• Go to “National Center for Education Statistics” and access the information dealing with mathand science scores of U.S. and international students in elementary, middle, and high school. Hint: look in “Fast Facts” or “Quick Tables” and “Education Indicators: An International Perspective.”  There are many graphs which compare U.S. and international student performance.
• Find the percentage of undergraduate and graduate degrees awarded in engineering, mathand other disciplines in the United States and other countries.
• Read Chapter 13 in the textbook, focusing on the Education section

Assignment:

• Based on NCES information, how does the United States compare with other countries?
• How much emphasis do we place on science and math education in grades K-12 in this country?
• How can we connect what you found from the NCES data to concepts or theories from the chapter?

Must be APA format and no less than 250 words.

reference to  Schaefer, R.T. (2015). Sociology: A brief introduction (11th ed). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Discussion 1: New Voices Supporting Early Care and Education

This week you studied a variety of position papers, all of which put forth arguments in support of stronger funding of quality care and education during the early years. These arguments originate in three “worlds” usually not deeply connected with the lives of young children. They are proposed by economists, neuroscientists, and politicians.

Currently, many seasoned early childhood professionals are finding that their experience-based knowledge of children and families is supported by research within these three fields. And, overall, early childhood professionals have welcomed this research and the influx of new interest by these fields because it is beginning to translate into increased funding for programs in need of financial support, or into the creation of worthwhile new early childhood programs.

On what specific data do these voices, new to the field of early childhood, anchor their arguments? What are some of their main arguments for supporting young children and families? In what ways do they articulate their support? What is the essence of their suggestions? This assignment is an opportunity to investigate these questions.

In preparation for the Discussion,

•Review all required resources, including the media segment and the U.S. Department of Education website.

•For each resource, evaluate which main arguments are presented in favor of care and education policies for the early years.

•Choose one written resource that stimulates your professional curiosity more than the others, and that you want to analyze further.

•Using the reading you selected and the media segment, evaluate in what specific way(s) commitment to the well-being of young children, families, or early childhood professionals is expressed in each of the two resources.

By Wednesday:

Post

A brief response to each of the following questions:

•What influenced your choice of the written resource?

•How is respect for and commitment to the well-being of young children, families, and/or early childhood professionals expressed in the article and the media segment?

•How has your understanding of early childhood issues and trends deepened by considering the views of economists, neuroscientists, and polDiscussion 2: Children, Childhood, and the Economic Argument—Unintended Consequences

Resources: Choose any and view media segment

Media Segment: Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2011). Issues and trends in the early childhood field: Economists, scientists, and politicians supporting the EC field. Baltimore, MD: Author. Accessible player–Downloads–Download Video w/CCDownload AudioDownload Transcript

Financing

Please give three examples of upfront financing costs associated with residential mortgage.  Next, what rule can one apply to determine if a settlement (closing) cost should be included in the calculation of the effective borrowing cost?

Mortgage Borrowing

A homeowner is attempting to decide between a 15 year mortgage loan at 5.5 percent and a 30 year loan at 5.9 percent.  What would you advise? What would you advise if the borrower also has a large amount of credit card debt outstanding at a rate of 15 percent?

Write two obituaries (minimum 250 words each) in remembrance of President Abraham Lincoln. To complete assignment, you are going to assume the role of an editor for fictional newspaper on two distinctly different dates.

It is your choice of who your audience is and what emotion the content contains, but each article should provide perspective on the political, economic, and social impact that he had on the nation before, during and after the Civil War.

1. The first will be dated April 16, 1865, and will need to assume the role of an obituary from that date.  Keep in mind what would be known, thought, and felt at the same time.

2.The second will be dated April 16, 2016, and will need to assume the role of a remembrance of his legacy. Consider the legacy 150 years after death.

Both obituaries will be submitted together as one document. The details about Lincoln’s time, location, and cause of death will of course be common to all obituaries and do not need to be cited; any other materials (e.g., quotes, accounts) must be cited and referenced using APA style. Do not reprint an actual obituary from the time as it will lead to steep deductions. 

Assignment 2: Managing Competing Agendas

Due Week 6 and worth 180 points

In this assignment, you will expore how the organization and policitial environment of an agency or departments can impact the issue you selected in Assignment 1.

Using the issue you selected from Assignment 1 (Healthcare Reform), write a three to four (3-4) page paper in which you respond to the following questions:

1. Examine the organization of the agency (Department of Health & Human Services) in which the issue resides. Describe the structure and departments within the agency and the manner in which the departments interact with each other.
2. Given the description you provided in Question 1, describe the primary ways the human resource management part of the organizational structure positively or negatively impacts the issue that you selected.
3. Given the description you provided in Question 1, describe the primary ways the budgeting part of the organizational structure positively or negatively impacts the issue you selected.
4. Given the description you provided in Question 1, analyze the political environment and explain (2) challenges that political responsiveness may present for management.
5. Include at least four (4) peer-reviewed references (no more than five [5] years old) from material outside the textbook. Note: Appropriate peer-reviewed references include scholarly articles and governmental Websites. Wikipedia, other wikis, and any other Websites ending in anything other than “.gov” do not qualify as academic resources.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

• Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
• Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

• Assemble the concepts of planning, reengineering, implementation, and program evaluation essential to the study of public administration as it relates to political choice.
• Organize the concepts of public budgeting and policy formation essential to the study of public administration as it relates to political choice.
• Reconstruct historical trends related to public administration and its influence on managing public and nonprofit organizations.
• Organize the concepts of planning and human resource management essential to the study of public administration as it relates to political choice.
• Use technology and information resources to research issues in public administration.
• Write clearly and concisely about public administration using proper writing mechanics.

Click here to access the rubric for this assignment.

Discussion 2: Children, Childhood, and the Economic Argument—Unintended Consequences

You have analyzed and evaluated several resources this week that present reasons why increased funding of development and learning in the early years seems to substantially contribute to a nation’s well-being. The pervasive line of reasoning, presented mainly by economists, revolves around the idea that investment in the early years will provide concrete payback in the future. Some of the benefits of quality early child care and education which are already established through research include individuals’ increased likelihood to become lifelong learners, a reduction in the use of welfare systems, and a lowering of juvenile crime rates. The main payback will be a better-prepared, better-trained workforce that will help to secure the economic future of the nation. The economists who write and speak passionately about the value of investing in early child care and education present these intended consequences with great clarity.

Yet, as you also know, besides intended consequences, every action or policy inevitably has unintended consequences. The unintended consequences of the economic argument for investing in early childhood form the focus of the second Discussion this week. In preparation, review the resources for this week that represent economists’ ideas about the importance of investing in early childhood care and education, and consider these questions:

• What might be some of the unintended consequences for the concept of “childhood,” when childhood is primarily, or exclusively, defined as an investment opportunity with future payback expectations? Substantiate your thinking by citing specific credible resources (for example, other journal articles, information on websites of early childhood organizations, etc.)
• What might be some unintended consequences for play and creative expression opportunities in early childhood care and education environments when these activities cannot be directly and obviously linked to future payback? Or, do you see evidence that they are being directly linked? And if so, in what ways? Substantiate your thinking by citing specific credible resources.

By Friday:

Post

• Your response (approximately one page in length) to the questions above. Refer to the required readings and/or the media segment, as well as to additional resources that substantiate your thinking.
• A citation in APA format of at least two resources that you used to support your Discussion about unintended consequences.

Readings and Resources

Most European countries have nationalized their universities and colleges. Consider that some countries have also used the law to ban private colleges. Should higher education be classified as a natural monopoly in these European countries? Explain and justify your answer and use appropriate examples to support your conclusions.

Next, consider the case of several large, established pharmaceutical manufacturers such as Merck. What type of market form do you believe that such manufacturers operate under?

Justify your answers and use appropriate examples to support your conclusions. Quotations, paraphrases, and ideas you get from books or other sources of information should be cited using APA style.

For this assignment, please answer the following questions using complete sentences. Be sure to answer all parts of the questions completely.

1. What is vertical analysis? Why would it be useful to use in financial analysis?
2. What is horizontal analysis? Why would it be useful to use in financial analysis?
3. Why are ratios used in financial analysis?
4. How are these three approaches to financial analysis different? Why can’t you rely on a single method?