Discussion Question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Discussion Question - Essay Example Culture of people varies as per their countries. Therefore leadership style is different in various countries. In this essay the leadership style of Japan, Korea and China are discussed in detailed. All of these countries are in Asian continent but these countries follow different leadership styles. Japan is one of the giant economic powers of the world. The country has developed its own leadership and management practices which matches with its culture. This country believes in capitalism ideology. This ideology helps Japan to preserve its culture against westernization. The leadership style of Japan is different from other countries. Power distance among Japanese people is high. Japanese people reside in a collective society. Therefore the leaders of Japan motivate the people in collectively doing a work. The leaders are very much respected by Japanese people. Participative leadership style is mostly followed by the leaders of this country. Another name of participative leadership is democratic leadership. In this type of leadership the team members take vital part in assisting the team leaders in making decision and strategies. The values and inputs of the team members are considered as important by the leaders1. The final decision is taken by the leader but the team members have strong involvement in the decision making process. In Japanese organizations and institution the leaders prefer to work collectively with the team members. The leaders communicate frequently with the team members for achieving the goals and objective of the team. The team members coordinate actively with the team leaders for completing any work successfully. The Japanese leaders always motivate the team members in performing their job efficiently. The opinions and the ideas given by the team members are considered as very important by the leaders. So while developing any strategy or decision the Japanese leaders analyze the views and

Relationships Between Language And Culture English Language Essay

Relationships Between Language And Culture English Language Essay The relationships between language, thought and culture have been one of the myths of language for centuries. This paper will assess the power of language and the mutual influence between language and culture by observing cognition of different language speakers. The aim of this essay is to find out the influence they have on each other, and to evaluate the relationship between language and culture. The mutual influence between language and culture will be the major focus of this essay. The main argument would be discussing whether language really influences culture or it just reflects culture. One of the definitions for language was established by Harcourt (2005): communication of thoughts and feelings through a system of arbitrary signals, such as voice sounds, gestures, or written symbols. Such a system includes its rules for combining its components, such as words. Such a system as used by a nation, people, or other distinct community; often contrasted with dialect (p. 633) Thinking is often understood as an intra-mental activity inside an individual mind. In the process of thinking, language is used as a tool with inner speech representing vocalized thinking. Language is therefore possible to be a variable influencing thought. The grammar, syntax, limitations and traits of a language may shape the thinking style of the language speakers. Anthropology theories/concepts (200-250 words) In this thesis, ethnolinguistics, the study of the relationships between language and culture, and how they mutually influence and inform each other (Haviland, 1999), will be the main focus. Two anthropological theories, linguistic relativity and historical particularism (historicism), will be discussed as the first is the main theory of this study and the second one will function as a backup. Linguistic relativity The main theory, linguistic relativity, is the idea that distinctions encoded in one language are unique to that language (Haviland, 1999). Under the theory of linguistic relativity, users of markedly different grammars are pointed by their grammars toward different types of observations and different evaluations of externally similar acts of observation, and hence are not equivalent as observers but must arrive at somewhat different views of the world (Whorf and Caroll, 1956). In other words, people speak in different languages would have different thinking styles and cognition of the world. Furthermore, the schools of thought can be represented by two extremes, linguistic determinism and universalism. There are two forms of linguistic relativity according to their interpretation of the power of language, linguistic determinism and linguistic relativism, while universalism is an opposite idea to linguistic relativity. These concepts will lead to the main argument of this thesis. Determinism is the strongest form of linguistic relativity. It suggests that language can affect thinking, linguistic relativity holds that speakers of different languages think differently. Relativism is the modest form of linguistic relativity. Its idea is that, language can affect thinking, linguistic relativity holds that speakers of different languages think differently (Wolff and Holmes, 2010). In contrast, universalism is an opposite concept. In the idea of universalism, cultures, or at least languages, vary in innumerable ways; but there are patterns of variation that reflect universal properties that we might call the nature of language (Croft, 2010). Apart from linguistic relativity, the theory of historical particularism will be used as a backup theory in this thesis. Historical particularism Historical particularism is a school of anthropology prominent in the first part of the twentieth century that insisted on the collection of ethnographic data (through direct fieldwork) prior to making cross-cultural generalizations (Ferraro and Andreatta, 2011). It emphasizes that each culture is a unique result of its distinctive past, which makes cross-cultural generalizations questionable (Bailey, G. A. and Peoples, J., 2010). Culture influences language According to historical particularism, each culture has its own shape and is partially composed of traits diffused from other cultures since each society has their own past and they are a representation of that unique past. Since that culture and history are interrelated, and language is a tool to record and carry forward the history of a society. There is an often-cited example of linguistic relativism, Eskimo words for snow. It is a claim saying that Eskimos have an unusually large number of words for snow in their language. In English, we add adjective, participles or preposition phrases to modify the word snow, like falling snow, snow on the ground, snow packed hard like ice, slushy snow, wind-driven flying snow, etc. However, the word snow is too inclusive to an Eskimo, they use different words for different kinds of snow instead. From the Eskimo words for snow claim, it was discovered that some languages may rich in words and expressions describing a specific thing. And the vocabulary of a language can be a peephole for us to look into that culture. The concept of jade in Chinese literature In literary Chinese culture, jade has some metaphorical meanings. The concept of jade vastly appears in various contexts of Chinese poetry and idioms. Even among most of the common vehicles of Chinese metaphors, jade deserves special attention. The literary concept and image Chinese attached to the word jade (à §Ã… ½Ã¢â‚¬ °) reflect Chinese jade culture in their tradition. The concept of jade has appeared in the content of various types of Chinese literature, such as poetry and idiom. In Chinese language, there are many idioms linked with jade. The use of jade in those idioms usually is to symbolize beautiful and fine things. The followings are some examples: Idioms à ¨Ã‚ ±Ã‚ ¡Ãƒ §Ã‚ ®Ã‚ ¸Ãƒ §Ã… ½Ã¢â‚¬ °Ãƒ ¦Ã‚ Ã‚ ¯ à ©Ã‚ ¦Ã¢â€ž ¢Ãƒ ¦Ã‚ ºÃ‚ «Ãƒ §Ã… ½Ã¢â‚¬ °Ãƒ ¨Ã‚ »Ã… ¸ à ¦Ã‚ Ã‚ ¡Ãƒ §Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ…“à ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¡Ã‚ ·Ãƒ §Ã… ½Ã¢â‚¬ ° à ¥Ã¢â‚¬  Ã‚ °Ãƒ ¦Ã‚ ¸Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ãƒ §Ã… ½Ã¢â‚¬ °Ãƒ ¦Ã‚ ½Ã¢â‚¬  à ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ãƒ §Ã‚ £Ã… ¡Ãƒ ¥Ã‚ ¼Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Ãƒ §Ã… ½Ã¢â‚¬ ° Implications of jade luxury beauty talent stainlessness valuable contributions Additionally, there are hundreds jade-related characters take jade (à §Ã… ½Ã¢â‚¬ °) radical, despite jade (à §Ã… ½Ã¢â‚¬ °) itself. Most of those characters have descriptive meanings of some specific kind of jade ¼Ã‹â€ Ãƒ §Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚ ¾Ã‚ ¼Ã…’à §Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ…“ ¼Ã…’à §Ã‚ Ã‚ ¦Ã‚ ¼Ã…’etc. ¼Ã¢â‚¬ °, knocking sound of, the color of or even the stains on a jade ¼Ã‹â€ Ãƒ §Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚ ½Ã‚ ¼Ã…’à §Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¼Ã…’à §Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬ ¢ respectively ¼Ã¢â‚¬ °. Jade-related characters à §Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ…“ à §Ã‚ Ã‚  à §Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚ ¤ à §Ã… ½Ã‚ ¦ à §Ã… ½Ã‚ ² à §Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ… ¾ meanings fine jade joint jade precious jade panannular jade ring tinkling of pieces of jade jade used as tally From the above examples of the literary use of jade, we can notice that the concept of jade is attached with numerours good features and enjoys a high position (as Chinese people created a lot of jade-related characters) in Chinese culture. It is said in the Book of Rites, one of the Chinese Five Classics of the Confucian canon, that since ancient time, all gentlemen wear pendants of jade-stones, and that they should never be without them unless there is sufficient reason (à §Ã‚ ¦Ã‚ ®Ãƒ ¨Ã‚ ¨Ã‹Å" ·Ãƒ §Ã… ½Ã¢â‚¬ °Ãƒ ¨- »). Jade has played a very important role in traditional Chinese culture. (Yang, 2011) The above example about literary concept of jade in Chinese literature shows cultures influence on language. It evidences that language is a reflection of culture. Japanese terms for rain Similar with the Eskimo words for snow claim, there is another word myth in Japanese. There are unusually many different terms which can be used to express different types of rain in Japanese. These terms categorize the rain into different types, by intensity, season, duration and even characteristics. Here are some expressions of rain or related to rain in Japanese. Types of rain in Japanese Pronunciation in Japanese Meanings à §Ã¢â€ž ¢Ã‚ ½Ãƒ ©Ã¢â‚¬ ºÃ‚ ¨ hakuu rain shower à ¤Ã‚ ¿Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ãƒ ©Ã¢â‚¬ ºÃ‚ ¨ niwakaame rain shower à ¥Ã‚ ¼Ã‚ ±Ãƒ ©Ã¢â‚¬ ºÃ‚ ¨ jakuu weak rain à ¥Ã‚ °Ã‚ Ãƒ ©Ã¢â€ž ¢Ã‚ Ãƒ £Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã…   koburi light rain à ¥Ã‚ °Ã‚ Ãƒ §Ã‚ ³Ã‚  Ãƒ ©Ã¢â‚¬ ºÃ‚ ¨ konukaame fine rain à §Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â€ž ¢Ãƒ ©Ã¢â‚¬ ºÃ‚ ¨ enu misty rain à ©Ã¢â‚¬ ºÃ‚ ¨Ãƒ ¦Ã‚ °Ã‚ · uhyou freezing rain à ¦Ã¢â€ž ¢Ã‚ ´Ãƒ ¥Ã‚ ¾Ã…’à ©Ã¢â‚¬ ºÃ‚ ¨ harenochiame clear then rain à ¦Ã‚ °Ã‚ ·Ãƒ ©Ã¢â‚¬ ºÃ‚ ¨ hisame very cold rain or hail à ¥Ã‚ ¤Ã…“à ©Ã¢â‚¬ ºÃ‚ ¨ yau night rain à ¦Ã‚ ¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ãƒ ©Ã¢â‚¬ ºÃ‚ ¨Ãƒ ¥Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ Ãƒ §Ã‚ ·Ã… ¡ baiuzensen seasonal rain à ¦Ã‹Å" ¥Ãƒ ©Ã…“- shun rin spring rain à §Ã‚ ·Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃƒ ©Ã¢â‚¬ ºÃ‚ ¨ ryokuu early-summer rain à ¥Ã‚ Ã‚ Ãƒ ©Ã¢â‚¬ ºÃ‚ ¨ juuu refreshing rain once in ten days à ¦Ã‚ Ã‚ µÃƒ ©Ã¢â‚¬ ºÃ‚ ¨ keiu welcome rain à ¥Ã‚ ¤Ã‚ ©Ãƒ ¦Ã‚ ³Ã‚ £ tenkyuu rain from a cloudless sky à ¦Ã¢â€ž ¢Ã‚ ´Ãƒ ¤Ã‚ ¸Ã¢â€š ¬Ãƒ ¦Ã¢â€ž ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒ ¥Ã‚ °Ã‚ Ãƒ ©Ã¢â‚¬ ºÃ‚ ¨ hareichijikosame brief light rain à ©Ã…“- nagame long rain à ©Ã…“-à ©Ã¢â‚¬ ºÃ‚ ¨ rinu long rain à ©Ã¢â€ž ¢Ã‚ °Ãƒ ©Ã…“- inrin long rain à ¥Ã‚ ¤Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Ãƒ §Ã‚ «Ã¢â‚¬ ¹ yuudachi sudden evening rain The above expressions for rain in Japanese reflect the rain culture in Japan. Japanese society and culture are affected by the climate there. Frequent rain is a prominent feature of Japans climate. Japan has a high precipitation. The average rainfall in Tokyo is around 1,800 mm, nearly double the global average of 1,000 mm. The intensity of rain is also strong and varies from season to season. It rains a great deal in Japan, therefore the society, culture and even language of Japan are affected by rain. According to the theory of linguistic relativity, phenomena and things that play important roles in a given society and culture are often subdivided into various types and described using a wide variety of specialized terms. By the examples of jade in Chinese literature and rain in Japanese language, the idea that culture influences language is evidenced. Considering culture to be a product of human thought, we can deduce that language is influenced by human thought, but not unilaterally influencing culture (linguistic determinism). The theory of linguistic relativism is basically proved, but how about language influences culture? Does language only reflect culture? In the following paragraphs, the idea that language influences culture will be discussed to find out whether language and culture really have mutual influence on each other (linguistic relativism) or language does not do much in culture. Language influences culture The idea that the way we view and feel the world is, to a certain extent, dependent on the language we use. Each language contains a peculiar and unique world view, which causes speakers of that language to see and think in a characteristic way, different from the speakers of other languages. This has become known as the principle of language relativity. In this part, different cognitions of different language speakers will be shown as examples of languages influence on culture (language shapes thought) Perception of eye-witness memory and blame There is a study conducted by Caitlin Fausey at Stanford. In that study, Fausey found that eye-witness memory differ depending on the language one speaks. The way that a person records events is depending on the language who speaks. The grammatical structure of a language affects our thinking pattern and even our eye-witness memory. In that paper, a cross-linguistic difference in how English and Spanish speakers describe the same events is identified, a corresponding cross-linguistic difference in eye-witness memory is also found. For speakers of an agentive language like English, if they see someone accidentally brush against a flower vase and the vase ends up in pieces on the floor, they can easily remember who broke it. When asked about what happened, they might say, Someone (the agent) broke the vase. They can easily notice the agent of an action. In agentive languages, descriptions like this are typical and appropriate for clearly accidental events. By contrast, non-agentive language speakers description of the same event/action often sounds evasive. Even if they see the same event, when asked about what happened, they might not remember who did it, and just answer The vase is broken Furthermore, the influence of language is not only on eye-witness memory, but even on blame. A canonical non-agentive description (e.g., the vase is broken) is intransitive and does not place the person as the subject for the change-of-state event. People are sensitive to this distinction between agentive and non-agentive frames. Linguistic framing influences ones judgment about blame and punishment. In financial liability, agentive descriptions will lead to 30%-50% more in requested financial damages than non-agentive descriptions do. Judgments and blame can be affected by linguistic frame. Tetraphobia in Southeast Asian countries. Tetraphobia refers to the fear of four. It is a common superstition throughout Southeast Asian countries, for examples, China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia. The fear of the number 4 is simply come from its pronunciation in Southeast Asian language. In Mandarin, its pronunciation of 4 is very close to that of the word for death, as both of them are pronounced as shi. And in Japanese and Korean, the two words are even perfectly homophonous. The superstition of tetraphobia has permeated all aspects of society in these countries, from architecture to communication norms. Here are some examples of tetraphobias impact: Many building in Hong Kong are typically built without 4-related floors, including offices, hospitals, hotels, apartments and skyscrapers. One famous example is the Vision City in Hong Kong, which is missing floors 40 through 49 The Chinese avoid phone numbers and addresses with fours, especially when theyre combined with another number that changes the meaning. Example: 94 could be interpreted as being dead for a long time. The number four was banned from license plates and can only be used once in ID numbers in Taiwan. The official sound of 4 in Japanese language is shi, but Japanese people usually use the alternate pronunciation, yon, that far away from its official sound, when talking about phone numbers and dates. The names of military aircraft and vehicles in China often start with the number 5. And South Korean and Taiwanese navies also avoid 4 when naming their ships. Table 4 is often eliminated at engagements, weddings, birthdays and other celebrations. People in society in this culture always avoid using 4 in verbal speech during holidays and when a loved one is sick or dying. From the above examples, the theory of linguistic relativism is further evidenced. The power of language is significant for sure. The language a person uses can shape whose thought. The thought of a group people forms culture. The language of a place is reflective to the culture of that place, at the same time, language promotes the culture of there. Conclusion (400-500 words) Form this study, it is clear that linguistic relativism is an evidenced theory. The relationships between language and culture are bilateral. Language is created to fulfill humans need. Therefore different society created there languages in different ways. The traits of a language are shaped by the culture of a society that created the language. The communication styles, vocabulary, grammar of a language, are all able to reflect a unique culture of a place. Language can be the epitome of a culture, and even a society. Language is a tool to express human thought and spread culture. The traits and limitations of a language affects the thinking style and cognitions of its speakers. When time goes by, it can shape the culture of a single place. Language shapes human thought and brings culture to society while it is also attached with cultures influence.

Destiny, Fate, Free Will and Free Choice - Prophecies in Oedipus, Antig

The Damning Prophecies in Oedipus, Antigone, and Agamemnon Oracles, seers, and prophets are used in Greek tragedy to provide foreshadowing for the audience and characters. The seers' wisdom is conveyed through the pronouncement of oracles or prophecies. They confer forecasts to principal characters that affect the characters' future. Although not always believed, and often endeavored to be foiled, seers, oracles, and prophets in Greek tragedies foretell events that greatly affect the lives of prominent characters. Cassandra in Aeschylus' Agamemnon, the Oracle at Delphi in Sophocles' Oedipus, and Teiresias in Sophocles' Antigone pronounce damning prophecies that, despite ignorance, evasion, or disregard, are inevitably fulfilled to the downfall and destruction of the characters. The seer Cassandra in The Agamemnon foretells the downfall and destruction of Agamemnon. Cassandra delivers several predictions of Agamemnon's impending death. "Agamemnon's dead is what you'll see."[p77] "The room- it reeks! Drips red with murder." p80 She also sees her murder that is unavoidable. "So, then I go / To sing the dirge of my own demise / And Agamemnon's too within the palace." p81 Cassandra's visions are heard by the chorus who are skeptical of her claims. Her visions are not believed by Agamemnon because of a curse set on her by the Greek god Apollo. Agamemnon is oblivious to her forecasts and believes he will live on and remain king. "So, overborne by you, I shall proceed / To tread the purple to my palace halls." Agamemnon infers that he will be able to safely return to power in his kingdom and is unaware of the treasonous plot calculated by his wife Clytemnestra and ... ...t suicide in anger at Kreon. Lives are lost and Kreon is disgraced as a king. In spite of his avoidance the prophecy is realized. Although not always believed, and often endeavored to be foiled, seers, oracles, and prophets in Greek tragedies foretell events that greatly affect the lives of prominent characters. Cassandra in Aeschylus' Agamemnon, the Oracle at Delphi in Sophocles' Oedipus, and Teiresias in Sophocles' Antigone pronounce damning prophecies that, despite ignorance, evasion, or disregard, are inevitably fulfilled to the downfall and destruction of the characters. Oracles, seers, and prophets from Greek tragedy correctly predict the destruction of important characters. Despite the characters' arrogance or avoidance, the prophecies are fulfilled. The characters' blatant contempt for prophecy contributes to the irony of their situations.

Benefits of Cost Allocation in an Organization

Introduction: The Need for Cost Accounting and Allocation A product or a service cannot be provided without costs going into its creation. The ability to transform a raw material into the final product, whatever the final product may manifest, is unavoidably connected with a cost. Often costs are incurred in a manner that is not even directly related to the making of the final product but to activities that are necessary for the production process.Activities such as planning and administration come under the support activities that are not directly related to the creation of a product or service but they are necessary for a organization to operate. Often a situation arises when a cost becomes attached to more than one product or department. The question as to whom to ascribe a cost to when more than one party seems responsible for the charge had been a highly problematic issue for accountants for long while. Many schools of thought have sprung up with regard to this dilemma.Some feel that costs can be assigned based on dividing space, or percentages of use. Others were of the view that there is no need to allocate costs at all. â€Å"A third group preferred no allocation at all, because regardless of the method applied, bottom-line would not change† (Doost, 1997). The introduction of Activity Based Costing further pushed cost allocation into the background (Doost, 1997). However, Activity Based Costing had a major shortcoming in that not all cost incursion are clear-cut enough to be charged to the ultimate users.The need to allocate costs in the face of multiple users remained. Cost allocation is also known as cost apportionment and cost distribution. Defining Cost Allocation Cost allocation is the process of accounting developed to deal with a situation in which assigning costs to a particular product or department is difficult. The process involves identifying and linking the costs incurred with the cost objectives. Cost allocation consists of three ma in steps: ? Defining an â€Å"object† to link costing to ?Accruing the costs linked to the object Determining a method to link the object with the accrued cost The cost object can be thought of as an activity or a process, a product or service or even a part of the organization for which a separate measure for costs is required. Definition of the object is based largely on the needs and circumstances of the organization. After costs are incurred, they undergo an appraisal and are assigned to various pools depending upon a criterion that has been determined to link costs to the object. The costs are of two types; direct and indirect (Ijiri, 1975).Direct costs are traceable to the cost object through a highly objective, uncomplicated relationship. Indirect costs are the real purpose of cost allocation and are cost incurred without any traceable source. They must be assigned according to some bridging activity that will form the link between costs and cost object. The Benefits o f Cost Allocation Most literature follows the disadvantages of cost allocation and shows why it should not be used. However, cost allocation continues being used in numerous organizations.Two authors, Horngren and Kaplan have been the exceptions in relating this aspect and Zimmerman builds on their work to show, that in spite of what research, what benefits are derived from cost allocation which makes it popular among the practitioners. Horngren and Kaplan refer to the benefits to managerial behavior. Zimmerman (1978) divides this into the agency problem and using allocation as a proxy. The agency problem arises whenever a relationship is formed between a principal and an agent, such as that between the owners of the company and its managers (Jenson and Meckling, 1976).This situation assumes that the agent will do his or her best to increase the welfare of the principal; however, in reality an agent will sometimes act in ways that reduce the welfare of the principal. This is due to the lack of optimal monitoring systems. The monitoring system can restrict such acts but not completely stop them. The portion that can not be reduced is, thus, a expenditure and is known as agency costs that a principal needs to bear. A similar situation occurs between a superior and a subordinate when costs are allocated. The subordinate has his own interests at heart, including his chances of advancement.Thus, by allocating to the subordinates the superior’s expenditures, motivation is created for subordinate to carefully monitor their superior’s spending and ensure that the superior does not spend unnecessarily or for personal gain on the company’s tab. Thus, the subordinate will monitor the spending by the superior, ensuring less shirking and adequate spending on perquisites (non monetary incentives e. g. air conditioning in the office). Thus, the superior’s welfare is dependent directly on the subordinate’s productivity, subordinate’s compensation and the agency costs related to this relationship.This agency costs include the monitoring costs, bonding costs and residual loss. Excessive consumption of prerequisites by the superior, thus, negatively affects the subordinate's future promotions. To avoid this, the subordinate would either go over the direct superior’s head or attempt to convince the direct superior to reduce spending. Thus, cost allocation itself allows a principal-agency relation to be created in the organization, and using allocated costs, a means of monitoring superiors is created.This monitoring is not so effective if done by a person higher-up than the superior (because of one-to-many relation and lack of incentives), and is one reason that costs allocation are widely used in organizations. Another assumption made is the fact that lump-sum tax can also reduce an agent’s spending on perquisites. Here, costs allocations act as a lump-sum tax as they allow costs to be allocated to dif ferent departments. Thus, if a cost is allocated among five departments, then for each department this is similar to a lump-sum tax, and this is reduce the agent’s spending on perquisites in each of the departments.However, if this tax amount is tied to profits, then theory shows that mathematically the perquisites spending may actually increase. Thus, non-controllable costs are allocated to managers to decrease their perquisite spending and should be based on lump-sum overhead allocation rather than tied to profits. The above discussion also implies that costs allocations are better used when other forms of monitoring costs are high, perhaps due to geographical locations etc. Another benefit of cost allocation is observed with regards to manufacturing overhead costs.Zimmerman (1978) shows that a shared resource inflicts costs on others, for instance, for a shared resource a user will be constantly expanding his utilization. Besides the overuse, this agent is also inflicting a delay costs on other whose work may be affected by the delay they have to endure. After a certain point though, the costs will be more than the benefit derived from the shared resource and it would be more profitable to expand resources. Costs allocation acts a proxies to this expansion costs and allows proper allocation of costs which can be monitored. Thus, the manufacturing overhead issue is as follows.For a manufacturing concern, its main costs are its direct material used, direct labor required and manufacturing overhead, which are not directly traceable to one product but are incurred in manufacturing. When a principal assigns an agent, he also passes on the responsibilities and decision making thus resulting in a decentralized organization. In such a setting, each person will choose that level of inputs which minimizes the overall costs. This will be at a point when minimum variable costs are used by decreasing inputs and using maximum fixed costs, which are indirect costs. This will firstly not operate at optimum level, and secondly this will impose costs on other departments by using more of the manufacturing overhead costs. Hence, a need for centralized decision making arises. By using centralized decision making, a level of inputs is selected which minimizes input costs. . Also, manufacturing overhead is allocated based on requirements rather, than to show minimum costs. Thus, cost allocation allows optimal distribution of indirect costs, and also incorporates other immeasurable costs like delay costs, expansion costs etc.Doost (1997) also shows how cost allocation is useful for determining actual product costs by using all relevant costs, and can be used for control purposes. He demonstrates that the budgeted amount of manufacturing overhead costs allow monitoring of overspending or under spending and is the responsibility of the specific department. Conclusion Cost accounting is a highly useful method of accounting that is very accommodating to c ontrol and coordination measures of various costs. The importance of cost allocation has not diminished over the years.Cost allocation continues to be as important today as it was in the seventies. The basic principle behind cost allocation has remained largely the same; however, new methods of forming the link between costs and cost objects are continuously being formed. It continues to finds its application in cost control and accountability. By no means a cure-all, cost accounting does, however, provide a sound foundation for increasing responsibility, control and accountability by changing the very behavior of managers and creating an environment where cost reduction can be linked to advancement.

Current Event Fashion Ysl

Paige Restivo Fashion Fundamentals Assignment #2 Current Event Yvan Mispelaere Out as DVF Creative Director September 12, 2012 â€Å"After two-and-a-half years as creative director at Diane von Furstenberg, Yvan Mispelaere is out the door. † (Rosemary Feitelberg) The article I haven chosen was published during fashion week shortly after the DVF spring 2013 runway show. It grabbed my attention because the title claiming creative director Yvan was gone and I knew that the show had just went on. His departure was announced 48 hours after the show.Mispelaere had worked with many designers before DVF, such as Yves Saint Laurent, Chloe, Valentino, Luis Feraud and Gucci just before DVF in march. He was very talented but never known for sticking to one project. Mispelaere was in for the challenge of it, he said earlier in the week, â€Å"I came to DVF to help further the brand’s mission and create a world-class design team. I am confident we have been able to achieve that duri ng my time with the company. I can’t thank Diane enough for the opportunity to work with her and such talented people. The group is now well-positioned for even greater success, and I am eager to take on my next challenge. . I noticed a significant up bringing in Diane von Furstenberg's line shortly after Yvan had joined the team, in past years DVF had been known but not the way it is now. Yvan Mispelaere felt his job was done and it was time for time next. I think the most propionate points of this article was when press had asked von Furstenberg to comment on behalf of his departure nothing but kind words were said. Von Furstenberg thinks he added â€Å"enormous value†, and is more than thankful to have had him join the team to help further them in each direction.Even though Yvan Mispealere had left DVF without a creative director, they are not eager to replace him just yet. Thankfully shortly before Yvan leaving DVF, they had just signed on Joel Horowitz as co-chair man. Down one man, but still have another to help run things smoothly. They are determined to keep DVF growing and becoming more of a world class brand. I enjoyed reading this article because I think drama in the fashion world is interesting, but shortly after analyzing this article I realized there actually wasn't any major drama.Yvan would move on to his next big project, and Diane von Furstenberg was just happy to have had him to help. Closing this article was a comment by von Furstenberg – â€Å"I hope Yvan will immediately put his signature on the collection, I’m curious to see his slant. But it will still be DVF. † Rosemary Feitelberg (2012). Yvan Mispelaere Out as DVF Creative Director. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www. wwd. com/fashion-news/designer-luxury/yvan-mispelaere-out-as-dvf-creative-director-6274810. [Last Accessed September 14, 2012].

How Much Does It Cost to Buy an Essay Online

How Much Does It Cost to Buy an Essay Online The cost of online writing services is a major concern for many students given the tight budgets within which they are expected to operate. The quality of the papers which students ask for usually depends on the amount of money which they are willing to pay for the paper and given that most students, who go online in search of writing paper assistance, usually need a high quality paper to be crafted for them, they usually end up paying ridiculously large amounts of cash just to have their paper written. Well, the case is quite different for those clients who decide to have their papers crafted at this organization because the quality of the papers, which are crafted here, has nothing to do with their cost and is never pegged to the cost of the papers. Regardless of the amount of money that you will pay to this company, and be assured that the paper will be of high quality. In any case, the policy of the company is to always look for any possible way that will reduce the money which clients have to pay to get papers written for them while, at the same time, continuously seeking ways of producing exceptional papers for each and every client. For that small amount of money that you pay, the writers here offer you papers that are fully customized and which follow each of your essay requirements to the letter. Also, for the cheap prices you pay at our service, you will get original and high quality papers. The uniqueness of the papers is portrayed in the way the information is presented, which may not exactly be unique, but the presentation of the information will always be done in a unique way. There are some kinds of essays which are so common that when you ask for the same kind of essay to be written for you, the information that is to be used to will most likely be the kind of information that would already have been used in writing other essays. The difference, however, is in the way the writers here craft the essay, presenting the information in a unique way. When you decide to pay that small amount of money to have your papers written, you will, of course, have to give some of your personal details to facilitate the financial transactions and the sending of your completed paper. This organization will always protect all the details that you provide to us so you can feel secure. Dont miss your chance to buy essays online from CustomWritings.com!

Free Essays on The Cider House Rules

An Analysis of the First Two Years Based on the Formal Organization The subject of this paper is the first two years of life based on the book, â€Å"The Cider House Rules.† â€Å"The Cider House Rules† is a book about an orphanage in the town of St. Clouds’, Maine. Once a prominent logging town, St. Clouds’ now consisted of abandoned buildings, prostitutes and the children of prostitutes. (Irving et al, 1985) Also located in that depressed little town was an orphanage, simply called St. Clouds’. A man named Dr. Larch founded St. Clouds’ orphanage in 192_. He opened it with a dual purpose in mind. Not only is it an orphanage but a hospital, a hospital that clandestinely performs abortions. Women choose St. Clouds’ to have an abortion because they hear that the people are kind, it is a clean place in which after the procedure they won’t die, and because it is free. Women decided to have an orphan there because the child will stay at St. Clouds’ and be well taken care of until they are adopted. (Irving et al, 1985) Characters A few key characters run St. Clouds’. Dr. Wilbur Larch is the first to be introduced, being he is the founder the orphanage. He delivers the orphans and does what he calls the Lord’s work. (Irving et al, 1985) The Lord’s work is how Dr. Larch refers to performing abortions for the women that come to the hospital. (Irving et al, 1985) He performs them even though at this time they are illegal. (Irving et al, 1985) Dr. Larch also has other responsibilities he is accountable for. He is the doctor of the orphanage, and director of the boys division, he also chooses adoptive families, and gives overall supervision to the hospital. Dr. Larch is an intelligent man who is overworked, and as much as he loves the orphans he doesn’t always have time for them. Nurse Edna and Nurse Angela are the two nurses on staff. They live on the boys’ side of the orphanage and also take care of this divisi... Free Essays on The Cider House Rules Free Essays on The Cider House Rules An Analysis of the First Two Years Based on the Formal Organization The subject of this paper is the first two years of life based on the book, â€Å"The Cider House Rules.† â€Å"The Cider House Rules† is a book about an orphanage in the town of St. Clouds’, Maine. Once a prominent logging town, St. Clouds’ now consisted of abandoned buildings, prostitutes and the children of prostitutes. (Irving et al, 1985) Also located in that depressed little town was an orphanage, simply called St. Clouds’. A man named Dr. Larch founded St. Clouds’ orphanage in 192_. He opened it with a dual purpose in mind. Not only is it an orphanage but a hospital, a hospital that clandestinely performs abortions. Women choose St. Clouds’ to have an abortion because they hear that the people are kind, it is a clean place in which after the procedure they won’t die, and because it is free. Women decided to have an orphan there because the child will stay at St. Clouds’ and be well taken care of until they are adopted. (Irving et al, 1985) Characters A few key characters run St. Clouds’. Dr. Wilbur Larch is the first to be introduced, being he is the founder the orphanage. He delivers the orphans and does what he calls the Lord’s work. (Irving et al, 1985) The Lord’s work is how Dr. Larch refers to performing abortions for the women that come to the hospital. (Irving et al, 1985) He performs them even though at this time they are illegal. (Irving et al, 1985) Dr. Larch also has other responsibilities he is accountable for. He is the doctor of the orphanage, and director of the boys division, he also chooses adoptive families, and gives overall supervision to the hospital. Dr. Larch is an intelligent man who is overworked, and as much as he loves the orphans he doesn’t always have time for them. Nurse Edna and Nurse Angela are the two nurses on staff. They live on the boys’ side of the orphanage and also take care of this divisi...

Capitalization Rules for the Names of Games

Capitalization Rules for the Names of Games Capitalization Rules for the Names of Games Capitalization Rules for the Names of Games By Mark Nichol How do you style the first letter of words for games and similar entertainment? The default setting is lowercase, though of course there are exceptions. Names of card games are lowercased except for words normally capitalized, thus poker, but â€Å"Texas hold ’em.† Names for other games of chance, whether more or less â€Å"legitimate† ones like Russian roulette and bingo, those that straddle both worlds (like craps, which has two forms: casino, or table craps, and street craps), and confidence games like three-card monte, follow the same rules. Names of variations, and other terminology, aren’t capitalized, either. Those of strategy games such as chess and checkers are lowercased, too (but note â€Å"Chinese checkers†), as are names of tile games such as dominoes. Traditional children’s games like tag and hopscotch, and those with more complex names, such as capture the flag, hide-and-seek, and king of the castle, need no special emphasis, either. Brand names of trademarked games like Monopoly, Scrabble, and Chutes and Ladders are capitalized, but note that it is not necessarily to use registration symbols with them. (You will, of course, note the r in a circle adjacent to the brand name on the game itself and in printed and online literature published by the company, as well as in written materials of any company affiliated or in partnership with the trademark holder, but no other publication is required to include such symbols.) Names of electronic games follow the same rule. You may also see these names italicized or enclosed in quotation marks; the justification for these styles is that such games have a narrative and are therefore equivalent to films. However, names of kinds of software are capitalized but not italicized. Names for games like pool and its variants, foosball, air hockey, and other tabletop entertainments should not be capitalized. Names of competitive sports such as baseball, basketball, and football are lowercase, but note that Major League Baseball is not merely a description of the highest level of professional baseball in the United States but also the official designation and is thus capitalized. Names of large competitive events are capitalized: Examples include, in the United States, the World Series and the Super Bowl, and internationally, the Olympic Games (informally called the Olympics) and the Pan American Games. (But note that â€Å"Highland games† is a description and not the name of a specific event.) Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Comma After i.e. and e.g.Comma Before ButHow to Write a Proposal

Fashion Designer Employment Status Report Assignment

Fashion Designer Employment Status Report - Assignment Example Realistically, since I am still a starter on this career, I will take on any opportunity that I will be offered to be able to showcase my ability. This will entail attending any beauty pageant that I am able to so that I can sharpen my designing skills. I am constantly seeking growth as an artist while trying to enjoy the process as much as I can. I feel that if I enjoy myself while working on a piece that I am designing, the pleasure will help me put in that extra effort that is necessary to make the piece truly polished. Even though I am so passionate, there are moments when I feel there is something holding me back. This often happens when I have conversations with my parents regarding my future. They always ask me questions that I do not want to answer due to the fact that they consider I do not take my life seriously. However, I am motivated to pursue my career in the fashion design industry due to the fact that this industry has grown up a lot in the past 20 years. It has become a large part of the creative industry hence competitive; as such there is no guarantee that one can be successful. Despite the fact that it is extremely hard to get established in this industry, there are some things that I can do to make myself get a better chance of getting noticed. I believe that I can work hard and produce great work at college hence recognition. The quality of my work is my biggest philosophy; I believe that this is the greatest tool that I have to boost me to achieve my goals. Currently, I am a student in the Academy of Art University majoring in Costume Design. Since joining this university, I have seen how to design in my own way so that I am comfortable designing each piece in the shortest amount of time but still keep developing my own style. In order to gain my own style is to take the next step. According to Careers in Fashion, p.1, fashion marketing careers are highly competitive, so the more you can learn from fashion school, the better prepared you will be.  At the moment I am a student and my next step is to gain experience in the business field.  

Media and Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Media and Society - Essay Example The researchers used a survey sampling method and a panel design technique in which the same samples were observed at different points in time (Lowery and DeFleur, 1983) . Locational parameter was in Erie County in Ohio because it was culturally homogenous with a population of 43,000 being stable for 40 years. The people living in Erie County were all white and the farmers and the industrial labor force were evenly distributed. Thus, this would help in classifying the respondents. It was also relevant that the tri-media were present; 3 newspapers, 2 radio stations and all major network channels were represented. Importantly, Erie County had the record of deviating a little less from national voting pattern as far as the twentieth century was concern. During the study, there were 3,000 sampling respondents, 600 persons each for 4 stratified samples referred to as "panel" and 600 persons each also for the 3 control groups. Panel and control groups were used as there were qualms that th e process would greatly affect the results which eventually turned out to be the otherwise. There were several influential factors that could affect voters of Erie County and that included political index, religion, demography, socio-economic status and cross pressures among all others. There were three main patterns of change in cross pressure voting. According to the study, 28% were crystallizers (Lowery and DeFleur, 1983). They changed vote up to the last minute. On the other hand, 15% were waverers. Waverers were those whose decision pattern was like a wave. They started out with a clear decision then during the campaign period slowly changing sides but then later vote on their original choice. Finally, the party changers were self-explanatory and composed 8% of the samples. Cross pressure votes were simply a delay of the final decision of the voter. As such, potential voters whose low interest in the campaign and the cross pressure voters became media campaign targets. The challenge with media-mediated campaign was how to effectively deliver the message that a certain candidate was way far better than the others. The problem also lies on media exposure. How well-spread was the exposure. Surprisingly, radio comprised 50% of those surveyed when asked about the most important source of political information (Lowery and DeFleur, 1983). The media however, was a big contributor in political campaigning through three major patterns of influence; activation (awareness), reinforcement (continuing justification) and conversion (switch sides through persuasion). The two-step flow of communication stated that ideas and arguments would from the media to the opinion leaders then finally to the less active portions of the population. It was emphasized in this chapter the importance of mass media in influencing the voting behavior of the people. There maybe other factors that can affect any individual's vote but media-mediated campaign can greatly affect voter's decision up to the last second of the election period. Therefore, with all these political propaganda and strategy using mass media, Franklin D. Roosevelt won the political race. Chapter 5 Audiences for Daytime Radio Serials: Uses and Gratifications In the late 1930's, America

Lab report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Lab report - Essay Example Understanding of soil is an essential area of study in civil engineering. It is critically important to carry out the analysis of soil prior to initiate any construction. The analysis of soil yields soil related various important factors that include the interaction of soil with the structure over a time through various weather conditions, types of structure soil can support etc. The analysis of soil composition reveals that there are three types of soil namely cohesion less, cohesive, and organic soils. In cohesion less soil the soil particles remain apart from each other. The example of such soil is sand, gravel and silt. Cohesive soils consist of very tiny particles that have characteristic to stick together in presence of water due to attractive forces present among them. Clay is an example of such soil2. Organic soils have spongy, compressible and crumbly nature and because of because of its unstable nature are strongly undesirable for any scale of construction. Depending of the soil various layers depth, all three types are further divided into various sub-categories and construction is carried out while considering these sub-layers i.e. shallow foundations is located in the first layer below the structure, followed by the individual footing (sub plate) between boundary layers, and uprooting sub paneling that sometimes used extreme environments (tundra )1. As enlarge footing size will increase the area of contact (area = B2), hence it increase the allowable bearing capacity qa of soil. By evaluating all these variables, the column load can be calculated which will be equal to the load on footing. As soil degradation also affect the footing hence the effect is indirectly transfer to columns and hence to the whole construction. In this experiment a specimen of soil with known % of water by weight has been prepared. The mass of sample is determined using an analytical balance

The Reform of the House of Lords Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Reform of the House of Lords - Term Paper Example While the primacy of the Commons was originally derived from its electoral mandate, its continuing relevance is furthered by its functions and roles. The Government cannot govern without the support of the Commons because it has final say on legislation. As the Royal Commission chaired by Lord Wakeham emphasized, "The House of Commons, as the principal political forum, should have the final say in respect of all major public policy issues" and "it would be wrong to restore the fully bicameral nature of the pre-1911 Parliament."3 The primary role played by the Commons rests on several factors. First, its mandate as the direct representatives of the people means that it has greater democratic legitimacy than the Lords. The Commons' power to grant or withhold supply (public expenditure) is the source of its ability to uphold or dismiss the Government. Without the Commons' consent, the Government cannot function because the Commons approves the expenditure. It is thus undesirable for the reformed Lords to undermine this primacy. Changes in the Lords composition might lead to this undesirable outcome.4 The Lords cannot have the same power of public expenditure because there must only be a single route through which the Government secures its authority to govern. The Lords should have less power over the Government although it can ask the Government to reconsider a proposal without questioning the Government's authority. The primacy of the Commons is enshrined in the Parliament Acts, which limit the power of the Lords to veto legislative proposals, contain specific provisions relating to Bills on national taxation, public money or loans or their management. In a dispute between the two chambers on primary legislation, the Commons is supreme.The Lords should neither be a rival nor a mirror of the Commons. The Lords should not also be a rubber stamp of the Government's proposals. The primary function of a second chamber is the scrutiny of proposed legislation to provid e a second opinion. In order to secure the highest possible quality of legislation, a government must provide this second opinion.  

Malthus's Prediction in the Epic Book An Essay on the Principle of

Malthus's Prediction in the Epic Book An on the Principle of Population - Essay Example The question that arises is that why the human civilization hasn’t been able to find a permanent solution to the problem. This problem-solution essay proposes a hypothesis that technology isn’t capable of solving a problem of Traffic jams. Its rapid advancement in the past few decades hasn’t proved to be effective for the problem of Traffic jams. This study also explores the psychology and motivations of motorists who spend their valuable time in meaningless queues of a Traffic jam. The countries around the world have made the slow transition from being rural and agrarian societies to becoming dependent on metropolitan cities. These metropolitan cities serve as an engine to the growth of the region’s economy. But with rising of mega-cities and gigantic sky-scrapers, the problem of Traffic jams has continued to tease the mankind. Whether it is Shanghai in the east or New York in the west, researchers show that millions of ‘human hours’ are wasted in Traffic jams. People miss their appointments, job interviews and arrive late at other important occasions. These Traffic jams create physical discomfort as the people are confined to one place for a long time. In hotter regions of Asia and South America, the heat and sweat make the condition inside the cars and trucks extremely unbearable. There is also danger to the health of people as they inhale poisonous gases emitted by vehicles; this problem being more common to developing countries than dev eloped countries. The movement of emergency vehicles such as Police vans and Ambulances also gets restricted. The solutions that have been tried range from strict traffic rules to increasing installation of CCTV cameras. The traffic reports are announced on the radio so that passengers can avoid the jams. Hefty fines are imposed on faltering motorists and usage of public transport is promoted by governments. But no policy seems to be effective in reducing the number of cars on the road.

Illicit drugs in Asia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Illicit drugs in Asia - Essay Example The second perspective is how Asian consumers of psychoactive new markets have been forged. The market for the production of methamphetamine has been the rise due to the new conf ration of Asian medicine. The economic integration in oceanic countries has led to the expansion of illicit drug trade. Since 2013, international drug trafficking networks such as South Asia, Western Asia, North America and Western Africa have been targeting the region (Haq, 2000).The other perspective is the significance of the place of psycho-active substances in Asia. Illicit drugs in Asia provide a source of income to farmers as they largely depend on illicit drug harvest (Chouvy, 2013). As a result, these farmers become able to support their families without difficulties. For suppliers, they benefit by advertising, marketing and selling their products under the names of harmless daily products such as fertilizers, salt and room fresheners. This enables them mislead the authorities for transacting illega l trade in order to do their daily business and make money. In addition to that, governments have largely benefited from these drugs. Some fund their political campaigns using the money from the trade of these drugs.Besides, is the prospective of chief concerns of governments and administrations in controlling the markets and consumers. The drug traffickers have since been haunted by the Asian governments as they have constantly led to public health threat as opposed to the usage of illegal and illicit drugs.

Malthus's Prediction in the Epic Book An Essay on the Principle of

Malthus's Prediction in the Epic Book An on the Principle of Population - Essay Example The question that arises is that why the human civilization hasn’t been able to find a permanent solution to the problem. This problem-solution essay proposes a hypothesis that technology isn’t capable of solving a problem of Traffic jams. Its rapid advancement in the past few decades hasn’t proved to be effective for the problem of Traffic jams. This study also explores the psychology and motivations of motorists who spend their valuable time in meaningless queues of a Traffic jam. The countries around the world have made the slow transition from being rural and agrarian societies to becoming dependent on metropolitan cities. These metropolitan cities serve as an engine to the growth of the region’s economy. But with rising of mega-cities and gigantic sky-scrapers, the problem of Traffic jams has continued to tease the mankind. Whether it is Shanghai in the east or New York in the west, researchers show that millions of ‘human hours’ are wasted in Traffic jams. People miss their appointments, job interviews and arrive late at other important occasions. These Traffic jams create physical discomfort as the people are confined to one place for a long time. In hotter regions of Asia and South America, the heat and sweat make the condition inside the cars and trucks extremely unbearable. There is also danger to the health of people as they inhale poisonous gases emitted by vehicles; this problem being more common to developing countries than dev eloped countries. The movement of emergency vehicles such as Police vans and Ambulances also gets restricted. The solutions that have been tried range from strict traffic rules to increasing installation of CCTV cameras. The traffic reports are announced on the radio so that passengers can avoid the jams. Hefty fines are imposed on faltering motorists and usage of public transport is promoted by governments. But no policy seems to be effective in reducing the number of cars on the road.

Organization Development Survey Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Organization Development Survey - Essay Example The advantages of survey questionnaires are discussed below:Standardized Way:The data collection goes in a standardized way, so the questionnaires are highly preferred as compared to any other data collection method.The questions in questionnaires are more specific and while they are prepared, the objective of conducting the survey is being kept in mind, so the questions help in achieving the objective.Relatively Fast Method of Collection of Data:This is the relatively fast method to collect the data in survey; however, it may take long to prepare and analyze. It needs a lot of time and effort to prepare questionnaires, to analyze the questionnaires, to make the specific questions so that the object is achieved, but then, at the end, it requires minimum time to conduct it. In comparison with other methods, data collection in survey questionnaires is relatively fast.High Rate of Returns:The return rates of questionnaires survey are high. Questionnaires are easy to answer. It takes a m inimum of five minutes to fill the whole questionnaire. For this reason, people usually do not argue in filling questionnaires. Other methods such as interviews take a lot of time of the respondents, so people usually argue on it. Survey questionnaires can easily be distributed to a large number of audiences. It enables to gather many different points.The questionnaires cover almost every part of research unlike interviews. Questionnaires are designed in a way so that every aspect is covered.... Other methods such as interviews take a lot of time of the respondents, so people usually argue on it. Survey questionnaires can easily be distributed to a large number of audiences. It enables to gather many different point of views (Zikmund and Babin, 2009, p. 7). Covers every Aspect: The questionnaires cover almost every part of research unlike interviews. Questionnaires are designed in a way so that every aspect is covered. It consists of accurate questions of which it requires accurate answers. It can have many questions to cover every aspect of the respective topic. Leads in the Formation of Theories: Many of the positivists â€Å"believe that quantitative data can be used to create new theories and / or test existing hypotheses† (Koneru, 2008, pp. 218–220). The questionnaires enable to gather quantitative data. It allows the respondent to give direct answers, i.e. yes or no, which makes the data accurate. These accurate data lead to the formation of theories or e xisting hypothesis. Cost Effective One of the main benefits of survey questionnaire is that it does not require a high rate of investment. The cost involved in distributing the questionnaires is negligible as compared with the other methods of data collection (Koneru, 2008, p. 221). Disadvantages Truthfulness: It is hard to find out truthfulness of respondents in a questionnaire survey. Usually respondents fill the questionnaires randomly, so honest opinions and accurate information are not gathered. This is a big drawback of questionnaires because this can adversely affect the result of the survey and in this way, improper predictions will be made. Misinterpretation: There is a possibility that the respondent may interpret the questions in a different way. This difference in the interpretation

Depression: Medication versus Therapy in Adolescents

Depression: Medication versus Therapy in Adolescents A Literature Review Mental health is a growing issue in the United Kingdom. According to Reynolds (2016), one in four individuals are diagnosed with a mental health illness. This literature review will look at the various perspectives of the use of medication to treat depression against the perspectives of psychotherapy as there has been a great increase in the number of prescription antidepressants dispensed, with 3.9 million additional antidepressant drugs dispensed in 2015 than in 2014 in England alone (Health and Social Care Information Centre, 2016). On the other hand, in 2014, 947,640 were referred to psychological therapies (Health and Social Care Information Centre, 2014). However, in 2015, there were 1,267,193 referrals made to psychological therapies (Health and Social Care Information Centre, 2015). According to Compton et al (2004), At any one time, approximately 1 in 20 children and adolescents suffers from major depressive disorder, with rates of depression rising dramatically in adolescen ts, especially in girls.. Depression is a mood disorder which causes a constant feeling of sadness and a loss of interest (Mayo Clinic, 2016). Depression was originally known as melancholia and was first noticed in the second millennium B.C, however, it was considered to be due to demonic possession (Nemade et al, 2007). The first medications to be introduced to treat depression were Iproniazid and Imipramine in the 1950s (Là ³pez-Muà ±oz and Alamo, 2009), there are now over thirty types of antidepressants on the market which are separated via categories: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), Serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), Tricyclics and other types, with SSRIs being the most common type (Tracy, 2017). In relation to psychotherapy, there are many types of therapies an individual can have, however, this literature review will focus on cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT). There has been a substantial amount of research done in regards to treating depression with either medication or therapy. First to be discussed is the findings for combination treatment i.e CBT plus SSRIs. A qualitative study by Melvin et al (2006) found that both CBT and SSRIs, specifically Sertraline, were recommended for the treatment of adolescent depression. This study consisted of 73 participants: 22 were assigned CBT alone, 26 were assigned Sertraline alone and 25 were assigned a combination of both treatments. Participants receiving the CBT treatment were required to attend twelve 50 minute individual weekly sessions while the participants receiving Sertraline were required to take 25mg/day for one week. All groups exhibited considerable improvements which were then maintained for the following six months. Furthermore, a previous study by Asarnow et al (2009) also found the combination of medication and CBT to be superior to medication alone. However, this was only the case with adolescents who were white, in their late adolescent years and who did not exhibit self-harming behaviour. Contradicting, a qualitative study by March et al (2004), revealed a combination of a SSRI and CBT was found not to be the most effective form of treatment. This study included a variety of groups including SSRI alone, Placebo alone, CBT alone and CBT plus SSRI. In regards to limitations, the groups who received SSRI alone and placebo alone were blinded, meaning they did not know what medication they would be receiving. This was done to eliminate bias, however, some say that this is unethical as it deceives the participant (Schattner, 2011). On the other hand, Goodyer et al (2007) conducted a qualitative study involving SSRIs and CBT treatment in the NHS Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) yet found no evidence to suggest that the combination of CBT plus a SSRI was superior to SSRI alone. This study consisted of 208 adolescents between the ages of 11 and 17 with moderate and severe depression. 103 received a SSRI medication and routine care while 105 received SSRI, routine care and CBT.   Although the medication in this study was different to the Melvin et al (2006) study, they were both in the SSRI group. Contrasting Melvin et al, Goodyer et al included adolescents who were experiencing active suicidality and self harm, which Melvin et al did not. This could explain the differences in results between the two studies. Although combined treatment has been shown to be an effective way of treating adolescent depression, it can also have some its disadvantages. Vitiello (2009) voices that combined treat ment requires more resources and is more expensive. To be argued next are the findings for SSRIs superior to CBT. Returning to the study carried out by March et al (2004), unlike the other studies March et al found that the SSRI alone treatment was superior to CBT alone treatment. However, it is noted that this could be due to the low dose of SSRI used. Although SSRI in this study was superior in rapidly reducing depressive symptoms, it doesnt present to be more beneficial than psychotherapy in the long run. Also, it has been found that there are disadvantages to SSRI treatment. According to a systematic review, of eight studies, conducted by Barbui et al (2009), there is an increased risk of contemplated or attempted suicide among adolescents who are prescribed SSRIs. Barbui et al also mentioned that specific SSRIs such as Paroxetine and Venlafaxine would be better avoided when treating adolescent depression as the risks associated with these medications outweigh the benefits. Contradicting, a meta-analysis of randomised controlled t rial by Bridge et al (2007), found the benefits of antidepressants for adolescents to be far greater than the risk of suicidal thoughts and/or suicide attempts. Due to these risks, in 2004 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (as cited in McCain, 2009) required a black box warning, which is the most serious warning and consists of the warning surrounded by a black border. The FDAs boxed warning on the labelling of antidepressants mentioned an increased risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviours in paediatric patients when using the medication. Conflicting, Valuck et al (2004) conducted a study which involved 24,119 adolescents from across the United States of America and found SSRIs has no significant independent effect on the risk of suicide attempts among adolescents. Next to be discussed are the findings for CBT superior to SSRIs. Returning to the study conducted by Melvin et al (2006), Although this study found the combined treatment to be effective, Melvin et al (2006) also found that CBT received a stronger response at the posttreatment assessment compared to Sertraline alone. Although, Melvin et al recognised that this cannot demonstrate an advantage to CBT as the lower dose and slower titration schedule could explain the difference compared with previous studies. In addition, an evidence-based medicine review by Compton et al (2004) found CBT, at the time, to be the best treatment for depressive disorders in adolescents. CBT can be extremely helpful in cases where medication hasnt worked. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH, 2008), about 40 percent of adolescents with depression do not adequately respond to a first treatment course with an antidepressant medication. In cases like this, a combination of both CBT and SSR Is are used. Moreover, there has been research done on other types of treatment for adolescent depression, one being exercise. Although there has been little research done on this topic a randomised controlled trial orchestrated by Nabkasorn et al (2005), found exercise to improve depressive states. However, Nabkasorn et al did note that this study had some limitations such as its participants only being a very small group of adolescent females, 59 to be exact. Meaning that results from this study could not be transferred to other populations, ages, and severity of depression. In addition, a meta-analysis review (Cooney et al, 2013) of twenty five randomised controlled trials comparing exercise to various treatments such as placebo, pharmacological and psychological treatment. Cooney et al, found the exercise groups to have substantial improvement in depressive symptoms as opposed to the other groups. Divergent to Cooney et al, Blumenthal (1999, as cited in Carek et al, 2011) found that a variety of groups including exercise, pharmacological and combined, all had considerable improvement in their depressive symptoms with no a major difference between them. Another treatment method which has been studied is music therapy. According to Nauert (2014), a new study, the largest study of its kind, including 251 children and young people, found adolescents who received music therapy had significantly improved self-esteem and significantly reduced depression compared with those who received treatment without music therapy. Nauert states that these findings show the need for music therapy to be readily available as a treatment option. In addition,   Erkkila et al (2011), conducted a randomised controlled trial for music therapy alone or in combination with standard care including 79 participants. The results showed participants who received a combination of those treatments showed greater improvement in depression symptoms than those who received standard care only. According to Erkkila et al, the number of participants was sufficient enough to identify a difference between the two treatment options. Also, Castillo-Pà ©rez et al (2010), performs a randomised control trial for the effects of music therapy compared with psychotherapy for depression. This trial also consisted of 79 participants and found the participants receiving music therapy had fewer depression symptoms than those in the psychotherapy group. Dissimilar to Erkkila et al, Castillo-Pà ©rez et al noted that one of the major limitations for their trial was the somewhat small participant size yer the differences in depressive symptoms between the two trial groups were evident. There are many reasons as to why an individual would decide to take an alternative route for treating depression such as music therapy or exercise. According to Hanzell (2007, as cited in Maratos et al, 2008), this could be due to a lack of satisfaction with conventional treatments and/or a wish to avoid side-effects from medication or the stigma attached to seeking talking therapy. Also, Tartakovsky (2013) states other reasons could be the severity of the depression as many people arent sure if their state needs to be treated as there may be people with worse symptoms who need treatment more. Tartakovsky also states money can be an obstacle, in the UK the majority of the treatment individuals receive is free through the National Health Service, however, in other countries such as the USA, not everyone can afford to put their children into therapy and other treatments as their insurance plans may not cover the costs. In conclusion, it is apparent from research conducted that a combination of both SSRI treatment and CBT treatment is recommended to treat adolescent depression and appears to be the most effective way of treating adolescent depression. Although this is the most effective treatment it is not always the first in line, and SSRIs are more commonly the first point of call for adolescent depression. However, it has been noted that other forms of treatment such as exercise are equally as beneficial and should, in fact, be one of the first lines of treatment for adolescent depression. In addition, other treatments such as music therapy have shown to be beneficial and could be used as an additional treatment. Although there is research showing the benefits of treatments, there could be more research done in order to quickly find the right course of treatment for the individual.

The Aging of Hamlet Essay -- GCSE Coursework Shakespeare Hamlet

The Aging of Hamlet "Books are not absolutely dead things, but do contain a potency of life in them to be as active as that soul was whose progeny they are" Milton I Read Hamlet the other day. It had changed considerably since I last read it. Hamlet himself was somewhat thinner, I thought; but he had also mellowed considerably; he was rather less cynical and a little more tolerant than he had been. Polonius was definitely more senile than before. Ophelia was less silly, and more of a pathetic figure than ever. Laertes was exactly the same: that sort of young man does not change; but Osrichad distinctly grown up. The Queen was a little fatter; and the King's teeth seemed to me to be needing attention. These were the principal changes I noticed in the play.... Some people will say that this is fantastic nonsense, and that it was I that had changed, not the play. Most imagine that when a work of art leaves the hand of the master, it remains in changeless beauty forever, though succeeding generations may feel differently about it, seeing it from different angles. It is to point out the fallacy of this common opinion that I am writing this essay. The fallacy springs from regarding a great work of art as a dead thing; whereas the distinctive fact about whatever has been created by genius is that it is alive and not dead. When Milton says that "books are not absolutely dead things, but do contain a potency of life in them to be as active as that soul was whose progeny they are," his statement is both too wide and too narrow: too wide, because it is not true of all books, but only of a very select minority, the majority being as dead as mutton; too narrow becau... ... Those creations which have such vitality in them are the works which we call "inspired"; perhaps, without twisting language too violently, we can say that that is the very meaning of "inspiration" - putting spirit into lifeless matter. I need scarcely mention the obvious fact that many things which pass for works of art at the time of their production are entirely uninspired, and consequently have no principle of vitality in them, no enduring life. Most of the plays written by Shakespeare's contemporaries are uninspired works, and therefore dead. Though I, personally, get a good deal of pleasure from reading them, I always feel, after an hour or two in their company, as if I had been walking about among specimens - some of them curious and some of them beautiful - in museum cases; unchanging things, things fixed forever in the frozen immobility of death.

Network Security Essays -- Computers Technology Communications Essays

Network Security In the last decade, the number of computers in use has exploded. For quite some time now, computers have been a crucial element in how we entertain and educate ourselves, and most importantly, how we do business. It seems obvious in retrospect that a natural result of the explosive growth in computer use would be an even more explosive (although delayed) growth in the desire and need for computers to talk with each other. For quite some time, businesses were primarily interested in sharing data within an office or campus environment, this led to the development of various protocols suited specifically to this task. Within the last five years, businesses have begun to need to share data across wide areas. This has prompted efforts to convert principally LAN-based protocols into WAN-friendly protocols. The result has spawned an entire industry of consultants who know how to manipulate routers; gateways and networks to force principally broadcast protocols across point-to-point links. Frequently the protocol of choice has been TCP/IP which is also the primary protocol run on the Internet. The emerging ubiquitous ness of TCP/IP allows companies to interconnect with each other via private networks as well as through public networks. In today’s world businesses, governments, and individuals, all are communicating with each other across the world. While reality is rapidly approaching this utopian picture, several relatively minor issues have changed status from low priority to extreme importance. Security is probably the most well known of these problems. When businesses send private information across the net, they place a high value on it getting to its destination intact and without being intercepted by someone other than the intended recipient. Individuals sending private communications obviously desire secure communications. Finally, connecting a system to a network can open the system itself up to attacks. If a system is compromised, the risk of data loss is high. It can be useful to break network security into two general classes: †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Methods used to secure data as it transits a network †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Methods which regulate what packets may transit the network While both significantly affect the traffic going to and from a site, their objectives are quite different. Transit Security Currently, there are no systems in wide use... ... monitor all activity, and very easy to quickly control what gets in and out of a network. Conclusion There are two basic types of network security, transit security and traffic regulation, which when combined can help guarantee that the right information is securely delivered to the right place. It should be apparent that there is also a need for ensuring that the hosts that receive the information will properly process it, this raises the entire specter of host security: a wide area which varies tremendously for each type of system. With the growth in business use of the Internet, network security is rapidly becoming crucial to the development of the Internet. Soon, security will be an integral part of our day-to-day use of the Internet and other networks. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Avaya Inc. â€Å"Secure and Continuous Communications† www.avaya.com [Online] Available: http://www1.avaya.com/security/?agy=Google&cmp=Security&ctv=network+security&rfr=Google.com&typ=p4p&ovchn=GGL&ovcpn=Security&ovcrn=network+security&ovtac=PPC (October 13, 2004) Net Library. â€Å"Network Security† www.netlibary.com [Online] Available: http://www.netlibrary.com/Search/SearchResults.aspx (October 15, 2004)

“Life of Pi” Mini Essay Essay

Juxtaposing â€Å"Crude reality† with fiction â€Å"for the sake of greater truth†, Yann Martel’s ‘Life of Pi’ illustrates the influence childhood experiences can have our lives, ultimately preparing us for adulthood and the challenges which lie ahead. The lessons Pi learns in his childhood essentially play a vital role in his survival at sea with the illusive figure of Richard Parker. Whilst some skills that Pi acquires in his early childhood plainly aid his future adventure some are not as blatantly obvious, none the less they are still fundamental in his survival and adult life. Pi’s early childhood experiences provide him with the basic skills required to survive his future voyage at sea as having learnt to so swim at age seven by Francis Adirubasamy â€Å"Mamaji† essentially proves vital to survival at sea. Moreover, his vast knowledge of animals, having grown up at a zoo, helps him tame Richard Parker regardless of which story entails the ‘truth’. Furthermore, pi’s experience of watching a tiger kill a goat in his early childhood taught him the fundamental lesson ‘an animal is an animal’, enabling him to strategically and mentally survive his long and testing time at sea. However, perhaps more fundamental in influencing his future adventures and childhood are not the skills that he acquired in his youth but instead the deeper knowledge of himself and the world around him attained through his religious beliefs. Pi’s belief in pluralism and acceptance of the three religions, Hinduism, Christianity and Islam aid his future and is a crucial part of his survival at sea, his faith in knowing â€Å"so long as god is with me, I will not die† gives him the mental strength and will power to survive his ordeal. Furthermore, the three religions and the stories they impart shred a light on and explore the diverse perceptions of truth, from the â€Å"Dry, yeastless factuality† modern depiction of truth. Ultimately, allowing him to manipulate the truth in order to be at peace with the â€Å"crude reality† of his ordeal. Pi’s childhood experiences and teachings learnt in Pondicherry play a vital role in his future adventures and adult life, shaping him and giving him the skills and inner strength required to survival 227 days at sea.

Normal distribution

Therefore, she wanted to know more about her course mates. Obviously it was difficult to contact all the students from her batch and know about them. So she decides to collect a randomly selected data from about 25-30 students. She was not sure about random collection of data. So she learnt about random number generator and used student roll numbers to select the random sample. With the help of faculty she prepared questionnaire and collected data. From the data she prepared report for submission. It was quite nice and elaborate. However, when she compared it with friends, she found lot of variation. So she decided to take information from her two friends who had also collected the similar data.Of course she has to take some precautions while using the data from the friends. A) b) c) d) e) f) g) h) Collect the data. Draw Simple Bar Diagram to represent specialization wise strength of students. Draw Pie diagram to represent the number of students in each of the blood groups. Prepare t he gender-wise frequency table for the blood groups. Plot graph of height Vs.. Weight of the students. Comment on the graph. Plot graph of family income Vs.. Expenditure of the student. Comment on the graph. Calculate gender-wise mean and standard deviation of marks of 10th and 12th standard. Comment on the basis of the results. Prepare a two way table showing age-wise and gender-wise strength of students.Represent this data with the help of a multiple bar diagram taking age on X axis and gender-wise strength on Y axis. Also comment on the basis of this graph. Prepare a two way table showing father's education and mother's education taking education categories as Below Graduate, Graduate and Post graduate. Comment on the basis of this table. Calculate mean and standard deviation of marks obtained by the students in 10th and 12th standard according to having a Job experience or not. Comment on the values you obtained. You are free to do additional analysis if you feel so. K) Note: Sa mple questionnaire is attached. However, please feel free to add few question based on your purpose.Subject: Statistics & Research Methodology (103) Case No: 04 Microchip Contract A company receives an order for five custom-made microchips at a price of $7,500 each. The company will produce the chips one by one using a complex process which has only a 67% chance of producing a defect-free chip at each trial. After five defect- free chips are produced the process will be stopped. A cost accountant at the company has prepared the following cost report: The cost of production includes a $14,800 fixed cost and a $2,XX unit variable cost. Thus if X number of chips are produced, the total cost of production would be 14,800 + 2. XX dollars. The revenue minus the cost of production will be the profit.After some analysis the finance manager of the company says that the risk may be too high and thinks the order should not be accepted. 1. What distribution will the number of chips produced, X, follow? 2. What is the expected value and standard deviation of X? 3. What is the expected value and standard deviation of the profit? 4 What is the break-even X (allow fractional values for X)? 5. What is the probability that accepting the order will result in a loss? 6. A popular measure of risk in a venture is value at risk, which is the joss suffered at the 5th percentile of the return from the venture. In this problem, find an integer x such that P[X>x] is approximately 5%. 7. For the x value found in part 6, calculate the loss, and thus the value at risk. . Express the value at risk as a percentage of the expected value of the profit. 9. What is your assessment of the risk and reward in the order? Should the company accept the order? The sales manager of the company says that the customer is very likely to agree to increase the order quantity from five to eight chips. But he is not sure whether the matter should be pursued with the customer. 10. If accepting an order of five itself is risky, will it not be even more risky to accept an order for eight? † asks the sales manager. How would 1 1 . Calculate the expected value and standard deviation of the profit for an order quantity of eight. 12.What is the value at risk for an order quantity of eight, computed in a manner similar to parts 6 and 7 above? Express the value at risk as a percentage of the expected profit. 13. Looking at the answer to parts 3,8,1 1, and 12, would you say the risk and reward have become more favorable, compared to an order quantity of five? 14. Should the company pursue the matter of increasing the order quantity to eight with the customer? * Case taken from Complete Business Statistics by Emir Cell &J. Countermanding, DATA Mac Grab Hill. Subject: Statistics & Research Methodology (103) Case No: 05 Acceptable Pins A company supplies pins in bulk to a customer. The company uses an automatic lathe to produce the pins.Due to many causes- vibrations, temperature, wear and tear , and the like-the lengths of the pins made by the machine are normally distributed with a mean of 1. 012 inches and a standard deviation of 0. 018 inch. The customer will buy only those pins with lengths in the interval 1. 00 Ð’Â ± 0. 2 inch. In other words, the customer wants the length to be 1. 00 inch but will accept up to 0. 02 inch deviation on either side. This 0. 02 inch is known as the tolerance. 1 . What percentage of the pins will be acceptable to the consumer? In order to improve percentage accepted, the production manager and the engineers discuss adjusting the population mean and standard deviation of the length of the pins. 2.If the lathe can be adjusted to have the mean of the lengths to any desired value, what should it be adjusted to? Why? 3. Suppose the mean cannot be adjusted, but the standard deviation can be reduced. What maximum value of the standard deviation would make 90% of the parts acceptable to the consumer? (Assume the mean to be 1. 012. ) 4. Repea t question 3, with 95% and 99% of the pins acceptable. 5. In practice, which one do you think is easier to adjust, the mean or the standard deviation? Why? The production manager then considers the costs involved. The cost of resetting the machine to adjust the population mean involves the engineers' time and the cost of production time lost.The cost of reducing the population standard deviation involves, in addition to these costs, the cost of overhauling the machine and engineering the process. 6. Assume it costs $xx to decrease the standard deviation by (x 11000) inch. Find the cost of reducing the standard deviation to the values found in question 3 and 4. 7. Now assume that the mean has been adjusted to the best value found in question 2 at a cost of $80. Calculate the reduction in standard deviation necessary to have 90%, 95%, and 99% of the parts acceptable. Calculate the respective costs, as in questions. 8. Based on your answers to questions 6 and 7, what are your recommend ed mean and standard deviation? Normal distribution Therefore, she wanted to know more about her course mates. Obviously it was difficult to contact all the students from her batch and know about them. So she decides to collect a randomly selected data from about 25-30 students. She was not sure about random collection of data. So she learnt about random number generator and used student roll numbers to select the random sample. With the help of faculty she prepared questionnaire and collected data. From the data she prepared report for submission. It was quite nice and elaborate. However, when she compared it with friends, she found lot of variation. So she decided to take information from her two friends who had also collected the similar data.Of course she has to take some precautions while using the data from the friends. A) b) c) d) e) f) g) h) Collect the data. Draw Simple Bar Diagram to represent specialization wise strength of students. Draw Pie diagram to represent the number of students in each of the blood groups. Prepare t he gender-wise frequency table for the blood groups. Plot graph of height Vs.. Weight of the students. Comment on the graph. Plot graph of family income Vs.. Expenditure of the student. Comment on the graph. Calculate gender-wise mean and standard deviation of marks of 10th and 12th standard. Comment on the basis of the results. Prepare a two way table showing age-wise and gender-wise strength of students.Represent this data with the help of a multiple bar diagram taking age on X axis and gender-wise strength on Y axis. Also comment on the basis of this graph. Prepare a two way table showing father's education and mother's education taking education categories as Below Graduate, Graduate and Post graduate. Comment on the basis of this table. Calculate mean and standard deviation of marks obtained by the students in 10th and 12th standard according to having a Job experience or not. Comment on the values you obtained. You are free to do additional analysis if you feel so. K) Note: Sa mple questionnaire is attached. However, please feel free to add few question based on your purpose.Subject: Statistics & Research Methodology (103) Case No: 04 Microchip Contract A company receives an order for five custom-made microchips at a price of $7,500 each. The company will produce the chips one by one using a complex process which has only a 67% chance of producing a defect-free chip at each trial. After five defect- free chips are produced the process will be stopped. A cost accountant at the company has prepared the following cost report: The cost of production includes a $14,800 fixed cost and a $2,XX unit variable cost. Thus if X number of chips are produced, the total cost of production would be 14,800 + 2. XX dollars. The revenue minus the cost of production will be the profit.After some analysis the finance manager of the company says that the risk may be too high and thinks the order should not be accepted. 1. What distribution will the number of chips produced, X, follow? 2. What is the expected value and standard deviation of X? 3. What is the expected value and standard deviation of the profit? 4 What is the break-even X (allow fractional values for X)? 5. What is the probability that accepting the order will result in a loss? 6. A popular measure of risk in a venture is value at risk, which is the joss suffered at the 5th percentile of the return from the venture. In this problem, find an integer x such that P[X>x] is approximately 5%. 7. For the x value found in part 6, calculate the loss, and thus the value at risk. . Express the value at risk as a percentage of the expected value of the profit. 9. What is your assessment of the risk and reward in the order? Should the company accept the order? The sales manager of the company says that the customer is very likely to agree to increase the order quantity from five to eight chips. But he is not sure whether the matter should be pursued with the customer. 10. If accepting an order of five itself is risky, will it not be even more risky to accept an order for eight? † asks the sales manager. How would 1 1 . Calculate the expected value and standard deviation of the profit for an order quantity of eight. 12.What is the value at risk for an order quantity of eight, computed in a manner similar to parts 6 and 7 above? Express the value at risk as a percentage of the expected profit. 13. Looking at the answer to parts 3,8,1 1, and 12, would you say the risk and reward have become more favorable, compared to an order quantity of five? 14. Should the company pursue the matter of increasing the order quantity to eight with the customer? * Case taken from Complete Business Statistics by Emir Cell &J. Countermanding, DATA Mac Grab Hill. Subject: Statistics & Research Methodology (103) Case No: 05 Acceptable Pins A company supplies pins in bulk to a customer. The company uses an automatic lathe to produce the pins.Due to many causes- vibrations, temperature, wear and tear , and the like-the lengths of the pins made by the machine are normally distributed with a mean of 1. 012 inches and a standard deviation of 0. 018 inch. The customer will buy only those pins with lengths in the interval 1. 00 Ð’Â ± 0. 2 inch. In other words, the customer wants the length to be 1. 00 inch but will accept up to 0. 02 inch deviation on either side. This 0. 02 inch is known as the tolerance. 1 . What percentage of the pins will be acceptable to the consumer? In order to improve percentage accepted, the production manager and the engineers discuss adjusting the population mean and standard deviation of the length of the pins. 2.If the lathe can be adjusted to have the mean of the lengths to any desired value, what should it be adjusted to? Why? 3. Suppose the mean cannot be adjusted, but the standard deviation can be reduced. What maximum value of the standard deviation would make 90% of the parts acceptable to the consumer? (Assume the mean to be 1. 012. ) 4. Repea t question 3, with 95% and 99% of the pins acceptable. 5. In practice, which one do you think is easier to adjust, the mean or the standard deviation? Why? The production manager then considers the costs involved. The cost of resetting the machine to adjust the population mean involves the engineers' time and the cost of production time lost.The cost of reducing the population standard deviation involves, in addition to these costs, the cost of overhauling the machine and engineering the process. 6. Assume it costs $xx to decrease the standard deviation by (x 11000) inch. Find the cost of reducing the standard deviation to the values found in question 3 and 4. 7. Now assume that the mean has been adjusted to the best value found in question 2 at a cost of $80. Calculate the reduction in standard deviation necessary to have 90%, 95%, and 99% of the parts acceptable. Calculate the respective costs, as in questions. 8. Based on your answers to questions 6 and 7, what are your recommend ed mean and standard deviation?

Financial Support Letter Example

The following is provided on behalf of (name) to support his petition to be considered an independent student. In January of 2012 1 became aware of (name) intention to attend school at The College of the Siskiyous in Weed, California. I also became aware of an unfortunate diminishing relationship between him and his parents and the impending affects that that relationship has and will continue to have on his efforts to pursue a college degree.As a former teacher at Meade High School, where (name) graduated, I had the distinct pleasure of meeting this very poised young man. I believe he has turned his ife around and is determined to succeed both as a father and as a student. Our relationship grew to where he trusted me. I have received many calls where he talked about the struggles of being abandoned by his parents and left to survive on his own. I have continued to provide counsel and guidance on the importance and value of staying the course.I applaud his courage attend a college, p articularly one that is located across country from his hometown. While I know that he has been quite resourceful in obtaining the necessary financial support to meet his needs, this does not negate the fact that this s truly a young man who is struggling – and one with no assurance that money will be available to support his educational needs. (name) is an excellent athlete and quite capable of achieving excellence in the classroom.Like everyone else, he deserves an opportunity to get a decent education. I believe we live in a society where â€Å"no child should be left behind,† particularly when it comes to education. Accordingly, I strongly believe that this child should no longer be left to fend for himself. Therefore, I strongly recommend that he be supported financially, to the greatest extent possible, in the furtherance of his education.

Southwest airlines company Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Southwest airlines company - Case Study Example Analysis 16 6. Improvement due to the initiatives 17 7. Alignment of initiatives towards strategic management 18 7.1 Towards Customer 18 7.2 Towards Environment 19 7.3 Towards Operations 19 8. Comparison with other organizations 20 Reference 22 1. Southwest Airlines Southwest Airlines officially started operating in Dallas 42 years ago. After they took off the first flight, there was a radical change in the ways the Americans used to fly. Southwest ruled the skies by introducing low fare travel, offering free whisky on board, go-go boots and undergoing rigorous expansion. The vision of the company was to provide the business people with a more efficient and faster way to travel at a much lower cost and rendering the personable service with smile and warmth. Southwest airlines have dealt in more domestic passengers than any other airlines. The company has grown with leaps and bounds and evolved as a strong organization but has retained the original vision. The company continues to pro vide low fare, excellent customer service and convenient flight schedules. The company has changed their products and services in order to cater to the changing taste of the customers. Not only the travelling habits of the customers have changed but also the short haul travel has declined. As a response to this the company has upgraded their fleet by refurbishing cabins and adding on board access to live Television and Wi-Fi. Apart from this the company has also introduced a series of new, sleek Boeing 737-800 aircraft to the convoy of longer flights. The company has acquired Air-Tran Airways and have undertaken the task of integrating the two airlines in order to form a bigger and stronger organization. Apart from this the company has also renewed their â€Å"Rapid Rewards Frequent Flyer program†. The management of the company has equipping the airline for international services and AirTran is providing the start to the company for offering its services to the destinations l ike Caribbean and Mexico. The company looks for innovative ways to provide the customers with more value and choices. Southwest Airlines has always been pioneer in providing better and new ways to fly. The airline has always provided low cost, friendly and reliable ways to provide value to the customers (Kelly, 2013). 2. Measurement and Control System The airline is leading amongst the major low cost airlines operating in the industry. The company has been affirming their position as low-fare not by harassing, annoying or making the customers expectation trivial but by launching ‘No Change Fees and Bags Fly Free campaign’. They are ranked first in Customer satisfaction by US Department of Transportation and ranked fourth in the Fortune 2011 list as the most admired company. To reach such a position the company has to follow several measures both in financial performance and customer satisfaction. Apart from this the company also uses the environment control system (Sout hwest Airlines, 2010). 2.1 Financial Measures The financial statement of the Southwest Airlines is prepared according to the generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) followed in United States of America. The financial statement under GAAP requires reclassification and adjustment of unrealized non-cash items. This is important as a result of accounting obligation and selection under accounting declaration regarding hedging and derivative instruments. The company also provides