Economic time-series Exam Essay

1. The variation in an economic time-series which is caused by major expansions or contractions usually of greater than a year in duration is known as: 2. Time-series forecasting models: 3. If two alternative economic models are offered, other things equal, we would 4. Smoothing techniques are a form of ____ techniques which assume that there is an underlying pattern to be found in the historical values of a variable that is being forecast. 5. The forecasting technique which attempts to forecast short-run changes and makes use of economic indicators known as leading, coincident or lagging indicators is known as: 6. For studying demand relationships for a proposed new product that no one has ever used before, what would be the best method to use? 7. If Ben Bernanke, Chair of the Federal Reserve Board, begins to tighten monetary policy by raising US interest rates next year, what is the likely impact on the value of the dollar? 8. Companies that reduce their margins on export products in the face of appreciation of their home currency may be motivated by a desire to 9. An increase in the exchange rate of the U.S. dollar relative to a trading partner can result from 10. Trading partners should specialize in producing goods in accordance with comparative advantage, then trade and diversify in consumption because 11. An appreciation of the U.S. dollar has what impact on Harley-Davidson (HD), a U.S. manufacturer of motorcycles? 12. If the British pound (â‚ ¤) appreciates by 10% against the dollar: 13. The import of Apple iPads assembled in Shanghai at a $295 wholesale price ($213 cost and $82 profit margin) adds more than it should to the U.S. trade deficit with China because 14. If the marginal product of labor is 100 and the price of labor is 10, while the marginal product of capital is 200 and the price of capital is $30, then what should the firm? 15. In a production process, an excessive amount of the variable input relative to the fixed input is being used to produce the desired output. This statement is true for: 16. Which of the following is never negative? 17. The combinations of inputs costing a constant C dollars is called: 18.  The marginal rate of technical substitution may be defined as all of the following except: 19. In a relationship among total, average and marginal products, where TP is maximized: 20. Economies of Scope refers to situations where per unit costs are: 21. Economies of scale exist whenever long-run average costs: 22. What method of inventory valuation should be used for economic decision-making problems? 23. For a short-run cost function which of the following statements is (are) not true? 24. The cost function is: 25. According to the theory of cost, specialization in the use of variable resources in the short-run results initially in: Copy this link to your browser and download:

Divorce Essay

The Beginning of the End Growing up I always believed divorce was the worst mistake a couple could make. Now that I am older I now have a different view on divorce. My parents divorced when I was seventeen years old, and since going through this experience I view divorce differently. Although most people think of divorce as a negative thing, I think sometimes it turns out to be the best decision for everyone involved. When I was a little girl all I would hear from people is how divorce was wrong and couples should always work out their differences.My parents would always assure me that â€Å"no matter how much we fight, we will never get a divorce†. As the years went on things started changing in my parent’s relationship and we saw their marriage starting to dissolve. My sister and I could see that they were no longer the happily married couple they had been for the past 25 years. Eventually my father’s personality started to change, and he no longer was interest ed in family activities or spending quality time with my sister and I. He was not the dad we had known our whole lives. After realizing his behavioral changes he finally went to go see a professional.After a few sessions with the doctor and many counseling sessions with my mom, my dad was diagnosed with depression. We had already seen first hand what depression could do to a marriage, as his parents had gotten divorced after my dad’s mother was diagnosed with depression. As time went by I saw my father’s depression taking a toll on my mother’s happiness and her daily attitude. I wanted both of my parents to be happy, but was that too much to ask of them to stay together? I knew my father had changed and was not the same man my mom had fallen in love with 25 years earlier.My dad was no longer the fun, ambitious, adventurous guy my mom had met back in college. Instead my dad was bitter, had frequent outburst, and a constant negative outlook on life. When my parent s finally reached the decision to divorce my family knew it was going to be a tough road ahead. Although my sister and I were upset we knew it was for the best, it was just going to take some adjusting. Luckily the divorce was very civil and my parents are still able to maintain a peaceful relationship for the sake of my sister and I. We both know my parents love us and that the divorce had nothing to do with anything we had done.My dad has since gotten help and my sister and I visit him often. He is getting back to the fun, loving, kind man we all knew him to be. Unfortunately, my dad waited to late to make changes in his life to save his marriage. Today, my parents are both in healthy relationships with other people. My sister and I enjoy spending time with both families and feel blessed these new people are in our lives. I had a very negative view on marriage when my parents told me they were divorcing, but since that time I feel not everyone gets divorced and marriage takes a lo t of work.Although the divorce was hard to swallow, it is good to see both of my parents happy again. Now that my parent’s divorce is final everyone seems to be more peaceful and happy with their lives. I am not saying divorce is the right decision for everyone, but I am saying depending on the situation sometimes it is the best choice. I have learned through my experience not to judge others that are divorced because everyone’s situation is different. I feel my parents made the right decision for our family and I am a stronger, and happier person as a result.

Animal Dreams Essay

In the story of Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver, the main character named Codi had her struggle towards her relationship with her younger sister Hallie. Regarding this, this article tends to explain why such struggle of closeness towards their relationship turned into closeness which is seemingly far and thus inclusion of the relationship changes are discussed. The goal of this paper is to provide a reliable detain of research regarding with the explanations of the story’s relationship changes between the two sisters Codi and Hallie and thus to give an explanation about the themes of the story such as to what it depicts and why it is of importance. Relationship of Codi and Hallie Codie and Hallie are very close to each other since they are the only children of Dr. Homero Noline; they both lived in Tucson Arizona where they are bonded with Codi’s boyfriend Carlo. The sister’s relationship changed a lot when Hallie decided to move from Arizona going to Nicaragua and since Codi felt that there’s no reason for her to stay at Arizona because her sister already left, Codi then decided to go back home where they spend their early life (Kingsolver). Continuing the story, the sister’s relationship went on along even if they are far from each other. They still write a letter for one another in order to inform each other about the events and changes which are happening in their lives. Eventually, Codi gets too busy with her work as a high school teacher at Grace and busy visiting her father who by then is on the first stage of psychological disease. The relationship of the two sisters went stronger when Hallie was reported missing and that she could not be found because she was kidnapped (Kingsolver). Similarities of Codi and Hallie The main idea of Codi and Hallie’s similarity is that they both have concern with the environmental issue such as doing something in order to influence the other people and thus to make them realize how their place are being ruined by the pollution and that the administration just seemed to ignore such problem. They are both doing an act towards the pollution issue which made them oppose the administration; Hallie by involving herself in movement which uses certain farming techniques that depict the difficulties of the farmers of their place at Grace in farming due to the lack of supply of water for their planted trees and Codi by helping the Stitch and Bitch Club through a fund racing activity wherein the fund will be used for projects toward environmental protection and or environmental problem resolution (Kingsolver). The Themes Fertility Fertility throughout the story gives an emphasis towards Codi’s situation in the novel wherein she lost her child twice. This part of the novel was written by the author in order to open the readers’ eyes about the essence or importance of having a future baby because bearing a child simply means the generation of a new group of people for a certain community and for the continuous movement of life and history from the past towards the present through the new generation (Kingsolver). Fertility as the theme of the story wanted people to realize that it is not purely a medical or scientific matter and thus in order for a certain person to regenerate a new offspring, she must know how to take care of the life which lies inside her. Fertility in the story is also depicted as a matter as important as preserving a certain generation or community wherein it is subjected to an issue of getting extinct or the threat to a community’s existence (Kingsolver). The importance of fertility in the novel wanted people to realize that preservation of life for a new generation of people is important and thus a new life could serve a new hope for every problem’s resolution. In the novel, the womb of a certain mother is symbolized by the Graceland and the baby in it is symbolized by the environment and environmental resources which are at the risk of being totally destroyed. Mainly, Fertility means saving the environment in order to preserve the place or the earth is depicted by preserving the child inside mother’s womb in order to generate a new offspring (Kingsolver). Fertility changes in the story when Codi lost the child that she bears inside her as it was also depicted in the place’s situation when Grace is in the verge of slowly dying because of the pollutants which are present and are mixed up in their agricultural place and in the whole environment. Children’s Importance In the story, children’s importance is explained to as; they are the ones who will continue the legacy or history of a certain family. A child also symbolizes the difficulties and sacrifices of the parents most specially the difficulties of the mothers who tend to bear a child and give birth. Children are the one who will pursue the conviction of their parents as it was depicted by Codi who was supposed to be a doctor just like his father but eventually dropped out of school because of her being pregnant (Kingsolver). Children are depicted to as the fulfillment of dreams and hopes for the future as it was symbolized by the presence of children in the story hence they are sometimes being disregarded as to taken advantage of wherein in the story; Codi disregarded her situation of pregnancy wherein she did not take care of herself but instead did all what she ought to do which led her to loss the child which she carries inside her. Codi’s Pregnancy/Miscarriage Cody got pregnant at the age of 15, she never told anyone about her situation because she didn’t want Hallie and her father to loose her closeness towards them and so she kept the secret into herself but she did not know that her father observed her and that Mr. Noline knows that his daughter was pregnant. Because Codi was careless about her own body, she lost the baby wherein she really hoped for it to be gone and thus she once dreamt of losing the baby from her womb (Kingsolver). Codi’s being careless regarding with her fertility can depict two certain premises which could frame her in the story. The first premise is the death of her beloved mother and secondly is the death of her own child inside her womb. Through interpreting the character of Codi in the novel regarding her pregnancy, a certain reader could correlate her to destruction of a new seed of life because for Cody; loving someone is also losing which explains that when a certain person loves someone or anything, he or she will loose his or her control towards his or her emotion and thus she will be hurt when that person or matter he or she loved will be lost from his/her possession (Kingsolver). Political Part of the Novel The real purpose of the novel by Kingsolver is to depict the situation of a certain place in America wherein the land is said to be a fertile land which is good for planting and/or farming which is eventually ruined by the miners producing water pollutants from the mines going to the places’ body of water which tended to destroy the richness of the land. This novel depicts the year 1950 when copper manufacturing mine is one of the most important resource of such Native Americans (Kingsolver). Kingsolver depicted the political system of the United States during the year of 1980’s by narrating the situation or Nicaragua in the novel. Nicaragua was stated as the largest State in the central part of America wherein on the year 1979 a certain socialist group named the Sandinistas along with the FSLN or the National Liberation Front in the United States joined forces in order to overthrow the dictator system of Anastasio Somoza which reigned for over 46 years. After the dictator was overthrown, the FSLN executed a socialist kind of government wherein they made all the major industries nationalized during that period and thus they executed a certain reform, agrarian reform, in order to give help to those small farmers and in order to support such industries of farming (Kingsolver). The FSLN also made a program which strengthened the system of education and other important programs such as health care management and regarding this, the CIA, unknown by the socialists, established a plan in order to oppose the goals and management of the socialist groups and leaders (Kingsolver). Conclusion The novel by Kingsolver entitled Animal Dreams is what the author used to express the reality somewhere in the Central part of America wherein the agricultural management is disregarded by the government and thus the environment is polluted by the mining manufacturers. This novel symbolizes the true event of the Central America by narrating the Grace’s problem about the environment and it’s near to destroyance wherein the Sandinistas can be seen in the character of both Hallie and her sister Codi. Through the novel, the author makes readers realize that preserving a child’s safety while it is in the womb is like preserving the safety of a threatened environment wherein when the mother does a small mistake then the baby will die without being born and just like the environment’s situation, one mistake or wrong deed from the people and the environment or the earth as a whole will die or will be destroyed. Work Cited Kingsolver, Barbara. â€Å"Animal Dreams. † HarperCollins, 1990.

Explain Legal Issues, Policies and Procedures Relevant to Assessment

Q: Explain legal issues, policies and procedures relevant to assessment, including those for confidentiality, health, safety and welfare. Ans: For the smooth running of organization or/and to meet the internal and external requirements of awarding bodies, it is must to have some legal policies and procedures ready at hand in assessment. If, at one hand, it helps us go through the whole process of assessment smoothly, at the other, it builds a confidence among the learners who feel secure in the process. Training organizations are also subject to inspection by OFSTED so have to keep records for performance, safety and financial reasons. Registers-attendance at lessons. Visit Report Forms-proof you are visiting candidates. Individual Learning Plans-Targets and timescales. Equality and Diversity Forms-Ensuring no discrimination. Health and Safety Check Forms-Ensuring safe working environment. Course feedback forms-feedback from candidates. Course assessment sheets-record of tests and progress There are some basic policies and procedures that ought to be an integral part of whole organizational set up. Health and Safety Policy and Procedures: These are important. All organizations must carry out a  risk assessment  identifying the risks to employees, other workers, clients, members of the public and anyone who comes onto the organization’s premises or uses its services. They must then draw up a health and safety scheme setting out a program to reduce the risks, or to minimize the negative impact if they do happen. Since in assessment, there is possibility of learners being under 18, the assessor or the authority has to carry out a specific assessment taking into account the fact that young people may be inexperienced, immature and/or less aware of risks than adults. These requirements are set out in the Health and Safety (Young Persons) Regulations 1997. Data Protection Act: The main thrust of Data Protection is protecting against abuse of data held on individuals. Data collection has to be fair. This now means that the individual must know who is doing the collecting, and the purposes for which the data are intended to be used. Data shouldn't be kept for longer than necessary, must be kept secure, and should be adequate, relevant and accurate. Thus the learners, in assessment, will feel secure as it ensures confidentiality.

The Research on Effects of substance abuse on prisoners in Austin, Assignment

The Research on Effects of substance abuse on prisoners in Austin, Texas - Assignment Example The rate of substance abuse in prisons has increased leading to detrimental health effects and even death in extreme cases. Since substance abuse is not a new concept in the prisons, there is need for close attention to avert negative effects. The study focuses on impacts of substance abuse to prisoners and the society. A major focus was on establishing reasons behind the high incidences of substance abuse in the correctional facilities. Through the study, negative impacts of substance abuse on prisoners and the community as well as other stakeholders would be determined. The effectiveness of mechanisms put in place to treat substance abuse and rehabilitate victims is examined. This would help in identification of loopholes, which result in negative outcomes. Introduction There has been a steady rise of substance abuse in prisons in Austin, Texas. Substance abuse is the harmful and use of substances for purposes of altering the normal mental state of an individual. Although treatment and other mechanisms have effected to address the issue of substance abuse, little progress has been made. There are a number of factors associated with substance abuse in prisons with correlation observed between crime and substance abuse. A study of factors that lead to the rising trend of substance abuse would go a long way in helping minimize effects and evaluate the involvement of other stakeholders (Ireland et al., 2010). Stakeholders and interest groups Stakeholders involved in the substance abuse can be used to achieve maximum outcomes even with the limited resources. The center that deals with substance abuse outlines stakeholders and their role in managing substance abuse in prisons as well as their relationship to the treatment process. There should enhanced collaborative efforts and partnerships between key stakeholders. The system of criminal justice and substance abuse management community can and should work together for the common good of everyone involved (Neubauer , 2011). The possible contribution from major stakeholders can be immense and may lead to highly desirable outcomes. The center for substance abuse treatment, divides stakeholders into five primary categories. First, there are community stakeholders who include the public, the media, victims, legislators, businesses and community organizations. Second, are those stakeholders associated with offenders in one way or another? They include the offender, employers, family members, and providers of social services. The third set of stakeholders is those found within the system of criminal justice and they include prosecutors, police officers, and judges, attorneys for the defense, as well as parole and probation officers. Fourth are the stakeholders within the system of public health who include providers of mental health services as well as healthcare organizations. The fifth category is for stakeholders within the system of alcohol and other substance treatment. All the stakeholders con tribute significantly to management of substance abuse in prisons which would lead to the common good of everyone involved. The enhanced collaboration and partnership among all stakeholders would result in higher probabilities of ex-offenders succeeding in the streets and communities that are safer for everyone. Products of such cooperation and collaborations focus on coming up with a comprehensive system to promoting,

Advantages and Disadvantages of Design Build Project Delivery Method Research Paper

Advantages and Disadvantages of Design Build Project Delivery Method - Research Paper Example It can be observed that convectional methods of project delivery have given way to more creative methods, and this has been done so to save time, save money, and to provide a more coordinated team approach with objective of reducing litigation. Each project delivery method has benefits as well as its own limitations. Design-built project delivery method constitutes one of the modern popular project construction methods (Darren, Pramen, Fasce & Masce 579). The premise of this method is that the owner hires one entity, which is a design-builder, and this design entity becomes the sole provider of both design and construction services (American Institute of Architects 504-505). Subsequently, the financing of the project remains the responsibility of the owner. More so, this method requires a clearly defined scope of work which in some cases may constitute existing prototype design, while also ensuring cost commitment is made early in the design process. Advantages In a study carried out by Roth (1995) involving six design build (DB) projects for Navy childcare facilities constructed through MILCON process, the author established that use of DB significantly reduced costs specifically those associated with design and construction (Darren, Pramen, Fasce & Masce p.580). ... The overall conclusion of the author was that, having critical skills of project management on the part of project managers coupled with experience of contractor led to greater results on the performance of the project than compared to project delivery method. At the same time, studies have been carried out to establish the relative time DB projects take as compared to DBB, and conclusion derived is that time can be saved by using DB project delivery method (Darren, Pramen, Fasce & Masce p.580). Evaluation of studies indicate that numerous methods were used and multivariate models were used with examination of unit cost, construction speed, delivery speed, cost growth and schedule growth, and in all these aspects DB performed better that DBB . Carrying out similar studies Molenaar et al. (1999) used DB project delivery method and analyzed 104 public-sector design/build projects (Darren, Pramen, Fasce & Masce p.580). At the end of the study, the authors ascertained that DB projects pe rformed better in terms of cost, time and quality, although the study did not compare these findings to any other project delivery method. Warne (2005) on the other hand took great effort to research, and published a report concerning performance assessment of DB contracting for highway projects. Carrying out study on 21 projects across the country, the author established that DB projects had better price certainty and also majority of DB projects were completed a head of schedule (Darren, Pramen, Fasce & Masce p.580). Federal Highway Administration (FHwA) in 2006 carried out a comparison project performance of DB highway projects against those of DBB highway projects and results indicated that DB projects possessed higher cost growth but lower schedule growth when

Change in management (skill building) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Change in management (skill building) - Essay Example In this way, supervisors would also support our decision. For the purpose, we contacted the supervisors of the department to find out the problem. We held a detailed meeting with supervisors and talked with them about the departmental happenings. Supervisors are the most informed and experienced employees of a department, who are very well aware of the problems and issues of a department. Supervisors gave an insight about the problem and offered some suggestions. After talking to the supervisors in different departments, we found out that employee’s productivity was reducing and they were taking extra ordinary time to complete their tasks. With time, company products and services has increased and so was the number of processes carried out by the company. This had reduced the productivity of employees as they failed to complete their task on time and meet deadlines (Collins & Jim, 2002, pp. 70-84). We then indentified that these employees require training for the resolution of their problem. We also new that we may have to face an issue while implementing this solution, that is resistance against new system or change in the organization. Some of the supervisors are not ready to accept the change as they love to work with their old tested methods. However, we talked to them and convinced them on how training can solve the problem of our organization (Dunford & Palmer, 2006, pp. 52-120). We were able to convince them with the help of showing them statistics of companies doing well with the help of this tool. We first conducted training sessions with the supervisors telling them on how to coach or teach their subordinates. We arranged lectures with the help of power point presentations explaining them different concepts and functions used in their department and other department. We explained them different training tools like task assignment, group roles, project based learning that would help them reduce problems in the organization