifted to ambulatory care services. When the visiting hours are set according to the patient’s wants, the patient feels valued, and he may wish to keep seeking help in the same facility. Therefore, it is required that all facilities operate to satisfy their customer’s expectations.

Competition is another factor that has contributed to the shift of utilization to ambulatory care services in the healthcare system. The ongoing competition between hospitals and other healthcare organizations has forced hospitals to add ambulatory care units to overcome this competition. Many hospitals prefer adding ambulatory services since it is cheaper than making capital investments. Competition has resulted in more ambulatory care units, thus shifting the utilization to outpatient services from the inpatient services in the healthcare system.

In addition, technology advancements have moved to the utilization of ambulatory services. Advancement in technology has helped the ambulatory care units deliver organized treatment regimes. For example, remote monitoring has enabled patients to be monitored while away from the hospital; thus, fewer patients need hospitalization. Outpatient care will continue receiving a massive boost via the use of remote monitoring and other forms of cloud connectivity (Vogenberg & Santilli 2018).

Moreover, physician support is another factor that has motivated the shifting of utilization from inpatient to outpatient services. There is partnering within the physician groups in ambulatory care units, making referrals (Sultz & Young, 2017). Most patients have recently been in close contact with physicians, and therefore they can easily acquire medical services outside the medical facilities due to this close contact. This has consequently led to increased levels of outpatient support services. Patients receiving outpatient services often have a personal relationship with the doctors.

Another factor has played a role in shifting the utilization to outpatient care services in chronic disease treatment. First, patients suffering from chronic diseases are best-taken and easily managed in ambulatory care facilities. The desire to treat more chronic diseases has led to hospitals building outpatient care units (Lasserson et al., 2018).

Question 3

Factors that Impede Access to Mental Illness Treatment

Due to the complicated nature of psychological problems, successful treatment generally involves regular contact with mental health care specialists and a range of support services. However, most mental health care services are unavailable or are sometimes under-utilized, mainly in developing countries. Several factors hinder access to mental illness treatment. One of these factors is the Lack of geographical accessibility (Sultz & Young, 2017; Tristiana et al., 2018). Within the distant regions, not all persons can access dependable transportation to care, and so this problem notably hits the most disadvantaged, comprising the low-income groups and disabled persons. Rural residents are more prone than urban people to depend on vehicles as a mode of mobility, so rural inhabitants without autos are more separated from effective care. In addition, there are fewer psychological physicians than healthcare professionals in-network plans, so residents must travel longer for mental healthcare. Mental care services may be more significant for rural communities, but care may be unattainable without access to public transport.

Another factor that hinders access to mental illness treatment is poor mental health awareness (Muhorakeye & Biracyaza, 2021). In both developed and developing countries, the Lack of information on mental illness hinders individuals from knowing more about mental illness and seeking out medication (Lopez et al., 2018). Sultz and Young (2017) also urge that a lack of proper understanding of mental disorders impairs the ability of the family members to provide needed attention to mentally ill relatives.

Another factor that hinders the accessibility of mental health treatment is shame and stigmatization. Muhorakeye and Biracyaza (2021) urge that mentally ill individuals fail to seek medical care due to the shame and stigma of being diagnosed with mental disorders. Also, some community members may feel embarrassed when family members and friends find out that they seek mental ill-treatment caused by social stigma. In addition, some people may fear to reach out for help since the mental health provider may be an associate or a friend, and others may fear being seen walking into and out of a mental health clinic.

The unavailability of adequate medication and health care providers has also hindered the accessibility of mental health treatment in some areas (Muhorakeye & Biracyaza, 2021). Many developing countries lack sufficient essential medicines, and these countries are only limited to access to severe psychological disorders. For example, according to World Health Organization (WHO), some developing countries lack at least one standard antipsychotic, one antidepressant, and one antiepileptic medication accessible in primary health care services (WHO, 2017).

Lastly, some people fail to seek mental ill-treatment due to poor affordability (Muhorakeye & Biracyaza, 2021). For example, in the United States, psychiatric treatment is costly due to the high medication prices, which leads to only a few patients seeking out these services. In addition, insurance policies do not cover psychological disorders in most countries, thus making mental ill-treatment expensive for many people (Sultz & Young, 2017).

References

Bonnet, Carole, Sandrine Juin, and Anne Laferrère. “Private Financing of Long Term Care: Income, Savings, and Reverse Mortgages.” Economie et Statistique 507.1 (2019): 5-24.

Cruz-Saco, María Amparo, and Mónika López-Anuarbe. “Ageing and long-term care planning perceptions of Hispanics in the USA: Evidence from a case study in New London, Connecticut.” Ageing International 42.4 (2017): 488-503.

Fulmer, T., Escobedo, M., Berman, A., Koren, M. J., Hernández, S., & Hult, A. (2018). Physicians’ views on advance care planning and end‐of‐life care conversations. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 66(6), 1201-1205. https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.15374Hong, M., Yi, E. H., Johnson, K. J., & Adamek, M. E. (2018). Facilitators and barriers for advance care planning among ethnic and racial minorities in the U.S.: a systematic review of the current literature. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 20(5), 1277-1287. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-017-0670-9

Lasserson, D. S., Harris, C., Elias, T. N. E., Bowen, J. S. T., & Clare, S. (2018). What is the evidence base for ambulatory care for acute medical illness? Acute Med, 17(3), 148-153.

Lopez, V., Sanchez, K., Killian, M. O., & Eghaneyan, B. H. (2018). Depression screening and education: an examination of mental health literacy and stigma in a sample of Hispanic women. BMC public health, 18(1), 1-8.

Mack, D. S., & Dosa, D. (2020). Improving advanced care planning through physician orders for life-sustaining treatment (POLST) expansion across the United States: lessons learned from state-based developments. American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine®, 37(1), 19-26.

Muhorakeye, O., & Biracyaza, E. (2021). Exploring Barriers to Mental Health Services Utilization at Kabutare District Hospital of Rwanda: Perspectives From Patients. Frontiers in psychology, 12, 669. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.638377Seymour, J. (2018). The impact of public health awareness campaigns on the awareness and quality of palliative care. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 21(S1), S-30. https://dx.doi.org/10.1089%2Fjpm.2017.0391Stead, M., Angus, K., Langley, T., Katikireddi, S. V., Hinds, K., Hilton, S., … & Bauld, L. (2019). What is the impact of mass media campaigns on behaviour and other outcomes? Findings from the review of reviews (review A). In Mass media to communicate public health messages in six health topic areas: a systematic review and other reviews of the evidence. NIHR Journals Library.

Sultz, H. A., & Young, K. M. (2017). Health care, USA: understanding its organization and delivery. Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Tristiana, R. D., Yusuf, A., Fitryasari, R., Wahyuni, S. D., & Nihayati, H. E. (2018). Perceived barriers to mental health services by the family of patients with mental illness. International Journal of Nursing Sciences, 5(1), 63-67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnss.2017.12.003Vogenberg, F. R., & Santilli, J. (2018). Healthcare Trends for 2018. American Health & Drug Benefits, 11(1), 48-54. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5902765/Wendrich-van Dael, A., Bunn, F., Lynch, J., Pivodic, L., Van den Block, L., & Goodman, C. (2020). Advance care planning for people living with dementia: an umbrella review of effectiveness and experiences. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 107(2020), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2020.103576World Health Organization. (2017). Improving access to and appropriate use of medicines for mental disorders. https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/254794/9789241511421-eng.pdf

Money Laundering

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Introduction

There are millions of dollars made illegally and the intention of concealing this act is one of the objectives of the parties involved in such kind of acts. There is therefore need to institute anti-money laundering measures that can curb this activity that is inconsistent with the ordinary range of economic and financial activities. Due to the unlawful nature of money laundering, there is no precise detail of the magnitude of money involved in these transactions either daily or yearly. This piece of writing is a critique of a money laundering article.

Article

According to Wermuth Stefan from Reuters, HSBC was ordered to pay a record $1.9 billion because of the case that involved money laundering case which publicly demonstrated failure by the Europe’s greatest bank to enforce rule to curb money laundering. According to the US Justice Department, the bank was unable to set up an effectual policy that could curb money laundering and ensure maximum scrutiny on all accounts that they operate as even further violated sanction laws by transacting with clients from Iran, Burma and Cuba. The company owned up the mistakes and made an apology for its unlawful conducts. This conduct is purely money laundering because of the fact that the money was put in circulation in HSBC which is a financial institution and this is called placement.

This article successfully exposes how the bank entered an agreement with the Justice department and that they would ensure all the challenges are fixed and were fined $1.256 billion in addition to other fines which summed up to almost $1.92 billion plus other penalties that were to be announced at a later date. HSCBC also had further allegations where they ignored money laundering associated with some clients from Mexico that were involved drug trafficking such as including one of the riskiest countries such as Mexico in its lowest risk category. In this regard, the bank is said to have sent stern warning to its multinational banks to keenly follow the antimony laundering rules that are set (Wermuth 2013).

The author has widely researched on this bank and has even exposed the previous cases involving HSBC. This case is almost the third one that involves inability of the bank to obey the banking laws especially considering the previous directives by the regulators that ordered them to improve their oversight and additional order from US authorities that they should monitor all suspicious transactions. The bank is also reported to have assured its investors that they have set aside almost $1.5 billion to cover fines and penalties arising from the litigations yet this sum of money may notably rise and this hugely damages the brand of the company. The bank has since employed an anti-money laundering expert who was a chief legal advisor in the Treasury Department and further installed an independent anti-money laundering system between 2009 and 2011. There are other several banks that have been accused of money laundering and sanctions violations such as Wachovia Corp, Citigroup, Britain’s Lloyd banking Group, Barclays bank and Dutch bank (Wermuth 2013).

The author of this article has clearly brought up the issue of money laundering in a very good way and has even exposed some of the victims which is very important to the public and this is act by the bank is called Bank complicity because the bank is seen to be transacting with the drug traffickers and other organized crime groups as well as transacting with other countries involved in sanctions with America without considering adequate rules. The previously laundered money is easily injected into the economy by the financial institutions such as using known foreign banks which further sophisticates the process making it a very difficult target for law enforcers.

Reference

Wermuth, Stefan. (2013). HYPERLINK “http://www.nbcnews.com/business/banking-giant-hsbc-pay-record-1-9-billion-money-laundering-1C7541128” Banking Giant HSBC To Pay Record $1.9 Billion In Money-Laundering Case.Nbc Business, n.p. HYPERLINK “http://www.nbcnews.com/business/banking-giant-hsbc-pay-record-1-9-billion-money-laundering-1C7541128” http://www.nbcnews.com/business/banking-giant-hsbc-pay-record-1-9-billion-money-laundering-1C7541128.

Can oil & gas operations cause earthquakes?

ConocoPhillips Company, 2019, no author

Human activities such as construction, agricultural, mining and industrial activities can cause triggered or induced seismicity – or tremors in the earth.

Human activities such as construction, agricultural, mining and industrial activities can cause triggered or induced seismicity – or tremors in the earth. But such tremors are rarely a cause for concern given the mild nature of most human-caused seismic events. In fact most cannot be felt, being detectable only with sensitive instruments.

Tremors generated by oil and gas hydraulic fracturing – or “fracking” – are usually a million times weaker than the felt seismicity threshold, typically measuring minus 2 (below zero) on the Richter scale. This is why over two million wells have been fracture stimulated worldwide since the 1940s without creating earthquake hazards.

There have been instances of felt seismicity attributed to oil and gas operations. These were generally associated not with production or fracturing, but with wells that inject water into rock formations deep underground. Such felt seismicity has also been attributed to various industrial activities, as well as water impoundment behind large dams. Of more than 172,000 oil and gas-related injection wells in the United States, only a small percentage have been associated with felt seismicity. In these cases, modification of fluid injection activities mitigated the seismicity.ConocoPhillips and others in the industry are actively working with independent researchers to arrive at science-based conclusions and solutions that minimize the probability of human induced felt seismicity. 

About Seismic Activity

The Earth’s crust is dynamic – meaning that its slowly migrating tectonic plates grind against each other, gradually building and storing energy. When the stress becomes great enough, the crust shifts along fault lines, releasing energy and causing earthquakes.Each year, approximately 100,000 of the millions of earthquakes that occur worldwide measure magnitude 3 or greater on the Richter scale – the level at which they often can be felt by humans at the surface. Only a few hundred are powerful enough to cause structural damage (generally magnitude 5 or greater). The Richter scale is logarithmic, with each whole number increase representing 10 times more ground motion and 32 times more energy released.

Article Summary

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According to the article “Overuse is one reason antibiotics are losing their punch” by Mike Stobbe there is a great concern regarding overuse of antibiotics. The overuse of antibiotics has made infections very resistance to the drugs. Although antibiotics have been very useful in treating various infections, its abuse has enabled bacteria to gain resistance. Research shows that misuse of antibiotics would make bacteria stronger than the antibiotics. As much as the prescription for antibiotics is higher in some states than others, the fact remains that the general overuse of antibiotics is alarming countrywide. Some states such as Southerners however suffer more infections than others because of higher rates of obesity and diabetes that require use of antibiotics (Stobbe 2013).

This article is very important as it involves up to date information regarding healthcare sector. The article involves an overview of current global healthcare which provides a good resource for health professionals. In the rapidly changing healthcare system, this article provides an opportunity to address global health issue regarding antibiotics thus helping a learner with basic health perspective of health issues (Holtz, 2008). In addition, the article involves surrounding geographic as well as population characteristics which are very vital in studying healthcare matters. Bacterial infections are amongst the complex challenges and threats facing healthcare services yet this article tend to address issues relating to it (Holtz, 2008). Furthermore, antibiotic resistance to penicillin and other bacteria is a great concern in the healthcare sector especial amongst the scientists doing research and the entire healthcare profession.

Works Cited

Holtz, C. (2008). Global health care: Issues and policies. Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.

Stobbe, Mike. (2013, April 10). Study shows overuse of antibiotics: Overuse is one reason antibiotics are losing their punch. USA Today. Retrieved http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/04/10/medication-antibiotic-overuse/2071899/

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Campus Carry

The debate surrounding gun laws in the United States is a serious one with both sides of the argument making valid points. People own and use guns for various reasons such as personal protection, activities such as hunting, among others. The constitution guarantees Americans the right to own firearms, and this is the most prominent argument against gun control laws. Although guns are useful for self-protection, there has been a rise in cases of gun violence over the past few years, which has triggered calls for gun reform in the country. States have varying laws that regulate guns, in addition to federal laws. Of most concern to those in support of gun reform is the rise in cases of school shootings, and this has triggered questions on whether guns should be allowed on school campuses for the protection of students. Despite such concerns, guns should not be allowed on campuses, and the country should enforce more gun policies such as universal background checks, age limits and ‘may-issue’ laws to reduce gun violence in the country.

Texas is one of the states with more lax gun laws in the country, and it is also one of the most heavily armed. It is estimated that between 35 and 43% of Texans own firearms, with about 1.2 million holding concealed carry permits as of mid-2017. These numbers from Texas are way higher than the national average, which stands at roughly 30% as per findings reported by the Pew Research Center (Gramlich & Schaeffer). The organization has carried out multiple surveys into the gun culture in the United States, which sheds more light into the situation. Gun violence has been a significant issue, with more than 40,000 deaths reported in 2017 as a result. These deaths come from mass shootings, homicides, suicides, among other forms of gun violence. According to another report from Pew, the majority of Americans believe that stricter gun laws would result in fewer deaths. School shootings have taken the country by storm in the past few years. Some of the worst shootings in history include Virginia Tech that claimed 33 lives in 2007, the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting that killed 28 in 2012, and Stone man Douglas High School massacre in Florida that left 17 dead in 2018. These are a few of the many examples that illustrate the heightened threat of shootings in learning institutions in the country, opening up questions on whether guns should be allowed on campuses.

The fight to allow firearms on Texas school campuses has been a long one, and it culminated in a law being passed in support. Senator Brian Birdwell was one of the most vocal proponents of such a law, insisting that every citizen has the constitutional and God-given right to protect themselves. The Senator’s bill in 2013 received support and opposition from different quarters in equal measure. As of the first of August 2016 and 2017, four and two-year colleges respectively were required by Texas law to allow concealed weapons within their campuses. The law allows any person over the age of 21 or 18 for military persons to carry their concealed weapon on campus. Guns are allowed in different parts of campus such as dorms, classrooms and offices, but colleges can make their own rules on gun-free zones (Lewis & DeLuna 135). However, all weapons must be concealed at all times. The main point of support for allowing weapons on campus is to give students and other people a chance to protect themselves in case of shootings that have become more frequent over the years.

Allowing guns on campus is a mistake as it will likely result in more injuries and even fatalities. The most persuasive argument advanced in favour of allowing guns on college campuses is that it gives potential victims a fighting chance. Many people would agree with this point, but upon closer examination, the risks outweigh the benefits. An article appearing on Chron magazine in 2013 supports the prohibition of carrying guns on campus. A shooting at the Lone Star College campus resulted in injuries of three people. The initial suspect arrested Carlton Berry, was later found innocent and Trey Foster found guilty of the shooting. Foster legally purchased a firearm from a sporting store which he later used during an altercation with a student at Lone Star (Rogers). Despite past arrests and misdemeanours, Foster was still able to purchase the gun and had even applied for a concealed handgun license. This shows that the presence of weapons on campus, even those held by licensed individuals, could still lead to gun violence. When a person has a weapon in their possession, they are likely to reach for their gun at the slightest provocation, which is what happened at Lone Star College. Laws allowing weapons on campus are therefore more likely to increase cases of gun violence over protecting students and other innocent people from shooters.

The country should implement stricter gun laws to counter gun violence. An example of gun reform that should be implemented is universal background checks (Gabor 27). The state of Texas does not require background checks for private sales, and this is the same in many other states. This loophole allows convicted felons and other criminals to purchase firearms freely. Universal background checks would allow for flagging of any criminals trying to purchase firearms, and this would be a major deterrent. The government would also have to maintain a database on persons not allowed to purchase weapons, and sellers would use this before making sales.

Age limits on the purchase of guns would also be beneficial in reducing cases of gun violence. Under current gun laws, persons of any age can purchase a firearm. For example, in Texas, buyers do not need a permit to get a firearm, neither do are they required to register their weapons. These are examples of lax laws that allow underage individuals to access and purchase guns which can be very dangerous. Teenagers are at increased risk of suicide and other forms of gun violence; therefore, they should not be allowed unsupervised access to firearms. Many states have ‘shall-issue’ laws, and these should be replaced with ‘may-issue’ laws to reduce gun violence (Gabor, 32). ‘Shall-issue’ states require that a person be given a license to carry a weapon as long as they meet all the requirements. However, ‘may-issue’ states gives law enforcement the discretion to issue licenses, and one may be denied even after fulfilling all requirements. Persons are required to justify why they need a weapon in such cases. Law enforcement officers have the chance to decide whether or not a person can be given a license based on various things such as past arrests and criminal record.

In conclusion, gun violence is a serious issue that requires a sober approach. Guns are an important part of American culture, but it is important that guns are not misused. Gun owners and those who support the right to bear arms insist that guns offer protection, and this is indeed a valid point. However, the gun culture in the United States is a dangerous one compared to other countries such as Switzerland which is one of the most heavily armed countries with very low levels of gun violence. The US should implement stricter laws on gun ownership to reduce rates of gun violence.

Works Cited

Gabor, Thomas. Confronting gun violence in America. Springer, 2016.

Gramlich, John & Schaeffer, Katherine. “7 Facts About Guns in the United States.” Pew Research Center. 22 October 2019. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/10/22/facts-about-guns-in-united-states/Lewis, Shaundra K., and Daniel Alejandro DeLuna. “Symposium on Texas Gun Law and the Future: The Fatal Flaws in Texas’s Campus Carry Law.” T. Marshall L. Rev. 41 (2015): 135.

Rogers, Brian. “Charges dropped against suspect in Lone Star College shooting.” Chron. 29 January 2013. https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Charges-dropped-against-suspect-in-Lone-Star-4228996.php

Can oil & gas operations cause earthquakes?

ConocoPhillips Company, 2019, no author

Human activities such as construction, agricultural, mining and industrial activities can cause triggered or induced seismicity – or tremors in the earth.

Human activities such as construction, agricultural, mining and industrial activities can cause triggered or induced seismicity – or tremors in the earth. But such tremors are rarely a cause for concern given the mild nature of most human-caused seismic events. In fact most cannot be felt, being detectable only with sensitive instruments.

Tremors generated by oil and gas hydraulic fracturing – or “fracking” – are usually a million times weaker than the felt seismicity threshold, typically measuring minus 2 (below zero) on the Richter scale. This is why over two million wells have been fracture stimulated worldwide since the 1940s without creating earthquake hazards.

There have been instances of felt seismicity attributed to oil and gas operations. These were generally associated not with production or fracturing, but with wells that inject water into rock formations deep underground. Such felt seismicity has also been attributed to various industrial activities, as well as water impoundment behind large dams. Of more than 172,000 oil and gas-related injection wells in the United States, only a small percentage have been associated with felt seismicity. In these cases, modification of fluid injection activities mitigated the seismicity.ConocoPhillips and others in the industry are actively working with independent researchers to arrive at science-based conclusions and solutions that minimize the probability of human induced felt seismicity. 

About Seismic Activity

The Earth’s crust is dynamic – meaning that its slowly migrating tectonic plates grind against each other, gradually building and storing energy. When the stress becomes great enough, the crust shifts along fault lines, releasing energy and causing earthquakes.Each year, approximately 100,000 of the millions of earthquakes that occur worldwide measure magnitude 3 or greater on the Richter scale – the level at which they often can be felt by humans at the surface. Only a few hundred are powerful enough to cause structural damage (generally magnitude 5 or greater). The Richter scale is logarithmic, with each whole number increase representing 10 times more ground motion and 32 times more energy released.

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According to Sir Ken Robinson on the significance of creativity in education, creativity is more significant in the workplaces due to the fact that most of the companies are looking for more than just graduates to perform specific tasks. Besides, the companies need employees who are able to think for themselves and therefore are able to think differently and be innovative. During the 2006 TED talk, Sir Ken Robinson challenged the way we are educating our children and therefore champions a radical rethink of the present school system in their effort to cultivate creativity as well as acknowledging multiple types of intelligence.

According to Robinson, creativity is essential in education just like literacy is deemed to be significant and therefore, literacy and creativity should be treated with the same status. Children will tend to take a chance, and they are not afraid of being wrong but according to Robinson, being wrong does not necessarily imply creativity but at the same time questions to the questions the dedication of being creative if an individual is afraid of being wrong. During his lecture, Robinson claims that by the time the children matures tom be adults, they already have lost the capacity of creativity as they have become frightened due to the consequent failures. According to Robinson, the current generation is responsible for discouraging creativity, and this is done through stigmatization whereby the society stigmatizes mistakes. It is undoubtedly true that the current educational system is run in such a manner that making a mistake is one of the worst things that a child can do.

Accordant to Robinson, it is due to the stigmatization of the mistakes that are responsible for smothering creativity in schools in the sense that we are educating our children out of creative capacities. Robinson further states by quoting from Picasso that all children are born artists bit the main problem is to remain to be as an artist as one grows up. Robinson believes that individuals don’t grow into creativity but grow out of it, or the children are educated out of creativity. Robinson asserts that in every system, there is a hierarchy within the arts, and within these, arts and music are generally associated with a higher ranking in status in schools than drama and dance. According to him, there is no education system on the globe that is capable of teaching dance every day to the children in the same way that the teachers teach mathematics in schools.

The education system is predicated on the idea of academic ability, and the education system came to meet the needs of industrialism. The education hierarchy is rooted on the basis of two ideas one of which is based on the most useful subjects being listed on the top. Robinson claims that the whole topic of public education is not based on creativity as the things that were deemed creative were stigmatized. During the early times, the possession of a degree earned a person a direct job unlike in the present days where a graduate walks home to play video games.

Through Robinson’s assertion that the present education system doesn’t support or push for creativity among the students, we are able to relate to the present situations, and it is true that the education system is developed and strengthened for the aspiring employees and not entrepreneurs. The fact that the current education system doesn’t foster creativity is due to the fact that schools focus on the subjects to which they deem to be relevant to the job market. While at the same time stigmatize those people who most likely try to expose their creativity especially on such fields as fitness, sports, and physical education as they are not relevant according to the education system. The claim is valid as most of the educational curriculum supports only the theoretical part of learning and doesn’t pay an effort to other aspects of creativity such as in sports and therefore the education system can be termed as being the number one enemy to the growth of talents as well as encouraging creativity among the students.

Reference

Do schools kill creativity? Sir Ken Robinson. (2006): Retrieved from: https://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity#t-64995