Slavery In the Chocolate Factory Essay Example for Free

Slavery In the Chocolate Factory Essay â€Å"Quality is the measure of excellence or state of being free from deficiency, defects, and significant variations, (Nader, 2009). Quality of a product can be mainly assessed from a manufacturer and a customer point of view. From a customer point of view, product quality is perspective as each individual perceives quality differently. Ultimately, product quality is the capability of the product to fulfil customer expectations as required from the users. Quality from a manufacturer’s perspective depends on company size, culture, financial resources, human resources, market pressures and company strategy. Due to the availability of a large number of products in the market, different industries have put forward different parameters that allow a product to be judged against the competition. For example, an electronic product may have quality parameters such as performance, reliability, safety and appearance that has to be met (UNIDO, 2006). Process quality Process quality targets the life cycle of a product from the beginning, design, development, roll out, updates and product support. Both product and process quality are combined together and quality control measures put in place to ensure the final outcome is of a high quality. Interaction between product quality and process quality In order to produce a quality product it requires a quality process. This involves maintaining the process operating at a level that complies with required quality criteria. When the quality of a process varies it will have a direct impact on product characteristics and hence product quality. For example, a metal producing plant has processes such as cutting, machining, bending and coating. The smoothness, hardness and thickness etc of the metal are directly impacted by the quality of the processes. Once the metal is manufactured, the customer will judge it against the product specification and make a judgement on quality. (McGraw-Hill, 2002) Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker is a company that prides itself on product quality. As a result of this it led to an increase in customer demand and an increase in market share. To maintain the high quality of the end product while meeting demand, Jim Harris and co. put in place procedures that assisted them to retain quality throughout the different stages of the production process. The following table provides a summary of the quality techniques used in the production line: Table 1 Quality Techniques in Production Line Production StageQuality assurance and quality control techniques used to maintain quality of the process Bean Cleaner†¢The precise process associated with separating the waste from beans. †¢Once cleaned, storing the beans under specific climate and humidity controls Roaster†¢Roasting different types of beans separately. †¢Human tasting Winnower†¢Precise process associated with separating cocoa beans from the shell Melangeur†¢Quality testing of the product for texture, taste and physical properties Conche†¢Quality testing of the product done through a scrape gauge to measure the level of smoothness Tempering and molding†¢Human testing for texture, snap and taste Packaging†¢Check quality after the production line General†¢Blind tasting at different stages †¢Hiring skilled operators †¢Calibration of equipment All the above processes will assist in maintaining the quality of the final product. While using third party companies with the productions process, product quality is maintained by random sampling and testing to ensure the product meets required specifications. Quality process analysis Quality control measures are put into place before and during the production process to ensure the raw materials and processes are of acceptable quality. To ensure a high quality product at each stage of the production process quality techniques can be used such as quality assurance (QA), quality control (QC) and through means of continuous process improvements. By implementing these strategies business risks with regard to quality can be managed. However, a cost benefit analysis is required to be carried out to determine if the extent of quality assurance and quality control is beneficial to the business. The final inspection of the product is used for quality assurance as well. There is a fine balance between quality and cost of any product. If the product maintains a higher than required quality and the cost is high due to this very requirement, demand will decrease. Therefore, quality should be maintained at a level where it is sustainable so that a the product can be cost effective to face a competitive market. In the case study, Harris’s team experiments with different techniques to reduce the time required to prepare the chocolate at different stages of the process of chocolate making. It is clear that with the changes in the processes of chocolate production, the final quality was sometimes so much affected that the pioneers of the factory refused to endorse the change. This proves that there is an undeniable interaction between product quality and process quality. However, the decision was made to make changes in the process only after so many trials, testing and tasting. This demonstrates that, In order to make a good quality product a series of quality processes are required. To maintain quality process a series of quality control systems are required. In a process quality control scheme the sequence of the steps is very important as some processes will be critical which would reflect largely in the quality of the final product. The following table details each process where Harris and his team have incorporated quality control schemes to minimise variation. Table 2 Harris’s Quality Control Schemes in the process Process sequenceQuality control Raw material quality controlPurchase BeansFind the farmers who grew the highest quality bean Ferment beans properly before dried and shipped to US Process quality controlBean CleanerThe precise process associated with separating the waste from beans. Once cleaned, storing the beans under specific climate and humidity controls. RoasterRoasting different types of beans separately to optimize the flavor. Operator monitor the temperature and taste the sample. WinnowerPrecise process associated with separating cocoa beans from the shell. MelangeurUse historical melangeur to perform task. Operator determined the time of completion based on look, feel, and taste. Ball MillIt provide quality benefits by decreasing the amount of flavor degradation. The resulting chocolate be tested and evaluated for quality. ConcheAeration was an important step for the quality control as bubble will created when blades moves. Quality testing of the product done through a scrape gauge to measure the level of smoothness Tempering and moldingHuman testing for level of stability, glossy surface, smooth feel in the mouth and snap. Quality control when transporting liquid chocolate to third-party molding. Finished product inspectionPackagingOwn packing in order to keep a close eye on quality. Third-party pacing as they have better equipment and quality control. Quality control at when re-melt and re-temper procedure. Check quality after the production line. Critical control points (CCp) can affect the quality of the finished product. However, not all steps in the process are considered as critical points. Specification or guidelines can assist in maintaining quality of certain products. These set regulations and standards such as to ISO 9000 and ISO 9001 that need to be complied with in a process. Transport or shipping becomes critical points because for example, the basic problem with transporting chocolate in containers is its relatively low melting point. Solar radiation and other external influences (heat sources, such as double bottom tanks, engine rooms) may cause the temperature in the container to rise considerably and exceed the melting point, so making enormous quality degradation inevitable. Process Bottlenecks. A bottleneck in project management is one process in a chain of processes, such that its limited capacity reduces the capacity of the whole chain (Wikipedia, 2012). The capacity of the production process is determined by the slowest chain task. These slow tasks are referred to as bottlenecks and they have an impact on the throughput of a manufacturing process. Bottlenecks in a manufacturing process refer to resources that requires the longest time in operation to meet demand. One of the characteristics of bottlenecks is that it makes the operating rate of the non-bottlenecks operate below 100%. Hence increasing capacity of the bottlenecks helps to reduce the time required for the entire process. However when one bottleneck is eliminated then another bottleneck is usually formed (Imaoka, 2009). The bottlenecks in the process can inhibit flow, cause inventories, and prevent throughout from matching customer demand. This chapter identified the capacity of bottlenecks throughout the process, analysed the management and improvement methods in order to make progress towards Scharffen Berger’s goal. Process flow diagram. The first step to create a process flow diagram is to define the process boundaries. The process boundaries are the entry and exit points of inputs and outputs of the process. The input of Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker process is the raw chocolate bean and the output will be packaged chocolate ready to sell. Once the boundaries are defined, the process flow diagram is a valuable tool for understanding the process using graphic elements to represent tasks, flows and storage. Figure 1 is flow diagram represents Scharffen Berger Chocolate maker production process at earlier 2005: Figure 1 Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker Production Process The symbols in a process flow diagram are defined as follows: Rectangles: represent tasks. The equipment capacity, process capacity, duration and flow time are listed under each of the task. Arrows: represent flows. Flows include the flow of material and the flow of information. In this case the flow represents flow of raw bean, roasted bean, waste, Nibs, and chocolate. Triangles: represent storage (inventory). Storage bins commonly are used to represent raw material inventory, work in process inventory, and finished goods inventory. The process flow diagram linked tasks in series are performed sequentially. Tasks drawn in parallel such as two Conche machine and different packaging options are performed simultaneously. In the above diagram, raw bean is held in a storage bin at the beginning of the process. After the last task, the output also is stored in a storage warehouse. Scharffen Berger typically kept on to two monthes of inventory in stock for each of its major products. Process performance measures. In order to identify the bottlenecks in Scharffen Berger Chocolate manufacture process, the process performance measures become essential, this aspects include: Capacity – The capacity is its maximum quantity that the equipment capable to perform in once. This parameter can affect the process rate and utilisation of equipment. Process capacity – The process capacity is its maximum output rate, measured in units produced per unit of time. The capacity of a series of tasks is determined by the lowest capacity task in the string. The parallel tasks is the sum of the capacities of the two strings. Flow time – The average time that a unit requires to flow through the process from the entry point to the exit point. The flow time includes both processing time and any time the unit spend between steps. Duration – The duration is the total running time of each of the task in a week unit, it can be one shift a day, seven days a week. The inventory in the process is related to the throughput rate and throughput time: WIP Inventory = Throughput Rate x Flow Time This relation is known as Little’s Law, named after John D. C Little whos proved it mathematically in 1961 (Barton et al, 2002). The process bottleneck improvement. The process bottleneck occurred at the slowest flow rate of the series task in the process. The bottleneck can be found by comparing the process capacity. Saving time in the bottlenecks activity saves time for the entire process. Saving time in a non-bottleneck activity does not help the process since throughout rate is limited by the bottleneck. If the next slowest task is much faster than the bottleneck, then the bottleneck is having a major impact on the process capacity (Starnes, 2000). Operating hour The first bottleneck of production capacity throughout process was identified as operating hour. Before Harris manage the Scharffen Berger, in order to avoid overtime payment to employee, the business only operating one shift per day. The equipments such as Conches, Melangeurs, were not efficiently used. Harris calculated each completed conche could be worth over $30,000 in sales and industry average 40% in contribution on sales. It would be worth to pay overtime and increase productions. Conche operating The second capacity bottleneck throughout the process can be identified as conche operating hour. Scharffen Berger owned two Conches used to refine, mix and aerate the chocolate. The disadvantage of this machine is time consuming, each 1400kg bath of chocolate liquor typically spend 48 to 72 hours inside of the conche machine. Figure 2 indicate the identified bottleneck task (red colour) in the Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker process in earlier 2005. Figure 2 Conche Bottleneck in Scharffen Berger Process The production rate of Conche is the slowest compare with other tasks. The total capacity for two Conche is 2800kg, and it’s requiring 40-60 hrs to finish each operation, Conche working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The capacity of the melangeur is 115kg and requires 1. 25hr to finish the job. The working duration of melangeur is 16 hours a day, 7 days a week. By applying production rate formula: By comparing the production rate, the bottleneck of the process can be identified as conche task. Two conche working 24hours a day compare with melangur only work 16 hours a day, the maximum working hour of melangur can not be reached as it constrained by slow operation of conche. In order to improve bottleneck of conche, the ball mill has been introduced as it can perform most conche tasks effectively. Instead of 40-60 hours, the ball mill can grain particles from 100 microns to 25 microns in three hours. The conche would still be needed for its aeration mixing function. The total operation time for ball mill and conche can reduce to 15 hours instead 40-60 hours. Melangeur operating After the company decided to use ball mill instead of conches, melangeur becomes the capacity bottleneck throughout the process. The capacity of the ball mill and conche is 1400kg and requires 15 hours to finish the job. The working duration of melangeur is 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. By applying production rate formula: Since the production rate of melangeur only 1472 kg/day, the melangeur becomes the capacity bottleneck throughout the process. Figure 3 show the new flow chart as the ball mill introduced. The melangeur was used to grind the nibs; this released the cocoa butter and turned the dry nibs into chocolate paste. The company recently located a used melangeur that could be purchased and refurbished for $50,000. Figure 3 Melangeur Bottleneck in Scharffen Berger Process Molding process The last bottleneck affect the production capacity process could be modelling process. The larger, faster modelling equipment would be prohibitively expensive, and several third party co-packers had excess capacity and would be able to model more Scharffen Bergers chocolate. Harris thought Scharffen Berger might avoid the resulting duplication of the tempering and modelling steps by transferring the liquid chocolate directly to the co-packer. Figure 4 shows the operating process when the modelling and packaging task been given to the third party and co-packers. Figure 4 Third Party Molding and Co-Packer for Scharffen Berger Process In this stage, the process boundaries at output point will change from chocolate ready to sell to liquid chocolate. The modelling and packaging task has been withdrawn from operation process. But the challenges is transporting liquid chocolate was a very tricky, expensive and require high level of quality control with third parties. Future improvements The following lists some methods that can improve the operation process for Scharffen Berger Chocolate maker: Add additional resources to increase capacity of the bottleneck. For example, an additional Roaster or Cleaner machine can be added in parallel to increase the capacity. Reduce work-in-process inventory. Reduce the lead time such as reduce the cooling time after roasting the coffee bean. Move task away from bottleneck resources. Increase availability of bottleneck resources, for example, increasing the daily operating hour for melangeur from 16hours a day to 24 hours a day. Minimize non-value adding activities. Such as reduce transporting time, rework, waiting time, testing and inspection time. Redesign the chocolate type for better manufacturability – can improve several or all process performance measures. Quality Process For a Premium Quality Product The main aim of any organisation is to provide customer satisfaction by providing product and services. Quality of an end product requires production design based on customer feedback which not only minimises loss but also provides competitive advantages. In Scharffen Berger Chocolate maker case study Scharffen berger prioritises specific areas to achieve a high quality product . These areas are as follows Raw material- Scharffen Berger prided itself on using the highest quality beans available from countries such as Ghana, Trinidad, Jamaica, Domician Republic, Madagascar, and other countries. Scharffen Berger blended up to 9 varieties of beans to make each type of chocolate unlike other companies that used only 2 different types of beans. Steinberg and Scharffen travelled to remote regions near the equator to find farmers who grew the highest quality beans and to ensure that these farmers allowed there beans to ferment properly before shipping them. 2) Cleaning Prior to being roasted, beans were poured into a large bean cleaner machine that separated cocoa beans from objects like dust, small stones and twigs 3) Roaster To enhance the flavour all cocoa beans were roasted before they could be sent to make chocolates. Scharffen Berger roasted each kind of bean separately in order to optimise flavour. The sample was tasted by them regularly in order to check whether the roasting is complete. According to Harris, â€Å"practice of tasting† is the best methods of measurements at each stage of the chocolate production process. Once beans were roasted they were used within a few days in order to optimise flavour. 3) Conche Once the chocolates left the melaunger there were still some small nib pieces that needed to be ground further. This was done in the conche. Other premium quality products were also added in the conches which broke all the ingredients down to microscopic pieces. Experiments were also done with powdered sugar in order to reduce the time for Conching but found the taste unacceptable. 4) Tempering and moulding This process was to be done in a specific sequence with a certain degree of stirring. It was used to avoid duplication of the tempering and moulding steps by transferring the liquid steps to co-packers 5) Quality Control This was the most important step performed in order to get a premium quality product. Operators measured the quality of the product by examining its look and texture, breaking it and tasting it. At least once in 15 days, Scharffen Berger management and machine operators got together to calibrate their perceptions and standards for acceptable quality by blind testing the beans and chocolate at various stages of production. 6) Equipment Balmill : using Balmills can increase the capacity of production at least 75%. In addition, it will be extra beneficial for the products with high sugar content by decreasing the amount of flavour degradation that can occur when a premium product is over-processed and excessively manipulated. New equipment such as ball mill will assist in increasing capacity and efficiency of the process. 7) Quality Control: Operators measured the quality of chocolate by constantly examining its appearance, texture, tasting and breaking it. The quality of the product is checked at various stages to test if it is good to be sold. As a result of these quality checks the number of defects in the final product is reduced and will also lead to an overall increase in organizational performance. In addition this will also have a positive flow on effect on customer confidence and customer satisfaction of the product which will yield further increase in demand. 8) Every two months, management and machine operators calibrate their perception and standards for acceptable quality by â€Å"blind testing†. 9) Operating time: Increased conformance to legislation such as carbon emissions by reducing operating time. For example the existing conches are operated 24 hours a day and seven days a week. By replacing the conches with the new ball mill, Harris (Chief operating Officer of Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker) and his team will reduces the operating time of machinery and increase the efficiency of the process. Adantages of high quality product Advantages of developing high quality products are, Increase in demand needs increased supply. Addressing the bottlenecks of the production process and improving stages of the process will assist with increasing supply. Increase in customer satisfaction and improving the business output. Using Quality Assurance techniques to check the product at various stages by tasting or testing to ensure that the final product obtained is of premium quality and meets customer expectations will lead to increase in business growth as the customer numbers will increase. Quality improvement is a planed managerial activity. It involves identifying potential improvements, prioritized potential areas of improvement and planning and the implementation of projects and improvements’, (Foster, 2010). Scharffen Berger prioritized potential areas of improvement. Then these improvements were planned and implemented in several stages in order to achieve a premium quality product. Every year, more than 30,000 people toured the factory and many of these visitors bought the products during these tours. By demonstrating how good the quality of the processes was, Scharffen Berger won the confidence of his clients. Moreover, quality processes can be used to manage risks in the production line. As a result quality processes can be used as a risk mitigation strategy by business. In the case of Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker, the types of risks that can be minimized by quality processes are quality of raw material, appearance, texture, snapping and tasting. In addition to risk management, customers in general are willing to pay an additional amount of money for a premium quality product. Hence there is a niche market for these chocolates. In order to satisfy customers in this market the business needs to follow high quality process development techniques and produce an end product that will satisfy their high expectations. Innovation leads to high quality process development in the long term and an increase in system efficiency. Hence overtime this will result in competitive advantages over the other products and a greater market share in the industry. Another benefit of high quality process development is that it will lead to standardization or bench marking. Benefits of standardization includes for instance, increase in cost effectiveness (e.g. decrease in manufacturing cost), improve negotiating power with third party companies, simplify support and training, simplify purchase of raw materials, procurement, upgrade and disposal of plant materials and economies of scale in manufacturing, training and testing. High quality process development will also minimise the failure costs of the product, both internal and external. Reasons for using a high quality process The aim of Scharffen Berger chocolate maker is to produce premium chocolates. In order to produce premium chocolates Harris and his team requires high quality process development. Some of the reasons for using a high quality process development are as follows: Another benefit of maintaining supply to future demand is the perceived quality of the product by the customers will improve due to an increase in customer satisfaction. It also improves aesthetics of the Scharffen Berger Chocolates such as taste. Increases reliability of the production line with automation for example the use of the ball mill. It gives the company the opportunity for continuous improvement. For example Harris and his team carried out many investigations to reduce bottlenecks and to increase capacity of the existing production line. As an outcome of their investigation they decided to incorporate a new ball mill. Quality management is incorporated into the production line to ensure consistency of the quality of the product is maintained. This can be reflected in the case study by Harris and his team employing a skilled workforce. Quality assurance is maintained throughout the production line to ensure the high quality of the end product. For example Harris and his team undertook extensive testing and tasting of the product at various stages of production. This report aims to explain the issues underlining the Cocoa industry mainly in South Africa. It relates to child trafficking and the actions that corporations such as Nestles and Mars are taking in order to tackle this issue. Lastly it will conclude the actions one can take as a manager in order to resolve these issues using different theories and approaches. Child Trafficking Child Trafficking is in direct violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948-2008 which states that all humans have a choice to work to just and favourable conditions of work. It also states that everyone should be paid fairly and equal to their work. Lastly it states that everyone has the right to rest and limitation on working hours. Children in South Africa. India and other countries in general arent given any of these things. It is the duty of the people high in power to enforce these rights onto their people by putting strict restrictions which can lead to punishments if broken. Dealing with an issue on a large scale is difficult as it is extremely difficult to keep an eye on such small areas of an operation. Due to the high number of production and harvesting it is easy for companies such as SAF-CACAO to keep their secrets hidden from their buyers e.g. Nestle. However Chocolate manufacturers arent bothered by these issues as their main objective is to maximise profits. Due to the high volume of Coco they buy even a small percentage of increase in price per kg of coco can lead to a huge rise in costs in production. Nestle signed an agreement to end child labour in 2001 however they have failed in this because they didnt carry out checks on their suppliers in South Africa. Reports show that 1. 8 Million children are currently in danger of being used as slaves (Humphrey Hawksley, 2012). Companies such as Nestle and Mars can still deal with this issue by boycotting SAF-CACAO and other companies using child labour because this can reduce their profits and pressuring them into bankruptcy. â€Å"The world must shift the focus of trade from being driven solely by profits to serve people-cantered development† (Yash Tandon Executive Director of South Centre). If Nestle stops buying from unfair suppliers then this in return promote a better image of their business which will likely to increase their sales and customers will be more happy with Nestles actions. According to McGregor’s theories X Y SAF-CACAO is currently following the Authoritarian Management Style . This is because they are irresponsible and dont take into account the views of their workers and the conditions they are living through. Cultural differences are also playing a major role in this because South Africa is mainly collectivist based and due to this children are trafficked into slavery and even though this is bad they dont really have a choice because if they return to their parents they will probably be punished for not bringing them any money. Due to the lack of education in areas around ivory coast there is a misunderstanding and unethical views on the age at which a child should work. Parents expect children to work and pay their families regardless of their capabilities and the dangers of them being kidnapped. Dealing with these issues wouldnt be possible unless us as customers boycott Nestle and other firms that are buying chocolates from unethical companies. Buying Fair-Trade products is an alternative which we can all resort to even though it is more expensive it is at least ethical. There are many other firms that promote anti-child trafficking such as Freedom Matters , Anti-Slavery. These influence people to replace their normal purchases with fair-trade products. However there is no strict action that anyone can take to stop child trafficking. As a manager of a firm that uses suppliers in Africa it would be wise to set main priority to fight child trafficking, first step would be to enforce the Human rights law in all the companies operations in order to make sure all the operations within the business as well as the businesses that the firm is dealing with all are following this law. Secondly monitoring the origin of cocoa will be carried out to check exactly where it is made and whether the farms are using children to harvest the crops. If this is the case then social services and the police will be notified. Another way to deal with this issue will be to reward suppliers who operate ethically by offering them higher prices for their cocoa. These suppliers can also be monitored on a monthly basis to check if they are working under the human rights act. In majority of growing countries it is very easy to buy someone by offering them a lot of money to do something bad. Due to this it will only be wise for someone high in power to carry out checks on a businesss production because they will likely to be the only people that will give truthful information. Bibliography FairTrade. (2013). What is Fairtrade?. Available: http://www. fairtrade. org. uk/what_is_fairtrade/default. aspx. Last accessed 1st December 2013. Foodispower. (2013). Slavery in the Chocolate Industr. Available: http://www. foodispower.org/slavery-in-the-chocolate-industry/. Last accessed 1st December 2013. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. (1945). Preamble. Available: http://www. un. org/en/documents/udhr/. Last accessed 1st December 2013. Douglas Mcgregor. (1960). Douglas Mcgregor Theory X,Y. Available: http://www. businessballs. com/mcgregor. htm. Last accessed 1st December 2013. Humphrey Hawksley. (2012). Nestle failing on child labour abuse, says FLA report. Available: http://www. bbc. co. uk/news/world-africa-18644870. Last accessed 1st December 2013.

Sciatica Following a Repeat Epidural Blood Patch

Sciatica Following a Repeat Epidural Blood Patch We hereby present a case of sciatica following a repeat epidural blood patch for post dural puncture headache (PDPH). A 27 year old fit and well para 1 female (BMI 33) had an attempted difficult lumbar epidural during labour. Epidural was abandoned as the patient felt an urge to push. She had an uneventful spontaneous vaginal delivery within one hour. She developed PDPH which was treated with an epidural blood patch (EBP) 48 hours post delivery. She felt immediate improvement with some right sided headache which resolved spontaneously. A second EBP was performed 72 hours after the first EBP for recurrent PDPH. Following the EBP she developed transient right sided headache with hypertension (Blood pressure 145/90) which resolved spontaneously. On day five after the 2nd EBP she was readmitted with three days history of low back ache with severe shooting pain radiating to the back of left thigh up to her knees which was worse on standing tenderness over lumbar area along with tenderness over epidural site. Her symptoms got worse over next 48 hours with shooting pain to the back of both thighs, left side worse than right. Her infection markers were within normal limits. A contrast MRI showed blood clot in subarachnoid space from L5 to sacral canal and no mass effect or dural leak. Discs, para-spinal spaces and subcutaneous space were normal. She was diagnosed having sciatic possibly due to direct irritation with blood in Intrathecal space in absence of any nerve compression. After ruling out any surgical intervention she was started on Gabapentin titrating up to 900 mg per day and advised further follow-up and MRI. Her symptoms completely resolved over next ten days. Discussion Placing autologous blood in the epidural space for PDPH was first described by Gormley in 1960 using just two to three mL, with a reported 100% success rate [1].Since then epidural blood patch is a widely used technique to treat PDPH and persistent leak of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from the subarachnoid space. It is probably the most efficacious of therapies, although this is unproven, and plays an important part in the management of this condition. It is reported that between 61% and 85% of patients will have complete and permanent recovery from headache in less than24 h [2, 3]. Physiologic mechanisms by which the EBP is effective include a physical â€Å"patch† effect, in which injected blood directly forms a seal over a dural leak, a â€Å"pressure† effect, in which increased epidural pressure is transmitted to the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) space, thus alleviating a component of intracranial hypotension and the attenuation of initial cerebral vasodilatation.[2] When a complication occurs after EBP, it is occasionally difficult to determine the causative factor. It is possibly related to the initial epidural placement, a result of the EBP, or the result of both procedures. Although complications from EBP are rare, they can potentially be quite serious. The most common complaint following EBP is transient low back pain [4]. Rare complications include radicular pain [5]. Possible mechanism of low back pain includes Compression, irritation, infection and arachnoiditis [6]. Increasingly severe back or radicular pain after EBP is always abnormal, and should be thoroughly and promptly evaluated to exclude neuraxial hematomas and other serious etiologies. In patients with unresolving or worsening neurological symptoms, lumbo-sacral MRI should be performed to assess for any surgical intervention. MRI may demonstrate collections of iron-laden hematomas. Unlike previous case reports of radiculopathy, where large volumes of blood was used for EBP, in our case, we used only 20ml autologus blood at a time and our patient did not have a haematoma or compressive myelopathy. However the cumulative volume of blood used over 72 hours was 40ml which may have contributed to the development of symptoms even though there is not enough evidence to suggest this on MRI. Based on the MRI findings, other possible mechanism of pain in our patient would have been blood in the intrathecal space causing irritation and pressure effect even thought there were no signs of nerve root compression in MRI. But a retrospective study by Arpino I et al in 94 cases failed to demonstrate a correlation between Intrathecal spread of blood and radicular pain [7]. In summary, EPB is not without serious complications and indication for EBP should be considered case by case. Patients should be followed up for any adverse incidents up to one month as per OAA recommendations. Persistent radicular symptoms in post-EBP patients act as warning signals for compressive lumbar radiculopathy that requires active interventions including analgesics, Urgent MRI and neurosurgical consultation. It may be worth considering CT or MR myelography to confirm the ongoing CSF leak before performing the second EBP or cases where diagnosis in doubtful(8). Clinicians are urged to educate patients regarding unusual risks prior to performing EBP and to be aware of symptoms of serious injury should they arise. EBP is an invasive procedure with the potential for serious morbidity. References 1) Gormley JB. Treatment of post-spinal headache. Anesthesiology 1960;21:565-566. 2) Duffy PJ, Crosby ET. The epidural blood patch. Resolving the controversies. Can J Anaesth. 1999; 46: 878–886. 3) Tarkkila PJ, Miralles JA, Palomaki EA. The subjective complications and efficiency of the epidural blood patch in the treatment of postdural puncture headaches. Reg Anesth. 1989;14: 247–250 4) Abouleish E, Vega S, Blendinger I, Tio TO. Long-term follow-up of epidural blood patch. Anesth Analg 1975; 54: 459-63. 5) Cornwall RD, Dolan WM. Radicular back pain after lumbar epidural blood patch. Anesthesiology 1975; 43: 692-3 6) Gupta D et al. Transient compressive lumbar radiculopathy following post epidural blood patch. J Anaesthesiol Clin Pharmacol 2014 Jan;30(1);112-4. 7) Arpino I et al. Intrathecal blood spread after epidural blood patch: can it give arachnoiditis? EJA. June 2012; 29; 118 8) C.M. Wendl et al. CT Myelography for the Planning and Guidance of Targeted Epidural Blood Patches in Patients with Persistent Spinal CSF Leakage. Am J Neuroradiol 2012 mar; 33; 541– 44. My Learning Points EBP can lead to potential serious and permanent neurological complications. Hence we should consider confirming the diagnosis of PDPH with appropriate radiological investigation such as CT or MR myelogram if diagnosis is doubtful. Possible risk factors for neuropathy may be related to increasing volume of blood used for EBPor a repeat EBP. Hence diagnosis of PDPH should be reassessed before considering a second blood patch. Patient should be clearly explained about high incidence of backache following EBP. Patient should be informed to seek medical help promptly, should she develop adverse neurological signs. Prognosis and recovery following neuropathy is quite variable. Clear communication with the patient is the key in managing these cases and appropriate long term follow up at high risk clinic and pain clinic should be organised.

4G Technology An Analysis

4G Technology An Analysis 4G refers to the Fourth Generation of cellular wireless standards in telecommunications that will succeed it predecessors 3G 2G. It is a high-speed broadband wireless network that offered comprehensive secure all IP based services. According to the ITU, requirements for 4G standards were specified by IMT-Advanced (International Mobile Telecommunication-Advanced). The data rates of 4G service for high mobility communication was set to 100 Mbps and low mobility communication was set to 1 Gbps. It focuses on cellular system with extremely high data rates the concept of seamless technology in all wireless systems. Carriers that are using OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing) as an alternative to TDMA and CDMA are promoting their services as 4G even though their data rates are not high according to the ITU. 4G outdoor users that have Internet access through cell phones or smart phones were promised to have a targeted data speed of around 100 Mbps by the IMT-Advanced and the data speed for indoor users such as LAN (Local Area Network) was suppose to be around 1Gbps. This type of higher speed for both fixed and mobile Internet users is truly amazing. 4G proposes scalable channel bandwidth flexibility of up to 40 MHz. The network resources are dynamically utilized shared to sustain more simultaneous users over each call. 4G also has the ability to propose high QoS (Quality of Service) for multimedia support and offer smooth handover heterogeneous networks. It must also have the ability to offer wireless LAN roaming interact with systems used for video broadcasting. Figure 5: Seamless Connection of Networks in 4G [5]. The 4G architecture comprises of 3 crucial areas of connectivity namely PAN (Personal Area Network) WAN (Wide Area Network Cellular Connectivity Each device will have the ability to interact with the Internet based information that is modified over the network used by the device at that time. This structure can support a wide range of 4G mobile devices that sustain global roaming. In 4G networks users that join the network have the ability to add mobile routers to the infrastructure. Changing user patterns can be accommodated by dynamically shifting network capacity coverage. Creating additional routes as the concentration of people is higher in one area compared to the other enables additional access to the capacity of the network. Users can easily avoid congested routes by hoping to the less congested routes. This allows the network to automatically balance the capacity by increasing the network utilization. The service for all the users improve with the increase in number of users. Need for 4G One of the questions that come to mind when thinking about future 4G systems is there need. The first application to be mobilized was voice telephony, few years ago. The short message service (SMS) was the first application to be introduced as a mass-market application. The hardware complexity was not an issue at the given time along with the advantage of small bandwidth requirements. The SMS was just the commencement of various data services like mobile email, web browsing etc. The key feature in most of them was the packet based wireless networks carrying IP data in one hand and powerful terminals that could cope with these applications on the other. Although the network capacity is still not an issue due to less number of users, there are number of reasons for increased bandwidth requirements in the future. First, the number of wireless users increases exponentially resulting into an increase in bandwidth requirement. Second, the popularity of video and music downloads has increas ed immensely within few years. The information content in a video or music is more than the corresponding text but so is the capacity requirement. Last but not the least, mobile social networks have taken the current internet usage to a much higher level. Picture viewing sites, web blogs and also video sharing sites have reshaped the internet. The need for 4G arises from insufficient performances by 3G to meet the future needs several incompatible standards. The requirement for service portability, universal mobility the need for hybrid networks including both WLAN cellular network design led to the invention of 4G. New modulation methods that offered higher bandwidth with the help of an all IP based network with converged data voice capability were possible only by 4G. The chief characteristic developed by 4G was to offer accommodation for the QoS services that were set as requirements by the ITU. 4G technology guarantees secure, comprehensive invulnerable IP based mobile service solutions for wireless modems, laptops, smartphones other mobile devices. Applications such as Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), mobile TV, wireless broadband access, video chat, and Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) are being urbanized to use a 4G network. Other IP based services include enhanced gaming, high quality multimedia streaming, IP telephony really fast broadband Internet can be accessed. This groundbreaking technology will have many more facilities available to users all around the world. Imagine having the ability to access information and services anytime, anywhere with a seamless connection as well as receiving large quantity of information, pictures, data video are the key aspects of 4G technology. The future 4G networks would consists of a set of numerous networks having IP based services as their common protocol such that the users are in control can choose each application and environment. The chief achievement would be integrating 4G technology with the existing cellular technologies with the help of advanced technologies. The main features of 4G services that interest the users specifically are high dynamic integration application adaptability. This means services are delivered available to the users as per their preference users traffic, radio environment air interfaces are all supported by 4G. Over the years researchers have been working on ways of fulfilling the above needs. Ethernet, Wireless LAN and TD-CDMA, were all supported by the developed network overall. The mobile technology of 4G should be focusing on the data-rate increase, new air-interface. The so-called core of the technology, OWA platform should also be embedded with high-speed wireless systems and wireless mobile system. It should also, Reuse many different access technologies as possible thereby implementing various functions using the IP-based protocols and technologies. Provide real-time services with high enough quality like the current cellular networks. Accessibility to services that should not be affected by the handover interruption. Mobile systems should have interfaces from various technologies simultaneously specially to TDCDMA (UMTS-TDD), wireless LANs (802.11b), and fixed networks (Ethernet). Be capable of accessing to routers and provide an interface between a wired network domain and wireless. A single access router directly mapped to a single cell controls an IP subnet. Provide a network management server for mobility management, charging, Quality of Service, security and paging issues in a fixed network. Features of 4G Features of 4G Wireless Systems: User Personalization and Friendliness: The combination of personalization and friendliness is a key feature in 4G. The well-designed transparency allows man and the machine to interact naturally and is well appreciated. The operator can send the data to the user depending on his/her preference or the data can even be filtered at the user end based on his/her requirement. In order to address a mass market and gain a positive impact on peoples lifestyle it should be kept in mind that every user wants to feel unique and important. Thus personalization enables the user to configure his device and select the services according to his preferences. The combination hence confers the right value to the users expense. Heterogeneity: 4G should have a definite advantage in the users day-to-day life. This is obtained by combining the network and terminology heterogeneity, both of which contribute equally to the efficiency of usage. With network heterogeneity, omni-directional connection and common service can be obtained thereby assuring certain level of quality of service. Heterogeneity enables a user to access and perform multiple things simultaneously for example, if a user wants to buy tickets to a museum and listen to music, he can do that. Terminals in 4G may have to some common services out of their capabilities due to which tailoring of the content might become necessary. Since it is based on IP wireless connectivity, the optimization of internet is maximized. The circuit switching technology is replaced by packet switching. The specificity of an IP, thus increase the speed along with the reliability of transfer of data. The bandwidth is around 100Mhz and speed of data transmission up to 1 Gbps. Support: It supports multimedia, voice, video, wireless internet and other broadband services. Cost Effective: Transmission costs of various multimedia services are very low. High capacity, high speed and low cost per bit. Cost of leased spectrum figures in greatly in reaching profitability. For example, the initial resistance from the investment society is a hindrance for WiMAX. This in turn pushes the operators to create new ways of increasing capital. Global mobility, service portability and scalable mobile networks. Seamless switching or usually referred as handover is gaining popularity. Availability of inter- and intra- technology handovers promises minimum or no interruption thereby assuring Quality of Service (QoS). This is achieved with the help of continuous transparent maintenance of services and inclusion of WiFi to OFDMA. Better scheduling and call admission control techniques are available. Ad hoc networks and multi-hop networks: the independency from routers and access points is an added advantage. The dynamic activation of sender and receiver nodes is similar to a real-time system that is definitely a plus point of 4G. Also the network topology comes into play where every node is contributing to the data transmission. Mobility of users across multiple terminals and terminals across multiple technologies. Confidentiality of both user traffic and the network control information. 4G uses the IPV6 address scheme resulting in every cell having its own IP address. Interlayer security is provided in which only one layer is configured to do encryption on data. Predecessors of 4G LTE Long Term Evolution LTE (Long Term Evolution) is yet another technology under the brand of 4G technology. LTE is capable of giving a full support to the spectrum bands. Upgrading the current 3G networks to WiMAX is difficult in comparison to LTE. The pre 4G technology is known as 3GPP Long Term Evolution. If a 20 MHz channel is used LTE has a capacity of up to 50 Mbps in the uplink 100 Mbps in the downlink. WiMAX- Worldwide interoperability for Microwave Access WiMAX or Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, is a faster Wi-Fi listed under 4G. Mobile operators using the latest spectrum bands benefits most from the WiMAX. If a 20 MHz channel is used WiMAX would offer data rates up to 56 Mbps in uplink 128 Mbps downlink. UMB Ultra Mobile Broadband UMB (Ultra Mobile Broadband) is based on TCP/IP networking technologies cascaded over next generation radio system with data rates up to 280 Mbps. The system was intended to be more proficient powerful of supplying more services than the technologies it was suppose to replace. UMB was the name within 3GPP2 standardization group to improve the mobile standards for next generation applications requirements. Qualcomm is UMBs lead sponsor ended the development of this technology supporting LTE instead. It intended to achieve data rates over 275 Mbps downstream over 75 Mbps upstream. Flash OFDM At an initial stage Flash-OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) was supposed to be integrated into a 4G standard. 4G Architecture 1G wireless telecommunications led to the invention of the first kind of wireless cellular architecture that is still being offered by most cellular network providers. 2G could support more users in a cell than 1G by using digital technology. This technology gave access to many more callers by making use of the same multiplexed channel. It was primarily used for voice communication also included some very limited low rate data features such as SMS (Short Messaging Service). 2.5G gave access to the carriers to increase the data rates with just software upgrades with just making the users buy new handsets. 3G promised its users to offer greater bandwidth higher data rates that grants permission to send as well as receive more information. All 3 generations still have the Cellular Architecture or Star Topology where users within that cell can access a common central BTS (Base Transceivers Stations). The major advantage is that with this architecture carriers are able to construct nationwide networks, which most of the major carriers have already done. The major disadvantages of these networks as we progress are that as the data rate increases the output power increases so the size of the cell needs to be decreased in order to accommodate higher data rates. We would observe smaller cells as the consumers got scared with the increase in the output power. Some of the other disadvantages include no load balancing, singular failure point and spectral inefficiencies. The two very important characteristics of 4G technologies are: End-to-End Internet Protocol Peer-to-Peer Networking An all IP network would allow the users to use the same data applications that they use in wired networks. In peer-to-peer networking each device acts as a transceiver and a router for all the other devices in the network. This architecture eliminates the failure of single node. 4G is referred to as an ad hoc wireless networking technology, a combination of above characteristics. 4G plays a significant role by allowing users that are joining the network, the approach to add mobile routers to the existing infrastructure. The usage patterns for consumers dynamically shifts the coverage network capacity to be accommodate the changes as the users carry most of the networks with them. The users congregate leading to high demands of usage that also enables access to the network capacity as they create additional routes for each other. They tend to automatically skip from congested routes to lesser-congested routes. This authorizes the network to automatically balance capacity leading to an increase in network utilization. The user device that operate as router are basically a part of the infrastructure. So instead of carriers reducing the cost of devices they actually minimized and deployed the network of the carrier. 4G Mobile Network Architecture Each user interprets 4G mobile communications differently. For some its purely provides higher data rates to radio interfaces but for other it is internetworking of wireless LAN and cellular technologies. In order to accommodate traffic demand foreseen in an economically feasible way , 4G mobile networks must accomplish manifold increase in capacity in comparison to its forerunner. Mobile networks are planned for circuit switched voice until now. Fourth Generation wireless architecture was planned as heterogeneous infrastructure consisting of distinctive access systems in a corresponding manner. The user supporting personal agents enjoys unrestricted and ubiquitous connectivity to various applications over the available network. The figure below illustrates potential 4G mobile network architecture including cellular, satellite radio, ad-hoc and hot spot components. A BSC (Base Station Controller) accumulates calls from various base stations, enables handoffs, allot radio channels between BS (Base Station) and hands over calls to a more central mobile switching center. The emerging data networks overlie the existing voice architecture. With the increase in the data traffic this architecture has turned out to be cumbersome difficult to be managed with several network entities. The architecture contains common core Network connected to different wireless and wired networks. It is then connected to PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network)/ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) via GGSN (Gateway GPRS Support Node). GGSN is the chief component of the GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) network. The GGSN is accountable for internetworking between packet switched networks and GPRS network such as Internet. This architecture is associated to 2G via SGSN(Serving GPRA Support Node) from BSC. SGSN is accountable for distribution of data packets to and from mobile stations within its physical service area. Wireless communication is facilitated between UE (User Equipment) and the network by a piece of equipment known as BTS (Base Transreceiver Station). The connection to 3G is through SGSN towards Node B via RNC (Radio Network Controllers). In 2G networks, Node B is equivalent to BTS. RNC replaces BSC and connects to various networks such as Ad-hoc mobile networks and WLAN access networks. Signaling protocols like SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) are extensively used for setting and tearing multimedia communication sessions like video and voice calls above the Internet. The future of mobile communication networks will face challenges in incorporating and integrating various wireless technologies and mobile architectures to achieve flawless wireless infrastructure. Networking technology, has accepted that wireless or wired networks can interface with the core over the IP protocol. IPv6 4G Network Architecture The 4G architecture that supports flawless mobility between distinctive access technologies has an IPv6 based network architecture. Handovers between inter-technology need to be supported else mobility issues will arise. IP network architecture eliminates the voice-centric structure from the network. Instead of packet data overlaying on voice network separate, rather simple data architecture can be implemented which eliminates multiple elements from the network. BSC functions are equally distributed among media gateway router and BS over WAN. These include Radio Bearer control, dynamic allocations and radio resource management that are handled by base stations whereas gateway router handles distribution of paging messages and security. Ethernet- 802.3 is used for grant wired access and Ethernet -802.11 is used for LAN access. The radio interface W-CDMA of UMTS is used extensively for cellular access. This arises the need for mobility to be implemented in the network layer as it cant be handled by the lower layers. IPv6 mechanism is used for internetworking eliminating the need to use internal procedure for handover over any technology. This clarifies that no internal procedures are sustained in W-CDMA cells but the same IP protocol facilitates the movement among the cells. The figure above illustrates a few handover potential in such a network to accommodate a moving user. The users can handover among any of theses technologies without splitting the network connection as well as supporting voice connections. The users have the opportunity to wander between administrative domains while having the capability to use their services across domains. There should be appropriate agreements among the existing domains. The service providers have the capability to track the usage of their consumers both on and off their network like while roaming. The entire network inclusive of all management functions and applications was being employed with the IPv6 protocol over the Linux environment. AAAC and QoS subsystems were responsible for providing service to each user according to the SLA (Service Level Agreement). The software for these was extended resorting to a combination of existing implementations and newly included modules. The 4 administrative domains are depicted in the figure with various access technologies. An AAAC (Authentication, Authorization, Auditing and Charging) system manages each administrative domain. At least one network access control entity, the QoS Broker, is required per domain. Due to the requirements of full service control by the provider, all the handovers are explicitly handled by the management infrastructure through IP-based protocols, even when they are intra- technology, such as between two different Access Points in 802.11, or between two different Radio Network Controllers in WCDMA [7]. The network providers are responsible for all the network resources while the user control their local network, applications and terminal. The key characteristics of this network architecture are : A User : It refers to a company or a person with SLA constricted with a provider for certain set of services. The architecture is concerned about granting access to the users and not specific terminals. MT (Mobile Terminal) : It is the terminal that gives access to the users for services. The network architecture can support terminal portability leading to the sharing of the terminal among various users though not at the same time. AR (Access Router) : This is the generic mode of connection to the network that gets the name of RG (Radio Gateway) for basically wireless access. PA (Paging Agent) : it is responsible for situating MT when it is idle and there are packets that need to be delivered to it. QoS Broker : it is solely responsible for managing one or more ARs. the AAAC system provides information that is used to control user access and access rights. AAAC System : It is responsible for SLA including charging and accounting. NMS (Network Management System) : It is responsible for overall network control and management. This entity guarantees and manages the accessibility of resources in the main network. This network is proficient of supporting several functions namely : Confidentiality both of user traffic and of the network control information QoS levels guaranties to traffic flows Inter-operator information interchange for multiple-operator scenarios Mobility of terminals across multiple technologies Mobility of users across multiple terminals IMT-Advanced Network Architecture The ITU specified IMT-Advanced (International Mobile Telecommunications Advanced) specifications for 4G standards. The data rate requirements for 4G service was set at 100 Mbps for high-level mobility communication and 1 Gbps for low-level mobility communication. Pre-4G technologies such as WiMAX and LTE have been in the market for a while. The most current version of these technologies do not accomplish the ITU requirements for 4G service. IMT-Advanced in compliance with the above 2 technologies are still under development and are namely called LTE-Advanced WirelessMan-Advanced The figure above illustrates the perception of a unified architecture developed by IMT-Advanced network built on IP as the common layer protocol. This interface facilitates services that allow the use of communication networks by the yet to be developed devices. With significant improvements in access speeds popular applications in wire line can be transferred under wireless networks in a identical flawless way. Application of 4G: Virtual Presence : 4G would provide user services to its users at all times irrespective of the fact that the user is on or offsite. The location applications of 4G would maintain a virtual database containing graphical representations and physical characteristics of metropolitan areas. This database can be accessed by users from anywhere by using appropriate wireless equipment, which would give the platform to appear virtual. Tele-medicine : 4G would create a platform to monitor the health of patients remotely through video-conferencing with the capability for doctors assistance at anywhere and at anytime. Crisis-Management Applications: Natural disasters leading to the breakdown of entire communications infrastructure needs to be restored as quickly as possible. In general it may take about a week or so to restore the services with 4G the communication services can be re-established in a couple of hours. Virtual Navigation: It will provide virtual navigation to users so that they can access virtual database to visualize the internal design of buildings. It requires very high speed of transmission. Tele-Geo Processing Applications: It would integrate GPS (Global Positioning System) and GIS (Geographical Information Systems) providing the users with location querying. Education: 4G would provide the opportunity to the people across the globe to continue on-line education in a cost effective manner. Multimedia-Video Services: 4G wireless technology is anticipated to deliver high data rates of multimedia services efficiently. There are two different types of video services: Streaming video and Bursting. Streaming is used only for real-time services and bursting is used for file download using a buffer and can take advantage of the entire available bandwidth. An appropriate solution for operators who are looking to achieve monetary and technical efficiency in their upgrade path would be combining the 2G-3G with 4G network functions. A SGSN+MME node and a GGSN+SGW+PGW node can act as a node for both 2G/3G and a 4G network. There are various solutions that offer flexibility to sparate functions when the traffic grows. 4G evolutions can be eased out by slowly converting the current systems into an integrated 2G/3G/4G system and then ultimately to a 4G system. LTE and SAE requirements are ardently followed. This solution, so far provided by Cisco enables one to enjoy the advantages of the existing system along with the augmentation of 4G so that operators can still use the present system if and when desired. It can support 2G/3G today and through a software upgrade these solutions can support 4G functionality as well when LTE networks are deployed. Cisco claims that operators need not perform forklift upgrades when evolving to 4G. Existing SG SN,GGSN, or PDG can be upgraded to 4G functional elements MME,SGW,PGW, and ePDG through the solution. The existence of a software upgrade solution to switch from 2G/3G to 4G shows the compatibility of 4G with 2G/3G.

Robert E. Lee Essay -- essays research papers fc

In 2003, Roy Blount Jr. published the book Robert E. Lee through the Penguin Group Inc. This book is different then other books published about Lee due to the fact that this book looks behind the man in uniform, and shows how Lee became the legend that we know today. Blount brings an element of humor that some would not expect to find when writing about Lee. Through this type of writing, Lee transforms into the everyday person who we all can relate to.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Blount takes the reader through the life of Robert E. Lee. However, Blount dances to a different beat while telling the story of Lee. There are some details about Lee that have been overlooked or ignored by other writers that Blount made prominent in this biography. One of these is Lee’s humor when it comes to the word â€Å"Pussyism† (57). This word was used when referring to the Oxford movement in the Church of England. Lee walked into conservation between two junior officers and declared, â€Å"Beware of Pussyism! Pussyism is always bad, and may lead to unchristian feeling; therefore beware of Pussyism!†(58). Lee is brought alive into the readers mind by this type of humor.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Blount begins the journey through Lee’s life with Lee’s father, Henry â€Å"Light Horse Harry† Lee. Henry was a Revolutionary War hero who went bankrupt and disgraced the Lee name. When Robert was a young child his father went to Baltimore to assist in the defense of a newspaper that was opposed to the war o...

The Necklace :: Character analysis, Loisel

In the short story â€Å"The Necklace†, the main character, Loisel, is a woman who dreams of greater things in her life. She is married to a poor clerk who tries his best to make her happy no matter what. In an attempt to try to bring happiness to his wife, he manages to get two invitations to a very classy ball, but even in light of this Loisel is still unhappy. Even when she gets a new dress she is still unhappy. This lasts until her husband suggests she borrows some jewelry from a friend, and upon doing so she is finally happy. Once the ball is over, and they reach home, Loisel has the horrible realization that she has lost the necklace, and after ten years of hard labor and suffering, they pay off debts incurred to get a replacement. The central idea of this story is how something small can have a life changing effect on our and others life’s. This idea is presented through internal and external conflicts, third person omniscient point of view, and the round-dynamic character of Loisel. The third person limited omniscient point-of-view is prevalent throughout this short story in the way that the author lets the reader only see into the main character’s thoughts. Loisel is revealed to the reader as being unhappy with her life and wishing for fancier things. â€Å"She suffered ceaselessly, feeling herself born for all the delicacies and all the luxuries.† (de Maupassant 887) When her husband tries to fancy things up, â€Å"she thought of dainty dinners, of shining silverware, of tapestry which peopled the walls†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (de Maupassant 887) As the story goes on her point of view changes, as she â€Å"now knew the horrible existence of the needy. She took her part, moreover all of a sudden, with heroism.† (de Maupassant 891) Having the accountability to know that the â€Å"dreadful debt must be paid.† (de Maupassant 891 ) This point-of-view is used to help the reader gain more insight to how Loisel’s whole mindset is changed throughout her struggle to pay off their debts. Maupassant only reveals the thoughts and feelings of these this main character leaving all the others as flat characters. Loisel is a round-dynamic character in that Maupassant shows how she thought she was born in the wrong â€Å"station†. â€Å"She dressed plainly because she could not dress well, but she was as unhappy as though she had really fallen from her proper station.

Darvin and Evolution – Lesson Plan

Time constraints meant I couldn't cover everything I wanted to cover during ‘Topic'. Other investigations that may have been included are: Artificial Selection Why are cows and sheep not extinct? Why are there so many kinds of dog? Where do red, blue and black roses come from? What are yellow bananas? Sexual Selection Why do peacocks -and many other birds – have such beautiful plumage?A predator can find them easily, so why have they evolved that way? A festive' example (cough): Why do reindeer have antlers? 1 Do Mammals Have Emotions? Do mammals experience fear, happiness, sadness, grief? I hope to address these and other questions during Science. In the meantime, here is a collection of books which you may or may not find useful: Richard Adkins' book is a hardcore response to all who question evolution as scientific fact. Chris Stringer works at the National History Museum and is often called upon by the media to explain the origins of modern humans.His The Origin of o ur Species is a popular and engaging read which sets out to answer all the big questions in the debate about our origins. The graphic adaptation of Origins by Keller and illustrator Nicolle Rage Fuller is a marvelous version of Darning's seminal work. The illustrations are drawn from Darning's own words, including his diaries and letters. The book is brought up to date with a graphic account of recent breakthroughs in evolutionary science. It would make a wonderful gift for teenagers and adults with an interest in evolutionary theory. I love it. The nutty looking book by Murphy is funny, informative and perfect for Yr 5/6 +.I would highly recommend it for use when planning the ‘Life' units in the Science SOW. The final book would be enjoyed by Yr/6 and anyone requiring a gentle introduction to Darwin and his ideas. The first lesson is a look at the Genesis account and other creation myths, but don't let that fool you into thinking this plan is creationism or so-called ‘i ntelligent' design in disguise, it most definitely isn't! It is a celebration of Charles Darwin and evolutionary theory. I believe Darning's â€Å"dangerous idea† is one of the most important topics we'll ever teach our kids. I hope you enjoy teaching it. Kind regards,Lou Armor Darwin, Evolution and the Origins of Life L 1/2 – All Things Bright And Beautiful Success Criteria I can write a creation myth. Intro Entry song: Sing the first verse of All Things Bright And Beautiful. What is the hymn about? Why do you think it was written? Does anybody know of any other songs, rhymes, etc that describe the rich diversity of life found on earth? Show: How God created the world. Http://www. Youth. Com/watch? V=7_Acquiesced=related What is the little girl attempting to explain? Where did she get the explanation from? Display the relevant Genesis passage as a timetable.What do you think about the Genesis story as an explanation of life? Are there any oddities about the Genesis ac count? How old do you think the world is according to Genesis? (Creationists believe the world is only 6000-10,000 years old). Activity Entry question: All cultures have creation myths. Do you know of any? Greek, Egyptian, Norse? Rudyard Kipling? How many creation myths do you think there are? Is there any reason why any one story should be the ‘correct' one? Part 1 Story Telling Task Show the clips, complete with a brief discussion of their story features/structure between each.Record the features, etc on the board for later use. How elephant got his trunk http://www. Youth. Com/watch? V=bishop_ICQ How Zebra got her stripes http://www. Youth. Com/watch? V=Mississippi=related Why Bat flies at night http://www. Youth. Com/watch? V=pedophilia pop=related LA – Referring to the board prompts and pictures children plan and write their own story book from ONE of Elephant, Zebra and Baboon, Koala or Bat. MA/HA- + those LA who wish to do so – work in pairs and write an o riginal and creative story for ONE of the following: How Tiger got her stripes How Peacock got his feathersLeopard got his spots How Kangaroo got her pouch How Tortoise got his shell How bear got her stumpy tail How Encourage children to act out their story as a means of composing it and telling it. Inform HA children that they will be telling their story during ‘Myth Time'. Activity continues overleaf. Part 2 Outdoor Task: Critical Thinking entry: a) Observation and discussion walk around the top field/Dingles Dell/flower beds, etc. Ask critical questions – lots of why and how – about ‘supernatural design', leaf structure, complexity, etc without straying into Darwin and evolution. ) Inform hillier that scientists estimate the world to be about 5. 1 billion years old. Create the ‘The Lo Roll Timeline'. Say, Wow! ‘ Discuss. Take photos. C) Uri-peg two of the lines, remove their post-its and add them to the Zero end of one of the other lines so t hat you have one long line made up of three of the original lines. Line 1 (with it's post-its in place) + Line 2 + Line 3 = The Age of the Universe. Now take a look at the red edge! So where would the Genesis 6,000 – 10,000 years be now!!!!? Microscopic! Assessment and Look Forward IQ: Did anybody notice anything odd about Day 1 and Day 4? E below) What are your thoughts about the Genesis story in light of making the ‘Lo Roll Timeline? Why would an all powerful, caring and gentle God create a wasp which seeks only to burrow into the bodies of living caterpillars with the intention of eating them from the inside? What is the point of it? For the next lesson: Ask children to bring in as many toy animals and small world vegetation as they can carry. Ask children to begin making a list in their Diaries of the types of living things they see day to day and to bring it in next lesson. Onto been – Those Diaries may have a use after all.Talking with friends and family Do es science have anything to say about life on earth? Can anyone think of any really old things that have been found, in a rock or on a beach, say? Scientific evidence tells us that the earth is over 5 billion years old. Life first originated in the oceans 3. 4 billion years ago. The dinosaurs died out 65 million years in the past. The first modern humans (Homo Sapiens) appeared 100,000 yr ago but the recorded history of humans stretches back only 10,000 years in time. Find out more about these things. Talk about these things with a friend for next time.Begin making your own Evolution Journal at home (It could be a combination of literacy homework and voluntary work, so there could be an incentive of some sort I. E. Credits). Lesson Resources Writing and drawing materials. Lo rolls, tents pegs, knitting needles, long nails, post-it notes. Teaching Support Creation myths: http://www. Magical. Com/creationism. HTML AY: God supposedly creates light and separates light from darkness, and day from night, on the first day. Yet he didn't make the light producing objects (the sun and the stars) until the fourth day.So how could there be â€Å"the evening and the morning† on the first day if there as no sun to mark them? Myth Time: Split the children into groups for ‘Myth Time' on the carpet and around tables, etc. HA children read/act out their story to their group. On completion – if time allows – children move to another story teller. Further stories, including, Elephant, Zebra, Bat, can be told at the end of each day over the course of the week. L 3-4 Endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful None as such. The aim here is to inspire awe and wonder. Learning about classification is a bonus! 3 Introduction Endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful. Entry activity: Children place their toys and small world materials on their tables. Entry phrase: Write the above phrase on the board and read it aloud using an dramatic voice to inje ct a sense of wonder. Ask the children if they can figure out what this exquisite phrase refers to. Ask: If forms' means ‘kinds of, what do you think is being described? (The above phrase is taken from the conclusion of Darning's On The Origin of Species By Natural Selection, 1859).Entry Sq: How many kinds of living organisms exist upon on the earth? 4 How many have been made extinct? 5 Task 1: Using toy animals, small world vegetation and large whets of paper children to begin to make a (HUGE! ) list of living organisms (use this term repeatedly throughout term). Prompt children for as wide a variety of living organisms as possible. Can children see any similarities or differences between the organisms listed/shown? Task 2: Using toy animals, small world vegetation and large sheets of paper: How can living organisms be grouped into different things?Children use their own grouping criteria to group them. What discoveries have they made? What problems ensue? Help by providing p rompts: weeds, trees, flowers, insects, micro-organisms, marine, land and air life. How far can children keep going with the groups? Would a Venn diagram help? (MA/HA math children especially). Do any of the living things live and exist in 2 or 3 environments? (amphibians, flying insects, seabirds, otters, turtles, etc) Outdoor Competition: Teams fill a matchbox with as many different living organisms as possible.Discuss the results. Tell me something about the lists and diagrams we have made. Help children to develop a sense of awe and wonder at the diversity of life. Finish with Where do these endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful come from? ‘How is such diversity possible? Inform children that they will be learning more about the classification of living organisms during Science. For the next lesson: Ask children to bring in: a toy dinosaur, animal or doll, a box for the toy, a simple gardening tool for digging e. G. A small fork or trowel.Darning's pod: Charles D arwin loved listening to music and dancing with pretty ladies – I know, I know but that's because people only ever see the photos of him as an old man – so we are going to begin a collection of music that Darwin would have on his pod were he alive today. Who would like to be the collector of the pod music? You will be responsible for overseeing the downloading of any requested amp track and recording the name of it's contributor. To be a contributor you will have to pay its cost – via my Amazon account – which will probably be between 50-app per track.For example, I will pay for Louis Armstrong's What a wonderful World', price app. At the end of the topic we shall celebrate Darwin and have his pod playing in the back ground whilst we do so. Collectors and contributors – in role biz. The great man – could present Charles Darning's ‘Galapagos Island Discs' to parents during our class- based assembly. Ask children to think about these and other questions and to discuss them with their friends before the next lesson. Ask the children to wonder what they might be learning about next time? Large sheets of paper, post-its, card for labels and drawing materials.The scope for CIT use in every one of these lesson is enormous – interactive timeliness, natural selection games, movies, etc but the notebook are too small, too unreliable, and too few in number for all classes to be using simultaneously. And ‘1 between 2' tends to cause more problems than it solves? Perhaps Joy could ad many of the links to our lass web pages so kids can explore them at home? Http://en. Wisped. Org/wick/Charles_Darwin See also the resources I have put on the R:drive. In addition I have several books about Darwin and evolution which people may wish to borrow. L 5/6 – Darning's great adventure.I know what fossils are, how they are made and what they can tell us. I can describe what Darwin saw on his voyage aboard the Beagle and some of the difficulties he faced collecting his specimens . Charles Darning's great adventure. Entry question: Hold up a Ole note and ask: Who is this? What is she famous for? Turn it over and ask Who is this? What is he famous for? Explain that he is probably the most important scientist who ever lived. And he's British! Explain that Charles Darning's theory of evolution was the first scientific theory to explain the appearance of not Just some, but all living species.Darning's theory told us how all living things are related. It also explained the origin of new species, why some species became extinct and the reason for the great variety of life on earth, why there are so many â€Å"endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful†. Entry Sq: Who was Charles Darwin? Give children a potted history of his early life. See below) Display pictures of the young Darwin – he was only 25 – the map of Beagle's Journey and tell the story of the Beagle's voyage and of th e many wonderful things Darwin observed. Talk about Darning's fossils finds.Do you know what fossils are? Do you know where they are found? Http://www. Youth. Com/watch? V=KxDQwBZJ908=related Show fossil pictures and discuss. What are fossils? What do they tell us? What do marine fossils tell us when they are found at the top of a mountain? Describe and illustrate Darning's fossil finds. It may help yr to remind them of their ‘Mountains' epic and mountain rock layers are formed. Display the Homologous Structures picture. Chi work with a friend to solve the puzzle illustrated. What are the skeletons evidence of? What can be inferred from them? Remind chi about inferring from a text). Outdoor Task: Play at being paleontologists and fossil hunters. Children make fossils outdoors. (A day or two later they again play at being paleontologists and dig up another's fossil, taking care not to damage it, Just as real scientists do). Take photos. Part 2- Darning's observations caused him to think very deeply about Evolution. Evolution is about change over time. Specifically, it is about how species change over time. Emphasis the excitement, wonder and scientific endeavourer of observation in such weird and wonderful environments.What practical and/or scientific problems do you think Darwin faced? Watch the clip and answer these questions: How did such a wide variety of living organisms first appear on the Galapagos? After arriving what did many species begin to do? Http://science. Discovery. Com/videos/Galapagos-beyond-Darwin-Charles- Darwin. HTML What does ‘adapting mean? Can you give me an example from the clip? How do some of the organisms survive? Http://science. Discovery. Com/videos/ Galapagos-beyond-Darwin-creatures-of-Galapagos. HTML The things that help an organism survive are called traits' and they can be passed on.Most traits are inherited (but not all), a bit like passing on hair and eye color. Show photos of a family if it helps clarification. A sk children to think about what the fossil record and the Genesis account tell us about the age of the earth and all that live upon it. What do they make of the fact that both geology and the fossil record tell us that the earth is billions of years old, et the bible says the earth was created only 6000 years ago? Which account is based on evidence and which account is simple belief?Help children to distinguish between scientific facts based upon other facts and overwhelming evidence, and stories which require only belief. A detective's Who done-it' puzzle may help (Sherlock Holmes was incorrect: it's inductive not deductive reasoning). For the next lesson: Ask children to bring in a yoghurt tub, tongs, pegs, ladles and anything else that can be used as a pretend bird beak. The wider the range of implements the better. We also need plastic cups cut in half, very thin milk straws remind me to get some from Nursery and Reception waste bins! , long balloons, Jelly beans, smarmiest, a c ouple of tins of fruit cocktail, soft fruits, berries, fruit Juice, chick peas, peas, seeds, etc for food and at least one washing up bowl and a cereal or fruit bowl per 4 children. Ask children to bring in handfuls of the food stuff and can chuck it in a class box ready for the lesson. Talk about fossils. Find more clips and videos about fossils and the Galapagos Islands and watch them together. Make one at home and put a photo of it in your Journal. Draw pre-historic fossils such as Trilobites, too. Plaster of Paris or similar.Toy dinosaurs and dolls (undressed). Digging implements. Small brushes. A cardboard box for each toy brought in. A tent peg or nail. Post-it notes. Why are there no transitional fossils? Is a question a parent may ask. Here is an answer put in terms of a family photo album. Http://www. Youth. Com/watch? V=QywH7FOeKJO=mfu_in_order=UL This one shows evolutionary theory being used to predict which fossils should be found. Fabulous examples shown. It also explai ns why a crop-duck fossil (half crocodile, half duck) will never be found?The crocodile is a favorite line of ‘criticism' by creationists and dim celebrities). Http://www. Youth. Com/watch? V=l_Dad_Eight=autoplay=ULQywH7FOeKJO=5=1 Re: Science: Children will be learning more about the variation, adaptation and habitats of living organisms during Science. However, their intellectual Journey will travel beyond the dreary diet of tautologies and soporific science found in the CA sow. L 7/8 – Evolution, Natural Selection and â€Å"the struggle for survival†. I can describe/explain how species change over time.I can describe/explain how inherited traits enable a species to survive. Natural Selection and â€Å"the struggle for survival†. Entry Joke Two friends are in the woods when a bear starts chasing them. The first friend begins to run. The second shouts, Mimi can't outrun a bear! † The first friend looks over his shoulder and replies, â€Å"l don't ha ve to. I only have to outrun you. † Is there anything we can learn from this Joke? Entry Quotation It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change. Display the above.Can children illustrate its meaning with an example? Polar bears? Brown hares? Cactus? Explain that organisms have adapted to survive in many different environments. The question of how they evolved (changed) was Darning's gift to the world. Ask: What does ‘evolution' describe? Recall that evolution is about change. Explain Darwin was not the first to propose that species evolve (change) but he was the first to explain it. At least the first to explain it in a way that made sense and held up to scientific evidence. How does change occur? Darning's explanation is called natural selection.It is such a simple (but profound) incept that we can describe it in one sentence: Those living things born with traits that giv e some advantage in survival and reproduction, will tend on average to leave more offspring that have those very traits. That's it. That's why species evolve (change). That's why large amounts of time can result in large amounts of change. So what might ‘advantages' look like? Display and explain Darning's finches using the picture from the Natural Selection PPTP. Slide. Inform children that they are about to take part in the ‘Bird Beak Struggle'. Task 1: In groups of four, children play ‘Bird Beak Struggle'.Ask: Some of your ‘beaks' were more successful at obtaining food than others. Why was that? What were the advantages of having beak X? What were the disadvantages of having beak X?

Microeconomics/Macroeconomics Chapter 1 Questions and Answers

Chapter 1 The Art and Science of Economic Analysis INTRODUCTION THIS CHAPTER HAS TWO PURPOSES: TO INTRODUCE STUDENTS TO SOME OF THE BASIC LANGUAGE OF ECONOMICS AND TO STIMULATE STUDENT INTEREST IN THE SUBJECT. IT CONVEYS TO STUDENTS THAT ECONOMICS IS NOT ONLY FOUND IN THE FINANCIAL SECTION OF THE NEWSPAPER, BUT ALSO IS VERY MUCH A PART OF THEIR EVERYDAY LIVES. BEGINNING WITH THE ECONOMIC PROBLEM OF SCARCE RESOURCES BUT UNLIMITED WANTS, THIS CHAPTER PROVIDES AN OVERVIEW OF THE FIELD AND THE ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES USED. CONCEPTS INTRODUCED INCLUDE: RESOURCES, GOODS AND SERVICES, THE ECONOMIC ACTORS IN THE ECONOMY, AND MARGINAL ANALYSIS.TWO MODELS FOR ANALYSIS, THE CIRCULAR FLOW MODEL AND STEPS OF THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD, ARE INTRODUCED. THE APPENDIX INTRODUCES THE USE OF GRAPHS. CHAPTER OUTLINE THE ECONOMIC PROBLEM: SCARCE RESOURCES, UNLIMITED WANTS Use PowerPoint slide 3 for the following section Economics is about making choices. The problem is that wants or desires are virtually unlimi ted while the resources available to satisfy these wants are scarce. A resource is scarce when it is not freely available, when its price exceeds zero. Economics studies how people use their scarce resources in an attempt to satisfy their unlimited wants.Use PowerPoint slides 4-9 for the following sections Resources: The inputs, or factors of production, used to produce the goods and services that humans want. Resources are divided into four categories: 1. Labor: Human effort, both physical and mental 2. Capital: †¢ Physical capital: Manufactured items (tools, buildings) used to produce goods and services. †¢ Human capital: Knowledge and skills people acquire to increase their labor productivity. 3. Natural resources: gifts of nature, bodies of water, trees, oil reserves, minerals and animals. These can be renewable or exhaustible. . Entrepreneurial ability: The imagination required to develop a new product or process, the skill needed to organize production, and the willi ngness to take the risk of profit or loss. Payments for resources: Labor–wage; capital–interest; natural resources–rent; entrepreneurial ability–profit. Use PowerPoint slides 10-12 for the following section Goods and Services: Resources are combined to produce goods and services. †¢ A good is something we can see, feel, and touch (i. e. , corn). It requires scarce resources to produce and is used to satisfy human wants. A service is not tangible but requires scarce resources to produce and satisfies human wants (i. e. , haircut). †¢ A good or service is scarce if the amount people demand exceeds the amount available at a price of zero. Goods and services that are truly free are not the subject matter of economics. Without scarcity, there would be no economic problem and no need for prices. Use PowerPoint slide 13 for the following section Economic Decision Makers: There are four types of decision makers: 1. Households 2. Firms 3. Governments 4. The rest of the worldTheir interaction determines how an economy’s resources are allocated. Use PowerPoint slide 14 for the following section Markets: †¢ Buyers and sellers carry out exchanges in markets. †¢ Goods and services are exchanged in product markets. †¢ Labor, capital, natural resources, and entrepreneurial ability are exchanged in resource markets. Use PowerPoint slides 15-16 for the following section A Simple Circular Flow Model: A simple circular flow model in Exhibit 1 describes the flow of resources, products, income and revenue among economic decision makers. The Art of Economic AnalysisUse PowerPoint slide 17 for the following section Rational Self-Interest †¢ Economics assumes that individuals, in making choices, rationally select alternatives they perceive to be in their best interests. †¢ Rational refers to people trying to make the best choices they can, given the available information. †¢ Each individual tries to minimize th e expected cost of achieving a given benefit or to maximize the expected benefit achieved with a given cost. Use PowerPoint slide 18 for the following section Choice Requires Time and Information: Time and information are scarce and therefore valuable.Rational decision makers acquire information as long as the expected additional benefit from the information is greater than its expected additional cost. Use PowerPoint slide 19 for the following section Economic Analysis Is Marginal Analysis †¢ Economic choice is based on a comparison of the expected marginal cost and the expected marginal benefit of the action under consideration. †¢ Marginal means incremental, additional, or extra. †¢ A rational decision maker changes the status quo if the expected marginal benefit is greater than the expected marginal cost.Use PowerPoint slides 20-21 for the following section Microeconomics and Macroeconomics †¢ Microeconomics: The study of individual economic choices (e. g. , your economic behavior). †¢ Macroeconomics: The study of the performance of the economy as a whole, as measured, for example, by total production and employment. †¢ Economic fluctuations: The rise and fall of economic activity relative to the long-term growth trend of the economy; also called business cycles. Use PowerPoint slide 22 for the following section The Science of Economic AnalysisThe Role of Theory: An economic theory is a simplification of economic reality that is used to make predictions about the real world. An economic theory captures the important elements of the problem under study. Use PowerPoint slides 23-26 for the following section The Scientific Method: A four-step process of theoretical investigation: 1. Identify the question and define relevant variables. 2. Specify assumptions: †¢ Other-things-constant assumption: Focuses on the relationships between the variables of interest, assuming that nothing else important changes (i. e. , ceteris paribu s). Behavioral assumptions: Focus on how people will behave (i. e. , in their rational self-interest). 3. Formulate a hypothesis, a theory about how key variables relate to each other. 4. Test the hypothesis. Compare its predictions with evidence. The theory is then either rejected, accepted, or modified and retested. Use PowerPoint slide 27 for the following section Normative vs. Positive †¢ A positive economic statement concerns what is; it can be supported or rejected by reference to facts. †¢ A normative economic statement concerns what should be; it reflects an opinion and cannot be shown to be true or false by reference to the facts.Economists Tell Stories Use PowerPoint slide 28 for the following section CaseStudy: A Yen for Vending Machines Use PowerPoint slide 29 for the following section Predicting Average Behavior: The task of an economic theory is to predict the impact of an economic event on economic choices and, in turn, the effect of these choices on particu lar markets or on the economy as a whole. Economists focus on the average, or typical, behavior of people in groups. Use PowerPoint slides 30-31 for the following section Some Pitfalls of Faulty Economic Analysis The fallacy that association is causation: The fact that one event precedes another or that two events occur simultaneously does not mean that one caused the other. †¢ The fallacy of composition: The incorrect belief that what is true for the individual, or the part, is true for the group, or the whole. †¢ The mistake of ignoring secondary effects: (unintended consequences of policy) If Economist Are So Smart, Why Aren’t They Rich? Use PowerPoint slides 32-33 for the following section CaseStudy: College Major and Annual Earnings Appendix: Understanding GraphsUse PowerPoint slides 34-39 for the following section Drawing Graphs †¢ Origin: The point of departure, the point from which all variables are measured. †¢ Horizontal axis: The value of the x variable increases as you move along this axis to the right of the origin; a straight line to the right of the origin. †¢ Vertical axis: The value of the y variable increases as you move upward and away from the origin; a straight line extending above the origin. †¢ Within the space framed by the axes, you can plot possible combinations of the variables measured along each axis. †¢ Graph: A picture showing how variables relate. Time-series graph: Shows the value of one or more variables over time. †¢ Functional relation: Exists between two variables when the value of one variable depends on the other variable (e. g. , the value of the independent variable determines the value of the dependent variable). †¢ Types of relationships between variables: – Positive, or direct, relation: As one variable increases, the other variable increases. – Negative, or inverse, relation: As one variable increases, the other variable decreases. – Independen t, or unrelated relation: As one variable increases, the other variable remains unchanged or unrelated.Use PowerPoint slides 40-46 for the following section The Slopes of Straight Lines †¢ The slope of a line measures how much the vertical variable (y) changes for each 1-unit change in the horizontal variable (x). †¢ The slope of a line is a convenient device for measuring marginal effects. Slope reflects the change in y for each one unit change in x. †¢ The slope of a line does not imply causality but indicates a relation between the variables. †¢ The slope of a line is the change in the vertical distance divided by the increase in the horizontal distance. The slope of a line depends on how units are measured; the mathematical value of the slope depends on the units of measurement in the graph. †¢ The slope of a straight line is the same everywhere along the line. †¢ The slope of a curved line varies from one point to another along the curve. †¢ I f the slope is: – Positive: There is a positive or direct relation between the variables. – Negative: There is a negative or inverse relation between the variables. – Zero or assumed infinite: There is no relation between the variables; they are independent or unrelated.Use PowerPoint slides 47-48 for the following section The Slope, Units of Measurement, and Marginal Analysis The Slopes of Curved Lines Curve Shifts: A change in an underlying assumption is expressed by a shift in the curve. Chapter SUMMARY ECONOMICS IS THE STUDY OF HOW PEOPLE CHOOSE TO USE THEIR SCARCE RESOURCES TO PRODUCE, EXCHANGE, AND CONSUME GOODS AND SERVICES IN AN ATTEMPT TO SATISFY UNLIMITED WANTS. THE ECONOMIC PROBLEM ARISES FROM THE CONFLICT BETWEEN SCARCE RESOURCES AND UNLIMITED WANTS. IF WANTS WERE LIMITED OR IF RESOURCES WERE NOT SCARCE, THERE WOULD BE NO NEED TO STUDY ECONOMICS.Economic resources are combined in a variety of ways to produce goods and services. Major categories of re sources include labor, capital, natural resources, and entrepreneurial ability. Because economic resources are scarce, only a limited number of goods and services can be produced with them. Therefore, goods and services are also scarce, so choices must be made. Microeconomics focuses on choices made in households, firms, and governments and how these choices affect particular markets, such as the market for used cars. Choice is guided by rational self-interest.Choice typically requires time and information, both of which are scarce and valuable. Whereas microeconomics examines the individual pieces of the puzzle, macroeconomics steps back to consider the big picture—the performance of the economy as a whole as reflected by such measures as total production, employment, the price level, and economic growth. The 2008-2009 recession illustrates economic fluctuations, the rise and fall of economic activity relative to the long-term growth trend of the economy. Economic fluctuatio ns are also called business cycles. These cycles will be a major topic in the macroeconomics course.Economists use theories, or models, to help understand the effects of an economic change, such as a change in price or income, on individual choices and how these choices affect particular markets and the economy as a whole. Economists employ the scientific method to study an economic problem by (a) formulating the question and isolating relevant variables, (b) specifying the assumptions under which the theory operates, (c) developing a theory, or hypothesis, about how the variables relate, and (d) testing that theory by comparing its predictions with the evidence.A theory might not work perfectly, but it is useful as long as it predicts better than competing theories do. Positive economics aims to discover how the economy works. Normative economics is concerned more with how, in someone’s opinion, the economy should work. Those who are not careful can fall victim to the fallac y that association is causation, to the fallacy of composition, and to the mistake of ignoring secondary effects. The appendix to this chapter deals with the construction and interpretation of graphs. TEACHING POINTS 1.THIS COURSE WILL PROVIDE THE FIRST EXPOSURE TO THE ECONOMIC WAY OF THINKING FOR MANY OF YOUR STUDENTS. ALTHOUGH IT SEEMS NATURAL TO YOU, ECONOMIC ANALYSIS PRESENTS A FORMIDABLE CHALLENGE TO MANY STUDENTS. YOU MAY WISH TO CONSIDER PRESENTING ECONOMICS AS ONE OF MANY APPROACHES TO DESCRIBING HUMAN BEHAVIOR RATHER THAN AS A BODY OF ESTABLISHED DOCTRINES. INTRODUCING A TOPIC WITH RELEVANT QUESTIONS TO WHICH ECONOMICS PROVIDES AN ANSWER GENERALLY ENHANCES STUDENT INTEREST IN ECONOMICS. SUCH QUESTIONS APPEAR AT THE BEGINNING OF EACH CHAPTER. 2. Students are generally eager and very fresh at the beginning of the semester.Chapters 1 and 2 can be assigned during the first week, and you can move almost immediately into discussions of production possibilities, the idea of opport unity cost, the use of marginal analysis, and comparative advantage (see Chapter 2). It should also be easy to meld a discussion of the points contained in the Chapter 1 Appendix with the analytics of Chapter 2. 3. One point to stress in discussing the role and importance of economic analysis is that, while individual responses to changes in an economic environment are not always predictable, the aggregate response often is.The use of such knowledge is valuable in virtually any context in which individuals, households, firms, resource owners, and so on, are faced with changing opportunities and costs. You might use some examples to illustrate this, such as what is the predicted response to a tax on gasoline and who ends up paying for the tax or the impact of a tax refund on consumer behavior. 4. From a purely analytical perspective, the most important concept introduced in this chapter is the idea that decisions are made on the basis of marginal analysis.You might stress that margin al analysis is a cornerstone of economics. 5. Some terminology in the text may deviate from your own lecture notes. If you intend to use any of the Test Banks, try to mention deviations between the text’s usage and the terms you use in your lectures. For example, the text uses the word resources whereas you might use factors of production in your lecture notes. 6. Some students think that economics is synonymous with business. You may wish to explain the difference, because many of your students will be studying business administration. . Many students will be apprehensive about the mathematics used in the course. A good way for students to master the few mathematical tools needed in class is by through application and by using the Study Guides and the online materials. It is essential for students to become comfortable with reading and shifting graphs as well as dividing fractions. The appendix to Chapter 1 provides a good foundation for the tools needed. 8. Many beginning s tudents do not understand what economists mean by the statement â€Å"consumers are rational. It is helpful to emphasize that rationality does not imply that all consumers must be identical or that all consumers make â€Å"good† decisions all the time. Individuals can have dramatically different tastes for goods and service and yet all can be considered rational. ANSWERS TO End-of-Chapter Questions and exercises ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW 1. (Definition of Economics) What determines whether or not a resource is scarce? Why is the concept of scarcity important to the definition of economics? A resource is scarce when the amount people desire exceeds the amount available at a price of zero.The concept of scarcity is important to the definition of economics because scarcity forces people to choose how they will use their resources in an attempt to satisfy their unlimited wants and desires. Economics is about making choices. Without scarcity there would be no economic probl em, and therefore no need to choose between competing wants and desires. 2. (Resources) To which category of resources does each of the following belong? a. A taxi b. Computer software c. One hour of legal counsel d. A parking lot e. A forest f. The Mississippi River g.An individual introducing a new way to market products on the Internet. a. capital; a manufactured item employed to produce a service. b. capital; a manufactured item employed to produce a good. c. labor; human effort. d. capital and natural resources; the parking lot is on a natural resource (land), but the land has undergone capital improvement in the form of leveling and paving. e. natural resource. f. natural resource. g. entrepreneurial ability. 3. (Goods and Services) Explain why each of the following would not be considered â€Å"free† for the economy as a whole: a.Food vouchers b. U. S. aid to developing countries c. Corporate charitable contributions d. Noncable television programs e. Public high schoo l education aEven if food vouchers allow individuals to â€Å"purchase† food at no cost, producing the food in the first place uses resources and hence has a cost. b. U. S. aid, while free to the recipient country, involves costs to the United States because the aid requires the use of U. S. resources to assist developing countries. c. The corporation (and its owners) pays for these gifts. d. This is perhaps the most interesting example. Free† TV is paid for by consumers through the higher prices of the products advertised there. The cost of advertising is passed along to consumers. e. Public high school education is paid for by citizens, either through taxes or borrowing. 4. (Economic Decision Makers) Which group of economic decision makers plays the leading role in the economic system? Which groups play supporting roles? In what sense are they supporting actors? The main decision makers are households, with firms, governments, and the rest of the world serving as supp orting actors.Households are considered to be the lead actors since they supply resources used in production, and demand goods and services produced by other actors. Firms, governments, and the rest of the world are supporting actors because they demand the resources that households supply and use them to produce and supply the goods that households demand. 5. (Micro versus Macro) Determine whether each of the following is primarily a microeconomic or a macroeconomic issue: a. What price to charge for an automobile b. Measuring the impact of tax policies on total consumer spending in the economy c.A household’s decisions about what to buy d. A worker’s decision regarding how much to work each week e. Designing a government policy to increase total employment Microeconomics is the study of the individual economic behavior of decision-making units in the economy, whereas macroeconomics studies the performance of the economy as a whole. a. Microeconomic issue; it refers t o the price of an individual good. b. Macroeconomic issue; it refers to the economy as a whole. c. Microeconomic issue; it refers to the decision of one individual household. . Microeconomic issue; it refers to the decisions of one worker. e. Macroeconomic issue; it refers to the economy as a whole. 6. (Micro versus Macro) Some economists believe that in order to really understand macroeconomics, you must first understand microeconomics. How does microeconomics relate to macroeconomics? Microeconomics studies the behavior and choices made by individuals. The behavior and choices made by these individuals is added together to determine the economy–wide(or macroeconomic(measures, such as total production and unemployment.Microeconomics studies the individual pieces of the economic puzzle; macroeconomics fits those pieces together. 7. (Normative versus Positive Analysis) Determine whether each of the following statements is normative or positive: a. The U. S. unemployment rate w as below 10. 0 percent in 2010. b. The inflation rate in the United States is too high. c. The U. S. government should increase the minimum wage. d. U. S. trade restrictions cost consumers $40 billion annually. A positive statement is a statement about what is. It can be supported or rejected by reference to facts.A normative statement concerns what someone thinks ought to be. It is an opinion and can't be shown to be true or false by reference to facts. a. Positive. Either the unemployment rate was below 10. 0 percent or it was not. The validity of the statement can be checked with appropriate data. b. Normative. There is no objective measure of when the inflation rate is high and when it is not. The statement reflects someone’s opinion of what rate is too high. c. Normative. The word â€Å"should† is usually an indication of an opinion–a normative statement. d. Positive.In principle, the cost of trade restrictions could be measured. Measurement does not involv e opinions 8. (Role of Theory) What good is economic theory if it can’t predict the behavior of a specific individual? This question highlights the fact that economics, like all social sciences, attempts to describe and explain human behavior. In doing so, it cannot measure and control for all factors influencing behavior. The result is that the behavior of a specific individual cannot be explained or predicted, but the behavior of groups of individuals can be.We cannot, for example, predict any particular individual’s buying response to a sale. We can, however, predict what kind of total selling volume will occur because of a sale. Answers to Problems and Exercises 9. (Rational Self-Interest) Discuss the impact of rational self-interest on each of the following decisions: a. Whether to attend college full time or enter the workforce full time b. Whether to buy a new textbook or a used one c. Whether to attend a local college or an out-of-town college a. Individuals wi ll compare the expected benefits of attending college full time with the expected costs.One benefit might be that the individual’s stock of knowledge and productivity will grow, and so will his or her wage. Costs include not only tuition, but also the wages that could have been earned by working instead of attending college full time. If the expected benefits outweigh the costs, then the rational person will choose to go to college full time. b. Individuals will compare the expected benefits of a new textbook with the higher costs of purchasing a new textbook. Benefits include not being confused by other students’ markings in the book and a higher resale value.However, the out-of-pocket cost of a new book will be higher than the cost of a used book. If the expected benefits outweigh the costs, then a rational person will purchase the new textbook. c. Individuals will compare the expected benefits and costs associated with both colleges under consideration and will choo se the college at which the difference between benefits and costs is greater. The costs of attending an out-of-town college may include greater travel costs and phone bills and benefits such as learning about a different region. 10. Rational Self-Interest) If behavior is governed by rational self-interest, why do people make charitable contributions of time and money? Rational self-interest is not blind materialism, pure selfishness, or greed. Rational self-interest means we choose the option that maximizes expected benefits with a given cost. People will give more to charities when the contribution is tax deductible. The lower the personal cost of helping others the more we are willing to help and contribute.. 11. (Marginal Analysis) The owner of a small pizzeria is deciding whether to increase the radius of delivery area by one mile.What considerations must be taken into account if such a decision is to increase profitability? By increasing its delivery radius, the store will have greater sales. However, these marginal revenues must be balanced against the additional costs incurred, such as greater consumption of pizza ingredients, more gasoline for the delivery truck, and possibly the need to hire additional labor and increase advertising. 12. (Time and Information) It is often costly to obtain the information necessary to make good decisions. Yet your own interests can best be served by rationally weighing all options available to you.This requires informed decision making. Does this mean that making uninformed decisions is irrational? How do you determine how much information is the right amount? Rational decision makers will continue to acquire information as long as the benefit of the additional information exceeds the additional costs. Oftentimes we are willing to pay others to gather and digest the information for us. 13. (CaseStudy: A Yen for Vending Machines) Do vending machines conserve any resources other than labor? Does your answer offer any add itional insight into the widespread use of vending machines in Japan?Vending machines, in addition to being labor saving, also conserve space and time. Given the population density of Japan and the limited â€Å"free time† of the typical Japanese worker, vending machines can be expected to be popular among both sellers and buyers in Japan. 14. (CaseStudy: A Yen for Vending Machines) Suppose you had the choice of purchasing identically priced lunches from a vending machine or at a cafeteria. Which would you choose? Why? Different students will answer this question in different ways, but the key point is that non-monetary factors affect decision making.For example, students who opt for the cafeteria instead of the vending machine may, for example, do so because of the impersonal nature of the machine and the desire to â€Å"socialize† the eating experience. 15. (Pitfalls of Economic Analysis) Review the discussion of pitfalls in economic thinking in this chapter. Then id entify the fallacy, or mistake in thinking, in each of the following statements: a. Raising taxes always increases government revenues. b. Whenever there is a recession, imports decrease. Therefore, to stop a recession, we should increase imports. . Raising the tariff on imported steel helps the U. S. steel industry. Therefore, the entire economy is helped. d. Gold sells for about $1,000 per ounce. Therefore, the U. S. government could sell all the gold in Fort Knox at $1,000 per ounce and reduce the national debt. a. This assertion is a mistake because the secondary effects of taxes on production and the labor supply are ignored. If the tax rate were raised to 100 percent, for example, no one would want to work or produce. b. This is the fallacy that association implies causation.It is more likely that recession causes a change in imports than the other way round. c. This is a fallacy of composition. True, the tariff may help the steel industry. But it hurts purchasers of steel, in cluding the automobile and construction industries. The overall effect on the economy is unclear. d. This is the fallacy of composition, because attempts to sell so much gold at once would push down the price of gold. 16. (Association Versus Causation) Suppose I observe that communities with lots of doctors tend to have relatively high rates of illness. I conclude that doctors cause illness.What’s wrong with this reasoning? The causality is undoubtedly in the other direction; that is, doctors will tend to locate where there is a lot of disease and therefore a greater need for medical care. 17. (CaseStudy: College Major and Annual Earnings) Because some college majors pay nearly twice as much as others, why would students pursuing their rational self-interest choose a lower paying major? Students select college majors for a variety of reasons, and the expected pay is only one of them. Some students may have a special interest in lower-paying fields, such as philosophy, religio n, or social work.Some students may not have the aptitude to succeed in the higher-paying majors, such as engineering, mathematics, or computer science. And many students, when they select a major, may simply be unaware of the pay differences based on college major. 18. (Global Economic Watch) Select Global Issues in Context and in the Basic Search box at the top of the page, enter the phrase â€Å"selfish. † On the Results page, scroll down to the Magazines section. Choose the red link to View All. Scroll down to click on the link for the December 8, 2008, article â€Å"Going Green for Selfish Reasons. Are the companies described acting out of rational self-interest? The article indicates that, although the companies' actions may help the environment, the companies are primarily motivated to save costs, an example of rational self-interest. 19. (Global Economic Watch) Select Global Issues in Context and in the Basic Search box at the top of the page, enter either the term à ¢â‚¬Å"microeconomic† or the term â€Å"macroeconomic. † Choose one of the resources and write a summary in your own words. Especially emphasize how the resource is an example of microeconomics or macroeconomics.Student answers will vary, but should demonstrate understanding of the definitions of microeconomics and macroeconomics. Answers to Appendix Questions 1. (Understanding Graphs) Look at Exhibit 5 and answer the following questions: a. In what year (approximately) was the unemployment rate the highest? In what year was it the lowest? b. In what decade, on average, was the unemployment rate highest? In what decade was it lowest? c. Between 1950 and 1980, did the unemployment rate generally increase, decrease, or remain about the same? a. In 1931 the unemployment rate reached its highest point, 25 percent.In 1942 it reached its lowest, approximately 1 percent. b. Unemployment was the highest in the decade of the 1930s and lowest in the decade of the 1900s. c. Between 1950 and 1980, unemployment generally increased. 2. (Drawing Graphs) Sketch a graph to illustrate your idea of each of the following relationships. Be sure to label each axis appropriately. For each relationship, explain under what circumstances, if any, the curve could shift: a. The relationship between a person’s age and height b. Average monthly temperature in your home town over the course of a year c.A person’s income and the number of hamburgers consumed per month d. The amount of fertilizer added to an acre of land and the amount of corn grown on that land in one growing season e. An automobile’s horsepower and its gasoline mileage (in miles per gallon) a. In the years between birth and 15, you would expect a person’s height to increase as his or her age increased. After age 15 or so, height would remain constant. [pic] b. The average monthly temperature in your home town over the course of a year varies with the seasons. [pic]Seasons c.In the fol lowing example drawn, the number of hamburgers consumed per month will rise at first as a person's income increases. (The curve is steeply upward sloping from the origin to an income of $10,000). However, after a certain income level, there will be less and less of a rise in the number of hamburgers consumed per month. (The curve is still upward sloping but is flattening between an income of $10,000 and $20,000. ) Then, as income rises further, this consumer will decide to try other foods and actually buys fewer hamburgers per month. (The curve begins to slope downward after an income of $20,000 is reached. ) pic] d. As you add more fertilizer, you expect to produce more corn per acre up to a point of saturation. An acre of land will have some finite limit on what it can produce in one growing season, no matter how much fertilizer is added! [pic] e. As a car is engineered to be more powerful with more horsepower, you would expect it to use more gasoline and to get lower mileage per gallon of gasoline. [pic] 3. (Slope) suppose you are given the following data on wage rates and number of hours worked: | | |Hours Worked | | |Hourly | | |Point |Wage |Per Week | a |$0 |0 | |b |5 |0 | |c |10 |30 | |d |15 |35 | |e |20 |45 | |f |25 |50 | a. Construct and label a set of axes and plot these six points. Label each point a, b, c, and so on. Which variable do you think should be measured on the vertical axis, and which variable should be measured on the horizontal axis? b. Connect the points. Describe the resulting curve. Does it make sense to you? c. Compute the slope of the curve between points a and b.Between points b and c. Between points c and d. Between points d and e. Between points e and f. What happens to the slope as you move from point a to point f? a. It is conventional in economics to measure prices on the vertical axis. Here the wage rate is the price of an hour of labor, so it goes on the vertical axis. Hours worked is measured on the horizontal axis. B. THE GRAPH SHOWS THAT AT VERY LOW WAGE RATES, THE PERSON CHOOSES NOT TO WORK AT ALL. IT’S JUST NOT WORTH HER WHILE. HOWEVER, ONCE THE WAGE REACHES $10 PER HOUR, SHE BEGINS TO OFFER HER TIME IN THE LABOR MARKET BY BEING WILLING TO WORK 30 HOURS PER WEEK.AT HIGHER AND HIGHER WAGE RATES, SHE IS WILLING TO WORK MORE AND MORE HOURS. c. THE SLOPE IS MEASURED BY THE VERTICAL CHANGE THAT RESULTS FROM A GIVEN CHANGE ALONG THE HORIZONTAL AXIS. From point a to point b, the vertical change (wage) is 5, and the horizontal change (hours worked) is zero. Slope is 5/0 = assumed infinity. From point b to point c, the vertical change (wage) is 5, and the horizontal change (hours worked) is 30. Slope is 5/30 = +1/6. From point c to point d, the vertical change (wage) is 5, and the horizontal change (hours worked) is 5. Slope is 5/5 = +1.From point d to point e, the vertical change (wage) is 5, and the horizontal change (hours worked) is 10. Slope is 5/10 = +1/2. From point e to point f, the vertica l change (wage) is 5, and the horizontal change (hours worked) is 5. Slope is 5/5 = +1. A change in the steepness of the curve indicates a change in slope. As the curve becomes steeper, the rate of increase in hours of work (slope) is increasing. The shape of the curve indicates that as the curve flattens, the rate of increase in hours of work (slope) is decreasing. ———————– d a b c e f