Back-to-School After Hurricane Katrina

Back-to-School After Hurricane Katrina Contributed by Associate Writer Nicole Harms It has been a year since the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. As children around the country are out buying their school supplies, what will the children affected by Katrina be doing? How did Hurricane Katrina affect the schools of New Orleans and the other areas that were affected? As a result of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans alone, 110 out of 126 public schools were completely destroyed. The children who survived the storm were displaced to other states for the rest of the school year. It is estimated that close to 400,000 students from Katrina-ravaged areas had to move in order to attend school. Around the country, school children, churches, PTAs, and other organizations have had school supply drives to help replenish the schools and students who were affected by Katrina. The Federal government has donated a substantial amount of money specifically for the cause of rebuilding post-Katrina schools. After a year, efforts have begun to rebuild in New Orleans and the other surrounding areas, but significant struggles face these schools. First, many of the students who were displaced have not returned, so there are fewer students to teach. The same goes for the staff of these schools. Many people had their homes completely destroyed, and have no intention of returning to the area. There is light at the end of the proverbial tunnel, though. On Monday, August 7, eight public schools in New Orleans opened. The city is attempting to transform the traditionally poor public schools in this area as they rebuild. With those eight schools, 4,000 students can now return to class in their hometown. There are forty schools scheduled to open in September, which will provide for 30,000 more students. The school district had 60,000 students before Hurricane Katrina hit. What will school be like for these kids? New buildings and materials may serve to make the schools better than they were before the storm, but no doubt children will be reminded every day of the devastation they just lived through. As they go to school without friends who are no longer in the city due to the effects of the storm, they will always be reminded of the horrors of Hurricane Katrina. The schools have had trouble finding enough teachers for the classrooms. Not only were students displaced by the storm, but most of the teachers were evacuated as well. Many of these have chosen not to return, finding jobs elsewhere. The lack of qualified teachers puts the re-opening date for some schools in limbo. Students who have returned to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina can attend any school they choose, no matter where they are living. This is part of an effort to improve the district. By giving parents the chance to choose schools, officials believe they will force all schools to improve in order to draw post-Katrina students. Teachers and staff of these post-Katrina schools will not only be teaching academics to their students but also dealing with the continuing emotional trauma these students are facing. Nearly all of their students have lost someone they knew and loved as a result of Hurricane Katrina. This creates a unique atmosphere for these teachers. This year for New Orleans schools will be a year of catching up. Students who missed large portions of last years school year will need remedial instruction. All educational records were lost to Katrina, so officials will have to begin new records for every student. While the road ahead for post-Katrina schools is a long one, the officials and staff of the newly opened schools are optimistic. They have made great strides in one years time, and have proven the depth of the human spirit. As children continue to return to New Orleans and the surrounding areas, there will be schools with open doors ready for them!

Intellectual Property essays

Intellectual Property essays Intellectual property rights have found themselves in an elevated position over the last decade and brought to light the ever increasing advantages to those who enjoy this form of proprietary rights, due to economic liberalisation and the growth of cut-throat trade competition. Possession of a legally recognised intellectual property gives one a head start in the business and helps him maintain the early lead. But this may not be confused with unfettered freedom to exert monopoly in a given market. A market is conceived to be one flooded with all the goods that consumers would treat as substitutes for one another. Therefore it is difficult to determine the quantum of the product which is subject matter of the intellectual property that the consumers want. No doubt, the degree of market power created by intellectual property varies from item to item. Due to socio-political and economic reasons most intellectual property has little capacity to generate market power. Development of Intellectual Property Law is strongly founded on the political history and economic development of the country. Growth of intellectual property law was a corollary to the economic development propelled by the industrial revolution. The first legislation that recognised the creation of intellectual property is the Statute of Monopolies 1624. It was enacted in England in an attempt to check the unfettered power enjoyed by the Crown in granting Letter of Patent for Trade. This was followed by the Copyright Act 1709, which conferred the author with the sole right of printing his book for a period varying from fourteen to twenty-one years. Since the earlier statutes lacked clarity, the judges had to do a lot of interpretation to give effect to them; over the centuries statutes are drafted with greater clarity of expression and organisation. During the period of Industrial Revolution and thereafter the tort of passing off was evolved to meet the immediate com ...

Manegerial Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Manegerial Finance - Essay Example On the other hand management accounting is expected to provide information for analysis and use by internal uses of an organization like the senior executives and managers. Different data and financial data are required by different user groups. External users are more interested in the financial status of the company and they analyze the financial information presented with the general economic trend and the conditions of the industry in which the organization operates. Financial accounting makes information available on the financial transaction that have taken place in the past and this information is analyzed by the investors and creditors to assess overall performance of the company in which they have staked their funds. The internal users of the financial information require different types of information which they use to assess the internal performance of the company in various disciplines. The internal users also need non-financial information like the movements of competitors, levels of customer satisfaction which are assimilated and analyzed to help the growth of the company in the proper direction. As against the scope of financial accounting which deals more with historical data, management accounting deals with both past and present data. ... ation and rely on them, the financial accounting is made subject to the regulations of governing bodies like Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). In contrast the management accounting is not subject to any regulatory measures being presented by any agencies. The reason for absence of regulatory control is that management accounting prepares information only for the internal users and therefore is not subjected to any regulations. Since there is involvement of any public interest no need to protect the information has been felt. Periodicity of Reporting Financial accounting bases its reporting on the basis of historical data and therefore there is the necessity for making periodical reports. The financial reporting is done for different periodicity like monthly, quarterly, and annual reporting. Management accounting reports on the other hand are made for continuous periods so that the internal users would be able to evaluate the past and present performances of various functional divisions and departments. There may be some urgent needs of management accounting reports to evaluate a capital expenditure project or some other investment decisions. Forecasts about the future prospects and growth of business of the organization also need management accounting reports. Therefore there is the continuous need of the management accounting information by the internal users. (Edmonds et al, 2006) The differences in financial accounting and management accounting can be summarized in the following table: Criteria Financial Accounting Management Accounting Primary users External Internal Primary organization focus Whole organization Parts or subsections; specific areas Information characteristics Must be GAAP; based