Law Cases Essay

Our whole economy is based on the freedom of individuals to contract and a system of laws that enforces contracts freely entered into. But a lot of people may not be aware of what are the essential elements required to make an enforceable contract . Recently I was asked if a contract not in writing is binding . We are so accustomed to seeing contracts in writing that many people assume that a contract must be in writing (and lengthy) before it is enforceable . To form a contract , there are no particular words that must be used by the parties . However , there must be an offer by one side and an acceptance of the offer by the person to whom the offer was made . Without both an offer and an acceptance , there can be no consensus ad idem or a meeting of the minds which is essential to form a contract. No conditions can be attached to the acceptance and the terms of the offer cannot be changed. If conditions are attached or terms are changed, the parties are merely negotiating and may u ltimately reach agreement on the terms of the contract. For example, if your response is that you will pay me $5.00 to cut the lawn but I must cut again next month for the same price, there is no contract. You have made a counter offer which I am free to accept or reject. Likewise, the acceptance cannot be conditional on some other events. In the same way the Lady Gaga has cancelled her concert at the O2 . Harry a local entrepreneur has got 500 T-shirts and he has asked Mike Baldwin a local shirt maker , if it is possible than is he able to print Lady Gaga on the front of the T-shirt . Mike agrees to do it but when Harry went there for collection he saw that the word print on all the T-shirt was Lad Gaga and even the ink of the print damage the material of the T-shirt which is not good . When Harry makes complain about it, Mike told him to refer the contract which is placed on the front door that limiting liability for damaged items to 20% of the value .According to this generally a clause will incorporated if the party has given reasonable notice . These was clearly illustrated in Thompson v LMS Railway . Here the claimant was injured whilst stepping off a train . The railway company displayed prominent notices on the platforms excluding liability personal injury and damage to property due to negligence . The tickets also stated they were subject to terms and conditions displayed on the platform . The claimant was illiterate and could not read the signs. She argued that the exclusion clause was not incorporated into the contract as the railway company had not brought the clause to her attention at the time the contract was made. The clause was incorporated . There is only a requirement to take reasonable steps to bring the clause to the attention of a reasonable person. There was no duty to ensure that every traveller was aware of the clause . The claimant was therefore unsuccessful in her claim for damages. (accessed on e-lawresouces .co.uk , 5/12/12 ) Clearly this objective test will very according to the facts of eagh case but there are a number of factors that are relevant in determining reasonableness in this context , one more thing is required and that is degree of notice . Harry had a small notice at the front door which is limitation clause and it is stated therefor that less onerous than exclusion clause . It may be common notice of trade because the actual size of the notice may be more significant .This has been proved by stating some more case laws such as , Thornton v Shoe Lane Parking , The claimant was injured in a car park partly due to the defendant’s negligence . The claimant was given a ticket on entering the car park after putting money into a machine . The ticket stated the contract of parking was subject to terms and conditions which were displayed on the inside of the car park . One of the terms excluded liability for personal injuries arising through negligence. The question for the court was whether the term was incorporated into the contract ie had the defendant brought it to the attention of the claimant before or at the time the contract was made . This question depended upon where the offer and acceptance took place in relation to the machine . The machine itself constituted the offer . The acceptance was by putting the money into the machine. The ticket was dispensed after the acceptance took place and therefore the clause was not incorporated into the contract. According to previous decision of Spurling v Bradshaw , it is stated that some clauses are to be printed in red ink and with the red hand arrow pointed towards the notice, which could be held in a sufficient way . This reason was further been supported by Court of Appeal . Another relevant factor for the Harry’s present question of reasonableness that is the timing of the notice to be handed . The most effective time for handing the notice is before the contract has been made otherwise it is too late . This has been made abundantly clear in cases such as Olley v Marlborough Court Hotel and Thornton v Shoe Lane Parking . That’s the reason that if Harry had contracted in advance of arriving at the counter , the notice would be too late . However if he arrived to complete the agreement then the clause could be part of the contract . These states that even if the limitation clause is incorporated into the contract than it does not mean that it is an effective clause . The law has sought to protect vulnerable parties from exemption clauses . This protection has take two forms :- Judicial control through the common law and statutory control since 1977 . The judicial approach is known as the contra proferentum rule. According to this , if there is any ambiguity in the wording than that is strictly constructed against the party which seeking to rely on it . Limitation clause are construed in a more liberal manner as they are not as harsh as exclusion clauses .In Ailsa Craig Fishing v Melvern Lord Fraser reffered to this strict principle when they applied , A contract between existed between Securicor and Aberdeen Fishing Vessel Owners Association whereby Securicor were to provide security cover in the harbour where the claimant’s vessels were moored . As a result of negligence and breach of contract the claimant’s vessels sunk. The contract contained a clause which provided that in the event of negligence or breach , Securicor would not be liable for any amount exceeding  £1,000 in any one claim and that it would not be liable for more than  £10,000 in any twelve month period . The House of Lords held that where the clause limits liability rather than excludes liability altogether the courts should apply the natural meaning of the clause and not be too eager to find ambiguity . So the court would be more lenient in their interpretation of Harry’s clause since it limits liability . If Harry’s clause is clear and unambiguous there would be no scope for application of the judicial control system . As in certain circumstances the clause can even cover a fundamental breach as in Photo Productions v Securicor . According to the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977, the clause of Harry must be satisfactory . (accessed on Ailsa Craig fishing v Malvern Fishing (1983) . Here the Act clearly applies the Harry’s clause where a business seeks to exclude or limit liability . Under section 2(2) clauses attempting to exclude or limit liability for damaged property caused by negligence are subject to a test of reasonableness . The test is in section 11(1) and basically states that a clause is reasonable if in all surrounding circumstances of the case , than it is reasonable .This circular definition gives the trial judge a discretion to decide each case on it s own facts . under section 11(5) the burden of proving that the clause is reasonable is on the party seeking to rely on it .So Harry must prove that the clause is reasonable . Section 11(4 ) states two factors that the court must consider when determining the reasonableness of a limitation clause . Firstly the resource of party rely on the clause and also the question of whether he is in a position to insure against the risk of loss . Harry’s has the resource of profit making business as opposed to the resources of the community theatre and would also be able to insure against the risk of such losses . After determining the reasonableness of the clause which attempts to exempt liability implied in contracts for the sales of goods , this kind of act must be consider in court. However the courts such as House of Lords states certain factors in two different case laws , they are such as Smith v Bush down to the county court in Woodman v Photo Trade Processing . These two case law states that some of the factors of Schedule 2 are considered as case of negligence. According to the case law of Smith v Bush , it states that a survey report of the claimant’s house carried out by the defendant failed to advise on some structural damage to the property which resulted in the chimney breast collapsing. There was no contractual relationship between the claimant and defendant as the mortgage company arranged the survey and the claimant made payment to the mortgage company . The contract between the claimant and the mortgage company contained a clause exempting the surveyor from liability . In considering if such a clause was reasonable under the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 , the court took into account the fact that it was a modest house to be used as the family home and concluded that it was an unreasonable clause and therefore ineffective. The House of Lords held that it might be reasonable for a surveyor to exclude liability if the property was of higher value or to be used for investment or business purposes . According to this case law , they are generally relevant to question of reasonableness , here on of the factor is related to the bargaining strengths of the parties . (accessed on Smith v Eric Bush (1990) , 5/12/12) . In the case law of Woodman v Photo Trade Processing , Woodman sent wedding photographs to PTP for processing . The film was sent in an envelope which contained , printed on the outside , an exemption clause limiting liability to a replacement film . The film was lost due to negligence (it would now be considered as failure to exercise reasonable skill and care under s13 of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982). W sued. The court decided that this limitation on liability was (in these circumstances) unreasonable, since it was due to negligence that the film was lost , and the consumer had no choice over the contract. Since this decision , most postal film companies offer a choice of paying extra for insurance . Even with this option , there have been cases where these companies have been held to be acting unreasonably , because the clause has tended to be hidden , in small print on the envelope. (accessed on economic truth .co.uk , 5/12/12 ) . According to these two case laws, it is relevant that Harry and Mike are two businesses and would appear to have equality of bargaining strengths. This strength can be used as an opposition for both the customer and a business or even for any small business or multinational. Another relevant factor would be whether Mike’s knew or ought to known of the clause, perhaps from the trade . The trial judge suggested that the clause would be more reasonable if the customer had a choice from a two tier service, one will low costs but a high risk , and one with more protection but at a premium . The basic idea from this is logical , and if Harry does in fact offer such a two tier service it would go in his favour . In Phillips v Hyland Slade LJ , it demonstrates the action of the [Unfair contract terms act (1977)] . The plaintiff hire an excavator and driver from the defendant ; the driver negligently drove the excavator into the plaintiff’s building , causing damage . When sued for damages , the defendant relied on an exclusion clause that disclaimed liability for negligent actions of drivers . The plaintiff argued that the exclusion clause was inadmissible under the UCTA , which states that a clause disclaiming liability for damage resulting from negligence must be shown to be reasonable . The defendants tried to argue that the clause at issue was a duty-defining clause , and not an exclusion clause at all . The court , acting in the spirit of the UCTA , deemed that the clause was defensive , not duty-defining , and therefore an exclusion clause under the Act . The defendant also claimed that the clause was reasonable , and could therefore be upheld even if it were construed as an exclusion clause . The court held that the plaintiff , which hired excavators only rarely , was not in a position to estimate the risk involved in doing so ; the defendants , however , were operating in their main line of business , and should have been able to assess the risk accurately and take insurance to cover it . The clause was therefore deemed unfair and struck out .(accessed on lawiki.org/index.php , 5/12/12) . This application of the test of reasonableness turns on the facts of each case and will not be treated as binding precedent . So if the cause if similar to Harry’s than he had satisfaction of previous test of reasonableness , that is not to be taken as an indication of the validity of Harry’s clause . At the last it is clearly stated that this case is also turns on its own facts . REFERENCE :- * Ailsa Craig fishing v Malvern fishing (1983) , http://www.e-lawresources.co.uk/cases/Ailsa-Craig-fishing-v-Malvern-fishing.php , 5/12/12 . * Image of leadership and management , http://www.transitions coaching service.co.uk/page/1lko/about_us_ , 5/12/12. * Philips v Hyland Slade LJ (1987) , http://lawiki.org/index .php?title= Philips_ products_v_hyland_(1987)&action=edit ,5/12/12 . * Smith v Eric Bush (1990) 1 AC 831 , http://www.e-lawresources.co.uk/Smith-v-Eric-Bush.php ,5/12/12 . * Thompson v London ,Midland and Scotland Railway co , http://www.e-lawresources.co.uk/Thompson-v-London-Midland-and-Scotland-Railway-co.php , 5/12/12) . * Woodman v Photo Trade Processing 1981 , http://www.economic-truth.co.uk/?page_id=148 ,5/12/12 .

Advertising Is a Wasteful Expenditure or an Investment

There has been a constant debate about â€Å"advertising† that whether it is a useful or wasteful expenditure of resources. Advertising plays a crucial role in today’s world where there are so many brands vying for the customer’s attention. If not advertising, how else would you as a consumer know what all there is you could choose from? Though a useful tool, it must be well utilized to create an impact. Many a times, we as consumers remember the setting of the ad but forget the brand that was being advertised†¦this is definitely a pitfall and must be looked into.For an ad to have a real impact, it must be able to create brand retention. Advertising is the main source of â€Å"Customer Education† in marketing. Its main advantage to the customer is that we become aware of the products in the market and have a competitive advantage in buying the products and services. Its main advantage to the seller is in the manner of informing the prospective custome rs of the values of the products and capturing them.In older days, ads were on papers and pamphlets and billboards. In this electronic era, it has captured the TV and the internet. Therefore advertising is not a waste of resources. But as companies make their advertising expenditure on customer then it would be a bit problematic condition for customers as companies just look for their profits and if the advertising agency is not good then the whole budget goes waste.So i think company should be effective to make an ad as for this era advertising is an important aspect for all types of businesses. But company should not make the ads on the costs of customer’s money as they don’t give customer a big return but they have a huge returns and companies absorb bloods of poor customers. So i think that should be stop or minimized as in India rich are becoming more richer and poor becoming more poorer

The topic about reading A Thousand Splendid Suns Essay

The topic about reading A Thousand Splendid Suns - Essay Example Miriam becomes an orphan sometimes later in life when she tried to visit her father prompting her mother to commit suicide. She is later forced to marry a widower in Kabul when she goes to stay with her father Jalil. Laila also a character in the story is a beautiful girl and a daughter to the ethnic Tajiks. Her parents pass on when she is still little and at the same time realizes she is expecting Tariq’s child. Laila is adopted by Rasheed and Mariam who afterwards made her his second wife. The thesis of the paper is therefore to show the way in which Laila meets the definition of a heroine because of her courage and the noble purpose she serves in the society. Laila fits the definition of being a heroine because of the courage that she shows in her deeds. Laila gives birth to her second child without using drugs to comfort herself. Contrary to the birth of Aziza her first child, her second experience is something that can be said to be of a courageous person. To date, any woman on the verge of undergoing a caesarian operation needs to be sedated so as to help abate the pain that comes with it. The courageous act of Laila however was when she refused to lose her child and thus accepted to be operated on without an aesthetic. â€Å"Tell me what’s going on! Laila said, she had propped herself up on her elbows. The doctor took a breath, then told Laila that the hospital had no anesthetic. But if we delay, you will lose your baby. Then cut me open, Laila said. She had dropped back on the bed and drew up her knees. Cut me open and give my baby.† (Hosseini pg.174). Another act of courage from Laila was when she was preparing to escape her marriage which had only lasted a few years. One is considered a hero or a heroine if he or she does things which the rest of the people cannot dare to do. Many at times most women in marriages are mistreated by their partners but because of the fear they have they decide not to do anything to change

Company case study and Industry analyisis Research Paper

Company case study and Industry analyisis - Research Paper Example This paper has discussed the history and outlook of the company along with a deep analysis of the over Fast Food Industry of US. Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) is a sister concern of Yum Brands who also have other fast food chains including Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and Long John Silver’s. KFC was established by Colonel Sanders who initially presented the idea of fried chicken which ultimately turned up to be the most exciting fast food. KFC is the world’s leading fast food restaurant with billions of customers from around 80 countries (Zwolak, 2010). The success did not come to the company in an easy way. KFC has a long story of struggle which is briefly described below. Colonel Harland Sanders learnt cooking at an early age since his mother used to work outside and he was responsible to administer all the household tasks. Very soon he mastered some of the local dishes but due to financial constraints he could not think of pursuing a career in cooking. He kept on working as a streetcar conductor and insurance salesman while the supreme art of cooking resided inside him. In 1930 he began to serve the hungry travelers and developed the novel idea of replacing the home meal with something equally delicious. He was then in commission of a service station at Corbin, Kentucky, there he initiated the ‘Sunday dinner, seven day a week’. Later he got so much fame due to his distinctive chicken recipes that he was made the Colonel of Kentucky in response of his extraordinary services to the food industry. By 1955 he was very much confident about his chicken recipes which compelled him to establish KFC; within the time span of 10 years KFC had more than 600 branches in United States and Canada. Due to effective managing and marketing strategies KFC increased its profits within no time. Consequently in 1986 it was acquired by Pepsi Company which ultimately turned its restaurants including KFC and others in a separate company namely Tricon Global Restaurants, Inc

Lit 5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Lit 5 - Essay Example (Griswold). Create a collection of nursery rhymes from other lands to illustrate the universal nature of children and the unique characteristics of the people living in these countries. List at least fifteen different rhymes that you found and what country they are from. Every country has its unique culture and language. Nursery rhymes of a country reflect its culture, myth, tradition etc. A famous example is the popular nursery rhyme ‘London Bridge is falling down’. This was written based on the well known landmarks in London. The main theme of this rhyme is a bridge. People of this country attach much importance to this bridge. (London Bridge is falling down Nursery Rhymes Lyrics, History and Origin). The above mentioned nursery rhymes are from four different countries. Many of these rhymes reflect dialects of the country of origin. Almost all these rhymes have a close relationship with the culture of the land. For example â€Å"Rain Rain Go Away† is a popular rhyme in India. The natural forces like rain are worshipped as God in India. So the children and adults in India offer a reverential and significant place for rain in their mind. Select a common animal or object that often appears in books for children. Find two to three picture books that develop a story about that animal or object. Compare the ways in which the different artists depict the animal or object through the illustrations and the ways in which the writers describe the animal or object and develop the plots. There are many animal related stories for children. Elephant is a common animal that often appears in books for children. Arnold Lobel’s Uncle Elephant, Berkeley Breathed’s Pete & Pickles and Bonjour, Babar: The Six Unabridged Classics by the Creator of Babar written by Jean De Brunhoff with Kevin Henkes. (Elephant- Elephants). Uncle Elephant tells the story of the relationship between an elephant uncle and his nephew. There is a strong relationship between these

Strategic growth of ethical fashion in the luxury market Case Study

Strategic growth of ethical fashion in the luxury market - Case Study Example Recently, since the year 2005, ethical issues such as child labour, sustainable fashion, green issues, fair trade etc have gradually started to catch the attention in the UK fashion industry, when many high street brands started to catch up with the fair trade trend. One of the biggest retailers in the high street, 'Topshop' has started to collaborate with 'People tree'; which is a pure ethical brand, and launched ethical fair trade range in the year 2007. During the same time, young UK fashion designers created a new range of clothing for an established, sustainable fashion label in a competition from the 'Make Your Mark in Fashion' campaign which aims to encourage an enterprise culture among the UK's youth in London. Also, during the same period of time 'Marks and Spencers' which is a ultimately potential retailer in the UK fashion industry, has started 'Plan A' which covers green issues, fair trade, organic material etc. Their slogan 'We do it, because you want us to do it and we think it is the right thing to do.' This indicates that the major factor which constrains their business is their end consumers. Finally the ethical boom trickled down to 'Primark' which is the low end high street brand. 'Primark' has been voted as the least ethical clothing retailer in the UK, according to a survey by 'The Times Newspaper' in 2007. Also they started to lose 42% of their customer once a UK the television show; 'Panorama rightly' exposed 'Primark' as using child labour to make their cheap clothing. Eventually, in 2 the year 2008, 'Primark' has launched a fair trade organic range which contains T-shirts and jeans. Moreover, many organizations related to the ethical issues were found and are showing a rapid growth every season. In recent times fashion industry focused on 'Green Issues' with increasing awareness of the environmental problems and retailers in search of fair trade cotton could see a significant increase in its availability and

Nursing Informatics Topic Meaningful Use for Nurses Implications and Coursework

Nursing Informatics Topic Meaningful Use for Nurses Implications and Recommendation Guidelines - Coursework Example The program was based on the principle that all patients have the right to the best available care at the lowest possible cost. As such, various care providers are encouraged to take part in the program by complying with the provisions that guide the use of certified Electronics Health Records. Practitioners and care providers are required to meaningfully use the available EHR to be able to meet various objectives and goals that will have a positive impact on patient care. Through it, health care facilities have been able to embrace health care IT while also impacting positively on the wellbeing of the patient. According to the HITECH Act, health care providers and professionals who do not exhibit meaningful use of the certified Electronic Health Records may receive less than one hundred percent of the medical fees for the professional services that they offer (Health IT. Gov, 2015). This is revenue penalty that is strategically put in place to help promote the program and inspire use of IT in health records. The available incentives and penalties have encouraged care providers to come up with the best EHR solutions and approaches that will ensure that the workflow needs are met as per the requirements of the HITECH Act. There are several objectives and benefits that are achieved when the Meaningful Use is implemented in a given health care setting. Cusack (2010) notes that Meaningful Use and EHR enhance quality, safety and efficiency of patient care while also minimizing health inequalities. Moreover, it enhances patient and family coordination during the care provision process thus improving the overall process. Meaningful care also facilitates the maintenance of privacy and the security of the patients’ health information. According to Tamara, McDonell, Helfrich, Jesse, Fihn & Rumsfeld (2010), privacy and security of the

Role of government in East Asian miracle Research Paper

Role of government in East Asian miracle - Research Paper Example This paper discusses the economic boom which we see in East Asian countries. Despite a few ups and downs close to the end of the century, it is an example of regional development beyond anything. The rapid and well paced development that came in the last 40 years started off largely based on development and manufacturing of simple products like toys and apparel but then keeping up the pace of development reached to the development of automobiles and robots. With mass production and integration of technology and the products marketed towards the major European and American markets, the principal factors that have proven to be the major advantages are low cost of labor, growth in production quality and experience, competitive currency exchange rates in the region and compared to other global currencies and integration of latest technology in the production processes. A clear example of such development is clearly evident from the progress of china which became one of the leading produc ers of products that are completing with some of the most popular brands in the world. Japan which was entirely devastated due to the Second World War did not come out of its chaotic situation automatically; instead, the entire fabric of the country was integrated into one agenda that was of massive development. Unlike most of the westerns countries, the major player in the development of most of the East Asian countries remains the government. Each government played a pivotal role in the formulation of policy and national agenda of economic development that resulted in the miracle to happen. The fact cannot be denied that the global economic changes also played their role in the rapid progress of this region but not completely responsible for it. An independent study conducted by the World Bank on the progress of East Asian tigers, the â€Å"The East Asian Miracle† remarks that: Fundamentally sound development policy was a major ingredient in achieving rapid growth: macro ma nagement, saving promotion policies, education, agricultural productivity, . . . But these fundamental policies do not tell the whole story. Government intervened, targeting selected industries, promoting exports, low interest rates, protecting certain industries, . . . rapid growth has at times benefited from careful policy intervention. (1996: 5) The governments have the control and the ability or forming broad based policies that can be applied on a vast scale with a mission of developing standard policies and delivery of the services. With rapidly changing and uncertain global economics, the macroeconomics of the regions is

Assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Assessment - Essay Example The research teams have extensive experience in relevant fields hence they can conduct efficient studies and collect relevant disease data of all patients. They are conversant with patient recruitment and retention. The health personnel use both innovative and remote methods to recruit and retain patients to be enrolled for data collection. This body is very important since it has improved the living standards of patients through ethical and up to standard medical research due the professionalism practiced. It is also referred to as Shadow records. Physicians, pharmacists, psychologists and other health professionals maintained records of patients they attend. These records include copies of patient care information cards. The health record departments receive documents that carry information about a particular patient. Records received from Unit Medical Record (UMR) are forwarded to the health professionals to keep together with other patients’ records. All these comprise CMR and should not have any original document other than copies of the originals. CMR can also be Common Medical Record and this represents patient health history. It is mandatory that all health organizations in the Federal government synthesize health history of all patients. CMR is very valuable when health sector or organizations are tracing the root cause of diseases (Kominski, 2000). Health organizations process and reimburse claims. The organization billing departments are responsible for processing claims of third party payers, verification of insurance coverage and billing of Medicare. This process requires that health organizations maintain substantial information. The type of the service provided to the patient determines the type of billing forms that the third party payer will be issued with. The most common standard forms used by health organizations in United States of America are CMS-1450 and UB-92. These forms are submitted to third party

Education mis in East African countries - Tanzania Dissertation

Education mis in East African countries - Tanzania - Dissertation Example The creation of the MIS model will serve the purposes of empowering decision makers and the creation of capacity to deliver better education services across the sector. In the area of requirements analysis, the creation of the specification for the MIS model was executed through incorporation of national and international standards of education, regarding the needs of the users of the Tanzanian education sector. Communication with the users was executed through interviews, as this model offered unbiased information on the viewpoints of the user population. Feedback surveys were also helpful towards reaching the desired information base, as collected from social networking and other ICT-related data sites. Areas of constraints included the vague knowledge of the specifications desired by the user population, the unreasonable timelines of the end-users, and the communication gap between implementation teams and the end-user population. The rationales for the choices made were based on rationale capture and rationale representation, which were verified using argument-based choices. The software requirements specification was designed to emphasize on and foster the usage of management information systems throughout the creation, processing and consumption of information. Performance indicators revolved around the service delivery of service personnel to the documentation of students, and offering a complete picture of the educations sector. The features of the model under implementation include capturing baseline statistics like the demography of users to school performance capacities. Data flow across the sector was created to improve the practice and quality of management across the different user groups. The schedule for the implementation of the model will extend across 2011 and 2012, prior to expansion depending on the depicted implementation needs and uptake capacity. Under design specification, the model was split into two sub-phases: the top level design an d the detailed design level. The implementation of the model covered the development of the model, creation of data collection forms, data entry models and checking of the quality of the application. In the area of testing, the MIS model was tested on a number of areas, including the presence of bugs, model usability, and model compatibility. The model will offer a platform from which the education sector can run in a more effective manner, following the more effective transfer and communication of relevant information across the sector. INTRODUCTION AND DESCRIPTION OF THE FUNCTIONALITY OF THE MIS MODEL UNDER CREATION The education sector at Tanzania has historically faced numerous challenges, including the lack of basic infrastructure like electricity at local

Critically Thinking About Ethics and Assessment Essay Example for Free

Critically Thinking About Ethics and Assessment Essay 1. The four critical areas that are addressed in these standards include developing and selecting appropriate tests, administering and scoring tests, reporting and interpreting test results, and informing test takers. The two focus groups are the test developers and test users. Test developers are people and organizations that construct tests and set policies for testing programs while test users are those who select and administer tests, commission test development services, and make decisions based on the test scores. As a future teacher, counselor, or social worker, I think that I would fit the definition of test users because I would be conducting tests and making decisions from the results of the tests. 2. I believe that the most important issue among the guidelines for appropriate psychological assessment when it comes to children and adolescents would be 9. 03-b. It states, â€Å"Psychologists inform persons with questionable capacity to consent or for whom testing is mandated by law or governmental regulations about the nature and purpose of the proposed assessment services, using language that is reasonably understandable to the person being assessed. † This is important because young people who would undergo testing need to understand clearly what they are about to go through, as well as the reasons as to why they need to be assessed. They need to be talked to in a language and level where they can make a decision whether or not to give consent to the assessment. 3. The first guideline, which is â€Å"Protection Against High-Stakes Decisions Based on a Single Test† is important because it states that students should have the protection of not being judged based on a single test score. A single test score does not prove that much and students should be evaluated based on a series of tests. It is only fair that they be given multiple chances to prove what they are capable of as students. 4. In the â€Å"Screening and Assessment of Young English-Language Learners,† it is stated that the role of the family in the assessment of young English-language learners is important. Young students need the support that they can get from their families so that they can become confident in learning the language. Aside from this, it is also important for professionals to inform the families of the students’ improvements.

Evolution Of Management Theory

Evolution Of Management Theory Management has existed throughout the time of man. Management throughout the passing of time has evolved and segregated into different theories however the end game, remains the same that is to achieve a certain goal while working together as a team. There are various definitions to the term management. Lawrence Appely defines management as Management is the development of people and not the direction of things, management is personnel; administration (Agarwal, 2010, p.4). Whereas William Spreigel terms it as Management is that function of an enterprise which concerns itself with the direction and control of the various activities to attain the business objectives. Management is essentially an executive function; it deals particularly with the active direction of the human effort. (Agarwal, 2010, p.4). Management is the integrating force in all organized activity. The verb manage comes from the Italian maneggiare (to handle especially tools), which in turn derives from the Latin manus (hand). The French word mesnagement (later mà ©nagement) influenced the development in meaning of the English word management in the 17th and 18th centuries. (www.wikipedia.com. 2012. Management. [ONLINE] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Management. [Accessed 13 December 12].) Management has been put to use throughout the history of mankind. Management like thought has been seen right from the building of the pyramids to emperor Ashoka conquering all of India or bharat as it was and still is known. Management is extremely important in the functioning of any task, or organisation in order for it to be successful. If there is a fault in the management it can lead to failure of the task or improper functioning of the company. It is difficult to trace the exact origins of management but one can see its evolution throughout time. In chronological order the very first piece of evidence of management theory can be seen in Chanakyas Arthashashtra, followed by Sun Tzus The Art of War, followed by Niccolà ² Machiavellis The Prince, followed by Adam Smiths The Wealth of Nations. The 19th century later gave rise to classical economists such as and John Stuart Mill (1806-1873 Adam Smith (1723-1790). These economists provided an academic background on resource-allocati on, production and pricing issues. Alternatively, visionaries like James Watt (1736-1819), Matthew Boulton (1728-1809) Eli Whitney (1765-1825), and developed fundamentals of procedural assembly such as standardization, quality-control procedures, cost-accounting, inter-changeability of parts, and work-planning. The first complete principles of management appeared around the year 1920. The Concept of Corporation (published in 1949) a well-known book that was written by Peter Drucker (1909-2005) was one of the earliest books on applied management. Science of management written by Henry R Towne was published in the 1890s, The Principles of Scientific Management conceptualized by Frederick Winslow Taylor was published in the year 1911, Applied motion study was published in the year 1917, which was written by Frank and Lillian Gilbreth.J. Duncan wrote the first college management textbook in 1911. Yoichi Ueno was the first person to introduce taylorism to Japan in 1912 and he became the first management consultant of the Japanese-management style. Ichiro Ueno, his son pioneered Japanese quality assurance. As one can see from the above examples we know that management has been influenced by various disciplines such as economics, political science, psychology, anthropology and even literature. Earlier management theories aimed at getting to know these newcomers of the industrial life at the end of the nineteenth century and beginning of the twentieth century in Europe and the United States. THE CLASSICLAL OR UNIVERSAL SCHOOL The oldest form of the school of management of thought is the classical school. It dates, back to the twentieth century. The classical or universal thought deals with how to manage work organisations more effectively. There are three areas of management that can be classified under the classical school or universal school of thought. They are as follows- 1. Scientific management 2. Bureaucratic management 3. Administrative management The beliefs of the classical or universal school of thought- Fredrick Taylor was the founder of the classical school of thought. Earlier, the body of the classical school of thought implied that employees, have only psychical and economical needs, and that the concept of job-satisfaction was in fact alien to it. This school advocates high specialization of labour, centralized decision making, and profit maximization. The basic components compounded by Taylor for the scientific management school are as follows- Determination of standards of performance. Functional foremanship Responsibilities of management. Differential piecework of system of wage payment Mental revolution. Henri Fayol, and Max Weber are exceptional contributors of Classical School of management thought who made great contribution and laid the grounds for contemporary management. THE BEHAVIOURAL OR HUMAN RELATION SCHOOL The Hawthorne plant of Western Electric Company conducted experiments by Mayo,Roethlisberger and others for the first time on the human aspects of organizations in the 1930s. This approach had previously been ignored by the classical theorists. This school is dubbed as neo-classical as it follows the academic form of classical theory and emphasises the human element of management as a counterpoint in contrast to the impersonality of classical theory. These experiments led to the development of new premises. These premises were the motivation to work; morale and productivity are related to the social conditions among the workers and the supervisor, and not to the psychical conditions at work. Considerable contributions made by Kurt Lewin, Chris Argyris,Rensis Likert ,and Douglas McGregor have helped shaped this school for being whatever it is today. Abraham Maslow a renowned psychologist developed a very widely recognised hierarchy of needs. This is now known as Maslows hierarchy of needs. This is a concept of motivation based on the needs of every human being. His concept had three assumptions. They are- The needs of a human being are never truly satisfied. Human behaviour is purposeful and is motivated by the need for satisfaction. The needs of a human being can be classified according to a hierarchical structure of importance, from the lowest to highest. The above three premises prove that human beings need a motivation in order to get the job done. This theory has been highly useful for managers in order to help motivate their employees. THE MANAGEMENT SCIENCE OR QUANTITATIVE SCHOOL Mathematicians, physicists, and scientists came together in order to solve the problems caused by World War II. The key feature of this school is its use of mathematics and statistics to help in determining production and operation problems. This approach helps in solving technical rather than human behaviour problems. It comprises a diverse team of experts from whatever fields the problem being attacked calls for. The team members then analyse the problem and then make a mathematical representation of it. Therefore they would change some aspects of the equation to see what would happen in the real world. The most important contributions of management science are in the areas of operations management and production management. (Duening, 2003) THE CONTENGENCY/SITUATIONAL OR ALL DEPENDS SCHOOL The contingency school was birthed in the 1970s. As the very name suggests this school of thought is based on possibility. In this approach managers deal with each problem differently based on the situation and its belief lies in evaluating many options to solve one problem. This theory recognises that there is no one best way to design organisations and manage them. It weighs down the variables and then decides based on the varying factors as to what would be the best solution. This approach is highly dependent on the judgement of the manager in any given situation. It focuses on the inter-relationships within and among the subsystems as well as between the organisation and its environment. (Agarwal, 2010) For example-when taco bell asked itself what would ensure its success, they revamped their business based on the simple philosophies of customers value food, provision, and the aesthetic appeal of the restaurant. Taco bell then hired new managers who would ensure that their philosophies were put into action thereby ensuring their success. (Anon., n.d.) THE SYSTEM SCHOOL The system school of thought sees the organization as one whole purposeful and united body rather than seeing it in its different parts and pieces. Its early contributors include Lawerence J.Henderson,W.G.Scott, Daniel Katz, J.D Thompson, etc. This approach helps the managers to look at the broader picture. This school conveys to us that every single action done by any section of the company affects the other segments of the company in varying degrees. In this school managers make their decisions only after they have weighed down each and every single option as to if that decision has been taken, how it will affect the company. The managers cannot function based on their department alone; they must take the whole company into account. In order for them to run smoothly they must be in constant touch with the other departments of the company as well, so that they can base their decisions accordingly. CONCLUSION Management as one has seen above is under constant development. It always has more room for change for its own betterment. It has existed since time immemorial. The schools of thought are simply the different approaches that are used by any person, or organisation in order for it to achieve its goals. In this document there are 5 schools of thought that have been explained. They are the classical school, the human relations school, , the management science school, the contingency theory school. They are summarized as follows- The classical school- the classical school consist of three theories, namely. Scientific management, Bureaucratic management and Administrative management. The major purposes of the school were to develop the basic principles that could guide the design, creation and maintenance of large organisations and to identify the basic functions of managing organizations. (Duening, 2003) The behavioural school or human relation school- this school takes on a managerial approach as to how the role of people affects the success of the organisation. It also emphasises the structure of the organisation and work environment affects their behaviour and performance.it simply states that if the employees are kept in a good working environment then their productivity will increase, which in turn will lead to successful operations of the company. (Duening, 2003) The management science or quantitative school- this school gives us a mathematical representation of the problems that are faced. Therefore when one changes one of the factors in the equation one can anticipate what the result would be in the real world. Important contributions that were made were in the areas of production management and operations management. The contingency /situational or all depends school- this theory implies that every situation that a management faces is unique therefore it is left up to the managers discretion as to how h/she chooses to deal with it. This requires the manager to have a great deal of experience and good judgement. It also states that there is no one best way to deal with a problem. Instead it asserts the need to understand different problems and how to deal with them differently. The system school- the system school saw the organisation as a whole instead of dividing it into bits and pieces. This helped keep in mind the larger picture and that was the achievement of the companys goals rather than those of the individual departments.

Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom

Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom George Washington Carver said that education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom (n.d. in BrainyQuote, 2010) and nowhere is this more true than for those who experience learning difficulties. In every educational environment it is important that the students feel valued; no matter what their learning difficulties they need to feel included as a part of the school community where any barriers to learning are removed in order to optimise à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦learning and participation (Booth, Ainscow, Black-Hawkins, Vaughan and Shaw, 2000, P. 13) and that they are bringing something valuable into the classroom where their efforts and achievement will be recognised (Ofsted, 2000, P. 4). The key to being able to support all students in their learning is first class assessment which identifies individual pupils strengths and weaknesses so that optimum provision can be made for them (Cross, 2004, P. 117) which is particularly important in protecting à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦specialist provisio n for those who need it (Croll and Moses, 2000, P. 1). Sometimes teachers instruct or tell, serving as transmitters of information that students have to acquireà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ at other times teachers show and demonstrate, acting as mentors and coaches rather than as instructorsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Hargreaves, 2005, P. 5) the aim of this essay is to analyse behaviourist and cognitive approaches to learning for those who have learning difficulties identifying the strengths and weaknesses in each method when applied to the teaching. Historically children have been presented with a didactic model of learning: they were told when to come into school, what they were going to learn and were instructed about how they were going to learn it irrespective or their personal talents; students were all made to write with their right hand even if it did not come naturally to them much to their frustration my great grandmother for example. The education system became a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ process of learning to instructionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ by which children are expected to learn by intent participation in meaningful, useful occupations, with a factory model of education by assembly line instruction (Bruce, 2004, P. Xi). This followed very much the Behaviourist Model which argues that learning is initiated through our interaction with external stimuli which alters the way in which we tackle things (Glassman, 1995): the behaviourist school of thought grew from the pioneering work of Ivan Pavlov and his work with dogs; at the sound of a bell he was able to initiate salivation in the animals in anticipation of receiving food which continued long after the food was not delivered as expected this became known as Classical Conditioning. James Watson (who first used the term behaviourism) continued this work and attested that all human behaviour was the result of responding to stimuli in a conditioned manner he even went as far as to suggest that anyone, no matter what their social status or ability, could be schooled to fulfil any task or profession provided that they were healthy and applied themselves in their learning (Watson, 1924, P. 82) and that an adult carefully controlled the conditions for the stimuli and the responses (Keenan, 2002, P. 24). Experiments that were carried out with children to test this theory, notably by Watson and Rayner, illustrated that both fear and pleasure could be associated with particular objects or noises; this led them to theorise that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ rewards or reinforcement s could arise from the satisfaction of inner needs and could provide a motivation for learning (Tilstone, Layton, Anderson, Gerrish, Morgan and Williams, 2004, P. 45). Skinner further developed these ideas into what he called Operant Conditioning; he put forward the idea that all actions that were reinforced, either positively through reward or negatively through punishment, would be duplicated he actively encouraged teachers and educators in general to cement a childs success through the use of positive praise and reinforcement. Positive reinforcement involves rewarding correct behaviour or responses such as reading a sentence without error leading to a star being given, progressing to two lines followed by a paragraph and so on to gain the reward and encourage learning. He felt that children were led and could be shaped in their learning and parents and teachers needed to reinforce their learning whenever and wherever it occurred in other words, when a parent or carer shows enthusiasm for something a child tries to say, this should encourage the child to repeat the utterance (David, Goouch, Powell and Abbott 2003, P. 49). Skinner also believed that the acquisition of knowledge needed to be tackled in stages which built on the existing learning of the individual involved proposing à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦a technology of teaching whereby instruction is individualised, complex verbal behaviours gradually shaped, reinforcement for appropriate responses is consistent and immediate, and learned behaviours are maintained by intermittent reinforcement schedules. (Ormrod, 2004, Ps. 79-80). Having said that it is individualised it is mechanistic in nature following a set pattern of repetition, correction and praise following successful modification to embed the skills into the learner (Capel, 1997, P. 136); this sort of learning treats the child like a type of human sponge (Kirk, Macdonald and OSullivan, 2006, P. 295) they are often referred to as command or practice styles and are often seen in subjects such as Physical Education (Byra, 2006, in Kirk et al, 2006, P. 450). These theorists placed great emphasis on the linear nature of devel opment what we call development in this view, is really just a long series of individual learning experiences (Bee, 1989, P. 14) considering learning to be the same for all no matter what their age or stage in life (Tilstone, Layton, Anderson, Gerrish, Morgan and Williams, 2004, P. 50) reinforcing the need for educators to look at how students are acquiring their learning necessitating accurate and thorough record keeping in order to be able to properly assess and evaluate their work. This is crucial in order to fully cater for individuals who are experiencing difficulties in their learning. The word cognitive comes from the Latin cognoscere which means to know; all of the processes which are undertaken in thinking and knowing about anything are what is known as cognitive actions. Cognitive development is the study of how these processes develop in children and young people, and how they become more efficient and effective in their understanding of the world and in their mental processes (Oakley, 2004, P. 2). Every individual thinks and reasons in a different way, with a childs processes being different from that of an adult which is why cognitive approaches to education are both fascinating and complex in their make up. Jean Piaget was one of the first to look at how children learn as individuals in their own right and that their way of thinking and therefore learning was different to that of an adult. He argued that all children go through a series of stages in their development which are linear in nature which means that they take place at approximately the same time (Long, 2000, P. 32): they are sensori motor (birth to about eighteen months), the pre operational (eighteen months to about six years), the concrete operational (six to approximately eleven years) and the formal operational (eleven years onwards). Piaget contests that the way that individuals learn in their lives is different at each of these stages and that as a result à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ the way children perceive the world, the way they process and respond to information, and the way they develop ideas and concepts (Moore, 2000, P. 9) will be different too. He believed that maturity affected the way that children thought and learned s aying that human beings are, from early childhood, active, independent meaning makers who construct knowledge rather than receive it (Moore, 2000, P. 7). He perceived children as being capable of constructing their own understanding of their experiences and the world around them as a result of their inbuilt curiosity and need for knowledge and understanding. Piaget put forward the idea that there are two distinct phases to the learning process; the first entails the child demonstrating their understanding of a particular experience or idea that they come across in the world by the way in which they integrate or assimilate this new data into it, for example a child using a large box as a house when they are playing; the other is known as accommodation which describes the learners ability to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ make sense of the new event occurring in the environment (Leonard, 2002, P. 1). Piaget believed that these two phases needed to be perfectly balanced if effective learning was goi ng to be able to take place as it is only by the simultaneous action of assimilation and accommodation[that] events are perceived as meaningful and at the same time generate changes in the interpretive procedures (Barnes, 1976, P. 22). Due to every single experience that people have in life their perceptions of and interaction with the world around them changes and Piaget regards this as part of the process of learning and cognitive development to understand is to discover, or reconstruct by rediscovery, and such conditions must be complied with if in the future individuals are to be formed who are capable of production and creativity and not simply repetition (1973). The cognitive structures à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ adjust in response to challenges when incoming information cannot be accommodated within existing schemes, and modes of thinking develop with biological growth (Tilstone et al, 2004, P. 20). A similar route was followed by the work of Bruner who studied the processes behind learning and problem solving. Both stress the importance of engagement in problem solving activities which promote links with finding solutions (Wood, 1998) as well as there being stages through which learners acquire and develop their knowledge: Bruner describes them as enactive understanding is promoted in the learner through interaction with the world, iconic when images are more frequently used in order to remember knowledge and information and symbolic the use of complex systems of symbols, for example language, to convey understanding and abstract thought; these correspond to Piagets sensori-motor [enactive], pre-operational [iconic] and concrete and formal operational [symbolic] (Smith, 1999, P. 20). Bruner explains that the first stage is characterised by action on the part of the learner in that the recognition of objects à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ seems to depend not so much on the objects themselve s but on the actions evoked by them (Bruner, 1966, P. 12). As the learner matures there is less need to interact physically with objects to understand them as they develop the capacity to see something in their mind (the iconic stage). The learner moves to the symbolic stage through interaction with the world and those around them in order to develop language and communication within the context of the culture to which they are exposed as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ learning, remembering, talking, imagining; all of them are made possible by participating in a culture (Bruner, 1996, P. xi). As a result he seems to equate learning issues or difficulties with an absence of culturally stimulating environments as opposed to deficiencies in any child (Tilstone, 2000 in Tilstone et al, 2004, P. 25) giving particular attention to three distinct areas or amplifiers motoric, sensory and reflective. Motoric covers physical extensions of human capabilities like knives and forks for eating, spears for hunt ing, tools for farming and cars to transport ourselves around more quickly and efficiently. Sensory involves the enhancement of the way that the world and people in it are perceived for example simple things like spectacles or magnifying glasses. Reflective encompasses the means through which communication skills are learnt, developed and shared with those around us; parents and carers initiate this process with both verbal and non verbal cues enabling them to scaffold communication through holding their attention while building on their responses (Tilstone, 2004, P. 26). Often this will mean that adults will challenge children to extend their abilities and skills through this which Bruner believes is the right thing to do as a teacher, you do not wait for readiness to happen; you foster or scaffold it by deepening the childs powers at the stage where you find him or her now (1996, P. 120). He believed that comprehensive development is possible through this sort of social/cultural interaction. Vygotsky furthered the idea that social interaction was the catalyst for the development of a child the entire history of a childs psychological development shows us that, from the very first days of development, its adaptation to the environment is achieved through social means, through the people surrounding it (Vygotsky and Luria, 1993, P. 116). Kozulin, Gindis, Ageyev and Millar (2003) inform us that at the heart of Vygotskys theory lies the understanding of human cognition and learning as social and cultural rather than individual phenomena (P. 1). He laid great stress on the socio cultural environments which shape the development of children (Kozulin et al, 2003, P. 2), believing that absolutely everything in the behaviour of the child is merged and rooted in social relations (Vygotski, 1932 in Ivic, 1989, P. 429) and their interactions with their peers, teachers, adults and the community as a whole. He in fact stressed that interaction, teaching and learning were integral to each other and that they could have no rigidly defined techniques ascribed to them (Popkevitz, 1998, P. 538). These ideas about cognitive development are referred to as social cognitive due to their being a mixture of social and cognitive theory; they centre round childrens dealings with the environment and those in it utilising the different communication skills that they have learnt. Vygotsky believes that children learn from watching and copying or modelling the different behaviours of those around them using a number of different cultural tools, for example a small child pointing a finger is seen initially as an inconsequential grasping action which changes into a significant one as people react to it (Vygotsky, 1978, P. 56). He emphasised two points in terms of learning, mediation and the expansion of psychological tools. Mediation can be seen as a learner using aids which are both human and symbolic to be able to understand the information that has to be learnt; at the start of the process something which needs to be learnt is modelled and observed by the learner who internalises it, m aking it part of their psyche having had time to reflect on it; this type of mediation can take countless different forms from simple guidance and encouragement to complex advice and scaffolding in order to achieve the understanding of a concept but rather than try to define mediation it is more important to understand that it à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦provides a perspective on how to look at interpersonal engagements and arrangements (Rogoff, 1995, P. 146-147). Psychological tools are à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ those symbolic systems specific for a given culture that when internalised by individual learners become their inner cognitive tools (Kozulin et al, 2003, P. 3) which aid them in à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦mastering mental processes (Daniels, 2001, P. 15) and gives them the ability to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦control the conditions of their future remembering (Bakhurst, 1996, P. 202). Vygotsky felt that the higher cognitive processes could only be accessed and developed by learners through copying or imitating adults or older more experienced people due to what he referred to as the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD); he defined this as a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ latent learning gap between what a child can do on his or her own and what can be done with the help of a more skilful other (Richardson, 1998, P. 163).  It is through following the lead of someone else that individuals are able to develop the skills and the cognitive ability to be able to accomplish tasks alone. Siegler believed that the linear way of regarding cognitive development did not paint a full enough picture of the facts that one could observe about learning, such as the anomaly of a variety of different skill levels within the same age group of children. He developed an overlapping waves theory in trying to better understand how children develop where the focus was on à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ the number of strategies that a child might use at any age rather than à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ which specific strategy a child might use most during which stage (Calais, 2008, P. 3). Siegler made three assumptions on which he based his idea: children use a number of methods to address a problem, not just one; methods of thinking and strategies that are used remain with people for indefinite periods of time; children use the experiences that they have to enable them to build towards and move on to more complex strategic thinking. He states that variability is undeniable when one observes how an individual or g roup tackle a problem and that inconsistencies in approach can be seen in individuals who use different strategies to address the same issue on different days. Siegler highlights five stages in learning; acquisition of appealing strategies, mapping strategies onto new problems, strengthening strategies for consistent usage, refining choices and executing appealing strategies (Calais, 2008, P. 4). These stages are all evident in the development of childrens cognitive abilities although they might actually be going through a number of them at the same time. Similar to Piaget and Vygotsky, Siegler discovered that the ability of the learner to choose an appropriate strategy in order to address an issue got better the more mature and skilled they became thus possibly accounting for why individuals within a group might tackle a problem differently in spite of being from the same culture. The teaching techniques which are associated with these schools of thought are almost diametrically opposed to each other. The behaviourist model is one which is teacher focused and revolves around the pupils following instructions that they are given to achieve a specified end. It is a mechanical and unimaginative way of working but is one which is essential if children are to learn the basics of any skill. Unfortunately there is no substitute in a great many areas of the curriculum for instruction based teaching in order to ingrain the skills into students prior to moving on to more advanced skills. Examples of this can be readily seen in the mathematics classrooms where I myself sat through what seemed like endless practice of times tables either through chanting as a class or via targeted questioning of individuals to ensure that they had been learnt properly; the basic rules of algebra need to be learnt before attempting to work out equations or problems; Physical Education less ons are full of the command or practice style of lessons where instructions and demonstration of skills are given followed by practice of skills in isolation, feedback from the practitioner and peers followed by time for improvement and a short game to contextualise the newly learnt skill. The advantage of this type of learning environment is that it is very focused on specific learning goals, the lessons targeting those exclusively in bite size pieces which is ideal for those with learning issues; the disadvantage is that it does not allow for freedom of expression or for the individual strengths of students to be developed. Cognitive schools of thought would encourage teachers to contextualise any skills that students are learning at all times or at the very least whenever it is possible to do so. This would involve starting work on a subject by assessing what the student already knows and constructing a programme of work from that point. This would enable the students with learning difficulties to feel confident in their ability to make progress in that they are beginning with familiar territory making the prospect of what is to come less intimidating and potentially overwhelming. Classrooms following this sort of approach are much more creative in that they allow, as far as possible, for the pupils to direct the learning towards set goals allowing for them to be as imaginative as possible in the process. This child centred approach requires a high degree of organisation in and management of the classroom and necessitates a measured lay out of the classroom for its various functions. In the primary cla ssroom there would need to be specific areas for each different activity in order to maximise the learning potential of the environment for example a computer area, a construction area, a role play area, a carpet area and a reading or quiet area. The teachers work area could be placed in the middle of the classroom for ease of access for all with clear gangways to aid uninhibited movement around the room. The displays should be vibrant, colourful and current indicating to the class that their work is valuable and worthy of being displayed a particularly important point for those with learning difficulties who invariably have low self esteem. Topic based work allows cross curricular links to be forged which is a strength of this method of learning: for example a topic on the Great Fire of London could be tackled encompassing a number of different areas of the curriculum; history would clearly be covered as the foundation of the study alongside a study of how the buildings of the ti me were constructed, why they would have burnt so quickly and how they could have been constructed to make them safer; English and Literacy could be covered through the construction of fire safety posters and poems and the community could be involved through a visit from the local fire service personnel. The children would be encouraged to work both on their own and as members of a group for different parts of the study that they are undertaking using the adults as a resource from which to glean information or to aid them in their planning of how to approach part or parts of their work. The disadvantage of this method of approaching teaching is the huge amount of preparation which needs to be completed before the session to accommodate the creative talents within the group of children but the advantage is that pupils are motivated to complete work to a high standard which expresses their knowledge and understanding of the topic to its fullest extent irrespective of their relative ta lents or abilities. There is no easy or definitive way to teach the skill of reading to any child let alone those who experience learning difficulties. The current trends appear to be a blend of the behaviourist and the cognitive approaches which bring in the best of both worlds. Before implementing any programme it is important to understand the level at which children are operating when they enter the classroom. Some primary children will already have acquired the basics of letter recognition and even some reading skills. However it is important to establish where they are and how to go about reinforcing the basic skills which will allow them to access books and reading materials in the future. It is crucial to understand that the teaching of reading is designed to cover two areas the mechanical aspects of decoding words and the comprehension of them. Decoding is the means through which people are able to interpret written words on a page and make them into meaningful sounds; this involves providing them with the skills to be able to sound out letters and syllables in order to construct the words that appear on the page. It gives people the ability to read almost anything even if it is slowly through the decoding process initially this involves using words with which the learner is familiar followed by the introduction of increasingly more complex ones. The most popular method at present is that of phonics the use of letter/sound associations to recognise words. There are five basic skills which are required for reading and writing which are learning the sounds of the letters, learning the formation of the letters, blending, recognising sounds in words and spelling words that are different or difficult (Jolly Phonics, n.d.). The concept has been popularised by the development of a number of products for the use of both parents and schools to aid students of all ages and abilities with their reading. Phonics provides the learner with that which is readily accessible, easily produced and comprehensible to them sounds, which can then be linked to words. There are a number of different approaches in terms of structure but I will be focusing on one, that of Jolly Phonics. To begin with children are taught the forty two main sounds in English in seven distinct groups: (Jolly Phonics, n.d.) These are known as digraphs and are accompanied by a series of actions (encompassing a multi sensory approach, examples of which are below) which correspond to the letters to help the children to remember them which gradually become unnecessary as the learner gains in confidence. s Weave hand in an  s  shape, like a snake, and say  ssssss a Wiggle fingers above elbow as if ants crawling on you and say  a, a, a. t Turn head from side to side as if watching tennis and say  t, t, t. i Pretend to be a mouse by wriggling fingers at end of nose and squeak  i, i, i. p   Pretend to puff out candles and say  p, p, p. n Make a noise, as if you are a plane hold arms out and say  nnnnnn. (Jolly Phonics, n.d) They learn each letter by its sound, for example a is for ant which will help with blending later in the process. The first group of letter above are introduced at the outset as they provide the greatest amount of three letter words when combined with each other. The students are then taught how to hold a pencil correctly followed by how to form letters in an appropriate way. This is followed by blending which is the process of articulating the individual sounds within a word before running them together to produce the whole. All children need to learn this stage and get better with practice and encouragement. This is often the key with those who have special needs having the encouragement and the confidence to try and not fear making mistakes. It may need the adult to say the parts of the word first to ensure that the pupil can hear them before repeating them which could be seen as the adult providing the support or scaffolding in order for the child to progress to the next level ( Vygotskys Zone of Proximal Development). Games can be played like I-Spy to encourage children to listen for the sounds in different parts of words and blending cards can be helpful in this process. Spelling is a different issue with a number of possibilities available to aid in this learning process for example Look, Cover, Write, Check or Mnemonics (the first letter in each word of a saying spelling a word, e.g. fish Frogs In Silly Hats). As we can see from the above example of the teaching of reading and from teaching techniques in general there are advantages and disadvantages in each teaching method. If one wishes to get a safety message across about crossing a road it would not be appropriate for the children to find out by playing chicken with the cars! They would need to be given specific instructions as to how to accomplish the objective safely and if necessary practice in the playground in a role play situation to ensure that the message has been taken in. The basics in reading need to be given through instruction and practice before words can be used creatively in the context of story writing, telling and reading. Lots of practice and exposure to words in and around the classroom through colourful displays with pictures combined with words will lead to a comfort and familiarity with reading and the written word which is particularly valuable for those with learning difficulties. Reading is a basic and necessa ry skill which one needs not only to access a curriculum to be able to pass exams but to be able to function in the most basic way in life. Those with learning difficulties have the right to be taught and to learn this skill of communication; there is no one all encompassing way to achieve this and practitioners have to develop a number of skills and techniques to accommodate the different needs of the personalities in their care. It would appear that there needs to be a blend of both the behaviourist and cognitive approaches to get the best from children as some aspects need to be specifically taught whereas others can be guided and discovered through shared activity with both their peers and adults alike.

Macbeth :: essays research papers

Macbeth Throughout the play, there are several occasions which may either be interpreted as manipulation of Macbeth’s character, or more dramatically as prophecies of his inevitable destiny. The most important of these elements are the supernatural witches. When Macbeth first meets the Witches (I.iii.) – seemingly by accident – they call him titles which have not yet been bestowed upon him. It is unclear whether the Witches plant the idea of earning these titles by foul play to Macbeth’s head, or whether it is a prophecy of future. Either way, their words eventually become reality. The further encounters with the Weyward Sisters and Hecate strengthens the idea of a preset destiny. The three apparitions summoned by the witches (IV.i.) and the prophecies that go together with them are all visions of the future. Unfortunaly for Macbeth he manages to read these manifestations of his destiny all wrong. Another important ’fatal’ element for Macbeth is Lady Macbeth. She is also heavily manipulating Macbeth (II.ii.), although she does not have the supernatural qualities of the Witches. She is clearly a woman driven by an infinite lust for power. However, the only way for her to fulfill her personal agenda is through her husband, Macbeth. Lady Macbeth’s character can be easily interpreted as a manifestation of the darker side of the human mind, an instrument between Macbeth and the realization of his inevitable destiny. When Macbeth has become King and felt power, he doesn't want to give it up. At first he wasn't at peace because he wanted the throne, but hesitated to carry out the murder. Now that he has the throne, he loses his peace with the prospect of losing the crown. His only choice now is to kill Banquo and Fleance. He is trying to work against prophecy – the third apparition – something he never learns not to do. While Macbeth carries out his dark deeds, he becomes a somewhat different person; he no longer possesses control over his destiny. His head becomes filled with images of murder, ghosts and other signs of a disturbed mind. The vision of the dagger (II.i.) is the earliest example of the duality and unstability of his character. Macbeth’s mind is contemplating the murder of Duncan, but he clearly hasn’t come to terms with it. After he has carried out the murder, Macbeth is able to keep a mask of innocence. When he has the doubtful Banquo murdered, and his ghost appears to haunt him

E-commerce and the New World Order :: Internet Online Communication Essays

E-commerce and the New World Order INTRODUCTION: Imagine a town with a population of 500 people. Everyone knows each other in person, where gossip and rumors are the daily norms and where the community struggles to survive each day on basic physiological needs (water, food). There’s no form of entertainment, no technological presence, just a local pub down the street, where many people come to drink just to socialize and pass the time. The only news that is important to them is the news within the community. Now imagine the same town, a few decades later, with a growing population. This town has integrated technology into their daily lives. The town can now trade among other communities near by, while aware of the activities of the towns around them, of the country as a whole and of the news that circulates around the globe. It is this economy which greater resembles the economy in which we now live in. This economy is known as the information society, where traditional physical restrictions are now eliminated to the advantage of exploring other cultures and communities across space and time. This economy provides efficient forms of communication while enhancing the knowledge and ability of each individual in its society. In order to relate and comprehend this new economy, and to acknowledge its existence, we must first examine the changes that have taken place, and the benefits and disadvantages that are associated with it. It is by looking at each aspect that we can conclude that a new economy has formed and has impacted the ways we conduct our daily lives. ESSAY NWO: THE NEW WORLD ORDER Imagine a community in the industrial age, where mass production of goods and services are produced, where quality and originality are lost and where the creator/author loses power to control those who uses his/her information. The only news and transactions that circulates and matter within the community are those, which are local. Now imagine the same community where technological innovation has taken over, where computers are the new form of communication, where news that happen from one area of the world greatly affects other areas of the world. Where a wide variety of goods and services are now offered throughout the world, and where transactions and investment occurs at the tip of your fingers in your very own home.

Vietnam Essay -- essays research papers

Prior to the start of our study of the Vietnam Era, I thought that I knew quite a bit about the Vietnam War and the overall time period. But after listening to some guest speakers and reading Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried, I discovered that I knew hardly anything, and that most of what I did know was pretty much insignificant. These past weeks were not only extremely educating, but it was also very interesting. I learned more than I ever thought I would, mostly through the people that know it best, those who lived through it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The most important thing I learned about Vietnam and the time period in which it took place, is that it was so confusing. It seems as if nobody really knew what was going on or what they were supposed to be doing. It also seems that even the people who fought in the war didn't believe that our presence was right. They knew nothing about the terrain, the Vietnamese culture, or even how to fight the North Vietnamese. And when they thought that they had things somewhat under control and that they could kind of anticipate the North Vietnamese, the NVA changed everything with the TET offensive. So they ended up pretty much knowing nothing about anything.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The war not only hard on the soldiers, but it was also hard on their loved ones. The hardest thing for those who were left behind was the waiting and the not knowing. Wives and parents didn't know whether their loved one were alive or dead...

Cost Theory

Cost Theory in Economics A central economic concept is that getting something requires giving up something else. For example, earning more money may require working more hours, which costs more leisure time. Economists use cost theory to provide a framework for understanding how individuals and firms allocate resources in such a way that keeps costs low and benefits high. 1. Function * Economists view costs as what an individual or firm must give up to get something else. Opening a manufacturing plant to produce goods requires an outlay of money.Once a plant owner spends money to manufacture goods, that money is no longer available for something else. Production facilities, machinery used in the production process and plant workers are all examples of costs. Cost theory offers an approach to understanding the costs of production that allows firms to determine the level of output that reaps the greatest level of profit at the least cost. 2. Features * Cost theory contains various meas ures of costs. These include a firm's fixed costs and variable costs. The former do not vary with the quantity of goods produced.Rent on a facility is an example of a fixed cost. Variable costs change with the quantity produced. If increased production requires more workers, for example, those workers' wages are variable costs. The sum of fixed and variable costs is a firm's total costs. * Additional Measures * Cost theory derives two additional cost measures. Average total cost is the total cost divided by the number of goods produced. Marginal cost is the increase in total cost that results from increasing production by one unit of output.Marginals–including marginal costs and marginal revenue–are key concepts in mainstream economic thought. Falling and Rising Costs * Economists often use graphs, similar to supply-and-demand charts, to illustrate cost theory and firms' decisions about production. An average total cost curve is a U-shaped curve on an economic diagram. This shape illustrates how average total costs decline as output rises and then rise as marginal costs increase. Average total costs decline at first because as production rises, average costs are distributed over a larger number of units of output.Eventually, marginal costs of increasing output rise, which increases average total costs. Maximizing Profits * Economic theory holds that the goal of a firm is to maximize profit, which equals total revenue minus total cost. Determining a level of production that generates the greatest level of profit is an important consideration, one that means paying attention to marginal costs, as well as marginal revenue (the increase in revenue arising from an increase in output). Under cost theory, as long as marginal revenue exceeds marginal cost, increasing production will raise profit.Types of Cost Economics Economists factor costs in many different ways. Though you may read the cost of a soup can at $1 as it’s listed on the grocery sto re shelf, economists view the cost of the soup can in very different ways. For example, an economist asks what you are giving up to buy that can of soup over another item. They measure the firm’s cost of producing that soup can as it relates to their output and factors of production. Thus, the different types of economic costs are varied. 1. Sunk Cost * A sunk cost is an expense that cannot be recouped.Mark Hirschy, author of the book, â€Å"Fundamentals of Managerial Economics,† explains that sunk costs should not factor into a decision when deciding between alternatives. For example, say a person spent $50,000 on a degree in education and earns $60,000 as a teacher. She is later offered a job in marketing that pays her $80,000. Though she may be tempted to factor in her education degree as reason to stay in her current teaching job, her $50,000 degree is regarded as a sunk cost. She already spent this money, and it cannot be recouped.In this case, she should only com pare the respective salaries of the positions. If all else is held equal, she should pursue the marketing job. Opportunity Cost * An opportunity cost is the value of an alternative choice. Though the word â€Å"cost† usually equates to a numerical value, like a dollar figure, this is not always the case. William Baumol and Alan Blinder, authors of the book, â€Å"Economics: Principles and Policy,† state that an opportunity cost calculates intangible things like time, location and job satisfaction.They explain opportunity costs are what you give up to follow one course of action. For example, a college graduate is deciding between a job as a tech consultant in Seattle or an investment broker in New York City. If the grad pursues the investment broker position, the opportunity costs of foregoing the job in Seattle could be a slower pace of life, $10,000 higher salary and lower costs of living like rent and food. * Marginal Cost * A marginal cost is the amount it takes to produce one more item.Under this view of costs, they vary along the production line and in most cases the cost to produce a good reduces over time. Intuitively, this makes sense: the more proficient you become at producing a good, the faster you can do it and less waste is produced. The savings in labor and material as you achieve â€Å"economies of scale† means the cost of production usually decreases. The way economists find the marginal cost is by taking the derivative of the total costs as it relates to the total output. How to Find Marginal Cost in EconomicsDeciding whether to produce more units is often based on marginal cost. The economic concept of marginal cost is the cost associated with producing one additional unit. This information is important to businesses because it allows the company to decide if the additional unit is worth producing from a financial standpoint. When a company produces a small amount of product, the cost of additional units often decrease. However, marginal costs increase when additional units are added once the production level reaches a minimum. This is based on the law of diminishing marginal returns.Instructions 1. * 1 Calculate the change in total variable cost. This is the amount that the costs increased by after additional units are produced. For example, if you'd like to produce more T-shirts and the increase in output would change the costs by $100, then the total variable cost is $100. * 2 Find the change in quantity produced. This represents how many additional units you would like to produce in the given scenario. For example, the change in quantity would be 50 if you'd like to produce 300 T-shirts instead of 250. * 3 Divide the change in total variable costs from Step 1 by the change in quantity from Step 2. This will give you the marginal cost (marginal cost = the change in total variable cost/the change in quantity). For this example, $100 (the change in total variable cost) / 50 (the change in quantity ) = $2 in marginal costs, which is the cost of producing each additional T-shirt. What Is the Relationship Between Production ; Cost? Production costs are linked to the cost of materials and labor.The relationship between production and cost in any manufacturing process varies based on volume produced and whether any part of the manufacturing process is outsourced or performed by subcontractors. Additionally, production and cost ratios vary based on the amount of automation involved in production and the amount of human oversight and involvement required. 1. Factors of Production * The main factors of production are labor, capital and supply costs. Capital is defined as equipment, cash reserves, and physical location or production facility.Labor is defined as the amount of and cost of manpower required to bring a product to market. This includes not only the physical labor and oversight related to product production, but also the associated costs of salaries of positions such as man agers, delivery drivers, warehouse supervisors, marketing directors and even administrative assistance. Supply costs are any fee associated with securing necessary materials for production. Subcontractor or outsourced work is considered a supply cost as well, as the manufacturer is essentially purchasing a product or service for use in the production process.In this example, work such as offsite creation of product packaging or assembly of minor components of a finished product are considered supply costs in the same way the purchase of raw materials are considered supply costs. Volume of Production * Volume of production figures signify the amount of products being produced. Typically, the greater the volume the lower the cost per unit as raw material suppliers often offer discounts on mass or bulk orders. Volume of production is based on a company’s anticipated product needs, past sales records and placed orders. *Volume of Business * The relationship between production and cost is frequently determined by the volume of business a company is doing. An example that illustrates this point is a multinational vitamin supplement company that produces vitamins in bulk compared to a small health food chain that produces its own vitamin line in small quantities. The cost of the product produced by the small company will typically be greater than the cost of the product offered by the bulk manufacturer because the smaller company produces its product in smaller volumes. Price Points The more it costs a company to produce a product, the greater price the company will have to charge consumers. A company’s production costs include the price of materials, the cost of manpower, the production and packaging process, advertising, and distribution. Mass producers may be able to offer more competitive pricing to end users because they have the luxury of working on a thin margin due to the large volume of production. In microeconomics, the long run is the concept ual time period in which there are no fixed factors of production as to changing the output level by changing the capital stock or by entering or leaving an industry.The long run contrasts with the short run, in which some factors are variable and others are fixed, constraining entry or exit from an industry. In macroeconomics, the long run is the period when the general price level, contractual wage rates, and expectations adjust fully to the state of the economy, in contrast to the short run when these variables may not fully adjust. [1] In the long run, firms change production levels in response to (expected) economic profits or losses, and the land, labor, capital goods and entrepreneurship vary to reach associated long-run average cost.In the simplified case of plant capacity as the only fixed factor, a generic firm can make these changes in the long run: * enter an industry in response to (expected) profits * leave an industry in response to losses * increase its plant in resp onse to profits * decrease its plant in response to losses. Long-run average-cost curve with economies of scale to Q2 and diseconomies of scale thereafter. The long run is associated with the long-run average cost (LRAC) curve in microeconomic models along which a firm would minimize its average cost (cost per unit) for each respective long-run quantity of output.Long-run marginal cost (LRMC) is the added cost of providing an additional unit of service or commodity from changing capacity level to reach the lowest cost associated with that extra output. LRMC equalling price is efficient as to resource allocation in the long run. The concept of long-run cost is also used in determining whether the long-run expected to induce the firm to remain in the industry or shut down production there. In long-run equilibrium of an industry in which perfect competition prevails, the LRMC = Long run average LRAC at the minimum LRAC and associated output.The shape of the long-run marginal and averag e costs curves is determined by economies of scale. The long run is a planning and implementation stage. [2][3] Here a firm may decide that it needs to produce on a larger scale by building a new plant or adding a production line. The firm may decide that new technology should be incorporated into its production process. The firm thus considers all its long-run production options and selects the optimal combination of inputs and technology for its long-run urposes. [4] The optimal combination of inputs is the least-cost combination of inputs for desired level of output when all inputs are variable. [3] Once the decisions are made and implemented and production begins, the firm is operating in the short run with fixed and variable inputs. [3][5] Short run All production in real time occurs in the short run. The short run is the conceptual time period in which at least one factor of production is fixed in amount and others are variable in amount.Costs that are fixed, say from existing plant size, have no impact on a firm's short-run decisions, since only variable costs and revenues affect short-run profits. Such fixed costs raise the associated short-run average cost of an output long-run average cost if the amount of the fixed factor is better suited for a different output level. In the short run, a firm can raise output by increasing the amount of the variable factor(s), say labor through overtime. A generic firm already producing in an industry can make three changes in the short run as a response to reach a posited equilibrium: * increase production decrease production * shut down. In the short run, a profit-maximizing firm will: * increase production if marginal cost is less than marginal revenue (added revenue per additional unit of output); * decrease production if marginal cost is greater than marginal revenue; * continue producing if average variable cost is less than price per unit, even if average total cost is greater than price; * shut down if avera ge variable cost is greater than price at each level of output. Transition from short run to long runThe transition from the short run to the long run may be done by considering some short-run equilibrium that is also a long-run equilibrium as to supply and demand, then comparing that state against a new short-run and long-run equilibrium state from a change that disturbs equilibrium, say in the sales-tax rate, tracing out the short-run adjustment first, then the long-run adjustment. Each is an example of comparative statics. Alfred Marshall (1890) pioneered in comparative-static period analysis. [6] He istinguished between the temporary or market period (with output fixed), the short period, and the long period. â€Å"Classic† contemporary graphical and formal treatments include those of Jacob Viner (1931),[7] John Hicks (1939),[8] and Paul Samuelson (1947). [9] The law of diminishing marginal returns The law of diminishing marginal returns to a variable factor applies to th e short run. [10] It posits an effect of decreased added or marginal product of from variable factors, which increases the supply price of added output. [11] The law is related to a positive slope of the short-run marginal-cost curve. 12] Macroeconomic usages The usage of ‘long run' and ‘short run' in macroeconomics differs somewhat from the above microeconomic usage. J. M. Keynes (1936) emphasized fundamental factors of a market economy that might result in prolonged periods away from full-employment. [13] In later macro usage, the long run is the period in which the price level for the economy is completely flexible as to shifts in aggregate demand and aggregate supply. In addition there is full mobility of labor and capital between sectors of the economy and full capital mobility between nations.In the short run none of these conditions need fully hold. The price is sticky or fixed as to changes in aggregate demand or supply, capital is not fully mobile between sector s, and capital is not fully mobile to interest rate differences among countries & fixed exchange rates. [14] A famous critique of neglecting short-run analysis was by John Maynard Keynes, who wrote that â€Å"In the long run, we are all dead,† referring to the long-run proposition of the quantity theory of, for example, a doubling of the money supply doubling the price level. 15] Marginal  Analysis Thinking at the  Margin From Mike Moffatt, former About. com Guide From an economist's perspective, making choices involves making decisions ‘at the margin' – that is, making decisions based on small changes in resources: * How should I spend the next hour? * How should I spend the next dollar? On the surface, this seems like a strange way of considering the choices made by people and firms. It is rare that someone would consciously ask themselves – ‘How will I spend dollar number 24,387? ‘, ‘How will I spend dollar number 24,388? . Treatin g the problem in this matter does have some distinct advantages: * Doing so leads to the optimal decisions being made, subject to preferences, resources and informational constraints. * It makes the problem less messy from an analytic point of view, as we are not trying to analyze a million decisions at once. * While this does not exactly mimic conscious decision making processes, it does provide results similar to the decisions people actually make. That is, people may not think using this method, but the decisions they make are as if they do.Marginal Analysis – An Example Consider the decision on how many hours to work, as given by the following chart: Hour – Hourly Wage – Value of Time Hour 1 – $10 – $2 Hour 2 – $10 – $2 Hour 3 – $10 – $3 Hour 4 – $10 – $3 Hour 5 – $10 – $4 Hour 6 – $10 – $5 Hour 7 – $10 – $6 Hour 8 – $10 – $8 Hour 9 – $15 â €“ $9 Hour 10 – $15 – $12 Hour 11 – $15 – $18 Hour 12 – $15 – $20 The hourly wage represents what I earn for working an extra hour – it is the marginal gain or the marginal benefit. The value of time is essentially an opportunity cost – it is how much I value having that hour off.In this example it represents a marginal cost – what it costs me by working an additional hour. The increase in marginal costs is a common phenomenon; I do not mind working a few hours since there are 24 hours in a day. I still have plenty of time to do other things. However, as I start to work more hours it reduces the number of hours I have for other activities. I have to start giving up more and more valuable opportunities to work those extra hours. It is clear that I should work the first hour, as I gain $10 in marginal benefits and lose only $2 in marginal costs, for a net gain of $8.By the same logic I should work the second and third hours as well. I will want to work until which time the marginal cost exceeds the marginal benefit. I will want to work the 10th hour as I receive a net benefit of #3 (marginal benefit of $15, marginal cost of $12). However, I will not want to work the 11th hour, as the marginal cost ($18) exceeds the marginal benefit ($15) by three dollars. Thus marginal analysis suggests that rational maximizing behavior is to work for 10 hours. Next Lesson: Market Distortions: Altering the Supply and Demand Equilibrium.Marginal Analysis * Marginal Revenue – Glossary – Dictionary Definition of Marginal Revenue * Marginal Significance Value – Glossary – Dictionary Definition of Marginal Si†¦ * Marginal Revenue and Marginal Cost Practice Question Related Articles * Running a Private Practice – Working with Animals * Work Stress – Long Work Hours Are Not the Culprit * Open for Business: Scheduling Your Week – Being a Personal Trainer * Three Union Work Rules That Increase the Cost of Operating Transit * Hold On to Your Sanity – Start Your Own Business AN INTRODUCTION TOCOST BENEFIT ANALYSIS| * Background * Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) estimates and totals up the equivalent money value of the benefits and costs to the community of projects to establish whether they are worthwhile. These projects may be dams and highways or can be training programs and health care systems. * The idea of this economic accounting originated with Jules Dupuit, a French engineer whose 1848 article is still worth reading. The British economist, Alfred Marshall, formulated some of the formal concepts that are at the foundation of CBA.But the practical development of CBA came as a result of the impetus provided by the Federal Navigation Act of 1936. This act required that the U. S. Corps of Engineers carry out projects for the improvement of the waterway system when the total benefits of a project to whomsoever they accrue exceed the costs of t hat project. Thus, the Corps of Engineers had created systematic methods for measuring such benefits and costs. The engineers of the Corps did this without much, if any, assistance from the economics profession.It wasn't until about twenty years later in the 1950's that economists tried to provide a rigorous, consistent set of methods for measuring benefits and costs and deciding whether a project is worthwhile. Some technical issues of CBA have not been wholly resolved even now but the fundamental presented in the following are well established. * Principles of Cost Benefit Analysis * One of the problems of CBA is that the computation of many components of benefits and costs is intuitively obvious but that there are others for which intuition fails to suggest methods of measurement. Therefore some basic principles are needed as a guide. There Must Be a Common Unit of Measurement * In order to reach a conclusion as to the desirability of a project all aspects of the project, positiv e and negative, must be expressed in terms of a common unit; i. e. , there must be a â€Å"bottom line. † The most convenient common unit is money. This means that all benefits and costs of a project should be measured in terms of their equivalent money value. A program may provide benefits which are not directly expressed in terms of dollars but there is some amount of money the recipients of the benefits would consider just as good as the project's benefits.For example, a project may provide for the elderly in an area a free monthly visit to a doctor. The value of that benefit to an elderly recipient is the minimum amount of money that that recipient would take instead of the medical care. This could be less than the market value of the medical care provided. It is assumed that more esoteric benefits such as from preserving open space or historic sites have a finite equivalent money value to the public. * Not only do the benefits and costs of a project have to be expressed in terms of equivalent money value, but they have to be expressed in terms of dollars of a particular time.This is not just due to the differences in the value of dollars at different times because of inflation. A dollar available five years from now is not as good as a dollar available now. This is because a dollar available now can be invested and earn interest for five years and would be worth more than a dollar in five years. If the interest rate is r then a dollar invested for t years will grow to be (1+r)t. Therefore the amount of money that would have to be deposited now so that it would grow to be one dollar t years in the future is (1+r)-t.This called the discounted value or present value of a dollar available t years in the future. * When the dollar value of benefits at some time in the future is multiplied by the discounted value of one dollar at that time in the future the result is discounted present value of that benefit of the project. The same thing applies to costs. The net benefit of the projects is just the sum of the present value of the benefits less the present value of the costs. * The choice of the appropriate interest rate to use for the discounting is a separate issue that will be treated later in this paper. CBA Valuations Should Represent Consumers or Producers Valuations As Revealed by Their Actual Behavior * The valuation of benefits and costs should reflect preferences revealed by choices which have been made. For example, improvements in transportation frequently involve saving time. The question is how to measure the money value of that time saved. The value should not be merely what transportation planners think time should be worth or even what people say their time is worth. The value of time should be that which the public reveals their time is worth through choices involving tradeoffs between time and money.If people have a choice of parking close to their destination for a fee of 50 cents or parking farther away and spend ing 5 minutes more walking and they always choose to spend the money and save the time and effort then they have revealed that their time is more valuable to them than 10 cents per minute. If they were indifferent between the two choices they would have revealed that the value of their time to them was exactly 10 cents per minute. * The most challenging part of CBA is finding past choices which reveal the tradeoffs and equivalencies in preferences.For example, the valuation of the benefit of cleaner air could be established by finding how much less people paid for housing in more polluted areas which otherwise was identical in characteristics and location to housing in less polluted areas. Generally the value of cleaner air to people as revealed by the hard market choices seems to be less than their rhetorical valuation of clean air. * Benefits Are Usually Measured by Market Choices * When consumers make purchases at market prices they reveal that the things they buy are at least as beneficial to them as the money they relinquish.Consumers will increase their consumption of any commodity up to the point where the benefit of an additional unit (marginal benefit) is equal to the marginal cost to them of that unit, the market price. Therefore for any consumer buying some of a commodity, the marginal benefit is equal to the market price. The marginal benefit will decline with the amount consumed just as the market price has to decline to get consumers to consume a greater quantity of the commodity. The relationship between the market price and the quantity consumed is called the demand schedule.Thus the demand schedule provides the information about marginal benefit that is needed to place a money value on an increase in consumption. * Gross Benefits of an Increase in Consumption is an Area Under the Demand Curve * The increase in benefits resulting from an increase in consumption is the sum of the marginal benefit times each incremental increase in consumption. A s the incremental increases considered are taken as smaller and smaller the sum goes to the area under the marginal benefit curve. But the marginal benefit curve is the same as the demand curve so the increase in benefits is the area under the demand curve.As shown in Figure 1 the area is over the range from the lower limit of consumption before the increase to consumption after the increase. * Figure 1 * When the increase in consumption is small compared to the total consumption the gross benefit is adequately approximated, as is shown in a welfare analysis, by the market value of the increased consumption; i. e. , market price times the increase in consumption. * Some Measurements of Benefits Require the Valuation of Human Life * It is sometimes necessary in CBA to evaluate the benefit of saving human lives.There is considerable antipathy in the general public to the idea of placing a dollar value on human life. Economists recognize that it is impossible to fund every project whic h promises to save a human life and that some rational basis is needed to select which projects are approved and which are turned down. The controversy is defused when it is recognized that the benefit of such projects is in reducing the risk of death. There are many cases in which people voluntarily accept increased risks in return for higher pay, such as in the oil fields or mining, or for time savings in higher speed in automobile travel.These choices can be used to estimate the personal cost people place on increased risk and thus the value to them of reduced risk. This computation is equivalent to placing an economic value on the expected number of lives saved. * The Analysis of a Project Should Involve a With Versus Without Comparison * The impact of a project is the difference between what the situation in the study area would be with and without the project. This that when a project is being evaluated the analysis must estimate not only what the situation would be with the p roject but also what it would be without the project.For example, in determining the impact of a fixed guideway rapid transit system such as the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) in the San Francisco Bay Area the number of rides that would have been taken on an expansion of the bus system should be deducted from the rides provided by BART and likewise the additional costs of such an expanded bus system would be deducted from the costs of BART. In other words, the alternative to the project must be explicitly specified and considered in the evaluation of the project. Note that the with-and-without comparison is not the same as a before-and-after comparison. Another example shows the importance of considering the impacts of a project and a with-and-without comparison. Suppose an irrigation project proposes to increase cotton production in Arizona. If the United States Department of Agriculture limits the cotton production in the U. S. by a system of quotas then expanded cotton production in Arizona might be offset by a reduction in the cotton production quota for Mississippi. Thus the impact of the project on cotton production in the U. S. might be zero rather than being the amount of cotton produced by the project. * Cost Benefit Analysis Involves a Particular Study Area The impacts of a project are defined for a particular study area, be it a city, region, state, nation or the world. In the above example concerning cotton the impact of the project might be zero for the nation but still be a positive amount for Arizona. * The nature of the study area is usually specified by the organization sponsoring the analysis. Many effects of a project may â€Å"net out† over one study area but not over a smaller one. The specification of the study area may be arbitrary but it may significantly affect the conclusions of the analysis. * Double Counting of Benefits or Costs Must be Avoided Sometimes an impact of a project can be measured in two or more ways. For example, when an improved highway reduces travel time and the risk of injury the value of property in areas served by the highway will be enhanced. The increase in property values due to the project is a very good way, at least in principle, to measure the benefits of a project. But if the increased property values are included then it is unnecessary to include the value of the time and lives saved by the improvement in the highway. The property value went up because of the benefits of the time saving and the reduced risks.To include both the increase in property values and the time saving and risk reduction would involve double counting. * Decision Criteria for Projects * If the discounted present value of the benefits exceeds the discounted present value of the costs then the project is worthwhile. This is equivalent to the condition that the net benefit must be positive. Another equivalent condition is that the ratio of the present value of the benefits to the present value of the costs m ust be greater than one. * If there are more than one mutually exclusive project that have positive net present value then there has to be further analysis.From the set of mutually exclusive projects the one that should be selected is the one with the highest net present value. * If the funds required for carrying out all of the projects with positive net present value are less than the funds available this means the discount rate used in computing the present values is too low and does not reflect the true cost of capital. The present values must be recomputed using a higher discount rate. It may take some trial and error to find a discount rate such that the funds required for the projects with a positive net present value is no more than the funds available.Sometimes as an alternative to this procedure people try to select the best projects on the basis of some measure of goodness such as the internal rate of return or the benefit/cost ratio. This is not valid for several reasons . * The magnitude of the ratio of benefits to costs is to a degree arbitrary because some costs such as operating costs may be deducted from benefits and thus not be included in the cost figure. This is called netting out of operating costs. This netting out may be done for some projects and not for others.This manipulation of the benefits and costs will not affect the net benefits but it may change the benefit/cost ratio. However it will not raise the benefit cost ratio which is less than one to above one. For more on this topic see Benefit/ cost Ratio Magnitude. * An Example * To illustrate how CBA might be applied to a project, let us consider a highway improvement such as the extension of Highway 101 into San Jose. The local four-lane highway which carried the freeway and commuter traffic into San Jose did not have a median divider and its inordinate number of fatal head-on collisions led to the name â€Å"Blood Alley. The improvement of the highway would lead to more capacity which produces time saving and lowers the risk. But inevitably there will be more traffic than was carried by the old highway. * The following is a highly abbreviated analysis using hypothetical data. TRIP DATA| No Extension, â€Å"Blood Alley† Only| 101 Extension and â€Å"Blood Alley†| Rush Hours|   |   | Passenger Trips (per hour)| 3,000| 4,000| Trip Time (minutes)| 50| 30| Value of Time ($/minute)| $0. 10| $0. 10| Nonrush Hours|   |   | Passenger Trips (per hour)| 500| 555. 55| Trip Time (minutes)| 35| 25| Value of Time ($/minute)| $0. 08| $0. 08| Traffic Fatalities per year)| 12| 6| * The data indicates that for rush-hour trips the time cost of a trip is $5 without the project and $3 with it. It is assumed that the operating cost for a vehicle is unaffected by the project and is $4. * The project lowers the cost of a trip and the public responds by increasing the number of trips taken. There is an increase in consumer surplus both for the trips which would have been taken without the project and for the trips which are stimulated by the project. * For trips which would have been taken anyway the benefit of the project equals the value of the time saved times the number of trips.For the rush-hour trip the project saves $2 and for the nonrush-hour trip it saves $0. 80. For the trips generated by the project the benefit is equal to one half of the value of the time saved times the increase in the number of trips. * The benefits per hour are: TYPE| Trips Which Would Be Taken Anyway| Trips Generated By the Project| Total| Rush Hour| 6,000. 00| 1,000. 00| 7,000. 00| Nonrush Hour| 400. 00| 22. 22| 422. 22| * To convert the benefits to an annual basis one multiplies the hourly benefits of each type of trip times the number of hours per year for that type of trip.There are 260 week days per year and at six rush hours per weekday there are 1560 rush hours per year. This leaves 7200 nonrush hours per year. With these figures the annual benefits are: TYPE| Trips Which Would Be Taken Anyway| Trips Generated By the Project| Total| Rush Hour| $9,360,000| $1,560,000| $10,020,000| Nonrush Hour| $2,880,000| $160,000| $3,040,000| Total| $12,240,000| $1,720,000| $13,960,000| * The value of the reduced fatalities may be computed in terms of the equivalent economic value people place upon their lives when making choices concerning risk and money.If the labor market has wages for occupations of different risks such that people accept an increase in the risk of death of 1/1,000 per year in return for an increase in income of $400 per year then a project that reduces the risk of death in a year by 1/1000 gives a benefit to each person affected by it of $400 per year. The implicit valuation of a life in this case is $400,000. Thus benefit of the reduced risk project is the expected number of lives saved times the implicit value of a life. For the highway project this is 6x$400,000= $2,400,000 annually. * The annual benefits of the proje ct are thus:TYPE OF BENEFIT| VALUE OF BENEFITS PER YEAR| Time Saving| $13,960,000| Reduced Risk| $2,400,000| * Let us assume that this level of benefits continues at a constant rate over a thirty-year lifetime of the project. * The cost of the highway consists of the costs for its right-of-way, its construction and its maintenance. The cost of the right-of-way is the cost of the land and any structures upon it which must be purchased before the construction of the highway can begin. For purposes of this example the cost of right-of-way is taken to be $100 million and it must be paid before any construction can begin.At least part of the right-of- way cost for a highway can be recovered at the end of the lifetime of the highway if it is not rebuilt. For the example it is assumed that all of the right-of-way cost is recoverable at the end of the thirty-year lifetime of the project. The construction cost is $200 million spread evenly over a four-year period. Maintenance cost is $1 mill ion per year once the highway is completed. * The schedule of benefits and costs for the project are as follows: TIME (year)| BENEFITS ($millions)| RIGHT-OF -WAY ($millions)| CONSTRUCTION COSTS $millions)| MAINTENANCE ($millions)| 0| 0| 100| 0| 0| 1-4| 0| 0| 50| 0| 5-29| 16. 36| 0| 0| 1| 30| 16. 36| -100| 0| 1| * The benefits and costs are in constant value dollars; i. e. , there was no price increase included in the analysis. Therefore the discount rate used must be the real interest rate. If the interest rate on long term bonds is 8 percent and the rate of inflation is 6 percent then the real rate of interest is 2 percent. Present value of the streams of benefits and costs discounted at a 2 percent back to time zero are as follows:   | PRESENT VALUE $ millions)| Benefits| 304. 11| Costs|   | Right-of-Way| 44. 79| Construction| 190. 39| Maintenance| 18. 59| Total Costs| 253. 77| |   | | Net Benefits| 50. 35| | *independent rounding| * The positive net present value of $50. 35 million and benefit/cost ratio of 1. 2 indicate that the project is worthwhile if the cost of capital is 2 percent. When a discount rate of 3 percent is the benefit/cost ratio is slightly under 1. 0. This means that the internal rate of return is just under 3 percent. When the cost of capital is 3 percent the project is not worthwhile. It should be noted that the market value of the right-of-way understates the opportunity cost of having the land devoted to the highway. The land has a value of $100 million because of its income after property taxes. The economy is paying more for its alternate use but some of the payment is diverted for taxes. The discounted presented value of the payments for the alternate use might be more like $150 million instead of $100 million. Another way of making this point is that one of the costs of the highway is that the local governments lose the property tax on the land used. * Summary By reducing the positive and negative impacts of a project to the ir equivalent money value Cost-Benefit Analysis determines whether on balance the project is worthwhile. The equivalent money value are based upon information derived from consumer and producer market choices; i. e. , the demand and supply schedules for the goods and services affected by the project. Care must be taken to properly allow for such things as inflation. When all this has been considered a worthwhile project is one for which the discounted value of the benefits exceeds the discounted value of the costs; i. . , the net benefits are positive. This is equivalent to the benefit/cost ratio being greater than one and the internal rate of return being greater than the cost of capital. * History of Cost-Benefit Analysis * CBA has its origins in the water development projects of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps of Engineers had its origins in the French engineers hired by George Washington in the American Revolution. For years the only school of engineering in the Uni ted States was the Military Academy at West Point, New York. In 1879, Congress created the Mississippi River Commission to â€Å"prevent destructive floods. † The Commission included civilians but the president had to be an Army engineer and the Corps of Engineers always had veto power over any decision by the Commission. * In 1936 Congress passed the Flood Control Act which contained the wording, â€Å"the Federal Government should improve or participate in the improvement of navigable waters or their tributaries, including watersheds thereof, for flood-control purposes if the benefits to whomsoever they may accrue are in excess of the estimated costs. The phrase if the benefits to whomsoever they may accrue are in excess of the estimated costs established cost-benefit analysis. Initially the Corps of Engineers developed ad hoc methods for estimating benefits and costs. It wasn't until the 1950s that academic economists discovered that the Corps had developed a system for t he economic analysis of public investments. Economists have influenced and improved the Corps' methods since then and cost-benefit analysis has been adapted to most areas of public decision-making.