Math 540 - 4111 Words

FIN 534 – Financial Management (Prerequisite: ACC 557 or ACC 560) COURSE DESCRIPTION Introduces the concepts of finance. Reviews the basic tools and their use for making financial decisions. Explains how to measure and compare risks across investment opportunities. Analyzes how the firm chooses the set of securities it will issue to raise capital from investors as well as how the firm’s capital structure is formed. Examines how the choice of capital structure affects the value of the firm. Presents valuation and integrate risk, return and the firm’s choice of capital structure. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS Required Resources Brigham, E. F., Ehrhardt, M. C. (2014). Financial management (14th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.†¦show more content†¦All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University Confidential and Proprietary information and may not be copied, further distributed, or otherwise disclosed in whole or in part, without the expressed written permission of Strayer University. FIN 534 Student Version 1138 (1138 8-30-2013) Final Page 2 of 11 FIN 534 – Financial Management o ï‚ · ï‚ · Chapter 3: Analysis of Financial Statements Scenario e-Activity o Use the Internet to research instances where a company’s financial ratios did not align with those of other firms that operate within the same industry. Be prepared to discuss. Activities ï‚ · Discussions Evaluation ï‚ · Homework o Homework problems for Chapters 2 and 3 can be found in the course shell Quiz 1: Chapter 1 Reading(s) o Chapter 4: Time Value of Money o Chapter 5: Bond, Bond Valuation, and the Interest Rates Scenario 20 50 60 ï‚ · 3 ï‚ · Preparation ï‚ · ï‚ · e-Activity o Complete the e-Activity after reviewing the weekly scenario. Use the Internet to search for possible bonds that TFC could invest in to potentially increase its cash position. Be prepared to discuss. Activities ï‚ · Discussions Evaluation ï‚ · Homework o Homework problems for Chapters 4 and 5 can be found in the course shell Quiz 2: Chapters 2 and 3 Reading(s) o Chapter 6: Risk and Return o Chapter 7: ValuationShow MoreRelatedMath 5406674 Words   |  27 PagesIntroduction to Management Science, 11e (Taylor) Chapter 1 Management Science 1) Management science involves the philosophy of approaching a problem in a subjective manner. Answer: FALSE Diff: 1 Page Ref: 2 Section Heading: The Management Science Approach to Problem Solving Keywords: scientific approach AACSB: Analytic skills 2) Management science techniques can be applied only to business and military organizations. Answer: FALSE Diff: 1 Page Ref: 2 Section Heading:Read MoreEssay about Math 540 Midterm2049 Words   |  9 PagesCurrent Location MAT540046VA016-1132-001 Quantitative Methods Review Test Submission: Midterm Exam Menu Management Options Expand All Collapse All MAT540046VA016-1132-001 (Quantitative Methods) Course Home Student Center Announcements Email Gradebook Class Introductions Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Review Test Submission: Midterm Exam Content User | | Course | Quantitative Methods | Test | Midterm Exam | Started | 2/9/13 10:35 PM | SubmittedRead MoreStereotypes As A Cause Of Identity1183 Words   |  5 PagesStereotypes affect Us,† that stereotypes are a product of our subconsciousness where â€Å"we know what people would think†and that â€Å" we could be judged and treated accordingly† based on the associations we have with a particular identity group (Steele, 1983, 540). Steele contemplates stereotypes as something that can hold a large amount of power over many people and groups because of their identity. This contemplation may be because people are constantly worried about what they may be categorized as and howRead MoreMath Statistics Essay866 Words   |  4 Pagesand unimodal. The summary statistics for the OB Math SAT scores are as follow: the number of values is 287, the mean of the data is 553.62369, the standard deviation is of approximately 65.984512, the median of the data is 540, the range of the data is 390, the minimum value is 360, the maximum value is 750, the first qua rtile of the data is 510, and the second quartile of the data is 590. To calculate the percent of students that had an SAT math score higher than 560, I used the z-score formulaRead MoreIs Holly Grove High School?1430 Words   |  6 Pagescan be an absolute zero. (Salkind, 2017). 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On a personal level, I find this to be extremely important, as I hold a deep value for allRead MoreGb560 Unit 6 Essay679 Words   |  3 PagesUnit 5 Assignment Charles Murphy GB-540 9-10 The earnings, dividends, and stock price of Shelby Inc. are expected to grow at 7% per year in the future. Shelby’s common stock sells for $23 per share, its last dividend was $2.00, and the company will pay a dividend of $2.14 at the end of the current year. a. Using discounted cash flow approach, what is the cost of equity? Using the formula of ks = [pic] + g, you would take the cost dividend($2.14) divided by the stock share price ofRead MoreThe Best Public Relations Team1177 Words   |  5 Pagesinternship with them or only except a master’s degree. Valdosta State University is one of the best schools in the the state of Georgia to get a degree in business. The admission requirements are SAT scores of critical reading of 470-560, math of 460-540, reading - 440-540 (College Search - Valdosta State University - VSU.). Calculating for the cost of a master’s degree over six years the approximate cost would be $132,852. A great sunny college for out of state learning would be The University of FloridaRead MoreWhat Is Hagwon Offers Better Opportunities For South Korean Students Essay1439 Words   |  6 Pages2012 Program for International Student Assessment mean score chart, South Korean students’ scores are a lot higher than the United States and OECD Average. The mathematics mean score is about 555, reading is about 535 and science is nearly reached 540. From the statistics above, we can see that supplemental education really offers South Korean students better opportunities since their examination scores are very important for them to be successful in the future. But on the other hand, South KoreanRead MoreLiterature Review On The United States1780 Words   |  8 Pagescomprehension (540). Teachers and other professionals have also noticed that many Hispanic ELLs are able to decode a word, but have low comprehension skills (Quirk Beem, 2012, p. 540). Students who fall under that category, teachers will refer them as word callers. Word callers are defined as, â€Å"a student who reads with adequate fluency, but with limited comprehension: that is a student can call out words in a text, but without fully understanding their meaning† (Quirk Beem, 2012, p. 540). For instance

Rhetorical Analysis Of Frederick Douglass Speech - 838 Words

Frederick Douglass was a freed slave in the 1800’s who was famous for his ability to read and write, uncommon of a black man at the time. On July 4th, 1852, he gave a speech to citizens of the United States. In this speech, he called out the â€Å"hypocrisy of the nation†(Douglass), questioning the nations treatment of slaves on a supposed day of independence. Frederick Douglass effectively uses rhetorical strategies to construct his argument and expose the hypocrisy of the nation. One of the rhetorical strategies that Douglass uses extremely effectively is the use of rhetorical questions. He has many of them scattered throughout the speech and they’re meant to make the audience question the nation and their own ways. He begins by asking â€Å"Why†¦show more content†¦This is hypocritical in that the white men make these values and traditions a staple of their lives, yet when it comes to slaves, they seem to go away. He also believes that, though he wil l use â€Å"the severest language†(Douglass) he can, he firmly believes that â€Å"not one word shall escape me that any man whose†¦ not blinded by prejudice, or†¦ a slave-holder, shall not confess to be right and just†(Douglass). So he sincerely believes that the average human being also knows that the treatment of slaves is unjust and unethical, but they choose not to act on these thoughts. His view, coming from the eyes and thoughts of slaves across America, show how hypocritical the nation actually is in both one sided values and not acting upon their knowledge that what is going on is wrong. Frederick Douglass also uses the point that slaves are human, and are treated as such except in the ways of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. He knows that â€Å"nobody doubts it. The slaveholders themselves acknowledge it in the enactment of laws for their government†(Douglass). He says that there are laws forbidding things such as reading and writi ng to slaves, yet there is nothing of the sort that in reference to animals or other things one can one. In fact, the slaves are proven human just because nature itself treats them as such. Douglass states, â€Å"When theShow MoreRelatedThe Life Of Frederick Douglass Context1479 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction Behind Frederick Douglass context, Douglass was a former slave who became one of the most successful abolitionist of the 19th century. With his oratorical appeals, in 1852, Douglass delivered a speech that changed the views of millions over the Fourth of July. By using the experience Douglas has encountered as a slave, the historical context to support his argument and certain rhetorical devices, Douglass remarks a speech in order for the citizens of Rochester to be aware of the hypocrisyRead MoreThe Life Of Frederick Douglass Context1480 Words   |  6 PagesBehind Frederick Douglass context, Douglass was a former slave who became one of the most successful abolitionist of 19th century. With his oratorical and literacy appeals, in 1852, Douglass delivered a speech that changed the views of millions over the Fourth of July. By using the experience Douglas has encountered as a slave, the historical context to support his argument and certain rhetorical devices, Douglass remarks a speech in order for the leading citizens of Rochester to be aware of theRead MoreSlaves Narratives: Frederick Douglass, Olaudah Equiano Essay1477 Words   |  6 PagesSojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass, and Olaudah Equiano all have extremely interesting slave narratives. During their lives, they faced plenty of racist discrimination and troubling moments. They were all forced into slavery at an awfully young age and they all had to fight for their freedom. In 1797, Truth was born into slavery in New York with the name of Isabella Van Wagener. She was a slave for most of her life and eventually got emancipated. Truth was an immense women’s suffrage activist. SheRead MoreSummary Of The World We Live 1594 Words   |  7 Pagesthe simple history of our country and how slavery played a huge role in our countries making. In week two of our class my classmate Katherine Alvarez spoke about Fredrick Douglass and how he expressed how sad that a country once enslaved by another c ould be hypocritical and tolerate slavery of its people. This shows that Douglass knew that othering is not something that can be dismissed easily nor without heartfelt emotions. Our nation was enslaved by others, in turn to enslave a portion of its ownRead MoreEssay on Rhetorical Analysis of Artifact: The Ballot or the Bullet2568 Words   |  11 PagesRhetorical Analysis of Artifact: The Ballot or the Bullet Speech Given by Malcolm X I. Introduction: Though almost half a century has passed, the Civil Rights Movement remains one freshly imprinted in not only the history books of US schools but also in the minds of countless Americans. Albeit, American society has come quite a ways in the acceptance of the individual - regardless of sex, age, creed or ethnicity - prejudices of different sorts are still to be foundRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book Huckleberry Finn 1970 Words   |  8 Pagesoffers a plethora of this device such as the symbolism of the Mississippi River and the raft as Huck and Jim’s safe haven, the diverse forms of colloquial speech of the characters they encounter, and the extensive figurative language. Requiring students to examine these devices can develop their literary skills, including interpretation and analysis. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is not merely a brilliantly written novel, but it is a land mine for academic and literary growth among students. Read MoreOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 Pageslamentable. Taken together, the key themes and processes that have been selected as the focus for each of the eight essays provide a way to conceptualize the twentieth century as a coherent unit for teaching, as well as for written narrative and analysis. Though they do not exhaust the crucial strands of historical development that tie the century together—one could add, for example, nationalism and decolonization—they cover in depth the defining phenomena of that epoch, which, as the essays demonstrate

Intercultural Communication Of Emily Visiting Japan †Free Samples

Question: Discuss about the Intercultural Communication A Case Study Of Emily Visiting Japan To Meet Mr. Hamasaki For A Business Meeting. Answer: Intercultural Communication Intercultural communication refers to communication involving two individuals who are from different cultural origin or linguistics. It involved conversation with a person of different background(Dervin, 2011). Understanding intercultural communication enables individuals to acquire abilities to deal with across culture with engaging with an individual from another culture. Therefore, intercultural communication techniques act as survival tactics for successful communication when meeting business partners or potential arrays in a foreign country. The following essay analysis Japanese business etiquette and steps that Emily who is an Australian has to follow in her visit to Japan in order to create favorable first impression to Mr. Hamasaki. The essay will also define ethnorelativism, outline Hofstede dimensions and areas of potential cross culture miscommunication. In addition, the essay will recommend suitable adjustments that Emily will make to increase success when meeting Mr. Ham asaki. Japanese business etiquette can be analyzed in terms of appearance, behavior, and communication. Japanese place high level to appearance of an individual when conducting business. They value appropriateness and impression that the counterpart in business appears in(Dunn, 2013). The following are the generally accepted appearance in Japanese business code; first the dressing code should be impressive and matching status. For women, they are not allowed to wear pants when meeting for business purpose. Secondly, women are supposed to wear low heeled shoes and the dress should be conservative. Thirdly, one should not blow ones nose in public or even point in public. Japanese business behaviors in business meeting include the following; first, whoever hosts the business meeting is the one to pay for the meal or drink and incase one wants to pay has to insist. Secondly, there is no entertainment in Japanese home for visitors. Thirdly, there is no openly displaying of money in Japan. Another behavior in Japanese business behavior is that tipping is not allowed in business discussions because it has different meaning compared to western societies. Lastly, gifts are important in business and should be given at the end of the meeting. The following business communication etiquettes are generally accepted in Japan; first, business cards are used in every business meeting. The handling and receiving of business cards should be in both hands and show of appreciation. Business meetings cannot also begin before the business cards exchange process is complete. Secondly, greetings are done by bowing which as to be equivalent to how low the counterpart bow. Thirdly, there is preference in Japan not to use the word no. Introduction has to be done with the last name. They prefer calling individuals by their last name. Lastly, one should avoid using the number 4 because it signifies bad luck in Japan. Hofstede dimensions analysis on Japanese cultures enables understanding of the drives of the Japanese culture compared to other world cultures. These dimensions include; individualism, power distance, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, long term orientation and indulgence. The first dimension is individualism. The degree of interdependency in the Japanese society is low compared to western societies. The society has characteristics of a collective society where the interests of the groups are placed higher compared to individual interests (De Mooij, Hofstede, 2010). The second dimension is masculinity. The Japanese society is amongst the most masculine society in the world. Competition is group based where employees enjoy competing in teams. The society also has a strong drive to excellence and perfection in material services, material production, and presentation. These factors are evident in every aspect of their life. The third dimension is uncertainty avoidance. The Japanese society is amongst the countries that have high level of uncertainty avoidance in the whole world. Japanese are highly conscious about the future uncertainty and prepare themselves for uncertain events. The fourth dimension is power distance. Japanese are highly hierarchical a nd are very cautious about their position and status. Decisions have to be confirmed form the headquarters (Winther-Tamaki, Yoshida, 2016). In addition, the society has an education system that equals all people in terms of opportunities and achievement. The fifth dimension is long term orientation. Japanese society is long term oriented. Japanese perception is life is based on the short moment that they have in the story of mankind. In business, individuals like investing in long term investments (Okoro, 2012). The sixth dimension is indulgence. The Japan society culture is characterized by low score of indulgence. They have a culture of restraint. People tend to show control and do not emphasis on leisure time. There is a perception that involving in foreign activities that are outside their social norms is wrong (Abe, 2009). Ethnorelativism is an ability acquired that enables one to be comfortable with other peoples culture and standards and easily adapt ones behavior to different interpersonal setting. Ethnorelativism enables one to understand that there is no culture superior compared to another culture(Wang, 2013). The ethnorelativism skills will enable Emily to accept, understand, and cope with the Japanese business etiquette. The process has three steps. They include; acceptance, adaptations and integration. The first step is acceptance that involves accepting other cultures despite not liking it. This step involves acknowledging the differences though disagreeing to do what is done in the culture. The second step involves adaptation of intercultural empathy. This requires an individual to interpret and evaluate information from other cultural perspectives. One has to have different perception about issues in order to get other peoples judgment. This process enables one to adapt to different cultura l way of interpreting and evaluating activities, actions, and information. The last step is the last one and involves assimilation of the cultures. It involves acculturation and acting in perception of a respective culture. This stage enables one to be effective in communication and business etiquette when involved in intercultural business meeting. There are several differences in appearance and behavior in Japanese business etiquette that can cause miscommunication and affect the effectiveness of the business meeting(Williams, 2017). The following are areas of potential miscommunications that can happen to Emily when in a meeting with Mr. Hamasaki; first is the use of the word OK. The word OK means money in Japanese. Therefore, Emily should avoid using the word OK in the conversation since it can means money to Mr. Hamasaki. Secondly is smiling during in a meeting. When a person smiles in the Japanese culture, it has a double meaning. Smiling can mean joy or displeasure. Therefore, smiling during the meeting, Emily should be cautions and avoid smiling to avoid misunderstanding. Lastly is the act of frowning. The act of frowning in Japanese is taken as display of affection. This is different from Australia which that shows disapproval or displeasure. The following are recommendable adjustments that Emily can do to enhance the success of favorable first impression; first, Emily should avoid tipping. Though tipping is allowed in western societies, it not allowed in Japan even in the hot debates. Secondly, Emily should wear conservative dress and have business cards in order to create first favorable impression. Thirdly, Emily should bow low when meeting Mr. Hamasaki and should not be the first to give a handshake. Emily should also avoid using gestures when talking with Mr. Hamasaki. This is because Japanese done use gestures when talking. From the analysis and discussion in this essay, it evident that there are several differences between Japanese culture and western society cultures. The Japanese culture is distinct and therefore, there is need to understand, accept, adopt, and integrate when planning to meet Japanese people in order to make favorable impression. From the analysis in this essay, Emily will be required to make adjustments that will enable her make good impression to Mr. Hamasaki during the business meeting. Therefore it can be concluded that intercultural communication is an important aspect to understand, accept, adopt and integrate when visiting a different culture for business meeting and achieve predetermined objectives. Bibliography Abe, E. (2009). Alfred Chandler's Model of Business Enterprise Structure and the Japanese-Style Enterprise System: Are They Compatible? Japanese Research In Business History, 26, 59-74. Retrieved from https://dx.doi.org/10.5029/jrbh.26.59 De Mooij, M., Hofstede, G. (2010). The Hofstede model. International Journal Of Advertising, 29(1), 85-110. Retrieved from https://dx.doi.org/10.2501/s026504870920104x Dervin, F. (2011). Introducing intercultural communication. Language And Intercultural Communication, 11(4), 408-410. Retrieved from https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14708477.2011.614551 Dunn, C. (2013). Speaking politely, kindly, and beautifully:. Ideologies of politeness in Japanese business etiquette training. Multilingua,, 32(2). Retrieved from https://dx.doi.org/10.1515/mult-2013-0011 Okoro, E. (2012). Cross-Cultural Etiquette and Communication in Global Business: Toward a Strategic Framework for Managing Corporate Expansion. International Journal Of Business And Management, 7(16). Retrieved from https://dx.doi.org/10.5539/ijbm.v7n16p130 Wang, J. (2013). A Framework for Measuring and Meeting Students' Needs in Cross-Cultural Business and Technical Communication. Journal Of Technical Writing And Communication, 43(2), 201-218. Retrieved from https://dx.doi.org/10.2190/tw.43. Williams, D. (2017, August 2017 5). Japan - Japanese Business Etiquette, Vital Manners, Cross Cultural Communication, and Japan's Geert Hofstede analysis. Retrieved from Cyborlink.com. : https://www.cyborlink.com/besite/japan.htm Winther-Tamaki, B., Yoshida, K. (2016). Intercultural Negotiations of Modern and Contemporary Japanese Visual Culture. Review Of Japanese Culture And Society, 26(1), 1-12. Retrieved from https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/roj.2016.0019

Health Care Adequate Medical Care Services

Question: Write an essay on "performance in healthcare sector". Answer: Health improvement greatly depends on primary health care services. It is vital to have an adequate medical care services to enhance the overall health of the population. The comparison of health care management in two different countries might help identify the factors needed to boost up the role of the health care systems in these and other countries that are burdened with high mortality rate, low health status and other related issues. The essay welcomes an opportunity to perform a comparative study on Australia and Canada, in reference to its performance in health care sector. The reason to choose these provinces is that these countries have played a key role in developing a new model in health care organisation. The author will perform a thorough literature search, to analyze several areas of health care such as the governance system, funding system, health indicators, and the performance in health system and the percentage of GDP spent on health. The essay will demonstrate the health care system of the two countries by discussing each of these parameters. The essay will end in conclusion based on the research findings of the study. The leadership and management is the core of the governance in health sector. The rich mix of practitioners, clinicians, policy makers and politicians in health system deals with life and death issues with changing technology and elevating costs. These are the heart of the system which when put together raises governance problems which are sensitive than any other sector. In Australia, both the government and the private based health organisations exist, which provide wide range of services worldwide (Eijkenaar et al., 2013). This province has six states and two territories. The country provides free medical treatment and financial assistance, since the introduction of Medicare, in 1984 (Walls et al., 2012). The universal taxation system funds most of these services (Bourke et al., 2012). Australia is a federated system with equal division of power between the state and central government in health care related matters (Mossialos et al., 2015). Australia is having a commonwealth government, to support the revenue for fiscal transfers and the heath care system, with the main authority being the government in raising the revenue (Papanicolas et al., 2013). The five year health agreements have consolidated improved the commonwealth powers. The health care system in Australia is versatile with its equal distribution of its role and responsibilities in different states of the country (Oderkirk et al., 2013). There is a complex interplay of services in private and public organisation. In Australia, 52 % of the elderly population (above 65 years) possess health insurances, which are estimated to be 1.84 million. It also reflects the total number of population above 65 years old (Kassebaum et al., 2014). Therefore, it indicates the fact that Australia is prepared with effective health care services for older patients, increasing their health insurances (Schoen et al., 2012). The early governance system in Australia is quite different. Then the local governments played a little role in health care provision. Postcolonial settlements changed the scenario when only subscription fees were the finance. Doctors worked in Canada and other states as entrepreneurs. In Canada, there exist a public funded and a cost free health care system. Private institutions provide most of the medical services (Schfer et al., 2015). The quality assurance of the care delivered comes from the government through its federal standards (Schfer et al., 2015). There is no data collection on a daily basis pertaining to the individuals health. The health administration maintains its simplicity by maintaining the provision of cost effective services based on the Medicare system (Nicholson et al., 2012). Out of the total health care associated finances, 30% accounts for the private health expenditure. Canada follows a Single-payer healthcare system (Janssen, 2013). In this system, the state does not pay the cost of the healthcare rather it is taken care by the private insurers. Public as a whole or in part financially supports the single-payer system (Walls et al., 2012). Overall provinces continue to dominate in Canada with new emerging model for taking national initia tives. In Canada, there exists a federal based governance system (Schfer et al., 2015). Although one can expect the governance to have centralised characteristics, the actual scenario is somewhat opposite. The countrys provincial government system deals with formulating laws and regulations specifically for a region. On the other hand, the federal system governs the whole province (Foroughi et al., 2016). The governance system of Australia and Canada has evolved to be similar. The government rule in Australia mandates every individual to caste his or her vote in election, failure of which is punishable (Mossialos et al., 2015). There is a close resemblance in the government system of Australia and Canada pertaining to their British parliamentary system (Turner et al., 2013). The fact that reflects this resemblance is that both the provinces are under the membership of British commonwealth (Schoen et al., 2012). The two countries are further compared to assess any differences present in the health indicators such as low birth weight, asthma, obesity, infant mortality rate, hypertension, maternal mortality rate, life expectancy at birth and cancer. The maternal mortality rate refers to number of deaths of pregnant women due to associated complications and termination of pregnancy per 1000,000, live births. It occurs within the period of 42 days (Schfer et al., 2015). While studying the global maternal death it was found that in Australia, maternal mortality is found to occur rarely. The reports of (Papanicolas et al., 2013) showed that there were 102 maternal deaths in the time span of 2008-2012. This represents the ratio of 7.1 per 100,000 women who had successfully delivered babies (Oderkirk et al., 2013). These deaths lead to mental distress among other women. The maternal mortality rate in Canada was found to be 6.0 per 10,000 deliveries, taken into study the time span of 2008-2010 (Eijkenaar et al., 2013). Later, in the year 2010-2011 it was observed that majority of the deaths were due to cardiovascular diseases, mental disorders, neurological ad digestive problems (Walls et al., 2012). Infant mortality rate was the next health indictor used to compare both the countries. It refers to number of deaths per 1000 live births occurring before an infant completes one year (Janssen, 2013). According to the reports of (Kassebaum et al., 2014) in 2012, around 1034 infant death cases were registered in Australia. It was decrease by the percentage of 8.8 found in year 2010. There is a significant improvement in the infant death rate. There was a mild fluctuation observed since the year 2002, that reported 1270 deaths, which is reduced to 1044 in the year 2012 (Mossialos et al., 2015). In Canada, in 2008 the number of infant deaths, before the age of one was recorded to be 4.9 per 1000 live births. Canada ranks second in the world in terms of infant mortality rate (Eijkenaar et al., 2013). (Source: https://apps.who.int/gho/data/node.country.country-AUS?lang=en)The other indicator for describing the health condition of the population is Life Expectancy at Birth. It indicates the mortality rate of the population (Marchildon, 2013). It determines the life span of the individual as per their age and specific rate of death. This parameter has improved for the public in Australia. According to this method, a man born in 2011-2013 would survive for 82 years, whereas a female would survive for 86 years. These number changes to 45.6 and 49.1 years if they are born in 1882-1890 (Janssen, 2013). On contrary, a male born in Canada in 2013, would survive for 83 years and females for 86 years. For both the genders, the life expectancy at birth seems to be augmented from 74 to 80 in the year 1990 to 2012 (Kassebaum et al., 2014). In Australia, the life expectancy decreases with increasing remoteness. Therefore, in indigenous population, the Torres Strait Islanders experienced worse h ealth than any other communities did (Walls et al., 2012). The aboriginals in Canada are in much better position than aboriginals in Australian. Figure: Life Expectancy at Birth in Austarlia Health status refers to the state of physical and mental well being. As per (Marchildon, 2013) Australia is recognised to be one of the healthiest countries in the world. The rate of diseases and associated death occurs rarely in this country (Lecours Bland, 2013). In comparison to Canada, it has low mortality rate. It further augmented the rate of morbidity. Canada receives a B grade, with respect to its overall health performance (Turner et al., 2013). As per the reports of (Marchildon, 2013) Canada stands third in terms of mortality rate. The number of deaths is mainly associated with diabetes and its incidence rate is found to increase (Eijkenaar et al., 2013). Therefore, it has turn out to be a major health concern for the administrators, stakeholders and policy makers. Canada receives A grade in the category of premature mortality, mortality due to circulatory diseases and self-reported health (Kassebaum et al., 2014). It receives B grade in the category of mortality due to re spiratory diseases, life expectancy, mortality due to medical accidents and mortality due to mental disorders (Janssen, 2013).Australia has 5% births resulting in infants with low weight at birth. There were, 17,654 infants born with low weight, which is a percentage of 6.12 (Osborn Squires, 2012). As a result of indigenous population, in Australia, there were 3950 babies born with low weight during the period of 2000-2002. However, in Canada the babies born with low weight constitutes 5.3%. This data was constant during the period of 1980-2010 (Deber, 2014).Since last three decades, there is a growing incidence of obesity and associated complications in Australia (Foroughi et al., 2016). During the time of 2010-2011, 64% of the adult population in Australia were recognised with obesity. In the year 2009, 24% of the children in the age range 3-15 were identified to be obese and overweight (Lecours Bland, 2013). As per the data records of Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), in the year 2010, the rate of obesity might increase by 67% in coming years for all the age groups (Mossialos et al., 2015). Whereas, in Canada, the study by Deber, (2014) show that one in four adults and one in 10 children suffer from obesity. This accounts for total population of six million. Therefore, it implies for serious health management programs for combating weight gain issues. Canada is in 33rd position in terms of having overweight citizens (Smith et al., 2012). The percentage of the citizens having body mass of 25 in Canada comprises of 60.2% (Nicholson et al., 2012). This percentage has increased since 2006 in children, where the frequency in males was found to be 4-15% and the percentage increase in females showed 3-14% (Smith et al., 2012).As per the statistical data collected by Australian Health Survey, in the year 2010-2011, the Australian adults diagnosed with diabetes were reported to be 9,22,000 (Kassebaum et al., 2014). These individuals we re mainly comprised of age above 20 years. Both type I and type II diabetes is prevalent in this population group. Only 3% of the total population in Australia showed no diabetes and some were unaware of the prevailing condition. 6% of the population reported of their diabetes (Osborn Squires, 2012). The condition in Canada is slightly different. Majority of the patients with diabetes has difficulty in adhering to their medication due to high cost of treatment (Tchouaket et al., 2012). According to the survey conducted by Canadian Diabetes Association, 36% of the patients suffering from diabetes resist from revealing their condition due to social stigma and inferiority complex (Marchildon, 2013). Asthma is the common health issues in Australia with one tenth of individual effect by it. It is commonly found in males and females of age 15 and above (Sussman et al., 2012). The incidence rate of asthma is high in indigenous group in comparison to non-indigenous Australians (Tchouaket et al., 2012). It mainly effects and prominent in the elderly people in remote areas and those with low socioeconomic status and poor living conditions (Turner et al., 2013). A thorough literature research shows that the prevalence of diabetes has increased in Canada since the last two decades (Smith et al., 2012). Although there is a serious effort to ameliorate this issue, one death per two days is observed. The report of hypertension may not be accurate as it was observed in the case of diabetes; Canadians do not self-report about their health issues, although simple remedies can easily cure hypertension. These categories of people constitute around 5% of the total Canadians (Nicholson et al., 201 2).There is a growing concern in Australia, due to increase in cancer cases. In the year 2012, the total number of cancer cases registered was found to be 124,153. The male patients (69,030) were more in number than females (55,123). In 2013, there were 467 cases reported out of every one-lakh individuals for age- standardized occurrence rate. It is estimated that the incidences of cancer will be rising by next decade (Lecours Bland, 2013). The situation is almost same in Canada. The rate of cancer is increasing at an alarming rate. In Canada, there is an increase in three-year occurrence ratio with yearly rate of 3.2% from 1998-2009 and 3.4% that of the five year occurrence ratio, whereas the ten year occurrence ratio was found to be 3.8% ((Nicholson et al., 2012). Figure: Global cancer rates Australian Government along with the state and territory government has taken initiative for performance measurement (Walls et al., 2012). It requires assessing through the health indicators. This step enables that the quality and safety of the health services are improved (Lecours Bland, 2013). Thus, it will help identify any changes that need to be implemented in filling the gap. It requires significant contribution from administrators, taxpayers, stakeholders, health care providers and other contributors. In Australia, some nationally acclaimed bodies function to measure the diverse components of the organisation (Smith et al., 2012).The major concern in Canada remains to be diabetes, which is leading towards the third highest rate of mortality (Tchouaket et al., 2012). Canada is graded B for its health performance. Canada stands third in the terms of mortality rate. The number of deaths is mainly associated with diabetes and its incidence rate is found to increase (Eijkenaar et al., 2013). Therefore, it has turn out to be a major health concern for the administrators, stakeholders and policy makers. Canada receives A grade in the category of premature mortality, mortality due to circulatory diseases and self-reported health (Kassebaum et al., 2014). It receives B grade in the category of mortality due to respiratory diseases, life expectancy, mortality due to medical accidents and mortality due to mental disorders (Janssen, 2013). Australias health expenditure measured as the percentage of GDP in 2010 was observed to be lesser than Canada (Smith et al., 2012). In the year 2011-2012, hospitals were the leading cause of the health expenditure. Hospitals comprise to be 97% of the total area in health expenditure with other being miscellaneous purposes such as new buildings. 20% of the health expenditure constitutes of the medical services. This includes services in acute care facilities, primary health facilities and that provided by general practitioners (Le cours Bland, 2013). Drugs and other chemicals comprises of 14%, dental services constitutes to be of 7% (Sussman et al., 2012). On the contrary, the health expenditure in Canada, in 2013 was calculated to be 11.8% of the total gross domestic product (Brown et al., 2014). It is observed to be 1.6% above than the average set by the OECD, which is 9.5% (Foroughi et al., 2016). Compared to Australia, Canada has a lesser health expenditure. In all most all of the OECD countries, public institutions mainly provide the funding (Deber, 2014). Two countries that are exceptional to these funding includes United States and Chile (Fineberg et al., 2012). In Canada the public source, financing contributes to 75% of the health expenditure as reported in 2012. Here it is less than the average of 74% set by the OECD (Eijkenaar et al., 2013). In conclusion, it can be said that the comparative study related to the health care system in Australia and Canada, has clearly highlighted the governance system, funding system and the overall performance in health system. The essay has clearly discussed the health indicators such as mortality rate, health status, and life expectancy at birth, the prevalence of obesity, asthma, hypertension, diabetes, and cancer. The essay also provides the percentage of GDP expended on health. There is a high similarity between both the chosen countries. Both Australia and Canada were found to have efficient, safe and effective health care services. In both the countries the main objective of regionalisation was to accomplish greater accuracy and efficiency in consumption of health care resources and decrease the cost of escalation. The issue of governance involving the public participation in decision system is paid less attention in Australia. The public opinion is different from the decision of more state involvement in health operations. It can be said based on the literature review that Compared to Canadians the Australians are more apathetic in regards to reformation of public institutions and structures. However, they both lack behind when compared with other countries in terms of their advancement in health sector. Both these provinces must enhance their medical care services, as health is the foundation of healthy nation. Australia ranks higher than Canada in all of the indicators but is lower than Germany and U.S. In Australia, the life expectancy decreases with increasing remoteness. Therefore, in indigenous population, the Torres Strait Islanders experienced worse health than any other communities did (Walls et al., 2012). The aboriginals in Canada were in much better position than aboriginals in Australian. Australia must overcome its health service discrimination between the Indigenous and non-indigenous Australians. In Canada, the patient first approach should be more focused on rather than on different governing structures. Both the above countries have underwent several health reforms since last two days, there still remains a challenge in rising costs and workforce related to health care. These issues need to be paid more attention. Overall, it was an interesting area to work on. This comparative study has given a clear concept on the healthcare management of Australia and Canada and there scenarios in past and present. The literature review was interesting as it gave a deep insight of the subject. References Bourke, L., Humphreys, J. S., Wakerman, J., Taylor, J. (2012). Understanding rural and remote health: a framework for analysis in Australia.Health Place,18(3), 496-503. Brown, S., Castelli, M., Hunter, D. J., Erskine, J., Vedsted, P., Foot, C., Rubin, G. (2014). How might healthcare systems influence speed of cancer diagnosis: A narrative review.Social Science Medicine,116, 56-63. Deber, R. B. (2014). Thinking about accountability.Healthcare policy= Politiques de sante,10(Spec issue), 12-24. Eijkenaar, F., Emmert, M., Scheppach, M., Schffski, O. (2013). Effects of pay for performance in health care: a systematic review of systematic reviews.Health.

Economics for Transport Managers

Market for laptop computers As mentioned in the case study, the research found a strong evidence of a positive relationship between computer usage and fatigue among school children. This implies that the more they use the computers the more fatigued they become.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on Economics for Transport Managers specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Therefore, there is possibility that the usage of computers among school children will be reduced so as to keep them active for long in school. The result of the research is likely to lead to a reduction in the number of hours that school children spend computer usage. Therefore, there will be a decline in the demand for laptop computers among school going children both in the short run and in the long run. The impact of the research can be demonstrated graphically as shown below (Perloff 2012). Short run Assume that the market for laptop computers is pe rfectly competitive and that the firms in the industry are earning supernormal profit, the initial equilibrium position is illustrated below. In the diagram above, the short run equilibrium price is P while the equilibrium quantity is Q. The equilibrium is attained at the point where the marginal cost equals price and marginal revenue (P = MR = MC). At this point, the firm operating in the laptop computer industry will earn supernormal profit as illustrated above. The diagram illustrated above shows how the new research will impact on the laptop computer market equilibrium in the short run (Perloff 2012).Advertising Looking for term paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The results of the new research will result in the reduction of quantity demanded from Q to Q1. With the reduction of the quantity demanded by the consumers, the supplier will reduce the quantity they produce. Since it is a competitive market, a reduction in quantity demanded will result in a reduction of the price. The new equilibrium price will be P1. The firm will have a new equilibrium position that is the point where P1 = MR1 = MC1. At this point, the profits of the firms will be reduced from supernormal to normal profit (Parkin 2007). Long run The initial equilibrium position of the firm in the long run is illustrated in the graph below. In the long run, the equilibrium is attained at the point where demand and supply curve intersects. The equilibrium quantity is given by Q while the price is P.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on Economics for Transport Managers specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More A reduction in the quantity demand will result in the quantity demanded from Q to Q1 will result in the reduction of the price of the laptop computers from P to P1. Unemployment Equilibrium in the labour market is attained at the point where labour supply equals labour demand. Any distortion of the equilibrium position either from the demand or supply side lead to disequilibrium (Parkin 2007). A construction worker laid off laid off because of a decrease in the number of new building projects is an indication of a reduction in the demand for labour. A decline in demand leads to a long term unemployment and a decline in the wages because it might take a long period of time before the decrease in the number of building project changes. A mining engineer who loses her job at a mine in an isolated area is likely to result in long term unemployment. The engineer may not be in a position to get a another job quite easily since the mine is isolated. Floods are seasonal and are bound to end after a period of time. The floods can cause havoc to the fruits and it may take a period of time before the fruits are ready again for picking. Therefore, a fruit picker laid off because of floods experiences a short term unemployment beca use they may be engaged again once the fruits are ready for picking. Competition can lead to a decline in sales hence loss of jobs. Therefore, a cook in a fast – food outlet who loses his job when a new restaurant opens across the street experiences short term unemployment. It is because the cook is likely easily getting a job from the competitors. A seamstress with little formal education who loses her job when the company she works for shuts down due to competition from overseas is likely to experience long term unemployment. With little formal education, the seamstress may find it difficult to get another job because the job market is growing to be increasingly competitive. Therefore, the number of workers having a large number of formal employment is increasing. Reserve Bank of Australia’s monetary decision Reasons for changes in the Australian economy The recent changes in the economy of Australia were majorly caused by the global financial crisis. The global fin ancial crisis was instigated by the overflowing of the housing bubble in the United States. This caused an increase in the default mortgage rates in the United States. This triggered an increase in the amount loans issued by the commercial banks. The condition persisted for a period of time and resulted in a decline in the GDP hence the global financial crisis. Apart from the global financial crisis, the conservative consumer behaviour also led to the reduction of consumption expenditure hence a decline in GDP. Further, the value of currency of the company deteriorated significantly during this period. These factors resulted in the deterioration of the economic condition in the country (Parkin 2007).Advertising Looking for term paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More How an interest rate cut by RBA may help address the current economic conditions There are policies that can be put in place to mitigate the improve the economic condition of the country. A number of both the expansionary fiscal and the monetary policies can be used to correct the current economic condition. An example of an expansionary monetary policy is reduction of interest rate. A decline in interest rates results in a decrease in the cost of borrowing. This will encourage borrowing hence an increase in the cost of borrowing. In the AD – AS model, the aggregate demand curve will shift outwards as a result of the interest rate cuts. This causes the price level to increase. The aggregate supply curve will not be affected. The impact of the policy on the AD – AS model is illustrated below. Expansionary fiscal policies shift the AD curve from AD1 to AD2. This results in an increase in the price level from P1 to P2. The amount of output also increases from Q1 to Q2. T hus, it can be observed that the reduction of interest rates results in an increase in the price level in the economy (inflation) and an increase in the amount of output. An increase in output intern leads to a decline in the amount of GDP. Thus, it can be observed that a decline in interest rates stimulates the economy (Parkin 2007). References Parkin, M 2007, Economics, University of Michigan, USA. Perloff, J 2012, Microeconomics, Pearson Education, England. This term paper on Economics for Transport Managers was written and submitted by user Kat Farrell to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

SAT Book Guide The Best Books for Intense Study

SAT Book Guide The Best Books for Intense Study SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips If you're a student who wants to leave no stone unturned as you prep for the SAT,then this SATpreparationbook guide is for you. These are the best SAT books for students committed to devoting significant time, like 100 or more hours, to get ready for this important test. The recommendations on this book list go beyond a general review of the SAT and provide the skills, strategies, and insights you need to get a top score. Before diving into the SAT book list,let's consider an important question: are books the most effective way to study for the SAT? Are Books the Best Method for Intense Study? Since you're puttingin hard work to achieve your target scores, you also want to make sure your prep materials are working for you. If you're devoting asignificant amount of time to studying, you should see results. So what methods of test prep will be most effective in preparing you for the SAT? If you're looking to use books to prep, you should be aware that all test prep books have pros and cons. Some excel in teaching content while others focus on strategies. On the flip side, somehave unrealisticpractice questionsorbring in concepts that will never actually show up on the SAT. To truly delve into all sections of the SAT, you'd be best served by studying from several of these books together in a coherent sequence. Given this, I'll recommend a possible approach to tackle these books effectively, rather than trying to read them from cover to cover. Even with this plan of attack, studying from books requires a lot of self-discipline and self-motivation. Besides getting ready for the SAT, books pose the extra challenge of designing a logical study plan, prioritizing some concepts over others based on your needs, and sticking to your schedule. Because this degree of discipline is tough for students at all levels and ages, an alternative method of studying that can be very effective is online test prep. PrepScholar's online SAT program incorporates the most useful aspects of these books - content, strategies, high quality practice questions - while adding that helpful component of accountability. Plus it goes one step further and customizes the study plan to you. PrepScholar diagnoses your strengths and weaknesses, helps you design a study plan based on your individualprofile as a test-taker, and tracks your progress along the way. Books can be very useful for students looking to study intensely for the SAT. If you're using books, I recommend taking the time to develop a thoughtful approach and study plan customized to you, setting benchmarks along the way, and finding ways that help you stay accountable to your goals (even when a marathon of your favorite show is on). First on this list is the critical book that all students need for SAT prep. The Critical SAT Prep Book for Practice Tests The book that all students should use to prep for theSAT comes from College Board itself: College Board's Official Study Guide, otherwise known as the Blue Book. While this book is a must have, it also doesn't stand on its own as your only resource. Let's look at the pros and cons of the Blue Book. College Board's Official SAT Study Guide, or the "Blue Book" Amazon price: $16.43 Pros Why is this book so critical? The Blue Book has official practice questions from previously administered SATs. It has 10 official practice tests, meaning over 35 hours of practice testing and 1700 practice questions! Ambitious test-takers shouldnot just take these tests for practice, but also study them deeply. Take the time to understand exactly what each question is asking, as well as any mistakes you made and why. Was it a lack of knowledge? Difficulty managing time? A careless error? By scouring answer explanations and practicing thoroughly, you can become an expert in taking the SAT. Then the real one will just be another 3 hours and 45 minutes that you're well accustomed to. Students who want the full test-taking experience should note that these practice tests are actually only 3 hours and 20 minutes. Why? The real SAT will have an extra 25 minute experimental sectionfor the purpose of testing out future material and maintaining accuracy in scoring. The experimentalsection can be math, critical reading, or writing, but you won't know which one until you finish the test. Even then, you'll only know which section had extra time, but not specifically which 25 minute section was experimental. If you want the true experience in terms of testing time, you might consider adding an extra 25 minute section when you take practice tests. Since official questions are the gold standard, we've gathered 8 official SAT practice tests here that you can use, as well. Four of the tests are from the current version, while the other four are older. The drawback of these is that the answer key doesn't have explanations of each question. Besides the hours of practice testing and studying the Blue Book provides, what are some areas in which it's lacking? Cons The Blue Book stands above the rest for officialquestions, but taking practice tests is not the only part of SAT prep, especially for intense studiers. You want a thorough review of content and skills, plus those extra insights and strategies that will help you avoid the common SAT tricks and pitfalls. The Blue Book is not the best source of instructionor strategies. Since it's created by the test-maker, College Board, it's not going to give away its secrets! The other drawback of the Blue Book is that its answer explanations are not particularly thorough. It only gives a brief explanation why an answer choice is correct, but it usually doesn't delve into why the other answer choices are wrong. Since on the SAT most answer choices usually sound reasonable, this could leave you still feeling confused. Intense studiers should thoroughly understand what a question is asking, along with the common "distractor" answer choices that pop up, especially among passage-based Critical Reading questions. It's also helpful when books guide you through a question type step by step, so you can use that same thought processfor next time. Luckily, there is a book that provides more thorough answer explanations to some of the hardest questions in the Blue Book. You can think of it as the Blue Book's companion: the similarly named Black Book. The Critical SAT Prep Book for Strategy The SAT Prep Black Book by Mike Barrett supplements College Board's Blue Book and refers directly to official SAT questions. If you're looking for a deep understanding of SAT structure and question types, then this book is a must-have on your SAT prep book list. SAT Prep Black Book by Mike Barrett Amazon price: $17.97 Pros According to Barrett, the SAT is actually an easy test. It doesn't test particularly high levelskills, nor does it require you to have learned advanced concepts in math, reading, or writing. Instead, the SAT is difficult for students because it asks about basic concepts in strange ways. Barrett asserts that students can perform well on the SAT by learning about its "strangeness." By seeing through the tricky wording and distracting answer choices, students can use his strategies to greatly improve their scores. While his take may not resonate with everyone, I think he has highly useful insights to share about the test. He can help change the way you think about the SAT and approach and process each question. For instance, Barrett emphasizes that every multiple choice question has only one unambiguously correct answer. When students start to overthink all the realistic-sounding answer choices, that's when they run into trouble. He helps you identify which one is correctfor each question type, along with understanding exactly why the other ones are not quite right. The SAT Prep Black Bookgives thorough explanations of official practice questions, which is a key part of SAT prepfor any motivated student. A lot of his strategies influenced the developers of PrepScholar's online prep program and were incorporated into the way PrepScholarteaches students about the SAT. Cons Because the Black Book delves deeply into the SAT, it requires a lot of commitment from students. To get the most out of it, you really have to be disciplined and engage with the material. Some students find it overly wordy, which can make it hard to stick with. That's why the Black Book tends to be used by the most dedicated SAT studiers. While the Blue Book and Black Book supplement each other well, they are still not sufficient as your only sources of test prep (sorry!). You've probably noticed I talked about practice tests and strategies. So what's missing? Good old-fashioned instruction of content and skills. Drilling yourself on grammar rules, practicing solving algebraic equations, and sharpening your critical reading skills are still essential for doing well on the SAT. The Black Book's strength does not lie here. Instead, it assumes most students have a strong foundation of knowledge. For this kind of test prep, let's look at the best book for overall prep and then the best books by SAT section. The Best SAT Prep Book for General Study For students planning to devote a good amount of time to SAT prep, I recommend Barron's SAT for an examination of all sections of the SAT. Barron's SAT Amazon price: $14.31 Pros Barron's SAT has a comprehensive review of all sections of the SAT. It explains the various question types on Critical Reading and the grammar skills you need for Writing. It's especially thorough in its coverage of SAT math, which it breaks down into numerous subtopics, like percents, solid geometry, coordinate geometry, and logical reasoning, to name a few. Barron's helps you build your vocabulary with a High Frequency Word List and a 3,500 Word List. If you purchase the book, you can also access an online component that helps you design a study plan. Barron's encourages you to start out with a diagnostic test and pinpoint your strengths and weaknesses. In addition, it includes 6 full length practice tests with answer explanations. That's an additional 24 hours of testing and 1,020 practice questions! Combine that with the Blue Book practice tests, and you'll be well on your way to becoming an SAT expert. Cons Barron's SAT is a very thorough book, which is both a strength and a weakness. Because it covers so much, it can feel overwhelming to students. While the book suggests you customize your study plan based on your diagnostic test, this can feel like a lot of added planning. Another weakness of Barron's has to do with its strategies. The introductory chapters offer some suggestions for time management and identifying question types, but it doesn't go much beyond the obvious. It doesn't offer asinsightful a take asthe Black Book or some of the subject-specific books. Finally, many students find that Barron's SAT actually overshoots the SAT with overly advanced concepts, and that its practice tests are unrealistically hard. While overpreparing isn't necessarily the worst problem, you don't want to waste time with concepts you don't need or get an unrealistic sense of your scoring level. When using Barron's SAT practice tests, try to keep an eye out for its similarities and differences with official College Board practice tests. Having a critical eye will help you make the most use out of these unofficial practice questions. Another approach to delving into SAT material is to divide it up by section. These are my recommendations for the best books for SAT math, reading, and writing. Best SAT Prep Books to Study Math These three books - PWN the SAT, Dr. John Chung's SAT Math, and the Powerscore Math Bible - are designed for motivated students looking to gain a top math score. Let's consider the pros and cons of each. PWN the SAT: Math Guide Amazon price: $28.28 Pros According to the author, Mike McClenathan, he wrote PWN the SAT to help "ambitious, highly motivated kids maximize their SAT math scores. He takes a more engaging, personable approach than a lot of other test prep books, as you can tell right away in the introduction: "Do you crave a higher score? Are you willing to do a little hard work to achieve it? Good. I knew I liked you." Given the fact that other test prep books can be a little, ahem,dry,PWN the SAT is a welcome departure in style and tone. He spends the first 30 pages on test-taking strategies and techniques, discussing how best to read the math questions, how to not get fooled by questions that appear easier than they are, and useful guessing strategies that go beyond the obvious. McClenathan breaks each math concept into numerous subtopics, like ratios, prime factorization, symbol functions, circles, and probability. This detailed approach will truly help you leave no stone unturned in your review of any and all math concepts that may show up on the SAT. Like the Black Book, PWN the SAT is best used in conjunction with the Official Study Guide, or the Blue Book. It refers directly to official practice questions, giving detailed answer explanations for all the math questions you'll find there. These go beyond the answer explanations in the Blue Book and are usefulfor understanding your errors and applying the same skills and thought process to similar questions on future tests. In addition to referencing official questions, PWN the SAT has its own diagnostic drills to assess your skills. You can also check out the PWN the SAT website for useful blog posts and a discussion forum where you can connect with other students and leave questions and comments for the author himself. By the way, for any non-gamers out there (myself included), PWN means to conquer and is pronounced "pone." The more you know. Cons PWN the SAT excels in instruction and review, but it doesn't have a ton of its own practice questions. It has to be used alongside the Blue Book, to which it explicitly refers. You should also seek out more practice questions if you need to drill particular skills, like shape geometry or functions. Similar to Barron's SAT, PWN the SAT has been criticized for having overly challenging math questions and examples. Again, you want to keep a critical eye. If you become familiar with the SAT, then you'll be able to sense when a concept or wording of a question exceeds the difficulty level you'll actually encounter. It's also relatively expensive for a book that covers only one section of the SAT. Finally, some students find this book too wordy. I personally find it engaging and funny, at least as far as test prep books, but how much it resonates with you is a matter of individual opinion. You can check out a free preview at Amazon and decide if it speaks to you. Dr. John Chung's SAT Math: 58 Perfect Tips and 20 Complete Tests Amazon price: $26.59 Pros While some books are on the wordy side, Dr. John Chung's SAT Math is not one of them. It cuts down the math section to rules and practice problems. The 58 "tips" are the most important concepts you need to know for math, like linear functions, slope, and proportions. There isn't much here in the way of explanation, so it's geared towards highly achieving math students with a strong foundation in these concepts. It gives you lots of practice problems - 20 practice tests - to drill each of the 58 skills, with thorough, if concise, answer explanations. Cons One downside of this book is the cost, considering it covers only one section of the SAT. It is definitely geared towards more advanced math students, and doesn't offer much in the way of clarifying instruction. Students who don't want to do a lot of reading in their math review will like this approach. Again, check out the free preview on Amazon to see if this style resonates with you. Another con is that the questions can be overly challenging. They are still valuable, especially with the answer explanations, because they drill all the important math concepts. That being said, you want the most realistic practice questions possible to get a true sense of the SAT. Finally, this book has some typos and errors in layout. While this doesn't detract from the quality of the instruction, it can be distracting. Powerscore SAT Math Bible Amazon price: $25.08 Pros The Powerscore SAT Math Bible is a great resource for students with strong math backgrounds and those who feel less confident in this area. It starts with an "operation mastery" section to review important concepts, along with drills to reinforce each skill. It offers 8mainpractical strategies for attacking SAT math questions, along with example problems that show you exactly when and how to apply each strategy. It also explains confusing SAT wording with its "highlighted arithmetricks" and "SAT traps." The chapters are divided by content area - arithmetic, algebra, algebra II, geometry, coordinate geometry, data analysis, statistics, and probability - which are further broken down into subtopics. It also has a glossary to ensure you understand all the math-related terminology. Overall, the Powerscore SAT Math Bible has over 375 high quality example and practice questions, along with detailed explanations. Its online supplementary component also refers to official questions from the Blue Book and has extra study aids like math flash cards. One particular strength of this book is its frequency guide, which rates the importance of concepts from 1 to 5. This helps you prioritize your studying. While books like Dr. Chung's 58 Perfect Tips throw all the concepts at you at once, the Powerscore SAT Math Bible helps you sort them by frequency and importance. Cons While this book has numerous example and practice questions, it's not as substantial when it comes to actual practice tests. You'll want to make sure to incorporate at least a pre-test and post-test into your study plan to gauge your progress, as well as others to measure it along the way. Because this book is geared for students at all levels, it may have extra material you don't need if you're already well versed in the math concepts. For more advanced math students, it may not be immediately challenging because of its introductory sections and material. All three of these math books have strengths and can be effective as you work towards a high score. If you're looking to focus especially on Critical Reading and/or Writing, I recommend the guides by Erica Meltzer. Best SAT Prep Books to Study Critical Reading and Writing Erica Meltzer, who runs the blog, The Critical Reader, has written complete guides to the Reading and Writing sections of the SAT. They're both high quality books useful to students looking to master these sections. The Complete Guide to SAT Critical Reading by Erica Meltzer Amazon price: $31.95 Pros Erica Meltzer has a very lucid take on the SAT Critical Reading. She was an English major in college, but she recognizes that the skills you pick up in English classes don't necessarily translate to a high score on the SAT Reading. Instead, she teaches students about the types of questions and specific skills that SAT Critical Reading calls for. With these insights, she demystifies this section of the test that can otherwise be quite tricky to study for. She breaks down questions into types, like main point and vocabulary in context, and drills each skill with practice questions. Her passages are highly realistic, and she gives practical strategies for managing time and processing key information easily and efficiently. Besides the questions and in-depth explanations, this book has a comprehensive vocabulary section with high frequency words, multiple meaning words, and common roots. To help you prep for sentence completions, she has 75 practice questions featuring commonly used SAT words. Cons One con of this SAT book is the layout and visual presentation. It packs a lot of small font words into each page and doesn't break them up with graphics. This can get old when you're tired from studying for the SAT for hours. Some also find Meltzer's style on the dry side, while others appreciate that she doesn't add unnecessary fluff. It's also on the expensive side, especially taken together with The Complete Guide to SAT Grammar. Another aspect to consider is the way she organizes content by skill. It can be helpful to drill each skill you need for Critical Reading, but remember that the actual tests will present questions in random order. You'll need to both learn the skills and be able to identify what skill each question is testing on your own, without it already being labeled into categories for you. Her guide to SAT grammar similarly organizes content by rule and skill, which is especially useful for reinforcing your knowledge of grammar. The UltimateGuide to SAT Grammar (and SAT Grammar Workbook) by Erica Meltzer Amazon price: $27.86 ($28.45 for workbook) Pros The UltimateGuide to SAT Grammaris a must-have if you're looking for a detailed breakdown and drill of each and every grammar rule that is likely to appear on the SAT. There are dozens of exercises and practice questions to reinforce each rule. This book will help you recognize and correct errors, as well as identify question types so you can predict exactly which rule each question is testing. There are thorough explanations for each practice question, and you can find additional practice questions in the SAT Grammar Workbook. Similar to PrepScholar's approach to SAT Writing prep, Meltzer breaks the section down by skill and clearly instructs students on each one. Cons One major con of these SAT books is the price. If you purchase the reading, grammar, and grammar workbook together, then you're looking at almost $100 already. Since these books don't have a ton of practice tests, you'd also be using at least one or two other books for additional practice testing. While this book helps you drill each skill, you'll want to make sure you can identify and predict the skills on your own. This is another reason why you'll want to reinforce the lessons with practice tests, in which the skills tested byidentifying errors, improving sentences, and improving paragraph questions are all mixed up in random order. Now that you've read my recommendations for the best SAT books to read for intense study, you might be wondering how best to use these books to prepare. Stacking them up in a huge pile will just be daunting, increasing therisk that all these books just end upcollecting dust in a corner of your room. Let's talk about how you can approach these hundreds of pages of material in a manageable, scaffolded way. One step at a time to reach your target scores... How to Study from these SAT Prep Books How can you take this daunting amount of material and break it up into smaller, manageable goals, like taking steps up a long ladder? First, I would recommend taking a diagnostic practice test from the Blue Book. Score your test and use your results to gauge your level and determine which areas require the most focus from you. Depending on how long you plan to study, you can spread out other practice tests in increments. These can be used as benchmarks to track your progress. Remember to leave one for the end of your test prep, close to your actual SAT, to record your score improvements and if need be, do any last minute studying. Review each practice test section by section and mark the questions you miss by practice type and skill. Mike Barrett's Black Book can help you identify question type more clearly, as well as apply strategies to save time and eliminate "distractor" answer choices quickly and easily. After analyzing your results,I would suggest reviewing content and skills where you need tomost. If you're strong in math, you couldstart out by drilling yourself on reading, vocabulary, and grammar. If you scored well on reading, then you might turn to math first. Throughout, you can use practice tests to gauge your improvement and shift to another section once you've improved in the first. If you are a freshman or sophomore, you can start studying a year or so before your first real test. You can devote several hours a week to studying and then ramp up this time commitment in the months leading up to your test. To customize your study plan to your individual needs,I highly recommend analyzing your practice tests and then diving into your weaknesses with relevant recommended SAT prep books. This can help you build up both skills and confidence where you need it most. As planning and sticking to an effective study schedule is a challenging aspect of your test prep, you also might want to look into other options that help you with this planning. Which option will getyou the prize of a high SAT score? Is Studying from Books the Best Option for Intense Prep? Some of these recommended SAT books are highly comprehensive, while others dive into specifics. There are ones that focus on math, reading, and grammar instruction, and others that reveal test-conquering strategies. Taken together, they have the content you need to become an expert in the SAT and achieve top scores. At the same time, self-study from these books requires a ton of discipline. You need to customize your study plan to you, and make sure you sit down and put in the time. There's no one else who's going to know whether you're making time to prep or doing it effectively (except maybe your parents staring over your shoulder). Some students are able to chip away one day, week, and month at a time keeping their end goal in sight, but for most this is a trying test of willpower and motivation. Apart from the isolation of self-study, all these SAT preparation books can get expensive. If you wanted to draw on the strengths of all of them, you'd already be spendingover $200. Sadly, there's no great SAT preparation books with free pdfdownloads. PrepScholar's online program was developed with all this in mind. It has the expert content, strategies, and practice questions, while also understanding the stress, pressure, and challenges of scheduling surround test prep. It's not like you have all the free time in the world tostudy for the SAT, nor do you want to waste time on concepts you already have down. We understand that you want to make the most of your test prep, while getting the intensive prep you need to achieve top scores and be a competitive candidate on college applications. Because PrepScholar has an affordable, all-in-one program that helps you devise a study plan, keep track of your progress, and focus on the areas you need to the most,it has helped many highly achieving students find success. It also has the additional option of a one-on-one tutor, combining the best parts of customizable educational technology with the motivating coaching of an experienced tutor. Besides online prep, you can also find a plethora (10 points for SAT vocab!) of online resources with information and practice for the SAT. Among PrepScholar's SATstrategy guides are The 21 Critical SAT Math Formulas You Must Know How to Get an 800 on SAT Reading The Complete Guide to SAT Grammar Rules 6 SAT Essay Examples You Can Use to Answer Every Essay Prompt Should You Guess on the SAT? 6 Guessing Strategies The Best Way to Review Your Mistakes for the SAT How to Get a Perfect SAT Score, by a 2400 Full Scorer Before adding all these SAT books to your Amazon cart and clicking purchase, I would encourage you to explore and compare the various methods of test prep. If you're committed to working hard for your SAT scores, then make sure you're going about it in the way that's most enjoyable and above all, most effective for you. What's Next? The strategy guides listed above are just a few of the free resources we provideon the SAT. You can explore more practical strategies for the math, Critical Reading, and writing sections of the SAT here. Have you decided when exactly you're taking the SAT and how many times you plan to take it? Read about all the important considerations in choosing your SAT test dates here. Want to improve your SAT score by 240 points?We have the industry's leading SAT prep program. Built by Harvard grads and SAT full scorers, the program learns your strengths and weaknesses through advanced statistics, then customizes your prep program to you so you get the most effective prep possible. Check out our 5-day free trial today:

Influence of Hindu and Arabs in Mathematics Essay

Influence of Hindu and Arabs in Mathematics - Essay Example A well-developed numerical system and algebra in India allowed complicated astronomical calculations. The translations of classical works of ancient India into Chinese language include Mathematics Brahman. This allowed the share of mathematical though with other regions. "But the glory of having invented generalmethods in this most subtle branch of mathematics belongs to the Indians. The Hindu indeterminate analysis differs from the Greek not only in method, but also in aim" (Cajori 95). Another historical example can be the sharing of knowledge from India to Arab world (and to the West through ad with the help of Arabs who traded with India and the West and thus served as middlemen to spread ancient mathematical thought. Arabs themselves adopted a lot of mathematical knowledge. Arab philosopher, al-Uqlidisi introduced decimal fractions developed in the positional number system (Cajori 104). Also, Arabs developed the new science, "algebra" first described by Al'Karaji. Arabs knew suc h concepts as induction, integral cubes, binormal theorem, function, etc. Such exchange happened in the ancient times, and still it seems to continue happening nowadays - due to globalization and share of any discovery in scientific world.

Impact of Globalization on the country Identity Essay

Impact of Globalization on the country Identity - Essay Example Furthermore, numerous buildings in the city are still designed based on their historical relevance. The impact of globalization has been spread out across different countries all over the world. The world has become more interconnected than ever. Never before in the history has international connections between world trade, communication, and politics been seen at this rate and pace. The responsibilities of planners have also increased with the arrival of globalization and as research indicates, the planning of cities is no longer limited to physical planning, but it now also includes the social and economic fabric (The Role of Planners in the Globalization Era, 2004). The globalization of economic, social, environment and political matters have not been limited to the national level, but have now also affected the urban and architectural planning of the city. Globalization is a term used by a development and interaction process of international union arising from the networking of world views, products, ideas and other aspects of culture. Advances in transportation and telecommunications infrastructure are major factors in globalization, generating further interrelationships of economic and cultural activities (Globalization, 2014). In the globalized world, geography does not become less important, instead it has become more relevant. This is because of the fact that globalization enhances possibilities in increasing geographic differentiation and location which then reflect on overall planning. The globalization extends a large group and city regions outside their borders. The internal and external of these cities and their growth present a number of challenges for policy makers in their planning. Based on the history of urban planning in Qatar, changes in planning can be recognized. In 1935, British petroleum initiated oil exploration in Qatar. High quality oil

Marketing Plan Project Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6500 words

Marketing Plan Project - Research Paper Example more on effective strategic activities with a view to meet consumers’ on demand-expectations. In order to be competitive and to survive in today’s fiercely competitive markets, businesses have not only to seek response from customers, but also discover hidden market opportunities and stimulate demand for their goods or services (Kotler and Keller, 2006, p. 10). Regardless of whether it is small or large in scale, startup businesses essentially need to plan for its business and marketing activities by analyzing various strategies that they can implement for future. Business organizations that manufacture or market goods and services are performing its business function primarily to meet their commitment and responsibilities to the society, consumers and all other important stakeholders. Marketers create benefit or utility that are the want-satisfying power of the consumers (Boone and Kurtz, 2009, p. 5). It is extremely important for any business to see what utility or be nefit its goods or services can offer to the consumers and to evaluate the value and money-worth that consumers may expect for them. It is also important to weigh up whether customers are satisfied with the offerings and how they can be turned to be loyal-customers so as to gain advantage as long-term assets. Marketing plan, which has recently gained greater significance among business experts, is an invariably practical tool that can provide insights in to the overall business environments, competitive levels, strategic aspects and major areas of opportunities and threats. As contemporary markets are largely impacted by radical changes in technology, consumer behavior and buying patterns, competition, management and business strategies, marketers have to foresee how these variables may impact their marketing domain and how they can be dealt with. Marketing plan is a roadmap that can illustrate how these marketing forces create challenges on the business and how they can be managed as well. It is an important strategic tool that helps a marketer comprehend business potential and foresee ways with that it can achieve sustainable competitive advantage. It provides detailed explanation of various environmental factors and significant elements in relation to competition, management, and marketing mix and so on. This paper presents a brief marketing plan for Al-GiZza Restaurant in Abu-Dhabi, UAE. Al-GiZza is going to be an incredible experience with dining of multicultural organic food and entertainment for the local Arabian community, people around the world who visit UAE for leisure and other expatriate professionals working in UAE. Though there are many pizza

Leadership Case Study: Oticon

Leadership Case Study: Oticon A range of materials have detailed the various approaches to leadership, development of leadership and its management competency structure in a number of organizations. The information provided here is intended to communicate to the readers and markers whether or not actions, activities, and behaviors of Oticon and its President meet entrepreneurial texts. This paper also shows the different kinds of strategies adopted by a leader to help maximize the success of a business. Leadership as a complex process that concerns the extent to which a set of standards, qualities and or competencies can capture the nature that makes some leaders and organizations thrive and others unproductive (Burns, 1978). In Oticon, the political, structural, and cultural obstacles that are present in many organizations have not been a problem or hindrance to the company in obtaining its set objectives. Oticon has been able to meet its objectives because the leaders are aware of these hindrances and have come up with appropriate solutions to overcome them completely (Hofstede, 1977). Leadership style is the manner of directing, implementation of plans, and motivation of individuals in an organization. There are a number of theories that have been discussed to show their effectiveness in the organization. Power in Oticons leadership style has been streamlined to all managers. They have shown that change is good, but one should take note of the power source which greatly impacts the growth of the business and attainment of organizational goals and objectives. Power in this case leads us to understanding the importance of leadership roles in the organization. In the conclusion, we see the appropriateness of the leadership style used in Oticon Company (Yukl, 1989). Managing versus leading Leadership ensures that the organization and all the stakeholders do the right thing. It has the authority to set direction, make decisions, and create different policies. They also have the responsibility of ensuring that the organization is well managed, resources available are associated with expectations, and that they are operating within the legal and ethical boundaries stipulated. Management on the other hand, assures that the staff and volunteers of that organization follow to the latter the direction that has been set by the boards of directors and do things right. This is achieved through the use of strategic plans that relate to the operational plans which are later presented to the board to explain to them how well the operational plans have been implemented. The management ensures that the board understands the presented data (Vroom and Yetton, 1973). Lars Kolind displays to his managers and staff certain emotions which have enabled most of them understand and fully accommodate the feelings of others. His high emotional intelligence (EI) has vastly contributed to his role of instilling change in others working in his organization. For those with anger, enjoyment, love, and sadness while working, he has motivated them which have seen to the growth of the business. In the case study, we see that before using the disorganized organization strategy the profits obtained were very low. However, when Oticon started using it, more profits were obtained in a very short period of time. This was achieved by considering the emotional intelligence of its workers who were not sure of how effective the leadership style would help the organization obtain its objectives effectively. These attributes do transfer to leaders outside the business sphere for example, if one is always angry and sad, no one will be able to freely socialize with him/her f or fear of being assaulted. Those filled with fear cannot be able to do anything for their own not even engaging in any business. Leadership functions Effective leadership of change means that, when the leader uses new methods of administration to achieve the desired goals, the staff and managers should accept and implement them fully. The contingency or situational school of thought indicates that the style to be used is dependent on factors such as the situation, the people, the task, the organization, and other variables of the environment (Fiedler, 1967). Fielders contingency model is a theory under the situational school of thought that clearly postulates that managers do not have a single way that can be described as best for leading the organization. Situations will be the ones creating the different style requirements for managers. The best solution accorded for a managerial situation is conditional on the factors that encroach on the situation. For example, in Oticon, repetitive mechanical tasks have become a norm to the workers (dynamic environment), thus a more flexible, participative leadership style has been used. The leader-member relation is good because both the managers and employees relate with each other on a regular basis. The task is unstructured, but the power position is still maintained (Sims and Lorenzi, 1992) Variables of the environment can be measured by using favorable or unfavorable terms depending on the task oriented style. Managers do reshape their environmental variables to suit their leadership styles. Leader-member relations are the amount of devotion, reliability, and employee support received by the leaders. In an unfavorable relationship, the task is unstructured and the leader has possession of limited authority. Position power is measured with the amount of authority the manager sees that has been given to him or her by the organization for the sole purpose of directing, rewarding, and punishing those subordinates who fail to adhere to the rules and regulations stipulated. Positioning of power of managers depends on decreasing the favorable and increasing the unfavorable power of decision making of the employees of the organization (Clegg, 1975). Relationship-motivated style builds interpersonal relations and extends extra help for team work development in the organization. The task- motivated style leader has delight and fulfillment in accomplishment of the task at hand. Oticon Company sees to it that the satisfaction of the customer has been achieved; the company has established a good image which has seen to the increase of the sales record, and has outperformed its competitors. Leadership theories have developed from Great Man and Trait theories to Transformational leadership. These early theories focused mainly on the characteristics and behaviors of leaders who have achieved success, while the modern theories put into consideration the role of followers and the contextual nature of those leading an organization (Hersey and Blanchard, 1977). Transformational leaders have displayed behaviors that are linked to five basic styles of transformation: Idealized behaviors (living on ones ideals), Inspirational motivation where leaders inspire others, Intellectual stimulation where others are being stimulated, Individualized considerations that deals with coaching and development of individuals, Idealized attributes which include respecting, trusting, and having faith in others. These leaders are proactive in many unique ways. They optimize on development which includes the maturation of ability, motivation, attitudes, and values of the organization (Likert, 1961). Transformational leadership is the approach taken by most leaders in creating a shared vision, develop and coach employees who will become future leaders, encourage innovation in others in the organization, and act with high ethical standards and integrity (Bass Avolio 1994). Dispersed leadership is an informal, emergent, or dispersed leadership where the leaders role has been dissociated from the organizational hierarchy. At all levels of the organizations, individuals have been given the power to exert leadership influence over their workmates hence influence the leadership of the organization. Oticon is a good example. The tasks of the managers have been restructured. A charismatic leader is based on self-belief where people follow others whom they admire (Gordon, 1998). This method of leadership is not a good way of conceptualizing leaders since there are those who dont have the charisma of attracting individuals but are admired. Leaders do not perform their roles. Their concent ration drifts to pleasing individuals at the expense of attaining the organizational goals. Leaders functions from the above with regard to change addresses the need for the leaders to inspire employees rather than direct them, involve them in decision making rather than divide, encourage diversity and challenging methods rather than accept the old routine that was being used, encouraging employees to think widely, trust in the projects they come up with and support them, and commitment of the leaders in ensuring that their projects are carried out effectively by the organization by providing them with the resources they require are just a few of the functions (Bass, 1985). Leadership Roles Oticon Company is different from other existing companies since they instilled change in the workplace for the better by using a different kind of leadership style in leading and managing the organization. In creating a vision for the organization, I will bear in mind the objectives of the organization which are of importance when stipulating the vision. If one does not put it into consideration, the goals and objectives of the organization may not be attained in time. Teams have managed to access shared information that has helped in lifting the performance of the organization, but in places like banks and hospitals, such freedom has been minimized to the leaders only since this will bring about confusion in the organization as it deals with very sensitive matters (Daft, 2002). Substantive actions and results of management concerning changing the decision making patterns are the decisions that largely result from external constraints and power-dependence. Symbolic action (expressive) is where management uses symbols and political language in legitimizing and rationalizing the policies and decisions of the organization. The effect of symbolic action is participatory decision-making that reflects the occurrence taking place in the current world (Bennis and Goldsmith, 1997). Oticon Company workers should be given training and education programs that relate to substantial change that is bound to come their way in the next financial year if need arises. Many organizations that try to impose change on the organization end up failing to meet the targets they intend to achieve since the workers are against the form of change being imposed on them. The structure of the organization was changed and needed to be communicated to the workers so that they can be aware of how activities are being conducted in the new organization (Byrd, 1987). By communicating to the workers, the leaders were presenting them with the new responsibilities accorded to them by the President of the Company. Redesigning of the jobs enabled the organization to have a high quality of work performance since the needs and capabilities of the employees were fully met. Face-to-face dialogue of the management (Campbell, 1970) and employee made communication effective and thus they related on a very common ground that enabled them to exchange ideas and information easily without being distorted at any given time. Not specifying the workstations made it possible for all the workers to mingle and get to know each other well, this contributed greatly to the cohesion that existed among them (Belbin,1993). The idea of projects made employees more active in the activities of the company and thus they aimed at maximizing profits and satisfying the customers whom they served. Developmental change has been able to reinforce the need for incremental change orientation process because it is people oriented (empathetic). The leader determined that the maturity level of the employees in relation to the task to be accomplished increased greatly thus reduction of the task behavior by the leader had changed and relationship behavior was increased (Bergmann, Hurson, Russ-Eft, 1999). Conclusion Emphasis has been made on the key points of change in leadership as part of the set management functions stipulated, and these functions can be traced back to the works of many philosophers. The functions of leaders in the traditional society have changed due to the shift that has occurred in the sources of personal power (Bunce, 1981). Technology was an attribute associated with the growth of an organization, but it is not the case. The one factor that contributes to an organizations growth and expansion is effective leadership skills used. Emotional intelligence has also been discussed widely. Theories have also been cited to show how the Company uses the leadership style to manage and lead its employees effectively. Leadership roles and functions are also seen to be changing with time bearing in mind that if a leader wants to achieve effectiveness in his work, then change of leadership should be looked into. Several skills and attributes that are desired by most leaders are very essential. Strategic and operational, traditional management and leadership styles have been discussed to show how they have managed to embrace the various skills available for an effective change in a leader to emerge (Kreisberg, 1992). Leadership style effectiveness can be adopted at different levels as discussed depending on the change itself. We are now conversant with the approach to take when situations arise and the type of leadership style to adopt. Can the Concept of Realism be Plausibly Applied to film? Can the Concept of Realism be Plausibly Applied to film? Realism is arguably the most important concept within film theory. Since its inception, film has generally been concerned primarily with facsimileing real life events for the audience via photographing and camera techniques. In the process, the aim of film from its early days has been to realise both fictional and non‑fictional events. As Ellis (1998:38) explains, the essence of cinema has always maintained an ongoing and deep‑seated relationship with both visual and aesthetic reality. â€Å"Cinema as a photographic medium instantly poses its images and sounds as recorded phenomena, whose construction occurred in another time and place. Yet though the figures, objects and places represented are absent from the space in which the viewing takes place, they are also (and astoundingly) present.† It is important not to confuse cinematic realism with the realistic and naturalistic dramatic output of theatres. Though the two have often collaborated and interchanged over the past one hundred years, the reality inherent in plays is inevitably different to the reality inherent in films. Theatre by nature, with its long pauses, set changes and asides to the audience, is inexorably less realistic than cinema where the division of scenes and the pace of the plot are subject to the whim and the taste of the film‑maker. Moreover, whereas realism is a difficult term for theatre analysts to digest dictated entirely by the skills of the actor (Styan, 1983:1) the film‑maker is able to use scenery, music, lighting and architectural design in order to re‑create a particular context or feeling. For the purpose of analysis, the following account of realism and films must adopt a dualistic approach. One the one hand, the essay must seek to define realism within film theory, especially with regards to conceptualising the different kinds of realism prevalent in cinema. On the other hand, it must necessarily look at examples of realism in action to show how film‑makers are able to apply theory to practice in a seamless transition. A conclusion will be sought that attempts to show that the realism is the most important paradigm in not only in film but in all serious artistic and creative endeavours. Although realism in film theory would appear to be a straightforward concept, roughly adhering to the Greek idea of memesis (imitation), the history of film has coincided with the history of modern western philosophical tradition, which since the middle of the nineteenth century has sought to rebel against the classical notions of the romantic movement in fiction and in painting (Stam, 2000:15). This signals that realism is a relatively recent phenomenon in western artistic ideology. As such, it would be naà ¯ve to presume that it has not been (and will not continue to be) the subject of vast theoretical changes. The following is therefore a brief overview of the variations of realism in film that have been witnessed throughout the past century. Early films could not hope to achieve realism on camera until the advent of sound. With this development, film was in possession of sight, sound and context to aid its replication of real life. This facilitated the classical era of American film with classical realism used as a staple part of the Hollywood diet in the films of the 1930’s and 1940’s. The aim was to create spatial and temporal continuity. Classical realist films achieved this via the utilisation of conventional devices for denoting the passing of time, editing devices and the adoption of a strict etiquette with regards to changing from scene to scene (such as camera close‑ups.) It is important to note that this classical ideal of film theory did not seek to exactly replicate real‑life scenes so much as present â€Å"an optical illusion of truth.† (Stam, 2000:143). This, it was hoped, would result in the production of a transparent kind of film, removing all traces of the physical and technical construction of the movie in the process. Yet, by definition, classical realism in films could not bequeath an overly elaborate plot. Rather, the concept of classical realism is concerned with episodic construction in order to convey the naturalism of the movie. â€Å"The structure of the realist film, one that attempts to look at the world objectively, differs from that of the usual narrative film in either being very simple or episodic†¦ Each episode or sequence of the film suggests random occurrences that are typical and representative of the people or environment portrayed.† (Wead and Lellis, 1981:325) Angels with Dirty Faces (1938) is a prime example of this classical early Hollywood realism in action. The movie concentrates on portraying the realism of the American crime era in a way that had not been attempted beforehand. Whereas previous productions had tended to sway towards the stereotypical view of the underworld, Angels with Dirty Faces looks to a depicting a classical realist film with characters that are believable with a plot that rests solely on the human element of the complex world of the American gangster rather than the more idealistic, impressionist view that had hitherto been championed by Hollywood impresarios. The American model of realism has been applied with equal vitality to European cinema where the depiction of another kind of reality has been achieved, particularly since the end of the Second World War. This is not surprising as artistic realism cannot thrive in a climate of oppression and authoritarianism like that which characterised mainland Europe during the 1930’s and early 1940’s. The life span, for instance, of leftist film‑maker Brecht was directly related to German politics at the time. In addition, it is surely no coincidence that the heyday of French poetic realism in mainstream French cinema (where Jean Renoir stands out as the most prominent realist film‑maker of his day) came in the late 1930’s, just before the collaborationist Vichy regime strangled the creative life out of all of the national arts. It is an important point and one that should be remembered throughout the remainder of the discussion: realism is directly affected by t he social and political context in which it is expressed. Moreover, when this expression is denied by law it likewise affects the vision of realism that a film‑maker wishes to convey. Post‑war incarnations of realism were reflective of the mood (certainly in Europe) in the immediate aftermath of fighting. Indeed, after this point, cinema was increasingly seen as the vehicle through which to transport real life to the viewer. This was a highly significant factor in the realism and neo‑realism of the time. It is worth remembering that cinema was partly responsible for the unprecedented carnage of the previous decades with the fascists in particular using film as a means of propaganda to seduce the people into acquiescence. Thus, neo‑realist film‑makers of the post‑war era such as Orson Welles and Roberto Rossellini wished to seduce the audience back into seeing cinema for the positive medium that it is, not the tool of despotic politics it had hitherto come to represent. â€Å"In spite of conflicts of style, neo-realism tends to give back to the cinema a sense of the ambiguity of reality.† (Bazin, 1997:69) In the UK, the concept of realism has been applied to film with arguably greater frequency and arguably a more accurate result than in any other comparable western country. British cinematic realism differs from the American and European models of realism in its strict representation of social reality, bequeathing the cinematic concept of social realism. Certainly, with its bleak architecture and temperamental weather, Britain provides the realist film‑maker with the raw materials for accurately depicting the social realties of modern life. These films are consequently oppressive with a strong focus on the human element. In this sense, British social realism can be seen to be apolitical, though it can also be argued that this can never really be the case. Regardless of such theories, social realism is a highly useful means of understanding the value of realism in movies. The late 1950’s and early 1960’s witnessed a spate of such social‑realist films. Room at the Top (1959), Look back in Anger (1959), Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960) and The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962) are all testimony to the introspective path that British film had taken in the post‑war years. Part of the impetus behind this change in direction can be attributed to the domestic artistic world being opened up to younger film‑makers of varying degrees of social class who wished to portray British life as they saw it as opposed to British life as viewed through the eyes of the traditional socio‑political elite. This ‘kitchen sink’ realism was superseded by a more urbanised, radical realism in British film in the last decade of the twentieth century. The major difference between the two is the way in which the realism of the 1990’s was so much more pessimistic in its outlook than the realism of the m iddle of the century. No one film‑maker better represents this slip into melodrama than Ken Loach the architect of â€Å"documentary realism†. (Hill, 2000:182) At this point, mention must be made of the alternatives to realism as a dominant film theory. While European and North American cinema continues to view realism in all of its forms as a highly useful means of social and cultural expressionism, the movies that tend to make by far the most money at the box office continue to be the typical Hollywood blockbuster. These films are defined as cinematic escapism: the diametric opposite to films that rely on depicting realism to tell a story. Blockbusters are increasingly divorced from the social realties of the day with science fiction movies being a luminous example of the way in which cinema and realism are often at odds with one another; an uneasy alliance between make‑believe and the movies that has served to make Hollywood cinema the most profitable industry in the USA. In terms of consumption, it would appear to be that it is not the films of realism that are the most important partners in film; rather it is the non‑real ism, escapist films that appeal to the most broad‑based conception of the public audience. Indeed, focusing on the viewer and the audience asks further questions as to the ultimate validity of realism in films. Although the actor, the director and the producer may all feel that they have collaborated in making a truly realistic film, their judgement is in the end irrelevant. Movies may be made by film‑makers, but the final verdict on its artistic (as well as commercial) success always resides with the audience. As such, it is surely the viewer and the audience who must state whether or not a film is realistic. This, of course, â€Å"involves readerly or spectatorial belief, a realism of subjective response, rooted less in mimic accuracy than in a strong desire to believe on the spectator’s part.† (Stam, Burgoyne and Flitterman‑Lewis, 1998:185) Therefore, in the final analysis, each and every viewer will have a different opinion with regards to whether a film was on the whole realistic or not. No two viewpoints are ever likely to be the same. This is surely the defining reason why films are made: to encourage divisions of opinion and cultural debate on matters that are of relevance to the society in which the audience lives. Only films that are rooted in the concept of realism are able to achieve this kind of debate, which is in itself testimony to their ultimate value to the artistic community. Those films which seek to transport the audience away from reality are generally more concerned with the enormous commercial impact of films in the modern era, not with inciting intellectual debate. Serious film‑makers, on the other hand, will always tend to be attracted to the inherent realism afforded by the technology of film and it is for this reason that it is surely the most fundamental paradigm not only of film‑ making but also of any artistic endeavour that truly seeks to engage its audience in any meaningful way. BIBLIOGRAPHY Braudy, L. and Cohen, M. (Eds.) (1999) Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory Readings Oxford: Oxford University Press Ellis, J. (1998) Visible Fictions: Cinema: Television: Video London: Routledge Lay, S. (2002) British Social Realism: from Documentary to Brit Grit London: Wallflower Lehman, P. (Ed.) (1997) Defining Cinema London: Athlone Murphy, R. (Ed.) (2000) British Cinema of the 90s London: BFI Stam, R., Burgoyne, R. and Flitterman‑Lewis, S. (1998) New Vocabularies in Film Semiotics: Structuralism, Post‑Structuralism and Beyond London: Routledge Stam, R. (2000) Film Theory: An Introduction London: Blackwell Styan, J.L. (1983) Modern Drama in Theory and Practice, Volume 1: Realism and Naturalism Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Wead, G. and Lellis, G. (1981) Film: Form and Function Boston: Houghton Mifflin Selected Articles Bazin, A. (1997) The Evolution of the Language of Cinema, in, Lehman, P. (Ed.) Defining Cinema London: Athlone Hill, J. (2000) Representations of the Working Class, in, Murphy, R. (Ed.) British Cinema of the 90s London: BFI