Cost Accounting Essay Example

Cost Accounting Essay Name: Course: Instructor: Date: We will write a custom essay sample on Cost Accounting specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Cost Accounting specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Cost Accounting specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Cost Accounting PART A: 1. Verify the overhead cost per unit reported by the consulting group using direct labour hours to assign overhead. Compute the per unit gross margin per product. Total overheads =$6,990,000 X-12S-15Production (kilograms)1,000,000200,000Selling Price$15.93$12.00Overhead Cost per Unit*$6.41$2.89Prime cost per Kg$4.27$3.13Number of Production Runs100200Receiving Orders4001,000Machine Hours125,00060,000Direct Labour Hours250,00022,500Engineering Hours5,0005,000Material Handling (number of moves)500400 Overhead table Setup Costs$240,000Machine Costs1,750,000Receiving Costs2,100,000Engineering Costs2,000,000Material Handling Costs900,000Total$6,990,000 Total OH= $6,990,000 Units produced: X-12= 1,000,000, S-15= 200,000 = 5:1 = 6,990,000/5= 1,398,000 Overhead allocation for the two products: X-12 = $5,592,000, S-15 =$ 1,398,000 2. Recompute the unit cost of each product using activity based costing. Compute the per unit gross margin for each product. Activity Based Cost per Unit Produced= total activity costs/ total number units for the activity. Total activity costs: †¢X-12=Prime costs +OH costs = $4.27+$6.41 =$10.68 †¢S-15= Prime costs +OH costs = $3.13+$2.89 =$6.02 Per unit Gross Margin: Revenues per unit: = units sold * selling price X-12= 1,000,000*$15.93=$15,930,000 S-15=200,000*$12.00=$2,400,000 Total Unit costs: X12=$10.68, S15=$6.02 X-12=$ (15.93-10.68) = $5.25, S-15=$ (12-6.02) =$5.98 Per unit profit margin for product X-12$5.25/15.93*100=32.97% Per unit product margin for unit S-15$5.98/12*100=49.83% Hence, a further increase in the price of S-15 would provide the entity with a greater profit as well as enabling the entity to increase its profitability through additional production of the commodity. As provided product, x-12 has lower profit margin per unit because of the great costs associated with the production process. However, such costs could be reduced in various ways by the management to increase the profitability form the product. 3. Should the company switch its emphasis from the high volume product to the low volume product? Comment on the validity of the plant manager’s concern that competitors are selling below the cost of producing compound X-12. The overheads of the product X-12 are reducing the profitability of the organisation. Some measures in terms of cost reduction could be established by the organisation in the specified production process. This would ensure an increase in revenues and profitability from the product. Furthermore, the product has higher demand than the S-15; hence, there is a need to ensure that the organisation would reduce the costs of production associated with the specified product. This would accrue economies of scale associated with the production process as well as organisational processes. 4. Explain the apparent lack of competition for S-15. Comment also on the willingness of customers to accept a 25% increase in price for this compound. The production processes of product S-15 are specialised requiring the need for special handling and labour to run the processes steps. Consumers are willing to accept the 255 increase in the purchase price of this commodity as it is scarce in the market. The scarcity of the product S-15 is due to minimal presence of manufacturers in this product making of S-15. Hence, they are willing to accept the product at any price, as they understand the speciality procedures sued in making the product. 5. Describe what actions you would take based on the information provided by the activity-based unit costs. As an organisational executive, I would ensure an increase in the price of the product S-15 to ensure that the product reduces the costs of product X-12. In addition, I would also ensure that the organisation increases sales in relation to the demand of product X-12 by reducing the overhead costs of the product. The overhead costs have increased costs of making of the product. The product X-12 does not require any form of specialised production process, which translates to the presence of irrelevant costs in the production processes that could be reduced o r done away with to increase the profitability of the organisation from the sale of the product X-12. PART B: Direct Materials$9.00Direct Labour3.00Variable Overhead2.50Fixed Overhead4.00Total$18.50 1.?Cost to buy goods (CTB) =Volume * supplier’s landed costs Cost to make product (CTM) = fixed costs of making product+ (Per unit direct cost of making) The differences in the results of the tow methods lead to a conclusion of either making or purchasing the goods. If the values of CTB are lesser than the values of CTM, then it is favourable to purchase form other manufacturers instead of making the goods. †¢ Z911=40,000 units annually Total costs of production of units produced annually = 40,000*$18.50=$ 740,000 Total overheads per unit of production = 2.50+4.0 =$6.50 Total Overheads fro all the units produced annually= $ 6.50* 40,000= $260,000 Total fixed costs= Cost To Buy = 40,000 unit * cost of purchase = $16 =40,000*16= $640,000 Cost to make product (CTM) = fixed costs of making product+ (Per unit direct cost of making) Total fixed costs Direct materials=9.00 Direct labour = 3.00 Fixed OH= 4.00 Total costs= $16.0 2. Hence, the organisation could be better off to make the purchase the product from other manufacturers as they are able to ensure that the there are cost reductions in terms of labour and from the operation of the line of production. 3. This would save the entity $88, 000 in costs, which can be used for other purposes in the organisation or production processes. PART C: Essentially management accountants are tasked with ensuring that the information they provide is relevant and precise for the numerous organisational purposes of such information. In addition, the complexities encountered in the allocation of costs in the production process require specialised skills of management accountants to arrive at succinct and precise information about the costs in the various production processes. Cost accounting has been in focus since the advent of the industrial revolution, as the production process became complex as well as separated form control issues in the organisation. Hence, management accountants are tasked with ensuring that the entity acquires adequate information in terms of the costs related to the production processes for eventual allocation of resources by the management. The core activities revolving around the roles of management accountants include participation in planning in both strategic and operational levels that involve the establishment of regulations and policies in the budget making policies. Hence, they are greatly involved in the allocation of costs to the various production processes in a plant as well as other activities that aid in running of the entity. Management accountants are accustomed to the evaluation of stocks, as well as the preparation of monthly reports on such issues in the organisation that forms part of the cost and management accounting roles in any organisation. Such ensures that the entity evaluates the profitability levels, as well as the growth of the shareholder’s equity. In essence, this enables managers to understand the various fundamentals, which have a role in the share value of the organisation. In addition, other roles are evident from the examples; the management accountants are tasked with ensuring that there are changes in terms of the perspectives of view of the various costs in the organisation. Fundamentally, they are tasked with informing the organisation of the profitability of some production processes. In addition, such provides management with the view of making decisions such as the make or buy decisions commonly found in manufacturing entities. Ensures that entities are able to put a balance between the qualities of products and consumer satisfaction as well ensuring the profitability of the organisation form the production processes.

Essay on Business Communication Skills

Essay on Business Communication Skills Essay on Business Communication Skills Ethical business communication skills allow managers to effectively communicate with internal and external staff on a personal basis. Organizational communication skills are used with internal and external stakeholders for the purpose of coordination of leadership and staff behaviors. Managers use leadership skills to utilize key external concepts such as stories, metaphors and strategic dialog to establish supportive relationships with colleagues. It seems that more and more emphasis are being placed on corporate relationships and less on authority. This relational focus has been accompanied by a growing interest in the phenomenon of trust which is considered as an important component of the social structure. Exchanging thoughts and nonverbal communication by sharing information, providing feedback and maintaining social relationships are the steps that has to be taken to develop and nurture such an environment. Today's emerging ethnic consumers represent the largest which is the most overlooked market in America. According to the 2000 U. S. Census, by 2050, people of color will represent 55 percent of the population. Ethnic Americans have economic clout and their spending power has grown tremendously doubled in the past decade and is now almost $3 trillion. There has been a fair amount of research describing the portrayal of racial minorities in advertising. For some time advertisers have attempted to communicate the look and feel of their messages in accordance with the makeup of their targeted audience. For example African Americans have been shown to display a more positive attitude toward the advertisement and the product itself when black models are portrayed. In general (non-ethnic) audiences have shown to react positively to the increased incidence of African Americans in advertisements. By the same token, studies have shown that the white audience reaction to black characters range from neutral to negative, depending on elements of their demographic profiles. The lack of effective communication can make or break a company, a product, or a diversity initiative. Currently I am working for an organization that is more the 95% Indian; I find their very heavy accent is a daily challenge for me. By now I am use to being the minority (being

Law of International Trade Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Law of International Trade - Essay Example The two agreed that payment would be done through a letter of credit, through a bank that the two parties would agree on. However, on Feb 17, 2012, NASS suggested to MSC that they could transfer the goods through the M/S Speedy Delivery, which was already at the port of Mumbai. The two CEOs agreed on how this would be done. The challenge During loading the goods to the ship, it is indicated that the crane snapped causing loss of 1,000 units instantly. However, upon leaving the port, the Master M/S Speedy Delivery recorded that all the materials, which had been requested by NASS, had been loaded on the ship. This is despite the fact that 1,000 units had already accidentally dropped in water and therefore, remaining only 9,000 units. On March 20, 2012, Somalia pirates attacked the ship where 3,000 units of speakers were stolen. In the process of struggle, further 1,000 units were destroyed. This was a loss that had not been anticipated by any of the parties in the contract. In addition to this loss, it is indicated that as the ship left for Southampton, it faced challenges at the Mediterranean Sea. Due to dangerous and unexpected waves, about 1,000 more units were lost. The remaining units (4,000) arrived at the Southampton Port on 10th, April 2012. According to the NASS representatives at the port, only 9,000 units had been loaded in the ship before it left from Mumbai. This was against had been indicated in the bill of lading. Of the 4,000 units delivered, only 3,000 were functional. The inspectors indicated that the 1,000 units, which were malfunctioned, could trace their defect from the manufacturing company in Mumbai. For that reason, NASS has the right to make claims for damages both from the owners of the ship and the manufacturing company. Question 1 you are a trainee solicitor in a Golden Circle law firm in London. You have been asked by the Chair of the International Sale Contracts Department of the law firm to explain what rights, if any, NASS may have against MSC in respect of the breach, if any, of the international sale of goods contract entered into between the CEOs of both corporations. The Chair does not want you to consider the breach, if any, of any carriage of goods contract by the owner(s) of the M/S Speedy Delivery, nor the Rome 1 Regulation of the European Union. In the above statement of the case, it is clear that NASS is guaranteed compensation by both the owners of the ship and the exporting company. The losses suffered could be attributed to the mistakes by both the owners of the ship and the exporters. From the terms and conditions of sale, the contract will only remain valid if all goods delivered to NASS were quality goods. However, upon inspection by NASS, 1,000 units of goods delivered were found to be defective. This is a good ground for the company to sue for damages. In international trade laws, the importing companies would receive compensation through two main ways. Firstly, the 1,000 units which were ma lfunctioned could be replaced with quality others. For that reason, MSC would be required to compensate NASS by providing 1,000 units. This owes to the fact that the company was to blame for the malfunctioned goods. Secondly, NASS has a right to ask for a refund of amount equivalent to that of the malfunctioned goods. As indicated in the agreement, each of the unit was to cost 400 pounds. With 1000 units destroyed, NASS has a right

What an education mean to me Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

What an education mean to me - Essay Example Education for her is confined to the realm of the observable, quantifiable and rational. Education occurs in the classroom mostly, and occasionally in the field under controlled conditions. I know a man in my mother’s neighborhood that is constantly learning. He told me that education and learning for the sake of understanding is enough for him. He reads classical literature and philosophy as well as all of the latest books on political science and environmental concerns. His mind is filled with the words of some of the greatest scholars that have lived over the past 1500 years. He works at a neighborhood corner shop stocking shelves and running the cash register. When I asked him why he didn’t get a better job he replied that a more demanding job would interfere with his education, and that he valued knowledge over money. The superintendent that works in my apartment complex told me once that he never read anything he couldn’t apply to his job. If it was a manual on fixing a trash disposal or direction on installing new lighting fixtures, then the reading was worth his time. He said that he really didn’t see the need for any education beyond the obvious needs of his career. Formal study beyond his career was a waste of time because it couldn’t earn him any money. Read a novel for enjoyment or enlightenment? Never. He’d rather play poker. I list these examples of people I have in my life and their attitudes towards education to illustrate why I am so conflicted about education in many ways, specifically my education and how I should conduct it. I respect all of these people and see the good and bad in the choices they have made relative to their own education. Summarizing my feelings about education is difficult because of the disparate examples, but as I learn more about the world and the people in it, I can see one thing clearly. I can see that an individual’s approach to their education (whatever that may

Is Democracy the best type of Government Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Is Democracy the best type of Government - Essay Example In these societies, democracy only served to further the interests of a certain elite who had always been in power. The entry of new faces to the seats of governance was rare and often short-lived. For instance in Vietnam’s case, the country was run by a democratically elected government where the Prime Minister was a cousin of the emperor of Vietnam (Halberstam & Singal, 2008). The democratic policies initiated by this democratic government led to the alienation of large parts of the population, who eventually tilted over to the communist camp and began an insurgency. The democracy under Nguyen Phuc Buu Loc was unable to shelter the interests of the many against the interests of the few. It has to be kept in mind that Vietnam is not the only nation to have suffered a democratic fate due to class divide and lack of equality. The quagmire in West Africa and the Horn of Africa is yet another example of democratic failure that has ruined millions of lives. The democratic system i n these nations allowed the power hungry elite to broker power to themselves leaving millions in desperation. The resulting governments led to the estrangement of the masses which in turn led to bloody civil wars and consequent anarchy (Bassey & Oshita, 2010). The outcomes of democracy in these nations signalled a major change in the very definition of democracy. What Abraham Lincoln declared to be â€Å"of the people, by the people, for the people† at Gettysburg (Wilson, 2006) has become â€Å"of the 1%, by the 1%, for the 1%† in the twenty first century (Stiglitz, 2012). Attempts at promoting democracy across borders have often proved not only difficult but also unmanageable and dangerous. People spearheading the cause of democracy for foreign nations fail to account for socio-economic and historic peculiarities that shape each nation. A society composed of tribal systems already has its own version of governance though there are no bravura democratic assemblies and parliaments to show the rest of the world. Imposing a foreign system that the local people are not aware of will never work in such a situation. The recent failed experiments at democratic implantation have failed miserably in both Iraq and Afghanistan (Shadid, 2005) (Hopkins, 2008). A democratic system requires nourishment from the grass root level to flourish. If the roots of the system fail to support it, then the democratic system is open and vulnerable to exploitation. Typically democratic systems are exploited not from the bottom but from the very top. Democracies provide the power hungry elite with multiple avenues to manipulate people at all levels in society. Stieglitz (2012) has rightly declared democracies to be representative of the top 1% of all people in a society. The people at the helm of affairs in a democracy possess the right tools and skills to manipulate the masses through propaganda. It is ironic and paradoxical to realise that the very people who forced Wall S treet to crash were the very people who were bailed out by the democratic government (Byrne, 2012). Hordes of common people looking to occupy Wall Street to prevent further economic exploitation were rounded up by state machinery using the very resources that these ordinary people had paid for in terms of taxes. It is regrettable that in the so claimed representative system of democratic governance, the very people w

The Free Air Jet Experiment

The Free Air Jet Experiment Introduction The Free Air Jet Experiment is designed to give insight into the fundamentals of a free jet at various locations inside and outside the core region. The core region is a location in the flow field where the flow has a velocity that is approximately the same as the velocity coming from inside the jet. This experiment will provide data to describe the location of the core region. Besides defining the core region this experiment will provide information on the velocity changes outside the core region, mass flow rates at various locations, the momentum flow at various locations, showing that the exiting jet width varies with distance, and how the speed varies along the center streamline as a function of distance from the exit. In order to best interpret the results obtained in this lab there are several assumptions that must be made. In this situation the flow is in a steady state, the air from the jet and the stationary air in the surroundings is assumed to be constant, the flow is incompressible, and the produced flow is axis symmetric. The local fluid speed can be determined from equation (1) V = (2*(po p)/Ï )1/2 (1) where the variable V is the magnitude of the velocity, po is the stagnation pressure, p is the static pressure of the fluid, and Ï  is the density of the fluid. From equation (2) the mass flow rate can be determined md = à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ²Ãƒ ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ²A (Ï V)dA = à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ²02πà ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ²0R (Ï Vr)drdÃŽ ¸ (2) where md is the mass flow rate, A is the surface area that is being integrated over, Ï  is the density, r is the radius, and R is the maximum radius. The momentum flow can also be determined via equation (3) Pd = à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ²Ãƒ ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ²A (Ï V)VdA = à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ²02πà ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ²0R (Ï V2r)drdÃŽ ¸ (3) where Pd is the momentum flow rate. The local sound speed, c, was found from equation (4) c = (kRT)1/2 (4) where k and R are constants defined by the physical properties of air and T is the temperature of the medium. In this experiment k = 1.4, R = 287, and T = 298. Knowing c, the mach speed can be calculated via equation (5) Ma = V/c (5) where Ma is the mach speed. Methods An apparatus was constructed in such a way that a tube that emits air is placed horizontally and blows into a Pitot tube that can be moved horizontally or in a radial outward direction. The volumetric flow rate is a constant for this experiment. From here the first set of data to be recorded is the centerline speed of the jet at various horizontal distances away from the center of the tube. This is first to be done by recording the pressure close to the pipes exit and then taking pressure measurements increasing the distance from the Pitot tube to the pipes exit by small intervals. This will provide a relationship of mass flow rate and momentum flow to the distance from the air exiting the pipe. Change the volumetric flow rate and repeat the preceding procedure. To determine how the mass flow rate and momentum flow rate will vary radially from the center streamline, another experiment is to be conducted. In this case a measurement is to be taken at the center streamline at some fixed horizontal displacement with a constant volumetric flow rate. From here the Pitot tube is to be moved radially outward in small increments such that several data points can be obtained at that horizontal displacement. At a few other horizontal displacements the same procedure is to be followed. Results and Discussion From Figure 1 it can be seen that up to about 0.03 m from the exit, the centerline speed doesnt change much. This defines the core region starting from the exit of the tube to 0.03 m away from the tubes exit. Outside the core region the speed of the air decreases as the distance from the exit is increased. When measuring the pressure from the Pitot tube the pressure had a precision of +/- 0.005 inches of H2O. This margin of error created an uncertainty in the centerline speed of about +/- 1 m/s. Knowing that the uncertainty of the speed is about 1 m/s, this uncertainty will propagate into the length of the core region. The core region can then be determined to have a length of 0.03 m +/- 0.01 m. Centerline speeds were recorded for a volumetric flow rate at 70 L/min and at 50 L/min. As expected, as the volumetric flow rate increases the centerline speed also increases. Velocities of varying radial distances from the centerline were measured and compared with each other at different horizontal distances from the tube in Figure 2. At a radial distance of 1 cm, the velocity doesnt change much with respect to the velocity measured at the centerline for all horizontal positions. This defines the average radial component of the core region as 1 cm. This radial component decreases as a function of the distance from the pipes exit. The farther the Pitot tube is moved outward from the core region the slower the velocity becomes. It can also be noticed that at the closest horizontal displacement the velocity drops off quicker as a function of radial displacement as apposed to the larger horizontal displacements. This is caused by the energy dissipating out to the sides as the horizontal displacement increases. The energy dissipation is caused by eddies or more commonly swirling in air. An eddy is the terminology used to describe the circular motion a fluid t akes as it displaces from the source. This plays an even bigger role in mass and momentum flow rates. Looking at Figure 3 it can be seen that the mass flow rate increases as the horizontal displacement increases. This increase is caused by eddies. What happens here is the source puts out a finite amount of mass at some constant rate. Eddies then form and this swirling motion of the fluid reaches out into the stagnant fluid and pulls more mass in to the system. Now more mass is being brought into the system causing the mass flow rate to increase. As the horizontal displacement increases the mass flow rate begins to level off, as seen in Figure 3, and will eventually begin to decrease. Here more mass is still being brought into the system but now the velocity has decreased significantly and this decrease is now causing the mass flow rate to decrease. Similarly to the mass flow rate the momentum flow rate is effected by eddies. In this case the momentum flow rate has reached a peak where the mass flow rate is still increasing and is decreasing where the mass flow rate begins to reach a maximum, as seen in Figures 3 and 4. The momentum flow equation and mass flow rate equation only differ by one term. In the mass flow rate equation there is a V component and in the momentum flow equation there is a V2 component. Having this extra component is what causes the momentum flow to peak before the mass flow rate. The velocity is decreasing and the mass is increasing as a function of horizontal displacement, but the momentum flow depends more heavily on the velocity component. The mach speed was then calculated from the maximum velocity obtained. In this situation the mach speed was found to be 0.087 with a local sound speed of 346 m/s. If the mach speed is greater than or equal to 0.3 than this implies that the flow is compressible. By having a mach speed that is smaller than 0.3 implies that the flow is incompressible. Conclusion and Recommendations By conducting this experiment a fairly accurate core region was able to be defined. The core region was defined as having a horizontal displacement of 0.03 m +/- 0.01m and an average radius of 0.01 m. The mass flow rate and momentum flow were both found to be heavily dependent on mass and velocity. Both the mass flow rate and the momentum flow were affected by eddies, which is the swirling motion of air, that pulled stagnant mass into the system causing the mass to increase as the flow got further away from the core region. The velocity of the air decreased as the displacement from the pipe exit increased. Momentum flow was affected by the velocity more so than the mass flow rate because of the V2 component in the momentum equation. This flow was deemed incompressible due to the mach speed being smaller than 0.3. For better results in the future, supplying the jet with an independent compressor would eliminate any variance in volumetric flow rates caused by other users of the compressor. This would then generate a higher precision when measuring pressures. Figure 1. This graph shows the relationship between the centerline speed and the distance from the exit. Figure 2. This graph shows the relationship between the normalized velocity and the radial distance from the tubes exit. Figure 3. This graph shows the relationship between the calculated per measured mass flow rate and horizontal position. Figure 4. This graph shows the relationship between the rate of momentum flow and horizontal position.

Research Paper -- essays papers

Research Paper Inclusion is a type of teaching that is being researched by many school districts across the country. It is the act of combining special education students in a regular classroom environment. Inclusion is a very controversial topic when it comes to the education of children, both regular and special education students. There are many beliefs in the welfare of all students and their ability to learn and function together. This belief has put a damper on school districts adopting the program of full inclusion. People feel that this will cause problems in the classroom for both general education and special education students. They feel that it will be a distraction for all students and that it will harm both their education and their emotional development. The articles that follow show that inclusion is extremely beneficial for all students and that the popular belief and the stereo-types given for full inclusion are not entirely right. The first article, â€Å"Full Inclusion, Dream or Reality,† (1995) focused on the passage of the Individuals with Disabilities Act which has had a major impact on the educational rights of all children, specifically children with disabilities. This act ensures that all children have equal rights to education, where these children can expand their knowledge and become educated with the least restriction. Special Education students will be able to be in a classroom with students their age regardless of their skill level or type of disability. This full inclusive setting will allow students to develop socially as well. The students are now able to associate with many different groups of people then if they were segregated in their classroom. These social interactions will p... ...ver, or many people might turn to full inclusion as more research comes out. Bibliography Biklen, D. (2000 November). Constructing inclusion: lessons from critical, disability narratives. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 4 (4). Retrieved 20 April2003 from www.ebsco.com Cavallaro, C & Haney, M. (2002 April). Early Childhood and Inclusion. The ERIC Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted Education. Retrieves 21 April 2003 from http://ericec.org/faq/ec-inclu.html Gibb, G., & Young, J. (1997 July/August). A team-based junior high inclusion program. Remedial and Special Education, 18 (4), 243. Retrieved 20 April 2003 from www.ebsco.com. Morse, T., & Santos, K. (1995 October). Full inclusion: dream or reality? Journal for a Just and Caring Education, 1 (4) 449. Retrieved 20 April 2003 from www.ebsco.com

Night of Terror

Denise Cummens Greg Aamot English 122 3 March 2013 Allen W Taylor- The Night the Sirens Blew Everyone experiences at least one terrifying event in his or her lifetime. How we assimilate the event shapes our attitudes, or maybe vice-versa. It can become the catalyst that lead, to phobias; sometimes it even earns itself a fancy title with â€Å"syndrome† attached to the end of it. So many of us just call it a memory, but one can share with eight other people.People need to always remember that, tornadoes are not simply violent forces of nature; consequently, they are threats of weather that turns into tornadoes as, it forces change for those who live in its path of destruction. If we go and look back at that historical day through the readings of, â€Å"The Night the Sirens Blew. † We get the recap of the worse tornado outbreak in the Twin Cities, which was in 1965 and worse of six strong tornadoes that occurred around Minneapolis and St. Paul Minnesota on May 6, 1965. Th is was nicknamed â€Å"The Longest Night† and is the most often remembered for the two F4 tornadoes that hit Fridley, Minnesota.Where thirteen people were killed in the six tornadoes that touched down in the Twin Cities area on that historical day. People that lived through that day recall what happened to the author, first it was famous WCCO radio personality Dick â€Å"Chappy† Chapman, who was the main broadcaster the night of the outbreak. He remembers that night began shortly after 6p. m when the first funnel cloud was spotted neat Norwood Young America, just west of the Twin Cities. Chappy, recalls that was the beginning of a long night and he left the microphone on until 1a. m the next morning.Chappy recalls his conversation with Joe Strub from the Weather Bureau. Joe was an outstanding guy who really knew a lot about storms. At the time of the historical outbreak, he was working on tornado research and found that these storms would â€Å"pulse†. In anothe r words, the storm would build-drop-build-drop. This is how he explained this storm was so massive that is literally â€Å"chewed† up debris and flung it all over the place. Joe also recalls being a pioneer in lobbying for safer trailer park tornado prevention measures. He wanted â€Å"cement tie-downs† and reinforced storm shelters in every trailer park.The many people that Allen Taylor talked to about this historical day, also talked about the things that lead up to this massive night of tornadoes, like the St. Patrick’s day blizzard aftermath of March 17, 1965 and many bad flooding and so we were used to all the interruption in the news due to all the bad weather, until the night of the tornadoes. So after all the blizzards and flooding the Weather Bureau hooked in a â€Å"tie-line† between WCCO and their offices, so when bad weather hit all they had to do is pick up the phone and report right then and there.All the people that talked to Allen about th e night the sirens blew all recall the many tornadoes that swept across the Western and Northern portions of the 7 county regions and that they ranged from F2 to F4, which killed thirteen people and injured 683 people. If it was not for the National Weather Bureau, local officials, and the outstanding communications by local radio and television stations. Most of the credit needed to go to the annoucers of WCCO with saving countless lives. It was also the first time in twin Cities history that civil defense sirens were used for severe weather.The Weather Bureau said â€Å"we didn’t hesitate a bit† to sound the sirens. It was the first time that the air raid alarm was used as a tornado warning since the system was instituted in May of 1959. So with all the things that happened on that night and it is not hard to believe that everyone will experience at least one terrifying event in his or her lifetime. How we assimilate the event shapes our attitudes, or maybe vice-vers a. It can become catalyst that lead, to phobias, and sometimes it even earns itself as just a memory to recall sharing with others.So the author who recalls, the events in our childhood shape our world and our perceptions. He says even though he was only five when this historical night took place he can recall the colored lighting and the once-in-a-generation power associated with these storms left an impact on him and all the people who lived through that night. The two main reasons he said he wrote this book, was because he has always been interested in storms and wanted to recall that night, and he had a great joy of being able to talk with the people who lived through those tornadoes that night.Those tornadoes wiped everything out! In today’s dollar the damage was 1. 2 billion dollars, making it the swarm of tornadoes and one of the costliest outbreaks in US history. That night was the main storm surges which spawned 24 tornadoes in one evening. It is his hope by reading this book you feel the emotions of the people who survived that night. Allen hope is that you enjoy the most researched documented book ever written on the worst tornado out break ever to hit the Twin Cities.

History of the Quiché Maya - Popol Vuh

History of the Quichà © Maya - Popol Vuh The Popol Vuh (Council Book or Council Papers) is the most important sacred book of the Quichà ©; (or Kiche) Maya of the Guatemalan Highlands. The Popol Vuh is an important text for understanding Late Postclassic and Early Colonial Maya religion, myth, and history, but also because it also offers interesting glimpses into Classic Period beliefs. History of the Text The surviving text of the Popol Vuh was not written in Mayan hieroglyphics, but rather is a transliteration into European script written between 1554-1556 by someone said to have been a Quichà © nobleman. Between 1701-1703, the Spanish friar Francisco Ximenez found that version where he was stationed in Chichicastenango, copied it and translated the document into Spanish. Ximenez translation is currently stored in the Newberry Library of Chicago. There are numerous versions of the Popol Vuh in translations in various languages: the best known in English is that of Mayanist Dennis Tedlock, originally published in 1985; Low et al. (1992) compared the various English versions available in 1992 and remarked that Tedlock immersed himself in the Mayan point of view as much as he could, but by and largely picked prose rather than the poetry of the original. The Content of the Popol Vuh Now it still ripples, now it still murmurs, ripples, it still sighs, still hums and is empty under the sky (from Tedlocks 3rd edition, 1996, describing the primordial world before creation) The Popol Vuh is a narrative of the cosmogony, history, and traditions of the Kiche Maya before the Spanish conquest in 1541. That narrative is presented in three parts. The first part talks about the creation of the world and its first inhabitants; the second, probably the most famous, narrates the story of the Hero Twins, a couple of semi-gods; and the third part is the story of the Quichà © noble family dynasties. Creation Myth According to the Popol Vuh myth, at the beginning of the world, there were only the two creator gods: Gucumatz and Tepeu. These gods decided to create earth out of the primordial sea. Once the earth was created, the gods populated it with animals, but they soon realized that animals were unable to speak and therefore could not worship them. For this reason, the gods created humans and had the animals role relegated to food for humans. This generation of humans was made out of mud, and so were weak and were soon destroyed. As a third attempt, the gods created men from wood and women from reeds. These people populated the world and procreated, but they soon forgot their gods and were punished with a flood. The few who survived were transformed into monkeys. Finally, the gods decided to mold mankind from maize. This generation, which includes the present human race, is able to worship and nourish the gods. In the narration of the Popol Vuh, the creation of the people of corn is preceded by the story of the Hero Twins. The Hero Twins Story The Hero Twins, Hunahpu, and Xbalanque were the sons of Hun Hunahpu and an underworld goddess named Xquic. According to the myth, Hun Hunahpu and his twin brother Vucub Hunahpu were convinced by the lords of the underworld to play a ball game with them. They were defeated and sacrificed, and the head of Hun Hunahpu was placed on a gourd tree. Xquic escaped from the underworld and was impregnated by the blood dripping from Hun Hunahpu’s head and gave birth to the second generation of hero twins, Hunahpu and Xbalanque. Hunahpu and Xbalanque lived on the earth with their grandmother, the mother of the first Hero Twins, and became great ballplayers. One day, as had happened to their father, they were invited to play a ball game with the Lords of Xibalba, the underworld, but unlike their father, they were not defeated and stood all the tests and tricks posted by the underworld gods. With a final trick, they managed to kill the Xibalba lords and to revive their father and uncle. Hunahpu and Xbalanque then reached the sky where they became the sun and moon, whereas Hun Hunahpu became the god of corn, who emerges every year  from the earth to give life to the people. The Origins of the Quichà © Dynasties The final part of the Popol Vuh narrates the story of the first people created from corn by the ancestral couple, Gucumatz and Tepeu. Among these were the founders of the Quichà © noble dynasties. They were able to praise the gods and wandered the world until they reached a mythical place where they could receive the gods into sacred bundles and take them home. The book closes with the list of the Quichà © lineages up until the 16th century. How Old is the Popol Vuh? Although early scholars believed that the living Maya had no recollection of the Popol Vuh, some groups retain considerable knowledge of the stories, and new data have led most Mayanists to accept that some form of the Popol Vuh has been central to the Maya religion at least since the Maya Late Classic Period. Some scholars such as Prudence Rice have argued for a much older date. Elements of the narrative in the Popol Vuh argues Rice, appear to predate the late Archaic separation of language families and calendars. Further, the tale of the one-legged ophidian supernatural who is associated with rain, lightning, life, and creation is associated with Maya kings and dynastic legitimacy throughout their history. Updated by  K. Kris Hirst Sources Dictionary of Archaeology.Carlsen RS, and Prechtel M. 1991. The Flowering of the Dead: An Interpretation of Highland Maya Culture. Man 26(1):23-42.Knapp BL. 1997. The Popol Vuh: Primordial Mother Participates in the Creation. Confluencia 12(2):31-48.Low D, Morley S, Goetz D, Recinos A, xe, Edmonson M, and Tedlock D. 1992. A Comparison of English translations of a Mayan text, the Popol Vuh. Studies in American Indian Literatures 4(2/3):12-34.Miller ME, and Taube K. 1997. An Illustrated Dictionary of The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya. London: Thames and Hudson.Paulinyi Z. 2014. The butterfly bird god and his myth at Teotihuacan.  Ancient Mesoamerica 25(01):29-48.Rice PM. 2012. Continuities in Maya political rhetoric: Kawiils, katuns, and kennings.  Ancient Mesoamerica 23(01):103-114.Sharer RJ. 2006. The Ancient Maya. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press.Tedlock D. 1982. Reading the Popol Vuh over the shoulder of a diviner and finding out whats so funny. Conjunctions 3:176-185. Tedlock D. 1996. The Popol Vuh: Definitive Edition of the Maya Book of the Dawn of Life and the Glories of Gods and Kings. New York: Touchstone.Woodruff JM. 2011. Ma(r)king Popol Vuh.  Romance Notes 51(1):97-106.

The changes of Phillips curve under global economy, from two aspects of international trade and international finance to discuss Phillips curve ---relationship between inflation and unemployment. The WritePass Journal

The changes of Phillips curve under global economy, from two aspects of international trade and international finance to discuss Phillips curve -relationship between inflation and unemployment. Introduction The changes of Phillips curve under global economy, from two aspects of international trade and international finance to discuss Phillips curve relationship between inflation and unemployment. IntroductionThe purpose of researchThe outline and methodologyList of References:Related Introduction During the Great Depression which was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World Warâ… ¡, western countries experienced the high unemployment rate. In 1936, Keynes who is a British economist published the famous â€Å"The general theory of employment, interest and money†. The theory was helpful for policy makers to tackle unemployment. (Mankiw,G and Taylor,M) However, after 1950s, inflation became the most concerned economic issue around the world in replace of unemployment. Due to the price rigidity, inflation couldn’t be explained by Keynesian economics. The Phillips curve is named after a New Zealand-born economist A.W.Phillips. In1958, he published an article† The Relationship between Unemployment and the Rate of Change of Money Wages in the United Kingdom 1861–1957† in the quarterly economic journal Economica. Phillips observed the data of unemployment rate and the rate of wage inflation and concluded an inverse relationship between money wage changes and unemployment in United Kingdom during the period time examined. In the following years, Phillips curve was successfully demonstrated to be found in many countries. The IS-LM model is a macroeconomic tool that demonstrates the relationship between interest rates and real output in the goods and services market and the money market (Wikipedia).It can explain the aggregate demand and determine the employment. And the Phillips curve can express the aggregate supply of macroeconomics and explain the inflation. Thus, main Keynes’s theory consists of IS-LM model and Phillips Curve from two aspects of aggregate demand and supply. The Phillips Curve also has the significant meaning for economy policy: that is, macroeconomic policy can be trade-off between inflation and unemployment. The government can use higher inflation rate to achieve lower unemployment and vice versa. Therefore, the Phillips curve was considered as the main economic tool to make policy. However, when people thought IS-LM model and Phillips curve could explain major macroeconomic issues, some economists began to doubt the accuracy of Phillips curve, one typical representative is Edmund Phelps, who is the winner of Nobel Prize for Economics in 2006. He suggested that inflation is not only related with unemployment but also related with the growth of prices and wages expected by employers and workers. His research contributed important insights in the Phillips curve which include adaptive expectation and imperfect information in the setting of prices and wages. Additionally, he presented the concept of the natural rate of unemployment and he thinks that there is no long run trade-off between inflation and unemployment. (Edmund S Phelps,1968).It can be seen from Figure 1,assume that at the beginning, the expected inflation rate is 0 and the natural rate of unemployment is 6%,under this situation, the economy is at point A and the Phillips curve is P1.If the economy is i ntervened by government, that is the government wants to use 4% inflation rate to achieve 3% unemployment rate, that means reaching point B; assume that the government achieves the goal, workers expect their real wages to decline, thus the nominal wages are required to increase to maintain their purchasing power. On the other hand, employers hire fewer workers due to the increases in wages, therefore, the unemployment rate return to the natural rate of unemployment. At this moment, the economy is at point C. The Phillips curve shifts upwards to P2.As a result, government’s economic policies do not work, that means inflation rate increases, however, unemployment rate does not go down. This is so-called†Phillips Curve with expectation†. Figure 1   Phillips Curve with expectation At present, the widely accepted view about Phillips curve is that â€Å"because people adjust their expectations of inflation over time, the tradeoff between inflation and unemployment holds only in short run.†(Mankiw, G and Taylor, M)New Keynesian economists modify the Phillips curve from two aspects: firstly, considering expectation; secondly, considering the supply shock. The purpose of research The reason why I am planning to focus my research on this topic is that with the development of economy globalization, the proportion of trade between countries or economies increase rapidly. For example, in 2005, the world merchandise trade and services trade account for world GDP respectively 47% and 11%, however, in 1990, those figures are respectively 32% and 8%.During the period of 1990 to 2005, the aggregate amount of world exports has increased annually by 9%, however, the average growth rate of world GDP was only 3%.Thus, under economic globalization, when modifying Phillips curve, the openness should be considered. My dissertation is aimed to analyze how Phillips curve shifts and changes under economic globalization. The outline and methodology At present, the major researches about this issue are focusing on NKPC model and put the model into small open economies to do empirical analysis. Then the New Keynesian Phillips Curve can be obtained. There are two methods can be used to modify the NKPC model: the first one is extended model of difference between domestic and foreign prices (Sbordone, 2002; Gali and Monacelli, 2005); second one is extended model of foreign exchange rate (Temple, 2002; Reinhart and Rogoff, 2004). The outline of my dissertation is that firstly, presenting the theory and general New Keynesian Phillips curve model, then modify it from two aspects of international trade and international finance. Secondly, analyzing the influences of domestic inflation and employment which are from international factors. The New Keynesian Phillips Curve model is generally written in the form: Ï€t=ÃŽ ±Ãâ‚¬t-1+ÃŽ ²Et(Ï€t+1)+ÃŽ ³costt. Assume that Ï€t is inflation rate at time t, Ï€t-1 is inflation rate at time (t-1), Et(Ï€t+1) is expected inflation rate of time t+1 according to that at time t, costt is cost of production per unit at time t,ÃŽ ±Ã¢Ë†Ë†(0,1),ÃŽ ²Ã¢Ë†Ë†(0,1),ÃŽ ³Ã¢Ë†Ë†(0,1).My research mainly focus on four aspects: 1)inflation effect on unit product cost, considering the formula above, the third part on the right is the changes of unit product cost under economy globalization. 2)inflation effect on international capital flow, the second part on the right of the formula above is expected inflation which makes individuals expect domestic real interest rates to change, people choose to invest in foreign.3)lagged effect of inflation, the first part on the right of the f ormula above is adaptive expectation.4)effect of inflation on employment ,overall, whether unemployment rate increases or decreases   depend on other factors ,for instance, domestic employment rate and trade policy. Thirdly, choosing two developed countries which are U.S and UK and one developing country which is Brazil and using OECD database or other databases to obtain figures about CPI, GDP implicit deflator, import price index and unemployment rate. The time period selected is 1992 to 2010 .Then using these data to do empirical analysis about NKPC model under economic globalization. Finally, getting the conclusion. The expected results I want to get are that under economic globalization, in the short run, inflation rate and prices of imports shift in the same direction. The lower the prices of imports are, the smaller the slope of Phillips curve is and vice versa. As Figure 2 indicates, I also expect that Phillips curves with different slopes adjust to different countries. The line â‘   with flatter slope is suited for developed countries due to the lower imports prices. However, the line â‘ ¢ with steeper slope is suited for developing countries because of its higher imports prices. The framework of this dissertation consists of four parts: The theory of Phillips curve Shifts and changes of NKPC model under economic globalization Empirical analysis about NKPC model under economic globalization The significance of the theory and conclusion. List of References: Mankiw, G and Taylor, M, Macroeconomics. European Edition, p295 Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IS/LM_model Phelps, Edmund S. (1968). Money-Wage Dynamics and Labor Market Equilibrium. Journal of Political Economy 76 (S4): 678–711 Argia M. Sbordone, â€Å"Prices and unit labor costs: a new test of price stickiness†, Journal of Monetary Economics, (Elsevier: March, 2002) vol.49 (2), pages 265-292 Jordi Gali and Tommaso Monacelli,†Monetary Policy and Exchange rate Volatility in a small open economy†, Review of Economic Studies, (Blackwell Publishing: 2005), vol.72 (3), pp.707-734 07 Jonathan Temple,†Openness, Inflation and the Phillips Curve a Puzzle†, Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, (Blackwell Publishing: May, 2002), vol.34 (2), pp.450-68 Carmen M. Reinhart and Kenneth S.Rogoff, â€Å"The Modern History of Exchange Rate Arrangements : A Reinterpretation†, The Quarterly Journal of Economics(MIT Press: February 2004) vol.119(1),pp.1-48

Database Design and Implementation Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Database Design and Implementation - Assignment Example A major downside of this site is that it is very slow. The seller is not required to pay any fee for posting an item for sale. The sites has strong measures and applications installed that ensures that it is fraud proof and the sellers can list as many items as they want as opposed to most online purchasing sites. E-bay is one of the leading online shopping market place where buyers and sellers transact a wide variety of goods and services worldwide. It has become a multi-billion dollar company after it was founded back in 1995. It has included buy-it-now as a standard shopping, an expansion from its original auction format. A number of items, from cars to antiques, are listed by a seller who then chooses to only accept bids for the item thus enabling the buyer to purchase the item immediately. The first buyer eager to pay the sellers stated price gets the item on a buy-it-now option. All the three sites have five major entities that is; the auction, product, payment, seller and the buyer. Of the four entities only three are actively involved at any given time, mostly, the auction, product and the buyer. The three entities have major common attributes across the three sites most of which were identified as the generic attributes. The product id, seller/.buyer id and the product id alongside other attributes formed the major attributes across the three sites. The other attributes that were rejected were either irrelevant or less important and could be retrieved through the major attributes such as the auction, seller/buyer or product ids. Normalizing the possible tables consisting of the entities alongside their attributes led to the rejection or dropping off of some attributes to avoid data redundancy. The product name, product description, product prices and product image from the auction table can be compressed into a different table named product with a primary key being product id. The auction table therefore will be normalized

Business Law Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 6

Business Law - Assignment Example As in our case, McDougal did not say even a single word and just waved his hand at Krunch, which showed his intention to pay later. Trust and expectation play a vital role in implied contracts. Implied contracts are made on the basis of reason, understanding, and tradition. Silence can be treated as an act of acceptance but in very rare cases. In case of trustworthy relationships, acceptance does not need to be communicated to the other person in order to be effective. For example in case of implied contracts, silence is used as a gesture for acceptance that is based on the factors of trust and confidence in the other party. However, in all other forms of contracts, there must be an agreement between the parties regarding consideration of silence as acceptance because without any such agreement, silence can never be considered as acceptance if the other party do not intend to accept any specific