Personal philosophy of science education in a primary class Assignment

Personal philosophy of science education in a primary class - Assignment Example Students are said to develop their thinking, hand and body skills better under the inquiry-based method of teaching (Akinoglu, 2008). According to Akinoglu, science projects develop the creative thinking skills of students (2008). In teaching science to a primary class, it is important that teaching be done through small group works (Woods-McConney, Wosnitza, & Donetta, 2011). This makes the students more motivated to learn and participate actively in the activity. Another important aspect of teaching science education to primary class students is to help students understand science by linking them to the needs of society (Eady, 2008). They should be made aware of the relevance of science in their daily lives. Lastly, one concurs with McTigue and Slough that design of science texts used should enhance the interests of students to direct their attention to the essential information (2010). Furthermore, science texts should have graphical representations that can assist the students in understanding the science concept presented (McTigue & Slough, 2010). One hopes to apply the philosophies stated above in teaching science to a primary class. These philosophies were based on several theories by science educators and which one deems effective in communicating scientific principles to children. Gilbert, A. (2009). Utilizing science philosophy statements to facilitate K-3 teacher candidates’ development of inquiry-based science practice. Early Childhood Educational Journal , 36 (5), 431-438. Woods-McConney, A., Wosnitza, M., & Donetta, K. (2011, September 1). Keep it positive: Using student goals and appraisals to inform small group work in science. Teaching Science: The Journal of the Australian Science Teachers Association ,

Reviewing The Issues Of Software Systems Information Technology Essay

Reviewing The Issues Of Software Systems Information Technology Essay In this paper I am particularly focus on the issue of failure in relation to that group of software systems known as information systems. Then I am going to discuss two well-known cases that of the London ambulance service computer-aided dispatch system (L ) project and The London stock exchange (TAURUS) project, and describe strong failure factors of information systems failure. My purpose is also to use the generic material on IS failure and the specific details of this particular case study to critique the issues of safety, Literature review Like most computing professionals in the UK we were aware of the failure, using this term broadly, of the computer aided dispatch (CAD) system deployed by the London Ambulance Service (LAS) in, or shortly after, For orientation a short sketch of the report follows. There have been a number of other analyses of the LAS CAD system failure of which Mellor (1994) is probably the most useful. The London Ambulance System Disaster, 1992 Overview The basic functionality of the intended LASCAD system was as follows: British Telecom (BT) operators would route all 999 calls concerning medical emergencies as a matter of routine to LAS headquarters (HQ) in Waterloo. 18 HQ receivers were then expected to record on the system the name, telephone number and address of the caller, and the name, destination address and brief details of the patient. This information would then be transmitted over a local area network to a locator. The system was lightly loaded at start-up on 26 October 1992. Any problems, caused particularly by the communications systems (such as ambulance crews pressing the wrong buttons, or ambulances being radioed in black spots), could be effectively managed by staff. However, as the number of ambulance incidents increased, the amount of incorrect vehicle information recorded by the system increased. This had a knock-on effect in that the system made incorrect allocations on the basis of the information it had. For example, multiple vehicles were sent to the same incident, or the closest vehicle was not chosen for dispatch. As a consequence, the system had fewer ambulance resources to allocate. The system also placed calls that had not gone through the appropriate protocol on a waiting list and generated exception messages for those incidents for which it had received incorrect status information. Indeed, the number of exception messages appears to have increased to such an extent the staf f were not able to clear the queue. It became increasingly difficult for staff to attend to messages that had scrolled off the screen. The increasing size of the queue slowed the system. Factors Contributed to Such a Disaster Managerial failure Technical failure Human failure Managerial failure LAS management ignored or chose not accept advice provided to it from many sources outside of the service on the time table or the high risk of the comprehensive systems requirement The project did not show, or discuss with, the LAS Board independence references on the lead CAD contractor, that raised doubts on their ability to handle such a major project The LAS boards were given a misleading impression, by the project team of the previous experience of the lead contractor in emergency service system In awarding the contract for CAD to a small software house, with no previous experience of similar systems, LAS management were taking higher risk Project management throughout the development and implantation process was inadequate and at times ambiguous. A major system integration project such as CAD requires full time. Professional, experienced project management, this was lacking There was incomplete ownership of the system by the majority of it users. The many problems identified with many of the system components over the preceding months had installed an atmosphere of system destruct in which staff expected system to fail rather than willing it to succeed LAS board and RHA management, whilst realizing that there were continuing problems with the implementation of CAD, consistently accepted assurances from executive directors that problems were being rectified and that successful implementation would be achieved at no time was a full independent review commissioned of the true state of the project Technical failure LAS fail to follow the PRINCE project Management Method in the set up and operation of an information Technology (IT) executive committee, project board, project management team and project assurance team: London Ambulance Service The CAD system relied on near perfect information on vehicle location and status being available to it at all times. The project team failed to appreciate fully the impact that a higher level of imperfection would have on the system The system was not fully tested to a satisfactory level of quality and resilience before full implementation on 26 October 1992 On 26 and 27 October 1992 the computer system itself did not fail in a technical sense. Response times did on occasions become unacceptable, but overall the system did what it had been designed to do. However, much of the design had fatal flaws that would, and did, cumulatively lead to all of the symptoms of systems failure On 4 November 1992 the system did fail. This was caused by a minor programming error that caused the system to crash The automatic change over to the backup system had not been adequately tested, those the whole system was brought down Human failure Training provided to CAD staff and to ambulance crews was incomplete and inconsistent LAS management consultancy attributed CAD problems to willful misuse of the system by some ambulance crews. There is no direct evidence of this, but the circumstantial evidence that does exist indirect to the Inquiry Team that it would have been only one of the many contributory factors that led to the CAD failure In the period leading up to an including 26 and27 October 1992 there were insufficient control assistants taking emergency call. This contributed to an unacceptable level of calling times. This has since been rectified Conclusion Failure was due to a complex mix of factors Participation alone is not sufficient but helps! Expectation of failure plays a part does not meet the needs of the stakeholders Systems should strive to meet the shared goals needs of the different stakeholders LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE (TAURUS) FAILURE Introduction The London stock exchange is one of the largest stock exchanges in the world with numerous foreign listings as well as British organizations In 1989 the London Stock Exchange (LSE) put forward a proposal for a computerized system to ensure that share certificates and cash changed hands between the interested parties after the trading transaction; implicit in this was the dematerialization of stock certificates. It was a big project with hundreds of staff contracted in and lots of external pressures from various different stakeholders. The initial goals of the system were 4 folded. Competitive Efficiency Cost Service What TAURUS Team did wrong? Lack of executive and stakeholders support Based on the problems encountered it seem that the project manager was not that experience Have a large expanding scope Went ahead with the implementation of a system with lack of user and stakeholders commitment. Lack of skilled resources and clear complete specs. Reason for TAURUS Collapse Poor monitoring and controlling Monitoring a project work includes collecting, measuring, and disseminating performance information. If TAURUS management had good monitoring and control practices they would have known when they project was not meeting project objectives Poor management of the nine project management knowledge areas Knowledge Areas TAURUS project managers managed the nine project management knowledge areas poorly Scope: If they had managed the scope of the project effective the huge scope creep would not have been encountered. Cost: If this was managed effectively the project would not have gone over budget 100% Time: If this area had been manage effective the project would not have had a schedule overrun by 100% Quality: If the quality area of the system was manage properly the specification was have been clear and complete Risk: If the risk had been managed effectively they might have been able to abundant the project earlier. Communication: If communication was managed all changes and delay would be communicated in a timely. Human resources: skilled resources would be acquired and utilized. Integrated Change Control If TAURUS had an integrated change control they might have been able to influence the factors that create changes to ensure that changes are beneficial and control the scope of the project. Changes would be communicated to top management and steering committee in a timely manner and they would be able to manage these changes as they occur because change control is a critical success factors. Project Management Issues Poor Management of triple constraints SCOPE TAURUS managers failed to control and monitor the scope of the project TIME Management failed to define maintain and utilize clear timetables with small milestones COST Management failed to maintain and track change to the project budget Additionally, the budget and time constraints of the projects were seen to be a differentiator to their success. Goulielmos (2003) states that of the four concepts of failure in Information Systems is process failure where the project over runs its budget or time constrictions. TAURUS did both incurring increasing media attention and scrutiny, which led to an increase in pressure on the project team (Head, 2001). Conclusion Throughout the project there were several warning signs that were missed. The project completion date was delayed 100% Constantly changing requirements Project not being accepted by major stakeholders Incomplete specifications 100% over cost. Fragmentation of the project (components to work together) Appraisal of leading system development methodologies Waterfall Model This is the most common and classic of life cycle models, also referred to as a linear-sequential life cycle model.   It is very simple to understand and use.   In a waterfall model, each phase must be completed in its entirety before the next phase can begin.   At the end of each phase, a review takes place to determine if the project is on the right path and whether or not to continue or discard the project.   Unlike what I mentioned in the general model, phases do not overlap in a waterfall model. Waterfall Life Cycle Model Advantages Simple and easy to use. One of the main advantages of the waterfall model is its simplicity. It is conceptually straightforward and divides the large task of building a software system into a series of cleanly divided phases, each phase dealing with a separate logical concern. It is also easy to administer in a contractual setup-as each phase is completed and its work product produced, some amount of money is given by the customer to the developing organization. The project management stakeholders are forced to correctly define the business requirements documentation (BRD) and the project management requirements. At the sometime the developers are forced to understand these thoroughly before they start writing the software requirements specification (SRS), high level design and code. It essentially requires documentation at every stage. This gives better understanding of the requirements, the logic of the codes and tests that were conducted on the software.   Disadvantages The project scope statement needs to be detailed in infinite depth from the start because changes are not possible when using waterfall methodology. This is because the only way to amend something which has been already developed is to go back and start again. This will cause huge problems on projects where the project sponsors are indecisive and quickly causes scope creep. Project communications with the client are extremely limited being either at the beginning or at the end of the development. In between, there is no way in which one can get feedback or potentially clarify any confusion over what the requirement actually means. The knock on effect is that it is up to the project team to make the key decisions on what requirements can be developed within the timeframes required, and what is developed later in a later deployment release by project planning in teams. This not only increases the overall time required to develop the software but also means that despite the teams best efforts, the customer may still be extremely unhappy with the end product delivered. Key team members stay idle for long durations. You see Waterfall does not operate on a matrix basis which makes project resource management an extremely rigid activity. Basically those allocated to the project stay on it until that phase is over. This as we can imagine, has a direct knock on effect on the project budget. It is a very inflexible method which does not entertain any change in requirements and which makes any subsequent functionality changes required extremely difficult and expensive to implement. As such the fast pace of changing requirements determined makes this methodology difficult to use and calls for more quick methods of software development such as agile methodology. Prototyping Model This is a cyclic version of the linear model. In this model, once the requirement analysis is done and the design for a prototype is made, the development process gets started. Once the prototype is created, it is given to the customer for evaluation. The customer tests the package and gives his/her feed back to the developer who refines the product according to the customers exact expectation. After a finite number of iterations, the final software package is given to the customer. In this methodology, the software is evolved as a result of periodic shuttling of information between the customer and developer. This is the most popular development model in the contemporary IT industry. Most of the successful software products have been developed using this model as it is very difficult to comprehend all the requirements of a customer in one shot. Advantages For example, design documents, a test plan, and a test case specification are not needed during the development of the prototype. Another important cost-cutting measure is to reduce testing. Because testing consumes a major part of development expenditure during regular software development, this has a considerable impact in reducing costs. By using these types of cost cutting methods, it is possible to keep the cost of the prototype to less than a few percent of the total development cost. Overall, prototyping is well suited for projects where requirements are hard to determine and the confidence in the stated requirements is low. In such projects where requirements are not properly understood in the beginning, using the prototyping process model can be the most effective method for developing the software. It is also an excellent technique for reducing some types of risks associated with a project. Agile Methodology Agile methodology is an approach to project management, typically used in software development. It helps teams respond to the unpredictability of building software through incremental, iterative work cadences, 10 Key Principles of Agile Software Development, Active user involvement is imperative 2. The team must be empowered to make decisions 3. Requirements evolve but the timescale is fixed 4. Capture requirements at a high level; lightweight visual 5. Develop small, incremental releases and iterate 6. Focus on frequent delivery of products 7. Complete each feature before moving on to the next 8. Apply the 80/20 rule 9. Testing is integrated throughout the project lifecycle test early and often 10. A collaborative cooperative approach between all stakeholders is essential IT/IS Projects Fail. And How Agile Principles Help Common cause of failure How agile helps Project Initiation Planning Issues Poor definition of project scope and objectives Agile projects also benefit from clear definition of scope and objectives, even though details are allowed to emerge throughout the development. Insufficient time or money given to project If only agile could solve this! Long or unrealistic timescales; forcing project end dates despite best estimates Agile projects encourage short and regular iterations, developing the software and delivering working product in small bite size pieces. Technical Requirements Issues Poor or no requirements definition; incomplete or changing requirements Agile projects expect requirements to be incomplete and changing. Thats the nature of software. Instead of resisting this, agile projects provide for it by allowing requirements are allowed to emerge and evolve. Requirements being produced on a feature-by-feature basis, just in time to be developed, help with definition because it breaks this intensive task into small pieces instead of being a mammoth effort up front. Unfamiliar or changing technologies; lack of required technical skills Agile methods dont help directly with this issue, although can help to surface such issues early, and make them visible. Stakeholder Management Team Issues Inadequate visibility of project status Agile projects provide clear visibility of measurable progress on a daily basis. Project team members lack experience and do not have the required skills Agile principles may help to surface such issues early, as they may well be evident in early iterations of the software. Frequent delivery of iterations and continuous testing can help to mitigate this risk when it might otherwise go unnoticed until much later in the project. Poor collaboration, communication and teamwork Close cooperation and collaboration between all stakeholders is essential. Project Management Issues Weak ongoing management; inadequately trained or inexperienced project managers Agile methods and principles are just management tools. A fool with a tool is still a fool! Ineffective time and cost management Daily visibility of measurable progress. Conclusion The most Causes for Software Projects to fail Changes in Requirements Classical Software Development life cycles assume that the requirements are fixed at the beginning of the project, Customer only sees the product at the end of the software development, Customer is not aware of the current status of the Software Development. This happens due to changes in the Business environment, as the customer uses a software module, he/she will see new features that are necessary All modern software development methodologies (such as Agile) encourage shorter iterations, usually iterations are measured in weeks, and the developers demo the new features during the meetings with the customer at the end of each iteration. The customer can provide valuable feedback that will ensure that the software developed will meet the customers actual requirements.

The poems I am comparing in this essay are Half-past two and :: English Literature

The poems I am comparing in this essay are Half-past two and Reports by U.A. Fanthorpe and Leaving school by Hugo Williams. All three of the poems are about school, and about the different aspects of it. There are several points of view expressed in the poems, such as that of a teacher, the confusion of a child starting boarding school, and a child who cannot tell the time. In the poem 'Half-past two', the poem tells of a child who, after being told off as been told to stay inside until half-past two and then he can go. To the dismay and confusion of the child, he cannot tell the time and so wonders what to do when and if, half-past two ever came. In this poem, the style is very much that of a child speaking firsthand to himself and thinking in his head. The poem begins with 'Once upon a' which is a harsh clichÃÆ'Â © of old fairytales of which the majority of them started in this way. In the first paragraph, as he is so young he did 'something very wrong' but then carries on to say that he had forgotten what it was that he had done to deserve his punishment. At the end of the lines in the first verse, there is no punctuation so that the reader doesn't pause and is forced to carry on reading to reach the end of the sentence, and enable them to have a pause. This is written just how a child would tell a story, by not taking a pause until the most important bit of a story is told. When the child speaks of phrases that he hears often, they are written as, 'Gettinguptime, timeyouwereofftime.' As the child cannot tell the time, he classes these as ways to tell the time. U.A. Fanthorpe attempts to recreate the voice and thoughts of the child by describing a clock as having 'little eyes' and 'two long legs for walking' meaning the hands of the clock. In the 8th verse, the deliberate repetition of the opening words of each line 'Into the' are used to suggest a change of mood. The longer lines suggest how his mind escapes and his imagination starts to unwind. This contrasts with the other verses and situation. When the child writes about his teacher, he uses capitals when addressing 'Her'. U.A. Fanthorpe has done this to show how important the child regards the teacher. When the teacher starts talking, U.A Fanthorpe uses italics to show how he regards her, and also as a contrast to the normal font used so that her speech catches the

Sex and Gender in Sally Potter’s Orlando

Critically assess Judith Butler’s notion that gender is not a primary category, but an attribute, a set of secondary narrative effects. Your answer should make reference to Sally Potter’s film Orlando. Though Judith Butler asserts that gender is not of any importance, her writings on this notion, understandably, must put a lot of emphasis on the subject of sex. How else could she prove her theory, if not through a discussion of the unimportance of gender? In any case, her hypothesis is one that practically defines Sally Potter’s Orlando. Based on the novelette of the same name by Virginia Woolf, the film depicts an androgynous young man’s curiously long and forever-youthful life, and his slow transformation from man to woman. It is surely a tale that represents Butler’s concern of the eventual unimportance of gender throughout history. Orlando opens with the assertion by the narrator (voiced by the eponymous character) that â€Å"there can be no doubt about his sex, despite the feminine appearance that every young man of the time aspires to. The young nobleman Orlando acts as messenger for Queen Elizabeth, who, captivated by the young man’s beauty, offers him a castle, land and an inheritance for him and his heirs. These possessions will only be his on the condition that he does not â€Å"fade†, â€Å"wither† or â€Å"grow old†. We see the young Orlando fall deeply in love with a young woman, Princess Sasha, whom he loses to another man. Heartbroken, he decides to travel the world throughout the early stages of his long life. Orlando, having experienced war, violence and other such male endeavours, becomes disenchanted with the way men think and behave. He returns home to his estate as a woman. Here, she is told that as the estate belongs to Lord Orlando, or to his heirs, she must leave, as neither title applies to her. Rejected by society, Orlando finds acceptance and solace in the arms of the handsome Captain Shelmardine, the first man with whom she is sexually intimate. It is Shelmardine who makes Orlando realise what identity she truly wants – that of a mother. After all, she â€Å"came into this world searching for companionship. † Centuries later, we see Orlando, still a woman â€Å"for there can be no doubt about her sex†¦ even] with the slightly androgynous appearance that many females of the time aspire to†. She is visiting her old home with a happy young girl – her daughter. Orlando has finally found an identity she is comfortable with. In further commentary on the nature of gender as a secondary narrative, Butler once claimed that â€Å"gender is in no way a stable identity†. This, for all intents and purposes, could be the tagline for Orlando. The titular character is an androgynous being, with no strong convictions about which sex they would rather be. On her transformation into a woman, Orlando commented mildly; â€Å"Same person. No difference at all. Just a different sex†. Butler also commented that sex is an identity obtained, not through physical attributes, but through a performance. A perception of gender is imitated, â€Å"instituted through bodily styles†. However, the critic does not mention appearance; she is merely referring to the understanding of each gender being conveyed through certain physical gestures, movements or actions. Therefore, one’s gender is only as real as our performance of it. The same is true of Orlando, behaves in a comically awkward manner while getting used to her first dress. Being unfamiliar with the heavy frame and netting of her skirt, she walks down her hallway, bumping into furniture and awkwardly swinging her dress to the left to side-step a maid who passes by. In her first social situation, she stomps self-consciously into the drawing room, and then plonks herself down on a couch, rather ungracefully. She hasn’t taken on the grace of a woman, so she still seems to be a man, masquerading as a woman. Butler goes on to describe the gender performance as â€Å"one with clearly punitive consequences†. In short, failing at sufficiently portraying your gender through â€Å"bodily styles† will result in punishment, which is often in the form of alienation. The Lady Orlando confuses her society with her transformation. In a way, her failure to be Lord Orlando, a man, sees her cast out of her rightful home, and, in turn, alienated by society. In Orlando’s climatic scene, the Lady Orlando and her lover, Shelmardine, discuss the common perception regarding gender. â€Å"If I were a man,† Muses the newly-female Orlando, â€Å"might choose not to risk my life for an uncertain cause. I might think that freedom won by death is not worth having. † Shelmardine argues that, in the eyes of society, this would be to â€Å"choose not to be a real man at all†. He, in turn, mocks the stereotype observations regarding women; â€Å"Say if I were a woman; I might choose not to sacrifice my life caring for my children. Or my children’s children. Or to drown anonymously in the milk of female kindness. But instead choose to go abroad. Would I then be –†, (here Orlando interrupts him), â€Å"A real woman? † Yet it is this conversation, the embodiment of Butler’s theories on gender performance, which bring Orlando to the ealisation that she longs for a child. Not to earn back her home through her heir, and not to better portray the behaviour of a woman, but simply to have the companionship and love she always longed for. Orlando’s eponymous character is a human, if fictional, personification of Judith Butler’s many the ses regarding gender. Orlando’s gender does not change her character in any way, she is the â€Å"same person. No difference at all. † She does not understand that, to be accepted, she must perform the role of ‘woman’ to avoid confusing her peers. This is something she simply can’t do; she is who she is. Yet she is punished for her failure to be a man, or to behave like a woman. In the end, she ceases to care or worry about her gender identity. She is a mother, happy with the companion she always craved. Her identity is simply: Orlando. Bibliography * Butler, J. (1988) Performative Acts and Gender Constitutions. In Rivkin, J & Ryan, M ‘Literary Theory: An Anthology, Second Edition’ (pp. 900 – 911). United Kingdom: Blackwell Publishing. * Butler, J. (2004) Undoing Gender. United States: Routledge. * Potter, S. (Director). 1992. Orlando. [Motion Picture]. United Kingdom.

Microeconomics

Question 1) With examples give 5 reasons why the study of microeconomics is important. Microeconomics is a field of economic study that focuses on how an individual's behaviour and decisions affect the supply and demand for goods and services. For the purpose of microeconomics, the actions of individuals, households and businesses are crucial, unlike the study of macroeconomics, which focuses on national and international economic trends. Despite the differences between the two fields, however, micro-level trends and the study of microeconomics are considered the basis of modern macroeconomics.Macroeconomics is concerned with the big picture, for example, the national economy and gross domestic product. By contrast, microeconomics is concerned with the small picture and focuses on theories of supply and demand. Firstly, microeconomics is very important in business, especially when it comes to a new business. Entrepreneurs create businesses by purchasing and utilizing factors of produ ction. In order to estimate the potential return on investment (ROI) of those factors of production, entrepreneurs must have a basic knowledge of microeconomic concepts such as supply, demand, cost and profit.Without the basics of microeconomics, it is impossible to know how much a particular good can be sold for in a particular area. Furthermore, without microeconomic basics on costs and earnings, it is impossible to estimate ROI, thus will lead to poor financial investments. Microeconomics is very useful in business decision making. It helps business to achieve maximum production with the given amount of resources. Business firms can make decisions in demand analysis, cost analysis and methods of calculating prices.Second, marketing people must have a basic understanding of microeconomics so that they can set prices for products and decide in which markets to sell those products. For example, with an understanding of microeconomics, a computer company marketing manager can advise the CEO to start allowing instalment payments in case of an economic downturn, thus recovering business from customers hit hard by the recession. A marketing manager without a sense of economics might not realize that such options are available. Third, microeconomics is important when it comes to management.Managers must understand the concept of return on investment (ROI) when setting salaries for new hires, as employees are supposed to generate profits for the company. Managers must also have an understanding of microeconomics when making general budget decisions. A project shouldn't be given a budget that exceeds what the project is expected to produce in future earnings. These kinds of decisions are based on the microeconomic concepts of cost, revenue and profit. Fourth, Finance and Accounting also requires the understandings of microeconomics.Finance people probably use microeconomics more than anyone else in business. Financial analysts use microeconomic and macroeconomic theo ries in order to forecast the future value of financial assets. For example, gold, stocks, bonds and other investments. A securities analyst might use microeconomic data to determine the change in income of people in a given country, then use the microeconomic concept of â€Å"price elasticity of demand† for the responsiveness of consumer demand to changes in consumer income and to determine whether the price of a given asset will rise or fall in that country.Accountants use financial ratios that are derived from microeconomics. Lastly, the understanding of microeconomic is needed to provide tools for economic policies. Microeconomic helps to impose tax rates by analyzing the demand and supply factors. It also helps to determine the government policies on the resource allocation and pricing. Government also make policies to control the prices of goods by using the theory of price ceiling and price floor. By understanding microeconomics, we can examine the implications and eff ectiveness of the government policies. Question 2) Define â€Å"ceteris paribus â€Å".Explain why the device of ceteris paribus is so important in economics. Ceteris Paribus is a Latin phrase that translates approximately to â€Å"holding other things constant† and is usually rendered in English as â€Å"all other things being equal†. In Economics the term â€Å"Ceteris Paribus† is used quite often to assume all other factors to remain the same, while analysing the relationship between any two variables. For example, when discussing the laws of supply and demand, one could say that if demand for a given product outweighs supply, ceteris paribus, prices will rise.Here, the use of â€Å"ceteris paribus† is simply saying that as long as all other factors that could affect the outcome such as the existence of a substitute product remain constant, prices will increase in this situation. One of the disciplines in which ceteris paribus are most widely used is economics, in which they are employed to simplify the formulation and description of economic outcomes and the theoretical relationship of cause and effect. When using ceteris paribus in economics, assume all other variables except those under immediate consideration are held constant.For example, it can be predicted that if the price of beef increases, ceteris paribus, the quantity of beef demanded by buyers will decrease. In this example, the clause is used to operationally describe everything surrounding the relationship between both the price and the quantity demanded of an ordinary good. This operational description intentionally ignores both known and unknown factors that may also influence the relationship between price and quantity demanded, and thus to assume ceteris paribus is to assume away any interference with the given example.Such factors that would be intentionally ignored include the relative change in price of substitute goods like the price of beef vs. chicken, t he level of risk dislikes among buyers like the fear of mad cow disease, and the level of overall demand for a good regardless of its current price level like a societal shift toward vegetarianism. If we try to establish the relationship between demand and price, there may be other variables which may also influence demand besides price. The influence of other factors may invalidate the hypothesis that quantity demanded of a commodity is inversely related to its price.If rise in price takes place along with an increasing in income or a change technology, then the effect of price change may not be the same. However, the assumption that the other variables are unchanged will eliminate the interrupting influences of other variables. Ceteris Paribus is important in economics as it is an assumption which we are bound to make when there are complexities in the reality. It is necessary for the sake of convenience. The limitations of human intelligence and capacity compel us to make this as sumption.Besides, without the assumption we cannot reach on economic relations, sequences and conclusions. In fact, there are large numbers of variables interacting simultaneously at a given time. If our analysis has to be accurate we may have to examine two variables at a time which makes it inevitable to assume other variables to remain unchanged. For the ceteris paribus assumption, let’s take for example by assuming an economist examines a model explaining the relationship between the price and quantity purchased of Coca-Cola. The theory is â€Å"if the price increases, then the quantity of Coca-Cola decreases, ceteris paribus. Now assume the process of Coca-Cola was observed to increased one summer and some people actually bought more, not less. Based on this real-world observation, you would declare the theory is wrong but actually the economist responds that this is a reasoning pitfall because the model is valid based on the assumption of ceteris paribus, and your obse rvation gives no reason to reject the model. The reason the model appeared flawed is because another factor which is a sharp rise in the temperature. The rise in temperature caused people to buy more Coca-Cola in spite of its higher price.If the temperature and all other factors were held constant as the price of Coca-Cola rises, then people indeed would buy less Coca-Cola, as the model predicts. Therefore, the assumption that the other variables are unchanged will eliminate the interrupting influences of other variables. As a conclusion, ceteris paribus is important as it enhances our understandings towards the theoretical relationship of cause and effect as we can analyse the relationship between two variable without having any other variable influencing the results.The assumption of Ceteris Paribus eliminates the influence of other factors which may get in the way of establishing a scientific statement regarding the behaviour of economic variables. References Question 1 reference : Importance of microeconomics, http://www. slideshare. net/tribhuwan64/presentation-on-importance-of-microecon omics Importance of microeconomics, http://www. ehow. com/info_8301181_importance-microeconomics-business. html Question 2 reference: Microeconomics for Today, books. google. com. my/books? isbn=0538469447 Basic Tools in Economics, http://wikieducator. org/Basic_Tools_in_Economic_Analysis Microeconomics Question 1) With examples give 5 reasons why the study of microeconomics is important. Microeconomics is a field of economic study that focuses on how an individual's behaviour and decisions affect the supply and demand for goods and services. For the purpose of microeconomics, the actions of individuals, households and businesses are crucial, unlike the study of macroeconomics, which focuses on national and international economic trends. Despite the differences between the two fields, however, micro-level trends and the study of microeconomics are considered the basis of modern macroeconomics.Macroeconomics is concerned with the big picture, for example, the national economy and gross domestic product. By contrast, microeconomics is concerned with the small picture and focuses on theories of supply and demand. Firstly, microeconomics is very important in business, especially when it comes to a new business. Entrepreneurs create businesses by purchasing and utilizing factors of produ ction. In order to estimate the potential return on investment (ROI) of those factors of production, entrepreneurs must have a basic knowledge of microeconomic concepts such as supply, demand, cost and profit.Without the basics of microeconomics, it is impossible to know how much a particular good can be sold for in a particular area. Furthermore, without microeconomic basics on costs and earnings, it is impossible to estimate ROI, thus will lead to poor financial investments. Microeconomics is very useful in business decision making. It helps business to achieve maximum production with the given amount of resources. Business firms can make decisions in demand analysis, cost analysis and methods of calculating prices.Second, marketing people must have a basic understanding of microeconomics so that they can set prices for products and decide in which markets to sell those products. For example, with an understanding of microeconomics, a computer company marketing manager can advise the CEO to start allowing instalment payments in case of an economic downturn, thus recovering business from customers hit hard by the recession. A marketing manager without a sense of economics might not realize that such options are available. Third, microeconomics is important when it comes to management.Managers must understand the concept of return on investment (ROI) when setting salaries for new hires, as employees are supposed to generate profits for the company. Managers must also have an understanding of microeconomics when making general budget decisions. A project shouldn't be given a budget that exceeds what the project is expected to produce in future earnings. These kinds of decisions are based on the microeconomic concepts of cost, revenue and profit. Fourth, Finance and Accounting also requires the understandings of microeconomics.Finance people probably use microeconomics more than anyone else in business. Financial analysts use microeconomic and macroeconomic theo ries in order to forecast the future value of financial assets. For example, gold, stocks, bonds and other investments. A securities analyst might use microeconomic data to determine the change in income of people in a given country, then use the microeconomic concept of â€Å"price elasticity of demand† for the responsiveness of consumer demand to changes in consumer income and to determine whether the price of a given asset will rise or fall in that country.Accountants use financial ratios that are derived from microeconomics. Lastly, the understanding of microeconomic is needed to provide tools for economic policies. Microeconomic helps to impose tax rates by analyzing the demand and supply factors. It also helps to determine the government policies on the resource allocation and pricing. Government also make policies to control the prices of goods by using the theory of price ceiling and price floor. By understanding microeconomics, we can examine the implications and eff ectiveness of the government policies. Question 2) Define â€Å"ceteris paribus â€Å".Explain why the device of ceteris paribus is so important in economics. Ceteris Paribus is a Latin phrase that translates approximately to â€Å"holding other things constant† and is usually rendered in English as â€Å"all other things being equal†. In Economics the term â€Å"Ceteris Paribus† is used quite often to assume all other factors to remain the same, while analysing the relationship between any two variables. For example, when discussing the laws of supply and demand, one could say that if demand for a given product outweighs supply, ceteris paribus, prices will rise.Here, the use of â€Å"ceteris paribus† is simply saying that as long as all other factors that could affect the outcome such as the existence of a substitute product remain constant, prices will increase in this situation. One of the disciplines in which ceteris paribus are most widely used is economics, in which they are employed to simplify the formulation and description of economic outcomes and the theoretical relationship of cause and effect. When using ceteris paribus in economics, assume all other variables except those under immediate consideration are held constant.For example, it can be predicted that if the price of beef increases, ceteris paribus, the quantity of beef demanded by buyers will decrease. In this example, the clause is used to operationally describe everything surrounding the relationship between both the price and the quantity demanded of an ordinary good. This operational description intentionally ignores both known and unknown factors that may also influence the relationship between price and quantity demanded, and thus to assume ceteris paribus is to assume away any interference with the given example.Such factors that would be intentionally ignored include the relative change in price of substitute goods like the price of beef vs. chicken, t he level of risk dislikes among buyers like the fear of mad cow disease, and the level of overall demand for a good regardless of its current price level like a societal shift toward vegetarianism. If we try to establish the relationship between demand and price, there may be other variables which may also influence demand besides price. The influence of other factors may invalidate the hypothesis that quantity demanded of a commodity is inversely related to its price.If rise in price takes place along with an increasing in income or a change technology, then the effect of price change may not be the same. However, the assumption that the other variables are unchanged will eliminate the interrupting influences of other variables. Ceteris Paribus is important in economics as it is an assumption which we are bound to make when there are complexities in the reality. It is necessary for the sake of convenience. The limitations of human intelligence and capacity compel us to make this as sumption.Besides, without the assumption we cannot reach on economic relations, sequences and conclusions. In fact, there are large numbers of variables interacting simultaneously at a given time. If our analysis has to be accurate we may have to examine two variables at a time which makes it inevitable to assume other variables to remain unchanged. For the ceteris paribus assumption, let’s take for example by assuming an economist examines a model explaining the relationship between the price and quantity purchased of Coca-Cola. The theory is â€Å"if the price increases, then the quantity of Coca-Cola decreases, ceteris paribus. Now assume the process of Coca-Cola was observed to increased one summer and some people actually bought more, not less. Based on this real-world observation, you would declare the theory is wrong but actually the economist responds that this is a reasoning pitfall because the model is valid based on the assumption of ceteris paribus, and your obse rvation gives no reason to reject the model. The reason the model appeared flawed is because another factor which is a sharp rise in the temperature. The rise in temperature caused people to buy more Coca-Cola in spite of its higher price.If the temperature and all other factors were held constant as the price of Coca-Cola rises, then people indeed would buy less Coca-Cola, as the model predicts. Therefore, the assumption that the other variables are unchanged will eliminate the interrupting influences of other variables. As a conclusion, ceteris paribus is important as it enhances our understandings towards the theoretical relationship of cause and effect as we can analyse the relationship between two variable without having any other variable influencing the results.The assumption of Ceteris Paribus eliminates the influence of other factors which may get in the way of establishing a scientific statement regarding the behaviour of economic variables. References Question 1 reference : Importance of microeconomics, http://www. slideshare. net/tribhuwan64/presentation-on-importance-of-microecon omics Importance of microeconomics, http://www. ehow. com/info_8301181_importance-microeconomics-business. html Question 2 reference: Microeconomics for Today, books. google. com. my/books? isbn=0538469447 Basic Tools in Economics, http://wikieducator. org/Basic_Tools_in_Economic_Analysis

Operating Philosophy Example

Operating Philosophy Example Operating Philosophy – Coursework Example How to Always Smile At Problems There are many different philosophies that people believe in to get through life. My biggest philosophy in life is this: â€Å"always smile at problems†. I have three values that guide this philosophy.Value 1: smiling at problems helps you look at a problem from a brighter angle. Like the famous saying a blessing in disguise or seeing the glass half full and not half empty. Life is full of stresses and it is too short to keep on brooding over our daily problems, that is why you need to smile at your problems and move on.Value 2: smiling at problems relieves stress by uplifting our moods. Holding on to our problems can sometimes drag us into depression. But if we could just smile and remind ourselves that there is no gain without pain, then we can be relieved from our problems very easily. This is because we would try to forget we have problems since other solve even bigger problems and they are not crying everywhere.Value 3: smiling at our probl ems makes us beautiful. Stress and depression can often be seen by other people by our skin, facial expression and our grooming. A stressed out person is badly groomed since their problems overshadows every aspect of their lives. It is consoling to remember that smiling reduces aging. If only we can smile knowing that our problems keeps us alive since only dead people have no drama in their lives.Smile at your problems and remember that without problems you would never know your true friends. Moreover, problems give you stories to tell not to mention the experience we gain from those problems.Finally smiling leads to laughter which is the cure for all diseases and uplifts spirits. You sleep soundly when you smile and it makes you fresh and bright in the morning.

Response 5 Example

Response 5 Example Response 5 – Article Example Response 5 The intense patriotic sentiment and national pride in Panama Canal started after the end of Suez Canal. The project started in 1904 with the guidance of chief engineer John Wallace. In as much as it started under praises and hope of success from Suez Canal, several challenges prevailed to both European and Spanish labourers. The film A Man, A Plan, A Canal, Panama shares these sentiments with Julie Greene’s book Spaniards on the Silver Roll: Labor Troubles and Liminality in the Panama Canal Zone, 1904-1914. In the film, building of the canal gets guided by smart people without the wisdom to harmonize different cultures. The deadly look through Nova’s eye brings into perspective a 30-year-old period of torment. The human trap in the film leads to death of many labourers mainly European and Spanish labourers1. They have no access to information, are victims to corruption and discrimination in terms of payment. For example, many labourers received 10 cents an ho ur, an amount not able to sustain anybody.The racial segregation in the book also unveils the imperial and complex labour issues in the Canal Zone. Green notes that labourers have the opportunity to suffer but cannot air their grievances. For example, when the Spaniards protest against the right to eat in the job, a foreman suspends 500 people for insubordination2. The high number of workers raises many labor concerns; however, race and nationality takes priority during the construction period. Interestingly, recruitment agents promise heavens despite the deplorable conditions. Worse of all, labourers have no protection from the police or any labor unions.BibliographyDavid McCullough. NOVA: A Man, A Plan, A Canal, Panama. 2011Julie Greene, aSpaniards on the Silver Roll: Labor Troubles and Liminality in the Panama Canal Zone, 1904-1914, International Labor and Working-Class History, No. 66, New Approaches to Global Labor History (Fall, 2004), pp. 78-98, Cambridge University Press